Approaches To Hr By Multinational Corporations Management Essay

Approaches To Hr By Multinational Corporations Management Essay For better understanding this is important to discuss what a multinational company is in first place. In short words multinational company can be defined as a company or an organization that serves or produce in more than one country is known as multinational company. Other names use for such kind of organizations is Multinational Corporation (MNC), Transnational Corporation (TNC) or Multinational Enterprise (MNE). Multinational organization can be engaged in manufacturing, services or the exploitation of natural resources in the operating countries. Different writers described different definition of multinational companies. According to Moore Lewis (1999, P. 21) stated that an enterprise that engages in foreign direct investment (FDI) and own or controls value adding activities in more than one country is known as multinational enterprise. As Jones (1996, p.4) says An MNE is usually defined as firm that controls operations or income generating assets in more than one country. The re is a long list of multinational firms like Sony, Nestle, Wal-Mart Stores, General Motors, Ford Motor, ConocoPhillips Microsoft, Nokia, Toyota Motors, Intel, Coco-Cola, Sony, IBM, Nike and Citigroup etc. Now the main question is about the multinational companies of different origin adopt different approaches of HRM practices. To discuss this section this is really important to discuss the HRM practices in first place, to define what HRM is and then its practices will be discussed throughout this essay step by step, and then practices of HRM in broader context for the MNCs or MNEs. HRM is modern word use in the businesses, which can be defined as a model of personnel management that focuses on the individual rather than taking collective approach. (www.dictionary.bnet.com). As Pennington Edwards (2000, P. 4) stated that Human Resource Management (HRM) is a new way of thinking about how people should be managed as employees in the workplace. It can be classified into two schools of thoughts.i.e. Hard HRM Soft HRM. Both types of HRM are under studies of different authors in detail. Now to concentrate on the question directly a survey is going to be under studies Country of origin effects and HRM in multinational companies which took place in 2007 by P. Edwards et al. In which he discussed 302 UK based multinational companies, which cover both UK owned and overseas owned companies. This study will play an important part in the essay to get the conclusion either multinational companies of different nationalities have different HRM approaches and practices or not. 2- Challenges in multinationals According to Brett, Jeanne Kristin, 2006, international businesss nature is going under a sea change. The globalisation, multi-nationalisation, and the geographical diversification is pushing companies towards change in their management structure and style. Multinationals now need to consider regional market conditions and develop strategies to cater to each of the regional markets. 2.1- Culture shock Culture shock is the big challenge for multinationals, the difference brings the different thinking ways and working ways, and it needs time to adjust it. In most cases the expatriate manager prefer to emphasize and require the home office or home country values on the host countrys employees instead of accepting and learning within the new culture. (Adler, 2002) 2.2- Lack of cross cultural training In fact, most multinationals ignore this training program during the staffing management. However, the better understanding about culture block can help managers to improve the effectiveness of staffing management. For example, The managers at Bell Canada were totally asked be training about Muslim laws of drinking and the treating of women there before he or she assigned a project for Saudi Arabia such like constructing the telephone system in there. (Adler, 2002) 2.3- Family problems Family problem for PNC manager is another challenge. The overseas employees always think of their family. Sometime, such emotion will effect the concentrations in their work. These difficulties are usually underestimated. What the organization should do is to assist expatriates family to adapt their new environment. (Dolan, 1996) 3- HRM Functions in MNCs Team members of multinational companies come from different countries with the different culture, economic, religions and habits. All of these differences bring the different thinking and working methods, thus, how to manage the multicultural team is a big challenge for the HRM in the multinationals. In the article Managing multicultural team, the author states that Communication in Western cultures is typically direct and explicit. In many other cultures, meaning is embedded in the way the message is presented. The differences can cause serious damage to team relationships (Jeanne Breeet , Kristin Behfar, and Mary C. Kern, 2007) . 3.1 Retaining subsidiary staffs retention It can be argued that the retention of staffing in the multinationals subsidiary conducts huge influence. The transfers between the PCNs, HCNs and the TCNs are the big issues in the staffing management strategy. Scolders identify that the HCNs and TCNs who are sent to the corporate headquarters (HQ) called inpatriates. As this article mentioned before, the ethnocentric approach, the polycentric approach, the regioncentric approach, and the geocentric approach are the four major nationality staffing policies in the international staffing, by analyzing the complex and the new situation appear in the relationships between the HQ and subsidiary, B. Sebastian Reiche (2007) explores the international stiffing-related retention strategies . Firstly, he claims that a pluralistic and consensus-driven approach to international staffing enhances the retention capacity of international staffing practices through increased responsiveness to and involvement of the respective local unit. He states that the knowledge and skill from the local staff can help multinationals to reduce the risk and culture-bound in the local market. He also believes that this approach can improve the loyalty of local staffs, and the local staff can achieve individual career plan to cohere the institutional development plan. At the same time, he states that the PCNs still act as the vital role for informal controlling and coordination in the multinational companies. Secondly, he indicates that expatriation of local staff can help to retain the MNCss retention. In this approach, he states that the inpatriates can share their social and contextual knowledge of the subsidiary environment with managers at the HQ. And also inpatriates tend to be accepted by HCNs more willingly than foreign personnel. HRM is all concern about the employees at the work place, but the demands from HRM gone up as the education rate grown up. As Pennington and Edwards (2004, P.4) stated that As a level of education become higher, a greater proportion of the population world wide expect more than fair treatment, they seek a range of intrinsic rewards such as job satisfaction, a degree of challenge, a sense of career progression and satisfying relation with co workers. 3.2 Selection Recruiting:- The main function of HRM is selecting and recruiting, no matter the firm is domestic or multinational. Staffing issue for domestic managers and MNCs managers are not very different for recruiting for the middle management or ground floor workers, but for selecting and recruiting of top management then the choices come like parent country national (PCNs), Host country national (HCNs) or third country national (TCNs). According to Parlmutter (1989) divided into three main categories. Ethnocentric where top management favours PCNs managers, who are posted abroad for a period of time. Polycentric where top management give choice to subsidies to fulfil management posts themselves, and Geocentric when top management recruits managers globally and post them anywhere in the world. For example Japanese style of HRM dont rely on interviews and job advertisements, they select the people from the universities and the most top MNCs can afford the students from the most prestigious university. According to Keeley (2001, P.62) stated that unlike the most Western companies detailed job description rarely exist. The company seeks to determine if the prospective employee has the type of personality that fits in well with the atmosphere at the company.While US MNCs rely on interview must attribute of HRM practices in their subsidies. In China, they had no selection processes per se when they first started. Senior managers were appointed by community government-officials. Most of the new hires were based on employee referrals. Selection criteria were based on nepotism and contacts. Hiring decisions are influenced by the following in china: 1. A persons ability to perform the technical requirements of the job 2. A personal interview 3. A persons ability to get along well with others already working here 4. Having the right connections (e.g. school, family, friends, region, government, etc.) 5. The companys belief that the person will stay with the company 6. An employment test in which the Person needs to demonstrate their Skills 7. Proven work experience in a similar job 8. A persons potential to do a good job, even if the person is not that good when they first start 9. How well the person will fit in the companys values and ways of doing things 10. Future co-workers opinions about whether the person should be hired (Huczynski, Andrzej / Buchanan, David, 2001) A most important attribute in Japanese style of HRM is called Shushinkoyo which means life or long term employment. This is considered the success key of Japanese HRM as stated by Keeley (2001, P.65) Nevertheless, a number of scholars both Japanese and non Japanese have praised Shushinkoyo and have attributed the success of Japanese enterprises to its practice. Here this shows that multinational companies from Japan apply different approach for selection the new recruits while US MNCs rely on a different phenomena of selection and recruitment. 3.3 Performance Appraisal:- This is the HR attribute which has significant attention from both academics and practitioners, the appraisal system in US MNCs use to reduce the labour force as stated in Edwards (2007, P. 40) that some US companies, GE for instance, have become known for using the appraisal system to remove the lower- performing employees from the workforce on a regular basis and /or to identify those in need of remedial action for their performance level. But in Japanese MNCs the companies gives the life time or long term employment as mentioned by Keeley (2001) that it is one of the best attribute of Japanese HRM in small Japanese enterprises or Japanese MNCs. Differences can b seen in the Edwards (2007) survey of Japanese and US multinational companies based in UK, where he stated that US companies are more likely to emphasise the importance of behaviour in relation to corporate values, while Japanese firms give lower importance rating to quantitative or qualitative individual evolution criteria , and criteria based on corporate values. In large organizations the performance review on periodic basis, this is second task of organizations HR departments, after hiring an employee and on the basis of performance employee get bonuses, promotions and rewards. Performance appraisals give opportunity to the workers (individual/group) to get prepare for the future goals of firm. 3.4 Pay, Compensations, Rewards Benefits:- Compensations like hourly wages and annual salaries while benefits are like life insurance, pensions and sick pays etc. According to Cherrington (1995) stated that compensation should be legal and ethical, adequate, motivate and fair, and should be able to give employment security to the worker. Pay compensation and rewards are not really different from each other, but in simple words rewards is the term use to motivate and to get the future goals by means of workforce for an organization, the reward system plays an important role, by reward (individual/group) the workers get appreciation and get themselves more committed to the firm. These are the some of the main features and functions of any (domestic/MNCs) firm HR department. In Japanese style of HRM they use a Japanese term Nenko Joretsu which means seniority system, where in Japanese HR management the wages goes up with the age and experience, as stated in Keeley (2001, P. 76) said that though nenko is most often translated as seniority'. While US and Europe MNCs apply the performance related pay system. This is the most important phenomena of MNCs HR system when they go to borderless business. According to Edwards (2007, P. 46) stated in his survey that Nationality has some effects. For example, American firms are likely to give organisational performance a higher importance rating for the KEY GROUP than others firms. UK firms are more likely emphasis individual output measures for LARGEST OCCUPATIONAL GROUP. It shows the difference in attribute of HR practices and approaches in multinational firms. 3.5 Training Development:- This is one of the important as well as crucial task for HR department for a firm operating globally, in this area of HRM multinational companies of different origin follow different approaches, for example according to Tung (1981) stated that by comparing US, European and Japanese corporations, Americans firms it seems tend to underestimate the importance of training, whereas most European and Japanese organizations see this as a highly important area of attention. The objectives and goals of training and development are to make sure the skilled and willing workers are available in the organization. Training and development are important to create a smarter working environment. In China, medium and large companies have formal training programmer and many have established special facilities for teaming purposes. Because of the lower educational level in the rural areas, the quality of the rural labour force is significantly in urban areas. Experienced, well-qualified staffs are in short supply. To disadvantage of hiring Key personnel from a shallow pool of talent, they invest heavily in training. Training is an important investment in human capital. Training improves an individuals performance and increase organizational effectiveness. (Ahlstrom Garry, 2001) Japanese MNCs pay less attention to training and development attribute of HRM, the reason might be the less mobility of workers in the Japanese firms, as they use the term Shushinkoyo. According to Keeley (2001, P. 88) stated that A study of the Japan Productivity Centre found differences in the attitudes towards training in Japanese and American firms. Where Keeley stated that from the study and respond of both countries towards training issue were positive but American firms were strong and more positive then the Japanese firms and he also stated that Japanese firms arrange training on request basis. A strategy which makes a firm successful is not easy to implement when they go beyond the borders, because of the barriers which might be language, religion, culture and legislations etc. As Keeley (2007, P.89) stated that HR practices which makes a firm successful in domestic environment are difficult to implement in their overseas subsidiaries. 4- HRM Approach in Multinational Firms: Now in this essay some of the multinational firms characteristics will be studied to see do they get affected by the country where they belong to in their HR practices and approaches or not? There are many MNCs, the country which has most MNCs is USA, and after that are Europe, Japan and Germany. There are many writers who discussed the issue of ownership and HRM in MNCs like Evan, Lank and Farquhar (1977), Barlett Goshal (1989), Rozenzweig Nohria (1994) and Innes Morris (1995) etc, which prove that the issue of ownership has been in discussion from ages, as according to Economist (1995) said that the issue of ownership is central to the number of important policy related and academic debate in the area of HRM and IR, One line of argument is that, with increasing globalization MNCs are becoming stateless players, detached from individual nation states. MNCs of different origin work in the host country by applying its local mechanism of HR practices and approaches, because it is not possible to work and apply 100% approaches of the parent country, as according to Rozenzweig Nohria (1994) said that a rank and file IR issues are more likely to exhibit local isomorphism . There are many arguments about the affection of country of origin on MNCs HR practices, the reasons are many for MNCs to adopt different approaches of HRM, as Ferner (1997) described that in short, it is imperative to take into account the dynamic of nationality as a factor affecting the behaviour of MNCs. The modernization of political institutions, the rapid pace of technology, the internationalization of product itself and changing pattern of international market and competition, all are likely to modify to pre existing national structure although not necessarily in the direction of convergence of different national systems on a single model. Now the essay will point out some differences in Chinese and American Human Resource Managements. China is one of the fastest growing economy of the world, according to Zhu (2005, P.2) explained that the past two and half decades of reforms and impressive economic growth have witnessed an unprecedented enthusiasm for the establishment of foreign invested enterprises (FIEs). Many foreign companies have expended their operations into china, attracted mainly by the sheer size of its potential market. There are many multinational firms in China like Aluminium Corp (ACH), China Petroleum Chemical Corp (SNP) and China Unicom (CHU) etc. The main practice of HRM is selection and recruitment as mentioned above, and the difference between the process of selection of Chinese and USA approach is, in USA model of HRM job interview is essential for filling a major position, while in Chinese HRM mostly jobs are allocated by government and interview process is not common. In reward system the USA model of HRM offers a variety of incentives system, while Chinese HRM system is different from USA, in Chinese system salary ranges are narrow, group reward system is common, but the pay system is more motivate than American pay system. In performance appraisal USA model of HRM believes in two way communication, while in Chinese model supervisor have absolute power and authority to evaluate subordinates, in USA participative management is welcome and encourage, but in Chinese HRM collective leadership is common, and in major decision making, the involvement of workers is symbolic. The difference can be seen in different origin or nationality MNCs that the US MNCs are significantly more like to collect information on employee attitude bring together HR managers from different countries and use HR international shared services, Japanese organizations are less likely to collect data centrally, while French origin MNCs acting more likely in US style of HRM practices, and German origin MNCs firms follow Japanese style of HRM practices. (Jackson, 2002) The best example is British American Tobacco (BAT), which is operating in a number of countries in the world, i.e. Pakistan, South Africa, UK, Japan, Saudi Arabia and many more. As this is an American based firm, and American have an interview must attribute in their HR practices, they apply the same approach for selecting and recruiting in the host country Pakistan, and the adopt some practices of Pakistan HRM practices (host country) like monthly payment of salaries instead of weekly wages, so its means BAT reflected their parent country HRM practices in some ways and in subsidies like UK, BAT apply the same HR practices and approaches as the parent country have, because the culture difference is not very distinct from each other i.e. UK and USA. (www.bat.com) (self experience as a worker of BAT in Pak) 5- Conclusion This essay was carried out to see, do multinational organizations of different origin have different approaches to international human resource management? There were some evidences that showed the answer as Yes they get affected by its country of origin in on or other way, but it is also proved that the most of MNCs adopt the best fit policy when MNCs start operating in a host country, because of the obstacles in the host country, i.e. language, religion, norms and values, culture and legislations. Writers in HRM field have different opinion about the behaving of MNCs, so the best option for MNCs is to apply the best fit approaches of the HRM practices, means combination of both (Parent Host countries) HRM practices. The issue of ownership country of MNC has been in discussion for ages, but still there is not a 100% accurate answer came out as according to Ferner (1997) said that but existing research has failed to systematically explore differences. All these discussion and researchers efforts bring the conclusion that in some HR attributes in MNCs they follow the a universal approach while in some they follow the different approaches in HR practices, according to the survey by Edwards (2007) stated that throughout the report, we have noted the persistent influence of nationality. There are clear national differences in all four area of HR/ER: Pay performance, Learning development, employee involvement and employee representation. But the bottom line can be that: yes! Multinational firms of different origin can be effected by the parent country HR practices when the run business in other part of the world instead of the home country. There are some obstacles for multinational companies which can stop them to apply the 100% parent country HR practices in their subsidies like legislation of the host country, rules and regulation and more, there is term used in Edwards (2007, P.29) survey of Multinational companies in UK called discretion or local autonomy. Which shows multinational companies of different origin give the power of decision making and freedom to their subsidies? In that survey the high discretion power firms are Japanese, which means Japanese multinational companies give more freedom to their subsidies comparatively to American, French and other Multinational firms of different origin. But another thing can be the law enforcement of subsidies (host Country), the example can be Germany where the rules and regulation are strict so the difference in practices of HR of a multinational firm would not be as bigger as in Pakistan, because of the law enforcement, like differences would be less in Europe but it would be greater in Asia. Reference and Bibliography 1- Acuff, F. (1984) International and Domestic Human Resource Functions: Innovations in International Compensation. New York: Organization Resources Counsellors, pp. 3-5. 2- Bartlett, C., Goshal, S. (1989) Managing across Borders : The Transnational Solution, Boston, Harvard Business School Press. 3- Briscoe, R.D. Schuler, R.S (2004) International Human Resource Management; 2nd Ed, New York, Prentice Hall. 4- Cherrington, D, J. (1995) the management of human resources; Enkweed Cliff, NJ: Printice Hall. 5- Edwards, P. at al. (2007) employment practices of multinational companies in organisational context: Available at: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/projects/mncemployment/conference_papers/full_report_july.pdf 6- Ferner, A (1997) Country of origin effects and HRM in Multinational companies, Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 7, no.1, 19 28 7- Ferner, A. (2000) The embeddedness of US multinational companies in the US business system: implementation of HR/IR. 8- Harzing, W. A. Ruysseveldt, V.J. (1995) International Human Resource Management; London, SAGE Publications Ltd. 9- Harzing, W. A. Ruysseveldt, V.J. (2004) International Human Resource Management; 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. 10- Jemison, D, B. Sitkin, S, B (1986) Corporate acquisition: A process perspective. Academy of Management Review, 11, 145 163 11- Jackson, T. (2002) International HRM: A cross cultural approach, London; SAGE publications Ltd. 12- Jones, G. (1996) The Evolution of International Business: An Introduction; London, Routledge. 13- Keeley, T.D. (2001) International Human Resource Management in Japanese firms. Hampshire: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. 14- KPMG (Ed) (1999) unlocking shareholder value: The keys to success. London 15- Maund, L. (2001) An Introduction to Human Resource Management: theory and practice; Basingstoke, Palgrave. 16- Moore, K. Lewis, D. (1999) Birth of Multinational; Denmark, AKA Print. 17- Ozbilgin, M. (2005) International Human Resource Management Theory and Practice. Hampshire: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. 18- Parlmutter, H.V (1969) the tortuous evolution of the multinational corporation, Columbia Journal of World Business, 4 (1), pp. 9 18 19- Pennington, A. Edwards, T (2000) Introduction to Human Resource Management; New York, Oxford University Press Inc. 20- Pucik, V. (1984) the international management of Human Resources, in: Fombrum, C.J. Tichy, N.M. and Devana, M.A. (eds.) Strategic HRM. New York: Wiley, pp. 403 419. 21- Rozenzweig, P Nohria, N. (1994) Influence of human resource management practices in multinational corporation Journal of International Business Studies, Vol.25, no.2, 229 251 22- Stopford, J. M. Turner, L. (1985) Britain And The Multinationals; Chichester, JOHN WILEY SONS. 23- Tayab, H.M. (2005) International Human Resource Management: A Multinational Company Perspective; New York, Oxford University Press Inc. 24- The, economist. (1995). A survey of multinationals. 24th June 25- Tung, R.L. (1981) Selecting and training of personnel for overseas assignments, Columbia Journal of World Business, 16 (1), pp.68 78. 26- www.bat.com [online] Access date: 01st Aug 2009 Available at: http//:www.bat.com/group/sites/UK_3MNFEN.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO6Z2KVH?opendocumentSKN=1 27- Zhu, C.J. (2005) Human Resource management in China: Past, current and future HR practices in the industrial sector; New York, Routledge Curzon. 28- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_research 29- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffing 30- International dimensions of human resource management, Peter J. Dowing Randall s. Schuler, page 4 31- Managing the global work force: Challenges and strategies, Academy of Management Executive, Roberts,K.Kossek,E.E., and Ozeki,C(1998) 12(4): 6-16 32- Adler,N.J.(2002) International dimensions of Organizational behavior, 4th edn 33- Shimon L. Dolan. International HRM Ecole de relations industrielles, Case postale 6128 Montreal, 1996 34- Brett, Jeanne; Behfar, Kristin; Kern, Mary C.. Harvard Business Review, Nov2006, Vol. 84 Issue 11, p88 (AN 22671287) 35- Edstrom, A., Galbraith, J. R. (1977). Transfer of managers as a coordination and control strategy in multinational organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22: 248-263. 36- David G. Collings, Hugh Scullion and Michael J. Morley, Journal of World Business 42.2 (June 2007): p200. 37- Tahvanainen, M., Welch, D., Worm, V. (2005), Implications of short-term international assignments. European Management Journal, 23: p663-673. 38- David G. Collings, Hugh Scullion and Michael J. Morley, Journal of World Business 42.2 (June 2007): p210. 39- Sebastian Reiche, International Journal of Human Resource Management , 8.4 (April 2007): p529. B. Sebastian Reiche, International Journal of Human Resource Management , 8.4 (April 2007): p529. B. Sebastian Reiche, International Journal of Human Resource Management , 8.4 (April 2007): p530. 40-http://www.colmr.research.va.gov/mgmt_research_in_va/methodology/qualitative_research.cfm 41- Ahlstrom, David / Bruton, Garry / Chan, Eunice S. :HRM of foreign firms in China: The Challenge of Managing Host Country Personnel, Business Horizons 44(3), 2001, p, 59 68. 42- Blake, John / Amat Salas, Oriol / Wraith, Philip: Joint ventures in China a Spanish case, European Business Review 97(4), 1997, p. 155 161. 43- Foster, Dean: The Global Etiquette Guide: China, http://workabroad.monster.com/articles/chinaetiquitte/, 2001. 44- Huczynski, Andrzej / Buchanan, David: Organizational Behaviour An Introductory Text, 4th edition, London: Prentice Hall, 2001. 45- Brett, Jeanne; Behfar, Kristin; Kern, Mary C.. Harvard Business Review, Nov2006, Vol. 84 Issue 11, p87 (AN 22671287) 46- Adler,N.J.(2002) International dimensions of Organizational behavior, 4th edn

Political Concepts Essay

1) Mass Media as the `Fifth Branch` of government Definition: Mass Media is the fifth branch of government because it can shape public opinion and influence the national agenda. Importance: It is important because today’s media is so assertive and liable to such adversarial, negative reporting that they can be downright obstructive of government policy 2) Agenda Setting Definition: On a national level, this is a role usually reserved for the President, such as when he makes his State of the Union Address. Importance: As the leader of the nation it is his duty to set the Agenda for the coming year. Without a clear vision the nation will drift aimlessly. 3) Electoral College (how does it work?) Definitions: A ‘vote’ that will be counted purposes of electing a president; each state has a set number of electoral colleges.   The term refers to a â€Å"collegium† or assembly of 538 President Electors who meet after the popular vote and cast their votes for President and Vice-President. Importance: A presidential candidate may have technically ‘won’ by getting more of the popular vote overall but if he loses in too many States with a high number of Electors, he can still lose the elections. 4) Who votes (what kind of person is MOST likely to vote)? Why has voter turnout in America declined since 1960? A person who is involved in the campaign of some one running for election is most likely to vote. A charter member of the Republicans or the Democrats because they owe it to their group.   Those at the extremes of political opinion, who feel strongly for or against the candidates in question. Importance of voting: Voting is an essential political right, a chance to speak and be counted and an opportunity to affirm or reject state policy. It is often the only political exercise that the average person will have a say in. 5) Congress: What do they do? The Congress makes laws for the President to sign as well as attend to the needs of their constituency. Importance of what they do: Congress also provides an important check-and-balance to the power of the Executive, the President and the line departments because the framers of our Constitution did not wish the President to act arbitrarily without enabling laws from Congress. For example, he cannot wage war on Iraq without going to Congress to ask for appropriations that will cover soldiers’ salaries, aid to civilians, ammunition, fuel and support services. 6) Congress: What are Standing, Joint, and Conference Committees? A standing committee is an ordinary permanent committee. By U.S. Congress rules, a conference committee is â€Å"A temporary, ad hoc panel composed of House and Senate conferees which is formed for the purpose of reconciling differences in legislation that has passed both chambers. Conference committees are usually convened to resolve bicameral differences on major and controversial legislation.† This means differences between the Senate and House versions of a bill.   A â€Å"joint committee† refers to all other bicameral committees convened for some special function or other except reporting legislation.   Examples of the latter are joint committee hearings on controversial matters or on impeaching the President. Importance of committee work: Laws are not made arbitrarily, often there is a need to consult with others before a bill is proposed in the floor. At the same time it is too chaotic present a half-baked bill to the general assembly of congress without refining it first. This is the work of committees. 7) Congress: How does a bill become a law? A bill must be authored, be deliberated on in committee then pass three readings in both houses of Congress. The President then signs the bill to make it law. Importance: On paper a bill must first pass through one house before it is forwarded to the other house for its own three readings there. But in practice a bill is often authored and filed simultaneously in both houses with each version differing little from the other. 8) Presidential Powers: The president is the commander-in-chief of the army. He can mobilize the armed forces even without a formal declaration of war for up to 60 days. Domestically, he has the power to make or break a bill with the stroke of a pen. He can also propose priority legislation to Congress. 9) Presidency: To be a successful leader of Congress, the President must be able to read the pulse of congress well. He must know when to act and push for his agenda. He is important because Congress must be united under strong leadership if it is to be an effective counter balance to the President’s domination. 10) Judiciary: Judicial Activists versus Judicial Restraintists. A Judicial Activist is a radical who tries to pursue social justice in his decisions. While a Judicial Restraintist is a conservative who tries to maintain the status quo. Importance: The judiciary needs a balanced mix of both kinds of Justices in order for it to be a fair and just final adjudicator of legal disputes. If it were made entirely of Restraintists or Activists, decisions would be biased. Section II: Short Essays. Answer ALL parts of each question in as much detail and depth as possible. 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mass Media is referred to as the fifth branch of government because of the sway it holds on public opinion. Media can reach into every aspect of our lives and influence us in ways the other branches of governance can only dream off. Regretfully, media is biased these days. It is biased for the highest bidder and for its own overly-liberal agenda. Media is a commercial proposition hence profitability is a concern. Since controversy creates cash, media is known to play up scandals and negative aspects of life because the shock value is known to create high ratings, which then attract more advertising money. As a result news today appears to be a parade of bad news and shocking events because media mercenaries know that by showing these they will get more advertising money and social responsibility be damned. 2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 2000 George W. Bush won as a result of the disaffection people felt with the Democrats. Bill Clinton’s presidency was rocked by scandal (Monica Lewinsky comes to mind) and economic depression (among other things, the frenzied dot-com bubble burst). People were tired of what they thought was the misrule of the Democrats and were eager to try what the Republicans had to offer. In 2004 Bush was flying high on the euphoria generated by his still successful War on Terror; both Afghanistan and Iraq had fallen in just a few weeks of fighting. His bold fighting stance was still supported by many then.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However Bush, in my humble opinion did not defeat Gore in 2000. Based on the total number of voters, first of all, Gore actually won the elections. He lost in the electoral vote, though. This is another reason why the electoral college system should be abolished, it devalues the principle of one man, one vote. In the extreme example, Gore could have had an overwhelming majority of the total voters but so long as he lost in enough large-college states like California, he would still lose the elections. Therefore, the electoral college system overvalues certain states if they have a large number of Electors. Kerry, for his part, lost during the 2004 elections because he could not present a strong alternative to Bush. 3.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The iron triangle is a corrupting influence in the American political process because it takes away from the sanctity of the political process enshrined in our Constitution. Congressmen are loved by their constituents for the benefits they can provide. A Congressman being a representative of his or her state tends to keep (and vote for) the best interest of the state in mind. After all if he votes or acts in a way detrimental to his constituents he will have to answer to them in the next elections. Also a Congressman’s recommendation is necessary to enter West Point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Congress is hated, almost universally, because of its poor image. Recently, it has been unable to stem Bush’s warmongering. The economy is slowing down and Congress is getting a share of the blame for not doing anything to prevent it. Also, Congress is seen as a breeding pit of vested interests and lobbyists who push their agenda to the detriment of legitimate concerns of the country as a whole.

Critical Response Final Draft

Children should have a mind of their own when it comes to their entertainment. At an early age children are called to choose a toy from the isle of the toy store that is labeled and colored accordingly to fit the differences of their sex and not their entertainment needs. Children are not the ones to blame for the belief that every aspect of this world is categorized according to genders because this idea has been in our society for ages and there has always been a debate on this topic.In Christina Hoff Somers' article â€Å"You Can Give a Boy a Doll, But You Can't Make Him Play With It† published on the 6th of December 201 2, in the newspaper The Atlantic she seems to be a firm believer that genders are different, each sex has separate needs and tendencies but remain equal. This is the reason why she opposes to the Swedes who are aiming for uniformity through gender-free catalogues and new stereotype-free preschool called Agile. On the other hand, Peggy Orenstein in her artic le â€Å"Should the World of Toys Be Gender-Free? Published on the 29th of December 2011 in the newspaper The New York Times, she appears to support cross-sex toys and play activities. Orenstein believes that with cross-sex entertainment it would be easier and beneficial for the children to interact and communicate in the future, due to their shared experiences and that toys should not be separated according to sex. In response to Somers' main argument I feel that I agree with the points the author is making.Each individual is different by nature; genders have different needs and preferences. Not allowing children to play with toys that suit their personality but rather oblige them to play with something labeled as ender-neutral that will eventually lead into equality is absurd to me because then the children will not learn to have voice of their own but rather a false idea of who they are. To begin with, one point I agree with Somers is as she states it † Men and woman can b e different- but equal† (par. ). In other words the author does believe that although genders differ due to biology, as humans they remain equal. The reason agree with her is because the Swedes' way of achieving a gender neutral environment is by ignoring the differences of the genders and trying to introduce a way of dealing with people as if they are one thing. To make it clearer, when I was young I played with boys as well with girls. We were a team, we played with dolls and with trucks and we learned each ones needs.The boys helped us build things and as girls we learned them to take care of our baby dolls. This experience made me learn and inhabit that each gender provides something that lacks to the other. When we learn and accept each ones differences that is when we will become equal not by providing kids with a gender-neutral toy catalogue because then uniqueness will not exist. Another point agree that Somers has made is when she opposes to the new preschool Agile, w hich has removed gender specific items from their curriculum.In Orenstein article she states that † Every experience, every interaction, every activity-when they laugh, cry, learn, play-strengthens some neural circuits at the expense of others, and the younger the child the greater the effect† (par. 10). In other words if the children in Agile are offered an unhealthy, monitored schooling and are forced to get rid of their natural likings which benefits them while rowing up that will lead to † undermine children's healthy development† (Somers par. 1). Finally, another point which Somers could not have expressed better my opinion on the topic kids and entertainment is † just leave him alone and let him play as he wants† (par. 16). In making this comment, the author says that the criteria on which the object of a child's entertainment will be chosen by, will not have to do with what gender is the toy addressed to but with what the child's entertainm ent needs are at that certain point.For a child to make an unbiased choice about his entertainment, demands an environment which will has raised it up knowing that although toys differ according to gender there is nothing wrong in choosing a toy of your opposite sex and not raise him up in a person who believes otherwise. In other words, † the environment in which children play and grow can encourage a range of aptitudes or foreclose them† (Orenstein par. 11). In conclusion, the reason why I am in favor of Somers is because she accepts that sexes are different but does not believe that creating uniformity will provide us with equality.Accepting each ones differences and who we are is what will provide us with equality. Children should be let alone to explore their own likings without being obliged to be something they are not. Bottom line is that the differences of each human being are what make this world interesting. A world full of same people will lead us to routine.

The Diversity Strategies Of The U.s. Department Of...

The target of this research is to explore the diversity strategies of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with the objective of supporting its efficacy. Accordingly, this paper organizes this exploration into three correlating sections, the first of which introduces an overview of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) within the VA. In addition, this area summarizes the ODI installation of the VA diversity plan. This leads to the second exploration section, which outlines specific focus areas of the VA diversity plan as defined in the Standard University Publication: Best Practices for Managing Organizational Diversity (2007). The third and final segment offers a concluding synopsis along with recommendations for†¦show more content†¦Keywords: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, Pew Research Center, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Per sonnel Management U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Diversity Plan Analysis At present, the diverse composition of the United States Veteran population is disproportionate to that of the total United States populace composition. To be sure, in an examination of one aspect of diversity (race and ethnicity), the contrasting data is compelling. According to the Pew Research Center (PRC), the percentage of racially diverse population in the United States is 36% and is on an upward trajectory. In fact, by the year 2065, our U.S. population will no longer have a dominant racial or ethnic group (2015). On the contrary, according to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (NCVAS), the current percentage of racially diverse veterans is approximately 20% and will eventually reach 36%, though not until after 2040 (2010). As such, if proactive measures are not immediately put into action to address this latency, veteran diversity will not achieve parity as it’s significantly lagging behind the racially diverse levels of the nation (refer to Appendices â€Å"C† and â€Å"D† respectively, for PRC and NCVAS