Macbeth Drama Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Macbeth Drama Review - Essay Example bid to prevent his children from succeeding the throne of Scotland furthermore in Act 1 scene 7,lady Macbeth also taunt Macbeth to screw his ambition and courage to the sticking place after he had reflected on what he needs to attain his ambition, it highlights the destruction when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints. Macbeth is courageous man, who is not inclined to his evils deeds besides Lady Macbeth pursue her goal and further spur Macbeth to kill Duncan and to be strong in the murder aftermath, an ambition that focuses on the quest for power (Potter 185-190) There is linkage between cruelty and masculinity, that is seen when lady Macbeth manipulate Macbeth, wishes herself unsexed and question her husband manhood, further she agrees with Macbeth when he said woman should only give birth to boys finally Macbeth provokes the murderers by questioning their manhood. (Potter190-198) The drama depicts and reflects a tragedy of moral disorders, that reveals disastrous reputations on Macbeths ambition which are not only limited to him. it sees Scotland as a nation full of shakings by inversions of natural orders, just to mention a few is sleep, Macbeth announces that he has " murdered sleep " moreover androgyny as a theme is seen as an aspect of disastrous disorders Witchcraft and evil are seen in the play on numerous occasions :chaos, darkness and conflict represent that three witches in the play and their being conveys treason. Witches were taken worse as compared to evils in the play. In the 1st act, the witch line" Fair is foul and foul is fairest the tone for the entire play, the play is full of occasions where evil is taken to be good and good rendered evil, the line" double, double toil and trouble," is an intention of the witch that they only seek trouble for the mortals surrounding them (Dunning 58). The play was written by William Shakespeare, following the status quo of Scotland, during the period of Scotland war with whales, it clearly

Leadership & Ethics for Managers Research Paper

Leadership & Ethics for Managers - Research Paper Example Often organizations go through processes that redefine the way a company operates. The CEO of the company has the vision and the strategic plan to transform the organization. Companies in the 21st century do not longer seek individualism in the actions of its employees. Teamwork and cooperation have become a hot trend in the business world. The current approach and strategy of the CEO of the organization is to move to a team environment and to push many of the decisions to the lowest possible levels in order to achieve a team based empowered organization. The most valuable resource of any organization is its people because of the ability of humans to think, communicate and use judgment (Feinberg, 2012). The CEO is facing some resistance to change from the rest of the managerial staff of the organization. It is the duty of the leader to find a resolution to the problem. The first step towards finding an alternative solution to the dilemma is to open the lines of communication between the workers and the managers of the firm. The new plan that the CEO of the company wants to implement should be assessed by the entire organization. The managers should listen to the input of the workers about the proposed plan. Two concepts that many people visualize as similar, but in reality differ a lot are leading and managing. One of the purposes and visions of leaders is to inspire groups of people in organizations to aspire to achieve common goals (Entrepreneur, 2002). Leading involves motivating others to achieve a higher level of performance. Leadership can come from any person in an organization which implies that leadership abilities are not limited or exclusive of a managerial position. Sometimes companies gain the benefit of having strong leaders among the floor employees. Good leaders have excellent communication skills and are active listeners. Being an active listener can help an employee enhance his productivity and it improves a person’s ability to influenc e, persuade, and negotiate (Mindtools, 2012). One of the key differences between leading and managing is that managing entails complying with the basic managerial functions. Some of the basic managerial functions are planning, staffing, organizing, and controlling. Another difference between the two concepts is that managers are responsible for the actions of their subordinates. The CEO is trying to manage instead of leading this change initiative. Evidence that the CEO is using a managing approach is that the leader created a plan and provided a layout of the work structure that he expects the employees to follow. The managerial mandate of the CEO is to implement a team based work structure. One of the mistakes made is relying too much on managing instead of leading change. To lead change the corporate executive must convince others of the benefits of the change instead of imposing his will and vision on others and making unilateral decisions. The managers of the organization at fi rst glance did not like the plan of the CEO. It is highly possible that the managers felt threatened by the change management initiative because they felt their power and control would be diminished by the move. The CEO of the firm has to start a direct dialogue and negotiation process with the managerial staff. The use of formal meetings is a method that can be used to interchange ideas and opinions

Analysis of the Credit Card Industry in Turkey Essay Example for Free

Analysis of the Credit Card Industry in Turkey Essay The current Turkish government is very pro western and secular, however its divided religious loyalties, issues surrounding Greek sovereignty rights and fundamentalist groups threaten the expected 5 year stability of this administration. Government involvement in banking The Turkish Government has a history of involvement in banking affairs which is of concern to international investors. The Turkish state owns and finances a number of its banks and provides artificial stability to the banking system through state funded initiatives. The Government has also tailored wages in line with inflation rates e. g. minimum wages rates. With recent IMF intervention the long term plan for Turkey is still not absolutely clear. EU Membership The Turkish Government is pro EU membership and this is potentially the biggest paradigm shift on the horizon for Turkey’s financial system, this factor is further dealt with as a key driver. Economic †¢ Interest Rates Low interest rates in Turkey fuel loan take-up and have caused increase in credit card issue. Historically higher interest rates led to more widespread loan default and meant that less switching occurred as consumers were â€Å"tied† to provider. Economic growth in Turkey, with higher levels of middle and upper income, urban dwelling professionals and better access to continuing education has undoubtedly increased credit card take-up. (This could also be construed as a social factor). †¢ Global financial crisis The effects of the global financial crisis will have a major effect on banking restrictions to lending and credit availability in Turkey. Turkey’s export markets will be likely affected by the ongoing crisis which has a major effect on GDP which in turn affects spending power. Social †¢ Higher standard of living Higher standards of living among consumers have a beneficial knock on effect for credit cards issuers. In Turkey 7. 5% of GDP is invested back into education thus consumers are more financial savvy. †¢ Urban/Rural Divide Urban dwellers have a much higher likelihood of credit card use given their potential for access of issue and probability of a regular wage earning role. As the economy develops Turks are increasingly moving off the land from poorly paying seasonal work to the cities that offer a better chance of regular income and personal development. Technology †¢ E –Commerce Worth in excess of 2 billion euro to the economy and with 16 million people accessing the internet E-Commerce is a huge growth area and potential distribution channel for the credit card industry. It is also a medium for information driven purchasing through advertising potential and its access is furthered through telephone technology integration. †¢ SMART Cards The security afforded to the credit card industry through use of SMART cards has a beneficial affect on usage through; 1. Increased level of merchants accepting the facility 2. Security for use in Internet Cafes (here large numbers access the internet) 3. Security of service has become a battleground for competition among issuers Coupled with the above technologies, the explosion in EPOS facilities mean more access to products and services through credit card use, homogenising the myriad of potential transactions and benefiting both consumer and merchant. ATM’s also have further facilities to enhance the benefits of using plastic such as bill pay, mobile kiosks etc. Legal †¢ Intervention of Government/Key official Institutions There have been widespread changes in the law in Turkey affecting the credit card industry such as; 1. Restriction on credit card limits . Illegality of altering terms without informing consumer 3. Increases in minimum payment required 4. The Central Bank’s lowering of the interest rate cap 5. Loosening of the frameworks around mergers and acquisitions All of these interventions alter the attractiveness of the market for the credit card industry, which was historically fraught with lack of reg ulation and anti-consumer practises. Identify the 4 KEY DRIVERS FACING THE CREDIT CARD SECTOR 1. Technological Advances 2. State Intervention in Financial Affairs 3. EU membership 4. Rural-Urban Migration Technological Advances The rapidly advancing technology in the field of mobile payment will have a lasting effect on the credit card industry. Companies that can stay ahead of the game with new technologies in security, risk management and will be best placed to benefit from increased A physical â€Å"credit card† is really only a vehicle to hold a magnetic strip containing coded information. In terms of technology this is already quite dated; †¢ Already systems are designed to â€Å"swipe† a card on a merchant’s mobile phone, this will allow for a myriad of services which will no longer require cash transaction e. g. street traders. Advances in retina scanning technology are also at an advanced level and it is envisaged that the future of mobile payments may be through facial recognition or retina scanning. †¢ Other technology such as what is used in â€Å"The Baja Beach Club in Barcelona† where they inject a rice-size â€Å"VeriChip† RFID device into the wrist or upper arm of its patrons whom pay by swiping their arm – adapted from http://www. creditcards. com/credit-card-news/credit-cards-of-the-distant-future State Intervention The level of further state intervention in Turkey’s financial affairs will be a key driver in Turkey’s future credit card success or decline. As we have seen, moves by the government to regulate the industry have impacted on the potential earnings of the banks through lowering interest rates. In turn this type of regulation has stabilised the markets and led to economic growth which impacts positively on numbers of consumers available to the sector. Whether the current â€Å"Republican Democracy† in Turkey will be in power going forward is obviously of importance to this argument. With elections due in 2011 the future of state intervention in banking affairs is unclear. EU Membership Turkey becoming a full member of the EU will be another key driver in the credit card industry. EU entry will mean the freeing of trade and access to a further 500 million consumers. It is most likely that Turkey would be a more attractive market for global companies, of interest here, financial organisations who would be attracted by the large numbers of â€Å"unbanked† consumers and those who see Turkey strategically as the gateway to Eastern markets. The credit card market would likely become much more competitive with new entrants who would most likely look to merge with/acquire existing indigenous banks. Rural-Urban Migration According to the case study the majority of people in the rural areas of Turkey tend not to be credit card users. As the economy improves larger numbers of rural people (especially male) will likely move towards the larger urban centres to participate in the industrial or service sectors. This in turn leads to greater numbers with the potential to use credit cards, in turn offering greater numbers of potential consumers to the sector. SECTION 2 – Porters 5 Forces 2. Use the five forces framework to identify the forces affecting the Turkish credit card sector a. Graphically illustrate the five forces (see overleaf) b. Draw conclusions from the 5 forces analysis to explain; 1. How attractive the sector is I consider the Turkish credit card sector to be an attractive market for a large multinational e. g. BNP or Barclays to enter. From my analysis I have concluded that consumers are fragmented and suppliers are concentrated. Rivalry is high, yet only among 4 suppliers, considering rivalry in an industry such as haulage this must be considered attractive. Capital requirements of entry are high, but not on the scale of industries such as mining might be. Economies of scale and experience exist, however for companies already in credit card markets in other countries by no means insurmountable. The threat of substitutes is relatively low as the credit card holds a relatively niche position. Product differentiation/loyalty is low among existing consumers; good offers would attract new business, as would strong internet presence. Turkey has; â€Å"40 percent of people who are bankable based on their socio-economic status and age in Turkey are still â€Å"unbanked,† having no accounts with any banks in Turkey â€Å" (www. mckinsey. om/clientservice/ /Credit_Cards_in_Turkey. ashx) This data identifies a large section of the Turkish population who are potential consumers for a new entrant; therefore the market could potentially grow significantly for all players involved. 2. How the competitive forces are changing/may change The competitive forces are currently changing most notably in areas such as consumer access to information. More widespread access and use of the internet will drive further competition in the market through portals such as comparison websites, industry reviews etc. This will ultimately increase bargaining power of consumers, leading to decreased profits for suppliers. EU accession would alter the competitive forces among the major players currently in the sector. Interest rates set by the ECB, participation in the single currency etc. would have a significant impact on the state financed banking institutions and would alter their relevance. One would suspect that in a free market system the Turkish government would relish the opportunity of divesting the burden to international organisations to increase competition. With increased market stability and better financial education, consumer’s use of substitutes may extend to less expensive forms of credit such as personal loans. Coupled with better economic conditions consumer’s use of debit cards may also increase; given that currently lower income workers struggle to maintain a balance sufficient to cover their living costs. 3. How the sector may change to reflect changing forces The credit card sector can move more of its marketing budget toward E-Marketing and target new and younger consumers through this medium. MBNA have used this marketing channel very successfully in the past. In order to combat increased uptake of personal loans and increased use of debit cards the credit card sector may look at collective lower interest rates, better offers through loyalty bonuses and customer kickbacks and better education of its customers as to how to better use their credit cards. In order for the credit card sector to prepare for increased competition post EU accession it may look to further differentiate its offerings to appeal to the Turkish people e. g. align the credit offering with cultural values or emotions. It might be necessary to offer further services aligned to credit cards such as life insurance to augment and differentiate the offering. 3. Scenario Planning Scenario 1 â€Å"Renewed Political/Terrorist Violence in Turkey† In recent years, terrorist bombings some with significant numbers of casualties -have struck religious, political, and business targets in a variety of locations in Turkey. The potential remains throughout Turkey for violence and terrorist actions both by transnational and indigenous terrorist organizations such as PKK, . Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and AlQa’ida. Adapted from http://www. eubusiness. com/europe/turkey/invest) Given Turkey’s increasing dependence on foreign direct investment a return to more concerted campaign of political violence would spell disaster for the credit card industry. Large financial corporations, especially US owned would be deterred from entering the market, or potentially pull out of t he market thus decimating competition. Access to sources of international credit and lending would dry up therefore affecting consumer’s ability to purchase products and services on credit. Turkey’s export market would potentially be destroyed as Western nations would deter from transacting in case monies were being skimmed to fund further terrorist activity. This would further lower the GDP of the country affecting the spending power of consumers in turn negating the need for credit cards. Further knock on effects of violence include the loss of capital Governments have available to invest in its economy, on education and infrastructure. Government capital would have to be spent on further military and security projects. The tourism industry, a huge earner for Turkey would be decimated as travelers would fear the threat of violence. The black market economy would thrive under such conditions and regular banking functions would significantly cease with many consumers using cash/barter systems of attaining needs. With respect to the Credit card sector, this scenario would be highly detrimental to its future, as consumer confidence in the financial service sector would be decimated. The sector would have to pour vast resources into transaction security and marketing the brand safety and correct usage policies to consumers. Default numbers would likely increase due to instability and escalating interest rates. Scenario 2 â€Å"Turkey Gains Full EU Membership† â€Å"The EU is committed to supporting Turkey in its path for membership. The initial objective of EU financial support towards Turkey was the extension of an area of peace, stability and prosperity within and beyond Europe. Once the Union accepted Turkey as a candidate, financial assistance began to focus on supporting Turkey in its preparation for EU membership† http://www. eubusiness. com/europe/turkey/funding A study on the EU (http://europa. eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction. o) reported the following economic benefits of a country joining the EU; 1. An average of 2. 15% increase in GDP 2. Exchange rates for Turks travelling through Europe would be eliminated, as would the potential damaging effects exchange rate swings have on Turkish exports. I would assume that the credit card sector would become significantly more competitive in the light of EU membership therefore the sector would have to increase its marketing and branding spend, but would have a larger pool of consumers to choose from.

Systematic approach to recruitment and selection,

Systematic approach to recruitment and selection, Systematic approach to recruitment and selection, and its efficacy in attracting diverse workforce within the equal opportunities employment legal framework Introduction In modern organizations, diversity management has become synonymous with fair and equal opportunities employment, even though traditional context of equal opportunities is closely related with legal aspects of treatments of potential and current employees. Today, diversity management activities are grounded in monitoring of direct and indirect discrimination and interventions to reinforce fair treatment of women, ethnic minorities, the aged and the disabled. Therefore, the fairness paradigm has become the benchmark for managing differences and must be congruent with business objectives. This paradigm emerged from the perspectives that organizations need a diverse workforce to re-think and re-define primary tasks related to strategies including organizational objectives, goals, markets, products and resource allocations (Cornelius, Gooch and Todd in Noon and Ogbonna 2001). Diversity management is different from equal opportunities, yet it is based on the same foundation. Equal opportu nities amplify policies and practices that reflect the external legal framework and offer chances for competition. In human resource management, this is usually inherent in the practices of recruitment and selection, and at times in training and development. The basic premise is to ensure that equal opportunities should be given to people who are in competition with each other for areas of employment and selection, regardless of their age, gender, race or disability. The objective is not to elicit equal outcome. When implemented within the organizational framework that follows systematic approach to human resources management, the fine line between equal opportunities and diversity management, at times, becomes blurred. Consequently, organizations are often found striving for a balance in maintaining diverse workforce within the realms of the equal opportunity laws to achieve equality and organizational strategic objectives. Given the blurring definition of diversity and equal opportunities in employment, critics find systematic approach to recruitment and selection less appealing as strategic human resource management component. Others argue that as a critical component of HRM, recruitment and selection accommodates for both external and internal environmental change. In the ensuing discussion, the researcher shall evaluate the extent of the validity of this debate, and determine how attractive systematic approach to recruitment and selection is in acquiring diverse workforce in organizatio ns, and how successful organizations have been in integrating equal opportunities practices. Critical Evaluation of Systematic Approach to Recruitment and Selection Recruitment and selection processes are essential for strategic HRM involving and including job identification, job description, interviews, selection and orientation. It involves complex techniques and skills that assist decision-makers in selecting applicants for achieving organizational objectives, as well as personifies the organizational values, culture, behaviour and discipline. Recruitment and selection processes are based on systematic evaluation of personal and professional values, interpersonal skills, problem solving ability, attitude and behaviour of candidates, and testing them whether their attributes are congruent with the organizational values and objectives. Testing the type of employees the firm is about to hire helps determine the type of personality and how to mould them to the organizational culture. Selection decision is often based on a host of factors pertaining to job match, ability, professional qualifications, personal abilities, as well as employee's personality to match with the organization (Cornelius, Gooch and Todd in Noon and Ogbonna 2001). This traditional approach (also known as systematic approach) has evolved over the years and become refined as strategic recruitment and selection processes. Traditional approaches to recruitment and selection in earlier organizations based on psychometric models often assess applicant's performance with job fit whereas in modern organizations the systematic approach to recruitment and selection processes is strategic in nature, even though the foundation of the system has remained congruent with traditional approach (Beardwell and Holden 2003). Experts (Beardwell and Holden 2003; Thornhill et al., 2000) believe modern systematic approach to resourcing organizations has harmoniously integrated overall organizational strategies and processes rather than merely focusing on job-specific criteria. As a result, recruitment and selection processes have strategic implications, starting from how resourcing offers competitive advantage in the short run to valuing employees as organizational assets. The processes are aimed at achieving organizational objectives aligned with long-term organizational strategic vision. Components of systematic approach to recruitment, which include job analysis, job descriptions, development of competence frameworks, identification of person specifications and accountability, as well as advertisement, executive search, and Internet recruitment provide alternatives and ease to the process of recruitment for organizational resource acquisition. Alternatively, traditional approach to selection has remained somewhat similar to the preceding methods. For example, earlier recruitment processes have heavily relied on evaluation criteria, reliability on validity of candidate information, techniques of interviews and psychometric tests. Selection has also been based on matching job types with work styles through simulated evaluation tests. Today these components of selection are conducted in the same manner but often aided by the use of information technology systems and refined by integration of organizational objectives. Nevertheless, the fact remains recruitment and selection processes play critical roles in resourcing organizations and pooling of work skills. According to Beardwell and Holden (2003), HRM processes such as recruitment and selection are no longer viewed as the best-fit approach but have changed to resource-based view or best practice approach†. This makes them imperative for supporting corporate strategie s and organizational change management by acting as a lever for competitive advantage for organizations. Not only this, systematic approach to recruitment and selection has been set out to enable organizational management to establish frameworks for performance management. It is at this initial stage that managers determine roles, responsibilities, and performance outcomes to match with the most suitably skilled and motivated candidates for achieving organizational objectives. Moreover, basic principles for systematic approach to recruitment involve setting competitive framework for candidates to gauge future performance. For instance, evaluation and testing processes involve simulated tasks, psychometric tests, and validation of qualifications. It is through these simulated tests that managers gauge attitudes, behaviours, personality, and interaction with the candidates to determine job and candidate match. Selection is based on merit defined by the job specifications, individual commitment, and suitability for the positions within the company. The objectivity is to combine worker attr ibutes, skills, and abilities, and fit it within the organizational policies, procedures, and cultural frameworks, and thereby not to waste efforts and resources in conflict, power relations, subordination and normative institutional clashes in the future (Lucas 2003). In this regard, one could observe that systematic approach to recruitment, selection integrates external environmental factors like legal frameworks in policies, and procedures to ensure organizations establish a direct relationship with the candidates, job market and the legal environment. From this perspective, systematic approach to recruitment and selection processes is also said to have contributed to promoting and establishing trends for fair employment. However, critics do not have a consensus on fair distribution of representations of individuals where recruitment and selection processes are concerned. For example, Cornelius, Gooch and Todd (2001) are of the view that traditional equal-opportunity practices usually have unequal outcomes, depending on the culture of the organization, as well as the type of workforce required for the job. For example, gender and age discrimination are likely to become issues for unequal employment in industries where workers are required to be male of young age such as the logging industry. Commitment towards equal opportunity for fair representation of groups of individuals in recruitment and selection processes does not add value but rather hinders achievement of organizational objectives. Consequently, systematic approaches to recruitment and selection are not really effective in resolving strategic HRM issues pertaining to establishment of legal frameworks. Yet, one cannot deny the fact that organizations have not benefited from the systematic approach to pursue fair treatment and equal opportunities for employment. It is the essence of the systematic approach to recruitment, which takes into account of the changing environment, as well as business strategies that makes it dynamic, and thereby is effective in resolving management issues of diversity. Attraction of diverse workforce and implementation of equal opportunities employment There are many factors that are responsible for making an organization attractive for employees. Organizational reputation recognized for its fairness, culture, wage and talent pool, for example, are attraction for candidates. Similarly, job attractiveness is also dependent on the processes of recruitment and selection, and goals and ideology of the organization. In most organizations today, having a diverse workforce is no longer a luxury but a necessity and even a competitive advantage. A diverse workforce is essential in pooling skills and qualifications for achieving organizational strategic objectives in today's complex business environment (Sims 2002). Diversity, many claim, is distinguishable from equal opportunity as it serves the self-interest of organizations rather than social justice. It involves pursuance of policies that meet the demand of labour pool, and thereby gain the best qualifications from employees. It makes the economic justification for hiring individual s valuable in terms of business requirement, and labour market supply. It takes into account of the expressed need for employee satisfaction, which would lead to quality in productivity and increasing the talent pool direly required by dynamic organizations (Noon and Ogbonna 2001). Diversity is intrinsically linked with equal opportunity, according to experts (Thornley 2003). They argue that the labour market is typically characterized by competition where individuals compete for employment based on commutative justice. Free competition is prevalent and the reward for it is employment. Candidates vie for positions in organizations through display of qualifications, academic performance, ownership of skills, attitudes, and positive behaviours. Employers, on the other hand, form benchmarks for employment based on organizational requirements, policies and procedures in recruitment and selection. Employers are also mandated to follow government policy to benchmark wages, inflation and competitiveness for fair distribution of income and wealth. The government controls fair distribution of income by implementing policies of equal employment opportunities to eliminate formal and informal discrimination based on gender, age, race and disability. In the UK, this practic e is regulated by the EOC and through legal Acts often tends to constrain organizations for implementing fair employment. Despite critical objections to the efficacy and strategic nature of systematic approach to recruitment and selection, management of organizations cannot deny the fact that HRM processes have integrated diversity and equal opportunities policies and procedures to avoid adverse effects of the law. The EOC has formulated laws such as the Employment Act 1989/2002, Sex Discrimination Act, Equal Pay Act, Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Race Relations Act 1976, Employment Relations Act 1999 and the Employment Equality Regulations 2003 to curb discrimination of applicants for employment based on their gender, race, age and disability. To ensure that these laws are implemented within organizations, organizations have started to invest heavily in HRM processes congruent with the prescribed legal frameworks set by the EOC and the government. For most organizations, investment in these processes are necessary for compliance, while for others it is the long-term objective-achievement efforts as they view making their organization attractive to potential talents a strategic activity in itself. Consequently, HRM processes have been devised based on objective testing of candidates. Recruitment and selection models used for evaluating job performance, personality tests, cognitive ability tests, as well as testing of job knowledge take into account of achievement and skill proficiency. Organizations no longer depend on individual interviewer impressions to select and match candidates based on qualifications matching with job criteria. Instead, candidates are being tested for their abilities, skills and knowledge correlating with job performance regardless of their sex, age, race or disability (Hough and Oswald 2000). Furthermore, organizations are also using integrity tests and self-reports to check reliability and validity of counterproductive work behaviours. These systematic methods of recruitment and selection are based on the premise that effective recruitment leads to smooth functioning of organizations and successful recruitment and selection is based on finding the right person with the right skills, expertise and qualifications for achieving organizational objectives and contributing towards organizational values. For this purpose, a fair and consistent system of recruitment helps lessen the burden of employee conflict, turnover, absenteeism and dismissals. According to the Workforce Development Plan (2004) in the UK, for organizations to develop leadership capacity in their respective industry, they must develop skills and capacity of workforce, organizational performance management framework, pay and rewards system and, most importantly, ensure that equal opportunity and diversity practices are aligned with the entire recruitment and selection processes. The focus on abilities and aptitudes, and not stereotypes, would help lead to fair judgements about individuals based on their merits rather than their gender, age, race or disability (EOC 2006). Conclusion From the above discussion, one can conclude that the strategic nature of the systematic approach to recruitment and selection has made it the ideal tool for today's organizations to gain a competitive advantage in acquisition of skills and a diverse workforce. Strategic HRM requires that processes be in line with internal and external factors affecting organizational dynamics. For this purpose, these processes have to be flexible to accommodate change in the business environment. Two of the main factors that have been affecting modern organizations are equal employment opportunities and diversity. Self-interest for competitive advantage, as well as legal mandates have motivated organizations to invest in HRM processes and techniques to promote diversity and equal opportunities employment. These are evident in the various techniques used in recruitment and selection tests, as well as policies for hiring candidates. The practice is not isolated but rather has become the benchmark for organizations to attract a diverse workforce and remain aligned with the legal framework. Despite critics’ arguments, one could conclude that the traditional approach to recruitment and selection in today's organizations is objective in providing the required competitive advantage and strategic edge for competing in the highly dynamic business environment. References Beardwell, I. Holden, L. and Claydon (2003) Human Resource Management A Contemporary Approach. Fourth Edition. FT Prentice Hall. Employers Organization for Local Government (2004) Workforce Development Planning Guidance Document – May 2004. Employers Organization for Local Government, Online accessed on 12 January 2007 from: http://www.idea-knowledge.gov.uk/idk/aio/4465769. Equal Opportunities Commission (2006) Recruiting Staff Guidance for Managers and Supervisors, May 2006. Equal Opportunities Commission. Hough, L. M. and Oswald, F. L. (2000) Personnel Selection: Looking toward the Future-Remembering the Past. Annual Review of Psychology. pp. 631. Lucas, R. E. (2003) Employment Relations in the Hospitality and Tourism Industries. Routledge: New York. pp. 84 Millmore, M. (2003) Just How Extensive is the Practice of Strategic Recruitment and Selection? Journal of Management pp. 87 Noon, M. and Ogbonna, E. (eds) (2001) Equality, Diversity and Disadvantage in Employment. Palgrave: Basingstoke, England. pp. 32. Sims, R. R. (2002) Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management. Quorum Books: Westport, CT. Publication Year: pp. 107 Storey, J. (1992) Developments in the Management of Human Resources, Oxford: Blackwell. Thornhill, A., Lewis, P., Millmore, M. and Saunders, M. (2000) Managing Change: A Human Resource Strategy Approach, Harlow: Financial Times, Prentice Hall. Thornley, C. (2003) Labour market policy and inequality in the UK in Industrial and Labour Market Policy and Performance: Issues and Perspectives (eds) Cofey, D and Thornley, C., Routledge: New York. pp. 83

Sensing Project :: Papers

Sensing Project Project brief A new greenhouse is being developed for gardeners who are concerned about overheating plants in their current greenhouses. The new greenhouse has been built with opening windows but occasionally the windows of the greenhouse slips fully open and allow all of the trapped heat in the greenhouse to escape quickly. This is a major concern for serious gardeners. The test is to develop a sensing circuit that will sense whether the windows are fully open, so a gardener can be alerted of the problem. Introduction ============ To begin we must know what a sensor is. A sensor is an electrical component, which produces a signal in response to alteration in its surroundings, this maybe an alteration in a physical variable or by movement of objects. The sensor planned for the sensing circuit ensuring the windows are not fully open is a rotary potentiometer. A rotary potentiometer is a component, which has three terminals. When the angle of rotation is changed on the component's arm then the potential difference (often called voltage) is also changed. Once the voltage reaches a specific point a separate circuit could activate an alarm showing that the window has slipped and is fully opened. The potential difference is the difference between potential energy between two separate points. Alternatively a different sensing circuit could be used. A circuit with a thermistor (a component sensing change in temperature) could be used. In normal situations when the window would be fully closed the temperature in the greenhouse would be high so the output voltage from this circuit would be low. However if the windows were to slip open fully then the temperature inside the greenhouse would decrease so the output voltage would increase. The circuit could be linked to an alarm of some type so as when the voltage increases past a certain point when the window is fully open, the alarm rings alerting the gardener to shut the windows again. A circuit containing a LDR (light dependant resistor) could also be

Epic of Beowulf - Where Did the Christianity in Beowulf Come From? Essa

Where Did the Christianity in Beowulf Come From?      Ã‚   The Christian influences in Beowulf ultimately came from the Christian/Catholic Church of Rome which converted Romans, and thereby the Roman legions and thereby the occupied provinces. Also the Christian/Catholic Bishop of Rome sent missionary priests and monks to the British Isles to proselytze the population. There are additional considerations too.    First of all, let us be clear about the fact that the conversion of Britain to Christianity began quite early. The Catholic priest Venerable Bede, born in Bernicia, Northumbria, around 673, states in Bk 1, Ch 4 of his Ecclesiastical History of the English People that while Eleutherius was Bishop of Rome (175-189AD), a king of Britain named Lucius requested of the Pope that the king be baptized a Catholic by papal decree:    In the year of our Lord 156 Marcus Antoninus Verus was made emperor together with his brother Aurelius Commodus. He was the fourteenth after Augustus. In their time, while a holy man called Eleutherius was bishop of the church at Rome, Lucius, a king of Britain, sent him a letter praying him that he might be made a Christian by a rescript from him. His pious request was quickly granted and the Britons preserved the faith which they had received, inviolate and entire, in peace and quiet, until the time of the Emperor Diocletian.    Bede’s last sentence in the passage implies that Christianity had already been established in Britain for some time prior to Eleutherius occupying Peter’s chair from 175-189. This seems reasonable according to what is written by the historian Eusebius Pamphilus, bishop of Caesarea, in His Ecclesiastical History written in the 300’s. The Ecclesiastical His... ...McClure, Judith, editors. Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People; The Greater Chronicle; Bede’s Letter to Egbert. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.    Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, translated by C.F. Cruse. Peabody, MS: Hendrickson Publishers, 2000.    Magoun, Frances P. â€Å"Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry.†Ã‚   In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    â€Å"Nero.† The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. www.bartleby.com/65/.    â€Å"St. Patrick.† The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. www.bartleby.com/65/.    Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000      

Philosophy of reading Essay

â€Å"Just simply teaching a child to read is not enough; we must provide them something that is worth reading. Material that will make their imaginations grow – materials that will help them to understand their own lives and push them towards interacting with others who’s lives are completely different than there own† (Paterson). As elementary educators it is our privilege and responsibility to expose young people to knowledge. By making this introduction a fun one, it allows for the child to have a positive attitude about school and learning that they will take with them through out their entire educational career. Many children have a excited and happy attitude about starting school. Every student also feels like they are ready and prepared, no matter what their entry level literacy skills may be. It is common knowledge that not every child will enter the school system with the same levels of literacy. That is why it is up to us, as educators, to teach them how to read by using appropriately developed strategies and individualized instructions. When I was a little girl growing up I was one of a family of sixteen children, so beginning from a very young age once the school days were done we were left with our  older siblings while mom and dad worked hard to earn us a living. My mother would frequently read to me out of story books or simply stories she made up on her own. Since there were so many of us, by the time i was born we had a pretty good assortment of books to choose from. My first memory I have of reading in the classroom setting was in the fourth grade. My teacher was Ms. Bartrum, she was such a lovely woman who was the first to instill in me the joys of reading through accelerated reading programs and book fairs. I was a goal of mine to be the first one to finish one  book and move on to another one on the list, this is a case where a little competition was a healthy thing. Mrs. Bartrum was really good at picking out books that would challenge us but also capture our interests which made reading them a lot less challenging. Cunningham and Allington research has shown that those children who learned to read and write with ease had a lot of different experiences in reading and writing, which allowed them to benefit from the literacy experiences they had in school (Cunningham & Allington). Teaching students to read is not simply picking the right  reading program, and one specific program will not work with for every single student. As a teacher I feel that it is my job to be the spark for the love to read, by using an effective and balanced learning approach. It is of the upmost importance that the curriculum is designed so that it engages the students in the content, while allowing the students to use their own learning styles and accompanying to their developmental needs. The teaching method called â€Å"Best Practice† uses the idea that by using teaching methods and strategies within the classroom will create an individualized environment for learning. I continuously make an effort to use the best practices method in my everyday classroom instruction. Students learn based upon their own individual needs or interests. It is important to help students to gain their own craving for knowledge, it is critical to their academic success. By creating a learning environment that allows the students to feel safe, will in turn make it easier for them to trust you which will make the learning experience much easier. An environment that is encouraging, positive, actively engaging, and allows for social interactions will harbor the best practice learning method. The way that a classroom is arranged can have an effect on the students and how they learn as well. My personal classroom is arranged so that they students’ desks are arranged in a U-shape with my desk in the middle, this allows me to have a view of each student and to be able to get to them easier. My classroom is also full to the gill with reading materials, every which way the students turn they are greeted by books. Our reading corner is focused around our interactive word board, it holds our library with is full of many different forms of reading materials from chart books to decoding books. Also posted throughout the classroom is the alphabet, picture cards, and letter cards with a corresponding word being used in a sentence. Morning messages and charts are placed within easy access for the students so that they can review and practice whenever they want. Also made available within the classroom is environmental prints, these help the students with their writing, studies have shown that they are an effective way of aiding in emergent literacy (Jalongo, 2010). Each day there is an hour set aside to work on reading in small groups. Even though throughout the day several books are  read, this one hour period during the day is when individual reading levels are really focused on within each group. Groups are used during these lessons because studies have shown that students within the early grade levels learn more when a portion of their reading lessons are given in small groups, with regularly tested progress, and ample amount of time to understand the lesson is given (Taylor, 2005). â€Å"Reading is fundamental†, this saying is used to demonstrate the how important reading is to our youth. Having the skills to read and write is not only fundamental in an individual’s success in the academic sense but also in life itself. Reading and writing skills are a continued development throughout a person’s entire lifetime, however they early years, from birth to the age of eight, are the most crucial time frame for developing literacy skills (IRA and NAEYC, 2009). Reading has an undeniable importance because of the basic tools it provides an individual. It is the building block for the nation’s educational system. One must have adequate reading skills to be able to master any other subjects such as math or science, this is why it is the most crucial of all subjects to master. Despite it being such a simple concept, if it weren’t for reading our culture  wouldn’t be as advanced as it is today. By simply saying that â€Å"reading is fundamental† lacks emphasis, because without the ability to read our lives would be extremely different in many ways. References: Reading Rockets. Interview with Katherine Paterson. On-line. Accessed on December 5, 2014 at http:// www. readingrockets. org/books/interviews/paterson Hall, D. P. & Williams, E. (2000). Teachers Guide to Building Blocks: A Developmentally Appropriate, Multilevel Framework for Kindergarten. Greensboro, NC: Carlos-Dellosa Publishing Company Inc. International Reading Association (IRA) & National Association for the Education of  Young Children (NAEYC). (2009). Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children. NAEYC: Washington, DC. Jalongo, M. R. (2007). Early Childhood Language Arts. (4th Ed). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Taylor, B. , Pearson, P. , Clark, K. , & Walpole, S. (2005). Beating the Odds in Teaching All Children to Read. CIERA Report #2-006. University of Michigan: Ann Arbor.