Language Arts Action Research Essay Example for Free

Language Arts Action Research Essay Classroom Management Inquiry: An Applied Study of Language Arts Data Zoo Southern Illinois university Daredevils Brian Walker Johnson, Literacy Faculty Inquiry into Teaching and Learning Project CLC 445 Language Arts at Elementary and Middle Levels November 22, 2013 Classroom Management Inquiry: An Applied Study of Language Arts The main phenomenon I have concentrated on throughout my Inquiry into Teaching and Learning Project for my applied study of language arts Is the role that speaking, writing, viewing, visually representing, reading and listening play in the management of an elementary school classroom. I have come to understand that classroom management is one of the hardest duties off beginning teacher. Being respected by students and colleagues is what establishes a teacher as an authority, and effective classroom management is a start towards this goal. Managing my students has been the hardest part of my school experience thus far, and I hoped that allowing language arts to become an active part of my management processes would allow my students to think more critically about their actions. When I began his inquiry study, I believed that writing classroom rules together, reading classroom rules critically, speaking and listening to how rules are applied, and viewing and visually representing class rules in daily walk and conversation might give students a sense of ownership over their classroom and greater respect for teachers. I thought the benefit of using language arts for classroom management might be measured by closer examination of critical conversations students have when rules are broken. So I proposed the following action research question: How does student behavior hanged when students read, write, speak, listen, view, or visually represent apparent misbehaver? Waxier (2007) suggests that written action plans which give older elementary students responsibility for their actions changes misbehaver. Research by Smith (2009) demonstrates that the use of other language arts with preschoolers can have the same effect. Reading these studies motivated me to pursue classroom arts. Method Secondary Sources to Answer Research Question I began my research into how student behavior changes when language arts are integrated into classroom management practices by reviewing two secondary resources. My first source, Blending Effective Behavior Management and Literacy Strategies for Preschoolers Exhibiting Negative Behavior by Smith (2009), was published in a peer reviewed early childhood education Journal specializing in articles that summarize a number of experimental studies. Smiths (2009) summary of research gave the ideas in the article greater validity. Some of the findings Smith (2009) shared described classroom management techniques I have personally experienced as effective. Smiths (2009) findings are limited to studies done with reechoes students, but I believe the findings can be used with older students as well. Unlike Smith (2009), my second source, Waxier (2007), was not published in a peer reviewed Journal. Washers eBook, teach: A Teacher Resource for Learning the Strategies of Master Teachers, was self-published. However, the authors online biography points to decades spent as a professional teacher and consultant who has helped hundreds of elementary teachers improve their classroom management. Waxier, like Smith, also describes a number of management techniques that I have found to be helpful in the past. Primary Source Data to Answer Research Question I continued my research into how student behavior changes when language arts are integrated into classroom management practices by collecting primary sources of data from my third grade classroom. The third grade classroom where I student teach is located in Roseville, Illinois, near the Mississippi River Just north of SST. Louis, Missouri. The third grade at Roseville Elementary School consists of 25 Caucasian students, 13 boys and 12 girls. Well over 70% of these students are on free or reduced lunch programs, suggesting that their families are struggling with poverty. However, the academic achievement of these students is especially high in language arts, evidenced by the schools online report card. These students may represent an exception to the thought that poverty dictates low academic achievement. I began my research into how elementary student behavior changes when language arts are integrated into classroom management practices by conducting classroom observations and collecting artifacts. My classroom observations were done by filling out five observations forms over 1 5 minute intervals over a period of six weeks. I simply observed moments in the life of my student teaching classroom where misbehaver was occurring. Then, using the left hand column of my observation form, I wrote what I saw my teacher and student informants doing during these 15-20 minute snapshots of instruction, scripting the instruction to the best of my ability. I included exactly what I heard and saw. On the same days I made my observations, I went home and read over what I had written. Then, using the right hand column of my observation form, I summarized the instructional moments I saw in my written observations that I thought related to engage arts instruction and changing student misbehaver. Finally, in a different column that: 1) documented which of the language arts were being used in the instructional moment you summarized; 2) described how I thought an additional element of language arts could have been incorporated into the instructional moment. Together with artifacts including written action plans by students to correct misbehaver, photos of room arrangement, copies of class rules, and student/teacher interviews, patterns of how misbehaver changed as a result of language arts applications began to emerge. I believe these patterns are valid because they are supported by three different kinds of primary source data: my observations, informant interviews, and classroom artifacts. My initial primary source data response to the question, How does student behavior change when students read, write, speak, listen, view, or visually represent apparent misbehaver? , emerged after examining data collected midway through my study with colleagues in my Language Arts at Element ary and Middle Levels class at Southern Illinois University Daredevils. I began to see at first that Reading, writing, or speaking about subversive changes misbehaver. As I continued to gather data, it became evident that all of the language arts gave misbehaving students opportunities for reflection that changed misbehaver. Results Results of my analysis of primary source data in the form of five 1 5 minute observations over five weeks, three student interviews, one cooperating teacher interview, and seven artifacts of student work in classroom management demonstrate that use of all of the six language arts gave misbehaving students opportunities for reflection that changed their misbehaver.

Theory of Absolute Advantage | Analysis

Theory of Absolute Advantage | Analysis Introduction In response to the mercantilism system which dominated economics thought in the 18 century, Adam Smith introduce and gives extension discussion of absolute advantage theory in international trade and illustrate what to do if countries do not stick to the rule and maxim of international trade in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith prove wrong the belief of international trade between country was zero sum game which means the gaining of a country from international trade was the loss of other country. In additional, the international trade was positive sum game which means countries will gain benefit from trades. In the illustration of absolute advantage theory, Adam Smith illustrate that a country which have absolute advantage over other country if its production capacity in goods and services is greater when using same amount of resources or its produce a good using fewer resources (lower opportunity cost). Adam Smith also says that a country should produce goods where its production capacity is the most efficient and trade those goods where its production is not efficient. In additional, absolute advantage theory can also applies in the regions, cities and firms and tariffs and quotas should not restrict international trade. Adam Smith says the labor is fixed and homogeneous within a country. In additional, he also considers the labor is the only factor of production (input) and technology and production cost is constant in absolute advantage theory. He also illustrate that transportation cost are zero and countries use barter trade system in trading. In conclusion, Adam Smith absolute advantage theory replaces the mercantilist idea and questions the objective of national governments which applies mercantilist idea and acquires wealth through restrictive trade policies. In additional, absolute advantage theory also measure a country wealth through the living standard of its people. Theoretical background and Issues In absolute advantage theory, there are issue which is do all countries have an absolute advantage. Adam Smith does not consider the question if every country has an absolute advantage in the production of some goods. From a theoretical point of view, it could be possible that a country has no absolute production advantages or might lose them over time. Adam Smith’s theory suggests that absolute advantages develop as a consequence of trade and trade might be the incentive ways that leads to the creation of absolute advantages. However, nowadays, international trade is widely spread and the countries do not start equally. Rather, some countries are less productive and poorer. They might have an absolute advantage in those goods which only they are able to produce because of natural environment or condition. But those goods constitute only a small fraction of all traded goods. Smith gives another possibility for less productive countries to have an absolute  advantage. He states that poor countries might be able to compete in the agricultural sector with rich, more productiv e countries. Smith’s reaches this conclusion by state that the division of labor does not equally increase in all sectors of production and that wage levels differ internationally. Another issue in absolute advantage theory is how the trading between developed countries that have an equally high level of development using absolute advantage theory. Unlike the theory of comparative advantage, which is complemented by intra-industry trade theory, Adam Smith’s absolute advantage theory can also help to understand trade between developed countries. Firms in developed countries produce similar industrial products and compete over profits and market shares. Trade and success is determined by absolute production advantages which means that ‘art and skill’ (technology and education of the workers) play a significant role. Since this competition exists domestically there is no reason why this kind of competition should not exist internationally; especially because Adam Smith’s theory does not have a basic difference between domestic and international trade. An additional gain is technology transfer or international learning. Developed countries benefit from it to a greater extent than underdeveloped countries since they are able to make use of technological developments. This can explain, for example, why the technological level of Europe and North America has converged in fifty year. As a result, a rich country benefits more from trade with another rich country than from trade with an underdeveloped country. Discussion: Adam Smith’s Absolute Advantage Theory To illustrate the theory of absolute advantage, presume that there are two countries (China and Germany), producing just two products (rice and cars). Assume that products are tradable without workers and costs are not moving between the two countries, but moving between the two sectors within a country. All workers are equally productive and as the only input in a country. Production technology in China differs from that in Germany (see table below). Suppose that to produce 1 unit of rice, Germany requires 3 units of labor meanwhile China requires only 2 units of labor. Similarly, to produce 1 car, Germany needs 6 units of labor while China needs 8 units of labor. As the result, China is more efficient in the rice production and Germany is more efficient in the cars production. Therefore, China has an absolute advantage in the rice production and Germany has an absolute advantage in the cars production. To illustrate that specialization of production, coupled with international trade flows according to the theory (absolute advantage), can be profitable. In our example, presume that China produces less 1 unit of car yet this save up 8 units of labor so, now the labors can be used to produce 8/2=4 units of rice (opportunity cost of car production in the China). China has now produced extra 4 units of rice although produced less 1 car. Suppose that China must import 1 car from Germany if China wants to consume the same amount of car s like before. Germany needs 6 units of labor to produce this car. Thus, rice production drops by 6/3=2 units of rice (opportunity costs of car production in Germany) as these laborers must bring in from the rice sector. Now note that the total production of rice has increased by 2 units (4 units more in China and 2 units less in Germany), while the total production of cars remain unchanged (1 car less in China and 1 car more in Germany). In conclusion, these extra units of rice show the potential gains from specialization if China and Germany focused on the production of the product which they can produce most efficiently. Both countries can gain benefit from the theory, when they exchange 3 units of rice for 1 car. Argument: Is theory of absolute advantage best describes international trade? Absolute advantage refers to a country’s ability to produce a certain good more efficiently than another country and it has three main arguments. First, it argues that regulations favoring one industry draw away real resources from another industry where they might have been more advantageously employed. Second, it mentions the important of specialization in a society. When someone has some advantages in produce or provides a good or services, he or she needs to specialize in the production. Third, specialization needs to be practice in international commercial policy and nations. It is better when a country is allows to focus on production of goods that it has absolute advantages and then import goods that other countries have absolute advantage. Theory of absolute advantage provides a clear and simple view on international trade and helps country decide what to produces, import and also export but it has some drawback since it fails to explain why free trade can be advantages when one country has absolute advantage in producing all the goods. How would a country without having any absolute advantage in producing any good, join and gain from free trade with other countries. How will this country pay for its imports because it will produce nothing that is cheaper to produce as compared with other countries? This theory ignored to explain how differences in climatic conditions and natural resource can contribute to comparative advantages. Some country has no absolute advantage in all good cause by limited resources and technology may excluded in international trade market and consequently, it will lead to conflict in allocate resources in that particular country and insufficient in production. Theory of absolute advantage focuses on which country can product good by using lesser resources. If there is no trade between countries, then the prices of good will indicates by its resources cost in each country. The difference in prices with no trade will reach an equivalent price with each good being exported from the initially low-price country and imported by the initially high-price country. Smiths approach does not indicate what would happen if the same country had absolute advantage in both products. The theory of comparative advantage introduces by David Ricardo has solve this problem as it do not considers cost in production but opportunity cost. A country will trade in the pattern that maximizes its advantage. Next, absolute advantage fails to illustrate the real situation in international market because of some assumption. First, it does not take transportation costs involved in selling the product into account. For instance, if product is exchanging between China and German, the transportation cost may cause the price even higher than the original price without trade because of long distance. Besides, Adam Smith assumes that exchange rates are stable which the case is seldom and hence it is a limitation. Furthermore, it also assumes that labor can switch between products easily and they will work with same efficiency which in reality cannot happen. In conclusion, we do not think that theory of absolute advantage by Adam Smith best describe international trade in today world. This is because it fails to explain the condition of country that does not have any absolute advantage. In addition, assumptions that not fit to reality like ignore transportation cost, use stable exchange rates and assume same efficiency between labors causes it is not accurate. Recommendation A country with absolute advantage can produce a good at lower marginal cost (fewer materials, cheaper materials, in less time etc.) This means that, the country should implement specialization in the production of such goods. Specialization of good can be made by Research and Development which leads to improvement of existing products or procedures. For example, to increase the Agricultural productivity Scientist such as Biologist and Chemists will need to develop technologies which may eventually lead to more production. For example, if a country has an absolute advantage on producing wheat, farmers of that country has to balance the environmental concerns to meet the need in a sustainable way. In overall, Research and Development helps the countries with absolute advantage to specialize and maximize the productivity. This benefits the countrys economics state. Next, a country in absolute advantage should carry out trade. This is because a country can produce goods more than its need. Therefore they should trade the goods with other countries. The trade can be goods for goods or goods for money. When the country is carrying out goods for goods trade it can acquire goods which it cant produce in its country and vice versa. On the other hand, goods for money trade allow the country to strengthen its economic state and grow further. Conclusion In a nutshell, absolute advantage creates many benefits for a country. However, there are certain limitations to this theory that a country will have to face. Firstly, it does not consider the transportation cost of moving the products from one country to the other. This is because, transportation cost are counted in final selling price of the product. As transportation cost is also a factor in production price sometimes trading can be a loss to a country. Next, the theory also assumes that exchange rates are stable which in reality it is seldom. In the current economic world exchange rates changes rapidly. This can cause major loss to some country if they trade in a wrong time. This is because exchange rates play a major role in trade market. The next limitations are, labors also cannot switch between products and they won’t be able to work with same efficiency. Some labors will only have a few working skills and training which cannot be used to produce variety of goods. So, even though absolute advantage gives many benefits to a country but it also have some negative sides which a country will have to encounter and tackle it effectively.

What is the strategic of human resource management in boots?

What is the strategic of human resource management in boots? WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BOOTS (WATERLOO)? WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) It is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of and providing direction for the people who work in the organization is called Human Resource Management (HRM). Line managers also can perform human resource management. Administration and training, employee motivation, benefits, communication, wellness, organizational development, safety, performance management, hiring, compensation, these all issues are related to people and dealt by organizational function named human resource management (HRM). William R. Tracy, in the Human Resource Glossary defines human resource management as: ‘‘the people that staff and operate an organization.as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an organization. The organizational function that deals with the people. HR POLICY Every members of an organization must follows a format statement of a principle or rule, is called policy. And how to carry out or implement a policy by the members is called procedure. There are differences between policy and procedure. Policies are written statements or rules and procedures are written instructions. Source: How to identify your organization training needs By John Mc Connel ‘2004 (page 15-50) An organization establishes a system of codified decision which is HR policies. Performance management, employee relations, administrative functions, resource planning are supported by the HR policies. Acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, nature of an organization, procedure of work in the organization, etc are explained and described by HR policies. Management is making decisions about people and then the policies act as the reference points. Source: A handbook of Human Resource practice, 9th Edition By Michael Armstrong, 2003. (Page 15) LITTERATURE REVIEW WHAT IS STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (SHRM) There are some branches of human resource management (HRM) and strategic human resource management is one of the branches. Among the present discipline of HRM it is a new branch. People-centred values of HR and corporate strategies are belonged to that SHRM territory. Source: Int. J. of Human Resource Management 16:5 May 2005 633-659 By Trichy, Fombrun andDevanna (1982), Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna (1984),Miles and Snow (1984),Walton (1985), Schuler and Jackson (1987a,b), Delery and Shaw (2001),Wright et al. (2001). The SHRM can also be defined in different way. In order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture, competitive advantage, human resource and strategic goals are very important. SHRM of an organization means to take all the decisions according to the strategic view and implement the decisions through recruiting, selecting, training and rewarding. Source: Int. J. Of Human Resource Management (page 633-659) How SHRM differs from HRM HR functions were having increasing awareness for softer people-centred values and hard world of real business in the last two decades. So that to understand how the business is running day to day the HR policies are acting very closely. For those reason standard practices of traditional management of people is preferred less than the strategic management of people by many writers in the late 1980s. Long-term objectives with human resource programmes are focused on by the strategic human resource management (SHRM). In the long run people management programmes are affected by focusing on addressing and solving problems, instead of focusing on internal human resource issues. By giving more priority on business obstacles of outside the human resources we can increase employee productivity if we implement the primary goal of strategic human resources. To improve the employee productivity, performance and motivation for the long run the strategic human resource managers need to identify the HR areas where strategies can be implemented primarily. For that human resource management and the top management of a company always need to communicate to be the best strategic human resource management (SHRM). Wright and Mc Mahan defined strategic human resource management (SHRM) as ‘‘the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals (1992: 298). Delery and Shaw (2001) think that there are two main differences. By following the SHRM policies now a day the business the businesses are performing highly and this is the reason for the employees becoming the source of sustainable competitive advantage (Lawler, 1992, 1996; Levin, 1995; Pfeiffer, 1998). Source: Academy of Management Journal 2005, Vol.48, no.1, 135-145 KEY FEATURE OF STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Between organizational strategic aims the environment and HR policy and practices there is a very important relation. There are some specific areas where strategic human resource management can be focused: Human resource accounting, which attempts to assign value to human resources in an effort to quantify this organizational capacity (Flamholtz, 1971; Frantzreib, Lanau, Lundberg, 1977), Human resource planning (Baird, Meshoulam, Degive, 1983; Galosy, 1983; Olian Rynes, 1984; Russ,1982; Stumpf Hanrahan, 1984), Response to a strategic change in the environment (Ellis, 1982) Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Strategic-Human-Resource-Management?id=549585 Hoofer Schendel (1978) said, ‘‘competitive advantage encompasses those capabilities, resources, relationships and decisions that permit a firm to capitalize on opportunities and avoid threats within its industry. But Porter (1985) did not agreed with them, he said, ‘‘by lowering costs, by increasing sources of products a firm can achieved competitive advantage with the help of human resource management. And to achieve the competitive advantage, human resource has to do some activities. And those activities are called strategic human resource management (SHRM). THE GOALS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHRM RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES Using the word ‘‘strategic is very important and different thing for the researchers. Training programmes, selection methods, etc are elaborated in some researches how human resource practices and affect in organizations performance. International competition became tough for the pressure of human resource and other corporate staffing in 1980s (Dyer Reeves, 1995). So that organizational activities got much more importance for total quality management (TQM) and reengineering. And all these happened only for implementation of strategic human resource management (SHRM). SHRM always try to discuss about interlinked HR policies than the single HR policies or practices. Measuring the performance of human resource management (HRM) with the traditional approach, we can achieve only costs and benefits of a single functional area. And adopting the strategic approach of human resource management (HRM) we can get more than about costs and benefits of a single functional area (e.g. Koch McGrath, 1996). Thats why the managers use the SHRM process and use some different human resource practices. Again the term ‘‘strategic in SHRM tries to see how the companies are affected by using human resource management. Source: http://cba.uah.edu/chadwick/Alternatives%20to%20Generic%20Typologies%20Chadwick%20Cappelli.pdf STRATEGIC HRM IN MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES When any company becomes international for expanding their business, they also become very important in the global market. And they play important role in the global market as well. Day by day the strategic human resource management is becoming more recognized and getting more priority in the business environment. And slowly failure and success in international business (Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998: Schuler. et al., 2002) are explored in between human resource management a strategic human resource management for the multinational companies. It got emphasise on growth of research on strategic human resource management and the rate of getting attention of researchers becoming higher (Schuler, 2000; Evans et al, 2002). Besides these we need to know about international human resource management (IHRM). If we know about IHRM and SHRM then easily we can distinguish between them. Tailor et al (1996), Schuler et al. (1993) Lado and Wilson (1994) said between IHRM and HRM of a multinational company have some differences. Functions and process, attracting, maintaining, developing all these are the set of a multinational companys HRM system. Source: International Human Resource ManagementA critical Text. By Hugh Schullion Maryaret Linehan (page 22-23) THE IMPACT ON STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ON ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS Any organizations success depends on how much efforts have been given for the organization. So it is important how the company is taking actions on their mission. Source: http://www2.enap.gov.br/mesa_redonda/downloads/daley_vasu.mpsa02_PPM.pdf CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS In this proposal we had some approaches, like contingency, configurationally and contextual. If we can make a balance among the approaches and how and what they contributed and had limitations, and overlook the minor differences then we can come to the bottom line. In the depth of strategic human resource management the universalistic framework is laid. Through the strategic human resource management is already tested and trusted in many organizations and became successful except some limitations. For understanding SHRM deeply researchers are using more sophisticated techniques for going to the deep sea level depth of SHRM. But its not that this proposal can consider how HRM is structured. The function, defining the main elements and how they are organized are analysed by the SHRM. So that the researchers will get encourage to practice SHRM in the business as like as Cluster analysis. And then we can see there is a barrier between contextual variables of this proposal is not just a c ontingency factor and we can consider that for that reason how the management system can influence their environments. So that the researchers who are following contextual adapted are inductive logic. And all these complement the deductive and mainly quantitative focus of the previous streams. Source: Int. J. of Human Resource Management 16:5 May 2005 633-659 ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS Alliance Boots is the worlds largest pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer. Boots The Chemist UK retail business is the most trusted brand on the high street. It is undergoing major growth that will see 2,300 stores by the end of 2009. The Boot family began trading in 1849, selling herbal remedies from a small store in Goose Gate, Nottingham. The first overseas store also opened in New Zealand in 1936.More recent decades have seen the introduction of brands such as 17 cosmetics and new business ventures such as Boots Opticians. Today, Boots is the UKs leading health and beauty retailer, with the largest share of the OTC market, and it also sells Boots brand products through an international business, which currently operates in 14 countries. Source: http://www.gomadthinking.com/business/managing_change a) What are the products/services are offered There are a lots of products/services are offered by Boots. We can divide them into: Pharmacy, Opticians, Insurance, Photo processing, Quick shop, Beauty, Fragrance, Mother baby, Everyday essentials, Electrical, Toys, etc. Pharmacy: In pharmacy there are different types of services. Such as cervical cancer vaccination service, weight loss programme, Chlamydia screening service, erectile dysfunction service, medical check-up service, midnight pharmacy, Boots health insurance, etc. Insurance: In insurance there are also different services like travel insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, child trust fund, etc. Photo processing : In processing there are also some services like photo prints, photo books, calendars diaries, cards stationery, wall decor, home gifts, fun stuff, gifts for the kids, etc. Beauty: Premium beauty, the beauty boutique, make up, skin care, body care, sun care, hair, etc. b) In which international markets are they offered Today, Boots is the UKs leading health and beauty retailer, which currently operates in 14 countries. We can divide the continents into four parts. Thailand from Asia, USA Canada from north America, Kuwait UAE from middle east, Norway, Romania, Russia from Europe Source: http://www.gomadthinking.com/business/managing_change QUESTIONARY 1) Question to the Store manager (Waterloo St): In which purposes Human Resource strategic plans serve? Answer: Approximately half of the organizations we talked to have developed separate Human Resources strategic plans. These plans generally serve one of two purposes. Either they provide direction for those agencies that have not integrated HRM into the organizations strategic plan, or they are used as implementation plans which support organization wide HRM goals, strategies, and measures. These plans are particularly important to those organizations that do not integrate HRM into the organizations wide plan because it helps them map out where they want the HR program to go. They seem less important to many of the organizations that have thoroughly integrated HRM into the organizations plan. For example, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has not developed a specific HR strategic plan because HRs goals and measures are part of the organization wide approach. Then, there are some organizations that integrate HR extensively into the organizations plan, but still prefer to have a separate HR operational plan supporting the organizations wide plan, as is often done by other corporate functions such as information technology and financial management. 2) Question to the Store manager (Waterloo St): What are HRs contributions toward mission accomplishment? Answer: HRs most valued contributions are the areas need the most improvement: recruitment and staffing, employee development, and employee relations. It would be extremely difficult to get the jobs done without the help of HR provides. 3) Question to the Team manager (Waterloo St): What is important to increasing organizations overall ability to achieve their missions? Answer: In this time of budget cuts, downsizing, and an aging Federal workforce, workforce planning becomes extremely important to increasing organizations overall ability to achieve their missions. Although few organizations have strong workforce planning systems in place, some are beginning to take steps in this direction. 4) Question to the Team manager (Waterloo St): Which information can make the improvements to solve the problems? Answer: HR staffs find that measures from HR strategic plans tend to be more useful than those in the organizations strategic or annual plans, at least at the functional level. HR strategic plan measures tend to focus on internal HR programs, policies, and processes, and can therefore point to deficiencies in these areas. HR officials can then use this information to make improvements to the problem areas. From an organizational perspective, however, the measures are generally not very helpful in determining achievement of HR goals because they are process rather than outcome oriented.

Individual vs. Society in Daisy Miller and Old Woman Magoun :: comparison compare contrast essays

Individual vs. Society in Daisy Miller and Old Woman Henry James’ "Daisy Miller, A Study" and Mary Wilkins Freeman’s "Old Woman Magoun" contain morally ambiguous conflicts between individuals and society. Both of these short stories are tales in which strong, individual women directly conflict with their respective destructive male societies, attempting to uphold innocence while flouting societal rules and expectations. Freeman and James both construct strong female individuals in different guises. Freeman’s Old Woman Magoun is old, wise, and practiced in the art cooking and child-rearing, embracing a traditional feminine role and drawing power from it. She practises this art because it is her right, and, passive-aggressively, she uses her cooking lore to kill Lily, removing innocence from the world. Quite on the other side of the spectrum we have James’ Daisy: young, innocent, practised only in the art of flirting, yet drawing her powerful independence from the practise of this non-traditional feminine art. She is allowed to practise her art, but only for a while. Daisy dies of an attack of Roman Fever contracted at the Colosseum; more symbolically, her innocence is lost from society when her character is crucified on a cross of social propriety. Men and men’s desires represent societal aims in both stories. Freeman’s men are Nelson Barry and Jim Willis, both are members of old, highly placed, "degenerate" (179) American families. Their goal is to steal Lily from Old Woman Magoun and force her into a traditional societal role to satisfy their own ends, no matter that this will destroy Lily’s innocence. Barry desires "to have that girl" (184) for financial comfort; Willis desires her for more traditional domestic comfort. James embodies society in Mr. Winterbourne, a socially accepted young American who has "lived too long in foreign parts" (492). Winterbourne desires for Daisy to enter into and conform with society to satisfy his own ends, as well. He desires mental and emotional comfort: to judge her "eccentricities" (486) innocent, and that she "would flirt with me, and me only" (482). Each individual’s conflict with society is resolved in different ways and in difficult lights. Magoun directly flouts society’s rules by committing infanticide, effectively removing purity from the destructive intents of male society. Yet her actions pose a question of morality to Freeman’s audience. Was Lily’s death justified? Meanwhile, the men are left comfortless and alone. Magoun, however, is also comfortless and alone, depriving herself of Lily’s innocence to save it.

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) in Australia Essay -- Media, Televis

The public service broadcasting can be seen as an agent to deliver information and innovative ideas in a democratic society. Syvertsen (1999) has mentioned three meanings of public service, firstly as the public function whereas government supply services such as roads, public transport, etc, secondly as the public sphere in which people of a society involve for common good purpose, lastly was the broadcasting in the service of listener or viewer. This essay attempts to argue the need of sustaining the Public Service Broadcasting especially in Australia. In Australia there are two public service broadcasting institutions: the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). ABC is modelled after the BBC and aims to provide information and entertainment services of general interest and traditional public service content on TV and radio; SBS aims to provide a more specialized service of multicultural and multilingual programming (reference). The SBS focused on fulfilling the media needs of Australia’s culturally diverse population. Both broadcasters are public corporations operating under Charters endorsed by Australia’s federal Parliament (reference,Mendel). The Charter particularly advises the ABC to produce its main component programming on educational broadcasts. The ABC also required to presents the multiculturalism of the Australian society; provide a sense of national identity and information as well as entertainment through promoting music, drama, and other performing arts in Australia (Mendel). Whilst, the Charter requires the SBS to produce multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate, and entertain Australian people, and at the same time re... ...tricted by channel capacity and it can provide diverse audiences at once. Moreover, with the online internet anyone can gather all information they need as well as the social networking in ways that people can interact in real time even from the distance and lay bare to a new perspective of democracy. From that standpoint, the young generation will even consider the difficulty public service broadcasters will face. In conclusion, public service broadcasting is seen as form of governance rather than individual form of media institution. Indeed, the challenge for the State funded broadcasting is the emerged of the cultural diversity and the complex development between citizen and national public interest. In order to assert he public value, relevancy as well as public resources then the public service organization should managed it effectively.

The Union Reconstructed

1. Explain how blacks responded to their former masters after the Civil War had ended. After the Civil War had ended, blacks responded to their former masters in two different ways. They would either return to their former masters for work and every time they would leave the plantation they would go farther claiming they didn’t want to stay on the plantation forever. This caused them to continue to have communication with their former masters and never completely became independent. The second response was they would chose to become entirely independent to their masters. They would seek work in the city and began their new free lives. Often times they all struggled but they were now free. 2. Compare the economic conditions of the South with the economic conditions of the North during the period of Reconstruction. The economic conditions of the South compared to the North during the period of Reconstruction varied quite heavily. The South was limited in many ways after the war and had little to expand and prosper where as the North had everything from political power to trade. They made it so the South could not have much political power which in turn affected them economically. These limitations came from the fear of a repeated war due to the fact that there was still much conflict occurring within the country because of matters of freed slaves and other things. 3. Discuss how southern whites reacted to the emancipation of blacks during the period of Reconstruction. After the emancipation of blacks during the period of Reconstruction, southern whites had responses of both fear and anger. They could not imagine their world without slaves in bondage, often they felt it a hassle doing chores they normally didn’t do. This lead to the feelings of anger, due to their dependency on the slave labor they were now confused and society needed to adapt in order to function once again. In some cases though the slaves had become a part of the home and the white people would miss them as a family member, often times distraught. Aside from these things, a majority of whites began to be fearful of legal intermarriage, dreading the fact that the pure white race would be destroyed. 4. Discuss President Johnson’s plan for reconstruction and Congress’s response to that plan. President Johnson’s plan for reconstruction was simply to pardon and restore all the rights of property to any former Confederate who swore allegiance to the Constitution and the Union. With this he believed he had successfully reconstructed the south and did not do much more. With this they looked to ratify the thirteenth amendment to abolish slavery. With this plan all southern states completed the Reconstruction plan and then sent representatives to the Congress that occurred in December 1865. Congress refused to seat these new senators and a large controversy out broke. 5. Describe the general attitude of the Union soldiers stationed in the South during Reconstruction toward blacks. Support your answer by citing specific incidents that occurred during that period. The attitude of the Union soldiers stationed in the South during Reconstruction towards the blacks was quite in different. They just worked to keep them in control and try to transition them from slavery to freedom. In many cases they would treat them as inferior but as well never got as bad as their former masters. They were just making attempts to help the society function. Whether they were successful is a different story. But they tried and eventually had the communities put together like a white community. 6. Discuss Congress’s plan for reconstruction and explain what Congress hoped to achieve as a result of that plan. Congress’s plan for reconstruction mainly revolved around completely freeing the black communities. They created the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to protect the black community and restricted the power of the executive branch. They were making decision that would benefit them in the long run. They would gain the black vote and be capable of gaining more power. So they limited the power of the former Confederates and attempted to have everything in their favor. 7. Discuss the economic conditions of poor blacks and poor whites during the period of Reconstruction. The economic conditions of poor blacks as well as whites differed. They both struggled financially due to crop shortages and other such things. However the blacks also were being aided by the Bureau of Freedom. They northern financed organization was created in order to help newly freed blacks to get on their feet. They helped them financially and helped with education. However they also in a sense forced blacks to accept low paying jobs when they didn’t want to. Even with this though they helped to get the blacks going in society. 8. Was the Republican administration that controlled the southern state governments during the period of Reconstruction a success or failure? The Republican administration that controlled the southern state governments during the period of Reconstruction was more of a success than it was a failure. They were able to stabilize the south in this time. They eliminated undemocratic features from prewar state constitutions as well as provided a universal male suffrage. They even loosened the requirements for holding office. They reconstructed the South financially and physically by overhauling tax systems and approving generous railroad and other capital investment bonds. With these accomplishments as well they set up a public school system in the south and stabilized it quite well. 9. Discuss the methods by which conservative white Democrats regained control of the southern state governments at the end of Reconstruction. The methods by which conservative white Democrats regained control of the southern state governments were very passive. They came in when the Republican Party had already begun to fail and economic problems began to surface. The Democrats began to discuss the new Grant scandals, unemployment and public works projects. To add to that they also discussed the currency and tariffs in order to show important issues. Discussion of these matters showed an interest in the country whether it was there or not and allowed the Democrats to win the popular vote.

Motorcycle Helmet Usage

The use of helmets in the United States is a highly controversial topic. The government has enacted and then repealed laws intended to uphold state helmet laws twice. Currently, regulation laws vary state to state. Twenty states have comprehensive helmet laws. Seven states require riders under the age of twenty to wear a helmet, while 19 states require riders under the age of eighteen to wear one. Only three states, Colorado, Illinois, and Iowa, have no helmet regulation whatsoever. Motorcyclists protest their personal freedom, while others complain about the tax burden and higher insurance rates.Motorcycles account for less than 2% of all registered vehicles in the United States and 0.4% of all vehicle miles traveled. Unfortunately, riders account for more than 9% of all traffic deaths. Over the past ten years motorcycle related deaths have increased by about 89%.The motorcycle is both the most fuel efficient and the most hazardous highway vehicle there is. More than 2,500 motorcycl e riders die in the United States each year, and over 60,000 are injured as a result of an accident. In general, riders and non riders seem to agree that it is obvious that a helmet can reduce the chance of brain injury and death.However, some believe helmets are more likely to cause an accident in the first place. Helmets limit hearing and peripheral vision capabilities which make it difficult for riders to be fully aware of what’s going on around them. The weight of the helmet, combined with hot weather can cause a sense of claustrophobia resulting in anxiety and dizziness. It is likely in these types of situations there is an increase in the chance of an accident. It is also possible to become paralyzed because of a helmet during a crash, under the right circumstances. This leaves some riders to believe there are similar risks whether they wear a helmet or not and they should be able to choose between to two.Some riders simply feel that helmets are uncomfortable and bulky, and it should be their own decision whether or not they want to wear one. And to others, they perceive the use of a helmet as â€Å"uncool†, which is enough justification for them.Contrary to some beliefs, a study by the National Public Services Research Institute concluded that the use of a motorcycle helmet does not interfere with the driver’s capability to hear or see what is going on around them.  Data collected by the National Highway Traffic Administration regarding motorcycle accidents in states where there is only a helmet law for minors indicates this type of helmet law is more difficult to enforce. The data showed that less that 40% of minors killed in crashes were wearing helmets, even though it was required by law.When a catastrophic accident has occurred, the financial burden is usually placed upon private insurers or the state. So in a state where there are multiple head injuries due to motorcycle accidents which require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation, tax payers and others who carry insurance are financially affected. As a result, a number of people do support enforcing the helmet regulation laws since they feel directly impacted.The Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) conducted an analysis of three states with the universal helmet laws and three states without. The inpatient charges for brain injury were double the cost in the states without the universal helmet laws. Numerous studies have concluded that motorcycle crash victims who were not wearing helmets are less likely to have insurance than crash victims who were wearing helmets.Others are less concerned with the financial burden, and more concerned with the psychological impact of witnessing a gruesome disaster, or having a friend or family member die in such a manner. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA) head injury is the number one cause of death in motorcycle accidents. A survey conducted in 1998 concluded t hat 46% of fatally injured motorcyclists were not wearing helmets. The NHTSA estimates that helmets diminish the possibility of death by 29% in a crash. In 1989, six states enacted a law requiring the use of helmets. All six have seen a reduction in deaths from motorcycle accidents since then.In 1980, motorcycle rider fatalities reached a record high of 5,144. By 1990 the numbers had decreased to 3,244. For the year of 1997 there were only 2,116, an all time low.  Other research indicates that helmet laws significantly decreases fatality rates, saves taxpayer’s money, decreases money lost due to missed work, and reduces the severity of head injuries. A study carried out in California showed that during the first four years after the elimination of the federal sanctions, motorcycle deaths increased by 61% while motorcycle registration increased only by 15%.In Hawaii, research conducted by the Department of Transportation showed that motorcyclists are three times more probabl e to suffer a traumatic brain injury as a result of a motorcycle crash.  The accuracy of statistical information is questionable. It has shown to be difficult to retrieve financial and medical information due to privacy rights and a lack of data. More information has been successfully collected from surviving crash victims than ones who did not survive. There may also be other contributing factors to these accidents besides the fact they weren’t wearing helmets. Different weather and the length of the riding season can have a significant impact on the varying statistics.Other alternatives to reducing the number of fatalities have been suggested. Riders tend to be more supportive of raising safety awareness and mandating education before obtaining a license, since it is common for motorcyclists to learn to ride without any type of education.  In Japan, the new motorcycle riders may start off with the smallest sized motorcycle, and after a set amount of time they are allowe d to graduate to a larger motorcycle. If similar regulations were mandated in the United Sates, the number of fatalities could decrease without helmet laws.Some place the blame on inattentive automobile drivers. It is common to see automobile drivers talking on their cell phone, eating, drinking, etc. Distracted drivers are less likely to use blinkers and potentially more likely to hit a motorcyclist they did not notice previously. An emphasis on defensive driving because of these types of disasters in driver education could help promote safety and reduce motorcycle-related injuries.Small incentives could help promote the use of motorcycle helmets, rather than a mandatory law. For example, a reduction in the cost of motorcycle insurance for wearing a helmet might be beneficial. Some motorcycle stores have been known to give away free helmets, or offer to install free two-way communicators in them in hopes to encourage the use of helmets.While the majority of the public seems to supp ort a mandatory helmet law, the majority of actual motorcycle riders support freedom of choice. There are good arguments supporting both sides. This is a highly debatable topic similar to one’s right to risk dying of lung cancer because they choose to smoke. It is highly unlikely a compromise will be made that is deemed reasonable by both sides.Works CitedDepartment of Motor Vehicles. Helmets: A Matter of Choice? 5 December 2006   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.dmv.org/how-to-guides/motorcycle-chouces.phpSMS Research & Marketing Services, Inc. March 2004. Motorcycle Helmets   Ã‚   Integration Report. 5 December 2006.    http://www.hawaii.gov/dot/publicaffairs/safecommunities/reports/motorcyclehelm  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ets/motorcycle-intergration.pdfSMS Research & Marketing Services, Inc. January 2004. Executive Highlights. 6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   December 2006.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.hawaii.gov/dot/publicaffair s/safecommunities/reports/motorcyclehelm  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ets/motorcycle-focusgroups.pdf