Renminbi Case

662, Case 3 1. Do you think the Renminbi is overvalued against the US Dollar? 2. Why does the Chinese government want to keep its currency at an artificially low level against the US Dollar? What is the risk for China? For the US? 3. What would be the consequences of a 20% revaluation (increase in the value of the Renminbi) for China, western countries, Japan, and developing countries? How would it impact workers, exporters, and importers in China? Various studies have suggested that the RMB is undervalued, with recent estimates ranging from 15-50 percent. The greatest beneficiary from a gradual RMB revaluation, accompanied by measures to stimulate demand, will be China itself. Its growth is likely to be more balanced and resilient, and that will have a positive spillover on the rest of the world, including by reducing currency and trade tensions. RMB revaluation causes a loss to consumers outside China since they will confront higher prices of goods imported from China. These losses have to be offset against those of producers who will gain competitiveness. Moreover, China’s trading partners are more likely to gain from RMB revaluation if it comes with measures that accelerate China’s domestic demand relative to its GDP. Indeed, without those measures, the effect of RMB revaluation on China’s current account surplus is likely to be marginal or even to widen it. In the very long run, a revaluation of the RMB could help commodity-exporters to diversify into basic manufacturers. However, over the next few years, RMB revaluation is unlikely to affect these countries’ exports significantly because the prices of their commodity exports are determined in global markets (and denominated in dollars). However, the dollar prices of China’s exports to those countries are likely to rise, reflecting small profit margins in those sectors and the fact that China, as the biggest exporter of those goods, is the price-setter. Some middle-income manufacturing exporters running a trade surplus with China will benefit, too. Other middle-income exporters that import a lot from China could be net losers from the hike in China’s export prices in the short term, but gain as their export volumes expand at China’s expense. Low-income commodity exporters will generally be net losers from RMB revaluation alone and will only benefit if China’s growth accelerates because of accompanying measures taken by the Chinese authorities. Some high-income countries, such as Germany and Japan, which have an initial small trade deficit with China, may lose or gain a little from RMB revaluation alone. However, countries such as Italy and the United States—whose initial trade deficits with China are large and whose exports are not competitive with China’s—will very likely lose, and their lower-income consumers will suffer most as the price of Chinese goods rises. This conclusion does not imply a judgment that a large bilateral trade deficit in Italy and the United States with China is good or bad. It only implies that RMB revaluation is not the way to fix the deficit problem. Instead, increasing national savings rates in Italy and the United States, and increasing consumption in China would be more effective. Given China’s high dependence on price-sensitive exports, a large one-time RMB revaluation may carry unacceptable risks to its growth and stability. In the event of a sharp slowdown in China, those countries that are likely to lose from RMB revaluation anyway, starting with the United States.

Determining Operating Systems and Software Applications

Determining Operating Systems and Software Applications BIS/320 Amazon has made a business of selling a variety media types while also making the reselling of the same media an attractive option. What better way to regain in part what you spent on media interests than to resell it and have money to put towards the next interest. As of 2004 Amazon began running the Linux operating system across the board. Amazon then became one of the largest and well known companies running the Linux operating system.As one of the largest ecommerce centered businesses with a large global customer base with high expectations of constant expansion. Currently, it is known that Amazon is running Linux servers â€Å"Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), had close to half-a-million servers already running on a Red Hat Linux variant (Vaughn, 2012). † At this time â€Å"Amazon has never officially said what it's running as EC2's base operating system, it's generally accepted that it's a customized ve rsion of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). (Vaughn, 2012)† In addition Amazon uses Xen hypervisor as host to the Linux system for virtual machines.Solaris; OpenSolaris; FreeBSD and NetBSD and Windows 2003 and 2008 are additional virtual machine instances. The multiple operating services that Amazon is currently using assist with meeting the high demand of users that browse and purchase from their sites. In using their cloud technology, EC2, it is also possible that not all information will be stored at any specific location, but is easily accessible to anyone within the company to access it. With Linux gaining popularity this will ultimately become beneficial to Amazon in their continual global expansion goals.Hardware are electrical mechanisms that is physically connected to your computer such as an electronic components and related gadgetry that input, process, output, and store data according to instructions encoded in computer programs or software (Kroenke, 2012). The Amazo n-to-buyer operating system is quite simple and uses a variety of input and output in comparison with various office based business. A difference will be the amount that is actually used verses an output or input device. The individual consumer at home using their computer will initiate the process by registering as a user , followed by inputting heir shipping and billing information which will be stored by the website’s servers. The consumer’s computer is considered the input device and the server is a storage device. Once a purchase has occurred the website will use the stored information to input the customer’s credit card information into a card reader which automatically debits the funds from the customer’s account. Card readers and scanners are widely used input devices (Kroenke, 2012). Most output devices are located at various individual merchants that use Amazon to sell their goods. Each having a database that show pending orders inputted through Amazon.These merchants will use their printers to document the order and locate the desired merchandise. Once the merchandise is located, information is then sent to the shipping department. Versatile shipping options like UPS, Fed Ex, or the U. S. Postal service are available and output devices will print things such as the bill of lading; the inventory of the packaged goods and the shipping labels with the previously entered customer’s shipping information on it. Once delivered, the merchandise is scanned via another input device called a barcode scanner.This information is then relayed to the merchant who reports a successful delivery to Amazon. A confirmation email will be sent to the customer confirming their transaction is complete. If desired the consumer can give their input on the Amazon experience via their home based computer. Amazon’s Founder and Chiefy Executive Office outlines the companies business objectives as: Increase Sales, promote the brand, creat e a loyal customer base and fiscal strength. By expanding each operational goal its gives a better understand on how the operating systems contribute to Amazon’s objective.Sales can be defined as making sure the customer gets what he wants, but also feeding in to the psychology of impulse buying. Impulse purchases can be promoted through an application Amazon employs, called the Dash. When conducting a search for a particular item the results of that search offer not only the item itself, but also similar items. There is also a feature that shows the customer what other customers, who have order this particular item of interest, have also purchased. Promotional brand occurred during Amazon’s Kindle was launched.In 2005 Bezos believed that â€Å"every book ever written in any language will be available (to the enduser) in less than sixty seconds†. (Bezos, 2009). The edict issued that the demarcation between Kindle, the device and Kindle the service be seamless to the enduser. In the four years that followed, sales have exceeded budgetary expectations. The e-mail feedback from customers is strongly positive with 26% of customer e-mails containing the word â€Å"love†. Amazon has positioned itself prominently on search engine sites so a pattern match of only a few letters will bring Amazon to the forefront.Amazon itself has become a search engine of sorts, which many people use for pricing items being considered for purchase. The brand has made Amazon not only a shopping site, but also a reference guide for benchmarking other purchases. Bezos defines customer loyalty as encouraging his staff to be â€Å"obsessed over our customers†. The computer applications used for tracking purchases as well as shipping allows customer service representatives to assist dissatisfied customers and get them to a satisfactory result. References Kroenke, D. M. (2012). MIS Essentials (2nd ed. ). : Pearson Education Thorp J. Feb 99), The Information Paradox, Retrieved from http://www. amazon. com/Information-Paradox-Realizing-Business-Technology/dp Vaughn, S. (2012, March 16). Amazon's EC2 cloud is made up of almost half-a-million servers. ZDNet. Retrieved from http://www. zdnet. com/blog/open-source/amazon-ec2-cloud-is-made-up-of-almost-half-a-million-linux-servers/10620 | Operating Systems| Horizontal-Market Applications| Vertical-Market Applications| One-of-a-Kind Market Applications| Example| Linnux, Eucalyptus(cloud), OpenStack(cloud),EC2 and Red Hat Linux†¦ for starters| | | | Description of how it is used| | | | |Typical user| Amazon draws its users from anyone that can operate a computer and has an internet connection. | | | | Advantages| Easy to use; large amounts of information can be accessed without incorporating mass amounts of storage on a single server with cloud technology; accessibility to data from any location with cloud technology. | | | | Disadvantages| Even though Amazon continues to hire developers b andwidth is still and issue. People lose data. With such a broad base of people with the ability to browse and purchase products it poses a security issue regarding

Depression Research Paper Essay

People every day are diagnosed with mental and emotional illnesses that completely change their lives. Depression is one of the many illnesses that take its toll on an average person. Medical experts believe that depression causes more disability throughout the world than almost any other medical illness or disorder (World Book). Depression affects more Americans than cancer, AIDS, or coronary heart disease. About one in five Americans will develop a mood disorder, usually depression, at some point in his or her life (O. Hyde and Forsyth 7). In some cases chemicals that brain cells use to communicate are out of balance and causes depression (CQ Researcher). Many recognized with this sickness may not believe they can live a normal life. However a patient diagnosed with depression can lead a normal life by taking medication, different types of therapy, and gaining support from family and friends. â€Å"How did my sister fall through a hole in her life and into some other life below?â € (Schumacher 3). Depression brings about feelings other than sadness that affects a patient each and every day. â€Å"‘I can’t describe it,’ Dora said. ‘I don’t know how’† (Schumacher 40). People dealing with this illness find it hard to explain the feeling. â€Å"It’s like being trapped and you feel completely stuck, it really effects how you think every day† (Anonymous). When one is depressed they feel miserable and lose interest in all activity. â€Å"All I wanted to do was sleep; I never wanted to go out and lost a lot of connection from my friends† (Anonymous). â€Å"‘A drowning person doesn’t rescue herself,’ I said†¦ I pictured Dora Struggling and drowning. ‘Which is why it’s so important-for your sister and for everyone else-that she learn to swim’† (Schumacher 116). Depression is always described as being lost or being stuck in a black hole, it seems like there is no way out of it, but with a little help there is. Doctors are now able to diagnose and treat depression with medications better than they were before (CQ Researcher). â€Å"It depends on the severity you have it, for more severe cases medication is definitely helpful. Depression, in most cases is just a chemical imbalance and taking medication can balance everything out and make you feel more normal† (Anonymous). Antidepressants are the category of medication used to help treat the chemical imbalance that causes depression. Taking medications, such as antidepressants, is not necessary in all cases of this illness. â€Å"My mom definitely had a more severe case than I did, she took medication and you could tell the difference in her mood  drastically changed and she spent more time with us as opposed to when she wasn’t taking antidepressants† (Anonymous). Antidepressants increase the attentiveness of neurotransmitters in the brain. Antidepressants do not work immediately. After numerous weeks of treatment the r eceptors become less sensitive and depression lifts (World Book). There are three different types of antidepressants. One type is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s), which is one of the newer drugs that aid depression. SSRI’s prevent brain cells from reabsorbing extra neurotransmitters after the chemicals have delivered their messages. It focuses on one specific neurotransmitter alone, serotonin (O. Hyde and H. Forsyth 54). Another type is tricyclic antidepressants (TCA’s) which along with SSRI’s stops the brain from receiving excessive neurotransmitters, but this category focuses on two types of neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine (O. Hyde and H. Forsyth 53). Tricyclic refers to the chemical structure of the compounds. The third type of antidepressant is monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI’s) which inhibit a protein that breaks down excess neurotransmitters, norepinephrine (World Book). Patients on monoamine oxidase norepinephrine have to avoid foods containing tyramine (O. Hyde and H. Forsyth 55). These three types of antidepressants all help to chemically balance the brain and helps put a patient back on track to live a normal life. Although antidepressants bring stability to a depressed person there are some side effects. Some side effects include weight loss, weight gain, nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, sweating, tremor, sleep disturbances, blurred vision, seizures, and yawning (Schumacher 106). A bunch of the side effects are major but are mostly non-persistent or might not even occur. Some see the side effects not being worth it. â€Å"My mom saw that living a more normal life was worth a few side effects that probably weren’t going to happen† (Anonymous). Therapy is another way patients with depression can cope. There are two different types of therapy a person suffering depression can take on. Many patients benefit from psychotherapy which can focus on improving thinking, problem solving, improving personal relationships, or increasing enjoyable activities (World Book). Psychotherapy helps depression caused mostly by an emotional imbalance. Cognitive therapy is a branch of psychotherapy that is based off the idea that depressed people have distorted views of the world, the future and themselves. It helps correct  the negative thoughts that are developed in the brain of a patient. Behavioral therapy is another subdivision of psychotherapy used. Behavioral therapy is similar to cognitive therapy in that it alters ones thought patterns and changes their behavior. One last stem of psychotherapy is psychodynamic therapy which takes people into their past to find out unresolved problems and helps a person understand and cope with their conflicts (O. Hyde and H. Forsyth 67). â€Å"At first I felt awkward talking to someone I didn’t know, even though there was a confidentially thing it was hard to trust my therapist. After a while though, it was good talk and get things out, it helped with my mild depression and self-harm I went through† (Anonymous). Talking to a therapist helps the mind of a depressed patient get back to where it needs to be. If medication and psychotherapy fail, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be prescribed by a doctor. Electroconvulsive therap y was also previously known as electroshock therapy. Electroconvulsive therapy is for patients who haven’t responded to any other treatment. It uses electrically induced seizures for a therapeutic effect. Before the procedure anesthesia is typically given so that the patient doesn’t experience any uneasiness or feel the electric current and knowingly experience the seizure. The use of ECT is to treat hospitalized patients who remain severely depressed with suicidal thoughts. Electroconvulsive therapy commonly restores these depressed patients to a normal mental state (World Book). Most patients who use ETC and do not follow it up with medication will relapse back into a depressed state. Physicians have no idea how ETC brings one out of depression. Many patients who severely suffer from depression feel that the treatment of electroconvulsive therapy is worth the risk (O. Hyde and H. Forsyth 66). Another way a depressed person can strive to live a normal life is to gain support from friends and family. â€Å"‘Do me a favor?’ She asked, with her mouth by my ear. ‘Sure,’ I said ‘Name it.’ ‘Save me,’ she said† (Schumacher 29). If a patient knows that they always have friends and family to fall back on if they need anything then it makes one feel more comfortable. â€Å"Friends helped me a lot; they understood me on a different level than my family did. My family sometimes didn’t understand the reasons why I was depressed and upset and they never knew what to say to me because it affected them also† (Anonymous). Times when a depressed person can’t turn to their therapist they always have friends and family around to  support them. If family and friends do not treat the patient like they have an illness then they are less likely to feel out of place in everyday activities. If others surrounding the person suffering from depression act different towards them it won’t help in the process for them to exist in a normal life. â€Å"I’ve read this quote somewhere and I loved it, ‘People who are not depressed see the world the way they want to see it. People who are depressed see the world the way it actually is.’ It seems relevant† (Anonymous). Depression changes a patient’s entire life. They are left exhausted physically and emotionally and not wanting to do anything. The illness brings out emotions in a person that is indescribable. They think about all the bad things in reality and not the things that make life happier. All the conflicting emotions may make it look as if it’s impossible to lead a normal functioning life. Having a regular being is not unfeasible to achieve with a little help. Depression can be a chemical or emotional imbalance, or maybe a combination of both. â€Å"Some things bring it out more than other things† (Anonymous). However a patient diagnosed with depression can lead a normal life by taking medication such as antidepressants, trying different types of therapy like psychotherapy or electroconvulsive therapy, and gaining positive support from family and friends. â€Å"At first it was truly one of the toughest battles I had to go through, especially because of the history with my mom dealing with it, slowly but surely I conquered through it, no one treats me differently, it’s normal† (Anonymous).

Assignment report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Assignment report - Essay Example It is an inter-disciplinary field that requires expertise from business management, resource management, statistics etc. Access to organized and structured form of information yields a lot of opportunities for businesses- it not only saves time from researching and organizing information collected from eclectic sources, but it also facilitates in making the decision process easier and less time consuming. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of effective management skills in libraries, information systems and virtual teams, specifically those operating in the construction industry. The paper discusses how each one is managed, and gives an overview of funding and marketing in library and information systems. Information systems, abbreviated as IS, is the department that is in charge of the management of computers, data and networking. It can be of different types depending on the needs of the business and the level of organizational hierarchy. They can be either structural databases or software to manage information. An information system is responsible for the compilation of date so that it becomes meaningful information. Information and data differ in the respect that data is raw facts whereas information is the end product of the process of transformation of data into a more organized and meaningful form. Information helps a firm evaluate and make decisions. The assessment of a firm’s management apropos to the efficient and profitable use of firm’s resources is usually made on the basis of economic performance obtained from information on periodic earnings (Epstein et al., 2009).The value and worth of information affects the decisions of the organization and profoundly influences the achievement of the aims of the company. Good information is relevant, usable, reliable and exhaustive. Since information helps companies make decisions and put it into action,

How do media affect our lives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

How do media affect our lives - Essay Example As can easily be observed, the excessive that the Internet captures, comes out from none other than other activities people indulge in such as work, social and personal activities etc. This paper investigates into the impact of Internet on the various distinctive aspects of the social and personal lives of people associated with this medium or are involved in using this medium in a modus operandi fashion. Ever since its evolution, the Internet has transformed every aspect of how people live their lives. It has attracted people with its tremendous ability to provide information and integrate enhanced communication facilities into their lives (Hendersen 39). Internet has probably touched every field and walk of people's lives; whether it is working life, social life, personal relationship, education, communication etc. It has even changed the human perceptions encompassing solitude and loneliness. A person sitting alone at some place with a PC with him cannot today be called as lonely. He is likely to be surrounded with a lot of human companions online. The effects of Internet media on the lives of people are appearing as abounding these days. As people spend more and more time using the Internet, browsing through the web sites and chatting with different people, they are becoming more acquainted with the new world easily accessible to them at all times. It is impacting upon the whole spectrum of human lives, while changing the way people work, interact and entertain themselves with the technology. The most prominent aspect that is being consistently influenced by Internet media is the social lives of people. Bargh and McKenna put this as, "no one today disputes that the Internet is likely to have a significant impact on social life" (575). The social life of human beings is characterized with how people interact with each other, how often they converge to improve the relationships and how much time they denote to each other. Internet is likely to have more than influenced a person's social life, i.e., it has been systematically re-shaping the way a person engages in social activity. This medium involves exotic means of communication, unique ways of human interaction, and different fashion of entertainment and most importantly the activities for the utilization of time. Nie and Erbring emphasize that, "as Internet use grows, Americans report they spend less time with friends and family, shopping in stores or watching television, and more time working for their employers at home; without cutting back their hours in the office" (280). The Internet has undoubtedly revolutionized communication and interaction in the social system. Email, chat rooms, and even websites are allowing more and more techniques to precipitate effective communication between people. Persons living at great distances from each other now conveniently interact with each other in a matter of a few clicks and that too without any restriction of time. Bargh and McKenna illuminate that "rather than being an isolating, personally and socially maladaptive activity, communicating with others over the Internet facilitates the formation of close and meaningful new relationships within a relatively safe

Narratives of Difference and Belonging Assignment

Narratives of Difference and Belonging - Assignment Example Interesting fact, illuminating statement, personal connection: An interesting fact mentioned in the article is that of the presence of the same set of things, starting from consumer products, to eateries, groceries, and shopping malls, which are seen everywhere in today’s globalized world. So there is a definite loss of individualism or uniqueness of a certain place, and one always ends up getting the same thing anywhere they go. This is something we are evidencing today in all parts of the world. There is always a McDonalds, a Cafà © Coffee Day or a Barista, and somehow the local flavor is slowly disappearing under the burgeoning pressure from these huge multinationals. I can personally connect to this observation, as wherever I have traveled looking for new things, I have always met these giants standing tall, dishing out the same set of standardized products. Author’s perspective/value position: The author feels that in this changed scenario of globalization and high-tech communication era, the youth needs to be first acknowledged as a source of power. Accordingly, their education should be offered in a different manner, inculcated with new values that would be more fitting in this hybridized world. To make this effective, the educators have to change their mindset or else as the author comments â€Å"We need new ways of thinking of and working with kids, otherwise we will become irrelevant as we produce education for categories of kids that no longer exist in the postmodern world† (Besley, 74). Validity/usefulness of the article for thinking about issues of cultural diversity: This article is very important in today’s context, as it speaks of the new age culture that we can see all around us.

Seismic engineering Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Seismic engineering - Research Paper Example The occurrence of earthquakes is mainly in the areas that happen to be on the edges of tectonic plates. As the brittle structure of the plates hit each other in its movement over the softer lower layers, the shock waves travel through the crust of the earth in the form of earthquakes (Walker 2007). This is now detailed event specific on how an earthquake happens. There might be a variety of ways that plates brush against each other causing an earthquake. This is directly in relation to the geological setting of these plates which will be described in the specific case ahead. http://www.cini.org.uk/progressreports/prkashmirearthquake.html Taking the 2005 Kashmir earthquake as an example, it is simple to understand how geological settings of plates influence the earthquake zones and the damage caused. Killing over 80,000 people in Pakistan and over 1,000 in India as well as leaving over 4 million people without homes, the earthquake was one of the devastating contemporary earthquakes ( Roza, 2007). Earthquake matching the size of this one impact human civilization at range of fronts (Roza, 2007). Pakistan has been labeled as being vulnerable to seismic events in general and has experienced earthquakes from time to time (Kakar 2008) because of its position over the edge of the Indian plate (Khan 2000). The Indian plate runs through the full length of the country (Khan 2000) making many areas of the region in the most affected zones of the earthquakes. Research alludes, the higher the presence of plates (and hence the plate boundaries) is, the higher the earthquakes occur in the region (Ford & Taylor 2006). This has been exemplified by the comparison that Pacific ocean has more earthquakes since it has more tectonic plates than the Atlantic ocean (Ford & Taylor 2006). The plate movement is slow enough to be measurable in centimeters a year yet the interaction, scraping and the hitting of plates even at that pace is enough to cause seismic events that have significan t effect on the earth’s surface (Ford & Taylor 2006). http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/KashmirEarthquake/ The Himalayan mountain range, which itself has been born out of the seismic instability from the plates’ interaction, has had the same reasons for its birth in that specific region as that of the plate tectonics. The geological tectonic setting is such that any plate collision results in earthquakes along the fault lines which go right through the length of the country (Khan 2000). Reports attributed more than 978 aftershocks to the earthquake on daily basis (ReliefWeb 2005) that were at times of greater magnitude than the earthquake itself. Sudden slip events at the plate edges cause the shocks that travel through the length of the fault lines (Hubenthal et. al 2008). The elasticity of the earth’s crust

How is the veil portrayed in Western Media Essay

How is the veil portrayed in Western Media - Essay Example People are surrounded by time, culture, environment and the society, which can turn out the formation of many opinions about an issue that we face in everyday society. One of most controversial topics regards to Islam is the Veil. In the past twenty to thirty years Hijab or the veil has been widely recognized as a symbol of the Muslim woman in the western media. Many people want to know more about Islam and Muslim culture when they see a woman wearing a head scarf or a man with a full grown beard. Many generalizations and questions are formed in the minds of so many western non-Muslims in regards to the basic idea and concepts behind the veil through the influence of their western media. During the time of conflict between the "Islam" and "West", the media powerfully altered the minds of western non-Muslims by negative exploitation about Islam, Muslims, in particular about Muslim women. Misconceptions, like, if they are bald under the veil or if Muslim women sleep with their veils on , to the involvement of "terrorism" that contrasts to what Muslim women believe the veil represents. According to a CNN survey, Most Muslims come from lower middle class family backgrounds and their sole purpose for coming to America and living a good part of their lives away from their family is to make good money and send it back home. All the burden of the family is on their shoulders and they are the sole bread earners in the house. They just dont seem to be bothered by whatever is going around in the world as they are entangled in their daily routines. Usually these people are doing two or more than three jobs. They dont realize that by not clarifying things, they are digging a hole for themselves.(Shah, 2001) Muslims believe western media use the veil as a means to exploit Muslim women, and degrade them. According to them in west media assumes, that the action of just one Muslim is the

Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Education - Research Paper Example It can be argued that better education may be an inclination toward better life. The primarily role of education to an individual is the ability to offer knowledge, competence and the skills required of an individual to participate effectively in the happenings of the society as well as the economy. Education has the capacity to improve the lives of individuals within the society such that it helps in the development and advancement of political interests, health challenges, wellbeing and participation in civic activities. According to OECD Better Life Index, research studies reveal that educated people within the society lives longer and actively partake in political matters (OECD). Further, individuals with better education participate actively in the communities where they reside, engage less in criminal activities and do not depend on social assistance as their counterparts with no or little education. Better education is somehow equated to better life because of the increased opportunities and potential that quality education offers in securing good employment and pocketing good earnings. When compared to individuals with poor educational background, educated members of the society are affected by the unemployment tendencies to a lesser extent because the educational accomplishments make them more attractive to the labor market (Rouse). It is also argued that higher levels of education correspond to increased earnings in the employment market (OECD). As a result, highly educated people would have the advantage of having higher earnings with the advantage of accessing better services such as health services. Alternatively, individuals can achieve better life without necessarily having better education. The case of Malcolm X for instance, enjoyed better life but did not have the privilege to acquire better education. He had little education but still succeeded in life because the education he acquired was not imperative for his success but helped to understand the world in a much better way. He could communicate effectively with members of the society. He came to understand about several words that existed that he did not have an idea of. The little education that Malcolm got made him to go places, meet people and understand events that took place in the world (Wiener 84). Success in life can arise from individuals with low education but are innovative and productive with their lives. Nonetheless, education is important in helping individuals to improve their understanding of the world and relationship with the society. Talent, motivation and creativity in individuals are the most important elements in the success and prosperity of people (Thiel). These elements are not imparted in individuals through good education; therefore, education cannot be a necessity for better life. Good education is considered as a secondary factor in achieving success and prosp

Shrek & Donkey Essay Example for Free

Shrek Donkey Essay In traditional fairytales Ogres are man eating beasts, the prince usually rescues the princess, they marry and live happily ever after. How do the makers of Shrek use presentational devices to reverse this tradition, to reveal the ogre as good and the prince as evil? Shrek is obviously not a stereotypical fairytale because of its language and the features of the characters. The characters arent what they seem to be. Shrek is an ogre who is supposed to be bad and cruel, they are uncivilised just like the ogre in Jack and the beanstalk; he chases Jack saying fee fie foe fum; I smell the blood of an Englishman. The princess is supposed to be in distress and desperate to be saved. They have a beautiful voice which is supposed to attract the prince and they are normally scared and not demanding at a stage of crisis. The prince which in this case is Lord Farquaad is supposed to be kind, charming and his main job is to rescue and marry the princess. In Shrek the whole idea of a fairytale has been turned around by making the ogre Shrek the good guy the Lord Farquaad the bad guy and Princess Fiona not a damsel in distress. The filmmakers use a different technique to make the ogre seem good and the lord seems bad. To make this successful they used language, camera shots at different angles and special effects such as sounds and light effects. The film starts of with a traditional beginning with the usual once upon a time, there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort that could only be broken by true loves kiss. She was locked in the highest room in the tallest tower, guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. Many brave knights tried to free her from this dreadful prison, but none prevailed. So she sat in her tower and waited for true love, and true loves first kiss. and the soft slow music in the background. Shrek then rips that page and wipes his bottom saying, like thats ever going to happen, with a Scottish accent. He then bangs the toilet door and then you notice a change in music and atmosphere. There is a sought of rock and roll music which suggest to the viewers that Shrek is not going to be a movie that they had expected it to be like. This is the first clue given to us about what the story is going to be like. This opening breaks all the rules of fairytales because in Cinderella, sleeping beauty and snow white they all have a similar beginning. Once upon a time there lived a princess who the fairytale kept to a same rhythm and only if the princess sang then there would be a change in sound. They all had the same story line; the princess is either put to sleep or locked away by a witch or someone evil. The prince is handsome and is only there to fight the dragon or any evil creature to save the princess they kiss, marry and live happily ever after, the witch or the evil person is either killed or locked the end. But Shreks opening is original and something new for the viewers eyes. The part when Shrek says, like thats ever going to happen starts the turning point in this story. By the time the introduction music is over the viewers know that they are not fated for a conventional story. When the villagers come to attack Shrek he just stays calm and tells them, Now ogres, theyre much worse. Theyll make a suit from your freshly peeled skin. Theyll shave your liver, squeeze the jelly from your eyes. Actually, its quite good on toast. This bit tells us that Shrek is bad and that he will kill all these innocent people. But then we see a change in the character because he says, This is the part where you run away. This shows us that Shrek is good and this is quite odd because they are supposed to be evil. When the donkey approaches Shrek roars at him and tries to intimidate him, the donkey is not frightened but instead he laughs at him saying, Wow, that was really scary and if you dont mind me saying, if that dont work, your breath will certainly get the job done, cause you definitely need some Tic Tacs or something cause your breath STINKS. This shows that Donkey is not afraid of Shrek and that he has the courage to tell the big ogre about his negative things. Donkey is immediately liked by the audience because of his sense of humor. Donkey can see straight through Shrek and knows that he would not hurt anybody. The audience also finds this out when he saves Donkey from the guards, this shows us that Shrek has a heart and is not like normal ogres are; man-eating beasts. The Donkey irritates Shrek by following him to his house and then criticizing a place, Whoa. Look at that. Whod wanna live in a place like that? which is supposed to be Shreks home, That would be my home. Donkey then tries to reverse things around by saying, Oh and it is LOVELY. You know, youre really quite a decorator. Its amazing what youve done with such a modest budget. I like that boulder. That is a NICE boulder. This shows that Donkey would do anything to stay with Shrek and he is a funny character who can be loved by anybody. He then intimidates him by running in his house and peering in the window. After Shrek allows him to stay for one night he starts says, Thank you! Oh this is gonna be fun! We can stay up late, swap manly stories and in the morning, Im making waffles. But in the end he stays outside the house because Shrek does not want him to stay. This makes us feel sorry for Donkey and at this bit we sympathize on him making him feel venerable and not care for the ogre feelings. We think that Shrek is rude and selfish for not sharing his house for one day with Donkey.

Discussion Of Strategic Human Resources Management

Discussion Of Strategic Human Resources Management In this particular task we will discuss the Strategic Human Resource Management. What it is, what is the importance of SHRM in the modern business, purpose and the contribution of SHRM in the business. With the increased global competition and the innovation of new technology and knowledge ,human resource management became the most critical function of organisation. Therefore, the workforce which was considered as resources became assets and are valuable for gaining competitive advantage for organisation. HRM helps organisation in aligning individual goals and objectives with the corporate goals and objectives, and rather than working as dictator HRM works as facilitator and promotes participative approach of workforce. In short, the SHRM focuses on the efficient and effective management of people in achieving the organizations vision or purpose. Conceptually, the SHRM goes beyond a set of coordination functions and activities of an organizations human resources. One of the fundamental ideas underlying the SHRM theory is that the organization can create a strategic fit or synergy between its HR strategies and organizational strategies. In other words, the organization should be able to side with its HR strategies and policies with whatever their organization might exist for. SHRM if designed carefully can become the driving force for organizational success. For, it is the HR that stands in the key position to influence growth and development of any organization. Variables such as customers and stakeholders, the quality of products or services, revenues or development outcomes are greatly determined by HR strategies and polices. Definition of SHRM Strategic human resource management can be defined as the linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation, flexibility and competitive advantage. In an organisation SHRM means accepting and involving the HR function as a strategic partner in the formulation and implementation of the companys strategies through HR activities such as recruiting, selecting, training and rewarding personnel. [ezinearticles.com,2010] Task 1.1 Importance of SHRM With the hard core competition and the tough market conditions it is getting hard for the organisations to survive in the market .organisation have to develop themselves in such a way that they can survive and gain competetive advantage over its competitors.this is where shrm comes into picture as SHRM helps in the long term planning of the business.SHRM is a proactive management of people. It is a two way process where organisation meeting need of people and employees meeting needs of organisation SHRM helps in aligning individual goals with that of organisational goals and objectives by developing the skills of the employees by training and motivating employees. SHRM have provided new dimension for training and development by encouraging and facilitating innovation and creativity. Employees are motivated by enriching their work experience . Instead of the performance Appraisal s performance and talent management have taken place. Strategic Human Resource Management blurs the distinction between a specialized Human Resource Management function and core operational activity, SHRM Aims to achieve strategic fit by integrating Hr strategies and business strategies vertically. {Adopted from: People management} DESTS Strategic Human Resource Management Framework According to survey in 2007 by Australian government a DEST Strategic Human Resource Management Framework is designed which explains the development of the department which shows to retain talented people in challenging environment department is introducing new and innovative strategies while delivering fundamental human resource services like the salaries, payroll and recruitment. A strong emphasis on leadership is used as a key strategic element to help and support for department people. the department has built and maintained a creative and engaged workforce able to deliver the growing and diverse education, science and training agenda. {Adopted from: Curtin.edu,2011} This diagram illustrates the HRM function factor are the specific factors that influence the compatability of HR practices ,while firm level factors are analysed as major determinants for matching hr activities with strategy.personal factors which embrace the capabilities of both employees and manager are identified as common determinants for both horizontal and vertical fit. Task 1.2 Purpose of SHRM The aim of SHRM is to ensure that the strategic decisions are made having a major long-term impact on the behaviour and success of the organisation by ensuring that the employees of the organisation are skilled, motivated and highly committed to achieve the organisational goals and also attain the competitive advantage against other rivals. Some of the SHRM activities are listed as below: Resourcing:SHRM main activity is to have right people to do the right job at the rightime.Main emphasis is laid on the efficiency and effectiveness of staff.resourcing is a process and pay.which have planning,recruitment, selection ,induction. Retention: once the staff is hired emphasis is laid on the retention of staff by providing them necessary training and development, by motivating them, by providing them job security ,job enlargement and using the reward management like the the performance related pay. Flexibility: employees are provided with the flxibilty of work life balance, getting job done from home, like the part tiome jobs for students and mums and the maternity or the paternity holidays and the sick holidays to retain staff. Therefore the purpose of the shrm is to deploy right people for the right task and look after the flexibilty and training and development of employees.The purpose of Shrm can only be achieved by proper planning and implementation. Task 1.3 Contribution of SHRM In todays economy the HRM plays an important role in achieving the main objective of the organization. it has lot to contribute as the policies of the organization is set by the Human resource management jointly with the approval of the senior level management hence a lot is depend on the contribution of SHRM in the organization .For any HRM to make positive contribution to the organizational achievements it is necessary that the HRM should know the business ,the core competencies and their competitive advantage along with expectations of the organization and their customers .there is a need to evaluate key drivers in the business performance . This will help the HRM in formatting the stratergic according to the need of the organization .the organizations mission and vision is the key factor For example if the organization is a Fast Food Industry where generally the vision is customer centric, customer satisfaction and the value of time. All these requires a well trained workforce usually available for the job to be done on time hence improving quality of work-life can have a substantial impact by reducing errors accidents, reducing absenteeism turnover, and improving productivity customer service. Thus contribution of the strategic human resource management in todays economy and style of business can makes substantial impact to the objectives of the organization and thus in turn participate in helping the business of the company to grow to higher limits. SHRM contribute to the paradigm of the business.Shrm provides a value added core responsibility of HRM. HR Planning: The ongoing process of systematic planning to achieve optimum use of an organizations most valuable asset its human resources.(investopedia,2011) Hr Planning assist organisations to recruit ,retain and optimize the deployment of the personnel need ed to meet the business objectives and to respond to the external environment.The three key elements of the HR planning process are forecasting labor demand, analyzing present labor supply, and balancing projected labor demand and supply. This may include the development of training and retraining strategies.(bnet,2011) Utility of Human Resource Planning in an unstable econonmic environment can be stated as follow: Employee Maintainence: Tha administration and monitoring of workplace.Safety ,Health and welfare policiesto retain competent staff and comply with the statuatory standards and regulations.Employee Maintainence gives access to the employee data in regard to the personal and workplace information. Performance Management:Accordng to Armstrong and baron -Performance Management is a process which contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organisational performance. As such, it establishes shared understanding about what is to be achieved and an approach to leading and developing people which will ensure that it is achieved. Performance Management should be Strategic- About broader issues and long term goals and the Integrated -which links with the various aspects of the business ,people Management and individuals and teams. Peformance Management helps in the performance improvement and development of the individuals,teams and overall organisation.it also helps in managing behaviour iensuring that every there is better working conditions within the organisation.Performance mangament is a continuous process .Business starts of with the corporate goals and the departmental goals followed by the agreement on performance and development, leading to the development of plans betweenindividual and managers with continouous monitoring and feedback supported by formal reviews. Managers play aa important role in the performance management as they define individual behaviours ang assign duties and responsibilities and inform individuals about their accountibilities. Performance management is continuous improvement of the business processess, skills and behaviour of individuals and groups. Long Term Consequences: HR Planning main purpose is to recrit, retrain , optimise and deploy people.But HR is also responisble ethically to individuals working for the organisations.Ii has its responsibity towards individual for devolping their skills by providing them training .Training should lead the organisational effectiveness. HR is responsible towards the society for its well being following the ethical issues and the corporate governance.HR policies should be ethical and complaying with the laws. Because of the unstable Economic Environment large number of efforts are needed by the organisation sto sustain.Most of the organisations are trying to elimainate wastage like redundacy to get rid of the people who are not doing their job properly, Multitasking is pervailing and companieis are investing only on those employess who are capable and competent of multi tasking to assess sustainability. Hiring and training of new staff need lot of expenditure so companies is trying to train the staff internally from within the organisation. Task 2.1 Business Factors that underpin Human Resource Planning In an Organisation. Different business facors that underpin the Human Resource Planning in an organisation can be stated as follow: Competetive advantage: Human Resources within the organisations are treated as assets than capital.Having the Capable and Competent workforce than the competitor provides a competetive edge to organisation over the rivals. Talent management: Talent management is the systematic attraction, identification, development, engagement/ retention and deployment of those individuals who are of particular value to an organisation, either in view of their high potential for the future or because they are fulfilling business/operation-critical roles.(cipd,2011) From Business perspectives hiring those people who have the right skills that will be helpful to the organisation. Labour Market: HR Planning is affected by the labour Market which deals with the demand and supply of the skilled and unskilled workforce available in the market. Due to the Unstable economic Conditions their is to much of supply and less demand for the workforce . Strategy of the Organisation: Depending on the Strategy of the Business if they are the having a leader plan or the survival plan Hr will recruit and train staff. Finance: Heavy investment is needed in recruiting ,training and retaining staff . Different levels of management have Different raes of remuneration.According to the Finances Available to the HR Department Recriument or Training of workforce is done. Expansion or growth: Expansion or growth requires recriument and promoting of the workforce. Law: HR policies and planning has to abide by the law .Law relating to the women working, pay, holidays or the ethical issues. Internal /External Environment: Environment affect the operations and the working of the orgaistions. As the market is turbulent therefore the Hr planning is affected by the economeic conditions . Organisational need : Depending upon the structure or the culture of the organisation HR act . To provide flexibilty there can be number of part timers within the organisation. Apart from these factors HR planning is also affected by the mission and purpose of the organisation and the resource planning of the organisation. Task 2.2 HR Requirement in a given situation In a given situation HR requirement is about the workforce analysis.HR main job is to have right number of people with the right skill available for the job. Any training and development required is also analysed by the HR.HR estimates the cost of training and development. It is the responisibity of the HR to retain the staff.Basically HR is involved in all the activities related to the human resources such as recuiting,selecting, training, retaining . Task 2.3 Develop a HR Plan For an organization Organizational objectives are defined by the top management and the role of HRP is to sub serve the overall objectives by ensuring availability and utilization of human resources.   HR Demand Forecast: Helps in estimating future quantity and quality of people required. There are several good reasons to conduct demand forecasting Quantify the jobs necessary for producing a given number of goods Determine what staff-mix is required Asses appropriate staffing levels in different parts of the organization Prevent shortages of people Monitor compliance with legal requirements with regard to reservation of jobs HR Supply Forecast: Supply forecasting measure the number of people likely to be available from within and outside an organisation .Reasons for supply forecast are: Helps quantify number of people and positions expected to be available Helps clarify staff mixes that will exist in the future Assess existing staff levels in different parts of the organization Prevents shortage of people Monitors expected future compliance with legal requirements of job reservations HR Programming Once an organizations personnel and supply are forecast, the two must be reconciled or balanced in order that vacancies can be filled by the right employees at the right time. HR Plan Implementation Implementation requires converting an HR plan into action. A series of action programmes are initiated as apart of HR plan implementation. Recruitment, Selection and Placement- after the job vacancies are known, efforts must be made to identify sources and search for suitable candidates. The selection programme should be professionally designed. Training and development- The training and development programme should cover the number of trainees required and programmes necessary for existing staff Retraining and Redeployment- new skills are to be imparted to existing staff when technology changes. Retention plan- retention plan covers actions which would help reduce avoidable separations of employees. Downsizing- where there is surplus employee, trimming of labour force will be necessary Control and Evaluation Control and evaluation represents the fifth and the final stage of hrp process. It should also clarify responsibilities for implementation and control, and establish reporting procedures, which will enable achievements to be monitored against the plan. Task 2.4 Critically evaluate how a human resource plan can contribute to meeting an organisations objectives: Human Resource Planning plan for the optimum use of its human resources. HR planning therefore deals with having right people for right job at the right time. Therfore Hr is responible for fulfilling the organisational objective. Making best use of people: HR is responsible for hiring right people for the right job. Proper utilization of the capabilities of the individuals help the organisation to achieve its goal. Planning for the surplus and shortage of staff: HR plans helps the organisation about the skill and unskill labour market . If there is excess of staff then staff is made redundant or the early retirements are given to employees .but if the staff is in shortage than than the staff is hired or trained from within . Multiskilling is practised by the organisation. It is the responsibilty of the Hr to have right number of staff for the right job. Efficient utilization of people: Hr helps in the effective and efficient use of the workforce Hr helps the organisation to be cost effective by providing employees with the job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment.Employees tend to acquire more skills by this. Succession Planning:Wendy Hirsh defines succession planning as a process by which one or more successors are identified for key posts (or groups of similar key posts), and career moves and/or development activities are planned for these successors. Successors may be fairly ready to do the job (short-term successors) or seen as having longer-term potential (long-term successors). Therefore Hr defines the right candidate to be promoted for the right post. Recriument of Efficient Staff: Talent Management is in practice which helps the organisation to gain competetive advantage over its competitors and finding the cabable and competent employee for the job. Creating a fit between the HR Strategies and business Strategy:HR need ritcto follow the policies which will help in the achievemnet of the business objectives.Strategies concerning recruiting, training, deployment and delayering should all be aliged with the business strategy to achieve business objectives. The Development and Retention of the Human resources:Beside recriument and training it is very essential for organisation to retain and develop the staff. Task 2.5 Explain the purpose of HR management policies in organisation Human resource policies are the formal rules and guidelines that businesses put in place to hire, train, assess, and reward the members of their workforce.(uslegal,2010) Rules and Norms: HR policy should follow the rules and norms and should comply with the law. Procedures- HR policies provides a clear idea about the procedures relating to the displinary. Support- HR policies provide support in regared to the working hours and the break timimngs etc. Displinary and greviaces-Policies relating to the greviances such as how the greviances by solved and what are the displinary measures and the misconduct and the gross misconduct. Performance Management: Performance management underlines the Hr policies about analysing and measuring the performance of individuals. These underline the probation time , appriasal and the reviews by the management. Employee Relations-HR policies provide support to employees in relation to any problem or information relating to the workplace. Reward Management : HR policies states the pay and remuneration of the employees and how the employees are paid . Task 2.6 Analyse the Impact of regulatory requirements on HR policies in an organisations Regulatory bodies have tremendous effect on the HR hence it is mandatory for the HR to keep the Law and regulatory authorities at priority before finalizing on HR Policies failing to do so would lead the organization into serious trouble with consequences up to heavy penalty and license being cancelled. There are a few of those policies No discrimination policy discrimination of any sort is a crime hence the HR follows the policy of no discrimination policy. Training is been given to employees on this topic which explain them what they can say or do. Equal opportunity policies where the Hr has to plan a structure to offer jobs for everyone irrespective on anything Economic : Hr sholud look after tax policies as well. Any Tax Evasion of wrong Income Shown leads to the unethical bahaviour .therefore HR policies should work ethically towards the government. Sexual or mental harassment policy: Hr takes a serious action against any employee breaking this policy Working HR Restriction policy: Hr Has to proved a contracted hours of job for immigrants that have work hour restriction for their job Social Corporate Responsibilty:it is HR responsibility to look after the welfare of the society or invest in the ecnomic infrastructure or creating jobs for the unemployed in the society. Adequate Resource and Training : HR policies should have proper measures for the training and development of workforce. Respect for employees: HR policies should support diversity in work cultures and the common law for respect for the employees and forbade the use of abusive language at work. Regular performance review: it is mandatory for the Comapnies to perform reviews of employees as it provide the idea of the working of employees. There are various policies and procedure that has to be implemented by the HR due to the legal restrictions of the government . Task 3.1 Impact of Organisational structure on HR: An organizational structure consists of activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards the achievement of organizational aims (wikipedia,2010) An organisation s structure is presented as an organisational chart which shows how management is organised vertically with layers of hierarchy and horizontally by function, product or division.There are three main types of organisational structure: tall ,hierarchical,flat hierarchical and matrix.In the centralized structure decision making power is concentrated in the top layer of management and in the decentralised structure decision making power is distributed. HR do not have much power to exercise in the traditional structure but in regard of the decentralised Hr have rights and power to exercise. Hr helps in improving the communication between managers ,supervisors and employees.It helps in allocating the roles ,powerand responsibilities are delegated ,controlled and coordinated. Task 3.2 Impact of organization culture on HR: The specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholdersHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakeholder_(corporate) outside the organization.(wikipedia,2011) Role culture also known as the Greek temple ; classical structure, bureaucratic nature, roles more important that the people who fill them. Position power predominates and expert power tolerated. This culture serves the cause of structure.This type of culture is normally for the Army or the Home Office. Hr define the role properly for every individuals. Task culture also known as the Net; the focus is on completing the job. Individuals expertise and contribution are highly valued. Expert power predominates, but both personal and position power are important. The unifying force of the group is manifested in high levels of collaboration. NHS nurses and doctor are the examples of the tash culture.There is continouous training needed for the jobs. Person culture also known as a Cluster or Galaxy; a loose collection of individuals usually professionals sharing common facilities but pursuing own goals separately. Power is not really an issue, since members are experts in their own right. This type of culture serves the individual. Accountant,businessman are the examples.No hr is needed for the person culture as the individuals take their own decision and do not require any staff. Task 3.3 How effectiveness of HR is monitored:- Performance appraisal (PA) is one of the important components in the rational and systemic process of human resource management. The information obtained through performance appraisal provides foundations for recruiting and selecting new hires, training and development of existing staff, and motivating and maintaining a quality work force by adequately and properly rewarding their performance. There are two primary purposes of performance appraisal: evaluative and developmental. The evaluative purpose is intended to inform people of their performance standing. The collected performance data is used to reward high performance. The developmental purpose is intended to identify problems in employees performing the assigned task. The collected performance data is used for training and development purposes.The effectiveness of HR can be monitored by auditing the following functions of the Human resources like Hiring Procedures/Recruitment/Interviewing:- the quality of the hiring procedure ,recruitment and the interviewing criteria Reference Checking Process :- To thoroughly check the reference provided by the employee New Employee Orientation Program:- the Quality of the orientation programmed for fresh employees Salary Reviews/Compensation Issues :- the Time Taken to provide solution to these issues Employee Benefits Programs :- Are these programmed Worth for the employees HR Policies and Procedures :- their Adherence quality Employee Handbook :- How well it is reviewed Job Descriptions for Key Positions:- if the employees know about their duties and responsibilities. Cross Training :- Quality of Checking if the training was worthy enough for the employee Skills Assessments : criteria to assess the skills of the employee Staff Mentoring : the degree or the quality of mentoring provided to the staff by the HR if situation arises where a staff needs mentoring (htr,2010) Task 3.4 Recommendation to improve the effectiveness of HRM Below are some recommendations Have a check on the composition of the audit team which audits the performance of the HR. have a member of HR in the team representing the HR Review the values and the Mission statements of the HR Review the effectiveness of the Hr policies in getting the polices adhere to the desired result KPIs ( Key performance indicators should be set for Hr functions and should be monitored performance monitoring for the implementation for the planning made by the HR in the next six months also implementation and proper execution of the trading or other activity assigned for the employees. The time or the period taken by the HR to solve or rectify or address a query shall also be monitored and their follow up for the same has to be made. Appointing a consultant to examine the HR of a given Company would be a better option Conclusion Human Resource Planning helps ,in selection,recruiting,training and appraising . HR department helps the organisation to gain competetive advantage over its competitor by selecting the employees with the right skill to do the right job. HR now a days is focussing more on the talent management.Concepts like psycological contract ,learning organisations are getting into practise to increase the efficiency and productivity of employees. Refrences: Inroduction of SHRM available[online] http://www.rim.edu.bt/Publication/Archive/rigphel/rigphel2/people_mgt.htm [accessed 24th January 2011] Image of organisational culture adopted [online]http://changeworksblog.com/category/viral-change-change-management/ accessed [14th January 2011] defination of personnel management available [online]http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/personnel-management.html accessed[ 14th January 2011] HRM Available[online]http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/f/hr_management.htm [accessed 24th January 2011] Defination of SHRM avaliable [online]http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Strategic-Human-Resource-Management?HYPERLINK http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Strategic-Human-Resource-Management?id=549585HYPERLINK http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Strategic-Human-Resource-Management?id=549585id=549585 accessed [14th January 2010] HR Planning Available[online]http://www.bnet.com/topics/human+resource+planning accessed[24th January 2011] Image of HR Available [online] http://rphrm.curtin.edu.au/2006/issue2/strategic.html[Accessed 18th January 2011] HR Planning Available(online)http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/human-resource-planning.asp [accessed 24th January 2011] Utility of HR Planning available[online]http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/perfmangmt/general/perfman.htm [accessed 24th January 2011] Talent Management Available[online]http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/recruitmen/general/talent-management.htm?IsSrchRes=1 [Accessed 25thJanuary 2011] Human Resource Policies Available[online] http://definitions.uslegal.com/h/human-resource-policies/ [Accessed 25th January 2011] Organisational structure Available[online]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisational_structure [Accessed 25th January 2011] Defination of Organisational Culture Available[online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture [Accessed 25th January 2011] HR Effectiveness Available[online]http://www.htr.org/hrmanagement.asp [accessed25th January 2011] Doherty N.,Tyson S.,1999Human Resource Excellence.,Cranfield School of Mnagement.,Financial TimesManagement. Anthony P.W.et al.,1995.Strategic Human Resource Management,Dryden Press. Image of Evolution of SHRM available [online] http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/77199.aspx?p=2 [accessed 18th January 2011] DEST Strategic Human Resource management Framework Available[online] http://www.annualreport2007.dest.gov.au/chapter_eight/people_management.htm [accessed 18th January 2011] Workforce planning Available[online] http://www.cciq.com.au/Business-Skills/Adult-Learning/What-training-is-right-for-your-business[ Accessed 19th January 2011]

Main Body Causes of shyness

Main Body Causes of shyness Shyness is an emotional feeling that affects how a person behaves around others and how they feel about themselves. It can be identified as feeling uncomfortable nervousness, self conscious, timid, insecure or even bashful. It can range from feeling mild to moderate discomfort in one or more areas of a persons life. One might fear to meet new people, attend social gatherings, making cold calls at the work place or speaking in public. Intense shyness is described as social anxiety, panic disorder or social phobia (Gilbert 1). Those people who are shy often experience physical sensations such as feeling speechless, blushing, breathless or even shaky. They avoid doing things to avoid being noticed and usually feel unsure about themselves and the things they do. Most scientists in the field of psychology believe that shyness is a genetic inclination which is caused by the wiring in the brain. The implication is that if the parents are shy, the offspring are bound to be shy as well. Philip Zimbardo and Bernado Carducci argue that the number of shy people seems to be on the increase (McKay 1). They say that technological advances contribute to this phenomenon because it avails opportunities for people to make fewer interpersonal interactions especially through the internet and phones. Shyness in us Shyness may affect just one area of a persons life and hence it is likely that shy individuals may seem outgoing when viewed by another person from outside. We have heard of actors who are timid and shy in the real life circles but when they are on stage they give a brilliant performance. You should be aware that Albert Einstein, Orville Wright and Tom Hanks are among the public figures known to have been/are shy. The reason behind this is not hard to comprehend. When in the workplace we are often given a suitable role to play that legitimizes us in the eyes of other and in our own eyes. The calling of the shots is not necessarily for us but actually on behalf of the company. The rejection of such a call on our behalf is far more personal. If the call was on behalf of the company, its rejection means that the company will take part of the failure. In a study that was published in 1975 by Zimbardo, it showed that 40 percent of the 800 respondents to the survey that he conducted were shy (McKay 1). Twenty years down the line in 1995, Carducci published the results obtained from a similar study. The percentage of people who admitted that they considered themselves shy increased to 48 percent. Many of us consider ourselves shy. However, not all of us allow shyness to define us. Majority of those who experience feelings that might bring out shyness do not give room for shyness to interfere with the desire to pursue personal and professional objectives and targets. Dr Renee who is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist says that he is a recovering shy person as he has never been able to overcome his shyness. Something comes along to catch him off guard just when he thought he had vanquished the shyness. The familiar old feelings of wanting to run for cover, dive under the nearest table and hide come rushing back to him. However, he has learnt how deal with them and they no longer rule his life (Renee 1). As for me, you know those feelings where your temperature rise, the heart start to race and you feel like the stomach has dropped to the feet? They come rushing whenever I encounter shyness. However, these feelings are no longer strong. When they come calling, they are only a blurred memory and last for just a short time because Ive learnt how to deal with shyness. One only needs to know where to begin in countering shyness (Renee 1). Encountering New People and Situations Shyness can be brought out by unfamiliar and new situations such as meeting strangers, talking in front of a group of people for the first time or the first day in school. One is likely to feel shy especially because they are not sure how they should act. The fear of not knowing what will happen when all the eyes on the person and how others will react may bring about shyness. A person who knows what to expect is less likely to be shy. Shy people often take more time in order to get used to a change. They often prefer continuing with what is familiar (Lyness 1). Effects of Shyness on Career There are indications by researchers that shy people begin their careers late in life. Non-shy people start their careers significantly earlier. The shy people are prone to declined promotions. They often choose careers that do not require a lot of interpersonal relations. They are often undecided about the line of profession to pursue. Those people who are shy find it hard to create career identity at the workplace as successful and competent individuals in line with the career track (Macky 1). Self Esteem Shyness especially the extreme variety leads to one becoming very nervous and having difficulty when making a conversation. This is especially if the shy person has to meet strangers who necessitate congeniality. When this happens, the persons self esteem suffers badly. Everybody would want to feel comfortable in all situations, be talkative and be more outgoing. It is embarrassing to be awkward in the company of other people and one feels like they want to run and hide. When you relate talking out with pain and embarrassment, you will do all that is possible to avoid it. This is the driving force behind shy people going into solitude. Introverts are not forced in solitude by this force but they rather prefer it that way (Jonnes 1). Extreme shyness Extreme shyness can be as a result of nature or nurture. If one or both of the parents were shy, it would mean that the shyness is genetically passed from parents to children. If the individual was an outgoing and happy when they were a child, it reflects that the nurturing of the child was probably of abusive nature (Jonnes 1). For people who are naturally quiet, the fear of talking may arise from a few bad experiences especially at the early stages of childhood. When a parent, guardian or any other adults reaction to a childs attempting to express him/herself is dismissive and angry, it is natural for such a child to shy away from trying to express themselves in the future as they take the experience as personal. The fact that such an episode may have occurred once, the human nature is such that people tend to exaggerate such incidents until they become monsters naturally (Overcoming Shyness. 1). Overcoming Shyness Shy people would very much want to be like any other non-shy person in terms of lack of shyness. The origins of shyness are similar to those that cause social phobia only that social phobia is rather serious disorder. Dr Heimberg described social phobia as shyness gone wild (McKay 2). Shyness cuts those who have it from many things that life has to offer such as social interaction, family and love. He further observes that he has researched on treatments aimed at social phobia and shyness. He indicates that individuals who received a particular drug that is aimed at treating depression and cognitive-behavioral therapy showed noteworthy improvement. Those who received drug therapy relapsed but a small percentage of those who were given cognitive-behavioral therapy did. Understanding Oneself One of the key personal approaches to overcoming shyness by the person is recognizing the meaningless perceived sights as they do not help much in escaping from the realities of life. When another person reacts negatively to a shy person, the shy person should not take it personally instead he/she should try to imagine the perspective of the other person. Such perspectives might reflect the other persons attempt to cover their own inadequacies or may be they are in bad mood. Such consideration of the perspective may go a long way in putting the reaction in its proper context. The person should also strive to expose him/herself to social situations such as parties. They should also try to work in environments that expose them to interpersonal communication (Overcoming Shyness 1). It takes practice to overcome shyness. Shy people in most cases give themselves lesser chances to interact with others. It is not surprising as to why shy people are not as socially confident as those individ uals who are outgoing. The more a person practices social behavior, the easier the interaction becomes and the more natural they tend to be for a person. Gradual Progress Taking slow but steady step towards overcoming shyness is critical. When a shy person steps back from a situation that may trigger shyness often keep the shyness at a level which is hard to get past hence reinforcing shyness. One can develop confidence to interact by making one step towards eliminating shyness at a time. Most shy people feel awkward when a situation presents itself. They are afraid that they will feel uncomfortable and awkward (Lyness 2). This perception should not let a person keep away from doing or saying what they want. Feeling awkward in some situations is perfectly normal for any human being. For example, it feels awkward to ask for a first date as you are not sure what the response will be. Keeping away from asking implies that you will never get that much desired date. It is recommendable that shy people seek the advice of a professional psychologist. They should also learn how to manage their shyness. Forget Bad Experiences Fighting to forget bad experiences is fundamental if one is to shake-off shyness. Much more frightening feeling grows other than reality when one dwells on a bad experience. The more an individual thinks about a bad experience, the more powerful the feeling about it becomes. It is unnecessary to keep on blaming oneself about a bad experience. Being true to oneself is important as one cannot change the true inner self. If one has a shy style that is natural or the shyness holds one back, one might consider trying to develop a sense of ease around situations that make them nervous. Majority of shy people find that the more they practice these tactics, the easier socializing becomes. Practicing conversation, assertiveness, confident and friendly body language goes a long way in helping overcome shyness, achieve more enjoyment from daily experiences and build confidence (Lyness 3). Humans are not so Different Those who suffer from shyness should realize and internalize that other individuals are basically the same as themselves. All human beings are insecure and fear embarrassment. Those who are shy should know that other people may not be as smart as one would think. If one has doubts or a question, there are high chances that somebody else is also wondering about the same thing. Conclusion Shyness can range from feeling mild to moderate discomfort in one more areas of a persons life. Intense shyness is described as social anxiety, panic disorder or social phobia. Most scientists in the field of psychology believe that shyness is a genetic inclination which is caused by the wiring in the brain. Shyness can be brought out by unfamiliar and new situations such as meeting strangers, talking in front of a group of people for the first time. Majority of those who experience feelings that might bring out shyness do not give room for shyness to interfere with the desire to pursue personal and professional objectives and targets. One only needs to know where to begin in countering shyness. When a shy person steps back from a situation that may trigger shyness often keep the shyness at a level which is hard to get past hence reinforcing shyness. Everybody would want to feel comfortable in all situations, be talkative and be more outgoing. Letting go of bad experiences is fundame ntal if one is to shake-off shyness. All human beings are insecure and fear embarrassment. Those who suffer from shyness should realize and internalize that other individuals are basically the same as themselves.

Robinson Crusoe :: essays research papers

By definition, a savage is an uncivilized person. Friday would not fit this description because he was civilized. He was a product of the civilization that surrounded him where he came from. His appearance, behaviors, and beliefs were that of all the others in what might be called his tribe. The simple fact that he had religious beliefs is evidence of him being somewhat civilized. A savage can also be thought of as anyone or anything not European. Clearly Friday was not European, yet his features were not consistent with what would normally be considered "savage". He is described as having "a very good Countenance, not a fierce and surly Aspect†¦", "he had all the Sweetness and Softness of an European in his Countenance too†¦", "His Hair was long and black, not curl’d like Wool†¦", "The Colour of his Skin was not quite black, but very tawny; and yet not of an ugly yellow nauseous tawny, as the Brasilians, and Virginians, and other Natives of America are†¦", and "his Nose small, not flat like the Negroes, a very good mouth, thin Lips, and his fine Teeth well set, and white as Ivory" (Defoe 205). When the two characters meet, Friday approaches Robinson Crusoe in a very sedate manner, Friday is terrified yet he does not lash out at Robinson Crusoe. He does not seem wild, ferocious or barbaric in any way. He uses sign language at first to communicate, which indicates knowledge of some sort of primitive language. He is quick to learn Robinson Crusoe’s language and is eager to learn more while Robinson Crusoe stays clear of learning Friday’s language. It is apparent that Friday has religious or spiritual beliefs right from the beginning. When Robinson Crusoe saves Friday from the savages that brought him to the island to devour him, Friday is extremely grateful and he offers himself as an eternal servant to Robinson Crusoe. "At last he lays his Head flat upon the Ground, close to my Foot, and sets my other Foot upon hi shead, as he had done before; after this made all the Signs to me of Subjection, Servitude, and Submission imaginable, to let me know, how he would serve me as long as he liv’d†¦" (Defoe 206). After it became evident that Friday was not a threat of any sort, Robinson Crusoe was grateful for his presence. Friday would become a valuable asset for the daily activities of Robinson Crusoe’s habitation.

Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Essay example -- Atwood Handmaid

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale In "The Handmaid's Tale", Margaret Atwood tells a saddening story about a not-to-distant future where toxic chemicals and abuses of the human body have resulted in many men and women alike becoming sterile. The main character, Offred, gives a first person encounter about her subservient life as a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a republic formed after a bloody coup against the United States government. She and her fellow handmaids are fertile women that the leaders of Gilead, the Commanders, enslave to ensure their power and the population of the Republic. While the laws governing women and others who are not in control of Gilead seem oppressive, outlandish and ridiculous, they are merely a caricature of past and present laws and traditions of Western civilization. "The Handmaid's Tale" is an accurate and feasible description of what society could be like if a strict and oppressive religious organization gained dominant power over the political system in the United States. Of course, one does not need to try to predict the future in order to get a picture of what life would be like if such a strict and oppressive religious organization obtained a stranglehold on our political system. The Holy Roman Empire and various kingdoms of the not-to-distant past, ruled by kings appointed by God through birthright, are packed with stories of poor treatment of those who oppose them and have a consistent theme for foul treatment of women. Few, if any, religious conquests were as gruesome and devastating as the Inquisition. Starting in the 13th century, monarchs from all around Europe, with approval from the Popes during their reigns, anointed inquisitors to track down a certain group of he... ...omen than men and more stories of women succeeding in business and government, one might think that society has evolved from the mediaeval, torturous times of the Inquisition. However, we mustn't forget that the Inquisition did not end until the early 19th century, and that most Western Civilizations did not make strides towards equal rights for women until the 20th century. "The Handmaid's Tale" is a shivering warning about the brutality that humans can enact upon each other, given the opportunity. Many of the religious sentiments expressed during the story are echoes of today's events. From the Inquisition to toxic waste dumps poisoning hundreds of people in a small town to abortion clinic bombings, some of the outrageous and unbelievable events of "The Handmaid's Tale" have already been taking place for centuries, but are hopefully not a omen of what is to come.