Nazi Germany And The Nazi Party Essay - 2053 Words

Propaganda was significant in Germany in the period of 1933 to 1945 as it affected the people of Germany greatly since propaganda was presented to people in their everyday lives in some manner or form, making it inescapable. Propaganda was used mainly to display anti-Semitic beliefs about Jews and others who were thought of as irrelevant to Nazi Germany such as the disabled, mentally ill, gypsies, communists and non-Aryans – who were all affected greatly by propaganda. Hitler and the Nazi Party achieved this through their propaganda minister – Joseph Goebbels – who used every form of media (radio, posters, newspapers, films, music and the arts) to portray the greatness of German culture. Though, some of these forms of propaganda displayed different levels of effectiveness – making some forms more significant than others. One of the most significant forms of propaganda in their impact on Germany was the use of radio. Radios and radio licences summed to 90% of the ministry’s expenses, which show how Hitler’s messages, speeches and Nazi- related broadcasts reached such a broad audience of the German population because radio was extremely accessible. Hitler made sure that radios were cheap enough for every family to afford so that his speeches were publicised, giving Hitler more opportunity to manipulate Germany and glorify the Nazi party. The significance of this form of propaganda is that the radio was such a regular part of family life, and would’ve been played frequentlyShow MoreRelatedNazi Germany And The Nazi Party1613 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout Nazi Germany in the period 1928 through to 1941, racism was utilized by Hitler, and in turn his Nazi party, firstly to secure Hitler’s position as a dictator, and secondly to unite the German people against a common enemy, which would lead to a united powerful state, ready and able to exert its national will. Whether or not his aims were oppressive in nature is debatable but, his aims for racial purification and domination over Eastern Europe are made obvious before Hitler’s assumptionRead MoreThe Nazi Party Of Germany1202 Words   |  5 PagesThe Nazi Party of Germany aimed to create a ‘racially pure’ society between the years 1933 through to 1945. This society, or Volksgemeinschaft, was to contain Hitler’s ideological view on what a pure person, or Aryan should be. It also involved the exclusion of anyone who did not fit this mould. The Nazi party was extremely successful in achieving their highly aimed goal. Through the Nazi’s control over youth groups and in children’s education, the Nazi Party and Hitler were able to reach this goalRead MoreThe World War II And The Nazi Party Of Germany Essay1184 Words   |  5 PagesSecond World War and other kinds of w ars was nationalism itself (Webster, 2014). During the World War Two, Nationalism was the evident action of the Nazi Party of Germany. Koenigsberg (n.d.) states in an online article, an individual s options and reactions to other nations may be less favorable, when he has a strong passion on his own nation. Nazis describes nationalism as the ultimate identity of oneself to defend upon other nations hands. Trying to be strong or significant, being of a countryRead More Comparing the Nazis and the Party of George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)1303 Words   |  6 PagesSimilarities between Nazis and the Party of 1984    The government of Nazi Germany greatly resembled the Party, the government in 1984. Both operated similarly and had similar aims. Anything either government did was an action for maintaining power. Both the Nazis and the Party maintained similar ideologies, controlled mass media, educated children in their beliefs, had a secret police force, and had forced labor camps. Both governments used each of these methods maintain power and control overRead MoreThe Failure of Democracy in Germany in the Period 1928 to 19341117 Words   |  5 PagesFailure of Democracy in Germany in the Period 1928 to 1934 Those in power in Weimar Germany so consistently mishandled the political and economic situation leading up to the period 1928-1934, that a well-structured challenge from the Nazi Party brought about the fall of democracy. This Nazi Party was stronger ideologically, structurally within the party and politically, with Hitler as Fuhrer a major factor himself. In addition, factions within Germany for whom a right-wingRead MoreHitler s Political And Foreign Policy1263 Words   |  6 Pagesbad guys: the Jews. In Germany, the depression of the early 1930’s was an extreme event that caused democratic parties to lose support. The poor economy influenced people to turn to the radical Nazi party, which offered seemingly easy and quick solutions to all of their problems. Upon Hitler’s increase in leadership and totalitarian power, Germany â€Å"became the political and foreign policy [center] of Hitler s Reich† (Hagen). As their power expanded, Hitler and the Nazi Party effectively promoted GermanRead MorePrior To The Onset Of The Incomparable Discouragement In1600 Words   |  7 PagesDiscouragement in Germany in 1929–1930, the National Communist German Specialists Gathering was a little gathering on the radical right of the German political range. In the Reichstag (parliament) races of May 2, 1928, the Nazis got just 2.6 percent of the national vote, a propor tionate decrease from 1924, when the Nazis got 3 percent of the vote. The issue that concluded the start of World War 2 was Germany attacking and attempting to vanquish Poland on September first. the Nazi over the Jews in Nazi GermanyRead More The German Community during the Hitler Reign Essay1336 Words   |  6 Pagesduring Hitler’s reign in Germany, German citizens felt the impacts of the political as well as the economic situation of the country. These conditions in Germany led to the building of the Nazi party and to the Holocaust. The new government headed by Adolf Hitler changed the life of all Germans whether they joined the Nazi party themselves or opposed the ideas of Hitler or aided Jews to fight the persecution they suffered under this government. In 1929, Germany was in a very poor stateRead MoreA Brief Note On Nazis And The Environment1023 Words   |  5 Pages Environment Professor Yan Gao 2 December 2015 Nazis and the Environment The Nazi party in Germany left behind a legacy of atrocities that included racism, anti-Semitism, and genocide. The appeal of the Nazis relied on problems in Germany following the aftermath of World War I. They examined the different problems Germany faced and the different aspects of their political beliefs, one in particular being their environmental outlook. The Nazi party drew substantial support with their idealized versionRead MoreIb History Essay: Nazi Ideology1180 Words   |  5 PagesStrength and Weaknesses from the impact of Nazi ideology on Germany | | Jean-Vincent Mewald | 3/March/2012 | | Nazi ideology had a massive impact on the German people in the years from 1933-39. All aspects of the Germans where influenced by the Nazi ideology (culturally, socially and economical). Nazi ideology affected mostly the younger generation of Germans, as it was easier to manipulate them through school and youth groups. In addition, Nazi leaders thought it was of great importance

The s Guidance Counselor For Counseling - 950 Words

Indentifying Data Eman is an 8 years 6 months old African American adolescent, who was referred by his guidance counselor for counseling. Eman has a long history of poor school performance due to numerous outburst and uncontrolled rages. Despite extensive partial care treatment and accommodations from his school he has failed to succeed academically and behaviorally. His poor school attendance, attention and learning problems, and family dynamics are contributing factors. Sources of Information Background information was obtained from his maternal grandmother, his school social worker, former psychologist, and counselor. This information was obtained from interview, developmental history, and chart records. The status of his†¦show more content†¦It was noted that Eman does not like to see his mother and resents her for not being able to live with them. He often blames his brother for his mom not being around since Grandmother Leslie took them in after his birth. There is no information on Emans biological father. Grandmother Leslie Paige only indicated that he had no learning or attention problems. Eman is reported as being violent with her and on a few occasions with brother Demar. Emans brother Demar was described as being hyperactive. Grandmother Leslie Paige reports a history of depression on both sides of the family. Behavior Observations Emans grandmother indicated that he enjoys music and reading Dr.Seuss while at home. He often has difficulty understanding directions and trouble making friends. He often is fidgeting with his hands, easily distracted, easily frustrated, does not appear to be listening, many temper tantrums and anger. He prefers to be shown how to do something and is very concerned with making mistakes. It is imperative to note that he has been in regular classes with a one on one aide. His teacher indicated that Eman has low motivation for school achievement and struggles with classroom behavior. He appears to focus and achieve somewhat better in a one on one situation or smaller groups. However, he gets frustrated when he realizes he is having a problem with hisShow MoreRelatedWhat You Need To Know About School Counseling. Brett Smith.1707 Words   |  7 Pages What You Need to Know About School Counseling Brett Smith Limestone College Introduction to Counseling Ms. Deal February 19, 2017 Abstract This paper explores the main characteristics of the school counseling career. To understand school counseling its history must be visited when it began in the 1800’s. This paper goes through the steps of licensure, education requirements, and typical therapy techniques adopted by today’s school counselors. To fully understand how to be the best atRead MoreEffective Counseling1313 Words   |  6 PagesProfessional Qualities for an Effective Counselor By {Author} {Institution} Abstract This research paper discusses the qualities that are necessary for an effective counseling and as such any counselor considered effective must posses them. The paper has a separate discussion of both personal and professional qualities required for any good counselor. The personal qualities form a largerRead MoreEffective Counseling1328 Words   |  6 Pages Personal and Professional Qualities for an Effective Counselor By {Author} {Institution} Abstract This research paper discusses the qualities that are necessary for an effective counseling and as such any counselor considered effective must posses them. The paper has a separate discussion of both personal and professional qualities required for any good counselor. The personal qualities form a larger part of the discussionRead MoreEssay about The Guidance Counselor1062 Words   |  5 PagesThe Guidance Counselor INTRODUCTION According to the U. S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, Counselors are defined as persons who â€Å"assist people with personal, family, educational, mental health and career decisions and problems. Their duties depend on the individuals they serve and the settings in which they work† (169). Examples include Mental health counselors who help people cope with daily life issues such as marital, family, stress management, or addiction problemsRead MoreHistory of Guidance Movement1355 Words   |  6 PagesHistory of Guidance Movement INTRODUCTION: The history of school counseling around the world varies greatly based on how different countries and local communities have chosen to provide academic, career, college readiness, and personal/social skills and competencies to K-12 children and their families based on economic and social capital resources and public versus private educational settings in what is now called a school counseling program. In the United States, the school counseling professionRead MoreThe Origins Of Clinical Mental Health Counseling1458 Words   |  6 PagesThe profession of counseling has a rich and bold history, evolving through the years from varied disciplines and birthing diverse specialties and branches along the way. Often referred to as the youngest of the counseling specialties is clinical mental health counseling. Despite physical health’s grasp on the nation, mental health has been a major focus at various times throughout history and continues to become an ever growing concern for people in general. As people come to better understand mentalRead MoreGuidance and Counseling1089 Words   |  5 PagesPrinciples of guidance According to Crow and Crow there are  14 significant principles for guidance  they are 1. Every aspect of person’s complex personality pattern constitutes a significant factor of his total displayed attitudes and form of behavior. Guidance service which are aimed at bringing about desirable adjustments in any particular area of experience must take in to account, the all round development of the individual. 2. Although all human beings are similar in many respect, individualRead MoreCarson Clark. Ms. Cuddihy . English 8. March 2017. English856 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Some School Guidance Counselors don t work during the summer when school is not in session† (School and Career). Guidance Counselors help a lot of kids with their home and School lives. They also help advise them with colleges and jobs. They have many techniques to guide them. Acquiring a career in guidance counseling requires how they work, places of employment, a degree, experiences, and a college education. A guidance counselor has many aspects of their career. â€Å"School counselors help studentsRead MoreSchool Counselor1707 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction â€Å"Counselors assist people with personal, family, educational, mental health, and career decisions and problems† (â€Å"Counselors† 1). â€Å"While helping students plan for college and careers is part of their job, a guidance counselor’s overall function is to talk to students, give advice, listen to problems, help students develop coping skills and learn to become good problem-solvers and decision-makers on their own† (â€Å"Guidance Counselors†). Specifically, school counselors play a major roleRead MoreMy Interview1164 Words   |  5 Pagesto be an elementary or junior high school counselor, which are the two age groups that I would most like to work with. With this in mind, I decided to interview one of my son s past guidance counselors. This is a woman that I have admired since the first day that I met her. In talking with her I found her to be a very knowledgeable, caring, and open person. She has been in the helping profession for over twenty years and working as a guidance counselor since 1999. Another reason that I chose to

Ford and Global Batteries Corporation †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Ford and Global Batteries Corporation. Answer: Introduction: The decision that I made was to think differently about the purpose of business. After learning business ethics, I have gained a different viewpoint regarding the purpose of business. Previously, I used to think that businesses exist only to make profits for the owners. My view is now different. I currently believe that businesses should place ethics over profits. Ethics has become a more and more vital aspect of business practice and placing ethics over profits can actually pay off over the long term. Business organizations that work ethically would be able to outpace their competitors since clients would trust such companies. Corporate leaders should demonstrate ethical leadership by leading in a way that respects other peoples dignity and rights. They should ensure high standards of ethical and moral conduct rather focusing primarily on making profits. This is in line with my response for Online Commentary 3. Two companies that did not demonstrate ethical behaviour are Ford and Global Batteries Corporation (GBC) as demonstrated in the Ford Pinto case and GBC case. In the case of Ford, the company placed profits over ethics and produced faulty cars and one of these cars killed a woman. Ford used a utilitarian approach in making their decision and I do not agree with it. Global Batteries Corporation also put profits over ethics. Their unethical actions led to the death of many people after the plant exploded. What I learned from these two cases is that it is unethical for businesses to disregard ethics in their pursuit for profits. I now understand that organizations need to make a concerted effort, even in high pressure environments, to constantly focus on behaviours that are ethical. Ford and GBC do not have ethical cultures and that is why they engaged in ethical wrongdoing. In the past I also exhibited corrupt behaviour. The beliefs that I held that informed my practice to accept bribery and corruption include viewing these vices as acceptable and not wrong. I held these assumptions/views owing to my cultural background and my upbringing in Sri Lanka, where corruption and bribery are widespread and many citizens here do not consider it as wrong. On the whole, the fact that I was brought up believing that corruption and bribery are not wrong greatly influenced my views. The results from my Values Questionnaire diagnostic tool show that my highest preferences are Economic, at 89. This helps me to understand my behaviour to engage in bribery/corruption since for me to offer services or to receive a service in Sri Lanka, I would be more likely to give/receive a financial tip first as an incentive or motivator. While I may give a bribe, I may only do so not because I want to, but because I am forced to do by the circumstances. Otherwise, I would not since I am a very authentic leader as demonstrated by my Authentic Leadership Self-Assessment Questionnaire diagnostic tool in which I scored 68. I felt confusion, annoyance and anger regarding the decision to engage in bribery and corruption. I felt this way mainly because of a conflict between what I thought was acceptable and the ethical content covered in class regarding ethics. I was very frustrated after realizing that by engaging in bribery and corruption, I was in fact perpetuating these unethical vices. However, at the moment, I have a totally different perspective relating to bribery thanks to the ethical content covered in class. I now believe that bribery is a very unethical, bad and dishonourable thing to do. The content of this unit has allowed me to gain greater insight into ethics and behaviour. As a manager in the future, I will use this information to ensure that I always put ethics over profits, unlike Ford and GBC leaders/managers. I will uphold moral competencies and always uphold my highest moral competencies as demonstrated by my result in the Scoring the MCI diagnostic tool: admit mistakes and failures, keep promises, and tell the truth, in addition to other moral competencies. Furthermore, I will strive to use my position to develop and promote sustainable ethical culture within my organization, exhibit high moral standards, always act with utmost integrity, and conduct my work ethically unlike the leaders/managers of Ford and GBC. Conclusion: Being a manager in future will mean that all responsibility and accountability would be attributed to me. I will strive to avoid corporate wrongdoing and unethical actions as much as possible, and take responsibility for all my actions, unlike the managers/leaders at Ford and GBC. Similarly, when I am not to blame, I will attribute responsibility and accountability to the right person/people and rightly hold them morally responsible for their actions as demonstrated by my results in the Attributing Responsibility and Accountability Moral Praise and/or Blame diagnostic tool. I strongly believe that corporate leaders and managers are responsible and accountable for the decisions and actions taken by them. They should always uphold moral responsibility, and I will also do so when I am a manager in future. This is in line with my response on Online Commentary 1.

Utopia Of More Essays - Utopian Fiction, Utopian Novels, Idealism

Utopia Of More In his famous work Utopia, Sir Thomas More describes the society and culture of an imaginary island on which all social ills have been cured. As in Plato's Republic, a work from which More drew while writing Utopia, More's work presents his ideas through a dialogue between two characters, Raphael Hythloday and More himself. Hythloday is a fictional character who describes his recent voyage to the island of Utopia. Throughout the work, Hythloday describes the laws, customs, system of government, and way of life that exist on Utopia to an incredulous and somewhat condescending More. Throughout the work, Hythloday presents a society organized to overcome the flaws of human nature. This society has been carefully thought out by More?as the author of the work?to help avoid the problems associated with human nature. Individual human appetites are controlled and balanced against the needs of the community as a whole. In other words, More attempts to describe a society in which the seven deadly sins are counterbalanced by other motivations set up by the government and society as a whole. I believe that by providing the answer to the timeless question of overcoming man's inherent evils in such a way More creates a perfect society to be modeled after. Many of the ideals in More's Utopia are, as the name implies, based on ideal situations and not reality. They would work well in a civilization of automatons, but would be abolished quickly in a human situation. Nevertheless, we can apply the ideals held by the Utopians to our own societies since the ideals themselves are attainable even if a perfect society is not. More seems to think that the seven deadly sins will be fairly easy to overcome. Pride, for instance, is counterbalanced in several ways in his social system. For instance, he makes sure that all people wear the same clothing, except that the different genders wear different styles, as do married and unmarried people. More also makes individuals fairly interchangeable within the social system?one carpenter, for instance, seems to be more or less like another to him, and can find work anywhere that carpenters are needed. He also says that the Utopians encourage their citizens to think of the good of the state as a whole in addition to their individual good. Without a sense of individuality as highly developed as the one to which modern Americans are accustomed, pride should present less of a problem to the Utopians. Gluttony is another deadly sin that Hythloday claims is easily overcome. According to him, the source of gluttony is fear of a future lack of something, especially a necessity of life such as food. As Hythloday explains to More, why would he be likely to seek too much, when he knows for certain that his needs will always be met? A man is made greedy and grasping either by the fear of need (a fear common to all creatures) or else by pride (in man alone), which thinks it glorious to surpass others in superfluous show. "This kind of vice has no place at all in the ways of Utopians." (More 59) Others of the deadly sins are to be overcome, as are pride and gluttony, by encouraging the practice of their corresponding virtues. Sloth is to be overcome by requiring the practice of industry; covetousness by the practice of generosity (in addition to the abolition of private property); envy through respect; pride through humility; gluttony through modesty; and lechery through continence (the Utopians punished extra- or pre-marital sexual intercourse harshly). Wrath, which seems to be the lone exception, is to be treated not through the general practice of its corresponding virtue, peacemaking, but by removing the things that enrage people in the first place. Though we can not rid our society of these sins, we can use More's methods to prevent them. Some of the ideals presented in Utopia are abundantly present in today's society. These include having a commodity in one culture be totally worthless in another, communal living within cities, and euthanasia as a means of release from burden. There are commodities in the world today that are totally worthless in America, but serve as a main staple in many other countries. In Utopia, gold was the most worthless metal. It wasn't as strong as iron and was seen as a sign of servitude. Having large tracts of land is a sign of wealth and clout in our country, but in Japan, where land is scarce having large amounts of land is socially seen

Sonny With A Chance soundtrack by various artists free essay sample

â€Å"For the first time ever Sonny Sings!† Who remembers this announcement for the promotion of the special, â€Å"Sonny with a Song†? It was the first time, excluding the theme song, â€Å"So Far, So Great†, that Demi Lovato’s character, Sonny Munroe, sings. It was also the time that Walt Disney Records announced that they would be releasing the first ever Sonny with a Chance soundtrack. Well, here it is! Featuring songs by three of the series stars and a song by the band Allstar Weekend, this soundtrack showcases a myriad of sounds and flavors: from the pop style of â€Å"Come Down with Love† (Allstar Weekend), the acoustic soul of â€Å"What to Do† (Demi Lovato) and the classic Disney feel of â€Å"Kiss Me† and â€Å"Feels Like Love† (Tiffany Thorton) to the almost boy-band, Joe-Jonas-meets-‘NSync style of Sterling Knight’s â€Å"Hanging† and â€Å"How We Do This†, this soundtrack is sure to be a fan favorite for a long while (even though I fear it’s lacking having only nine tracks). We will write a custom essay sample on Sonny With A Chance soundtrack by various artists or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I find the soundtrack lacking in another aspect also. While Demi Lovato, Sterling Knight (Chad Dylan Cooper) and Tiffany Thorton (Tawny Hart) contribute their voices to eight out of the nine tracks, I’m left wanting seeing as how rapper Brandon Michael Smith didn’t contribute any songs (oppose to contributing two tracks on the Starstruck soundtrack) and songs such as â€Å"High School Miserable†, â€Å"Make Babies Cry† and Sonny It Up didn’t find their way onto the track listing. Only two songs (excluding the theme) to date have been featured in the series (â€Å"Me, Myself and Time†-â€Å"Sonny with a Song†, â€Å"Work of Art†-â€Å"A So Random Halloween Special†). I’m hoping for a second soundtrack to be released featuring songs from the So Random sketches and possibly more contributed from other cast members. But dont get me wrong, anytime you buy an album or soundtrack with less than eleven tracks, you can find something wrong with it. This soundtrack is still fun and entertaining and while the songs are not â€Å"so random† or as silly as the show itself, it’s still a great buy.

Frederick Douglass Importance of Education Research Paper Example

Frederick Douglass Importance of Education Research Paper Example Frederick Douglass Importance of Education Paper Frederick Douglass Importance of Education Paper Essay Topic: Education To Learn or Not to Learn Throughout Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the importance of education becomes apparent as Frederick Douglass’ opinion wavers. Towards the beginning of the narrative, Douglass is eager to learn, and when his master forbids his learning, it only fuels his desire to further his education. Once he is finally able to read, however, he becomes restless with his life and blames education for his discontent. Ultimately, though, he views education as vital to his freedom from lavery and realizes that he can put his education to good use, helping other slaves to freedom. Frederick Douglass comes to see the power of education when he moves in with the Aulds. When he is first living with them, Mrs. Auld starts to teach him the basics of reading and writing. He is content and eager to learn, until Mr. Auld prohibits his wife from furthering Douglass’ education, saying, â€Å"If you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. : As to himself it would do him no good. It would make him discontented and unhappy’ (Douglass 22). Instead of discouraging his education, however, this only prompts Douglass to learn more, as he now understands that education is key in his escape from a life of slavery. Douglass soon finds new means of education in the young white boys that live near him, who will occasionally give him lessons in return for bread. Just as Mr. Auld had predicted, as soon as Douglass is able to read on his own, he begins to become discontent and restless with his life. His education had â€Å"opened his] eyes to the horrible pit, but offered no ladder upon which to get out† (Douglass 26). At times Douglass finds himself envious of the lack of knowledge of the other slaves around him, as he is now aware of his foul quality of life, but can find no way of relief. â€Å"l often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed† (Douglass 26). This quote is an example of Just how disturbed and discontented Douglass is with his uality of life. The more Douglass reads, the more frustrated he feels, as he comes to believe that his masters are no more then â€Å"successful robbers† who took his people from their homes and enslaved them. Although having an education seems like a curse to Frederick Douglass at times, he comes to view education as essential to his escape from slavery. Through reading, Douglass becomes aware of the abolitionist movement in the northern part of the United States. As a result, he is able to eventually find a way to run away to the north, and start a new life for himself as a free man. He soon puts his education to good use and starts writing Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, in hopes that it will tragic reality of slavery. Despite the fact that Frederick Douglass’ education sometimes felt like a burden, he would not have been able to escape to freedom without it. Because of his motivation to learn early in life, he was eventually able to understand the abolitionist movement and run away to the north. He used his education to write one of the most influential works of literature to help the emancipation movement in the United States.

THE LEVEL OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND COMMITMENT AT LLOYDS TSB BANK Dissertation

THE LEVEL OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND COMMITMENT AT LLOYDS TSB BANK (FRONT DESK STAFF) - Dissertation Example Employee satisfaction is absolutely necessary among front desk staff especially those working in investment banks or other sales related companies as they represent an organization and bring in a greater portion of the revenue. The purpose of this study is to measure the employee satisfaction levels among Lloyds TSB front desk staff, one of the leading banks of UK. A questionnaire based survey was conducted and it was found that although the pay package and benefits provided by the bank were quite attractive, employee satisfaction was average among the Lloyds TSB front desk staff. An analysis of the questionnaire using popular satisfaction/motivation theories revealed that along with money other factors such as communication with the employees, respect and recognition and appreciation are also important. It was found that hard HRM is mostly practiced in Lloyds Bank TSB branches and hence it is recommended that a blend of both hard and soft HRM should be applied in order to improve th e employee satisfaction levels. ... ies 15 2.3 Maslow’s Theory 16 2.4 Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory 18 2.5 Alderfer’s ERG Theory 19 2.5.1 Using Alderfer’s ERG Theory at Workplace 20 2.6 Vroom’s Theory of Expectancy 20 2.6.1 Applying Vroom’s Expectancy Theory in an Organization 21 2.7 Locke’s Path Goal Theory 21 2.8 Studies on Employee Satisfaction 22 2.9 Theoretical Framework 24 3.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 26 3.1 Research Philosophies 26 3.2 Research Design 27 3.3 Data Sources 28 3.4 Data Collection Tools 28 3.5 Sampling Strategy and Sample Size 29 3.6 Data Analysis 31 3.7 Validity and Reliability Concerns 32 3.8 Ethical Considerations 33 4.FINDINGS 34 4.1 Section A: Demographics 34 4.2 Section B: Human Resource Policies 37 4.3 Section C: Job satisfaction at Lloyd’s bank 43 4.4 Section D: Employee Training and Development Practices 48 4.5 Section E: Performance and Evaluation 48 4.6 Section F: Compensation 49 4.7 Section G: Employee Retention 51 4.8 Section H: Employee Commitment 52 5.DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS 54 5.1 Analysis 56 6.CONCLUSION 59 6.1 Recommendations 61 6.2 Revisiting Aims and Objectives 62 6.3 Research Limitations and Future Research Scope 63 References 64 Appendix- I 73 THE LEVEL OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND COMMITMENT AT LLOYDS TSB BANK (FRONT DESK STAFF) 1. INTRODUCTION Employee satisfaction is commonly defined as the measure of how happy and content an employee is with his/her job and working environment (Kennet & Salini 2011). It has been observed that at times even though the package offered to the employee is good, the employees become discouraged and resign from their jobs. Certain factors like limited growth opportunity, lack of appreciation and recognition, high job stress and even lack of communication within the organization discourage and frustrate an employee. The

The Debate Over Social Security Today Research Paper

The Debate Over Social Security Today - Research Paper Example The program created to aid those who are unemployed in US is still functional and the program that was created to assist the families that have dependant children has been transformed into a program created to aid the needy ones. The era of the Great Depression led to the creation of Social Security Act but the same idea existed even before this time period. For example: during the 1880s a program to aid the old aged people, pregnant women and ill people was functional in Germany. These programs are said to be developed due to the urbanization of Germany. Similarly, the program of social insurance is said to have developed due to the urbanization in US. During the period of 1880s the number of people working in industries and number of people working in farms and agricultural arena were equal. By the 1930s, the number of people working in farms decreased to 21% of the total workforce and people started gaining wage based employment in the industrial sector. Further states that the wa ges earned by people working in industrialized areas were variable in nature even before the Great Depression. Before the Great Depression, the unemployment rate between the eras of 1905 to 109 fluctuated from as low as 3.9% to 16.4% and the unemployment rate during the era of 1920 to 1924 fluctuated from 4.1% to 19.5% (Kennedy, 1999). When ever economic downtrend took place in US, the category of people who took most of the burden were the old aged people, other side effects of downtrend included loss of income due to impairments and death. These effects gained the attention of the policy makers and during the Great Depression these issues gained more strength as during this era the unemployment rate in non agricultural sectors elevated to 34%. Increase in the degree of these issues made the policy makers create the Social security program (Green, 2003). The early developed program of Social Security was not designed in a way to provide fast relief from the effects of the Great dep ression. The early program was somewhat like the Townsend plan according to which individuals aging 60 and above were provided with an old age pension of $200. This amount was only provided to those individuals who were not employed or could not work and they had to spend the entire amount in one particular months time period. This program never became a part of the US constitution but gained tremendous popularity because it focused on wiping of poverty and to obtain economic success. Body Several features of the Social Security Act of 1935 are still available in the current Social security system, over the years the system has experienced various changes. The changes made to the act during the era of 1939 have now become a part of debate. The Act in its true shape was created with the purpose of providing retirement funds to those who were no longer employed and were aging over 65 years. The formulation of the benefits that were to be offered to old aged people under this act was b ased on the income earned by these old aged people since 1937 and the benefits were offered to people coming from limited kinds of jobs. The first formulation of benefits offered very low benefits to the old aged people as compared to the wages earned by an average worker during that time period (Livingston, 2008). These benefits were never applied to the Social Security Act; the only features applied from this Social Security A

LA---The City that Might Have Been Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LA---The City that Might Have Been - Essay Example If the project was turned into reality, have it not been for failures in real estate negotiations, the builders would have faced the challenge of really making the building secure and able to stand the atrocious circumstances on the sea brought about by changing seasons. Maintenance would have been a real challenge because keeping such a building that should withstand strong rains, is quite expensive. In addition to the building, there was also a proposal of having a glass-enclosed bridge that connects the building to the shore. This is a really genius plan and the same challenge presented by the building is applicable to the bridge. With such a spectacular proposed building, finances for the maintenance might not be a problem after all because undoubtedly, this project would have attracted people not only around the area but from all over the world. The experience this project offers to highly adventurous customers might have brought good economic opportunities to local and foreign investors not only because of the architectural design but also because of the adventure that people often seek and gladly pay for. The real challenge that developers would have really faced if the project pushed through would be the assurance that the building is a safe place for people to go to. Although engineering and architectural projects showed that it is possible to build strong buildings in the sea as evidenced by several bridge structures which stood strong and destructive waters for decades, the thought of building a place which will constantly house numerous people is quite different to

Marketing Mix And Promotion Mix

Marketing Mix And Promotion Mix Ethics have been an important aspect of business activities across the world for a long time. Ethical considerations are always in inseparable elements of business activities, thus advertising cannot be ignored. So we can say that ethics play quite an important role in advertising. Some of the ethics in advertising are: There should be no offence to the generally accepted norms of decency. Claims and representations should be true and honest. There should not be careless use of advertising products which are harmful either to individuals or society. The principle of fair competition should be respected in case of comparative advertising. The dignity of the human person should be maintained. Manipulative techniques should not be used, that means those techniques that play on a customer emotions etc. Ethical considerations are different from legal considerations. Legal considerations are enforced by law, but in case of ethical considerations they can or cannot be enforced by law. Ethical consideration have more to do with responsibility of a person towards the society, while legal considerations are something that has been written, approved and then enforced by the Government. Different companies have different ethical considerations towards a particular product or services, but legal considerations will always remain same as the opposite will be against the law. If we take the case of cigarette advertisement, the writing which says that cigarette is injurious to health is legal consideration; they cannot sell it without that phrase. The non use of vulgarity or obscenity can be seen as an ethical consideration more than a legal consideration. Communication is quite important in business. Ineffective communication causes a huge amount of damage to the company. There are a lot of barriers to communication, which stops the message being transferred. So to ensure that the messages are not impeded barriers to communication should be taken to consideration. So barriers to marketing communication campaign are: Variation in tone or style: If the marketing communication being informal or friendly or if the letters written in the message is threatening, can be a barrier to marketing communication. Noise: Noise can be a barrier as it can cause disturbance and may lead to confusion. For example when talking to a customer faults in telephone line causing some noises could cause disturbances. Differing perceptions: We know that each person is different, so people can take things differently, so a message should always be loud and clear. For example let us consider the advertisement of green tea, if the message that it is green tea is not mentioned loud and clear people could think it as normal tea. Language: Most misunderstandings can happen due to the difference in spoken interpretation. As we know language is most important for communication. For example the usage of jargon can often distort a message, it is not necessary everyone understands it. Lengthy message: If the messages are long people may tend to not to read or hear it fully and the message may not be conveyed in the right way. For example the TV advertisements are mostly about 30 seconds to 45 seconds, if it is more than that most people tend to get annoyed and would not listen to carefully. Prejudices: Some people tend to hear what they tend to hear but not what is said, so it may create false assumptions. Overload: Too much information in the messages can cause problems and the targeted audience may get confused. For example the TV ads regarding toothpastes in which it says the ingredients of the toothpaste, if the names of all ingredients are said people would get confused. Inconsistency: If the messages received are conflicting or inconsistent people tends to ignore them. For example the ad regarding soap, in the ad the company claims some effects of the soap and if anyone who had used it before never got the result would tend to believe the message is false. Channel barrier: If the channel used to send the message is not proper the message may not be received. For example the advertisement have video scenes can only be communicated via TV or internet but not through newspaper. Physical distractions: For example if the message is communicated through E-mail and there are spelling or grammar mistakes, the person who receives it wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be able to concentrate on the message. Electronic Medias have always played an important role in communication. The evolutions of technology have made communication far easier. The electronic media includes Television, Radio, Telephone, Computers, Internet, Fax, DVD, CD-ROMs etc. As we know there are advantages and disadvantages for everything. The advantages of electronic media in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s communication campaign are: Messages can be communicated quickly. For example an E-mail can be sent quickly to people. Messages can be communicated at a time to a large number of people. For example an ad on television is seen by a lot of people at the same time. Distance is no longer a problem. For example a message can be communicated to a person at a far distance through telephone, e-mail etc. Audio, video and text can be used in the same medium. For example take the case of advertisements on television, in an ad there is video, audio and also text. It can be recorded and can be stored for future use. For example a message can be stored DVDà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and can be used for future use. Powerful impact on people. For example an advertisement on television can have a lasting and powerful impact on people. The disadvantages of electronic media in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s communication campaign are: They are less intimate. For example an e-mail message is not as close as communicating directly. The mechanism of feedback is slow. For example the response to a television advertisement cannot be known quickly. The medium is expensive. For example a computer is expensive to buy. To make programmes special trainings are required. For example trained people are required for the making of an advertisement which is aired on television. In rural areas the access is limited. For example in many rural areas in many countries the internet is not available so e-mails cannot be used as a medium of communication. They are not permanent. For example and advertisement cannot be aired permanently, they will be taken off air after a considerable time. 6. Marketing Communication objectives are derived from marketing objectives. The main objectives of marketing and marketing communication objectives are to increase brand awareness, increase sales, encourage action from the targeted audience, improve customer relations, establish themselves in the industry etc.

How to Succeed in College Essay -- College Education Organization Essa

How to Succeed in College College 101 has been a very informative class. It has taught me a lot about college and the changes you have to make while attending college. I learned a lot about certain programs that the school offers, I knew nothing about these programs before I took this class and I probably never would have known anything about them if I never would have taken this class. In this class I have learned about three important concepts that can be very useful throughout my college years to come. I think time management, determining values and balancing lifestyles are the three most important concepts you need to help you succeed in college.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think planning a day to day schedule of the things you have to do is very important and that’s why time management is a very important factor while in college and even life after college. You can start out by making a chart and writing down everything that you have to do and write the time limit it should take you to do it. You have to work hard at disciplining yourself and try not to go over the time that you have designated for yourself. I think you should even set a time where you have free time to yourself. You should carry this schedule every where you go because if you forget it than you are more likely to do something else or spend more time while doing a certain task. You should also reward yourself when completing some tasks and that way if you do this you would want to keep going and complete the next one....

Fallingwater Critque

I TLD understand the building when I first saw It's Image pop up, but with further Investigation, It grew on me. Maybe It Is because I am not an outdoorsy kind of person But the way the building Is designed, Is unique and quit intriguing. This building has many square edges, it seems basic along the outside of the building. But it is when you look at the materials used, the rocks along the exterior walls and the red paned windows and railings that seem to bring everything all together.I still am not sure if I like the way the building is put together, but it works for it's private and intimate location. It appears to have been always made for this location, the building seems almost natural. And the colors work very well together, again, all natural. Structure: The structure of the building varies with each area. There are 3 horizontal trays made up of reinforced concrete which form there three levels of the house. There are four piers, or bolsters anchored Into a boulder underneath the mall floor act as the fulcrum for the house.Counterbalancing weight to the back, or north side, of the house keep it from toppling into the stream. The cantilever, which is the long piece of concrete underneath the building is the basis for the entire structure. Materials: The materials which Frank Lloyd Wright has used to create the falling water building were very simple. He used sandstone, reinforced concrete, steel and glass. Which all the materials can be seen by loping right at the building. The building has many shapes and lines, but together it flows very peacefully.Some that re seen are pentagon, rectangle, semi-circle and squares pieces of the building. Talking about them separately, you wouldn't think they would flow as nicely. But they do work together In this setting. Context: The environment and the building all do flow nicely together. If this building was built in a rural area in a community of other rural homes, it would NEVER fit in. But this building creates t he environment and atmosphere as if it was always made to be there. It has become on with the river and surrounding landscape. It grows as the trees would grow that hover the river and building.

Free sample - Bill of Rights. translation missing

Bill of Rights. Bill of RightsIntroduction Criminal justice and security system happens to be one of the largest industries in the United States of America. The historical development of the various law enforcement agencies and their jurisdiction has changed over the years in the years since the establishment of the first courts in the country. The law enforcement revolves around and tries to apply true methods of searching, arresting and interrogation that give individual rights. This essay will examine the various aspects of the criminal justice system and security including the objectives and challenges of law enforcement agencies, the roles of the federal, state, and local court systems, the objectives of the juvenile justice system, the roles of private security organizations with respect to both corporate and public protection and various solutions to the challenges that faces criminal justice organizations and security organizations. Federal court system This is sometimes referred to as the guardians of the constitution and they exist to fairly and impartially interpret and apply the laws, resolve the disputes and, most importantly protect the rights and liberties that are guaranteed by the constitution. These courts do not make the laws. It is the constitution that delegates making, amending and repealing the federal laws to the US congress (Government Printing Office) State court system The role of the state judiciary system is important to the operation of state government in general. These state courts interpret and apply state laws. They assist in resolving conflicts such as business disagreements and grievances that the citizens may have against each other. In addition, the state courts punish crimes that violate the state law. State courts are important because state most of the laws that affect the citizen on a daily basis are state and local laws and it is the responsibility of the state courts to interpret those laws. Roles of the court systems with respect to public safety and civil rights The courts interpret and apply the law when different parties are in dispute. In that way, courts take law out of the law books, and make it part of people’s lives. The courts apply the law to specific controversies that are brought before them. They resolve disputes between the individuals, companies and government unities.   Often, the courts are called on to uphold some limitations on the government. They protect against abuses by all government branches. They protect the minorities of various kinds from the majority, and protect the rights of citizens who are not able to protect themselves. They also embody the important notions of equal and fair The employment relationship under the American law is highly regulated by a complex, system of statues, administrative regulations and the judicial precedent at the federal, state and also at local level. The federal and state laws affects all the aspects of employment such as payment of wages, hiring of workers, compensation of overtime, workplace and general employee safety and employee discipline.   The court systems also interpret the in regard to employment based on gender, race, age, color and physical handicap (Government Printing Office). The roles of private security organizations   Few years ago, the term private security called to mind the image of the security guards with marginal qualifications for other functions who ended up accepting low wages. The private activities and policing have become complex and more important. The private security encompasses the occupations that range from the traditional security guards to the computer security experts and to the high ranking corporate vice presidents who are responsible for the planning and overseeing the safety and security at companies, industries and office complexes in the entire world. The olice image by Zeno from Fotolia.com private security in the United States has a reputation for being lax compared to the public security. Many areas need additional security to protect property as well as individuals. Private security companies provide services ranging from armed and the unarmed security to uniformed and the plainclothes security, from electronic surveillance to inspection of vehicles and bomb dete ction, and from personal protection to preparation for low and high security threat scenarios. Due to the attacks of September 2001, the law enforcement private security has been seen as critical to preventing terrorism and terrorism acts. Since the private sector owns and protects about 80 percent of the world’s infrastructure, while the local law enforcement often has threat information regarding the infrastructure, law enforcement-private security can put vital information into the hands of the people who are in need of it. Thus, to effectively protect the nation’s infrastructure, law enforcement and private security must work collaboratively because neither possesses the necessary resources to do so alone (Green G and Fischer J. 2004). The objectives of the juvenile justice system The juvenile courts have jurisdiction over the individuals under the age of 18 who engage in unlawful conduct, with certain exceptions. Unlike the adult courts, the juvenile proceeding is not a criminal proceeding designed to determine the criminal responsibility and punishment but it is a civil proceeding designed to protect the young people from the consequences of their own conduct, develop responsibility for the unlawful behavior, rehabilitate them and promotes public safety. Other objectives of juvenile courts include addressing the offending behavior, minimizing the penetration of young people into the Criminal Justice System, promoting the uniqueness of adolescents, providing more effective community based responses, delivering culturally appropriate responses and assisting in the development of the young person's self identity. The challenges facing criminal justice and security organizations and solutions Most law enforcement agencies and officers in the united state do not have access to the new technologies that are used to fight crimes hence they are hindered in their intelligence gathering operations. The criminal justice and security systems should make use of some organizations that provides the required criminal intelligence and the investigative support services. For instance they should work in hand with Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) which always serves as the invaluable tool to the Federal State and the Local law enforcement agencies. RISS may give the agencies the required resources that they need to discover and apprehend the potential crimes before they happen (Congressional Record). The criminal justice and security systems should possess basic understanding of the justice system, including policing, structure of the court system, the role of the prosecutor and judge and the system of law, identify and read any previous similar assessments, request, in advan ce the statistical and management reports. Some of these reports are found on the internet. The policymakers at government federal, state and local agencies should respond to United States country’s crime and safety concerns. They should however put in mind that it is more important to remember that the criminal issues in United States are multi-faceted, and that their respective responses towards the issues should be as well multi-faceted. The improvement of safety in the day-to-day lives of the residents of United States should be the responsibility of a wide range of justice agencies which are within the US country and not just law enforcement officials because the safety improvements facilitates the involvement of social service and public service providers, the federal and state officials, the youth workers, the residents of the tribal communities and tribal and non-American politicians. Also, they should meet with institutions, individuals, and professional and human rights organizations which are concerned with the issues that they may encounter on the mission of assessment, as well as the donors including embassies that provide bilateral assistance. These sources may provide some valuable background information for conducting thorough assessments as well as the invaluable in-country contacts. Finally, the systems should consider the use of research tools used in the assessment mission such as document study, interviews and focus groups (Siegel, 2009). Conclusion The society expects the courts to decide if people are guilty or not, sentence the guilty to punishment, interpret the laws made by the legislative, set the legal precedents, and to uphold the constitutional protections. References Government Printing Office. Congressional Record. Green G and Fischer J. (2004). Introduction to security. Butterworth-Heinemann. Siegel, l. J. (2009). Introduction to Criminal Justice. Cengage Learning.

These Are the 5 Worst Problems with College Boards AP Program

These Are the 5 Worst Problems with College Board's AP Program SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips We’ve talked a lot about the AP Program in the past – why you would take AP classes, how many you should take, and how AP compares to the IB program. But what are some of the major problems with the AP program?In this guide, we'll go over the top five worst problems that the College Board and the AP program are dealing with. We will also explain how you can avoid these problems and get the most out of your AP courses. The Top 5 Problems With Advanced Placement As a brief disclaimer, we don't expect the Advanced Placement program to be perfect, and there are many benefits to taking AP classes, as we've covered in the past. That said, by covering some of the weaknesses of the AP program, we hope to help students make more informed decisions about their schedules, especially in the midst of today's intense college admissions environment. Problem 1: More Tests Taken = More Failed Tests The AP Program is growing too fast for all the new programs to be supported, especially at low-income schools, leading to more failed tests than anything else. As we’ve discussed in the past, the ultimate goal of taking an AP class is to pass the AP test at the end of the year – if you don’t, you’ve basically wasted the $92 you spent on the exam. So it’s a problem if most of the AP growth in recent years comes from failed exams. College Board often celebrates the results of the fast-growing AP Program – nearly 5 million tests were taken in 2017, for example. However, the flip side to this is that with new AP classes and programs come growing pains, especially in schools that don’t have a lot of funding for new AP programs. It takes a few years for a class to really settle in at a high school, and for a teacher to get used to the AP curriculum. It can take a few years for a teacher to master a curriculum. This takes even longer in low-income schools – explaining why a lot of the growth has come in the form of failed AP tests (you can see how the average test score has fallen over time here). A report from Inside Higher Ed looks at this phenomenon: â€Å"The data also show, however, a more than doubling in the number of AP examinees who only achieve test scores of less than 3 on the exam. (Typically a score of three is the minimum required for college credit, and critics of the program have said that increases in the number of sub-3 scores suggest many students may not be gaining from the courses, a contention disputed by the College Board.) These figures grew from 182,429 to 395,925 during the last decade. Likewise, the number of AP exams with scores of less than 3 also more than doubled, from 521,620 to 1,345,988. The data also show significant gaps in participation rates and success rates (scores of 3 and higher) on the AP exams, by racial and ethnic group. White and Asian students are more likely to participate and to get good scores. Black students are much less likely to do so.† In other words, people are questioning how good the expansion of the AP program actually is if it just means more students are failing AP exams every year. There have been concerns for years among teachers about the program growing too fast, and schools being too lax about which students get to take AP. A 2009 survey of 1,000 AP teachers found that "more than half are concerned that the program’s effectiveness is being threatened as districts loosen restrictions on who can take such rigorous courses and as students flock to them to polish their rà ©sumà ©s." In short, there are thousands of students winding up with failed AP tests each year – which is no good for them or their schools. You could argue that the experience of taking an AP class helps students prepare for college, but the fact remains that rapid expansion is not leading to the best outcomes for many students. Problem 2: Too Much Material, Too Little Time Even though many courses have been revamped, AP still tends to be seen as a shallow, memorization-based program, in comparison to IB and home-grown curriculums at other schools. In one blistering critique of AP classes in The Atlantic, a former teacher writes: "the AP program leads to rigid stultification." He complains that by requiring so much material, AP classes lose depth and the opportunity for meaningful learning. Another study, reported in KQED, finds that â€Å"AP courses don’t always teach critical thinking skills or allow students to explore topics more deeply. Instead, they often turn into a race to cover a wide expanse of information, some say.† Okay, this is a slight exaggeration, but you would be surprised at the size of some AP textbooks. This is especially true in contrast to IB, which explicitly focuses on developing critical thinking and writing skills. By requiring students seeking an IB diploma to write an extended research essay, take a class about theories of knowledge, and including more writing on the exams, the IB program emphasizes critical thinking, research, and writing in the way AP classes simply don’t have time for. Even in places where the AP program has revamped classes, like biology, concerns remain. A Washington Post article notes: â€Å"The new curriculum will encourage more work in science labs and less parroting back of formulas, more work on historical thinking and less memorization of historical minutiae. That all sounds pretty good. But it will do little to improve teaching and learning, especially at schools with low-levels of instructional and administrative capacity.Merely asking teachers to spend less time drilling and more time promoting inquiry, in other words, does not make them able to do so, nor does it prepare their students to succeed in such classes.† A New York Times article further explains why it can be hard for teachers to switch over from drilling to experiments and critical inquiry: â€Å"While Ms. Vangos believes the program could inspire students who â€Å"like to think outside the box,† she worries that the new math requirements will discourage others. And with so many cutbacks these days in education budgets, she says, the need to improve lab facilities at many public schools 'is absolutely going to pose a big problem.' Labs in resource-strapped urban schools often don’t have enough of even basic tools, like dissecting microscopes, for their students.† In short, it’s hard to balance the fact that AP courses tend to pack in tons of material with a desire to emphasize critical thinking and accessibility. Especially in schools without many resources. At the end of the day, if you’re in an AP course, you’ll likely find yourself spending more time drilling definitions with flashcards than, say, conducting experiments or reading novels. The new AP Capstone program does attempt to rectify some of these issues. Read more about it here. Problem 3: You Won't Always Get the College Credit You're Expecting The AP Program might not lead to the college credit you want for two reasons. First, AP classes often aren’t always as rigorous as their actual college equivalents, and some colleges are getting stingy about granting AP credit. Again in The Atlantic, the former teacher argues AP classes aren’t actually equivalent to college-level courses: â€Å"Before teaching in a high school, I taught for almost 25 years at the college level, and almost every one of those years my responsibilities included some equivalent of an introductory American government course. The high-school AP course didn't begin to hold a candle to any of my college courses. My colleagues said the same was true in their subjects.† Additionally, in college, your AP course doesn’t always grant you credit. Sometimes it just gets you out of your department's intro courses – which you might want to take anyway to get a more solid understanding of the material. It can be hard to replicate the college experience in a high school classroom. It’s important to note that many schools – particularly large public universities – will give you credit for AP, especially for gen-ed courses. To look at an example of a public university, at the University of Utah (my local state school) you can get tons of AP credit, enough to knock out your general education requirements in high school. However, many private colleges, especially top-tier ones, are shying away from granting AP credit. For some schools, credit policies are drawn on departmental lines. Math and science AP courses get credit more often than History or English. To look at one example of a top-tier school, Princeton, you can get into harder history courses with excellent AP US or World History scores, but you won’t get credit for your high scores. Meanwhile, at Dartmouth, AP courses will no longer be used to grant any credit at all, though they will get students into higher-level classes. I can also speak to AP credit not panning out. Even though I took nine AP classes, and got seven 5’s and two 4’s, none of them got me class credit at Stanford, since Stanford mostly accepts AP credit from math, science, and language classes. However, those AP classes did a lot to help me prepare for Stanford classes – in fact most of my college study skills came from AP classes. In short, if you’re taking AP classes, you should get used to the fact that even though the classes will help prepare you for college, they might not get you credit once you get there. Problem 4: Students Are Overloading Another problem with AP isn’t so much due to the program itself, but how students (and parents!) react to it. Across the country, students are overloading themselves, thinking that taking ten AP classes is the ticket to a selective school. This leads to stressed-out, burned-out students. Plus, taking AP classes doesn’t even guarantee admission into schools like Harvard and Stanford. Some educators describe AP courses as kind of an â€Å"arms race,† where as certain students take more AP classes, others feel pressured to load up with more to compete. Local newspapers have run lots of articles over the last five years about students feeling the need to overload on AP classes. When students overload, they’re much more likely to get overwhelmed by the work and get lower scores on the exams. It also adds to the enormous amounts of stress associated with today’s college admission process. Problem 5: It Can Exacerbate Education Inequality While AP has often been touted as an equalizing force in education, it tends to just perpetuate unequal outcomes. Well-prepared and well-funded students do well on AP tests, and students from less wealthy schools do worse, so the AP program often reinforces education inequality. College Board often touts AP’s expansion into various public and low-income schools as a victory for education. The truth is that low-income schools often struggle to successfully implement AP programs and get students to pass the exams. So what ends up happening is that, similar to the SAT/ACT, the tests simply reinforce the status quo: students at well-funded schools do well, students at less well-funded schools struggle. Plus, the bigger the program gets, the less power it has to set students apart. Inside Higher Edexplores this phenomenon: â€Å"Consequently, their efforts, while well-intended, never address the underlying problems that affect school quality and educational equity †¦.the expansion of the AP Program failed to promote real parity between the educational haves and have-nots. Because once the AP Program reached a critical mass, it lost its functionality as a mark of distinction. Soon, scores of colleges and universities (Dartmouth being the latest) revised their policies around awarding credit for AP coursework or favoring it in admissions reviews. And ultimately, elite suburban and private schools began to drop the program, calling it outdated, overly-restrictive, and too oriented toward multiple choice tests. Thus, while students at Garfield High in East Los Angeles were for a short time doing the same work as students at Andover, the aim of equity proved a noble and elusive dream.† In short, the AP program isn’t living up to its promise of leveling the education playing field in the US. It’s even having the strange effect of causing certain private schools to drop AP and create their own advanced courses – making AP seem less special in the college admissions process. I’m not saying it’s the AP program’s responsibility to fix educational inequality in the US – education inequality is an enormous problem. It will take much more than just one program to fix it. That said, I think it’s important to evaluate how successful programs actually are in trying to fix the problem – especially if they claim to be part of the solution. So Should You Take AP Classes? Given these problems, should you totally give up on AP? After reading through all of those issues you may be having second thoughts. Not necessarily. I still think the AP program can be a great fit for many students. These are the steps you should take to make sure you get the most out of the program, despite its flaws. #1: Take the Hardest Classes at Your School We’ve looked at problems the AP has nationally, but the reality is you still need to take the hardest classes at your school if you’re looking to get into top colleges. That means you should still take AP classes if your school offers them and you're hoping for a top school but do not overload on them. Meet with your guidance counselor to talk about putting together a challenging mix of your school’s classes that doesn’t overload on AP – especially if your school’s AP program isn’t stellar. (Ask your guidance counselor about the pass rates your AP teachers achieve on the exams, and how often they notice students switching out of AP classes, to get a sense of how good the program is at your school.) If you’re aiming for top schools, your goal is to have a transcript that your counselor will report as â€Å"most rigorous† on the Common App guidance counselor report. If your school has AP, this means that, in most cases, you’ll need to take AP classes. But it doesn't mean you have to take every single AP course your school offers. If you overload, you risk stretching yourself too thin. It’s better to pass two AP tests than to fail four! Also make sure that for any AP class you take, you have solid pre-requisite courses under your belt. (For example, don't take AP Biology without having taken an introductory biology class first.) #2: Match Your AP Courses to Your Goals Do you want to get into a top-tier school? Or are you more interested in skipping general ed requirements at your state school and graduating college early? Your answers to these questions can help you decide which AP classes are worth your effort, and which ones aren’t. If you know what your goals are, you can create a smart AP program for you. For example, if you’re trying to avoid general education classes at your local state school, look up which AP courses fulfill these requirements at your state school, and focus on doing well in those. To take just one example, this may mean choosing to take AP Calculus over AP Art History if you’re looking to complete your college math credit in high school – even if you love art! If you’re aiming for a top school, look at AP courses that allow you to explore your interests and show your academic strengths. To continue our example, this may mean taking AP Art History instead of AP Calculus to demonstrate your interest in the fine arts and humanities. #3: Avoid Common Pitfalls First of all, don’t load up on APs just to have AP classes all over your transcript. Take the right number for you. If this means taking fewer AP classes than your friends, so be it! Remember to pick out classes with your own goals in mind. Also, don’t underestimate the exam – you have to study to pass the AP test, even if you think the class is easy! Getting an A in an AP class but getting a 1 on 2 on the exam looks bad. Make sure to take at least two full practice exams before the real thing. Finally, continue to develop your other interests in high school. Don’t take 10 AP classes but sacrifice a key extracurricular or studying for the SAT/ACT. Remember AP classes are just one factor of an advanced high school experience. #4: Focus on the Positive Although we’ve talked a lot about problems with the AP program, I still think it’s a great way to prepare for college. You can get a lot out of AP – by learning to study on your own, developing self-discipline, and mastering challenging material. At the end of the day, how much you get out of AP classes will depend on how much effort you put in. Despite the numerous problems with AP on a national level, and uneven courses at my local high school, I’m really glad I took nine AP classes in high school. By developing my own study schedules before the tests, I honed my self-discipline and study skills. The writing fluency skills I gained from numerous AP history and English courses were also super helpful in college when I found myself with several essays to write at the end of every quarter. In short, even if the AP program leaves something to be desired at your school, you can still use it to develop your skills. Keep in mind that could mean doing extra studying outside of class and taking studying matters into your own hands. What’s Next? Thinking you should take IB classes instead? Get a comparison of the IB and AP programs. While you might think AP is the key to college, think again. Read about how a high ACT/SAT score is the single most important key to improving your admissions chances. Need some help with your ACT/SAT studying? Check out 21 SAT tricks you should be using, and find out the hidden hints in the ACT instructions. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Technology and Productivity in the Workplace Essay

Technology and Productivity in the Workplace - Essay Example At this particular stage in the IT revolution, many organizations This reverse effect of technology is attributed to two problems that have cropped up on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools: segmentation and loss of context. The reason why segmentation and loss of context complicate rather than facilitate problem solving in the workplace is that information made readily available by technology is segmented into pieces such that its recipients are forced to locate the place of each piece in the puzzle. When these segments or units of information reached the recipient, they are often stripped of their meaningful context or original situation of use (Risku & Picher online). The result is occasional stress and frustration in the workplace, which are effective deterrents to productivity. This paper delves into the reasons why technology falls short of its high expectations in the workplace, how the man may have been relegated to a backseat in favor of the machine, and what can be done for the workplace to exact the promised benefits from technology. The central issu Case against Technology The central issue boils down to a conflict between creativity and control on one hand and economic viability on the other. In the words of Storck (2001), the issue of whether computers are a help or hindrance can be reduced to the question: Does it prevent or promote higher productivity Technology is a great help if it lifted the per capita productivity of workers, but it is a hindrance if ICT systems in fact contributed to a decline in productivity at the workplace. Technology through revolutionary transportation and communication systems toppled down international borders and gave way to the Global Village, a business and economic phenomenon. But this is the bigger picture. In the actual workplace, technology users are expending time and energy grappling with newfangled tools that had minds of their own. IT tools were devised to make performance of tasks easier and faster, bridging any distances so that all participants access the same knowledge. But this technology works best for business organizations if it can be integrated into accepted ways of organizational behavior and it does not interfere with man's desire for belonging and professional stability (Risku & Picher online). The Embedded Cognition Theory set by Suchman (1997) suggests that knowledge provided by IT systems fails to raise productivity and promote intelligent problem solving in the workplace because it prevents man's cognitive urges to tackle new challenges and to interact with fellow humans. Based on the collective intelligence and organizational knowledge theories (Levy, 1997 and Spender, 1996, respectively, as cited in Risku & Pricher), a worker is smarter and more intelligent if his mind, body and environment interact in a dynamic manner. The closer this interaction is,

A critical analysis of a recent PR, advertising or social media Essay

A critical analysis of a recent PR, advertising or social media campaign - Essay Example Given the decision to do commercial advertising, Nike first ventured in printing advertisements that appeared in major dailies in the United States. The company also invested in magazine advertisements. Before the year 1982, Nike put more focus on sponsorships as well as the trending celebrity endorsements. Since that period, the celebrity advertisement has revolutionized, with many corporate entities embracing the need to collaborate with celebrities in a bid to convince more customers to use their products (Cronin, 2004). It was in the same year that Nike hired the services of Wieden + Kennedy, an advertising agency that has since then had strong ties with this giant sportswear company. It is with the help of the partnership with Wieden that Nike begun airing advertisements across television channels in the United States. Television advertising was a boost for the image of the company, as many of the elite group had access to television. Television advertisements helped the company to emphasize more on the technical superiority of its products, therefore positioning the company as a brand for aspiring and serious athletes across various sporting disciplines. In addition to highlighting their product superiority, Nike ventured into advertising their fashion accessories across the young customers, promoting their merchandise across schools and other sporting institutions (Wernick, 1991). The activities of the Nike Company in advertising played a major role in the internationalization of the company. Over the past three decades, Nike has grown to various overseas sporting leagues, with the company being a major corporate figure that sponsors major athletes in the sporting world. This growth in revenue as well as the involvement in multinational sporting markets defines Nike as a global leader in the sporting market. Soccer is no exception. However, the authority of Nike in the soccer

Apply the concepts of the expectancy theory of motivation as an Essay - 1

Apply the concepts of the expectancy theory of motivation as an approach to improving performance in a given workplace situation - Essay Example This belief is founded on past experience, self-efficacy as well as the perceived difficulty of the performance standard. Secondly, instrumentality is based on the belief that if the set performance expectation is reached, then there is an accompanying reward for the work done. The reward can either be a promotion, a salary increment, a sense of accomplishment or even recognition. If the rewards are made to be similar for all irrespective of the individual performance, then instrumentality reduces. The individual’s instrumentality is based on trust, control, and policies. The perception that individuals have a control on how the rewards are distributed results to an increased instrumentality. Trust mainly comes from the leadership, if the individuals can trust their leader, then it means they will believe in whatever they are promised. Policies are also very important when it comes to instrumentality. The perception that a certain level of performance attracts certain rewards in accordance to the organizational policy will exponentially increase instrumentality (Vroom, 1964). The other component is valence. It basically deals with the value that a person gives to the rewards of an outcome. This value is founded on the basis of the person’s needs, values, preferences, sources of motivation and their goals. The potential valued outcome can range from promotions, recognition, pay rises, bonuses, intrinsic satisfaction based on validation of one’s abilities and skills, time off, new and interesting assignments, or it can also result from an intrinsic satisfaction based on the view that their efforts positively impacted others (Porter and Lawler,1968). The company in the case scenario can effectively adopt the expectancy motivation theory in order to improve the performance of its employees. There seems to be an attitude by the employees towards work,

Forgive Me Mother Essay Example for Free

Forgive Me Mother Essay Its strange how memories of the past can be so terrifying. The thoughts and the occurring dreams are always similar. I would remember longing for a summer where the summers light would beam on my body with the warmth of the sun. Winter was worse because I was terrified by the cold thick air that I would inhale inside my thin body until it feels I was shivering to death. The feeling of being alone , I couldn’t even sleep at night without being terrified; not because of being alone , but knowing my life would dwell with no hope for me for the future. I would see paranormal faces of my father. The haunting face would stare at me with such gentle eyes , yet sad. It’s like he was watching over me. Years ago when I had a family, loving yet annoyingly humorous in a family sense that I miss. We were having dinner with the family with just me , my mother and father. My mother was preparing the food and my father was coming home from work. However he never came back and my mother was worried and panicked. I was still too naà ¯ve to understand the situation fully back then. Hell I don’t even know how old I am anymore since I’ve lost track of time. I cried at first because my mother was always the strong type in the family. It was the first time I’ve seen her cry and the emotions inside of me wanted me to cry with her. He never came back and the authority’s told us he went missing. He was the provider of the family and we were financially unstable. My mother had to look for work , so she left to the city. She told me she would call me when she would be back. Once she left , the people who collects debt knocked on my door and seized the house. I had no place to go and so I left to find shelter and food. I got hired a job in a local newspaper agency to hand out flyers to neighbour streets. It was so cold but I never gave up hoping my mother would come back and take care of me. She couldn’t take me with her because she could only afford enough for herself to travel. We lived in a small town surrounded by snow somewhere in the upper regions of South Korea. One day while I was sleeping in the corner of the streets. A man walked pass with a white hat and apron with a grin on his cheeks. He looked at me for a couple of minutes. I was scared so I didn’t look back at him out of fear. I hear footsteps coming towards me and I was about to run. He asked â€Å"Why are you out in the streets alone at your age? , How old are you?†. I replied in a low voice ‘I don’t know†. He had a strange look on his face and asked me where my guardians was. I replied to him that I don’t know either. He asked me more questions which I all replied â€Å"I Don’t know†. I looked up and saw his face. He was a old man with a beard and had a stick on him which looked like it was supporting him move. It was a silent cold night and I’m not sure why he would be walking around at this time. He asked if I would like to work at his restaurant with cleaning and get paid for it. With nothing to lose I gladly accepted his offer. He took me to his place , it didn’t seem what he said it was. The restaurant looked like a dump and I only saw girls on the front door outside of the restaurant wearing what looked like beach clothing in cold weather. I was suspicious but I had nowhere to go and I didn’t know the way back from here. I followed the old man and he took me into a small room with 10 other children. At first I thought he was taking care of us until there was only girls in the room coming in and out one by one with a man. This isn’t a restaurant I suspected. I was disgusted and tried to leave but they didn’t let me leave. Pushing and crying to get out. They pulled me back , held both my hands and chucked me into a room by myself and locked the doors. Suddenly someone said *Calm down or they will punish you*. I stoped and looked for the source of the sound. The room had a little vent which leads to the other rooms. I whispered to the girl â€Å"What is this place† in a panicking voice. She told me it was a brothel where everyone gets kidnapped and rape for money by strangers. I asked her I was a male, â€Å"what do they want from me?† She told me she doesn’t know either. I didn’t want to find out , my life was already crumbling and now this. There was a medicine cabinet inside the room. I searched inside and found sleeping pills , I remember taking these when I lived with my parents. I could never sleep so the doctor prescribed me sleeping pills. I tried to sleep but I couldn’t out of the fear what was going to happen to me. I suggested to myself I should take these pills and ease things. I took the bottle of medicine from the cabinet. One wasn’t enough for me so I thought. I took more and more until I was feeling dizzy. I counted how many times and how much I’ve taken. But I lost count and started again. I needed more and I needed my peaceful slumber. I was scared to think what was going to happen and kept taking more and more pills until I could feel the bottom of the container. My body begins to weaken and I could no longer feel my fingers. My eyelids begin to shutdown. Soon darkness was all I could see , I felt a hollowing in a room with darkness and suspended in time. Forgive me mother I love you.

Marc Antony Essay -- Essays Papers

Marc Antony â€Å"Friends, Romans, countryman lend me your ears† (Shakespeare), this saying is what Mark Antony is probably most noted for. Antony’s life can be broken down into three parts. The first part would have to be the earlier years of his life before the death of Caesar. In the middle is Antony’s few years of success and power. The last part of his life is the downfall of him. Mark Antony was very powerful and successful for a short period in Ancient Rome. To begin, Mark Antony was born in 83 BC in Rome into a wealthy family (Laura). Mark Antony lived in Rome for the majority of his life. For a very short period, he was schooled in Greece (Encarta). Antony soon gained political and military power. From 58 to 56 BC he was the leader of the Roman Calvary (Encarta). Then in Gaul from 54 to 50 BC, he served in many offices (Encarta). Those offices include quaestor, augur, and the people’s tribune (Encarta). Antony did different jobs for his mentor, Julius Caesar. During the Battle of Pharsalus, which happened from 48 to 44 BC, Antony commanded the left wing of Caesar’s army (Encarta). â€Å"Antony, voluptuous, easy going, but capable of great effort, was unscrupulous and selfish. He sought power for his private ends, but his methods were casual and open† (Coolidge 73). Next, â€Å"After Caesar’s death, Antony maintained a very substantial military force for personal protection, including number centurions- and he accused Octavian of tampering with its loyalty†...

Links Between Hr Strategy/Policy and National/Organizational Culture

2. Explain the links between HR strategy/policy and national/organizational culture. Recent research suggests that the management of human resources has become increasingly important for business success. Employees are said to be one of the most valuable assets to an organization; as a result the effective management of these employees is essential. Management literature has had a tendency to associate human resource management (HRM) with firm performance. It is this link which has been the underlying cause for the abundance of research regarding HRM practices and their effects on a firm.However, there is a substantial debate within the literature that argues that HRM practices do not directly impact organizational performance (Boxall & Purcell, 2000), with claims that there is a missing link between the two. In regards to this ‘black box’ the concept of organizational culture has emerged. It is said that organizational culture is manifested in the behavior of its employ ees (Ngo & Loi, 2008), and is entrenched in the everyday working lives of cultural members (Martin, 2004).Culture is claimed to affect employee’s job attitudes, efficiency and productivity (Mahal, 2009), and can impact the ability to carry out an organizations plans and meet strategic goals (Chan, Shaffer & Snape, 2004). With these assertions, organizational culture could in fact influence a firm’s productivity and their overall performance. This paper examines the relationship between HRM, organizational culture and firm performance. The next section of this paper defines and explains the organizational culture concept.I then investigate the relationship between HRM and organizational culture by exploring the overarching themes which emerge from the literature regarding this link. Finally, I explore the relationship between HRM, organizational culture and firm performance. The Link between HRM and Organizational Culture Previous literature has identified and focused a round two common sources of organizational culture: (1) founders of the organization, and (2) national culture. Barney (1986) claimed that firms are historically bound. In line with Schein (2004) he argued that a firm’s culture reflects the unique personality of its founders.Along with these unique personalities a number of scholars have alleged that culture originates in the values and assumptions articulated by top management, which in turn, play an important role in shaping cultural views and employee’s behaviours (Chew & Sharma, 2005; Mahal, 2009). These values are then reinforced in a number of ways. Smircich (1983) articulated that top managers mould organizational cultures, and thus the values and beliefs held by employees, to suit their strategic ends; in turn the corporate culture should reflect the vision of the firm (Ngo & Loi, 2008).Values are also reiterated in hiring employees with similar priorities to top management as well as thoroughly socializing new employees to elicit those desired behaviours (Martin, 2004). Furthermore, national culture plays a prevailing role in shaping organizational culture. National culture refers to the culture specific to a national group (Chew & Sharma, 2005), and is entrenched deeply within individual’s everyday lives. These ingrained values will subconsciously affect how management practices are both carried out and received in an organization, and therefore how employee’s will behave within the firm (Chew & Sharma, 2005).Consequently, acompany’s culture is said to be linked to the founders of the organization and the values which they demonstrate, as well as the National culture in which the organization was first founded. A third relationship has begun to emerge out of management literature. There have been claims by a number of scholars (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004; Cabrera & Bonache, 1999; Lau & Ngo, 2004; Wilkins,1984) that organizational culture is related to HRM and the human r esource practices which are implemented by the organization.HRM has become an increasingly important activity within an organization. Its function is to attract, develop, motivate and retain employee’s who ensure the effective functioning of the organization (Jackson & Schuler, 1995). Relatively little is known about the link between organizational culture and HRM, as few empirical studies testing this relationship have been conducted (Platonova, 2005). However, a few overarching themes emerge from the literature regarding this HRM-culture relationship. HRM Practices Influence Organizational CultureWithin the HRM-organizational culture link lays a belief that firm’s HRM practices will motivate employees to adopt certain attitudes and behaviours, and will therefore elicit a certain corporate culture (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004; Cabrera & Bonache, 1999; Chow & Liu, 2009; Lau & Ngo, 2004; Ngo & Loi, 2008; Wilkins, 1984). One of the earliest views on this HRM-organizational cul ture link was from Peters (1978), who suggested that management systems (e. g. HRM systems) could be thought of as mechanisms to transmit values and beliefs of the organization which, as a result, help to shape its character.With organizational culture comprising a range of social phenomena there are certain situations in which organizational norms are not the result of shared values among employees; rather, they are determined by the rules and practices an organization implements (Cabrera & Bonache, 1999). Tichy (1983) thought that the way in which HRM systems are designed can communicate important and useful information about the organizations culture to employees. Schwartz & Davis (1981) also argued that HR practices provide information to employees.They convey standardized information to employees about expected patterns of activity and acceptable behaviours which allow the firm to achieve its objective. Lewicki (1981) argues that HRM practices answer three questions for employe es, providing information to staff about the acceptable behaviours: (1) what does the organization expect from its employees? (2) What kind of behaviour does the organization reward? And (3) what are the dos and don’ts of proper social conduct within the system? (p. 8). Ulrich (1984) iterates this view using an example of socialization programs.Her belief is that socialization and induction programs play a significant role in transmitting corporate culture to individuals entering into the organization. They ensure that acceptable behaviours and cultural norms are passed down to new employees, thus keeping organizational culture consistent. It is through this shared information as well as the experiences of employees that behavioural norms are established, thus becoming the means through which culture is created and sustained within the firm.Building on the HRM-organizational culture link, Ulrich (1984) advocates that procedures and practices implemented by HR executives becom e rituals within the company. Ulrich deems rituals to be customary and repeated actions within a firm. They take on a meaning within the organization. As we identified earlier, rituals are a symbolic tool in which values are manifested. These rituals, which include evaluation and reward procedures, help guide the behaviour of employee’s as they establish boundaries and behavioural norms within the firm.Wilkins (1984) asserts a different view; that HR systems can create career paths for employees as well as groupings of people who remain in the firm for a long enough time for a company culture to form. This outlook suggests that firms can implement HR practices that foster job security and internal career development in order to keep turnover low, and maintain those social phenomena that comprise organizational culture (values, beliefs, norms, assumptions) within the organization, and therefore forming a strong organizational culture.While a number of scholars claim that HRM p ractices lead to organizational culture, few studies have been conducted on the relationship. Lau and Ngo (2004) studied 332 firms HR and organizational development practices in Hong Kong. The board purpose of this study was to explore the link between culture, HR systems and outcomes. The research found that HR practices which emphasize training, performance based reward as well as team development help to create an organizational culture that promotes innovation.Organizational culture was said to play a mediation role between the HR system and the firm’s outcomes. That is, the HR practices implemented by the firm had an effect on the organizational culture, which in turn had a direct impact on employee’s behaviours and outcomes. This study demonstrated that a company’s culture was significant in affecting employee’s outcomes; regardless, the culture needs to be supported by an HR system that elicits those behaviours needed to achieve the desired outcome s.High Commitment Management Practices Influence Organizational Cultures Following on from the view that human resource practices can influence employee’s behaviour is an argument that only certain practices will be beneficial to an organization’s culture. Corporate culture will only be an advantage when it is seen as appropriate in order to achieve a certain objective or organizational goal (Chow & Liu, 2009); not all practices will elicit an appropriate culture.High Commitment Management (HCM), or best practice, is a theory that has outlined a number of HRM practices which are believed to help a firm achieve competitive success from its workforce (Pfeffer, 1995). It is a common held belief within the literature that â€Å"systems of high commitment HR practices increase organizational effectiveness by creating conditions where employees become highly involved in the organization and work hard to accomplish the organization’s goals (Whitener, 2001, p. 516).Pfe ffer (1998), the founder of best practice, believed that there were seven core practices which characterized the most successful organizations: employment security; selective hiring of new personnel; self managed teams; high compensation contingent on organizational performance; extensive training; reduced status distinction and barriers; and extensive sharing of information throughout the organization. When implemented these practices would lead to high levels of job satisfaction, retention and motivation of employee’s, which in turn influence a firm’s effectiveness and performance.It is thought that these HCM practices shape work force attitudes and values by framing employee’s perceptions of what the organization is like and help to influence their relationship with the organization. Employee behaviours and attitudes are said to reflect their perceptions and expectations about the organization; their behaviours respond to the treatment they receive from the f irm (Whitener, 2001). Accordingly, HCM practices are said to act as a culture embedding mechanism (Hartog & Verburg, 2004), playing an important role in reinforcing certain behaviours within employees and therefore shaping corporate culture.Kerr & Slocum (1987) demonstrate this relationship. They state that some organizations have cultures emphasizing the value of teamwork and security. These values foster loyalty to the organization and give employees a long term commitment. They iterate that other organizations consist of cultures which emphasize personal initiative and individual rewards. These values reinforce norms where organizational members do not promise loyalty and where the company does not provide job security. These authors point out that the practices, specifically HCM practices implemented by an organization, bring out certain behaviours from employees.For that reason, a firm can manipulate its culture by implementing practices which foster the behaviours they want to achieve from employees, and those behaviours that will help the company achieve their strategic goals. A small number of studies have been conducted exploring the relationship between certain best practices and organizational culture. In her study of 170 individuals views on compensation systems, Kuhn (2009) found that a bonus being rewarded on the basis of individual outcomes, compared to team or organizational performance led to the organizational culture being regarded as relatively more individualistic.Sheridan’s (1992) longitudinal study of 904 college graduates hired in six public accounting firms found that the firm’s organizational culture had a significant effect of the retention rates of these employees. Those firms that had a culture fostering the interpersonal relationship values of teams and respect for people stayed 14 months longer than those hired in firms whose culture emphasized the work task values of detail and stability. These two examples, in whi ch both show the implementation of HCM or best practice, illustrate that organizational culture is contingent upon the HRM practices implemented.Practices will elicit different behaviours from employees. In addition claims are made that these behaviours will facilitate or hinder performance and efficiency within a company. Strategy Shapes HRM Practices which in turn Shape Organizational Culture In accordance with the view that HRM/HCM practices influence organizational culture, employee’s behaviours are said to be indirectly affected through a company’s strategy (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004; Chow & Liu, 2009).The term Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) has emerged within recent management literature to cover the relationship between a firm’s strategy and their HRM system. This perspective of HRM is commonly seen as comprising integrated functions which are linked to organizational strategy (Macky, 2008). The guiding logic behind this view is that a firmâ€℠¢s human resource practices must, â€Å"develop employees’ skills, knowledge and motivation such that employees behave in ways that are instrumental to the implementation of a particular strategy† (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004, p. 05). Given a certain strategic goal, a set of HRM practices should be implemented to help the organization attain these goals. Different business strategies will therefore require the implementation of a varied set of HRM practices in order to elicit certain behaviours from employees’. Attention should be paid to designing an HR system that is best able to link the desired culture and business strategy. For innovation-oriented firms, HR must implement innovation-enhancing practices to obtain the desired behaviours associated with innovation (Lau & Ngo, 2004).With strategy affecting HRM practices, culture is indirectly affected. This culture will be an asset for an organization if it encourages the behaviours that support the organizations int ended strategy (Cabrera & Bonache, 1999). Organizational Cultures Influence HRM Practices There is a belief, held by a small number of scholars, which challenges the previous, more widely accepted view that HRM practices (and HCM practices) influence organizational culture. While this view appears within some industrial psychology literature, it is a less common perspective among management scholars.These scholars find that prominent core values within an organizational culture have a strong influence on management practices and in shaping HRM systems (Ferris et al. , 1998; Aycan, Kanungo, & Sinha, 1999). This view asserts that firstly values and other social phenomena form within the organization, while HRM practices occur because of the organizational culture already entrenched within the firm. The social context model, developed by Ferris et al. (1998) claims that the attitudes, beliefs, and values which make up the corporate culture drive the development of HRM policies, practic es, and systems.These scholars profess that a well-defined culture within a firm should drive the development of consistent HRM policies, as employees values are reflected in the formation of these policies. Furthermore, these policies should drive the design of a set of mutually supporting and integrated HRM practices which form a cooperative system. Bowen and Ostroff (2004) expand on this view. They allege that organizational assumptions and values shape HRM practices, which, in turn reinforce cultural norms and routines which shape individuals performance. Aycan et al. (1999) as well as Aycan et al. (2000) advocate the model of culture fit.This model contends that managers implement HRM practices based of their assumption about the nature and behaviour of employees. There needs to be a rationale behind the practices which HR implements; they do not evolve within a vacuum. For this reason HR practices are there to reinforce the values, behaviours and assumptions which already exis t within the organization, and to further develop these social phenomena. The Link between HRM, Organizational Culture and Performance Scholars have long asserted that the way in which an organization manages its employees can influence its performance (Delaney & Huselid, 1996).HRM is therefore an organizational issue which firms cannot afford to ignore. Much of previous HRM and organizational culture literature is based on this assertion that human resource practices and corporate culture are linked to organizational performance (Platonova, 2005). The underlying assumption of the link between HRM, organizational culture and performance is that HRM practices lead to employee knowledge, skills, and abilities, which in turn are said to influence firm performance at the collective level (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004).While a small number of empirical studies have tested the relationship between HRM and organizational culture a copious amount of research exists on the HRM-firm performance link . In addition, a number of empirical studies have also focused on the organizational culture-performance relationship. The relationship between comprehensive sets of HR practices and firm performance has been frequently demonstrated within the literature. Becker and Gerhart (1996) explain that HR decisions can influence organizational performance through increased efficiency or revenue growth.Barney (1986) notes that increased firm performance is often attributed to higher profitability, while Bowen and Ostroff (2004) argue that increased motivation from employees leads to higher firm performance. A large number of empirical studies have been conducted on the relationship between HRM practices and firm profitability. Pfeffer (1995) identified a certain set of best practices which companies can implement to manage their employees. He argues that these practices are universal in nature, and will have a positive effect on organizational performance.The implementation of HRM practices c an contribute to firm performance by motivating employees to adopt desired attitudes and behaviours. They tend to unify people around shared goals which will shape and guide employee behaviour. In addition HCM practices are said to create an internal atmosphere where employees become highly involved in the organization and work hard to accomplish goals the firm sets. In his study of steel minimills, Arthur (1994) found that reward systems provided considerable motivation for employees, which in turn contributed to an increase in productivity.His study also found that higher rewards contribute to a decrease in turnover among staff. Merit or incentive pay systems provide rewards for meeting specific goals; in turn employees will be motivated to achieve these goals (Delaney & Huselid, 1996). Koch and McGrath (1996) found that investment in recruitment and selection procedures was positively related to labour productivity. Their findings suggest that labour productivity is related to th ose proactive firms, those firms who plan for their future labour needs, and those that make investments in getting the ‘right’ people for the job.In addition a number of claims have been made alleging that HRM practices can influence performance by impacting employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities. Practices fostering extensive training can be considered a source of competitive advantage, as they involve keeping employee’s skills and knowledge up to date. Training is said to have a positive impact on performance (Delaney & Huselid, 1996) by impacting dimensions such as product quality. In their study of 590 firms, Delaney and Huselid (1996) found positive associations between practices such as training and firm performance measures.Pfeffer (1998) also conveys a link between training of employee’s and profits. Some scholars assert that HRM practices will lead to increased performance when there is a high level of fit between the practices and the organization’s strategy. This is commonly known as the configurational perspective of SHRM. This perspective maintains that an organization should implement HRM practices that are congruent with the firm’s strategy, and are consistent with one another. Two practices can work together to enhance each other’s effectiveness; consequently a powerful connection is formed (Delery, 1998).The implementation of firm specific training programs combined with highly selective staffing practices can work together to generate a talented pool of employees with high productivity. It is therefore thought that HR practices which complement each other and the firm’s strategy will have a positive effect on organizational performance (Lengnick- Hall, Lengnick-Hall, Andrade, & Drake, 2009). Overall, there is a strong view in the literature that certain HRM practices lead to increased organizational performance.However, studies on this relationship often differ as to the exten t a practice is likely to be positively or negatively related to performance (Becker & Gerhart, 1996). Some scholars also express concern regarding the causality between this relationship; do empirical studies actually prove that HRM practices cause increased performance? It has been said that HRM practices are not the only factor which could affect a firm’s performance; many other organizational and environment factors could in fact be attributed to performance (Boxall & Purcell, 2000).Barney (1986) developed the Resource Based View of the firm (RBV). He argued that certain organizational resources and capabilities can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage for the firm, and therefore can increase organizational performance through superior financial performance. Barney (1986) affirmed that a firm’s organizational culture can in fact be one of these resources. However, he asserts that not just any culture will lead to a competitive advantage; corporate culture mu st be valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and be of value to the entire organization.If a company’s organizational culture meets these four criteria it has a better opportunity to be a source of sustained competitive advantage. In addition an appropriate HRM system can create and develop organizational capabilities which themselves become sources of competitive advantage (Lau & Ngo, 2004). For example, one of America’s most successful retailers, Nordstrom, attributes their success to its culture of customer service. This culture is seen as a unique, valuable and hard to imitate resource and has become a source of competitive advantage for the company (Carmeli & Tishler, 2004).Since organizational cultures and HRM systems can be a valuable resource for companies they have a key role to play in the firm performance link. Conclusion This paper has focused around the concept of organizational culture. It has primarily explored the relationship and different views between HRM and culture. While a number of challenging views exist in regards to the HRM- culture link, it is commonly found that HRM practices influence organizational culture, by providing information to employee’s that impacts their assumptions, values and attitudes.In addition, certain HCM practices are said to shape work force attitudes by framing employee’s perceptions about the organization; in turn leading to higher levels of job satisfaction, retention and motivation; all of which influence a firm’s performance. Furthermore, an organization’s strategy has been alleged to influence corporate culture indirectly through the implementation of HRM practices that help the organization attain their goals. Organizational culture has been considered a valuable resource for companies and could in fact lead to a competitive advantage for the firm.While HRM has been argued to affect organizational culture, and in turn lead to firm performance we need to be wary of arguing that current evidence proves this relationship. There could, and probably are, a number of other organizational elements that provide a link between HRM and firm performance. More studies regarding the organizational culture and performance link need to be conducted before we can deduce this causality relationship. In saying this, organizational culture has been shown to be an important aspect of a firm, as it can, and does affect employee’s behaviours, motivation and value.