Modernity and Modernism Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Modernity and Modernism Analysis - Essay Example The essay "Modernity and Modernism Analysis" investigates modernity and modernism. Modernism refers to the way in which human beings seek to implement an aspect of modernity in everything around them. Modernism was discovered after the First World War. At the time, people knew that there was an aspect of modernity in their lives. They had the opportunity to advance what they needed. After the world war, modernism was mainly used to create strategies and weapon aimed at self-protection. The aspect of modernism led to the creation more modernized weapons and developed more complex war strategies. This is a perfect example of modernism. In an argument by Horvà ¡th modernism does not limit itself in a specific paradigm that it needs to change. In the 18th and 19th centuries, theorists and philosophers created ideas, projects and theories that tend to explain the existence of particular phenomena and how to advance them. Aesthetic refers to the ability of an object to appreciate art or b eauty. Beauty and art can be referred to the aesthetic properties an object. However, aesthetic properties are artificial. They are works that denote art and beauty. In an argument by Greenhalgh art has developed from generation to generation as human beings become more appreciative of nature. The aesthetic properties of creation have developed significantly with the exposure the society to the modern way of doing art. The relationship between art and its aesthetic properties is based on the creativity level.

Political Regime and Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Political Regime and Business - Essay Example By an examination of the political regime, one can therefore make the decision to invest or not to invest in a given country. Most countries often have political regimes that are different and diverse in their ideologies and in their practices. An example of two countries with different ideologies is the United States and China. Given the different ideologies in the two countries, the business environment in the two countries is likely to be very different. The changes in the political environment of a given country usually have an impact on the business environment of the country. A stable political regime often means that there will be less tension which will in turn create a positive business environment. The stable political regime also means that it will be easier to start up a business in this environment. The two governments (the Chinese government and the United States government) usually put in place different ideologies that have different impacts on the business environmen t as will be discussed in the paper (Collins and Block, 2007, p. 130). The term political ideology refers to the set of beliefs and ideals that seek to explain or direct how the society should work and how power should be allocated to the different sectors of the society. A political ideology is therefore a collection of ideas and thoughts on how the society and the different sectors of the society should function and on how best to achieve this ideal functioning of the society. The differences in ideologies followed therefore form the basis of the differences in political regimes. In most political regimes, the old policies that have proved to be ineffective are often replaced by newer policies in an attempt to improve the situation. The political regime of a given country usually has a direct impact on the practices that will be followed in the country which will in turn affect the business. This effect is usually felt in the types of employment contract that are in place in a giv en country which affect the way that a business hires and treats its employees. The effect is also felt in the human rights treatment which affects the environment under which the business is expected to operate. The political regime in the United States is characterised by a mixture of liberalism and a high level of individualism in their practices. There is also a high emphasis on individual rights and liberties which translates even in the business environment in the country. The country was founded on the principles of democratic republic. At present, the major political parties in the country are the Republican and the Democratic parties. The democratic situation in the United States encourages private ownership of property (Jennings 2010, p. 69). The United States also adopts a free market policy. This means that the prices and other market conditions are regulated by the laws and forces of demand and supply. The government does not interfere with the means of production, and these means are controlled by the private citizens. In this free market, the prices of commodities in this market are as a result of voluntary transactions as opposed to being subjected to government control. Such a policy opens room for competition among various entities. The liberalised government system of the United States presents prospective businesses

Employee Motivation Theories in Customer Service

Employee Motivation Theories in Customer Service Work is very important for every individual infect it is inevitable in the life of every person and every one want satisfaction in the work. Employees need satisfaction in the job and it is the responsibility of manager to understand their problems and find the way to satisfy them. The assumption is that a motivated worker will give his best performance to the organization as a result productivity of organization will increase and poor performance will be a forgotten issue in the organization. Managers can adopt different ways to motivate employees and managers who are successful in motivating employees providing an environment in which incentives are available for them which are much needed for the satisfaction of employees. Employees should have enough pay which motivate them and push them to work hard. Today manager cannot solely motivate employees through pay, benefit and reward to encourage them to work hard and efficiently. It is the responsibility of manager to develop environ ment in which employees motivated to become productive members of organization. This literature review will determines the main aims and objectives of the research considering a variety of literatures. It will provide us brief overview regarding extensive research in the field of employees motivation and its factors affecting the organization. This research is helpful to find out employees motivation of Sainsbury through different means. There are lots of researchers carried out the research in the field of employees motivation. Some of methods and ideas presented in literature review given theses researchers This literature review will give us the concept of employees motivation its importance and factors staff motivation and organization performance. Although many others researchers also conducted their research in this field but it was out of scope and i selected only those researches which were directly or indirectly related to my topic. In this chapter secondary research is mostly used the information is taken from books and journals. It will discuss the re levant theory on the topic and give the opinion that relate to employees motivation and commitment. Employees motivation and commitment is the most important topic in the field of Human Resource Management. In this chapter first we discuss the HR theory to understand about HR and then focus on employees motivation to increase customers services HR Research conducted in organizations suggests that HR affects organizational outcomes by shaping employees attitudes and behaviours. The high commitment of HR increases organization performance by giving environment in which employees are involved in organization and they work hard to achieve organization goals. (Whitener, E 2001) Research suggests that employees interpret organisational actions such as human resource practices, as symptomatic of the personified organisations commitment to them. They reciprocate their perceptions accordingly in their own commitment to the organisation. It is seen that high commitment to motivate employees work well for organization. Such organizations have high productively as compared to those which has low commitment. Before that Dean and Lepak also said the same opinion. According to Dean and Lepak (1996) HR is classified as control practices and its main purpose to increase efficiency and reduce labour in organization. Its aim to increase productivity and provide the environment for employees that help to achieve the goals of organization. The high commitment strategy of HR includes selective staffing development appraisal competitive packages and training of staff. According to Foot and Hook in 1999 the employees are most important resource which contributes to achieve organization goals. HR is very important in decision making process and it comprises a range of issues employee development, recruitment and reward schemes. Recruitment will give us qualified employees in order to achieve corporate goals in an efficient manner. But Beardwell (2004) has different opinion. He linked the organization performance to changes in different business environment including micro and macro contexts. He said our HR strategy must fit the Organization strategy According to Mullins successful HR has proactive role in organization. HR creates values by providing opportunities and his values are crucial for organization future success. It will increase the skill of current workforce and will recruit the highly skilled workforce 2.2Recruitment Recruiting the correct employees is important in employees motivation and they fit in the organization and have skills to fulfil the commitment. If an organization ignore the correct employees for the correct role than its economic cost can be immense. Beardwell (2004) and then Mullins (2005) emphasis on recruitment process of employees. Both said that employees should be technically fit to any given rule. Best companies are doing this for long time and ensure that selection process full assessment of candidates abilities, values, interest and careful review how they will match the organization culture. The ability to achieve competitive advantage in market is dependent on composition of workforce According to Armstrong (2001) there is pressure on organizations to recruit right people for right job. If they fail to does this then it will adverse effect on the budget of organization. There are number of factors which should consider in recruitment process including the culture of organization, legal implications, attracting and employing the correct candidate and the cost in time and resources. Before the Armstrong the Holden in (1994) emphasised on good HRM practice in recruitment and selection. The organization can use recruitment process to continue or even change the organization culture. When a change of strategic direction is required, recruiting the right candidates is an important factor to increase the chance of success Team working and job rotation Team working is important in organization. When employees in organization work together they share the ideas, motivate each other and help to increase the sales of organization. According to Cohen (1996) cited in Bacon, N Blyton, p 2003:14) when the human work together they create meaningful work. When humans work in a team they got higher job satisfaction according to job characteristics and management theories. The different tasks in team encourage workers to use different skills and rotation in job reduces in boredom of repetitive work. This helps team members to share the responsibility of work in their area and develop the skills essential for effective team work. In team employees participate in goal setting thereby motivation for team members According to Friedrich (1998) Job rotation is long term planning but it can be organized at short notice. Job rotation will support the employees abilities and interest but also their prospects for promotion. Task of job rotation should be explained to employees who can only be justified by corresponding benefits. Some employees will give resistance and refuse to give up job in which they are comfortable This happened during the research which I conducted in Sainsbury. Some employees were happy with their current position in Sainsbury while others were not happy with their role in Sainsbury. The first one will give resistance to give up their position Empirical Evidence on Employees Motivation Employee motivation is the biggest factor in the success or failure of an organization. Motivated workforce will give best output and productivity while without motivated workforce productivity, profit; morale, product and service all suffer. An organization should have effective strategy to motivate the staff and to stay competitive in the market. There are different factors to motivate individuals and all of them are motivated differently. Some of them are motivated by money other by the opportunity for professional development and job satisfaction. It is the responsibility of managers to understand what factors will motivate their employees to increase productivity. Employees motivation is closely linked to employees performance. By conducting the search in this manner the resultant articles were specific case studies of employee motivation in various organizations. The resultant case studies looked at a range of topics on both employee motivation and employee performance and how these constructs can be connected. One particular study looked specifically at the followers of an organization and what key factors a leader needs to know about the various types of followers. The case studies in this review expand upon the work of Maslow, Taylor, and Herzberg. Simms in (2007) discusses how various organizations utilize tailored versions of non-cash e rewards as employee incentives. Simms suggests that Herzbergs view of salary as not being a motivator holds. The ability to hold up an incentive that doesnt get absorbed by the employees monthly bills has a larger effect on employee motivation. He also suggests it may be more acceptable to boast about a special award or party rather than an employees salary raise. Simms then goes on to expand the discussion of non- cash rewards such as flex time, employee of the month, and tailored goal incentives. Simms argues it is important for employers to communicate these benefits to employees because many employees dont understand their total compensation package. By communicating the total package, the employer reinforces their commitment to the employees and helps to motivate the employee. This motivation leads to greater employee satisfaction and performance. The case study of the Harrahs Entertainment sales teams lays out the use of team incentives to increase sales across the various branches of the Harrahs Entertainment family of products. However, the core to the incentive packages, that Jakobson discusses, is the use of Merchandise Awards. Jakobson states that Merchandise Awards are even more effective than Top Seller Trips. Harrahs also uses simple employee motivation tactics such as recognition at weekly and monthly sales meetings of the top sales teams. Whiteling in (2007) looks at the cases of Reuters and supermarket giant Sainsburys to show how important it is to create a culture where employees become directly involved in suggestions for change. By creating a culture where employee input is valued and the changes faced by the organization are better understood and receive the support of the employees. This also has the side effect of creating employee motivation to support and accomplish the organizations goals and change efforts (Whiteling, 2007). Silverman in (2006) utilizes a similar strategy to create a high-performance workforce. Silverman suggests keeping employees engaged by working with storytelling. Employers can systematically ask employees to tell their story for good or not-so good situations. In this way, an employee/employer relationship can be forged which can help foster mutual support and idea sharing. Similar to Whiteling, Silverman suggests that the organizations culture needs to be developed around the concept of storytelling. Employees need to feel their stories are being heard, understood, and valued by those requesting the stories. By forging these relationships, the employee feels valued by the employer, supervisor, and organization as a contributor. This value translates into higher work performance and stake within the organization (Silverman, 2006; Whiteling, 2007). Sharbroughs (2006) study looks at the correlations between leaders use of Motivating Language (ML) and employee job satisfaction and the perception of a supervisors effectiveness. In both cases, there was a statistically significant correlation in this study between a leaders use of ML and employee job satisfaction and the perception of a supervisors effectiveness. This correlation can be utilized by organizations to measure a leaders use of ML and determine levels of employee satisfaction as well as determine the perceived effectiveness of a supervisor Kellerman (2007) has expanded the work of Zaleznik, Kelley, and Chaleff to create what he calls a level of engagement to classify the followers of an organization. This employee continuum ranges from feeling and doing absolutely nothing to being passionately committed and deeply involved. In this way, a leader can assess their subordinates and tailor a leadership approach to maximize the affect a particular effort will have on employee motivation. A common thread of communication between employers and employees emerges as a requirement for employee motivation (Simms, 2007; Jakobson, 2007; Whiteling, 2007; Silverman, 2006; Sharbrough, 2006). Many of these case studies link high employee motivation with increased employee performance. By first utilizing Kellerman level of engagement classification, an organization can tailor the use of ML and motivational lltechniques in the organization. In this way, employee motivation can be maximized to increase employee performance by focusing the use of ML and motivational techniques Theories of motivation As we discussed that there are number of ways to motivate employees. Lots of researchers gave the theories of motivation. I will discuss most common theories. These theories will give us idea how we can motivate employees. All these theories have some common points to motivate employees but these theories also have different opinion Fredrick Winslow Taylor and Elton Mayo Theories of Motivation Fredrick Winslow Taylor (1856-1917) said that employees are mainly motivated by pay. His theory argued that workers need supervision because naturally they do not enjoy work therefore manager should break their work in small tasks and training and tools so they work efficiently on given task. They are than paid according to number of items they produced in a set period of time-price-rate pay. This will motivate them to work hard and maximise their productivity. Taylor method work well and different organization adopted this method to increase productivity level and lower unit cost. The most notably advocate was Henry Ford who used them to design the first ever production line, making Ford cars. This was the start of the era of mass production. Taylor theory has close links with autocratic management styles and Macgregor theory X approach. Taylor theory failed soon as workers became bore on repetitive tasks and they were treated like human machines. Elton Mayo than gave better theory he said workers are not only motivated with money by they could be better motivated if we met their social needs whilst at work. Taylor ignored these second points which cause adverse effect on his theory. He also conducted an experiment on two groups and examines the effect on their productivity levels of changing factors such as working condition. From Mayo theory we can conclude that employees are best by better communication between them and managers. Employees are also motivated by involvement of managers in their working lives. They are also motivated when they work in a team. Therefore Sainsbury should use team working and introduce personal department to involve managers to look employees to motivate them the increase the production Maslow theory of motivation Maslow in (1943) gave hierarchy of human needs based on two groupings: deficiency needs and growth needs. Within the deficiency needs, each lower need must be met before moving to the next higher level. According to Maslow employees have five levels of need physiological, safety, social, ego, and self- actualizing Once each of these needs has been satisfied, if at some future time a deficiency is detected, the individual will act to remove the deficiency. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Maslows_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg/450px-Maslows_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png Figure: Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (1) Physiological needs These include homeostasis such as need for oxygen satisfaction of thirst and hanger. It also include sleep and sexual desire (2) Safety needs These include security and safety. It covers security in all aspects of life. It also include security of family, property and morals (3) Love needs These include affection, sense of belonging, social activities, friendships, and both the giving and receiving of love. (4) Esteem needs These include both self-respect and the esteem of others. Self respect covers the strength independence and freedom and achievement. While esteem of others include status, reputation, appreciation and attention (5) Self- actualization needs This need includes the realization of potential of an individual. In this need we consider what is the potential of humans and what are they capable of becoming. These needs may vary widely from one individual to another. Maslow conceived a human being developing five groups of needs, in sequence, from one to five. The survival needs start at birth. During childhood everyone aware all groups of needs. If a manager wants to motivate his employees he should satisfy all five needs in his employees In Maslow theory once we achieved lower level needs like physiological and safety levels others does not provide same level of motivation. There are problems in Maslow theory relating to work situation. The higher level needs do not satisfy their needs because of work situation. It is the responsibilities of managers to understand their needs in private and social life not just their attitude at work. There is no time frame in Maslow theory when the satisfaction of lower level needs and emergence of higher level needs. Even the people within the same level of hierarchy there have different motivation factors. There are lots of ways in which people seek satisfaction for example their esteem needs Fredrick Herzbergs theory of motivation Fredrick Herzberg the friend of Maslow introduced two factor theory of motivation. He believed that there are certain factors that business can introduce which will directly motivate employees and work hard to increase productivity. He named such factors motivation and hygiene Motivator or intrinsic factors, such as achievement and recognition, produce job satisfaction. He said there are others factors which will not motivate them or they will not work hard. He named such factors hygiene factors. Hygiene or extrinsic factors, such as pay and job security, produce job dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg all these factors must present in any job because their absence will give dissatisfaction and decrease productivity and lead to strike in organization. Their presence will yield average productivity but not necessarily above the average. The challenge is that their presence does not motivate in a special way. Herzberg referred this group as dissatisfies. However second group existence will yield satisfaction and this include achievement, recognition, advancement and growth in job. According to Herzberg only way to motivate employee is through job enrichment Herzberg believed that democratic approach is the best approach to motivate employees by improving the nature of job through certain methods. Vroom and Skinner theory of motivation According to Vroom theory (1964) employees effort will lead to performance and performance and then reward should be given on the base of that performance. This reward can be positive or negative depending upon the performance of individual employee. It means that more positive reward will motivate employee highly. Conversely reward is more negative employee will less likely to motivated According to Skinner theory (1953) employees behaviour that lead to positive outcomes will be repeated and negative behaviour will not be repeated. Managers should reinforce employees behaviour that lead to positive outcome. Managers should negatively reinforce employee behaviour that leads to negative outcomes. Reward as motivational tools Payment is not the sole motivator factor for employees. They are more motivated the reward they receive of their hard work we should give employees certain incentives when certain goals are achieved. The two most common types of rewards are extrinsic reward and intrinsic reward. Extrinsic rewards are external rewards that occur apart from work such as money and other things. On the other hand intrinsic rewards are internal rewards in this reward there is direct connection between reward and work and employee feel it during his job. According to Thomas (2000) now rule of motivation has changed. Employees are not motivated through their supervision. They are becoming self managed and they want to demonstrate their own innovation at the work place. Since new motivation factors have emerged so employees want reward of their work. Some of them motivated even they receive positive feedback about their work. Mullins in (2005) said employees have common motivational factors although when satisfied will lead to different level of motivation. If the reward is managed correctly both extrinsic and intrinsic reward will motivate employees. However it is not guarantee that employees will motivated through reward those who receive less reward will feel undervalued and will not be motivated Beardwell and Holden (1994) also emphasised the reward system in the motivation of employees. They said that the payment received by employers is not just one factor which can motivate them. Employees can create an environment that motivate them by providing resources, information and emotional support and some are motivated by fear of loss i.e. they will fired and loss their support if they are late from the job. There are lots of employees which do best when their salary increase According to Redshaw (2001) there are six factors that can motivate employees (1) Training; it is most important to all employees skills replacing job for life time. (2) Financial rewards; employees are motivated through any means which help them financially. It can be useful in Sainsbury. He can give his employees discount vouchers. (3) Recognition; the employees need to know they, reassurance of their role, enforcing corporate norms and values. (4) Communication; managers should regularly communicate with employees. All the employees should have access to managers. Managers should held weekly meeting and regular meeting with employees. (5) Alignment; There is a direct relationship between motivation and an individuals ability to contribute, therefore make all employees aware of the contribution they bring to the organisation (6) Leadership; employees should have their own leader to discuss their concern with him Heap (1987) gave the advantages and disadvantages of the reward system. My companies considered that the reward system has both advantages and disadvantages. In 1999 Thompson and Sanders showed that the companies which give attention to the main objectives of their program like cost, customer service, schedule, environment and quality are deemed success of any incentive programme According to Makenzie and Lee rewards are distribute to those who perform at given level. These rewards should be available to everyone in the organization from top management to workers. These rewards can be linked directly to quality safety, performance and absenteeism. These rewards must be given on successful performance. Different companies motivate their employees through different means. Some companies feel that money is a good motivator. Many companies offer profit sharing plans and offer trips to Europe and other islands Turkson (2002) there are different types of incentives plans which can motivate employees. It can be annual performance bonus. It can also profit sharing plan. Every different kind of incentive plan has benefits and drawbacks. The annual performance bonus is once in a year so it is hard to link it with performance. This type of incentive plan also tends to cause to employees to focus on what makes them look good, sometimes at the expense of what may be best for the companys bottom line These rewards programmes are expansive these programs require careful monitoring. Some companies give reward with an extra day off with pay. Others companies provide good working condition and give reward on top performance. The performance level must be achievable. An incentive scheme may also fail if we ignore the quality or safety. Incentives should be linked with performance but we cannot apply this rule every time. Some incentives are issued on the basis of a subjective assessment by a superior on the merit of particular workers Types of motivation Extrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation is inspired by outside forces. It includes the money, rewards and people which are close to us. Lots of researchers gave their view about extrinsic motivation and gave different view about it Mullins and Armstrong said that extrinsic motivation can be related to tangible rewards such as security, benefits, promotion, condition of services and environment. These are most likely out of control from managers and determined at the organizational level. This kind of motivation has powerful effect on employees but it will not last long. Bernard and Stoner (2005) said that salary, wages and conditions of services are the incentives for employees. Managers should use four components of salary structure to use salary as motivator effectively. These are (1) job rate: which organization set for each job. (2) Payment: which should be given to individual according to their performance which motivate them and encourage them to work hard (3) Personal allowances: which should be given to those people who have particular skills. . According to Banjoko (1996) most managers use money to reward or punish employees. It can be done through reward on higher productivity and fear to loss job due to poor performance. The desire to earn enhanced pay will motivate employees. In any organization higher productivity depends on level of motivation in employees of organization. We can also motivate staff through training it will give staff the opportunities of self improvement to meet the challenges of higher productivity and new techniques performing a task Intrinsic motivation This motivation is inspired from within a person. This motivation includes personal goals, happiness, morals, eagerness to learn, social and self esteem needs. Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators push person to achieve the targets. But both these motivators achieved target in different ways. According to Mullins (2005) intrinsic motivation is the opportunity to use the ability of individual. In this motivation sense of challenge, achievement and positive recognition treated with considerate manner. Psychological rewards are usually determined by the behaviour of individual managers. Armstrong (2006) the quality of work life is essential for intrinsic motivators and they have long term effect because they are inherent in individuals and they are not imposed from outside Effect of motivation on productivity Productivity of an organization depends on the motivation of its staff. Organization will achieved its goals through motivated staff and gain market share which will help to increase the production of the organization. Sainsbury can gain market share and increase its productivity through motivation of its staff Mojahed (2005) defined productivity as the ratio of output and input. The economists defined the productivity at industrial level to determine the economy, health and growth rate while at project level it define as and applies to planning, cost estimating and cost control. According to Heizer and Render (1999) numbers of factors affects the productivity of employees and education is one of them. Social overhead and diet of the employees also affect the productivity of employees. But Wiredu (1989) said others factors like team building, motivation job security and training also affect the productivity of employees. We cannot increase productivity of employees without enhancing the skills of them. Working in safe environment and stronger commitment also affect labour productivity Effects of Motivation on Performance The performance of employees is very important for every company. It will make or break a company. It is important to motivate employees and find different methods to motivate them. Stephen Robbins and David A. Decenzo wrote in their book Supervision Today money is most important form of motivation for employees but others motivation factors should also be considered. Every company has different employees and everyone is motivated for different reasons. It is important for managers to know her employees and understand what will motivate them. Managers should understand individual differences if they want successful in motivating people. As we know money is the most important factor to motivate employees but companies should also have other ways to motivate their employees. This involves getting to know their employees and what drives them, then making sure managers utilize appropriate motivational techniques with each employee. The employees performance will improve definitely when m anagers will use appropriate motivation technique Effects of performance management on motivation In every organization team does the work and performance of organization depends on the performance of the team. Therefore it is important for organization to get good performance from everyone. It is the responsibilities of managers to motivate them as a team and each individual separately. The enthusiasm of the manager motivates the team how work will be structured and agreed standard for getting there. The organization manager creates a climate of progress with their behaviour. Sainsbury should consider and evaluate the performance management of its top manager to motivate its employees and increase its productivity. Most organization like Sainsbury has performance management system. In any organization main purpose of performance management assist the management in the determination of pay rises and find how pay system will work in the organization and motivate the staff. Every employee in the organization understands the system and why he or she got the pay rise they did. Aim is that to develop staff and motivate them. The problem rises from this is that if manager want to develop its staff and ask about its weakness the employees will discuss some of its weakness. If the employees feel that manager is gathering the information for the next pay review he will hesitate to discuss its weakness According to Kaplan and Norton (2001) performance management is the backbone of HRM. In performance management we plan and implement the strategies and adopt different approaches to perform tasks. Performance management is beneficial in any business to work according to plan. According to Handel and Gentleman (2004 P.72) said that salary and wage system is big factor that will increase the performance of staff and motivate them. The performance management and production management are closely linked with each other. This is beneficial for staff and motivates them. Staff relationship working environment and culture are vital to motivate staff. It is the responsibilities of performance management to train them and polished their skills according to job requirement. Training is essential for both new and experienced workers otherwise organization can lose its profit and its workers will not be motivated if he did not train the employees. Armstrong and Baron said that prior duty of HRM department is to deal with performance management because performance management is the fundamental of HRM and it is responsibilities of manager to help the emp

Capital Punishment Essay: Capital Punishment Targets the Poor

Capital Punishment Targets the Poor In some states, inmates can be executed for crimes they committed at the age of 16; in others, only those who committed murder at age 18 or older are eligible for the death penalty. This essay will demonstrate that such inconsistencies and many other factors cause a situation where the poor are consistently targeted by the death penalty.    Some states, but not all, ban the execution of people with mental retardation. Some states include felony murder (unpremeditated murder committed in the course of another crime such as robbery or burglary) as a capital crime; others do not. In the 29 states that have a sentence of life without parole, 23 have statutes that bar judges from letting jurors know they have that sentencing option. Since studies consistently show that when given a choice between a death sentence and a sentence of life without parole, most people will choose the latter, failure to inform a jury of this alternative is tantamount to sending more people to the execution chamber.    Social science research has discredited the claim that execution deters murder. The majority of murders are committed in the heat of passion, and/or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, when there is little thought given to the possible consequences of the act. "Hit men" and other murderers who plan their crimes beforehand, intend and expect to avoid punishment altogether by not getting caught.    Law enforcement officials know that the death penalty is not a deterrent. Imposing the death penalty more often was thought to be cost-effective by only 29% of 386 randomly selected U.S. police chiefs polled by Peter D. Hart Research Associates in 1995. States that have death p... ...ily as an alternative to the death penalty(Death).    In 45 states, laws allow life sentences for murder that severely limit or eliminate the possibility of parole. Thirteen states impose sentences without the possibility of parole for 25 - 40 years, and all but three of the states that use capital punishment also have the option of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. Although it is often assumed that capital punishment is less costly than life imprisonment, the opposite is true: in terms of dollars, in terms of crime control, and in terms of morality.    Is there any other way to go than to oppose capital punishment? No.    WORKS CITED: Death Penalty Information Center  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ Stanford Law Review  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://support.lexis-nexis.com/online/record.asp?ArticleID=LXE_Law_Rev_S   

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) Essay

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a family-based prevention and intervention program that deals with such juvenile problems as child abuse and neglect, early sexual involvement, alcohol and drug abuse, youth conflict and aggression. Since these problems originate within the family structure in many cases, FFT program refers to every member of the family in order to achieve the highest treatment results. It is important to emphasize that FFT recognizes that both positive and negative behaviors influence and are influenced by multiple relational systems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main positive influence of FFT is that it develops inner strengths and sense of being of each member of the family. In such a way, family members are united under the common viewpoints on life, activities and goals. As a result, the situation within the family might be improved due to different intervention and assessment phases. Functional Family Therapy consists of three specific intervention phases: engagement and motivation, behavior change, and generalization. Each of these phases has certain goals, risk and protective factors, assessment focus and therapist/interventional skills that might be related to each of the phases. The first phase – engagement and motivation – helps to increase family’s hope and expectation of change, improve trust between therapist and family, and reduce negativity within families and toward the community as well as build respect to individual values and differences. During the second phase – behavior change – therapists develop long-term plans of behavior change that can fit to certain culture, family situation and understand the unique characteristics of each family member. Cognitive, interactive and emotional components are included into behavior change phase. The main focus of this phase is to improve the quality of relations skills because of the risks dealing with poor parenting and communication skills, negativity and blaming. Thus, FFT program gives an opportunity to model the change plan, train each member and control the whole process. Finally, generalization phase helps to unite the families with available community resources in order to prevent relapses in the behavior change. It is directed to improve the ability of the family to affect the multiple systems like school, juvenile justice system, community, etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since FFT program addresses each member of the family where there are problems with juveniles, it helps to identify the core reasons of juvenile behavior change which in most cases happen within the family. Parents learn to understand their children, but most important to listen to their thoughts, opinions, problems, and many other issues which are important for juveniles, but might be neglected by the adults. At the same time children learn to understand the behavior of their parents, to respect and listen to the adults as well as improve their relations with the families, school and community as a whole. Due to FFT program recidivism rates greatly decreased in the recent time. Certainly, there is no single treatment which is commonly accepted and can help all juveniles and heir families to solve the problems or prevent them. However, FFT I is considered on of the best way to prevent juvenile delinquency since it does not only solve the problem itself, but addresses the core reason for this problem to occur – the juvenile family and community he/she lives in.

Problem gambling Essay

Gambling is something that people are capable of enjoying once in a while, but for others it can turn into an activity that is hard to control. Gambling is the act of risking money, property, or something of value on an activity that has an uncertain outcome. This can include, lotteries and bingos, card games, going to casinos, buying multiple kinds of tickets, making bets, and games such as pool, golf, or arm wrestling. Gambling can be legal as well as illegal, any sort of gambling managed by the government or by regulations set by the government is legal, and any sort of gambling that is not managed by regulations is illegal. Gambling doesn’t have one specific cause, and the cause can be different for everyone. People who have bipolar disorder, Parkinson’s disease and restless leg syndrome have been observed to develop an addiction to gambling. Bipolar disorder because exorbitant spending is known to be a symptom and can take form in gambling. Parkinson’s and restless leg syndrome, because of the theory that the medications can increase the activity of dopamine in the brain as a culprit. Other causes can include, emotional conditions, schizophrenia, mood problems, antisocial personality disorder, and alcohol or drug addictions. People who have problems with gambling usually spend a lot of time doing so and don’t leave much time for family, friends, and important events. Bigger bets begin to get placed and they happen more often, which can lead to growing debts causing the person to borrow money from friends or family. Those with problems can’t fully stop gambling but would rather â€Å"cut back,† and can also become bad-tempered, depressed, withdrawn, or restless if they aren’t able to gamble. Gambling can have some very serious effects on the gambler, as well as those around him/her. Debt, bankruptcy, poverty, theft, prostitution, and suicide issues can all be side effects of gambling. Families with people those who have an addiction to gambling are more at risk of experiencing domestic violence and child abuse. And children of compulsive gamblers have a higher chance of developing depression, behavior problems, and substance abuse. There are many reasons for gambling and usually it is for fun or excitement, to escape or forget problems, to win money, or to feel challenged. In Canada, gaming is the largest  entertainment industry being the same size as movies, TV, recorded music, and professional sports combined. During 2007, 70.7% of adults gamble, and the most common gaming activities among Canadian adults are lotteries and instant-win tickets. About 3.2& of adults, and 2.2% of youth, are affected by moderate to severe problem gambling. A survey conducted in 2001-2006 suggests that the provinces, which have the highest rates of gambling, are Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and Quebec and New Brunswick have the lowest. Gambling can be overcome, as there are multiple ways to fix your problem. Many participate in gamblers anonymous or go to psychotherapy. Medications have been discovered which help reduce the urge to gamble, or thrill that comes with it. Financial counseling and self-help interventions are also ways to go about fixing your addiction. 70% of people who have gambling problems most likely also have another psychiatric issue; therefore they may need more than one type of treatment for their best chance to overcome their problem(s). My personal viewpoint on gambling is that, it’s not always a bad thing if you can keep it under control, and if it is legal. I think it’s a good way to have fun if you know your limits. If you have gambling problems it can become quite serious, which in that case you need to get some sort of help and realize it is not the best lifestyle. After doing this report I realize that it is an important issue that I was not fully aware of, and that it can be harmful to ones present and future just as much as alcohol and drug addictions. Bibliography http://www.onhealth.com/gambling_addiction/article.htm https://dl.cssd.ab.ca/d2l/lms/content/viewer/view.d2l?tId=2157962&ou=1868624 http://www.problemgambling.ca/EN/Documents/FA_GamblingProblemGamblinginCanada.pdf

Summary of the course Essay Example

Summary of the course Essay Example Summary of the course Essay Summary of the course Essay Summary of the course Name: Course: Date: Summary of the course Human Resource management can be described as the management of an organization’s personnel. It entails the activities, policies and practices used in selecting, recruiting, utilizing, developing, remunerating, evaluating, maintaining and appraising an organization’s valuable labor force in order to keep the firm, productive and growing. Owing to increased diversity in the way companies are managed, the scope of human resources has expanded to involve the management and development of a company’s talent, takeovers and consolidation, planning of succession within the company, multiculturalism and involvement in terms of value and practice. One of the basic duties of a human resource manager is the designing of jobs, based on the needs of the organization pertaining to the tasks it requires accomplished to realize certain goals. The question that needs to be answered is, â€Å"What needs to be done for the company to develop product X and gain from the product?† The answer to this question will define the duties of the employee filling this position. However, HR managers should plan and design for these jobs with a holistic approach that would ensure interconnectedness of the different functions to promote cohesion within the organization. A second primary role of a HR manager is the recruitment of suitable personnel to handle the duties created. The process of recruitment involves sourcing for candidates by inviting applications for the jobs. An invitation for job application is prerequisite to capture vital information that is needed to sift through the applications that come in. An appropriate medium is chosen to disseminate this information, relevant mechanisms set to handle the incoming applications, and subsequent interviews that are held after the most fitting candidates are selected. The recruitment process in quite vital as it introduces employees that have the potential of furthering the companies’ objectives to the organization. The introduction of new employees to a company creates the challenges of ensuring that the personnel is oriented to fit the organization better, and understand their responsibilities with regards to the stipulated contractual agreements. The HR manager is responsible for keeping track of the personnel’s development and nurture budding talent in an effort in help the employee(s) attain their full potential and consequently serve to fulfill the organizations targets. This requires a constant review of the company’s personnel records and cooperation between the different managers directly in charge of the different employees. Employees do not work free, and their input to the organization needs to be rewarded. The HR manager’s duties also encompass the remuneration of the employees. Based on a variety of factors involving but not limited to the level of competency of the employee, the number and complexity of the duties assigned to an employee, as well as the prevailing external factors like the state of the economy, may come into play when deciding on the appropriate remuneration package to offer their employees. Salaries should be reviewed match the dynamic external environment when suitable. Considering the HR department is the foremost authority in matters concerning the organization’s human capital, a HR manager is responsible for ensuring that the company abides by the labor and employment laws. These laws protect the welfare of employees, and it is usually punishable law for a company to fail to comply with the laws. In cases where the employees want to hold a collective agreement with the organization, the HR manager is mandated to act as the company’s principle intermediary usually through a proxy like the employees’ representatives (unions). The present form of human resource management has not always existed. Before the 1900s, the rights of employees, with respect to the value they add to an organization were not appreciated. Some individuals like Andrew Carnegie did instill changes to these practices, but that was confined to their own businesses. Widespread acceptance of these ideas took place due to the institution of public policy that strove to improve the conditions that employees were exposed to at work, as well as the relationship that existed between employers and their employees. Advancement in the study and research into this discipline and progression in transport and communication lead to the view held today as far as human capital is concerned. Today there exists concepts that could not have been deemed possible a century ago. The progress made, as far as human rights are concerned, has meant a constant renewal of policies that conflict the rights of employees. For instance, during the Industrial Revolution, women did not work in companies, but presently women are at the helm of a number of multinational organizations. Such changes require a change in structure and the inclusion of several mechanisms that recognize the different needs of different groups present in the workplace. Changes in human relations, in general, have changed the way organizations view their employees. There has been a transition from viewing the labor in terms of their input to the company to looking at employees as individuals. Further studies of human behavior have influenced the management of personnel and policies have been implemented to provide to the needs of personnel outside the scope of their work. Examples of these include installation of fringe benefits that serve the needs of employees as human beings, and not necessarily benefiting the company directly like health insurance, pension plans, maternity and paternity leave. The focus of human resource management has evolved from that of protecting the company from the employees’ unions that were viewed negatively to strategic resourcefulness. An example is in takeovers and consolidation, where the company’s interests with respect to the work force are maintained so that in the process, the purpose of the roles created and talent nurtured by the organization is not lost. HR plays its role in integrating the acquired resources with those of the parent company to safeguard the cohesion and ultimately smooth running of the organization. Another key field pertaining to human resource is the planning of how a company’s employees are succeeded in the eventuality that an employee leaves for whatever reason. In most companies, clear guidelines are set to ascertain that a vacuum is not created by the departure on an employee. Essentially the organization is greater than an individual hence departure should not lead to paralysis. The HR manager is instrumental in identifying successors from either within or outside the company. These new employees are then trained in accordance to the structures available facilitating a smooth transition and normal running of the business. The field of human resource management is dynamic and relevant to the running of any organization successfully. This is evidenced by the fact that it has increased significantly in such a short time compared to a many of the other fields. There are still more areas of improvement and further research into the disciple will result in even greater growth and diversification. The installation of institutions that teach the discipline and the increasing number of peer-reviewed articles is more evidence to this.

Free Essays on Xerxes

â€Å"How could Xerxes have lost to the Greeks when he had such overwhelming organization, logistical expertise and numbers of soldiers?† King Xerxes lost to the Greeks due to his overwhelming confidence that sheer numbers and logistical preparation would prevail. The decision to invade Greece was some what influenced by his late father’s wish to defeat the Greeks. His father previously failed twice in his attempts to punish the great city-state of Athens and had planned for a third expedition but due to his death Xerxes must have felt â€Å"obliged to carry out his father’s plans, to punish Athens for the burning of Sardis and to avenge the Persian defeat at Marathon.† (Cameron from Studies in Ancient Persia pg 115). He had to restore Persian prestige after what Athens had done. This expedition would be the largest against the Greeks with an enormous amount if time preparing logistically with roads, canals and bridges to help the massive army and navy that would lead the onslaught onto Greece. However the Greeks used their tactical supremacy over the Persians by deciding intelligent battle plans a nd battle landscapes to suit their strengths. Their weaponry was far more advanced and their troops had superior training. Xerxes choice to ignore the Greeks strengths led to the failure of the campaign to Greece.... Free Essays on Xerxes Free Essays on Xerxes â€Å"How could Xerxes have lost to the Greeks when he had such overwhelming organization, logistical expertise and numbers of soldiers?† King Xerxes lost to the Greeks due to his overwhelming confidence that sheer numbers and logistical preparation would prevail. The decision to invade Greece was some what influenced by his late father’s wish to defeat the Greeks. His father previously failed twice in his attempts to punish the great city-state of Athens and had planned for a third expedition but due to his death Xerxes must have felt â€Å"obliged to carry out his father’s plans, to punish Athens for the burning of Sardis and to avenge the Persian defeat at Marathon.† (Cameron from Studies in Ancient Persia pg 115). He had to restore Persian prestige after what Athens had done. This expedition would be the largest against the Greeks with an enormous amount if time preparing logistically with roads, canals and bridges to help the massive army and navy that would lead the onslaught onto Greece. However the Greeks used their tactical supremacy over the Persians by deciding intelligent battle plans a nd battle landscapes to suit their strengths. Their weaponry was far more advanced and their troops had superior training. Xerxes choice to ignore the Greeks strengths led to the failure of the campaign to Greece....

Abraham Lincoln And Emancipation

Abraham Lincoln And Emancipation Introduction One of the speckles which President Abraham Lincoln had during his tenure as the president of the United States was the issuance of the executive order which stalled the rampant slavery in America. This proclamation was named as Proclamation 95 which targeted the enslaved over 3.5 million African American. As a result of this proclamation, these slaves were emancipated and thus their civil rights were immediately elevated to the status of their former masters. This executive order was issued on January 1, 1863. This executive order retired the retrogressive Fugitive Slave Act which was passed in the year 1850 and provided a mechanism over which errant slaves were to be handled. Prior to the emancipation, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed for the immediate return of runaway slaves or be branded as contraband and thus kept in reserved slave prisons. In the year 1861 during the month of December, President Lincoln expressed his delight with the free labor systems in his message. In addition, he also indicated his desire to see universal human rights to all American citizens. This came amidst pressure from various concerned citizens who directly confronted the president to halt the slavery given that it brought more harm than good to the union. The persistent rallies and direct letters addressed to the president pushed him to proclaim emancipation after the Congress passed a law barring any form of slavery in all the states. The returning of slaves, as well as reconviction of former slaves, was abolished and thus those who were considered as un-free citizens obtained their full freedom just like their former masters. They were incorporated in the army as w ell as other state organization which enabled them to begin fending for themselves contrary to the past where they fully relied on their masters for basic requirements Implementation On 22 September the year 1862, the preliminary announcement concerning the official endorsement of emancipation was availed to the Congress members. The official documentation and proclamation came 100 days later. This declaration demanded that all the slaves were to be freed by any means possible even in those states which had yet been reinstated under the federal government. These states included North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina. This executive order was to be implemented immediately even though some slave masters fiercely opposed this move by the president. However, the wave of change was so immense that no hardline slave master could dare face it. Consequences The consequences that accompanied the emancipation proclamation were numerous. However, Paradis (2012) records that the emancipation proclamation did not manage to afford freedom to any single slave. In his own analysis, emancipation was a hoax which rather was meant to tighten the grip on the slave trade. On the flip, the executive order which saw the inception of emancipation proclamation had massive impacts on the journey to realizing full freedom to the African American slaves. As a result, there are numerous accounts which support the fact that freedom to the slaves was witnessed even on the same day when the president signed the emancipation proclamation. Nonetheless, this does not mean that all the slaves got their freedom immediately. Some were informed about their full freedom after a while. In as much as there was verbal opposition by the slave masters concerning the emancipation proclamation, no physical struggle was reported between the slaves and their former masters. In fact, this proclamation set the foundation over which the long-awaited American freedom was to be built. The abolition of the slave trade was very fundamental towards the plight of unity and peace in the United States. During this time, foundational facilities such as schools, shelters, and medical facilities were developed for the former slaves as a quick way of normalizing them into the American society. Previously, the slaves were mercilessly utilized by the authorities as well as private owner to accomplish various activities such social works among others. When the news of emancipation came about, word of mouth was the main medium of propagation. This in effect gave rise to further confusion in slave camps given that many did not believe such a thing could happen. Political Influence The emancipation proclamation was fiercely opposed by Democrats who cited the negative impacts that the proclamation was bound to yield instead of promoting unity and equality among the Americans. Weber in her book published in the year 2008 records that most Democrats predicted increased violence and other forms of civil disobedience that would follow such proclamation. In their own view, the union would remain stronger only if the slavery was further improved. Some Democrats even went to the extreme and thus indicated that the president abused his power by the issuance of such illegal executive order. The aspect of imminent racism further complicated the whole situation and thus varied opinions were generated concerning this executive order. Open disagreements were witnessed from both sides of the party and thus everybody came up with his or her view concerning the emancipation proclamation. This in effect led to multiple splits within both the Democrats and the Republican parties. Not long after the signing of the emancipation proclamation, the president suspended two of his highly ranked party members. In effect, some voters who were strongly affiliated to these two officials, as well as those Democrats who voted for Lincoln, rebelled against him citing fears over the president’s behavior which they perceived as irrational. More effect was witnessed during the 1862 general election where the Democratic Party gained additional 28 seats and also won the governor seat of New York. During this time, Lincoln himself did not see these encroachments into his backyards as a major issue because he regarded them as meager. Confederate Response Given the mixed atmosphere around the emancipation proclamation, the Confederates were not left out in this tussle. Immediately after the inception of the emancipation proclamation, many African Americans were incorporated into the army ranks, a move which profusely angered the Confederates. To prove their disappointment, they enacted a law which targeted African American in the battlefield. This law provided that any African American who was caught fighting against the Confederacy was to be held and charged in court with slave insurrectionist. This civil wrong warranted any guilty party a lifetime imprisonment. Even though some confederates supported this emancipation of the African Americans hoping that it would allow them to be fixed in the army, some could not stomach it and thus they proceeded and murdered African American soldiers as a swift retaliation. As a reiteration of their deep commitment to promoting slavery through any means possible, the confederates collectively agre ed to hike the prices of slaves. Indeed, the Confederates considered the emancipation proclamation as a slap on their faces. International Influence At the moment when Lincoln decided to emancipate the African American slaves, most countries over the world had already abolished the slave trade. This gave him a boost in his quest to create an equal America given that the foreign support was overwhelming. Consequentially, the Confederates lost any glimpse of hope which they had concerning their official recognition from other nations. Even though Britain officially opposed the slave trade in the southern confederate, most of her companies continued to indulge in development activities within the Confederate region. The emancipation proclamation also enabled Lincoln to attract international leaders who previously opposed the ongoing civil war. Above all, the African Americans received a victory that they cannot compare to any. Building bridges and even forgetting about the slavery was massively achieved given the full support that the president threw behind the emancipation proclamation. By the time the civil war was ending, most pe ople were afraid that the traditional slavery laws would be reinstated given that they considered emancipation proclamation as a tool which Lincoln used to win the civil war. However, Lincoln expressed his ambition to abolish in totality any element of the slave trade and thus he managed to secure a second term in office. This is because most citizens pledged to support the former slaves in any way possible that would prevent them from accessing their full freedom.

Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Business Plan - Essay Example Computer software industry is booming and has the highest growth rate as compared to other industries. According to Commander (215) global soft ware market is worth $370 billion. Soft ware industry in the USA exceeded $ 261 billion in 2007. The annual growth rate was 14% in 2007. The annual growth rate has been above 15% since 1990. This indicates that the market is large and always growing. Application software programs perform actual business and industry roles. As a result, most businesses find it useful to analyse their company information. Soft ware application tools are becoming popular. They comprise of data access and retrieval, data management, data manipulation, program design and development software. According to Stair and Reynolds (168) businesses use e-products to improve the operations of the business enterprises. Word processing, inventory management software, database management, customized data analysis application, loan calculators, accounting applications, desktop publishing and graphic designs are part of the online office manager that are gaining world wide acceptance in the business world. Help managers and other workers to analyse company information. Information analyzed using the online office manager speed up decision making and conclusions in the business enterprises. Baldauf and Stair (421) asserts that e-products save company’s time and money. Therefore, there is a wide market for the online office manager application. The first objective of Buzweb Inc. is to develop user friendly office management applications that have various uses. The second objective is to ensure that the office management applications retain their effectiveness at all times. The third objective is to improve on the existing office applications. The fourth objective is to develop affordable office applications for all business enterprises. The management philosophy of Buzweb Inc. is

Operations Management MBA program Quality Management case study Essay

Operations Management MBA program Quality Management case study - Essay Example These parts are then accumulated and sent to the film assembly machines to produce a 10-frame cartridge. The completed cartridges are then inventoried and sent to the packaging section to fill a large shipping carton. The shipping cartons are then stacked, palletized and stored ready for shipment. The management of the R2 plant focuses on high volume output, low operating costs, timely production and low defect rates in their manufacturing processes The quality control department was responsible for sampling the lot of finished cartridges for defects and create a disposition whether to release the lot to the market or hold the lot for further testing and rework or reject the whole lot as unacceptable. This is a traditional approach of quality control where the efforts of quality control are focused on the last stage of production prior to delivery of products. This type of approach is very costly, time consuming and wasteful. In 1985, the R2 plant introduced and implemented a new process control program which they named Project Greenlight. The program involves a statistical process control chart that measures the variability of the product attributes and variables such as Pod Weight and Finger Height.

Supply chain management in the uk construction Industry Essay

Supply chain management in the uk construction Industry - Essay Example According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), â€Å"supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion and all logistics management activities† (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, n.d.). In addition to these, SCM also includes collaboration and coordination with channel partners which includes suppliers, customers as well as intermediaries. The council also says that the supply chain management also plays a crucial role in integrating demand and supply management across and within the companies. According to James B. Ayers, supply chain management is all about â€Å"designing, maintenance and operation of supply chain process, including those that make up extended product features, for satisfaction of end-user needs† (Ayers, 2000). Over the past few decades various techniques regarding supply chain management (SCM) have been used successfully in different industries like manufacturing and food. In these industries, the supply process encompasses all those activities that are associated with the processing – from raw materials to the finishing of the final product. The entire process involves procurement, production scheduling, inventory management, order processing, storage, customer service, transport and all the supporting information systems. Roy Morledge, Mohieddin Grada and Andrew Knight opined that in manufacturing industry, supply chain management strategies are adopted assuming that it is â€Å"an ongoing process where supplier and customer experience involves frequent transactions for the same or similar products† (Pryke, 2009). SCM strategies are considered as the key in maintaining quality and making the innovation process easier. Each of the aspects through which SCM is integrated wit h the manufacturing and food industry can be discussed in the

The primary function of human resource management Essay

The primary function of human resource management - Essay Example t kinds of units within the organization and those that encourage directed learning as well as promoting inter-agency communication across the entire company are being increasingly viewed as having paramount importance. Furthermore, Human Resource department must develop a system of recognition and reward for the staff in regards to their contributions to the agency. To create value and deliver results, HR professionals must begin not by focusing on the work activities or work of HR but by defining the deliverables of that work. HRs roles in building a competitive organization include management of strategic human resources, management of transformation and change, management of firm infrastructure, and management of employee contributions (Ramlall, 2003, p. 51) The role of the Human Resource department has gone through substantial changes over the past century. Human Resources (HR) had its beginnings during the industrial revolution and by the early 1900’s many of the modern components of the HR department were falling into place. With the influx of unions, the Civil Service Commission, the industrial welfare movement and scientific research into management and the birth of industrial psychology, personnel departments became essential components of any well run business, from the 1920’s forward. Then as now, HR departments became the responsible sections for areas such as employment (hiring and firing), employee welfare (housing, medical, educational and financial), wage setting, safety, training, and health as well as employee benefits. (Jamrog, and Overholt, 2004) Then, during the middle part of the Twentieth century the human relations’ movement along with the application of knowledge and research from the disciplin es of the behavioral sciences and systems theory enhanced HR’s responsibilities and overall requirements. However, in spite of the tremendous amount of research showing that happy and well trained employees were more productive

Snowmobiles Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Snowmobiles - Research Paper Example An interesting feature of a sled is the fact that it does not move on wheels. It has a long belt of rubber moving along the bottom of its body which forms a track for the sled to move on. Because of this track the sled does not slip and slide in the snow as it provides it with sufficient grip to keep it in control of the rider (DuBois 30). Snowmobiles use large amount of gasoline to run (Mara 1998). Hence, their popularity was greatly reduced during the 1970’s when the prices of gasoline reached sky high. Today there are only four major manufacturers of snowmobiles – Polaris, Arctic cat, Ski-doo and Yamaha (Mara 7). In snowmobiler’s parlance, these companies are called â€Å"big four† (DuBois 7). These companies manufacture these vehicles for various purposes which could be for personal use like transportation or for racers. Snowmobile racing is a very popular sporting activity during the snow fall season in various countries. This can be seen from the fac t that in North America alone there are more than 3000 clubs for snowmobilers (Mara 7). Major countries where people enjoy this sport are US, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The cost of snowmobiles manufactured for this specific purpose is twice the price of ordinary use snowmobiles. Brief history of snowmobiles Snowmobiles were born out of the need for means of transport in snow covered areas. ... These were put to use for warfare in the World War II by the soldiers. Thus, though the early invention of this vehicle dates back to the 1920’s, it was mostly used for work and not for fun. It was only in the 1960’s that the idea of using them in sports caught the fancy of the inventors (Sommers 12). Carl Eliason built his first hand made Motor Toboggan in a small garage. He patented this machine in 1924. It was at that time made up of a long wooden sled and powered by 2.5 horse power engine which was attached on its outer board. Bicycle parts were used to make the dual trail track and it also had a radiator to cool the motor when it overheated (Sommers 11). Over a period of 15 years Eliason sold 24 such vehicles, each one being different from the other. His major buyers were the hunters and utility workers (Sommers 17). The biggest order of these vehicles (150 of them) was from the US army during the World War II. However, after this peak period there was a slowdown i n demand. By the 1950s, Canada became the production base for snowmobiles. However by this time, Eliason had a strong competitor, a superior quality product Ski-Doos which was invented by Joseph-Armand Bombardier and had taken over the snowmobile market with its unique design. This product had a design which still sets standards for today’s snowmobiles. A lot of inventors started taking interest in finding better and more efficient designs and â€Å"by 1972, there were more that 100 snowmobile companies† operating in this business (Sommers 19). However, as mentioned earlier, today the â€Å"big four† are the major players in this arena after an intense activity of mergers and acquisitions over the past three decades. Evolution of the designs The earlier design of snowmobiles was that of a sleigh

Supply chain management in the uk construction Industry Essay

Supply chain management in the uk construction Industry - Essay Example According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), â€Å"supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion and all logistics management activities† (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, n.d.). In addition to these, SCM also includes collaboration and coordination with channel partners which includes suppliers, customers as well as intermediaries. The council also says that the supply chain management also plays a crucial role in integrating demand and supply management across and within the companies. According to James B. Ayers, supply chain management is all about â€Å"designing, maintenance and operation of supply chain process, including those that make up extended product features, for satisfaction of end-user needs† (Ayers, 2000). Over the past few decades various techniques regarding supply chain management (SCM) have been used successfully in different industries like manufacturing and food. In these industries, the supply process encompasses all those activities that are associated with the processing – from raw materials to the finishing of the final product. The entire process involves procurement, production scheduling, inventory management, order processing, storage, customer service, transport and all the supporting information systems. Roy Morledge, Mohieddin Grada and Andrew Knight opined that in manufacturing industry, supply chain management strategies are adopted assuming that it is â€Å"an ongoing process where supplier and customer experience involves frequent transactions for the same or similar products† (Pryke, 2009). SCM strategies are considered as the key in maintaining quality and making the innovation process easier. Each of the aspects through which SCM is integrated wit h the manufacturing and food industry can be discussed in the

Snowmobiles Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Snowmobiles - Research Paper Example An interesting feature of a sled is the fact that it does not move on wheels. It has a long belt of rubber moving along the bottom of its body which forms a track for the sled to move on. Because of this track the sled does not slip and slide in the snow as it provides it with sufficient grip to keep it in control of the rider (DuBois 30). Snowmobiles use large amount of gasoline to run (Mara 1998). Hence, their popularity was greatly reduced during the 1970’s when the prices of gasoline reached sky high. Today there are only four major manufacturers of snowmobiles – Polaris, Arctic cat, Ski-doo and Yamaha (Mara 7). In snowmobiler’s parlance, these companies are called â€Å"big four† (DuBois 7). These companies manufacture these vehicles for various purposes which could be for personal use like transportation or for racers. Snowmobile racing is a very popular sporting activity during the snow fall season in various countries. This can be seen from the fac t that in North America alone there are more than 3000 clubs for snowmobilers (Mara 7). Major countries where people enjoy this sport are US, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The cost of snowmobiles manufactured for this specific purpose is twice the price of ordinary use snowmobiles. Brief history of snowmobiles Snowmobiles were born out of the need for means of transport in snow covered areas. ... These were put to use for warfare in the World War II by the soldiers. Thus, though the early invention of this vehicle dates back to the 1920’s, it was mostly used for work and not for fun. It was only in the 1960’s that the idea of using them in sports caught the fancy of the inventors (Sommers 12). Carl Eliason built his first hand made Motor Toboggan in a small garage. He patented this machine in 1924. It was at that time made up of a long wooden sled and powered by 2.5 horse power engine which was attached on its outer board. Bicycle parts were used to make the dual trail track and it also had a radiator to cool the motor when it overheated (Sommers 11). Over a period of 15 years Eliason sold 24 such vehicles, each one being different from the other. His major buyers were the hunters and utility workers (Sommers 17). The biggest order of these vehicles (150 of them) was from the US army during the World War II. However, after this peak period there was a slowdown i n demand. By the 1950s, Canada became the production base for snowmobiles. However by this time, Eliason had a strong competitor, a superior quality product Ski-Doos which was invented by Joseph-Armand Bombardier and had taken over the snowmobile market with its unique design. This product had a design which still sets standards for today’s snowmobiles. A lot of inventors started taking interest in finding better and more efficient designs and â€Å"by 1972, there were more that 100 snowmobile companies† operating in this business (Sommers 19). However, as mentioned earlier, today the â€Å"big four† are the major players in this arena after an intense activity of mergers and acquisitions over the past three decades. Evolution of the designs The earlier design of snowmobiles was that of a sleigh

Exposure - creative personal writing Essay Example for Free

Exposure creative personal writing Essay A quick, stealthy character moves across the office, photocopying top secret files. The information was very damaging stuff. He leaves as quickly as he enters. Who is this person? Why does he want this information? Will the press get hold of it? The Rayman walked down an alley, on the way to his hide-out. He was a short man, who had brown hair with flecks of grey. In places he was going bald, he had shaven his hair very short. He had a well shaven beard. His face was an average face with brown eyes. He wore brown trousers, with black shoes. On the top he wore a brown, well-ironed polo shirt. Over it he wore a leather jacket. When he was around people he walked with a limp. This hid his true identity. He got to his house, flicked on the televison to the news. He now heard about a break in at 10 Downing Street. Also he heard about the top secret documents that have been stolen. The next day he decided he wants these secret documents. He needed a team of mastermind criminals to work with. He got one of his closest colleagues, Rumbo. His plan was to get arrested with all these other mastermind criminals. He and his colleagues have been informed about a truck transporting guns around for the army. The Rayman and Rumbo were on the trail of the truck. The truck took a left down a empty road. The Rayman put his foot on the accelerator and zoomed past the truck then did a handbrake turn straight in front of the truck. The two of them jumped out of the car with their balaclavas on. They were both holding automatic shotguns, with the barrels sawn off. The Rayman opened the door on the drivers side and blew the drivers head off. Rumbo did the same to the passenger. The Rayman put the bodies in the back and started the truck up while Rumbo drove the other car off. The two of them met up again on the edge of the of the river. Here they moved all the guns from the truck into the car. Quickly they set light to the truck and pushed it into the river. Next, they drove back to the Raymans warehouse and offloaded the guns and hid them under the floor boards. Now they blew their car up. There was now no hard evidence on them. One of the biggest police investigations took place to find the murders. The police arrested the Rayman, along with Peat, The Accountant and Amen. The four were put in a cell together. It was here the Rayman put the proposal to them of getting the document. Peat and The Accountant thought it was a great idea. The problem was that Amen was going straight. Over the next two hours they tried to explain that it was good idea to get the documents. Amens girlfriend was a very good lawyer and got the four of them out quicker than the Rayman expected. Once out the Rayman cornered down Amen. At first Amen was reluctant to join the group. After a few slaps and a good two hours Amen was persuaded to join the group. Amen went home told his girlfriend that he was going to London to get these files. She decided to leave him. This filled Amen with rage against the Rayman. The next day the four of them went on a road trip to London. In London the four of them met up with some of their contacts. They met up at Ventura Hill at 8pm. Jack and Jill had followed them here from Liverpool and were watching them. The contacts told them of this up and coming gangster, the Shadow. He was one of the best thieves in England. The group were informed by Rumbo about a drug shipment, to a rival gang leader Jack the Hat. They contacted the Shadow and ask him to help them steal the drugs. The shadow was extremely keen to work with the hardcore gangsters. Jack and Jill found out about their plans and had the police lined up to arrest everyone, at the ship. Meanwhile Rumbo had come down to help and supply the guns. They were ready to attack the ship and infiltrated the ship through the cargo hole. The Rayman told Amen to stay out of the action and hide in the boxes. The Shadow shot the first person. Soon after that the gunfight opened up and it was a dangerous place. The Rayman followed the Shadow. When they where alone he attacked the shadow and got him to tell him where the secret documents were. Tell me where the documents are before I blast you to the pearly gates says the Rayman. Theyre in a sailing boat says the Shadow. WHICH ONE? says the Rayman. Enterprise K40421, at the mariner says the Shadow. Bang! the Rayman shoots the Shadow in the head. Then the police turn up and arrest everyone who is alive. The only person left is the Rayman, who got out and hide near the ship. When the Rayman was arrested he used his real name David Edwards. The good thing was that David Edwards had no criminal record to give the police a harder time. The only witness left was a dying captain and all he could say was Rayman, Rayman. The polices first question was, What happened. The story David Edwards told goes something like this. Have you heard of the Shadow? Well he was the one who stole the secret documents. The Rayman had the idea of getting them off him. He told us the idea when we all were arrested. says David Edwards. So who was the Rayman? says Jack. Amen, he said he was going straight so it would be less likely it was him. Anyway, I went along because I had no choice in the matter. The plan was to attack this ship bringing in drugs. While doing this the Rayman will get the secret documents and a lot of drugs. While doing this I hid behind some boxes so as not to get involved says David Edwards So you just got mixed up with the group because we arrested you? Well, I only have one choice, to let you go, says Jack. David Edwards walks out the police station. Then straight away stops walking with a limp. He gets into a cab and goes to the mariner. Here he finds Enterprise K40421. Under the front he finds a brief case. There is no code to put in. He presses the two buttons, Click, Click. On the top of the brief case in big writing is a sign, which says Have a nice day. Kaboom.

Food and Dining in South India

Food and Dining in South India Indian Cuisine The cuisine of India  is characterized by use of various spices,herbs and other vegetables grown in India we have widespread practice of vegetarianism across different section of society. Each society of Indian cuisine is characterized by a wide variety of dishes and cooking techniques. As a result, cuisine varies from region to region across Indian subcontinent. Indias religious beliefs and culture has made an influential role in the evolution of different cuisine. However, the spice trade between India and Europe is the main catalyst for Europes Age of Discovery. 4 The colonial period has introduced the European cooking styles to India which added the flexibility and diversity of Indian cuisine.5,6Indian cuisine has had a major impact on cuisines across the world, mainly those from Southeast Asia.7,8 Indian foods is the long standing vegetarianism across sections of Indias Hindu, Buddhist and Jain communities. People who follow strict vegetarian make up 20-42% of the population in India, while less than 30% are of regular meat-eaters.9,10,11 South Indian food is categorized into six tastes sweet, sour, salt, bitter, pungent and astringent and traditional Tamil cuisine society recommends that you should always include all of these six tastes in each of the main meal you eat. All the six taste has a balancing ability and including some of each taste provides complete nutrition, minimizes cravings and also balances the appetite and digestion. Sweet such as Milk, butter, sweet cream, wheat, ghee (clarified butter), rice, honey. Sour such as Limes and lemons, citrus fruits, yogurt, mango, tamarind. Salty such as Salt or pickles. Bitter such as Bitter gourd, greens of many kinds, turmeric. Pungent such as Chili peppers, ginger, black pepper, clove, mustard. Astringent such as Beans, lentils, turmeric, vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage. South Indian Breakfast InSouthIndia, the breakfast consist of main dishes, such asidlis,vadas,dosas,uppuma, savorypongal, andchapatis. These are served with hotsambar, kurma ,vadacurryand at least one kind ofchutneyare the common items inTamilnadu. All the breakfast accompanied with a tumbler of filter coffee. South Indian Lunch/Dinner An everyday Tamil meal will have at least three to four courses, with rice serving as the staple. The food usually starts with the traditional paruppu andghee, this mix is eaten with rice which serves as an appetizer. Next to follow would be a kuzhambuorsambhar , which is mixed with rice, this is usually the main course. On leisure or festive days, we have at least two such main courses with one Kuzhambu in which there are many varity such as Puli Kuzhambu, Vatha Kuzhambu, currykuzhambuvariety and one Sambhar variety. Third to follow will be theRasam in which there are many varity such as paruppu rasam,tomatto rasam, nandu rasam they are mixed with rice, one usually eats this with crisps. The last of the courses will be rice with curd or yoghurt; this is usually taken withdifferent pickles such as mangopickle ,pundupickle,tomattopickel,erapickel,muttonpickel. With all the courses side dish is served throughout the meal, depending upon ones taste or choice,side dishes are constantly r epeated during any meal. As a last course, desserts are served. Finally guests moves to the living room which conclude the meal with banana and freshly madepaanconsist of betel leaves, betel nuts and lime. paan is considered as a digestive aid after long lunch. Typical Marrage food of Tamil cuisine groups dishes under four slightly overlapping categories. First the rice is served with various Kuzhambu,Sambhar,Paruppu,Rasam,Thayir,Kadaiyals. The second are the side dishes that accompany rice mixture such asKootu,Kari,Poriyal,Pickles,Papadsfall into this category.Thirs is the short snacks -vadai,chips,bonda,bajji,soups, variouschutneys,thayir pachadiand the likes belong to this category. The fourth category is rich sweet dishes that serve as desserts-Payasam,Kheer,Kesariand a plethora of Indian sweets belong to this category. Typical South Indian meal (Lunch or Dinner) will be served on a banana leaf. South Indian Desserts Indian desserts are unique very tempting and mouth watering. Whether Its summer or a winter ,South indian mithai is always too difficult for anyone to resist. A full traditional South Indian Meal is always incomplete without sweet dish like gulab jamun or kulfi or halwa. Below are some of the most famous recipes to tantalize your tongue. Badam Ka Halwa,Badam Kheer,Besan Burfi,Besan Laddo,Boondi Ka Laddoo,Coconut Burfi,Fruit Kheer ,Gulab Jamun, Jalebi ,Puran Poli , Rasmalai and many more. South Indian Drinks Coffeeis the most popularbeverage in South india. Coffee is a major social institution in Southern Indian Tamil tradition one can say a normal south Indian cannot live without drinking atleast one coffee a day. One of the Tamil traditional coffee is Chennai Filter Coffee and is unique in this part of the world. In South India people generally use gourmet coffee beans of the premiumPeaberryor the less expensive Arabica variety. The making of unique filter coffee is first the coffee beans are roasted and then powdered. Sometimes traditional people add chicory to enhance the aroma. They then use a filter set to separate the coffee powder dust, few spoons of powdered coffee, enough boiling water is added to prepare a very dark liquid which is called the decoction. A 3/4 mug of hot milk is added with sugar, a small quantity(depends of the people taste) of decoction is then served in Dabarah/Tumbler set which is a unique Coffee cup. Another popular beverage is strongly brewedteawhich is found in the thousands of smalltea stallsacross thestate of Tamil Naduand adjoining areas. Etiquette of Indian Dining As like in many cultures, eating and drinking are very important and widely respected across Indian culture, local customs, traditions, and religions. Etiquette varies in different cultures across India, in this paper we can consider the etiquette of Traditional South Indian culture. Use Of Cutlery Though Indian cooking uses variety of specialized utensils for various purposes, South Indians do not usecutleryfor eating , as many foods such as Indianbreadsandnon vegetarian curry are best enjoyed when eating with the hand. The traditional reason of eating with hands is: Food is divine and needs to be enjoyed with feel of touch, smell and taste. There is no joy in using a knife and fork to eat while eating. Eating with ones hands is a art that can be quite clean when it is done correctly, but may require a bit of practice. First, the hands must be washed properly, with particular attention paid to the fingernails. Traditionally having long fingernails in India is considered unhygienic. Using the fingers, the food should be scooped easily onto the flatbread such naan,roti, etc and quickly brought to the mouth. It is considered bad manner to let your food stain outside of your fingers or palm while eating and food should be eaten only with the tip of the fingers, though it is okay to use more of your hand. The plate is not to be touched and held by the left hand while eating. Not all the foods should be eaten with the hands, however. If the food is soupy, such asdaals, spoons   should be used 13.Additionally, foods such asricemay be eaten with spoons , in case of formal occasions as in a restaurant or in a buffet where food is not served on banana leaf. Traditional South Indian cutlery does not recognize the use of forks and knives while eating, limiting their use to the kitchen only. Spoons were used to eat rice in formal situation. Additionally, spoons are usually too used in a clasping motion and forks are commonly used to distribute foods from a communal dish, as it is considered very rude to touch the foods of others. Adapted cutlery use in India Amongst the upper class Indians, cutlery which has been adopted since Roman influence in the late 16th centuryis now in common use, the Romans exports of pepper lead to the introduction of cutlery in India. Amongst the upper class communities spoons and forks have been adopted from roman. Etiquette of hands The important rule of dining is to always use the right hand when eating or receiving food and never the left hand. The left hand is mostly considered as unclean, so it is advisable to use the left hand for cutlery to take food from the dish onto your plate. In rare occasion the use of the left hand is acceptable when eating onions and some other accompaniments. Only in some communities, it is now acceptable for left-handed individuals to eat with their left hands. Beef and Pork As Hindus in South India consider the cattle to be a sacred animal and beefis considered as taboo. Muslims consider thepigas uncleanand they do not eatpork, which is not generally used in Hindu cooking. Other Etiquette In formal situation, it is expected that everyone will wait for the host or the eldest person in which, the elder taking priority over the host to begin eating before everyone else starts. It is compulsory to wash their hands before sitting at the table as some South Indian foods are eaten by hand. It is not necessary to taste each and every dish prepared while eating, but you must finish everything served on the plate as it is considered a respect for served food. Echal (in Tamil Nadu), echil is a common belief in India. Echal is essentially, something which has come in contact with your mouth, your saliva or your plate while eating, something which is directly or indirectly came in contact with your saliva. It is considered as extremely rude and unhygienic to offer someone your Echal. However, not uncommon for spouses, or extremely close friends or family, to offer each other their Echal, and it is not considered as disrespectful under such circumstances. In fact, in some cases sharing Echal may be considered as a sign of closeness 13. As most of the South Indian foods are eaten with their hands, it is important to make sure that ones drinking glass should not become messy because it feels others uncomfortable. It is impolite to leave the table until others have finished or the host requests you. South Indian meals are served on a banana leaf so it must be cleaned with warm water. Vegetables must be placed on the top half of the leaf, and rice, sweets, and snacks on the other half of the leaf. The banana leaf should not be left open after completing the meal. It should be folded in such a way that the top half closes over the bottom half of the leaf. If the bottom half is folded over the top of the leaf, it is usually considered disrespectful, as this is done only in solemn situations in which one hopes it will not occur again, such as a death. References Steward, the (pb) By Dias. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2009-06-23. Chandra, Sanjeev; Smita Chandra (Feb 07, 2008). The story of desi cuisine: Timeless desi dishes.The Toronto Star. Indian food Indian Cuisine -its history, origins and influences. Indianfoodsco.com. Retrieved 2009-06-23. Louise Marie M. Cornillez (Spring 1999). The History of the Spice Trade in India. Foreign Influences in Modern Indian Cooking. Mit.edu. 1998-01-20. Retrieved 2009-06-23. History of Indian Food and Cooking. Inmamaskitchen.com. Retrieved 2009-06-23. Bot generated title ->. Veg Voyages