Hero vs. Tragic Hero

The Difference between a Hero and a Tragic Hero The tragic hero is one of the most interesting characters within a Greek or Roman play. They depict many emotions and often their lives end in a horrible disaster. When we think of a hero, what automatically comes to mind? To some it may be someone legendary. Others might think of a hero as someone of great strength or ability. Perhaps someone admired for their achievements and great qualities.To me, it once meant someone that showed great courage and responsibility . A real hero is someone who faces everyday challenges bravely and lives with a smile despite problems and shortcomings and sometimes even having supernatural powers of some sort. Before these two â€Å"heroes† can be compared and contrasted, it is imperative to know what a tragic hero must possess in order to be called a â€Å"tragic hero. A tragic hero must contain the following features; a tragic hero always had characteristics like greatness and a noble stature, they must have a fatal flaw, that in most cases lead them to be partly responsible for their own demise, usually their punishment outweighs their crime, and then, of course, sometime during where the tragedy takes place there should be some sort of self-realization for that character. This is where they realize their mistake.One prominent characteristic of a tragic hero is portrayed specifically in the play ‘Macbeth' by Shakespeare, the tragic hero Macbeth was a victim of his doubt and insecurity. Thus, the hero's downfall is due to his own errors and actions. A tragic hero has to suffer because of his own mistakes. He is doomed from the start; he bears no responsibility for possessing his flaw, but bears responsibility for his actions.He is usually a king, a leader of men and his fate affects not only his but the lives of a whole nation or number of people. Tragic heroes are without a doubt one of the most intriguing of characters. A Traditional hero is a person of â€Å"dis tinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. A hero is â€Å"any person who has heroic qualities or has performed heroic acts and is regarded as a model or ideal to follow†¦ † He represents a positive image of a human being, physically, mentally, and emotionally.He is loved by all and cherished for his noble deeds. He always takes up distinctive tasks which no one else ever dares to and may come across much adversity that which he fights with his endurance and valor and eventually reaches victory with a confident heart. He has qualities like courage, honesty and willingness to sacrifice. But most of all, he stands for everything we love to see ourselves as. That is why they are so popularly favored by many.

Summay: Reinventing Your Business Model

Reinventing Your Business Model By Mark Johnson, Clayton Christensen & Henning Kagermann Summary Submitted by Tiffany The article â€Å"Reinventing Your Business Model† is focused on the importance of innovating business models as a means of providing new growth and opportunities for an organization. The three authors, Johnson, Christensen and Kagermann, provide a layout to demonstrate possibilities for an organization. The first step is to understand the definition of a business model.The article explains that a business model consists of four elements that each work together to provide value. These elements include customer value proposition (CVP), which is â€Å"a way to help customers get an important job done. † Next is the profit formula which is the plan for how the company will money while provide a value to the customer. The third element, key resources, is the assets that are required in order to fulfill the customer value proposition. Lastly, key processes ar e the primary operational and managerial tasks that also assist in delivering to the customer and company. Also you can read  Business Ethics ComprisesThe authors use two business examples to illustrate the process: Tata Group’s CPV for providing safer, inexpensive transportation and Hilti’s CVP for converting from commoditization of power tools to service provider through the leasing of power tools. After explaining the business model, the authors move forward to discuss understanding when a business model is needed. Although there are opportunities when a company can disrupt competitors by producing a product that is within their current model, a business must know when it is advantageous to create a new business model.The authors state that there are five strategic circumstances that require a change: 1) An opportunity to provide value for a group that is completely shut out of a market; 2) Capitalizing on a new technology by creating a business model around it; 3) Providing a â€Å"job-to-be-done† when it doesn’t exist yet; 4) Fending off low-end disrupte rs; and 5) Responding to a shift in the basis of competition. Additionally, the authors stress that venturing into a new business model should not be taken lightly and should be pursued only when the opportunity is large enough and â€Å"game-changing† enough to warrant it.At the conclusion of the article, the authors discuss Dow Corning as an example of a company creating a completely new business model independent of their existing model. Dow Corning discovered a need for a low cost product model and ultimately established Xiameter, which is starkly different from its original model. The authors also assert the need for trial and error and a willingness to revise as keys to creating a new business model.

History of Western Tradition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Western Tradition - Essay Example The Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation are a unified, interconnected whole since the former brought about a new exchange of knowledge and ideas, and with the invention of the printing press enabling the dissemination of these knowledge, individuals start to challenge their devotion and belief to the Catholic Church finally resulting in the Protestant Reformation. The Renaissance and Protestant Reformation brought about numerous changes which marked the way people view various features of modern life. The revival of religion, architecture, and art encouraged the most important developments in the world. The Renaissance ignited developments in architecture and arts. Individuals learned the concept of individualism; they demanded to gain personal recognition of their own actions rather than gaining credit for their dedication to God. Numerous architectural styles were created during the Renaissance period. The Renaissance created questions concerning the way to salvation by intr oducing new insights, specifically the importance placed on individualism, which was a belief that individuals have the capability of differentiating right from wrong, and deciding whether to act morally or immorally. The Catholic Church, passionately promoted the knowledge that salvation can only be attained through the Church, but when Martin Luther read the passage in the bible declaring ‘just shall live by his faith’1 to imply that genuine belief or faith is the only way to salvation he started to question the all-powerful foundation of the church. In one of Luther’s table talk, against Catholicism in 1535, he stated one of his major disputations: The chief cause that I fell out with the pope was this: the pope boasted that he was the head of the Church, and condemned all that would not be under his power and authority; for he said, although Christ be the head of the Church, yet, notwithstanding, there must be a corporal head of the Church upon earth. With th is I could have been content, had he but taught the gospel pure and clear, and not introduced human inventions and lies in its stead.2 The Christian cleric Luther was very troubled over the existence of indulgences, or the religious practice of giving money to the church, hence he created his book of disputes referred to as the ‘Ninety-Five Theses’.3 This document is an effort to explain and elaborate on the issue. Yet, because of the invention of the printing press during the Renaissance period, the document of Luther became a general text and was quite interesting to thinkers and philosophers who also oppose the religious institution. The Renaissance also contributed greatly to the Protestant Reformation when Luther attributed his interpretation of the Bible to his personal perspective of religion, thus he persevered to translate the Bible into the German language in order for more people to understand it. Yet again, the Renaissance printing press helped in the dissem ination of the translated Bible, and also in the circulation of guides that persuaded many to follow the teachings of Luther and Protestantism. The Renaissance basically was a period where new knowledge was recognized, and was still accepted after it ended. This acceptance of knowledge enabled the principles of Luther to cope, alongside a large number of Protestant branches to emerge. A French intellectual, John Calvin, abided by the teachings of Luther but instead of giving emphasis on salvation he persuaded the population to acknowledge the justice,

Statistics Quiz Multiple choice Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quiz Multiple choice - Statistics Project Example IV. If the process were repeated many times, each time selecting random samples of 500 people aged 20-24 and 450 people aged 25-29 and each time constructing a confidence interval for p1  - p2, 95% of the time the confidence interval limits will contain the true difference between the two population proportions. Assume that you plan to use a significance level of  Ã‚  = 0.05 to test the claim that p1  = p2, Use the given sample sizes and numbers of successes to find the pooled estimate  . Round your answer to the nearest thousandth. The table shows the number satisfied in their work in a sample of working adults with a college education and in a sample of working adults without a college education. Assume that you plan to use a significance level of  Ã‚  = 0.05 to test the claim that  Ã‚  Find the critical value(s) for this hypothesis test. Do the data provide sufficient evidence that a greater proportion of those with a college education are satisfied in their work? Use this approach to find the size of each sample if you want to estimate the difference between the proportions of men and women who plan to vote in the next presidential election. Assume that you want 99% confidence that your error is no more than 0.05. A researcher reports an F-ratio with df= 3, 36 from an independent-measures research study. Based on the df values, how many treatments were compared in the study and what was the total number of subjects participating in the study? A research obtains an F-ratio of F = 4.00 from an independent-measures research study comparing 2 treatment conditions. If the researcher had used an independent-measures t statistic to evaluate the data, what value would be obtained for the t statistic? An independent-measures research study compares three treatment conditions using a sample of n = 5 in each treatment. For this study, the three samples totals are, T1 = 5, T2 = 10, T3 = 15. What value would be obtained for SS between? An

Latin American Revolution in Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Latin American Revolution in Film - Essay Example Henry Lane Wilson was an American ambassador, who considered the necessities of the population, but insisted on the theory, that the appropriate democratic government could not be formed by means of a rebel. Wilson’s aim was to return the prosperous background for the foreign investments to Latin America. To achieve this aim he formed the Republican Party and became its active member. The next term â€Å"caudillo cult of personality† refers to the political military leader of Latin America Caudillo. His personality was accepted as a charismatic image, supported by many people. Caudillo was the one, who could command the army and at the same time held the attention of the crowds of admirers. The third term â€Å"Cristero War coartacion† refers to the rebel in Mexico, which took place in 1926. The revolution bared the religious character. It was represented by a movement of peasants, who called themselves â€Å"Cristeros† and fought for the rights of the Chu rch. The Revolution of 1910-1917 years is the period of Civil War in the history of Mexico. It began as an uprising against the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz and ended by the adoption of a new constitution. The number of victims during the period of the Civil War in Mexico, according to various sources, ranges from 500 thousand to 2 million people. The Revolution consisted of four stages: In 1876, the General Porfirio Diaz, who established his dictatorship for the further three and a half decades, represented the authority of Mexico. Diaz continued the work of his predecessors Benito Juarez and Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, whose main aim was to modernize and attract foreign investment to Latin America. Diaz believed that, to achieve this purpose, it was necessary to ensure political stability in the country. As a result, he has made an agreement with the major factions of liberals and conservatives, and weakened the effect of anti-clerical reforms,

Transcending the Compulsion beyond the Counter Essay

Transcending the Compulsion beyond the Counter - Essay Example Its history and the way fast food chain of restaurants centering the military base since World War II metamorphosed a sleepy and quiet town into one of the most developed and busy townships of United States. With the sprawling employment, more and more interface of the teenagers was noticed in the fast food industry. Behind the Counter examines the effect of the involvement of the teenage folks readily into the growing fast food industry and its effect on the socio-cultural and socio-economic aspects of American society. Behind the Counter from Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal examines the effect of the â€Å"part-time† jobs and the involvement of the teenagers in the fast food industry. This essay intends to explore and examine the effect of the continuing legacy of the contemporary society of America as well. Behind the Counter is a very important and effective chapter that enables the readers to understand the subtleties and intricate relationships b etween economy, culture, and society. No one can ignore the tremendous power of economy on the development of culture and society and American society is not an exception in this regard. In this chapter, tracing the development and inception of a city which flourished holding the hands of the fast-food chain of restaurants examines how the teens are predominantly converted into the workforce that kept the fast food industry alive. Focusing on the working conditions of these teens, Schlosser also draws attention on the way these part-time jobs into the counters of the fast-food centers interfere in their education and explains the adverse effects of their spending of money.

Calculation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Calculation - Assignment Example The calculations are shown below The incremental revenue is the increased amount of revenue, which is solely linked to the additional revenue generated from the installation of the New ATM machines. The installation is subject to increase in revenue by $300,000 at the end of the first year of installation. Therefore, the amount of $300,000 is shown in year 1. The revenues have shown a constant growth rate of 5% from second year onwards. Therefore, the increased amount of revenues has been incorporated while calculating the cash flows of the project. Therefore, the increase in the Net working capital is subject to the cash outflow. In other words, purchase of inventory increases the current assets and also increases the net working capital of the organization but the increase in inventory requires cash outflow. On the other hand, the reduction in net working capital implies the increase in the cash inflow. The reason is that the increase in current liability implies increase in short term borrowing. The increase in short term borrowing is subject to reduction in net working capital but increase in cash inflow. Therefore, the reduction in net working capital increases the cash inflows, which is then added to the incremental revenues. The net working capital has shown the increasing trend with a constant growth rate of 6%. The incorporation of the growth rate of net working capital increases its value and reduces the incremental revenues by such increased amounts of net working capital. The annual maintenance cost is $10,000 at the beginning of the project and shows the increasing trend with constant growth rate of 5% each year. The incremental cost is then subtracted from the incremental revenues each

Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nursing - Essay Example A problem statement is a concise and clear description of all issues that are going to be addressed by a problem solving team or an individual researcher in a feasibility report or in a proposal before attempting to solve the problem. It simply describes or defines the active challenges faced by a researcher or a practitioner by outlining the problem that will be addressed in the study. A problem statement should fully describe a problem so that other people can know that there is indeed a problem and how it has been addressed by the researcher. Narrowing a problem statement involves making it to focus on a particular issue or issues. It entails shifting the attention of the problem to a more specific and precise issue and narrowing the problem area into a specific hypothesis rather than addressing issues in general. It takes digging deeper into a problem and then stating only the exact area of concern that will be addressed. There are difficulties that may be experienced when narrowing a problem statement. One problem is that the researcher will have to narrow the scope of research. It is also difficult to narrow the problem statement and still ensure that it remains substantive, original and not so obvious. The problem statement should not lead a reader into obvious results. Narrowing them down without careful thought may make them too obvious and not original because most narrow topics tend to be obvious and have already been researched on unless extreme care is exercised. There are also a lot of problems that may be encountered with narrowing a problem statement when the topic is still relatively unfamiliar. Another problem with narrowing a problem statement comes about when trying to make the problem statement narrow enough to be able to arrive at a conclusion and solution, yet broad enough for a significant study. Question Two: What are the characteristics of problems that are significant to nursin g and thus merit research? Identify at least one problem worthy of research and one problem that would not be worthy of research. Justify your examples. The problems in the field of nursing which require research have common characteristics. One common characteristic of nursing problems that merit research is that they are meant to lead to the improvement in nursing care and the field of nursing in general. Nursing problems that merit research are generally meant to inform nursing caregivers, practitioners and educators on new nursing practices, health beliefs and how to solve pre-existing and emerging problems. The general characteristics of nursing problems that merit research are that it is aimed to build a body of nursing knowledge by finding solutions to nursing problems. Nursing problems are aimed at validating improvements within the nursing field and making healthcare effective and efficient. One problem worthy of research in nursing is the issue of race, culture and ethnici ty. This problem is worthy of a research because the practice of nursing entails dealing with different people from different races and ethnicities. Nurses interact with patients from culturally diverse backgrounds who have varied beliefs and practices that need to be taken into consideration when they are giving nursing care. It is therefore necessary to find out what these differences are and to know the best ways to handle them so as to avoid any conflict from arising. It is difficult to determine a problem that is not worthy of research in the field of nursing. Any research that will lead to finding of useful solutions to the field of nursing and improve the field of nursing is worthy of research because it will provide useful insight about the field. Problems that may not be worthy of research, if any, are those that have had too many researchers deal with them and are therefore too common such as attitudes of nurses to patients. Question Three: What are some of the advantages to your organization or practice to

Human Resources Functions Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Functions Essay Human resources or personnel function fulfils a number of needs. It is responsible for the hiring and firing of employees, for staff training and development, and for dealing with matters relating to industrial relations. In this report I will be analysing each of the functions related to human resource and then take one of them and make an in depth analysis of it. Once I collect the information I need regarding the responsibilities of the human resources and how they should be carried out, my next step will be to compare them with a medium or large size company to see how they carrying out the responsibilities and what alterations they have made to suit their particular needs. To do this I have chosen Tesco. Below I will briefly look at the four functions of human resource and how they affect Tesco: 1. Human Resource Planning Human resource planning can be defined as: The activity of management which is aimed at coordinating the requirements for and the availability of the different types of employee In simplicity, this means to make sure that the organisation has the right number of employees and of the right quality. For the human resource to achieve their targets they need to have a good understating of the labour market in the local area. When planning human resources Tesco need to take into account the following factors: a) Local employment trends Local employment trends tells Tesco about the levels of employment in the area and gives them a general idea of the type of jobs people are getting and the type of jobs that there are a shortage in. b) Local skills shortages Local skills shortages is an important aspect to Tescos human resource because it informs them about the lack of people with certain qualities in the local area. This is important as it can be used to compare against the Tescos skills criteria for new employees. If they are looking for certain skills from people and theses are not available then they will either need to compromise or look elsewhere. Also, if they know the general skills of the people then when they advertising for a job, it will reduce the chance of them asking for qualities which are absent in the people, which might keep very suitable people from applying and few applicants might mean that further advertisements are needed, costing time and money to Tesco. c) Competition for employees There may be very few people with top qualities willing to work for a company like Tesco. It would be in the best interest of Tesco to seek and take theses enthusiasts on board. If they dont, then other similar retailers will recruit them and then they will become rivals to Tesco. Competition for employees may even be on the lower skills end where there may be a shortage for cashiers, for example. Tesco will need to provide suitable incentives to attract these key people. One simple way in which to attract the mass of people is to increase their wage. This is not always the case due to the financial constraints on a business. d) Availability of labour Availability of labour is an important factor for Tesco. They need to make sure that they are aware of the quantity and quality of workers available when recruiting. This understanding will allow them to make right decision when employing people. If there are very few suitable candidates then they will have to choose someone amongst those. However, if there are many people suitable for the job then they can carry on with their search until they come across some one who fulfils all the requirements. It is important for Tesco to know the availability of workers in their locality as this will enable them to prepare and make back up plans for when there is a shortage of suitable people willing to work for Tesco. Human resource planning also involves looking at how labour is organised within a business. The factors that Tesco must take into account are as follows: a) Labour turnover This is about forecasting supply of labour. It asks the question how many employees will we have in the future? It therefore means looking at internal and external sources of labour. When Tesco is looking at the total supply of labour in its organisation it is important for them to look at labour turnover. Below is an example of one of many ways of working out employee turnover: This is sometime called the percentage waste rate. It tells Tesco what percentage of workforce left in a year. There are also other indexes which deal with stability, which give a good idea of how long employees are staying with the organisation. If employees are not staying very long in certain departments of Tesco, then this can be pinpointed and investigated. b) Sickness and accident rates A high level of sickness absence will affect the supply of labour very badly. If genuine then Tesco can do very little in the short term. If they are bogus then moral within honest workers will be low and confidence in managers can sink. There are many ways in which the human resource team can monitor performance against: o Performance in the previous year o Trends in other organisations in the same industrial sector o National sickness absence figures Accident rates can be lowered and kept to a minimum if health and safety guidelines are followed properly. c) Age, skills and training This is also known as stock taking. It asks the question what is the quantity and quality of staff available in the organisation? It uses the following techniques: o Job analysis involves gathering information about all employees. It collects information regarding their duties and skills required to fulfil those duties. o Skills audit is a survey of the skills, qualifications and experience of all existing staff. o Performance review involves looking at the performance of all employees in order to: o identify potential staff o identify where staff have more training needs This information will give an idea to the rest of the company about the skills and training of their employees. Weakness can be tackled using these information and strengths can be built upon. d) Succession This really only applies to employees at supervisor/line manager level and above. Succession planning enables the organisation to ensure that staff with potential to fill top jobs are given extra training or wider experience so that when the time comes they will be able to fill those positions. Without this type of planning Tesco would see good employees leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. This will make it harder for Tesco to fill gaps at a later date. Conclusion on Human Resource Planning Humans are the most important resource to Tesco and they will need to make sure that they plan properly to ensure that they employee the best people who are best suited to the job. This will ensure they have an advantage over their rivals, as rivals can copy products but not staff. 2. Recruitment and Selection Tesco recruit staff for a number of reasons. Initial recruiting is needed when a new store opens and after that there will be a constant need for recruiting due to the changing needs of Tesco and the needs of he employees. o The growth of Tesco is usually seen with the opening of new stores. The opening of stores means that they need to recruit so that the employees can run the store. o Changing job roles within the business o Resignation, retirement, dismissal also means that recruitment needs to take place in order to replace these workers and keep the business running as before o Internal promotion means that new recruits are needed when existing employees are being promoted to higher positions, which leads to vacancies which can be filled by internal candidates. Promotion usually means that there are now gaps at the lower skill level in the store and this creates jobs for external candidates with less experience. Extra costs are always frowned upon by businesses and recruitment, if not properly done can cost a business a lot of money and time. This means that it is very important for a business to recruit accurately and this will mean that the recruiting team have a clear idea of what sort of person the business is looking for and what is expected from them. The team can save the business money and time by: o Preparing person specifications and job description which clearly outline what kind of person they are looking for and with what qualifications. The job description will clearly linked with what they are expected to do once recruited and what is expected of them. o Carefully planning how, when and where to advertise as this will save time and money for Tesco. Tesco need to weigh out the costs and benefits of different methods of advertising (e.g. using internet or the local newspaper), when the best time for advertising is (in the summer holidays or beginning of the school year) and where to advertise (e.g. in the stores or at the job centre). o Identifying the strengths and weakness of job applications, curriculum vitae and letters of application. The recruiting team will need to be very experienced at electing candidates. Their experience in recruiting will be reflected in the quality of candidates they recruit. o Short-listing candidates involves selecting a small number of applicants for the next stage. This may well be training or more tasks to lower the number of people for the next stage. This selecting will carry on until the right numbers of candidates are found with the desired quality. The recruiting team need to be able to distinguish easily the strong applicants from the weak as there may be hundreds of applicants. When recruiting every applicant deserves and expects the same opportunity as their rivals. There are many legal and ethnic responsibilities relating to equal opportunities which Tesco must uphold so that they dont break the government law and trust of the public. Below are a few acts passed by the government which will govern the recruiting method and process. o Equal Pay Act 1970, requires employers to pay same rate of pay to men and women if they are doing the same job. o Sex Discrimination Act 1975 states that employers may not discriminate on grounds of gender. This act makes it illegal to discriminate against a particular sex when: o Advertising to fill jobs available o Appointing employees for those jobs o Promoting staff into better jobs o Determining the terms and conditions of the ob o When offering employees opportunities for training and development There are Exceptions to this act where this act does not apply. However, these exceptions do not apply to Tesco and this means that the whole act is to be followed by Tesco. o Race Relations Act 1976 makes discrimination on grounds of race illegal in the same areas as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, i.e. advertising jobs, appointing staff, promoting staff and providing staff benefits. Again there are exceptions which do not apply to Tesco which means the whole act is to be followed by Tesco. o Disability Discrimination Act 1995 updates the protection for disabled persons and places it onto a similar basis as for other forms of discrimination. Key aspects of the Act warn against discriminating when advertising jobs, appointing staff, promoting staff and providing staff benefits. It also states that reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that a disabled person can work on the premises. This act does not cover organisations employing fewer than 20 people. It is therefore correct to say that this act is to be followed closely by Tesco as their employees number thousands. However, Tesco only have to do what is reasonable. If modifications are very expensive then this would be deemed unreasonable. There is some government financial assistance available for modifications to buildings. To ensure that only suitable candidates are chosen and to make the selecting process easier and less time consuming, there are testing method and techniques available to the recruiting team. Aptitude tests It has become increasingly common for employers to expect job applicants to carry out tests to give a fuller picture of their ability to do the job applied for. They are appropriate or manual work where there is some skill involved and also for office work. These types of tests are appropriate for Tesco to use as they will allow them to find out more about the applicant before selecting and will allow the applicants to show their full potential. Psychometric tests These types of test assess the intelligence and personality of applicants. They are much more sophisticated then aptitude tests and Tesco must have properly trained staff to carry out and analyse the tests. The producers of such test argue that they are unbiased and that they can sow, for example, if a candidate would work well in a team. Human resources department must have good interviewing techniques and the interviews must adopt these methods and techniques when interviewing to ensure they reach out comes in the best interest of Tesco and its entire staff. Tesco must make sure that recruiters are aware of all the criteria for evaluating the recruitment process and must ensure that all the guidelines and methods are followed carefully. Many employers now use their employees in a flexible way so that they can get the most value form them. Tesco must understand the importance of recruiting and maintaining a flexible workforce if they are to remain competitive. There are different bases for recruiting people for a flexible workforce, and below I have mentioned a few: o Different modes of employment o Different terms and conditions Just as methods of working have changed, so have the terms and conditions under which people are employed. People may be employed full-time or part-time under a number of contractual arrangements. o Core employees are highly paid workers who offer firm-specific skills which are hard to acquire form anywhere else. Often such skills will have been acquired within the organisation itself. They provide functional flexibility because they do a range of tasks. Because they are so firm-specific they have high job security. o Part-time, temporary and contract labour Sometimes temporary staff are required for short periods of time either to replace employees who are absent or to help out in busy times. When labour is plentiful the short-term contract enables firms to meet present staffing needs without making a long-term contract. Tesco use this type of recruitment when there is a shortage of staff or when there s a busy period (e.g. Christmas) which demands more assistants in the shop floor. Conclusion on Recruitment and Selection Tesco must ensure that their recruiting team is the properly qualified as a good team will lead to good recruits. Tesco must ensure that they use the best and fair methods suited to their environment to select the right candidates. This will ensure the best people are working for them to create the top company. 3. Training and Development A general definition of training is: the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills which can be applied to a particular job Training can be divided into two main categories: on the job training or off the job training. on the job training This means that the employees acquire their training or development in the workplace itself. An example of this in Tesco is when they recruit a school leaver who has little work experience. One of the supervisors will show the new recruit what they have to carry out and may show them how this is done. off the job training This means attending courses which may be in a collage or training centre away from the work place. This usually applies when there are insufficient facilities or people to train the trainees. Tesco may want its entire senior staff to have a high degree of understanding in health and safety and for this they may send their seniors to a course where they would acquire this knowledge from experts. Induction This is an introduction to the organisation for new employees. It is designed to familiarise new recruits with the organisation, its rules, facilities, policies and key staff. Usually an introductory pack containing the main details will be provided. In Tesco this would be carried out once a recruit starts working or when they are being promoted and new responsibilities are put on them. The induction is very important to both Tesco and their new employee. Tesco need to ensue that they give the best possible start to the recruit and the employee needs to be satisfied that this it is in their best interest to work for Tesco. Tesco will also get their first impression of their recruit so this stage is important for Tesco. Mentoring This can take a number of forms. It may involve an experienced member of staff supporting a new recruit through initial stages after joining the organisation. The aim is to give a new member of staff a point of contact where problems can be taken and advice given. The meetings are usually informal and supportive and the mentor is often someone at the same level in the organisation as the new recruit. Mentoring will allow the new member to pick up new ideas quickly and will be more beneficial for the company. Coaching Coaching is a term which is becoming increasingly used in association with training in business. It involves an expert helping employees to develop specific skills through explanation, practice and encouragement. Coaching is becoming popular as a means of developing the skills of senior managers. This is important as it targets employees at the higher end of the chart. Their success will be passed on to the juniors and this will mean that better managers will mean better staff. Apprenticeships Traditionally, an apprenticeship involved a trainee working for a period of time with a craftsperson in order to learn a trade. In-house raining This is where employers run courses inside their own organisation. Courses run in house will be ones where it is impractical and unrealistic to offer any other alternative an oblivious example would be the organisation induction programme. This type of training is very useful to Tesco because this means that they can easily gather all their employees and teach them new methods or make them aware of surrounding situations. This will give them advantage over rivals as it will mean that all their staff are always up-to date with the latest knowledge, skills and methods. External training Sometimes it is necessary to send staff to do courses elsewhere. This may be at a factory of a n equipment supplier (when an organisation buys new equipment the supplier will usually run training programmes at its own factory to get employees accustomed to using it). This type of training will make the employees more efficient as they wont be wasting valuable time on the shop floor trying to figure out what certain buttons on a machine do. Transferable skills These are skills that, once learnt, may be applied in many different situations. The key skills of Application of Number, Communication and Information Technology are transferable. This could be for example cashing up the till. Non-transferable skills These are narrow skills that are job specific; they apply only to a particular situation. This for example could be the procedure of dealing with out of date food. Conclusion on Training and Development Knowledge and skills of staff are vital to the success of Tesco. Therefore, they must ensure their employees are best trained and that they are always developing. 4. Performance Management A business needs to ensure that its employees are performing effectively. It will wish to: o Identify areas which are unsatisfactory o It may wish to find areas where employees need to be trained and developed o It may wish to encourage and reward good performance perhaps with performance-related pay in the form of bonuses or pay increases. Performance management refers to the practice of setting targets, measuring performance against these and suggesting courses of action. A number of methods may be used to check performance the choice will depend upon the business in question. Performance reviews including appraisals An increasingly important way of getting feedback on employee performance is through appraisal. Appraisal may be closed, in which case the report remains confidential. More usually the process is open, in which case the appraisee takes an active part in the review process and discusses the results. The appraisal essentially looks at what an employees job is, how well it is being performed, and what action should be taken for the future. Self-appraisals Self-appraisals involves employees assessing themselves against a series of criteria. These results can then Peer evaluations This involves employees on the same level within the organisation assessing each other. This may mean that managers in different of Tesco observe each others and write a report. Target setting for individuals and groups All employees should know just whats expected of them on the job. When setting targets the Human Resources department for Tesco must make sure that their targets meet these criteria: o They should be specific. Every person doing a job should know exactly what he or she is expected to do. o They should be measurable. Tesco should have a touchstone against which performance can be measured. o They must be attainable. Unless the targets can be met, staff will consider them unfair and Tesco may find that their staff, resist working towards them. Measuring individual and group output/production Tesco employ staff in order to help the organisation sell the products and provide its customers with quality service. The efforts of the human resources managers will be towards improving the performance of employees and thereby enabling the organisation to achieve its objectives. Performance can be measured in a number of ways: o Performance through profit This may mean comparing its profit for different years or against its other stores. o Performance through quality Today, quality is a word used in all organisations, those providing services as well as those providing goods. This means that Tesco can use methods such as suggestion box for customers to praise customer service or to make complaints against staff. This will enable management to work with the employee in question or to reward them. o Performance through productivity In Tesco, sales representatives, for example, keep records of sales they make. Tesco can for example, compare two staff at the checkouts working the same shifts to see how fast they are serving the customers, by analysing how many customers they have served. They can use this to determine training needs. After setting these performances, the staff will be monitored and their results analysed. In order for Tesco to prosper amongst their rivals they must use the performance results as a way to find and solve problems. For example, the results may show that a particular employee or a group of employee lack certain aspects of knowledge in their jobs. Using this information Tesco can target these employees and send them on training programmes so that they are more developed. Motivation It may seem obvious that staff should be motivated; however, from the point of human resources management this is only true if motivation leads to improvements in the work. Over the years a number of management theories have been put forward in an attempt to explain the nature of motivation and suggest ways in which it may be improved. Frederick Taylors principles of scientific management Taylors belief was that complex tasks should be broken into separate operations so that little could go wrong. Each operation would be performed by a separate employee. The whole job could then be completed in a series of stages by a number of employees working together. This theory can be seen if one aspect of Tesco is looked in to detail. For example, when a delivery comes one employee doesnt unload the truck, check them off, and put them on the shelves. This process of getting goods from the truck on to the shop floor is done by a number of employees working in team so that once one stage is completed the second can be tackled by another set of employees. This way each set of employees knows exactly what they are required to do and chance of something going wrong is decreased. Fredrick Herzbergs two factor theory Herzbergs theories, produced in the 1950s, concern job design and satisfaction. From numerous interviews with accountants and engineers he concluded that two sets of factors are important. o Hygiene factors, which include reasonable pay, satisfactory conditions of work and benefits such as sick pay. o Motivators, which include responsibility, challenge and self-improvement. Hertzberg believed that properly designed jobs provide satisfaction and personal development for the employee. The workers become motivated, perform well and are less likely to be absent. To Tesco this theory is very important. They have taken advice from such theory and adapted their policies where possible to suit their employees. Tesco pay competitive rates, their working conditions are of top quality and they have many benefits. These are a result of understanding this theory and implementing them so that they get the desired results that all companies want. Abraham Maslows hierarch of needs Maslow developed his Theory of Human Motivation in 1943. He believed that motivation comes from a desire to satisfy needs. He placed these in a hierarchy with the basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid and higher needs at the top. In practice Maslow accepted that a variety of needs will exist at the same time, but suggested that once lower needs are satisfied then higher needs become the strongest motivators. Maslows theory has the same basis of Fredrick Herzbergss two factor theory because they both argue that what satisfies a person is the hygiene factors and the Motivators. Fredrick just says that a combination of these two factors leads to better performance where are Maslow goes further to say that they come in a set order where once basic needs are satisfied, higher, more complicated desires will be sought. Both Maslow and Fredrick speak of the same requirements in their theory. Evidence of both these theories can be seen in the day to day running of one of the Tesco stores. One such examples is the promotion of senior managers to managerial positions. In this instance the desire of the employee in question has been fulfilled and soon their desire will advance and they may start looking for further responsibility. Douglas McGregors Theory X and Y. In his book , The Human Side of Enterprise, he put forward two extreme views about the way in which organisations manage their employees. He called theses Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X states that all employees are lazy unambitious and dislike extra responsibilities. They will always resist change of any kind and are totally uninterested in the future success or otherwise of their employer. They are not interested in how the organisation works and prefer to be told what to do. Theory Y is exactly the opposite. Employees are interested in their work and want to be asked for their opinions on how to improve things. They want to be given more responsibilities and will naturally work hard without having to be told what to do all the time. They are also prepared to accept change because they understand it is in everyones best interest to move with the times. In practice theses views are extreme ends of the scale and Tesco like most other organisations falls between the two. They have both employees who have the characteristics of theory X as well as employees with characteristics of theory Y. Naturally the more characteristics an employee holds of theory Y the more likely that that person will be promoted to higher, more responsible positions as its in the best interest for Tesco to make theroy Y employees managers key workers. One reason is that theory Y employees are more likely to have better attendance and punctuality rates because they are self motivating, and this is a great advantage to Tesco and will help Tesco move further. McGregors theories are similar to Muslows and Fredrick Herzbergs. They are all closely related because they all base their theories on the same principle of desire. All their theories show that if a person desires for something and the condition is right then they will work towards it with all their effort. For example, if their s a managerial position and they have the ability to grasp that position then they will, but only if they have the desire to take such responsibility. If however, the conditions are right but the desire is absent then they may not try for such a position or may be promoted with no desire which could lead to chaos. On the other hand, if there is an employee with the desire and no opening is in sight then he/she may decide that the best option for them is to move to another company. Therefore, Tesco endeavours to provide eager, hardworking employees the benefits and promotions they rightly deserve. Relationship between Training Development and Performance Management Before Tesco can give its staff advance training it needs to know what they lack. It will be very expensive for Tesco to give training to its entire staff regarding all the different aspects of the company. Therefore Tesco needs a way of knowing what their staffs lack knowledge in and which staff or group of staff in particular. As I have mentioned earlier there are many different ways of finding out the training is needs and there is a variety of training programs to suit the needs of the employees. Tesco will set training according to the needs which arise from the performance reviews. Once training is given another performance review will be done to asses its success and further training may be suggested. This cycle of training and reviews will always be part of any company due to advances in technology and constant changes in employees and the attitude of society. The training methods Tesco decide to use and they way in which they review performance will be according to the way in which the person in charge understands and evaluates the A business needs to ensure that its employees are performing effectively. It will wish to: o Identify areas which are unsatisfactory o It may wish to find areas where employees need to be trained and developed o It may wish to encourage and reward good performance perhaps with performance-related pay in the form of bonuses or pay increases. Performance management refers to the practice of setting targets, measuring performance against these and suggesting courses of action. Conclusion on Performance Management Tesco must ensure that performance of staff are at their very best. They must use suitable methods to find weakness in staff and improve. T succeed they must make certain that the correct attitude is always emanating from their employees and that they are ready for change. Quality of information collected from recruitment documents When Tesco are recruiting people they have set procedures to deal with application forms and there are several key recruitment documents that are used by them to evaluate the quality of the person applying. Before any candidate is given the an interview they must pass the selection process. When Tesco are advertising for a recruit they will provide the person with a job description. A job description lists the main tasks required in a job. The person flicking through the newspaper for example, will decide if the tasks suit them and they will then apply if they do. Along with the Job description, Tesco will also provide what is known as a person specification. This sets out the qualities of an ideal candidate whereas a job description defines the duties and responsibilities of the job. The best-known method of drawing up person specification is based upon seven separate groups of characteristic: 1. Physique, health and appearance 2. Attainments 3. General intelligence 4. Special Aptitudes 5. Interests 6. Disposition 7. Circumstances This specification clearly sets out the description of the ideal candidate and applicants can be easily measured against this. This makes the job of the interviewer much easier and will ensure that Tesco are recruiting the right people for the right job. One a person has seen the advertisement and they want to work at Tesco, there are many ways they can apply. Below I will list them and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of each: The curriculum vitae (CV) This is the most common way in which applicants let Tesco know that they are interested to work in Tesco. CVs are very useful to Tesco as they advantages Provides an overview of the applicant Easy to produce Taught at school Can be used in the selection process Can be used to compare against requirements disadvantages May not provide vital information Not everybody has easy access to computers The letter of application This is simply a letter asking for the job and explaining why they are suitable it. Human Resources department staff may need to read hundreds of application letters so it is in the applicants interests to pay attention to doing it properly. advantages o Can be used in the sorting process o Provides an overview of the applicant disadvantages o The person taught to write letters well at school will stand out even though their other qualities might no be so good o The letter may miss out information, which is important, and conversely is likely to dwell on factors, which make them look a more attractive applicant. The application Form This is a far more commonly used method of selection. Consultants devote hours to designing a new and better forms which will extract even more accurate information from people. advantages o Specific requirements from the job and person specification can be compared with the application form o Questions, which might otherwise not be answered in CVs or letters, can be asked. o The form can act as a framework for the interviewer, making the interview easier to conduct. o Forms can be kept of all short listed candidates and drawn on them again if another vacancy arises. o The form for the successful applicant will become a very useful part of his/hers personal records. disadvantages o Costly to design and produce. The effects of I.C.T on recruitment documents The advance of I.C.T means that companies like Tecso use their web site to advertise jobs. They also have online application forms that will appeal to a wider range of audience. Their website also facilitates for C.Vs to be sent directly to Tesco. The new ways of capturing information is a great advantage to Tesco. They receive application forms and C.Vs within minutes, which saves them time and money. However initial costs of setting up the websites are very high, but the Human Resources Department doesnt have to worry about this because Tesco will have a website whether the Human Resource department want to use it or not.

English Language Essay Example for Free

English Language Essay Why and how is it to learn the English Language? That would always be the question that English language learners encounter. Learning the English language is important in the sense that it can be used in a lot of useful ways and even unites the world. How? Let us find out the nitty-gritty of the importance of learning the English language as detailed below. I will start the essay with a story that dates back in the year 2000. It was a very special year since the world celebrated the millennium. Almost every person anticipated the coming of that year. Excitement can be felt anywhere in the world. My friend, Julia and I were busy preparing for the year 2000 millennium celebration. We were decorating the dance and meal venue with colorful designs of paper art works. Julia came up to me and asked me if I can still remember his friend, Tom, his long-time chat partner. Tom is an American soldier that Julia met through the internet. I said yes, I can remember him. Julia told me that Tom is coming to the country. I was happy for her. She was happy too however she told me she had this big, big problem – Julia has difficulty expressing herself in English. Yes, Julia and Tom were long-time chat partners but problems to language barriers always arise as source of misunderstandings (very wonderful though that they manage to keep a healthy relationship despite that big problem). Having that in mind, I cannot help but remember my own experience with the English Language. Personally, I had difficulty learning the English Language, for one because it is not my native language and secondly, in day-to-day activities we use our own language and so there was no chance of learning English if I only rely on my day’s typical experiences. When I got into school for English, the first lesson if I remember it right is about the English Alphabet since it is the most basic approach towards learning the English Language. I had difficulty in remembering the Alphabet since there are 26 of them and as a beginner, everything was unfamiliar. At times when the teacher requires recitation for the alphabets, I would always avoid eye contacts with her because I am afraid that I would be called to stand up for the recitation. With my experience learning the English language, I can say that I was forced to do it -forced, because if I have it my own way, I will not burden myself learning a new language. At that time, if I only have a way not to attend the English class, I would do so. The teachers during that time are not so supportive of their students in the English class. English felt like a food that is forcibly fed upon us. They had a short understanding of psychology of students as first-timers in the English language class. However since there was a need to study English as a language, it encouraged me to attend classes. For me, that need was my guiding force and encouragement to pursue the study of the language even though the experience is unpleasant most of the time. The teachers surely have placed pressures to us students in learning the language. The pressures come in form of examinations meant to determine and measure the extent of how much we have learned in class. The pressure also took in forms of penalties, wherein, we pay fines and dues for every non-English word spoken inside the vicinity of the school. Although, it was a real tough pressure, we get to enjoy the conversation with had with classmates and teachers in English. We laughed at our own erroneous grammars. We also just laughed when at times we cannot talk with each other basically because we do not know how to say things in English. We were scared of the penalty and it would surely cost us our pennies and bills. Learning the English language is basically difficult as I have said earlier for reasons I cited therein. Yes, it is a new knowledge but that fact remains that it is a foreign language and thus really difficult to learn but as we interact with classmates and teachers and with foreign visitors who visit the school, we find it amazing on how we are able to clearly deliver the message across. It feels awesome to be understood by foreigners that visit the school. We like the idea of having foreigners around us since we are able to put into practice everything we have learned in class. We always had fun in the interactions using English as a medium of communication. I have an idea of what English is like even before when I was younger and those ideas and learnings were reinforced in the classroom. It is actually inevitable not to have basics of English at that time basically because of media proliferation. At times, in our lives even though we were younger, we are exposed to information about issues, movies, advertisements, conversations – all these – in form of English. So from this, we can conclude that it is only not in the classroom that we learn English since there was a massive exposure of people to various forms of media. In school, we can say that our English teachers taught us about the language but generally, it is the interaction that strengthens the base of our knowledge in English. In school, all we learn are theories. It is through interactions that we learn to hone our skills in English. Motivations for learning English vary (www. antimoon. com). There are those who want to learn English because they need it for international trades such as China and USA international trades. Undoubtedly, communication between these two countries is made convenient through China knowing how to speak English especially so that they are exporting their products in mainland USA. Others went to school for English basically because they wanted to study in English-speaking countries such as Australia, United Kingdom and the USA. Others are motivated to study the language to expand network of connections. Personally, I studied English not only because it is a requirement but also because of motivating factors I have mentioned above. Having studied English, I am able to trade with people around the world even if we are miles and oceans apart. I am also able to pursue higher forms of education basically because almost all textbooks that are used are in English. And undoubtedly, I am able to expand my set of connections through the English language. I have a lot of friends in other countries that at times I run to when I need some advice. When I got my certification in English I was hired as a private tutor to teach Koreans and Chinese the English language. At first, it is really difficult but at the same time challenging because I am given the task to open the minds of these people into the English language and I also foresaw that it will be my honor and pride to see these people prosper because of the English language. When I first stepped into the classroom, the number of non-English speaking students is overwhelming. But I carried with me the commitment to be able to impart what I have learned about the English language to them. I received a lot of negative comments as like me before, they are having difficulty. It was as if I relived my own experience in learning the language, only this time, I am no longer a student but a teacher. The advantage of me becoming an English teacher is that I know what these students are going through and I understand it very well. I know what their concerns are and I know what they need in order for them to learn the English language the easy and pleasant way. I am able to address each and every concern that a non-english speaking student has basically because I have been to their stage. As a teacher, I have realized that the best learning and teaching method to employ is exposure and interaction. Yes, the basics are still important for the technical side of the English language but nothing parallels the effectiveness of learning than exposure and interaction. This is the very reason why most of my students’ activities are group and interactive activities. Trust me, this is a very effective method. As they say language and culture are intertwined. Yes this is very true as culture, beliefs and practices are mostly transmitted through the use of language. For example, you notice that Australians wear the tuxedo in formal occasions. Now, a non-english speaker would ask (act of use of language), why do they wear tuxedos in special occasions? This examples depicts of how well a culture or a way of life is transmitted through the use of language particularly in our case, the English Language. In a study, English language is not the most spoken language but statistically speaking, it is the most distributed language around the world (O’ Niel, 2007). This means that anywhere we go, the probability of people having an idea of English or even knowing how to speak English is high. This perhaps the reason why especially in Asian countries like Japan, China and Korea industriously find ways and means to learn the English language as they can see the overwhelming advantages of knowing the language. Knowing the language can not only mean culture transfer but can also mean technology transfer which is still very much related to culture. By knowing how to speak English, especially in Australia, we are able to access movies and television shows that as we continue to watch, alter the way we behave, think and act. This is what we call culture assimilation through the use of language. In a recent study, the English language has long been dominating the world, in fact most of the journals published are in English. Most books authored by scientists and educators are in English. The impact of this is that if everybody knows how to speak English development in our economy, finance and public relations will be upheld in the most convenient manner. And most importantly, in the world full of chaos and war, who can tell that the English language may serve as a unifying catalyst of the world to further the understanding of each nation and result in what is long been dreamt – world peace, a world that would shelter and cultivate the human generation in the next decade, century and millennium to come such as how Tom and Julia find the love in each other through the English Language.