Share Holder Value Essay Example for Free

Share Holder Value Essay Public and private companies are under a great deal of pressure to create and sustain shareholder value by increasing both returns on capital and growth rates and company’s stock price or equity value. Share holders would like to associate with a firm whose stock prices are not depressed. Who is a Shareholder? A share holder can be defined as the owner of one or more shares of stock in a corporation, commonly also called a stockholder. The benefits of being a shareholder include receiving dividends for each share as determined by the Board of Directors, the right to vote (except for certain preferred shares) for members of the board of directors, to bring a derivative action (lawsuit) if the corporation is poorly managed, and to participate in the division of value of assets upon dissolution and winding up of the corporation, if there is any value. A shareholder should have his/her name registered with the corporation, but may hold a stock certificate which has been signed over to him/her. Before registration the new shareholder may not be able to cast votes represented by the shares. (Enhancing share holder value, Dr William . e. Broxterman Chairman/CEO Chemquest Group,unc). Shareholder value is a business term, which implies that the ultimate measure of a companys success is to enrich shareholders. It became popular during the 1980s, and is particularly associated with former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch. ( In March 2009), Welch openly turned his back on the concept, calling shareholder value the dumbest idea in the world. The term used in several ways: To refer to the market capitalization of a company (rarely used) * To refer to the concept that the primary goal for a company is to increase the wealth of its shareholders (owners) by paying dividends and/or causing the stock price to increase * To refer to the more specific concept that planned actions by management and the returns to shareholders should outperform certain bench-marks such as the cost of capital concept. In essence, the idea that shareholders’ money should be used to earn higher returns than they could earn themselves by investing in other assets having the same amount of risk. The term in this sense was introduced by Dr Alfred Rappaport in 1986. ) In (1981, Jack Welch made a speech in Hotel Pierre, New York City called) ‘Growing fast in a slow-growth economy’ (8. 12. 1981) this is often acknowledged as the dawn of the obsession with shareholder value. Welchs stated aim was to be the biggest or second biggest market player, and to return maximum value to stockholders. Strategic planning In today’s fast-changing, often business environment, formal systems for strategic planning have become one of top management’s principal tools for evaluating and coping with uncertainty. One of the key roles of Board of directors is to approve and adopt the strategic and annual business plans, the setting of objectives and review of key risk and performance areas. Corporate board members are also showing increasing interest in ensuring that the company has adequate strategies and that these are tested against actual results. While the organizational dynamics and the sophistication of the strategic planning process vary widely among companies, the process almost invariably culminates in projected (commonly five-year) financial statements. This enables top managers and the board to review and approve strategic plans in the same terms that the company reports its performance to shareholders and the financial community. Under current practice the projected financial statements, particularly projected earnings per share performance, commonly serve as the basis for judging the attractiveness of the strategic or long-term corporate plan. The conventional accounting-oriented approach for evaluating the strategic plan does not, however, provide reliable answers to such basic questions as: †¢ Will the corporate plan create value for shareholders? If so, how much? †¢ Which business units are creating value and which are not? †¢ How would alternative strategic plans affect shareholder value? Managing shareholder value This management principle, also known under value based management, states that management should first and foremost consider the interests of shareholders in its business decisions. As shareholder value is difficult to influence directly by any manager, it is usually broken down in components, so called value drivers. A widely used model comprises 7 drivers of shareholder value, giving some guidance to manage. These drivers are, * Revenue, the amount of money that is brought into a company by its business activities. In the case of government, revenue is the money received from taxation, fees, fines, inter-governmental grants or transfers, securities sales, mineral rights and resource rights, as well as any sales that are made. * Operating Margin, the ratio used to measure a companys pricing strategy and operating efficiency, if a companys margin is increasing, it is earning more per dollar of sales. The higher the margin, the better. Can be calculated as: Operating margin=Operating Income/Net Sales. * Cash Tax Rate, the cash a company pays to governments as a percentage, while looking at an unlevered company. * Incremental Capital Expenditure, additional cash invested by a firm in its long term assets in order to generate a dollar of new sales. * Investment in Working Capital, a measure of both a companys efficiency and its short-term financial health. The working capital ratio is calculated as, working apital=current assets-current liabilities * Cost of Capital, equity and debt capital and the related discount rate. * Competitive Advantage Period, advantage over competitors by offering consumers better value either through greater benefits or lower prices. Share holder value, and the Economic value concept The value that a shareholder is able to obtain from his/her investment in a company ,is made up of capital gains, dividend payments, and proceeds from buy back programs and any other payouts that a firm might make to a shareholder. In other words share holder returns exceed the required return to equity, and the company is deemed to have exceeded the required expectation. Share holder value in recent years is being measured using the Economic Value Added Concept (EVA), a measure of a companys financial performance based on the residual wealth calculated by deducting cost of capital from its operating profit (adjusted for taxes on a cash basis). Share holder value, and the WACC concept Investors use WACC as a tool to decide whether to invest. The WACC represents the minimum rate of return at which a company produces value for its investors. Lets say a company produces a return of 20% and has a WACC of 11%. That means that for every dollar the company invests into capital, the company is creating nine cents of value. By contrast, if the companys return is less than WACC, the company is shedding value, which indicates that investors should put their money elsewhere. It measures a trend of improving or declining share holder value and it helps managers to focus on projects, businesses, product lines and activities yielding more than a firms weighted average cost of capital WACC (The return that both debt holders and equity holders expect, WACC, in other words, represents the investors opportunity cost of taking on the risk of putting money into a company. Investors use WACC as a tool to decide whether to invest. The WACC represents the minimum rate of return at which a company produces value for its investors. Lets say a company produces a return of 20% and has a WACC of 11%. That means that for every dollar the company invests into capital, the company is creating nine cents of value. Current value of a business is fairly expressed by the share price, there fore increasing EVA should move prices upwards. This means an earning return greater than its cost of capital. Value creation for shareholders through strategic acquisition Acquisitions have known to create value for share holders, however this has to be done strategically, for example in the study of industry acquisitions in 1998(1999 The Chemquest Group. Inc) describing the adhesives industry, such acquisitions have integrated a number of companies in to a single unit with a positive EVA have added significant value and enhanced shareholder value of the company. In order for an acquisition to create share holder value it must generate a positive NPV. In other words it behaves the same as a capital investment. By carrying assets that maximize long term value of the firm for example outsourcing activities such as manufacturing. Dell investments are involved extensively in marketing but out sources distribution, inventory and manufacturing. Also hiring of employees should be strategic. Share holder value and capital structure design Share holders wealth can be improved with increasing leverage by using more debt in place of equity and or dealing judiciously with debt and equity, designing a capital structure that will reduce WACC and increase the value of the firm. This is based on the fact that the composite cost of debt lies between the least expensive debt and the more expensive equity. This approach enables the maximization of corporate profits and shareholders equity. By keeping an eye on the capital market for the firm, the Financial Manager should keep an eye on capital markets for the firm, substituting methods for more effective ones which can improve the firms value and so the shareholder value. Areas such as interest on loans and normal dividend rates as dictated by the market should be examined for decisions. Share holder value and expansion and diversification A company can increase shareholders wealth by diversifying for example addition of a new product line. When BOC gases wanted to expand its business there was consideration by the board for an acquisition of a business in a similar industry, Carbacid. Although this did not succeed, the focus to grow through this product is still on and there is a plan to buy a carbon dioxide mining well. Nakumat seeks sh 1 billion for expansion and is talking with commercial banks for a syndicated loan. The loan is a long term five year loan to be used for stocking new branches recently opened in Rwanda Kigali( Business Daily pg 23). Share holder value and replacement and modernization Finlay Kenya in kericho the tea producing company has replaced a large number of manual labor, with machinery for plucking tea leaves; in a bid to modernize the labor market, to improve on productivity and to reduce labor costs and there fore shareholder value. Boc gases is evaluating an investment for an additional air separation in order to improve performance of machinery (Annual Report 2007). As a firm continues to grow, it may consider improving its retail centers, availing information to customers , displaying sales ware while encouraging caller customers to come and buy the goods in the retail shop. Investors Africa transformation fund, are trying out new methods to tap Africa Agriculture aimed at double digit returns with programmes to boost food production. ( Top News Business Daily pg 3 Dec 6 2010). Share holder value and investment decision rule Through sound capital budgeting techniques, a firm may come up with appraisal techniques to measure economic worth of an investment project for example, coming up with an unambiguous way of separating good projects from bad projects, ranking projects according to profitability, and choosing amongst a number of projects, the project that maximizes wealth. Investment decision can be divided into long-term and short-term decisions and techniques. Capital investment decisions are long-term choices about which projects receive investment, whether to finance that investment with equity or debt, and when or whether to pay dividends to shareholders. On the other hand, short term decisions deal with the short-term balance of current asses and current liabilities; the focus here is on managing cash, inventories, and short-term borrowing and lending (such as the terms on credit extended to customers), for example treasury has signed up for a new World Bank fronted bonds trading plan, which should help the central bank in diversifying its forex reserve mix and cushion the shilling against wild swings(professor Njuguna Central Bank of Kenya Governor, Business Daily Dec 6). Share holder value and discounted/non discounted cash flow methods By recognizing that bigger and early cash flows are preferred, the shareholders value can be improved. Using discounted cash flow methods such as NPV and PI. When NPV is +ve, the project should be accepted and when it is –ve it should be rejected. In the decision rule for profitability where PI is less than 1, then the project should be rejected while where PI is greater than 1 then the project should be accepted. In the non-discounted cash flow method, projects with higher ARR are preferable. In order to make the right investment decision, it is important that the project is thoroughly analyzed using available tools, remembering that the resources are minimal and can not be wasted. Increasing or liquidating part of shareholding This can be achieved by shareholders taking up shares and so increasing their investment in the business, or selling their rights and liquidate part of their investment. In theory, share splits have a positive effect on the shareholders wealth because they encourage beneficial price movements. This should be in line with the dividend policy. Cash cycle and cash management Firms should ensure that there is a match between accounts payable and accounts receivables and that payment to creditors is delayed while receivables are collected earlier. These may seem like daily chores but can cost the shareholder dearly if poorly managed. Many firms have closed down because of not managing accounts receivables appropriately. Summary In summary Strategies selected in creating share holder values should be strategic in the real sense. Strategies selected will usually cover three to five years and will incorporate the big picture. Strategies of substance that have been tested will ensure that the right programs for growth of the firms share value are selected and implemented.

Outlaw Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone Now Essay example -- Argument

Outlaw Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone Now    For a moment, put yourself in John Elway's shoes. Imagine getting paid thousands of dollars to do a milk promotion. Now, would you still do the promotion if you knew the milk had come from a cow injected with hormones? The use of rBGH, Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, has become a concern in the dairy industry. The controversy is over whether or not the hormone is harmful to the cows and people. In animals and humans, there is a growth hormone produced. This protein hormone, produced in the pituitary gland, is fundamental for normal growth, development, and health maintenance. It was discovered sixty years ago that by injecting cows with GH, the growth hormone extracted from cattles' pituitary glands, milk production was increased. Using recombinant DNA processes, it became technically possible and economically feasible to produce an abundance of rBGH, which is essentially the same as pituitary derived bGH (Rachel. "Report..."). On November 5, 1993, the United States Food and Drug Administration, FDA, announced rBGH safe for use in milk cows. In February 1994, Monsanto, a chemical company, began selling its version of the drug to dairy farmers. Their form of the drug was to increase milk production by 5% to 20% (Rachel. "Hormones..."). The Consumers Union, an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization serving only consumers, made claims and presented evidence that byproducts of the hormone treatment are weighable in milk and are not safe for humans or the cow ("About..."). Today, the Consumers Union wants genetically engineered milk to be labeled so that milk consumers are able to make an informed choice about the milk they are purchasing (Rachel. "Ho... ...tp://www.enviroweb.org/issues/biotech/bgh/nogood.html, December 12, 2000. "Monsanto." Monsanto.com. [online], Available: http://www.monsanto.com/, December 13, 2000. Rachel. "Hormones in Milk: No Right to Know". RACHEL'S Hazardous Waste News #381. [online], Available: http://rachel.enviroweb.org/rhwn381.htm, March 17, 1994. Rachel. "Trouble with Milk." Milk. [online] Available: http://www.gn.apc.org/inquirer/milk.html, February 29, 1996. "Report on the Food and Drug Administration's Review of the Safety of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin." Report on the Food and Drug Administration's Review of the Safety of Recombinant BGH. [online], Available: http://www.biotechknowledge.com/showlib_us.php3?1308, January 21, 1999. "We're Starting a Food Fight!" Ben & Jerry's rBGH. [online], Available: http://www.benjerry.com/bgh/index.html#what, January 7, 1997.

Halfway House Essay

The crisis of identity and breakdown of communication in human relations and resultant tragic effect of boredom and despair constitute the theme of Rakesh’s play, Aadhe Adhure, which is by far is best play, devastatingly exposing the fragmented personalities and broken images in a disintegrated society. †Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€ N. Choudhuri, (Hindi Drama, Contemporary Indian Literature) Mohan Rakesh’s  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Halfway House†Ã‚  can be viewed as an exploration of meaning and identity in the turmoil of changing social and familial structures. Although the play seeks to construct the search for identity within the unfulfilling, incomplete nature of bourgeois existence as a universal non-gendered experience along Existential lines as its primary concern, it eventually deals with many questions on a broader socio-economic context on Realist lines. In the Prologue itself, the theme of exploration of identity is introduced, when ‘the Man in a Black Suit’ exclaims,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Who am I? †Ã‚  Immediately the declaration takes an Existential tangent as the fruitlessness of such a search for meaning is asserted with the speaker claiming,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"This is a question I have given up trying to face.   He establishes the absurdity of identity by calling himself  Ã¢â‚¬Å"amorphous†Ã‚  and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"undefined†, as someone who like all of us puts on a new mask and gives a new meaning to himself for different occasions –  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The fact is that there is something of me in each one of you and that is why, whether on or off stage, I have no separate identity. †He then asserts that no matter what the circumstance, what the situation and the gender, man’s search for identity and meaning in life would always remain an absurd, indescribable, undefined and irrational oddity. Even the characters of the play are seen to engage in a constant search of meaning and identity in life. In his essay,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Uncertain circumstances, Undefined Individuals: A study of Halfway House†, S. G. Bhanegaonkar points out that modern psychology does not regard escapism as a symbol of weakness but as a sensitive individual’s desire to search for meaning which he does not find in the conditions he is placed in; and hence, the characters of ‘Halfway House’  can too be seen as being in a relentless quest for identity that transcends the turmoil of their fragmented existence. It is in sync with R. L. Nigam’s theory, of the main characters of play being involved in a  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœself-made’  phenomenon of  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœthe soul’s search for an alternate sanctuary’  in the absence of the sanctuary of home which‘stood for a source of solace and moral stay to the individual in moments of crises. ’ The search for identity and meaning in Halfway House is best articulated through the character of Savitri who seeks fulfilment and reason in marital bliss – â€Å"Why does one get married? In order to fulfil a need†¦. an inner†¦. oid, if you like; to be self sufficient†¦. complete. †Ã‚  Since her own husbands fails to fulfil this inner emptiness, Savitri seeks marital happiness beyond conjugal relations in men who possess the qualities she had always aspired for in Mahendranath. Dilip Kumar Basu observes,â€Å"The desire to look for â€Å"completeness† in the â€Å"other† may look like Everyman’s essential and unreasolvable problem, and may vaguely place her in the centre of an Absurdist drama where the search may be considered tragic/ridiculous.   Although the concept of Savitri seeking meaning in life being defined in terms of her relations with men seems problematic in itself, the play tries to trick us into the generalisation that this is nothing but an existentialist quest for meaning in life. She is reported to be overwhelmed by Juneja’s power, affluence and sense of reason. Shivjeet’s intellectual prowess, his university degree and numerous trips abroad enamoured her. Jagmohan’s understanding nature, sense of humour, modernism, elite lifestyle and masculine pride held immense appeal for her. She was supposed to be attracted to her now son-in-law, Manoj too, as his influential status had charmed her sufficiently. Savitri moves from one man to another in search of the perfect partner. The play tries to portray this search as an illusion, an Absurdist attempt by denying Savitri the happiness she is looking for and making her realise that all men are the same and they all of them as in Kirti Jain’s wordsâ€Å"want to evade responsibility and to exploit her. † Mahendranath is shown to search for a new identity and reason behind his existence through his relationship with Juneja. The economic crisis and his losing the identity of being the bread-earner of the family had altered his position in the house into a non-entity and affected his mind and heart adversely  Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. silent acceptance, perpetual snubs, constant insults, is all that I deserve after so many years. †Ã‚  He greatly resents his loss of control and influence in the family and is immensely unhappy to be regarded  Ã¢â‚¬Å"only as a stamp of respectability to be used only when the need arises. † Under such circumstances of changed power equations, Mahendranath earches for meaning in new relations build on a sense of understanding and mutual respect, as is the case with Juneja. From Savitri’s perpetual insults and accusations and its subsequent repercussions in giving him an inferiority complex, Juneja’s friendship offered Mahendranath the alternate sanctuary of solace and comfort in the midst of an emotional and economic crisis within the family. He began to define himself in terms of his non-utility and unsuccessfulness, and thereby sought solace in temporary acts of rebellion involving leaving the house and seeking meaning and mental peace in his companionship with Juneja. Moreover due to his own lack of conviction and inability to take independent decisions, Mahendranath looked for identity assertion through psychological dependence on others and in the early years of his marriage through a patriarchal control and restriction of Savitri’s autonomy. The fact that Mahendranath finally returns in the end using his own judgement, abandoning Juneja’s advice, establishes the futility of his search and once again, reiterates the Absurdist stance the play tries to partially incorporate. Ashok and Kinni explore the dynamics of identity on their own in their own world so as to escape from the fearful existence of their wrangling parents. Ashok searches for his identity in an amorphous world, detached from reality and need, in the realm of idleness, impulsivity and romance. For no apparent reason at all, he quits his job at Air Freeze and instead spends his time either in lazing around uselessly or in courting a girl working in the Udyog Centre. The everyday animosity between his parents distorts his sense of ‘home’ and thereby he looks for meaning and identity in an alternate world free of the pressure of shouldering family responsibility and of the tensions within the family. Even the talk he has with Binni about the  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœair’  in the house echoes these sentiments about the search for meaning. The youngest character Kinni on the other hand, searches for an identity through her emerging adolescent sexuality and awareness of this sexuality, in the absence of a secure support mechanism at home, both economically and emotionally. Given the emotional instability in her house and the complete negligence with which she was treated, Kinni sought to define herself in terms of her rebelliousness, growing sexual knowledge, stubbornness, ill-mannerisms and arrogance. In the last scene, Kinni trying to get out when the door is locked from inside and others trying to get in when she locks it from inside is again symbolic of a futile quest for identity and meaning in life, for even her defiance and obstinacy fails to make things any different for the little girl. Binny too is shown to be in a relentless and shifting quest for a sanctuary, an identity. She elopes with Manoj not in an impulse of love and romantic urge but in search of an abode away from home where she presumed she would find peace and protection. But however, when she experiences her husband’s strict conservatism and fails to find any meaning   in Manoj’s restrictive control within their conjugal relation, she looks for answers in a sense of defiance –  Ã¢â‚¬Å"He likes my hair long, so I want to cut it. He doesn’t like me to work, so I want a job. †Ã‚  But this again proves futile as she realises she is unable to execute her rebellious tendencies against the sub-ordination by her husband. Ultimately, she just returns to her maternal home in search for that mysteriousâ€Å"something†Ã‚  in their house that is the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"cause of all her trouble†Ã‚  and that which refuses to desert her. However, Binni is never shown to exactly unravel this mystery  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœcause’  thereby manifesting the absurdity of the entire process of finding meaning in life. However, when their search for meaning in life and the subsequent despair and suffering is regarded only along existential lines, it thus forecloses the possibility of ever addressing the cause of the dilemma. All the characters’ quest for an identity beyond the home, the search for an alternate sanctuary besides being analysed as a technique of Absurdist Theatre can also be seen in terms of the alienation that comes with urbanization, the breakdown of joint family and the new emerging power-plays and conflicts within the nuclear family with no viable support system outside. The fact that Savitri never explores the arena of identity as an independent individual woman, a single working woman; but instead always defines herself in terms of fulfilment in her various relations with different men raises important questions about the status of women as an autonomous individual in society. To quote R. L. Nigam,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The one solution which could have lead to joy and fulfilment, and was available to her all the time, would need for its success, a regenerated society in whose value-system personal fulfilment and interpersonal responsibilities have been harmonised. In the present social scenario, that solution would not work. † Morever, Mahendranath and Savitri not finding meaning in their relationship can also be seen as the virtual breakdown of marriage as an institution. In our fast-changing society and in the face of belated individualism of its members, the values and regards on which family and marriage have so far rested are fast losing their meaning and significance. Assertion of personal rights and freedoms within a group-unit (family) which necessarily involves inter-personal adjustments produces a situation of crisis because there are no principles to guide these adjustments, which necessarily involves inter-personal adjustments produces a situation of crisis because there are no principles to guide these adjustments which, in present context cannot be thought of in terms of surrender of one or the other party. All relations in the family need to be redefined with new structures of familial division of labour and the rise of the working women. As O. P. Sharma Prakash puts it,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Halfway House is the crisis of dignity of the individual. Modern man demands individual dignity as well as honour of is choice†¦.. It represents the modern sensibility in all its intensity, form and dimensions. †Ã‚  The fact that Manoj blames  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœsomething’  in Binni’s maternal house as the cause of all trouble and then prevents her from working establishes that the‘something’  is in reference to her mother’s promiscuity which leads him to infer that letting women out of the house would always come with the threat of her infidelity. Moreover, Mohan Rakesh’s juxtaposition of a monogamous husband with a woman whose defining feature is her promiscuity ironically at a time when the  Ã¢â‚¬ËœHindu Marriage Act (1955)’came into force outlawing polygamy to protect the rights of Hindu women reflects the extent of male anxiety generated by women’s emancipation, whose right to work meant the dissolution of the public-private dichotomy necessary for the maintenance of the family as a private sphere. This anxiety is further elaborated in terms of portraying Kinni as an uncared neglected kid, who returns to a home without the mother and feels lonely and alienated. Mahendranath’s despair too needs to be identified not just in terms of the emotional crisis that he faces with the breakdown of familial relations and absence of mutual respect, but also the economic crisis which ultimately appears as the root of all problems. Mahendranath loses his position in family, when the roles of provider and receiver are changed, when economic equations of earner and acceptor are altered and redefined in terms of sex and gender. Their current poverty seems to be the result of typical-middle class lifestyle of living beyond one’s means, and the search or identities only arises when existing identities run into conflict with changing economic denominations of labour division within the family itself. Thus, Mahendranath’s yearning for meaning in life has new economic arrangements within the familial space and sheer inability to solve the economic crisis, triggering it. Even Ashok’s arrogance and refusal to submit to influential people, Dilip Kumar Basu feels can be analysed in the backdrop of  Ã¢â‚¬Å"1969 youth revolts in Paris, and things happening in our country.   The young man’s indifference to work is thus to be constructed as a larger question of youth rebellion and mobilisation, than just mere laziness and irresponsibility or a mere existentialist search for identity. Hence, in conclusion, it can be said that although Mohan Rakesh’sâ€Å"Halfway House†Ã‚  deals extensively with the question of identity and meaning in life, to situate it solely in an Existentialist dimension and accord it the distinction of being the primary concern of the play, would unfairly downplay many other socio-economic themes that the play encompasses.

What Is Sexism Definition, Feminist Origins, Quotes

Sexism means discrimination based on sex or gender, or the belief that because men are superior to women, discrimination is justified. Such a belief can be conscious or unconscious. In sexism, as in racism, the differences between two (or more) groups are viewed as indications that one group is superior or inferior. Sexist discrimination against girls and women is a means of maintaining male domination and power.  The oppression or discrimination can be economic, political, social, or cultural. Defining Terms Sexism includes: Sexist attitudes or ideology, including beliefs, theories, and ideas that hold one group (usually male) as deservedly superior to the other (usually female), and that justify oppressing members of the other group on the basis of their sex or gender.Sexist practices and institutions,  the ways in which oppression is carried out. These need not be done with a conscious sexist attitude but may be unconscious cooperation in a system which has been in place already in which one sex (usually female) has less power and goods in the society. DNY59 / Getty Images Sexism is a form of oppression and domination.  As author  Octavia Butler put it, Simple peck-order bullying is only the beginning of the kind of hierarchical behavior that can lead to racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, classism, and all the other isms that cause so much suffering in the world. Some feminists have argued that sexism is the primal, or first, a form of oppression in humanity and that other oppressions are built on the foundation of oppression of women.  Andrea Dworkin, a radical feminist, argued that position: Sexism is the foundation on which all tyranny is built. Every social form of hierarchy and abuse is modeled on male-over-female domination. Feminist Origins of the Word The word sexism became widely known during the womens liberation movement of the 1960s. At that time, feminist theorists explained that the oppression of women was widespread in nearly all human society, and they began to speak of sexism instead of male chauvinism. Whereas male chauvinists were usually individual men who expressed the belief that they were superior to women, sexism referred to collective behavior that reflected society as a whole. Australian writer  Dale Spender  noted that she was old enough to have lived in a world without sexism and sexual harassment. Not because they weren’t everyday occurrences in my life but because THESE WORDS DIDN’T EXIST. It was not until the feminist writers of the 1970s made them up, and used them publicly and defined their meanings–an opportunity that men had enjoyed for centuries – that women could name these experiences of their daily life. Keystone / Getty Images Many women in the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s (the so-called Second Wave of feminism) came to their consciousness of sexism via their work in social justice movements. Social philosopher  bell hooks  argues that Individual heterosexual women came to the movement from relationships where men were cruel, unkind, violent, unfaithful. Many of these men were radical thinkers who participated in movements for social justice, speaking out on behalf of the workers, the poor, speaking out on behalf of racial justice. However, when it came to the issue of gender they were as sexist as their conservative cohorts. How Sexism Works Systemic sexism, like systemic racism, is the perpetuation of the oppression and discrimination without necessarily any conscious intention. The disparities between men and women are simply taken as givens and are reinforced by practices, rules, policies, and laws that often seem neutral on the surface but in fact disadvantage women. Sexism interacts with racism, classism, heterosexism, and other oppressions to shape the experience of individuals. This is called  intersectionality.  Compulsory heterosexuality  is the prevailing belief that heterosexuality is the only normal relationship between the sexes, which, in a sexist society, benefits men. Can Women Be Sexist? Women can be conscious or unconscious collaborators in their own oppression if they accept the basic premises of sexism: that men have more power than women because they deserve more power than women. Sexism by women against men would only be possible in a system in which the balance of social, political, cultural, and economic power was measurably in the hands of women, a situation which does not exist today. Are Men Oppressed by Sexism Against Women? Some feminists have argued that men should be allies in the fight against sexism because men, too, are not whole in a system of enforced male hierarchies.  In a patriarchal society, men are themselves in a hierarchical relationship to each other, with more benefits to the males at the top of the power pyramid. Others have argued that males benefit from sexism, even if that benefit is not consciously experienced or sought, is more weighty than whatever negative effects those with more power may experience. Feminist  Robin Morgan  put it this way:  And lets put one lie to rest for all time: the lie that men are oppressed, too, by sexism—the lie that there can be such a thing as mens liberation groups. Oppression is something that one group of people commits against another group specifically because of a threatening characteristic shared by the latter group—skin color or sex or age, etc. Some Quotes on Sexism bell hooks: Simply put, feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression...  I liked this definition because it did not imply that men were the enemy. By naming sexism as the problem it went directly to the heart of the matter. Practically, it is a definition which implies that all sexist thinking and action is the problem, whether those who perpetuate it are female or male, child or adult. It is also broad enough to include an understanding of systemic institutionalized sexism. As a definition it is open-ended. To understand feminism it implies one has to necessarily understand sexism. Caitlin Moran: â€Å"I have a rule for working out if the root problem of something is, in fact, sexism. And it is this: asking Are the boys doing it? Are the boys having to worry about this stuff? Are the boys the center of a gigantic global debate on this subject?† Erica Jong: Sexism kind of predisposes us to see mens work as more important than womens, and it is a problem, I guess, as writers, we have to change. Kate Millett: It is interesting that many women do not recognize themselves as discriminated against; no better proof could be found of the totality of their conditioning.