The personality disorders | Analysis

The personality disorders | Analysis Personality or personality traits are the basis of what makes a person who they are. When expressed in a healthy way that is beneficial to a person, they are described as an enduring pattern of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They are how we think, feel, make decisions, and take actions (Barker, 1995). They are determined both by a persons genetic makeup and environmental factors and are a determining factor as to how a person lives their life. When a personality trait becomes rigid and dysfunctional, where it significantly hinders healthy thoughts and activities and harms the person who has them, this may be the basis for a personality disorder. According to the DSM-IV a personality disorder must show a lasting pattern of behavior and inner experience that markedly deviates from norms of the persons culture (James Morrison, 2006). This could include personality patterns that are normal in some people, but are exaggerated or accentuated in those with a personality disorder. In order for a person to be diagnosed with a personality disorder, the symptoms must show a lifelong pattern of manifestation. This means that the disorder is typically identified in late adolescence or early adulthood and persists throughout a lifespan. Another requirement for the diagnosis of personality disorders is that the negative behavior patterns must have a pervasive effect on all areas of a persons life; this includes employment, intimate relationships, social functioning, and family. The behavior must routinely causes problems or dysfunction, and cannot be attributed to any other sort of mental or physical illness (James Morrison, 2006). An indi vidual with a personality disorder will show maladjustment in all aspects of their life and the disorder will be reflected in the ingrained, rigid, and dysfunctional patterns that they present throughout their lifetime. According to Frances, personality disorders usually produce ego-syntonic behavior, or consistent with the ego integrity of the individual, and, therefore, are usually considered appropriate by the individual. This may cause the negative behavioral patterns to be inflexible and tough to change. (Frances, 1999) The treatment of personality disorders is usually difficult and often has limited results. In the DSM-IV there are three groups or clusters that each of the 10 personality disorders fall into. People with cluster A disorders are characterized by odd or eccentric behavior, abnormal cognitions or ideas, strange speech or actions, and difficulty relating to others (Frances, 1999). People diagnosed with personality disorders are more frequently diagnosed with an Axis I disorders as well (James Morrison, 2006). Frequent co-morbid diagnosis for cluster A personality disorders are: agoraphobia, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and substance abuse (Frances, 1999). Type A disorders include paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders. Paranoid personality disorder, the first of the cluster A disorders, is characterized by extreme or unnecessary paranoia, suspiciousness, and a general mistrust of organizations, groups, and others, is found in 0.5%-2.5% of the population, as a whole and occurs more commonly in males (Frances, 1999). A person with paranoid personality disorder often thinks, without reason or cause, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving them, which inhibits them from developing close relationships. According to Dobbert, The delusional belief that others are disloyal and untrustworthy precludes their ability to confide in others. The afflicted person believes that the information that they provide in confidence will be later utilized to bring them harm (Dobbert, 2007). People with paranoid personality disorder also tend to hold grudges and become angry for seemingly benign perceptions of insults or injuries. These grudges can be long lasting and based out of perceived threats or insults. Even if the intention to harm or defame the person is not present, due to the constant expectation that others are trying to hurt them, an individual with a paranoid personality disorder creates a threat and will then hold malice toward another person for an exaggerated amount of time. This malice will evoke anger and hostility that will eventually lead to the alienation and isolation (Dobbert, 2007). The second of the cluster A disorders is the schizoid personality disorder, it is characterized by a general detachment from social settings, a restricted or muted range of emotions, and need for solidarity. It is found in 3% of the general population and affects women more commonly then men (Frances, 1999). A person with schizoid personality disorder neither desires nor enjoys close or intimate relationships. According to Dobbert, Persons afflicted with schizoid personality disorder find no interest in initiating, developing, and maintaining close relationships. It is not uncommon for these persons to lack the interest or desire to be considered a part of their biological family (Dobbert, 2007). These people do not find inclusion in groups or social settings particularly interesting or desirable and work to avoid such settings. A person with schizoid personality disorder is described as appearing introverted, but not shy, and seems to prefer their own company instead of seeking relationships with others. This often leads the person showing little if any interest in sexual or intimate experiences, preferring acts of self-gratification and sexual fantasy over personal contact. (Dobbert, 2007) Due to the indifference of intimate relationships, the person with schizoid personality disorder develops limited interest in activities they enjoy and does not seek to share these activities with others. They would prefer to focus their attention on a few activities and interests of a solitary nature and to obsess about those interests with little regard to the perceptions of others. They also seem to be unaffected by the acceptance, praise, or criticism of others involving their actions and isolation. It becomes obvious to those around them that a person with schizoid personality disorder does not care what others perceptions are and they often seem cold, detached, and unemotional, presenting a bland or blank expression to the world (Dobbert, 2007). The final disorder in cluster A is the schizotypal personality disorder which is a condition characterized by distorted thoughts, behaviors, and functioning. Magical thinking, relationship difficulties, severe anxiety, and poor social skills are also common. (James Morrison, 2006) This disorder affects 3% of the general population and is diagnosed slightly more in females then males. (Frances, 1999) People with schizotypal personality disorder perceive things in an odd or unusual way. Their interpretation often differs from that of others and is specific to themselves (meaning nobody else shares similar perceptions and thoughts), but is not based out of delusional thought or differing cultural norms. Many of these people believe that that they have extrasensory or magical powers and attribute their odd perceptions to this ability (Dobbert, 2007). The belief in clairvoyance, mind control, the sixth sense and other forms of magical thinking often lead others to view these people as odd which strains social and work relationships. To compound this, many people with schizotypal personality disorder have a reduced ability to understand other peoples actions and respond to them inappropriate and in a socially unacceptable manner. Having few successful experiences with others often leads to social anxiety, suspiciousness, and paranoid ideation. Dobbert states rather than examining ones self to determine the source of others avoidance, people with schizotypal personality disorder believe that the others are conspiring against them. Due to the inability of self-introspections, the afflicted person withdraws deeper and further isolates themselves, leading the person to further fall into their delusional thinking (Dobbert, 2007). People with cluster B disorders are characterized by dramatic, unpredictable, and destructive behaviors as well as difficulty with impulsiveness, the violation of social norms, and being self-abusive and hostile to others. It is common for these disorders to share co-morbidity with eating disorders, social phobias, somatization disorder, pathological gambling, substance abuse, and post traumatic stress disorder (Frances, 1999). Included in cluster B are antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorders. According to the DSM-V, the first of the cluster B disorders is the antisocial personality disorder, which is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violations of, the rights of others (James Morrison, 2006). It is characterized by failure to conform to social norms, deceitfulness, impulsivity, aggression, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse. It affects 3% of men and 1% of women, and is distributed evenly throughout all races (Frances, 1999). People with antisocial personality disorder act against social norms and show little respect for lawful behaviors. They are often arrested or commit acts that could lead to confrontations with law enforcement. According to Dobbert, people with this disorder dont just violate social normsbut, perform behaviors that are significant violations of the criminal code (Dobbert, 2007). This indicates that people with antisocial personality disorder are capable of committing the most heinous of crimes including rape, armed robbery, and murder. This diagnosis had been applied to many of the documented serial killers such as Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy. (Dobbert, 2007) The level of deceptiveness that is involved in antisocial personality disorder has been directly linked to the intelligence of the individual. While all people diagnosed with this disorder pathologically lie, as intelligence increases the use of aliases and conning operations also shows an increase. Deception contributes to the notable involvement with law enforcement and is often utilized in criminal acts (Dobbert, 2007). As displayed by criminal and deceptive acts, a lack of impulse control is noted for those diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. This impulsivity often leads to the disregard for personal safety and the safety of others. In the ever increasing need for heightened stimulation, those with antisocial personality disorder do whatever gives them the feeling of power over others (Dobbert, 2007), this may include hurtful, violent, and aggressive acts done with little regard for other peoples feelings or of the consequences of their actions. The second disorder in cluster B, borderline personality disorder, is stated by the American Psychiatric Association as pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects and marked impulsivity (James Morrison, 2006). It is characterized by identity disturbances, self-damaging behavior, feelings of emptiness, anger regulation problems, and stress related paranoid ideation or dissociative symptoms. Affecting more females than males at a rate of 3-1, it is found in 2% of the general population (Frances, 1999). Dysfunctional relationships are the key area that defines borderline personality disorder. Dobbert states that persons afflicted with borderline personality disorder are obsessed with the potential for rejection and abandonment. Their perception of the environment and persons response to them influences their feeling of self-worth and image (Dobbert, 2007). They often misconceive common circumstances and situations as rejection. This then manifests itself in anger, resentment, and feelings of abandonment. In order to tailor themselves to a relationship, the person with borderline personality disorder will illustrate a sudden change in self expression and perception. These changes may include sudden changes in the style of clothing, attitude, and social preferences of the individual and may also encompass hobbies, interests, and activities. If an individual is rejected by the object of that relationship, they will change themselves again to distance themselves from their past relationship and attract a new one (Dobbert, 2007). In order to manipulate others and stage off real or perceived abandonment, a person with borderline personality disorder will threaten or attempt suicidal behavior, and self-mutilation. Threatening self-injury or suicide allows the individual to control the other person in the relationship and allows them to postpone the abandonment that they so fear. While attempts are made on the part of a person with this disorder, many of them are half-hearted and not meant to be successful; they are simply utilized as a device evoke a desired reaction from another person. Histrionic personality disorder is the third of the cluster B disorders, and is described as pervasive and excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior (James Morrison, 2006). It is characterized by sexual promiscuity, rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotion, self-dramatization, and suggestibility. It is found in 2-3% of the population and is diagnosed more often in women (Frances, 1999). Typically, people with histrionic personality disorder exhibit a compulsatory need to be the center of attention. When they find themselves being ignored or not admired they feel anxiety and identify confusion. These people are very socially motivated and expect to be noticed and envied by others. In order to gain attention many people with histrionic personality disorder focus intensely on appearance or act overdramatically in hopes of creating a scene to gain attention. Seductiveness and overtly sexual and provocative behavior is another way for people with histrionic personality disorder to gain attention. Flirtatious and intimate behavior is often used, even in inappropriate settings such as work, to gain attention. A conflict surrounding this inappropriate behavior, instead of inhibiting the behavior, only works to reinforce it as the center of attention again shifts to the disordered person. Narcissistic personality disorder, the final disorder of the cluster B sub-type is characterized by exaggeration of achievements, preoccupation with success and power, excessive need for admiration, a sense of entitlement, exploitation, envy, and arrogance (Frances, 1999). The DSM-V states that narcissistic personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, with a need for admiration, and a marked lack of empathy (James Morrison, 2006). Of the general population less than 1% of the population suffers from narcissistic personality disorder and it is diagnosed 3-1 in males over females and is commonly classed the male ego disorder (Frances, 1999). Those who suffer from this disorder are prone to overinflating or creating achievements in order to brag about or prove their superiority to others. They often daydream about unlimited success and about the admiration that it will bring from others. They may also suffer from delusions that allow them to believe that they are entitled to act in any way they want, despite the effect it has on others. Because they view themselves as superior, the narcissist does not feel that they should be concerned themselves with the feelings of others. They will often defame and exploit others for their own self promotion. This marked lack of empathy is a dominate feature of narcissistic personality disorder and is brought about as a defense mechanism to protect their grandiose ideals about themselves. Cluster C disorders, including avoidant, dependant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders are characterized by fearful and anxious behaviors, as well as avoidance of social situations and feelings of loss of control (Frances, 1999). Typical Axis I co-morbid diagnosis are: social phobias, anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder, myocardial infraction, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Treatment- (Dingfelder, 2004) Individuals at this end of the continuum commit rape, murder, and genocide. Will a person afflicted with antisocial personality disorder start at the lease serious end of the continuum and move to the far extreme? Recovery Conclusion Works Cited Barker, R. L. (1995). The Social Work Dictionary. In R. L. Barker, The Social Work Dictionary (p. 104). New York, New York: NASW Press. This source is reviewed and published by the NASW press, a division of the National Association of Social Workers, which is a leading scholarly press in social science research field. The information used gives a broad and comprehensive definition of the role that a personality plays in the life of an individual. This definition of personality and personality traits was chosen because due to its association with social work and because of its encompassing definition. This definition is used as a contrast point for the explanation of personality disorders. Dingfelder, S. (2004). Treatment for the Untreatable. Monitor on Psychology , Vol 35, No. 3, p. 46-48. This article, found in a peer reviewed scholarly journal, discusses the effectiveness of treatment for personality disorders. It states that many practitioners have had difficulty in treating personality disorders, which continue to present a pervasive and persistent pattern of dysfunction despite many treatment methods. It also discusses some effective treatment options and the hope for recovery from personality disorders. Frances, A. M. (1999). Your Mental Health: A Laymans Guide to the Psychiatrists Bible . In A. M. Frances, Your Mental Health: A Laymans Guide to the Psychiatrists Bible . New York: Scribner. Written by one of the authors of the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, this book provides general information about diagnosis of personality disorders and other mental health problems. It gives more detailed information on the cluster groupings (A, B, and C) for personality disorders than the DSM-IV Made Easy, as sited below. It also gives descriptive character traits that are associated with each of the personality disorders and discusses Axis I co-morbid diagnosis that are often found with personality disorders. James Morrison, M. (2006). The DSM-IV Made Easy. In M. James Morriosn, The DSM-IV Made Easy (pp. 461-495). New York: Guildford Publications, Inc. This book, containing information released in the DSM-IV, released by the American Psychological Association, is a stripped down, simplified version of the original DSM_IV. It provided detailed information on each personality disorder as well as diagnostic criteria for personality disorders. It also provides classification information and Axis diagnosis. The information in the source is considered to be extremely accurate and is therefore used to give a thorough and comprehensive information in relation to each personality disorder. Mayo Clinic. (2010, April 6). Personality Disorders. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from MayoClinic.com: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/personality-disorders/DS00562 This source, written by the psychological staff at the Mayo Clinic, is retrievable online. The Mayo Clinic, an internationally renowned medical practice and research group, has given a general overview of personality disorders and discussed some treatment options that are available for the disorders. The information for treatment is not found in the above references, and the idea of using psychotherapy and medication to treat personality disorders is discussed. Women Discrimination In Business: Walmarts Case Women Discrimination In Business: Walmarts Case Ethics has consistently been a part of our society. It has continuously played a crucial role whether in the professional world or in our normal daily lives. According to the well known sociologist Raymond Baumhart, ethics consists of the guidelines based on the basis of what is right and wrong and people are expected to follow the right path. A few examples such as honesty, trust and equality fall under ethical behavior and it is required in order for all of us to have a peaceful environment. (Baumhart, 1987) Importance of ethics in the business world Ethics is equally essential in the business world because it highlights the responsibilities, the principles and the standards that business people along with its organization should follow permanently. Any business organization that lacks or ignores the ethical principles is expected to fail and may harm the companys image in several ways. For example unethical behavior such as employees coming to work late frequently will reduce the productivity level for the company and this may also intervene with their profit which for many firms is the sole purpose. It is the top management levels duty to ensure that all the current working employees in their company are aware of the ethical guidelines regarding acceptable behavior in order to prevent acts such cheating at work, socializing at some networking site rather than giving priority to your work, discriminating against an employee etc. Ethics is also considered one of the corporate social responsibilities along with economic, legal and philanthropic and they should be considered majorly important. It should be dealt with seriousness because it covers human resource issues which refer to discrimination at workplace and it is extremely vital for the managers at top level to not differentiate between their employees based on how they appear or any other reason for that matter. Fairness is another part where the managers have to make sure that they are treating their employees with equality without any biased decisions taking place. Besides these reasons there are many more which just proves the point that ethics is really important for management to succeed in achieving their goals. Women Discrimination Gender Discrimination Discrimination in todays world can be defined as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favour of or against, a person or a thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. (Dictionary.com, 2010). Discriminatory behaviours are of many different kinds but they mainly entail some form of exclusion or rejection. One form of discrimination that has been seen from generations till today is gender discrimination where either of the sex is considered weaker than the other. Women Discrimination in society In most societies and developed countries like the U.S. girls are usually given the freedom and encouraged to create their own lifestyle, since childhood. They are made to believe in themselves and that they can be as successful as boys in every work of life. However, the case is not the same for girls from other societies which are mostly from developing countries. They are brought up to believe the opposite where they are constantly reminded of the things they are not allowed to do. In most of the developing countries sons are regarded as insurance and hence their birth is celebrated with great joy. Whereas, when a girl is born she is considered as another expense and liability for the family. Since childhood, they are trained to do household activities and stay indoors, isolating them from the rest of the world. In some parts of India, a tradition prevails to greet the family of newborn girl by saying The servant of your household has been born. Women from such societies face issu es like emotional and physical abuse, inferiority, having their families and society limit their opportunities and restricting them from living life up to their full potential. Discrimination against women is a very demoralizing reality that still exists resulting in millions of individual tragedies. Studies show that a countrys attitude towards women is directly proportional to its social and economic progress i.e. if one part of the country gets affected then the result of the affect is suffered by the whole country as well. Sadly, women fall weak and are not able to defend themselves in situations where they are being discriminated. For example many women have to face problems like dowry, negligence, infanticide and sex-selective abortion, physical abuse and labour and sex trafficking (Mullins, 2010). Gender lines are drawn early in womens life and they face exclusions from childhood and continue facing it through out their adulthood as well. This perspective of women and false belief that women do not belong in the high corporate world has risen as a result of women discrimination. There has, over time been a stereotype thinking that women are only suitable for restricted professions like teaching or best suited to be housewives. Studies show that during elementary school teachers give more attention and importance to boys in Maths and Science while girls are paid attention by teachers in subjects like Language and Art. This is because Maths and Science subjects are more academically challenging and to be taken in the field of medicine, engineering and architecture which are considered to be male professions. Studies also show that girls in middle and high school are discouraged to participate in extracurricular activities like sports or join debate clubs. Instead, they are encou raged to participate in after school volunteer work, social programs and more inert activities. Also, when making career choices, girls are pestered by parents into pursuing clichà ©d female-oriented professions like teaching, nursing, care giving, retail and office administration. Studies carried by the Department of Labour 2007 statistics show that more women are starting businesses than men, more women are in the employees than men, and the majority of degree-holders are now women and yet they are only still dominating fields and industries that are considered suitable for female (Wolfe, 2009) Women discrimination is not always seen in developing countries alone but can also be noticed in developed countries. For example, one of the largest sex discrimination case seen in the history on the U.S. is the law suit filed against Wal-Mart. This suit was filed in the year 2001 by six female employees and by April 2010 it was reported to include more than a million females costing the retailer billions in damages. The women who filed the case claimed that they faced systematic discrimination at work. The Wal-Mart industry It is an American retailing industry founded by Sam Walton in1962 when he launched its first branch in Arkansas. His main strategy which found him early success in his life was to keep prices relatively low which lead him to earn a ranking as the richest man during the 1980s. According to the Forbes magazine, it became the worlds largest corporation by revenue. Walmarts women discrimination case Wal-Mart is being criticized for paying its female employees less than its male employees and also provide smaller salary raises to women and fewer promotions. It was reported that women at Wal-Mart were being steered away from management positions into lower-level jobs without much possible chances of progress like cashier jobs. Moreover, a woman who came looking for a job opportunity as a manager was reported to be told that she was not qualified for the management position as she was not able to stack 50 pound bags of dog food. It was also reported by The New York Times that around 33% of the women at Wal-Mart are companys managers whereas the rest 65% consist of women working as hourly employees. Wal-Mart was account to be biased towards males (Goudreau, 2010). Wal-Mart has around 700,000 working women that form its back bone and make it one of the largest private sector employers of women in the U.S. However, these employees face discrimination at work on advancement opportunities, job assignments and receive unequal pay. This discrimination towards women has been seen in all levels of the company i.e. from hourly working employees to senior management. Women earn 40cents less than what they should be earning equal to the other hourly male employees even though they have longer seniority and higher merit ratings than their male co-workers. A woman manager earns around $5,000 per year less compared to a male manager who earns $23,175 per year. Women executives also do not find themselves safe from discrimination at Wal-Mart. Women face systematic denial of advancement as men dominate the management ranks. They are stuck in the low paying jobs consisting of 92% cashiers and 76% sales associate. Wal-Marts competitors in the past have had more women managers than men compared to Wal-Mart. (UFCW, 2010). Walmarts case from Kants perspective Wal-Marts case casts light upon the ethical considerations of women discrimination in the work environment. Whether it is illegal is still under trial, however, it is clearly an ethical issue. Businesses often face such ethical issues which occur due to many reasons even if they are unintentional. The market fluctuations, competition and profit-making orientation lead business owners and managers into behaving unethically without conspicuous intentions. The issue of women discrimination can be analysed and evaluated using ethical theory. Ethical theory is generally based upon moral philosophy and may be classified on many different dimensions, however, there are several basic types of moral philosophy which are used in business ethics, such as egoism, utilitarianism, deontology, rights and relativism (Bartlett, 2003: 224). Egoism and Utilitarianism are examples of consequentialist philosophies whereas, deontological approaches such as that of Immanuel Kant are an example of non-consequentialist philosophies. Kants theories are often associated with the duties, moral rights and respect of an individual. His theories say that each person has both the right to expect to be treated according to universal moral laws and the corresponding duty to behave according to that law (Bartlett, 2003: 224). Kants theory proposes a categorical imperative which is the particular moral law according to which people should act. It states that one should act as if the maxim of thy action were to become by thy will a universal law of nature (Kant, cited in Bartlett, 2003: 224). This means that an action can be set as a categorical imperative making it a universal law and applying it to the maximum population to see what the result of that action would be if it became common behavior of the world. The morality of an action can be judged by applying the deontological approach which considers the rights, duties, truth and respect of an individual according to universal moral principles. It focuses on doing the right thing. Sex discrimination or discrimination of women in particular can be evaluated using Kants theory. Applying the theory, the categorical imperative or the universal rule can be set as It is okay to discriminate women in business practices. If this rule is applied universally, the effect of this action on the society or the whole world would be highly negative. Firstly, men would continue to view women as the weaker sex due to which they will not give them opportunities to work at all. If women dont work they will have low motivation and high emotional stress which can affect their family lives. If all families became unhappy and stressed the whole society will be affected and may not prosper. Secondly, the household incomes would decrease drastically as women will not be able to support their husbands. Furthermore, if women will have no career opportunities, they will stop their education and the literacy rate would go down. Labour supply in the market would decrease which would lead to a surplus in labour demand thus, creating a need for high wages and salaries which can become a major issue with employers. The overall employment rate would also decrease; affecting the world economy. The result of discriminating women and discouraging their participation in work practices universally can cause serious harm to the society and the whole world overall. It questions womens rights and respect along with mans duty towards equality and fairness in the world. Thus, the universal rule will be contradicted and negated leading to the conclusion that, as analyzed through this theory and the deontological approach, sex discrimination is unethical. Walmarts perspective On the contrary, when considering the case from Walmarts perspective, it is important to understand that it is the senior managements duty and responsibility to take every measure to ensure they assign jobs to employees who are most suited to do them and hold the capabilities required to accomplish the job. For example, Walmart has been criticised for refusing one woman a management position because she was unable to stack 50-pound bags of dog food hence, unqualified for the job. While many have protested against this act, it must be highlighted that there has been always a stereotype image of women as being the weaker sex and this incident helps illustrate that. Walmart managers understand that the business involves tasks that cannot be easily accomplished by women as compared to men. Also, giving women tedious jobs might be considered unethical by some customers and this could affect Walmarts reputation as being harsh towards women and making them do jobs they are not fit for. More over, Walmart may have been scandalised by its competitors who are looking for ways to show the company in a negative light as it is successful and poses serious threat to smaller businesses who are unable to compete on the basis of price due to the exceptional low prices Walmart provides hence, looking for other methods of causing damage to their competitor. Target Corporation and its ethical practices One of the greatest competitions faced by Walmart is from Target Corporation; after Walmart, Target is the second largest discount retailer in the United States. Walmart and Target do business in quiet similar manner and have both very wide-ranging ethical and environmental policies in place. However in terms of practices, Walmart has solicited much more criticism than Target for breaching its ethical policies, the company has poor employment benefits, exerts pressure on suppliers, eliminates waste into the environment and as discussed earlier, practices gender discrimination to great extent. However, Target refuses to tolerate workplace discrimination and tries to create an environment in which everyone recognizes the value of diversity. According to national statistics the average company across the United States employs a staff that consists of forty-eight percent women; fifty-nine percent of Targets workforce is women. In part with this statistic and the treatment of their female employees, Target has been honored as an organization with multiple national awards recognizing their commitment to gender diversity. In 2005, Target was named one of the Top 30 Companies for Executive Women, by the National Association for Female Executives. As well as in 2004, they were named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers, by the magazine, Working Mother. Therefore similar to Target, Walmart should also adopt policies against gender discrimination to avoid lawsuits which spoils the image of the company.