Change and Culture Case Study Essay

During the past decade the hospital industry has made profound organizational changes, including the extensive consolidation of hospital system through merger and the formation hospital systems (Evans & Gertler, 2012). The rules of health care are changing. Growth is not about just getting bigger. It is about developing all of the components needed for coordinated care and reduced costs. Health system reform has various incentives, such as those related to reducing readmission rates, and establishing an accountable care organization, but qualifying for them requires closer links to other parts of the medical care chain (Breakthroughs -Hospital merger and acquisition strategies, 2012). There is a definite value for growth opportunity through hospital mergers. Mergers occur for several reasons, a desire to increase size, to gain leverage for negotiations with managed care companies, the desire to penetrate new markets to attract additional customers, the need for improved efficiencies resulting from centralized administrative practices, and the desire to express value of promoting readily available comprehensive care. A merger is the combining of two or more corporate entities to create one new organization with one licensure, and one provider number for reimbursement purposes (Liebler & McConnely, 2008). Mergers and acquisitions in health care are increasing in numbers because of the increasing financial, socio-political and managerial challenges of decreasing reimbursement and increasing payor demand for quality-driven, patient-centered and cost-effective services to the community. Restructuring an organization through mergers, and affiliations are characteristic organizational efforts to achieve economies of scale, adapt, and survive. Two such specific reasons include: the need for improved efficiencies through administrative centralization, such as financial, and health information resources streamlining, and marketing intensification, and the desire to promote comprehensive, accessible are by keeping smaller community-based facilities from closing. Valley Care Health System of Ohio consists of the merger between Northside Medical Center, Trumbull Memorial Hospital, and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital. Valley Care Health System replaced Forum Health name as an affiliate. â€Å"Valley Care sums up our purpose to provide compassionate, quality health care for residents of the Mahoning, and Trumbull Valley† said David Fikse, chief executive officer of Northside Medical Center, and Valley Care Health System.† Each of our hospitals, and health care facilities has its own unique characteristics, but as the same time, we benefit by sharing our knowledge, our best practices, and our strengths across a system of providers† (Valley Care of Ohio, n.d.). Northside Hospital quality scores were down, and the hospital was on the verge of closure before Valley Care Health System purchased it. This essay will discuss the transition of the employees and the impact the merger will have on the culture of the new combined organiz ation and will address how systems will be developed as the new organization takes shape. Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital brings us best in class capabilities in inpatient and outpatient services. Blending these companies in a way that maximizes these capabilities and aligns our structure with our long-term strategy is a top priority. First, the managers will need to organize the new organization around the core business needs. These core business needs will form the nucleus of the new combined organization and each business unit will provide resources, decision-making authority, and direct control over matters critical to its success. Because each area is unique, the exact structure of what is contained in each business unit will vary somewhat. Middle management jobs have become more demanding. Technology means middle managers have to do more multi-tasking and are expected to be accessible to their staff. The middle manager of a health care organization that has merged with a competitor faces many challenges. Northside Hospital viewed Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital as an enemy that provided good quality of care to the community. Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital have very good inpatient and outpatient service programs in place to services the Mahoning and Trumbull County residents. Northside does not have good inpatient and outpatient programs in place. The key is to a successful merger is taking the best of all organizations to form the new organization. The cultural change of a merger between two competing hospitals is a major challenge. Incorporating two organizations into one disrupts operational, functional, and organizational elements at all levels of the organizations involved. This disruption produces stress in all stakeholders, and challenges all to achieve positives results during the transition period and beyond. The higher the change occurs in the hierarch of the organization the greater positive or negative effect on the company. These types of mergers bring about organizational change from the boardroom to the hospital floors, and the impact of integrating two distinct entities with different prior performance, mission, and values has a short and long-term ripple effect throughout the new organization (Evans & Gertler, 2012). An effective manager will foster trust with his or her employees through communication and commitment. A managers’ goal is to maintain a supportive role with the employees without causing chaos. The encouragement of employee participation will make he or she more likely to comply with changes because he or she will own part of the changes. Each organization has its own way of doing business. Employees are used to the way their organization currently works. However, job descriptions, and roles of many hospital employees will change as a result of the merger. Many challenges occur when a merger occurs; especially when it occurs among competitors merge two different organizations into one facility per se disrupts the operation and functionality on all levels involved within the organization. During this transaction, it is an opportunity to combine many knowledgeable individuals, introduce new styles of performing tasks, and introduce different styles of performance. Enhancing meaningful learning by integrating technology into instructional design is central to this project. The most influential theory associated with this process is the cognitive theory of multimedia learning proposed by Mayer (1997). It is based on the theory that humans have two ways or â€Å"channels† of processing information, auditory, and visual, otherwise known as the dual channel assumption. By leveraging both of these means, and by building both of these c onnections between multiple representations of the same information meaningful learning is more likely to occur (Ofverstorm, n.d.). Hence, hospitals are trying to cut costs and deliver care more efficiently, a goal of the 2010 federal health care overhaul; however some mergers can lock up local markets, leading to higher prices for patients and insurance companies with few other places to turn. This is known as an anticompetitive hospital merger (Kendall, 2012). ProMedica Health System, of Toledo, Ohio, tried to attempt a merger of this kind when they went after St Luke’s Hospital in Toledo, Ohio. The Federal Trade Commission ruled that this would eliminate competition in the Toledo Market therefore the acquisition was denied. Middle managers need to support the employees in handling of uncertainty, provide information, and struggle with changing the behaviors of the employees. A middle manager also experiences some individual complications, such as loss of network and reduces in responsibilities. Because middle managers are the carriers of the information, they have to deal with pressure within the organization, partly from the higher management and partly from the employees and manager below him or her. Employees affected by an organizational change require answers to reduce their uncertainty that has occurred with the reform. Employees may also intentionally or unintentionally work against the organizational change, which clashes with top management’s intentions and plans. The dilemma for the middle managers is that they have a large responsibility to execute the strategies put up by the top management, but have no actual authority over these strategic decisions that affects middle management and the employees. Those problems are particularly evident in mergers and acquisitions, which are seen as most dazing organizational changes (Ofverstorm, n.d.). References Breakthroughs -Hospital merger and acquisition strategies. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.healthleadersmedia.com Evans, A., & Gertler, P. (2012). Trends In Hospital Consolidation: The formation of local systems. Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org Kendall, B. (2012). Regulators Seek to Cool Hospital-Deal fever Retrieved from http://wsj.com Liebler, J., & McConnely, C. (2008). Management Principles for Health Professionals (5th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and BArtlett. Ofverstorm, A. (n.d.). A Middle Manager’s Dilemma in Mergers. Retrieved from http://arch.hhs.se Valley Care of Ohio. (n.d.). Valley Care Health System of Ohio. Retrieved from http://www.valleycareofohio.net

Nike Air Jordan Women

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Micro economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Micro economics - Essay Example Moreover, a shift in other variables with price as an exception would cause a shift in the whole of the demand curve. The shift in the whole demand curve can be attained to be a shift in demand. Income Certain changes or alterations in income may mean increases or decreases in demand. A commodity whose demand tends to rise with a corresponding rise in income can be called a normal commodity. A commodity whose demand falls with a corresponding increase in income can be called an inferior commodity. This means that increases in income would tend to increase the demand for the mp3 player in the market. This is hence true since this is economically measures by economic experts in the economic field. Prices of other commodities Slight alterations or changes in the pricing of other commodities may result to a rise or fall in demand. A commodity that results to a rise in demand for another commodity when its price tends to increase can be called a substitute commodity. A commodity that brin gs about a fall in demand for another commodity when its price tends to rise can be referred to as a complementary commodity. This ultimately means that, an increase in the price of the mp3 player of another manufacturer or brand, may result to a corresponding rise in the demand of the original mp3 player in question, since it may be used as a substitute for the other commodity. Even if, one takes the case of beverage giants in the name of Coke and Pepsi, one realizes that an increase in the price of Pepsi would result in the rise, in demand of Coke. This is solely because these two products can be considered to be substitutes. . Number of buyers in the market A rise in the number of buyers, both potential and current buyers, would result to a rise in the demand for the mp3 player. Demand can be mainly based on the rise of population in that area. Future pricing actions A rise in the anticipated future prices of a commodity would certainly tend to cause a rise in the current demand. A fall in the anticipated future prices of a commodity would certainly decrease the future price. So a firm must highly be considered its future pricing of the mp3 player in question. Consumer tastes and preferences Shifting of the demand curve may also arise due to changes in the consumer tastes and preferences. If the consumers’ taste changes and starts liking more of the mp3 player, there would be a consistent rise in the quantity demanded. Derived quality Shift in the demand curve can be as a result of changes in the quality derived from the mp3 player by the consumer. If commodities produced are of a higher quality than the rival commodity, then this would bring a rightward shift of the demand curve (Heigy 1945, p.453). 2. The demand and supply schedules for wheat in a free market are as follows: Price per tonne (?) 120 160 200 240 280 320 360 400 Tonnes demanded per week 725 700 675 650 600 550 500 425 Tonnes supplied per week 225 300 400 500 600 750 1000 1300 I. Draw and briefly comment the demand and supply curves on the following diagram II. Define what is the equilibrium price and state what the equilibrium price is from your graph ? The equilibrium price is 280. The equilibrium price from my graph is 260. III. Suppose the government fixes a maximum price of ?200 per tonne. What will be the effect? Suppose the government fixes a price ceiling of 200 per tonne, it would result to certain effects. First, a disequilibrium

Comptemporary issues in business pshcholgy 1 Essay

Comptemporary issues in business pshcholgy 1 - Essay Example Prior to psychoanalysis’s inception, phrenology was the popular psychology of the Victorian era (Wohl, 1996). The study of the skull formation and its resultant implications of the individual’s intelligence and place on the evolutionary scale was simple, easy, and accessible, and more often than not it was used to justify racism and other political agendas (Wohl, 1996). But at the turn of the century, psychoanalysis gained popularity under Freud, who, after observing the infamous case of Anna O., a woman who suffered from hysteria due to past experiences, pioneered the theory that all human beings are driven by unconscious urges (Boeree, 1997). The mind suddenly became much more complex than the shape of the skull and psychoanalysis called to the forefront how well a person can truly know and understand himself. Psychoanalysis and its break-off, psycho-dynamic psychology, analyse the mind as a series of unconscious layers. As a person experiences different struggles and traumas, his experiences impact his unconscious mind, which prompts him to unknowingly develop a maladapted function, or Defence Mechanism (Wikipedia, 2006). Psycho-dynamic psychology ultimately seeks to reveal the causes of an individual’s maladapted function. An example of psycho-dynamic psychology at work is in the character of Nora Helmer, of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (1998). Nora Helmer is a housewife that embodies all of the outward ideals of Victorian propriety while harbouring a secret that could ruin her marriage and her family. Her relationship with her husband is complex and flawed. He refers to her as his â€Å"little lark† and his â€Å"squirrel†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ small, flighty, and vulnerable animals. Torvald Helmer seems to cherish and adore his wife, but in reality sees her as a charge or a child that must be taught and guided, and Nora not only complies with this image, but

GLOBAL CHALLENGES FOR BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Essay - 1

GLOBAL CHALLENGES FOR BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP - Essay Example Firms are essentially focussing on improving their management practises in an attempt to improve their business processes. The competitive value framework is a model that essentially helps business organizations to generate competitive advantage by enhancing the value proposition of the organization. The model named as one of the most essential and effective business models was proposed by Quinn & Rorhbaugh in 1983 (Competing Values Company, n.d., p.1). Figure 1: Competitive Values Framework According to Koontz & Weihrich (2006) management is defined as â€Å"the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups efficiently accomplish selected aims† (Koontz & Weihrich, 2006, p.5). ... Internal factors largely include the internal strengths, weakness and opportunities of an organization and are largely associated with the operational and process management practices. External factors on the other hand include the political, legal, economic and sociological factors and help generate an impact for the organization. Relational perspectives include the interpersonal elements of inter group relationships while the empirical elements includes the internal business processes for collection and integration of information handling and management. Political and relational elements denote flexibility and stability while the rational and empirical elements ensure control and stability in a business organization (Schuman, 2010). The combined effect of all the above elements or factors determines the nature of effectiveness of the business strategies adopted by the organizations. Each element represents a set of core values of the firm that are largely distinct from the rest of the others. They show the extent to which an organization tries to be flexible and adoptable to the business environment while maintain an internal stability in the organization. The importance of this model in the present day business environment of turbulence can be easily noted from the fact that it largely helps in displaying the pros and cons, the opposing as well as supporting elements of the business strategies and the nature of alternatives before an organization that can largely help in maintaining profitability and adaptability while maintain an overall stability in the business processes and the organization (Cameron, 2009, p.2-3). Application Organisation Name and Challenge The organization selected for the present study is

Immigration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Immigration - Essay Example The public of the Americans have been against large scale immigration. Majority of them prefer living with the familiar than getting an experience of working with this new group of people whom they fear may not adapt to the American way of life. They do this independent of considering the positive impact made by the immigrants. However, the opposition has been more on some groups and less on others. This has been majorly based on the risk of the Americans losing their jobs and privileges to the immigrants. They fear that the immigrants will take their places in the sectors like the workforce since the immigrant’s engagement has brought significant changes in America’s wages (The National Voter, 2007). According to The National Voter (2007), majority of the immigrants go for economic opportunity. This does not mean that they take societal resources. They equally contribute to the growth of the resources since they take part in economic development (The National Voter, 2007). They take up jobs regardless of the pay, which Native Americans cannot

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

Managerial Accounting - Essay Example These rates of return methodologies are vital in terms of the measurement of financial performance, assessment of the risk and desirability of certain projects. Also the monitoring of a certain specific project performance. There are two vital rates of return concepts. The Economic rate of return and the Accounting rate of return. Both of these rates of returns play a vital role in terms of an investment appraisal .now, to measure the economic performance of an investment; we need to be aware of its Real rate of return of the finished project. Herein all Cash receipts are expressed in terms of monetary units which hold equal purchasing power. This theory is what provides base to the following value of a future performance. The present value of the expected cash flow of the project, discounted appropriately. Differential analysis is considered an alternative to the traditional income statement format. Pricing decisions are made using the differential analysis methodology. If organizations apply differential analysis to pricing, then every price given for a product is considered as the alternative course of action. The fixed costs however will remain the same in between .The aim of all organizations in the process of selecting an appropriate price is where total future revenues will exceed total future costs. DifDifferential analysis is done at various levels to assess, product pricing, project viability etc. All costs cannot be considered to be a part. The decision making only includes the future revenue. These future revenues tend to also differ .Management does not possess the capability of altering all of its past decisions. But on the other hand it is capable of changing its future decisions, by setting up its future costs with care. Differential costs are also known, and often times referred to as or incremental costs. It is also comprehended as the difference in the total cost which occurs due to a change in Price .It is considered as the increase or the decrease in total cost. It is calculated mathematically, by subtracting the cost of one alternative from the cost of another alternative. This alternative choice can be arrived at by a change in method of production, in sales volume, change in product mix, make or buy decisions, take or refuse decisions etc. Capital Investment Analysis: All businesses need capital to keep operations running. Capital is required to finance investments in inventory, plant and machinery, accounts receivables etc. Financial managers also must decide how their companies should raise capital. Capital investment means, the amount that the owner can invest, in order to initiate the business. These are what he can provide for, from his personal resources, or any additional amounts. The owner of the business is the one, who is liable of all debts and liabilities to the business The Capital investment decisions are very crucial along with being complicated. They involve qualitative factors that are not easy to comprehend during the analysis. And so there are various calculating methods to analyze the capital investment of an individual business. A meaningful capital investment

CHALLENGES IN HR BT CASE STUDY EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES & DIVERSITY AT Essay

CHALLENGES IN HR BT CASE STUDY EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES & DIVERSITY AT BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS (BT) - Essay Example The necessities of such changes extend beyond the company into the wider skills and economy base within telecom and IT sector. There are no enough people with the necessary skills available to the company when they are needed in 2020. The 2020 workforce profile will be composed of 70% of the people presently employed in the company. Therefore, the company will develop these people in the workplace and build their ability through further education and re-skilling. In order to mitigate these strategic challenges, the company has put in place learning and training systems, and they need to assure that they are robust and meet the best practice standards (Investors in People 2009, p2). The market environment where BT operates is highly competitive, and this is because of improvements in lifestyle, increasing globalization, and advances in technology. This has changed the manner in which people do business and communicate. These transformations bring considerable human resources challenges. In response to this, the company has developed a People Strategy that will give it the capability to adapt to the changing business environment. It will also give them the capability to create a high performance company that is crucial to its future success. The mission of the company is to assist change it into a company of motivated and inspirational leaders, adaptable, and high performing individuals who deliver excellent customer service in a flexible and an inclusive working environment (BT 2013, p1). From the year 1996, BT has been proactive in Equal Opportunities approach, and it has encompassed disability, ethnic origin, gender and other forms of equality. In 1999, the company joined the Equal Opportunities Commission Equal Pay Task Force. Later in the century, it became a member for the UK Equal Opportunities Commission Working Groups on the Equal Pay Audit Tool and Equal Pay guidelines. This move brought about the issue of equal opportunities in the BT

Homage to My Hips Essay Example for Free

Homage to My Hips Essay The theme of Lucille Clifton’s â€Å"Homage to my hips† concentrates on a proud, strong, and powerful woman who is absolutely in love with her hips. Clifton’s tone throughout the poem focuses highly on her big hips. Not once does the she speak negatively about them. She feels absolutely wonderful about her big hips, making her feel so confident and full-bodied all at the same time. She gives off many reasons to why her hips make her modest, but full of pride. The beginning of ’Homage to my hips† illustrates the confidence that the speaker has about her hips. â€Å"These hips are big hips† (1) demonstrate how the speaker is proud of her big hips and does not mind what others may think about her hips. I feel like the speaker would be disappointed if she had little hips. The speaker knows that her hips are big and they need additional room when she explains â€Å"they need space to/move around in† (2/3). The speaker knows her hips do not fit into little places. The speaker of â€Å"Homage to my hips† is definitely not ashamed of her considerably large hips. After the speaker talks about her proud qualities as it pertains to her hips she moves on to speak about why her hips make her strong. In the lines â€Å"these hips/are free hips (5-6) the speaker demonstrates that her hips do what they want to do. Her wide hips have no limitations. â€Å"These hips have never been enslaved† (7) shows the speaker has never been controlled and she can uphold her freedom by herself. The speaker shows her strong side by stating â€Å"they go where they want to go/they do what they want to do† (8-9). The big hips do not make her feel weak. Finally Clifton speaks about how her hips make her powerful. I think that when the speaker states that â€Å"these hips are mighty hips/these hips are magic hips† (11-12) would give a sense that she can get certain things from a man or give a man a certain feeling. Also, the magic of the hips could attract a lover perhaps. I have known them/to put a spell on a man and/spin him like a top† (13-15) suggests that she knows her big hips are sexy and she can still have a sense of sexiness despite her big hips. She knows that her big hips can be a great turn on for a man. Her hips could make a man go wild if she so desired. In conclusion, the theme of Lucille Clifton’s poem gives a woman of bigger hip nature a sense of pride, strength, and prowess. Despite the need for additional room for movement, the woman in this poem is neither disappointed nor ashamed. She has the freedom to explore wherever she wants. She does not allow anyone to hold her back. Finally, the powerful natures of her big hips coincide with both sex appeal and an attraction. In the end she is satisfied with her big hips. Works Cited Clifton, Lucille. â€Å"Homage to my hips.

Visual Arts of the World Essay Example for Free

Visual Arts of the World Essay Visual arts ranged from a variety of objects. These are works of art that are crafted with visual in nature such as paintings, photography, architecture, filmmaking and sculpture. Thus, these pieces of art are primarily meant for visual consumptions. This study will tackle on wooden sculptures belonging to two different cultures: the bulol or Ifugao rice god of the Philippines and one of the early wooden sculptures of Yoruba Nigeria of Africa. The said art forms will then be examined, analyzed, compared and contrasted. The formal elements or physical appearance of the work will be discussed first and second, its cultural representations and significance. According to the British Council Arts, sculpture is the art or process of creating representational or abstract forms, either in the round or in relief. It is a form of art that is being carve either on wood, ivory or any material that the artist decide to do so. Ifugaos are inhabitants of the Central Cordillera in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Their origin is derived from the term Ipugo which means â€Å"from the hill†. According to Ifugao mythology, the name â€Å"Ifugao† is derived from Ipugo which refers to the rice grain given to them by their god Matungulan. Until today, this kind of rice grain is cultivated by the Ifugaos (Sianghio). On the other hand, according to The Africa Guide, Yoruba are people who live in Southwest Nigeria and Benin. They have developed a variety of diverse artistic forms which include pottery, weaving, beadwork, metalwork, and mask making. There are more than 401 known Yoruba gods so most of the artworks, which include sculptures, are made in order to honor the gods and ancestors The bulol, generally means deity, is specifically a granary idol. It is considered as an effigy of deceased ancestors (Asian Studies 63). In accordance to the C. E. Smith Museum of Anthropology, it is carved human figurines that is usually made in pairs—male and female—and are kept in the house or granary. Some bulols are standing while some are squatting with folded arms (Masferre and de Villa 54). It is an abstract art, according to Alfredo Evangelista of National Museum of the Philippines (1970), because the Ifugao carver expresses his feelings rather than attempts realistic representation. The deformations are results on the emphasis on the quality of other worldliness or the preternatural. The bulol is the most crucial art form because it embodies the Ifugao’s most sacred traditional values (Asian Studies 62). On the contrary, the Yoruba Nigeria sculpture follows the typical form of an African sculpture—cylindrical. African wooden sculptures are primarily cylindrical in appearance and are also made of wood. The statues are carved from trunks or branches (Segy 14). According to Frank Willet, the head is very much depicted because the Yoruba believes that it is the seat of one’s destiny, therefore it must be symbolically bigger and more prominent than any other part of the body. He has also identified three characteristics of Yoruba sculpture: bulging eyes, protruding lips and simplified ears which can clearly see in the chosen piece. The selected sculpture is not defined whether the art form is a female because the chosen Yoruba sculpture is naked, showing its stout breast or a male, exposing its phallus. Carving a bulol usually takes six weeks to finish and it is accompanied by rituals and dancing. The male and female bulols are carved at the same time (Masferre and de Villa 54). In contrast, the Africans believe that trees are home of spirits so in order to pacify the spirit of the tree, a special ritual is done before the cutting of the tree. The two selected sculptures are both anthropomorphic in forms which mean that the works of art ascribe human characteristics. They are both made of wood. If the bulol is often placed in a granary to protect the harvest, the Yoruba sculpture is used as an adornment and indicates a social status. The chosen works of art have utilitarian and historical relationship with the culture of the carver. They are both religious symbols and are accompanied by certain rituals. If bulols are considered as ancestors whose spirits can protect the living (Alvina and Sta. Maria 199), the Yoruba sculpture is a manifestation of the relationship of the African and the spirits of dead members of his family, which is extremely important in their culture. From the cultural background of bulol, it can clearly be seen that Ifugao are farmers. They live in an agricultural area where they primarily rely their lives. On the other hand, the Yoruba sculpture, as a social symbol, indicates that the owner is from a wealthy class, however, it is not clearly indicated or stated that the carver is also from a domineering class in their society, thus, the carver can come from the lower class in the society. Those chosen visual arts need to be seen, perceived and judged with an open mind. They should not be anchored to the Western standard of defining â€Å"what is beautiful† or â€Å"what is aesthetically pleasing† because they will definitely fail to abide to the Western standard with regards to â€Å"what is art,† which is confined then to fine arts—paintings, sculptures of artists that appeal to the senses and emotions—pieces that express the Western notion of â€Å"beauty† and portrays realistic figures especially when it comes paintings and sculptures just like how Michelangelo comes up with his â€Å"David,† the famous depiction of male beauty (History of Beauty). If the wooden sculptures of Yoruba and Ifugao are anchored to the Western standards and notions of ‘art’ and ‘beauty,’ those pieces will then categorically be labeled as â€Å"primitive† due to their irregular proportions and eerie appearance. Illustrations This Yoruba sculpture has originated at Yoruba Nigeria in Africa. It is an anthropomorphic figure and a manifestation of the nexus of the dead African family members to the living. It is a religious and status symbol. It is an early Yoruba sculpture. The artist or carver of the sculpture has not been stated but definitely he belongs to the culture of Yoruba. It is 34. 3 inches or 87 cm tall and made of wood (not specified). . This bulol is one of the forms of a rice god—sitting with folded arms. It is usually put in a house or in a granary for protection. It is often carve in pairs—a male and a female. It has a length of 6. 5 inches, a width of 6. 5 inches and a height of 24 inches. The artist or carver is not also stated but definitely he is an Ifugao. The sculpture is made of wood (not specified). Works Cited Asian Studies. University of the Philippines: Philippine Center for Advanced Studies Philippine Center for Advanced Studies, 1972.Alvina Corazon and Santa Maria Sta. Maria. Halupi. Capital Publishing House, 1989. Gagelonia, Pedro A. Concise Philippine History. Philippines: Far Eastern University Consumers Cooperative Incorporation, 1970. Masferre, E. and Jill Gale de Villa. A Tribute to the Philippine Cordillera. Makati City, Philippines: Brier projects, 1999. Perkins, Morgan and Howard Murphy. Anthropology of Art. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. Segy, Ladislas. African Sculpture. New York: Dover, 1958. Willet, Frank. African Art: An Introduction. Singapore: Thames and Hudson, 1971. â€Å"African People and Culture. † The African Guide. 02 December 2008. http://www. africaguide. com/culture/tribes/yoruba. htm. â€Å"Cutting: The Woodcarver. † 18 April 1995. Yoruba. Conner, Michael. 02 December 2008. http://www. fa. indiana. edu/~conner/yoruba/woodcarver. html â€Å"History of Beauty. † Answers. com. 02 December 2008. http://www. answers. com/topic/beauty â€Å"Ifugao. † Tripod. Sianghio, Christina. 02 December 2008. http://litera1no4. tripod. com/ifugao_frame. html. â€Å"Sculpture. † British Council Art. 02 December 2008. http://www. britishcouncil. org/arts-art-sculpture. htm List of Illustrations

Movie Analysis Of Leadership Development

Movie Analysis Of Leadership Development You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. -Eleanor Roosevelt The above stated lines speak up the spirit of Norma Rae and the power of a leader. The quotation highlights the two main points shown in the film; the strength and courage of a woman and the idea of justice and equal rights for all. The film shows how an oppressed, young American lady who in initial stage did not had courage to fight against intolerable environment, converts into a charismatic leader and helps up bringing the whole textile labour society. The Film: The film Norma Raes release came in an era when labour unions were falling out of favour with the American public and politicians appeared eager to criticize organized labour for harming American competitiveness in the global marketplace. Norma Rae (played by actress Sally Field) focuses on the experiences of an individual who lived in Roanoke Rapids, NC and played a leadership role in the struggle to win union representation from the J.P. Stevens Company. Her real name was Crystal Lee. Crystal Lee had grown up in a family of mill workers, laboured in a variety of jobs, including textiles, and then, rather suddenly, discovered an interest in unions when she heard the speech of an organizer who had come to Roanoke Rapids. She successfully demonstrated that power is not based on title or status; it comes by connecting with people and standing up for what you believe in (Goleman et al, 2002). The movie clearly sends out the message that strong will power, hard work and determination can surely make impossible possible. It substantiates the bonding between a leader and his follower, the importance of such a symbiotic relationship and how the follower can become a leader too by synergizing bonds. It is a live commentary on the inherent leadership potential lying latent in everyone of us and how the environmental factors, situations and a suitable guidance can convert us into a charismatic leader. The movie begins with the loud noise of machines in the mill doing its job and still shots from Ms. Raes life from being an infant to a sad woman, one amongst the 800 mill-workers; a cog in the cotton mill machinery who is not enjoying life, but is only struggling with it to survive. Workers are portrayed as being machines themselves making machines in unceasing eight hour shifts and trying to come to terms with this machine age .Norma Raes mother facing the problem of temporary deafness due to the unbearable noise produced by the machines in the mill. These pathetic working environmental conditions with short and few breaks in-between the working hours, no windows, no proper working conditions and poor management played a major role in transforming Norma Rae into a leader. To begin with, she is a young, hard working, energetic lady with no decided goals. She is a rebel without a cause, unharnessed youth of the age who fearlessly confronts the management. The bosses first tried to hold her by offering a rise in salary by 1$/hr and offering a higher position than others. At first, she plays into their hands, she accepted the offer, but when she was cut off from her people and saw an attitude change in them then she realizes a very important lesson of life that to find strength, one must be with and from the people. Then comes into play Reuben Warshofsky (played by Ron Leibman), an urban union leader who knows the labour laws and the legal system and just needs an insider to materialize his goals from within, who could support him in serving the good cause of publicising the labour union and telling the benefits of it. With Ruebens coordination and learning, Norma slowly transforms into a strong and confident leader. This symbiotic conventional mentor-protà ©gà ©e bond develops into an affective partnership where Norma and Reuben spread awareness and overcome personal and work related obstacles together. Reubens authority, knowledge and wittiness to handle situations helped making a path and strategy to confront the problems. Norma Rae had been marketed to the American public as a story about a female Rocky and as a film that exuded feminist spirit while not overtly preaching feminism. Leadership Styles: There are various leadership styles reflected by various characters in the film Norma Rae, following theories and styles help us explain them: Leaderships gender perspective Transformational Leadership Authoritarian and Participative leadership Style Contingency Theory and Situational leadership Vision Development Conflicts Social Identity Theory Leaderships gender perspective: Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, She doesnt have what it takes. They will say, Women dont have what it takes. (Clare Boothe Luce) There is a cultural ideal in most societies that generally men are the leaders. This ideal persists despite the fact that women in many nations have participated in governing the whole nation operating at the topmost positions like Prime Minister and President (Table 1). There still seems to be, in some circles, a belief in some societies that women do not belong in the leadership, and are especially ill-perceived in leadership positions. There still appears to be a commonly held belief that, while women are tolerated in the ranks, many men still believe that leadership in their domain alone. The male centred society has usually associated women with certain specific roles; such taking care of household tasks, looking after children etc. The film Norma Rae tries to evolve such typical and orthodox mindset. The above said sentences can easily be collected from a scene where Normas husband shows anger on her when she used to come late and tries to let her realize her duties towards hou sehold works like washing clothes, cooking food, and looking after kids. But Norma made him realize that she has been working for a great cause and motive and he should understand it. Norma proves it to the whole society that women can not only look after the house and children but also can work, earn, lead and change the system. She also proves that women who are not associated with leadership can be taught and developed to be good leaders. It is truly and beautifully said that: Women have certain characteristics that give them an edge over men in being leaders, like- empathy, and a caring attitude (Heller, 1982). Transformational Leadership: Transformational leadership is a leadership approach that is defined as leadership that creates valuable and positive change in the followers. A transformational leader focuses on transforming others to help each other, to look out for each other, to be encouraging and harmonious, and to look out for the organization as a whole. In this leadership, the leader enhances the motivation, morale and performance of his follower group (source: www.wikepedia.org). This is a leadership style exhibited primarily by Rueben, Norma gradually adopts this style. Transformational Leadership occurs when the leader take a visionary position and inspires others to follow. The essence of transformational leadership lies making the followers understand the goals and inspire them to achieve them (Bass et al, 1994). Like many other leaders Norma used the help of her mentor Rueben to understand various leadership traits. To understand the complexity of the environment Rueben who is the mentor here shares all his knowledge and expertise with his protà ©gà © Norma, to become a better leader. Norma evolves as a leader with the help of her mentor, Rueben. She learnt about how she can help people to fight the inequality and how to make them stand against the prevailing evils in the work environment. She understands the fact that: To lead, one must follow. -Lao Tzu Reuben has better Leadership skills than Norma, but his profession and demands matched while that of Norma didnt. Ruebens strength lies in the fact that he inspires people to come forward and realise their potential. He follows the principle of Leadership Development. Reuben better knows how to use the processes of leadership development, i.e., assessment, challenge and support (Howell et al, 2006). Rueben has a better understanding than Norma about of the psychology of his followers to inspirationally motivate them and intellectually stimulate them (Pierce et al, 2008). He makes Norma and the workers understand the fact that a union is essential for them and thus sets the ball rolling. Norma takes the lead and spreads awareness amongst the workers. Normas leadership style is quite inspired by Rueben and she also grows up into a transformational leader. Norma learned the lesson from Rueben: If you are not the lead dog scenery never changes (Source: LeadershipAdvanceOnline) Authoritarian and Participative leadership style: Authoritarian: This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. (Source: www.nwlink.com) Norma is shown as an energetic and hard working character in this film, thus authoritarian characteristic, though in a very small content, is exhibited in her natural characteristics. This style is used when Norma tells her peers working for the formation of the labour society about what they want to be done and how she wants it to be accomplished, without getting the advice from them. This leadership style can even be seen the scene when Norma shouts on one of her peer for not getting the work done on time and she had to spend extra effort on augments than to concentrate on other core tasks like planning and management. This leadership style is primarily exhibited by management of O.P Henley textile mill; the management is too much authoritarian and does not want any employee to raise voice against the odds in the mill. The management misuses its authority to restrict union activities been performed by Norma in the work place. The management is least bothered about the employee care , they just want the work to be done without giving any concerns to the voice, needs and requirements of employees. The management of O.P Henley textile mill seems to deny the truth: The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. -Kenneth Blanchard Participative (Democratic): This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it) (Source: http://www.nwlink.com) This leadership style is very much exhibited in the Norma Rae character of the film; in fact the core of the film revolves round this leadership quality. Norma Rae participates in decision making with Rueben. Planning, controlling, pursuing, managing, organizing, and all other tasks are performed by her in a participative manner, either with the peer members of the union supporting group, peer workers or Rueben. An example of participative leadership of Norma could be seen in a scene in which she and the fellow employees wear a large union button in the work setting to speak their fellow workers about joining a union which was protected under the new rules. Norma used to involve and convince people working in the mill to get involved in union formation; she generally used to take inputs from peer workers and Rueben on how to manage tasks. Situational Leadership: Another leadership concept clearly visible from the film Norma Rae is Situational Leadership or the Contingency Theory of Leadership. As per this concept the leadership style is contingent to situations and circumstances (Howell et al, 2006). It is said to be the best style of leadership. The style to be used depends on the readiness level of the people the leader is trying to influence (Pierce et al, 2008). Norma Rae realized the intolerable situation of the textile mill workers were working in, that propelled her to change of the situation and lead the labour society to form a union for their own and for the sake of whole textile labour society. Situational leadership is clearly demonstrated by Norma Rae in the scene when after getting fired from her job in the mill, she mounted a table in her work room and held up a sheet of cardboard with the word UNION marked on it in large letters. She turned around slowly, demonstrating her bold message to the assorted hemmers, terry cutters and packers in the room. As a result of this action, the workers who had been facing the unbearable situations since long, without revolting, were stunned and realized that the time has come to be united and to stand against the management for the common objective of equality and justice, Norma clearly demonstrated her leadership in the odd situation, this scene though silent left a big impact and played a major role in union formation in American textile industry. By demonstrating situational leadership at various instances Norma Rae proved the following definition of leadership: Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it Dwight Eisenhower Vision Development: A vision is a guiding image of what success looks like. It answers the question what do you wish to become. (Source www.thepracticeofleadership.net) Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. She was born and brought up in a family of workers who were facing these conditions since long. In the opening scene of the movie, the viewer is immediately introduced to what it might really be like working all day in a textile factory. The operation of the machinery is deafening. At the end of the scene, we discover that is exactly the case as Norma Rae realizes her own mother cannot hear. Norma from her past had a vision of what is prevalent in the environment and needs to be removed, but since she was used to it and was unaware of her latent leadership abilities she was unable to pursue that vision. Rueben made her realize her leadership capabilities and supported her vision to resolve the issues which she and the society was facing since long. To use vision as a strategy, she needed to define three elements-the plan, current state and desired state (Refer appendix 2). It means defin ing where she was now, where she wanted to be in the future and how she was going to get there This concern about the situation gave her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labour union organizer. They knew the present situation, they developed a plan and structure to bring as many people together with them as possible. Together, they undertook the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory) and saved the future of many workers working in textile industry. It was their vision which led them to succeed and let them attain their objectives. Normas success which was lead by her vision justifies the following quote: The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. Its got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You cant blow an uncertain trumpet. -Theodore Hesburgh Conflicts: Dont be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against; not with; the wind. Hamilton Wright Mabie This is the main idea which Norma Rae seems to be following in the film. Any leader cannot grow without facing conflicts or without fighting the situations against him/her. In the film Norma Rae, Norma also comes across various conflicts while trying to achieve her goal. The first conflict is at her workplace i.e. against the management of O.P. Henley Textile Mill, the mill management never wanted Norma to form a union, and the management was against her since the beginning of union chapter. Norma had to face many conflicts from the management, some examples of it are, the management warned her at various moments that she might lose her job if she continues to raise voice for union in the work place, she was asked why she used workplace telephone in office hours?, she was asked to remove the unions button, she was warned while favouring the Unions notice on the notice board at work place, But Norma continued with her union objectives and kept on publicising the union, its cause and i ts functions to her peers, finally the management called the police chief to take her away to book her on disorderly conduct charges. Norma Rae did not leave calmly. She kicked, twisted, and screamed, and she had to be stuffed into the squad car and kept behind the bars for a night. At her home, being a lady she was expected to cook food, wash clothes, look after the kids, and perform all other household activities, but since she was very much involved in the union activities she could not take out time for all these works, there was a conflict between her and her husband regarding the same on which she reacted aggressively showing her discontent that while she kept busy in work it was the responsibility of him to take care of such tasks. All these conflicts made her stronger to fight for her cause. Social Identity Theory: Social identity theory: leader is picked by followers or chosen to be supported by followers because s/he is most like them. (Source- Slides) Norma Rae is a co-worker of the labours in the O.P Henley textile mills, this is an additional benefit which she enjoys to become a leader of them and for them, as stated in the social identity theory. There is a peer trust relationship between Norma and her followers, followers know that Norma is well aware of the situations and conditions prevalent in the working condition as she is one of them. This trust, respect and belief can be seen when she held up a sheet of cardboard with the word UNION marked on it in large letters, all her followers supported her and stopped working, they knew that what she was doing is for them and for their well being. In an earlier scene we see that Norma was offered a better designation and salary as that of peers, but when she realised the value of social identity she left the designation. Norma knew that without winning the confidence of her peers and without being one of them she would not be able to succeed to reach her destination. She knew the v alue of social identity. Conclusion Norma Rae though a great social transformer, does not depict the characteristics of a very great leader with a big following. In fact, Norma didnt even have any followers as seen from a conventional view. Yet, she achieved and benefited many. She transformed the way labours were treated in the society, depicting a very interesting, unique and a subtle style of leadership. Norma Rae proved that passion and not position is where courage of a great leader to fulfil his vision, comes from. She along with Reuben, achieved her goal of establishing a union, yet facilitated the workers to believe that it was their effort and achievement. The following lines best describe the leadership style of Norma Rae: Go to the people. Learn from them. Live with them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. The best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people will say we have done it ourselves. -Lao Tzu Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Vision as a Strategy

History of Rabies :: Biology Medical Biomedical Disease

History of Rabies Abstract: Rabies, literally meaning â€Å"furious† in Latin, is commonly known throughout the ages for its terrifying effects on both humans and animals alike. Because the disease is fatal, people throughout the world have put greatest effort to find ways of controlling and preventing the disease. Natural remedies and protection amulets were used until Pasteur’s discovery of the vaccine. Based on those findings, people have altered techniques to make the vaccine. However, recently, there have been two particular cases concerning rabies. One woman survived the disease by an induced coma without receiving the vaccine. Another case a common organ donor infected with rabies killed all the recipients. These medical mysterious surprised many scientist even today. Long before humans established their existence on Earth, microorganisms have always existed. Such is the case for a specific virus named rabies. People in the past could easily identify the presence of this tiny killer. Extending way back to about 2300 BC, people in ancient Babylon have acknowledged the presence of this terrifying disease. Furthermore, they even set up written laws, requiring owners to quarantine their rabid animals or risk being fined a certain amount of money if the animals attacked anyone (West 12-13). In the fifth century BC, a few famous Greek and Roman writers, such as Democritus, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Plutarch, Xenophon, Epimarcus, and Virgil, also mentioned rabies in their writings. However, during times where culture played a bigger influence than science, people typically documented the disease in an ambiguous and vague fashion. In Greek mythology, the god Aristaeus cancelled out the effects, while the goddess Artemis spread the disease to humans a nd animals alike, cursing them to a state of madness (Baer 1). Only until the first century AD that a Roman celebrated physician called Aulus Cornelius Celsus accurately described the disease (Rabies.com). He also stated â€Å"saliva was ‘venomous’ and the means of transmitting the disease† (West 13). In American culture, this disease has also made its mark on humanity because of the way one dies but also the way the person’s death affects everyone around them. In the two famous novels Their Eyes Were Watching God by Nora Hurston and Old Yeller by Frederick Gipson, the great emotional pain deeply scars the heroes of the stories. In Gipson’s novel, Old Yeller, a young boy’s beloved dog, is injured while saving his human family.

Belonging :: Ukraine Traditions Culture Society Essays

Belonging The ideals embodied in the word "community" deal with the scientific description of specific human cultures. While traveling throughout the city of Warren, Michigan, you are bound to notice one of the many signs stating the following; "Welcome to Warren, the third largest city in Michigan." In the midst of this large city dwell approximately seventeen thousand humans of Ukrainian descent. With this many people you would need Cobo Hall to throw a get-together; however, we all seem to congregate happily at the Ukrainian Cultural Center. Throughout the Ukrainian Cultural Center’s twenty years of existence, the Center has faithfully serviced its patrons with libraries of knowledge, a museum, great food, and a social place to gather, the Odessa Lounge. The Ukrainian Cultural Center serves as the hub of most activities for Ukrainians in the metro Detroit area. You might say that I grew up in the place, nurtured by the members of Ukrainian decent who have served me like surrogate parents. It’s a large community, but I’ve grown to personally know most of the members and their families. The Center, as it is called, is not just a place to learn about me heritage, attend lectures, concerts, weddings, social and cultural activities. For me the Center is a place of belonging where "everyone knows my name," just as the words to the song in the TV sitcom "Cheers". The Ukrainian Cultural Center is situated south of Interstate 696 on the west- side of Ryan Road. This brown brick building does not look extremely elaborate or fancy, but rather, has the appearance of a large house. The building faà §ade is complimented with almond colored trim and brown shingles, the kind found on many homes in this residential area. The building’s pitched roof further adds the look and feel of a large family home. The elaborate landscaping intensifies the large house effect as well as hiding the road that runs across the front leading to the massive four hundred ninety-space parking lot in the rear. Masking the road with stones, shrubs, and several pine, maple and crab apple trees makes it look attractive and inviting from the front. Upon entering the building, you automatically know it is not a typical banquet hall. It has the look and feel of another country. The display at the entrance is filled with Ukrainian artifacts, like embroidered pillows, decorated pysanky, wedding wreaths, and other objects reflecting Ukrainian ethnicity.

Zipcar Individual Case Brief

Zipcar Company is affected by several general environment factors including the following: Sociocultural: There is very well developed public transportation system available in the urban areas and people can easily get the mobility through public transportation. Easy access to the public transportation affects Zipcar’s business to minimize its revenues. Economic: Due to the high gas prices, it is not easy for the companies like Zipcar to compete in the market but the Zipcar can come up with hybrid cars to overcome this threat. Technological: Zipcar has now its own application to select the cars and this application makes the process easy for the customers in selecting the right vehicle. Technology is helping the company to better facilitate its customers. Zipcar company is attractive for the new entrants and the business has enough potential to generate above average profits. Following are the most important of five forces affecting the Zipcar business: Threat of new entrants: Threat of new entrants is high for this company. There are many other companies like Enterprise car rentals can also offer car sharing services. Threat of substitute products: Zipacar is a unique business model and the threat of substitute product is low because it needs a big business setup to establish business model similar to the Zipcar. Following are the two main companies that are in the competition with the Zipcar. Enterprise rent a car: Enterprise rent a car is a big car rental business and if they start the car sharing service in the future so it will become more competitive for the Zipcar to generate above average revenue in the market. Hertz car rental service: Hertz car rental can be another direct competing firm to the Zipcar. They are second largest in terms of fleet after Enterprise. Most important of the value chain factors are discussed in the following paragraph. Marketing and sales: Are very important factors that are important for the company. This business needs some proper marketing strategy to create awareness in the minds of the target audience. This factor is superior among the both competitors. Technological development: It is important for the Zipcar is a company and the company can use new technology including smart phone applications to attract new customers. This factor is superior among both competitors. Zipcars net profit margin for 2012 was 5. 26 million as compare to Hertz profit margin of 2. 69 million. The company has a social responsibility of keeping the environment clean and Zipcar is adding environment friendly cars to its fleet to keep the environment clean. Zipcar company is aligned with the market trend and this is the major strength that is attracting more opportunities and limiting threats to the company. Due to the seasonal demand for the vehicles Zipcar experiences low return in certain months that limits the opportunities and enhances the threats. Zipcar is offering the service that is valuable and rare but it is not costly to imitate for big competitors and there are also substitutes available in the market with little modification in terms and conditions. The competitive advantage for Zipcar is temporary. Zipcar’s business level strategy is highly focused on differentiation and offering environment friendly products. Corporate level of the strategy is not that developed yet and the company is having slow growth due to the income only from one sector. The company had a merger with Flexcar in 2009 and they also made alliance with Avancar in Spain due to its cooperative strategy. Company has not given a good international strategy even though they are also working in several other nations but they still need better business model to work internationally. Overall, the company has to work on the corporate level to compete both locally and internationally. Company is pursuing its business level strategy to win the market share. Firm needs to recruit more staff because there is a strong lack of customer service in their current business model and today, the companies with strong customer service are the one who has a big market share in the businesses. Most important 7’s factors are following: System: Company has uniform working criteria everywhere they work. Staff: Company works hard to boost the motivation of their employees. Skills: By hiring the right people and continuous training procedure the company is having edge over other competitors. Q1: How the company takes care of its stakeholders as they are major part of the process to generate above average returns? Q2: What strategy does the company have to response to the hyper-competition?

Classical Analysis

Alyssa Huskinson COMS 100B, Fall 2012 8 October 2012 Classical Analysis In an Absolut World Absolut vodka is based on 500 years of tradition originating in Sweden. Under the original name â€Å"Absolut rent branvin,† which means â€Å"absolutely pure vodka,† Absolut was introduced in the United States in 1979 and since has become one of the world’s most famous spirits. The advertisement campaign, In an Absolut World, was just another successful entry in the company’s advertising history, and Absolut advertising continues to be recognized as pure genius (cite).The purpose of the In an Absolut World campaign was to convey the idea that Absolut is indeed in a world of its own. The campaign challenges customary view points by presenting a refreshing optimistic perspective of everyday life, in a world of its own. One specific artifact, called the â€Å"taxi† piece, illustrates a few people leaving a bar and having to navigate the aisles of persuasion by choosing which cab to take home (since, in this particular world there is a sea of taxis from which to choose).The question to be answered remains: what if everything in the â€Å"real† world was a little more â€Å"Absolut† and perfect? The message presented across the various examples within the campaign remains constant, as to reveal a work of art, for the audience to explore and communicate within the world of Absolut. Kenneth Burke (year) defined the rhetorical function of language as â€Å"a symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols† (p. #).If this campaign sparks any response in beings, then according to Burke, in an Absolut/absolute world, the power of language is identification. This campaign visually indentifies the language of the text as being luminescent, while asking a question about what would happen if everything in the real world could be perfect. The allure of Absolut vodka captivates the audience by con veying a unique invitation to be a part of the Absolut World. With the inception of the Internet and increased availability, advertisements have the opportunity to influence society in a tremendous way.In these advertisements, â€Å"Drinkers are invited to imbibe ‘in an Absolut World,’ a fanciful, even surreal, place where common sense prevails and just deserts are always on the menu,† (Elliot, 2007, p. #). The advertisements in the campaign were created to show the view of Absolut’s World, so that the consumer has the opportunity to respond and react. [You’ve given us a somewhat abrupt transition from campaign-level (general) to artifact-level (specific)†¦try to ease me into it a bit more gently.I think a new paragraph is in order as well. ] The basis of the content in the artifact being analyzed here represents an example of the perfect world as Absolut sees it; in this example, a parking lot is full of taxis lined up and ready to go, and the patrons of the bar have multiple options for transportation home (none of which include driving themselves). The scene in this artifact takes place at night, under the glow of the street lights, which capture the mystic notion of the evening lifestyle.The taxis here are symbols for transportation, but they also portray the message of the Absolut World. [This last statement is quite powerful, but I don’t feel as if you developed it enough to leave it alone yet. What do you mean that they portray the message? Here’s what I THINK you’re saying: the taxis are how we know that we are viewing an idealized world, not the real world. In an idealized world, no one who enjoyed Absolut would have to worry about how she/he would get home safely, because the taxis would be there.The taxis deliver to real viewers and the fictional people in the artifact. ] This powerful campaign provides a framework for the culture of Absolut to establish a different viewpoint about the worl d in which people live; not only does this campaign function on multiple business levels, but it also speaks to consumers on a personal level by capturing pure emotions. This artifact depicts the desire for the perfect life. If taxis were always available, then would there be less drinking and driving? Could the Absolut world be the answer to drinking and driving?Given the opportunity, would people still take taxis home from the bar or use a designated driver, or is this notion of â€Å"absolute safety† real only In an Absolut world? According to the Center for Disease and Control (year), U. S. drivers got behind the wheel after drinking too much about 112 million times in 2010; of those 112 million, 4 out of 5 men were responsible (81%) for that statistic. [I think you should mention here that one way to ensure a complete end of drinking and driving would be to end drinking; however, such a solution would be ighly negative to Absolut’s bottom line, which is why a perf ect world according to Absolut still has drinking in it. The fact that they would ignore one solution to the social problem (drinking and driving) while advocating a second solution calls their credibility (ETHOS) into question, which also damages the effectiveness of the artifact. Don’t forget to connect to your method! ] Given the description, then, doing things differently can lead to extraordinary growth. Absolut’s message promotes a different impression of the brand.To establish this kind of message, it can be anticipated that it is useful to recall the past and to make guesses at the future (Stoner & Perkins, 2005). The In an Absolut World campaign comes from a credible company; the new campaign started after the successful 25 year run of another campaign, â€Å"Absolut _______† (which included memorable pieces such as â€Å"_____† and â€Å"_____†) (cite). [It’s another point about ethos, as far as I see it. Absolut built on the credi bility it had from the â€Å"Absolut ______† campaign to convince the audience to accept the â€Å"Absolut World† concept. Cicero’s canon of invention proves to be a useful lens with which to view and understand the artifact; given that the purpose of the piece is persuasion, the rhetor uses pathos and logos to enhance the article (in addition to the previously mentioned ethos that is also used). The need for a sober driver in any given situation is a logical argument. As indicated by the artifact’s warning to â€Å"Enjoy with Absolut Responsibility,† the company knows that drinking and driving leads to X deaths in the United States annually (cite).Absolut’s advocacy for a world where drinking and driving never mix is a suggestion based upon sound logic, and Absolut hopes the audience will respond favorably to that logic. Also, the artifact maintains a call of action to join the Absolut World—and in this perfect world, the creators as k their consumers to maintain the illusion. According to the New Scientist article, persuasion is a key element of all human interaction, from politics to marketing to everyday dealings with friends, family and colleagues. Persuasion is a basic form of social interaction,† says Eric Knowles (year), or a way in which people â€Å"build consensus and a common purpose† (p. #). Therefore, Absolut needs those who view the artifact to be persuaded not just to buy Absolut vodka, but also to believe in Absolut’s version of the world, in an attempt to bring that â€Å"Absolut† world to reality. Such lofty goals require expert use of ethos, pathos, and logos. According to Kenyon and Hutchinson (2007), Absolut advertisements include various socio-cultural references.The artifact simultaneously requests the responsibility of viewers in the real world, and celebrates the responsibility of the participants in the Absolut world. [Again, a really elegant point, but the ex planation that followed, the part you wrote (and I deleted), did not help make that great point concrete. Instead, you should point to pathos. The people in the Absolut world are presented as smart, responsible, and fun (you would include examples from the text to make that point†¦they are smiling and safe†¦whatever).The viewer in the real world wants to be seen as smart, responsible, and fun. Absolut creates here a feeling of wanting to be included and celebrated, which once again draws the audience closer to the brand. ] Absolut vodka has managed to maintain (and grow) the brand’s credibility, the emotions of the audience, and the logic of the message; therefore, the â€Å"In an Absolut World† taxi artifact is a successful example that builds a world of its own.This campaign and this artifact specifically make the viewer excited about the perfect world, while accepting and participating in the real world. Thus, the artifact has two results: the viewer feels positive about Absolut and may choose Absolut over another vodka brand, and the viewer might choose to embrace the Absolut world and the Absolut responsibility of avoiding drinking and driving. Would it really be so bad if the Absolut World intertwined with reality?Life is not designed to be easy, but if in fact it was the perfect, then imagine how different society would be. [Alyssa, you have lovely ideas†¦you just need to work on making the ideas full and complete, and then making sure your organization is seamless and smooth. ] +168/200. Works Cited Burke, G. K. (1932) â€Å"Towards a Better Life: Being a Series Epistles or Declamations, a Novel,† Harcourt, Brace and Company Ltd. CDC Features – Drinking and Driving: A Threat to Everyone. (n. d. ). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Retrieved October 5, 2012, from http://www. cdc. gov/Features/VitalSigns/DrinkingAndDriving Eight ways to get exactly what you want – life – 07 May 2008 â€⠀œ New Scientist. (n. d. ). Science news and science jobs from New Scientist – New Scientist. Retrieved October 5, 2012, from http://www. newscientist. com/article/mg19826551. 400-eight-ways-to-get-exactly-what-you-want. html Elliot, S. (2007, April 27) â€Å"In an ‘Absolut World,’ a Vodka Could Use the Same Ads for More Than 25 Years,† The New York Times. Retrieved Oct. 3, 2012. www. nytimes. com. Kenyon, J.A. , & Hutchinson, L. P. (2007) â€Å"Exploring rhetoric: alcohol and Absolut Vodka advertisements,† British Food Journal, Vol. 109 Iss: 8, pp. 594 – 607. Retrieved Oct. 3, 2012. www. emeraldinsight. com. Stoner, R. M. , & Perkins, J. S. (2005). â€Å"Making Sense of Messages: A Critical Apprenticeship in Rhetorical Criticism,† California State University pearsonhighered. com/educator/academic/product/0,3110,0205564518,00. html The official ABSOLUT website. (n. d. ). The official ABSOLUT website. Retrieved October 5, 2012, from htt p://www. absolut. com

Human Resource department of Thorpe Park Essay

Introduction: This report written on the 16th of October 2002 is to give a detailed report about the Human Resource department of a company. For this purpose, Thorpe Park has been selected as the study company. Task 1-Human Resource function: Introduction: ‘Human Resource means using people as an asset to achieve the company’s goals and objectives.’ The main concerns of the human resource department are: > Planning a successful campaign > Equal opportunities to all > The contract terms and conditions > Training and investing in training > Personal records and its protection > Grievance and disciplinary procedures > Management of the employees > Rewards for work > Welfare of the employees Findings: 1.1 The Human Resource department The human resources department at Thorpe Park has three different managers. Their structure and main functions are as follows: 1. Recruitment manager The recruitment manager at Thorpe Park is responsible for recruiting permanent and seasonal staff. The manager has to advertise the jobs on the local press and other appropriate places. The manager at Thorpe Park is also responsible for deciding work experience positions and other recruiting responsibilities. 2. Training manager The training manager at Thorpe Park is responsible for employees and their training. The major activities of the training manager at Thorpe Park are as follows: > Park structure – this is helpful for the staff as it gets them to know each other and their responsibilities. > Health and safety – to make sure that all employees know what to do and how to handle things in an emergency > Rules and regulations – all employees must know the company rules and regulations as it is required by law and helps the business achieve the objectives. > Role-play situation – helps employees to be able to do team work and support their team mates > Fire safety – show fire exits and fire extinguishers and where to meet and who to call if a fire alarm sounds > Emergency procedures – shows the employees what to do in case of emergency 3. Human resource manager H.R. manager at Thorpe Park is responsible for: > Employee relations – involves everything regarding relation and communication between the employees > Disciplinary procedures – if employees do not behave H.R. manager will provide them with a verbal warning and if repeated that will be followed by the written and then the final warning. > Contracts of employment – making sure all the employees are provided with this legal document > Pensions – paying pension to people that are entitle to it > Other sections this manager is responsible for are: administration, cast welfare, benefits incentives. The above stated managers are very essential to the management of Thorpe Park in the following ways: 1. Recruitment Recruitment responsibility at Thorpe Park is important because if there is not enough staff recruited then the business may have to some of its rides and that will lint to unhappy customers and less profit for the business. As we know staffs is the most expensive asset for all businesses, at Thorpe Park the recruitment managers have to make sure that the staff that they employ are well qualified and fit to the requirements that are necessary for the particular job. 2. Training Because of the nature of the business at Thorpe Park, training is a part and parcel of the new employed staff. The business has to make sure that the employees do know as to what they are doing and what are the necessary precautions to be taken while performing that job. Apart from this, they also have to take care of the health and safety of the people who come to enjoy there. The training manager therefore has to make sure that the money spent on the training of the staff is worth it. 3. Human resources Task 2 Introduction: Human resources planning used to be called manpower planning. However recently it has been defined as ‘the activity of management which is aimed at co-ordinating the requirements for the availability of different types of employees’. The reasons for human resource planning are as follows: * To encourage employers to develop clear links between their business plans and their HR plans so that they can integrate the two more effectively, for all concerned. * Organisations can control staff costs and numbers employed far more effectively. * Employers can build up a skill profile for each of their employees. This makes it easier to give them work where they are most value to the organisation. * It creates a profile of staff, which is necessary for the operation of an equal opportunities policy. The process of human resource planning: * Stocktaking: This could be job analysis or skills audit. That is like a survey of the skills of employees. Performance reviews as if a 6 months review which tells employees about the progress in their work area. * Forecasting supply: This is as if estimating how many employees to have in the future. Many organizations use a technique called labour turnover. There are three ways to calculate this 1. Annual labour turnover index, 2. Stability index 3. Bowey’s stability index. * Forecasting the demand for labour: This is usually determined by predicating factors like, demand for products, product diversification and capital investment plans. * Implementation and review: This is as if accessing the situation e.g. they have the new recruitment plan been successful. Findings: 2.1.1. Employment Trends: Employment trends depend on the supply and demand of labour. The supply of labour depends on statistics like the population of the country. The total population of the UK depends on factors such as birth and death rates and the ease of migration. In addition, the size of the working population affects employment trends. The size of the working population is contributed by the birth and death rates and the age structure. The supply of labour also depends on the working populations preferences for leisure. As people become wealthy, they prefer leisure for work. The demand for labour levels can change with differences in demand for goods and services. An example of this is the leisure and cleaning industry has gone up but the service and manufacturing demand has gone down. Here is an example of this in the economic market. In a boom we spend more on goods and services, although our interest is a lot lower and therefore demand increases and unemployment is low, but in an economic slump interest rates rise therefore people have less income to spend and wages go down. In addition, the cost of borrowing is higher this all contributes to demand falling and high unemployment. Total wage bills rise in a boom and fall in a slump. Another factor that affects employment trends is women’s participation rate in employment. The rise of the tertiary sector has meant a change in employment and employment patterns. The tertiary sector is now more important than the secondary sector which traditionally employed man in say manufacturing. These industries are now being replaced and their place has been taken by the service industries, for example banking, insurance and retailing. The service industries are now major employers of women. What are the employment trends at Thorpe Park? Most employees are recruited from the local area but also from colleges and universities around the country these are student placements and some seasonal; cast come from aboard. What have been the trends in the local area of Thorpe Park over the last 5 years in terms of employment trends? There has been low unemployment Thorpe Park has tackled this by increasing hourly rates. What factors will affect Thorpe Park in the future? Most probably, national trends an example of this there might be a recession and unemployment might increase. Statistics on employment trends external To Thorpe Park Length of service of employees: * Since 1986 the length of service of people at a particular place for 2 years – 20 years was 62%. This figure kept decreasing and in the year 2001 it reached to 56%. * On the other hand people working in a particular place for more than 20 years in 1986 was 9%. Surprisingly this figure increased to 11% in the year 2001. On observing the above stated figure it shows that the latest unemployment numbers for November 2002 to January 2003 continue to suggest that, having been rising for around a year, unemployment is now falling. The unemployment rate at 5.0 per cent is down 0.2 percentage points on the quarter. The latest figure for the level of unemployment is down 73,000 on the quarter to stand at 1.459 million Similarly, on observing the above figure it can be seen that the employment rate continues on an upward trend. Having been rising marginally over the past year, there are low signs that unemployment may be falling, though the decline in the numbers claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance appears to be levelling off. The rate of earnings growth remains subdued. Generally, data are consistent with the output growth shown in gross domestic product (GDP) data in 2002. Overall, the labour market remains largely flat. The rate of GDP growth picked up in the second quarter of 2002 after a weak first quarter, and this stronger growth appears to have continued into the third. The fourth quarter experienced slower growth but was still healthy. The number of people in employment continued to grow steadily throughout the period. Nevertheless, while employment continued to grow, through most of last year the rate of increase was no more than in line with population growth, leaving the trend in employment largely flat from May-July 2001 until recent months. However, the stronger GDP growth seen in the second and third quarters does now appear to be showing up in the employment data. Underlying this is the fact that the labour market tends to lag output: output slows or accelerates first; employment levels adjust later. The latest employment figures for November to January show the working-age employment rate up 0.1-percentage point on the quarter at 74.6 per cent. The 16 and over employment level is up 57 ,000 on the quarter (compared with a 271,000 increase on the year). As a result, the latest trend in the employment rate appears to be upward. 2.1.2 Skills shortages Skills shortage at Thorpe Park: * It seems to be that the entire United Kingdom has a shortage of specialist engineers. * This type of shortage has hit Thorpe Park very hard. * Electrical and mechanical engineers are in short supply and Thorpe Park is looking out by various means to find some. * Thorpe Park reckons that this problem could be resolved because large companies like the airlines make their employees redundant quickly. * Thorpe Park always keeps an eye on the national statistics at a monthly basis to see the latest local labour trends. * They cannot afford to miss out ant potential engineers because engineers are the heart and soul of the company. As they are the ones who form the rides and maintain them for our safety. * But they do find it difficult to recruit staff and at times they have to recruit unsuitable staff and train them. * The company gets highly affected by this, as it has to face many cost implications such as advertising and re-advertising of vacancies. * They then have to train them or send them on apprenticeships to become better and much efficient engineers. * At times they even have to increase their pays to attract them and retain them. 2.1.3 Statistics on Competition for employees external To Thorpe Park Unemployment rates for males and females in the UK Here are some statistics on the unemployment rate for females and males in the UK from the period of 1992 to 2001 A higher proportion of young people than older people are unemployed, and a higher proportion of men are employed than women. 16-17 year olds men who were economically active were 13% unemployed. If you look at a male and female unemployment graph, you can see that 16 – 17 year old males are more out of work than the males. Education has a big factor in this because most people of that age are in colleges. The unemployment rate is again lower for females in the 18-24-age bracket. Still the unemployment rate is lower for females than men in the 25-44-age bracket. Overall the graph shows a lower unemployment rate for females. This is probably due to most females still stay at home. So what would be the level of competition for various types of employment within Thorpe Park? Thorpe Park fined it easiest to fill rides, attractions and shop vacancies then they do catering. 2.1.4 availability of labour (internal and external to the business) What is the availability of labour externally to Thorpe Park? There are restrictions of skills and abilities. If there is a particular skill required for an occupation then the worker will be rewarded with high wages as, for example an engineer. Qualifications and training is required some occupations require people to have specific academic qualifications which can only be achieved over along period of time. The strength of trade unions to negotiate wage levels will depend upon their ability to recruit members. Some occupations are difficult to organize as, for instance, the catering industry. In this industry trade unions have little influence compared with those unions operating in the energy supply industry. Mobility of labour if the labour is immobile it means that in those occupations where there is a skill shortage workers are able to command high wages because the supply of labour is limited. Dirty or dangerous jobs – the supply of labour in some jobs is restricted because of the nature of the job; it might be dirty or dangerous such as coal mining. On the other hand some jobs have very good working conditions and attract labour which keep down wages. What is the availability of labour within the local area and also internally within Thorpe Park for various types of employment? The local area has a 0.6% unemployment level. The workforce is flexible – permanent and seasonal. The labour force by gender and age: Females: * There was a considerable rise in the number of women in the labour force over the last 30 years from 10 million in 1971 to 13.2 million in 2001 i.e. by nearly 24.2%. * Women in the age group of 16years to 24 years started concentrating more on education because of which females in this age group had a low labour force particularly between 1991 and 2001. * On the other hand, females in the age group of 25-44 years had a remarkable increased labour force between 1971 and 2001. However, later the figures remained more or less constant. * Females in the age group of 45-54 years had an increase in labour force between 1991 and 2001. * The females 55 years and over had the figures more or less constant throughout. Males: * The number of men in the labour force has increased much slowly from 16.0 million in 1971 to 16.3 million in 2001. * Men aged over 55 years formed only 13% of the male labour force in 2001 compared to 21% in 1971. * However, the labour force of males between the age group of 25-44 years has increased drastically. * Males in the age group of 45-54 years have increased their force in the labour market between 1991 and 2001. 2.2 Collect internal staffing information about Thorpe Park 2.2.1 Labour turnover The labour turnover is not available the end of November 2001 because the termination of seasonal contracts will be complete at this time. 2.2.2 Labour Turnover (wastage Rate) Dismissals 26/1000 correct at 31.08.01. 2.2.3 Sickness Rates For 2000 2394 seasonal sickness absence Months over 100 April, May, September, October Months over 150 June, July, August Days over 100 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Days over 150 Sunday, Saturday 2.2.4 Accidents Rates Unfortunately Thorpe Park would not give us any statistics on accidents rates. 2.2.5 Age demographics The general age rates for various jobs are 89% are 16-24 years of age. 2.2.6 Skills acquired and skills needed The skills and training that are required are: Training: Induction training for all staff and departmental training. Skills: First Aiders only need specific skills. 2.2.7 Training undertaken and training required What is the rate of progression within Thorpe Park? From seasonal cast 14 have been made permanent. 2.2.8 Succession What does Thorpe Park hope to accomplish in the future?. They want to increase their sales through good guest care; this will need high-level training of staff to achieve this. Thorpe Park wants to change their profile of Park from thrill to family bias and they want a high level of guest satisfaction. 2.3 If you look at the length of service of the employees in the UK in 1986,91,96 and 2001 and you look at the dismissals, which Thorpe Park have, you will see that 26/1000 dismals in a year is 2.6% which is lower than the statistics of the length of service of people in employment. For the year 2001 the UK length of service in a year is 13%, which is a lot higher than Thorpe Parks 2.6% of people who leave after one year. The number of people in employment in Thorpe Park is 1000 ad for the year 2000 there were 2394 absences. In the UK the number of employment at about the end was little under 27500. So as you can see there is a very high number of absences at Thorpe Park. They need to improve on these figures I accept most of these absences are from people who are not really ill. It is probably young people from the age group 16 – 24 who have been out the night before and don’t want to come in. In this case Thorpe Park need to be harder on their disciplinary rules to cut ab sences figures. Thorpe Park does not have enough engineers. This is national problem; They could deal with this situation by having more apprenticeships in engineering. The local area around Thorpe Park, which is Staines, has a 0.6% unemployment level. This is good because nationally the unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds is very high. The 16 – 24 age group is the main age group for seasonal staff so nationally the unemployment rate for females aged 16-17 is 16.8% in 2000 and 18-24 is 8.2%. The male’s 16-17 year olds is 20% and the 18-24 year group is 11.8%. So you can see that the area of Staines has very low unemployment compared to the rest of the UK. By having low unemployment it is harder to recruit more staff. The staff they do recruit might not be the sort person they want but because of the low competition of applicants, they might have to train a person up to the necessary standard. 89% of Thorpe Parks employees are 16 – 24 year olds. Due to the rising interest of this age group going to school, college and university I think this has contributed to a decline in the number of people in employment at that age. Thorpe Park do seem to have a good number of employees at this age though . In 2000 nationally in the UK male 16 – 24 year olds there was only 2.7 million of them in employment with a decrease and the same with females with only 2.3 million in employment. So Thorpe Park is doing well to have 89% of 16 – 24 year olds working for them. 2.4 I recommend that Thorpe Park: * Have harder disciplinary rules to stop so much sickness through absences, the rule should be people who are sick can stay at home, but the people who are sick through hangovers must be told to come in or face harsh circumstances. * There should be more apprenticeships for electrical engineers this will help train people and eventually there will be more qualified electrical engineers working at the Park. * They need to increase their customer service training so customers can feel a good degree of guest care. * Finally if Thorpe Park want their Theme Park more family based, then I suggest a new ride for the family 2.5 2.5.1 Engineers electrical and mechanical engineers are in very short supply. Nationally this is the case. What needs to happen is more apprenticeships and training so we can breed more engineers. Also because of the external influence of terrorism on the airlines a lot of engineers are being made redundant or will be made redundant. This won’t help airlines but other companies will then be able to recruit more engineers. Competition for employees is very tight. The labour market remained robust in 2001 with ongoing employment growth. Traditionally the UK has always had high employment. Low unemployment is meaning that employees are increasing wages by over 4%. Currently unemployment is very low about 4.5% nationally that is about 4 people out of 100 is unemployed and the local unemployment is 0.4% which is 4 people out of 1000. Employment is at an all time of 73% and this is an all time high for women. So this makes it more difficult to recruit staff and employers will find it more expensive because of the amount of advertising and training. The Availability of labour can often cause problems; there are usually restrictions of skills and abilities. There might be a particular skill required for an occupation like an engineer. Qualifications and training is required for some jobs and some time gaining the qualification can take a long time to do. Trade unions need a high level of labour to negotiate wages with its members. Mobility of labour if the labour force is immobile then the labour force that is there can try and demand higher wages because the supply of labour is limited. Dirty or dangerous jobs can sometimes alter the supply of labour because of then nature of the job. On the other hand some jobs have very good working conditions and attract labour which keep down wages. 2.5.2 Thorpe Park has apprenticeships and external courses to train engineers. By doing this they will increase the number of engineers, which at the moment is in short, supply. Due to the low unemployment in the UK Thorpe Park have started to recruit people from abroad to increases their amount of staff, which they will need to do due the Park expanding in size. Thorpe Park is situated in Staines, which is the South East of England, which has the lowest unemployment in the UK. So Thorpe Park are finding tit hard to recruit in the local area that’s why they are expanding recruit aboard. Also I think that Thorpe Park are maybe hoping to bring a different culture to Thorpe Park like Disney World have in America there have kept there Theme Park American but adding some different cultures to the mix. Thorpe Park has offered training schemes through NVQ’S and apprenticeships and other external training courses. Due to the immobile labour of engineers, engineers at Thorpe Park can demand higher wages due to they are in demand and they are very important to the business. Also fixing Theme Park rides does have the possibility of being quite dangerous like possible the loss of a finger etc. On the other hand labour might be attracted to Thorpe Park due to the their good working conditions. They must have good working conditions due to their nature of the business and because the health and safety act states it should, so it is a legal requirement any way. 2.5.3 Over the past 50 years the UK has seen migration rocket. Thorpe Park is also trying to develop this by encouraging people to migrate and work at Thorpe Park. As people become wealthier they want more leisure time this relates to when youngsters go out the night before and then don’t come to work in the morning because perhaps they are too tired or probably got a hangover one of the two. Labour market trends show that most 16 -21 year olds that studied at school, college or university often get a weekend job or an evening job and student placements from say universities. This is who a lot of the seasonal Thorpe Park staff are usually. Due to the low unemployment Thorpe Park has increased its hourly wage. If you analysis national figures on the length of service of employees in the UK you will see that in 2001 people who have been in work for over a year 13% of them leave, compare this Thorpe Parks 2.6% dismals record and you will see that employees at Thorpe Park do tend to stay on for much longer. If you look at the number of people in the employment graph you will see that there is 27500 and Thorpe Park only have 1000 so I suggest that due to Thorpe Parks ambitions to expand the Park in size they will need to expand their employment figures in size. If you look at the unemployment rates nationally you will see that for females aged 16-17 is 16.8% in 2000 and 18-24 is 8.2%. The male’s 16-17 year olds is 20% and the 18-24 year group is 11.8%. All those percentages are lot a higher than the Staines local area unemployment rate which is 0.6%. This proves that there are less people to employ in Staines than the national average. In 2000 nationally in the UK male 16 – 24 ye ar olds there was only 2.7 million of them in employment with a decrease and the same with females with only 2.3 million in employment. So Thorpe Park is doing well to have 89% of 16 – 24 year olds working at Thorpe Park. Task 2- Conclusion I think Thorpe Park do have a successfully human resource plan in relation to the format given in my textbook. Why because the staffs is properly qualified to do the job allotted to them. Also Thorpe Park does use the process of human resources very effectively. Then do this by carry our the 4 main stages which are: Stock taking an example of this is job analysis Forecasting the supply of labour an example of this is annual labour turnover index Forecasting demand for employees Implementation and review Task 3: Recruitment and selection. One of the most important jobs for the human resources manager is recruiting and selecting new employees. Without the right employees, the organisation will be unable to operate efficiently, serve its customers properly, or make any profits. With the proper recruitment and selection techniques, organisations can make as sure as possible that they can achieve these objectives. In the recruitment and selection procedure generally the following procedures: > Giving a job description > Preparing an advertisement for the job > Application forms > Short listing candidates > Person specification > Psychometric/diagnostic tests > Interviews and cross checking the candidates > Offer and rejection of the candidates > Contract of employment > Staff handbook 3.1 > Person specification: A person specification sets out the qualities of an ideal candidate whereas a job description defines the duties and responsibilities of the job. The best-known method of drawing up person specifications is the ‘SEVEN POINT PLAN’ originally devised by Alec Rodger. Following is an example of the seven-point plan: Essentials Desirables How identified Physical (this includes grooming looks, voice tone etc) Attainments (this includes the educational qualifications and experience) General intelligence (the results from the IQ tests) Special aptitude (the special skills of the person) Interests (their hobbies and their social life) Disposition (the stability of the person) Circumstances (the personal life of the person) Rodger’s seven-point plan usually requires managers to distinguish between essential and desirable qualities under each of the seven headings. > Job description: Before an organisation goes in the recruitment process, it needs to examine the job description for the post. A job description lists the main tasks required in a job. In drawing up a job, description the personnel department has a number of alternatives. These are: 1. The line manager can draw up a description of what the job entails. 2. The existing jobholder can do it. 3. The human resource manager can interview the jobholder and the line manager to find out what the job involves. The aim of the exercise is to itemise all the tasks involved in a job and to try to allocate a proportion of the working week to each task. This is important for several reasons: 1. In carrying out appraisals of the employees. 2. When analysing the job for training needs the manager must be able to see what tasks a job involves so that they can determine what training may be required. 3. For pay determination. 4. In planning the size of the work force for the future, it will be necessary to know exactly what tasks each job involves in case the re-allocation of tasks between jobs is requires. Clearly, none of this is possible without good quality and detailed job descriptions. The main features of a job description are: a) The job title b) The location of the job c) A brief outline of what the organisation does d) The main purpose of the job e) A detailed list of the main tasks required in the job f) The standards that the job holder will be required to achieve g) Pay and other benefits h) Promotion prospects i) The person to whom the job holder reports j) The person who reports the job holder > Application form: This is a far more commonly used mode of selection. Consultants devote hours to designing new and better forms that will extract even more accurate information from people. A typical form will require details on addresses, next of kin, education, training, qualifications, work experience, non-work interests (hobbies and social life) and the name of referees from whom the organisation can collect personal recommendations. The personal staff will have identified specific requirements from the job and person specification. They can compare these with the information on the forms. They only need to shortlist the applicants who have met those requirements. The forms can act as a framework for the interviewer to use should the applicant be short-listed. The organisation can keep all the forms for the short listed candidates for the vacancy and draw on them again if another vacancy arises. The form from the successful applicant will become a very useful part of their initial personal records. > Prepared advertisement: Unless an organisation pays a recruitment consultancy or an executive search consultant to find potential recruits, it will have to design its own advertisements to attract people. Specialist consultancies have sophisticated advertising departments that place large and expensive adverts in quality press. Most businesses, however, will not have such facilities and they will have to draw up their own advertisements. Before writing the advertisement, the employer must determine exactly what is wanted from the job being advertised. When drafting the advertisement the key points to consider are: i. Describe the job that is being advertised ii. Describe the type of person that is required for the job but have to be careful because it is illegal to state the sex, ethnic origin of the person required. iii. The pay and the terms and conditions iv. Place of work v. Procedure as to how the candidate can apply for the job vi. Be honest about the job being advertised, it is no use to give an over attractive picture. vii. Find the right place to advertise the job. > Psychometric/diagnostic tests: Now days it is common for employers to expect job applicants to carry out tests to give a fuller picture of their ability to do the job applied for. These are usually referred to as aptitude tests. They are appropriate for manual work where there is some skill involved and in office work where applicants be required to take a short typing or word processing test. For professional posts, these tests are less usual because it is felt that the candidate’s qualifications, references and experience are sufficient evidence. Psychometric tests assess the intelligence and personality of applicants. They are much more sophisticated than aptitude tests and the employer must have properly trained staff to analyse the test results properly. Such tests are particularly valuable when assessing intelligence, interest in the job applied for, motivation and personality. The producers of such tests argue that they are completely unbiased and extremely accurate. They are supposed to be particula rly good at assessment of personality. > Interview format/techniques: This is the final stage of the recruitment and selection and is increasingly common these days. Interviews are arranged for almost every kind of job. The process of shifting through forms or letters and examination of references is now over and that only a few of the applicants for the job will be interviewed. This is because interviews take up the time of senior managers who have to carry them out and this will be costly for them. Interviewing is sometimes done in a poorly thought out and badly structured manner that gives the organisation a bad image. To avoid this situation only requires the observation of a few simple rules: 1. Plan the interview properly. 2. Decide if there is a need for any tests for the applicant. 3. As a rule, the ‘talking split’ in the job interview should be around 20% for the interviewer and 80% for the interviewee. 4. The interview should always begin with friendly questions to put the candidate at ease. 5. Finally, there should be a question asking the candidates if they have any questions. > Offer and rejection letters: These are the crucial moments in the life of a job applicant. His fate for the particular is decided in these letters. It is very easy for the interviewer to say yes but in order to send a rejection letter they have to be polite and gentle as it should not let down the applicants desire for another job. Usually it is common to wish good luck to a candidate for his future jobs in a rejection letter. > Contract of employment: Terms and conditions of employment which apply generally or to groups of employees need to be defined in the contract of employment as described below: 1. Individual contracts of employment must satisfy the provisions of contracts of employment legislation. They include a statement of capacity in which the person is employed and the name or job title of the individual to whom he or she is responsible. They also include details of pay, allowances, hours, holidays, leave and pension arrangements and refer to relevant company policies, procedures and rules. Increasing use is being made of fixed-term contracts. 2. The basic information that should be included in a written contract of employment varies according to the level of job, but the following checklist sets out the typical headings: * Job title * Duties to be performed * The date when the employment starts * Hours of break including lunch break and overtime and shift arrangements * Holiday arrangements * Sickness leave * Length of notice due to and from employee * Grievance procedure * Disciplinary procedures * Work rules * Arrangements for terminating contract 3.2 As mentioned before Thorpe Park has seasonal staffs and permanent staffs. Therefore, for different staffs different procedures and documents are crucial. Lets have a look at these in detail: 1. Seasonal staffs: Thorpe Park has a seasonal staff of over 1000. Such a large number of seasonal staff is very difficult to select and handle. Therefore, in order to make the right decision in selecting the desired seasonal staff they would need to have a proper and well-prepared advertisement. After the advertisement, they would need to have an application form that is very essential because it helps to have a general/detailed outlook of the applicant. As Thorpe park has a large number of seasonal staff they need to have an interview checklist so that they can grade/rate the candidates on the basis of the same questions asked to everyone and that there is no kind of discrimination made during the interview. After all this a contract of employment is very essential for everyone who is employed as it proves that the person is legally employed and that he/she is aware of their duties etc. 2. Permanent staffs: As stated before Thorpe Park has permanent staff of nearly 350 members strong. Permanent staffs do have more authorities and responsibilities than the seasonal staffs. Therefore, the recruitment manager has to be even more careful in advertising and hiring these staffs. Therefore in the initial part a job description; person specification, prepared advertisement and an application form are very crucial and essential because they help in attracting the required candidate. After this, the interview and the psychometric/ diagnostic tests are essential because they help the recruitment manager to know the candidates more carefully. Finally the staff handbook and the contract of employment are helpful to the selected candidate in knowing something more about his job, benefits etc. 3.3 For seasonal staffs: > The advertisement for seasonal staffs is very good and impressive. It can really work towards attracting applicants. However, apart from stating the pay rate if they could also state the words â€Å"plus extra benefits† that could make the advertisement even more exciting. > The application form could also be improved. For instance, on page 2 the applicant is asked about the previous employment history. In this section is a question on the position of the applicant’s job but there is no question about the duties performed by the applicant in the previous job. > The questions asked in the interview checklist are good and can really make the candidate think before they can answer. However, as the number of applicants is going to be very large there would not be sufficient time to ask all the questions to all candidates. Therefore, it is recommended that there should be less questions but straight to the point. > The contract of employment does not state as to how the payments are going to be made – by cash, by cheque or it is going to be deposited into the respective account. For permanent staffs: > The advertisement for the permanent staff is very good and impressive as well. It can really work towards attracting applicants. Again, apart from stating the pay rate if they could also state the words â€Å"plus extra benefits† that could make the advertisement even more exciting. > On the application, form where it is asked to state the employment history there is very little or rather no place to state the responsibilities that the applicant had carried. This could be very crucial information for the company is selecting the desired candidate. 3.4 Analysis of the documents: > Job role: The job role prepared by the company is fantastic and much organised. They have the desired pre planned in their minds and are just waiting for its arrival. The desired qualification of the person is deeply planned and thought through. > Advertisement: The advertisement is good but not up to the mark. After having a look at the job role a person would expect an even impressive advertisement. Though the desired details are placed in the advert there are still a few things missing that make it more attractive as if the payroll could also include extra benefits and more facilities etc. > Application form: Again it is well organised and planned but the place for the crucial information is not provided for e.g. the employment history does not have any place for responsibilities held etc. Task 4 – Training and Development: Introduction: A general definition of training is: ‘the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills which can be applied to a particular job’. Traditionally, young people left school and found a job that provided them with sufficient initial training to enable them to continue to do the same job indefinitely. Today there are very few ‘traditional’ apprenticeships and people can no longer assume that any job will be a job for life. Even people who do keep the same job for a long time are required to update their skills regularly, or face redundancy because their old skills are rapidly made useless by the advance of new technology. The significance of this is that training is much more central to peoples lives as an ongoing process rather than just something they do at the start of their careers. > Induction training: Induction is the process of introducing new employees to the organisation and its way of life and culture. A successful job applicant should be provided with induction training of some kind. As might be expected the larger, well-resourced organisations do this more thoroughly than poorly resourced, smaller organisations. Most of the induction programme will include: * A tour of the buildings to show the newcomer all the important areas – the sick room, the canteen, the pay office, toilets etc * An introduction to their new workplace – the specific office or factory areas or shop department – where they will be working * Some background details about the organisation – the easiest and best way to do this is to show them a video. > Mentoring: This a type of training where an experienced senior manager is allocated to a young employee in order to help them to structure their career development within the organisation. The mentor passes on the benefits of their experience, insight and wisdom. They will advice the young employee how to deal with a wide variety of managerial problems but they are not there to help them to improve specific skills. > Coaching: This is rather similar to mentoring but the key difference is that coaching involves helping the young employee to acquire high quality skills in a number of specific management areas. Such skills include communication with staff, budgeting, how to appraise staff and how to carry out disciplinary procedures. > Apprenticeships: The main principles of apprenticeships are: 1. Qualifications are workplace based, reflecting real workplace needs. 2. Workplace requirements are now a far bigger influence on what is taught in further education colleges. 3. The single European market means that these new qualifications will eventually become part of a common system of the Euro-qualifications. Apprenticeships usually include NVQ’s, GNVQ’s, Vocational A levels etc. Usually the company pays for such type of education for its budding employees. > In-house training: This is where the employers run courses inside their own organisation. Courses might be held in an ordinary office room or in a smart training centre owned by the organisation itself. The main benefits of using in-house courses are: 1. They are cheap – there is usually no need to employ outside trainers and lecturers. 2. Course content is tailor made for your organisation. 3. References and examples to highlight points can be related to your own organisation. 4. Everybody knows one another, so there is no time wasted in having to get to know other people. > External training: Sometimes it is necessary to send staff to do courses elsewhere. This may be with another employer, at a specialist-training centre, or at a factory of an equipment supplier. The benefits of using external courses are: 1. They bring together specialist trainers/tutors who would never be available to an ‘in-house’ course chiefly because of the high cost. 2. Course members get together from several organisations, and this enables them to learn more about each other and how their respective organisations operate. 3. Trainers place great value on the benefits of being away from the workplace – the course members are in a comfortable and peaceful environment away from any distractions. Findings: At Thorpe Park, there is a separate training sub-department within the Human Resource department. In fact, they also have a special training manager for this purpose. To begin with, let us have a look at the induction programme which is also known as ‘ice-breaker’. > Thorpe Park has two days of induction programme. The day one covers the introduction to the Tussads group, the park structure – the who’s who and where’s where, the parks health and safety issues, the uniforms and appearance of the staff, explanations of the rules and regulations, the role play situations, fire safety, emergency procedures and other general information about the park. > The day two covers the department specific training. This means that the staffs is taken to their respective departments and are given the general overall outlook of their duties and the department. After the induction, there is the personal development programme. This is not actually a training programme but is a process where the applicants are given an opportunity towards their plans in education and with the company. In this programme, the members of staff complete a PDP form, which will enable them to access their areas for improvement/development and look at ways to move forward. Other methods of training in Thorpe Park like the mentoring help the members of staff towards personal development. Besides these, Thorpe Park also offers apprenticeships like the NVQ’s for the members of staff. Across the park, they have people studying for NVQ’s in business administration, landscaping and engineering. Most of the trainings are provided to the permanent staff only. The external courses are used for legislation and development training only. Thorpe Park is known as investors in people. They have got this recognition not by spending money on the entertainment of people but by spending money on improving the quality of their staff by training them, sending them for apprenticeships and by helping them in their personal development. Training is important for the company to improve the competence of the cast and ensure the delivery of a high quality service. Recommendations: > Training is a very important part for a new candidate. Besides providing training to the permanent staff, if the company provides training to the seasonal staff as well then this may help to make the seasonal staff into permanent staff. Hence, the company will be able to save its money on advertising for the permanent staff. > If training sessions are provided to the seasonal staff, this may motivate them and the effect will show on the profit charts. Task 6 – Performance Management Introduction: Frederick W. Taylor: Frederick W. Taylor wanted to find out how people could work best, who was suited to what and to show them how to work more productively with less effort and danger. After all, he was working in a steel plant. Taylor set out four principles of scientific management. They were as follows: > Development of science to replace thumb methods > Scientific selection and progressive development of workmen > Bringing together of science and scientifically selected workmen through the inspiration of an individual > The dividing off of management away from the workers There are many managers today who would find nothing exceptional about Taylor’s words that also include a reference to leadership, something he sees as beyond scientific management. His results were incredible. Abraham Maslow: Until Abraham Maslow’s work, researches looked for what motivated people. Maslow’s answer is that it depends upon the situation of the individual. He therefore prepared a table of hierarchy. This hierarchy theory can be of help also in understanding cultural issues in motivation. Multi-nationals need to learn that what motivates someone in Bangkok may well be different from what motivates people in San Francisco. Douglas McGregor: According to McGregor, there are two alternative views of the nature of man: Theory X – Used to illustrate what he considered being the â€Å"traditional view of direction and control† 1. The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he can 2. Because of the human characteristic of dislike of work, most people are coerced, controlled, directed, threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort towards the achievement of organisational objectives. 3. The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition, and wants security above all. He also felt that these assumptions were used in most industrial organisations, but that they were in adequate for the full utilisation of each worker’s potential. McGregor’s other view of the nature of man i.e. Theory Y contains assumptions, which he believes could lead to greater motivation and increased fulfilment of both individual needs and organisational goals. 1. The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest. 2. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing about effort toward organisational objectives. 3. Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. 4. The average human being learns under proper conditions, not only to accept but also to seek responsibility. 5. The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organisational problems is widely, not narrowly distributed in the population. 6. Under the conditions of modern industrial lie, the intellectual potentialities of the average human being are only partially utilised. Frederick Herzberg: Frederick Herzberg distinguishes between hygiene factors – those that will not increase motivation as such but will certainly decrease it if standards are not right and motivating factors. Hygiene factors include working conditions, salary, job security and company policies. Get these wrong and motivation will decline but add to them over a certain standard and there will be no more effect on motivation. Herzberg says that motivation derives from people having a sense of achievement, recognition, responsibility and opportunities for personal growth. He criticises management for ignoring the motivational factors and trying to motivate through things like money and benefits – expensive and not successful. He is also famous for his acronym â€Å"KITA†, which has been potentially translated as a kick in the pants. He says that KITA does not produce motivation but only movement. Findings: 6.1.1 Performance reviews including appraisals: Thorpe Park carries out regular appraisals with its company staff. The company to usually carries this out so that the management can evaluate as to how effective the staff are in fulfilling the objectives of the company. 6.1.2 Self evaluation: Besides the appraisal system the staff, members also have the opportunity to see and say as to how they think they are progressing and what places they need improvement. They can also recommend the areas where they would need some training or extra guidance. 6.1.3 Peer evaluation: Peer evaluation is not a formal method of performance evaluation but it can really help in the improvement of the staff if their work mates tell them what is required and when. 6.2 The management at Thorpe Park believe that it is very essential to motivate its staff so that they have a high morale and that they completely enjoy the work that they do for the company. They recommend the staff the areas where they think they could improve and send them for training. They do so only for the deserving staff members so that they can make them feel that they are important for the company. This is a very effective way of motivating the staff. Besides these, they have other methods of motivating staff like bonus schemes and other incentive schemes. Throughout the year, the company runs competitions like â€Å"magic moments† and â€Å"magic minds† that help the staff for not only performing good in their work but also motivate them to use their brains to help the company improve and progress ahead. There are grand prises for people who give good ideas to the company to improve their outlook. Besides the financial incentives, the company also has many non financial methods of motivating the staff for e.g. giving the staff member a public acknowledgement, sending them for further education, praising them for the job well done etc. all these do play an important role in motivating the staff. The human resource department does all this because they believe that the staff are the backbone of the business and hence want to use them as an asset to obtain their goals and objectives. 6.3 On taking a closer look at the way the management at Thorpe Park functions it can be stated that they use a little of every motivational theory in trying to motivate their staff. The reason behind this could be that different things motivate different people.