Thursday, October 31, 2019
Project Charter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words
Project Charter - Essay Example With the advent of new communication technologies call centres expanded their services considerably, allowing companies to contact a large number of people efficiently. Making a decision about the call centre setting up, the ABC Telecom Company sees considerable benefits for its business, because a call centre will: This document represents a general description of the project aimed to set up a call centre, comprising 10 workstations, in the ABC Telecom Company. The call centre is intended to be a primary way of effective communications with customers, partners and other external audience of the company. The company executives believe that the call centre will provide a single point of contact for all people who interact with company via various channels, including email, fax, web chat and board, phone, VOIP, SMS etc. Such virtual (not face-to-face) interactions may concern different issues from multiple areas, e.g. information dissemination, customer service and support, customer relationship management, marketing and telemessaging, sales (inbound and outbound), employee service and support, emergency services and other areas, related to customers’ satisfaction and telecom business’s efficiency. Undoubtedly, the project is rather complex, it includes a number of various aspects – from the selecting the location to build the call centre to the hiring and training a staff. The ABC Telecom Company does not have sufficient resources to cope with all project tasks by its own strength, that’s why it is intended to get a number of subcontractors and vendors to take part in the project, what brings additional important constraints in the project. Call centre in the ABC Telecom Company is being created in order to increase the value of contacts between the company and existent or potential customers. For customers the value means a good care,
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
5 Paragraph Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
5 Paragraph - Essay Example All utility things like automobiles, washing machine, refrigerators etc. breaks down when they are most needed. Indeed, the uncanny coincidence of their breakdown forces one to realize that these objects have a mind of their own which they use for optimal impact against man. Things like personal items have innate tendency of getting lost at the eleventh hour! Gloves, pliers, keys of car, house, locker etc. tend to disappear from their normal place when they are needed urgently. Interestingly, they are often found in the places least expected like the long forgotten corner of the wardrobe or under the mattress of unused bed. How and when they get to be there has remained the mystery for all. Most profound is the knowledge of the objects which refuse to perform their duty once they are brought home by their masters. Cigarette lighters, toys, car clocks etc. are major items that only work once and thereafter refuse to show their talent again. This is perhaps the only category of objects that man has been able to demystify and therefore is less likely to get upset with. One can therefore succinctly state that society of inanimate objects has been successful in declaring their hostility against man. Objects of first two categories show that inanimate things are psychologically much advanced and know how to test human patience or indeed, increase their blood pressure to achieve their objective. Man needs to be much more aware of their cunning intentions so that he is equipped with alternatives that would defeat the evil intentions of the inanimate
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Globalisation and Formula One
Globalisation and Formula One ABSTRACT It is often argued whether motorsport is a proper sport, and thus can be examined as such by researchers. In this essay, Formula One, for many the most important form of motorsport, is compared to established sports such as football and the Olympic Games, in terms of structure, their respective governing bodies, and their characteristics. For the latter, it has been discussed whether Formula One is a socio-cultural sport or a commercial one, as these are identified by K. Foster. Moreover, the role televison played into growing the sports popularity is examined. Finally, there has been a comparison between two important personalities of football and Formula One, Dr Joao Havelange and Bernie Ecclestone respectively, in an attempt to examine to what extent individuals can have an influence on a sports development. Introduction Ever since the replacement of post modernity with globalisation as the predominant social theory (T. Miller et al, 2001), academics of sport have taken an interest on International Sport Governing bodies and their role in an era where, (according to the hyperglobalist tradition at least (D. Held et all, 1999), nation states and their institutions are going into decline. The two most commonly mentioned (and researched) International Sport Institutions are FIFA ( J. Sugden and A. Tomlinson 1999, J. Sugden and A. Tomlinson 2003), (the International Federation of Football Associations) and the IOC (the International Olympic Committee), (M. Roche, 2000). These are the respective governing bodies of football and the Olympic Games worldwide, and subsequently responsible of staging the worlds two most popular sporting events; the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games. This essay will attempt to investigate in what extent does a slightly different sport, motor racing (through its most popu lar discipline, F1 GP racing), complies with the trademarks in world sport organisation set by the aforementioned institutions. For this purpose, I have opted to compare the structure of FIFA and the FIA (Federation Internationale de l Automobile), as well as the two sports (from their league structure point of view mainly),. Before that, however, I have decided to outline some of the characteristics of motor sport, which make it defer from mainstream bodily sports, as well as clarify some definitions and terminology that is widely used to describe it. Moreover, I have seeked to make a comparison between the two individuals that transformed these two organisations into what they are today: Dr Joao Havelange and Bernie Ecclestone. The role of these individuals within the structures of the Fedrations will be examined, taking into account the existing theories concerning agency, which try to understand the role individuals can play in a social system. Specifically, the essay will focus on the impact Havelange (as FIFA president from 1974-1998) and Ecclestone (as F1s commercial rights holder) had in what Miller refers to as Televisualisation (Miller et all, op. cit. p. 4) of sport. Televisualisation, along with Commodification (ibid, p. 4), will be further discussed, as they were the key factors that resulted in the economic growth of both FIFA and FIA, by being the marketing tools for boosting the image of football and motor racing worldwide. As a conclusion, some thoughts about the commercial future of Formula One will be outlined, mostly influenced by Sugden and Tomlinsons thoughts on the future of FIFA (J. Sugden and A. Tomlinson 2005). Unfortunately, due to the relative lack of scholarly sources on motor racing, historical information has been gathered mostly from journalistic sources, with every attempt made to ensure these are credible ones. The same applies to information acquired from the World Wide Web, where only established sites (such as the FIA official site, the Financial Times and the European Union) have been used. Finally, as most of the original notes for this essay had been in Greek, I have used the Oxford Greek-English Learners Dictionary as a reference (D. N. Stavropoulos, 2004). The nature of Motor Sport Due to its peculiarities, motor sport is not a popular participant sport, unlike football. Whereas football is easy to play, requiring minimum equipment such as a ball and two posts, and can take any place in any open space, motor sport is centred around such a sophisticated equipment as a racing car, which is very expensive to purchase and run, and it is restricted to specifically designed race tracks. Many consider it not to be a proper sport; First, because a drivers ability is compromised by the competitiveness of his or her equipment, and therefore not always the most capable can challenge for victory, if they are not well-equipped. Secondly, because mainstream sport in most cases involves an athlete physically using his/her body to perform. A person sitting on a car is not considered as a true athlete, although in the higher disciplines, such as F1, a driver has to endure lateral forces of up to 4g for approximately 1 and a half hour (the average duration of a GP race), and at the same time being completely concentrated in order to achieve consecutive laps with accuracy of tenths of a second. Motor Sport has various disciplines, which, unlike many other sports, are available for representatives of both genders to participate in and compete against each other. The motor sport discipline whose structure will be compared to football will be Formula One, for many the highest echelon of motor racing (Table 1). More specifically, with Formula One we refer to the Formula One World Championship, which is regulated by the FIA. Racing Type Power Output (in bhp) Champ Car 750 Formula 1 750 F1 equivalency Formula 750 Indy Racing League 670 Grand Prix Masters 650 GP2 580 A1GP 520 Table 1: (Power outputs of racing categories (F1Racing magazine 2006) Definitions What is Formula One The name Formula One was only introduced in 1947 when racing activities resumed after the 2nd World War. Formula 1 was actually a code used to identify the technical regulations under which grand prix cars should be run at the races. Formula 1 racing began in 1947 therefore, although only in 1950 was a World Championship for Formula one cars organised (A. Cimarosti). However, F1 as a discipline exists in other sports as well, for example powerboating. What is a Grand Prix The first Grand Prix (grand prize) for automobiles was organised as such for the first time in 1906 by the AFC (Automobile Club de France) (ibid). Ever since it has become almost synonymous with big motor sport events, and with Formula One since the inception of the World Championship in 1950. The term Grand Prix though is also used in other sports, such as motorcycle racing and some IAAF meetings. Ownership of Formula One the FIA The FIA owns the name Formula One World Championship'(www. fia.com. 2006). In their website the FIA describe themselves as a non-profit making association (www.fia.com/thefia/Organisation/organisation.html 2006) who, since its birth in 1904, (it) has been dedicated to representing the interests of motor organisations and motor car users throughout the world. It is also the governing body of motor sport worldwide (ibid). Today it consists of 213 national motoring organisations from 125 countries (www.fia.com/thefia/Membership/index_membershtml, 2006). We should bear in mind that unlike for example FIFA, which only has authority over football, the FIA is responsible for all the types of car racing (rallying, racing, hill climbing etc), but that does not include motorcycle racing, which is the responsibility of the FIM (Federation International of Motorcycle). The date of its foundation suggests it was conceived during a time when, according to Miller again, it was Europes high point for setting in place the global governance of sport. Miller points out that most of the worlds governing bodies were founded after the proclamation of the Olympic movement at the turn of the century; he also goes on to mention the establishment of equivalents for football, cricket, athletics and tennis (T. Miller et al, op. cit. p. 10 ). However, one of the peculiarities of the FIA is that it is not entirely a sporting body (see Table 2). FIA General Assembly FIA President Deputy President                                  FIA Senate                                  Deputy President (Mobility and Automobile)                                                                        (Sport) FIA World Council for Mobility and the Automobile                     World Motor Sport Council Mobility and Automobile Commissions                                          Sporting Commissions International Court of appeal Secretariat Table 2. The structure of the FIA (www.fia.com, 2006 ). Instead, the FIA consists of the World council for Mobility and the Automobile, and the World Motor Sport council. The World Motor Sport Council is the world governing body of the FIA Formula One World Championship. This is the sporting branch of the FIA under whose jurisdiction come all forms of international motor sport involving land vehicles with four or more wheels.  Of significant importance is the existence of the FIA International Court of Appeal, which is the final appeal tribunal for international motor sport. ()Iit resolves disputes brought before it by any motor sports National Sporting Authorities worldwide, or by the President of the FIA. It can also settle non-sporting disputes brought by national motor racing organisations affiliated to the FIA (www.fia.com/thefia/Court_of_appeal/index.html, 2006). The existence of the International Court of Appeal within the FIA structure points out to what Ken Foster refers to private justice among global sporting organisations. He argues that the intent [] is to create a zone of private justice within the sporting field of regulation that excludes judicial supervision or intervention with the decision-making process of international sporting federations. It denies athletes -[and teams]- access to national courts and leaves them dependent on the arbitrary justice of the international sporting federation themselves. Athletes can claim redress only from an arbitration panel created and appointed by the international sporting federation itself [], (K. Foster, 2005). It appears that the FIA has followed FIFAs and the IOCs example, in taking advantage of the difficulties of monitoring INGOs. Foster underlines that states are unwilling or incapable of challenging the power of international sporting federations[] (ibid. p.68). In addition, he points out alternative ways of avoiding legal scrutiny by making it compulsory in their rules that disputes go only to private arbitration, and by asking athletes to sign agreements not tot take legal action against international sporting federations'(ibid. p.69). Indeed, according to Allison, [modern sport] has developed highly autonomous international organisations () (L. Allison and T Monnington, 2005). In the same text, Foster has previously commented on the general attitude of powerful sporting bodies: Historically, sport has been governed by management structures that were hierarchical and authoritarian. Their ideology, and often their legal form, was that of a private club (). The commercialisation, and the later commodification [which will be discussed later on this essay] of sport put pressure on their legal form. Private clubs began to exercise significant economic power over sport. (). International sporting bodies, as federations of national associations, in turn organised global sport. () the need for due process in decision-making and the need to prevent abuses of dominant power within the sport were two important consequences of this [the] legal intervention (K Foster, in Allison, 2005).  So far it appears that the FIA is complying with the models of regulation of FIFA and the IOC in certain aspects, such as being an International Non-Government- Organisation (INGO). But, because of its very nature, the motor sport governing body does not entirely follow FIFAs and the IOCs patterns. For example, Sugden and Tomlinson (again), argue that drawing upon Archers classification of types of international organisations, (C. Archer, 1992), () since its foundation in 1904, FIFA has transformed itself from and INGO (International Non-Government- Organisation) into a BINGO (Business International Non-Government Organisation (), (J Sugden and A Tomlinson, 2005). They go on to comment that FIFAs reason for existence has been increasingly profit-driven () and has become a leading example of the professionalisation and commercialisation of modern sport (), (Ibid. p.27). From a capitalistic point of view, one would assume that it would be normal for every organisation to seek p rofit. Sugden and Tomlinson, though, observe that such commercial activity coming from INGOs is illegal, and refer to Morozovs claim: As Morozov states, the aims and activities of an international organisation must be in keeping with the universally accepted principles of international law embodied in the charter of the United Nations and must not have a commercial character or pursue profit-making aims, ( G. Morozov, (1997). ( However, the FIA cannot be considered to belong in the category of INGOs becoming BINGOs. Like FIFA and the IOC, it has opted to locate its corresponding offices in Switzerland (www.fia.com/global/contacts .html, 2006), something which, as Sugden and Tomlinson point out, underlines [FIFAs] political and fiscal autonomy (and unaccountability), ( J Sugden and A Tomlinson, 1998); but it has not directly benefited economically by promoting the Formula One World Championship. Although it states that part of its resources shall be derived from income arising directly or indirectly from sporting activities, including the FIA champions (www.fia.com/thefia/statutes/Files/index, 2006), hips, it cannot benefit directly from exploiting Formula Ones and other FIA championships commercial rights. Foster, again, gives a detailed account of how the case of motor sport became a unique example of governmental intrusion into a global sporting bodys self-regulation, ( K Foster, in Allison 2005). According to a European Commission principal, a governing body of sport needs to separate its regulation of the sport from its commercial activities in promoting events and in maximising their commercial value; a governing body must not use its regulatory functions improperly to exclude its commercial rivals from the sport (Official European Journal, 13/06/01, Cases COMP/35.163: COMP/36.638; COMP/36.776. GTR/FIA others, 2005). It is suggested that FIA used its monopoly positio n by the threat of imposing sanctions to drivers, circuits, teams and promoters who wouldnt grant them exclusivity, thus rendering them unable to compete in rival series. Moreover, broadcasters who televised rival events were given least favourable agreements (K Foster in Allison, 2005). The result of the European Commissions intervention was the change of regulations on behalf of the FIA: They insisted on a complete separation of the regulatory function of FIA, as the governing body of the sport, and its commercial function of exploiting the broadcasting rights to all motor sport events under its jurisdiction. The separation is (was) designed to prevent conflicts of interest. The Commission also limited the extent to which FIA, as the regulator of the sport, can take measures to prevent rival promoters of events competing with FIAs events. The Commission wanted to separate the function of the FIA in promoting events (and thereby gaining commercial benefit) from that of licensing events as part of its regulatory function. The role of a governing body, according to the Commission, is to act fairly and create a level playing field so that all promoters of events are treated equally and carefully (Ibid. p.84). Foster justifies the Commissions decision thus: The differen t approach by the Commission can be explained because motor sport is a globalised, rather than an internationalised, sport. It had a commercial structure of management and offered no cultural or social justification of its anti-competitive behaviour. As such it was subject to normal commercial criteria in its regulation, (Ibid); and goes on to comment that this example may be unusual in that there was an excessive intermingling of the regulatory and commercial functions within the governing structures of international motor sport. However, it indicates that regional regulation can be effective and that the fear that globalised sport can escape all regulation and be immune from legal intervention may be exaggerated (Ibid). Structure of the FIA Formula One World Championship Indeed, the structure of the FIA Formula One World Championship seems very much to resemble the American (commercial) model of sport, although being originally a European concept, as described above. Foster, once again, offers the key characteristics in American and European sport. (see Table 3.) European (socio-cultural) American (Commercial) Organisational motive Sporting Competition Profit League structure Open Pyramid. Promotion and relegation Closed league; ring-fenced Governing bodys role Vertical solidarity; sport for all Profit maximisation; promote elite stars as celebrities Cultural Identity National leagues; local teams. Opposition to relocation of teams transnational leagues Transnational or global leagues; footloose franchises International Competitions Important for National Identity Non-existent or minimal Structure of governance Single representative federal body League or commissioner Table 3. (European model of sport vs American model of sport), (Ibid. p.74). By attempting to compare the structures of football and Formula One, we can relatively easily identify that the former belongs to the European tradition. It was indeed conceived as a sporting competition first and foremost. It is rather doubtful that there had been a plan to make profit out of football when the FA was founded in 1886. The open pyramid system is adopted, with clubs being promoted and relegated form the divisions of their national leagues, depending on their performance. Football has been conceived as a sport for all, and FIFAs initiatives such as the goal project confirm this (J Sugdan and A Tomlinson, 2003). Moreover, with the existence of events such as the FIFA World Cup which is exclusively contested for by National teams, the importance of national identity in football is displayed. Finally, the FIFA remains the only representative body for the sport. In contrast, the structure of the FIA Formula One World Championship complies in general terms with the Ameri can (commercial one), although with few noticeable exceptions. It should be noted that, before starting to analyse Formula One racing using this model, we can identify in its nature all but one of the strands that are identified by Scholte, (A. J. Scholte, 2000). The only one absent is Internationalisation, as there are no international competitions in Formula One. Instead, it is an entirely globalised sport. There are no national Formula One championships. The only Formula One championship organised today is the World Championship. Liberalisation, universalisation and, most importantly, globalisation are all evident: Liberalisation: There are no cross border restrictions in Formula One, as it does not operate on a national level. The races can be held in any country, provided it has an FIA- affiliated national sporting body, and drivers and teams can come form any country as well. Universalisation: ()A global sport () needs to be simple in its structure and thus readily understood by those who have never played the game before, (Foster, in Allison, p. 66). This is more than evident in Formula One, whereas although most people are unlikely to have driven a Formula One car in full racing trim, unless they are professional racing drivers, they can easily understand its concept, that the faster car wins the race.          Globalisation/ Americanisation: Rationalisation of Formula One has been achieved since its conception in 1950. Written rules were adopted and a championship was organised in order to rationally identify (Ibid), the best driver, (and the best team in 1958 with the introduction of the Constructors championship). In addition, it also complies with imperialism and westernization. Foster comments that Developing countries are excluded because they have fewer facilities (). Sports like motor racing require massive technical capital that excludes them (Ibid). De-Territorialisation: Foster observes that we have global broadcasting of sport and global fans; (Ibid. p.67), and goes on to quote Giulianotti: Globalisation brings with it a disembedding of local social and political ties between club [-in Formula Ones case, team] and community (R. Giulianotti, 2005). This is again present in the case of Formula One. As races are not contested in the teams home grounds, but rather, in race tracks scattered throughout the world, there is not much connection between their national identity (with the exception of Ferrari, who still carries some sense of Italian-ness). Re-location for Formula One teams is usual, provided this gives them a better chance of winning. Hence, Renault are based in Enstone, UK, Toyota in Cologne, Germany, etc. Furthermore, the ease with which teams can change their identity overnight is unique: The tartan-liveried team of former Scottish triple World Champion Jackie Stewart, founded in 1997 was turned into Jaguar in 2000, proudly painted in British Racing Green colour, and Red Bull in 2005, after the name of an Austrian-made energy drink. The globalised nature of Formula One (especially in its difference to internationalised sport) has also been identified by Houlihan: Globalised sport () has rootless teams, with multi national or nationally ambiguous teams ( B. Houlihan, 2005), [for example McLaren are a British team, founded by a New Zealander (Bruce McLaren), have a German engine provider (Mercedes) and their drivers come from Finland (Kimi Raikkonen) and Colombia (Juan Pablo Montoya)]. These rootless, de-territorialised sports are often typified by their identification with commercial sponsors. [for example Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, and Mild Seven Benetton Renault F1 Team]. Formula One teams are defined by their manufacturers, such as Ferrari (Ibid).   Going back to the American vs European model, we have already argued that although Formula One racing was conceived in Europe on the turn of the 20th century, its current management has rendered it a primarily profit-making sport. One could argue that until 1968, when cigarette advertising (and generally corporate advertising) appeared in Formula One, (http://8w.forix.com/love.html, see also http://8w.forix.com/myths.html, 2005), the sport belonged to the European tradition. Up until then, any profit made was incidental, not central. Only starting and prize money was available to the competitors. In the 1970s, with sponsorship cash and television money heavily influencing the sport (P. Menard, 2004), Formula One became a profit-making sport. The role of television coverage in that will be discussed later in the essay. As for the league structure of Formula One, it is totally commercial. As mentioned before, there is only one Formula One contest, the World Championship. Entry to it is not based on a promotion system, but strictly on capitalistic values. In other words, only those who can afford it can enter. A recent example was that of the new Super Aguri racing team. Although the rules state that applications to compete in the Championship may be submitted to the FIA () two years prior to the Championship in which the applicant wishes to compet (), (www.fia.com /resources/documents/, 2006), the team applied in autumn 2005. However, the application was successful. On January 2006, FIA issued the following statement: Following receipt of the necessary financial guarantee and with the unanimous support of the competing teams, the FIA has accepted the late entry of the Super Aguri F1 Team to the 2006 Formula One World Championship, (http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=208865FS=F1, 2 006). This incident is characteristic of an American-type closed league, as Foster describes it: The entry [to the league] is controlled by the incumbents. There is a fixed number of teams in the league [in Formula Ones case, the highest number of cars that can take part in the Championship is 24] with no relegation. New teams cannot break into the closed shop unless the league decides that its overall economic wealth will be improved by expansion franchises. The economic risks of sporting failure are reduced and this makes capital investment in a team franchise more attractive (K. Foster, in Allison (2005), p. 75). In terms of the Governing bodys role, it is also an occasion where F1 follows the American model. Vertical solidarity is non-existent, as there are no lower Formula One leagues. Even for motor sport in general, Formula One revenues are not redistributed to lower formulae, and there is no effort to make motor racing a sport for all. Only whoever can afford motor racing can enter it. Formula One seeks to maximise its profits by commodificating itself. Elite stars are promoted as celebrities. For example, an attempt to present Jenson Button as a star has taken place in Britain, while in the case of Germany, Lincoln Allison and Terry Monnington comment: (Lotthar Matthaus), Michael Schumacher, (and Bernhard Langer) have been more importantly formative of young peoples images of Germany in the last generation that have Fichte, Hegel and Bismark, (L. Allison and T. Monningtonin, 2005). The American model seems to suit Formula One best again when questions about its relation to national identity arise. What Foster observes as a characteristic of the American model, is that there is little sense of national identity (). The leagues identification of its supporters is one of commercial customers rather than fans. The business can and will be moved whenever commercial considerations dictate, more like a supermarket chain than a sports team, (Foster, in Allison p. 75). This is partly true for Formula One and relevant to de-territorilisation. Most teams can relocate, as mentioned, and race venues can be changed, as was the case in recent years, with traditional European races (like the Austrian GP) being dropped from the calendar in favour of new venues in Asia (Bahrain, Malaysia, Turkey, China). However, when the sport was conceived, (prior to advertising) the racing cars would be usually painted in their national colours (green for Britain, blue for France, silver for Germany, Red for Italy etc). Today only Ferrari maintains some sense of national identity, being the only team remaining of those who took part in the inaugural 1950 World Championship; and they are still carrying the traditional racing colours (Rosso Corse). It is the only team that has fans (usually fans support drivers, not teams), the tifosi, and the race tracks of Imola and Monza are considered their home. In a lesser extent, that could apply to British teams and the Silverstone circuit. Few customs that refer to the presence of nationalism in past years still remain. One such example is the playing of the national anthem for both winning driver and constructor during the award-giving ceremony. At the same time, the hoisting of the flags in honour of the first, second and third drivers takes place. Another is the existence of a small flag next to the name of the driver, to indicate his or her nationality, on their racing overalls and on the sides of the cars cockpit. Finally, there are no national teams competitions in Formula One, (In 2006, a rival series to F1, A1GP appeared), and, as mentioned before, the FIA is the only regulating sporting body. Televisualisation However, we have seen that in practice, because of the aforementioned intervention of the European Commission in the governing of Formula One, many key decisions about the sport are taken by the person who administrates its commercial rights and not the governing body. This person could be considered the equivalent of a commissioner in a commercial model. In the case of Formula One, he is Bernie Ecclestone, through his FOM company. FOA/FOM, companies controlled by () Ecclestone, are engaged in the promotion of the FIA Formula One Championship. The 1998 Concorde Agreement provides that FOA is the Commercial Rights Holder to the FIA Formula One Championship. FOA is thus responsible for televising and generally commercializing the Championship. On 28 May 1999, FOA changed its name to Formula One Management Limited (FOM) which manages the rights. The commercial rights themselves were taken over by an associated company, now also named FOA, (http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2001/c_169/c_16920010613en00050011.pdf). Miller underlines the importance of televisualisation in sport: Television was the prime motor in the development of post-war sport() helping to constitute a sports/media complex or media-sports-culture complex of sports organisation, media/marketing organisations, and media personnel (broadcasters and journalists). Dependency of sports organi
Friday, October 25, 2019
Theatre Play :: essays research papers
Triple Threat Cell phone rings Chris Hey what’s up man? Chris Naw man, I’m busy tonight, I’ve got three dates Chris Ya man, three different girls, and they don’t even know Chris I’m taking one of them to lunch, another to dinner, and then I’m gonna meet the one at the bar Chris I met the first one in my theatre class, man she’s hot! I am taking her to lunch Chris The second one I met at Wal-mart. She was checkin me out. I’m taking her to dinner Chris And the last one is that one girl from last week at the bar, remember? I’m meeting her there later Chris So, do you think I can pull this off? Chris No? Man you know I’ve got dem skills..Later Next Scene Chris Hey how’s it going? Anna I’m fine how are you? Chris I’m good, man Brent’s class sure was enjoyable today wasn’t it? Anna Ohh yes, I had so much fun Waitress Can I get you all something to drink? Chris A water please Anna A water Waitress Would you like to order? Chris I would like a salad Anna I would like a triple cheeseburger, fries, and a loaded baked potato Chris Damn girl! Hungry? Anna Naw not really, I ate breakfast awhile ago Anna So, what are you doing tonight? Chris I am going to my grandma’s birthday party all day, you? Anna I’m going out with some of my girls Chris Well that’s cool Chris How’s the food? Anna Awesome, you want a bite? Chris No thanks, it’s all yours Chris So are you going to get the bill? Anna Hell no I’m not paying, do you think I would have ordered all this? Chris It’s cool, I got it, you know I’m a baller End date one Waitress Weren’t you here earlier? Chris Nope, you must have me mistaken with someone else Waitress No I’m sure it was you, are you sure? Chris Nope sure wasn’t me Waitress Ok then, how many? Chris Just two Michelle How’s your day going? Chris It’s good and yourself? Michelle Mines good, I just got off the phone with a friend and she had a terrible lunch date with some guy Chris Ohh really? That sucks Michelle Ya she came here Chris Ohh..I see†¦ Waitress Would you like something to drink? Chris We’ll both have water..with lemon that’s not extra is it? Michelle Well..thanks? Chris No problem Waitress Are you ready to order? Chris Ya, is it possible for us to order off the kids menu? Waitress No, not so much Chris Ok then, we’ll split the appetizer sampler Michelle Wow, don’t go all out Chris It’s cool, I’ve got plenty Chris So how’s wal-mart treating ya? Michelle Well it’s good, I have been getting a lot of hours since one girl†¦(Chris checks out another girl and says hi)..Uhh hello? Chris Uhh ya, that’s cool Michelle So what are you doing tonight? Chris Well I am going to ball with my boys and then we are going to hang at the house. What about you?
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Paramedic Professionals Essay
Although paramedics work alongside other emergency services and health care providers, they are not classified as health care professionals, therefore, working independently from these organisations and autonomously within their own state ambulance organisations. Through exploring the evolution of paramedic practice and their role as a health care provider, the current status of paramedics as a semi profession is explained along with what further development is needed before they become a recognised profession. In understanding how paramedics work autonomously within their own state based organisations, the concept of scope of practice and evidence based practice is explored. Finally by discussing how paramedics are independent, we establish paramedics’ role and position within the Australian Health Care System. A paramedic is a health care professional At present in Australia, paramedics are not classified as registered health care professionals. (Smith 2012) Instead, paramedics are widely regarded as semi-professionals with the potential to become a fully recognised profession in the near future. The definition of profession and the guidelines to become a recognised profession are not black and white. Professions Australia defined a profession as ‘a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards and who possess special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised body of learning derived from research, education and training at a high level. ’ (Allied Health Professions Australia 2008: 8) Whilst Wilinsky (1964) describes 4 key elements that are essential for the process of professionalization. These include; the implementation of a unified code of ethics and regulations, attaining professional licencing, registration and accreditation, the establishment of university study and education and the development of full-time occupation and formation of occupational territory. Over the past 20 years the roles of paramedics have changed rapidly, with changes still occurring at the present. Paramedics have transitioned from ‘stretcher bearers’ knew as ambulance officers, to todays’ paramedics who are full time workers and are able to administer extensive pre hospital care. Along with the changes to the nature of the paramedics’ job, there has also been a significant change in the way paramedics are trained. ‘Training for paramedics has transitioned from on the job training provided by State and Territory Ambulance Services to vocational qualifications and more recently, higher education (University) sector qualifications. ’(Williams, Brown, Onsman 2012: 6) These changes to higher education training and full time employment, has allowed for paramedics to move one step closer in becoming a recognised profession. A review of common professional traits suggests two main areas where the discipline falls short and it is that paramedics do not have ‘national registration and regulation resulting in professional self-control and accreditation’ and they do not nationwide qualifications that link from tertiary education to the paramedic services (Williams, Brown, Osman 2012: 1) Firstly, registration in the context of health care professionals, is the process of licensing and registering clinicians to practice at a uniform national standard of care. Productivity Commission 2005 in Williams, Brown, Osman 2012: 7) Registration allows for consistency in education and training nationwide, and ensures paramedics work within the provisions of their scope of practice. (Council of Ambulance Authorities 2008) Secondly, there are no national university standard degree competencies or a national curriculum in relation to paramedic training. This leads to an inconsistency between the curricula taugh t to paramedic students. This is further aggravated by ambulance services as they work independently from the Australian Health care System and of the universities as well. Williams, Brown, Osman 2012) In conclusion, without the implementation of nationwide registration, licensing and education qualifications, paramedics will continue to be recognized as a semi-profession. Operating autonomously Paramedics are allied health care providers who are operating autonomously at a state level within their own ambulance services. The United States National Library of Medicine defines autonomy as the ‘decisions and the freedom to act in accordance with one’s professional knowledge base. (Nurs 2010: 1) In the paramedic profession this knowledge base is known as a scope of practice. Within each state based paramedic organisation, there is legislation and guidelines that outline the scope of which a certain qualified paramedic can work in. Scope of practice refers to ‘the ext ent to which providers may render Health care services and the extent they may do so independently and the type of diseases, ailments, and injuries a health care provider may address and what procedures and medication they can provide. ’ (Prats ;amp; Katz 2012: 13) For example, in Queensland, whilst out on road paramedics have the freedom to make their own decisions and judgments based on their knowledge, as long as it is legal in the legislation of the Queensland Ambulance Service Ambulance Service Act 1991 (Qld) and within the scope of practice of the paramedics qualifications. (Queensland Consolidated Acts 2010) As paramedics gain further knowledge and undergo more training, the scope of practice of this paramedic will increase. The larger the scope of practice, the more autonomously the paramedic is able to operate. Currently in Queensland there has been an increased awareness of poorer patient outcomes and difficulties in accessing medical help in rural and remote areas. (Horizon 2007 in O’Meara 2011) In an attempt to increase positive patient outcomes, expanded scope roles have been introduced into the Australian Health Care System, allowing certain paramedics to apply skills and protocols for which they were not originally trained. (Sterling, Pedler, Walker 2007) This increases the paramedics’ autonomy within their field which allows them to work for better patient outcomes. Paramedics are also highly autonomous as they frequently use evidence based practice as a means of new research and technique. In the pre hospital care environment, ‘rather than making decisions about practice actions based on routine and traditionally taught methods, paramedics use evidence identified from well-constructed studies as a basis for the clinical decisions and behaviours. ’ (Curtis ;amp; Ramsden 2011: 111) Evidence based practice occurs through ‘integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research. (Sackett ;amp; Rosenberg 1996: 1) This can only occur when an individual is given autonomy within their field of work. In conclusion, as paramedics have the freedom to make decisions within their scope of practice and can utilise evidence based practice, paramedics are autonomous within a state level. Operating independently within The Australian Health Care System Although paramedics work alon g-side the Australian Health Care System, paramedics are independent of this system. The Houghton Mifflin Company 2011 defines independent as being ‘not governed by a foreign power; self-governing. Paramedics are governed by their own state based organisations and are separate and independent of the hospitals and the Australian Health Care System. When dealing with any misconduct or inquiries, unlike nurses and doctors whose governing power is the Australian Health Care System, paramedics approach their own state based organisation. In conclusion, even though the paramedics work in conjunction with other health care providers both in and out of the hospital setting, paramedics governance is independent of other health care services and the Australian Health Care System. Willis, McCarthy, Lazarsfeld-Jensen and O’Meara 2009) Conclusion: In conclusion paramedics are autonomous and independent health care providers who work along-side the Australian Health Care system. Alth ough paramedics work alongside other emergency services and health care providers in both the in and out of hospital care environment, they are not classified as health care professionals. But with the implementation of nationwide curricula and ethical standards, paramedics can move from a semi profession to fully recognised profession. Paramedics have the freedom to make decisions within their scope of practice and can utilise evidence based practice, making paramedics autonomous within a state level. Through the broadening of paramedics’ scope of practice in certain environment such as rural areas and through the use of evidence based practice we see efforts to increase positive patient outcomes. Finally, paramedics are independent from the Australian Health Care System as they are self-governed by their own state based organisations.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Consequences of Friedman’s Shareholder Theory for Hrm Ethics
Milton Friedman wrote in 1973 that managements â€Å"primary responsibility is to the shareholders who own and invest in the company†. What are the consequences of this philosophy for HRM ethics, and what alternative perspectives might serve the profession in the future? Friedman’s Shareholder Theory Milton Friedman’s shareholder theory has had a broad range of consequences for HRM ethics.The main consequence being that if management are only answerable to owners and shareholders, and must do as they wish, management’s quest will almost always be to maximise profit. Organisations that are constantly trying to maximise profits are often constricted by short-termism. Short-termism refers to the excessive focus of some organisational leaders on short-term earnings which can impede the long-term value creation of a company. Short-termism can have profound effects on an organisations HRM ethics.Before examining the consequences of Friedman’s theory that managements â€Å"primary responsibility is to the shareholders that own and invest in the company†, and before outlining alternative ethical perspectives that might serve the profession in the future, I think it is important to give a brief account of the different agendas of HRM ethics and of Friedman’s reasoning behind his theory in order to relate it to HRM ethics. Fryer (2009) says that there are two contrasting agendas with regards to the relationship between HRM and ethics.He says the first agenda is welfare humanism and the second agenda is managerial performativity. The welfare humanist ethical agenda says that the ethicality of HRM practice should be measured in relation to its responsiveness to the needs and aspirations of employees. Under this perspective, self-actualisation and self-esteem of employees is considered very important and is rigorously promoted. The managerial performativity agenda is the opposite of the welfare humanist agenda. This agenda pl aces the achievement of strategic success above all other considerations, including employee well-being.Supporters of this agenda argue that if an organisation focuses purely on maximising profit within free/liberal market conditions, it will ultimately be in everyone’s best interests. According to Fryer (2009), Friedman was a utilitarian and also followed the managerial performativity agenda. Utilitarian theory proposes that the best way to lend moral legitimacy to a decision is to promote the way forward that will generate â€Å"the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people†(Fryer 2009, p. 77).Oslington (2012) suggested that the work of Adam Smith can be used to support the idea that if an organisation prospers, society in general will benefit from this. Therefore, as Friedman believed, if a firm tries to maximise profits, it will ultimately be in a society’s best interests as many people stand to benefit from the commercial prosperity of a bu siness, including its shareholders, suppliers, customers, the vast majority of employees and society at large as the business generates economic activity. Friedman (1970) wrote a seminal article in the New York Times called The Social Responsibility of Business is to increase its Profits.In this article he argues that any person who believes that a business should be concerned with issues other than maximising profit, issues such as eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and providing employment, are just puppets of the forces that strive to undermine the basis of a free society. This article lays the foundation for Friedman to declare in 1973 that managements only responsibility is to shareholders as he places an increased emphasis on property rights. Fryer (2009) suggests that that property rights are fundamental to Western culture and that the right to own and to transfer property is of the utmost importance.Consequences of Shareholder Theory The consequences of Friedmanà ¢â‚¬â„¢s shareholder theory for HRM ethics are profound. HRM ethics is the moral obligations of an employer towards its employee’s and shareholder theory forces management to focus on short term profit maximisation which justifies actions such as imposing stressful working conditions on employees as long as it improves the performance of the company. Many organisations that follow this shareholder theory have largely questionable ethics towards their employees as they seek to maximise profits without breaking the law.A good example of an organisation that follows this theory is Ryanair. Ryanair’s (2012) code of ethics clearly states that â€Å"Ryanair is committed to the fair and equitable treatment of all employees and abides by employment laws in the countries in which it does business. †Ryanair does not break any laws with regard the treatment of their employee’s. However, they do marginalise workers as they are not actually employees of Ryanair, but independent contractors. Employment law places strict responsibility on employers for their employees, whereas the conditions for independent contractors are not as strict.This allows Ryanair to maximise profits without having to incur extra costs such as tax requirements and providing better work conditions. Short-termism can also directly affect an organisations HRM ethics in other ways. Kreymeyer et al. (2006) carried out a survey of more than four hundred executives across many of the largest U. S. corporations. Analysis of the survey found that, due to the pressures of short-termism, more than half of all respondents said they would delay or cancel new projects, even if the cancellation of those projects meant that the organisation sacrifices value creation in the future.Such projects may include implementing a new HRM system. Implementing a new HRM system may be costly to install at first but if successful, could increase future value creation through many different ways such as reducing conflict within an organisation, improving workforce morale and productivity, reducing employee turnover which in turn could reduce recruitment and training costs. This can show how Friedman’s shareholder theory, which increases the pressures of short-termism, can affect an organisations HRM ethics as profit maximisation in seen as the number one priority of the firm.As HRM ethics focuses on moral obligations of employers to employees, one priority of a firm should be to try to secure the long term sustainability of an organisation in order to provide job security to employees. Friedman’s shareholder theory should back this up but the overriding emphasis on short term goals and profitability can impede long term sustainability. Opportunities that could improve the long term performance of an organisation may be ignored as they might impact on short term profitability.For example, projects may be ignored because of the cost of the initial investment is too h igh or because the payback period of the project is too long. In Krehmeyer et al. (2006) survey, eighty per cent of respondents said that they would reduce discretionary spending on advertising, research and development, maintenance and hiring in order to meet short term performance targets set out by the organisation. These factors can reduce competitiveness of a firm and can put its long term sustainability in jeopardy.Alternative Ethical Perspectives Some ethical perspectives that might serve the business world in the future are Kant’s theory of ethics, Rawls theory and also the Aristotelian theory of ethics. These perspectives can be considered as alternatives to Friedman’s shareholder theory. Kant’s Theory of Ethics The Kantian theory of ethics was created by a German philosopher called Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). His theory of ethics was based on respecting people and also on the idea that a person should never use another for personal gain.Kant did not bel ieve that a person’s actions should be considered right or wrong by examining the consequences of their actions, rather, he believed that it is the motives behind the decision that lend moral legitimacy to it. Klikauer (2010) says that, for Kant, ethics need to be established through a series of logical arguments and without any inclinations or feelings that may cloud judgement. Kant’s ethics are guided by purely ethical laws.Klikauer (2010) also notes that Kantian ethics does not offer business managers any room for manoeuvring with ethical decisions as one’s actions, and more importantly one’s intentions cannot be ethical and unethical at the same, there is no middle ground. There are valuable lessons that can be learned from Kantian ethics but it is also somewhat incompatible with business ethics. Kant believed that one should not use another for personal gain but the essence of management is to use people as a means to an end. The end would be an orga nisation’s goals.Therefore people are treated like costs, which is the opposite of Kant’s Kingdom of Ends which says that humans should be treated as ends. Rawls’ theory of ethics John Bordley Rawls (1921-2002) was an American philosopher that based his theory on the concepts of equality and fairness from behind what he calls a veil of ignorance. Rawls (1972) says that in order to ascertain fairness with regards ethical standards, we must imaginatively project ourselves into an original position. This original position is one that is ignorant of our status in society.He believed that the only fair way to reach a decision was if a person was behind a veil of ignorance, this means a person must revert back to a position where he or she does not know his or her class, race, sex and also what side of the social contract that that person will be on. According to Chryssides and Kaler(1993) once the decision maker has imaginatively reverted back to the original positio n, the social and economic inequalities of the decision are to be arranged so that the greatest benefit goes to the least advantaged.Rawls’ theory is more sympathetic to a welfare humanist agenda as he believes that a business has a duty to less advantaged stakeholders, not just to employees. â€Å"Stakeholders are those individuals or groups who depend on an organisation to fulfil their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organisation depends†(Johnson, et al. 2008,pg 132). Rawls theory could be extremely valuable in the future as an increasing number of organisations are embracing corporate social responsibility (CSR).It has been suggested that more organisations are moving from â€Å"laissez-faire†CSR stance, which is compatible with Friedman’s shareholder theory, to a CSR stance of â€Å"enlightened self-interest†which is now being seen as a more sustainable way for business to be carried out (Johnson, et al. 2008,pg 146). Aristotelian theory of ethics Aristotle (284-322 B. C. ) was a Greek philosopher. Fryer (2009) believed that the Aristotelian theory of ethics relates to virtue ethics as Aristotle believed that discourse can offered as a basis for moral probity.Virtue ethics says that the morality of a person’s actions can be judged in relation to their conformity to the standards of conduct that are acceptable within that given community. Aristotle did not believe that there was an absolute right way to make a decision, he believed the human ability to engage in democratic processes was a defining characteristic that separates us from all other creatures on earth, and that democratic processes were the best way of identifying that way (Fryer, 2009).Lessons from Aristotle’s theory of ethics could be very useful for the business world. Aristotle believed that the only way to lend moral legitimacy to a decision was to involve all those that were going to be affected in the decision making process. An orga nisation can involve all those that are affected by their actions through the use of employee voice mechanisms, collaborating with suppliers and customers and by involving all stakeholders in the decision making process. ConclusionFriedman’s shareholder theory has largely negative consequences for HRM ethics, as shareholder theory forces organisations to operate under the straight jacket of short-termism in the drive to maximise profits for the shareholders who own and invest in the company. Kant’s, Rawls’ and Aristotle’s alternative ethical perspectives might not be perfectly compatible with the business world but each of them, in their own way, can offer valuable insights that could be extremely valuable and might serve the profession in the future. References Chryssides, G. D. and Kaler J. H. 1993), An Introduction to Business Ethics, 1st ed, pg. 180-185. London, UK: Chapman and Hall. Friedman, M. (1970), â€Å"The Social Responsibility of Business is to increase its Profits†, The New York Times Magazine, Available from: http://www. umich. edu/~thecore/doc/Friedman. pdf [Accessed 22nd October 2012] Fryer (2009), ‘HRM: An Ethical Perspective’, in D. Collings & G. Woods (2009), ‘Human Resource Management A Critical Approach’, (Taylor & Francis e-Library) pp. 75-90 Johnson, G. , Whittington, R. amp; Scholes, K. (2008), Exploring Strategy, Text and Cases, 8th ed, London: FT Prentice Hall. Klikauer, T. (2010) Critical Management Ethics. 1st ed. Pg 68-87. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan (James Hardiman Library) Krehmeyer, D. Orsagh, M. Schacht, K. N. (2006) â€Å"Breaking the Short-Term Cycle: Discussion and Recommendations on How Corporate Leaders, Asset Managers, Investors and Analysts Can Refocus on Long Term Value†, CFA Centre for Financial Market Integrity/Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics, Available From: http://www. darden. virginia. edu/corporate-ethics/pdf/Short-termis m_Report. df [Accessed 24th October 2012] Oslington, P. (2012) â€Å"God and the Market: Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand†, Journal of Business Ethics, vol:108 (iss:4), Pg: 429-438. Available from: http://www. springerlink. com. libgate. library. nuigalway. ie/content/e2255226763w13qp/fulltext. pdf [Accessed 23rd October 2012] Rawls, J. (1972) A Theory of Justice. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (James Hardiman Library) Ryanair (2012), ‘Code of Business Conduct and Ethics’, [online] Available from: http://www. ryanair. com/doc/investor/2012/code_of_ethics. pdf [Accessed 24th October 2012]
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Essay Company
Essay Company Essay Company Let Our Essay Company Help You Some students do not pay proper attention to such assignment as essay writing, and at the end of the studying year, they are greatly surprised with the low grade they get. However, there is nothing to be surprised about. All the essays, which the students have to write during their studying year, have great influence on the grade they are going to receive. Those students who understand that and do their best in order to present good essay on time, they get the proper grade. Those who do not accomplish the task on time or present plagiarized essay face great problems not only with their grades but also with the bad attitude of professors towards them. If you are that one who really cares about your study and successful grades, get acquainted with our essay company. Our custom writing com works in order you do not have any problems with your essay writing. You can order any essay you need in our essay company and get the best essay written for you by the professional. This fact guarantees that you are going to receive the grade you want to receive. We are sure that you are going to be satisfied with our servicing. Our custom writing com has a highly qualified and well-trained staff, very flexible financial policy, 24/7 support of the customers, free plagiarism report, friendly attitude, and a special approach to any customer. Those students who have already tried the perfect service of our essay company always give us only positive and favorable comments, as we always meet all the expectations of our customers. Each of our writers has experienced academic background that is why all the works written within the walls of our custom writing com are professional, up to date, researched, and deliberate. If you feel that you do not want to spend weeks of boring research in order to write your essay and instead of this you want, so to say, smell the flowers, you can do nothing but appeal to our essay company. Our custom writing com will take care about your excellent grades while you are going to be busy with some other activity that you like to be involved into. All of us need help from time to time, so why not to let our writing com help you with the difficult and boring task: Read also: Descriptive Essays Custom Essay Service Custom College Essay Writing Custom Beowulf Essay Concept Essay
Monday, October 21, 2019
How to Let Your College Crush Know You Like Them
How to Let Your College Crush Know You Like Them Had your eye on that crush for a little while, and ready to at least see if that persons feelings for you are the same? You may be terrified, but you also may be at the point where youd just rather take the step than keep things in the unknown. If youre not sure where to start, consider these ways to let your college crush know you like them. Give Some Kind of Gift It can be flowers, a small care package (who doesnt like care packages in college?), or even something that you know your crush has a soft spot for. But any small gift or gesture is sure to let someone know that you hold your relationship whatever it is closer to your heart than most others. Utilize Some Kind of Campus Fundraiser If its around Valentines Day, Halloween, or another major holiday, take advantage of a campus fundraising program. You can send a Valentines Day gift, flowers, Halloween treats, or any other small gift to your crush in his or her classroom through fundraisers on campus that offer the opportunity. It can be a great way to show someone you like them while also helping support your campus community. Just Ask It sounds and is terrifying. But if your crush is really all you hope he or she is, sitting down and talking about your feelings may be the best thing you ever do. You just may surprise yourself with how the conversation works out! Ask Your Crush to Dinner off Campus or at Your Apartment Nothing says youre-just-another-college-friend-to-me than dinner in the campus dining hall(s) or cafe(s). Take your crush somewhere special to indicate that youre interested in being more than just college pals. Put Something in Writing It shouldnt be too long (that gets creepy), and it can be handwritten or by email. But, since some folks express themselves best through their writing, sending along a letter letting your crush know how you feel may be your best bet. It can also eliminate the awkwardness of a conversation and give your crush some time to process before responding.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Why plagiarism doesnt pay - Emphasis
Why plagiarism doesnt pay Why plagiarism doesnt pay Here are the plagiarists of Internet Town With Ctrl+C and clattering keys They prowl and creep when you’re asleep And take whatever they please. Sounds good, right? They aren’t my words though: we lifted them from Allan Ahlberg’s Cops and Robbers, then made a couple of tweaks. These days, pinching stuff from the internet is all the rage, simply because it’s (a) incredibly easy and (b) a short-cut to mountains of free web content. Obviously, plagiarism is unethical. We all know that text or images taken from another source should be properly attributed, in a footnote or through ‘quote marks’. But ethics aside, plagiarism is simply bad business. Ello ello, whats going on here? Let’s say that you copy and paste a chunk of text from a website into your own report, press release or company brochure. It may look good. It may read well. But the basic fact is, people will notice. Stolen goods – in writing just as at a car-boot sale – stand out. If they find your content via a search engine, they’ll immediately see that yours is not the only site to carry the text in question. If they’re editors and run plagiarism software (such as Turnitin or iThenticate), they’ll quickly see through your sleight-of-mouse. Most importantly, copied text stands out to anyone who pays enough attention to your writing (and if people aren’t paying enough attention to your writing, you’ve got a whole other problem). Changes in tone, style, vocabulary and voice register with readers, even if they don’t realise it. It makes for a bumpy ride. It makes the reader less comfortable with your content. And it makes them less likely either to sympathise with you or believe you (or ‘you’). OK, so you think again, and go to what we might call ‘level 2’ plagiarism. You rip off, but you re-write. You change maybe one word in ten, alter ‘cannot’ to ‘can’t’, cut out a handful of adverbs. Presto! ‘New’ content. There are two problems here. Which of the two you encounter depends on how good a writer you are. Problem one: the hybrid In the first case, you wade in, thesaurus in hand, and make a terrible hash of the job. You lack the technical knowledge to amend the text appropriately (which is probably why you stole it in the first place). A synonym in the wrong hands can be a dangerous thing – and the results are likely to both point up your obvious attempt to plagiarise and cause the reader great amusement/frustration. I’ve encountered these weird hybrids in the wild many times. Let’s create one at random. Here’s the original text: The potential loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited in the event of an unlimited rise in the price of the instrument; however, in practice, the short seller will be required to post margin or collateral to cover losses, and any inability to do so on a timely basis would cause its broker or counterparty to liquidate the position. That’s from Wikipedia’s page on ‘short-selling’, a financial concept chosen at random from the almost infinite number of topics about which I know nothing. We want to use this content in our report, but we don’t want anyone to know that we purloined it. Right – where’s that thesaurus? The would-be slaughter on a dumpy auction is tentatively on tap in the event of an infinite augment in the consequences of the utensil Hmm. Perhaps this isn’t the best approach after all. This example may seem far-fetched (it was done using MS Word’s ‘thesaurus’ tool, by the way), but I have come across real-life examples that are just as bizarre. It’s what comes of failing to show sufficient respect for the process of writing – of imagining that one word is just as good as another, that writing skills can be bluffed and technical know-how mimicked without consequence. The consequence is, of course, that the shortcomings you hoped to conceal by appropriating another’s work are laid bare. In the end, it undermines your reputation, rather than enhancing it. In this case, shortcuts just won’t cut it. Expertise is what you need, and if you don’t have it yourself, you’re better off buying it in than trying to rip it off. Problem two: the long shortcut And this is where the second problem comes in. Perhaps you do have the knowledge to make the necessary amendments without turning the content into a laughing stock. Perhaps you know that ‘short-selling’ might be better replaced with ‘going short’ or ‘shorting’ than with ‘dumpy auction’. Clever you! But then in that case, why are you copying content in the first place? More often than not you’ll find that, by the time you’ve re-worked a sentence to eliminate every trace of the original, you’ve used just as much time and effort as if you’d bitten the bullet and written it yourself. It reminds me of the story of the boy who tried to cheat in his exams by writing the answers on his shirt cuff. By the time he’d done that, he’d memorised them all anyway. This is a confidence issue. You have to remember that, very often, if you’re good enough to fake it, you’re good enough to do it for real. Ultimately, even if you’re prepared to ruthlessly jettison what they taught you at school about stealing being wrong, it’s still seldom a good idea. If you do it badly, you’ll get caught – and if you do it well enough not to get caught, it probably wasn’t worth doing it in the first place.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
News Analysis Assignment-Gay Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
News Analysis Assignment-Gay Marriage - Essay Example -sex couples, while the causes of the problem are the risks of supporting a controversial position during the campaign period and the responsibility of reducing prejudice against gay people through supporting their right to marriage. This news story assigned responsibility by underlining that Obama’s views on same-sex marriage evolved and became more open because of his interactions with same-sex couples. Obama said: â€Å"When I think about those soldiers or airmen or Marines or sailors ... [and other gay couples, I decided to change my views on gay marriage]†(Gast, 2012, par.38). His statement shows that because of his interactions with gay couples, he realized that they can be as dedicated to marriage and families as heterosexuals. Obama took responsibility for supporting gay marriage that is central to the gay community. The causes of the problem are the risks of supporting a controversial position during the campaign period and the duty of reducing prejudice against gay people in general through supporting their marriages. Tony Perkins thought that the president â€Å"...handed to Mitt Romney the one missing piece in his campaign†(Gast, 2012, par.19). Indeed, Obama is campaigning for a second term, and this opinion can risk him the support of conservative voters. Nevertheless, Obama is prepared to take the risk if it means taking the responsibility of reducing prejudice against gay people in general through supporting their marriages. He said: â€Å"...for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married†(Gast, 2012, par.38). His opinion underscores that gay couples are equal to heterosexual couples, so they should have the same legal marriage rights. With the context of the election, Obama’s support for gay marriage cuts both ways. On the one hand, he gains the votes of the LGTB community. On the other hand, he might lose the votes of conservative voters. Still, the article shows
Friday, October 18, 2019
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Essay
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries - Essay Example The founding statute of OPEC in 1960 highlights its purpose as being geared to ensuring stability in the petroleum market with â€Å"steady supplies to consumers, reasonable prices and fair returns to investors in the oil industry†(www.opec.org/home). As far as supplies to consumers, a central mechanism deployed by OPEC to stabilize the market is limit the oil output by Member countries, however recently OPEC has expressed concern at the impact of national taxation as a factor in oil pricing. Therefore, while OPEC central aim is to combat cartels and monopolistic pricing in the oil industry, it is submitted that the role of OPEC is somewhat limited by the interrelationship of other factors, particularly governmental and local infrastructure. Indeed, Asali (2008) acknowledges that â€Å"structural changes in petroleum markets and its pricing systems in the last decades and increasing exposure of the financial markets to international oil trade have contributed to the growing complexity of oil market dynamics and volatility of its prices†(p.54). It is precisely this inherent complexity in the market prices that has fuelled polarised debate regarding OPEC’s policies in stabilising the market to achieve economic efficiency. For example, somewhat ironically, OPEC attempts to stabilise oil prices, however its very nature arguably operates as a cartel. This proposition is further supported by the arguments of Grossman (2004) who comments that: â€Å"whilst some scholars have questioned whether OPEC, an organization of countries not firms, should be thought of as a cartel at all, there is no doubt that it represented a collusive agreement that at times was clearly able to rise prices and control output†(p.1). This in turn clearly has ramifications for how a business operates within the oil market and the focus of this research paper is to critically evaluate how OPEC
Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy - Essay Example Thus a cold war erupted between the U.S. and USSR which eventually came to an end with the help of doctrinal regimes implemented by Reagan (Fischer, 1997). Define presidential doctrine and summarize the regional or global events during the Cold War leading up to the formation of the Reagan doctrine. Presidential doctrine defines the policies, procedures, reforms and initiatives taken by a country’s president which are intended to enhance global position of the nation and to achieve greatest good for citizens of own country as well as those across the globe. Before arrival of President Reagan, communism had become common and superpowers like Soviet Union were suppressing the Third World countries in attempt to invade them. The Soviet and the Vietnamese led various Marxist movements which depressed capitalism and eventually forced the entry of Cuban armies and Soviet troops into different territories including Angola, Cambodia and Afghanistan. These countries did not have suffic ient powers to hold the forces and hence turned to other countries for help. The U.S. which believed itself to be the savior and leader nation for all decided to intervene and rescue these countries through Reagan doctrine. This doctrine created waves of passion across nations and gave boost to conservatism in America (Carpenter, 2012). Describe the Cold War relationship that existed between USSR and the U.S. before Reagan doctrine was announced. Before Reagan, there were only two prevailing superpowers, the U.S. and the USSR, which considered their coexistence to be catastrophic and hence wanted to triumph over the other. The perceived equality of power of both nations had led everyone to believe that the two countries pose threats to each other. The mutual suspicion rose amongst the two parties and past experiences of World Wars led them to believe that dangers exist. Soviet Union was spreading communism which challenged the survival of capitalism in the U.S. Reagan rejected the i dea of control over European nations by the Soviet Union and claimed it to be unfair for USSR to exercise its rights outside its jurisdictional system and boundaries. Thus Cold War broke and Reagan introduced the Reagan Doctrine to stop communism by supporting and providing arms to the rebels and freedom fighters in Third World countries for self-defense (Katz, 1991). Describe the relationship that currently exists between the U.S. and USSR. The relationship between United States and the Soviet Union enhanced eventually after the Reagan doctrine. The leaders of Soviet Union realized soon that they essentially need the support of capitalist countries in order to flourish in the economic and business world. The greatest capitalist power is the U.S. and hence USSR has been keeping stable relationship with it and has signed various pacts to ensure peaceful relationships in field of politics, science and technology (Cox, 1990). The recent patterns of American-Soviet relationships are inc lined towards development in the fields of economic trade growth and mutually collaborative effort in scientific expansion. Describe the effect that the Reagan doctrine has had on regional or global affairs since the time when it was announced during the Cold War. When Reagan doctrine was introduced, the Cold War came to an end and relationships between U.S. and USSR were also improved. The Soviet Union retreated from all the territories and the world moved towards democratic and harmonious terms. Moscow no longer targeted
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Descriptive Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Descriptive Report - Essay Example Texas State Fair is a festive event that presents colors, forms, foods and many entertainments drawing people to visit the place, from children to adults. It is a busy place where everyone has somewhere else to go and something else to do, making people busy as they stay and enjoy the warmth and joy of the festivity. As people have different interests, the fair offers a wide variety of fascinating events to attract people from all walks of life. However, the greatest and perhaps the most-loved and most visited is the food offered in the fair. There are a lot of experimental victuals, unique, exquisite and creative although most of them are not healthy because of they are served with so much grease. Deep fried Oreo cookies, deep fried peanut butter, deep fried Twinkies, deep fried pork ribs, fried cheese cake and deep fried butter are just some among the cholesterol-filled foods available at the fair. The most recent introduced deep fried food is the deep fried beer by chef Mark Zable which attracted many curious spectators to try it, and it won the creator the ‘most creative’ award for the fair in 2010. This sort of tease keeps the people curious, wondering and expecting more from what is offered at the fair. As this year’s Texas State Fair nears, it is becoming a buzz and everyone is really getting excited to see the opening of the most awaited event in Dallas. Businessmen flock to this prestigious event and take part in sponsoring the affair and advertising their company and products. Competitors for the different categories surely have been busy preparing for the fair, expecting something good to come out from this year’s State Fair. One of the attractions that welcomes audiences to the fair is Big Tex, a tall cowboy mascot symbolizing the event, having a hinged jaw making him appear to be the one speaking as the activities are announced. He is clothed with the red, white and blue colors of the flag and has a single star
Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 191
Summary - Essay Example Most reviewers have given positive comments about the film and commended it as a classic production. The plot is cast deep in the Chechen Mountains in a war environment. While on war duty, Russian soldiers get ambushed by a group of rebels. A fight ensues between the two groups which ends in the death of all the Russian soldiers save for two; Sasha and Vanya. The two of them get taken captive by the rebels who subject them to a situation where they have to cope with cross cultural and civilization differences. Notably, Sasha is and old soldier while Vanya is merely a new recruit. Perhaps it is this difference that makes them bear differences in preferences and characteristic traits. While the former works on a plan of escaping, the latter instead develops an approach of attempting to please his captors in one way or the other. While Sasha remains extremely cynical, Vanya gets portrayed as gawky and Naà ¯ve. In the Caucasus where they are captured, Islam is the main religion. As a result, they both have to cope with Islamic tendencies. They get chained together and have to live as one almost all through. This forces the two into developing a comradely bond and the warmth of support for one another. Specifically, the young soldier begins to develop emotions and feelings for their captor’s daughter which makes him warmer to the family as opposed to his counterpart. Apparently, the daughter of their captor also gets touched by Vanya’s kindness and warmth; a point that makes her risk the wrath of her father by extending a warm and helping hand to the former. The reason for keeping the soldiers captive is the hope of a possible swap between the rebels and the Russian Soldiers. Apparently, the Russian soldiers also hold the son of the chief captor hostage. The major themes portrayed in the film include pessimism, disillusionment, war, despair, and extreme cases
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Burberry clothing company UK Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Burberry clothing company UK - Coursework Example Valuation is the main part of investment. The considerable part that creates information that states a proper valuation in the financial statement. In the new Financial Statement Analysis and Security Valuation done by Stephen Penman it shows that students understand how to extract new information in this financial statement by using the data that was obtained and value the firms. By handling the accounting in financial statements and using the financial statements the lenses view the business and assess the value in generating new financial statements (Paul 114). Burberry group plc is the Company that is the main Company in the Burberry Group. The stock exchange has the principal business used in the larger part of these investments. Burberry Group plc and the additions as a Group is the large-scale comfort goods manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer. The Group that is also licensed that other parties manufacture and issue all the products using the Burberry trade marks as the local brand. All the other companies consist of the Groups that mainly control the Company both directly and indirectly (Karen 98). Most of these financial statements were prepared using the ongoing anxiety on the basis of the historical costs and convention that the exception is about the financial instruments that involve good financial statements that is fair and valuable in accordance to the applicable to this accounts (Paul107). The Annual Report and Accounts should take the whole path as required and become a fairly balanced and comprehensive statement that provides all the information that is necessary for the shareholders in assessing the performance of the groups. Therefore, business model and strategy used by the Board is satisfied and had met the obligation that summarizes the responsibilities of directors in the annual financial statements that is set out to provide the report of the auditors and the statements used by the auditors about their reported
Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 191
Summary - Essay Example Most reviewers have given positive comments about the film and commended it as a classic production. The plot is cast deep in the Chechen Mountains in a war environment. While on war duty, Russian soldiers get ambushed by a group of rebels. A fight ensues between the two groups which ends in the death of all the Russian soldiers save for two; Sasha and Vanya. The two of them get taken captive by the rebels who subject them to a situation where they have to cope with cross cultural and civilization differences. Notably, Sasha is and old soldier while Vanya is merely a new recruit. Perhaps it is this difference that makes them bear differences in preferences and characteristic traits. While the former works on a plan of escaping, the latter instead develops an approach of attempting to please his captors in one way or the other. While Sasha remains extremely cynical, Vanya gets portrayed as gawky and Naà ¯ve. In the Caucasus where they are captured, Islam is the main religion. As a result, they both have to cope with Islamic tendencies. They get chained together and have to live as one almost all through. This forces the two into developing a comradely bond and the warmth of support for one another. Specifically, the young soldier begins to develop emotions and feelings for their captor’s daughter which makes him warmer to the family as opposed to his counterpart. Apparently, the daughter of their captor also gets touched by Vanya’s kindness and warmth; a point that makes her risk the wrath of her father by extending a warm and helping hand to the former. The reason for keeping the soldiers captive is the hope of a possible swap between the rebels and the Russian Soldiers. Apparently, the Russian soldiers also hold the son of the chief captor hostage. The major themes portrayed in the film include pessimism, disillusionment, war, despair, and extreme cases
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Relationships in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre Essay Example for Free
Relationships in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre Essay ‘To what extent is Jane Eyre influenced by relationships in chapters 1-10 in the novel?’ Relationships are a key theme in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Throughout the novel we see the rise and fall of Jane, all most importantly due to relationships. This starts primarily with her lack of relationship with her parents, as she was orphaned when she was very young, she has no idea what it is like to love or to be loved and we see her strive to find out these feelings throughout the novel, until finally she achieves it, but the journey towards this is deeply important. In chapters one and two we see the basis of Jane’s view of relationships through her connection with the Reed’s. Firstly Mrs Reed does her upmost to make sure Jane is excluded from her and her ‘contented, happy, little children’ we as readers see this as a cruel act from Mrs Reed, she does not care that Jane is deeply unhappy because Jane is not one of her children, therefore she does not see it as her duty to care for her emotionally and thinks by punishing her and excluding her from the family that this will teach Jane to be a ‘contented child’ however we as readers see that this causes Jane to be deeply troubled within herself. This leads to Jane not only resenting Mrs Reed but also her children as they have been taught that Jane is a ‘dependant’ especially John who ultimately sees himself as above Jane in every aspect of life, he believes that Jane is just scavenging off them and this causes him to act in a horrific and bullying manor towards Jane. This causes Jane to act in a way she ordinarily would not, she even says herself that it causes ‘sensations for the time predominated over fear’ she feels so angry and let down that she finally stands up for herself. Therefore this influences Jane in a way that she feels like nobody will ever truly love her and she feels very much an outcast, this causes Jane to act in a way that even she herself expresses that she does not want to, she is cold and unloving and strives desperately to be appreciated but of course, this all happens in vain. We also see Jane to act very irrationally towards Mrs Reed, she deeply wants her to love her, yet w hen it comes down to it and she realises Mrs Reed never will she has an explosion of anger and tells Mrs Reed all the things that have been stewing up in her mind for so long; ‘I am glad you are no relation of mine. I will never call you aunt again as long as I live. I will never come to visit you when I am grown up; and if anyone asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick. . . .†this we see as Jane being bitter towards Mrs Reed which we learn in later chapters as a very uncharacteristic feature of Jane Eyre, she is usually forgiving. The relationship between Jane and the nursery maid; Bessie is an important one, in the first few chapters we see Bessie as being somewhat cruel and dismissive of Jane compared to the other Reed children, she does not feel a connection towards Jane as she is not as pretty or funny as the other children therefore Bessie does not see her appeal. However after the event in the red room we see a change with Bessie’s attitude towards Jane, she turns somewhat softer as we see her feel sorry for Jane and how hard Mrs Reed is on her. This is an extremely important turning point in the novel as we see Jane in the chapters leading up to this as very self involved and saddened as she has no one to love, yet as soon as Bessie softens to Jane and tells her that she can sympathise with the position she’s been put in she tells Jane ‘I don’t dislike you, Miss; I believe I am fonder of you than of all the others.’ This affects Jane greatly and we see a completely different little girl, she seems to talk which much more glee and excitement and even for her ‘life had its gleams of sunshine’. So we see how much relationships influence Jane and her attitudes in the novel, relationships affect Jane and how her personality is. In chapter five Jane meets Helen Burns, Helen is also an orphan and see’s the school as somewhat of a sanctuary even though she is constantly picked upon by the teacher. Helen is Jane’s first friend but more importantly she becomes Jane’s best friend and we see as the relationship grows that Helen deeply influences Jane, she teaches her to be less excitable and too see the best in others, a quality that Jane desperately needs after her experience with the Reed’s. She teaches Jane to be self sacrificing when she tells her ‘it is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will extend to all connected with you’. Helen believes that you should suffer pain yourself than have others see and feel an action that you may regret when you have calmed down. Jane learns from this and this causes Jane to be a character who thinks beyond this life and onto the next with God. We see Jane finds this as a great comfort and now instead of looking onto God as something to be feared, she looks at him as somewhat of a comfort, especially after Helen dies of typhoid. Helen believes that after she dies she is going to be with her family and loved ones and most importantly with God, therefore she does not fear death and although Jane is deeply distraught by the death of the only friend she’s ever had in the world, the fact that she will, if she lives correctly see her again is a great comfort. This shows the importance of friendship throughout the novel and how with Jane having the comfort of a friend she can be the person that she has always wanted to be, thanks to Helen Jane finds herself acting more appropriately and being able to handle her anger. Therefore this relationship has greatly affected Jane as she strives to be more like Helen. Relationships are of key importance to Bronte writing about Jane Eyre, it is how she expresses her feelings of how relationships have perhaps affected her and it shows how deeply the lack of love can affect someone. This novel is primarily about love, whether it being a lack of love or so much love that it turns into passion, Jane strives to feel this emotion and closeness with anyone who will allow her to be their friend. Therefore relationships are a key influence to Jane Eyre, they affect how she acts and how she feels and without them, as we learn in the first few chapters, life can be a very lonely existence.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Hrm is more important in current economic climate business essay
Hrm is more important in current economic climate business essay The main purpose of this essay is to examine how the existing or present economic situation which led to firms trying to beat each other in business has made the role of HRM significant in achieving business success. In evaluating this statement, Armstrong (2003) sees the main role of HRM in this present economic climate as being how to carefully devise a plan of action which will be used to achieve a goal, as well as the logical way through which business organisations can manage their employees through HRM so as to achieve business success. The author of this essay observed that in this current economic climate, countries such as the United States, United Kingdom etc. are recovering from depression and inflation which led to loss of so many jobs, and increased competition in the recruitment process, thereby making it possible for HRM functions to be more important in order to achieve business success (source: Survey of Global HR Challenges, 2005). While Pendleton (2011) argued that in the face of this current economic climate, if HRM functions are not properly implemented people will be losing good jobs with better pay due to downsizing in different organisations and start taking up jobs with lesser pay because economic climate will detect salary/pay to be received by employees. McKenna and Beech (2008) emphasise that these HRM functions include; recruitment which involves the proper advertisement of job so as to attract the proper/right applicants, then comes the selection of the best candidates among all the candidates that applied for the job, and proper training of the employee is said to add value to them and the work they do so as to bring about business organisation success and on the other hand, the employees will be rewarded accordingly for their contribution to the growth of the organisation. Armstrong (2003) further indicated that the main aim of HRM is to gain business success in an organisation through the people employed in that business organisation. Som (2008) implied that HRM functions will ensure that organisations attract, retain, motivate and also develop its human resources in accordance with the organisations demand. Ulrich and Brockbank (2005) argued that HRM plays an important role in seeing that every business organisation achieves success through the proper implementation of its functions, and by applying those functions with the necessary information technology system such as the internet. Wachira (2010) suggested that HR managers ought to apply new technologies that will enable them communicate easily with other managers in the organisation so as to reduce the cost incurred during recruitment and also select the proper candidate for a particular job. Though in some developing countries, organisations may not have the technical capability to handle this t ype of recruitment and selection process and this will negatively affect such organisations (Source: CIPD survey report, 2007). It is being argued that there are challenges encountered by HR managers in the day to day management of human resources in an organisation which may result from political, environmental, economic as well as social effects, and this is said to be because of the high level of responsibility bestowed on the HR manager in this current economic situation (source: Survey of global HR challenges, 2005). Jackson and Schuler (1995) sees these as external environmental pressures which can be positive or negative, such as tax exemptions and conducive business environment used to encourage local businesses and allow them to compete favourably in business with their counterpart from other countries so as to enable them retain their existing manpower/employees through their HRM functions or political instability/uprising which discourage foreign organisations/companies from investing in a country thereby creating unemployment, affecting business success and the countrys economic growth negatively. Brewster et al (2005) also argued that in most developed countries of the world such as United Kingdom, United states etc. HRM functions will definitely be affected by political, legal, and social environmental pressure/factors either positively or negatively. This is said to be due to the fact that every business organisation operates under the framework of the law in the environment where the business is located. For example, in Libya, international companies such as British Petroleum (BP) is being affected by political and social unrest in that country, this has affected the operation of so many other companies in Libya and on the other hand reduced business success and government revenue, while Japanese car manufacturing companies in United Kingdom are all doing well and achieving business success due to the favourable political, social and legal environment they established their organisation (source: BBC news, 22/02/2011). Som (2008) argued that the positive performance of an o rganisation in this current economic situation will depend mostly on HRM functions of staff selection, training/development and incentives/compensation. Beardwell and Holden (2001) observed that before now some changes took place in the economic situation of the United Kingdom (UK) in relation to how people are being employed to work, in compliment to what is obtainable in the United States (US). This is said to be caused by economic pressure existing at that period which resulted from increase in competition, recession, and emergence of new technology, which on the other hand created employment, increased employee training and development so as to enable them master the new technology, which will improve their skill and also enable the organisation achieve business success. Though Kinnie et al (2000) argued that the inability of HR managers to properly train its employees will lead to low productivity and low customer satisfaction which will also affect business success and employee relationship with the organisation negatively. Beardwell and Holden (2001) also emphasise that increased competition tried to change the old method of H R and this made it possible for organisations to develop a new method of employment that will be employer friendly/oriented. This policy helped in directing the method of recruitment and selection so as to employ the right people needed for the organisation to arrive at its business success. Although it is also observed that this method of employment will lead to unemployment because very few people with the required skills will be employed by the organisation. Kulkarni (2008) implied that increased competition and globalisation has made it possible for most organisations to adopt uninterrupted learning and training of its employees through the human resource management department. This is said to enable the organisation to satisfy its employees and customers needs and on the other hand achieve business success. Notwithstanding the continuous learning and training adopted by most organisations, Varma (2008) argued that some organisations now concentrate more on what to gain from an employee without considering how to add value to such employee through training and development. It is then emphasised that an organisations aim should be directed towards employee and customer satisfaction through purposeful HRM strategy implementation which will result to profit maximisation as well as business success for such organisation McKenna and beach (2008) emphasized that at the beginning of the economic recession of the 1980s which changed the role of trade unions resulting to little or no strike action, made it possible for organisations to be able to change their staff with ease. This is not only said to be caused by unemployment and recession but also from the introduction of some new laws that reduced the power of trade unions by controlling strike action, which is said to have affected business success negatively because employees will not be motivated to give their best. It is being argued by Deen and Giri (2008) that employees are the biggest assets of an organisation and should be encouraged and motivated through the organisations HRM activities/functions which can provide emotional support, training and development, financial rewards etc. that will make it possible for the employees to do their work with full commitment. This is argued to result to organisations business success because the employees will feel valued and being cared for, thereby contributing positively to the organisation. McKenna and Beech (2008) also noted that the weakness in the power of trade unions is said to signal the need for less elaborate process in collective bargaining and conflict management, which also resulted in a faster way of negotiating settlement of wages. In addition to the foregoing, organisations were better positioned to make changes in work practices which resulted into an increase in productivity as well as a decrease in the number of people employed. Changes in the practice of HR were observed because of the large pool of available labour. A good example is said to be the emphasis being switched from recruitment to selection, which led to the selection of the right people for the job so as to achieve business success which will on the other hand increase unemployment because not every applicant will be selected. It is being argued by McKenna and Beech (2008) that the reduced volume of negotiations which is based on collective bargaining between labour unions and human resource specialists, including the reduction in time committed to recruitment and selection, which helped to provide HRM with the opportunities to manage employee layoff programmes and enter into negotiations so as to bring about low wage settlements, and this is said not to favour employees because of the low wage they will be receiving and it will also discourage them from giving their best to the work they do. Goel (2008) emphasise that in this current economic situation, HRM will require a cybernetic scheme of information management so as to enable an organisation gather, store, examine and disseminate information that concerns the organisations human resource management functions of recruitment and selection so as to help the organisation manage employee redundancy and negotiation programmes. Though, Goel (2008) also argu ed that without a good human resource management information system, an organisation will find it difficult to access information about its employees both old and new, as well as those seeking to work for the organisation. It is then said that an organisation will choose a HRM information system that will satisfy its information management needs if such an organisation wants to achieve business success. Davi (2008) contend that increased competition has made the role of HRM to be faced with challenges of handling management modification, managing organisational culture, dealing with leadership training and growth, measuring the strength of HRM and employee environment, designing employee engagement, dismissal as well as compensation. And to take care of these challenges, Pinnington and Edwards (2000) advised that HR managers should try and discover the main problems, analyse it and provide solutions to it through the use of HRM and performance strategies. McKenna and Beech (2008) argued that in considering organisation of reasonable size, which implies a big organisation, it is possible to find a HRM function just as one would expect to see in a finance or marketing function where specialisation of duties exists and the management team tries as much as possible to achieve organisational goal/objective. While in the smaller organisation, it is said that the level of specialisation may not prevail because the HRM function is being performed by the manager who handles HRM matters. It is observed by the author that the big organisation where specialisation exists will tend to achieve more business success than the small organisation with no specialisation. Though, it is being argued by Bhattacharya (2008) that it will be improper for human resource department of any organisation whether big or small, to assure employees of retaining them in the organisation when such employees are being seen for example by the accounts department as a lia bility. Therefore, Pendleton (2011) emphasise that the HRM department should work hand-in-hand with other departments in the organisation so as to determine employees that can be classified as asset to the organisation and retain those employees because they will help the organisation in achieving business success. According to McKenna and Beech (2008) human resource planning process is concerned with the function of matching organisational demand for quantity and quality of employees with the available supply. This demand is said to be derived from the current and forecast level of company operations, while the supply side is said to consist of human resources that is available both internally and externally. Foot and Hook (2005) observed that an organisation unmistakeably needs to be sure that they have the right staff so as to attain the needed level of competitiveness. These staff are said to be employed by the organisation through their recruitment process by assessing their internal human resource supply. This is said to involve a process through which an organisation takes into account the number of its employees as well as their duties and responsibilities, including their skills so as to enable the organisation compete favourably in order to achieve business success. McKenna and Beech (2008) argued that the internal supply consists of the exiting workforce and its potential to contribute to business success, which has been a target for systematisation in recent years. While the external supply is said to reside in the population outside the organisation and it is influenced by demographic trends, developments in education as well as competitive forces in the labour market, and this is said to be observed within the European Union (EU) where competition is common because every organisation want to achieve business success. McKenna and Beech (2008) emphasise that prior to staff recruitment, job analysis is undertaken, and this is said to involve examining the work to be undertaken by a candidate which results in the preparation of a job description, which produces a specification about the attributes a suitable candidate will need so as to perform the job. McKenna and Beech (2008) also implied that a variety of techniques such as the application form, interviews, tests and assessment centres are all available in selecting the best candidates from a pool of applications. It is mentioned that a shortlist of applicants will be produced as a first step in the selection process which will then lead to training of the applicants, and it is concerned with establishing what type of training is required and to which applicant so as to add value to the candidates and also achieve business success as the candidates work for the organisation. It is further emphasised by Kulkarni (2008) that notwithstanding the bene fits of organisations recruitment, learning and training through HRM, employees are said to be faced with tension of accomplishing business goal/objective in this current economic climate than ever before. Also employees are said to be facing the problem of having to do more work as a result of the training given to them. Although, it is said that some organisations though their HRM can take care of these problems by conducting stress management seminars and training on how to cope with tension at the workplace (Pendleton, 2011). Armstrong (2003) explained that HRM functions will bring about an integrated approach towards the development of human resource strategies or plans which will enable an organisation to achieve its goals thereby leading to success in the organisations business, but when the strategy is not properly implemented the business may collapse. Organisation strategy according to Foot and Hook (2005) are said to function with those plans of action that an organisation makes so as to take care of future occurrences and these plans are targeted at answering the basic economic question of what to do as well as how to do it. Armstrong (2003) on the other hand sees strategic HRM function as an approach used in making decisions on the intentions and plans of the organisation as it concerns the employment relationship as well as the organisations recruitment, training, development, performance management, reward and employee relations strategies, policies and practices, which if not properly implemen ted will result in business failure. According to Nachimuthu (2008) increased competition in the face of the current economic climate has made it possible for organisations that share some business strategy in common to merger together and become one organisation so as to enable them achieve more business success. Nachimuthu (2008) further implied that HR plays a vital role when organisations want to go into merger and acquisition, and the HR function is said to involve retaining some of the existing employees that will be considered as asset to the organisation through the use of HRM strategies to carry out employee assessment that will select and integrate them into the new organisation. Foot and Hook (2005) also emphasise that in order to ensure success in the business of any organisation, HRM strategy must be incorporated in all other departments of an organisation such as finance department, sales department, marketing department etc. and they must work hand-in-hand with the human resource department in the aspect of recruitment, manpower development and training so as to achieve business success. Not only is HR functions beneficial during merger and acquisition, but also it is being argued by Nachimuthu (2008) that when two organisations or more merge together, HRM will be faced with the problem of organisations cultural integration, communication between employees, appraisal and selection of managers/leaders, keeping of valuable employees as well as how to carry out compensation and welfare program in the newly formed organisation. Though, it is emphasised by Pinnington and Edwards (2000) that these problems can be taken care of or solved through a well-planned and implemented HRM strategy which will involve selection of the right employees, performance, appraisal, development and rewards. Hutchinson and Purcell (2003) noted that strategic HRM is functional through focusing on actions that differentiate a business organisation from its competitors. While on the other hand, Armstrong (2003) said that it develops a declaration of purpose which defines the means to achieve ends, and it is concerned with the long term allocation of significant company resources as well as matching those resources and capabilities to the external environment. Strategy is therefore said to serve as a perspective on the way in which critical issues or success factors can be addressed, and this strategic decisions is aimed at making a major and long-term impact on the behaviour and success of the organisation (Armstrong, 2003). According to Armstrong (2003), when considering strategic HRM, it is said to be necessary to address the extent to which human resource strategic measures should take into account the interest of all the stakeholders in an organisation, employees in general, as well as the owners and management. Storeys (2007), argued that soft strategic HRM places more emphasize on how to manage people in terms of ensuring them employment security, training, development and work benefits etc. while Hard Strategic HRM on the other hand will consider the benefit to be derived by investing in human resources in the interest of the business achieving its business success. In this situation, a well-planned soft and hard strategic HRM will guarantee business success in the sense that organisational objectives/directions, its choice of employees and how they are managed will be considered (Legge, 2005). Armstrong (2003) also emphasise that the rationale for strategic HRM is the perceived advantage of having an agreed as well as understood basis for developing approaches to people in the longer term, and this will enable an organisation achieve competitive advantage by allowing such an organisation to utilize its opportunities. On the other hand, Hamel and Prahalad (1998) argued that a firm cannot achieve competitive advantage unless the firm develop its human resource by training them so that they can learn more work techniques which they will use in working for the firm so as to beat their competitors. It is also said that one of the clear benefits that will arise from competitive advantage as a result of effective management of people is that such an advantage is hard to imitate by an organisations competitors (Pendleton, 2011). Organisations strategies, policies and practices are said to be a unique blend of processes, procedures, personalities, styles, capabilities and organisational culture, which differentiates what the business organisation supplies to its customers from those supplied by its competitors and it is said to be achieved by having human resource strategies which ensures that the firm has higher quality people than its competitors (Armstrong, 2003). Organisations challenges can be handled by redefining HRM strategies so as to sustain competitive advantage on investment in human resources, by so doing HR managers must have the core competence to deal with changes in economic situations, social effects and technology which affects the organisation by being able to discover important issues affecting the organisation and providing solutions through development and training (Source: Survey of global HR challenges, 2005). It is being emphasised by Armstrong (2003) that the aim of a resource-based approach to HRM is to improve resource capability by achieving fit between resources and opportunities as well as obtaining added value from the effective deployment of resources. Cesyniene (2008) noted that recruitment process will definitely be challenging in some fields where there is existence of dearth skills in the labour market. Armstrong (2003) also observed that in line with the intellectual capital theory used to analyse HRM, the resource-based theory of HRM emphasise that investment in people adds to their value to the firm or organisation. Therefore the author understands that when an organisation invests in its employees by training them for example, they tend to add value to the organisation by working to achieve business success for that particular organisation. More so Boxall (2011) argued that it is by hiring and developing more talented staff and by extending their skills base that an organi sation will achieve success in its business. It has been observed that a resource-based strategy for HRM is therefore concerned with the enhancement of the intellectual capital of the firm/organisation, which implies that seeing a business firm in terms of what it is capable of doing may offer a more durable basis for strategy in HRM than considering the needs which the business seeks to satisfy (Armstrong, 2003). The author of this essay tends to emphasise that a business can achieve success if it has the strategic capabilities/or plans to compete favourably with others in the same line of business not minding the present economic situation. Cesyniene (2008) argued that the deficiency in the number of qualified workers as well as increase competition will make it possible for HR managers to change from Hard to Soft HRM which will put into consideration the needs of employees so as to sustain competitive advantage. While Kamoche (2000) explained that the basis of this resource capability approach to HR strategy will be the reco gnition of the available manpower in the organisation, which is claimed that it will develop and provide a single model for strategic HRM to function better. Although Jackson and Schuler (1995) also argued that in this situation, firms will try to gain competitive advantage by using human resources through development and training in order to add value to their employees so as to match the nature of the organisations relationships with their customers and employees. According to Armstrong (2003) the key feature of strategic HRM function is the concept of fit or integration, which is also known as matching model. Malik (2009) explained that this matching model helps to bring about strategic integration in an organisation, by combining HRM strategic functions and organisations strategy together and channelling them towards the same strategic direction in order to achieve business success when they are being implemented. Legge (2005) argued that organisation strategy and strategic HRM sometimes does not seem to be appropriate to each others context. A good example can be seen in the downsizing exercise undertaken by some organisations during the last economic meltdown or recession which is not in contrast with human resource management strategy and it discouraged employees thereby bringing about poor performance of such an organisation (Pendleton, 2011). Bowen and Ostroff (2004) argued that merely having good HRM policies is unlikely to be sufficient enough to motivate employees and derive organisational performance so as to achieve business success; hence there is the need to go beyond HRM content and consider HRM process. Fey (2000) suggested that organisations ought to concentrate on HRM patterns of employee development and training at all levels of its management and employees. McKenna and Beech (2008) implied that HRM functions must have the purpose of meeting organisational objectives which will lead to enhancing service provision to its customers, quality, profitability or efficiency of its services/goods. Though, Fey (2000) also argued that there is no relationship existing between HRM Practices and organisational performance in relation to employee training and development. Therefore in this current economic climate, Hutchinson and Purcell (2003) observed that increased competition has really made the HRM functions more important to the success of business than ever before. This is said to be because of the fact that HRM now covers the activities of recruitment and employment which calls for the proper selection of those to be employed, manpower planning involving management of the available work force, employee training and management development resulting to coaching, training and guidance which add value to employees so as to support them on taking more responsibilities, organisational planning and development that helps to achieve organisation effectiveness, wage and salary administration through management and monitoring reward in the organisation and also recognising employee contribution, health and safety benefits and services which helps to maintain work-life balance by building a good working relationship between the organisation and the emplo yee, union management relations and personnel research which may result to outsourcing so as to obtain service from an outside supplier either to train its employees or work for the organisation (Hutchinson and Purcell, 2003). By taking closer look at these HRM functions, Pinnington and Edwards (2000) stressed that there has been an increase on the functions given to the HR manager unlike before, and if these functions or responsibilities are well implemented by the HR manager, there will be a tendency in which the success of the business organisation will definitely be arrived at and the business organisation will grow in all ramification. But the author observed that in a situation where these functions are being neglected, business success may not be achieved and the business will suffer.
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