Answer

1. Current issues affecting Canadian Youth

   Introduction

               Canada is popularly known as the most educated country in the world. One-third of the Canadian population is comprised of youths. Transitioning into adulthood in North America has its expectations of youth to contribute positively to the society. Canadian society views success as the ability to complete school, get employed, become financially stable, and get a good home and marriage. However, this system has some of its few challenges due to current mental health issues affecting the Indigenous youth. Social and cultural influences play a role too. In this paper, I will be discussing the current challenges that the Canadian youths face.

   Current Youth Issue

   Mental health is the leading current issue affecting 15 percent of Canadian youths at an average age of 19 years. With the constant pressure of making ends meet, mental health problems have been highly associated with other physical problems. In the opinion of Butler and Pang (2014), behavioral changes such as abuse of drugs, emotions, and beliefs including low self-esteem are the major causes of mental health disorders among the youth population. Anxiety disorders were found in 9 percent of Canadian youth in 2009. This number was elevated among the aboriginal Canadians and women. Butler and Pang (2014) attest to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) being common in young males, affecting approximately 20 youths countrywide.

               On the other hand, eating disorders are common among young Canadian women.  1.1 percent of Canadian women aged between15 and 24 years were found to have either anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Also, self-harm which does not involve suicide has been reported with over 17,000 hospitalizations in a report by Butler and Pang (2014). There have been many cases of self-harm, including cutting and burning. Moreover, mood disorders among Aboriginal Canadians are common with a statistic of 6.3 percent.

   Substance abuse is high among the youth population with the curiosity for experimentation. Most youth who end up abusing drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and amphetamine get easily addicted and become heavy users. A survey carried out showed 32 percent of youths were heavy drinkers, and were associated with poor school performance and truancy. 

               Statistics show that every year, about 3,500 Canadians die as a result of suicide. As such, suicide is considered the second cause of death, with the first being accidents. Butler and Pang (2014) highlight a study done by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health which concluded that 47 percent of Canadian youths between the ages of 12 to 24 years had thought about committing suicide at one point in their lives. The Canadian Federal government has created partnerships with the Aboriginal organizations by developing a National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy to help minimize the high suicide rates among the aboriginal communities (Butler & Pang, 2014).

   Social media has created a platform that tends to encourage cyberbullying. With 12 percent of young Canadians being affected by this form of bullying, it has resulted in depression and anxiety. The LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) community are the most affected. They have been viewed as a sexual minority group. Severe cases of bullying contribute largely to suicide. In 2013, the federal government established the Stand Up to Bullying and Discrimination in Canadian Communities project to help reduce cases of bullying and suicide (Butler & Pang, 2014).

               With education being highly appreciated in the Canadian community, most youth are educated. However, there have been challenges arising from acquiring education (Mitchell and Lennox, 2020). This includes expensive tuition fees which has led many graduating students to have high debts. Statistics Canada states that currently, 50 percent of graduates are burdened with debts.  Young women are also getting more full-time jobs and better earnings compared to young men. Statistics Canada also states that 10.5 percent of Canadian youths were identified as homeless due to low-income wages.  

               The Canadian youth policy has created opportunities for youth to air out their concerns and come up with concrete solutions to the challenges they are facing. This involves creation of federal departments established for the youths to increase their participation in decision- and policy making. Due to the rapidly growing diverse population in Canada, the federal government is striving to create an equal distribution of resources without discrimination.

               The number of Indigenous youths in Canada has increased remarkably over the years. This has led to both health and social isolation. Lines et al. (2019) assert that Indigenous people are placed lower in health determinants as compared to non-indigenous people. These comparisons among the youth are observed in various health outcomes of obesity, suicide, and substance abuse. In the report of (Lines et al., 2019), the youth foreground the need to have numerous cultural activities to promote health care in physical activities, mental health advocacy, and social interactions.

    

    

Answer

Assessing Risk and Reward

The Nissan Motor Company is one of the leading automobile makers in the world. The Japanese carmaker has primarily enjoyed a successful run, allowing it to enter various regional and international markets such as the United States. However, the changing business environment was not favorable to the company in 2019. Notably, the cooperation recorded losses amounting to 7.8%. The experience pushed the management into making tough decisions, requiring almost all of its North American workforce to go for unpaid leaves.

In late 2019, the company announced that the decline in sales necessitated a two-day unpaid leave for the North American workers. The stated days for the vacation were January 2 and 3^rd    (Chicago Tribune, 2019).  Notably, this move was a crucial decision for the company because of its conflicting impacts. Whereas on the positive side, it could help the firm minimize expenses, it threatened to affect the public perception of the company regarding employee welfare.

The rewards for the decision involved cutting expenses by not paying the workers on leave, which eventually would translate into reduced expenses. Another reward was that the decision could allow the company to optimize performance by evaluating employee performances then developing new milestones. However, on the low side, the company risked affecting its public image and brand name, especially in the North American market. As per Chakravorti (2010), the way an organization treats its employees influences the firm’s public perception. Thus, Nissan risked eliciting a negative public perception. With a distorted public image, the company could fail to revive its declining sales.

I would have advised the management of Nissan to utilize the Predictive Analytic perspective in determining the right decision to take. Ideally, the approach tries to predict what might happen in the future if particular decisions or actions are undertaken at the moment (Traymbak & Aggarwal, 2019). Looking at the situation at Nissan, the company needed to develop a goal such as increasing sales. After that, they would have made decisions aimed at realizing the set goal. In this regard, the predicted outcome could give the management an overview of whether more risks existed or significant rewards could be realized.

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