Job Descriptions free essay sample

Running Head: Staffing Organizations – Job Descriptions Maintaining Job Descriptions Sharon Chambers Strayer University Dr. Annette West July 24 , 2011 Current Issue The InAndOut, Inc. , company provides warehousing and fulfillment services to small publishers of books with small print runs. After the books are printed and bound at a printing facility, they are shipped to InAndOut for handling. The owner and president of InAndOut, Inc. , Alta Fossom is independently wealthy and delegates all day-to-day management matters to the general manager, Marvin Olson. Alta requires that Marvin clear any new ideas or initiatives with her prior to taking action. The company is growing and Marvin expects to hire new employees within the next year to meet this growth. Job descriptions for the company were originally written by a consultant about eight years ago. They have never been revised and are hopelessly outdated. As a general, Marvin is responsible for all HR management matters. Since Marvin has to clear new projects with Alta, he needs to prepare a brief proposal that can be used to seek approval of new job descriptions. We will write a custom essay sample on Job Descriptions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Importance of Job Descriptions Whether youre a small business or a large, multi-site organization, well-written employee job descriptions will help you align employee direction. Alignment of the people you employ with your goals, vision, and mission spells success for your organization. As a leader, you assure the interfunctioning of all the different positions and roles needed to get the job done for the customer. According to Susan M. Heathfield, About. com Human Resources Guide, effectively developed, employee job descriptions are communication tools that are significant to your organizations success. Poorly written employee job descriptions, on the other hand, add to workplace confusion, hurt communication, and make people feel as if they dont know what is expected from them. Foster Thomas Blog, Complete HR Solutions states, â€Å"it is essential to maintain accurate job descriptions. † Job descriptions are important both from a legal and practical standpoint. From a practical point of view, job descriptions help the jobholder understand the responsibilities of the position and provide a sense of where the job fits into the company as a whole. From a legal perspective, job descriptions aid in the compliance of several laws. Job descriptions provide a basis for job evaluation, wage and salary comparison and equitable wage and salary structure (Equal Pay Act). Job descriptions are often used as supporting documentation when it comes to establishing a job’s exempt or non-exempt status (Fair Labor Standards Act). Job descriptions provide a basis from which to determine whether an applicant with a disability is qualified for the job and to determine if any accommodation is required to perform the essential functions of the position (ADA analysis). Outdated job descriptions lead to risky business decisions. For example, if an employee is terminated because he/she could not perform a job function but that function is not on his/her job description, the company risks a wrongful termination charge. Similarly, if a disabled employee is terminated due to inability to perform an essential job function, but the essential job function is not listed on the description, the employee may claim that he/she was terminated due to his/her disability, not a legitimate business reason. Job Descriptions Format From a format perspective, job descriptions should contain the following sections and statements: Essential duties and responsibilities; * FLSA classification; * Job specifications (i. e. , education requirements, other skills required); * Physical demands, work environment * Job Summary or purpose * Signature and date section for the employee and supervisor. * Physical demands statement: â€Å"Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential f unctions. † Updating Job Descriptions Organizations could undergo restructuring, expansion, downsizing or relocation. Companies, departments and teams change and also business priorities as well as technologies. This could result in the job functions of employees changing to accommodate the changes in their organizations. Employees might assume new responsibilities or leave out tasks that were not working very well. Such changes should not be ignored and strict adherence to the old job descriptions would be counterproductive to organizational well being. In the event that the job functions of the employees change, it is imperative that their job description change as well. In essence, after writing initial job descriptions, there are a number of good reasons to update them n accordance with the changes taking place in the job functions of the employees (Mader-Clark, 2008). The bottom line is that just as it is important to write new job descriptions when an employer is planning to hire new employees, it is equally important to continually update job descriptions to keep them relevant with the real job functions of employees in the organization ( Mader-Clark, 2008) and (Gan and Kleiner, 2005) . Another compelling reason for updating job description is the hiring process would suffer if one were to hire new employees based on obsolete job descriptions. One of the important factors determining effective recruiting is successful prescreening of applicants. This involves listing of job’s requirement in the advertisement or providing realistic preview of the job during initial call. Job postings using obsolete job descriptions will not attract the right candidate for the job. Job interviews are used to select the candidates for the job. Questions that are asked during selection interviews are structural, behavioral and job related. In order to have predictive validity the questions have to be based on authentic job descriptions. Job analysis has to be arried out and job description written on the actual job duties. Management could encounter legal problems if job offers and employment contracts are prepared on job descriptions that have not been updated (Roberts, 1997; Mader-Clark, 2008). Freeman (1996) and Mader-Clark (2008) have specified a number of reasons to update a job description and these are listed below: * Where a fun ction is added or deleted from the job. * Where someone that is hired possesses new skills that does not track the old description. * Where a higher level of contribution from a position is required, such as a new skill or a body of knowledge. Where there has been a change in the requirements of the job, like a special certificate to carry out the job Process of Developing a Set of Thorough and Current Job Descriptions According to Heneman and Judge (2009), as far as the process of writing new job description or updating existing ones is concerned, it should encompass the following elements: * Defining the need to revise job description format. * Job analysis. * Updating or creating new job descriptions for every classification and making sure that they are premised on current and proper information. Making an assurance that the description meets all legal standards for every position. * Job evaluation. * Updating. The first step here normally concerns making a comprehensive definit ion of the need to revise the job description format and this is done while using pre-existing information and format as much as possible in order to minimize costs and time as well. Beth Bulger, Director of HR Services (Foster Thomas), advises, a practical way of updating job descriptions is to ask managers to confirm that the job description is up-to-date as part of the performance review rocess. You may also give employees a copy of their job description and ask them to give feedback to their managers. Review all job descriptions on a set schedule, such as during the annual performance review. Conclusion Whether you’re hiring someone new, evaluating a current employee or determining compensation, a job description provides consistency and clarity for everyone involved. Taking the time to write an accurate job description now will save you money, time and energy in the future. References Heathfield, Susan, Employee Job Descriptions: Why Job Descriptions Make Good Business  Sense. Retrieved July 24, 2011 from About. com: http://humanresources. about. com/od/glossaryj/a/jobdescriptions. htm Bulger, Beth, The importance of Accurate Job Descriptions. Retrieved July 24, 2011 from Foster Thomas Blog. com: http://www. fosterthomas. com/blog/bid/33742/The-importance-of-Accurate-Job-Descriptions Farnham, D. (2000). Developing and implementing competence-based recruitment and selection in a social services department – A case study of West Sussex County Council. International Journal of Public Sector Management,13(4), 369-382 Gan, M. and Kleiner, B. (2005). How to Write Job Descriptions Effectively. Journal of Management Research News, 28(8), 48-54 Dessler, G. (2008). Human Resource Management. New Jersey: New Jersey. Heneman H. and Judge T. (2009). Staffing Organizations 6th Edition, Middleton, WI: McGraw Hill International Edition Mader-Clark, M. (2008). The Job Description Handbook- Everything You Need To Write Effective Job Descriptions- And Avoid Legal Pitfalls 2nd Edition. San Francisco: Nolo. Roberts, G. (1997). Recruitment and Selection: A Competency Approach. London:

Apostles of Disunion essays

Apostles of Disunion essays In Apostles of Disunion, Charles Dew attempted to explain what caused the South to secede and start a civil war. One topic he focused on and believed was a major reason the South seceded was the pro slavery attitude the South held. Dew believed that if slavery did not exist then the civil war would have never occurred. Through his writings he showed the pro slavery attitude Southerners held and he used several examples to support this idea. Two of the best examples he used were actions that pro slavery Southerners took before the civil war started and speeches made by pro slavery southerners in attempt to gain an allegiance against the North. One example that Dew provided that showed actions Southerners took that demonstrated there pro slavery attitudes was the use of scare tactics by these Southerners. In an effort to build an alliance through the South, Southern leaders would use emotion to gain support of the common people. They would give examples of what would happen to them and there families if blacks would be free. These examples would explain how the lives of Southerners would be ruined and that the country would come to an end if slaves were freed. On page 22, Dew gave portions of a speech, by Governor John J. Petus of Mississippi that was given to the state legislature. In this speech he said, Secession was the only way to avoid the blight of Black Republicans politics and free Negro morals, he continued to say that if slaves were freed, Mississippi would become a cess pool of vice, crime and infamy. Petus was attempting to rationalize that the state would become a haven of criminals if slaves were free d. He was really concerned about losing the revenue from slavery, but he used scare tactics to get approval for secession. Another action that showed that pro slavery attitude Southerners held was the commissions that they held. These commissions were firs ...

Automated Testing of Distributed and Heterogeneous - Free Samples

Various healthcare organizations are now working with a huge chunk of data. The database is consisted of this chunks of data organized in a proper manner. The information is derived from the data that are collected by the system. The Information System is the piece of technology that assist an organization to manage the data and process the data to generate information. The information system also responsible for generating reports based on information that assist the management and doctors to take decision precisely. The report is consisted of discussion on two subsystems of the James Healthcare Organization. The sequence diagrams have been developed based on the patient registration sub system and appointment scheduling sub system. The report also provide the ways of modifying the designs to make it more effective.   James Healthcare Center is a renowned organization that operates its business based on twelve thousand patients and four hundred and fifty staff. The owner of the organization is currently thinking of opening a new center that will consists of all the modern medical facilities. The organization provide insurance coverage to its employees. The need of the modern technology and information system is required to support the business growth. The new system will be replacing the old paper based processes of the organization. The office manager supervises all the employees of the organization. The HR handles the staff benefit and human resources. Lee Sue is responsible for managing the appointments of the healthcare. He has to maintain the appointment related data single handedly. This is a critical and effortful process. The possibility of errors is very high. The patient registration is s crucial process as it is consisting of the data that will identify the patient. The project will be developed using the agile methodology where the organization will be able to develop the system based on the prototype development. The designs of the project is created on the OO design. The system will be responsible for making the reports for management so that they can facilitate the decision making. The clinical decision making system will be integrated into the system so that clinical treatment decisions can be taken properly. Electronic Medical Record is the data storing technology that will hold the patient treatment related data. The EMR will hold the patient details, diagnosis details and its results, the test reports, the doctors who are providing treatment, the medicines that are prescribed to the patient and the effect of the medicines and much more. The project is consisted of various parts and development of various subsystems. These subsystems will be developed individually and then bined to create the plete system. The system will be running on a single server. The project will be developed using various programing languages. Database that can store business and patient health related data for a very long time. The ERM will be integrated into the system to hold the patient health and treatment related data. A CDSS or clinical decision support system that can facilitate the decision making process of the system.   The deliverable of the project are as following. The main constraint of the project is designing of the system. The system design is based on the ou e of the requirement analysis process. If any issues occurs in the requirement analysis process then the system project will fail. Managing the change in the organization is a considerable issue. The main requirements of the system are human resource, support of the stakeholders, programing language, database, network and many more. The programming language is used for making the GUI and the backend coding of the system. The functionalities of the system will be developed using the programming language. The data base will allow the system to hold the data in a secure location. The database has to be accessed through a predefined queries based on the database type. The deigning software is a crucial requirement of the project. The software will be used for designing the system functions and interactions with the end users. The software form third parties and the hardware to setup the system are also significant requirements of the system. The system network will be developed using the wireless method. All the client devices of the network will be connected using the Wi-Fi.   The advantages of the project are as following. Figure 1: Patient Registration Subsystem Sequence Diagram   Verification and Analysis: The sub-system design has been done using the system sequence diagram. The diagrams has been done properly to establishing a fine understanding of the sub-system processes. At the beginning, the patient will open the application or website (which is no concern of the report) and enter the details. The details will be consisting of the data like patient personal data such as name, address, spouse, age, email address, phone number and many more. It is to be assumed that a patient may want to open various accounts on the system to cheat the organization or may forgot he has one existing. In such cases, the system will verify all the details provided by the patient to ensure that the patient does not have any previous account. The patient will input the id and password of his wish to the system so that using the id and password the patient can later login to the system. The system will then read the inputted registration details and convert it into the machine readable values. The system will be developed using the object oriented language like java, python or any other. The system development will be based upon the OO designs. The designs have to be as per the proposed scope of the system. The designs will be created using the user data that are provided during the requirement analysis process. In this diagram the patient has been the actor who will trigger the system functionalities. The patient object will trigger the registration function mentioned as the `register()` in the diagram. The register function will be acting upon the defined variables which will be initialized based upon the user input. The variables will then be used by the system to verify user and register patient after success verification. The system design has been done with pleteness as it is consist of all the processes that are required to register the patient. It is mon in the healthcare industry that a patient ing from a doctor who has been providing treatment to the patient. The system will hold the data of the doctor so that it can be used for future decision making purpose. The system will be storing the daises of the patient that is already known so that assistance can be provided during treatment. The EMR will hold the data like to which medicines the patient has allergy and more. As this data will be recorded during diagnosis, these data will not be considered at this sub-system development.   Figure 1: Patient Registration Subsystem Sequence Diagram Verification and Analysis: The payment registration will also be done by only the interaction of the patent. No receptionist or other staff of member will be handling the appointment process anymore. The system will hold the appointment related data into the system and based on these data and patient desired appointment details, the new appointment will be scheduled. The system will be collecting the data form the patient through the GUI provided to him/her. The patient will access the system and login to the system using id and password. A session will initiate and the patient id will be used for storing the activities. The patient will request for appointment through the schedule appointment section in the GUI. The user will input the date desired for appointment and the type of the specialist. Selecting the physician is based upon the system it is not up to the patient. After getting all the data from the user, the system will retrieve data from the database. These data will be about the appointment scheduled the preferred day against the selected physician type. If the system fids that the appointment data is vacant in that day then the appointment will be scheduled and if not then the system finds for an alternative day. The patient will select an alternative date. After the patient select the alternative day, a notification will appear in the screen saying the ‘Appointment will be confirm. Are you sure of the date?’ If the patient select ok then the system will confirm the appointment against the patient. The system sequence diagram did not include any information regarding the verification process. Each of the data must be verified so that only authenticated data can be inserted into the system. The sequence diagram can be developed by dividing all the processes into the sub-processes so that all the system functions can be understood properly. Form the above report it can be concluded that the system development process can be difficult task but if done properly then can invite many opportunities for JHC. The system sequence diagram has been a great tool to show the functions of the patient registration and appointment scheduling sub-system. Baresi, L., Pourhashem Kallehbasti, M. M., & Rossi, M. (2014). Flexible modular formalization of UML sequence diagrams. In Proceedings of the 2nd FME Workshop on Formal Methods in Software Engineering (pp. 10-16). ACM. Cerqueira, T. G., Ramalho, F., & Marinho, L. B. (2016). A Content-Based Approach for R mending UML Sequence Diagrams. In SEKE (pp. 644-649). Chitra, M. T., & SHERLY, E. (2016). Verification of behavior preservation in uml sequence diagrams using graph models. Indian journal of puter science and engineering, 7(4), 1-6. Dao, V. T., Hung, P. N., & Nguyen, V. H. (2016). A Method for Automated Test Cases Generation from Sequence Diagrams and Object Constraint Language for Concurrent Programs. VNU Journal of Science: puter Science and munication Engineering, 32(3). Dou, L., Lu, L., Zuo, Y., & Yang, Z. (2014). Verification of UML Sequence Diagrams in Coq. In puter Engineering and Networking (pp. 1233-1244). Springer, Cham. El Ahmar, Y., Le Pallec, X., & Gà ©rard, S. (2016). Empirical Activity: Assessing the Perceptual Properties of the Size Visual Variation in UML Sequence Diagram. In HuFaMo@ MoDELS (pp. 33-43). Faria, J. P., & Paiva, A. C. (2016). A toolset for conformance testing against UML sequence diagrams based on event-driven colored Petri nets. International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer, 18(3), 285-304. Jena, A. K., Swain, S. K., & Mohapatra, D. P. (2015). Test case creation from UML sequence diagram: a soft puting approach. In Intelligent puting, munication and Devices (pp. 117-126). Springer, New Delhi. Kaur, B., & Kaur, E. H. (2015). Clone Detection in UML Sequence Diagrams Using Token Based Approach. International Journal, 5(5). Lima, B., & Faria, J. P. (2015, July). Automated Testing of Distributed and Heterogeneous Systems Based on UML Sequence Diagrams. In International Conference on Software Technologies (pp. 380-396). Springer International Publishing. Minhas, N. M., Qazi, A. M., Shahzadi, S., & Ghafoor, S. (2015). An Integration of UML Sequence Diagram with Formal Specification Methods—A Formal Solution Based on Z. Journal of Software Engineering and Applications, 8(08), 372. Mohapatra, D. P., Godbley, S., & Dutta, A. (2017). Measuring Hit ratio of Software Systems using UML Sequence Diagram. Muram, F. U., Tran, H., & Zdun, U. (2016, December). A model checking based approach for containment checking of uml sequence diagrams. In Software Engineering Conference (APSEC), 2016 23rd Asia-Pacific (pp. 73-80). IEEE. Rhmann, W., & Saxena, V. (2016). Test Case Generation from UML Sequence Diagram for Aadhaar Card Number based ATM System. system, 11(4). Silva, C. V., & Villarroel, R. (2014, November). JPI UML: UML class and sequence diagrams proposal for aspect-oriented JPI applications. In Chilean puter Science Society (SCCC), 2014 33rd International Conference of the (pp. 120-123). IEEE. Song, J., Zhou, Z., & Guan, Y. (2015). Agent UML sequence diagram and meta-model. American Journal of Engineering and Technology Research, 15(1).

The Impact of Inward Foreign Direct Investment on Host Countries Essay

The Impact of Inward Foreign Direct Investment on Host Countries - Essay Example According to the research findings, Foreign Direct Investment has over the last three decades aroused conflicting responses from the first and third world. In essence, FDI gives the investor the power to operate a company in another country for the long term. Developed host countries are not too welcome to the idea on the premise that they fear foreign firms will end up dominating their local firms. In contrast to this, developing countries are more welcome to the idea on the grounds that FDI will bring additional capital, expertise and new technology into their country. Host countries record FDI flows as liabilities along with similar items in their balance of payments. In host countries like these FDI flows make up a large percentage of the total investment in the economy as compared to more developed countries; the effects of FDI on these countries differ as well, with developing countries showing a steady growth trend as compared to developed countries who showed boom and bust cy cles as a result of engaging in FDI. Growth is normally measured by looking at the trends in per capita GDP growth. Analysts relate FDI to per capita to GDP growth by looking at figures of gross FDI inflows and FDI inflows per capita to see if they have any impact on the economic growth of a country. Research has revealed a positive relationship between FDI levels and growth levels in an economy, in some cases, these results have been insignificant as well but these variables have never shared a negative relationship. The extraneous variable has a magnitude changing effect on this relationship. It has been seen that the more developed a country is, the better and greater positive effect FDI will have on its economic growth. Most studies that have analyzed the impact of FDI on the economic growth of the host country have found the results to be pretty elusive. Most established relationships are based specifically on the host country’s own specific economic characteristics. Thu s it is difficult to generalize these effects and apply them to other countries as the findings of a study. However, the probable effects are not completely elusive, as the endogenous growth theory provides a framework for the positive linkage between growth and FDI inflows.

Revise essay draft__compare and contrast Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Revise draft__compare and contrast - Essay Example Claudia Wallis in her article, â€Å"The Multitasking Generation,†(2006) and Nicholas Carr’s â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid?†(2008) argue against the way people interact and rely upon the technology physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially in certain unpleasant ways. In his personal life Carr describes a lesser ability to concentrate. He focuses upon the intellectual laziness that access to fast internet answers, the mobile phone and other technology can breed mental laziness. He goes back into history to show how the coming of technology can have negative effects upon the human mind, from the 14th century onwards, though the industrial revolution and on into the modern age, with an ever growing negative impact. Wallis focuses instead more on the social and interpersonal communicational perspective when people are persistently interacting and multitasking with technology, and how that these can have a negative effects; both of these authors are absolutely right. She discusses how children are perpetually interacting with technology and that parents think that this multitasking is a product and a credit to the presence of that technology and their minds. Unfortunately, that is little better than an â€Å"old wives tale† that people may tell themselves to justify their children’s excessive technological interactions:- Human beings have always had a capacity to attend to several things at once. Mothers have done it since the hunter-gatherer era--picking berries while suckling an infant, stirring the pot with one eye on the toddler† (Wallis 2006). Many biologists and anthropologists would easily agree that the things that defines humans is their curiosity, the ability to learn and adapt, and the ability to multitask and to process multiple information at once. This did not evolve as a side effect of technological advancement. It is rather the reverse which is true: the technology emerged as a result of

Investigate the resistance of a wire Essay Example for Free

Investigate the resistance of a wire Essay If the wire is thinner then the electrons have less of a cross sectional area to bounce through, and the wires atoms slow down the free-electrons by impacting them. A similar scenario occurs if the wire is hot, as the wires atoms vibrate more and these reverberations also impact the free-electrons slowing them down. Resistance is clearly far less in the opposite situation to both of these scenarios. Other possible scenarios have been briefly mentioned in the Affecting Factors section. Repeated readings In this experiment I have decided that during the final experiment, I shall take repeat readings. I have decided this as during the preliminary investigation, I have noticed that several readings are easily anomalous. If I should combat any erratic figures during the final experiment I can rely on a second set of readings, therefore making the experiment more of a fair test. It is to this effect that I believe repeated readings necessary and I shall take two sets of reading for each voltage experimented on. Background information During the course of the academic year, I have conducted an experiment to prove Ohms law of resistance, voltage and current. This law associates all three of the aforementioned units in a simple equation: Voltage = Current x Resistance or V=IR This proved that as voltage and current increased, so did the resistance of the wire. This is one of the many ideas that I base my hypothesis of the experiment on. Prediction I predict that in my final experiment, as the voltage increases, so will the current. I believe this as voltage is said to be the pushing force or drive behind the current and so the higher the voltage is, the faster the flow of electrons in the wire. I also predict that higher than 8V the wire will burn. I believe this as whilst investigating my preliminary experiment, the wire burnt quickly on a voltage of 8V or thereabouts. I predict that the shorter the wire becomes, the higher the voltage and current of that wire, I believe this because the shorter the wire becomes, the lower the resistance becomes as the free electrons in the circuit would have far less atoms in the Constantan wire to impact against subsequently lowering the resistance. I also believe that the higher the voltage and lower the current, the higher the resistance will be, I have concluded this from ohms law. Also I predict that the higher the voltage and current on a short length of wire, the higher the possibility of mass temperature rise and therefore open flame. This would ruin the experiment so as I have said before I shall only be using voltages less than and including 6v. Final experiment During this section of the investigation, using newly discovered knowledge from my preliminary experiment I shall aim to collect a set of accurate results to match my hypothesis. Apparatus During this experiment I shall need: A digital ammeter A digital voltmeter A Constantan wire A power pack Sets of power leads 100cm ruler Crocodile clips Diagram Method The apparatus was set up as shown in the diagram. The Constantan wire was mounted onto the ruler, and attached by both selotape and crocodile clips (one at 0 on the ruler, the other one was moved up and down the scale in order to change the overall length of wire included in the circuit) The readings were taken from both the ammeter and the voltmeter in two sets for each voltage. The readings were taken at a constant variation of 10 cm from 100cm to 20 cm (I havent taken any readings less than 20 as in the preliminary this tended to burn the wire) I took readings in three different voltages namely 2volts, 4volts and 6volts. Results 2 volts, first set Length of wire, cm Current, A Voltage, V Resistance, ? 100 0. 39 1. 83 4. 69 90 0. 41 1. 76 4. 29 80 0. 45 1. 74 3. 86 70 0. 48 1. 69 3. 52 60 0. 56 1. 65 2. 95 50 0. 61 1. 50 2. 46 40 0. 73 1. 46 2. 00 30 0. 92 1. 36 1. 48 20 1. 22 1. 19 0. 98 Graph 2 volts, second set Length of wire, cm Current, A Voltage, V Resistance, ? 100 0. 37 1. 85 0. 20 90 0. 41 1. 81 0. 23 80 0. 45 1. 77 0. 25 70 0. 50 1. 72 0. 29 60 0. 60 1. 74 0. 34 50 0. 66 1. 63 0. 40 40 0. 78 1. 52 0. 51 30 0. 94 1. 38 0. 68 20 1. 27 1. 25 1. 02 Graph 4 volts, first set Length of wire, cm Current, A Voltage, V Resistance, ? 100 0. 78 3. 80 0. 21 90 0. 85 3. 72 0. 23 80 0. 94 3. 65 0. 26 70 1. 05 3. 57 0. 29 60 1. 18 3. 45 0. 34 50 1. 36 3. 33 0. 41 40 1. 60 3. 17 0. 50 30 1. 89 2. 76 0. 68 20 2. 75 2. 62 1. 05 Graph 4 volts, second set Length of wire, cm Current, A Voltage, V Resistance, ? 100 0. 79 3. 84 0. 21 90 0. 86 3. 74 0. 23 80 0. 95 3. 68 0. 26 70 1. 07 3. 60 0. 30 60 1. 21 3. 50 0. 35 50 1. 38 3. 34 0. 41 40 1. 58 3. 06 0. 52 30 1. 94 2. 84 0. 68 20 2. 58 2. 67 0. 97 Graph 6 volts, first set Length of wire, cm Current, A Voltage, V Resistance, ? 100 1. 09 5. 29 0. 21 90 1. 19 5. 20 0. 23 80 1. 35 5. 15 0. 26 70 1. 50 5. 10 0. 29 60 1. 72 4. 96 0. 35 50 2. 00 4. 90 0. 41 40 2. 38 4. 61 0. 52 30 2. 83 4. 36 0. 65 20 3. 75 3. 70 1. 01 Graph 6 volts, second set Length of wire, cm Current, A Voltage, V Resistance, ? 100 1. 09 5. 26 0. 21 90 1. 20 5. 22 0. 23 80 1. 32 5. 13 0. 26 70 1. 49 5. 04 0. 30 60 1. 68 4. 91 0. 34 50 1. 95 4. 76 0. 41 40 2. 19 4. 30 0. 51 30 2. 70 3. 96 0. 68 20 3. 75 3. 80 0. 99 Graph Analysis From the graphs above, it is clear that the resistance between varying voltages are very similar. As the voltage and current have increased the resistance has increased, as I have previously stated in my prediction, therefore Constantan wire obeys ohms law of resistance. The increase in resistance is due to more and more energy being put into the wire. That is to say as the voltage or the driving factor behind the free electrons flowing around the circuit increases, this increase in resistance is caused by the free electrons being passed around the circuit at much higher speeds and therefore deflecting off of more atoms that have more heat energy than those in shorter lengths of constantan wire. These atoms are hotter because more free electrons are passing through these lengths of wire, and deflecting off of more atoms, passing their kinetic energy to these atoms as heat energy. This is what causes the wire to heat up, and sometimes melt. During taking these results I have noticed that there are several linking factors. These are mainly current and voltage, as stated in ohms law. Evaluation I believe that my experiment in all is accurate for a GCSE standard coursework piece, although in research physics I believe that this experiment would be highly inaccurate. I do not believe that any of my readings are abnormal. From my work mostly from the average set of results taken from all 6 sets, I can conclude that: * Resistance in a wire is equal to the voltage divided by the current of the circuit * With high voltages, the wire in the circuit heats up due to an increasing number of collisions of free electrons and atoms in the Constantan wire. * As a wire decreases in length, the resistance increase * As a wire increases in length, the resistance increases as does the voltage however the current decreases * Constantan wire obeys ohms law During the experiment I noticed several abnormalities however. If I had the power pack on for too long a period of time, the readings on both ammeter and voltmeter began to become more and more erratic. I believe this to be because the apparatus was not turned off, heat would have been building up in the Constantan wire so during the experiment I turned off the apparatus between readings. After I did this I noticed that this strange behaviour had stopped. I also realised that using a rule and crocodile clips was clearly not the greatest means of measuring the length of wire as the lengths would clearly have not been at all accurate, and that the likelihood of using the exact amount of wire in the circuit was far outweighed by that of not doing so. In the graph which I associated length of wire with resistance, it clearly showed a straight line through the origin (0,0). This line represents the phrase proportional to therefore I also conclude that length of wire is proportional to the resistance of the wire. Improvements My work in this final experiment is far improved from that of my preliminary although it could easily still be improved further. I would improve it further by using more accurate means of measuring the voltage and current of the circuit, I would use various types of wire, I would vary the temperature of the wire and I would vary the cross sectional area of the wire. In this experiment, although I only varied the length of the wire, unwittingly I also have changed the temperature of the wire, as it increases as any current is passed through it, and as the shorter the subject wire becomes the hotter it also becomes. I would strive to collect resistance readings that were the same throughout the experiment as mine varied slightly. Reliability I believe that my results are viable for a GCSE standard piece of coursework although a research physician would discard them. I believe that collecting answers to two decimal places is also accurate enough for this experiment and that the slight variations of resistance between repeats is so small that the results could be deemed accurate. Constant factors In this investigation I have strived to make sure that the following factors remained constant: * Cross sectional area * Temperature of wire * Type of wire In this investigation, the cross sectional area or CSA would be maintained throughout readings, as the wire was not swapped during the experiments. This reason also dictates that the type of wire is also a factor that was kept constant. As I have mentioned before the temperature of the wire would have varied throughout the experiment, and as I have mentioned in the preliminary section of this investigation that with voltages higher than 8v the wire began to burn. This deviation in the temperature may have been the deciding factor as to why my readings for resistance were only slightly different. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Electricity and Magnetism section. Download this essay Print Save Not the one? 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Literary Analysis Of The Red D Essay -- essays research papers

Literary Analysis of â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† In the story, The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, the author tries to create a specific atmosphere to emphasize the action within the story. The setting of the story immensely helps to create this atmosphere. Poe’s descriptive setting aids in creating the atmosphere of the story by developing mood, evoking feelings from the reader, and creating a false sense of security.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The setting of The Masque, which Poe effectively and thoroughly illustrates, helps to create a desired atmosphere by developing the mood of the story. Poe describes the masque as â€Å"a gay and magnificent revel† in which â€Å"the prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure.† This creates a joyous and blissful mood, and shows that the masque, for the most part, was a rather jubilant occasion. However, Poe also illustrates how a gigantic ebony clock, located in the westernmost apartment of the abbey, causes â€Å"the giddiest to grow pale† with the sound of a loud, deep, and rather peculiar note when the clock strikes each hour. The â€Å"uneasy cessation of all things† resulting from the sound of the clock creates an unpleasant and apprehensive mood, directly opposite from the joyful mood described earlier. These descriptive settings of the clock and the rest of the masque are what assists in creating a desired atmosphere throu ghout the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another key element of how the setting affects the at...

HRM Exam Question Essay

1. Explain the ways that recruitment can contribute to the implementation of Human Resource Strategy 2. Outline and explain the options to consider when designing a reward strategy. 3. Briefly compare and contrast the differences between the ‘best fit’ and the ‘resource based’ approaches to strategic human resource management. 4. Outline the main uses of competency models in Strategic Human Resource Management? 5. Explain what you understand by the terms ‘unitarist’ and ‘pluralist’ and their implications for employee relations strategies. 6. Outline and discuss the factors to consider when designing a retention strategy October —2013 1. Critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of ‘best practice’ models of HRM strategy? 2. Outline and discuss the main obstacles hindering or preventing HR departments from delivering strategic HRM 3. What should organisations consider when developing a reward strategy? 4. How can recruitment and selection processes contribute to strategic HRM? 5. Discuss the main features of a Learning Organisation. Why is it important in a strategic HRD approach to organising development? 6. Which mechanisms of employee involvement would you recommend using as part of your employee relations strategy and why? New 1. Explain three best fit’ models of HRM and outline the strengths and weaknesses of such approaches to ‘strategy? 2. What are the main elements of a reward strategy? 3. Specify the data that you would need to analyse the potential absence problems of an organization 4. How can recruitment and selection processes contribute to strategic HRM? 6. Which mechanisms of employee involvement or ‘employee voice’ would you recommend using and why? Section – b Question 1 Critically evaluate the role that performance management systems play in the delivery of SHRM. Discuss the main mechanisms used in PMS and explain the different options that can be used within them. Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer Question 2 Critically evaluate the factors to consider when designing a retention strategy. Question 3 How can you best define and explain the concept of Strategic Human Resource Development? How does it differ from the concept of training and what are the strategic choices that make up Strategic Human Resource Development? Question 4 Critically evaluate the options and strategic approaches required to design a ‘total reward’ system Section B Answer two questions – Section B is worth 60 marks (30 marks for each question) Question 1 Critically evaluate the role that performance management systems play in the delivery of SHRM. Discuss the main mechanisms used in PMS and explain the different options that can be used within them. Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer Question 2 For developmental activity to be deemed ‘strategic’ organisations need to shift the focus from a training’ to a ‘learning’ approach. Discuss this proposition in the context of development activity supporting individual and organisational change Question 3 Critically evaluate the use of competency based approaches in modern HR strategies. Explain in detail how they may be used in one specific area of HR such as performance management. Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer Question 4 Critically evaluate ONE of the following a)In what ways can HR strategies provide the level of organisational flexibility required by modern organisations? OR b)Should reward strategies always include an element of performance related pay. Justify your answer in relation to both theory and practise? Section B Answer two questions – Section B is worth 60 marks (30 marks for each question) Question 1 Critically evaluate the role that performance management systems play in the delivery of SHRM. Discuss the main mechanisms used in PMS and explain the different options that can be used within them. Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer (30 marks) Question 2 (30 marks) Question 3 Critically evaluate the use of competency based approaches in modern HR strategies. Explain in detail how they may be used in relation to EITHER Recruitment and selection OR Performance management Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer (30 marks) Question 4 Critically evaluate THREE of the following payment systems Individual performance related pay (merit pay) Time based pay Skills based pay Team based pay (30 marks)

A Report On The Strategic Change Issues Facing British

Ancient philosophers always said that the only room that never gets full is the room for change and growth to better levels. Change brings a sound of celebration and relief. In the business sector any change is always geared to the increase in profit. Any business venture has one driving force: creation of wealth and economic growth. This is the reason for existence of businesses like: banking, hotels, airlines, schools, hospitals among others. Operation management is the day to day decisions and ventures that are undertaken to run the company. This can help give a projection into the future 5, 10 or so years.One thing that is very basic is that the world is changing, and an effective business should also help to bring this very necessary difference. â€Å"One of the key roles of a serious manager and entrepreneur is to solve problems decision making is another major role of this officer. † These were the confession of Carleton (2005). Decisions pertaining various departments in a company are made by key management staff in every firm: The key drivers for change that are most likely to impact on the future of business and management are: Stiff and ever increasing competition from key rival firms.One must always be the best in the market place in order to remain advantaged. This will call for several reforms towards improvement, and such challenges will be dealt with as they come. Some decisions to be made, take time and energy. However, the knee-jerk response is to jump straight to the most obvious solution: training and coaching to develop individuals' leadership skills and potential. This conveniently bypasses the problem-diagnosis stage. It also overlooks the disconnect between what happens at individual and organizational levels. Managerial and human resource aspects have always put pressure on firms.Such pressure is sure argent of change. A global trend is another driving factor towards change. Any new standards set up must be adhered to if one need s to e in the market. The main aim is to develop an appreciation to the role of management in the process change in the firms of interest. Management of such a change can never be an individual affair. It explores the forces driving organizational change and offers a contextual understanding of change management principles. Do you do it alone as a manager? Do you involve others? Do you let others make the decisions?Management is an organized, systematic application of the knowledge, tools, and resources of change that provides organizations with a key process to achieve their business strategy. Change Management is a critical part of any project that leads, manages and enables people to accept new processes, technologies, systems structures and values. Changes are inevitable in any firm or sector. Of great interest is change management in British Airline Company. Many such firms as this exist. This calls for real outstanding leadership in the market place. BRITISH AIRWAYS This is an airline with it’s headquarters in London.Europe has increased sharply over the past decade as the introduction of new airlines has helped push prices down significantly. This airline has routes both within and without the great United Kingdom sky. This airline is the world's second largest international airline, with a passenger carrying capacity of more than 27 million passengers from one country to another. Also, as one of the world’s longest established airlines, it has always been regarded as an industry-leader. British Airways’ worldwide route network covers more than 216 destinations in 94 countries (including franchises, subsidiaries and one world partners).British Airways is one of the founding partners of the one world alliance, which took off in February 1999. Fellow members now include American Airlines, Aer Lingus, Cathay Pacific, Finnie, Iberia, LanChile and Qantas and Swiss. The original predecessor airline, called Aircraft Transport and Travel, l aunched the world's first daily scheduled international air service, British Airways traces its origins back to August 1919. At the moment the airline has an amazing fleet of 312 aircraft; including 100 wide bodied long haul aircraft (57 Boeing 747-400s and 43 Boeing 777s).The current world has gone into corporate alliances, with mergers and acquisitions being the common norm of doing business. For this reason, British Airways has one-on-one relationships with a number of airlines. It owns a 17 per cent stake in Qantas and 9 per cent in Iberia. It also fully owns subsidiaries such as British Airways CitiExpress. Members of British Airways’ franchise family include British Mediterranean Airways, GB Airways, Comair, Loganair and Regional Air. Some of the main components of British Airway’s business strategy include investing in its people and products, and continuing to build a competitive cost base.These objectives, along with other strategic goals and values, have been delivered through a program called â€Å"The BA Way,† which was launched in 2004. This was in response to the people wanting real clarity about where company is positioning itself in the marketplace. The leading entrepreneur once observed that major firms often started as either government or public properties. This however is never the case with British Airways. This company is owned entirely by private investors, with more than a quarter of a million shareholders. British airways just like any business have its own problems.The problems always arise in the process of moving to greater heights. As executive assistant to the director of British airways, change issues facing the organization in the next 5 five years are amazing. The major problems are as below: MANAGERIAL The BA Way has five factors for success: be the best U. K. -based network, understand the customers better than the competition, be a powerful brand that people know and trust, foster a competitive cost base and work together as one team. For a progressive development of a business, proper leadership is bedrock to build on.Managerialism, especially in the public and quasi-market sectors, has provided a key development in how organizations are managed, co-coordinated and controlled, and is suggestive of new relationships and a reordering of organizations and management. In the March issue of Fast Company magazine, a fascinating article titled â€Å"What is the Biggest Change Facing Business in the Next 10 Years? † Avram Miler, the CEO of Avram Miller enterprise explained that â€Å"The cornerstone for this millennium is the end of time and space. Most organizations today are run the same way as early-20th-century businesses.Everyone goes to his car, drives to work, has certain hours, and has a certain job. It's all built on the factory model. Moving forward, it really isn't going to be important where you are in order to do your job. Ideas are being worked on 24 hours a day. Nob ody seems surprised anymore if I wake up in the middle of the night and start IM-ing someone in Europe, because the fact is, they don't even know where I am. And it doesn't matter. ’’ He continues to say that â€Å"Fewer and fewer people will want to be employees of corporations, because corporations don't have anything to offer.Corporations don't provide security and provide fewer and fewer benefits. People may find new ways to sell their skills. † This illustrates that many people often get employed in companies, but the never have any intentions of staying for long periods. Tim Brown President and CEO, Ideo, Palo Alto, humorously says â€Å"people are ever on the move to greener pastures. † This is one major problem in management. Employees, some of whom hold very key positions in the company always transfer to the so called green pastures.The human resources manager of British airways observed that many of their staff has often moved to start their ow n ventures. These range from local to international ventures. The best way to manage this problem is to create laws governing employment. Its true that a person performs best only after getting good orientation on an environment. Consistency is another key to excellence. To avoid loosing employees, a minimum duration should be put, such that no employee can leave before finishing some specific time duration. This will help the airline to retain workers for some good time and hence foster consistency.The major hindrance to this implementation is some weakness in management. Friends to departmental heads are always favored and the axe rarely falls on them. This however can be managed by prosecution of any corrupt staff. Another managerial problem often realized in British Airways is lack of commitment in some of the employees. They often take long to finish any assignment given to them, and when asked to give an explanation, this is a ticket to being their enemies. This vice in a comp any leads into loss of money, because people are paid their allowance while they don’t perform their duties.Many researches argue that training and development programs increase the organizations performance and effectiveness. This can help increase the work output because more experience is injected to the generally trained staff. Toward a better understanding of the effects of training and development in the workplace, this research points out the importance of training and development the workforce, determines the major types of training and development programs, discusses the relationship between training and the overall organizational performance, and offers some guidelines for HR managers to design effective training and development programs.Signing of performance contracts has helped to alleviate this vice. This helps to ascertain that an employee indeed deserves to get his salary. Burnes (2004) in his book arrives at a style which enables healthy competition within a firm, resulting into increase of production. He says â€Å"the ability of an enterprise to compete within the prevailing settings relies on two qualities: †¢ The capacity of the firm to identify and understand the competitive forces in play and how they change over time linked together.†¢ The competence of a business to mobilize and manage the resources necessary for the chosen competitive response through time. British Airways have implemented this, and many staff has always been awarded for showing commitment and excellent performance. GLOBALISATION Another method British Airways’ learning division has used to promote organizational values is through owning its Future program, which every employee across the enterprise—from in-flight crews to customer service staff—must go through at some point.This is delivered by the internal senior management teams. It’s about helping people understand the business direction, the environment that they are operating in and the way they are positioning themselves in the business. By understanding that, people will understand the actions the team is taking in driving the business forward (British Airways, 2005) Some of the changes that British Airways has in the next five years include: †¢ BA to increase services between New York JFK and Gatwick, but at the same time drop its link to the US city from Manchester Airport.†¢ BA to enhance the passenger experience at the new London Heathrow Terminal 5 with the installation of art works in its premium lounges. Companies move towards forming alliances, both local and at international level. The environment in which most organizations operate today is continuously changing, and the rate of change is increasing. Almost most organizations are now involving in tremendous increase in international business and foreign assignments. British Airways is not left behind. At the moment, the company has offices in all capital cities in the worl d.At the same time, serious advertisements are on the run. To enhance collisions, BA purchased the small German domestic airline Delta Air Transport in 1992 and renamed it Deutsche BA. By the time it was sold in June 2003, DBA was operating 16 Boeing 737s and was the second-largest German domestic carrier, after Lufthansa. Globalization is a disposition towards international interaction and co-operation. This comes with the general growth of a knowledge based economy. Impacting on the financing structure of organizations and employment practices.The ability of an enterprise to compete within the prevailing settings majorly relies on two qualities: the capacity of the firm to identify and understand the competitive forces in play and how they change over time, linked to †¢ the competence of a business to mobilize and manage the resources necessary for the chosen competitive response through time. . The environment in which most organizations operate today is continuously changin g, and the rate of change is increasing. Almost most organizations are now involving in tremendous increase in international business and foreign assignments.BA aims at increasing the number of passengers greatly. New infrastructure is required for this. Heathrow Terminal 5 was built exclusively for the use of British Airways at a cost of ? 4. 3 billion and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 March 2008. It opened to passengers on 27 March 2008. more air crafts are also to be purchased come 2013. for instance, On 27 September 2007, BA announced their biggest order since 1998 by ordering 36 new long haul aircraft. The company ordered 12 A380s with options on a further 7, and 24 Boeing 787s with options on a further 18. TECHNOLOGYTechnological factors are information technology/the internet, new production processes computerization of processes and changes in transport technology (Human Resource Management Journal, 2008). There are also internal triggers for change which inc lude: new chief executive, unionization or de-unionization, structural a change, re-design of factory or office layout, re-design of jobs, new IT equipment or software introduced, cuts in overtime working and redundancies (Epmbook, 2007). As research continues in the energy sector, Bio fuel may be used by BA planes. This is an improvement towards good environment creation.Indeed this is amazing. Currently the test of planes is going on, on their response to bio fuel. The above forces are for easier information transfer, facilitates global structures, requires new competencies and expectations, facilitates telecommuting; new employment relationships, more emphasis on knowledge management, quick competition through globalization, more educated workforce etc (McShane and Travaglione, 2003). Change management entails thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation, and above all, consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes and BA has mastered this art.Chan ge must be realistic, achievable and measurable. These aspects are especially relevant to managing personal change. Before starting organizational change, ask yourself: What do we want to achieve with this change, why, and how will we know that the change has been achieved? Who is affected by this change, and how will they react to it? How much of this change can be achieve without? These aspects also relate strongly to the management of personal as well as organizational change (Business balls, 2006). If you think that you need to make a change quickly, probe the reasons – is the urgency real?Will the effects of agreeing a more sensible time-frame really be more disastrous than presiding over a disastrous change? Quick change prevents proper consultation and involvement, which leads to difficulties that take time to resolve, (Burns & Stalker, 1994). BA does not sell change to people as a way of accelerating ‘agreement' and implementation. ‘Selling' change to peop le is not a sustainable strategy for success, unless your aim is to be bitten on the bum at some time in the future when you least expect it. Change can be unsettling, so the manager logically needs to be a settling influence.BA has gone through extreme lengths to ensure that they study the market. They are keen on the use face-to-face communications to handle sensitive aspects of customer relations and encourage managers to communicate face-to-face with their people. They discourage the use of email and written notices as they are extremely weak at conveying and developing understanding. At all times involve and agree support from people within system (system = environment, processes, culture, relationships, behaviors, etc. , whether personal or organisational). †¢ In depth understanding of the organisation’s position at all times.†¢ In depth understanding of the direction of the organisation. †¢ Open and clear communication channels. SPECIFIC CHANGES THAT BRI TISH AIRWAYS HAS ENCOUNTERED From a humble background BA has expanded to the giant it is by now. This never occurred in one day, neither was it a very smooth transition. Given time, all have a potential to expand to the highest levels. One of the greatest changes that occurred in BA was mergers and acquisition. During the 1990s BA became the world's most profitable airline under the slogan â€Å"The World's Favorite Airline†. The management then saw the need to expand.A merger is the business transaction that takes pace between two firms. One firm acts as a buyer, while the other company is bought. Mergers take place to help cub extreme competition and also to widen the market scope. In 1992 BA purchased the small German domestic airline Delta Air Transport and renamed it Deutsche BA. This widened the market space into Germany. By the time it was sold in June 2003, DBA was operating 16 Boeing 737s and was the second-largest German domestic carrier, after Lufthansa. The lesson learnt is that mergers bring expansion and growth.In the year 1995, BA formed British Asia Airways, a subsidiary based in Taiwan, to operate between London and Taipei. Owing to political sensitivities, British Asia Airways not only had a different name, but also had a different livery, with the Union Jack tailfin being replaced by Chinese characters. Many airlines followed the same practice, e. g. , Qantas flew to Taiwan as â€Å"Australia Asia Airways† and KLM's Taiwan operations became â€Å"KLM Asia†. British Asia Airways ceased operation in 2001 when the airline suspended flights to Taiwan due to low yield. A change brings with it many resettlements.Some include employment of new staff to handle the expansion. This was the case in the two mergers in Germany and Taiwan. Other changes are indeed not pleasing. An example is the laying off of staff incase of closure. Proper marketing must be done. This is to keep the much esteemed customers aware of the companyâ€℠¢s developments. The road to success is never a smooth one. Any push to the positive is always met by opposing currents. Some of pitfalls to change into a new market include competition. The main competitors of British Airways are bmi and virgin Atlantic. These offer great rivalry.However BA has managed this through its strategies to make sure that clients are satisfied by the service delivery. Capital is another challenge to expansion. Some expansion ventures require much money. This is money to buy planes and to do office set up, with an aim of getting back the profit. Many a times the company has gone through looses especially when they were forced to pull back. Withdrawal is not very pleasant but it is the best option especially when things are not working. This was the case in Taiwan. The world population is large and ever-growing. This has and will provide market for flight industry.The best way to venture is to do market surveys. Once the costumer’s desires are known, follow up can be made to come up with a product to satisfy the need. It pays a lot to be the market leader in terms of innovations. This will give an advantage over other companies. CONCLUSION It takes commitment and vision to be on the top. BA has one dream, which is to be on top in the flight industry. In the next five years, the company shall have diversified its services in terms of quality and quantity expansion. REFERENCES 1. British Airways(2005): The Wings of Learning.Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 19th April 2008 from http://www. clomedia. com/content/templates/clo_article. asp 2. Buchanan, D & Boddy, D. (1992). The Expertise of the Change Agent. Hemel Hempstead. US: Prentice Hall. 3. Burns & Stalker, (1994). The Management of Innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 4. Businessballs (2006). Change management. Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. businessballs. com/changemanagement. htm 5. 5. Change Management (2008). A Thirst fo r Change Leadership. Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www.change-management. com/tutorial-change-leadership-mod4. htm 6. DCUBS (1996). Total Quality Management and Organisational Change. Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. dcu. ie/dcubs/research_papers/no15. htm 7. Epmbook (2007). Organisational Change Management. Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. epmbook. com/orgchange. htm 8. Harvard Business Review journal. Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. learnoutloud. com/Catalog/Business/Leadership-and-Management/Change-Management/820 9.Harvard Business Review journal (1995). Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. hbsp. harvard. edu/hbsp/hbr/articles/article. jsp 10. Human Resource Management Journal (2008). Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. blackwellpublishing. com/journal. asp1 11. M cShane S. and Travaglione T. (2003). Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim. Australia: McGraw-Hill. 12. Organisation Studies journal (2008). Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. mbs. ac. uk/research/organisationstudies/cms5/call-papers/talk-power. aspx 13.Personnel Today Journal of Applied Human Capital Management (2007). Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. personneltoday. com/blogs/hcglobal-human-capital-management/2007/04/journal-of-applied-human-capit. html 14. Pettigrew, A and Whipp, R (1991) Managing Change for competitive success. U. K: Blackwell. 15. Strategy + Business (2004). 10 Principles of Change Management. Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. strategy-business. com/ 16. 15. The Economist journal (2008). Retrieved from World Wide Web as from 18th April 2008 from http://www. sciencedirect. com/

Unctuous, A Humpty Dumpty Word

Unctuous, A Humpty Dumpty Word Unctuous, A Humpty Dumpty Word Unctuous, A Humpty Dumpty Word By Maeve Maddox A reader alerted me to a new use of the word unctuous that has escaped me until now: When did â€Å"unctuous† start having a positive connotation?   Watch any cooking show lately and it’s likely you’ll hear someone describe a dish as â€Å"unctuous,† as if that’s a good thing. Many celebrity chefs seem to now use the word to suggest a dish is rich, smooth, or maybe even creamy.† Like the reader, my reaction to hearing the adjective unctuous applied to food is one of disbelief and gagging repugnance. Unctuous derives from a Latin word meaning ointment. The earliest meaning of the word in English is â€Å"of the nature or quality of an unguent or ointment; oily, greasy.† Like so many other words, unctuous is and has been used with multiple meanings. For example, applied to soil, unctuous refers to the presence of organic matter and fertility. OED citations from 1495-1821 show the word used to describe meat that was â€Å"greasy, fat, and rich.† The OED labels this use â€Å"archaic.† For me, the chief meaning of unctuous is â€Å"smarmy and hypocritical.† This figurative meaning developed in the 18th century from the religious use of the noun unction in reference to religious ritual. Anointing with oil is a symbolic act indicating that a person is being prepared for something serious. For example, the Catholic sacrament Extreme Unction is equated with preparing a gravely ill person for death. Anointing is part of ceremonies associated with the crowning of a king and the ordination of a priest. The noun unction can be used literally to mean â€Å"anointing† or figuratively to mean â€Å"a spiritual influence acting upon a person or the manifestation of such a feeling in language.† In a spiritual context, â€Å"an unctuous person† is one who displays a manner suggestive of religious earnestness. Unfortunately, not-so-religious people often see religious earnestness as hypocrisy. Also unfortunately, hypocrisy frequently takes the form of false humility or religiosity. These human realities led to the use of unctuous to describe hypocrites. Literature abounds with such characters. Iago, Tartuffe, Uriah Heep, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Elmer Gantry are characters who talk a good game, pretending to a spiritual superiority and/or humility they do not possess in order to manipulate people. The literal meaning of unctuous only adds to the aptness of this figurative use: such characters are â€Å"oily and slippery,† like ointment. English speakers familiar with unctuous in the sense of greasiness and hypocrisy are understandably repelled to hear the word applied positively to food. Many food writers, however, have embraced the term. A writer at The Kitchn [sic] calls it a â€Å"favorite food word.† The word is especially popular in headlines above pork recipes: Braised pork belly is an unctuous treat Unctuous Carmelized Chinese Braised Pork Belly Aware that many English speakers object to the use of the word as if it meant succulent, food writers dismiss their critics with Humpty-Dumptian disdain: If you’re a food writer, and you’re doing a review or article about pork belly, you have to use the word unctuous or unctuousness whether you understand what it means or not. (Food Wishes blog) Words acquire different connotations according to the experiences of the people who use them. I’ve read that many modern speakers are grossed out by the use of the word moist to describe cake. To my generation, a moist cake is a good thing. It’s possible that food writers who find unctuous a suitable word to describe palatable pork may be repulsed by the word succulent. The Humpty Dumpty Theory of Language: â€Å"When  I  use a word,† Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, â€Å"it means just what I choose it to mean- neither more nor less.† â€Å"The question is,† said Alice, â€Å"whether you  can  make words mean so many different things.† â€Å"The question is,† said Humpty Dumpty, â€Å"which is to be master- thats all.†- Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll. Note: The reader whose question prompted this post also wonders about the pronunciation of unctuous: â€Å"Does unctuous have three syllables or only two?   I always thought it had three, but many of the folks on these [cooking] shows pronounce it with only two syllables. The preferred pronunciation is with three syllables: unk-tju-us. Merriam-Webster gives the three-syllable pronunciation first, but also acknowledges a two-syllable pronunciation: unk-tchus. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Opening Lines to Inspire the Start of Your Story50 Types of PropagandaHow to Style Titles of Print and Online Publications

History Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

History Project - Essay Example Prevalence of Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity and overweight children are characterized as â€Å"epidemic in North America and internationaly† (Deckelbaum & Williams, 2001, p. 239). The number of children satisfying the definition of obesity has increased significantly. For example, information released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that in the US the number of obese children between ages 6 and 19 increased from 4-5% in 1963-1970 to 15% in 1999-2000 (Korbonits, 2008). The CDC (2012) reports that 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents in the US between the ages of 2 and 19 â€Å"are obese.† In addition, the numbers of obese children in the US have tripled since the 1980s. Childhood obesity differs according to ethnic and racial distinctions. For example, between 2007 and 2008, data suggested that Hispanic boys between the ages of 2 and 19 were far â€Å"more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic white boys† (CDC, 2012 ). The data from 2007-2008 also revealed that non-Hispanic black girls were far more â€Å"likely to be obese than non-Hispanic white girls† (CDC, 2012). The CDC (n.d.) reports that 1 out of every 3 children are either obese or overweight before attaining the age of 5. Moreover, approximately 3.7 million or 1/3 of children from low-income families between ages 2 and 4 were either overweight or obese (CDC, n.d.). Childhood obesity is therefore prevalent in the US. Causes of Childhood Obesity According to Korbonits (2008) only between 1 and 2 percent of obese children suffer obesity as a result of an inherited gene. Obesity in children for the most part is more frequently caused by a number of interacting factors that â€Å"increase food intake and decrease energy expenditure† (Korbonits, 2008, p. 88). According to Davies, Fitzgerald and Mousouli (2007) both the quality and availability of food has changed during the latter parts of the 1900s to the extent that both food and drinks are dense in energy, come in larger portions, marketing of food and drinks has intensified and more and more Americans eat away from the home. Urbanization has also contributed to the propensity for obesity as walking in cities has been characterized as too dangerous (Davies, et. al., 2007). People in general have become more sedentary and as a result there is far less physical activities (Davies, et. al., 2007). Eating and lifestyle patterns and choices are typically cultural in nature in that children often inherit these choices and patterns within their respective cultures. Thus cultural influences help to explain why Hispanic boys and black girls in the US are more likely to be obese (Sundquist & Winkleby, 2000). Feeding habits beginning in infancy is said to be linked to the development of childhood obesity (Harder, Bergmann, Kallischnigg & Plagemann, 2005). A lack of physical activity is also linked to childhood obesity. In fact, Kimm, Glynn, Obarzaneck and Kriska (2005) reports that individuals who are more active are more able to effectively control their weight by developing muscles and decreasing body fat. However, children today tend to reduce the level of physical activities by the time they start high school (Kimm et. al., 2005). Health Risk Factors Attributed to Obesity Roberts and Hoffman (2008) reported that childhood obesity is associated with academic underperformance, psychological and physical health problems

A critical review and response to a relevant research paper in Essay

A critical review and response to a relevant research paper in relation to safeguarding. (5000 words) - Essay Example Childcare professional all over the world, have always put the interests of the child first, more so when it comes to ‘physical abuse and risk to life’(Hagan, 2006 pg 24). They are right to be so, since, child safeguarding and protection are more of a right than a necessity. Safeguarding covers the aspects of a child spanning from early life to maturity. Safeguarding focuses on the development, factoring potential risks and vulnerabilities while cultivating an atmosphere ‘focused on children as future citizens’ (Parton, 2011 pg 856 – 857). Child protection is quite essential in its own respect, however, safeguarding outweighs protection since it is curative preventive rather than curative. Cleaver et al., (2009 pg 13) firmly insists that children should be put at the center of the safeguarding process. Parton’s (2011) study purposed to shed light on policy development and debate in England, in relation to child protection and safeguarding. He lays emphasis on the significant change in policy over the years. By having this article published by the British Journal of Social Work, with the authority and command it bears in this field, the article asserts it strength and relevance. It is, however, not enough to vouch for an article based on who, or where it featured; there is the need for further scrutiny and research by all stakeholders. This helps influence practice and even policy. In this essay, therefore, I will critically aim at analysing Parton’s article, giving a summary and a critique thereof. Parton’s main purpose was to reflect in a critical way, the developments in policy, as well as debates in England in matters of child protection and safeguarding (Parton, 2011). By emphasizing on policy changes in a span of 20 years, he aimed at putting the state on the spotlight in matters of its contribution to this change. The researcher neither portrays the state as having failed in matters of policy development, nor does he