Media Influence Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Media Influence Analysis - Essay Example Both males and females see many advertisements on a daily basis, and they try to copy the image that is portrayed to them and try their best to make themselves similar to those individuals whom they find attractive as it is a part of our nature. It is in human nature to look beautiful and presentable in the society; the media certainly set standards of beauty in terms of the latest trend but most importantly it is the person’s own view as to how he looks towards the ads and the advertisers should not be blamed for any falsehood they promote. The idea of beauty and to look beautiful is a perception of one’s mind, which is mainly derived from advertisements. The ads affect the human mind to think about their looks in the society. â€Å"There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty† (Maraboli 112). According to the above-mentioned quote, natural looks are more beautiful and people should feel comfortable about themselves and their looks. On the contrary, in order to look good, they try different things. People change their hairstyles, hair colors, color of eyes to meet their needs. Many of them are worried about their weight as looking slim is considered as part of beauty. People use different techniques to look slim and without proper consultation they start skipping meals to which they refer as dieting. Skipping meals lead to severe disorders such as Anorexia, an eating disorder in which a person refuses to eat because they think they are too fat. Looking slim is a human perception of beauty, which is forced in their minds by ads. There are other things as well which people find attractive, and consider it as part of beauty. These changes in their body are permanent like tattoos and piercing. People have tattoos on

Decentralised Service Provisions: Summary and Evaluation

Decentralised Service Provisions: Summary and Evaluation The value of de-centralised provision of  Public Services Introduction Gordon Brown, likely to become Prime Minister in mid-2007, has been known to consider decentralisation of public services an important factor of local community government (Simon Jenkins 2007). Public services are defined as those goods that are provided for the benefit of the whole community and from which no individual can be excluded. The main question however, is whether these services are more efficiently administered through and decentralised authority and, if so, what size of local organisation is required to achieve these objectives. Efficiency of local public service provision Provision of public services through local authorities in the twentieth century developed because it was not possible for Parliament and its twenty-one ministers to maintain control of these factors (Jones and Stewart 1983, p.10). In recent decades, because of improvement in communication and cost reduction, more responsibility for public services has been decentralised (Doherty and Horne 2002, p.104) because it is seen to be an efficient method. Indeed, Bentham (1973, p.216-20) argues that local and regional levels of government are the only way to ensure that efficient public services can be delivered. Efficiency is measured by two factors, being the perception of the consumers to whom the service is rendered and the cost efficiency of the process. In terms of the consumer, a report conducted by the Lyons inquiry found that the consensus of local communities deemed local authorities to be more efficient suppliers of most public services than central government. For example, as can be seen from graphs 20 and 25 of the report (see figures 1 and 2), the majority felt that local authorities would provide a service more appropriate to local needs, in the latter case relating particularly to the area of local transport. A similar percentage (graph 29) felt that community policing would be managed more effectively and efficiently by local authorities than through a centralised body. The same community response was found with many other areas of public services, including education, with a key element in this efficiency process being measured by the fact that the authority was in a better position to communicate with their local community and understand the local environment. Furthermore, the communities surveyed that local authorities are more appropriate managers of funds than central government and should be able to determine, collect and administer their own revenue, with many of the participants supporting locally raised income taxes or charging for specific services. For example, as can be seen on page 75 of the same report, most were of the opinion that local authorities should set and retain the local business rates, not submit it to central government as at present happens. The summary findings of the Lyons Inquiry (page 2), agreed the above that, in terms of the delivery of public services, local authorities were the most efficient and effective method of ensuring that the needs and requirements of the local community were met. In the past, one of the main criticisms of local authorities was that they had become too bureaucratic and therefore cost inefficient. The levels of employees and other resources used, far exceeded the requirements of the services being provided. Furthermore, the impression was that the organisations were devouring a disproportionate percentage of the funding being raised through rates and grants. This public perception was one of the main reasons for the controversy that surrounded the ill-fated community charge and that has led to concerns over the increasing level of council taxes. Although the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (2001) suggested that the size of local authorities is not an issue, this is clearly not the case. Whilst it is not possible to identify a set size for a particular local authority, as with any other organisation there is clearly a need to for service provider to ensure that the cost of provision does not result in an unacceptable cost attracting to the consumer of the service. Efficiency equally applies to the structure of the authority as well. One way to ensure that the authority remains resource efficient is to implement quality controls, such as the ISO 9000 standard that in 2002 had been introduced into some departments of approaching a quarter of local authorities throughout the UK (Docherty and Horne 2002, p.148). Furthermore, it is the task of the Audit Commission is to monitor the efficiency of both the services provided and the provider. In the case of the latter, it is incumbent upon the commission to ensure that resources are not wasted. The size of the authority can thus be measured by the ability of the authority to deliver the public services and goods to the members of the community through the efficient use of the appropriate level of resources. Conclusion The members of the public and Lyons are agreed that the local authority is the most efficient method of delivering public services. However, it is important that this service is provided by an organisation that is of an appropriate size, as measured by its own internal efficiencies. References Bentham, J (1973). Bent ham’s Political Thought. Croom Helm. London, UK. Doherty, Tony and Horne, Terry (2002). Managing Public Services: Implementing Change. Routledge. London, UK. Jenkins, Simon (2007). Public services with a heart. The Sunday Times. London, UK Jones, George. and Stewart, John (1983). The Case for Local Government. Allen and Unwin. London, UK. Lyons, Sir Michael (2007). Place-shaping: a shared ambition for the future of local government. Final Report. HMSO. London, UK. Lyons, Sir Michael (2006). Lyons Inquiry – Public Deliberation Events. Retrieved 3 May 2007 from http://www.lyonsinquiry.org.uk/docs/061120-consultation-public.pdf Secretary of State for Transport, Local Governments and the Regions (2001). Strong Local Leadership – Quality Public Services. HMSO. Retrieved 3 May 2007 from http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/215/StronglocalleadershipQualitypublicservicesDTLR2001PartOne_id1165215.pdf YOTEL: Analysis of Innovation Practices YOTEL: Analysis of Innovation Practices 1.1 YOTEL YOTEL is audaciously described by its founders as a revolutionary new hotel conceptà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ creating a stir in the hotel industry. The companys concept and execution can be translated into the same entrepreneurial initiative that has been driven many leading organisations in hospitality, tourism and events over the years. Creative entrepreneurs with the vision, courage and knowledge to put their concepts into place dominate the history of tourism. (Middleton et al., 2009). YOTEL was created by YO! Company founder Simon Woodroffe and Gerard Greene, YOTEL current CEO. It is the accommodation brand of the Yo! Company Group founded in 1997 by Simon Woodroffe with the creation of his first brand of restaurants YO! Sushi. The accommodation brand concept was inspired by the capsule hotels in Japan and BA First Class cabins. In 2002, Simon Woodroffe, already interested in the Japanese capsule hotels, was upgraded to a first class sleeper cabin. He decided then to melt luxury airline travel with Japanese capsule hotels and convert them into small but luxurious cabins for implementation at airport locations. Gerard Greene, a former hotel analyst and executive with Hyatt and Marriott hotels, evolved that idea into reality with YOTEL. The concept has the intention to deliver economies of scale within a minimum volume of space and a outstanding and comfortable consumer experience at a relative very competitive price (Middleton et al., 2009) In summer 2007, the company opened a 46-cabin YOTEL in London Gatwick Airport, succeeded by a 32-cabin YOTEL at Heathrow Airport in the winter of the same year. (YOTEL Limited., 2008) YOTEL at Amsterdam Schiphol opened in Summer 2008 and a 669-capsule site will open in New York City in 2011. Since 2005, IFA (International Financial Advisors) Hotels Resorts is the major investor in the company. In 2008, YOTELs CEO acknowledge an affiliation Memorandum of Understanding with ADNH (Abu Dhabi National Hotels) in order to expand YOTEL also in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Two YOTELs are going to be built in the International Airport and in city centre of Abu Dhabi, and other locations are also under negotiation. (IFA Hotels Resorts, 2007). As Simon Woodroffe comprehend the holy grail of retail today is to constantly and never endingly innovate in order to deliver high luxury without the high cost (YOTEL Limited, 2008). Competitors will unavoidability come to the market with innovations or ameliorations of existing products which will change the basis of competition: for this reason the ability to create, evolve and adapt is indispensable for any business to stay alive. The companys concept as well as the founders values and culture, suggests that the company is potentially innovative. 1.2 Report Structure The present report aim to identify and explore past, current and future innovation practices of YOTEL. Since the organisation was not created long ago it will concentrate mostly on the current and future practices. In particular the structure and content of the report is as follows: Part 2 YOTEL Current Innovation Practices. This first part will evaluate YOTELs existing innovation practices and how YOTEL shows signs of innovation in its sector. Evidence of how it appears to be innovative is supported by innovation theory. Part 3 YOTEL Future Innovation Practices. This part will appraise which innovations YOTEL might create and adopt in order to meet its future strategic needs. Propositions for possible ameliorations for the organisations are made here. This section will therefore consider YOTEL objectives, as well as New Product Development theories and WWW innovations in order to make appropriate and logical recommendations for the company. Part 4 Impacts of proposed Innovation upon YOTELs performance. This forth part is where the potential impacts of the recommendations made are considered. Advises and information about the consequences of the changes proposed are given for the attention of YOTELs management team. Part 5 Summary and Conclusions. This final part contains a brief summary of the report, as well as a conclusion based on the arguments presented. 2. YOTEL Current Innovation Practices Innovation is the act of creating a new product or process. This includes invention as well as the work required to bring an idea or concept into final form. An innovation may have various degrees of newness, from very little to highly discontinuous, but that must include at least some degree of newness to the market, not just to the firm (Crawford, 1994, pg. 472). As Crawfords definition suggests, innovation is a complex process which involves organisations effective management of activities such as idea generation, technology development and commercial exploitation. Schumpeter (1934) was among the first economists to recognize the importance of innovation for organisations to obtain long-term economic growth. His evolutionary theory has seen how companies success in the past, present and future lies in their capability to obtain and employ knowledge and apply this to the development of new products. Figure 1.1 Interactive model of innovation Source: Trott, 2008 adapted from B. Rothwell and W. Zegvelt (1985) Reindustrialisation and Technology, Longman, London. Overall innovation is a complex and continuous process which consists in transferring knowledge from different communication paths. These paths include external and internal linkages. In order for innovation to occur, there must be an interaction between the marketplace/customers needs, the latest sciences and technology advances in society and the organisations capabilities. Organisations able to manage this process will have successful innovation practices. In its past three years of life, YOTEL has demonstrate a good capability on managing the innovation process. It has been able to do so, using different types of innovation. As Trott (2008, pg.16) explain, there are seven different typologies of innovation: product, process, organisational, management, production, marketing and service innovation. 2.1 YOTEL Product Innovations 2.2 YOTEL Commercial/Marketing Innovations 2.3 YOTEL Service Innovations This part of the report will evaluate in which of these types of innovation YOTEL gives evidence of being innovative. YOTEL introduced in the hospitality market a new revolutionary concept inspired by the capsule hotels in Japan and BA First Class cabins: guest rooms, which are compact in size and incorporate multi-functional sofa beds and fold out study desks. The cabins have a design feature that means the windows are internal rather than external and through effective reflective lightening look out into corridors. YOTEL product innovation consists in a hotel which needs relatively small volume of space within airports. The type of hotel the company has introduces, was completely innovative in its market. Even if capsule hotels already existed in Japan, YOTEL has been the first hotel located inside a UK airport terminal. Moreover YOTEL differentiates itself from Japanese capsule hotels, sicne it is more luxurious and offers a wider range of comforts. Its rooms are larger than those in capsule hotels but are very small relative to traditional hotel rooms. The positive advance about YOTEL concept, is that it needs basic requirement. A YOTEL does not require space for parking, access on roads which other normal hotel do require. Moreover all the basic requirements for heating, lightening, water and lavatory provision are already immediately available at airports. But YOTEL is not innovative just in the product its offering, but also in its services. stylish yet affordable rooms. The aim of YOTEL is to provide a flexible and convenient business class hotel experience at affordable prices. The company aim therefore to combine luxurious and modern with affordable prices. This is an innovative practice since most of the hotels whicha re perceived as luxurious and modern are usually also very expensive. Moreover YOTEL does not combine luxurious with low prices, but also with small romm environment. The company referes in fact to his rooms with the world cabins. The idea was inspired by 1st class airlines cabins. Which category Lovelock, how would you classify Yotel product? What degree of risk with this NPD>? LUXURY AT LOW COST: magical formula Shower and Nap Combo: At London Heathrow, London Gatwick, and Amsterdam Schiphol, Yotel cabins can be rented in four-hour blocks. (No, its not that kind of hotel.) The podlike rooms (from $40/4 hr.) are tiny but comfy, with private baths and storage units. A virtuos circle of innovation (Trott, 2008: 96-98) (Categories of new products, link with innovation practices of YOTEL) [2] Room sizes are Premium (double), Twin (2 large singles, bunk style) and Standard (large single). Each features en suite bathrooms, flat screen televisions, free Wi-Fi, and 24 hour room service.[3] In his study of The Economic of Industrial Innovation, Christopher Freeman (1982) wrote that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦not to innovate is to die. Adaption and change are essential for companies in order to survive. Competitors will unavoidability come to the market with an innovation that changes the basis of competition: for this reason the ability to create, evolve and adapt is indispensable for any business to stay alive. The big dilemma of doing this within an organisation stays in the fact that innovating demands stability in order to be carried out efficiently and flexibility in order to create opportunities for creative thinking. Managing the tension between the need for creativity in a loose and flexible environment and the need for efficiency in a stable and controlled environment is therefore very important for organisations (Trott, 2008). Organisations have also to manage uncertainty and know how to respond to internal and external events, some of which cannot be controlled. Some examples of external challenges facing organisation in the innovation process are customer demands, new purchasing models, falling prices, early supply involvement, collaborative ventures, customer-supplier value chain and post release improvements (Ahmed and Shepherd, 2010, pg. 474). Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need is considered as a product. (Find another definition of PRODUCT) Yotel products, as any hospitality, events and tourism products, are service products delivering intangible experiences. Hospitality products are very diverse and customers are involved in the production process. Since people are part of the product process, these kinds of products are harder to evaluate. (Write about Scope of Hospitality products Hospitality Business Development) A new product is A good, service or idea that is perceived by some potential customers as new (Kotler et al., 2004, p.215). In simple terms innovation refers to any good, service or idea that is perceived by someone as novel or new (Kotler et al., 2002, p.215). A new product is a product being introduced to the market for the first time as a result of invention, innovation or improvement ( Keegan et al., 1995, p.418) (Change this definition) YOTEL CASE STUDIES http://unicenta.net/casestudy_yotel.aspx http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/feature/1843555/case-study-yotel http://www.lorientuk.com/case-studies/yotel-london/ http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/07/0720_budget_lodging/15.htm

Breaking Up (Online or Not) :: essays research papers

How to Break-Up (Online or Otherwise) In the last year, I have watched the fallout from a number of relationships and break-ups take over the bulletin boards. These problems have caused hurt feelings, have ended friendships, and have come to involve dozens of people (through bulletin boards, email, and other electronica) who have no personal stake in the outcome. The emotional devastation these poorly handled situations bring is totally unnecessary, and prompted the following. The following is not scientific fact: it is based on my own observations, the experiences of my friends (male and female; straight, gay, and bi) and family, and a lot of tired, commercial popular psychology. That doesn't, however, mean that it's bad advice. [sanctimony] 1. Do it in person. If this is an online relationship, it may not be possible. That doesn't give you an excuse to send a Dear John/Jane e-mail. Get as close to in-person as you can, given the limitations of space and time. Call on the phone if you must, go over if you can. But NEVER break up with an answering machine, an e-mail account, or a public forum. You and your ex both deserve better: if this relationship ever meant anything to you, it needs closure. If it didn't, you have no right to take that out on them by treating them callously; it's not your ex's fault that you don't love them anymore. You are not "off the hook," you still have to treat them like a real person, with actual feelings. 2. Be honest, and do it before you're so upset that you can't be reasonable. If you're having problems, that doesn't necessarily mean that your partner knows about them or understands what they can do to help. Take the time to let them know what's bothering you. If your partner really cares about you, chances are some compromise can be reached, or they will at least try to address the behaviors that make you crazy. If it's unsalvagable, at least show them enough respect to end things finally, and with dignity. Don't say you want to be "friends" if what you really mean is "drop dead, you jerk." There's a big difference between letting someone down easy and leaving them hanging, emotionally manipulating them to serve your own ego needs. Be clear, concise, and as reasonable and respectful as possible. This isn't easy for anyone, and your ex deserves, at minimum, as much truth as you can give without being brutal and/or hurtful.

Dreams in the Great Gatsby

The Broken American Dream of the 1920s An accurate name for the 1920s is the roaring twenties. This was a decade full of social transformation and industrialization. Through this shift, a degradation in social moral occurred. A victim of this shift is the character J. Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is â€Å"corrupted by values and attitudes that he holds in common with a society that destroys him†(44). Through this mutual and obscured social moral, Gatsby seems to obtain a destructive view of his â€Å"American Dream†. Where the American Dream once â€Å"consisted of the belief that people of talent in this land of opportunity and plenty could reasonably aspire to material success if they adhered to a well-defined set of behaviors†(Trask). These behaviors were actions such as working hard, staying honest, and better educating ones self; much like the list that Gatsby made as a young boy. But with the boom of industrialization, came a trend of bootlegging and get rich quick schemes and unfortunately Gatsby became a victim of the era. As a matter of fact, Gatsby is not the only one who has suffered from this time of moral deterioration. Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby’s object of obsession, also is a victim of a society that allows her to not take responsibility for her actions. Daisy hides behind her public facade and her innocent carefree charm. Her husband Tom Buchanan has also manipulated the greedy, selfish social society that exists on East egg. Tom has no dreams or aspirations and â€Å"seeks excitement first in sport, then in infidelity, seeking identity in a book of racist political philosophy†(Wershoven). In a time of moral peril, each character is corrupted by a societal idea that taints their grasp of the â€Å"American Dream†. During Gatsby’s adolescent years, he has a clear and healthy mindset about what he wanted to accomplish in his life. Gatsby was self-motivated to make something of his life. But once he meets Daisy, Daisy becomes the embodiment of his dreams and the object of his obsession. As a young boy, growing up in North Dakota, Gatsby was motivated to be successful. Gatsby’s father said â€Å" Jimmy was bound to get ahead†. Even as a young adult, Gatsby refused to think of himself as an average person. Gatsby’s parents were â€Å"shiftless and unsuccessful† and Gatsby never â€Å" really accepted them as his parents at all. Instead Gatsby had a schedule of each day that would help him to attain his wealth. As Trask says, â€Å" He early decided that he could contemplate future glory. † Early on Gatsby embodies the ideals of society before the 1920s; he is determined and eager to work hard to independently reach success. This is until he meets Daisy, th e idea of Daisy is what sways Gatsby’s dreams off the right path. Gatsby met Daisy as a young man and hopelessly fell in love with her. However in the end, Daisy broke it off with Gatsby since he was not financially suitable for maintaining her lifestyle. It seems as though Gatsby never recovered from getting his heart broken by Daisy. As Nick says, â€Å" [Gatsby] had a extraordinary gift of hope- a romantic readiness such I have never found in any other person and which is not likely I shall find ever again†(2). Nick also says â€Å"Gatsby turned out alright at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-wind elations of men†(2). Indeed, it was the idea of winning Daisy’s love that drove Gatsby to his success. It corrupted his earlier ideas of working hard and saving his money; now he had to make money fast and resorted to bootlegging. Gatsby becomes frantic at the idea of coming wealthy and instead of slowly climbing up the success latter, he desperately and quickly makes money in any way he can so he can win Daisy back as quickly as possible. Gatsby became consumed with the idea of winning Daisy’s affection and rekindling their past romance. This is apparent when Gatsby describes their first kiss; â€Å"His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions of her perishable breathe, his mind would never romp again like the mind of god. So he waited†¦Then he kissed her†¦and the incarnation was complete†(112). Gatsby is brought down by Daisy and the â€Å"refusal to see the nature of his own dreams†(Wershoven). Nick sums up Gatsby’s debacle perfectly when he says that perhaps Gatsby’s â€Å"dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in the vast obscurity. What nick says is true, Gatsby was so blinded by love that he could not see Daisy’s flaws and Gatsby ended up paying the ultimate price . As Trask says, Daisy could never become a â€Å"legitimate actualization of Gatsby’s illegitimate dream†(Trask). Among those who have distorted dreams, Daisy Buchanan might perhaps be the worst. Daisy is a selfish, rich girl w ho has never â€Å"been held responsible for her actions, for she embodies the pure freedom of endless choice without consequences†(Wershoven). Daisy has never had to concern herself with worrying about money or materialistic things. Daisy has always gotten things handed to her and would not want it any other way. Daisy takes advantage of the fact that she lives in a society that has put her on a pedistal, and allows her to â€Å"smash† up things without any consquences. Her attractive nature and charm has helped her support this type of lifestyle. Daisy cannot even fathom the idea of having to work for something and therefore she has a sense of entitlement to everything that is given to her. At first Daisy seems harmless and bored as she mindlessly wonders out loud what she will do with the rest of her days. But as the novel goes on, it becomes quite clear that Daisy is not what she seems. Daisy has become a master of manipulation in order to maintain her lavish lifestyle. She knows exactly how to agree with what society expects of her and knows how to dress and maintain her appearance. But despite her warm and inviting appearance, Daisy is quite cold and superficial. Daisy’s ideals of wealth and money lead her to live a superficial and meaningless life that wreaks havoc in the lives of the other characters. It is this love of money that led here to marry her husband Tom Buchanan. Instead of waiting for Gatsby to return to the war, Daisy just decides to marry Tom because of his wealth and promise of a lavish life. Tom even gives her a three-hundred thousand-dollar pearl necklace. Even this amount of money is not enough to ensure Daisy’s fidelity. As soon as Gatsby comes back into town, she begins to have an affair. Even after years of leading Gatsby on, she still breaks his heart when she says that she â€Å"loves them both. † This is when it comes apparent that Daisy will never leave Tom. For Daisy, even true love is not enough to make her change her lifestyle. Her love of money has made her cold and reckless when it comes to love. Another example of Daisy’s reckless nature is when Tom’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson, is killed. Daisy is perfectly content with letting Gatsby take the fall. Not one time does she even contemplate the idea of coming forward to take responsibility. Instead she hides behind her wealth and her appearance. As Wershoven puts it, â€Å"society helps to cover up the deed. † Daisy is an insatiable girl that has no need for validation by others. Daisy wants things and people but, â€Å"there is no space inside her that can be filled, no unfinished part of her can be completed by another†(Wershoven). Therefore, Daisy views people as at her disposal. This is ultimately the attitude that is responsible for Gatsby’s death. Daisy is so caught up in the materialistic needs of that time that she cannot value anything e else. She views everything she has as an accessory; even her own daughter. Were as most parents feel defined by their children’s lives, the reader almost forgets that Daisy even has a daughter at all. She only interacts with her child when it is convenient for her; and when it looks good in front of company. Daisy’s husband, Tom Buchanan is an ex- football star from the same college that Nick attended. Nick describes Tom as â€Å"one of those men that reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savors anti-climax†(10). Tom falls victim to greed and cannot satisfy his need for more. As Wereshoven says: â€Å"Daisy and Tom are always looking for something, something new and better, for they are bored with the things they already bought. Daisy wonders what they’ll do each day, and the next day, identifying the dilemma of people who can have whatever they want, as soon as they want it† (Wershoven). Tom is in a perpetuating cycle of greed in which he still cannot find satisfaction. He seeks thrills through sports, literature and even infidelity and all fall short of the glory he had back in college. He shares the same kind of entitlement and ignorance as Daisy. Toms idea of good literature are books like the â€Å"The Rise of the Colored Empire† and even expresses to Nick his distress over the submersion of the white race. But even Tom’s attempts at sounding intelligent fall short and he ends up sounding ignorant and pretentious. Another telling thing about Tom is the way he treats the women in his life. While he appears to be happily married to Daisy, he still is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. For months, Tom brings Myrtle to his apartment in New York and for months, Tom knowingly leads her on. Tom showers her with gifts and even buys her a dog and an expensive leash. However, Tom has no intention of ever leaving Daisy for Myrtle; someone of lower social status than him. But yet Myrtle is under the delusional impression that Tom will leave his wife for her; and she will at last be part of the social network she dreams of. Myrtle is so in love with this idea that in turn, she despises the life that she lives without Tom; including her husband, George Wilson. Tom is also the ultimate hypocrite. While he the first one to criticize Daisy and Gatsby’s affair, he himself is having an affair. When Tom finds out about Daisy’s affair, he confronts Gatsby and says I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea then you can count me out† (137). He even claims that their affair is a â€Å"step toward inter-racial marriage. † Tom condemns his wife for her infidelity but describes his own as once in a while â€Å"going on a spree making a fool out of [himself], but [he] has always come back, and in [his] heart [he] loves her all the time†. Not only is Tom cheating with George Wilson’s wife, but he also acts as a bully toward George. George Wilson is an honest, good-hearted man and Tom just toys with him. Tom promises George that he will sell his car to him but he really never has any intention of doing so. George Wilson is depending on that money so he can start a new life out west and all Tom is doing is giving him empty promises. When George tries to bring up the subject to Tom, Tom gets offended and says â€Å"† Very well then, I won't sell you the car at all†¦ I'm under no obligations to you at all†¦ And as for your bothering me about it at lunch time I won't stand for that at all! † (122). Tom tries to find satisfaction by making George look like a fool and is amused by how easily he is able to do so. Just like Daisy, Tom has no remorse for the pain he inflicts in others. Overall the characters in The Great Gatsby, all embodied ideals that were emphasized in that time. Women were viewed as accessories and not yet contributing members of society. Women were still in charge of maintaining the home, especially in wealthy households, and concerned themselves with the small things. Daisy takes full advantage of this attitude and successfully gets away with murder. It is Daisy who corrupts J. Gatsby’s ideal of his American dream and instead of working hard, and â€Å"pulling himself up y his own bootstraps†, he resorts to crime in order to become rich quickly so that he can win Daisy back. Instead of working hard for his own self-success, he chases this idea of Daisy. And finally Tom, was a victim of his own insatiable appetite that he could not fulfill. In every aspect of his life, Tom wanted more. Tom held an ideal that was very common throughout the 1920s; that his money and high social class would be able to buy him anything in life. The idea of the American dream is wanting more for ones own life and becoming successful by hard honest work. All these characters shared the same sense of wanting more. But the had immoral ways of fulfilling their needs. Gatsby resorts to criminal activity in order to become wealthy. And Tom and Daisy resort to affairs in trying to satisfy their need for love. Unfortunately Gatsby is the one that pays the price in the end. Work Cited Trask, David F. â€Å"A Note on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. † University Review. 3. 3 (Mar. 1967): 197-202. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 197-202. Literature Resource Center. Gale. 12 Oct. 2009 http://go. galegroup. com/ps/start. do? p=LitRC=a04fu Wershoven, Carol. â€Å"Insatiable Girls. † Child Brides and Intruders. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1993. 92-99. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 92-9 9. Literature Resource Center. Gale. 12 Oct. 2009 .

Is there a pay differential between whites and blacks? Essay

Forty-five years ago, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, by pronouncing it unauthorized and illegal to pay African Americans and whites employed in the same work place different wages for the same exact equal work. The ratio of whites to African Americans average pay was 58 percent on an annually income. According to the Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia, wage differential is the difference in wage rates between two types of workers. Wage differential is very common in our society today. Researchers have concluded that wage differential only exists in certain demographic areas, based on race and gender. There is a common prophecy that men earn more earnings than women, and whites earn more earnings than African Americans. According to MSN. com, discrimination is different treatments of others based solely on their membership in a socially distinct group or category, such as race, ethnicity, religion, age or disability. Also, discrimination is an unfair act with compelling force, which is commonly known throughout society. Unlawful discrimination is related to the mistreatment of others. Due to discrimination occurring in the work place, African American employees are being shortchanged on their wages for doing the same job that whites are doing and are earning more earnings than African Americans. Researchers have found out that this has happened and is still occurring in jobs today, and therefore the government will have to make an intervention to displace discriminatory acts in businesses. Using data from a 2006 Survey of Income and Discrimination Participation, researchers were able to come up with the fact that there is a 62 percent difference in the wages that are offered to African Americans. Labor curves are sloping upwards and this means that wage discrimination against African Americans sometimes reduce not just their percentage wage but also their percentage of employment rates. The difference in average pay between African Americans and whites are a result of the labor market. The characteristics that African Americans and whites bring are totally different resulting in different wages. Some jobs discriminate against African Americans by employers and co-workers who would rather prefer whites. There are jobs that prefer white males only to do manual and physical labor, but you have African Americans in a white male only field ready to take on the work and try and do a better job at it. II. IDENTIFYING THE ISSUES According to the BlackCommentator Magazine, it says that there are two common excuses for wage racial inequality and that is age and geographic location. Racial wage plays a part in inequality due to the fact that African Americans are younger than whites. So therefore younger African American will take a lower pay than older whites. Dealing with the geographic area of African Americans; African Americans mostly reside in the South. The South is known for its low paying jobs and whites have acquired this knowledge and decided to move North in an effort to find better jobs and better knowledge. African Americans are obtaining the skills that whites have acquired and are really becoming similar, the only problem is that whites are getting paid more and this is a result of a significant gender wage gap. Public policy in the United States has aimed at improving and equalizing opportunities for African Americans. According to â€Å"Explaining Trends in the Gender Wage Gap† a report by The Council of Economic Advisors, it estimates that whites were over paid and that African Americans were under paid by at least 60 percent in the mid 1950s. In the 1970s, the ratio began to rise, and in the mid 1990s, the gender wage pay began to rise even more again reaching more than 75 percent. The gender wage gap can be revisited to an unexplained part in society that may be due to African Americans low labor market skills. Reduced gender wage gap for African Americans has contaminated our society today. If African Americans would invest in more labor skills and education, then the gender wage gap will make an increasing hike. Researchers have attempted to retrieve evidence on the gender wage gap. Economists have known that African Americans and whites wages are determined on the combining of the employer and employee status. Needless to mention on the two interact with one another. Understanding the establishment of wage differentials is determined by how important the labor market theories are of the environment. The magnitude of how this affects the labor market is tremendously understated. According to www. clinton4. nara. gov, the U. S. Census Bureau Standard Statistical Establishments lists that the gender wage gap must decompose as a result of African Americans in a substantially proportioned rate of pay wage gap. There still remains a wage differential in the gender wage gap of about 75 percent of what whites earns. There has been a decline in the gender wage gap in recent decades about 25 percent over the last 20 years. The Occupational Employment Statistics program for the Bureau of Labor Statistics is allowed to calculate occupational wage differentials to the highest degree of occupational setting across sectors of the economy. The empirical difference of wage differential among African Americans and whites estimates how wages are influenced by individual works. The decomposition of wages between a worker and their job is the regulation that the workforce supposedly provides stable establishments in the economy. The Gender Wage Gap (Median annual earnings of African Americans and Whites). YearWhite menBlack menWhite womenBlack women 1970100%69. 0%58. 7%48. 2% 197510074. 357. 555. 4 198010070. 758. 955. 7 198510069. 763. 057. 1 199010073. 169. 462. 5 199210072. 670. 064. 0 199410075. 171. 663. 0 199510075. 971. 264. 2 199610080. 073. 365. 1 199710075. 171. 962. 6 199810074. 972. 662. 6 199910080. 671. 665. 0 200010078. 272. 264. 6 200310078. 275. 665. 4 200410074. 576. 768. 4 The average African American has only one-ninth of net worth or asset of the average white person. The wealth gap among African Americans and whites is just not based on income. Wealth gaps came about in the 1960s and hit the African American society really hard. Earning gaps respond at all levels of education; even when the levels of education and work experience are the same between African Americans and whites. The racial gap consistently remains between 10 to 20 percent, and the racial gap does not necessarily reflect discrimination, but mostly it observes the labor market that has segmented into two races. The whites are continuing to receive an advantage in the segmented markets over equally qualified blacks. The wealth gap is at the core of many socioeconomic differences that have persisted during the post dramatic era. Closing the racial wealth gap will be an extreme challenge to face in the years to come. According to Kenneth Crouch, an Associate Professor of Economics says that the distribution of African Americans wages have become more like that of white, yet the considerable process has yet to be made before there can be such a word called equal among African Americans and whites. There is a visibility between African Americans and whites in fringe benefits due to the total compensation with a percentage of nearly 40 percent. The benefit level depends on the income of African Americans and whites for adequate health pensions and a successful retirement. Fringe benefits are a big part of life and will come in handy when needed most. During the recent years, African Americans and whites non-wage compensation had increased more than wages and salaries. It was also contemplated that fringe benefits had no serious biases which resulted from the neglect of salaries and wages. Human capital is the attributes of a person that is productive in some economic context such as a stock of productive skills and or technical knowledge embodied in labor. Many early economic theories refer to it simply as labor, one of three factors of production, and consider it to be a tangible resource — homogeneous and easily interchangeable. It often refers to formal educational attainment, with the implication that education is investment whose returns are in the form of wage, salary, or other compensation. These are normally measured and conceived of, as private returns to the individual but can also be social returns. Human capital is often viewed as the most important determinant of wages. Human capital may come in different forms such as, schooling, training courses, honesty, and lectures therefore human capital like this will most likely raise earnings in today’ society. People cannot be separated from knowledge, health, or values that they may have acquired through human capital. According to Harvard economists, Richard Freeman, he wrote The Overeducated American, and this caused a huge downfall to investments in human capital. This made people come to a realization that maybe education, training, and investments really did not raise productivity or raise earnings. The economy of human capital has brought about a dramatic change in the lives of African Americans. III. DATA (TRENDS IN THE BLACK-WHITE WAGE GAP) The wage gaps between African Americans and whites are largely determined by educational disparities and occupational differences. There is evidence that African Americans fall short on wages due to the relative wage median. A government study finds that the African American wage gap in employment and earnings reduces when educational achievement levels are advanced. There are some mere facts that go along with the wage differential of African Americans and whites: †¢Whites continue to receive substantial privileges and preferences than African Americans †¢The argument that racial wage gap merely reflects different levels of qualifications and experience between African Americans and whites is simply unattainable. †¢African Americans test scores and other academic achievements is different and the whites test scores account for at least 17 percent of the wage gaps †¢African Americans median incomes are presented in every region and are lower than median incomes for whites †¢African Americans lack the natural resources that are need in order to better themselves and receive an attainable education. On average African American workers also have less education than white workers and are more likely to work in lower paying occupations. Depending if African American employees have the same education as white workers, African Americans relative wages would only improve by only a few cents on every dollar. The growing disparities of wage gaps are likely to be persistent, educated, and well skilled workers. Education and training are the most important investments in human capital. Education and work experience play a major part in expanding the career percentage. Education and work experience can account for about one half of the racial wage gap. Education is a very distinctive part of what your income is based on. It depends on your educational level and how far you chose to go in your education process. It is highly important to grace your presence with some kind of college degree, so that you will have something to fall back on. A higher education is a positive for human capital. Opening up access to education and reducing the barriers to therefore formalize reconstruction among the most liberal policy-problem solvers are becoming available to improve wages for African Americans across the country. According to â€Å"The Effect of a College Degree on Wages: The Different Experiences of African Americans and Whites by Sylvia Jones, the labor market experiences after graduation is useful to a variety of entities. It includes observing the effects of education of an individual earning a high-indulged wage figure, in addition to other factors such as age, gender, and experience. There is a major difference in the earnings between college graduates and high school graduates. There is about a 65 percent difference in this correlation. There are so many African American men and women with high school diplomas who are displaced in the same jobs that have work experience but lack a college degree. Do African American men and women that acquire a college degree make more money than those with work experience? Studies have revealed that other aspects of discrimination in the labor market are due to the enormous jump in the number of African Americans and white workers who finish high school. The trend in African Americans is a remarkable downgrade because the relatively larger share does not have a high school diploma. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicated that white men and women with a higher education have higher earnings and are less likely to be unemployed. Jobs that require a higher education account for about 71 percent of all jobs and it is rapidly growing to increase the economy. The United States still has that thrive to produce high paying jobs that are requiring advanced education. IV. WAGES AND OBSERVABLE CHARACTERISTICS The wages for African Americans and whites are substantially different because of the educational process, which we all fail to realize that we need. African Americans as people need to realize that the world is changing and that technology is also changing. Some African American men and women lack the knowledge to know when it’s okay to come up and outshine others because you want more in life than the next person. There has been a vast improvement since the 1980s in African Americans attending college to advance their career to get the same career wage percentage as whites. African Americans tend to sideline to other occupations that may fit into their perspective and that lets others realize, who may be afraid to come up and that’s basically called occupational segregation. Occupational segregation is the concentration of men and women in different kinds of job, as where the workforce of a particular industry or sector is mostly made up of one particular gender. Occupational segregation is one of the main reasons for the gender gap wage gap between men and women. For African American men and women working full-time it is currently 45% of that group receiving unfair wages compared to whites. According to â€Å"Gender Inequality and Difference,† occupational segregation has been concluded into many debates about gender. The causes of occupational segregation are gender bias based on stereotypical, biological and social differences between men and women. Occupational segregation problems arise when these stereotypes are used subconsciously to prejudge a person’s ability and competence such as a woman is emotional and caring, and a man is aggressive and competitive. Levels of occupational segregation are held responsible for the discrepancy between African Americans and whites among wage differential. Occupational segregation is basically another form of discrimination. The analysis of the changes that has influenced the occupational segregation on African Americans earning’s should clarify the mechanisms that maintain the gender inequality in the labor market. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the relationship between African Americans and whites in the educational progression varies in different economic outcomes. The black-white educational gap differed in size dependent on the consistency of demonstrating necessarily the widening of the gap or the narrowing of the gap in African American cases. The occupational segregation is due to the empirical approach estimating the function of the earnings for African American to combine demographic and socioeconomic characteristics to accumulate wage determination. African Americans historically worked disproportionately some of the lowest paying occupations known to man. The most important factor in explaining this continuous trend is a reduction in the concentration of lower pay in industries for African Americans. Studies have also shown that in the 1960s, wage inequality in the United States has sharply declined following the passage of the Civil Rights Act and other anti-discriminatory measures that happened historically to try and help African Americans receive the equality of what is right. Wage contingency in the 1960s may have been some sort of aide by a set of unique forces. Post 1968 wage convergence has been imputed into racial growth in the quantity and quality of schooling, and the immense impact of anti-discrimination enacted, resulting to the Great Compression. This may have produced some un-marked erosion of wage differentials between skilled and unskilled in order to form the labor of the Great Compression. The Great Compression followed the Great Depression and produced a wage differential that structured more than that ever has been experience. Wage compression’s contribution to racial discrimination throughout the wage factor has a greater impact on whites than African Americans. Between half and one-thirds of whites and African Americans wage discriminations can be attributed to the utmost changes in wage structures induced by the Great Compression. Wage structure changes are similar through wage distribution, differences in wage convergence due to movements of African Americans is primarily due to observable quantities (X’s) and the amount of wage distribution. The Great Compression only increased the relative wages of African Americans in the short term, but may have also helped in the long run. The Great Compression led to a greater racial wage convergence in the 1960s among African Americans by the narrowing differences between skilled workers and unskilled workers, and by the divulgence of wages within occupational orientation and other labor market groups. The Great Compression produced a substantial narrow amount of wage differentials in the United States. The Great Compression was solely a narrowing of mean wage discrimination between occupational grouping, education, and the color of ones skin. The effect of change in wage differential – the prices and residual terms are evidence that throughout wage distribution only occurs in African Americans. Compression is considered observation in prices was about thirty to fifty percent times the residual rate. This is a fairly high rate in dealing with compression of African Americans. Groshen’s methodology and basic finding has been replicated according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics acknowledging that 40-45 percent of individual wage varies in the establishment of wage differentials. Groshen offers three main reasons in explanation for why there is no sole source in the establishment of wage differentials. The first explanation talks about labor quality and how employers sort workers by the ability of prediction that systematically produce team models. Industry wage differentials are estimated longitudinal which proxies’ information for the standard human capital variables. The second explanation is the existence of wage differentials for that of differentials with are compensated. Compensating differentials is defined as wage premiums paid to workers to compensate them for undesirable working conditions. The relationship between the wage rate and compensating differentials is used to analyze relations of risk and undesirable attributes. Therefore this puts salaries and wage on the back burner because some of the employees know that they are not being treated equal but never say a word because they are compensated. The idea of compensating differentials has been used to annihilate issues such as the loss of income and the risk of future unemployment. The third and final explanation results in negotiating and bargaining. Employers offer to share profits of the company as an act of bargaining. Some show a positive relationship between the individual’s wage and the industry’s profit, resulting in the employee to have taken a loss. V. CONCLUSION Using the wage decomposition by Groshen, it has been documented that the wage structural program paid to certain occupational standards such as African Americans being paid less and not being treated as equals compared to whites is becoming above the wage premium predicted. Forty-five percent of wage variation is explained by merely knowing the individuals standards that he or she has established. Today’s characteristics are being observed for their accountability is being reduced by more than half which was less than a century ago. There is the written authorization to act in the place of another known as proxy to determine the unobserved characteristics of the establishment that are correlated with today’s wages. This is because our method controls observed and unobserved characteristics in the workforce therefore restricting an extension on the possibility of further investigations. This paper examines that there was the existence of wage differentials back in the 1940s through to the 1980s. There is also a recent analysis that shows that matched employer-employee workers are breaking the barriers of treating one person of different ethnicity with the same amount work experience and the same amount of education that another person of a different ethnicity has. There has been a significant change in wage differential since the resources are available to African Americans as well as other ethnic groups. The paper follows the wage gap and its factors throughout using cross-sectional data. There is bias information being imputed from earnings in the section of the wage differentials which characterizes the classification exhaustive. An ignored implication concludes that researchers in the future need to pay closer attention on how wage differentials are estimated differently according to the presence of imputed earnings. 1. James P. Smith and Michael P. Ward, â€Å"Women’s Wages and Work in the Twentieth Century,† RAND Corporation, October 1984. 2. Frank Levi and Richard J. Murnane, â€Å"U. S. Earnings Levels and Earnings Inequality: A Review of Recent Trends and Proposed Explanations,† Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XXX (September 1992), pp. 1333-1381. 3. Elaine Sorensen, â€Å"Gender and Racial Pay Gaps in the 1980’s: Accounting for Different Trends,† Urban Institute, Washington, D. C. , 1991. 4. Anil Bamezai, â€Å"Rising Earnings Disparity and Technological Change,† RAND Corporation, 1989 dissertation. 5. Joseph R. Meisenheimer II, â€Å"How do immigrants fare in the U. S. labor market? ,† Monthly Labor Review, December 1992. 6. U. S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, â€Å"Monthly News from the U. S. Bureau of the Census, Census and You,† Vol. 28, No. 2. , February 1993. 7. Nabanita Datta Gupta, â€Å"Probabilities of Job Choice and Employer Selection and Male-Female Occupational Differences,† American Economic Review, Vol. 83, No. 2, May 1993. 8. 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