Critique a Research Article Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critique a Article - Research Paper Example However, recent studies presented that almost 50%-72% of genetic elements are responsible for repeated co-occurrences of such disorders to the same patient or to the particular family tree. Thus, the research problem that has been addressed in this article is whether (cross)–assortative mating or (cross)–parent of origin effects of ASD and ADHD in parents have any relationship with the co-occurrence of either ASD or ASD with ADHD among their children. Initially, the article was aimed at discovering whether ASD and ADHD share similar structural and functional brain abnormalities which would also prove the co-occurrences of such disorders among parents and children belonging to one family tree. In order to obtain this particular aim, the authors used a series of literature studies an interview process. Subsequently, the obtained conclusion stated that the two disorders share insignificantly similar structural bases and functional brain abnormalities (Steijn, Richards, Oer lemans, Ruiter, Aken, Franke, Buitelaar & Rommelse, 2012). Evaluation of the Research Methods Used Does the author provide a literature review? One of the main reasons or motivations to use literature review in a research process is the intention to verify or justify the concerned issue with reference to prior studies and already evaluated and rationalized outcomes (Cronin, Ryan & Coughlan, 2008). However, the aim of the article was to identify and comprehend a new dimension of the concerned research phenomenon, i.e. the possibilities and the probable causes of co-occurrences of ASD and ASD with ADHD among parents and children in the same family tree. Hence, a greater emphasis is provided towards primary sources through interview rather than on literature reviews in this article. Nevertheless, the authors make use of the secondary research in the introductory part to signify the literature gap and the scope of the research. Is the Research Current and Relevant to Today Existing Heal th Issues? A large number of treatments are undertaken currently with children suffering from autism. Recent studies have depicted that almost 1 out of every 88 children is diagnosed with an ASD, among which boys have been examined as 5 times more vulnerable to girls. However, scientists have been unable to provide any valid explanation for the increase in the diagnosis (Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, 2012). Moreover, it is also identified that symptoms of ADHD also create significant problems for more than half of all the children with autism or ASD syndrome. Unfortunately, both the disorders, ASD and ADHD are under recognized and under treated by doctors in majority of medical cases. Hence, there is a greater demand and need for researching on such crucial topic in order to gain significant insights about these disorders (Autism Speaks Inc, 2011). Thus, it can be stated that research on such critical topic in the current context is worth to be undertaken for ensuring enhanced public h ealth. Describe the research type utilized? – Experimental, non-experimental, quasi experimental, etc. The authors have applied experimental research type for conducting the research study in order to establish the assumed cause and effect relationship between the

Feminist analysis of the film pretty woman Research Paper

Feminist analysis of the film pretty woman - Research Paper Example The first wave is mainly referred to women’s suffrage, the second wave is associated with the liberation movement of women and the third one is related and can be felt through the continuation of the movement through the reaction evolved in the field of art and literature and perceived as the failure of the second-wave of feminism which began in the 1990s. The first wave of feminism is related with suffrage movements of the nineteenth and first-half of the twentieth century. This particular wave in the feminist movement was concerned with the women’s right to vote. The second wave of feminism began in 1960s and was related with the major focus on women liberation which campaigned for the equality of women in legal and social front. In cultural context, feminist film, art or literature evolves out of the movement and forms its four distinct principles pertaining to four schools of thoughts. Also sometimes pieces of art, literature or aesthetics are judged and viewed from the feminist perspective. The same perspective can be judged after giving a close introspection to the film â€Å"Pretty Woman† which appeared on the silver screen in the year 1990 as a romantic comedy written by J. F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall. The film stars casted Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in the leading roles along with Hector Elizondo and many others. The plot of the movie centres round the down-on-her-luck prostitute from Hollywood, Vivian Ward who acts as an escort to the rich businessman Edward Lewis for a week in his business trip. The story is all about their brief period of staying together and their growing relationships. This film can be viewed from a strong feminist bent and all the four critical theories and principles of feminism somewhere peep through the lighter plot of the film. Thesis Statement This essay tends to analyse myriad subtle and intricate feminist perspectives and interpretations entwined within the plot of the film. The essay also intends to discuss the critical role of the four principles of feminism operating throughout the film. Pretty Woman: A Feminist Discourse The plot of the film centres round seduction; love and its development of a Hollywood prostitute Vivian with a robot like multi-millionaire, Edward Lewis. At the outset of the movie we are introduced to a woman who is not doing well with her business of prostitution. The body of Vivian (played by Julia Roberts) is subjected or rather exposed for material pleasure and as a prostitute, Vivian sells her body and her body is likely to be viewed as a mere commodity. The critical theory of liberal feminism plays well here. According to the theory or principle, the parameter of gender prejudice is based on the individual ignorance. And education is seen as the key tool against the battle for gender discrimination (Sociology, â€Å"Feminism: Basic Principles†). In the film, the prostitute Vivian is not educated and so she is compelled to choos e a profession where no much brain work is needed. But during her stay with Edward Lewis we can hear few real wise statements from her which proves her intelligence. Also Vivian at the first acquaintance with any person irrespective of men or women gives the option that she is ready to be called by the name that the other person pleases. This kind of an instruction clearly indicates a threat to the existence of Vivian as an entity and creates an existential crisis for her. With Vivian,

Communication Processing In Modern Times Cultural Studies Essay

Communication Processing In Modern Times Cultural Studies Essay Nowadays, communication is become more important as it is used not only in business purpose, but also used widely in our daily life such as usual conversation or studies. While in hospitality and tourism industry, communication not only is use between customer and staff, but also use within the staffs in the organization. Besides that, communication also can be used to train staff in the hotel. If the communication did not go well in both conditions that are stated above, problems will occur and will also cause inconvenience to the hotel. This might bring up the problem of customer complain or mistake occurring when the operation of the hotel is going on. The definition of communication can be defined as transmitting information or exchanging message between two or more person. The communication process can be done by using the method of performing word, tone of voice or body language from one to another person. If without communication, other people might dont know what the person w ant or what the person want to say. So, it is important that a good communication process is carrying out when there is communication going on. 1.2 The communication process In a successful communication, it is very important that the sender send a clear message to the person he want to tell to. This will make the receiver get the message accurately and understanding it on the spot. Below is the figure of the process of communication that has been carrying out. In figure 1, it shows that the flow of a successful communication process. The communication process has involved two parties which are the sender and also the receiver, the message that is used, and also the type of how to transfer the messages. Besides that, the message that is send by the sender first are usually influenced by the senders personality which is the background of the sender, the sender education, and also attitude toward the receiver and so on. 1. Think meaning of message In the first element of the communication, it is focus on the sender part which the sender has something to tell other people about the idea or information that came out from his mind. The inspiration of the message that the sender want to tell might come from daily life, education, memories or task that had been given. Not only that, the sender also need to express the message clearly, directly and make it as simple as possible in order to let the receiver clear about the message. After that, the sender will choose the person whom he wants to tell to. 2. Express meaning in word, symbol In the second element, it is about the sender will express the message that they want to tell to the receiver through word, symbol, tone of voice, or body language. Besides that, there is few form of communication that the sender can use which is through verbal, nonverbal, written, representative visual and representative aural. 3. Transmits message (tell or write/send) In the third element, it is also the sender part that he will transmit the message to the people that he wanted to tell to. This can be done by transmit the message through telling the receiver the message, write the message out to the receiver, or send the message through e-mail to the receiver. While for the most important is, the message sent by the sender must be clear and easy to be understand by others. 4. Receive message (hear or read) In this element, this is the receiver part to receive the message that sent by the sender. The receiver will receive the message by hearing when the sender is telling the message. Besides that, the receiver also can receive the message by reading after the sender wrote down the message. 5. Translate word, symbols In the fifth element, it is still the receiver part that he or she will translate the word or the symbol that is sent by the sender into the way that the receiver understands. If the receiver doesnt understand what the sender is telling, it means that the communication process is not successful. So, when the sender is sending the message, he or she must make sure that the message that is sent is clear and direct on the spot. 6. Understanding and accept meaning In the last element, the task of the receiver is to understand and accept the meaning that the sender had sent to him or her. After the receiver had understood the message sent by the sender, the communication process will proceed to the first element again. If the communications fail, the process has to start over again. So, it is important that the sender send a message that is clear and easy to be understood by the receiver. 1.3 Form of communication use in hospitality industry For nowadays, communication can be divided into many forms that we usually will use in daily life such as verbal communication, nonverbal communication, written communication, representative visual and representative aural. While for hospitality industry, it also includes all of this form of communication when facing either with customer or the staff in the organization. First of all in hospitality industry, verbal form is the most common form of communication that is use when facing with guest and staff in the hotel. The definition of verbal communication means when the sender talk to the receiver, the sender will directly speak to the receiver by face to face or by through telephone. For example, the front office staff will communicate with the customer by face to face when the customer check in to the hotel. Besides that, verbal communication also occur when the customer call up to the front office staff to make a reservation in the hotel. While for nonverbal form of communication, it is also widely used in hospitality industry. The meaning of nonverbal communication means the message is send through two groups which is directly and indirectly. Directly nonverbal communication means the message is send through sign or similar gesturing while indirectly nonverbal communication means that the message is send through expression, physical attitude and so on. For example, the sign board that is used to warn the customer about the wet floor is an example of directly nonverbal communication. When the staff of the hotel saws a customer passing by and smiles to the customer, it is also a type of communication which is indirectly nonverbal communication as the action of smiling to the guest is the meaning of welcome. While for written form of communication, it also can be founded in hospitality industry. Written form of communication means that the messages are send through letters, notes, instruction, and book, manual and so on. For example, when a customer leaves a note on the room table for the staff in the hotel, this shows that a written communication has happen. Apart from that, the usage of representative visual also can be found in the hospitality industry. Representative visual means that the message is send through by painting, poster, or advertising display. For example, many hotels will advertise their hotel through newspaper as many people are reading it. This not only can communicate with other people, but also can reach the promotional purpose. It will also attract more people to come into the hotel. At last, hospitality industry also using representative aural as one of their communication process, the definition of representative aural can be say as the message is shown by musical form, promotional jingle and so on. For example, some hotel will use radio as one of their communication method. Some of the hotel will advertise their hotel when there is some event going on. 1.4 Conclusion In conclusion, communication has plays an important role in many business industry. Not only in daily life, but also in hospitality industries where it is the skill that used the most and there are many communications happen from time to time such as talking with the customer, greet to the customer. A good communication process have to be carried out successfully in order to make sure that the message is convey to the correct purpose and correct way. If not, mistake or problem might occur when things are going on. Not only that, misunderstanding also will occur and will cause arguing problem to happen. Conflict will also occur if the communication process did not success. So, it is necessary that make sure the communication is going on smoothly. Besides that, when sending a message, the message must be very clear and simple in order to make sure the message successfully send to the receiver.

Youth and Beauty Essay -- Media Plastic Surgery Self Image Essays

Youth and Beauty America is a prosperous country. In fact, sociologists have discovered a uniquely American disease that they call â€Å"affluenza.† This term refers to the stress and related disorders that develop from Americans’ need to constantly spend money on material possessions and supposed self-improvement. It is not enough to just be comfortable, we must have it all and look perfect. We work ourselves ragged and neglect our families and relationships just so we can buy the latest television, even though the three we already have work just fine. People in third world countries struggle to keep their children fed. If work is available, they earn money to buy basic necessities; they do not have the luxury of saving up for a new car. As Americans, we are so caught up in the materialistic that advertising is a billion-dollar industry in this country. What we buy also relates to our other obsessions: youth and beauty. We worship celebrities, but only until they turn fifty . Movies featuring older actors (women in particular) are rare; and even our numerous â€Å"reality† television shows all feature beautiful people in their mid-twenties to early-thirties. However, this is not reality: Americans are made up of people of all ages and shapes. Since we can afford it, we buy whatever nature does not provide, from makeup to plastic surgery. Our advertising reflects consumer demand, which in turn reflects American priorities. While people in poorer countries can not pay for surgery that they need to survive, Americans spend millions on surgery to make them look better. For example, the number of breast augmentation surgeries increased five hundred and ninety-three percent from 1992 to 2002 according to the American... ...ese ads play to that mindset. They say that you can have your looks without spending large amounts of time or money on plastic surgery; and since we as a society have a large expendable income, we are particularly susceptible to this type of advertising ploy. We want to be able to buy as many things as we want, so we are attracted to products that can save us money while giving us what we think we need. Cosmetics also offer more rapid results than surgery, which is important in our fast-food culture. It is a promise of youth and beauty in a bottle: what every American wants. Works Cited American Society of Plastic Surgeons. 2004. 20 February 2004. . Lutz, William. â€Å"With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything.† Exploring Language. Ed.Gary Goshgarian. Pearson Longman, New York: 2004, 393-406.

Investigation on Protein Denaturation

By y. c. pong Introduction: When you heat an egg, the egg white clump together and turned white. It is because the protein in egg white undergoes denaturation, the cross linkage(the hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds and disulphride bonds) which maintain the protein shape destructed, so protein lose its tertiary conformation. This denaturing process is very important, because before protein can be used in digestion they must be unfolded. Part A: denaturation of egg white Aim: To examine the factors on the effect of denaturation of egg white.Principle: As protein denaturation can be cause by several factors such as temperature, pH, salt concentration. In this experiment, we are examining how these factors affect the denaturation of protein. We use egg white, which is actually a solution of protein in water in this experiment. After the egg white had been dilute, the egg white solution can be put in 60? C and 80? C water bath to test for how temperature affects denaturation. It can be record by the time need for the first change of appearance.To find out how pH of affect denaturation, we can add dropwise the actetic acid to the egg white solution. Beside, the NaCl can also be add dropwise to egg white, to test for how salt concentration cause denaturation. Count the number of drop of solution added for an appearance change to occur. Observation: |60 ? C water bath |After 15 minutes, a pale yellow | | |semi-solid formed | |80 ?C water bath |After 2 minutes 30 seconds, a white jelly| | |like solid formed. | |1M acetic acid |After 10 drops of acid added, the | | |solution become pale yellow and clumping | | |of egg white occurs | |5M NaCl |After 27 drops of NaCl added, the | | |solution become yellow and clumping f | | |egg white occurs | |Add equal volume of water |No observable change | Discussion: Protein? s three dimension conformation is held by the interaction between its amino acids. This interaction included hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds and disulphride bonds. But in some extreme condition, such as high temperature, extreme pH, high salt concentration, the protein will be denaturate. It is because the cross linkage had been broken, the secondary and tertiary structure are alter.The protein now has primary structure as peptide bonds are strong enough not to be destructed. In our experiment, we observed that the egg white clump together after denaturation (either by heat, pH or salt concentration). It is because after the normal structure is destructed, some new bonding may be formed between proteins. They can have a big clump of proteins hooked together. That is the coagulation. In coagulation process, the egg white turned from transparent to a cloudy solution, because as the protein clump together, there are no much space for light the pass through, so it looks more cloudy.Besides, in 80 ? C boiling tube, the egg white turned white while at 60 ? C the egg white only clump to a yellow semi-solid. It is because at higher temperature more ki netic energy is provided for the molecules to vibrate, so the bondings are disrupted more greatly. So it can be concluded that a high temperature will have a stronger effect on denaturation. Part B: egg custard Aim: To measure the phrase transitions that occurs in denaturation of egg and milk as affected by temperature change. Principle:Egg and milk are the main ingredients of an egg custard, through baking an egg custard, we can examine the phase transition of transition of denaturation of egg and milk as affected by temperature. Result: After baking the egg custard for 30 minutes, the egg custard set to a yellow smooth gel. Discussion: The egg custard is at liquid phase before baking, and it turn to solid phase after baking. It shows that phase transitions of liquid to solid had occur in the denaturation process of egg and milk as affect by high temperature. The egg custard has a smooth and spongy texture.In the experiment, our egg custard is made of egg, milk, sugar only. Through applying of heat and manipulation, custards can become a viscous and semi-rigid gel, denaturation of the egg protein, causes a clumping of proteins, is primarily contribute for the thickening of the custard. Milk, although not as important as egg, but calcium ions present in the milk are also needed in order to form thicker custard. Sugar is also important to the viscosity and gel strength of custards. Sugar tends to increase the denaturation temperature of the egg proteins resulting in less stiff custard.The concentration of egg protein is proportional to the viscosity or gel strength of the custard. With increasing concentration, a custard sauce becomes more viscous and the gel strength of a baked custard firmer. A custard heated slowly begins to thicken at a lower temperature, thickens gradually over a wider temperature range and result in a smoother texture. Slow cooking can be achieved by placing the custard mixture in a water bath to warm to certain temperature before put int o the oven which has been skipped in our experimentPart C: denaturation of milk Aim: To examine the factors on the effect of denaturation of milk. Principle: Milk protein, similar with egg white, will also undergo denaturation in extreme condition. So acid and NaCl is added to milk respectively, to observe the changes and examine how pH and salt concentration affect denaturation. Then, they are place in a 80 ? C water bath, also a control tube is tube is put in water bath, to examine the effect of temperature on denaturation. Observation: original milk pH= 6. 63 1 M acetic acid |60 drops of 1 m acid had been added | | |The pH=4. 67 | | |There are white ppt formed. | |Half quantity of 1 M acetic acid added |30 drops of 1M acid added there are no | | |observable change. | | |And after heat for 2 minutes, there are | | |white precipitate formed. |1 ml of 5M NaCl |No observable changes soon after addition| | |of NaCl. There are little white | | |precipitate after heat for 8 minut es. | |control |No observable changes even after 20 | | |minutes | |Centrifugation tube |3 layers formed.The upper layer is | | |translucent, the middle one is white and | | |the bottom layer is white precipitate. | Discussion: There are 3 layers present in the centrifugation tube after centrifugation. The upper layer is the acetic acid we added, the middle layer is the milky serum, the bottom layer is the precipitate formed bring out by the addition of acid. There are 2 major components of milk, casein and serum .The casein contains phosphorus and will coagulate or precipitate at about pH 4. 6. The serum proteins do not contain phosphorus, and these proteins remain in solution in milk at pH 4. 6. So, when acetic acid added the pH drop to 4. 69 the casein precipitate so white precipitate is seen. The addition of NaCl only cause a little precipitation, shows decrease in pH has a greater effect on milk denaturation than increase in salt concentration. There are no observable change s in control because the protein are not yet denaturated in 80 ? C.Part D: yoghurt Aim: To experience the making of yoghurt and the theory of formation of yoghurt. Principle: As natural yoghurt is made from fresh milk without other ingredient added, it can be made by simply add a little yoghurt and milk together and incubate in 38 ? C incubator, which is a suitable temperature to make yoghurt. Yoghurt can be available for tasting after 1-2 days. Results: All milk turned into yoghurt, the sample is no longer liquid but is in semi-solid. The yoghurt is a bit sour than the original sample. Discussion:Yoghurt is made by fresh milk, but often some specific bacteria strains are introduce into the milk. The bacteria ingest natural milk sugars and released lactic acid as a waste product. The acid decrease the pH and cause the denaturation of milk protein during which the cross linkage between protein break and protein uncoiled. Then, the protein will tangle into a solid mass, yoghurt formed In our experiment, we mixed the 50 ml milk with 5 ml yoghurt to made the sample yoghurt instead of milk only . the 5 ml yoghurt is to provide the bacteria.Only a small amount of live yoghurt can is needed to inoculate a new batch of yoghurt because the bacteria can reproduce and multiple themselves during the yoghurt making process. Besides the incubator’s temperature is 38 ? C because it is the optimum temperature of bacteria to reproduce. The yoghurt newly made is more sour than the original sample. It may be due to the long incubation hours, as we had kept it over 48 hours. The bacteria ingest a higher % of milk sugar and release more lactic acid. To stop the incubation we can place the yoghurt in a refrigerator.

Literature review of Women at workequality versus inequality: barriers for advancing Essay

1. Introduction Women in our days choose to get educated and pursue careers. To do this most of them have to learn to deal with dual roles; the role of the employee and the role of mother/wife. The majority of them have managed to move from working at the traditionally female occupations (such as teachers and nurses) to male-dominated areas such as managers and engineers (Atwater and van Fleet 1997; Chater and Gaster 1995; Krambia-Kapardi 2006). Furthermore, gender equality is a fundamental principle for democratic countries; women and men should participate as equals in the social, cultural and economic life. Even though improvements have been made, gender equality is still not achieved as men and women are not represented and are not treated equally in the workplace. Unfortunately, the increasing number of working women did not bring equal career advancement opportunities. Gender issues in the workplace arise from differences in the way men and women are treated. Women are not treated by the organizations the same way as men do, something that holds women back from advancing the managerial ladder. It is a fact that women are underrepresented in top managerial positions compared with women holding lower and mid-level management positions (Mihail 2006). *Corresponding author. Email: michailidis.m@unic.ac.cy ISSN 0958-5192 print/ISSN 1466-4399 online q 2012 Taylor & Francis http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2012.665071 http://www.tandfonline.com M.P. Michailidis et al. Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 Women face numerous obstacles for their career advancement and often, welleducated women, with many years of experience are not promoted at the same rate as their male co-workers of the same occupational level. Women have to work twice as hard as their male colleagues to achieve recognition (Wirth 2001). According to Eagly and Carli (2007), Hymowitz (2005), Wirth (2001), Rhode (2003), Duehr and Bono (2006), Hymowitz (2005) and Dimakis, Krambia-Kapardi and Savva (2006), some of the controversial issues that women face in the workplace are gender discrimination, glass ceiling, stereotypes, work– life balance, lack of mentoring, conï ¬â€šicting roles and pay inequality. These are considered barriers that prevent women from obtaining work equality and furthermore achieving top managerial positions. 1.1. Gender discrimination According to Wirth (2001), a large number of women enter the workforce at similar levels as their male counterparts; however, their careers progress more slowly than their male colleagues. Quite often they are more qualiï ¬ ed than their male counterparts but have to work harder and perform much better to obtain top positions. The discrimination acts toward women can take various forms; they are often treated unfairly at the recruiting and promotion processes and the remuneration policies. In addition, there is a general perception that women are not committed to work as they have or will have family and children (Hymowitz 2005). Furthermore, since this study took place in Cyprus it is worth mentioning that the Cyprus Government has always been interested in promoting equality among men and women and social and economic actions were implemented. The efforts began at the end of the 1970s, as part of the Strategic Development Plans, and aimed at the creation of legal framework that prevents gender discrimination, support work– family balance and enhance the socioeconomic life of women living and working in Cyprus. In an effort to harmonize with the European Union the Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training Law, No. 205(I)/2002 was implemented by the Cyprus Democracy. 1.2. Stereotypes Stereotypes are based solely on perceptions and ‘gender stereotypes inï ¬â€šuence beliefs, behaviors and self-concepts at both conscious and unconscious levels’ (Rhode 2003, p. 7). Perceptions that women’s place is in the house taking care of her husband and children has been haunting women for many centuries. In recent years, companies are recruiting an increasing numbers of women but unfortunately most of them are not promoted as they should and are left at lower and middle level ranks (Ntermanakis, as cited by Mihail 2006). Schein, Mueller, Lituchy and Liu (1996) reported the existence of a psychological barrier for women’s advancement; the ‘think manager –think male’ perception. According to Nichols (1994), the belief is that managerial positions require masculine characteristics and so women are not cut out for this type of job. A research conducted in Cyprus regarding the perceptions of young people in Cyprus (Intercollege’s Research Center 2007) gives several positive outcomes related to relatively low levels of genders stereotypes. Of the people asked, 73.4% disagreed with the statement that women should stay at home while men should be the sole money providers. Another important point is that 58.9% believe that men and women can be equally good managers, and that women should receive the same rewards with their male counterparts (81.1%). A recent study by Duehr and Bono (2006) reported that ‘stereotypes about women may be changing’. Male The International Journal of Human Resource Management managers seem to be characterizing women as less passive and submissive and more conï ¬ dent, ambitious, analytical and assertive. Male managers have simply learned that they are expected to view men and women similarly at work. Women are also being stereotyped because they become mothers. Hymowitz (2005) mentioned that one of the reasons why women are not taken seriously in the workplace is because at some point in their career they will have children and they will not be as devoted to work as they should and they will not be willing to work those long hours needed. Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 1.3. Glass ceiling The number of women working at managerial positions is growing. Even though the number of women in lower and mid-level management positions is greater than ever, the percentage of women holding top managerial positions is disproportionably low (Atwater and van Fleet 1997). Women seem to be banned from executive positions due to the ‘glass ceiling’ effect, which describes the invisible artiï ¬ cial barriers, created by attitudinal and organizational prejudices, which block women from top executive positions (Wirth 2001). According to Wirth (2001), women, although they are well educated, are pushed into a narrow range of occupations, where there is less responsibility, lower pay and few opportunities for advancement. Some of them manage to climb the corporate ladder and achieve middle level positions but the invisible barriers prevent them from attaining top managerial jobs. Toussiant (2010) described the history of the glass ceiling in America. As it talks about how wom en were constantly facing discrimination from male-dominated society. This is accomplished by discussing how everything from various court cases to the ERA would have an impact upon these views. Krambia-Kapardi (2006) examined the existence of the ‘glass ceiling’ effect in Cyprus by looking at women’s participation in committees and the opportunities for being promoted in executive positions, the research states that although women participate in various committees, the percentage participating is limited and there has been no signiï ¬ cant improvement the past 6 years. To describe the current situation in Cyprus the writer states that ‘there is no glass ceiling in participating committees, but a concrete wall and it takes a lot of effort to break through that wall’. When it comes to the existence of glass ceiling in executive positions, women hold 12% of these positions in the private sector and 37% in the public sector. Researchers tried to identify the barriers that prevent women from advancing to higher managerial positions. Some of the barriers mentioned were lack of self-conï ¬ dence, avoiding risk taking because of fear of failure and setting low goals (Krambia-Kapardi 2006). Another term relevant to the glass ceiling is the ‘maternal wall’, which refers to the barriers that women face when they get pregnant as male co-workers and managers assume that once a woman has a baby she will not be committed to her career (Swiss 1996). 1.4. Balancing work and family Women today have multiple roles and are torn between demanding careers and intensive family lives. These conï ¬â€šicting roles require a great amount of time and energy, and quite often women do not know how to deal with this issue. ‘Work– life balance is a state where an individual manages real or potential conï ¬â€šict between different demands on his or her time and energy in a way that satisï ¬ es his or her needs for well-being and self-fulï ¬ llment’ (Clutterbuck 2003, p. 8). The elements that Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 M.P. Michailidis et al. inï ¬â€šuence this type of conï ¬â€šict, according to Parasuraman and Simmers (2001), is the employee’s gender, type of employment (self-employed or organizational employed), work role characteristics and pressures (such as how much autonomy is available in the workplace, time ï ¬â€šexibility, level of job involvement and time commitment to the work itself) and family role characteristics and pressures (such as parental demands, level of family involvement and time commitment to family). Gladen (2007) discussed how women have more challenges in being able to balance their work and personal life. Where, the majority of women will have: a sense of guilt, scheduling conï ¬â€šicts and adjusting to two different worlds. Moreover, to help working women, companies can implement various family-friendly policies, which can make it much easier for them to combine paid jobs with family work. This can be achieved by offering ï ¬â€šexible working hours (permanent or temporary), workin g from home and the creation of childcare facilities in work. Organizations also need to ensure that employees who seek temporary working accommodations do not pay a permanent price (Rhode 2003). 1.5. Mentoring/role models/networking The lack of mentoring, social networking and role models are making advancement of working women harder. Women very frequently are not given high visibility assignments or challenging tasks. Also, frequently they are excluded from marketing and social events that result in professional opportunities. Furthermore, they are not helped in their career progression, therefore they are far away from leadership positions (Nossel and Westfall, as citied by Rhode 2003). 1.5.1. Mentoring Mentoring programs aim at helping participants become successful in the workplace. A mentor gives advices for the unspoken company’s rules, provides information for company policies and decision making, give recommendations on how to avoid explosive situations, and information about who is aligned to whom. Furthermore, a mentor provides  ´  ´ career and psychosocial support to enhance mentee/protege’s-junior colleague, professional and personal development (Swiss 1996; Apospori et al. 2006). To be more effective, mentoring should be incorporated with training and development and succession planning. Thompson (2010) highlights how mentoring programs can help women to address the various issues of inequality in the workplace. The problem is that the majority of employers do not offer any kind of mentoring programs to female employees. As only 28% of women are reporting that their employers have some kind of mentoring program, out of this number 52% of women felt that their employers lacked transparency and understanding when addressing this issue (Thompson 2010). Furthermore, barriers women come across when searching for mentors are that male mentor’s are reluctance to take on the mentoring role, this might be due to fear that the relationship might be misinterpreted. Also, the scarcity of female mentors makes it more difï ¬ cult for women to have access to a mentor (Apospori et al. 2006). 1.5.2. Role models ‘Role models are often said to be key to the successful development of young aspiring managers’ (Singh, Vinnicombe and James 2006, p. 67). According to Shapiro et al. (as citied by Singh et al. 2006), role models are individuals whose style, action and traits are The International Journal of Human Resource Management imitated by others. It is also believed that role models are important for all female employees regardless level and age, but special attention must be given to newly employed females (Swiss 1996). Unfortunately, the small number of women holding executive position limits the number of role models for young female employees. Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 1.5.3. Networking Networking is viewed by Vinnicombe and Colwill (1995) as citied by Singh et al. (2006) as the ‘banding together’ of individuals who think alike, for satisfying their contact, friendship and support needs. Furthermore, Forret and Dougherty (2004) elaborated on the issue of networking and stated that these are attempts made by people to develop relationships with individuals who have the potential to assist them work- or careerwise. Furthermore, Allison (2007) and Singh et al. (2006) refer to networking in terms of the differences of the approaches men and women use. Men are on a ‘mission’ when attending a business networking event, trying to meet people who will help them for professional advancement, whereas women believe that this approach is ‘pushy’ and prefer attending workshops or conferences where they can share ideas and use networking for social support. 1.6. Pay gap Gender pay inequality is consistently and widely observed. Various social and economic causes contribute to the long-established gender pay gap, and much effort has been made to explain the reasons for the discriminatory wage disparities. The article titled, Its Time for Working Women to Earn Equal Pay (2007), talks about the vast disparities that are occurring as far as pay and compensation are concerned. Where, women will earn signiï ¬ cantly less in comparison with their male counterparts for the same amount of work. According to a study that was conducted by the WAGE Now Project, they found that the vast disparities in pay equality are between $750 thousand and $2 million over the course of lifetime (Its Time for Working Women to Earn Equal Pay 2007). Wallace (2010) discusses the issues that women will face in the workplace from: the glass ceiling to overall issues of discrimination. In most industries, this means that women are earning $.80 cents for every dollar that is made by men. This information is important, because it can be used to corroborate other sources about issues of the glass ceiling and equal pay in the workplace. Wage discrimination as Joshi and Paci (1998) explained means that one group is paid systematically less than others with ‘equal productivity-related characteristics’. The remuneration disparities between the two sexes have been ascribed to the narrow number of women holding top managerial levels of organizations, which means they are rewarded with higher pay rates (Alkadry and Tower 2006). The article that was written by Childress (2010) talks about: how various legislation has been created to deal with the issue of inequality in the workplace (the Glass Ceiling Commission). As they were created as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and was designed to deal with the issue of discrimination in the workplace. However, the commission was never successful, because there was not any kind of agreement among members about how to effectively tackle this issue. This is important because it highlights the underlying challenges that are constantly being faced when trying to establish some kind of procedures for addressing gender inequality. As a result, the information from this source is useful, because it is showing how various regulatory failures have contributed to situations of inequality existing. M.P. Michailidis et al. The Cyprus government enforced The Equal Remuneration of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training Law, No. 177(I)/2002 to ensure the equal remuneration of both sexes for work of equal value. The Equal Remuneration of Men and Women in Employment states that men and women employees receive the same level of ï ¬ nancial or non-ï ¬ nancial rewards, for the same type of work or for work of equal value. Polachek and Xiang (2006) analyzed data from 40 countries, including Cyprus, between the years 1970 and 2002 on how the gender wage gap varies in relation to the fertility rate, the age gap between the husband and wife, and the female educational achievements. The information collected indicated that the fact the women have the main responsibility for the household and the children, as a result female employees have less job experience and training. On the other hand, men are the main money winners of the family and thus working for more years, with no career breaks and thus more experience and opportunities for vocational training. All these lead to gender pay gap. Despite the fact that various efforts are being made by governments to achieve wage equality, gender pay gap still exist since women are paid less than men for comparable positions (Rhode 1997; Sallop and Kirby 2007). Even though women have equivalent skills to men, nevertheless they are not paid with the same pay rate. Researches believe that perhaps the choice of career might be a reason for the gender pay gap. Alkadry and Tower (2006) reported that even though women have started overcoming some of the barriers for advancing to higher positions, wage disparities still persist and as a result women are rewarded with less money in comparison to their male colleagues. 2. 2.1. Methodology Purpose of the study This study aimed at: (1) identifying the factors that working women in Cyprus are faced with which lead to experience discrimination; (2) examining possible barriers that affect women’s advancement; and (3) identifying organizational practices that assist them in achieving work– life balance. 2.2. The questionnaire The data were collected by the distribution of a six-page questionnaire, which was on a voluntary, anonymous and conï ¬ dential basis and targeted four occupational levels: below ï ¬ rst line, ï ¬ rst line, middle and high-level management women, employees of organizations in Cyprus. The questionnaire was prepared by the researchers and was divided into two sections. Section A coved the demographic data of women participating in the research and in Section B the questions referred to women’s personal experiences, opinions or thoughts related to the workplace. 2.2.1. Section A: biographical information In this section, the participants’ had to respond to questions related to: age, marital status, number of children, educational level, work position, employment sector, type of organization, job title and number of years in the current job. 2.2.2. Section B was composed of ï ¬ ve parts, which are described below: Part I had eight ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions, here, the participants had to respond to questions related to experiencing any form of work discrimination, gender discrimination, Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 The International Journal of Human Resource Management discrimination during hiring, promotion or career advancement opportunities, and discrimination related to ï ¬ nancial and non-ï ¬ nancial rewards between men and women. Part II had four questions; here, the respondents were asked whether gender is a factor that can limit promotions, compensations, access to clients and access to training. The replies were based on a Likert-type scale of 1 –3 (I do not know, Not much and Very much). Part III had ï ¬ ve questions asking women’s opinion on several statements regarding the way women and men are treated in their organizations, such as equal treatment among men and women, equal opportunities for advancement, childbearing and career commitment. The participants had the option of choosing one of the following Likerttype scale responses: I strongly agree, I tend to agree, Undecided, I tend to disagree and I strongly disagree. Part IV had a set of 21 statements, which asked the participants to rate on a Likert-type scale from 1 to 5 various possible barriers that prevent women’s career advancement. In addition, there was one question asking the participants to add any other factors that were not mentioned in the previous statements but were considered as a barrier for women’s advancement. The 21st question was an open-ended question on other organizational practices that were not mentioned in the 20 statements. Part V had nine questions asking women to rate the importance of various organizational practices that can help women’s career advancement and development. For rating the ï ¬ rst eight questions in this part, the Likert-type scale was used with the following scale: Not helpful, Slightly helpful, Quite helpful and Very helpful. One question asked the participants to add other organizational practices that could be useful to women’s career advancement and development. 2.3. Statistical analysis The statistical analysis was prepared with the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The statistical tabulations included descriptive statistics and crosstabs aimed at examining the statistical signiï ¬ cance of a comparison between women’s occupational level and (a) questions related to equal treatment (Part III) and also (b) questions related to organizational practices which would assist the participants in developing and advancing women’s careers (Part IV). 2.4. Sample The questionnaires were distributed randomly to 250 women working in various private, public and semi-public companies. The distribution and collection of the questionnaires was done either through the Human Resources/Personnel Departments. A total of 154 questionnaires were used for the study, giving a response rate of 62%. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Biographical data 3.1.1. Section A This research concentrated on 154 women respondents, ages 22– 57. From the sample 61.7% of the participants were married and 59.1% had children. Regarding the educational level of the participants 22.7% were high school graduates; 20.1% had a college diploma; 24.7% had a Bachelor’s degree; 30.5% had a Master’s M.P. Michailidis et al. Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 degree; and only 1.9% had a Doctoral degree. Of the sample, 47.4% stated that their position at work was in the ï ¬ rst line managerial level and 15.6% belonged to the middle management level; 5.2% held top management positions, while the rest 31.8% held positions below ï ¬ rst line management. The results showed that the majority of women are trapped between the ï ¬ rst and middle line managerial levels. Only 8 out of 154 women who participated in the research had top management positions, a number which is not very positive for the career advancement opportunities of women. 3.1.2. Section B 3.1.2.1. Part I. Here, the participants responded to questions related to work discrimination. In the question whether they experienced any form of discrimination in the workplace because they were female, 87.7% replied that they had not experienced any form of discrimination; 89.6% replied that they had not felt that they had missed a promotion or their promotion had been delayed because of their gender; 81.8% stated that male co-workers of similar duties did not receive higher salary than them; and 86.4% replied that they had not experienced differential treatment in the recruiting process because of their gender. Interestingly though, one of the comments made for this question was that at a job interview a participant was asked whether she was engaged to be married or was planning to get engaged soon. Her answer was negative and after she was hired she learned that women with children were rejected as they would not be as ‘committed’ as they should be. Furthermore, 80.5% stated that they had not experienced any differential treatment in career prospects; 90.3% replied that male and female employees of the same managerial level receive the same monetary rewards. Continuing on, 87.7% of the participants do not think that women receive less non-ï ¬ nancial rewards that their male colleagues. Lastly, 81.2% of the participants do not believe that at some point of their career they were not appointed for a job because of their gender. Some discrimination acts that women had experienced and were mentioned in the open-ended questions are ‘Women receive lower pay than men’. ‘Males are treated with more respect’. ‘Another man took my position because I was a woman’. ‘Negative attitudes by male colleagues toward women’. ‘I was not assigned on an important project because of my gender’. ‘I was told that having a baby would affect my job and I was not hired’. 3.1.2.2. Part II. Here, the participants responded to questions related to their gender as a limiting factor in workplace. As regards promotions, 69.5% responded that gender does limit (but at the not much level) promotions. Furthermore, regarding compensation, 67.5% replied that their gender does limit the compensation (but at the not much level). In addition, as far as access to clients is concerned, 71.4% believe that gender does limit access to clients (but at the not much level). Lastly, in examining access to training and development programs, once again the majority, 73.4% feels that gender is an element that limits access to training (but at the not much level). 3.1.2.3. Part III. In this part, the participants were asked to rate their degree of agreement on several statements. In the statement whether women in managerial positions are as Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 The International Journal of Human Resource Management capable as men at similar positions, the majority of the participants (97.4%, 150 women) think that women managers are as capable as male managers. Furthermore, when asked whether women and men are treated equally in their organization, 79.9% of the participants have not felt that they were treated differently at the workplace due to their gender. In addition, when asked whether at the company where they work, women and men are given equal opportunities for advancement to higher positions, 77.3% believed that women receive the same opportunities for advancement in the organization they work for. Furthermore, in the statement on whether women have to perform better than their male colleagues to be promoted to the same position, 42.2% feel that for a woman to be promoted she must work twice as hard as a man would. Lastly, when looking at childbearing, on the statement ‘once a woman has a child, she is considered to be less co mmitted to her career’, half of the respondents (50.7%) agree that there is a perception that working mothers are not committed to their careers as they should be. 3.1.2.4. Part IV. This part the participants had to rate on a Likert-type scale from 1 to 5 various possible barriers that prevent women’s career advancement. The questions measuring the extent to which ‘women’s low level of self-conï ¬ dence’ is a barrier to their career advancement, 69.5% of the participants agreed with the statement that the low level of self-conï ¬ dence women have is a barrier to their career advancement. When questioned about the extent of ‘working hours facilitate parenting’ and if they are considered a barrier to women’s career advancement, the replies received indicated that women would want to have ï ¬â€šexible working hours that will assist them with their childcare obligations, speciï ¬ cally, 68.2% think that working hours do not facilitate parenting. Moreover, when examining the extent of ‘absence of equal career development opportunities for women’, and whether it is considered a barrier to women’s career advancement, 55.2% consider the absence of equal career development opportunities for women as a barrier for their advancement in the workplace. In addition, the statement ‘to what extent insufï ¬ cient women role models in higher organizational levels, is a barrier to women’s career advancement’, 56.5% of the participants stated that having female role models in higher organizational levels would help them develop; therefore, the non-existence of those role models is a barrier for their career development. To the statement ‘to what extent, a non-supportive spouse, is a barrier to women’s career advancement’ appears that having a supporting spouse is a factor that can be very helpful for working women as 68.2% of the participants feel that not having assistance at ho me from their partner would be a barrier for their career. When asked about ‘company’s lack of commitment to gender advancement’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 57.8% of the respondents believe that the failure of an organization to be committed to gender advancement is a barrier for their career development. Further on, when asked about the extent to which ‘male domination in senior organizational positions’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 63.7% of the participants consider that senior organizational positions are dominated by male employees something that prevents women from advancing to higher positions. In addition, when asked about the extent ‘company’s lack of ability to implement and enforce anti-discriminatory and equality legislation’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 62.3% of the respondents feel that companies do not implement anti-discriminatory legislation and this is a barrier for their career advancement. Also, when aske d about the ‘tendency for organizations to assign male employees on high visibility projects’ and whether this is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 120 of the participants (a percentage of 78%) Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 M.P. Michailidis et al. believe that male employees are assigned on high visibility projects leaving female employees behind and such a practice sets barriers for women’s advancement. The statement looking at the extent to which ‘perceptions that women may eventually leave work once they have a family’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 61.7% agreed that the perception that women may eventually leave work once they have a family is a barrier for their career as this affects the way women are treated in the workplace and reduce the opportunities given to them. Continuing on, looking at the statement examining the extent to which ‘women’s conï ¬â€šicting roles between work and family’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement? It appears that the conï ¬â€šicting roles between work and family are considered by the majority of the participants (62.3%) as a barrier for their career advancement. When asked to rate the extent to which ‘women’s responsibilities for childcare’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 66.2% agreed that since women have the sole responsibility of childcare, this is a barrier for their career advancement. Also, when asked to rate the extent to which ‘career breaks for childbearing, child raising and other family obligations’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 66.9% believed that career breaks for childbearing and child raising are a barrier for women’s advancement. Furthermore, when measuring the extent to which ‘perceptions that men make better managers than women’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 63.7% of the participants stated agreed. In the question asking women to state whether they believe at the existence of the glass ceiling, 54.6% stated that they did experience these invisible banners which are a barrier for their advancement, 16.2% do not believ e at the existence of those barriers, whilst 29.2% were undecided. And when asked to state to what extent ‘stereotypes regarding women’s roles in society’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 53.9% believe that stereotypes about women is a barrier for them as often women are considered weak, sensitive and that they should not be working. Other barriers that prevent women’s advancement in the workplace and were not mentioned in the questions above were the following: ‘Women are judged by their appearance’. ‘Face and body is what they look at’. ‘Lack of acquaintances in comparison to male acquaintances’. 3.1.2.5. Part V. In this part, there were several questions asking women to rate how important various organizational practices were considered in helping women in their career advancement and development. One was on ‘mentorship programs’, 70.8% stated that it would be helpful for their advancement if they received mentoring. Further on, the question related to ‘managerial programs which identify and develop women’s potential’, 86.3% of the participants reported ï ¬ nding managerial programs that would identify and develop women’s potential as helpful. As far as ‘programs that would help women balance their work and family lives’, 93.5% believe that they would be helped by programs that provide assistance to women on how to balance work and family lives. These results show that women feel that they cannot balance work and family obligations and perhaps they need some assistance on how to achieve it. The question related to ‘on-site childcare facilities’, participants replied almost unanimously (93.5%) that it would be very helpful to them if their children could attend an on-site childcare facility. In addition, as far as ‘refresher courses when re-entering the workforce’, the majority of the participants (78.6%) agreed that it would be very helpful if women received refreshing courses when Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 The International Journal of Human Resource Management re-entering the workforce after a career break. The question ‘offering ï ¬â€šexible working hours’ is considered as an important factor for the advancement and development of women as 93.5% agreed that it would be helpful if they could arrange the hours they would be working according to the obligations they have at home. Continuing on as far as the question on ‘women role models in the highest levels of the organization’, 85.1% agreed that having women role models in the highest levels of the organization would be very helpful for the careers. Lastly, 100% of the respondents showed agreement on the statement, ‘helping women to broaden their professional experiences’. This unanimity indicates that women do not feel that they receive help from the companies they are working and consider it to be a huge barrier for their career development. The participants were asked to add any other organizational practices that were not mentioned but are consi dered important for working women. The comments made were the following: ‘Educating and always giving upgraded information to young women through organized seminars and events’. ‘Allowing work to be done at home, this will give work opportunities to women with families’. 3.1.2.6. Part VI. An analysis of the test of signiï ¬ cance – Crosstabs was also performed. This tried to examine the differences between the following: Current position at work: (1) just below ï ¬ rst line management, (2) ï ¬ rst line management, (3) middle management and (4) top management and: Part (A), ï ¬ ve questions, which referred to the degree of agreement on a ï ¬ ve-point Likert-type scale, as far as the: work capability of women compared with men; equal treatment of men and women in the workplace; equal opportunities for advancement; women’s performance and promotions; and family commitment once women have children and Part (B), eight questions, which referred to the degree of helpfulness of several organizational practices which contribute to their career advancement, looking at: mentorship programs; managerial programs that help women identify and develop their potential; programs that would help them balance work and family; the on-site childcare facilities; refreshers courses for the comeback; ï ¬â€šexible working hours; women role models in the highest levels of organizations; and programs helping women to broaden their professional experience. Concerning Part (A) there were signiï ¬ cant differences when examining Chi-square at the 0.01 level of signiï ¬ cance with the following three questions: The question, ‘I believe that women in managerial positions are as capable as men at similar positions’, indicated signiï ¬ cant differences between the categories below ï ¬ rst line management, ï ¬ rst line management, middle management and top management. Women belonging to below ï ¬ rst line management category, ï ¬ rst line management and middle management tend to agree or strongly agree with the statement (97.7%, 98.6% and 100%, respectively). On the other hand, the percentage of women holding top managerial positions and agreeing with the statement is 75%, while 12.5% is undecided and 12.5% tend to disagree. In general 2.5% of all categories are either undecided or they disagree, and 97.4% agreeing. On the question, which stated ‘Women and men are treated equally in the organization’, s howed signiï ¬ cant differences at the 0.10 levels among the categories below ï ¬ rst line Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 management, ï ¬ rst line management, middle management and top management. It appears that women in top management and below ï ¬ rst line management positions (75% and 44.9%) strongly agree with the statement. However, the percentage of women in middle management strongly agreeing is very low only 20.8%, but a higher percentage agreeing (45.8%) however, with a total of 33.3% disagreeing and strongly disagreeing, or undecided with the statement and 12.2% of the below ï ¬ rst line management are undecided. Overall 20.1% of all categories are either undecided or they disagree, and 79.9% agreeing. Next question requested the opinion of the respondents on the statement ‘At the company where I work women and men are given equal opportunities for advancement to higher positions’. Women holding top managerial positions believe that the company they are working for is giving both sexes equal opportunities for career advancement since 62.5% strongly agree and 37.5% tend to agree. This picture is not the same for the other managerial levels. Women in below ï ¬ rst line managerial level agreeing is 81.6% while the remaining 16.4% is undecided. The ï ¬ rst line managers have somehow similar percentages with 75.3% agreeing with the statement, and 13.7% were undecided. For the middle management respondents the results were the following: 56.7% agreed, 4.2% are undecided while 29.2% do not believe that there is equal treatment between men and women in the organization they are working. In Part B of the questionnaire, there were signiï ¬ cant differences when examining Chisquare at the 0.10 levels of signiï ¬ cance, the question concerning the programs which identify and develop women’s potential, here a total of 87.7% of below ï ¬ rst line management, 90.4% of ï ¬ rst line management, 70.8% of middle management and 87.5% of top management reported that such programs are useful. However, a very small percentage of 8.3% of below ï ¬ rst line management, 42.9% of ï ¬ rst line management, 38.5% of middle management 55.6% reported that programs which identify and develop women’s potential are quite helpful. Two open-ended questions allowed the participants to express themselves on other barriers that women face in their development and advancement in the workplace and also other organizational practices not addressed in the questionnaires. It is true that the majority of the sample did not answer those two questions; only 10% of the participants ï ¬ lled in those questions. Looking for other barriers that women face in their work life, the ï ¬ rst barrier mentioned by several participants was that women are stereotyped and are judged only by their looks, appearance and body. Other comments were that women do not belong in social networks, sports clubs like men do, and this affects their careers. In addition, when looking at other organizational practices that might be helpful for women’s career advancement, there were suggestions like work from home which needs to be encouraged, and courses that help young women increase their self-conï ¬ dence, assertiveness training and how to promote and protect their work rights. The last one is very important because many women do not have equal access to their rights because some of these rights are based on ‘male breadwinner model’ and do not consider the fact that females mostly carry the burden of having to bring together family and professional life. 4. Discussion During the past few years, there has been a global effort to eliminate gender discrimination; but we still have a long way to go and a lot of perceptions need to change along the way (Bartram 2005). Women around the globe are being discriminated against in the workplace, they are not rewarded on equal terms as men and do not receive the necessary aids for career advancement. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the factors that Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 The International Journal of Human Resource Management working women in Cyprus are faced with which lead them to experience discrimination; also to examine possible barriers that affect women’s advancement; and ï ¬ nally identify organizational practices that assist them in achieving work – life balance. The ï ¬ ndings conï ¬ rm that women enter a company in large numbers, as supporting staff, a minority of them reaches the middle-level management, while a very small number of female managers achieves an executive position (Wirth 2001). Only 8 out of 154 women who participated in the research had top management positions, a number which is not very positive for career advancement opportunities of women. A conclusion that could be drawn, with caution though, is that perhaps women in Cyprus do face a glass ceiling while climbing the corporate ladder, which does not allow them to advance to top management. These ï ¬ ndings agree with the EMPATHY-EDGE research, carried out in 2003– 2006 by the European Union, which reported that 104 out of 156 women had never directly experienced workplace discrimination, even though the majority of those women had experienced some kind of career advancement barrier. Nevertheless, gender discrimination is a global phenomenon and it was not expected to receive such a large percentage of women disagreeing with its existence in Cyprus. The results indicated that for the majority of the Cypriot women, marriage and children did not appear as a big obstacle for developing their careers. Similar to these ï ¬ ndings were the results of a research for female Greek entrepreneurs by Sarri and Trihopoulou (2005), reporting that the majority of the participants were married and had children. The writers continued by saying that women had achieved in ï ¬ nding a way to ‘develop abilities, skills and competencies’ that help them balance their careers and family obligations. However, in this study it has been demonstrated that women have some difï ¬ culty in balancing work and family obligations. In addition, lack of company programs that help women balance work and family obligations 93.5% of the respondents stated that organizational programs would greatly help women balance work and family obligations. Perhaps, the reason why women are gathered in lower organizational hierarchy levels is their low level of self-conï ¬ dence that prevents them from advancing. ‘Company’s lack of commitment to gender advancement’ and ‘lack of ability to implement and enforce antidiscriminatory and equality legislation’ received high agreement ratings. Companies should implement regulations that help the minorities receive the opportunities they deserve. If a company fails to do so then the minorities are not treated equally. Once again these factors have an effect on the reason why women are not represented equally at the executive positions of a company. The results were impressive as a large number of women would want to be assisted by organizational programs. In particular, ‘mentoring programs’, ‘managerial programs which identify and develop women’s potential’, ‘programs that would help women balance their work and family lives’, ‘on-site childcare facilities’, ‘refresher courses when re-entering the workforce’, ‘offering ï ¬â€šexible working hours’, ‘women role models in the highest levels of the organization’, ‘helping women to broaden their professional experiences’ received high ratings and are considered as important for them and their advancement. The lack of women role models, the lack of mentoring and the commitment women have toward their families were identiï ¬ ed by Catalyst and the Conference of Board Europe (Catalyst 2002) as important barriers for women’s career, globally. The eclipse of these barriers by offering programs assisting working women is an important step for the development and advancement of women in Cyprus. From the responses of the above study, it could be concluded that modern Cypriot women do wish to purse a career and have a family at the same time. Since most women M.P. Michailidis et al. still have primary responsibility for childcare and dependents, it is logical that they identify issues related to family and the home as issues, which affect their career development. Furthermore, gender attitudes have been changing throughout history, however, women all over the world are still being rejected during the hiring process, not promoted in higher positions, continue getting unequal pay and frequently faced with invisible barriers which block them from reaching top organizational positions. The roots of this inequality have been proven to be deep and appear to be very difï ¬ cult to prove and even harder to remedy. Achieving equal rights for equal positions is huge, enormous step efforts and a global concern. Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 References Apospori, E., Nikandrou, I., and Panayotopoulou, L. (2006), ‘Mentoring and Women’s Career Advancement in Greece,’ Human Resource Development International, 9, 4, 509– 527. Chater, K., and Gaster, R. (1995), The Equality Myth, Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Clutterbuck, D. (2003), Managing Work– Life Balance, London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Dimakis, Y., Krambia-Kapardi, M., and Savva, M. (2006), Women in the Modern Business Environment: Challenges and Opportunities, Cyprus: PriceWaterHouseCoopers. Intercollege’s Research Center/Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs (2007), The Free Time of Young People in Cyprus and their Attitudes on Important Socio-Economic Issues (in Greek), Unpublished study. Joshi, H., and Paci, P. (1998), Unequal Pay for Women and Men, Cambridge: MIT Press. Krambia-Kapardi, M. (2006), A Survey of Women in the Modern Business Environment, Challenges and Opportunities, Cyprus: PriceWaterHouse Coopers. Nichols, N. (1994), ‘Whatever Happened to Rosie the Riveter?’ in Reach for the Top: Women and the Changing Facts of Work Life, ed. N. Nichols, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Review Books, pp. 3 –12. Rhode, D. (1997), Speaking of Sex: The Denial of Gender Inequality, London: Harvard University Press. Rhode, D. (2003), The Difference â€Å"Difference† Makes: Women and Leadership, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Swiss, D. (1996), Women Breaking Through: Overcoming the Final 10 Obstacles at Work, Princeton, NJ: Peterson’s/Pacesetter Books. Vinnicombe, S., and Colwill, N., (1995), The Essence of Women in Management, London and New York: Prentice Hall. Wirth, L. (2001), Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management (1st ed.), Geneva: International Labour Organization. Internet resources Alkadry, M., and Tower, L. (2006), ‘Unequal Pay: The Role of Gender,’ Public Administration Review, November– December. http://proquest.umi.com (accessed 16 September 2007). Allison, E. (2007), ‘Does Networking Work for Women?’ Canadian HR Reporter, 20, 2, January, 39, http://proquest.umi.com (accessed 9 November 2007). Atwater, L., and van Fleet, D. (1997), ‘Another Ceiling? Can Males Compete for Traditionally Female Jobs?’ Journal of Management, 23, 5, September/October, 603– 626, http://ï ¬ ndarticles. com (accessed 18 July 2007). Bartram, S. (2005), ‘What is Wrong with Current Approaches to Management Development in Relation to Women in Management Roles?’ Women in Management Review, 20, 1, 107–116, http://emeraldinsight.com (accessed 16 September 2007). Catalyst (2002), Women in Leadership: A European Business Imperative, http://www.catalyst.org (accessed 11 September 2007). Childress, B. (2010), Glass Ceiling, Reference for Business (2nd ed.), http://www. referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/For-Gol/Glass-Ceiling.html (accessed 14 December 2010). Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 The International Journal of Human Resource Management Duehr, L., and Bono, J. (2006), ‘Men, Women, and Managers: Are Stereotypes Finally Changing?’ Personnel Psychology, 59, 4, Winter, 815– 846, http://proquest.umi.com (accessed 5 September 2007). Eagly, A., and Carli, L. (2007), ‘Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership,’ Harvard Business Review, September, 2 – 11, http://www.hbrreprint.org (accessed 16 September 2007). Forret, M., and Dougherty, T. (2004), ‘Networking Behaviors and Career Outcomes: Differences for Men and Women?’ Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 3, May, 419– 437, http://proquest. umi.com (accessed 16 September 2007). Gladen, N. (2007), Strategies for Work Balance, Suite 101, http://www.suite101.com/content/ strategies-for-work-life-balance-a20158 (accessed 14 December 2010). Hymowitz, C. (2005), ‘Women Internalize Stereotypes of Themselves as Weaker Leaders,’ The Wall Street Journal Online, October, http://www.careerjournal.com (accessed 12 July 2007). Its Time for Working Women to Earn Equal Pay (2007), ‘AFL CIO,’ http://www.aï ¬â€šcio.org/issues/ jobseconomy/women/equalpay/ (accessed 14 December 2010). Mihail, D. (2006), ‘Gender-Based Stereotypes in the Workplace: The Case of Greece,’ Equal Opportunities International, 25, 5, 373 – 388, http://proquest.umi.com (accessed 5 September 2007). Parasuraman, S., and Simmers, C. (2001), ‘Type of Employment, Work –Family Conï ¬â€šict and Well-Being: A Comparative,’ Study Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 5, August, 551– 568, http://proquest.umi.com (accessed 16 September 2007). Polachek, S., and Xiang, J. (2006), ‘The Gender Pay Gap: A Gross Country Analysis,’ (Unpublished paper), SUNY-Binghamton, http://www.sek.org.cy (accessed 20 March 2007). Sallop, L., and Kirby, S. (2007), ‘The Role of Gender and Work Experience on Career and Workforce Diversity Expectations,’ Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 8, 2, January, 122–140, http://www.ibam.com (accessed 16 September 2007). Sarri, K., and Trihopoulos, A. (2005), ‘Female Entrepreneurs’ Personal Characteristics and Motivation: A Review of the Greek Situation,’ Women in Management Review, 20, 1, 24 –36, http://emeraldinsight.com (accessed 20 September 2007). Schein, V., Mueller, R., Lituchy, T., and Liu, J. (1996), ‘Think Manager-Think Male: A Global Phenomenon?’ Journal of Organizational Behavior, 17, 1, January, 33 –41, http://proquest.umi. com (accessed 16 September 2007). Singh, V., Vinnicombe, S., and James, K. 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The eNotes Blog Gatsby from MultiplePerspectives

Gatsby from MultiplePerspectives After teaching The Great Gatsby  for many, many years, I couldn’t help but get bored with the same old interpretation of the geography:   East Egg represents the old rich, West Egg represents the new rich, The Valley of the Ashes represents industrialization.   Blah, blah, blah.   That’s why I was excited to find a totally different (although controversial) interpretation right here on .     It all began with one of the answers in our Question and Answer section which, ironically, was on the synecdoche in The Great Gatsby.   Suddenly, my teacher-mind (numbed by years of teaching the exact same thing) became reenergized again and I posted a query to the discussion board.   What was most interesting was to hear the loud voices of dissenters!   (Was it truly surprising to me that, as teachers, we would desire to cling to our time-tested ways of looking at literary pieces?)   Desiring to research the new perspective myself, I came to a lesson on The Great Gatsby from Multiple Perspectives, began to peruse and be amazed. Suddenly, I was being presented with The Great Gatsby from a feminist, Marxist, and archetypal point of view!   Never before had I broached the subject of how Fitzgerald himself had â€Å"treated† women in his novel or whether the female characters were, in fact, â€Å"complete† or victims of â€Å"gender inequality.†Ã‚   It was totally new to me to discover a separation of the characters into the powerful and the powerless, as cars as the symbols of power, or of the impact of a specifically Midwestern, middle-class narrator.  Ã‚   I had never thought before to divide characters into types such as the hero, the scapegoat, the loner, and the temptress. Furthermore, as a teacher, it is just so exciting to inject novelty into a subject that becomes so very monotone year after year.   Now the trysts of Daisy and Gatsby, the bloody blotch on the yellow car, Nick’s quaint cottage in West Egg, and those ominous eyes of Eckleburg will never quite look the same ever again.

The Russians Renamed St. Petersburg Three Times in a Century

The Russians Renamed St. Petersburg Three Times in a Century St. Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, and throughout history, it has been known by a few different names. In the more than 300 years since it was established, St. Petersburg has also been known as Petrograd and Leningrad, though its also known as Sankt-Peterburg (in Russian), Petersburg, and just plain Peter. The city has a population of about 5 million people. Visitors there take in the architecture, especially historic buildings along the Neva River and its canals and tributaries flowing in the city that connect Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland. Being so far north, in the middle of summer, the citys daylight extends nearly 19 hours. Terrain includes coniferous forests, sand dunes, and beaches. Why all of the names for a single city? To understand the many aliases of St. Petersburg, look no further than the citys long, tumultuous history.   1703: St. Petersburg Peter the Great founded the port city of St. Petersburg on the very western edge of Russia in 1703 in a marshy floodplain. Located on the Baltic Sea, he desired to have the new city mirror the great Western cities of Europe, where he had traveled while studying in his youth. Amsterdam was one of the primary influences on the czar, and the name St. Petersburg has a distinctly  Dutch-German influence. 1914: Petrograd St. Petersburg saw its first name change in 1914 when World War I broke out. The Russians thought that the name sounded too German, and it was given a more Russian-sounding name. The Petro start of the name retains the history of honoring Peter the Great.The -grad  portion is a common suffix used in a number of Russian cities and localities. 1924: Leningrad It was only 10 years that St. Petersburg was known as Petrograd because in 1917 the Russian Revolution 503 changed everything for the country, including the citys name. At the beginning of the year, the Russian monarchy was overthrown, and by years end, the Bolsheviks had taken control. This led to the worlds first communist government. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin led the Bolsheviks, and in 1922 the Soviet Union was created. After Lenins death in 1924, Petrograd became known as Leningrad to honor the former leader. 1991: St. Petersburg Fast-forward through almost 70 years of the communist government to the fall of the USSR. In the years that followed, many places in the country were renamed, and Leningrad became St. Petersburg once again. Historical buildings saw renovation and rejuvenation. Changing the city name back to its original name did not come without controversy. In 1991, the citizens of Leningrad were given the opportunity to vote on the name change. As reported in the New York Times at the time, some people saw restoring the citys name to St. Petersburg as a way to forget the decades of turmoil during communist rule and an opportunity to reclaim its original Russian heritage. The Bolsheviks, on the other hand, saw the change as an insult to Lenin. In the end, St. Petersburg was returned to its original name, but you will still find some people who refer to the city as Leningrad.

Atomic Mass and Mass Number Chemistry Review

Atomic Mass and Mass Number Chemistry Review Atomic mass and atomic mass number are two important concepts in chemistry. Heres a quick review of what is meant by atomic mass and atomic mass number, as well as how actual particle mass relates to atomic number. Atomic Definitions Z is used to signify the atomic number or proton number of an atomZ # of protons of an atomA is used to signify the atomic mass number (also known as atomic mass or atomic weight) of an atomA # protons # neutronsA and Z are integer valuesWhen the actual mass of an atom is expressed in amu (atomic mass units) or g/mol then the value is close to A Are Atomic Mass and Atomic Mass Number the Same? Yes and no. If you are talking about a sample of a single isotope of an element, the atomic mass number and the atomic mass are either very close or else the same. In introductory chemistry, its probably fine to consider them to mean the same thing. However, there are two cases in which the sum of the protons and neutrons (atomic mass number) is not quite the same as the atomic mass! In the periodic table, the atomic mass listed for an element reflects the natural abundance of the element. The atomic mass number of the isotope of hydrogen called protium is 1, while the atomic mass number of the isotope called deuterium is 2, yet the atomic mass is listed as 1.008. This is because natural elements are a mixture of isotopes. The other difference between the sum of protons and neutrons and the atomic mass is due to mass defect. In a mass defect, some of the mass of the protons and neutrons is lost when they bind together to form an atomic nucleus. In a mass defect, the atomic mass is lower than the atomic mass number. Source Jensen, William B. (2005). The Origins of the Symbols A and Z for Atomic Weight and Number. J. Chem. Educ. 82: 1764.

Initial topic proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Initial topic proposal - Essay Example It is so bad that the ethnic difference itself becomes a cause of conflict because unidimensional and simplistic presentation of conflict between ethnic groups. This topic is important because the negative representation of the minority groups is the major source of conflict between ethnic groups. Moreover, media as the societal mirror play an important role in shaping social functions of the society, as well as the perception of the public towards several issues. In addition, portrayal of diversity in media programs make the public develop a positive attitude towards the minority groups while misrepresentation and underrepresentation lead to a negative attitude towards the minority groups. Racial profiling is an enduring culture since the days of our ancestors that has dominated the social society to date. This means that several elements of the society including media are widely influenced by racial profiling. In a The Criminalisation of Ethnic Groups: An Issue for Media Analysis, Marcello Maneri  &  Jessika ter Wal (2005) reveal the composition of newsrooms reflect on an unequal distribution of power between the White majority and the Black minority. This prejudice and discrimination within the newsrooms produce the stereotyped portrayals of racial groups in the media. In another article titled A Long Way to Go: Minorities and the Media, the author expands on the view that media is the number one teacher of stereotype in the community whether intentional or unintentional (Cort, 2011). The media has a powerful image on the public, and thus, the image they portray of the minority groups is what other people in indirect contact with this group take to be true. Furt hermore, he notes that depicting the minority groups negatively by the media has driven them to create their own shows, magazines, radio, newspapers, and television shows where they can

Shifting cultural attitudes towards smoking Essay

Shifting cultural attitudes towards smoking - Essay Example Attitudes towards smoking have undergone considerable changes over the past six decades. In the 1950s, there was minimal, if any, awareness amongst the population regarding the effects of smoking.In fact smoking became a common practice amongst physicians after the World War I. Doctors did not warn people against engaging in smoking, active or passive; some of them were even involved in the promotion of the tobacco industry without disclosing the deleterious nature of smoking (Novella). Advertising companies employed such tactics to make people believe that smoking was not harmful since a large proportion of the doctors smoked. In fact doctors used to recommend patients to smoke to pacify their nerves as exemplified by the advertisements of Camel cigarettes â€Å"If you are acting grumpy, then have a smoke and mellow out† (Hoover). Advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s used to reflect the same consumer trend. In one such advertisement, a doctor is questioned â€Å"what brand of cigarettes do you smoke, doctor?† (Novella). Novella observes that the 1950s represented a paternalistic relationship between the doctor and the patient. The doctor used to be the final authority and no one used to doubt his judgment. However the 1950s saw a change in the cultural attitudes towards smoking. This change is attributable to the completion of three significant epidemiological studies which concluded a strong relationship between smoking and cancer.... According to Job Fowles, a Harvard University Graduate, by analyzing six advertisements between 1940 and 2000, one can appreciate how subtly advertising has encouraged youth to initiate smoking. One of the reasons why such advertisements have been successful is because they tend to create the impression that smoking can provide what the youth are looking for. Typically, these advertisements have attracted the youth by promoting that they deliver prominence and a means of escape and affiliation to the youth; this has been at least the case for the earlier smoking advertisements. An advertisement of Philip Morris in 1956, for example, focused more on how younger generation, having â€Å"fresher, unspoiled tastes† are able to appreciate the â€Å"gentleness and delicate flavor† of the cigarettes (Media Awareness Network). Marlboro, in 1955, started featuring well-built men with tattooed arms and the 1960s saw the company showing cowboys and the American West. A lot of mone y was put into the advertisements of tobacco by tobacco companies, working towards making people believe that smoking was a trendy and fashionable thing. Smoking was classy and enjoyable and was expected to provide sex appeal, style and longevity (Chickenhead Productions). Indy Speedway reviewed the changes in cigarette advertisements over the past few decades. According to it, Camel cigarettes introduced the images of men and commercialized their toughness even in the 1970s. They emphasized on the uniqueness and physical appearance of the men. The advertisements of Camel cigarettes also featured women, admiring the men, and every advertisement used to have a different woman staring at the men. Indy

Housing and Urban Regeneration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Housing and Urban Regeneration - Essay Example Housing reforms were also constant in the market as there was little dissemination of information to the public as Isobel Anderson ( 2010, p9) insinuates. In this paper, the main focus is on housing inequality in relation to the black minority ethnic group and other related groups which Harrison Malcom( 2003, 128) largely explains. This has been largely contributed by factors such as socio-economic and institution groups that are in control in the market platform. Currently market dynamics have emerged providing diverse range of housing that has increased the consumption levels. In contrast there were few choices in the previous past which limited the people from accessing housing. Huang and Clark (2002, p322) state that some housing units in countries such as China were set aside as welfare benefit especially on basis of non-monetary factors such as job rank, job seniority, marital status and household size. However, this situation is changing as privatization is taking ground in th e market corridors. Public housing was previously meant for institution groups such as the political status and those working in government agencies. Individuals working in these sectors had an advantage over the migrants and farmers. They were allocated public houses that were subsidized. It did not matter if they received low incomes. On the other hand the governmental heads and the political elite accessed considerably large housing with the best facilities. This pattern is however changing as market forces are gradually gaining ground. Even though this scenario is taking effect the black minority ethnic groups and asylum seekers cannot still afford better housing (Finney & Peach, 2004, p302). Public housing was privatized through selling at subsidized prices. Privatization also led to new private housing where real estate developers were constructing a wide range of housing to create diverse preferences. Households living in public houses had an advantage over the migrants and f armers as they were able to purchase public houses sold off. They were able to obtain home ownership while the minority such as single women with children could only afford rental housing ( Harrison, 2004, p128). Those working in government and organization agencies earned low income and had retired; they were able to purchase good and large housing. This was made possible by the housing policy reforms that were in place. On the contrary the minority could only enjoy poor housing as they were excluded from accessing these benefits. Therefore they were still constrained to small and poor housing. The political status had considerably great advantages as they used their position to gain control by purchasing public housing and investing heavily in construction of rental housing. The educated and those who had occupations had access to good housing and better standards of living individuals. Housing inequality increased continually due to income inequality. Individuals at top levels su ch as managers and heads of governments enjoyed the top cream. They had huge incomes as compared to those at low levels. This gave them great access to a wide range of varied housing. They had an upper-hand as they could invest in rental housing and developing of real estates. Therefore, they continued to get richer as those at lower levels were subject to rental housing. This was

Methodologies for the water quality and eutrophication potential Article

Methodologies for the water quality and eutrophication potential assessment in Lakes (Melen Reservoir) and application of water quality models (WASP, PAMOLARE) - Article Example The quantitative nature of assessment refers to the precise information on different pollutant parameters , usually undertaken based on detailed sampling followed by laboratory analysis (Mantas et al, n.d.). The quantitative investigations on water quality is assessed on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. The physical parameters refers to those assessed by physical means like visual appeal, odour and taste. The high turbidity, mixing with colored wastewater, high water temperature, odour generated from the dead and decayed matter are some of the changes that are noticed through physical means. But chemicals parameters are those that require detailed chemical analysis to understand the characteristics. The dissolved oxygen that measures the amount of oxygen molecules present in the dissolved state , biochemical oxygen demand to give the measure of organic impurities in water, nutrients like nitrates and phosphates are the major chemical parameters that mus t be monitored continuously. The bacteriological quality refers to the various biological organisms that are present in water like phytoplankton, bacteria, protozoa and variety of small plants. In the case of lakes and reservoirs, high influx of nutrients into the water body results in the indiscriminate growth of green plants like phytoplankton and small sized floating weeds termed as eutrophication. In order to estimate the long term impact of the current pollution trends on the water quality , model and simulation studies become very essential. The models usually proposed are theoretical models, empirical models or statistical models. They are very essential to understand the changes in the water quality of streams and hence to propose appropriate means for the restoration methods. The mechanisms behind the fate and transport of contaminants/pollutants are mostly based on mass balance calculations that incorporates different processes

Parapheasing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Parapheasing - Article Example This allows for personal contact between manufacturer and supplier in order to solve any conflicts that might arise (Fynes et al., 2005). A manufacturer depends on suppliers. If a supplier does not deliver than trust is lost. Once trust is lost, the manufacturer and supplier relationship suffer. The Porter Five Force state five forces impact a business. The five forces are bargaining power of customers, threat of new entrants, bargain power of suppliers, threat of substitute products, and competitive rivalry within the industry. A supplier’s bargain power ranks with customer power, threat of new entrants, substitute products, and rivalry. Supplier bargaining power is important. That is why supplier and manufacturer relationship is so important. Input prices deviate from those that would prevail in a perfectly competitive input market in which input suppliers act as price takers due to the lack of competition. When the market has three major suppliers, the individual suppliers cannot negotiate prices. If the individual suppliers get contracts, the main goal is keeping the business. The larger suppliers can give bigger discounts due to the volume of business done. The individual suppliers cannot afford to not make a profit, whereas a bigger supplier can absorb profit loss better. Thus bigger suppliers can provide lower prices than individual suppliers. In a competitive input market the product can be offered at a level rate. For example, if product X costs a specific amount to make. Suppliers would be able to offer product X for about the same amount. Suppliers can make or break a business. Suppliers only have a concern for the individual business in regard to what will happen to their supply business. Suppliers are only as good as the supply of product given for the least amount of money. If a business fails, the supplier can find someone else to supply. Businesses rely on good