airframe essays

airframe essays I am interested in aircraft, especially airplane engines and structure. I have studied for five years in Japan about aviation maintenance at my high school and my college which have aeronautical engineering departments. Needless to say, I am majoring in the aviation maintenance technology. Aircraft are eminently related to physics. I therefore chose this book,  gAirframe h. I think that a person who is interested in aviation would feel interested in this book. I have already studied about some flight dynamics in Japan. I am therefore going to write about lift and a stall, wing curvature, axis of an airplane in flight, and my doubt in the book. The book gives an example of an airplane bound from Hong Kong to Dallas, TPA 545, which stalled on its way to Dallas. The circumstance was that the plane suddenly descended and went up, then it stalled and went down again. However, the pilots of the plane recovered the airplane fs balance and altitude, and the airplane made an emergency landing at Los Angeles airport. I am going to write about the reason why airplanes can fly before I write about a stall, because it is easy to understand a stall when the physics of flight are understood. Airplanes can fly by making use of lift. Air usually flows are both the upper and lower wing fs surfaces. There are differences in airspeed and air pressure between air flowing over the upper side and air flowing under the lower side of a wing. The air flowing over the upper side is faster than the opposite sides air, and the air pressure on upper side is lower than the opposite air pressure. The power to lift up, which is called lif t, therefore acts on the wing, and the phenomenon is known as Bernoulli fs principle. These are the reasons why airplanes can fly. A stall is caused by exfoliation of air on a wing. I think that there is some possibility of any airplane stalling from this phenomenon. In my opinion, the airplane was fall...

Survey Design Essay Essays

Survey Design Essay Essays Survey Design Essay Essay Survey Design Essay Essay Survey Method The survey method used in this study is a cross-section survey study. It involved respondents with type 2 diabetes. It was done in a period of 6-months; that is February to august 2013 in a pharmacy and a health care facility in Nis city. The method is similar to a questionnaire and the researcher used this method to ask the respondents at a different point in time. The people were divided into gender, age, and duration of their sickness (Dey Attele, 2011). The primary focus of this method was to identify the relationship of diabetes between different genders. Also, it was to point out the relationship between the diabetes effects and the duration of its existence in the patient. Using this method to conduct a survey was of an advantage in the following ways. One, it is easy to disapprove assumptions made on people with type 2 of diabetes. The researchers had the ability to capture specific points in time thus making it cost effective and less time to consume. Two, with the use of multiple variables like gender variation and period of diabetes, the data collected is useful to multiple research types. And thus having many outcomes causing the researcher to come up with new theories and modify the other. However, this method was not effective in this way, it was not possible to analyze the type 2 people behavioral characteristics (Dey Attele, 2011). The cause and effects of diabetes are not determinants using this method. And above all the timing might not just be a guarantee of getting a sure representation. Therefore, to ensure reliability and validity of data, the researcher conducted the research in a public pharmacy and primary health care facility within the City of Ni. From my point of view, this ensures the accuracy of information and data being given since the people participating have their records stored in this health facilities. Tracking them is easy for the researcher. I would have done the same thing however; this method requires high confidentiality and trust between the researcher and the patient being questioned. References Dey, L., Attele, A. S. (2011). Type 2 diabetes. Tradit Chinese Med, 231(1), 1-16.

Disproval of Spontaneos Gen. essays

Disproval of Spontaneos Gen. essays How Spontaneous Generation was Disproved From the beginning of time it was believed that living things could come from nonliving things. This process was known as spontaneous generation. However, in the middle of the 17th century and then through the next 100 years, this idea was disproved by three important experiments. We now know that a nonliving object or group of objects can not turn into a living organism. Spontaneous generation is impossible in the atmosphere that we have today. In the early 1600s, people believed that living organisms could evolve from nonliving organisms. They proved this by saying that if a piece of meat was left out uncovered, that maggots would appear in a few days. These worms did not come from anything that they could see, so they assumed they came from the nonliving meat. In 1668, a man named Redi designed and completed an experiment that showed how this was not true. He took two pieces of raw meat, and left them out. He covered one so that nothing could get in, and left the other one open. The open one grew maggots, and the covered one did not, proving that the dead meat did not produce the worms as they had previously thought. In the 1700s a man named Spallanzani proved Redis idea to a further extent. He noticed microbial growth on boiled pond water after being exposed to the air. To prove that this growth came from something living in the air, and not from the nonliving water, he designed an experiment. He boiled pond water to kill all the microbial growths. He then poured that water into two separate test tubes. He sealed one so that no air could get in, and left one open to the air. The one that was left open slowly became more and more cloudy with microbial growths. The sealed tube stayed as clear as it had been when it was boiled. This experiment proved that the growths could not come from nonliving organisms, but had to have been transported there throu...

An Overview of Game Theory in Sociology

An Overview of Game Theory in Sociology Game theory is a theory of social interaction, which attempts to explain the interaction people have with one another. As the name of the theory suggests, game theory sees human interaction as just that: a game. John Nash, the mathematician who was featured in the movie A Beautiful Mind is one of the inventors of game theory along with mathematician John von Neumann. How Was Game Theory Developed? Game theory was originally an economic and mathematical theory that predicted that human interaction had the characteristics of a game, including strategies, winners and losers, rewards and punishment, and profits and cost. It was initially developed to understand a large variety of economic behaviors, including behavior of firms, markets, and consumers. The use of the game theory has since expanded in the social sciences and has been applied to political, sociological, and psychological behaviors as well. Game theory was first used to describe and model how human populations behave. Some scholars believe that they can actually predict how actual human populations will behave when confronted with situations analogous to the game being studied. This particular view of game theory has been criticized because the assumptions made by the game theorists are often violated. For example, they assume that players always act in a way to directly maximize their wins, when in reality this is not always true. Altruistic and philanthropic behavior would not fit this model. Example of Game Theory We can use the interaction of asking someone out for a date as a simple example of game theory and how there are game-like aspects involved. If you are asking someone out on a date, you will probably have some kind of strategy to â€Å"win† (having the other person agree to go out with you) and â€Å"get rewarded† (have a good time) at a minimal â€Å"cost† to you (you don’t want to spend a large amount of money on the date or do not want to have an unpleasant interaction on the date). Elements of a Game There are three main elements of a game: The playersThe strategies of each playerThe consequences (payoffs) for each player for every possible profile of strategy choices of all players Types of Games There are several different kinds of games that are studies using game theory: Zero-sum game: The players’ interests are in direct conflict with one another. For example, in football, one team wins and the other team loses. If a win equals 1 and a loss equals -1, the sum is zero.Non-zero sum game: The players’ interests are not always in direct conflict, so that there are opportunities for both to gain. For example, when both players choose â€Å"don’t confess† in Prisoner’s Dilemma (see below).Simultaneous move games: Players choose actions simultaneously. For example, in the Prisoner’s Dilemma (see below), each player must anticipate what their opponent is doing at that moment, recognizing that the opponent is doing the same.Sequential move games: Players choose their actions in a particular sequence. For example, in chess or in bargaining/negotiating situations, the player must look ahead in order to know what action to choose now.One-shot games: The play of the game occurs only once. Here, the players are likely to not know much about each other. For example, tipping a waiter on your vacation. Repeated games: The play of the game is repeated with the same players. Prisoner’s Dilemma The prisoner’s dilemma is one of the most popular games studied in game theory that has been portrayed in countless movies and crime television shows. The prisoner’s dilemma shows why two individuals might not agree, even if it appears that it is best to agree. In this scenario, two partners in crime are separated into separate rooms at the police station and given a similar deal. If one testifies against his partner and the partner stays quiet, the betrayer goes free and the partner receives the full sentence (ex: ten years). If both remain silent, both are sentences for a short time in jail (ex: one year) or for a minor charge. If each testifies against the other, each receives a moderate sentence (ex: three years). Each prisoner must choose to either betray or remain silent, and the decision of each is kept from the other. The prisoner’s dilemma can be applied to many other social situations, too, from political science to law to psychology to advertising. Take, for example, the issue of women wearing make-up. Each day across America, several million woman-hours are devoted to an activity with questionable benefit for society. Foregoing makeup would free up fifteen to thirty minutes for each woman every morning. However, if no one wore makeup, there would be great temptation for any one woman to gain an advantage over others by breaking the norm and using mascara, blush, and concealer to hide imperfections and enhance her natural beauty. Once a critical mass wears makeup, the average facade of female beauty is artificially made greater. Not wearing makeup means foregoing the artificial enhancement to beauty. Your beauty relative to what is perceived as average would decrease. Most women therefore wear makeup and what we end up with is a situation that is not ideal for the whole or for the indivi duals, but is based on rational choices by each individual. Assumptions Game Theorists Make The payoffs are known and fixed.All players behave rationally.The rules of the game are common knowledge. Resources and Further Reading Duffy, J. (2010) Lecture Notes: Elements of a Game. pitt.edu/~jduffy/econ1200/Lect01_Slides.pdfAndersen, M.L and Taylor, H.F. (2009). Sociology: The Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

E-commerce Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E-commerce - Research Paper Example However, the key challenge has been the fraud and general security issues this affects both the buyer and the seller. Businesses run the risk of phishing attacks before they can transact any business. This is costly for them as a business, but it is inevitable to avoid further losses in future. The customer is the most vulnerable to fraud and security risks the common security issue is hacking of their credit card. My paper seeks to explore deeper into these problems (fraud and security), effects on e-commerce, and ways of improving the security of the business to both customers and the sellers. The recommendations to be made can be used by authorities to make changes in the trade for its success in the future. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction Since the introduction of e-commerce fraud and security issues are a serious blow in the business, of all other issues that people around the globe have had to put up with, fraud and security issues have dominated. Discussions have previou sly been held to try and bring a lasting solution but with little success. Of all cyber crimes in the world, fraud accounts for 3% which is a substantial margin compared to other small offences committed through internet. Garner Group on the other hand estimated that around 1.06% of the total online transactions are fraudulent as compared to the 0.6% (Reynolds 2004). Both statistics above translate to a lot of money loss, which affects clients and sellers of goods or services. Effects and impact of security and fraud in e- commerce are worrying, by year 2003, it was estimated that 1.8 billion dollars would be lost (Debjan 2005). Once one is a victim of security and fraud in e- commerce, majority fear and their perceptions changed. Many fear that they may lose their money again... Since the introduction of e-commerce fraud and security issues are a serious blow to the business, of all other issues that people around the globe have had to put up with, fraud and security issues have dominated. Discussions have previously been held to try and bring a lasting solution but with little success. Of all cyber crimes in the world, fraud accounts for 3% which is a substantial margin compared to other small offenses committed through the internet. Garner Group, on the other hand, estimated that around 1.06% of the total online transactions are fraudulent as compared to the 0.6% (Reynolds 2004). Both statistics above translate to a lot of money loss, which affects clients and sellers of goods or services. Effects and impact of security and fraud in e- commerce are worrying, by the year 2003, it was estimated that 1.8 billion dollars would be lost (Debjan 2005). Once one is a victim of security and fraud in e- commerce, majority fear, and their perceptions changed. Many fe ar that they may lose their money again especially if they lost a lot of money previously.Literature review below has the research and view of people who have done research e-commerce in the past. The literature has a lot of information and data regarding the proposal.E-commerce touches many people’s lives around the globe, a million e-businesses, are registered and operation on the internet, interacting with a billion people both buyers and potential buyers, through trillion interconnected intelligent devices.

STRATEGIC AUDIT OF A CORPORATION Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

STRATEGIC AUDIT OF A CORPORATION - Assignment Example In 1955, Sony successful released its first commercial transistor radios that dominated both domestic and international market, hence building international recognition in the field of electronics (Nagle 45). In 1958, TTK was changed to Sony, a Latin word which means sound. This was in line with the fact that the company initially opted to specialize in sound and electronic gadgets before undertaking a massive restructure in the line of its products. Given the increasing competition and market dominance, the company was forced to advance from mere production of digital and analogue electronic and communication devices. After conductive a comprehensive market search, Sony invested in advanced technology in the production of electronic with the latest innovation being the discovery of computer video gaming consoles. Besides, Sony has heavily invested its resources on technological integration and innovation that has made the company be successful in producing modern technology devices including laptops, video recorders, and PlayStations (Sony 92). The modern computer gaming is considered as one of the most successful technological innovation ever made by Sony. The popular PlayStation games have attracted interest from a large number of youths and from the sales of these games, Sony has made a great progress in terms of profitability and financial performance. PlayStations among others are examples of consumer revolutionary products launched by Sony. Sony ventured into console computer games in 1994 through Sony Computer Entertainment department (Nagle 51). This department is charged with the responsibility of developing, publishing, marketing, and distributing PlayStation software. SWOT Analysis of Sony PlayStation This involves investing internal and external factors and how these environmental factors impacts on the market performance of Sony. Strengths Having established itself as one of the most successful companies, Sony has since then developed a strong pos itive reputation and brand name among its potential customers internationally (Nagle 65-9). Sony is a multinational corporation that has emerged as one of the most respectful and successful firm in the field of electronics. Besides, Sony has therefore developed strong customer base and loyalty owing to the quality of its other products such as T.V, DVD and other electronic devices. For this reason, the introduction of PlayStation will heavily attract a good number of consumers from the current customer base of Sony. A survey conducted among the consumers in 2011 tagged Sony as being the most value corporation especially in Asia. Secondly, having been in this field for decades, Sony boasts of strong skills and expertise production techniques that are essential in developing quality computer gaming consoles. This implies that the company is associated with quality products that make it more preferred by the consumer. Through its technical and professional experts, Sony’s consol e games are very quality and diversified depending on the needs of the consumers. The company therefore produces games of high definition quality to match the taste of the consumers. Sony Company is synonymous for its technological excellence and rich heritage of technological expertise that is has made in successful in this competitive market for decades. Through such skills, Sony has managed to guarantee its customers quality gaming products. Sony Company always

Introduction to campylobacter Literature review

Introduction to campylobacter - Literature review Example 163–189). Since campylobacter is present in large quantities in stool, isolation may be considered from this point. However, it is important to note that isolation requires certain conditions of microphilic atmosphere and a media that contains antibiotics. Several methods have been developed to isolate campylobacter. One of them is the membrane filtration. This is used in isolating the microorganism from low turbidity water. Filters of pore size of 0.45 microns are used, and the water is passed as the platting is done face down for the selective agar for the campylobacter. The selective agar is described below in another isolation method. The filters in this process are removed after an overnight incubation. The streaking of plate for isolation before re-incubation then follows this. Prior lab tests have indicated that in the presence of pre-filtration with filters of pore sizes of 6.0 and 5.0 has consistent results of recovery of about 30 jejuni CFU per 250 ml of the seeded water that is nat ural (Line 1711–1715). The other method of isolation is the conventional cultural method. In the laboratory, the sampled specimen is prepared for isolation. If, for example, the sample of raw chicken, a sample of filtrated, chicken rinse water may be used. The water is taken and centrifuged at a rate 16000 times the weight for a period of ten minutes in a minimum temperature of 4 degrees. With an enrichment media of Preston broth, the supernatant is discarded while the pellet is suspended. After the sampled pellet is re-suspended, incubation of the sample at a microbic atmosphere that has 10 percent carbon dioxide, 5 percent oxygen and 85 percent nitrogen. All this happens at a temperature of 3 degrees for 24 hours. The enrichment broth is made consistent with the nutrient broth with supplementation including trimethoprim 10 mg/l, cefoperazone 15 mg/l, rifampicin 5 mg/l, polymyxin B 2500 iu/l and amphotericin 2mg/l. This enriched culture is then placed in

No Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

No Topic - Essay Example Agencies belonging to the government like the departments of public health and some universities in conjunction with private agencies like private health clinics and hospitals and even NGOs who support this cancer elimination and reduction objective by healthy people join the healthy people movement and start supporting through raising awareness about the objective and what it aims to achieve in their own areas of work. Some of these agencies also donate money and other items to help achieve the objective and especially screening kits. Cancer monitoring and incidence management is carried out by the larger organizations like the universities and they also carry out research about the various types of cancer and the at risk individuals. With all these support from these partner agencies, the healthy people objective of reducing the number of new cases of cancer is being achieved. Various prevention strategies have been put in place and they are carried out by the partners. The first is further research on emerging trends of the various cancers and this is mostly carried out by Universities and NGOs due to their facilities, knowledge and enough funds. The other strategy is to prevent illnesses and disabilities and this is done through awareness which is carried out by the departments of health in the various states and other private agencies in their own small or large capacities. Finally, screening test are done especially to the at risk patients like family members and this is carried out by most of the health clinics, university hospitals and other non-governmental facilities. There is a lot of overlap of the above mentioned responsibilities (for example most universities and NGOs carry out similar work) but this only adds to attending to as many preventive strategies and requirements as possible and within the shortest possible time. There is also coordination from the healthy people and they ensure that every organization is glued to their work

Ideologies And Their Work In A Media Text Essay

Ideologies And Their Work In A Media Text - Essay Example Public speaking is a very powerful tool that can be used either to break down or build ideologies; this makes the media a source of ideological thought. The news story framing can form ideologies through what is both left out and present in a story (Grayantes & Murphy, 2010, p.165). Ideology has mostly been used by the politicians to change how people reason and the people believed to be right. This has been seen as most of the votes prefer other candidates to other for being convinced in believing in an idea (Grossberg, 2005). The lifestyle magazine content has relied on affected the people dressing code, and there living style. It is very important to understand that most of the products of the mass media ideological analysis majorly focus on the content of the message (Johnson & Milani, 2010). These are mainly the stories they narrate about the present and the past and instead of those stories effect. The mass media text ideological term of understanding is that is a type of communication that gives privilege to certain ideas while undermining others. Media text has a different perspective of ideology representing interests that are different with a power that is not the same involved in a type of power struggle within media text. Some idea will have an advantage over others because they are always built in a familiar media image or are known to be very popular. Other ideas will not be easy to identifying as they are not that visible and will only be identified by those people who are very devoted. The way in which media use the lifestyle magazine to advertise (Okonkwo & Palgrave 2007) or inform the public about certain issues provides the form of the principle of public dialogue by which the conflict of culture is  waged.

The First Day of School Essay Example for Free

The First Day of School Essay First walking into my new school of Terrace Park Elementary during the middle of 6th grade, I must have been the most awkward person on the planet. Moving schools because of my acceptance into a more challenging school curriculum, I had been told this group of students would help me learn much faster than the ones at my old schools. The material would have been learned at a much faster paced and higher level of difficulty. It was as if my old elementary school had kicked me out, placing me with kids who these similar â€Å"problems† as me. It had never occurred to me that the new environment I was in was so different than what I was used to. Going to this new school required a fifteen minute drive commute to and from home daily. This inconvenience made it hard for me stay connect with my classmates in the afterschool extracurricular activities. Changing schools meant meeting a new group of people I did not know. Joining the school mid-year I was the stranger that came in knowing nothing about how the school worked. Most people had already formed their little friend groups and created their own schedules. see more:my first day at school essay for kids On the other hand, the large amount of people at this school meant that some students still had time expand their friend group. It was a whole new experience and it was a case I had never handled in my life before. The two school environments were just too different. My new school was two stories high and had twice the amount of students. It was harder to get around the school and find my new classes. It had recently been renovated, so the whole appearance of the school was much more modern. Upon arriving, I noticed many remarkable building features. A five foot circular stained glass window started at me with its amiable eyes. The wolf drawn seemed to represent the school mascot. Compared to my old school, this school had much more classrooms and facilities. The six groupings of classrooms, the football and track field outside, the gym and cafeteria were all spread out. The colorful colors that were painted on school did nothing but spur my curiosity. Right outside the cafeteria was the playground of all children’s dreams. It was spacious and had two different playgrounds. There seemed to be a caterpillar toy that the underclassmen were fighting over. The real attraction, however,  was the large football field beyond the playground. I watched the daily lifestyle of this school I as wandered about. Some students hung out by the cafeteria eating their breakfast, some were conversing in the halls and some had already sat down in their classrooms. Twenty minutes before school had even started the amount of activity was surprising, when compared to my previous school. Yet people seemed to not notice me, whenever I passed by, none seemed to fully acknowledge my presence. Back home, I had friends how rushed to greet me as I walked through the doors of the classroom. The staff all were familiar with me and wore willing to help me out in any situation. As the first bell rung, I knew it was time to start my â€Å"first day† of school. Walking into Mr. Hagen’s room, I noticed a row of computers in the back right corner of the room. Their placement against the wall made it seem like they had never been used for a long time. I walked in, only to be greeted by a young aged man who I assumed to be the teacher for this 6th grade class. As I was introduced to the class, my experience as a stranger had officially began. I stood at the front of the room and slowly walked toward the seat I had been assigned. After a little bit of adjusting, the final bell rung and class had started. The first day was the day that would decide everything – from what type of friends I made to the spot I would sit during lunch. Knowing this, I tried my best to make myself look as normal as possible, attempting to discard my own shy character. Scanning the room, I knew absolutely no one. Making friends was also never one of my assets. Each person looked the same. I sat down next to a boy who had unkempt hair and had a Hawaiian shirt loosely thrown over a white t-shirt. Everyone knew my name, because it was different than the typical American name. The name â€Å"Jonah† was sure to stick in their minds, at least for next week or two. The faster paces of the classes were too much for me to handle for I never been used to such a speed in my previous school. I sat there, lost, wondering what to do. The faces of all the other students around me were intent and focus on their given task. I was left out of the atmosphere of the classroom. When lunch finally came, I was finally relieved of the pressure of the classroom. As a stranger, I remembered that didn’t know anyone well enough to sit with. For all I knew, I didn’t even know how to buy lunch. I frantically asked myself, â€Å"Is it the same way as my old school? Will I have the same PIN number? Where will I sit?† Luckily, on the way out  of the room, I was invited to eat with the boy with unkempt hair. I later learned that his name was Randy and that he was one year younger than me. As I sat down at the lunch table, many other kids sat down with me. All of them stared at me because they had never seen me there before. I was unable to come up with courage to talk to them, therefore awkwardly sitting at the table eating my lunch. I knew that they did not mean to be unkind, but just wanted to understand more about who I was. To my delight, I ran out onto the field and felt freer to finally act as myself again. The size of the field was much larger than I had expected from first look. The only color I could notice around me was the shade of green. Looking around, I had no one to kick my soccer ball with. Throughout the day, I received countless glares from many people I didn’t know. Many others from different classes had asked me many times for my name, asking me how I was and where I had come from. They had asked me so many types of questions that sparked one after another, triggering a large chain of questions that I did not know the answer to. Many of the others just called â€Å"hey new kid!† I will admit that my feeling of fear was more than I could handle. There was so much nervousness that I would start sweating and my nerves would spark all over my body. Walking in for the first time through those doors of Terrace Park Elementary made me feel so small in this large school. I was not used to such a large community, I like it when my classrooms were all close together, the student were allowed more changes to interact and the staff would be able to more easily connect with us. The few smiles I had received when entering felt forced- the ends of their lips raised for a quarter of a second. I had thought that I was different than all the rest of the kids – Was it my looks? My clothes? My awkward trot? Some might have thought that I was just another one of those Asian nerds. I felt that I would have trouble fitting in. that I should have probably stayed at my old school. Why would I just make my life harder for myself when I could just be chill with my old group? I knew that the ambivalent glances I received were not meant to be malicious. I know that even I would have done the same to a new student. My initial fears had changed th e way how every face in the school had looked. Even a perfectly joyful person could seem to have cruel intents. Trying to along with the other students was just a nightmare. I have always heard that the best thing to do on a first day of school was to make a good impression. However, I was never the type who was easy to get along with or outgoing. I tried leaving all those traits behind me as I spoke up, but it was no use. My true nature showed one way or another. My shyness only helped distance me from the other students around me, as if no one had wanted to become my friend. All the small things happening around me were, I was tuned into the world or small details. As I felt time go in in slow motion, I watched as the 1st graders dragged the lunch basket to their grade table, gave each other a high five for a job well done and then walked to the lunch line. I saw the fly buzzing around the air above me, before stopping on the table next to me. I had nothing else to pay attention but these fine details, no one would spare a second on the new kid at the table. I almost wanted to cry to show how I felt, but I realized that would probably ruin what first impressions I had left. Looking back, I realize that this experience was not that bad. It was own expectations of a new school that had caused me to sense so many different feelings. The feeling of a stranger was only because I was a new face in town. It was natural that the other students were curious of who I really was. It is even possible that, just as how I was too scared to talk to my new classmates, they had also been hesitant to approach me. Being a stranger was only temporary; I would eventually have assimilated into the daily lifestyle of Terrace Park. While that first day was particularly bad, I quickly was able to adapt to the situation in the coming weeks. I had become acquainted with the few students at my table in just a week, the rest of class in a month. This group of students who had all seemed so large at first was not as scary as they had originally seemed. They were actually very friendly; each of them had qualities that made them attractive. I had become very good friends with some of them, influencing my friends I my future schooling years. One could say that this school year affected my future directly. I would never have chosen the friends if it had not been for my experience at Terrace Park. The people that I had grown to enjoy were those who were smart and were willing to help me with any problems I had. I learned that other people are generally kind in nature, but just have trouble expressing their feelings. I have realized that I would never have attended Edmonds-Woodway High School without the experiences I had. I wanted to follow where my friends had gone to school, so I had chosen Edmonds-Woodway instead of my home school of Lynnwood.  Today, I have absolutely no regrets for changing schools mid-year during the 6th grade. I know I am a stranger, but I also know that being a stranger does not last for an eternity – t here will be a point where you will be a part of the village. We all know that every student had at least a couple first days of school. The moment where we walk into a classroom is always the worst part. We have no idea what could happen next. We see and meet people that we have never been familiar with. The sea of new faces would only help overwhelm the normal person. Shaky legs, sweat rolling down foreheads and that feeling of being a stranger will always be the initial feeling of the average person. Especially when we walk into the classroom midyear, these feeling are only amplified. Having no idea how to fit, we tend together take two actions. In my case, I tend to try to change my personality to make a good first impression, only to realize that I am unable to keep it up for days or weeks. Rather than to mess around with our true personalities to make that first impression, acting as yourself will allow others to truly know us better. People are much friendlier than we originally think; they are that frightening once we get to know them. Even more so, a bad impression does not mean that the rest of their life is ruined. Their identity can be redeemed through their actions. The important thing is not to worry and things will usually work themselves out. It is human nature to adapt to situations as the conditions change. Whenever a new student joins a classroom, the environment will change slightly. As time goes on, you will become a part of the environment that the rest of the students are used to. Working and communicating with others are a main part of changing from being a stranger to becoming a acquaintance and possibly to becoming a friend. This situation can apply to almost everyone. All new students will feel like a stranger a t one point or another. The time has come to realize that the overstated fears of the first day have only created discomfort in those who are new. No matter what, we cannot avoid the way that people look on u as strangers. But really, we are not entirely strangers. The only difference between you and them is the time spent attending that school.

Equal Opportunities for Women in Management Positions

Equal Opportunities for Women in Management Positions Women in Management This paper looks at the issue of women in management within the financial services sector, focusing on high street banks in the United Kingdom, in the context of addressing the issue of gender discrimination within top management. This is done by looking at past and present published papers that revolve around the subject matter under a theoretical hypothesis. The theoretical hypothesis, which is based on published material on women in management, is used to explain the issues surrounding women in management. Three high street banks were assessed as case studies to identify the issue of gender discrimination within UK banks. The outcomes are also categorised under specific themes. Finally a critical review of matches and mismatches is used to compare and contrast similarities between the theoretical hypothesis and the empirical evidence gathered for this paper. Chapter 1: The Concept of Women In Management Since the end of the Second World War, organisations all over the world have been slow to recognize the importance of women in the development and building of strong solid leadership from within. This has raised serious issues with regard to top management particularly within the financial services sectors, being male dominated, not allowing women into positions of authority, or top management. Although, organisations all over the world have moved on since then, and there have been positive results so far in today’s modern day society, however the relative percentage of women in relation to men in top management positions still remains unsolved. In the United Kingdom, certain sectors seem to have made substantial progress with regard to addressing these issues, e.g. the financial sectors, and the health and social services. However, this is not the case across the whole spectrum of job sectors. E.g. the military, production services, distribution, Information and communication technology, and agriculture. Aims and Objectives The aim of this paper is to address the issue of top management, which is predominantly male dominated, within the financial services sector allowing and encouraging women to progress into management positions in their field of expertise. I.e. Understanding the problems associated with women breaking through the glass ceiling into top management within the financial services sector. The objective of this research is to first provide a detailed analysis of the theoretical aspects that women face when it comes to stepping into management positions within banks in the United Kingdom. Secondly, to understand the processes and mechanisms that are inherent within financial organisations that slowdown the pace of women into management positions. Thirdly, to highlight the issue of gender discrimination associated with the latter mentioned. Lastly, I will critically appraise the validity of published material so far covering women in management in the context of equal opportunity policies and flexible work patterns. Chapter 2: Existing Literature Reviewed Over the past 50 years gender inequalities i.e. women in management, particularly within the UK banking sector has been the subject of bureaucratic scrutiny to a certain degree. For example Crompton (1989)states that UK banks have increasingly become the major employers of female labour. However, women in banks have not historically had the same career opportunities as men, for a variety of reasons, ranging from deliberate male exclusion practices to the broken and often short-term nature of many women’s work histories. Additionally, the contrast between the experiences of men and women in the same occupation is used to question the conventional view of occupational class analysis, where the (male) occupational structure is treated as if it were the class structure. Rutherford’s (1999) case study of banking, also illustrates how the discourses of gendered biological and psychological difference might be used to justify the scarcity of women in management grades and in so doing reproduce the status quo of male domination. After all, if women were not suited to management in banking what would be the point of creating policies to attempt to improve their representation there? Thus jobs become infused with stereotyped characteristics, which are believed to be linked to gender, race (Liff and Dickens, 2000) and to some extent age. Alvesson and Billing (1997) talks about the pressures for homogeneity and cultural competent behaviour. This involves individuals, consciously or unconsciously, conforming and adapting to organisational norms in order to fit in or progress their careers, for example by adopting the expected and desired language, work style, appearance and so on. The demand for cultural competence reinforces and reproduces the dominant, from which those who do not comply, or conform, remain excluded. Collin son (1990) argues about the cultural assumptions underlying male manager’s stereotypes of male and female attributes. He states that when evaluating male candidates, involvement in sport was a definite advantage, whereas females sporting achievements we reread as indicative of a very narrow existence. Another example was behaviour of men which was described as ‘pushy’ when exhibited by female candidate and as ‘showing initiative’ when a male candidate was involved. Thus women were less likely to be recruited to what were viewed as gender-incongruent jobs. It must also be recognised that policy approaches, which focus on certain groups of employees most typically women and ethnic minorities, tend to engender employee resentment (Cockburn, 1991; Miller and Rowney, 1999). Webb (1997) adds that ironically the radical feminist agenda, which asserts women’s differences from men and their potential for creating a better world, had been adapted to the concerns of liberal feminism with providing rationale for the promotion of women in management, on the grounds that women’s nurturing capacities contribute to the diversity needed by post-modern organisations. Webb (1997) goes on to state that we need to move beyond the ultimately limiting debate about whether women are the same as or different from men to a renewed concern with the material conditions of women’s lives and with the construction of equality initiatives which address the continuing exclusion of many women from adequate standards of living. Rees (1998) argues that relative strenuous efforts to tackle discrimination and disadvantage within the organisation are hampered by structural inequalities at societal level, in particular the interrelationship between education, training and employment. The continued existence of social inequalities could be said to indicate that as a society we are not yet ready to value gender diversity, or ethnic diversity, adopting the language will not make it happen. However, this should not be used as an excuse for organisational inertia or fatalism. Businesses have social responsibilities (one of these is to treat employees fairly) and they also have a need for social legitimacy in order to survive in the longer term (Miller and Rowney, 1999). This would point to need for organisations to value workforce diversity, irrespective of the purchase of short-term solutions. Sisson (1995) also adds that the problem with regard to women in management within the UK banking industry is that most organisations are predominantly concerned with the bottom line, short-term profitability and this orientation militates against long-term agendas. This renders it all the more important that the retrograde step of abandoning or neglecting equal opportunity policy should be avoided. Dickens (1994) argues that there is not a business case but a series of business rationales that are contingent. Organizational and managerial receptiveness to them is uneven, and they lead to only selective action. He goes on to state that the business case ‘carrot’ shares a similar weakness to the legal compliance ‘stick’. Calls for action beyond the individual organisation in a multi-pronged approach requiring state action, in which equality legislation and business case rationales each have apart to play. Chapter 3: Research Approach and Methodology Employed Research Approach The research approach will be carried out using the positivist case research approach. According to Cavite (1996), positivist epistemology tries to understand a social setting by identifying individual components of a phenomenon and explains the phenomenon in terms of constructs and relationships between constructs. The theoretical constructs describing the phenomenon are considered to be distinct from empirical reality. Hence, empirical observations can be used to test theory. This looks at the world as external and objective. Positivism employs four major research evaluation criteria: a good research should make controlled observations, should be able to be replicated should be generalizable and should use formal logic. Under positivism, case research findings are not statistically generalizable to a population, as the case or cases cannot be considered representative of a population, however, case research can claim theoretical generalizability. This will also include comparing, contrasting and critically evaluating past and present papers, articles, journals, and established theories that have been published on the subject matter. Methodology Employed Multiple-Case Study Design This project uses the multiple case study method in order to enable analysis of data across cases and relating it to the theoretical perspectives in the available literature of Information systems strategy. This enables the researcher to verify that findings are not merely the result of idiosyncrasies of research setting (Miles andHuberman, 1984). According to Yin (1994), in such a method it is important to use: multiple sources of evidence. Due to the time constraint attached with this paper, only three case studies of Women in management within the UK banking sector were gathered. The appropriate number of cases depends, firstly, on how much is known about the phenomenon after studying a case and secondly, on how much new information is likely to emerge from studying further cases(Eisenhardt, 1997). The paper provides three case studies of UK high street banks namely HSBC, NatWest Bank, and Lloyds TSB. Comparing and contrasting the roles of the women who are in the top management in these banks. Qualitative Data Cavite (1996) states that qualitative investigation refers to distilling meaning and understanding from a phenomenon and is not primarily concerned with measuring and quantification of the phenomenon. Direct and in-depth knowledge of a research setting are necessary to achieve contextual understanding. Hence, qualitative methods are associated with face-to-face contact with persons in the research setting, with verbal data being gathered. Qualitative data can be collected in a number of forms. One major form of qualitative evidence is interviews, which may be recorded and later transcribed. Qualitative data are rich, full, holistic ‘real’ their face validity seems impeachable; they preserve chronological flow where that is important. In spite of the above mentioned, qualitative data have weaknesses (Miles1979; Miles and Huberman, 1984). Collecting and analysing data is time-consuming and demanding. In addition, data analysis is not easy, as qualitative data analysis methods are not well established. Recognised rules of logic can be applied to verbal data in order to make sense of the evidence and to formally analyse the data. Rubin and Rubin (1995) state that it is most desirable to disclose the identities of both the case and the individuals interviewed because, †¢ The reader is able to recall any other previous information he or she may have learned about the same case from previous research or other sources in reading and interpreting the case report. †¢ The entire case can be reviewed more readily, so that footnotes and citations can be checked, if necessary, and appropriate criticisms can be raised about the published case. Nevertheless, there are some occasions when anonymity is necessary. The most common rationale is that when the case study has been on controversial topic, anonymity serves to protect the real case and its real participants. The second reason is that the issuance of the final case report may affect the subsequent actions of those that were studied. In the case of this paper, the positions of the participants within the organisations interviewed are mentioned. However, anonymity is adopted to protect the Identities of the participants and the real case. Why? Because the issue of women in management within Banks in the UK has been a long standing problem, in which revealing their names could hinder future revelations on their part and their jobs. The remainder of this paper proceeds as follows: Chapter 4: Theoretical Hypothesis on Women in Management Chapter 5: Empirical Analysis (Three Banks) Chapter 6: Comparing and contrasting Theoretical Hypothesis and Empirical Analysis Chapter 7: Summary and Conclusion. Chapter 4: Theoretical Hypothesis of Women In Management In order to have a clear understanding of women in management, we will first need to identify the meaning attached to this phenomenon. Since the mid 1990s, women’s representation amongst executives has doubled and amongst company directors it has tripled. At the same time there has been an overall increase in women working in management jobs. However, women still comprise less than a quarter of executives and only one in ten company directors. The ‘glass ceiling’, the situation where women can see but not reach higher level jobs and so are prevented from progressing in their careers, appears still to exist in many organisations. This is what led to the creation of the terminology ‘women in management’. Several key factors account for the continuing low representation of women in management. Firstly, like most other occupations, there is a tendency for some types of management jobs to be associated with either women or men. For example, whilst women are comparatively well represented in personnel and the public sector, men still predominate in production management and Information and communication technology. Secondly, opportunities to work part-time are limited, with only six present of managers and senior officials employed part-time. Although it may be difficult to carry out some management functions on a part-time basis, there are still far too few opportunities for flexible working at senior levels in organisations. With this in mind, we can now move on to discuss the theoretical perspectives of women in management. There are several already established theoretical perspectives that have been used to gather a better understanding of this issue, however, the ones used in this paper are: 1) Issues and problems facing women reaching the top (manager) 2) Why so few women reaching the top? 3) Why are women workers still going cheap? 4) What causes the gender pay gap? 5) Have women achieved equality in the UK banking industry? 4.1 Issues and problems facing women reaching the top (manager) Several factors account for the continuing low representation of women reaching the top. One of the key issues is that women consider family obligations and the predominance of ‘male values’ in corporate culture to be the main obstacles to career advancement for them. The nature of the obstacles blocking women’s progress to higher management varies, however, from those encountered at lower levels. Higher ranking female bank managers seem to experience discrimination to a greater extent, both on terms of structural and cultural barriers, where insufficient personal contacts and dominance of ‘male values’ adversely affect their advancement. The difficulties women face in reaching the top is also reflected in the higher levels of education and effort often demanded of them. The hurdles facing women aspiring to management jobs can be so formidable that they sometimes abandon efforts to make it to the top of large firms. They often take their energy and know-how to smaller and more flexible companies or set up their own businesses. Another principal constraint on the level and type of labour market participation of women is the responsibility they carry for raising children and performing household tasks. An important feature of professional and especially managerial work is the extended working hours that seem to be required to gain recognition and eventual promotion. It can be practically impossible to reconcile the long hours often required of management staff with the amount of time needed to care for a home and children, not to mention care of the elderly. Yet the availability of part-time managerial work varies across organisations. Women who desire both a family and a career often juggle heavy responsibilities in both domains. Those who opt for part-time work early in their careers may find their advancement hampered, even after a return to full-time employment, since their male counterparts will have invested heavily in career building during the same period. 4.2 Why so few women reaching the top? Few women gain access to the highest positions as executive heads of organizations and, despite some improvements, many would claim that the pace of change is still far too slow given the large number of qualified women in the labour market today. Where figures are available (ILO data, 2002), they show women holding from 1 present to 5percent of top executive positions. While it must be acknowledged that time is still needed for women at junior and middle management levels(those in the pipeline) to move into executive positions, the fact still remains that women are not moving quickly enough nor insufficient numbers into line or strategic positions. Yet this factories crucial for enlarging the pool of women aspiring to senior positions and for building a critical mass of senior women for networking and providing role models for those down the line. Speeding up women’s movement towards the top requires that recruitment and promotion methods be objective and fair. Above all, there has to be awareness and commitment from directors of companies as to the benefits for their organizations from promoting women to high-level managerial positions. Women seem to experience the most difficulty in obtaining executive jobs in large corporations, even though they often have greater opportunities at junior and middle management levels in these same corporations. Another reason for this purge is the educational attainment required for top management positions. Evidence provided byte Equal opportunities Commission in the United Kingdom suggest that, in some cases women do not have the educational qualifications to get into management positions, and even when that is not the case, they still do find it hard to break into management, due to the fact that its predominantly male dominated. Another reason is that few senior women are in the so called ‘line’ positions that involve profit and loss or revenue generating responsibilities, and which are critical for advancement to the highest level. Additionally, in the United Kingdom, the share of women among financial managers rose from 11 present to 17percent in the 1980s and still increasing, although they are still outnumbered by men in top management positions in the 21st century. 4.3 Why are women workers still going cheap? Much of women’s work has historically tended to be undervalued or unrecognized. While the United Nations system and governments are making more systematic efforts to value and account for women’s work in national statistics, research on women in management is a relatively new field and comparisons over time and across countries are limited. This is further made complicated by the range of definitions employed and the non-availability of statistics for different countries overtime. Under a report provided by the United Nations in 1996 called the Human development report, it states that ‘no society treats its women as well as men’. A gender related development index was created to record achievements and monitor progress. This is based on life expectancy, educational attainment and income, but adjusts the latter mentioned for gender equality. They noted that life expectancy rates are positively affected by care in different forms, such as social support and social relationships. For example, unmarried adults have higher mortality rates than married ones and, according to them, children in a caring environment fare better in terms of health than those who lack this attention. It is not only the weak and sick that need care to prosper; even the healthiest of adults need a certain amount of care. A deficit in care services not only destroys human development, but it also undermines economic growth. That these factors are overlooked has considerable implications for gender equality, as women still carry the main responsibility for care. Gender discrimination is perpetuated through the lack of value placed on women’s caring role in society. As managers, women are affected byte common assumption that in the event of building families they will bear the main burden of responsibility arising out of this. Thus, there is not the same degree of investment in women. They are less likely to receive the same encouragement or career advice through mentoring as men. Another important factor is that in some countries equal opportunity policies tend to be established within organizations, however, in some countries they are not strictly adhered to. In the Ukase scheme known as ‘Opportunity 2000’ was launched in 2000. Its member included 300 organizations ranging from the financial services to the educational departments. They agreed to increase the number of women into management positions, and between 1994 to 2000, women’s share of management positions increased from 25 present to 35 present. Therefore, one can say although women are still going cheap in certain jobs in other parts of the world this is not the case universally. 4.4 What causes the gender pay gap? A difference in management positions does tend to contribute to earnings differentials. Although rates of pay may be similar, actual earnings can vary because of the different salary packages offered to managers, which provide various fringe benefits and access to certain schemes for boosting bonuses. Earnings gaps may also reflect differences in seniority and concentration of women in low-paid managerial sub-groups. Additionally, certain jobs tend to be affiliated with men and to women, i.e. productions and manufacturing jobs tend to be affiliated with men, while nursing, and household jobs tend to be affiliated with women, this contributes to the pay gap between men and women. Within the Banking sector in the United Kingdom, there has been an increase of the number of women into both middle and top management. However, the positions they tend to head are not profit-making positions or revenue generating positions, which are positions of higher pay and responsibility. They tend to be based within the retail, customer services, and bookkeeping departments, which are areas of significance to the organization, but are of less repute. 4.5 Have women achieved equality in the UK banking industry? In the area of finance, women have certainly increased their share of management positions, although at a varying pace. In the United Kingdom, the share of women among financial managers rose from 11 present to 17 present during the 1980’s and at the turn of the century increased to 25 present. While women have captured an ever-increasing share of the labour market, improvements in the quality of women’s jobs have not kept pace. This is reflected in the smaller representation of women in management positions, particularly in the private sector, and their virtual absence from most senior jobs, i.e. Directorships, or Presidents of Banks. Wage differentials in male and female managerial jobs stem from the reality that even when women hold management jobs, they are often in less strategic lower-paying areas oaf company’s operations. They are also linked to the fact that women managers tend to be younger on average, as most senior jobs tend to be dominated by older men. Despite the persistent inequalities at managerial level, the continuous entry of women into higher-level jobs is being addressed; however, they still remain under-represented in senior management. With few exceptions, the main challenge appears tube the sheer slowness in the in the progress of women into senior leadership positions in organizations, which suggests that discrimination is greatest where the most power is exercised. However, the growth in entrepreneurship and increasing numbers of women running their own businesses, both large and small, heralds a different future for societies. The economic power gained by women will play a key role in the struggle to sweep aside gender inequalities in all walks of life in which the UK banking sector is no exception. Chapter 5: Empirical Analysis In this chapter I present (3)case descriptions from my research on Women in management within the Banking Sector. The descriptions are organised in terms of the following headings; Continuity and Change in Women’s twentieth century in comparison to now experience, the position of women in the financial industry in general, the position of women in the UK banking sector, the changing role of women in the UK banking sector, pay differentials, women broken through glass ceiling, employment law and maternity right, and balancing work and family responsibilities. Due to the short timespan to collect data and incorporate to this paper I have been limited to three UK high street banks. The names of the individuals interviewed are not mentioned to protect confidentiality. It must be said that there are some differences in the both the quality and quantity of data available between the cases described, but in each case there is sufficient data for comparability across the features mentioned above. Women managers or the most senior of positions with regard to women in the three high street banks are analysed to address the issue of women in management. See Appendix A for the questions used. All interviews lasted approximately 40 minutes. 5.1 Case Study 1: Natwest Bank Continuity and Change in Women’s twentieth century in comparison to now experience The Woman interviewed was the manager of the branch. She is responsible for 25 people in the branch. She argues that in the past there were no female managers, most women, were household wives and lacked career progression. She believes that a lot has changed over the past 20 years and that within the bank a lot of progress has been made with regard to women into management positions. Additionally, she states that there is a continuing need to have women in management positions because it depicts the bank as being an equal opportunities bank. The position of women in the financial industry in general She argues that they are a lot more women in Finance ministries, central banks, and banking supervisory agencies, which are among the most important political institutions with regard to the coordination and regulation of the financial system than the case maybe in the past. The position of women in UK banking sector She states that although there has been a huge increase in the number of women in management positions within the bank, relative to male managers, it is small percentage that are in this category compared to over 50 years ago. The changing role of women in the UK banking sector She believes that the role of women in the bank has changed over the years. In the past women within the bank were more concentrated in the retail department, but more and more women are going into the trading of stocks and products which are revenue generating departments within the bank. Pay Differential She states categorically, that she is quite happy and content with how much she is being paid and comparing herself to her male counterpart sat other branches of the bank, there isn’t a difference with regard other pay package (it’s the same). Women broken through glass ceiling She believes that within NatWest bank the case of women breaking through the glass ceiling is not an issue. As far as she is concerned if you have the right qualifications and attributes, you will make it through regardless of gender differences. Employment law and Maternity right She argues that there are policies within the bank that ensures equal opportunities for both male and female employees to get into top management. And that women are encouraged to take maternity leave if needs be, and when they are ready to come back to their previous position the job would still be there. Flexible part-time work is available for those who fall under this category she says. Balancing work and Family For the hours she works, it could affect family life being the manager of the branch, however, for the top directors within the bank the want staff to have a good work and family life balance. They do encourage women, if they need to go out on maternity leave and come back to their previous job. 5.2 Case Study 2: Hong-Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Continuity and Change in Women’s twentieth century in comparison to now experience The Woman interviewed was the branch counsellor (Customer services/accounts); she is the most senior woman (retail). She is responsible for 5 people. She argues that in the Bank there were few female managers compared to their male counterparts. Although she believes a lot has changed over the years with regard to women getting into management positions, she states that due to the lack of proper qualifications and starting a family, women have not in general been able to move into management positions. The position of women in financial industry in general She argues that there are not enough women in the financial industry. She acknowledges that there have been improvements but that there is still barrier. The position of women in the UK banking sector She believes that only the determined ones (women) get through. However, from heron knowledge of the bank, there are not a lot of women in top management positions. The changing role of women in the UK banking sector The branch counsellor states that when a woman says she works in a bank it would be depicted that she works as a secretary. This is due to the lack of qualifications and top management being male dominated, the role of women within the bank has remained static. Pay Differential She states that there are certain grades within the bank and each and every person is categorised into one of those grades. The salary band is applied in that manner. She states that for the job responsibilities, she is quite content and happy with what she is being paid, however there is still need for improvement. Women broken through glass ceiling She argues that there is a glass ceiling within the bank and women can only go so far. She adds that women tend to leave to have children and look after the home. Also, she says that there are gender diversity policies within the bank, but they are not adhered to from top management. Employment law and maternity right Within the bank there is policy that allows for part-time flexible work patterns. Legally, they have to keep the position for you, if for example you left to have baby. Equal Opportunities for Women in Management Positions Equal Opportunities for Women in Management Positions Women in Management This paper looks at the issue of women in management within the financial services sector, focusing on high street banks in the United Kingdom, in the context of addressing the issue of gender discrimination within top management. This is done by looking at past and present published papers that revolve around the subject matter under a theoretical hypothesis. The theoretical hypothesis, which is based on published material on women in management, is used to explain the issues surrounding women in management. Three high street banks were assessed as case studies to identify the issue of gender discrimination within UK banks. The outcomes are also categorised under specific themes. Finally a critical review of matches and mismatches is used to compare and contrast similarities between the theoretical hypothesis and the empirical evidence gathered for this paper. Chapter 1: The Concept of Women In Management Since the end of the Second World War, organisations all over the world have been slow to recognize the importance of women in the development and building of strong solid leadership from within. This has raised serious issues with regard to top management particularly within the financial services sectors, being male dominated, not allowing women into positions of authority, or top management. Although, organisations all over the world have moved on since then, and there have been positive results so far in today’s modern day society, however the relative percentage of women in relation to men in top management positions still remains unsolved. In the United Kingdom, certain sectors seem to have made substantial progress with regard to addressing these issues, e.g. the financial sectors, and the health and social services. However, this is not the case across the whole spectrum of job sectors. E.g. the military, production services, distribution, Information and communication technology, and agriculture. Aims and Objectives The aim of this paper is to address the issue of top management, which is predominantly male dominated, within the financial services sector allowing and encouraging women to progress into management positions in their field of expertise. I.e. Understanding the problems associated with women breaking through the glass ceiling into top management within the financial services sector. The objective of this research is to first provide a detailed analysis of the theoretical aspects that women face when it comes to stepping into management positions within banks in the United Kingdom. Secondly, to understand the processes and mechanisms that are inherent within financial organisations that slowdown the pace of women into management positions. Thirdly, to highlight the issue of gender discrimination associated with the latter mentioned. Lastly, I will critically appraise the validity of published material so far covering women in management in the context of equal opportunity policies and flexible work patterns. Chapter 2: Existing Literature Reviewed Over the past 50 years gender inequalities i.e. women in management, particularly within the UK banking sector has been the subject of bureaucratic scrutiny to a certain degree. For example Crompton (1989)states that UK banks have increasingly become the major employers of female labour. However, women in banks have not historically had the same career opportunities as men, for a variety of reasons, ranging from deliberate male exclusion practices to the broken and often short-term nature of many women’s work histories. Additionally, the contrast between the experiences of men and women in the same occupation is used to question the conventional view of occupational class analysis, where the (male) occupational structure is treated as if it were the class structure. Rutherford’s (1999) case study of banking, also illustrates how the discourses of gendered biological and psychological difference might be used to justify the scarcity of women in management grades and in so doing reproduce the status quo of male domination. After all, if women were not suited to management in banking what would be the point of creating policies to attempt to improve their representation there? Thus jobs become infused with stereotyped characteristics, which are believed to be linked to gender, race (Liff and Dickens, 2000) and to some extent age. Alvesson and Billing (1997) talks about the pressures for homogeneity and cultural competent behaviour. This involves individuals, consciously or unconsciously, conforming and adapting to organisational norms in order to fit in or progress their careers, for example by adopting the expected and desired language, work style, appearance and so on. The demand for cultural competence reinforces and reproduces the dominant, from which those who do not comply, or conform, remain excluded. Collin son (1990) argues about the cultural assumptions underlying male manager’s stereotypes of male and female attributes. He states that when evaluating male candidates, involvement in sport was a definite advantage, whereas females sporting achievements we reread as indicative of a very narrow existence. Another example was behaviour of men which was described as ‘pushy’ when exhibited by female candidate and as ‘showing initiative’ when a male candidate was involved. Thus women were less likely to be recruited to what were viewed as gender-incongruent jobs. It must also be recognised that policy approaches, which focus on certain groups of employees most typically women and ethnic minorities, tend to engender employee resentment (Cockburn, 1991; Miller and Rowney, 1999). Webb (1997) adds that ironically the radical feminist agenda, which asserts women’s differences from men and their potential for creating a better world, had been adapted to the concerns of liberal feminism with providing rationale for the promotion of women in management, on the grounds that women’s nurturing capacities contribute to the diversity needed by post-modern organisations. Webb (1997) goes on to state that we need to move beyond the ultimately limiting debate about whether women are the same as or different from men to a renewed concern with the material conditions of women’s lives and with the construction of equality initiatives which address the continuing exclusion of many women from adequate standards of living. Rees (1998) argues that relative strenuous efforts to tackle discrimination and disadvantage within the organisation are hampered by structural inequalities at societal level, in particular the interrelationship between education, training and employment. The continued existence of social inequalities could be said to indicate that as a society we are not yet ready to value gender diversity, or ethnic diversity, adopting the language will not make it happen. However, this should not be used as an excuse for organisational inertia or fatalism. Businesses have social responsibilities (one of these is to treat employees fairly) and they also have a need for social legitimacy in order to survive in the longer term (Miller and Rowney, 1999). This would point to need for organisations to value workforce diversity, irrespective of the purchase of short-term solutions. Sisson (1995) also adds that the problem with regard to women in management within the UK banking industry is that most organisations are predominantly concerned with the bottom line, short-term profitability and this orientation militates against long-term agendas. This renders it all the more important that the retrograde step of abandoning or neglecting equal opportunity policy should be avoided. Dickens (1994) argues that there is not a business case but a series of business rationales that are contingent. Organizational and managerial receptiveness to them is uneven, and they lead to only selective action. He goes on to state that the business case ‘carrot’ shares a similar weakness to the legal compliance ‘stick’. Calls for action beyond the individual organisation in a multi-pronged approach requiring state action, in which equality legislation and business case rationales each have apart to play. Chapter 3: Research Approach and Methodology Employed Research Approach The research approach will be carried out using the positivist case research approach. According to Cavite (1996), positivist epistemology tries to understand a social setting by identifying individual components of a phenomenon and explains the phenomenon in terms of constructs and relationships between constructs. The theoretical constructs describing the phenomenon are considered to be distinct from empirical reality. Hence, empirical observations can be used to test theory. This looks at the world as external and objective. Positivism employs four major research evaluation criteria: a good research should make controlled observations, should be able to be replicated should be generalizable and should use formal logic. Under positivism, case research findings are not statistically generalizable to a population, as the case or cases cannot be considered representative of a population, however, case research can claim theoretical generalizability. This will also include comparing, contrasting and critically evaluating past and present papers, articles, journals, and established theories that have been published on the subject matter. Methodology Employed Multiple-Case Study Design This project uses the multiple case study method in order to enable analysis of data across cases and relating it to the theoretical perspectives in the available literature of Information systems strategy. This enables the researcher to verify that findings are not merely the result of idiosyncrasies of research setting (Miles andHuberman, 1984). According to Yin (1994), in such a method it is important to use: multiple sources of evidence. Due to the time constraint attached with this paper, only three case studies of Women in management within the UK banking sector were gathered. The appropriate number of cases depends, firstly, on how much is known about the phenomenon after studying a case and secondly, on how much new information is likely to emerge from studying further cases(Eisenhardt, 1997). The paper provides three case studies of UK high street banks namely HSBC, NatWest Bank, and Lloyds TSB. Comparing and contrasting the roles of the women who are in the top management in these banks. Qualitative Data Cavite (1996) states that qualitative investigation refers to distilling meaning and understanding from a phenomenon and is not primarily concerned with measuring and quantification of the phenomenon. Direct and in-depth knowledge of a research setting are necessary to achieve contextual understanding. Hence, qualitative methods are associated with face-to-face contact with persons in the research setting, with verbal data being gathered. Qualitative data can be collected in a number of forms. One major form of qualitative evidence is interviews, which may be recorded and later transcribed. Qualitative data are rich, full, holistic ‘real’ their face validity seems impeachable; they preserve chronological flow where that is important. In spite of the above mentioned, qualitative data have weaknesses (Miles1979; Miles and Huberman, 1984). Collecting and analysing data is time-consuming and demanding. In addition, data analysis is not easy, as qualitative data analysis methods are not well established. Recognised rules of logic can be applied to verbal data in order to make sense of the evidence and to formally analyse the data. Rubin and Rubin (1995) state that it is most desirable to disclose the identities of both the case and the individuals interviewed because, †¢ The reader is able to recall any other previous information he or she may have learned about the same case from previous research or other sources in reading and interpreting the case report. †¢ The entire case can be reviewed more readily, so that footnotes and citations can be checked, if necessary, and appropriate criticisms can be raised about the published case. Nevertheless, there are some occasions when anonymity is necessary. The most common rationale is that when the case study has been on controversial topic, anonymity serves to protect the real case and its real participants. The second reason is that the issuance of the final case report may affect the subsequent actions of those that were studied. In the case of this paper, the positions of the participants within the organisations interviewed are mentioned. However, anonymity is adopted to protect the Identities of the participants and the real case. Why? Because the issue of women in management within Banks in the UK has been a long standing problem, in which revealing their names could hinder future revelations on their part and their jobs. The remainder of this paper proceeds as follows: Chapter 4: Theoretical Hypothesis on Women in Management Chapter 5: Empirical Analysis (Three Banks) Chapter 6: Comparing and contrasting Theoretical Hypothesis and Empirical Analysis Chapter 7: Summary and Conclusion. Chapter 4: Theoretical Hypothesis of Women In Management In order to have a clear understanding of women in management, we will first need to identify the meaning attached to this phenomenon. Since the mid 1990s, women’s representation amongst executives has doubled and amongst company directors it has tripled. At the same time there has been an overall increase in women working in management jobs. However, women still comprise less than a quarter of executives and only one in ten company directors. The ‘glass ceiling’, the situation where women can see but not reach higher level jobs and so are prevented from progressing in their careers, appears still to exist in many organisations. This is what led to the creation of the terminology ‘women in management’. Several key factors account for the continuing low representation of women in management. Firstly, like most other occupations, there is a tendency for some types of management jobs to be associated with either women or men. For example, whilst women are comparatively well represented in personnel and the public sector, men still predominate in production management and Information and communication technology. Secondly, opportunities to work part-time are limited, with only six present of managers and senior officials employed part-time. Although it may be difficult to carry out some management functions on a part-time basis, there are still far too few opportunities for flexible working at senior levels in organisations. With this in mind, we can now move on to discuss the theoretical perspectives of women in management. There are several already established theoretical perspectives that have been used to gather a better understanding of this issue, however, the ones used in this paper are: 1) Issues and problems facing women reaching the top (manager) 2) Why so few women reaching the top? 3) Why are women workers still going cheap? 4) What causes the gender pay gap? 5) Have women achieved equality in the UK banking industry? 4.1 Issues and problems facing women reaching the top (manager) Several factors account for the continuing low representation of women reaching the top. One of the key issues is that women consider family obligations and the predominance of ‘male values’ in corporate culture to be the main obstacles to career advancement for them. The nature of the obstacles blocking women’s progress to higher management varies, however, from those encountered at lower levels. Higher ranking female bank managers seem to experience discrimination to a greater extent, both on terms of structural and cultural barriers, where insufficient personal contacts and dominance of ‘male values’ adversely affect their advancement. The difficulties women face in reaching the top is also reflected in the higher levels of education and effort often demanded of them. The hurdles facing women aspiring to management jobs can be so formidable that they sometimes abandon efforts to make it to the top of large firms. They often take their energy and know-how to smaller and more flexible companies or set up their own businesses. Another principal constraint on the level and type of labour market participation of women is the responsibility they carry for raising children and performing household tasks. An important feature of professional and especially managerial work is the extended working hours that seem to be required to gain recognition and eventual promotion. It can be practically impossible to reconcile the long hours often required of management staff with the amount of time needed to care for a home and children, not to mention care of the elderly. Yet the availability of part-time managerial work varies across organisations. Women who desire both a family and a career often juggle heavy responsibilities in both domains. Those who opt for part-time work early in their careers may find their advancement hampered, even after a return to full-time employment, since their male counterparts will have invested heavily in career building during the same period. 4.2 Why so few women reaching the top? Few women gain access to the highest positions as executive heads of organizations and, despite some improvements, many would claim that the pace of change is still far too slow given the large number of qualified women in the labour market today. Where figures are available (ILO data, 2002), they show women holding from 1 present to 5percent of top executive positions. While it must be acknowledged that time is still needed for women at junior and middle management levels(those in the pipeline) to move into executive positions, the fact still remains that women are not moving quickly enough nor insufficient numbers into line or strategic positions. Yet this factories crucial for enlarging the pool of women aspiring to senior positions and for building a critical mass of senior women for networking and providing role models for those down the line. Speeding up women’s movement towards the top requires that recruitment and promotion methods be objective and fair. Above all, there has to be awareness and commitment from directors of companies as to the benefits for their organizations from promoting women to high-level managerial positions. Women seem to experience the most difficulty in obtaining executive jobs in large corporations, even though they often have greater opportunities at junior and middle management levels in these same corporations. Another reason for this purge is the educational attainment required for top management positions. Evidence provided byte Equal opportunities Commission in the United Kingdom suggest that, in some cases women do not have the educational qualifications to get into management positions, and even when that is not the case, they still do find it hard to break into management, due to the fact that its predominantly male dominated. Another reason is that few senior women are in the so called ‘line’ positions that involve profit and loss or revenue generating responsibilities, and which are critical for advancement to the highest level. Additionally, in the United Kingdom, the share of women among financial managers rose from 11 present to 17percent in the 1980s and still increasing, although they are still outnumbered by men in top management positions in the 21st century. 4.3 Why are women workers still going cheap? Much of women’s work has historically tended to be undervalued or unrecognized. While the United Nations system and governments are making more systematic efforts to value and account for women’s work in national statistics, research on women in management is a relatively new field and comparisons over time and across countries are limited. This is further made complicated by the range of definitions employed and the non-availability of statistics for different countries overtime. Under a report provided by the United Nations in 1996 called the Human development report, it states that ‘no society treats its women as well as men’. A gender related development index was created to record achievements and monitor progress. This is based on life expectancy, educational attainment and income, but adjusts the latter mentioned for gender equality. They noted that life expectancy rates are positively affected by care in different forms, such as social support and social relationships. For example, unmarried adults have higher mortality rates than married ones and, according to them, children in a caring environment fare better in terms of health than those who lack this attention. It is not only the weak and sick that need care to prosper; even the healthiest of adults need a certain amount of care. A deficit in care services not only destroys human development, but it also undermines economic growth. That these factors are overlooked has considerable implications for gender equality, as women still carry the main responsibility for care. Gender discrimination is perpetuated through the lack of value placed on women’s caring role in society. As managers, women are affected byte common assumption that in the event of building families they will bear the main burden of responsibility arising out of this. Thus, there is not the same degree of investment in women. They are less likely to receive the same encouragement or career advice through mentoring as men. Another important factor is that in some countries equal opportunity policies tend to be established within organizations, however, in some countries they are not strictly adhered to. In the Ukase scheme known as ‘Opportunity 2000’ was launched in 2000. Its member included 300 organizations ranging from the financial services to the educational departments. They agreed to increase the number of women into management positions, and between 1994 to 2000, women’s share of management positions increased from 25 present to 35 present. Therefore, one can say although women are still going cheap in certain jobs in other parts of the world this is not the case universally. 4.4 What causes the gender pay gap? A difference in management positions does tend to contribute to earnings differentials. Although rates of pay may be similar, actual earnings can vary because of the different salary packages offered to managers, which provide various fringe benefits and access to certain schemes for boosting bonuses. Earnings gaps may also reflect differences in seniority and concentration of women in low-paid managerial sub-groups. Additionally, certain jobs tend to be affiliated with men and to women, i.e. productions and manufacturing jobs tend to be affiliated with men, while nursing, and household jobs tend to be affiliated with women, this contributes to the pay gap between men and women. Within the Banking sector in the United Kingdom, there has been an increase of the number of women into both middle and top management. However, the positions they tend to head are not profit-making positions or revenue generating positions, which are positions of higher pay and responsibility. They tend to be based within the retail, customer services, and bookkeeping departments, which are areas of significance to the organization, but are of less repute. 4.5 Have women achieved equality in the UK banking industry? In the area of finance, women have certainly increased their share of management positions, although at a varying pace. In the United Kingdom, the share of women among financial managers rose from 11 present to 17 present during the 1980’s and at the turn of the century increased to 25 present. While women have captured an ever-increasing share of the labour market, improvements in the quality of women’s jobs have not kept pace. This is reflected in the smaller representation of women in management positions, particularly in the private sector, and their virtual absence from most senior jobs, i.e. Directorships, or Presidents of Banks. Wage differentials in male and female managerial jobs stem from the reality that even when women hold management jobs, they are often in less strategic lower-paying areas oaf company’s operations. They are also linked to the fact that women managers tend to be younger on average, as most senior jobs tend to be dominated by older men. Despite the persistent inequalities at managerial level, the continuous entry of women into higher-level jobs is being addressed; however, they still remain under-represented in senior management. With few exceptions, the main challenge appears tube the sheer slowness in the in the progress of women into senior leadership positions in organizations, which suggests that discrimination is greatest where the most power is exercised. However, the growth in entrepreneurship and increasing numbers of women running their own businesses, both large and small, heralds a different future for societies. The economic power gained by women will play a key role in the struggle to sweep aside gender inequalities in all walks of life in which the UK banking sector is no exception. Chapter 5: Empirical Analysis In this chapter I present (3)case descriptions from my research on Women in management within the Banking Sector. The descriptions are organised in terms of the following headings; Continuity and Change in Women’s twentieth century in comparison to now experience, the position of women in the financial industry in general, the position of women in the UK banking sector, the changing role of women in the UK banking sector, pay differentials, women broken through glass ceiling, employment law and maternity right, and balancing work and family responsibilities. Due to the short timespan to collect data and incorporate to this paper I have been limited to three UK high street banks. The names of the individuals interviewed are not mentioned to protect confidentiality. It must be said that there are some differences in the both the quality and quantity of data available between the cases described, but in each case there is sufficient data for comparability across the features mentioned above. Women managers or the most senior of positions with regard to women in the three high street banks are analysed to address the issue of women in management. See Appendix A for the questions used. All interviews lasted approximately 40 minutes. 5.1 Case Study 1: Natwest Bank Continuity and Change in Women’s twentieth century in comparison to now experience The Woman interviewed was the manager of the branch. She is responsible for 25 people in the branch. She argues that in the past there were no female managers, most women, were household wives and lacked career progression. She believes that a lot has changed over the past 20 years and that within the bank a lot of progress has been made with regard to women into management positions. Additionally, she states that there is a continuing need to have women in management positions because it depicts the bank as being an equal opportunities bank. The position of women in the financial industry in general She argues that they are a lot more women in Finance ministries, central banks, and banking supervisory agencies, which are among the most important political institutions with regard to the coordination and regulation of the financial system than the case maybe in the past. The position of women in UK banking sector She states that although there has been a huge increase in the number of women in management positions within the bank, relative to male managers, it is small percentage that are in this category compared to over 50 years ago. The changing role of women in the UK banking sector She believes that the role of women in the bank has changed over the years. In the past women within the bank were more concentrated in the retail department, but more and more women are going into the trading of stocks and products which are revenue generating departments within the bank. Pay Differential She states categorically, that she is quite happy and content with how much she is being paid and comparing herself to her male counterpart sat other branches of the bank, there isn’t a difference with regard other pay package (it’s the same). Women broken through glass ceiling She believes that within NatWest bank the case of women breaking through the glass ceiling is not an issue. As far as she is concerned if you have the right qualifications and attributes, you will make it through regardless of gender differences. Employment law and Maternity right She argues that there are policies within the bank that ensures equal opportunities for both male and female employees to get into top management. And that women are encouraged to take maternity leave if needs be, and when they are ready to come back to their previous position the job would still be there. Flexible part-time work is available for those who fall under this category she says. Balancing work and Family For the hours she works, it could affect family life being the manager of the branch, however, for the top directors within the bank the want staff to have a good work and family life balance. They do encourage women, if they need to go out on maternity leave and come back to their previous job. 5.2 Case Study 2: Hong-Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Continuity and Change in Women’s twentieth century in comparison to now experience The Woman interviewed was the branch counsellor (Customer services/accounts); she is the most senior woman (retail). She is responsible for 5 people. She argues that in the Bank there were few female managers compared to their male counterparts. Although she believes a lot has changed over the years with regard to women getting into management positions, she states that due to the lack of proper qualifications and starting a family, women have not in general been able to move into management positions. The position of women in financial industry in general She argues that there are not enough women in the financial industry. She acknowledges that there have been improvements but that there is still barrier. The position of women in the UK banking sector She believes that only the determined ones (women) get through. However, from heron knowledge of the bank, there are not a lot of women in top management positions. The changing role of women in the UK banking sector The branch counsellor states that when a woman says she works in a bank it would be depicted that she works as a secretary. This is due to the lack of qualifications and top management being male dominated, the role of women within the bank has remained static. Pay Differential She states that there are certain grades within the bank and each and every person is categorised into one of those grades. The salary band is applied in that manner. She states that for the job responsibilities, she is quite content and happy with what she is being paid, however there is still need for improvement. Women broken through glass ceiling She argues that there is a glass ceiling within the bank and women can only go so far. She adds that women tend to leave to have children and look after the home. Also, she says that there are gender diversity policies within the bank, but they are not adhered to from top management. Employment law and maternity right Within the bank there is policy that allows for part-time flexible work patterns. Legally, they have to keep the position for you, if for example you left to have baby.