Diversity in a contemporary business

Introduction Companies ought to appreciate and recognize diversity as a strategy to achieve their objectives in the contemporary business environment. Appreciation of diversity in the work place and in the context of organization’s operations reflects company’s flexibility and acceptance of change. Companies that embrace diversity acquire a competitive edge that is necessary for success.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Diversity in a contemporary business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Such companies as IBM and PepsiCo have reaped numerous benefits owing to their ability to make strategies that recognize workforce that is diverse in terms of race, nationality and gender. This paper highlights the positive attributes associated with diversity, which has become the modern key to organizations’ success. Besides, the paper will explore the importance of diversity by making inferences f rom Agility Corporation. Positive Attributes of Diversity as a Strategy Firms do not adopt diversity in order to comply with various policies, laws and regulations alone. On the contrary, diversity has immense positive attributes through which companies stand to increase their revenues. First, companies that appreciate diversity are able to penetrate different global markets and acquire a competitive edge. It is important to notice that companies are now venturing in new markets both locally and internationally. When companies go global, cultural diversity challenges their operations. To counter the challenges, companies increase their racial, nationality and gender composition of their staff and workforce. Porter (1996) explicates that diversity does not only focus on the workforce but also on the target market. Diversity in the organization will therefore reflect the diversity of the market. According to Thomas (2004), diversity has become a bridge between an organization and the customers. In other words, he explains that an organization is likely to attract a diverse set of customers when they increase diversity in the work place (Thomas, 2004). As such, diversity brings about increased number of customers from different backgrounds that translate to increased revenues. Second, appreciating diversity in the workplace motivates employees, leading to high retention rates as well as improved job commitment (Mintzberg, 1987). In the contemporary world, companies are attempting to minimize costs associated with job training for new employees. Retention therefore has proved to be a strategy through which companies evade these costs.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More By appreciating diversity in workplace, a company creates an environment where all members of the workforce across all departments and supply chain are appreciated. This is despite the ir differences in gender, racial or ethnic affiliations. Companies are now taking into consideration the plight of minorities and marginalized groups and as such, the workplace has diminished various sources of discrimination. Thomas Creary (2009) explain that greater diversity within an organization is in itself a motivating factor for initially marginalized groups of employees. Mintzberg (1987) articulates that companies are making strategies that will minimize their overhead expenses. It has become apparent that organizations should outsource in areas where there is efficiency. This implies that companies will continue operating in diverse environments that will require subsequent adaptation to changes. As such, diversity depicts a company that is responsive to the organizational dynamics. Porter (1996) asserts that the organizations that are positioning themselves effectively are reducing their operational costs both in the short term as well as in the long-term. The business e nvironment at the global stage dictates that companies will seek to assume a global appeal. Without recognizing diversity as such, a company’s image is not reflective of its diversity and certainly, not positioned to take advantage of global customers. It has become efficient for companies to access high skilled employees that also increase the company’s profit margin in the long term. Diversity provides corporate organizations with an opportunity to make an analysis of their ability to respond to changes. At the outset, companies have an opportunity where managers can illustrate their leadership abilities. During the process of accepting diversity as a huge step towards achievement of organization’s goals, leaders have the mandate of going beyond the clichà © of becoming diverse and get involved in the process. Thomas (2004) says that executive teams tend to have beliefs that are contrary to their behavior and underestimate the need for a corporation to achiev e the diversity strategy. As such, diversity strategy gives an organization a chance to have a structure through which the entire workforce is educated on the important aspects of the same. Besides, it deepens the awareness of diversity by the executive team of organization. To appreciate diversity as a corporate strategy, companies involve all the key stakeholders and employees as partners in the achievement of strategic goals. This helps to promote the concept of equality and address pertinent diversity issues that may represent significant cultural change.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Diversity in a contemporary business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, Thomas (2004) points out that IBM engaged all the employees and invited constituents groups in enhancing mutual expectations, trust and influence. The company is therefore able to embrace diversity and resolve numerous outstanding iss ues that were typical in the workforce. By engaging the work force, the employees are able to underscore the issues of diversity that they feel are critical. Thomas (2004) also highlights that management of diversity is one of the important aspects used to assess the performance of managers. This positive attribute emphasizes on the ability of managers to harmonize diversity in line with the organization’s goals. Since diversity is a strategy of an organization, it is through achievement of diversity that organization is able to establish the levels to which its goals are achieved. For instance, strategic managers will adopt various critical approaches to change and the effectiveness will be reflected in the level that the company has achieved diversity (Thomas Creary, 2009). It is apparent that some unforeseen issues arise and they provide a platform for managers of diversity to exercise their abilities to counter the challenges. Importance of Diversity in Agility’s Supply Chain Agility Corporation is a logistics company that has made diversity a major strategy in their global operations. The company has appreciated diversity in its many departments. In particular, the company’s supply chain has been successful and efficient due to appreciation of diversity. This translates to increased revenues and customer needs positioning that makes the company a leader in its sector. As a strategy, diversity is important for Agility Corporation’s supply chain in various ways. First, the company has gained a competitive edge for its ability to establish changes that it can sustain. It is important to realize that Agility Corporation has been able to bring increased value to clients at a minimized cost. The company has broken cultural barriers and ventured in new business zones that it could not have operated without the diversity strategy. Although the company appreciated its superior ability to increase its efficiency and ultimately its opera tional effectiveness, diversity provides an important strategic positioning. Operation costs limited the company to specific level of efficiency and characterized the supply chain as influenced by the company’s values and beliefs.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the strategic positioning through diversity presented the company with limitless opportunities where it can increase the supply chain’s effectiveness without the challenge of culture. The company has now been able to employ myriads of employees from different areas of operations regardless of their race and ethnic background. Diversity in Agility Corporation is based on its customers’ requirements and accessibility to the company’s products and services (Porter, 1996). Through diversity, the company has been able to address the needs of various customers who belong to different ethnicity, religion and gender (Thomas Creary, 2009). This has positioned the company in line with the strategic goal of attending to the customer’s needs. Further, it is important to point out that Agility Corporation has used diversity to deliver its goods and services to their customers. As such, their supply chains have increased the effectiveness of the company parti ally because the workers assume their roles productively which, leads to the delivery of services and goods to customers in an improved way. Agility Corporation’s supply chain is a critical component of the company’s productivity. It is therefore imperative for the company to be able to retain many of its employees at different supply phases. Diversity therefore has ensured that the company is able to deliver services to specific customer segments. The retention of employees strengthens the supply chain owing to competency of the experienced employees who at many instances are able to establish meaningful and long-lasting customer relationships. This is in consideration of the fact that diversity in the workplace reflects the diversity at the market segment. The company has been able to appraise various aspects of change management to its advantage. Agility Corporation recognized that diversity in the supply chain would affect all departments of the company. To that en d, the company has been successful in implementing change by appreciating diversity as an important characteristic of modern day workforce and an organizations’ strategy. By implementing such a strategy, the leadership skills of the executives improved and consequently, they were able to help other departments to appreciate the process of change (Thomas Creary, 2009). The entire company now recognizes that the issue of change affects all members of the team and that diversity is everyone’s concern. Finally, the company has been able to increase its market penetration and enhance improved revenues owing to its strategy of diversity. The strategy differentiated the company from its competitors and helped it to gain a competitive edge that numerous firms aspire. As such, the company has seen the strategy facilitate its entrance into new markets and acquire superior supply chain that increases the reliability of the company to its customers. Conclusion Essentially, divers ity is a contemporary business concept that seeks to limit challenges brought about by cultural diversity in the context of an organization. It has various positive attributes. At the outset, diversity propels an organization towards its target market. This is by recognizing that diversity in the workplace reflects the diversity of the customers. Besides, diversity presents a company with alternative ways through which it can assess performance of managers as well as increase work commitment and motivation of the employees. Agility Corporation has adopted diversity as a strategy that positions the company to the global market. The strategy has given the company’s supply chain a competitive edge where it is able to outdo many of its competitors in the sector and remain aggressive. References Mintzberg, H. (1987). Crafting Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 87(401), 66-74. Porter, M. (1996). What is Strategy? Harvard Business Review, 2(45), 61-78. Thomas, D. Creary, S. (2009). Meeting the Diversity Challenge at PepsiCo: The Steve Reinemund Era. Harvard Business Review, 410 (24), 1-24. Thomas, D. (2004). Diversity as Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 2(67), 1-11. This research paper on Diversity in a contemporary business was written and submitted by user Haley Pennington to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Challenges and Opportunities Facing HBCUs

The Challenges and Opportunities Facing HBCUs Historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, encompass a wide range of institutions of higher learning. There are currently 101 HBCUs in the United States, and they range from two-year community colleges to research universities that grant doctoral degrees. Most of the schools were founded shortly after the Civil War in an effort to provide African Americans access to higher education. What Is a Historically Black College or University? HBCUs exist because of the United States history of exclusion, segregation, and racism. With the end of slavery following the Civil War, African American citizens faced numerous challenges gaining access to higher education. Financial barriers and admissions policies made attendance at many colleges and universities nearly impossible for the majority of African Americans. As a result, both federal legislation and the efforts of church organizations worked to create institutions of higher learning that would provide access to African American students. The great majority of HBCUs were founded between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the end of the 19th century. That said, Lincoln University (1854) and Cheyney University (1837), both in Pennsylvania, were established well before the end of slavery. Other HBCUs such as Norfolk State University (1935) and Xavier University of Louisiana (1915) were founded in the 20th century. The colleges and universities are called historically black because ever since the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, HBCUs have been open to all applicants and have worked to diversify their student bodies. While many HBCUs still have predominantly black student populations, others do not. For example, Bluefield State College is 86% white and just 8% black. Kentucky State Universitys student population is roughly half African American.  However, it is more common for an HBCU to have a student body that is well over 90% black. Examples of Historically Black Colleges and Universities HBCUs are as diverse as the students who attend them. Some are public while others are private. Some are small liberal arts colleges while others are large research universities. Some are secular, and some are affiliated with a church. Youll find HBCUs that have a majority white student population while most have large African American enrollments. Some HBCUs offer doctoral programs, while some are two-year schools offering associate degrees. Below are a few examples that capture the range of HBCUs: Simmons College of Kentucky is a tiny college of just 203 students with ties to the American Baptist Church. The student population is 100% African American.North Carolina AT is a relatively large public university with over 11,000 students. Along with robust bachelor degree programs ranging from the arts to engineering, the school also has numerous masters and doctoral programs.Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, Alabama, is a two-year community college offering certificate programs and associate degrees in areas such as engineering technology, health professions, and business.Xavier University of Louisiana  is a private Roman Catholic university with 3,000 students enrolled in bachelor, masters and doctoral programs.Tougaloo College in Mississippi is a private liberal arts college of 860 students. The college is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, although it describes itself as church-related but not church controlled. Challenges Facing Historically Black Colleges and Universities As a result of  affirmative action, civil rights legislation, and changing attitudes towards race, colleges, and universities across the United States are actively working to enroll qualified African American students. This access to educational opportunities across the country is obviously a good thing, but it has had consequences for HBCUs. Even though there are over 100 HBCUs in the country, less than 10% of all African American college students actually attend an HBCU. Some HBCUs are struggling to enroll enough students, and roughly 20 colleges have closed in the last 80 years. More are likely to close in the future because of enrollment declines and fiscal crises. Many HBCUs also face challenges with retention and persistence. The mission of many HBCUs- to provide access to higher education to populations that have historically been  underrepresented  and disadvantaged- creates its own hurdles. While it is clearly worthwhile and admirable to provide opportunities for students, the results can be discouraging when a significant percentage of matriculated students are ill-prepared to succeed in college-level coursework. Texas Southern University, for example, has just a 6% four-year graduation rate, Southern University in New Orleans has a 5% rate, and numbers in the low teens and single digits are not unusual. The Best HCBUs While the challenges facing many HCBUs are significant, some schools are flourishing. Spelman College  (a womens college) and Howard University tend to top the national rankings of HCBUs. Spelman, in fact, has the highest graduation rate of any Historically Black College, and it also tends to win high marks for social mobility. Howard is a prestigious research university that grants hundreds of doctoral degrees every year. Other notable Historically Black Colleges and Universities include Morehouse College (a mens college), Hampton University, Florida AM, Claflin University, and Tuskegee University. Youll find impressive academic programs and rich co-curricular opportunities at these schools, and youll also find that the overall value tends to be high.

What My Parents Told Me (How I learnt about sexuality) Essay

What My Parents Told Me (How I learnt about sexuality) - Essay Example That solely depends on one’s experiences. The experiences of one who has been sexually abused in the childhood or at the hands of a spouse can never be compared to those experienced by one who has always seen healthy romantic and sexual relationships. Love or hate about sex depends on how one perceives sex, and how one experiences sex in life. I have always been deprived of proper sexual education right from my adolescence into my adulthood, which led to my suffering from fear of sex, and HSSD later on in life. In this paper, I reflect upon how I learned about sex and sexuality when I was an adolescent, and how the lack of parental support and sex education led to my deteriorated concept of sex. I would also reflect upon why there is a need for a full fledge program regarding sexual education in schools. I would also describe what HSSD is, to explain what I was going through. To me, sex had always been a taboo. My parents had never spoken to me openly about sex and sexual issu es. When I stepped into adolescence, sex became a mystery thing for me. With no sexual education at home or in school, I thought about sex as a dangerous activity. Aunt Sally was there to guide me a bit. She had told me to go to her if a boy approached me or tried to lure me into sexual activities. She said, â€Å"When you start feeling like you want to be kissed by a boy come to me first, you and I will discuss birth control.† She wanted to tell me about birth control; however, her warning struck me in a negative sense, so I started fearing the word of sex and thought of it as a harmful activity. I was 12 at that time. My mother had told me her stories of horrible experiences about sex, and thus, I was unconsciously fearful about the whole thing. She was sexually abused at the hands of my step-father, and for her, sex was all about a dick and getting fucked. This story got validated when I was myself raped at the age of sixteen by my boyfriend. I had become pregnant, and I l ost my child five months later. This deteriorated the concept of sex and romantic love in my view. I had my first alive child when I was eighteen, in California. Even that did not improve my concept of sex. I was afraid to indulge in sexual activities or have a partner. I lost interest in sex, which proved that I was suffering from Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSSD). My body stopped responding to physical stimuli regarding sex. I never felt like advancing to solicit sexual desires, and I cringed when the sun would set. I gained no sexual knowledge from the media. Actually, I loathed media for exposing my and many others innocent children to a wrong perception of sex. When I reflect upon my life experiences about sex, I become convinced that United States should have a national policy on sex education (Lindberg & Maddow Zimet, 2012). Many advocates are working in collaboration with individuals from health sector and sexuality education, to bring forward national sexuality educa tion standards. The main objective of these national standards and policies is to offer understandable, reliable and simple assistance on the sexual education, which is right for the age and developmental phase of students belonging to Grades K–12. There is need for such a national policy that addresses the issue of minimum core content. In other words, educators and parents need to decide what minimum level of sexuality should be taught to what age. Should a second grader be taught what AIDS means and how it is transmitted? Should a third grader be made familiar with the birth control programs? There is need to devise such a policy that fosters age-appropriate sex education. Without such a national policy, it is very likely that our children will keep on getting indulged in

Sheri Tepper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sheri Tepper - Essay Example The author describes the totally utopian world, over which Damocles' sword of threat hangs, since men's rule would destroy the universe completely with their nuclear weapon. To ensure the survival of all humanity, women and a few selected men have to cooperate and make constructive decisions. Women's Country a collection of villages and towns, consists mostly of women, while men life far away in warrior garrisons, which resemble Spartan encampments where life is composed of the 'meaningless' demonstrations of 'honor', or, as Tepper implies, aggression and might. The author, showing her scorn to militarism, depicts another category of men - 'the servitors' , who decide to leave the garrison and join Women's country, and whose main function is impregnating women and thus continuing the life chain on the Earth. Women's Country is the source of strict order in this post-apocalypse world, since it shows some kind of organization and even bureaucracy. Whereas the men are demonstrating their ridiculous honor and decorating their garrison with ribbons, banners (and having no access to novel technologies of the women) , the women are reorganizing civilization, discovering again everything which was lost during the war. On the other hand, life is not exactly perfect in Women's Cou ntry, but its inhabitants are living their long range plan for civilizing existence and the species, and finding a refreshing attitude towards the life.That is to say, Tepper in her book is really interested in binary oppositions, such as 'war -peace' , 'man- woman', 'desctructivism - constructivism'. For instance, she casually narrates how Women's Country has got rid of homosexuality, since it was "caused by aberrant hormone levels during pregnancy" (Tepper, 1988, p.81). Tepper illustrates men and women on the opposing sides of barricade, since gender is a most strict binary in the world. Tepper makes an effort to cover over a number of controversies by calling the controlling women's assembly the Damned Few (ibid, p.11). To my view, this 'label' has its explanation - these women are 'damned' since they attempt to rebel against their social roles (and, presumably, against their femininity), which have been existing for ages and destroy the inner world order.As for me, Tepper in her book illustrates the evil of war, using, among other tools, a powerful device of 'a ply within the narrative', dealing with Trojan War in the play 'Iphigenia at Ilium'. The author clearly shows the status of woman at the times of Ancient Greece: Iphigenia is sacrificed for the sake of good sailing weather, Polyxena dies at the tomb of Achilles, Hector's little son is killed only because he is the son of the defeated political leader. Thus, the play is the reflection Tepper's personal attitudes towards war and cruelty., which are hard to explain in depth because of the complexity of human nature. On the other hand, 'Iphigenia at Ilium' can be seen as a representation of the values attributed to women of the Women's Country as well as to men of the encampments. As the plot of the novel develops, one might see changing structure of the society, values and emotions, which are parallelized to those from 'Iphigenia at Ili

Concepts of Islamic Marriage

Concepts of Islamic Marriage 1.0 Introduction. The Muslims do not see the house as a static entity. As the environment for the generation of life, it is itself a living and dynamic entity. Hence waala talk of the need to continually build up the house. This task needs a man and woman in order to be accomplished. As a Waala saying goes, it needs a man and a woman to build a house, For whilst the man digs the soil the woman provides the water without which he cannot make the motar for the building. Here again, we see how, in a nuanced way, the waala refer both to the sexual division of labor in the putting up of a physical house and the cooperation of the sexes in the generation of children within the social house. In this way, I have the double reference to the house as a physical and social entity. Through these statements, Waala acknowledge the importance of marriage. However they do not see marriage as establishing a household. Waala believe that the House has already been setup by the forebears. It is a task of the descendants to keep the house in existence. Marriage is thus a necessary means of keeping the house a lived through history. Hence a young man is said to take a wife (depogaa) into his house whilst a young girl homes a houseband (kulisira). Girls are destined to marry outside their own patriling into another persons house and thus educated to help build their husbands houses even if they are never considered full members in it. Infact, the remaining members of their own patriclan are expected to be responsible and respectable ambassadors of their own families within their husbands own. Throughout the world and through out history there have been, and still are, a variety of matrimonial systems each of which is the fruit of inventiveness and adaptation to local cir cumstances. The Islamic marriage system is one of them, it has its peculiarities and specific characteristics, carved out by tradition. For the Muslims, marriage is the union of a man and a woman, having in mind the reciprocal services of domestic life and the procreation of children, this union is made possible through the mutual agreement between the kinship group of the man and the woman. Therefore, marriage is not just the affairs of the man and the woman, for the bond that unites them as husband and wife unites at the same time their two lineage groups. Man alone is incomplete and more so the woman, they are like two halves of a Calabash which have to be reunited to have a whole Calabash. The complete human being is the couple (man and woman) and it has been like that since the beginning. For the two, it is the accession to their true maturity especially if their union results in an offspring; Marriage is the fine threshold to cross on earth in the growth through childhood. Celibacy always conserves something if childish immaturity in the eyes of the society. The relation husband-wife is therefore constitutive of the human being and marriage which creates this relation is thus greatly varied. 1.2 Backgrounds to the study Islam recognizes values of sex and advocates marriage. Islam does not believe in celibacy. The prophet of Islam has said marriage is my sunnah (that is recommended action of the prophet) and whoever does not follow my sunnah is not true follower (Ibn Haiah Basum Nilah) All has commanded the Muslims to marry. (Quran 24:33) in Islam, marriage is considered as one of the essential element of adulthood in Islamic context. And marriage is also considered as an essentially a contract. In Islam, both Muslim men and women must satisfy certain conditions before one can go into marriage. The conditions include: There must be a clear proposal There must be a clear acceptance There must be at least the competent. After satisfying the about conditions, the marriage must be witness by the competent persons from both the mans family and the womens family. Respectively. It is necessary to exclude illicit sex and to safeguard legitimacy of progeny. It is recommended that marriage should be widely publicized. The heart of marriage is the marriage gift, little or more, by the bridegroom to the bride. Dowry or marriage gift by bridegroom to the bribe is a symbolic expression of the grooms cognizance of the economic responsibilities of marriage and of his readiness to assume all responsibilities subsequent to marriage Dowry is not any price paid either to wife or family of the wife. Dowry should be estimated according to the circumstances with emphasis on moderation. The prophet (S. A. W.) is reported to have said that the most blessed marriage is that which is least costly and most easy. Marriage is usually a group affair and the ceremony involves, besides the couple and their immediate relations distant kinsfolk, neighbors and friends. Nor is their involvement limited to the ceremony. It is necessary during the preliminary negotiations which culminate in the ceremony. That is why it is said that Ghanaian marriage is between families and not individuals. This view has added significance because in our extended system, the interest of the relatives in the marriage means that the two families have become affirnal real kin of the two sides. Nukunya (2003). According to G. E. kpiebaya the word Bride price instead of the usual word dowry for a reason. The word dowry is often used to refer to the practice among many Africans peoples of giving some goods in exchange for a wife, but strictly speaking, dowry is the money, or the property a woman brings to her husband at marriage. In Africa, in general, it is the boy, not the girl who brings money, property and services to the girls family. In my candle opinion, the Bride price or Bride health is the consideration (thus the benefit to the bridegroom. The consideration paid by the bride should be within the limit of the bride and should be recommended by Islam advocates and confined within the teachings of Islam. The importance of the dowry (bride price, bride health) can not be overemphaised. The bride price is never seen traditionally as payment for the girl, but as an indemnity to the family (kpiebaya), payment of the dowry (bride price, bride health) is a symbolic of the marriage procedure and finally legalize the marriage contract. Once the bride price has been paid by the bride, it confers sexual rights on both parties. Since lslam discourage celibacy. Payments of the dowry also legitimize the unborn children and also the dowry serves as a stabiser to the marriage for once the girls people have receiued it they are not readily prepared to retune it should a breakdown occur. It is therefore in their interest to maintain the marriage (G. E. kpiebaaya). Walimah is a food reception which follows the consummation of the marriage, to make it public. It is offered by the parents of the married couple, by their friends, or by the newly married couple themselves. Friends, relatives, and neighbors are usually invited. This food reception should be within the means of the couple and recommended by lslam. The companion Anas reported that the prophet (S. A. W. ) Saw a trace of yellow on Abd Ar Bahaman /bn Awf, and asked: what is this? He answered: l got married. The prophet (S.A.W.) said: may Allah make it a blessing for you. Make a Walimah, even with only sheep.(Al-Bukhari,Muslim,Al-Tirmizi,Abu Dawood and Malik) . In human life, every human being good through three (3) importance stages in life and each of these stages is marked with celebration and other financial commitment. The stages include: Out- adoring ceremony. Adulthood and marriage ceremony. Death and funeral ceremony. The celebration of these activities should not bring any hardship to those performing them. Recently, the Islamic marriage institution has turn in to a financial institution where Muslims barrow with collateral security and save with a very hard sting conditions. Those Muslims who has not gotten the said collateral security cannot borrow from the Islamic marriage institution. In conclusion marriage is a religious right for Muslim brothers and sisters and this has been recommended by the messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) and His Companions. Emphasis is placed on the affordability of the Dowry (Bride pride). 1.3 Statement of the problem Allah created men and women so that they can provide company to one another, have one another, procreate children and live in peace and tranquility to the commandments of Allah and the directions of His messenger. Nature has so arranged that man and woman are attracted toward each other. This natural attraction binds them together and leads them to live a common life and form a family. This natural tendency or the instinct of sex, like any other instinct, should be guided to the right direction so that it may be utilized in the service of humanity. In the wake of keen desire to established conjugal relations between them selves, man and woman enter into a contract known as marriage or matrimonial contract. This contract has great importance in human life, for it unites the existence of two persons in many ways. It lays the foundation of the life of a human infant and deeply influences his body, life, thought and future actions. That is why a marriage contract is regarded a sacred by various nations and enough attention has been paid in different legal systems to the question connected with it. Islam has also attached great importance to the question of marriage in its social system. In the holy Quran and the sayings of the holy prophet and the imams we find that marriage has been greatly encouraged. The holy prophet has been reported to have said No institution of island is liked by Allah more than that of marriage. Despite the numerous importance marriage in Islamic context. Individual Muslims have tend it into money ventures making it very difficult for afford this huge sum of money to go into marriage. The introduction of new concepts into the Islamic marriage has created difficulties for those who can afford and stand the test of time. The concept include:, showing of identical clothes, hiring of canopies, expensive dowry, hiring of record dance (stero) and among others is an indication that new concepts have been added to the in stilton of marriage besides its traditional concepts due to individual perusal interest. This practices and concepts currently introduced into the Islamic marriage have undermined the integrity of Islam as a religion. I there for urged every meaning, concerned and patriotic Muslim to stand elementally against these practices.. Mr. Daud Baaba Adidas delivered a paper on Islamic marriage, radio progress current affairs. 1.4 Research question (s) Main research question What are the impacts of the commercialization of marriage on Islamic marriage? Sub-question: How is Islamic marriage contracted? What are the essential requirements of Islamic marriage? Are there changes to the essential requirements of Islamic marriage? What are the impacts of these changes on Islamic marriage? 1.5 Research objective (s) Main research objective To assess the impact of commercialization of marriage on Islamic marriage Sub-objectives To identify the procedure of Islamic marriage To identify the requirements of Islamic marriage To determine the changes in procedure and requirements of Islamic marriage overtime. To assess the impact of these changes and Islamic marriage. 1.6 PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH This research is intended to examine the factors or Circumstances that led the commercialization of the Islamic marriage which currently made very difficult for Young Mushin boys and girls to go into marriage as prescribed by the Holy Book (Quran). The findings the research will be made available to the Islamic Communities and other interested bodies and institutions. CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Literature review This chapter will consist of two (2) Termantic areas. Thus theoretical Framework which comprise previous literature undertook by prominent scholars, journals textbooks both published and non-published on: The procedure on Islamic marriage The requirements of Islamic marriage The changes in procedure and requirement of Islamic marriage The impact of the recent changes in procedure and requirement on Islamic marriage. The second phase of this chapter is the conceptual framework of the procedures and requirements of Islamic marriage. Chapter Three Methodology 3.0 Introduction This chapter deals with the description of the study design; study Area, Population sampling method, sampling Size. Data Collection Approach, interview. and questionnaire 3.1 Study design The research design will follow the following pattern, the topic or title, introduction, Background, problem analysis or statement of the problem, the research question, the research objective , Literature Review, Methodology, Findings and discussion of sub-objectives, conclusion, Recommendations and References. Ha win C (1989), Research Design strategies and choices in the design of social research. Pathways Analysis (Dietz) 3.2 Study Area: WA municipality especially WA township where the practice of the commercialization of marriage on the Islamic Institution is the most affected area. Wa Municipal is one of the nine (9) Districts in the Upper West Region. 3.3 Secondary Data The researcher intended to collect data from the following sources; papers delivered by prominent Islamic scholars, Islamic scholars who have researched into Islamic marriage, Articles publications and son on. 3.4 Population The population of the research will be the Muslim community in Wa Township and it environs. 3.5 Sampling Method; Two main sampling method or technique would be adopted thus; stratified random sampling and purposive sampling procedure Stratified random sampling: In stratified sampling, the sampler divides the population into homogeneous unites. That is to say, if the sampler has any reason to believe that the population has many dissimilar elements or individuals, 3.6 Sample Size The sample size is the number of respondents the researcher will be dealing within the population. Two hundred (200) respondents is targeted 3.7 Data Collection Approach; The researcher intended to use one main methods which include; and questionnaire. The research findings will be both qualitative and quantitative 3.8Questionnaires Formal questions will be framed and written down for the respondents to provide the answers. As a method for data collection, questionnaire is and efficient way to collect statistically quantifiable information. The researcher intended to use an open- ended question. Open-ended questions give flexibility in answering questions. Respondents can express themselves as fully as they wish. The researcher intended to administer one hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires. Network Analysis ( Long 1989, Cees Lewis 1990, Villareal 1990) PROPOSED BUDGET Component Quantity Unit price Totals A-4 Sheet Five (5) 45.00 22.50 Type setting and photocopy of questionnaire One hundred and fifty GHÂÂ ¢7 for type setting (a) 10p per photo copy (a) 100 questionnaires 1050 Field Assistance Four (4) 50.00 200.00 Digital Camera for research purpose One 1 350.00 350.00 Final typesetting of thesis work One 1 200.00 200.00 Photo copy of thesis work Five (5) 20.00 100.00 Type setting of Interviews questions Fifty (50) GHÂÂ ¢7 for the setting 70 Allowance for secretary One 1 50.00 50.00 Photocopy of interview questions Fifty 70Gp for 50 3.50 Traveling Transport for researcher Five (5) gallons of petrol 5.30 26.50 Miscellaneous 174.00 TOTALS 2,246.50 Note: This Budget is subject to amendment and review depending on the prices of component at the time of the thesis writing PROPOSED TIME AND COMPLETION OF THESIS Activity Time frame Gathering of Data December 2010 January 2010 Analysis of data February March 2010 Write up of final thesis 1stApril 2010 30thApril 2010 Submission of thesis to the faculty 1stMay 2010 31stMay 2010

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama: Back to School Event

On the 8th of September 2009, President Barack Obama held a speech at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, in which he stressed the importance of education. The speech was broadcasted nationally and students were tuning in all across America, kindergarten through 12th grade. His speech makes it very clear that you simply cannot quit school and skip classes because â€Å"you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country†.President Obama would like to motivate all the students who were listening and that feeling of importance, which the sentence above is showing, might be the exact motivator for that to happen. This paper will analyse and comment on the speech and focus on the way President Obama addresses his audience. The composition of the speech is pretty much straightforward and not problematic nor complex. It is started by a short presentation followed by the message of the speech, well-documented with different arguments which su pport each part of the message.It ends with a short summary which sums it all up. This is a necessity given the fact that the audience is – as mentioned – students of all age. His language is very easy to understand and he doesn’t use neither imagery language nor hypotactic sentence structure where he referrers to something that isn’t mentioned. If this wasn’t the case, large parts of the audience might not understand the message the speech is trying to show, and the speech would be useless for them.Since the audience is a group of students – large amount in a small age – he tries to make himself likeable. This is seen in the anecdote about his own childhood and hard upbringing. Throughout the speech, President Obama takes great use of pathos as a persuasion mean which means that he appeals to both emotions and feelings: â€Å"And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up yourself. , President Obama is using pathos as the main way of persuasion since people are more likely to agree when they’re emotional. There are, however, several places where he appeals to ethos by expressing his own equality to the rest of the audience: â€Å"[†¦] how’s everybody doing today? †, as he opens the speech in this way, he sets the scene and tries to get rid of his authority as the most powerful man in the world since no one likes to be talked down to. President Obama mentions all the different grades of the same reason; he doesn’t want to talk down to them.President Obamas main point is that all students have to work hard in order to reach success and get a good education. Education is the only â€Å"real† way out of poverty, unemployment and trouble. His argument for this statement is that without an education and hard work, you can’t be something in life; jobs and money doesn’t come from nothing, even though several Hollywood-movies and TV-series might express that. Furthermore, he stresses the importance of responsibility.Not only for your own actions, but also for the responsibility your teachers should to inspire you, your family to support you and make sure you stay on track, and the government’s responsibility for setting high standards and provide whatever it takes to raise the bar for educational standards. However, all of this doesn’t mean much if you don’t take the responsibility of yourself and your education. He describes how every single one of us has something to contribute: â€Å"Every single one of you has something to offer†.Hereafter he even gives several examples of opportunities which might occur for someone who has found her/his hidden talent. This also referrers to the â€Å"don’t quit, don’t skip, stay in school† message he’s trying to embrace. The next part of the speech is once again used to make President Obama identifiable. He knows how hard life can be, since he himself had to break the negative heritage; his parents didn’t have an college education and didn’t have much, however, â€Å"That’s no excuse for not trying. †, he says. There is, in fact no real excuse for quitting school.He even mentions the American Dream in his speech which is based on the belief that everyone is their own happiness and future. He mentions 3 different people, who have been struggling; nevertheless, their future seems to be bright after their hard work! This is yet another motivator and proof for the people who think their background and personal issues sets them behind. Barack Obama uses a lot of different rhetorical techniques in order to create an environment in which his young audience feels comfortable in; furthermore, it makes his argumentation a lot more convincing.In lines 164-165 he keeps repeating â€Å"I expect [à ¢â‚¬ ¦]†, which sets the bars for the upcoming year. I believe he does this because he has an authority. As much as he tries to hide it, he also uses it. If it was a general John Doe who said â€Å"I expect this and that from you†, what purpose would it have? The audience wouldn’t listen! You could say that Barack Obama is a role model for a lot of people – if not a whole nation: he’s the first black president and worked his way up from nothing. President Obama is rying to make the distance between him – and his authority – and the audience as small as possible by making a lot of comparisons and relations. The words â€Å"I get it† and â€Å"I know† is not put there for no reason. By decreasing the gap between him and the audience, his authority is more in the background, and he is now a person whom you can relate to, and not the most powerful man on the world. In America, national sentiment isn’t very uncommon, an d the responsibility which a lot of people feel toward their country is a mean to motivate people.Therefore, the argument: â€Å"you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country† is one powerful motivator. I feel that the speech is indeed influenced by American thinking, however, it all makes sense; even in my head. He stresses the importance of education, and that is something each and every country has a necessity to do; perhaps he has found the way to actually communicate the message? ——————————————– [ 1 ]. line 65 [ 2 ]. line 147-149 [ 3 ]. lines 36-37 [ 4 ]. lines 92-107 ï » ¿Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama: Back to school Event One of the most important and discussed topics in politics has always been education because of its decisive role in society. Education is the key stone for the generations to come and well educated citizens are a necessity for a successful society in the 21st century. Politicians also make education a high priority because they know it is where votes can be drawn. A politician who also is concerned about the matter of education is President Barrack Obama. And in his speech â€Å"Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama: Back to School Event† held in Arlington, Virginia on September 8, 2009, he addresses to the Americans students the importance of education and emphasizes that the responsibility to do well in school lies with the students themselves.This is a responsibility that they have to meet, not only for their own sake but for the sake of their country. President Obama emphasizes the importance of education and self-responsibility to children from kindergarten to 12th grade. Children at that age can be difficult to address to, especially with such a big size of group, so Obama must use various approaches to make it possible. He talks to them as an equal so young audience can identify with him and not only see him as the President. He uses a simple and informal language with many repetitions and examples they can relate to. He starts out by saying â€Å"Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today?†(Page 1, line 1). He speaks directly to the audience to get their attention.He needs the attention from the children and hold on them to get through with his message. He does that by gaining their respect for him and shows that he sincerely cares about them. In the beginning of the speech Obama tells about his story from when he was young. How he was raised by his mother who did not had any money to take him to school, so she had to give him lessons at home at 4:30 in the morning. He also mentions things he did he is not proud of th at got him in troubles. Then Obama shares and opens up about his personal stories, he uses ethos in his arguments to increase his reliability with the audience. It makes it easier for Obama to get through with his message when the people he talks to have his respect.Obama starts stressing his message after he has achieved the audience’s attention. Obama has two main messages in his speech. The first one is that the self-responsibility of the education lies with the student. Maybe the  parents and the teachers also have some responsibility for the student, but it all comes the student â€Å"none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities†(Page 2, line 30). The students will not have everything served for them; it is their turn to take action and take responsibility for their choices. The second one is that the students also have a responsibility for the nation. The nation depends on the students to get a well education.The future of the nation l ies with the students to be a functional part of the US society so the nation can operate and compete â€Å"What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.†(Page 2, lines 52-54). Obama is addressing to the students patriotic American inside them. Most American is raised to be patriotic and Obama knows hot to make use of it. Everybody wants to be a part of something that has an influence on the nation, and every student has the responsibility to their nation â€Å"We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect †¦ If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.†(Page 2, lines 62-64).Obama begins to speak about how hard work is the most important key to success. Everybody has the opportunity to succeed. Here he indirectly refers to the American Dream; w ith hard work you can accomplish everything. â€Å"Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.†(Page 3, lines 88-90).He uses himself and Michelle Obama, the first lady, while using pathos as examples of people who started from the button with bad conditions and build up to become successful. He comes up with three other cases than himself:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And i expect all of you to do the same†(Page 4, lines 105-107)Obama uses the sponsorship effect to create ethos. He also uses Michael Jordan’s and J. K. Rowling’s story to get it out that you cannot succeed without fail ing. Obama uses persons who are idol to many so they get inspired to try to accomplish the same success. He wants the students to understand that if they want to be successful, they need to set goals for themselves and take responsibility for their education for that to happen. Throughout the speech, Obama uses a number of different strategies to affect the broad group of audience. By use concrete example they can relate to with a language everybody is able to understand, he inspires and motivates the young people who is the future of the USA.

New Criticism vs. Reader Response Criticism

What is more accurate, new criticism or reader response criticism? The answer Is neither, seeing as both styles of critic views and analyzes the topic at hand and gives feedback. Though both styles offer feedback, they are different forms of feedback entirely. New criticism involves focusing on the material at hand, and not what It was meant to be perceived as, to Judge the topic by every measurable feature possible. Reader response criticism is when a reader or a Judge would Inspect the topic up and down, left and right.The reader Is not Judging based on hard facts, but as to hat the topic means to the reader, how It makes him feel and how he views the topic differently from what the creator may have Intended. When explaining food for example, one could say this dish has a lot of salt, or not enough flavoring, or you could say that this dish brings back memories of your childhood. Neither response Is Inaccurate, nor are they fully correct. A response Is entirely subjective and could vary in the eye of the beholder.New criticism is harsh and severe, basing their feedback off hard facts of the topic. Food for example, is one topic that people could use new criticism. My mother sakes a dish every Friday night called â€Å"Match†. It is an Israeli dish made up of roasted red peppers and tomatoes, usually served cold. A judge using new criticism might mention things like the texture is not right, or that the intensity of the spicy flavor is not up to par. He could say something like, the texture is just perfect and the density is not too thick and not too soft.He views this food as nothing but another dish, noticing its faults and its feats. Reader response criticism is a different story. Though the Judge who views my mothers cooking with new criticism may bluntly say what is wrong with the food or hat is perfect, reader response criticism entails a new way of looking at my mothers dish. L, for example, do not inspect my mothers cooking, to ensure sure it ha s enough salt, or that it is not high in spices to the point where I could not eat it.I criticize the food differently. When the plate is brought out to the dinner table, my first Interaction with it is its delicious aroma. This aroma does not bring to my attention if the food is well prepared or not, but it takes me back to my childhood memories where I can see my grandmother making me the same dish in Israel, where I am dated around my entire family. This dish means more to me then a delicious salad- type dish, but it is a representation of the strength of our family as a whole.This dish Is a symbol of what brings our family together at the dinner table, Joining us for one purpose. Many people may see a movie and Judge the movie based on a number of things. Say there was a movie based on a high school basketball team that against all odds made It to the state finals and lost. A normal cartel may comment on the skill levels of the actors Involved, or they may bring up the topic of the depth of the plot. They may bring to some peoples attention what was wrong with the story, what did not make Others may see this movie differently.One viewer, could have been part of a high school athletic team, and could understand and relate to the hardships that the boys had to go through to make it to where they did. He might understand the excitement they felt when making it to the finals, or the pain they went through when the game clock hit zero. Both forms of criticism may be accurate, but how you view a movie or a dish can vary on the experiences you may have went through or the past you may be used to.