Is Television a Good or Bad Influence? Essay

In the year of 1926 a man called John Lougie Baird had invented something that has become part of the day-to-day lifestyle of nearly everyone. He had successfully tested it in a laboratory in late 1925 and unveiled with much fanfare in London in early 1926, and later mechanical television was quickly usurped by electronical television. Over the years television has developed greatly, going from black and white to coloured and ranging greatly in size. From portable and hand held televisions to widescreen and flat widescreen televisions, there is a choice to suit everyone. The most recent additions to this can vary from VCR’s to DVD’s to play stations and other games consoles. Also there are numerous networks, which you can choose from, such as ITV digital, cable, sky digital, etc. In this world today, there are people out there that think television is fantastic and that there is nothing out there that could spoil a nice, quiet night in, with a nice warm cup of coffee with their feet up in front of the television while there are others who don’t feel so strongly. They would rather smash that cup of coffee off the television. If you think that’s very extreme, think again, because there are people today that think television is the worst invention ever. There are some people with a point of view that television is a good influence. They think this because they think that television teaches children to be creative which is shown in documentaries and educational programmes. Maybe so, but do these people realise that the more time they spend watching television, the more time they’re taking out of their own social life and the more closer they are to becoming addicted to it. Do they know that two out of three network prime time shows illustrate some sort of sexual situation or dilemma between a couple, according to a study released in February 1999, by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, showed that only three percent of sitcoms discussed any of the risks and responsibilities associated with sex drugs and violence. Do they also know that foul language has increased on these shows and words absent on television ten years ago are now cropping up in more commonly in the scripts of characters on soaps and on every network? Would you want your children to grow up using bad language as part of their everyday speech? No definitely not I would ponder, If you ask my opinion, I would say that yes, television does teach children to be creative, but not in a good sense. With television progressing at this rate and filling up with more violence, sex and strong language which is easily accessed, these circumstances can be avoided by ensuring that children take part in more sports such as football, swimming, running, cycling and lots of others and watch less television. Also do you think that a, elderly person would watch a film happily that consists of a lot of violence and strong language? Television could that very strong impact on the elderly if maybe they watch too much of it. It could deprive them of their social life and watching too much television could lead an old woman or man into a deep depression, which could have very serious and, maybe even fatal consequences such as laziness and lack of exercise. Other views are that television s a bad influence especially on the younger generation maybe because there is too much violence and bad language which could have an affect on them and also on older people as they may cause offence, Maybe people think that living in this world means you are inclined anyway to seeing and hearing all this violence and bad language. There are views that it keeps children out of trouble and other views that it discourages play in younger children but they think that they are better off keeping their children inside than letting them out all the time and having a better chance of getting into trouble. I personally think that television is a bad influence on people of all ages. Violence on television affects children negatively, according to psychological research. The three major effects of seeing violence on television are that children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, children may be more fearful of the world around them and children may be more likely to behave in aggressive ways towards others. It is a fact that the average American child will have watched one hundred thousand acts of television, including eight thousand depictions of murder, by the time he or she finishes sixth grade, which is approximately thirteen years old. If you think wall to wall violence on television has no effect, why would you imagine that one-minute adverts in the breaks do have an effect and may pursued you to buy something? We live in an era where both parents are often working and children have more unsupervised time they mainly use this time to watch television. It is necessary that time is made for the younger generation to keep up with their day to day experiences, including while they are at school, if they attend school. Studies have shown that children’s television shows contain about twenty violent acts each hour. They also showed that children who watch a lot of television are more likely to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place for cold and heartless people. In 1960, a man embarked on a landmark longitudinal study of over eight hundred eight-year-olds. He found that children who watched many hours of violent television tended to be more aggressive in the playground and the classroom. The same man checked back with these students eleven and twenty two years later. He found out that the aggressive eight-year-olds grew up to be aggressive nineteen-and thirty year-olds, with greater troubles – including domestic violence and more traffic tickets – than their less aggressive counterparts who did not watch as much television. And the researchers found that even if a child is not aggressive at the age of eight, but watches substantial amounts of violent programming, he or she tends to be more aggressive at nineteen than his or her peers who didn’t watch violent T.V. This just goes to show that television does have an affect on children at a young age, if not at that present time, and then it would take place in the future. Television also has effects on teenagers. A new study concludes that teenagers who watch more than an hour of television a day are more likely to be violent in later years. They are more likely to watch T.V if there is something on that interests them, no matter what the context, and most of these people have TV’s in their bedrooms which make it possible to watch TV to all hours, so their parents don’t have a say in what they watch really. Soaps like Coronation Street and Eastenders show young adults becoming pregnant and sometimes stealing cars and taking drugs and it all seems so easy and normal which could resort to some of these young adults taking part in doing these actions themselves and thinking that this is normal. For the elderly, television can most definitely have a bad influence. For example if an elderly woman sat and watched T.V all day, she could become sick, if she is not having her proper day to day exercise could lead to stiffness and aching joints. It could also cause stress if maybe a man seen the troubles in the news, such as the events of September 11th 2001 where two hijacked aircrafts were flew into the world trade centres of New York which caused the loss of thousands of lives and the destruction of the buildings themselves it could worry them and make them think that they should be out there doing something about it. That very day many people joined the US army as a result of television influencing them to do so. Also the United States are in another complication with Iraq over biological weapons the stories which are being stated on the news are very motivating and provoking and would make you feel that something has to be done about these problems. So television has become a bad influence to young children but also it has become a tool really for alerting the world of what is going but also advertising and provoking to adults and the elderly.

Ba Na Hill

Last year, I met a lot of trouble and suffer from stress because of hard working and studying. Therefore, I spent one day with my family to have a trip to Bana Hill and it has left many deep impression for me. After this trip, I Ba Na – Chua Mount Tourist Area is located in Hoa Vang District, 30km from the centre of Danang City so it took me about 1 hour to arrive at Dream Creek Station of Ba Na hills by car. Then, we bought tickets to ride by cable car which is the longest cable car in the world.A modern system of cable cars helps us get a bird's-eye view, very miraculous and attractive while enjoying a feeling of flying in the blue sky amidst the clouds and wind. Sitting on carbin cable suspended between the middle cloud, looking down at the vast mountains below, we saw many majestic forests and spectacular waterfalls,. After 15 minute, in front of my eyes, the French’s village was hidden in fogs. It was very ancient and splended with many old castle which is Frenchâ €™s architecture. I'm sure that anybody who has visited Ba Na can't forget this village.Arrive at Gare Ba Na, the first thing we noticed when approaching this gare were some villas perched on a hill top or hillside, behind thick pine forests and almost invisible on this foggy morning. Then,we walked to Fantasy Park which is so modern and attractive. I felt like here was Disney Land. There are funny games for children and thrilling ones for youth and older. At international indoor entertainment amusement Fantasy Park, there are 3 food and beverage areas served European, Asian foods, retail shop with many kinds of products. Next, we visited to one of the biggest temples of Ba Na hills which have a huge Buddha’s statue.In the alley, there was chirping birds, delicate flowery perfumes and many butterflies circled around. The courtyard of the temple is lined with stone. All tiredness seemed to disappear when we see the Buddha’s statue which stand out from and the tranqu il atmosphere of this temple. Visitor to Ba Na in summer can feel the climate of four seasons in one day. In the morning and afternoon, it is cool like the weather of spring and autumn. At noon, it is as sunny and cloudless as the weather of summer. And it is cold in the evening. The main attraction is exploring the forest paths and wandering among the ruined villas.In night, we enjoyed the cold air of Ba Na like winter. Then, we joined to camp-fire with other visitors, sang funny songs and danced together. End of the day, we returned to the hotel to sleep and prepare to leave Ba Na. The breathtaking sights from the top of the mountain make the viewers feel like there really is a different life as they enjoy the happiness of the things that are never known in a bustling urban lifestyle. No one can't deny that Ba Na hill is a masterpiece of nature and a pride of Da Nang city. So what a pity if I don't visit Ba Na to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature with my families.

Compliance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Compliance - Essay Example Additionally, SOX might affect the company’s information systems that entail information security and IT organisation (Spears, 2009). SOX might define the executive’s accountability for IT irregularities and the need for modern information systems in the company. SOX may influence information systems at Wobbly Wheels (WW) Distribution Company. SOX issue may compel the executive, CFO to adopt a detailed finance and accounting system that will enhance the success of the accurate financials. SOX will influence the company’s route optimization and freight tracking system where the executive, CIO and CFO will offer freight origin and destination details. In addition, SOX compliance issue will advocate for the adoption of a detailed financial reporting process that entails WW’s daily financials thus affecting its management reporting system. The company can modify the systems to address SOX compliance issue by allocating more resources to information technology systems used in the management, distribution, and warehousing. The increased allocation will enhance improved accuracy in financial reporting. The company can also adopt modern technologies that will help in implementing standard auditing and accounting procedures and methods. The company should train its IT staff and support specialization to boost efficiency. Additionally, WW should secure its databases, minimize network outages, and reduce IT costs. Spears, J. L. (2009). How Has Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Affected Information Security?  Retrieved from:

Analysis of Rembrandt van Rijn's Paintings Essay

Analysis of Rembrandt van Rijn's Paintings - Essay Example The essay "Analysis of Rembrandt van Rijn's Paintings" analyzes two paintings, The Descent from the Cross and Philosopher in Meditation, both found in the art museum of The University of Arizona. The Descent from the Cross refers to a scene from the Gospels reports of Joseph and Nicodemus lowering Christ from the cross following his crucifixion. Artists also refer to it as The Deposition of Christ. Other names not stated in the Gospels who were included in illustrations of this art consist of St. John who is pictured supporting a dimming Mary Magdalene. The Gospels reveal an indeterminate number of women as witnessing the crucifixion. It also included the Three Marys: the Virgin Mary, Mary Salome and also Mary Magdalene who witnessed the burial. These and many other women and unidentified male assistant are shown in the painting. Even in early illustrations the facts and pretense of the work of art and the pose of Christ’s body are different. The scene was incorporated in medi eval cycles of Passion or the Life of Christ, from the crucifixion to the burial of Christ. The weeping of Christ and viewing the body of Christ supported by Mary might intervene between those two. This is widespread in the people’s view, mainly in sculpture. The viewing Christ’s body being moved to his tomb, anointing of Christ and showing the body laid flat on the top of the tomb is another picture that might be thought of in the painting. This is vital in the Orthodox art, where it is revealed on the Epitaph. (Rijn 7). With the resurgence, the painting became accepted for altarpieces, partially because of the challenge of the art work and the fitness of its vertical shape. The Mannerist edition of Russo Florentine is viewed as his most significant painting, and Pontormo’s altarpiece is his most determined painting. This topic of crucifixion was painted many times by both Rembrandt and Rubens. Rembrandt also liked the paintings of Rubens (Rijn 7). Rembrandt ad apted the compositional format for The Descent from the Cross from Ruben’s painting. Rembrandt though sets the theme back in time. The posture of the body Christ is also copied directly from Ruben’s work. His description of the limp and the lifeless Christ discloses a sense of brutality and sorrow which is missing in Rubens painting. Rembrandt used himself as a representation for the boy on the ladder who clings to Christ’s arm (Rijn 7). This signified his emotional connection to the painting and his religious passion. This is the only painting by Rembrandt bearing the dedication of an art dealer and modern publisher, Hedrick Van. Rembrandt’s studio at that time was situated in the publisher's house, and it was there that he met Hedrick Van’s cousin Saki. Rembrandt married Saki in 1634. The Descent from the Cross and the Pendant Christ before Pilate were both published by Cum Privileges. They were approved by the States General and are alike to the recent copyrights (Rijn 7). Philosopher in Meditation Philosopher in Me

Book Review of Jesus Under Fire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Book Review of Jesus Under Fire - Essay Example From here, his interested in the New Testament and other pieces of Biblical literature started, and from here he went on to study for a Master’s degree. His PhD was in New Testament with specialisms in 2nd Temple Judaism and Old Testament Theology. He went on to work as a pastor, then accepting an appointment at the Talbot School of Theology, where he is currently based. He has worked on several research articles, books and chapters in his chosen fields of New Testament theology, Christology and discipleship. About Jesus Under Fire Jesus Under Fire is essentially an examination of the critics and criticisms of Jesus Christ throughout history. It is an academic work comprising of contributions from eight authors who put forward accounts of the life of Jesus and assess the historicity of the way that Jesus is perceived in the Bible. These scholars take into account the work of the Jesus Seminar and the role in which this has played on the view of Jesus and His life throughout hi story. The work is essentially a criticism of the methodology of the Jesus Seminar, and presents different accounts which give evidence that the Jesus of the Bible is historically accurate. It does this by examining the New Testament and the words and actions of the Jesus contained within. It can be classified as a work of religious non-fiction opinion. The book starts with the question â€Å"Where Do We Start Studying Jesus?† This is an interesting one, and sets the tone for the rest of the book by describing how scholars and laymen alike should approach the Bible and Jesus’ teachings. Interestingly, this section covers the issue of scholarly scepticism regarding the Gospels and how this has affected the approach to Biblical study in modern times. Blomberg, the author of this chapter, argues that this scepticism of modern times is not warranted, and goes on further to examine reasons why this is the case and where the scepticism arose from. This sets the tone for the whole book, which aims to prove that the texts found in the Bible are generally trustworthy and are not deserving of such a response from the academic communities. Scot McKnight is the author of the second chapter, which investigates Jesus studies and the correct way of approaching the historicity of Jesus as found within the Bible. This is a very informative chapter that introduces some methodology. Many of those who disagree with the Jesus seminar suggest that the methodology is faulty, so this section is necessary to examine the different ways of approaching the study of Jesus that may be more appropriate and useful in determining historicity. The book then moves on to examine the words of Jesus. Firstly, it ascertains that there were no tape recorders or newspapers, and this makes it difficult to understand how information may have travelled in these earlier times. The culture in which Jesus lived was an oral one, and therefore most information travelled by word-of-mouth, includ ing a number of Jesus’ teachings. This chapter argues that some of the differences between the Gospels where similar events are reported can be said to be due to differences in priorities between the reporters and their reporting style. This is a middle ground between those who think everything in the Bible literally records everything like a Memorex tape recorder and those (like the Jesus Seminar) who believe that the Bible represents only a loose idea of what the historical Jesus was saying. Chapters four and five cover what

A Code of Ethics for Corporate Code of Ethics Essay

A Code of Ethics for Corporate Code of Ethics - Essay Example In fact, responsibility and respect toward those in need of help may simply disappear if people disregard universal codes of conduct and are driven by personal prejudices. Nevertheless, caring for and participating with people of different tastes and identities would jump-start an upward trend of a company’s reputation. There are several reasons why it works. First, genuinely human intentions coming from a company make people more devoted to it. Second, consumerism is driven by people’s choices. Third, being ethical complements universal tendency for goodness, though it makes companies grow rich. In accordance to my workplace dilemma, it was essential for me to take the right part in the situation. Racial profiling is impossible when talking about code of ethics in medicine. Otherwise, the universal codes of ethics among paramedics would fail to be true. Egocentricity and biases are those drives which influenced the law enforcement and my partner. As I see, sociocentric thought fulfilled their narrow-minded vision of the situation (Paul & Elder, 2006). It appeared for them to be of rationality not to take care of the man bleeding from his neck. However, I disregarded this viewpoint, even though it was predominant at that time, and refused such a self-serving perspective going apart from ethnical minorities. As a result, it was a good a chance to improve, since the man had positive consequences after we provided him with a medical care.

Employee Reward Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employee Reward - Essay Example People or the organization’s human resources are a very integral part of the organization. They operate and run the machinery and carry out the roles that the machines can not do. The people are even more important when it comes to the built environment since the nature of the work is manual and the people directly offer services to the clients. People are a core resource in every organization.It is always important to fully understand these people and more so get to know how well they are able to interact with the organizational structures in totality. This is a very important aspect and highly contributes to the success of the organization. Watson, Tony J. (1994).This process of understanding the people in the organization is able to explain best the relationship that exists between the organization and its people in a building environment.Understanding the people is important as it is able to unearth the social and managerial functions that may affect the behaviour and the attitudes of the people working in the organization. This in turn may affect the performance as well as the effectiveness of the organization, Willcocks, Leslie and Jenny Harrow (1992). Understanding the people helps in exploring the on the most effective ways of improving the organizational effectiveness and performance.The principles of management are of importance to my profession because they lay the guidelines to successful management. This is very applicable to both the managerial and technical professions.... This in turn may affect the performance as well as the effectiveness of the organization, Willcocks, Leslie and Jenny Harrow (1992). Understanding the people helps in exploring the on the most effective ways of improving the organizational effectiveness and performance. 3.0 Organizational management principles The principles of management are of importance to my profession because they lay the guidelines to successful management. Waterhouse, Mike and Geoff, C., (1995): The fourteen principles highlight the guidelines that managers need to follow in their actions and decision making process. These include; 1. The division of work; When people in the organization specialize in particular areas, they create specific professional and personal development within the workforce and this increases productivity. Specialization is known to enhance efficiency of labour. This is very applicable to both the managerial and technical professions. 2. Centralization; This is concentrating the power and authority of decision making in the hands of the top management. The opposite is decentralization. The corporation should try to balance between the two. 3. Presence of unity of command; All the subordinates in the organization should take their orders from one person and in addition be answerable to just one supervisor. This reduces the likelihood of occurrence of conflict and confusion among the various professionals. 4. Initiative; This is one of the areas where the organization can build its strengths. This is because it is a source of innovation and better ideas. 5. Discipline; In order for the organization to function and operate smoothly, all the

Selfridges to Launch Gender Neutral Retail Concept Article

Selfridges to Launch Gender Neutral Retail Concept - Article Example harnessing a trend, but rather tapping into a mind-set and acknowledging and responding to a cultural shift that is happening now’†.1 The fact that the director acknowledges that the project was developed in response to a cultural shift is an indication that it is short-lived. Actually, if we are to observe current global fashion trends, different societies have exhibited diverse preferences in dressing and in exemplifying preferences to adapt fashion trends. Some cultures, especially in developed countries, have long accepted gender neutral retail concept long before the Agender project. In other traditional and conservatist countries, the concept of fashion could still be asserted as maintaining gender-based clothing. Yet, contemporary generations have increasingly accepted openness to try innovative and creative fashion statements, including those that could be considered gender-neutral fashion concepts. From the slideshow that was viewed which presented four (4) different examples of gender-neutral fashion, one affirms that although the concept could revolutionize contemporary styles, more female are accepted to wear clothes with masculine underpinnings; as contrasted to males opting to wear clothes with female-typed styles. Aside from the latter being perceived to look awkward and fairly inappropriate, more males could agree that they would not be caught wearing clothes with feminine trimmings or style. Current societies still exhibit stereotyped beliefs regarding gender-related concepts, including fashion, toys, accessories, and preferences in entertainment, sports, or music endeavors. Overall, the Agender project could just be one of the many innovative and creative fashion showcases that are short-lived. One strongly believes that the fashion statements would not evolve to become the norm. Our contemporary generations, though more open and accepting of equality in various spheres, still strongly believe in gender differences, especially in clothing

2.4 Consumer Behaviour & Holidays Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

2.4 Consumer Behaviour & Holidays - Case Study Example be able to plan for a holiday successfully since every time they do so, other more important activities come in between and make them think otherwise about having a holiday. This makes holiday to be categorized under the fourth quadrant of self-satisfaction. In this quadrant, the holiday consumer would be having information about a holiday place, they haven’t been to that place before, they haven’t planned to go there but the thought to do so might have just been an impulse one which just came immediately the thought to go for a holiday rung in their minds. They then visit the place, they might feel the place is really refreshing and good for a holiday, after that, they will decide to treat themselves in the holiday place and have some good time. Therefore this is the model of Do-feel-learn. This may contrast a bit with the CBDP model where the holiday consumer will have to recognize the need for the holiday first, they then go on an information search about the best or appropriate place they would want to go to for a holiday, they would then evaluate and analyze the various alternatives they just found from the search to decide on the best and appropriate holiday purchase, they then make the decision to make the appropriate purchase which is making the decision to visit the place of choice, and finally have a post-purchase evaluation on whether the holiday place of choice was the best or failed to meet the expectations (Schiffman, Kanuk, & Hansen.H, 2008). The consumers who use the CBDP model therefore seem to be those consumers who are keen about what they purchase before they do the purchase. They most of the time work on a budget and would choose what will fit in their budget. This therefore is a more appropriate way to do a holiday purchase than to just carry out a blind purchase on something you have no idea about. Consumers normally carry out information search for all the products before they make the purchases. The information search on these

C&B (u4ip) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

C&B (u4ip) - Essay Example Lines 18, 19, 20, 22, and 23 are the most important lines on the form that is included in the page below, as these particular lines contain the codes. It is not reasonable, safe, or reliable to expect a billing specialist to remember all of the codes and modifiers that are safe. Therefore, he or she will need a reference guide for this. Since these codes and modifiers are updated occasionally, an online reference guide would be a good resource. One good resource is the website for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. In the form below, the website for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid was used to look up the codes. The diagnosis code for this particular patient matches that of an individual with multiple sclerosis. The codes that follow the diagnosis code are procedural codes that represent the testing that was done during the office visit of that particular patient. There could have also been supply codes included, but no supplies were used in this particular visit that was going to be billed to the insurance company in question. Had there been supplies used, those would need to be included on the form as well. The codes were looked up using a search engine on the website, which provided a page listing the codes for musculoskeletal

History of Caloocan Essay Example for Free

History of Caloocan Essay The residents of Caloocan must have been proud of its city. Other than a thriving past, the city had somehow dramatic toss with times then. Now, it continues to set ground-breaking achievements for its people and visitors. Caloocan had its famous episode in 1896 when Filipino troops fought against Spanish tyrants and advocates. The world was stirred by it. The city’s name derivation has a story behind. It’s said to have come from the Tagalog term â€Å"lo-ok†, which means â€Å"bay†, as Caloocan is just close to the Manila Bay. Others followed another version that â€Å"lo-ok† referred to â€Å"corner† because the town was concretely located â€Å"at the corner† in early days. Historical accounts tell us that Chinese and Indians were the first settlers of Caloocan. Their features are mostly dull-colored with slim beard, flat nose and black eyes. Most dwellers in the past worked as fishermen especially those residing in Dagat-Dagatan, Navotas and Manila Bay areas. Those huge rural areas like Maysilo Estate were possessed by the Jesuits while Piedad was owned by Don Pedro de Galarraga. Cruz and Naligas Estates were possessed by the friars. The first terrain of Caloocan stretched up to the foothills of Marikina, Tala Rivers, San Francisco del Monte, Sampalok, Sta. Cruz, Tondo and Tanza. The first Catholic Church in Caloocan was erected in 1765 by the Spanish Augustinian scholars who made it to â€Å"lo-ok† in 1762, but in 1814, religious governance was assumed by the Recollects. Caloocan started to grow in 1802 that led to its becoming a municipality in 1815. The door for economic progress opened when the railroad project connecting Manila and Dagupan was fulfilled in 1892. It made business transactions quicker and brought Caloocan closer to the bustling Metro Manila. In 1896, however, the people of Caloocan with the leadership of Andres Bonifacio rebelled against the Spaniards. It resulted in numerous revolutions one after another in all provinces of the Philippines. Eventually, Spain ceded the nation in 1898, but the Americans arrived. It was another test for Caloocan to get through. Periods of reconstruction were experienced. New roads, public schools and railways were erected. Later, Caloocan had to endure three years of Japanese invasion. When Philippine Independence was proclaimed in 1946, Caloocan gained its authentic freedom after all. It’s also important to note that the galleon trade history in Caloocan contributed to its growth. The export and import of products resulted to the coming in of Mexican money. It mutually improved the economies of Manila and Acapulco. Export products generated by Caloocan businessmen were in great demand for this trade. This growth continued as years went by, and now, Caloocan is harvesting the fruits of its labor.

Cultural Differences in Shakespeares Work

Cultural Differences in Shakespeares Work Shakespeare in Performance This essay will explore the cultural difference of two Shakespeare, Othello performances. The two performances used are Stuart Burges 1965 adaptation and Oliver Parkers 1995 version. William Shakespeare was born in 1564 the son of John Shakespeare a glove maker, and Mary Arden the daughter of a farmer. Within the Elizabethan class system Shakespeare wouldnt have be destined for great things as he wasnt born into a significantly wealthy family. It is possible that Shakespeare was brought up as Catholic; Romeo and Juliet is a Catholic play. Shakespeare attended grammar school In Stratford his education would have been very intense in language, Latin, Greek and possibly modern language like French, his schooling would have also been heavily religious. Shakespeare would have been expected to leave school and go into law grammar schools trained for professionals. Shakespeare didnt continue his education at university and age 18 married Anne Hathaway and lived a quiet life having his first child, Susanna in 1583 then twins Judith and Hamnet in 1585. Historical accounts of Shakespeare in the first seven years of his childrens lives are classed as lost years, due to ther e being no reliable accounts in this period. It wasnt until the late 1590s that Shakespeare was writing plays although in them times writers would write under a false name so critics couldnt dismiss their work. By around 1591, 1592 Shakespeare had written 57 plays in the space 20 years this is a colossal amount especially as a play writer in the Elizabethan period. Shakespeare died on the 23rd April 1616 the same day as his birthday. The importance of Setting The plot Othello is taken from an Italian story Un Captitano Moro some critics believe, written in 1565 by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinzio, the story about a Moorish general deceived into believing his wife is being unfaithful. Shakespeare added important characters to the story Iago, Roderigo, Desdemonas father and Brabantio, Shakespeare implies the action of the play runs over some course of time although it could be perceived as being set over a period of a few days. Shakespeare also developed the complex villain Iago compared to the minor one in the original. Shakespeares audience would have believed in The Great Chain of Being, that determined the natural order of events. God being the top of the hierarchical chain, Shakespeare used the Great Chain of Being as a concept to emphasise the tragedy in Othello and struggle with love and Desdemona and Iagos jealous passion. Othello, the Moor of Venice scholars believe was written in the period of 1601-1604, Queen Elizabeth had died in 1603, people worried what would become of governess since Elizabeths death a lot of the fear is portrayed through Shakespeares plays of successful succession and governance. The Protestant Church of England was created by Henry, Elizabeths father there was concerns that the religion might fail after Elizabeths death in a Catholic came to power, and a foreigner to rule. Although the title implies Othello occurred in Venice it took place in Cyprus, having said that Shakespeares stage directions are very basic and minimal so directors that remake Shakespeares pieces can decide where the plot is set. In the period when Shakespeare wrote Othello Venice was a Republic that thrived on multiculturalism, it was major for international trade, Venice had colonial power also respectful of different cultures and religions. Venice was a charming, safe, peaceful location. Cyprus when Shakespeare was in school was under power by the Ottoman Turks, Cyprus was the home of wine and prostitutes full of deception and death. Geographically located between the Middle East, Europe, Mediterranean and Northern Africa the religion is Christian and Muslim, a prime place for religious and racial violence. Although critics believe Othello was adapted by Hecatommithi, the time period that Shakespeare wrote Othello Venice would have been a highly important trading link between the East and Europe. Venice would have been sending ambassadors from Venice and the East to Elizabethan England Shakespeare may have studied theses exotic strangers. Venice and Turkey during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries would have been at wars thus Othello being the general of the Venetian war. Shakespeare cleverly adapted a plot surrounding the issues of the day and explored a twist on race, jealousy and deceit. During the Elizabethan period, black people were not regarded as slaves, in 1601 Queen Elizabeth granted the diplomatic rights which allowed deportation, due to fears of overpopulation. Although the salve trade was not established during this time, the black race was considered inferior. Othello is a revolutionary cultural work, as the Moor Othello is portrayed as a civilized noble Christian who was wrongly deceived forced audiences to rethink the racial status during the early 16th century. Moor was a term used by the Elizabethans referring to Muslim Arabs or North Africa who had conquered Spain in the eighth century. Moors were Elizabethans believed, sinful, animalistic and murderous. It is interesting that Shakespeare represents Othello as the wrongly deceived victim, and Iago the Caucasian the typical More stereotype. Othello The tragedy of Othello, the Moor Whom Is general of Venice, promotes his lieutenant Cassio, leaving Iago enraged with jealousy. Othello fell in love and married Desdemona daughter of Brabantio, the Venetian senator. Iago uses Desdemona and Othellos love as a tactic in his revenge. Iago manipulates Othello into thinking his wife is having an affair with Cassio, Othello outraged kills Desdemona before killing himself the story concludes with Iagos unmasking and execution. Stuart Burges 1965 Othello Laurence Olivier The first English language film of the play Othello was released in December 1965 by director Burge, Burge was born in Brentwood Essex in January 1918 and died in 2002. Burge was the director of the Nottingham Playhouse between 1968-74 then went onto be artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre in over the period of 1977-80. This is the only Shakespeare adaptation that all leading actors were nominated for Oscars. The film was nearly exactly the same as stage production the release did not make use of music of exit music. Burges version of was the first English Othello shot in colour it had previously been done in Russian. This was the first of Shakespeares original text created into a full length British feature. Lawrence Olivier played Othello and acted in blackface, critics over the years have argued the origins of Othello being black or Arab. Othello has been played by white and more recently black actors, Laurence Oliviers version was performed in blackface. Olivier went into detail of his black face performance in his autobiography; Black all over my body, Max Factor 2880, then a lighter brown, then Negro number 2, a stronger brown. Brown on black to give a rich mahogany. Then the great trick: that glorious half yard of chiffon with which I polished myself all over until I shone the lips blueberry, the tight curled wig, the white of the eyes, whiter than ever, and the black, black sheen that covered my flesh and bones, glistening in the dressing room lights. (L. Olivier 1965) In Oliviers autobiography; Olivier, Laurence. Confessions of an Actor, Olivier proclaims in his and the directors minds the blackface wasnt done in a minstrelsy way it was done as costume to make him up as African with innocent intentions of playing Othello. The text Othello is not completely clear on Othellos race, subsequently because Shakespeare would not have been completed educated about the people that lived in North Africa. In 1966 the civil rights movement was at its highest in America racist discrimination and stereotypes were challenged the aesthetic of the Oliviers blackface was out of date and political incorrect.   Although in Europe, the civil rights movement wasnt as big as America with the last white actor blackface Othello taking place in 1990 by Michael Gambon. The New York Times published an article about Oliviers performance that stated; Outrageous impression of a theatrical Negro stereotype, Olivier an end man in an American minstrel show. (the New York times, Bosley Crowther) Burges adaptation of Othello definitely brings the issue of race to the forefront, most of the racial language is present as in the 1604 original text; thicklips, being the first derogatory offensive language aimed at Othello Act one, Scene one. Venice. A street. Roderigo: What a full fortune does the thicklips owe if he can carryt thus! References made by Othello regarding his race are interpreted as intended by Shakespeare, delivered with doubt; Act three, Scene three. The garden of the castle Othello: Haply, for I am black. Intending that because he is black, he is not as sophisticated as other people. Burge directed Olivier as a stereotypical African, exaggerated gesture and accent with his costumes ethnic and predominantly barefoot, with a rosary necklace. Burges performance has been regarded by critics as the greatest performance of the 20th century. (Peter Rainer) and was nominated for four Oscars, winning one. Olivier is the first of the great twentieth-century British actors who has created a brilliantly original interpretation of Othelloà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Oliviers) Othello is a man of gigantic stature but he is not a man of titanic thought; and by no means is he umo univerale, a man of many sided character, typical of the Renaissance. This Othello came into the world from a less civilised society. He Is very close to nature, to the earth. He has had no time to absorb the culture of the new world surrounding him. With all its glitter, this world is in fact trivial and meanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Othellos simple soul makes him vulnerable to the pretty contrivances of the environment. A civilization that is false and untrue kills the simple-minded manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ this is what Olivier; the actor shows us. (in Tynan, Othello. National Theatre Production, 108). Every modern, white actor, takin on Othello, feels obliged to explain why hes not playing him black, which was surely Shakespeares intention, when the unspoken reason is that to black up is as disgusting these days as a nigger minstrel show. (Laurence Olivier, 1986) Each generation can use pieces of Shakespeares texts his writings are timeless, an Author who makes plays relatable to different generations thus why Othello has been adapted countless times since 1601, in some adaptations of Othello the play is portrayed mostly on the jealous and devious theme. Burges approach to play directions however have been deemed as a play about race. A film version of the 1965 production released on DVD by Warner Home Video in 2007. Oliviers blackface performance makes this film adaptation a difficult object of study, but since it makes Othello a play about race in a way so disturbing for postmodern sensibilities, it is a valuable tool for exploring racial difference as a theme. And especially for considering the plays particular resonance with contemporary racial politics. (R, C. Evans In an article by the New York Times published February, 1966 reporter Bosley Crowther describes how America portrayed Oliviers performance; Seeing as how the drama critics in England were unstinting in their praise of the lush stage production of Othello in which Sir Laurence Olivier played with the National Theatre of Great Britain a couple of years ago, it may seem rude of an American film critic to voice some startled expectations to the motion picture made of the play by a British company. One bold and singular aspect of this production immediately impels the sensitive American viewer into a baffled and discomfited attitude. This is the radical make up Sir Laurence has chosen to use in his powerful and passionate characterization of the jealous Moor. He plays Othello in blackface! Thats right, blackface not the dark-brown stain that even the most daring white actors do not nowadays wish to go beyond.   Whats more, he caps his shiny blackface with a wig of kinky black hair and he has the insides of his lips smeared and thickened with a startling raspberry red. Several times, in his rages or reflections, he roll s his eyes up into his head so that the whites gleam like small mil agates out of the inky face. (B. Crowther 1966) Burges adaptation of Othello is clearly one that caused a stir, with the controversial blackface. The period in which Burge adapted the version the culture was changing surrounding racism, racist terms and what is politically correct. Professor Tony Howard University of Warwick believes for Olivier race wasnt an issue, race was an interesting factor in the play and he chose to make it paramount. The result of that was that I know some black actors that saw the play and were appalled by his imitation of stereotypical behaviour, and I know other black actors who saw the play and were inspired to become Shakespearian actors because of the sheer admiration for what he did. (T. Howard 2013). Oliver Parkers 1995 Othello, Laurence Fishburne Oliver Parker an English film director born 6th September 1960, directed Othello played by a black actor Laurence Fishburne classed as not an outsider in this version as the actor is of African descent. Having said that the racial tensions and most of the racial language still applies in the film. Fishburne, plays a more confidant, cocky Othello in this version he also wears the same costumes as most of the cast, with earings in his ears he blends in well with the rest of the cast unlike in Oliviers version. The choice of music and camera shots sets the racial tension in a different way than previous adaptations with the use of drums during the consummation of Othello and Desdemona also during the Cyprus   celebration. The film doesnt generally focus on Othellos race but more so on the tragedy of the story and Iagos jealousy. Parkers adaptation is more satisfying as a film rather than Shakespearian text, the original text is very heavily cut with many original rhythms not included. The plot and characters remains the same as the original text and Burges, parker sets the film within the same time period and location as the two explored. Parkers version is however modernised and update some areas of the film, parker has changed the interpretation of Iagos character slightly also cutting much of the original text. Parkers use of Othellos dreams allow the audience access into Othellos agony over his suspected wifes adultery, this opened the door to the audience in a new light, something that the original monologue and Burge was unable to achieve. The issue of Race in Parkers version is watered down and limelights the character of Iago and his evil plan. Iagos direct camera soliloquies, via direct camera shots portrays his devious intentions, Iagos true nature is heightened in Parkers adaptation through this technique compare to Burge and the original text. In Act one, Scene three Iago shouts to Roderigo to put money and love into his purse Iago is trying to deceive Roderigo into giving him money so Iago will make Desdemona fall in love with Roderigo. When Iago leaves this scene, the camera zooms in on Iagos face to music building up that creates tension, Iago then recites this original quote from the text; Act one, scene three Iago: Thus, do I ever make my fool my purse: For I mine own gaind knowledge should profane, If I would time expend with such a snipe. But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor: And it is thought abroad, that twixt my sheets He has done my office: I know not ift be true; But, I for more suspicious in that kind, Will do as if for surety. He holds me well; The better shall my purpose work on him. Cassios a proper man: let me see now: To get his place and to plume up my will In double knavery-how, how? Lets see: After some time, to abuse Othellos ear That he is too familiar with his wife. He hath a person and a smooth dispose To be suspected, framed to make women false. The moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will as tenderly be led by the nose As asses are. I havet. it is endgenderd. hell, and night Must brin this monstrous birth to the worlds light. During the speech by Roderigo, Parkers gives the audience a subsequent plot for throughout the play as to why Iago wants to kill Othello. Parker directs Iago to look straight into the camera whilst declaring his hatred for Othello this breaks the forth wall including the audience on the whole experience. Iago speaks in a hushed monotone to music playing in the background thus adding theatrical drama, the camera then pans down to a chessboard. Iago places a white queen, black king and a white knight on the board parker does this to replicate Desdemona, Othello and Cassio. The colour of the chess pieces also play a very clever crucial part in the film highlighting the racial but also the use of a chess board highlights the manipulation and game playing from Iago. Parker directs Fishburne to play overtly sexual compared with the Burge version and original text. Parkers directions continues shows Desdemona and Othello in bed together in a number of scenes to modernize the version to appeal to a different audience. Parker has Othellos dreams filled with adultery presented with Desdemona in bed naked with Cassio, in the Burge version the characters are a lot more innocent. Othellos visual image of Desdemona and Cassio, allows for his fear to come alive with the help of Iagos manipulation Othello remembers what Desdemonas father said to him; Act one, Scene 3 A Council-Chamber. Brabantio: Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: She has deceived her father, and may thee. This line is continuously played in Othellos head throughout the film, giving Othello confirmation that the affair to real as Desdemona is deceiving him just as she did her father. Once you get to Act three, Scene three, its like being caught up in a huge surf. You are pounded by experiences and overwhelming feelings that oscillate violently. Sometimes within one sentence I go from passion and adoration to the most extreme expressions of loathing and self-hatred Ive ever had to try to get close to. (Laurence Fishburne, 1996) There are a few predominant themes that flow through both versions of Othello and the original text; Love, passion, jealousy, betrayal along with reputation and honour. love being the force that overcome a large obstacle in the marriage of Othello and Desdemona, although Othello loves Desdemona he gives her his heart he doesnt give her his mind and he doesnt trust her, he is deep down insecure.   Their love was tragically lost by the passion of Iago and his jealousy love to Iago is leverage, he declared his love to his friends but does the ultimate betrayal. The love between Cassio and Desdemona that is misinterpreted. Passion comes from Othello and Desdemona two lovers that political looked down on for the marriage but still going ahead with their passion anyway. Jealousy is a trait that is both in Othello and strongly Iago. Multiculturalism, Religious Suspicion and Racism. The Venetian Republic was known as a culturally tolerant society, that welcomes cultural traditions, however Othello and the merchant of Venice being set in Venice, portrays jealousy, race and xenophobia. Shakespeares Othello predates the slave trade and biological classification. Othello being a Moor in Shakespeares time could relate to someone from the Middle East or Spain not necessarily Africa. Reference List Othello. (1965) film. Directed by Stuart Barge. GB: British Home Entertainment. {film} Othello. (1995) Directed by Olive Parker. GB: Warner Home video. {DVD} Colin, Phillip C. and Kuhn, Francis X. (2002) Othello: New Critical Essays Brockport Bookshelf. Book 218. Othello: A Critical Reader Robert. C. Evans Bloomsbury Publishing (2015) (T. Howard 2013) Othello at the National Theatre www.nationaltheatre.org

Management Essays Force Field Analysis

Management Essays Force Field Analysis Force Field Analysis One of the vital tools for organizational transformation is the use of the Force Field Analysis. According to Wilson (2000, p. 207), most situations that have something to do with work can be envisioned as having two sets of forces those that encourage the situation and those that prevent or discourage it. Driving forces are those forces or factors affecting a situation which are pushing in a particular direction (Jenkins). Driving forces tend to initiate a change and keep it going. Restraining forces may be likened to walls or barriers (Jenkins). They only put a stop and prevent movements towards improvements. These forces are acting to restrain or decrease the driving forces. In any group or organization, there are both driving and restraining forces at times of change. The Force Field Analysis suggests ways of dealing with these opposing forces. With reference to this model, analyze the essential stages in the change process, the characteristics of crises and conflict, and the managerial approaches for successfully implementing change. Introduction: Many years ago, Kurt Lewin told us that the best way to understand an organisation is to try to change it (Carter, et al, 2001 p. 4). Different organisations have a number of barriers and challenges to overcome. These can come both from their external and internal environments. These barriers constitute a force for change. Change has always been one of the main features of organisational life. It may not always be welcomed and desirable but it is proving to be the one of the main constant in todays changing environment. An organisation that does not recognize change is an organisation that has ceased to exist in the real world. Organisations respond to different challenges in different ways. Most of these challenges are brought about by the emergence of new technologies, new competitors, new markets, and new customer demands (Harvard). These challenges bring about the need to embrace organisational change in structure, culture, and process. If organisations are contemplating changes, then it will be helpful to determine what forces are acting for or against these changes. As these organisations are moving about and implementing change, they are constantly being bombarded with environmental, social, economic, political, and leadership challenges and pressures. These challenges breed different types of forces. Carefully analyzing the forces that bring about these challenges can help organisations decide, control, and implement balanced change programs in difficult and uncertain times. A model of change calls for identifying the different ways of dealing with these forces by understanding and following the change process, the identification and resolution of crisis and conflicts, and the different managerial approaches to successfully implementing change. Force Field Analysis One of the vital tools for organizational transformation is the use of the Force Field Analysis. According to Wilson (2000, p. 207), most situations that have something to do with work can be envisioned as having two sets of forces those that encourage the situation and those that prevent or discourage it. Driving forces are those forces or factors affecting a situation which are pushing in a particular direction (Jenkins). Driving forces tend to initiate a change and keep it going. Restraining forces may be likened to walls or barriers (Jenkins). They only put a stop and prevent movements towards improvements. These forces are acting to restrain or decrease the driving forces. When driving forces are countered by restraining forces, a certain level of equilibrium develops. This equilibrium can be raised or lowered by changes in the relationship between the driving force and the restraining force. Sometimes, in order to maintain this equilibrium, driving forces may be increased or decreased. In the course of doing so however, additional restraining forces may emerge. Different forces can be modified by reducing or removing forces, stretching or adding forces, and changing the direction of forces. Force field analysis is a management technique developed by Kurt Lewin, a pioneer in the field of social sciences for diagnosing situations (Accel-team). It is often useful when looking at the variables involved in planning and implementing a change program and in trying to overcome resistance to change and inertia. It is also widely used to inform decision-making and planning and implementing change management programs in different organizations. As a vital tool in organisational change, it can identify the relative priority of factors on each side of organizational issues. It can also be used to analyse the forces affecting these issues and situations. Force Field Analysis Process This analysis is carried out with a group using a flip chart or overhead transparency. Usually, the first step is to assess the current situation and agree on the goal of the policy or institutional change. This goal should be written between two columns. All the forces for change (usually, driving forces) and encouraging improvements should be listed on one column and all forces against change (restraining forces) in the other. The next step is to try to establish the weight of each force, that is, how much influence is being exerted by that force using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 denotes a weak influences and 5 denotes a strong influence. Equilibrium is usually achieved when the sum of the weights of the driving forces equals the sum of the weights of the restraining forces. Force Field Analysis as a Model of Change Wilson (2000, p. 224) says that for most organisations that are about to embark on change process, one of the first steps is for senior managers to spend time reviewing strategies and exploring alternatives. This process may involve away days, seminars, and conferences. Another strategy is to define specific problems and ask specific questions related to the different problems. This may be a difficult task considering the level of energy needed to break the opposition to change and inertia. For example, in analyzing how to improve and increase the number of enrollees in most higher education institutions, questions like, why dont we change the way we screen and accept students or what are the forces which are keeping our strategies in their present trend? The education sector is in a very competitive environment nowadays. Colleges and universities around the world are keen on attracting an even greater number of students even from distant places through different online programs. However, as school administrators are slowly exploring deeper into the root causes of falling number of college students, it becomes clearer that there may be some strong forces preventing substantial changes in strategies from occurring as well as strong forces pressing toward changing the nature of the entire educational system. There might be several forces which point toward more acceptable levels of screening techniques and even ways of attracting prospective college students: Students desire more flexible schedules and more convenient ways of dealing with their instructors. College entrance examinations may not always be the most reliable way of screening and evaluating prospective college students. Technology makes it possible for education related services to simulate traditional classroom environments and interactions. In addition to these forces, schools desire to be the center of excellence on specific fields of learning. Today, schools are continually trying to improve on all the aspects of their student services. There might be other forces which seem to be opposed to these changes. Some of these forces are: 1. Many faculty members in most colleges and universities lack formal training in technology-based educational system. 2. Easing on the present method of screening students and experimenting with the unknown makes everyone involved feel insecure. 3. Testing with new scheduling methods may be risky and can contribute to the deterioration of classroom instructions and the quality of other services. During the clarification stage of the change process, one of the goals of this stage is to be able to clarify misconceptions and provide the forum and venue where doubts can be raised and addressed properly. Identifying the driving and restraining forces are concentrated on reaching a common understanding of what the proposed changes would mean and how it relates to the entire organisation. One of the driving forces is the need to see and visualize the short and long term benefits of any proposed changes. The restraining force may be the lack of specific and detailed information and supporting documentation with regards to the proposed changes. During the implementation phase of the change process, it is necessary to attain a certain level of success. After having clarified some goals, senior management can spend more time developing clear measures of success. Some of the driving and restraining forces can be centered on how and when to measure the success of the implemented changes. In each stage of the change process, it is crucial to attain a certain level of equilibrium so that change can be sustained and be kept going. Force Field Analysis Example The force field analysis has been used in diverse fields ranging from organisational change to self-development. In another example of using the force field analysis for change, let us examine the goal of one manufacturing company. This manufacturing company would like to use new strategies and new technologies in their marketing operations. The driving and restraining force are sorted on common themes and are prioritized according to their magnitude towards change by assigning a score or rating to each force, ranging from 1 to 5 where 1 denotes a weak force and 5 as the strong force. Driving forces Score/Rating Customers want new information on products 4 Improve speed of information delivery to customers 3 Raise level of product awareness 4 Marketing costs are increasing 3 ___________ Total 14 Restraining forces Score/Rating Loss of staff overtime 2 Staff frightened by new technologies 3 Environmental impact of new technologies 3 High cost of new technologies 3 Disruption to daily marketing operations 2 ___________ Total 13 Based on the previous example, it is clear that the driving forces are pushing for new ways of marketing products and services. One of the new technologies which can be used to market these products and services can be the use of web-based technologies and the Internet. The use of the web provides customers a lot of opportunities to gain access to real-time information at a much faster rate compared to traditional marketing techniques like the printing and distribution of card catalogs containing new product information and specifications. This strategy also raises the level of awareness of these products and services as it can cover a wider customer base. Although initially, investing on new technologies can be cost-prohibitive, in the long run, as marketing costs related to printing and manpower eventually rises, the use of web and Internet technologies may prove to be much more cheaper in the long run. One of the restraining forces is the loss of staff overtime. It is one restraining force because these overtimes provide additional pay to employees and it would make it more difficult for these employees to come to terms with these losses due to changes in marketing strategies. The use of the web virtually lessens the need to do overtime marketing jobs especially for those who are working on the field. Sometimes, the staff may be averse to the introduction of new technologies as there is always the degree of uncertainty and job loss to be brought about by them. Crisis and Conflicts Problem solving is often concerned with shifting the balance (Wilson, p.207). As organisations adapt changes, certain relationships are created, certain policies are changed, and some techniques are developed. In handling conflicts and crisis brought about by change, the force field analysis can help identify the different forces that bring about negative and positive feedbacks and reactions from people. Individuals are being asked to give up practices, relationships, attitudes, and sometimes emotions (Wilson, p. 218). In trying to resolve conflicts and crisis situations associated with planned changes, the force field analysis can reduce or remove the force that is causing the conflict situation. It can also stretch or add new forces to counter another force. In certain instances where conflicts cannot be resolved through the addition or removal of certain forces, changing the direction of these forces can be an alternative. If organisations are to put a new philosophy in conflict r esolution, then they are adding a new driving force. Managerial Approaches for Successfully Implementing Change It is a must for organisations undergoing change to create effective processes and approaches for the planning and management of change (Pieters, p.119). Managing change through the use of the force field analysis may inevitably bring forth new ways of identifying factors that can contribute to the success or failure of the change process. Management of change processes must consider not only short term goals but also long term ones. The force field analysis can be seen as the framework in diagnosing interrelationships between the intervening variables in the organisational setup. Management approaches in organisational change should not upset the equilibrium. Sometime, top level managements desire to achieve and see immediate results through increased profits and productivity by increasing the driving forces can breed different sets of restraining forces. A manager that is autocratic and imposes high working standards and discipline on the entire organisation can expect to achieve an immediate increase in output in the short term. However, new restraining forces may develop in the form of increased antagonism and hostility towards the manager and the organisation in general. It may generate discontentment, disillusionment, and increased resistance to change. By the time a new manager takes over, there would already be an increased activity related to the different restraining forces which can cause lower productivity and output. This new equilibrium may need a new set of managerial approaches in order to stabilize the situation. The manager may see the need t o increase output and productivity right away but may try another approach. He may not immediately increase the driving forces but might even try to lessen the restraining forces by engaging in dialogs and other problem solving techniques. With the possible elimination of hostility and negative attitudes towards management, in the long term, the equilibrium (increased productivity) needed to attain a certain level of increased productivity may begin to be achieved through increase in skills and commitment to organisational objectives. It is also important to develop the habits of participative work since it is likely possible that the identification of the different forces can come from the different levels of the organisation (Harvard). Specifically, some of these approaches are the following: Push the decision making down to the lowest possible. The identification of the root causes of problems and the possible solutions to these problems can be found on those that are in the frontline. Begin sharing information freely. By sharing information freely, members of the organisation are encouraged to share their own problems and experiences. Make communication a two way street. It is important to talk and listen at the same time. Eliminate unnecessary symbols of hierarchy and unequal status. These symbols can come in the form of executive lunch rooms and parking spaces. Encourage participatory management. It is important to keep in mind that everyone is also capable of managing different aspects of their life. Get into the trenches with frontline employees and encourage other managers to do the same. This management approach would be construed as a way of bridging the gap between management and the workforce. Give people practice in collaborative work between functions by attacking projects and problems through cross-functional teams. This approach encourages more interaction and communication not only between management and the employees but from among the employees themselves. Help people see the why of change, and work with them to discover the what. It is easy to explain and understand the need for change. What is difficult to understand and see is the why. There are interlocking problems and complex issues that need to be simplified for every individual to see. With respect o cultural change, the following steps and approaches should be considered: Uncover beliefs and values. Acknowledge, respect, and discuss differences between core values and beliefs of different sub cultures within the organisation. Look for incongruencies between conscious and unconscious beliefs and values and resolve by choosing those to which the organisation wishes to commit. Conclusion: It is assumed that in any situation, there are driving and restraining forces that influence any change that can occur. Organisations that are planning some form of changes need to be able to adopt a specific change model that would address most of the issues and problems that would be associated with it. The force field analysis can be a good model for change. This analysis provides a lot of opportunities for organisations contemplating on change to view different situations and identify different sets of forces that can directly influence the change process, conflict and crisis resolution, and managerial approaches to these changes. It also allows the organisation to weigh these forces and adopt priority measures based on the strengths of these forces. In general, it means that the organisation has gotten into grips with the problems that they are currently experiencing and have thought of all the consequences of all the possible solutions. Driving forces tend to initiate change while restraining forces tend to decrease or even stop the driving forces from initiating change. The current setup of todays organisations and the way they adapt to changing environments influenced by a lot of factors and forces makes the force field analysis one of the best models in managing and implement ing organisational change. The harsh reality of life nowadays encourages the removal of restraining forces rather than develop overpowering and driving forces. These strategies provide one of the strongest analytical tools yet for organisational change. Bibliography Duck, Jeanie (2001), The Change Monster, Crown Business, New York. Harvard Business Essentials (2003), Managing Change Transition, Harvard Business Carter, L et al (2001), Best Practices in Organizational Development and Change, Wiley, San Francisco. Kanter, Rosabeth (1992), The Challenge of Organizational Change, Free Press, Canada. Nutt, Paul (1992), Managing Planned Change, McMillan, Singapore. Pieters, Gerald (2000), The Ever-Changing Organization: Creating the Capacity for Continuous Change, Learning, and Improvement, St. Lucie Press, Florida. Wilson, Graham (2000), Problem Solving, 2nd edn, Kogan Page, London. Jenkins, David (1949), Force Field Analysis Applied to a School Situation, Retrieved: May 30, 2005 from http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/brainwashing/force-field.htm. Force Field Analysis, Retrieved: May 28, 2005 from http://www.pyswww.com/mtsite/forcefield.html. Force Field Analysis, Retrieved: May 30, 2005 from http://www. Asem.org/conferences/2004/conferenceproceedings/koplyay150.pdf Team Building: Force Field Analysis, Retrieved: May 28, 2005 from http://www.accel-team.com/techniques/force_field_analysis.html Sustainable Change Management, Retrieved: May 29, 2005 from http://www.challengequest.com/pdf/sustainable_change_management.pdf Organizational Culture: Change Process, Retrieved: May 30, 2005 from http://www.soi.,org/readaing/change/process.shtml

Resolver el Caso 3M :: Negocios

Resolver el Caso 3M. Contestar de manera individual las siguientes preguntas: 1) Identifique las DOS estrategias (Grandes estrategias) que tiene la empresa 3M. Explique en quà © consiste cada una de ellas. (Ver P. 202). Las grandes estrategias que tiene la empresa 3M se basan en materia econà ³mica y de innovacià ³n. McNerney se enfrento con una organizacià ³n que tenà ­a mucho tiempo de no lanzar productos innovadores o marcar diferencia en mercados como en la anterioridad. McNerney tenà ­a que encontrar y diseà ±ar estrategias que buscaran la innovacià ³n que alguna vez obtuvo con el famoso â€Å"Post-it† pero tambià ©n dà ¡ndole la importancia al capital econà ³mico que 3M poseà ­a y necesitarà ­a para invertir en innovacià ³n. Una de las primeras estrategias ocurrià ³ en sus primeros aà ±os como CEO de 3M, la cual fue recortar el 6.6% de la fuerza laboral que representaba aproximadamente 5000 empleados. De esta manera, le permitià ³ contar con mà ¡s capital econà ³mico; obviamente evaluando si el capital humano recortado no causarà ­a perdidas en produccià ³n o en otras à ¡reas. McNerney se dio cuenta que por normalidad 3M brindaba la misma cantidad de capital econà ³mico (presupuesto) a sus sectores internos, sin importar como era su desempeà ±o en ventas o utilidades. McNerney decidià ³ que ya no serà ­a de esa manera, y opto por distribuir fondos para mercadotecnia e investigacià ³n y desarrollo para aquellos sectores que tuvieran el mayor potencial de crecimiento. Estas dos acciones anteriores pertenecà ­an a una estrategia grande cuyo objetivo era cuidar del capital econà ³mico y distribuirlo efectivamente donde tuviera un mayor margen de à ©xito. La segunda estrategia està ¡ dirigida al cliente y su satisfaccià ³n. McNerney era una persona que pasaba mucho tiempo con tu equipo de trabajo. El adoraba escucharlos y tener un contacto cercano. En ocasiones el mismo volaba de continente a continente para arreglar asuntos que suelen normalmente no ser de la importancia de un CEO. Esto no quiere decir que las actividades que realizaba eran insignificantes; al contrario lo distinguà ­an por su cercanà ­a con el cliente. Una pieza clave de su estrategia fue implementar el programa â€Å"Six Sigama† el cual à ©l habà ­a aplicado en General Electric. Constantemente mandaba capacitar a sus empleados a lugares donde impartà ­an el â€Å"Six Sigma†, de esta manera el cosechaba para que en un futuro los empleados tuvieran las ideologà ­a triunfadoras del programa; y pudieran aplicar sus frutos en la organizacià ³n. Su cercanà ­a al cliente tambià ©n se reflejaba cuando los representantes de ventas realizaban â€Å" polls† donde obtenà ­an las mejoras que buscaban los creadores de televisiones asà ­ como clientes en sus nuevas modelos de pantalla delgada (Plasma HDTV).

Oneills Debate On Education :: essays research papers

O'Neill's Debate on Education Students are not getting the Basic Knowledge needed today due to the poor upbringing and lack of respect for the need of education. In O'Neills editorial his reason for this was because the students as a whole did not want their ignorance exposed. However, he forgot to include that teachers are just as ignorant as the student. Give a teacher the same test and see hoe much they remember about what they we taught some odd number of years ago. It's not safe to assume that because a person can't remember who the 31st president was, that they don't have the basics of gobble history . How many teachers know the basics, if asked on the spot. Lets Examine another quote from O'Neill's editorial in his opine Charie Chaplin a classic movie star, and that because when asked about him no one know who he was, Well , if the students didn't watch old TV shows on the late night TV channels then how would they know of Charlie? They don't cover a class in classic television. There fore that question would be unfair to pit on the test. O'Neill's just assume that everyone is raised in the same back ground as him. Charles Darwin did not create gravity but he did believe in evolution. The concept that we were originated from organs to monkeys then humans. In church we stray away from that kind of talk "that is the devil trying to score your mind" that's what they would say. O'Neill says "I broke the rules of this time-honored gam when I presented my English-composition students with an 86 question test the first day of class." Know that all students think of doing the first day of class. Concentrating on a 86 question test is a common students retinal. The student always for every question read it through out and back and forward. O'Neill told the students that the students that it wouldn't be graded. Any time you tell students that, automatically that means just fill it out. As long as it get done. You can't go by a test like that for the simple fact that there is know evidence each and every one gave it a true try. Sure they finished the test but did they even read it. When students in the hall where stopped and asked to fill out the questions stated on the handout the results where the same. Charles Darwin invented electricity. Christ was born around Elvis's birthday. The geographical part of the test was outstandingly wrong.

Relationships in The Storm, The Yellow Wallpaper and Young Goodman Brow

  Because writing is inherently romantic in nature, throughout the history of literature, we see many authors' insights into the enigmatic and often ambiguous subject of love and relationships. Three short stories penned by three separate American writers deal with such matter: Charlotte Perkins Gillman in "The Yellow Wallpaper", Kate Chopin in "The Storm", and Nathaniel Hawthorne in "Young Goodman Brown." Though the relationships presented in each of these stories are unique in their own persuasion, the same underlying theme runs true in all. At first glance all of these relationships may appear healthy in their existence; however, further introspection uncovers specific maladies which I believe elicit much of the discord which arises within each of these writings. All of the husbands in the aforementioned short stories evoke, though some more subtly than others, varying degrees of conflict. Gillman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a story pertaining to, and narrated by, a women suffering from depression after the recent birth of a child. Although the name of the women in the story is never revealed, many believe this is short story is an excerpt from the author's life. Much of the setting of the story takes place in an aging mansion recently inhabited by the narrator and John, the narrator's husband. Due to her affliction and under strict instruction of her husband John, who is also a physician, the narrator is sentenced to bed rest in one of the upper rooms of the house. The walls of the room in which the narrator is forced to occupy, are enveloped with decrepit yellow wallpaper displaying an irksome pattern which, coupled with the ennui of doing nothing, works in a maleficent manner on the mental sanctity of the narrator. The ... ...horne suggests in his writing that Brown fell victim to the latter. "Often, awakening suddenly at midnight,", Hawthorne says of Goodman Brown, "he shrank from the bosom of Faith; and at morning or eventide, when the family knelt down at prayer, he scowled and muttered to himself, and gazed sternly at his wife, and turned a Many, I am sure, could interpret or acquisition other sources of conflict for each of the three given stories, as could I. However, I have shown that the ultimate inception of discord must be attributed to the husbands in these stories. Though with varying degrees of distinctness, John's inability to truly understand his wife's needs in "The Yellow Wallpaper", Bobinot's apathy towards Calixta in "The Storm", and Brown's want of faith in "Young Goodman Brown", each act as the kindling used to incite the flame of conflict within these writings.   

Theory Ok Knowledge: Emotion’s Role in Logic and Reason

The theory of knowledge curriculum has shed a lot of light on the idea that emotion can be looked at as a way of knowing. As a way of knowing, emotion plays a huge role in everything we do, acting as a sort of lens from which to view and react to the environment from which we are surrounded. Emotion affects our perception of our reality, providing motivation behind most of what we do, and emotion particularly affects our acquisition of knowledge as knowers.Everyone can understand emotion. Even if this concept of emotion is conveyed differently across different cultures, it can basically be boiled down to what we feel, or our uniquely human qualities of having complex and intense feelings and reactions to our environment around us. Our emotions can be categorized into seven basic emotions, which are anger, fear, disgust, contempt, joy, sadness, and surprise.These different emotions greatly influence our acquisition of knowledge, such as the doctors and scientists researching to find a cure for cancer. These men and women feel like their purpose is to help to cure such ailments, and the determination and the emotions that give this struggle momentum is just one example as to how emotions can affect our acquisition of knowledge. In a different light, emotion can be seen as a very significant block or hindrance in our quest for the gaining of new information and knowledge.As seen in the years of the scientific flourishing of the Italian renaissance, one discovery in particular created a lot of controversy. Galileo Galilee had scientific proof, and had empirical and logical evidence supporting his claim that heliocentrism, the belief that the sun was in the center of the solar system, in opposition to the generally accepted geocentrism that stated that the earth was in the center of the solar system.The emotional attachment of both the Catholic Church and the people at the time led to the impeding of progress when Galileo was sentenced to a life of house arrest, and this scientific acquisition of knowledge was snuffed on a very large scale, in this case, the whole of Europe, due to the emotions of those in power at the Catholic Church not being able to admit that this discovery was very valid, and the one that they had believed and become attached to over so many centuries was incorrect.In the case of Phineas Gage, a phenomena that was extensively researched and investigated by many scientists, psychologists, etc. , the frontal lobe of his brain was damaged by his improbable survival in a railroad accident, and as a result his brain structure was drastically changes. After the accident, his emotions changed very much, and most people said that Phineas had never acted this way before, in this new mellowed down state of his.This was very influential in this field, but also, this new shift in his emotions changed his acquisition of knowledge, and his perception of his environment. This direct correlation between the changed of emotion in one man and his change in the acquisition of knowledge is very important in showing how emotions affect the acquisition of knowledge because his new changed emotions caused him to have been reportedly more clever and cunning which shows that a change in emotions can correlate with a change in the process of acquiring knowledge.In many cases that have been seen over the ages, such as the competitive nature of the space race between the two combating super powers of the cold war, or the search for the fountain of youth a few centuries ago, or with the search for a solution to global warming, there is no denying that emotion plays a hug role in our acquisition of knowledge.It can be generally accepted proved that emotions give us huge motivation in our search for knowledge, but at the same time, emotions can impede our progress. The acquisition of knowledge may not even exist if it wasn’t for the drive that humans get from the emotions that we have, and how they directly affect our envi ronment that we perceive, and how we search for knowledge in the world.

Impressions of what life was like for the colonists Essay

Life in the new world for the colonists was like nothing that individuals in today’s society can understand. After taking the Would You Have Survived the Colony quiz on the website, it is easy to see that surviving the colonial atmosphere might have been one of the most difficult tasks on earth. This is because of the differences in culture, in food, in work load, and with other important aspects of life that would take an awful lot of adjusting. When the Europeans came across the pond to colonize America, they had a lot of adjusting to do, as well. The first way that they had to adjust to the new world was with the environmental changes. Life in America was rough because of all of the elements. Europe was a flat area with a lot of rain and average weather. When they came to America, they had to put up with mountains, with rivers, and with lots of other elements. There was also the animals that they had to adjust to. Because the United States was just being colonized and modernized, lots of wild animals were running around where people were living. Among them were predators like bears and big cats. When people went out to find food or to cut wood, they had to put up with this nuisance. This was how life was so difficult and it was something that people of today’s culture would struggle with. When taking that quiz, I thought about the clothes that people would wear if they had to go back to that time. I like to be in nice clothes. Though I do not have to have the latest in fashion, I do like to keep up with the times. Back then, the clothes had to last a long time and they had to be able to stand up to the elements. People had to track through the woods, so the clothes had to be able to put up with that challenge. Since there was no air conditioning or heating at the time, the clothes also had to be much more of an insulator in the difficult times. This would be a difficult adjustment for someone like myself if I were to go back in time. The last and most important thing is the overall work ethic and lifestyle that would have to be employed. Every time those people wanted something, they had to work hard for it. If they wanted a fire, they had to cut down some wood and start the fire. If they wanted to eat something, they had to go kill it and cook it. There were no fast food restaurants to go grab food at. Today, people go to work in order to make money to buy nice things. Those people had to go to work in order to keep themselves and their families alive. That was in addition to actually protecting themselves from the elements and the things in the environment that were so difficult. Overall, life in the colonial period was difficult and it would definitely be an adjustment for anyone who had to go back in time and face it. The differences in the economy and with the environment are so profound that people had to go through a whole lot each and every day. The main difference is that there were no days off if you felt bad or simply needed some rest.

Human Resources Functions Essay

Human resources or personnel function fulfils a number of needs. It is responsible for the hiring and firing of employees, for staff training and development, and for dealing with matters relating to industrial relations. In this report I will be analysing each of the functions related to human resource and then take one of them and make an in depth analysis of it. Once I collect the information I need regarding the responsibilities of the human resources and how they should be carried out, my next step will be to compare them with a medium or large size company to see how they carrying out the responsibilities and what alterations they have made to suit their particular needs. To do this I have chosen Tesco. Below I will briefly look at the four functions of human resource and how they affect Tesco: 1. Human Resource Planning Human resource planning can be defined as: â€Å"The activity of management which is aimed at coordinating the requirements for and the availability of the different types of employee† In simplicity, this means to make sure that the organisation has the right number of employees and of the right quality. For the human resource to achieve their targets they need to have a good understating of the labour market in the local area. When planning human resources Tesco need to take into account the following factors: a) Local employment trends Local employment trends tells Tesco about the levels of employment in the area and gives them a general idea of the type of jobs people are getting and the type of jobs that there are a shortage in. b) Local skills shortages Local skills shortages is an important aspect to Tesco’s human resource because it informs them about the lack of people with certain qualities in the local area. This is important as it can be used to compare against the Tesco’s skills criteria for new employees. If they are looking for certain skills from people and theses are not available then they will either need to compromise or look elsewhere. Also, if they know the general skills of the people then when they advertising for a job, it will reduce the chance of them asking for qualities which are absent in the people, which might keep very suitable people from applying and few applicants might mean that further advertisements are needed, costing time and money to Tesco. c) Competition for employees There may be very few people with top qualities willing to work for a company like Tesco. It would be in the best interest of Tesco to seek and take theses enthusiasts on board. If they don’t, then other similar retailers will recruit them and then they will become rivals to Tesco. Competition for employees may even be on the lower skills end where there may be a shortage for cashiers, for example. Tesco will need to provide suitable incentives to attract these key people. One simple way in which to attract the mass of people is to increase their wage. This is not always the case due to the financial constraints on a business. d) Availability of labour Availability of labour is an important factor for Tesco. They need to make sure that they are aware of the quantity and quality of workers available when recruiting. This understanding will allow them to make right decision when employing people. If there are very few suitable candidates then they will have to choose someone amongst those. However, if there are many people suitable for the job then they can carry on with their search until they come across some one who fulfils all the requirements. It is important for Tesco to know the availability of workers in their locality as this will enable them to prepare and make back up plans for when there is a shortage of suitable people willing to work for Tesco. Human resource planning also involves looking at how labour is organised within a business. The factors that Tesco must take into account are as follows: a) Labour turnover This is about forecasting supply of labour. It asks the question ‘how many employees will we have in the future?’ It therefore means looking at internal and external sources of labour. When Tesco is looking at the total supply of labour in its organisation it is important for them to look at labour turnover. Below is an example of one of many ways of working out employee turnover: This is sometime called the ‘percentage waste rate’. It tells Tesco what percentage of workforce left in a year. There are also other indexes which deal with stability, which give a good idea of how long employees are staying with the organisation. If employees are not staying very long in certain departments of Tesco, then this can be pinpointed and investigated. b) Sickness and accident rates A high level of sickness absence will affect the supply of labour very badly. If genuine then Tesco can do very little in the short term. If they are bogus then moral within honest workers will be low and confidence in managers can sink. There are many ways in which the human resource team can monitor performance against: o Performance in the previous year o Trends in other organisations in the same industrial sector o National sickness absence figures Accident rates can be lowered and kept to a minimum if health and safety guidelines are followed properly. c) Age, skills and training This is also known as stock taking. It asks the question ‘what is the quantity and quality of staff available in the organisation?’ It uses the following techniques: o Job analysis involves gathering information about all employees. It collects information regarding their duties and skills required to fulfil those duties. o Skills audit is a survey of the skills, qualifications and experience of all existing staff. o Performance review involves looking at the performance of all employees in order to: o identify potential staff o identify where staff have more training needs This information will give an idea to the rest of the company about the skills and training of their employees. Weakness can be tackled using these information and strengths can be built upon. d) Succession This really only applies to employees at supervisor/line manager level and above. Succession planning enables the organisation to ensure that staff with potential to fill top jobs are given extra training or wider experience so that when the time comes they will be able to fill those positions. Without this type of planning Tesco would see good employees leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. This will make it harder for Tesco to fill gaps at a later date. Conclusion on Human Resource Planning Humans are the most important resource to Tesco and they will need to make sure that they plan properly to ensure that they employee the best people who are best suited to the job. This will ensure they have an advantage over their rivals, as rivals can copy products but not staff. 2. Recruitment and Selection Tesco recruit staff for a number of reasons. Initial recruiting is needed when a new store opens and after that there will be a constant need for recruiting due to the changing needs of Tesco and the needs of he employees. o The growth of Tesco is usually seen with the opening of new stores. The opening of stores means that they need to recruit so that the employees can run the store. o Changing job roles within the business o Resignation, retirement, dismissal also means that recruitment needs to take place in order to replace these workers and keep the business running as before o Internal promotion means that new recruits are needed when existing employees are being promoted to higher positions, which leads to vacancies which can be filled by internal candidates. Promotion usually means that there are now gaps at the lower skill level in the store and this creates jobs for external candidates with less experience. Extra costs are always frowned upon by businesses and recruitment, if not properly done can cost a business a lot of money and time. This means that it is very important for a business to recruit accurately and this will mean that the recruiting team have a clear idea of what sort of person the business is looking for and what is expected from them. The team can save the business money and time by: o Preparing person specifications and job description which clearly outline what kind of person they are looking for and with what qualifications. The job description will clearly linked with what they are expected to do once recruited and what is expected of them. o Carefully planning how, when and where to advertise as this will save time and money for Tesco. Tesco need to weigh out the costs and benefits of different methods of advertising (e.g. using internet or the local newspaper), when the best time for advertising is (in the summer holidays or beginning of the school year) and where to advertise (e.g. in the stores or at the job centre). o Identifying the strengths and weakness of job applications, curriculum vitae and letters of application. The recruiting team will need to be very experienced at electing candidates. Their experience in recruiting will be reflected in the quality of candidates they recruit. o Short-listing candidates involves selecting a small number of applicants for the next stage. This may well be training or more tasks to lower the number of people for the next stage. This selecting will carry on until the right numbers of candidates are found with the desired quality. The recruiting team need to be able to distinguish easily the strong applicants from the weak as there may be hundreds of applicants. When recruiting every applicant deserves and expects the same opportunity as their rivals. There are many legal and ethnic responsibilities relating to equal opportunities which Tesco must uphold so that they don’t break the government law and trust of the public. Below are a few acts passed by the government which will govern the recruiting method and process. o Equal Pay Act 1970, requires employers to pay same rate of pay to men and women if they are doing the same job. o Sex Discrimination Act 1975 states that employers may not discriminate on grounds of gender. This act makes it illegal to discriminate against a particular sex when: o Advertising to fill jobs available o Appointing employees for those jobs o Promoting staff into better jobs o Determining the terms and conditions of the ob o When offering employees opportunities for training and development There are Exceptions to this act where this act does not apply. However, these exceptions do not apply to Tesco and this means that the whole act is to be followed by Tesco. o Race Relations Act 1976 makes discrimination on grounds of race illegal in the same areas as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, i.e. advertising jobs, appointing staff, promoting staff and providing staff benefits. Again there are exceptions which do not apply to Tesco which means the whole act is to be followed by Tesco. o Disability Discrimination Act 1995 updates the protection for disabled persons and places it onto a similar basis as for other forms of discrimination. Key aspects of the Act warn against discriminating when advertising jobs, appointing staff, promoting staff and providing staff benefits. It also states that reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that a disabled person can work on the premises. This act does not cover organisations employing fewer than 20 people. It is therefore correct to say that this act is to be followed closely by Tesco as their employees’ number thousands. However, Tesco only have to do what is reasonable. If modifications are very expensive then this would be deemed unreasonable. There is some government financial assistance available for modifications to buildings. To ensure that only suitable candidates are chosen and to make the selecting process easier and less time consuming, there are testing method and techniques available to the recruiting team. Aptitude tests It has become increasingly 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. They are appropriate or manual work where there is some skill involved and also for office work. These types of tests are appropriate for Tesco to use as they will allow them to find out more about the applicant before selecting and will allow the applicants to show their full potential. Psychometric tests These types of test assess the intelligence and personality of applicants. They are much more sophisticated then aptitude tests and Tesco must have properly trained staff to carry out and analyse the tests. The producers of such test argue that they are unbiased and that they can sow, for example, if a candidate would work well in a team. Human resources department must have good interviewing techniques and the interviews must adopt these methods and techniques when interviewing to ensure they reach out comes in the best interest of Tesco and its entire staff. Tesco must make sure that recruiters are aware of all the criteria for evaluating the recruitment process and must ensure that all the guidelines and methods are followed carefully. Many employers now use their employees in a ‘flexible’ way so that they can get the most value form them. Tesco must understand the importance of recruiting and maintaining a flexible workforce if they are to remain competitive. There are different bases for recruiting people for a flexible workforce, and below I have mentioned a few: o Different modes of employment o Different terms and conditions Just as methods of working have changed, so have the terms and conditions under which people are employed. People may be employed full-time or part-time under a number of contractual arrangements. o Core employees are highly paid workers who offer ‘firm-specific’ skills which are hard to acquire form anywhere else. Often such skills will have been acquired within the organisation itself. They provide functional flexibility because they do a range of tasks. Because they are so ‘firm-specific’ they have high job security. o Part-time, temporary and contract labour Sometimes temporary staff are required for short periods of time either to replace employees who are absent or to help out in busy times. When labour is plentiful the short-term contract enables firms to meet present staffing needs without making a long-term contract. Tesco use this type of recruitment when there is a shortage of staff or when there s a busy period (e.g. Christmas) which demands more assistants in the shop floor. Conclusion on Recruitment and Selection Tesco must ensure that their recruiting team is the properly qualified as a good team will lead to good recruits. Tesco must ensure that they use the best and fair methods suited to their environment to select the right candidates. This will ensure the best people are working for them to create the top company. 3. Training and Development A general definition of ‘training’ is: ‘the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills which can be applied to a particular job’ Training can be divided into two main categories: ‘on the job’ training or ‘off the job training. ‘on the job’ training This means that the employees acquire their training or development in the workplace itself. An example of this in Tesco is when they recruit a school leaver who has little work experience. One of the supervisors will show the new recruit what they have to carry out and may show them how this is done. ‘off the job’ training This means attending courses which may be in a collage or training centre away from the work place. This usually applies when there are insufficient facilities or people to train the trainees. Tesco may want its entire senior staff to have a high degree of understanding in health and safety and for this they may send their seniors to a course where they would acquire this knowledge from experts. Induction This is an introduction to the organisation for new employees. It is designed to familiarise new recruits with the organisation, its rules, facilities, policies and key staff. Usually an introductory pack containing the main details will be provided. In Tesco this would be carried out once a recruit starts working or when they are being promoted and new responsibilities are put on them. The induction is very important to both Tesco and their new employee. Tesco need to ensue that they give the best possible start to the recruit and the employee needs to be satisfied that this it is in their best interest to work for Tesco. Tesco will also get their first impression of their recruit so this stage is important for Tesco. Mentoring This can take a number of forms. It may involve an experienced member of staff supporting a new recruit through initial stages after joining the organisation. The aim is to give a new member of staff a point of contact where problems can be taken and advice given. The meetings are usually informal and supportive and the mentor is often someone at the same level in the organisation as the new recruit. Mentoring will allow the new member to pick up new ideas quickly and will be more beneficial for the company. Coaching Coaching is a term which is becoming increasingly used in association with training in business. It involves an expert helping employees to develop specific skills through explanation, practice and encouragement. Coaching is becoming popular as a means of developing the skills of senior managers. This is important as it targets employees at the higher end of the chart. Their success will be passed on to the juniors and this will mean that better managers will mean better staff. Apprenticeships Traditionally, an apprenticeship involved a trainee working for a period of time with a craftsperson in order to learn a trade. In-house raining This is where employers run courses inside their own organisation. Courses run ‘in house’ will be ones where it is impractical and unrealistic to offer any other alternative – an oblivious example would be the organisation induction programme. This type of training is very useful to Tesco because this means that they can easily gather all their employees and teach them new methods or make them aware of surrounding situations. This will give them advantage over rivals as it will mean that all their staff are always up-to date with the latest knowledge, skills and methods. External training Sometimes it is necessary to send staff to do courses elsewhere. This may be at a factory of a n equipment supplier (when an organisation buys new equipment the supplier will usually run training programmes at its own factory to get employees accustomed to using it). This type of training will make the employees more efficient as they won’t be wasting valuable time on the shop floor trying to figure out what certain buttons on a machine do. Transferable skills These are skills that, once learnt, may be applied in many different situations. The key skills of Application of Number, Communication and Information Technology are transferable. This could be for example cashing up the till. Non-transferable skills These are narrow skills that are job specific; they apply only to a particular situation. This for example could be the procedure of dealing with out of date food. Conclusion on Training and Development Knowledge and skills of staff are vital to the success of Tesco. Therefore, they must ensure their employees are best trained and that they are always developing. 4. Performance Management A business needs to ensure that its employees are performing effectively. It will wish to: o Identify areas which are unsatisfactory o It may wish to find areas where employees need to be trained and developed o It may wish to encourage and reward good performance – perhaps with performance-related pay in the form of bonuses or pay increases. Performance management refers to the practice of setting targets, measuring performance against these and suggesting courses of action. A number of methods may be used to check performance the choice will depend upon the business in question. Performance reviews including appraisals An increasingly important way of getting feedback on employee performance is through appraisal. Appraisal may be closed, in which case the report remains confidential. More usually the process is open, in which case the appraisee takes an active part in the review process and discusses the results. The appraisal essentially looks at what an employee’s job is, how well it is being performed, and what action should be taken for the future. Self-appraisals Self-appraisals involves employees assessing themselves against a series of criteria. These results can then Peer evaluations This involves employees on the same level within the organisation assessing each other. This may mean that managers in different of Tesco observe each others and write a report. Target setting for individuals and groups All employees should know just what’s expected of them on the job. When setting targets the Human Resources department for Tesco must make sure that their targets meet these criteria: o They should be specific. Every person doing a job should know exactly what he or she is expected to do. o They should be measurable. Tesco should have a touchstone against which performance can be measured. o They must be attainable. Unless the targets can be met, staff will consider them unfair and Tesco may find that their staff, resist working towards them. Measuring individual and group output/production Tesco employ staff in order to help the organisation sell the products and provide its customers with quality service. The efforts of the human resources managers will be towards improving the performance of employees and thereby enabling the organisation to achieve its objectives. Performance can be measured in a number of ways: o Performance through profit This may mean comparing its profit for different years or against its other stores. o Performance through quality Today, quality is a word used in all organisations, those providing services as well as those providing goods. This means that Tesco can use methods such as suggestion box for customers to praise customer service or to make complaints against staff. This will enable management to work with the employee in question or to reward them. o Performance through productivity In Tesco, sales representatives, for example, keep records of sales they make. Tesco can for example, compare two staff at the checkouts working the same shifts to see how fast they are serving the customers, by analysing how many customers they have served. They can use this to determine training needs. After setting these performances, the staff will be monitored and their results analysed. In order for Tesco to prosper amongst their rivals they must use the performance results as a way to find and solve problems. For example, the results may show that a particular employee or a group of employee lack certain aspects of knowledge in their jobs. Using this information Tesco can target these employees and send them on training programmes so that they are more developed. Motivation It may seem obvious that staff should be motivated; however, from the point of human resources management this is only true if motivation leads to improvements in the work. Over the years a number of management theories have been put forward in an attempt to explain the nature of motivation and suggest ways in which it may be improved. Frederick Taylor’s principles of scientific management Taylor’s belief was that complex tasks should be broken into separate operations so that little could go wrong. Each operation would be performed by a separate employee. The whole job could then be completed in a series of stages by a number of employees working together. This theory can be seen if one aspect of Tesco is looked in to detail. For example, when a delivery comes one employee doesn’t unload the truck, check them off, and put them on the shelves. This process of getting goods from the truck on to the shop floor is done by a number of employees working in team so that once one stage is completed the second can be tackled by another set of employees. This way each set of employees knows exactly what they are required to do and chance of something going wrong is decreased. Fredrick Herzberg’s two factor theory Herzberg’s theories, produced in the 1950s, concern job design and satisfaction. From numerous interviews with accountants and engineers he concluded that two sets of factors are important. o Hygiene factors, which include reasonable pay, satisfactory conditions of work and benefits such as sick pay. o Motivators, which include responsibility, challenge and self-improvement. Hertzberg believed that properly designed jobs provide satisfaction and personal development for the employee. The workers become motivated, perform well and are less likely to be absent. To Tesco this theory is very important. They have taken advice from such theory and adapted their policies where possible to suit their employees. Tesco pay competitive rates, their working conditions are of top quality and they have many benefits. These are a result of understanding this theory and implementing them so that they get the desired results that all companies want. Abraham Maslow’s hierarch of needs Maslow developed his ‘Theory of Human Motivation’ in 1943. He believed that motivation comes from a desire to satisfy needs. He placed these in a hierarchy with the basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid and higher needs at the top. In practice Maslow accepted that a variety of needs will exist at the same time, but suggested that once lower needs are satisfied then higher needs become the strongest motivators. Maslows theory has the same basis of Fredrick Herzbergs’s two factor theory because they both argue that what satisfies a person is the hygiene factors and the Motivators. Fredrick just says that a combination of these two factors leads to better performance where are Maslow goes further to say that they come in a set order where once basic needs are satisfied, higher, more complicated desires will be sought. Both Maslow and Fredrick speak of the same requirements in their theory. Evidence of both these theories can be seen in the day to day running of one of the Tesco stores. One such examples is the promotion of senior managers to managerial positions. In this instance the desire of the employee in question has been fulfilled and soon their desire will advance and they may start looking for further responsibility. Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Y. In his book , The Human Side of Enterprise, he put forward two extreme views about the way in which organisations manage their employees. He called theses ‘Theory X’ and ‘Theory Y’. ‘Theory X’ states that all employees are lazy unambitious and dislike extra responsibilities. They will always resist change of any kind and are totally uninterested in the future success or otherwise of their employer. They are not interested in how the organisation works and prefer to be told what to do. ‘Theory Y’ is exactly the opposite. Employees are interested in their work and want to be asked for their opinions on how to improve things. They want to be given more responsibilities and will naturally work hard without having to be told what to do all the time. They are also prepared to accept change because they understand it is in everyone’s best interest to move with the times. In practice theses views are extreme ends of the scale and Tesco like most other organisations falls between the two. They have both employees who have the characteristics of ‘theory X’ as well as employees with characteristics of ‘theory Y’. Naturally the more characteristics an employee holds of ‘theory Y’ the more likely that that person will be promoted to higher, more responsible positions as it’s in the best interest for Tesco to make ‘theroy Y’ employees managers key workers. One reason is that ‘theory Y’ employees are more likely to have better attendance and punctuality rates because they are self motivating, and this is a great advantage to Tesco and will help Tesco move further. McGregor’s theories are similar to Muslow’s and Fredrick Herzberg’s. They are all closely related because they all base their theories on the same principle of desire. All their theories show that if a person desires for something and the condition is right then they will work towards it with all their effort. For example, if their s a managerial position and they have the ability to grasp that position then they will, but only if they have the desire to take such responsibility. If however, the conditions are right but the desire is absent then they may not try for such a position or may be promoted with no desire which could lead to chaos. On the other hand, if there is an employee with the desire and no opening is in sight then he/she may decide that the best option for them is to move to another company. Therefore, Tesco endeavours to provide eager, hardworking employees the benefits and promotions they rightly deserve. Relationship between Training & Development and Performance Management Before Tesco can give its staff advance training it needs to know what they lack. It will be very expensive for Tesco to give training to its entire staff regarding all the different aspects of the company. Therefore Tesco needs a way of knowing what their staffs lack knowledge in and which staff or group of staff in particular. As I have mentioned earlier there are many different ways of finding out the training is needs and there is a variety of training programs to suit the needs of the employees. Tesco will set training according to the needs which arise from the performance reviews. Once training is given another performance review will be done to asses its success and further training may be suggested. This cycle of training and reviews will always be part of any company due to advances in technology and constant changes in employees and the attitude of society. The training methods Tesco decide to use and they way in which they review performance will be according to the way in which the person in charge understands and evaluates the A business needs to ensure that its employees are performing effectively. It will wish to: o Identify areas which are unsatisfactory o It may wish to find areas where employees need to be trained and developed o It may wish to encourage and reward good performance – perhaps with performance-related pay in the form of bonuses or pay increases. Performance management refers to the practice of setting targets, measuring performance against these and suggesting courses of action. Conclusion on Performance Management Tesco must ensure that performance of staff are at their very best. They must use suitable methods to find weakness in staff and improve. T succeed they must make certain that the correct attitude is always emanating from their employees and that they are ready for change. Quality of information collected from recruitment documents When Tesco are recruiting people they have set procedures to deal with application forms and there are several key recruitment documents that are used by them to evaluate the quality of the person applying. Before any candidate is given the an interview they must pass the selection process. When Tesco are advertising for a recruit they will provide the person with a job description. A job description lists the main tasks required in a job. The person flicking through the newspaper for example, will decide if the tasks suit them and they will then apply if they do. Along with the Job description, Tesco will also provide what is known as a person specification. This 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 specification is based upon seven separate groups of characteristic: 1. Physique, health and appearance 2. Attainments 3. General intelligence 4. Special Aptitudes 5. Interests 6. Disposition 7. Circumstances This specification clearly sets out the description of the ideal candidate and applicants can be easily measured against this. This makes the job of the interviewer much easier and will ensure that Tesco are recruiting the right people for the right job. One a person has seen the advertisement and they want to work at Tesco, there are many ways they can apply. Below I will list them and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of each: The curriculum vitae (CV) This is the most common way in which applicants let Tesco know that they are interested to work in Tesco. CVs are very useful to Tesco as they advantages Provides an overview of the applicant Easy to produce Taught at school Can be used in the selection process Can be used to compare against requirements disadvantages May not provide vital information Not everybody has easy access to computers The letter of application This is simply a letter asking for the job and explaining why they are suitable it. Human Resources department staff may need to read hundreds of application letters so it is in the applicants interests to pay attention to doing it properly. advantages o Can be used in the sorting process o Provides an overview of the applicant disadvantages o The person taught to write letters well at school will stand out even though their other qualities might no be so good o The letter may miss out information, which is important, and conversely is likely to dwell on factors, which make them look a more attractive applicant. The application Form This is a far more commonly used method of selection. Consultants devote hours to designing a new and better forms which will extract even more accurate information from people. advantages o Specific requirements from the job and person specification can be compared with the application form o Questions, which might otherwise not be answered in CVs or letters, can be asked. o The form can act as a framework for the interviewer, making the interview easier to conduct. o Forms can be kept of all short listed candidates and drawn on them again if another vacancy arises. o The form for the successful applicant will become a very useful part of his/hers personal records. disadvantages o Costly to design and produce. The effects of I.C.T on recruitment documents The advance of I.C.T means that companies like Tecso use their web site to advertise jobs. They also have online application forms that will appeal to a wider range of audience. Their website also facilitates for C.Vs to be sent directly to Tesco. The new ways of capturing information is a great advantage to Tesco. They receive application forms and C.Vs within minutes, which saves them time and money. However initial costs of setting up the websites are very high, but the Human Resources Department doesn’t have to worry about this because Tesco will have a website whether the Human Resource department want to use it or not.