My Father free essay sample

Step by step I inch my way up the beautiful marble stairs of Grand Central Station, becoming closer and closer to my favorite place; the concrete jungle, better known as New York City. I can’t help but to fantasize about life in the city. I strut my way down Broadway in my two-thousand dollar Louboutins accompanied by my Spring 2014 Prada dress suit, paying no attention to the walk sign that displays a flashing hand because I have a high paying job that I need to get to. My glamorous chimera has only just begun when I feel the grasping tug of a warm hand struggling to find stability. I look at my embarrassed dad one step below me, as he tensely grabs the brass railing while struggling to climb the twenty stairs that bring absolute delight to his little princess. I wish I could say that my father had sprained his ankle or had broken his leg. We will write a custom essay sample on My Father or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I also wish I could say that I’ve been skiing, hiking or jogging with my dad. But none of that’s true. The year 2000 has no significance to me other than that year my dad, a whole-hearted, gregarious man, was destroyed. The day began as every other day on the job did; a brief hello to everyone occupying the worn red and blue leather seats followed by the mastered task of attacking the small white tickets with the oversized hole puncher. Just as my dad greeted one of his â€Å"regulars† his radio was bombarded with shouts from a coworker on a different train screaming, â€Å"Mike! Stop the train! Your undercarriage is on fire! Evacuate immediately!† Dropping any other care in the world, my dad ran through all cars demanding all passengers to abandon the train quickly. Finally stopping at the location of the waving and smoking fire, my dad jumped to the needs of the fatigued and suffocating passengers without hesitation. Heroically speaking my dad claims, à ¢â‚¬Å"The passengers were my responsibility. I had to get them off the train if it was the last thing I did.† On September 13, 2000, an average forty-year-old man saved the lives of thirty Metro-North commuters despite his twelve fractured bones, various torn ligaments and tendons, endless gashes, and loss of a lung due to inhalation of heavy smoke. With a permanently muffled voice and troubled breathing, my dad claimed the title of a hero. My dad is continuously reminded of his heroic moment as he looks down at the thirteen scars covering his body or hears his raspy voice straining itself to answer a simple question. At any point in time, he is able to relive the catastrophe as he saved the lives of desperate strangers. My story is a little different. I cannot look down at my arm and see a soft purple scar to remind me of a heroic deed. Rather, I see my dad struggle to walk, talk or breathe and internally inflate with sorrow and anger. Selfishly, I yearn for a dad that’s a dad, not an observer. I want a dad that could have chased me around Indian River soccer field, jogging ten feet behind at a sluggishly slow pace yelling, â€Å"You’re so fast, I’m never going to catch you!† I want a dad that could have surprised my family with a vacation because he secretly decided to work overtime a few days every week. I want a dad who can decide to go to the gym and workout for an hour because he has a small window of time before he has to pick me up from tennis practice. My emotions are uncontrollable as I think of how I could have grown up differently if my dad never saved those passengers. I long for a life I can’t have, but I also realize how blessed I am with the life I do have. Every day I decide to glance over the scars that ruin his skin, the hoarse voice that hides his expression, and the limp muscles that prevent him from participating in endless activities because I know that is not what matters. Rather I value each moment my dad lectures me on how to hit a golf ball right or zoom in to capture the perfect picture. I understand how lucky I am to have someone to teach and guide me. I continuously look into my dad’s heart, filled with life, energy, and love and appreciate the amazing dad that I am fortunate enough to have.

Platos Republic essays

Plato's Republic essays The Republic by Plato is considered a classic. A classic in the sense that it has withstood the test of time and is still studied today by people all over the world. It describes the human search for justice while also exploring philosophical clarity. Plato wrote this book about his teacher, Socrates, who was the first philosopher of western thought and believed that there was a rational explanation for all occurances on earth rather than just a religious meaning. His search for logical explanations for all occurances led him to be sought out in his community to have discussions about life and man. The Republic recounts discussions Socrates had with his contemporaries about the meaning of justice. The first of these men was a rich, older man by the name of Cephalus. He believed that justice meant speaking the truth at all times and always paying back one's debts. Cephalus said that a just man should return whatever is owed to another without hesitation or concern and to always tell the truth no matter the consequences. This caused Socrates much confusion and, using his dialetic method, he prodded deeper into to Cephalus's meaning to try to come up with some truth. Socrates said that being just is not as easy as just telling the truth and paying one's debts all the time. These actions could be considered just or unjust depending on the circumstances. If someone had borrowed his friend's whiskey and his friend, who is a recovering alcoholic, asked for it back, would it be the just thing to do to return it knowing his friend has a drinking problem or to keep it in order to help him out? That is the kind of question that Socrates posed to Cephalus to which he agreed and le ft the argument to his son, Polemarchus. Still, Polemarchus carried on the belief that "it is just to give to each what is owed" (331 e). However, he also states that it can depend on the circumstances around that situation specifically that one does wha...

Wet amounts and Hanging Drops Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wet amounts and Hanging Drops - Lab Report Example On the other hand, wet amount method comprises of a very tiny film of liquid sandwiched between a microscopic and a cover slip respectively (Pommerville& Alcamo, 2010). In the two cases, temperature generated from the lamp and concentrated on the slide by the condenser will start to destroy the bacteria within the shortest time possible. Notably, the light should not be on if there is nobody observing the slides. If the cells are not available shortly; a new slide should be made in order to measure motility precisely. Preparation of hanging drop: to perform this experiment, a small amount of Vaseline was placed at both ends of the cover slip using a small stick. A tiny wax pencil spot was also placed close to one corner to assist in focusing. A little drip of culture was then placed in the middle of the cover slip. For the Vaseline to be in touch with the slide and the depression to be above the culture drop, the depression slide was upturned over the cover slip (Pommerville& Alcamo, 2010). The slide was taken and overturned slowly and cautiously to ensure that the position of the culture drop does not change. This was meant to assist in making observations close to the edge of the culture drop and not in the middle. Preparation of wet amount: the preparation involved the creation of a single tiny drip of culture from numerous loopfuls. This was then followed by gripping a cover slide perpendicularly to the main slide while holding the opposite phase of the cover slide that does not have a drop. After that, the coverslip was gradually and cautiously joined with the main slide to ensure that the drip is equally distributed between the slide and coverslip (Pommerville& Alcamo, 2010). Notably, to prevent the coverslip from floating and complicating the process of focusing, only a small amount of liquid was required. Since it is not easy to observe unstained bacteria, using little water was

UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS OF STARTEGY PLANNING Assignment

UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS OF STARTEGY PLANNING - Assignment Example The company’s strength is in its research and development team which focuses on dermatology and cosmetology. Such capability has allowed the company to develop new products like Armani Code Donna. The company has continuously registered dismal performance in North America where Procter and Gamble is doing well. In the hair styling market, in Western Europe, the company is doing poorly. Such performance undermines investor confidence (L’Oreal Annual Report). Markets like United States provide the company with new opportunities. The old population in United States provides a large market for beauty products. They use revitalizing lotions and cosmetics that give them a good appeal and appearance. Emerging markets in Brazil, India and China provides market for the company’s cosmetic products. Indians provide a high demand for hair color products. Threats faced by L’Oreal include consumers opting for new technologies like organ transplant, cosmetic surgery and advanced dermatology, the company could lose market for its products. Increased competition from companies like Avon, Revlon, Procter and Gamble, Unilever, and others poses a significant threat to L’Oreal. Availability of counterfeit products in the market reduces consumer confidence and tarnishes the brand image. PESTLE analysis establishes the political, economic, social, technological, legal and the environment in which a company thrives. The company is doing well in local and international markets. The hair color products of the company are in high demand, in India. The company registered 70 million new consumers worldwide and is targeting an increment of outlets in new markets. Socially, the company involves itself in education, affirmative action, science and other issues. The company continues to improve social lives in many countries. The most significant involvement is a partnership with United

What were the chief charactistics of the Renaissance Consider Essay

What were the chief charactistics of the Renaissance Consider artistic, intellectual and civic innovations - Essay Example Art styles such as naturalism was developed by the Greeks which involved painting the human body in the nude. Oil paint was invented. Other artists such as Donatello worked using marble and bronze. Ceramic clay was also used. Artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, and da Vinci emerged in the late 1400’s and early 1500’s. One of the famous paintings of the time was the Mona Lisa. Northern Renaissance painters such as Jan Van Eyck also emerged. Eyck invented the oil glazing technique. This technique replaced the egg-tempera which was used earlier. Innovations were also made in the field of science. Nicolas Copernicus made an attempt to prove that the sun was at the center of the solar system and not the earth. It was this theory by Copernicus that led to other discoveries such as those of Galileo, Kepler and Newton. This was the most important discovery made during the Renaissance. Humanism can be defined as the general idea that man is uniquely different from other types of beings and as such can develop his own culture. It involved the urge to know more about the heritages of Rome and Greece. People were of the belief that a lot could be learnt from the past. One of the most renowned humanists was Niccolo Machiavelli who brought about new ideas of conducting politics. Humanism advocated for a change in how things were done. It encouraged a shift from a contemplative way of life to an active life. In general, the renaissance period brought about a new age and a new way of conducting activities. It was the birth of a new school of thought and a new breed of artists, philosophers and scientists. It brought about the momentum that spurred further

Pathophysiology Of Emphysema

Pathophysiology Of Emphysema This essay will describe the pathophysiology of emphysema and the effect it had on a specific patient that I have chosen for this assignment. It will accomplish this by referring to the patients presenting symptoms and diagnosis and then by examining the changes that occur in the airways of an individual suffering from this chronic disease. The essay will continue by exploring the aims of treatment and how they may control the symptoms relating to the specific patient chosen. It will consider the relevant guidelines to treatment options in order to demonstrate evidence based practice. Emphysema is chest condition that falls under the umbrella term of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This term also includes chronic bronchitis and asthma. Shahab, Jarvis, Britton and West (2006) suggest that COPD is a major contributor to global mortality and morbidity and its worldwide prevalence is likely to increase further. They continue by suggesting that it is well established that smoking is the single most important cause of COPD, increasing the risk of developing and dying from this condition by a factor of thirteen. COPD is characterised by airflow obstruction and is usually progressive, not fully reversible, and does not change markedly over several months. Sharafkaneh, Hanania and Kim (2008) suggest that an imbalance between protease and antiprotease activity in the lung is proposed as the major mechanism resulting in emphysema. Patients with emphysema complain of breathlessness, particularly on exertion, cough, chest tightness and often a reduction in their quality of life. This essay will explore the changes that occur in the lungs of a patient with emphysema and how these changes transpire. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE 2010) state that an estimated three million people in the UK have COPD. They also suggest that out of this figure only nine hundred thousand of these cases are confirmed, the remainder are people that have not yet presented with symptoms to their doctor. Exacerbation of COPD requiring hospital admission places a great burden on NHS resources. Davies (2009) suggests that costs directly related to caring for patients with COPD are over  £500 million annually. Background of patient.http://faculty.washington.edu/alexbert/MEDEX/Spring/Spirometry.jpghttp://www.ispub.com/ispub/ijtm/volume_1_number_1_66/strongyloides_induced_respiratory_failure_6/strongy1a.jpg To maintain patient confidentiality and for the purpose of this essay, the patient will be referred to as Janet. Janet is a 57 year old married woman. She has a history of smoking since the age of 15 and this equates to 42 pack years. She has worked in an office for her whole working life and enjoys walking. She attended the surgery as she was finding walking her dogs increasingly more difficult and was experiencing breathlessness on exertion. Janets weight was stable and she had not experienced any haemoptysis. Her baseline blood pressure and pulse where within normal limits and her body mass index (BMI) was in a healthy range. A full blood count (FBC) identified that Janet was not anaemic nor did she have polycythaemia which represents an abnormally high red blood cell count with a haematocrit greater than fifty percent. Janets peripheral oxygen saturation using a pulse oximeter was shown to be ninety four percent on air. Chest x-ray showing hyperinflation mdguy available at medpreponline.com Pulmonary Function Tests Medex Objectives 2003On examining Janets computerised records it was noted that she did not expectorate much sputum and she had only been prescribed one course of antibiotics for a chest infection in the past three years. Janet had been sent for a chest x-ray on her second visit to the surgery which had revealed hyperinflation of the lungs. Janet was subsequently referred for lung function tests at the local hospital where an obstructive pattern was identified. Spirometry is the test performed to demonstrate airflow obstruction however NICE (2010) state that airflow obstruction alone cannot be used as a diagnosis of COPD; it should only be used in conjunction with the patient demonstrating symptoms such as breathlessness or cough. A comprehensive history taking is very important as this can often identify COPD unaided. Janet was symptomatic and therefore was diagnosed with moderate COPD. Her spirometry showed she had a forced expiratory volume in the first s econd (FEV1) of 55% of her predicted value and a FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio of less than 0.7. Predicted values for patients are predicted according to their height, gender, age and ethnic origin. The severity of airflow obstruction is graded according to the FEV1 reading. The updated NICE 2010 guidelines for COPD have reviewed the severity scales which mean that Janets spirometry readings fall into the moderate category. Janets degree of breathlessness was discussed and she graded herself as a level 3 on the Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea score (Fletcher 1960). Emphysema often results in the patient having an increased residual lung volume which in due to air trapping; an inability to expel all the air from the lungs. Aetiology and pathophysiology Human lungs are the functional structure of the respiratory system. To understand Janets condition it is useful to look at how the normal respiratory system works. Its function is to supply the body with oxygen and to remove carbon dioxide (Marieb, 2004). Breathing is the movement of gases between the atmosphere and the lungs. For this to occur, there needs to be a system of open airways and pressure changes resulting from the action of the respiratory muscles in changing the volume of the chest cage. The diaphragm is the principal muscle of inspiration, assisted by the external intercostal muscles. The sternocleidomastoid and scalene muscles elevate the ribs and act as accessory muscles for inspiration. Expiration is aided by the elastic recoil of the respiratory muscles that were stretched during inspiration. Pulmonary gas exchange is conventionally divided into three processes: (1) ventilation or the flow of gases into and out of the alveoli of the lungs, (2) perfusion or flow of blood in the adjacent pulmonary capillaries, and (3) diffusion or transfer of gases between the alveoli and the pulmonary capillaries (Porth 2010). In addition to their gaseous exchange function, the lungs deactivate vasoactive substances such as bradykinin, convert Angiotensin 1 to Angiotensin 2 and serve as a reservoir for blood storage. COPD is characterised by an intense inflammatory process in the airways, parenchyma and pulmonary vasculature (Sinden and Stockley 2010). The lung inflammatory response is characterised by increased number of neutrophils, macrophages and T lymphocytes. The accumulation of inflammatory components contributes to the lung injury in these patients. The mobilization of inflammatory cells to the lungs leads to the release of potentially destructive mediators including proteases and cytokines, which directly contribute to the remodelling and destruction of tissues. Truder, McGrath and Neptune (2003) believe that a delicate balance between protease and antiprotease activity is required for proper lung maintenance. Sharafkaneh, Hanania and Kim (2008) suggest that derangements of this balance results in destruction and inappropriate repair of lungs. They also suggest that macrophages are activated by tobacco smoke and recruit neutrophils and lymphocytes leading to elastolysis and emphysema. Si milarly tobacco smoke activates airway epithelium to trigger airway remodelling. Both of these processes result in airflow obstruction. http://www.scielo.br/img/revistas/mioc/v100s1/a27fig02.jpg In addition to inflammation, oxidative stress caused by tobacco smoke inhalation plays a significant role in generating emphysema. Therefore Janets long history of smoking will have ultimately resulted in loss of elasticity to her lungs, retention of air in the lungs due to hyperinflation, expansion of the rib cage and flattening of the diaphragm. When the diaphragm is flattened, the muscles of the rib cage and abdomen take over the bulk of the work which is a less efficient and more tiring way of breathing. The alveoli are the terminal air spaces of the respiratory tract and the sites of gaseous exchange between the air and the blood. Each alveolus is a cup-shaped sac with thin walls and each structure is separated by alveolar septa. A single network of capillaries occupies most of the septa, so blood is exposed to air on both sides. There are approximately three hundred million alveoli in the human lungs. Emphysema jpg available at www.moondragon.orgEmphysema is characterized by a loss of lung elasticity and enlargement of the distal air spaces to the terminal bronchioles, with destruction of the alveolar walls and capillary beds. Several adjacent alveoli may rupture forming one large air sac that has a reduced ability to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. There is progressive destruction of the alveoli and the surrounding lung tissues as air is trapped in the damaged alveoli. This causes them to stretch which leads to hyperinflation and a reduced inability to exhale.http://www.moondragon.org/images/emphysema.jpg Smoking tobacco is a well established cause of COPD (Shahab et al 2006). The Department of Health (2010) indicate that tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and of health inequalities. They also state that in 2008, more than 80,000 premature deaths in England were caused by smoking. Callum (2008) suggests that the current level of tobacco use is estimated to cost the NHS around  £2.7 billion every year. Cigarette smoke contains a range of toxic products and these have to be dealt with by the body. When cigarette smoke is inhaled into the lungs the cilia that normally sweep irritants out of the airways become paralyzed. The irritants therefore remain in the lungs infiltrating the alveoli where the damage process begins. Other causes of emphysema can be an inherited condition called alpha1 antitrypsin deficiency, an antiprotease enzyme that protects the lungs from injury. This accounts for approximately one percent of all cases of COPD. Occupation risks such as coal minin g can also be a cause of COPD as the irritants inhaled act as the instigators of the disease process. Interventions and treatments Smoking cessation advice would be the most important intervention for Janet. Smoking cessation has been shown to be the most significant intervention to slow the rate of decline of lung function (Fletcher and Peto 1977). http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/figures/1471-2458-7-332-2-l.jpg The use of the Fletcher and Peto graph that demonstrates decline in lung function and the benefit of stopping smoking could be utilised in the process of addressing Janets smoking habit. The use of a smoking addiction calculator such as the Fagerstrom (1978) test was used to determine the extent Janet was addicted to nicotine. Parkes, Greenhalgh, Griffin and Dent (2008) found that informing a patient of their lung age appears to encourage higher levels of successful smoking cessation and Janet was surprised by her lung age of seventy seven. The damage to Janets lungs could not be repaired however the rate of disease progression could be reduced by her stopping smoking. Janet was referred to a specia list stopping smoking service in order to achieve a higher success rate. Encouraging patients with COPD to stop smoking is one of the most important components of their management. All COPD patients still smoking, regardless of age, should be encouraged to stop, and offered help to do so, at every opportunity (NICE 2010). Gruffydd-Jones (2006) recommends that all patients with any chronic lung condition should have an annual influenza vaccination and a one-off pneumococcal vaccination unless contraindicated. This is beneficial in reducing the risk of severe lung infections precipitating potentially fatal exacerbations of COPD. Bronchodilators such as Salbutamol are frequently used as first line treatment for COPD. Treatment objectives include relieving symptoms such as dyspnoea and cough, slowing the accelerated decline in lung function, decreasing exacerbations, and improving quality of life. The NICE (2010) guideline for COPD recommends beginning treatment with bronchodilators. NICE are the guidelines used predominantly in primary care and will be used as guidance for treatment options in this assignment. In theory, bronchodilators, which act directly on the airways, should have limited benefit in emphysema. However, Diaz, Bruns, Ezzie, Marchetti and Thomashow (2008) claim that in clinical practice many patients with emphysema, benefit from bronchodilator therapy. Pellegrino, Antonelli and Mondino (2010) agree that it is clinically justified to use short acting bronchodilators (SABA) in patients with emphysema. The pharmacology of beta-2 receptorsSalbutamol is a beta-2 agonist. These bind to the beta-2 receptors on the smooth muscle of the trachea to the level of the terminal bronchioles. Binding of the beta-2 agonists to the beta-2 receptors activates a receptor associated G protein that in turn activates adenyl cyclase. This then converts adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to cyclic 35-adenosine monophosphate (c-AMP), which then activates protein kinase A. The activated protein A prevents phosphorylation of the myosin light chain as well as activation of the Na+/Ca2+ exchange pump. This results in a fall in intracellular calcium and leads to smooth muscle relaxation, as less calcium is available for the calcium-dependent myosin-actin interaction required for smooth muscle contraction (Barnes 1995). Black, Oliver and Roth (2009) suggest that short acting beta-2 agonists can mediate further physiological responses to include the stimulation of beta-2 receptors on mast cells, leading to the suppre ssion of inflammatory mediator release and the inhibition of extracellular matrix (ECM) protein release from airway fibroblasts.http://www.uky.edu/~mtp/adrenergic_pics/Beta2Effect.jpg Janet was commenced on Salbutamol one hundred micrograms, two puffs as required and was reviewed after a four week period where it was identified that Janet remained breathless particularly on exertion and therefore her symptoms had not been improved upon. Following the NICE (2010) guidelines for COPD it was agreed with Janet to add in a long acting bronchodilator (LABA). She was commenced on Salmeterol twenty five micrograms two puffs twice a day. Diaz, Bruns, Ezzie, Marchetti and Thomashow (2008) claim that long acting bronchodilators such as Salmeterol have an affinity for the beta-2 receptor that is approximately one hundred times higher than that of short acting bronchodilators such as Salbutamol. The duration of action of Salmeterol is around twelve hours and hence only needs to be taken twice daily often helping with concordance. The benefits of LABAs are to improve respiratory symptoms, airflow, quality of life, rate of exacerbations and exercise tolerance. Patients with emph ysema typically have a greater degree of hyperinflation than others with COPD and bronchodilators have been shown to improve hyperinflation at rest and during exercise. As Janet rated herself as level three on the MRC dyspnoea scale, NICE (2010) recommend that the patient be referred for pulmonary rehabilitation. Pulmonary rehabilitation is defined as a multidisciplinary programme of care for patients with chronic respiratory impairment that is individually tailored and designed to optimise each patients physical and social performance and autonomy (NICE 2010). The rehabilitation process should incorporate a programme of physical training, disease education, and nutritional, psychological and behavioural intervention. The aims of pulmonary rehabilitation are to increase a persons exercise tolerance and give support and advice which may include smoking cessation. It incorporates people with COPD who have undergone additional training to act as buddies to fellow sufferers. Many patients look upon pulmonary rehabilitation as a social occasion and this aspect helps to improve their quality of life. Discussion. This essay has examined the case of Janet who presented at primary care with dyspnoea on exertion. Janet has a history of smoking and following a chest x-ray and lung function tests, she was diagnosed with having COPD. Due to the nature of her symptoms and hyperinflation demonstrated on x-ray, it was concluded that Janet had emphysema which falls under the umbrella term of COPD along with chronic bronchitis and asthma. The rest of Janets history was unremarkable and her observations and blood tests were found to be normal. COPD is characterised by airflow obstruction and is usually progressive, not fully reversible, and does not change markedly over several months. Patients with COPD often present in primary care with symptoms such as shortness of breath on exertion, cough or excessive sputum production. Usually the patient will already have damage to their lungs when they present with symptoms. The symptoms of COPD are extremely subjective and do not correspond to the FEV1 reading. For instance, two people could be seen with exactly the same reading of FEV1, but one patient would have very few symptoms and perhaps only need occasional use of a short acting bronchodilator whereas the other patient could be using two or more inhalers. Airway obstruction is diagnosed using spirometry and an FEV1 of

Eudora Weltys The Ponder Heart :: Eudora Weltys The Ponder Heart

Eudora Welty's The Ponder Heart There are many different ways to categorize The Ponder Heart. Some critics have said that it could be a dramatic monologue, a comic monologue, or a point of view. In the article "Seeing through Edna Earle: The Ponder Heart as a Dramatic Monologue," the author is not clear whether the novel is a dramatic monologue or not. In A Handbook to Literaturethere is a very clear definition of a dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is defined as "a poem that reveals, a "soul in action" through the speech of one character in a dramatic situation."The Ponder Heartis close to a dramatic monologue because "There is a speaker: Edna Earle Ponder. There is an audience: a stranger. There is an occasion: we find ourselves in the parlor of the Beulan Hotel" (Nissen, 1). The "point of view" is defined by Nissen as "the nexus of our interpretation of the novel's characters, events, and thematic significance"We get this information from Edna Earle as she tells us of her stories. It is her "point of view" we receive and see. To understand the monologue character, I have some different descriptions of Edna Earle. Edna Earle has been labeled in many different ways. "She has been accused of being just about everything from bossy to narrow-minded to just plain dumb" (Nissen, 2). She has been labeled as "a talkative, frustrated, limited, boring woman, desperately trying to keep her house in order," according to another critic, Kreyling. I do not see this at all in Edna Earle's character. It seems that Edna Earle is in charge of the town gossip. She runs the main hotel in town, her family is very important people in this town, and that is why she gets all of the gossip. Small town's talk about everything. Edna Earle is a strong but lonely woman. I believe that she talks about the town gossip so her listener will stay with her. That way she is not left alone. Another critic by the name of Robert Laugbaum says that Edna Earle, " is a bit of a snob, she is opinionated and speaks her mind."I agree with this when Edna Earle speaks of Bonnie Dee Peacock. She talks about Bonnie Dee's intellegence, the way she dresses, and suggests that she is railroad trash. It makes the reader believe that Edna Earle is better than Bonnie Dee. Except, deep down, Edna Earle actually likes Bonnie Dee because when she died, "one of the last things she says is that she misses Bonnie Dee" (Nissen, 4). In the article "Seeing through Edna Earle: The Ponder Heartas a Dramatic Eudora Welty's The Ponder Heart :: Eudora Welty's The Ponder Heart Eudora Welty's The Ponder Heart There are many different ways to categorize The Ponder Heart. Some critics have said that it could be a dramatic monologue, a comic monologue, or a point of view. In the article "Seeing through Edna Earle: The Ponder Heart as a Dramatic Monologue," the author is not clear whether the novel is a dramatic monologue or not. In A Handbook to Literaturethere is a very clear definition of a dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is defined as "a poem that reveals, a "soul in action" through the speech of one character in a dramatic situation."The Ponder Heartis close to a dramatic monologue because "There is a speaker: Edna Earle Ponder. There is an audience: a stranger. There is an occasion: we find ourselves in the parlor of the Beulan Hotel" (Nissen, 1). The "point of view" is defined by Nissen as "the nexus of our interpretation of the novel's characters, events, and thematic significance"We get this information from Edna Earle as she tells us of her stories. It is her "point of view" we receive and see. To understand the monologue character, I have some different descriptions of Edna Earle. Edna Earle has been labeled in many different ways. "She has been accused of being just about everything from bossy to narrow-minded to just plain dumb" (Nissen, 2). She has been labeled as "a talkative, frustrated, limited, boring woman, desperately trying to keep her house in order," according to another critic, Kreyling. I do not see this at all in Edna Earle's character. It seems that Edna Earle is in charge of the town gossip. She runs the main hotel in town, her family is very important people in this town, and that is why she gets all of the gossip. Small town's talk about everything. Edna Earle is a strong but lonely woman. I believe that she talks about the town gossip so her listener will stay with her. That way she is not left alone. Another critic by the name of Robert Laugbaum says that Edna Earle, " is a bit of a snob, she is opinionated and speaks her mind."I agree with this when Edna Earle speaks of Bonnie Dee Peacock. She talks about Bonnie Dee's intellegence, the way she dresses, and suggests that she is railroad trash. It makes the reader believe that Edna Earle is better than Bonnie Dee. Except, deep down, Edna Earle actually likes Bonnie Dee because when she died, "one of the last things she says is that she misses Bonnie Dee" (Nissen, 4). In the article "Seeing through Edna Earle: The Ponder Heartas a Dramatic

John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism Essay

John Stuart Mill published Utilitarianism in 1861 in installments in Fraser’s Magezine it was later brought out in book form in 1863. The book offers a candidate for a first principle of morality, a principle that provides us with a criterion distinquishing right and wrong. The unilitarian candidate is the principle of utility, which holds that â€Å"actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happpiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure.† One version of cecular utilitarianism was represented by William Godwin the husband of Mary Wollstonecraft and father of Mary Shelley, who achieved great notoriety with the publication of hil Political Justice of 1793. Godwin’s use of the principle of utility for the cause of radical political and social critique began the identification of utilitarianism with anti-religiosity and with dangerous democratic values. The second version of secular utilitarianism, and the one that inspired Mill, arose from the work of Jeremy Bentham. Benthan, who was much more successful than Godwin at building a movement around his ideas, employed the principle of utility as a device of political, social, and legal criticism. Bentham’s interest in the principle of utility did not arise from concern about ethical theory as much as from concern about lefislative and legal reform. Though Bentham and Godwin intended it to have this function in the late eighteenth century, utilitarianism became influential only when tied with the political machinery of the Radical party, which had particular prominence on the English scene in the 1830’s.

The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management

The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management Introduction Organisations are shifting towards the strategic management of their human resources to keep pace with the highly dynamic business environment. The traditional human resource management practices, including personnel management, are ineffective in the face of current speed, magnitude of change, and frequency that the organisational and business environment poses.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, organisations are finding it critical to provide renewed attention towards the building, as well as strengthening of partnerships by designing strategic human resource coordination (Chiavenato, 2001, p. 17). A lot of emphasis is being placed on the maximisation of human capital in the wake of the current changes where the human resource practitioners are involving themselves more in strategic plan ning. The focus of HR practitioners is on improving the business and the development of their professional competencies. Armstrong (2000, p. 11) points out that HRM has overly been a simplistic practice, having gaps between reality and rhetoric and containing many contradictions. The presence of these shortcomings has influenced organisations to seek for a transition from the traditional HRM practice to the strategic HRM. The HRM practice is in transition as it also seeks to increase its effectiveness. As Lengnick-Hall et al. (2009, p. 64) note, strategic HRM has mainly been conceptual in its focus since the 1980s. The 1990s saw an increase in theoretical advances, including the introduction of resource-based view as the concept continued to receive more recognition and research. Other important accomplishments were also made in terms of the empirical research conducted during the period. This chronology of events and studies shows how the strategic HRM concept has grown over time t o replace the traditional HRM practice. Presently, broader HR perspectives have been established to help in determining the influence of the concept of strategic HRM on organisational performance. As organisations insist on pursuing their strategic human resource management transformation, they train their aspirations on some major values that they hope to attain incrementally. These include formulating a business strategy as the main source of attaining competitive advantage, as well as formulating a management culture to embrace the belief. It seeks to enhance operational excellence that focuses on client service for both the managers and individual employees and to deliver the resultant services at a lower cost. Additionally, strategic HRM targets to create managers with a full understanding of the human capital and the business implications of the business problems. This makes it easy for the access and modification of the HR system with the purpose of solving the problems arisi ng.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This research seeks to analyse and offer comprehensive details concerning organisations and their addition of incremental values owing to their transition to strategic human resource management. In helping to achieve this objective, the research mainly bases its analysis on secondary sources of information, including text books, journals, and other relevant authored materials on the topic. In particular, the research will expound on several organisational examples that have transformed their HRM practises from personnel management to strategic human resource management. These examples include Sears, Lucent, Quantum, and Herman Miller. Critical Analysis Addition of HR’s Incremental Value to an Organisation’s Performance In the majority of firms, the wish to achieve sustainable competitive advantage is barricaded by a spects such as the economies of scale, access to capital, patent protection, and regulated competition (Hoffman, 2000, p. 1). However, an ensuing economic paradigm has provided an avenue for competitive advantage, challenging the conventional wisdom on strategy, HR’s relationship concerning firm performance, and the role of the organisation’s HR. New trends on the global front, including globalisation, are piling many pressures and demands on firms to continuously innovate, adapt to their environment, and enhance their speed and efficiency to cope with the challenging situation. Firms, in retrospect, face the rising need to give more attention to strategic intellectual capital and increase their intellectual capital (Choy, 2007, p. 1). Sears Transformation to Strategic HRM Sears’ objective in adapting strategic HRM was to make its employees feel comfortable while working outside an environment that lacked the usual command and control (Murphy Zandvakili, 2000, p. 93). The firm wanted its workforce to get accustomed to innovation and risk taking. Sears’ reasons for transforming included both external and internal business forces interplay, including competitors, customers, finance, culture, and employees. Sears transformation in achieving strategic HRM has introduced a more elaborate balanced scorecard that clearly defines and empirically verifies the existing relationships (Neenan, 2008, p. 48). The important relationships highlighted include sales associate behaviours, financial performance, and customer satisfaction. In other words, all managers who do not necessarily fall under HR need to be provided with a clearly articulated investment plan in human capital. This helps in influencing their buy-in on the broader HR role (Neenan, 2008, p. 48).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company changed its reward approach, adopting intrinsic rewards as a means of motivating their workers more and dropping the extrinsic reward system. As Armstrong and Murlis (2004, p. 42) point out, the intrinsic reward approach is strategic, business-aligned, performance-driven, integrative, distinctive, and flexible. There is a need for reward management to be bound with the business strategy owing to the critical aspect of reward management to the management of human resources. The traditional payment system that the firm used on its employees involved goal sharing, where the employees’ incentive pay was pegged on customers’ satisfaction. Sears’ reward management scheme was also affected by the company’s communication efficiency with its employees. Communication was a major issue, given that Sears is a well established corporation that runs several branches countrywide and employs thousands of workers. The retailer experien ced high turnover rates, thus calling for a more continual reorientation of the new employees that were hired (Salisbury, 2008, para 1). Sears’ transformation has seen it mandate a multi-perspective system of appraisal for all its managers. The firm has established some of its critical strategic imperatives to include the transformation of the retailer into a suitable place to work in, a place favourable for shopping, as well as a place that is suitable for investing in (Thomas, 2012, p. 99). Sears’ strategic HRM emphasizes on the achievement of behaviour consistencies to match with leadership competencies that sustain its 3C’s to achieve these objectives. In setting performance objectives, individual employees are challenged to improve their â€Å"line of sight† pitting the individual employee or team behaviour, on the one hand, and the firm-level outcomes, on the other hand (Oliver, 2003, p. 18). Additionally, the performance objectives are prearranged like a treadmill, such that an employee who fails to improve finds himself or herself moving backwards. Sales associates in the firm receive direct customer feedback to get a glimpse of the actual feeling from their own customers. The company has developed a strong commitment to compete with its industry rivals purely on customer service to ensure that it emerges as the best employer choice for its employees. The Sales Associates set up the quality of performance that drives the general customer service in the company (Business Wire, 2006, para 6).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another critical value addition has been experienced in the area of employee development. The company has established its own university, Sears University, which serves more than 20,000 managers every year. The institution also stresses on the employment of intact teams purposely to support knowledge sharing even after completing the program (Collins Rainwater, 2005, p. 16). This program has been a great success for the company mainly due to the strong support that the senior management team has been offering towards funding the initiative. Lucent’s Case of Strategic HRM Customer service The transformation towards achieving strategic HRM at Lucent has seen the company refocus attention towards improving customer service. The new HR structure of the firm has emphasized on client services on up to three levels. The levels include senior leaders, supervisors/coaches, and employees/retirees. The HR Business Partner plays the critical linchpin role that creates value at Lucent. T he arrangement is done strategically in a way that gives the senior business leaders an opportunity to work together with the HR leaders. The Business Partners are measured against client satisfaction objectives that strictly focus on the end results (PR Newswire, 2001, para 1). The delivery channels play a critical role in sustaining this, where the senior executives enjoy the exclusive rights during the declaration of the annual ultimate goals and objectives. Like in the case of Sears, Lucent has also developed a strong commitment, especially within the senior management at the firm, to develop HR initiatives that constantly seek to develop solutions for the clients (Namuduri, 2006, p. 3). Through the adoption of this strategy, managers at the firm attend all staff meetings, including those that do not necessarily discuss HR issues. This is done to enable the HR representatives to understand the business clearly. A team of up to 58 professionals drawn from the HR function, also re ferred to as the HR Accelerators, specifically work towards eliminating HR policies and practices that add no value for the firm and its shareholders. A competency model was established within the firm’s framework in its plans to support Business Partner role in HR development. Lucent developed the competencies using both external benchmarking sources and internal reviews, which emphasise on areas that seek solutions for a particular question (Quandt, 2007, para 4). The firm seeks to determine the exact knowledge, commitments, and skills required to help the Business Partners in their quest to serve the expectations of their customers fully. The main areas singled out included understanding the firm’s business, the business of its clients, and the HR business. The customer focus, personal impact, and management in a competitive and changing environment were also established as critical areas. By defining, acquiring, and leveraging resources, Lucent managed to implement HR solutions to offer solutions to the problems and challenges that the firm faced. Strong pay-performance relationship The strategic HRM at Lucent seeks to develop a strong relationship between pay and performance. This strategy targets to add value through rallying people within the organisation as the source of the company’s competitive advantage. Lucent has constantly focused on using stock options as a means of aligning its employees’ interests with the organisational objective of increasing the market value. The firm offered 100 options for each of its employees as â€Å"founders grants†. This was at the time when it went public (Walker, 2006, p. 18). Quantum Employee development Quantum’s strategic HRM seeks to hire its employees based on the fundamental characteristics of the organisation that support and sustain organisational success. The firm relies heavily on operations and product development through teamwork. Applicants seeking for employme nt in the firm but unable to work in teams are never selected. The main idea of the firm is the fact that working in teams or groups helps in supporting knowledge exchange between individuals. This, in turn, enhances the overall organisational quality level and performance (Manufacturing Close-Up, 2013, para 2). Quantum’s strategy on HRM further extends to the selection of employees, where behaviour and competency are very critical. Emphasis on these two critical aspects is based on the premise that the firm increases its chances of producing if workers with the right behaviour and competency are acquired. The general principle held by the management is the fact that applicants who manage to survive the selection process of the company are in a better position to start at â€Å"merge speed† (Business Wire, 2002, para 3). Performance management Quantum has established a significant performance management system whose main objective is to integrate adequate competency mo dels through the HR system of the organisation. The firm, as part of its performance management, has formulated up to nine critical Value Behaviours that the management places a lot of emphasis on. However, a multi-step process that involves individuals’ multiple rankings is required because of its overreliance on team-based work formations. Ranking is done by other members of the team (Business Wire, 2002, para 4). The team leader and the business unit manager also provide their ratings of the group and its individuals to help come up with effective team compositions and general performance management. Herman Miller, Inc. Competitive advantage Strategic HRM at Herman Miller has been designed in a way that helps the firm to achieve competitive advantage in the industry. Although strategic HR is a relatively new phenomenon, Herman Miller has pursued it for a significant period. The firm practice servant based leadership and employee advocacy as ways of influencing the overall competitive advantage (Walker, Bovet Joseph, 2000, p. 1). Employee participation is emphasised in the company and it is considered as both an obligation and an opportunity. Employees are trained extensively to equip them with ideas and knowledge on how to create value in the firm (Firooz, 2012, p. 675). To enable this to happen, the firm contemplates integrating the use of a Balanced Scorecard approach to act as Learning Maps. The Scanlon plans and Employee Stock Option Plans, abbreviated as ESOP, have continuously been applied in the firm to enhance involvement during business literacy training. In addition to these frameworks, Herman Miller has adopted the Economic Value Added framework (EVA) to heighten business literacy training even further. The company has introduced a formal course that lasts for two hours for all its employees. This offers an avenue through which concepts are passed on to the workers. In addition to the already existing courses, plans are also underway to i ntroduce EVA301 whose main objective is to offer more advanced training. A series of courses referred to as â€Å"train the trainer† are currently pursued at Herman Miller to empower team leaders. Their subsequent empowerment helps them and others in the organisation to offer teachings to the rest of the employees (Walker, Bovet Joseph, 2000, p. 5). The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management Personnel management mainly focuses on operations, including recruitment, selection, as well as administrative functions. As opposed to strategic human resource managers, personnel managers are functional specialists who have little status or power (Bloisi, 2007, p. 12). Personnel managers mainly play the role of linking the employee and employer to articulate both their needs. Personnel management has been prominent in the past, with organisations practicing it to seek the achievement of their end objectives. The organisational changes and transforma tion towards strategic HRM have been instigated by changing power balance, as well as the changing management concerns within the workplace (Redman Wilkinson, 2006, p. 4). Trade union membership has been declining in the recent years, while concerns by the management have focused more on efficiency and productivity. Organisations are also increasingly facing pressure to change and are in the process seeking ways of adjusting to the global competition through downsizing their workforce, de-layering, and decentralisation (Redman Wilkinson, 2006, p. 4). These changes have transformed firms into being more flexible, adopting continuous change programmes, and becoming flexible. This is the essence of strategic HRM, where focus is on performance management, process re-engineering, learning organisation, and culture change (Redman Wilkinson, 2006, p. 7). As Armstrong (2006, p. 19) notes, strategic HRM mainly emphasises on organisations attaining integration and strategic fit with their business strategy. Strategic HRM mainly focuses on organisational culture and commitment achievement because of the new changes in the business environment. It places more emphasis on line managers and their role as HR policy implementers (Armstrong, 2006, p. 19). The holistic strategic HRM approach mainly deals with the organisation and its interests, as well as taking into consideration how important the individual employee interests are. The HR professionals seek to become business partners and not administrators in the firm. Their focus is to treat the employees as critical assets of the firm, but not as cost overheads (Armstrong 2006, p. 21). Although strategic HRM can seek to initiate new business policies and practices, the implementation role is left to the line managers (Armstrong, 2006, p. 97). The organisation does not only stop at providing HR policies because strategic HRM is focused on improved organisational performance. Instead, the implementation process takes the c entral role. Strategic HRM targets to achieve up to six critical objectives for the organisation, which include conceptualising interests, establishing the mission and vision statements, and determining structural, as well as functional roles. Additionally, it seeks to determine the managerial operatives and define the job descriptions, prepare the HR policy documents while placing emphasis on performance management, and managing the organisational culture. Human Resource Management The shift towards strategic HRM practice of the traditional personnel management has gone through the human resource management stage. Human resource management focuses more on the management and its needs in regard to the provision, as well as use of the human resources. HRM promotes the undertaking of activities that deal with the human resources with other management members. It does not promote working between the management and the employees directly. Its main emphasis is on planning, monitoring and controlling, but not mediating (Torrington, Hall Taylor, 2004, p. 23). The main HRM role involves aligning structures and the human resources to achieve the organisation’s business structure and the planned scope. The concern is on the human aspect comprising the organisational structure. However, HRM differs from the strategic management of the human resources in the sense that the latter bases on the general organisational strategy. It also focuses on the strategies of the organisational units in existence. The operational management, therefore, develops the strategic plans aimed for the staff. HRM is mainly characterised by favouring liberal principles and goals. It does not only refer to a typical worker who goes to his or her place of work and waits for payment at the end of it all. Instead, the worker matters a lot in the survival of the organisation and gets the treatment of a management subject. The constant change, increase of competitiveness, rapid science and tec hnology development, and the associated difficulties require that the management of an organisation should search constantly for solutions that are good and adequate. It is conclusive to point out that it is decisive to treat and manage human resources within the organisation. It gives importance to HRM, while seriously challenging those in charge. The Strategic HRM Approach Unlike personnel management practice, strategic HRM emphasises on the need for human resource planning. It involves determining the actual size of staff member that can help the organisation to meet its future needs and achieve a workforce whose composition has the necessary skills (McKenna Beech, 2002, p. 117). Firms are targeting to achieve efficiency in their performance, while ensuring that the employees in the firm associate themselves fully with the organisation in their quest to maintain the right size of workforce. Strategic HR planning seeks to acquire, utilise, improve, and retain the organisationâ₠¬â„¢s human resources (Mullins, 2005, p. 797). Organisations are realising the importance of including HR planning as an integral component of the broader corporate planning. In this new framework, information plays an important role of determining the range of the plan, target dates, forecasting period, and the needed skills and occupations (Mullins, 2005, p. 797). The organisation needs to carry out an analysis of the existing resources, undertake an estimation of the probable resources according to the target dates agreed, and factor in the current staff development, losses, and the external forces like labour availability and legislative change (Mullins, 2005, p. 799). Forecasting of staff requirements is a critical aspect of strategic HRM. It helps in ensuring that the organisation attains its corporate objectives as per the scheduled dates. The management, nevertheless, must take several measures to offer the appropriate staffing resources required. Overly, changes in the popu lation trends have to be taken into account to include some considerations like the ageing of the workforce, the number of young people being absorbed directly from school, competition levels from other organisations, advancement in automation and information technology, and employment legislation (Mullins, 2005, p. 799). Employee selection Strategic HRM has seen the emergence of new techniques in employee selection. These techniques emphasise on efficiency and quality performance. The Credit Suisse process is among the new employee selection techniques that firms adopting strategic HRM practice employ. As Marchington and Wilkinston (2005, p. 176) mention, strategic selection methods currently used by organisations include references, application forms, assessment centres, graphology, and work sampling. These techniques are all applied together because no single technique offers the perfect decisions that can address the issue of certainty (Marchington Wilkinston, 2005, p. 176). Th e transition of personnel management, therefore, has seen a multiple number of methods being preferred by managers. In this new practice, employers may confirm with the references after, or before the interviews. The references are maintained as critical aspects of recruitment that inform the decision to employ a particular individual. The CIPD (2004, p. 2) indicates a collection of other selection techniques employed by organisations that have adopted strategic HRM, including the use of questionnaires and numeracy and literacy tests. A combination of all these techniques during the selection process enhances the overall quality of employees selected because each of the methods has limitations. A more complimentary technique is used as an alternative to achieve a perfect judgement, the probable fit with the organisation’s culture (Jackson et al., 2008, p. 552). Interviews The strategic HRM shift has seen a majority of organisations adopt the use of interviews as the most comm on technique in the recruitment process (Bloisi, 2007, p. 147). According to Bloisi, up to 68% of organisations consider the use of interviews, particularly the more structured interview types. These interviews are used as a determinant of the selected teams. Other organisations prefer the use of structured, panel interviewing (CIPD, 2005, p. 1). Additionally, behavioural questioning within the structured interviews is also used as a technique for determining the right employees. Organisations are emphasising on acquiring individuals who are better placed in terms of their behaviours to serve it towards the achievement of the objectives. Organisations must ensure that they acquire the right employees because strategic HRM entails attaining efficiency and objectives within the stipulated time. Although individual skills are crucial in determining the selection decisions, employees must also be competent enough to fit into the organisation’s culture (Armstrong, 2006, p. 404). C onclusion The organisational transition from personnel management practice to strategic human resource management has been taking place since the 1980s. The business environment has been changing over the years, with the emergence of trends such as globalisation influencing the need for organisations to speed up their transition to strategic human resource management. Various challenges within the contemporary business environment make it inadequate for personnel management to achieve its intended goals and objectives effectively. The external changes within the business environment comprise of increased competition, the need to satisfy customers’ needs accurately, advanced technology and techniques, and the intricate nature of the global economy. Organisations will be unable to create the needed competitive edge over their rivals, unless they shift to strategic human resource management. Sears’ performance management target has seen it mandate a multi-perspective appr aisal for its managers, where greater emphasis is placed on consistency of behaviours to match with its leadership competencies. The firm intends to train its managers to be actual leaders in its quest to make it a compelling place for customers to do their shopping and one where workers will get the attraction to work in. Lucent’s strategic human resource management has seen Lucent focus on strong pay-performance relationship where it has increased stock options usage. From this strategy, the firm has succeeded in aligning the interests of its employees with the corporate goal of doubling the market value and overall performance. Further strategic management programs at Lucent have seen it increase service quality in every level of its operation. The new HR structure of the firm has helped in providing and sustaining a model that emphasises services at three main levels, including individual employees, senior leaders, and supervisors. Herman Miller, Inc., on its part, has st rategically focused on pushing for a buy-in from the line managers to enhance people-based competitive strategy. The employees participate in the decision making process in the firm to facilitate ‘ownership’. The idea of the firm is to make employees more valuable by allowing them to fully participate in the crucial management role in decision-making. The transition from personnel management to strategic human resource management has seen firms focus a lot of their attention on the selection procedures that they employ. The most important objective that the management seeks to attain is the creation of a workforce that fits perfectly within the cultural base of the organisation. The contemporary organisations are spending much of their resources in training workers to increase their ability to compete with others. Employees who have their skills improved regularly increase the possibility of the organisation attaining its objective. Strategic management of the human res ource has seen firms focus more attention on the selection of their employees, with more techniques being employed to ascertain the behaviour of the prospective employees. Individual behaviour is crucial even as organisations seek to achieve a cultural fit into the complex business environment. 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Bloisi, W 2007, An introduction to human resource management, McGraw-Hill Education, Maidenhead Business Wire, 2002, Dan DiLeo joins Quantum Photonics Strategic Advisory Board, http://wires.vlex.com/vid/dan-dileo-quantum-photonics-strategic-54486061 Business Wire, 2006, Premier Mounts named as a top supplier for sears holdings corp oration: company recognizes top suppliers as Partners in Progress, businesswire.com/news/home/20060731005548/en/Premier-Mounts-Named-Top-Supplier-Sears-Holdings Chiavenato, I 2000, ‘Advances and challenges in human resource management in the new millenium’, Public Personnel Management, vol. 30 no. 1, pp. 17-27 Choy, WKW 2007, ‘Globalisation and workforce diversity: HRM implications for multinational corporations in Singapore’, Singapore Management Review, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 1-19. CIPD 2004, Recruitment, retention and turnover: A survey of the UK and Ireland, CIPD, London. CIPD 2005, Recruitment, retention and turnover: A survey of the UK and Ireland, CIPD, London. Collins, D, Rainwater, K 2005, ‘Managing change at Sears: a sideways look at a tale of corporate transformation’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 16-30. Firooz, A, 2012, Investigate and explain the relationship between human resource competency dimen sions with organizational performance, Life Science Journal, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 673-678 Hoffman, NP 2000, ‘An examination of the sustainable competitive advantage† concept: past, present, and future’, Academy of Marketing Science Review, vol. 2000, no. 4, http://thoughtleaderpedia.com/Marketing-Library/Sustainable%20Competitive%20Advantage/SustainableCompetitveAdvantage_hoffman04-2000.pdf Jackson, SE, Schuler, RS Werner, S 2008, Managing human resources, 10th edition, Thomson South-Western, New York, NY Lengnick-Hall, ML, Lengnick, CA, Andrade, LS, Drake B 2009, ‘Strategic human resource management: The evolution of the ï ¬ eld’, Human Resource Management Review, vol. 19, pp. 64–85 Manufacturing Close-Up, 2013, Quantum Communications adds Kevin Sunday to firm, highbeam.com/doc/1P2-35064821.html Marchington, M Wilkinson, A 2005, Human resource management at work: people management and development, 3rd edition, CIPD, London. McKenna, EF, Be ech, N 2002, Human resource management: a concise analysis, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Harlow, Essex, England Mullins, LJ 2005, Management and organisational behaviour, 7th edition, Prentice Hall, Harlow, Essex, England Murphy, TE Zandvakili, S 2000, ‘Data- and metrics-driven approach to human resource practices: Using customers, employees, and financial metrics’, Human Resource Management, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 93-105. Namuduri, SK 2006, Analysis of resource-sharing decisions in dyadic collaborative knowledge creation: A game-theoretic approach, Georgia State University, http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/managerialsci_diss/9 Neenan, RM 2008, ‘Whos keeping score?’, Quality Progress, vol. 41, no. 6, pp. 48-52. Oliver, M 2003, Engagement wins employees over, Haymarket Business Publications Ltd, New York, NY PR Newswire, 2001, Lucent Technologies announces new strategic alliance agreements aimed at enhancing product development and speeding deployment, prnewswire .com/news-releases/lucent-technologies-announces-new-strategic-alliance-agreements-aimed-at-enhancing-product-development-and-speeding-deployment-74632482.html Quandt, SR 2007, Effective improvisational leadership during CEO succession, Benedictine University, Lisle, IL Redman, T Wilkinson, A 2006, Contemporary human resource management: text and cases, 2nd edition, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Essex, England. Salisbury, D, 2008, The future of retirement plans, The Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/ad/article/employeebenefits-future Thomas, W. 2012, ‘Operations research vis-a-vis management at Arthur D. Little and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1950s’, Business History Review, vol. 86, no. 1, pp. 99-122. Torrington, D, Hall, L Taylor, S 2004, Human resource management 6th ed. FT. Prentice Hall, Essex, England Walker, B, Bovet, D Joseph, M 2000, ‘Unlocking the supply chain to build competitive advantage’, International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 1-8. Walker, S 2006, ‘Delivering market-leading support at lucent’, Knowledge Management Review, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 18-23.

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How Does Chaucer Present The Characters Of Nicholas And Absolon? The Miller’s tale by Chaucer presents the reader who two characters, Nicholas and Absolon. It can be said that the pair are opposites of one another. It is also open to interpretation to who out of the pair is the ‘Courtly Lover’. Some may say that it is Nicholas and others Absolon. It can be said that this idea of the pair is not easy to understand and will be able to convey. The character of Nicholas is an important character in the tale. This is because the prologue presents the reader with the suggestion that the tale will reflect the Miller. The Miller is a drunk who loves to tell rude stories which draw people’s attention especially those of men. It can be said that Nicholas is in the forefront of this idea. The character of Nicholas is an extremely private man, â€Å"alone, withouten any compaigne†, as he lives alone in a rented bedroom. We can presume that he has a single bed as he has no company and that he and Alison don’t sleep together in this room. Another suggestion for Nicholas being a private and sly character is because the reader doesn’t receive any physical description of him. The reader finds out more information about Nicholas’ room then they do him. Some argue that Chaucer has done this deliberately to reinforce the idea that he is a private man. We never see Nicholas anywhere bar the Carpenterâ€⠄¢s house. He plays his music on his own, â€Å"So sweetly that all the chamber rong†, which is significant because it shows he is gifted and doesn’t want others to hear his gift. It can also be seen to be a way of wooing women as music is romantic. Furthermore Nicholas is a well educated man. He is very interested in astrology, â€Å"his astrelabie longinge for his art†; this is a subject which many at the time wouldn’t have understood. He has the ability to predict events, â€Å"to deman by interogacious†, especially the weather. Another ... Free Essays on The Miller's Tale by Chaucer Free Essays on The Miller's Tale by Chaucer How Does Chaucer Present The Characters Of Nicholas And Absolon? The Miller’s tale by Chaucer presents the reader who two characters, Nicholas and Absolon. It can be said that the pair are opposites of one another. It is also open to interpretation to who out of the pair is the ‘Courtly Lover’. Some may say that it is Nicholas and others Absolon. It can be said that this idea of the pair is not easy to understand and will be able to convey. The character of Nicholas is an important character in the tale. This is because the prologue presents the reader with the suggestion that the tale will reflect the Miller. The Miller is a drunk who loves to tell rude stories which draw people’s attention especially those of men. It can be said that Nicholas is in the forefront of this idea. The character of Nicholas is an extremely private man, â€Å"alone, withouten any compaigne†, as he lives alone in a rented bedroom. We can presume that he has a single bed as he has no company and that he and Alison don’t sleep together in this room. Another suggestion for Nicholas being a private and sly character is because the reader doesn’t receive any physical description of him. The reader finds out more information about Nicholas’ room then they do him. Some argue that Chaucer has done this deliberately to reinforce the idea that he is a private man. We never see Nicholas anywhere bar the Carpenterâ€⠄¢s house. He plays his music on his own, â€Å"So sweetly that all the chamber rong†, which is significant because it shows he is gifted and doesn’t want others to hear his gift. It can also be seen to be a way of wooing women as music is romantic. Furthermore Nicholas is a well educated man. He is very interested in astrology, â€Å"his astrelabie longinge for his art†; this is a subject which many at the time wouldn’t have understood. He has the ability to predict events, â€Å"to deman by interogacious†, especially the weather. Another ...

The History of Vietnam War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The History of Vietnam War - Research Paper Example V. The Tet Offensive a. Beginning of U.S. – North Vietnam peace talks VI. End of the War a. Vietnamization b. Signing of Paris Peace Agreement c. Total withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam d. Capture of Saigon and formation of Socialist Republic of Vietnam History of Vietnam War INTRODUCTION Vietnam War was one of the most expensive wars in the history of the world in terms of materials and loss of lives. In fact, Vietnam War was the fourth costliest war in terms of loss of lives that United States has ever been involved. The war registered 45,943 U.S. battle deaths, with 1333 men going missing and 10,298 dead of non-battle causes. In terms of money, United Stated government lost 138.9 billion dollars, which is only comparable to the amount of money spent in World War II. South Vietnam, an ally of United States in the war, lost 166,000 soldiers and an estimated 415, 000 civilians. On the other hand, it is estimated that Northern Vietnam and Viet Cong combined registered more than 937,000 deaths. Other than loss of lives and resources, the war also witnessed the loss of morals among soldiers at the war front. Citizens also lost faith in their governments. This was largely affected the Americans. During the war, American soldiers became undisciplined. They engaged in drugs and racial conflict. Generally, all the warring parties suffered from the war. This paper looks into the history of Vietnam War and the events that lead to the war in Vietnam. The paper discusses the origin of Vietnam War, the entry of United States into the War, the strategy of attrition, the Tet offensive, and the end of the War. ORIGIN OF THE WAR Vietnam had been colonized by the French since 19th century. During the Second World War, Japan attacked and established its authority of Vietnam. In the course of this struggle, Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese nationalist, formed Viet Minh Party to help him fight the Japanese and the French occupation of Vietnam. He was assisted by Soviet an d the Chinese communists. In August 1945, the Japanese were overpowered by the Viet Minh and they withdrew their forces from Vietnam leaving the French in control of Vietnam. During this time, Viet Minh’s superiority was on the rise. They captured the northern town Hanoi and declared independence of Democratic Republic of Vietnam in September 1945 with Ho Chi Minh as the president (Christian, 31). The French soldiers were pushed to the south. In July 1949, they formed the state of Southern Vietnam with its capital in Saigon under the leadership of Bao Dai. The war between the French and the Viet Minh called the First Indonesian War continued for the next eight years. The war ended in May 1954 when the French forces were defeated by the Viet Minh forces at Dien Bien Phu. The ensuing peace talks in Geneva led to the signing of the Geneva Peace Accord. The Accord divided Vietnam into North Vietnam under the leadership of Ho and South Vietnam under the leadership of Bao. The Gene va Accord also stipulated that nationwide elections were to be held in 1956. The elections were aimed at unifying North and South Vietnam into one nation. However, in 1955, Â  Ngo Dinh Diem, a strong anticommunist, ousted Bao as the leader of Southern Vietnam and formed the Government of the Republic of Vietnam with him as the president (Le Duan, 51). U.S INVOLVEMENT INTO THE WAR United States joined the struggle in 1950 when President Truman assisted the French forces in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. United States provided the French forc

ICT in Tourism and Hospitality Sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

ICT in Tourism and Hospitality Sector - Essay Example This essay is to evaluate the extents to which use of ICT has been embraced in the tourism and hospitality industries especially in small and medium enterprises. The paper will identify the various applications or innovations of information and communication technology that have been integrated into the mentioned industries and how they have helped in improving operations. This essay will point out the major areas of ICT advancement by use of a case study of one of the companies operating in the said industry. The selected case study is the Galle Fort Hotel in Sri Lanka. The hotel is a world recognized hospitality destination with a simplicity that has won the hearts of many people visiting the Galle Fort tourist attraction in the country. The beach hotel is owned by an Australian family with a total of 13 guest rooms and has won many awards among them the 2007 UNESCO heritage conservation award and the world travel award 2009 for being the country’s leading boutique hotel and many others. The hotel has embraced the use of ICT and has a fully functional website. This paper will closely examine its ICT use through the various applications it has employed in order to help it in the day to day operations. From early times, Sri Lanka has been a major tourist attraction for visitors across the globe. The Galle Fort Hotel is one of the best boutique hotels in the country. The hotel is built on the fortified old town of Galle that was founded by the Portuguese in the 16th century. This points out to how it has been set out on a historical and world heritage site. To turn this around whilst ensuring that the area retains its rich historical and cultural heritage is definitely a great challenge. However, the hotel has adopted the use of ICT as evidenced by its presence in the internet through its official website and other social networking sites like face book.