HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMNENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMNENT - Essay Example tice that organisations can not operate under one of the two above in absolute terms and a common ground should be struck to realise the best results and harmony. This is the management approach that perceives that the organisation is a family-like setting and that the whole system is harmonious and integrated. In this approach the proponents are against the formation of trade unions or any activity that is taken to be disruptive (Charles & Simhala 1998). Therefore, all employees are required to be loyal to the organisation and that their interests and purpose need to be shared by all. In this respect harmony in doing ones duties is of huge importance as it is perceived to lead to the overall success of the organisation. The management takes all the employees and itself as a people working towards a common cause for the betterment of the organisation. In other words the entire workforce is supposed to work as a team and any objective that deviates and sounds to be conflicting is deemed negative or dysfunctional. In this approach the management is required to provide an environment that enhances communication between itself and the employees a nd among the employees themselves. Proper communication reduces chances of conflicts as the commonality of interest shall be achieved (Sonia 2000). This approach has a number of pros that make it popular especially in the human resource sector of the United States. First is that the system or approach encourages harmony and builds on consensus. This as described in its definition above takes the core and therefore the foremost reason behind its adoption (Ackers 2008). Harmony and consensus are achieved since the employees and the management are made to work together in achieving the organisational goals and objectives. As also highlighted earlier the improved communication among the various parties enhances good relations that endeavour to promote peaceful coexistence. Secondly is that the approach makes the employees become

Compare and contrast Russo-Chechen wars to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Essay

Compare and contrast Russo-Chechen wars to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Discuss with special reference to theories of conflict - Essay Example A similar massacre of Azerbaijanis followed in the Armenian city of Spitak. The Armenian protests against Azerbaijan based on Nagorno-Karabakh actually started in the perestroika spirit, but it immediately turned out to be a political organisation called Karabakh Committee that stood for an extensive anticommunist coalition for national sovereignty and democracy. 1 Similarly, the war between Russia and Chechnya started with the ambition of the former to topple the latter’s president through military intervention. The military intervention turned out to be a complete warfare against the people of Chechnya through the invasion and brutal bombing of civil areas in an awkward attempt to bring down the Dudayev regime. The war also awoke the dormant fighting spirit of the Chechens which they had gained from their long martial tradition with roots from a century long, persistent warfare with the imperialist Russian empire in the nineteenth century. 2 The mounting loss on the Russian side provoked its generals to make a quick response to the Chechen resistance through indiscriminate artillery and aerial bombardment on Chechnya’s capital. The death toll of people in the city was huge and the city was levelled in every part in an attempt by Russia to subdue the Chechen defenders. 3 The conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous area to separate from Azerbaijan and merge with Armenia that started in 1988 was called illegal with reference to the Soviet Constitution of 1978 that allowed merger of a region to another nation only with the permission of the home republic. The conflict in Southern Ossetia since 1990 is a similar case where the autonomous region is a part of north eastern Georgia and the war was provoked by the national administration and supported by the imperialists in Moscow. The support from Moscow was to weaken Georgia. The Georgian-Abkhazian conflict has been the bloodiest of all wars in the region. Though there are differences in

Discrimination Against Homosexuals in the Military Essay Example for Free

Discrimination Against Homosexuals in the Military Essay Since 1993 more than 14,500 service members were fired under the law of †Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell† (sldn. org). In 1950, President Harry S. signed the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which set up the discharge rules for homosexual service members. People wanting to serve their country were being discriminated and discharged because of their sexuality. Then in 1982, Ronald Reagan proposed a defense directive that states â€Å"Homosexuality is incompatible with military service† and people who engaged in homosexual acts or stated that they were homosexual or bisexual were discharged. In 1992, Bill Clinton, as a presidential candidate, promised to lift the ban. Finally in 1993, when Bill Clinton was elected president, he proposed a compromise that he named â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell†. This law issued a defense directive that military applicants should not be able to be asked about their sexual orientation (Washington Post). Homosexuals being discriminated in the military have grabbed the attention of people all around the world. The question on whether or not homosexuals should have the right to serve in the military was a hotly debated topic in politics for the past few years. Even after the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, will our society be ready to accept others? The research started with searching â€Å"Homosexuals in the military†. Then â€Å"Don’t Ask Don’t Tell† and personal stories of gays in the military was found. Unfortunately, no books could be found on this topic, but articles from top newspapers became a valid choice. Documentaries and podcasts were also looked at. Good sources were easy to find because the topic was so controversial in the US, so the news articles came in handy. The repeal of â€Å"Don’t Ask Don’t Tell† was all over US news websites, and news clips from YouTube were found. Last fall, a pentagon study was released that said a majority of the US forces, more than 70%, said that serving with homosexuals would have no negative effect on them. Forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan had a different response. 58% of combat marines said that they would prefer not to serve with homosexuals. Since the repeal in late September, the effect has been positive on quite a lot of people. The main people who are opposed to the repeal are the military chaplains. The majority of the 3,000 active chaplains are conservative Christians. A retired chaplain, named Brigadier General Douglas Lee, is one of the 66 retired chaplains that wrote a letter to President Obama, urging him to not go through with the repeal. In a video showing the effects (positive and negative) of the repeal, shows Brigadier General Douglas Lee talking about Don’t ask, Don’t Tell. He says, â€Å"Homosexuality is one of a multitude of sins. Chaplains help people wrestle with the sins that bisect them and their lives. The problem with this repeal is that this particular sin is being legitimized as being normal and okay†. The problem with the non acceptance of the chaplains is that many and most conservative Christians believe that homosexuality, like all of the other sins in the bible, is a lifestyle choice (Pbs. org). According to another Pentagon Study, thirty-five other countries allow homosexuals to serve openly with no negative effect (Sldn.  org). Consider two men, both wanting to serve their country, one is gay and one is straight. They get all of the same test scores, and pass, yet only the straight guy is let in, not because of anything else other than his sexuality. If the same circumstances had happened, instead with a man and a woman, it would be sexist. If one was white and the other was black, it would be racist. All of the victims of these situations would have protection under the law and could sue, except for the homosexual. The homosexual has no legal protection from the government (Library in a book: Gay Rights). The repeal could be the first step to changing this. September 20th 2011, Obama stated, â€Å"As of today, our armed forces will no longer lose the extraordinary skills and combat experience of so many gay and lesbian service members. And today, as Commander in Chief, I want those who were discharged under this law to know that your country deeply values your service†(UStoday. com). Military bases around the US have been holding sessions for service members to educate them on the repeal of â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell†. They say, â€Å"You are not expected to change your religious or moral beliefs, however you are obligated to treat all others with dignity and respect† (Pbs. org). It seems as though that our society has been coping positively since the repeal. There are always going to be some people who will not stray from their views, but the percentages are going up and more and more people are willing to except homosexuals serving freely in the US.

Thomas Cook PESTEL Analysis

Thomas Cook PESTEL Analysis This report is going to analyse and evaluate the strategic fit of Thomas Cook plc and its critical success factors using analytical tools. The PESTEL Analysis is used to evaluate conditions in the Travel and Tourism market environment and how these conditions affect Thomas Cook plc and its competitors now and in the future. A porters five forces analysis will also be used to determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of the travel and tourism industry. Introduction Thomas Cook Travel Company was first started by its namesake in June of 1841 and has since become the worlds most recognisable name in the travel industry. The merger of Thomas Cook AG and My Travel Group plc on June 19th of 2007 produced Thomas Cook plc, making Thomas Cook the second largest leisure travel group in the UK behind TUI Travel plc its major competitor. Thomas Cook specialises in providing a wide range of package holidays to destinations. (Thomascook.com) INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS (Task A) PESTEL ANALYSIS The PESTEL frame work categorises environmental influences into six main types which are political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal (see appendix A). The PESTEL framework helps managers understand the key drivers of change and also the differential impact of these external influences and drivers on the industry, markets and individual organisations. (Johnson, Gerry, 2005). Political factors According to CIPD, coalition governments spending cuts are going to result in 0.7million job losses in the public sector. The travel and tourism industry is in the public sector; therefore their employees are faced with fears of redundancy. Announcement of redundancies will invariably have an adverse impact on morale, motivation and productivity of remaining employees. The negative effects can be reduced by sensitive handling of redundant employees and those remaining and to be as honest as possible with the remaining staff to gain back their trust and confidence. (cipd.co.uk) Economic factors are of concern to travel and tourism, because they may influence demand, costs, prices and profits. Package holidays are an income elastic business, as income decreases or rises; it can have a significant effect on the demand. Therefore looking ahead, public sector cuts are likely to have a major consequence on the travel and tourism industry. Social Factors Redundancies and other government cuts will potentially result in limited disposable income for consumers. According to Mintel, some 12% of consumers are spending nothing on non-essentials, with 35% describing themselves as very cautious, 30% as quite cautious, and only 5% as not at all cautious. This is because of the decrease in disposable income. If income decreases, then spending will become more cautious, especially on income elastic items such as package holidays, therefore reducing profit  margins for the travel industry. With all the package holidays in the UK, supply will remain very high as demand decreases forcing companies to reduce their prices. The spending cuts will mean that business executives will have to cut their budgets and most likely use low-cost travel planes such as Easy Jet and Rynair. Video conferencing is improving all the time, and the price has fallen to zero using online systems such as yahoo messenger, business may be forced to use this method to communicate to reduce their costs. This going to affect the travel industry a lot, executives provide business anytime of the year whilst holidays are seasonal. This will reduce customers. If classy seats are either vacant or earning less revenue, this means less departures or soaring economy class fares. Companies will also be forced to provide bargains for leisure travelers willing to upgrade to business class. Technological Factors The most powerful example technology is the emergence and improvement of the internet, which led to reduced costs and increased operational efficiency within the tourism agencies and airports. Because the internet is becoming better every day, its causing intimacy between tour operators and clients and improving contentment for both parties. Aside the internet, other major technologies that support the continuous growth of the tourism industry are those implemented by transportation, which is becoming safer, quicker and more pleasing. The technological implementations within tourism operations have led to changes in working behaviour and will also result an increase of demand for labour force, implying as such that educational institutions place more emphasis on teaching tourism. Environmental Factors Protecting the environment is one of the most talked about and sensitive matters today, making environmental responsibility part of the factors that determine a tour operators success. According to global warming 2020, aviation which ferries hundreds of thousands of tourists across the globe is of great concern to those seeking to protect the environment. A major concern for the industry is  greenhouse  gas  emissions and their implication for climate change. Aviation produces at least two percent of emissions. One way the aviation industry is working on this problem is by rolling out newer planes that have fuel efficient engines which means less carbon emissions. However not all airlines especially in the poorer countries can afford buying new aircraft. PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Porters five forces analysis (see appendix B) was developed to as a way of assessing the attractiveness of different industries. The five forces constitute an industrys structure. (Johnson, Gerry, 2008) Threats of substitutes The lack of disposable income and the effect of coalition government spending cuts are likely to change consumer spending habits, as a result with a significant shift in demand from luxury goods to inferior goods which are much more affordable, consumers are likely to shift to local and cheaper holidays and may choose to use trains (eurostar) or their cars to local holidays. Terrorism has affected the mentality of travellers and has made travelling more difficult and uncomfortable. People have to think about security issues from when they start packing to when they reach their destination, this will convince more travellers to use trains or holiday locally. This is however a moderate threat because customers usually prefer airlines because they are much quicker. Competitive Rivalry The Travel and tourism industry occupies a big segment of the business market and therefore provides many opportunities for tour operators; however its a very competitive industry. To be successful a package holiday company needs to discover the best fit between their individual skills, competencies and resources and external market characteristics to make sure that they stay on top of their game. Brand recognition and strength also determine the success of a company against its competitors, especially if times are tough in the economy. Negotiating powers of buyers Demand in package holiday industry is extremely elastic; this means that buyers will not just accept a given price by a package holiday company. Customers will use any information sources available to them such as the internet to look for better and exclusive deals available around, and with so many package holidays available in the UK, they are likely to find one and use a different company. As discussed above about the effect of economy on the travel industry, the powers of buyers are that they have a huge influence on the setting of prices in accordance with the prices which are around in the market. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS Critical success factors are used to identify key factors that a business needs to focus on to ensure that their business is successful. To survive and prosper, all industry participants must use an emergent strategy. Emergent strategy is a way of action that develops over time in an industry without a specific mission, goals or long-term plans. Emergent approaches should be thoroughly analysed in the context of an increasingly active, highly competitive and global business market. Influential external forces mentioned in the PESTEL analysis are pushing companies to reduce costs, improve processes and identify new opportunities for growth and an emergent strategy will help companies cope with these factors. An emergent approach leads to more creative and responsive strategy making which is well suited to the hyper-competitive and unpredictable environments such as the package holiday industry. It is more suited to instigating positive, transformational organisational change such as diversification or restructuring. It also has the added benefit of helping to reduce resistance to change as it allows time to build employee support while the strategy is taking shape. (powerfulwords.co.uk)

Internet Advertising Essay -- essays research papers

Internet Advertising Internet Advertising is the way of the future and it is very evident since many companies and businesses have their own web sites and advertisements are located all over the World Wide Web. The Internet or World Wide Web is quickly becoming the most effective way for a business to advertise their products or services to customers. Web sites such as search engines or small sites that sell advertisement space for sponsoring are profiting highly from the increase of advertising on the Internet. Also contributing to the profit of businesses is the fact that the number of people that have access to the internet is growing as well as internet services which will allow potential customers to view these advertisements. Internet advertising is rapidly growing and advertisements will become more apparent in our Internet usage. When advertising on the Internet, it is both the businesses as well as sites like search engines that profit. In 1995 when the Internet was not as highly recognized as is today, advertising totaled US$312 million. It is estimated that in the year 2000, advertising spending will increase to $5 billion and this money will go to search engines or smaller web sites that are allowing companies and businesses space to advertise their product or service. Businesses will profit from the use of Internet advertising because it is much cheaper and is more effective when compared to standard advertising. Larger firms can also sponsor smaller web sites...

Personal Narrative: How Society Shaped Me Essay -- Social Group Neighb

Personal Narrative: How Society Shaped Me What is society and how did it help shape me into the person I am today? First, society is the state of living in organized groups of people. These organized groups of people are the ones that made me who I am today and will continue to shape me, as I grow older. My version of society is white middle class people who grow up going to catholic schools. These white middle class people are only associated with other white middle class people, and very seldom venture out of this little society. As stupid as that sounds to not associate with other people it is true. The reason this is true is because of where I live, where I go to school, and who my friends are. I guess it is just like Emerson said, â€Å"the virtue in most request is conformity.† So, the three social forces that have played the biggest impact on my life are my community, my friends (family) and my education. I have lived in the same neighborhood my entire life, a neighborhood full of white middle class families, with the exception of one middle class African American fam...

Eilis character notes

Ellis â€Å"never made mistakes when she did her addition† ; Devout Catholic – she attended mass every Sunday in Insincerity ;Ellis immigrating to America was entirely Rose's initiative -as Rose and her mother collude with Father Flood, Ellis feels â€Å"like a child† whose fate is being decided for her. ; Ellis is, by nature, reserved and emotionally guarded. She is selective in her relationships and shies away from physical intimacy.It is not easy for her to express her true feelings, even those closest to her. This particularly evident in her relationship with Tony†¦.. ;When Ellis does not have the confidences to act on her instincts, she makes mistakes. The foremost is her impulsive marriage to Tony, but her resentment to Jim Farrell is another. ; Throughout the text, her actions are generally informed by the twin values of connection to family and a clearly defined sense of duty. ; Her generosity is constant, and Tony calls her a â€Å"good person†. Yet the internal conflict generated by her return home causes her to lie by omission and to behave with great cruelty towards the unsuspecting Jim. ; Approximately twenty years old Young women from Insincerity Immigrates to America for work Works in Barstool's department store in Brooklyn Studies bookkeeping; ; During the course of the novel she becomes romantically involved with Tony Fiercely and Jim Farrell. ; She matures over the course of the novel, â€Å"you seem more grown up and serious. And in your American clothes you look different.You have an air about you† (Nancy, p. 230) ; Her independence and resilience are revealed gradually. She has to exercise her Judgment and make critical choices with little guidance or support. Her initial naivety is balanced by natural curiously and a determination to learn. ; She takes the opportunities provided to educate herself, and as the word opens up before her, embraces new ideas with less diffidence than before. Living in New York encourages assertiveness, and Ellis becomes more inclined to trust herself.At work, she learns to be â€Å"brave and decisive†. ; Returning to Insincerity, Ellis slips back into the rhythm of the town easily and finds comfort in its familiar faces and rituals. Yet the changes produced by her experiences in America are obvious to all, â€Å"Everything about you is different†, her friend Nancy insist: â€Å"you seem more grown up and serious. And in our American clothes you look different. You have an air about you. † ;Her poise and self-assurance intimidated her mother, however attracted Jim Farrell.