Analysis and Evaluation of Employee Involvement and its Impact on Dissertation

Analysis and Evaluation of Employee Involvement and its Impact on Employee Performance - Dissertation Example Literature Review 6 Critical Evaluation and Analysis of Data 10 Discussion 18 Conclusion 23 References 26 Appendices 29 Project Aim and Objectives The use of employee involvement practices has been evident among organisations across various industries and has also been associated with a number of favorable outcomes including organisational performance (Jones and Kato, 2005). Considerable interest has been demonstrated towards new work systems that emphasize employee involvement owing to perceived increase in performance among workers that such practices may bring about. Furthermore, external pressures that increased competition among companies resulted to these firms reevaluating the processes used for organising their work (Bartell, 2004). As such, while employees have been given more responsibilities, practices have consequently placed more emphasis as well on enabling these workers to take part in the decision making process within the workplace. Companies have also been known to offer incentives that will encourage employees to take responsibility for their work. While employee involvement has been often associated with productivity and employee performance, other studies have also shown how such participation can influence organisational profitability (Addison and Belfield, 2000). Owing to these mixed findings, the current project, therefore, aims to analyze and evaluate how employee involvement can contribute towards effective organizational performance based on a cultural perspective in which employees play a highly significant role. Particularly, this project aims to address two SMART objectives: first is to conduct interviews among 10 employees from BI Worldwide, within 2 weeks at most, whose operations in the United Kingdom operate in Milton Keynes. Second... The study tells as there has been increasing recognition of employees as the best assets of an organisation, there has been attempts to seek ways with which to enhance employees’ contribution to the firm whilst further understanding the effectiveness of human resource systems. If organisations are able to select and retain appropriate employees as well as develop these individuals by means of adequate training and learning opportunities, such knowledge can be utilized as an advantage for achieving favorable performance. It has become a challenge, however, to establish a system that will enable for a mutually beneficial relationship between the organisation and its employees. Human resource policies have been widely taken into consideration along with their effects on organisational performance, such as the effectiveness of employees, and workplace innovation; a number of workplace practices, including employee involvement, have been continuously associated with high levels of employee performance. Therefore, the employment relationship has been recognized as a significant contributing factor to a firm’s long-term success. In addition, current personnel literature may suggest that employee involvement practices may have more observable effects on organisations that employ workers who are highly skilled and knowledgeable. This is because within these companies, tasks and roles are more complex, and the levels of skills required are higher which can translate into these employees having a wider capacity to affect performance.

Vision 2020 in Malaysia An Analysis

Vision 2020 in Malaysia An Analysis Abstraction To achieve a vision during a long time is very difficult because it needs a lot of means and also peoples consent in order to be realized. Malaysia is the best example to learn how can achieve a strategic plan by studying its vision that called (wawasan 2020). In this article our group wants to give a general view on the big project in Malaysian history i.e. vision 2020 (wawasan 2020). Firstly, we start by having a look to its definition, and then we want to show some fields which these visions focused on achieving its goals, and the challenges which are facing the vision nowadays. Introduction Malaysia is one of the earliest countries in the world due to Dr. Mahathir who conceived of Vision 2020 and encouraged all Malaysians to achieve this goal by sharing in this plan. Vision 2020 has come from a personnel vision -Mahathirs vision- and it very quickly became a national Vision due to the excellent communicator of this Vision by the prime minister and his government members. The Vision sets new and higher goals for national aspiration, and this vision contribute dramatically in changing the way Malaysians see themselves and the direction of their shared destiny. No longer are we resigned to the fact that we are a developing country that will, at best, remain second rate. Malaysians are urged by the Prime Minister to strive to be the best and not settle for the second best. There is nothing that we are not capable of doing, if we are prepared to work hard and use our ingenuity and resourcefulness. vision 2020(wawasan 2020): The following text is from the Malaysia vision web site , its explain the vision 2020 presented by Dr Mahathir Mohamed at the Malaysian Business Council. The purpose of this paper is to present before you some thoughts on the future course of our nation and how we should go about to attain our objective of developing Malaysia into an industrialized country. Also outlined are some measures that should be in place in the shorter term so that the foundations can be laid for the long journey towards that ultimate objective. Hopefully the Malaysian who is born today and in the years to come will be the last generation of our citizens who will be living in a country that is called developing. The ultimate objective that we should aim for is a Malaysia that is a fully developed country by the year 2020. What, you might rightly ask, is a fully developed country? Do we want to be like any particular country of the present 19 countries that are generally regarded as developed countries? Do we want to be like the United Kingdom, like Canada, like Holland, like Sweden, like Finland, like Japan? To be sure, each of the 19, out of a world community of more than 160 states, has its strengths. But each also has its fair share of weaknesses. Without being a duplicate of any of them we can still be developed. We should be a developed country in our own mould. Malaysia should not be developed only in the economic sense. It must be a nation that is fully developed along all the dimensions: economically, politically, socially, spiritually, psychologically and culturally. We must be fully developed in terms of national unity and social cohesion, in terms of our economy, in terms of social justice, political stability, system of government, quality of life, social and spiritual values, national pride and confidence. [01] Some policies and strategies of vision 2020 ( wawasan 2020 ): the Malaysia economic policy and strategy: This new policy can be considered an add-on document to the NEP; it provides a framework towards Dr. Mahathirs new vision 2020 plan symbolizing the way forward policy towards a developed nation in 2020. This will require the nation to maintain a 7-plus percent growth rates for the next 25 years. Prime Minister Mahathir believes raising workforce quality and developing expertise in sophisticated industries are decisive elements in the countrys road to economic success and development (Brown 1993: 43). In order to facilitate these growth requirements, the NDP has relaxed many of the FDI restrictions imposed by the NEP such as equity and licensing requirements and procedures. The purpose of the Industrial Master Plan which was formulated by the United Nations Industrial.[ 02 ] Malaysia economic policy focuses on some fields to achieve its purposes : Export Facilitation. Import Substitution. Tariff Structure, Strategic Exposure. Export Facilitation: The economic rationale of Malaysia to promote exports provides the nation with three important advantages. First, it generates foreign-exchange that can reduce the amount of foreign debt needed to fund development. Second, it contributes to developing a competitive industry infrastructure from learning from investors- a move that brings technological excellence leading to higher value-added exports. By the promotion of specific industries, such as the semi-conductor industry, has speeded technology acquisition and enhanced the nations competitive Worldwide positioning. Finally, FDI provides employment in the industry sector, which to a large extent is attracted from the agricultural sector. [ 02 ] Tariff Structure: As a link to the policy of maintaining a stable economy with past budget strategies of controlling inflation, there have been major reductions and abolition of import duties on goods and services. The 1995 budget proposes a reduction of tariffs imposed on over 2,600 items of which a majority is food items (Budget 1995: 22). Also, tariffs on building materials and household appliances have been reduced. These measures will not only control inflation, but also enhance the quality of life and favor the overall climate for investments. However, Ad Valorem taxes are imposed on imported goods and services (refer to Appendix 4) [ 02 ]. Import Substitution: Economic development in Malaysia was first built on the basis of Import Substitution, indicated by the large shift of GNP distribution from agricultural sectors to manufacturing sectors. Import substitution has increased in mainly three areas, transport equipment, Industrial chemicals and fertilizers and in Industrial machinery (Onn 1988: 28). However, exports constitute the main source of growth in the manufacturing sector from 1970-1990 (refer to appendix 6). This trend can be explained by economic policy that places great emphasis on improving industrial competitiveness as a vehicle towards vision 2020. [ 02 ] Strategic Exposure Strategic exposure represents a crucial component in Strategic Trade Theory. The rationale behind lowering barriers to trade and exposing local industry to foreign competition is to create a more competitive domestic industry (Hamilton 1989: 4). Such a Level Playing Field policy will force local firms to increase their competitiveness to survive. Strategic exposure represents a direct link to becoming an industrialized nation by 2020 and the realization of economic goals. Incorporating FDI as a strategic measure to enhance technological know-how can reduce domestic learning and experience curves in selected industries. By giving foreign investors considerable tax deductible incentives in areas such as training of local employees, research and development and in promotion of exports Malaysia has been able to increase World wide competitiveness as demonstrated by increasing exports and GDP (Carrol, Errion 1991: 21). Malaysia aims for the year 2000 to have at least 1.6% of GDP spent on RD and is predicting that at least 40% will come from the private sector[ 02 ] Higher educations policy and strategy : Universities In Malaysia, with the cooperation of the local universities formulate and create action plans for reforming engineering education in preparation for the professional expectations of the future. As a result, the universities are urged to act and play a leadership role in improving the engineering education. Interaction with local and overseas industries should also be increased. This will facilitate more realistic and relevant joint projects for students and industry professionals. Through this interaction, universities will face a variety of real-world multi-disciplinary problems that are similar to the business operational problems locally and internationally. These problems can be used as test cases for solution approaches. Engineering students could form interdisciplinary collaborative teams to develop effective solutions to such problems. As a result, the desired attributes for the future engineers, for example, the ability to function on multidisciplinary team, the ability to identify and solve engineering problems, the ability to understand the professional and ethical responsibility and the ability to communicate effectively can be achieved. [03]. Infrastructure and Facilities Universities need to establish consensus on relevancy of a set of a new fundamental for engineering education. This may include information technology, bio-engineering, nano-skill-technologies, skills and understanding necessary for effectively leading multidisciplinary-teams, the challenges of framing and addressing large-scale system-of-systems problems, sustainability, lifecycle management of systems, risk-based asset management, and the need of lifelong learning, globalization, demographic realities and need for diversity [ 03 ]. Academician The pedagogy of engineering education must be changed. According to Felder many students in the United States fail to excel with only the support of traditional method used in teaching engineering. Engineering students prefer active teaching method .Therefore; the traditional teaching engineering model must be changed to a new teaching model in line with the engineers of the 21st century. The future engineering education program should include the use of ICT (Information Communication Technology). This idea suggested by many undergraduate engineering students. The ICT genre involves the use of all tools in the forms of software, on-line program and resources to create new and improved conditions for learning, for example the use of e-learning, email, word processor, and web resources (both static information and dynamic interactive information) [03]. Using ICT in Education The concept of ICT in education, as seen by the Ministry of Education of Malaysia, includes systems that enable information gathering, management, manipulation, access, and communication in various forms. The Ministry has formulated three main policies for ICT in education. The first policy is that of ICT for all students, meaning that ICT is used as an enabler to reduce the digital gap between the schools. The second policy emphasizes the role and function of ICT in education as a teaching and learning tool, as part of a subject, and as a subject by itself. Apart from radio and television as a teaching and learning tool, this policy stresses the use of the computer for accessing information, communication, and as a productivity tool. ICT as part of a subject refers to the use of software in subjects such as Invention and Engineering Drawing. ICT as a subject refers to the introduction of subjects such as Information Technology and Computerization. The third policy emphasizes using ICT to increase productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of the management system. ICT will be extensively used to automate and mechanize work processes such as the processing of official forms, timetable generation, management of information systems, lesson planning, financial management, and the maintenance of inventories. [ 04 ] health policy and strategy: The MOHs vision for the future and the strategic objectives are based on its corporate values that incorporate professionalism, teamwork and caring. Strategic Goals Prevent and reduce the burden of disease Enhance the healthcare delivery system Optimize resources Improve research and development Manage crisis and disasters effectively Strengthen the health information management system Strategies Improve governance, and adoption of appropriate technology and service Practices to empower individuals, families and communities towards attaining lifelong wellness. Develop skills and competencies to further reduce mortality and morbidity rates in furtherance of strengthening the quality of healthcare delivery. Establish effective business strategies to enhance organizational Performance and the consumption of resources. Increase the use of evidence through research to support all levels of decision making. Elevate the level of preparedness in managing disasters and health-related crises effectively. Upgrade the standards of information and communication technology as well as health informatics to maintain sound health information Management [05]. Biological diversity policy and strategy: Principles: The vision 2020 (wawasan2020) in biological diversity based on the following principles: The conservation ethic, including the inherent right to existence of all living forms, is deeply rooted in the religious and cultural values of all Malaysians Biological diversity is a national heritage and it must be sustainably managed and wisely utilized today and conserved for future generations; Biological resources are natural capital and their conservation is an investment that will yield benefits locally, nationally and globally for the present and future; The benefits from sustainable management of biological diversity will accrue, directly or indirectly, to every sector of society; The sustainable management of biological diversity is the responsibility of all sectors of society; It is the duty of Government to formulate and implement the policy framework for sustainable management and utilization of biological diversity in close cooperation with scientists, the business community and the public; The role of local communities in the conservation, management and utilization of biological diversity must be recognized and their rightful share of benefits should be ensured; Issues in biological diversity transcend national boundaries and Malaysia must continue to exercise a proactive and constructive role in international activities; The interdependence of nations on biological diversity and in the utilization of its components for the well-being of mankind is recognized. International cooperation and collaboration is vital for fair and equitable sharing of biological resources, as well as access to and transfer of relevant technology; Public awareness and education is essential for ensuring the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable utilization of its components; in the utilization of biological diversity, including the development of biotechnology, the principles and practice of biosafety should be adhered to [06]. Objectives To optimize economic benefits from sustainable utilization of the components of biological diversity To ensure long-term food security for the nation To maintain and improve environmental stability for proper functioning of ecological systems To ensure preservation of the unique biological heritage of the nation for the benefit of present and future generations; To enhance scientific and technological knowledge, and educational, social, cultural and aesthetic values of biological diversity; To emphasize biosafety considerations in the development and application of biotechnology;[06] Challenges of establishing vision 2020(wawasan 2020): The first of these is the challenges of establishing a united Malaysian nation with a sense of common and shared destiny. The second is the challenge of creating a psychologically liberated, secure, and developed Malaysian Society with faith and confidence in itself, justifiably proud of what it is, of what it has accomplished, robust enough to face all manner of adversity. The third challenge we have always faced is that of fostering and developing a mature democratic society, practicing a form of mature consensual, community-oriented Malaysian democracy that can be a model for many developing countries. The fourth is the challenge of establishing a fully moral and ethical society, whose citizens are strong in religious and spiritual values and imbued with the highest of ethical standards. The fifth challenge that we have always faced is the challenge of establishing a matured, liberal and tolerant society in which Malaysians of all colors and creeds are free to practice and profess their customs, cultures and religious beliefs and yet feeling that they belong to one nation. The sixth is the challenge of establishing a scientific and progressive society, a society that is innovative and forward-looking, and one that is not only a consumer of technology but also a contributor to the scientific and technological civilization of the future. The seventh challenge is the challenge of establishing a fully caring society and a caring culture, a social system in which society will come before self, in which the welfare of the people will revolve not around the state or the individual but around a strong and resilient family system. The eighth is the challenge of ensuring an economically just society. This is a society in which there is a fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation, in which there is full partnership in economic progress. Such a society cannot be in place so long as there is the identification of race with economic function, and the identification of economic backwardness with race. The ninth challenge is the challenge of establishing a prosperous society, with an economy that is fully competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient. [ 07 ] Discussion Is Malaysia on track to 2020? This is the most important question every time the issue of Malaysia 2020 has been raised. And it is important to measure and evaluate the strategies and policies to keep Malaysia on track to 2020; Siddiquee (2006) [08] indicated that the recent reforms represent Malaysias attempt to remain relevant and competitive in a rapidly changing local and global environment. It is clear that the changes are largely consistent with NPM (National Public Management) principles and they are not only geared towards enhancing efficiency and institutional capacity of the governmental machinery, they also seek to transform it into a dynamic, market-driven and customer-oriented administration. It is true that Malaysia is ahead of other developing countries in terms of ICT infrastructure and its usage, however, there is a long way to go before Malaysia can catch up with other regional leaders like Singapore and South Korea. Presently, not only the number and types of services offered through such channels are limited but also the public access to such services is inadequate. On the one hand, the public awareness about such facilities is relatively low; on the other hand, pilot projects being carried out have exposed a variety of challenges Therefore, the reforms, although generally seen as steps in the right direction, have not brought about dramatic improvements in the public sector. An analysis of the public sector competence of 12 Asian countries from 1999 to 2001/2002 by the Global Competitiveness Report shows that Malaysias ranking has dropped from 46 in 1999 to 65 in 2001/2002. Malaysia has fared poorly compared with neighboring Singapore, which has ranked first for three consecutive years. Measured on a 0-7 scale (where 0 means least competent and 7 means the most competent), Malaysias scores are 2.24, 2.50 and 2.10 against Singapores 4.52, 4.4 and 4.7 during the same period. What is even more surprising is that Malaysias 2001/2002 ranking is below that of Thailand (44), Indonesia (48), and the Philippines (58). The Malaysian experience shows that there is hardly any quick fix to the problems of the public sector and that there is a long way to go before the goals envisioned are realized. Malaysia has, despite its efforts to develop ICT especially in the Multi Media Super Corridor, receded from place 25 (in 1997) on a relative competitiveness scale of infrastructure development to place 38 (out of 49 countries in 2001). Malaysia still implement new ways to achieve its goal The government have started implementing several initiatives to facilitate the smooth development of knowledge economy, particularly in the areas of science and technology (ST), research and development, info structure and financing. Examples of some of these initiatives include the launching of the National IT Agenda (NITA) and the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). These initiatives is to position itself in the global-map of knowledge-based economies and to undertake measures in ensuring that equitable access is targeted to all segments of Malaysia society. As a whole, k-economy provides the means to maintain sustainable rapid economic growth and competitiveness in the medium and long term. As mentioned earlier, the private sector will continue to become the engine of growth in k-economy with support from the public sector. At the same time, the objective of social and economic equity will still be a critical element in this new s tage of economic development but with the added responsibility of narrowing the knowledge gap among various groups, between urban and rural communities and across the regions. Hence, having the national policies and plans in place to drive human resources, private and public sector to achieve k-economy, who is responsible for coordinating and administration of the plans, policies and strategies implemented (Abdullah, Rose Kumar (2007))[09]. conclusion Despite Malaysia have achieved many goals from 1981 till now, there are many difficulties that encounter Malaysia for achieving visions 2020 and there are a lot of problems have to be solved such as the following problems: The big gap between Malay and Chinese and Indian citizens between each others whether in communication, dealing, relationships. The non-stabilization in the leaderships of Malaysia government since 2000. Inefficiency to build a new generation to adopt vision 2020 completely. Weakness of awareness of Malaysians society to implement vision 2020. Focusing on development of the big cities like KL, PENANG and disregard the other villages. References: http://www.wawasan2020.com/vision/p4.htmln. http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1848/malay.html. N. M. Nor1, N. Rajab2 and K.M. Ismail3 ,Educating the Engineer of 2020 Malaysian Scenario ,University Teknologi Malaysia . College of Science and Technology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Chan, Foong-Mae ,ICT in Malaysian Schools: Policy and Strategies ,Educational Technology Division, Ministry of Education, Malaysia, October 2002 from http://gauge.u-gakugei.ac.jp Ministry of Health Malaysia Strategic Plan 2006-2010,April 2008 from http://www.moh.gov.my/MohPortal/Pelan%20Strategik%20KKM%202006-2010.pdf Official declaration ,Malaysias national policy on biological diversity, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ministry of Science, Environment and Technology, pp 23 , Thursday April 16 1998. http://www.primeministersofmalaysia.net/2020.php Siddiquee, A., N., (2006) Public management reform in Malaysia International Journal of Public Sector Management 19(4) 339-358. Abdullah, H., Rose, C., R., and Kumar, N. (2007) Human Resource Development Strategies: The Malaysian Scenario. Journal of Social Science 3(4): 213-222.

Juliet: From Mouse To Woman :: essays research papers

In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare the two main characters are Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Both teenagers matured and changed during the play, but Juliet’s changes stood out the most. Juliet transformed in less then a week, which says she did not change much, but there is a definite difference in her personality from before she met Romeo to after she married him. There are many events in the book that support that idea. Most of which interact with her mother. Many events towards the ending of the play suggest she is very obstinate, which is quite different from the begging of the play before Juliet even thought of marriage or defying her parents and family. In Juliet’s first scene she is talking to her Mother and the Nurse. Her Mother brought up the topic of marriage and Lord Paris. This is when we first see a young girl who has just begun to grow up. She replies with the fact that she hasn’t considered marriage yet. Most girls of her age would have been wives by now, so it was slightly uncommon that she hadn’t even thought of her marriage. Also in this scene we see in her willingness and obedience, when she does not object to her Mother’s thoughts of her marring Lord Paris soon. When her Mother asks her if she could love Paris she replies, â€Å"I’ll look to like, if looking liking move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye than your consent gives strength to make it fly.† (I, iv, 102-105) I interpreted her to mean she will try to love him, but she will not look deeper than her mother wishes. She reminds me of a mouse in a way, meek and a pushover. This scene is right before the ball. Later when Juliet is at the ball she meets Romeo, and falls in love at first sight. Later Romeo follows her to her balcony where she confesses her love for Romeo to herself. Overhearing her, Romeo shows himself and also confesses his love for her. Taken over by her first feelings of love and lust, she defies her parents just by speaking to him in that manner. Before this, which was only about five or six hours ago, she would not have spoken to him at all, let alone that time of night. Romeo soon proposes to Juliet and she says yes.

Fluctuation of Gold Price

read and give rewards to me ABSTRACT Gold is a brilliant yellow precious metal that is resistant to air and corrosion. Gold comes second after bank deposits when it comes to the preference for investment in India and considered a savings and investment vehicle. India is the world’s largest consumer of gold in jewelry as an investment.Gold is traded in the form of securities on stock exchange Even when the gold prices are high there is steel boom in the commodities market of gold hence the main purpose and the need of the study are to know the investment pattern in gold and to hedge the risk The data which is used in the study is secondary data. The analysis has been done by using the technical tools Relative Strength Index (RSI), MACD. From the analysis it can be concluded that gold as an investment avenue has increased. There wider market for gold and a person with small amount can trade in gold.RSI can be considered as the best tool to evaluate the price movement of gold. Th e investors have to keep a keen watch on the price of gold and since there is an upward momentum in the price of gold it is time for the investor to sell CONTENT | | | | |CHAPTER |PARTICULAR |PAGE NO | |NO. | | | |1. INTRODUCTION | | | |NEED FOR THE STUDY | | | |OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY | | | |SCOPE OF THE STUDY | | | |RESEARCH METHODOLOGY | | |LIMITATIONS | | | | | | |2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE | | | |TABLES AND GRAPH | | | | | | |3. COMPANY PROFILE | | | | | | |4. |DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETAIONS | | | | | | |5. FINDING | | | |CONCLUSION | | | |RECOMMENDATIONS | | | | | | |6. BIBLIOGRAPHY | | CHAPTER NO — 1 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION ABOUT INDIAN COMMODITY MARKET Commodity future trading is an old concept and flourished in the late nineteenth century. There were several such exchanges that traded in specific commodities in certain geographies. In the 1960s the futures market ran into trouble as high inflation resulted from a series of wars and droughts in the countr y which lead to considerable speculation and hoarding of agricultural commodities.Ever since the down of civilization commodity trading has become an integral part in the life of mankind. The very reason for this lies in the fact that commodities represent the fundamental utility of human being. Commodity markets are market where raw or primary products are exchange. These raw commodities are traded regulated commodity exchange they are bought and sold in standardize contract that may any movable property other them actionable claims, money and securities. This commodity market is becoming day by day the best for the increasing economy.Gold is valued in India as saving and investment vehicle and is the second preferred investment after bank deposit. India is world’s largest consumer of gold jeweler and in investment. Gold is traded in the form of securities on stock exchange. In the cities gold is facing competition from the stock market and a wide range of consumer goods. Do mestic consumption is dictated by monsoon, harvest and marriage season. Indian jewellery off take is sensitive to price increases and even more so to the volatility.For years, portfolio managers have recommended a minimum of 10% to 20% of one’s total net worth in gold as a hedge against inflation or as a safety net in the event that our paper money system collapses. Hence the study is about the commodities market in gold. Every commodity has its own price, and varies across markets even at the point of first sale, i. e. the wholesale market. There is of course another very active financial market, which has a price that is widely traded, i. e. the stock market. Here shares of companies are traded by investors at prices which are determined by multitude of perceptions. NEED FOR THE STUDY:- ? Since there is a cut throat competition in the present world market There is a need to study about factors affecting gold prices ? Even when the gold prices are high there is still boom in the commodities market of gold hence the main purpose and the need of the study are to know the investment patterns in gold and to hedge the risk OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:- 1. To know how gold is traded 2. To know the fluctuation of gold prices 3. To know the factors affecting gold prices 4. To evaluate the trend analysis of gold . To study the impact of gold on investors METHODOLOGY: – The data which is used secondary in a nature. SECONDARY DATA:- ? From various test books, journals, magazines, news papers and booklets from company. ? Information collected from different websites likes Gold World, MCX etc. SCOPE OF THE STUDY:- ? The scope of the study is about the day to day changes in the price of gold and the reasons behind the change. ? It focuses more on the fluctuations and the interest of investors to invest in gold even though the price is getting higher. The study also focuses more on the fluctuation in the gold and its relation to oil markets oil and gold are the two main items in the economy now that tends to increase day by day. LIMITATIONS:- ? Difficulty in getting the lives prices of gold in absence of online research software. ? Use of limited technical tools. ? Commodity trading is limited to gold only. ? There may be factor other than those studied in this research which may impact on gold prices. ? The study is limited only for a certain period of time i. e. April to June 2012 CHAPTER-2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE TRADING OF GOLD IN COMMODITY MARKETS COMMODITY MARKETCommodity markets are markets where raw or primary product these raw commodities are traded on regulated commodities Exchange in which they are brought and sold in standardized contract it cover physical product markets but not ways that services including those of government, nor investment debt, can be seen as a commodity A commodity trading is sophisticated form of investing it is similar to stock trading but instead of buying and selling shares of companies, an investor buys an d sells commodities likes stocks, commodities are traded on exchange where buyers and sellers can work together to either get product they need or to make a profit from the fluctuation prices. There are few ways to trade commodities. Futures are contracting to buy or sell commodities at specific date. An option is the right to buy or sell a commodity at a specific price and date. COMMODITY TRADING: Trading futures is the purest way to invest in commodities. To trade commodities, an individual trading account can be opened either directly with a futures commission merchant or indirectly through as introducing broker.Another way to trade commodities is through a managed account, where you give someone written power of attorney to make and execute decisions about what and when to trade. He or she will have discretionary authority to buy or sell for your account or will contract you for approval to make trades, or you can hire a commodity trading advisor for a fee. And lastly, ever incr easingly popular methods of diversified investing in commodities include commodity pools (limited partnerships) or commodity related mutual funds. In all futures markets, trading decision are made in two ways – Fundamental or Technical, although many traders use a combination of both.Fundamental analysis includes all factors that influence supply and demand. For the physical commodities markets, fundamental factors include weather and geopolitical events in producing countries – outside forces that influence price action. For the financial futures markets, factors such as Federal Reserve actions and economic reports are among fundamental forces affecting prices. Technical analysis is based strictly on inside market forces. It involves tracking various price patterns that occurred in the markets in the past. Analysts focus on a variety of time frames, and trading decisions are based on past tendencies with the idea these price patterns tends to repeat themselves.Technic al analysis involves a wide range of techniques, and a variety of market indicators are studied including volume, open interest, and momentum. Each individual analyst has his favorite approach – technical analysis is just as much art as it is science. REGULATOR OF COMMODITY MARKET THE DIFFERENT PRODUCT IN COMMODITY MARKET ARE USE 1. Precious metal 6. Plantations 2. Base metal 7. Spice 3. Pulses 8. Sugar 4. Cereals 9. potato 5. Energies Introduction Gold Gold is a unique asset based on few basic characteristics. First, it is primarily a monetary asset, and partly a commodity.As much as two thirds of gold’s total accumulated holdings relate to â€Å"store of value† considerations. Holdings in this category include the central bank reserves, private investments, and high-cartage jewelry bought primarily in developing countries as a vehicle for savings. Thus, gold is primarily a monetary asset. Less than one third of gold’s total accumulated holdings can be c onsidered a commodity, the jewelry bought in Western markets for adornment, and gold used in industry. The distinction between gold and commodities is important. Gold has maintained its value in after-inflation terms over the long run, while commodities have declined. Some analysts like to think of gold as a â€Å"currency without a country’.It is an internationally recognized asset that is not dependent upon any government’s promise to pay. This is an important feature when comparing gold to conventional diversifiers like T-bills or bonds, which unlike gold, do have counter-party risk History of gold in India Prior to 1962, India was the world’s largest gold market and the main trading center was Bombay. In 1962, the government enacted the Gold Contract Act, which prohibited the citizens of India from holding pure gold bars and coins due to loss of reserves during the indo-china war. It was declared that the old holdings in pure gold bars to be compulsorily co nverted into jewelry. Pure gold bars and coins were to be dealt only by licensed dealers.A large unofficial market sprung up which dealt in cash only as a consequence of this legislation that adversely affected the official gold market. This also made way for smuggling and black marketing, which comprised of many jewelers and bullion traders. In 1990, India was on a verge of default of external liabilities as it had a major foreign exchange problem. It had to give up the concept of controlling and licensing as it led to nothing more than corruption and shortages. As a result, the India government pledged 40 tones from their gold reserves with the bank of England. India had to adopt the concept of liberalization. The government abolished the 1962 Gold control Act in 1992 and liberalized the import of gold in India for a duty payment of Rs. 250per 10 grams.The government made up for the foreign exchange problem by allowing free imports and earning the taxes. This step expanded the gol d market and it also waved off the unofficial trade i. e. smuggling and black marketing. This makes India the most price-sensitive market for gold in the world. Gold in Indian present scenario Gold is valued in India as a savings and investment vehicle and is the second preferred investment behind bank deposits. India is the world’s largest consumer of gold in jewelry (much of which is purchased as investment). The hoarding tendency is well ingrained in Indian society, not least because inheritance laws in the middle of the twentieth century lent a great desirability to anonymity.Indian people are renowned for saving for the future and the financial savings ratio is strong, with a ratio of financial assets-to-GDP of 93%. Gold’s circulates within the system and roughly 30% of gold jewelry fabrication is from recycled pieces. India is typically also the largest purchaser of coins and bars for investment (>80tpa), although last year it had to concede first place to Japan in the wake of the heavy buying in the first quarter due to fears for the stability of the Japanese banking system. In 1998-2001 inclusive, annual Indian demand for gold in jewelry exceeded 600 tons; in 2002, however, due to rising and volatile prices and a poor monsoon season, this dropped back to 490 tons, and coin and bar demand dropped to 67 tons.Indian jewelry off take is sensitive to price increases and even more so to volatility, although this decline in tonnage since 1998 is also due in part to increasing competition from white and brown Goods and alternative investment vehicles, but is also a reflection of the increase in price. The Indian bride’s â€Å"Streedhan†, the Wealth she takes with her when she marries and which remains hers, is still gold, however (thus giving gold an important role in the â€Å"empowerment† of women in India). The distinction between gold and commodities is important. Gold has maintained its value in after-inflation terms ove r the long run, while commodities have declined. Some analysts like to think of gold as a â€Å"currency without a country’.It is an internationally recognized asset that is not dependent upon any government’s promise to pay. This is an important feature when comparing gold to conventional diversifiers like T-bills or bonds, which unlike gold, do have counter-party risk. SIGNIFICANCE OF GOLD IN INDIAN CULTURE Gold is a precious metal with which man kind has had a long and very intimate relation. Gold is considered as a symbol of purity and good fortune. Most of the gold that the entire world holds lies in India. The main reasons why Indians consider gold as an investment are. ? Gold is considered as equivalent to liquid cash: gold is considered as a security or assets which can be converted in to cash when ever required. Gold is very good investment :due to consistently increasing value, gold is considered as safe and secure investment ? Gold is a goof gift item: it i s precious and worthy it is again as gift during wedding birthdays or any other special occasions. It is symbol of prestige and is considered auspicious ? Gold considered as status symbol: Gold is symbolizes wealth. in Indian the weddings, the bride wears jewellary as a symbol of the family status. ? Gold has religious significance : Gold is a symbol of Hindu goddess lakshmi. Gold is bought or gifted on occasions of festivals like Dhanteras Dussera and diwali . ? Gold has great ornamental value: women and gold jewellery are inseparable from each other.Gold ornaments area always in fashion and will never become out of fashion . even the wedding rings are made of gold to mark a long lasting relationship ? Gold : Ancentral property: Gold is passed down from generation to generation as an ancestral property. .Gold producing countries †¢ South Africa †¢ United states †¢ Australia †¢ China †¢ Canada †¢ Russia †¢ Indonesia †¢ Peru †¢ Uzbekistan †¢ Papua new guinea †¢ Ghana †¢ Brazil †¢ Chile †¢ Philippines †¢ Mali †¢ Mexico †¢ Argentina †¢ Kyrgyz tan †¢ Zimbabwe †¢ Colombia The largest producer of Gold is South Africa. It accounts for an estimated 16. 5 million ounces of Gold annually in the next 3 year: and produces almost 20 percent of the world’s bullion.Hopping to control its declining production trend due to the extended weakness in the price of Gold in recent years. The South African Gold industry is working in the direction to lower its production costs and boost productivity. The second largest producer of gold is united states. It accounts for an estimated 10. 4 million ounces of Gold annually by 2001 and produces about 12. 5% of the world’ Gold supply Due to the expansion US Mining operations. And because of the reduced profitability due to the low price of Gold. Reduction in mine production is expected by 9% by the US during the next 3 years th e third largest producer of gold is Australia with an estimated 9. 6 million ounces annual production by 2001.Nearly 45% of the world gold supply was produced by the top 3 producing nations Latin America (Mexico, Peru, Chile and Brazil) and the Far East producer are accepted to increases production in the next three years. Though these countries add up to a very a small shares in the world’s totally supply there production increase will counter act some of the production cuts made up by the top 3 big producers Current Scenario in Indian Commodity Market Need of commodity derivatives for India India is among top 5 producers of most of the commodities, in addition to being a major consumer of bullion and energy products. Agriculture contributes about 22% GDP of Indian economy. It employees around 57% of the labor force on total of 163 million hectors of land Agriculture sector is an important factor in achieving a GDP growth of 8-10%. All this indicates hat Indian can be promot ed as a major centre for trading of commodity derivatives. INDIAN COMMODITY MARKET TRADING AND EXHANGES ? MCX: MULTI COMMODITY EXHANGE ? NCDEX: NATIONAL COMMODITY AND DERIVATIES EXHANGE ? NSEL: NATIONAL SPOT EXHANGE LTD ? NMCE: NATIONAL METAL AND COMMISSION EXHANGE MULTI COMMODITY EXCHANGE – MCX Multi commodity exchange is a commodity exchange based in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. The MCX is a demutualized electronic multi commodity futures exchange, and enables future trading of various agricultural and non agricultural commodities such as Metals, Pulses, Oils, Fiber, Energy, Petrochemicals, Plantations, Cereals, Bullion and Spices etc.As on 31st of December 2007, the exchange was offering futures trading in 55 different commodities. Established in November 2003 by Financial Technologies, the MCX hold a permanent recognition issued by government of India. Pattern on multi commodity exchange (MCX) MCX is currently largest commodity exchange in the country in terms of trade volumes, further it has even become the third largest in bullion and second largest in silver future trading in the world. Coming to trade pattern, though there are about 100 commodities trade on MCX, only 3 or 4 commodities contribute for more than 80 percent of total trade volume. As per recent data the largely trade commodities are Gold, Silver, Energy and base Metals.Incidentally the futures trends of these commodities are mainly driven by international futures prices rather than the changes in domestic demand-supply and hence, the price signals largely reflect international scenario. Among agriculture commodities major volume contributors include Gur, Urad, Mentha oil etc. whose market sizes are considerably small making then vulnerable to manipulations. NATIONAL COMMODITY AND DERIVATIVES EXCHANGE LTD – NCDEX The second largest commodity exchange in the country after MCX. However the major volume contributors on NCDEX are agricultural commodity but most of them have common inherent problem of small market size, which is making them vulnerable to market manipulations and over speculation.About 60% trade on NCDEX comes from guar seed, chana and urad (narrow commodities as specified by FMC). National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) is a technology driven commodity exchange. It is a public limited company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 with the Register of companies, Maharashtra in Mumbai on April 23, 2003. it has an independent Board of Directors and professionals not having any vested in commodity market. It has been launched to provide a world-class commodity exchange platform for market participants to trade in a wide spectrum of commodity derivatives driven by best global practices, professionalism and transparency.In December 2003, the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) launched futures trading in nine major commodities. To begin with contracts in Gold, Silver, Cotton, Soya bean, Soya oil, Ra pe/ Mustard seed, Rapeseed oil, Crude palm, and RBD palmolein are being offered. National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) NMCE is third national level futures exchange that has been largely trading in agricultural commodities. Trade on NMCE had considerable proportion of commodities with big market size as jute rubber etc. But, in subsequent period, the pattern has changed and slowly moved towards commodities with small market size or narrow commodities.Analysis of volume contributions on three major national commodity exchanges reveled the following pattern, major volume contributors. Majority of trade has been concentrated in few commodities that are ? Non Agricultural Commodities ( bullion, metals and energy) ? Agricultural commodities with small market size ( or narrow commodities) like guar, urad, menthe etc The commodity markets are being classified as following types of commodities. 1. Agricultural products. 2. Precious metals. 3. Other metals. 4. Energy. GENERAL CHARACTERIST ICS OF GOLD: ? Gold is primarily a monetary asset and partly a commodity. ? More than two-thirds of gold’s total accumulated holdings relate to â€Å"value for investment† with central bank reserves, private players and high-carat jewellery. Less than one-third of gold’s total accumulated holdings is a â€Å"commodity† for jewellery in western markets and usage in industry. CHARACTERISTICS OF GOLD MARKET: ? Gold market is highly liquid and gold held by central banks and other major institutions and retail jewellery keep coming back to the market. ? Due to large stocks of gold as against its demand, it is argued that the core driver of the real price of gold is stock equilibrium rather than flow equilibrium. ? Effective Portfolio Diversifier: this phrase summarizes the usefulness of gold in terms of â€Å"Modern Portfolio Theory†, a strategy which is utilized by many investment managers today. Using this approach, gold can be used as portfolio diver sifier to improve investment performance. Effective Diversification During â€Å"Stress† Periods: Traditional methods of portfolio diversification often fail when they are most needed-that is, during periods of financial â€Å"stress†(instability). On these occasions, the correlations and volatilities of return for most asset classes(including traditional diversifiers such as bonds and alternative assets)increase, thus reducing the intended â€Å"cushioning† effect of diversified portfolio. INDIAN GOLD MARKET: ? Gold is valued in India as savings and investment vehicle and is the second preferred investment after bank deposits. ? India is the world’s largest consumer of gold in jewellery and in investment. In July 1997 the RBI authorized the commercial banks to import gold for sale or loan to jewellers and exporters. ? The gold hoarding tendency is well ingrained in Indian society. ? Domestic consumption is dictated by monsoon, harvest and marriage season . Indian jewellery off take is sensitive to price increases and even more so to the volatility. ? In the cities gold is facing competition from the stock market and a wide range of consumer goods. ? Facilities for refining, assaying, making them into standard bars in India, as compared to the rest of the world, are insignificant, both qualitatively and quantitatively. GOLD MARKET MOVING FACTORS: ? Above ground supply from sales by central banks, reclaimed scrape and official gold loans. Producer/miner hedging interest. ? World macro economic factors-US Dollar, interest rate. ? Comparative returns on stock markets. ? Domestic demand based on monsoon and agricultural output. IMPORTANT WORLD GOLD MARKETS: ? London is the biggest as well as the oldest gold market in the world. ? Mumbai under India’s liberalized gold regime. ? New York as the home of futures trading. ? Zurich as a physical turntable. ? Istanbul, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong as doorways to important consuming reg ions. ? Tokyo was TOCOM sets the mood of Japan. Headquartered in Mumbai, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) is a state-of-the-art electronic commodity futures exchange.The demutualised Exchange set up by Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) has permanent recognition from the Government of India to facilitate online trading, and clearing and settlement operations for commodity futures across the country. Having started operations in November 2003, today, MCX holds a market share of over 80% of the Indian commodity futures market, and has more than 2000 registered members operating through over 100,000 trader work stations, across India. The Exchange has also emerged as the sixth largest and amongst the fastest growing commodity futures exchange in the world, in terms of the number of contracts traded in of the number of contracts traded in 2009. MCX offers more than 40 commodities across various segments such as bullion, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, and a number of a gric-commodities on its platform.The Exchange is the world's largest exchange in Silver, the second largest in Gold, Copper and Natural Gas and the third largest in Crude Oil futures, with respect to the number of futures contracts traded. The Exchange strives to be at the forefront of developments in the commodities futures industry and has forged strategic alliances with various leading International Exchanges, including Euro next-LIFFE, London Metal Exchange (LME), New York Mercantile Exchange, Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), Sydney Futures Exchange, The Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand (AFET), among others. For MCX, staying connected to the grassroots is imperative.Its domestic alliances aid in improving ethical standards and providing services and facilities for overall improvement of the commodity futures market. EXCHANGE-TRADED GOLD: GOLD-BACKED SECURITIES Gold is traded in the form of securities on stock exchange in Australia. France, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Sin gapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. By design, these forms of securitized gold investment, all regulated financial products, are generally referred to as Exchange Traded Commodities or Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and are expected to track the gold price almost perfectly. Unlike derivative products, the securities are 100% backed by physical gold held mainly in allocation form.These securities have had a major impact on the gold market, representing an annual average of 32% of identifiable investment and 6. 5% of total physical demand over the 5 years to 2008. Financial advisors and other investment professionals can provide further details about these products. FUTURES AND OPTIONS GOLD FUTURES Gold futures contracts are firm commitments to make or take delivery of a specified quantity and purity of gold on a prescribed date at an agreed price. The initial margin – or cash deposit paid to the broker – is only a fraction of the price of the gold underlying the contract. That means investors can achieve notional ownership of a value of gold considerably greater than their initial cash outlay.While this leverage can be the key to significant trading profits, it can also give rise to equally significant losses in the event of an adverse movement in the gold price. Futures prices are determined by the market’s perception of what the carrying costs – including the interest cost of borrowing gold plus insurance and storage charges -ought to be at any one time. The futures price is usually higher than the spot price for gold. Futures contracts are traded on regulated commodity exchanges. The largest are the New York Mercantile Exchange Comex Division (recently rebranded CME Globex, after a merger between Chicago Mercantile Exchange and NYMEX), the Chicago Board of Trade (part of CME) and the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. Gold futures are also traded in India a Dubai.The Commodity Futures Trading commission provides extensive reports on derivatives trading in the United States. Tradable commodity indices are based on fully collateralized baskets of long-only commodity futures, all of which include a small allocation to gold. GOLD OPTIONS These give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy (‘call' option) or sell (‘put' option) a specified quantity of gold at a predetermined price by an agreed date. The cost of such an option depends on the current spot price of gold, the level of the pre-agreed price (the ‘strike price'), interest rates, the anticipated volatility of the gold price and the period remaining until the agreed date.The higher the strike price, the less expensive a call option and the more expensive a put option. Like futures contracts, buying gold options can give the holder substantial leverage. Where the strike price is not achieved, there is no point in exercising the option and the holder's loss is limited to the premium initia lly paid for the option. Like shares, both futures and options can be traded through brokers. Gold price Fluctuation: Responsible factors Gold has widely used throughout the world as a vehicle of monetary exchange, as an investment, use in jewelry, medicine, the food and drink also. Gold provided the independent of states, currencies, productivity and credit worthiness.Many experts advice to the private investors that they do 5 to 10 % their investment in the gold because regular purchase of gold and silver coins helps to protect the smaller investor against price and currency fluctuation. Gold has always been prized as precious and valuable. It does not deteriorate. Gold is also maintained the liquidity in our portfolio because gold is traded around the world. With gold we can possess the international currency which we can sold around the world at any time. This table shows the gold price fluctuation. [pic] Table shows the gold price fluctuation In the recent scenario there are va rious issues and factor responsible for the gold price fluctuation. Increasing deficit in the balance of trade in the united states. ? The declining production of some gold producing countries the major gold producing company Africa, Canada, Australia, china, Philippines. ? Central bank and international monetary fund also play the major role in gold fluctuation. It is generally accepted that interest are closely related to the gold price. As the interest rate rise the general tendency is for the gold price, which earn no interest to fall and rates dip for gold price to rise. ? At the end of 2008 financial crisis captured all the global market, a trend start to develop of regular investor allocating a certain amount of their portfolio into gold.The most popular reason to own gold is as hedge against the inflation. ? From late 2009 Fears of Sovereign debt crises developed among the investors as a result rising the private and government debt levels around the world together with the wave of downgrading of government debt in some European states. The crises have major impact on several European countries, most notably on Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Several other factors which are responsible to pushes the gold prices upward political unrest and war monetary expansion, economic misbalance because of these reasons people lose their faith in the value of their currency and they invest into the gold as permanent or a fixed assets. [pic]

Michele A. Paludi’s “Sexual Harassment in College” Essay

True or false? Many people believe that sexual harassment only involves physical assault. False! I don’t know where Dr. Paludi got this red herring of a definition from so that she could attack it, but sexual harassment had always meant quid pro quo, grades for sex, or, in the workplace, sexual favors to get the job or a raise. In either case, force was rarely needed. Regie T. has looked up both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Act of 1972, and even without input from the ongoing debate, I can see that according to federal law, sexual harassment is wide open to interpretation. College policies? Same unhelpful and confusing statements. Staring at students, complimenting them, calling them â€Å"dear†, ‘uncomfortable’ witticism, having a lesson on the unclothed female figure–all these ‘harassing’ behaviors have been used to fire professors. Even fully consensual love affairs weren’t safe, once some third party found out, got offended, and found time to complain. I believe people do have a clear understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment all right. True or false? Frequently individuals are told that sexual harassment is a rare occurence or that the campus has never filed for it against an individual. True. I inquired at Valley College’s VP for Student Services and its response was that in the past five years, only two students had filed sexual harassment complaints against anybody, the last being in 2001. In my public speaking class at that institution last spring, I witnessed an incident where the instructor told a pregnant student to ‘waddle down’ to the front. The student said it wasn’t funny, broke down in tears, and the instructor apologized. Previously, this student also cried when a guy called her fat. At the end of the term, I overheard her say, after not getting an ‘A’ in the class, that she might complain to the dean. I’m sure that had she had been included in one of those surveys on verbal abuse, she would’ve reported to having been sexually harassed. True or false? There is a common myth that there is a â€Å"typical† harasser who can be identified by his blatant and obvious mistreatment of many women. Maybe before; now it’s False. One of Paludi’s sources which I’ve read, Billie Dziech and Linda Weiner’s standard harassment text, has been  brainwashing women for almost 20 years. It warns against The Lecherous Professor who could be of any imaginable type, from a stylish â€Å"public harasser,† a conservative â€Å"private harasser,† a nice â€Å"Counselor-Helper,† or even a smart â€Å"Intellectual Seducer.† As more women are exposed to this book, we can’t really blame them when they start suspecting everyone except the garden variety pathological and abnormally-behaving instructor. As UCLA Professor, cultural critic, and all-woman Cristina Nehring put it: â€Å"[G]ive a group of indifferently successful individuals of either sex a glass through which to view themselves as very important victims, limited in their success not by the modesty of their own talents but by the ubiquitous insidiousness of the â€Å"system,† and chances are good they will learn to use it. Mix in the resentment of a relationship gone awry, or a relationship desired but never obtained, and you begin to understand the source of a good number of sexual-harassment charges. Add to this a potent financial bait (women have reaped considerable rewards through harassment suits in which the burden of disproof was on the defendant and institutional sympathy entirely with the accuser), and the attraction of such charges becomes still clearer.† True or false? Women may not label their experiences as sexual harassment even though the experiences meet the legal definition of this form of victimization. False. Today, there is such a thing as too much awareness. Again, Nehring answered this best: â€Å"In our enlightened contemporary university, men walk on eggshells and women run from shadows. Every gesture is suspect: if a colleague compliments you on your dress, it smacks of sexism; if a professor is friendly, he is readying you for future sexual abuse. There is no kindness so innocent that women educated in the â€Å"patterns† of harassment cannot recognize it as an instance of the newly identified activity experts refer to as â€Å"grooming† the victim for the kill. Academic encouragement, easy jesting, an affectionate epithet–all of what used to be the currency of good fellowship as well as teaching–have become cause for vigilance, fodder for complaint, the stuff of suits.† If there was ever a woman’s issue that deserves a backlash, it is sexual harassment; unfortunately the backlash has appeared in other battlegrounds where there are real women victims, such as rape, incest and child molestation, but not this one. Feminists have already won–the occasional true harasser is easily identified and thrown out of office, But in making all college female students out to be weak and resourceless victims, and all male faculty as closet villains, the regular classrooms are now fearfully and boringly intolerable for everyone; they should be now left alone. Sexual harassment remains a major problem in high school and in the workplace, but I just don’t see it being one in college anymore. Work Cited Nehring, Cristina. â€Å"The Higher Yearning.† Harper’s Magazine 303.1816 (2001): 64-72.