Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's speech Research Paper

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's speech - Research Paper Example   The present research has identified that the goal of Dr. King’s speech is to unite his African American audience with the dominant culture thereby implementing cultural change. In the 17 minutes speech delivered by the Nobel peace prize winner, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; he called for the end to racial segregation and discrimination. The word ‘negro’ in the second paragraph is associated with a history of slavery, discrimination, and injustice. When he refers to the state of Mississippi, which is the worst example of racism, he is identifying with his African-American audience. The South again is infamous as slavery was institutionalized there. When Dr. King says †I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , the word red creates the image of blood, implying pain, hurt and suppression. â€Å"Quest for freedom†-again for the African American community to identify with- so that a new day/hope dawns. â€Å"Battered by the s torms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality† and â€Å"Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one† are easily identified by the â€Å"America’s citizens of color†. â€Å"The veterans of creative suffering† also refer to his African American audience. The masterpiece speech is the best example of rhetoric in the twentieth century. Dr. King calls the dominant culture ‘whites’.  

The Power of Possessions Essay Example for Free

The Power of Possessions Essay Possessions hold on to the memories from the past reflecting the emotion a person holds on to. Holding onto possessions allows people to reminisce the memories from their past whether uplifting or heartbreaking, these possessions hold onto the stories we do not want to forget. In the poem â€Å"Mrs. Caldera’s House of Things†, Mrs. Caldera keeps hold of so many items of her past including pencil tips, plastic hummingbirds, tineless forks, milk bottles and many more. Mrs. Caldera loves thinking about her childhood and having all of the items helps remind her of all her childhood memories. It is obvious that all these items bring great joy and happiness to her especially at the end of the poem when Mrs. Caldera is baking cookies and the author says, â€Å"She is humming a song from childhood,/ Her arms are heavy and strong / They have held babies, a husband,†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (7.25-27). In those lines, it is shown that Mrs. Caldera is happy with the life she lives and thinking about her past gives her great joy. In the excerpt from â€Å"Memoria ex Machina† the author feels great emotions from a silver Seiko watch and a 1973 Datsun 1200, both items which belonged to his father. Thinking back on the memories from his dad’s items brings him great fear. It is evident that he is fearful of these items especially the watch when he says,† a pleasant hum long since obliterated by hordes of digital beeps†. In those lines, the author says how the watch was soothing to him with its pleasant hums but now it is terrifying to see it. Both the watch and the car which he has such fond memories of, now fill him with fear and despair as if he wishes he could take back the things he did. In both the poem and the excerpt it is shown that the possessions a person holds on to contains the memories from the past. They remind people of important memories in their life no matter how happy or depressing they are. With possessions, people can always remember the memories they want.

HR Practices in the Private Sector and MNC Banks

HR Practices in the Private Sector and MNC Banks Indian banking sector, especially commercial banks, have started realizing the need for a strong human resource orientation for their survival in the face of the rapid changing environment, global competition and other upcoming challenges. With attrition becoming a stark reality in the Indian banking sector, it is increasingly being understood that employee loyalty has to be created by organizational interventions and not something that can develop on its own. It is in this backdrop, it is an important topic to consider shaping your HR policies and practices around the workforce. Indian Banking Industry The banking sector in India is an integral part of countrys financial services industry. The banking index has grown has grown at a compounded annual rate of over 51 per cent since April 2001. The strong banking structure has been able to fuel continued growth, which has prospered long-term economic growth. Market cap of Indian banking industry 7500 Billion contributing to 7.7 % of GDP Human Resource Management Practices in India Indian banking sector is making efforts to adopt international best standards in HRM with the local customs and sensibilities. HRM function in a bank is being increasingly recognized as a strategic business partner with responsibility of managing key corporate resources. It is expected that HR Function must: Help the organization to be more agile by adopting practices that allows it not only to adapt to changes in the external environment but also to benefit from the same. Ensuring that the company is able to sustain its operation over a period of time. Ensure efficiency in the use of HR resources in the organization in an integrated manner with all other corporate resources. The success of any business depends as much on appropriate, effective, well-communicated, HR and business practices as it depends on meeting the requirements of mandated laws and regulations. In fact, good planning and the development of effective practices make regulatory compliance much easier. HR practices helps in increasing the productivity and quality, and to gain the competitive advantage of a workforce strategically aligned with the organizations goals and objectives. Organizations are becoming increasingly aware about the impact of generation gaps in the interaction between the various parts of its workforce. With increasing globalization, the diversity (both geographical as well ethnic) is on the rise in the organizations operating on a global scale. At the same time, the composition of the workforce itself is changing and different generation groups, with differing viewpoints on the same subject, are required to work together. This requires adjustments to be made by all categories. Organization must facilitate such adjustments by creating enabling environments so that the needs of all generation groups are satisfied, simultaneously with the achievement of the organizational goals. At minimum, the organizations must be aware about the diversity of generation groups within its ranks and tailor their personnel practices accordingly. 1.3 Key Performance Indicators for HR Practices Some of the key performance indicators for Human Resources include but are not limited to the following. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employees clarity on HR policies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employees clarity on roles, responsibilities and expectations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Development of qualitative staff à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Number of HR issues arising for which there are no clear policies and guidelines à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Competitiveness of compensation structure relative to industry benchmark à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Usefulness and accuracy of compensation survey à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lead time to respond to staff welfare issues à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employees assessment of promotion criteria and process (clarity, fairness) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Measurement of HR policy violation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Average time required to fill vacancies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Proportion of training programs resulting in productivity improvement à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Staff attrition rate à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Understanding / Clarity of the Organizational philosophy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Outline internal capabilities and identify gaps on skills-competencies-behavioural aspects In response to the change in the business environment, the competencies required by HRM present in any Indian or MNC banks are necessary to be studied. Objective of Study HRM department depends upon the HR practices of the organization. HRM is done according to HR practices. HR Practices differentiate the organization from its competitors by effective and efficient HR Management. By following this, the organization does its whole work process. HR Practices increase productivity and quality, and help gain the competitive advantage of a workforce strategically aligned with the organizations goals and objectives. In addition to aforesaid goals following are our additional objectives: Literature review Various online journals on HR practices were referred. Along with it articles on different banks were also referred for the purpose of this project. Methodology Secondary data from books and internet resources were used for reference to write this report Analysis and discussion HR practices differ from one organization to the other. Even though the concept remains same its implementation differs from each because of the difference in its policies. Hence the analysis on the concept of HR practices and its implementation is carried out for three main multinational banks which include ICICI, Citi bank and HSBC. Their HR practices along with its approach towards HR, the different ways of implementation and innovative changes brought about by them in its policies are discussed for each of these banks mentioned above in detail. Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation Holdings HSBC Holdings, a British financial holding company with origins in Hong Kong and Shanghai, where offices were opened in 1865 under a special charter which allowed Hong Kong rather than London as a headquarter location ( 2003). HSBC was in intense competition all over Asia with Chase Manhattan which showed interest in a small bank in India and Malaysia. HSBC pre-empted by purchasing the bank in 1959 (1991). Diversification had taken a beating although it was only in 2000 when acquisitions in Asia became topical again, in a small way. Two of them were part of the private banking drive, PCIB Savings Bank in the Manila area and Taiwans leading asset manager China Securities Investment Trust Corp. in 2001, to be followed by an 8 per cent stake in the Bank of Shanghai. HSBC had returned to its roots. Afterwards many more events unfolded including the turnover of Hong Kong to china this prompted HSBC to transfer headquarters to United Kingdom (2003). HSBC sees the Internet as one of several exciting new media, to be incorporated as an integral part of its working. The bank has concluded that e-commerce will change the fabric of the financial services sector and sees it as a way of finding new customers all over the world and improving its services to existing customers. The companys current approach to HRM HSBC has over 260,000 employees at present. The company employs and manages diverse kinds of people all around the world. Such is done by the company because they believe that these people can give them a balanced and well-rounded  organization. This also makes the company adaptable to different kinds of situation. The company wants to reach out to all parts of employment for maximum productivity and value. The company believes that a companys difference with its competitors can be seen in the way it serves it consumers and the way they treat their employees. The company makes sure that they treat the employees with outmost respect for their rights and it makes certain that the company is given the treatment they deserve. The companys personnel policies are geared to attract motivate and develop people who are perceptive, respectful, fair, progressive and responsive. The company aims to make itself a place people would like to work to. In the future the company can steer the g oal of its HRM to making the personnel the most competent people in the industry. The company can initiate activities that will make the personnel more competent without ruining their good relationship. Workforce Diversity HSBC claims that they are the Worlds local bank. Their tagline also applies to their work culture. They believe in the fact that no matter how diverse the work force may be, the ultimate aim of the bank is to have a work culture which is Global in nature. But at the same time they do give regional considerations in order to have synergies with the employees who are from the local population of a particular city/country. This in turn helps the corporation in becoming an employer by choice. Respecting individuals of all types inspires loyalty in both employees and customers, which has a direct line of sight in achieving business goals is their HR departments logo. The strategy is based on the premise that the most important competitive differentiators are the quality of individual service provided to our customers and the way we treat our employees. It connects with Managing for Growth, the brand and the people strategy. What is Diversity? Definition: According to HSBC, diversity is a source of opportunity, whether in employment or the customer markets. Appreciation of this diverse culture fuels group dynamics and helps in creating an environment where teams can perform to their fullest potential. Competitive edge can be gained from the variety present in their workforce and customer base, and specific attention to market variation. Example: In todays global environment, Banking corporations give finance to foreign companies. Now lets say that a company from USA wants to invest in emerging country like India in the field of agricultural technologies and approaches HSBCs New York branch for a loan to fund their new project. Now HSBC on its part would have to study various factors pertaining to the feasibility of the business plan submitted by the borrower. In order to decide whether they should grant a loan to the US company, HSBC will take a long time to collect data about the Indian agriculture prospects, the growth witnessed for the last 5 years, government policies, trade restrictions etc. This process will take a long time. However, now lets consider that this project is assigned to a handful of employees from India or from Indian origin in HSBCs New York branch. These employees by the virtue of being familiar with the country in question (India) would be very much familiar (there is a chance) with the aspects like agriculture in India, government policies pertaining to agriculture, trade etc. And hence, they would be able to prepare a report considerably faster than the employees who are not of Indian origin. This would considerably reduce HSBCs labour hours and would help them in coming up a quicker decision. This would thus make HSBC more competitive against a bank which does not have a diverse workforce. Recruitment and Selection HSBCs recruitment and selection policies are scripted in accordance with the organizations Equal Opportunities Policy. HSBC ensures that each stage of the recruitment procedure is conveyed out in a methodical manner and is based on pre-agreed criteria. They strive to eradicate individual bias that can influence the conclusion producing process. They ensure that all conclusion points are completely documented to aid followed by monitoring. HSBCs intentions are to make the entire hiring procedure as open as possible, and to double check that all candidates realize why conclusions have been taken and, where they desire, to get significant feedback. Demonstrate robust, clear methods and hence supply a cornerstone for appropriate defence in the event of a challenge. There are seven major phases to the procedure in the recruitment process in HSBC: Pre-advertisement Placing advertisements and considering with investigations and applicants Short-listing Interviewing and selection Post-selection procedures Induction Monitoring The following are the directing values for recruitment and on-boarding process. Attracting and employing suitable employees is one of the most significant undertakings of the association Merit will be the most significant factor in the recruitment process. Diversity of gender and ethnicity is to be achieved by with the assistance of recruitment vendors and the referral program. While abilities play an important role, they will charter persons who are group players and have the right mind-set most applicable to the heritage of the organization. Attitude is as significant as aptitude. They focus on hiring people who can push the organization to greater heights. They believe in allowing their employees to fulfil their vocational paths. They try and fill vacancies with internal candidates before assessing external candidates. They believe that each nominee consulted becomes an ally of the organization, irrespective of whether she/he is chosen. They treat all the candidates with the utmost respect and are open and equitable in connection with them They will relentlessly consider, recognize and cultivate strategic gifts for universities, administration schools, and community forums to address their long period needs. Hiring Approval All recruitment undertakings will be founded on the chartering design as accepted by the Business Head, HR Head the CEO. For each position, a chartering requisition will be needed prior to initiation of any recruitment activity. If the chartering is not encompassed in the designed allowance, it will also need acceptance from the CEO founded on a recommendation from the Head HR and the CFO. Recruitment total cost and expenditure should be budgeted and pre-approved by the HR Head. Candidate Sourcing: The chartering supervisor along with the Human Resource Department would conclude the source to use founded on the environment of the recruitment. The next causes of recruitment may be considered: Internal Sources: Whenever any vacancy arises, the likelihood of fulfilling the obligation internally via reassignment and relocation, re-allocation of the responsibilities or interior advancement will be discovered by the chartering function along with the HR Department. Employee Referrals: HSBC will boost workers to mention apt candidates for open positions. Other external causes include: Recruitment agencies External job postings College / campus requirement Employment of Relatives The association uses, solely on merit, the relations of employees as long as it does not bring about a conflict of interest. To decrease the possibilities of favouritism the following guidelines should be followed: Relatives are not allotted to a place where he/she has the opening to ascertain, method, and reconsider, accept, review or else sway the work of the individuals cited and above. If an employee is aware of a position that seems to be an opening for people to indulge in favouritism towards relations, one should communicate to the Department Head or Human Resources Department. Employees will not be part of the chartering method of their relations. Internship Program HSBC supplies internship possibilities to students. Such internships will result in young students producing genuine assistance to the company. HSBC will pursue the process as follows: HR will coordinate with enterprise assemblies to recognize possibilities for intern hiring. Internship demands could be obtained either from the students directly or as nominations from the informative institute. HR and chartering supervisor tele-interview the candidates and later conduct individual meetings in the office. Based on the illustrated capability, the intern will be appointed to work in multiple agencies to gain a broader enterprise comprehension. Probation Policy Probation is a test that is mutual opening for the worker and HSBC to affirm suitability for proceeded employment. The probation time span is to set up based on capabilities, anticipations and training required. The worker should illustrate suitability for proceeded employment. An evaluation will be conducted on components associated with work presentation, work customs, productivity, mind-set and compatibility, attendance and punctuality, and any other issue that is connected to the job profile. All new charters will be put on probation for a time span of 6 months from the designated day. HR will dispatch an appraisal pattern to the direct supervisor before culmination of the probationary period. The appraisal pattern is required to be accepted by the supervisors leadership. All notes of confirmation or extension of probation will be marked by the HR head and will be retained in worker records. HR practices in Citibank  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   The different steps in which Citibank implements HR practices are given below: I  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Staff Meetings: Staff Meeting aims at group synergy, team building, open culture, family feeling and talent recognition which individually and cumulatively benefit the organizations. Goals/Targets set for the unit/Bank is discussed in the monthly Staff Meetings conducted at all branches/units and action plan is drawn in achieving them. The forum is being effectively utilized for harmonious functioning of all the branches and administrative units through greater involvement and collective contribution of all staff members. II  Brain Storming Sessions This is a technique for generating ideas and suggestions on topics of relevance and also to provide alternate solutions to problems by simulative thinking and imaginative power of cross section of employees. Corporate Topics are selected for each quarter and BSS are conducted in administrative offices/ braches on the topic during every quarter. Worthy implement able suggestions emanated are circulated for necessary action. III Study Circle: Concept of Study Circle aims at self development of employees by kindling the desire to acquire/update knowledge, information and experience. Guest lectures/ Power Point Presentation / Group Discussions, etc. are arranged on topics of general interest by inviting experts in the field. Study Circle Meeting are conducted once in two months in administrative offices and once in a quarter in branches   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  IV Quality Circles It is a time tested tool of Total Quality Management (TQM) which promotes team spirit, cohesive quality work culture, commitment and involvement of employees. Challenges faced by Citibank: The real challenge of that Citibank faced while entering India first time was adopting its HR strategy according to the Indian culture. As most part of the jobs in the banks are monotonous/repetitive and routine, the HRD Department has to empower, engage and energies employees to create effectiveness efficiency through motivation organizational structures, systems procedures are facilitators of these, and there is a need to focus greater attention on these aspects by the industry. However, the emergence of a core and peripheral workforce in many organization has presented new challenges for HR managers public private sector organizations are fast becoming diverse communities for core workers, flexibly employed casual and part-time workers, consultants, contractors business partners. Certain rigidities have also developed in HRD within Citibanks banking system itself because this industry is still largely in the public sector. Suggestions: Following suggestions are very essential to adhere for effective Banking Administration in Citibank: HR functions to be linked to corporate goals. Shift from Industrial relations manager to Business manager or Commercial manager. Team work is another important and essential soft skill that is necessary in this industry. The HR Professionals have to introduce improve the adaptability of their structure that will be able to absorb, draw and retain the best. As people are primary asset, it is essential not only to invest in them, but also to ensure that the supporting elements for this asset are such that it can provide the maximum value on a sustainable basis. HRD is to be regularly reviewed against business outcomes as part of strategic and operational planning. To overcome the public sectors hierarchical structure, which gives preference to seniority over performance, is not the best environment to attract the best talent from among the young. ICICI Banks HR Practices Selection Process As per ICICI Banks research and in-depth study, following competencies are required to succeed in ICICI Bank: Customer first Passion Dynamism Compliance with conscience In order to assess the same a set of tools are used a. Aptitude Tests (for applicants with 0-2 years of work experience) The tests are designed to assess basic aptitude of candidates including numerical comprehension, verbal comprehension, logical reasoning and basic checking abilities. These are important skills for the role of an entry-level manager and people who do well in these tests tend to do well in their jobs at ICICI Bank. The total time taken in this exercise is 55 minutes. b. Occupational Personality Questionnaire Applicants are also required to complete the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) before they appear for the selection, the results of which are integrated into our selection process. Recruitment As a rapidly growing organization the bank looks to induct post-graduate management talent from various business schools across the country. Enthusiastic and talented youth form the backbone of their banking operations. The bank offers a wide range of careers in all functions including Finance, Marketing, Operations, Information Technology and Human Resources. According to Ramkumar (Group Chief Human Resources Officer of ICICI Bank in 2005), 4,000 of the recruits are freshers (2,500 MBAs from different management schools and about 1,500 graduates from various colleges). The banks growth in the retail segment is the driver for sharp hike in headcount of the bank. There is need of recruits to serve the fast growing small and medium enterprise, rural/agriculture, private banking and wealth management segments. Theres also a concurrent need for technical, back-office operations and quality assurance personnel. The bank recruits about 75 students from IIMs and another 100 from the next tier such as SP Jain, NMIMS, Symbiosis, Bajaj, etc., every year. It recruits only some persons from other banks. About 7.5 lakh persons working in the public sector bank generally dont change jobs and rather prefer job security. As a result, the remaining one lakh in private sector is a limited supply pool for a growing banking sector. So, the bank looks out for other companies in aviation and hospitality sector so that persons who like to serve customers are recruited. The group has some 50,000 employees on its direct payroll and another 1, 00,000 are indirectly employed as insurance agents and people working under service providers. The bank gets 4 lakh CVs each year. This benefits the bank and it does not face any hiring problem as there is plenty to choose from. While most of the hiring happens directly, consultancy firms are used for some of the higher level recruitments. The plans are to hire more people for insurance and securities broking businesses as these sectors are growing very fast. The bank has tied up with local colleges. With this, it is easy for them to create a local supply and also consume locally. Also, it would be able to gain the respect of the community and create loyalty. The recruits would be able to speak the local language. The motive is partially social and also makes good business sense. Also in a bid to control recruitment costs and raise productivity of its HR personnel, the bank has collaborated with Internet service providers such as Reliance Infocomm for providing interview cubicles with audio-visual recording and tele-conferencing facilities. By this process it would be convenient for candidates to attend interviews at centres nearest to their homes, instead of travelling to Mumbai, where interviews generally take place. The interview centres are expected to improve productivity of the banks human resources personnel by about 30%. It will also reduce the time invested by HR heads as they have to spend a lot of time traveling to tier-II cities to interview candidates. These interview centres would remain open 24 hours a day. This is a boon for working candidates who can find time only after office hours. Online application forms and an in-bound call desk are other initiatives the bank is taking to support recruitment. Bringing a Change The professional work culture, high salary and faster growth prospects make the group a preferred destination for top business school students. The senior bank officials have also met representatives of the countrys top 20 B-schools to discuss changes to their curricula so as to make them reflect the changing business dynamics. As per the current industry trends, retail and rural banking are emerging as big areas. So, the bank has suggested B-schools to forge them in the curriculum. Also, the nature of internships for B-school students should be changed from those involving mere summer training and data collection to the ones undertaken by doctors and lawyers. Research should be India centric and Indian case studies should be prepared for students. According to him, the group is not worried about getting skilled people as it has the infrastructure to train the well educated people. ICICI Bank, which boasts an extremely high proportion of women by industry standards (32,000 women or one-third of their headcount), has been running a campaign on campuses for last two years to bust notions regarding career options for women. There are some male stereotypes about certain kinds of job profiles and that is a misplaced notion which the bank is trying to correct. The average age of an employee at ICICI bank is 30 year. And 70% of these employees have additional qualifications they are CAs, MBAs or have diplomas in business management. Training Talents The banks HR Head believes that it is up to organizations to train the fresh talent so as to be able to retain them in the future. ICICI Bank spends 1.5% of its profits on training and has nine training centres across the country today. It employs 30,000 people and recruits 15,000 people annually. The training sessions are customized to enable employees to handle an irate customer without being aggressive or defensive; instead reassure him/her and work towards a solution in the right attitude. It also helps the employee handle difficult situations such as 5 customers appearing at the counter at one time. Training sessions are more or less on grooming, etiquette and more on presenting ones company, product and oneself, identification of customer needs, listening, and so on. To add to it, the senior managers of ICICI Bank take regular classes at B-schools and this provides an opportunity for interface with the institutes as well as help supplement the theoretical inputs with practical cases. The organization is tech-savvy, non-hierarchical, where early responsibility and independent decision-making enable each employee to reach their potential. Coupled with this is a strong performance management system that has built a meritocracy where high performing-high potential individuals are duly rewarded. Understandably, its a good time for bankers. Few years back, branch managers in private sector banks were getting Rs. 6 lakh a year. Now, they are being offered salaries as high as Rs. 25 lakh by MNC banks. Human Capital ICICI Bank views its human capital as a key source of competitive advantage. Consequently the development and management of human capital is an essential element of our strategy and a key management activity. Human resources management in fiscal year 2002 focused on smooth integration of the employees and human resource management systems in the context of the merger, as well as on continuous improvement of recruitment, training and performance management processes. The process of integration involved defining the organizational structure of the merged entity, people placement in various positions across the business and corporate groups, and integration of the grade and remuneration structure for the employees of the four entities. The organizational structure was announced in February 2002 and became effective on May 3, 2002. The people placement process was based on appropriate competency profiling tools and matching employee profiles to job specifications. The grade integration process has also been successfully completed, using job evaluation techniques. The recruitment process has been streamlined and a uniform recruitment policy and process implemented across the merged organization. Robust ability-testing and competency-profiling tools are being used to strengthen the campus recruitment process and match the profiles of employees to the needs of the organization. ICICI Bank continues to be a preferred employer at leading business schools and higher education institutions across the country, offering a wide range of career opportunities across the entire spectrum of financial services. In addition to campus recruitment, ICICI Bank also undertakes lateral recruitment to bring new skills, competencies and experience into the organization and meet the requirements of rapidly growing businesses. A Six Sigma initiative has been undertaken for the lateral recruitment process to improve capabilities in this area. ICICI Bank encourages cross-functional movement, enriching employees knowledge and experience and giving them a holistic view of the organization while ensuring that the bank leverages its human capital optimally. The rapidly changing business environment and the constant challenges it poses to organizations and businesses make it imperative to continuously enhance knowledge and skill sets across the organization. ICICI Bank believes that building a learning organization is critical for being competitive in products and services and meeting customer expectations. ICICI Bank has built strong capabilities in training and development to build competencies. Training on products and operations is imparted through web-based training modules. Special programs on functional training and leadership development to build knowledge as well as management ability are conducted at a dedicated training facility. ICICI Bank also draws from the best available training programs and faculty, both international and domestic; to meet its training and development needs and build globally benchmarked skills and capabilities. ICICI Bank seeks to build in all its employees a total commitment towards exceptional standards of performance and productivity, adaptability to changing organizational needs and the demands of the business environment and a willingness to learn and acqu

Is Science to Blame Essay -- Science Scientific Essays

Is Science to Blame Science has played an important role in the American culture. One way or another it has transformed our way of living and our way of thinking towards human beings and nature. Science has been blamed for its new science inventions due to causing harm to individuals or the environment. As we are aware, science can have many benefits towards the health and environment, but at the same time there are consequences if new science ideas are not properly handled under the hands of the scientist or us, the individual. No doubt, science has provided many solutions to our unanswered questions and has removed our fears. J.Michael Bishop explains in his essay â€Å"Enemies of Promise† â€Å"science is the art of the possible, of the soluble† (239). For example, without scientist having the abundant knowledge that they do, the people and animals would not have survived infection’s diseases. People would not be aware of a habit they consume as being listed as a dangerous one nor would they know the facts on how to take care of their animal (s) or the environment. The solution to the diseases is that science has evolved with the proper vaccination though some are still in the process and others are about to be discovered. Also, nature has resulted to provide benefits to the human skin and even to cure some illnesses, has been discovered by scientist. There has been many other science solutions provided to Americans but many scientists are not appreciated for their development, rather people seek to find more answers to their health or environmental problems. If individuals are not meet with their needs they begin to criticize the science technology. Many Americans do not understand the concept of science. They imagine a... ...nswer can vary, depending on your beliefs, but it’s logical to say that science should be blamed when scientist introduce a new scientific idea just for selfishness, who don’t take into consideration the consequences of their product. Also, individuals who take advantage of any science development are the ones responsible for their failure not science. Science provides a different perspective on how to view others our natural environment. Works Cited Bishop, Michael J. â€Å"Enemies of Promise†. The Presence of Others. Ed. Moller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 237-242. Rifkin, Jeremy. â€Å"Biotech Century: Playing Ecological Roulette with Mother Nature’s Designs†. The Presence of Others. Ed. Moller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 244-253. Shelley, Mary. â€Å"Frankenstein†. The Presence of Others. Ed. Moller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 231-235.

Project Risk Management Essay

I.Introduction I am the Project Manager developing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The development of this state-of-the-art airplane will include an international team of aerospace companies led by Boeing. The advances in this airplane will reduce the use of fuel by 20%, increase cargo capacity, increase nautical miles in a mid-range airplane, and improve passenger comfort. Boeing expects sales of 3,500 units over the next 20 years. (Norris & Wagner, 2009) To really understand the impact of multiple providers, along with the logistics to coordinate assembly, I will illustrate, discuss, and provide a conclusion using two decision tree analyses. The first fault tree will detail the delivery system and identify the failure that could result in delivery failure. The second fault tree details the lack of labor to assemble the airplane. Both pose results that have the potential to financially impact the project. The fault tree diagram will provide a visual representation of the risk and help analyze the cause by looking backwards to identify the root cause. II.Fault Tree One III.Discussion of Fault Tree One There are over 40 Companies/Business Units contributing to the success of developing the 787 Dreamliner. Nine of the Companies/Business Units are located outside of the United States. Given these two elements alone there are a number of faults that could cause the final assembly and completion date to be impacted. The first probable cause for missing the completion date is the supply chain. The supply chain flow ensures the material is available according to the inventory levels to continue building. Supply chain push systems help keep inventory levels set according to contractual agreements. When the quality throughput of the component is less than 95%, the demand is increased. Quality measures are in place to alert the supplier when the throughput is less than 95% as desired but additional demands with reduced quality requirements keep the supplier from delivering. Original plans called for specific manufactured items for each component yet the supplier elected to use a less expensive alternative which isn’t meeting quality requirements. To help mitigate the supplier risks, determine the supplier’s attitude to safety, quality, and environmental aspects to delivering components. Another treatment would be to appoint an onsite supplier liaison manager responsible for signing off on any supplier and/or design changes. It would also be helpful to have back to back contracts with sub-contractors. IV.Fault Tree Two V.Discussion of Fault Tree Two In the second fault tree I illustrated the impact of labor on the delivery of the 787 Dreamliner. The labor to assemble the airplane components at the Boeing facility in Everett is critical to ensure the on-time delivery of the airplane. The union labor to assemble the Dreamliner is under contract review, the contract will expire two months prior to the first assembly. The expiration of the machinist contract and failure to arrive at a new mutually acceptable contract would lead to a possible strike. Discussion between the labor union and the company would be required to mediate the dispute. The lack of a compromise would cause a significant impact on the scheduled completion date. However, negotiations to resolve this dispute are required to ensure employees feel fairly compensated and do not walk out during assembly. The use of risk treatment should provide a minimum of efficient operation of the organization, internal controls, and compliance with the laws and regulations. To assist with labor treatment risk, re-allocate internal staff and cross train non-union members to complete the assembly of the airplane. Assess the technical skills required, develop a skill requirement profile for assembly, and identify other critical skills required for replacement. Treatment could also include the establishment and maintenance of an internal/external skill profile of current, previous, and potential employees to assist should a labor strike occur. VI.Conclusions Above I only identified one risk analysis technique however there are many others available. Many are qualitative and don’t show the dependencies between events. The tree technique I used above takes into consideration the logical combination of causes that contribute to the identified failed event. The fault tree technique brings sufficient understanding to the nature of the failure and how to manage the failed event(s). Fault tree one helped me identify that an onsite supplier liaison manager would have eliminated the failure along with standard work, forms and signatures to authorize such changes to the bill of material for the component. Similarly, fault tree two identified adequate compensation as the root cause of the delivery/labor failure. Treatment of the risk could have included managing the risk earlier in the contract and/or establishing a contract bridge or extension to avoid a strike. VII.Works cited Cortez, A. (2010). The complete idiot’s guide to risk management. New York, NY: Penguin Group. Fraser, J., & Simkins, B. (2010). Enterprise risk management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Kerzer, H. (2011). Project management metrics, kpis, and dashboards. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Norris, G., & Wagner, M. (2009). Boeing 787 dreamliner. Minneapolis, MN: Zenith Press. Schuyler, J. (2010). Risk and decision analysis in projects. (2 ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc. Turner, A. (2011). The birth of the 787 dreamliner. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing.

buy custom Ambulatory Care essay

buy custom Ambulatory Care essay Ambulatory care is a medical care which is given on an outpatient case. Some medical illnesses do not require the patient to be admitted to the hospital. They can be cured while one is at home. These may include; when one want to have a blood test, x-rays and many others. Community health centers are the clinics which are located within a community where the outpatients get their treatment from. Complementary and alternative medicines are the medicines used that are not up to the standard of a qualified doctor or nurses. Alternative medicines refer to the treatment one get from a non qualified doctor. Complementary medicines refer to the treatment one uses along with that treatment of a qualified doctor. Mental health tells the state of health of a person. Whether that person is in a normal well-being, or not (Hunter 2008). I have chosen the articles on the healthy policy, the cost of failure to enact health reforms by Garrett, Buettgens, Doan in March 2010. The other article is how the National health care will affect a number of states a report by RAND Corporation in April 2011. In the cost of failure to enact health reforms articles, they are discussing about the number of uninsured people in America will go up in five years to come. They are also talking about the number of the poor who spend on the states health care programs will be double by the year 2020, if there will be no major adjustments to the recent health care method. There is a group which did a research, and evaluated the changes reporting patterns and health care expenses that will take place nationally from 2010-2020, if major reforms are not done. The author gives a variety of scenes to evaluate the outcome. He says that in the most awful case by 2015, there will be millions of people who will be uninsured. The number will have increased by 2020. Where else, tere were less people who were not insured in 2010. He adds that the middle people will bear pain most without the adjustments because the number of people without the health coverage is going up. Employees from the small scale firms are not able to get insured because the small firms are going down not offering insurance in their firms and by 2020 there will be very less small firms or none who will be offering the insurance. Moreover, the employers who will be contributing to the health insurance will lay the burden to the employees thus making them to contribute some of their money so as to cater for the health services therefore; their expenditure will be very high by 2020. The account presents the results on the work of the uninsured people by 2020 without the adjustm ents, giving health payback by employers, and the increase of taxes. There was a campaign by RWJF to support for coverage of health for all citizens of the United States (Garrett Buettgens, 2010). On the other article about on how the National health care will affect a number of states, the RAND Corporation gave out the results which the national health care changes will have on particular states, guessing the increased costs , and coverage that are estimated in five different states when the changes are totally implemented by 2016. Among all the states calculated; California, Montana, Connecticut, Texas, and Illinois, the number of uninsured people reduces drastically under health changes. The state news approximate the results of the main treatment condition of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on every of the five states. They also includes approximates of where the citizens will get cover, and how it will alter state expenditure. As they prepare for the many requirements of health care changes, they should also predict on what is ahead. The author approximated how the health coverr development policies had an effect on the number of state inhabitants who got or altered sources of health insurance. The reforms they did in private, and public sector expenditure, and the plans they had. They establish out that large number of the young people will decide to buy the cover through insurance connections being set up in every state to help each and everyone to acquire health coverage. These approximations are to help on selection of the policymakers and officials to look forward to the choices that will probably be desired by insurance companies, governments, as well as persons a range of requirements of health improvements are implemented (RAND Corporation, 2011). On my personal perspective, the outcomes given by the authors on each articles are likely to happen if severe measures are not taken. On the cost of failure to enact health reforms article, the small firms should make sure that they have an insurance cover for health for each and every worker in their firms. The campaign should also emphasize on every citizen of America to have health coverage so that it will cost them less if they get sick. On the other article, it tells how the five states will benefit when the health reforms are implemented, and how every individual will benefit. Health policies are the tactics, decisions, and proceedings that are taken in order to attain particular health care objectives within the people.(Hunter 2008). If these information about how every citizen should be insured, and how these health reforms can be implemented can be used by those policymakers, they should say that it should be mandatory for every other citizen to be insured. They should also make sure that all this health reforms are implemented and in doing so every other person would be safe if he falls sick because it will be less expensive for him to be treated, and he would receive the best treatment. Buy custom Ambulatory Care essay

Least vs. Lest

Least vs. Lest Least vs. Lest Least vs. Lest By Maeve Maddox Least, pronounced [LEEST], is the superlative of the adjective little: little, littler, least. It can also function as noun and adverb: She passed the exam without the least preparation. (adjective) Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. (noun) The person who can least spare it is often the most willing to give others a piece of his mind. (adverb) Lest, pronounced [LEST], is a conjunction that introduces a clause that expresses something that should be guarded against. Although still used by modern writers and speakers, it has a distinctly literary flavor: Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Matthew 7:6 Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow. (Moral to Aesop’s tale of â€Å"The Dog and the Shadow.†) The formulaic phrase lest we forget is especially popular at the time of year when a nation honors its military forces and commemorates the slain. Used this way, it means â€Å"So we don’t forget,† or â€Å"Let us not forget.† For example, this past Memorial Day the phrase appeared on hundreds of websites above photo collections, memoirs, and poems dedicated to the memory of enlisted men and women who gave the supreme sacrifice. â€Å"Lest we forget† is also used as a cautionary expression, warning of disappointment or danger to ensue if something is forgotten: Lest we forget the pastBuying broken or unfinished games. Lest We Forget. â€Å"Remembering Abbott’s Past† Lest we forget, child abuse has many forms. Unfortunately, a great many English speakers are confused about the difference between least and lestat least when it comes to the phrase â€Å"Lest we forget.† A Web search brings up hundreds, perhaps thousands of sites headed by the phrase â€Å"Least We Forget.† Here are a few examples that go beyond the three words: Least we forget in the Twenty First Century Least we forget the Holocaust. Least we forget Vietnam, Ethiopia, you insert any war you like. Least we forget what China actually is I even found a song title spelled â€Å"Least We Forget.† In conclusion, lest you forget, lest rhymes with west. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two PeopleDisappointed + Preposition10 Functions of the Comma

Case Study Research of SHRM (workforce planning) of Ramsay Health Care

Case Study Research of SHRM (workforce planning) of Ramsay Health Care Background information on the problem The problem of ageing workforce is becoming a critical issue of management in Australia. Most organizations in Australia are getting overwhelmed by the issue of a rise in the number of ageing employees. Approximately a third of Ramsay Health Care employees are over 50 years.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Case Study Research of SHRM (workforce planning) of Ramsay Health Care specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This denotes the likelihood of the hospital having a relatively higher percentage of aged employees in a span of ten years. However, the organization has been at par with a range of activities that are meant to ensure that the employees who are over 50 years of age remain active and deliver for the organization. In August 2011, there was the introduction of a program known as Fifty Plus. The program entails an array of activities through partnership with other organizations. The program discharges a series of activities that make the employees who are over 50 to remain active and productive. Over 400,000 Ramsay employees who are at least 50 years of age have already enrolled for the program (Ramsay Health care 2012). Company Analysis Ramsay Health Care is a widely recognized organization in the capital of Australia. The organization began its operations in 1964. The organization has widely grown to become the biggest listed market hospital corporation in Australia. The fact that the company has operated for a long period of time gives it a market advantage over the other newly established health centres. The company operates under a decentralized structure, which enhances the rate at which decisions are reached and implemented. Ramsay, who is the owner of the organization, allows decisions to be made collectively (â€Å"Ramsay Health Care Main Page (1963-2005)† n.d.). The company is still listed as a private company. This emanates from the late 1 990s development, which resulted in the re-acquisition of the organization by Ramsay as a way of saving it from collapsing. This prevents it to be listed on the stock market and gain from the sale of securities. While the company has a resounding record of employee retention, its policy of recruiting employees who are over 50 years is worrying (â€Å"Ramsay Health Care Main Page (1963-2005)† n.d.). Figure 1.0 in the appendix reveals the rate of absenteeism in the organization.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Issue of company workforce planning According to Boxall and Purcell (2011), workforce planning is a critical element in strategic human resource management, which is meant to ensure that a company implements a set of human resource functions that ensure delivery and sustainability of the workforce in the organization. Ramsay Health Care has been proactiv e in terms of deploying human resource strategies, which has enabled the company to attain the level of success that it celebrates today. However, there seems to be a smouldering problem in the organization concerning recruitment of employees in the company. While Ramsay Health Care has not attained any problems of employee turnover and retention, the organization is bound to face problems of delivery in the future due to the steps that have been taken to maintain employees who are 50 years and over. There is bound to be a problem of an ageing workforce in the company as a substantial number of employees in the company grow older and attain the retirement age, yet there is no group of employees to replace them. While the human resource practices in the organization denote the emphasis on a human resource program that is supposed to ensure that the ageing employees remain productive, one thing that is often forgotten is that there is need to develop a balanced workforce to ensure tha t the organization does not have a problem of generational differences in its workforce when more than a third of its employees who are over 50 years of age retire (Ramsay Health Care, 2012). Moseley and Dessinger (2007) observed that modern human resource managers are charged with the task of sustaining a workforce through the establishment of an environment that allows for the transition of skills from a given set of employees to the other. This helps in bridging the generational gaps in the organization and enhancing the rate of compatibility in the organizational workforce. As a way of motivating all the employees, including the employees who are under fifty years, it is important to establish programs that steer employee performance. However, this is a complex exercise and may result in increase in the cost of managing the employees. Recommendations There is need for Ramsay Health Care to engage in the incorporation of younger employees in its workforce to avoid the existence o f a transitional gap when the ageing employees leave the organization.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Case Study Research of SHRM (workforce planning) of Ramsay Health Care specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When embracing employee performance programs, the human resource team in the organization should consider the employees from the entire organization instead of focusing on a certain generation of employees. This may draw negative feelings and reactions from the other employees. Strategy Strategic human resource management entails a complex set of human resource functions that are meant to steer the performance of the employees and the performance of the organization. In strategic human resource management, the organization develops and deploys several strategies with the aim of improving the discharge of functions by the organizational staffs and the improvement of organizational outcomes. Each strategy is measur ed and linked to a specific goal or expected outcome. The pros and cons of the strategy must be explored in order to ascertain the worth or the level at which the strategy can sustain performance outcomes in the organization (Ehnert 2009). For instance, the strategy of maintaining employees who are over forty years by Ramsay Health Care is considered to be a strategic practice by the organization. However, the analysis of this strategy has revealed a number of weaknesses that are bound to emanate from the continued enforcement of the strategy. This implies that human resource strategies are not static. They can be altered, especially in times when they are seen to have the potential of bringing about maximum payoff to the organization. When weaknesses are detected, strategies have to be revised in order to capture the concerns that are raised to ensure sustained performance of an organization (Wu Zhao 2012). As observed earlier, strategic human resource management is a complex exer cise. It, therefore, requires an inner look into the programs of an organization to be able to develop recommendations that can help the organization restructure its practices in order to attain desirable results. The validity and worth of the analysis of strategic human resource practices in an organization is determined by the nature of recommendations and the level at which the recommendations can help in solving the weaknesses in the strategies of an organization (Ehnert 2009). The recommendations made in the case are as a result of a limited analysis of the strategic human resource management in Ramsay Health Care and the development of recommendations to aid in improving the human resource practices in the organization. The recommendations made in this case are based on the main problem of human resource planning that is facing Ramsay Health Care.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The first recommendation is based on the potential dangers of the prevailing strategies of the organization; employing and retaining employees who are over fifty years. The second recommendation is guided by research about human resource planning and the potential impacts of the strategies that are used in the organization to enhance human resource planning. Reference List Boxall, P Purcell, J 2011, Strategy and human resource management, 3rd ed., Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Ehnert, I 2009, Sustainable human resource management: A conceptual and exploratory analysis from a paradox perspective, Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg. Moseley, JL Dessinger, JC 2007, Training older workers and learners: Maximizing the workplace performance of an aging workforce, Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA. Ramsay Health Care Main Page (1963-2005), n.d. Web. Ramsay Health Care, 2012, Human resource indicators. Web. Wu, C Zhao, S 2012, Organizational learning and the complexity of strategic human resource m anagement, Kybernetes, vol. 41, no. 9, pp. 1297-1304. Appendix Figure 1.0 Source: Ramsay Health Care, 2012.

Managing and leading people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Managing and leading people - Essay Example With the focus on the relationship between people management and organizational performance it will be easy to understand the importances and also the complexities that can be faced while efficiently managing people. It is more complex because of the changing environment and with the changes that take place in the company. Global executives across the world face lot of challenges in leading people and also manage people in a better way and that to in the continuously changing environment. The leaders face many problems to jell around with the people in the organization and also motivate them and create a good work environment in the company. For a leader it is very important to implement a standard practice in all the areas of the business and also fort a good performance of the company. In this report it can be seen how important a good leader is for a particular organization. The various challenges that a particular manager faces being a leader and also in managing people in an organization is been studied using various concepts and theories. This essay will help to understand the important tools that the leader needs to implement so that he/she can effectively manage the staff working under him to increase their efficiency and also improve their motivation. It also includes what makes a person a good leader and also how it fits with the strategic goal of the company to make it grow in a good way. The individual performance of every employee in the organization is very important as it helps the company to increase the productivity of the people. Bath model is been used to understand the link between people and their performance in the organization. This model was established by John Purcell in 2004, to understand the link between the individual and their performance. This gives a clear indication on how the individual performance influences the organizational

Financial Accounting Reports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Accounting Reports - Essay Example Financial accounting as a process mainly produces three types of reports: These statements are produced according to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) either quarterly or annually. As aforementioned, these statements are meant for parties outside the firm and these include investors, regulators, creditors, and tax authorities. In different places of the world, there are different designations for the financial accounting practice such as the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) in the US, and the Chartered Accountant in the UK. Krantz (2012) gives an analysis of the importance of financial reports to investors by emphasizing on the importance of knowing what one is looking for in these reports lest one gets totally lost. A company can release a wide range of reports from quarterly to annual reports. Krantz argues that the reason why it is important for an investor to scrutinize these statements is because they are the most critical sources of information that can be gotten by an investor from a company. Reading these reports makes an investor have a grip of the proceedings of the organisation in which they have entrusted their money. Another party to which these statements are important to is the tax authorities. Since these statements declare the financial position of the organisation, they are important to tax authorities since they assist the authorities to make sure that taxes that have been paid are accurate and that the company has met its total tax liability. The process of preparation of audits is regulated by many laws and regulations which vary from country to country. The laws and regulations that affect an entity determine numerous factors one being the amount reported and the disclosed by an organization in its financial statements. There are other laws and regulations that organizations are supposed to comply with or use as the basis of setting provisions within which the firm are to carry on with their

Science ommunication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Science ommunication - Essay Example Science communication programmes and activities have a very important role to play for developing a scientifically informed and attitudinally rational society. Sustained science communication efforts play a key role in enhancing level of public understanding of science and thus empowering them with useful knowledge. This can be done by way of interpretation of scientific knowledge and scientific concepts to the public through different mass media - print, broadcast, folk, interactive or digital. One such initiative on the web is http://whyfiles.org. The message may comprise of written words, spoken words, body language signs, icons or symbols. Sometimes, Noise may get embedded with the message, if the channel is not robust and reliable. A noisy message in turn may not communicate the intended thoughts to the receiver. Therefore great emphasis is laid on the medium as well, as Marshall McLuhan's famous saying goes, 'the medium is the message'. The mission statement of 'why files' says: "The mission of The Why Files is to explore the science, math and technology behind the news of the day, and to present those topics in a clear, accessible and accurate manner. We are based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but The Why Files covers science at all institutions that engage in scientific exploration and discovery."1 Strengths: Founded in 1996 as part of the National Institute for Science Education with funding from the National Science Foundation, the Why Files has been supported through the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1998. The support, financial as well logistical is the prerequisite for sustenance of any science related venture, because science in general is not a blue eyed boy of business community and we must not expect open hearted patronage from this sector. Whatever comes is

Fundamentals of Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fundamentals of Communication - Assignment Example The ethical issues should be analyzed well in advance when one understands the ideology behind the communication understandings because ethics is something that plays a very tacit role within any society of the world. This concept of the ethical issues within the book has been covered very appropriately. This is the reason why I believe it should be mentioned duly within this paper. Also this ethical issue construct needs to be given emphasis because it is necessary to speak in such terms to achieve what the eventual goals are for the organization and how it wishes to expand its network across the different domains and dimensions of the society. The need is to reach the masses and let the message be known easily so that there are no problems encountered by the people who remain a very significant part of the society nonetheless (Alberts, Nakayama & Martin, 2009). When the communication regimes are based on the basic element of dealing in an ethical manner with one another, the success is indeed guaranteed. This will be highlighted in the different zones where ethics has been employed and where it should be made use of to make sure that communication remains significant at the end of the day. It i s in essence a fundamental part of any communication setting which has come about with the passage of time, and which shall remain more important in the changing eras. What is required here is an understanding of the different ethical issues which come about in the discussion of communication. This is because communication feels that it is incomplete if ethical understandings are not reached upon quite clearly. This will set the basis for finding out other issues and concerns within the communication mechanisms. But if the ethical issues are properly gauged and realized, then the communication concerns will be dealt with in a proper manner. The need of the hour

Risk Management Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 15000 words

Risk Management - Dissertation Example ...3 2. Review of Related Literature 2.1. Risk Management.........................................................................................................6 2.2. Frameworks in Strategic Risk Management...............................................................11 2.3. Managing Risk through Quality Management............................................................15 2.4. Enterprise Risk Management......................................................................................26 3. Research Methodology 3.1. Procurement Risk Management Framework..............................................................31 3.2. Preview of Procurement Risk Management Experiences...........................................35 4. Results and Discussion 4.1. BraiNet Survey...........................................................................................................36 4.2. Risk Management in Defence Procurement...............................................................41 4.3. Procurement Management in Beef Supply Chains.....................................................43 4.4. Risk Management Experiences by other Firms..........................................................44 5. Conclusion and Recommendation 5.1. Lessons Learned..........................................................................................................47 5.2. ... The global recession has become a focal point when companies start to outline strategies and develop business models. The most important aspect that companies discuss involves risks. These can come in various forms and could affect companies in all fronts. Despite threats coming risks, several companies have been lagging in terms of developing sound risk management strategies. Most risk management plans are conceived as alternatives instead of being main strategies. Some companies even thrive in risky environments and prefer existing where risks prosper. Despite these differing situations, there is no doubt that risk management has come to evolve as a major determinant in business success. The most important point relates to risk management integrated in business models. 1.1. Objectives of the Study The primary goal of the paper is to establish the extent in which risk management is ingrained in business models developed by companies. This is in reference to the Procurement Risk Mana gement (PRM) used at Hewlett-Packard. The process involves analysis of case studies and empirical evidence related to the study. The paper will also tackle various aspects of risk management strategies used in different industries including the services and public sectors. The study specifically will analyse the different procurement risks are identified by Miller and Lessard (2008), Keizer, Halman and Song (2002), Zsidisin and Smith (2005) and Cox, Chicksand and Ireland (2005). There are risks identified in reference to previous studies involving procurement risk management. The summary of each study will be discussed in the succeeding parts of this section. 1.2. Background of the Study

Sex Education Course to Parents Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sex Education Course to Parents - Research Paper Example This helps in combating sexual health issues such as sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. Abstract Sexuality form part of everyday life and it is important that all people acknowledge this. Parents, they have to realize that despite the age of their children, they too have a sex life. Instead of trying to suppress the children’s sexuality, parents should provide their children with information on sexuality. Children are more likely to act responsibly if they lean about puberty, contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases from their parents and not through the media or friends. In order for parents to fulfill their roles as sex educators to their children, they require information that helps them understand and reflect on their attitudes and how they communicate their attitudes to their children. This is because parents’ attitudes affect the communication and more importantly, the message passed regarding sexuality. Introduction Talk on sex is never easy. It is a n uncomfortable experience for all parties involved; particularly between parents and their children. On one hand, children are embarrassed and afraid that parents will think they are having sex. Teenagers are also under the impression that their parents will not understand. Parents, however also have trouble when talking about sex. Many do not want to seem as if they are encouraging their children to go off and have sex (Robert, 2008). Parents assume that by telling their children that sex is beautiful and should be enjoyed; they are likely to run off and discover this goodness at an overly young age. It is no wonder so many people end up with a distorted image of sex. They view sex as evil, immoral and something to be ashamed of. Research findings reveal that children are more likely to refrain from engaging in early sexual activities if they receive the sex talk from their parents; preferably from both parents not just the mother as is the case in many households (Robert, 2008). Parents however view the sex talk as a task to check off on their to-do-list. They talk to their children about sex only once and assume that they have passed all the knowledge their children need. In the real sense, talk on sex should be a continuous activity as the children go through the years and enter different stages in their lives. A 12year old will not view sex in the same way a 15 or 18 year old will (Robert, 2008). The purpose for this sex education for parents plan is to help parents offer quality and informed sex education to their children. The biggest problem for parents is communication. Many do not know how to broach the subject, what topics to cover at what age as well as how to handle matters dealing with contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases. Material for education Young people who lack information about sex from their parents often turn to their peers and to some extent; the media. Lack of information from home creates a gap that may be filled with wro ng and distorted information. Parents view sex education as a problem in itself because it encourages young people to become sexually active. Young people however, experience different things as they enter puberty such as menstruation for girls and ejaculation for the boys. This can be confusing as it

Fundamentals of Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fundamentals of Communication - Assignment Example The ethical issues should be analyzed well in advance when one understands the ideology behind the communication understandings because ethics is something that plays a very tacit role within any society of the world. This concept of the ethical issues within the book has been covered very appropriately. This is the reason why I believe it should be mentioned duly within this paper. Also this ethical issue construct needs to be given emphasis because it is necessary to speak in such terms to achieve what the eventual goals are for the organization and how it wishes to expand its network across the different domains and dimensions of the society. The need is to reach the masses and let the message be known easily so that there are no problems encountered by the people who remain a very significant part of the society nonetheless (Alberts, Nakayama & Martin, 2009). When the communication regimes are based on the basic element of dealing in an ethical manner with one another, the success is indeed guaranteed. This will be highlighted in the different zones where ethics has been employed and where it should be made use of to make sure that communication remains significant at the end of the day. It i s in essence a fundamental part of any communication setting which has come about with the passage of time, and which shall remain more important in the changing eras. What is required here is an understanding of the different ethical issues which come about in the discussion of communication. This is because communication feels that it is incomplete if ethical understandings are not reached upon quite clearly. This will set the basis for finding out other issues and concerns within the communication mechanisms. But if the ethical issues are properly gauged and realized, then the communication concerns will be dealt with in a proper manner. The need of the hour

Sex Education Course to Parents Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sex Education Course to Parents - Research Paper Example This helps in combating sexual health issues such as sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. Abstract Sexuality form part of everyday life and it is important that all people acknowledge this. Parents, they have to realize that despite the age of their children, they too have a sex life. Instead of trying to suppress the children’s sexuality, parents should provide their children with information on sexuality. Children are more likely to act responsibly if they lean about puberty, contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases from their parents and not through the media or friends. In order for parents to fulfill their roles as sex educators to their children, they require information that helps them understand and reflect on their attitudes and how they communicate their attitudes to their children. This is because parents’ attitudes affect the communication and more importantly, the message passed regarding sexuality. Introduction Talk on sex is never easy. It is a n uncomfortable experience for all parties involved; particularly between parents and their children. On one hand, children are embarrassed and afraid that parents will think they are having sex. Teenagers are also under the impression that their parents will not understand. Parents, however also have trouble when talking about sex. Many do not want to seem as if they are encouraging their children to go off and have sex (Robert, 2008). Parents assume that by telling their children that sex is beautiful and should be enjoyed; they are likely to run off and discover this goodness at an overly young age. It is no wonder so many people end up with a distorted image of sex. They view sex as evil, immoral and something to be ashamed of. Research findings reveal that children are more likely to refrain from engaging in early sexual activities if they receive the sex talk from their parents; preferably from both parents not just the mother as is the case in many households (Robert, 2008). Parents however view the sex talk as a task to check off on their to-do-list. They talk to their children about sex only once and assume that they have passed all the knowledge their children need. In the real sense, talk on sex should be a continuous activity as the children go through the years and enter different stages in their lives. A 12year old will not view sex in the same way a 15 or 18 year old will (Robert, 2008). The purpose for this sex education for parents plan is to help parents offer quality and informed sex education to their children. The biggest problem for parents is communication. Many do not know how to broach the subject, what topics to cover at what age as well as how to handle matters dealing with contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases. Material for education Young people who lack information about sex from their parents often turn to their peers and to some extent; the media. Lack of information from home creates a gap that may be filled with wro ng and distorted information. Parents view sex education as a problem in itself because it encourages young people to become sexually active. Young people however, experience different things as they enter puberty such as menstruation for girls and ejaculation for the boys. This can be confusing as it

Fear and Immensely Powerful Body Essay Example for Free

Fear and Immensely Powerful Body Essay In This Descriptive essay, I will be writing about the Monster Grendel, from the story of Beowulf. I will be giving details about him, while he is in action in a scene of the story, which will lead to my conclusion of why I believe he is a coward, a horrible monster, above all, an obmination. Prepared to spill the blood of unsuspecting, drunken warriors in their sleep, Grendel quickly broke doen the reinforced door to the Herot with great strength and viciousness. Grendels strides were expansive. With each step, the monsters huge, feet practically flew, one after the other. The floor seemed to be instantly displaced due to his impressive agility. His eyes gleamed in the darkness, burned with a gruesome light. Before any of the soldiers had the chance to wake up, Grendel had killed on of them. Torn apart like soft bread, the corpse was drained and wholly devoured. The bounty before me is exquisite, a divine-delicacy, unkept and delightfully vulnerable Grendel speculated refering to his favorable luck. Unbeknownst to Grendel, fate had a bad future arranged for the monster. Hardly satisfied with taking only one life, the demon walked on to his next vitcim. Laying before Grendel was the Geat called Beowulf. Without particular concern for the identity of his presumed meal, he thrusted his fiendish claws towards the laying man. His arm was instantaneously seized by Beowulf. Nowhere on Earth had Grendel met a man whose hands were harder. Frozen in shock, Grendels sense was delayed. Once he realized the situation he was in, His mind flooded with fear. The horrible monster was crazy in his struggle for control. Never had Grendel shown such fear, had he ever known such fear. Grendel wished for nothing more but to escape. Resisting the beast-among-men with every ounce of strength and determination in his immensely powerful body, but to no usefulness. Grendel weakened, his muscles had been thrashed, wounded, and completely exhausted of use. Beowulf, however, was far from failure. With his legendary grip tightening every moment, Grendels body began to submit to the boundless abuse delivered by the great Beowulf With a tremendous crack, the endurance of that monster had been compromised entirely. Beowulf tore the arm from Grendel, along with a considerable portion of the corresponding torso. Grendel then fearfully scurried to the marsh which he afflicted with his presence. The despicable coward festered in both physical agony as well as emotional trauma. As Grendel slowly faded from existence, the eternal darkness in-store wore away at his soul. His lifetime of fear and disgusting maliciousness had shaped an afterlife consisting of nothing. His soul was to be shed, Grendel then waited to end. Grendel expierences the same ammount of fear when he battled with Beowulf, that humans feel when Grendel attacks. Grendels character is rather a cowardly, a vicious, a horrible one. He attacks only at night is very fearful during the battle with Beowulf.

Globalisation In Early Childhood Education Essay

Globalisation In Early Childhood Education Essay Globalisation affects the countrys culture and economy development. There is impact of globalisation for children and families in both developed and developing countries. There are positive and negative implications for globalisations. In the developing countries, such as Africa, children were not supposed to view themselves as individuals on your own and without the constant intimate presence of others is the worst kind of punishment. (Penn, 2004) In this way, children may not be able to have his own decision and thoughts. People viewed themselves as a whole as community working as together. Children were trained to run errands from the moment they could toddle. (Penn, 2004) Children are to help out in the family and perform the given work the same as everyone. They are to work and contribute to the family. If they are encouraged to go to school, the family will have less helpers to support and they also face the challenge of funding their childrens education. It has also been experienced that although the majority of children in India today have access to school education, all of them are not receiving quality education for various reasons. (Govinda, 2011) One of the reasons could be the lack of funds to suppor t the childrens education as their families are already in poverty. It becomes a challenge to sustain a childs education throughout his life. However according to Penn (2004), rich countries notion of helpfulness and obligation is rarely seen as an integral part of childhood and bearing. They view it as immoral to deploy children into the workforce. Globalisation of early childhood education has positive impact in the more developed countries as they have the beliefs of providing education to the children and against the practice of letting children be breadwinners for their households. Another impact of globalisation of early childhood education has on the affluence and in poverty is in the area of language. In the case of Africa, the understanding of early childhood includes the virtue of togetherness called ubuntu which is reflected in their very own native language. Hence, communications are reflected in different meanings in different languages. For example, terms of respect, deference and gender are built into most African languages, and communication is meaningless without them. (Penn, 2004) It is mentioned that there is a limited range of countries (USA and Europe) which derived the contemporary notions of child development. (Sanders, 2004) The increasingly globalised world culture can result in certain ideologies about children and childhood will come to displace the vital diversity of experience of being a child. These ideologies derived predominantly from Western, affluent countries. The fact that English language is the world language will affect the int roduction of ideologies from western countries. Children from developing countries who do not have the chance to learn and practise English as effectively as pre-school and schooling experiences sometimes could do more harm than good for them to pick up the language skills due to mismatched of teaching methods. (Penn, 2004) The children may not appreciate the literacy skills that they should learn. On the hand, children from affluent countries are usually English speakers who see no need to learn another language since English is the universal language. In a way, they may be at a disadvantage as those who are multilingual or bilingual are naturally at an intellectual advantage. The implications of early childhood globalisations have been more receptive for developed countries than developing countries. In developed countries such as America, the government plays an important role in the country. It has a role in promoting early childhood education and care. (Penn, 2004) Government supportive of early childhood education will influence the parents thoughts and views about education. Funds to help in early childhood education area will improved in the quality of education. For example, employing skilled teachers and sending teachers for professional development to be updated with the latest information and skills. Now they are beginning to focus on childrens experiences before school. (Penn, 2004) They are very positive towards globalisation of early childhood education and care. All governments in most developed countires have a national framework for the development and support of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). (Penn, 2004) It shows the government emphasis on the importance and commitment of ECEC. European countries are especially embrace these policies to help balance work life in families. It is viewed as public good. Unlike the case of developing countries, they have been facing potential negative implications for early childhood care and education. According to Penn (2004), developing countries has increasing number of women are seeking out to work. The women and their families are moving into the cities. Therefore, they would send their children in to childcare and mothers will be able to go out to work. The need of having childcare services would increase and proper education will be able to be delivered to children. However, there is a percentage of children who do not receive education or receive poor education in the cities. People pay for what they can afford, and poor people who cannot afford to pay fees either receive very poor service or none at all. (Penn, 2004) It is essential giving proper care and sending children to schools with proper education. The children most affected by poor quality schools and therefore facing problems of locational disadvantage; and the influence of gender and social background of children on their access to quality education. (Govinda and Madhumita, 2011) Working mothers are working leaves their children in the care of their older children or leaving their children without any care. Leaving children without any proper care leads to accidents to happen. Parents may not have the knowledge of leaving their children alone without any care or leaving them to the older siblings care. Older siblings may not have the experience and knowledge looking after young children too. Accidents or death may happen when negligence takes place. Another negative implication is that there is a mismatch of successful model for implementation of globalisation of early childhood education with the local traditions and context in developing countries. Based on Penn, she had done a research on the work of international donors agencies in the field of early childhood. She discovered that very often, these agencies would take into the child developement theory from the developed countries in order to implement initiatives in developing countries. The full implementation of such initiatives in developing countries can cause resistance and incorporation. It is inevitable to have modification for effectiveness. Historical and cultural influences may not seem to impact early childhood education but they are very important in understanding why things are the way they are. (Jackson and Fawcett, 2004) In Mongolia, World Bank and other international agencies were willing to invest money in to help Mongolia to reform.(Penn, 2004) However, money were accepted but reforms could not take place. Donors tried to promote community participation but it was not favoured by the local people as their best understanding is home place. Therefore it is meaningless for donors to help them. Reform ideas had to be stopped. When initiatives or funds were given to the needed country, the people in the country may not work and tends to rely on the funds to support themselves and family. They do not see the importance to work to improve in their home economy. They lack capacity of they deemed too lazy or dishonest to undertake the work that is necessary. (Penn, 2004) It becomes a cycle of helping the country and it may not be constantly other countries to help all the time. Globalisation has open the door for reform in affluent countries and countries in poverty. There are positive and negative impacts and implications as it challenged the norms, the identities and belief systems of the countries. In globalisation, children in poverty-stricken countries are given the opportunity to attend schools. This will help the countrys economy as their human resource is more well-trained and prepared for the future. In globalisation, there are measures and policies in place to encourage women to join the workforce. Mothers are encouraged to enter the society to work. When both parents are out to work, it will help in earning more family income. However, the negative implications of globalisation for developing countries have to be well-managed. There should be room for improvement, modification and review. One of the ways is that the trend is for professionals from developing countries, such as South Africa, to fill gaps in the labour market in developed countries such as the United Kingdom. (Sadhana, 2009) In this case, workers from developing countries have the chance to earn more income and boost the economy and have sufficient funds to provide their children with a good early childhood education. There is still room for research in the area of globalisation of early childhood education so as to reap its full potential in both developed and developing countries. Word Count : 1530

An Analysis Of British Literature Essay -- essays research papers

An Analysis of British Literature Death is inevitable and what happens after death will always be a mystery to the living. For this reason, the afterlife has always been a topic which artists have chosen to explore in their works. Throughout the chronology of British literature, artists have used society's views as a basis to examine the afterlife, and look at it in new ways. The afterlife has been a theme in British Literature from the Anglo-Saxon period of Beowulf to the twentieth century writings of Dylan Thomas. The mysteriousness of the afterlife makes it a topic which artists will always be eager to analyze. During the Anglo-Saxon Period which lasted from 449 AD to 1066 AD, the popular belief of the times was that a person's life was predetermined by Wyrd, the Old English word for fate, and there was nothing which the individual could do to change his destiny. The most famous writing from this epoch is the epic poem Beowulf. Beowulf, the main character, had no fear of the evil monster Grendel because he believed "Grendel and I are called/ Together," by fate. He also displayed his faith in the beliefs of society when he told Hrogthgar "Fate will unwind as it must." When Grendel died, the soldiers "had no semse of sorrow, felt no regret for his sufferings," because they believed Grendel was destined to die, and there was no way to defy destiny. They also did not pity Grendel because they considered him to be entirely evil because it was his fate. The Anglo-Saxon's strong belief in fate led to them not fearing death as much as during other times periods in British Literature. Beowulf's strong belief in fate was a reflection in the society's pagan belief in fate. Due to the fact that the society at the time of Beowulf was pagan, they did not believe in the afterlife. The Christian revision to Beowulf illustrated a different outlook on death and the afterlife. When monks were copying the story, they realized it dealt with pagan ideals, and they incorporated Christian ideals into the text. The monks included the concept God was the ultimate one who controls fate. This was shown when Beowulf told Hrogthgar "God must decide/ Who will be given to death's cold grip." The monks also inserted the idea that there is an afterlife. When... ... in the afterlife. Throughout the chronology of British literature, artists have presented many different perspectives on the afterlife. There are views which I agree with, and there are views which I don't agree with. One of the ones which I support is John Donne's idea of death not being a terrible thing because it leads to the afterlife which is a better place. I support this idea because I have been raised in a rather religious family, and it has been instilled in me that death is not bad, and there is an afterlife to go to. I also agree with the ideas in "Ulysses" and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" that one should struggle to make the most out of his life and to make it meaningful. This idea is very appealing to me because I believe a person should always attempt to make the most out of what he/she is given, and it is important to never give up. While I don't agree with the poems which state that there isn't an afterlife, analyzing and thinking about them has been valuable for me because it has forced me to consider my views, and to build up a stronger support of my views to counter the ideas presented in these poems.

Interventions In The Narcissistic Disorders :: essays research papers

Introduction Understanding the Narcissistic Phenomenon The so called ‘narcissistic personality disorder’ is a complex and often misunderstood disorder. The cardinal feature of the narcissistic personality is the grandiose sense of self importance, but paradoxically underneath this grandiosity the narcissist suffers from a chronically fragile low self esteem. The grandiosity of the narcissist, however, is often so pervasive that we tend to dehumanize him or her. The narcissist conjures in us images of the mythological character Narcissus who could only love himself, rebuffing anyone who attempted to touch him. Nevertheless, it is the underlying sense of inferiority which is the real problem of the narcissist, the grandiosity is just a facade used to cover the deep feelings of inadequacy. The Makeup of the Narcissistic Personality The narcissist’s grandiose behavior is designed to reaffirm his or her sense of adequacy. Since the narcissist is incapable of asserting his or her own sense of adequacy, the narcissist seeks to be admired by others. However, the narcissist’s extremely fragile sense of self worth does not allow him or her to risk any criticism. Therefore, meaningful emotional interactions with others are avoided. By simultaneously seeking the admiration of others and keeping them at a distance the narcissist is usually able to maintain the illusion of grandiosity no matter how people respond. Thus, when people praise the narcissist his or her grandiosity will increase, but when criticized the grandiosity will usually remain unaffected because the narcissist will devalue the criticizing person. Akhtar (1989) [as cited in Carson & Butcher, 1992; P. 271] discusses six areas of pathological functioning which characterize the narcissist. In particular, four of these narcissistic character traits best illustrate the pattern discussed above. â€Å" (1) a narcissistic individual has a basic sense of inferiority, which underlies a preoccupation with fantasies of outstanding achievement; (2) a narcissistic individual is unable to trust and rely on others and thus develops numerous, shallow relationships to extract tributes from others; (3) a narcissistic individual has a shifting morality-always ready to shift values to gain favor; and (4) a narcissistic person is unable to remain in love, showing an impaired capacity for a committed relationship†. The Therapeutic Essence of Treating Narcissism The narcissist who enters therapy does not think that there is something wrong with him or her. Typically, the narcissist seeks therapy because he or she is unable to maintain the grandiosity which protects him or her from the feelings of despair.