Media Function Essay

For individual, the function of media can be thought of as the motives or reasons. Why individual use media products? They do that in order to feel satisfactions; they receive from the use of these products Herta Herzog 1944 She studied the motivation and gratification of radio soap opera listeners Her interest was to try to understand (why women become such ardent fans of the radio soaps The goal of the study was to determine (what satisfactions listeners Said they derived coupled with a psychological evaluation of these listeners The functional approach: sought to account for (why audiences attended to particular content on the assumption that the act of attending served some function for the individual. Herzog found that such programs served function for these women: the provided emotional release, they served as a source of advice What sorts of lessons did soap operas provide? Herzog found that the lessons of the soaps often applied in unlikely situation for ex. One women reported going to the doctor before started her diet because someone on the soap had done so Katz 1959 he relabeled the approach uses and gratification For Katz, uses and gratifications research would empirically test some of the critiques of popular culture that had been made the in 1950s. Katz 1959 he relabeled the approach uses and gratification For Katz, uses and gratifications research would empirically test some of the critiques of popular culture that had been made the in 1950s. Social function of the media Mobilization| Entertainment| Continuity| Correlation| Information| Campaigning for society’s objectives in the field of politics, war, economic development, work, and sometimes religion| -providingentertainment interestingnessand the means of relaxation- reducing social tension| -Expressing the dominant culture and recognizing subcultures and new culture developments-Forming and maintaining commonality of values| -Explaining and commenting on the meaning of events and information-providing support for established authority and norms -socializing-coordinating separate activities-consensus building-setting orders of priority | Providing information about events and condition in society and the world| The assumption of uses and gratification model -The audience is active and hence use of media is goal-directed -Audience have expectation of what certain kinds of content have to offer them, and these expectation help shape their selection. That is, particular audiences can take the initiative in linking their needs to the ability of particular media products to gratify those needs -The media compete with other sources of need satisfaction (such as reading, talking with friends, taking a walk, sleeping). The needs potentially satisfied by the mass media are only part of a wider range of human needs. People are sufficiently aware of their needs, media choices, and the gratifications they receive from media use to be able to tell researchers what motivates their media behavior. -The audience is active and hence use of media is goal-directed -Audience have expectation of what certain kinds of content have to offer them, and these expectation help shape their selection. That is, particular audiences can take the initiative in linking their needs to the ability of particular media products to gratify those needs -The media compete with other sources of need satisfaction (such as reading, talking with friends, taking a walk, sleeping). The needs potentially satisfied by the mass media are only part of a wider range of human needs. People are sufficiently aware of their needs, media choices, and the gratifications they receive from media use to be able to tell researchers what motivates their media behavior. THE CRITIQUE OF FUNCTIONALISM Uses and gratification research has been serious criticisms; This approach ignores the social dimensions of media consumption and reduces media use to an individual psychological relationship In fact, uses and gratification researches offers no way of understanding the connection between individual psychological needs and social structures and processes Uses and gratification research has been serious criticisms; This approach ignores the social dimensions of media consumption and reduces media use to an individual psychological relationship In fact, uses and gratification researches offers no way of understanding the connection between individual psychological needs and social structures and processes The major work on uses and gratifications research has been to catalog the various uses and gratification that audience report obtaining from their media consumption The major work on uses and gratifications research has been to catalog the various uses and gratification that audience report obtaining from their media consumption Entertainment| Integration and social interaction| Personalidentity| information| -Escaping from problemsRelaxing-Getting intrinsic culturalFilling timeEmotional releaseSexual arousal-| -Gaining insight into circumstances of others-Identifying with others -Gaining a sense of belonging-Finding a basis for conversation and social interaction -Helping to carry out social rolesEnabling one to connect with family, friends, and society| -Finding reinforcement for personal values-Finding models of behavior-Identifying with valued others-Gaining insight into one’s self| -Finding out about events and conditions in immediate surroundings ,society, and the world-Seeking advice on functional matters or opinion and decision choices-Satisfying curiosity -Learning, self-education-Gaining a sense of security through knowledge| Narrative is another valuable tool in our textual analysis toolkit Narrative tends to be associated with the way a fictional story is told terms of how events unfold and are revealed to the audience Narrative is an important element in the construction of both fiction and non-fiction texts. Although it is a logical tool to reach for when we undertake the analysis of moving image texts In media studies, looking at narrative structure implies that we explore the way in which the inf. Contained within a text is revealed to us. It has implication for the way in which print texts, images and sound texts are constructed Narrative is another valuable tool in our textual analysis toolkit Narrative tends to be associated with the way a fictional story is told terms of how events unfold and are revealed to the audience Narrative is an important element in the construction of both fiction and non-fiction texts. Although it is a logical tool to reach for when we undertake the analysis of moving image texts In media studies, looking at narrative structure implies that we explore the way in which the inf. Contained within a text is revealed to us. It has implication for the way in which print texts, images and sound texts are constructed NARRATIVE AS AN ANALYTICAL TOOL Enigma code Roland Barthes has defined the key narrative device as enigma code, use to guess the next piece of information to be reveled Think of trailers at the cinema or cliffhangers in TV serial drama The enigma is a useful narrative device to keep the reader interested by whetting his appetite to find out more (magazine front covers are another example of enigma code Work as narrative in the sense of offering a frozen moment. We are invited to compete in our minds what happened before and after the frozen moment Narrative can be said to organize the flow of info on the page, determining how we read the text Enigma code Roland Barthes has defined the key narrative device as enigma code, use to guess the next piece of information to be reveled Think of trailers at the cinema or cliffhangers in TV serial drama The enigma is a useful narrative device to keep the reader interested by whetting his appetite to find out more (magazine front covers are another example of enigma code Work as narrative in the sense of offering a frozen moment. We are invited to compete in our minds what happened before and after the frozen moment Narrative can be said to organize the flow of info on the page, determining how we read the text On important aspect of the narrative is how the flow of this information is controlled. The flow of this information to the reader is controlled through the headline, the opining paragraph, or intro, the illustration and the outcome. On important aspect of the narrative is how the flow of this information is controlled. The flow of this information to the reader is controlled through the headline, the opining paragraph, or intro, the illustration and the outcome. Three main reasons for studying media narrative. One- it shifts the focus of attention from content to the structure and process of storytelling Two- it allows us to investigate the similarities and differences in narrative media forms Three-it can reveal how the meanings of the narrative forms relate to the wider disposition of social power Three main reasons for studying media narrative. One- it shifts the focus of attention from content to the structure and process of storytelling Two- it allows us to investigate the similarities and differences in narrative media forms Three-it can reveal how the meanings of the narrative forms relate to the wider disposition of social power ADRIAN TILLY argues that although story telling often appears invisible, it is in fact a complex process He points out; narrative is an important part of our socialization as it moderates our behavior The nature of media narrative and their relation to our social study situations is the object of narrative study. ADRIAN TILLY argues that although story telling often appears invisible, it is in fact a complex process He points out; narrative is an important part of our socialization as it moderates our behavior The nature of media narrative and their relation to our social study situations is the object of narrative study. PARADIGM SHIFT: FROM A RATIONAL WORLD PARADIGM TO A NARRATIVE ONE NARRATIVE PARDIGM| RATIONAL –WORLD PARADIGM| -people are essentially storytellers-we make decision on the basis of good reasons, which vary depending on the communication situation -history, biography, culture, and character determine what we consider good reasons-narrative rationality is determined by coherence and fidelity of our stories-the world is a set of stories from which we choose, and thus constantly re-create, our lives (a theoretical framework that views narrative as basis of all human communication)| -people are essentially rational-we make decision on basis of arguments -the types of speaking situation determines the course of our arguments-rationality is determined by how much we know and how well we argue-the world is a set of logical puzzles that we can solve through rational analysis(a scientific approach to knowledge that assumes people are logical, making decisions on the basis of evidence and arguments)| Encoding and decoding One of the key issues in audience studies, concern the relationship between producer, text, and audience This equation is about a balance of power: assessing the extent to which audiences are influenced by media text and what extent they appropriate them in ways quite different to the producers’ intentions Encoding and decoding One of the key issues in audience studies, concern the relationship between producer, text, and audience This equation is about a balance of power: assessing the extent to which audiences are influenced by media text and what extent they appropriate them in ways quite different to the producers’ intentions Meaning structures one Meaning structures one Meaning structures two Meaning structures two Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model In the diagram, he represents the two sides: Encoding, which is the domain of the producer Decoding, the domain of the audience The process of communicating a message requires that it be encoded in such a way that the receiver of the message is able to decoded Ex. Televisual message is encoded through the use of camera technology, transmitted as a signal and then decoded using a television set if you do not have a TV you don’t have the means to understand One reason that the encoded and decoded messages may not be the same is the capacity of the audience to vary its response to media message Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model In the diagram, he represents the two sides: Encoding, which is the domain of the producer Decoding, the domain of the audience The process of communicating a message requires that it be encoded in such a way that the receiver of the message is able to decoded Ex. Televisual message is encoded through the use of camera technology, transmitted as a signal and then decoded using a television set if you do not have a TV you don’t have the means to understand One reason that the encoded and decoded messages may not be the same is the capacity of the audience to vary its response to media message Why the audience vary in response to media message? Because they are influenced by their social position, gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, experience, beliefs, where they are, what they are doing, when they receive a message Hall categorised three kinds of audience response: Dominant- the audience agree with the dominant values expressed within the preferred reading of the text Negotiated- the audience generally agree with the dominant values expressed within the preferred reading but they may disagree with certain aspects according to their social background Oppositional- the audience dis agree with dominant values expressed within the preferred reading of the text One concept that has been challenged subsequently by theorists is the notion of preferred reading This refers to the way the encoder would prefer the audience to interpret a media message, above all other possible readings. However, it could be argued that some texts are deliberately created to remain open interpretation Why the audience vary in response to media message? Because they are influenced by their social position, gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, experience, beliefs, where they are, what they are doing, when they receive a message Hall categorised three kinds of audience response: Dominant- the audience agree with the dominant values expressed within the preferred reading of the text Negotiated- the audience generally agree with the dominant values expressed within the preferred reading but they may disagree with certain aspects according to their social background Oppositional- the audience dis agree with dominant values expressed within the preferred reading of the text One concept that has been challenged subsequently by theorists is the notion of preferred reading This refers to the way the encoder would prefer the audience to interpret a media message, above all other possible readings. However, it could be argued that some texts are deliberately created to remain open interpretation

B2B VS B2C

Business to business can be defined as business that is involved in selling products to other businesses. In reality business-to-business (B2B) exist both online and offline but the B2B acronym has mainly been used to describe the online variety which has become common in the world today. Business-to-consumer (B2C) can be described as businesses that are concerned in selling products or providing services to end-user consumers.Business-to-consumer exist both online and offline but the acronym B2C has been used to describe business online (Kinder, 2001; Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002). B2B is mainly concerned in selling its products to another company that then sell to the final consumers. Business-to-business operates large number of transactions as compared to business-to-consumer and hence the transactions are mainly dealt with using electronic media. Business-to-business has adopted electronic commerce to enhance efficiency and reliability (Kinder, 2001).B2B is complicated with many employees while B2C is simpler and consist of fewer employees as compared to B2B. Business-to-business involves transactions between buyers and suppliers at organizational level. While business-to-consumers represent interaction between buyer and seller at individual level (Kinder, 2001; Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002). Business-to-business seems to do well online while business-to-consumer has lost fame due to loss of large sums of money when it was first inverted hence not widely used by many companies.Markets that are concerned by B2B are comparatively larger and overcrowded than B2C (Kinder, 2001; Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002). B2B email marketing has differences with B2C. In email marketing B2B has other major objectives other than sale objective, for example marketing the products available in the said company and hence it takes long before one land to the page that directs you to the purchase page. B2C primary objective in email marketing is sales and hence the initial click take s one to landing, page and then after few seconds to shopping cart.In a B2B the buyer is provided with the necessary logistics and then follow a series of steps in the email campaign which include both online and offline procedures before getting the to the last step which include phone call an employee representative of the company, a PDF document may then be attached to the email by the representative and for high-end products and services, a face-to-face meeting may be more efficient. In both B2B and B2C, there is limited permission in regard to email marketing with the consumer/buyers to obtain information require a longer process in B2B to ensure seriousness and reliability of the exchange.The buyers are assured of confidentiality of the information they give while in B2C there are no such services. In B2C, once the customer has entered the required information than include name, phone and mailing address, one expects to be handed in the purchased product immediately (Kinder, 2 001). In both B2B and B2C, there is the challenge of copywriting. It’s argued that in email marketing, it’s hard to tell whether the words or voice used compels the consumer well. However B2B is said to be more efficient in compelling buyers than B2C which uses a subject line to capture attention of the buyer (Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002).B2B which deal with large volumes of transactions is more likely to incur the problem of outdated email addresses especially when people change email address unless the marketer signs up with email change of address (ECOA) service like Return Path. B2C hardly incurs the problem because the list of email addresses provided is updated. Moreover B2C deal with small number of transactions hence it’s easy to trace the buyer’s addresses and verify their reliability (Kinder, 2001; Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002). It’s argued that B2B email marketing is more interesting than B2C.B2B involves moving back and forth, side to si de and numerous interesting information is provided which attract attention of the buyer but the B2C only provide one leading page which doesn’t have much information and hence not adventurous (Kinder, 2001). References Fang, W. Milena, H. and Norm, A. â€Å"E-Tailing: An Analysis of Web Impacts on Retail Market’’. Journal of Business Strategies 19. 2002, 34-89. Kinder, T. â€Å"The Use of Call Centers by Local Public Administrators’’. Marketing Journal 33, 2001, 45-88.

Internationalisation of Business and Promising Areas of Investment Term Paper

Internationalisation of Business and Promising Areas of Investment - Term Paper Example While preparing a project on the internationalization of business, one cannot avoid the term ‘globalisation’. This report starts with an introduction to this term from the perspective of building up growth opportunities for the organizations worldwide. As the company wants to expand its business to the European countries, it is quite important to know about the countries which are prospective enough to let the foreign investments flow in. This report contains a description of the five major economies in Europe. The reasons, supporting the potential of these countries to emerge as prospective economies for business investments, have been articulated for each of the countries. The business potentials and opportunities of different countries may lie in different areas and products. So it is important to have an idea which products in which countries would reap the highest return for the investors.   The prospective areas, industries, products, and services have been descr ibed for each of the countries. Different countries can have different government rules and regulations in place for foreign investments; some of which can hinder in the way of foreign investments. Sometimes there can be a hindrance to entering into some particular industries. This can even define the entry mode; the investor should take to enter in the respective market. This report contains the suggestion for the preferred entry mode for each of the prospective markets. At later part, the report articulates the European regulations and the national laws which can help or oppose the entrance in the respective countries. In all, the report puts forward suggestions for the prospective countries, the prospective products, and services in those countries, the preferable entry modes and the related rules and regulations prevailing in those prospective business markets.

Research about a STD called Chancroid Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

About a STD called Chancroid - Research Paper Example Today, in the United States, medications and treatments are available to treat and, possibly, cure certain sexually transmitted diseases; however, that was not always the case in our past and certainly not the case for many other countries around the world. There are quite a few sexually transmitted diseases that are more familiar than others; including gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, candidiasis, trichomoniasis, and lastly, chancroid. Chancroid, which is possibly unfamiliar to many, is uncommon in the United States today, but it is a serious condition that is spreading throughout parts of Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean (Comacho, 2012). History Sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, like chancroid, have probably been around since as long as human civilization. For our ancestors, lacking sophisticated sciences and healthcare, distinguishing between one STD and another with similar symptoms could become quite difficult. It is estimated that chancroid, specifically, was prevalent in t he United States and Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries, most likely, caused by mass migrations, economic expansions, and the availability of sex for sale. In the earliest part of the 20th century Britain estimated that, at least, 10% of the population was infected with syphilis, even, more had contracted gonorrhea, and chancroid was equally as common as syphilis. However, by the 1930’s Britain’s percentages of chancroid decreased rapidly. In the United States the experience was rather similar. After World War II, with the advent of antibiotics, STD statistics as a whole declined and chancroid, specifically, dropped 80-fold between 1947 and 1997. Antibiotics, a less prevalent sex trade, better economic opportunities for women, and reduced migration, also, contributed to the positive decline of Chancroid in America. As can be seen from the chart below the statistical numbers of chancroid have continued to drop with great consistency. There was a few years in th e mid-1980s and early 1990s, where the occurrences of chancroid spiked. Experts insist that this coincided with a spike in sex trade and drug-trafficking that negatively highlighted that portion of the decade (Goldman & Schafer, 2011). Discussion In order to understand the specifics of chancroid better it is necessary to detail the nature of the disease, the symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, as well as other relevant information. Chancroid is defined as a sexually transmitted disease that is characterized by inguinal lymphadenitis and genital ulcers, which is cause by Haemophilus ducreyi, or H. ducreyi, which is a gram negative cocco bacillus (Goldman & Schafer, 2011). It is most commonly suffered by men, but women, by no means, are immune. It appears to thrive in developing countries and where the sale of sex is highest. H. ducreyi enters the body through any breaks in the epithelium, or skin, during intercourse. It may take as long as a few days or as short as a few hours before pa pules appear. Within a 2 to 3 day pustules will ulcerate. These ragged-edged ulcers are extremely painful, are, sometimes, covered in grayish or yellow exudate, and it may bleed when scratched. As can be seen in the illustrations below, men display their chancroid externally; the lesions appear on the foreskin, coronal sulcus, and shaft of the penis. A woman’s experience with this condition presents itself a little differently. In women chancroid will develop the ulcers, but they

Hypothetical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hypothetical - Essay Example A statute may prohibit a certain act, direct a certain act, formulate a declaration, or propose governmental instruments to aid society. In Nazi Germany, those written laws made it legal for the government to commit genocide against certain groups such as Jews, homosexuals and gypsies. But at the same time, after World War II ended, Nazis were prosecuted for those same acts, under the impression that they have violated â€Å"natural law.† Some of the acts should be considered illegal, irrespective of what a statute says, or when it does not reflect law and morality. Suchs acts come under this provision. 1. If Javier sued Energy-Auto Inc., Javier is the plaintiff and Energy-Auto Inc is the defendant. Javier can file the case in New York court. Javier incurred $100,000 in damages so he can file suit in federal court. â€Å"Federal court jurisdiction is limited to the types of cases listed in the Constitution and specifically provided for by Congress. For the most part, federal courts only hear cases in which the United States is a HYPERLINK "http://www.fjc.gov/federal/courts.nsf/page/800?opendocument" \l "parties" party; cases between citizens of different states if the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 "diversityjurisdiction" and bankruptcy, copyright, patent, and maritime law cases† (Federal Judicial Center, n.d.). Federal court mainly handles these types of cases. State courts have wide jurisdiction, so the cases regarding individual people are most expected to be involved in state courts. For example robberies, broken agreements, traffic violations, and family disputes are generally tried in state courts. 2. Pahler v. Slayer: This case involves a civil proceedings brought by the parents of the murdered girl for illegal death naming the musical group Slayer and the companies, who encourage, market, record, and distribute their music under that name. This case mainly supplements the conversation of tort liability.   The case

Healthcare policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Healthcare policy - Essay Example For instance, in some countries quality health assurance has been left to health care providers and other professional bodies, with no or little government supervision/regulation. Contrary, in other countries, particularly in those that the state is the principal funder, the provision of quality health care is done by the government thus making the healthy sector to be subject to various healthcare policies. Arguably, some of these policies have detrimental to the effective performance of health care practitioners as well as the overall healthcare seekers. Generally speaking, in many countries, DNP practices are regulated by various state licensure. This regulation in itself acts primarily as a barrier to the performance of the DNPs since it declines them the authority to practice to the fullest degree. For instance, despite the main objective of full practice authority, the practice laws and licensures vary significantly from state to state. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioner (AANP), full practice authority basically refers to the accumulation of licensure regulations and state practices which allow the DNP to examine, diagnose, prescribe and treat patients, exclusively under the â€Å"licensure authority of the state board of nursing† (2014). As such, the DNPs with similar national certification and scholastic training could face an anthology of limitations when they relocate from their current practicing state to another.

Research Agenda in Cloud Computing Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Agenda in Cloud Computing - Research Proposal Example This study will require a survey of the available information or literature by the use of a methodical and principled approach; all the major databases of research for computer science will be searched, and these include the ACM Digital Library, the Google Scholar, the IEEE Xplore, the ScienceDirect together with the SpringerLink, for the key words such as cloud computing, Service Infrastructure, elastic computing, Service Software, utility computing, Service Platforms, the IaaS, Service Everything, the XaaS as well as the PaaS. Nevertheless, the range of information of data for this search will be limited from the year 2009 to the month of April 2013. This range of date is picked because the research is initiated in the month of April 2013. In addition, it is the best range because it is fairly long after the launching of all public clouds in the year 2005, thus there is adequate or sufficient data required for the survey to be accurate.For instance, the EC2 was first launched by Am azon in the month of August 2006, while the App Engine was launched by Google in April 2008. The term cloud computing, according to the Google Trends, began to become well known in the year 2007. After searching from the targeted five databases, we will find out the total number of papers returned. The paper’s abstracts together with titles will also be read, and for the purposes of quality, only peer-reviewed papers will be used for the review. However, only a very small number of the articles that are non peer-reviewed can be used.

Body language within the counselling forum and its implications Thesis

Body language within the counselling forum and its implications - Thesis Example What cues are and how researchers have thrashed out issues in counseling have been discussed. The significance of body language and how interpretations are made by the counselor are also discussed. The counselling profession for exceptional mental health needs shows an emerging trend on a global scale which has given shape to international counselling (Hohenshil 2010 p.3). Though found only in the US at one point of time, counselling has spread its wings to an international level. Developing tailored counselling programs is a challenge in itself. Political orientation does not influence this practice of counselling. Whatever the politics of a region, the positive mental health is a priceless social and economic asset (Hohenshil 2010 p 3). Advanced counseling systems with professional associations, armed with good credentials, highly qualified trained counsellors and unique counselling programs which produce the maximum positive results are a blessing to a nation. The multi-cultural diversity would require that programs are modified according to the needs of the local community. Diversity is seen in the national histories, social orientation (whether collectivistic or individua listic) and in different economic situations and political settings (Hohenshil 2010 p 3). Every field of practice has been developed to include counselling. Schools have counselling for their children who need help when they become backward in studies or have some issues with teachers and other students. Professional counsellors may need to have training if they have to cope with new situations. The counselling profession is in a different developmental stage in different countries. Progress is occurring at a fast pace (Hohenshil 2010 p 3). Body language or nonverbal communication constitutes a major component of counseling. Studying nonverbal communication is simulated to a treasure hunt without a map or tools

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 92

Assignment - Essay Example Experience is the best teacher, they say. Experience is something that people go through in the course of their lifetime that instills new knowledge to them. A teacher, therefore, may not only be in human form. A successful teaching process is one in which both the teacher and the student end up satisfied with the action. The knowledge has to be passed in a particular way so that the teacher ends up fulfilled, and the student understands. For a teaching method to be successful, there should be a definite goal (Ingvarson, 2013). A goal is a definition of what people desire to achieve. The lesson objective should, therefore, be clear, and the student should know what they should make by studying that particular subject. The goal is the main reason for a study subject, and it acts to the level of knowledge attained. The goal should, therefore, be clear, precise and to the point. A successful teaching method should deal with specific educational content. Research findings have continuously confirmed that it is more difficult to concentrate on a full field of view than on a particular scope or subject (Rodgers, 2014). Educational material is therefore divided into subjects, topics and subtopics. There should also be a large scope of educational activities, apart from the basic classroom part. Activities like physical education and subject experiments should be part of the learning activity. Time is an essential factor for the success of every activity in life. Teaching should, therefore, include a drafted calendar for the activities that the students expect to take place at different intervals of the day. The schedule should contain no unnecessary information and should be very precise and understandable. The teacher should also provide the feedback to the learner. There should be regular updates on how the student is progressing and the areas that need improvement. The whole objective of the teaching process is to ensure that the

Tattooing of Both Sexes in Samoa Essay Example for Free

Tattooing of Both Sexes in Samoa Essay The art of tattooing is widespread throughout Polynesia, and in Samoa the art form has become and remained strong. In Samoa the process of tattooing is known as Tatau . â€Å"Tatau are the tattooed lines and motifs that appear on the body, and the tatau artist is known as the tufuga† (MALLON, 2002). The Samoan tattoo is also known as a traditional mark of adulthood for both men and women. â€Å"Samoans are the only group of Polynesians-and one of the only groups of the Pacific Islanders-who still practice the traditional art of tattooing† (Nicholas Thomas, Anne Cole, and Bonwen Douglas, 2005). Out of the two tattoos for the men and women, the most impressive one is for the men, and the proper term for it is Tatau . â€Å"Tatau has often been recognized as a necessary rite of passage for young men† (MALLON, 2002).After being tattooed, the young man is not only accepted as a full member of the aumaga (the association of young men), but is also allowed to serve the matai. â€Å"The tatau also symbolizes ideas connected with the wrapping, sealing and defense of the body, as well as with decorating it and making it beautiful. So it is seen as both a treasure and a stepping stone for young men to manhood, something that garners respect for the wearer by speaking of his inner strength and resilience† (Marquardt.C, 1984)These values generally remain central to the process and ritual of tatatau today. In some migrant Samoan communities overseas, tatau has also become and identity marker, a way of signifying the Samoan heritage and way of life (Kramer, 1995). Tatau is such a strong image of Samoan identity that it’s symbols and motifs appears on clothing and apparel, and have be re-p resented by artists in the new media and art forms today. Mallon said that an account recorded I the 19th century, it is said that two sisters, Taema and Tilafaiga, who were Siamese twins, bought the first tattooing tools to Samoa. They acquired the tools and the instructions on how to use them from the tattooist Filelei and Tufou in Fiji. They were told to tattoo the women and not the men, and they sang this instruction over and over as they paddled their canoe to Samoa. On the way they saw a large and beautiful shell glistening in the waters below and so they stopped singing in order to swim down and fetch it. On returning to their canoe they tried to remember what they were singing and got the song mixed up. â€Å"Tattoo the men and not the women they sang† and this was the message they took to Samoa. Samoan men received a heavy tatau from the waist to the knee which is known as Pe’a. It is made up of fine parallel lines and areas of shade and wide range of motifs and geometric patterns. The word Pe’a refers to both the tatau and to the fruit-eating bat known as the flying fox. The untitled young men with the tatau are called Sogaimiti and as such they are responsible for serving and performing duties for the matai (Sunia, 2002)A man with no tatau is known as Pala’u. Women’s tatau appeared on the legs, starting at the knee and finishing at the top of the thighs. The women’s tatau is called Malu, and it is less elaborate than the pe’a and its structure is less well defined. The malu perhaps takes its name from the malu motif, which is placed behind the knee, and it is the one of the key motifs not seen on men’s tatau or pe’a. â€Å"The resurgence of tatatau among young men and women began around the time of Western Samoa’s Independence in 1962. At this time people were not allowed into chiefly assemblies unless they were tattooed. â€Å"And more recently, in 1990, one of the village in Savaii made it compulsory for all men to have a pe’a† (MALLON, 2002). This resurgence of the tatau has continued. As Samoans has migrated to other places in the world, they took their culture and custom with them. The tatau is seen as a strong statement of the Samoan heritage and identity (Kramer, 1995) â€Å"The origins of Samoan tatau motifs can be traced back to around 1500 BC, to the early ancestors of the Polynesian people. At this time the people of the Pacific were making the distinctive decorated pottery that archaeologists call Lapita ware. The tattoo and bark cloth decoration† (Kramer, 1995) In Samoan society, the tattooing specialist is known as the tufuga tatatau. â€Å"In the 19th century tufuga tatatau were associated with two family braches, Su’a and Tulouena† (Kramer 1995). The Su’a worked mainly in Upolu and the Sa Tulouena mainly in Savaii. The work asa tufuga tatatau and the skills of tatatau continue to be transferred from generation to generation. The handmade tools used often by the tufuga tatatau of the Sa Su’a and Sa Tuloena comprises a set of tattooing combs, and a short wooden rod or tattooing mallet. The hand tools are especially valued and are finely crafted. The tattooing is very painful, not only because of the body been covered, but also because of the implements employed. In order to cover a large area of the body with dense, intricate designs, the artist hammers the ink into the skin with sharp tattooed combs of different patterns. The combs ae made from flat, polished sections of boar’s tusk, filed into rows of sharps teeth. The combs are bound to a wooden, metal, or turtle shell backing, which in turn is bound at right angles to the end of a short, thin stick. On the day a man is going to have his tatau, he is going to lie down on a mat with a pillow under his stomach to flatten the arch in the small of his back. The tattooist then dips the comb into the ink made from kerosene soot and water, places the comb in position with his left hand and then raps the holding stick smartly with another stick that he holds in his right hand. â€Å"The blow drove the teeth of the comb into the skin where they deposited the ink. The master proceeded quickly along the line of the pattern, tapping out a smooth rhythm while one of the other young subjects wiped away the blood and extra ink with a rag (MALLON, 2002).There will be people stretching the skin tight with their hands to maintain an even pattern and holding him still so that he would not spoil the design by writhing. Others sat by watching, prepared to sing or play the ukulele to distract him from his pain. When the first session has completed, whoever has been tattooed will bath in the cool fresh water. The process goes on until the lower knees were completed successfully, then the tattooist adds a small signature design around the naval, signifying that the tattoo was complete. â€Å"The tattoo ceremony also marks the beginning of adulthood. In addition, it brings a great deal of attention and praise to young men at a time in their lives when they normally get very little or either† (S.Kipeni, 1962).Tattooing also gives the young men’s families an opportunity to show that thy can afford the costly ceremony. The tattoo was formerly a sign chiefly status or impending chiefly status, as no matai was without one (Kramer, 1995).This traditional association must have less force today when none of the older chiefs have tattoos and virtually all of the young men become chiefs, with or without tattoos All of these factors induce young men to endure the pain of tattooing, but the most important factor is the pain of tattooing itself. Young men adorn themselves with full body tattoos primarily to demonstrate that they can withstand the pain. â€Å"Machismo is high on the list of desired traits among Samoan men, and tattooing is an excellent demonstration of courage and endurance† (Marquardt.C, 1984). â€Å"The tattoo is quintessentially Samoan and wearing one is a matter of cultural pride† (MALLON, 2002).Receiving the tatau can be and affirmation of the person and the soul. It can be a public statement of commitment to families, communities, and culture. â€Å"It can speak of many things; such as place, values, memories and origins. It is many things, such as an ornament or garment that once worn, can never be removed (MALLON, 2002).

Managing Human Resources In Modern Business

Managing Human Resources In Modern Business Human Resource Management is a way of management that links people-related activities to the strategy of a business or organisation. HRM is often referred to as strategic HRM. It has several goals: To meet the needs of the business and management (rather than just serve the interests of employees); To link human resource strategies / policies to the business goals and objectives; To find ways for human resources to add value to a business; To help a business gain the commitment of employees to its values, goals and objectives The link between Human Resources and Business Strategy All elements of the business strategy have implications for human resources, as illustrated in the table below. The challenge for management is to identify and respond to these HR challenges: Examples of Key Strategy Issues Possible Human Resource Implications What markets should the business compete in? What expertise is required in these markets? Do existing management and employees have the right experience and skills Where should the business be located to compete optimally? Where do we need our people? How many do we need? How can we achieve improvements in our unit production costs to remain competitive? How productive is the workforce currently? How does this compare with competitors? What investment in the workforce (e.g. training, recruitment) and their equipment is required to achieve the desired improvement in productivity? How can the business effect cultural change? What are the current values of the workforce. How can the prevailing culture be influenced/changed to help implement a change programme? How can the business respond to rapid technological change in its markets? What technological skills does the business currently possess? What additional skills are needed to respond to technological change? Can these skills be acquired through training or do they need to be recruited? An important part of HRM is the Human Resources Plan. The purpose of this plan is to analyse the strategic requirements of the business in terms of manpower and then to find a way of meeting the required demand for labour. Human resource management can be identifying in direction of Hard-Soft and Loose-Tight. HRM has both side hard (tight) and soft (loose).Soft HRM in an important strategic planning building it will show the company the path of further where its now what need to be done in future and it can be well defined as a future planning process a development in HRM. The components of SOFT HRM are categorized as; Defining where the company is now Identification of where the company is now and what its strengths and weakness is an important component for soft HRM in decision making. Without a proper understanding of the companys present situation HRM cannot be continued else it will end up with a mess. Defining where the company want to be in the future. A proper forecast of the future is an essential component not only for HRM but also for any other management function. This will give a guide to human resource and its easy to make decisions and plans. Analysis of the external environment. Environment is an important fact to business because environment consists of people who some time company identify them as customers and sometimes as employees. The knowledge of external environment will give company opportunities and threads.HRM is managing people the source where people come from is the external environment so analysis is an important fact. Plans to implement necessary changes. After identification of the company present, future progress and the external environment company can take HRM decisions which are necessary to the company. This will be very useful to a company in planning decisions such as recruitment and cost management. The determination of type of works need to be carried out by workers are recognized as HARD HRM. In human resource management a proper level of activities are need to be maintain. There might be different departments in a company and it doesnt want all departments to be efficient. HARD HRM activities can be categorized as; Forecasting of employees A certain number of employees are needed to be in the company to carry out day to day work and to give out the expected out put in a given period. The forecast of demand in future about the product and services makes employee changes. Analysis of employees Analysis of the current working employees within the company makes the company future demand plans on product or supply. This will also effect on the future recruitments Monitoring and reviewing employees HR activities are practically monitored and review of the existing employees is important in order to get a successful HRM in a company. Human resource is an asset to a company some companies dont know how to handle it. According to Storey (1995) HRM is A distinctive approach to employment management which seek to achieve competitive advantages through the strategic deployment of a highly committed capable work force using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques. He as defined Personnel management as A series of activities which first enable working people and their employing organization to agree about the objectives and the nature of their working relationship and secondary ensure that agreement is fulfilled. According to the above definition we can understand that HRM is a resource centred and PM is work centred which mean that , according to HRM its main focuses is on recruiting people to work and managing them as management need and PM focuses on the employee work, giving them goals, employee arrangement to work and arranging them to be paid. According to David Guest there is a frame work for HRM in a company which is called as GUEST model. The model can be achieved a superior individual and organizational performance. If companys HRM practises are applied in to the model that will produce an excellent individual performance. Unilever Since 1885 Unilever has developed dramatically and as a result of that the company has lasted for more than 100 years. Although Unilever wasnt formed until 1930, the companies that joined forces to create the business we know today were already well established before the start of the 20th century. In 1990 Unilevers founding companies produced products made of oils and fats, principally soap and margarine. At the beginning of the 20th century their expansion nearly outstrips the supply of raw materials. First World War affected the company in 1910 through tough economic conditions. Lot of companies at that time tried to keep their investors interest in Their Company and not loose them. In 1920 when this situation turns up side down when business expanding fast all the companies agreed not to manufacture same product in order to have profit, as a result of this the company named U NILEVER was created. The business didnt start as a flash it had been formed in a critical era of world war and in economical crisis stages. The turning point for unilever was in 1940 when they expand their business internationally and continues to do further investments in research and development. They mainly focused on the food market which was a great business at that time. With the emerge of European Economic Community in 1950s the standard of living has rose and new markets were opened unilever made that as a advantage and instantly get in to the global market. In 1970s Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector had been very difficult economic condition to manage and the inflation was high the company had to change their view and to change their process in business. In 1980s the company however manage to be the one of the world biggest companies, and at that time the companys main focus was in the products and brand names. With a clear mission in the 21st century company has launched a path to growth, a five-year strategic plan, and in 2004 further sharpens its focus on the needs of 21st century-consumers with its Vitality mission. Unilever new mission to meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good, and get more out of life The new mission of the company provides a new entry to consumer health and life style through good manufacture process to their needs. This mission was launched in 2004 mainly focusing on bringing Vitality to life UNILIVER BRANDS UNILEVER GUEST MODEL HRM Strategy: The focus of Unilever is to recruit the best employee to the company which will produce high level of out come with good quality. Unilever has more than 100,000 employees and the cost of employee recruitment is very high and the salary is also the same, so as a result in some branches unilever has decided to reduce the number of employees to maintain the cost. HRM Practice Each year Unilever has been designed more than 10,000 new jobs and the process of selection is getting rough. Since E-Recruitment has been invented Unilever has chosen that in recruitment process and that has given the company the best employees and that will ensure the security of employees. The existing employees will be rewarded with salary incensement and other benefits. HRM Out comes The flexibility in company is very high and there are lot of part-time workers than fixed workers in the production unit. The reason for that is most of the production unit was in Asian countries and the labour is cheaper than European countries and they work either contract basis or part time. Though employees work flexibly the qualities of products have been in a good standard. Behaviour out come The company has spread over 150 countries and each has been producing same products in four major business criteria and all are working harder in order to achieve future goals. The company motivation is to improve employee skills so that in turn it will benefit the company. Performance outcome Though the company has spread around the world with more than 100,000 employees, the labour turnover is very high and complains of employee dissatisfaction is very high. Unilever in UK has the best productivity rate than any other unilever round the world. Due to low quality of out put in products customer complaints are increasing and as a result the company has to analyse the mistakes and re arrange the production plan which will cost an extra. Financial Outcome The labour cost maintains will reduce the extra cost that company has to hold and that will give a profit to company. Each year company will produce about à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5 billion net income. Evaluation of the GUEST model The guest model is an important measure to be use to get knowledge about HRM in a company. The main advantage of the module is that it critically classifies the HRM input and out puts and its easy to study the companys Key HRM strategies. Unilever is a multinational company and the module is rather complicated to calculate the specific HRM strategic and its rather concern on individual performance than social index. Some concepts such as commitment and involvement are a mess. Such concepts cannot be measured or identified because the company is widely spread. The company more prefer the Legge module than guest model because its complicated and some concepts wont match with the company. Module is efficient in calculating the human recourse management within the company and its a summary of what HRM means the company but in case of multinational company like Unilever cannot get through this process perfectly because of that the company has spread all over the world and as one unit company cannot collect the sufficient data and if company performance and the nature is always defer from one country to another. Task 2 Today flexibility in the work environment is considered important. Taking your organization as an example, review and discuss the ways of developing flexibility within the workplace Flexibility in work is an important key to a company, if the company need employee attraction and not to lose them. Flexibility means the way of working, which means that flexibility can be based on time and location. The flexibility in work can be categorized as follows; Part-Time Workers Part time workers are cheaper to recruit and they are not permanent and cannot involve in management procedures. The rights of part time workers are limited. 2. Fixed/Short-Term Contract Workers Workers who are taken at a specified period as the company need. 3. Outside Contractors/ Sub Contractors Group of workers or individual worker requites from out side the company for a special work at a specific time. 4. Self Employed labour People who work for an exact company as a self employed basis. 5. Agencies Agencies which supply employees to companies which seeks for labour. 6. Get the customer to do the work Without any employee customer fulfil his needs by him self by use of technology. 7. Shift working A continue way of working where employees work according to a time based system. 8. Flexi-Time A way of making decision by employee about his working time with in a core time 9. Job Share A way of sharing once works with other who work full time job on a part time basis. 10. Annualized Hours A number of hours labour is given to employee and he need to complete that within a year. 11. Tele working An easy way of working, by the use of technology employee can work at his own place, home, or even at road. 12. Hot Disking/Hotel ling Employees need to go outside the company for specific job and they have a specific desk for them self in the office for permanently. 13. Home working This is the same as tele working and work can be carried out in home and this no need of network or communication As shown above flexibility of work can achieve the company a high standard in business and the satisfaction of the employee will be high because they get what they need. The flexibility in work will give advantage as well as disadvantages. Some of them are as follow. Employer view Employee satisfaction will reduce employee strikes etc. High level of outcome can be achieve Cost of employee is low Sometime cost cannot be maintained Employee internal competition will effect on company Company manufacture process or sales can be continue without a stop Employee view Employee satisfaction is high Working stress is low There will be a new can do attitude in the business Time can be managed to do personal works Employers will miss use the labour Some times salary payment will be postponed. At Unilever, they are giving employees (and not just the women) the chance to work flexibly for years. Flexible working can mean Working part-time, Working from home Job sharing . Most who take up the opportunity are parents. But not all. One Unilever employee played hockey for the Olympic team and was allowed to work flexibly in order to train more often. Another was given a sabbatical to practice with his rock band. These examples show how unilever has given flexibility for their employees. When it comes to maternity and paternity packages, Unilever beats many other businesses. Company also believe in educating managers about the merits of employing mums. Work life initiative has been developed many years in response to employee request in Unilever. Unilever believes that this will make employee attraction on the company and the satisfaction will rise above the roof. Unilever sees the flexibility as an important issue because that directly effect on employees and without them company cannot carry out the works. Unilever as a company has arrange different ways of flexibility in work specially for mother who work full time, company has given them a holiday system where they can take holidays without a pre notice. The most of the part time worker in the company are employed in Europe rather than Asia. Task 3 Discuss the issues of providing equal opporlunities within the workplace and evaluate how well the chosen organization provides equal opportunities for its employees. Over the past 30 years, several federal laws have been passed to ensure equal employment opportunity. Some of the most significant legislation and executive orders are as follow; Civil Right Act 1991 Americans with Disability Act 1990 Vocational Rehabilitation Act 1973 Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) 1967 Civil Rights Act 1964 The point of the law is to stop discrimination practices that are unfair to specific groups and to define enforcement agencies for these laws. EEO legislation attempts to balance the pay given to men and women; provide employment opportunities without regard to race, religion, national origin and sex; ensure fair treatment for employees of all ages; and avoid discrimination against disabled individuals. The heads of all operating companies and units in the UK have committed their businesses to achieving greater diversity. Every Unilever Company in the United Kingdom has an equal opportunities Policy and actively pursues equality of opportunity for all employees. Companys equal opportunities policy is designed, among other things, to ensure that people with disabilities, and other under-represented groups, are given the same training, development and prospects as other employees. The company carries out regular employee monitoring surveys and has also conducted an equal pay audit. The company continues to review ways in which greater diversity can be achieved in recruitment and selection. The company continues to put in place policies which promote the achievement of diversity in the business. Unilever has policies on home working, flexible working, maternity and paternity leave, child care provision and career breaks, which help company to meet this objective. Equal opportunities and managing diversity at Unilever Unilever understands the importance of diversity and thats why it is a critical component of company has a diverse consumer base with a diverse array of needs. By mirroring that diversity within companys own organization, Unilever can develop powerful consumer insight and incorporate it throughout the business. Company seek and welcome unique talents and perspectives at Unilever, because they strengthen us as a company and help us on our journey to add vitality to life in a variety of ways. Unilever has created many avenues to enhance and expand the diversity of the company. Led by senior management, companys diversity councils help shape the diversity and inclusion philosophy company deliver to employees. Through training and awareness efforts, employees appreciate the power of diversity and the need to leverage the unique ideas, experiences and abilities employees all possess to build their business. Unilever recruitment strategy continues to evolve to ensure that our workforce reflects the demographics of their consumer base and fulfils the talent needs that will keep Unilever competitive and successful now and in the future. Diversity for growth of the company Unilever believes that working in an environment of openness and respect helps employees perform at their very best and ultimately succeed. When employees express their own thoughts and ideas and encourage others to do so it contributes to a diverse marketplace of ideas that helps make Unilever a more robust organization with a better understanding of its markets. Because Unilevers diverse employee base reflects the broad backgrounds of our consumers, were able to anticipate and respond to what they want more quickly. The employees express pride and satisfaction when were first to market innovative products that meet consumers evolving needs. The individual uniqueness of each and every employee, and our commitment to growing diversity, make that possible. Diversity at Unilever Unilever recognizes the strength of inclusion and diversity. Understanding, respecting and valuing their similarities and our differences are powerful and compelling concepts for todays business environment. They are also the tenets by which we have outlined a fundamental business strategy to assist in reaching company goals. 1. Recruit Recruit a diverse workforce that appropriately reflects the demographics of our consumer base and fulfils the talent needs that will keep Unilever competitive and successful. Diversity furthers company understanding of the marketplace by valuing the ideas and thoughts of all employees and other stakeholders in the business. 2. Retain Employees within the company Retain employees by fostering an environment in which all employees understand and value each other and our differences. company recognize that all businesses change over time. For business to grow, company need employees who possess an in-depth understanding of the business and the flexibility to anticipate and respond to changes in the marketplace. Company can develop and retain employees by providing equitable opportunities, together with a challenging environment that rewards new approaches, risk-taking and novel points of view, thereby creating a culture that values diversity. 3. Grow the business innovate Continually grow the business and innovate by embracing diversity of thoughts and ideas. Create a work environment that fosters and supports enthusiasm, business risk and new ideas. Innovation is key to driving their business forward both now and over the long term and it hinges on a multiplicity of ideas and ways of approaching a problem. By building a diverse employee population that brings many different life experiences to the table, we vastly improve their prospects for innovation and growth. 4. Development of employees Develop employees to help them reach their professional potential. As organization customers and distribution channels continue to evolve, so too must our employee base. Investing in the development of employees is essential to organization growth. 5. Hold accountable in company Establish accountability. All employees are responsible for proactively supporting Unilevers goals, and they are evaluated accordingly. Specific behaviours and actions that promote an understanding and appreciation of diversity are incorporated into individual performance plans. Diversity is one of the thrusts of Strategy into Action, the plan that drives all aspects of our business. Employees are expected to contribute to the success of diversity goals just as they are expected to contribute to other priorities of the business By focusing on Unilever goals for diversity as part of our overall business strategy, we recognize that they are intertwined. Indeed, our success and prosperity are inextricably linked to company ability to embrace diversity in every part of the organization. Valuing diversity is the job of everyone Unilever employees, contractors, and vendors. It is the way we work and the way we do business, day in and day out. Task 4 Identify the key emerging issues in the area of human resources management in generai and explore the topical issues and practices of human resources in your organization. Armstrong and Baron define performance management as A process which contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organizational performance. As such, it establishes shared understanding about what is to be achieved and an approach to leading and developing people which will ensure that it is achieved. They go on to stress that it is a strategy which relates to every activity of the organization set in the context of its human resource policies, culture, style and communications systems. The nature of the strategy depends on the organizational context and can vary from organization to organization. In other words performance management should be: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Strategic it is about broader issues and longer-term goals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Integrated it should link various aspects of the business, people management, and individuals and teams. It should incorporate: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Performance improvement throughout the organization, for individual, team and organizational effectiveness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Development unless there is continuous development of individuals and teams, performance will not improve à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Managing behavior ensuring that individuals are encouraged to behave in a way that allows and fosters better working relationships. While most firms have a human resources or personnel department that develops and implements HRM practices, responsibility lies with both HR professionals and line managers. The interplay between managers and HR professionals leads to effective HRM practices. For example, consider performance appraisals. The success of a firms performance appraisal system depends on the ability of both parties to do their jobs correctly. HR professionals develop the system, while managers provide the actual performance evaluations. The nature of these roles varies from company to company, depending primarily on the size of the organization. This discussion assumes a large company with a sizable HRM department. However, in smaller companies without large HRM departments, line managers must assume an even larger role in effective HRM practices. HR professionals typically assume the following four areas of responsibility: establishing HRM policies and procedures, developing/choosing HRM methods, monitoring/evaluating HRM practices, and advising/assisting managers on HRM-related matters. HR professionals typically decide (subject to upper-management approval) what procedures to follow when implementing an HRM practice. For example, HR professionals may decide that the selection process should include having all candidates complete an application, take an employment test, and then be interviewed by an HR professional and line manager. HR professionals also consult with management on an array of HRM-related topics. They may assist by providing managers with formal training programs on topics like selection and the law, how to conduct an employment interview, how to appraise employee job performance, or how to effectively discipline employees. HR professionals also provide assistance by giving line managers advice about specific HRM-related concerns, such as how to deal with problem employees. Line managers direct employees day-to-day tasks. From an HRM perspective, line managers are mainly responsible for implementing HRM practices and providing HR professionals with necessary input for developing effective practices. Managers carry out many procedures and methods devised by HR professionals. For instance, line managers: Interview job applicants Provide orientation, coaching, and on-the-job training à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Provide and communicate job performance ratings à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Recommend salary increases à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Carry out disciplinary procedures à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate accidents à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Settle grievance issues The development of HRM procedures and methods often requires input from line managers. For example, when conducting a job analysis, HR professionals often seek job information from managers and ask managers to review the final written product. Additionally, when HR professionals determine an organizations training needs, managers often suggest what types of training are needed and who, in particular, needs the training. Health and Safety at Unilever Occupational Health and Safety is an essential element of a successful and sustainable business in todays global village. Consequently, Unilever takes responsibility for Occupational Health and safety very seriously. Sustainable, profitable growth for Unilever is dependent on: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Providing consumers and customers with products that are safe in use. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Protecting the health and safety of employees and contractors. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Managing activities so as to provide care and protection of the environment To achieve a safe working environment and a world class reputation for Unilever in Health Safety at Work Some companies take some actions in order to retain health and safety in the company. Some may be in success but some companies cant achieve that goal. Unilever achieves health and safety by followings; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Developing, designing, operating and maintaining facilities and processes that are safe and without risk to health. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Developing, introducing and maintaining systems, which will establish appropriate standards of occupational health and safety and ensure compliance with all applicable legislation and internal Unilever standards by means of regular auditing? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Setting annual improvement objectives, targets, and reviewing these to ensure they are being met at company, divisional and departmental levels to ensure continual improvement. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Involving all employees in the preparation, review and implementation of this policy and providing appropriate training and safety awareness. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Holding management at all levels accountable for the occupational health and safety performance of their staff. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Providing for dissemination of information on health and safety at work by establishment of suitable communication networks both within Unilever Ghana and with outside bodies. Recruitment Process at Unilever Recruitment refers to the process of screening, and selecting qualified people for a job at an organization or firm, or for a vacancy in a volunteer-based organization or community group. While generalist managers or administrators can undertake some components of the recruitment process, mid- and large-size organizations and companies often retain professional recruiters or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies. External recruitment is the process of attracting and selecting employees from outside the organization. The recruitment industry has four main types of agencies: employment agencies, recruitment websites and job search engines, headhunters for executive and professional recruitment, and in-house recruitment. The stages in recruitment include sourcing candidates by advertising or other methods, and screening and selecting potential candidates using tests or interviews. Job Analysis The proper start to a recruitment effort is to perform a job analysis, to document the actual or intended requirement of the job to be performed. This information is captured in a jo

Humorous Wedding Speech by the Father of the Groom -- Wedding Toasts R

Humorous Wedding Speech by the Father of the Groom Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen - I am the groom's father, Ken, and I have the great privilege of being best man. I have recently found out there are two reasons why J W asked me to do this job. 1) To make him look younger and slimmer in the photos. 2) Because he didn't want to burden any of his friends with the terrible prospect of having to give this speech. It's the speech that no one wants to do. The best man doesn't really know what he's expected to say and yet his speech is supposed to be humorous - but it might not be. It's supposed to be short - but it probably won't be. It should be original - but it seldom is. It should not offend - and most do. And finally, it's supposed to be sincere and I certainly intend mine to be. In fact, I cannot be more sincere than to say to my son what an honor you have done to me by asking me to be your best man today. That said, while you are all here to enjoy yourselves, the poor best man has to work for his supper - not that he is able to enjoy his food for the thought of making that speech. He is so nervous he can hardly eat his meal. J W, seeing how nervous I was, arranged for me to have the best seat in the house - namely cubicle 3 in the Gent's toilet. There's even a sign behind the door which reads 'the best man inspects these toilets at 15-minute intervals. If you have any complaints please report it ... ...come so fond of Kathy and we looked upon her as a daughter that we had gained. I can but wish the new Mr and Mrs Wilson every success in the future. As I said at the start I'm not very sure what a best man is supposed to say in his speech. I do know he really has only one thing he must cover and that is to say to the groom 'J W, on behalf of the matron of honour and the bridesmaids thank you very much for all that you said. I can only but agree with your comments. I would like to finish my speech by making a toast to the two most important persons here today - Ladies and gentlemen - a toast to the Chef and the Barman. Thank you. Only kidding, the toast is to J W and Kathy - the Bride and Groom.

Urging Educators to Accept the Internet as a Valuable Research Tool for Students :: Teaching Education

Urging Educators to Accept the Internet as a Valuable Research Tool for Students On the evolutionary scale of importance, minnows occupy a seemingly menial state: they are small, they are unimposing, they are relatively slow, and they are inept. In the face of danger from larger and more physically dominant fish, minnows flee. When a fisherman’s net scoops them from their environment, they are defenseless. Even as the fisherman grasps a minnow’s meek body, and plunges a hook into its back, the best a minnow can do is stare vacantly. Despite these ostensibly inauspicious characteristics, however, minnows do possess some value. If they are physically adept, and fortunate enough to not succumb to the aforementioned hazards, they develop into larger fish, which are capable of avoiding the more mundane dangers of their environment. Still, a minnow would not be the ideal choice for a fresh body if one exalted the forces of reincarnation. Plus, in our secularized state, most creatures do not admonish the minnow as a divine creature worthy of respect. Humans especially do not lavish the minnow with attention: not in art, not in literature, nor in religious lore. After all, images of Moby Minnow eluding an enraged Ahab would probably not wet the tastes of dilettantes or casual readers of literature. Yet, all kidding aside, the minnow evokes a fabulous metaphor for educators imploring their students to learn. Although teachers by no means â€Å"hook† students and use them for â€Å"bait,† they do have the ability to educate their students about the dangers of the real world. Physical dangers, albeit different from the perils faced by minnows, do pose threats to students in obtrusive and visible forms: alcohol abuse, drug abuse, peer pressure, and violence amongst other things. To exacerbate matters more, some of these dangers overlap each other, which makes the job of adult intervention even more irksome and problematic. Moreover, another danger exists for students: the Internet. Suddenly red flags and whaling klaxons emerge in the minds of some readers! This paper does not purport to advocate a fundamental rationale for adolescent Internet use; nor does this paper unleash philippics about the immoral decadence attributed to the Internet. Urging Educators to Accept the Internet as a Valuable Research Tool for Students :: Teaching Education Urging Educators to Accept the Internet as a Valuable Research Tool for Students On the evolutionary scale of importance, minnows occupy a seemingly menial state: they are small, they are unimposing, they are relatively slow, and they are inept. In the face of danger from larger and more physically dominant fish, minnows flee. When a fisherman’s net scoops them from their environment, they are defenseless. Even as the fisherman grasps a minnow’s meek body, and plunges a hook into its back, the best a minnow can do is stare vacantly. Despite these ostensibly inauspicious characteristics, however, minnows do possess some value. If they are physically adept, and fortunate enough to not succumb to the aforementioned hazards, they develop into larger fish, which are capable of avoiding the more mundane dangers of their environment. Still, a minnow would not be the ideal choice for a fresh body if one exalted the forces of reincarnation. Plus, in our secularized state, most creatures do not admonish the minnow as a divine creature worthy of respect. Humans especially do not lavish the minnow with attention: not in art, not in literature, nor in religious lore. After all, images of Moby Minnow eluding an enraged Ahab would probably not wet the tastes of dilettantes or casual readers of literature. Yet, all kidding aside, the minnow evokes a fabulous metaphor for educators imploring their students to learn. Although teachers by no means â€Å"hook† students and use them for â€Å"bait,† they do have the ability to educate their students about the dangers of the real world. Physical dangers, albeit different from the perils faced by minnows, do pose threats to students in obtrusive and visible forms: alcohol abuse, drug abuse, peer pressure, and violence amongst other things. To exacerbate matters more, some of these dangers overlap each other, which makes the job of adult intervention even more irksome and problematic. Moreover, another danger exists for students: the Internet. Suddenly red flags and whaling klaxons emerge in the minds of some readers! This paper does not purport to advocate a fundamental rationale for adolescent Internet use; nor does this paper unleash philippics about the immoral decadence attributed to the Internet.

Phyllis Rose, Tools of Torture

Gaston Havandjian Professor Hubbell English Comp I Essay Four 11/13/12 Human Nature: Another Tool For Torture? Driving your car to a dinner with friends you go by hundreds of advertisement slogans at the side of the road. Reading them seems to be a good way to entertain your mind with all those miles ahead and since you didn't decide what are you going to order yet you think that maybe some of them will give you an idea. One of them captures your attention in a special way, it shows the image of a laughing sheep and below it says: â€Å"Meat is real food†. Eureka!Now you have a guess of what your order will be, but as long as you keep thinking in this phrase you wonder what they meant with the word â€Å"real†. If they are stating such a thing it means that they also believe that there is other food that is not real or not as real as meat. A second thought crosses your mind when you remember a column you read in the newspaper a few days ago which was titled as followed: â€Å"Studies have found that the consumption of meat and animal products increase the development of chronic diseases including high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, kidney failure, osteoporosis and cancer†.What if the advertisement was aimed to convince us that meat is good for you when it's actually not? What if after those studies were revealed the owners of the meat industry felt their businesses threatened and ignoring the facts are still poisoning our bodies and killing thousands of animals a day just for a profit? Vegetables, fruits and grains are not real enough and healthier perhaps? When you arrive to the restaurant you bring up the theme and one of your friends provides a fact which supports the studies credibility, and from your point of view, it gives the whole discussion a clear ending.He tells you something you didn't know, that health insurance companies offer discount rates to vegetarians and vegans. Every company's goal is to make money. Insurance companies determine a person’s risk of death by analyzing his habits and based on these results they charge a fee. In today's world, where money is more powerful than any religion, government or social institution, there is no better evidence than this to prove that the ingestion of meat is actually not good for humans. For hundreds of years we have been persuaded of the opposite and still are.What about the people working in the slaughter houses, what would they do if they knew that the blood they spill every day is contributing to reduce our life expectation? Animals are not just being killed for food; they are also being used for the manufacture of products such as milk, cheese, eggs and many other more. Clothing, sport hunting and fishing, entertainment (Circuses, zoos and aquariums) and product experimentation are other examples of how animals are exploited for the â€Å"benefit† of man.The conditions were these creatures live are detrimental. Ca ges and chains, metal and fire, artificial breeding and separation from their cubs, a life of captivity and a slow and painful death are just a few examples of how they live a life of torture and agony until the day they become a steak on your table or a coat to provide warmth. So, what moves a person to desire working in a place where killing becomes a routine and suffering and fear is perceived by every single sense?Of course that making a living and the lack of jobs would be one of the reasonable answers, but there should be something else that pushes someone to do such terrible things to these innocent living beings unable to even defend or speak for themselves. Is it something ingrained in our â€Å"human nature† or perhaps external agents, such as institutions and industries, convince them that they are working for a great goal? In order to answer these questions we are going to use some ideas taken from a text written by Phyllis Rose titled â€Å"Tools of Torture†.Rose published many books and contributes frequently to periodicals such as the Atlantic Monthly and the New York Times Book Review. Rose situates us in an art gallery in Paris where an exhibition of medieval torture instruments takes place. The high number of different tools that she sees, and the many uses someone can give them, makes her think that â€Å"pain must be as great a challenge to the human imagination as pleasure† (Rose 175). This idea is reinforced after she shares her experience of a facial treatment in a dark booth of a beauty salon where she was exposed to ointments and electrodes.By associating the electrodes with what happened in Algeria and the ointments with masks dipped in acid, she concludes that the aesthetician and the torturer share the same area of expertise; pain, and that â€Å"Should that loving attention to the body turn malevolent, you have torture. (Rose 177) The author believes that â€Å"The secret of torture, like the secret of French cuisine, is that nothing is unthinkable† (Rose 176) and to illustrate this she uses an analogy where a man is tortured with a wheel and a snail is baked in its own shell.There are no limits in the world of torture and this fact may be a reason to believe that humans use their imaginary to accomplish the most horrifying things, but â€Å"torture didn’t come into existence to give vent to human sadism. It is not always private and perverse but sometimes social and institutional, vetted by the government and, of course, the Church† (Rose 177). Religions are probably the most influential institutions in our societies. They proclaim that the values and norms they promote are the only true and that not living according to them will bring a life of sin and shame and an afterlife of suffering and torture.Even if we don’t believe in any religion we still live under their rules. Christianity for example, by introducing the Ten Commandments, offered the basis for es tablishing the moral and legal laws; the institution of marriage is also an exemplar of how we organize our societies based in biblical patterns. It is not the intention of this discussion to analyze if basing our lives according these doctrines is a force for good or not; what seems relevant here is that sometimes the most heinous and aberrant things are justified by uttering these words for the benefit of a certain group of people.Usually the objective is to persuade a bigger group of people to work for their own causes convincing them that they are doing it for the common good, and the most effective tool to accomplish this seems to be manipulating people’s faith. If we take a look back about five hundred years ago we can see how the biggest genocide in the history of humanity was perpetrated in the name of god. The continent where we live today witnessed how the same people who came to these lands to convert the natives into Christianity broke every single of the rules th ey believed in.The main goal of the promoters of this campaign was taking all the gold, silver and riches to Europe and stealing the land, but somehow they managed to make people believe that their true intention was to save the souls of the natives, considered as animals, by making them adopt the true and only religion because that was god’s command. Under these commands it is amazing to see how people can, among other things, â€Å"overcome their repugnance to the task of causing physical pain to other† (Rose 177).Christianity also makes us believe that man is the ruler of this world and that all the other living creatures are at our service. The meat industry, in their many ways to legitimate their business, tries to persuade us that animals don’t feel pain and that ingesting their meat is good for us. In their efforts to keep selling their products they even have paid doctors and nutritionists supporting their cause.With these powerful institutions favoring the supposed benefits of animal products there is no wonder why we keep using them in our diets with a blind conviction that they are good for us. This seems to be also the main reasons why the workers in the animal industry are able to do their jobs without remorse. Just as â€Å"there aren’t squads of sadists beating down the doors to the torture chambers begging for jobs† (Rose 177) there aren’t squads of animal murderers beating down the doors to the slaughter houses begging for jobs.In hundreds of years of research there’s still no evidence that a human nature exists, and let alone that it coerces us to perform the most atrocious acts. The only thing we share as human beings are our human needs. No matter in which part of the world a person lives all he needs is food, water, air, a shelter and a social group where he feels valued and contented. It is in the interests of certain groups of the society to make us believe just the opposite even if it cau ses death, suffering and pain.The more informed we are, the less vulnerable we are to their lies. The author believes that â€Å"If taking one’s goals too seriously is the danger, the best discouragement of torture may be a radical hedonism that denies that any goal is worth the mean, that refuses to allow the nobly abstract to seduce us from the sweetness of the concrete† (Rose 178). Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good but what people finds pleasurable could be rather more personal than social.This philosophy doesn’t seem to be the answer for the eradication of torture, war or a diet that brings disease and death since it pursues an arbitrary goal. The common goal is not actually a bad path to walk through; the problem appears when what it is believed to be as common is just the goal of a few. Make that goal the fulfilling of the needs of every person in this world and feed them also with the truth so they can ma ke their own decisions and in a few years after that we could be looking into a much more optimistic panorama.

Research Methods in Psychology Essay

The purpose of the sections of a research article should start with a title, author, and contact information. The Abstract is next; this is a summary of the article. The summary provides an general idea of the article, which is helpful to establish if the article is significant to the reader’s investigation. An abstract will usually follow a regular format like APA or something that is similar. The author or authors in brief state why the research article is significant, the methodology, results, and concluding proclamation regarding the results. The Introduction would be how the authors explain the underlying principle for the study by illustrating what research has been completed in the past. A literature review supplies the reader with a outline of other research associated with the article topic, along with addressing questions that are unanswered or investigative need more research. Many questions are also introduced within the introduction, and hypotheses results are declared. Next are the Methods or methodology section. In this section the author or authors summarize how the research was performed. For example, sample, size, and a description of participants. This section will also show how participants were chosen for the study, what was measured and how, along with an explanation of how the data was evaluated. The next section consists of the results. The author or authors will show the research results along with any statistical analyses. Example can be tables, charts, and figures, along with a printed clarification. The Discussion section is the author or author’s explanation and understanding of the results in addition to an explanation of unforeseen results. Finally the conclusion and summary in many if not all articles will explain what the author or authors found and connect it back to the existing literature. Authors can recommend directions for potential research in the conclusion along with referencing back. The references is the last section of an article an lists the publications the authors have cited wthin the research article. References can help the reader critic the validity of the article and can learn more regarding the research topic (Cozby, 2009). What are the steps to critically evaluate research articles and how does the scientific method help you to do this? To critically evaluate research articles the research in the article must be clear in informing the reader of its aims. Terms should be clearly defined, even more so if they’re new or used in specific non-spread ways. You as a reader should pay particular attention should to errors in logic, especially those regarding causation, relationship or association. â€Å"A background in research methods will help to read these reports critically, evaluate the methods employed, and decide whether the conclusions are reasonable† (Cozby, 2009, p. 2). What is the importance of research in behavioral sciences? Today and in the past psychologists and many other professionals use observation to calculate human behavior to better understand psychological and biological processes, motivations, and individual personality traits. Human behavior may be understood through applied and academic science. Using the scientific method is necessary for statistical psychology. According to our text, the importance of research in behavioral science can be the description of the behavior, the prediction of behavior, determining causes of behavior, and understanding or explanation of behavior (Cozby, 2009, p. ). What is the relationship between applied research and basic research? Provide an example, from your selected studies, of how each contributes to the body of knowledge. Psychology became an actual science around the late 19th century, because of the interest of human behavior. Basic research attempts to answer essential inquires regarding the who what were when and why of behaviors. â€Å"phenomena such as cognition, emotion, motivation, learning, psychobiology, personality development, and social behavior† (Cozby, 2009, p. 0). An example article regarding a basic research article can be; â€Å"Artifactual seven-day cycles in spontaneous activity in wild rodents and squirrel monkeys† (Richter, 1976). This article determines the basic processes of activity in behavior and cognition of the mammals within the article. With applied research, this research is â€Å"conducted to address issues in which there are practical problems and potential solutions†(Cozby, 2009, p. 10). Applied research is any kinds of fact assembly assignment or ob that is performed with observing and applying the information found and will concentrate on a specific issue. Applied research can sometimes be simple and sometimes can be complex. An example of an applied research article can be as follows; Making things happen through challenging goals: Leader proactively, trust, and business-unit performance. This is considered an applied research article because it is focused on a specific issue or analogy which is; â€Å"proactive senior managers establish more challenging goals for their business† (Crossley, Cooper, & Wernsing, 2013, p. ). What ethical issues can you identify in the selected articles? How were the issues addressed or neglected? Both articles above did not have any ethical issues. Both did not harm anyone or any animals. Both articles above did not deceive anyone or any animal. Both had legal authority approval. However, as voluntariness, subjects within the wild rodent article could not volunteer because they do not have that option. The participants in the â€Å"Making things happen through challenging goals† article did have the volunteer option. Both articles did not comprise of plagiarism or misleading authorship. All data provided correct and up to date references and proper publication; this was provided at the end. Example of puplication: This publication is protected by US and international copyright laws and its content may not be copied without the copyright holders express written permission except for the print or download capabilities of the retrieval software used for access. This content is intended solely for the use of the individual user. Source: Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol. 98 (3) US : American Psychological Association pp. 540-549. Accession Number: 2013-03482-001 Digital Object Identifier: 10. 1037/a0031807 (Crossley, Cooper, & Wernsing, 2013). Identify three possible research topics that you might want to explore further as you go through this course.

City of God Essay

In The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli cements his reputation as an Italian political theorist who, wicked as he may seem, believed that morality and ethics did not mix well with politics and the mechanisms of power. From this book rose the ever famous line, â€Å"The end justifies the means†, and true enough The Prince had embodied a way of thinking so revolutionary and controversial that for hundreds of years, it had remained the ultimate handbook for political control. This is illustrated very well in Chapter 17, where Machiavelli discusses cruelty and its importance to maintaining power. â€Å"Here the question arises: is it better to be loved than feared, or vice versa? I don’t doubt that every prince would like to be both; but since it is hard to accommodate these qualities, if you have to make a choice, to be feared is much safer than to be loved. † This quote easily became emblazoned in the reader’s minds partly because of its cruel approach, which however brutal it may seem, borders on reality and actual truth. In order to get hold of your subjects more, to keep them united and to keep them from revolting against you, Machiavelli relates that it is imperative to be punitive and exacting; to have them live in dread than to easily lose power by being mild and amiable. Fear then is necessary to be able to rule your subjects and keep them under your control. Machiavelli points out that the loyalty gained from fear is much more difficult to lose and therefore any ruler must strive to be feared. Such is the way of Machiavelli’s thinking and this quote becomes testament to his genius. His ideas, though wicked and malevolent, are worth to be considered by any one who desires to gain and control power for they stand out remarkably honest and brutally clever. Saint Augustine, being governed by his beliefs and principles, wrote in a way that he incorporates his vocation to convey and relate to the people what it is that God intends for society. In The City of God, Augustine’s work primarily takes this approach to express his ideas on the workings of an earthly city and how it is needed to be likened to the â€Å"city of God†. This work was primarily written to assuage the doubts and answer the criticisms of the people about the defeat of Rome, which was thought to be protected by God, and therefore, unlikely to fall. Moreover, Augustine heavily inclines his work towards the good and the belief of an omnipotent God and his offering of eternal happiness. In particular, Augustine stresses the importance of peace as an end goal, â€Å"Peace is such a great good that even with respect to earthly and mortal things, nothing is heard with greater pleasure nothing desired more longingly, and in the end, nothing better can be found† Augustine uses theology and the Christian doctrine to relate to the needs of his time and answer the questions that the circumstances had merited. He reiterates that attaining peace is the people’s ultimate purpose, be it heavenly peace or that maintained on earth. He addresses the difficulties that societies face and acknowledges that fact that it is necessary to create and maintain order and bring chaos to its end. Essentially, The City of God, as the quote has clearly embodied, becomes a sort of pacification to the troubles of the people, something Augustine does cleverly well. The City of God remains influential to those it had convinced to believe. Aristotle is arguably one of the famous philosophers who ever lived. As an early proponent of philosophy and critical thinking, his works had been based upon and studied countless times. His theories of state and political association are deemed basic and essential even as others have grown to reject and disprove them through time. One point he made when discussing about politics is the necessity for a man to not be isolated and completely independent of others. He relates, â€Å"The man who is isolated, who is unable to share in the benefits of political association, or has no need to share because he is already self-sufficient, is no part of the city, and must therefore be either a beast or god† In the creation of a polis or city-state, it is inevitable that men grow to need each other. Each individual member of a city is dependent on the other as well as on the entire association taken as a whole. Aristotle argues that a man cut off from society, being not part of it, is like a God with such great power, or an unworthy beast which has really no care at all. With this comes to mind the popular saying that, â€Å"No man is an island. † This stays true up to now and is one of the foundations of the principles of society. In building a state, the fundamental theory is important and highlighted — that of its citizens being one with the state, growing and developing with it and them associating with each and every member of the state. From this, the concept of organization is emphasized and the primary building blocks of a state is laid out and achieved.