Critical Review on Mcnair chapter 2 from his An Introduction to Essay

Critical Review on Mcnair chapter 2 from his An Introduction to Political Commun - Essay Example He has considered three elements to be important for the establishment of democracy which include rational choice, constitutionality and participation. The author has also discussed the importance of public opinion by calling it a ‘public sphere’ and considered it the collective thoughts and opinions of people about political leaders. Lastly, the book highlights the role of media in the process of political communication. The chapter two of the book ‘Politics, democracy and media’ vividly explains the three features of politics, media and democracy with respect to political communication process. The author has identified several aspects that make up the democratic process. The first among the three elements of a democratic regime is constitutionality which is known as the set of rules and procedures that explain the election process and the conduct of people participating in the process. The second element is participation which represents the number of peo ple that have been legally permitted to vote. For instance, the segments of people that have been bestowed with the right to vote are considered to be eligible to participate in voting process. It means that the societies that have deprived its majority of people from a giving a right to vote are not democratic in its essence. The third factor explaining the democratic process is rational choice which includes not only having the right of choosing between the two political parties but also exerting the right as well. The chapter two of McNair’s book explains another important aspect with respect to political communication which is public opinion. McNair defines public opinion as the private thoughts and opinions of general public regarding the political processes surrounding their country. It is believed to be an important characteristic of a democratic process that it taken into consideration the public opinion of people as manifested by the vote they cast in a collective ma nner favoring one political party. In other words, a democratic government comes into being as a result of the votes given to them by the majority of people in a country representing their public opinion. The author has used the term public sphere for public opinion also which means the arena of social life that gives rise to the formation of public opinion. The book gives a comprehensive understanding of another significant factor playing its part in the democratic process; media. There are five major characteristics of an effective media that is characteristic of a democratic process. Firstly, the media should be able to truly inform the citizens of a country about what is happening around them. It implies explaining the role of media as the force monitoring the activities of a society. Secondly, the media has an educative role that explains the facts of the society by making the people aware of the meanings of various things occurring around them. Thirdly, the media is said to be playing an important role in forming public opinion by providing them with information about the opinions of general public through the platform of media. Fourthly, the media publicizes the part that governmental and public institutions are playing in the interest of general public. For instance, media has been playing an important role in highlighting scandals of various corporations and political organizations thus enabling the citizens to form an opinion for or against them. It hints on the objectivity of media that does not rely on biases and prejudiced

Change Management of People and Technology in an ERP Implementation Assignment - 1

Change Management of People and Technology in an ERP Implementation - Assignment Example Although the company had an internal IT department, its operation was not done in an efficient way. Similarly, the firm had poor application domain knowledge so that they struggled to carry out various functions effectively. Therefore, company management believed that the proposed strategy would assist the organization to improve its weaker areas. The case writers assert that the ‘areas of relative strength’ of the selected approach as ‘High’, ‘High’, and ‘Low’. It must be noted that a concept of expertise ‘buying in’ is associated with this approach rather than risking with unorganized development strategies. Since the proposed strategy was decided to acquire from a third party, it was possible for them to obtain high software expertise and application domain expertise. On the other hand, when purchasing an ERP approach from a third party vendor, probably the package may contain poor local company knowledge. Therefore, it is clear why the writers ranked ‘3rd party modified off-the-shelf solution’ as ‘High’, ‘High’, and ‘Low’ in terms of relative strength areas. Several problems encountered during the selection and implementation phases of the project. According to Edwards and Humphries, the chief executive officer and other senior managers had only a little knowledge regarding the proposed project. Since the persons at the helm of affairs lacked adequate information regarding the structure of the approach, they could not properly organize their employees. Naturally, this situation led the project to an operational failure. Similarly, PowerIT failed in the selection of a business development manager also. The firm gave emphasis only on the technical skill of the manager, but the appointed manager did not have sufficient social skill which was essential while operating in a traditional manufacturing environment. As a result, it caused some persona l conflicts between business development manager and other managers; and subsequently, lack of coordination in the project implementation phases. Even though none of the vendors submitted the project model in an accurate manner, the development manager awarded the contract to a vendor without considering the option for a review. Since the development manager could not get willing staff to attend the user group meetings, he made their attendance mandatory and that led to inactive participation. The new system was implemented in 2000 and some organizational sections viewed the system a failure one year after its full implementation. As Edwards and Humphries say, a considerable decline in productivity was the most major issue after the project implementation. The ‘brown paper mapping’ undertaken by business development manager was another issue encountered after the project implementation phase as it was not used for any detailed analysis. It is a known fact that the effec tiveness of an organization largely depends on the knowledge and experience of its employees. However, we have seen that even PoweIT’s CEO did not have adequate knowledge regarding the implemented project and it added to the strategic failure of the company. Moreover, the inefficient PowerIT management could not integrate the implemented changes into the existing structure of the organization and that gradually led to customer dissatisfaction.

Link Between CSR and HRM

Link Between CSR and HRM Corporate social responsibility (CSR) prevails in the past four decades. A great number of companies embed CSR principles into their daily business practices. The CSR practices are always subject to debates. Some researchers agree with the benefits of CSR for organizations, whereas others question the nature of CSR and argue that it conflict with business profitability. Definition of CSR has been developed by various researchers; it varies in different context. World Business Council for Sustainable Development (1999 cited in Viljanen and Lahteenmaki, 2009) defined CSR as is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large. Furthermore, CSR is defined as treating the stakeholders of the firm ethically or in a responsible manner (Hopkins, 2003, p.1, cited in Fenwick and Bierema, 2008). Similarly, in the study by Melynyte and Ruzevicius (2008), CSR was regarded to meet economic, social, environmental and ethical requirements of stakeholders. Moreover, Syed and Kramar (2008) cited the definition of CSR by EU: a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with stakeholders on a voluntary basis. Based on the definition by previous researchers, the author understands CSR from three aspects: 1) Voluntary actions. 2) Concerns of stakeholders, local community and society. 3) The economic, ethical, social and environmental (positive) impacts of business operations. Melynyte and Ruzevicius (2008) summarized CSR activities on the basis of previous research, including ensuring staffs health and safety at work, developing equal rights, providing continuous trainings, being responsible for consumers and customers, decreasing negative impact in environment, generating ecological products and services as well as participating in society activities. In this paper, the author will illustrate two points of views: HRM should be linked to CSR; such a link is still realistic in the current tough economic climate. Both of standpoints are explained on the basis of different perspectives and arguments in previous literature. Part Two: Link between HRM and CSR 2.1 literature debates In this part, four debates are identified, namely, feasibility of such link versus impossibility, classical views versus stakeholder theory, benefits from CSR actions versus CSR without returns, as well as soft HRM versus hard HRM. Winstanley et al (1996) indicated that ethical concerns, such as job insecurity and insufficient regard for the autonomy of staff, should be expressed when criticizing contemporary HRM; it is also important that HR professionals engage with ethical issues. However, some researchers think that the ethical treatment of employees is impossible. Claydon (2000) explained it on the basis of the Marxist perspective on capital and labour relations. He thought that fundamental contradiction exists between capital and labour, so it is impossible to make working conditions more ethical. In addition, Legge (2000)- from the perspective of utilitarianism- indicated that even though it is likely that ethical HRM will be found among the core workers, it is difficult to be found among sub-contracted or agency workers. The study by Friedman (1970 cited in Greenwood, 2002) suggested that business has sole responsibility of making profit for its shareholders and should maximize its profits. He believed that the social responsibility is fundamentally contrary to the principle of free-market economy. This classical view emphasized the sole benefit of shareholders, which was related to ethical egoism; it implies that corporations should pay little attention to building CSR into management system. This classical view was countered by stakeholder theory, which not only presents a conceptual framework of analysis of HRM (Ferrary, 2009), but also offers corporations a new way of thinking organizational responsibilities (Jamali, 2008). The stakeholder theory was defined by Freeman (1984) that managers have a responsibility to attend to all who has a stake in organizations. Similarly, Greenwood and Cieri (2007: 128) indicated managers must act in the interests of stakeholders and management must engage stakeholders in decision-making. Freeman (1984) also gave the definition of stakeholder as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of organization objectives, consisting of shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers. In addition to traditional interest groups, local communities and environment- regarded as silent stakeholders- should be included (Simmons, 2004 cited in Jamali, 2008). This theory suggested that corporations should turn attention to considerations beyond direct profit maximization, because the needs of shareholders cannot be met without satisfying to some degree the needs of other stakeholders (Jamali, 2008). Since employees are regarded as key stakeholders, corporations must be responsible for staff and take them into consideration to large extent in managerial decision making. It implies that HRM should be linked to CSR. Papasolomou et al (2005) illustrated CSR actions to employees, such as building family-friendly work environment, sharing information with staff, offering equal reward and pay, administering diversity management in terms of selection and promotion, providing training and long-term development to all staff as well as encouraging staff engaging in social activities. Moreover, some researcher (such as Friedman) emphasized that companies should put the profit object first (Woodall and Winstanley, 2000), so CSR actions are minimized. It seems that primacy of the profit motive becomes a primary reason why researchers and managers oppose to connect HRM with CSR or minimize CSR activities. Some researchers questioned whether the company can obtain returns when adopting CSR initiatives (Heugens and Dentchev, 2007). On the contrary, many researchers hold that CSR can offer potential profits and improve long-term corporate profitability. Brammer et al (2007) indicated that it pays off when HRM is linked with CSR, on the ground that CSR is beneficial to the attraction, retention and motivation of employees. Similarly, Bohdanowicz and Zientara (2008) considered that corporations can get payoff in the long run if they treated ethically to employees. In addition, CSR play a critical role in enhancing employees job satisfaction and further organizational comm itment, both of which affect employees performance and workplace behavior (turnover and workplace deviation). Melynyte and Ruzevicius (2008) also hold similar views: the combination of CSR and HRM does indirect positive influence to the organizations financial results through influencing staffs morale, job motivation and loyalty to organizations. Furthermore, in the study by Michie and Sheehan-Quinn (2001 cited in Viljanen and Lahteenmaki, 2009), soft HRM approach, named as high-road HRM, regards employees as resource, which is valuable to continuously develop, and makes efforts to increase employee commitment. On the contrary, hard HRM, called as low-road HRM, is lack of organization promise to job security and pay little attention to the staff training. It seems that soft HRM advocate HRM should be linked to CSR whereas hard HRM do not take CSR into account. However, Legge (1995) indicated that even though some corporations make a display of soft HRM, it is hard in reality. 2.2 HRM should be linked with CSR On the basis of analysis of previous academic debates, the author personally supports that HRM should be linked to CSR. It will be explained from four aspects. Above all, it is possible to integrate HRM with CSR, although some writers explained the impossibility of this kind of integration (as mentioned above, Claydon and Legge). In the study by Vuontisjarvi (2006), sub-themes of CSR, which refer to the integration of CSR and HRM, were identified: training and development, employee involvement, job security, employee health and well-being, equal opportunities, work-life balance and diversity management. Many corporations took on a series of HRM practices which is linked with the principle of CSR. In the case of PSA Peugeot Citroen, which is a famous French car manufacturer, diversity management was adopted. This company not only sought diversity workforce through recruiting a ration of non-French employees and secondary school graduates in the local city, but also ensure the equal treatment of each staff and non-discrimination. In 2003, the company recruited 129 non-French employees (including 45 women), who are in position of engineers and managers, which account for 10% of new staff. In addition, age issue also was taken into consideration. In 2003, 60% of new staff were younger than 30; 13% of new staff were older than 40. Furthermore, all employees had equal rights to be informed what vacancies are available because all the information was publicized on the company intranet. Further measures also include offering apprenticeships to people who were difficult to find job. (Syed an d Kramar, 2008) In addition to PSA Peugeot Citroen, many cases- such as retraining programme offered to staff by Deutsche Bank in the climate of redundancy (Syed and Kramar, 2008)- prove the feasibility of integration of CSR and HRM practices. Secondly, according to stakeholder theory, firms not only meet the requirements of shareholders but also satisfy employees. A series of responsible HRM practices- such as work-life balance (offer female employee childcare support or flexible working time) as well as initiatives mentioned above- meet the requirements of staff. Moreover, in addition to money, employees are also provided the the feeling of meaningfulness and possibility to take responsibility for quality of future generations life (Melynyte and Ruzevicius, 2008). That companies offer chance to staff to join social activities meet the psychological needs of employees. Given these reasons, HRM should be linked with CSR. Thirdly, the issue of business profitability becomes the bones of contention. Some researchers refuse to build CSR into HRM practices because of consideration of the corporation profits. However, a lot of research (as mentioned above) indicates that potential profits can be obtained if companies effectively incorporate CSR rules into HRM practices. In the case of Scandic (Bohdanowicz and Zientara, 2008), a famous hotel in Scandinavia, CSR was embedded into HRM, which is a part of Omtanke programme. Scandic strives for treating equally all staff. For instance, when the company planed to design new working clothes, different nationalities of employees were taken into consideration. As a result, headband, a part of uniform, is not compulsory to wear. Moreover, all staff were congregated to discuss what CSR actions to community should be adopted. Employees were offered opportunities of information sharing as well as rights of participation of decision-making. In addition, with regard to employee health, the hotel propagated the information about cancer to employees in the form of lectures; the company also assisted staff to quit smoke through offering guidance. Scandic showed that the firm indeed cared for its staff by implementing these initiatives (equal treatment, information sharing as well as health of employees). The outcome of this study revealed that these responsible HRM practices were beneficial to enhancement of employees job satisfaction (employees feel that they are cared), thereby affecting work performance and behavior. As a result, employees performance well, namely offering the high quality of service for customers and the turnover has decreased, all of which are regarded as potential profits of corporation. Therefore, CSR principles should be integrated into HRM practices because it benefits for company by improving job satisfaction, enhancing organizational commitment, advancing employees performance and decreasing the turnover. Finally, even if CSR is sometimes described as window-dressing, it actually helps corporations to establish good image and reputation, which is conducive to HRM. The company who takes CSR measures is more attractive to candidates (Greening and Turban, 2000, cited in Brammer et al). In modern times, CSR has become the trend, potential employees, especially new graduates, prefer to work in the corporation which has strong social responsibility and good reputation. Likewise, Bohdanowicz and Zientara (2008) indicated that socially responsible company can more likely attract and retain employees who care about green issues. In addition, since the company which integrates HRM with CSR advertises the equal treatment and non-discrimination during recruitment and promotion, potential staff are more likely to apply for this kind of company. Therefore, CSR help the corporation to have competitive edge over other firms which pay little attention to CSR initiatives during recruitment Furthermore, employees are always proud of working in socially responsible firm which has good reputation, thereby they have more loyalty and commitment to the organization, which makes employees stay longer in this company (Bohdanowicz and Zientara 2008). In the case of Babyfood which is famous for socially and environmentally responsible food company, a good reputation is considered as the primary factor enhancing staffs loyalty and motivation. The research show that although employees satisfaction is not pronounced compared with other food companies, and salaries are even lower than average in this industry, staff are still willing to work in this company due to its good reputation. Babyfoods rate of turnover is 20% lower than food industry average. (Lamberti and Lettieri, 2009) In sum, Since CSR, leading to good image of company, is beneficial to recruitment and retaining of employees, CSR should be embedded into HRM. Additional advantages of integration of HRM and CSR were identified in the study of Melynyte and Ruzevicius (2008): establishing partnership environment, increasing customers satisfaction and trust as well as attracting external investments. All in all, HRM should be linked to CSR because of its feasibility and positive effectiveness. 2.3 Links between HRM and CSR HRM refer to the issues in people management and treatment of employees; many CSR approaches stress the significance of meeting the requirements of employees who are regarded as key stakeholder. Therefore, how to deal with employees becomes a key point when analyzing the link between HRM and CSR. In addition, Syed and Kramar (2008) indicated that the integration of HRM and CSR can be achieved when they get support from employers, investors as well as institutions. Melynyte and Ruzevicius (2008) reviewed previous research about links between HRM and CSR and then summarized three forms of links. 1) CSR functions identical to HRM functions (interdependent link). 2) HRM functions making impact on CSR (SR activities emerging from HRM). 3) CSR functions making direct or indirect impact on HRM (how SR activities make impact on HRM). The first one includes removing child and enforced labor, establishing healthy and safe work environment, safeguard individual rights, offering job security, producing the process of justice, ensuring equal treatment of staff and diversity management, designing reasonable and flexible working hours (e.g. holiday time and work at night) as well as equal pay and welfare benefits. Secondly, HRM functions can influence CSR. Many practices can be identified. a) HR manager can plan and initiate CSR activities, such as mobilizing employees to recycle paper. b) The process of recruitment, selection and dismissal can be judicial and transparent. c) Managers share information with employees and staff participate in decision-making. d) When companies are faced with changes, HR manager still need to take social responsibility into consideration and ensure staff rights. e) Corporations provide continuous training to employees. f) Employers strive for meeting staff needs, such as addressing the issue of work-life balance and providing medical insurance. Finally, CSR functions also influence HRM. For example, while recruiting, CSR activities are advertised in order to attract competent candidates. In addition, social responsibility issues are introduced to staff. Moreover, employees engage in the CSR activities initiated by companies they work in. Furthermore, CSR can be used as an element of the system of appraisal, reward and promotion (Syed and Kramar, 2008). Part three: the link between HRM and CSR in the circumstance of global financial crisis In the current social-economic environment, global financial crisis is ongoing, thereby leads to mass restructuring and redundancies. A number of HR actions are conducted to react to the economic crisis. Many debates about CSR or ethics and HRM emerge. Based on different perspectives in precious research, the author will explain her own view: in the climate of global financial crisis the link between HRM and CSR is still realistic. Mankelow (2008) indicated that responsible HRM are adopted because employees are regarded as key resource to maintain competitive edge in market. The purpose of CSR actions to employees is to improve work efficiency and increase business profitability. It implies that although the importance of CSR is admitted, it after all services for the business profits and is inferior to the significance of corporation benefits. In the current financial crisis, it is no doubt that companies fight with survival firstly and CSR may be neglected. In addition, He suggested that socially responsible activities to staff are subject to certain conditions. It seems that CSR should base on appropriate economic conditions; it is a challenge to connect CSR with HRM in the face of tough economic environment (Mankelow, 2008). Although the link between HRM and CSR is questioned in current environment (can company can afford CSR in global financial crisis? Or CSR should be subject to business benefit, and the current condition does not permit the implementation of CSR), some researchers indicate the possibility that CSR is embedded into HRM in the environment of financial crisis. For example, In the study by Jones et al (2000), good image and reputation, established through CSR actions and other initiatives, can protect corporations from the decline of market in the chaotic economic environment; the stock price of firms with good image fall less than those without good reputation. Schnietz and Epstein (2005) held a similar view. Therefore, CSR is conducive to financial performance even in such tough circumstance. Furthermore, some researchers consider that it is costly to embed CSR principles into HRM practices. For instance, many employers are unwilling to notify downsizing plans in advance, which is a responsible HRM practice, on the ground that the productivity will decrease, employee will lose morale and turnover increase, all of which is costly (Leana and Feldman, 1992, cited in Forde et al, 2009). On the contrary, Hopkins and Hopkins (1999, cited in Forde et al, 2009) suggested that advance notification virtually minimize the costs, because it alleviates the pressure of post-layoff through retraining employees and offering counseling. It implies that some actions comprising CSR principles can be helpful to cost-saving. In current climate of global financial crisis, redundancy and restructuring is inevitable. However, it does not mean that the link between HRM and CSR is unrealistic. Socially responsible restructuring is identified, which embed CSR principles into restructuring. It was defined as the use of one or more approaches to consciously take into account the interest of all the organizations stakeholders- managers, owners/shareholders, workers, as well as the large community (International Labour Organization, 2002, cited in Forde et al, 2009). Since restructuring and redundancies are also parts of HRM functions (Redman and Wilkinson, 2001), socially responsible restructuring can be regarded as special integration of HRM and CSR in special economic circumstance. Forde et al (2009) proposed that- from the perspective of business case- socially responsible restructuring are implemented because it can be beneficial to the competitiveness of company. However, Heller (2009 cited in Forde et al, 2009) argued that with the intensity of global financial crisis and increases of redundancy, fewer corporations take up socially responsible restructuring. In fact, Legislation and labor market policies are enacted and implemented to advance companies to adopt socially responsible restructuring measures. For example, Trade Adjustment Assistance Act is used to promote social accountability when redundancy and layoff increase (Office of the US Trade Representative, 2009, cited in Forde et al, 2009). Therefore, with the support of legislation and government policies, the link between HRM and CSR is realistic even if it is faced with deepening economic crisis. Viljanen and Lahteenmaki (2009) analyzed different HR reactions to global financial crisis from two HRM philosophies: hard and soft. Hard HRM is in pursuit of maximal short-term saving and obtain cost efficiency by direct personnel cuts. On the contrary, soft HRM seek for the maintenance of business in the long run. The HR actions according to this kind of approach include dismiss employees temporarily, implementing pension plans as well as offering support to staff in the face of redundancy (such as outplacement services and retraining). Legge (2005 cited in Forde et al, 2009) concluded that in order to seek for profits, companies are forced to take hard HRM actions, such as direct personnel cuts. Moreover, collapsed market also compels employers to strive for cost-saving by directly cutting headcounts of employees. It seems that HRM actions easily turn hard in the circumstance of global financial crisis. It is indeed a challenging for company not only to strive for survival in tough environment and make the balance of short and long term profits, but also to maintain its good reputation and performance reliable employer. Although these activities appear to be hard in common situation, when they are located in the climate of economic crisis, HRM seems not to be hard. It is possible to integrate CSR with HRM during global financial crisis. (Forde et al, 2009) It is impossible that companies can meet requirements of all stakeholders (including shareholders and employees). In the tough economic environment, what firm can do is to strive for minimizing the loss of benefits of all stakeholders and avoid direct personnel cut (hard HRM). Therefore, CSR can play a potential role in restructuring, on the ground that socially responsible restructuring minimize negative influence of layoffs and redundancy. whilst at present we do not have a viable CSR tool for the successful anticipation and management of corporate change, there are a range of possibilities for connecting restructuring to CSR (Forde et al, 2009). It affirms the viability of the link between HRM and CSR. Indeed, considering that in the environment of financial crisis CSR is beneficial to financial performance, that some actions comprising CSR principles can minimize the costs and that socially responsible restructuring are promoted by legislation and government policies, it is realistic and feasible to integrate HRM with CSR in current economic environment. Three case studies will be illustrated to prove that such link is possible in the face of tough economic environment. In the case study of steel industry in the UK (Corus and ASW), previous to the declaration of layoffs, both Corus and ASW offer high level of training which enhances the employability of employees and help them adapt to changing environment. In addition, ASW held a formal meeting to notify employees in advance that company will lay off staff because of unstable financial situation. During the period of announcement of layoffs, Corus did not put layoff planes into action immediately. Instead, it offered 90-day consultation time. Moreover, in the period of implementation of layoffs, companies establish equitable criteria to choose employees who should be laid off. At Corus plants, workers who were voluntary to leave were hunted prior to the adoption of compulsory redundancy; early retirement schemes were implemented, namely employees, in the age of fifty and above, can retire early with sufficient pension. Furthermore, Corus offer criteria for the selection of redeployment. In addition , many support activities were administered, such as offering information about job opportunities and career advice, providing retraining programme as well as offering counseling. Deutsche Bank also did well in combining CSR with HRM practices in the climate of restructuring. Many HRM actions were devised to help staff whom the bank laid off to find another job. Vocational retraining and job coaching (e.g. advice for job applications) were offered. Staff were redeployed by internal temporary work agency. Both internal (e.g. HR advisers) and external counseling were provided. In addition, the bank also offer part-time working and have outplacement activities (Syed and Kramar, 2008). Another case is Hotel Villa Magna-Park Hyatt. In 2007, the hotel implement redecoration programme which lasted for 14 months rather than lay off employees. The company showed that it truly care for staff by providing chances for employees to participate in all activities (Bohdanowicz and Zientara, 2008). In a sense, the integration of HRM and CSR is realistic by insert CSR principles into redundancy and restructuring, even though it is different from the responsible HRM practices in normal circumstance (such as job security and work-life balance). Part Four: conclusion In this research, the author demonstrated that HRM should be linked to CSR. It was explained with references to academic debates from four aspects. Firstly, such link is feasible on the ground of reality that responsible HRM actions are actually adopted by many companies. Secondly, according to stakeholder theory, corporations should strive for meeting the requirement of all stakeholders (including shareholders and employees). CSR actions can meet the psychological needs of employees. Next, the integration of HRM and CSR can bring about potential profits by improving job satisfaction, enhancing organizational commitment, advancing employees performance and decreasing the turnover. Finally, CSR is conducive to establishment of good reputation of companies, thereby help employers recruit and retain employees. In addition, socially responsible restructuring is regarded as the special links between HRM and CSR in such tough economic climate. The researcher also proposed that such link is still realistic in the current climate of restructuring and redundancies on the ground that it helps companies set up better reputation, which can alleviate the economic loss of firms in collapsed market, that it can be beneficial to cost-saving in the face of redundancy and that it is supported by legislation and government policies. Although restructuring and redundancy are considered as hard HRM actions, such link seems to be soft in current tough climate.

Comparing All Quiet On The Western Front, The Wars, and A Farewell To A

All Quiet On The Western Front, The Wars, and A Farewell To Arms Any and all events in one's life may change a person profoundly, but the effect may not always be as expected. For instance, situations of despair may cause feelings of depression and uncertainty to develop in an individual, as would likely be expected. However, those same situations could ultimately lead to a sense of fulfilment or enlightenment. In the novels All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Remarque, The Wars by Timothy Findley, and A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemmingway, the varying possibilities of the effects of war on an individual are clearly displayed. In All Quiet On The Western Front, Paul Baumer finds the war has changed not only the way he views himself in the present, but also the way he views his past and his future. In The Wars, Robert Ross finds himself on a path of uncertainty, questioning the apparent loss of humanity in the world around him. Yet he ultimately uses the war as a medium through which the true essence of his character is able to shine. Finally , in the American classic A Farewell To Arms, Lieutenant Henry recognises that he is losing himself in the war and attempts to find an escape through love. As a result of the horrors and tragedies surrounding them, the characters in these three novels question their sense of self in light of their experiences in the war. Â  In Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front, Paul Baumer encounters many inner struggles. Through examining the changes occurring within himself, he finds he can no longer relate to his own past. His present thoughts and feelings are quite reclusive in nature and as he looks ahead, he finds himself fearing how the repercussions of the war will affect him in th... ...not only something as drastic as a war that may cause one to re-examine his outlook on himself and his life. There are many events in life that will prompt one to question his sense of self. The result may be a personal revelation, or the opposite. In any case, it is through these events that a man is shaped and discovered. These changes are evident not only through the world that created the man, but also through the man who experiences the world. Works Cited and Consulted Dos Passos, John. "The Best Written Book." Critical Essays on Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. New York: G.K. Hall & Co., 1994. 89-90. Findley, Timothy. The Wars. Penguin Books, Toronto: 1996. Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell To Arms. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986. Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: Ballantine, (1928)1958.

Criminal Justice System Paper Essay

The criminal justice system has goals that it tries to achieve. The CJS is to respond in the name of society when there is a crime that has been committed. The CJS spans from federal, state, and local governments. Within the system, there are three agencies that work together as a system to implement the criminal justice functions. The agencies are law enforcement, the courts, and the corrections. Each one of these agencies has a criminal justice process that proved the justice to the victims and offenders. When the CJS and the CJP work accordantly it benefits and protects society. The goals of the CJS are deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, and restoration. Deterrence is giving trying to prevent crime with fear. Specific deterrence happens when an offender is arrested and has decided not to commit and other crimes because they understand the consequences of their behavior. General deterrence is taken a person who is caught and displaying to the public in hopes t o scare them into not wanted the same consequences. Incapacitation removing offenders from society in some incarceration. Retribution is when revenge is taken on a perpetrator that must be punished. Rehabilitation is taking a criminal and reforming them. Restoration is making a victim find peace and forgiving the offender. These goals are to help in the ways the CJS do their jobs efficiently. The first component of the CJS is law enforcement that would be the police. The police enforce the laws by serving the public and keeping them safe. Police investigate crimes, apprehend offenders, reduce and prevent crimes, maintain public orders, ensure community safety, respond to emergencies, and protects fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals. The courts are the once that conduct fair and impartial trials. They do this by deciding criminal’s eases, ensuring due process, determining guilty or not, upholds the law, requires fairness, and protects rights and freedom to anyone facing process. The last component is the corrections, which carry out the sentencing of the courts. The corrections also provides safe and humane custody and supervision to the offenders, helps protect the community, respects the legal and human rights, rehabilitees, reforms, and reintegrates convicts. The criminal justice process begins with the investigation and arrest of an offender. After all the evidence is collected there is a warrant put out the offender, after being arrested they are taking into booking. The next process is the pre-trail. In the pre-trail four major events happen which  are first appearance, preliminary hearing, information or indictment, and arraignment. They then move to the next step of the trail, which lays everything out examine all the facts and argue the evidence. When the trail ends, the next step is the sentencing of the offender. When being sentence the jury or judge will make the decision of guilty or not guilty. If found guilty the last step in the process corrections if the offender is found to be incarcerated. The rights of the people and the need to control crime of the citizens. There is a constant competition between the rights of and individual and the need to control crime. This is call due process vs. crime control. Due process is the rights of the individual and rights of groups of people. Being read your Miranda rights and being fair in trials without prejudice or biases. Crime control is maintaining the safety of the community. Arresting as many criminals as possible. Getting criminals off the streets with still maintaining the individuals rights The criminal justice system and the criminal justice process all work together to punish offenders, prevent offenders, protect communities, and still ensure all individual rights are protected. Some criminals can be helped and some cannot, these criminals stay incarcerated. They systems may not always work correctly, but they do work and keep criminals out of the streets.

Contingent Reward System

Contingent reward is a reward that should be given to staff members when they earn them, that is the principle of contingent rewards. (â€Å"Motivating others through,† 2011) This is a great way to get the desired effect when working with a staff that might not be motivated to get a task or assignment done. A trend in the United States is toward a larger portion of employees’ compensation to be provided in the form of â€Å"variable pay† such as bonuses and equity-based compensation. (â€Å"Motivating others through,† 2011)Being the manager at the fast food restaurant and having a difficult time motivating your employees to clean the facility every three hours will be an easy task, when you find the best way to motivate them. What I have come up with is a three part contingent reward program. The three steps are; Assign tasks to each employee †¢We will provide a handout to each team employee listing there areas they are responsible through out the mon th. †¢This allows them to plan for the tasks and assignment they will need to complete. †¢Each employee will get assignments based on there level of experience.As they move up in the company more tasks can be assigned. Manager/Head Manager checks daily on tasks †¢This is important part of the contingent reward system. †¢Every three hours the manager needs to verify that the task is done and make a note of it on a board where all the tasks for the month are represented. Reward †¢The reward is broken down per paycheck. Each completed task represents a certain percentage of additional money. †¢This will also be viewed quarterly for yet another possible percentage increase †¢So as the employees do there assigned task they are rewarded for that. If they do not do the task they will not receive the increase †¢It will also show they are not getting there tasks done on the big board oThis will service as a motivation as the team can see who is perform ing and who is not This is the concept that has been developed to help the employees to see the benefit of having a clean facility. With a clean facility and friendly staff there is a strong chance that the amount of customers will increase which in turn will affect profit. Reference Motivating others through goals and rewards. (2011, April 4). Retrieved from http://www. wright. edu/~scott. williams/LeaderLetter/motivating. htm

How to Write a 1000 Word Essay

How to Write a 1000 Word Essay How to Write a 1000 Word Essay 1000 words? Really? How is it even possible? But it isn`t a tough question at all if you know exactly how to write such long essays. An essay is a thing of imagination and tedious work. You will easily achieve desired academic writing success if you have an understanding of the conventions of effective 1000-word essay writing. Just take a look at the common steps involved in successful top essay writing. Take Advantage of Effective Time Management Strategies A 1000-word essay is not something you will cope with in a matter of hours. So, it is essential to manage your time wisely and start writing as early as possible. Determine the time frames for topic analysis, planning, research and writing the first draft. Save enough time for proofreading and editing, formatting your essay in accordance with your university`s guidelines and reading it out loud. Choose a Topic to Write On Ask yourself a question – â€Å"What interests you most?†. Your essay will be bound to succeed if you are going to write on the subject that you are passionate about. Consider things you already know and check whether there are enough recourses on your topic. Make sure you understand your question fully. Generate as Many Ideas as You Can Now it is time to jot down your preliminary ideas that is to brainstorm. You should learn how to do it effectively. The most important thing is not to be scared of the brainstorming process. It is a great way to build a foundation of your paper. There is a plenty of brainstorming techniques that will help you make the writing process more enjoyable – listing, bulleting, cubing, webbing, mapping, clustering and outlining. Just be open-minded to the new thoughts. Start Researching Your Topic At this stage, you should apply all your research skills to explore your topic carefully. Explore encyclopedia, bibliographies, search journal indexes and electronic resources. Remember that internet searching is not always effective because not all publications are put online. Do not forget to take full bibliographic details of everything you read. Read critically and organize your notes in a neat way. Give a Pattern to Your 1000-Word Essay Introduction – approximately 100-200 words An effective and engaging introduction should introduce your topic and make your audience interested in it. It should include opening statements and a thesis statement. The introduction should be like a map for your readers – it should clearly show what your essay is about. Body paragraphs – approximately 800 words Each paragraph of the body of your essay should contain a topic sentence and reveal only one idea. You have to provide supporting evidence for every idea by giving examples, details, quotations, and facts. All sentences should be logically ordered. The main points of your essay should be smoothly and logically developed. Don`t forget to use different types of transitions (addition, comparison, emphasis, contrast, concession, clarification, restatement, concluding, summarizing) in order to show the connection between your ideas. Conclusion – approximately 100-200 words The first thing you should do when writing a conclusion is to restate your thesis statement. You can also explore the significance of your findings or any limitations of the approach you`ve taken. End your essay on a well-reasoned note. Don`t Neglect Editing and Proofreading First of all, edit for structure and argument. Make sure that your introduction gives your readers a clear understanding of your topic. Check whether all your paragraphs contribute to the main idea of your paper. Then edit for expression, grammar, and spelling. All sentences should be clear, concise and complete. They shouldn`t include any ambiguities. The sentence structure and vocabulary should be varied. Make sure that your essay is free from clichà ©s, jargon, slang, and colloquialisms. Correct all possible errors in typography, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style.