Promotion of Effective Communication †Workbook Essay

Question  1 Look at your company’s policies and procedures on completing records and maintaining effective communication, what is your role? Answer: I browsed and read my organisation’s policy regarding the service user’s rights and those legislations which promotes equality, diversity, and discrimination. a. Each service user has a right to information regarding their care service that does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnic origin, creed, colour, religion, political affiliation, disability or impairments, marital status, parenthood, sexual gender or sexual orientation. b. Each service user has the right of access to their personal care records and to comment on them accordingly. Service users have the right to appoint an advocate to make their wishes and preferences known if they are unable to do so. c. Each service user has the right to be assured that no personal or confidential information concerning their affairs will be disclosed to a third party without their express permission. d. Each service user has the right to communicate using their preferred methods of communication and language. When completing records and reports look through your staff hand book or induction pack you were given at work and explain any rules and regulations or policies you need to follow when completing records and reports at work some of which might include: †¢ Records should be completed as soon as possible after the event †¢ Details should be accurate †¢ Details should be relevant †¢ Details should be legible †¢ Details should clearly indicate if it is a fact, opinion or hearsay. Opinions are acceptable as long as it is clearly stated as such. †¢ Always record as little as possible but detailed and as much as necessary. 2, 3, 10, 11 Describe ways that you provide support to individuals to communicate their needs. How might your communication alter with different individuals ? What aids might be used to support effective communication ? Answer: To support individuals and key people to communicate their needs you will need to: a. Arrange the individual’s environment to facilitate effective communication and promote understanding. This can be done by ensuring privacy going into a quiet room, if the area is noisy because of the volume of a radio or television it needs to be reduced. Poor lighting in the room needs to be changed and some more that you can think of. b. As a care worker you need to check that the individual have the appropriate support to communicate their views. This could be making sure the individual who uses glasses and an hearing aid is supported by making sure the glasses is at client’s reach or that hearing aids is switched on and working properly. c. Appropriate styles and methods of communication should be used with respect to the individual. Such as: Active listening – showing be gestures that you are listening, sitting or standing half turned away gives the message that you are not listening. Responding appropriately – nodding your head.  Good body language and maintaining eye contact – Leaning forwards can be used effectively when you want to emphasize your interest or support. The methods that can be used to communicate effectively are: a. Support equality and diversity †¢ This can be done by using appropriate language that the service user understands also using the appropriate register of language, for instance not using phrases that could be referred to as jargon. Another method is to use the appropriate way of speaking within a speech community. For instance communicating with young people may mean using their style of language e.g. what’s up with you, hello mate. †¢ Provision of communication aids and use of non-verbal communication if service user has hearing or vision impairments or learning and physical disabilities. b. Are effective when dealing with, and challenging discrimination †¢ Working with key people demands that you communicate in a language that they understand and also using simple words. For example the use of clinical words that is not commonly understood would not be necessary if you know they are not familiar with them. †¢ Sometimes we come across people who cannot understand us for one reason or the other instead of ignoring them it would be helpful to source a skilled interpreter but we still need to make effort to communicate with the person by learning some of the ways of communication or a few useful words from their language. The methods to support individuals to communicate are: Ensure environment is suitable (lighting, noise background) Provide interpreter if necessaryAllow sufficient time for individuals to understand the content of communication. Use relevant aids for communication (e.g. cards, symbols, hearing aids, large print) Provide advocate to speak for a service user Ensure written material is in suitable formats or language. Specific aids that may be used to support effective communication : Aided communication is communication supported or replaced by materials or equipment. There are simple materials or equipment used everyday such as a pen and paper to write messages, alphabet charts, pictures or symbols or photographs. Communication aids can be categorized into 3 broad groups: Symbolic Aids This is commonly the use of signs and symbols, it requires individuals to undertake a form of training on the correct forming of signs used and types of symbols: †¢ British Sign Language – used as a communication aid for individual with hearing loss. †¢ Makaton – used as an aid to support speech and not intended to replace it. †¢ Picture Exchange communication systems (PEC) – This aid helps individuals to be independent as they able to exchange a picture for what they want from a compiled album of pictures. †¢ Deaf – Blind manual alphabets – Slightly modified version of the BSL. Finger- spelling alphabet is used. Technical Aids †¢ Talking microwaves – usually for individuals with sight loss †¢ Computers – which read out the text on the screen. †¢ Light writer – this is a portable device into which the individual types in what they would want to say. Human Aids †¢ Interpreter – is a person who supports the communication between two people who do not have the same language. This also includes the sign language. †¢ Translator – is a person who changes the written word into an easier format for the individual to read. This could be into Braille or symbols. †¢ Advocate – This is someone who speaks on behalf of an individual when they are not able to do so. 4, 5, 19 In relation to the promotion of effective communication, give examples of what you do to maintain the following laws and guidelines: a) Data Protection Act b) Access to Health Records Act c) The General Social Care Council Code of Conduct d) Standard 37 National Minimum Standards for Care Homes e) Caldicott Report Answer: a) To maintain Data Protection Act it is necessary to complete the records as soon as possible after the event and always record as little as possible but detailed and as much as necessary; to make sure that the details are accurate, relevant and legible and that they clearly indicate if it’s a fact, opinion or hearsay. Another important thing is that opinions are acceptable as long as it is clearly stated as such. The information shared by the individuals must be confidential to ensure data protection. In case that the information suggests that the client is under risk, the consent of the individual needs to be obtained before passing the information to an appropriate member of the staff, and even when the consent is not given it becomes important to report. b) To maintain the Access to Health Records Act I have to make sure that the records are accurate, legibly written, shareable so that the information can be used to provide individuals with the support and care required. The  members of a care team are fully informed of new developments and changes in a client’s care plan and the evidence of the actions taken in specific circumstances are available if the need arises. I can access information and records about an individual by: talking to the service user, accessing previous records after permission has been sought from the appropriate person, talking to colleagues who know the individual, to family members or to other professionals c) To maintain The General Social Care Council Code of Conduct, as a social care worker, I must establish and ensure the confidence of service users and carers. This includes: communicating in an appropriate, open, accurate and straightforward way; respecting confidential information and clearly explaining agency policies about confidentiality to service users and carers. I must be accountable for the quality of my work, I have to maintain clear and accurate records required by procedures established for my work. 6,7 Where can you find out about an individuals communication and language needs, information about communication and language skills to improve your practice ? Answer: I can find out about an individuals communication and language needs by asking my manager or the service user, discussing with other care workers who know the individual, talking to family members, to a speech therapist or other professionals for advice, exploring the internet or consulting a library for more information. In order to improve my practice, I can find out about information, communication and language skills by asking my supervisor or manager, or colleagues who have confronted with similar cases. I can also consult the case notes of the individual, or relevant documents provided by the organization that will help me learn how to communicate effectively – for example the induction manuals, search for information via the internet or specialist organizations for the particular condition, attend relevant training courses to communication, supervision and appraisal sessions. 9  What factors may affect communication skills, abilities and behaviour of an individual ? How may they react as a result of these factors? Answer: Factors that can affect communication skills, abilities and behaviour of an individual are: – Physical Impairments – visual and hearing – Language barriers – accents, different language – Cognitive or sensory impairments – learning difficulties, memory loss, – Illness – dementia, stroke – Environmental problems – poor lighting, noisy environments If this happens, the individual in question becomes withdrawn from others around them, isolated from others. This may affect his self-esteem and self-confidence negatively. That individual may also become confused, angry and frustrated. 12  If you were trying to have a conversation with an individual how would you arrange the environment and position yourself to communicate effectively? Answer: First of all, I have to make sure that there isn’t any background noise that could make the communication difficult. Then, another important step to achieve effective communication with individuals is arranging the environment to aid communication. Here are some factors that can hinder or disturb good communication: – Poor lighting, because individuals with poor sight are unable to see you – Background noise from the radio, other individuals, TV and so on – Obstacles between me, the care worker, and the individual, for example furniture and household items – Insufficient distance to keep appropriate space within me and the individual to avoid encroaching or invading on their personal space 13, 14  Describe some conflicts that might occur as a result of communication difficulties. How would you deal with these conflicts? Answer: Some of the conflicts that might occur as a result of communication difficulties are: individuals can become frustrated and isolated when the  communication between themselves and their workers is encountering problems. These problems or dilemmas are sometimes the result of: – a difference in the language spoken by the service user and the worker – the service user has visual impairments or hearing difficulties – the individual might have a physical illness or disability – either physical disability or learning disability. There are many ways to solve the conflicts that might occur. It depends on the nature of the problem. For example, for: †¢ Language differences: If there are conflicts due to language differences, then an interpreter will be appropriate for any serious discussions or communications. Efforts should be made to learn a few important words to communicate with the individual or teach the individual some words in the workers language if they are willing to facilitate communication. Non verbal communication will be an effective method in solving this kind of conflict. †¢ Hearing difficulties: Individual with hearing difficulties need to be assisted to ensure their hearing aids are working and fitted properly. It would be necessary that a worker will assist the individual to clean the equipment, change the batteries when appropriate. Workers will also need to give the client the appropriate space and communication pace that would make communication effective. If the need arises words can be written down for clarity. The use of signs and telecommunication services such as type talk service are very useful. †¢ Visual difficulties: Individual with visual difficulties need to be provided with glasses or contact lenses so they can observe non verbal communication. This will prevent misunderstandings during communication with people. †¢ Physical disabilities: Communications with individuals in this category will be according to the type of physical disability or illness. If the illness has affected the individual’s ability to speak and understand, for instance a stroke then the use of short, simple sentences, gestures, writing and drawing or using flash cards, the use of closed questions which only need â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no† should be useful. †¢ Some illness do not affect the client’s understanding, so there is no need to speak slowly but will need to be patient to receive a response as the client might have difficulty with their speech e.g. stroke. †¢ Learning disabilities: The method of communication will depend on the level of the disability. I will need to communicate at the pace and space suitable for the client. Physical contacts are of an advantage to be used along with  verbal communication. †¢ Cultural differences: People have different cultural backgrounds, therefore it is necessary to find out from the individuals their communication preferences or alternatively check their care plan records o r ask people such as their family, friends, colleagues or key people who have worked with them. 15, 16  When communicating difficult, sensitive or complex messages, how might your style of communication alter? What type of environment would be most appropriate for this sort of communication ? Answer: Communicating with individuals who are distressed or upset due to bereavement this could be sensitive, complex or difficult. In this situation, I will ask if the person would want to discuss any concerns with me or maybe another person of their choice. I can use non verbal communication while been a good listener such as making good eye contact with the individual as she talks, which will depict that I’m willing to listen. If the client is displaying a behaviour that dictates that they are able to put others or themselves at risk, then I might need to involve the attention of appropriate members of the care team. For this sort of communication, the environment must be comfortable and appropriate. I would come across times when I need to discuss matters with individuals that are referred to as sensitive issues. If an individual needs to discuss his personal needs with me, I have to ensure that he feels comfortable and encouraged to communicate these issues. On the other hand, I might want to discuss with the service user about their changing needs such as diet, incontinence, mobility and so on. Communicating bad news, like a bereavement of a spouse or close person to the individual will also require certain communication skills. The things that should take into account are: †¢ Remember individuals have a right to their privacy, therefore the immediate environment should be arranged to ensure privacy. For example a client’s bedroom or apartament should be free from visitors at the time. †¢ Individual’s preferred method of communication should be made available. †¢ Communication should be made at the pace of the individual, giving enough time for both of us to understand the content of the communication. †¢ Observe and respond appropriately to reactions fromà ‚  individuals. 17  Who do you need to gain permission from to access records and why ? Answer: I need to gain permission of my manager or client to access records. Accessing information will help me to improve my practice and also my responsibility. Within the organization there should be relevant documents to access information or if I work with individuals in their own home the care plan should contain useful information. 18  Define the following words: a) Fact b) Opinion c) Judgement Why is it important that you aware of the difference of these words when reporting and recording information about individuals ? Answer: a) A fact is a true statement that cannot be disputed, knowledge or information based on real occurrences; something demonstrated to exist or known to have existed. b) An opinion is a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty- it is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts, a subjective statement or thought about an issue or topic. An opinion may be supported by an argument, although people may draw opposing opinions from the same set of facts. c) A judgement is a cognitive process of reaching a decision or drawing conclusions. Judgments are also personal and developed from experience; they differ from person to person. For example, if a client is dying and all the symptoms and signs show the evidence, reports and records should show these facts. On the other hand if the client only refused to talk, people might have different opinions and judgments to explain the reason. Records and reports will need to be verified to deduce the correct and most suitable reason. It is important to aware of the difference of these words when reporting and recording information about individuals because I have the responsabiliy to provide seamless services for individuals, and this thing can be done only if the  information is correct, precise.

Interview With A Human Resource Middle Manager Essay

Employee performance appraisals are no longer novel practices in the human resource management field. According to Arthur Sherman, George Bohlander and Scott Snell, employee performance appraisals have been around since the nineteenth century and were routinely administered to federal employees in the United States (303). The activity gained considerable commendation enough to make it increasingly popular both among small and large, and public and private organizations. It was not until after World War II, however, that performance appraisal became widespread and became accepted as a regular part of organization check-up and maintenance (Bohlander). Longenecker and Goff, on the other hand, summarized the oft-cited purposes of performance appraisals in literature. As stated by them, performance appraisals are used to motivate employees, provide a basis for salary or wage dispensation, facilitate discussion regarding employee concerns, provide data for human resource decision and serve as communication tool of managers towards their employees. Performance appraisals are response to the ever more competitive pressures in the nature of employment (Murphy and Marguiles 2). There are various other functions of performance appraisals explained in literatures, yet overall, they generally refer to the fulfilment of administrative as well as development purposes. I was able to get an interview from the Middle Manager of a firm and I was able to get her opinion regarding their policies in the company and how she treats her people. She explained furthermore that she employs performance appraisal as a logical part of running their organization, and a means of appraising, developing and maximizing the knowledge and abilities of employees—the organization’s greatest wealth. It is a basic part of managing human resource in that most practitioners consider it an indispensable part of maintaining or improving organizational effectiveness. Emily McGregor, a Human Resource Deputy Manager of the _____________ stated that the main objective of their performance appraisals is to provide logical judgments so that they can back-up salary increases, promotions, transfers, and terminations. She also mentioned that performance appraisals are tools of informing a subordinated about the quality of his work and how he can improve in the areas that need change. Lastly, she emphasized that performance appraisals are venues where coaching or counselling sessions between a boss and a subordinate can take place. Those were great words, I guess, and I was awed at the keen intellect this woman possesses. During the course of the interview I was able to record the exact words she said such that I got to listen to it again and looked at how her comments were person-centered or position-centered. When one shifts from talking about the topic to talking about the person, then she is engaging in person-centered comments. These comments are more often than not, negative ones. Also, the shift can result from a most reasonable discussion into a bitter argument. Most of these focus on the word â€Å"You. † I also got to look at how she engaged in position-centered communication which emphasized rules and norms that apply regardless of whether or how others are affected by the behavior. The manager told me that she has slowly developed specific communication strategies that help in conflict management and resolution. Her early learning experiences seem to establish the more generalizable patterns she has used in later years. She states, â€Å"As I watch and hear my parents manage their own interpersonal and intrapersonal, I have slowly learned through imitation. Moreover, my conflicts are inevitable in any management methods used in these conflicts set patterns for later development. In the course of coping with these conflicts, I have reinforced certain coping styles, often on a partial reinforcement schedule. Thus, I am reinforced for compliance while others are reinforced for defiance, some for cooperation and some for the expression of hostility, some for disengagement. † Thus, she continued by saying that she confronted one of her supervisors who was not doing well with her job even after several confrontations. I told her, ‘When we hired you for this job, I was emphatic in letting you know that we are a struggling small company. If you are not successful in bringing in cash, we night as well not be able to make payroll and our other expenses. † Thus, after some time, I found out that there was no more motivated collection person than an employee who was convinced that every non-paying debtor is keeping food out of the mouths of her babies. Certainly, hiring someone to manage receivables and make sure people got paid was a fabulous way to improve cash flow. But other tricks can be used over the past years which have also achieved substantial success. For example, Ms. McGregor can be ruthless about cash management. All expenditures must be justified and â€Å"smart. † All large purchases must include some measure of bargaining or looking for the best deal. † She tells me that she would tell her people about simply denying credit. She said that as a practice they just simply deny credit on smaller orders. They were willing to lose some customers to make sure that they were fully paid. Looking closely at this interview, one is able to pinpoint the person-centered comments which she used. She comments again when she said that â€Å"If you are not successful in bringing in cash, we night as well not be able to make payroll and our other expenses. † She was actually stating a fact, but this seemed emphatic and too direct as if the person to whom she was saying it to was to blame for the small cash collections. Her other comments though, were a little bit more position-centered as he told the employee in an objective way that, â€Å"All expenditures must be justified and â€Å"smart. † All large purchases must include some measure of bargaining or looking for the best deal. † REFERENCES Longenecker, Clinton and Nick Nykodym. â€Å"Public Sector Performance Appraisal Effectiveness:A Case Study. †Public Personnel Management. 25(1996) Longenecker, Clinton and Stephen Goff. â€Å"Performance Appraisal Effectiveness: A Matter of Perspective. †Management Journal. 57(1992) Murphy, Terrence and Joyce Margulies. â€Å"Performance Appraisals. † ABA Employment law Section. Proc. Of Equal Employment Opportunity Committee Mid-Winter Meeting. 24-27 Mar 2004.

Tonto’s Dysfunctional Family Tree Essay

America is a multicultural nation. This fact is undeniable. We are a mishmash of people from all parts of the globe, each with a unique story to tell. One of the struggles of being such a diverse nation is that different ethnic groups often fail to understand one another. I believe that cross-cultural writing is a powerful tool that dispels ignorance and fosters greater multicultural understanding. Writing has the power to bring people together. There are many prominent cross-cultural writers in the history of American literature. Each of them has added to a growing genre that explores what it’s like to move to this country in pursuit of the ever-elusive â€Å"American Dream.† Sherman Alexie is one such writer. However, his theme is not one of searching for the â€Å"American Dream.† His theme addresses what happens when the â€Å"American Dream† lands on you. Sherman Alexie is Native American, and his stories expose one of America’s dirty little se crets. In the paragraphs that follow, I will review Alexie’s life, the genre and style in which he writes, and the overall themes of his work. I will analyze the short story, â€Å"Every Little Hurricane†, taken from the anthology, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Sherman Alexie was born on October 7, 1966 in WellPoint, Washington. He belongs to the Spokane Tribe of American Indians called the Salish Group. At the time of his birth he had hydrocephalus, a disease in which the patient has an excess of cerebrospinal fluid. The only option was to get an operation that he most likely would not survive. Yet despite these dire predictions, he survived an invasive surgery at the tender age of six months. He didn’t just survive; he thrived. Despite chronic seizures related to his condition, Sherman continues to power through life with extreme determination. He learned to read at the age of three and from then on nothing could hold him back. As a teen attending a reservation school Sherman was shocked to discovered his mother’s name inscribed in one of his textbooks. The realization that the school’s books were decades old led to his determination to leave the poverty-stricken reservation and get a thorough education elsewhere. He earned a spot in one of the top high schools in Reardon, Washington, where he was a star student and athlete. He proceeded to the University of Go nzaga, where his dream was to become a physician. After fainting from disgust in his anatomy class, he had to abandon this dream. It was during this dark time period that he  began abusing alcohol. He then changed his major, a decision that was based on his love for poetry and aptitude for writing. This change of direction brought him to Washington State University where he quit drinking and earned a B.A. in American Studies. Sherman Alexie began his professional career in 1990 when his work was published in Hanging Loose magazine. This initial success gave him the incentive to quit drinking at the age of 23, and he’s been sober ever since. His first collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, was published in 1993, and that was just the beginning. In 1995 he launched his career as a novelist with Reservation Blues, an expanded version of the characters introduced in the previously mentioned collection. In 2007 he published a young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. This novel is a reflection of his personal experience growing up on the Reservation. Alexie is the winner of numerous honors and awards including the 2001 PEN/Malamud Award, the 1994 PEN/Hemingway Award, the 2007 National Book Award, and the 2010 PEN/ Faulkner Award (www.fallsapart.com). Alexie is a modern writer who is not bound by a single genre. He has written poetry, novels, screenplays, and most notably short stories. As the dominant Native American short story writer of today, he creates unique imagery through recurrent memories, visions and dream sequences. He utilizes diary entries, faux newspaper articles, and multiple storytellers to tell stories within stories. One example of this is seen in â€Å"Trial of Thomas Build-the–Fire†, where Thomas is personified as a number of historical figures. Alexie also uses cultural figures like Crazy Horse, Jesus Christ, Jimi Hendrix, and the Lone Ranger, to accentuate the complexities of his humble characters. According to Leslie Ullman â€Å"He weaves a curiously soft-blended tapestry of humor, humility, pride and metaphysical provocation out of hard realities†¦ the tin-shack lives, the alcohol dreams, the bad luck and burlesque disasters, and the self-destructive courage of his characters.† (Ruby, M. 2011). I believe Ullman’s comment is right on point. All of the stories in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven challenge the reader intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. Alexie seems to have a two-fold purpose for telling his stories. Firstly, he yearns for all Native Americans to keep their memories and heritage alive through the art of storytelling. Secondly, he communicates how modern Native Americans endure the assault of mainstream  culture on their heritage, imagination and spirit. While his writing is modern, traditional or historical elements like powwows, fancy dancing, alcoholism and poverty, are interwoven throughout. His writing juxtaposes sadness with humor, brutality with kindness, and spirituality with materialism. He depicts numerous prominent characters in this collection, rather than just one or two dominant characters. The compilation contains twenty-two short stories that are loosely interconnected. In the first story, â€Å"Every Little Hurricane†, Alexie introduces themes that play out through the rest of the book, such as poverty, despair, death, alcoholism, humiliation, and the hope of transformation. In this story Al exie explains the choice between remembering the pain of the past, and creating a false reality to avoid that pain. Alexie uses the character Victor, who is nine years old, to explain this struggle. The story is told from Victor’s perspective during a New Year’s Eve party at his parents’ home. Disturbed by the drinking and extreme violence, Victor comforts himself by imagining that a hurricane has caused the destruction, rather than his own tribe. The hurricane is a fitting metaphor because it hits on both the emotional turmoil and social chaos prevalent in Victor’s dysfunctional family. Victor is faced with the decision to either remember what really happened, or forget by instead imagining that a hurricane caused the devastation. Ultimately, he chooses to accept the reality of his disturbing childhood. However, even though he chooses to live in the truth, he resorts to finding comfort in the only way he can, which is between the two unconscious bodies of his drunk parents. Alexie points out that the dysfunction in Victor’s family is the result of a long-standing attitude on the Reservation. Violence has become habitual, and therefore accepted. This point is made when Adolph and Arnold (Victor’s uncles) begin to fight, getting mired in â€Å"a misdemeanor that would remain one even if somebody was to die. . . . [For] one Indian killing another did not create a special kind of storm.† (Alexie, p 3) Alexie implies that American Indians have internalized all of the violence that has been perpetrated against them since their first contact with Europeans, so that even murdering one of their own goes almost unnoticed. The oppression that they have suffered has turned them into silent witnesses. According to Victor, â€Å"They were all witnesses and nothing more.† (Alexie, p 3) As the story continues, Alexie points out that  alcoholism is the most serious problem facing Victor’s tribe. Victor’s most powerful memory is of his father crying over the absence of Christmas presents, while getting drunk to escape the pain of the family’s abject poverty. His father continuously opens and closes an empty wallet â€Å"as if the repetition itself could guarantee change. But it was always empty.† (Alexie, p 5) Alexie shows the pervasiveness of alcoholism with continual references to the smell and taste of sweat, smoke, whiskey and blood. These are constant companions of Victor’s existence, so that he actually believes that â€Å"the alcohol seeping through [his parents] skin might get him drunk, might help him sleep.† (Alexie, p 9) From day one Victor is forc ed to gain survival skills to handle extreme fear and poverty. When he sees â€Å"an old, [drunk] Indian man drowned in a mud puddle at the powwow† (Alexie, p 7) he understands that alcoholism is not his family’s problem alone. It is a problem of his entire culture. After completing The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven it is obvious to me that Sherman Alexie is as Bob Hershon so aptly put it, â€Å"one of the major lyric voices of our time.† (Alexie, p xiii) His writing pulls the cover off of America’s dirty little secret of what life is like growing up on the Reservation. Many critics have vilified him for perpetuating the stereotype of the drunk Indian. This is not so. Alexie doesn’t write about the destructive effects of alcohol on Indians due to some literary stance or prejudiced perspective. Simply put, he is truth telling. I have wracked my brain to come up with an overall theme for this piece of literature. Then it came to me in a flash. Why not use Alexie’s own words, â€Å"I kept trying to figure out the main topic, the big theme, the overarching idea, the epicenter. And it is this: The sons in this book really love and hate their fathers.† (Alexie, p xxii) Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. New York, NY:Grove Press, 1993, 2005. Falls Apart, Offical Website, http://www.fallsapart.com, 2013 Johansen, Bruce E. Native Americans Today: A Biographical Dictionary. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press, 2010. Ruby, Mary. Authors & Artists for Young Adults Vol. 85. Detroit, Mich: Gale / Cengage Learning, 2011.

Air Arabia Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Air Arabia - Term Paper Example There are four types of growth strategies, such as vertical integration, horizontal integration, concentration and diversification that can be adopted by the management of the organization in order to grab the market share of this particular market segment. It is important for the organization to consider diversification growth strategy in order to improve the performance of business class segment. The organization is already focusing on the concentration strategy as the organization maintains its low cost strategy for the passengers of economy class segment (Abed, Hellyer & Vine, 2006). In addition to this, the organization does not face any kind of management problem. Therefore, the organization should avoid the adoption of both horizontal and vertical integration strategy. Therefore, it would be effective for the management of the organization to consider diversification strategy in the business operation process in order to improve the performance of the in-flight business class segment. First of all, the management of the organization needs to consider some important aspects before the implementation of diversification growth strategy in the development of business class segment. The management of the organization should ensure the just-in-flight comfort to all the business class passengers. ... It is highly important for the organization to ensure appropriate space for each and every passenger in the business class segment (Doganis, 2005). Effective care and follow up of the passengers in the flight can help the organization to meet the satisfaction and needs of the target customers. Now-a-days, each and every passenger is preferring high quality customer service from the airlines against their paid ticket fare. The business environment around the globe is becoming highly competitive as the demand for differentiated valuable products and services is significantly increasing among the people around the globe. Therefore, the leading organizations are trying to expand their business operation activities in several emerging global market places. Therefore, the organizations are developing aggressive business operation strategies for global market place in order to increase the market share and financial stability of the firms. Therefore, the organizations motivate their managem ent team to handle the global business operation activities by assuring effective facilities. The leaders of the leading global organizations used to offer facility like travel in business class and stay at five star luxurious hotels for better global business performance. On the other hand, the countries of UAE is achieving significant economic growth rate due to presence of several leading organizations. The regions of these countries are enriched with enormous oil and gas resources. Therefore, UAE is gaining significant economic growth rate as the oil and gas are considered as the major energy resources in this world. Therefore, the business activities of several leading organizations are increasing in these regions as the organizations are trying to

Senior and middle managements communication and leadership style Literature review

Senior and middle managements communication and leadership style influence on employees satisfaction and motivation in case of Airport of Thailand (AOT) company - Literature review Example The landscape of literature reviw offers the analysis of relevant information concerning leadership, internal communication, employees and management acquired through several years of management and several researches caried ut by various scholars. It is a process where leaders interrelate with their followers and try to persuade their followers in realizing intended goals. Previous studies have identified different types of leadership. Among the common forms of leadership styles are transformational and transactional. Transformational leadership put emphasis on the personal growth and intrinsic motivation of their followers. This type of leadership tries to align the aspirations and needs of their followers to that of the organization. By doing like that, transformational leadership nurtures the loyalty of their followers to that of the organization and inspires them to enhance their performance. In current dynamic and complex environment, transformational leaders are seen as ultimate agents of change who can steer their followers successfully in times of high risk taking and uncertainties (Shah, 2004). On the other hand, transactional leadership gain legitimacy by maximizing the use of promises, praises and rewards so as to meet the pressing needs of their supporters. They engage their supporters by rewarding them so as to achieve certain desired goals. Although transformational leadership is seen as more suitable than transactional leadership, it has been realized that such argument is deceptive. Burns (1998) argued that all leadership is transactional, though such transactions are not limited to short term rewards only. An effective leader has to appeal to the personal interest of the followers and make use of both short term and long- term rewards in order to lead supporters towards the realization of organizational objectives. This subject is very relevant to the study as it offers critical insight on types

European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

European Union - Essay Example The member states benefit from both internal and external aspects of single market. Examples of these aspects include free trade of goods and services among member countries, common competition law that controls non-competitive activities of companies, elimination of internal border control and harmonization of external controls. Additional aspects include citizen’s freedom to live and work in any member state, free capital movement between member states, universal external customs tariff and a universal position in negotiations involving international trade among others. Following the European Union members’ deregulation of the aviation industry, which they accomplished in 1997, they abolished all traditional national protectionism, which resulted into a great improvement in the management of air traffic. With an aim of establishing a safer and efficient flow of air traffic within Europe, they set up a new system of managing air traffic. One very significant component of this system is the single European sky legislation that the EU launched in 1999 and its institutions adopted it in 2004. This legislation involved restructuring of the European airspace, which was formally individual national airspaces that individual member states regulated, into a single area regulated by the alliance (EUROPA, 2007). The single European sky led to the simplification of procedures for controllers of air traffic and pilots as well as fewer handovers where controllers of air traffic manage wider sky expanse while Europe-wide common procedures and rules provide pilots with a flawless service. Minimizing of different areas of control enhances faster services and a structure that is far better in dealing with any eventual trouble. The single European sky has also boosted air travel in EU member countries significantly. It has directly provided airlines with quicker and safer

Wireless and Mobile Computing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wireless and Mobile Computing - Research Paper Example Additionally, Turisco and Joanna, internet refers to a global network which provides information access, as well applications, by use of a Web navigator or browser. Three Data transfer Options Turisco and Joanna reveal that, today’s market is features three commonly utilized method of data transfer; they include: i) Wireless Local Area Network (Wireless LAN) ii) Wireless Web or Wireless Internet iii) â€Å"Hot syncing† or Data syncing. Although this approach is referenced as a method of wireless data transfer, it is not ideally a wireless method. Data syncing uses docking stations or docking cradles, connected to a LAN in order to support data transfer between the device and the organization’s information system. Wireless LAN Matthew Gast, in his volume Wireless LAN, the term wireless LAN refers to a flexible communications and system of data communications, used, additionally, to or in place of a wired-oriented LAN. Turisco and Joanna, further, explain that, whi le featuring the Radio Frequency (RF) technology, the technology of wireless LANs receive and transmit data through the air. This approach minimizes the necessity of wired connections; the method, further, enables user mobility. Contrary to a number of other technologies, including as infrared, wireless LAN does not have to maintain the â€Å"line-of-sight† technology. Thus, the featured device can apply anywhere within the area of coverage. In a wireless LAN technology, the caregiver keys in data into a featured (handled) device including a Personal Digital Assistance (PDA), tablet, or laptop with a unique wireless LAN card. The card relays data in real time, by use of an antenna, using RF technology to a terminal of access, mainly connected to a wall or ceiling. For example, in a hospital setup, the terminal of access is connected to the LAN sends the requests for data or data received from the handheld information system to the information patient’s care information system. Additionally, data from the information system’s site can be relayed to the handheld system via the same technology. Wireless LAN’s indicate efficient application in the setting of a health care. Within the health care set up, the mobility area is confined within the organization or building; and the information necessary for system’s update can be immediately accessed. If the caregiver uses a relatively small handled device such as a PDA, such a small screen size suits the data viewing limitation, as well as the function of data collection. Tablets and laptops provide advanced capabilities of processing, more data storage, as well as larger display and thus users have access to entire records, as well as enjoy other privileges through the wireless connectivity. Wireless Internet A publication by Amjad Umar, Mobile Computing and Wireless Communications presents a discussion, that wireless internet (wireless Web) supports access data though mobile comput ing through the internet and particularly equipped handled devices. By using the latest PDA or a Web phone with the support of a micro browser, the user can, therefore, access display accessible data that can be accessed through the internet. From a technical explanation, the mobile device is connected to the systems cellular and thus can send requests to computer network (link) server. In this context, the server plays the role of a gateway, translating signals generated from the handheld devices into the signal language understandable by the Web, by use of an access as well as communication protocol. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) emerges the leading

The visibility of the Environmental reports Essay

The visibility of the Environmental reports - Essay Example 1. The elevation of social accountability and the current reach of the environmental responsibility of the corporate world? Is environmental responsibility addressing the real concerns or is it a public propaganda? 2. Prior research indicates that the firms used to elevate the social accountability as an employee welfare activity and ignore other related important operational information. A very little has been done to the environment improvement. There is no sustainable development but firms used to highlight specific events they have had organized. Firms from the seventies started concerning about environment to please the public and to get approved by the environmental & other governing authorities. The stringent laws imposed in response to the rapid pollution worldwide the firms were forced to abide the regulations specified by concerned authorities. 3. Socio Economic theory was used to examine the social accountability of the firm. 4. The theory describes about the authenticity of the disclosures about the environmental responsibility. The Socioeconomic theory demands for the release of both the extremes of the facts about the environment accountability of the firm which many companies were not providing at that time. The theory demands that the environmental reports are to released with the annual reports to enhance the accountability and visibility of the firm towards environmental awareness. However the firms used to release a separate report about the environment.

Write a case study about Cadbury company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Write a case study about Cadbury company - Essay Example This very high share of the market reinforces why Cadbury company continues to focus heavily on developing new marketing strategies in order to make their chocolate products stand out from competition. In the late 1990s, Cadbury developed an internal mechanism deemed the formal suggestion programme which was designed to receive various stakeholder feedback regarding the viability of Cadbury products and the company’s marketing efforts as a means to improve the Cadbury image (Myers, 1999). This tends to reinforce that the company remains strongly focused on marketing and branding strategies in order to differentiate Cadbury products from other competition. Currently, in terms of marketing strategy, Cadbury appears to be focused on differentiating its chocolate products from those of competitors by focusing on both quality and by utilising humour in its contemporary marketing approaches. One of the company’s most notable brands, Cadbury Dairy Milk, has utilised television promotion which utilised a drum-banging gorilla in order to link the Cadbury brand with a more flexible, humorous and modern organisation. This ad appears to have achieved significant sales successes for the Dairy Milk brand, prompting the company to allocate a significant cash budget to produce a sequel to this humorous promotion (Dutta, 2008). Says Phil Rumbol, the marketing director of Cadbury, â€Å"We recognised that gorilla had an enigmatic, almost random element to it that audiences had responded to, and had generated masses of debate online† (Dutta, 2008, p.2). This represents a significant change from previous marketing efforts at the company, which attempted to place the company, in the minds of the consumer audience, as an organisation which is committed to tradition and confectionary excellence as part of a more upscale marketing focus. It seems that today, in order to make the company more appealing to mass markets and modern audiences, some of

A Critical Assessment of an Agency or Funding Regime that promotes Essay - 1

A Critical Assessment of an Agency or Funding Regime that promotes physical regeneration - Essay Example ese agencies and their functioning toward the uplift of the regional economy, it would be interesting to study and understand what urban regeneration is all about and how it evolved. Urban areas are essentially dynamic in nature. Socio-economic factors, environmental and physical factors all interplay and interact together to generate changes in their structures. Moreover, an urban area experiences thrusts from outside which necessitates adaptation to changes while internal dynamics and pressure try to withstand such changes or accept those resulting in either prosperity or decline. Though each problem may not be unique to a specific rural area, yet each challenge requires a distinctive approach towards the generation and implementation of its solution. Since the beginning, urban areas have always performed a variety of functions, offering shelter, providing infrastructure and opportunities for trade and commerce and opportunities for social interaction, being a few of those. As time passed, the importance of each need changed necessitating the requirement for new infrastructure, more space, more facilities for business etc. These changes in the physical structure and functioning of a town and its social life are inevitable since the town has to reorganise itself to meet the changing demands. These changes are also beneficial in a somewhat indirect way since these changes also make fresh demands for improvement of infrastructure and facilities so that the community within an urban area is forced to adjust itself to the new demands and work towards providing better opportunities for growth and progress. The relation between social deprivation and meagre physical infrastructure and facilities had long been an accepted fact and legislations and policies were implemented for improved infrastructure for health and better living conditions. It was gradually realised that merely improving health and living conditions will not contribute significantly towards the

Pride and Prejudice Analysis Essay Example for Free

Pride and Prejudice Analysis Essay Elizabeth Bennet receives two proposals; one from Mr Collins and one from Mr Darcy. Mr Collins was a tall and heavy looking man of twenty-five years. Although he was polite and well mannered he was also pompous and had a self-inflated ego. He always made never ending speeches about nothing and bored everyone to death. Mr Collins flattered everyone constantly but sometimes inappropriately. He begged to know which of his fair cousins the excellence of its cooking was owed. -By this, Mrs Bennet was offended and assured him they were in fact able to keep a good cook. This showed his lack of judgement in when to compliment. He was also quite absurd and Mr Bennets sarcasm often went completely unnoticed. For example, on page 54, Mr Bennet asked if his flatteries were prepared and Mr Collins admitted that sometimes he would think of them for his amusement! Lady Catherine de Bourgh who was his patroness employed him. He grovelled to her constantly as she paid his way; because of her, he was middle/upper class. He was a clergyman at Hunsford near Rosings, Lady Catherine de Bourghs home. When Mr Bennet dies, Mr Collins will inherit Longburn, as Mr Bennet cannot leave the house to his wife; women couldnt inherit. In Mr Collins letter, he proposes to make peace with the family. Mr Darcy on the other hand was very good looking. He soon drew the attention of the room by his fine tall person, handsome features, noble mien He is also described as a fine figure of a man. But he was soon to be discovered to be proud above his company. He was clever, but at the same time he was haughty, reserved and fastidious. He owned Pemberly Estate and got one thousand a year. -He was upper class and he knew it; He had seen a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion for none of whom he had felt the smallest interest. Darcy and Bingley had a good friendship despite many differences. Bingley was sure of being liked wherever he appeared; Darcy was continually giving offence. Darcy had no sense of humour and admitted it. He couldnt see the funny side of life whereas Bingley was light hearted and liked to enjoy everything he did. In the past Wickam and Darcy had a disagreement. Mr Darcys father had promised Wickam a place in the church but when he died Darcy refused to help him. Mr Collins first hints on his future plans in his letter to the Bennets when he writes; I cannot be otherwise than concerned at the means of injuring your amiable daughters, and beg leave to apologise for it, as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amends. On the first day of staying at Longburn, he, in a conversation to Mrs Bennet said; I can assure the young ladies that I come prepared to admire them. -Here he gave Mrs Bennet a small glimpse of his intentions. Jane Austin then gave it away saying that now having a good house and income; Mr Collins was in want of a wife. He was also pleasing Catherine de Bourgh who thought he should marry. So for the first evening Jane was the settled choice being not only the eldest, but the prettiest -this was, until he was informed by Mrs Bennet that she was soon to be engaged to Bingley (exaggeration). Then at the Netherfield Ball he asked Lizzy to dance several times and she realised she was the chosen one out of the five sisters. Mr Darcy on the other hand was far from admiring Lizzy at first and when Mr Bingley suggested he dance with her at the Meryton Ball he replied that he had not the least intention of dancing. -Bingley was dancing with the only good looking girl in the room. Here he was referring to Jane. He said Lizzy was tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me. Then at Sir William Lucass party, William tried to pair up the two of them and Darcy did not resist, but Lizzy brushed him off with; I have not the least intention of dancing. -this was pay back. It was at this party that Darcy realised his true feelings for her. At Netherfield when Jane went to stay, she fell ill and Lizzy being worried came to visit. Here, she noticed that Darcy was constantly watching her. Miss Bingley who secretly liked Darcy, in seeing that he was drawn to Lizzy tried to turn him against her. But all in vain, for whatever she said, he just stuck up for Elizabeth. Miss Bingley, in Mr Darcys defending her said; I am afraid Mr Darcy that this adventure has rather affected your admiration for her fine eyes. I think when she says this shes half-teasing and half jealous of him liking her. Before proposing, Mr Collins said to Mrs Bennet, May I hope madam, for your interest with your fair daughter Elizabeth, when I solicit for the honour of a private audience with her in the course of this morning? -Here, he was basically asking Mrs Bennets permission to propose. He then launched straight into his speech. Mr Darcy came to visit Lizzy and at first made light conversation, asking about her health. Then there was an awkward silence where he must have been trying to think of how to start before proceeding. -Differences are already showing through. Mr Collins first said hed chosen Lizzy almost as soon as hed met her (which was a lie) and went on to specify his reasons for marrying her. He, as a clergyman wanted to set an example to the rest of the parish, he thought it would make his happy and he was following Lady Catherine de Bourghs advice. Hed obviously planed out his speech carefully but in his reasons, he had not mentioned that he was in love with her! Darcy on the other hand offered his hand in marriage because he did love her and his opening sentence expressed this clearly; In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how I admire and love you. Mr Collins also made several insults to Lizzy when proposing to her without even realising it! For instance, he said that if she refuses, she my never get another offer. He also reminds her that if she stays single, all she may ever be entitled to is twenty-five pounds when her mother dies. Darcy put his foot in it too. After saying how much he loved her, he went on to say that it was not his wish to do so with her connections and status; His sense of inferiority -of the family obstacles which judgement had always opposed to inclination. When he was turned down he thought she was just offended; Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? -To congratulate myself on the hope of relations, your connections? He also admitted to trying to split up Jane and Darcy and even rejoiced in his success of doing so. In response to rejection, Mr Collins thinks Lizzy is playing hard to get and says this is to be expected of a lady. He goes on to say all the good materialistic reasons to marry him forgetting to mention things like love. He acts as if marrying would be a good investment for Lizzy or something. He then assured her that both of her parents approved of the marriage. Mr Darcy in response to rejection is shocked and angry but manages to control himself. He asked why he had been refused and thought she must be offended by what he had said earlier; Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? But after saying these words he accepted her answer. Both proposals were made for very different reasons; Mr Collins obviously proposed for convenience, whereas Mr Darcy was in love. Both men also reacted in different ways when turned down; although Mr Collins couldnt take the rejection, he was not actually bothered about anything other than having his male pride hurt. -Darcy must have been extremely upset, to him Lizzy was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with but he tried not to show his emotions. They both involved a lot of snobbery in their proposal speeches. They thought that Lizzy would not reject someone of the higher class and she should be grateful that she was chosen out of all the other girls; both reminded her constantly about her status. Mr Collins was more personal mentioning both what would happen when her mother and father died but Lizzy got more angry at Darcy because of things he has said and done in the past. Mr Collins and Mr Darcy both said in much detail all the pros and cons of the marriage. In conclusion, both proposals have some similarities but they differ in the essential requirement of love.

Competitors in the market Essay Example for Free

Competitors in the market Essay 1. Name: Stork Removals www.storkremovals.co.uk Address of Competitor: Stork Removals 15 Hazelwood Road Enfield EN1 1JG Products Offered By Competitor: Removals, Storage, Packing (full packing, part-packing and materials only service) Features of Customer Services: 0800 number, Free Insurance cover, Free Estimates, Free expert advice, Contact via telephone, fax or email. Quality of Service Offered By Competitor: Member of Road Haulage Association. A representative of Stork Removals will visit the customer at home in order to provide an accurate quotation. Stork Removals estimators visit at a time convenient to the customer, including evenings and at the weekends. Customers goods are automatically covered during loading, unloading and transportations. All staff employed by Stork Removals, are fully trained. All staffs wear the companys uniform and are easily recognisable. Stork Removals has a modern fleet of vehicles ranging from 3.5 Tonnes Luton vans to large furniture vans to cope wit any size of removals. Marketing and Promotion: Provides testimonials on their website, has name of business and contact details on their removals vehicles listed in the yellow pages with details of their services. 2. Name: Falcon Move www.falconmove.co.uk Address of Competitor: Falcon Move 135A, Town Road, London, N9 ORL Products Offered By Competitor: Removals, Storage, Light Haulage Services, Packing. Features of Customers Services: Provide consultants to work with customers to design and implement a relocation plan customized to their individual needs that is cost effective, efficient and stress free. Provide a free quotation page on their website where customers can fill in their details of what they are moving and where they want to move. The company will email the customer with an estimate. Provide an online form for customers to send a message to Falcon Move or make enquiries. Customers can contact by phone or email. Quality of Service Offered by competitors: Use state-of-the-art equipment to provide a truly exceptional service, the mission of Falcon Move, through quality, reliability, consistency of services and innovation, to achieve the goal of customer satisfaction. Aim to provide the best possible removal and storage service that ensures all customers obtain value for money. They offer full packing service with trained packers to help customers wrap and protect their precious items ready for removal. The staffs at Falcon Move have specialist knowledge to pack everything. Falcon Move uses purpose made plywood storage containers for maximum protection of customers possessions. Everything will remain safe in their warehouses because all the warehouses are under 24-hour security surveillance utilizing CCTV technology. Marketing and Promotion: Listed in the yellow pages with details of their service. 3. Name: Smart Removals www.smartremovals.com/index.htm Address of Competitor: Building 8 Argon Road London N18 3BW Products Offered By Competitor: Domestic Moves, Commercial Moves, Storage, Overseas Moves, Excess Baggage, Packing (complete or part packing) Features of Customer Service: 0800 number, free insurance cover, free no obligation quotation can be done online or over the phone, free expert advice, contact via telephone, fax or email, full range of packing options to meet customers needs, open-ended contract on storage. Quality of Service Offered by Competitor: Members of the British Association of Removers (BAR), Members of the National Guild of Removers and stores (NGRS) staff are efficient and courteous. A representative will visit the customer at home to discuss what the customer require, Office removals teams consists of experienced furniture removers and IT packers Modern 24 hour manned secure storage units Marketing and Promotion: Listed in the yellow pages with details of their service 4. Name: Easy Shift www.Easyshift.co.uk Address of Competitor: 106, Priory Rd, London, N8 7HR Products Offered By Competitor: Removals, Self- Storage, Packing Features of Customers Services: Free quotes. Either personally, over the phone or via email. Free goods in transit insurance with all work performed to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000. Easy payment methods, Contact via telephone or email, free word robe boxes for all moves, free advice, Weekend and bank holidays office relocation, boxes can be provided on a sale or return basis and any unused boxes collected on the day of moving. Customers can pack all or some of their possessions and Easy shift will part-pack on request. Open-ended contract on self storage. Quality of Service Offered by Competitor: Reliable, honest and punctual staff, Trained staff, professionally maintained and insured vehicles, wide range of packaging materials to protect customers goods whilst in transit. Flexible solutions to individual relocation requirements, provides top 10 tips on removals on their website, terms and condition are clearly stated on their website, can cater for moves of all sizes to all locations within Greater London, UK and Europe. Customers can check packaging price list on their website or ask staff to recommend how many boxes the job will require. All goods are safely stored and fully insured whilst in storage. Marketing and Promotion: Provides testimonials on their website, has name of business and contact details on their removal vehicles, listed in the yellow pages with details of their service. Part B What Falconi Removal Need to do to be more competitive: Productive/Service Storage Packing Options: Full or part packing Light Haulage Domestic Move Overseas Moves Excess Baggage Commercial Moves Easy payment methods Open-ended contract on self storage Marketing and Promotion Set up a website Put Testimonials on website contact details on their removals vehicles listed in the Yellow Pages Quality of Service A representative to visit customers homes in order to provide an accurate quotation. estimators visit at a time convenient to the customer Customers goods are automatically covered during loading Trained Staff All staffs wear the companys uniform and are easily recognisable plywood storage containers for maximum protection of customers The warehouse are under 24-hour security surveillance utilizing CCTV technology Show association that their part of Office removals teams consists of experienced furniture removers and IT packers Modern 24 hour manned secure units Customers can check packaging price list on their website or ask staff to recommend how many boxes the job will require All goods are safely stored and fully insured whilst in storage Flexible solutions to individual relocation requirements, provides top 10 tips on removals on their website. Customer Service Free Insurance cover 0800 number Free expert advice Contact via telephone, fax or email Provide consultants to work with customers to design and implement a relocation plan customized to their individual needs that is cost effective, efficient and stress free Provide a free quotation page on their website where customers can fill in their details of what they are moving and where they want to move. Free quotes Free goods in transit insurance with all work performed to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000 Weekend and bank holidays office relocation Price Falconi Removals have to find this information themselves e.g. Mystery shoppers

Establishing A Pay Structure Commerce Essay

Establishing A Pay Structure Commerce Essay Compensation is an important factor for HR people. Indeed, it is a way to motivate employees and increase their job satisfaction. However, determine the right compensation for each individual inside the company is not an easy task: it will depend on several factors that will be discussed in this paper. Organizations make decisions to define a job structure, or relative pay for different jobs within the organization. They establish relative pay for different functions and different levels of responsibility for each function. Organizations also must establish pay levels, or the average paid for the different jobs. These decisions are based on the organizations goals, market data, legal requirements and principles of fairness. Together, job structure and pay level establish a pay structure policy. To be effective, the compensation must be competitive in the market, perceived as fair by employees, accurately based, motivating and easily understandable. Thus, in order to achieve it a pay structure policy can help in this process. A pay structure dresses a hierarchy of job types and grades with the associated compensation and benefits. It is a term for the array of pay rates within the organization and representing the degree of slope in its pay policy (Milkovich Newman, 2002). Characteristics of a particular pay structure include the number of levels in the structure, the size of the pay differentials between each level in the structure, and the rate at which employees can progress through each level in the structure (Gerhart Milkovich, 1992). In order to realize this paper, I interviewed to HR managers that gave me their thoughts about the subject and experience. The paper will begin with the legal requirements that a company has to respect when setting compensation in the United States, and then it will focus on the factors. Legal Requirements At work employees are protected by several regulations in terms of selection, health and safety, labor, etc and of course pay. When establishing a pay structure, organizations face some laws put in place by the government that may vary according to the country where the employees of the company work. There are mainly five types of constraints that companies have to take into consideration in order to avoid troubles: equal employment opportunity, minimum wages, pay for overtime and prevailing wages for federal contractors and child labor. Equal Employment Opportunity The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) gathers several laws from the Civil Rights Act, American With Disabilities Act, Age discrimination in Employment Act and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. These laws protect employees from discrimination in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral and other aspects of employment according to employees race, color, religion, sex, origin, disability, genetics and age. Thus, to meet the standard of EEO, employers must provide equal pay for equal work, regardless of these criteria. However it does not guarantee equal pay between men and women or young and old, etc. Indeed, differences in pay may appear but they must have good explanations relative to the business such as job responsibilities, skills, performance etc. To summarize, two employees doing the same job cannot be paid differently because of the previous criteria mentioned otherwise it would be considered as illegal. However, if one of the employees has some particular skills, or other business related considerations, the two employees might have a different pay. Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is administered by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and establishes the federal minimum wage, overtime pay and child employment standards that most of companies must comply with. It applies to most of companies operating in the US and exempts some employees such as executives, professionals and outside sales persons. Under the FLSA, the employer must pay at least the minimum wage established by the law. Nonetheless some states and local governments have established higher minimum wages. In cases of where an employee works under state and federal minimum wage law he should be paid with the highest one. A minimum wage corresponds to the lowest compensation an employee can receive for the work s/he has performed. In 2012, the current minimum wage set by the FLSA in the United States is $7.25. In addition, the FLSA establishes a youth minimum wage for the first 90 consecutive days of employment of people under 20 years old which represents around 85% of the minimum wage. The FLSA also requires overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in each week. Thus employees should be paid at a different rate for extra hours. This rate is set at one and a half times the employees regular pay rate including bonuses. Overtime pay is required even if the employer did not ask the employee to work more. Moreover, there is no limit on the number of hours an employee can work during a week. Finally, employers must meet FLSA requirements concerning child labor (children younger than 18 years old) which basically restrict the use of child labor within a company. They must be paid at the minimum wage, as adults, or youth minimum wage (for the first 90 days). Any violation of the act may result to penalties and sanctions. Prevailing Wages for Federal Contractors The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administrations Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers laws and regulations requiring minimum wages to be paid to workers performing construction work on federally-funded contracts or providing services to the federal government. Federal contractors must meet the requirements to pay at least the prevailing wages in the area where there employees work, that is to say the hour rate paid to the majority of workers in a specific area. It is defined by regulatory agencies. It exists two federal laws that cover employees pay policy in this field: Davis-Bacon Act for construction contractors that receive more than $2,000 in federal money. Walsh-Healy Public Contracts Act for all government contractors receiving $10,000 or more in federal funds. Economic Factors on Compensation An organization cannot make spending decisions independent of the economy. Organizations must keep costs low enough so that they can sell their products profitably, however they must be able to attract workers in a competitive labor market. Thus, to remain competitive, employers must meet the demands of product and labor markets. Product Markets Product market is a market in which competing final goods and services are exchanged. Companies must be competitive in product markets so that they can generate enough profit in order to pay their employees. The more the competition, the more companies will reduce costs because they are unable to increase prices without losing money. In addition, product markets seek to buy at the lowest price, so organizations must limit their costs as much as possible. Indeed, an organization that has high labor cost will have to raise its prices for similar products already available on the market. In this way, product markets place an upper limit on the pay an employer can afford to offer for a specific job. Labor Markets In order to define labor market, we need to define its demand and supply. The demand side focus on the employers actions, that is to say how much he is willing to pay and how much employees he is looking for. The supply side consists of workers who want to earn as much as possible. To attract and keep workers, employers must pay at least the going rate in their labor markets. That is to say, to remain competitive in the labor market, organizations in a similar area have to pay this minimum amount to hire the most qualified employees. In this way, labor markets place a lower limit on the pay an employer must be willing to offer for a specific job. Pay Policy Identification Organizations make decisions about whether to pay at, above or below the pay rate set by these market forces. Paying above the market rate may make the organization less competitive in product markets but give it an advantage in labor markets. The organization benefits only if it can attract the best candidates and provide the system that motivate and enable them to do their best work. Furthermore, the efficiency wage theory (A. Marshall, 1920) explains that paying employees above the market rate increase productivity and efficiency for firms. Indeed, thanks to that they would be able to avoid shirk, reduce employees turnover, attract the best people, provide motivation for employees and allow them to eat so that they are less willing to be sick. Organizations that pay below the market rate need creative practices for recruiting and training workers so that they can find and keep enough qualified people. It is the less recommended strategy. If an organization choose it, it is probably because it has not enough financial resources to pay its employees, however in order to keep employees or even attract them the company must provide other non-financial advantages. Companies that are using this strategy experience high rates of employees dissatisfaction, high turnover and low productivity. The most use strategy is to match the market by paying the same pay for same jobs. Indeed by setting the same pay level, companies are able to remain competitive while managing their labor costs. Benchmarking In order to define the going rate in the market, companies use benchmarking. It consists for them to compare their own practices in terms of pay with the ones practiced by their competitors. Benchmarking is done through pay surveys to the right competitors, for the right jobs, and through the right methods (phone interviews, personal interviews, questionnaire, etc.). This is usually done by some agencies, especially the US bureau of labor statistics, with National Compensation Survey; rather than by the company itself. While developing a pay survey, companies must take into the two previous factors mentioned in pay level decisions (product market and labor market). Indeed, according to the goal of the company, it will focus more on product markets or labor markets comparisons. Pay structure related to jobs Along economic forces, organizations must consider the relative contribution each job should make to the organizations overall performance. Creation of a pay structure requires that the organization develop an internal structure showing the relative contribution of its various jobs, called job structure. One way to do it is through job evaluation. Job evaluation Job evaluation has several objectives, it can help to: Define what positions and job responsibilities are similar Decide right pay grades and other compensation issues Develop job classifications Help employees along their career path Organizations typically begin with a job evaluation to measure the relative worth of their jobs. A job evaluation committee identifies each jobs compensable factors and rates each factor. These compensable factors are the specificities that each job requires and that the company decided to value most and pay for its employees, such as education, skills, effort, job complexity, responsibilities, working conditions, experiences of the employee, etc. Then, for each factor the organizations define several degrees (usually no more than five) in order to judge the degree of a factor existing in a job. Once it is done, the committee assigns points for each factors and degrees. In order to simplify this process the committee may write down a job evaluation manual and use it to evaluate each job according to their significance into the organization. Pay Structure Creation The committee can research market pay levels for key jobs, then identify appropriate rates of pay for other jobs, based on their number of points relative to the key jobs. The organization can do this with a pay policy line, which plots a salary for each job. The pay policy line is a graph that shows the relationships between job evaluation and pay rate. It is then used to define the compensation for non-key jobs, for which the company has no data. The organization can combine jobs into several groups, called pay grades. For each pay grade or job, the organization typically establishes a pay range that will determine a minimum, midpoint and maximum of pay for a specific job or job within a specific pay grade, using the market rate or pay policy line as a midpoint. Thus, the salary of an employee may change according to some factors such as performance, seniority, etc. However, for some reasons, it is possible that an employees pay fall outside the pay range that the organization established. For instance, when an employee pay rate fall below the pay range for the job, it is called green-circle rate. It can happen when the employee has been promoted to a new position that is under a new pay grade. Conversely, when the employee pay rate fall above the pay range for the job, it is called red-circle rate. It can happen when the employee is demoted and keeps his/her current compensation. When these kinds of situation happen it is im portant for the company to solve the problem, nonetheless it is still rare. Differences in working conditions or labor markets sometimes call for the use of pay differentials to adjust pay levels. For instance, some companies pay a differential for night work to compensate them. Alternatives to Job-Based Pay To obtain more flexibility, organizations may reduce the levels in the organizations job structure. This process of delayering creates broad bands of jobs with a pay range for each. Other organizations reward employees according to their knowledge and skills. They establish skill-based pay systems, or structures that set pay according to the employees level of knowledge and what they are capable of doing. This encourages employees to be more flexible and adapt to changing technology. However, if the organization does not also provide systems in which employees can apply new skills, it may be paying them for skills they do not actually use. Monitoring Compensation Costs The Human Resource Department should routinely compare actual pay with the pay structure to see that policies and practices match. A common way to do this is to measure a compa-ratio for each job or pay grade. The compa-ratio is the ratio of average pay to midpoint of the pay range. Assuming the pay structure supports the organizations goals, the compa-ratio should be close to 1. When compa-ratios are more or less than 1, the HR department should work with managers to identify whether to adjust the pay structure or the organizations pay practices. http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/index.htm#.UPHgI-TxajM

Asceticism - The Joy of Fasting, Flagellation and Self-mutilation Essay

Asceticism - The Joy of Fasting, Flagellation and Self-mutilation In order to achieve a spiritual understanding, people have subjected themselves to extreme self denial through fasting, flagellation and self-mutilation (The Columbia Encyclopedia). This practice of self mortification is known as asceticism. Asceticism has been known to exist since the commencement of recorded religion. This zealous religious practice is associated with many religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity (The Columbia Encyclopedia). Derived from the Greek work askesis, asceticism adheres to its definition of exercise, training, and discipline- â€Å"Ascetical practices are human strategies for spiritual living. They have elements of effort and method, deprivation, and voluntary suffering† (Larkin, O. Carm). Practicing ascetics strive for the enhancement of spiritual life as their ultimate goal. Asceticism has been implicated by many of its followers in order to â€Å"produce visions†¦mourn the dead†¦sharpen spiritual awareness†¦or reach accord with a god† (The Columbia Encyclopedia). The self-denying procedure is also a way in which to subdue sin within one’s life and restrain one’s evil inclinations. Asceticism takes many forms. It can be applied broadly as an aspect of all cultures, as social asceticism. The social regulations that control society stress individual control. Without this self-control, society would fail to survive. This method of asceticism is loosely based upon the guidelines of discipline. The more severe forms of asceticism involve those who seek a profound spiritual journey. The drastic measures taken in order to fulfill the idea of self denial ofte... ...re.com/depts/medmuseum/galleryexhibits/artthatheals/12imagesandasceticism.html Mercier, Jacques. Art That Heals: the Image as Medicine in Ethiopia. New York: Prestel Books and the Museum for African Art, 1997. This website is entitled â€Å"Images and Asceticism.† In Maugham’s The Moon and Sixpence, Charles Strickland was a character that had an ascetic ideal in his artistic environment. These images display scenes of asceticism and the sufferings that were endured in the practice. http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/installations/spiritual.shtml This website also displays a painting of asceticism as was practiced in India. http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/a/asceticism.html This website provides a detailed background and history of asceticism. It highlights interesting stories that account for the origination of the religious practice.

Reconciling Religious and Scientific Perspectives of Creation Essay

Reconciling Religious and Scientific Perspectives of Creation â€Å"In the beginning was the big bang,†[i] writes John Polkinghorne, a physicist turned theologian. As the reader follows through the remainder of his cosmic creation story, the reader is intrigued at how mystical and religious the story sounds. â€Å"The space boiled, in the rapid expansion of the inflation era, blowing the universe apart with incredible rapidity in the much less than 10-30 seconds that it lasted. . . . The world suddenly became transparent and a universal sea of radiation was left to continue cooling on its own . . .†[ii] Then, the story unfolds to tell of the creation of hydrogen and helium and the creation of stars. The death of stars follow, which in turn gives rise to conditions that are favorable for the formation of life.[iii] Though seemingly mystical, the story of the cosmic creation is also the epitome of logic. As we rewind the story of creation, we see a definite causal link between one event and another. Why do we have life? Because we have carbon. Why do we have carbon? Because of the chemical reaction in stars. Why do we have the chemical reactions in stars? Because . . . and this chain will continue, explaining one phenomenon as an effect of another. The story is in fact the triumph of human reason. However, if we rewind the story long enough, we find ourselves reaching a dead end – â€Å"In the beginning was the big bang.† A beginning is where there is no before. However, how can something be when there is no prior? The question of the origin is further complicated when we see how finely tuned the universe is. For the emergence of life, the universe had to have initial conditions at the point of origin ... ... with a whole number amount of spin (as opposed to half a spin). [xxxviii] Ferris, Coming of Age in the Milky Way, pp. 354-353. [xxxix] Polkinghorne, The Faith of a Physicist, p. 75. [xl] Ferris, Coming of Age in the Milky Way, p. 351. [xli] Ferris, The Whole Shebang, p. 224. [xlii] Greene, pp. 357-358. [xliii] Ibid., p. 358. Brian Greene then says that Brandenberger and Vafa verified this phenomenon through detailed calculations. [xliv] Ibid. [xlv] Ibid., p. 362. The Nugget that gave rise to our universe is one of the many nuggets that were formed in prehistory of our universe. This theory is still a speculation and is not widely accepted like the string theory. Therefore, the theory about the cosmic prehistory should be taken as a possible solution and not as the definite answer. [xlvi] Found in Davies, p. 148. [xlvii] Davies, p. 232.

Hypertext’s Influence on Authorship :: Internet Authors Writing Essays Cause Effect

Hypertext’s Influence on Authorship The history of writing technologies has resulted in many changes in the way we view writing. One aspect of writing that that has seen a change as a result of writing technology is the notion of who can be a writer. Throughout history there seems to have been a trend writing technologies have followed. Each advancement in writing technology seems to have allowed authorship to a greater amount of people. First the invention of the book allowed for the first authors to record their ideas in a fixed medium. Then the invention of the printing press took the ability to make text from few well-trained bookmakers to anyone who owned a printing press. This led to a dramatic increase in the amount of books being created, resulting in a rapid proliferation of knowledge in the world. Many have theorized the next great revolution in writing technologies will be the Internet. Just like the printing press, the Internet is changing the notion of who can be an author. Today, anyone with Internet access can get his or her ideas on a web page. Posting ones thoughts, ideas, or writing online is in many ways similar to being published: Millions of people have access to posted writings to read, think about, and unlike a published book readers can even respond directly to the author. This new revolution raises a question. If anyone can make a web page and post their writing online for all to see, what happens to the notion of the author? It seems the authority that comes with being a published author is being threatened. Bolter explores this idea in the following passage of his book Writing Space â€Å"Those theorist specifically working on hypertext†¦have succeeded in portraying electronic writing as a medium that questions authority and fixity. For them, electronic writing reforms print by replacing the qualities of authority and fixity with t he flexibility and responsiveness that we have seen in literary hypertext†(165). If an author wished to get his or her writing and ideas out to a mass audience in the past the only way to do this was go through a publishing company. The publishing company would then pick and choose what it thought was worthy of being published.

Is Economics as old as the first Transaction between Men? Essay

To what extent do you agree with this statement? It can be said that economics is as old as the first transaction between men and I completely agree with this statement. It must, however, be noted that the importance of economics in people’s lives has greatly increased over the ages. In days gone by, other things such as religion and tradition had greater influence on people’s lives, whereas today, people are more influenced by economics. As a result of the ever-changing nature of economics, the economic laws that existed in the past would be obsolete in today’s society. In order to have a better understanding of this statement it is important to, firstly, have knowledge of the history of economics and also to study the evidence that both supports and opposes the statement. According to Robert Heilbroner â€Å"†¦the perpetuation of the human animal becomes a remarkable social feat. So remarkable, in fact, society’s existence hangs by a hair†¦ in a word, if any of a thousand intertwined tasks of society should fail to get done-industrial life would soon become hopelessly disorganised.† He then goes on to outline the three ways man has found to guard against this calamity. The first of these is the continuity of society by organising it around tradition. This method consists of the various roles in society being handed down from generation to generation according to the society’s customs. The cycle of son following his father’s occupation keeps the necessary positions in the society full and prevents chaos. The second way in which the problem can be solved is through command, meaning an authoritarian rule in order to ensure that tasks are completed. For many centuries, man has dealt with the challenge of survival through either of these solutions. The third and final way is the market system. The market system is â€Å"†¦an astonishing arrangement in which society assured its own continuance by allowing each individual to do exactly as he saw fit-provided he follow a central guiding rule.† The rule being incredibly simple â€Å"†¦each should do what was to his best monetary advantage.† It was the appeal of monetary gain, rather than tradition or command that leads the great majority to do their job and today keeps our society together. Economics can be defined as â€Å"the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind.† Using this definition it is easy to see the validity in the statement â€Å"economics is as old as the first transaction between men.† The objective of man and most other living creatures is to survive. The continued existence of man demonstrates man’s ability to achieve this goal. With the limited resources available to man and his unlimited wants, in order to survive, cooperation within a society is required. This cooperation has ever been present, as trade is thought to have occurred as long ago as 3000BC. This trade is the early form of economics. On the other hand, it can be said that in the past, economics has not existed. This is because in the past there was no scarcity and the available resources were adequate for sustaining our very basic lifestyles. We were influenced by tradition and command and this paved the way in which our society was run. As Heilbroner says â€Å"†¦as long as the problem [of survival] was handled by tradition or command, it never gave rise to that special field of study called ‘economics.’† However, when the market system came into play and overran tradition and command, economics was developed. â€Å"When society no longer obeyed a ruler’s dictates, who was to say where it would end? It was the economists who undertook to explain this puzzle.† Although, it was very possibly not realised back then, it can be said that economics is as old as the first transaction between men. The importance of economics certainly has increased over the years and the role it plays in people’s lives now is greater than it did in the past. However, I believe that economics has always been one of the key components of man’s survival, whether today or 3000BC. Of course in the past people had wants and need just like we do today and therefore the methods, such as trading, that they used to obtain these things fall under the category of economics.

Change Always Comes Bearing Gifts Essay

Through out our lifetime, we experience numerous life changing events that influence and affect our choices forever. Whether an experience is positive or negative, we learn something new every time. These events can be vary anywhere between a simple action to the biggest day of your life. The outcome of the experiences is what will change one’s thoughts, behavior and feelings forever. I have had many small experiences but I believe that one of the greatest events that has caused me to change was falling in love with my boyfriend. During my senior year at high school, I constantly stressed about my future, my image and fought with my loneliness. Although I’m not sure where these sudden thoughts would come from, they haunted me and caused me to grow desperately for a way out. Then one night while studying for my physics exam, I received a friendly message from a childhood friend. He is quite handsome so of course I immediately closed my physics book to chat with him. Exactly one month later, he asked me to be his girlfriend. It was overwhelming because he was the first guy to ever ask me; however, at that moment I knew he would always be there for me no matter what. He really changed my outlook and perspective of life into a positive one. Now, I think of the future with confidence. I have learned that life is too short to be depressed; I now try to avoid negativity and focus on the important things in life. In addition to that, he never lets me forget how beautiful I am. His never-ending compliments have really elevated my self-esteem. Overall, my positive thoughts have made me a happier more complete person. I really wish I could be more like him because he has changed my thoughts in such a great way and I know this experience will permanently change the way I think, along with the way I behave. Behavior is a big part of who one is and how people perceive one self. During the last semester of high school, I distanced myself from my classmates and did not participate in school activities I knew I was not acting like my normal self but there was no explanation for my decisions. After this â€Å"life-changing† event, I have become more outgoing and productive. The most important change has been responsibility. Prior to this wonderful event, I did not care about anything. Late homework assignments, skipping chores, and rarely showing up to work had become a routine for me. Luckily, that became the past. Now, I wake up and look forward to the day ahead even if it’s just going to school. One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that feeling good about yourself and loving who you are is important. I do not know the exact reason for why my behavior has changed so dramatically, but I have a strong feeling it has something to do with the way I feel. Feelings play a major role in the way we perceive life. Now that I am in a relationship, I feel that I am less stubborn rather open to new ideas. Usually, I am very hard headed. My parents have always given me my way even when I didn’t deserve it. Being in a relationship has made me realize that it is not all about me. Each and every one of us has a different viewpoint so it is imperative to be respectful to others’ thoughts and compromise! Overall, I feel more compassionate, loving and thoughtful of others and I believe that is the best gift I have received from this experience. This experience is very important to me because it has turned my life towards a positive path. I now think, behave and feel much better than I did a few months ago. I don’t know whether this is love but I know for a fact that he is my best friend and I will always have him by my side. Sometimes, it scares me to think of loosing him but I really hope I never change back to the pessimistic person I once was. I often hear that nothing lasts forever but I will always look back at this as something that saved me during my lowest point in life.