Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 10

Gran told me that the only person who can send a spirit back is the one who called it up,† Thea said. â€Å"But the problem is that you have to be able to see the spirit, you have to be close to it. Then you can do the sending-back spell.† â€Å"Okay,† Dani said, nodding. â€Å"But-â€Å" â€Å"Wait, I'm getting to it.† Thea got up and began to pace the few steps between her bed and Blaise's. She spoke slowly at first, then more rapidly. â€Å"What I'm thinking is that this can't be the first time this has happened. Sometime, somewhere, somehow, some witch must have called up a spirit and let it get away. And then had to go out and get hold of it again.† â€Å"I'm sure that's true. But so what?† â€Å"So if we could find a record of how she did it-how she tracked the spirit down-we might be in business.† Dani was getting excited. â€Å"Yeah-and it wouldn't even have to be a case of a summoned spirit. I mean, some spirits just won't go to the other side at all after they've died, right? Maybe there's a record about how one of them got sent across the veil.† â€Å"Or a story. Or a poem. Anything that would give us a clue about how to get them to stay in the same room with you while you do the spell.† Thea stopped and grinned at Dani. â€Å"And if there's one thing Gran has lots of, it's records and stories and poems. There are hundreds of books in the workshop.† Dani jumped up, dark eyes snapping. â€Å"I'll call my mom and tell her I'm staying over tonight. Then- we find it.† After Dani called her mother, Thea called Eric to make sure he was okay. Now that she knew there was a demented spirit on the loose she was worried about him. â€Å"You're sure you're all right?† he said. â€Å"I mean, I still feel awful about taking you to that place. I wanted-well, I'd like it if we could see each other without something terrible happening.† Thea felt as if someone had squeezed her heart. â€Å"Me, too.† â€Å"Maybe we could do something tomorrow. If you're up to it.† â€Å"That would be good.† She didn't dare to keep talking to him with Dani around. It would be too easy for anyone listening to guess her feelings. The first thing Thea noticed in the workshop was that Blaise had taken her new project with her. She must be close to finishing it. â€Å"I'll start here,† Dani said, standing in front of a large bookcase. â€Å"Some of these look really old.† Thea picked another case. There were books of every kind: leather-bound, paper-bound, cloth-bound, suede-bound, unbound. Some were printed, some were handwritten, some were illuminated. Some were in languages Thea didn't know. The first shelf yielded nothing except an interesting spell titled â€Å"how to make an elixir of abhorrence, which works quite as well, or perhaps a little worse than the traditional Elixirs of Loathing or Detestation, and is less delicate and expensive than the Elixir of Odium used by royals and members of the nobility, and will also keep extremely well for a very long time.† Hmm†¦ Thea put that book aside. She'd looked through another half a shelf when Dani said, â€Å"Hey, I found your family tree.† Thea scooted over. â€Å"Yeah, that's the one Gran keeps. It doesn't go anywhere near back to Hellewise.† She laughed. â€Å"Who's this guy?† Dani put her finger on a name. † ‘Hunter Redfern.' I thought the Redferns were that hotshot vampire family.† â€Å"Lamia family. I mean, there's a difference, you know. Someone who's made into a vampire can't have kids.† â€Å"But what's the lamia guy doing in your family tree?† â€Å"He's the one who did a kinship ceremony with Maeve Harman, back in the sixteen hundreds. She was the leader of the Harmans then. See? And we're all descended from their daughter Roseclear.† â€Å"She did it with a vampire? Creepy.† Thea smiled. â€Å"She did it to stop their families from fighting-they had a feud going on. And so now all of us modern Harmans have a little vampire blood.† â€Å"I'll remember to watch out if you start looking at my throat.† Dani traced a finger down the tree. â€Å"It looks like you and Blaise are the last of the female Harmans.† â€Å"Yeah, we're it. The last Hearth-Women.† â€Å"That's a big responsibility.† It was almost exactly what Gran had said. Thea suddenly felt uncomfortable with family trees. â€Å"Yeah. Um, I guess we'd better keep reading.† It was several hours later when Dani said quietly, â€Å"I've got it.† â€Å"What?† Thea went to sit by her. The book on Dani's knees was bound in green with a crescent moon and three stars on the front-a Night World symbol for witches. â€Å"It's a book of humorous stories, but they're supposed to be true. This one is about a guy named Walstan Harman back in seventeen seventy. He died, but he didn't cross over. He just hung around town playing jokes on everybody-appearing at night with his head under his arm and stuff like that. He never stayed in one place long enough for them to catch him, though.† â€Å"So how did they track him down?† Dani flashed a triumphant smile. â€Å"They didn't. They lured him in.† Light dawned for Thea. â€Å"Of course-I'm so stupid. But how?† Dani's slender finger swept down the page. â€Å"Well, first they waited till Samhain, so the veil between the worlds would be thinnest. Then Nicholas Harman had this big feast prepared, this huge table piled up with Walstan's favorite food.† Dani made a face. â€Å"Which happened to be mince pie made with bear meat and pumpkin, with a cornmeal crust. They have a recipe for it here, too. Gah.† â€Å"Never mind that. Did it work?† â€Å"Apparently. They set up the table with the pies in an empty room, then they cast a circle around it. Old Walstan was attracted to the food-I guess he just couldn't resist taking a look, even if he couldn't eat it. And when he came down to check it out, they opened the door and nabbed him.† † ‘Sent him speedily and conveniently through the narrow path to the airy void,' † Thea read over Dani's shoulder. The story sounded genuine-only someone who'd actually seen a summoning or a sending-back would know those words. â€Å"So now we know how to do it,† Dani said. â€Å"We wait until Halloween and then we lure her. We just have to find something she likes-â€Å" â€Å"Or†¦ something she hates,† Thea broke in as an idea struck her. They stared at each other. â€Å"Like what she saw at the old gym,† Dani breathed. â€Å"Something that reminded her of what they did to her.† â€Å"Yes, except†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea stopped. Her mind was rating on, but she didn't want to share her thoughts with Dani. Except that the humans might already be doing something oh ? Halloween, something that would attract Suzanne. If the police opened the old gym, the Halloween party would be an incredibly strong lure. All those horror booths†¦ So if I wanted to draw her somewhere else, I'd need to be doing something even worse, something that would remind her even more of what happened to her. And I'd need bait, somebody she'd want to kill. A human. Somebody who'd work with me, who'd be willing†¦ Not Eric. Her thoughts came up short as she realized where they were leading. She found that her hands were icy cold and her heart was pounding slowly. No. Not Eric, no matter what. Not even to save lives. She pushed the thought from her mind. Of course there was some other way, and she'd find it. There was time†¦. â€Å"Thea? You still with me?† Dani was watching her. â€Å"I was just trying to figure it all out.† Thea forced herself to speak calmly, to focus on Dani. â€Å"Urn, listen, there's one good thing I just thought of-we may have a little time. If Suzanne is still watching the old gym, it could work for us. As long as the gym is closed up, people won't go in there, and she won't be able to get anybody.† â€Å"I hope so,† Dani said. â€Å"I mean, I understand why she's upset, but nobody deserves to die the way Kevin did. Not even a human.† Late that night, while Dani was breathing peacefully in Blaise's bed, Thea lay and stared at the faint glow above the window curtains. It wasn't just visions of Kevin. Her mind kept returning to what Dani and Gran had said about her responsibility. Even if I send Suzanne back, even if Gran gets well, even if I manage to keep Blaise from killing Eric†¦ where am I? I'm a renegade witch. And there's no future for Eric and me†¦ unless we run away. But that would mean him leaving his family forever-and us being hunted wherever we went. And me betraying the Hearth-Women and the Night World. One last thought glimmered before she could force her mind into blankness. There's no way everybody is going to come out of this happy. The next morning Thea was late for school. And she had a hard time tracking down Blaise-it wasn't until lunchtime that she and Dani found the Circle Midnight witches in the front courtyard. â€Å"Please let us see it,† Selene was saying as Thea and Dani walked up. â€Å"Just one peek. Please?† â€Å"I want to do a trial run first,† Blaise said, looking very pleased with herself. She took a drink of iced tea, ignoring Thea and Dani. â€Å"How's Gran?† Thea broke in without preamble. Blaise turned. â€Å"Better, no thanks to you. Why didn't you call this morning?† â€Å"I overslept.† After terrible nightmares about strangled people. â€Å"We were up late last night,† Dani said. â€Å"It's not Thea's fault.† â€Å"Your grandma's really doing well,† Vivienne said kindly. â€Å"She just needs to rest for a while-Mom'll probably keep her at our place for a couple of days. Sleep heals, you know.† Thea felt a tiny breath of relief, like a spring breeze. If Gran was getting better she had one less thing to worry about. â€Å"Thanks, Viv. Please thank your mom, too.† Blaise raised her eyebrows and made a tiny sound like â€Å"Hmf.† Then she tapped her chin with one long nail. â€Å"A trial run†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she said again, gazing far away. She was dressed unusually, in a bronze silk jacket with a high collar that was zipped up to her chin. Thea had a sudden sinking feeling. â€Å"What are you trying out?† Dani asked. Blaise gave them a slow smile. â€Å"Hang around and you'll see.† She scanned the courtyard and said sweetly, â€Å"And there is the perfect mark. Selene, will you go ask him to come here?† Selene got up and languidly drifted to the boy Blaise had pointed at. Thea recognized him. He was Luke Price, a guy who drove a sleek red Maserati and looked like a bad-boy Hollywood star. He was fashionably unshaven and unkempt, had electric blue eyes, and right now looked vaguely surprised to find himself following Selene back to Blaise. â€Å"Luke, how's it going?† Blaise said pleasantly. Luke shrugged. â€Å"Okay. What do you want?† His electric blue eyes lingered on Blaise, but he was obviously used to playing the tough guy with girls. Blaise laughed shortly, as if taken off guard by the question. â€Å"Nothing I can have,† she murmured-and then looked slightly startled at herself. â€Å"I want to talk to you,† she said smoothly, recovering. â€Å"And†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She tilted her head thoughtfully. â€Å"Maybe the keys to your car.† Luke laughed out loud. He leaned one hip against the concrete wall by the stairs, two fingers fishing in his T-shirt pocket for a cigarette. â€Å"You're crazy,† he said indistinctly. Dani coughed as smoke drifted toward her. Thea swirled her plastic bottle of Evian water in one hand. Blaise made a face. â€Å"Put that out; it's disgusting,† she said. Luke blew smoke toward her. â€Å"If you've got something to say, say it.† He was eyeing Blaise's zipped-to-the-neck jacket with disfavor. â€Å"Otherwise stop wasting my time.† Blaise smiled. She touched the zipper at her throat. â€Å"You want to guess what's under here?† Luke's eyes went up and down the silk of the jacket, particularly where Blaise made it curve. â€Å"Maybe you'd better show me.† â€Å"You want me to show you? You're sure, now?† Thea looked heavenward, thumb playing with the opening to her Evian bottle. Luke was scowling, blowing smoke between tight lips. His electric blue eyes were narrow. â€Å"I think you're some kind of tease†¦.† Blaise took the zipper between two fingers and slid it down. The necklace fit like a collar, lying against the pale skin of her throat and the matte black of her simple blouse. And it was everything Thea had known it would be. It was delicate, exquisite, magical. Swirls of stars and moons in enchanted patterns. Gems of all kinds tucked into the mysterious curves. Green garnet, imperial topaz, sunstone, cinnabar. Violet sapphire, African emerald, smokestone. It seemed to move as you looked at it, the lines changing and flowing. Pulling you into the center of its mystery, winding around you like strands of softly burnished hair. Holding you fast†¦ Thea pulled herself away with a physical jerk. She had to shut her eyes and put up a hand to do it. And if it does that to me†¦ Luke was staring. Thea could actually see the change in his face as the necklace worked its spell. Like some Oscar-winning actor transforming from bad boy to vulnerable kid right there on screen. His jaw softened, his tight lips relaxed. The muscles around his eyes shifted and he lost his tense squint. He looked surprised, then defenseless. Open. Those electric blue eyes seemed dazzled, pupils widening. He sucked in a breath as if he couldn't get enough air. Now he looked awed; now hypnotized; now yearning†¦ Spellbound. Luke had been transformed. His whole body seemed smaller. His lips were parted. His eyes were huge and full of light. He looked as if at any second he might fall down and start worshiping Blaise. Blaise sat like a queen, with her midnight hair tumbling around the necklace, her chest moving slightly as she breathed, her eyes as brilliant as jewels. â€Å"Put the disgusting cigarette down,† she said. Luke dropped the cigarette and stamped on it as if it were a spider. Then he looked back at Blaise. â€Å"You†¦ you're beautiful.† He reached a hand toward her. â€Å"Wait,† Blaise said. Her face assumed a tragic, wistful expression. â€Å"First, I'm going to tell you a sad story. I used to have a little dog that I loved, a cocker spaniel, and we would take long walks together around dusk.† Thea gave her cousin a narrow sideways look. She'd never heard such a lie. And what was Blaise talking about dogs for? â€Å"But he was run over by an eighteen-wheel Piggiy Wiggly truck,† Blaise murmured. â€Å"And ever since, I've been so lonely†¦. I miss him so much.† She fixed her eyes on the boy in front of her. â€Å"Luke . .. will you be my little dog?† Luke looked confused. â€Å"You see,† Blaise went on, slipping a hand in her pocket, â€Å"if I could just have somebody to remind me of him, I'd feel so much better. So if you'd wear this for me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She was holding a blue dog collar. Luke looked even more confused. Redness was creeping up his neck and jaw. His eyes filled. â€Å"For me?† Blaise coaxed, jingling the collar- which was way too big for a spaniel, Thea noticed. â€Å"I'd be so grateful.† Luke looked as if he were having a tremendous internal struggle. His breathing was uneven. He swallowed. A muscle in his jaw twitched. Then, very slowly, he reached for the collar. Blaise held it down low. Luke's eyes followed the collar. Jerkily, as if his muscles were fighting each other, he knelt down at Blaise's side. He stayed there, stone-faced, as Blaise fastened the dog collar around his neck. When it was secure, Blaise laughed. She glanced at the other girls, then jingled the metal loop for the dog tag. â€Å"Good boy,† she said, and patted his head. Luke's face lit up with an excitement that bordered on ecstasy. He stared into Blaise's eyes. â€Å"I love you,† he said huskily, still squatting. Blaise wrinkled her nose and laughed again. Then she zipped up the bronze jacket. The change on Luke's face was much quicker this time than his first transformation. For an instant he looked completely blank, then he glanced around as if he'd suddenly woken up in a classroom. His fingers went to the dog collar. His face contracted in anger and horror and he jumped up. â€Å"What's going on? What am I doing?† Blaise just gazed at him serenely. Luke tore the collar off and kicked it. Although he was glaring at Blaise, he didn't seem to remember the last few minutes. â€Å"You-are you gonna tell me what you want or not?† he snapped, his upper lip trembling. â€Å"Because I'm not going to wait all day.† Then, when nobody said anything, he walked huffily off. His buddies across the courtyard were roaring with laughter. â€Å"Oops,† Blaise said. â€Å"I forgot about the car keys.† She turned to the other girls. â€Å"But I'd say it works.† â€Å"I'd say it's scary,† Dani whispered. â€Å"I'd say it's incredible,† Selene murmured. â€Å"I'd say it's unbelievable,† Vivienne added. And I'd say it's the Armageddon of accessories, Thea thought. And, incidentally, so much for Selene and Vivienne changing their ways. They may have been shocked at what happened to Randy and Kevin, but it sure didn't last. â€Å"Blaise,† she said tightly, â€Å"if you walk around school showing that, you are going to cause a riot.† â€Å"But I'm not going to walk around school showing it,† Blaise said. â€Å"There's only one guy I'm interested in right now. And this†-she touched her throat- â€Å"has his blood in it. If it works like that on other people, I wonder what it will do to him?† Thea took a few deep breaths to relax her stomach. She had never gone one-on-one with Blaise in a matter of witchcraft. And no one had ever challenged Blaise for a boy. But she didn't have a choice-and putting this off wouldn't help. â€Å"I suppose you're planning to find some time to ambush him,† she said. â€Å"Some time when I'm not around.† It worked. Blaise stood, tall and regal in her bronze silk jacket, hands in her pockets, hair like a waterfall behind her. She gave Thea a slow smile. â€Å"I don't need to ambush anybody,† she said with dreadful confidence. â€Å"In fact†¦ why don't we set up a meeting after school? Just the three of us. You, me, and Eric-a showdown. And may the best witch win.†

A Repeat of Japanese American Internment in the Post 9/11 Era Essay

The Japanese American Internment during the World War II reminds us of the bigotry and racial prejudice of our nation towards other races. It shows the disastrous effects bigotry and racial prejudice can bring to innocent people. It has happened before and it is happening again now. This essay examines how and why the most cherished rights of American and non-American citizens nowadays are being taken from them similar to what happened to the Japanese Americans more than six decades ago. Before World War II even began, many American farmers were already jealous of the success of the Japanese farmers. Because of their superior farming techniques they were able to earn twice as much as their American counterparts. (Jennifer Radcliffe 1) As a result, many foreign-born Japanese were not given the opportunity to own lands. The Anti-Japanese sentiment began to reach its peak on December 7, 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The racist hatred against the foreign-born Japanese and even those born in the United States began to intensify. Baseless accusations and rumors spread that the Japanese-Americans were running secret operations in support of the Japanese government. (â€Å"The Internment of Japanese Americans† 2) Newspaper columnists suggested that the Japanese Americans living within certain areas be removed for the protection of the United States. On February 19, 1942, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, after a recommendation coming from the congressional delegation, signed Executive Order No. 9066 which authorized the creation of military areas for the purpose of protecting the country against espionage and sabotage. It immediately called for the removal of all persons with Japanese ancestry from the west coast of the United States. It was estimated that around 110,000 Japanese Americans were held captive. More than 2/3 of these were American citizens of the United States and over half were children. (â€Å"World War II Roundup: Overview† 1) The instruction given to them was to bring only those they can carry and leave everything behind. Because of the short notice, they were forced to sell all of their properties for a very small amount. Their rights were denied to them and they were forced to live for 2 to 3 years at hastily built internment camps which were initially used as prison camps. The materials were made out of wood and situated in desolate and unsanitary places. Because more than 120,000 people relocated, the internment camps were overcrowded. The rooms were very small giving no opportunity for privacy for the women internees. Most of the refugees, even women and children, had to sleep on the floor. Food was rationed to the internees at a budget of a very small amount. Indeed, life was difficult and burdensome inside these internment camps. In 1988, a formal apology was already issued by the American government to those who were placed inside the Japanese American Internment camps. Reparations for the damage caused had already been granted to the victims. The American government apologetically promised that this incident will never happen again in the future. It is likely that this exact incident of rounding up hundreds of thousands of people and transporting them to different internment camps all over the county may never happen again in the future. It would be outrageous and absurd for the US government to repeat the same mistake it had committed more than six decades ago. But it does not mean that there will be no more violation of rights and civil liberties. In the era of mass hysteria against terrorism, people start to wonder and ask is it possible for the gross and blatant violation of civil liberties to happen in the near future? It is highly possible that rights will be trampled upon and civil liberties will be sacrificed, all in the name of national security. The targets now are no longer the Japanese or the Japanese Americans but our Muslim brothers and sisters from Arab countries and even American citizens as well. We will not be placed in internment camps for sure but our privacy will be invaded, our internet communications and phone lines will be monitored, our mails will be investigated and our bank accounts will be checked. The law giving legitimacy to the violation of rights is no longer Executive Order No. 9066 but the USA Patriot Act. On the part of the government, they think that these acts are justified in view of the new threats of terrorism. National security demands that hardcore surveillance operation tactics be employed. On the part of the people, the government has been taking drastic actions for the purpose of protecting us against terrorists but who will protect us from the government? Is it necessary for the protection of the public that civil liberties be sacrificed? We must be reminded of the alarming stories of the people, most of whom were of Middle Eastern descent, who were picked up by the government immediately after the 2001 World Trade Center and Pentagon attack. Most of them were detained for several days without a case being filed against them by the government. It must be stressed that even American citizens have in the past been detained in military prisons without a case being filed against them. There are countless stories all over the news about law enforcement officers in full battle gear entering certain houses in the absence of its owner for the purpose of checking their thins and looking for any evidence that can be used against them. National Security Letters are being sent to banks, internet service providers, and phone companies instructing these companies to hand over personal records of suspected terrorists. We must also include the attack against Iraq led by American and British soldiers because of alleged weapons of mass destruction which Saddam Hussein was said to have hidden in his country. Until now nothing has been found. Indeed American and non-American citizens are now being subjected to the same kind of treatment our Japanese American brothers experienced during the World War II.

Literature review of Women at workequality versus inequality: barriers for advancing Essay

1. Introduction Women in our days choose to get educated and pursue careers. To do this most of them have to learn to deal with dual roles; the role of the employee and the role of mother/wife. The majority of them have managed to move from working at the traditionally female occupations (such as teachers and nurses) to male-dominated areas such as managers and engineers (Atwater and van Fleet 1997; Chater and Gaster 1995; Krambia-Kapardi 2006). Furthermore, gender equality is a fundamental principle for democratic countries; women and men should participate as equals in the social, cultural and economic life. Even though improvements have been made, gender equality is still not achieved as men and women are not represented and are not treated equally in the workplace. Unfortunately, the increasing number of working women did not bring equal career advancement opportunities. Gender issues in the workplace arise from differences in the way men and women are treated. Women are not treated by the organizations the same way as men do, something that holds women back from advancing the managerial ladder. It is a fact that women are underrepresented in top managerial positions compared with women holding lower and mid-level management positions (Mihail 2006). *Corresponding author. Email: michailidis.m@unic.ac.cy ISSN 0958-5192 print/ISSN 1466-4399 online q 2012 Taylor & Francis http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2012.665071 http://www.tandfonline.com M.P. Michailidis et al. Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 Women face numerous obstacles for their career advancement and often, welleducated women, with many years of experience are not promoted at the same rate as their male co-workers of the same occupational level. Women have to work twice as hard as their male colleagues to achieve recognition (Wirth 2001). According to Eagly and Carli (2007), Hymowitz (2005), Wirth (2001), Rhode (2003), Duehr and Bono (2006), Hymowitz (2005) and Dimakis, Krambia-Kapardi and Savva (2006), some of the controversial issues that women face in the workplace are gender discrimination, glass ceiling, stereotypes, work– life balance, lack of mentoring, conï ¬â€šicting roles and pay inequality. These are considered barriers that prevent women from obtaining work equality and furthermore achieving top managerial positions. 1.1. Gender discrimination According to Wirth (2001), a large number of women enter the workforce at similar levels as their male counterparts; however, their careers progress more slowly than their male colleagues. Quite often they are more qualiï ¬ ed than their male counterparts but have to work harder and perform much better to obtain top positions. The discrimination acts toward women can take various forms; they are often treated unfairly at the recruiting and promotion processes and the remuneration policies. In addition, there is a general perception that women are not committed to work as they have or will have family and children (Hymowitz 2005). Furthermore, since this study took place in Cyprus it is worth mentioning that the Cyprus Government has always been interested in promoting equality among men and women and social and economic actions were implemented. The efforts began at the end of the 1970s, as part of the Strategic Development Plans, and aimed at the creation of legal framework that prevents gender discrimination, support work– family balance and enhance the socioeconomic life of women living and working in Cyprus. In an effort to harmonize with the European Union the Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training Law, No. 205(I)/2002 was implemented by the Cyprus Democracy. 1.2. Stereotypes Stereotypes are based solely on perceptions and ‘gender stereotypes inï ¬â€šuence beliefs, behaviors and self-concepts at both conscious and unconscious levels’ (Rhode 2003, p. 7). Perceptions that women’s place is in the house taking care of her husband and children has been haunting women for many centuries. In recent years, companies are recruiting an increasing numbers of women but unfortunately most of them are not promoted as they should and are left at lower and middle level ranks (Ntermanakis, as cited by Mihail 2006). Schein, Mueller, Lituchy and Liu (1996) reported the existence of a psychological barrier for women’s advancement; the ‘think manager –think male’ perception. According to Nichols (1994), the belief is that managerial positions require masculine characteristics and so women are not cut out for this type of job. A research conducted in Cyprus regarding the perceptions of young people in Cyprus (Intercollege’s Research Center 2007) gives several positive outcomes related to relatively low levels of genders stereotypes. Of the people asked, 73.4% disagreed with the statement that women should stay at home while men should be the sole money providers. Another important point is that 58.9% believe that men and women can be equally good managers, and that women should receive the same rewards with their male counterparts (81.1%). A recent study by Duehr and Bono (2006) reported that ‘stereotypes about women may be changing’. Male The International Journal of Human Resource Management managers seem to be characterizing women as less passive and submissive and more conï ¬ dent, ambitious, analytical and assertive. Male managers have simply learned that they are expected to view men and women similarly at work. Women are also being stereotyped because they become mothers. Hymowitz (2005) mentioned that one of the reasons why women are not taken seriously in the workplace is because at some point in their career they will have children and they will not be as devoted to work as they should and they will not be willing to work those long hours needed. Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 1.3. Glass ceiling The number of women working at managerial positions is growing. Even though the number of women in lower and mid-level management positions is greater than ever, the percentage of women holding top managerial positions is disproportionably low (Atwater and van Fleet 1997). Women seem to be banned from executive positions due to the ‘glass ceiling’ effect, which describes the invisible artiï ¬ cial barriers, created by attitudinal and organizational prejudices, which block women from top executive positions (Wirth 2001). According to Wirth (2001), women, although they are well educated, are pushed into a narrow range of occupations, where there is less responsibility, lower pay and few opportunities for advancement. Some of them manage to climb the corporate ladder and achieve middle level positions but the invisible barriers prevent them from attaining top managerial jobs. Toussiant (2010) described the history of the glass ceiling in America. As it talks about how wom en were constantly facing discrimination from male-dominated society. This is accomplished by discussing how everything from various court cases to the ERA would have an impact upon these views. Krambia-Kapardi (2006) examined the existence of the ‘glass ceiling’ effect in Cyprus by looking at women’s participation in committees and the opportunities for being promoted in executive positions, the research states that although women participate in various committees, the percentage participating is limited and there has been no signiï ¬ cant improvement the past 6 years. To describe the current situation in Cyprus the writer states that ‘there is no glass ceiling in participating committees, but a concrete wall and it takes a lot of effort to break through that wall’. When it comes to the existence of glass ceiling in executive positions, women hold 12% of these positions in the private sector and 37% in the public sector. Researchers tried to identify the barriers that prevent women from advancing to higher managerial positions. Some of the barriers mentioned were lack of self-conï ¬ dence, avoiding risk taking because of fear of failure and setting low goals (Krambia-Kapardi 2006). Another term relevant to the glass ceiling is the ‘maternal wall’, which refers to the barriers that women face when they get pregnant as male co-workers and managers assume that once a woman has a baby she will not be committed to her career (Swiss 1996). 1.4. Balancing work and family Women today have multiple roles and are torn between demanding careers and intensive family lives. These conï ¬â€šicting roles require a great amount of time and energy, and quite often women do not know how to deal with this issue. ‘Work– life balance is a state where an individual manages real or potential conï ¬â€šict between different demands on his or her time and energy in a way that satisï ¬ es his or her needs for well-being and self-fulï ¬ llment’ (Clutterbuck 2003, p. 8). The elements that Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 M.P. Michailidis et al. inï ¬â€šuence this type of conï ¬â€šict, according to Parasuraman and Simmers (2001), is the employee’s gender, type of employment (self-employed or organizational employed), work role characteristics and pressures (such as how much autonomy is available in the workplace, time ï ¬â€šexibility, level of job involvement and time commitment to the work itself) and family role characteristics and pressures (such as parental demands, level of family involvement and time commitment to family). Gladen (2007) discussed how women have more challenges in being able to balance their work and personal life. Where, the majority of women will have: a sense of guilt, scheduling conï ¬â€šicts and adjusting to two different worlds. Moreover, to help working women, companies can implement various family-friendly policies, which can make it much easier for them to combine paid jobs with family work. This can be achieved by offering ï ¬â€šexible working hours (permanent or temporary), workin g from home and the creation of childcare facilities in work. Organizations also need to ensure that employees who seek temporary working accommodations do not pay a permanent price (Rhode 2003). 1.5. Mentoring/role models/networking The lack of mentoring, social networking and role models are making advancement of working women harder. Women very frequently are not given high visibility assignments or challenging tasks. Also, frequently they are excluded from marketing and social events that result in professional opportunities. Furthermore, they are not helped in their career progression, therefore they are far away from leadership positions (Nossel and Westfall, as citied by Rhode 2003). 1.5.1. Mentoring Mentoring programs aim at helping participants become successful in the workplace. A mentor gives advices for the unspoken company’s rules, provides information for company policies and decision making, give recommendations on how to avoid explosive situations, and information about who is aligned to whom. Furthermore, a mentor provides  ´  ´ career and psychosocial support to enhance mentee/protege’s-junior colleague, professional and personal development (Swiss 1996; Apospori et al. 2006). To be more effective, mentoring should be incorporated with training and development and succession planning. Thompson (2010) highlights how mentoring programs can help women to address the various issues of inequality in the workplace. The problem is that the majority of employers do not offer any kind of mentoring programs to female employees. As only 28% of women are reporting that their employers have some kind of mentoring program, out of this number 52% of women felt that their employers lacked transparency and understanding when addressing this issue (Thompson 2010). Furthermore, barriers women come across when searching for mentors are that male mentor’s are reluctance to take on the mentoring role, this might be due to fear that the relationship might be misinterpreted. Also, the scarcity of female mentors makes it more difï ¬ cult for women to have access to a mentor (Apospori et al. 2006). 1.5.2. Role models ‘Role models are often said to be key to the successful development of young aspiring managers’ (Singh, Vinnicombe and James 2006, p. 67). According to Shapiro et al. (as citied by Singh et al. 2006), role models are individuals whose style, action and traits are The International Journal of Human Resource Management imitated by others. It is also believed that role models are important for all female employees regardless level and age, but special attention must be given to newly employed females (Swiss 1996). Unfortunately, the small number of women holding executive position limits the number of role models for young female employees. Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 1.5.3. Networking Networking is viewed by Vinnicombe and Colwill (1995) as citied by Singh et al. (2006) as the ‘banding together’ of individuals who think alike, for satisfying their contact, friendship and support needs. Furthermore, Forret and Dougherty (2004) elaborated on the issue of networking and stated that these are attempts made by people to develop relationships with individuals who have the potential to assist them work- or careerwise. Furthermore, Allison (2007) and Singh et al. (2006) refer to networking in terms of the differences of the approaches men and women use. Men are on a ‘mission’ when attending a business networking event, trying to meet people who will help them for professional advancement, whereas women believe that this approach is ‘pushy’ and prefer attending workshops or conferences where they can share ideas and use networking for social support. 1.6. Pay gap Gender pay inequality is consistently and widely observed. Various social and economic causes contribute to the long-established gender pay gap, and much effort has been made to explain the reasons for the discriminatory wage disparities. The article titled, Its Time for Working Women to Earn Equal Pay (2007), talks about the vast disparities that are occurring as far as pay and compensation are concerned. Where, women will earn signiï ¬ cantly less in comparison with their male counterparts for the same amount of work. According to a study that was conducted by the WAGE Now Project, they found that the vast disparities in pay equality are between $750 thousand and $2 million over the course of lifetime (Its Time for Working Women to Earn Equal Pay 2007). Wallace (2010) discusses the issues that women will face in the workplace from: the glass ceiling to overall issues of discrimination. In most industries, this means that women are earning $.80 cents for every dollar that is made by men. This information is important, because it can be used to corroborate other sources about issues of the glass ceiling and equal pay in the workplace. Wage discrimination as Joshi and Paci (1998) explained means that one group is paid systematically less than others with ‘equal productivity-related characteristics’. The remuneration disparities between the two sexes have been ascribed to the narrow number of women holding top managerial levels of organizations, which means they are rewarded with higher pay rates (Alkadry and Tower 2006). The article that was written by Childress (2010) talks about: how various legislation has been created to deal with the issue of inequality in the workplace (the Glass Ceiling Commission). As they were created as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and was designed to deal with the issue of discrimination in the workplace. However, the commission was never successful, because there was not any kind of agreement among members about how to effectively tackle this issue. This is important because it highlights the underlying challenges that are constantly being faced when trying to establish some kind of procedures for addressing gender inequality. As a result, the information from this source is useful, because it is showing how various regulatory failures have contributed to situations of inequality existing. M.P. Michailidis et al. The Cyprus government enforced The Equal Remuneration of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training Law, No. 177(I)/2002 to ensure the equal remuneration of both sexes for work of equal value. The Equal Remuneration of Men and Women in Employment states that men and women employees receive the same level of ï ¬ nancial or non-ï ¬ nancial rewards, for the same type of work or for work of equal value. Polachek and Xiang (2006) analyzed data from 40 countries, including Cyprus, between the years 1970 and 2002 on how the gender wage gap varies in relation to the fertility rate, the age gap between the husband and wife, and the female educational achievements. The information collected indicated that the fact the women have the main responsibility for the household and the children, as a result female employees have less job experience and training. On the other hand, men are the main money winners of the family and thus working for more years, with no career breaks and thus more experience and opportunities for vocational training. All these lead to gender pay gap. Despite the fact that various efforts are being made by governments to achieve wage equality, gender pay gap still exist since women are paid less than men for comparable positions (Rhode 1997; Sallop and Kirby 2007). Even though women have equivalent skills to men, nevertheless they are not paid with the same pay rate. Researches believe that perhaps the choice of career might be a reason for the gender pay gap. Alkadry and Tower (2006) reported that even though women have started overcoming some of the barriers for advancing to higher positions, wage disparities still persist and as a result women are rewarded with less money in comparison to their male colleagues. 2. 2.1. Methodology Purpose of the study This study aimed at: (1) identifying the factors that working women in Cyprus are faced with which lead to experience discrimination; (2) examining possible barriers that affect women’s advancement; and (3) identifying organizational practices that assist them in achieving work– life balance. 2.2. The questionnaire The data were collected by the distribution of a six-page questionnaire, which was on a voluntary, anonymous and conï ¬ dential basis and targeted four occupational levels: below ï ¬ rst line, ï ¬ rst line, middle and high-level management women, employees of organizations in Cyprus. The questionnaire was prepared by the researchers and was divided into two sections. Section A coved the demographic data of women participating in the research and in Section B the questions referred to women’s personal experiences, opinions or thoughts related to the workplace. 2.2.1. Section A: biographical information In this section, the participants’ had to respond to questions related to: age, marital status, number of children, educational level, work position, employment sector, type of organization, job title and number of years in the current job. 2.2.2. Section B was composed of ï ¬ ve parts, which are described below: Part I had eight ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions, here, the participants had to respond to questions related to experiencing any form of work discrimination, gender discrimination, Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 The International Journal of Human Resource Management discrimination during hiring, promotion or career advancement opportunities, and discrimination related to ï ¬ nancial and non-ï ¬ nancial rewards between men and women. Part II had four questions; here, the respondents were asked whether gender is a factor that can limit promotions, compensations, access to clients and access to training. The replies were based on a Likert-type scale of 1 –3 (I do not know, Not much and Very much). Part III had ï ¬ ve questions asking women’s opinion on several statements regarding the way women and men are treated in their organizations, such as equal treatment among men and women, equal opportunities for advancement, childbearing and career commitment. The participants had the option of choosing one of the following Likerttype scale responses: I strongly agree, I tend to agree, Undecided, I tend to disagree and I strongly disagree. Part IV had a set of 21 statements, which asked the participants to rate on a Likert-type scale from 1 to 5 various possible barriers that prevent women’s career advancement. In addition, there was one question asking the participants to add any other factors that were not mentioned in the previous statements but were considered as a barrier for women’s advancement. The 21st question was an open-ended question on other organizational practices that were not mentioned in the 20 statements. Part V had nine questions asking women to rate the importance of various organizational practices that can help women’s career advancement and development. For rating the ï ¬ rst eight questions in this part, the Likert-type scale was used with the following scale: Not helpful, Slightly helpful, Quite helpful and Very helpful. One question asked the participants to add other organizational practices that could be useful to women’s career advancement and development. 2.3. Statistical analysis The statistical analysis was prepared with the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The statistical tabulations included descriptive statistics and crosstabs aimed at examining the statistical signiï ¬ cance of a comparison between women’s occupational level and (a) questions related to equal treatment (Part III) and also (b) questions related to organizational practices which would assist the participants in developing and advancing women’s careers (Part IV). 2.4. Sample The questionnaires were distributed randomly to 250 women working in various private, public and semi-public companies. The distribution and collection of the questionnaires was done either through the Human Resources/Personnel Departments. A total of 154 questionnaires were used for the study, giving a response rate of 62%. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Biographical data 3.1.1. Section A This research concentrated on 154 women respondents, ages 22– 57. From the sample 61.7% of the participants were married and 59.1% had children. Regarding the educational level of the participants 22.7% were high school graduates; 20.1% had a college diploma; 24.7% had a Bachelor’s degree; 30.5% had a Master’s M.P. Michailidis et al. Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 degree; and only 1.9% had a Doctoral degree. Of the sample, 47.4% stated that their position at work was in the ï ¬ rst line managerial level and 15.6% belonged to the middle management level; 5.2% held top management positions, while the rest 31.8% held positions below ï ¬ rst line management. The results showed that the majority of women are trapped between the ï ¬ rst and middle line managerial levels. Only 8 out of 154 women who participated in the research had top management positions, a number which is not very positive for the career advancement opportunities of women. 3.1.2. Section B 3.1.2.1. Part I. Here, the participants responded to questions related to work discrimination. In the question whether they experienced any form of discrimination in the workplace because they were female, 87.7% replied that they had not experienced any form of discrimination; 89.6% replied that they had not felt that they had missed a promotion or their promotion had been delayed because of their gender; 81.8% stated that male co-workers of similar duties did not receive higher salary than them; and 86.4% replied that they had not experienced differential treatment in the recruiting process because of their gender. Interestingly though, one of the comments made for this question was that at a job interview a participant was asked whether she was engaged to be married or was planning to get engaged soon. Her answer was negative and after she was hired she learned that women with children were rejected as they would not be as ‘committed’ as they should be. Furthermore, 80.5% stated that they had not experienced any differential treatment in career prospects; 90.3% replied that male and female employees of the same managerial level receive the same monetary rewards. Continuing on, 87.7% of the participants do not think that women receive less non-ï ¬ nancial rewards that their male colleagues. Lastly, 81.2% of the participants do not believe that at some point of their career they were not appointed for a job because of their gender. Some discrimination acts that women had experienced and were mentioned in the open-ended questions are ‘Women receive lower pay than men’. ‘Males are treated with more respect’. ‘Another man took my position because I was a woman’. ‘Negative attitudes by male colleagues toward women’. ‘I was not assigned on an important project because of my gender’. ‘I was told that having a baby would affect my job and I was not hired’. 3.1.2.2. Part II. Here, the participants responded to questions related to their gender as a limiting factor in workplace. As regards promotions, 69.5% responded that gender does limit (but at the not much level) promotions. Furthermore, regarding compensation, 67.5% replied that their gender does limit the compensation (but at the not much level). In addition, as far as access to clients is concerned, 71.4% believe that gender does limit access to clients (but at the not much level). Lastly, in examining access to training and development programs, once again the majority, 73.4% feels that gender is an element that limits access to training (but at the not much level). 3.1.2.3. Part III. In this part, the participants were asked to rate their degree of agreement on several statements. In the statement whether women in managerial positions are as Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 The International Journal of Human Resource Management capable as men at similar positions, the majority of the participants (97.4%, 150 women) think that women managers are as capable as male managers. Furthermore, when asked whether women and men are treated equally in their organization, 79.9% of the participants have not felt that they were treated differently at the workplace due to their gender. In addition, when asked whether at the company where they work, women and men are given equal opportunities for advancement to higher positions, 77.3% believed that women receive the same opportunities for advancement in the organization they work for. Furthermore, in the statement on whether women have to perform better than their male colleagues to be promoted to the same position, 42.2% feel that for a woman to be promoted she must work twice as hard as a man would. Lastly, when looking at childbearing, on the statement ‘once a woman has a child, she is considered to be less co mmitted to her career’, half of the respondents (50.7%) agree that there is a perception that working mothers are not committed to their careers as they should be. 3.1.2.4. Part IV. This part the participants had to rate on a Likert-type scale from 1 to 5 various possible barriers that prevent women’s career advancement. The questions measuring the extent to which ‘women’s low level of self-conï ¬ dence’ is a barrier to their career advancement, 69.5% of the participants agreed with the statement that the low level of self-conï ¬ dence women have is a barrier to their career advancement. When questioned about the extent of ‘working hours facilitate parenting’ and if they are considered a barrier to women’s career advancement, the replies received indicated that women would want to have ï ¬â€šexible working hours that will assist them with their childcare obligations, speciï ¬ cally, 68.2% think that working hours do not facilitate parenting. Moreover, when examining the extent of ‘absence of equal career development opportunities for women’, and whether it is considered a barrier to women’s career advancement, 55.2% consider the absence of equal career development opportunities for women as a barrier for their advancement in the workplace. In addition, the statement ‘to what extent insufï ¬ cient women role models in higher organizational levels, is a barrier to women’s career advancement’, 56.5% of the participants stated that having female role models in higher organizational levels would help them develop; therefore, the non-existence of those role models is a barrier for their career development. To the statement ‘to what extent, a non-supportive spouse, is a barrier to women’s career advancement’ appears that having a supporting spouse is a factor that can be very helpful for working women as 68.2% of the participants feel that not having assistance at ho me from their partner would be a barrier for their career. When asked about ‘company’s lack of commitment to gender advancement’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 57.8% of the respondents believe that the failure of an organization to be committed to gender advancement is a barrier for their career development. Further on, when asked about the extent to which ‘male domination in senior organizational positions’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 63.7% of the participants consider that senior organizational positions are dominated by male employees something that prevents women from advancing to higher positions. In addition, when asked about the extent ‘company’s lack of ability to implement and enforce anti-discriminatory and equality legislation’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 62.3% of the respondents feel that companies do not implement anti-discriminatory legislation and this is a barrier for their career advancement. Also, when aske d about the ‘tendency for organizations to assign male employees on high visibility projects’ and whether this is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 120 of the participants (a percentage of 78%) Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 M.P. Michailidis et al. believe that male employees are assigned on high visibility projects leaving female employees behind and such a practice sets barriers for women’s advancement. The statement looking at the extent to which ‘perceptions that women may eventually leave work once they have a family’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 61.7% agreed that the perception that women may eventually leave work once they have a family is a barrier for their career as this affects the way women are treated in the workplace and reduce the opportunities given to them. Continuing on, looking at the statement examining the extent to which ‘women’s conï ¬â€šicting roles between work and family’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement? It appears that the conï ¬â€šicting roles between work and family are considered by the majority of the participants (62.3%) as a barrier for their career advancement. When asked to rate the extent to which ‘women’s responsibilities for childcare’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 66.2% agreed that since women have the sole responsibility of childcare, this is a barrier for their career advancement. Also, when asked to rate the extent to which ‘career breaks for childbearing, child raising and other family obligations’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 66.9% believed that career breaks for childbearing and child raising are a barrier for women’s advancement. Furthermore, when measuring the extent to which ‘perceptions that men make better managers than women’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 63.7% of the participants stated agreed. In the question asking women to state whether they believe at the existence of the glass ceiling, 54.6% stated that they did experience these invisible banners which are a barrier for their advancement, 16.2% do not believ e at the existence of those barriers, whilst 29.2% were undecided. And when asked to state to what extent ‘stereotypes regarding women’s roles in society’ is a barrier to women’s career advancement, 53.9% believe that stereotypes about women is a barrier for them as often women are considered weak, sensitive and that they should not be working. Other barriers that prevent women’s advancement in the workplace and were not mentioned in the questions above were the following: ‘Women are judged by their appearance’. ‘Face and body is what they look at’. ‘Lack of acquaintances in comparison to male acquaintances’. 3.1.2.5. Part V. In this part, there were several questions asking women to rate how important various organizational practices were considered in helping women in their career advancement and development. One was on ‘mentorship programs’, 70.8% stated that it would be helpful for their advancement if they received mentoring. Further on, the question related to ‘managerial programs which identify and develop women’s potential’, 86.3% of the participants reported ï ¬ nding managerial programs that would identify and develop women’s potential as helpful. As far as ‘programs that would help women balance their work and family lives’, 93.5% believe that they would be helped by programs that provide assistance to women on how to balance work and family lives. These results show that women feel that they cannot balance work and family obligations and perhaps they need some assistance on how to achieve it. The question related to ‘on-site childcare facilities’, participants replied almost unanimously (93.5%) that it would be very helpful to them if their children could attend an on-site childcare facility. In addition, as far as ‘refresher courses when re-entering the workforce’, the majority of the participants (78.6%) agreed that it would be very helpful if women received refreshing courses when Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 The International Journal of Human Resource Management re-entering the workforce after a career break. The question ‘offering ï ¬â€šexible working hours’ is considered as an important factor for the advancement and development of women as 93.5% agreed that it would be helpful if they could arrange the hours they would be working according to the obligations they have at home. Continuing on as far as the question on ‘women role models in the highest levels of the organization’, 85.1% agreed that having women role models in the highest levels of the organization would be very helpful for the careers. Lastly, 100% of the respondents showed agreement on the statement, ‘helping women to broaden their professional experiences’. This unanimity indicates that women do not feel that they receive help from the companies they are working and consider it to be a huge barrier for their career development. The participants were asked to add any other organizational practices that were not mentioned but are consi dered important for working women. The comments made were the following: ‘Educating and always giving upgraded information to young women through organized seminars and events’. ‘Allowing work to be done at home, this will give work opportunities to women with families’. 3.1.2.6. Part VI. An analysis of the test of signiï ¬ cance – Crosstabs was also performed. This tried to examine the differences between the following: Current position at work: (1) just below ï ¬ rst line management, (2) ï ¬ rst line management, (3) middle management and (4) top management and: Part (A), ï ¬ ve questions, which referred to the degree of agreement on a ï ¬ ve-point Likert-type scale, as far as the: work capability of women compared with men; equal treatment of men and women in the workplace; equal opportunities for advancement; women’s performance and promotions; and family commitment once women have children and Part (B), eight questions, which referred to the degree of helpfulness of several organizational practices which contribute to their career advancement, looking at: mentorship programs; managerial programs that help women identify and develop their potential; programs that would help them balance work and family; the on-site childcare facilities; refreshers courses for the comeback; ï ¬â€šexible working hours; women role models in the highest levels of organizations; and programs helping women to broaden their professional experience. Concerning Part (A) there were signiï ¬ cant differences when examining Chi-square at the 0.01 level of signiï ¬ cance with the following three questions: The question, ‘I believe that women in managerial positions are as capable as men at similar positions’, indicated signiï ¬ cant differences between the categories below ï ¬ rst line management, ï ¬ rst line management, middle management and top management. Women belonging to below ï ¬ rst line management category, ï ¬ rst line management and middle management tend to agree or strongly agree with the statement (97.7%, 98.6% and 100%, respectively). On the other hand, the percentage of women holding top managerial positions and agreeing with the statement is 75%, while 12.5% is undecided and 12.5% tend to disagree. In general 2.5% of all categories are either undecided or they disagree, and 97.4% agreeing. On the question, which stated ‘Women and men are treated equally in the organization’, s howed signiï ¬ cant differences at the 0.10 levels among the categories below ï ¬ rst line Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 management, ï ¬ rst line management, middle management and top management. It appears that women in top management and below ï ¬ rst line management positions (75% and 44.9%) strongly agree with the statement. However, the percentage of women in middle management strongly agreeing is very low only 20.8%, but a higher percentage agreeing (45.8%) however, with a total of 33.3% disagreeing and strongly disagreeing, or undecided with the statement and 12.2% of the below ï ¬ rst line management are undecided. Overall 20.1% of all categories are either undecided or they disagree, and 79.9% agreeing. Next question requested the opinion of the respondents on the statement ‘At the company where I work women and men are given equal opportunities for advancement to higher positions’. Women holding top managerial positions believe that the company they are working for is giving both sexes equal opportunities for career advancement since 62.5% strongly agree and 37.5% tend to agree. This picture is not the same for the other managerial levels. Women in below ï ¬ rst line managerial level agreeing is 81.6% while the remaining 16.4% is undecided. The ï ¬ rst line managers have somehow similar percentages with 75.3% agreeing with the statement, and 13.7% were undecided. For the middle management respondents the results were the following: 56.7% agreed, 4.2% are undecided while 29.2% do not believe that there is equal treatment between men and women in the organization they are working. In Part B of the questionnaire, there were signiï ¬ cant differences when examining Chisquare at the 0.10 levels of signiï ¬ cance, the question concerning the programs which identify and develop women’s potential, here a total of 87.7% of below ï ¬ rst line management, 90.4% of ï ¬ rst line management, 70.8% of middle management and 87.5% of top management reported that such programs are useful. However, a very small percentage of 8.3% of below ï ¬ rst line management, 42.9% of ï ¬ rst line management, 38.5% of middle management 55.6% reported that programs which identify and develop women’s potential are quite helpful. Two open-ended questions allowed the participants to express themselves on other barriers that women face in their development and advancement in the workplace and also other organizational practices not addressed in the questionnaires. It is true that the majority of the sample did not answer those two questions; only 10% of the participants ï ¬ lled in those questions. Looking for other barriers that women face in their work life, the ï ¬ rst barrier mentioned by several participants was that women are stereotyped and are judged only by their looks, appearance and body. Other comments were that women do not belong in social networks, sports clubs like men do, and this affects their careers. In addition, when looking at other organizational practices that might be helpful for women’s career advancement, there were suggestions like work from home which needs to be encouraged, and courses that help young women increase their self-conï ¬ dence, assertiveness training and how to promote and protect their work rights. The last one is very important because many women do not have equal access to their rights because some of these rights are based on ‘male breadwinner model’ and do not consider the fact that females mostly carry the burden of having to bring together family and professional life. 4. Discussion During the past few years, there has been a global effort to eliminate gender discrimination; but we still have a long way to go and a lot of perceptions need to change along the way (Bartram 2005). Women around the globe are being discriminated against in the workplace, they are not rewarded on equal terms as men and do not receive the necessary aids for career advancement. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the factors that Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 02:53 19 September 2013 The International Journal of Human Resource Management working women in Cyprus are faced with which lead them to experience discrimination; also to examine possible barriers that affect women’s advancement; and ï ¬ nally identify organizational practices that assist them in achieving work – life balance. The ï ¬ ndings conï ¬ rm that women enter a company in large numbers, as supporting staff, a minority of them reaches the middle-level management, while a very small number of female managers achieves an executive position (Wirth 2001). Only 8 out of 154 women who participated in the research had top management positions, a number which is not very positive for career advancement opportunities of women. A conclusion that could be drawn, with caution though, is that perhaps women in Cyprus do face a glass ceiling while climbing the corporate ladder, which does not allow them to advance to top management. These ï ¬ ndings agree with the EMPATHY-EDGE research, carried out in 2003– 2006 by the European Union, which reported that 104 out of 156 women had never directly experienced workplace discrimination, even though the majority of those women had experienced some kind of career advancement barrier. Nevertheless, gender discrimination is a global phenomenon and it was not expected to receive such a large percentage of women disagreeing with its existence in Cyprus. The results indicated that for the majority of the Cypriot women, marriage and children did not appear as a big obstacle for developing their careers. Similar to these ï ¬ ndings were the results of a research for female Greek entrepreneurs by Sarri and Trihopoulou (2005), reporting that the majority of the participants were married and had children. The writers continued by saying that women had achieved in ï ¬ nding a way to ‘develop abilities, skills and competencies’ that help them balance their careers and family obligations. However, in this study it has been demonstrated that women have some difï ¬ culty in balancing work and family obligations. In addition, lack of company programs that help women balance work and family obligations 93.5% of the respondents stated that organizational programs would greatly help women balance work and family obligations. Perhaps, the reason why women are gathered in lower organizational hierarchy levels is their low level of self-conï ¬ dence that prevents them from advancing. ‘Company’s lack of commitment to gender advancement’ and ‘lack of ability to implement and enforce antidiscriminatory and equality legislation’ received high agreement ratings. Companies should implement regulations that help the minorities receive the opportunities they deserve. If a company fails to do so then the minorities are not treated equally. Once again these factors have an effect on the reason why women are not represented equally at the executive positions of a company. The results were impressive as a large number of women would want to be assisted by organizational programs. In particular, ‘mentoring programs’, ‘managerial programs which identify and develop women’s potential’, ‘programs that would help women balance their work and family lives’, ‘on-site childcare facilities’, ‘refresher courses when re-entering the workforce’, ‘offering ï ¬â€šexible working hours’, ‘women role models in the highest levels of the organization’, ‘helping women to broaden their professional experiences’ received high ratings and are considered as important for them and their advancement. The lack of women role models, the lack of mentoring and the commitment women have toward their families were identiï ¬ ed by Catalyst and the Conference of Board Europe (Catalyst 2002) as important barriers for women’s career, globally. The eclipse of these barriers by offering programs assisting working women is an important step for the development and advancement of women in Cyprus. From the responses of the above study, it could be concluded that modern Cypriot women do wish to purse a career and have a family at the same time. Since most women M.P. Michailidis et al. still have primary responsibility for childcare and dependents, it is logical that they identify issues related to family and the home as issues, which affect their career development. Furthermore, gender attitudes have been changing throughout history, however, women all over the world are still being rejected during the hiring process, not promoted in higher positions, continue getting unequal pay and frequently faced with invisible barriers which block them from reaching top organizational positions. The roots of this inequality have been proven to be deep and appear to be very difï ¬ cult to prove and even harder to remedy. Achieving equal rights for equal positions is huge, enormous step efforts and a global concern. 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(2006), A Survey of Women in the Modern Business Environment, Challenges and Opportunities, Cyprus: PriceWaterHouse Coopers. Nichols, N. (1994), ‘Whatever Happened to Rosie the Riveter?’ in Reach for the Top: Women and the Changing Facts of Work Life, ed. N. Nichols, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Review Books, pp. 3 –12. Rhode, D. (1997), Speaking of Sex: The Denial of Gender Inequality, London: Harvard University Press. Rhode, D. (2003), The Difference â€Å"Difference† Makes: Women and Leadership, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Swiss, D. (1996), Women Breaking Through: Overcoming the Final 10 Obstacles at Work, Princeton, NJ: Peterson’s/Pacesetter Books. Vinnicombe, S., and Colwill, N., (1995), The Essence of Women in Management, London and New York: Prentice Hall. Wirth, L. (2001), Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management (1st ed.), Geneva: International Labour Organization. Internet resources Alkadry, M., and Tower, L. (2006), ‘Unequal Pay: The Role of Gender,’ Public Administration Review, November– December. http://proquest.umi.com (accessed 16 September 2007). Allison, E. (2007), ‘Does Networking Work for Women?’ Canadian HR Reporter, 20, 2, January, 39, http://proquest.umi.com (accessed 9 November 2007). Atwater, L., and van Fleet, D. (1997), ‘Another Ceiling? Can Males Compete for Traditionally Female Jobs?’ Journal of Management, 23, 5, September/October, 603– 626, http://ï ¬ ndarticles. com (accessed 18 July 2007). Bartram, S. (2005), ‘What is Wrong with Current Approaches to Management Development in Relation to Women in Management Roles?’ Women in Management Review, 20, 1, 107–116, http://emeraldinsight.com (accessed 16 September 2007). Catalyst (2002), Women in Leadership: A European Business Imperative, http://www.catalyst.org (accessed 11 September 2007). Childress, B. 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Management information system case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management information system - Case Study Example The system developed by Kronos is induced with latest technology that takes into account several factors such as sales in individual Wal-Mart stores, customer traffic during peak hours, number of units sold, average time taken to sell a television as well as average time taken to unburden a truck full of shipment. All this information is logged onto the system with an increment of 15 minutes and the data is then measured against the information logged in the previous year. This allows the system to anticipate the requirement of workers at a particular time and thereafter a flexible schedule is prepared. However, this new system has met with severe criticism from employees as many of them have expressed their concern about the decreasing stability of their jobs which in turn may create financial adversity for them. In light of these facts, what follows is a case study regarding the ethical dilemmas facing the company and its employees as well as the consequences of implementing this s ystem. The flexible scheduling system developed by Kronos may lead to unpredictable scheduling of work hours which may jeopardize the work life as well as personal life of employees. The system may entail an employee to be present on call during rush hours or may also require an employee to be present during the night shift in the 24 hours Wal-Mart outlet in spite of the employee’s inconvenience. The underlying problem in this case is that employees have no choice other than complying with the system as non compliance may result in the termination of their employment contract. In fact, many of the Wal-Mart associates have expressed their concern regarding the fact that this system is being used by senior managers in order to pressurize the workers to work for more hours without even considering about the impact that such pressure may have on the lives of the worker. Therefore the ethical dilemma that is being faced by Wal-Mart is the fact that the system is in

Contemporary Cinema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Contemporary Cinema - Essay Example New roles are now defined with a working mother, a father and a child. The mother is no longer just a stay at home mom but she is now an equal bread winner (Coontz, 2000). Even though family roles have shifted considerably, the theme of childhood and family has remained fairly prevalent in movies over the years. What we see on screens is either what was, or what is in terms of family roles and behavior. Even the best of fiction needs a base on which to build upon. As Gillis (1996) observed, family life is the new form of entertainment in the modern world. All parts of family pervade the movie scene and it would seem that the modern script writer is always on the lookout for new stories to base a new movie on. It’s no longer debatable that the themes of family and childhood permeate contemporary film today. However, what is often not considered is just how much these themes permeate contemporary cinema. Inflation, urban sprawl and population increase in the early 1990s is what likely pushed stay at home moms to the market place (Dryden, 1999). This paradigm shift was also translated into film as seen in the introduction of working mothers as opposed to the stay at home mothers. The working class women betrayed the traditional loyalty to their husbands since they were no longer the sole bread winners. These women started to compete with their men on various family issues. Men felt a bruise on their egos and reacted with violence, as seen in The Burning Bed (1984). This marked the origin of domestic violence in cinemas. Marriages started to break up and children had to be raised by their step fathers and step mothers. These children were shown to lack proper guidance from their half parents and adopted bad behaviors and became violent as well. In 1996, the US government did a survey on the characteristics of the modern day family and the findings were grave. The research concluded that there had been serious anti-family downward

Immigration Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Immigration Law - Essay Example The effectiveness of these three key features of the 2009 Act depends on politics and in some cases implementation. It is only along these lines that these three features will have an impact on present or future life in the UK. Border Control Part I of BCIA 2009 deals with the control of the UK’s borders (Border, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, Part I). The simplification for travellers to Britain including returning residents follows from the government’s intention to provide for a â€Å"unified border force† under the auspices of the UK Border Agency (Millington and Williams 2010, p. 597). Essentially, the unified border force enables immigration officers to also assume the role of customs officers. This means that a single agency is responsible for detecting and detecting exploitation of immigration and customs laws at the UK’s ports of entry (Vine 2010, p. 3). For this present transfer of border checks to a single agency means that daily travelle rs will be spared having to report to two separate check points upon entering the UK. Traditionally, travellers had to present themselves to both immigration and customs officers in order to be cleared for entry. ... Moreover, the UK Border Agency works together with Law Enforcement and within the framework of the UK Counter Terrorism Strategy for the purpose of detecting and preventing entrants to the UK who may cause harm to the UK or its citizens (Grimwood 2009, p. 3). This degree of border security comes with a political climate where border security has grown in importance since the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in the US. This is evidenced by the tightened border security enlisted by Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and the Borders Act 2007. Both act enhanced the authority for the control of immigration. Section 21 of the 2009 Act permits the exchange of information between the UK Border Agency and other government agencies (Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, Section 21). The degree to which the UK Border Agency is permitted to share and exchange intelligence and information on travellers with law enforcement and other agencies at home and abroad, opens up the pos sibility that returning residents and foreigners will be vulnerable to intense scrutiny and invasion of privacy. Contacts at home and abroad may also come under intense scrutiny and be subjected to invasion of privacy should a traveller or returning resident with whom they are connected come under investigation or suspicion by the UK Border Agency or one of its partners. There is also a risk of discrimination and racial profiling as political and public concerns over the threat of terrorism persist (Vine 2010, p. 3). Together with the transfer to the Border Agency of the intrusive strip, search and entry powers previously granted to customs (Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, Section 26), the risk of invasion of privacy and

Stress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Stress - Essay Example Some people start fighting when they are stressed out as a reactionary measure, which is called fight and the third is left or flight, which means that the stressed out person tries to escape of flee from the problems. My condition when I am stressed out is like freeze as I really do not know what should I do and where should I go. I have many issues in life, which have made me introvert. I want to keep everything just to myself. When I consider myself helpless and emotionally devastated, I try to cry aloud in loud music so that others cannot hear me. I cry until I get awfully tired and after that, I feel somewhat relaxed and eased out. I also spend my troublesome time at the sea where I just sit and ponder over my problems and life as a whole. I try to let in the cool air so that the heat within me caused by my issues can get cold. In my stressed condition, I do a lot of shopping that is useless after which, I have to go back to return certain things. I am not the only one with issues, as when I sat with my group members, we all felt sad because of our own issues in our lives. I was really surprised when I saw a guy crying out of emotional outburst. I used to think that men could not cry, as men are perceived as really unacceptable when they cry. However, like women, men can also have many issues, which can bring tears to their eyes. That guy was really worried and disturbed due to which, he shared his problems with others. Everyone has his own issues and they are not the same. However, people have issues with their parents, siblings, friends, and so on, that can appear as somewhat similar. They can cry like children, as they perceive themselves helpless and unsupported, due to which, all that they can do is crying for their issues. I considered myself alone and secluded and with problems. However, when I see other people with problems too, I do not consider

Employees' Development plan supporting individual and organizational Research Paper

Employees' Development plan supporting individual and organizational effectiveness in an organisation - Research Paper Example Introduction The global financial crisis has turned some companies to scrimp on their budgets just keep them afloat in these difficult times. Many people have lost their jobs as a result of the budget cuts. For employees left to work to help their companies rise above the economic crunch, training and development are ensured in the expectation that it will contribute towards the betterment of not only the individual employee but of the whole organization as well. Employee development has been identified as key to improving overall organizational effectiveness. Jacobs and Washington (2003) have defined it as: â€Å"Employee development refers to an integrated set of planned programs, provided over a period of time, to help assure that all individuals have the competence necessary to perform to their fullest potential in support of the organization’s goals† ( 344). One organization that continues to reap success in spite of the economic crisis is McDonald’s Food Co rporation. This company has gained a reputation for excellent standards in food and service. Recently, it is also being known as a supportive employer offering a remarkable employee development program. Background of the Organisation McDonald’s was first developed by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in 1940. They concentrated on just a few products with their juicy hamburgers as their main seller. In 1954, Ray Kroc was appointed by the brothers to be the first franchisee in San Bernardino, California. He opened his first restaurant the following year in Des Plaines, Illinois and the McDonald’s Corporation was created (McSpotlight.org, 2010). The company upheld the highest quality in food, service, cleanliness and value that Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value (Q.S.C. & V.) became the company motto since 1957. In 1961, Ray Kroc bought all rights to the McDonald’s concept from the McDonald brothers (mcspotlight.org). He also opened the Hamburger University in El k Grove, near Chicago where people intending to be in the business were given high quality training and development. Since then, McDonald’s kept growing in terms of business and innovative products and concepts that attracted the international market to acquire franchise stores in their countries. The awards reaped by the company throughout the years prove that McDonald’s is one company committed not only to the highest standards of excellence in the food service industry but also to being a great employer that motivates its employees to strive for their best performance. Literature Review on Learning and Employee Development Nowadays, people have more access to learning. More and more training courses are developed and offered in schools and online for people who want to go further in what they know to gain skills and knowledge in their own areas of interest. The term learning may be defined in a myriad of ways. â€Å"Learning is the act or process by which behaviora l change, knowledge, skills and attitudes are acquired† (Boyd, Apps, et al., 1980:100-101). Learning is not limited to schooling, especially for adult learners who seek knowledge from many sources other than schools. Knowles et al. (2007) theorizes that adult learning is organized around the notion that adults learn best in informal, comfortable, flexible and nonthreatening settings. Employees who engage in further learning have their own motivations that urge them to carry on. The motivation to learn is affected by the

An economic analysis of hanger film movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An economic analysis of hanger film movie - Essay Example The movie that is of interest in this case is entitled Hunger Games. It is a movie produced by Gary Ross and was released in March 2012. With this particular movie in perspective the issues that are to be looked at revolve around the production budget, the expenses incurred thereafter, sat in marketing together with the revenue that is generated upon its release and thereafter. The estimated budget for the production of the movie was in the region of $78 million. Quite a large budget it was but the fact that the global reception of the movie was not a letdown is something worth writing home about. A movie is considered a success in economic terms if the revenue generated from its sales in cinemas and individuals surpasses the breakeven point to the extent that the revenue gotten from sales is able to cover all the expenses incurred in the development and at the same time generate a profit. The revenue that was generated from the movie puts the movie in the same league as some of the mentionable movies that have been produced over the years. Upon the first weekend after its release, the movie was able to rake in a total of $152.5 million dollars in the U.S. alone. This was just but the United States only. Further afield in a country like Denmark the movie was able to rake in close to $4.5 million. These figures are only in relation to the showing of the movie in theatres and does not necessarily reflect the actual amount that is to be realized after considering even the individual purchases. What this points out is that the reception of the movie on a global level was quite positive. So far in the U.S. alone the movie has had a gross domestic total of close to $340 million dollars. The financial statistics also speak a lot about the movie. The fact that it has been able to topple the list when put side by side with other big movies such as Titanic in 3-D is something quite commendable. In the weekend of 14th April 2012 the

Owning vs. Renting - phase 3 ip Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Owning vs. Renting - phase 3 ip - Essay Example The bank is going to ask for a down payment. A down payment can range between 10 to 20%. Let’s assume I have the down payment money. The bank is also going to ask for closing cost on the mortgage. The average closing cost is 3%, but in certain states it can go up as high as 5% to 6% (Federalreserve). I am making about $4000 a month gross, but clean I’m taking home a little less than $3,000 a month. Assuming I put a 10% down payment the high price range of a home based on my salary would be $200,000 on a 30 year mortgage. My mortgage payment assuming a 6% interest rate would be $1079.19 (Yahoo). After doing some research on the prices of apartments in our hometown of Austin, Texas I determined that I can find an apartment for rent for about $800. For example a two bedroom, one bath apartment at the Walnut Creek Crossing complex cost $805 a month (Apartments). A one room could be found for about $200 less per month, but it is better to have a second room for either a home office or as a guest room when friends or relatives come over. Along with the mortgage or rent payment another factor that must be considered are insurance costs. The insurance costs are much higher for the buying alternative than for the leasing. Homeowners insurance is mandatory for people that have mortgages because in case of an accident that destroys the home somebody has to pay for it. Home owner’s insurance policy is divided into two parts: a) home insurance property protection, b) home insurance liability protection (Answers). Renters can also have insurance protection to protect their personal items in case of natural disaster, but this type of insurance is not mandatory. Another cost to consider when buying a home is the state taxes that must be paid on the property on a yearly basis. After evaluating both alternatives I have come to realization that the best option for me at this point in my life is to rent

The Brand Strength of easyJet Plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Brand Strength of easyJet Plc - Essay Example Removing extras from the service model such as establishment of first-class seating and meals allows a firm to cut costs all throughout the entire value chain (Thompson 2008). easyJet recognises that the majority of its customers are going to be price sensitive, thus in order to maintain market interest easyJet cannot deviate from its value model. The original marketing concept for easyJet in the last decade has been to â€Å"make flying as affordable as a pair of jeans† and where the company attempts to persuade consumers to cut out the travel agent role in booking and vacation planning (easyJet 2012). The TV series, Airline, created by LWT was a UK television series surrounding the dramas of actors employed with easyJet that ultimately made easyJet a household name in the UK (easyJet 2012). In order to establish brand recognition in key markets during initial marketing strategies, product placement and logo presentation in highly-valuable television markets built the ability of the company to have its logos and colours recognised instantaneously. easyJet has yet to deviate from this strategy of using logo and design characteristics associated with the organisation (e.g. orange and black) to differentiate the organisation from competition. The aggressive product placement strategies have built the brand equity currently experienced by easyJet. According to the company, â€Å"orange is one of our greatest distinguishing features. It is an essential part of our brand heritage and brand identity† (easyGroup 2011, p.5). When attempting to create brand recall using logo presentation, it is necessary to use consistent colour representations in order to appeal to consumers’ psychological characteristics... In the essay the business strategy of easyJet is about the original marketing concept for easyJet in the last decade has been to â€Å"make flying as affordable as a pair of jeans† and where the company attempts to persuade consumers to cut out the travel agent role in booking and vacation planning. Then goes the exploration of the brand strength of easyJet. easyJet has maintained its positive market position by using strategies that are not only aligned with budget-conscious consumers, but also those that promote convenience as part of market positioning strategy. easyJet is also able to rely on sponsorships and alliances throughout the entire business model in order to gain even more brand credibility and establish a set of values that are expressed positively to consumer markets. easyJet partnered with VisitBritain, a government sponsored marketing effort designed to lure more domestic and international tourism for the UK. easyJet also conducts considerable market research analyses both on internal processes and on what is driving consumer-centric trends in the external environment. Strengths for easyJet are the advantages that are provided the business as it relates to the tangible industry market. After the analysis of findings, we know the ability to achieve significant, record revenue gains in a market environment that has moved into maturity is a notable accomplishment for easyJet. At last, easyJet is a benchmark for using efficient brand enhancing activities in which promotional focus gives the brand more visibility.