Industry Profile of Bsnl

INDUSTRY PROFILE The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in the world. History of Indian Telecommunications started in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were merged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the government considered it best to bring under state's control. The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and long- distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas. In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy. Also, examples of telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for the Indian telecommunications sector. In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New National Telecom Policy was adopted in 1999 and cellular services were also launched in the same year. Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long distance and international long distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services are presently available in selective urban areas, and collectively account for less than 5 per cent of subscriptions. However, private services focus on the business/corporate sector, and offer reliable, high- end services, such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and videoconferencing. Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodafone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony Services are the major growth drivers for cellular industry. Cellular operators get substantial revenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand. AN ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE OF BSNL BSNL adopt latest digital switching technology like OCB, EWSD, AXE-10, FETEX, NEC, etc and widespread transmission network including SDH system up to 80 gbps web telephony, DIAS, VPN Broad brand and more than 400000 data customers, BSNL continues to serve this great nation. The responsibilities include improvement of the already impeccable quality of telecom services, expansion of telecom network, introduction of new telecom services in all villages and instilling confidence among its customers. BSNL has managed to shoulder these responsibilities remarkably and daftly. Today with over 45 million line capacity, 99. 9% exchange digital, nation wide Network management & surveillance system (NMSS) to control telecom traffic and over 400000 route kms of OFC network, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is a name to reckon with in the world of connectivity. Along with its vest customer base, BSNL’s standing. The telecom infrastructure alone is worth about Rs. 100000 crore. Turnover of Rs. 31400 crore. BSNL’s nation wide coverage and reach comprehensive range of telecom service and a penchant for excellence; and you have the ingredients for restructuring India for a bright future. Today BSNL is most trusted Telecom Brand of India. EVOLUTION OF BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED (BSNL) In India, the Posts and Telegraph Department originated in 1851 as a small part of the Public Works Department. Dr. William Shaughnessy pioneered telegraph and telephone in India. A regular separate department was opened around 1854 when telegraph facilities were thrown open to the public. The major milestones of the organization are as shown below. BSNL Corporate Organizational Structure {draw:frame} Vision, Mission & Objectives of BSNL VISION: To become the largest telecom Service Provider in Asia. MISSION : To provide world class State-of-art technology telecom services to its customers on demand at competitive prices. To Provide world class telecom infrastructure in its area of operation and to contribute to the growth of the country's economy. OBJECTIVES : To be a Lead Telecom Services Provider. To provide mobile telephone service of high quality and become no. 1 GSM operator in its area of operation. Contribute towards: National Plan Target of 500 million subscriber base for the country by December Broadband customers base of 20 million in the country by 2010 as per Broadband Policy 2004. Providing telephone connection in villages as per government policy. Implementation of Triple play as a regular commercial proposition.

Children Begin by Loving Their Parents

Despite my father's aching back, at the age of 45 or so, he played wit me and lifted me up in the air on many occasions. He was so proud since I had grown an inch taller. It has been 11 years now since my mother had died. Both my parents had been involved in an accident, unfortunately my mothers injuries were too severe and there was nothing the doctors could do. I blamed my father for the death of my mother since he had been under the influence of alcohol while the accident had taken place. I had Jus turned 16 that year, and was influenced by my friends to run away from home.My arenas were extremely worried about me. It was while they were looking for me when they had met with an accident. I knew then, as I know now, that I helped drive father to drinking. I will never forgive myself for that. What was a problem we might have resolved exploded, and home was never home again. He could not be the same father to me anymore. He became angry and aggressive since the death of my mother. W e both blamed each other for her death. If I never had ran away from home and If he had never been under the Influence of alcohol while driving, my mother would have still been alive.In my mind my father Is still the vibrant, witty and a private man that raised me, the man so steadfast In his love and devotion for my mother that I have never once heard a complaint or regret over their life together. A man who did whatever, anything, he could do for me. I know my father has many faults, faults that have sliced me In hidden places. My father has consumed alcohol various times. He has not always been the best father and has not always treated me well. But grief shows Itself In many forms. What we have been to each other are companions on a road I wish on no one.

Marriot Corporation Essay

2. Is the proposed restructuring consistent with management’s responsibility? 3. The case describes two conceptions of managers’ fiduciary duty (p. 9). Which do you favor: the shareholder conception or the corporate conception? Does your stance make a difference in this case? 4. Should Mr. Marriott recommend the proposed restructuring to the board? Marriott Corporation (A) 1. Why is Marriott’s chief financial officer proposing Project Chariot? What is your assessment of MC’s financial condition? Is this project necessary for the company’s survival?. 2. Is Project Chariot consistent with management’s responsibilities? To bondholders? To shareholders? To the public? 3. The case describes two conceptions of manager’s fiduciary duty. Which do you favor: the shareholder conception or the corporate conception? Does your stance make a difference in this case? 4. Should Mr. Marriott recommend the proposed restructuring to the board? 5. Who will be affected by Project Chariot? Should MC make any concessions to the bondholders? ————————————————————————————————————————————– Ans. 1 Project Chariot involves a conflict of interest between the shareholders and the bondholders since in this case the debt being held by Marriott Corporation (MC) is risky. Project Chariot aims to create MII with low debt and HMC with high debt. Thus bondholders will find that their investment gets tied to risky real estate assets whose appreciation is uncertain. Food management which is a major segment of MC remains with MII. Thus Project Chariot aims to give shareholders the business upside and bondholders the real-estate downside. Hence this appears to be a case of risk shifting. Shareholders stand to gain while bondholders will lose if Project Chariot is implemented. Ans. 2 This seems to be a case of ‘Cashing out’/’Wealth Transfer’ where the ‘overall’ wealth is being transferred from the bond holders to the equity holders. The following points lead us to the direction of it being a ‘wealth  transfer’ type of conflict: * Chariot will result in a loss to bondholders and a gain to shareholders as the bonds will be downgraded by rating agencies and the returns of the bondholders will be attached to a heavily indebted duty * Total Debt will become more risky, and bonds will be downgraded to ‘below investment grade’ level * MC would be divided into two separate companies. MII would do MC’s lodging, food, and facilities management businesses, whereas HMC would retain MC’s real estate holdings and its concessions on toll roads and in airports, Hence bond holders will now have a claim on only the payoffs of HMC and not MII. So, because of the above reasons ‘Project Chariot’ seems like a case of ‘Wealth Transfer’ conflict of interest. Ans. 3 We believe in the broad view of manager responsibility. We think that managers should not only consider the interests of shareholders but also the interests of bondholders, employees, and other related parties. This responsibility is even more important in the case of a B2C company like Marriott. If they get†¦ 1. If the Project Chariot is implemented i.e. Marriott is divided into 2 companies Marriott International(MI) with the risk free profit generating operating hotel and service business while the other Host Marriott(HM) a would own Marriott’s hotel and undeveloped real estate businesses and other non service businesses, this will affect the following players: a) Shareholders: Shareholder now have majority stake in a corporation with a lower probability of default while all the risk is transferred to debt holders. So all the risky investments are highly leveraged with bond holders exposed to the risk. On the other hand MI backed mainly by shareholders equity and performing assets and thus would be able to issue new debt increasing value for both shareholders and the corporation. Thus the shareholders would gain at the expense of bond holders and the equity value of the company would increase. b) Bondholders Bondholders had a lot to lose as according to Project Chariot almost all the debt would be assigned to HM. Given the problems in real estate and hotel markets there was a concern of HM’s ability to meet its debt payment and there was a high probability of default. This meant that the risk was issued at investment grade but now was not backed by valuable assets of the companies which were to be spun off to MI which was to be backed by equity. The value of the bonds would decline substantially and the bond holders would loose a lot of their investment. c) Management(The Mariott brothers) The management gains from the spin off since it is able to split its distressed assets from the profit driving assets and there was a new company which was not under distress thus helping them retain their management positions and start from scratch. They can concentrate on core businesses thus improving efficiency and value. d) The value of the whole company: The spin off does not create value for the company as a whole but only distributes the†¦ What: Under Project Chariot, Marriott Corporation (MC) would become two separate companies. The new company, Marriott International Incorporated (MII), would consist of MC’s lodging, food, and facilities management businesses, as well as the management of its life-care facilities. The existing company, renamed Host Marriott Corporation (HMC), would retain all MC’s real estate holdings and its concessions on toll roads and airports. Why: This project is being proposed because the economic slowdown in the late 1980s and the 1990 real estate market crash left MC owning many newly developed properties for which there were no buyers, together with a massive burden of debt. The new company (MII) would have the financial strength to raise capital in order to take advantage of investment opportunities. The existing company (HMC) would take on the newly developed properties and most of the existing debt. HMC would be valued for the chance of appreciation in the property holdings when the real estate market recovered, not on the basis of earnings, thereby reducing the pressure to sell properties at depressed prices. 2- The fiduciary duty of management is to the shareholders  because they are more than creditors; they are the actual owners of the firm. Management is entrusted with the responsibility to increase shareholder value and their main focus should be on investing in projects that accomplish that task. As stated in the case: â€Å"U.S. courts had held that corporations have no responsibilities to safeguard the interests of bondholders other than those spelled out by the terms of the bond indenture†. 3- I first looked at the initial market reaction; the change resulting from October 2, 1992 (pre-announcement) through October 7, 1992 (post-announcement). I used October 7 for my initial market reaction because in 1992 many people may have still relied on newspapers for investment information. In addition, I assessed this narrow amount of time separately because widening the range of dates used to evaluate the change in prices may allow other variables outside of Project Chariot to come into play. However, I also looked at a wider range of time [October 2, 1992 (pre-announcement) through December 31, 1992]. If you can reasonably assume no extraneous variables affected the prices during this time, widening the range of dates assessed can give an idea of the impact to prices after the initial market over/under-re†¦

Micriobiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Micriobiology - Essay Example (1). Though bacteroides and escherichia are gram-negative bacteria with similar rod like shape, they are in different sections of the Bergey’s Manual, because they belong to different species. Escherichia belongs to the facultative species, while bacteroides belong to the anaerobic species. (2). DNA cloning is the process used for this genetic recombination. This process involves the isolating the DNA from the bacteriophages, and then using restriction enzymes to cut the DNA into fragments called restriction fragments. The restriction fragments are then introduced into the bacteria. (1). A DNA virus on penetrating a host cell releases the viral genome from the capsid and using the host cell polymerases begins transcribing viral mRNA. New virions are then assembled and released through cell lysis or by budding off the cell membrane. Whereas the lytic cycle of an RNA virus is dependent on the polarity of the RNA and whether the genetic material is single stranded or double stranded. In the creation of their genomes RNA viruses are very dependent on virally encoded RNA replicase (1). Viruses cause tumor by changing cells through the integration of their genetic material with DNA of the host cell. It was believed that only DNA viruses could cause cancer, as DNA viruses can directly insert their genetic material into the host cell DNA. RNA viruses can also cause cancer by first transcribing their RNA to DNA and then inserting the genetic material into the host cell DNA. (1). 4. You are growing Bacillus subtilis in nine 16,000-liter fermenters to produce enzymes for industrial use. The Bacillus cultures had been growing for two days when the cells in one of the fermenters lysed. Explain what happened in this fermenter. The phospholipid bilayer is important to living cells as it enables cell coagulation and provides living cells with the ability to sense and react to the

Is Capital Punishment Effective Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Is Capital Punishment Effective - Research Paper Example Those who are opposed to capital punishment do not think that the government should be given the power kill any of its citizens. Opponents also claim that the custom is overtly costly, is racially biased and does not realize the intended outcome. Advocates consider it to be neither cruel nor unusual, quite the opposite they consider it fair and just punishment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the moral and legal issues which are literally are of life and death significance and is a principal barometer when determining the collective conscience of a society. The ‘eye for an eye’ faction not only accepts but loudly insists that capital punishment be continued for several reasons which will be discussed thoroughly in this paper. It will also include the opponents’ reasoning concerning why it should be eradicated along with the legal precedents concerned so as to offer a thorough overview of the capital punishment debate. The discussion will end with an opinio n concerning the future of the death penalty. Cruel and Unusual Common Definition Capital punishment is not unusual, by legal definition, unless the racial bias existing within the justice system is considered and acknowledged. Whether or not it is cruel cannot be defined by law. Cruel can only be defined by the combined social conscious of a particular culture. The legal interpretation of ‘cruel and unusual’ is somewhat open to debate but in general, the term ‘cruel’ refers to brutal punishments that cause excessive pain. Most legal experts agree that punishments including bodily dismemberment or torture are undoubtedly classified as cruel. Terminologies are subject to interpretation as was evidenced by the debate at the national government level concerning the definition of torture during the Bush presidency. The term ‘unusual’ is normally understood to describe the impartial application of punishment for a specific offense. For example, if five people were ticketed for speeding and the judge charged four of them $100 but o ne was charged $1000, this person’s penalty would be deemed ‘unusual.’ Taken jointly, ‘cruel’ and ‘unusual’ indicates that the penalty should be doled out evenly and in proportion to the crime committed. A 20 year prison term is a suitable sentence for armed robbery but if it were imposed for littering, this would be an improper sentence because it would be considered extreme given the seriousness of the offense. Extreme is open to broad interpretation in both the legal and public realm. Some would contend, for example, that incarcerating someone of any period for ‘crimes’ such as the possession of drugs, prostitution and gambling should be interpreted as extreme therefore ‘unusual.’ Legal Definition The Supreme Court has on numerous occasions judged the merits of capital punishment and whether or not it can be interpreted as punishment which is cruel and unusual by the Constitution. The high Court has always ru led that the language of the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit death being implemented as punishment. The Constitution is a flexible document, however. The interpretation of cruel and unusual has evolved to some degree throughout the years and the Court might possibly reverse their viewpoint in the future due to changing societal values. For example, the whipping of criminals was routine until the late Eighteenth Century. This custom came to be considered unacceptable because society’s attitude changed to include whipping as a ‘cruel’ punishment. With respect to the death penalty however, â€Å"the Court has maintained that there remains broad public

The Politics of Public-Private Partnerships Literature review

The Politics of Public-Private Partnerships - Literature review Example The validity of his argument regarding the associated costs of PPPs is the essential point presented in this paper. Flinders’ major argument The article â€Å"The Politics of Public-Private Partnerships† is a particular argument that presents PPPs as potential factors that provide the opportunity for political issues and tensions to proliferate in the government (Flinders, 2005). According to Flinders, political issues and tensions are largely been overlooked, which may be eventually observed from the point of view of efficiency, risk, complexity, accountability and governance and the future of state projects. Through PPP, efficiency gains and service improvements in some policy areas may be observed, but based on the thoughts of Flinders these also have corresponding political and democratic costs. In other words, PPPs may have provided significant benefits at some point, but on the other hand, these can only be generated with substantial political and democratic costs . For Flinders, short-term benefits linked to PPPs may be outweighed by the long-term problems. Therefore, it emphasises more of the probable threats or risks. Thus, Flinders adopted the definition of PPP as a risk-sharing relationship existing between the public and private sectors just to result to the desired public policy outcome. In order to explicate this point, Flinders was able to subdivide his arguments into various sections. The first section deals with the Labour government’s approach to public sector reform since May 1, 1997. In the second section, the author examines Public Interest Companies (PICs) prior to a more detailed analysis of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in the UK. The third section introduces the framework to elaborate the idea of the political issues and debates around PPPs. Then finally, the last section provides information concerning the reasons why the government may commit to PPPs. Central to the idea concerning the first section is the p revailing diverse models of service delivery that the public and private sectors implemented. This at some point, according to Flinders provided the opportunity to the birth of political administrative perspective. The second section tries to enhance the idea of ‘back-door privitisation’ which may have potentially evolved from PICs down to PFI. In this case, various political concerns surfaced and the issue was far from monetary consideration. The third section introduces some relevant themes surrounding PPPs in the UK. Based on the argument of Flinders, these themes may have substantially provide opportunity for the public sectors to be served, but the bottom line of these themes may provide implication for the advantage only of the few and not the majority. The fourth section is a significant confirmation of the elemental drawbacks linked to controversial PFI deals. However, the government seems to have no other choice, but to continuously rely on the private sectors in the future to provide public services resulting to partnerships with associated political challenges. It is now important to consider some remarkable insights regarding the stand of Flinders on PPPs. Key insights In this section, the work at hand presents the key insights into the relationship between government and business based on the relevant points from the article. One major insight that can be generated from the article includes the point that the government is

War Dances Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

War Dances Response - Essay Example The diverse nature of human poses several challenges in the relationships present in the human society. The ability to contain these challenges however leads to development of beneficial relationships and overall harmonious co-existence of the society. In his book â€Å"war dances† Sherman Alexie explores a wide range of social issues and in so doing he demonstrates several relationships between various characters in his stories and poems. The characters in the stories and poems illustrate the reality present in the current day society, and gives particular focus to individuals and relationships characterized by hazardous sets of events and at times leading to some irreversible consequences. Many of the relationships explored involve male characters, and mainly involve fathers and sons in a native Indian cultural background. A typical example is the relationship between the senator son with his best friend Jeremy, in which the senator son is driven in psychological confusion a nd great anger by the experience of learning that his best friend is a gay (Alexie 75). He cannot conceive the fact that his best friend is a gay and as a result, he disowns him. This relationship further echoes the diverse nature of humankind, in terms of thinking, actions and perspective, and further illustrates the fact that our very social interaction should not be limited by our diverse nature. ... General relationship between an individual and his immediate society emphasized, how one is perceived by his society is of critical importance. The episode illustrates the caring nature of the senator son; he was deeply touched and angered by the experience of learning that his best friend was a gay. The conservative or secretive nature of Jeremy the senator son best friend is also evident as he managed to conceal his true identity from his best friend despite the fact that they were very close friends. The â€Å"ghost dance† illustrates the strength of bonds that binds relationships in the native Indian society, which is characterized by a set of customs and practices such as cultural dances to cement its solidarity and togetherness. The dance serves as an identity of the common challenges encountered by this group of native Indians, and according to them, dancing this well was supposed to lead or deliver the community into freedom. The bonds in this society are not even limi ted by academic achievements as illustrated by the professor who despite his academic achievements is said to remain loyal or an addict to the indigenous ways of native Indians life. A contrast between the old who always stick to their traditions despite their big achievements and the modern youths is depicted from this episode. There is also the illustration of a father-son relationship characterized by affection and disappointment that depicts a farther who is an alcoholic despite the fact that he is diabetic. The son’s deep affection for his father makes him disappointed by his father’s behavior, and a sense of irresponsibility and lack of mentorship by parents to their children is

Amazon web services Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Amazon web services - Case Study Example The biggest benefit of this strategy was its potency to attract a large number of customers and thus build a huge customer base for the company. Amazon believed that by building scale, it could lower the bandwidth and hardware costs in the long run. The demerit of this pricing model was that it did not guarantee a certain amount of revenue from any customer. Some of the AWS customers paid less than $1 to the company. The AWS services have been pretty successful and hold a lot of promise for the future. On the face of it, AWS appears to be a diversion from Amazon’s core business; however in reality this is not the case. Since inception, Amazon has invested heavily in technology and its core competencies lie in the back end operations. To that extent, AWS is a perfect fit for Amazon’s skill sets. Since AWS was a front runner in the ‘cloud’ services, Amazon derived the first-mover advantage as well. It is recommended that Amazon broadens the customer base for the AWS services. Till date the company has been primarily relying on developers. It needs to rope in corporate customers given the fact that other technology behemoths like Microsoft and IBM are developing similar

Systems analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Systems analysis - Essay Example How are they ever going to reach out to far-sought village areas in third world countries while innovating itself the way no other company has ever exceeded them? If such is the case, then Google has to expound the global reach of the internet not only literally but as well as figuratively. Reaching novel systems analysis and design also requires the need for first world countries to reach out to third world entities who are unable to out-race their first world counterparts. Information technology has not only been confounded to software and hardware problems, requirements, design, and analysis. With the fast rise of developed nations, companies like Google are also socially responsible for reaching out to rural communities and bring them outside their shells, gradually introduce them to global technology, and make them an active integral part of information technology. In today’s systems analysis and design, there is a need to emphasize social responsibility in order to accom plish one’s mission, vision, and goals. And what makes Google ahead of everyone else is that they were able to realize the need to devote their time, effort, energy, and resources to rural communities in India to be able to send the message that Google is here to help.

Cultural Assimilation Essay Example for Free

Cultural Assimilation Essay America is one of the countries that have rich culture. Being a large country, many people are living in it from different origins. Some migrated to this place for work or for other reasons, to experience green pastures. Since America is also in line with the latest fashion, many investors are placing their businesses in this place just to try if they can be successful with their field in this country. America is said to have all sorts of people from all over the world. Europeans, Asians, Russians and other native people are going to America for different reasons. There is a question that arises with the largeness of population of America and the variety of the people there. Is America more of a melting pot or a salad bowl? Melting point, as defined in the scientific manner is the temperature when a substance melts at a certain period of time. In the question given in this assignment, maybe the question is up to the way cultures are being transformed into something new after their migration to the state of America. And the questioning about the salad bowl might ask for the variety of the culture and kinds of people in America. To make the questions easier or in layman’s term, in what I understood about the statement, it asks if America is a place for the transformation of culture or is it a place that consists of variety of things? The site of America, in the viewpoint of other countries, is grand. Since many famous personalities came from this country, I guess it contributes with the fame of the country plus the famous infrastructures and the countries it has given influences. When people learned that life in America is great, that life here is too independent and fresh, green money could be earned, they emerged into going here for the sake of work. Maybe as time passes by, the country has become populated of people from different countries. In m opinion, America is more of a salad bowl since the culture and ideas of the people going here is not melted that nothing will be left. I guess the variety of the culture contributes in making it a salad bowl. As we all know, salad bowls are composed of different foods, fruits or vegetables, plus emulsifying agents like mayonnaise and some extenders. If people reached America, I think it will change the personalities of the people but not enabling them to lose their identities. The other culture of other people will just make it juicier but not change the composition of the culture or personality. It’s like changing a chocolate in syrup for a chocolate cake. We can see that the chocolate already mixed with the cake and it will be difficult for us to distinguish what or where the chocolate is located. Being a salad bowl, the mixture of the cultures and people in America is heterogeneous by which we can still distinguish one identity from the other, unlike with the mixture of powdered coffee and creamer where we will find difficulty of separating the two substances, a homogeneous mixture. My point here is that America really is a more of a salad bowl than a melting pot. In the set up, I guess nothing is lost. There is gain in the mixing of cultures in America since there are many things learned as cultures are being mixed. This is an advantage of it that people might learn the tastes of others and the crafts they are into. All in all, even if their journey or their stay in America changes the people a little, it is still for their better thus making them moving and motile. The personalities will not become stagnant. They will still develop into something new. White privilege might mean something that concerns the power of the white people since if we can look back in our history, white people have conquered a lot of countries in the world and this makes them as a powerful state. People see Americans or white people of high class compared to those with dark or darker skin tones. According from the article I have read, there could be culture cultivation by the time that people step in the land of America, that they will be able to penetrate, learn and apply the things that they will learn from that country thus growth will be evident. The process of cultivation is also the process of acceptance of the new resident in America. He/she should be able to learn to cope with the changes so as to live happily in America. References Cultural Assimilation And Consumption Behaviors: A Methodological Investigation. 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2007 from http://www. entrepreneur. com/tradejournals/article/68876925_3. html

Female Empowerment In The Developing Countries Sociology Essay

Female Empowerment In The Developing Countries Sociology Essay Over the years, the issues of gender inequality and female empowerment in the developing countries and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular have been a call for concern by local, national, Sub-regional, regional and international Institutions and governments per se to promote development. Unlike women in the developed counties who are, in relative terms economically empowered and have a powerful voice that demands an audience, and positive action, women in the developing countries have been generally silent and their voices have been stifled by economic and cultural factors. In Sub-Saharan Africa, economic and cultural factors, coupled with institutional factors dictate gender based division of labor, rights, responsibilities, opportunities and access to and control over resources. However, literacy, education, employment, access to media as well as decision making are some of the most disputed areas of gender disparity and female empowerment in SSA. (UNDP 2005) However, this project is focus to analyze why the process of gender and female empowerment is lower than expected in SSA. Therefore, to have a flexible understanding of the analyzes, the project would analyze the issues of gender and empowerment in SSA and to give attention to some country statics and analyses on gender variations in urban and rural milieus. To have a balanced presentation of the analyses, the project would make use of the modernization and inequality theory to argue the facts. Recent studies indicate that women in the developing countries and SSA in particular, lack enough access to productive resources such as land, education, employment, health services, decision making, basic human rights and harmful traditional indicators are some of the socio-economic marginalization of women in these societies. Analyzes Gender and education: In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Right acknowledged that everyone has the right to go to school (UDHR article 26), but yet educational inequality is still a major violation of rights of women and girls and an important barrier to social, economic and personal development in SSA. Since then, a number of treaties and declarations have been adopted to turn these aspirations into reality, but nevertheless discrimination on female education remains pervasive in most societies of SSA. (UNESCO 2003) According to DFID (2006), in Sub-Saharan Africa, the highest numbers of out of school girls are in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Mozambique. Considering the case of Mozambique in SSA, gender disparity in primary, secondary and especially tertiary education continuously persist despite government and international stipulations. Following a CIA 2006 report Mozambique has a population of 19.7million and 800,000 square km. and as one of the largest poor countries in southern Africa, faces a set of unique development challenges such as physical and social-cultural infrastructure and effective local administration is far lacking behind. (CIA 2006) A UNDP (2004) report also points out that 32 percent of the population is 6-18 years of age with annual population growth rate of 2.3 percent and child mortality rate is 152 per 1000 and most Mozambicans are not expected to survive more than 40 years of age due to HIV/AIDS, malaria, and extreme poverty which girls and women are the most vulnerable. Following a similar view, primary education is compulsory and free, but yet parents are unable to afford school needs for kids such as school uniforms, books, shoes and other related materials, because of poverty and other traditional influences and the obvious result is drop out from school and the most affected are girls. (UNDP 2004) Generally, gender gap in access to education pronounces more in the secondary and tertiary levels in the developing countries and SSA in particular than in primary level. In an article of UNFPA (2005), based on 2001/2002 millennium indicator data base of United Nations, the ratio of female enrollment in the secondary school per 100 boys is 46 in Benin, 57 in Equatorial Guinea, 60 in Cambodia, 62 in Djibouti and 65 in Burkina Faso. The report therefore indicate that disparity in education increases at higher level of studies in most developing countries of SSA (UNFPA 2005) Although the problem of gender disparity in education have been affected by poverty and traditional upheavals, the government and International Institutions have taken drastic measures to ensure a balance in education on both sexes in most developing societies and communities (SSA). Yet there is still a grand difference between rural and urban enrollment in most of this societies. However, the issue of gender inequality remains a fact in educational sector though might equate as time elapses in SSA. Gender and employment: One of the areas where there is high gender disparity between males and female in SSA is at the employment status which is manifested at occupational segregation, gender based-wage gaps, women ´s misappropriate representation in the informal employment, unpaid jobs and higher unemployment ratio (UNDP 2005) if development is not engendered it is endangered (ibid) This means that the fact that women are under-represented in the formal sector hampers development since traditional Muslim women and rural African women are mostly engaged in domestic unpaid jobs. As women in Sub-Saharan Africa have low status in the community, the activities they perform tend to be less valued and that explains why women ´s low status is perpetrated by their low status activities (ibid). Almost everywhere women are worst paid than men in the same work done(Hedman 1996 p; 19) In-depth analyses on women employment status by Hindin (2005) showed that only 17% women in Zimbabwe, 12% in Zambia and 4% in Malawi are employed at higher status paid jobs meanwhile the respective percentages of women whose partners have higher status jobs are 52, 43 and 53 percentages (Hindin 2005, p; 121) Women are overrepresented in the informal sector in the developing countries especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The 2009 World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report holds that women in SSA have very difficult working conditions and even harsh particularly in countries with higher informal sectors. These women have undefined work places, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions and often low level of skills and productivity. They receive low or irregular incomes; have long working hours, lack access to information, market, finance training and technology. According to the same report, rural African women are the most affected by this situation, about 85 % in Somalia, 70 % in Gambia and 90 % in Zimbabwe respectively. (WEFGGR 2009) Following a BBC world news report 2005, rural African women do not have access to media to get more information on market situation and world trends since most of them are illiterates, poor and local farmers. According to this report, less than 2% of rural Sub-Saharan African women read newspaper and women are disadvantaged with regard to women access to watch television. The report indicated that in the year 2000, among girls and women aged 6-49, only 3.6% and 6.9% had access to television in Malawi and Rwanda respectively. (BBC world news report 2005) Employment gender segregation is mostly found in rural areas than urban cities in developing countries. Take for instance in Cameroon in SSA, employment gender related issue are lower in big cities such as Yaoundà ©, Douala, Baffoussam, Ebolowa, Bamenda and many other major cities than in rural outskirt villages where the main source of employment is farming. Here women do the bulk of the job though informal but are relegated at the background because of traditional beliefs. Local farming is the main source of employment, but yet traditional norms do not give women access to landownership, credit accounts and a complicated inheritance tradition is practiced. (Cameroon tribune 2004) Gender and Decision making: The fact that Sub-Saharan African women have low access to education, employment chances and couple with limited media access and other cultural upheavals minimizes their decision making power in general and in the household as well. (UNDP 2005) No society treat it women the same as men (ibid). Regarding decision making at household level, local level, community level, and national level of women in Africa, though parliamentary representation has lightly increase, no country in the world has reach gender parity level in decision making.(ibid). According to data obtain from the millennium development indicator of the United Nations; cited in UNPFA (2005) women represent 16% of world parliamentary seats, 21% in the developed world, and 14% in the developing countries. This minimal parliamentary representation of women could be due, among other issues, different electoral systems in different countries, women ´s socio-economic status, socio-cultural status, traditional and other cultu ral beliefs of women ´s place in the family and society and of course women ´s double burden of work and responsibilities. (UNFPA 2005) Women ´s low decision power, particularly in SSA, is more pronounced at the rural than urban localities as well as in house hold decisions making. According to a survey carried out by Emmanuel Vasty (1993) about 50% of women in the Northern Muslim region of Nigeria stated that they cannot freely purchase children ´s clothing without the full decision of their husband nor carry a child to the hospital without the authorization of their husbands. This they claim is according to Muslim tradition and beliefs that a man is superior in every aspect and therefore they have to succumb to men ´s orders. (Emmanuel, 1993 p; 74) Similarly, data of low decision power making is seen in the analyzes of Hindin (2005) in join SSA countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Somalia and Cameroon. According to Hindin analyzes, rural women are the most low powered than urban women in these conutries. In the rural villages where strong traditional beliefs prevail and are in favor of men, men are more likely to have a final say over women ´s own health care, large household purchases, visiting relatives, what food to cook as well as the number of kids to bear and when to have this children. Most of these decisions are jointly made in urban households since most of the females are well exposed and educated therefore participate in household decision making. (Hindin 2005, p; 164) Gender and poverty: According to IFAD (2005) it is asserted that there is feminization of poverty in gender especially in SSA and mostly in local outskirt villages and around urban slumps. That generally, poverty among women is rising faster than poverty among men. Following the same IFAD survey report, the poverty level of women living in the rural areas and urban slumps increased to 48% in 1965-70 and in the mid 1980s, by comparison, the numbers of poor men were 30% within the same period. poverty has a woman ´s face-of 1.3 billion people living in poverty, 70% are women (ibid) This clearly indicate that women are the most vulnerable in extreme situations like war, disease, widowhood, poor inheritance rights, ownership of resources, and other traditional and cultural factors contribute to the high rate of female poverty level. (IFAD 2005) Gender subordination does not arise out of poverty per se, though a strong association is often made between gender and poverty, women are said to form the majority of the poor according to UNDP (2004 p; 7) This means that Sub-Saharan African women despite the gender fight to reduce poverty are still subjected to poverty because of their subordinated position in the society. Developing women especially in SSA are not yet free because of strong traditional attachment and the fact that they are relegated at a private influence keep them dependant to their partners.(UNDP, 2004, p; 7) According to Kabeer (1996) traditional subordination is the key factor of poverty among girls and women in the following developing African countries Ethiopia, Somalia, Burundi, Rwanda, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Chad. Kabeer argue that because these countries are both made up of Muslims and Christians, women and girls in the Muslim sector of the countries are bound to be affected by poverty because of strict Muslim customs and traditions. The main source of income is by pastoral normadism in rural areas wondering from place to place in search of greener pastures for cattles. These local nomads have to move along with their wives and kids which indicate that steady education is not secured for the girls and other children and the wife depends soly on the sale of cattles for sustenance and decision on sales is carried out by the man. Therefore, the wife and kids stay poor and voiceless at the background. (Kabeer 1996, p; 89) Kabeer in his analyzes further argue that rural women in developing countries especially in SSA are always affected by poverty because they are mostly engaged in non income paying jobs at the private spheres and in the household while measure financial decisions and income jobs are done by the men. In a typical traditional African setting women stay at home to take care of kids, prepare food, clean up the house, do laundry, and other domestic unpaid jobs. Meanwhile men go out there in search of income paid jobs and according to traditional beliefs a good wife is one who is not carelessly seen in public. That is why women are dumfounded with poverty and take whatever men give to them without much argument. However, some households have realized that it is necessary for women to be educated and have a job that would reduce the burden on men and relief women from poverty. (ibid) Gender and Health: Gender gaps are also persistent in health status in access to health services and health outcomes (World Bank 1993, cited in WHO 1995, p; 21) This means that the issue of gender inequality, poverty and female empowerment needs to be addressed in health status reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa and especially in the interior villages where there are little or no health services and women are badly affected during pregnancy to birth. In conformity with the same survey carried out by WHO in 1990, rural masses in SSA, over 36% of healthy lives are lost by adult women age 15-44 was caused by reproductive health problems especially maternity related causes and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) compared to only 12% for men. There is therefore a clear indication that women are more vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases and complicated health issues especially during delivery. Following the same survey, an additional 5% of healthy life lost by women caused by domestic violence and rape. (W HO 1995, p; 21) It is certain that the gap between the health status of the rich and poor is at least wide like a century ago and have become wider still (ibid) Health policies to improve the lives of the poor have been the main focus for the past 25 years and rural women are the most endangered by poor health services since most communities go without a full train medical doctor. Health diagnoses are done by traditional herbalist and women are vulnerable to more contracted and complicated health problems. (WHO 1995) According to UNICEF (2004) the disparity between developed and developing countries maternity mortality ratio is greater than for any other indicator. Every year around 200 million women become pregnant, approximately 150 million come to terms, 20 million of the pregnancies are unsafe abortions many of which tend out to have complications, disabilities and death, of the remainder there are 500,000 maternal deaths and a further 20 million women suffer severe and disability poor pregnancy management and delivery (WHO 1994) However, the majority of the affected in maternity mortality is in the developing countries in the aforementioned statistics. It was estimated by WHO 1994 that, in Chad, Somalia, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Cameroon approximately, there are 10 medical doctors per 1000 pregnant women in urban city general hospital in SSA and 1 medical doctor in a whole rural sub-division with approximated population of 5000 people. (World Bank 1994, p; 2, WHO 1995/UNICEF 1996) Gender and Power: The influence of power greatly affect gender relations especially in household decision making and power differ depends on the region and level of exposure of the female. From every indication, African girls and women have been deprived of their rights and power and this have been however backed by traditional justifications. This has been a prevalent in many Sub-Saharan African countries that practice patriarchal succession especially in countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon respectfully. There is a traditional belief in these countries that women have to be docile, submissive, tolerant, answerable, obedient, loyal, domestic and faithful for which there is traditional justification. These superior rights given to boys by tradition compel females to be inferior and lack total power and control over their own lives and obligations. (Hirut 2004 p; 35-42) The socialization processes that determines gender roles in Sub-Saharan Africa are partly the reasons for the subjugation of females in these countries and societies rendering them powerless to an extent. Power determines the level of inequality between sexes and power relations differ from urban to rural and the more education a female acquire the more she become empowered and ignores most traditional subordination norms. Therefore, education gives power to most females to know their rights and obligations though traditional values still prevail despite the amount of education a female acquire in SSA. The issue of power relations in most households is felt differently in urban and rural areas in SSA. (ibid) The differences in the way individuals are treated through their socialization process, due mainly to their sex status, leads to real psychological and personality problems between males and females irrespective of their level of exposure. In most African countries, society is socialized in such a way that boys have autonomous powers and girls are rendered inferior. In the process of upbringing boys are expected to learn and become self reliant, bread winners, authoritative, decisive and responsible in different activities meanwhile girls are brought up to conform, obedient, dependant, and specialized in private spheres activities like cooking, washing clothes, fetching water, caring for children and other household domestic activities irrespective of their level of education and exposure. This traditional socialization processes and unequal opportunities have made the process of gender equality slow in most Sub-Saharan African countries. (ibid) Gender and Culture: The fight on gender equality and female empowerment have been greatly influenced by cultural factors in the developing countries. Most African countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast etc have diverged cultural backgrounds and have different perceptions on the issue of gender and female empowerment. (UN 2005) Traditional and religious beliefs have been the major cultural roadblocks for gender equality and female empowerment. Considering the fact that most African countries have Christians and Muslim populations, the issue of gender is more obstructed by the Muslim since Muslim norms are a taboo if disrespect. (Hirut 2004) Generally speaking, traditional norms, Muslim norms and Christian beliefs accept female subordination as a good practice and hence make it difficult for equality to reign in developing societies. (ibid) A UNDP (2005) report indicates that female enrolment in schools is generally lower in Muslim sectors than Christians ´ in countries that have both Muslim and Christian populations in SSA. This means that education which is the main tool for female empowerment and gender equality is considered wastage of resources in some Muslim communities because of stiff Islam beliefs. Christian and other traditional beliefs also favor female subordination exposing men at a dominant position causing major obstacles for female empowerment. Although more Christians and Muslim societies have realized the importance of female education that gives girls and women power through employment and exposure, other factors such as poverty and traditional mal practices are still a socio-cultural hindrance to the issue of gender and female empowerment in SSA. (ibid) Conclusion: In the end, the issue on gender and female empowerment in the development process of Sub-Saharan African remains a heated debate among scholars, theorist, Institutions, researchers, Governments, NGOs and International Organizations to find a kind of approach to intrude in the cultural justification of female subordination in the development process of SSA. Contrasting studies have also questioned if the fight for gender equality and female empowerment is an actual push to enhance African development or it is just a way to impose western and North American superiority? The question on why is the issue of gender equality and female empowerment slower than expected in the development process of SSA is a question of perspective. Many reasons can account for high gender inequality and low female empowerment in SSA, but this depends on which angle the problem is viewed. Throughout the project, the problem of gender inequality and slow female empowerment have been viewed at a cultural and traditional dimension explained by inequality and the modernization theory meaning that the project have choose to analyze the problems of inequality on the factors caused by culture and traditional values in SSA. That not withstanding, the same question can be analyzed by other economic and socio-political factors. In the course of the project, a lot of factors have been illustrated as elements responsible for gender inequality and slow female empowerment in the development process of Sub-Saharan Africa. The elements analyzed by the project as responsible for high gender inequality in SSA are poverty, illiteracy, cultural barriers, traditional beliefs, disease and HIV/AIDS, unemployment, decision making and the issue of power sharing are all accountable for low female empowerment in the development process of SSA. Research have proven that the slow development process in SSA is not about gender equality, because gender inequality exist everywhere in the world, and inequality still exist among sexes regardless of the level of development a society have undergone. In connection to the two theories used in the beginning of this project, it is crystal clear that gender inequality would still persist irrespective of the technological advancement of a society. This is clearly seen by tracing the origin of male domination, sex distinction and predisposition of men in extreme conditions as explained by the inequality theory. In the other hand, cultural roadblocks are viewed by the modernization school as the reason for wide gender gap in the development process of SSA. That notwithstanding, cultural values endures despite technological improvement in any society. However, the issue of gender inequality needs a serious attention from both local, national, sub-regional, regional governments and International Organization to seek for alternative approaches in the development process of SSA. Although policies and institutions have been put in place pertaining women ´s participation in the development process of SSA, existing programs and strategies should be reviewed to make the efforts more effective and innovative. To empower and integrate women in the fight for gender equality and the development process of SSA, the local government and International Institutions can embark on the following, intensify family planning methods, encourage more female education, fight early marriages and create conditions for women to work and earn an income, focusing on gender rural development programs especially working to bring cultural evolution toward gender equality in all aspects, and strategies of such programs should consider region specific problems i .e. customs and traditions in order to be more effective. This project ends up asking some questions for further investigation by other researchers, Can the equation of gender and female empowerment actually facilitate the development process of Africa? Or the true problems of Africa ´s underdevelopment are political and economic stagnation caused by it tragic history.