HR Training and Development #3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HR Training and Development #3 - Essay Example The five categories of learning proposed by Robert Gagne are: Verbal information, Intellectual Skills, Cognitive Strategies, Attitude and Motor Skills.(Gagne, 1985) Each outcome of learning is vital for successful performance. According to Gagne, each of the categories leads to a different class of human performance. (Gagne and Briggs, 1992) The situation and the required skill-set to complete a task are the issues that determine the capability that should be given top priority. However, keeping the organization's mission and its people strategy, imparting Intellectual Skills acquires greater prominence than all the other four. Intellectual Skills play a major role as they deal with knowing how to do a particular thing, using the powers of discrimination, concrete and defined concepts, and higher order rules. It is the ability to combine several simple rules into a complex rule to do something. () In fact, it is the core problem solving ability. It helps Abbott maintaining its distinct position in the market. It also helps integrating employees with the values and culture of the organization.

Solution of trhee question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Solution of trhee question - Essay Example Separating the roles of chairman and CEO mainly helps in distributing the balance of power and responsibilities. Board is the primary internal control mechanism for aligning the different interests of shareholders and top management. When an individual serves simultaneously as chairman and CEO, the Board’s control over him will be weakened. This does not happen when the roles are separated. The role of Chairman includes managing the business of the Board and monitoring its progress. Non-segregation of duties of Chairman and CEO would reduce the monitoring effectiveness over the management of the company. Opportunistic executives may take advantage of their combined role as Chairman and CEO in order to personally benefit at the expense of the shareholders. The chances of such injustice would reduce to an extent if the roles are separated. Having a single leader instead of two helps promote effective action by the CEO speeding up response to external events faced by the company. Separation of roles could lead to delays in such response. (iv) The main reason for any company to issue its rights shares at a discount is to make the offer relatively attractive to shareholders and encourage them either to take up their rights or sell them so the share issue is â€Å"fully subscribed†. The price discount also acts as a safeguard should the market price of the companys shares fall before the issue is completed. The existing shareholders or purchaser of rights would still be interested in subscribing for the shares so far as the subscription price remains lower than the market price of the shares. A company would prefer to use rights issue as a source of finance because the chances of the shares being fully subscribed under rights issue is higher when compared to shares being freshly issued in the market. A firm can grow in two ways: either by merging with or

The Background Information Of Malaysia Airlines Marketing Essay

The Background Information Of Malaysia Airlines Marketing Essay Malaysian Airlines System Berhad (MAS) is the holding company for Malaysias national airline carrier, one of Asias fastest growing airlines. Through several other subsidiaries, the company manufactures aircraft parts, offers trucking and cargo transportation services, caters food, provides laundry and dry-cleaning services for airlines and other industrial institutions, and oversees a travel agency. Company Chairman Tajudin Ramli owns a significant share in Malaysian Airlines System (MAS), and the Malaysian government retains a strong voice in MAS affairs. In the premium market segment, MAS is under tremendous pressure from full service carriers (FSCs) who are striding ahead with first class products, new and modern aircraft, and fast-expanding routes. On the other hand, in the price driven market segment, MAS is also strongly pushed by low cost carriers (LCCs) with low fares. In a nutshell, MAS must reinvent itself to fend off competition from FSCs and LCCs. MAS aspires to become the Worlds Five Star Value Carrier. MAS believe that they have to reinvent themselves to achieve this vision. C:UsersmicDownloadsmas.jpg 3.0 Situation Analysis 3.1 General Environment Analysis Demographic segment The demographic segment is about the population size, age structure, geographic distribution, ethnic mix and income distribution. Malaysia is a multiracial country and its population comprises of 28.6 million of people. The government aims for increasing the national population to seventy million by the year 2100. There is 63.8 percent of the population lives in urban area while only 36.2 percent of population love in rural area. The passenger load factor (PLF) of an airline, is a measure of how much of an airlines passenger carrying capacity is used. It is passenger-kilometers  flown as a percentage of  available. The PLF of Malaysia is 67.8, 60.7 for Asia, 74.9 for Europe and Middle East, 73.6 for Australia and New Zealand, 72.6 for Africa and South America, 60.6 for Orient and North America. Besides, Malaysia is recently introduce a new policy which with the purpose of making the Malaysia to become the high income nation. This significant policy had show the increase of Malaysian income in the future time. Sociocultural Segment The labor force in Malaysia has been increased from year 2003 to year 2010. It reached a capacity of 11.38 million of people in the year 2010. http://www.indexmundi.com/malaysia/labor_force.html. It is found that the youths who are in between of the age of 15 to 34 basically make up the largest labour force in Malaysia. They are makeup of 42.5% of the total population, roughly 9.75 million of people. http://www.mtuc.org.my/young_workers.htm. It is also found that the women in the workforce have increased. This is due to the reason that a lot of countries have endorsed legislation such as Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act to protect the women in the workforce. Besides, there are many reasons to explain why the women have increased in the workforce. For example, women are more educated and more skilled. http://www.strategic-human-resource.com/women-in-the-workplace.html. There are various type of airline careers offer in the airline industry, such as pilot, captain, copilot, second officer or flight engineer, flight attendant, flight dispatcher, and meteorologist. Airline industry employs those people with highly diversified skills regardless of the sex. It is proved that the flight attendants like the stewardess or steward symbolize the major job sector in the airline industry. For instance, there are nearly 80000 flight attendants in United States airline industry. http://www.targetwoman.com/articles/airline-careers.html However, it is found that the age discrimination cases have been happened in the United States airlines. According to the pilots required retirement policy such as Age 60 Rule, pilots are forced to retire at age 60. This is because the airline industry believed that the pilots are not able to perform the job well at the age of 60. They believed that the pilots are place the airline company and the passengers in danger if they are permit to fly. http://www.targetwoman.com/articles/airline-careers.html Global Segment Airlines have participated in globalization and consolidation. They link their network through the establishment of alliances and partnerships to expand the access to their customers. For example, the world aviation market is shared between the global alliances such as KLM or North West, Atlantic Excellence alliance, STAR, and British Airways or American Airlines alliance. http://adg.stanford.edu/aa241/intro/airlineindustry.html The airlines industry has targeted some relevant new long term global market in order to expand their services such as Asia Pacific and China, South Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania (Australasia). It is believed that most of the airlines keep the new global market in Asia Pacific and China. This is due to reason that China has grown promptly and the urbanization of China had caused it became the dynamic aviation markets. The urban population has been increased from 302 million in year 1990 to 622 million in years 2009. It is expected the population will come up to one billion by year 2025. Besides, the domestic passenger traffic is projected to grow on an average rate of 7.9% in China. Boeing, as the Chinas leading provider of passenger airplanes, predicts that about 71% of the demand in China is the single-aisle airplanes with the full deliveries of 3090. http://www.globalintelligence.com/insights-analysis/asia-news-update/asia-news-update-november-19-2010/malaysia- malaysian-airline-eyes-indian-chinese-mar/ http://www.boeing.com/commercial/cmo/china.html Physical Environment Segment The great majority of the airlines have developed their own comprehensive programmed to reduce the environmental footprint and produce a more environmentally product. Based on the research, the members of alliance in the airline industry have enhance the fuel efficiency of the aircraft and create not as much of greenhouse gases like the old aircraft and are quieter. Basically, there are some international industry bodies like IATA (the International Air Transport Association), Association of European Airlines, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, the USAs Air Transport and others are fully support the environmental activities. Based on the global perspective, there is fewer than 2 percent of the worlds total carbon dioxide which produce by the airline industry being released. The passenger aircraft nowadays are more environmentally friendly as it is 70 percent more fuel efficient than 40 years ago. For example, Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner are more fuel efficient aircraft. In addition, the noise footprint which produces by the aircraft is naturally 50% more quiet than those aircraft in ten years ago. According to IATA, airlines are planning to improve the fuel efficiency of the aircraft and carbon dioxide emissions in another 25 percent more. It is also plan that in the coming year 2025, the fuel efficiency of the aircraft will be improved in another 30 percent. http://es.oneworld.com/enes/ow/news-and-information/fact-sheets/fact-sheet?objectID=35tempURLParam= http://www.travelgreen.org/industry_landing2.htm?select_industry2_id=33 Technological Segment There are many airlines currently using proprietary check in systems which will convert all its check-counter to the ARINCs MUSE common-use system. City Airport, Logis Travel (CALT) can make better use of its available counter space because it will help to provide a convenient in town check in. The improvement of the check in counters at CALT is economically feasible. In addition, many of the airlines involved already have experience with ARINCs MUSE technology at Incheon and Gimpo. They will be able to make the transition at CALT with little extra cost. http://www.arinc.com/news/2010/10-07-10-vmuse-seoul.html Besides, technology also can be used to enhance customer relations. It will help to create convenience for consumers. The industry can offer travelers a web interface customized to a specific type of travel. The web interface can direct the customer to services with the desire benefits but cost a little more. Other than that, the automated check in machines is available in some airlines. Travelers can swipe a credit card through the automated check in machines as identification and print out their tickets instead of checking in with airport staff. The new technology also helps airlines to track lost luggage. There are Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems which will help to enhance aircraft unit loading devices and help boost security. http://gulfnews.com/business/aviation/new-technology-helps-airlines-track-lost-luggage-1.703356 Economic Segment A low cost airline generally has many features that differentiate it from the traditional carriers. These features include ticketless travel, online ticket sales, no international offices, no frequent flyer points, no free food and beverages, no in-flight magazines, no club lounges and use of secondary city airports. In the early economic regulation of airlines, the government is concerned more on their participation in the airmail system. The Air Mail Act of 1925 allowed the U.S. government to pay airlines for carrying the mails. http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Government_Role/Econ_Reg/POL16.htm Besides that, Air Asia was re-launched in Malaysia as a low fare and low cost domestic airline. Air Asia is promoting low fare of Indonesia Malaysia trip which will help it to open the Indonesia market. It will help Air Asia to rise up the economic growth. Air Asia also provides its services between Singapore and Bangkok by introducing a 2nd daily flight to its existing schedule. Air Asia is offering its guests promotional fares to/from Singapore-Bangkok which is much lower than the lowest fare SGD$56 offered by full service carrier. It will help Air Asia to open the Singapore market. Political / Legal Segment Airlines political action committee is a huge donor when compared it with those big companies in other industries. For example, Singapore Airline is currently facing or might face political strategies in near future. SIA could face problems of entering the new markets like China and increase market share in existing network. It is because many airlines are still government owned and much of the trade in aviation services is still controlled by governments. Besides that, Thai Air Asia is a joint venture which is established by Air Asia with the Shin Corp. Shin Corp is owned by the family of Thailands Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. There are about 900 million baht will be invested in Thai Air Asia over a five-year period. Shin Corp oversees the finance and administration of Thai Air Asia while Air Asia shoulders the responsibility for marketing and operations. Shin Corp has financial strength which will help to support Air Asia to grow. Therefore, Air Asia with its politically pow erful may well grow up to bite. (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() 3.2 Porters Five Forces Analysis Threat of new entrants As justify form the environment, any new company or organization to entering this airline industry is not easy due to the several kinds of entry barriers may discourage competitors from entering a market. The level of barriers to entry depends on the customer loyalty. For example, customers from Malaysia Airlines who is significant in brand loyalty will result the high switching costs towards other airline company. Exception for the price sensitive customers, they may prefer cheaper price flight tickets. Besides, capital requirements for a new company to start up the airline business are huge. New entrant or infant company has to spend a large capital to compete with existing airlines due to the fail of participate in economies of scale. The cost of setting up of offices, buying or leasing aircraft, hiring pilots and others staffs like air stewardess is a fix cost which create a high barrier for the new entrants. Infant firm or industry require a long time period to significant their products or services differentiation, such as Full Service Carriers (FSC) in Malaysia Airline. Through government policy, governments can also control new firm to participant in airline industry. Government high level of protection towards the major airline may result many new firm unable to meet the requirements and regulations and enter the industry. Thus, threat of entry towards the airline industry is high. Bargaining power of suppliers Power of suppliers is important as it will directly affect the industry. In airline industry, the power of supplier is moderate result from there are only two major supplier which are Airbus and Boeing so most of the firm like Malaysia Airline (MAS), Singapore Airline (SIA) and others need to buy the aircrafts from them. The satisfactory substitute products are low make the larger of power in suppliers. In addition, industry firms are not a significant customer for supplier group. The suppliers good is important to the MAS in order to obtain a success in market place. Power of buyers Buyers are one of the factors which will impact to industry. Nowadays, price sensitive customers are increase directly. On the other hand, number of customers who is concern the services differentiation is rise and result low cost oriented and full service carrier oriented. Customers purchase the only small portion of the industrys output and do not large participate in the company annual sales. Besides, buyer or customers will obtain a high switching cost in terms of loyalty result from the MAS superior services performance. Thus, the bargaining power of buyers low to Malaysia Airline. Threat of substitute Threat of substitute is substitute is product or service which can replace the original products or service. Not only the others airlines, customers also can choose others transportation system such as train, bus and ferries but air travel is more convenient and faster compare with other transportation. Businesses which require a faster and safe journey may choose airline cargo as their transportation. Intensity rivalry among competitors In this case, the threat of rivalry is high to the Malaysia Airline. This is because various large equally balanced competitors such as Air Asia, Tiger Airway, Singapore Airline and etc are provide almost the similar services. As a result, high rivalry to the MAS because more firms must compete with same customers and resources. Besides, lack of differentiation product is difficult to compete with other firm. Malaysia Airlines (MAS) have successfully differentiated their product as full services carrier and have less rivalry. Rivalry in slow industry growth becomes more intense as firms battle to increase their market shares. The main competitors of MAS are Asian carrier like Singapore Airlines. So MAS intends to reassess the effectiveness of its route network both international and domestic. This involves reviewing the viability of the existing fare structure and routes and the realigning of its aircraft capacity to markets that offer the greatest opportunities. Home http://www.hicbusiness.org/biz2003proceedings (journal) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines 3.4 SWOT analysis based on stakeholder groups Capital market stakeholders Strengths Based on the market stakeholders, MAS have diversified their revenues stream to avoid uncertainty. It generates revenues from various areas, for example which is deal with freighter flights and aircraft cargo hold (Scribd, n.d.). Moreover, MAS had diversified into related industries such aircraft ground handling, aircraft leasing, aviation engineering, air catering and tour operations. This can lead to MAS to maintain a consistent growth and give a competitive edge. Next, MAS had improving in yield which can be defined as the revenue per revenue passenger kilometer (RRPK). There are two significant projects which are the Route Profitability Project (RPP) and the Revenue Enhancement Project (REP) had been implemented by MAS in order to increase their revenue (Datamonitor, 2008). Regardless of minor decrease in load factors, the yield had more improvement as compared to the compensated for the decreases of load factor. This had shown that the Revenue per Available Seat Kilometer (RASK) has also increased by 14 per cent (Datamonitor, 2008). As a result, there is an evidence shown that a strong increase in the profit and the efficiency of MAS. Weaknesses Besides, MAS was reporting negative cash flow from the operations in their company over the past couple of years. In 2005, the negative cash flow of MAS was about $ 157.2 million (Datamonitor, 2008). However, in the fiscal year of 2006, MAS had reported net cash outflows of estimated $ 41.6 million from their operating activities (Datamonitor, 2008). This affect MAS financial health as the cash flow continuous is negative. The negative cash flow will also tightened the cash resources and limit the liquidity of cash for working capital needs. While many businesses were go through many losses and difficulties in the related industries, MAS still using a huge amount of capital to run its business effectively for providing an excellence services for their customer (Scribd, n.d.). Consequently, the risk that incurred by MAS in the future is very high and the possibility for MAS to having a loss will be increase. Product market stakeholders Weaknesses Even though MAS had its humble beginning in the golden age of travel but this airline will still having some weaknesses in their business. MAS as a 5 star international airline needed higher cost for the maintenance and convenience (Scribd, n.d.). Therefore, customers purchase will be affected due to the effect in the real cost of airline tickets. This can lead to MAS only focus on the market with high income. However, there is not many people can effort to pay for the cost for flying to other country because of this higher price in airline tickets. Opportunities MAS had the chances to introduce a new concept of flying with MAS due to the customers different needs and desires in the term of buying (Scribd, n.d.). The different needs and desires of customers are because of the several factors such as demographic, geographic and psychographic factor. Thus, customers are human beings which can be easily to have a change in their life. For example, MAS had introduce hot meal boxes which offer several favorites such as nasi lemak and nasi goreng kampong to respond the preferences of customer while they are continuing to optimize the aircraft utilization in line (Scribd, n.d.). Furthermore, MAS had been approved to launch Firefly which was a new low-cost community in the March of 2007 (Datamonitor, 2008). MAS as a parent airline for Firefly allowed Firefly to take over its B737-411s to serve more primarily secondary airports in the country and also within the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (Emmanuel, 2010). Thus, MAS can regain their market share which had lost in the recent years on local and regional routes as compared to its low-cost competitors like Air Asia. This is a chance for MAS to look at returning to a path of growth. Also, MAS has a very strong existence in the Asia. It can cover many regional destinations and various destinations in the country like China, Japan, India and the Middle East where there are higher in demand for air travel (Datamonitor, 2008). The increased in the demand for air travel will drive MAS to emerging in the Asian country like China and India (Datamonitor, 2008). Therefore, the revenues earn by MAS from the Asian region will increased. Threats There are some negative elements from the outside of the organization which will affect MAS in the aviation industry. Jet fuel is an important portion of the operating expenditure of all airlines. The increasing in the price of jet fuel will affect the bottom lines of most of the airlines in the world. MAS are also included due to the sharply increased in the price of jet fuel (Datamonitor, 2008). As a result, the margins of MAS will come under pressure. Organizational market stakeholders Strengths MAS have provided several strengths based on the organizational market stakeholders that reflect companys competencies and capabilities of their core business in the aviation industry. MAS have established a strong brand image which is being highly recognized in the local market and the international market (Miller, 2010). In order to build a strong brand image, MAS had provides excellence services to all of their customers around the globe. With the excellence services provided by MAS, it had won the Staff Service Excellence for Asia award. In the year of 2010, MAS was known as the winner of the Worlds Best Economy Class Award at the 2010 World Airline Awards (Miller, 2010). In addition, MAS have a strong and better designed in their organizational structure. Their management team is talented and plays the significant responsibility in planning and controlling their action in the service system in order to carry out the excellence brand experience (Scribd, n.d.). Management teams of MAS always have their own strategy to overcome the difficulties and losses. Besides, they also can make sure that they have the ability to improve their service quality. Weaknesses The poor management and inefficiency of the management team and network are the weakness to the MAS organizational market stakeholders. Some employees tend to read from the newspapers, media and rumors from their friends when MAS had incurred billions of losses in 2005 (Lian, 2010). The staff of MAS were discussed the issue in the closed room. It is not a healthy environment for MAS because the level of trust and confident between the management and employees are very low. Opportunities Moreover, technology developments had led the MAS Company to effectively manage their knowledge in management. As a result, MAS employees will gain rapid learning and greater intelligence that will lead to the generation and sustenance of competitive advantage (Foon Eurn, 2009). Besides, the advancement in technology can replace several inadequate legacy accounting system and thus it help MAS to enhance their quality and relevance information for management in making decision and important reduction in manpower (Foon Eurn, 2009).

Legal Progression of Marriage in America :: Essays Papers

Legal Progression of Marriage in America As the British colonies in North America took root, a great part of the economic growth in colonial society was predicated on the labor of imported African slaves. As the number of slaves increased significantly, especially in the southern colonies, a system of separation of the races was established. Since the beginning of the White and Black coexistence in America, Whites have suppressed the rights of Blacks in order to emphasize their racial superiority and to prohibit mixing between the races. In order to maintain their racial purity, Whites established laws making illegal the marriage of Blacks and Whites. Although anti-miscegenation laws were present in early colonial societies, the legacies have continued in the contemporary period. For example, Alabama amended its constitution in 2000 to acknowledge interracial marriages as valid and legal. For over 300 years, anti-miscegenation laws have remained generally the same, outlawing marriages between people of different races. Over time, however, definitions of who is Black have drastically changed, reflecting the status of Blacks’ in society. Anti-miscegenation laws during the era of slavery defined Blacks as having at least one Black grandparent, or one quarter â€Å"Black blood†. Later, these same laws during the Great Migration of the twentieth century, evolved to define Blacks by the â€Å"One Drop Rule,† a rule stating that one was Black if he or she had at least one Black ancestor. These laws, as represented in this paper and based on the policies of the colony and state of Virginia, were used to maintain a separation of races and, thus, to preserve the purity of Whites and to guarantee their system of White supremacy. Sent by King James I, The Virginia Company established the first colony in America in 1607 appropriately named Jamestown (History of Jamestown 1). It is generally accepted that the first Blacks were imported to America in 1619, only twelve years after the colony was established. At this point, no specific laws prohibited interracial relations, but societal taboos and religious doctrines were enough to separate Whites and Blacks from sexual contact. Such beliefs were noted in the proceedings between the governor and his council within the colony: In 1630, a man named Hugh Davis, accused of being sexual involved with a Black, was â€Å"to be soundly whipped before an assembly of Negroes and others for abusing himself to the dishonor of God and the shame of Christians by defiling his body and lying with a Negro† (Hall 602).

Case Study: Xerox Essay

Q 1: How would Xerox define Diversity? How has the definition changed over the years? A 1: Diversity means more than race and gender. Diversity means creating an environment where all employees can grow to their fullest potential. The first chairman of Xerox, Johnson C. Wilson had the commitment to diversify. Chairman Wilson took proactive steps to create a more diverse workplace in response to race riots in the 1960s. He called for increased hiring of African Americans in order to achieve equality among its workplace. Throughout the 1970s Xerox established an internal affirmative action office and began to hire significant number of minority employees. Xerox placed an emphasis on the advancement of minorities and females in the 1980s. It was during that Barry Rand, an African American, was named the first minority president of a division. In the 1990s sexual orientation was included in the company’s Equal Opportunity policy. Xerox has 50% of its workforce made up by women and minorities. Of that 50%, 48.2% are Xerox’s senior executives. In 2007, Ursula Burns was named the first African American female president of Xerox Corporation. The definition of diversity was changed by Anne M. Mulcahy. She said Diversity was the key to success. Diversity breeds creativity. Companies ruled by a hierarchy of imagination, and filled with people of all ages, races, and backgrounds challenge each other’s underlying assumptions, freeing everybody from convention and orthodoxy. In summary: According to Xerox, diversity is more than just race/gender/numbers. It is about inclusion! By including people of all ages, races, and backgrounds,  Xerox can create a place where employees can grow to their fullest potential with their different ways of thinking, perceiving, and creating innovative solutions. They believe diversity=innovation=success. Over the years you can Xerox maintain their strong focus on diversity. In the 60’s they hired African Americans to improve equality in the workplace. In the 80’s they continued hiring minorities AND women, and in the 90’s hired many of different sexual orientations. Q2: What are the seven reasons why Xerox should be motivated to diversify their workforce? Illustrate how Xerox shows it values its workplace diversity. A: 1.Diversity means different ways of thinking, perceiving, and innovating. Innovation is the reason they are at the top of their industry. 2. Diversity creates productive people. Hiring people of different minorities and backgrounds improves equality and enhances individuality and increases productivity. 3. Diversity is highly respectable. In today’s day and age, America has become very diverse. And to diversify one’s company along with the country will result in respect. Xerox has been named one of the Top 10 companies by Fortune, Forbes, Working Mother, Latino Style, and Enable magazines. 4. Diversity spurs creativity. To enjoy work, feel included, express individuality, and use owns different outlook enhances creativity among employees. 5. Diversity instills commitment. Xerox values diversity from entry-level positions up to the highest seat in the house. With a female African-American as the president encourages employees that anyone can do it and commitment is powerful. 6. Diversity serves as an inspiration for other companies. Diversity for Xerox is inspirational. Their logic and beliefs for diversity truly benefits them and their employees and it is evident through their success and ranking. Diversity in the workplace represents the real world: a place of different religions and beliefs but they all have the same skills, high work ethic, and devotion. 7. Diversity has been working and going strong. Because of success with diversity, Xerox should continue focusing on it. They have a 100% rating on Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index and its Best Places to Work survey. Illustration is a chart: This chart demonstrates diversity in the Xerox company. 3. Xerox defies the leaking pipeline phenomenon. The leaking pipeline is something that explains that women don’t have enough senior positions in the workforce, and then leave before they have the opportunity to receive them. Xerox defies this because they, from the beginning, have been committed to the idea that whoever is right for the job, regardless of background, gender, or sexual orientation, will get the job. This commitment not only enables women to reach those higher positions, but also gives them the motivation to keep working hard and not abandon the business out of fear the company might not promote women. 4. No one can argue that Xerox has not taken major strides towards diversity within their corporation. After all, Xerox made history when Ursula Burns succeeded Anne Mulcahy as its chief executive officer (CEO) in July of 2009. This transfer of power marked the first time ever that a female CEO of a Fortune 500 company was succeeded by another female. As historic as this female to female hand-off was, what made it even more remarkable was that fact that Ursula Burns is also an African-American. With this in mind, one may naturally ask, â€Å"How do women and minorities within the upper management of other Fortune 500 companies compare to Xerox?†. In order to answer this question with authority, our group sought out many reliable sources such as established magazines, think tanks, and websites devoted entirely to the task of tracking, analyzing, and encouraging the idea of diversifying our corporate world. Moreover, since our case and its’ questions were published in 2012, we found it best to compare the other companies to Xerox as they stood in 2012 as well. Lastly, our group also assumed that â€Å"the highest levels of each organization† refers to the corporations’ CEOs and their board of directors. According to the Huffington Post, in 2012 only eighteen (or 3.6 percent) of the five hundred chief executive officers comprised of the Fortune 500 corporations were women1. Of these eighteen eighteen women, only one other was of a minority status – Indra K. Nooyi of Pepsico. Mrs. Nooyi is of Asian/Pacific descent, more specifically, Indian. Hence, with this data we can gather that in 2012 the number of minority women CEOs in the Fortune 500  was a mere two. Comprised of these two were one African-American, one Asian-American, and zero Hispanics. In total, less than one half of one percent of the Fortune 500 CEOs in 2012 were held by minority women. This startling statistic proves that women and minorities are extremely under-represented in the Fortune 500 CEO class. With women occupying eighteen percent of the CEOs positions of 2012’s Fortune 500, the remaining eighty-two percent of positions were occupied by men. Minority men fared better than their female counterparts, but not by much. With a little bit of algebra and data obtained from The Center for American Progress2, one can calculate eight men of Asian descent (1.6 percent), six men of Hispanic descent (1.2 percent), and three African-American men (0.6 percent) held the titles of CEOs within the Fortune 500 of 2012. The four hundred sixty-five (93 percent) residual positions were all held by Non-Hispanic white males. When we expanded our search to include all of the board members for each each of these companies we were greeted with slightly better news. According to Missing Pieces: Women and Minorities on Fortune 500 Boards the report published in 2012 by the Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD), women and minorities combined accounted for 13.3 percent3 of all of the Fortune 500’s board members in 2012. The ABD ranked Xerox as the 35th most diverse board that year. Xerox cares about diversity and it shows. There are many things that other corporations can do to increase diversity in their workplace. For example, human resources personnel can host recruitment events in ethnically diverse areas, such as inner cities. Placing ads in cultural papers, leaving fliers at different churches, and participating in a job fairs may also lead to finding more diverse candidates to apply for and fill their needed positions. With a more diverse staff, more companies can expect an influx of ideas, new talents and perspectives, and increased returns on investments.

Race and Ethics Essay

I think that race could have several meanings depending on the individual. To me, race means â€Å"a group of people that have some same, common physical attributes at one another.† I think that race is society’s way of categorizing certain people into certain groups. Ethnicity is defined as â€Å"The classification of a population that shares common characteristics, such as, religion, traditions, culture, language, and tribal or national origin.† I think that this definition pretty much covers my personal opinion of what ethnicity means. What I didn’t realize is that ethnicity can also cover religion and I never thought religion could fall under ethnicity. I thought that ethnicity only covered skin colour and other physical attributes in people. The concepts are important to United States society in that the U.S. is a melting pot already. It is an equal opportunity country. I think that race and ethnicity are used for several studies to get a good idea of the future of the United States. I think that both of these two concepts are also important to the future of education, policies, laws, opportunities, families, and future views of society. On the other hand, I don’t feel that there is a huge problem at the moment. I think that these concepts are important but I don’t think that the U.S. as a whole looks at race and ethnicity as being a problem. I feel that it’s just the norm when you see other race and ethnicity in the United States.

Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Example

Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Example Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Releasing Protected Health Information Essay Releasing Protected Health Information By Tracy 11/28/2010 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act of 1996 also known as HIPAA is a federal law that was put in place to protect private health care information. The HIPAA law also regulates how private health care information can be released and who it can be released too. Any violation of HIPAA can result in termination, fines and even jail time, this is why it is important for health care providers to understand and follow these regulations. In some cases protected health care information can be released to parties other than the patient, in this essay I will cover when patients consent is and is not required to release information to government agencies, legal agencies or representatives and research groups. Providers must obtain the patients authorization to disclose private health care information to government agencies, except when it is required according to HIPAA guidelines. Government agencies like the Department of Social Services and the Bureau of Disability Determinations must provide patients authorization to release their private health care information. In some cases information can be released without the patients consent if it is ordered by court, is required by law for public health officials and to insurers as necessary to pay for health care cost. I believe that these regulations protect private health care information adequately because the patient must consent to release information unless it is required by law or is needed for payment of the patients health care cost. Providers are able to release private health care information for research purposes as long as the information contains no identification such as name, address, numbers, and relatives and so on. I believe that these regulations protect private health care information adequately because the medical information can be used for research purposes but the patient can not be identified. Law enforcement purposes also do not require the patients consent to disclose private health care information. I believe that these regulations protect private health care information adequately because the information is only released on an as needed bases for law enforcement purposes, this can help law enforcement agencies catch criminals and solve cases. Protecting patient’s information is important to prevent health care fraud and abuse and to protect not only the patient but the provider. Releasing private health care information is punishable by law so it is important for health care providers to understand when it is acceptable to release information and when it is not.

Free Essays on Segway - Global Marketing

Segway Scooter Week III This paper is the third in a series of paper that will culminate in week 4 of our class with a plan to market our group’s product, the Segway Scooter, in Japan. In this weeks paper our group will address important issues like human resources management, possible legal and ethical problems that we might encounter, supply chain management, information technology, research and development and cultural development. Segway will begin our global strategy by exporting our products to Japan. The company will set up distribution centers in Japan and staff the operations with management personnel from the United States. In order to ensure successful integration, the company will also hire Human Resource Management and Marketing Specialist from Japan. Segway believes that hiring Japanese staff for Human Resources and Marketing would be in the best interest of the company. The Japanese have legendary culture for their loyalty to employers. Among the implementation plan, is the study of the culture and how it interrelates to the economic success of the company. By hiring from the local culture, there is a two-fold benefit, first, the cultural communication and secondly, the loyalty of staff from inception of the operation. It is believed this would create a strong foundation for the company’s operation abroad. In order for the company to address legal and ethical issues we will have a Japanese law firm on retainer. It is believed the fees for such a retainer would be more cost effective when hiring local firm as opposed to education and transportation cost for a firm from United States. Some of the anticipated issues fro the company include patents and vendor contracts. Because of BOR 2 the variety of laws surrounding the importing of certain materials are so complicated. For example to find out whether the product being imported conflicts with the law, you need to inquire at t... Free Essays on Segway - Global Marketing Free Essays on Segway - Global Marketing Segway Scooter Week III This paper is the third in a series of paper that will culminate in week 4 of our class with a plan to market our group’s product, the Segway Scooter, in Japan. In this weeks paper our group will address important issues like human resources management, possible legal and ethical problems that we might encounter, supply chain management, information technology, research and development and cultural development. Segway will begin our global strategy by exporting our products to Japan. The company will set up distribution centers in Japan and staff the operations with management personnel from the United States. In order to ensure successful integration, the company will also hire Human Resource Management and Marketing Specialist from Japan. Segway believes that hiring Japanese staff for Human Resources and Marketing would be in the best interest of the company. The Japanese have legendary culture for their loyalty to employers. Among the implementation plan, is the study of the culture and how it interrelates to the economic success of the company. By hiring from the local culture, there is a two-fold benefit, first, the cultural communication and secondly, the loyalty of staff from inception of the operation. It is believed this would create a strong foundation for the company’s operation abroad. In order for the company to address legal and ethical issues we will have a Japanese law firm on retainer. It is believed the fees for such a retainer would be more cost effective when hiring local firm as opposed to education and transportation cost for a firm from United States. Some of the anticipated issues fro the company include patents and vendor contracts. Because of BOR 2 the variety of laws surrounding the importing of certain materials are so complicated. For example to find out whether the product being imported conflicts with the law, you need to inquire at t...

Adolescent Development

There are mutual influences between an individual and their social environment. There are also at-risk factors involved in the life of a developing adolescent that interconnects with a series of reciprocal systems. I can recall as a developing adolescent quickly maturing into adulthood, the many social, economic, external and internal influences that contributed to certain at-risk behaviors. These type of influences impacted me directly and indirectly. I was influenced by the several environments I was in, and I also contributed to influencing the environment around me. Attempting to exert control over uncontrollable circumstances only lead to desperate situations and weighty consequences. However, learning to accept my present circumstances, and how to appropriately respond to the hardship and temptations in life developed positive life changes. Individual human development occurs within interconnected and embedded ecological systems (McWhirter et al, 2013). The ecological systems include the individual, the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, and macrosystem (McWhirter et al, 2013). The individual consists of genetic and biological factors, and personality characteristics (McWhirter et al, 2013). The microsystem consists of the people that the individual comes into direct contact with and who the individual interacts with (McWhirter et al, 2013). The mesosystem is the embedded interconnections between different microsystems and the impact of the interactions that take place (McWhirter et al, 2013). The exosystem consists of the interconnections between one or more settings that indirectly involve the individual (McWhirter et al, 2013). The macrosystem represents the social blueprint of cultural values, societal structure, gender-role socializations, race relations, belief systems, and national and international resources (McWhirter et al, 2013). The chronosystem is the interconnection and interaction of the individual within different environments, and is the transitions that occur during the course of the individual’s lifetime (McWhirter et al, 2013). These interconnecting systems are referred to as the ecological model, and assumes that the individual is continually interacting with his or her environment  that produces constant change due to mutual influences (McWhirter et al, 2013). Part A – The Ecological Model The core of who I really am involves the combinations of my genetic predispositions, evolutionary and biological components, personality characteristics, and the ongoing process of behavioral, cognitive, and affective experiences (McWhirter et al, 2013). Who I am has a lot to do with my experiences in life, my responses to life events, and the social and environmental influences and interactions involved. The ecological model provides a greater understanding of how I influence my environment and my environment influences me. This is important because it is through the interactions of the ecological systems that help me better understand myself and others. The Individual. I entered the world with an umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, struggling to live due to insufficient oxygen intake. As a child I was very susceptible to illness. As an adult I discovered that I was living with an autoimmune disorder. I have very vivid fragmented memories as a child of several doctor office visits. At the personal level, I was a very fearful, anxious, angry, socially withdrawn child who experienced an unstable, insecure, neglectful, abusive, and dysfunctional home environment. The structure of personality develops in childhood and continues to develop in adulthood (Caspi, Roberts Shiner, 2005). I developed a combination of extraversion and introversion traits. These traits show themselves depending on how safe I determine the environment around me to be. As a child I experienced positive and negative emotionality. I at times struggle with viewing the world as a safe place and occasionally viewed it as threatening. I experienced anxious distress with a tendency toward anxiety, sadness, insecurity, and guilt. As a teenager I experienced darker emotions such as anger, frustration, and irritation. I developed agreeable personality characteristics as a child. In adulthood I sometimes struggle with the fear of rejection, self-acceptance, people pleasing tendencies, self-awareness, and feeling comfortable in my surrounding environment and own skin. I also developed a strong motivation to achieve academically, and have a strong sense of independence. As a child and through my teenage years I was not allowed to have an opinion or express individuality, which resulted in the inability or challenge to think on my own, questioning who I am through life stages, fearful of making decisions on my own and especially decisions I need to make on behalf of others, and codependency issues. The Microsystem. I grew up in a traditional family household for a time being that consisted of my mother, father, and sister. Although, it was considered a traditional two parent household, my father was rarely home, and when he was home he was unavailable. My mother was emotionally unavailable and suffered from manic depression. My mother stayed at home and my father was either out working or pursuing one of his addictions. My family was homeless until I was the age of 5. We had lived and slept in my father’s suburban, randomly stayed with strangers, and at times lived in a recreational vehicle. I assumed responsibility and care of my younger sibling, my mother, myself, and household chores. I entered the stages of maturity alone and without parental support. The lack of positive parenting during my adolescent years made me vulnerable to at-risk risk behaviors such as premarital sex, tobacco use, substance abuse, gang involvement and mental and social disorders (Clinton Clark, 2010). At the age of ten I was removed from my parent’s custody and placed in foster care where my sibling and I were separated and placed in different homes. In the foster system I was only allowed to socialize at school, and attended church depending on whether or not my foster parents at the time deemed it necessary. My sister and I went through several foster home placements which resulted in the loss of security, the loss of our personal possessions, and sense of belonging. Being bounced from home to home, it was difficult maintaining a close friendships with others. I developed an internal mechanism of being friendly with everyone, but not allowing myself to develop a close friendship with others. As I gained independence and freedom in my later teen years and early adulthood, I became more involved in church. The Mesosystem. I grew up in a rural community with a lack of parental involvement. There were no real established mesosystem relationships. The environment was inconsistently positive and very negative at times. Since school was my outlet, I strived for academic excellence and successfully achieved it. School seemed to be the only sense of stability. The Exosystem. Outside agencies that developed policies and created public resources were an indirect benefit to me as an adolescent and young adult. During childhood, I was able to eat lunch at school, and enjoy extracurricular activities such as Campfire Girls, cheerleading, and Key Club. I was given accessibility to the basic needs that my parents could not afford such as cloths, food, and shelter. As an adult, several community resources helped my daughter and escape and terminate a domestically violent relationship. The Macrosystem. During adolescence I was exposed to abuse, neglect, and violence first hand and via the television. My father grew up in the south and was very racist toward certain nationalities and races of people. The cultural context consisted of low socioeconomic status (SES), poverty, and experiencing our Native American ethnic background and being exposed to several conflicting belief systems. I grew up on a culture where corporate punishment was an acceptable practice. The culture valued individuality, independence, and self-reliance. I grew up in poverty with a prevailing crime rate not as noticeable as it is today. Social norms included the overuse of antibiotics (McDonnell Norms Group, 2008), and the use of drugs and alcohol were socially acceptable. Chronosystem. A pattern of environmental events, transitions, and sociohistorical circumstances contributed to my development over my lifespan. Both of my parents lived disloyal and adulterous life styles. Overtime, there unhealthy and dysfunctional patterns of relating to each other resulted in a separation. My father died when I was 17 years old. My parent’s marriage legally dissolved at the time of my father’s death. My mother remarried multiple times. My sister and I were exposed to their dysfunctional lifestyle, which tremendously impacted our lives. I personally, transitioned through many of life events by experiencing two divorces, being a single-mother of four children for quit sometime, remarrying and adjusting to a blended family, the loss of my oldest daughter, and facing the social political arena at work. The soil of my family growing up consisted of poverty, low socioeconomic status (SES), judgmental and racist attitudes, abusive and neglectful home environment, and conflicting belief systems. The three primary roots are family, school, and peer groups (McWhirter et al, 2013). My parent’s inability to raise my sister and me in a loving, secure, stable, and nurturing environment, and expose us to family conflict, abuse, neglect, lack of parenting, being emotionally unavailable, and an unstructured home environment contributed to my dysfunction and the at-risk behaviors in my life. The school system was unaware of our life circumstances and did not any support. My sister ended up dropping out and getting involved with drugs. I became sexually involved with my boyfriend at the age of 15 and became pregnant at the age of 16. My daughter gave me the drive to continue my education and succeed academically in order to provide her with a better life. I was withdrawn during my adolescence and teenage years. Although, I made intent to get along with everyone, I did not associate with everyone. The peer group I involved myself in strived for academic excellence and engaged in positive extracurricular activities. The trunk of the at-risk tree representing my life consisted of low self-esteem, and depression. The branches of at-risk categories in my life were high-school dropout, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, and suicide. I was at risk for teen pregnancy and became pregnant at the age of sixteen. I succumbed to sexual activity with one partner in high school that resulted in teen pregnancy. I was very fortunate that at risk behaviors did not escalate. My tree was broken and bruised and produced damaged fruit. Instead of running to quick gratification I learned to run to God. I found my value and security in Christ. My branches although bruised eventually healed and produced good, healthy fruit. It took a lot of effort, drive, motivation, will, and trusting God in the midst of temptation and hardship. I was fortunate to have a variety of Gardeners in my life from Christian counselors, law enforcement, human service workers, youth group leaders, Sunday school teachers, and church mentors who helped me redirect my lifestyle. I learned how to be academically successful, a loving, supportive, caring mother to my children, a hard worker of integrity, and to do the right thing when the wrong thing seems easier at the time being.

Philosophical and Sociological aspects of crime and punishment Term Paper

Philosophical and Sociological aspects of crime and punishment - Term Paper Example gy on crime argues that neither a state nor a society is able to exist without regulations as he states, without law there lacks a state or a society. In this case, the law forms an imperative foundation to a society and thus enforcing a law means the protection of the society. Any individual who violates the law tends to lose the right of being a member of the society and is against social order, and as are result must be punished (Murphy, 1994). The philosophical reflection on punishment assists criminologists, sociologists, and penologist to acknowledge the rehabilitative effects of programs prevalent in prisons. Kant offers invaluable knowledge in relation to the realm of punishment and crime. According to the proponent, punishment is validated if the criminal has committed a crime. Many theories contrast this argument, for instance, and the Utilitarian approach demonstrates that punishment is vindicated by the good it brings to the community. In Kant’s view, the utilitarian theory is implausible in various ways. He believes that the theory treats offenders as means to the good of others and that the theory might punish innocent lives due to the good it passes to the society. To Kant, this is a sort of injustice, and in reference to his argument, he states how much the offenders should be punished. The offense committed by the offender should equal the punishment given to the criminal (Murphy, 1994). Kant’s retributive theory associated with punishment asserts that retribution is not justified by any good outcome, but by the offender’s guilt. Offenders must pay for their criminal activities; otherwise unfairness as occurred. Consequently, the punishment given to the offender must fit the crime committed and thus the punishment for taking the life of another individual is equivalent to the death of the murderer (Ripstein, 2009). Therefore, punishment must be administered at all times because an individual has committed a crime. According to Kant

The essence of history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The essence of history - Essay Example Although others have criticized historians for basing their work on hearsay, in a society that expects the purposes of education to serve the general public, the aims and objectives of history can seem a bit cumbersome to define compared to other disciplines such as medicine and psychology. The subject is therefore very useful, although the historical study products are not tangible and in effect not very immediate as opposed to others such as medicine. Significance of History History is known to offer rich source of information in regard to how individuals and the society in general behave. It is very challenging to understand how people and societies operate, though numerous disciplines attempts to do so. Any efforts in knowing what transpires in the society can be hampered by relying only on current data. For instance, it is not easy to evaluate war if a nation is enjoying relative calm and peace. In order to do so, the only way possible is through digging deep into historical dat a. It is not possible to understand our geniuses such as Aristotle, the development and impact of technology as well as the role played by beliefs in determining the course of societal life (Evans, 23), Man therefore must make use of the past experiences to fully understand his environment. As evident, both social and physical scientists have tried to come up with theories to explain the behavior of human persons, but as matters stand, even the recourses needed for such studies largely depend on historical information, except for a few cases where artificial cases involving experiments can be instituted to determine the action of individuals. The main aspects of the operations in the society, namely military incursions, activities of missionaries and others cannot be instituted as laboratory experiments. However history, though riddled with imperfection must serve as the critical laboratory, thus information from the past forms the basis of the significant evidence in the quest to e xplain the many concepts. This is one of the fundamental reasons why man cannot assume the role of history as it provides the most extensive evidential parameter for the analysis and contemplation of functioning of the society. The position of history in the society cannot be underemphasized follows on the already stated significance. It is in order to note that the past determines the present and as well the future. For example, in pursuit of knowledge to get equipped with what happened a century ago, what matters first is to carefully look for what prevailed during the period. At times recent historical developments may come to the fore to offer explanations in relation to some remarkable developments, but above all, it is important to look further in the historical aspects to comprehensively identify what really transpired. It is only through historical studies that man can have substantial knowledge of the changing world, thus the full understanding of societal elements. The sig nificance of history in understanding and explaining the occurrence of change in relation to human behavior cannot be underestimated. For example, alcoholism as a human phenomenon has been a subject of discussion and research. Biological experiments have attempted to identify specific genes that are believed to cause an inclination toward addiction to alcohol in some people. Although it is a laudable scientific advance, as a social reality,

Handwriting a letter versus sending an e-mail message Essay

Handwriting a letter versus sending an e-mail message - Essay Example By studying the handwriting one can judge the mood of the person. E-mails are cold and do not convey the warmth-they just convey the messages as a matter of duty! Handwritten letters on important occasions like marriage, birthday, success-events like passing examinations, can be preserved for ever in a file and they are good collection items. No so with the e-mail. One can read the handwritten letters again and again, without having to open the computer often. One practical problem as well! For sending e-mails, one needs to be computer-literate. For handwritten letters, one needs to be just literate! For mails, one has to own a computer or specially reach the cafe for making the mail. As for quickness and convenience, e-mail, the product of internet revolution, has no match. The message reaches any corner of the world, within seconds. Competitive business, the share quotations etc. can never think of sending the communications by handwritten letters , where decisions on rates are taken in split seconds! For official dealings, e-mail communications are the best and one can not think of applying the handwritten letter procedure in this area. Voluminous files and documents can be uploaded/downloaded through e-mail procedure, whereas to copy a document of say, of 100 pages will take some days. This procedure is neither practical nor feasible. One can forward a message, documents, story or news items, to thousands of individuals merely by clicking the forward button and the message is instantly received by that vast majority. Sending handwritten letters to them involves lots of expenditure on stationary, postage, apart from the time and labor devolved. Here is a wonde rful observation on the handwritten letter vs. the e-mail, the essence of which is worth noting. â€Å"The "art" of letter writing was only art in the hands of a few who wrote well. The rest of the worlds written correspondence is barely worth the paper it is written on. E-mail has

Why was there a 'Scramble for Africa' between 1860 and 1900 Essay

Why was there a 'Scramble for Africa' between 1860 and 1900 - Essay Example The definition itself can form negative attitude towards this phenomenon. In history this period is characterized mainly by the cruel attitude of people from developed countries towards the people from less developed territories. Really, we can find many facts of cruel exploitation of one nation by another nation, facts of humiliation, which serve as the reason of such a bad attitude towards imperialism. It is a well-known fact that after the abolition of slavery, Africans appeared in not less difficult situation. They did not know how to live without a job and accommodation. Former slave owners also lost their labor force and experienced many difficulties. All these factors could influence the economy negatively, thus the quite different relations between Africans and Europeans should have been established. Here imperialism can be considered from the point of view of mutual advantage and beneficial cooperation between Europe and Africa. The 1880s brought many changes to the life of Africa and these changes can’t be called positive. There was a period in the history of African continent, when the European countries had been struggling for its territory and resources. â€Å"The nature of European imperialism remains very contested. Much of the discussion revolves around notions of empire by rule and ignores both the wider context of Western expansion and the recourse to ‘informal’ influence in large areas of the non-Western world† (Darwin 2013, p.1) It was a period of colonization. The great changes, which happen in Europe that time served as the reasons (Hobson, 2005). During this period Europe was going through rapid changes in economic, social and military aspects. Many parts of Africa were occupied by Europeans. Great Britain had a big part of the African continent beginning with Freetown in Sierra Leone, some fortresses near the Gambia, some places in Lagos and ending with the Gold Coast territory. The significant part of the cont inent was occupied by France. The colonies in Dakar and in Senegal, the land near river Senegal belonged to France (Simon, 1998). It had power over the Assinie and Grand Bassam and the cost of Dahomey. Moreover, France had a successful attempt to colonize Algeria already in 1830. Portugal and Spain had their territory in Africa as well. Portugal occupied the territories of Angola and Mozambique. Spain possessed lands in Ceuta and Melilla. The Ottoman Turks were among the most powerful colonists. They had power over Egypt, Tunisia and Libya (Bennet, 1984). The question is how such struggle for Africa can be explained. The reasons can be found in the events that had happened in Europe that time. â€Å"Here the growth of imperial rivalries in the late nineteenth century is explained in terms of a far-reaching series of geopolitical crises, ignited by processes of political and economic transformation in non-Western states in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia. It is ar gued, nonetheless, that conventional accounts grossly exaggerate the ‘tooth and claw’ nature of imperialist competition before 1914, which was closely constrained by the requirements of Europe’s own politics. Until, that is, the onset of the Great Depression, and the rise of radical nationalist states in Germany and Japan, created the conditions for unrestricted imperialist warfare on a global scale, with catastrophic results† (Darwin 2013, p.1). The most important reason was the abolition of the slave trade. In reality this abolition was related only to the trade out of the land and in the continent the situation was quite different. Slaves’ owners were not ready to lose them. The Muslim merchants continued

What and How Human Resources Strategies Can Be Implemented Essay

What and How Human Resources Strategies Can Be Implemented - Essay Example Wal-Mart is one of the largest employers in the world and implements effective human resource practices and strategies to maintain the diverse work culture in the company. The company maintains a detailed database for its human resources and keeps eye to the intricate details of proper recruitment, training and development, compensation and performance management for the employees. The effective management and human resource practices are identified as the key factors for driving the success of Wal-Mart through decades of its operations across the globe. Strategic human resource management plays a critical role in delivering the performance of Wal-Mart. Therefore, the company pays major attention to the human resource practices followed in the organization. 1. Recruitment Wal-Mart over the years of operations has taken various recruitment and staffing policies in order to maximize their outputs with the minimum costs incurred. In 2013 June the company had been hiring only the tempora ry staffs for their U.S. stores. Though the temporary recruitment is one of the popular policies of the retail organizations during the holiday seasons when they would require additional employee strength. However, the company had adopted this policy at a time when there is no such pressure of the holiday season in the US market. According to the managers of the organization that policy was taken to ensure that there is no dearth of employee in Wal-Mart in running their day to day activities. They also claimed that it was not something that the company had taken in order to cut the cost of hiring the employees (Morrison, 2006, pp. 75-91). This is because the cost of hiring a permanent employee is much more than what it takes to hire a temporary worker. But this was denied by the managers of the organization. The Human resources managers has taken this strategy on the ground that the temporary workers would be adequately able to meet up the needs of Wal-Mart on the nights of the week days and on the weekends when the number of footfalls in the stores in the greatest. Thus there would no need for hiring the additional permanent staff that would otherwise be required (Needle, 2010, pp. 112-137). This would however lead to a slackening of the employment in the country of US since the employment in the company is huge and would comprise of the large section of the employed population of the company. This policy may not be considered as a feasible policy considering the long run scenario (Marching ton and Wilkinson, 2012, pp. 45-59). This is because the temporary employees are generally not loyal to the company and therefore if they get better offer they would switch to the other companies from Wal-Mart. There would also be lack of motivation among the employees to do the job because of the lack of loyalty among the employees and the lesser remuneration that they would derive out of the organization. This is also unethical on part of the company to recruit the tempor ary workers in order to dodge the healthcare costs (Kew and Stredwick, 2008, pp. 241-297). This is because the new healthcare laws of the United States demand that the organizations that hire the workers on a permanent basis have to provide them with healthcare benefits. In order to retain the loyalty of the employees and to keep them motivated to the work the company has to provide them with these healthcare benefits as well. They should also be provided with the insurances in order to take care of the ethical aspects of the business. 2. Training and Development In

Handwriting a letter versus sending an e-mail message Essay

Handwriting a letter versus sending an e-mail message - Essay Example By studying the handwriting one can judge the mood of the person. E-mails are cold and do not convey the warmth-they just convey the messages as a matter of duty! Handwritten letters on important occasions like marriage, birthday, success-events like passing examinations, can be preserved for ever in a file and they are good collection items. No so with the e-mail. One can read the handwritten letters again and again, without having to open the computer often. One practical problem as well! For sending e-mails, one needs to be computer-literate. For handwritten letters, one needs to be just literate! For mails, one has to own a computer or specially reach the cafe for making the mail. As for quickness and convenience, e-mail, the product of internet revolution, has no match. The message reaches any corner of the world, within seconds. Competitive business, the share quotations etc. can never think of sending the communications by handwritten letters , where decisions on rates are taken in split seconds! For official dealings, e-mail communications are the best and one can not think of applying the handwritten letter procedure in this area. Voluminous files and documents can be uploaded/downloaded through e-mail procedure, whereas to copy a document of say, of 100 pages will take some days. This procedure is neither practical nor feasible. One can forward a message, documents, story or news items, to thousands of individuals merely by clicking the forward button and the message is instantly received by that vast majority. Sending handwritten letters to them involves lots of expenditure on stationary, postage, apart from the time and labor devolved. Here is a wonde rful observation on the handwritten letter vs. the e-mail, the essence of which is worth noting. â€Å"The "art" of letter writing was only art in the hands of a few who wrote well. The rest of the worlds written correspondence is barely worth the paper it is written on. E-mail has

What and How Human Resources Strategies Can Be Implemented Essay

What and How Human Resources Strategies Can Be Implemented - Essay Example Wal-Mart is one of the largest employers in the world and implements effective human resource practices and strategies to maintain the diverse work culture in the company. The company maintains a detailed database for its human resources and keeps eye to the intricate details of proper recruitment, training and development, compensation and performance management for the employees. The effective management and human resource practices are identified as the key factors for driving the success of Wal-Mart through decades of its operations across the globe. Strategic human resource management plays a critical role in delivering the performance of Wal-Mart. Therefore, the company pays major attention to the human resource practices followed in the organization. 1. Recruitment Wal-Mart over the years of operations has taken various recruitment and staffing policies in order to maximize their outputs with the minimum costs incurred. In 2013 June the company had been hiring only the tempora ry staffs for their U.S. stores. Though the temporary recruitment is one of the popular policies of the retail organizations during the holiday seasons when they would require additional employee strength. However, the company had adopted this policy at a time when there is no such pressure of the holiday season in the US market. According to the managers of the organization that policy was taken to ensure that there is no dearth of employee in Wal-Mart in running their day to day activities. They also claimed that it was not something that the company had taken in order to cut the cost of hiring the employees (Morrison, 2006, pp. 75-91). This is because the cost of hiring a permanent employee is much more than what it takes to hire a temporary worker. But this was denied by the managers of the organization. The Human resources managers has taken this strategy on the ground that the temporary workers would be adequately able to meet up the needs of Wal-Mart on the nights of the week days and on the weekends when the number of footfalls in the stores in the greatest. Thus there would no need for hiring the additional permanent staff that would otherwise be required (Needle, 2010, pp. 112-137). This would however lead to a slackening of the employment in the country of US since the employment in the company is huge and would comprise of the large section of the employed population of the company. This policy may not be considered as a feasible policy considering the long run scenario (Marching ton and Wilkinson, 2012, pp. 45-59). This is because the temporary employees are generally not loyal to the company and therefore if they get better offer they would switch to the other companies from Wal-Mart. There would also be lack of motivation among the employees to do the job because of the lack of loyalty among the employees and the lesser remuneration that they would derive out of the organization. This is also unethical on part of the company to recruit the tempor ary workers in order to dodge the healthcare costs (Kew and Stredwick, 2008, pp. 241-297). This is because the new healthcare laws of the United States demand that the organizations that hire the workers on a permanent basis have to provide them with healthcare benefits. In order to retain the loyalty of the employees and to keep them motivated to the work the company has to provide them with these healthcare benefits as well. They should also be provided with the insurances in order to take care of the ethical aspects of the business. 2. Training and Development In

Cultural Context Essay Example for Free

Cultural Context Essay Even though construction is usually considered as originally the activity of men and machines in digging, moving, shaping, erecting, and so forth, the relative use of building materials by the construction industry far exceeds its share in the gross domestic product. Specifically is construction of great significance for that special class of materials sometimes called as the â€Å"physical-structure† materials, which made major things of human civilization. Out of these â€Å"physical-structure† materials the more or less long-lasting and reliably shaped are wood and concrete. They are basic building materials for thin-shell roof construction, walls, tanks, large-diameter pipes, runways, highway bridges and many other structures. Main Body Concrete is related to the most significant building technologies in twentieth and the early twenty first century. However, other important building materials, such as wood, also figure in the construction picture. The poured method of concrete building has been so improved that buildings of this material are now erected as rapidly as a wood structure. Engineering departments all over the world are now prepared to assist engineers, architects and builders to apply concrete and wood to their construction work. Increasingly in the beginning of the twentieth century, when builders were asked how they should build the foundation possessing good physical strength, their answer was concrete. Either by placing the steel frame upon concrete foundations or by placing it upon a more spacious concrete raft foundation, architectural constructors in most cases complement steel with concrete as a problem-solving building material. By reinforcing concrete with steel rods, or by using steel machinery to form concrete blocks as prefabricated building blocks, builders further diversified their architectural techniques. The most approved composition of concrete for general construction consists of a mixture of broken limestone, granite or clean screened mixture of rock fragments, clean coarse sand and cement, in such proportions that the voids between the stone are completely filled by the sand and the voids in the sand completely filled with cement, with a slight excess of cement to guarantee a perfect connection with the stone. To create top-quality concrete, manufacturers need equally high-grade cement. By 1900 approximately three-quarters of that material was Portland cement, named after the tiny island of Portland in the U. K. where a desirable limestone used in its manufacture was descovered. In 1824 Joseph Aspdin, from Leeds, was the first to provide the world with Portland cement, but after 1872 the material was produced in the United States and its popularity spread rapidly (Collins, 1998). At the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition, American Portland cement was displayed to the public as a useful and practical building material, but production only began in earnest in 1880 and domestic cement only began to overtake European imports in 1897, by which time American machinery for crushing aggregate and making concrete had also begun to substitute European machines, even in Europe itself (American Exporter, 1906, 58 (3), pp. 79-87). Wood structures can be constructed more quickly and inexpensively than other kinds. Wood still is used for finish flooring in the living areas of about four out of five homes, although plastic tiles and other materials are gaining ground. Flooring generally involves both the visible flooring and a subflooring. Most frame houses utilize boards for subflooring, but plywood is gaining ground. In buildings which use concrete beams, concrete flooring slabs are generally poured right along with the beams. Steel structures may be floored with poured concrete or with precast concrete or gypsum slabs. Roofs of houses, which have a timber framework and cladding, are likely to have as the foundation wooden board, plywood, or composition planking. However, the current general tendency in home building toward flat, or low-pitched, roofs has led to a partial shift from tile, wood, and asbestos tiles to concrete materials and poured concrete. Because of its important role in residential buildings, wood does only slightly less well than concrete. Although its relative cost has increased with time, it is still the most popular building material all over the world. The open-grained wood of any of numerous coniferous trees, such as pine and cedar, as distinguished from that of a dicotyledonous tree, enters the English home as framing, siding, shingles, finishing panels, sash, millwork, and boarding, used to cover the wall studding or roof joists of a timber frame; the wood of any of numerous broad-leaved dicotyledonous trees, such as oak, beech, ash, etc. principally as flooring, material used for making panels, and trim. In non-residential buildings, wood is put to practice as the most widely used building material for concrete formwork, railroad ties, telephone poles, railings, fences, and many other purposes (BLAIRSLTD). The chief advantages of wood in construction industry include its ease of production and of process by which wood is packaged and transported, its low thermal conductivity, and its strength-to-weight ratio (which is greater than that of cast iron and is identical to that of the stronger concretes) (Rowell 9). Yet, because of its peculiar weaknesses as an organic material, such as vulnerability to fungi and various insects, its relative lack of versatility in terms of design, and its long-term rise in price in comparison with concrete, the relative role of wood as a building material may to some degree decrease in the future, and further replacement may be projected. If considered as a structural material in large building construction, wood has already been largely replaced by concrete framing, brick or concrete walls, and concrete floors. This trend will probably continue in the future. On the other part, wood framing probably will retain its dominating position in the residential building, although giving way a bit to steel, concrete, perhaps aluminium, and sandwich panel method of building. The advantages of metal roof frameworks are gradually reducing the amount of wood required for roof structures. Moreover, for exterior trimming wood is being increasingly substituted by brick exterior and by panels of such building materials as asbestos, metal, and organic materials with a polymeric structure. Dry wall building and the utilisation of gypsum plasterboard and of metal lath are also considerably lessening the need for wood. The most important role for wood is probably in finished flooring, but there are modern trends toward replacement of composition and various types of synthetic materials even in living areas. Wood, like steel, is yielding to aluminum as the leading building material for window frames, door frames, doorways, trim, and other such purposes. In concrete building the formwork is tending change from wood to steel and plywood and also to plastics. Growing popularity of plywood and of laminated structural members may slow down the trend away from wood. Laminated wood arches, structural frameworks of wood, and roof systems have proved appropriate for spanning distances up to 120 feet, and, because of their attractive and pleasant appearance, are today in frequent use in the building of churches and temples, buildings for public gatherings or meetings, shopping areas, and the similar places. Plywood, which to some degree possesses more physical strength than lumber, may replace lumber in almost any of its uses; it is already extensively used in subflooring, boarding, interior panelling, concrete forms, and so forth. Thus, it may be expected to grow in total use at almost twice the rate predicted for lumber. Use of concrete in building is constantly increasing today. It is a changeable mixture of portland cement, fine aggregates (almost always sand), and coarse aggregates (crushed stone, gravel, cinder, slag, or whatever else is available within a particular area). The proportions of these ingredients are influenced by the particular use to which the concrete is to be intended, but they are at most times 1:2:4. As can be seen, cement is the minor component in this mixture. The fact that concrete is the most extensively used building material can be explained by its advantages related to wood among which are versatility, its high breaking strength relative to bricks and other kinds of masonry materials, the low price which makes it comparatively inexpensive material relative to structural steel, and in essence the presence of concrete components almost in all areas (Classic Encyclopaedia). The main uses of concrete in England are in dams, water tanks, pipes and sewers, heavy walls, piers, caissons, columns, and road and sidewalk pavements. In addition, concrete is utilised in the form of units cast in a particular form before being used in building, such as concrete blocks and cast stone, whose principal advantage over wood, brick, and structural tile is that they are costing relatively little. Because of the low flexural strength of concrete, it is combined with steel in most of its construction applications (Classic Encyclopaedia). This combination is made possible by the match of coefficients of thermal expansion of these materials. The amount of reinforcing steel rods, wire, wire-mesh, and so forth needed for a concrete structure is only one-third to one-half the amount needed for a similar completely steel structure. In England, the possibilities of this technique of construction are just beginning to extend its use beyond massive complex constructions. The chief disadvantages of reinforced concrete (also known as ferroconcrete or armoured concrete) in comparison with structural steel are the time and costs of construction, even if one takes account of the applying paints to the surface of steel members and their trimming. It is costly to build and remove forms, shores, and temporary metal or wooden frameworks. Most of the developments, which been made not long ago, in methods of concrete building are somehow related to reducing expense on forms, First, as an alternative to the traditional lumber and plywood, steel and more recently, plastic with fibrous matter to confer additional strength forms have been experimented. Plastics are especially showing great promise, in view of the fact that they are smooth and easily utilised, able to keep water, may be given extraordinary shapes, and may be use again and again from fifteen to twenty times. Second, â€Å"slip-form† pavers have been successfully employed in laying road pavements (Green 1-2). Third, precasting of concrete members has been used as a mass production technique and to provide solid and robust in construction, more unchanging in form concrete, but presents some transportation problems. Fourthly, so-called tilt-up construction and lift-slab construction has permitted walls, floors, and columns to be poured on a horizontal surface and then either tilted or lifted into place. Finally, able to be used more than once, adjustable length steel trusses have removed the need for the multiple strengthening which differently has to be placed under the conventional built-up forms. The faster such form-saving processes are improved and used by engineers and constructors, the faster steel concrete is likely to be used as a structural material. One more limitation of usual concrete is its low heat insulation value. That is why concrete walls are occasionally of a non-load bearing, sandwich type, being composed of a layer of insulating material cast between two concrete slabs. In this application, concrete is to a serious degree threatened by other types of curtain walls, including various types of sandwiches. Alternative way to give concrete protecting properties is to make it with relatively light weight aggregates – such as vermiculite, expanded clay, and so forth. In this form, it not any more has sufficient quality of being physically strong to be used for load bearing purposes, although it has been very well utilised in long-span roof building. Prestressed concrete has gotten great significance as a building material. The basic characteristic of prestressed concrete is that, by compressing concrete and keeping it under compression, the tensile stresses caused by loads are neutralized (CEMENT). The compression is accomplished by casting the concrete around stretched rods or cables, the tension on which is released as the concrete sets. A prestressed beam needs only one-fourth the weight of the steel and one-half the weight of concrete which is needed to support the same load by a usual reinforced concrete member. Although it was patented by a San Francisco engineer in 1886, prestressed concrete did not emerge as an accepted and effective building material until a half-century later. Since then it had been intensively used in Europe for structural purposes. Up to the present moment, prestressed concrete’s applications have been limited mostly to pipes, tanks, runways, and from time to time highway bridges. As engineers and constructors gain experience and manage to reduce the manufacturing expenses, prestressing may become competitive with steel and with reinforced concrete building. After weighing up all the factors, the trend is more toward a substitution of concrete for other building materials than of other building materials for concrete. The use of portland cement which is made by heating a slurry of clay and crushed chalk should more than double in the next decades, may presumably triple, and at its lowest is expected to become greater by at least one-third.

Theories of Friction

Theories of Friction Keith Tan Friction According to the Encyclopaedia of Britannica, a friction is a force created by rubbing and can slow things down and then ultimately stop them. It is a kind of force  that resists the sliding or rolling of one  solid  object over another. (Encyclopaedia of Britannica, 2014) Frictional forces, such as the traction needed to walk without slipping, may be beneficial; but they also present a great measure of opposition to  motion. We could not walk without the friction between your shoes and the ground. As we try to step forward, we push our foot backward. Friction holds your shoe to the ground, allowing you to walk. Consider how difficult it is to walk on slippery ice, where there is little friction. It is also friction in the tires that allows the car to stay on the road, and friction in the clutch that makes it possible to drive at all. From matches to machines to molecular structures, friction is one of the most significant phenomena in the physical world Writing using pencils uses friction. In fact, you won’t be able to even hold a pencil without friction. The pen will only slip out of your hand when you tried to hold it. The graphite pencil led will not be able to make any single mark without friction. Even a pencil eraser uses friction to rub off careless mistakes written down with pencil lead. The particles worn off gather up the pencil lead from the paper, when you are rubbing the eraser on the lead that wears out the eraser due to friction. Today, Friction is is a phenomena that happens in our everyday lives. From the Health point of view, Let’s take walking for example, as we all know our shoes are designed to protect our feet from sharp objects as well as keep our feet warmed up. However, it is more sophisticated than we think if we look into the science behind it. According to Jasmine C. Menant from Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development (JRDD), footwear influences balance of people and the subsequent risk of slips, by altering somatosensory feed back to the foot and ankle and modifying frictional conditions at the floor interface. Walking barefoot,, in socks or in high-heel shoes have been proven to increase the problems of falls in older people. Many frictional aspects that are not mutually exclusive have to be taken into consideration. There are also few other footwear characteristics such as heel collar height, sole hardness, as well as read and hell geometry, these few characteristics also aff ect the measure of balance and gait. Because many elderly uses suboptimal shoe, this can maximize safe shoe usage and an effective fall prevention strategy. (jasmine, 2008) Based on their researches, they sorted out that, inside and outside the house, older people should wear shoes with low heels and firm slip-resistant soles. Future shoe making industry should make sure that their shoe have the benefits of tread sole shoes for preventing slips and shoes with high collar or flared sole for a better grid in harsh weathers. I would say friction does not â€Å"solve† the problem of old people falling but rather it only am â€Å"reduce† it. Although that is the case, it still brings benefit in putting application science of friction to even our footwear. (NO CAMELS NEWS, 2014) From social point of view, Friction does plays a role in every one of any education level. Pencil for instance is used by all students, kids and even adults of different profession. Pencils were among the basic equipment issued to Union soldiers during the Civil War. Pencil marks are made when tiny graphite flecks, often just thousandths of an inch wide, stick to the fibers that make up paper. But when we write something wrong by mistake, this is where rubber comes in. The friction created between the surface of the rubber and the surface of the lead scribbled on paper is used to remove the errors that were written earlier. (Christopher, 2007) Other bad side from friction like heat were also apprehended by modern day scientist as It is also because the paper is removing the graphite from the pencil through friction, the heat is not transferred to the tip because the material that would have been heated by the friction between the paper and the tip has been left on the piece of paper. So, to heat the pencil tip up, so we would have to write with the pencil quicker than it is possible or for very extended amounts of time and even then because of the part that may have been heated by friction, it is then removed. This leads that the tip of a pencil does not even get hot during writing. This has affected us socially in the pencil making industry. (PHYSICS, 2013) Today , most pencils sold in America today have eraser tips, while those sold in Europe usually have none. On the other hand, Friction also has its own disadvantages in our everyday processes. For instance, friction is also a usage for the wear and tear on some bike gears and other mechanical parts. Thats why extra money are needed on buying lubricant which are often used to reduce the friction that causes wear and tear in between moving parts.In addition to cars and wheels/tires, there is also internal friction. Internal friction is what allows you to build up an oil wedge in rotating machinery that relies on a wedge of oil to separate the metal shaft and whatever the bearing surface happens to be, or the ball bearings from the inner and outer race. With the help of friction, you won’t need brake to stop any spinning devices. So, in a nutshell, friction is sometimes a bad thing when it results in the loss of mechanical efficiency by converting some of the power applied to useless heat. However, it is also a necessary feature when it is the primary reason a piece of equipment opera tes and even then, a portion of that energy will be lost as heat. There is therefore no perfect machines or perpetual motion machines, we always lose some amount of energy to friction Hence we have to pay more for the cars we buy because of these operating cost of production in coming up with these features to reduce friction. (Ayush, 2014) In conclusion, in my opinion I think that because friction itself is already a resistance force that slows down or prevents motion, it is needed in most applications to prevent in some cases, there is an advantage of having friction. However, too much friction can be very annoying, because it can also be an obstacle to motion and sometimes cause the need for using extra energy. A good balance is necessary to get just enough friction. Slipping or sliding. Frictional force is neither advantageous nor disadvantageous intrinsically. The advantage or disadvantage comes not from the force, but from whether it helps or hinders the desired outcome. (1181 words) Bibliography 1) Ayush, S. (2014). Why greater friction causes increased wear and tear? Retrieved 27 November, 2014, from http://www.answers.com/Q/Why_greater_friction_causes_increased_wear_and_tear 2) Christopher, D. (7 May, 2007). Home »May »20 Things You Didnt Know About Pencils. Retrieved 19 November, 2014, from http://discovermagazine.com/2007/may/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-pencils 3) Encyclopaedia of Britannica. (2014). Encyclopaedia of Britannica. Retrieved 14 Nov, 2014, from Friction: http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/220047/friction 4) jasmine. (8 November , 2008). Rehab Research. Retrieved 16 November, 2014, from Optimizing footwear for older people at risk of falls: http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/08/45/8/pdf/menant.pdf 5) NO CAMELS NEWS. (2014). Israeli Fall-Prevention Motorized Shoe Is A Step In The Right Direction. Retrieved 18 November, 2014 , from http://nocamels.com/2014/05/israeli-fall-prevention-motorized-shoe-is-a-step-in-the-right-direction/ 6) PHYSICS. (2013). How hot does the tip of a pencil get while writing? Retrieved 20 November, 2014, from http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/66770/how-hot-does-the-tip-of-a-pencil-get-while-writing Appendix: Prototype B Shoes created by Israel