A Separate Peace: the Incident at the Tree

Nicole Tu Mr. Lavato English 2A, Period 1 10 September, 2012 The Incident at the Tree In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester and Phineas, also known as Finny, are best friends who have a very deep friendship. However, as the story progresses, Gene began to develop feelings of jealousy for Finny when he saw how perfect Finny’s character is. Finny has always been able to talk his way out of trouble and is naturally a good athlete who is earnest, confident, & pure.On the other hand, Gene cannot be pure like Finny and feels insecure. Seeing how good Finny is, caused Gene to become jealous, â€Å"I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything, I couldn’t help envying him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (ch2. 20) Soon, Gene thinks that a rivalry is happening between them. Because Gene envies Finny’s character, he thinks that Finny is also jealous of him for his good academic performance, â€Å"I felt better. Yes, I sensed it like the sweat of relief †¦We were even after all†¦ The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all. †(ch4. 4). By thinking there is a competition between them, Gene feels at ease, because none of them is better than the other. One night, Finny announced that Leper will jump off the tree, in order to become a full member of their secret society. Gene didn’t want to go because he feared his grade would slip if he didn’t study and also thinks that Leper wouldn’t dare to jump off the tree. After hearing from Gene that he wanted to study, Finny was surprise because he thought that Gene was naturally intelligent, who doesn’t need to review for a test.With sincerity, Finny lets Gene study, but Gene changed his mind and would come along with Finny. On the way to the tree,Gene realizes that a competition never happened and it was just Gene that was envious of Finny. Because Gene saw Finny's goodness and innocence, Gene realizes a rivalry with Finny will never occur. Gene began to feel angry with himself because he has been mistaken the whole time. Most importantly, no matter what Gene does he will never be like Finny. †¦there never was and never could have been any rivalry†¦I am not the same quality as he. †(ch4. 72) After much thinking, Finny and Gene soon reached the tree and Finny suggested that the two make a double-jump, which Gene agreed to do and followed Finny up the tree. Gene was by now, feeling anger ; jealously, and for a split second, he became overwhelm with his emotions and jounced the tree limb. With the lost of balance, Finny fell off the tree and broke his leg.

Bond Market Power

The reasons behind James Carville's quote stating that if he would want to be reincarnated as the Bond Market as appose to a political figure or religious leader (Ferguson, N, 2008) is clear, the Bond market since its inception over 800 years ago has been the most influential financial instrument throughout history. Its longevity and power far surpasses any leader. It affects the outcome of wars, the success and failures of even the largest economies and also touches the lives of individual people. The below paper will discuss the history and origins of such a Debt Instrument, its rise in America inspiring James Carville's quote. Also how the Bond Market works, its components and its power over economies throughout history using examples to support this. Concluding this analysis with the Bond Market in Ireland and how it has been greatly affected by the current economic climate. Origins and Early History of the Bond Market: Nations, races and religions have been at war since the dawn of time and has seen many wars; there have been countless debates as to what ultimately plays the most important role in winning a war. Many people would argue that it is the size of an army, some would say it is the General at the forefront of a battlefield, others would denote it to technological advances in weaponry. These arguments all have one factor in common, they all need to be funded by money; money to pay soldiers, to reward Generals and to pay for arms. The amount of money which a town, country or kingdom has to fund a war is what determines victory. Niall Ferguson outlines the historic origins of the Bond Market very informatively in †The Ascent of Money† tracing the use of Bonds, to as far back as the early 14th century in Italy. Throughout the 14th and 15th Century, Italian cities were at war with one and other. Florence, Pisa and Siena being the main cities at war with each other among others. As concluded above, it is money which is the most influential strategy or weapon to be victorious against the other cities and in the case of Florence we see that by funding their wars they landed their town into major debt. How could Florence pay back this debt? Imposing tax increases would lead to upheaval, they therefore came up with the revolutionary idea of a commonly coined term: â€Å"Government IOU's† (Ferguson, N 2008); the wealthier citizens would lend the Government money over an agreed period of time receiving regular interest payments on said loan. The ideal factor in this agreement is that these IOUS's could be sold to other citizens prior to their maturity making them a liquid asset. This debt instrument saw the birth of the Bond Market. By the early 14th Century, two thirds of households were the Florentine Governments prime lenders in financing their â€Å"Mountain of Debt†. (Ferguson, N 2008). While it seems like a win-win situation for both investors and the Government a critical point arose, if a Government kept going to war and kept issuing Bonds to pay for such wars, how could an investor be guaranteed the investment would be returned. It is this point which highlights the link between the Bond Market and is power over economies. Governments undertaking this idea grew throughout the 16th and 17th century, some using towns as intermediaries; France with Paris hotel de ville, Spain utilizing Genoas Casa di San Girgio and Antwerp's beurs. (Ferguson, N, 2008) But it is the 18th Century and the British consol which paints the most relevant picture as to the rise of the Bond Market and the extent of its power, both from the perspective of winning battles and to be capitalized as a rewarding investment; The Battle of Waterloo being the best example of this. Nathan Rothschild was the most prominent figure at that time in the UK financial world and due to this and his reputation of being a successful Gold smuggler, he was given the task by the British Government of using funds from the issuance of Bonds to purchase amounts of gold to finance the Duke of Wellingtons battles. Rothschild was commissioned to deliver  £600,000 worth of Gold but instead collected  £2 million worth of bullion reserves. It is when the war was announced over and won by the British in 1815 that Rothschild had a problem of having an overly excessive gold reserve from his gold piling mission. He then, in a clear way of capitalizing on the Bond Markets in such a historic way, made one of the best investment decisions of his life. Post being informed of the Duke of Wellingtons victory, Rothschild purchased the British Bonds before the market had an opportunity to react, expecting the price to rise with increased stability of the Government due to the victory at Waterloo. Rothschild purchased the British Consol initially on 20 July 1815 and then again in subsequent years until selling at a peak in late 1817 at an increase of 40%. It is this display of financial valour and a clear inter connection between Government economies and the Bond Market which saw its rise to power in the global financial world. (Ferguson, N 2008). Linking the above to America and ultimately James Carville's quote, we can begin with the oldest impact of the Bond Market on American History, the American Civil War. The South approached the Rothschilds to back them as they did Britain in Waterloo but the Rothschild decided to opt out, this resonated throughout the entire European quarter which led to the an ingenious idea by the Confederacy to offer â€Å"cotton backed bonds† to the Europeans which basically guaranteed the bonds with Cotton making them a less risky initiative. Because the south monopolised the global cotton supply, they could influence prices thus making the cotton backed bonds more expensive leading to the increase in Bond price and ultimately funding for the Civil War. This is why it is said that the fall of New Orleans (cotton producer of the south) in April 1862 was the true definitive moment in the American Civil War, as a result the Bond prices fell astronomically and hence the financial backing for the Confederacy, the end of the war being 1865 with the North claiming victory. (Ferguson, N 2008). Bond Market America 1900's – 1990's Clinton Administration: In terms of the US Treasury Bond Market, it began as part funding for World War I. The war was financed through a rise in taxes and through the sale of war bonds, called â€Å"Liberty Bonds†. Over $21 billion dollars of debt were raised in maturities that came due after the war. Budget surpluses were not enough to cover the debt and so converted into T-bills, notes and bonds. These amounts were paid down regularly until borrowings were increased during the Great Depression of 1929. Foreign governments became holders of United States debt as they began to have surpluses in the balance of trade. As the Government deficit rose during World War II and accelerated during the Vietnam war, the debt markets and the rise of debt related trading instruments has dominated financial markets. In the early 1980s, bond yields rose substantially due to increases in commodity prices, labor wage increases and expanding deficits. Bond prices anticipate rising amounts of future debt and thus yields rise. (www.ehow.com). U.S. interest rates beginning in 1900-2010: (observationsandnotes.blogspot.com) The graph above shows U.S. interest rates beginning in 1900. From 1953 onward, the rates are 10-year U.S. Treasury Note rates, plotted monthly; prior to 1953, they're the less granular. This can support the previous paragraph's historical perspective in the ascent of the US Bond Market, in that we see how the interest rates drop from the depression and how it slowly began to rise post the Vietnam War in the late 60's early 70's.( observationsandnotes.blogspot.com). Placing the James Carville quote into perspective and in line with the time at which it was stated, during the Clinton administration. We can see according to some the destruction of the Bond Market happen in the US in 1994 entirely caused by the policies of said Administration. In 1993 President Clinton began with a plan to kick push the economy. His view was that all he needed to push the economy was lower interest rates. Short-term interest rates can fall for many reasons; public expectations change, increased savings increase, the market or as Adam Smith coined the â€Å"Invisible Hand† drives down interest rates as a signal for more investment. (Smith, A 1991). The same can happen artificially as the central bank expands credit and intentionally causes increased money supply within the economy, the central bank creates distortions in the capital structure, including stocks and bonds, while an increase in private savings allows steady economic growth. The Clinton administration, pushed the Federal reserve to lower short-term interest rates. Making money cheap and plentiful to pump up spending. But there is a fine line between plenty of money and plenty of devalued money. One is higher prices or in other words Inflation, lowers the purchasing power of money, which forces the Fed, sooner or later, to raise the interest rates back to a higher level. The usual consequence is an economic slowdown or even recession. A by-product may be a lower exchange rate internationally. But the actual consequence in the time of the Clinton administration was the bond market collapse. (Pongracic, I, 1995) So far we have tracked the history of the Bond Market from its origins in Italy to its rise within the US economy, but what is the Bond Market technically and how can we analyze the Bond Market and break it down to see how it operates within the financial system in today's terms? The Bond Market and How it works: When dissecting the bond market and its relevance and importance in today's terms we do not associate it too much to the funding of wars or the financing of battles, as we did with Waterloo, The American Civil War and Vietnam, we view it like Nathan Rothschild did, as an investment tool. Stocks historically produce higher rates of return than other investments but at the same time carry with a substantial amount of risk, also noting that it is at the Board of Directors discretion to pay out dividends on common stocks. The alternative being Bonds on the other hand have a maturity date at which time the Bond is redeemed at the issuing price. US Treasury Bonds interest and redemption payments are backed by the U.S Treasury thus rendering them â€Å"risk free† . (Faerber, Esme, 1993) The word †BOND† means contract, agreement, or guarantee. An investor who purchases a bond is lending money to the issuer , and the bond represents the issuer's contractual promise to pay the interest and repay the principle according to specified terms. The issuers themselves can be the National Government, Lower Levels of Government , Corporations and Securitisation Vehicles. (Levinson, M, 2000). Bonds are traded on both the Primary and Secondary Capital Markets along with Stocks and Mortgages, they are first introduced as initial public offerings or IPO's on the primary market and then can be traded or sold on the secondary market before maturity. The Par, face or maturity value of the Bond is the amount the issuer must pay at maturity. The coupon rate is the rate of interest paid on the bond. If the repayment of Bond are not met, the holder can claim on the assets of the issuer, (in the above Civil War example, the South's cotton). Long term bonds traded in the capital market include long term government notes and bonds, municipal bonds and corporate bonds. When dealing in Corporate Bonds, Default risk is an important factor of Bonds, as it is the main factor which influences a Bonds Interest Rate. This can be explained to be the risk that the issuer will not be able to meet interest payments and pay the principle back to the investor. If the possibility of default increases because the corporation is suffering losses the default risk will increase and their expected return on these bonds will decrease. Due to this importance, it is the credit rating agencies which assess the risk of default of Companies and Governments alike and rate them according to likeliness of default. (Mishkin, F.S, 2006) When buying and selling bonds, investors can utilize brokerage firms as they do with other investments and in the case of U.S Treasury Bonds can purchase them directly, it is when successfully realising where its best to buy and sell bonds which leads the investor in gaining from both differences in bond pricing and in commission costs. The Irish Economy & its Bond Market a midst the crisis: As displayed above, the main way for countries to raise fund when required are theough the Bond Markets. They are also a a key indicator as to the economic position of that country. This is because the more concerns the markets have about a nations financial stability, the more expensive it is for that government to issue its Bonds and raise money. A midst the Irish Financial Crisis and the troubles of Irelands Banks, mainly due to the blanket guarantee annoiunced by the Irish Finance Minister John Lenihan, Ireland have found it so much more costly to attract interest in their bonds this year. This is due to the Government accepting responsibility for Commercial Bank’s risky Loan Books, considering these loans will more than likely be defaulted so is the risk that the Irish Government will default on their soveirgn debt. Due to the above, the market prices of Irish Bonds have fallen in recent months, pushing up the yields. The yield on a 10-year Irish bond reached about 9% at one point. That is very high. The UK government – in spite of all its financial difficulties – can borrow for 10 years at just over 3%. (bbc.co.uk).

Children in Advertisements

The ever expanding markets for goods and their unchallenged assault through advertisements are flooding the society with information and ideas, attitudes and imagery which is difficult to control and assimilate. This is affecting the young minds to a great extent especially when entertainment is interspersed with commercial messages. Adults may be able to develop a rational resistance to this onslaught, but children may not. The children of non-TV age did not take advertisements seriously. They heard commercials on radio, read advertisements in comic books, children's magazines and outdoor posters.On the whole, adults as well as children cared little for advertisements. Television changed people/Es perception of advertisements. For the TV advertiser, children are a very attractive target group to be cultivated. They become a pressure group on parents and parents often succumb to children's demands. Sometimes it takes a form of emotional blackmail. They are not buyers. According to Wa dwalkar (1990),† children are parasite consumers. † But, children are potential buyers. They will grow up watching certain brands and kinds of products on television.Long repetitive exposure causes familiarity. In mass communication, familiarity is rightly considered a prerequisite for persuasion and control, and repetition a principle of persuasion. TV advertising for children is an investment for the future too. When they turn into buyers they are already oriented towards buying certain brands and kinds of products. Wadwalkar says, that by taking messages to children, the TV advertiser, at one stroke, has widened the decision making base in the family. No more could adults entirely dictate the purchase of all the different kinds and rands of products. Children cannot be kept entirely out of such decision making. This concerns not so much the quantum of planned purchase, but the occasional, repeat and impulsive purchases. Children are fascinated by TV advertisements. Th ey react to these glamorous, fast paced visuals on TV with their exciting music and their determined sales pitch. TV advertising has entered into daily life- of children. It colors their conversation and play as they speak to one another using slogans, jingles etc. of advertisements.Almost every advertisement that appears on TV contributes to their vocabulary. Advertisements, being short are ideally suited to the concentration, span of even young children. TV advertisements get repeated with such regularity that children learn them. They are in this respect perfectly tied to early learning process. Advertisements put together a series of rapidly changing exciting, visuals to highlight a product. They may not be able to grasp the full meaning of the scene but the focus on the product leaves enough impact on them.In an article on ‘Children and Advertising, Dr. Yadava, Director, IIMC (1989) described how advertising influences behavioural patterns: â€Å"Television advertising f amiliarises the young ones with the world outside and helps them to pick up its mode of expression, its mannerisms and ways of facing it when they grow up. Stimulated feelings of needs and desire tend to occur in the form of powerful imperatives. The intensity with which children experience desire and their inability to assign priorities and accept delays in satisfying them is the common experience of most parents.When these urges remain unfulfilled, such children may grow up with lots of resentment against their parents and the existing social set up. Advertising aimed at children in India is not quite so precise yet, but it's getting there. According to Nabankar Gupta the director of sales and marketing, Videocon, â€Å"The under 16 age group is extremely important for the consumer durable business as they are major influencers in deciding on the product as well as the brand. † Children of this age group are more knowledgeable about product benefits than the parents. Some o f our most successful commercials for washing machines and air coolers use this age group as models to create a direct relationship with the viewer. Doordarshan's code states that any advertisement that endangers the safety of children or creates in them an interest in unhealthy practices shall not be shown. Code No. 23 also provides that no advertisement shall be accepted which leads children to believe that if they do not use or own the product advertised they will be inferior in some way to other children or are likely to be ridiculed for not using it.Despite this, far too many children have begun to associate happiness with acquisition, the one sure sign that consumerism has hit the Indian mind set. As pointed out by Unnikrishan and Bajpai, â€Å"In India, advertising on TV is, today, creating a set of images especially for the Indian child, alongside a host of other dominant images for the rest of its audience. Once internalized, together these become a text of personal succes s and levels of achievement†. Further, they add that, this presentation does not sensitize children to their own or other people's realities.The affluent child might feel convinced that only his or her class of Indians really counts. On the other hand, the child from a poor family class may be forced to acknowledge that the life styles of the affluent class are the only legitimate ones. Increasing westernization (reflected in Indian advertising's choice of style, music and visual message) characterizes the best of television commercials, while a predominantly upper class bias dominates and sets the tone for cultural images swiftly becoming popular and being internalized despite being alien to the majority.Children in every strata of the society are walking around with images of beautiful homes, gadgets that make life comfortable, fun foods and fancy clothes in their minds. The less advantaged children who are being urged to conform to the ways of a society and to a value syste m they can hardly comprehend. They are frightened and frustrated not having the resources to keep up with the demands of the new emerging order. For child viewer, TV advertising holds three types of appeal. 1.Advertisements that appeal directly to the child. It corresponds to the role of children as consumers to whom a certain set of commodities of direct relevance (toys, confectioneries etc. ) appeal. 2. The second group corresponds to the role of the child as a future consumer. This group includes advertisements for all products that are not of immediate relevance to the child including as cars, refrigerators, tyres, cooking, paints etc. 3. The last group corresponds to the role of the child as actor, participant and salesperson.In this group are all the advertisements that feature children. A study by Unnikrishan and Bajpai (1994), on the â€Å"impact of television advertising on children† drew the following conclusions. i. TV messages have different meanings for children from different social segments. ii. Children in India, are being exposed to what might be termed an unreal reality. Television (barring what might appeal on regional networks) often depicts a ‘reality' which fails to mirror Indian society or life for what it is. iii.All children, irrespective of their economic or social status, are influenced by what they see and hear on TV, although the meanings and messages are understood and absorbed differently by children as they bring into their negotiation of TV information, their own experiences. iv. On the average, children in Delhi watch 17 hours of TV every week (which means that at least 50 percents of them watch significantly more than this average figure) children spend more time in front of the small screen than on hobbies and other activities, including home work and meals. . The average 8 year old spends about 68 hours every month, 30 days (of 24 hours each) every year, and one entire year out of 10 exclusively on watching tel evision. vi. Advertising especially when it targets the child, powerfully promotes a consumer culture and the values associated with it. vii. Seventy five percent of children said they loved watching advertisements on TV. When asked whether they liked them better than the programmes themselves, 63. 90 percent of the 5-8 age group said yes, while 43-54 percent of the 8-12 age group and 36. 0 percent of the 13-15 age group said yes. viii. Children below eight see advertisements only as pictures with story lives. Only older children understand the advertisements intention to well. ix. Sixty five percent of children in the 8 to 15 years of age group felt they needed the products they saw on TV. Bhatia (1997) studied the influence of TV advertisements on adolescents of Baroda city . She found moderate impact of TV advertisements on their physical, social, emotional and cognitive development as well as on relationship with their parents.Adolescents were highly influenced by TV advertiseme nts in adopting the ways of expressing one's self. They developed liking for a well decorated home by viewing TV advertisements. They enjoyed seeing their favourite models and sportsman in the advertisements and they expressed that they wanted to become like them. Their general knowledge also increased and they developed ability to differentiate between the different brands of the same product. Some of them understood the motive behind the TV advertisement. Studies on advertising and children by various researchers have highlighted the following findings. 1.Children of all the age group and majority of home makers and male heads watch television in all the peak hour transmission, thus having maximum exposure of advertisements. 2. Many items liked by children were introduced in Indian families through TV advertisements. Most of the products advertised on TV were being purchased by the respondents even when they considered many of these commodities unnecessary. 3. TV advertisements ma de the selected brands of food products popular with children of all income groups. 4. Children started speaking to one another on a ‘lingo' dotted with words, phrases and expressions from TV advertisements.Thus, of all the age groups, advertising especially of television has profound impact on children. The impact of advertising does not function in isolation but it is dependent upon a host of other factors like the nature of advertisement viewing behaviour, socio-economic status, consumer habits and tastes of individuals and their families and the degree and direction of their perceptions. The future of Indian advertising is bright if it takes up it's social responsibility and conducts itself in such a way that it is seen as an important part of the economic development of the country.

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Violence and Exploitation of Women and Children - Essay Example Children are no less exposed to violence than women. In fact, many of the girls that are raped and mutilated are also children. According to the estimates recorded by Feminist.com (2008), as many as 17.6 per cent of women in US have undergone forced rape of which, 21.6 per cent were not even 12 years of age at the time of first attempt of rape and another 32.4 per cent were aged between 12 and 17 years. Baum (2005) has noted that likelihood of children and adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years to be exposed to violence as compared to adults were more than twice. Thousands of children are abuse, physically, emotionally or both in US every year. â€Å"A large proportion of children surveyed (38.7 percent) reported more than one direct victimization (a victimization directed toward the child, as opposed to an incident that the child witnessed, heard, or was otherwise exposed to)† (Finkelhor et al., 2009, p. 7). Many women and children are victimized by their own relatives. It is interesting to note that a vast majority of the women are raped by their own ex-husbands, boyfriends or room mates. According to Feminist.com (2008), 64 per cent of the women who are raped in US are related to the rapists. The rapists usually take revenge from the girls for their personal grudge.

Concepts of Equality, Diversity and Rights in Health and Social Care Essay Example for Free

Concepts of Equality, Diversity and Rights in Health and Social Care Essay Within this assignment, I have been addressed as a manager of a residential care home and I have the responsibility to provide a set of materials (leaflets, booklets, PowerPoint slides, posters) that can be used for information and training purposes) for my training staff. I have chosen to do this by writing a detailed leaflet in the style of an assignment so information can be thorough and clear. Rights Within the category of health and social care, the rights that we’re entitled to are significantly important. From time to time, or even regularly individuals will have to use sectors that relate to health and social care such as going to the doctors, hospital or a dentist. These public health services are mandatory for individuals and the public to use as individuals with long term health conditions or disabilities rely on the care they provide. Among public health services there are also social care services which have a responsibility to provide support for individuals with mental health problems, supporting the elderly and also the disabled within their homes. Other services include receiving appropriate care in day centres, residential and nursing homes and giving children who don’t live with their parents the care they’re entitled to. From this, it is concluded that whenever an individual is provided to have to use the health care service, experience medical treatment or social care – they have the right not to be discriminated against in terms of gender, race, gender identity, religion, disability of sexual orientation. Not only are these rights mandatory, individuals are also fully supported and protected by the written rights under the European Convention on Human Rights which have relevance within health and social care as their rights include: The right to life, the right not to be subjected to torture or to inhumane degrading treatment or punishment, the right to liberty and security of person and also the right to respect for private and family life. Choice Across the UK, it is becoming more common that an individual is obtaining more control from being able to choose the care and treatment they are receiving. The full aim from this change of choice is to be able to entitle an individual to become fully aware of the treatment and support that is available to them and advice on which would be best to choose. An example of this could being able to choose the hospital and individual receives their care in or if they require care at home they should be given a cash budget to be able to suit their needs and money limits. Overall, choice is imposed within health and social care as it’s to ensure that individuals have access to the best and right support, having access to a range of health and social care services locally and nationally, being equal partners with their doctor or carer in their decisions about their health and social care, and also being entitled to what their choices are and to make this clear within all health and soci al care circumstances. Equality During 2010 the equality act was introduced, mandatory for protecting individual’s rights and promoting the significance and importance of equality of opportunity for every single individual. Whether these opportunities would be minor or major in value, the equality act would play a significant role in allowing these opportunities to commence. Examples of opportunities may include having the right to attend a public event, or having the right to use public services. Furthermore, equality is an important role which also links back to the role of discrimination as people can be discriminated against due to their age, race, disability, and gender and so on, the equality act of 2010 stops this from occurring within health and social care settings and it signifies that each individual should all be treated equally. Diversity Diversity is a more complex word for ‘difference.’ However, diversity is about acknowledging the differences between individuals themselves, and also group differences. Individual differences include factors such as differing within race, age, gender, social status, disability, weight and so on. A person within a health and social care setting as a worker may experience misuse of diversity due to a difference they may have to another individual. For example, if a nurse refuses to treat a patient who may be suffering from a common but life threatening issue such as a heart attack, but is also a disabled individual, this current nurse would be misusing the legislation of diversity awareness, and would also most likely be on the way to becoming unemployed. In terms of acts that are significant to the roles of diversity happening in health and social care settings, the sex discrimination act of 1975 is a prime example of how men and women are treated equally even though thei r genders differ.

Measuring Consistency Among Management of Employees

Measuring Consistency Among Management of Employees Conceptualisation, Measurement And Effects Introduction Of The Research Problem And Research Questions This research project focuses on the development and validation of a method for measuring consistency among practices in the management of employees, a field often referred to as Human Resource Management (HRM). With the increasing importance of the ‘human factor in modern organizations, HR-issues have become more salient to organizations that believe that people are their most important asset in achieving organizational goals. Different streams of HR-consistency research can be identified, often divided in the categories ‘external consistency and ‘internal consistency. Both streams of research are in development because of the notion that in the case of external consistency the alignment of HRM practices (e.g. selection, training, pay, appraisal, job security, participation) with business strategy results in positive outcomes. This research project focuses on the concept of ‘internal consistency. The idea central to internal consistency is the positive outcomes generated by consistent combinations of multiple HRM practices, where the effect of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Many authors already outline the idea that sets of consistent HRM practices can reinforce employee attitudes and behaviour (e.g. Wright McMahan, 1992; Ichniowski et al., 1996; Guest, 1997, Baron Kreps, 1999; Ostroff Bowen, 2000, Boselie, 2002), but also that inconsistent combinations can be ‘deadly (Becker, Huselid, Pickus Spratt, 1997) or create ‘double binds that drive people crazy (Schneider, 1999). Baron Kreps (1999) describe the desirability of internal consistency in terms of the desirability of messages sent out to employees being simple (by following the same principles) and supportive of the same theme. By HRM practices being internally consistent, employees know what is expected of them and what they can expect in turn. Academic research on the effects of multiple HRM practices often proclaims to study internal consistency by defining sets of congruent HRM practices as a system. More specifically, it is suggested that systems of ‘high commitment practices increase organizational effectiveness by creating conditions where employees become highly involved in the organization and work hard to accomplish the organizations goals (Arthur, 1994; MacDuffie, 1995; Whitener, 2000). However, with the exception of Whitener (2000), researchers study the effects of high commitment HR systems on measures of organizational effectiveness without investigating the relationship between high commitment HRM practices and aspects of employee commitment. Stated is that very little is known about how and through which processes HRM practices influences organizational performance (Guest, 1997; Becker, Huselid, Pickus Spratt, 1997; Ostroff Bowen, 2000). Intermediate processes that ultimately affect performance outcomes are referred to as the ‘black box of the HRM-outcome link (e.g. Wright Gardner, 2003). Unlocking the ‘black box means identifying HR-objects that are relevant to employee performance. Ostroff Bowen (2000) state that an HR system is believed to be a complex set of practices that is designed to influence employees attributes that are purported to be the mediating mechanism that links HRM practices and performance outcomes. This proposal identifies the employee attributes of development, wellbeing and motivation to be general goals of HRM activities in creating employee commitment to the organization. Following Guest (1997) and Ostroff Bowen (2000), it is expected that within the variety of HRM practices that an organization holds, different ‘bundles of HRM practices or configurations of internal consistent HRM practices are reinforcing and complementary towards these three different objects that link HRM and outcomes.: Well-being Performance Internal Consistent HR- configurations Motivation Development Another focus of the research project is the conceptualisation of   different configurations of internal consistent HRM practices towards employee development, well-being and motivation. In search for a clear rationale or clear rationales for the way any one practice reinforces the effectiveness of others, no explicit theories for the combined effect of HRM practices are present. Much of the effort done to identify internal consistent practices is by seeking statistical justification for fitting practices afterwards (Guest, 1997; Youndt, Snell, Dean Lepak, 1996; Huselid, 1995). The statistical justification however raises questions on what the explanation of effects of internal consistency is. This study will concentrate on constructing a theory-driven framework for HR-consistency. Finally, the measurement of consistent HRM practices is still discussed in recent literature. Wright Gardner (2003) argue that regarding the level of analysis of HRM practices, most research has concentrated on identifying sets of HRM practices at the organizational level by using single-respondent measures of sets of HRM practices. But the assumption that HRM practices are invariable across large groups of jobs within organizations is not feasible, as Lepak Snell (2002) pointed out. This suggests that lowering the level of analysis could give a more accurate insight in the variation of sets of HRM practices within organizations and across job groups or (business) units. Additionally, gathering data by using single-responses of HR-managers on which HRM practices are in place, probably gives no accurate reflection of reality. Such single-respondent measures of sets of HRM practices are subject to, for instance, the respondents degree of accurate information. Therefore, Guest (1999) and Wright and Gardner (2003) have proposed to measure HRM practices through individual employee perceptions, since employees are the focal unit HRM practices aim at. As such, the research project will focus on the perception op employees on HRM practices. Taken together, this research project aims at the development and validation of a theory-driven method for measuring internal HR-consistency towards employee outcomes as development, well-being and motivation. Further, it examines the contribution of consistency among HRM practices to employee performance. With the notion there is little agreement among researchers on (1) what theoretical basis can be given for consistent combinations of HRM practices (MacDuffie, 1995; Guest, 1997; Ostroff Bowen, 2000), (2) also very little has been done to test internal consistency (Purcell, 1999), and (3) little is known on which consistent HRM practices lead to which outcomes (Dyer and Reeves, 1995; Becker Gerhart, 1996), this leads to the following research questions: Research Problem The research problems central to this proposal are: Which different theoretical approaches to different configurations of internal consistent HRM practices can be identified and what are the implications for the conceptualisation of HR-consistency? How to measure the consistency among HRM practices? What is the effect of internally consistent HRM practices on employee outcomes and organizational performance? Elaboration Of The Research Problems Working towards the development of an instrument for measuring   consistency among HRM practices, three studies involve conceptualisation, a pilot study and the main study testing the effect of HR consistency on performance outcomes. These studies are reviewed below. Conceptualisation Of Internal Hrconsistency Background In defining which consistent configurations of HRM practices are related to the specific objects of development, well-being and motivation, different theoretical approaches can be taken. Working towards a conceptualisation of HR-consistency, some theoretical insights with respect to the combination of HRM practices that already have been made, are described in short here. First, Guest (1997; 2001) refers to the variants of expectancy theory (e.g. Vroom, 1964) as a useful theory with respect to explaining the effects of HRM practices on employee outcomes through the enhancement of motivation. Variants of expectancy theory agree on the proposition that high performance at the individual level, depends on the motivation plus possession of the necessary skills and abilities and an appropriate role and the understanding of that role (Guest, 1997, p. 268). For the consistent combination of HRM practices Guest states there is a case for building on the variants of expectancy theory to combine three sets of practices concerned with competence (e.g. training and development practices or staffing practices), motivation (for example job security, individualized reward systems) and role utilization (for example involvement practices, job design practices). Second, Tsui, Pearce, Porter Tripoli (1997) and Tsui Wang (2002) treat several HRM practices as ‘inducements provided by the employer for expected contributions by the employee in four employment relationships approaches. For the primary conceptual foundation for the employment relationship framework Tsui et al. (1997) use exchange theories (e.g. Blau, 1964). Based on these theories HRM practices could be divided in job-focused and organization-focused HRM practices. Job-focused HRM practices (e.g. pay and short-term investments as job-related training) are consistent in a way they resemble an economic exchange that focuses employee attention on the work unit by formal goal setting, and rewarding unit performance. Organization-focused HRM practices (e.g. job security, participation, and career planning) are consistent in a way they resemble a more social exchange indicating the employers investment in employees and in return investments of employees (e.g. learning new skills, investing in social relationships, flexibility) in the organization. This shows that by building on expectancy theory or exchange theory different bundles of consistent HRM practices arise towards different objects. For the development of an instrument, more insight in different theoretical approaches is required. To review the work already done in this field, this study provides an inventory of different theoretical approaches towards HRM and its outcomes. The aim is to conceptualise this inventory of consistent HRM practices towards employee development, well-being and motivation. Methodology To determine the conceptual structure of the concept of internal consistency we make use of facet analysis. Based on different theoretical approaches, this analysis is conducted to screen topics concerning HR and work practices and their relation with development, well-being, motivation within existing (empirical) literature and instruments. For an extensive screening the following guidelines are used: Literature and instruments are used within the field of organization of labour, Human Resource Management, social policy, work governance models. Literature and instruments can also concern other aspects than only HRM practices The instruments can range from questionnaires, interview methods, to checklists For each theoretical concept of internal consistency towards the three separate objects, HRM practices listed in the various instruments will be identified. Finally, in this qualitative research consistent sets of HRM practices and measures are clustered. Product A product of this study is a first review article on the concept of consistency: Conceptualizing Consistency Among Hrm Practices Conceptual Model Study Well-being Internal Consistent HR- configurations Motivation Development Facet 2 Facet 3 Facet 1 Facet X Pilot Project: Measuring Internal Consistency Background After study 1 proposes which HRM practices theoretically constitute consistent sets of HRM practices towards employee development, well-being motivation, the focus of study 2 is on the measurement of internal HR-consistency. As noted above, consistency among HRM practices towards objects as employee development, well-being and motivation could serve as theoretical framework for identifying the link between consistency and performance outcomes. But how do we measure the different HRM practices? Do employees perceive the same HRM practices to be consistent towards these three objects? Testing the reliability of different internal HR-consistency configurations towards these three objects of consistency is the main focus for the development of a measure for consistency among HRM practices. This study contains a pilot project concerned with the development and testing the reliability of an instrument and procedure to empirically grasp the concept of HR-consistency as perceived by one of the stakeholders, namely the employees affected by them. Methodology A pilot study will be conducted to develop a reliable instrument and validate the measurement of the concept of internal HR-consistency set out in study. Through self-reports, a sample of 300 employees will be studied on their perception of HRM practices in their organization. To ensure that the instrument will be applicable to a wide range of employees, we will use a stratified sample, stratified according to sex, age, job level, company size and working for a profit or non-profit organization. Employees are selected within this sampling frame. Also the objects of development, well-being and motivation at an individual level will be studied by using commonly accepted scales. When possible, these first data will be collected through data collection within master thesis projects. Internal consistency will be measured both directly and indirectly. Indirectly, by examining if theory-driven consistent configurations of HRM practices promote the objects of development, well-being and motivation. Directly, by asking employees which consistency among HRM practices promote the three proposed employee outcomes. Both methods are used to strengthen the concept of consistency. Product Measuring Internal Consistency: A Pilot Project Conceptual Model Study Well-being Internal Consistent HR- configurations Motivation Development Effects Of Internal Consistency On Employee Performance Background The final step within this PhD project focuses on the performance outcomes of the way human resource practices coexist in a consistent or inconsistent manner. Predicted is that individual performance is promoted by HRM practices being consistent towards the three objects that mediate this relationship. A major question still remaining in HRM research is how HRM practices relate to performance outcomes (Ostroff Bowen, 2000; Guest, 1997). As noted earlier it is suggested that different theoretical mechanisms could serve as indicators of consistency among HRM practices that in turn affect different objects. The relationship between three HR-configurations towards development, well-being and motivation on the one hand and individual performance on the other hand will be tested to validate effective configurations of internal consistency examined in study. Methodology Results from the pilot study will be used to validate the instrument and further develop the instrument. For the main testing of effects of HR-consistency configurations on outcomes employee development, well-being, motivation and ultimately performance, two case-organizations, one profit and one nonprofit, will be selected to participate. To ensure that individual performance can be measured, the two organizations are selected on the basis of the use of formal job appraisals. In each of the selected organizations a sample 200 employees will be studied. The expectation is that by participating in the development of an instrument that can be used for own purposes concerning HR-decisionmaking, financial resources for his project could be ensured through mutual interest. The instrument could serve as a HRM scan for organizations and, as such, improve their employee policies by giving insight in the mechanism and effects of their HRM practices. Another goal is to establish long-term collaborations with interested organizations to keep track of the effectiveness of the instrument. Results Relevance The most important result of the research project is a dissertation consisting of four academic articles. The practical and societal relevance of the project is mainly to establish evidence for the importance of HR-consistency and insight in how that affects the employees as well as the organization. In this way conceptualising HR-processes and visualising their effects make a contribution. The relevance of this study lies in extending the literature on internal consistency by also taking the consistency-well-being link and the consistency-development link into account. Also relevant is linking the changing tenure to more performance-based practices to outcomes for wellbeing and development of employees. Another relevant aspect is handing out HR-professionals a theory-driven framework and instrument to asses their internal HR-policy. Other stakeholders such as unions or work councils could benefit while negotiating wages and benefits in the light of consistency with other HRM practices already present. A final point of relevance concerns the contribution to the research program of the department of Human Resource Studies (PEW) by providing tools for further research by the department. References Arthur, J.B. (1994). Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turn-over. Academy of management journal, 37, p.670-687. Baron , J.N. Kreps, D.M. (1999). Strategic Human Resources. New York: Wiley Sons. Becker, B. Gerhart,B. (1996). The impact of Human Resource Management on organizational Performance: Progress Prospects. Academy of Management Journal, 39, p.779-801 Becker, B., Huselid, M., Pickus P. Spratt, M. (1997). HR as a source of shareholder value: research and recommendations. Human Resource Management, 36, p.39-47 Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: Wiley. Boselie, P. (2002). Human resource management, work systems and performance : a theoretical-empirical approach. Amsterdam: Thela Thesis (dissertation). Dyer, L. Reeves, T. (1995). HR strategies and firm performance: what do we know and where do we need to go. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 6, p.656-670 Guest, D.E. (1997). Human resource management and performance. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8 (3), 263-275. Guest, D.E. (1999). Human resource management: The Workers Verdict. Human Resource Management Journal, 9 (3), 5-25 Guest, D.E. (2001). Human resource management: When research confronts theory. International Journal Human Resource Management, 12 (7), 10-25 Huselid, M.A. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turn-over, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of management journal, 38, 635-672. Lepak, D.P. Snell, S.A. (2002). Examining the Human Resource Architecture: The relations among Human Capital, Employment and Human Resource Configurations. Journal of Management, 28 (4), 517-543. MacDuffie, J.P. (1995). Human Resource Bundles and Manufacturing Performance. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 48 (2), 197-221 Ostroff, C., Bowen, D. E. (2000). Moving HR to a higher level: HR practices and organizational effectiveness. In K. J. Klein S. W. J. Koslowski (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations. Tsui, A.S., Pearce, J.L., Porter, L.W., Tripoli, A.M. (1997). Alternative approaches to employee-organizational relationship: Does investment in employees pay off? Academy of management journal, 40 (5), 1089-1121 Tsui, A.S., Wang (2002). Employment relationships from the employers perspective: Current Research and Future Directions. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 17, 77-114 Vroom, V. (1964). Work and Motivation. New York: John Wiley and Sons Whitener, E.M. (2001). Do â€Å"high commitment† human resource practices affect employee commitment? A cross-level analysis using hierarchical linear modeling. Journal of Management, 27, p.515-535. Wright, P.M. McMahan, G.C. (1992). Theoretical perspectives for strategic human resource management. Journal of Management, 18, 195-320. Wright, P.M. Gardner, T.M. (2003) The Human Resource-Firm Performance relationship: Methodological and Theoretical Challenges in Holman, D., Wall, T.D, Clegg, C.W., Sparrow, P. Howard, A. (Eds.) The New Workplace: A guide to the human impact of modern working practices.

Human Resource Management Critical Review

Human Resource Management Critical Review Human Resource Management is concerned with the way in which associations coordinate their individuals (Redman and Wilkinson 2001: 1). It wrappings a very broad kind of notions, improvement, and procedures for coordinating and accelerating attachments and production in organizations. However, much of this is admonished for engaged in concept but not in practice. Due to the gigantic scale of the human asset management concept, this period paper mostly aspires to converse about this contention with quotation to a key and topical up to designated day facet of HRM, the strategic human asset management. Literature Review More recently, human asset management has consumed its wideness of study after the staple concerns of recruitment, assortment, educating pay and appraisal, etc. in exact, one stream of study, strategic human asset management (SHRM) has emerged as being highly influential in this esteem (Wilkinson A et al., 2001:10). SHRM points that an organizations human asset assets are probably the sole source of sustainable comparable for instance and much of the work in this locality arises from the resource-based concept (RBT) of the firm (Barney, 1991, 1995). The resource-based concept presents conceptual foundation for asserting that HR assets are key to firms comparable and relation advantage. Miller argue that operational linkages between the enterprise design and the standard in the main heading of employees are the key, or in his sayings, the fit of HRM with the strategic impel of the organizations (Wilkinson A et al., 2001:10) and he presents his delineation of SHRM: Those deductions and undertakings which disquiet the management of employees at all degrees in the enterprise and which are administered in the main heading of conceiving and sustaining comparable advantage. (Miller, 1987:352) Theorists address HRM as being intensified, unified and propelled by strategy: A strategic orientation is a vital constituent in human asset management. It presents the structure interior which a ordered approach can be developed to the creation and setting up of HRM values, designs and practices. [] The aim of strategic human asset management is to double-check that the heritage, procedure and structure of the association, and the worth, firm pledge and motivation of its employees, assists absolutely to the accomplishment of enterprise objective. (Armstrong M., 1992:47) The disquiet with design, which emphasizes on integrating standard with organizational design, taking a long-term viewpoint and asset other than cost (see Cheyne A, Lecturer comments, week 1/2003), distinguishes HRM from one-by-one management. It is claimed that one-by-one management is substaintially reactive, whereas HRM, exemplified by design, is proactive. For instance, Guest differentiates customary one-by-one management from HRM by virtue of the way in which the preceding disregarded, but the last cited adopts strategy (1993:213). SHRM takes a proactive way in the main heading of the competitiveness and effectiveness of the association other than of reactive day-to-day oriented one-by-one management. Strategic literatures stress the central asset of a enterprise as the source of comparable for instance, which can be maintained by the following aspects: They should add worth to the association activities They should be uncommon, unique They should be incapable to be refurbished by technology The affray should have adversity in making a replicate them / nonimitable These criteria of HRM appear in the pattern of adeptness, know-how and experience (Storey 1995: 4) The assumption of a close attachment between enterprise design and HRM values is founded on contingency concept, which keeps that HRM values are selected as claimed by the kind of comparable design taken up by businesses. Contingency concept (Miles and Snow, 1984; Porter, 1985; Schuler and Jackson, 1987a) notifies us, HRM designs should be gelled with accurate enterprise comparable designs if they are to boost association performance. The concept of fit facilitates the close linkage between HRM designs and enterprise designs in alignment to help hold and motivate employees. A firm applying HRM practices that increase employee demeanour dependable with its enterprise design is proficient to complete better production (Delery and Doty, 1996). In supplement, the proposal of the fit assists enterprises to coordinate their assets more competently, in alignment that they can decline operational allegations and answer competently to environmental restraints and new possibilities (Bird and Beechler, 1995). Therefore, creative linkage between enterprise designs and HRM designs may well reinforce organizational performance. Competitive design proposes a sequence of methodical and affiliated deductions that give a enterprise a comparable advantage relative to other enterprises (Schuler and Jackson, 1987a; Dowling and Schuler, 1990). The idea of enterprise comparable design arises mostly from Porters (1980, 1985) classifications of generic strategies: cost administration, differentiation, and focus. And Miles and Snow (1984) classified enterprise designs into three types: protector, prospector, and analyzer. Schuler and Jackson (1987a) utilised the time span trivially distinct from that of Porter to classify enterprise comparable designs into three types: cost decline, breakthrough, and worth enhancement. They furthermore identify distinct kinds of employee demeanour and HRM values, which are fitted to each comparable strategy. Firstly, cost-reduction design embraces reinforcing comparable for instance by decreasing the allegations of items or services. This design boosts yield effectiveness and declines charges through utilising new know-how, expanding the dimensions of yield, or re-organizing yield procedure, whereby a enterprise can launch its items or services at a lesser cost in alignment to gain more market shares. Secondly, breakthrough design stress the development of items or services, which are exclusive, nonimitable or distinct from those of the competition. Finally, the aim of worth enhancement design is to complete accomplishment by providing a worth that excels that of other items or services. Honda in Ohio presents a good instance of how comparable advantage can be profited by high-quality items (Schuler and Jackson, 1987a). Critical Analysis However, it is strong to identify the attachment between human asset management and design and it appears to be easier in concept than in practice. Marginson et al. (1998) found out that 80 per century of older managers in HRM claimed that they have general HRM designs but twosome of can explain what the designs are! In effect, both academics and practitioners have found out it hard to appreciate the implication of strategic human asset management in practice. Hendry (1994b) acknowledges that design is the better theme in HRM but furthermore a misread idea and the viewpoint writers on HRM offer on design is often slick and requiring in sophistication (1994b: 2) Perhaps the adversity is aggregated by requiring of case enquiries, which endow us have a insight look into the design in practice. For practitioner part, the stress of SHRM in concept has administered to large interest from older management assembly but proceed incorrect to fit the lower-level managers. We will converse about this in the subsequent part of the article. In minutia, just like Guest (1987) explained in his publication, human asset design may only unproblematic in the flawless position and Price (1997) concludes that: It should take position interior a purpose- assembled up to designated day place, a green locality position utilising care absolutely selected green labour. Such stuff would have no preceding know-how of the business in which the enterprise purposes and therefore would be untarnished by an undesirable evolved subculture. They would not be hide-bound by customary but outmoded ways of doing things. The association desires highly professional management, preferably Japanese and American. Employees should be allocated intrinsically giving work other than uninteresting reasons for which pay is the sole motivation. Workers should have security of paid work and not be absolutely in concern of mislaying their jobs. Discussion Guest acknowledges that these position are strong to complete in present because most associations have pre-existing workers, organisations and equipment that will not be discarded. They express with them with patterns of power and behaviors, which may be resisting to the HR philosophy. In supplement, the formalities of strategic conceiving are gigantic distinct accurate to distinct enterprises and the items emerge to be the completed thing to have one. Some associations develop a comprehensive some 100 years slips item while some use an unwritten guidance. However, neat theoretical improvement with successive sayings of enquiry, alternate and implementation are seldom glimpsed in practice. On the other hand, many older managers articulate the enterprise goals to their employees by the target affirmation, liking this present can lead to a high firm pledge from every one-by-one in the enterprise, since high firm pledge is glimpsed to be crucial for comparable edge. To some span, such standard does work for the target affirmation notifies the employees the essence of what an association is about: why it inhabits, what kind of enterprise it suggests to be, and who its suggested customers are etc. However, it has to accept that many associations develop a target affirma tion only because it is the completed thing to have one. The target affirmation is locked into the companys first-order designs and these are foremost deductions on its long-term aspires and the scope of its undertakings (Purcell 1995: 67) The foremost characteristics of strategic HRM is its integration with enterprise design, the notion being that HR values and practices should support the goals of a enterprise (Redman and Wilkinson, 2002). Storeys study (1992) concludes that such integration is uncommon in British organizations. His task intensified on 40 large utilising associations and committed 350 meetings with managers at all degrees, in which approximately 80% were line and general managers. He settled that: human asset management kind designs had been bolted on to the embedded system (Storey, 1992). The management change was very slow and hesitant process. There emerged to be need of integration between paid work practices, both one-by-one and collective, and broader enterprise strategy. Conclusion In deduction, while it works well in concept surrounding the theme of SHRM, human asset management seems to be inapt in practice. Based on the concern overhead, we have to accept that strategic human asset conceiving, which presents a structure for HR obligations over a time span, has its foundation on sensible conceiving but in present employees managers have a kind of adversities in appreciating and applying the strategy. Some of the adversities individuals face encompass developing new designs, restructuring, changing and holding for new skills. And more adversities reach from heritage and behavioural change and so on. Strategic human asset management stress numbers, quantitative affirmations, mind-set, demeanour and firm pledge while standards harder matching types of HRM (Price 1997: 184), but the implementation is inapt particularly when the responsibilities overtake to the line managers. In present, there are both goal and individual constituents pertaining to line managers and supervisors that lead to some blocks and obstacles to the integration between HRM design and association design and the implementation of strategy. In abstract, it is equitable to state that human asset management concept works well in concept but not in practice. In newest years, the locality of Human Resource Management has moved to address not only micro but furthermore macro relationships. The micro aim, evolving from evolved psychology, emphasized human asset values and their leverage on individuals. This aim was concerned solely with such deductions as job acceptance and employee participation. The macro aim moves the degree of enquiry from the one-by-one to the organization. Diversity Orientation: Configurational ViewDiversity becomes significant organizational goal and diversity management becomes particularly salient because of the natural inclination in the main heading of homogeneity in organizations. Schneiders (1987) Attraction-Selection-Attrition hypothesis (ASA) suggests that associations are inclined to apply, vessel for charter, and hold alike types of people. (Ellis, 1994, 79-110) Thus, diversity orientation serves as such means and should lead to amplified diversity. Diversity comprises expressing distinct backgrounds, heritage, and generations into the equal organization. This kind of perspectives can foster creativity. On the other hand, this kind of perspectives evolves inefficiencies in that diverse assemblies need circulated comprehending, probably making attachment slow and laborious. Thus, we propose that environments and designs that demand breakthrough and creative responses will benefit more from diversity than those environments that need efficiency. (Ellis, 1994, 79-110)One origin that configurations stay crucial for fostering diversity is founded upon concept termed social traps or communal dilemmas . These tricks begin when an try to address adversity more distant exacerbates the adversity through unintentional consequences. For instance, work/family program conceived to provide flexibility to employees could lead to pledge at odds production evaluations for those employees who avail themselves of the program. Likewise, an affirmative undertaking program may conceive communal knack through resentment from white males who appear procedural injustice (Thomas, 1990, 107-117). Diversity orientation mitigates the communal knack adversity by conceiving an natural natural environment where clear, unambiguous pointers are dispatched contemplating diversity. For instance, associations may bypass an affirmative undertaking communal knack by combining it with diversity educating that incorporates designs to absolutely integrate all employees into the organizational culture. Training can conceive an insight of these tricks and provide designs for talking to the underlying issues. Compensation and work conceive affairs may furthermore help bypass communal traps. The unequal circulation of work or buys fosters an one-by-one orientation and assists to individuals engaged competitively other than cooperatively. Thus, work conceive in support of diversity would are inclined in the main heading of symmetry in employee aid and outcomes. Further, Barry and Bateman (1996) argue that dispersed order enhances the organizations skill to conclusion communal tricks that hinder diversity advancement. Organizations with assemblies and work association with dispersed deduction making would are inclined to enhance diversity by circulating order and power all through the organization. Thus, one-by-one values directed in an identity-blind natural natural environment will more anticipated conceive communal traps. diversity orientation, on the other hand, will propel clear, unambiguous pointer that all employees and their aid are valued. Training and development, work conceive, staffing and reimbursement comprise the foremost constituents of diversity orientation. However, these constituents can function individually at cross causes or in concert. firm may have little or no aim on diversity with esteem to educating and development and high degree of diversity aim with esteem to work design. Although many enterprises continue to use these four dimensions of diversity individually, we have argued that configuration of these four practices will work simultaneously to enhance diversity. (Thomas, 1990, 107-117) Thus, multiplicative attachment inhabits in alignment that enterprises that have complementary configured educating and development, work conceive, staffing and reimbursement interventions will have important diversity orientation. This attachment evolves from the minutia that diversity is convoluted incident that yearns unchanging reinforcement. Larkey (1996) distinuishes an flawless diversity climate as increasing pluralism and circulated ideas. Barry and Bateman (1996) argue that diversity communal tricks are nested and enlist locked-in demeanour over degrees of analysis. Thus, values and practices that reside all through the human asset design may have communal knack attributes when analyzed independently. However, diversity orientation leaps the knack by conceiving an organizational security snare to foster and increase heritage diversity. For instance, The UK Instruments has diversity orientation (Thomas, 1990, 107-117). The companys Diversity Network of over 20 diversity designs embraces such characteristics as diversity forums and coalitions. (Thomas, 1990, 107-117) The enterprise furthermore has enterprise and enterprise degree diversity managers. The strategic administration of the enterprise incorporates diversity. Specific diversity designs encompass using, educating and development of kept protected class constituents and employee accolades for accomplishing excellence in boosting diversity. The Diversity Network manifestly serves as the key constituent altering one-by-one diversity programs into diversity orientation. References Armstrong M. (1992) Human Resource Management: Strategy and Action, kogan Page. Armstrong M. (1994) The reality of strategic of HRM, paper presented at the Strategic Direction of Human Resource Management Conference, Nottingham Trent University, 14-15 December. Bach, 2000, unnamed article, quoted in M. Marchington and A.Wilkinson (2002), People Management and Development: Human resource management at work, 2nd ed, Trowbridge, Wiltshire: Cromwell Press. pp 235. Barney, J. (1991) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, Journal of Management, 17 (1): 99-120 Barney, J.B. (1995) looking inside for competitive advantage, Academy of Management Executive, 9 (4): 49-61 Bird, A. and Beechler, S. (1995), Links between business and transnational human resource Cheyne A, Lecturer notes, week 1/2003 Comparative Labor Law and Industrial Relations in Industrialized Market Economics, Cunningham and Hyman, 1995 unnamed article, quoted in M. Marchington and A.Wilkinson (2002), People Management and Development: Human resource management at work, 2nd ed, Trowbridge, Wiltshire: Cromwell Press. pp 236. Delery, J.E. and Doty, D.H. (1996), Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource Dowling, P. and Schuler, R. (1990), Human resource management, in Blanpian, R. (Ed.), Guest, D. (1987) Human resource management and industrial relations, Journal of Management Studies, 24 (5): 503-21 Guest, D. (1993) Current perspectives on human resource management in the United Kingdom, in C. Brewster (ed) Current Trent in Human Resource Management in Europ, Kogan Page Hendry, C. (1994b) Developing a human resource strategy: a case study in organizational process, paper presented at the Strategic Direction of Human Resource Management Conference, Nottingham Trent University, 14-15 December. Legge, K. (1995a) Human resource management: a critical analysis, in J. Storey (ed.) Human Resource Management: A Critical Text, Routledge. management strategy in US based Japanese subsidiaries: an empirical investigation, management: tests of universalistic, contingency, and configurational performance Marchington, M. and Wilkinson, A. (2002), People Management and Development: Human resource management at work, 2nd ed, Trowbridge, Wiltshire: Cromwell Press. Marginson, P., Edwards, P., Martin, R., Purcell, J. and Sisson, K. (1988) Beyond the Workplace: Managing Industrial Relations in the Multi-establishment Enterprise, Blackwell. Miles, R.E. and Snow, C.C. (1984), Designing strategic human resource systems, Organization Dynamics, Vol. 13, pp. 36-52. R.R. Thomas, From Affirmative Action To Affirming Diversity, Harvard Business Review, (1990), 107-117.

Colgate Palmolive :: essays research papers fc

Colgate Palmolive With a continuous expansion in it's product line, Colgate-Palmolive is taking on the look of one of the most stable stocks on the exchange. Colgate has a wide variety of products sold around the globe including, Colgate Toothpastes, Speed Stick Deodorants, Ajax Surface Cleaner, and Hill's Science Diet foods for house pets. Colgate was founded in 1806 in New York City on Dutch Street by William Colgate as a starch, soap and candle business. Colgate produced soaps and perfumes or the next 67 years and then in 1873, they introduced their first toothpastes, which were aromatic toothpastes. Then 13 years later, they introduced the first dental creme packaged in collapsible tubes similar to those used today. After 104 years of being in business on Dutch Street, the largest tenancy on record in New York City the entire Colgate organization moved to Jersey City. In 1928 Colgate made its greatest merger of all time with the Palmolive-Peet Company and in 1953 took on its present name of Colgate-Palmolive. By 1967 Colgate-Palmolive was on a roll with sales passing the 1 billion dollar mark. In the years after, Colgate began acquiring major companies and expanding its product line with the purchases of Hill's Pet Products in 1976, the Mennen Company in 1992 and in 1993 acquired the liquid soap brands of S.C. Johnson. Before the purchase of Mennen Co. in 1992, Colgate Palmolive had no major presence in the deodorant industry. With the purchase of Mennen Co. they held 16% of the deodorant market but had to compete with Proctor and Gamble, who held 26% of the market with products such as Sure, Secret and Old Spice. After the purchase of Mennen Co., which was easily purchased without resist for $670 million in cash, Colgate-Palmolive held 16% of the deodorant market with their Speed Stick and Lady Speed Stick deodorants, which are now the leading in world wide sales of deodorants. They also now own products under the Baby Magic name such Skin Bracer and Baby Magic Foot. Powder. In 1976 , Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hills Pet Products Inc. Since the foundation of this company in 1948, they have committed themselves to the health and welfare of dogs and cats. Today, Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. is one of the leading pet food manufactures and is revolutionizing the pet food industry with its Prescription Diet products used by veterinarians to manage such conditions as obesity, heart disease, kidney disease and many others. Hill's Pet Products also manufacture Hill's Science Diet food. Hill's Pet Products has not always been a success. When it was founded in Colgate Palmolive :: essays research papers fc Colgate Palmolive With a continuous expansion in it's product line, Colgate-Palmolive is taking on the look of one of the most stable stocks on the exchange. Colgate has a wide variety of products sold around the globe including, Colgate Toothpastes, Speed Stick Deodorants, Ajax Surface Cleaner, and Hill's Science Diet foods for house pets. Colgate was founded in 1806 in New York City on Dutch Street by William Colgate as a starch, soap and candle business. Colgate produced soaps and perfumes or the next 67 years and then in 1873, they introduced their first toothpastes, which were aromatic toothpastes. Then 13 years later, they introduced the first dental creme packaged in collapsible tubes similar to those used today. After 104 years of being in business on Dutch Street, the largest tenancy on record in New York City the entire Colgate organization moved to Jersey City. In 1928 Colgate made its greatest merger of all time with the Palmolive-Peet Company and in 1953 took on its present name of Colgate-Palmolive. By 1967 Colgate-Palmolive was on a roll with sales passing the 1 billion dollar mark. In the years after, Colgate began acquiring major companies and expanding its product line with the purchases of Hill's Pet Products in 1976, the Mennen Company in 1992 and in 1993 acquired the liquid soap brands of S.C. Johnson. Before the purchase of Mennen Co. in 1992, Colgate Palmolive had no major presence in the deodorant industry. With the purchase of Mennen Co. they held 16% of the deodorant market but had to compete with Proctor and Gamble, who held 26% of the market with products such as Sure, Secret and Old Spice. After the purchase of Mennen Co., which was easily purchased without resist for $670 million in cash, Colgate-Palmolive held 16% of the deodorant market with their Speed Stick and Lady Speed Stick deodorants, which are now the leading in world wide sales of deodorants. They also now own products under the Baby Magic name such Skin Bracer and Baby Magic Foot. Powder. In 1976 , Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hills Pet Products Inc. Since the foundation of this company in 1948, they have committed themselves to the health and welfare of dogs and cats. Today, Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. is one of the leading pet food manufactures and is revolutionizing the pet food industry with its Prescription Diet products used by veterinarians to manage such conditions as obesity, heart disease, kidney disease and many others. Hill's Pet Products also manufacture Hill's Science Diet food. Hill's Pet Products has not always been a success. When it was founded in

Ginny’s as a Barren Whore in Jane Smileys A Thousand Acres :: Smiley Thousand Acres Essays

Ginny’s as a Barren Whore in A Thousand Acres Into her womb convey sterility, Dry up in her the organs of increase, And from her derogate body never spring A babe to honor her. (King Lear, I.iv. 285-288) Within the logic of the novel, it is soon established that Ginny understands and feels external reality through her body, and the most important instance of this is her bodily urge to have children. The sight of Rose's daughters, contrasted with her own miscarriages, Ginny says, "affected me like a poison. All my tissues hurt when I saw them, when I saw Rose with them, as if my capillaries were carrying acid into the furthest reaches of my system"(8). The body of any subject, it can be argued, is also a social body, not only a site of signification for the subject her- or himself, but for other people and society in general. In her despair and jealousy after losing Jess to Rose, Ginny expresses the problematic belief that having children somehow is a universal marker of human worth. This view of her own body as a failure both biologically and socially; that her body "had failed to sustain Jess Clark's interest, to sustain a pregnancy"(307), signals that she is still within the confines of a patriarchal system that sees women as property on a line with animals and the earth. The system, of which Larry Cook is the King, is able to criticize a childless woman, especially when she is "old for a breeder"(13). It is no wonder, then, that Ginny goes on trying to have children even after Ty egotistically wants to stop trying because he can't take the disappointment. It becomes a way for Ginny to reclaim control over her body, a secret project through which she can live a second life that is free from social imperatives that ultimately originate with the transcendental signifier, the great "I AM"(211) of Larry Cook. It is telling that her reflections upon her "secret world", full of "secret, passionate wishes" are interrupted by a sudden reminder that her past and present life is dominated by her father's world and her father's wishes (26-27). This secret world and these secret wishes are thwarted, in fact it turns out that they have always been illusions because nitrates in the water have caused her infertility. A Thousand Acres continually makes connections between patriarchy and capitalism, critiquing exploitation of women and nature in industrial farming alike. Ginny’s as a Barren Whore in Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres :: Smiley Thousand Acres Essays Ginny’s as a Barren Whore in A Thousand Acres Into her womb convey sterility, Dry up in her the organs of increase, And from her derogate body never spring A babe to honor her. (King Lear, I.iv. 285-288) Within the logic of the novel, it is soon established that Ginny understands and feels external reality through her body, and the most important instance of this is her bodily urge to have children. The sight of Rose's daughters, contrasted with her own miscarriages, Ginny says, "affected me like a poison. All my tissues hurt when I saw them, when I saw Rose with them, as if my capillaries were carrying acid into the furthest reaches of my system"(8). The body of any subject, it can be argued, is also a social body, not only a site of signification for the subject her- or himself, but for other people and society in general. In her despair and jealousy after losing Jess to Rose, Ginny expresses the problematic belief that having children somehow is a universal marker of human worth. This view of her own body as a failure both biologically and socially; that her body "had failed to sustain Jess Clark's interest, to sustain a pregnancy"(307), signals that she is still within the confines of a patriarchal system that sees women as property on a line with animals and the earth. The system, of which Larry Cook is the King, is able to criticize a childless woman, especially when she is "old for a breeder"(13). It is no wonder, then, that Ginny goes on trying to have children even after Ty egotistically wants to stop trying because he can't take the disappointment. It becomes a way for Ginny to reclaim control over her body, a secret project through which she can live a second life that is free from social imperatives that ultimately originate with the transcendental signifier, the great "I AM"(211) of Larry Cook. It is telling that her reflections upon her "secret world", full of "secret, passionate wishes" are interrupted by a sudden reminder that her past and present life is dominated by her father's world and her father's wishes (26-27). This secret world and these secret wishes are thwarted, in fact it turns out that they have always been illusions because nitrates in the water have caused her infertility. A Thousand Acres continually makes connections between patriarchy and capitalism, critiquing exploitation of women and nature in industrial farming alike.

Kumdo in Korea

This martial art technique rooted way back 2000 years ago at the time of the early Three Kingdoms period – Shilla, Plahae, and Koryo.   In those times, sword bearing is a way of life, they follow every rules religiously and conduct their daily lives with strictly disciplined and moral manners. Through the use of sword the above dynasties have expanded their respective territories especially during the 7th to 15th century.   Specifically, the Palhae Dynasty was found and ruled by the ex-Koguryo warrior class after the fall of Koguryo in 668 A.D. After the fall of the unified three Kingdoms, the warrior class was just limited to state military who refined and developed the art under the name of â€Å"Ghihuck-Gum.† In 1896, Ghihuck-Gum was chosen to be the compulsory training requirement for the newly founded police academy.   From there on, Kumdo, the modern amalgamation of â€Å"the art of the sword† and â€Å"the way of righteousness† from the Taoist philosophy, was developed to be practiced by some as a sport and by others as a means of character development or spiritual refinement (U.S. Hwa Rang Kwan, 2006). In the 20th century, Kumdo used the bamboo sword and lightweight armor used in Japanese Kendo.   The population of people studying this technique grows very fast as the availability of the practice armor and sword made Kumdo flooded the market.   It made the technique more popular. What is Kumdo â€Å"Kumdo† means â€Å"sword way†.   It is the Korean counterpart of Japanese Kendo.   The current technique uses â€Å"juk do†(4 split bamboo sword) and the â€Å"ho goo†(the head and body gear), which began in 18th century. With â€Å"juk do† and â€Å"ho goo† the art of Kum Do took a surprising turn in its style. Allowing more experimentation without injury, the style became more effective by allowing stronger and deadlier blow without a considerable and extensive swing of the sword. The present form that combines of the inner strength (much signified by a scream from within â€Å"ki†), the absolute and unbounded swing of the sword(â€Å"kum†), and use of one's lower back and body(â€Å"chae†) was recently perfected. This is known as â€Å"ki-kum-chae.† Thus in tournaments one does not receive a point, although striking the opponent successfully, if the blow is not accompanied by all three components of â€Å"ki-kum-chae.†(Chang, 2006) The purpose of Kumdo can be summarized as: Mental and Physical Discipline Spiritual Discipline and Awakening Improved Technique Through Practice Discipline Based Upon the Spirit of Hwarang (Hwarang Ogae) Kundo practioners wear the same uniform as those who practice Kendo.   But there are many who are willing to use or vary the uniform including the color and accessories.   In Korea, practioner wear black trim and stripes on theur hakama instead of blue and this became popular in many dojos around the world. Like Kendo, Kundo has also 10 forms, removing sonkyo bow and using Korean names and terminologies instead.   Kumdo practitioners can compete in kendo tournaments.   There are a total of 400,000 practioners of Kumdo in Korea alone and is ranked as second most popular martial arts in Korea, next to Taekwondo. Origin Of Kumdo This technique originated in Korea but these art was admitted to be a direct interpretation of its Japanese counterpart – Kendo (â€Å"Ken† means sword and â€Å"do† means way) In fact, some of the early founders of this technique says that there is totally no difference between the two form of art. It should be understand that these similarities in technique in the two techniques can be rooted to the history of Korea. The annihilation of Japan to all the documents and historical artifacts of Korea including all the written documents about Korean Martial Arts have made it difficult for the Korean people and martial arts practioners to trace the original techniques of the Korean sword that originated way back in 4th century.  Ã‚   It is said to be composed of twenty-five poses and postures that would result in the immediate defeat of the opponent. Kumdo as an Art Just like any other martial arts techniques, Kumdo can be considered as an art because it has a very rich and deeply rooted technique that was developed because of the interesting classical traditional, religions, philosophies and meditation techniques from Korea. A martial art like Kumdo is an art but not an art form.   It is a skill acquired by experience, study and observation.   Also, it is something that can be enjoy and participate of any people from all walks of life.   But again, it is, first and foremost, an art of self defense. Although there are people that are motivated to study this because of the self-defense benefit of the technique but to appreciate the beauty and art that is inextricably intertwined in this (Orlando, 1997) It is an art because it has so many different artistic aspects. Just like dances, it has timing and rhythm. It has movements that can be used in dancing.   Just like in painting where artist mixed colors to produced art, it is the same thing with Kumdo, it is an infusion of classical traditional, religions, philosophies and meditation techniques. Spiritual Aspect of Kumdo Kumdo has three level of mastery and one of them is the spiritual alignment of a person.   Under this the limitations of physical body and mind merges through meditation techniques.   The mind is silenced through the refined focus and the sword is used solely as a tool to link the body and the mind with the infinite. (Shaw, 2000) It brings peace of mind and self-confidence and a disciplined and healthy mind. Through training, a person will have an honest self-examination or spiritual awakening. Ranking System and Ability Level Ranking in Kumdo Kyu from 10 to 1: jukyu, kukyu, hachikyu, nanakyu, rokyu, gokyu,yonkyu, sankyu, nikkyu, ikkyu.   Dan from 1 to 9: shodan, nidan, sandan, yondan, godan, rokudan,nanadan, hachidan, kudan.   Teaching certificates from lowest to highest: renshi, kyoshi, hanshi. The older schools (koryu) did not have dan ranks – they are a moderninvention. Instead, they used certificates ofmerit. There is virtually no standardization or commonality. Two common termsare menkyo-kaiden, referring to†graduates†, and kirigami for a first rank. Many ryu consider the ranks aslevels of initiation which have noparallel to dan and kyu. Still others broke the ranks down simply as studentand teacher, of possibly various levels. There are three levels in Kumdo 1.Physical Mastery – The students becomes expert in the physical aspect of the art.   These include understanding correct sword etiquette, mastery of the stances, and proper techniques in drawing and moving with the sword. 2.Mental Mastery –   The second level witnesses the Kumdo practitioner beginning to rise above the objective techniques of the sword. The Kumdo technician no longer needs to contemplate whether or not he is in the correct stance or unsheathing the sword efficiently. Through long periods of practice, all movements have become natural and there is no unnecessary thought given to them (Shaw, 2000) 3.Spiritual Alignment –   in this level the practitioner learn to make his physical body and mind work as one through the use of meditation technique. References Chang, Soon (2006) What is Kumdo?. U.S Hwa Rang Kwan. Retrieved on December 17, 2006 http://www.kumdo.com. Shaw, Scott (2000) Kumdo the Korean Art of Sword. Retrieved on December 17, 2006. http://www.scottshaw.com/kumdo.html Orlando, Bob (1997) Martial Arts America: A Western   Approach to Eastern Arts. California. Frog Ltd. ;