Women Entrepreneurs In The Tourism Sector In Zimbabwe Economics Essay

Women Entrepreneurs In The Tourism Sector In Zimbabwe Economics Essay This paper examines the challenges that women entrepreneurs face in the tourism sector in Zimbabwe. The research targeted female entrepreneurs selling curios in Masvingo and Victoria Falls which are the prime tourist destinations in Zimbabwe. Women entrepreneurship has been under spotlight in Zimbabwe because it is a source of economic growth. Despite the potential that lies in women entrepreneurs they face additional or at least different social, cultural, educational and technological challenges than men in establishing and developing their own enterprises, and accessing economic resources. From the interviews conducted women entrepreneurs in the tourism sector have difficulties in securing funding, inadequate business related education as well as social, cultural and religious impediments. This paper engenders to understand the gender biases embedded in society which constrain womens mobility, interactions, active economic participation and access to business development services. Lastly, appropriate interventions are recommended within the discourse of entrepreneurship. Key words: Entrepreneurship, Tourism, Gender, Enterprise development, Women Entrepreneurship Introduction Entrepreneurship is a key driver of capacity building and national development in any country. As such, this paper focuses on challenges faced by women in the tourism sector. On 21 May 2012 there was a forum on Womens Engagement in Africas Tourism Industry in Victoria Falls held during the African Travel Association conference. The presenters included the former Deputy Secretary General of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) who alluded to the fact that tourism constitutes 30% of the worlds economy and offers 78% of workforce in the world. He further reiterated that research has explicitly shown the gender inequalities that exist in the tourism sector as mostly women and children as compared to the male counterparts are exploited. He further mentioned that in 2008, the UNWTO came up with a policy for gender equality which is envisaged under the United Nations Platform. In 2010, the Global report on Women in Tourism by World Tourism Organization and United Nations women encouraged women to participate in leadership roles in the tourism industry. The report held that although women constitute a high percentage of the workforce in the tourism industry, most of them occupy lower levels where they are subsequently lowly paid. Because of this report, UNWTO suggested that vocational training be offered to empower women in the industry. Tanzania and Gambia were the first two countries chosen to start the vocational training for women entrepreneurs in the tourism industry. Other countries to benefit from the training are from Latin America and Africa. Another presenter a Managing Director of Affluent Hospitality Group in America said that women make up 80% of Travel Agency in America and 80% of travel decisions are made by women in North America. This justifies the fact that women have an active role to play in the tourism industry. In addition the Marketing Director of Amalinda Collection in Zimbabwe gave a testimony of her experience in the Tourism industry. She admitted that as a mother she has a lot of family responsibilities that apart from being a working woman such that she faces the dilemma of choosing between family and business. At one time when her son fell sick at 4 months old she had to quit the job in favour of the family. Family roles represent one of the challenges that women entrepreneurs face in comparison with their male counterparts. The Governor and Resident Minister of Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe reported that, 60% of arts and crafts in Zimbabwe are produced by women from Binga who largely produce reed mats and baskets while the Gwaai women produce pottery artifacts. The interesting revelations made at the conference prompted the researchers to consider conducting a research on the challenges that women entrepreneurs face in the tourism industry in Zimbabwe. In current years women-owned businesses have become increasingly popular but entrepreneurship remains a deeply gendered institution (Anderson, 2008). Bushell (2012) considered entrepreneurship as expedition out of paucity and gravitation towards equity but this has not been the case because women remain marginalized globally. Given the constraints facing African women entrepreneurs their full economic potential is not actualized and they do not feature on the mainstream of the economic agenda (Ozigbo and Ezeaku, 2009). There is therefore need for countries to address gender disparities between men and women to achieve significant milestones in economic growth. In addition to those problems faced by all small-scale entrepreneurs, women face additional or at least different social, cultural, educational and technological challenges than men in establishing and developing their own enterprises, and accessing economic resources (Mayoux, 2001). It is important that such challenges be addr essed so as to enable women to prosper in their businesses. Chitsike (2000) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (2003) mentioned that womens businesses in Zimbabwe tend to be small and are discriminated by the legal system which backs male ideologies. Literature Review In many countries entrepreneurship has been considered a means of generating meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities, particularly for those at the margins of the economy women, the poor and people with disabilities (ILO, 1998; Rajani and Sarada, 2008). However, very little literature exists on the role of women entrepreneurs in a global economy especially in Africa (Dudley, 2008) and this is one of the reasons why women continue to be marginalized in entrepreneurship development. In addition, in cases where the role of women entrepreneurship is articulated there still remains a gap in gender analysis (Dudley, 2008). Research factors affecting performance of women entrepreneurs of their businesses are limited in scope, as any existing research most often focuses on individual characteristics and motives as performance predictors (Teoh and Chong, 2007) at the expense of gender disparities. Despite the economic importance of female entrepreneurs their numbers are lower tha n those for men (Verheul, Van Stel and Thurik, 2006; Carter, 2000; Minniti et al., 2005) and therefore it is of importance to address the barriers to female entrepreneurship. This paper deviates from the former approach by focusing on challenges that women face in entrepreneurial development. Furthermore, the research applies an entrepreneurial development model adapted from Richardson and Howarth (2002a) to analyse the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the tourism sector in Zimbabwe as shown in figure 1 below. The model is based on the cross sectional biological structure of a peach fruit. At centre of the model is the seed which represents the entrepreneurial opportunity identified. The inner part adjacent to the seed represents the mesopreneurial (fruit mesorcarp) factors based on the MAIR model by (Gibb and Ritchie, 1982) which include motivation or commitment, skills, abilities and experiences, idea in relation to the market as well as the resources. Williams (1997) co mmented that commitment and dedication of the entrepreneur is critical if they are to prosper whilst Zimmer and Scarborough (1996) attribute failure of small businesses to managerial incompetence and lack of experience among other factors and therefore women entrepreneurs need relevant skills and experience to fully exploit entrepreneurial opportunities. The mesopreneurial factors represent the basic ingredients of business success. The final structural component is the exopreneurial (fruit exocarp) factors which represent the macro environment in which the enterprises operate and it entails the following aspects: The enabling environment which focuses on policy issues, institutions and initiatives which impact on enterprise development in particular the tourism industry in Zimbabwe The socio-cultural and economic context which the social, cultural and religious factors that affect enterprise development. Enterprise Support Sector made up of initiatives and organizations developed to propel enterprise development and how these impact on enterprise development. The Economic/Market Environment which deals with opportunities and threats in the environment. Women entrepreneurs hardly have specialized support institutions to cater for their specific needs (United Nations International Development Organization, 2003). In most cases entrepreneurial and technical training, advisory and information programmes often have to be carried out within a non-conventional set-up (United Nations International Development Organization, 2003). Women entrepreneurs need to have a more supportive environment that is more favourable (Stevenson and St-Onge, 2005) if they are to gain similar recognition that of men. Training programmes developed must take into account their society, culture, community and empowerment (Agbà ©nyiga and Ahmedani, 2008). If significant milestones are to be achieved in female entrepreneurship support systems need to take into account the needs, challenges and unique situation of women to promote women entrepreneurship and avoid failure and lower levels of female entrepreneurship (Drine and Grach, 2010). It is vital to note that c ountries that have developed policies and legislation tailored for women entrepreneurship have witnessed tremendous growth and increase in the numbers of women in business. Enteprise support sector: Government, NGOs, Private Sector, Membership Organizations, donors Endopreneurial factor Seed Entrepreneurial Opportunity The Economic/Market Environment: Opportunities and Threats Enabling Environment for Enterprise: regulations, policies, institutions, institutions and processes Figure 1 Peach Fruit Concept of entrepreneurship: Adapted from Richardson and Howarth (2002a) Mesopreneurial Factors Exopreneurial factors Resources Socio/cultural context: Attitudes, aspirations, confidence and permission idea with market Skills, abilities and experience Motivation and determination Female Entrepreneurship Women Entrepreneurs refer to women or a group of women who initiate organize and operate a business enterprise (Jahanshahi, Pitamber and Nawaser, 2010). McClelland et al. (2005) define a woman-owned business as one which is at least 51% owned by one or more women or in the case of any publicly-owned business, at least 51% of the stock of which is owned by one or more women. In 2010 187 million women were involved in entrepreneurship ranging from 1.5-45.4% of the adult female population in 59 economies (GEM, 2010). It should also be noted that Ghana has 55% of women being involved in entrepreneurship and it is the only economy where there are more women than men entrepreneurs (GEM, 2010). One of the United Nations Millennium Development goals is to promote gender equity and empower women as agents of poverty eradication, hunger, disease and to stimulate sustainable development (United Nations Industrial Development Organization, 2004). Therefore promotion of women entrepreneurship is vital for the achievement of broader objectives including poverty reduction and economic development. A positive indicator to women entrepreneurship is that African leaders have pledged to take joint responsibility for promoting the role of women in social and economic development by reinforcing their capacity in education and training, facilitating access to credit and assuring their participation in the political and economic life (NEPAD, 2001). The increased role of women in economic development has forced many governments to take an active role in developing policies on women development and gender related issues. Mueller and Dato-on (2010) stipulated that women play a significant role in entrepreneurship but their role remains suppressed in comparison to that of their male counterparts across the globe because of family roles, traditions , cultural and structural constraints which diminish their abilities to lead business (Bushell, 2012). Women bear the responsibility for childcare and homecare and as a result this leads to work-family conflicts (Des, 2001 and Jahanshashi, Pitamber and Nawaser, 2010; Winn, 2005). Chitsike (2000) also stated that men view womens role as that of being at home and not engaging in any business activities that are reserved for men. One of the challenges that women face is unequal access to productive resources and services, including finance and skill upgrading opportunities (United Nations International Development Organization [UNIDO], 2003; Tumbunan, 2009; Sorokhaibam and Laishram, 2003). In many African countries, women inequality lies in economic rights and access to resources as men persist thus preventing women from taking full advantage of the economic opportunities (Ozigbo and Ezeaku, 2009). Degroot (2001) mentions that womens participation as owners of small medium sized business has been constrained due to poor access to market information, technology and finance, poor linkages with support service and unfavourable policy and support mechanisms ( De Groot, 2001). In Zimbabwe domestic chores and agricultural activities do not allow women time to travel to support institutions such as finance houses for advice and information on credit (De Groot, 2001). In many African countries, women spend most of th eir income on the household and fear investing their funds in business ventures for fear of business failure (Ozigbo and Ezeaku, 2009), particularly on food and education for their children. Many of them are afraid to invest their limited funds into a business for fear of failure. Many women entrepreneurs are seldom taken seriously in spheres of credibility and capability, competing and succeeding in a male dominated environment (Ozigbo and Ezeaku, 2009) and this is one of the factors that explain their relatively obscure role in economic development. Despite the fact that many women entrepreneurship is a source of job creation, economic growth and social development many women owned businesses remain stunted by lack of appropriate managerial skills, access to business resources, networking opportunities and access to new markets (Ozigbo and Ezeaku, 2009). The current institutional environment purposes to achieve gender equity but the traditional powers are tilted towards the patriarchal system and therefore maintains the status quo of gender inequity (Goheer, 2003). In Zimbabwe women have largely been marginalized from mainstream economic activities because of the predominant partriarchal system which confines women to domestic roles. 53% of all economic activities in Zimbabwe are performed by women but, this figure remains invisible because it is not accounted for in national statistics and most of the activities are characterized by poor working conditions. It is also worth mentioning at this stage that religion, culture and the socialization process are some of the major factors perpetuating gender inequity in Zimbabwe. This is evidenced by the fact that under the current customary law, women cannot own/inherit land (Chitsike, 2009) and land is one of the resources that are important for entrepreneurial development. Research Methodology Baines and Wheelock (2000) mention that many women have ventured into entrepreneurship but little research has been done on gender and female entrepreneurship. The reasons behind increase of entrepreneurial variances arising out of gender remains unresolved is because women feel that by exposing these issues they deepen their entrepreneurial differences (Calas et.al. 2007 as cited in Peris-Ortiz, Rueda-Armengot and Benito Osorio, 2011). Studying women entrepreneurship is critical because it is an important source of economic prosperity and presently research efforts, policies and programs tend to be skewed towards men and neglect the needs of women entrepreneurs and potential women entrepreneurs (OECD, 2004). In the African context there are very few studies that have focused on female entrepreneurship particularly in the tourism sector and therefore this research seeks to close this gap. In addition, Gelb (2001) states that this is due to lack of indigenous research, inadequate info rmation and methodological constraints (Ozigbo and Ezeaku, 2009). Despite the increasing role, women entrepreneurship theory development and empirical evidence only offer a very blurry picture of women entrepreneurs (Tann, 2008). Subsequently, improved understanding of women entrepreneurs challenges is essential in order to assess their needs, and provide solutions to teething problems they encounter. Although there have been some studies of small businesses in Zimbabwe, none has provided rich qualitative data of female entrepreneurs (Mboko and Smith-Hunter, 2008) and this study endeavors to contribute towards addressing this deficiency. This study is based on the small and medium business entrepreneurs in Zimbabwes Arts and Crafts industry in Masvingo and Victoria Falls. 10 women in Masvingo from Dzimbahwe Crafts and Art Center and 15 from various Crafts Centers in Victoria Falls who were trading at Elephant Hills Hotel during the 37th ATA Conference between from 18-22 May 2012 were interviewed for this research. These towns are top tourism destinations in Zimbabwe and are home to reputable attractions which are The Great Zimbabwe and the Victoria Falls respectively. Interviews were conducted at Dzimbahwe Craft Center situated along the highway to Masvingo Town. For the effectiveness of the conversations, we had to talk to the women while viewing the different artefacts they make. The conversations included negotiations over the products prices that made the interviewers buy some of the items to encourage the women to talk freely. The interview started with more general introductions, some business questions that included who makes the products, how (i.e. whether there is use of machines or just ordinary hands), where, when and why the people do this business. The interviews also covered issues to do with any support the women received in terms of finance, human and material resources, marketing and other business operational areas. In the process, we had to go to the extent of observing the women doing the work like crocheting and weaving the mats, bed and table covers, polishing and decorating the wooden plates, basins and bowls while some were even carving the different items according to their area of specialization. This one day session took us about one and a half hours and we spent $30 to buy some items from the different women who added up to a total of 10 entrepreneurs. In Victoria Falls, we took the advantage of the 37th African Travel Association conference (ATA) that we attended from the 18th to the 22nd of May 2012 at Elephant Hills Hotel. Some selected male and female arts and crafts entrepreneurs from various selling centres of Victoria Falls were given the opportunity by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) to come and sell their wares free of charge at the venue during the conference days. To promote the entrepreneurs, the ZTA had in their conference program a session for Meeting the African Culture when both mid-morning and afternoon teas were being served at the grounds where the entrepreneurs were selling their products. This was a good opportunity for the conference delegates to meet and discuss with the sellers while at the same time viewing and buying the handicrafts. As researchers, we took advantage of this to carry out our study for 3 consecutive days. On the first day we toured the various stands just to view the items on display and we asked some few general questions like what we did in Masvingo. Some of the questions were about how they come to be part of the ATA conference and the benefits they were expecting from the conference. On the second day we got into in-depth interviews to get details of their operations, marketing, any support and assistance from any institutions towards the success of their businesses. To probe for more information we were appreciating their achievements and sympathizing with their challenges as we were discussing with them during the tea breaks. For the other two days we had to share a table with some women during lunch time so that we could talk more. At times we had to sit together in the conference venue, commenting on what the presenters were saying about tourism entrepreneurship. One good example was a debate on the presentation done by a representative from the Zimbabwe Ministry of Youth, Dev elopment, Indigenization and Empowerment. On the final and third day, we selected some of the artefacts to buy that included the bowls, the big five, basins, Zimbabwe bird (Shiri Hungwe) for Blessing, one of the researchers totem and other items. We spent $50 for the items and we left the women in a very happy mood. As a way of appreciating our concern for them some women gave us some of the items at very low prices and in return we influenced some of our colleagues to buy from them. The total of the interviewees was 25 women. Analysis and Discussion The demographic Profile of Interviewed Women Entrepreneurs Table 4.1 Geographical Location of the Women Entrepreneurs RESEARCH AREA LOCATION Urban LOCATION Rural Masvingo 3 7 Victoria Falls 9 6 Out of the 10 women who were interviewed in Masvingo, 7 were residing in the rural areas and only 3 were from the urban area. From the 15 interviewees in Victoria Falls, 9 were urban residents and only 6 were from the rural area. This data reflects that the handicraft business is done in both rural and urban settings provided there is favourable environment. In Masvingo the majority of entrepreneurs come from their rural homes that surround Nemanwa Arts and Craft center because operating from home reduces any rental costs that can be incurred. The few who stay in the urban area have their husbands working in the town and this business supplements their spouses income. In Victoria Falls the majority of women who are urban dwellers reported that they own houses in the town from the cooperative that was formulated by the Arts and Crafts business operators sometime in 1990. The remaining percentage constitutes those women who own homes in the peri-urban area of the town and are permanent residents of the area. Table 4.2 Age of Women Entrepreneurs AGE GROUP NUMBER Below 25 years 2 26-30 years 4 30-45 years 15 46-50 4 The survey results suggest the relationship between a womans age and entrepreneurs. The likelihood of a woman venturing into business positively increases with the 30 to 45 years age range have the greatest number of women entrepreneurs. Very few women below the age of 25 years want to get into this business probably because they are unable to do the job or have better things to do. Motivations Women who are in art and craft business in Victoria Falls and Masvingo said that they are into this business because they grew up doing the weaving, knitting and pottery activities and to them they see it as a way of their living. In the yester years when tourism was still vibrant in Zimbabwe they could earn more than other people in some professions but as from 2004 to date the business has slowed down due to the economic crisis. These women admitted that they cannot go out of this business because they have no alternative means of survival since their environments are basically in the dry regions of the country. Therefore what is evident in what the women are saying is the fact that tourism fits very well in their livelihood strategies as a source of income. From the findings it emerged that the women are motivated into employment by push factors such as unemployment, inadequate family income and the need to accommodate work and home roles as in the Zimbabwean scenario the womans p lace is the home. The same sentiments were echoed by Vijaya and Kamalanabhan (2009) and Drine and Grach (2010) who reiterated that women are motivated by the desire to provide security for the family and flexibility that entrepreneurship offer between home and family roles. Access to Financial Resources The women entrepreneurs in the arts and crafts industry revealed that their major challenge is their inaccessibility to both investment and operational capital since they have no personal assets to use as collateral which is a prerequisite at the financial institutions. If they happen to get the starting capital they may even face more challenges of getting adequate operational capital to meet their daily supplies of raw materials such as reeds, steel wires, finishing oils, threads, wood, polishes and others to use for their business. At times they may need transport to take their products to and from their homes for security reasons. If these people are operating from the designated sites the local councils would need the rentals every month for the upkeep of the places. The problem of lack of capital usually arises from the fact that the enterprises are the major contributors to the survival of the family, and this puts a brake on efforts for improvement of womens enterprises in Zi mbabwe (Degroot, 2001). On the accessibility to capital, one woman at the ATA conference for Young Professionals in Victoria Falls narrated her ordeal of trying to get financial assistance from the Ministry of Indigenization and Youth Development that promotes indigenous entrepreneurs in the country. Grace said, When I went to the offices I was told to bring a project proposal. I prepared that at my own expense. After that they gave me a pile of forms to fill in whose other requirements i could not understand. As if that was not enough, I was told to wait for a response that never came to my attention and these people lie that they are supporting us financially. Another woman, Nyaradzo narrated that, The Ministry of Indigenization and Youth Development, asked for a list of all entrepreneurs who needed financial assistance and the specific amounts requested and were handed to the ministry but nothing materialized. The ministry later on asked the women entrepreneurs to pay $20 per person for a weeks training in financial management. After paying the money nothing has been done since November 2011. She said Vanhu ava matsotsi anodakubira varombo, havana basa nesu, (These people are conmen, who steal from the poor and they do not care about us). This is a major challenge for the women who are vulnerable to all sorts of financial risks in business. Most women also revealed that most financial institutions were not keen to finance their business initiatives. This negative attitude towards financing of women entrepreneurs is explained by the traditional patriarchal system division which spells out the differences of male-female roles in society as supported by Ozigbo and Ezeaku (2009). Protection of intellectual property rights A number of women entrepreneurs fall prey to political promises and business intermediaries. One woman who failed to get funding from the Ministry of Indigenization and Youth Development later discovered that her project was being implemented by one of the government officials in Victoria Falls. She had no voice over it. Because of this, many women in the sector feel betrayed and humiliated because of such practices. This rhymes the Shona proverbs that murombo haarovi chine nguwo (This literally means the poor will never challenge the rich). It is important for women entrepreneurs to be well versed with their intellectual property rights so that they can challenge those who prey on their ideas in judiciary. Production and space-related challenges The study has revealed that a number of Zimbabwean women who are arts and crafts entrepreneurs have no fixed place for their business operations as they are dotted from their homes, forest and some few designated arts and craft centres. The designated centres have no permanent structures put in place but there are some temporary shades which are brought by the individuals from their homes. These offer no security at all as they are just open spaces for business and in addition one is exposed to the harsh forces of the natural environment. Those who operate from the forests (source of raw materials) cite transportation problems as one of the challenges. For example, if a wood carver finds a good tree in the forest which is too big to carry home or at the designated area she has to work on it from there and then carry the finished products. These pose a lot of risks to the females since there are a lot of dangers associated with forestry environments. Storage space for the finished products is another problem for most women entrepreneurs. Most leave the products covered by some cloths or tents during the night in the presence of either a guard or unattended at owners risk. Lack of storage space puts the products at risk of theft. The most special wares are taken back home daily which is a tiresome task for the females since most of them walk a distance of about 5 kilometres every day from their homes to the designated centres. Family roles At home there is usually a challenge of divided concentration between home chores and work and at home the working space is limited and not conducive for business operations. One woman (Maria) even expressed that, handingazosiyi mumba mune tsvina nekuda kwebasa (I cannot leave my house dirty because of work). Already this indicates how busy women entrepreneurs are with household and business responsibilities at any given time of their lives and this is a hindrance to effective business operations. In support, De Groot (2001) posits that household roles deprive women of time to travel to enterprise support institutions or to attend training sessions to acquire skills in various fields. As long as womens responsibilities remain divided between work and domestic roles their contributions to economic development will remain obscure. Marketing operations There is a general belief that Zimbabwe arts and crafts are unique worldwide and they are found in many countries these days in China besides the Americas which used to be the countrys chief tourism source market. These products have made Zimbabwe boast of its rich and unique culture The majority of women sell their products to the foreign tourists. Financial constraints make it difficult for the women to access regional and international markets despite the high demand for the Zimbabwe art and craft in these markets. It was reported that in the past years when tourism was at peak (i.e. between 1990 and 1999) business was lucrative and there was no worry of exporting the products as buyers could come to the country and buy the products. During the period business was very lucrative. Masundire (2011) identified the need to assist arts and crafts producers to access foreign markets as 90% of their wares are in demand in Europe, America, Australia and South Africa. As a result of inaccessibility to foreign markets, there is now the emergence of market intermediaries popularly known as the cross boarder traders who buy and sell the products from arts and crafts producers in foreign markets. The major problem these intermediaries pose is that they bid to buy the wares at a very low price at the expense of the producers because of the low local demand. In fact, the women entrepreneurs end up with no fix

How to Be a Faithful Servant. Essay -- World Literature

In the story of Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-46), Joseph himself is considered a faithful servant. He follows all of Gods rules, laws, and orders precisely. In his lifetime Joseph encounters some hard times, but he triumphs in the end. A faithful servant must always consider what is required of he or she, how he or she will respond to being tested, if he or she plan on being rewarded, and what it means to be a faithful servant. In the end, a truly faithful servant must ask himself or herself how appealing a job it really is. Being faithful means putting all your trust in something. A servant serves others. So, the question is, what does it take to be a faithful servant? In Genesis, Joseph is the epitome of a faithful servant. He was a faithful servant to the Lord as well as to his masters. It is evident that he was a faithful servant to the Lord by the way he responded to all of his encounters during hard times. Joseph shows these faithful skills from the instant in which he is sold by his brothers to the time that he is put into jail. Joseph never once turned his back or lost his faith in the Lord. A great example of his endless devotion is shown in the following quote: "And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his masters wife, Behold, my master wotteh not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; there is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God"(68)? This quotation ill ustrates Joseph's faithfulness not only to God but also to his master. The end result ... ...ions along their way to prosperity. As long as they always remember to put their faith first, then they are often times happy with their life. A true servant's only job is to serve someone. For most people, it is not appealing, but for some, it is a rewarding lifestyle. Being a faithful servant requires a special person, one who is willing to do a lot of work for little or no reward. A faithful servant is required of different kinds of work, occasionally testing their mental, physical, and spiritual abilities. He or she also must always realize they times often are not going to be rewarded for their hard work. Some people, like Joseph, being a faithful servant is what they are born to do, and it is the only thing that they know. Works Cited Page Lawall, Sarah. (Ed.). (2002). The Norton Anthology of World Literature (Vol. A). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Conflict Process Analysis

My thesis is a story of a dispute about a mobile phone and phone expenses between Telecommunication (a Chinese mobile telephone operation company) and me. I will use some organizational conflict theories, several types of conflicts and methods to handle with them to finish my dissertation. Telecommunication offered considerable discounts, while the rules were harsh. Staffs did not know the specific regulations, and I lost the best opportunity to undo the damage. The conflict occurred because of those things.Finally we overcame these obstacles with a good alternative. Handing with mobile phone affairs is close to our daily life. Moreover, it includes interest between the customer, Telecommunication and its staffs. My counterparts and I were strangers originally. Then we became game rivals through the event, and after that we became friends. Describe the situation of this dispute, the analysis of the situation and evaluations for Telecommunications are integral to my paper. Description of the Situation The owner of a branch of B & you, Flavor, two staffs, Julie and Sophie were involved in the conflict.Flavor is the boss of Julie and Sophie, and I was their customer. In August 2010, I got an admission to the university. Meanwhile, I received two discount coupons from Telecommunication (for you easy to understand, I use the B &you replacing the Telecommunication, and Flake and Julie replacing the owner's and the staffs original names). At the end of August, I went to university and went to B , planning to use the two discount coupons. One of them is for a new smart phone with which I can use it as 1700 RMI cash, and another one is for phone expenses with which I can use it as RHOMB.Julie, as a staff off branch of B (as most of TTS colleagues, she has a high quit rate because of low salary), told me that, with the voucher 1700 RMI, I could only pay 800 RMI and got a brand new Samsung phone whose price Is RHOMB. In addition, the voucher RHOMB can be sent to my phone account Into 24 months, 37. 5 RMI per month. This means that If I choose 68 ARM'S package (including mobile phone calls, text messaging, Internet), I can only pay 68 mines 37. Arm's part, which is 30. 5 RMI. Meanwhile, the contracts of the smart phone and the package were for two years.I had four years of college life. Obviously, this combination was very worthwhile. I signed a contract, paid REARMS in cash, got the phone. In the end of August, I had missed a strange call, and I did not put that In mind. On September 2nd, Julie called me to Inform me to go to B with my mobile phone. Intuition told me that something wrong happened, so I came to B with my phone and the contract. Julie told me B requested the customers to buy a mobile with the voucher in your hometown-City Changes, and to use the phone expenses voucher in your university city- Nanjing.I didn't meet the requests simultaneously, so I have to give up one discount. Due to the mobile phone cannot to e back, so I have to pay the whole package fee 68 RMI without any discount. That telecommunication company. And the regulation was too sudden for me to accept it. There was no such rule cited on our contract. Because it involves the interests of the owner of B &you branch, Flavor, she also came forward. She gave rise to the conflict. I asked to cancel the contract, however, Julie explained it was impossible. Because all the data about me has been uploaded to corporation, and the contract has been activated.She added that on the last day of August, she tried to inform about it and anted to ask me if I accept it or not, but the call was not connected. We cannot comprise with each other. Flavor insisted the contract can not be cancelled. If it was cancelled, she had to compensate for this phone (this phone belonged to B &you company). At the same time, I cannot accept the full price of the bill. For a student, 68 RMI per month was expensive. And B &you are not the most popular mobile companies. My friends tend to use Orange, whose services are better.If there had not been two vouchers, I would have not considered to use B &you. From my point of view, there are three reasons contributed to the conflict. The rules of you were harsh. Staffs do not know the specific regulations. And I lost the best opportunity to undo the damage. Julie would view the event as a big mistake, complaining about the complex rules of company. Flavor would regard the conflict as a loss in business. Apparently, the main issue was that we should we cancel the contract which the company added some rules in or not. Who should be the compromiser?The situation was deadlocked. Clerk Julie distressed. She did several things wrong. Firstly, she was not familiar with the company policy, not following the company's rules. Secondly, she id not contact me successfully at the critical moment when we can limit the damage. 1700 Arm's damage was almost half a month of her salary. I could see that she wanted to escape from the situation. Flavor did not understand the actual regulations, and she asked me blindly to compromise to reduce her loss, regardless of our contract. My feelings were angry and frustrated.At that time, another staff Sophie came over. She came up with a solution. She provided a very favorable B &you card, only 20 RMI per month, including telephone calls, text messaging, Internet. If I use this card, I still continue to use the B &you hone and SIMI card, and reach a two-year contract period. Meanwhile, owner Flavor losses can be minimized, because I follow the regulations, I only use the phone vouchers and do not cancel the contract. We have come to an agreement. After several hours' debate, we agreed with Sophie's proposal to resolve the conflict.Flavor, Julie, Sophie and I became friend from then on. We chat happily when I go to B &you branch for doing cellophane's affairs. I was lack of experience at that time, but I should say to myself for sticking to it and not compromising easily Just because the rival was a competitor. Analyzing the situation Obviously, the whole matter was an organizational conflict rather than an interpersonal conflict , as it focused on the matter itself than the relationships between the staffs and me. When Sophie supplied her free phone card, the entire conflict entered a controlled phase.If we did not enter the controlled phase, we would fail to reach any consensus. The owner may be forced to take the phone out of me, and my friend and I may be fight for it. Flavor has run a B shop at my university for almost five years, enjoying a certain reputation. She cannot make things wrong as a businesswoman, continuously asked us to comprise. , as a student, would not be allowed to use violence to resolve this conflict. The relationship between the owner and the customer restricted the conflict, and a good proposal ended the dispute. We all wanted to solve this conflict, because we were all stakeholders.In fact, there is no right or wrong in this conflict, and it is B complicated rules that resulted to the conflict. Flavor, Julie and I wanted to minimize our own losses. Flavor did not understand the actual regulations, and she asked me blindly compromise to reduce her loss, and regardless of our contract expressly provided. Apparently, she an be defined to be a competitive negotiator. Flavor only believed in something specific and credible, for instance, her less cost about the phone. So she adopted Sophie' proposal, it cost her little. Obviously, Julies response to the dispute can be defined as an avoiding approach.The avoiding approach (uncooperative, unassertive) neglects the interests of both parties by sidestepping the conflict or postponing a solutions. She was under great pressure. When conflict happened. Her body appeared compressive reaction, accelerating the secretion of adrenaline, showing rapid breath and a flushed face. She had a tendency to break down. Such reactions were bound to damage her health. When conflict was resolved, we were very satisfied. Apparently, Flavor, Julie and I will be the first three persons who observed the conflict resolved.At the time, the other staffs would notice that. This matter would bring to our friends and family later. In this conflict, no one will benefit from our conflict unresolved, so no one would want to keep the conflict. Finally, our outcomes were good. We did not lose a cellophane or paying high-priced charges. We minimized our lost and maintained a very good staff-customers relationship. Julie embedded this fault and spent more time in learning company's rules. Wrong interpretation of company policy caused this conflict between shopkeepers and the customer. Roles determine the ideas and behavior.We all tend to meet our own personal goals, as an assertiveness rather than cooperativeness when faced with the conflict. There is some potential opposition between us. They are businesswomen, paying attention to their profits and reputation, and I am a student, trying to get more discount. When conflict happened, we tend to a win- lose situation. Sophie was a mediator. Bonuses for collaboration reduced the conflicts. With her help, the estimation became an integrative bargaining rather than a distributive bargaining. We accepted the new proposal and created a win-win situation.It seems that providing a less expensive SIMI card was the best alternative to a negotiated agreement. To be honest, without the help of Sophie, I had no better way to resolve this matter. Such weakness will only make the problem deadlocked. Maybe I will consult the teacher or my parents to see if they have any good way. Recommendations The conflict was all about an up-to-dated contract should be canceled or not, including the shopkeeper Flavor, the staff Julie and the customer me' s interests. We signed a contract about two discount coupons at first. Then B & you added some harsh rules about it.

Londons Social Class in Robert Louis Stevenson Strange...

Londons Social Class in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde One Victorian sentiment was that a civilized individual could be determined by her/his appearance. This notion was readily adopted by the upper classes and, among other things, helped shape their views of the lower classes, who certainly appeared inferior to them. In regards to social mobility, members of the upper classes may have (through personal tragedy or loss) often moved to a lower-class status, but rarely did one see an individual move up from the abysmal lower class. Although poverty could be found almost anywhere in Victorian London (one could walk along a street of an affluent neighborhood, turn the corner, and find oneself in an area of depravity and decay), most upper-class†¦show more content†¦It was two storeys high. . . and bore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence. . . Tramps slouched into the recess and struck matches on the panels; children kept shop upon the steps; the schoolboy had tried his knife on the mouldings; and for clos e on a generation, no one had appeared to drive away these random visitors to repair their ravages. (5) This is the environment in which Stevenson places his novel, in which Hyde, the exemplification of the East Ender, thrives and commits his heinous and unspoken acts. If Hyde represents all that Victorian London characterized as the East End, then Henry Jekyll, in turn, represents Londons West End. As Hyde and Jekyll are dual natures of the same entity, then so are Londons East and West sides. Throughout the novel, Stevenson could be using the theme of duality to represent the growing social and economic barriers that existed between these two parts of the city - especially during the 19th century. More importantly, if the novel can be interpreted as a homoerotic commentary of 19th century London, then Stevenson could certainly be observing the obvious increase of homosexuals in the East End, which incited fear and indignation from their more upper-class neighbors to the west. The reason for Jekyll creating Hyde is to release these (his own) primitive urges and to allow them to flourish unhindered by societal laws or mores. ItShow MoreRelatedThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1833 Words   |  8 PagesWritten in 1886 Robert Louis Stevenson’s â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,† shocked Victorian audiences with its complex themes of the division of human nature. Inspiring a flourishing Irish writer, Oscar Wilde, who himself was struggling with an internal division, â€Å"The Portrait of Dorian Gray,† (1891) was conceived. Both novels explore the motif of a split existence with notable differentiations yet each produces a substantial investigation into what it means to have a dual personalityRead More Considering The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as an Effective Representation of Evil3122 Words   |  13 PagesConsidering The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as an Effective Representation of Evil The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, originally published in 1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson, arguably remains a popular novella even today because of its representations of evil and themes concerned with evil such as morality. Originally written for a Victorian audience, the text follows the conventions of the time - for example, the Georgian style of introducing andRead MoreVictorian Novel9605 Words   |  39 PagesDEVELOPMENT OF THE NOVEL 2 II KEY AUTHORS 3 III KEY TEXTS 3 IV TOPICS 3 INTRODUCTION Many associate the word â€Å"Victorian† with images of over-dressed ladies and snooty gentlemen gathered in reading rooms. The idea of â€Å"manners† does sum up the social climate of middle-class England in the nineteenth century. However, if there is one transcending aspect to Victorian England life and society, that aspect is change. Nearly every institution of society was affected by rapid and unforeseeable changes.  As some