Law Enforcement's use of public surveys Research Paper

Law Enforcement's use of public surveys - Research Paper Example With this kind of understanding, this paper precisely investigates homicide of a mayor. Inclusively in the paper is an in depth description of the roles played in the investigation, the purpose and use of a psychological autopsy, the various steps undertaken in carrying out psychological autopsy, and recognition of the psychological issues experienced by the officers and families. Roles Played in the Investigation. The carrying out of the investigation will be made possible with the help of a police psychologist. In this sense, as a police psychologist there are several roles which need to be accomplished accordingly with immediate effect. It should be noted that, the police psychology is always concerned with solving issues particularly concerning to public safety in order to facilitate peaceful coexistence (Brian, 2006). Various roles played by the police psychologists in the investigation will involve the recognition of deception, undercover interviewing, behavioral analyses of th e scene, and report analyses. In order to come up with clear information concerning the death of the mayor, it will be important to recognize the deception involved following his death. This will in turn call for the undercover consultation which will be aimed towards facilitating the necessary and required information for the success of the investigation (Weiss, 2010). ... It is evident that, the whole investigation will rely on police psychologist who will be responsible for the bringing together of the aspects based on the investigative information (Cox, 2004). The roles of the police psychologists will therefore be based on presumptions and the manner in which rule enforcement executive can be sustained through scientific investigate. The Function and Use of a Psychological Autopsy Psychological autopsy simply refers to the process for examining an individual death through reconstructing what the individual â€Å"thought, felt, and did prior his death.† The process of reconstruction will be linked in the lead of the information collected from police reports, personal documents, head to head interviews with families and friends, and any person who had contact with the mayor before his death (Jack, 2011). In our case, psychological autopsy will rely on these facts in order to be in position to identify the gunshot wound on the head which could be the reason for the death of the mayor. As it comes from the denotation, the major function of psychological autopsy therefore is to appraise more exactly the death procedure of the decedent and therefore elucidate the concluding categorization of the demise manner in the death official document. In this sense, the process functions in determining the reason for the death by investigating the bodily condition of the deceased (Weiss, 2010). In instances where the way of death is unsolved and unclear, psychological autopsy helps the medical expert in clearing up the secrecy. The gathered information indicates that, before becoming the mayor he was a chief and hence was very close to several officers and administrators.

The Handmaids Tale Essay Example for Free

The Handmaids Tale Essay She wonders if women everywhere get issued exactly the same sheets and curtains, which underlines the idea that the room is like a government ordered prison, government issue? Furthermore the regime continues as we see the main character starting to rebel against this isolation and confinement in which they wish to get rid of. Thinking can hurt your chances and I intend to last, implies that she is stubborn and determined. She also realises that most of the women who she is with are all lucky to be there seeing as not many always survived the prisoned lifestyle as she bitterly quotes, for those who still have circumstances. Apparently there are no mirrors also, indicating identity as a whole for the handmaids and getting rid of vanity which would be making them individuals. The uniform in which they must wear is red, the colour of blood which defines them again as a whole, not as a unique person. The door of the room, not my room again suggests her rebelling and refusal to conform. The outline of the portrayed regime is now that these women have almost no status, unwomen which is lower than low are showing small signs of rebelling and willingness to be free after living on only rational amounts. An example of this is the black market, where illegal and expensive goods were sold so the handmaid yearns for a cigarette but like liquor and coffee, cigarettes are forbidden, eventhough she hints that she might therefore she is fusing to conform to the rules again. The hierarchical triangle now lies that the Marthas who are infertile women who do not qualify for the high status of Wives work in domestic roles, followed by the new character in Chapter two and three which is the Commanders wife. She wears blue suggesting connotations of the Virgin Mary, holiness, purity and virginity as she works in the garden with a detailed Guardian at her side. The Guardian is used to help aswell as being a Guard which indicates that the Regime of where the handmaids lie is considerably low compared to the Commanders wife who has her own helper because she is too powerful to be doing jobs for herself, therefore she behaves cruelly towards the Handmaids in her household. The Commanders wife has arthritis therefore she is old yet able enough to have such control. She knits to pass her time, maybe is just something to keep them busy. The handmaid is envious of the Commanders wife because she has no hobby or purpose to pass time, What does she envy me? The Commanders wife also is evil as the handmaid quotes I am a reproach to her and a necessity, implying that she is avoided by her. The handmaid later reveals that she has only been there for 5 weeks indicating that the regime is new and things arent settled yet and that the women there are playing hierarchical roles already. The Commanders Wife however is very well looked after and implications of vanity are portrayed as her fingernail filed to gentle curving point. She wears diamond rings connoting wealth and her knuckly fingers suggest she is old and also that she is unhappy; fingernails mocking her. ironic smile. She is an elderly woman with blonde hair, her chin clenched like a fist, and gives the impression that she is sterned faced and hard featured. The handmaids are continuously being bought down so that no hopes are held high for them to gain any power, for example the Commanders wife quote to her, Youre not a Martha signifying that she is even lower than that. Throughout the first four chapters we see that internal monologue is expressed, where no speech marks are present during speech, this is probably because it is a stream of consciousness or to portray a memory. The underlying message that nature carries on regardless of human life is implied as human imagery such as, fertility of soil, referring to the creation of life. We then meet another Guardian, Nick who whilst washing the car is not conforming to the rules either, he is tanned with dark hairs representing he is more rebellious than the other Guardians and suggesting he is always outside. His hat is at an angle and also he has a cigarette. Therefore he is higher status than the handmaids and Marthas who cannot get them. He hasnt been issued a woman, not even one signifies that the regime throughout contains complete lack of sexual communication. The narrator explains that she is longing to touch Nick therefore she sees him as a man and then he winks. The fact that he has made eye contact is against the rules showing that not only do the handmaids long to escape freedom but also so do the Guardians. She suggests that perhaps he is an Eye, gives us the impression that she always knows she is at risk and to be aware of everyone because they may not truly be who they appear to be. This also relates to sudden disappearances of people that come and go very quickly, on a certain day she simply wasnt there anymore. The Guardians which guard the entrance are called The Guardians of Faith, signifying that they are in secret and undercover, also named Eyes incognito. When little communication is made between the handmaids and the Guardians all that can be transferred is eye contact and nothing more. The handmaid suggests this by, Such moments are possibilities, tiny peepholes. The handmaid constantly brings up the thought of this desired wish for freedom and individuality becoming true as she questions whether the guardians think about it too. She then proves a hierarchy point by involving all the groups of characters met so far, Commanders of the faithful, their blue wives and white veiled daughters. or their dumpy green Marthas, or their red handmaids, on foot. The narrator has purposely put them in order of their power status leaving herself last as she knows that if it were to happen, it wouldnt be the handmaids who are the lowest and own no power. The regime theme of torture and unhappiness is explored further when the black vans are mentioned which pass through the entrance and she says, if there are sounds coming from inside we try not to hear them. The black vans give the reader the idea of prisoners and people facing torture whilst being taken away. The handmaid lastly suggests that handmaids can be allotted to Angels for if they were to gain enough power so that they can marry, allotted a Handmaid of their own because she knows that if the regime was different and the orders were less demanding and if lack of freedom was restricted, then she could have her desire and so could the Angels and guardians. Overall if their positioning of status and importance were to change then the handmaids know that they wouldnt be kept and controlled in the same restricted and managed way and they would gain identity in order for themselves to have to freedom and privacy when they choose. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Margaret Atwood section.

I Am Determined to Become the Best Educator I Can Be :: Personal Narrative Writing

I Am Determined to Become the Best Educator I Can Be School had a large impact on my life. Until I was eighteen, I did not experience education in the traditional sense. My homeroom was my bedroom; I had economics in the kitchen and science class was often held outside. I studied the usual subjects: math, reading, science, history, and English. I also studied some non-traditional subjects: Bible, canning, sewing, and cooking. My mother taught me to love reading. My father taught me how to find answers to my questions, and my siblings taught me how to explain concepts in a way they could understand. Being taught at home offered me experiences that I would not have received if I had attended a traditional school. Unlike children who attended traditional schools, I was around my mother, siblings, and other adults all the time. While I did have friends my own age, I interacted mostly with adults. Because my school schedule was flexible, often I found myself helping an elderly person with yard work or cleaning. My father's boss asked my brother and I to help sort cattle or watch gates when the pens were being cleaned during the morning and afternoon. My mother taught me until I reached junior high and then my father took over. He assigned the subjects my brother and I would study for the year, bought our textbooks, and helped review for and grade our tests. But we were responsible to make our lesson plans and finish our textbooks within the school year. At the beginning of a school year, I would find out how many sections or chapters a textbook had. Then I would figure out how many sections or chapters I would have to complete each week to finish the book. At the beginning of every week, I wrote in a day-planner what sections I was to cover on what day. At a traditional school a teacher would do this for his or her students. Making my lesson plans while still in high school has prepared me for making lesson plans for my students when I become an elementary teacher. The area I lived in, Greeley, Colorado, has a strong agricultural base. My house was only ten or fifteen minutes from downtown Greeley; however, my father worked at a dairy farm and we had many friends in the agricultural world. Because our school schedule was flexible, my brother was able to work for a sheep rancher and learn mechanical and animal husbandry skills.

The Man Who Is Endowed with Magic Essays -- Biography, Walt, Walt Disn

â€Å"You won’t find anyone who can really explain the magic of Walt,† said Peter Ellenshaw—a Disney artist. â€Å"People see him either in black or white, but he was an extraordinary mixture. He was a common man who was endowed with a touch of magic† (Greene 6). This magic led Walt on one of the most extraordinary adventures anyone could ever wish to live. Walt grew up traveling from place to place as his father, Elias, worked day and night to make sure his family was fed and comfortable. Elias worked Walt’s two other brothers such ferocity that they ran away with the money they had been saving. Without the two brothers, Walt’s father’s dream of the farm life shattered. Soon after, Elias caught typhoid fever and became unable to work on his farm again, so they moved. The move took a toll on Walt. His father had him waking up at 3:30 am to deliver papers, a two-hour task. After delivering, he went to school. Then, he delivered papers for two more hours. Delivering the papers affected Walt’s school performance; he was yet again held back in the second grade, which made him almost two years older than his classmates. This action might have caused a rebellious action from most children but not Walt. His mother’s loving touch kept him in high spirits. As Greene said in The Man Behinf The Magic: The Story of Walt Disney, â€Å"If Walt was endowed with a touch of magic, his mother was the person who wielded the magician’s wand† (15). This magic and perseverance would play key roles in Walt’s life. Walt Disney had interests in many areas. One knack he had was recreating cartoons. One classmate recalled, â€Å"He wouldn’t just copy what was in the newspaper, either,† rather he would add his own features with the original as the templat... ...rporation went onto produce Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio to name a few. Although Disney’s interest might have faltered, his heart never did. His love for his employees drove him to become almost bankrupt. His love for his family led him to be one of the greatest fathers. One of his daughters, Sharon, stated, â€Å"we weren’t raised with the idea that this was a great man. He was Daddy. He went to work every morning. He came home every night† (Greene 77). His love for his work led him to become one of the best animators of all not, if not arguably the best. As his best friend, Walter Pfeiffer, said, â€Å"Walt was enthused about everything. He was one hundred percent interested in everything he did† whether it be his home life or his work. Truly, his magic inspired each animator to have the save magic even after some of his heart left the company.

Personal Wellness Planning Essay

Copy and paste the questions into a word processing program. Answer all questions completely and then submit them to your instructor. Warm-Up (Questions to help you prepare to write your goals) 1. Describe your current level of physical activity. How often do you participate in moderate to high intensity activity in an average week? Moderate, I participate in About 3 or more times a week of physical activity 2. Discuss at least three physical activities you enjoy participating in or wish to participate in. I am on Soccer team for orlando city soccer I practice twice a week and have games once a week I do Horses ridding once a week for about a 1 and half Swimming I have a pool in my yard so I swim a lot and enjoy it Goals 3. Create at least one goal for each of the following wellness categories. Personalize each of your goals for the time enrolled in the course. Be sure that each goal is measureable, attainable, and has a specific deadline. Also, be sure each goal is written in complete sentences. Physical Wellness Goal: My physical wellness goal to run at least a mile every day to stay in shape. Emotional Wellness Goal: My emotional wellness goal is to attend yoga classes once a week.to reduce stress and be relaxed. Social Wellness Goal: My social wellness goal is to join a club at school before the end of the year . Academic Wellness Goal: my Academic Wellness goal is to study for every test and quiz day before   Cool Down (Reflection questions based on the goals you’ve written) 4. What do you think will be the most challenging goal for you, and why? My Academic wellness Goal will be the most challenging goal for me its hard for  me to reamber to study days before a test at least every single day till I take it. 5. Describe any challenges or hesitations you have about your goals or the activity requirements for this course. The challenges or hesitations I have about the goals and activitys for this course is having to work our all the time and record your work outs. 6. Explain how fitness testing and test results can affect your overall fitness. Test results and fitness testing can affect your overall fitness by showing you want you need to improve on and what you do better at. 7. No matter your living situation, it is up to you to make daily decisions that affect your well-being. What is your role and responsibility for maintaining and improving your health? My role and responsibility for maintaining and improving my health is maintaining a healthy body weigh, eating heathy and working out.

Biography of James Hutton, Founder of Modern Geology

Biography of James Hutton, Founder of Modern Geology James Hutton (June 3, 1726–March 26, 1797) was a Scottish doctor and geologist who had ideas about the formation of the Earth that became known as Uniformitarianism. Although not an accredited geologist, he spent much time hypothesizing that the Earths processes and formation had been going on for eons and were continuing to the present. Charles Darwin was well-acquainted with Hutton’s ideas, which provided a framework for his work in biological evolution and natural selection. Fast Facts: James Hutton Known For: Founder of modern geologyBorn: June 3, 1726 in Edinburgh, United KingdomParents: William Hutton, Sarah BalfourDied: March 26, 1797 in Edinburgh, United KingdomEducation: University of Edinburgh, University of Paris, University of LeidenPublished Works: Theory of the EarthChildren: James Smeaton Hutton Early Life James Hutton was born on June 3, 1726, in Edinburgh, Scotland, one of five children born to William Hutton and Sarah Balfour. His father, who was a merchant and treasurer for the city of Edinburgh, died in 1729, when James was only 3 years old. He also lost an older brother at a very young age. His mother did not remarry and was able to raise Hutton and his three sisters on her own, thanks to the wealth his father had built before his death. When Hutton was old enough, his mother sent him to the High School of Edinburgh, where he discovered his love of chemistry and mathematics. Education At the young age of 14, Hutton was sent off to the University of Edinburgh to study Latin and other humanities courses. He was made the apprentice of a lawyer at age 17, but his employer did not believe that he was well-suited for a career in law. Hutton decided to become a physician to be able to continue his studies in chemistry. After three years in the medical program at the University of Edinburgh, Hutton finished his medical studies in Paris before receiving his degree from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands in 1749. Personal Life While studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh, Hutton fathered an illegitimate son with a woman who lived in the area. He named his son James Smeaton Hutton. Although he financially supported his son, who was raised by his mother, Hutton did not take an active role in raising the boy. Following the birth in 1747, Hutton moved to Paris to continue his medical studies. After finishing his degree, instead of moving back to Scotland, the young doctor practiced medicine in London for a few years. It is not known whether this move to London was prompted by the fact that his son was living in Edinburgh, but it is often assumed that is why he chose not to move back to Scotland. Soon, however, Hutton decided that practicing medicine was not for him. Before he had started his medical studies, Hutton and a partner had become interested in sal ammoniac, or ammonium chloride, a chemical used in making medicines as well as fertilizers and dyes. They developed an inexpensive method of manufacturing the chemical that became financially rewarding, enabling Hutton in the early 1750s to move to a large plot of land he had inherited from his father and become a farmer. Here he began to study geology and came up with some of his best-known ideas. By 1765, the farm and the sal ammoniac manufacturing company were providing enough income that he could give up farming and move to Edinburgh, where he could pursue his scientific interests. Geological Studies Hutton did not have a degree in geology, but his experiences on the farm gave him the focus to form theories about the formation of the Earth that were novel at the time. Hutton hypothesized that the interior of the Earth was very hot and that the processes that changed the Earth long ago were still at work millenniums later. He published his ideas in his book, The Theory of the Earth, in 1795. Hutton asserted in the book that life also followed this long-term pattern. The concepts in the book about life changing gradually by these same mechanisms since the beginning of time were in line with the principles of evolution well before Charles Darwin came up with his theory of natural selection. Huttons ideas drew much criticism from most geologists of his time, who followed a more religious line in their findings. The prevailing theory at the time of how rock formations had occurred on Earth was that they were a product of a series of catastrophes, such as the Great Flood, that accounted for the form and nature of an Earth that was thought to be only 6,000 years old. Hutton disagreed and was mocked for his anti-Biblical account of the Earths formation. He was working on a follow-up to the book when he died. Death James Hutton died in Edinburgh on March 26, 1797, at age 70 after suffering poor health and pain for a number of years caused by bladder stones. He was buried in Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Churchyard. He left no will, so his estate passed to his sister and, on her death, to Huttons grandchildren, the children of his son, James Smeaton Hutton. Legacy In 1830, geologist Charles Lyell rephrased and republished many of Huttons ideas in his book Principles of Geology and called them Uniformitarianism, which became a cornerstone of modern geology. Lyell was an acquaintance of Robert FitzRoy, captain of the  HMS Beagle  on Darwins voyages. FitzRoy gave Darwin a copy of  Principles of Geology, which Darwin studied as he traveled and collected data for his work. It was Lyells book, but Huttons ideas, that inspired Darwin to incorporate the concept of an ancient mechanism that had been at work since the beginning of the Earth in his own world-changing book, The Origin of the Species. Thus, Huttons concepts indirectly sparked the idea of natural selection for Darwin. Sources James Hutton: Scottish Geologist. Encyclopedia Brittanica.James Hutton: The Founder of Modern Geology. The American Museum of Natural History.James Hutton. Famous Scientists.

Free Essays on General Electric

Research General Electric has expanded on an employee involvement process called quality circles. The name of the program is called Six Sigma. Six Sigma, as well as quality circles, uses statistical techniques to improve quality. A Six Sigma quality level generates less than 3.4 defects per million in the work environment. Improving quality has an inherent effect in that it also improves productivity. Efficiency gains are created because the product or processes do not have to be reworked or redone. These means things are done right the first time and reduce cycle time. General Electric has expanded the Six Sigma program to include the up front engineering process. This allows manufacturing and engineering disciplines" work out on the design of a product. This allows the product to be built without problems. â€Å"From a standing start in 1996, with no financial benefit to the Company, it (Six Sigma) has flourished to the point where it produced more than $2 billion in benefi ts in 1999, with much more to come this decade† (p. 5 1999 GE Annual Report). This type of employee involvement reduces rework costs and scrap rates which produces the higher efficiency yields. United is using an employee stock-ownership plan to motivate its employees. The United workers trades pay cuts for stock ownership in the company. This type of employee involvement allows the workers to become part owners in the corporation. United created work team to tackle opportunities. â€Å"Such moves slashed sick time by 17% last year, saving $18.2 million annually.† People who company stock are more willing to participate and have less absenteeism.... Free Essays on General Electric Free Essays on General Electric Research General Electric has expanded on an employee involvement process called quality circles. The name of the program is called Six Sigma. Six Sigma, as well as quality circles, uses statistical techniques to improve quality. A Six Sigma quality level generates less than 3.4 defects per million in the work environment. Improving quality has an inherent effect in that it also improves productivity. Efficiency gains are created because the product or processes do not have to be reworked or redone. These means things are done right the first time and reduce cycle time. General Electric has expanded the Six Sigma program to include the up front engineering process. This allows manufacturing and engineering disciplines" work out on the design of a product. This allows the product to be built without problems. â€Å"From a standing start in 1996, with no financial benefit to the Company, it (Six Sigma) has flourished to the point where it produced more than $2 billion in benefi ts in 1999, with much more to come this decade† (p. 5 1999 GE Annual Report). This type of employee involvement reduces rework costs and scrap rates which produces the higher efficiency yields. United is using an employee stock-ownership plan to motivate its employees. The United workers trades pay cuts for stock ownership in the company. This type of employee involvement allows the workers to become part owners in the corporation. United created work team to tackle opportunities. â€Å"Such moves slashed sick time by 17% last year, saving $18.2 million annually.† People who company stock are more willing to participate and have less absenteeism....

Expert Guide How Many Times Should You Take the SAT

Expert Guide How Many Times Should You Take the SAT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips How many times can you take the SAT? Is there a limit if you're retaking it to achieveyour ideal score? Why would you want to keep sitting through this high stakestest, anyway? There are several compelling reasons to take the SAT more than once, but you also shouldn't go totally overboard. Let's go overwhen you should retake the SAT, and when it might be time to move on. Reasons to Take the SAT More Than Once Students almost always improve when they retake the SAT.When you take the SAT,you gain valuablereal test experience that helps youfigure out how to manage your time and deal with pressure. Youmight encounter certain problems that stump youand learn the concepts youmissed out on for next time. Because theycan take time to study and improve, lots of students choose to take the SAT more than once to improve the scores they'll ultimately add to their college applications. Some students strategically build up their SAT score section by section. If your college superscores your test resultsor takes the highest scores by section across all the timeyou sat for the test, then you could theoretically focus on Math for one test date, Reading for another date, and Writing and Language for the third. While you shouldn't treat any section as a throwaway section, since a major discrepancy in scores could raise red flags both to your colleges and the College Board, this approach is one way to really hone your knowledge in one area and potentially achieve near-perfect section scores one test date at a time. If you scoreworse than you expected to on the SAT, you might have had a fluke test. There could have been a major passage that just didn't make sense to you, or maybe you were tired, sick, or distracted that day. If this is the case, you should schedule for the next test as soon as possible. So if you're likely to improve your SAT scores every time you take the test, should you just keep taking it over and over again until you hit perfection? Can You Take the SAT an Unlimited Number of Times? How many times can you take the SAT? Technically, you can take the SAT as many times as you want! There are no restrictions for registering for and taking the test. There are 7 test dates throughout the year, so the only limit that stands in your wayis time. Many schools allow you to use Score Choice, or to pick and choose which scores from which test dates you want to send as part of your college application. Not all schools support the use of Score Choice, however, and they take it on good faith that you'll send all your scores. Some notable schools with a "send all scores" policy include Yale, Stanford, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and the University of California. So if you can use Score Choice to send only some scores and keep the rest private, and you have the time and money to keep retesting, then technically you could take the SAT as many times as you want. But if your schools don't use Score Choice and you are expected to send all your test scores along with your application, how many times retaking the SAT is too many? How Many SAT Tests Is Too Many? If you're applying to schools that require all scores, like the ones mentioned above, I would recommend not taking the SAT more than six times. If you take the SAT this many or more times, you might be sending the signal that you're not taking the test seriously enough to prep each time or that you have a lot of trouble improving your scores. The SAT is meant to test all students on a level playing field and determine their readiness for college, so it wouldn't look all thatstrong to have to take the testmore than six times to perform well. While real test experience is valuable, you also will gaina lot from focused and purposeful test prep. Perhapsyou keep retaking the SAT and your scores are not improving as much as you'd like. Rather than asking, "How many times can I take the SAT?" you should reconsideryour test prep approach. Are you really uncovering and targeting your weak spots and filling in your knowledge gaps? Are you timing yourself when you take practice tests to practice your pacing? Are you familiar with the best strategies for analyzing the Reading passages or writing the essay? By honing your approach to test prep and really putting in the time and effort to study, you should be able to achieve your target scores within a few administrations of the SAT. Besides what excessive retesting indicates about how you're prepping for the SAT, it also might not be the best idea for a few other reasons. Planning your SAT testing schedule is all about balance. Reasons Not to Overtake the SAT First, it's important to take control of your test prep, diagnose your strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what you need to do to improve your scores. Apart from this, you're probably also taking other tests, like finals or the SAT Subject Tests, along with all your schoolwork, community service, and clubs or sports that require your attention. You wouldn't want to drop the ball at this point in your high school career by diverting attention away from these other pursuits, as these are also all key parts of your college application. Plus, unless you're superhuman or highly skilled at meditating, sitting for the SATtends to involve stress and anxiety.Getting real test experience is helpful in teaching you to regulate your nerves, calm yourself down, and focus, but you also don't need to put yourself through this too many times. Taking the SAT more than six times could potentially become a waste of time, money, and energy. Again, while you can definitely have a fluke testing experience and score much lower than you should, you also don't want to treat any tests as throwaway tests. It's important to take every test seriously so you can get a real sense of your skills and scoring capacity. You can use this same mindsetwith practice tests - by simulating testing conditions and timing yourself, you can build on your testing experience and figure out what you need to learn and practice to boost your scores. Like with everything else you're involved in through school and outside of school, taking the SAT is all about balance. If you set and stick to a study plan and testing schedule, then you'll be able to find the happy medium between testing too often andtesting too little. Belowis one common guide that works for a lot of high school students. SAT Study Plan and Testing Schedule Guide This timeline is effective for a lot of students and gives you time to prep and retake the SAT a few times to hit your target scores. Rather than scouring for test dates to figure out how many times can you take the SAT, you can have everything planned out in advance. 1.Study for the SAT the summer before junior year. You can use online prep, answer SAT Questions of the Day, print official practice tests, try sample questions, and study from books. 2. Register for and take your first real SAT test in the fall of junior year. Depending on how you do, you can later register for the test again. 3. If you're retaking the SAT, you can prep during the winter of junior year and take the SAT again in the spring. You might also be taking SAT Subject Tests at the end of the school year. If you still aren't scoring where you want to score, then you can sign up to take the SAT in the fall of your senior year. 4. Put a lot of effort into test prep the summer between junior and senior year. Figure out what you were missing on the first two administrations of the test, learn the concepts, and apply them through practice problems. You want to do everything you can to prepare, as this test in the fall will likely be your last chance. 5. Take the first available test senior year, before you get too busy with schoolwork and your summer studying is fresh in your mind. This would be in October for the SAT. If you feel this test did not go well, you might be able to retake it one more time, depending on your college deadlines. This is also not an ideal time to take the SAT, as you'll be busy finishing up and sending off the rest of your application. If you're not sure if your scores will be sent to your colleges in time, definitely call or email the admissions office and ask if they'll accept these scores.They might wait for your scoreseven if they arrive after the stated deadline, but you can't bank on this unless they've told you this explicitly. Ambitious students who feel they can achieve a high score even earlier in their high school career might choose to push this schedule forward a year.You could start prepping as a 9th or 10th grader, take the SAT throughout sophomore year, and be all set with yourscores before youeven start the rest of the application process. If you're a strong, academically achieving student, you might already have the math, reading, and writing skills you need to score highly on the SAT before you even reach junior year. Just like with your test prep, it's important to reflect on what works best for you. As everyone has different preferences, strengths, and weaknesses, there's no one size fits all approach to studying for and taking the SAT. This testing schedule works for a lot of students, but ultimately it's up to you to decide on and stick to the schedule that will allow you to perform your best. To Sum Up: How Many Times Should You Take the SAT? Around four times of sitting for the SAT (sometimes more, sometimes less) should likely be enough for you to reach your target scores, along with many more practice tests and effective test prep on your own. Don't underestimate the power of prep in helping you master the SAT. In the end though, you shouldn't be afraid to take real tests, as they are valuable training experiences and you can almost always improve your scores or make up for an off day. Give yourself enough test dates so you don't run out of opportunities to take the test, and find the balance between retesting, studying, and accomplishing your goals in time for your college deadlines. What's Next? What's a good SAT score for 10th grade? 9th grade? What about overall for your college applications? These articles explore this topic of when to take the SAT even further, revealing what your early test scores indicate about your future performance. Are you aiming for a perfect 1600? This full scorer shares his strategies for scoring an 800on both Math and Reading and Writing. While most schools place a great deal of importance on the SAT or ACT, there are actually some schools now that have test optional or test flexible policies. Before you design your plan, make sure you understand the requirements of your colleges. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep classes. 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How Can Play Promote the Learning of Science in the Foundation Stage Essay

How Can Play Promote the Learning of Science in the Foundation Stage - Essay Example The outdoor environment especially offers a wide and unrestrained range of possibilities to kindle children's inherent inquisitiveness. As the word foundation implies the foundation stage, as a statutory phase of the national curriculum for the United Kingdom, is vitally invested in the process of creating a solid basis for later learning skills as it operates to foster in children an enthusiastic commitment to the entire learning process. The heart of educational success is to inculcate in the child the lasting incentive for really wanting to listen, to figure out, to reflect, to go on questioning, and to work constructively and respectfully with peers. Carefully designed and engaging activity affords the best occasion for learning, whether indoors or outdoors (Hurst, V. 1997:76). For children to have rich and stimulating experiences, the learning environment must be well-planned and well-ordered. The curriculum suggests the ideal framework within which children are drawn to explore, test, devise, question, and reach decisions for themselves, enabling them to authentically learn, grow and expand their horizons. (Cu rriculum Guidance 2000:12) A competent practitioner understands how to design fully adaptable resources and settings that arouse children's inquisitiveness and then make the most of each child's individual show of interest by asking challenging questions, stimulating reflection and fostering investigation. Young children can be guided to quite thoroughly explore the natural world by making broad use of their fives senses, smelling things, feeling textures, listening to and identifying sounds, noting shapes and materials, and talking about and sharing their discoveries, as well as asking more questions and recording or illustrating their findings using a variety of skills (Wood, E. and Attfield, J. 1996:104). Well-thought-out play can be a strategic means by which children catch on delightedly and engage in the learning process with enthusiasm. The foundation stage also proposes to develop a sound early basis for future reading, writing, and math proficiency in preparation for key stage one of the national curriculum (Curriculum Guidance 2000:8-9) Some experienced practitioners are inclined to feel that, often enough, precious little play can be incorporated into early years settings when an undue amount of attention must be invested in the task of introducing and nurturing basic reading, writing and math skills (Wood, E. and Attfield, J. 1996:11). In extensive studies of early years practice, a number of educators have put forward serious concerns that the premature initiation of very young children to basic skills is not only liable to, but actually does, disaffect slower learners who find themselves struggling mightily with the effort. In fact, some practitioners assert that such undue demands on certain susceptible youngsters may result in significant harm to their self-esteem and future incentives to learn at all (Fish er, J. 1996:37). Ultimately, the actual mastery of required basics must depend not only on the practitioner's success in awakening children's interest in learning but in the added competence of being able to make each subject accessible with respect to a multiplicity of

SHort answer questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SHort answer questions - Assignment Example The attitudes of people about obesity are lax. This indicates that obesity is a socially accepted norm regardless of ethnic or racial lines. 2. Education / Ecological Assessment have been carried out in parts (c) and (f). The assessment shows that educational intervention to deal with obesity has been low in middle schools and virtually nonexistent in high schools. Also, it is clear that public information campaigns in relation to obesity have had little impact on people affected with the condition. This clearly signals the failure of such efforts. 3. The best practice would be to utilize a multi-level approach to reduce obesity using a mixture of medical and non-medical means. The multi-level approach would consist of direct medical regulation, introducing education related to nutrition and physical health as well as attempts at behavioral modification. Medical regulation would ensure that participants have direct access to medical care and intervention so that the effects of losing weight do not lower the participant’s quality of life. In addition, the lack of awareness regarding obesity and its ill effects on human health need to be dealt with using specialized education on nutrition and physical health. Participants would be made aware for the need of physical health in order to lower the consumption of food as a leisure time activity. Similarly, participants would be informed of nutritional value of foods so that they can eat healthier. Lastly, behavioral modification will be attempted in order to create sustainabl e changes in the lives of obese people. 4. A number of different theories may be applied to the proposed interventions. However, the most important theories concerning intervention will be goal setting theory and social cognitive theory. Goal setting theory allows participants to set their own aims in order to reduce their weight. The use of goal setting has been found to be effective in organizational, social as

Organizational Culture Assessment of Terre Haute Economic Development Assignment

Organizational Culture Assessment of Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation - Assignment Example The company has an added location advantage which makes it accessible from air, highways, and sea. The company has a high culture by way of integrity and sense of unity among the employees, as well as a â€Å"can do† attitude. Historically, in Terre Haute/Vigo County the economic development has not been smooth and keeping in view the county’s requirement of economic development services, THEDC was originated to provide strategic solutions to economic problems and development. This corporation works jointly with other entities for the all-round economic development and emphasizes on business development, attraction, and retention. Terre Haute/Vigo County is a place where leadership and creativity flourish in the unity between community members and government agencies. The most important matters that need strategic solutions range from growth, management to green living. The sincere efforts of leaders and citizens of Terre Haute are a contribution towards the development of the county. I choose this company for its competency and because it had some very significant successes for the community, and also because it is the Lead Economic Development Organization (Welcome to Terre Haute/Vigo County, n.d. ). In this paper, I put forward interviews taken on 5 people who are currently working in the management body of the corporation. The employees in the corporation are recruited across a range of industries according to their skill, productivity, and experience. THEDC offers workers to other industries at lower wage rates compared to other parts of the county. I have taken interviews of 3 women and 2 men who belong to the age group between 35 and 40 years. I have taken face to face interview with all the 5 people. I visited their office at allotted times after prior appointments.

Identifying and Describing the Ethical Issue. Worldcom Essay

Identifying and Describing the Ethical Issue. Worldcom - Essay Example The company manipulated the company's financial results in order to meet Wall Street expectations and artificially inflate their stock price amidst declining financial performance. Treating operational expenses as capital investments inflated the company's operating income since expenses are supposed to be accounted for in the quarter that they are incurred, instead of being spread out over a period of years. In this case this illegal accounting practice allowed Worldcom to treat operational expenses that should have been fully recognized each operating quarter as a long term capital expenditure, where related costs are expensed during the operating lifetime of a specific asset instead of being accounted for during one specific accounting period. As a result three former Worldcom executives were convicted of accounting fraud. David Myers, the third executive in command and Worldcom's former controller, was convicted to one year and one day in prison. The former controller received a much lesser sentence than the other executives due to his early admission of responsibility and remorse as well as extraordinary cooperation with the government in exposing the extent of the fraud including the major players involved (Cbsnews, 2009).Scott D. Sullivan, Worldcom's former chief financial officer, was convicted to five years in prison as part of a plea agreement in which he testified against the company's CEO Bernard J. Ebbres. Bernard Ebbres was eventually convicted to 25 years in prison for the Worldcom accounting fraud ultimately leading to the company's bankruptcy (Sullivan, 2013). In 2001Worldcom reported $7.7 billion in cash flow from operating activities instead of the true amount of $4.6 billion as a result of misrepresenting $3.8 billion of operational expenses resulting from the Sprint merger. Mr. Sullivan failed to inform Arthur D. Anderson, the firm's accountant at the time, of his decision to treat the expenses as capital expenditures in a clear and blatant attempt to disguise his illegal accounting manipulations from the accounting firm. This deceptive accounting manipulation resulted in the company overstating its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) which is the barometer that most investors utilize to evaluate a company's overall financial health and performance. As the company started the accounting fraud in the first quarter of 2001, Worldcom reported an EBITDA of $2.1 billion instead of $1.4 billion. By the end of 2001 the company had originally reported an EBITDA of $10.5 billion instead of the correct figure of $6.3 billion. Consequently Worldcom reported a profit of $1.4 billion for 2001 and $172 million in the first quarter of 2002, where in reality the company had loses amounting to billions during that accounting period (Eichenwald, 2002). This accounting fraud directly violates the accounting principles of reliability in accounting practice, as well as the â€Å"full disclosure† and the â€Å"matching† principle, where all expenses incurred during an accounting period are matched with the period revenues which it directly affects (Businessweek, 2002). Explaining Alternative Courses of Action and Related Trade-Offs B) Troy Normand, as the manager for the corporate reporting department, was responsible of the accuracy and reliability of corporate financial reports. Based on his testimony and full account of the conversation with Scott Sullivan regarding the events that transpired, we can conclude that Mr. Normand was in full knowledge and understood the implications and illegal nature of the accounting treatment given to the Sprint merger expense accounts. Therefore his actions regarding the treatment of the Sprint expense accounts was both unethical and illegal

My Online Personal Presence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

My Online Personal Presence - Assignment Example   The knowledge that I have gained over the years while studying at the University of Salford would greatly aid me in this task.   In addition, I would also study the literature that is available online regarding the topic. The topics posted would be written in simple English so that they can be easily understood by everyone. Furthermore, I would try and avoid using technical terms as much as possible to ensure that individuals who are not related to the field of BIT could also understand the topic with ease. With each post, the topics would get more and more advanced and would eventually discuss work that is currently being carried out in the field of BIT. Once an article is written it would then be scanned using certain SEO tools that would help detect the number of keywords used and help determine the rank that it would achieve.   Once a satisfactory rank is obtained I would post the article on the blog and publicize it using all the social media profiles I had refined earli er on. Visitors that would read my blogs would also be given the option to post comments and their opinions of what they think about the content of the blog.   The comments would act as feedbacks and would help me spot the areas I am weak in.The basic idea of writing a blog is basically to help me demonstrate my learning and research skills that I have developed over time. The demonstration of these skills would help figure an individual out the level of understanding of BIT I have developed with time.... Once I obtain my master’s degree I would try and gain entry into public service where I would have a chance to work for the betterment of the community. Using the knowledge that I develop during my years as a student I would develop policies that would help in the implementation of public programs and would also aid in the efficient management of employees. Module where I have achieved success: Of all the modules that I have studied so far at the university I have had a great deal of success with Dynamic Web Development and Advanced Web Design modules. One of the main reasons why these modules came so easily to me is because prior to my studies at University of Salford I worked as websites designer. Skills that I learnt there greatly helped me with my understanding of the course and the lectures being given by my tutors. Areas of interest: One of my greatest interests has been regarding social media websites. I have always maintained an account on some of the top social networ king websites over the past few years. Through these websites I have been able to reach a number of individuals and learnt how to optimize my profiles. Through the use of social networking websites I would be able to increase my online prominence and be able to promote various websites and blogs that would relate to my background and would provide vital information about my qualifications and skills. Online identity that requires amendment: Currently I have a number of accounts on various social media websites. The most prominent and frequently social networking websites that I use are Facebook, twitter, Google+ and YouTube. The first task that I was carrying out is that i had

Identifying and Describing the Ethical Issue. Worldcom Essay

Identifying and Describing the Ethical Issue. Worldcom - Essay Example The company manipulated the company's financial results in order to meet Wall Street expectations and artificially inflate their stock price amidst declining financial performance. Treating operational expenses as capital investments inflated the company's operating income since expenses are supposed to be accounted for in the quarter that they are incurred, instead of being spread out over a period of years. In this case this illegal accounting practice allowed Worldcom to treat operational expenses that should have been fully recognized each operating quarter as a long term capital expenditure, where related costs are expensed during the operating lifetime of a specific asset instead of being accounted for during one specific accounting period. As a result three former Worldcom executives were convicted of accounting fraud. David Myers, the third executive in command and Worldcom's former controller, was convicted to one year and one day in prison. The former controller received a much lesser sentence than the other executives due to his early admission of responsibility and remorse as well as extraordinary cooperation with the government in exposing the extent of the fraud including the major players involved (Cbsnews, 2009).Scott D. Sullivan, Worldcom's former chief financial officer, was convicted to five years in prison as part of a plea agreement in which he testified against the company's CEO Bernard J. Ebbres. Bernard Ebbres was eventually convicted to 25 years in prison for the Worldcom accounting fraud ultimately leading to the company's bankruptcy (Sullivan, 2013). In 2001Worldcom reported $7.7 billion in cash flow from operating activities instead of the true amount of $4.6 billion as a result of misrepresenting $3.8 billion of operational expenses resulting from the Sprint merger. Mr. Sullivan failed to inform Arthur D. Anderson, the firm's accountant at the time, of his decision to treat the expenses as capital expenditures in a clear and blatant attempt to disguise his illegal accounting manipulations from the accounting firm. This deceptive accounting manipulation resulted in the company overstating its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) which is the barometer that most investors utilize to evaluate a company's overall financial health and performance. As the company started the accounting fraud in the first quarter of 2001, Worldcom reported an EBITDA of $2.1 billion instead of $1.4 billion. By the end of 2001 the company had originally reported an EBITDA of $10.5 billion instead of the correct figure of $6.3 billion. Consequently Worldcom reported a profit of $1.4 billion for 2001 and $172 million in the first quarter of 2002, where in reality the company had loses amounting to billions during that accounting period (Eichenwald, 2002). This accounting fraud directly violates the accounting principles of reliability in accounting practice, as well as the â€Å"full disclosure† and the â€Å"matching† principle, where all expenses incurred during an accounting period are matched with the period revenues which it directly affects (Businessweek, 2002). Explaining Alternative Courses of Action and Related Trade-Offs B) Troy Normand, as the manager for the corporate reporting department, was responsible of the accuracy and reliability of corporate financial reports. Based on his testimony and full account of the conversation with Scott Sullivan regarding the events that transpired, we can conclude that Mr. Normand was in full knowledge and understood the implications and illegal nature of the accounting treatment given to the Sprint merger expense accounts. Therefore his actions regarding the treatment of the Sprint expense accounts was both unethical and illegal

The debate on assisted suicide Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The debate on assisted suicide - Research Paper Example The debate on assisted suicide Even as medicine seeks to save these extremely sick people, debate continues to rage on whether these deteriorated and tortured lives in excruciating pain should be ended or not. While some people opposed assisted suicide outright, others feel that legislations to allow physicians to end the lives of patients suffering from terminal illnesses are in order. However, such patients’ or their guardians’ or parents’ consent must be obtained prior to terminating their lives. This paper explores the two sides of the raging debates on assisted suicide. There are several reasons for which cross sections of the population support the ending of terminally ill patients’ lives. First, assisted suicide should be legalized since people should be accorded the right to choose whatever they want to do with their lives provided they do not interfere with or endanger others’ lives. That is, peoples’ right to choose freely should also cover the right to choose when to end own life. People whose diseases or handicap cannot allow them to end their lives should have the right to be assisted to end their lives and such a right should be granted and respected. Second, assisted suicide should be legalized since, as human beings, we have the duty and responsibility to relieve or end the suffering of other human beings and respect their wishes and dignity. It should be noted that certain diseases and conditions may make people lose their earlier dignity and they would rather choose to die than live in such dignity. In fact, certain current conditions are so excruciating that some people are no longer able to function with dignity as they used to do (Terman et al., 2007). It is thus not only cruel but also inhumane to deny such be the merciful end to their misery, pain, and indignity by terming their please illegal. Human compassion also dictates that we should comply with such pleas and cooperate with the patient’s wishes. Opposing Assisted Suicide On the other side of the debate are those opposed to the idea of assisted suicide. Their first reason for opposing the legalization of assisted suicide is that people have the moral duty to preserve and protect the lives of others. Assisted suicide is hence a fundamental breach of our duty to respect human life. In other words, given that the society should be committed to protecting all forms of life, it would be an unfathomable sin to end a fellow human being’s life by commissioning its destruction. It is also man’s duty to oppose any laws that would support assisted suicide, more so for patients who are innocent people (Humphrey, 2002). Third, those opposed to assisted suicide assert that there is no exact definition of the lives that should be ended. This situation would give room for the arbitrary ending of lives deemed worthless or undesirable. In fact, cases of inconvenienced relatives and friends persuading and coercing their ailing relatives to ask for assisted suicide would be a routine thing if assisted suicide were legalized. Worse still, patients may sign assisted suicide requests but change their minds later when their conditions may not all ow them to make their change of mind known (Hayden, 1999). In such a case, someone may end up being assisted to die against

Online Therapy Essay Example for Free

Online Therapy Essay Little by little the internet and technology are expanding to incorporate more aspects of our daily lives. The expansion is so vast, one can now do Just about anything online. On line advances has no doubt positively contributed to businesses, education, communication, and quality of life in general, but when does one draw the line? Healthcare is a very serious subject because it deals with peoples lives and well being. Potential problems that may arise from it are not monetary, like those involved with losing a Job or failing a school course, but deal with lives and peoples weakest and perhaps most uncontrollable side of life. Psychological disorders usually arise from events and sources not under the control of patients. Unlike purchasing the wrong stock at the wrong time or having an unsuccessful online business presentation, depression, addiction, phobias, and other psychological disorders are delicate matters that are not a result of bad decision making, however, much like every service the internet offers us, cyber psychology does have its advantages and disadvantages. Disadvantages and Solutions: The first glaring disadvantage is the loss of essential elements with the lack of face to face interactions. The fact that psychology is the study of behavior, it is imperative for a therapist to get a grasp on the patients complete behavior, which includes, but is not limited to, facial movements and body movements, tone of voice, posture, and appearance. To fully understand a client, a therapist must be able to be privvy to this side of the individuals personality to accurately diagnose and ultimately heal a problem or disorder. One way to solve this disadvantage could be for the therapist to request an initial face-to-face assessment that can then be followed by online treatments of various sorts. This enhances the screening process and leaves no room for misinterpretation or misdiagnosis that can arise from lack of personal interaction. Also, for cases or procedures involving video conferencing and webcam interactions, it is crutial for websites to continue to improve the video quality to avoid missing any words or movements that may be crucial to analyzing behaviors. Maybe once video conferencing is perfected, it will increase the validity of such therapeutic media and allow it to replace the need for an initial in person interaction. A second concern involved with web therapy is security. We are surrounded by warning signs oncerning various web securities, including scams, hacks, and phishing sites. In the past, we have seen many cases serious enough to make it to the news to increase awareness and warn people of the seriousness of certain situations. It is almost possible for hackers to invade most sites and this compromises the privacy of patients personal and diagnostic information. Also, confirming the validity of particular sites may be hard on some people since scam sites go into extreme measures to mimic credible sites. The fact that most on-line therapies require payment in advance, may seem tempting for people who make a living from online camming. Another potential leak in privacy may unintentionally arise from the clients themselves; the use of public computers or implying improper security features and practices to ones personal computer. To counteract security problems, websites are constantly working on maintain security and privacy. It is important for releasing financial or personal and emotional information. Psychologists are required to practice therapy in state(s) of which they are licensed for practice. Cyber therapy offers ways to go around that law. A patient, for example, may claim different residence to receive treatment from a particular therapist of agency. Also, since the world wide web spreads, well, worldwide, theres a chance that some of the sites are run internationally and this may give rise to cultural disconnect problems from misunderstanding situations, actions, and settings. Proper monitoring should be implemented on cyber therapy websites to avoid such breaches and complications. Advantages of Online Therapy: There are several advantages associates with online therapy. Time is something that seems to be becoming more scarce and harder to manage. Finding a service that can be molded around ones schedule, convenience, or from the privacy of ones ome is important to many people in todays fast paced way of life. Online therapy also offers a geographic advantage for people living in rural areas or people with transportation limitations. In addition, people with physical disabilities may now have an easier method of behavior therapy that does not interfere with their health issues. Finally, a very crucial advantage is financial. Online therapy makes it cheaper and thus easier to receive mental health therapy. Because of the lack of an office or facilities, transportation expenses, and the availability of different program levels to hoose from, therapy became an attainable thing and a cry for help that was heard by cyber space. The options of sending an email or having a telephone therapy session gives many benefits with the elimination of extended time charges and various office visit associated expenses. Websites Offering Online Therapy: The Online Therapy Institute is a website designated primarily for therapist seeking to introduce online therapy as an option to their practice. It offers intensive information about how to set up an online therapy site and what the rules and regulations are and general guidelines to follow to provide proper therapeutic echniques. It also assists therapists in the initial stages and provides a reference for any upcoming issues. E-Therapists Online provides services for patients seeking online therapy via e- mail, private chats, and phone counseling. It provides clear instructions on how to begin therapy and also price guideline. Payment is due prior to therapy. For example, an e-mail session costs $39. 95 and 4 e-mail sessions cost $149. 00. Telephone or chats cost $95. 00 for 60 minutes and $623. 00 for 7 60 minute chats or calls. Headworks is another website similar to e-therapists online. In addition to the ervices that e-therapists online provides, they offer free self-help information and customized services. Conclusion: Online therapy definitely has its advantages, but it should also be handled carefully. Not all cases of mental health should be able to be treated via cyber psychotherapy because some are much more complicated and need in person therapy. Once this service is solidified, this service will be more ideal for people who are in need of minor therapy, interaction with people, behavioral help, and guidelines in life but are unable to do face-to-face therapy for geographical or financial constrains.

PERSPECTIVES ON THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP AND CONFLICT

PERSPECTIVES ON THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP AND CONFLICT Introduction Today industries have undergone a great change in terms of the kind of personnel they deploy as they look for maximization of their production and profits. There is keen selection of means of production especially specialized labor and therefore this means that todays employer is much more focused on what he needs in the process of production (Fredman Gillian 1989, p.48). There are increased agreements and dispute procedures which used to be forced on the unions by employer association some time ago, but the bargaining ability and freedom has called for diversification of employers functions and restructuring of the pay agreements (Bach Sisson 2000). Management of the businesses has also changed with regard to todays need and is being performed by board of governors (Guest 1991, p.153). There are two aspects of employer relationship namely; market relations and managerial relations. A market relation refers to terms and conditions on which labor is hired and is economic in character. Managerial relations refer to deployment of labor force by the management and how this deployment is to be done. Before trade unions, individual worker could chose to work or go elsewhere if he or she is not satisfied with employers terms of work. And because an individual worker was weaker than the employer, there came a regulated work market with trade unions where employees are allowed to collude with fellow workers for a collective bargaining. The primary justification of trade union is that it protects the worker in the economic aspect of his employment (Gintis 1987, p.68). In job regulations, employers and employees adopt an agreement contract. These contracts have rules over a wide variety of work places. They contain an individual interest which necessarily ignores the economic reality behind the bargain because the parties are simply not equal (Wedderburn 1986, p.8). This one sided interest of contract of employment is the bone of contention in the workplace relationship. The contract requires the employer to pay wages, provide work, exercise care and cooperate while employees are expected to obey reasonable order, exercise reasonable care and competence, maintain fidelity, honesty, protect confidential information, be accountable and not to sabotage employers business among other provisions. These provisions are just mere protection on managerial rights. However, the actual cooperation of legal rights in work places depends on the power, knowledge and organization of the parties as well as on the statute book (Edwards 1987, p.15). The agreement of work must take into consideration that what is offered by the worker to the employer is the capacity to work, which only the capitalists make maximum use of, but the output benefits only the capitalists (Braveman 1998, p.37). This paper seeks to examine the three perspectives that have been a wide reference regarding industrial relations, their take on how these conflicts may arise and how they are solved under each system. In the discussion we will also seek to see how managers under these perspectives seek to gain control for effective management. The perspectives There are three perspectives on the employment relationship that can contribute in analyzing the nature of conflict in work place: Unitarism, Pluralism and Marxism. Most writers and theorists have written on these schools of thought and have used them from different perspective to analyze social issues. Here they will be used to test their take on the nature of conflict in the workplace and the way managers or human resource managers seek control and effective guidance in exercising their vested authority. Unitarism This is the system whereby a focus is placed upon one source of authority without negotiation. It assumes a kind of partnership teamwork in its operationalization. In a unitary system, members are expected to strive as a unit and pursue a common goal and every unit component does its part to the best of its ability (Fox 1966, p.2). Members are expected to exhibit discipline, royalty and effective communication because the organized body is supposed to be an integrated and harmonious whole. Following the centralized leadership members accept their place and function and this means antagonist groups and rivalry in leadership are not accommodated. Unitarism holds the idea that conflict in the work place should be a two way because the Leaders, who expect loyalty and respect from members, must first exhibit and demonstrate the same to individual members. According to Fox (1966, p.3), the success and impetus of the team inheres from personal relationship and just like a football team there is no divided spirit especially with management authority. In this system also, it is believed that the structure and the organization of work and purpose is unitary and individual employees or trade unions are not expected to challenge the management. Worse still is that trade unions are perceived to be an illegitimate entity that sabotages the balance of the whole unit and. As Unitarism assumes that workplace conflicts are non existent due to the organization and symbiotic relationship among workers and managers, the idea of trade unions is conceived to be foreign. Unitary system therefore denies conflict in workplace and just assumes that the conflicts are only due to personal differences, faulty communication and works of inciters from without. Managers in this system believe that workers conflicts can be managed within the system than involving trade unions (Fox 1966 p.10). Unions are seen as achieving nothing for employees but sabotaging progress, pushing up cost and constantly frustrating the owners of production enterprise in the guise of resolving workplace conflicts (Fox 1966, p.11). The ideology also endeavors to integrate employees into organization based on employee commitment to quality production, customer need and job flexibility. It therefore serves three purposes in the management; self reassurance as an instrument of persuasion and as a technique of seeking legitimization of authority. Adopting the unitary view of industrial organization is one of managers tactics. This gives a motivation that harmony of purpose exists. Ideology also is a persuasive instrument in which employers persuade their employees and public at large; that industry is a harmony of cooperation which only trouble mongers choose to disrupt (Fox 1966, p.5). This way they make their work easier by convincing their employees and winning public support, should management be challenged by their workers. Moreover, management creates a situation where their interest and those of other employees are similar and legitimizes the regime. Therefore drawing from this assumed legitimacy, their government sanctions and cruelty become legitimate (Edwards, 2003, p.34). In their bid to gain authority under this perspective, managers are also likely to adopt measures that are aimed at debilitating trade union and favoring the company and this triggers further resentment from the trade union (Fox 1966, p.11). Moreover, Managers holding Unitarism perspective belief that collective bargaining, negotiation and reconciliation encourage the wrong attitude between the two sides in industry. They therefore term any resistance and conflicts to be due to stupidity, wrong headedness or outdated class rancor and they work toward inculcating such ideology to their subordinates who by following the ideology are easily controlled (Fox 1966, p.12). Managers also utilize conformist innovation whereby they focus on acquiring expertise that will enable them to demonstrate a close relationship between their activities and organizational success criteria (Thornley, 2003a, p.83). This is mostly attained through specialization in personal management. This influences the re action of workers and their management becomes easier. The assumptions of the unitary position, with its emphasis on managerial prerogative, and its attempt to deconstruct realities of divergent work group attitude and values in the interest of strong unified team renders it weak under modern conditions especially in their obsolete view on the nature of conflict in the work place. Unitarisms view on the nature, cause and how to handle workplace conflict is utterly conservative and time tested. This organized labor is challenged when it comes to the process of organizing and assigning work to members as well as sanctioning the labor force. The failure to consider common interest leads to faulty communication or misunderstanding and at that time conflicts at workplace become a challenge. Pluralism Pluralist perspective is a system with a political analogy whereby many groups with divergent interests and beliefs act as one organization, and the government depend on their consent and cooperation. The final authority in pluralism lack moral bargain to arrive at final decision without relying on members unity (Clegg 1979, p.454). In this system, trade unions are legitimate institutions that represent collective interest of the workers and are granted powers to challenge management. There is therefore minimal authoritarianism because conflicts in the work place are viewed at as inevitable and as a phenomenon that is bound to occur without question. Pluralism views Industrial relations as much stable and adaptable as a result of collective agreement and it is very difficult for the management to sabotage trade unions unlike in the Unitarism (Clegg 1979, p.454). In the regulation of pluralism, conflicts induced by the trade unions are indispensable so the question of how to contain them triumphs over how to constrain the unions operations. In pluralist view, the organization is seen as a plural society with related but separate interests and objectives which should be tamed to a kind of equilibrium through conflict if workers are expropriated. Fox (1966, p.3) analyses that the running of a pluralism system is aimed at striking a balance of members activities of the group for the highest degree of freedom. This is done in line with general interest of the society as it is. The system is kept alive by the fact that sectional groups with divergent interests aim for a common goal and are mutually depended. Under this view, managers are expected to deploy many tactics in their professional functions should they expect to gain any accepted authority. These involve organizing work people and technical resources, shareholders, customers, the government and the local community. Managers who hold this perspective dearly seek to acquire some control through acting in the best interest of all stakeholders. Pluralist workers and other stakeholders, on the other hand, maintain their relations with managers as their source of information to deliver their goods and services to their satisfaction and to minimize work place conflicts (Clegg 1979, p.455). The effectiveness of managers under pluralism in their job is also, highly determined by their good relation with those who negotiate with them on behalf of the workers. Therefore it can be deduced that pluralism views workplace conflicts as indispensable and as a part of work relation hence trade unions are unavoidable institutions. Under this perspective the only way managers can be at ease is to strike a balance between their interest and that of workers by establishing good rapport with negotiators. In many organizations with pluralist approach, managers involve collective negotiations, procedures of dispute settlement, formal and informal consultation as tools of their power control. Marxism Marxism in its proper form is a general theory of society and social change with implications for analysis and industrial relations capitalism. Marxism has since its inception served as a tool for social research into power relations and a discourse in which other phenomena and reality are examined. Class conflict, a macrocosm of work place conflict, according to Marxists is there to stay within the system as far as profit is made out of exploitation of labor by the owners of production. Class divisions that inhere in society are closely intertwined with the bourgeoisie structure of industry and a wage labor (Hyman 1975, p.28). The capitalist, according to Marxism, has introduced social features that dominate labor process which is a property of the worker and this forces the worker to sell their labor power together with their interest. This alienates labor from the owner and makes it to be controlled by the capitalist. Karl Marx, the initiator of Marxists school of thought, noted that ones labor is equal to his or her humanity and one would be dehumanized once someone else controls his or her labor (Braveman 1998, p.39). Since the owner of labor is powerless and the buyer powerful there is a possibility of expropriation of the worker by the employee and hence trade unions are formed. Trade unions in Marxism are legitimate vehicles in challenging the excesses of property owners whenever they disrupt the distribution of national products as a result of power differences. Marxism therefore holds that workplace conflicts are bound to be there but measures should be put to tame them. Trade unions are therefore looked at as institutions that conjure up as a result of painful exploitation of employees by the owners of means of production and therefore as a collective bargaining person (Clegg 1979, p.455). A long history of conflicts has proved that they can be contained if positively perceived and handled. Marxism is the ultimate conflict theory that criticizes Unitarism and pluralism because of their leniency on handling workplace conflicts. Research demonstrates that Marxists and pluralists differ in their industrial relation analysis and further in their definition of its subject matter and nature (Hyman 1975, p.20). What is common in both schools of thought is that both are concerned with conflict and stability acquisition. This means in both perspectives conflict in workplace is unavoidable just as in any other sphere of social life. In most work places management asserts its authority and control down wards from above while work groups assert their independence and control upwards from below (Coffey Thornley 2009, p.93). This reverse expectation is the one that projects a conflicting point where balance has to be struck radically to the benefit of neither of the side. According to Clegg (1979, p.454) Marxist account of industrial relation has that, trade unions may become integrated in the institutions and operations of capitalist society. This strategy, which managers under Marxism may deploy to gain authority, is the greatest evil that can bedevil trade unions under Marxism because once that is accomplished unions cease to act as instruments of social class welfare. This integration may assume terms as economism, incorporation and institutionalization. As much as this is not consistent with trade unions objective it does not favor the employee who is supposed to be represented. Collective bargaining employs freedom for workers to organize independent trade unions to bargain independently and effectively with the employer. To get rid of persistent subordination, workers have freedom to organize autonomous trade unions (Wedderburn 1986, p.7). Integration of trade unions into capitalist society, midwifed by managers, influences all representatives, who interact with managers and employers association, to forfeit their duty to serve employees. To avoid this trade unionists are not advised, under Marxism to make a binding agreement with their employers. In Marxism it is expected that conflicting employee and employer prefer a settlement of their differences in an amicable manner close to each partys objective. This settlement is mostly to be achieved after a series of meetings (Clegg 1979, p.453). As the two sides also push each other to the wall, they must keep in mind that they are mutually depended on each other and that collective bargaining is the backbone of their industrial relations. This however does not imply that trade unions representatives always yield to the pressures of the enterprise. Marxism believes that workers ability to deliver their labor productively lies in the damage they cause to their employers whenever they strike. Further institutionalization of trade unions makes them not to be seen in the old goggles as tools of radical protest and revolt (Clegg 1979, p.454). Trade unions in Marxist setting are aligned to a political party with wider support, greater funds and more activists. Marxism therefore entrenches politicization of workers by action that workers must learn to deploy the mass power of the union as an instrument of revolt should a need arise (Clegg 1979, p.454). Conclusion However, debates on Marxism, pluralism and Unitarism no longer dominate in the labor market today but a new orthodox under the promising enterprise duped human resource management (Guest 1991, p.149) for managers to control power at the work place they adopt enhanced motivation and commitment at work that leads to high performance and therefore managers are expected to dig into it. Rules in an employment sector are either procedural or substantive and do not just follow some theorized routes as those established in Marxism, Unitarism or Pluralism. This is usually found in the spirit of collective agreement that is usually constituted in a body of rules. The Procedural part of the rules deals with matters as which methods are to be used and the means that are deployed when settling disputes that arise from places of work (Flanders 1975, p.86). This very part also deals with facilities to be provided to the representatives of parties who enter the agreement. Substantive part on the other hand pronounces the rate of wages, working hours among other terms of employment leaving exploitation as the last thing to be forced. The substantive rules of collective bargaining regulate the marketing interpretation and enforcement of such rules (Flanders 1975, p.87). However, each of the set of rules, whether substantive or procedural regulate different sets of relationships. Collective relations that involve representative organizations are under the procedural rules. The worker is subject to managerial relation whereby authority and subordination come to play with respect of who is who in the work place. The employee is usually placed at a position where he will exercise his powers in a limited way with regard to the hierarchy of power (Flanders 1975, p.88).The powers are born of organization of the management with an aim of attaining the goals of the enterprise. Here the employees interact with fellow employees and management as they share interests, sentiments, beliefs and values for the common purpose (Flanders 1975, p.89). In conclusion conflicts in the work place are indispensable but what should take precedence is how to solve them. Trade unions are meant to solve the conflict between the employer and the employee but there are other problems that management will have to deal with. The three perspectives offer their take on the industrial relation but their survival is depended on the culture of the society and how they will be interpreted by those involved. What is very important in this case is a balance that will maintain stability in the work place that every party will be satisfied.

Peace, Prosperity and American Relative Power Capability :: essays papers

Peace, Prosperity and American Relative Power Capability There appears to be in the world an era of unprecedented peace. Contrary to the predictions that the end of the Cold War will bring about the fragmentation of international order and the emergence of multipolar rivalry among atomistic national units, today the world’s major powers enjoy co-operative relations and world economy is progressively liberalising and integrating. The peace and prosperity of the current era, however are sustained by the constant operation of a single factor: American relative power capability (Kupchan, 1998, p. 40). In this paper, a clear foreign policy strategy for the United States of America in Europe and Eurasia will be outlined. Such an outline should be necessarily made from the perspective of American national interests. America is a global power and it has vital global interests. The perception of the global interests of America is shaped by the desired future that the American political elite is envisioning. A viable foreign policy strategy then will be simply the roadmap for achieving, to the greatest extent possible, the objectives which are substantiated by that desired future starting from the present condition of the international landscape. The means to achieve these objectives are determined by the relative power capability that America has at present, as well as the capability self-image in the context of the international landscape of the political elite; its world view. The prevailing world view often shapes the motivations of the decision-makers and consequently determines the perceived foreign policy objectives , as well as the very means to achieve these objectives. Misperception of the behaviour of other actors within the international context leads to erroneous foreign policy motivations on behalf of the decision-making elite, which in turn result in a foreign policy strategy that may be, at best misguided, at worst—catastrophe. That has been the sad, costly lesson from the Cold War—a global low-intensity conflict caused by a mutual misperception of threat with excessively high risk potential for escalating into a thermonuclear war. To downsize the potentiality of similar perceptually-based geopolitical disasters, a clear understanding of the true motivations of the other actors on the international scene is vital. The true motivations can best be outlined through the inferential analysis of the foreign policy behaviour of the other actors. Peace, Prosperity and American Relative Power Capability :: essays papers Peace, Prosperity and American Relative Power Capability There appears to be in the world an era of unprecedented peace. Contrary to the predictions that the end of the Cold War will bring about the fragmentation of international order and the emergence of multipolar rivalry among atomistic national units, today the world’s major powers enjoy co-operative relations and world economy is progressively liberalising and integrating. The peace and prosperity of the current era, however are sustained by the constant operation of a single factor: American relative power capability (Kupchan, 1998, p. 40). In this paper, a clear foreign policy strategy for the United States of America in Europe and Eurasia will be outlined. Such an outline should be necessarily made from the perspective of American national interests. America is a global power and it has vital global interests. The perception of the global interests of America is shaped by the desired future that the American political elite is envisioning. A viable foreign policy strategy then will be simply the roadmap for achieving, to the greatest extent possible, the objectives which are substantiated by that desired future starting from the present condition of the international landscape. The means to achieve these objectives are determined by the relative power capability that America has at present, as well as the capability self-image in the context of the international landscape of the political elite; its world view. The prevailing world view often shapes the motivations of the decision-makers and consequently determines the perceived foreign policy objectives , as well as the very means to achieve these objectives. Misperception of the behaviour of other actors within the international context leads to erroneous foreign policy motivations on behalf of the decision-making elite, which in turn result in a foreign policy strategy that may be, at best misguided, at worst—catastrophe. That has been the sad, costly lesson from the Cold War—a global low-intensity conflict caused by a mutual misperception of threat with excessively high risk potential for escalating into a thermonuclear war. To downsize the potentiality of similar perceptually-based geopolitical disasters, a clear understanding of the true motivations of the other actors on the international scene is vital. The true motivations can best be outlined through the inferential analysis of the foreign policy behaviour of the other actors.

How Community Service Changed My Future Essay -- Community Service Ess

"We are not put on this earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you." - Jeff Warner I am the fourth child out of my seven siblings, the middle child. Growing up, I pestered my older sibling as my younger ones do to me now, but I never truly understood how blessed I was to grow up in such a big family. My older sisters were my role models and still are, I see what they go through as adults in this world and decide whether that’s the path I want to take or not. I am also a big sister to three younger siblings, and although I did not see that they look up to me until recently, I know that they do and I strive not to make many mistakes that they may follow. Looking up to someone and admiring them does not always mean that you want to be like them, but that you watch their actions and mentally note them, as if they are a manual on what to do and what not to do. Never in a million years did I think I would touch someone’s life outside of my family, but the last semester of my senior ...

Hr Systems Comparison: System Thinking , Best Practice, Best Fit

Managing human capital| HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT| | | | Table of Contents 1. Abstract3 2. Introduction3 3. System and Ecological Thinking4 3. Best Practice5 4. Best Fit6 5. Discussion7 5. 1. ‘Systems Thinking’7 5. 2. ‘Best-Practice’8 5. 3. ‘Best-Fit’9 6. Summary and Conclusion10 7. Bibliography11 1. Abstract This assignment will assess three main schools of thought that apply to Human Resources Management (HRM). With regards to contemporary HRM concepts it is evident that a consideration of the ‘larger picture’ is necessary to be able to effectively push an organisation towards its ideals goals.A consideration of ‘system thinking’, ‘best practice’ and ‘ best fit’ systems of HRM lead to balanced conclusion that it is necessary for an HR Manager to have a sensitivity to the individual needs of the workforce as well as the ultimate mission of the company. Each system discussed here does this diff erently here does this differently with each focussing on alternate viewpoints of what is most important; be it the intricacies of the system, the commitment applied to the overreaching goals of the organisation.This study finds that our of the three areas studied is viable and arguable that best practice system offers the most well rounded set of principles for general HRM. However, to assess the appropriate HR System for a more specific organisation either local or international, it is essential to consider a conglomerates system, which takes into consideration the specific aims of the company the needs of the staff to create an efficiency and enhanced performance that is still systematic and easily applicative.Key words: System Thinking, Best Practice, Best Fit, Human Resource Management 2. Introduction Human Resource Management was influenced from the changing look of the employment management relationship that occurred after the First and Second World War. It starts with the Fi rst World War; it can be classified in terms of a changed attitude of managers towards labour, changed labour management practices, the development of personnel techniques, and development of the personnel profession.During WW1 the demand for workers significantly increased, as a result of this, the need for monitoring workers, and finding qualified workers to manage the group of people similarly increased. â€Å"These new values became incorporated in what was emerging as a distinctive body of management thought, practice and ideology, upon which later theory and practice are founded. † WW1’s impact on HRM grew rapidly during WW2, with an increase in new theories and ideas. In addition to this, labourers created their industrial unions which enhanced the monitoring of the people and also allowed a development in training.During WW2 developments opened vast fields for HRM. Significant impacts occurred after the war, when the idea was introduced that â€Å"quality adds to costs†. Subsequently, â€Å"western organisations have since come to emulate the philosophy and practises of quality that proved so successful†. The concept of HR can thus find their beginnings rooted in the aftermath of the two world wars This essay will consider three main systems of HR namely; ‘systems thinking’, ‘best practice’ and ‘best fit’.Within these topics there will be an assessment of what each of these systems involves with regards to HR and occasionally the International HR Manager. The ‘best-fit’ system can be subdivided into three models which shall be discussed also. These are the ‘life-cycle model’, the ‘competitive model’ and finally the ‘configurational model’. Furthermore there will be consideration of the benefits and limitations of each of these practices, culminating in an assessment of which of these systems could offer the advantageous and beneficial HRM for the Director. . System and Ecological Thinking By definition, the context of HRM is complex because the nature of HR is that it is affected by many different factors, both internal (Vision, Mission and Goals, Policies, Management Approach, Organizational Culture, Quality of Work Life) and external (Political , economic, Social and Technological). Collins comments that â€Å"from the perspective of context, the story is never-ending†. He refers here of course, to the idea that these internal and external factors have an enormous effect on the working environment.It is a sensitive issue which requires a large amount of continued assessment; the goal being to keep these factors in check and accounted for in order to create a harmonious, productive and efficient workforce. This approach helps to simplify the complexities of context by looking upon HR as a ‘system', a term which denotes a delicate habitat made from smaller ‘sub-systems', where each ‘sub-s ystem' provides a layer of information that feeds up the chain to create the bigger picture.In the context of International HR (IHR), managers take on the same responsibilities as their local based colleagues but the area of activity and difficulty of these duties is based on the extent of internationalisation of the organisation. As they move towards a more global economy, organisations are supposed to revise their HR strategies. From one country to another, for example, external factors (e. g. politics) or internal factors (e. g. practice) would be vastly different.As a result of this, normal decisions can be really complex in an organisation operating around the world in multiple countries, particularly since for international organisations, all HR events are supposed to be synchronised across the home country and different national branches. The IHR manager needs to consider how to improve their leadership of a global company, choosing high potential employees and making correct decisions for the overall HR organisation A critical issue for IHR managers is creating co-operative strategies between countries.Consequently, the IHR manager cannot look at the ‘big picture’ from only one perspective. As Collin’s suggests, positivist and alternative views of a system can open â€Å"useful insights into the understanding of context†, ‘system’ thinking â€Å"allows us to see the whole rather than just its parts and recognise that we are a part of that whole. It registers patterns of change, relationships rather than just individual elements, a web of interrelationships and reciprocal flows of influence rather than linear chains of cause and effect. †The ‘system’ approach is organised in such a way that the processes and objectives are considered as a whole. For example, the ‘system’ consists of the organisation of the human element, machines, material resources, tasks, formal authority relatio nship; all of which are small informal groups. Each of these components works towards achieving the objective of the organisation – all of the processes are connected to each other. The main ‘system’ is the organisation, and this includes the interrelated and interdependent subsystems.The system thinking approach can be divided into an ‘open system' which refers to systems that take information from the environment, and a ‘closed system' whereby the system does not have any relationship with the environment. It is important for IHR Managers to remain firmly within an ‘open system’. They are required to start a dialogue with their environment and constantly adjust internally to remain buoyant and in balance with the external factors. It is interesting to consider an aspect of ‘systems thinking’ referred to as both ‘Hard Systems Thinking’ (HST) and ‘Soft Systems Thinking’ (SST).Within HST, humans are c onsidered as an objective resource. Its purpose is to pinpoint the ideal solution for predicting and controlling the use of existing resources. Once this ideal solution has been identified, the role of HRM then focuses on enforcing compliance with the designed regime. The difficulty with HST however, is that it is incapable of taking into consideration any kind of human misunderstanding or conflict which may hinder goal achievement. On the other hand, SST as proposed by Checkland (1980), is available to help tackle those problems which could not be handled by HST.SST has seven stages, which focus heavily on wide participation to create ownership of the outcome. Firstly, one must enter the problem situation, secondly express the problem in a â€Å"rich picture†, thirdly Formulate Root Definitions so that one can create precise perspectives of the participant system, fourthly Build Conceptual Models to understand better what each system does, fifthly, compare these models with reality, sixthly identify possible changes and seventhly take firm action to improve the situation. The benefits of SST are that it truly is able to recognise that problems occur due to differences of opinion.Its chief aim is to develop a sense of mutual understanding and preserving the existing state of affairs. Another aspect of ‘systems thinking’ is ‘Critical Systems Thinking’ (CST). According to Jackson (1991), CST accumulates five main components: critical awareness, social awareness, and dedication to human emancipation, complementarism at the theoretical level and complementarism at the methodological level. Midgeley (1995) stresses that CST developed around three areas of thought: improvement, critical awareness, and methodological pluralism.Improvement is able to be easily monitored through value systems, critical awareness considers participation factors and boundary judgements while methodological pluralism reflects on the range of methodologies available to temper communication and observation in order to supply an improvement, offer mutual understanding and involve a decision making process. Both Jackson and Midgeley show that CST is able to satisfy the three key human interests that were identified by Habermas in 1970 as being the technical interest, the practical interest and the emancipatory interest. 3. Best PracticeThe concept of ‘best practice’ falls under the category of a strategic human resource management technique (SHRM). It is also an example of ‘high commitment’ HRM. The idea behind ‘best-practice’ SHRM is that if an organisation adopts a particular selection of HR practices that are considered ‘best’ or most effective, then this will allow that organisation to enjoy an improved performance; both in terms of organisational productivity and output, and employee satisfaction. It is argued that with the ideal set of ‘best practices’, any company or organisation will benefit if they implement these practices fully (ie. ith a level of ‘high commitment’). There has been much research into the perfect set of ‘best practices’; since without knowing what constitutes the ideal universal set, it is impossible to claim any is really a ‘best’ set. Pfeffer (1994) provides one of the most commonly considered set of HR practices – a collection of sixteen HR principles designed for â€Å"competitive advantage through people†. These sixteen were then later simplified in 1998 into seven practices for â€Å"building profits by putting people first†.Marchington and Wilkinson later tweaked these practices for the benefit of the UK populace in 2002. The simple act of Pfeffer’s work needing to be altered to better fit a UK audience, suggests that the original principles were not relevant and consequently, not universal. If, the concept of ‘best practice’ is for an org anisation to follow a set of universal practices as closely as possible, with the idea being the more closely followed, the better the performance, then these principles need to be applicable to a universal audience to begin with.Guest (1987) expands on this by noting that since lists of ‘best-practices’ vary wildly in their inclusions it is difficult for there to be any rigorous evidence that supports any kind of universal application. Youndt et al. (1996) provide a generalised acknowledgement of what most models of ‘best-practice’ seem to focus on. In this research it is claimed that most focus on â€Å"enhancing the skill base of employees†. Extensive training of staff is undoubtedly important for many sets of ‘best-practice’, with most providing at least induction training and/or performance appraisals.Similarly Youndt’s recognition that many practices â€Å"promote empowerment, participative problem-solving and teamwork† which we can see reflected in examples such as Huselid’s (1995) stress on information sharing, Kochan and Osterman’s (1994) problem-solving groups, and Arthur’s (1994) suggestion of social events respectively. Youndt et al. goes some way towards establishing a more universal set of ‘best practices’, by taking the most commonly appearing practices and collecting them into a likely looking set of the most popular practices.In doing so, one could hopefully assume that the principles are relatable to a vast majority of organisations if not, ideally, all. Considering the difficulty in pinning down a firm set of ‘best practices’ acknowledged and agreed upon by all, it is interesting then that Capelli and Crocket-Hefter (1996:7) believe that in place of a single set of practices, which they believe to be â€Å"overstated†, it is rather the â€Å"distinctive human resource practices† that cause progression and enhancement of or ganisation.A type of practice that is thus distinguishing and characteristic or a particular workplace cannot be considered universal, but rather a focused set of practices that are applicable in a specific work environment. A final aspect to consider with ‘best-practice’ is the notion put forward by Storey, 1992, that single practices will be less affective if they are executed individually. MacDuffie, 1995, expands on this further by suggesting that it is essential for each practice to be grouped together into with complementary practices.This concept is known as ‘horizontal integration’. It is recognised that this type of integration allows some practices to be added or left out, as long as there are a core set of highly committed principles to adhere to. Although this too has problems, since in Guest et al. ’s analysis of the WERS data in 2000, they found that â€Å"the only combination of practices that made any sense was as straightforward cou nt of all the practices†. 4. Best Fit ‘Best-fit’ is also an example of SHRM.It is a concept which is rooted in ‘vertical integration’; the idea that a company’s business and HR strategies are aligned and cohesive. The suggestion being that an organisation becomes increasingly efficient when its HR department and the overall aims, goals and mission of the company are tailor fit. There are three models of ‘best-fit’ that explore this vertically integrated relationship, firstly the ‘life-cycle models’ (Kochan and Barocci, 1985), secondly the ‘competitive advantage models’ (Miles and Snow, 1978 and Schuler and Jackson, 1987) and thirdly the ‘configurational models’. . 1. Life-Cycle Models This model tries to link the vertical relationship between HR practices and company policy to a metaphoric ‘life-cycle’ of a company, from its start-up phase through to decline. Baird and Mershoulam (1988) states that â€Å"human resource management’s effectiveness depends on its fit with the organisation’s stage of development†. The inference is that as a company grows, changes, progresses etc. so must its complementary HR department. During the start-up phase, the emphasis for the HR department is flexibility and informality.As the company grows (growth phase), so must the HR policies. With the assumed increase in staff it is necessary for there to be a more rigid and formal HR department to cope with this. It is a perfect opportunity to foster innovation. The next stage is the maturity stage whereby a company is more established. During this time the HR role is about stability and control, and about perfecting practices already in place. Finally the decline stage considers HR’s role in matters such as redundancy and generally reducing company size. 5. 2. Competitive Advantage ModelsThis model usually applies to the research conducted by Porter (19 85), in which three bases of competitive advantage were identified: cost leadership, quality of service, and focus or innovation (i. e. being the sole provider of a product or service). Schuler and Jackson (1987) expand on this research by defining HR practices that ‘fit’ Porter’s three bases. Within each base (which can be referred to as a market strategy) there is an ideal set of employee roles alongside a reinforcing set of HRM policies. If the two are able to align efficiently, then it is presumed a higher level of performance will incur. 5. 3.Configurational Models The configurational model was proposed by Delery and Doty (1996). It attempts to rectify the problem that the best-fit school is often levelled with, that it oversimplifies the organisational reality. It does not take into consideration the ways in which a company is expected to grow and change in accordance with external factors (economic, political, social). The configurational approach aims to steer clear from linear thinking, and allows for the prospect that a company/organisation may be subject to many independent variables and may be focusing on multiple performance strategies at any given time.In short, the configurational model’s aim is to simultaneously achieve both horizontal and vertical integration. It responds to the truth that it is necessary for a company to be able to integrate it’s HR policies both horizontally and vertically (i. e. in accordance with the company’s overall direction but also with a set of practices that provide employee satisfaction and growth) in order for it to survive. This concept is easily visualised through Miles and Snow’s (1978) ‘defender’ and ‘prospector’ categories.The ‘defender’ category refers to a system that operates in a stable and predictable environment, while the ‘prospector’ category is conversely unpredictable and hurried. Each category is nec essary for the progression of the company (vertical integration), while the varying characteristics of both allow for a set of fairly general HR practices designed to secure employee satisfaction (horizontal) while adhering to the needs of both categories. 5. Discussion The three systems that have been discussed address HRM in vastly different ways.What is interesting to note is that despite this incongruence, they each prove to be successful and efficient systems. It is necessary however to discuss each system a little more critically in order to assess which system would be the most useful and effective in a work environment. 6. 1. ‘Systems Thinking’ ‘Systems thinking’ is a highly beneficial process for the IHR Manager. What is unique about its application is that it is able to take a very complex, perhaps global, situation and conceptualise it in such a way that it becomes clear how it can be manipulated by external factors.The manager is able to witness how the environment can affect the subsystems and consequently implement changes that react with the environment so as to produce a dialogue that is able to breathe and develop organically. For the IHR Manager it is essential for such complex dynamics to be simplified to an extent that it becomes easily manageable and they are able to grasp the bigger picture, whilst remaining in tune with the intricacies of the subsystems that are flexible to change. It is this ‘open system’ that makes ‘systems thinking’ so unique.Furthermore, the concepts of HST and SST are equally beneficial within ‘systems thinking’. HST is perfect for workforce planning and optimising resources, while SST is excellent for agreeing goals, performance feedback and participation. However, ‘systems thinking’ finds its downfall in the fact that while HST and SST are effective systems, they are only able to work independently of each other. Ideally, one would merge the two to provide an all encompassing system both in tune to the personal needs as well as the technical aspects. Another limitation of most ‘systems thinking’ in general is that it is primarily oriented towards ethodology, and is fundamentally rationalist. Flood (2001) argues that when focused on human existence, â€Å"systemic thinking helps people to sense a deep holistic or spiritual quality†, but arguably perhaps only if the idea of ‘systems thinking’ can be expanded to become part of a worldview, rather than just a discipline or methodology. In short, ‘systems thinking’ is at risk of only seeing the bigger picture to the detriment of the particulars. 6. 2. ‘Best-Practice’ The concept of ‘best-practice’ is one that takes into consideration the specifics of HRM.It encompasses some of the most commonly used principles of HR by identifying key policies that are essential to HRM. The advantages of this system lie in its simplicity. It is able to present a firm, established and tested selection of HR principles that will undoubtedly be beneficial to an organisation. The problems with ‘best-practice’ arise centred around the word ‘best’, however if one concurs with Capelli and Crocker-Hefter (1996), that these practices would be better referred to as ‘distinctive’, then we are faced with a healthy abundance of productive systems, ready to be implemented.An HR Manager in this instance need only choose a set of principles which they feel is most applicable to their situation and organisation and start using the immediately. Since there are so many ‘best-practice’ systems, it is arguable that one could alter and tailor-make a set of ‘best practices’ that are specific and unique to a particular organisation. The technique of horizontal integration, or ‘bundling’ allows complementary systems to be implemented alongsi de each other and heightens a sense of congruence and cohesion, as asserted by Wright and McMahan (1999).Furthermore there is evidence to support the idea that the ‘high-commitment’ strategy behind ‘best-practice’ (i. e. an organisation should aim to follow all systems within a ‘best-practice’ set) creates a higher achieving organisation. While horizontal integration can be considered beneficial, frustrations may arise due to the fact that ideally no single practice should be pulled out of a system and used individually as its efficacy will drop considerably. Additionally, the ‘best-practice’ system is only effective on a non-universal plane.Since there is such an abundance of systems it is impossible to select just one set as being the only ‘best-practice’. Consequently for an organisation on an international level, the ‘best-practice’ system would not be beneficial and could potentially neglect certain i mportant aspects if it is not catered towards the specifics of that organisation. On the other hand, Youndt et al. (1996) were able to briefly collect a sample of some of the most commonly appearing policies, which could provide a sound starting point for any HRM. 6. 3. Best-Fit’ When considering the ‘best-fit’ model it is plain that its main advantage is its use of vertical integration. By paying close attention to the overall aims and goals of the company, the ‘best-fit’ system is able to create a set of HR policies that work in complete cohesion with those aims in order to fully maximise the potential of the staff and consequently the business. Every aspect of the organisation works with the focus of the same goals. The various models within the ‘best-fit’ system each have their own benefits too.The ‘life-cycle model’ is able to vividly explore the natural progression of a company and alters it’s HR policies in tan dem with this progression. However, it is difficult to know throughout this model which HR strategies are able to secure the type of human resources that are necessary to continued viabilities, even when industries develop, and which are more likely to contribute to sustainable competitive advantage through the life cycle? (Boxall and Purcell, 2003). The ‘life-cycle’ model is unique also since it is able to allow the HR Management master the present while pre-empting the future.However, it is incapable of allowing for unexpected incidents and relies on an organisation not veering away from the pre-planned cycle. The ‘competitive advantage model’ is useful since it focuses on company gain and edge and tries to set an organisation apart from the other by an awareness of Porter’s three key bases (1985). Finally, the ‘configurational model’ allows both horizontal and vertical integration, which ideally allows the full potential of a company to be realised, whilst expanding and enhancing staff prospects. The difficulties of the ‘best-fit’ system lie in its common criticism, that it oversimplifies the matter entirely.It does not take into consideration internal turmoil or conflict which needs to be sensitively addressed. It assumes that everyone’s best interests are with the overall aims of the business, and provides a rather harsh reality of working life. It forces HR into a submissive system that fits into the overall goal, and implies that within this model HR is a secondary factor. On balance, on an advisory level for an IHR Manager, ‘systems thinking’ would be the most beneficial, since it offers the opportunity to assess the situation on a larger scale and implement strategies that can be manipulated in harmony with the external influence.However, when considering a start-up company or a localised company, it would appear that the ‘best practice’ model is the most viabl e. While it is not able to be fully universally applied, it is able to provide an excellent basis for most businesses. For the discerning HR Manager, a set of ‘best-practices’ can be established specific to that organisation that can be assessed and manipulated as the company progresses with time. 6. Summary and Conclusion In conclusion, this assignment is able to consider the complexities of HRM through the investigation of three strategic systems.It is apparent that each system has many benefits, and each is certainly applicable in various situations. Each HR system is designed with a certain business model in mind. The ‘system thinking’ approach is clearly catered towards a more internationally based institution, while the ‘best-fit’ approach takes into consideration the start-up company. It is only really the ‘best-practice’ system (in this study) that offers a middle ground option for the largest sector of businesses.It is evi dently important for the HR Manager to keep on top of their chosen system, as the ever changing environment, especially nowadays, leaves businesses vulnerable to external factors (most apparent in the form of political, social and economic factors). 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