Trends in Graduate Employment Opportunities

Trends in Graduate Employment Opportunities INTRODUCTION To be employed is to be at risk, to be employable is to be secure (Hawkins 1999). Today employment is no longer a form of security because of the ever changing nature of the economy, the workplace and the changing needs of employers. If graduates are to attain employment, retain their positions in the work place and move up the career ladder, they need to continuously develop themselves professionally and build on their employability skills: they need to have a plan. This report researches graduate opportunities in the Business administration/Management sector. Business administration is used as a synonym for management. Administration is often seen as paperwork and form-filing, but it reaches more widely than that to encompass the coordination of all procedures that enable a product or service to be delivered, together with keeping of records that can be checked to identify errors or opportunities for improvement. (Business Administration 2009). This sector was chosen because the researcher is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and aspires to know exactly what is needed to become employable. The researcher plans to fulfill this aspiration by first identifying key information regarding this sector in terms of: general employment trends and graduate opportunities, the employability skills organizations expect from graduates and the recruitment and selection methods used by organisations. The research methods used to accomplish the former is explained in detail in the methodology section of this report. Second, the findings of the research in terms of the employability skills are then matched against a personal analysis of the researcher and a gap analysis and career action plan formulated. Finally the report concludes with the researcher reflecting on what was learnt from the research experience and the usefulness of the career action plan for the future. OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH This section of the report provides a factual reflection of the findings from the research conducted on graduate opportunities in the Business administration/management sector. Terms of Reference This report researches graduate opportunities in the Business administration/management sector. Through a process of factual and personal reflection it provides information on how can graduates in this field can increase their employability and marketability through personal and professional development. The report is required to show evidence of the research used for reflection. Methodology This report is based on secondary research carried out between February and March 2011. The researcher aims to gather factual up-to-date information on graduate opportunities in the Business administration/management sector in the following areas: General employment trends. Opportunities for recent graduates. The skills knowledge and experience required from graduates by employers. How graduates are recruited and selected. The researcher set out to use the case study method for research as this method allows the researcher to investigate a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident, and in which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1989). However due to difficulties faced in completing interviews with companies chosen for the case studies and the large number of incomplete questionnaires returned, the researcher had no choice but to complete the report with the use of secondary research only. Using the limited information attained would have compromised the accuracy, reliability and validity of the report. Time constraints prevented the researcher from setting up interviews with other companies and it would have been unethical for the researcher to force respondents to complete the questionnaire or to fabricate information. Thus a wide range of secondary research from academic sources were used such as journal articles, books, business databases, newspapers, jobs and career websites and general job and specialist websites. For general employment trends in this sector not only articles were used but up to date statistics as well from reliable sources (The United States Depart of Labor, Bureau of Statistics) to maintain accuracy. Information for employment opportunities were found mainly in job and career websites. The summary provided on the skills, knowledge and experience required from graduates and the recruitment and selection methods was based on online research from six organisations in different sectors ranging from large enterprises to not for profit organisations. Although company websites provided the majority of information for this section they were not the only source used. The researcher is aware of the limitations of secondary research such as inaccuracy and out of date information, however the researcher attempted to counteract this by using reliable sources such as journals and databases and sites that provided up to date information and national statistics. Main Findings This section of the report provides key information regarding the Business administration/management sector. Whether the industry is expanding or contracting is vital information for graduates as this directly affects the demand for jobs in fields within the sector. With this knowledge graduates will be able to make informed decisions, for example, to choose a career in a field that is growing and not declining. In addition, graduates will be able to reflect on their knowledge, skills and experience after gaining information on the employability skills employers are seeking, thereby providing them the opportunity for professional development in areas needed. Furthermore, being aware of the recruitment and selection practices employed by organisations allows graduates to prepare themselves to get the job they desire. General employment trends in this sector Administration and Management are extremely broad areas and graduates seeking employment in this sector can get jobs in the goods-producing industries such as manufacturing and construction or the service-providing industries such as health care, education and administrative and support services. See section 2.2.2 page 9, figure 3 for a list of graduate jobs in this sector. According to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in goods-producing industries has declined since the 1990s. Although overall employment is expected to change little, projected growth among goods-producing industries varies considerably. See Figure 1.This is in contrast to service producing industries; the shift in the U.S. economy away from goods-producing in favor of service-providing is expected to continue. Service-providing industries are anticipated to generate approximately 14.5 million new wage and salary jobs. (United States Department of Labor 2010). See Figure 2. According to these industry trends, graduates who choose jobs in the growing service industry are expected to have a long-term career as opposed to those in goods- producing industry. Industry growth or decline will affect the demand for occupations. Thus if an industry is growing for example the health and services industry then graduates who gain employment in this industry will be able to move up the career ladder from perhaps a junior health administrator to a senior health administrator. However if the manufacturing sector is on the decline then entering this industry as a junior production manager may not be wise as the post may be short lived through retrenchment or layoffs. Statistics reveal that employment in management occupations project to grow slowly over the projection period 2008-18, increasing by 5 percent, an addition of 454,300 new jobs and office and administrative support occupations expect to grow by 8 percent, adding 1.8 million new jobs by 2018. (United states Department of Labor 2010). Another recent trend is the demand for graduates from Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). There are an estimated 4.8 million SMEs in the United Kingdom (UK) employing 23.1 million people with a combined annual turnover of  £3000 billion. (Kewin et al 2010). Thus, graduates who do not wish to work in large corporate have an option and opportunity to work in a different atmosphere as compared to the past. Also in recent years, there has been an increased interest in employability skills by employers. A degree alone is not enough. Employers are looking for more than just technical skills and knowledge of a degree discipline. They particularly value skills such as communication, team working and problem-solving.'(Jones, D 2005). In addition, the methods used to advertise jobs are also changing. In the past, it was common for advertisements to be in newspapers, career magazines, career services under universities and spread by word of mouth. However, due to increased technology organisations are putting advertisements on employment websites and using online recruitment agencies. By the click of a button, graduates can access and explore a range on different job opportunities and career information locally and globally as well as apply online for jobs instead of the traditional way by post or hand delivery. Furthermore, there are changes in the methods used for graduate recruitment and selection. Socio economic and political changes as well as developments in information technology have all led to the introduction of new and more sophisticated methods of recruitment and selection. (Sackett Lievens 2008 cited in Brianne, M 2008). The roles employers expect graduates to perform are also changing. For example, earlier, the role of the secretary was limited to taking notes from their heads, typing and storing information. However, with the advent of technology in companies and offices, the secretary duties have extended to things that are for the professional and managerial staff. (Kartha, D 2010). Additionally, because the world is now becoming a global market place some occupations require graduates to have a second language as they will be communicating with clients worldwide, for example a sales manager or executive administrative assistants and secretaries. Graduates may have certain skills, interests and objectives, however, they need to take into consideration these industries and employment trends so they can make informed decisions regarding their career choice. The following section will now uncover the range of opportunities available to graduates. 2.3.2 Opportunities for recent graduates All organisations, large or small and across all sectors need administrators, managers and administrative support staff. Thus, graduates can get jobs in the public, private and not for profit sectors, in large corporate and in SMEs. In fact, if graduates do not want to choose the traditional graduate management route self-employment, franchising or branch management could be what they are looking for. Fig 3 shows a list of careers available in this sector. Figure 3. Source:University Career Center. KUCareerHawk.com The role graduates perform would depend on the organization they are working for in terms of the sector, the organization structure and culture and the leadership styles within the organization. For example in large organisations graduates may perform routine structured roles in a specific area of the job example finance as compared to Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SMEs) who duties may be unstructured and graduates will be involved in all aspects of the organisations work. Employers advertise graduate employment opportunities in newspapers, career magazines and through university career services. However, the most popular form of advertising today is on company and university websites, online recruitment agencies and graduate jobs and career services websites such as targetjobs.com. The next section provides information about the employability skills employers seek from graduates. 2.3.3 The skills, knowledge and experience required Leaving university with a Bachelor Arts degree in Business administration is important in attaining a job in the graduate employment market, however it is not enough. According to Carl Gilleard Chief Executive, Association of Graduate Recruiters 21st century graduates need to demonstrate to employers that they can hit the ground running. In addition to working hard to gain a good degree, students should engage in extracurricular activities and obtain work experience in order to develop skills that will make them better prepared for the world of work. It is also important for students to become self- aware and develop the confidence to market themselves effectively when the time comes to apply for jobs. (target jobs.com) Apart from the formal qualifications of a degree which was strongly desired by five of the six organisations researched employers required graduates to have at least one year experience in the field. In terms of skills, commercial awareness skills, people skills, enthusiasm and motivation and communication skills were deemed to be the most important. The section that follows provide information on recruitment and selection processes used by organisations. 2.3.4 How graduates are selected Graduate recruitment and selection is a process of searching for and obtaining potential job applicants from graduates in sufficient quantity and quality so that employers can select the most suitable candidates to fill in their job vacancies .'(Beardwell et al., 2004). In practice there is no one best way or commonly agreed procedure on how to recruit and select graduates because different employers have different recruitment and selection methods depending on their operations, size and needs. (Sackett and Lievens, 2008). According to the employers in the organisations researched they preferred to recruit graduates through online methods, example via milkround. Other methods sometimes used are recruitment brochures, recruitment fairs; this method was very popular, recruitment agencies, and to a lesser extent newspapers and magazines. The selection process has changed as organisations are not only using interviews as a means of selecting individuals. In order for individuals to display their knowledge, skills and abilities the use of assessment centers was most popular in large organisations. The smaller organisations that do not have assessment centers set up used aptitude and psychometric tests. PERSONAL REFLECTION This section of the report is based on a personal analysis which is matched against the findings of the research. A career action plan is then developed to for future use. Personal Analysis Drew and Bingham (2001) define reflection as looking back on experience and making sense of it to identify what to do in the future. The following skills were indentified after I did a personal reflection. Communication skills I enjoy working with people of all ages and backgrounds. At work I have experience in training On the Job Trainees( OJTs) via workshops and in my second year at the University of the West Indies I coached students on a weekly basis for two modules for a period of six months. I communicate with the public on a daily basis and this has enabled me to strengthen my skill in this area. Presentation Skills I have experience in giving presentations to small groups in the first two years at university as some of the modules were partly presentation based. Assignment based presentations has allowed me to develop the use of clear and concise language, good planning and organisation and good interaction with the audience. Other Skills My work experience throughout the years enabled me to gain extensive experience in the area of customer service. My first part time job in a fast food restaurant as a customer service worker has developed my team building skills. I was promoted to team leader in one year time and I was awarded for having outstanding enthusiausm and motivation skills. As a Secretary I was involved in the preparation of correspondence, reports, plans and budgets. Multitasking was a skill I learnt as a telephone operator whereby I handled six incoming lines with 40 extensions transferring calls to department heads. The position I currently hold requires me to work in a fast paced, hectic environment so I am capable of handling multiple tasks at once. I know how to prioritize job assignments, work independently and interdependently and resolve problems on my own as well as part of a team. I am very organized and detailed oriented. I am the project leader for all incoming projects because I possess good m otivation skills and organizational skills CV Covering Letter Appendix is a cover letter and CV prepared in response to a job vacancy recently advertised in the Public service sector as a Business Operations Assistant. Gap Analysis After conducting research and conducting a personal analysis I have matched all the skills needed excepting commercial awareness skills. I have plenty experience in the Administration field and I am in the process of obtaining my degree. Apart from theses knowledge skills and experience, I have hands on experience in typing but lack a formal certificate, which are often requested by organisations. Lack of education in terms of possessing a foreign language has always restricted me from taking advantage of opportunities I would like to apply for. Many times I see a job advertised and I have all the qualification and experience except the ability to speak a foreign language Career Action Plan The definition most often used for Commercial Awareness is by Christopher Stoakes in his excellent book All You Need to Know about Commercial Awareness. He states At heart, commercial awareness is about being able to talk to clients, finding out what they want, why they want it, what they will do with it and what they are prepared to pay, and then delivering it in the way they want. To do that you need to understand how organisations work, the issues they face and the role of people within them. To increase my commercial awareness skills I intend to read not only the newspaper articles but also published business magazines as well. When applying for jobs I also intend to research the company and even prepare a SWOT analysis of the company for two reasons. First to let the interviewer know that I have extensive knowledge of the company enabling me a better chance of getting the job and second, to know if the company is one I would really like to work for. Furthermore, I intend to buy the book All You Need to Know about Commercial Awareness by Christopher Stoakes it is selling on Amazon for just $24.27. I have located a business school that offers a short course on typing. The duration is 3 months part time. I intend to take this course as a next step to developing my skills. Having achieved this will better position me to apply for those jobs that require the certificate in typing. Spanish and French are two popular foreign languages, however because I live in the Caribbean Spanish is more often requested by employers. A local university offers introductory intermediate and advanced levels in Spanish courses. The total duration for all three parts is one year part time. As a part of the course the university in the final stage takes a trip to a Spanish speaking country to give students practical experience in the field in real live settings. I also intend to take this course. Appendix 3 is a summary of a career action plan I developed. CONCLUSION Having completed this exercise has made me aware of available opportunities I never knew existed in this sector. Having knowledge of the recent trends and developments and future trends in this sector will now enable me to make more informed decisions when applying for positions in the job market. Also I was not aware of commercial awareness skills until I did this report, I never even knew that a skill like this existed. Furthermore identifying my strong and weak areas gave me a sense of self fulfillment and now I know exactly what steps I had to take to develop them. Drawing up a career action plan allows me to see exactly how long it will take me to achieve my career goals and I am enthusiastic to start. I intend to continuously keep up to date with trends in the sector and always keep updating my career action plan. I am extremely happy that I did this module. It really helped me personally and professionally. REFERENCES Beardwell, I., Holden, L. and Claydon, T. (2004), Human Resource Management, 4th ed., Prentice Hall, Harlow. Business Administration (2009). Business: The Ultimate Resource [Online] Available at:http://www.credoreference.com/entry/ultimatebusiness/business_administration [Accessed: 25th March, 2011] Drew, S Bingham, R. (2001). The Student Skills Guide. Academic Skills Unit.Workshop Slides. Reflective Thinking and Writing. [Online] Available at: http://www.studynet1.herts.ac.uk/ptl/common/asu.nsf/Teaching+Documents?Openviewcount=9999restricttocategory=Workshop+Information/Workshop+Slides. [Accessed: 25th March, 2011] Hawkins, P. (1999). The Art of Building Windmills: Career Tactics for the 21st Century. Graduate into Employment Unit. Jones, D (2005). Employability uncovered. Prospects Directory. [Online] Available at: http://ww2.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/What_do_graduates_do__2005/Employability_uncovered_/p!epmjFbc . [Accessed: 25th March, 2011]. Kartha, D (2010). Secretary Duties: Responsibilities of a Secretary. [Online] Available at: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/secretary-duties-responsibilities-of-a-secretary.html. [Accessed: 24th March, 2011]. Kewin, J, Hughes, T Fletcher, T (2010). Generation Crunch: The demand for recent graduates from SMEs. Available online at: http://www.studynet1.herts.ac.uk/ptl/common/myfuture.nsf/Teaching+Documents?Openviewcount=9999restricttocategory=Exploring+career+options/SMEs. [Accessed: 15th March, 2011]. Sackett, P.R. and Lievens, F. (2008). Personnel selection. Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 59. In Branine, M (2008).Career Development International, Vol. 13 Iss: 6, pp.497 513. [Online] Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1362-0436volume=13issue=6articleid=1747607. [Accessed: 24th March, 2011]. Target Jobs.com (2011). Employability Uncovered. [Online] Available at: http://ww2.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/What_do_graduates_do__2005/Employability_uncovered_/p!epmjFbc [Accessed: 24th March, 2011]. United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010). Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition. [Online] Available at: http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm. [Accessed: 25th March, 2011]. University Career Center (2010). What I can do with a bachelor Of Business Administration. [Online] Available at: http://www.KUCareerHawk.. [Accessed: 24th March, 2011]. Yin, R.K. (1989), Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 2nd edition, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA. Yorke, M (2006) Employability in higher education: what it is-whatit is not. Learning and Employability Series One. Enhancing Students Employability Coordination Team. Higher Education Academy. [Online] Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/resource_database/id336_employability_in_higher_education. . [Accessed: 24th March, 2011]. Bibliography. Moon, J. A. (2007) Learning journals: A handbook for reflective practice and professional development. 2nd Ed. Routledge.

Product Features of Windows 2000

Have you ever wondered where Microsoft will go next with Windows, well now it is time for you to find out. Microsoft has almost completed Windows 2000, which will be the new era for software around the world. In the last year computers have grow dramatically, with the new Pentium II chip and processors with the speeds up to 450MHZ. Almost every family home in America today has at least one personal computer. Whether it is for business or pleasure, more and more people are realizing the significance of computers. I am going to unleash the information that will show you how Windows 2000 will work. Windows 2000 is an operating system that configures your hardware for you. With its structure based upon Windows 98 and NT, they have also introduced revolutionary interface enhancements. Power management for the latest desktop and notebook models. That has one interface for browsing local files, Intranets, and the Internet. A customizable console that lets you control computers, peripherals, users, security settings, from any desktop. Which can handle all the tasks of managing users, groups, shared peripherals, and security, it also allows you to do all this over worldwide networks. A new security system that will use smart cards and other physical keys to let you access the computer. The new Plug and Play will allow you to handle all your hardware chores from one central location without restarting your computer. And at the location you will also be able to inspect driver device settings, update drivers, or troubleshoot resource conflicts. I am sure that this will be extremely helpful to many people out in the computer world including myself. With this feature it will make looking for a program or installing one a breeze. The Internet has become one of the biggest things used in homes and companies. It allows people at home to go shopping, check the weather, buy stocks, and work without ever leaving the desk. Companies are using it to publicize and inform people about them and their products. They also use it internally to connect different floors together via e-mail. With new Internet settings you will be able to choose your Web-style views thus letting you control what comes up on the screen without you saying, â€Å"what the hell is that.† With current Window versions, there†s no way to find a file-using Explorer. Instead you having to open many confusing dialog boxes that would only confuse you even more. The new search page lets you find files without leaving an Explorer window. That way you can see where you went and how you got there. Today managing a network takes forever. Windows 2000 has an all-new management console that lets you snap together a custom set of management tools. That is right, that means no more wandering around in the control panel in search of the right utility. The Active Directory is the central store of information about authorized users and groups, printers, fax servers, and other objects. Earlier Windows versions scatter this information across the network making it harder for people to find it but the Active Directory brings it all together. This will allow personal and corporate computer users to get work done quicker and more suitable for what they are doing. Windows 2000 will include support for a smart card that will let only one person access certain files, which they have blocked off. Windows will decrypt your files only after you have provided both your smart card and private key. Removing the smart card from the slot locks the system and the only way back in is with the same smart card. This will be used in many corporate networks throughout the world to provide safety and security. In conclusion, the future of Windows will only be the gateway for new management systems. Later on we will have computers that we will just speak to us and will hold up a conversation to accomplish projects and make using the computer easier but until then Windows 2000 will be there for us.

Alandras Lilacs Book Report - 1052 Words

The book Alandra’s Lilacs starts off introducing one of the main characters, and author Tressa Browers. She becomes pregnant with her longtime boyfriend Lyndle Paul Benjamin Jr. or more commonly known as â€Å"Sug†. They soon get married and became pregnant with their first child, a son, who will be named Lyn Alan. Unfortunately, the baby doesn’t survive and dies shortly after his birth. Tressa and Sug desperately wanted to have a child together and shortly thereafter the death of their first child, become pregnant with their second child. In May of 1967, their second child was born, a healthy baby girl, named Alandra, or â€Å"Landy† for short. Tressa had become close friends with Sug’s cousin’s wife, Linda. Linda had a three year old†¦show more content†¦Shortly thereafter, Tressa had heard of a doctor in Kansas City who was working on prosthesis, now known as the cochlear implant that could create some hearing sensations in people who were deaf. He performed many tests and took an x-ray of Landy’s ear and learned that her auditory nerve was there, it just wasn’t being stimulated. However, when the doctor asked Landy if she wanted to hear she wasn’t interested. It was after this meeting that opened Tressa’s eyes and made her realize that Landy was completely content with her deafness and didn’t have a desire to be any different. At age fifteen, Landy began to have some gynecological problems. She wasn’t getting her period and ruled out th e chance of pregnancy. They did surgery to find out what the cause was and the doctor found that Landy’s ovaries were covered with cysts and he was not sure that she would ever be able to get pregnant but later on in her life she proved that to be wrong. Landy, who now wanted to be called Alandra because Landy was too childlike was finally graduating from high school. However, only three months after graduation Alandra shared with her mother that she was planning on renting an apartment with two of her friends for the summer before she went off to college. The summer came and went, and when fall came around all of Alandra’s belongings were packed up and sent to Washington D.C. where she was to attend Gallaudet University.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 956 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/05/13 Category Literature Essay Level High school Topics: Huckleberry Finn Essay Mark Twain Essay Did you like this example? Mark Twains brilliant novel Huckleberry Finn he provides great insight into classic American culture. The book elaborates on how life was truly like for Southern slaves during the late 1800s. A young boy named Huckleberry Finn was forced to leave his hometown along the Mississippi river after his alcoholic father has been missing for months came back into town and kidnapped him from his Aunt Polly, his guardian caretaker, and Jim the African American slave who wasnt allowed to live within the household . Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain" essay for you Create order Finn, seeing that his father was not fit to take care of him and not wanting to go live under his Aunts rules, he fakes his own creative death as if he had drowned in a nearby lake. He then proceeds down the Mississippi river running from a past that he does not want to take part of, escaping his Aunt and his Father. Here Huck begins his adventure for a new life on the flow of the Mississippi River and a quest for the American Dream accompanied by Jim a now runaway slave. Huckleberry Finn was a wealthy thirteen year old boy who came by a fortune of six thousand dollars. This money was luckily acquired by him and his best friend Tom Sawyer. Huck and Tom came by this money when robbers hid the stolen money in a nearby cave where crooks unknowingly left it for Huck and Toms taking. Today that money would be worth an estimated one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Yet Huckleberry never enjoyed living a wealthy and civilized lifestyle. He preferred the simpler things in life and wasnt shy of causing a mess or a ruckus. His ideal fantasy was barbaric yet gratifying. Huck dreamed of a future where he was to do as he pleased. He enjoyed hunting, smoking his pipe in solitude, and not paying attention to the time. He liked things this way. In search of this new dream, Huck befriends a slave named Jim who had previously lived with His Aunt Polly and the Widow. Jim was a dull un educated man who had unusual beliefs. He believed a talking fur ball of yak hair c ould tell anyone their future and what was destined to come. Turns out, Jim was looking for a new life as well. Jim had been framed for Hucks death and was being hunted and was to be killed if he was found. Huck and Jim started down the river, as the flow of a new life began. Huck relates to any twenty first century thirteen year old boy who strives for the norms of freedom from his parents, society, school and common manners. This gives the reader something everyone can relate to, freedom. The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn is a novel that incorporates racism and explains that everyone should be viewed as equals. Twain tries to explain that if everyone has the opportunity to have the humble and simple point of view Huck portrays in the book, then this world would seem a little less colorless. This was a dangerous message to be writing about durings the eighteen hundreds and was not looked upon lightly. In The New York Times Archive, Norman Mailer points out that, â€Å"This new novelist had managed to give us a character of no comfortable measurable dimension. It is easy for characters in modern novels to seem more vivid than classics, but even so, Huckleberry seemed to be more alive than Don Quixote and Julian Sorel, as naturally near to his own mind as we are to ours†. Mark Twain was light years ahead in equality and showed us that what Huck desired is what everyone desired as well, freedom to choose. This book was written to show that anyone with courage and a persistent optimistic attitude can achieve a dream. A dream where you have a second chance to start from the bottom and the only way from the bottom is up is, ’the American Dream’. Anybody who reads this book will enjoy the satirizing highbrow humor Twain portrays in the novel. It has been criticized and banned from most libraries and school curriculums for this same reason, In The Huffington Post, Reagan McMahon suggests that, â€Å"Books are often banned for Religious or Political reasons: An idea, a scene, or a character in a book offends their religion, sense of morality, or a political review.† In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain delivers on all of these points of criticism. An adult black man in the company of a young white boy, making jokes of Christianity, ridiculing the government, and the freedom of African Am ericans are the satirical points being made. A huge controversy is also over its language. Twain commonly uses derogatory and outdated terms for slaves and people of colored skin as well as common Southern slang. â€Å"Modern Curriculums and libraries have edited these slurs with atrid marks to protect our kids from the past and better the present†, notes James Lileks in NC Wise Owls National Review. The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn is a work of literature that should be read with humor and sincerity. Each sentence was highly thought out and put in place for a purpose. It shows how anyone can achieve the ‘American dream’ and shows how people truly feel about rules and responsibility. He addresses the stigma of race by showing the friendship between Huck And Jim. Twain breaks this stigma of conformity simply by titling the book The Adventure. He suggests that wealth and happiness do not always hold hands. He expresses that race and freedom also do not go hand in hand, but the ‘American Dream’ maybe shared between a slave and a young man by something as simple as a handshake.