Business, its's context and stakeholders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business, its's context and stakeholders - Essay Example The overall growth of continental tourism was double the global average. As foreign tourists enjoyed the increasing number of African states, locals began exploring the beauty of neighboring nations. This booming industry is sure to lead to further economic growth in the region even if the increasing level of consumption of resources and the pressure it puts on the natural environment appear as obstacles. The good news is that these obstacles can be dealt with. Furthermore, the expansion of the African tourism industry makes way for greater understanding between the peoples of the world. The African tourism sector is a large scale enterprise involving an enormous number of stakeholders. In the year 2005, the sector provided 3,877,200 jobs directly and an incredible total of 10,647,000 jobs indirectly. The total travel and tourist revenues expected to be generated in 2005 were $73.6 billion of Gross Domestic Product. In particular, Kenya and Mozambique have seen the most rapid growth in tourist activity in recent years. In 2004 the number of visitors to Kenya increased by twenty six percent and the Kenyan government declared in 2005 that the country has earned more from tourism at this time than ever before. In Mozambique – very popular among South African tourists – tourist activity rose by an impressive thirty seven percent. In North Africa, Egypt experienced a six percent increase, Morocco a five percent increase, and Tunisia an eight percent increase. Things did not go as well for the tourism industry between the years 2002 and 2003. Revenues were massively reduced by terrorism and the wars on terror that began in the year 2001. The tourist hotspots of East Africa, namely Kenya and Tanzania, suffered a number of bomb attacks also. All the same, the African tourism industry is on the rebound. The secretary-general of UN’s World Tourism Organization

Is Globalization Good or Bad?

Is Globalization Good or Bad? Globalisation is a wildly popular subject of discussion in todays literature. It is a phenomenon which has many different dimensions, which include economic, cultural, environmental and political issues. There is a wide spectrum of different opinions about its origins, present effects and future outcomes. Moreover, almost every globalisation aspect is a subject of a very heated academic debate. The topic is so debatable that there is no one conventional definition of globalisation. Nevertheless, it can be narrowly defined as the international integration of markets in goods, services and capital. Thomas Friedman defines globalisation as that loose combination of free trade agreements, the Internet and the integration of financial markets that is erasing borders and uniting the world into a single, lucrative, but brutally competitive marketplace. Whereas Dicken defines globalisation as a more advanced and complex form of internationalization which implies a degree of functional integr ation between internationally dispersed economic activities (Dicken, P. 2003). There are many different ways to approach the issue of globalisation. Most generally the academic debate on the topic of globalisation can be divided into three distinct camps: hyperglobalists (Ohmae, Friedman, Giddens), sceptics (Hirst and Thompson, Ruigrok and van Tulder, Sachs and Warner) and realists (Dicken). While hyper-globalists accept globalisation as a fact and generally perceive it as a beneficial process, sceptics argue that the characteristics of the phenomenon have already been seen at other moments in history and that it is largely negative in its effects. Realists hold the middle ground between these opposing views and support the idea that benefits can arise from globalisation, however it is also critical to establish some sort of regulation. Nevertheless, before considering any theoretical frameworks or any high level academic analysis, I would like to think about a hard socio-economic evidence on which most of the above thinkers arguments are based. In the main body of my work I would like to consider negative and positive outcomes of globalisation which will be dominantly structured around six main socio-economic factors, which include: effects on employment, growth in inequality, environmental damage, international institutions, power of governments and foreign direct investment (FDI). Employment. In regard of employment many sceptics argue that the process of globalisation leads to relocation of work to developing countries from developed, which in effect increases unemployment in the developed world and leads to greater exploitation of workers in the countries to where re-location takes place. To elaborate on the above argument I can say that it was certainly true at the early stages and in many instances still is that there are many places in the world, like South-East Asia, where conditions created by large multinational companies are generally inhumane. Notoriously famous production sites of Nike in Vietnam and China are not as appalling as they used to be, however most developed country workers would still consider them as unacceptable. It also true that many thousands of workers in countries like Britain, Germany and US keep on loosing their jobs to more cost effective sites elsewhere. A good example would be Dysons and Black and Deckers relocation from Britain to lower cost centres in the far east and central Europe. Also there is another frightening aspect in changes of the global employment patterns, which is fall in the real wages. This trend shows up especially strong in the US labour market. Arguably it happens because of increase in wage bargaining powers of large multinational enterprises, which now can use excuse of relocation and increased international competitiveness to ditch an additional pay rise. On the other hand, it can be argued that the conditions provided by multinational companies in developing countries most of the time are a long step ahead of local businesss and keep on improving. One needs to consider a notion of the opportunity cost to see the true picture of what is going on. If a so be employee of the Nike factory would not take a job at the factory he would most likely end-up working for a much lower wage in worse conditions or being forced to supply the black market with any personal services they could, which in most cases arent of the most pleasant nature. One study found wage premium associated with FDI of 12% for blue collar and 22% for white collar workers. It can also be argued that the sweatshops are just a step in the process of industrialisation, which helps to eradicate uncertainties related to the agricultural societies. An example of South Korea can serve as a good illustration. In 1960s the country was twice as poor as North Korea, however due to t he policy of openness adopted by the South Korean government the country experienced a breathtaking period of economic growth; it is now as rich as Portugal and a member of OECD. South Korea also begun as a supplier of basic services like clothe manufacturing, and now it is the biggest shipbuilder, steel producer and provider of broadband internet in the world. (other employment arguments: labour costs are determined by the amount of labour used, as well as by prevailing local wages. Whereas, the price of a Nike shoe is set according to what consumers are willing to pay for it. We have chosen to leave in democratic societies based on the principles of capitalism and free market economy, so learn to live with consequences of your choice or move to North Korea. As well arguments like the workers at the factory would not be able to afford even to buy a one pair of shoes they make with their monthly wages. SO WHAT, employees at Ferrari factory cant afford to buy Ferraris or chambermaids at Ritz Hotel London cant afford to stay at Ritz. The underline is that people do not work in order to consume what they produce). Inequality. Another major aspect of globalisation is its affect on world inequality. There is no greater problem facing the world at the beginning of the 21st century than that of world poverty. One in five of the worlds 6 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, almost half on less than on 2 dollars a day. Nearly a billion do not have access to clean water, 2.4 billion to basic sanitation. Eleven million children under five die each year from preventable diseases. (HERE YOU CAN ARGUE BOTH WAYS: EITHER START ATTACKING GLOBALISATION OR SAY THAT IT IS THERE TO HELP). There are many largely contradictory studies on the issue. I also suspect that some of the findings produced by globalisation supporters and sceptics alike can be a subject to data-mining. Nevertheless, it is argued that the growth in absolute income differentials between North and South becomes wider. For instance, 1990-2001 gap between average GDP per head rose from $16,100 to $19,100. On the other hand, two French economist s at Delta, a research institute in Paris Francois Bourguignon and Christian Morrison have chartered the change in the global inequality since 1820. They found that world inequality increased steadily between 1820 and 1980 the gap between the typical persons income and the average widened from around 40% to around 80% but that between 1980 and 1992, inequality fell a little. Another way to measure inequality is to look at what has happened to people living in extreme poverty. Between 1987 and 1998, the share of the worlds population living on less than a dollar a day fell from 28% to 23% (not much if you think about how much profit multinationals made in the same time period). * Strong relationship between openness and growth, which contributes to reduction in the world poverty and inequality e.g. Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan since 1960s. India and China recently. * Effects on skilled and semi-unskilled workers in the US. (WORLD BANK) Figure 4 suggests that there is no simple association between changes in trade openness and changes in inequality. Certainly there are many well known cases of countries where inequality has risen as they became more integrated into the world economy. Wages of high school educated males in the U.S. fell 20 percent between the mid 1970s and mid 1990s. Income inequality increased in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Uruguay after they liberalized trade at different times in the last three decades. China, one of the fastest integrating countries, also experienced one of the largest inequality, however this was from a situation of very high levels of economic equality prior to integration. Growth was still fast enough to massively reduce poverty. Global Economic Prospec2004 found the number of people living on less than $1 a day in China fell from 361 million in 1990 to 204 million in 2000. But, as Figure 4 suggests, there are also about as many ca ses where inequality fell with more trade openness. Environment. Another very important feature of globalisation is its impact on the environment. According to Thomas Bode (Greenpeace): The modern economy is a fire-breathing vampire of petroleum which is slowly cooking our planet. It is a well known fact that globalisation is linked to increase in pollution levels, which is largely caused by increased travel and more intense use of earths resources. In the post Second World War era, the globalization of environmental degradation has been massively accelerated by a number of factors: fifty years of extraordinary resource-intensive, high-pollution growth in the OECD; the industrialisation of Russia, Eastern Europe and the ex-Soviet states; the breakneck industrialisation of many parts of the South; and a massive rise in global population. In addition, we are now able to perceive risk and environmental change with much greater depth and accuracy. Humankind faces an unprecedented array of truly global and regional environmental problems, the reach of which is greater than any single national community (or generation) and the solutions to which cannot be tackled at the level of the nation-state alone; these include, most obviously, global warming, ozone depletion; destruction of global rainforests and loss of biodiversity; oceanic and riverine pollution; global level nuclear threats and risks. Over the twentieth century these transformations have been paralleled by the unprecedented growth of global and regional environmental movements, regimes and international treaties. However, none of these institutions has as yet been able to amass sufficient political power, domestic support or international authority to do more than limit the worst excesses of some of these global environmental threats. There is an urgent need for some world-wide enforceable regulation which would eliminate opportunities for the large multinational to cut corners in complying with the World environmental standards. (Use examples: Union Carbide in Bhopal India; European forestry companies in south America; Shell and Brent Spar). On the other hand, It should be noted that argument against globalisation can be considered as an argument against economic growth in general. It is true, however, that growth in developing countries is accompanied by severe environmental degradation. However, recent evidence suggests a more subtle and complex relationship between economic development and environmental protection. The environmental impact tends to decline with economic growth of a country. A 1998 World Bank study of organic water pollution found that pollution intensity fell by 90 per cent as per capita income rose from $500 to $20,000, with the fastest decline occurring before the country reached middle income status (Figure 6. Hettige, Mani and Wheeler, 1998). Average air quality in China has stabilized or improved since the mid-1980s in monitored cities, especially large ones the same period during which China has experienced both rapid economic growth and increased openness to trade and investment. Moreover, openness to trade and investment can provide developing countries with both the incentive to adopt, and the access to, new technologies, which may provide a cleaner or greener way of producing the good concerned. For example, much foreign investment is for export markets. The quality requirements in those markets encourage use of the latest technology, which is typically cleaner than old technologies. A World Bank study of steel production in 50 countries found that open economies led closed economies in the adoption of cleaner technologies by wide margins, resulting in the open economies being 17 percent less pollution-intensive in this sector than closed economies (Wheeler, Huq and Martin 1993). Another concern relates less to environmental outcomes and more to environmental regulation. It is argued that increased international competition for investment will cause countries to lower environmental regulations (or to retain poor ones), a race to the bottom in environmental standards as countries fight to attract foreign capital and keep domestic investment at home. However there is no evidence that the cost of environmental protection has ever been the determining factor in foreign investment decisions. Factors such as labor and raw material costs, transparent regulation and protection of property rights are likely to be much more important, even for polluting industries. Indeed, foreign-owned plants in developing countries, precisely the ones that according to the theory would be most attracted by low standards, tend to be less polluting than indigenous plants in the same industry. Most multinational companies adopt near-uniform standards globally, often well above the local government-set standards (Dowell, Hart and Yeung 2000; Schot and Fischer 1993). International Institutions, decline in power of governments and growth in power of multinationals . There are many different critiques published on the topic of globalization, however one of the most effective ones according to my view are on the inefficiency of large international governing bodies, which supposed to direct the process of globalization towards the greater good. Our national leaders tell us that top-down corporate globalization is an inevitable, naturally-occurring phenomenon. But the terms of globalization have been defined by a few powerful organizations that operate without transparency or democratic oversight. There never was economic evidence in favor of capital market liberalization. There still isnt. It increases risk and doesnt increase growth. Youd think [defenders of liberalization] would say to me by now, You havent read these 10 studies, but they havent, because theres not even one. There isnt the intellectual basis that you would have thought required for a major change in international rules. It was all based on ideology. Joseph Stiglitz, former Chief Economist of the World Bank The World Trade Organization is the most powerful legislative and judicial body in the world. By promoting the free trade agenda of multinational corporations above the interests of local communities, working families, and the environment, the WTO has systematically undermined democracy around the world. In the eight years of its existence, WTO panels composed of corporate attorneys have ruled that: the US law protecting sea turtles was a barrier to free trade; that US clean air standards and laws protecting dolphins are too; that the European Union law banning hormone-treated beef is illegal. According to the WTO, our democratically elected public officials no longer have the rights to protect the environment and public health. Unlike United Nations treaties, the International Labor Organization conventions, or multilateral environmental agreements, WTO rules can be enforced through sanctions. This gives the WTO more power than any other international body. The WTOs authority even e clipses national governments. Created after World War II to help avoid Great Depression-like economic disasters, the World Bank and the IMF are the worlds largest public lenders, with the Bank managing a total portfolio of $200 billion and the Fund supplying member governments with money to overcome short-term credit crunches. But the Bank and the Fund are also the worlds biggest loan sharks. When the Bank and the Fund lend money to debtor countries, the money comes with strings attached. These strings come in the form of policy prescriptions called structural adjustment policies. These policies-or SAPs, as they are sometimes called-require debtor governments to open their economies to penetration by foreign corporations, allowing access to the countrys workers and environment at bargain basement prices. Structural adjustment policies mean across-the-board privatization of public utilities and publicly owned industries. They mean the slashing of government budgets, leading to cutbacks in spending on health care a nd education. They mean focusing resources on growing export crops for industrial countries rather than supporting family farms and growing food for local communities. And, as their imposition in country after country in Latin America, Africa, and Asia has shown, they lead to deeper inequality and environmental destruction. International trade agreements such as NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) and GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) were written by representatives of large corporations and they function in the interests of large corporations. For example, detailed studies by Public Citizen and other watchdog groups have shown that in the seven years of NAFTA, transnational corporations from the three signing countries (Canada, USA, Mexico) have benefited while the middle classes and working classes of these countries have suffered. More jobs have been lost due to NAFTA than have been created. Several decades of the GATT have lowered corporate taxes by the trillions of dollars, thus helping to bankrupt governments around the world and make them dependent on borrowing from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the private banks. This indebtedness then gives immense policy influence to the bankers, who are mainly interested in the money cycle not the life cycle. The power of influence over governments in shaping the global economy in the corporate interest is of immense value to global corporations. Some argue that globalisation erodes the ability of governments to: raise taxation, regulate markets and manage currencies. That it becomes the race to the bottom. Governments are told to follow two paths. First, deregulate and privatise. This has been pursued in over 90 countries through structural adjustment policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The bitter legacy is growing poverty in all regions of the developing world, except China. Second, leave business to regulate itself. Corporations have promised to adopt voluntary ethical standards in response to growing public concern over social and environmental damage. But these have often been a public relations exercise to deflect criticism and the few companies that are implementing these standards compete at a disadvantage to the majority of companies that dont. (can use eg. Case study ERM 1992 UK and Italy had to devalue their currencies. Central banks are powerless in trying to control international speculators George Soros is a GANGSTER). On the other hand, there is a substantial evidence that governments did not become more constrained; in some cases there was an increase in their relative powers. For instance, there is a systematic increase in the tax burden in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. (CANT FIND ARGUMENTS TO SUPPORT ABOVE STATEMENT think of something yourself). As well, growing power of multinationals is not such a bad thing after all. It can become a new form of international governance. Multinational companies have very strong financial incentives to behave ethically. If companies will not pay attention to the issues of CSR (corporate social responsibility) their share price can decline, which than leaves than vulnerable to hostile take-overs. There is a growing concern among consumers in the World in favour of support of ethical policies, eg. Fare Trade Policies Starbucks claims to be an avid supporter of fair trade policies. Therefore, corporations may face consumer boycotts, whereas governments are pretty much immune to short-run fluctuations in the popular opinion. Also, some theories of internationalisation argue that MNCs must have higher efficiency than other firms and governments. According to classical economic theory government spending is highly inefficient, because civil servants lack appropriate motives to search for the best possible use of available resources. Government spending also leads to out crowding of finance available to the private sector, which means that the companies have to face a higher cost of borrowing if they want to increase their spending. Governments are more corruptible (MAYBE ). Just think about it our governments collect in most cases nearly half of their countries GDP, half of all the income generated by the economy during the year. And what they do with it?! Spend on defence or some doomed governmental projects largely oriented to stir public opinion in their favour in order to win next general election. Think about all that money which is being wasted because of bureaucracy. US government only collects 30% of GDP in taxes and US is the richest country in the world. Multinationals are great innovators: (e.g. Dunning and ownership specific advantages, Rugman and the flagship firm). + can link to multiplier effect and wage premium. FDI (foreign direct investment) / Trade. As expressed in percentage of the global gross domestic product (gdp), the share of the combined inward and outward foreign direct investment (fdi) stocks rose from 19.2% in 1990 to 34.0% in 1999 and an estimated 38.2% in 2000. (Im sorry but Im too bored to write in detail about trade or FDI). Basic argument is the fact that most of the trade and FDI happens between Japan, US and Europe. 69% of FDI goes to developed countries. Some continents are marginalised, eg. Africa only receives 2% of global FDI. However, to my opinion it is absolutely normal. These are the largest economies in the world. GDP of US is over 12 trillion, whereas GDP of Japan (second largest economy) is over 6 trillion, GDP of EU is about 7 or 8 you cant expect these countries to invest most of their money in Eastern Europe, Africa or South-East Asia. Combined economies of these are dwarfs compared to economies of developed countries. Huge spending in these countries will breed inefficiencies, which than can be followed by another Asian crises (1997) or Russia defaulting on its payments. The cost of finance should reflect its true market value. From the business stand point money should only be invested if they can generate greater wealth, if there are not enough lucrative opportunities to go around de veloped countries should not be competing with each other by providing cheap loans, but concentrate on their regions. Undervalued finance create slack attitude, breads bureaucracy, corruption and have a great potential of destroying dynamic efficiency of developing world (can compare to governments supporting national champions). (VERY CAPITALISTIC VIEW). Nevertheless, developing countries are net recipients of foreign direct investment anyway. e.g foreign firms invest more in Africa than Africa firms invest elsewhere. Conclusion. (use your own depending on which view you support). (Can contrast different theoretical standpoints check the end of International Business lecture hand-out, week 3 A BIT BORRING BE ORIGINAL).

Social Construction of Gender Essay -- Gender Socialization Sex Essays

Social Construction of Gender   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today’s society plays a very important role in the construction of gender. Gender is a type of issue that has raised many questions over the years in defining and debating if both male and female are equal. Today gender is constructed in four different ways. The first way gender is defined is by the family in which a child is raised. Second is the society in which a child interacts; makes friends and enemies. The third is our school system and our board of education. And the last but not least is our own self conscious. Each of the above four ways have a unique way of molding and helping an individual define his/her gender.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lets take the first one in perspective. The family is a very important factor in defining our gender. Our gender starts to define as soon as we are born. If a boy is born in a family, the family members would buy toys like monster trucks, race cars, action hero and toys that inspire a male behavior. As oppose to if a girl is born, the family members would buy dolls, and cute dresses, and stuffed bears. They would inspire her to behave soft and kind like a female should behave. Parents would allow their sons to stay out late and be little more liberal on them. And they would not allow their daughter to stay our late and be a little strict. Dads would expect their sons to help him in the garage or any other project around the house and moms expect their daughters to help them in kitchen. All of these characteristics are not unusual or our of ordinary, this has been the tradition for hundreds of ears and as far as I can see it will still remain the same.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Society is a social factors that has many ways in which its mold a individual and defines his/her gender. Society includes your friends, mentors, enemies, and our co-workers and significant others. If you are a boy you usually hand around with guys, playing football, basketball and other sports. A boy is expected to have â€Å"Machoness† inside him when he grows up. If you are a girl, you would usually hang around girls, playing indoor games, watching soaps, and going shopping every now and them. A society expect a boy to be the solid figure in a family. A man who can earn the bread for the family and women to take care of kids and the house. Jobs out in our society defines gender. Men are usually factory workers, electri... ...losing friends and family most male and female construct their own role in their life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The conclusion of this essay is that there are four prime factors that construct gender role in today’s society. They include our family, society, educational systems and self conscious. There are other cultural products that effect the gender within these four categories. For example the notion that women are physically and weaker then men and that they are much more emotional then men are. I think no one should be judged on what there gender. The word â€Å"Gender† should be used less and less and individuals should be judged on their accomplishment and work rather then gender. Society have been defining and constructing gender for many years. But in 20th century we should all construct gender not according to what one can do and what not, but what mental qualities they have. We should define men as courageous and ambitious. Male gender should be define as father, son, and a leader, instead of someone who are physically stronger then women. Female gender should be define as mothers, sister and others who are caring, loving and care taking, instead of weak individuals.

Learning Disabilities and the Classroom Essay

Learning Disabilities and the Classroom With every classroom you are able to see a dynamic between students and their teacher. It takes a strong teacher to really make everything accessible to all students including student with learning disabilities. The class that I watched was Christina Hilliker’s second grade. The disabilities that were part of this great dynamic were Downs, Autism, ADHD, auditory processing and behavior issues that cause learning difficulties. Within the classroom I was able to see many ways that Ms. Hilliker was maintaining her classroom. For general classroom behavior she used a stop light method (red, green yellow). Each student had a Popsicle stick with their name for individual reprimands. For the students that have ADHD or behavior issues there is a behavior chart with daily goals, these goals last the week but are checked daily for each subject. The student with Downs has a paraprofessional that keeps track of her daily behavior goals to connect with her IEP. The student with Autism also has a paraprofessional that maintains the guidelines for behaviors for this student. He is also on a behavior intervention plan that allows for him to maintain control of his by allowing him to pick three activities to complete before his break. During my visit I noticed that table grouping was strategically placed to help lower level students engage with peers that are at a higher learning level. This works with shoulder partners, face to face and there were no more than four in a ground so it is not overwhelming for students with the learning disability. I also noticed that she placed the more encouraging and higher level students with O.D. the student with Downs and C.S. the student with Autism. M.M and B.S. both were split between the tables that did not have Para’s so Ms. Hilliker was able to monitor their needs as she taught. They were both placed facing the board and away from the door and window to reduce distraction. Ms .Hilliker planned her lesson around the student with the disabilities, during reading the teacher made it a point to meet with the red group (below readers) and explain to them what was expected during this time. This meeting allowed for the students and the  paraprofessionals to hear exspectations and allow for the Para have to review the directions for the red group students. C.S. and O.D. both had Ipads that allowed them to work independently on Prologo allowing the Para’s to work with the other students. Math time was planned around the special education teacher, this was to allow for the students who were in need of flex grouping to work on the activity to have this and she was then able to monitor the correct use of the math titles. In science there was little planning needed because C.S. and B.S. (B.S. has ADHD as well as behavior problems) were always read a social story to prepare them for the openness of science class and the expectations that they were to follow. For purpose of inclusion I did not like the stop light discipline, I felt that it held the students who were already on plans for behavior to too many behavior expectations. This seemed overwhelming for me as a visitor to comprehend so I am sure it was for the students with learning difficulties. I think that the behavior plans that were for the individual students worked well to meet their academic abilities and behavior goals. I would use the stop light for the students that were not on BIP’s. During reading I thought that meeting with the red group was great idea because it allows the students to get that one on one time with the teacher in flex group setting and allows for the other students to show independence in the classroom. While meeting I thought that the Para’s should have been introduced to the directions earlier so they could have in the IPad’s and written down for a check list for B.S and M.M. It was nice to see that Ms. Hilliker and Mrs. Mester worked together during math because it seemed that the students really struggled in math and reading and the flex grouping seemed to help. I found it very strange to find out that the student with Downs was not labeled as a learning disability but was put into this category to access what she needed academically. I did not like the fact that due to funding most of the students like this were not on an alternative curriculum in all cases. I would however use Ms. Hilliker’s seating ideas because it seemed to help B.S. maintain his behavior and compete is work with minimal distractions and M.M. was close to the teacher at all times to ask for clarification. I did notice that M.M. was labeled as auditory processing disorder and there were few accommodations to help this student as an individual. While watching B.S. it was clear that there was the need to have  some type of social skills expectations that should be worked with, this student was very immature and inappropri ate at times. M.M. on the other hand had no social interaction with his classmates unless the teacher essential made him do it. I also saw that students that were higher sometimes made B.S. and C.S. get off task when they thought it would be funny for them to get negative attention from the teacher, this was normally right after the Para or teacher paid one on one attention to these two particular students. It was clear that Ms. Hilliker was familiar with this behavior as well because she was able to stop most of this behavior before it got out of hand and was actually able to address the students that where essentially picking on B.S. and C.S. and explain the bully type behavior that they were displaying towards their classmates. In this one classroom there were many things that jumped out at me maybe because they looked overwhelming or maybe because they really worked but one thing is for sure and that is it takes everything a teacher has to keep students learning and without the support from her students and Para’s Ms. Hillikers class would not run like it does. They are a class community working to gether to create lifelong learners.

Training & Development: a Tool of Retaining Employees

Training & Development: A tool of Retaining Employees â€Å"Abstract† NITIN GUPTA (ASST. PROF. IIMT HOTEL MANAGEMENT COLLEGE) The objective of this study is to show that training & development is required for an organization to retain its employees, as Training is activity leading to skilled behavior and it realize the employees that what they want in life& knowing how to reach it, where they want to go and how to get there, how high they want to rise and how to take off in the organization. The people in your organization are your most important resource. It is not only essential to hire the very best employees but the important is that a company retains those employees. Training and re-skilling inspire loyalty. Training is seen as expensive and a way of making their employees attractive to others. The risks involved, when weighed against the benefits, often mean that retraining is overlooked in favor of recruiting externally. However, the recruitment costs of staff time before and after the hire and direct expenses compare favorably against staff development costs. Training employees reinforces their sense of value. Through training, employers help employees achieve goals and ensure they have a solid understanding of their job requirements. A mixed approach of valuing staff by developing skills, providing interesting/motivating work while recognizing their individual contribution, along side benefits and perks, will mean that you are an employer that employees don't want to leave. TOPIC Training & Development: A tool of Retaining Employees INTRODUCTION The people in any organization are most important resource. It is not only essential to hire the very best employees but the important is that a company retains those employees. Training and re-skilling inspire loyalty. Training is seen as expensive and a way of making their employees attractive to others. The risks involved, when weighed against the benefits, often mean that retraining is overlooked in favor of recruiting externally. However, the recruitment costs of staff time before and after the hire and direct expenses compare favorably against staff development costs. Employees leave organizations for many reasons; oftentimes these reasons are unknown to their employers. Employers need to listen to employees’ needs and implement retention strategies to make employees feel valued and engaged in order to keep them. These retention methods can have a significant and positive impact on an organization’s turnover rate. According to strategic planning consultant Leigh Branham, SPHR, 88% of employees leave their jobs for reasons other than pay: However, 70% of managers think employees leave mainly for pay-related reasons. Branham says there are seven main reasons why employees leave a company: 1. Employees feel the job or workplace is not what they expected. 2. There is a mismatch between the job and person. 3. There is too little coaching and feedback. 4. There are too few growth and advancement opportunities. 5. Employees feel devalued and unrecognized. 6. Employees feel stress from overwork and have a work/life imbalance. 7. There is a loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders. WHY RETAINING EMPLOYEES IS IMPORTANT? Turnover is costly. According to Right Management, a talent and career management consulting firm, it costs nearly three times an employee’s salary to replace someone, which includes recruitment, severance, lost productivity, and lost opportunities. Life Work Solutions, a provider of staff retention and consulting services, provides the following turnover facts and rates: †¢ Over 50 % of people recruited in to an organization will leave within 2 years. †¢ One in four of new hires will leave within 6 months. †¢ Nearly 70% of organizations report that staff turnover has a negative financial impact due to the cost of recruiting, hiring, and training a replacement employee and the overtime work of current employees that’s required until the organization can fill the vacant position. Nearly 70 % of organizations report having difficulties in replacing staff. †¢ Approximately 50% of organizations experience regular problems with employee retention. From these statistics it’s clear that it’s important to develop a retention plan to retain employees and keep turnover low. If an employee resigns, then good amount of time is lost in hiring a new employee and then training him/her and this goes to t he loss of the company directly which many a times goes unnoticed. And even after this no one can assure the same efficiency from the new employee (He might be better and might not be). It requires time to judge his capabilities and work nature. And above all these things, one resignation many a times triggers a chain reaction among other employees, leading to a negative effect. RETENTION METHODS Here are some effective methods employers utilize in order to keep employees happy and part of their organization instead of looking for employment opportunities elsewhere. Training: Training employees reinforces their sense of value. Through training, employers help employees achieve goals and ensure they have a solid understanding of their job requirements. It’s important for companies to give coaching to employees so that their efforts stay aligned with the goals of the company and meet expectations. During an employee’s first few weeks on the job, an employer should provide intensive feedback. Employers should also provide formal and informal feedback to employees throughout the year. Mentoring. A mentoring program integrated with a goal-oriented feedback system provides a structured mechanism for developing strong relationships within an organization and is a solid foundation for employee retention and growth. With a mentoring program, an organization pairs someone more experienced in a discipline with someone less experienced in a similar area, with the goal to develop specific competencies, provide performance feedback, and design an individualized career development plan. Instill a positive culture. A company should establish a series of values as the basis for culture such as honesty, excellence, attitude, respect, and teamwork (IOMA, 2008). A company that creates the right culture will have an advantage when it comes to attracting and keeping good employees (Main). Use communication to build credibility. No matter what the size of the organization, communication is central to building and maintaining credibility. Many employers get communication to â€Å"flow up† through a staff advisory council (or similar group) which solicits and/or receives employees’ opinions and suggestions and passes them on to upper management (IOMA). It’s also important for employees to know that the employer is really listening and responds to (or otherwise acknowledges) employee input. Show appreciation via compensation and benefits. Offering things like competitive salaries, profit sharing, bonus programs, pension and health plans, paid time off, and tuition reimbursement sends a powerful message to employees about their importance at the organization. The rewards given to employees must be meaningful in order to impact their perception of the organization and therefore have a marked influence on its retention efforts. Moreover, if an organization promises a reward, it should keep that promise. Encourage referrals and recruit from within. Having current employees offer referrals could help minimize confusion of job expectations. Current employees can realistically describe a position and the environment to the individual he/she is referring. Another way an employer can lessen the impact of turnover is to hire from within, since current employees have already discovered that they are a good fit in the organization. Provide growth opportunities. An organization should provide workshops, software, or other tools to help employees increase their understanding of themselves and what they want from their careers and enhance their goal-setting efforts. It’s important to provide employees with adequate job challenges that will expand their knowledge in their field. According to Right Management, employees are more likely to stay engaged in their jobs and committed to an organization that makes investments in them and their career development. Make employees feel valued. Employees will go the extra mile if they feel responsible for the results of their work, have a sense of worth in their jobs, believe their jobs make good use of their skills, and receive recognition for their contributions. Employees should be rewarded at a high level to motivate even higher performance. The use of cash payouts could be used for on-the-spot recognition. These rewards have terrific motivational power, especially when given as soon as possible after the achievement. It’s important for employers to say â€Å"thank you† to employees for their efforts and find different ways to recognize them. Even something as simple as a free lunch can go a long way towards making employees feel valued. Listen to employees and ask for their input as to what rewards might work best at your organization. Conduct meetings and surveys to enable employees to share their input (Branham). Most team members will work harder to carry out a decision that they’ve helped to influence. Lower stress from overworking and create work/life balance. It’s important to match work/life benefits to the needs of employees. This could be in the form of offering nontraditional work schedules (such as a compressed work week, telecommuting, and flextime) or extra holidays. When work-life balance is structured properly, both the employee and employer come out ahead. For example, the employer will experience more productivity in the workplace because employees will be less stressed, healthier, and thus, more productive (Wingfield). Encouraging employees to set work/life goals, such as spending more time with their children, communicates that you really do want them to have a life outside of work and achieve a healthy work/life balance. Foster trust and confidence in senior leaders. Develop strong relationships with employees from the start to build trust. Employees have to believe that upper management is competent and that the organization will be successful. An employer has to be able to inspire this confidence and make decisions that reinforce it. An employer cannot say one thing and do another. For example, an employer shouldn’t talk about quality and then push employees to do more work in less time. In addition, employers need to engage and inspire employees by enacting policies that show they trust them, such as getting rid of authoritarian style of management. HOW TRAINING WORKS IN RETAINING EMPLOYEES? Once skilled workers are nestled within any organizations there is a second challenge in keeping them there – and here training and education can play a crucial role. Retaining good employees is critically important to a company's bottom line. Many companies that fail to place adequate emphasis on training make the mistake of assuming that pay is the only important motivating factor for their staff. In 1999 the Hay Group studied over 500,000 people in 300 companies to find out what promoted employee loyalty. The top three factors, mentioned by ninety percent of respondents, were; â€Å"career growth, learning and development†; â€Å"exciting work and challenge† and â€Å"meaningful work, making a difference and a contribution†. Fair pay and benefits was tenth on the list. After studying the above, following results are concluded as the output of training & development of employees: †¢ Optimum Utilization of Human Resources – Training and Development helps in optimizing the utilization of human resource that further helps the employee to achieve the organizational goals as well as their individual goals. †¢ Development of Human Resources – Training and Development helps to provide an opportunity and broad structure for the development of human resources’ technical and behavioral skills in an organization. It also helps the employees in attaining personal growth. Development of skills of employees – Training and Development helps in increasing the job knowledge and skills of employees at each level. It helps to expand the horizons of human intellect and an overall personality of the employees. †¢ Productivity – Training and Development helps in increasing the productivity of the employees that helps the organization further to achieve its long-term goal. †¢ Team spirit – Training and Development helps in inculcating the sense of team work, team spirit, and inter-team collaborations. It helps in inculcating the zeal to learn within the employees. Organization Culture – Training and Development helps to develop and improve the organizational health culture and effectiveness. It helps in creating the learning culture within the organization. †¢ Organization Climate – Training and Development helps building the positive perception and feeling about the organization. The employees get these feelings from leaders, subordinates, and peers. †¢ Quality – Training and Development helps in improving upon the quality of work and work-life. †¢ Healthy work environment – Training and Development helps in creating the healthy working environment. It helps to build good employee, relationship so that individual goals aligns with organizational goal. †¢ Health and Safety – Training and Development helps in improving the health and safety of the organization thus preventing obsolescence. †¢ Morale – Training and Development helps in improving the morale of the work force. †¢ Image – Training and Development helps in creating a better corporate image. †¢ Profitability – Training and Development leads to improved profitability and more positive attitudes towards profit orientation. †¢ Training and Development aids in organizational development i. . Organization gets more effective decision making and problem solving. It helps in understanding and carrying out organizational policies †¢ Training and Development helps in developing leadership skills, motivation, loyalty, better attitudes, and other aspects that successful workers and managers usually display. CONCLUSION Itâ⠂¬â„¢s clear that having proper retention strategies is key in order to retain employees. Productivity is maximized when employees enjoy their work. Offering opportunities to explore different options within the organization is one way of motivating the workforce. A company that is tuned into meeting employee needs should encourage movement across processes and functions. An environment that motivates and stimulates employees, managers need to incorporate motivation-building practices into their corporate culture. These practices include listening to employees and respecting their opinions, basing rewards on performance, and trained them to develop their skills & being available to them for everything from listening to their ideas and concerns to assisting them with their career advancement. Rotation of functions provides a forum for constant learning and self-improvement. When employees are given a chance to grow in various functions, a positive work environment is created. Thus, employee morale and productivity are maintained at a very high level. References/ Bibliography †¢ Crosscut magazine, spring 2002 (article by Iain Macdonald, Associate Director, Centre for Advanced Wood Processing) †¢ Harvard Business Essentials: Guide to Hiring and Keeping the Best People, Harvard Business Press by Sarah K. Yazinski, University of Scranton †¢ Training as important as salaries in staff loyalty By Gareth Morgan, IT Week Tuesday, July 31, 2001 02:59 PM Handle with care: motivating and retaining your employees   By Barbara A. Glanz Recruiting, training, and retaining new employees: managing the transition †¦ By Jack J. Phillips, Sharon L. Oswald Retaining your best employees: nine case studies from the real world of training  By Patricia Pulliam Phillips Web Page: http://writer4u. com Submitted By Leslie Wood

Running Head Strategic Plan

Running Head Strategic Plan Introduction A strategic plan is a framework or platform that gives an organization a long-term focus and direction. It consists of long-term decisions concerning organizational focus and organizational operations. The main reason why organizations engage in long-term planning is to guarantee a competitive advantage in the future.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Running Head: Strategic Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A strategic plan helps an organization anticipate challenges of the future and prepare for the same. Consequently, a strategic plan is a blue print that explains how the organization is to handle changing environmental challenges. The strategy formulation process helps management to think out of the box. Such a process helps management to consider things that other organizations are likely not to consider or do not have the privilege of considering. What is implied is the fact that in a strategy p rocess, the organization considers how to create a competitive advantage over competition. Usually a strategic plan is a long or medium term plan, which usually encompasses a number of years depending on organizational preferences. In often cases, each department in the organization comes up with its own strategic plan. Therefore, the marketing department, the sales and the Human resource department, among others, will come up with their own independent strategic plans. The human resource strategic plan helps aligning the human resource long-term objectives with the overall long-term objectives of the organization. Queensland Department’s Strategic Plan Strategic Focus As is the case with Queensland department of education and training, their strategic plan covers the period starting 2010 to 2014. Of critical importance in any strategic planning is the vision and mission formulation. The major focus of the Queensland education department’s strategic plan is to accompli sh the collective aims of giving children a good start; laying down a well-grounded educational foundation for children of Queensland. Consequently, the vision of the department is â€Å"clever, Skilled and Creative Queenslanders†. This is where they want to steer their operations towards; the end they desire. Following from the Vision, the strategic plan spells out the mission statement as â€Å"To provide Queenslanders with knowledge, skills and confidence to maximize their potential contribute productively to the economy and build a better Queensland†.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Focus is on developing a critical pool of skilled and knowledgeable youth that will take up important positions in society and make a difference. To achieve this, the strategic plan spells out a number of values. Values are critical because they frame the culture or c onduct that is conducive towards attainment of strategic objectives. Strategic Objectives In every strategic plan, there are clearly stated strategic objectives of the organization. The organization in this case is Queensland while the education department is only part of Queensland state bureaucracy. Consequently, the department’s strategic objectives have to be anchored on the strategic intents of Queensland as a state. The strategic plan for Queensland’s department of education and training spells out the objectives for the department; the objectives outline the organizations aspirations for the four-year period. The department’s strategic plan illustrates its objectives as unitary and geared towards one overall objective i.e. providing education services and requisite resources for proper learning. The objectives of Queensland department of education and training include: To provide all children access to early childhood education To ensure three out of fou r Queenslanders hold a trade training or tertiary level qualification Develop Queenslanders who will power the economy of Queensland with creative ideas To, through education, make young Queenslanders environmental conscious Equip Queenslanders with knowledge to live healthy lifestyles To promote equity and fairness in society Environmental Scanning/ Analysis Coming up with a strategic plan does not end at formulation of objectives and consultation with other stakeholders. To guarantee results there is need for environmental scanning before formulation, during formulation, during implementation and in the evaluation of the strategic plan. Environmental scanning consists investigating into factors both in the internal and external environment of the organization. Internal environmental factors refer to issues relating to the organization in itself that inform its operations. In often cases, the organization has direct control or influence over the internal factors. The external envi ronmental factors are those factors that the organization has no control over but they directly influence organizational operations. Such factors are beyond the organization and relate to external actors in the organizational environment. To scan the environment or to analyze the organizational environment, managers use different tools. Such commonly used models or tools include PESTEL also called the global model and SWOT analysis.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Running Head: Strategic Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More SWOT Analysis SWOT is an acronym of Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths are the strong points of an organization i.e. which the organization is advantaged in. These positive aspects, when properly harnessed and enhanced, can propel an organization to much greater height. In every business organization, a number of things or factors either are still being developed or put th e organization at a disadvantage. In many organizations, there are elements, which tend to decline or diminish a business (Bohm, 2009). These issues originate from within a business and are put down as weaknesses in a SWOT matrix. Unless a business organization takes care of the weaknesses, they are likely to bring the business down or place it in a disadvantaged position in comparison to the competitors. Opportunities can be defined as chances that an organization or individual can maximize in order to gain a competitive advantage i.e. overcome the pressure and intimidations of the competitor (OConnor, 1884). Opportunities are external factors that a person or organization may have very minimal authority to influence. Threats refer to factors in the external environment of an organization that are likely to affect the organization negatively (Griffin, 2007). Queensland Department of Education SWOT Analysis Strengths Government’s strong partnership with industry – growth in the use of technology – strong partnership with Australian government and other states, which helps enhance service delivery in all aspects or as per roles assigned to the department Weaknesses Only 32% of Queenslanders accessing early child hood education Higher proportion of children who are developmentally vulnerable Gap between training outcomes for aboriginal, Torres straight Islanders and other Queenslanders Rapid urban growth and diminishing rural population Sparse geographical distribution of population increasing cost of operation – infrastructural challenges – high demand for staff – need to rethink recruitment and staff retention Opportunities Integrating kindergarten in the rest of the education programs Agencies and community read to work with department – opportunities to use technology Threats Global economic downturn Lack of skilled workforce to use advantages and opportunities in state industry and b usinesses Human Resource Implications The SWOT analysis in the strategic plan identified two human resource implications worth considering. These two strategic concerns include recruitment and retention of employee, leaning, growth and development of workforce.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Human Resource Strategic Plan.  Brief Background Recruitment and Retention of Employees One of the key issues that the strategic plan identifies is need to identify and recruit able staff to drive growth. Before identifying staff to recruit, there is the tough challenge of attracting the right candidates. To enable organic growth in the department of education and training at Queensland, recruitment is fundamental. The Queensland labor market is very dynamic and competitive. When the labor market of a nation is dynamic, it is very difficult to draw and maintain highly qualified employees that will make it possible for the organization to accomplish its purposes (Pieper, 1990). The challenge for most human resource managers including the situation in Queensland department of education and training is to engage the right workers and assign them to the right situation or the right place. Further, the managers have the challenge of assisting recruits to work at most favorable level th at provides the organization with an operational advantage. Learning, Development and Growth Employee development and growth as concerns have to do with capacity building for staff such that they are apt enough to meet the aspirations of the department. The department has very rosy dreams in terms of its vision for Queensland. However, only employees will drive that vision to fruition. Therefore, there is need for mechanisms to ensure employees are trained and developed such that they are up to the challenge. Knowledge management will play a serious role in ensuring significant information is identified captured and dispersed in Queensland department of education and training. Such a process allows key information to be dispersed across the organization. Proper information management coupled with training for employees ensures apt decision making in an organization (Harrison, 2005). According to Harrison (2005), the learning and development packages should enhance learning by focusi ng on realistic knowledge and instances with hypothetical resources accessible. In Queensland, there are people of different calibers. Social equity is of critical value and employee development has to take into account the needs of say the aboriginal. The importance of every region’s language is fundamental in dealing in with different clients; given not all of them may be literate to understand a universal or national language. Similarly, the sale of any region cannot be ignored because they form an important ingredient of what lead to the organization aggregate sale and ultimately revenue. Human Resource Plan: Strategic Focus In line with the identified human resource implication, the focus of the human resource department is on ensuring the organization has employees that will drive its strategic vision. Moreover, there is need to focus on developing employees so that they respond to the challenges that the department is facing. Therefore, the vision of the human resource is to ‘avail and develop and human resource pool that will help drive the organizational vision of realizing clever, skilled and creative Queenslanders’. Human Resource Policy Statement Recruitment Policy Statement The objective of any human resource policy is to entice the very good people and equally select the right person for the right positions in an organization (Wilson, 2005). Wilson (2005) further notes that the aspiration in any good human resource policy is to facilitate the engagement of employees, who will uphold the company principles and objectives. A good human resource policy helps towards making employees trustworthy partners in bid to generate a competitive advantage for the organization (Olsen, 2006). A particular employment procedure is intended to make certain an organization is continuously resourced by means of employees who think outside the box, embrace challenges and extend to turn out to be future leaders lashing an organization to achievemen t. Queensland department of education and training will focus on identifying employees who have knowledge, skills and the confidence to drive the vision of the organization. To achieve this dream, the human resourcing managers will be guided by values outlined in the department’s strategic plan. As an equal opportunity employer, the department will strive towards equity by giving marginalized communities opportunities that help build capacity. Equity is very important towards ensuring cultural diversity becomes instrument as opposed to an obstacle to success (Marsh, 1996). Employee Development Policy Statement An organization’s growth is dependent on the quality of employees that have been obtained through the organization’s recruitment process. The current organization’s approach to recruitment cannot accommodate the business changes due to a changing macro environment. Therefore, the human resource plan should encompass directions in terms of how to mee t challenges posed by flux in the business environment. Such changes result from government macro-economic policies (Weisbrod, 2000). These challenges can only be met through continuous learning and development of employees. It is only through training and development that organizational capacity is built to meet emerging needs. Therefore, as the organization sets out towards new frontiers by the year 2014, there is need to focus on further education and development of the employees. Queensland department of education and training highly believes that mutual relations between the employer and employees are critical if organizational objectives are to be achieved (Beesley, 1975). It is the responsibility of the organization to make available fair and sound training opportunities to all employees for the purposes of dealing with knowledge, skill and soft skill gaps in the organization (Beesley, 1975). As a department, Queensland department of education and training is committed to con tinuous improvement. Objective of the Human Resource Plan In line with the aspirations of the Queensland department of education and training’s strategic plan, the human resource sector has to formulate objectives to drive the department’s vision. The two human resource implications identified are recruitment and retention of employees, then learning and development of the human resource; both existing and those to be recruited. Therefore, the human resource objectives are:- To identify and recruit employees that will drive the departments vision To put in place mechanisms that will ensure employee retention To facilitate employee training and development To align current employee expertise with the needs of marginalize groups in society Necessary Resources and Implementation To attain given objectives, there is need to translate them into tangible actions and thus need for an action plan. Each of the identified actions will require given resources in terms of materi als, money, know how, time and work force. To meet rising needs, the department who has to do a proper human resource audit to determine the human resource needs. The human resource audit would consist in analyzing current human resource needs and future human resource needs. Given the department is a government arm it has to take into account government policy. Discussion by James (1997) indicated that government policy has a huge influence on the human resource needs of government organs. It would also consist in analyzing current human resource practices and streamlining them. To achieve this, the department will have to spend on consultative meetings and crucially on engaging and independent human resource consultant. The reliance on an independent human resource consultancy firm to do the auditing is aimed at ensuring objectivity. Once current needs and future needs have been established, the analysis will also guide in terms of comparing current human resource capacity against required human resource capacity. Once the gaps have been quantified, then a job analysis will have to done followed by drawing up of job descriptions. This activity can then be followed by a recruitment and selection drive aimed at meeting the shortfalls. When it comes to employee retention, again there is need to survey the labor market and establish turnover trends. Once labor market trends are established, it offers room for the human resource officers to design total reward packages for the employees. A good remuneration package takes into account the taxation regime in a country (Staple, 2002). A total reward scheme aims at ensuring all employee needs and aspirations are taken into account when designing the remuneration package. The other activity that is crucial for the attainment of set human resource plan objectives is designing a training policy. The training policy should define how the department is to meet knowledge and skill gaps of its employees. The policy should t ranslate into training plans. The training plans should be based on proper training needs assessments i.e. well quantified and qualified training requirements. Moreover, there will be need to institute knowledge management mechanisms so that expertise in the organization may flow to benefit all employees and the organization at large. Milestones for Monitoring the Progress of the Plan Monitoring and evaluation are critical in ensuring a plan is on course. Consequently, in the human resource plan, there are given milestones that will indicate whether the plan is on course or not. The first milestone is doing a proper Human resource audit. Once the audit is done, then proper human resource needs will have been identified. The second miles stone is recruitment and selection reform i.e. the methods of attracting and selecting employees changed to reflect the values espoused in the department’s strategic plan. The final milestone will be coming up with a training policy, doing a n eeds assessment and coming up with a training and development plan. Training and development needs of employees should be factored when designing the total reward package. Ethical Considerations Ensuring equity i.e. fairness and inclusion in the recruitment process Recruitment exercise has to comply with statutory and legislative stipulations Ensuring fairness in job allocation Commensurate compensations and equity in compensation packages. Recommendations Request for key positions that will be required initially to enable a start on recruitment activities Engage external consultant to complete the plan Develop a buddy program for managers who are not skilled in change management. Identifying change management champions to assist managers to engage the strategic plan in the business unit. Conclusion All successful organizations are anchored on long-term decisions that are tailored towards delivering a competitive edge. Strategic planning provides a platform for organizations to think long term. Long term planning helps organizations to choreograph their operations towards acquiring an advantage against its competitors. Considering the strategic plan by Queensland department of education and training, it provides strategic objectives that spell out the overall focus of the organization. Once clear strategic objectives have been formulated, they provide a locus or focus in all organizational operations. To translate the overall organizational objectives into operational reality, departmental strategic plans come in handy. Before, during and after strategy formulation, environmental scanning comes in very handy. This paper identifies the SWOT analysis as the most common tool used in environmental scanning. Further, during environmental scanning, it is emphasized that both the internal and external environment have to be thoroughly scrutinized. Proper analysis of the environment translates into formulation of plans that address the changing environmental facto rs accurately. Reference list Beesley, M. E. (1975). Industrial Relations in a Changing World. New York: Taylor Francis Publishers Bohm, A. (2009). The SWOT Analysis. Norderdedt: GRIN Verlag Publishers Griffin, W. R. (2007). Fundamental of Management. New Jersey: Cengage Learning Publishers Harrison, M. (2005). Learning and Development. London: CIPD Publishing James, S. (1997). British Government: A Reader in Policy Making. New York: Routledge Marsh, P. M. (1996). Cultural Difference: Self-Esteem and Pedagogy. Ohio: Bowling Green State University Press OConnor, A. (1884). Monopoly, the Cause of All Evils. New York: F Didot publishers Olsen, E. (2006). Strategic Planning For Dummies. New York: For Dummies Publishers Pieper, R. (1990). Human Resource Management: An International Comparison. Rome: Walter de Gruyter Publishers Staple, R. (2002). Taxation. Indiana: Taxation Publishers Weisbrod, B. A. (2000). To Profit or Not to Profit: the Commercial Transformation of the Nonprofit Sect or. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wilson, P. J. (2005). Human Resource Development: Learning Training for Individuals Organizations. London: Kogan Page Publishers

Catholic Response To Evolution Based On Noma Approach Religion Essays

Catholic Response To Evolution Based On Noma Approach Religion Essays Catholic Response To Evolution Based On Noma Approach Religion Essay Catholic Response To Evolution Based On Noma Approach Religion Essay The agitation environing development affects adult male s most cardinal beliefs about themselves in relation to the universe. Evolutionary doctrines have been constituted to decide inquiries sing the lineages of the being, life, and adult male. These doctrines may be categorized into biological development, cosmogonic development, every bit good as human development. An person s sentiment refering one of these development theories does non command what another single believes refering other doctrines. In Natural History Gould ( 16-22 ) believes that scientific discipline and faith independently stand on their ain schools of idea over which they command as the right beginning of cognition. Gould called the distinct schools of idea magisteria. Apart from development, there exist other magisteria such as art and music. Science trades with the experimental universe, religious lesson and spiritual affairs and the chase for ethical ideals. Since these magisteria do non meet, Gould derived NOMA, his acronym for Non-Overlapping magisteria. Non-Overlapping Magisteria ( NOMA ) In his often cited 1997 essay Non-Overlapping Magisteria ( NOMA ) the evolutionary life scientist Gould, S.J. made a confrontational offer to settle the professed brush bing between scientific discipline and faith. Gould said that there should be no contention since each field has a logical magisterium, or country of doctrine. Gould to boot upheld that these magisteria do non meet. The scientific position covers the experimental universe, such as, a fact of what makes up the existence and a theorem of why the existence is made up this manner. The spiritual position on the other manus replies the inquiries refering moral significance and value ( Gould 16-22 ) NOMA is a modest, humanist, balanced, and wholly conventional statement for joint regard, established on non-coinciding subject, between a brace components of wisdom in a complete human life ( Gould 20 ) . Humans drive to cognize the existent quality of nature ( i.e. the magisterium of scientific discipline ) , every bit good as their necessity to define significance in their lives and an ethical footing for their actions ( i.e. the magisterium of faith ) . Gould s NOMA rule was more an effort to find common footing on which the faith and scientific discipline might both settle in the development statements than it was to clarify expansive inquiries refering the organisation of cognition. However, the NOMA offer bred its just spot of feedback from both the political and metaphysical spectra, from holy fundamentalists to unbelieving philosophers such as Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion ( Dawkins ) . NOMA states that scientific discipline references facts, religion with ethical motives. Facts centres on what is, faith with ethical motives on what should be. Mentioning to what is referred to as the Naturalistic Fallacy in doctrine, an person can non infer what should be from what is . Thus Gould grounds out that scientific discipline and faith are everlastingly distinguishable. The Catholic Position in Non-Overlapping Magisteria Since the issue of Charles Darwin s On the Origin of Species in 1859, the place of the Catholic Church on theory of evolution has little by little been refined. For near to a century, there neer existed an important pronouncement on the theory of development. However by 1950, Pope Pius XII accorded to the educational freedom to larn the scientific conditional dealingss of development, every bit long as by analyzing he could go against the Catholic tenet. Since the mid-20th century, the Catholic Church s place has been among the great acceptances, with Jesuit scientists, Catholic faculty members plus many high-level clerics ignoring actual scriptural creationism every bit good as intelligent design ( Stenson 12-6 ) . Refering cosmogonic development, the Catholic Church has unfailingly stood on the place that the life was particularly formed out of nonexistence. Vatican I lugubriously demarcated that every individual should profess the universe including everything either religious or quantifiable that is dwells in it. Vatican I farther declared that as concerns their complete substance, everything religious or quantifiable in the existence has been made by God from nonexistence ( Canons on God the Creator of All Things, canon 5 ) . This could therefore be in contrast to NOMA ; the Catholic Church is non in its support. The Catholic Church does non hold a certified position on whether the stars, clouds, and planets were created at one clip or whether they originated over, for case, in after the most discussed Big Bang ( Sch A ; ouml ; nborn, New York Times on July 7, 2005 ) . However, the Catholic Church would asseverate that, if the stars and planets did arise over clip, this still at the terminal of the twenty-four hours has to be credited to God and his organisation ; the Bible says that by the vocalization of God the celestial spheres were created, including the stars, clouds, and planets, by His breath ( Psalms 33:6 ) . Additionally, in respect to biological development, the Catholic Church does non hold an endorsed position either, on whether assorted systems of life originated over the clip. However, the Church says that, if the systems of life did arise, so it happened under the motive and supervising of God and their eventual being must be credited to Him. How would so the Catholic Church perchance take in the NOMA doctrine! The Church says that it can non talk of evolution or creative activity, since evolution and creative activity refer to two diverse pragmatisms. The history of the soil of the land every bit good as God s breath of, which has been recounted over the old ages, does non as a affair of fact explain how adult male came to be ; the narrative instead explains what worlds are. The Church continues to state that this narrative explicates the homo s innermost beginning and sheds visible radiation on the program that worlds are. And, the other manner around, theory of evolution efforts to grok and picture biological growths. Even so, theory of evolution can non explain where the program of human formation originates from. Theory of evolution can neither explain the homo s interior line of descent, nor their precise being. From this Church s apprehension, it acknowledges to meet a brace of complementary, alternatively of contradictory pragmatisms ( Ratzinger 41-58 ) . In respect to human development, the Catholic Church has a more expressed school of idea. The Church allows for the theory that homo s organic structure grew from predating biological anatomies, but under God s control, nevertheless it asserts on the curious creative activity of the homo s psyche. Pope Pius XII announced that the teaching laterality of the Catholic Church does non forbid that, in conformity with the contemporary signifier of dedicated deity every bit good as human scientific disciplines, geographic expeditions and discourses go on with regard to the school of idea of evolution, in every bit far as it inquiries into the inception of the adult male s organic structure as emerging from preexisting and living affair ; the Pope so declared that the Catholic Church s religion compels Catholics to keep that psyches are straight made by God ( Pius XII, 36 ) . At this point the Church seems to be in alliance with the NOMA school of idea. However this quotation mark can be understood that whether the adult male s organic structure was particularly created or originated, the Catholics are expected to encompass, as a topic of Catholic religion, that adult male s psyche is particularly created. In other words, the psyche did non germinate nor is it familial from parents, though the organic structures are. While the Catholic Church allows religion in either curious creative activity or progressive creative activity on certain affairs, it in no state of affairss allows religion in unbelieving development ; non even in NOMA. But still this is controversial as demonstrated on the decision subdivision below. Decision Gould s Nonoverlapping Magisteria was published in 1997 after he spent a figure of darks at a Vatican symposium supported by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Gould writes at length about how he had involved Catholic clerics in lively treatments, which he concluded were sensational and to some magnitude consolatory since the clerics did non look to be mocking on theory of evolution, but were more determined on being mocking on the political place of the creationism motion in the US. To Gould, the Catholic Church appeared to be in support of the NOMA position of being. Surely, Gould goes in front to deeper lengths to congratulate Pope John Paul II, whose October 22, 1996 proclamation to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences clarified that the prove for evolution was sound ( Gould 18-20 ) . This farther indicates that there is a contention in the mode in which the Catholic Church respond to development based on the NOMA attack.

Top 10 Resume Tips that Will Get You Hired in 2017 [Infographic]

Top 10 Resume Tips that Will Get You Hired in 2017 [Infographic] Everyone looking for a searching for a job wants to better their resume. The Internet is saturated with resume related topics dedicated to helping you portray yourself in a professional and concise manner. The folks over at KickResume  have taken this one step further and compiled an infographic detailing the top 10 resume tips that will undoubtedly get you hired. There are plenty of resume advice out there, some are really useful and some are just generic outdated tips. That’s why we compiled a list of best resume tips 2016.

Mini Paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mini Paper 2 - Essay Example Moreover, detectives mostly serve as a link between a police department and other agencies used to enforce law, like the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A unit can be well organized and supervised if it has a good and credible supervision policy statement. This is if all members of a unit are eligible to quality supervision. In addition, communication leads to an organized unit as every member achieves development (Smith & Flanagan, 2000). A good supervisor, who is answerable for leadership toward the achievement of meeting the needs of a unit and its members, may lead to a unit being organized (Smith & Flanagan, 2000). On the other hand, when each member in a unit is issued clear guidance concerning expectations needed from their role in the unit, it makes the unit to be well organized and supervised. In conclusion, the intrepid detectives can be managed by monitoring every progress of work done in a unit. Each task done by these detectives needs to be planned, well budgeted, scheduled and the results reported by a detective need to be evaluated. This is a great way on managing the intrepid investigators in making sure that the task assignment is

See the uploaded file Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

See the uploaded file - Essay Example It is necessary to ask the person on his or her plans in the society once the prison life is over. Identifying the factors that led the offender to committing a crime is also required (Miller, 28). Before release, most offenders go through rehabilitation programs, which try to shape moral values in convicted people. Interviewing the rehabilitation officers is very important as they have very important information concerning the attitude of the offender. They recognize offenders who are remorseful about their criminal deed and also those who are ready to change. These people have a special manner in which they survey the offenders, and they can tell the individuals who have earned a chance to be released. It is also necessary to interview law enforcer who operates in the offender’s area of residence. These people have a good background concerning the behavior of the offender before he or she was imprisoned. They also provide important information about the factors contributing to criminal behavior in an offender. They give advice on how to eliminate the problem if it is possible. They also educate on how to deal with them in a situation where one has to live with the cause of the criminal activity. The offender’s previous employer will provide information relation to the person’s relationship with other people. His or her team building capacity can also be stated by the employer. This is if he or she holds such qualities. The employer can also tell how the offender interacts with other people and the help he or she is prepared to give the offender after his release. Close family members might also have important information concerning the offender. These are the people who have known the offender for the longest time and will provide meaningful information on the family background of the offender and his or her behavior when growing up. They also hold information concerning the environment in which the offender lived in before the prison life

Landscape regeneration project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Landscape regeneration project - Essay Example The broader objective of the urban regeneration project was to change people's attitudes towards the environment by increasing their awareness of environmental problems and ways to overcome them. Physical improvements and environmental protection measures were designed to complement and facilitate leisure, training, and social activities on the grounds of the Park. The Park's development was based on a well-integrated Master Plan. The Urban Pilot Project focused on the first stage, which developed an area of about 0.7 km. The Project was implemented from January 1991 to June 1995. The planned cost amounted to 7.68 MECU, 75% of which comprised co-financing from the European Regional Development. The aim of the project was to address the poor quality of the environment and the economic and social blight. This project combines a scheme which would have an immediate impact on the quality of life of the local inhabitants, but which would also be of a broader benefit in terms of increasing the environmental awareness of the general public. The objectives of the Queen's Tower Park project were: to improve the quality of the environment in West Athens : a.) to develop leisure and sports facilities; b.) to increase the public's environmental awareness; c.) to spread the benefits of economic growth to local communities; d.) to unite members of immigrant minorities into the community's; e.) to push local authorities to develop a more integrated approach to their problems; f.) to foster trade activities to support the Park; g.) to preserve historic buildings within the Park's boundaries. DISCUSSION OF THE QUOTATION AND THE EUROPEAN LANDSCAPE CONVENTION The Athens Urban Regeneration Program mirrors the key themes of the Olwig quotation, "Architects who think only in terms of the power of scenic space, ignoring the exigencies of community and place, run the risk of producing landscapes of social inequality like those of the great eighteenth-century British estates It is also possible, however, for architects to shape environments that foster the desire to maintain the continuities that maintain a collective sense of commonwealth, rooted in custom but open to change." (Olwig, 2002).This quotation is applicable to the Athens Project since the architectural developments in that area focused on fostering close interaction among communities and uplifting their socio-economic welfare through well-paved roads, telecommunication facilities and other infrastructure upgrading system.The Athens Urban Pilot Project aimed to tackle environmental and social problems in West Athens. Prior to this development, this city district has been affected b y rapid urbanization which, coupled with a lack of planned urban development, has led to a series of social and environmental problems. The district had no social amenities, inadequate social, educational, leisure and welfare facilities, and the absence of accessible green open space. Moreover, economic conditions became difficult. The decline in manufacturing employment in Western Athens led to high unemployment to the region, with a large proportion of the population on a low income. The area is filled with immigrants who transferred in the 1950s and 1960s.Graham et.al., (2000) argued that heritage exists simultaneously as an economic commodity. The economic functions of heritage have generally been presented as secondary and barely tolerated uses of monuments, sites and places, which have

Oppression of Women under Communism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Oppression of Women under Communism - Essay Example It also won various other awards all over the world and performed well in the box office. The film mainly portrays the life experienced in the communist regime of Ceausescu through the eyes of the two girls. In the film, the director uses mise-en-scene and long takes to bring out important changes and problems faced by Otilia and Gabita and thus by association portraying the difficulties women faced during the communist era. Through the use of these elements of cinematography, the oppression of women in various forms is illuminated through nostalgia and passive criticism (Bordwell & Thompson 23). Mise-en-Scene Mise-en scene is term the means â€Å"putting in the scenes†. The term defines the design features of a film production or theatre. Basically, the term describes the presentation of the visual theme both through cinematography, story boarding or the use of virtual art (Bordwell & Thompson 23). In film studies, the term is used to cover all that appears before the camera and the manner in which they are arranged and shown. The key aspects of mise-en-scene include set design, lighting, film stock, space, composition, costumes, makeup and hair styles, acting and finally aspect ratio (Pramaggiore and Wallis 60). Mise-en-scene and theme development 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days is presumably a film about abortion, however it a study of important skills women required in order to survive in the 1980s in Romania. The script shows a gentle evolution from the protective cocoon of the dorm to a point of painful exposure. In the film, mise-en-scene is used superbly to bring out the main message to the audience. The film does not attack the communist era but however brings out a nostalgic feeling for those who lived during the era and show other viewers an untarnished image of how things were. It is through the use of the various aspects of mise-en-scene that audience is presented with an outsiders look at the plight of women during this era. In the initial set ting, the film employs set design to show ambiance of the dormitory as a place of camaraderie, a protective bubble gifted with most of the things communism had promised to bring about, where material things pose no problem as everyone is willing to share. In the opening sequence of 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days we are introduced to two roommates preparing for a journey to an unknown destination. The first shot is of a table that has a smoking cigarette, a ticking clock, a bizarre fish bowl with shallow water and two orange fish inside and some papers possibly classroom materials. As the camera moves, we are introduced to the two girls who are preparing to embark in a journey to perform an illegal abortion. In the dormitory, Otilia buys soaps, cigarettes and other items that they may need to use in their journey for the small black market that exist inside (Bordwell & Thompson). The set presents the viewer to a glimpse of the life of the ordinary Romanian during the 1980s. The manner in which these objects are framed by the camera seeks to remind the audience that they are on display. They are mementos from the past and the audience views them with the narrow and prejudicial eye of the present. According to Bordwell and Thompson (34), film setting has the ability to transport the audience to not only the time period the film is set in but also the emotional environment that exist within the film. The set

The effects of exercise benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The effects of exercise benefits - Essay Example This is so because exercise does not just improve physical stamina but also influences social and psychological aspects of one’s life. Engaging in physical activities can prove to be more beneficial than what people already expected and this is what will be discussed in detail below. Obviously, exercise benefits participants physically, building healthy habits in maintaining fit bodies and staying away from certain diseases. In fact, physical activities are being given a lot of importance that training children to become physically active is one of the objectives of many fitness scholars. Kenneth H. Cooper, for instance, encourages parents to become involved in engaging their children in physical activities for them to get used to it and for the parents to become good models for the children because as they grow older, there is the great tendency of becoming inactive. Girls are found to become inactive around age fourteen while boys at fifteen. This is so because of the change s which happen in the children’s body (Cooper, 15-16). However, the importance of physical exercise should be well-pointed out to them. First and foremost, exercise increases muscle size and builds muscle strength. Jogging, walking or aerobic exercises increase the supply of oxygen-rich blood available to skeletal muscles for aerobic cellular respiration. This helps the regulation of blood in the body maintain normal processes and prevent diseases. Engaging in such activities on a daily basis builds endurance for prolonged activities. Anaerobic activities on the other hand like weight lifting, increase muscle size and builds strength. One might say that strength and endurance are not actually needed in relation to work nevertheless, it should be noted that the more sedentary the lifestyle of a person is because of the nature of his job, the more one needs to do physical activities to stay healthy. Aerobic exercises for instance, increase the oxygen demand of the muscles, incr easing cardiac output and the rate of oxygen delivery to the tissues. Moreover, oxygen delivery also increases because more capillary networks are developed by skeletal muscles because of long term training (Tortora & Grabowski, 687). In contrast to an active lifestyle, being sedentary exposes a person to obesity, heart problems, depression and other related diseases. In addition to the physical benefits, people who exercise also enhance themselves psychologically. Studies show that exercise can help alleviate long term depression. James Blumenthal, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Duke University experimented on patients and he found out that those who did exercise had higher rates of remission comparable to those who did not exercise but were taking antidepressant. His conclusion about this observation is that, exercise is as effective as antidepressant for patients with major depressive disorder. He further adds that exercise â€Å"seems not only important in treating depression but also in preventing relapse† (Weir). More studies show and explain why exercise benefits people positively on the psychological aspect such as the fight or flight mechanism. Patients with heightened sensitivity to anxiety have been observed to be able to adjust to circumstances that may cause anxiety better than those who have no or less physical activitie

Redo psychology in education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Redo psychology in education - Essay Example In spite of their individualistic cognitive and behavioral differences, there are certain areas in which students from the 9th to 12th grade equally need guidance and education. Such areas include but are not limited to the study of ethics, and corporate social responsibility. There is need to teach such subjects at all levels, though their content can be customized to match the level of complexity understandable for the students at different levels. Learner diversity in the curriculum is fostered not only by the inclusion of diversity in he curriculum, but also by keeping a diverse force of teachers that have to teach that curriculum to the students. So there is a need to work on both levels i.e. curriculum and faculty because underestimating the need to work on one would have an adverse impact on the other. For example, let’s talk about a school teaching different languages to the students because the knowledge of different languages is fundamental to social integration in the contemporary multicultural society. The languages being taught include English, Urdu, French, and Arabic. Now there is a need to either have a teacher who is well-equipped with the knowledge of each of the four languages or the school needs to hire four different teachers each having expertise in his/her own language to teach the students effectively. On the other hand, curriculum can be made diverse by including content from different cultures de pending upon which area a certain culture is more developed in or what a certain culture has more to offer in comparison to other cultures. From this standpoint, the subjects of science and technology can be based on Western knowledge since advanced economies are more advanced in the research and knowledge of science and technology as compared to the third world countries whereas the subjects of arts and craft, including performing arts can be based on the knowledge of South Asian cultures

The effects of exercise benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The effects of exercise benefits - Essay Example This is so because exercise does not just improve physical stamina but also influences social and psychological aspects of one’s life. Engaging in physical activities can prove to be more beneficial than what people already expected and this is what will be discussed in detail below. Obviously, exercise benefits participants physically, building healthy habits in maintaining fit bodies and staying away from certain diseases. In fact, physical activities are being given a lot of importance that training children to become physically active is one of the objectives of many fitness scholars. Kenneth H. Cooper, for instance, encourages parents to become involved in engaging their children in physical activities for them to get used to it and for the parents to become good models for the children because as they grow older, there is the great tendency of becoming inactive. Girls are found to become inactive around age fourteen while boys at fifteen. This is so because of the change s which happen in the children’s body (Cooper, 15-16). However, the importance of physical exercise should be well-pointed out to them. First and foremost, exercise increases muscle size and builds muscle strength. Jogging, walking or aerobic exercises increase the supply of oxygen-rich blood available to skeletal muscles for aerobic cellular respiration. This helps the regulation of blood in the body maintain normal processes and prevent diseases. Engaging in such activities on a daily basis builds endurance for prolonged activities. Anaerobic activities on the other hand like weight lifting, increase muscle size and builds strength. One might say that strength and endurance are not actually needed in relation to work nevertheless, it should be noted that the more sedentary the lifestyle of a person is because of the nature of his job, the more one needs to do physical activities to stay healthy. Aerobic exercises for instance, increase the oxygen demand of the muscles, incr easing cardiac output and the rate of oxygen delivery to the tissues. Moreover, oxygen delivery also increases because more capillary networks are developed by skeletal muscles because of long term training (Tortora & Grabowski, 687). In contrast to an active lifestyle, being sedentary exposes a person to obesity, heart problems, depression and other related diseases. In addition to the physical benefits, people who exercise also enhance themselves psychologically. Studies show that exercise can help alleviate long term depression. James Blumenthal, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Duke University experimented on patients and he found out that those who did exercise had higher rates of remission comparable to those who did not exercise but were taking antidepressant. His conclusion about this observation is that, exercise is as effective as antidepressant for patients with major depressive disorder. He further adds that exercise â€Å"seems not only important in treating depression but also in preventing relapse† (Weir). More studies show and explain why exercise benefits people positively on the psychological aspect such as the fight or flight mechanism. Patients with heightened sensitivity to anxiety have been observed to be able to adjust to circumstances that may cause anxiety better than those who have no or less physical activitie