Friday, September 6, 2019
The Good, The Bad And The m ouldy Essay Example for Free
The Good, The Bad And The m ouldy Essay Introduction: In 2008 a YouTube video of a lady displaying a McDonald’s cheeseburger which she had kept for 4 years, went viral. A normal McDonald’s cheeseburger which had been exposed to the elements had kept in the same state for 4 years. No mould or mildew was found on the meat patty, the only thing that was slightly wrong was the burger bun which had become stale and was beginning to crumble. The composer of the video then compared McDonald’s fries which had been around for 4 years, to sliced potatoes which had been cut 3 months ago. The McDonalds fries were perfectly intact, they still had an oily, salty and greasy feel. However, the potato cuttings were covered in mould and were incredibly hard and in an attempt to snap them in half, they did not flex at all. If ‘real’ potatoes aged like that, why wouldn’t McDonald’s fries (the main ingredient being potatoes). This leads to the main experiment, if a McDonald’s burger doesn’t age, would a burger from home prepared ingredients be any different? My experiment consists of purchasing a regular McDonalds cheeseburger and then preparing a homemade cheeseburger using the same ingredients. The homemade burger must have the same dimensions as the McDonalds burger and share the same characteristics. For example, the weight of the McDonalds beef patty must be equivalent to that of the butcher-bought patty for the homemade burger. As all McDonalds patties are frozen, the butcher patty must be cooked in advance, frozen and then defrosted on the day of the burger preparation. The McDonalds burger will be purchased within the same hour as the homemade burger will be prepared. Even though an hour is an insignificant amount of time, I do not wish for the results to be altered in any way. The two burgers will be placed in two identical containers for 30 days. The burgers will be monitored every day and must only be handled with gloves on. Once the 30 days are up, the two will be weighed and examined to see if there are any changes to either burger. Depending on whether or not the McDonalds burger decays, I plan to conduct a survey and propose the question to 20 – 30 people â€Å"If cost was excluded from the equation, would you purchase a McDonalds burger over a burger from a takeaway shop made with reliable ingredients? †This question will be asked before the experiment takes place and once again after the 30 days. References: Adriana Velez, (January 3, 2013), Cheeseburger That Stayed Exactly the Same After a Whole Year Raises Alarm, http://thestir. cafemom. com/food_party/130975/cheeseburger_that_stayed_exactly_the * More to be decided for further research Aim: To determine whether a home-prepared cheeseburger will be in the same state as a McDonald’s cheeseburger after 30 days. Hypothesis: The burger made from natural ingredients will show signs of decomposition as opposed to the McDonalds burger which I believe will stay in the same state (based on previous research). Variables: Independent Variable – The burgers used for the experiment. One will be purchased from McDonalds, the other will be prepared at home, using butchers meat and store bought ingredients. *Note: Different cooking oils may be used to prepare the meat patty Dependent Variable – The amount of days which the two burgers will under examination (30 days). Also the weight of the two beefs patties before and after the experiment. Controls – The two containers in which the burgers will be situated. They will be in the same environment (a dark room). The two burgers must weigh the same and have the same portion of ingredients. Risk Assessment: Whilst preparing the homemade burger, proper cautions must be taken to avoid injury. Following proper safety guidelines while using the stove to prepare the patty is most important. As the experiment goes on, touching the burgers for examination will be required. Proper safety gloves must be worn to prevent any form of mildew or mould from making contact with the skin. Equipment List: * McDonalds cheeseburger (freshly cooked) * Ingredients for homemade burger (butcher’s meat, cheese slice, tomato sauce, chopped onion, burger bun, pickles) * Cooking utensils (frying pan, spatula). * Two identical air-tight containers * Safety gloves * Scales * Camera * Journal (to document observations) Method: Step 1: Prepare homemade burger using listed ingredients and freeze for 2 to 3 days. Step 2: Defrost burger, cook patty and purchase a plain McDonalds cheeseburger. Step 3: Place burgers in two separate airtight containers and place in a location which each container receives an equal amount of light, heat, etc. Step 4: Conduct a survey by proposing the question â€Å"If cost was excluded from the equation, would you purchase a McDonalds burger over a burger from a takeaway shop made with reliable ingredients?†to 20 – 30 people. Step 5: Observe the two burgers each day for 30 days, taking note of any change. (Handle only with safety gloves) Step 6: Collect findings and present results. Step 7: Briefly outline results to the same 20 – 30 people who were surveyed and ask them whether their views have changed at all. Step 8: Research the health benefits of home prepared meat as opposed to commercial, processed meats. Results: Photos and descriptions of the burgers will be presented in the form of a journal. Weight of the burgers will be presented in a line graph designed in Microsoft Excel.
The impact Divorce has on children Essay Example for Free
The impact Divorce has on children Essay Abstract      Divorce affects children in a different way, depending on their gender, age as well as stage of development. Their world, their security and their constancy seems to fall apart when their parents get divorced. This paper discusses the universal responses that researchers have found among children of divorce, furthermore, recommendations for divorces parents have been discussed as well. The reference page appends 6 sources in APA format. Introduction Family is the place to which everyone belongs and where everyone begins life, thus it is the pillar of a society. The flourishing and prosperity of an individual and family depends upon the close relationship and belongings with other family members. But this family starts suffering when the parents reject each other by divorce or getting separated or never come close to each other.  The impact Divorce has on children Since many divorcing families include children, therefore because of this rejection, the children are the first ones who get affected. Their strength does not get developed as it must have to be resulting in weakness of their character building and which is obvious from addictions, deprivation, abuse and failure. The children thrive when there is a strong relationship between their parents but when the parents divorce or walk away from each other many children wilt and not thrive as much as when their parents were together and belonged to each other. Children whose parents get separated start feeling vulnerable since beginning of the divorce. They feel bereavement due to the disintegration of the intact family. There are some children who are not aware of the trouble going on between their parents, so they feel a great pain and feeling of powerlessness because they lose the non-custodial parents, this all results in reaction in the form of severe anger. (Clarke, 1995)            Other than grief and further traumatic events, children start noticing the impetuous beginning of transformation in their lives, and also experience the dissolving of normal and usual systems, which are distinctive to divorcing families            The divorcing parents are often worried about their children that what would be the effect on them. Although parents are more concerned about their own problems during that period, they are the most important people in the lives of their children.            Children are consistently scared and puzzled about the threats of their protection and security, whether parents get relieved or devastated from this divorce. For few parents, divorce overwhelms and hurts them so much that they possibly turn to their children for ease and comfort. Parents must explain their children the whole situation that what is going to happen to them and how they are involved so that children should not misinterpret divorce. Children might start acting in the manner that is troublesome and irritating for the beginning few years of divorce. (Amato, 1991) Most of the parents perceive divorce as their issue that the other person has done wrong and it is impossible for him or her to live with that person. By doing this they are actually ignoring their children. Their marital relationship experience inconsistency of loyalty it has extensive implications for children friends, extended families and others. Some of the points of views of children in divorcing families are discussed below. The children of a divorcing family are well aware of the disturbance and change caused by the divorce and they know that the past will not come again and nothing will be same again. All the things will get change including their time table will change and all the contacts with the other relatives will lose resulting in upheaval.            Children in a divorcing family fear that if they will lose one of their parents due to divorce, they might lose the other. So they are threatened of being left alone in the world. They also fear of losing the strong relationship they have with their relatives, siblings, friends and especially their parents to whom they are naturally attached. Being attached to all these since their birth, it is very difficult for them to adjust in the new surroundings and forget the previous ones easily. Since divorce is followed by the number of years stress and tension between the two partners, both parents want to turn their child towards them and against the other and it is a very difficult situation for that child. (Pfeffe, 1981) Why children are influenced by Divorce            Due to divorce, children whole world is changed and their lives become unstable. Divorce affect varies from children gender, age, personality, the support provided by the family and friends and their stage of development. Parents must make sure that the development of their children should not get affected and does not face any conflict, for that they have to make arrangements on childcare and parenting.            Since infants don’t know much about the situation, they only react to parents’ indifferent mood and changed energy level. While preschool children within 3 to 5 years of age mostly believe that they are the main cause of their parents’ divorce. This age children are threatened of being deserted and left alone. They might start acting like small babies and start denying the change which has come to them. They may get stubborn, disobedient, dishearten, aggressive and annoyed. It is very difficult for the school going children to adjust easily for the divorce.            It is very difficult for the school going children to adjust easily for the divorce. Although they are old enough to realize and are hurt because of their parents’ divorce, but too young to manage their pains and control their reactions. (Roman, 1978)            They feel great anger, discomfiture, resentment, grief, and divided loyalty. This age children continue hoping that their parents might recoup again. Children of elementary age feel themselves rejected by their divorced parents. Adolescent children in divorcing families also experience aloneness, stress, anger, embarrassment and anger. They are forcibly put into adulthood if they have younger siblings and they want to take their responsibility. Some adolescents take control of the family by responding to their parents’ high stress level and low energy level. They might feel doubtful of their own capabilities to handle their own married life and decide not to get married. They understand the main cause of their parents’ separation. The potential of teens to keep in mind the stress and conflict of divorce may get in the way to the potential to help the family to cope up. Boys in a divorcing family experience more difficulties than girls. In school going children girls possibly experience stress and depression, while boys prove to be more aggressive and use to quarrel on foolish things. But in adolescence, as a whole both girls and boys possibly engage in abusive activities and experience great depression. Getting involved in sexual activities is one of the habits being adopted by the adolescent girls. These types of habits can have a great influence on their entering into the workforce and completion of their school studies. On the other hand boys of this age are involved in taking abusive substances and drugs, make abusive friends and show the wrong attitude. Teen age boys are likely to become parents by getting involved in the sexual activities. This all is observed mainly when the boys are raised by the mothers and girls are raised by fathers.            The children usually feel insecure and are angry about their parents’ separations but sometimes do not express their anger. They feel themselves helpless when they realize that their parents would not come back together. They have a feeling that may be parents have no more love for them and may be they have also being divorced by their parents. While children are raised by the parents of opposite gender, that is girls being looked after their mothers and boys by their father, prove to do better than the previous ones.            Girls being looked after by their mothers prove to be more mature dependable and responsible then being raised by fathers since they are strongly attached and influenced by their mothers. While boys raised by fathers are less aggressive and help their fathers in their work.            Some children in a divorcing family prove to be exceptionally resilient individual since they have faced such kind of challenges and responsibilities due to divorce. Due to such kinds of experiences they prosper and a very strong relationship is being developed among the children and the spouse, with whom they are living. It happens mostly with the girls living with their mothers.            Many children have a belief that they are the main cause of the divorce and can bring their parents back together. For this sometimes they sacrifice their own lives. The effect in the academics is one of the most important impacts on the children in a divorcing family. Even if they are best in studies and always score good grades, during and after the period of their parents separation their grades tend to decrease and they give poorer result. This difference is obvious from the children overall performance. Parents and teachers have to analyze the main problem and help their child to cope us with it and improve his performance but mostly what happens is that they underestimate those children.            Because of this ignorance they are involved in bad habits and their behavior starts getting changed and they spend less time in school and more time with their abusive peers. This happens mostly with boys whose behavior change into more aggressiveness.            While girls are distressed from the current situation are not able to give concentration on their studies and also not giving their 100% effort. If this continues for children, it affects their lives and they never achieve any success in future.            The children usually feel rejected, insecure, torn between parents and are angry about their parents’ separations but sometimes do not express their anger. They feel themselves helpless when they realize that their parents would not come back together. They have a feeling that may be parents have no more love for them and may be they have also being divorced by their parents. They mourn and grieve since they feel that they are at a great loss and feel guilty for the whole situation. They feel that they would also do the same in their lives and they would not prove to be good parents when they will get married. This reduces their confidence and they stop taking part in activities other than academics or even academics. They think that their friends would make joke of them and their family which loses their confidence and thus cannot talk with others eye to eye. Divorce, if not handled carefully can have bad effects which cannot be controlled. Divorce requires rebuilding the family since beginning and it is in the hand of parents that hot they restructure the whole family, and if it is not maintained effectively it produces adverse effects. Parents should give special care to children especially on occasions such as their birthdays and religious holidays, if not, and then children might feel insecurity so parents should not forget their responsibility and they should not let their child feel that he is alone in this world. (William, 1998)            Step families, either step father or mother is the main threat for children, especially for young aged children. Mostly it has been observed that step father or mother do not give attention and care to their step children, in fact they sometimes start hating them. This also let the children to feel insecure. If there are any step brothers or sisters, and children try to make relationship with them or live their lives as how their step siblings are living, they fail to do so which results in aggression, stress and anger and involving in the bad habits. Recommendations for parents Speak to family regarding your concerns linked to the divorce. This will facilitate them realize what is going on. Spend regular time with your children. Maintain a familiar routine as much as possible. Keep your commitments and the promises you make to your children. If your children have pre-existing psychological, expressive or emotional troubles Look for recommendation and consultation from a qualified health care expert Perform a kind, however firm, style of discipline. Admit children’s approach of annoyance. Facilitate them find satisfactory ways of expressing this annoyance without hurting themselves, other people, animals, or belongings. Give the nurturing and love that your children require, whereas setting firm limits on fierceness and other unsuitable performance. Express that you are concerned in your childs views, however make it obvious that parents are in charge for the judgments. This can be a great support and can help you deal successfully with your kids and partner. If you cant or dont know how to make things better for your child, dont make matters worse. Build as only some changes as probable. This will aid your kid feel that, regardless of the difficulties, loved ones still care regarding them and that life can be rationally standard. It takes more than 2 years for kids to adjust to their parents’ divorce. Considerate and keeping in close contact with your children, you will assist them develop into well-adjusted and creative adults by means of love. (Hetherington, 1998) Conclusion            Divorce is the collapsing of married couple and their family. For children it is very difficult to absorb their parent’s divorce. In support of obvious reasons, divorce appears to be very stressful for children. This trauma results in long term behavioral change which is atypical unmanageable, and conceivably continual and persistent. For children, divorce is a severely traumatic experience irrespective of their development stage and age group. Most of the children are already prepared for their parents’ separation as they are well aware of the situation and thus are ready for the impending divorce And those who are not prepared, for them and their lives divorce plays a devastating role. It usually takes 2 to 3 years or more for children to get adjust to their parents’ divorce. Parents can help out their children to become well established and productive adults, by giving them love, caring, understanding and getting in touch and having close relations with their children, References            Pfeffer, C.R. (1981). Developmental issues among children of separation and divorce In: I.R. Stuart L.E. Abt (Eds.). Children of separation and divorce: Management and treatment (pp. 20-32). Atlanta: Van Nostrand Reinhold.            Roman, M., and Haddad, W. (1978). The disposable parent. New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Wilson.            Amato, Paul R., Keith, Bruce. (1991). Parental divorce and the well-being of children: A metaanalysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110(1), 26-46.            Clarke, S. C. (1995). Advanced report of final marriage statistics: 1989 and 1990. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 43(12) Supplement.            Hetherington, E. Mavis; Bridges, Margaret; Insabella, Glendessa M. (1998). What matters? What does not? Five perspectives on the association between marital transitions and childrens adjustment. American Psychologist, 53(2), 167-184.            Jeynes, William H. (1998). Does divorce or remarriage have the greater negative impact on the academic achievement of children? Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 29(1-2), 79-100.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Changing Issues in Human Resource Management (HRM)
Changing Issues in Human Resource Management (HRM) Human Resource Management (HRM) is a process of bringing people and organizations together so that the goals of each are met. It is that part of the management process which is concerned with the management of human resources in an organization. It tries to secure the best from people by winning their wholehearted cooperation. In short, it may be defined as the art of procuring, developing and maintaining competent workforce to achieve the goals of an organization in an effective and efficient manner. Todays organizations are facing challenges upon following levels: Environmental Challenges Organizational Challenges Individual Challenges Environmental Challenges Most organizations face external contexts that are complex, dynamic and increasingly global. This makes the context increasingly difficult to interpret. To cope with often incomplete and ambiguous contextual data, and to increase their understanding of the general external context, organizations engage in a process called external environmental analysis. All managers, including HR managers, need to be aware of the importance of scanning the external context in a systematic way. A number of models exist that can help managers in analysing the external environment. Such models provide a framework to identify external opportunities and threats. Opportunities arise when an organization can take advantage of conditions in its external environment to formulate and implement strategies that enable it to improve performance. Threats arise when conditions in the external environment endanger the integrity of the organizations activities. As shown in Exhibit 1 an organizations external environment has two major parts: Macroenvironment Industry The macro environment is composed of social, economic, political and technological elements in the broader society that can influence an industry and the organizations within it. The industry environment is the set of factors that directly influences an organization and its actions and responses. Managers have to analyse competitive forces in an industrys environment in order to identify the opportunities and threats confronting an organization. Environmental challenges refer to forces external to the firm that are largely beyond managements control but influence organizational performance. The important environmental challenges today are: Globalization, Economy Work force diversity, Technology Evolving work and family roles, Skill shortages and the rise of the service sector Each of these are discussed in the subsequent section Globalization Globalization is not a recent phenomenon. Some analysts have argued that the world economy was just a globalized 100 years ago as it is today. Yet the term is used since the 1980s, reflecting technological advances that have made it easier and quicker to complete international transactions, both trade and financial flows. The most striking aspect of this has been the integration of financial markets made possible by modern electronic communication. integration of business activities across geographical and organizational boundaries. The capacity to treat the world as one market whileà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦dealing with many culturally diverse merchants. the process by which markets expands to include competitors for customers and productive inputs without regard to national boundaries. doing business with a worldwide focusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ rather than doing business in an international market with the focus from a home-country viewpoint. Many companies are already being compelled to think globally, something that doesnt come easily to firms long accustomed to doing business in a large and expanding domestic market with minimal foreign competition. Weak response to international competition may be resulting in upwards layoffs in every year. Human resources can play a critical role in a businesss ability to compete head-to-head with foreign producers. The implications of a global economy on human resource management are many. Globalization has increased the importance of HRM in organization. It has led to the development of many new areas of HR activity such as; the transfer of work to different geographical locations, either to outsourced providers or on a global in-sourcing basis; the e-enablement of many HR process; greater sophistication in the HR information technology, new structures for international HR functions; greater competition for talented staff at all levels of organization. In particular, there has been a very strong marketing, corporate communication and IT influence on the HR function. The HR function is realigning itself in response to this process of cross-function globalization (building new alliances with these functions) creating new activity streams and new roles and skills required of the HR function (Sparrow, Brewster and Harris, 2004). Economy Several changes in the economy have important implications for human resource management, these include the changing structure of the economy, the development of e-business, and more growth in professional and service occupations. Growth in these occupations means that skill demands for jobs have changed, with knowledge becoming more valuable. Not only have skill demands changed, but remaining competitive in a global economy requires demanding work hours and changes in traditional employment patterns. The creation of new jobs, aging employees leaving the workforce, slow population growth, and a lack of employees who have the skills needed to perform the jobs in greatest demand means that demand for employees will exceed supply. This has created a war for talent that has increased the attention companies pay to attracting and retaining human resources. Technology The world has never before seen such rapid technological changes as are presently occurring in the computer and telecommunications industries. One estimate is that technological change is occurring so rapidly that individuals may have to change their entire skills three or four times in their career. The advances being made, affect every area of a business including human resource management. Workforce Diversity According to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workforce diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience. Many companies are now realizing the advantages of a diverse workplace. As more and more companies are going global in their market expansions either physically or virtually (for example, E-commerce-related companies), there is a necessity to employ diverse talents to understand the various niches of the market. For example, when China was opening up its markets and exporting their products globally in the late 1980s, the Chinese companies (such as Chinas electronic giants such as Haier) were seeking the marketing expertise of Singaporeans. This is because Singapores marketing talents were able to understand the local China markets relatively well (almost 75% of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent) and as well as being attuned to the markets in the West due to Singapores open economic policies and English language abilities. (Toh, R, 1993) With this trend in place, a HR Manager must be able to organize the pool of diverse talents strategically for the organization. He/She must consider how a diverse workforce can enable the company to attain new markets and other organizational goals in order to harness the full potential of workplace diversity. Evolving Work and Family Roles The proportion of dual-career families, in which both wife and husband (or both members of a couple) work, is increasing every year. Unfortunately, women face the double burden of working at home and on the job, devoting 42 hours per week on average to the office and an additional 30 hours at home to children. This compares to 43 hours spent working in the office and only 12 hours at home for men. More and more companies are introducing family-friendly programs that give them a competitive advantage in the labor market. These programs are HR policies that companies use to hire and retain the best-qualified employees, male or female, and they are very likely to payoff. For instance, among the well known organizations / firms, half of all recruits are women, but only 5% of senior management are women. Major talent is being wasted as many women drop out after lengthy training because they have decided that the demanding 10- to 12-year management track requires a total sacrifice of famil y life. These firms have started to change their policies and are already seeing gains as a result. Different companies have recently begun offering child-care services as well to facilitate women workers as well as are introducing alternative scheduling to allow employees some flexibility in their work hours. Skill Shortages and the Rise of the Service Sector Expansion of service-sector employment is linked to a number of factors, including changes in consumer tastes and preferences, legal and regulatory changes, advances in science and technology that have eliminated many manufacturing jobs, and changes in the way businesses are organized and managed. Service, technical, and managerial positions that require college degrees will make up half of all manufacturing and service jobs. Unfortunately, most available workers will be too unskilled to fill those jobs. Even now, many companies complain that the supply of skilled labor is dwindling and that they must provide their employees with basic training to make up for the shortcomings of the public education system. To rectify these shortcomings, companies currently spend large amount year on a wide variety of training programs. ii. Organizational Challenges Organizational challenges refer to concerns that are internal to the firm. However, they are often a byproduct of environmental forces because no firm operates in a vacuum. Still, managers can usually exert much more control over organizational challenges than over environmental challenges. Effective managers spot organizational issues and deal with them before they become major problems. Only managers who are well informed about important HR issues and organizational challenges can do this. These challenges include the need for a competitive position and flexibility, the problems of downsizing and organizational restructuring, the use of self-managed work teams, the need to create a strong organizational culture, the role of technology, and the rise of outsourcing. An organization will outperform its competitors if it effectively utilizes its work forces unique combination of skills and abilities to exploit environmental opportunities and neutralize threats. HR policies can influence an organizations competitive position by a) Controlling costs, b) Improving quality, c) Creating distinctive capabilities and d) Restructuring a) Controlling costs One way for a firm to gain a competitive advantage is to maintain low costs and a strong cash flow. A compensation system that uses innovative reward strategies to control labor costs can help the organization grow. A well-designed compensation system rewards employees for behaviors that benefit the company. Other factors besides compensation policies can enhance a firms competitiveness by keeping labor costs under control. These include: better employee selection so that workers are more likely to stay with the company and to perform better while they are there, training employees to make them more efficient and productive; attaining harmonious labor relations; effectively managing health and safety issues in the workplace and structuring work to reduce the time and resources needed to design, produce, and deliver products or services b) Improving quality. The second way to gain a competitive advantage is to engage in continuous quality improvement. Many companies are implementing total quality management (TQM) initiatives, which are programs designed to improve the quality of all the processes that lead to a final product or service. In a TQM program, every aspect of the organization is oriented toward providing a quality product or service. c) Creating Distinctive Capabilities The third way to gain a competitive advantage is to utilize people with distinctive capabilities to create unsurpassed competence in a particular area (for example, 3Ms competence in adhesives, and Xeroxs dominance of the photocopier market). d) Restructuring A number of firms are changing the way the functions are performed. The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic transformation in how firms are structured. Tall organizations that had many management levels are becoming flatter as companies reduce the number of people between the chief executive officer (CEO) and the lowest-ranking production employee in an effort to become more competitive. This transformation has had enormous implications for the effective utilization of human resources. Since the late 1980s, many companies have instituted massive layoffs of middle managers, whose traditional role of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling has come to be equated with the kind of cumbersome bureaucracy that prevents businesses from responding to market forces. It is estimated that two thirds of the jobs eliminated in the 1990s were supervisory/middle management jobs. New relationships among firms are also fostering hybrid organizational structures and the blending of firms with diverse histories and labor forces. Mergers and acquisitions, in which formerly independent organizations come together as a single entity, represent two important sources of restructuring. A newer and rapidly growing form of inter organizational bonding comes in the form of joint ventures, alliances, and collaborations among firms that remain independent, yet work together on specific products to spread costs and risks. To be successful, organizational restructuring requires effective management of human resources. For instance, flattening the organization requires careful examination of staffing demands, workflows, communication channels, training needs, and so on. Likewise, mergers and other forms of inter organizational relations require the successful blending of dissimilar organizational structures, management practices, technical expertise, and so forth iii. Individual Challenges Human resource issues at the individual level address the decisions most pertinent to specific employees. These individual challenges almost always reflect what is happening in the larger organization. For instance, technology affects individual productivity; it also has ethical ramifications in terms of how information is used to make HR decisions (for example, use of credit or medical history data to decide whom to hire). How the company treats its individual employees is also likely to affect the organizational challenges we discussed earlier. For example, if many key employees leave the firm to join competitors, the organizations competitive position is likely to be affected. In other words, there is a two-way relationship between organizational and individual challenges. This is unlike the relationship between environmental and organizational challenges, in which the relationship goes only one way few organizations can have much impact on the environment. The most important indi vidual challenges today involve, productivity, empowerment, brain drain, job security and matching people and organizations. Productivity Productivity is a measure of how much value individual employees add to the goods or services that the organization produces. The greater the output per individual, the higher the organizations productivity. Two important factors that affect individual productivity are ability and motivation. Employee ability, competence in performing a job, can be improved through a hiring and placement process that selects the best individuals for the job. It can also be improved through training and career development programs designed to sharpen employees skills and prepare them for additional responsibilities. Motivation refers to a persons desire to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform assigned tasks. Motivation energizes, directs, and sustains human behavior. A growing number of companies recognize that employees are more likely to choose a firm and stay there if they believe that it offers a high quality of work life (QWL). Empowerment In recent years many firms have reduced employee dependence on superiors and placed more emphasis on individual control over (and responsibility for) the work that needs to be done. This process has been labeled empowerment because it transfers direction from an external source (normally the immediate supervisor) to an internal source (the individuals own desire to do well). In essence, the process of empowerment entails providing workers with the skills and authority to make decisions that would traditionally be made by managers. The goal of empowerment is an organization consisting of enthusiastic, committed people who perform their work ably because they believe in it and enjoys doing it (internal control). This situation is in stark contrast to an organization that gets people to work as an act of compliance to avoid punishment (for example, being fired) or to qualify for a paycheck (external control). Work Time Flextime the practice of permitting employees to choose, with certain limitations, their own working hours. Compressed Workweek-any arrangement of work hours that permits employees to fulfill their work obligation in fewer days than the typical five-day workweek. This approach adds many highly qualified individuals to the labor market by permitting both employment and family needs to be addressed. Workplace flexibility is expected to be on the rise as the future workplace, the virtual office is characterized by creative and flexible work arrangements. As more employees work off-site-up to two thirds of an organization in the 21st century there will be an increase in emphasis on performance and results as opposed to the number of hours worked. In addition, off-site employees can expect to attend fewer meetings. Specified work will become much more collaborative and management will spend nearly all its time managing cross-functional work teams who enjoy a lot of autonomy Quality of Work Life (QWL) High quality of work life is related to job satisfaction, which in turn is a strong predictor of absenteeism and turnover. A firms investments in improving the quality of work life also payoff in the form of better customer service. High employment rate, low inflation and Steady economic growth provide opportunity and rising living standards. Technological advance has enabled the worlds population to grow with improved living standards for most. Brain Drain With organizational success more and more dependent on knowledge held by specific employees, companies are becoming more susceptible to brain drain-the loss of intellectual property that results when competitors lure away key employees. High-Tec firms are particularly vulnerable to this problem. Such important industries as semiconductors and electronics suffer from high employee turnover as key employees, inspired by the potential for huge profits, leave established firms to start their own businesses. This brain drain can negatively affect innovation and cause major delays in the introduction of new products. To make matters worse, departing employees, particularly those in upper management, can wreak considerable havoc by taking other talent with them when they leave. To combat the problem of defection to competitors, some firms are crafting elaborate ant defection devices. For example, Compaq computer has introduced a policy that revokes bonuses and other benefits to key executiv es if they take other employees with them when they quit. Micron Technology staggers key employees bonuses; they lose un-awarded portions when they leave. Matching People and Organizations HR strategies contribute to firm performance most when the firm uses these strategies to attract and retain the type of employee who best fits the firms culture and overall business objectives. For example, one study showed that the competencies and personality characteristics of top executives could hamper or improve firm performance, depending on what the firms business strategies are. Fast-growth firms perform better with managers who have a strong marketing and sales background, who are willing to take risks, and who have a high tolerance for ambiguity. However, these managerial traits actually reduce the performance of mature firms that have an established product and are more interested in maintaining (rather than expanding) their market share. Other research has shown that small high-tech firms benefit by hiring employees who are willing to work in an atmosphere of high uncertainty, low pay, and rapid change in exchange for greater intrinsic satisfaction and the financial oppo rtunities associated with a risky but potentially very lucrative product launch CHALLENGES FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS Issues facing HR are expected to change dramatically in the next decades. HR programs and the HR function have increased pressure to relate to the business strategy and show a return on investment. Customer focus needs to be included in all HRM practices. New technology combined with economic uncertainty will mean that administrative and transactional HR activities will be delivered via technology creating less need for HR professionals to provide these activities. Thus, HR professionals must play special roles in dealing with these changes and must develop specific competencies to support these roles. Employee Engagement Products and process alone cant help organizations to sustain loyal customers. They also need highly-motivated, dedicated and involved employees who are very passionate about their work and their organization; in short, they need engaged employees. But, nurturing engaged employees requires a lot of effort and skill on the part of HR managers and calls for a different HR philosophy in the organization. We need employee engagement to serve as a core competency of an organization that would provide sustainable competitive advantage. We know employee engagement towards their work, throw few test symptoms, i.e., feeling of creating value, having a direction to follow, an air of trust, creating engaged employees through top management endorsement, a work environment to cherish, innovative leadership and clear growth trajectories, one step up from commitment. Employee engagement is the new buzzword. A successful business is directly linked to the commitment of its employees. Employee engagement ensures the successful execution of any business strategy. Talent Management One of HRs most challenging jobs now involves managing talent. Much has changed in recent years to make this an increasingly critical area for HR. Among the issues that have made the talent management job more difficult are: frequent restructuring, a growing reliance on outside hiring, flatter organizations with fewer growth options, a tighter job market (at least in the long term), the aging workforce and the decline of clear career paths, as we mentioned above that it create a big challenge before the HR. In order to retain its most valuable stakeholders, an organization must find innovative ways to continually recruit its own employees. Retaining top quality talent is an enormous challenge facing corporations today and it is duty of HR to cope with it. In order to build effective retention and deployment strategies, companies must maintain visibility into and communication with their employees. An organizations capacity to hire, develop and retain talent is the most crucial business process as there is a definite correlation between intangible assets and market capitalization, according to the protagonists of talent management. It is due to these intrinsic intangible values that some companies are perceived as more valuable than others. Managing Virtual Human Resources Change in technology results in a change in the structure, design and environment of an organization Organizations today operate in a workspace, which is much more broadly defined, than it was earlier. Connectivity within and outside the organizations, creates a world of virtual organizations. A virtual company is usually a highly networked organization that extensively contracts out activities that were once performed in-house, allowing both speed and flexibility. The key to success in a virtual corporation is connectivity, i.e., the ability to network with a large number of independent companies. In essence, there will be a movement, a trend towards a decentralized model of HR. HR managers will have to accommodate employees in their virtual work locations and find ways to manage corporate culture, socialization and employee orientation. In order to obtain and maintain a competent workforce, they must act as organizational performance experts and shape employees behavior without face to face meetings. HR Issues and Cross Cultural Management Another expected change in HR is the Global Business concept world trade knew a major growth during the last years and there is forecasted as well the growth of international businesses, especially among small firms. Organization rely more and more organization HR specialists as the facilitators of work across borders and among different cultures. Therefore, they must be knowledgeable of other cultures, languages and business practices. They will be required to develop and manage an international workforce, maintain written and unwritten corporate polices for transportability to other cultures, keep top management informed of the costs of not paying attention to the transnational issues and provide their services to a variety of locations world wide. Organization must take into account cultural differences that shape managerial attitudes, when developing multinational management programs. For e.g., British managers value individual achievement and autonomy, whereas French managers appreciate competent supervision, fringe benefits, security and comfortable conditions, while Indian managers gives more importance of their culture and tradition. HR managers must therefore be familiar with and understand other cultural norms to promote organization diversity. An organization that recognizes and promotes cultural diversity will benefit because it will be employing the market that it serves. With increasing globalization and competition within the market, a diverse workforce is conducive to attracting and retaining a strong client base. While competing in an international market, employees from diverse national backgrounds provide language skills and understanding of other cultures. HR professionals will also be responsible for providing cultural sensitivity training for the organizations employees and for managers throughout the entire organization. (Czebter, Anamaria, 2002) Managing Issues of Work Life Balance in Organisations The challenge of work/life balance is rising to the top of many employers and employees consciousness. In a society filled with conflicting responsibilities and commitments, work/life balance has become a predominant issue in the workplace. Research by Parasuraman and Greenhaus (2002) documented that segments of the workforce may be subject to unique work/family pressures, yet often have few sources of support. The under-representation of these groups of individuals with potentially difficult types of work/family pressures represents a major gap in work/family research and employers understanding of their needs. Typically, studies have focused on employed men and women who are married or living with a partner or those with children. Omitted from research are single-earner mothers and fathers, single and childless employees with extensive responsibility for eldercare, blended families with children from both partners prior marriages, families with shared custody of children, and grand parents raising their grandchildren. In their highly acclaimed book, Work and FamilyAllies or Enemies, Friedman and Greenhaus (2000), two leaders in work/life balance, help us understand choices we make as employers and individuals regarding work and family. To handle work/life balance, Friedman and Greenhaus emphasize that working adults learn to build networks of support at home, at work, and in the community. Conflict between work and family has real consequences and significantly affects quality of family life and career attainment of both men and women. With the growing diversity of family structures represented in the workforce in the new millennium, it is important that human resource professionals better understand the interface of work and family relationships and the resulting impact in the workplace. Human Resource professionals seeking innovative ways to augment their organizations competitive advantage in the marketplace may find that work/life balance challenges offer a win-win solution.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Winston Churchill: The Great Communicator :: Winston Churchill Essays
Winston Churchill was perhaps one of the greatest public speakers in history. Some of the best speeches have come from being in life or death situations, Winston was known best for this. His small sound clips like, â€Å"this was their finest hour†, and â€Å"this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning†, encourage his troops and his people that they will win this war and will overcome the greatest odds. Although Churchill told many speeches, his speech on June 18, 1940 showed the most emotion and courage of any other speech he told. In this speech he explained that the war in France is over and the war in Britain would begin. He said that if we fail then the world sink into an abyss. This emotion that he shows would give Britain hope, courage and most of all determination. Winston Churchill spoke these words at the House Commons; his way of talking to people was a power which he held. Winston Churchill was born November, 30 1874, in Blenheim Palace. He was born into a wealthy family who treated Winston to a rich lifestyle. In 1893 Churchill entered the Royal Military College as a cadet, from here on he rose to the top ranks commanded with great authority. He began to have political speeches at the age of 23 when he talked to the primrose League. When he was 24 he wrote his first book entitled The Story of the Malakand Field Force. Churchill was elected to the House of Commons at the age of 26, being one of the youngest members. Winston was appointed Prime Minister of England on May 10th 1940. Winston’s 2 books that were published shows people that he is a respectable author who people can believe what he says during his speeches. In this speech Winston was talking to the members of the House of Commons, but this speech was m ore than trying to persuade elected officials, it was intended to speak to all people fighting against the Nazi Party. The purpose of this speech was to show the members of Commons that we must fight in this war and we must win, for if England shall lose the rest of the world would lose.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Edward Zwicks Film, Glory Essay -- Zwick Films Movies Glory Essays
Edward Zwick's Film, Glory â€Å"Glory†, the excellent war film about the first black regime, showed how a group of black men who first found bitterness between each other, rose above it and became one to form a group of black men that marched with pride not animosity. When dealing with a great film that involves African Americans, the roles have to be filled by strong black actors. Edward Zwick falls nothing short of this. The two black roles are filled by Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. This war film seemed to be just like every other war film. Meaning that mostly all war movies have the singing among troops and playing cards or in this case, craps. This helps the viewer see past the soldier, and see the real person and notice their human as well. This paper will show how Zwick used different characters, racial wars, music, and camera to portray what really goes on during a time of war.      In â€Å"Glory†there are very different meanings to all the unique characters. Matthew Broderick, who plays Colonel Shaw, has many different meanings behind his character. The opening scene when he is lying on the battlefield he is feeling like he is in a living hell. When he is awakened the next morning, the first thing he sees is the sun. The sun looks like a narrow path of light, maybe resembling new life. Colonel Shaw, believing he was in a living hell, was awakened by a new heaven. Shaw, believing that he should of also died for his country, takes the responsibility of leading the first black regime and going back to the living hell for where he once was. Denzel Washington plays the next character, Private Trip. Trip is the rebel of the crew and talks like he has been through everything. Throughout the film, Zwick emphasizes Trip’s feet, which are badly scared, bruised, and cut. The bruised feet symbolize the journey that he has gone through si nce the age of twelve when he first ran away from home. This is very deep because since the age of twelve he has been on his own and there had to be bigger battles to fight than the war he was in getting himself into at the time. The feet also symbolize all the training that the troops are doing and they are not being rewarded with proper attire such as uniforms. The third main character is Sergeant Major John Rawlins played by Morgan Freeman. He at first is part of the regime and then is appointed Sergeant. He is the i... ...stage and the troops being on the ground, this shows that Shaw has the power over them and that the troops are inferior to him. Throughout the movie Shaw is on and off his horse. When he is on his horse doesn’t talk to the soldiers and when he does the camera angle shows him looking down, again showing more power. When off the horse he talks to the troops and treats them as not only troops but also as human beings the camera now is at conversation level, showing that Shaw and the troops are both there for the same purpose which is war.      â€Å"Glory†is an excellent movie not only on the screen but also behind the scenes. A better understanding is developed when the movie is watched from a critical point of view. There is a better understanding of the racial issues and how Zwick portrays the white and black issues by the different positions of the camera. Zwick shows an incredible camera view at the end when they all are one running for the fort and all the racial issues are erased. There is no better movie to review when you have to look behind the scene and get the true meaning, and in â€Å"Glory†the war against each other is erased and the unity rises above all negative issues.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Epic of Beowulf Essay - Alliteration in Beowulf -- Epic Beowulf essays
Alliteration in Beowulf                  The diction of the Old English poem Beowulf is distinguished primarily by its heavy use of allliteration, or the repetition of the initial sounds of words.  In the original manuscript version of the poem, alliteration is employed in almost every line (or two half-lines); in modern translations of the poem this is not so. Beowulf uses alliteration [my italics] and accent to achieve the poetic effect which Modern English poetry achieves through the use of poetic feet, each having the same number of syllables and the same pattern of accent (Wilkie 1271). In lines 4 and 5 of the poem we find:  Oft Scyld Scefing                              sceapena preatum monegum maegpum                          meodo-setla ofteah  The repetition of the â€Å"s†sound in line 4 and of the â€Å"m†sound in line 5 illustrate alliteration, and this occurs throughout the poem, providing to the listener an aesthetic sense of rightness or pleasure. In 1958 two language scholars, Lehmann nd Tabusa, produced an alphabetized list of every alliterated word in Beowulf. One translator, Kevin Crossley-Holland, in his rendition of the poem in Literature of the Western World, actually includes considerable alliteration, but less than the original version of the poem (Wilkie 1271). The Old English poet would â€Å"tie†the two half-lines together by their stressed alliteration (Chickering 4).  The first half-line is called the on-verse, which is followed by the off-verse. Each line of poetry ideally contains four principal stresses, two on each side of a strong medial caesura, or pause, and a variable number of less-heavily stressed or unstressed ones. â€Å"At least one of the two stresse... ...lishing, 2000.  Magoun, Frances P. â€Å"Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry.† In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.  Renoir, Alain. â€Å"Point of View and Design for Terror in Beowulf.†In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.  Stockwell, Robert. P. and Donka Minkova. â€Å"Prosody†In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.  Tharaud, Barry. â€Å"Anglo-Saxon Language and Traditions in Beowulf.†In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.  Wilkie, Brian. â€Å"Beowulf.†Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.   Â
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Compare and contrast Hamlet vs. Laertes Essay
No two individuals are alike, regardless of similar upbringing. It is reasonable to assume that even twins brought up in exactly the same environment, sharing the same daily activities, and living practically the same life, will act differently when faced with the same situation. Each individual evolves with his or her own uniqueness, style, and way of life. The audience witnesses this phenomenon in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Lord Hamlet and Laertes experienced similar childhoods, and shared similar family attributes. They were both born into royalty and throughout their lives were treated as such. Hamlet and Laertes were reared with the same forms of schooling, and were taught to abide by the same ethics and morals. Although Hamlet and Laertes seem to be â€Å"twined†with regard to family, royalty, and school, it is evident to the audience how such environmentally similar people can react so differently when faced with comparable situations. One such example arises when Ha mlet and Laertes are consumed by a very basic human characteristic, that of revenge. Hamlet and Laertes, although very similar in most respects, differ in that Laertes is driven by passion and Hamlet is driven by reason. Shakespeare exposes to his audience the similarities between Hamlet and Laertes in various instances throughout the play. It is known to the reader that Hamlet and Laertes are both sons of royalty, Hamlet being the son of the former true king of Denmark, King Hamlet, and Laertes being the son of the trusted counselor to the king, Polonius. The reader is able to deduce from the manner of both families, that although they differ, they live very similar lives, and their sons Hamlet and Laertes are quite alike. For example, Hamlet and Laertes have a unique similar respect for their fathers. In one instance, in Hamlet’s first soliloquy, he proclaims respect towards his father in saying that he was an excellent king, like the glorious sun god of classical mythology, and that he is so loving to his wife, Gertrude. â€Å"Hamlet: So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother that he might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face too roughly.†(Shakespeare 14) As well, although Laertes does not know who killed his father, out of respect for him, he swears he will have his vengeance regardless of what will happen to him in this world or the next. †Laertes: To this point I stand, that both the worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes, only I’ll be reveng’d most thoroughly for my father.†(Shakespeare 118) From here, the audience observes how similarly Hamlet and Laertes each have great respect for their fathers. Another comparison to the seemingly similar manor of Hamlet and Laertes is that of the admirable mutual respect they have for each other, even throughout the twisted murders and losses of their loved ones. Hamlet and Laertes are on the verge of fighting a duel, a duel whose final purpose is hidden from Hamlet. Finally to Hamlets dismay he learns that the hidden purpose of the duel was for Laertes to exact revenge for the death of his father and sister. Yet, all the while Hamlet obliterates his antic disposition and publicly apologizes to Laertes for the deaths of Polonius and his sister, Ophelia. With that Laertes replies he has forgiven Hamlet but in order to save his honor and the honor of his house he must continue with the duel. Hamlet accepts graciously: Hamlet †¦Sir, in this audience, Let my disclaiming from a purpos’d evil Free me so far in your most generous thoughts That I have shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother. Laertes I am satisfied in nature, Whose motive in this case should stir me most To my revenge; but in my terms of honour I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement Till by some elder masters of known honour I have a voice and precedent of peace To keep my name ungo’d. But till that time I do receive your offer’d love like love And will not wrong it. Hamlet I embrace it freely, And will this brothers’ wager frankly play.- Give us the foils. (Shakespeare 149) With all the similarities between Hamlet and Laertes displayed throughout the play there is an obvious dissimilarity between them; the way they react when they are faced with the uneasy task of revenge. It is evident that Hamlet’s character and nature, which leads to his action of revenge, is that based on reason, while Laertes’s form of revenge is that based on passion and impulse. When Hamlet’s father appeared to him in the form of a ghost claiming the current king, Claudius, Hamlets uncle, had murdered him; Hamlet did not heed the information and obtain his revenge right away. Hamlet’s reaction was that of a wise methodical individual. It took Hamlet some time to convince himself that the ghost truly was a good spirit of his father, relaying truthful words in order that his soul may rest in peace, and even then Hamlet still wanted more proof. Only until Hamlet was certain and had confirmation of Claudius’s guilt was he ready to take action. The reader sees how Hamlet finds his final convincing piece of verification through a conversation Hamlet has with his good friend Horatio: Hamlet †¦There is a play tonight before the king: One scene of it comes near the circumstance Which I have told thee of my father’s death. I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot, Even with the very comment of thy soul Observe my uncle. If his occulted guilt Do not itself unkennel in one speech, It is a dambed ghost that we have seen, And my imaginations are as foul As Vulcan’s stithy, give him heedful note; For I mine eyes will rivet to his face, And after we will both our judgements join In censure of his seeming. (Shakespeare 75) Throughout the scene Hamlet added in the play, which was re-enacting the death of his father, Hamlet and Horatio were able to confirm the truth relayed by ghost of his father and reveal the guilt of Claudius. Up until this point Hamlet was experiencing moral struggles and doubts. Hamlet wanted to be absolutely certain Claudius was the murderer of his dear father before any more blood was spilt. In order for Hamlet to be absolutely certain it took reason and evidence of Claudius’s guilt to allow himself to avenge his father. Conversely, Laertes did not need the degree of evidence in order to avenge his father and sisters death. Even without knowing the one responsible for either, Laertes is quick to promise revenge. â€Å"Laertes: And so have I a noble father lost, a sister driven into desp’rate terms, whose worth, if praises may go back again, stood challenger on mount of all the age for her perfections. But my revenge will come.†(Shakespeare 123) Despite Laertes limited knowledge of what truly happened to his father and sister, he, passionately, is quick to swear revenge regardless of the consequences. Shakespeare has revealed to the audience that the revenge they wish to exact is driven by passion in the case of Laertes and reason in the case of Hamlet. Shakespeare’s approach to this was to reveal to the audience how Hamlet and Laertes were similar. He accomplished this through discussing and illustrating the similarities between family, childhood, and royalty as well as showing the similar admiration and respect they had towards their fathers, seen through Hamlets kind admirable words towards the late King Hamlet, and Laertes’s hastiness to avenge his fathers death and sisters madness regardless of what he may suffer. Furthermore, Shakespeare expresses the mutual respect between Hamlet and Laertes as seen in the opening of the duel and the exchange of sincere heartfelt words. While Shakespeare made Hamlet and Laertes’s similarities known to the reader he also illustrated their differences when faced with a difficult situation. Shakespeare was able to do this through expressing to the reader how Hamlet was able to control his primal urge of revenge through rational, and Laertes’s uncontrollable desire to avenge motivated by passion and love. With life comes experience. Every moment one lives, is a lesson, a lesson on how to act and react in every situation. Individuals can be reared with similar parenting, family and school environment, and still react quite differently under the same set of circumstances. When one is faced with a situation so extreme as avenging a loved ones death, it is impossible and wrong to say that another would have done the same in that situation. The challenges of life are what guide one to the next level; no two challenges are ever the same, no matter how similar they may be.
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