Factors Affecting Textile Industry

Factors Affecting Textile Industry The research reported in this thesis was on Factors affecting the growth of the Textile Sector. The purpose of research was to study the micro-environmental factors affecting the growth of the textile sector so that the effect of the macro-environmental factors that plague the textile sector can be countered. The secondary data was collected by consultation of literature in the libraries and the internet and also from the material printed by different organizations of Pakistan. The findings suggested that among other variables that affect the Growth of Textile Sector such as number of looms, Raw Cotton production and Raw Cotton consumption, the variables Yarn Production and Number of Spindles have a significant impact on the growth of the textile sector. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This thesis identifies the micro environmental factors that have a major impact on the Growth of the Textile Industry. These factors include all those elements in the immediate area of operations of the industry that affect its performance such as production, consumption and supply of raw materials. The textile sector or textile industry is defined as the industries involved in designing, manufacturing, distribution and use of clothing. The textile sector is technically considered to be growing or flourishing; if the textile mills are producing cloth at an increasing rate or the contribution of the textile sector to the GDP of the country is increasing (i.e. production of cotton cloth is increasing in the sector). Hence, the relationship linking the growth of the textile sector with the production levels of the cotton cloth in the industry. The GDP of a country is defined as The Total Value of Goods and Services Produced in an Economy, so if the quantity of cotton cloth production is increasing or decreasing in Pakistan that directly goes to show that that the share of economic contribution of the textile sector to the GDP of Pakistan is growing or declining respectively. There are varieties of variables both macro-environmental and micro-environmental that affect the performance or growth of the textile industry such as the political, social, legal, economic and environmental issues. The textile sector or any other sector for that matter can only flourish or grow if the policies of the government support the operations of the industry on both the micro-environmental level and the macro-environmental level. For instance if the government policies regarding the industry are detrimental to the cause such as putting a quota to the amount of cloth that can be exported to other countries or on a more fundamental level of the supply chain, restricting the type of cotton that can be used to produce cloth in the mills or if the costs of financing the expansion is highe r such as the conditions prevalent in the economy that would also result in a negative impact on the growth of the textile sector or if the inflation rate is beyond the predicted levels that would also cause the Pakistani cloth to lose its competitiveness in the markets, both local and international. The macro-environmental factors affecting the textile industry are tremendously diverse such as the illiteracy rate that is prevalent in the country and the trouble it causes in the form of resistance by individuals working in the factories and mills to adopt newer methods of production and technologies, to the investment insecurity that is present in terms of a declining economy partly through poor government policies regarding businesses and partly through the prevalent global recession that discourages the international investors to invest in an economy that is one of the biggest producers of textile products, to the physical insecurity that is present due to the law and order situat ion. This thesis however would be discussing the micro-environment variables that affect the growth of the textile sector. The Textile sector is a major contributor to the economy of Pakistan; hence, it is vital to study the factors affecting the growth of this major industry because it reflects the state of the economic health and macroeconomic policies that govern the state. The textile sector growth is dependent on a number of variables. The raw cotton production and its level of consumption affect the final product in the form of cloth. The level of consumption if important because it specifies the quantity that stays in the economy or in other words, is not exported to other countries. The number of looms and spindles is another major factor affecting the production of cloth because the larger the number of looms and spindles producing the cloth and yarn respectively the higher the produce of the textile sector is going to be because the yarn production is ultimately in used in producing cloth. All these factors affect the production of cotton cloth. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The changing profile and map of the EU textile and clothing industry, this article talks about the changing structure of the European Union textile and clothing industry. Some of the main reasons it mentions for the change include markets with often unstable and rapidly changing demand, limited product range and subject to rapid obsolescence and limited scope for economies of scale. EU still accounts for a large share of world exports and employment despite increasing competition worldwide. Some of the textile and clothing firms were focusing on simply the design and marketing and sub-contracting or out sourcing manufacturing, others focused on creativity, design and the making and selling through their own networks. Due to the absence of economies of scale firms tend to remain small, while small firms in turn have limited access to finance. So all of this leads to why the textile industry remains a particular small size in the EU, failing to increase beyond it. (Dunford, 2002The Changing Profile and Map of the EU Textile and Clothing Industry). Skills and competitiveness: Can Pakistan Break out of the low-level skills trap? This paper argues that Pakistan needs to dwell into the higher value added, skill intensive and technologically advanced sectors instead of the current low-level skills trap. Currently Pakistan is only focusing on growing cotton and increasing it yield but that is not enough if Pakistan has to compete with a technologically advanced world. The main challenge to do that is to change the mind set and develop institutions which recognize the value of investing in people. (Rashid Amjad, 2005 Skills and competitiveness: Can Pakistan Break out of the low-level skills trap?) Demand for textile and clothing exports of Pakistan, this article states that textile and clothing remain an important element in economic development of countries and in Pakistan it is the largest industrial sector with respect to investment, employment and export. The paper highlights various agreements which enhanced the access of textile products of country to various markets around the world. It compares the performance of textile industry of Pakistan with other developing countries in terms of exports. The major buyer of Pakistan textile products is U.S.A. Though the share of Pakistans exports in world market has increased to 1.1%, other developing countries had a substantial increase of upto 5%. The paper states the features of Pakistan textile industry that major chunk of yarn produced in country is exported in its raw form where it can be utilized for production of quality products such as fabric. Despite having the advantage of cotton and yarn production of superior quality the industry faces challenges in form of lack of investment, capacity and qualified workforce. The paper builds a model on the textile industry of Pakistan and provides with the policy recommendations in form of massive restructuring in this liberalized and competitive trade environment. This article focuses on the textile industry of Pakistan for it has played an important role in the economic development of this country, therefore it needs to be built upon and undergo massive restructuring to become capital intensive like it has been in the west for a while now. There is a need to focus on the quality of finished products instead of spinning activity. The finished products include production of the fine quality cloth in textile mills. Reliance on low technology power looms for the production of fabrics should be reduced and the number of shuttle less looms should be increased which have the capacity to produce wider width superior quality fabric for the international market. The reason for focusing on the quality of finished products and the development of quality cloth which is at the end of the manufacturing process is because apparels/garments provides the highest value added product among the textile items, therefore maximum focus should be towards the units producing garments, however, the increase in cotton prices resulting in proportionate increase in yarn price coupled with the increase in the cost of other inputs such as financial changes, electricity, labor, etc. has crippled the financial viability of the shuttle less weaving sector in Pakistan. To switch to more capital intensive production in the textile industry, Pakistan needs to add sufficient well developed infrastructure in terms of communication, services, export procedures, appropriately trained manpower, material inputs and transport facilities. To increase the Pakistans share in the global market would otherwise be difficult. The article gives the examples of Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. Pakistan has nearly 15000 looms whereas countries like South Korea and Japan has more than 50,000 looms. But there is more to them than just numbers. Developed countries depend more than anything on the supply factors of international competitiveness. E.g. only low wages cannot guarantee a cost advantage in textile production but there are many other factors like low capital costs and low energy costs. (Afia Malik, 2005 Demand For Textile And Clothing Exports of Pakistan). Aftab A. Khan and Mehreen Khan in the article Pakistan Textile Industry Facing New Challenges highlight the importance of textile industry of Pakistan as one of the most contributing industry to the countrys GDP. It identifies the major variables resulting in the decline of industry which includes global recession, internal security threats, high cost of production, higher financing cost, depreciation of rupee, and inflation rate. The paper provides with statistics on textile industry of Pakistan and suggests that 60-70% of machinery needs replacement in order for attaining better quality of production and cost efficiency. The downfall of industry contributed by the severe energy crisis in country, along with the financial crunch and devaluation of rupee lead to higher costs of products imported for production purposes. This all lead to unemployment in country and decline in textile exports. The paper provides with the hope that textile industry can b revived and rebuilt if governmen t supports the industry and certain measures are taken for its betterment. It includes subsidies, awareness programs, energy alternatives, trainings and exploration of new potential markets. (Aftab A. Khan, Mehreen Khan, 2010 Pakistan Textile Industry Facing New Challenges). Industrial Organization and Technological Change: The Decline of the British Cotton Industry, this article by William Lazonick again focuses on the fact that failure to adapt to and compete with the changes in the international competition. The British industrialists were divided amongst themselves and failed to identify the structure and economic conditions of international competition. This study of the British cotton industry suggests that a fundamental cause of Britains relative decline from the late nineteenth century was the inability of its capitalists, divided as they were by competition and markets, to adapt Britains nineteenth-century economic structure to the conditions of twentieth-century international competition. The structure of industrial organization which arose in the context of Britains unchallenged domination of world markets in the mid-nineteenth century left the subsequent generations of capitalists powerless, both individually and collectively, to supersede th e market so as to develop the coordinated managerial structures and introduce the high throughput production processes that characterize the modern capitalist enterprise. The article Hike in POL prices to raise cost of production from the Pakistan Textile Journal, Feburary-2010 issue highlights the adverse impacts of increase in petroleum prices on the textile industry of Pakistan. The article speaks on the problems faced by the textile industry of Pakistan throughout its existence. It states that with an impaired perception of being a terrorist state, the export based economy has suffered to a greater extent along with the global recession. Moreover with less buyers aiming Pakistani textile markets and economic turmoil has forced the textile exports to go down by 30 to 40% in a time span of 3 years in quantity terms, along with an additional negative growth in all sub sectors of textile industry. Rising inflation, lower investment rate in textile sector, rising mark ups with higher cost of production and power outage with higher energy costs, all rendered to a greater trade deficit for country and less international demand in last few years. The expo rts in 2008-2009 slumped to $ 9.95 billion where the target was of $ 12 billion. Lastly it states that along with all issues faced by textile industry of Pakistan, power shortage and higher petroleum prices would further increase problems for the industry as it will make products less competitive and increase the cost of production as prices of all commodities will shoot up. http://www.ptj.com.pk/Web-2010/02-10/Islamabad-Outlook.htm The article Pakistan faces a severe textile crisis is a statistical report from emerging textiles.com 6th December, 2006, ponders on the situation faced by Pakistan textile industry. It states that Pakistan textile industry has experienced a double digit growth which is now over and several factors have contributed in this decline of textile industry, though the government has provided with an initial research and development funding to support the industry but rising energy and financing costs could not prevent the industry from a severe crisis. It also highlights the increasing competition faced by other textile exporting countries like India, Bangladesh, China and Vietnam with their low cost products. Import tariffs on textile products and shifting from the policy of utilizing more yarn of country for value added products to export of raw yarn has again intensified the crisis situation for the industry. The article provides with complete statistics of Pakistan textile exports from July2005 to June 2006. http://www.emergingtextiles.com/?q=arts=060906Pmarkr=freen=1 In another article of Report on Textile Industry of Pakistan it claims that the reasons for the decline of textile industry of Pakistan include rise in the rates of (EFS) export finance scheme from 8.5% to 9.5% which is a rise of a 100 basis points. The second major reason it mentions is the rise in energy tariffs adding to the low availability of the electricity. Adding to that was the fact that refineries could not provide furnace oil in the required quantity to the power generation companies which led to the low working hours of the textile mills directly or indirectly. Another major blow came from the rise in yarn prices, the raw material feeding the textile mills. The cotton prices increase from 2000 to 6600 per 40 kg due to the export of yarn, the yarn export will amount to 614 million kg (which represents 14% of textile exports in 2010 versus 11% in 2009). Some of the other factors influencing the textile industry include increase in minimum wage, Double freight for Punjab Khyber Pakhtunkhwa textile mills, Lack of transportation facilities and Tariffs trade agreements. (Yasin Ahmed, 2010 Textile Industry of Pakistan) In another article Pakistan lags behind in Technical Textiles it is argued that the technical and economical impact of technical textiles in the industrially developed countries and their future contribution to the development of economics of newly developing countries, such as China, South East Asia, and North Africa etc. Pakistan still lags behind in technical textile products as neither the government nor the textile industry has made any serious efforts towards synchronizing textile products with the emerging needs of the world market by developing higher value-added products. Although the textile sector is the backbone of Pakistans economy, the Government as well as the textile industry has kept their focus on conventional textiles, ignoring technical textiles and knowledge-based products. (Noor Ahmed Memon, Noor Zaman, 2007 Pakistan lags behind in Technical Textiles). In this last article of Development of Textile Industrial Clusters in Pakistan it mentions the reasons for decline of the cotton industry as outdated technology, poor machinery, lack of skilled labor and reliance on the traditional Ustaad-Shagird mode of training and due to which there is a high defect rate. (Muhammad Shahzad Iqbal et al., 2010 Development of Textile Industrial Clusters in Pakistan) CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Research Type The research is quantitative in nature. Basically it takes into consideration the data which is numerical in nature and the relationship purely depends on the data figures of the variables such as Number of Looms, Number of Spindles, Yarn Production, Raw Cotton consumption and Raw Cotton production. Data Type Research Period This research is solely dependent on secondary data analysis. Multiple Regressions would be run on the data of Number of Looms, Number of Spindles, Yarn Production, Raw Cotton consumption and Raw Cotton production. Sources of Data Data on Number of Looms, Number of Spindles, Yarn Production, Raw Cotton consumption and Raw Cotton production will be collected from World Development Indicators, Economic Survey of Pakistan and APTMA. Dependent Variable: Factors affecting the growth of the Textile Sector Independent Variables: Number of Looms Number of Spindles Yarn Production Raw Cotton consumption Raw Cotton production OPERATIONAL DEFINTIONS Textile Sector The textile sector or textile industry is defined as the industries involved in designing, manufacturing, distribution and use of clothing. Although there is no one known way of measuring this growth. Sometimes the quantity of export of cloth is taken to be a measure of the growth of the textile sector but technically that there is no one way because there is a huge amount of informal sector that goes unrecorded in the textile sector. The textile sector in this thesis is considered to be growing or flourishing; if the textile mills are producing cloth at an increasing rate or the contribution of the textile sector to the GDP of the country is increasing (i.e. production of cotton cloth is increasing in the sector). Yarn Production Yarn production basically refers to the quantity of thread that is being made using the cotton that is grown and harvested. It is the total quantity of the Yarn that is being produced in an economy. It is a direct measure of the Thread that is being made from the cotton that is collected and further down this process of the supply chain the cloth is being produced from this very Yarn. Yarn Production is measured in (000 Kgs). Generally it should have a positive impact because this independent variable is directly related to the dependent variable. Cotton Production Similarly the cotton production is simply the amount of cotton that is being produced in an economy. This should also have a direct effect on the growth of the textile sector since both are positively related as the cotton production would go up so would the growth of textile sector. Cotton Consumption This variable basically measures the quantity of cotton that is being produced and consumed in the local economy. Since Pakistan is a cotton producing country, this variable measure the quantity of cotton that is being consumed and processed by local ginneries and mills instead of being exported as Raw Cotton to other countries. Technically this should have a positive effect on the growth of textile sector as cotton consumption in the local economy goes up so would the growth of textile sector. Number of Spindles This variable basically refers to the quantity of Yarn producing spindles that are operating in the economy. This should also have a positive relationship between the growth of textile sector because as the number of yarn producing spindles goes up so does the ability of the mills to produce cloth and hence the growth of the textile sector. Number of Looms This is similar in nature to number of Spindles; the only difference is that it measures the quantity of cloth producing Looms that are being used in an economy. If the Number of Looms would increase so would the cloth production and the growth of textile sector HYPOTHESIS Yarn Production H0: There is a significant relationship between Yarn Production and the growth of textile sector H1: There is an insignificant relationship between Yarn Production and the growth of textile sector. Cotton Production H0: There is a significant relationship between Cotton Production and the growth of textile sector. H1: There is an insignificant relationship between Cotton Production and the growth of textile sector. Cotton Consumption H0: There is a significant relationship between Cotton Consumption and the growth of textile sector. H1: There is an insignificant relationship between Cotton Consumption and the growth of textile sector. Number of Looms H0: There is a significant relationship between Number of Looms and the growth of textile sector. H1: There is an insignificant relationship between Number of Looms and the growth of textile sector. Number of Spindles H0: There is a significant relationship between Number of Spindles and the growth of textile sector. H1: There is an insignificant relationship between Number of Spindles and the growth of textile sector. TECHNIQUES Simple statistical technique of Multiple Regression will be used for the analysis of this secondary data. Multiple regressions will explain the effect of independent variables on growth of textile sector. DATA ANALYSIS For analyzing the data statgraphics will be used. Alongside explaining the relationships between variables and the amount of variation that each variable is causing, it will also provide the graphical analysis in graphical forms. DATA INTERPRETATION Statistical software such as Statgraphics which will be used in this thesis to interpret data. The P-values indicate the validity of the model and of each independent variable and the R-squared will explain the degree of variation caused in the growth of the textile sector through the variables Number of Looms, Number of Spindles, Yarn Production, Raw Cotton consumption and Raw Cotton production. CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS The dependent variable is growth of textile industry and the independent variables that are micro-environmental include Yarn Production, Consumption of Raw Cotton, Cotton Production, the total number of spindles and the total number of looms in Pakistan. The Yarn production has been chosen as an independent variable because theoretically speaking the production quantity of yarn is directly proportional to the quantity of cloth that is produced. After that the consumption of Raw Cotton has been chosen as an independent variable because it is a significant representation of the quantity of cotton that stays in the economy and is consumed by the population of Pakistan and not exported to other countries. Although the consumption of cotton specifies both the mill and non-mill usage of cotton, the non-mill usage of cotton is insignificant because it mostly represents the uses of cotton without any value addition for instance usages of raw cotton for domestic uses such as cotton balls used in infirmaries for patients. So most of the cotton consumption technically shows the amount of cotton that is processed in mills to produce cloth or textile. The Cotton Production again is a vital independent variable because it is directly proportional to the growth of the textile sector. The cotton produced is first ginned to separate the fiber from the seed, the fiber goes on to be twined and twisted to produce yarn and the yarn is then used to produced cloth so higher the quantity of cotton produced in an economy, the more the textile industry is liable to produce cloth. Multiple Regression analysis has been used as the statistical tool to develop and judge the degree of significance of the relationship between the dependent variable and five independent variables. The Regression equation is: Growth of Textile = -20.4196 + 0.00338711*Consumption of Raw Material + 0.00128728*Number of Looms + 0.00227119*Number of Spindles + 0.0191763*Raw Cotton Production + 0.00932286*Yarn Production The dependent variable (Y) over here in the above mentioned equation is the Growth of Textile Industry which is being predicted or explained. The independent variable represented by (X) explains the Variance in Y. Every independent variable has its own beta coefficient that explains the relative importance. The beta coefficient explains the relative change in the dependent variable if the independent variable is changed by 1%. All variables show a positive relationship which is correct because all other independent factors are positively related to the dependent variable that is Growth of Textile Industry. If we analyze the beta coefficients, a one percent change in the Number of Looms would cause a .0012 percent growth in the textile industry, if there is a one percent increase in the Number of Spindles it will cause a 0.022 percent growth in the textile industry. Equally if there is a one percent increase in the yarn production it would cause a 0.009 percent increase in the growth of the textile industry. A one percent increase in the consumption of raw cotton would increase the growth of the textile industry by 0.03 percent, which is a significant percentage. Lastly, the one percent change in cotton production would cause a 0.019 percent increase in the growth of the textile industry. The R-Squared statistic indicates that the model as fitted explains 95.5788 percent of the variability in Growth of Textile. The adjusted R-squared statistic, which is more suitable for comparing models with different numbers of independent variables, is 91.1576%. The P-value of the model is 0.0021. Since the P-value is less than 0.01, there is a statistically significant relationship between the variables at the 99 percent confidence level. The individual p-values of the independent variables will determine the relationship between each independent variable and the dependent variable. If the value is above 0.1 then the relationship is insignificant and the alternate hypothesis will be rejected. According to the model, Number of Spindles and Yarn Production have p-values less than 0.1. The p-value of Number of Spindles is 0.0070 and the p -value of Yarn Production is 0.0022. Hence the null hypothesis (H0) for these two variables are rejected and the alternate hypothesis (H1) will be accepted. According to the results, the p-value of Consumption of Raw Materials, Number of Looms and Raw Cotton Production is more than 0.1 so the null hypothesis for these variables is accepted and the alternate hypothesis will be rejected.

US Army Total Quality Management Essay -- essays research papers fc

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT INTRODUCTION Throughout their military careers military personnel will always face some type of inspection, whether it's internal or external. Today, some units are inspected at least four times a year in supply operations, for example, Command Supply Discipline Program, Command Inspection Program, Command Logistics Review Program, and maybe the Supply Excellence Award. How does the unit prepare for all these inspections? The unit faces many great challenges. There are a lot of steps taken to prepare for inspections. There are many checklists to follow but not enough time and personnel to accomplish these many tasks. There are many subjects areas which, the unit must cover that might be inspected. AR 11-l (Command Logistics Review Program), AR 735-5 (Policies and Procedures for Property Accountability), DA PAM 710-2-l (Using Unit Supply System Manual Procedures), and AR 710-2 (Supply Policy Below the Wholesale Level) are the governing policy documents and should be understood prior to an inspection. There are a lot of non value added procedures and many tasks that overlap, where in some cases the distribution of soldiers is not according to the need of each work place. There are many soldiers assigned to tasks different from what 1 they are supposed to do, which results in no incentive for performing better. In other words, the soldiers consume their energy striving to overcome problems inherent in the supply system instead of trying to maximize the effectiveness of supply operations. A transformation in the supply operations in the units could be achieved by the adoption of a new management philosophy that could help provide greater efficiency. Currently, one of the most advanced philosophies in the managerial field is the Total Quality Management (TQM) concept. But how compatible is the TQM philosophy to the units under the current circumstances? Can the adoption of this concept help the units to overcome their problems? What changes are necessary for a successful implementation? There is a need to examine the applicability of the TQM concept to supply operations. PURPOSE The purpose of this research is to evaluate potential of TQM for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of supply inspections. What is Total Quality Management? Total Quality Management is the process of improving the organization performance at every l... ... commanders and soldiers. For example, if there are areas of the inspection, convert five areas to TQM philosophy. BIBLIOGRAPHY A. BOOKS Aguayo Rafael, Dr. Demins: _ The American who taught the Japanese about Quality First. Carol Publishing Edition, 1990. Brocka, Bruce and M. Suzanne. Qualitv Manauement: Implementinq the Best Ideas of the Masters. Richard D. Irwin, INC., 1992. Carman, Jamess M. "TQM as a Survival Strategy: the Southern Pacific Experience." California Manaqement Review, Spring 1993. pp. 118-132. Dessler, Gary "Managing Quality and Productivity" Human Resource Manauement Prentice-Hall, Inc., 6th edition, pp. 309-323. B. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS PenDell Pittman and Pat O'Farrel, "Transforming Government: Putting People and Quality First", Coverinq m the Bases: _ _ A 14 Step Guide to TQM Implementation (Sixth Annual National Conference on Federal Quality, July 20-23, 1993). United States Office of Personnel Management, Federal Total Qualitv Manaqement Handbook, (Federal Quality Institute, May 1991). Research report, Total Qualitv Manaqement (TQM), An Overview, Anthony Coppola, Air Force Systems Command, September 1991, p. 7.

Race Matters Essay

In America, society likes to believe that America is a Color Blind Society. They say they don’t see race, but just Americans. It has been noted that whites who are exposed to images or shows of upper-middle-class blacks, like the Huxtable family in The Cosby Show, the Kyle family in My Wife and Kids or the Banks family in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, believe that blacks have the same socioeconomic opportunities as whites (Gallagher 94). Media is one of the main reasons why people in today’s society might believe that America is a Color Bind Society with television shows, like the ones stated above, and celebrities, like Jay Z and P-Diddy, who are doing very well for themselves. A 1997 Gallup poll found that most whites believe that blacks have â€Å"as good a chance as whites† in the community in finding jobs and a Kaiser Family 1997 Poll found that most whites believe that blacks are doing at least as well or better than whites in income and educational attainme nt (Gallagher 98). However black men, over the age of 25, had a 12.3 percent unemployment rate in 2012 while white men, over the age of 25, had a 6.1 percent unemployment rate in 2012 (Bureau of Labor Statistics: House Hold Data Annual Averages). With that being said, in 2010, the educational attainment of black men was 17.7 percent, slightly lower than the year before, while the educational attainment of white men was 30.8 percent, slightly higher than the year before. Black men are at a disadvantage. They are already deemed as a threat to society, a stereotypical threat that is. With cases like Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis and even as far back as the case of Emmett Till, it is obvious that when a person sees a black man they will associate them with trouble. First it was whistling at a white woman, now it is a hooded sweatshirt or playing loud music in a car (Harris-Perry). â€Å"But always, this one thing has been the same. No presumption of innocence for young black men. No benefit of the doubt. Guilt not determined by what they did or said–but presumed to be inherent in their very being. They need not wield a weapon to pose a threat. Because, if you are a young, black man, who you are is threat enough† (Harris-Perry). This paper will prove how America is not a Color Blind Society through statistics and cases of how race matters, in regards to blacks especially black men. It started as early as how skin got its color. Human skin gets its color  from melanin. The primary function of melanin is to protect the skin from being damaged by the sun. Since humans are not hairy like mammals, the hairlessness exposes humans to radiation hazards, such as ordinary sunburn, but it can even expose humans to skin cancers, including malignant melanoma, which is one of the deadliest diseases (Harris 7). Humans saw race and color as early as 6000 B.C. depending on what side of the equator a person lived on (Harris 9). In Europe, fair-skin was preferred because they tended to grow up and be taller, stronger and healthier than their darker siblings, so in that part of the world white was beautiful, or preferred, because white was healthy. In the equatorial latitudes, however, it was quite the opposite since vitamin D was never in short supply, and rickets and osteomalcia were rare, darker children were preferred because they were usually free from disfiguring and lethal malignancies. In that part of the world, black was beautiful, or preferred, because black was healthy (Harris 9). If society were Color Blind, then color wouldn’t have mattered. A parent wouldn’t choose certain children simply because they happened to be lighter or darker. Natural selection, or survival of the fittest, and cultural selection, when society selects cultural traits that will enhance the survival of a civilization, wouldn’t apply to color, but it would apply to things people can actually obtain or change. A person can’t change their skin color unless they try tanning or bleaching, which holds problems in itself. As a society, race is seen. Blacks are seen as thugs, people of Arabic descent are seen as terrorist, and whites are seen as the workers, or elite. People of Arabic descent who wear traditional clothing might be stared and ridiculed at on a regular day, but imagine if that were to happen on 9/11; many people would either fear them, or be racist towards them. That wouldn’t happen to a white person on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. In The Lost Boys of Sudan, a documentary on two Sudanese refugees who leave Africa and come to America so they can start a new and better life, a group of them were asked to stop traveling in packs because store clerks were threatened by them, but in all actuality they travel in packs because they are the ones that are scared. The unknown is scary, and they are in an unfamiliar country. It is common knowledge that during the pre-Civil War era, blacks were kept ignorant but physically strong, especially black men. Blacks were not supposed to read because an educated black would begin to understand that their treatment was wrong, and not just of the norm. An educated black would’ve known that something could be done about their treatment. Many whites slave owners believed that educated blacks could start a riot especially since they were kept physically strong. Race was seen in slavery days, even within the slaves and servants. A white worker was called a servant had to be paid and were in low supply, which is why they turned to slaves who worked for free and in high supply (Zinn 9). They were viewed as property, not humans. They could be auctioned off like a person auctions off his car, these days. Race was seen back in those days, and it is still seen today. A study showed that if a black man pushed a white man, 75 percent saw it as violence were as 6 percent saw it has horsing around or dramatic. In contrast, if a white man pushed a black man 17 percent saw it as violence and 42 percent saw it has horsing around or dramatic. â€Å"America’s nightmare. Young black and didn’t give a fuck† (Menace II Society 1993). This referred to a young black male who was deemed a menace to society. A person would rarely, if ever, use the term menace to society to describe a young white male; they would use a term like â€Å"troubled teen.† Teenagers are known for being reckless and careless, a Color Blind Society would have said America’s nightmare: young and didn’t give a fuck, but since black was added, it shows people that race matters. Black isn’t desirable it is feared. White is desirable, even Hitler tried to make blond haired, blue eyed society. No one has ever successfully tried to make a black only society. Race is a social concept because the idea of race has changed so much over time (Omi & Winant 18). In contemporary British politics the term black was referring to anyone being nonwhite (Omi & Winant 19). But a Jamaican or Latino would be offended being called black because one, they are not black, and two, black is not desirable. It has been noted that black men are frequently stopped and frisked by the police whether they are driving a car or just walking down the street. Black  men, especially those who live in New York, have encountered many impromptu frisking. Although blacks only makeup 23.4 percent of the New York City population, they make up 53 percent of the New York police stops. In Contrast, Whites, Asians and Native Americans make 47.3 percent of the New York City population, but they make up 13.3 percent of the New York police stops. This means a black person is about four times more likely to be pulled over in New York than White, Asian or Native American person, but society wonders why blacks are disproportionally represented in prisons. Even more specifically more black men were stopped by the NYPD in 2011 than there are black men in New York City. Black men only make up 1.9 percent of the New York City Population, but make up 25.6 percent of NYPD stops. Black men are feared that is why police stop them. They stop them because police believe that they are up to no good. The way they dress may be a factor but it is not the reason they are stopped and frisked so frequently because the police have no problem stopping and frisking a well-groomed black man. Since 2003, the NYPD stop and frisks have increased by 600 percent (Mathias 2012). They have even gone as far as stopping and frisking people in their buildings, with their landlord’s permission. It is called â€Å"Operation Clean Halls†, which has been in effect since 1991. It allows police to do â€Å"vertical patrols† that allows them to go into private buildings and do stop-and-frisk searches in hallways. Almost every private building in the B ronx allows Operation Clean Halls, which population coincidentally has 30.1 percent blacks (2010 Census). In the first three months, last year, the NYPD stopped and frisked people 203,500 times. Two men sued the NYPD because they were forced out of their livery cabs and were searched by cops. Both men accused police of racial profiling and unlawful searches. Being able to pull a person out of their cab and search them should be illegal. It is understandable that the police want to minimize crime in their cities, but people still have the right under the Fourth Amendment to not have to undergo any unlawful search and seizures. About 15,000 police stops over the last six years are unconstitutional and lack legal justification and 9 out of 10 of those stopped in 2011 were not even arrested, which in other words means, had little to no reason to be stopped. The police shouldn’t have the right to search a person without probable cause. Race is not probable cause. Actually the â€Å"crime control policies of the Regan and Bush administration in the 1980s, which many academics believe to be partially responsible for the increased use of policing tactics such as racial profiling, have been disastrous for minorities, particularly young Black males. Likewise, young males, especially young Black males in their late teens and early twenties, are disproportionately represented in arrest statistics and thus, as a social group are often the targets of the police. In recent years, however, as racial profiling emerged as a highly visible intersection of racism and policing, the broader problem of racially biased policing has become considerably more important† (Reitzel & Piquero). Racial profiling also proves how America is not a Color Blind Society. Pulling over, unreasonable and unethical stop and frisks, stereotypes etc. are all ways proving America sees race. Those all prove that race and color matter to some, if not most, if not all. The Trayvon Martin case opened a lot of questions on racial profiling that had been ignored before. Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old black male who was gunned down by a 28-year-old Hispanic American male on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin’s murderer, saw Martin come into the neighbor and called the police because he looked suspicious. Martin had on a hoodie and sweatpants, something most kids these days wear especially when it’s a rainy day. Martin was walking to his father’s house who lived in the neighborhood and talking on the phone with his girlfriend holding a bag of skittles and an iced tea because he had just left the store. Although the dispatcher told Zimmerman to wait for the police to get there, Zimmerman took it upon himself to follow Martin. There was a brawl and a gunshot was fired. Martin was pronounced dead at about 7:15 that night. No one canvassed the area to see if anyone knew Martin because they assumed he was trespassing. No one uses Martin’s cell phone to locate his family. Martin’s own father thought he was missing for three days because they said he was a John Doe in the morgue. His body was even tested for drugs and alcohol. Although Zimmerman admitted to murdering Martin, he was only questioned and released and no charges were brought against him, the night of the incident. Zimmerman wasn’t charged with Martin’s murder until April 11, 2012, almost a month and half after the incident. Many people  argued Zimmerman was not arrest because there were ambiguities, but since he admitted to the murder the prosecutor should bring upon those ambiguities during trial. Other argued Zimmerman was not arrested due to the Stand Your Ground Law. The Stand Your Ground Law clearly states, a person is not allowed to use deadly force, unless, â€Å"He or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony† (Hutchinson 2012). In that case, the Stand Your Ground Law should’ve protected Martin. Zimmerman chased Martin. Zimmerman had a gun while Martin was unarmed. Therefore, Martin was the victim, but since he was a black man, he was deemed as a threat. America clearly didn’t get the message because close to a year after the death of Trayvon Martin, the death of Jordan Davis arose in Jacksonville, Florida. Jordan Davis was another 17-year-old black male shot to death. Michael Dunn, a 45-year-old white man, murdered him but unlike the Trayvon Martin shooting, there were witnesses. Dunn allegedly told Davis and three other men in the car to turn down their music, but after a few negative words were exchanged between Dunn and Davis, shots were fired. Again, the murderer tried to go for self-defense under the Stand Your Ground Law in Florida. Davis was unarmed, like Martin. Davis was the victim but still he was deemed as a threat. Unlike the Martin case, it only took a month for Dunn to be convicted of first-degree murder, however, Zimmerman is still not convicted and his trial begins June 10, 2013. Even before Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin, there was Emmett Till. Till was a 14-year-old boy from Chicago who was visiting relatives in Mississippi. On the night of August 24, 1955, Till allegedly approached a white woman in a grocery store. While the stories are unclear of what Till actually did, the husband of the white woman, Roy Bryant, was offended. Bryant thought his wife’s honor was tarnished after being approached by a black boy. A few nights after the incident, Bryant and his half brother, J. W. Milam, kidnapped Till, beat him, shot him, after seeing a picture of a white woman in his wallet, and then threw him into the river. Although Bryant and Milam were charge with murder, an all-male, all-white jury acquitted them. Bryant  and Milam told the truth to an Alabama reporter, William Bradford Hule, since they could not be charged again due to the Fifth Amendment. Emmett Till wasn’t a threat. He didn’t hurt the white woman. His murder was premeditated. He was taken from a relative’s home, beaten and killed, but they couldn’t just stop there. They couldn’t just leave his body there. They took his lifeless body and throw it into the river hoping it would never be discovered, leaving his family wondering. Jordan Davis wasn’t a threat. He was shot in a car for playing loud music. The police found no weapons in the vehicle. Trayvon Martin wasn’t a threat; an armed man chased him down. He tried to fight back which resulted in his death. After his death, no one tried to locate his family but instead left him in the morgue to rot because they assumed he was trespassing in the neighborhood. Proper protocol was not used with the arrest of his murderer. It took over a month for him to be arrested, even after Zimmerman admitted to the murder since there were ambiguities, they let him go after questioning. All those cases would have been handled different if national attention wouldn’t have shinned light on the wrongdoing. It’s not always about putting someone in jail, but fixing the problem. The consequences to not having a Color Blind Society leads to things like racial profiling, racism as a whole, stereotypes, bullying etc. It also leads to minorities not being able to have a fair chance at life. When people hear things like, 5 percent of blacks with a criminal record will get a call back in terms of jobs, while 17 percent of whites with a criminal record will get a call back in terms of jobs and 14 percent of blacks without a criminal record will get a call back in terms of jobs, while 34 percent of whites without a criminal record will get a call back in terms of jobs, in enrages people (Pager 233). However, it also opens the eyes of a lot of people. Race matters when it comes to jobs. It has been noted that if two exact resumes were turned into a job, but the names were different. The person with the â€Å"traditionally white† name would be called back before a person with a â€Å"traditional black† or â€Å"ghetto† name. It also matters when a white man receives three times as many job offers as an equally qualified black who interviewed for the same positions (Gallagher 98). But not only are minorities just not called back for jobs, but Black and Hispanic job applications suffer blatant and easily identifiable discrimination one in every five times they apply for a job (Gallagher 99). In fact, many blacks are overqualified for the jobs they hold (Sterba 124). .Race matters when it comes to the war on drugs. Since 53 percent of juvenile drug offenses are by blacks while 26 percent of juvenile drug offenses are by whites (America’s Racial Report Card 410). However, in terms of the usage of drugs, whites use drugs more than blacks, but since blacks are more likely to be arrested for drugs because they are more likely to be searched, blacks makeup a large percentage of prisons. The purpose for the war on drugs is to stop the usage and distribution of drugs, however, since the police force mainly focuses on black usage and distribution of drugs, the war on drugs will remain a war. Race matters when it comes to getting loans for housing. Since minority applicants are 50 percent more likely to be denied a loan than white applicants of equivalent economic status. More specifically, blacks seeking loans are two to three times more likely to be rejected than whites and blacks were 12 times more likely to be rejected tan whites at the highest level of assets and collateral (Gallagher 98), which is the reason why it is harder for black to remain middle class. Last, but certainly not least, race matters when it comes to education. Although blacks are at a low percentile when it comes to attending college or university, those who actually earn a degree still face racial inequalities. Blacks with a bachelor’s degree earn as much as $15,180 less than their white counterparts and although native-white males make up only 41 percent of the United States population, they comprise 80 percent of all tenured professors, 97 percent of all school superintendents, and 97 percent of all argil positions in Fortune 100 industrial and Fortune 500 service companies (Sterba 123). With those statistics, minorities don’t stand a chance because even when they try to better themselves and get an education or a job, they face discrimination. They face hardships. They face inequality. If race didn’t matter there wouldn’t be a black history month, where people highlight the â€Å"first blacks† to do something, or the blacks who stood for change. If race didn’t matter there wouldn’t be Census specifying gender and race, such as the unemployment rates, dropout rates, poverty rates, or educational attainment rates of blacks, or more specifically, of black men. If race didn’t matter, Trayvon Martin wouldn’t even be dead from the result of George Zimmerman’s gun because Zimmerman wouldn’t have followed him because he would have never looked â€Å"suspicious.† If race didn’t matter, no  one would have cared that Roy Bryant was white and that he killed an innocent black boy, but that a young child was dead in result of the rage of a husband. If race didn’t matter, some statistics wouldn’t even be relevant because most statistics foundatio n is based off of racial inequality. Most importantly, if race didn’t matter, something else would. America is not a Color Blind Society, which has been showed through statistics and the cases of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis and Emmett Till. America notices race more than anything else. America first sees black then sees a black man. A person looks at news reports and it would state the race before anything. People wouldn’t know how to function in a Color Blind Society because race has matter for so long, racism is becoming the norm.

Standardized Testing Essay examples - 1573 Words

Standardized Testing Every year thousands upon thousands of children, ages seven and upwards sit down to take their scheduled standardized tests. This generation has been classified as the most tested in history. Its progress through childhood and adolescence has been punctuated by targets, key stages, attainment levels, and qualifications (Stalin in School 8). Each year the government devises a new standard and then finds a way to test how each student measures up to this standard. They have come to the conclusion that the easiest way to chart the success of school reform is to follow the results of standardized testing. But rating education strictly by the numbers is the wrong way to measure a process as complex as learning,†¦show more content†¦It is about motivating the student to think and come to logical conclusions and hypothesis on their own. This being the case, the standardized tests are not conclusive and accurate of what education and learning are. However, many people feel that these tests do not measure any sort of knowledge, but rather indicates the economic background the child came from. According to Kohn, a major spokesperson on the damaging effects of standardized testing, What standardized tests actually measure best is the economic backgrounds of the groups that take them (Gallagher). If you broke down the income of the test takers family and measured it in increments of $10,000 you would get a graph where for each increment of income the students score would undoubtedly increase directly. This is because higher income areas have more teaching resources readily available which gives the students a varied and comprehensive learning environment and also attracts more qualified teachers. The high salaries and vast resources available attract many well-qualified teachers vying for the space. Therefore, the school district has an advantage of a larger pool in which toShow MoreRelatedStandardized Testing1272 Words   |  6 PagesSynthesis Essay on Standardized Testing Standardized testing in the United States started in the mid- 1800’s (Standardized Tests - ProCon.org). This kind of testing was originally created to measure students’ performance and progress in school (Standardized Tests - ProCon.org). In recent years, the public school system has relied heavily on the information this test provides, in doing so creating controversy. Other than being a student myself, and participating in multiple standardized exams such asRead MoreStandardized Testing : Standardized Tests1186 Words   |  5 Pages Standardized Testing Impact Standardized testing is known to improve students’ education, but is it really needed in school? Standardized testing determines whether a student is prepared for the next grade based on their test scores. 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The key subjects being tested as a universal measure are mathematics, reading, and science. To help improve the scores on these tests, the United States put into law the No ChildRead MoreEssay On Standardized Testing1137 Words   |  5 PagesStandardized testing in public schools has become a norm across the United States. But, in Texas it has been found that students spend more time taking standardized tests than any other state (â€Å"Too Much Testing†). Standardized testing may be an asset to measure education, or more measure testing skills across the nation, but at what cost does it come? What are its effects on moral within the public education system, and how does the state government of Texas interact within it. Why does the TexasRead MoreThe Shortcomings of Standardized Testing1636 Words   |  7 PagesSince the U.S. Congress passed the No Child Left Behind program, standardized testing has become the norm for American schools. Under this system, each child attending a school is required to take a standardized test at specific grade points to assess their level of comprehension. Parents, scholars and all stakeholders involved take part in constant discussions over its effectiveness in evaluating students’ comprehension, teachers’ competency and the effects of the test on the education system. Though