Women On International Assignments

Women On International Assignments During the past two decades, more and more organizations have been going global, and, as a result, more and more employees are being sent on international assignments. Employers are sending more female workers on international assignments than ever before, according to a report. The study looked at 100 multinational companies with about 17,000 male and female employees working overseas. This trend reflects the increasingly global nature of modern companies. Nowhere is this dynamic more palpable than it is in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, which reports the greatest rise in number of female assignees. But this is not the only region experiencing a boom in the number of female assignees. Respondents from North America report having nearly four times as many female assignees, while their European counterparts say they have twice as many. The trend is expected to continue. Fifty-five percent of respondents anticipate that the number of female assignees will increase steadily over the next five years. Only 4 percent of the survey participants believe the number of female assignees will decline. For their part, female workers are willing to take on assignments overseas because they can open opportunities for professional advancement. An increasingly young, multicultural and diverse workforce brings an important new phase to expatriate assignments, termed the pre-decision phase. Pre-decision can be likened to an assignment due diligence procedure that includes a careful assessment of all aspects associated with the proposed posting. Vital to this process is the opportunity to visit and evaluate living, housing, working, schooling and lifestyle options in the host location. Many Generation X (22-35 years old) and Generation Y (21 and under) employees will refuse an assignment outright if this is not offered, leaving International HR departments little option than to offer the possibility. The first hurdle to be faced by the hopeful applicant is the selection process itself. After confirming the technical competence and suitability of the candidate, companies generally have two principal assessment targets in identifying their potential expatriates. One is the cross-cultural competence of the candidate (and accompanying partner). This includes knowledge, skills, and personality traits. The other is termed situational readiness and takes in all factors that may influence the assignment, such as candidates career path objectives and personal factors that may influence the assignment. Cross-cultural personality assessment is usually combined with behavioral interviews to form a complete picture of individual competencies, weaknesses and strengths. Candidates should keep these desirable characteristics in mind when undergoing assessment. Female graduates should be aware that worldwide women hold a very low percentage of all international management positions. This circumstance not only hinders the business success of multinational firms abroad but it also limits opportunities for women to succeed at home. Most multinational companies prefer that their senior management have abundant overseas experience. Excluded from that experience, women are also excluded from promotions and power later in their careers. It is necessary, therefore, for women to lobby for these assignments early in their careers. Often the selection process within an organization will be less than transparent, and a proactive standpoint will be necessary. This briefing paper clearly brings about the problems faced by women on international assignments. TERMS OF REFERENCE: The briefing paper was prepared to assume me as the researcher. Let the client be a company that wishes to send their women employees on international assignments. For which they were in need of knowing almost all the pros and cons of doing the same. The result and the ideas that I suggest may or may not satisfy the company. OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SITUATION: The specific problems faced by women in international assignments were found to be, Barriers to women in management (entry level) Barriers to women in career path Personality traits Adjustment problems Cultural,social,legal,economic and political factors Several women were offered positions only if there were no suitable male candidates for the post. ANALYSIS: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis can be a useful tool in the assessment of the gender dimension of development programmes. The SWOT analysis as follows: Strengths: internal features of a project that have proved effective in addressing gender issues (e.g. project components, methods and techniques for implementation, monitoring and evaluation techniques, project staff and management); Weaknesses: internal features of a project that have not proved effective in addressing gender issues; Opportunities: external factors that may assist in overcoming the weaknesses and building on the strengths; and Threats: external constraints that restrict the range of opportunities for change. Although the above operational definitions for opportunities and threats specify a focus on external factors and external constraints. This is appropriate for ongoing projects and programmes since both the internal and external factors in opportunities and threats are relevant. What this shows, at a general level, is the need to adjust tools such as the SWOT analysis to the situation in which they are being used. SWOT Analysis: Strengths Weaknesses high rate of womens participation during programme formulation good participation by other stakeholders (e.g. Ministry of Gender, Youth and Community Services) project addresses the most vulnerable woman-headed households and marginalized women water users associations formed in which both women and men participate women participate in irrigation scheme activities equal opportunity for women and men to access credit and markets through water users associations no provision in project design for conducting a baseline study to act as a foundation for addressing food security, nutrition and income enhancement lack of training on gender issues cultural values: women tend to be shy during group meetings women have no access to modern machines and other technology (e.g. ploughs, tractors) Opportunities Threats conduct a baseline study strengthen the linkage with the gender mainstreaming efforts coordinated by the extension services of the Department of Agriculture support the development of labor-saving technologies the problem of the sustainability of womens empowerment, given the relatively short period of the programme, coupled with lack of training programme affected by the displacement of people due to droughts and floods limited funds Strengths Restructured, rationalized and focused Good political leadership Trained, skilled and experienced staff Project implementation experience Focused on policy and not interventions Focused on helping private sector Based in the commercial capital of the Country Already involved with various marketing interventions, i.e. warehouse receipt Support to cooperatives and participation in international trade conferences Capable and constructive senior civil servants weakness Limited operating budget(poorly funded) Distant from capital (isolated) Staff poorly paid Low staff morale Lack of marketing expertise Lack of marketing expertise -indeed, considerable naivety in the understanding of support to private-sector marketing interventions Ministry has a very wide agenda and is lacking in focus Probably finds it difficult to give sufficient resources to rural marketing Staff poorly paid and lacking motivation at middle and lower levels. opportunities Much donor goodwill Government reform programme for function analysis, downsizing, liberalization and privatization. Key ministry and lead sector Size and remit offer opportunity to become the lead ministry for support to small-scale farmer marketing Opportunity to become the lead ministry and catalyst to the private sector by supporting existing entrepreneurs and the private sectors involvement with marketing. Threats. Staff turn over Shifts in political climate Limited field presence due to Decentralization Lack of sympathy and understanding of the private sector will seriously disadvantage its identification of interventions. Unsure of its status to assist with rural marketing Seen as a promoter of cooperatives a concept derided by private sector. SOLUTIONS RECOMMENDATIONS: Women need air-miles to improve their international career prospects, but the first challenge many ambitious women face is getting an assignment in the first place. Women entering traditional gender-typed occupations can find themselves in such archetypal female ghetto occupations as secretarial work. Women nowadays can enter the employment with the same level of educational attainment as men. Women graduates expressed as much interest in international careers as their male colleagues which shows their managerial capacity. There are many ways to be get rid of the problems that arose due to the adjustment problems. They can handle them by their own. Adopt a sophisticated approach to the determination of criteria for effective international managers. Monitor their selection processes to ensure access is not unfairly restricted to specific section of employees. Avoid assumptions as to the likely motivation of women to accept overseas assignment and the likely success rate of women expatriates. Decision-makers make assumptions as to what they think the best sort of assignment for someone would be. When they move that framework over to women they tend to eliminate certain jobs because of the locations they are in and assume they are either too dangerous or difficult. Depending upon the degree to which a culture has been involved in the process of globalization, foreign businesswomen are seen firstly as business people, secondly as representatives of their culture, and thirdly as women. In a shrinking, wired, global world there are still many reasons why companies choose to send expatriates rather than hiring locally, including meeting key strategic business requirements, such as the need to establish a business presence quickly in response to rapid market developments and helping to recruit, orient and train new employees. Perhaps still most importantly, expatriates play a strategic role in the transfer of corporate values and culture. It is cultural attitudes toward the role of women in child-rearing and family life which play a role in this shortfall as women move through different life stages. Adopt an educative approach to the organizational resistance to sending women abroad; do not assume it is the result of direct prejudice. Try to be in right place at the right time. FORECASTS OUTCOMES: Men still account for the lions share of international assignments, but an increasing number of women are going to foreign lands as well. By 2010, participating companies predicted that 20% of the expatriate population would be female. Although it is undocumented, international HR executives estimate that about half of all female expatriates are not married and go on assignments as singles. Domestic U.S. relocation figures have shown dramatic increases in the transfers of women as well, and these statistics may support the forecast of an upward trend in the international arena. According to the Employee Relocation Council, women, who made up 5% of the domestic transferee population in 1980, made up 11% of that group in 1986 and 18% in 1991. The forecast for 2010 is 24%. Companies also reported that they are expanding their global talent banks and using more focused and competency-based selection tools. More women are listed as candidates for key overseas positions than they were 5 to 10 years ago. We are no longer making the faulty assumption that women are not mobile and not interested in a foreign assignment, said one HR executive. REFERRENCE SECTION: Napier, N.K. and Taylor, S (2002) Experiences of women professionals abroad. Powell.G. (1988) Women and men in management, Beverly hills. International Human Resource Management, Annie-Wil Harzing, J. Van Russeyveldt, 2004. Handbook of research in international human resource management by Gunter K.Stahl, Ingmar Biorkman, 2006. Women in Management: Current Research issues by Marilyn Davidson, Ronald J Burke, 2000. Expatriate women managers: genders, culture and career by Katharina Hartl, 2003. Senior female international managers: why so few? By Margaret Linehan, 2000. Fundamentals of human resource management by Raymond A Noe, 2004. The gender of the gift: problems with women and society by Marilyn Strathem, 1990.

Commentary on ‘Foo Fighters Music Review’ and ‘The Birth of a Band, Waring Green’

My aim in writing these pieces were both to inform and put across my opinions to an audience of interested readers. For the music review my intended audience was young music lovers and for the biography it was more for anyone who is interested in reading about people who have had an interesting life experience, perhaps a similar one to themselves. I wanted my pieces to be clear and amusing, and in the music review, more informal so that it would appeal to people. The biography was intended to be informative, whereas the review was intended to be more open in view as to include the audience more. In order to accomplish this I have deliberately used a number of techniques. In the title of my second production piece I have included some alliteration of the sound [ ] which catches the attention of the reader and helps to establish the main story. In ‘The Birth of a Band' I used mainly first person pronouns such as ‘my' and ‘I'. This helps to show the reader that it is from my own personal view and it is an actual real life even that I have encountered. In the Foo Fighter review I used mainly third person pronouns such as ‘their', and I also named people and attached the event directly to their name. this is the opposite of the other piece as it establishes that the music and the credit belongs to them and no-one else. I have tried to be quite informal in both of my pieces by using words such as ‘dodgy' and constructions such as ‘Pointless? Funny!' This helps to make the reader feel more at ease when reading it, and there is also some intended humour in order to make the reader laugh, more so in the review than the biography piece. In the review of the Foo Fighters I included one instance of a mild taboo lexeme. ‘†¦damn good†¦' Again this is a point in the text that gives the reader a bit of comic relief and a chance to reflect on my opinions with their own. This is why I decided to add quite a lot of interrogatives into the text, even though I cannot expect an answer, the reader can establish their own views and opinions about what I think and also about what they think in comparison. I aimed to make my two pieces as clear as I possibly could. I used a number of techniques to ensure this. Firstly I used short strings of words, for example, ‘That was a real boost', and tried to avoid overly long sentences. I didn't want my readers to become bored of reading too many facts or opinions at a time. Secondly I used fairly short simple lexemes. I tried to keep my words either monosyllabic or disyllabic because this makes the text flow more smoothly and doesn't make the reader get confused at long complicated words. In my two pieces I have used a lot of past tense, mainly in ‘The Birth of a Band' to show how what we have achieved is a past event. For example ‘was' and ‘asked'. However I did use some present progressive, ‘will keep trying' in order to show how our band and music are still going. I also used some present tense, mainly in the Foo Fighters Music review, to show how their music is still in development. It also helps to convey how it is their most recent album, as I am talking about it in the ‘here and now'. I included in my review of the Foo Fighters music an overall grade of how I feel about their music. This is nine out of ten. Most people will understand this as a good mark because it is on a scale of one to ten which is the most common way of grading something. I feel it is a good way of rounding up my review, although I do think it could lead to the reader skipping the rest of the text and just taking the score at face value rather than investigating further into why I have given this grade. But if the reader is interested enough I do not see this as a major problem. I believe I have successfully achieved my targets in writing these pieces. I feel as though they are very entertaining and they convey my feelings and opinions towards the subject matter very effectively. I feel that the information I have provided is sound and believable.

Explain Strategies Used in Health and Social Care Environments to Overcome Barriers to Effective Communication Essay

P4 â€Å"Explain strategies used in health and social care environments to overcome barriers to effective communication† Effective communication is part of the core skills required by all health and social care practitioners to ensure that they are effective at meeting the needs of the people who use the services. In order to develop effective communication skills, practitioners need to be aware of and implement the use of communication theories. A wide range of communication theories exist to support effective communication between practitioners and people who use the services within health and social care environments. Language – If the person’s first language isn’t English this can cause a huge barrier, especially if the person doesn’t know a word of English. To overcome this barrier, it might be advisable for carers to apply for an advocate or translator to help this person feel more comfortable in the care setting. Speech difficulties or aphasia – Aphasia is where a person is physically unable to speak; this may be due to a recent stroke or some mental impairment. In this case, it is important to use some other form of communication other than verbal communication. Graphic or specialist forms of communication can be used to understand what the person’s needs are. Confidence issues – Someone who is very shy may not feel comfortable to verbally communicate their needs; in this case, a carer would need to ensure the person had some other way of communicating e.g. Paper and pen to graphically communicate their needs. It is important for all clients to feel comfortable around carers, so they can communicate their needs effectively. Disabilities – (physical, learning, mental); a person with a learning difficulty, depending on how severe, may find it hard to communicate non-verbally or graphically, therefore might find it easier to verbally communicate. A physical disability may prevent someone actually accessing the services they need, let alone the care they need; in this case, carers need to help those clients as much as possible. This could be done by a carer going into the person’s home; it could also be done by social workers providing Meals-on-wheels services to those who are house-bound. Speech communities – This is where people have a specific way of talking to people of the same age; this can cause a barrier because a person may use language that a carer may not understand. This can also include medical terminology or jargon; if a doctor uses a lot of technical terms when describing a disease or illness to a patient, the patient is likely to not understand what is happening, so it is important for the doctor to use language that the patient understands. Timing – A carer must choose the right time to go and communicate with a service user as they may not be ready to receive important information or they may not be in right frame of mind. This would cause a barrier because they won’t be able to correctly process the information. To overcome this barrier, the carer must ask the service user when would be the best time to talk. Environmental issues – To communicate effectively with a service user, the environment must be right. Having noise, temperature too high or too low, incorrect lighting or other people in the room can cause barriers to communication. To overcome this barrier you will need to make sure there is no background noise so that the service user is not distracted. Making sure the temperature is not too high or too low can cause barriers to communication as an unsuitable room temperature can make the service user feel uncomfortable. When giving information to a service user, make sure there is no one else in the room as this could make the service user feel uncomfortable. Sensory deprivation – When working in the health and social care sector, it is likely that you’ll come across service users who have a visual or hearing impairment, to overcome this barrier you must make sure you know alternative methods of communication for example; Sign language, otherwise it would be near impossible to communicate to the service user if he/she is deaf and you can’t sign. You could also make sure service user has hearing aid turned on.

Candide in El Dorado - 1283 Words

The Meaning of El Dorado and its contrast with the rest of the world: El Dorado appears to be the perfect utopia, for others it represents an unrealistic place to live. For Voltaire this world meant his entire desire and dream about the perfect society. Many critics note that El Dorado is only a huge extravaganza because it consisted of contradictory statements. The meaning of El Dorado is a vision of the perfect society and represents a false paradise impossible to attain or approach by the destructive human nature. El Dorado contrasts with the rest of the world because at the time Candide was written by Voltaire He lived in one important periods of the humanity, â€Å"The enlightenment†. Around him, he saw many injustices perpetrated by†¦show more content†¦The real society in which Voltaire lived is composed for many institutions that he attacks in various opportunities such as the church and the monarchy. For example, when Candide arrived to El Dorado and he sees that all the people believe in the same thing and there’s not a priest, no hierarchy, and all the people are equal. That’s a good strike from Voltaire to the church claiming that everybody must be equal. According with Dalnekoff, â€Å"El Dorado is a foil to the societies through which Candide has passed and will pass where the inquisition imposes a reign of terror, and poverty, corruption and oppression are everywhere to be found.† (Utopia and Satire)In contrast of El Dorado with the contemporary system, we found that in the contemporary system much oppression and abuses have been committed and in El Dorado the inhabitants are very virtuous; they were a society with absence of many institutions. A very questionable point in Candide and his extraordinary optimism is why if he believes that everything obeys a divine pattern and all is for the best, why didn’t he remain in El Dorado?. Dalknekoff states that the motives given by Candide for departing are hardly worthy of commendation. His desire to be richer than all those around him is certainly deplorable. (‘Impossible dream) As Dalknekoff said, motives that move all human beings are money and the desire for superiority. Moreover, Shanley and Stillman endorse Candide; who States â€Å"If we stay here,Show MoreRelatedEl Dorado s Candide : The Utopia That Wasn t. Candide1868 Words   |  8 PagesEl Dorado in Candide: The Utopia That Wasn t Candide was a novel published in 1759 by Francois-Marie Arouet, known best by the pseudonym â€Å"Voltaire†. It was written primarily to satirize German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz s â€Å"theodicy†, which was a philosophy Leibniz designed to explain why evil exists in the world. He maintained that we live in the â€Å"best of all possible worlds†, an idea Voltaire dismantled in Candide with biting attacks on philosophy, religion, politics, and social order. OneRead MoreRoad to El Dorado Essay597 Words   |  3 PagesRoad to El Dorado Explorers always wanted to find the Golden City. Of course, none of them did. In Candide, Voltaire describes a city that is equivalent to any Golden City. This world is the ideal world that almost anyone would like to live in. However, when Candide finds his Golden City, known as El Dorado, he leaves it. One might wonder why Candide left El Dorado, but there were many well justified reasons for Candides departure from the perfect world he was searching for. Candide givesRead MoreMaterialism in Gullivers Travels and Candide1508 Words   |  7 Pages In the case of Jonathan Swift in Gulliver’s Travels and Voltaire in Candide, their writing is aimed at European society and its preoccupation with materialism. Swift and Voltaire satirize the behaviors of the wealthy upper class by citing two different extremes. In Gulliver’s Travels the yahoos are not even human but they behave the same way towards colored stones that the Europeans do. In contrast, the people of El Dor ado do not care at all about the gold and jewels that align their streetsRead MoreVoltaire s Candide : The Enlightenment Principle Of Reason1201 Words   |  5 PagesVoltaire’s Candide resides proof of all four values of the Enlightenment: hope, progress, natural law, and reason. Being a man of the enlightenment, it makes sense for Voltaire’s novel to include these values. Using ironic humor and satire, Voltaire managed to say what he needed to say without being directly responsible for having said it. As Candide reads like an adventure story, there is a lot of dialogue between characters. Through these conversations and stories, Voltaire’s Candide shows supportRead More Candide Essay1181 Words   |  5 Pages Candide Wealth and great materialistic possession brings happiness and success to most people’s lives. Although wealth does not always bring happiness, El Dorado was one society where all it’s inhabitants lived lives full of success and happiness. In Candide, wealth proved to guarantee a person a step forward in life and some sense of freedom. Sometimes when one lives in an environment consisting of total equality, one may prefer to leave and go to a different place where they would be consideredRead MoreSatire in Candide by Voltaire Essay example1474 Words   |  6 PagesSatire in Candide by Voltaire Voltaire who was a French writer, philosopher and one of the leaders of the Enlightenment is known as one of the greatest satirist ever. Voltaire wrote about important genres: tragedy, history, philosophy and fiction just as his English contemporary Samuel Johnson. American heritage dictionary defines satire as, An artistic work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit. Irony or caustic wit used to expose or attack human follyRead MoreCandide Redemption Essay741 Words   |  3 Pagesremarks and came to the conclusion that to be relieved of the boredom and squabbling they were experiencing, the little group should develop and use their talents for the good of everyone; together and individually, they must cultivate their garden. Candide, described as naive and simple of mind, spends his life believing what those around him say, without thinking for himself. Part of Candides redemption may be using his own mind to decide that while there is not one be st of all possible worldsRead MoreThe Age Of Enlightenment By Voltaire And Economist Adam Smith844 Words   |  4 Pageslife in all societies. The idea of wealth is timeless, but philosopher Voltaire and economist Adam Smith wrote opposing theories on the true value of wealth and how society should allocate its wealth and resources. Voltaire’s satire Candide, or Optimism features El Dorado, a socialist utopia where the inhabitants treat precious metals and stones as dirt and provide for the general welfare of their city, while Smith’s The Wealth of Nations discusses macroscopic economies and how these economies interactRead MoreCandide: an Analysis of Voltaires Perspective on Organized Religion.1537 Words   |  7 PagesCandide Essay Assignment TA: Và ©ronique Church-Duplessis Tutorial: 7-8 SS 2104 Sajid Borhan 998931036 Voltaire in his novella Candide portrays the adventures of a young man named Candide as he faces numerous difficulties after he is forced to leave his sheltered life of the court. Voltaire, in his satire, explores many themes. Voltaire being a critic of the Church does not show the religious institutions and the people associated with it in good light, as demonstrated by the various charactersRead MoreCandide by Voltaire Essay1734 Words   |  7 PagesCandide Voltaire’s most classic work, Candide, is a satiric assault on most everything that was prevalent in society during the author’s lifetime. The entire novel can be regarded as a bleak story where every character compares life stories to see whose life is worse. Just when the novel cannot get anymore morbid or depressing, it does, to a much greater degree. While Candide is generally considered a universal denunciation, it is optimism that Voltaire is attacking to the greatest