Google Organizational Structure and Culture Essay

Google Organizational Structure and Culture - Essay Example The organizational design of Google is flatter with wide span of control, which signifies there are a few managers to whom all the subordinates report. Wide span of control is efficient because it is perceived to be both time and cost effective, as it involves a decentralized flow of information and requires comparatively few managers. They are associated with decentralization, which signifies that the decision-making authority is bestowed upon not only the top management but also it is provided to other members of the organization. As a result the supervisory power is somewhat minimal in the organization. The organization has 20,000 employees and has four hierarchical levels. CEO is in the top level; followed by CEO, there is Vice President of the company to whom every member of the individual departments of the organization reports. These departments include engineering, product, sales, human resource, and finance, legal and business strategy. The engineering heads maintain the dev elopment of all the products; product managers are involved in maintenance of products and handling the marketing staffs; sales department handles the entire sales of different region which is ultimately looked after by the regional head of the sales department. Human Resource department maintains all the manpower related records in the organization. The finance section involves in handling the financial works and maintaining the financial records of the company. Legal department is also involved in different legal procedures of the company and business strategy department takes the various strategies which may be required by the company in due course of time. The lower level workers of the organization are allotted in teams on the basis of the assigned works or assignments. In certain cases, teams are arranged from each and every functional areas based on the markets and products. The organizational culture is flexible and organic and is not much formal. The communication and inter action among the employees is carried out regularly on various issues and good interrelationship is prevalent among them (Griffin & Ebert, 2005). With reference to the above description of the organizational structure adhered in Google, a flow chart is presented below: 1.2. Google’s Organization Chart Figure 1: Organizational Chart of Google 1.3. Is The Organization Design Shown In Your Chart Appropriate For Google? Why or Why Not? The organizational design which is mentioned in the chart is suitable for Google as organizational hierarchy is clearly designed keeping in mind the flat structure of Google. There are various departments in the organization. All the departments of the organization are highlighted by a hierarchical design. Each departmental manager handles and maintains every functions of that department. In this chart, flat hierarchical structure is designed with CEO in the first level and under him the Vice President, who analyses all the departments such as engi neering, production, sales, human resource, finance, and legal and business strategy of the organization. But these departments have top managers to handle the subordinates (Griffin & Moorhead, 2009). Therefore, it can be established that the organizational structure is appropriate for Google. 2. What Type Of Global Organization Structure Is Google Using? In Your

Student Nurses Perceptions of Gender Essay Example for Free

Student Nurses Perceptions of Gender Essay Though they may be half a world away, nursing schools in India face problems similar to those in the United States when it comes to recruiting men. The results of this research of nursing students in Pondicherry, India, may surprise you. by S. Sridevy, B. S. N. , M. S. N. , M. A. , M. Phil. †¢ RSS †¢ Print †¢ E-mail †¢ Comment †¢ MN 2011 Spring [pic] Though they may be half a world away, nursing schools in India face problems similar to those in the United States when it comes to recruiting men. The following study sought to discern the opinions of 78 senior nursing students studying in and around Pondicherry, India, regarding gender roles in their field. It aimed to determine the following: 1. Whether nursing students have different opinions of what professional roles male and female nurses should occupy. 2. Whether gender affects the image and status of the nursing profession. The results of the survey indicated that most of the nursing students prefer men to occupy administrative or teaching positions. Additionally, there were statistically significant results between female and male students perceptions surrounding the effect of males on the image and status of nursing. These findings may impact local nursing education recruitment programs for both men and women, and perhaps the health service organization as a whole. Men in nursing Though they still represent a slim minority, men are increasingly pursuing careers in nursing, attracted by abundant job opportunities, good salaries, and the opportunity to make a difference in peoples lives. This is in no small part due to the fact that the nursing profession has worked for years to dispel misconceptions surrounding men in this female-dominated field. What is interesting about todays perceptions of gender in nursing is that until the days of Florence Nightingale in the late 19th century, nursing was a male-dominated profession. 1  Nightingale considered nursing a suitable job for women because it was an extension of their domestic roles. Her image of the nurse as nurturing, domestic, humble, and self-sacrificing became prevalent. Qualities associated with women, like compassion and dependency, align with those often attributed to nurses. 2  In modern times, the social construction of the role of a nurse has typically meant a caring, hardworking woman. Nursing, in the span of Nightingales lifetime, became identified as a profession deeply embedded in the female gender. 3 On the other side of the gender divide, men who enter nursing may still face questions about their masculinity or sexuality. Sociologists describe sex role socialization as instrumental for men and expressive for women. The characteristics of instrumental socialization include aggression and the ability to compete, lead, and wield power to accomplish tasks. Expressive socialization includes learning to nurture and be sensitive to needs of others. Many female dominated positions, including nursing, have difficulty attracting male recruits. This can be attributed in part to issues such as status and pay, but also to the gender stereotyping of the profession. Although the number of males in nursing has increased in recent years, the underlying feminization of nursing is still an important issue.   Persistent and outdated gender stereotypes are a big part of the problem. [pic] Today, men still only make up between 5%–10% of the nursing workforce in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Although its a small percentage, todays statistics actually represent an over 20% increase in the number of male nurses in the past two decades. 5There are many supposed reasons for the lack of men in nursing. For example, if a mans peers consider nursing emasculating, he has a disincentive for becoming a nurse. Another reason suggested is the lower economic status associated with the nursing field. 3  However, the most commonly proposed reason is that men are less likely to enter jobs associated with women than women are to enter those positions traditionally held by men. Despite the obvious disproportion of male nurses to all men, studies have also shown men are overrepresented in senior nursing posts. 2  They achieve promotion more quickly than women at all levels of the nursing hierarchy above the entry-level positions. This could be attributed to the vast difference in the number of female nurses who work part time, compared to part-time male nurses. Some researchers suggest that managers perceive part-time female staff to be less attached to their careers. 7  Studies have consistently reported that one of the major reasons for womens slower progress in nursing is the number and length of career breaks taken, particularly to have children. One such study indicated that women were 10 times more likely than men to have taken a career break to care for children.   Furthermore, male nurses may be thought to bring stability to the nursing profession, which had always been considered at the mercy of marriage and motherhood, reflecting hidden advantages for men and disadvantages for women. 1 Study specifics Participants were assured informed consent and confidentiality. All students received an explanation of the study before introduction of the questionnaire, and only those who agreed to participate continued. Students names were not sought in the questionnaires and their confidentiality was respected. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed were female and 38% were male. The first part of the survey included socio-demographic data, while the second part asked students about their perception of males in nursing and the effects of recruiting males to the field. The third section asked students about their perception of gender stereotypes. Questions included: 1. How do you feel about men in nursing? 2. Do you think nursing is a womans job? 3. Do men and women differ in their professional role? What do you think are the suitable work places and positions fit for male nurses? 5. What do you think of the effect of men on the image of nursing? Male nurses as perceived by both genders Most of the female students and nearly half of the male students chose emergency units as the most suitable area for male nurses. Nearly 42% of the female nurses preferred men to work as instructors in nursing schools after graduation. There were significant differences between both genders perceptions about the nursing positions men should occupy after graduation. While 48% of the female students considered men as staff nurses, most of the male students said they should occupy administrative (40%) or teaching posts (38%) after graduation. Significant differences were also found between the female and male students perceptions regarding the effect of males on the image of nursing. When asked if men improve the image of nursing, 54% of the female respondents agreed, compared to 90% of the male respondents. Cultural values, a lack of understanding about what nurses really do at work, and the way nurses are portrayed in popular media highly affect the public image of nursing. The results of the survey show that male students prefer administrative/instructional positions after graduation. In contrast, female students said they more often preferred men to assume staff nurse positions. While there are difficulties for men working in female-dominated professions, male nurses tend to have a faster and more straightforward career progression than their female counterparts. Male students exhibited gender role tension about nursing, as 43% considered nursing a female profession. Some research reports numbers as high as 82% of male high school students would not choose nursing as a career, believing it should be a female-only profession. 9, 10) Conclusions and recommendations The results of this study indicate that nursing continues to be seen as a female-dominated profession, especially by male students, despite the ever-increasing number of men in nursing. Stereotypical notions of gender roles possibly affect male students desire to occupy administrative positio ns after graduation, though further studies are needed. Nursing as a profession can only benefit from a talent pool drawing a proportionate number of men. Nursing schools, health care organizations, and the media should continue to advocate for the profession, portraying positive images of the field and male nurses. A community education campaign to improve the image of nursing could also be initiated. To emphasize a nurses role identity without any gender segregations, school educators should encourage students to manage gender-related problems.

Essay examples --

Problem Statement With changing social trends the way information and news is generated, distributed, and consumed is shifting towards digital media due its ability to offer access to the most up-to-date information. Companies such as The New York Times, whose business it built on print-media, will need to embrace this new form of media and deliver its content in a way that relates to the how their current, as well as new consumers wish to access their news. Analysis (External) The external environment that The New York Times operates within includes the encompassing culture and demographics, as well as the changing social trends, technology advances, and changes in the political, economic, and legal environments. The external culture surrounding the newspaper is a recently changing landscape, where the consumer is able to search for and find information quickly and from a number of sources. The consumer is also able to generate their own content easily through online blogs, which adds to the information load that an interested news consumer must sift through in order to obtain an accurate representation of facts. (Peters, Wright, and Witschge, 2012) Social trends and technology advances are a large source of concern with regards to the newspaper’s revenue. More readers are consuming news online, which is changing the landscape of news consumption. The immediacy of news availability through the internet can be more appealing to the casual consumer. Social media sites are also able to be leveraged to share articles and encourage new readers. These social sites can also be used to allow the consumer to take an active role in the conversation through comment fields, which open a new forum between journalist and reader that has p... ...sites on which it is expected to be distributed (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc.) should be monitored closely for feedback, given the platforms’ excellent resources to do so. The place of delivery is appropriate, due to the previous integration with the consumers’ lives, and the created network that is able to be leveraged to distribute the service most effectively to the target market segment. The price to the consumer is only time viewing the advertisement, which given that they were already visiting a social media site they are likely willing to spend. The product should be appropriately represented in these ads, and the ad itself is the promotional material. The responsibility for running the advertisements would likely fall on a marketing executive, but could also be outsourced to a successful creative studio with experience creating such marketing videos. 

John Locke: the Revolution of Reason in the Age of Enlightenment Essay

For many people, particularly Americans, phrases like â€Å"inalienable rights,† â€Å"the pursuit of life and liberty,† and concepts such as religious tolerance, and separation of Church and State, are all too familiar. Many people are unaware, however, of the period, and the man, from which these ideas came. The â€Å"inalienable rights† and â€Å"pursuit of life and liberty†Ã¢â‚¬â€œwords straight out of the United States’ Declaration of Independence—were not written by Thomas Jefferson first. In fact, those words, and the philosophy behind them, precede Thomas Jefferson by approximately one hundred years. The preceding century, and the source of the ideas that formed the basis of the American Revolution, is known as the Age of Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment, or sometimes known more simply as, the Enlightenment, follows several ages of mankind in which the entire world, morally, socially, politically, and culturally, revolved around the Church. The Enlightenment is the period in which Western Civilization broke away from this tradition: The intellectual and philosophical developments of that age (and their impact in moral, social, and political reform) aspired toward more freedom for common people, based on self-governance, natural rights, natural law, central emphasis on liberty, individual rights, reason, and the principles of deism. These principles were a revolutionary departure from theocracy, oligarchy, aristocracy, and the divine right of kings. (â€Å"Age of Enlightenment†) Deism, as mentioned in the previous quote, is defined by Prof. Gerhard Rempel: â€Å"English deism†¦ emphasized an impersonal deity, natural religion and the common morality of all human beings. Deism was a logical outgrowth of scientific inquiry, rational faith in humanity, and the study of comparative religion. All religions could be reduced to worshipping God and a common sense moral code. There was a universal natural religion† (Rempel). In other words, deism is an extreme simplification of all religions according to the basic premise that every religion worships God, and serves as the foundation of several schools of religious tolerance, which proved to be the foundations of liberal thought, the founder of which, was John Locke; â€Å"†¦ Locke launched liberalism by tempering Hobbesian absolutism and clearly separating the realms of Church and State† (â€Å"John Locke†). As this passage demonstrates, the ideas of religious tolerance served as the foundation of separation of Church and State. Religious tolerance is one of many issues pursued and defended by one of the greatest philosophers and writers of the Age of Enlightenment: John Locke. The philosophies of John Locke owe their â€Å"immortality† largely to the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution increased access to information and lowered prices: â€Å"Increased consumption of reading materials of all sorts was one of the key features of the ‘social’ Enlightenment. Developments in the Industrial Revolution allowed consumer goods to be produced in greater quantities at lower prices, encouraging the spread of books, pamphlets, newspapers and journals–‘media of the transmission of ideas and attitudes’† (â€Å"Age of Enlightenment†). The Industrial Revolution stemmed out of the Age of Enlightenment, due to the overwhelming infatuation with reason that took hold during that particular time. It is due to the sudden ease of obtaining works of literature, (which previously were very expensive and belonged only to the wealthy upper classes—the only literate members of society), that contemporary readers still know the name: John Locke. John Locke was the primary voice of the Enlightenment, even though he spent some of the most important years of his life and writing career in exile. While his works influenced writers like Voltaire and Rousseau, his influence on the rest of the world extends even farther. The words in the American Declaration of Independence–†inalienable rights,† â€Å"the pursuit of life and liberty†Ã¢â‚¬â€œare the words of John Locke. John Locke altered the course of history through his influence during the Age of Enlightenment in the 17th century. His theories regarding the sense of â€Å"self† changed the collective identity of the people during the Enlightenment, encouraging them to ask questions that, previously, had always been answered by the Church, and even more revolutionary—to seek out the answers to those questions themselves, with the use of reason. John Locke also held tremendous sway over the political world of the Enlightenment, which was fraught with civil war and unrest; John Locke’s writings on the role of the government in the lives of the people played a tremendous part in the Glorious Revolution and the shift of power from the King to Parliament. Finally, John Locke also revolutionized the people’s perception of God, and advocated powerfully for religious tolerance, proclaiming the ideas of deism, as mentioned before, which took hold and strongly influenced the principles of separation of Church and State. While Western Civilization still answered only to the King and the Church, John Locke was busily redefining the sense of â€Å"self,† which would be the foundation of all modern, independent thought. Independent thought was founded in Locke’s love for reason; â€Å"Locke was the first philosopher to define the self through a continuity of ‘consciousness. ‘ He also postulated that the mind was a ‘blank slate’ or ‘tabula rasa’; that is†¦ Locke maintained that people are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience derived by sense perception† (â€Å"John Locke†) In other words, John Locke’s love for reason is the primary way in which he argued that people can develop their own ideas, based on their own experiences, rather than propaganda from religious or political officials, who would try to control what the people would think. John Locke describes this in his work, the Conduct of Understanding: †¦ this is that which seems to me the proper and only measure of distinctions and divisions; which he that will conduct his understanding right must not look for in the acuteness of invention, nor the authority of writers, but will find only in the consideration of things themselves, whether he is led into it by his own meditations, or the information of books. (Locke 263) This passage from Locke’s text describes the importance of the independence of the thinker from writing that would try to control thought. Locke makes a distinction between â€Å"writers† and â€Å"the information of books. † Writers, (that is, writers of propaganda), according to Locke, are the enemy—the ones who attempt to push their ideas onto others, rather than presenting impartial information. The information of books is Locke’s way of referring to the ideas and facts within books that the individual is responsible for learning by using his reason. The individual must be able to discern which information belongs to the facts, and which belongs to the impressions of the writer. The individual person’s response to his experiences is also the foundation of his moral judgment. The decisions he will make in the future will be based on the experiences he’s had throughout his life. One critic describes Locke’s view of this concept; †¦ Locke conceives of moral goodness as a conventional relation, then it stands to reason†¦ goodness and even moral goodness do not exist independently of what we believe about them and therefore cannot be the property of an action nor can they be thought to have a nature that exists independently of our beliefs. (Zinaich 171) Essentially, Locke’s concept of morality is that it is defined by the self. This is a tremendous revelation in an era that defined its morality based on what the Church claimed was moral or immoral. There are limits to this independence of morality, however, as a biographer of Locke describes: â€Å"The ‘state of nature’ is a ‘state of liberty’, but it is not a ‘state of license’, for even though people in it are not bound by the will of another, they are subject to the divinely ordained ‘law of nature’† (Woolhouse 185). Essentially, while an individual is free to define his own morals under Locke’s philosophy regarding the â€Å"self,† the limits lie in whether or not the morality crosses over into the rights of another person. In a â€Å"state of nature,† every man is free to create his own morals, but those morals cannot infringe on the rights of others. This is a rule that not only man must obey, but that, according to Locke, he must understand—a principle, which he describes in his Second Treatise on Civil Government: â€Å"Is a man under the law of Nature? What made him free of that law? What gave him a free disposing of his property, according to his own will, within the compass of that law? I answer, and estate wherein he might be supposed capably to know that law, that so he might keep his actions within the bounds of it† (Locke 102). As this passage describes, in order for a man to step outside of the â€Å"natural law,† he must step into the overlapping laws of the men around him. This, in effect, is what leads to Locke’s revolutionary principles of government. Prior to the Enlightenment, government belonged entirely to the King, based on the principles of â€Å"divine right†: â€Å"The Enlightenment encouraged people to participate in government and to rethink old ideas like feudalism and primogeniture† (Dowling). John Locke played an extremely large role in this shift: â€Å"Locke became involved in politics when Shaftesbury became Lord Chancellor in 1672† (â€Å"John Locke†). Locke’s friend Shaftesbury was the primary reason that Locke became involved in politics and began writing about government, but when Shaftesbury fell away from popularity, Locke soon found himself in exile. Locke wrote even more voraciously about government during his time in exile, however, establishing the principles of self-governance that would so tremendously alter the ideas of government current at that time. In his Second Treatise on Civil Government, he defines society and the beginning of government: â€Å"†¦ that which begins and actually constitutes any political society is nothing but the consent of any number of freemen capably of majority, to unite and incorporate into such a society. And this is that, and that only, which did or could give beginning to any lawful government in the world† (Locke 125). As Locke describes, the foundation of a government begins with free men in the â€Å"state of nature† who come together and can agree, in majority, on which morals they are to follow. Also, â€Å"Locke maintained that the original state of nature was happy and characterized by reason and tolerance. He further maintained that all human beings, in their natural state, were equal and free to pursue life, health, liberty, and possessions; and that these were inalienable rights† (Landry), and, â€Å"Locke defended the proposition that government rests on popular consent and rebellion is permissible when government subverts the ends (the protection of life, liberty, and property) for which it is established† (Landry). In other words, because government is based on the agreement and majority of people coming together—the self-governance of the people is the foundation of the government—the government has a responsibility to protect the rights of its people. These revolutionary ideas not only altered the ideas that were circulating amongst the people during the Age of Enlightenment, but also directly altered the course of history. As Locke’s biographer states: â€Å"†¦ the support which the Treatises gave to William’s actions against James is exhibited in what reads as a commentary on the events of the revolution itself: James’s leaving the country, the request to William to take over the administration, the eventual offer of the throne, and the transformation of the Convention into a Parliament† (Woolhouse 276). Because William of Orange and his wife Mary were supporters of Parliament, and through their support of Parliament, supporters of self-governance by the people, the Treatises by John Locke were tremendously influential in the support that both preceded and followed William and Mary’s ascension to the throne of England: â€Å"†¦ the Glorious Revolution of 1688†¦ marks the point at which the balance of power in the English government passed from the King to the Parliament. Locke returned to England in 1688 on board the royal yacht, accompanying Princess Mary on her voyage to join her husband† (Uzgalis). Because of the tremendous support that came with Locke’s Treatises and the rule of William and Mary, John Locke was finally able to return home to England from exile. The independence of thought that led to the new perception of self, which subsequently led to new ideas about the kind of relationship that the government should have with its people, also had a tremendous effect on the ideas governing perception of religion. In addition to political strife, there was a great deal of religious tension in England, particularly between various Protestant sects. During the Enlightenment, however, the principles of reason, established by John Locke, began to become the foundation of religious tolerance: The Enlightenment is held to be the source of critical ideas, such as the centrality of freedom, democracy, and reason as primary values of society. This view argues that the establishment of a contractual basis of rights would lead to the market mechanism and capitalism, the scientific method, religious tolerance, and the organization of states into self-governing republics through democratic means. (â€Å"Age of Enlightenment†) This religious tolerance, and the encouragement of independent reason, however, lessened the power that the Church had over the people: â€Å"It was the Enlightenment†¦ that dislodged the ecclesiastical establishment from central control of cultural and intellectual life† (Rempel). Simply put, the infatuation with reason that took hold of the people during the Enlightenment took power away from the Church and put it into the hands of thinkers like John Locke, who encouraged independent thought. As mentioned before, John Locke was an avid supporter of intellectual independence. John Locke had an agenda for his principles of reason—to liberate the people around him from oppression of the intellectual and spiritual kind as well: â€Å"Much of Locke’s work is characterized by opposition to authoritarianism. This opposition is both on the level of the individual person and on the level of institutions such as government and church† (Uzgalis). As Uzgalis states, John Locke was determined to release the people from the authoritative grasp of the Church, which controlled much of their thinking, and answered all of their questions with answers that would add to their power. One of the primary issues regarding the Church’s control over the people, however, lay in the issues that divided the different denominations of Christianity that populated England at the time. Each sect was fighting with the other, claiming that their faith was the true path—the ONLY path. John Locke had an argument to this theory, which he described in detail in his work, the Reasonability of Christianity: †¦ if all sinners shall be condemned, but such as have gracious allowance made them; and so are justified by God, for believing Jesus to be the Messiah, and so taking him for their King; whom they are resolved to obey, to the utmost of their power, ‘What shall become of all mankind, who lived before Our Savior’s time; who never heard of his name, and consequently could not believe in him? ‘ To this the answer is so obvious and natural, that one would wonder how any reasonable man should think it worth the urging. No body was, or can be, required to believe what was never proposed to him to believe. (Locke 52) Locke simply states that those people who did not know of Jesus, because they lived before his time, cannot be held accountable or punished for not believing in him because, to them, he did not yet exist. This was a revolutionary idea because nearly every Christian during Locke’s time believed that a soul could not reach heaven unless the person belonging to that soul fully believed that Jesus was the Messiah, or savior. Locke takes this tolerance of pre-Christians, however, and extends it even to those in his contemporary society, and argues for tolerance not only of who people worship, but of how they worship as well: â€Å"To be worshipped in spirit and in truth, with application of mind and sincerity of heart, was what God henceforth only required. Magnificent temples, and confinement to certain places, were now no longer necessary for his worship, which by a pure heart might be performed any where† (Locke 68). In other words, Locke argues that worshipping God is a far more personal endeavor, rather than one that is meant to be accomplished in a specific time and place, with a specific group of people. So long as the worshipper is steady in his faith, and uses his faith to support his reason, then he becomes a â€Å"reasonable Christian,† which is the highest aim. The Age of Enlightenment opened the door for countless opportunities in even every aspect of daily life in Western Civilization. Its devotion to reason and to the human mind’s power of deductive reasoning spawned hundreds of advancements in technology, including a more advanced printing press, which increased literacy rates, due to the accessibility of reading material, and allowed ideas to circulate and spread farther than anyone had imagined. The sudden urbanization, due to the fledgling Industrial Revolution, also brought people closer together and ideas from all over the world began coming together and mixing, until they themselves became new ideas, and expanded. Every change during the Age of Enlightenment—the new sense of individual identity that the people suddenly gained, the new principles of government, and what the relationship of the government to the people should be like, the release of power from the King and the Church to the people—all of these ideas, which would become the foundation of the American Revolution, were founded on the single principle of devotion to individual’s power to reason. The leader of this liberation and revolution of the mind, as described in detail above, was John Locke. John Locke’s ideas impressed the leaders of England so much, that at a very early age, he became swept into the world of politics, and almost overnight began to change the way people thought. Even when his powerful friends fell out of favor, and Locke was forced into exile, he only grew more influential, and his ideas of man’s power of deductive reasoning and consciousness as the defining attribute of the thing called â€Å"self,† the principles of self-governance of the people, which led to the Glorious Revolution and the placement of William and Mary on the throne of England, and the shift of power from the King to Parliament, and finally, the importance of religious tolerance, based on reason, are the prime examples of John Locke’s tremendous influence on the Age of Enlightenment. John Locke’s convictions led to some of the most sweeping changes in the collective mind of humanity, and led to the independence of the United States. All of these changes, however, belong to a tiny little word called â€Å"reason,† which can only be found in the individual. Essentially, John Locke’s commitment to reason, was really a commitment to the self—and look at what such commitment wrought from the Age of Enlightenment! Annotated Bibliography â€Å"About the John Locke Foundation. † John Locke Foundation. 2009. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website presents the effects that the philophies and works of John Locke are having on contemporary society. â€Å"Age of Englightenment. † Wikipedia. 29 Apr. 2009. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website offers a generalized overview of the Age of Enlightenment, of which Locke is considered one of the greatest contributors. While Wikipedia is not considered an infallible source, the information contained therein is consistent with the information in other sources. Brians, Paul. â€Å"The Enlightenment. † Washington State University. 18 May 2000. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website provides a very concise overview of the Enlightenment period, for the sake of perspective. Dowling, Mike. â€Å"The Enlightenment. † The Enlightenment. 1 May 2002. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website offers a very concise overview of the Age of Enlightenment, as well as the effects that it had in all European countries. â€Å"John Locke. † Wikipedia. 29 Apr. 2009. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website was used for a generalized overview of the life and works of John Locke, to give a sense of perspective. While Wikipedia is not a guaranteed source, the information contained on this website is consistent with the information from other â€Å"more reliable† sources. â€Å"John Locke (1632-1704). † Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website provides a very generalized overview of John Locke’s life and philosphies, as well as his works. Landry, Peter. â€Å"John Locke: The Philosopher of Freedom. † Biographies. 2006. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website provides an extremely concise and brief description of Locke’s life, philosophies and works. Locke, John. Conduct of the Understanding. The Works of John Locke. Vol. 3. London: Scientia Verlag Aalen, 1963. 203-289. This work of John Locke’s details the ways in which a man is expected, in the author’s mind, to pursue knowledge and understanding with integrity. Locke, John. The Reasonableness of Christianity. Ed. I. T. Ramsey. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1958. In this work, John Locke argues for Christianity and the belief in God, who gave man reason. Locke, John. The Second Treatise on Civil Government. On Politics and Education. Ed. Walter J. Black. Roslyn, NY: Walter J. Black, Inc. , 1947. 71-202. This work by John Locke describes the author’s views on how government should function in society. â€Å"Locke Time Line. † John Locke (1632-1704). Oregon State University. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website provided a concise timeline of John Locke’s life and the emergence of his works to be compared against the era in which he was living. Rempel, Gerhard, PhD. â€Å"The Age of Enlightenment. † Lectures. WNEC. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website offers a detailed description of the Age of Enlightenment, organized in a fashion consistent with a class lecture, so it is very easy to understand. Uzgalis, William. â€Å"John Locke. † Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 29 Apr. 2009 . This website was used to provide a somewhat detailed overview of John Locke’s life and works. Its reliability is guaranteed by the Metaphysics Research Lab of Stanford University. Woolhouse, Roger. Locke, A Biography. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. This is a comprehensive biography of John Locke, giving greater understanding of Locke’s personal life and its effects on the more public spheres in which he existed. Zinaich, Samuel, Jr. John Locke’s Moral Revolution. Boulder, CO: University Press of America, Inc. , 2006. This book argues that John Locke’s philosophies move from â€Å"laws of nature† to â€Å"moral relativism. † While this is a work of literary criticism, it still offers valid and unbiased points about the works of John Locke.

Bletchley Park Essay

Bletchley Park, code named ‘Station X’, was and still is a mansion 50 miles North-West of London. It was bought by MI5 as an evacuation site and code breaking centre for the German ‘Enigma’. Bletchley Park was bought by Admiral Sinclair, the Chief of MI6. There other posts, ‘Station Y’s’, which intercepted the messages from the Germans and in turn, when sorted, sent the messages to ‘Station X’. These listening posts were set up to steal German messages off the radio waves. ‘Station X’ relied on the availability of these intercepted messages to break. Most of the staff in the ‘Y Stations’ were women. Basically, the ‘Y Stations’ were to pick up the messages and ‘Station X’ was to use the messages to decode and break the keys. As the war progressed it became easier for the operators to find the right frequencies at the right times, when the German transmissions were being sent. The messages were recorded in Morse code. All the administrative staff worked on interception whilst the academics worked on the actual code breaking, like the mathematicians, cryptic crossword solvers and chess players. Most of the workers in general were young. Most of the admin staff was girls and women, most of them linguists, and the code breakers were mathematicians, as Enigma was breakable by maths and equations some were also just ordinary chess players. However, by the end of 1941 Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword solvers were also taken in, as well as some of the old code breakers around, from the G. C. & C. S. At first the Navy were too proud to be interested in the transmissions, but later realised just how important Bletchley Park was. Gordon Welchman was a young mathematician, from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; and it was he who was responsible for the reorganisation of Bletchley Parks’ work into a fully functional code breaking site. He also introduced a five-point plan that would increase the efficiency of the work being produced. This was: close co-ordination of radio interception, the analysis of the intercepted messages, breaking the Enigma and Non-Enigma keys, decoding the messages from the broken keys and then extracting useful information from the decoded messages. It was then that Denniston began recruiting the high quality staff that was needed. In early 1939 the construction started of wooden huts centred on the mansion. The first huts built were numbered 1,2,3,4 & 5. The Naval Section moved into Hut 4 alongside the mansion on the South side. When Hut 5 was completed the Army section moved there and the dining room became a mess room, where the military had previously used as their base at ‘Station X’. However, Knox, Jeffrey’s and Turing moved into the Cottage in the Stable Yard so that they could work better with less distractions. Not many of the first arrivals knew what they were doing and had very little experience, but learnt quickly. The new young operators also knew nothing about their foreseeable work. After the first arrivals, Denniston’s mathematicians arrived, but they did not get on well with the older more experienced code breakers. This was because the older code breakers felt â€Å"out-of-date† as the new lot were young and had a different method to code breaking. It became blatant that the biggest break-through was from the mathematicians from the first years of the war. They were getting closer and closer to breaking the Enigma. Messages were sent to other huts via a broomstick and a wooden tunnel that was constructed to increase secrecy between a few of the more important huts (later on the messages were blasted along the tunnels with compressed air), like Hut 6 and Hut 3. Although, Hut 6 paid little attention to the messages they received from Hut 3 as they just did their job and the other huts would do theirs. Most of the messages that arrived at Hut 3 seldom made sense. When the messages were complete they were sent down to MI6 HQ in London by van. Hut 4 was used to break other non-Enigma codes from other foreign countries which was only classed as semi-important messages/codes. If some of the messages from Hut 6 were important enough then they would be classed as ‘Ultra’ or ‘Top-Secret’. There was also a slim chance that any foreign spy could get into ‘Station X’. the military officials would be on site to determine the importance of the messages that came out of the ‘Huts’. Bombes were also developed, these were electrical devices that made it easier to take advantage of the clues given from the coded messages. Eventually these were developed into ‘Jumbos’ a larger and faster version, that were introduced into Hut 1, but in the early part of 1941 they were dispersed and move into the ‘Outstations and Hut 11†² Later on into the war many people started taking a great deal of interest in the work done at Bletchley Park. This was because of a major incident when a crucial war ship was lost to the Germans at sea, but the Germans managed to salvage it and recover all its information it carried. However, due to the Germans’ arrogance and ignorance they did not except that Enigma had been broken, and ignored the fact that many of their messages had been decoded. After this incident, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, visited ‘Station X’ and after many consistent letters funded the project, as the Huts sometimes ran out of the simple needs of pencils and paper. At this point the ‘Yanks’ came over to help the Allied, only after they were bombed by the Japanese. Along with the Americans came new technology, many more soldiers that were properly trained and machines that were in better condition and were all better quality. This gave the Allies the advantage at this point in the war as they now had extra supplies and reinforcements. The first computer was built as well making the work a lot faster for everyone, this was code-named Colossus, it was room size. In conclusion to this, ‘Station X’ provided lots of important information for the military to use to their advantage on the battlefield. This also enabled many lives of the Allies to be saved. Without these code breakers and broken keys the war may have turn in favour of the Germans, so deeply the work that was done at ‘Station X’ was truly important. Although Bletchley Park was originally bought as an evacuation site for MI5 it became the most important code breaking site before, during and after the war.

Free Essays on Visions Of New England

Visions of New England Two visions of New England life are present in the works of John Smith and William Bradford. Both men write in a manner that shows their sincerity and passion for the new world, however, they differ on the ways in which the new world is intended to be used. Smith, as a military leader, focuses on the commercial (economical) and secular aspects of exploration and resources in his: â€Å"The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles† and â€Å"A Description of New England.† Bradford, as a religious leader, focuses on the religious and providential purposes of the colonies in his â€Å"Of Plymouth Plantation.† Smith’s vision of New England is one of commercial possibilities – what does the land have to offer? His narration is in the style of a military report, focusing upon the facts and figures, as he describes the people and events that make possible the commercial use and colonization of the new world. Bradford’s style suggests a deeper religious connection and purpose, as he focuses on the inclusion of religion in the foundation of the Plymouth colony. His language is strong and would seem to have the air of a Sunday sermon as his personal and emotional passions are brought to the forefront of his writing. Both men detail the events that allowed for, and led up to colonization. However, Smith details the importance of the native population. His mention of the great, yet highly romanticized, figures of Powhatan, Pocahontas, and Nantaguoud, alludes to his respect for the native population and a knowledge of their importance in the future of the colony. Bradford seems to have neglected the mention of the native population, but for two passages: 1) he mentions watching them work and fish and 2) He mentions them in the context of a trade problem. In his religious view of the new world, Bradford sees the native population as savages and fails to mention their importance in the ... Free Essays on Visions Of New England Free Essays on Visions Of New England Visions of New England Two visions of New England life are present in the works of John Smith and William Bradford. Both men write in a manner that shows their sincerity and passion for the new world, however, they differ on the ways in which the new world is intended to be used. Smith, as a military leader, focuses on the commercial (economical) and secular aspects of exploration and resources in his: â€Å"The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles† and â€Å"A Description of New England.† Bradford, as a religious leader, focuses on the religious and providential purposes of the colonies in his â€Å"Of Plymouth Plantation.† Smith’s vision of New England is one of commercial possibilities – what does the land have to offer? His narration is in the style of a military report, focusing upon the facts and figures, as he describes the people and events that make possible the commercial use and colonization of the new world. Bradford’s style suggests a deeper religious connection and purpose, as he focuses on the inclusion of religion in the foundation of the Plymouth colony. His language is strong and would seem to have the air of a Sunday sermon as his personal and emotional passions are brought to the forefront of his writing. Both men detail the events that allowed for, and led up to colonization. However, Smith details the importance of the native population. His mention of the great, yet highly romanticized, figures of Powhatan, Pocahontas, and Nantaguoud, alludes to his respect for the native population and a knowledge of their importance in the future of the colony. Bradford seems to have neglected the mention of the native population, but for two passages: 1) he mentions watching them work and fish and 2) He mentions them in the context of a trade problem. In his religious view of the new world, Bradford sees the native population as savages and fails to mention their importance in the ...

Art Essays - Software, WordStar, Computing, Operating System, CPM

Art Essays - Software, WordStar, Computing, Operating System, CPM Art account for 90% of what I use regularly, the differences are miniscule between the current version of Microsoft Word that I use today under Windows and the Wordstar program I used in 1980 running on CP/M. There has been little increase in basic abilities or performance from the user perspective. In fact, todays application leviathans often take as much time to launch from our ultra-fast hard drives as those lean but effective programs of yesteryear loaded from pitifully slow 8-inch floppy disks. Ironically, even as hardware has become increasingly reliable and dependable, software has become far less so. It has been years since Ive had to deal with a disk crash, yet hardly a day passes without the operating system and application software conspiring to crash one or more of the machines in my office. A six-year-old machine that serves as our firewall sits with its disk spinning away 24/7 for years with nary a glitch, yet Windows goes brain-dead if it is not rebooted at least once a week. We have been peppered for decades with claims about the accelerating pace of change, yet many of the processes that shape the practices in computer science and software engineering grind glacially slow. Today, for instance, the core software engineering concepts of coupling and cohesion are cited in nearly every basic text and are taught in colleges and universities around the world, yet it took nearly a decade to get anything published in an academically respectable journal and another decade before significant academic adoptions occurred. Ultimately, the true pace of change is not dictated by the evolution of science or technology or of ideas, but by the capacities of humans and human social systems to accommodate change. A product, a service, a practice, or a perspective however new and innovativecan have no impact without acceptance; no significance without change in people and their institutions. Hiding in Hardware The true problem with software is hardware. We have been seduced by the promise of more and more and have become entranced under the spell of Moores Law. Continued progress in hardware is not a friend, but our nemesis. We have been shielded by hardware advances from confronting our own incompetence as software professionals and our immaturity as an engineering profession. Contemporary programmers will point to the operating systems and protest that programming environments today are enormously more complex than those of yesteryear, but the real problem is in how we deal with this situation, in the discipline or its lackthrough which we attempt to overcome complexity. Some years ago when one of the then-leading computing companies surveyed its own internal software engineering practices, the most mature, systematic, and disciplined programming processes were found among application programmers producing business software for internal consumption. Next in line were those creating engineering applications. On down the line and rock-bottom last were the so-called professionals writing the core operating system and its utilities. Where discipline counted for the most, it was least evident. The story has changed little today. Our profes

Patricia Vickers-Rich - A Profile of the Famous Paleontologist

Patricia Vickers-Rich - A Profile of the Famous Paleontologist Name: Patricia Vickers-Rich Born: 1944 Nationality: Australian; born in the United States Dinosaurs Named: Leaellynasaura, Qantassaurus, Timimus About Patricia Vickers-Rich Sometimes, even globe-trotting paleontologists become associated with the specific geographical areas in which they made their most famous fossil discoveries. Such is the case with Patricia Vickers-Rich, who along with her husband, fellow paleontologist Tom Rich, has become virtually synonymous with Dinosaur Cove. In 1980, the couple explored the remains of  this ancient river channel, studded with bones, on the southern coast of Australiaand soon they began a careful series of excavations, which involved the strategic use of dynamite and sledgehammers. (Vickers-Rich is not a native-born Australian; she was actually born in the United States, and emigrated Down Under in 1976.) Over the next 20 years, Vickers-Rich and her husband made a series of important discoveries, including the small, big-eyed theropod Leaellynasaura (which they named after their daughter) and the mysterious ornithomimid, or bird-mimic dinosaur, Timimus (which they named after their son). When they ran out of children after which to name their fossils, they turned to the corporate institutions of Australia: Qantassaurus was named after Qantas, the Australian national airline, and Atlascopcosaurus after a prominent manufacturer of mining equipment. What makes these finds especially important is that, during the later Mesozoic Era, Australia was located much farther south than it is today and it was therefore much colderso Vickers-Richs dinosaurs are among the few known to have lived in near-Antarctic conditions.

Lulu PLC Clothing Manufacturing In China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Lulu PLC Clothing Manufacturing In China - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Lulu PLC Company is a textile company specialized in the manufacturing sector and is based in the UK. In the recent years, the company has engaged in business relations targeting international market. Recent developments led to the company developing a manufacturing plant in China. Rapid economic growth and industrial development have been witnessed in China in the recent past. China is ranked third from the U.S and Germany in the rankings of world’s trading nations. Business organizations intending to exploit business opportunities in China has a mandatory task to understand the prevailing business environment as this may have profound consequences in business development. The Cultural and political environment in particular greatly affects any business performance. The government of the People’s Republic of China has over time developed a market economy in the system, which is dominated by socialist characteristics. Soc ialism in China advocate for collective or state ownership of economic resources and their distribution. Equal opportunities to all characterize the mode of production. This poses a challenge to Lulu Company in that it may take time before adjusting to the common ownership and sharing of production resources. Clothing and textile industry has been in the lead among the industries that have dominated the economy of China. She has been a leading country in supplying the world market with the commodity.

Design Process Technical Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Design Process Technical - Research Paper Example Other features comprise of applications that manage the phones music and other apps. This paper focuses on the technical analysis of the smart watch device, specifically the Apple watch. The CEO, Tim Cook introduced Apple watch device at the Apples Sept. 2014 special event keynote. This was done alongside the introduction of the new iPhones, that is, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The product’s user-friendly interface and sleek design ensures it conforms to the companys other widespread Apple consumer products (Johnson, 2015). The Apple Watch was specifically designed to work with the iPhone 5 devices or that of a later version. The watch mandates the presence of the iPhone for it to work well since it has limited functionalities when it is placed far off from the phone. The Apple Watch consists of integrated inventions and technological advancements placed on the software and hardware of the device (Johnson, 2015). The smart watch has a simple user interface (UI) design that enables the end user to easily interact with it using sound, sight and touch. Apart from the anticipated utilities incorporated in this device such as messaging, picking calls, finding directions, keeping appointments and playing music, the device has additional high functionality that facilitates processing payments. Moreover, the smart watch has the ability for monitoring the human heart rate and in other particular cases, it can be programmed to open or unlock electronic doors. It apparently serves the need of keeping time, which it is incredibly accurate at, besides doubling up as an attractive fashion accessory that possesses lots of customizable apps (Johnson, 2015). On the right side of the smart watch device, that is, if an end user is viewing the watch’s face, there exists a knob which the Apple tech team refers to as the Digital Crown. Its main function on the Apple Watch is to function as an input device that lets the end-user perform various

UAE movie review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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How to fix America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How to fix America - Essay Example This financial crisis and the recessionary time period have struck the United States and the rest of the world because of reduction in the investors’ confidence level. This reduction in investors’ confidence is primarily because of the Federal Reserve’s supporting behavior towards large institutional banks and brokerage houses. The Federal Reserve has allowed such large institutional banks and brokerage houses to perform normally when these institutions carried liabilities worth an estimated 10% of the entire annual economic output (GDP) of the nation. The FED has kept a discriminatory approach towards the other private sector organization, which go into receivership if they are found to have such liquidity issues. This approach of the FED lets the large institutional banks and brokerage houses to perform normally can lead the economy to shatter if any of these institutions are allowed to unwind. The major example is the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy issue. Such act ions of the FED have led to a reduction in the confidence level of investors. The approach that can be followed to address such issue is to cut down and reduce the size of each bank. This reduction in the size of each individual bank would reduce the impact on the entire system if any of these banks fail. This way each and every institution would be accountable for the amount of risk that it takes up. This way the lending policies would become more risk averse and cautious. Each and every bank would work upon their revenue and economic growth through a proper and reasonable interest rate. The other issue arises with the transparency of the FED. The FED should be fair and just in all its decisions and the excess printing of the dollar bill as compared to the inadequate backing of gold needs to be fixed. This would increase and restore the confidence in the value of each Dollar in circulation. This can be

Causes, Effects, and Solutions to Global Warming Speech Essay - 9

Causes, Effects, and Solutions to Global Warming Speech - Essay Example There are many causes that contribute to global warming. As scientists say, global warming is attributed to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere resulting in blanket-like effect (John). The greenhouse gases generally originate from burning fossil fuels like oil, coal, natural gas. In addition, cutting down of trees and burning of forests commonly result in carbon accumulation. Trees purify the air of carbon dioxide, through utilizing it in photosynthesis (Chris). Furthermore, agricultural practices plus certain waste management practices tend to contribute nitrous oxide and methane gas (n.p). Global warming has caused a number of problems to the earth. One of the biggest entails the rise in sea level. With every rise in atmospheric temperatures, results in melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctica regions contributing to the sea and ocean levels rising. The aftermath of such involves weird phenomenon like floods, typhoons and hurricanes (John). A good example is hurricane Katrina which took thousands of lives and destroyed a number of homesteads. Moreover, the temperature rise in other areas has resulted in the expansion of deserts and contributing to drought in many regions. The climatic conditions required for growth of certain crops have also been disturbed causing a big problem to farmers (John). Global warming can be solved. In minimizing emission of greenhouses can be the first step in curbing it. First of all, discouraging unnecessary deforestation can be a good step. Proper waste disposal or recycling of wastes can minimize emissions of methane plus nitrous oxide. Planting of trees can beneficial in places where deforestation has already taken place (John). In conclusion, global warming is a menace which has to be solved in order to save the earth from its ravaging effects. Human beings have an opportunity to reverse this change and make the world a better place for the future generations.  

Profiling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Profiling - Essay Example What one says or does is sieved by the society through a very fine net of critical judgment, so as to analyze the flavor of racism, one-sidedness and religion in it. In such circumstances, people specially those who have close resemblance with the suspected group have to undergo immense emotional labor and have to adapt their actions and sayings as per the demand of the sensitive listeners and watchers. This does require an adjustment in the bandwidth of tolerance as (Varadarajan) has rightly depicted in his essay. People’s actions are shaped by their internal beliefs and are an outcome of their philosophies. They may or may not want to adjust their actions and reactions in accordance with the demand of the terrorism-phobic society. Emphasis on profiling is a result of spread of terrorism which has in turn, had many philosophical and spiritual impacts on the society as a whole. Thus, profiling in itself, becomes a fairly complex philosophical issue. Is profiling acceptable? If so, under what circumstances? No, profiling is not acceptable.

Causes, Effects, and Solutions to Global Warming Speech Essay - 9

Causes, Effects, and Solutions to Global Warming Speech - Essay Example There are many causes that contribute to global warming. As scientists say, global warming is attributed to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere resulting in blanket-like effect (John). The greenhouse gases generally originate from burning fossil fuels like oil, coal, natural gas. In addition, cutting down of trees and burning of forests commonly result in carbon accumulation. Trees purify the air of carbon dioxide, through utilizing it in photosynthesis (Chris). Furthermore, agricultural practices plus certain waste management practices tend to contribute nitrous oxide and methane gas (n.p). Global warming has caused a number of problems to the earth. One of the biggest entails the rise in sea level. With every rise in atmospheric temperatures, results in melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctica regions contributing to the sea and ocean levels rising. The aftermath of such involves weird phenomenon like floods, typhoons and hurricanes (John). A good example is hurricane Katrina which took thousands of lives and destroyed a number of homesteads. Moreover, the temperature rise in other areas has resulted in the expansion of deserts and contributing to drought in many regions. The climatic conditions required for growth of certain crops have also been disturbed causing a big problem to farmers (John). Global warming can be solved. In minimizing emission of greenhouses can be the first step in curbing it. First of all, discouraging unnecessary deforestation can be a good step. Proper waste disposal or recycling of wastes can minimize emissions of methane plus nitrous oxide. Planting of trees can beneficial in places where deforestation has already taken place (John). In conclusion, global warming is a menace which has to be solved in order to save the earth from its ravaging effects. Human beings have an opportunity to reverse this change and make the world a better place for the future generations.  

Day in the ife of counselor, psychologist & social worker Essay

Day in the ife of counselor, psychologist & social worker - Essay Example The paper will also study the educational qualifications, licensure requirements, skills and techniques that professionals in these fields regularly incorporate into their practice. A counselor is a human service professional that assists people get more out of life by overcoming challenges and difficulty. A counselor is a trained and accredited professional who renders developmental, emotive and mental support to clients. Counselors build a healthy relationship with clients and formulate problem-solving approaches to resolve the problem facing a client. The counseling field is diverse with counselors specializing in rehabilitation, career assistance, mental health, or marriage (Price, 2015). Counselors can work privately, under the government, in academic circles or in medical facilities. A counselor has to fulfill a prerequisite for an Associate or Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts major. After completion of the Bachelor’s degree, the counselor pursues a Master’s degree in a counseling module. A counselor can undertake an advanced degree such as a doctorate in a specialty subject. A Bachelor’s degree is an essential requirement for basic counseling and life coaching. The Bachelor’s degree introduces the counselor to a wide range of counseling fields from which they can choose a field that suits their career objectives. Advanced counseling fields such as psychoanalysis require a doctorate or PhD qualification. A degree in psychology is a beneficial addition to the educational qualifications of a counselor (Gladding, 2012). Counselors will also undergo specialty training in the organizations that provide counseling services. Counseling training programs held in developing counseling skills and offers mentoring for more experienced counselors. Counselors undertake practicums that equip them with knowledge about treatment modalities (Price, 2015). During the training, the

CVS stops selling tobacco products Essay Example for Free

CVS stops selling tobacco products Essay Reason, declared Kant, is the source and ultimate basis for morality. Morality wholly rests in pure, innate reason and not in intuition, conscience, law, or utility. The standard of morality, therefore, is inherent in the human mind; it is definable only in terms of the mind; and it is derived from one’s innerself by direct perception (Cavico Mujtaba, 2013). According to Kant, in order to be moral, one has to be rational. â€Å"The right use of reason is directed to moral ends† (Cavico Mujtaba, 2009). A person has to think rationally, he or she does not have think only about self-interest. As a result of that, there is no place for such thing as Ethical Egoism. People should be treated with dignity and respect. Kant presumes that human beings are rational and can utilize reason (Cavico Mujtaba, 2009). Kant called the supreme ethical principles the Categorical Imperative. This principle is necessary element of human reason and foundation upon which rest all moral judgments (Cavico Mujtaba, 2013). Kant’s method has three parts of testing, which are used for identification whether or not an action is moral. No matter in what kind of situation a person can be, a rational individual performs an action because he or she has a moral obligation and duty. Application of Kantian Ethical Analysis The categorical Imperative is not a principle of action itself; instead, it ethically lays down the form a moral maxim must take. Thus, said Kant, reason indicates that a moral action must have a certain form. The ethics â€Å"test† is a formal test (Cavico Mujtaba, 2013). Literally, a person has to indicate whether his/her actions would be successful or would be considered as a self-destruction. In this case, the test will determine that situation with the company such CVS will be most likely successful. One of the main reasons that the company is doing this, is to show the public and competitors that it really cares about the health and well-being of its customers and the nation. By taking out all tobacco products from all CVS stores in the United States, the administration of the company who have main input in the way how the firm works, would really benefit. In general public might be surprised that CVS are going to aim on peoples health. In this kind of situation many th ings will change and increase in the business, things as trust and confidence would be maintained. So, action passes the  first test. The second test states that every person should be treated with dignity, respect and as a valuable and worthwhile entity (Cavico Mujtaba, 2009).This test involves by itself shareholders, employee, employer, consumers, and society as well. In this case some people have different point of view, some of them firmly believe that they have the right to buy any products they like or to do whatever they chose to do. There is an argument, which explains that it might be unethical for the company like CVS to make people uncomfortable for purchasing tobacco products. CVS does not show any respect for smokers. They feel themselves not welcomed. According to Kantian theory CVS should need to make sure that their clients feel comfortable and welcome in the drugstores, no matter what kind of products are sold. CVS has to analyze and think about customers themselves, not only about profits, even though that basically, the idea of having business is for income purpose. To conform with the Kantian views, the company like CVS which is one of the largest drugstore chains in the United States, should pay more attention for its prosperity, rather than a little aspect of the firm to have some profits. Kant assumes that people cannot take advantage of another person. Additionally, it also explains that people cannot act and do anything without full comprehension and permission of the person. An individual needs someones logical, intellectual, complete agreement for this to happen. In this situation, people can think differently. Some of them can support CVS for the idea of removing tobacco products from pharmacy place, because it is ethical and some of them firmly argue with this statement. Even though that the people deeply understand that the products they were purchasing have the risks for their health and very harmful for their organisms. According to this information, the second test will definitely fail. The third test is the agent-receiver test which asks whether a rational person would accept the action or rule regardless of whether he or she was the agent or the receiver of the action (Cavico Mujtaba, 2009). So, the main cost of this change would be a major loss in income. But people can lose their jobs, the managers and executives will feel decrease in salaries. Many employees may be in danger of losing a job. Moreover, the prices of shares of stocks will decrease, then shareholders  could be in danger of losing earnings. These are all the possible ways of banning all packs of cigarettes from CVS stores. Nevertheless, analytics of the company predicts that the benefits that CVS would get of trust and confidence would be worth the danger of losing profit. By stop selling tobacco products and removing all sweets from the drugstores as well, the firm would have to reassess how and in what kind of ways it can have its income. It will be very difficult to survive for the company, especially in the beginning of this change. It has a worse outcome than just minor loss in sales. The company would have a very negative effect from this and many people would not have a benefit as well. In this case, customers and employees would lose. Because of CVS stops selling cigarettes, as we mentioned above, many people will lose their potential jobs, therefore , the third test certainly will not pass. Only if the company will help their employees by giving them recommendation letters and providing with rà ©sumà ©/interview training, the third test might be considered as passed. But as long as, the action of CVS is going to be presented in October of this year. We still do not know whether they will help their employer or not. So, at this moment of time, this action is considered as not passed. Moral Conclusion Pursuant to Kantian Ethical Model An action is morally right if it has a certain form, and morally wrong if it does not have that form. The Form, the Categorical Imperative, is the first, supreme, fundamental principle in ethics. It is the form a moral action must have; it provides the ultimate standard by which one test can test action, rules, beliefs, and standards to determine if they are moral (Cavico Mujtaba, 2013). Based on Kant’s ethics, the action of CVS pharmacy about removing tobacco products from the stores can be considered moral, only if it passes the Categorical Imperative tests. Some type of questions must be considered such as, is this action only benefiting the company or others as well? How would CVS feel if others performed this action? If the firm rationalized its actions, they would be moral. First of all, if everyone takes the same action that took CVS, the world will become healthy. We will not see any more death as a result of tobacco products. CVS has always functioned very well with good ratings in customers service and with high earnings. Even with a ban of tobacco in October, the company is still  one of the leading pharmacies in the country. Nevertheless, this new plan may not make everyone in society happy. Some people, most likely smokers think that this ban is unfair and unethical, but managers and executives thought that it was the right step for the healthy future and for the business. As a result of this decision, the company will gain trust from its consumers, which will result in a more successful firm. In other words, smokers will not be treated equally with other people with respect and dignity, therefore the second test will fail. Overall, if CVS will take care of people who probably will lose their jobs, the third test can be considered as passed. Despite the problems with Kantian ethics, Kant’s very important accomplishment was to underscore, and to appreciate, people as free, rational, moral beings, with individuals rights and self-imp osed duties to respect others (Cavico Mujtaba, 2013). In conclusion, CVS’s incredible decision involves long term perspective and sacrifices. The administration of the company has a solid strategy of how to operate the company and all of the stores. With a great plan on operations, they are able to have a successful business. As long as, it is such a large company, these changes will be beneficial, even with some people against the stores, unless there is another major change to products in the near future.

The Circularity of Life in Tess of the DUrbervilles :: Tess of the DUrbervilles

The Circularity of Life in Tess of the D'Urbervilles  Ã‚   Thesis: Hardy is concerned with the natural cycles of the world, and the disruption caused by convention, which usurps nature's role. He combats convention with the voice of the individual and the continuing circularity of nature. Phase the First: The Circles of Life The circularity of life is a major theme of the novel. Hardy treats it as the natural order of things. The structure of the novel reflects this reigning image of the circle at several levels. First, the use of seasons to denote the passage of time implies circularity rather than a linear world-view. Years are shown as repetitions with variations rather than as new creations. Tess herself views time in this way, as she reflects on the various recurring dates which mark events in her life. "She philosophically noted dates as they came past in the revolution of the year; the disastrous night of her undoing at Trantidge with its dark background of the Chase; also the dates of the baby's birth and death; also her own birthday; and every other day individualized by incidents in which she had taken some share. She suddenly thought one afternoon... that there was yet another date, of greater importance to her than those; that of her own death" (149). In the novel, the past and the future are merely points on the cycle which nature designs. Reveals the destructive aspect of this realization to Angel when she declares her disinclination to study history which will only tell that she is "one of a long row only... just like thousands' and thousands'" (182). Secondly, the plot itself is not only circular, but contains a myriad of smaller circles within it. The main circle of the plot is from the discovery of the D'Urberville Tombs to Tess's death. Within this circle revolve others. The life and death of Sorrow is a small circle within the larger one. Alec D'Urberville's repentance and recantation form another. Clare's and Tess's physical journeys towards and away from and back again to each other represent more circles. Hardy's consistent use of these circles in the plot reinforces their importance to the theme. The diction of the novel seems designed to forcefully remind the reader of this theme. At the start of the novel Tess and her companions dance in a circle on the gr een; at it's end, she stops to rest at Stonehenge.

Characterization, Theme, and Imagery of Ray Bradburys The Pedestrian :: Ray Bradbury, The Pedestrian

Two Works Cited Mankind has made great leaps toward progress with inventions like the television. However, as children give up reading and playing outdoors to plug into the television set, one might wonder whether it is progress or regression. In "The Pedestrian," Ray Bradbury has chosen to make a statement on the effects of these improvements. Through characterization and imagery, he shows that if mankind advances to the point where society loses its humanity, then mankind may as well cease to exist. Bradbury has elected to reflect the humanity of mankind in the character of Mr. Mead. First of all, Mr. Mead is associated with warm, bright light, which is symbolic of soul. If, during his night walks, people are alerted to his presence, "lights ... click on" (104). In essence, the embodiment of humanity is about. Mr. Mead's house beams "loud yellow illumination" (105). Since literature not only records the history of mankind but also evokes deep feeling among men, it brings this occupation close to the heart of humanity. Third, Mr. Mead is close to nature. Something as simple as taking a walk is "what Mr. Leonard Mead most dearly loved to do" (104). Man is most human when surrounded by the elements. Also, Mr. Mead's shadow is described as the "shadow of a hawk," relating him to a wild and free-spirited bird (104). Last, Mr. Mead is brought into a parallel with the most tender and human holiday observed in the western world when the rush of cold air makes his lungs "blaze like a Chr istmas tree" (104). The combination of these elements makes Mr. Mead a true representative of humanity. As a contrast to the humanity portrayed by Mr. Mead, Bradbury has mirrored the characteristics of progress in the police car. The car, as well as Mr. Mead, is associated with light. The light of the car, however, displays the absence of humanity. Rather than the "warm" light of Mr. Mead, the car possesses a "fierce" and "fiery" light that holds humanity "fixed" like a "museum specimen"--something from the past that should be looked at behind an impersonal plate of glass (105-06). When not holding humanity captive, the car's lights revert to "flashing ... dim lights," showing the absence of any real soul (106). The car is representative of several modern inventions, thereby embodying mankind's advancement. It is itself a robot, and it speaks in a "phonograph voice" through a "radio throat" (105-06). Characterization, Theme, and Imagery of Ray Bradbury's The Pedestrian :: Ray Bradbury, The Pedestrian Two Works Cited Mankind has made great leaps toward progress with inventions like the television. However, as children give up reading and playing outdoors to plug into the television set, one might wonder whether it is progress or regression. In "The Pedestrian," Ray Bradbury has chosen to make a statement on the effects of these improvements. Through characterization and imagery, he shows that if mankind advances to the point where society loses its humanity, then mankind may as well cease to exist. Bradbury has elected to reflect the humanity of mankind in the character of Mr. Mead. First of all, Mr. Mead is associated with warm, bright light, which is symbolic of soul. If, during his night walks, people are alerted to his presence, "lights ... click on" (104). In essence, the embodiment of humanity is about. Mr. Mead's house beams "loud yellow illumination" (105). Since literature not only records the history of mankind but also evokes deep feeling among men, it brings this occupation close to the heart of humanity. Third, Mr. Mead is close to nature. Something as simple as taking a walk is "what Mr. Leonard Mead most dearly loved to do" (104). Man is most human when surrounded by the elements. Also, Mr. Mead's shadow is described as the "shadow of a hawk," relating him to a wild and free-spirited bird (104). Last, Mr. Mead is brought into a parallel with the most tender and human holiday observed in the western world when the rush of cold air makes his lungs "blaze like a Chr istmas tree" (104). The combination of these elements makes Mr. Mead a true representative of humanity. As a contrast to the humanity portrayed by Mr. Mead, Bradbury has mirrored the characteristics of progress in the police car. The car, as well as Mr. Mead, is associated with light. The light of the car, however, displays the absence of humanity. Rather than the "warm" light of Mr. Mead, the car possesses a "fierce" and "fiery" light that holds humanity "fixed" like a "museum specimen"--something from the past that should be looked at behind an impersonal plate of glass (105-06). When not holding humanity captive, the car's lights revert to "flashing ... dim lights," showing the absence of any real soul (106). The car is representative of several modern inventions, thereby embodying mankind's advancement. It is itself a robot, and it speaks in a "phonograph voice" through a "radio throat" (105-06).

How HRM orperate within any oraganisation Essay

Introduction to the assignment The aim of this assignment is to see how Human Resources operate within any organisation, and why it is important to have effective Human Resource Management. There are many things such as, Human resource planning, Recruitment and Selection and Training and Development which helps a company to achieve its objectives. For a business to achieve its objective it must have the right number of employees with the right qualification and training to meet the needs of the company. The Human Resources department of a company will check if an employee has the right qualification and training to carry out its job. 2.0 Introduction to the company J Sainsbury plc is the 12th largest food retailer in the US, and strong regional player, with 185 stores. It has interests in financial services and property. The group comprises Sainsbury’s Supermarkets and Sainsbury’s Bank in the UK and Shaw’s Supermarkets in the US. 2.1 Background history John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury founded Sainsbury in 1869. They opened their first small dairy shop at 173 Drury Lane, London. Drury Lane was one of London’s poorest areas and the Sainsburys’ shop quickly became popular for offering high-quality products at low prices. It was so successful that further branches were opened in other market streets such as Stepney, Islington and Kentish Town. By 1882 John James Sainsbury had four shops and had plans to expand his business further. He opened a depot in Kentish Town, northwest London, to supply this growing chain and, built bacon kilns, which produced the first Sainsbury brand product on the same site. It was also in 1882 that John James opened his first branch in the prosperous suburb of Croydon. This shop sold a wide range of ‘high-class’ provisions and was more elaborately decorated than the earlier shops. Between 1890 and 1900 Sainsbury was very well known store. It was making high profits that it managed to treble its branches from 16 to 48. The branches were increasing rapidly that by end of 1994 they had 360 stores in Britain 2.2 Location Sainsbury is a big food store, which operates in different countries. It has opened 25 new stores, extended 27 and refurbished 90 adding 889,000 sq ft of sales area to the network. 2.3 Product Sainsbury sells wide range of foods and other household products. Sainsbury’s quality food is a priority for their customers and a key component for their brands. They have invested in their food ranges and during the year they have improved or developed over 3,200 products. Their own label sub brands are again amongst the best in the UK. For over 130 years Sainsbury’s supermarket has been committed to supporting British farming. They have a policy of buying British and labelling it as a British product. They sell over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6 billion worth of British food each year. Sainsbury is able to find out the advantages and the disadvantages of its home brand products by testing them before launching it into the market. This helps them to make a decision whether or not to launch it in the market. By testing the products they are now able to serve the best quality foods to the customers. This being an advantage will make the customers come back again and again to the store. 2.4 Profit As Sainsbury has managed to provide shareholders with good, sustainable financial returns and have an outstanding shopping environment as well as excellent customer service, it has made a tremendous profit over the past few years. For example: * It made 14 per cent underlying profit before taxation growth for the group after 2 years of decline and 10 per cent underlying operating profit growth for their supermarkets in the UK after 3 years of decline in 1996. * In the UK supermarket business, Sainsbury has achieved sales growth of 6.3 per cent excluding petrol (Easter contributing 0.3 per cent). This was Sainsbury’s best performance in over a decade. * Sainsbury’s current market share in London is 36 per cent. * Sainsbury’s saving of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½250 million will be reinvested in enhancing the customers offer, building sales and improving their operating margins. * More local supermarkets are opened in different places. 2.5 Customer service To listen to customers view and react quickly, Sainsbury trains their colleagues every 6 months to develop their abilities and Skills to do their job properly. Every year Sainsbury does one or two surveys to find out customers view about the business. By doing that they are able to see what customers want and how they can grow more into the market. For example in 2000 the data for Birmingham stores showed customers wants more longer opening hours, so instead of opening at 9am, they now open at 8am and closes at 10pm instead of 8pm. Another big thing that Sainsbury did to get more customers to the shop with them is that, they joined campuses that are already involved with the community and environment. There are many people who are interested in the community and the environment, so they will be shopping with Sainsbury more as they will also be helping the community and the environment. 3.0 Human resource management One of the most important tasks that involves personal department in a business is Human Resource Management (HRM). A business is only likely to achieve its objectives if its employees are used effectively. To do this the business should ensure that the Human Resources are planned successfully. Managing the performances of the employees is necessary to enable a business to function adequately. By accomplishing this, the business can ensure that the business remains competitive and find it easy to attain its objective. When HRM existed for the first time there were few changes in the organisation, like: * Companies realised that employees would only work their best for the company if the company gave the priority to meet the personal needs and objectives of its employees, instead of seeking to get the best out of employees just for the sake of the business, i.e. to help it to achieve its objectives. * ‘People work’ was not just the responsibility of the ‘personal’ department. It is the responsibility of all managers in an organisation – supported by specialists. The managers carry the responsibility for recruiting, selecting, appraisal and training in an organisation with employees rather then a specialist in a centralised HRM function. * HRM was given more status in the organisation, instead of being something carried on at lower levels of the organisation. HRM is now recognised as a key ‘strategic’ area of the organisation (e.g. one that needs to be given a high priority in organisational planning involving senior managers). Human Resource Management is a very important department with in any organisation as it plans ahead for the company. E.g. selects and recruits the right type of people (matches with the person specification) and train and develop their skills. 4.0 Human Resource Planning 4.1 Introduce HRP Human Resource Planning or personnel function of an organisation covers a Varity of activities. The term ‘Human Resources planning’ has largely replaced the old-fashioned word ‘Personnel’, which was used in the past. Human Resources Department need to forecasts how many and what types of employees it needs now and in the future. It also involves matching up the right type of employees to the needs of the business, and using them effectively, as well as developing their skills in order to meet the goals of the organisation. To do this they need a good understanding of the labour market in an area where they operate. In order to meet the organisation’s aims successfully, it needs to know how to use the past information to predict on how many employees are need in the future and to identify the means of using people in the most effective way, also to identify any problems that are likely to occur (for example, when recruiting the ‘best’ employee), and find ways to solve the problem which are identified. For instance, if a France-based retailing organisation decides to expand in to Germany and Italy, then it will need to identify: * The skills and competence it will need the new employees to have. * How many people with these capabilities it will able to recruit. * Ways of helping the employees to develop their requirements skills and also train them to do that. Human Resources deals with many other factors associated with employees. These includes: * Human resource or workforce planning * Recruitment and selection * Promotion and transfers * Appraisal and termination of employment * Disciplines * Rewards and conditions of employment * Working conditions * Career development and welfare * Wage bargaining There are two types of planning. One is called short term planning and the others are called long term planning. Short term planning is aimed at the immediate needs of the business, such as filling vacancies, which is left. Long term planning will try to plan for the future. For example, if a company was aiming to change its production techniques in the next few years, it would need to plan the number of employees, training needed and perhaps the incentives and motivation that workers would require. 4.2 Purpose of HRP There are four main reasons for HRP. 1. To encourage employers to develop clear links between their business plans and their HR plans, so that they can integrate the two more effectively. 2. The organisation will be able to control employee’s costs and the number of employees who are employed easily and effectively. By doing this it will allow the business to have the right number of employees for each departments. 3. It allows the employers to build up a skill profile for each of their employees, who will help the employers for the employees and to keep it as a record. 4. It creates a profile of staffs (related to gender, race disability), which is necessary for the operation of an equal opportunities policy. 4.3 Benefit of HRP If HR planning works properly, then the out comes will be†¦ * Employees will be doing challenging works, which will help them to motivate and stimulate. The result of this will help the business achieve it objectives. * It will raise ‘peak training’ sales if employees are already selected and ready to work under pressure during sales. * Staffs do over time if it is only necessary. * Staffs are properly qualified and trained. This will allow the employee feel comfortable with the job, which means the work will be done quickly and properly. * The company is more able to meet the changing demand from its customers and it is more suitably able to meet business objectives that it is set. 4.4. How HRP aids businesses to meet their objectives To meet company’s objectives, the company should: * Employ more people to do specific jobs. * Train more employees to get specific skills, which are needed, for them to carry out their job to do the specific job. * Employ people at a specific time of the year. E.g. during summer holidays. * Give bonus to employees if they do well to encourage them to do better then before. * Sets specific deadlines for employees to consider if they are capable of working under pressure. 4.5 Processes involved in HRP In HRP there are four stages involved. They are: 4.5.1 Stock taking This allows the business to find out if quality and quantity of an employee is available to the organisation. It uses the following techniques to find out: * Jobs analysis – this means getting all the information, which is accessible about all the jobs that are available in the organisation, and to think about what duties are involved in each these jobs and how it should be carried out. The solution for this is to find the job description and the person specification for the job. * Skills audit – this is a survey to find out the skills, qualifications and experience of all the existing employees. * Performance review – this involves looking at the performance in all employees in order to: – Identify their potential – Identify where they need more training. 4.5.2 Forecasting supply This is where it asks the question ‘how many employees are needed in the future?’ To answer this question the business looks at the internal and external sources of labour by looking at labour turnover. There are three ways of calculating employee’s turnover. These are: Annual labour turnover index = this is sometime called the ‘percentage wastage rate’. It tells what percentage of workforce is left in a year. This is how it is worked out: = Leavers in a year Average number of staff employed during the year There are two problems with this method. They are: * It tells nothing about the length of service of the people who are left. * It does not say how many people are left from each department. Stability index = this gives a good idea of how long an employee is going to stay with the business. If employees are not going to stay for a very long time in a certain department, then it can be pinpointed and investigated by using the below method. = Number of stuff employed with one year’s service on a certain date Number of staff employed exactly one year before This method maybe a more useful indicator, but it still does not tell how many employees are left from each department and why? Bowey’s stability index = this looks at the actual length of service and calculates a stability percentage. = Length of service in months over a two year Period of all current staff added together Length of service in months over a two year Period if all staff had worked for the full two years 4.5.3 Forecasting demand for employees This means asking question ‘ how many people will we need today? Tomorrow? And in five years time’. As this is a difficult question, the managers from Human Resources Planning department looks at the factors such as following forecasting demand for employees:. * The organisation’s trading and production patterns * Demand for their product * Technological and administrative changes * Capital investment plans * Acquisitions, divestments and mergers * Product diversification 4.5.4 Implementation and review The organisation must regularly review their Human Resources planning to see if it is processing effectively. For example, has a new recruitment drive been effective in recruiting the right number and the right quality of people? The organisation must also look at all the various environmental factors, which might affect the supply and demand for labour. This involves collecting information on social, political, industrial, legal and technological changes, also finding out what their competitors are doing. 4.6 How internal and external staffing information is used to plan Human Resources within a business Internal staffing information is used to plan Human Resources within a business. It talks about the following points: 4.6.1 Stability The company needs to know how stabile the organisation is. If it is less stabile then they need to figure it out why, so they can make sure it is more stabile in the future. 4.6.2 Performance result The organisation will collect all the information on level of performance of their employees, to see how they are doing by quantitative or qualitative form. It is very important to get the performance result right to achieve the company’s targets. 4.6.3 Number of employees in particular job categories This figure will give an over all numbers in an organisation that already have certain categories of skills. 4.6.4 Existing numbers of staffs employed Checking how many people they are employing and finding out the reasons why they tend to leave the job after certain time, also to see what is actually wrong with certain departments and how it could be improved. 4.6.5 Age distribution and length of service It is very important to have an age balance between young and old people who work within the organisation. This is because if most of the workers are old then there is a chance of them retiring or even passing away, which makes the organisation left with no sufficient, experienced workers. However if there are all young people then they may not stay for long as they may find a new job. This is why it is important to have an age balance. 4.6.6 How many vacancies are there at the moment? The company needs to know how many people they need to employ now and in the future, plus the qualification that is required for that job. 4.6.7 Average time taken to fill a vacancy The organisation needs to know how long it takes to fill up a vacancy so in the future they can predict the length of time for an advert to be advertised for.by doing this they will able to find out if they are spending enough time filling vacancies. 4.6.8 Promotion potential It is important for the organisation to know how many employees have the skills to be promoted and how long it’s going to take them to be fully trained for the job. 4.6.9 Sickness If employees are having too many sick days then it needs to be tracked down to see whether they are really sick or just took a day off to socialise and called it as a sick day. If it’s not tracked down then some employees might take advantages of it, which will make difficult for the organisation to achieve its objectives. 4.6.10 The skills available It is good to identify the current skills each employee has and how many of these skills are transferable to the new job when they get promoted. 4.6.11 Skills analysis The organisation has to make sure they employ the right type of employees with the right type of skills. To do this they need to assess their present skills and future skills, which will be needed in the future. In order to plan Human Resources within a business, external staffing information is also used. The external labour market for any particular organisation is made up of potential employees, locally, regionally or nationally. There are some issues that affect the size and nature of these labour markets. 4.6.12 Competition for labour As there are few people with specific skills, it makes it hard for the employers to employ people as competitors my also want to employ them with better service and money. Therefore Human Resources department has to think the best ways in which this could be done. 4.6.13 Education and training Human Resources need to look and recruit the right type of people with the right education background, as education and training also affects the number of employees coming into the labour market and their skills. 4.7 How does Human Resource Planning operate within Sainsbury? Sainsbury needs organised and effective human resource planning as it is one of the biggest food store in the world. When ensuring the workforce is planned effectively, Sainsbury’s Human Resources Planning department need to consider their external labour market information. If there is a job available then Sainsbury’s Human Resource Planning department first looks at its existing staffs to see if they are willing to do extra work or if they want to get promoted. This will reduce the amount of training that is needed, which will save money for the company. If no one is found inside the business then Human Resources Planning department looks outside the business-externally. Sainsbury has many stores across the country, but focusing in London where there is generally a low unemployment rate, it will be difficult for Sainsbury to fill in the vacancy. When Sainsbury looks for quality workers, it considers the problem of low unemployment rate which they may have to face, so they interpret a strategy to make sure they are able to employ the right people for the job. If they do not plan things ahead then they won’t have an effective workforce, which will stop them from making sales. To get quality staffs from other companies, Sainsbury could offer prospects that they do not receive in their current job such as, high wages, staff discounts, bonuses, pensions and training opportunities. If their current job does not give all this then it will be an advantage for Sainsbury, as more workers will come to them. Sainsbury normally employs people during the busiest time of the year like, Christmas times and summer holidays. Sainsbury knows that they will get people during these times because during these times there are students who are looking for jobs for pocket money and for experience. Sainsbury also knows there are some times of the year that they can not recruit people like after Christmas, during January and February when many young people return back to school, college or university. Sainsbury has different age range for recruiting people; it is from 17-40 yrs old. It believes by having different age range of employees will help the business to be more effective. By this I mean, young people can give better ideas as they just came out of education and some may know the present world well. Also by having young people, the company could pay them less as they are just working for their pocket money, and not for the family. As well as young people, old people will also be able to give good ideas, as they are more experience about the job. 4.8 The importance of Sainsbury interpreting any relevant labour market information It is important for Sainsbury to see if they are interpreting any relevant labour market information, so that the company can gain the most out of their employees in order to make it a very successful company. They may look at the transport development around them, how well the competitors are doing and the wage rate around the area. For Sainsbury the state of the local labour market is more important then what is happing nationally or regionally, as they are the main people. Sainsbury needs to know how well the transport is around them. What I mean by that is, if there are good facilities of transport for the employees then they will be more wiling to work for Sainsbury rather then another company who does not have good transport facilities. It is not easy for the organisation to provide good transport facilities for everyone as everyone comes from different places. To solve this problem, Sainsbury tries to recruits staffs from local area, as it also helps workers be on time. However you cannot always find good worker from the local area so, as well as recruiting from the local area it also recruits from other areas. The workers who live quite afar Sainsbury provides them free travel card (if the live too far), or pays certain amount of percentages for their fair. If other companies fall or closes down then Sainsbury can take staffs available as long as the staffs know their job. Sainsbury looks at the wage rates around the area to see if they can offer this wage or a better wage rate to try and force the better staff to join them. As well as employing people Sainsbury has to keep in mind the ways they can grow in the market. Basically it is important for Sainsbury to interpret labour market information and quickly attract the best recruits away from rivals to grow. 4.9 How has Sainsbury used labour market information for HRP purposes If Sainsbury does not regularly follow up the labour market information, then like other companies it runs the risk of falling behind. This is why it is important that HRP department within Sainsbury to continually review the labour market information to find out the supply of labour market which is available. This can be done by internal supply (within Sainsbury) or external supply (the local shops, regional or national labour markets). As soon as Sainsbury collects all the labour market information it needs to interpret so it can have effective employees. When they are interpreting they should look at things like what are the skills available, the number of employees within one department, promotions and etc. When HRP department interviews people they need to see if the employee has qualification and training opportunities (which can be found from the labour market information). They need to do this because the education and training opportunities available will affect the numbers of people coming in to the labour market and their overall skill level. 4.10 How relevant labour market trends relate to the ongoing HRP of Sainsbury To employ better employees for the future and to know how and when to recruit them the HRP department needs to look the labour markets trends. For example, if the local unemployment rate is high then Sainsbury will find it difficult to employ people. To over come this problem Sainsbury will need to provide better services than other companies such as, high wages. Sainsbury can also employ people if a company closes down, as there will be people who do not have any jobs. For HRP is to be successful, it continuously needs to look at the labour market trends and use the trends to plan the best way to recruit them and when to recruit them. 5.0 Recruitment and selection 5.1 Introduction to recruitment and selection Recruitment and selection are closely tied. Selection is the process of choosing people to work in an organisation. The selection should attempt to: * Get the best people within existing budget,-that is, those with the most appropriate skills, experience and attitudes. * Select people who will stay with the organisation for a reasonable time. Recruiting and selecting process happens when: * The business grows * Changing job roles within the business * Filling vacancies created by resignation. Retirement or dismissal * International promotion. When the process is happening the personal department will aim to attract the ‘best’ candidates for the job, and then choose the most suitable. If the wrong person is recruited, then this can cause problems for the business. For example, if the person leaves because they find the job too boring or too difficult then there will be extra administration costs for the personal department. The business will face extra costs for advertising, interviewing and training. There will also be a settling in period until the new employee has learnt the job. To make sure the ‘best’ person is chosen, businesses must be clear about: * What the job entails; * What qualities are required to do the job; * What rewards are needed to retain and motivate employees? * When to advertise * Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the job application, curricula vitae and letters of application. * How to shortlist candidates. 5.2 Purpose of recruiting and selecting There are many reasons why recruiting and selecting process takes place. Below I have mentioned the reasons. * Filling vacancies created by resignation. Retirement or dismissal. * Less works to be done for the group. What I mean by this is when a colleague leaves the job, the work he/she did is shared between the other colleagues who worked with them in the same department. * If there is right number of employees then the work will be done faster, which means they will not be behind in any work. For example, the company will be able to launch the product on the expected date if there are more staffs. * If there are more staffs then the business will get an edge on their rivals. * Company will able to expand. 5.3 Benefits of effective recruitment and selection If the recruiting and selection goes well then there will be number of benefits to the business. Like: * The profit will increase for the business, as they will be selling good quality products. * The punctuality of the product being launched into the market will increase, as they will be doing it on time. – Working effectively. * The standard of the product will be better, as they will be motivated and keen for the business * Customer service will increase. For example, if there are more employees then the customers will be served/helped more quickly, which means there will less waiting time for the customers. * Motivates existing employees who prefer working with ‘quality staffs’. * Employees are more likely to stay with the company if recruiting and selection is properly done (matches with the job specification). * If right quality candidates are selected in the first place then it saves time for training and development and also money * Company’s objective is met more efficiently and easily if there are ‘good quality employees’ * Less training and development will be needed if a ‘good quality employee’ gets promotion, as they are more adaptable and flexible to the change. 5.4 Consequences of poor recruitment and selection If the recruiting and selection turns out to be poor then the company will have a loss in the business like: * The standard of the service and product will be poor, as the ‘new’ employee won’t have much interest for the organisation. This means there will be lateness in launching the product into the market. * The profit of the company will decrease, which will make the company’s rival go ahead of them. This will make the growth of the company decrease, and make it difficult for it to grow again. * The company will be behind on its product’s schedule (finishing the task on time), as employees will be working slowly and less effectively. * The company will not get many contracts, as they will be not meeting deadlines, as there is lack of interest for the company. * Company will have a bad reputation if they keep on missing the deadlines. * Employees will be leaving jobs quickly, which means there will be more costs to repeat the recruitment and selection process. 5.5 Processes involved in recruitment and selection function There are numbers of functions involved when recruiting and selection process occurs, like: 5.6 Factors, which should be considered in planning to fill a vacancy and carrying out interviews 5.6.1 Filling a vacancy There are many reasons why a vacancy needs to be filled. Like: * A new job may be available due to the expansion of the organisation * Someone has died * Someone has retired * Someone has been dismissed * Someone has left for personal reasons * Someone is promoted * A new department has opened There are other alternatives that could be carried out instead of filling a vacancy to save money for the organisation. These are: – Making more use of machinery/technology – Restructuring of the work each employee has – Giving overtime to the current employees – Employing part time staffs. If the above alternatives do not work or if the manager thinks the vacancy needs to be filled then they can look for candidates internally (with in the business) or externally (outside the business). 5.6.2 Carrying out the interviews There are number of factors which could be taken into account when carrying out interviews. The interview should be conducted around a simple plan and be based on a number of questions against which all candidates should be assessed. The interview should happen in a good suitable place, such as a warm, quite, ventilated room. Also have a friendly receptionist who will inform the candidates what is expected from them. During the interview the interviewer should ask all the important questions which are needed for them to decide the best candidate, and make notes on what they answer, plus any other relevant answers. There are other ‘dos and don’ts’, which the interviewer should keep in mind. Like: * Introducing self to the candidate. * Adopt a suitable manner, show respect and to be friendly * Making sure the interview is not interrupted. * Conducting the interview at an unhurried pace. * Encouraging the candidates to talk by using ‘open’ questions such as: ‘Tell me about your last/present job†¦..’ ‘What do you find interesting in†¦..’ * Concentrating on those areas, which are not fully covered by the application form. * Making sure the candidate has no further questions at end of the interview and knows when the decision will be made, e.g. within seven days. 5.7 Key recruitment documents There are number of key recruitment documents which are needed to be taken in concern while the recruitment process happens. Such as: * Job description. If the job description is not right or if it does not have enough information then they wont exactly know why they are recruiting the candidates for and also the candidate will not know what the job requires if he/she is selected for the job. * Person specification. If there isn’t a person specification or if it does not have the write words to describe an ideal candidate, then they will be recruiting the wrong people. This could lead to further recruitment and selection cost for the process to happen. * Advertisement – where and how it’s going to be advertised. Like is it going to be internally or externally. If its externally then in what type of media? What sort of information will be included in the advert? Giving wrong information or not enough information could cause a problem for the business. For example, if only ten people applied for the job, the business will find it difficult to recruit if all candidates unsuitable for the job. * CV/Application form. Should be able to shortlist them and write to the best candidates for an interview. * Psychometric and aptitude test. These tests are carried out to see whether individuals have the right sort of personalities or dispositions to carry out particular types of work. * Confirming letter. After a suitable candidate is selected, a letter should be sent out to them confirming the place. * Refusing letter. Letting the other candidates know that they have not got the job. 5.8 Analysis of Sainsbury’s key recruitment documents-if there is quality of information in relation to the purpose of each. Sainsbury uses all the above recruitment documents, but there are few documents, which need to be changed. For example, the application form is too long (there are some questions which are irrelevant) and has less space to write the answers. Also there are some questions, which are not being asked like, it does not have any questions about health or any contacts for emergency. The emergency contact could be asked later on, but it makes it a lot easier if it is asked in the application form. For instance, if it’s difficult to contact the person to tell them that they have an interview (maybe because they have changed their number) then there is possibility to leave a message on the other number. By having too long application form, which has some irrelevant questions, can make people change their mind about applying. Also having less space for the answers could be disadvantage for the organisation, as the organisations will not have enough information about the candidate to decide whom to call for an interview. The job description draws up an over all picture of the main task that is required for a job. An existing jobholder draws up Sainsbury’s job description rather than the line manager or a staff from the HR department. The disadvantage to this is, the existing jobholder will only write about the job from their point of view. Only about the tasks they can carry out. Also they are likely to exaggerate on their task and ability or effort needed when carrying out the job. However there is a chance of the job description being accurate as it’s an existing jobholder. (They know what is involved in the job). If a line manager does it or someone from the HR department it does not always mean the job description is always correct. The line manager or the person from the HR department may not be clear on some job, so they may miss out some details, which will make the job description not completely true. Therefore I believe the existing jobholder and the line manager or the person from the HR department should discuss the main points, which needs to be carried out about the job together and than the job description should be written up. By discussing the main points means, the job description will have all the main tasks that are required to carry out the job and also, the it will be an accurate job description. Different job descriptions are written different but all job description has the basic following features as well as other features. ~ The job title ~ Location of the job ~ List of tasks involved ~ Main purpose of the job ~ Pay and benefits ~ A brief outline of the organisation does There is one other main feature that I believe Sainsbury should include in their job description that they do not add. That is: The standards that the jobholder is required to achieve Everyone wants to achieve something from whatever job they do so they can take that to their new job or use it latter on their life. 5.9 Is Sainsbury successful or failing on Recruitment and Selection? In the past few years Sainsbury has made a good progress as they have taken recruitment and selection very seriously. They made sure that they do the job description and the person specification correctly and include all the points, which are needed to be included. Also they made sure they picked the best candidate who is perfect for the job. This is because from the past they have realised that if there is a mistake in one of the steps of the recruiting and selection process then it could have an effect on the business. For instance, the outcome of selecting wrong candidate for the job could affect the growth and the profit of the business. Plus there will be an extra cost to go through the recruitment and selection procedure. Sainsbury could have had better outcome for recruitment and selection if they improved their application form, as more people would apply and it would be a lot easier for Sainsbury to recruit in the future. Also by having good job description, as that will be beneficial for the employee and the employer, as they will know what the job requires. 6.0 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 6.1 What is training? In training there are planned activities, which are designed to make positive changes to the performance and other behaviour (including the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, beliefs, values and attitudes). Training can be broken down into number of elements: * Traditional training. Training to promote learning of specific facts and content, which enable improvement in job performance, such as technical skills training. * Education. The act of acquiring knowledge, skills and understanding, usually in school, college or university. * Vocational education. Somewhere between educational and traditional training (e.g. apprenticeship training). * Management training. Activities design to improve managerial competence. * Organisational development. Activities designed to change the way in which individuals operate within an organisation (e.g. to help them to work better with the changing culture of the organisation, perhaps through teamwork development). 6.2 What is development? While the training process is happing the employee develops its existing skills as well as its new skills in the way it best suits for individual need. However, the organisation needs to support the individual effectively in developing him or herself. For the organisation to find out if the individual development is successful, the employee does appraisal with the individual, where the individual shows or say how much improvement they have done. Sometime meeting the company’s objectives by using the skills that they have developed can also prove it. The starting point in the development process is normally when each employee puts together a personal development plan (PDP). The personal development plan includes the following: * The individual’s goals and aspirations. * An outline of the resources, methods and supports required to achieve these goals. * An indication of a time period for achieving these goals. * An indication of how these goals will be recognised by others. The personal development plan is then discussed with the line manager or the team leader of the organisation to get advice on how to carry things out and how to get the resources, methods and supports (e.g. the opportunity to go on training courses, opportunity to try out new work, etc.). There are different training methods and activities such as: * Induction training. * Mentoring. * Coaching. * In-house training and external training. * On-the-job training. (OJT) 6.3 Purpose of training and development Training involves employees being taught new skills or improving skills they already have. The outcome of employees improving their skills and abilities has number of benefits to the organisation and to the employees. Like * The business will overall its objectives such as increasing profit. * It will have more flexible work force which will help the organisation every way. For example, they will achieve the objectives more quickly. * At the same time they will get the work done quickly and produce better quality products, as they will be using new technology machinery more effectively. * It will increase job satisfaction for employees, which will motivate them and well-motivated workers are more likely to be productive. * It should reduce injuries if the employees are trained in health and safety procedures. * It can improve employee’s chance of promotion. * It will enable the company to work more efficiently * It will reduce the cost of recruitment and selection, as well trained employee will be willing to stay with the organisation longer then a non-trained employee. * It will increase customer service, productivity, sales and profit. 6.4 The benefits of training and development There are number of major benefits that flow from training and development, such as: * Effective training and development would improve competitiveness of an organisation, as well as improving its productivity and customer service. * The long-term benefits of training and development outweigh the short-run cost. For example, it will reduce recruitment cost. * A skilled worker will carry out the work much quickly and effectively then an unskilled worker. 6.5 Processes involved in training and development There are two types of training and developing processes. They are on-the-job training (internal training) and off-the-job training (external training). There are different training methods and activities such as: * Induction training. Induction is the process of introducing new employees to their place of work, job, new surroundings and the people they will be working with. Induction also provides information to help new employees start work and generally ‘fit in’. * Mentoring. Mentoring involves a trainee being ‘paired’ with a more experience employee. The trainee carries out the job but uses the ‘mentor’ to discuss problems that may occur and how to solve them. * Coaching. Coaching involves providing individuals with personal coaching in the workplace. The person who is doing the coaching role will already have coaching skills. The coach and the individual who is being coached will identify development opportunities that they can work together on. For example, ways of tackling jobs, ways of improving performance, etc. The coach will do continues feedback on how this is progressing to the individual’s manager. * In-house training and external training. In-house training happens inside the organisation and external training is where employees are sent away from the organisation to do the training. * On-the-job training. (OJT) takes place when employees are trained while they are carrying out an activity, often at their work place. * Off-the-job training. This takes place outside the organisation. For example, in a training centre, which is not inside the organisation. 6.6 The key aspects of Sainsbury training and development programme Sainsbury has many different training programs on offer for all its employees. It gives training from the very first day that the employee joins their company. The type of training they give in the beginning is called ‘induction training’. This is given to introduce the employee to their place of work, job, new surrounding and the people they will be working with. It gives other training programs throughout the year depending on the employee’s job and the amount of skills they already have. During the year when ever a employee feels they need training to help them carryout the job (and they can prove it to the manager that they need to -carryout training) then this can be arranged. One of Sainsbury’s policy for all its employees is to carryout a training program twice a year to help them to develop their existing skill or learn a new skill as technology keeps changing. For example, there maybe few functions added to the till so all the retailers that work in the till will need training on how to use these functions. There is not exactly a common training method that Sainsbury uses because depending on the employee’s job, training is carried out. Sainsbury cannot do all its training programs internally (within the business) or externally (outside the business) as Sainsbury may not have the equipments to carry out some programs and it will be waste of Sainsbury’s money to send the employee on external training if the training can be carried out within Sainsbury. 6.7 The importance of its involvement in the performance of Sainsbury Training and development is a big part of Sainsbury. Without efficient training and development Sainsbury would not achieve its objectives. Sainsbury believes that the customers are the most important assets of the business; so in order to keep the customers happy, it must have prepared employees to help them immediately. To have prepared employees, it needs to train them effectively, as it will help the business to move forward and achieve its objectives. This is why Sainsbury has increased their training from 14% to 18%. This means they are spending more money on training then they did before. The outcome of spending more money on training and development has increased their turnover by 6%. Even though they are spending more money like à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25 million a year on training and development, they are still receiving around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½28-à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½32 million a year, which is a good thing as there is a chance of them making profit and becoming more competitive. 6.8 Is Sainsbury successful or failing at training and development? Sainsbury believes training and development plays a big part, for them to achieve their objectives. Effective training encourages the employees to stay motivated and carry out works to their best level, also when the employees realises that the organisation is doing them benefits (teaching them new skills or improving their existing skills), it will encourage them to stay in the organisation for a long period of time. By taking the above point in mind Sainsbury has increased their training by 6%, this means Sainsbury is making more profit then ever. The sales has increased to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½28-à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½32 million a year. They are achieving their objectives more efficiently and increasing their turnover every year. This means Sainsbury’s training and development is successful. However there are some points which needs to be considered to stay successful in the future, such as doing training twice in a row, if they did not find the first training very helpful. This could be very expensive for the business, but to have an effective training and to achieve the business’s aim it has to carry it out. 7.0 Performance and management 7.1 Performance and management introduction A business needs to manage the performance of its employees effectively if it is to remain competitive. It does this by using the following methods: * Performance reviews, including appraisal – it is a process of evaluating performance systematically and of providing feed back on which performance adjustments can be made. To have an effective organisation, the organisation sets out a mission statement identifying the overarching aims of the organisation, then the value statement. From the mission statement and the value statement the business sets objectives for the organisation and for individuals. From there everyone can be monitored and will be able to measure their performance. * Self-evaluation – finding the best way of carrying out the job and at the end of the job evaluating the outcome. * Peer evaluation – evaluating everyone’s performance in the team while carrying out the project to see if everyone is carrying out the work and are they doing it right. * Target- setting for individuals and groups – setting a target depending on the unit or the department they works for. By setting the target it helps the team to get the work done faster to helps it to meet the organisation’s objectives. * Measuring individuals and group output/production – measuring individual’s output and group’s output to see how they are doing and if they should be rewarded. By rewarding employees it encourage them to do much better outcome in the future. 7.2 Purpose of performance management The major purposes of performance management are to: * Define the specific job criteria against which performance will be measured. * Measure past job performance accurately. * Justify the rewards given to individuals and/or groups, thereby discriminating between high and low performance. * Define the experience that an individual employee will need for his or her ongoing development. These development experiences should improve job performance and prepare the employee for future responsibilities. 7.3 Benefits of performance management There are number of benefits for effective performance. They are: * As employees are told about their strength, they are more motivated about the work that they carry out. By having motivated employees the company invests time and money in their personal development. * It allows the company to identify employee’s weaknesses and attempt to eradicate problems. * It allows the workforce to focus on how to meet the business’s objectives, as they will be more motivated on the work. 7.4 Processes involved in performance management The stages are: 7.5 Motivational theories Motivation is the levels of commitment individuals have to do and what they are doing. Work place motivation is concerned with commitment to an organisation, its objectives targets. The ability to motivate people comes from a greater awareness understanding of individual’s behaviour patterns. It is also aided or hindered by style of management used within an organisation as well as the structural parameters designed by senior management. Many theorists have attended to discover the perfect solution to keep staff motivated. While discovering the solution they have found that one solution would not suit all employees so the skills of a good manager is to use a Varity of techniques to motivate all kind of staffs. There are four major theories with motivational techniques and each one is linked to a different style of management. They are: 7.5.1 Scientific management – Frederick Taylor (1856 – 1915) Taylor believed that people were alike and their motivations were relatively simple, and their managers could program the workers’ actions. Scientific management is associated with developing ‘scientific method’ of organising work. As people did not work hard as they could and got less paid, the amount of products, which was being produced was very low and the quality was very poor. So Taylor came up with the following methods that he thought could improve the matters. They are: * Pay them more money (give bonus for each piece of work). This will keep them motivated and encourage them to work hard. * Properly trained managers should run organisation and supervise employees effectively with firm but fair disciplinary methods. * Employees should be properly trained, through what he called ‘scientific management’, to do specific tasks effectively. * Employees should be properly selected through tests and interviews to make sure they are right for the job. His methods hardly involved brainwork. The work was already designed in such away that it required minimum thoughts. For example, McDonald’s employees do not have to think, they simply have to follow instructions and serve the customers. 7.5.2 Theory X and Y – Douglas McGregor (1906 – 1964) McGregor came up with theory X and Y. He thinks that every employee should be put into one of these theories to help the managers to know what kind of employees he/she has in the organisation/department. Theory X shows * The average person is lazy and has an inbuilt dislike of work. * Most people have to be persuaded, controlled directed and threatened with punishment to achieve goals. * Security of environment is important. * The average person will avoid any form of responsibility and needs good supervision to carry out work satisfactorily. Theory Y shows * Work is natural activity and can be enjoyable. * People will willingly apply their skills if committed to organisational objectives. * Their commitment should be recognised and be rewarded. * Personal development is very important and additional responsibility will be welcome. After knowing the ‘Theory X’ group the manager can keep an eye on those employees behaviour and see if they make any improvements. After knowing the ‘Theory Y’ group the manager can be assured that the work is being done is satisfactory due to the employees being interested in their work. Therefore the employers do not have to do constant supervision to see if the work is done. 7.5.3 Frederick Herzberg â€Å"two -factor theory† (1923-91) From Maslows theory Hezberg found out that people go to work for many reasons, but not just for monetary rewards. He came up with two groups of factors, which affects employee’s motivation. They are motivation factors and hygiene factors. In motivation factors there are elements, which make employees work harder. These are known as satisfiers. They are: * Recognition of effort and performance. * The nature of the job – does it provide employee with the appropriate degree of challenge? * Sense of achievement. * Assumption of responsibility. * Opportunity for promotion and responsibility There are elements that do not make employees work hard as well as having elements which does make them work hard. They are called hygiene factors. Also known as dissatisfiers. These are: * Autocratic or arbitrary company policy and administration. * Low pay. * Poor working conditions. * Antagonistic relations between different levels of employs. * Unfriendly relationship with hierarchy. * Unfair management and supervising practices. * Unfair treatments of employs. * Feelings of inadequacy. * Impossibility of development and growth. The dissatisfiers plays simpler role to the satisfiers. Even though the satisfiers are the most important elements to encourage employees to work hard, it needs good dissatisfiers to motivate workers by satisfiers. 7.5.4 Abraham Maslow – â€Å"Hierarchy of needs† (1908-1907) Maslows theories are based on meeting peoples needs in the workforce. He believes that people need to be treated as individuals. Everyone has needs and wants, and these vary according to personality. Wise employers will benefit more by meeting the needs and wants of their employees, as this will reduce conflict. The below table shows the needs and wants of an employee. Needs Wants Achievement of special talents, interesting and varied work. Personal goals achieved, e.g. owner of business, challenging activities. Good at job, appreciated by management and status recognised. High role in company, in charge of many staff, prestige. Working with colleges, part of departmental/social activities. Harmonious team working, sports and social clubs/ benefits. Secure on permanent basis, routine task, and safe environments. Important role in organisation, long-term contract, highly rewarded. Comfortable resources, e.g. heat/lights/snacks and up-to-date equipments More luxurious furniture, own office, sophisticated equipment. Maslow has identified a range of needs that where largely hierarchical in nature. This must be met in the correct order (from bottom to top of the pyramid) to meet employee’s needs. Self- Actualisation Self-esteem Love Safety and security Basic * Self-actualisation – this is concerned with personal development and individual creativity to achieve one’s full potential. In order to meet these needs at work, individuals need to be provided with the opportunity to use their creative talents and abilities to the full. 7.6 How might Sainsbury’s approach to performance management be influenced by motivational theory? Depending on employees Sainsbury uses McGregor’s theory (theory X and Y) and Maslow’s theory (the hierarchy of needs) Sainsbury uses McGregor’s theory X and Y depending on how employees work and what department they work in. For example, Sainsbury’s managers uses theory X on employees who work on the till to serve the customers. They have to be closely monitored on their behaviour, such as lateness and absenteeism. Also if they are carrying out their job properly – are they using the right formula to serve the customers? On the other hand employees in other department (e.g. marketing department) do not need close monitoring as they work hard and gives the manager a strong trust that the job will be done by the deadline. If Sainsbury used theory X on the wrong people (e.g. people who work in the marketing department) then Sainsbury will find it difficult to achieve their objectives as these employees would not feel motivated, which wont encourage them to work hard. They may end up leaving the job which will increase the cost of HRM. Sainsbury uses Maslow’s theory as well as using McGregor’s theory. This is because it believes this theory will help the employees stay motivated by meeting their needs (pay them enough to survive). The outcome of this will keep the employees happy and therefore they will concentrate on their work and do their job better then what they would do if they were unhappy. If the employees are happy and do their job then Sainsbury will achieve their goals easily. 7.7 The relationship between training and development programme and performance management within Sainsbury Performance management helps the company to realise if it wants to do well in the market and achieve its objectives than it will need to train and develop its employees so that they can carry out the job effectively. Effective training and development will make the employees do their job to the best of their ability and to the high standard that Sainsbury expects. If a worker is not trained then they will find it difficult to carry out their task, which will be a disadvantage to the business. Due to the modernisation of today’s society and technology, the workers have to be trained and developed. Otherwise they will be behind with the society and technology, which will make it difficult for the business to achieve its objectives. After training and development, the employee meets with their manager for an appraisal to ensure if training and development was effective and if further training and development is needed. This shows that both of the department is needed (T&D and PM). Once the weakness of an employee is spotted through appraisal, training could be carried out to overcome the weakness. 7.8 Is Sainsbury a success or failure in performance management Through out the years Sainsbury was successful in performance management for the following reason: * Appraisals were carried out four times a year to motivate their employees to work hard. * From appraisal training and development was carried out to help the employees to improve within their role in the company. * Managers used ‘theory X and Y’, as well as using Maslow’s theory (the hierarchy of needs). These theories were used depending on how employees worked individually. 8.0 Conclusion To ensure that the company can make effective use of working with Sainsbury the Human Resourcesmanagement (HRM) has to contribute to a number of factors, which would improve the competitiveness of the business. For example: * HRM has to plan ahead to recruit employees, so that Sainsbury is not short of employees and therefore this will save time and money for corresponding company. * By planning ahead the corresponding company can be certain that the appropriate person is selected for recruitment. This is also beneficial for Sainsbury, as this will save them a great deal of time and money in the short run and the long run. * Insufficient training and development of Sainsbury’s staffs could cause the business to lose customers, sales and reputation of the business. Also ineffective training could cost Sainsbury money with no gain against their competitors. * Lack of appraisals may cause Sainsbury’s employees to leave the job and look elsewhere, as they see little or no career progression. 8.1 Identification and evaluation of the potential conflicts between HRM activities within Sainsbury Conflicts can arise in the following ways 8.1.1 Data protection Human Resourcesdeal with and stores huge amount of personal information on each employee, such as salary, sickness record, absences, etc. How much information can be given out about a person without their permission to the Tax Authorities and Social Security. The local Camden will have a Data Protection Register. This will set out all the items of Data in categories that they use and for what purpose, so they are not accused of breaking the Act. 8.1.2 References Human Resourceswill be asked to give references about their employees, and conflict can arise if a person has been absent a lot of times. If this was a serious operation, then the record will look a lot different then if the person missed few days. Individuals would have to give permissions before any information could be passed on about their Tax Credits. 8.1.3 Laws and procedures Human resource has to comply with various laws, such as, employment law, equal opportunities, race relations, etc. If a Senior Management Team, or the Sales Floor Managers wants an effective employee to be moved then conflicts can arise in a profit making business. 8.1.4 Profit (bottom line) One of the main objectives for Sainsbury is to make profit. Conflicts can arise when the benefits of the HR function cannot be measured in recruitment, employee relations, training, motivation etc. 8.1.5 Resources Different HR department (recruitment, training and appraisal) uses various resources and does the work slightly differently. This could cause conflicts, such as, the failure of one department could jeopardise the success of the others. For example, if recruitment and selection does not succeed for any reason then the whole HRM is a failure