Five-Year Career Development Paper Essay Example for Free

Five-Year Career Development Paper Essay Every year millions of college students worldwide graduate from college in hopes of obtaining a position in their career field of choice; however a lot of these students do not have a plan of action to actually help them find their career and achieve their goals. So much emphasis is put on college graduates going out and finding a job, but little focus is put on helping them find a career. A five year career plan is a road map that allows for progress tracking, and development of solutions or alternate courses of action (Crump, 2009). From personal experience I have realized that the chances of achieving my personal and career goals are increased of I actually write them out as a plan. In this paper I will discuss my career goals and objectives, my current knowledge and skills that I currently possess in my future career, the steps that I will take in order to meet my career goals, and any possible barriers that may present themselves in the path to me completing these goals. Currently I am a front desk clerk and personal trainer at Fitness Systems, a privately owned fitness center in South Sacramento. Since it is a small business and only consists of five employees, chances of promoting within the business are small. However I have used my experience from working the front counter and interacting with members of the gym, to help promote my presence of being a trainer. Also, working at Fitness Systems has allowed me to observe the procedures and responsibilities that it takes to run a successful business. Statistics show that most small businesses will fail in between 1-3 years from the initial startup time; therefore I am trying to absorb as much information as possible so that I dont fall into the same category. In order to manage a successful career it is important to develop an exceptional method of thinking strategically and exceptional execution skills. Building upon my skills in these areas will help me to achieve my long term goals. In all organizations, it is important that management sets goals for employees in accordance with the goals of the organization. When I open my fitness center, one of the main things that I want to stress among my employees (trainers), is strong communication skills. If management and staff arent on the same page, there will be an abundance of errors within  the organization. If certain skills are lacking within employees, it is the responsibility of management to identify these weaknesses and find a resolution such as training, to solve the issues. As a way to help kick start my five year career development plan, I have put together a list of some of my short term and long term career goals. My short term goals include improving upon my current skills as a personal trainer and gain experience in specific areas such as nutrition, so that I will be prepared to take on the role of being the owner of my own Personal Training Company. My personal short term goals include the following: increasing my knowledge in anatomy, improve upon my ability to map out an effective workout plan for clients, improve upon my communication skills, obtain my business degree in management, network with other local personal trainers, and gain more hands on personal training experience by recruiting more clients. My personal long term career goal is open a private fitness center that enables clients and their trainers to schedule one on one sessions in the center without having to worry about the crowds that usually plague commercial fitness centers. This goal will be achieved by the summer of 2012. My plan is to continue being a part time trainer for now, graduate with my BS in Business Management, enter and complete the MBA marketing program at the University of Phoenix, and then work on opening up my fitness center. Owning a successful business requires that you build strong relationships with your clients/customers, their families, and the surrounding communities. Maintaining a positive stance and reputation in the community that you serve, determines if youre company will be successful. In order to promote myself within the community, I have created business cards that describe the service that I provide and my contact information. I have also spoken to the founder and CEO (Plashette Robinson), of a local journal called the Sacramento Cultural Hub. Sacramento Cultural Hub is a Sacramento based journal that spotlights small businesses owned by minorities in Northern California. Ms. Robinson has agreed to post a small feature about  me in her journal. This feature will include a photo of me, current attributions to the community, my educational background, my career field of choice, and my opinion on different health/fitness related issues that are plaguing our society and communities. I feel that Sacramento Cultural Hub, along with my personal efforts, will help give me the exposure that I need to earn a good reputation within the community. As I mentioned earlier in this writing, actually mapping out a plan will help increase the chances of all objectives and goals being met. Below is a chart that displays my Five-Year Career Development plan on a year-to-year basis. Intermediate Steps Over the Next Five Years to Reach My GoalFor MeFor my supervisor/others who will support meYear OneFocus on school and earn my degree in Business Management by March 2010.Feedback from my peers and professors. Year TwoComplete the MBA Marketing program at UOP. Attend courses for first time business owners and begin looking for high traffic locations for my Fitness Center. Network with various promotional outlets.Feedback from my peers and professors. Seek advice from the owner of Fitness Systems in regards to opening a small business. Year ThreeActively recruit certified Personal Trainers in the Sacramento area. Open the Fitness Center in the summer of 2012. Network with other small business owners. Setup commercials spots with Sacramento area radio stations.Network with friends and family in order to assist me with finding local certified Personal Trainers. Year FourContinue to actively recruit Personal Trainers. Continue promotion via radio and other outlets. N/AYear FiveConsider possible methods of expanding services beyond Sacramento. N/A*Five-Year Career Plan Chart template retrieved from: mpiweb.orgRegardless of how well thought out a plan may be, there is always some kind of temporary barrier that may be encountered. In relation to my career plan, two potential barriers that I predict may take place are time management issues between my professional and personal life and a further downturn in our nations economy. Both of these issues can definitely cause a change in the objectives and goals for my business. However, the matter of time management can easily be tweaked if any issues shall arise and any issues in relation to the economy will have to be solved on a day to day basis. Both of the barriers mentioned above are vital, but they are issues that all small business ownerss struggle and deal with. In conclusion, I have shared my five-year career development plan. This plan will help assist me in achieving my career goals and at the same time help me in meeting some of my personal goals as well. Creating a development plan will assist in maximizing the potentials of an individual in the workplace. A career development plan not only helps to keep me motivated and focused; it also helps in providing the confident feeling that will in turn help me take charge of my career. References Crump, Jocelyn. (2009). Five-Year Career Plan. Retrieved July 30, 2009 from: http://www.stc.org/confproceed/1994/PDFs/PG163164.PDFFive-Year Career Plan Template. (2009) Retrieved August 1, 2009 from:http://www.mpiweb.org/CMS/uploadedFiles/Career_Development/Five-Year%20Plan.doc

Problems facing the Triumph underwear company

Problems facing the Triumph underwear company Triumph is an international manufacturer of underwear. It was launched in Germany since 1886 and now it has expanded its business in 120 countries around the world include Malaysia. Triumph has introduced seven series of underwear which are maximize, modern shapes, t-shirt bra, Eco chic, premium collection, miss Triumph and Triaction. Today, women purchase bra not only because they need it, but is to explore their sensuality. It is all about color, fashion and image. The foundation of an outfit and makes a big difference in how a women looks. In order to increase the sales of Triumph and compete against competitor, a better understanding of consumers needs and wants and their satisfaction level about Triumph bra. Problem definition is defining and developing a decision statement and the steps that involved in translating it into more precise research terminology which include a set of research objectives. Triumph mission is to become the market leader in the industry which stated as We Are In To Win. In order to achieve high profitability, Triumph engaged in better understanding of consumers needs and wishes. Besides Triumph, there was many more variety type of brands which serve the same customers such as La Senza, XiXili, Wacoal, etc. So, the problem concerned by Triumph is What the management can do in order to increase the market share? They constantly carry out some research and introduce new design of bra which aims to exceed consumer expectations with variety design, more desirable, higher quality, and best fit products. Price range of Triumph bra can be the crucial factor that will influence consumer buying behavior. In this research project, we stated out the problem which should be concerned by Triumph should the price of the bra be changed? As we know, some of the users are more concerned on the quality level of Triumph instead of price. Thus, we conduct this project to find out the main concern of Triumphs user. The features of Triumph bra provided will directly link to customer satisfaction level. It can transform a customer either to become a loyalty customer or dissatisfied customers. Therefore, it is important to let Triumph understanding What is the satisfaction of consumers about the Triumph bra? Objective and Hypothesis The questionnaire we designed was mainly concern about the identification of satisfaction level of consumers toward Triumph bra and understanding the significant of price, quality, and other features of Triumph. The research objective is the main goal to be achieved by conducting research projects, the main objectives: In order to understand the various needs of consumers. To determine the satisfaction of consumers about Triumph bra. To determine the reason of consumers purchase the Triumph bra. To study the improvement of 4Ps needed to make to increase market share. To determine the potential improvement for Triumph bra. The questionnaire consists of ten questions which correspond with the objectives and hypotheses set to obtain the results expected. Hypothesis is the formal assumption statements which explain desirable outcome. The hypotheses of this research project are: The awareness of Triumph is high among the respondents. The comfortable of Triumph bra is the main concern for respondents. The customers are satisfied with the quality of Triumph bras. The customers are satisfied with the features and design of Triumph bras. The customers are not satisfied with the price of Triumph bras. Research Design In our research project, we choose to use exploratory and descriptive research methods to obtain the information needed to structure and respond to the problem definition. It will be conducted among students, office ladies and housewives where their age range start from below 20 years old, 21 to 30 years old and 31 to 40 years old. 1. Exploratory Research We decided to use exploratory research as our beginning stages to conduct our research project. The reason to conduct this research is because we do not have the prior knowledge about the problem situation of Triumph. It can help us to explore the nature of problem of Triumph and gain insight of solving the problem. Through the exploratory research, we can formulate and define the problem more precisely. Thus, it also helps us to gain the information about the purchase and consumption behavior of Triumph users. 2. Descriptive Research We use descriptive research to gain insight of the target market characteristic. First, we would want to know the respondent background such as their age and occupation. Second, we want to identify the consumers buying behavior and their consumption pattern toward Triumph bra. Third, we would want to figure out the awareness of Triumph bra. Thus, we had distributed the survey questionnaire to 100 respondents from various urban areas which include Wangsa Maju, Genting Klang and Sri Rampai. Survey Questionnaire Our questionnaire consists of 10 questions. For question 1 and 2, we will use ratio scale to classify the respondents frequency and money spends on purchasing a bra. From question 3 to 6, we will use the interval scale to identify the possible competitors brands, awareness of Triumph bra, the sources of respondents get to know about Triumph and the location of selling Triumph. Whereas, from question 7 to 9, we will use ordinal scale to indicate the relative extent of satisfaction, preferences and the concern factors of Triumph users. Lastly, question 10, we use nominal scale to determine the possibility of improvement needed to carry out by Triumph. (Refer to appendix) Sampling A sampling frame is a representative of the element of the target population. Our research project was only targeted at women where it included students, office ladies and housewives. Sampling frame Screening questionnaire will be given to 100 samples of bra users. The survey will be conducted in the area of Wangsa Maju, Genting Klang and Sri Rampai. Before this, a pilot study will be conducted to pretest the questionnaire on 20 respondents. Cost The estimated cost will incurred on this research project are as follow: Printing RM40 Paper RM10 Transportation RM10 Timing This research project will be adhered as the following schedule: Submission of research proposal Week 3 (11 to 16 October) Approval of proposal Week 4 (18 to 22 October) Preliminary design of questionnaire Week 5 (25 to 29 October) Pre-test of Questionnaire Week 6 (1 to 5 November) Field survey, tabulation, analysis of data and report preparation Week 7 to 9 (8 to 26 November) Submission of Marketing Research Report Week 10 (29 to 3 December) Marketing Research Presentation Week 11 and 12 (6 to 17 December) Data Analysis 1) Frequency of purchase The data analysis did not support that frequency of purchasing bra per year is low. Based on the survey, 44% of respondents purchase bras less than six months, 40% purchase less than one year, 9% purchase one year and above and only 7% purchase less than three months. Therefore, most of the respondents purchase bra less than six months. Significant at p

The Human Resource Planning Of Asda Management Essay

The Human Resource Planning Of Asda Management Essay The human resource planning is a persistent process by which it looks to assurance flexible re-sourcing connected to internal and external environmental pressures. An effective Human Resource planning can facilitate those two companies anticipating possible usual problems. Forward planning will allow the two companies developing and implementing successful approaches in relation with: à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢Recruitment à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢Selection à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢Induction à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢Training à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢Retraining à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢Career progression à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢Development ASDA and Tesco both are the leading supermarket in UK. As I left ASDA and join in Tesco. Therefore I know the aim and objective of the both company. Both companies strategies are to ensure good customer service and increase the sales for business development. A good plan will help both companies following activity: ASDA: Evaluate future recruitment needed because ASDA needs staff that know the products that the company is selling and know how to put those products and make great offers in order to catch the customers attention and interest so they can buy them despite the actual economic situation Creating training programs for the employees as for example the store staff needs to have good communication skills, they need to put the products in the right place and always be updated Building up promotion and careers development to motivate the staff and offer them a better place to work so they can perform well. Avoid redundancy as it can have a bad effect on the other employees Evaluating future needed equipments, technology and premises. Controlling the staff wages and salaries while keeping the competitiveness of the salaries TESCO: Evaluate future recruitments needed as Tesco is increasingly expanding businesses and actually have more than 2482 Tesco Extra, superstores, Metro, Express etc. in more than 14 countries across the world. Creating training programs for the staff as the staff for example in the till needs to serve customer fast, also they need to have a good customer service. And they also have self-scanned tills for customer that make customer happier. Build up promotion and career development strategies which will benefit both the staff and the organization Avoid redundancy as this can affect the other workers they will be de-motivated and it will give a bad image to the organization Build a flexible workforce to meet up with the changing requirement and environment. Controlling the staff wages and salaries while in the mean times guaranteeing the competitiveness of the salaries Evaluating future necessities from equipments, knowledge, technology and premises. HRM MODEL USED IN BOTH COMPANIES: According to Truss et al. (1997) the development of human resource management from personnel management has produced a number of models and theories. There are two models most widely used in human resource management are the hard and soft forms which are based on different analyses and thoughts of management control plans and human nature. Soft and Hard models are used in ASDA and Tesco organisations as human resources planning which are most important in the organisational development. Hard and Soft models of HRM are discusses as follows: HARD HRM: Hard HRM pushes the resource characteristic of human resource management; Legge cited in Gill (1999) refers to this as Practical Instrumentalism. This hard model pushes HRMs give attention on the vital consequence of the close combination of human resource strategies, systems and performance with business strategy. Besides this viewpoint human resources are mainly an issue of production, cost of doing business more willingly than the only resource capable of turning inorganic factors of production in to wealth. Human Resources are analyses as passive, to be provided and organized as numbers and skills at the correct price, rather than the foundation of original force (Legge, 1995, cited in Gill, 1999). Hard HRM is as calculative and tough minded as any other branch of management, communicating through the tough language of business and economics. This emphasis on the quantitative, calculative and business-strategic aspects of managing the headcount has been termed human asset accounting (Storey, 1987). The hard HRM approach has some kinship with scientific management as people are reduced to passive objects that are not cherished as a whole people but assessed on whether they posses the skills/attributes the organisation requires (Legge, 1995; Vaughan, 1994; Storey, 1987; Drucker et al, 1996; Keenoy, 1990 cited in Gill, 1999). A different view of HRM is associated with the Michigan Business School (Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna, 1984). There are many similarities with the Harvard map but the Michigan model has a harder, less humanistic edge, holding that employees are resources in the same way as any other business resource. People have to be managed in a similar manner to equipment and raw materials. They must be obtained as cheaply as possible, used sparingly, and developed and exploited as much as possible (www.hrmguide.co.uk). SOFT HRM: Storey (1989) cited in Price (2011) describes that Soft form of human resource management characterised by Harvard model. Soft HRM put pressures on the human aspects of HRM. It is giving more attention with communication and motivation in the organisation. This model distinguished that people should guide properly rather than managed. They are more involved in influential and realizing planning objectives in the organisation (www.hrmguide.co.uk). However, Soft HRM places an importance on human and is linked with the human relations school of Herzberg and McGregor (Storey, 1987 cited in Gill, 1999). Legge (1995) cited in Gill (1999) refers to this as Developmental Humanism. at the same time as emphasising the significance of integrating HR strategies with Business objectives, the soft model emphasises on taking care of employees as valued resources and a source of competitive benefit through their promise, flexibility and excellent skill and performance. Employees are positive rather than inactive inputs into dynamic processes, competent of development, worthy of confidence and teamwork which is accomplished through contribution (Legge, 1995, pp 66-67 cited in Gill, 1999). The soft version is seen as a method of releasing untapped reserves of human resourcefulness by increasing employee commitment, participation and involvement. Employee commitment is sought with the expectation that effectiveness will follow as second-order consequences. Walton (1985, p. 79) suggests that a model that assumes low employee commitment and that is designed to produce reliable if not outstanding performance simply cannot match the standards of excellence set by 5 world-class competitors and discusses the choice that managers have between a strategy based on imposing control and a strategy based on eliciting commitment (Gill, 1999). The soft model of HRM is based on viewing the individual as a human being utilising human talent and capability and generating commitment from employees (linked with the Human relations movement-see work of Maslow, Mayo, McGregor and Herzberg). Other features of the soft approach include: Generating a motivated, skilled and harmonious workforce. Generating commitment to the organisation and its goals objectives, Strategies and organisational culture Winning individuals hearts and minds Treating human being as humans and not a resource or commodity Generating two-way communication between management and the workforce to promote commitment and harmony. HRM PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT METHODS USED IN TESCO AND ASDA: Recruitment and selection process within ASDA. The recruitment processes within ASDA consist of 2 steps: Online application by which the applicant needs to fill in the information required in the application which may include some verbal, numerical and personality tests, which will enable the company gathering all the information that it need. And this will let ASDA decide whether the candidate is suitable or not. If the candidate succeed, the next step will depend on the role that the candidate applied for, the applicant will may be asked to attend interviews, or to a group assessment centre which the applicants will be asked to perform tasks designed to highlights the skills. Recruitment and selection process within Tesco The recruitment process of Tesco for example team members consist of two steps application. Online application which consist of filling in the information that the candidate is asked to do online which contain personal details, previous work experiences, qualifications, and additionally a questionnaire that put the candidate in real life situation for example if the customer service, dealing with complex situation with customer etc. Is the candidate have effectively passed the first application step, he or she will be called to the store for an OJE (On Job Evaluation) and a face to face interview. With the OJE which only last 15 minutes the manager will give the applicants tasks to do so he or she can see how the candidate perform in real life situation and the manager evaluate the candidate customer service and skills and then he or she reflected against what they are looking for in a candidate. And then after that the candidate will have an interview with the business managers. Finally he will asses the candidate meet their requirement or not. In comparing the two processes we can see that Tesco spend much more on recruiting and selecting than ASDA by using on job evaluation (OJE) system but despite it is taking more time, it is very effective as it shows and indicates if the candidate is the right person for the right job. STAFF TURNOVER: Marchington, M. Wilkinson, A (2007) in a study of CIPD (2004) finds that labour turnover rates vary considerably between industry sector and occupational group, at the same time as do the costs of recruitment. Most employers are more concern about collect statistics on labour turnover, but they also facing problem with lack of data or software issues (IRS Employment review 2004). Many employers also performs exit interviews, and both of these tasks are usually carried out by HR department where no involvement of line manager. The information is used to improve HR practices and policies such as communication, induction, learning and development and selection in an effort to reduce turnover (CIPD 2004b, p31). Perhaps the issue is the most difficult due to all cases of labour turnover are treated in the similar way, without giving any allowances for the performance levels and latent of the employees who quit from organization doing comparison with available employee. It is pointed that, manager is comparatively happy if an unskilled or poor performer were to leave, and there are suggestions from the researchers that if the future of the company is uncertain then employers in reality encourage turnover for not to carrying staff (Smith et al 2004 cited on Marchington, M. Wilkinson, A., 2007). On the other hand, if turnover was determined along with high-flyers or high skilled or highly experience and those who remained were unskilled or poor performers or lacked of ambitions, in that case this could have serious penalty for the organization. However, a high rate of labour turnover could be benefited for the company if the organizations aim is to trim back the workplace or reduce costs of production (Sadhev et al 1999 cited on Marchington, M. Wilkinson, A., 2007). Alternatively, Rubery et al (2004); Smith et al (2004) cited on Marchington, M. Wilkinson, A., (2007) argued that employers may come to a decision to use temporary employment agencies for recruiting staff so that they pass the problem to somewhere else. Glebbeek and Bax 2004 cited on Marchington, M. Wilkinson, A., 2007 point out that company should decide whether an optimum level of labour turnover with the mix of internal labour market and keep new recruits coming in, or whether the cost of turnover make most cases costly and unnecessary. According to Linda Maund (2001) some internal causes of an increasing labour turnover: The recruitment and selection procedure is not enough and imperfectly matches individuals to jobs. Employees are not well motivated and dont feel the organization from the core. S/he will consider better opportunities outside the organization and employee does not feel any interest to do better for the organization. Not equality in wages and salaries with competitors. THE EXIT PROCEDURES Tesco and ASDA both company paying attention of staff turnover percentages. They both are dedicated to find the way to reduce staff turnover in their company. For that reason they follow exit procedures who are leaving the job. Concerning Tesco and ASDA the exit procedures that this company follow is similar to other companies as it undertake an exit interview with the person who is leaving the job, so the staff will have the opportunity to give explanation their reasons for leaving the job, or in the case of the staff choosing another employer, or to air their grievance, all this helped Tesco to what it is now as those criticism helped the company to take decisions to change their policies, especially if this employee is leaving for a competitor. What Tesco and ASDA do is that despite the interview that make the manager listen to the staff and know the reason of leaving such as challenging work environment, salary, discrimination, promotion. If the employee is a good performer they try to keep him or she in the organization, as he or she is beneficial to the company and the organization doesnt want to loose of their staff because he may give more with the competitors and they can use the staff knowledge and what this staff has gained of knowledge against the previous company. And this is including the resignation of the staff. RETAIN EMPLOYEE: In the case of redundancy Tescos transfer staff to other superstores that are in need of workforce because as we know that Tesco in one of the fastest growing companies in the world, so in redundancy situation the company offers alternative job and all this is with discussion with the worker. The same thing applies to ASDA because this outplacement can keep this employees working and performing in the same level and improve confidence of the other employees and also it gives a good image about the two companies. However, Tesco and ASDA both companies are giving employee discount to motivate employee which is more effective to retain employees. By following those procedures the two companies can get better in the domain knowing if it comes to keeping good employees working for them, and those solution that were mentioned above are measured as the best and the commonly used by professional and leading organizations around the world. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: One major area of the human resource functions of particular relevance to the effective use of human resource training and development. A number of academic people would argue against the significance of training as a main influence on the success of an organisation. Training works outside-in; education works inside-out. Therefore training is benefited for the organisation if they learn to be wise in how to use of an individuals capability and it helps to achieved business goals. Training has four main levels such as output training, task training, performance training and strategic training. However, these four main levels of need for any organisation for improve the skills. Different levels of training will required different time period based of staff capabilities. Training for change is important for the long-term survival of an organisation. Increasing importance is being placed both on the necessary for continual training to maintain change and on training as a very important investment for the future. THE BENEFITS OF TRAINING: The main reason of training is to develop knowledge and skills, and to change approach is one of the important motivational factors. This helps to many potential benefits for not only individuals but also organisation. The key benefits of training are as follows: Boost the self-confidence, motivation and loyalty of employee. Give recognition, increased responsibility, and the opportunity of employee promotion. Give a feeling of personal satisfaction and achievement, and broaden opportunity for career development and Assist to improve the availability and quality of employees. Finally it can say that Training is the main factors of organisational performance development. Tesco and ASDA both company giving more attention of the employee training as they know that it is the major issues for the employee developments which lead to the increase organisational performance achieved the goals. HR PERFORMANCE IS CURRENTLY INDICATED AND MONITORED: The organisational performance fully depends on human resource management activities (Ulrich 1997a) in the organisation. Employees are the key resource of the organisation. Therefore, HR will make a significant impact on company performance when a suitable HR strategies and procedures are developed and implemented effectively. Apparently Tesco and ASDA both companies focus on the HR activities which leads to increase the organisational performance. The HRM-performance model (Phillips, 1996b) is discussed as follows: Human resource measurement, demonstrating the link between HRM strategy and organisational performance needs the examination of some set of variables. The methodology for make sure high central strength would preferably allow a calculation of how different human resource management strategies or individual activities affect economic performance of the company at the same time as controlling other issues that might pressure those performance results. High internal validity indicates to the level to which the outcomes can be indiscriminate to conclude the impacts of human resource management practices (Bratton and Gold, 2007). Phillips (1996) model (see appendix I) is showing the relationship between HRM practices and organisational performance. Tesco and ASDA both companies HR performance is currently indicated and monitored by Phillips (1996) HRM-organisational performance. The human resource management added-value model is indicates the total relationship between three major elements. Human resource management Human resource performance measures, at both individual staff and work team levels. Organisational performance measures. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: The human resource management element consists of HR strategy, policies, programmes, practices and system (see appendix I) which be present in work organisations and that impacts on staff and team performance, and cause effects individual and organisational performance (Bratton Gold, 2007). STAFF PERFORMANCE MEASURES: The second element of Phillips (1996) model (see appendix I) indicates the performance effects of human resource management, approximately in part by staff performance measures. Academicians have a few options to measuring individual employees and groups. Saks (2000) cited in Bratton Gold (2007) draws three measurements they are discussed as follows: Traits: Evaluating the individuals personal traits is more important, and it is one of the significant tasks of HRM. It may find out the employees loyalty or commitment to the organisation. Behaviours: It is focus on what employee does and does not do in the organisation such as absent from work, poor time-keeping and resigning from service. Outcomes: It focuses on the employee outcome in workplace during the time of workplace that helps to measure employee performance such as number of unit completed, accident level or customer complaints etc. Moreover, at present team work became more common in the organisation. According to Saks (2000) cited in Bratton Gold (2007) team performance is strongly influenced by four input variables for example team structure, team norms, team composition and team leadership; and process variables such as team working and team learnings which impacts on the team performance outcomes. ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES: Organisational performance depends on the individual employee and team work measurements (see the appendix I). According to the researchers cited in Bratton Gold (2007) discussed several organisational performance measures techniques such as labour productivity ratios, product and service quality, unit cost ratios, revenue productivity and return on investment (ROI). However, researchers also design organisation performance measures techniques on the basis of goal achievement. This technique is relying on four specific indicators such as profit-related directories, productivity, quality and perceptual measures of goal achievement. Bratton and Gold (2007) also states three important reasons for organisational outcomes measures: Employee-related outcomes as they are directly influenced by HR practices. Different rewards and training programmes are to influence on the employee outcomes. These outcomes such as productivity, quality and employee unit cost which can manipulate the organisations financial operational goals. The outcomes can manipulate the individual psychological contact as well as behaviour which involves with the outputs. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: Human resource management is a planned technique to managing employment relations which highlight that influencing peoples potentiality is critical to getting competitive advantage, this being achieve throughout a distinguishing set of incorporated employment policies, programmes and practices (Bratton 2007). Employees are the key driven force in any organisation. Organisational success depends on the employee performance. Discrimination in workplace plays psychological impact on the employees mind which may lead to negative impact on employee performance. Therefore, HR main duty is to most effective uses of human resources in organisation. They need to employ right person for the organisation and build up employee based on the current requirement by the training and development process. UK is a multi-cultural country. Different cultural people lives and come to shopping in the superstores. Consequently HR should be fair for all employees and keep in eye on the employees to make sure equal opportunity ground in workplace for each employee. To get potential benefit from the employee motivation is significant for the organisation. HR required to ensure reward systems to motivate employees. Tesco and ASDA both HRM is works for the business development. For that reason both company is continuously developing their system on the basis of current business trends. I recommend ASDA to follow the on job evaluation (OJE) system to recruit best person for the organisation. And both company need to focus on the skills development process and evaluation process which are linked to employee motivation. Finally it can say that human resource management has thought new prominence as concerns persevere about international competition, the development of technology and the productivity of employee (Bratton 2007) in both companies to increase business efficiency.

The Mind of Kurt Vonnegut Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

The Mind of Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut is one of the preeminent writers of the later half of the twentieth century. His works are all windows into his mind, a literary psychoanalysis. He examines himself as a cog in the corporate machine in "Deer in the Works"; as a writer through the eyes of Kilgore Trout in several works; and most importantly, as a prisoner of war in Slaughterhouse-Five. Vonnegut created short stories and novels that dealt with events in his life. One of the most obvious self examinations is in "Deer in the Works". The short story is based on his experiences as a publicist at the General Electric Company Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York. "Deer in the Works" takes place over two days in the life of David Potter as he begins his employment at the Ilium Works of the Federal Apparatus Corporation. He is assigned to cover a deer trapped in a remote corner of the Works. Potter gets lost in the Works himself and feels just as trapped as the deer. He eventually frees the deer and escapes the works to return to his newspaper. Vonnegut felt trapped like Potter does, and left General Electric in 1951 to write full time. Before World War II, Vonnegut was enrolled at Cornell University studying biochemistry. He was surrounded by scientists and machines and as a result, his first literary works were based on that influence. Vonnegutà ¸s early writings were not accepted as serious, mainstream literature due to their scientific nature. He was considered a science fiction writer by literary critics. That label caused him to be largely ignored. He created the character Kilgore Trout, a science fiction writer, to... ...hort-term events like that. Dresden was astonishing, but experiences can be astonishing without changing you" (Reed 776). Despite these claims to the contrary, the experiences at Dresden had always played a large part in his writings. His experiences have always shaped what Kurt Vonnegut has written. He said to his brother, Bernard, that he wrote for an audience of one, his dead sister; but he truly wrote for himself. He wrote about his experiences as a prisoner in Slaughterhouse-Five, as a publicist in a major corporation in "Deer in the Works", and as a writer through the character Kilgore Trout. Vonnegut examined his thoughts through the eyes of David Potter, Kilgore Trout, and Billy Pilgrim. His works are all deeply personal windows into the psyche of Kurt Vonnegut.

The Personal Strife of Tennessee Williams :: Biography Biographies Essays

The Personal Strife of Tennessee Williams      Ã‚  Ã‚   Tennessee Williams was a well renowned playwright, who highlighted his personal experiences in his plays and stories. He had a colorful life and he enjoyed writing about what was considered taboo subjects in the 1940's, 1950's and the 1960's. Williams explored homosexuality, alcoholism, violence, greed and sex.      He also infused humor into his work. Williams dissected the traditional American family, and he penned many stories about dysfunctional and volatile families. In the journalist Bruce Smith's memoir on Tennessee Williams entitled Costly Performances, Tennessee is quoted reminding his readers, "I have had a life of required endurance, a life of clawing and scratching along a sheer surface and holding on tight with raw fingers to every inch of rock higher than the one caught hold of before...." (Smith, 6) Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams in his maternal grandfather's rectory in Columbus, Mississippi on March 26, 1911.      His father, Cornielus Coffin Williams, was a shoe salesman at a shoe factory. He was an alcoholic and he was often verbally abusive to his family. Williams's mother's name was Edwina Lanier Williams and she encouraged the young Thomas to write. Williams later based the character of Amanda from his play "The Glass Menagerie" on his mother.      He had a sister named Rose, who was two years older, and when they were growing up they were very close. Rose was a very sensitive child and by her early twenties she was classified as a schizophrenic. She was later institutionalized and eventually given a lobotomy. His sister's condition devastated Williams, and he was afraid throughout his life that he would succumb to madness as well. He based the character of Laura from "The Glass Menagerie" on his sister Rose. Williams had a younger brother named Dakin, who was eight years younger.      Their father doted on the younger brother, and there was a great deal of sibling rivalry between them. He actually based Brick and Grooper's relationship on his tumultuous dealings with Dakin. Also, Williams had a great interest in people who lived on the fringes of life, like Rose. He considered himself to be "different" and he was not popular in his youth.      Thomas was teased as a youth by a boy named Brick, and Williams added that the character was weak minded and flawed.

What Is the Importance of Leonard’s Body Tattoos in Memento?

Memento (2000) is a movie directed by Christopher Nolan that follows the life of Leonard, a man who, after an accident, suffers from short-term memory loss. When Lenny tries to save his wife from a possible rape, he hits his head on the floor damaging the way his brain functions, losing his capacity to create new memories. Every action of the film is set around a single objective; the relentless pursuit of the alleged murderer of Leonard’s wife.In order to be able to follow up the mystery, Lenny has developed a system where he writes up notes to himself, takes pictures of important people and events, and, most importantly, tattoos his body with important â€Å"facts† to remember clues as he tracks his wife’s murderer. Lenny’s tattoos are extremely important in Memento (2000) once they provide a memory trigger for the protagonist, building up his feelings of anger and revenge; they are key in character development and essential for the framework story.Lenny ’s tattoos are a memory source for the protagonist, allowing him to remember the murder and building up mixed emotions regarding the case. The character has different tattoos in the front part of his body representing what he believes are facts and key pieces on the murder of his wife. One of them in particular, located on his chest and written backwards says: â€Å"John G. raped and murdered my wife†. Lenny’s tattoos not only helps the protagonist remember his goal, to catch and kill whoever it was who hurt his wife, but also feeds his feelings of revenge and anger towards the killer.When Lenny believes he has uncovered Teddy as being the killer of his wife, for example, he quickly catches sight of his tattoo establishing a casual connection that motivates him to go after Teddy and kill him. Lenny has a visual memory, even though he must relearn daily who he has met and what he has learned since the incident, he still finds strength and is encouraged by the pow er of his tattoos to keep looking for John G. In the movie, tattoos have hidden meanings and help reveal and develop the character.One in particular, the â€Å"Remember Sammy Jankins† on Leonard’s hand, provides a miniature of the movie as a whole, as it has multiple meanings. Leonard believes that the tattoo is there to remind him that unlike Sammy, who has the same condition as him, he has a system and can therefore, control his ‘disease’. However, further in the movie we discover yet another hidden meaning in the tattoo. Sammy has never existed the way Leonard believes, in fact, the tattoo is a reminder that Lenny lies to himself, â€Å"not only the fiction of the cautionary tale of Sammy Jankins, but also of his inability to tell when people are lying† (Heuser, 2011).The tattoo represents Lenny’s lies and struggle to believe on what he wants to see as the truth, it unwinds a closer understanding of the protagonist giving meaning to the mo vie. Tattoos are essential for the flow and understanding of the story. They are introduced without many explanations, throughout the movie; however, different events and flashbacks allow the viewer to have a closer understanding of them. The viewer first discovers the various tattoos that cover Lenny’s body as he undresses in front of a mirror.In the same scene, â€Å"medium, close-up and point of view shots fragment Leonard’s body into readable tattooed statements which align the spectator’s knowledge with Leonard’s sense of being in the world† (Molloy, 2010). The viewer starts to slowly become familiar with the â€Å"facts† tattooed on the protagonist’s body and connect each tattoo to each other, making sense and framing the story. Leonard’s tattoos are essential in the progress of the framework story in Memento (2000), it is key in character development and it is a source of memory trigger for the protagonist.Leonard lies to himself, and his tattoos are simple excuses for him to believe on what he wants to be the truth, embracing his feelings of anger and revenge. Because he is covered in tattoos, â€Å"his subjectivity is made obvious, whereas culture and memories are literally inscribed onto him† (Blake, 2004); additionally, the lastingness of tattooing is what helps trap Leonard in his limitless search for his wife’s murderer.No matter what happens, Lenny wakes up every day, facing the â€Å"facts† and goes off on his search. Therefore, tattooing his body helps Leonard accept the murder and enhances his feelings of anger influencing his unstoppable search for revenge. Leonard is a locus of signs and his tattoos are important in the development of the story, making the final connection to what is believed to be the truth and the actual truth, reinforcing character development as well as the spectator’s identification with Lenny.Reference: Blake, L. (2004). Snapshots of M emento: Angles of Interpretation. George Washinton University. Heuser, D. (2011). Memento – What was this movie about again? Retrieved from: http://www. davidheuser. com/Memento. html (Feb 22, 2012). Todd, Jennifer (producer) & Nolan, Christopher (director). (2000). Memento. [Motion Picture]. (Available from Helkon, USA). Molloy, C. (2010). Memento. Adinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ?

The Wound Dresser – John Adams

The second piece I reviewed was entitled The Wound Dresser. This is a composition for chamber orchestra and baritone singer. John Adams based this piece off of The Wound Dresser, a poem by Walt Whitman. The poem was written in in 1865 and was based on Whitman’s experiences working as a nurse in the American Civil War. John Adam’s is most often recognized as a minimalist, and well known for his pieces Doctor Atomic, and Short Ride in a Fast Car. You can hear examples of minimalism all throughout the piece.What I found interesting was that when Adams was working on this piece, his father was dying of Alzheimer’s disease. This gave Adams the ability to connect with Whitman’s poem on a much deeper level. Not just by having an awareness of dying, but by caring for people who are dying. Lyrically, this piece start out with a man reminiscing of caring for wounded soldiers in the hospital. It was his job do change the dressings on the wounded soldiers. What I noti ced most was how Adams reflected the mood and tone of the lyrics by using odd combinations of instruments, and unusual harmonic combinations.The bugle style trumpet, with a synthesizer, and some extreme ranges on the first violin produce a sense of misery or weakness that couples with the baritone’s lyrics perfectly. The first violin’s solo was beautiful but yet projected a somehow painful, sorrowful feel. When the strings all began to play, it was slow The piece starts out with just violins, and the first violin playing a solo in an usually high register. The double basses begin playing legato and slowly fading in and out. If pain and sorrow could be written through music, then John Adams did it in this piece.I heard them eventually playing pizzicato, with strings still sweeping in and out. That moment was beautiful. There was a trumpet solo, which somehow sounded distant. Upon reflection I realized that it had the same effect that Adams used in his piece Distant Trum pet written in 1986. The lyrics were shockingly disturbing. Not something that I was expecting to hear. They were many points in the baritone’s melody that it sounded atonal. It was dark, and miserable from every end. Lyrics like â€Å"come, sweet death† implying that death would be complete joy for him.I couldn’t quite pick a structure out of the piece, but at the end, I heard a returning theme in the first violin. All in all, this piece was beautifully miserable. Like always, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the CPO. I heard the Chorus for the first time, I also heard a synthesizer be used for the first time. I hope to hear different versions of Ave Maria and Ode Joy as well. This experience was impacting and inspiring. It made me desire to strive to a new level in my musicianship that I have never been to before.