Ethical Dilemmas And Ethics At Santa Clara University Essay

Business ethicist Kirk Hanson says that â€Å"ethical dilemmas are inevitable,† occurring more in the first year as a professional than in succeeding years (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, 2011, 0:55). As a business professional, it’s very likely that I will face an ethical dilemma, or even multiple ethical situations throughout my career. This is why, as Hanson explains, â€Å"you need to be aware of what your own values are† when confronting ethical dilemmas (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, 2011, 1:15). It’s important for me to know my own values because they will provide a foundation for my decision making when involved in an ethical conflict. Currently, I have a short process that I regularly follow when making tough decisions. This process entails thinking about the people involved in the specific situation and how each of them will be affected by the decision I make. Next, I consider the pos sible actions I could take, and predict the outcome of those actions. Upon completion of this thought process, I typically know what has to be done. Prior to this course I would’ve said that my decision making process was good enough the way it was. Now, Dr. MacCammon’s discussion on ethics made me realize how important this process is, and it inspired me to strengthen my approach. Dr. MacCammon provided us with a document called A Framework for Thinking Ethically. The document states that â€Å"having a method for ethical decisionShow MoreRelatedWhy The Selling Of Customer Information At Outside Parties Creates An Ethical Dilemma1557 Words   |  7 PagesThis report is to evaluate and to make a determination on whether the selling of customer information to outside parties creates an ethical dilemma to an organization. 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Movie Review The Abnormal in Normal Free Essays

Normal is a spectacular movie which encompassed both a war and unity of emotions, standards, and ideologies. It showcased the play of sexuality, understanding, anger, transformation, ostracism, and most especially, love, depicted in the lives of the characters that compose the film. How all of them owned a different perception of Roy’s transsexualism and how these perceptions seemed to be intertwined dramatically revealed the key element that make up Normal’s core. We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Review: The Abnormal in Normal or any similar topic only for you Order Now Personally, I found the movie very moving and inspiring. It is not everyday that films like these are produced in the industry for the obvious fact that transsexualism, not to mention heterosexuality and bisexuality, is still on the process of holding a secure, firm, and properly recognized position in society. Normal was successful in its attempt to disband stereotypes regarding deviant behavior and twisted genders. It portrayed how acceptance and love serve as the main dissolving agent in breaking norms in response to the changes that occur in time. Roy, one of the main characters, was extremely daring and determined to have mustered strength to face such an immense transformation and survived the critical judgment of his family, peers, and community fellows. Containing his desire to be a woman solely to himself for that length of time is something not regular people could ever put up with. The weight was even graver, however, on her wife Irma. In my opinion, she was the one who suffered most with what had happened. After 25 years of marriage, two teenage offspring, and a healthy relationship which was supposedly homosexual-to-homosexual, her husband tells her that he is a woman trapped in a man’s body and that he wanted to live like a lady for good through gender reassignment. Discovering that the man she fell in love with was replaced by someone with a heart of a woman would have been the key struggle in Ruth and Irma’s marriage. Eventually, nonetheless, Irma learned to embrace Roy for who he is—the man he loved yet now with earrings, perfume, make-up, and even breasts. This was a strong proof that true love does conquer all and breaks differences. The occurrence tested if Irma was really willing to stay with Roy and to love him with all her heart, through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, with death as the sole wall that could separate them. The relationship of the couple evidently changed, but the love was still the same. This served as their starting point to both reliving an old chapter of their life and opening a new one together. Patty Ann and Wayne, the couple’s children, were also affected by Roy’s revelation. Albeit their reactions were of opposite sides of the spectrum, these showed that they significantly cared about what happened to their father. Dealing with his kids, however, remained as another struggle for Roy. Patty Ann took his father’s transformation in a positive light since she, too, was having a puberty and femininity crisis of her own. On the other hand, Wayne was infuriated. Being older, being the son, and being a hardcore rock music enthusiast, it was not peculiar that Wayne’s mind seemed to be very narrow when it came to gender issues. The main character’s father also played a weighty part in Roy’s family struggle. Like Wayne, Roy Sr. strongly disagreed with what occurred to his son. During Roy’s early years, his father had already begun beating Roy to stop his feminine tendencies. His paternal influenced continued until Roy’s adulthood but failed to maintain his son’s manliness. Together with his wife Irma, Roy struggled to face another conflict with an influential and important body outside their marriage: society. His revelation to the parish counselor initiated the ostracism that Roy encountered from the religious sector. This banishment was in line with the Vatican’s dissent for gender changes. Though external to the scope of the movie, the Papal government most likely inspired the story’s plot. According to Asher (2003), gender reassignment shall not in any way change the gender of an individual in the vision of the church. Moreover, Catholics who underwent this kind of transformation shall not be â€Å"eligible to wed, be ordained to the priesthood or enter religious life† (par. 2). Gender reassignment merely changes the surface quality of the person and not his/her inner attributes and personality. These were the strong bases of Roy and Irma’s gradual but unyielding exclusion from the religious sector. Roy also had problems in his work. He served almost his whole life as an employee in a farm machinery factory. Going to work one day all â€Å"womanized† expectedly brought in mockery from his coworkers. Roy’s boss, Clancy Brown, was compassionate enough to transfer him to a safer and more considerable work section. However, he developed affection for Irma, which pushed Roy’s work struggle to a higher notch. Fortunately, Roy’s wife realized that he was in love with no man other than his beloved husband. This dedication, loyalty and commitment of Irma to Roy were what captivated me to the movie the most. These same attributes of Roy’s wife are the reasons why she is my favorite character. Like what I have mentioned before, Irma exemplified the power of true and powerful love. More than that, however, is Irma’s commendable courage to continue to walk with his husband, no matter how things have changed. Remarkable courage was also exhibited by Roy. Personally accepting that he was a woman in a man’s body is already a valiant feat. Adding his revelation to his family and community during the period of his life when all was settled for him as a man can be considered a lifetime accomplishment. Not everyone who is gay, lesbian, or both can muster the willpower and inner strength that Roy depicted. Not all irregularly gendered can face life with the truth that they know deep within them. There is this strong feeling inside of me that the movie Normal will forever hold a special place in my life. It taught me so many things about accepting changes and living with what and who matters in your life. Just be strong and all things will follow. References Asher, J. (2003, January 16). Vatican Will Not Endorse Gender Changes. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from http://www.planetout.com/pno/news/article.html?2003/01/16/3          How to cite Movie Review: The Abnormal in Normal, Essay examples

Organization Behaviour Individualised HRM and Organisational Performa

Question: Describe about the Organization Behaviour for Individualised HRM and Organisational Performance. Answer: Introduction The report gives a brief description of PC Solutions which is owned by Frank Wallace. The company is related to the selling of desktop computers to home users. The company has developed significantly over the last eight years and has expanded its sales, administration, accounts, customer service and software development department. The case study highlighted how the company has taken merger decision to rejuvenate the software department so as to able to meet the market requirement. It has encouraged women participation in management by giving them senior positions. Louise Machin is an example which controls a team of 25 people and looks after training section consists of 8 trainers, network and software support team comprises of 7 systems and software engineers, and ten persons gives support to the hardware problem. Consequently, the owner Frank Wallace has detected the problem that the software department is facing due to its incapacity to meet the customer requirement and is driven by merger decision to reduce the gap and to provide the better software solution. But Frank has found that as the company is growing the level of customer satisfaction and employee job satisfaction is decreasing. The study has recommended a solution to eradicate the problem in order provide better service which is related to customer satisfaction and developed a strategy for employee motivation to increase productivity and overall job satisfaction of the staff member (Bckerman and Ilmakunnas 2012). Recommend changes to overcome the current problems The report highlights the organization PC Solutions that was established by Frank Wallace, an IT professional in 2007 and identifies one problem in their software development department and has given a solution to resolve the problem. One of the acute problems that were identified by PC Solution is its incapacity to fulfill the target customers software development need. Keeping this in mind the organization has adopted a strategy for a merger to strengthen the software department so as to able to meet the customers requirement by delivering the quality product hence increasing revenue for the company. The company has acquired Software Solutions for this purpose to meet the quality standard and the requirement of the market (Correia et al. 2013). One of the problems in the organization is that as the team is growing, day by day the level of customer service and employee satisfaction is decreasing considerably. To improve the customer satisfaction, the company needed to focus on the product and adopted a strategy to provide the client better experience and a more user-friendly software that is cost effective to gain competitive advantage. The enterprise should have strong Research development team to come up with the latest changes to provide a more updated software to the client to save their time and money. The sales team which is managed by Scott Punter need to be much more organized and focused on integrated marketing strategy to increase sale. The customer services department guided by Louise Machin is required improvement to enhance the quality of the product to deliver desired output to the customers. The company should concentrate on substantial infrastructure building of customer service department consists of three teams that are training, networking software team and hardware support team (Vermeeren et al. 2014). Develop unique, distinctive feature to the product The team should focus on adding more features to the product to make the product attractive therefore providing better customer service to the clients. Explore new features to make the product more customized at competitive prices and get a competitive advantage (Chang et al. 2012). Clarify the mission and focus on customers Set a clear mission and vision to be achieved by the company and concentrate on the target market to establish the goal to be obtained by the enterprise. To get customer loyalty and trust the company should emphasize the features of the product to reduce cost and increase the problem solving skill hence focusing on the relationship based on trust, truth, honesty, commitment and transparency (Karatepe 2013). To achieve employee satisfaction PC Solution should concentrate on the following things Employee orientation The administration department headed by Sylvia Chia should focus on training and development programs to enhance the skillsets of the employee. Proper onboarding programs help the operator to build the proper attitude and set goals those are achievable to reduce attrition (Bal et al.2015). Congenial work environment and skill development To create a positive workplace free from discrimination, cooperation, that ensures constructive criticism and motivate an employee to enhance productivity. The company should adopt skill development programs such as training programs, mentoring and feedback-intensive programs to encourage employees to acquire new skills to overcome challenges and deliver the best output (Jamali et al. 2015). Provide competitive benefits, recognition, and rewards The company should provide fair wage and incentive to keep the workforce satisfied. Moreover, it includes reward and recognition programs to create a healthy competition to elevate employee morale and stimulate efforts and increases job satisfaction of the employees (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). Track job satisfaction The PC Solution should arrange the online survey or mobile survey to monitor the employee opinion about the benefits, recognition and feedback programs and the aspects contributing to employee satisfaction. It helps the Human Resource Department of the organization to formulate the action plan to improve the system to minimize cost and reduce employee turnover (Djukic et al.2014). Strengths Weaknesses in the organization the cultural aspects that need change According to Grant (2015), strengths of a company refer to the positive or active aspects that have placed the company in an advantageous position. The power of an organization concentrates on few things such as What are the high points the company has? How is the company utilizing the advantages? How the company is getting competitive advantage What is the unique selling propositions? The company which has started its journey in the year 2007 has developed considerably over the eight years to have 75 employees and four departments that are sales, administrative, customer service and software development which are efficiently delivering the services. The PC Solution and its customer services are taken care of Louise Machin. The company strength is its training segment, hardware and networking department and software support team which is providing excellent support to the clients to troubleshoot their problems and providing better solutions to corporate customers. Hardware support is provided by ten technicians from a workshop situated in PC Solutions. By appointing Louise Machin as a team leader, the company encourages women participation in decision making by promoting them to higher positions. The company should create a diverse work culture based on cooperation and respect (Kirton and Healy 2013). According to Trieloff and Buys (2013), the Weakness of the company refers to the What are the weak points that the company has that is affecting its growth? What are the factors that are affecting sales? As far as the case study is concerned the weaknesses of PC Solutions can be marked by the decreasing level of customer satisfaction and employee's content regarding the job. To overcome the problem, the company needs to strengthen the sales team. They should keep a client database and contact the customers on the regular basis by mailing them the birthday card, newsletter, sales flyer. Email and sending text messages via phone, promotion of products in Facebook, Twitter can be a useful marketing tool to keep the customers updated about the latest changes. The sales team should explore the new market to increase the number of users of the product and generate more revenue for the company (Berthon et al. 2012). One of the weaknesses is employee job satisfaction which is decreasing can be overcome by providing training and development since employees job satisfaction is a key factor to increase productivity. Continuous training and monitoring and evaluating the performance and feedback system enable the employee to face challenges in a better way. Apart from that, reward and recognition should be there to motivate an employee to produce more and help the company to achieve the target (Tangthong et al. 2014). Reference List Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014.Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Bal, P.M. and Dorenbosch, L., 2015. Age related differences in the relations between individualised HRM and organisational performance: a large scale employer survey.Human Resource Management Journal,25(1), pp.41-61. Berthon, P.R., Pitt, L.F., Plangger, K. and Shapiro, D., 2012. Marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing strategy.Business horizons,55(3), pp.261-271. Bckerman, P. and Ilmakunnas, P., 2012. The job satisfaction-productivity nexus: A study using matched survey and register data.Industrial Labor Relations Review,65(2), pp.244-262. Chang, A., Chiang, H.H. and Han, T.S., 2012. A multilevel investigation of relationships among brand-centered HRM, brand psychological ownership, brand citizenship behaviors, and customer satisfaction.European Journal of Marketing,46(5), pp.626-662. Correia, M.F., e Cunha, R.C. and Scholten, M., 2013. Impact of MAs on organizational performance: The moderating role of HRM centrality.European Management Journal,31(4), pp.323-332. Djukic, M., Kovner, C.T., Brewer, C.S., Fatehi, F. and Greene, W.H., 2014. Exploring Direct and Indirect Influences of Physical Work Environment on Job Satisfaction for Early Career Registered Nurses Employed in Hospitals.Research in nursing health,37(4), pp.312-325. Grant, R.M., 2015.Contemporary Strategy Analysis 9e Text Only. John Wiley Sons. Jamali, D.R., El Dirani, A.M. and Harwood, I.A., 2015. Exploring human resource management roles in corporate social responsibility: the CSR HRM co creation model.Business Ethics: A European Review,24(2), pp.125-143. Karatepe, O.M., 2013. High-performance work practices and hotel employee performance: The mediation of work engagement.International Journal of Hospitality Management,32, pp.132-140. Kirton, G. and Healy, G., 2013. Commitment and collective identity of long-term union participation: the case of women union leaders in the UK and USA.Work, Employment Society,27(2), pp.195-212. Tangthong, S., Trimetsoontorn, J. and Rojniruntikul, N., 2014. HRM Practices and Employee Retention in Thailand--A Literature Review.International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance,5(2), p.162. Trieloff, W. and Buys, P.W., 2013. An analysis of the competitive business environment of a family run Brazilian auditing firm.International Journal of Auditing Technology,1(1), pp.52-74. Vermeeren, B., Steijn, B., Tummers, L., Lankhaar, M., Poerstamper, R.J. and Van Beek, S., 2014. HRM and its effect on employee, organizational and financial outcomes in health care organizations.Human resources for health,12(1), p.35.

Macbeth Who was responsible for King Duncans murder Essay Example

Macbeth: Who was responsible for King Duncans murder Paper In my opinion, there are three main people that should be held responsible for the death of King Duncan: Lady Macbeth, the witches and of course, Macbeth himself. In this essay, I will be looking at the three people and how they each played a role to cause the death of Duncan. Firstly, I think that Lady Macbeth was hugely to blame. We see that both husband and wife are highly ambitious and hope to achieve a lot. Macbeth trusts Lady Macbeth and is very close to her. He informs her straight away of his meeting with the witches through a letter in which he also calls her his dearest partner of greatness. This shows us that they are close and are partners or colleagues in everything. As soon as Lady Macbeth reads the letter, she is already making plans to achieve Macbeths title as the King and hers as the Queen. We see this when she says That I may pour my spirits in thine ear/And chastise with the valour of my tongue. This could give away a hint of evil in her to us. In addition, we see that she fears that Macbeth is too kind to achieve it. This means that she is already thinking that there is dirty work involved and Macbeth is too incapable of doing it. We will write a custom essay sample on Macbeth: Who was responsible for King Duncans murder specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Macbeth: Who was responsible for King Duncans murder specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Macbeth: Who was responsible for King Duncans murder specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer She says that he lacks the illness that should attend the ambition. She also thinks that Macbeths nature is too full o the milk of human kindness. This shows us that Macbeths natural instincts would be to leave this prophecy and wait for it to come to him, not commit the murder. Therefore, we could argue that Macbeth is a kind-hearted man who was innocently wound up and captured in his wifes evil plans of regicide. We can see this supported hugely when Macbeth is reluctant to carry out the murder and refuses to do so. Lady Macbeth steps in and presses on, using different techniques to make Macbeth change his mind. At first, she mocks him saying Was the hope drunk/Wherein you dressd yourself? Then, she begins making him feel guilty, making him think that his love for her is shaky. Because they are so close, we could see this as an insult. She says to him From this time/Such I account thy love. She also makes him feel guilty by telling him that she knew what it was like to breast-feed and she knows how tender it is to love the baby that milks her, but she would have plucked the baby from her nipple and dashed its brains out if she had promised to do so, like Macbeth had done to their promise of killing the King. She also questions him, asking whether he would like to live a coward. Another technique she uses is questioning Macbeths manhood, making him feel low. Soon Macbeth was trapped in her persuasion and manipulation, and gave into the murder. Lady Macbeth also seems to have a manly, monstrous side to her. Its almost as if shes tired of being a dainty woman and wants evil to enter her so she may achieve more, with the help of evil spirits. She calls upon the spirits to come and unsex her. She also says to the evil spirits to stop up the access and passage to remorse. In other words, she does not want the natural feelings of remorse and regret to get in her way because she is so determined to do the murder. We could say that Lady Macbeth is already on the evil side, stopping herself from any natural feelings. We could argue that she is the driving force behind the whole murder and she is the only reason Macbeth killed Duncan. However, Macbeth is accountable for his actions and he had complete control over what he was doing. Lady Macbeths character shows us how eager she is to achieve high positions and we see that she will let nothing get in her way or stop her. Her character and actions play a big role in the murder. They are the two things that convince Macbeth to murder Duncan. The witches also play a very important role in Macbeth because some people argue that they put the idea into Macbeths head. In those times, the topic of witches or evil spirits was something very serious. It was so serious, in fact, that the king of the time, wrote a book about demons and evils, such as witches. A lot of people took interest in this field and many precautions were taken to protect themselves form witches and evils of the sort. In contrast to today, witches were not amusing subjects and their prophecies were, in a way, very valuable. The witches know when to appear, and purposely appear at the right moments to play on Macbeths conscience and manipulate him to do things. They know exactly how and when to enter so that the most amount of tension and dramatic effect is created at the right times. Shakespeare uses the witches very carefully to create the right dramatic effects and moods. When being performed in the Globe Theatre, there were no special effects or any dramatic lighting to create atmospheres. So, Shakespeare used stagecraft and the entrances of the witches to get the audience to feel the tension. Also, on their first meeting, the witches leave Macbeth and Banquo confused. They give unsteady prophecies about Banquo, contrasting against each other. They also seem to know what Macbeth is thinking at all times, to make themselves more powerful in the eyes of Macbeth and use him to create all the havoc. In addition, I think that some people could argue that the witches are entirely to blame because they are so powerful supernaturally, that a normal person like Macbeth would have no control over himself if the witches were ruling him. Their main motive is to create havoc, and Macbeth seems to be the easiest way to do so. Therefore, we could say that he is pulled into their evil plans and its not at all his fault. However, some people contradict this and say that the witches were not sparking any havoc, but rather telling and informing Macbeth of the events to come. Because of their powers, they could see in to the future and so were merely telling Macbeth what was in store for him, but Macbeth took the wrong turning with this information and himself decided to kill King Duncan. We can see that the witches did not refer to regicide in any of their appearances. Maybe, the throne was destined to be his but he did not need to kill Duncan to do so, and because he did, he caused trouble for himself and did not achieve anything. Macbeth, from the start, has a very ambitious and determined character. We see that when the witches disappear after stating their prophecies, Macbeth wants them to carry on and is unhappy that they left. We see this when he says, Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more. This shows us that he is interested in the witches predictions and wants to know more as he is allured. Also, some say that Macbeth already had the idea of doing something to calm his craving for the throne. When the mention of the Prince of Cumberland comes, he says that it is a step which Macbeth must fall down, or else oerleap. This shows us that Macbeth wants to do something to get rid of him, or move him out of the way. In addition, Macbeth is already thinking evil things. We see this when he says Stars, hide your fires;/Let not light see my black and deep desires. . . Black deep desires could suggest many things. In my opinion, we know that he is planning something evil, although we dont know what. Many people argue that the witches plant the idea into Macbeths head. However, I think that Macbeth already had the idea and was just shocked and scared to hear his thoughts being said aloud. We see this when Banquo says to Macbeth Good sir, why do you start; and seem to fear/Things that do sound so fair? We see that Macbeth fears the witches predictions and there could be a number of reasons for it. He could fear the witches themselves. He could fear the predictions, or, in my opinion, the predictions could be something thats already in his heart but he has learnt to control his ambitions and desires. When the witches speak of the prophecies, it starts the ball rolling and Macbeth is unable to control his actions. He feels inclined toward the witches and their prophecies and wants to achieve what they predicted. Therefore, he gets rid of anything in his way and as a result, kills Duncan. Macbeth takes the witches words quite literally every time and gets himself in even more trouble. For example, the incident of Birnam Wood. Toward the end, Macbeth relies solely on the prophecies, and depends on the witches. Throughout the play, we see him change. At first, he is very shaky and we see Lady Macbeth take control of the situation, leading Macbeth. But, toward the end, Macbeth becomes the leader and her true conscience shows. This is almost a transformation from good to evil for Macbeth. At the end of the day, Macbeth was the one to do it physically, so he should be blamed. He had power over his actions and when committing the crime, he should have been prepared for the consequences of his actions. Aside from the above arguments, I also think there are two other people to blame. They are Banquo and Duncan himself. Although they do not play as big as a role as the other people do, they still hold some blame. Banquo had suspicions of Macbeth but failed to do anything. He knew what Macbeth was thinking and knew he was up to something, but didnt take any action and was so killed. Although Banquos motive may not have been to get the king killed, he still didnt do anything about it. In those times, loyalty to your king was very important. It came before anything. Therefore, we could argue that Banquo had more loyalty toward his friend than toward his King, who should actually come first. In this way, Banquo is partly to blame. I also think that Duncan is to blame because he is too much of a trusting man. He only comes to stay with Macbeth with two bodyguards. Macbeth, who isnt even King, has more bodyguards than the King. Also, the King is too nai ve and vulnerable. Maybe it would have been better that Macbeth was the King because he would be a firm ruler, not a push-over like Duncan. Overall, I think that Macbeth is mainly to blame because at the end of the day, Macbeth did the crime and he went ahead with the plan. We see him change from a good, noble man to a cruel, harsh, evil man.

Human Resource Management in Business Context Essays

Human Resource Management in Business Context Essays Human Resource Management in Business Context Essay Human Resource Management in Business Context Essay â€Å"Performance bonuses offer a win-win gain to both organisations and employees. Discuss, making reference to both theory and case examples† Introduction Is performance related pay (PRP) really a motivator for employees and is it an effective way for organisations to gain and retain high performing staff. This is questionable especially as organisations differ in size, organisational culture (therefore differing needs), the ability and/or resources to manage an effective process to support PRP. This study will explore whether performance bonuses offer a win-win for both the organisation and the employees, using primarily the public sector, with reference to the private sector. â€Å"PRP was the ‘big idea’ of the1980s, embraced enthusiastically by many employers as the holy grail of driving high performance† as stated by CIPD (2010). Today it is seen as more than just a tool to drive performance; organisations are using PRP to link individual performance to business objectives and gain commitment. Strategic Alignment Business strategy is a key driver for organisations in the private sector as it provides them with competitive advantage, therefore they have the need to retain and motivate employees to perform against their objectives. The public sector, on the other hand, has the need to align staff commitment to deliver local government agendas. In order for the business strategy to be effective employers need to ensure that employees are committed and motivated to achieving the organisation goals, but as we can see these goals can vary depending on the sector and more so, on what the organisation is trying to achieve. So organisations need to identify a pay strategy, which helps them to align the objectives with their employees. The question is, does PRP work for both sectors in motivating employees? In the private sector the pay determination is generally determined by management with the notion that if individuals perform well against their KPI’s (key performance indicators) they will be rewarded with a bonus based on the market worth and the success of the business. However the public sector, in many cases, still remains to have a pre-determined pay structure with incremental pay progression and grading systems as shown in the example for Slough Borough Council in appendix 1. Old pay and new pay are concepts that are used to distinguish between contemporary and traditional reward systems (Gilmore pg 171). The local authority, Slough Borough Council use the old pay system. Graded pay is not particular motivating as everyone gets it and the incremental increase is not of a substantial amount to gain higher performance from staff. Therefore, the question has to be asked, whether it would be beneficial for the public sector to introduce PRP? Richard Crouch, head of HR and organisational development at Somerset County Council, warned performance-related pay could encourage the pay bill to creep up in the long-term and there would be a substantial cost in administering and applying performance-related pay in the public sector to reduce its subjectivity because government work would not be easy to measure (Barker, 2010:1). This highlights a number of issues particularly the fact with spending cuts becoming an ever-increasing need, this sector cannot afford to implement PRP. Furthermore, a pay strategy including PRP would push staff to work towards targets rather than focusing on providing a good public service, which is primarily the objective of the public sector. Although financial rewards in this setting could help employees to work more effectively rather than to work harder, by encouraging employees to focus on key objectives, lets face it, if people were primarily interested in financial rewards they would not have joined this sector. Making a difference to other peoples lives and the surrounding environment is more important. Additional, it would be very difficult to measure performance; for example, ways of measuring the service a teacher or a nurse provides are very difficult in comparison to that of someone who has set, clear deliverable targets such as achieving sales, gaining new business or increasing footfall. Intangible services are much harder to quantify. Performance Management Cycle Key performance indicators (KPIs) are formed as part of the performance and appraisal process to measure the output of an individual. The performance appraisal allows a comparison to be made of the actual performance against expected performance (KPIs), which is linked to feedback and whether the individual has warranted a reward. However, there are many potential problems with the performance appraisal system. The process can become a bureaucratic process with managers seeing it as a tick-box exercise to be completed once a year. There could be a lack of understanding of the objectives by the employee, or the organisation may not have a clear strategy and furthermore the process is subjective and open to human bias. It is also very difficult to quantify individual performance such as intangible elements, as mentioned earlier. So it could be argued that the process is not very transparent. To overcome this, Beer et al. introduced the Harvard Model (Gilmore. S, 2009, p. 9) which takes into account a wider range of stakeholders interests to provide an input into the appraisal process which allows the reduction of a bias opinion of just one person. It is stated as reduction, as the process is still subjective and open to a range of perceptual errors although reduced by the way of taking into account feedback from a number of people. The model also considers the situational factors of the organisation allowing better choices to be made when establishing the appropriate reward system, which will inevitable impact on the level of commitment achieved. Is it Fair? There are a number of elements of the performance appraisal that could be argued to be unfair, for example, the relationship an individual has with he manager who measures performance could be seen to be advantageous for some individuals, such as colleagues who have worked together for a number of years and could in fact de-motivate other individuals who don’t have the benefit of this relationship. Therefore, can human bias be taken out of this equation? Ultimately the relationship between a manager and employee comes down to trust, whether the employee believes the y will be treated fairly against other individuals regardless of developed relationships. It has also been suggested that PRP may discriminate unfairly against women, as primarily, it is male managers that measure performance, therefore they tend to reward performance characterized by male values (Gilmore. S, 2009, p. 183) creating a pay gap between men and women. Total Rewards There is more to keeping a workforce motivated and committed than just PRP. It is clear that it is more than just financial reward that influences the behaviour of employees in the public sector. Employees are looking for other benefits such as flexible working, contributing to a work-life balance are seen to hold value over having a high-powered career that pays well especially in the public sector. Aspects such as the work an individual is involved in provides them with a greater reward and satisfaction than financial benefits, for example a social worker or a nurse will ultimately find the reward in helping others. Total reward is the term that has been adopted to describe a reward strategy that brings additional components such as learning and development, together with aspects of the working environment (CIPD 2009). It addresses the fact that there are intangible benefits, which are intrinsic to individuals that do not have such a direct financial impact on the organisation as financial benefits do. For example, Slough Borough Council have a grapevine newsletter in which recognition of an employee’s contribution in various departments have been highlighted, personal recognition can contribute to the overall performance of an individual providing the sense of feeling valued in what they do. Access to training and development and further opportunities of career development can be a prime consideration for employees when looking for an employer. The total reward concept for an employer means they are able to attract and retain talent, and commitment through understanding the intangible and tangible needs of the person. For the public sector, as financial rewards become more scars the benefits of the total reward system will become evermore important in retaining commitment, loyalty and experience, attracting employees to stay within the sector over the longer term. Is There a Perfect Solution? This discussion has bought to the forefront that implementing a high commitment HRM will not necessary work, nor provide any financial benefit in the public sector. This has identified that an approach of PRP commonly used on the private sector may not be the best fit for the public sector as there is a need to take into account the situation in which the organisation is operating in, the size of the organisation and the success in terms of profitably as this will effect whether there are the financial resources to implement a high commitment HRM. What may work for one company may not work for another. Contingency theory suggests that the business context is crucial in determining reward strategies, and a number of factors are influential (Gilmore. S, 2009, p. 84). How the public sector align their business strategy with their HRM strategy will largely be reflected by current circumstances effecting the sector, such as cost cutting, restructuring, and the shift from a public sector job no longer being seen as a job for life. Therefore the management of a rewards strategy will need to recognise that what is currently seen as a motivator for examp le job security, will change. What drives the success of a reward strategy is that it is closely aligned with continual changes not only within the organisation but also those of the individuals. Conclusion In conclusion, it is recognised that there is no one solution that will suit all organisation. It would be seen that the best fit pay system with the organisation goals and sector would need to be established taking into account factors effecting the environment of the organisation and how equipped it is to providing PRP. This will ultimately affect and underpin the benefit that is received of PRP to both the employee and the employer. Word count: 1680 Reference: 1. CIPD (2010), Performance Related Pay [Online] Available at: cipd. co. uk/subjects/perfmangmt/perfrelpay/prefrelpay. tm [Accessed: 24 October 2010]. 2. Michael Holden (2007), Performance Reviews a ‘Waste of Time’ News. com. au P. 1 [Online] Available at: news. com. au/business/business-smarts/reviews-are-a-waste-of-time/story-e6frfm9r-1111115035598 [Accessed: 20 October 2010]. 3. M W Gilman (1998) Performance Related Pay in the UK, EIROline P. 1 [Online] Available at: eurofound. europa. eu/eiro/1998/03/feat ure/uk9803107f. htm [Accessed: 24 October 2010]. 4. Baker, K (2010) Performance-related pay for the public sector rejected by Personnel Todays Austerity Panel, Personnel Today P. [Online] Available at: personneltoday. com/articles/2010/06/17/55987/performance-related-pay-for-the-public-sector-rejected-by-personnel-todays-austerity. html [Accessed: 20 October 2010]. 5. CIPD (2009) Total Reward [Online] Available at: cipd. co. uk/subjects/pay/general/totrewdqf. htm [Accessed: 24 October 2010]. 6. Marchington, M. Wilkinson, A. (2008) Human Resource Management at Work, London: CIPD 7. Gilmore, S. Williams, S. (2009) Human Resource Management, United States: Oxford University Press Inc

Analysis Of Foreign Direct Investment And Marketing Management

Foreign direct investment, marketing strategy, management of marketing operations , determinants of FDI, market access Foreign direct investment is the investment that is made by an organization or an individual in a specific country related to the interests in business in the other country. Foreign direct investment takes place when an organization plans to expand its operations in a different country or acquires business assets in a foreign country. Foreign direct investment is attracted by countries which have an open economy and offers skilled workforce to the organization. Foreign direct investments can be of three types which are, vertical, horizontal and conglomerate (Blonigen and Piger 2014). Foreign direct investment can be used by any organization as an international market strategy according to which they can invest in manufacturing or setting up a new factory in a different country. The definition of FDI is also related to the acquisition of interest related to a company in another country. The different ways by which the organization can enter a new market are, construction of facilities in a new market area, acquisitions and mergers, investment in joint venture which is located in a foreign area. Foreign direct investment is made by an organization so that they can access to closed markets which are limited by trade related barriers (Papadopoulos, Hamzaoui-Essoussi and El Banna 2016). The companies can take advantage of the lower costs related to production and labour in the new market areas of the country. This type of investment is important for many industries or companies which demand innovation and access to technology. Investments are made in different countri es so that the organization can enhance its competitive position in the industry (Sheth and Sisodia 2015). The conclusions that are presented in the study are of significance in the academic and practical fields. On one hand, this supports the development of the studies related to future research related to the marketing strategies developed after making investments in the foreign countries. On the other hand, the reasons that are related to the foreign investment related decisions of the organizations are also presented. This study will therefore help in analysing the foreign investments and the strategies related to marketing. Blonigen, B.A. and Piger, J., 2014. Determinants of foreign direct investment.  Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'à ©conomique,  47(3), pp.775-812. Olson, E.M., Slater, S.F., Hult, G.T.M. and Olson, K.M., 2018. The application of human resource   management policies within the marketing organization: The impact on business and marketing strategy implementation.  Industrial Marketing Management. Papadopoulos, N., Hamzaoui-Essoussi, L. and El Banna, A., 2016. Nation branding for foreign direct investment: an Integrative review and directions for research and strategy.  Journal of Product & Brand Management ,  25(7), pp.615-628. Sheth, J.N. and Sisodia, R.S., 2015.  Does marketing need reform?: Fresh perspectives on the future. Routledge.

Study and learning skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Study and learning skills - Essay Example vation to continue the process of studying, unmotivated studying (just because you have to) is ineffective and fruitless; goals will help stay focused and monitor your progress. It is necessary to devote time to working at the most difficult assignments first (but not during the test, when time is limited and there are many tasks to be completed). When preparing for the test, one should be focused, it is required to eliminate any source of possible distraction; student also have to fight excessive anxiety about the upcoming test. It is important to remember that revision is practice, and practice makes perfect. The learning process requires person’s activity - it is not limited to the university or school. You keep yourself acquainted with new literature, make your own little discoveries, determine your own position on one or another issue and apply your knowledge to solve specific problems. You should not regard yourself as a passive object of the learning process; object, which is able to receive information only in the classroom and is not going to analyze it. Prepare to the fact that your self-study time will exceed time, spent in the classroom. The sooner you get the necessary skills to be successful in studying, the more efficiently your time will be used, and the greater your success will be. Nobody can deny the fact that acquiring knowledge is not easy task to do. Sometimes studying is quite a painful process and lots of factors can influence it. First of all, a student needs to develop some skills that will be necessary for further efficient and successful studying. Studying skills or strategies are characterized â€Å"as the approaches applied to learning, which are generally critical to success in school, are considered essential for acquiring good grades, and are useful for learning throughout ones life† (Preston, 1989). Everybody is aware or such simple truth that time is money, nonetheless, so many people neglect it and go on wasting time.

Drug illegalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drug illegalization - Essay Example Drug abuse is a serious public health problem that affects almost all communities in some way. Every year millions of people succumb to illnesses or injuries. It is also a great contributor to a number of social problems, such as violence, drugged driving and physical abuse including that of children, homelessness, job loss, crime and many more others. (Karberg and James) Say that there are different reasons why people experiment with drugs. Some do it out of curiosity or influence from friends, others in trying to improve athletic performance; others try to ease problems such as stress, depression or anxiety. The use of drugs does not necessarily lead to abuse, neither is there a specific level at which drug use moves from casual to being problematic. Drug abuse and addiction is more about the amount and frequency of consumption, together with the consequences. If in any way the drug use is causing a problem in any way either at school, work, or at home then it is most likely to lead to abuse or addiction problem. Essentially, drugs are poisons. The effect will be determined by the amount of rug consumed. A small amount will act as a stimulant to speed you up, while a greater amount will do exactly the opposite. It will speed you down acting as a sedative. Not only does this apply to the drugs abused but to all other drugs since only a given amount is required to achieve the effect. Many drugs are found to affect the brain distorting the user’s perception of what is taking place around them. As a result the person’s actions will be odd or inappropriate and even worse, destructive. Consumption of drugs leads to blockage of all sensations, both the desirable ones and the unwanted. As much as these drugs provide a short term relief of pain or any other course, they wipe out the ability and alertness of a person. They create blank spots and blur memories (Maisto, Galizio

Junior High School Essay Example for Free

Junior High School Essay It was during my 7th grade year that I decided upon my answer to the age-old question: â€Å"What do you want to be when you grow up? † Being that it was my first year at a junior high school, I was a little intimidated. I wasn’t fond of making new friends, so I stuck with the people I already knew from the year before. Jonathan, one of my closer friends, was as introverted as I was. He wasn’t looking for a whole lot of attention, but he did want to involve himself in school. Jonathan asked me to join the school’s drama club with him, so he wouldn’t have to do it alone. I decided to humor him and attend the first meeting one day before school. When I walked in the doors, I saw kids laughing and joking around. It was such a comfortable atmosphere; I barely even felt as if I was still at school. Drama club wasn’t just some club, it was a place for me to be comfortable with myself. It was an escape from the humdrum school days which seemed to get longer as time passed. The drama club was filled with people who weren’t afraid to make fools of themselves and wouldn’t judge me when I did the same. I could let myself be silly and not feel ashamed. I played games like ‘Understudy’ where a skit is started with a few students, the leader interrupts, and the students are replaced with new ones. The new actors then carry on the same general plot of the skit. It was the most fun I had experienced in such a long time. I caught myself going every Tuesday and Friday morning before school. We even planned to do a play one day after lunch. For once I was hoping to get some attention. I wanted to be seen. I had never wanted something like that before. I always laid low and kept to myself, but now I was on stage reading lines. The funny thing about all of this was that I wanted to do it. It was my decision, and I was happy with it. I enjoyed myself so much that I wanted to experience it more often, but with no theater in town, it was easier for me to watch movies. I watched more and more, and before I knew it, I started paying more attention to the actors instead of the storyline. I would watch a couple of movies that all featured one actor to see how his or her style would change. One in particular changed my amateur views of acting altogether, Primal Fear featuring Edward Norton who portrayed an older teen with multi personality disorder. His ability to make 180 ° turns in a single scene fascinated me. I could compare this to Sally Field’s role in the movie Sybil. I tried to find more movies with Edward that were as mind-blowing as the last. I watched Fight Club and noted that he again played a character with a split personality. Leaves of Grass was next on the list. Edward acted as his own twin brother, one who was a college professor while the other was a drug dealer. It seemed to me that his strategy was to unveil the pencil-thin line dividing good and evil or moral/immoral. It was amazing to me that I could learn so much about one person by watching him or her portray others. I fell in love with this theory, so I decided to try my hand at them by joining the Teche Theater of Performing Arts. I auditioned for a play named Gypsy based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee. The role I was given was not very substantial, but it was a role nonetheless. Rehearsals lasted all summer, and I dedicated myself. I showed up early, and I stayed late. I sang and danced after I told myself I would never do that on stage. I realized my motivation was in the applause. I was looking for a thrill, and I found it in the crowd. I found it in making people laugh. I found it in making friends. Now THAT was different. Now, I was different. I was happy. I used this motivation to better myself. I did more shows at the theater, and I met new people. One of which was Mrs. Diane Wiltz, the main director at the Teche Theater. She would tell me how impressed she was by my versatility on stage, but she wasn’t ever afraid to point out when I was doing something wrong. She taught me to improvise when appropriate, push my character onto the audience, be loud, and overact. â€Å"Don’t hold back,† she would say, â€Å"when you think it’s too much, it is just right. † She also taught me to act comfortable in situations that might not be comfortable. Her advice was not bound to theater. I found that I could incorporate the lessons she taught me into everyday life. I took heed to the advice that she gave me. I did a few experiments to see how I could use these lessons offstage. I started pushing myself to be more extroverted at school by talking to more people, even the teachers. I became comfortable joking with complete strangers. I noticed that my overall attitude towards life changed somewhere along the way. I wanted to make people feel good. It felt good hearing laughter or applause, so I looked for it everywhere I went. I further involved myself in school and the theater. I took on roles in several more productions at Teche, becoming a regular there. The Teche Theater was like a second home to me by then, and I wanted so badly to do this for the rest of my life. I then decided to make plans to act professionally. I looked into finding a school that would help me get a foot into an acting career. I stumbled upon a film organization associated with the University of New Orleans. How could I make my way into an organization that I knew nothing about? It would be way over my head considering I knew little to nothing about film, and I wasn’t a student of UNO. I needed to get a little experience at another college before jumping into being a full-time student in New Orleans, so I decided to enroll at Nicholls State University. As of now, I plan on finishing my freshman year at Nicholls before transferring to the University of New Orleans. When I enroll at UNO, I will major in film arts and production. I will work with fellow students on projects as well as doing a few projects of my own. I will also work to serve as an intern on any major motion picture sets that is offered. Students at the University of New Orleans have helped work on the set of movies like Ray, Runaway Jury, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. These opportunities will hopefully open more doors for me, helping me start a career in this field. I look forward to seeing how I fare in a career that is so difficult to jumpstart, and I can’t help but to think of the people that inspired me and pushed me to be on the path that I am on today.

Alter Your Native Land Essay -- American Culture Cultural Essays

Alter Your Native Land. - Stiff Little Fingers, â€Å"Alternative Ulster,† 1979 By definition, a counterculture possesses values and mores that are in opposition to those of an established society. When one hears the word â€Å"counterculture,† it may prompt images of hippies, punks, demonstrators, or underground political movements – in other words, a group of people (usually young) with a purpose, who are trying to make a change or say something meaningful about the larger culture in which they live. In addition to demonstrations, music, or simply lifestyle choices, this kind of action may be taken in writing. Hunter S. Thompson and Kurt Vonnegut prove this point in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Breakfast of Champions respectively, despite using differing styles, by asking rather contentious questions about American culture. A question raised by Fear and Loathing deals with the typical American ideal: What has become of it? Thompson’s book addresses the question in the very title, â€Å"A Savage Journey to the Heart of the America Dream.† His horrific tale of a gonzo journalist living in a perpetual drug and alcohol-induced haze may at first seem to be only a â€Å"drug book,† but one is able to get much more out of the narrative by taking the time to study it more closely – namely, a statement about the American Dream. After wading through several chapters that describe an assortment of trips brought on by an array of drugs, we find our antagonists getting directions to the American Dream from a taco stand waitress on the outskirts of Vegas. Apparently, the American Dream is now â€Å"a mental joint, where all the dopers hang out.† A dubious, black building has come to represent what formerly stood for opportunity, independence, and free... ...y presenting us with numerous new ways in which to examine American culture, Vonnegut enables us to question everything from common figures of speech to approaches to homosexuality. He may have done this with the hope of preventing the blind acceptance of our society’s norms. Countercultural authors, whether speaking through a haze of narcotics or as if speaking to a child, can play a strong role in establishing new ideologies within a society. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Breakfast of Champions are compelling examples of this, and Thompson and Vonnegut walk into touchy territory while presenting their themes. If one wishes to find an alternative to prevailing modes of thinking, it is important to look upon work such as theirs and discover the answers to their questions about our culture. As the Stiff Little Fingers say, â€Å"Grab it and change it, it’s yours.†

Legal Issues in Gaming Industry Essay

When it comes to looking at the legal issues, we can that there are loads of them. The cause of legal issues rise when a specific games company copies other people’s work or they take what other games without permission. An example of such issue is when the Arktos Entertainment Group, who are the makers of MMO The War Z game, were found to have copied the terms of service agreement from the game, League of Legends. And as crazy this may sound, but another huge legal issue to fall upon the gaming industry when JUSTIN BIEBER filed a lawsuit against a company who develops Android Smartphones called RC3. All this hassle was because RC3 created a video game called Joustin’ Beaver, which parodied Justin Bieber. Another legal issue is copyright. Such incident happened between Nova Productions and Mazooma Games. The reason is because Nova sued Mazooma for copying elements from their games.. Jackpot Pool and Trick Shot. Regulatory Issues in Games. Regulatory Issues Seen as more and more games are getting violent and the no. of people who play them and commit crimes are slightly increasing, those violent video games have been rated in specific way. The first ever game to be rated this way was Mortal Kombat. It was one of the first ever games to have extreme graphic violence such, huge amounts of blood, people being ripped into half etc. The public found it so inappropriate that they rated it a Mature. It means the game is only to be purchased or played by a person who 17 or older. This is to stop anyone under that age from playing the game and having a bad influence. The ratings are as follows: In the UK the games are being rated by PEGI. The ratings are as follows: Ethical Issues in Video Games. Year after year, new games are released with even more improved visuals and game play than the previous selection of video games. But, in some games, better visuals and game play isn’t the only thing to be added into the game. The game is also loaded with ethical issues. Here are some famous video games and the ethical issues that creep in them. Resident Evil 5 – High number of racial stereotyping and abuse: In the game, there features a white male killing black enemies, who lives in a small African village. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – Prostitution, Drug dealing, Racist stereotyping: Including an African American person as the main character and the first mission being to steal a bike. Mortal Kombat – Extreme graphic violence

Employers and Employees rights Essay

INTRODUCTION: In this piece of course work I am going to describe, using examples from Shropshire county council, the rights of the employer and its employees. I am also going to explain using examples of how the they resolve the disagreements with its employees over rights of employment or working conditions. Then I am going to evaluate the extent to which Shropshire ensures that a good working relationship exist between the employers and employees. 1. Describe the employer and employee rights of the business you have investigated in detail and give examples. We as employers and employees at Shropshire county council are protected by numerous amount of laws Some of these laws are: Equal pay act 1963 This allows us as employees to get a fair share in pay. This act will enable us to take legal action against Shropshire if we feel and have proof of not getting the right amount of pay that should be permitted. Not only does this act helps us as employees it also helps our employers. The directors of Shropshire county council employ the employers that employ us, so they too are considered to be employees. Race relation act 1976 This act allows us both as employees and employers to be treated fairly. This act has to do with the discrimination against our race or religion. It enables us to take legal actions against Shropshire if we feel and have proof of unfair treatment of our race and religion. Pregnancy and Discrimination act This act is here for both the employees and employers if we are fired or discriminated because of being pregnant. This will allow us to get compensation. If fired this will also allow us to also get our job back at Shropshire. Health and Safety act This is there for both we the employees and our employers. Not only are we protected by this act we are also responsible for the health and safety for the other members of staff. E.g. in the computer rooms we must act responsible for not permitted to smoke in non-smoking areas, if done this could affect other members of staff. 2. State how the business resolves its disagreements with employees in connection with employment and working conditions. When disputes occur at Shropshire the management will try to follow the correct procedure. Wherever possible the issue is dealt with by managers within the council. There are clear procedures to follow, which will be carefully followed. . E.g. if a member of staff was discriminated by one of his or her co-workers with proof the staff member could bring it to a union representative and ask them for help. The main union for workers in the council is NALGO (National Association for Local Workers). The officers will then advise the employees of there rights and they will then try and investigate the situation and having a meeting so that they could try and resolve the problem. If an agreement can’t be reach even by arbitration the European Court of justice night be last resort. They will then discuss the problem and the employee who was at fault could be fired or suspended for a certain amount of days/months. If suspended then the employee would return once the situation have been investigated. if this fails then they could go to a tribunal, which is a small court that resolve small cases. 3. State the weaknesses and strength on the ways that your chosen business ensures a good working relationship with the employer and its employees. Weaknesses If you are suspended for something that you didn’t do then, you can be the one who feel guilty. So I think that they should really investigate and make sure that they have the right substantial evidence before they fire or suspend the employee. Strengths It is abiding the law. All the actions that are taken are legal, and the victim could get compensation. Another strength is that there is access to the right information and there is also a department that will give people advice. > NET–> http://www.osbornebooks.co.uk/pdf/intermediate_business_1.pdf Date (18/10/04) > NET–> http://www.davidjreed.com/Corporate/business_types.htm Date (18/10/04) > BOOK–> GCSE Applied Business–> AUTHORS–> Michael Fardon, Chris Nuttall, John Prokopiw –>UNIT 1–>NUMBER–> 5&6 –>from pages 42-61 Date (18/10/04) > LEAFLET–>Shropshire County council case study –>page 121 Date (18/10/04)

Strawberry Spring Essays

Strawberry Spring Essays Strawberry Spring Essay Strawberry Spring Essay I had no idea what I was afraid of, just because I didnt know what happened after that luscious fog came last night. It doesnt mean that something bad is in the boot of my car.  As I sat wondering I could hear my wife in the next room crying, I thought it would be better to leave her alone and sleep on the couch.  7:00 a.m., with my alarm blaring I decided to get up. My body was aching from sleeping awkwardly on the couch. I stretched and felt my muscles tighten. Suddenly I remembered what I was afraid of all yesterday, the boot of my car. I was ready for work at 8:00 a.m. I kissed my wife on the cheek like nothing had happened. I walked out of the door and unlocked my car but before I got in I decided to look in the boot. I got a feeling of nausea like I knew what was in that boot but I suppose I do know what is in there. Slowly I turned the lock, it made a click noise then I pulled it open. Straight away the smell of rotten flesh hit me, before my eyes was a green head I could see the bones in her neck. I vomited on the pavement, closed the boot and went to work as usual. Weaving in and out of objects the fog swerved like a tiger around its prey. I wound down my window and smelt the sweet sea salt smell of the fog. I turned right towards New Sharon Teachers college. That was all I could remember.   That night Jessica Perkins was killed. She was a lonely girl with few friends, she was walking to the Grinder when it happened.  Her head was missing and on the back of her white blouse was the message in her won blood Jacks Back!.This time I woke up in my own bed I glanced over to see the clock on the bedside table it was 7:30 a.m., not to late. I dressed then went to make breakfast downstairs. I saw my wife looking at old photo albums  It was so perfect, my wife said almost like she was watching me through the back of her head,  What was? I replied,  We were, you had a brilliant job that you enjoyed and we were going to try to have a baby,   We still can, and were still perfect babe, I was getting a bit edgy now,  Where have you been the previous nights?  Nowhere I was just out with the lads, I lied  Where you with another women? she questioned  No, I wasnt. Ive got to go to work, I ran out of house before she could say anything else.  This time I didnt dare look in my boot but I knew another head was in there even before I was greeted by the smell of stale rotten flesh. The fog drifted into every nook and cranny of everything if anything got in its way it would swerve around then smoother it into the night. My headlights stabbed into the darkness yet still the fog pranced and jeered at me as if nothing could stop it. That fragrant sweet smell of the fog was to me like a succulent roast turkey was to a tramp on Christmas night.  Lucy Palmer was viciously murdered as she walked to her dormitory from her boyfriend read the main story of the newspaper. The headline was Jacks back!  Knock knock . knock knock. It woke me up from the couch, I looked at the time it read 12:30 p.m. in a mad rush I put on my work clothes, which were laying beside the couch, before I realised that it was a Sunday and I didnt need to go to work. My wife obviously wasnt in so  I had to answer the door myself. I opened the front door to see a policeman looking back at me,  Good afternoon sir, I am here investigating a series of murders, your neighbour told me that your car. Its my wifes, then a moment of evil but brilliance struck me I could accuse my wife of the murders then leave New England to get away from Strawberry Spring and hopefully the police.  Yes anyway, the car left yesterday at 10:20 p.m. and came back at 11:10, the murder was committed at around 10:50 just enough time for you to get back,  No I was in the living room watching Friends at ten thirty till eleven oclock waiting for my wife to come home, Im sure my neighbour saw my TV through the window, my wife was asleep at 10 oclock but I had left the TV on by accident. So your wife wasnt in? the policeman questioned  No just like she hasnt been the night before and the one before that, I tried to sound hurt it wasnt very good but he was buying it.  Also last night I found, I gulped I found a humans head in my wifes car boot, its just out here Ill show you,.  After I escaped from the policemans questioning I got a rent-a-car and drove to an airport, I knew that the police were after me because they must of got DNA readings off my victims. So Ive got a plane ticket to Japan I just hope Ill get through customs.

Organization and Managing People Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organization and Managing People - Term Paper Example Organization and Managing People When the launch of consultation tactics within the organization involves requesting for the other party’s assistance in the matter or altering the proposal so as to convince them that their consultation on the matter is invaluable and thus, required. Empowerment is the key to promoting employee motivation and launching power distribution to reaffirm an employee’s belief that the organization trusts his/her skills, knowledge and decision-making abilities. An example of this measure is a Finance Manager granting the Assistant Finance Manager the right to authorize daily sales reports which previously required the former’s signature. Participative management allows employees to adopt a more direct role in the entire decision-making process by setting goals and resolving organizational issues to achieve the identified objectives. It allows managers to distribute power in the company through the promotion of autonomy. A manager needs to consider the following factors to make delegation effective: providing appropriate training to employees to ensure that they are able to manage tasks, encourage managers to delegate work, boost a system of participative management in the organization. By using rational persuasion on the basis of logical argumentation and evidence a manager can ensure that his employees commit to health guidelines in a company. The same could also be achieved through the tactic of pressure as a result of which constant reminders are placed in the company to promote compliance.

Apply the transtheoretical Model of Change to Smoking cessation Essay

Apply the transtheoretical Model of Change to Smoking cessation program or intervention - Essay Example Although several quarters have highlighted weaknesses of the program, the general features are positive. The major focus of the exercise will be on stages of this model, how each can be applied to stop smoking and thereafter, a general critique. The TMC supports the idea that behavior change evolves rather than a perception that it can be revolutionized. This is an implication that the model is a process that is characterized by stages of acceptance to the ultimate cessation especially for smokers. The first one is the pre contemplation stage to the ultimate maintenance stage as illustrated by DiClemente et al (2002). At this point, the person is probably at the denial stage where thy have little or not plans to quit. Smoking to them is part of life and smoking is used for leisure, stress relieve or simply the addictive charm. At this point the person has zero motivation to quit although they are aware of the practice posses to their health. In the pre-contempation stage, the smoking cessation program implementers such as family members may only give minimal help to the individual through persuasive counseling. The decision to change the behavior only comes from within the individual. This is the stage where an individual is ready to act and begin the cessation program. As matter of fact, the individual may be projecting to start the program in six month’s time. The level of awareness of the individual on the effect of drugs is high (DiClemente et al., 2002). They understand the pros and cons of smoking and they believe that the process is possible. The program of cessation can be effective if the addicts can be informed of possible challenges such as relapses. Many smokers in the world today are in this stage because the vast majority is considering quitting. Here, the person is preparing to hit the road and begin the journey to full recovery. Most of the addicts are encouraged to begin with mental preparation for the program. It is common to find them

Creating shared value (article summary) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Creating shared value (article summary) - Essay Example Importantly, the shared values are the benefits in relation to the cost of operations. There are three distinct ways that an organization can create shared value. The first approach is through the conceptualization of products and markets. Secondly, a company can create shared value by redefining an organization’s productivity in the value chain. Finally, an organization can create shared value by creating groups of similar things in the company that were supportive of the industry in which the organization operates in since a company cannot exist in isolation. One essential way of enhancing global economic growth is through the opportunity offered by creating societal values through economic values. In this regard, the approach provides business organizations with the opportunity to understand their customers, productivity, and external factors that influence the success of an organization. In effect, creation of shared values becomes more effective and the most sustainable effort of enhancing the organization’s participation in the social arena than the efforts that companies are currently practicing. In effect, the principle of shared value becomes an effective approach of ensuring innovation and growth in

Influence of face-to-face communication on customer satisfaction Dissertation

Influence of face-to-face communication on customer satisfaction - Dissertation Example The main challenge of this study is the target audience (from the Middle East). There is a constant cultural conflict between Western and Eastern worlds and the sphere of business is not an exception. A high-cultural context of the Middle East countries should be the foremost triggers for the development of service marketing campaigns by the Western partners. There is a strong influence of historical and cultural traditions on business in the Middle East (Smith, Peterson & Thomas, 2008). Patience, loyalty and the conservative nature of the businessmen or customers from the Middle East implies that the Western businessmen should be of high cultural proficiency. For example, face-to-face communication supposes the communication of two individuals from different cultural contexts (a western manager and an eastern service customer). Such issues, as the principle of seniority, respect to the elder people, and low risk-taking behavior of the Easterners should be taken into account while pr oviding them with certain services. This challenge is not facilitated in case telephone or electronic communication means is used. Electronic communication would take less time to deal with the customers, but it does not discard the importance of cultural markers in the process of getting services. Moreover, there is a need to make some changes in the style of communication, when face-to-face communication is an opportunity for single activities (e.g. talking), telephone communication doubles up activities (talking and searching in the Internet). Electronic communication as well as telephone communication consumes less time and is more focused on factual tasks completion (Elving, 2005). The gap in the literature In spite of the fact that cross-cultural communication and means of communication between the companies and customers have been widely discussed, there is a lack of studies focused on an integrative discussion of these issues. Solomon et al. (1985, p.99) propose, that  "the dyadic interaction between a firm and a customer is an important determinant of the customer’s satisfaction†. Further on, the researchers were focused on the growing role of the modern technologies and the Internet (Aron, 2006; Kasper, Helsdingen & Vries, 1999; Little & Little, 2009). The communication between customers and service providers is more effective when they use modern technologies, but at the same time it is also very important to develop face-to-face communication. The advantages of Internet communications is outlined in the following manner: â€Å"Consumers have bargaining power, and they are beginning to  exercise it. They begin to  exercise the right to  know what the price should be† (Steinbock, 2000). On the other hand, Internet communications was considered as inefficient two decades ago. Currently, an important role of virtual communities cannot be denied. Therefore, modern companies should integrate dyadic approach to communication with the customers and business partners, such as personal and virtual communication. Communication in the service marketing Moreover, the specific nature of services  marketing  implies more tricky strategies than in strategies used in product marketing. Thus, for successful operation of the Western service marketing

The Period Of Chattel Slavery In The Caribbean History Essay

The Period Of Chattel Slavery In The Caribbean History Essay The Caribbean during the 18th century was categorized mainly as an agriculture based region with numerous plantations. These plantation main outputs were sugar, a commodity highly demanded in Europe earning high profits for plantation owners. However, to create such vast quantities of sugar required human labour, resulting in the development of the chattel slavery system. This slavery system comprised mainly of Africans whose characteristics were suitable for the tropical climates. Enslavement was a dictatorship system where the enslavers had absolute power, like a puppet master pulling all the strings, hence, rendering the enslaved powerless, however, the enslaved reacted waging a protracted war cutting the strings of the enslavers in a fight for their freedom. Chattel slavery refers to A system of slavery whereby an individual and their offsprings are recognized by the law as being the property of another person for life1. Enslaved could be bought, sold and branded just as a piece of furniture, and these inhuman conditions enraged the enslaved resulting in resistance. This is further supported by Hilary Beckles et al who stipulated This record of resistance illustrates that there was hardly a generation of enslaved males or females in the Caribbean who did not take their anti-slavery actions. Entrapment, is against human nature, and thus, enslaved resisted from the start in a long or protracted war. Many slave revolts and plots in these territories between 1638 and 1838 could be conceived of as 200 years war one protracted struggle launched by Africans and their Afro-West Indian progeny against slave owners stated Hilary Beckles. The Enslaved worked under harsh conditions from sun up to sun down, with little rest and exposure to diseases, under strict control from supervisor who demanded productivity. The world of the enslaved therefore, was a constant battle between oppression of master control and the desire for freedom. Slave society refers to the whole community based on slavery, including masters and freedmen as well as slaves stipulated Brian L. Moore. The Societal structure was a hierarchy, white masters at the top socially and politically, the coloured in the middle and the enslaved forming the foundation at the bottom. Around 1832 there were approximately 50,000 whites and 100 000 freedmen in the British Caribbean but only 32 000 slave owners suggested B.W Higman. Freedmen owned slaves; however, it was not in any high concentration when compared to the whites. Although, representing the minority whites control the politics and the majority of wealth maintaining absolute power. The whites were highly educated when compared to the freedmen who had basic education, leaving majority of the slaves uneducated. This is supported by B.W Higman, who noted this strong contrast reflected differences in the education of free males and females, but its also indicated differences in wealth. Whites were the maters operating the plantations, while freedmen were either freed coloured or freed blacks who earned their freedom and tried to invent their own identity. These combined features and characteristics of each class created an arrangement of diverse practices and behavior that illustrated the properties of a slave society. For any society to function adequately there must be system of control and the slave society was no exemption. Christopher Humber et al stated System of slave control embodied physical, social, psychological, economic and legal factors. The enslaved were economical exploited by enslavers, as they were forced to labour in plantation through physical violence denying them personal freedom. The whip was a stimulus to labour and a constant form of punishment and for fear of the hundreds of lashes kept in line and did basically as they were told 2. Slaves lived on the plantation in small dirt huts, and enslavers positioned their mansions at the top overseeing their enslaved community and society practices, emphasizing enslaved social inferiority. Food and clothes were controlled by the enslavers, as they decided what and when enslaved should eat and also how they should dress. Slaves were not allowed to be educated; ignorance was a powerful means of control3. Denying basic social functio n such as education signified enslaved inferiority. The Enslaved religions practices, such as their drumming, music and dance were not allowed and even punishable by death. The enslavers religions were forced upon them as a form of control, and Christopher Humber et al noted Enslaved were only allowed to sit at the back of the Anglican/ Catholic churches. The enslaved were seen as inferior to the whites and the whites argued that Africans were barbaric and uncivilized. Enslavers tried to oppress and crush the spirits of the enslaved through psychological ideas of race and colour. Economic structure of society in terms of property, earnings (Money) and time were control buy the enslavers. Slaves could not legally posses property or legally make contracts, could not be paid for nay work that they did, could not own animals and could not own land4. These economic and legal restrictions crippled the enslaved freedom of movements. The different control systems implemented enforced ensla vement and entrapment, however, the enslaved resistance continued to punctuate the society. The period of slavery was characterized primarily by one protracted war launched by those enslaved against their enslavers, suggested Hilary Beckles. From the commencement of slavery, the enslaved pursed their freedom through different forms of resistance and these resistance activities were illustrated in the Caribbean. Enslaved resistance comprised of day-to-day resistance, plots and revolts and rebellion including marronage. Sheperd V. noted The several stages in the development of Caribbean anti-slavery activities in the period up to 1834: 1500-1750, 1750-1807, and 1807 up toe end of slavery. During the period 1500-1750, the society was dominantly enslaved Africans and plantation construction was now developing. The main form of resistance used during this period was marronage, which Barbara Lalla stipulated as The process of flight by slaves from servitude to establish their own hegemonies or wild territories. Maroons, also known as, Runaways were able to establish small communi ties creating independence from the plantation social, economically, and legally. However, for successful maroon developments the island had to be mountainous, Sheperd V. noted Forested and mountainous interiors of colonies like Jamaica, Dominica and Guyana facilitated the maintenance of runaway slaves. In an island like Barbados, marronage had limited success due to the lowland. Maroons developed structure, in terms of farming for food and in situations earned money by selling produce, persons were able to practice their own religion freely without feeling inferior, Possibilities of ownership of items and most importantly they had freedom of choice. Maroons were able to formulate strategies of successful revolts and attacks on plantations, under the assertive leadership such as Price, lead to arrangements between the Europeans. According to Hilary Beckles What is clear is that maroon activities which were endemic over the entire period greatly undermined the colonizing efforts of t he Europeans and the economic life of the plantations. The sugar rush peaked during 1750-1807 creating a mature plantation society, increasing some aspects of Creole diversity and Sheperd V. stated during this period resistance assumed different forms such as day-to-day acts and negotiation for rights and also marronage increasing. Christopher Humber noted day-to-day resistance as the subtle methods used by the slaves to express rejection of slavery and further supported by Hilary Beckles, who noted day-to-day resistance were generally designed not to overthrow the slave system, but undermine its efficiency. A vital part of day-to-day resistance was enslaved women and the particular strategies they employed. Field womens adaption of the strategy of labour withdraw, interpreted as laziness by drivers and overseers, was considered a universal problem suggested Hilary Beckles. Low level or productivity was not tolerated, and the malingering attitude adapted by women was a great discouragement to the sugar industry. This was particularly eff ective at harvesting time when a few hours behind schedule could make a world of difference in the level of profits realized stated Christopher W. Humber. Women also resisted through children, because the birth of enslaved children meant that the child was automatically born a slave. Enslavers wanted to use birth control as a means of maintaining an enslaved labour force, however, enslaved women committed infanticide as Hilary Beckles noted acts of infanticide are frequently cited on plantations. Acts such as harming farm animals, making them unable to turn the mill were also done by enslaved women. The variations of resistance during this period focused on ending slavery by making the plantation system unprofitable as Hilary Beckles noted These acts of resistance were considered effective strategies and undermined greatly the efficiency of the plantation. The period 1807-1834 marked the ending of slavery, with first the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and the continuous resistance from the remaining enslaved on the plantations. Hilary Beckles further noted 1807-1834 was marked by growing protest among the enslaved, particularly among creoles, linked also to the impact of growing anti-slavery discussions in the metro pole. Creoles also called country-borns undeniable had a hand in the overcoming of slavery and bringing emancipation. Creoles resisted politically, seeking to earn rights for the enslaved through lobbying in the parliament and instigating the continuing unjust behaviors towards the enslaved. It was not Africans who organized, an attorney wrote, but creoles, which were never known before to have been concerned in anything of this sort5. In Britain the profitability of the plantation system was in decline and so was the slave system on a whole. The funds from New world slavery had significantly contributed toe he primit ive accumulation of capital that enable the industrial revolution in Britain6. With Britain moving towards more profitable investments, slavery resistance in the parliaments increased leading to the passing of acts, such as, the emancipation act of 1833. Armed revolts and rebellions were the most violent, and dramatic forms of resistance that the enslaved used against their enslavers. Armed revolts were usually, bloody and many enslaved died, as Hilary Beckles noted The enslaved were conscious of the military might of their enslavers and knew it would be suicidal to always engage them in armed conflicts. The large scale slave rebellion under the leadership of Toussaint L. Ouverture end slavery in Saint Domingue, marking Haiti as the first free black republic in the Caribbean. After news of slave efforts leading to freedom in Haiti spread throughout the Caribbean, the enslaved consciousness was no longer an issue and widespread rebellion transpired all over the Caribbean. Some such r evolts as noted by Hilary Beckles are 1816 revolt in Barbados, 1823 in Damara (Guyana) and 1831/32 Christmas rebellion in Jamaica. The enslavers methods of control were failing and emancipation was no inevitable. Eric William noted in 1833 stating The alternative were clear emancipation form above or emancipation from below'. The rewards and benefits of the different forms of resistance were realized on the 1st of august 1834 marking the end of slavery. Since the existence of slavery for thousands of years, one aspect has persisted, that is, the resistance of the enslaved towards their enslavers and thus the period of chattel slavery in the Caribbean is no different. From the arrival in the Caribbean the enslaved develop anti-slavery attitudes, despite being at the bottom of the societal structure. To counteract this anti-slavery attitude control procedures were develop and implemented, however, resistance acts such as marronage, and day-to-day resistance eventually escalating to large scale revolts threaten and ultimately ended chattel slavery. From the commencement to the termination of chattel slavery, the enslaved have plagued their enslavers in a fight for freedom and such an endemic resistance could only be seen and best described as a protracted war for freedom. Notes National Glossary of the U.K National Archives Based on Caribbean History access through link : http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/caribbeanhistory/popups/glossary.htm See The Spanish instituted the Siete Partidas, the French had the Code Noir access through link : http://www.novapdf.com See Slavery, Freedom and Gender: The Dynamics of Caribbean Society page 137 See The Spanish instituted the Siete Partidas, the French had the Code Noir access through link : http://www.novapdf.com See Africa in America: slave acculturation and resistance in the American South and the British Caribbean, 1736-1831 Page 221 See Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams Page 68 Works Cited Beckles, H. Natural Rebels: A Social History of Enslaved Black Women in Barbados. London: Zed, 1989. Print. Bryan, Patrick. Campbell Carl. Higman B. W. Moore Brian L. Slavery, Freedom and Gender: The Dynamics of Caribbean Society. United States: U OF OKLAHOMA PR, 2002. Print. Higman B.W. Slavery Populations of the British Caribbean, 1807-1834. Kingston Jamaica: The Press, University of the West Indies, 1995. Print. Humber Christopher. Caribbean History Section B: Resistance Revolt. Teach Dip (Mico): 2006. Print. Lalla Barbara. Defining Jamaican Fiction: marronage and the discourse of survival. University of Alabama Press, 1996. Print. Sheperd V. Beckles, H. Caribbean anti-slavery: the self liberation ethos of enslaved blacks. In Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World: Student Reader. London Kingston: Ian Publishers Ltd., 2000. Print. Williams Eric. Capitalism and Slavery. The University of North Carolina Press, 1944. Print.

The spread and localization of Buddhism and Islam into Southeast Asia E

The spread of religion first began through contact with neighbouring countries which gradually expand throughout the years. Buddhism and Islam are one of the most widespread religions across Southeast Asian countries like Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Trade merchants and imperial support of the religion played as major factors which facilitated and localised the spread of Buddhism and Islam within various countries. However, there were limitations present which hindered the development of each religion in Southeast Asia as introduction of newer religions and changes within imperial power which would have affected their progression to become fully localised pre-1800s. After the death of Buddha around the 5th century, divisions within the religion began to grow due to differences in the interpretation of Buddha’s teaching thus resulted in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism (Bowker 2007, 140-141). Till this day, Theravada Buddhism persists predominant in Southeast Asia. Theravada Buddhism focuses their beliefs on the personal liberation whilst Mahayana Buddhism regards itself on the teaching of compassion for every living being (Berzin 2010). The spread of Buddhism, mainly Theravada, first began around early 3rd century BCE when Buddhist emissaries were sent to Indonesia and Burma by Indian emperor Asoka (Gosling 2002, 84-85). During and after his reign, his constant advocacy had sustained the faith’s position throughout Southeast Asia, influencing his children to introduce Buddhism into Sri Lanka during the first and second century CE (Gosling 2002, 82) which spread across to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam (Swearer 1997, 90). This was further developed due to the mass influx of Indian merc... ...ry CE when Muslim merchants, accompanied by missionary Sufis, from India and Arabia arrived through the Indian Ocean trade route for business (Johnston 2002, 291). However, it wasn’t until the 13th century when Islam began to spread across Southeast Asia from Sumatra through to Java until reaching Borneo and Philippines in the 16th century (Houben 2003, 153). Trade was not the only purpose indicated from Muslim merchants as Sufis brought about the localization of Islamic organisations for Islamic teachings which would appeal to locals and their rulers for valuable networks (Johnston 2002, 291). This presence of Islam was recorded by Moroccan traveller Marco Polo in the late 13th century which indicated the advancement of Islam localisation where citizens of Perlak, Sumatra and the Pasai king, Sultan Al-Malikus Saleh were already converted as Muslims (Mutalib 2008).