Fact and Fancy in Hard Times Essay

Discuss the significance of Fact and Fancy in Hard Times with particular reference to Dickens’ presentation of the worlds of Sleary’s circus and Coketown. You should focus closely on techniques used and effects created and how both of these things shape our response, as readers, to the text. Dickens uses a range of techniques to present the idea of the importance of and contrast between Fact and Fancy, such as the settings of the contrasting ‘worlds’ in the novel, imagery, and the very language he uses. Dickens lived in an era of growing industrial powers, where the ‘hands’ inside ravenous factories were many and depersonalised. With such an economy rapidly expanding, it could be considered the only logical that the value placed upon emotion, leisure and human compassion was hastily replaced by a focus on work ethic, greed and a strong class segregation. The rapid changes of the time benefited some people long before others. Dickens is concerned with those still waiting for improvements and raises key moral and social questions in his writing, mainly focusing upon the need for schooling, the cruelty to and corruption of children, the problems arising from rapid industrialisation and the problems created by emphasis on social class and newly acquired wealth. All of which can be seen in Hard Times. Dickens was, however criticised in his time. Gissing said that he â€Å"did not know the North of England† and that the character of Blackpool was a â€Å"mere model of meekness†. So this perceived representation of the industrial town and working class characters could be looked at sceptically by readers. To present the differences between fact and fancy Dickens uses setting: an important technique at his disposal to instil in the readers mind a clear visualisation of the differentiating places using imagery not just simple description. In this case the contrast between harsh industry and the compassion of human nature. Dickens describes Coketown as â€Å"a town of machinery and tall chimneys†, instantly giving the reader the image of an industrial Northern town, similar to the representation of Victorian industry towns and cities in modern media adaptations of Victorian novels. With its â€Å"black canal† and a river that â€Å"runs purple with ill smelling dye† the reader is instantly aware of the unpleasant setting Dickens’ creates. The bricks of the buildings here â€Å"would have been red if the smoke and ashes  allowed it†: the smoke is conditioned to be connected with the very name of Coketown. Using the colour â€Å"black† further emphasises the darkness of the industrialised Coketown, and ‘purple’ a show of contrasting fact and fancy. That is, purple in the canal being artificial yet a factual occurrence and even a product of the philosophy of fact practiced in Coketown. Ironically, Dickens uses creative metaphors in his representation of this world of facts, such as the comparison between the imagery in Coketown – the â€Å"painted face of a savage† where the reader could infer a contextual meaning – Dickens attempt to portray a supposedly civilised society truly being a savage and cruel society. The â€Å"interminable serpents of smoke† where one could consider a religious aspect – the serpent leading human kind into sin in the Garden of Eden, representing Dickens view of society of his time being led astray by the ever increasing industrialisation. The steam-engine working up and down like â€Å"an elephant in a state of melancholy madness† which supplies the reader with a depressive visualisation of the heavy, monotonous and slow industry and how it must feel to be seemingly trapped in this factory; the feeling of slowly going ‘mad’ with the repetition. Comparing these uses of imagery to Slearys circus, the reader becomes aware of a great deal of care on Dickens part from the carefully placed contrasting images. The Pegasus, the winged horse that wouldn’t be accepted in the Fact philosophy of Coketown, appears twice in the chapter titled â€Å"Slearys’ Horsemanship†. The second occurrence of which is described as â€Å"theatrical†, covered with â€Å"golden stars† with a harness of â€Å"red silk†. These all directly contradict the metaphorical animals used in Coketowns description, and the monotonous smoke stained effect given to the reader. The horse – a grand, proud â€Å"Quadruped† animal, fast, strong and agile, comparatively to the slow mad elephant of Coketown is metaphorically symbolic of not only the contrasting people of the two settings, but the places themselves and the community each possess. Contrastingly to the use of colours in the description of Coketown, the circus is filled with colours such as ‘golden’ and ‘red’, these colours being of royalty and leisure, ironically to the supposedly lesser setting of the novel. The very fabric of silk itself is a luxurious commodity. Slearys’ circus can be seen  as a place where the reader can finally ‘breathe’, away from the smoke and industrialisation that compresses them while they read of Coketown. The reader becomes aware of the significance of the difference between the two by careful detail Dickens includes and the techniques he uses. The contrast between fact and fancy is also presented in theme of education, and its characters. The school is there to instil â€Å"nothing but facts† into the children. The class room is bare, no colours or imagination, and the teachers equally stern and monotonous (almost the point of â€Å"madeness†). The use dialogue at the beginning of the novel gives Dickens the opportunity to ridicule one of the philosophers of fact in Coketown, Mr Gradgrind. The specific choice of language is worth noting as an important example of the mocking of the coldness of fact in both the world in Hard Times and contextually the Victorian era. The phrase â€Å"root out everything else†, more specifically â€Å"root†, Dickens may be presenting his dislike of the coldness towards imagination and the emotional response in the Victorian era itself by referring to the supposedly ‘non-factual’ parts of the self comparatively to weeds amongst the theoretical crop of what the Victorians classed as the intellect. The description of the other character presented in the beginning chapters, the schoolmaster Mr M’Chokemchild, is also an important example of character differences: â€Å"(†¦) some one hundred and forty (†¦) turned at the same time, (†¦) same factory, (†¦) same principles, like so many pianoforte legs†. He describes them as being made all the same, namely with the same principles, mocking the Victorian rigid beliefs. Once more, the language Dickens choses- this time he depersonalises them to emotionless characters by comparing them to mere â€Å"pianoforte legs† – to be at the foundation of and hold up the body of the fraudulent founders of the philosophy of Fact. Dickens also subtly shows the uselessness of the philosophy by the way the children, whom are supposedly â€Å"educated†, appear. For example, Louisa, who is educated by Mr Grandgrind: â€Å"(†¦) a fire with nothing to burn, a starved imagination keeping life in itself somehow(†¦)† A strongly repressed passionate young girl who through education has become depressed and cold. And Blitzer, who eagerly adhered to Grandgrinds’ teachings as a child growing up to become a uncompassionate egotist: he becomes the light porter at Bounderby’s bank, spies on Tom and the other clerks, and only follows the  economic principle of complete self-interest. Dickens tries to show how education so greatly shapes a person’s character by using the space of time that passes in the novel to show the growth of the children. More importantly to show how the forced factual education has a damaging effect on individuals – innocent individuals. This ‘killing’ of compassion in the children could be considered to be Dickens way of presenting the damage caused by ‘fact’ in society. The reader could infer that the presentation of the battle between fact and fancy, or even the mere existence of it, is significant because Dickens is presenting a contextual view into the society he is living in. Dickens was rebelling against the way imagination and compassion was viewed and the way knowledge was defined, by reflecting to readers this world and the battle between Fact and Fancy. Bibliography Dickens, Hard Times, Penguin Classics (July 2007) George Gissing â€Å"Dickens and the Working Class† (1898)

Academic Freedom Essay

Freedom is a basic to education in modern democracies. Freedom in education can be categorized in the various aspects such as; Freedom of the child, academic freedom and freedom to read. Mc’Garry and Ward, (1966) puts it: A free society and a free world imply a free educational system and a freedom within the framework of maximum control. In such a closed society they maintained, freedom in education may consist of ability to say or do in consequential things. The legal idea of academic freedom originated in Germany in 1850. The Prussian Constitution declared that â€Å"science and its teaching shall be free. † In Germany, academic freedom is known as the right of faculty to teach on any subject, that was freedom of scientific research, and the right of students to attend any lectures, and the absence of class roll calls writes standler (2000). Academic freedom spread to America in the early 20th Century (Post, 2000). Most American universities at that time were proprietary; professors were understood to be the employees of whoever owned the university, whether that was a private or state. See more: Analysis of Starbucks coffee company employees essay Then the professors began to conceive of themselves not as mere employees, but as professional scholars who were answerable to the professional judgment of their peers, they began to create the idea of academic freedom. Still, academic freedom has limits. In the United States, for example, according to the widely recognized â€Å"1940 Statement on Academic Freedom and Tenure†, teachers should be careful to avoid controversial matter that is unrelated to the subject. When they speak or write in public, they are free to express their opinions without fear from institutional censorship or discipline, but they should show restraint and clearly indicate that they are not speaking for their institution. Academic tenure protects academic freedom by ensuring that teachers can be fired only for causes such as gross professional incompetence or behavior that evokes condemnation from the academic community itself. Proponents of academic freedom believe that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy. They argue that academic communities are repeatedly targeted for repression due to their ability to shape and control the flow of information. When scholars attempt to teach or communicate ideas or facts that are inconvenient to external political groups or to authorities, they may find themselves targeted for public vilification, job loss, imprisonment, or even death. For example, in North Africa, a professor of public health discovered that his country’s infant mortality rate was higher than government figures indicated. He lost his job and was imprisoned. Academic freedom refers to the amount of independent judgment allowed teachers and students as both seek knowledge about the world. Maclever as sited by Harris and Liba (1960) holds that academic freedom refers to the freedom of the scholar with the university to pursue knowledge. Dewey and Lovejoy cited by Haris and Liba (1960) also related academic freedom to university teaching. In the modern society and modern aspects of teaching and learning, academic freedom can no longer be considered a university concern but it cuts across all aspects of the academia. Right is what a person is entitled to. Or what is legally due to a citizen account of being a member of a state, (International Declaration or Human Rights) established in 1948, as a common standard of achievement for all people and all nations. This document recognizes the basic human rights and freedom, justice and peace in the world having experienced the two world wars. The commission for Higher Education (CHE) University Act was established in 1985, July and inaugurated on 16th October 1985. It plans programs and finances public universities. It also coordinates admission process, accreditation of university coordination or post secondary training institution and standardization. Recognition and equation of qualifications are also its function according to the requirements of the law. It also guides students in applying or various courses that will lead them to different career choices. This was adopted by the United Nations (U. N) assembly is resolution 44/25 on the 20th November 1989. Talks of Freedom of Expression of opinion and views in Art 12 states that; every child who is capable of forming views and opinion has a right to express them freely; in all matters that affects them. In article number 13 on Freedom of Expression says that the child shall have a right to freedom of expression in terms of: Freedom to seek, Freedom to receive and Freedom to impart information and ideas of all kinds either orally or in writing in art and music. But the exercise of these rights must respect the rights and limitations of others and must respect the country’s laws and morals. Academic freedom consists in protecting the intellectual independence of professors, researchers and students in the pursuit of knowledge and the expression of ideas from interference by legislators or authorities within the institution itself. This implies that no political, ideological or religious orthodoxy will be imposed on professors and researchers through the hiring or tenure or termination process, or though any other administrative means by the academic institution. Nor shall legislatures impose any such orthodoxy through their control or the university budget. This protection includes students. Gwin, Swanson, and Goetz, (1986) also defined academic freedom as the freedom of teachers students to teach, study, and pursue knowledge and research without unreasonable interference or restriction from law, institutional regulations, or public pressure and added that the basic elements of academic freedom include the freedom of teachers to inquire into any subject that evokes their intellectual concern; to present their findings to their students, colleagues, and others, to publish their private data and conclusions without control or censorship; to teach in manner they consider professionally appropriate; and to act in their private lives with all the rights and liberties enjoyed by other citizens This directs towards speaking your mind and challenge conventional wisdom. In today’s political climate it is harder than ever for academics to defend open debate. In away restrictive legislation, and the bureaucratic rules and regulations of government and Universities themselves, have undermined academic freedom. Many academics are fearful of upsetting managers and politicians by expressing controversial opinions. Afraid to challenge mainstream thought, many pursue self-censorship. Academic freedom in Kenya was one of the casualties of repression. Mutunga and Kiai, (1996) stated that since proponents of academic freedom cherished free thought, open expression and good organization, they have been victimized, jailed and tortured. The harassment led to both external and internal exile. Academics like Ngugi wa Thiong’o, ali Mazrui, are victims. There are others who are internally exiles some of these scholars were forced to seek alternatives to the public universities to continue their scholarship and their contribution to the society. The Control of responsibility of public Universities by the state led to abdication of responsibility by university authorities. They instead prefer to call upon state machinery like the police to deal with any crisis in whichever way. University students or staff member wishing to travel outside Kenya must have official government clearance. In the case of university staff, the application from clearance is initially approved by the head of department followed by the dean of faculty, the principal of college, and ultimately the vice-chancellor. Subsequently, the ministry of Education and the Office of the President have to give the final approval, (Mutunga and Kiai, 1996). As at the time the above views about Kenya were documented, one could conclude that academic freedom hangs perilously close to non-existence in Kenya. It was not only the students and lecturers who suffered then, but all the people of Kenya who were denied the benefits that accrued from the existence of academic freedom. There was a moment in Kenya when they President threw a ban on Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and allowed KUPPET to come into existence to suppress the powers of KNUT. This was due to the stand that KNUT took as concerns the rights of the teachers in the country. Academic freedom is experienced unequally in the contemporary world. It is securely established in some countries, and scarcely exists in others, and in between the extremes it exists in varying degree of amplitude and security. Where academic freedom is well defined and respected, the teaching profession understands that the principle protects the professor against the devastating consequences of arbitrary dismissal. It is recognized that the eacher can be dismissed only for adequate cause, as established in a proceeding, which measures up to the requirements of due process, including a hearing before a tribunal consisting of his academic peers. It is well understood that the security of the professor depends not so much upon the substantive definition of what constitutes adequate cause, as upon the procedures which are followed. That proper procedure is an indispensable element of justice in the life of the state is a commonplace observation. Proper procedure is equally essential if academic freedom is to remain a viable concept. This will promote literacy in the African continent.

Marketing and choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing and choice - Essay Example At many times, it has been observed that businesses believe in many other important factors other than consumer behavior to create successful strategies, such as innovative products. Both the perspectives can be analyzed to conclude that whether consumer decisions and behaviors should influence the marketing strategies or not. Consumer buying decisions may be used by businesses to create successful marketing strategies, but at the same time these evaluations may result in risks and problems for the businesses. This report analyses the arguments provided by experts saying that consumer decisions and behaviors should be considered because they give an insight to the marketers about their potential buyers, while others argue it should not be considered as business marketing needs to be rather innovative; however there has not been any clear conclusion to the discussion as both aspects have their own positive and negative points. Many of the business analysts favorably suggest that consu mer decisions should be evaluated, examined and analyzed to set successful marketing strategies. This is because the customers are the major assets of the business as they enhance the growth, sales and profits of the business (Cheverton, 2005, p. 125). When a product is made, the first focus of the marketing department is to examine the target customers, position the product in the market and then create the marketing mix for the product. For these steps, the main feature is to select the targeted customers and reach up to their demands and expectations. As the business industry is becoming more and more competitive by every passing day, it is becoming even important for the businesses to recognize the tastes and behaviors of their new and existing customers. The industry today is full of complex customers who are highly informed and have high expectations. If the business wants to have a successful future, it has to consider and analyze the consumer decision making behaviors and se t their strategies according to that. Thus, it is the objective of the business’s marketing department to observe and understand the behavior of the consumers and design their product just as it attracts them (Zeithaml, 1988, p. 2). In order to keep track of the consumer demands and expectations, the business needs to allocate its resources in a way that they are able to spend a decent proportion of funds in evaluating the consumer tastes and decisions. Olson writes, for this, the business also needs highly technical tools through which they can research the market trends in lesser time and get efficient results. Business analysts suggest that it is vital for the business to spend its money, time, resources and efforts in focusing and fulfilling consumer demands because without that, the business cannot form successful marketing strategies (Olson, 2010, p. 135). On the other hand, arguments against this fact suggest that as the consumers have become more complex, their demand s have increased. The businesses that evaluate and examine the consumer decisions must hire a separate team that will understand and analyze the psychological trends that move on in customers. The customers are now highly informed and thus the products that reach to them must be perfect according to what they expect. While this is an important aspect to consider, it is also undeniable that there are plenty of customers that are still unaware and simple. For these customers, high tech products or

External Scanning and Analysis (Tata Motors) Essay

External Scanning and Analysis (Tata Motors) - Essay Example This is evident by the increasing demand for automobiles, new technologies in the industry, emergence of news products, and ratification of novel regulations to govern the industry. Such challenges create both opportunities and threats to Tata Motors in terms unique market demands. The market trend for automobiles is thriving with young people proving to be the potential buyers for cars. Automobile firms target youngsters who like trendy cars and other vehicles. Despite these changing trends, most organizations have also defined their demands on the kind of vehicles they prefer. Such demands have forced Tata to adjust to the new technologies in making fresh and economical vehicles capable of competing favorably in the market. Companies reminiscent of BMW, Toyota, and Mitsubishi among others threaten Tata Motors. The company has to conform to the new market trends and environmental changes or flourish to extinction. Nevertheless, Tata Motors has thrived to enhance its market share glo bally thus announcing astounding intensification in its revenues in the recent financial years. This illustrates that the company understands its environment and competes favorably with other rivals despite the challenges. Evaluating opportunities together with threats â€Å"Opportunities and threats† form exterior aspects that analyze the market trends during the formulation of future strategies.2 The opportunities deeming for Tata Motors are numerous but depends on its approach to the dynamic automobile markets. One of the opportunities is that the company is able to develop its market presence in many countries globally to enhance its market reach. Additionally, despite the stringent competition in the industry, its rivals might flop. This gives it a chance to boost its market breadth. Another opportunity is that the new lifestyle trends are favoring the Tata cars particularly the ‘Nano-car’ model. Majority of the youngsters prefers to by the state of the art cars giving the company an opportunity to improve and emerge with new products. Additionally, the company targets global niche markets in the compact car models. This grants it an opportunity to storm virgin markets and take root before the flock of other brands. The company also gathers a global influence that grants its some publicity in the market. The market volumes, seasonal fashion influences, partnerships, and well-orchestrated distribution channels are other opportunities enjoyable by Tata Motors globally. The threats engulfing the industry incorporate political and legislative aspects that influence the global markets. Most countries have set rules that might disfavor the automobile industry in terms of importation and use of automobiles. The global uproar on the environmental conservation forms another threat to Tata Motors and other industry players. The threatened world economy, season, climatic concerns, credit pressures, enduring competition, technology developments, a nd changing market demands are other threats that face the automobile industry. Using â€Å"Porter’s 5-forces framework† in evaluating the industry The â€Å"porter’s 5-forces model† illuminates the nature of competition within an industry3. The automobile indu

Rewrite Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Rewrite - Essay Example There are different pricing policies of Foodmart, which can be explained by the company’s convenience of retailing and potential profits gained from sale. Therefore, Internet prices differ from prices in the shops of the Company. Under conditions of agreements for online operations, Todd had to pay retail price, which is not indicated in the Internet. Henry Cheeseman states in his book, The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce: Business CurrEthics, E-Commerce, Regulatory, and International Issues, (2010) that to enforce a contract, there is a need to follow these requirements: to consider agreement, consideration, contractual capacity, and a lawful object. Todd was ready for agreement, when he agreed upon terms and conditions of online transaction. Todd was also considered about the sum of money, which he had to pay for the sauce. The object of the contract, chocolate sauce, can be considered a legal element. Thus, it is possible to claim that this contract is enf orceable. Todd wanted to buy chocolate sauce at a lower price, which existed in real environment only and was unavailable in online world. The store has a right to sell goods and products in accordance with its real pricing policy. In case a customer is dissatisfied or wants to change any issues of this policy, his claims are irrelevant. Thus, in this case a contract specifies that advertised prices are not applicable for online purchasing, which means that the contract is enforceable and Foodmart wins. Nevertheless, in case Todd did not sign in the contract and he did not mark â€Å"I agree† option online, this contract cannot be enforceable. The clients of online purchasing should agree upon the terms of agreements and contracts, otherwise there is no enforceable power in online purchasing. From another perspective, purchasing in the real world requires that customer

Civil liability Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Civil liability - Research Paper Example Civil Liability Introduction It is no doubt that technological advancements across the world have greatly improved people’s way of lives. Nonetheless, these advancements have made human beings to be more vulnerable to technological threats that have compromised their safety. In particular, advancements in the area of telecommunications have called for enhanced measures in public safety telecommunications. In recent times, the United States has been facing increasing threats to the cyber security and resiliency of its telecommunications networks. It is against this background that the government and other stakeholders in the telecommunications industry have enhanced their efforts in ensuring public safety telecommunications (APCO Institute, 1997). They seek to enhance public safety by preventing telecommunications-related emergencies and responding swiftly when such emergencies occur. While the benefits of telecommunications are numerous, there are also liability risks for tele communications operators and their employees. Telecommunications operators are required to publish information to follow established guidelines relating to public safety telecommunications. ... City of Hueytown. Facts of the case of Michael Swan v. City of Hueytown On 3rd May, 2000, Michael Swan was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by Hueytown Police Department officer, Ben Williams. The officer asked to see the driving licenses of the passenger, Swan, and that of the driver. Since Alabama Code, 1975 Section 15-5-30 provides for a sheriff, police, or other officer to stop a car if he suspects is committing, about to commit, or committed a public offense and demand information about the driver or explanations, it is in order that the vehicle in which Swan was boarding to be stopped. Officer Williams then radioed the Hueytown Police Department dispatcher who searched the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database using the information provided to him by Officer Williams to determine whether Swan had outstanding warrants. Officer Williams cannot figure out clearly the kind of information that he provided to the dispatcher, but he testified that he would normall y have provided the detainee’s date of birth and name, or his Social Security number, or driver’s license number. Officer Williams was notified by the dispatcher that the City of Birmingham had an outstanding warrant of Swan. Officer Williams sought to confirm and found that indeed Michael Swan had an outstanding warrant (Supreme Court of Alabama, 2005). However, later evidence showed that the outstanding warrants were not for â€Å"Michael Swan† but for Michael Swann† (the surname spelt with two ‘n’s not one). Apparently, Officer Williams and the dispatcher failed to react or recognize the difference in spelling the last name. As a result of this discrepancy, Officer Williams arrested Swan and subsequently took him to the

Flexible working patterns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Flexible working patterns - Essay Example One of the most popularly advocated structural technique for increasing an employee’s motivational potential is Job Enrichment. While there are several options to enrich the job being done by an employee, a common method is to allow the worker to assume some of the tasks executed by his or her supervisor. Enrichment requires that workers do increased planning and controlling of their work, usually with less supervision and more self-evaluation. From the stand point of increasing the internal motivation from doing a job, it has been proposed that job enrichment offers great potential (Cunningham & Eberle, 1990). However, job enrichment is successful only when it increases responsibility while increasing the employee’s freedom and independence. The methodology for the research collected in this paper is library and online research which gives interesting insights into what experts suggest is the correct way for enriching jobs with flexible working schedules. The research done on the topic sought out both positive and negative opinions on the subject to come to a conclusion about the benefits or disadvantages of having flexible working hours. In cases where personal biases were likely to affect the presentation of the research material, evidence was used to show the source of the material used for creating this document. The overall literature on the topic suggests that job enrichment through the use of flexible working patterns is a positive move for most employment situations. This is done by organizing tasks so as to allow individuals to do a complete activity and provides feedback to allow individuals to correct their performance with time (Alster, 1989). One of the measures involved in providing job enrichment increasing the employee’s freedom and by way of permitting flexible working patterns. The reported results have been mixed because in some situations, job enrichment has increased productivity; in

Companys Social Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Companys Social Performance - Essay Example Company’s Social Performance Describe your company and analyze the various primary and secondary stakeholder groups, their roles, and relationships The company is a medium–sized chocolate producing corporation known as ‘St. Louis Delights’.The company specializes in the production of popular treats such as chocolate dipped caramels, with and without condiments such as pecans. The company is rapidly expanding even though at present it has only 35 employees, some of whom work on a part-time basis. St. Louis Delights currently produces more than 15,000 chocolate treats on a daily basis. With most of the chocolates products sold by other retailers being somewhat conventional, St. Louis Delights has created a whole new line of treats that is aimed at catering for the diverse tastes of chocolate fans all over the world. So far, St. Louis Delights has produced goods for fairs such as corporate events as well as weddings and other parties. The company also creates distinctive theme –products in different seasons such as during Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and the Chinese New Year. Recently, the company also staged a ‘chocolate tasting workshop’ so that customers could be introduced to exciting new creations produced by St. Louis Delights. The primary stakeholders of St. Louis Delights are its customers, stockholders, suppliers, creditors, and workers. Just as other corporations, St. Louis Delights has to realize profits for its principal investors. ... um, apart from its website, in which the company’s clients are able to discuss their views on different products as well as company policies (Freeman, Harrison, Wicks, Parmar, & De Colle, 2010). In this way, the company will also be able to determine what needs to be improved. This will also help company officials to learn how best to communicate with clients or catch their interest. The company could also learn how to better market its products to different sectors of the population by listening to the comments and advice of its customers. By monitoring the effect of any adjustments it makes, the company will be able to reassess its priorities as well as fine tune its methods of communication. Recommend ways the stakeholders can influence the destiny of your business For St. Louis Delights, customers are viewed as being the single most important stakeholder group that can foment change in company strategies as well as operations. The company has been making profits that allow for further expansion due to the loyalty of customers. At present, St. Louis Delights is involved in considering the next place in which to open new branches. Naturally, this decision will be determined by the notion of where customers are most likely to want to come to. Executives have to take into consideration the thought of where the customers are most likely to feel comfortable shopping at. The company also has to take into account the customer demographic it is looking to attract. For instance, it has to consider whether the customers will drive or walk to its proposed next franchise. In this case, it would be better to locate the franchise at an up market area that is a walking distance from residential houses. So far, it is the up market customers who appreciate uniqueness who have

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

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example Apparently, there are major pitfalls of entrepreneurship because of entrepreneurs’ insubordinate attitude towards corporate management and their overemphasis on the necessity to be active both at corporate success and failures as to avoid blaming themselves for observed internal weaknesses of the company they are involved in. However, the creative energies of the entrepreneurs provide a lot of benefits to the other shareholders, particularly the consumers and the community. For example, Google is becoming the dominant search engine in the World Wide Web because of few competitors in the field. This situation can be described in economic terms, as oligopoly which is rather disadvantageous to Internet users because of very minimal options to choose from. Entrepreneurs then, being heroic in their standpoint, have the positive and innovative energies to generate other search engines that would vie with Google. The high risk of solvency of a start up business is a reality that no one could challenge. Nevertheless, entrepreneurs have the imagination and the creativeness to turn any challenge to one that is worthy of time and effort. The problem only arises for the entrepreneur when the company achieves high growth and the demand to have people as work partners become inevitable. If that is the case, then entrepreneurs could find new channels where they could pour over their inexhaustible ingenious vigor and consequently aid the development of the local economy. Dan Bricklin’s remarkable story of entrepreneurship is a framework of nature and nurture mishmash. He was born in a family of entrepreneurs and his inventive and daring spirit made the rich possibilities for him to trail a line of technology business venture. As the son of a creative entrepreneur, Dan Bricklin was able to observe the actual running of a business dedicated to printing press. Moreover, his years of academic education endowed him

Objectification of women Essay Example for Free

Objectification of women Essay Should prostitution be legalised and monitored or illegal and unmonitored? Main Arguments Primoratz â€Å"what’s wrong with prostitution?† ( Vol. 68, No. 264, Apr., 1993 ) Nussbaum â€Å"taking money for bodily services† Yolanda Estes â€Å"moral reflections on prostitution† Sources The philosophy of sex contemporary readings, Alan Soble and Nicholas.P.Power, Rowman Littlefield, Jan 1, 2002 Prostitution and pornography: â€Å"philosophical debate about the sex industry† Charges against prostitution: an attempt at a philosophical assessment, Chicago journals, Vol. 90, No. 3, Apr., 1980 Lars.O.Ericsson Introduction and thesis I will clearly state how my argument will be structured for prostitution through the various articles and philosophers I have studied. I shall also outline how I will come to my conclusion. Body An outline of my basic arguments will be presented with supporting sub arguments, these will include all the above references. I will use both Primoratz and Nussbaum to back up my conclusion. I will then evaluate and analyse their arguments in order to further support my view for prostitution. Then I will look at views that are opposed to the legalisation of prostitution through Yolanda Estes who defends Kantian ethics. After evaluating this I will come up with various responses. Conclusion Look at objections I was unable to argue against as lack of space, also look  at my overall argument and see implications of accepting the conclusion. Essay plan Although we are sometimes justified in withdrawing or withholding life sustaining treatment for someone who is terminally ill and suffering, we could never be justified in killing such a person? Critically discuss the claim? Intro Define what passive and active euthanasia are and their basic differences, Discuss the various arguments that you will look at and show your point of view for the essay State the part of the world that you will be discussing, both the us and uk Main body Body will be split into two main arguments, my first argument will discuss the moral difference between killing and letting a person die. I will use various references and examples from the articles and books noted. My argument will attempt to show that their can be no yes or no answer to the question as each case is very specific and should be taken on its own merits and not by one law. I will then look at various examples where courts have both ruled for and against passive and active euthanasia, critically discussing the decisions and as to weather they were morally permissible. I will then attempt to add a philosophical standpoint such as utilitarianism or Kantian ethics to further prove my original argument. After this I will also add counter arguments and attempt to provide possible responses in order to strengthen my argument. Conclusion Here I will summarise my viewpoint and show various arguments that I may have added if I had more space. I will then attempt to finish my essay with a quotation from one of the various articles that both agrees with and summarises my stance. Books and articles Euthanasia and physician assisted euthanasia, (Gerald Dworkin, Cambridge University Print, August 28 1998) Euthanasia: a reference handbook Jennifer Fecio Mcdougall, Martha Gormen, 2008) Euthanasia: death with dignity and the law, Hasel Biggs, Hart publishing, jan 1, 2008) Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (why active euthanasia should be allowed, article, 2001, navlo, Brithish medical journal)

An Analysis Of The Dumbest Generation English Language Essay

An Analysis Of The Dumbest Generation English Language Essay The Dumbest Generation, How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Dont Trust Anyone Under 30) is a critical analysis on the effects of the prolific spread of information and communication technology on the youth of today. In it, Mark Bauerlein argues that while this technology could have been used to increase access to knowledge and therefore improve the minds of children, it has only been used to distract them from useful knowledge and skills which he strongly implies, although rarely explicitly states, only currently come from books and exposure to art. The book at its core is a research paper, using hundreds of facts and an eight page bibliography to support his thesis, and free from having to defend his beliefs on a philosophical level, Bauerlein spends much of his paper explaining his many cited statistics and presenting his conclusion about what would happen if the trend was allowed to continue. Besides the obvious and repeatedly stated concl usion that an unchecked spread of technology would cause a completely ignorant generation, Bauerlein concludes his paper with an explanation of how an informed society is necessary to uphold a democratic government. Hidden more subtly throughout the book is the hidden message that technologys isolation of its users from the outside world and contact with the kinds of people we might not enjoy being around causes the psychological maturing process to slow, rendering a generation raised in the digital era perpetual children. Although his book is intended to be read by a wide range of audiences, Bauerleins target audience is the adults of today, or more specifically, the educators of today. His solution, placed in the final chapter of the book, where he was no doubt aware that only those with a personal stake or a love of knowledge would reach before putting it down, is to encourage children to read and learn for their own edification. He mentions several counter arguments to his, but doesnt refute their logic as much as drown them in empirical data showing that they have little to nothing backing them up. Through this book Mark Bauerlein jumped into a national debate already brought up by another similar book, The Age of American Unreason, by Susan Jacoby. But who is Mark Bauerlein? His most obvious feature is being a professor of English at Emory University, as stated in his web page at Emory Universitys official website and on the cover of his book. Also according to the same sources, he took a break for a couple of years to be a Director of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts, showing that he does have experience in both gathering and interpreting the data with which he generously fills his book. His own personal website reveals that he is a fairly prolific writer himself, from such topics as racism and literary criticism itself, but for the most part Bauerlein writes about the humanities. While this information would obviously lead to Bauerlein having a personal stake in the state of American literacy, it does not really offer any evidence of bias either way for whether or not there actually is a literacy deficiency. Bauerlein uses his credentials well, relying only on his own credibility to properly evalua te data and to extrapolate the results, allowing the actual risk of misinformation to lie with his sources. For the most part, his information consists of surveys of participation in certain activities and tests of academic skill, primarily the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is a program run by a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Education (Bauerlein 14-5). Where Bauerlein seems to falter in his credibility is in trying to avoid sounding reactionary or out of touch, discussing the information revolution as a form of Youth Rebellion (Bauerlein 178), making sweeping comments such as Young people have too much choice (Bauerlein 156), and showing disdain for the design of websites conforming to the whims of their readers, whose compositions include large bold headlines intended to grab audiences and putting the broad, useful information first to keep the reader paying attention, while completely ignoring the existence of these tactics in newspapers and within his own book. However, one can understand why the condescension was included. A moderate book doesnt sell, and an English Professor knows this better than anyone. But despite some issues regarding his relationship to the subject, the book does successfully display the flaws of the so called dumbest generation, and it certainly accomplishes its retroactively stated goal, to open up the issue to some sober skepticism, to blunt the techno-zeal spreading through classrooms and libraries (Bauerlein vii), found in the preface of the paperback edition. The purpose of the book is plain, and stated in its title, sub title, and sub-sub title. Bauerlein uses statistics and logic to show that the current generation of children will be incapable adults in order to convince parents and educators to encourage the children to read books, learn history, experience liberal arts. Like any good research paper, Bauerlein begins his exploration of the effects of technology with a moving introduction. In it, he sympathizes with the struggles facing the ambitious youth, who have to tirelessly fight to be the best out of millions just to progress to the next step in their lives. However, near the end he suddenly shifts to his own images about the average American student, which are quite grim. The introductions lack of relevance to the main subject was most likely added to pull in someone who would naturally expected the opposite of what is depicted in the first part of the intro based on the title. Also, by conceding the efforts and hardships of the young academics, he does not alienate them, in a way separating those potential readers from the sweeping accusations made later in the book. The pleasantries aside, Bauerlein dives into the fray with his mountains of data, citing over one hundred statistics in the first chapter. He uses several kinds of statistics; so me to show that children do not pass subject material exams, some to show that a large amount of children do not know a specific fact that one is normally expected to know, and some to show that other factors one might consider for causes of a lower average intelligence such as school time (Bauerlein 30), finance (Bauerlein 31), and leisure time (Bauerlein 32) have only become less restrictive over time. After having thoroughly proven that todays students dont know what they should, he moves on into the next chapter to discuss why this is. Bauerlein simply says that children dont choose to learn enough. His weapon of choice now is the survey of students in which he shows that children do not read literature or participate in the arts. The main survey he brings up is a report from National Endowment for the Arts, Reading at Risk, in which Bauerlein show that the reading of any kind of literature is declining, and especially so in children. However, the survey asked about voluntary reading, not reading required for work or school (Bauerlein 45) and despite assertions that to be considered a reader one merely had to read any work of any quality of any medium-book, newspaper, magazine, blog, Web page, or music CD insert (Bauerlein 47), it is unlikely that most of the people who said that they did not read were aware of or understood this qualification, and in all likelihood disregarded a ny reading they did do as sufficient. Bauerlein goes on to give several examples of the positive effects of a zeal for reading such as Frederick Douglass and Walt Whitman, which serve more to emotionally touch the reader rather than to logically prove his point, as the last section did. Back to the facts, Bauerlein sends out scores of numbers indicating that the youth of today spend a disproportionate amount of time on screen technology. However, instead of merely analyzing the data, he takes the time to bring up counterarguments. He shows how other authors such as Steven Berlin Johnson have explored the special social and thinking patterns that could only occur in a world of instant communication and interactive digital worlds in such books as Everything Bad is Good for You, and doesnt actually protest their reasoning, and even gives us his own visions of an ideal world where the technology created a vibrant massive community seeking knowledge and obtaining true enlightenment. And then Bauerlein caps it off with an answer to the rhetorical question Why, then, should bibliophiles and traditionalists carp so much? with the short maxim, Because that glorious creation of youth intelligence hasnt materialized (Bauerlein 107). He shifts once again to his statistics, now not only showing poor scholastic performance but poor job performance as well, painting a new picture of a generation of perpetual children who know little and know nothing practical. Not only do the digital medias have less complex vocabulary (Bauerlein 128-9), but they foster peer absorption (Bauerlein 133) and poor attention spans (Bauerlein 148). He describes the newest batch of young adults as twixters (Bauerlein 160) who despite financial stability, technology, and readily available education, do not settle down and wander through life fairly aimlessly. The solution, according to Bauerlein, is for the educators of America to rise up and promote reading and arts instead of technology alone, which has been shown to be ineffective by itself to promote learning and knowledge. In the final chapter, Bauerlein compares an ignorant adults that the ignorant children would become to Rip Van Winkle (Bauerlein 204-9), knowing nothing that they need to in a world that suddenly demands their attention and participation, and unaware of how to feel about the issues surrounding them. Bauerlein closes with a conclusion that if uncorrected, the trend of an unintelligent youth would undermine democratic society, and that only by reintegrating tradition into learning could we save society from the sovereignty of youth. (Bauerlein 223) brought about by a freedom from material that challenges what they think. The overall structure of the book is designed for a broad range of readers. An interesting introduction pulls in readers of all sorts, and then a series of facts puts the issue of childhood ignorance freshly onto the minds of concerned adults. Specific proof of his claim trails this to counter those who doubt the validity of his claim, followed by acknowledgement and rebuttal of claims to appease those more enlightened on the subject, and he finishes the book with a powerful, almost alarmist message that exploits the fears of a society of idiots and their patriotism to swing to his side his colleagues, students, and critics. Of course, Bauerlein is certainly not the first to comment on the rising ignorance among todays young adults. Just three months before The Dumbest Generation was published, The Age of American Unreason, a book by Susan Jacoby, hit the shelves with a similar conclusion, that the digital age has caused the current youth to become self absorbed and ignore what goes on around them; Bauerlein mentions it in passing. For long years it has been suspected that digital technology would not improve education. In an essay by Michael Schrage from 1997, aptly named Computers Will Not Transform Education, shows doubt about the young internets ability to revolutionize education, and points out that neither the radio nor the television had a great impact on student performance. This sentiment was also expressed in another essay that year, Computers Cannot Replace Good Teachers, by Clifford Stoll, who makes the calm assertion that most learning isnt fun. Learning takes work. Discipline. Responsibilit y-You have to do your homework. Both of the predictions of a high amount of spending on technology by education and an insignificant change in performance are evident in The Dumbest Generation. However, Bauerleins presentation of poor performance seems to contradict the Flynn effect, the rise of IQ over time, but instead of contesting it, he lets it sit, and in some ways appears to ignore the elephant in the room when discussing the relevancy of new visual learning techniques, relying nearly entirely on test performance. However, not all of the data works in favor of Bauerlein. According to The Nations Report Card, the official web site for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Mathematics scores for 9- and 13- year-olds are higher than all previous assessment years and that Reading skills at all three ages improve since 2004. Furthermore, according to the charts on the long-term trend section of the web site, average scores overall have increased gradually but constantly since the first test in 1978. So while Bauerlein may be correct that the number of students who pass the test may be decreasing, this is mainly due to the level of competence being raised faster than the children are getting better, a much less frightening scenario. In fact, On both the reading and the math tests, and at all three tested ages (9, 13 and 17), the lowest-ever scores in the history of the NAEP were recorded by children born between 1961 and 1965 (Neil Howe). However, the raw score increase has not gotten any faster in thirty years, the increase is most likely due to increased incomes, higher teacher to student ratios, better health, and many of the other improvements that Bauerlein points out rather than technology, which would have shown higher improvement in recent years, when the information revolution started. Of course, all of this is only relevant if you put your faith into NAEP tests, which according to Jim Hull of The Center for Public Education in The proficiency debate: A guide to NAEP achievement levels, you cant. Hull shows that NAEP standards for proficiency in a subject are higher than nearly all of the state regulated proficiency tests, and the tested material often widely differs from state curriculum. One of Bauerleins main sources is Reading at Risk, a report explaining the results of a 2002 survey of reading habits by the National Endowment for the Arts, which he states indicates decreased reading in all age groups and a large decline in young readers. However, the 2008 results were released in January 2009, as a sort of sequel titled Reading on the Rise, which bared the unexpected news that the percentage of literary readers had actually gone up, and even more astoundingly, Literary reading has increased most rapidly among the youngest adults. This isnt just contradictory to the trend of 1992 to 2002, from which Bauerlein draws proof of a non reading public; it completely turns it upside down. And while the report was published eight months after The Dumbest Generation, the survey itself was taking place as Bauerlein was finishing his book, and that the miraculous return to literature had begun and reading rates were rising as Bauerlein was writing about how the reading rates w ere falling, and he didnt notice the complete reversal happening right under his nose, or chose to ignore it. Most people who picked up The Dumbest Generation were probably expecting a lot of expanded logic and presumptuous reasoning like what makes up the counter arguments to this book such as Everything Bad is Good For You, which do not have much true evidence. I was personally delighted to find that Mark Bauerlein had taken the time to find not just adequate data, but a tremendous amount of information. For the most part, his logic is sound; however, his main struck a bad chord. Because technology has increased while the intellectual performance of the newest generation has gone down, technology must be causing the newest generation to be the dumbest. Post hoc ergo proptor hoc. While he briefly explains why several other possible causes for lower test scores havent happened, he doesnt ever find a factual link between technology and the change in scores other than the times in which both occur. As far as books and technology, print reading would naturally decrease as web usage went up, sim ply due to the limits of time. In fact, Bauerlein doesnt have any proof of high literary reading from before twenty years ago; we are simply expected to believe that those before us spent all of their free time reading. What Bauerlein fails to address is the fact that social networking is not the result of technology on reading, but the effect of technology on actual, face-to-face social interaction. Ill jump to agree with the assertion that a decrease in performance could be based on the ability to choose not to succeed, but it is society, not technology, that facilitated this shift. The children of today arent expected to read literature much, and dont gain anything concrete from it, so most of them dont and I would expect it. Am I supposed to believe that the students of yore read The Divine Comedy for fun? They didnt, and for the most part, people read only what they like to read or what they have to read. And when children dont have to read much, they mostly read whats fun, eac h other, and other frivolities like video games. In The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Dont Trust Anyone Under 30, Mark Bauerlein uses out of context information to convince readers that our advancements have made my generation the dumbest, when really it is simply not expected to do more, and its opinion is valued as important as the instructors. Indeed, with discipline, technology can be and already is used for incredible feats in learning. Without the photocopier, the online databases paid for by my school, and the internet, I would know nothing more on this subject than what is in this book. If more was expected of students, both student knowledge and beneficial use of technology would rise, to the point where English professors like Mark Bauerlein would stop separating published content into the categories of print and web. And quite frankly, Im insulted he used the title The Dumbest Generation when a title more fitting to his thesis would be The Laziest Generation. An alarmist book, The Dumbest Generation was written to sell a malformed idea that an English professor had a lot of published work already invested in, and was written to sell a lot of books. In both of these he succeeded.

frankenstein ethos :: essays research papers fc

The story begins with and is enveloped by Walton’s letters to his sister. His sister is very close to him; as can be seen by the affection terms used for her and the comfort level that Walton has with her; terms such as â€Å"dear sister† and â€Å"my sister†. This relationship that Walton has with his sister is placed on the reader through his expressions and use of language.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reader is forced into the role of a character that already has some developments. Walton’s sister is a character that exists prior to the story; this can be seen by the way Walton treats his subject. Because the reader is the audience with her, the reader is pushed into that role, but not to become a part of the story, only to develop the relationship with Walton.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The purpose of this suddenly close relationship is to bring credibility to the narrative of Frankenstein and ultimately bring credibility to the narrative of the monster. This is done be enveloping Walton’s letters around both these narratives. These layers sustain the relationship through the novel and allow the reader to be outside of the story, physically in another location as Walton’s sister is, but to be close and credible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This established relationship that the reader is now part of allows the emotions that Walton’s sister may have felt to be recreated and obvious to the reader. â€Å"Be Assured†¦ I will not rashly encounter danger.† Walton reassures his sister and it is made clear to the reader that she feels concern for him due to his tendencies. This emotion that she feels is recreated by his words of comfort to her. This pathos helps to build the relationship as do the other elements in combination with it. In many circumstances, the letters also appeal to a more logical sense. Walton believes in his cause and believes that his sister (and reader) do not agree with this cause. Because of this temperament, Walton feels the need to justify his actions. So he justifies his actions with logical proof, these logical proofs appeal to the mind of the reader. This logos helps to build the relationship as do the other elements in combination with it. The story ends with the letters to complete the encirclement and enclosure of the relationship so that all the elements that helped build credibility and a relationship in the beginning are sustained throughout.

A Very Brief History on the Existence of God Essay -- Philosophy, Des

The subsequent essay will provide a brief overview on the existence of God from Renà © Descartes through Immanuel Kant. First, section (1), examines Descartes’ proof for the existence of God. Section (2), explores G.W. Leibniz’s view on God’s existence in addition to his attempts to rectify the shortcomings of Descartes’ proofs. The remainder of the essay then examines two additional philosophers, David Hume in section (4) and Immanuel Kant in (5), who contend that God’s existence cannot be rationally proven. (1) As a devout Catholic, Descartes undeniably believed in God. He makes his faith clear in the letter of dedication preceding Meditations on First Philosophy. Here, Descartes writes that we must â€Å"believe in God’s existence because it is taught in the Holy Scriptures, and, conversely, that we must believe in the Holy Scriptures because they have come from God† (Descartes, 1). Nevertheless, in the beginning of the Meditations, Descartes casts doubt on everything -including religion- in his search for absolute certainty. In the Third Meditation, he doubts the existence of God before providing his first rationalistic proof for the existence of God. In offering the proof, he first questions â€Å"whether there is a God† (25). However, even though he questions God’s very existence, Descartes maintains his innate idea of God. After some deliberation, he concludes that because he has an innate idea of God, (which is not fabricated by the mind or drawn from the senses), it must be God who endowed him with his innate idea. Descartes likens his innate idea of God to the â€Å"mark of a craftsmen impressed upon his work† –similar to a stamp which says ‘Made by God’. Additionally, Descartes reasons that because he exists as a thinking thing and ... ...od to exist. As the above has illustrated, both Descartes and Leibniz believed that the existence of God could be proved via reason. But, Hume and Kant, which will be subsequently covered, did not believe argumentation or reason could establish the existence of God (3) David Hume attacks both Descartes’ and Leibniz’s methodology for establishing the existence of God in the following: â€Å"there is an evident absurdity in pretending to demonstrate a matter of fact, or to prove it by any arguments a priori. Nothing is demonstrable, unless the contrary implies a contradiction. Nothing, that is distinctly conceivable, implies a contradiction. Whatever we conceive as existent, we can also conceive as non-existent. There is no being, therefore, whose non-existence implies a contradiction. Consequently there is no being, whose existence is demonstrable† (Bailey, 79).

Kass and Genetic Technology :: essays research papers

Unregulated Genetic Technology Threatens to Dehumanize Society When James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA in 1959, they could not have known that their discovery would one day lead to the possibility of a human factory that is equipped with the capabilities to mass produce perfectly designed, immortal human beings on a laboratory assembly line. Of course, this human factory is not yet possible; genetic technology is still in its infancy, and scientists are forced to spend their days unlocking the secret of human genetics in hopes of uncovering cures for diseases, alleviating suffering, and prolonging life. In the midst of their noble work, scientists still dream of a world—a utopia—inhabited by flawless individuals who have forgotten death and never known suffering. What would become of society if such a utopia existed? How will human life be altered? Leon Kass, in Life, Liberty and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics, acknowledges genetics technology’s greatness, and applauds it for its invaluable, benevolent contributions to mankind. However, Kass argues that if left to their devises and ambitions, geneticists—with the power of their technology—will steal away society’s most precious asset; genetic technology will rob society of its humanity. Genetic technology can, and will, achieve great things, but unless it is regulated and controlled, the losses will be catastrophic and the costs will far exceed the benefits. The age of genetic technology has arrived. Thanks to genetic technological advancements, medical practitioners, with the help of genetic profiling, will be able to better diagnose patients and design individual tailored treatments; doctors will be able to discern which medications and treatments will be most beneficial and produce the fewest adverse side effects. Rationally designed vaccines have been created to provide optimal protection against infections. Food scientists have hopes of genetically altering crops to increase food production, and therefore mitigate global hunger. Law enforcement officers find that their job is made easier through the advancement of forensics; forensics is yet another contribution of genetic technology. Doctors have the ability to identify â€Å"high-risk† babies before they are born, which enables them to be better prepared in the delivery room. Additionally, oncologists are able to improve survival rates of cancer patients by administering ge netically engineered changes in malignant tumors; these changes result in an increased immune response by the individual. With more than fifty years of research, and billions of dollars, scientists have uncovered methods to improve and prolong human life and the possibilities offered by gene therapy and genetic technology are increasing daily.

Obama Health Care Legislation Essay

The Obama health care legislation known as the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) has received mixed reviews over the last couple years. On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, putting in place comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from abusive insurance company. Obamacare is beneficial despite its downfalls, being that it provides healthcare, promote health, and control cost. Many people believe Obamacare can cause problems with quality of service provided and many other issues, because of misinformation obtained from the press. The new health reform law provides security to the hardworking citizens of the United States. Concerning those who have health care, the process shall be a lot smoother, meaning a lower premium. According, to the bill’s regulations, health care holders will not be discriminated against base on pre-existed condition. For instance, now when my grandma is sick, she will not have to be drop, because insurance companies will fear the fact of having to spend to much money. Knowing that insurance providers are only interested in making profits, the bill will target them the most. Advantage of the Obama health care plan in this situation is the elimination of out of pocket expenses, which are due to unexpected sickness, so people don’t go broke after a serious illness. Obamacare holds insurance companies accountable, gives access to healthcare for everyone and lowers health care costs. It gives Americans more freedom and control in their health care choices and improves the quality of care. With Obamacare, insurance agencies cannot create limits on care and the yearly limits will no longer exist in a couple of years. More than 5.1 million people on Medicare have saved over $3.1 billion on prescription drugs. In every state and for the first time ever, insurance companies must justify their action s if they want to raise rates by 10% or more. Also more states have the authority to reject unreasonable  premium increases. President Obama has stated on several occasions that the new health legislation would start out slow but should pick up over time to compensate for the initial loss. Obamacare is aimed primarily at decreasing the number of uninsured Americans and reducing the overall costs of health care. The law is a great advantage for the people of the country, the cost preventives care because now health-care has become more affordable. The success is achieved due to numerous reforms and mechanisms, like subsidies, and tax credits. And as I stated before the law is very important, because the sphere of medical care is extremely expensive in the whole world, and exists like a privilege of rich people. Obamacare gives a possibility to achieve proper medical care for everyone. The law is a good example for other countries of the world, which should strive to support their citizens and care of their health.

Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers Several documents have helped carve the United States government from the beginning into what we know it as today†¦the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence†¦to name a few. One of the most important of those documents was The Federalist Papers. It is a series of 85 articles/essays that were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, between 1787 and 1788.This paper will focus on the purpose of the Federalist Papers, who the intended audience was, and why another document – the Articles of Confederation – written after the American Revolution, failed in the wake of the Constitution being drafted and ratified. (Peacock, n. d. ) The Federalist Papers, better known as The Federalist, or The New Constitution, was a planned attack devised by Alexander Hamilton, a lawyer from New York. Federalist Papers, 2012) I say attack, but it was more of a â€Å"strong support† of the newly proposed Const itution. He, along with Madison and Jay, wrote the papers under the pseudonym of Publius (the Roman citizen was that credited with saving the Roman republicanism). This was common practice when someone was writing something for public eyes, yet he or she didn’t want anyone to know who was writing the material. The Federalist Papers, 2002) The purpose was to try to and assist American republicanism by demonstrating the necessity of the Constitution. The essays had another other significant purpose: it immediately showed New Yorkers why it was a good idea to ratify the Constitution and in turn word quickly spread to the other States in the Union. They actually took the lead in ratifying the document, with New York coming in after the necessary nine states that were needed had already ratified.The Federalist Papers have helped our society to clearly understand what the writers of the Constitution were thinking when they wrote that document nearly 200 years ago. That documentâ₠¬â„¢s main audience at that time: the people within the Union, in particular, the â€Å"doubters† and critics of the drafted Constitution. Although a number of important states had already ratified the Constitution before the essays were published, it most assuredly helped in getting the nine out of the thirteen states within the Union needed in order to get it passed.It clarified for many what the Constitution was telling them and why it was so important to have. Today, federal judges frequently use the Federalist Papers to interpret the Constitution as a means to get a broader picture of the intentions of the framers and ratifiers (The Federalist Papers, 2002) I don’t think the authors, Hamilton, Madison and Jay, knew that the papers they drafted and published between 1787 and 1788 would still be influential in today’s government choices and proceedings.The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. (Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? , 2012) With time, several things were pointed out as wrong or needing revising with the Articles.Among the reasons the Articles failed, giving way to the new Constitution, were: every state was independent (free to make their own choices, which did not sit well with the countries leaders) which reflected the seemingly written purpose that this was done so that the national government was kept as weak as possible; each state only had one vote in Congress, regardless of their size; Congress did not have the power to tax nor did they have the power to control trade (which was something that was needed to keep the finances of America over water); there was no national court system (criminals were free to run wild; no steady judgments were made by any laws); and the states refused to finance t he national government. These were just a few of the noticeably problems. In 1786, a rebellion is western Massachusetts protested the rising debt and economy chaos†¦but the national government was unable to assemble to a military force to help out it down, something else seen as needing to be fixed as soon as possible.For these reasons, the Articles of Confederation failed. (Kelly, 2012) The Federalist Papers are a significant piece to our nation’s history. People were set with the Articles of Confederation as being the only constitution they needed, but as the years went by, more things made it clear that a revision, or a whole new document for that matters, was needed to address the current states of the Union. It took some persuading to get the Constitution ratified, and the 85 essays written by Hamilton, Madison and Jay helped persuade the American people to define the United States as we know it today. References Federalist Papers. (2012). Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Federalist_Papers. The Federalist Papers. (2002). Retrieved from http://www. crf-usa. org/foundations-of-our-constitution/the-federalist-papers. html. Kelly, M. (2012). Why Did the Articles of Confederation Fall? Retrieved from http://americanhistory. about. com/od/governmentandpolitics/f/articles_of_confederation_fails. htm. Peacock, Anthony A. (n. d. ). First Principles Series. The Federalist Papers. Retrieved from http://www. heritage. org/initiatives/first-principles/primary-sources/the-federalist-papers. Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? (2012). Retrieved from http://essayinfo. com/sample/essay/465. Essay Info – Essay Writing Center.

Hrm Evaluation and Hrm Models

Introduction The study of HRM evolves from the personnel management since from the industrial revolution age. During that time two types of perspectives are widely prevalent one is Pluralist and the other is Unitarist. There lies a significant difference between the two. As per Pluralist a multinational organization basically consists of large no. of subgroups where loyalty lies in each subgroup, whereas as per Unitarist it is a single entity which flourishes in harmony. In pluralist, the two important subgroups are trade union and management, whereas as per Unitarist it is unique. Analoui, 1999) Over the year the same thoughts prevail, but with the emergence of HRM and modern business strategies, many changes occurred in the field of HRM and can be explained with the help of various models. Multinational organizational structure, Multinational organizational strategy and HRM are interrelated. A large no. of models has been derived to discuss this and one such model is the beer Model . This model acts as a map or guide to develop strategy pertaining to relationships among all the employees. It basically concentrates on the soft aspects of HRM.It basically gives importance to the employee commitment rather than control. It is also based on the premise that employees needed to be congruent, cost effective and competent. This model is very successful in explaining various strategies adopted by the multinational organization as reward system leads to better job performance. However it is criticized on the resource based perspective that it disrupts the business focus of the multinational organization and also distorts the cost minimization and the profit maximization. ( Beer (1984))Significant of HRM and Multinational organizational behavior as per various Models HRM and organizational behavior plays an important role in devising strategy to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the multinational organization. Various models are there which are helping the multi national organization to achieve their goals. The various problem faced by a multinational organization during following phases are given below. Scholars of HR suggested various models which is widely used by multinational companies as given in the following sections:- Problem to select right candidates during recruitment can be better explained by self efficacy model. ? LMX Model to define relationship between Manager and subordinates ? Job Characteristics Model to solve the problem of the characteristic of ideal job ? Goal Setting Model to prepare performance appraisal. Self Efficacy Model The term self-efficacy is used to describe an individual’s perception of how competent they find themselves and their abilities to achieve complex tasks. People with strong self-efficacy are more likely to accept more responsibility and accept more challenging tasks.They also believe that no obstacles can get in the way from stopping them achieve their goals. Individuals with low self-eff icacy are more apt to looking as difficult tasks as intimidating and do not believe they that are capable of achieving personal success. Self-efficacy is something that is important in any multinational organization. However, it is more important at any multinational organization to hire individuals who have a High level of self-efficacy so that employee perceives themselves capable of achieving many complex tasks.This could prove to be an issue within the multinational organization because individuals could become bored or feel not challenged by the tasks designated in their position, which could lead to frustration for the employees and employer. Hence, Challenging tasks should be given to such individuals. An individual with moderate level of self-efficacy provides opportunity for the multinational organization to designate tasks to that are challenging, but also still attainable. It is good to hire large no. of employees of this category.Hence, multinational organization is usin g it to compare the self efficacy of the person with job requirements so that right person will be put at right place. This can be done in the following ways:- 1) An individual with moderate level of self-efficacy provides opportunity for the organization to designate tasks to that are challenging, but also still attainable. It is good to hire large no. of employees of this category. 2) The individuals with low self-efficacy can pose a problem for any multinational organization as they might hinder the productivity and success of the organization.Hence, in order to ensure more confident and driven individuals, it could moderately delegate more difficult tasks to these individuals in order to boost their confidence and the way they perceive themselves. Also, they could provide more positive feedback in their jobs and reinforce that the individual is doing well at their job. Leadership Model It is a model that suggests that leaders develop different relationships with each of their su bordinates only through work related activities.There are two important groups to consider that a subordinate may fall under depending on which phase they fit into. The in group is defined as a low number of subordinates with high LMX relationships. The second group is known as the out group in which the number of subordinates is large and contains relatively low level LMX relationships (Hellriegel 323). Employees who find themselves in the out-group are likely to face high job turnover. This should be important to all management because high turnover is a very large investment for the multinational organization.The level of LMX has a significant relationship to subordinates satisfaction with their manager. Employees with lower LMX are more dissatisfied, less motivated, and more prone to quit whereas employees with higher LMX are likely to be satisfied with their work, more motivated, and committed to staying and contributing to the multinational organization (Hellriegel 323). LMX h as three critical components which are mutual affection, contribution to work activities, and professional respect.When a subordinate has high mutual affection for a superior, the subordinate likes the superior as a person and will often come to the superior’s defense if attacked. High contribution to work activities comes into play when a subordinate goes above and beyond their job description to help the superior out. High Professional Respect is when the superior admires the subordinate’s knowledge and competence of the job (Hellriegel 323). Multinational companies are widely using it in the following ways for the betterment of relationship between manager and subordinates in the following ways:- ) It explains that generally if an organization doesn’t take steps to increase the mutual affection score of its staff then they will likely to enter the realm of the out group which could potentially lead to the employee leaving the organization because Why stay at an organization if you’re not happy with your manager? 2) One way management can increase the mutual affection is to take a more active role and listen to the complaints of the employees and to take the time to establish supportive and trusting relationships with the employees. ) Another suggestion as per this model might be to engage the staff in team building activities and icebreakers. It can be concluded that if the superiors and managers of any organization are not providing proper support to their staff and then there is need to make a drastic change soon because the organization as a whole could be affected. 4) Some possible solutions from this external factor might include taking the time to reassess what kind of support is needed for staff. One way to do this is anonymous comment cards.Have all the employees fill out comment cards anonymously and identify specific instances where an employee failed to receive support. This must be down anonymously by the employer bec ause the employee might be unwilling to respond for fear of termination. 5) The manager may have a tendency to interact with other employees in an unprofessional manner. The manager can decrease this perception by keeping to policy or by adjusting his/her interactions in front of employees. 6) Management needs to do a better job of developing better relationships with its employees.Some improvement strategies include the use of assertive communication, appropriate communication openness, and constructive feedback with all of the subordinates. Job Characteristics Model The job characteristics model has to do with the idea of increasing the amounts of five job characteristics: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback in a job. This model can be related to any multinational organization and its HRM strategy building since it looks into how well an employee has the opportunity to be motivated to work in the restaurant.It highlights the areas that need work in the restaurant and what the employees enjoy or dislike about working there. It also demonstrates which employees are content with working there for a while and which view it as a stepping stone towards another opportunity that has not yet befallen upon them. The model demonstrates a need for change in the structure of a multinational organization in case it wants to increase their employee’s motivation to continue their work there. Generally, there are two main approaches recommended to superiors for designing/redesigning jobs which are vertical loading and the formation of natural work teams.Vertical loading is when tasks that were considered reserved for management level staff are delegated to all employees. It includes the power to set schedules, decide work methods, breaks, and seek solutions to their own problems. Goal Setting Model Goal setting is a very integral part of any job. Whether you are attempting to better yourself or complete a project, setting goals is on e of the most helpful tools to assist you throughout the process. Goal setting can definitely help a business in raising their standards for employees which will end up helping the bottom line.The goal setting model that we used for our survey seems to have a big impact on job performance. According to the model, if employees felt good about the goals they set, they were better at their jobs. It basically consists of five essential pieces must come together in order for the managers to gain benefits of a goal setting program. The first piece is that the person must be knowledgeable about the topic of the specified goal and have the sufficient capacity to attain the goal.The second step is that the person must be committed to the goal, especially if the goal is difficult. The third step is that people need feedback on their goals. According to the text, employees will raise their performance because they are afraid they will have past performance. The forth step is that complex tasks must be broken up into simpler more short term goals so that the goals can be attained. It is stated in the text that employees are more responsive when they know about their progress. The fifth and final piece is to have a situation constraint.One of the most important aspects of a leader is to ensure that employees have the resources to attain their goals and to help eliminate any troubles that may lie in the way. Now to discuss some of the benefits that goal setting can have on performance. According to the Don Hellreigel text, Goal setting motivates individuals to achieve high performance. Some of the benefits stem from developing difficult goals. When it comes to an multinational organization for example a restaurant, such goal setting can be setting goals for a certain dollar amount each table waited on per person.The benefits is that it will motivate people to develop aim to reach goals. It also helps people to focus their attention on goal-relevant action, and encouraging p eople to develop action plans to reach these goals. Conclusion From the discussion mentioned above by using various models of HRM, it is clear that HRM plays an important role in designing strategy of an multinational organization in all three levels i. e. corporate level, SBU level and operational level. It is clearly shown that how strategy can be derived in all these levels using these models.In the similar way the bath models also give importance to external factors of AMO i. e Ability, Motivation and Opportunity to devise the various strategies of the HRM. (John Purcell,2004) The seven principles filling the strategic gap of HR are as follows:- 1) It tells there must be sufficient employees with desired skill which is also mentioned by Self efficacy model to carry task at multinational organization. 2) There must be enough motivation as explained through job characteristic model to give desired performance. ) There must be opportunities given which is also explained through job characteristic model to perform job. 4) Responsibilities of line manager as explain by the Leadership theory to develop those qualities in their subordinates. 5) Distinction between policies and practices as per job characteristic model is the heart of bath model for better performance. 6) Job enrichment needs to maintain better performance 7) Consistencies in policies for efficiency and effectiveness. References ? Analoui, F. 1999), Strategic Human Resource Management: Towards Constructing a Choice Model. ? Bagshaw M (2004) â€Å"Is diversity divisive? A positive training approach†, Industrial and Commercial Training 36, 4, 153-157 ? Beer, M. , Spector, B. , Lawrence, P. R. , Mills, D. Q. , Walton, R. E. (1984), A Conceptual View of HRM ? Hellriegel, Don, John W. Slocum. Multinational organizational Behavior. Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning, 3rd edition, 2009. ? John Purcell, Bath Model , University of Bath, 2004

HRM in Marks and Spencer Essay

Introduction and Background Marks and Spencer, established 1894 in Leeds,UK and as one of the most recognized brands in the UK and worldwide, had been hugely successful in terms of both profit and market share until the late 1990s. However, after that it suffered a reversal in its fortunes. Correspondingly, its organizational structure and culture also underwent certain transformation. The set of dramatic changes include changing top executive and their managerial philosophies. Now, it seems to be on the road to recovery after these radical changes. This article focuses on human resource management in M&S, analysis ranges from its traditional paternalism culture to new HRM practices. Paternalism & Unitarist Characteristics Under paternalism, employers and employees view the company as a family. It’s different from traditional manufacturing culture. The separation between the shop floor and management and feelings of ‘them and us’ are what might be expected within a traditional manufacturing culture, where the employment is full-time, long-term and relatively stable and the typical workplace is a large firm or store. The corporation is a stable sovereign organization with a clear division of labors and everyone abides by the social contract. Similarly, Unitarist deems the business organization as a team united by shared interests and values with senior management as the sole source of authority and focus of loyalty, conflict is seen as irrational and unnecessary. Historically, Marks and Spencer fits into an anatomy of paternalism with characteristic features of hereditary family ownership, personal relations between employer and worker, a sense of UK religious mission and a commitment to social welfare and public service. The ideal type paternalist workforce matches these, with family employment through large kinship networks and is embedded in a surrounding occupational community. Moreover, there was a feeling of camaraderie and close-knit family atmosphere within the stores and they employed staffs who are most suitable and can readily become part of this family. In addition, every M&S store is identical and the store managers followed central direction. The highly centralized authority also means that there exists little disagreement with policies sent down from the top. Also, there had never been a CEO of M&S who had not been a member of the founder’s family or a lifetime employee. The first exception is Vandervelde who had been appointed to the position of chairman at M&S in 2000 from outside the organization. Therefore, this kind of HRM is a typical form of paternalism, which totally breaks with trade unions and has highly centralized authority and represents the characteristic of unitarist as well. Organization’s success is depended not only on reducing costs but also on improving the performance of the workforce. The organization’s objective or their currently expect of their employees may be completely different from what they expected in the past due to the changing external environment such as new competitors or new technologies, internal strategy such as focusing on reducing costs and cutting the full-time sales assistants in store. Some of the external environment and the individual factors driving psychological contract research are illustrated in following figure. Old Contract (Greenbury) New Contract Change environment Stable, short-term focus Continuous change Culture Paternalism, time-served, exchange security for commitment Those who perform get rewarded and have contract developed Rewards Paid on level, position and status Paid on contributions or performance-based Promotion basis Expected, based on time served in store and competence Less opportunity, new criteria, for those who deserve it Personal development The organization’s responsibility Individual’s responsibility to improve employability Consequently, employee’s job descriptions might be broadened and their psychological contract will shift correspondingly. Evidence suggests that these changes represented a threat to the reciprocal nature of the psychological contract with consequences for both employees and employers. Meanwhile, the strength of the psychological contract is dependent on how fair the individual believes the organization is in fulfilling its perceived obligations that the organization treats them fairly, respects their efforts and rewards them justly, it’s based on mutual obligation. In addition to the summarized old contract characters, evidence also shows that Greenbury only used sales figures and visitors to stores as the basis to make judgments on how M&S was operating, whereas lost touch with what their employees’ opinions or wants. It makes employees feel their roles are unimportant; also it weakens their morale and motivation. ‘The Thrill of the Purchase’ article states this famous paternalistic culture of M&S. They offered cradle-to-grave benefits for employees but rigidly governed the way that managers operated. Moreover, every aspect of the company was rule-driven. Most of employees feel rule-bound and they are not encouraged to use their personal discretion as well. Nevertheless, they gradually realized their culture are fall-out-of-step and with the implementation of new HR strategic, M&S becomes open and receptive, moving from a culture of paternalism to a more sophisticated culture of choice. Matching employee behaviors and HRM activities to competitive strategies Michael Porter’s generic ‘low-cost’ or ‘differentiation’ strategy can be adopted in the Marks&Spencer case. Namely, each Porterian competitive strategy involves a unique set of responses from workers or ‘needed role behaviours’ and a particular HRM strategy that might generate and reinforce a unique pattern of behaviour (Schuler and Jackson, 2002). Therefore, any inconsistency in internal HRM practices will likely lead to ‘role conflict or ambiguity that can interfere with individual performance and organizational effectiveness’. In the Devanna et al. model, human resource management strategy and structure follow and feed upon one another and are influenced by environmental forces. This basic model constituted the bare bones of a theory on SHRM. (Linda Maund, 2001:73) Porter’s model comprised three components: 1. Low-cost leadership or cost reduction strategy Using this strategy, organization will gain competitive advantage by being the lowest cost producer. Managers are attempting to increase the organization’s market share by emphasizing low cost compared to that of its competitors, they try to emphasize that their goods or services are cheaper. It’s an aggressive and tightly cost-controlled strategy that emphasizes overhead minimization. Meanwhile, it pursuits the economies of scale and primarily focus on increasing productivity through reducing output cost per person and reducing wage levels by all means. This approach takes effect by means of mass-producing, mass-selling to save the costs, whereby gain the price superiority. Moreover, it keeps manufacturing process simple and repetitive in order to save the costs of raw materials, whereas basically there are no improvements or expansion of their products. Greenbury, the former chief executive of Marks and Spencer, had decided that to control costs by means of cutting full-time sales assistants in stores, at the same time, bring in full-time, part-time and Saturday staffs to work in stores. Further, their approach is also rely on and highly trust the quality of British suppliers and M&S play as a bulk buyer who even buy up all the stock of specific suppliers, whereby conducting mass-selling to earn profits. In addition, as the Channel 4 programme stated at 25th Feb,2001 that operations of the organization within M&S is focused on short-term strategy rather than long-term one and they were firmly placed in the ‘middle ground’, emphasize getting generalized view of the market instead of trying to target various segments market. The overall strategy is risk-aversive and traditional. Hence, they are adapting typical cost-reduction strategy, meanwhile, with somewhat emphasis on quality aspect. In general, cost reduction pursued through increasingly using of part-time employees, subcontractors, work simplification, measurement procedures, automation, work rule changes, job assignment flexibility. Therefore, according to this competitive strategy, the expected employees behaviors should be followed the key cost-reduction strategy characteristics illustrate as follow: Low-cost leadership strategy (Greenbury) Needed Employees Behaviors Human Resource Practices Relatively repetitive and predictable behaviors Relatively fixed and explicit job descriptions A rather short-term focus Narrowly designed jobs Primarily autonomous or individual activity Narrowly defined career path, unitarism Modest concern for quality Externally, reliable suppliers; internally, QC function High concern for quantity of output Lean production, JIT system, fully participation Primary concern for results Minimal levels of employee training and development Low risk-taking activity Short-term, result oriented performance appraisals Relatively high degree of comfort with stability Close monitoring of market pay level 2. Differentiation or quality enhancement strategy This strategic emphasizes on enhancing products or services quality and offering products or services that different from those of its competitors. There are numerous ways to implement this strategy, the most common ones are advertising, offering distinctive product or service features, providing exceptional service, or relying on new technology. The organization is trying to make a unique product or provide a unique service with high quality to attract target customers and earn profits. Due to the risk-aversive and traditional managerial methodologies, actually Greenbury laid less emphasis on quality enhancement or on delivering products with unique quality. Therefore, by April 1999, in order to overcome the difficulties M&S had been facing, Salsbury, the successor of Greenbury, had devised a large-scale promotional campaign to try to restore its images as an innovative retailer offering unique quality products. He started to segment the market and offer different category products to its target customers with strong emphasis on its unique quality. Also, by moving away from its original bureaucratic culture and hierarchical environment, modest amount of cooperation was formed to enhance products quality. At the end of March 2001, for the future development of M&S, Vandervelde, the new chief executive of M&S, started to focus on its core 300 domestic stores by cutting or withdrawing its stores worldwide, and started moving business closer to the customer and selling customized products within the UK. For customized products, quality is a key success factor. Therefore, obviously, at this stage, M&S strategy focuses mostly on differentiation character. The matching HRM practices of this competitive strategy for M&S are summarized as following table: Quality enhancement strategy (Salsbury and Vandervelde) Needed Employees Behaviors Human Resource Practices Relatively repetitive and predictable behaviors Relatively fixed and explicit job descriptions More long-term or intermediate focus Giving employees more discretion Modest amount of cooperative, interdependent behaviors Mix of individual and group criteria for performance appraisal High concern for quality Extensive and continuous training and development of employees, QC function, TQM practices Modest concern for quantity of output High level of employee participation High concern for process Training and development of employees, TQM practices Low risk-taking activity Relatively egalitarian treatment of employees Commitment to the goals of the organization Applying Balance scorecard 3. Focus or innovation strategy However, they also try to design a new range of clothes for M&S through hiring famous innovators and conducting in-depth research to understand customers’ shopping habits and their demographics. This strategy emphasizes some of the innovative character, whereby gain advantaged of its competitors. It’s different from the previous two strategies. Meanwhile, the organization concentrates on a specific geographical area, specific group of customers. Overall, for firms pursuing a competitive strategy of innovation, the employees are encouraging to offer suggestions for new and improved ways of doing their job or manufacturing products. Eventually, this strategy will result in feeling of enhanced personal control and morale, greater commitment to self and profession. In addtition, selecting highly skilled individuals or training employees could be costly once adopting this strategy. Focus or innovation strategy (Vandervelde) Needed Employees Behaviors Human Resource Practices High degree of creative behaviors Selecting highly skilled individuals Long-term focus Appraising performance for its long-run implication Relatively high level of cooperative, teamworking, knowledge sharing and interdependent behaviors Using minimal controls Moderate degree of concern for both quality and quantity TQM practices, making a greater investment in human resources Equal degree of concern for process and results Providing more resources for experimentation Greater degree of risk taking Allowing and even rewarding occasional failure Uncertainty, unpredictability and constant change Compensation, incentives, giving employees more discretion Comparatively speaking, Low-cost leadership is effective but difficult to do in a high-cost organization. Differentiation can be profitable if target customers are not particularly concerned with price but it’s costly to implement, such as research and development, advertising costs. Focus strategy can gain quick returns but takes time to identify area or group and the cost could be even higher since it focuses on innovative aspect of products. Analyze Matching model and other HRM strategies From the above comparison, we can see that effectiveness will increase by melding HR practices with competitive strategy. The advantages of this model are obviously and are summarized as following table: Component Advantages Disadvantages Low-cost leadership Effective Difficult to do in a high-cost organization Differentiation Can be profitable if target customers are not particularly concerned with price Costly to implement, e.g. research and development, advertising costs Focus Quick returns Takes time to identify area or group (Linda Maund, 2001:55 ‘Adantages and disadvantages of Porter’s competitive strategies’) However, besides the disadvantages illustrated above, the practice of this matching model could also be problematic since achieving the goal of ‘close fit’ of business and HRM strategy can contradict the core ‘soft’ HRM goals of commitment, flexibility and quality. Work organization as M&S may adopt a ‘soft’ version of HRM for managerial staffs, which is consistent with its current strategy, whereas simultaneously pursuing a ‘hard’ version of HRM for low-level worker, which might undermine the commitment of the latter. Hence, the matching model is essentially unitary and it tends to assume that workers are unproblematic and will comply with managements’ perception of the ‘needed role behaviors’. Meanwhile, we also cannot ignore the fact that workers and their unions, especially for M&S’s famous British working union, might influence strategic planning. In addition, ‘excessive fit’ can be disadvantageous to gaining competitive advantage since it can make a company inflexible and incapable of adapting quickly to the external environment. Recalled that when Greenbury insisted on its cost-reduction strategy and its quality criteria, the environment of the whole market has gradually changed. Competitors targeted at niche market and adopted differentiation strategy to attract and gain credibility among numerous consumers, whereas M&S still keep its traditional or risk-aversive way to do business. Recommendation Other HR strategies suggestions for M&S: At individual level, employees’ motivation can be stimulated through appropriate job design and rewards. Also, emphasizing employees’ participation or empowerment, and it could be reinforced through encouraging front-line staff to solve customer problems on the spot, without constant recourse to management approval. At organizational level: Development through changing the paternalism structure and corresponding traditional culture to a culture of the individual and of teams. The organization should focus on building its growth valued (such as brand revitalized by Vandervelde) and rewards excellence. Meanwhile, strategy-focused organizations like M&S can apply the balanced scorecard to align their employees to their strategy. This strategy can be implemented through communication and education, personal and team objectives, and incentive and reward systems. They should extensively use self-managed teams and decentralization. Also, paying attention to reducing status differentials and encouraging willingness to share information. Finally, when individuals understand how their pay is linked to achieving strategic objectives, and set personal objectives to met and help to achieve the strategic objectives, organization’s effectiveness will expect to be achieved. Â   References and Bibliographies: Linda,M.(2001) ‘An Introduction to Human Resource Management: theory and practice’, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Publishers Ltd Schuler,R.S and Jackson,S.E (2002, 7th edn) ‘Managing Human Resources: A Partnership Perspective’: Journal of Personnel Review,31(1),114-121 Tyson,S. and York,A. (2000,4th edn) ‘Essentials of HRM’, Houston: Butterworth Heinemann Torrington,D. and Hall,L. 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