Effects of Job Rotation Essay

Discuss the various issues of managerial behaviour and related matters raised by this case study Laurie J. Mullins argues that A fist step in the effective management of other people is confidence in your own ability, and awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses. Why is it then that managers find it difficult to admit their mistakes, to say sorry or to laugh at themselves? 1 In the building society case study, there are examples of bad managerial behaviour on the part of both Mary Rodgers, the branch manager and Jane Taylor, the senior branch assistant. Jane Taylor was clearly good at her job if, after four years, she was promoted to this new role, yet within a short period of time, she was having trouble with Tony Jackson. Looking back at what Mullins said, Miss Taylor doesn’t appear to have confidence in her own ability or indeed awareness in her own strengths and weaknesses. According to Thompson ;amp; McHugh â€Å"control is not an end in itself, but a means to transform the capacity to work established by the wage relation into profitable production†, and Jane is unable to control her sub-ordinate – what are the reasons for this? Part of the problem stems from the beginning of the case study and the relationship between Jane and her manager. Mary Rogers does not instil any confidence in Jane when she effectively ‘dumps’ this new role. Up until now, Jane has been performing specific task functions and has no real knowledge of how to manage people as she has previously been performing the duties of a cashier and looking after mortgage advice accounts – more task orientated skills rather than managerial ones. The refresher course she attends includes nothing on this either and Jane immediately falls into what McGregor calls the ‘Theory X’ assumption of human nature. The central principle of ‘Theory X’ is direction and control through a centralised system of organisation and exercise of authority2 and Jane automatically tries to coerce and direct Tony Jackson. The inability of Mary Rodgers to provide effective support and development for Jane shows a clear ineptitude on her part. She admits herself that the reason for Jane’s promotion is that â€Å"I [Mary] need someone to take some of the weight off my shoulders† and she seems to be reluctant to help intervene and solve

History Essay

1.   In your opinion, who started the Cold War? Explain in 5 sentences. In one opinion, the Cold War was not started by one side or the other.   The Cold War was more of a culmination of political, cultural and ideological differences than anything else(Pierpaoli).   This being said, in fairness, both the West and the East provoked hostilities during the Cold War through various attempts to promote their respective political systems throughout the world.   Ultimately, the Cold War was not decisively won by the West; rather, the West was able to hold out longer than the East. 2.   List three major prolonged conflicts in the Cold War. During the Cold War, three major prolonged conflicts that erupted were the Korean War (1950–1953); the Vietnam War (1946–1975); and the war in Afghanistan (1979–1989)(Pierpaoli). 3.   How did the Cold War influence society and culture? 3 sentences The Cold War influenced society and culture in many ways.   Culturally, the Cold War gave birth to an entire genre of literature and motion pictures/television- the classic story of the â€Å"secret agent†.   In terms of society, the Cold War divided society in terms of whether people, in both the East and West, supported capitalism or communism, and the many facets that each system offered (Pierpaoli). 4.   Evaluate the role of technology on the Cold War. Technology also played a role in the Cold War.   It was through surveillance technology that the United States was able to protect itself from Soviet aggression, such as the detection of missile sites in Cuba, a mere 90 miles from the US mainland (Pierpaoli).   Technology also helped the Soviets to detect an American U2 spy plane within their airspace- an incident which almost sparked World War III.   Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the nuclear weapon technology which both the US and USSR possessed held the potential to destroy the planet. 5.What was Watergate and how did it influence the Vietnam War? Briefly describe. When one speaks of Watergate, they are usually referring to illegal actions taken by President Richard M. Nixon. Watergate is said to have begun when Nixon ordered one of his closest advisors, Henry Kissinger, to tap the telephone of a New York Time reporter in order to try to determine who was â€Å"leaking† information to the media about a secret bombing mission in Cambodia (Greene).   This influenced the Vietnam War in that the public learned of the many outrageous secret missions of the American military in Vietnam, raising public opposition to the war itself. 6.`A Short History of Terrorism,` write a paragraph explaining the difference in modern `terrorism` and its historical antecedents given in this article. The single most remarkable difference modern terrorism and its historical antecedents is the fact that modern terrorism is not meant to advance the agenda of a particular nation, but is driven by the belief by many Middle Eastern nations that the United States is an evil empire which God would like to see destroyed (Greenberg).   This type of religious zeal gives modern terrorism its sharp teeth and deadly venom. 7. Write a brief essay explaining your views on whether America should move beyond Affirmative Action at this time. Support your position. America should move beyond Affirmative Action for several key reasons; first, as we have seen in recent months, opportunities have opened up for minorities from the most powerful office in the United States to the areas of entertainment, the media, and the average job in any city in the nation.   Additionally, the increasing cultural diversity of America is transforming the demographic of the nation so that rather than minorities (Gryphon), there are any number of â€Å"mini-majorities† in place, thereby making favoritism for any given group both outdates and unnecessary. 8. Did women have a positive role in the progressive movement even before they had the right to vote? What was it? Describe briefly. Women most definitely had a positive role in the progressive movement even before they had the right to vote because it was the women in society which held families together as men worked outside of the home for long hours, making the woman the essential person who fed/mentored the children, etc.   It was in roles such as these that women were already asserting superiority before they could cast a ballot (Friedan). 9. Did the U.S. do everything it could to help the Jews in Europe? Is our current foreign policy a reaction to this situation? Briefly describe. In the final analysis, the US did not do everything it could to help the Jews in Europe, as there is evidence to suggest that the American government knew about the plight of Jews in Europe for several years before getting involved to protect the lives and interests of European Jews.   In a way, it can be said that our current foreign policy is a reaction to this past situation, as the US is both trying to prevent any aggression against the Jews of the magnitude of that of the past in Europe, and also compensating Jews for past injustices. 10. What were the roles of television and advertising in creating the consumer society of the post-World War II world? Briefly describe. Television and advertising created the consumer society of the post-World War II world, as they both shared with millions of war-weary Americans a wide variety of products that were now available after years of rationing and scarcity due to the war effort.   This led to a consumer society, as American people not only grabbed the items that they needed and could not get for many years, but also those new items that had not been available before.   All of this made the nation one of hardcore consumers, a trend that continues today.

Traditional Femininity vs Modern Femininity in Indian Cinema Research Paper

Traditional Femininity vs Modern Femininity in Indian Cinema - Research Paper Example The appearance of this concept is possible to connect with a reinterpretation of an old Indian myth about Goddess Durga. Exploring Asian culture, traditions, customs, and moral values is a complicated and a demanding task. Art still remains one of the most reliable sources of such information throughout centuries. Indian culture seems exotic and inaccessible to the rest of the planet, and cinema is only capable to open slightly the curtain to the Indian world. Bollywood movies can also be considered a good source of images, moral values, and cultural perceptions of the Indian nation. However, they are sometimes blamed for being too corrupt and public-oriented (Dudrah 32). Vijai Mishra states that Indian movies produced in Mumbai can be used as retransformation of the most ancient Indian epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana (128). Both works have the issue of dharma revealing, the notion which embraces responsibilities, morality, universal harmony, justice. Dharma violation has a direct influence on femininity construction, which has resulted in Indian movies of Bollywood. Corruption and violation of dharma necessarily result in adharma, which requires restoration as it bears disharmony. Following the changes of the woman image in Hindi movies, it is possible to reveal that perception of a woman has changed from a â€Å"new woman† to a â€Å"goddess†. Strange enough the heroines still support patriarchal values and stick to traditional views as traditions are essential for the Indian world perception (Stromquist 127). Until the 1970s a woman was mostly pictured regarding her relation to a man in Indian cinema. Thus, a woman was primarily a wife, a mother, and a daughter. This woman had to accept traditional values, be submissive, obedient, and able to sacrifice herself for a man. The role of â€Å"mother† in Indian films was also one of the most prominent (Erndl 3). A mother is perceived as an endless source of love, patience, and protection.  

To what extent, and in what ways, do the traditional theories of Essay

To what extent, and in what ways, do the traditional theories of employment relations help us to understand the modern Australia - Essay Example The theories are discussed based on mainly three grounds viz. unitarist, pluralist and also on Marx’s radical approaches. On the basis of such theories the industrial practices of the employers and the government’s role in such is analysed. This analysis is conducted to reflect on the reasons for the decline of the trade unions power and also on the needs for the changing business and industrial structures in the Australian framework. Introduction The government of Australia is taking potential steps to protect the plight of workers from undue practices of the employers in dismissing the employees from their work. Thus large number of employees in Australia is on an advantageous point in fighting against the event of them being unfairly dismissed of their work tenure. Further it is observed that small business outlets in Australia have more advantage in firing employees more often than larger ones. The employees in small business firms in the region need to work for ten ure of one year whereas for larger firms it is six months to fight back against unfair dismissal. (Schneiders, 2010). The Australian employers are also endeavouring to compensate the employees adequately against taking the basic rights of better living and work conditions from them. The employees are over compensated in turn of sacrificing their rights to getting better meal and laundry services. (Johnson, 2010). Employees of a computer packing company located in New South Wales are also found to largely complain of not being rendered their basic rights owing to better living and working standards. The employees stated that the payment rendered to them often fails to meet the travelling and living cost. (Bibby, 2010). However the government of Australia is endeavouring to take special care of the employees involved in construction and building industry especially in providing legal protection. (AAP, 2010). The Australian employers are also reflecting a strong recognition of the exis tence of large number of trade union bodies in the region. Australia has shown a huge rise of trade unionism in several industries like education and other public utility services. (Bibby, 2010; Hannan, 2010). Justification for Choosing the Issues The two issues chosen regarding employment relation conditions in respect to the Australian region pertain to two aspects. Firstly the issue regarding fair employment practices is dealt with in regards to the Australian industries. Secondly the issue of promoting trade unions is also surveyed in respect of the industrial environmental standards of Australia. The fair work practices in respect of the Australian industries reflect important issues in regards to employment relation conditions. The issues hover around important aspects relating to working conditions of the industries, delay in rendering financial compensation to the workers and also for gaining flexibility in relation to work timings. Further the minimum pay standards rendered to the workers are also dealt with in regards to the fair work practices in the Australian industries. The concept of fair work practices in regards to Australian industries is further extended to encourage the entry of large number o

Employee Turnover and Retention Strategies Essay

Employee Turnover and Retention Strategies - Essay Example Every department, be it operations, finance, human resources, or sales and marketing, must invest in motivating, training, and retaining their best human resources to make a difference through their core competencies. As Susan Heathfield said: "Managers readily agree that retaining your best employees ensures customer satisfaction, product sales, satisfied co-workers and reporting staff, effective succession planning and deeply imbedded organizational knowledge and learning." Today organisations are willing to look upon their staff not so much as employees or workers but as 'knowledge workers'. As Peter Drucker observed, "while the more than fifty-fold increase in productivity of the manual worker was the greatest achievement of the 20th century manager, the most important work of the 21st century is to increase the productivity of the knowledge worker." (Pottruck and Pearce, 131). The more competent workers your company or organisation loses, the more will it set your clock back in finding and training suitable replacements at much greater costs. In the meantime your loss becomes your competitor's gain, which again has adverse implications on the success of your operations. Among the major causes that propelled employees to quit an organisation, the following conditions mostly relating to work culture have been identified as contributing to employee dissatisfaction and consequent exit: Lack of clarity in company policies, practices, and procedures Excessive controls and autocratic leadership Bureaucratic work environment with lack of trust Inadequate remuneration and unjustified cost cuts Poor quality of supervision Lack of opportunities for growth Absence of facilities for training and development Lack of scope for utilization of skills and talents Poor communication (with the employee not knowing what is expected of him daily) Lack of rewards, recognition and encouragement Unfair and inequitable treatment of employees Overbearing attitude and threatening by supervisors The Case of Solution's Solution's began operations on a small scale in 1967 as a recruitment agency for social care specialists. Headquartered in London, Solution's expanded in a big way in four decades to establish itself as the largest social care agency in the UK, with 160 employees spread over18 branches. The year 2004 proved to be a disappointment for the company in terms of financial performance, compelling it to slash commissions given to consultants for recruitment mostly in branches located in London. The weak performance also resulted in the retrenchment of up to 15 branch administers, apart from the voluntary exit of many employees who signed up with rival agencies. An analysis showed that the major cause for high employee turnover (91%) in 2004 was the cost reduction strategy adopted by the company. With a view to putting the operations back on rail, the company opted for a change of leadership at the top. A new managing director joined the board in January 2005 with a mission to improve the health of the company in general and the turnover situation in particular. He believed that the key to success through increased sales lay in ensuring employee satisfaction. Accordingly he straightway set about implementing certain remedial and innovative measures for a

Privacy in the 21st century Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Privacy in the 21st century - Research Paper Example Security agencies were allowed to do this not only if the threat was to the United States of America only, but also if requested by another country. The bill was introduced to congress by Senator Ted Kennedy in 1977. According to Liu (2011), on December 2005, during the bush administration, the act gained public awareness after an article â€Å"warrantless wiretapping† that blew the whistle on the National Security Agency’s (NSA) domestic surveillance without proper or any court warrants. According to Levy (2007), there have been various amendments on the Foreign Service Intelligence Act (FISA). One of the significant amendments is the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2007. This amendment was introduced by senators Olympia Snowe, Linsey Graham, Chuck Hugel and Mike DeWine. According to the act, the President of the United States of America was given limited authority to mandate gathering of intelligence through electronic surveillance of people suspected to be involved in terrorism activities in the United States of America. The act however limited the President authority by establishing a congressional oversight. In the same year senator Arlen Specter together with Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced the National Security surveillance bill and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Improvement and Enhancement bill which were later approved and enacted by congress the same year. The act s allowed for warrantless surveillance and appointed FISA as the body to gather foreign i ntelligence. Another important amendment was the 2007 Protect America Act. President Bush persuaded congress to enact a law that would limit restriction of FISA where the subjects under surveillance involve intercontinental communication. The act allowed the National Security Agency (NSA) director with advice from the attorney general to authorize surveillance of people assumed to

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 121

Discussion - Essay Example There are three methods that one can apply to ensure that confidence levels are elevated and the questions directed towards him are answered in a prompt way. The first one is by researching about the company. The interviewing panel may try to test your knowledge about the company and therefore to be on the safe side, it’s better to have the basic information such its core values, mission and vision at your fingertips. Interacting with an employee in the organization can prove to be important to get an insider information that can help during the interview. These goals should always articulate with your goals in your resume as this will be an added advantage towards hiring you as an employee. Second, it’s good to come with answers to commonly asked resume questions. Though it may appear awkward, it is important to write down a list of the questions you expect to be asked at the interview and develop answers that can address them. This will boost your confidence in a significant way. Resume questions such as reasons as to why you quit working for a certain company should have ready answers that will satisfy the panel. Lastly, prepare to describe yourself in a way that will appear relevant to the job that you want to get. Your interest to the company should always be reflected when answering the questions asked. According to Louis Efron, an editor with the Forbes Magazine, it is important to prepare, in advance, a list of personal accomplishments in life that will boost your CV. Efron, Louis. Get That Job! Nine Ways to Interview with Confidence. Forbes Magazine, 2013. Web. http://www.forbes.com/sites/louisefron/2013/12/23/get-that-job-nine-ways-to- interview-with-confidence/ Retrieved, February 4,

Female Offenders( AfricanAmerican women) Research Paper

Female Offenders( AfricanAmerican women) - Research Paper Example These African Americans are serving mostly for non violent crimes which include property disputes. These African Americans face a lot of challenges while in the prison and some special services are also being provided to these women so that they can avoid the problems (Snell 1994; Sabol et al 2007). It has been seen that many of the problems that women face in the prison are due to the inefficiencies of the system which have not been corrected by the authorities concerned. A problem for most of the incarcerated females is that they cannot be accommodated in places nearby their home. This is because few facilities allow the accommodation of female prisoners. In United States it has been seen that women in prison are usually a hundred miles away from their child’s residence. It is stated that â€Å"more than 60 % of all women are incarcerated more than one hundred miles from their child’s place of residence† (Human Rights Watch 1996). This problem is related to the families of the female offenders as these females cannot remain in contact with their family. Economic resources of the African American women are low and hence it becomes even more difficult for the family to pay visits to the females. Female prisoners are kept in a high security zone where they c annot be harmed in anyway. This high security zone can prove to be problematic for them as they are discriminated and misclassified accordingly in these high security zones. The facilities available these days in the prisons are not enough to provide the women with the basic rights. The hygiene and healthcare systems of the prison were originally established for men and hence these African American women have to suffer at the hands of the authorities. Gynecological examination is not yet much prevalent in the prison systems of the United States. It has also been seen that many African American women are incarcerated for the use of drugs but these

Learning from the past Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Learning from the past - Essay Example Global warming seems to be one of the biggest threats to humanity in today’s world, because if we allow it to continue without taking any measures, the consequences can be catastrophic. Global Warming Global warming phenomenon has been around for a considerable period of time. Its history can be dated back to the 1880s. People in that period, had come to realize that burning fossil fuels such as coal, results in the emission of Carbon dioxide gas and other harmful gases, which can damage the earth’s atmosphere. The concept of greenhouse effect was initiated during that period; the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide when released into the earth’s atmosphere aid in the depletion of the ozone layer which can increase the earth’s temperature, thus causing major climatic changes. During the early 1900s, increase in the temperature of the earth was even recorded by the scientists and considerable thought was given to this phenomenon that was global warming. (Richard Courtney) The swift industrialization that started in the 1800s contributed a lot to the warming of the planet. It was the first time that people had started to burn fossil fuels in such large quantity to produce energy, which led to the emission of various harmful gases and waste into the atmosphere, and damaged the ozone layer surrounding the earth. This was the one major drawback of industrialization, which although had changed the situation around the world. Rapid deforestation and burning of coal and gases has led to the fast reduction in non-renewable sources of energy, as well as contributed greatly to global warming. During the start of industrialization, many people did not really understand the amount of damage that was being done to the atmosphere, until the scientists actually started to carry out tests and investigations, which showed them they are indeed endangering the planet with their activities. The concept was derived that the people were beginning to pu sh the earth’s resources to the maximum limit. Trees were, and still are, being cut down at a rapid rate to produce energy, and so were coal and other fossil fuels. Nature had been patient for some time with the continuous damage being done to the environment, but for some time now it has started to show signs of impatience. This had to happen because constant meddling with the earth’s natural cycle had to have negative consequences, which have resulted in global warming. This is basically a rise in the temperature of the earth, leading to climatic changes such as melting of ice caps in the northern regions. This can result in massive floods, plus the colder regions will get colder, while warmer regions will get warmer. The balance has been disturbed and it will be really difficult to put it back. Average temperature readings of the earth, taken every once in a while, have showed that the temperature of the earth is spiking; though at a small rate, it is still dangerou s. (How it began?) Though global warming has been on the go since the 1800s, measures have been taken continuously to reduce it, without being so harsh on the world’s economy. In 1987, an act was passed by Montreal Protocol of the Vienna Convention, which banned the releasing of the harmful gases into the atmosphere, which can damage the earth’

Consulting in Business Analysis Personal Statement

Consulting in Business Analysis - Personal Statement Example I need to understand how businesses work around the globe and how environmental changes have their ever increasing impact on them. Recent financial turmoil introduced me to concepts like coupling of economies, of which I could only make out that it’s the way performance of one economy is linked with the performance of other economies, and how did this overall series of events in America actually influence job scenario for people working in India or China was beyond my perspective. But that did intrigue me to explore further on how this would have influenced my business and my life, so in future when I will plan for my business I should be able to understand that what all such events would portend for me. But apart from quenching this curiosity, the overarching objective was to set up my own business after 5-6 years of corporate experience within my preferred industry. So the obvious choice where all these issues seemed to converge was an MBA degree from a reputed university bu t as most of such universities look for some experience so job eligibility before MBA became the midterm objective and for that, I would have needed a graduate degree in business management. The foundation course figured as a short run objective for that. If I were to spell out my exact expectations from the course then I must admit that I did not have much idea about it. I knew only one thing that it would act as a bridge to my future studies and as a student, my objective from this course was more or less passing with good grades. But the objective did not remain just what it was before joining the course, as exposure to seminars, book reading, assignments, portfolio all changed my thoughts. My preoccupation with just marks waned and other important aspects of attending the course started surfacing.

Media changes Essay Example for Free

Media changes Essay Media changes the rules of how we can view the world. It lets us see that there are realities aside from the reality that we already know. The media shows, for instance, how tragic calamities like tsunamis and hurricanes could be. It also reveals that public school teachers in U. S. could also be violent and abusive towards their students. Now, if these realities didn’t come out of media, would we know that such injustices and inequalities still rampantly occur in human existence? Media also spreads bad influences like violence and pornography. However, these should not constitute the only basis for condemning media. Pornography and hostility already existed decades before media came out. Negligence of parents can’t be blamed for this violence. But it we want our children to view wholesome materials, then parents should initiate a move in monitoring their children’s activities and orient them what materials would be considered as garbage. Youtube. com is just one of the popular forms of media where the people visit to watch and upload videos. While some other sites have a team of reviewers to check on the videos beings submitted to their sites, YouTube o n the other hand is the free site where people can easily upload and access even the inappropriate ones. Inappropriate means videos containing obscene, violent, and offensive language. Kids 11-14 can say that there are videos with inappropriate content. Videos like Hentai (a Japanese pornographic animation) and Harry Potter Puppet Pals are examples of videos that have sexual, gory and foul content. These videos are obviously catchy to children. Indeed, children should never be deprived of their rights to be educated of ugly realities but posting violent and pornographic videos in a site where people, even the young ones, often â€Å"drop by† when they’re on the net could be dangerous. These videos might bring shock to these young, or they might think it is okay to show pornography. With all these issues, parents should guide their children on what they watch and, in some cases, what they upload. Some of these inappropriate videos can only be accessed when he/she registers and must not be a minor, but anybody could lie about the age. It is also advised that children below 18 should have parental guidance, but some parents are not aware that these sites exist. Some parents are not even familiar with the Internet. If children are guarded at home, the could always go to Internet cafes if they would insist or too curious to access these videos. This could still be possible since some cafe’s are very lenient when it comes to censorship. In our generation today, technology is changing and evolving every minute. Though measures are taken and warnings are given, improvement will only be realized with the virtue of responsibility. References Media Awareness Network (n. d. ) Violence in Media Entertainment. Retrieved October 12, 2008, from http://www. media-awareness. ca/english/issues/violence/violence_entertainment. cfm