Comparison Of Langston Hues Peices Essays - Guggenheim Fellows

Comparison Of Langston Hues Peices The short story ?Thank You, Ma'am? and the poem ?Mother to Son?, both by Langston Hughes are similar yet differ in many ways. In the following paragraphs I will explain the similarities and the differences. Besides being written by the same author the two literary works are a like in the sense that they are both advice to young people. An example from ?Mother to Son? is ?So boy don't you turn back, don't set you down those stairs ?cause you find its kinder harder, don't you fall now?. An example from ?Thank you Ma'am is when Mrs. Jones says ? I were young once and I wanted things I couldn't get, I have done things, too, which I would not tell you son?neither God, if he didn't already know?. Both works are sharing there experiencing with younger people to try to help them to learn from the mistakes they have made in their life. They give the young people their advice showing kindness. Also both stories are written with the same kind of language. An example of this is words like ?M' am?, ?No' m?, and ?Yes' m? from Thank You, M' am and words like ?I' se? ?a-climbin' ?, and ?aint? from Mother to Son. The ways these works are different is the format of the pieces. ?Mother To Son? is a poem and ?Thank You M' am? is a short story. The literary elements in ?Thank You M' am? are characterization, direct characterization and indirect characterization. In ?Mother To Son? uses diction, connotations, denotations, entrails and his freedom of language, which is called his poetic license. ?Mother to Son? also has a deeper meaning, the writer chose to write this poem like a metaphor, referring his life to a staircase. ?Thank You M' am? is clear about its meaning and uses dialog to explain the theme and meaning of the work. In conclusion I found it clear to see that the literary works were alike in the sense that they were both giving out a positive message but different in the way the message is told. All and all I found both of these stories alike in the sense that they were very enjoyable to read and learn from! Bibliography none

Indian Retail Industry Essays

Indian Retail Industry Essays Indian Retail Industry Essay Indian Retail Industry Essay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Retailing is the process that involves of selling goods or services directly to end consumer for personal, non business use (Kotler, 2010). A retailer or retail store is an enterprise where they make volume majorly from retailing. Any firm selling its goods or services to the end consumers- whether it is manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer- is said to be retailing. It doesn’t matter how the goods or services are sold (may be by person, through mail, telephone) or where (from a store, by the street or in the user’s home). In the past, retailers secured customers loyalty by offering convenient locations, special or unique variety of goods, greater or better services than competitors. Retailers struggled in developed countries because of their saturated market and forcing them to invest in developing countries like India, China etc. And India has been ranked fifth most favourable market for foreign retailers, according to AT Kearney’s GRDI (2012). An Industrial Analysis on Retail Industry mainly concentrating on Food Grocery is done in the project using Qualitative methods which includes PEST analysis, tracking mergers acquisitions etc. nd Quantitative methods which include comparison among the companies and comparison with the US markets. Certain limitation was faced while searching for data but its made sure it is from a reliable and trusted source. 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 2 1. 1. Overview Retailing is the process that involves of selling goods or services directly to end consumer for person al, non business use. Present day consumers shop for goods and services at store retailers, non store retailers etc, but the best known retailer is the departmental store. Generally a retailer tend to buy goods or services in large quantities from manufacturers or importers hich may include a middleman (wholesaler) or may directly purchase from them and then sell those to the end – user consumer as small quantities or in individual items. Retailers can be considered as the end of the supply chain, because they are final means from which the consumer receives their desired goods or services. Moreover in the marketer’s point of view retailing plays a major role in the overall distribution strategy, which means that to attain an efficient supply chain management retailer is the main source to assess the actual demand in the market. Some world leading retailers are (as per Revenue):1 1. Wal-Mart (US) 2. Carrefour (France) 3. Metro (Germany) 4. TESCO (UK) 5. Lidl Stiftury (Germany) The world market is found is undergoing continuous transformation. And especially when retail market is consider, lots of innovation and cut throat competition is observed. If we consider in India the retail sector constitutes to 22% of GDP and provides 8% of employment. 2 Indian retail sector worth is found to be US$ 350 billion and is growing at a rate of 15-20%3, it is estimated that the value of the retail sector may increase up to US$ 450 by 2015. This high growth rate has attracted many of the foreign investors to invest in India especially in Grocery and Apparel as a part of FDI in multi brand retail. 4 Top retailers in India are; 1. Reliance Fresh 2. Food Bazaar 1 2 www. moneycontrol. com www. ibef. org 3 Pricewaterhousecooper research 4 Deloitte research 3 3. Spencers Mart 4. More 5. Nilgiris The organized retail sector is found to be only 5%, which shows a huge potential in retail sector and estimated to increase to 9% by 2015. Figure : 1. 1 Organized retail has huge scope of expansion Unorganized retail penetration Organized retail penetration % 9% 20% 95% 91% 80% 2011-12 2015-16 2020-21 Source: Indian retail market sep 2011, Delioitte Aranca research 1. 2. Global Scenario In the last part of 20th century, the world saw the emergence of the retail industry, majorly the supermarket found to dominant grocery retail form. And with the latest advancement in the technology like the bar code, RFID etc. allowed a store to manag e thousands of items and ‘just-in-time’ store replenishment. Computer operated logistical systems integrated with the stores assess the consumer demand in a single electronic system has led to expansion of the retail sector. But with the saturated local market, high competition pushed the major retailers into the globalization though process. And at the same time many government in the mid 1990’s have opened their economies inviting for foreign retail investors. However major issue faced is the economic slowdown that has resulted due to the uncertainty in IT sector and other financial spending. Moreover consumers themselves became much more price conscious, sensitive to price hikes and conservative in their buying, particularly in the developed economies. 4 Even though, Retail industry continues to be the world’s largest private industry with above US$ 8. trillion sales worldwide annually, this accounts nearly 10-15% of GDP for most economies. 5 Major employer in most of the economies: ? ? ? ? 18% in US 14% in Poland 9% in China 17% in Europe Biggest retail countries in world (as per sales) ? ? ? ? ? US EU China UK India US$ 4. 7 trillion US$ 2. 9 trillion US$ 800 billion US$ 498 billion US $ 350 billon So from the above data it is evident that some developing countries like China and India made up to the top retailers in the world, which shows the huge potential for retail in these economies as major part of the retail is dominated by the unorganized sector. Retailers around the Globe; Table : 1. 1 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 Country UK Spain France Germany Italy Switzerland % of International retailers present 55 51 49 47 45 42 5 www. Livemint. com 5 7 8 9 10 Austria UAE China Russia 42 41 40 39 Source: CB Richard Ellis, 2010 The above table shows the concentration of the international retailer in to their economy, where UK topped the list and India ranked 44 in the list (as a lot of clarifications for the international retailers are required). Study also concluded that developed economies are still the favourable markets for international retailers. 1. 3. Indian Scenario The retail industry in India is one of the most attracted market in the world. The major reason for this is, the market is highly unorganized. Almost 90% of the retail market is under unorganized sector where the business are run as kirana stores and family businesses. The organized sector is only less than 10% which is very low compared to other countries like US, UK etc which are having 50%-70% organized sectors. Almost all global retailers are looking out for an opportunity to enter into the Indian market as they knows the growth of the sector in India. Even though food and grocery is having the maximum market share of about 69% in the retail market, its share in the organized market is only 3% which shows the retailers who are mainly into food and grocery sector have an advantage among other retailers. The research conducted by Technopak reported that, in 2011 Indian food and grocery sector was estimated to be USD 325 billion that accounts for the 69% of the overall retail in India. This is expected to grow to USD 425 billion by the end of 2016 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 5. 5%. In this, the market share of the organized food and grocery was estimated at USD 9 billion which is expected to witness a growth to USD 34 billion by 2016 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 30%. 6 The study shows that there is an exponential growth in the Indian organized food and grocery sector in the next few years. 1. 4. Major Retailers in Food and Grocery The major retailers in India are Reliance Fresh, Spencer Mart, More, Nilgiris and Big Bazaar. The various aspects of these retailers are explained in the following sections of this report. As the organized food sector is very small, the market shares of these retailers are pretty difficult to find. 6 indianretailer. com/article/sector-watch/food-and-grocery/Standing-against-each-other-1489/ 6 1. 5. Research Objectives 1. To identify the market share and nature of competition of Indian retail industry. 2. To understand the market segmentation of the industry. 3. To conduct PEST analysis for the industry. . To study the difference between standalone and conglomerate diversification in the industry. 5. To analyze the mergers and acquisitions carried out in the industry. 6. To study the international exposure of the industry. 7. To determine the technologies used in the industry. 8. To study the marketing initiatives carried out by the industry 9. To analyze the future prospects of the industry. 10. To Compare the Indian retail industry with US, UK and France. 7 Chapter 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 8 2. 1. Introduction The size of Indian retail is about US $350 billion but it is highly unorganized. Indian retail is dominated by 15mn independent retailers consisting of kirana stores, chemists, footwear shops, apparel shops, paan and bedi stalls, handcart and pavement vendors, which together makes up ‘unorganized market’. 7 But this situation will not be the same always specially with the fact that multinational companies are trying to enter Indian market. Investors view India as an attractive investment destination. India stands at 4th attractive location for FDI (Ernst Young, 2012). In 2011, Global retail development index (GRDI) stated that â€Å"time to enter Indian market is now†(Kearney,2011). Some major retailers in India (Kumar, 2011)? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Food grocery: Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar Consumer electronics : e-zone Entertainment : Bowling Co. Books, Music and gifts : Depot Fashion and accessories Electronic retailers Time wear retailers Pharmaceutical retailers Telecom retailers Jewellery retailers Footwear retailers Catering service retailers 2. 2. Conditions in Retail Industries Globally, A survey in small towns in Minnesota (Brennan,1991) showed that specialized services, offering better quality products and improved customer service were most successful strategies while sales promotions and lowering prices were least successful. It was observed that consumers are more focussed on new discounts compared to old ones. (Brennan, 2000). A survey conducted in south India showed some decision making styles of south Indian peoples, mainly brand conscious, high quality conscious, confused by over choice style and recreational shopper style. (Canabal,M. E,2002). Until 2011 ,Indian central government denied FDI in multi brand retail and even single brand retail was limited to 51% ownership. In November 2011, India’s central government 7 Business monitor international(Indian retail report Q1,2012) 9 announced retail reforms for both multi brand and single brand retail. In December 2011, under pressure from opposition Indian government placed retail reforms on hold till it reached to a consensus. The reforms for single-brand stores to enter Indian market but on a condition that 30% goods should be purchased from local suppliers was approved by the Government in January 2011. Organized retail is increasing at the rate of 45-50% per annum and increases its share to 16% by 2012. On the other hand unorganized retail is increasing at the rate of 10%. Major increase can be seen in personal care, jewellery, sports goods and beverages. 8 According to A associates report, some of the benefits of multi-brand retail are ? ? ? Removal of intermediary Job creation No threat to kiranas India has been ranked as the most attractive nation for retail industry among 30 emerging markets. (Senjam Dwijorani, Consolidation phase in Indian retail industry). According to a Mc Kinsey company report titled â€Å"The great Indian Bazaar: organized retail comes of age in India†. Organized retail is supposed to increase from 5% in 2008 to 14-18% by 2015. Private labels contribute to 10-12 % of organized retail industry and are growing very rapidly. Key players being Westside, Shoppers stop, Spencers, Future group, Reliance and Bharti walmart. Highest penetration is by Westside at 90% followed by reliance at 80% and pantaloons at 75%. Shoppers stop and spencers have 20 and 10% respectively. According to Deloitte’s report on â€Å"Global powers of retailing 2013 , Retail beyond†, the retail industry grows despite difficult economic condition. Most of 250 retailers posted an increase in retail revenue with most of the companies experiencing declining sales. The top 250 maintained a healthy 3. 8 % composite net profit in 2011,matching the industries 2010 result. The average size of top 250 companies in 2011,as measured by retail revenue topped US$17 billion. A crisil report shows the Indian retail market is most fragmented in the world and only 2% compromises of organized sector. This shows potential for growth is immense. ASA Associates report, August 2012 10 Chapter 3 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 11 3. 1. Market Share and Nature of Competition The current retail segment contributes 22% of the country’s GDP and 8% of the total employment. And more over India has emerged as the fifth most favourable destination for international retailers9. According to AT Kearn ey’s GRDI (2012) â€Å"India remains a high potential market with accelerated retail growth of 15-20% expected over the next five years†. India retail sector values US$ 350 billion and is growing at a rate of 15-20%, as per Pricewaterhousecooper (PWC) research report. Mass grocery and apparel are the two most favoured segments for FDI in multi brand retail in India, according to the study conducted by Deloitte. The FDI inflow in single-brand retail trading during April 2000 to December 2012 stood at US$ 42. 7 million, as per the data released by Dept. of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). A report (KPMG, 2010) indicates that the retail business in India has not able to deliver the expected results, expect a few players. The growth of organized retail trade decreased from 35% in 2007-08 to 10% in 200-09. Food and Grocery segment has been dominated by retailers not organized till date, except a few players like Big Bazaar (Food bazaar), Reliance (Reliance Fresh), RPG (Spencer’s), and AV Birla Group (More). Organized retail is in continuous increase compared from past. Retail can be classified in different sectors such as Food Grocery, Clothing, Durables goods, Shoes, Furniture, Services, Catering, Jewellery Watches, Books, Music Gifts, Mobile phones etc.. Figure : 3. 1 Grocery sales across countries (2010) 18. 40% 12. 40% 11. 10% 10% 3% India Source: IGD international 9 2% USA China Russia Brazil UK ww. ibef. org 12 The highest penetration of private label products is by Trent at 90%, followed by Reliance 80% and Pantaloons 75%, big retailers such as Shoppers Stop and Spencer’s have a penetration of 20% and 10%. 10 Figure : 3. 2 Market Breakup by Revenue (2011) 17% 3% 6% 4% 10% 60% Food and Grocery clothing fashion Beauty wellness Electronics Furniture Furnishing o thers Source: Indian retail market sep 2011, Delioitte Aranca research The Net Revenues of the top retailers in India; Figure : 3. 3 Retailer Food Bazaar Spencer’s Reliance Fresh More Nilgiri’s Source: annual reports of the companies 010-11(Crs. ) 215. 1 98. 46 127. 67 163. 7 80. 49 2011-12(Crs. ) 298. 09 120. 62 210. 45 236. 8 97. 70 3. 2. Market Segmentation 3. 2. 1. Segment analysis The Indian economy is growing rapidly. An important contribution is made by the growing number of shopping malls. Shopping malls became a centre of attraction or a hang-out place in metro cities. There are development plans proposed 150 new malls in 2008. But what this does is we forget or ignore the traditional retail formats (pedlars, grocery stores and tobacco 10 Consolidation phase in Indian Retail Industry, Senjam. 3 shops etc. ). They continue to co-exist with the modern formats. Modern retail has helped companies to companies to increase consumption and hence the demand for their products on the market. For example, Indian consumers would normally consume rice sold to the neighbouring Kiranas viz Kolam for everyday use. With the introduction of organized retail trade, it has been noted that the sale of Basmati rice increased by four times that he was a few years back: as a top quality, rice (Basmati) is now available at almost the same price as the normal price at local Kirana. Thus we can see the way a product is displayed, spoken and contiguous and how he won the heart and the minds of consumers affects its sales. It consumption continues to increase in the way; we can say that the local market would go through a metamorphosis of a change. This means that non- union retail trade would suffer a serious setback due to the outdated technology, poor supply chain, inadequate marketing etc. Thus, local stores would soon become things of the past or limited unexpected last minute purchase. And it is also observed that avg. consumption of Indian consumer will come down to 34% in CY2015 and in addition up to 25% in CY2025. This indicates that, with gradual increase in income levels, Indian consumers are spending more on products of lifestyle or pimping the economies of lifestyle retail value. 11 Currently most popular organized retail formats are; ? Shopping Malls: Malls are larger form of organized retail today. These are mainly located in metropolitan cities, close to urban periphery. The field of shopping centres varies from 60000 m? to 7, 00,000 m? and above. The idea is to provide an ideal shopping experience that includes a mix of products, services and entertainment all under one roof. Some examples are Inorbit mall, Ansal Plaza etc. Specialty stores : These are the stores that focuses on specific market segments, specializing on particular products such as entertainment and leisure, gifts and so on. The most notable among these include channels such as Crossword, Planet M etc. Discounters: As its name suggests, the shops or factory stores, offer discounts on MRP by selling in bulk to achieve economies of scale or surplus stocks in season over. The category includes various perishable goods/ non: Subhiksha. Department Store: Stores ranging from 20000-50000 Ft? responding to the diverse needs of the consumers. It includes localized departments like clothing, toys, home, groceries etc. the popular among these are Big Bazaar, D-Mart etc. Hypermarkets/Supermarkets: Big self service outlets, with strong emphasis on Food Grocery store and personal sales and designated as supermarkets. These can still be divided into mini supermarkets typically from 1000 to 2000 Ft? and large ? ? ? ? 11 McKinnsey Global Institute 14 ? ? supermarkets from 3500 to 5000 Ft?. These stores now contribute to 30% of all Food Grocery store in organized retail. More, Reliance fresh etc are some examples. Convenience stores: These are relatively low (400 – 2000 Ft? ) stores generally located near residential areas. They have a limited range of convenience high-sales of business products in stock and are usually open for long periods during the day, seven days a week. The prices are slightly higher because of premium convenience. MBO: Points of sale multi brands, also known as category killers, offer several brands on a single product category. They are generally well in places of markets occupied and cities. 3. 3. Policy Framework Since liberalization several policy measures have been taken with regard to regulation and control, fiscal policy, export and import, taxes, exchange and interest rate regulation, export promotion and incentives to high priority sectors. Food and agricultural industries has made an agreement with high priority a number of important releases and incentives. Some of the major policy changes are as follows: 3. 3. 1. Regulation and Control According to the extant policy, FDI up to 100% allowed under the automatic route in food infrastructure (Food Park, Cold Chain / Storage). As for food retail FDI policy concerns do not permit foreign direct investment in the retail sector, with the exception of a single retail brand products. This policy is the same for all retail operations. FDI policy for the manufacture reserved for the SSI sector is the same for all items, so reserved and a separate dispensation for the items in the food processing sector is not intended. 3. 3. 2. Fiscal Policy and Taxes Broad fiscal policy changes have been introduced gradually. Excise Import tariffs have been reduced substantially. Many processed foods are exempt from excise duty. Custom tariffs were substantially reduced on plant and equipment as well as raw materials and intermediates, especially for export production. Corporate taxes were reduced, and there is a shift towards market related interest rates. There are tax incentives for new manufacturing units for certain years, except in sectors such as: Beer, wine, soda flavoured with concentrates, confectionery and chocolate, etc. Indian currency (rupee) is now fully convertible for current account and capital account convertibility in the unified exchange rate mechanism is foreseen in the coming years. 15 Repatriation of profits is freely permitted in many industries, with certain exceptions, which is another requirement offset by dividend income from exports. 12 3. 3. 3. PEST ANALYSIS PEST analysis is concerned as the environmental influences on the business. The factors are Political, Economical, Social, and Technological. 3. 3. 3. 1. Political Environment Political factors include government policies, fiscal policy, labour laws, safety regulations, competitor regulations, political stability and consumer protection. That influence and limit various organizations and individuals in society. Legislation relating to the retail was damaged many years. Political factors include goods and services that the government wants to provide or provided. 3. 3. 3. 2. Economic Environment Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rate. These factors have a significant impact on decision-making and business operations. Exchange rates affect the costs of exports of goods and the supply and price of imported goods in the economy. The retail market consists of the purchasing power of people. So the total purchasing power is a function of current income, prices and availability of credit. Changes in economic conditions may affect the business or company. Economic forecasters Looking ahead to the next decade and is likely to find its forecasts of rising costs, shortages and up and down economic cycles. These changes in economic conditions provide new opportunities or threats in the market. 3. 3. 3. 3. Social Environment Social factors include income distribution, population growth rate, age, lifestyle changes, education and living conditions . Society that people grow in their beliefs, values and norms. People live in different parts of the country have different cultural value, which must be analyzed retail person or company. This will help you to understand the business strategy in order to meet the requirements of customers. trend is the social factor will also affect the business for retailers. 12 punebds. com/pf. asp 16 3. 3. 3. 4. Technological Environment Technological factors include technical aspects such as research and development activities, technology incentives and the rate of change of technological changes, new inventions and development, energy use and costs. They can determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production and influence outsourcing decisions. Technological implementation can affect the cost, quality, and this leads to innovation. Technology is extensively used in some of the areas such as: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Packing of the products Billing Mobile point of sale(POS) Digital signage Inventory management Customer service Price changes and auditing RFID and location tracking 3. 3. 4. PORTER’S Five Forces Porters Five Force model is to analyze the competition model, it helps to understand the nature of competition within the industry, and provides a good, simple but effective framework for the development and understanding of the competitive forces in the industry. Michael Porter created a framework, which identified five forces which act to either increase or decrease the competitive forces in the industry. These five forces is ? ? ? ? ? Threat of new Entrants Power of suppliers Power of buyers Availability of substitutes Competitive rivalry 17 Figure : 3. 4 3. 3. 4. 1. Threat of New Entrants The retail industry has seen a growth of the organized sector in recent years. Even though growth is not diversified, it was still significant enough to affect the unorganized retailers. This industry started ten years ago and has been declining number of independent retailers. If you walk through any mall, we notice that most of them are chain stores and there exist only a hand full of independent shops. While barriers to the establishment of trade is not impossible to overcome, the ability to establish favourable supply contracts, leases and be competitive, it becomes virtually impossible. Their vertical structure and centralized shopping gives retailers competitive advantage to independent dealers. 3. 3. 4. 2. Power of Suppliers In 1970, when Sears dominated the household appliance market, which set high standards for quality. Suppliers that did not meet these standards were omitted from Sears line. In this way, retailers have tried to exploit relationships with suppliers. This can be attributed to the fact that in the retail industry, suppliers often have very little power. Take the example of WalMart, which imposes strict controls on their suppliers. Contract with a large retailer like WalMart can make or break a small supplier. 3. 3. 4. 3. Power of Buyers Individually, customers have very little bargaining power with retail stores. The prices offered by the center-stores are usually negotiable. They come with a tag attached saying fixed price. It warns the customer from the very entrance to the store, if you want discounted prices. s Very difficult to negotiate. , But as a whole, if customers require high quality products at competitive prices, it helps keep retailers honest. 18 3. 3. 4. 4. Availability of Substitutes There is no shortage such as in the retail sector. This is not a monopoly in the market. The tendency in the retail sector is not specialized in one good or service, but to deal with a wide range of products and services. This means that what one store offers, you will probably find it in a store. Therefore, innovation and product differentiation are essential ingredients necessary to separately in the retail industry. Retailers offering products that are unique or have a clear absolute advantage over their competitors. 3. 3. 4. 5. Competitive Rivalry There is no market without competition, and there are no better ways than the existence of competitive forces in the market to improve the quality, price, supply chain management, inventory management, etc. Retailers always face stiff competition. The slow growth of the market for the retail market means that companies must fight each other for market share. More recently, they have tried to reduce the cut-throat price competition by offering frequent flyer points, membership and other special services to try to gain customer loyalty. Given the relatively weak financial condition of unorganized retailers and physical space constraints on their expansion prospects of the sector itself is not able to meet the growing demand for retail. Therefore, organized retail, which now represents a small 4% of total retail sector is likely to grow at a much faster pace of 45-50% per annum and quadruple its share in total retail trade to 16% by 2011-12. 3. 4. Business Diversification Diversification is a form of corporate strategy for a company. It seeks to increase profitability through greater sales volume obtained from new products and new markets. Diversification can occur either at the business unit level or at the corporate level. At the business unit level, it is most likely to expand into a new segment of an industry that the business is already in. At the corporate level, it is generally via investing in a promising business outside of the scope of the existing business unit. The different types of diversification that are discussed in this report are as follows; 3. 4. 1. Standalone Diversification Self-contained and usually independently operating. They concentrate only on the specific category of products. Standalone diversification has large relationship with the firm’s current business. 19 3. 4. 2. Conglomerate Diversification The companies markets new products or services that have no technological or commercial synergies with current products but that may appeal to new groups of customers. The conglomerate diversification has very little relationship with the firms current business. Therefore, the main reasons of adopting such a strategy are first to improve the profitability and the flexibility f the company, and second to get a better reception in capital markets as the company gets bigger. Even if this strategy is very risky, it could also, if successful, provide increased growth and profitability. 3. 4. 3. Future Group (Conglomerate) But while contemporaries like Bharti and Tata has teamed up with Wal-Mart and Tesco in the wholesale business, Future Group has b uilt its business by himself. Talks over sourcing partnership with Lawson Inc. Japan ended without agreement is happening this year. Under the new legal regime, it could be more opportunities for future groups to join forces with international traders. Future Group has recently reorganized its retail assets simplification of business and bring greater clarity to investors for business, Biyani says, and sees further expansion, not least the food in the arm, which he described as profitable. (And he adds: Some of the high-margin businesses, where demand is not too high, that when concerns are greater food is good, profitable business .. This week, the Future Group has acquired Express Retail Services, which operates in Delhi supermarket chain Big Apple. Biyani also outlines its goals for the store chain Food Bazaar. Currently there are about 200 Food Bazaar stores. No. Maybe in five years, add another 150 to that number, he says. 3. 4. 4. Reliance Fresh (Conglomerate) Reliance Industries plans to merge all its retail units within a single entity, which suggests he was not looking for a foreign partner in any of its businesses, a person with direct knowledge of the development said. The company started the process all the clubs eight independent retailers, such as clothing chain Reliance Trends and consumer electronics chain by Reliance Digital Reliance Fresh grocery chain, in a bid to remove defects and improve administrative cooperation and efficiency between different companies, people said. This will allow Reliance Fresh single retail entity by Reliance Retail, the groups holding company for retail sale. Reliance last Monday filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking permission for the scheme of arrangement of its several entities, including Reliance Retail, Reliance Fresh, 20 Reliance AutoZone format, car accessories, Reliance Trends, Reliance Footprint footwear chains, consumer electronics chain Media Reliance Digital, Reliance leisure, Reliance Gems and jewellery, and Reliance Replay Gaming. 3. 4. 5. Spencers (Conglomerate) Spencer Retail Ltd (Spencer) is one of the Indias multi-format retail chain. Established in 1996, Spencer is a group of RPG Enterprises, one of the leading conglomerates operating in India and subsidiaries Cesc Ltd. In 1989, RPG Spencer won, and in 2005 launched its retail brand in the Spencer. Consequently, it Spencer spread to other retail formats starting Hyper Spencer, super fresh and daily formats. Currently Spencer food markets and food products, clothing and accessories, footwear products, home decor items and equipment and consumer durables. 3. 4. 6. More (Conglomerate) More is a group company Aditya Birla Retail Limited, a leading conglomerate in the retail industry with a clear focus on its vision to be a global company premiums. 3. 5. Mergers and Acquisitions 3. 5. 1. Reliance and BP (Merger) During the year 2010, BP and reliance industries limited made the partnership in the oil and gas business. 13 By announcing the partnership both the companies came to an understanding that BP takes 30% of partnership of 23 oil and gas production sharing contracts that which are done by reliance industries in India. This project would help Indians in getting gas and will help to reduce the import cost included in gas. The same year reliance industries entered into partnership in us with an agreement of joint venture with the companies Atlas Energy, pioneer Naturals Resources and Carrizo oil gas by three different joint venture agreements. 14 13 14 ril. com/html/aboutus/major_milestones. html ril. com/html/aboutus/major_milestones. html 21 3. 5. 2. Bharti Wal-mart (Merger) In order to lead the retail stores in India, Walmart has begun talks with Bharti enterprises for forming a joint venture. Two companies has equal partnership in wholesale business in India, so they decided to continue their business relationship in retail business by requesting the government to make decision for allowing up to 51% foreign direct investment(FDI) in multi brand retail. 15 The aim of joint venture is to establish wholesale cash-and-carry stores and back-end supply chain management operations in line by taking government guidelines. 3. 5. 3. Spencers India Limited (Acquisition) Spencer’s is one of the retail sector which sells food and non food FMCG products16. Spencer’s Retail is a part of the RPG Companies that deals with food, apparel, fashion, electronics, lifestyle products, music and books . More over it offers services like gift vouchers and easy loans. 17 Spencer’s has expanded its food retail chain by bringing food world that has been brought over by RPG group18 . The Company has filed an application with the Honourable High Court of Calcutta for merger of its wholly owned subsidiary company Music World Retail Limited with the Company, effective from 1 January 2012, which is pending approval as of date19. 3. 6. International Exposure In the year 2006-07 ,the size of food industry in India was established at around Rs 8,80,000 crores in that the food industry accounts for around 374000 crores. Now growth of Indian food processing industry is up to 13% per annum20. 3. 6. 1. Dairy Dairy firms are one of the main contributors of Indian food industry among various sectors. In 2006-07 the size was 198000 crores it is estimated to be 366484 crores by 2015. The states of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana have established many dairy co-operatives running successfully. Most of the packed milk segment is 15 16 bharti-walmart. n/Overview-CareerAtBhartiWalmart. aspx http://info. shine. com/company/Spencers-Retail/204. aspx 17 http://info. shine. com/company/Spencers-Retail/204. aspx 18 cesc. co. in/cesc/web/investor/helpdesk/document/sub/Spencer%60s%20Retail_Annual%20Repo rt_2011-12. pdf 19 cesc. co. in/cesc/web/investor/helpdesk/document/sub/Spencer%60s%20Retail_Annual%20Repo rt_2011-12. pdf 20 C ifti. org/Reports/Ficci_Technopak%2008. pdf 22 dominated by co-operatives it contributes about 70% of the total revenues. In the milk products India, the reports have given that demand is growing faster than supply. The recent rise in milk prices have forced Indian government to Impose a ban on skimmed milk products and reduce Incentives for exports. Many products like Ghee, Curd, etc. has demand more and they are sold as unbranded in Indian market. As the health consciousness among people is increasing day by day ,the demand for milk is increasing in the market. Exports of milk from India to south east Asia countries have grown rapidly. The ice-cream industry though it is widespread is suffering from shortage of cold chain infrastructure and lack of big players in India. 3. 6. 2. Non-Alcoholic Beverages These are of two types namely; ? Carbonated and Non-carbonated drinks Some of the hot beverages are tea and coffee. Almost Rs. 5000 crores was accounted by fruit juices and fruit based drinks. The annual growth rate would be 10-12% India is the biggest country to produce tea in the world accounting for 28% of the total global production at 956 million kgs. Tea production in India is being increa singly improving year by year whose turnover itself is above Rs. 8000 crores. The growth has become 1. 2% per annum. India is the 4th largest exporter of tea in the world and it is also the 5th largest producer of coffee which is accounting up to 4% of total production in world. Almost everything produced is being exported. It came up to 75% of produced tea and coffee is exported21 The competitor for US food processing is Indian domestic industry. As it has the best climatic conditions it has got advantage to produce the agricultural goods and potential to cultivate the wide range of raw materials. some of the Indian companies have increased their market share by decreasing the prices for the products while import duties on food and ingredients have become relatively costly. The existing food laws will restrict the producers to use the ingredients, colors, flavors. Thus it has become the additional challenge to the US exporters interested in Indian market. 21 Food. export. org/resources/countryprofiledetail. cfm? itemnumber=1015 23 3. 7. Technologies used in retail industry Retail industry is one of the most growing industry in the world today with a market share of above 50% with organized sector having a share of 5% whereas unorganized sector has over 90% of share22. Now the factor is to know how to maintain such share. moreover food grocery alone takes around 62% of market share within retail industry. Everyday thousands of thousands transaction are done in retail market let it be regarding food grocery or may be some apparels or some clothing. But its really difficult to manage the details about all these. How to keep complete track of all the products? Earlier people used pen and paper techniques but will that suffice present days requirement. The answer to this question is a big No , it is not possible to implement such techniques today. At this part technology plays a vital role today. Storing the data in a proper manner so that whenever it is required can be fetched immediately without any delay. Database, Data warehousing, Data mining are some of the tools used nowadays for storing and retrieving data efficiently. Forecasting is used to predict future demand, e-commerce used online order and purchasing, The next part discusses how exactly each of the technology has played important role in retail industry. ? Forecasting tools are used to predict the total demand of any product in the near future based on the present or past purchase made by consumers. their details are saved on a computer and based on that prediction is made how much will be actually required to suffice the requirement. Database used to store details about a product how much is in the inventory, what is the amount that has been sold, who are the purchasers of such product, what is the buying frequency of the particular product etc. This is done using barcode scanners or RFID tags that is attached with the particular product. Barcode was the idea of two college students which actually came into effect on the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Barcode is a code made of series of lines based on morse code and movie equipment. How it is read is by using incandescent light and an oscilloscope23. RFID tags uses radio waves to identify things automatically at any time. it can either be active with their own means of sending signals or passive like using a reader to read the details. Tag may contain manufacturing date, lot number, and serial number. Use of Credit card, debit card to pay for the products purchased can also be added to the technological usage in retail industry. Using cell phones as a medium to intimidate the consumers about any new offers on any product. ? ? ? ? ? 22 23 www. cci. in www. barcode-printing. co. uk/history-of-barcodes. htm 24 ? Use of e-commerce has been the bottle neck of retail industry now. with the ease of ordering stuffs with a click of a button, paying after receiving the product and other facilities has really made life of human beings easy. Reliance Fresh, Spencer’s, Nilgiri’s, More, Big Bazaar and all uses such technologies. Food and grocery segment comprises mostly of all packed items having barcode on the backside through which its manufacturing date, expiry date, price can be monitored. 3. 8. Marketing Initiatives There are a lot of retail companies coming up nowadays but how to introduce it to public. The best way is advertisement in terms of television ads, hoardings, newspapers, etc. This section discuss about how exactly few retail companies has used advertising a tool to introduce their product to public. For this project five major food and grocery companies in India, viz. Reliance Fresh, Spencer’s, More, Nilgiri’s and Big Bazaar are considered. 3. 8. 1. Reliance fresh Reliance fresh with its splendid combination of red and green colour logo reflects a green environment. Their major advertising types are ? ? ? ? ? Print or broadcast ads through newspapers. Packaging through carry bags. Directories like in telephone directories. Audio materials like announcements through radio. Point-of-purchase displays as in when customers reach billing point they can see special offers or promotions. Other ways of promoting are direct marketing through e-mails, messages and personal selling through face to face interaction with customers. 3. 8. 2. Spencer mart Spencer follows same pattern as reliance like packaging, print ads, Audio materials, TV ads but one addition to it is every week a new published ad can be seen in local stores or website. 5 3. 8. 3. More More comes with orange colour logo having tag line â€Å"for you† or â€Å"hamesha extra†. More advertises through newspapers, online advertisement, packaging, etc. They promote by offering discounts and promoting traditional and local specialities during festive season. 3. 8. 4. Nilgiri’s Niligiri’s started in 1905 has a logo of green colour . It is a supermarket ch ain in south India. The major selling product in Nilgiri’s is fresh vegetables with hygienic and superior qualities. Advertising is very essential for promoting of products that led to the growth of Nilgiri’s. Direct marketing, personal selling, store promotion, sales promotion are other ways of advertising the product. 3. 8. 5. Big Bazaar Big Bazaar’s logo comes in orange and blue colour with tagline as †Is se sasta aur accha kahin nahi†. Some of its marketing initiatives taken arePromotional offers? â€Å"saal ke sabse saste 3 din†. ? â€Å"Hafte ka sabse sasta din(Wednesday bazaar)†. ? Exchange offers †Junk swap offer†. ? Future card(3% discount). ? Shakti card. ? Advertisement(print ad,radio,newspaper). ? Endorsement by M. S. Dhoni 3. 9. Future Outlook Retail industry in India, as we know, is one of the fast growing industry which accounts for 22% of its GDP at present24. The sector consist of only 5% of organized market and the rest under unorganized which shows that there is a wide opportunity for large scale companies in the Indian market (Singh, 2012). The proposal of FDI was considered for taking up the growth of the Indian retail market during early 1990s. It was in the year 1991, the Government has opened up the retail market to FDI through a series of steps which are; (Singh 2012) 24 ibef. org/industry/retail-india. spx 26 Table : 3. 1 1995 ? World Trade of Organizations General Agreement on Trade in Services, which includes both Wholesale and Retailing services, came into effect. FDI in cash-and-carry (wholesale) with 100% rights allowed under the Government approval route. FDI in cash-and-carry (wholesale) brought under the automatic route. Up to 51% investment in single-brand retail outlet permitted. 100% FDI in single brand retail and 51 % in Multi-brand retail. 1997 ? 2006 ? ? 2012 ? In the year 2007, the Indian retail market stood at Rs 1. 33 billion witnessing a growth of 10. %. In this, organized sector shared only 5. 9%, but itself showed a growth of 42. 7%. It was expected to maintain a much faster growth in the next 3 years (IMAGES FR Research, 2009). As part of the action taken by the Government in 2006 regarding FDI, Wal-Mart has made an agreement with Bharti Enterprises to establish a joint venture, Bharti Wal-Mart private limited, for wholesale cash-and-carry and back-end supply chain management operations in India in the year 200725. This was a decision taken by Wal-Mart as the FDI policies were not favourable for retailing. The foreign retailers were still waiting for the Government to revamp their policies on FDI in retailing. Even though there was a fast growth in organized sector, its penetration in the market was only 8-9% during 2009 which is very low as compared with countries like US, France etc with 60-80% penetration level26. During these days, the retail market looked gloomy and experts reported this will last for the next few months which will reduce the growth in organized retail sector. In 2011, the market stood at USD 396 billion. It was clear that acceptance of FDI in retail became essential for another growth to attain27. Also, according to A T Kearneys Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) 2012, India is the fifth most attracted market for International retailers and also the market is expected to show a growth of 15-20% over the next five years. 25 26 http://corporate. walmart. com/our-story/locations/india investindia. gov. in/? q=retailing-sector 27 deloitte. com/assets/Dcom-India/Local%20Assets/Documents/Indian_Retail_Market. pdf 27 Growth in organized sector can be achieved through retaining and attracting more customers in the future. Also the retailers ability to manage supply chain efficiently, increase the operational efficiency through economies of scale, serviceability and optimal space management are certain other factors that can achieve growth in organized sector (Karthikeyan, 2010). Also the usage of various tools like, GIS (Geographic Information System ); which helps the retailers to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage and present all types of geographical data which is highly used for locating and shifting of their stores to specific areas; are considered (Mishra, 2009). The International retailers updates on the Indian status for FDI which allows them to enter the market with less constraints and more freedom. As the Government had not supported the foreign retailers negotiation in terms of the investment, they are still in doubt to establish in the market. For the organized sector to grow further, there should be some foreign investment and that which can show the growth of 15-20% in the next five years. 3. 10. Comparison of Indian retail industry with US, UK and France. As the study shows that the top 5 global retailers are from US, UK and France, comparison study of Indian retail industry with these countries are done on the basis of the size of the industry, the major retailers within the country and the nature of competition within the country. Among the retailers above, its clear that US is the top on the basis of the size of the industry followed by France and UK. But the most attracted retail market among the above countries is India. The comparison given below explains more about the growth of these markets between 2007 and 2011. . 10. 1. Size of Industry The size of the retail industries of India (Singh, 2012) (Assistant Professor, Global Institute of Management Technology, Noida) 28, USA29, UK30 and France31 in the year 2007 and 2011 are shown in the figure below; In the French scenario, the value for the year 2010 was mentioned as USD 349. 65 billion. From the source it is established that, the growth was following a compound annual growt h 28 29 dnb. co. in/IndianRetailIndustry/overview. asp slideshare. net/hitaishi9/retail-assignment, lideshare. net/hitaishi9/retailassignment 30 prospectsnet. com/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Industry_insights/Retail/overview/p! egiLLL, http://raceforopportunity. bitc. org. uk/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/RaceforOpportunity/Retail%20Sector. p df 31 http://industryreviewstore. blogspot. in/2012/04/future-of-retailing-in-france-to-2016. html 28 rate of 4. 5% from 2006-2010. Hence, the value of the industry in 2007 is calculated as USD 304. 55 billion32. Figure : 3. 5 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 India US UK France 2007 2011 The above figure shows the growth of the retail industries of the mentioned countries between 2007 and 2011. The growth rate is more for India and France than UK and US. The retail markets in UK and US are almost in a saturation state whereas the Indian retail market which is mostly unorganized has a wide range of opportunity for the modern retailers. The global retailers will be certainly looking forward to enter into Indian market as its organized sector is yet to grow. 32 slideshare. net/Allystephen/retailin-france-2011kh 29 3. 10. 2. Major Retailers, Their Market Shares and Nature of Competition The top 5 retailers in the four countries are given below and their market shares are shown in their respective regions33; Figure : 3. 6 Wal-Mart 6% Metro Group Aditya Birla 6% 6% Future Group 54% RETAILERS IN INDIA Reliance Retail 28% The study shows that Future Group is the market leader in Indian retail industry with a market share of 54%. Followed by the challenger, Reliance Retail has a share of 28%. The next three retailers have almost equal shares which show that there is a tight competition within the followers. Figure : 3. 7 RETAILERS IN USA 11% 11% 11% 52% Wal-Mart Kroger Target 15% Walgreens Costco 33 planetretail. net/Presentations/grocery-2012-web. pdf 30 In USA, the retail industry is lead by Wal-Mart with a market share of 52% followed by four other retailers Kroger, Target, Walgreens and Costco with respective market shares of 15% for Kroger and 11% each for the rest of them. This shows that there is a tight competition within the four companies. The Indian and US retail industries are having almost same nature of competition. Figure : 3. 8 RETAILERS IN UK 0% 15% 37% Tesco Sainsbury 19% 19% Walmart Morrisons Co-operative Group The retail industry in UK has different combinations of market shares among the companies. The chart shows that none of them is having more than 50% of the market share. The market leader is Tesco with 37% market share followed by Sainsbury and Walmart with 19% each. Morrisons is only 4% behind the two companies which shows that there is a strong competition b etween all the retailers in UK. Figure : 3. 9 RETAILERS IN FRANCE 14% 17% 28% Carrefour Leclerc Casino 18% 23% ITM Auchan 31 Study shows that there exists a similar competition within the companies in France as in UK. Even though Carrefour is having the higher market share of 28% than the other retailers, Leclerc which holds the second position with a market share of 23% is not far behind. The rest of the companies have a competition within themselves as they have market shares between 14% and 18%. 32 Chapter 4 CONCLUSION 33 The report analysed in detail, the retail industry in India. The research initially started with the collection of data about the Indian retail industry as a whole, and then moved onto global scenario of retail industries. Also, issues regarding the foreign direct investment(FDI) in the retail sector is covered. The key players currently operating in the retail industry and the bottlenecks that the retail industry is facing in India are also analysed. Based on the findings, the future outlook of the Indian retail industry is mentioned in the report. 4. 1. Major Findings 1) The Retail sector in India is split up into two, the organised and the unorganised. 2) In terms of value the size of the retail sector in India is $350 billion. The organised sector contributes about 5%of the total trade. ) The retail sector in India contributes 10% to the Gross Domestic Product and 8% to the employment of the country. 4) In terms of growth the FMCG retail sector is the fastest growing unit. 5) The foreign retail giants were initially restricted from making investments in India. But now FDI is permitted 51% for multi brand retailing and 100%for single brand retailing. Again they can enter the markets through franchis es. The report concludes that, retail industry in India has a very bright future prospect as it is undergoing through a transaction phase. It is expected to enrich the Indian economy in terms of Income and employment. The retail industry in India has come forth as one of the major dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. From analysis other reports and surveys it is quite clear that Indian retail players are now all set and ready to triumph over the organised retail sector. The Indian retail industry is now on a verge to experience speed actions and competitions, allowing the consumers to get the best deals out of it. 34 Chapter 5 REFERENCES 35 REFERENCES 1. www. moneycontrol. com 2. www. ibef. org 3. Pricewaterhousecooper research 4. Deloitte research 5. www. Livemint. com 6. indianretailer. com/article/sector-watch/food-and-grocery/Standingagainst-each-other-1489/ 7. Business monitor international(Indian retail report Q1,2012) 8. ASA Associates report, August 2012 9. punebds. com/pf. asp 10. managementparadise. com/forums/principles-management-p-o-m/208682pest-analysis-retail-industry. html 11. http://encyclopedia. thefreedictionary. com/PEST+analysis 12.

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Social Work Law and Organisational Context

Social Work Law and Organisational Context Introduction The law and organization context of social work is extremely important when looking at specific cases and scenarios. The aim of this essay is to examine two specific cases, one involving children and families and the other involving community care issues. In these cases the relevant issues regarding social work and law will be identified, and recommendations will be made regarding the assessment criteria that need to be met and what the likely outcome of the cases might be. This will be done by looking at relevant government legislation and case examples, as well as general social work and law practice. The first section will look at a case of Children and families, and examine the issues of significant harm and children in need in relation to the scenario. There will be a definition of these two concepts as they are laid out in the Children Act and Every Child Matters document, as well as recommendations on how best to assess and determine the outcome of this case. The second case will look at community care issues involving a disabled parent and elderly carer. The assessments regarding the welfare of the child and parent as well as any potential care issues will be looked at. This will involve consultation with the Children Act, the Human Rights Act, the Community Care Act and the Carer’s Act. Recommendations will be given regarding how to properly assess this situation and what benefits may be offered to the parties involved. Scenario 1 Children and Families Scenario: Working in Children’s social services, you receive a referral from a church worker about the Jones family. She says that the parents (18 and 19) are often under the influence of drink or drugs, that the children (2 and 4) are dirty and smelly and not being fed properly. You are asked to carry out an initial assessment. What is the role of the local authority when children are in need and if they are facing significant harm? What options does the law offer to ensure that these children are safe? In this situation, the first thing that needs to be referred to is the Children’s Acts of 1989, and of 2004 (OPSI, 1989 and 2004). These acts are the basis by which social workers determine how at risk children are in particular environments, and what the assessment criteria should be used when looking at such a case. In this case, the main issues are the definitions of ‘significant harm’ and ‘children in need’. Looking at the 1989 Children Act, we will start with the concept of significant harm. The concept of significant harm and its definition is referred to in section 47 of the 1989 Children Act. This says that the local authority is under a duty to investigate or create inquiries into the suffering of a child where there is cause to suspect that significant harm is being done to the child or significant harm is likely to befall the child (OPSI, 1989, s. 47). From this, a court can only make a supervision order or care order if the child is suffering or likely suffer significant harm, and this harm is caused by the lack of adequate parental care or control (OPSI, 1989, s. 31). In this case, ‘harm’ refers to ill-treatment such as physical and sexual abuse, as well as mental abuse, poor physical or mental health cause by the parent’s lack of care and impairment of health or development. These factors are compared to what a ‘normal’ child would be expected to have at a particular age (OPSI, 1989, S. 31(9-10)). However, there are no precise guidelines on what would constitute significant harm in each case. Despite this, it is fairly clear in this scenario that where alcohol and drugs are involved and the children are dirty, smelly and potentially malnourished, a duty to investigate is there. The children are being physically impaired at the very least with regards to their health, and the involvement of alcohol and drugs means that this is potentially being caused by the lack of parental care. In such a case, the family context would need to be looked at, as would the child’s development, any special needs the child has, and the exact nature of the harm and the adequacy of parental care. In this case the parents are both very young, but this alone is of course of no particular issue as discrimination laws prevent such discrimination of parental rights based on age. The most important things in this case would be to investigate and prove or disprove the claims about the parent’s alcohol and drug abuse, and also look at the exact state of health of the children. However, there is another concept to look at as well, regarding the nature of children in need. This definition is located in section 17 of the 1989 Children Act. This part of the Children Act shows where legal work and social work combine to form the assessment criteria for families (Tunstill, in Parton, 1997, pp. 40-43). The legal definition ‘Children in Need’ is that the child is unlikely to achieve or maintain or have the opportunity for a reasonable standard of health or development without provision of services from the local authority, and that the child’s health is likely to be impaired or further impaired without such services (Surrey County Council., 2008). In this case, it is not yet determined whether the children are suffering because of the parents, or whether there is some medical reason why the children are in a poor condition. However, if it is proven that the parents are abusing alcohol and drugs; this would most likely constitute a case of child ren in need or children with the likelihood of suffering significant harm. However, in such a case it is unlikely that a permanent care order would be given, and more likely that a temporary care order or supervision order would be put in place, giving the parents the chance to deal with their problems and raise their children properly. If the parents failed in this, then a permanent care order may be issued. There may also be police investigations in light of the allegations regarding illegal drug abuse. If when the children are initially assessed they appear to be in poor physical health, then it is likely that an emergency protection order will be put in place in order to protect the children from further harm in the short-term, whilst the parental and family situation is better assessed and looked at. This way the children will not be placed in further danger, and a more measured approach can take place with regards to the ability of the parents to look after the children (RPsych, 2008). If the children are taken away, then the first option for many Councils currently is to place the children with suitable relatives or friends. It is often found that children are happier and less distressed in such situations, particularly in the short-term. However, this is not always possible and if not a foster home will be assigned for the children should an emergency care order be put in place. The use of drugs and alcohol by the parents, if proven, is a strong indicating factor of danger to the child. In a study in the London area of 290 cases it has been found that nearly 1 third of cases involved substance misuse, and that these children were even more vulnerable than many of the others because of this. The children were generally very young, as in this case, and the parents had a variety of problems in addition to the substance misuse, either directly or indirectly linked to this problem. Therefore, this case must be looked at extremely carefully and all efforts made to safeguard the children (Department for Education and Skills (DfES), 2002, s. 2.16). This is particularly crucial because many studies have also shown that in many cases, the children were not fully safeguarded and not enough was done to protect the children from harm. Although this must not mean looking at the parents immediately as if they were guilty, it is important to fully and thoroughly assess the situation so that the children remain safe, as this is the number one priority (DfES, 2002, s. 2.11). It is clear in this case that investigation is warranted; as one such allegations are made there is a duty on the part of the local authority to investigate. However, in order for any action to be taken, the threshold for significant harm needs to be met. As mentioned before in this case it seems likely that significant harm might be occurring or likely to occur, but the threshold needs to be met, and this can only be determined by a detailed investigation of the family. This can prove difficult, as a study of 105 cases found that there were varying interpretations of significant harm, even with the guidelines set out in the Children Act. This can make it very difficult to determine what exactly constitutes significant harm, and whether or not action should be taken. However, it seems that being more cautious and putting the rights of the children first, without immediately determining the parents as guilty, is the most appropriate way to act in light of the guidelines (Brandon, Lewi s, and Thoburn, 2007, pp. 15-19). Giving parents ‘the benefit of the doubt’ or not looking deeply into the situation can prove extremely harmful, as was shown in the Victoria Climbie case. In light of this, the government has made sure that organizations are now much more integrated, and that the principle responsibility in such cases is the welfare of the children and making sure the children are safe. This means that staff can now more accurately and easily determine cases of abuse or ill-treatment, and they have the necessary support to follow through such investigations. This is certainly important in this case, as the abuse may be hard to determine, especially if the children are merely dirty or have hygiene issues rather than noticeable wounds or damage (Department of Health., 2003) One of the most difficult factors to decide is if the child is suffering significant harm from seeing violence committed by their parents, perhaps on each other rather than the child. Whilst this cannot yet be determined in this case, if the children themselves are unharmed then the harm caused by witnessing violence cannot be underestimated. In another study by Brandon and Lewis (2007), it was discovered that 49 of the 105 cases reviewed included children who witnessed violence, and in many cases the harm caused to the child was often overlooked or downgraded by the social work professional. Although in this case the circumstances may be different, because the children are already being reported as in poor physical health. However, this issue of witnessing violence must be considered an issue in light of the claims regarding alcohol and drug misuse. In this case, the allegations would require a full investigation of the family, to see whether the thresholds for significant harm and children in need have been reached. If this is the case, then the children will be fully examined, and should be put on a program of health improvement. This may involve removing the children from the parents for a period of time if their health is a real issue or the parents have alcohol and drug misuse problems. However, if this is not the case then a supervision order may be enough to improve the health of the children. If this does not look like improving matters, then more drastic care measures may be taken so as to make sure the children are safe. Whilst this is occurring, it needs to be made sure that all issues of discrimination are dealt with, particularly in the form of racial or age discrimination as these issues are often a problem in child safety assessments such as this. It must also be remembered that whilst the parents may be having problems at this time, if the parents can get support as well then any care placement or supervision order may be short-term, as the aim wherever possible is to keep children with their parents if they can remain safe and healthy in that environment (Bretherton, Huzzard, and Little, 2006). It must also be remembered that whilst the care and safety of the child is important, the parents have needs and rights too and traumatizing them unduly when a more appropriate measure might be an initial talk rather than a full investigation. The children should always come first, but if their parents are accused wrongly then the child’s needs are not being met (Spratt, 2000, pp. 611-615) Scenario 2 Community Care Scenario: Julia, 45 contacted her local disability action group to find out what support might be available to her. Her husband left the family home six months ago, shortly after Julie had given birth to a baby girl and received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Julia’s sight has recently deteriorated and her mother, Anna who is 75, has been commuting thirty miles per day to provide general help around the home and support with the care of the baby. As the social worker/advocate taking Julia’s call how would you advise her? What is she entitled to from social services? What support might be available to the family? In this case, there is a delicate balancing act to be had between giving the disabled parent the right amount of support, making sure the child is adequately cared for, and providing support for the elderly carer. This involves looking at the legislation and guidelines laid out in the Community Care Act, and the Carer’s Act. Firstly, it must be decided whether or not the disability or health issue of the parent is separate from them being a parent, and does not impact on the quality of the life of the child. If this is the case, then the assessment for support is based on an adult assessment framework. However, if it is judged that the child is in need and the disability or health issue of the parent impacts on the well-being of the child, then an assessment must be made under the Children Act with regards to the child’s welfare. Firstly, the parent would be advised that they can be assessed by the NHS and Community Care Act framework to determine the level of support they require. This assessment will not only look at the needs of the disabled parent, but also the ability of the parent to take care of the child. This is included in section 47 of the Community Care Act, which states that a person will be assessed who has a disability, and their needs will be determined with regards to welfare and accommodation. This may involve an inspection of the home to see how it could be improved to meet the needs of the disabled parent, and also in this case the child (North Somerset Council., 2003). This assessment would also determine how much support the parent needs, and therefore how capable they are of looking after the child (OPSI, 1990, S. 47). In this case, it must be pointed out that the parent already requires care in order to look after the child, which at the moment is provided from her elderly mother. However, needing support in order to take better care of the child does not mean that the parent is incapable of looking after the child. However, because of the nature of the disability as something which is only like to get worse from a degenerative illness, an ongoing monitoring of the child’s well-being may well take place. This is so that the child can remain with the parent, but also remains safe should the condition of the parent deteriorate to a point where they can no longer provide adequate care for the child. The parent should be advised that as well as having their own situation looked at with regards to support, an assessment of the child’s care will also be done. It should be pointed out to the parent that this is in no way indicative that their child will be removed into care, but it helps the local authority to make sure the needs of the disabled parent and the child are looked after. The process will eventually lead to a care strategy being created that should allow for services that will help the parent to look after their child and also meet the needs of the adult. It is crucial that the adult is not discriminated against because they are disabled, and that it is not immediately assumed that they are incapable of looking after the child. Whilst the potential for degenerative blindness in the parent is worrying, with adequate support they should still be able to look after their child effectively. This is important because a number of studies have shown that disabled parents are often treated poorly, with their rights as parents looked down upon and their needs not met. A disabled person has the right to have a family and get support for this family, within reasonable limits, and as long as the child can be taken care of so that they are not in need. This is covered by the Human Rights Act of 1998, and means that discrimination against disabled parents is prohibited. In these cases, the children protection agencies and adult care agencies should work together to provide support for the adult so that they can best look after themselves and their child (DirectGov, 2008). The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2003) found that disabled parents often face the assumption that their disability is placing the child at risk. It should be made clear to parents that they are entitled to assistance with parenting tasks from adult community care services. It is important that the rights and needs of the parents are looked after, because by doing this they will be able to look after their child. One other problem is that much of the emphasis is put on ‘Young Carer’s whereby children who are capable will help to care for their parents when they can. They of course receive support, but the overemphasis on this side means that the needs of the parents are overlooked and perhaps too much responsibility is placed on the children. In this case such a young carer is not possible as the child is still only a baby (Wates, 2007). Another issue here is the care being given by the elderly mother of the disabled parent. At 75 years old it is certainly not ideal that she be in charge of caring for the baby and the parent, not because she is incapable but because it is a lot of strain for someone elderly to have to go through. However, if this is only to be a short-term measure or partial relief along with other support services, then the elderly mother can claim support and benefits as a carer under the Carers and Disabled Children Act (OPSI, 2000) and the Carers Act (OPSI, 1995). The carer will be assessed to see if they are qualified or capable of being a care giver, and support will be given to them in order to help carry out this duty. Although in this case it is more likely that this would only be as a short-term or emergency measure, given the age of the potential carer and the fact a young baby and a disabled parent need care. The most important factor here is to make sure that both the adult assessment and child assessment are carried out with the desire to make sure the adult gets the support they need to look after themselves and their child adequately (Solihull NHS., 2006). In this case, one of the best ways to gain support might be through the use of direct payments to the disabled parent, thereby allowing them the chance to arrange support that suits them and their child. The assessment will give the parent a chance to understand the ways in which support can help them, and the direct payment scheme can help them to remain independent (Bytheway et al, 2002, pp. 341-343). Conclusion In both cases, the most important factors are to make sure that the assessment criteria are fulfilled, and that adequate support is given so that both parents and children can remain together in a safe and stable environment. In the first case, the welfare of the child must be of paramount importance, and any risk to the child should be put first. However, it must also be made sure that every effort is made for the parents and children to remain together if the parents can receive support to improve their care giving abilities (Whitney, 2004, pp. 52-55). In the second case, the most important factor is to make sure that the disabled parent gets the support they need and, if possible, continue to look after their child effectively with this support. If these procedures are implemented then both parents and children will be able to remain safe and receive the support they need. Bibliography General: Butler, I., Butler, I.G., and Roberts, G., 2003. Social Work with Children and Families: Getting Into Practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Millam, R., 2002. Anti-Discriminatory Practice: a guide for workers in childcare and education. Continuum International Publishing Group. Parton, N., 1997. Child Protection and Family Support: Tensions, Contradictions and Possibilities. Routledge. Whitney, B., 2004. Protecting Children: A Handbook for Teachers and School Managers. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Scenario 1: Brandon, M.B., and Lewis, A., 2007. Significant harm and childrens experiences of domestic violence. Child and Family Social Work, 1(1), pp. 33-42. Brandon, M.B., Lewis, A., and Thoburn, J., 2007. The Children Act definition of significant harm—interpretations in practice. Health and Social Care in the Community, 4(1), pp. 11-20. Bretherton, H., Huzzard, S., and Little, P., 2006. Family Justice Research Digest, Issue 1. Available at: http://www.family-justice-council.org.uk/docs/rd_06_issue1.pdf Department for Education and Skills (DfES)., 2002. Children Act Report 2002. Available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/publications/childrenactreport/docs/DfES-Childrens%20Act.pdf Department of Health., 2003. Keeping Children Safe: The Government’s Response to the Victoria Climbià © Inquiry Report and Joint Chief Inspectors’ Report Safeguarding Children. Available at: http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/_files/684162953674A15196BB5221973959E3.pdf Department of Health., 2008. Department of Health Website. (Online). Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm (Accessed 17th August 2008). Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI)., 1989. Children Act 1989. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/ukpga_19890041_en_1 Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI)., 2004. Children Act 2004. Available at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts2004/ukpga_20040031_en_1.htm RPsych., 2008. Overview of the Children Act 1989. (Online). http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/files/samplechapter/102_0.pdf (Accessed 18th August 2008). Spratt, T., 2000. Decision making by senior social workers at point of first referral. British Journal of Social Work, 30, pp. 597-618. Surrey County Council., 2008. What does the term children in need mean? (Online). Available at: http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/What+does+the+term+Children+in+Need+meanQ?opendocument. (Accessed 16th August 2008). Scenario 2: Bytheway, B., et al. 2002. Understanding Care, Welfare and Community: A Reader. London: Routledge. DirectGov., 2008. Rights, legislation and disabled parents. (Online). Available at: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/Disabledparents/DG_10037905 (Accessed 17th August 2008). Joseph Rowntree Foundation., 2003. Disabled parents are undermined by poor support and negative attitudes, says task force. Available at: http://www.jrf.org.uk/pressroom/releases/240903.asp North Somerset Council., 2003. Parents with Care Needs. Available at: http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/611F9138-4C4F-4762-9ECB-5AC16C94622D/0/document_20030701_Protocol19ParentsWithCareNeeds.pdf Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI)., 1990. National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19). Available at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1990/ukpga_19900019_en_1   Available at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts2000/ukpga_20000016_en_1 Solihull NHS., 2006. Supporting disabled parents – Solihull MBC inter-directorate protocol and staff guidance. Available at: http://www.solihull.nhs.uk/foi/policies/social_care/D%20-%20Disabled%20Parents%20Protocol.pdf

Dieon Sanders :: Biography Biographies Bio

"I never wanted to be mediocre at anything. I wanted to be the absolute best," says Deion Sanders Deion Sanders is the only player to have appeared in a Super Bowl and World Series. For his first five seasons in the NFL, Deion Sanders played for the Atlanta Falcons, who dressed in black and white.Starting with the Falcons, Sanders has been selected for the Pro Bowl eight times. Those colors fit him well. With Sanders, there are no shades of gray. Walking into the end zone on a long return, he inspired just as many cheers on Sunday as he did critics on Monday. "Some people will come out to see me do well," he said. "Some people will come out to see me get run over. But love me or hate me, they're going to come out." Sanders is the only man to have played in a Super Bowl and a World Series. While nowhere near as proficient in baseball as he was in football, Sanders was an outstanding base stealer who was a mediocre hitter. Back to the NFL: In 1996 with the Dallas Cowboys he became the first regular starter on offense and defense in 34 years. But make no mistake, with eight Pro Bowl selections as a cornerback, defense is where Sanders earns his big bucks. After intercepting 30 passes in his first six seasons, quarterbacks stopped throwing his way. Sanders, who earned back-to-back Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers and Cowboys, is a big-play guy. He holds the NFL record for career returns for touchdowns with 19 (nine on interceptions, six on punts, three on kickoffs and one on a fumble). He also has three touchdown receptions. Off the field, his value comes in being "Prime Time." A prominent pitchman for Nike and Visa, he cashes in on a flamboyant, jewelry-laden persona that is not limited to the playing field. As a Florida State senior, Sanders arrived for the climactic home game against Florida in a white limousine. He emerged wearing a tuxedo. "How do you think defensive backs get attention?" Sanders said. "They don't pay nobody to be humble." He was born Aug. 9, 1967, in Fort Myers, Fla. By the time he was eight, he was playing organized baseball and football. At North Fort Myers High School, Sanders played cornerback and quarterback. He was all-state in football, baseball and basketball. After scoring 30 points in a basketball game, a friend nicknamed him "Prime Time.

Impact of Market Revolution Essay

The end of the war of 1812 brought a large amount of pride to the Americans. From then on came about the transportation revolution which brought about many changes. The major shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy introduced various changes not just in politics but at the lives of many americans. The beginning of the market revolution marked the ending of the Federalist presence in the government while introducing a variety of modifications to the jeffersonian-republican party. These economical and political changes gave about notable chances in the status of labor, the class structure ultimately affecting the lives of american families. The market economy introduced many changes to the job industry by giving rise to the industrial worker most notably in new england. The many mills during the early 19th century were composed of women who seeked to better themselves, in part these women had to submit to their bose’s will when it came to their unstable wages. Even so the vast amounts of jobs that were left unfulfilled gave rise to immigration from Europe. The introduction to the Irish and German immigrants gave rise to wage jobs from skilled jobs which erupted many notable riots from the residents around New England. The waged workers were regarded as â€Å"wage slaves† by many riots due to them having a job that consumed most of their time as well as because of the unstable wages. These eventually led up to the creation of various workingmen parties. The most notable change that occurred during the 1820s was the rise of the new middle class which included doctors and teachers just to name a few. and the fall of the artisan class. This gave rise to the merchants in the class structure as they were the most benefited from the market revolution. The classes played a very important role during the market revolution. The difference of sexuality affecting wages still persisted. Even so, the rise of education during the second great awak ening allowed for better opportunities to become a â€Å"self made man† diminishing the dependence of workers on their bosses. The most affected thing during the market revolution was perhaps the life of american families. The role of the wife and the children changed to a certain point. The wife was expected to provide emotional and spiritual to the husband and her children and caring this being what the cult of  domesticity promoted. The increasing economic gap between the rich and the poor prevented excessive breeding this being due to the economic burden that children were viewed as. This led to the increase of child labor in industrial factories and mills. The market revolution brought many changes with it these heavily influencing the status of labor, the class structure ultimately impacting american families. The shift from an agrarian republic brought changes such as waged jobs while introducing a great influx of immigrants. The widening gap between the rich and the poor were in it’s part negative but in it’s part was positive when it came to education. The life of american families was perhaps the most affected with the introduction of the cult of domesticity and the ideals that reform movements engraved on married women Planning Status of Labor: People began to work on a timely schedule Received hourly wages Development of industries and factories Seed drill, reaper, cotton gin, steel plow increased production rates and made work easier Samuel Slater’s American Factory System Lowell textile Mills Workforce composed of women Young unmarried women hired Mostly from farms Under the promise of wages ; Unstable Wages Class structure: Artisans were going down the social class Women and children were inferior to men received lower wages than men Wealthy merchants were going up the social class ere heads of industries and factories

To what extent are gender differences socially constructed Essays

To what extent are gender differences socially constructed Essays To what extent are gender differences socially constructed Essay To what extent are gender differences socially constructed Essay Many sociologists believe gender is socially constructed (i. e. it is mostly created by society and is not completely natural, as gender identity varies between societies and within societies). Some sociologists argue that gender is the result of environmental influences, particularly the way we are taken care of by our parents or guardians. On the other hand a number of sociologists argue that gender is the result of nature, due to the effects of hormones, brains or genes of the two sexes. Haralambos and Holborn (1995) In terms of how we understand identity a distinction between sex and gender must be drawn. Nick Jorgensen, John Bird, Andrea Heyhoe Bev Russell (1997). Sex deals with what are often biological differences, while gender is about a socially constructed role. Therefore, labels women and man are about both biological and social differences. Jorgensen, Bird, Andrea Russell (1997) Pg 23 Gender roles have a big influence on our lives, and there is a lot of evidence that suggests gender roles are culturally rather then biologically produced. Oakley (1972 cited in Haralambos and Holborn 1995) this means individuals are taught the behaviour that is expected of males and females within their society. These processes create systems of ideas and practises about gender that vary across time and space. They also create gender divisions of labour, allocating women and men to different activities and responsibilities. Bilton, Bonnett, Jones, Lawson, Skinner, Stanworth and Webster (2002) Pg 132. Many studies have shown that gender roles can differ considerably due to the culture of tha t society. This illustrates whatever the biological differences between males and females, it is the culture of the society which exerts most influence in the creation of masculine and feminine behaviour. Haralambos and Holborn (1995) Further more primary and secondary socialisation influences the behaviour of girls and boys from an early age. The roles themselves are made quite clear from the start; females are weak, more emotional and do not have strong sexual desires. Whereas, males are strong less emotional and have powerful sexual desires. Stephen Moore (1987) Parents tend to treat girls and boys differently in ways that influence their development. Oakley talks about four main ways in which socialisation takes place in gender roles. Firstly the childs self- concept is affected by manipulation. Secondly differences are achieved through canalisation involving the direction of boys and girls towards different objects. (Oakley 1972 cited in Haralambos and Holborn 1995 Pg 589/590) For instance girls are expected to be neat and tidy, to appreciate they are wearing pretty dresses and to be aware of their appearances. They are also given different toys to boys such as dolls, to play mother with and cooking and washing up appliances whereas, the boys are given toy guns, building bricks. All these activities encourage different forms of behaviour. (Stephen Moore 1987) The third aspect of socialisation is the use of verbal appellation such as thats a good girl. Or youre a naughty boy. (Oakley 1972 cited in Haralambos and Holborn 1995 Pg 590) this leads boys and girls to identify their gender and imitate adults of the same gender. So the son copys his father and is taught the traditional views of a man and the girl copys her mother and is taught traditional views of a women. Finally male and female children are exposed to different activities. (Oakley 1972 cited in Haralambos and Holborn 1995 Pg 590) Girls in particular are encouraged to become involved in domestic everyday jobs which reinforces stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. In addition primary socialisation can also cause differences in attitude to education research by Harris et al (1993) into attitudes of working class 16 year old boys and girls found that girls tented to be better motivated and more hard working than boys. The boys were easily distracted in class and were less determined to overcome educational difficulties. The researchers concluded that these attitudes were linked to the gender regimes they encountered in their homes and communities. Girls who were exposed to women who were organisers of the home and family and wage earners, displayed the same characteristics i. e. they were also organised with schoolwork and homework. However, the stereotype of the male was the macho male that did not care about authority and just liked to be in the company of other males. Researchers felt some of the boys were already fulfilling this stereotype in their approach to school. Moreover sociologists argue that teachers spend more time with boys and concentrate their efforts more on them. (Moore 1987 Pg 53) Like parents who are more likely to label their sons as less interested in school and education at an early age (Eccles study) teachers have different expectations of from boys and girls. Boys are expected to be more boisterous, girls to be quieter and more obedient. As a result, teachers are likely to treat the children differently according to their sex. (Moore 1987 Pg 53) There are also many other ways in which socialisation into gender roles takes place. Identification also takes place; children see themselves as their parents or television heroes. So as well as imitating their parents they also play at being parents/hero figures. Peer group pressure is also applied by friends, as friendships develop along sex lines with boys playing with boys and girls playing with girls, both playing different types of games. Stephen Moore (1987). From the viewpoints described above it would seem gender is socially constructed in the sense that differences in the behaviour of males and females are learned rather than being the inevitable result of biology. Haralambos and Holborn (1995) In contrast to this argument some sociologists would argue biologically differences are believed to be responsible for the behaviour of boys and girls and their roles in society. Stoller (cited in Haralambos and Holborn 1995) claims there are no vital links between femininity and being a woman, and being a man and behaving in a masculine way. Not all girls are caring and sympathetic and not all boys have to be aggressive and competitive. Some sociologists believe that hormones and brain differences can explain the difference in behaviour and roles of males and females. Both males and females produce sex hormones. Usually women produce larger amounts of progesterone and oestrogen, whilst males usually produce more testosterone and other androgens. The activity of a wide range of hormones is closely integrated with the activity of the nervous system, and so hormones can influence behaviour, personality and emotional disposition. (Haralambos and Holborn 1995 Pg 582) There has been much research done on animals to show evidence that there is link between the hormone androgens and aggressive behaviour such as castrated male rats fighting less, whereas female rats given more androgens after birth being more aggressive in adult life than other female rats (Haralambos and Holborn 1995). However, there have been criticisms made of the hormonal explanations of the study mentioned above by Ruth Bleier. In general, it is dangerous to assume that the same hormonal changes in animals would result in the same behaviour as humans. Such experiments are not conclusive. (Haralambos and Holborn 1995 Pg 582) In addition there are claims that hormones have indirect effects on male and female brain development as well as direct effects. Research has also concentrated on the issue of brain lateralisation. It is believed that the left and right hemispheres of the brain specialise in different tasks. The left hemisphere specialises in language and logical skills whereas the right is mostly responsible for visuospatial abilities. (Haralambos and Holborn 1995) It is alleged that the left hemisphere is more dominant in girls, and that in boys the right hemisphere is more dominant. This difference might be due to the hormonal influences on the brain. On the other hand Ruth Bleier has no ted the contradictory findings of the studies in this area. For example, some studies claim that girls are less lateralised than boys; some claim the reverse to be true; and some find no difference between boys and girls. (Haralambos and Holborn 1995 Pg 583) Moreover another biological explanation for the difference in behaviour of males and females is genetic and evolutionary factors. Some sociologists believe these reasons account for the difference in male and female behaviour. Some sociologists argue that social scientists who assume that human beings behave simply in terms of their culture and society are ignoring what they call human biogrammer. (Haralambos and Holborn 1995 Pg 583) This is a genetically based programme which inclines people to behave in certain ways. Although it is similar in men and women, Tiger and fox argue that compared to women, men are more aggressive and dominant and that these characteristics are genetically based. (Haralambos and Holborn 1995 Pg 584) This is partially because genetic inheritance and because a genetic adaptation to a hunting way of life. Males hunt which can be found to be an aggressive activity. To conclude, to support a biological case we would need to establish that a universal difference exists, that men and women across societies are characterised by more or less identical behaviours. We would also need to show that this difference is actually caused by biology and not in the similarities in upbringing. The more segregated the worlds that women and men inhabit, the harder it is to demonstrate that nature, rather than nurture, accounts for gender difference. (Bilton, Bonnet, Jones, Lawson, Skinner, Stanworth Webster 2002 Pg 132) Sociologists have tried to move away from the debate as to whether sex and gender shapes male and females behaviour Both David Morgan and Linda Birke argue sex and gender interact. Sex differences and vice versa. (Haralambos and Holborn 1995 591)