On the Ageing Population Essay Example for Free

On the Ageing Population Essay With the development of the advanced society, increasingly numbers of nations are facing the ageing problem. The aging population, the fraction of the population aged 65 and over exceeds 8-10%, has been universally recognized as one of the worldwide social issues in 21 century. We are ageing—not just as individuals or communities but as a world. In 2006, almost 500 million people worldwide were 65 and older. By 2030, that total is projected to increase to 1 billion—1 in every 8 of the earth’s inhabitants. Usually, the ageing problem would happen in the developed countries, however, some developing countries are facing the same problem as well. China, as the biggest developing nation, is facing serious ageing problem. According to 2010 census, China has already become an aging society, with 177.648 million elderly over 60 years old, about 13 percent of the total population. Depending on the report released by CASS (Chinese Academy of Social Science), the age of 65 in China will overtake that of Japan in 2030, which will make the world’s most aged society. Unfortunately, China is the only country with more than 100 million people aged over 60 in the world and the countrys economy is not well prepared for a rapidly expanding aging population. In such situation, China faces more difficulties than any other nations. Chinese current pension system, medical care system and social service sectors cannot meet the demands of all senior citizens. As we all know, in the past three decades, China created a miracle thanks to the largest cheep labor force in the world, which had contributed nearly 27 percent to Chinese economic growth. Nowadays, because of the increasing life expectancy and low birth rate (one child policy), the demographic dividend is gradually disappearing. According to statistics, compared with 2000, the scale of young Chinese labor force aged from 20 to 29 has already reduced about 15% in 2010, which will affect Chinese economy, as the number of potential workers, especially from rural areas, will shrink. Chinese government as well as the outside is worrying about that China will slow or even stop the developing pace on account of the shrink of labor force, since Chinese economy benefits a lot from the demographic dividend. How can we solve this problem effectively has been attached great importance by Chinese government. The Setting In the late 1970s, China has carried out one-child policy to control the population growth. With the launch of the one-child policy, Vice Premier Chen Muhua expressed his fear: â€Å"Young people under 30 years of age account for about 65 percent of the total population, or around 630 million. Some have already reached the age of fertility, and the majority of the remainder will do so within the next 10 to 20 years or so. If population growth is not controlled, it will reach a high peak, making it virtually impossible for the economy and our social institutions to cope with.† In that circumstance, China has put one-child policy into practice until now. There’s no doubt that one-child policy has played a role in contributing, along with urbanization, to a reduced rate of population expansion and the temporary creation of a population with a dependency ratio lower than it otherwise would have been. However, one-child policy as well brings some problems to our society. For instance, currently, China is undergoing a family restructuring process. The former pyramid shape is being replaced by an inverse pyramid. The typical Chinese family today can be classified as 4-2-1. 4 represents the parents and parents-in-law, 2 represents the husband and wife, and the 1 refers to the only child of the couple. And the center of the family is on the 1— the grandchild. The form of 4-2-1 family leads to the condition that the 2 have to prepare for both the older and the younger generations. To the 2, they have to take care of their parents and child both on material and immaterial life. At present, the 4-2-1 family structure is emerging and will replace the previous family structure in China. Moreover, the middle 2 have to shoulder all the responsibilities of their families. Besides, because Chinese current pension system, medical care system and social service sectors cannot meet the dem ands of all senior citizens, the children of these aged people have to shoulder more responsibilities. Policy Initiatives Based on the problem of ageing population, Chinese government has already launched a new policy to relieve the shortage of labor force market. If the couple matches certain conditions, they can have two babies. Here listed some conditions. Both parties are only child in their respective family; Their only child is diagnosed of having a non-genetic disease and unable to grow up to be a normal laborer; Either party is infertile but the wife becomes pregnant after having adopted a child legally; Remarried couples with the total number of children from previous marriages not exceeding one and so on. Furthermore, relaxing the requirements on emigration application can attract more immigrants to relieve the lack of labor force. Taking Canada as an example, Canada needs to attract hundreds of thousands of skilled workers from abroad to make up a labor shortfall. Since the 1990s, the federal immigration program has targeted people who have the experience and training that are in demand, incl uding medical doctors, nurses, cooks, electricians, welders and other professionals. It is also a good idea for Chinese government to attract some skilled immigrants. Although ageing population challenges a certain nation’s pension system, medical care system, social service and economy, it is not always about negative effects. From the bright sight, the occurrence of the ageing problem is a good opportunity for China to switch from a labor-intensive country to a technology-intensive country. Actually, ageing population itself is not horrible; the key point is how to respond it wisely. If the government can handle this problem effectively, ageing can also become a moment for the Chinese society to promote economy and realize the economic transition. Chinese government can not only be satisfied with the current situation â€Å"World Factory†, instead, it is time for us to transit to a technology-intensive country. Taking Finland as an example, Finland started its industrialization very late, in the early 20th century; Finland was stuck in the structural crisis of its leading industries forest industry, iron and steel, shipbuilding, textile and clothing. But, Finland used that chance and realized the transition successfully. Nowadays, although Finland is facing the ageing problem, it is still on the top list of worldwide competitiveness because of its pillar industry electronics. The well-known mobile phone brand – Nokia is the best proof of the successful transition of Finland’s economy. Finland people are proud of their advanced technology and eager to innovate. Compared with Finland people, Chinese people like to plagiarize and copy others’ ideas and products rather than innovate by ourselves. Copying and manufacturing blindly can not make us profit a lot to promote the economy and compete with other nations. There’s no doubt that such kind of countries lack the competitiveness in the world and the prospects for development. As we all know, the price of iphone 4 is from $499 to $699, but the cost of an iphone 4 is only about $188 or even less. The Apple Inc. let some developing countries to manufacture these components of iphone 4 and pay the workers less money, since the labor force in developing countries is very cheap. Though China benefits a lot from the cheap labor force, the wages of Chinese workers often do not follow international standards. As we can see that the one who master the core technology can earn more money, while the one who just copies and manufactures can only get a little money. Therefore, the lacking of labor force urges China to switch from a labor-intensive country to a technology-intensive country. In that case, China will be able to achieve more balanced and sustained growth in the future. In addition, since the aged, purely a group of consumers who have many demands can bring a lot of opportunities. Due to the unique background of China, the industries related to the aged will have bright prospects, such as health care industry, entertainment industry, tourist industry and etc. The consuming on account of filial piety can contribute a lot to China’s economy. Conclusion With the development of the advanced society, the proportion of older people is steadily increasing. And the emergence of ageing population will cause repercussions on the labor market, economic growth potential, public finances and other fields. At present, the ageing population is going to become a mass phenomenon in the near future, which will not only change the economy system, but also shake the base of society as such. To China, answering ageing problem correctly is of great urgency. Encouraging couples to have the second child and relaxing the requirements on emigration application to attract more immigrants to relieve the shortage of labor force are both the solutions to the ageing problem of China. Additionally, China can not be satisfied with gaining benefits through manufacturing products all the time. It’s time to do the economic transition with the wealth which we gained from the demographic dividend. Chinese government can invest much money to develop the technology, which will acquire better economic profits and development prospect. In that case, China will be able to achieve more balanced and sustained growth in the future. Although China has not well prepared for the ageing population, China can regard it as an opportunity to realize the transition of economy. What’s more, we should not treat the aged as a burden or a threat to our society. On the contrary, the industries which are related with the aged will be the emerging industries in the future. If Chinese government can solve the ageing problem effectively, the chances offered by ageing population can be used to their full extent, which will bring more opportunities to China.

Death in Emily Dickenson Essay -- essays papers

Death in Emily Dickenson With the thought of death, many people become terrified as if it were some creature lurking behind a door ready to capture them at any moment. Unlike many, Emily Dickinson was infatuated with death and sought after it only to try and help answer the many questions which she pondered so often. Her poetry best illustrates the answers as to why she wrote about it constantly. She explains her reason for writing poetry, â€Å"I had a terror I could tell to none-and so I sing, as the Boy does by the Burying Ground-because I am afraid.†(Johnson xxiii). There is no doubt that Emily Dickinson is frightened of death and the unknown life after it. To release her fears, she simply â€Å"sings† her song in poetry. Still, little is known to why she truly wrote of death and life after death; yet it is apparent that many have tried to explore the subject at hand. Growing up in the 1830’s, Emily Dickinson spent nearly her entire life in the Amherst, Massachusetts, house were she composed many of the unforgettable poetry she is famous for today. Dickinson, often labeled as â€Å"the Virginal nun of Amherst†, has been said to be â€Å"anything but a total recluse† (Conarro 71). She spent her time reading influential books and magazines such as the Springfield, Massachusetts Republican, the Bible, George Eliot, Keats, Emerson, Sir Thomas Brown, and especially Shakespeare. Emily Dickinson also spent numerous hours tending to her garden and relishing the intimacy of long-distance relationships (Conarro 71-2). One such relationship was a preacher named Wadsworth, whom she loved dearly. Johnson points out the reason for her act of seclusion was t... ... The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1985. Capps, Jack L. Wmily Dickinson’s Reading, 1836-1886. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1966. Connarroe, Joel. Six American Poets. New York: Random House, 1991. Ferlazza, Paul J.Critical Essays on Emily Dickinson. Boston: Massachusetts, G.K.Hall & Co., 1984. Ford, T.W. Heaven Beguiles the Tired. Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1968. Lucas, D.D. Emily Dickinson and Riddle. Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press, 1969. Johnson, Thomas H. The Poems of Emily Dickinson. Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1968. Keller, Karl. The Only Kangoroo Among the Beauty. Maryland: The John’s Hopkins University Press, 1979. Rutledge, David. â€Å"Dickinson’s- I Know That He Exists† The Explicator winter 1994: 83- 84.

Latino Conflict Management

It cannot be argued that the Latinos/Hispanics are now making their presence felt in most facets of American society more specifically in the urban communities and the workplace. This group of people is of Latin American descent with inherent unique ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Due to this difference it is possible that conflicts may arise in their interaction with Americans and other races. In resolving conflicts with Latinos/Hispanics it is important to at first understand situations or behaviors that easily lead to conflicts with them and to know their attitude or personal concept regarding conflicts. In this way effective approaches or strategies   Ã‚  Ã‚  for the resolution of conflict may be undertaken. According to Gabrielidis and et al, â€Å"Some of the most severe problems in intercultural relations arise as a consequence of interpersonal conflicts† (1197, p. 661). The greatest difference in the attitudes between the Latinos/Hispanics with the Americans is that Latinos are   a people who give prime importance to family relationships before other   goals or ideas , obligation to in-groups( family, relatives or people of the same race or cultural and ethnic background)   and the surrendering of   personal interests and needs in favor for the   good of the group or community while the Americans ,on the other hand, adopted a culture of   individualism in which the interests, activities and goals of the individual are top priority. I do not infer here that the Americans do not value family relationships or disregard the interest of others but that it seems that the Latinos placed these issues in higher degree. In the Latino context the innate goodness or uniqueness of a person sometimes do not show itself in their actions or achievements so they emphasized the respect and protection of dignity of a person irregardless of social class while the Americans on the other hand believed that a person can be judged by his actions and achievements. Also while both groups had similar definitions of close friendship, Americans emphasized freedom in the expression of their ideas in the company of a friend and may incline give up the friendship if it stands in the way of   self-expression and the attainment of personal goals while the Latinos emphasized support and expression of feelings and make necessary adjustments in goals to keep the friendship. Understanding this difference will help me put the conflict in proper perspective. Through this I can analyze whether the source of conflict was that if I made a Latino feel that his family or race was unimportant or that I perceived him as a person of lower dignity or status when I attempted to judged him base on what he had accomplished in life or that I made him feel as if it was his fault that he had a low economic status.. Based on what I had researched and observed the Latinos mostly wants to connect with people and as much as possible maintain harmonious relationships with others. In most cases they tend to avoid conflict to the extent that they are non-confrontational. They worry more on â€Å"saving the face â€Å"of family and others so that most of the times they do not say directly what they mean, as a respeto (a Spanish term which means respect to the dignity of the person).This   attitude is very opposite to the frankness of   Americans   in their interaction with others. An example is this, instead of saying that the clothes I wore do not look good on me  Ã‚   they will say that my clothes was not exactly nice but that I still look good wearing it. In resolving conflicts with them it is necessary to adopt this kind of indirect communication or else I may aggravate the situation. For example when I differ with opinions with the Latinos and he seemed to insist that he is right, instead of saying that â€Å"I was not happy at all with his attitude† I may say instead that â€Å"I understand why he acted the way he did and that he meant well but that it is better to listen also to the opinion of others†. In the positive aspect, the idea that Latinos wants to maintain harmonious relationships with others means that they are less likely to initiate conflict and may be open for reconciliation whenever conflict arise. However, it must be remembered that Latino conflict resolution should be appropriate to the setting and must be able to maintain individual pride and honor (Markus & Lin, 1999). Also extra attention must be given to the tone of voice and proper eye contact. In resolving Latino/Hispanic conflicts, there are different styles to be use depending on the ethnic and cultural identity salience of the Latino.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ethnic identity† means that he give more importance to his ethnic origin while â€Å"cultural identity†   means â€Å" that he give more importance to the larger culture in whom he is   interacting with which in this   case is   the American culture.   Those with strong American cultural identity prefers integrating (high concern for self and high concern for other; also called â€Å"collaborating†) and   compromising (moderate concern for self and moderate concern for other)   and uses emotionally expressive styles more   Ã‚  as compared to those   with weak cultural identity. Also those with a strong ethnic identity use integrating and accommodating (low concern for self and high concern for other; also called â€Å"obliging) more and third party less than those with weak ethnic identity in conflict styles (Cai & Fink, 2002).   Latinos, on the other hand, with weak cultural identity used avoiding (low concern for self and low concern for other; also called â€Å"withdrawing†) more than other ethnic groups   irregardless of cultural orientation   perhaps due to the Latino value of respeto and wanting to maintain respect, dignity and harmony   in social situations (Ting-Toomey et al., 2000). Armed with all this knowledge, I am hoping that I will be better equip in handling Latino conflict in the future. REFERENCE Cai, D.A., & Fink, E.L. (2002) Gabrielidis, C., Stephan, W.G., Ybarra, O., Dos Santos Pearson, V.M., & Villareal, L. (1997). Preferred styles of conflict resolution: Mexico and the United States. Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology,28, 661. Markus, H.R., & Lin, L.R. (1999). Conflict ways: Cultural Diversity in the Meanings and Practicesof Conflict. In D.A. Prentice & D.T. Miller (Eds.), Cultural divides: Understanding and overcoming group conflict (pp. 302-333). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Ting-Toomey, S., Yee-Jung, K.K., Shapiro, R.B., Garcia, W., Wright, T.J., & Oetzel, J.G. (2000) Ethnic/cultural identity salience and conflict styles in four U.S. ethnic groups. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 24, 47-81.            

Essay about Business Ethics at Gap Inc. - 2147 Words

------------------------------------------------- Company Report: Gap Inc. and Business Ethics Depestel Caroline Milijana Zlatic s0101027 s0100470 Professor S. Hughes Year: 2012-2013 3th Bachelor Applied Economics 1. Executive Summary The topic of this paper is business ethics within Gap Inc., a multinational retail – clothing company. The foundation of its corporate ethical approach is summarized in the Code of Conduct . This paper outlines the ethical problems Gap Inc. faced in the last years and more important, the solutions they found in order to remain a successful company. It shows how large companies deal with common issues like child labour and sweatshops. In the first place,†¦show more content†¦Monitoring 8 6. Conclusion 9 7. Recommendations 9 8. References 10 3. Introduction Business ethics is a very extensive subject that is not easy to define. According to Andrew Crane and Dirk Matten (2004: 5), business ethics is the study of business situations, activities and decisions where issues of right and wrong are addressed. With an increasing globalization, environmental and social issues have amplified and therefore companies have to take full responsibility for the wrong impact their actions have. Gap pays a lot of attention to the social issues and challenges that large companies face, although it had some ethical issues in the past. Gap Inc. is a large company in the clothing business with over 3,300 stores worldwide. As one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2012 for the sixth straight year, it might be interesting to investigate the ethical issues that have risen in the past years (Gap Inc., 2013a). In the first section, this report outlines several ethical difficulties that occurred. Subsequently, some of Gap Inc.’s solutions for a better ethical policy are described. To conclude, some recommendations are made, but those are limited because of the quick and good solutions Gap came up with in response to its problems. 4. Proof of insufficiency Code of Conduct (1999-2007) Since the creation of the Code of Vendor Conduct in 1996, Gap Inc. had to deal with different scandals concerningShow MoreRelatedBusiness Ethics: Gap Inc.2329 Words   |  10 PagesBusiness Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Case Study: GAP Inc. Business ethics can be described as the ethical dilemmas that arise within a business setting. GAP Inc., similar to most other multinational corporations (MNCs), has faced numerous ethical issues in the past. Since 1995, GAP’s image has been continuously tarnished through allegations of exploitive working conditions, cheap labour, and hostile environments overseas. 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