Human Resource Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Human Resource Development - Essay Example According to Fisher(1996), more positive group climate, more cooperative behavior on tasks, more productivity in accomplishing tasks, faster problem solving, few errors in solving problems and less hostility among members are most prominent characteristics of an interpersonally compatible group. Any organization can use these findings to create a motivated environment by understanding the internal environment of the organization. With the importance of development of human resources highlighted, next it is essential that the role of awards has on improving the effectives of the training and development programs has to be analyzed. In this paper, the essentials of a good employee development program are discussed. Then the role of the National Training Awards(NTA), instituted by the UK government to improve the efficiency of the training and development of human resources is explained. In the current era of globalization the business environment is so rapidly changing that it is challenging for the managers to foresee the changes that are going to occur in future. The organizations have to be continuously take efforts to equip themselves to cope with the ever-changing business environment. ... But at this point of time, it is not sufficient that a company just grows, but it can serve the best interests of its stakeholders only if it can ensure sustained development. United Kingdom has a long history of good corporate governance and managerial excellence, but can this excellence sustain the competition from the emerging economies is the biggest question. The UK companies have to be prepared to withstand the onslaught of efficient products and services from Asian economies like China and India for example. Hence, it becomes very essential that the corporations realize the need for careful development of their human resource in order to have a sustained growth. Thanks to the information technology, that geographical distance does not define the sphere of business transactions. Hence, companies have to be ready to face the competition with their strengths better toned. The institution of the NTA is the need of the hour to emphasize the importance of quality human resource to h ave growth. Importance of self awareness In a study by Whetton and Cameron(2005), 402 individuals were asked to name the most effective managers and the skills they have, the main factors listed were verbal communication, managing time and stress, managing decisions, influencing others, delegating, self awareness and team building. Self awareness here implies awareness at the individual level, team/ department level and as a whole in the organization level. It can be often observed that in a business organization, managers are faced with the challenge to modify the day to day operations to achieve the long term strategic goals and vice versa. This may be due to the gaps between the aspirations and the actions

The Five Kingdoms of Organism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Five Kingdoms of Organism - Term Paper Example Some organisms have the ability to produce their food via photosynthesis. The organisms found under Kingdom Monera are very small. The organisms in Monera do not have chloroplasts or any of the other well-known organelles. Typically, organisms in this kingdom are very tiny. A good example of an organism classified in Kingdom Monera is the blue, green algae, which looks like algae. Kingdom Monera can be divided into Eubacteria and Archaebacteria. Eubacteria refers to a group of bacteria that have simple cells and rigid cells walls. Most of the bacteria use flagella for locomotion. Eubacteria incudes cyanobacteria and true bacteria. On the other hand, Archaebacteria refers to simple living organisms that have the same size as bacteria but are different to bacteria in terms of molecular organization. It among the largest Kingdoms in the classification of living things because of the abundance of plants. Kingdom Plantae is made of all plant species that exist on planet earth. The classification has been made based on their similarities and differences (Black 263). The organisms found in Kingdom Plantae are all eukaryotes. They have all the organelles and a nuclear membrane. They have chloroplasts, which are essential for photosynthesis. Most organisms are autotrophs while a few are both autotrophs and heterotrophs. They are primary food producers in the food chain. Plant cells have cells walls that are mainly made of cellulose. They can grow via cell division. Plants possess a developed vascular transport system. They possess organs and organ system. They can defend attacks from fungi and animals. Plants lack motility. They are not mobile, which means the cannot change locations via self-induced movement. The following is a typical plant cell. The organisms in Kingdom Plantae have been divided further into classes based on the presence of a vascular tissue,

Ethnomethodology And Interactionism

Ethnomethodology And Interactionism Ehnomethododolgy and interactionism have been two of the most emerging social theorys to come up from the 20th century. Interactionism was the one that initially started it with the emergence of Meade in the 1920s who emerged with a style of being pragmatism as its main core argument as well as analysis how we socially act with teaches other. Herbet blumer worked on Meade theory and he created symbolic interactionism through it. With their main aim of it being what is behind the subjective theory of humans, the social process and being pragmatic, this theory has then led to several divisions created throughout they include Phenomenology, Social Action, and Ethnomethodology. The view of ethno has created the biggest difference and has been viewed as analysis people everyday life and how people act which defines there social order and therefore it will be used to document to how the world works and operate unlike many other theorys not interested in putting people in separate reality o f using extreme types of cases. In addition the Ethnomethodology can be viewed as members of society must have some shared methods that they use to mutually construct the meaningful orderliness of social situations and that it differs from normal sociology as viewed what is important is the procedures over which social society is created One of the things that interactionist sociologists are different to macro sociologist such as functionalist and Marxist conflict theories. This can be viewed as the way they look at how the individuals act in situations instead of just analysing how they react to a social stimulant. In addition they tend to look at how different social actors understand the behaviour of theirs is significant as a way of understanding in the way social world constructed. One of these differences can be shown in the difference where etnomethodologist tend to be highly indifferent to subjective methods of research as not really thinking that they correctly define human behaviour in the manner they like. In terms of contrast to the normal style of sociology the ethno view doesnt attempt to make an theory or methodological appeal In addition does not view its subjective states as an individual or group of individual as well will refuse to use concept view such as value states, sentiments , goal-orientations as a way of referring to any types of actor or other actors. Therefore for an ethnomethodologistss the way in which you can fully realise social scenes is when the actual location would be under inspection. Therefore the role is to describe the personality of these activities not just accounting as just a person in a particular location but instead look at what happens , how it happens and why these moment tends be different . A difference between the two would be the use of symbols whereby interactionist tend to assume that the truth of symbols are then interpreted by various actor in social while ethno deliberately avoids these assumption to describe social scene and do not think symbol are necessarily used as constants in social scenes. One of the things that make ethnomethodology unique is the method behind its research is different as it tends to look at practical reasons and how that is different compared to the domain of talking interaction or other constituent activity system which believe are very limited and only get a small amounts of research through it . In addition they look in methodological research and how tends be viewed through either ethno-graphic or quasi-experiment which are different to the usual analysis of conversation and look at audio and video recording of on-going interaction. They believe methods of interviews are fake and dont really give the most fairest way of analysis human behaviour as also think can be based on false assumption such as camaridie in the interview which be viewed differently by the parties but it could lead to giving less accurate results. In addition one of the most important thing for the Interactions is how they analyse peoples social life , instead of the functional objective macro-organised structure of the social system where everyone has a place and just a certain role. This is important as it fits in with the interactionist philosophy of their theoretical perspective on the image of humans instead of just analysing society and viewing how that defines. Instead human are pragmatic actors who must continually change their behaviour to be able to respond to other actor and that the only way they we can adjust is because we have the power to interpret them either through symbolic ways or could be linguistic methods through those abilities able to adjust to respond accordingly. This is then enhanced by the way we can imaginatively rehearse other ways of action before to attempt to act. This is then aided by the ability to think and then react to our actions even viewing are selves at times as the symbolic objects. T herefore the interactionist theorist would view human as active, creative participants, who define and make the social world not just conformist passive players in this social world. One of the major differences would be how they both tend to view the difference in role taking It tends to be a key role in the method of interaction whereby it allows take other people views and how their actions lead us to interact in a certain way. Furthermore in other times interactions tend to look at improvisational use of rules where the social situation isnt working well which means then human change their role to try and improve the experience. However a ethno view is that they would prefer to go analyse their research through looking at different ways that people express themselves in conversation and the way that these methods are managed. In addition the way interactionist seem to learn is through participant observation whereby instead of just looking at survey and interview instead they will view that what makes it important is looking how they act in there day to day life and how being immersed in the live is the best way of being able to understand why people commit their action and how the process of the situation is communicated through the interaction. Therefor while they will be very close in terms of contact as a consequence they are explicit over how what they learned from the person can alter their views and thinking but will be objective when it comes to conducting the research One of the criticisms ethnomethodologistss have over the interactionist approach is that they believed that there tends to be an over reliance on the cognitive system approach . There logic is that normal people tend to grasp just normal situations and that is all they process, however when there is a specific event with horrific sequence they start thinking about their pre-conscious state which leads them to disrupt there normal pattern of social interaction in addition the ethno group believe that this only a temporary problem and very quickly will be to allowed to enable normal social interaction again with just a bit of work However in certain methods there tends to be certain similar aspects if you look at how they tend to be linked to a certain degree over the interactionist concern with the role of abnormality within the studies of social group and social relationships. Usually interactionist tend to look at the method of organization which stresses how positions in place work tend to be defined by its inherent informal structure. Therefore this had led to a view created by (Hughes, 1956) that beside every task division of labor rests a moral hierarchy of positions which dictate how per-sons are to relate. Therefore when usually this a study into the social organisations the interactionist will tend to look at how the social organization start with a formal structure and how that progress through a variety of different views and ideas which then as a consequence redefine those initial structures . These view on the structure complement the ethnomethodologistss which also emphasis that a formal struct ure cant be ignored and they are vital fundamental for social relationships. Furthermore ethnomethodologistss major view in this regard in this topic is that the productions of sociologist are similar to those in everyday life. They get to there point through a couple of ways, one of those tends to be tend that sociologists main concern is the affairs of the general people in the social order . Therefore when they start with their initial test they create a certain boundaries and certain rules which will define their method however during these test they will find throughout it anomalys or that the statistical test is not accurate or that what they observe does not actually fit in with their initial hypothesis or central concept . So therefore when they try to make there concept work with their hypothesis they will tend to rely on the documentary style of analysis whereby they look at there earlier view of daily interaction and look at how to help them reach a hypothesis The two views can also have fault lines in what they necessarily try to find as an interactionist are far more concerned with normal common sense question about how we live our lives , while the ethnomethodologistss tries to analysis on the meaning of the social and look at what behind what we all do . One of the major differences can be viewed between how language is differently viewed between the two ideologies as for the interactions language can be viewed as submitting signs of the person that represent the central aspect of the social life; while for the ethnomethodologistss it can be pointed to the person as a way of being the standard reality and how it is explained A criticism that has been used towards interactionism from the ehthno has come towards the Blumer approach and their assessment over how they failed to accurate describe how the social process in the vein that there was a total gloss on the usual human social interaction especially demanding that there should be a place for the minute description of behaviour especially language behaviour instead of the constant reference to mind or self , society which where conceptual goals coming from which then used the prepared account of the social life in the method of Blumer. Therefore it while there are similarities between interactionist and the ethnomethodologists especially as ethnomethodology would not be able to exist without interactionism as that is what started this brand of sociology which went against the functional sociologist style of before such as structuralism , functionalism , Marxism it started then as a new breed of sociology and ethnomethodology became a branch of it like Phenomenology did as well . Therefore whatever the difference will be there central point will always be very similar to each other .

The Multitasking Generation an Article by Claudia Wallis Essay

Though there are some positive effects, the adverse impact of technology on education has been extraordinary. The technology community has worked hard to bring useful technology into our classrooms, all with good intentions to broaden our knowledge. With these good intentions also came about unwanted side effects such as distraction and disruption in the classroom. I can clearly remember many of my teachers yelling at us to put our cell phones, iPods, and iTouch phones away especially during lecture and exams. The yelling was not without just cause, students cheated with their devices along with updating their Facebook pages during class too. Though being exposed to technologies like computers from an early age may have given us the ability to do things more efficiently, technology has also made us less dependent on ourselves. Claudia Wallis, editor for Time, in her article makes known in The Multitasking Generation, â€Å"That level of multiprocessing and interpersonal connectivity is now so commonplace that it’s easy to forget how quickly it came about. Fifteen years ago, most home computers weren’t even linked to the Internet† (63). There are many things that students are able to do on their computer that their parents aren't even aware of or that the parents couldn’t do themselves. My parents always tell of how looking through the library’s card catalog and searching for the books they needed only to find out that they have been taken out. Computers have allowed us to do many things faster for example, write much faster than a typewriter or pen and paper and correct typing errors wit hout starting over. The computers and technology we now have makes it easier to almost anything and with technology so easily at your fingertips it o... ... there is no doubt that it will be used as an educational tool and just as there are concerns now, there will be concerns then. I believe that in the following years physical classrooms will be a thing of the past, with virtual classrooms becoming the norm. With these virtual classrooms there will be even more cause for concern, and if they do become the norm who knows what other sources of distractions there will be. There will always be technology as long as there are people whether for better or for worse and their advances will always be debated. Technology such as computers, iPads, and cell phones should be used modestly in the classroom. Using technology for everything during our daily lives hampers our own independence. To stay sharp minded in the classroom, people need to rely more on them and less on the technology that dominates their life today.

Individual Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Paper

Part 1 ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gross domestic product (GDP) – GDP is the total market value of all final services and goods produced in a given year in a given country. ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Real GDP – Real GDP is the result of the production activity within a given country at a specific years prices. If one compares two or more periods of time using the same year’s prices for goods and services then the result is a purchasing power comparison as seen over time. This happens because the inflation effects have been mitigated by using constant prices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nominal GDP – Nominal GDP is simply GDP that has not been adjusted for inflation. Nominal GDP does not reflect purchasing power but does show how an economy has expanded and contracted in dollars. ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unemployment rate – The most basic definition of an unemployment rate is those people who are unemployed but are actively seeking work and willing to work. It is typically expressed in the form of a percentage. ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Inflation rate – inflation is usually expressed in an annual percentage and is the price increase for goods and services.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interest rate – An interest rate is the percentage of the principal funds that is charged and paid for the use of money. It is expressed as an annual percentage rate (APR) for loans and annual percentage yield (APY) for interest earned. Whether one is experiencing a decrease in their taxes, is part of a massive layoff of employees, or is simply purchasing groceries, there is a resource flow from one entity to another and back again. Those entities cover government, businesses, and households.How those resources ebb and flow will differ with each situation and have an impact in a â€Å"trickle-down† effect from the government to businesses and finally to households. Decrease in Taxes When the Government decides to reduce taxes, the tax typically assumed to see the reduction is the income tax. â€Å"According to the  Internal Revenue Service (IRS), approximately 43% of tax revenues are generated through this tax. Personal income taxes are levied against income, interest, dividends and capital gains, with higher earners generally paying higher tax rates. (Investopedia, 2012) When a tax reduction occurs, the government will collect less taxes which reduces the amount of monies available for entitlement programs. Households can be affected in a couple of different ways. If a household is a higher wage earning household then less taxes can result in more discretionary income to spend at businesses who offer services the household members wish to utilize. If the household is lower income the decrease in taxes will increase their income but will adversely affect any entitlement programs in which they may be enrolled.For businesses, the reduction in income tax will affect their businesses per the consumer impact. If there is more discretionary income then more money is available to spend on their goods or services. If there is less discretionary income, then of course, the opposite would be true. Massive Layoff of Employees From a government standpoint and governmental employees, when there is a massive layoff of governmental employees, historically, there has not been more than a ripple in the unemployment rate overall.A 1995 survey and a subsequent 1999 follow up to municipalities in Illinois found that the average amount of people still unemployed after a governmental layoff was only 3. 8%. (Reason Foundation, 2012) From a governmental employee standpoint, there is not a large scale economic impact which means that the majority of affected governmental workers will still have income to spend at businesses and for their household needs. When private sector businesses have a massive layoff occur, they are required by Federal law to notify the affec ted employees 60 days in advance.The employees have an opportunity to look for other jobs in that timeframe, however, resources will begin to be held back by the households in the case of long term unemployment which will in turn cause business who offer the good and services to the affected families to experience a decrease in sales. Purchasing of Groceries Groceries are an inelastic product. People will purchase food regardless of the price because they need to eat.When a household purchases groceries, and pays a higher price for them in one grocery store versus another, the business which earned the opportunity for the sale will benefit. The government does not benefit from a tax standpoint on non-processed foods. Processed foods, however, are taxable; which is a benefit to the government. The Government may also pay a producer not to produce a food so as to stabilize the market. A couple of examples of this situation are in the commodities of rice and wheat.Producers are paid no t to plant as much so the market price of the end product is stabilized. In fact, those producers are paid not to produce so there is no loss of income to those households. Conclusion Whether one is experiencing a decrease in their income taxes, is part of a massive layoff of employees or is simply purchasing groceries, there is a resource flow from government, businesses, and households. Resource flow also has an ebb phase. The entire cycle is driven by an almost an amazing number of determinants.These determinants all have an effect on the final outcome as to where and how the Government, businesses, and households use their finite resources. References Richard Coultier, Do Tax Cuts Stimulate the Economy? (June 23, 2010) Retrieved on January 23, 2012 from http://www. investopedia. com/articles/07/tax_cuts. asp#axzz1kIPnIgcg The Reason Foundation, Privatization and Layoffs (March 1, 2001) Retrieved on January 23, 2012 from http://reason. org/news/show/privatization-and-layoffs

Bp Case

1. The aspects of BP’s ethical culture that could have contributed to the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster include: * The company tried to assure concerned stakeholders that it took environmental concerns seriously, but BP’s actions have not always concided with its words. BP has engaged in numerous instances of questionable behavior including fraud, environmental, and ethical transgressions clearly demonstrate that the company has a history of disregarding the well-being of stakeholders.The company has claimed to be an ethical company, concerned with stakeholder well-being, but its many violations tell a different story. * BP’s code of conduct was not sufficient to prevent a man made environmental disaster on an unprecedented scale. Apparently, BP’s code did not effectively address specific high risk activities within the scope of daily operations. * An investigation implies that BP cut short procedures and quality testing of the pipe (tests that are meant t o detect has in the well).Also, BP used a less costly well design that some investigators deemed â€Å"risky†. Installation of this design is easier and costs are lower. Although, BP didn’t break any laws by using this design, they ignored safer alternatives (to save money) that might have prevented, or at least hindered, the accident. * BP admitted that they had ignored several procedures required by the Clean Air Act for ensuring mechanical integrity and a safe startup between 1999 until the explosion in 2005 that killed 15 employees and injured another 170 people.The explosion was the result of a leak of hydrocarbon liquid, and vapor. Another leak that happened in 2006 occurred after BP failed to respond to numerous red flags. One of these flags consisted of a dangerous corrosion in its pipes that had gone unchecked for more than a decade. * To narrow this entire question up, BP took shortcuts in their productions to cut their costs, and ignored defaults, regular ro utine cleanings, and maintenance of the rigs causing explosions and leaks, and people getting killed, harmed, or injured. . Yes, BP engaged in purposeful avoidance of risk management. * Some suggest that BP cut corners in risk management to save time and money. * BP had a responsibility to ensure that appropriate precautions were taken to prevent a disaster, but they failed to meet their responsibilities. For example, one technician that worked on the oil rig accused BP of willful negligence. He claims that BP did in fact have knowledge that the rig’s blowout preventer was leaking weeks prior to the explosion, but did not halt the production. BP’s contingency plan in case of a disaster was inadequate. It contained many important inaccuracies. For example, one of the wildlife experts listed as an emergency responder had been dead since 2005. Another example, is that the contingency plan estimated that if a oil spill should occur, that the company would be able to recove r about 500,000 barrels of oil per day, when in reality it took BP months to just contain the leak, at a spill rate of much less than listed in their plan.The inaccuracies of BP’s contingency plan shows how unprepared the company was for a disaster like the Deep Water Horizon spill. 3. I think that in order for BP to rebuild their reputation and manage the risks associated with offshore drilling, they should not take shortcuts or cut corners to save time or money. They should commit to a socially responsible approach and stakeholder engagement. They should have safety organizations in place. They should follow safety rules and regulations. Conduct better start up procedures.