Project two Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project two - Essay Example This has however become much better than ever, women have started enjoying equal rights and have equal power as their counterparts. Feminism is a very important concept that must be thrown light upon when gender conflict is being talked about. Feminist aims at providing women more power and more rights than ever seen before. There are several feminists fighting for the rights of women all across the globe. Respect is also another important factor for which the feminists are consistently fighting. Gender conflict has made us understand how people enjoy preferential treatment and how the inferior strive for parity in the society. Race conflict is also quite similar to gender conflict, some people consider that their race is superior and others are inferior to them, this is certainly beyond the pale. Having a level playing field in the society is essential to facilitate growth; an ideal society always provides a level playing field. â€Å"Rae Lesser Blumberg developed a theory emphasiz ing women’s degree of control of the means of production and the distribution of economic surplus.† (Blumberg) Blumberg’s aimed at explaining the position of women relative to men in almost all types of societies. These societies included the earliest societies to the late twentieth century. This theory discussed some really important aspects like economic power of women, importance of women in the society, economic power of women in the society, sexual stratification so on and so forth. â€Å"Sexual stratification, Blumberg argues, is ultimately driven by the degree to which, relative to men, women control the means of production and the allocation of productive surplus or, in Marxian terms, â€Å"surplus value.† Such control gives women  economic power  that, in turn, influences their level of political power, prestige, and other stratifying resources. In Blumberg’s view, sexual inequalities are â€Å"nested† at diverse levels: Male-fe male relations are nested in households; households are nested in local communities; and if a society is sufficiently large to reveal a coercive state and a system of class stratification, household and community are nested inside of the class structure that, in turn, is lodged within a larger state-managed society. This nesting is important because women’s control of economic resources can be located at different levels, and the level at which their economic power is strongest influences the power that women can command at the other levels of social organization.† (Feminist Conflict Theory) Macro level control and micro level control are some important aspects which must be paid attention to. A woman is ought to enjoy power in a household if she contributes immensely to the income of a household, she will have a say in micro aspects of the household as well if she can contribute towards work and family income. Similarly a woman who is not able to earn and contribute to wards the household income will not enjoy as much freedom and control as a woman who can earn and support her family. Financial freedom is extremely important for a woman to be considered powerful enough; only a powerful woman can make decisions and can stand against oppression. Economic power at a macro level facilitates women in getting political as well as coercive power in the society. The economic power of women is consistently on the rise; this is the time of transition. This period of transition is perceived as a major

Running Business in Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Running Business in Brazil - Essay Example Brazil is expected to invest US $18.4bn for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in 12 Brazilian host cities funding 50 projects (Portal Brasil, 2010). By the end of the 1990s Brazil was ranked tenth in global automotive producers as the nation was willing to experiment with a wide range of supply and production arrangements (Strategic Direction, 2005). Brazil is undoubtedly poised for growth ever since its foreign exchange policy is liberalized. It is moving towards becoming the fifth largest economy (Williams, 2011). However, all these pose a very glamorous image of the nation but businesses desirous of investing in Brazil need to get a complete picture of the benefits and pitfalls. Any disappointments could damage the credibility of the country that it is trying to build up. Economic situation There were more than 10 significant oil discoveries last year which has pushed the nation up in oil producer rankings (The Telegraph, 2011). Brazil is expecting a Tsunami of riches as Petrobras gets full production from the oilfields deep under the Brazilian Seas (O'Shaughnessy, 2009). This would help the nation overcome the repression and torture which impacted the living conditions. Flushed with excessive cash has its pitfalls. Its currency is the most overvalued and real-estate bubble is expected in Brazil as banks have extended risky loans (Lyons, 2011). Cost of doing business in Brazil has risen very fast. Brazil has abundance of natural resources and could be the world power but poor management and leadership have led to large debts (Balsom, n.d.). Economic growth in Brazil has been built on a very fragile structure as 10% of its population is completely illiterate and 68% functionally illiterate (The Brazil Business, 2011). Millions of students emerge from secondary schools without being able to write in English. What is astonishing is that it is socially accepted and expected that they would not learn anything in school. Unemployment in Brazil was 9.9% as of 2009 (McGladrey , 2010). However, through targeted social programs, through subsidizing house loans and raising the minimum wage the government has been able to pull more than 20 million people out of poverty (The New York Times, 2011). President Lula paved the growth that solidified the country and made it a significant player in the world. However, the next President again has not been able to win the confidence of the people. Thus, on the one hand while it has abundance of natural resources, a large industrial base, a huge population base, making the market attractive to investors, economic uncertainties make it difficult to improve its competitiveness or build a modern infrastructure (Austrade, 2001). Labor The nation has a large labor force but the workers are either unskilled or semi-skilled. There is a shortage of technical personnel. Labor unions can be militant especially in the metallurgical, automobile, banking and transport sectors (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2005). They make a significant force in the country. Fringe benefits and social security for the laborers is not very strong. However, foreign investors do not experience problems with labor because they follow local standards and practices. and the country has been the top producer/exporter of soybeans, cattle and beef products, and poultry. Major issues in doing business in