Personal Response on Sexual Identity

I am guided by the pursuit of pleasure because I prefer to do what feels right rather than what is best. I answer to my gut feeling or listen to my heart if you will. Was raised to do what Is best for me and not for anyone else, and have also taught myself never regret anything that I do but learn and grow from my mistakes. I also relate to the value rationalism, which may seem like I contradict myself but sometimes I do stop and think about the consequences before I act instead of living in the moment. In my past, I have made some terrible mistakes and has made me want to be more cautious about certain situations I come across.I believe that I will always relate to these values. Critical Thinking and Sexual Decision Making People may not know that they use critical thinking every time they make a sexual decision, but I know how Important It Is to think a sexual decision through before making a decision. I would consider myself a skeptic even after this class. Being a skeptic means t hat I have to question anything related to sexual activities. I find it important to think about the consequences before making a decision because I can avoid making mistakes.A time that I had to use critical thinking was when I was deciding whether to lose my virginity or not. That decision was not something that I could choose right away but would take me a while to think about the consequences. It was my decision ultimately to make, and no one could help me decide. Critical thinking is a must anytime you are about to make a life-altering decision. Gender Identity Gender identity is the belief in which you truly are. Before we are born we are given a sex assignment, based on the internal and external organs we have in the womb.As e grow up, we learn whom we are and determine which gender we agree with. Most of the time we identify with the gender we were assigned with when In the womb or after birth. There are times that Individuals choose the opposite gender than the one they wer e assigned. Factors that help determine gender identity is genetic factors, social factors and environmental factors. Between man and woman, 23 chromosomes are combined to make up the genetic code. The egg carriers the X sex chromosome and the sperm can carry either the X or Y sex chromosome. This is the sex assignment and usually the gender most people identify as.Social factors help they raised you as a boy, you would most likely identify yourself as a boy. Also, your peers can have an effect on how you determine your gender identity. If one wants to fit in, he or she may try to identify as the gender that their peers are. Environmental factors can help determine your gender identity by naturally shaping you into whom you believe you are. People go through many situations that can have an effect on your gender identify. The factors that have affected my gender identity are genetic factors, environmental factors and social factors.At birth, it was determined that I m a girl because of my internal and external organs I have. Social and environmental factors determined my gender identity because my parents raised me based on my sex assignment. My parents and our society taught me that there was only one way. Which technically meant that I had no say in my gender identity since I was born as a girl I was to remain a girl. The factor that most helps me to determine my gender identity was the social factor of my parents raising me as I was meant to be. Masculinity and Femininity On the continuum of masculinity-femininity, I fall close to the middle but closer to Minnie.I like to get dressed up and be â€Å"girl' with makeup and purses, but I also like to hang with the guys and watch football and drink a beer. I would not say I am masculine in any way, but I do have masculine tendencies because I'm not afraid to get dirty. I grew up with both parents so I would say they balanced my feminine and masculine qualities. They taught me the important parts of being femin ine and masculinity. My mother taught me to act like a lady, and my father taught me how to change a tire. Attraction There are three components of attractiveness; they are attitude, physical attraction ND reciprocity.The first thing someone notices about another person is his or her physical appearance. What makes a person want to further the relationship is his or her attitude. If they find the attitude to be attractive, chances are they will try to further the relationship. Reciprocity is when both parties want the same thing and will work together to make their relationship a lasting one. The factor that is most important to me would be an attitude because while physical attraction is the first thing I notice, attitude is the component that makes me want to act on my feelings.If someone does not have a good attitude or a similar attitude as mine, I will not find him or her attractive. Styles of Love The styles of love that are constant in my life right now are romantic love, pos sessive excited love and friendship. Romantic love has always been a constant in my life because I am a lover. When I fall in love, I fall hard. Romantic love is probably the truest love today. Possessive excited love is a style of love that I find in my life today. Although my boyfriend and I are not possessive, we have a lot of excitement in our relationship.The excitement to see each other after a long day of work or the excitement to have a date night keeps our relationship strong. Before my boyfriend and I decided to be in a relationship, we were really great friends. We bonded instantly and got along very well. When I started to feel like being friends was not enough for me, I had to let him know. Historical and Scientific Perspectives on Homosexuality Homosexuality is when an individual is attracted sexually or romantically to people of in our society we have people who protest against gays having equal rights such as arraign.Of course, our society has come a long way with he terosexuals fighting along side the homosexuals for the their rights. Historical and scientific perspectives have shaped the way I perceive my sexual orientation and myself. Historically, homosexual practices were either done in secret or known about but shunned. Homosexuals were looked down on and seen as abominations. In the past individuals who were accused of homosexuality were convicted by the â€Å"Office of the Night†, which was a group of Christians who felt negatively on homosexuals.In today's society, homosexuals do not have to hide that they are gay because they can not be convicted for whom they are. Unfortunately, there are still individuals out there that do not agree with homosexuality. There is still the potential of gay individuals being harassed by those individuals. Hate crimes are still common in our society. I am not gay, but I do have gay friends and family, and I do not look at them any differently; instead I stand beside them and protect them from any hate that comes their way. History has only taught me that we need to fight for the rights and that I need to be true to myself.Scientific perspectives have researched the possibility of genetics and mental health being the cause of homosexuality. They have studied family trees to determine if homosexuality can be passed down through generations. They only found that the X chromosome could influence sexual orientation. The researchers have also studied the brain and the possibility that homosexuality can be caused by a mental illness of some sort. Scientific perspectives have not reflected on my sexual orientation. I am straight because I choose to be.I believe that anyone should be able to love whoever they want without being Judged for it. Abortion When I was younger I always thought abortion was wrong because it was taking a life of a baby. As I grew up and learned more, I realized I was making my decision on abortion based off of others ideas of abortion. I became aware of abort ion when a friend of mine in high school had an abortion after having sex once. I understood why she would want an abortion because of being in high school and she had her whole life ahead of her. Her family was very strict, and she was worried about her parents disowning her.

Connection of Figurative Language in the Scarlet Ibis

â€Å"The Scarlet Ibis†, there is a multitude of figurative language used to underline the theme that is repeated in Naomi Long Midget's poem â€Å"Woman with Flower†, ultimately enlightening the reader with a true moral of don't be exceedingly prideful and work something before it is ready. â€Å"Woman with Flower† introduces readers to a woman who is trying to shelter her flower and make it perfect, rather than letting it take its own path and literally letting it grow into a beautiful flower.The poem reflects the short prose â€Å"The Scarlet Ibis† via figurative language. An example would be, â€Å"Much growth is stunted by too careful prodding. † This personifies the flower with human like attributes of being sheltered and protected, like many youth are in present time. â€Å"The Scarlet Ibis† can also relate to that because of the narrator's need for Doodle's success, not so much for Doodle, but for the narrator's own pride. â€Å"The things we love we have to learn to leave alone. Demonstrates the underlying thought of the prose', when do we leave someone to Geiger life on their own terms, and when do we Intervene and help out? The narrator in â€Å"The Scarlet Ibis† struggles to find the answer to this query as he teaches Doodle to walk and become what society views as a normal little boy. In the end of the prose, he makes an irrational decision due to his dwindling patience.

How do governments respond to large volcanic and earthquake disasters Research Paper

How do governments respond to large volcanic and earthquake disasters - Research Paper Example Also, buildings that have remained intact or partially damaged need to be stabilized so that they do not collapse in the aftershocks that follow. To initiate rescue operations, Civil defense organizations need to get their disaster control centers immediately into the act. Most of the hazards to people come from man-made structures. Liquefaction occurring underneath a building can make the building lean, or collapse, or sink several feet (UPSeis – MichiganTech, 2007) (Fig. 1). Hence, liquefaction is a risk especially in areas where the groundwater table is high and the soil is sandy. Also, the strong surface waves generated by an earthquake can make the ground heave and lurch, and thereby cause damage to buildings. Another major earthquake hazard is fire due to broken gas lines and snapped power lines. The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 made the city burn for three days (Fig. 2), and destroyed most of the city. Flooding due to cracking of dams and levees is yet another major earthquake hazard. ... Government’s response to hazards from large volcanic eruptions and earthquakes It is not possible to ascertain if a volcano has become extinct. A volcano that lay dormant for 5000 years erupted in 1973 on Heimaey island near Iceland (USGS, 1983). Furthermore, the eruption of volcanoes can neither be prevented nor controlled. But knowledge of the type of eruption, that is, whether explosive or effusive will give an idea of the potential hazards, and that will help in determining the measures to be taken during a volcanic eruption. The problems due to volcanic eruptions will be compounded in the likely event of an earthquake occurring in conjunction with the eruption. Furthermore, volcanic activity can provoke atmospheric repercussions because of the billowing clouds of smoke and ash plumes (Fig. 4). Governments should keep the disaster management plan in readiness with help from the civic bodies as well as fire departments in the area to deal with the evacuation of people livin g in the path of lava flow, to combat fires caused by molten rock and hot cinders, to take appropriate steps to deal with atmospheric pollution from sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and acid vapors. It is not possible to carry out ground-based monitoring on all volcanoes around the world. But space-based monitoring through satellite radars can help identify the volcanoes presenting the greatest danger. The radars are able to track minute changes in the Earth's movement which facilitates prediction of ensuing volcanic eruptions (European Space Agency, 2007). In the case of earthquakes, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there are 45 states

Evaluation of Hyundai Motor Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation of Hyundai Motor Company - Essay Example For instance, the company registered revenues of $72.3 billion in FY2009, an increase of 14.7% over FY2008. In particular, Hyundai boosted its operating profit margins over the last three financial periods and it elevated from 4.1% in FY2007 to 5.9% in FY2009. Thus, Hyundai has been able to improve the automobile market share in the global market more than other competitors in spite of the recent world economic recession (Datamonitor, 2010). Origins and Key Developments Hyundai was established in 1967 and it did not have proper technology in order to produce automobiles. As a result, although Hyundai released the Pony, the first export car model in South Korea, with technical assistance from Mitsubishi Motor in 1975, the company struggled with the manufacture of cars until the 1980s (Company Website, 2010). However, Hyundai developed core components independently such as gasoline engines and transmissions for the first time in the 1990s (ibid) and the company began to invest signific antly into its car quality, design, and research in the 2000s. As a result, Hyundai has been able to achieve high sales and a powerful brand value in the world automobile market (Datamonitor, 2010). ...   re, Hyundai was awarded â€Å"car maker of the year 2010† by AM, the UK’s auto trade magazine (AM Website, 2010), and automobile experts from nine Middle East countries selected Sonata, the company’s typical car, as the best mid-size car of the year 2010 (Company Website, 2010). Thus, the company is able to gain more customers and to record high sales due to a strong brand image (Datamonitor, 2010). Nevertheless, Kiley (2007) argues that despite earning a good reputation for a strong brand value, the company still does not establish high sales in the luxury car market. Customers who want to buy a car from Hyundai are mainly considering its inexpensive price and this price story is called the company’s image problem â€Å"The Yugo Factor† (BusinessWeek, 2007). When the company entered the US car market in the 1980s, it was generally compared with Yugoslavian automobiles which have quality problems (ibid). For instance, when the Hyundai’s v ehicle was shown without any company’s logo in research with 200 car traders in the US, 71% of people would buy it. However, when the car’s logo was displayed, there were only 52% of people. This is the reason that Hyundai is still struggling in the luxury automobile market (Kiley, 2007). However, Hyundai

Intellectual Property Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Intellectual Property Law - Essay Example demarks whereby trademark registration acted to indicate a product’s origin or identity, while also protecting the mark from use by other traders apart from the one who registered the mark2. This solved problems that had arisen regarding showing ownership to the mark through the establishment of goodwill necessary for pass-off action. The trademark directive finally got implementation into law with 1994’s Trade Mark Act (TMA) that holds to date. It states that the proprietor of a trademark that has been registered possesses exclusive rights that are infringed upon through the use of the trade mark without their consent in the UK3. The TMA sought to widen the infringement of trademark scope through allowing traders to register any sign that could be graphically represented and capable of distinguishing one’s undertaking from another traders undertaking4. With the advent of the Trade Marks Act 1994, it has been suggested that the common law tort of passing off has become largely superfluous in the protection of identifying insignia. This paper will seek to show that this is not eh case, especially since it still acts as a fallback option when the TMA faces l imitations, while it also fills the gaps in TMA section 10. One of the reasons why the TMA has been seen to render passing-off as superfluous in protection of identifying insignia, is that it has given a broader definition to what a trademark that can be registered constitutes. This in effect has allowed the registration of most things that can be used as a distinguishing element during passing off5. However, the expanded definition provided by the TMA do not render passing off completely superfluous in English law. This is especially since it is still the main action cause for those who, for one reason or another, do not register their trademarks, as well as for those marks that are non-registerable because of the limitations of TMA. In addition, even though the TMA extends the protection scope for

Planning (Local Development Framework) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Planning (Local Development Framework) - Essay Example Local Development Framework (LDF)- This is essentially a folder of documents outlining the spatial planning development strategy of a local area. These are prepared by the district councils, unitary authorities and local park authorities. LDF and RSS together shall shape the development planning system in a community. One key aspect of the new system is the role of local community involvement in the plan making process. The Local Development Framework (LDF) will include several Development Plan Documents (DPDs) and a number of Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs). The Development Plan Documents, along with the Mayor of London's London Plan, Development Plan and will be the basis upon which all planning decisions are made. The main DPDs in LDF are as follows: Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) - this document sets out how and when the communities and local stakeholders will participate in the revision of local planning documents as well as consideration of planning applications. The most important benefit of SCI would be "front loading" which basically means that communities get the opportunity to participate in planning process and make a difference at the very beginning of each document development. Ready access to information, active contribution from the stakeholders and regular feedback make it vibrant. Essentially SCI addresses the following : Local Development SIssues on which the community involvement is being sought-The entire range of local development documents on which community shall be involved. Methodology of community involvement- The process of receiving and spreading of information, policy and plan development procedures and feedback process. Who to involve- To ensure that even those groups who do not get involved in planning process are involved so that the participation is truly broad based. Annual Monitoring Report- Assessment report of the progress and effectiveness of an LDF submitted to the government by a local planning authority. It will include critical analysis of the following: Achievement of objectives as per the policies especially delivery of sustainable development. Consequences of the policies as intended or not. Relevance of objectives and assumptions behind the policies. Achievement of targets as set out in LDF Range of local and standard (Core output) indicators. Recommendation on adjustment to local development scheme if needed. Local Development Scheme- This is the scheme of the local development documents (LDDs) which will be produced giving their time and order of production. It is the threshold for the community and local stakeholders to know: about the planning polices of the authority for a particular place or an issue. status of those policies details and timetable for production of all the documents which comprise Local Development Framework over a three year time period. Other optional documents may include Supplementary Planning Documents (which explain the LDDs or add details to them) and Local Development Orders (which extend permitted rights for a particular form of development) or Simplified Development Zones (Areas where growth needs to be stimulated by granting waiver of planning fees or the need for a formal application) It was found that the existing documents were too detailed and complicated for the general public to understand. These actually hampered public participation rather than encourage it. In order to address these issues and to educate & inform general

The UK hardwood industry and Global Furniture Corporation Essay

The UK hardwood industry and Global Furniture Corporation - Essay Example In the year 2010, the companies in UK had imported 5.7 million cubic meters of sawnwood and had produced only 3.1 million cubic meters of sawnwood (Forestry Commission, 2011). Global Furniture Corporation (GFC) which is a 200 year old company is situated in UK and still remains one of the leading hardwood processing companies of the country. The longevity of the company determines the company’s efficiency and effective resource utilization capacity. There were various contributing factors to the success of the company which are loyalty of the employees, high quality products, efficient supply chain and management. GFC has been able to adapt to the changing marketing trends and technological developments. The flexibility of the company to adapt to the internal and external changes is one of the key reasons for the success of the company. The company imports hardwood from South American and Asian countries and processes the hardwood into finished products like Hardwood flooring, panelling and decorative strip wood. GFC also owns a subsidiary company known as Real Furniture Company (RFC) which processes imported hardwood into readymade furniture meant for domestic purposes. The operations of RFC are carried out in the overseas locations of the company. Answer 1 The practice of financial management concepts varies from company to company. Financial management helps the managers of the company to formulate various financial strategies for effective utilization of funds. Financial management decisions include investment, dividend and financing decisions (Brigham, 1985). GFC has also adopted various accounting and financial practices over the years. Currently, the company follows the new accounting regulations and principles. GFC pays the supplier of the company in the home currency of the company which is British pounds. The sales is converted into British pounds and then deposited into the company’s UK bank account. The fluctuations in the home currenc y are of paramount importance to the GFC and other companies who import most of the raw materials from abroad. For example if the home currency of GFC appreciates against the suppliers home currency then GFC will gain however, if the home currency of GFC depreciates against the suppliers home currency then GFC will bear losses (Conklin, 2006). This is because under the appreciation of the home currency, GFC has to pay fewer units of its home currency to buy the equivalent amount of inputs in foreign currency. Problem arises when the home currency of GFC depreciates then the company has to pay excessive amount of money against the suppliers home currency units. The cost management issues also depend on the relationship between the suppliers and the company. If the suppliers of the company share a long term and stable relationship with the company then the ability of the company to insulate its cost from the impact of the currency movements will be high or vice versa. This indicates t hat the company’s ability to reduce losses while the company’s home currency depreciates depends upon the nature of contracting with its suppliers (Conklin, 2006). Therefore, one can say that currently GFC is not following a very practical approach it should adopt a flexible approach which can help the

Solvability Factors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Solvability Factors - Essay Example Solvability factors, therefore, are the elements or situations that directly or indirectly affected the resolution of a crime which, as defined above, constitutes arresting and charging the offender or perpetrator. The following are solvability factors identified in the investigation of crimes such as homicide. The first group of factors involves those associated with the crime incident (Keppel & Weis, 1994). One factor is the commission of another crime. For homicide, these include robbery and breaking and entering which may aid in the investigation of the primary crime. Another factor is the time of the commission of the crime. Crimes that are perpetrated at broad daylight or at a time wherein many people are up and about will have a higher solvability due to the possibility of witnesses. Another factor under this category is the place of the crime. Crimes committed in residential areas are more likely to be solved than those committed in non-residential areas (Keppel & Weis, 1994). The second group of factors includes those associated with the vic... The third group of factors is the law enforcement organizational factors. Different strategies, regulations and other characteristics of crime detection agencies play an important role in the resolution of a crime. One factor is the amount of time that is devoted for a particular case. It is only logical that one investigator can handle a certain number of cases for a given period of time while it is quite understandable that an investigator can be more focused and be efficient when handling one case at a time (Wellford & Cronin, 1999). Another factor under this category is the number of agents or detectives for a particular division who can handle the same types of crime. When a certain investigator handling a case cannot, for any particular reason, pursue the investigation then assistance or replacement by another capable investigator is necessary (Muozos & Muller, 2001; Wellford & Cronin,1999). Another factor is the existence and efficiency of support staff that can increase the performance and rate of accomplishment of the details and processes undertaken by an investigator. Related to this is the separate function of data or evidence analysts that can help tackle the clues and questions posed by the data or evidences. Lastly, an important solvability factor related to law enforcement practice is teamwork inside the unit which roughly translates to good cooperation and communication frameworks among colleagues (Riedel & Rinehart, 1996). The fourth group of solvability factors falls under the crime scene factors. The foremost factor in this category includes the rapid or timely security of the crime scene and other places that may be

Quantitative Research Design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quantitative Research Design - Assignment Example The researcher states that quantitative research design is further divided into two categories. The first category is the descriptive type of quantitative research which establishes only associations between variables. The second category is experiment quantitative research which establishes causality. These two types of quantitative research designs can be further categorized into specific designs. In experimental design, a researcher does more than just observe the subjects. Under the time series, one or more measurements are taken on all subjects before and after a treatment. However, one major problem may arise in time series. As Hopkins explained, some changes that can be observed in the experiment might be due to other than treatment. He presented that subjects might do better in the second test because of their experience in the first test. To give the solution to this problem, a crossover design can be used. Two population samples are needed in this design. The first populati on actually receives the actual treatment while the other population of the sample remains a reference. Hopkins added, â€Å"If the treatment effect is unlikely to wash out between measurements, a control group has to be used. In these designs, all subjects are measured, but only some of them, the experiment group, then receive the treatment. All subjects are then measured again, and the change in the experimental group is compared with the change in the control group.† Under such circumstance, a laboratory experimental design is under controlled condition. The study conducted by Anderson is considered a laboratory experiment in which the experimental groups were actually told not by the actual objective of the study. The experiment design is a single-controlled trial because the subjects are considered blind. In this regard, the researcher might be able to control the conditions better which makes the experiment more reliable. More so, this experiment can be replicated and c an establish cause and effect relationship.

Research question and case study Annotated Bibliography

Research question and case study - Annotated Bibliography Example This loss of demand for the products traded in by the retail company happens to render large amounts of impact on the productivity and revenue patterns of the concern. Thus the retail companies to sustain their enhanced market share and profitability in the global market must strongly work to reduce the amount of lead times involved. Retail companies that mainly focus on the trading of fashionable garments and merchandises along with toys and technological products generally tend to suffer from the pitfalls of an ineffective supply chain system. Increasing lead times in the supply chain systems of such retail concerns leads to the unavailability of the right merchandise at the right season or time thereby contributing to loss of sales. It is therefore required for the retail organizations to arrange for the merchandises specifically during the peak seasons to meet customer satisfaction and thereby gain in sale revenues. Again the increase in the lead times for such retail companies a lso amounts to piling up of unused or unsold merchandises in retail warehouses that in turn locks a considerable amount of working capital for the concern (Bakal and Geunes, 2010, p.2395-2396). The paper relating to the above fact tends to focus on cases where the retail business organizations have taken resort to technological and process innovations to help in reducing the amount of lead time involved. Fashion retail companies like Zara belonging to the Inditex group are found to take resort to process innovations in its retail operations to contribute in the reduction of lead times. The retail company is observed to suffer from the loss of sales owing to the emergence of assorted sizes pertaining to garments in their different stores. In that the fashion retail company required the store managers of different operating stores to render individual

Web design Essay Example for Free

Web design Essay Question 1: A transactional website allows customers to buy, sell, and order goods and services while a promotional website promotes and brings more customers to a website. Since PizzaHut. com has both types, this causes it to be a hybrid website. PizzaHut. com allows for customers to go online and buy their product, which is food. Customers are allowed to go online and choose whichever food they’d like and choose their delivery method. They can order it for pick up, delivery and either store their credit card information through ‘cookie’ or pay in cash. Pizza Hut promotes there online website almost all over. They have internet ads that may pop up and when you visit their website they have their special promotions posted on the central viewing window. The website allows the ability to shop for a deal with quick and easy ordering access. Pizza Hut also has many ways to order from a Facebook and iPhone app to desktop widgets. Question 2: There are seven design elements that help create great online customer experiences. The first is context. Context is a websites first appealing look and feeling that is reflected in the sites layout and in their visual design. It will focus on the company’s offerings, products, services, and information. It attempts to convey the main customer benefits provided by what the company has to offer. Content is the next. It is all the digital information on the company’s website such as the text, pictures, sounds and possible video they upload. PizzaHut. com incorporates both context and content by allowing customers to shop for a deal quickly and easily. It has the current offers directly on the main page and through navigation buttons that include the menu, locations, and nutrition facts. These are located directly below the main content Website customization is the way the site is able to modify itself and allows users to personalize it to their own likings. With Pizza Hut, their main goal was to simplify the ordering process. For customers who have already used the site they have personal options for them called ‘Express Checkout’ that is based on saved personal preferences. All they need to do is click a button and the food is on the way. Pizza Hut stores this information through Cookies. The connection for website design is the network that links it to other sites. They are links on the website that appear as highlighted words or pictures. Users are able to easily visit them by just clicking the link. Since Pizza hut is connected to mobile devices, desktops, and social networks their connection design element includes more than links. It provides an approach to create a seamless customer experiences whenever and wherever people want to engage with them. Then, comes communication. Communication is the dialogue that is on the website that unfolds between the user and the website. The customers are able to talk directly with a representative while shopping on the site. They use site-to-user, user-to-site, and two-way communication. Pizza Hut uses communication by incorporating it with content. It posts product innovations, promotions, and special events with bright colors and bold images. Community is popular because it helps to enhance customer experience and build relationships. Community is the way in which the site enables user-to-user communication. Pizza Hut realized that it did not make sense for the customers or the company to create a community on the site. Instead they turned to Facebook. Customers are now engaging in a huge group of people without disrupting their daily routine. The seventh design element to help create greater online customer experiences is commerce. Commerce is the websites ability to make sale transactions for products and services, making them quick and simple. Pizza Hut made the sales transactions quick and simple by making a Facebook application, a branded desktop widget, phone ordering, and an iPhone app that lets customers build and submit their order visually. Question 3: Choiceboards are internet enabled systems that allow customers to design their own products and services by answering a few questions and choosing from menus, prices, and delivery options and personalization is the practice of generating content on the marketers’ website that is custom tailored to an individual’s specific needs and preferences. Pizzahut. com allows customers to engage with their brand by using the right technology. With all the ways Pizza Hut has to offer for ordering their food, each will allow customers to build and submit their order visually. When I went online to see for myself, Pizzahut. com allowed me to build my own pizza. Next to my options was an image of the pizza I was building. There were series of question, such as toppings, delivery or takeout, crust, ect. Pizzahut. com is made to simplify the ordering process and has their promotions directly on the main page.

The research method

The research method Abstract This article is a summary of the research method, Systematic Review. There are four facet s, a short introduction of the systematic review, including the features, the steps of the methodology, the discussion of some steps , and the conclusion from the above investigation and some vista for the systematic review. Introduction There are several kinds of research methods, and each of them has their own features and function to use to fit their research design. For instance, Pavlovs dog, a classic behavioral experiment, scientist design a situation in the laboratory and try hard to control the varieties to find the answer of the hypothesis. However, in some conditions, experimental design ways may not so appropriate in using to the program, for example, if the research is aimed to collation the finds of others study outcomes, tried to find an answer that is adaptive to every arguments, then systematic review method will be a good choice to select. Systematic review method, which aims to combine, compares, or did a synthesis to the research outcomes. There are two reasons to use the method, one is that the limitation of traditional review, and the other is the added power brought by the synthesis of multiple studies. Its different from the review, which is try to combine two or more researches in a given topic, as it comes to systematic review, its more specific, detailing, structural under the topic. Otherwise, meta-analysis method is also used in systematic review study sometimes, but its just a part of the method, or a kind of skills, they are not the same affair, compared to meta-analysis, systematic review content qualitative and quantitative outcomes. Instead, meta-analysis research is a specific statistical strategy to assess the review outcomes. Its useful that systematic reviews has some advantages and surmount some restriction in some way, just like, there are some limitations in traditional review, for instance, the narrative reviews may just describe the literatures but not so strategy and structural, SR can improve the power of the question through the evidences from the studies, and it can summaries the available information in a more structural way. Method According to the Handoll and Smiths collection of the systematic review, they point out the process which is general guideline to analysis this research method, title, protocol, sources, search strategy, scope and filtering the literature, collecting and extracting the data, assessing the quality of studies, meta-analysis, presentation, discussing the review findings, and drawing the conclusion. First, the title, its necessary that a specific and clear definition of topic or question to process systematic review. Clear definition can not only help researchers ensure the worth of the question, but also avoid the duplication and checking the realistic and achievable, If the propose is specific and explicit, the strategy of the source researching work might be easier than unclear theme. Then, protocol. To let the final outcome achieve the researchers goal in the systematic review method of the research, protocol play an important role in select the literature or references, that is, depending on the researchers need on their studies, to include or exclude what they need or whats the most important to the research, and in the protocol, experiment methods also is a great point in the literature selected, for instance, now the topic is depression and commit suicide, whats the main factor associate these two items?, that is, the methodology in this topic might be trying to find out the references that include the correlative statistic skills or so on to discover the relationship between depression and suicidal behavior. Source, identifying sources will be the next step after formulate the protocol. The main purpose of the systematic review is to help to make a clinical decision base on the evidence resources, so when the researchers consider about the database of the references, maybe some medical databases, like MEDLINE and CINAHL(medical, health, and nursing databases), Cancerlit(subject databases), and Cochrane Library(databases of reviews), and so on. The above-mentioned databases might be helpful when researchers required. There are other ways to search the data pools, through keywords, like the author name whose research theme is fitting of the researchers, or some relative institutions that their job is appropriate to the topic, like if the topic is about the wellbeing of normal life to the women with breast cancer, researcher might can find the refere nce in the local hospital databases or find it from the breast cancer center. Next, search strategy, as there talked before, search strategy rely on a specific topic. When the clear propose shows out, researchers can distinct about what should be included or what should be excluded. Scope and filtering the literature, as researchers define an explicit question, the work of literature selecting become easier. To ensure the domination of the reviews is corrected; reviewers have to define more detail about the topic, like the demography, language, specific intervention and so on. Collecting and extracting the data, followed the question the researchers have, collecting relate articles and thinking about the title, methods of the articles, extracting these items directly. Cochrane Collaboration will be useful when researchers collecting and extracting the data. Next, assessing the quality of studies, after collecting the data, the steps follow it is that reading. To focus on emphasis on the part of the studies that researchers think its suitable for the topic, rea ding the studies play an important role. The articles are chose for increasing the validity of the study conclusion and these resources must relate tightly to the question. However, a checklist must be helpful in assessing the studies, to prevent the situation that some important information missed or ignored. Meta-analysis, to integrate all the data, researchers needs the statistical strategy to comprehensive the literature. As the suggestion from Mulrow, statistical analysis is to increase the power and precision of estimates of treatment effect and exposure risk. There are two points of meta-analysis method has to remember, one is noted if the result of the studies expressed the effect measure, the other is that if the literatures relevant each other to make a meaningful estimate. Presentation the result from meta-analysis processing or the reviews should include some points, like, followed the review questions, the conclusions base on the evidence, and the quality of the evidence. Either the result from meta-analysis, presentation also including reviewed evidence in computer-searchable format. Some figures or comparative tables also can make good help in presenting the outcomes of the studies. Figures or tables will let the reviews clear and structural in the systematic review. Here comes to the final facet of the systematic review, discussing the review findings and drawing conclusion, researchers in the final part have to express their comments and summary of their finding in the whole program, and the limitation of the study or whats the vista of the future research. Discussion The main important question should follow the P.I.C.O. rule, which is, P means population, the question should include the particular participants, it cannot be general. I represents intervention, there must be an independent variable to operate the study, followed the intervention to search the resources. C is the comparison, just like experiment, which also have control group and main concerned group. O means outcome, the title should include the expect from the researchers like the hypothesis, for example, researchers may suppose a situation that after intervention what will happen, like increase some behaviors or decrease the blood pressure after specific coping skill. There is a journal that use the systematic review method, the title is Clinical and cost-effectiveness of new and emerging technologies for localized prostate cancer: a systematic review., the population of this study is the patient with prostate cancer, the intervention is that the new and emerging technologies, t he compare group is the normal people or the patient with the prostate cancer still treated in traditional way, and the outcome is directed by the clinical and cost-effectiveness(S. Hummel, S. Paisley, at al. 2003). When it comes to select the literature that good to the reviewers, the Jadad Scale may be a better way to help researchers in selecting the literatures. There are three questions content in this scoring system, Was the study randomized/appropriate?, Was the study double blind/ appropriate?, Description of attrition rates?, all of the three questions are 5 points scale, the level of the scoring higher the best of the choice, it represent that the literature has the value to use in the study. There is another point of the research have to concern, that is, if the evidences are homogeneity or heterogeneity, homogeneity evidences are going to increase the power of the main question, but the heterogeneity studies will make some problems to the research purpose. There are some useful tools for completing a systematic review, one is the PRISMA, which whole name is Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, the PRISMA statement consist of a check list to let the researchers arrive the purpose of their study. The Cochrane Collaboration, the aim of the institution is for the medical evidences based and improving the health care system, and for researchers who want to do systematic reviews. There are introduction of the systematic review and the process of the method, researchers also can consist a group from the institution to do a same topic for collecting the data. Conclusions Systematic review method, as known as overview, is different from traditional review and meta-analysis method. Systematic review is more rigorous and structural to synthesis the studies than narrative review, and compared to meta-analysis, this method includes both qualitative and quantities research styles, but meta-analysis is more concern about the statistical methodological way to combine the data or the studies, in the other hand, meta-analysis research can be isolated but also see it as a part of the systematic review, especially when the research is needed to use the quantities way to proceed the study. Compared to other experimental design, Systematic review method has its own predominance, for example, if it is a long-term plan, like the study of the expression variation of disease from the primary stage to the end with Alzheimers patient, it may take a long time and cost lots of money to do the research, however, if use the systematic review to do the research, there may not so much disburse. Following the program of doing the systematic review, researchers can find that this method can not only produce a structural protocol, but also include all the information that reviewers required. The most important point of the systematic review is the question from the reviewer, as previously mentioned, the P.I.C.O. rule is followed by the researchers to start a research in this method, and as the article release, a specific and distinction question will play an important role in the whole study, because it will effect the direction of the purpose, and the aspect of the literature collecting. As previously presented, there are some institutions for helping researchers doing the systematic review, like the Cochrane Collaboration, based on the purpose of improving the health care system or medical state, providing the resource to the researchers to study, which has evolved to help prepare, maintain, and disseminate the use in systematic review with health relate research. The Campbell Collaboration is also the institution for assisting reviewers in systematic review, the purpose of them is similar with the Cochrane Collaboration, also based on the evidence to clarify what helps or harms. The other similar institution is Joanna Briggs institute, and its also a place for supporting and promoting researchers in systematic review. They are working in the dominant of nursing, medical and allied health researchers, clinicians, academics and quality management. According to the article from Cook at al. in 1997, the future of the method may be improve the researchs quality and the value, presentation formats will more user-friendly for the providers and patients. Make the connection more strongly between systematic reviews outcome and the clinical decisions. Reference Berkeley Systematic Reviews Group. Restricted from http://www.medepi.net/meta/ PRISMA, TRANSPARENT REPORTING of SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS and META-ANALYSES. Restricted from http://www.prisma-statement.org/index.htm THE CAMPBELL COLLABORATION. Restricted from http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/systematic_reviews/index.php The Cochrane Collaboration. Restricted from http://www.cochrane.org/index.htm Critical Review Advisory Group. Introduction to Systematic Reviews. School for Health And Related Research(ScHARR). 1996. Deborah J. Cook, Cynthia D. Mulrow, R. Brian Haynes. Systematic Reviews: Synthesis of Best Evidence FOR clinical Decisions. Annals of Internal Medicine. 126(5), 376-380(1997). H.H.G. Handoll, A.F. Smith. How to perform a systematic review. Current Anaesthesia Critical Care. 15, 227-234(2004). S. Hummel, S. Paisley, A. Morgan at al.. Clinical and cost-effectiveness of new and emerging technologies for early localized prostate cancer: a systematic review, Health Technology Assessment, 7(33)(2003). S. Green. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Singapore Med J. 46(6), 270-274(2005).

How to Get Rid of Ringworm

How to Get Rid of Ringworm Ringworm Treatment: How to Get Rid of Ringworm in humans Most people have had fungal infections at some point in life or the other. If you have had infections like, yeast infection, jock itch, athlete’s foot, etc. then you have suffered from fungal infections. Fungi live everywhere, in the air, water, in soil, on the plants, and even on and within our body. Not all fungi are harmful, some are indeed helpful to us, but some cause infections on the surface of the body or inside. When the immune system is suppressed or is compromised, the fungi in the air can take advantage of the condition and start multiplying causing a fungal infection. Fungi can attack any part of the body. But the most common are the skin, scalp, urogenital tract, lungs, heart, etc. Though there are many species of fungi that cause infections, one form of fungal infection that is most common is the ringworm. It is a skin condition caused by a group fungus called Dermatophytes. Being fungal in nature, it is extremely contagious and difficult to treat. For a full cure, the treatment may have to be prolonged. Ringworm of the scalp is perhaps the most stubborn of all infections and is hard to get rid of. All is not gloomy where ringworm treatment for humans is concerned, there are many medicines and home treatments available that are used to treat the problem and eliminate it. There are over the counter nonprescription, creams, lotions and ointments available for topical application, which are helpful in curing mild forms of ringworm. If the problem is more acute, you may have to consider going to a dermatologist for a more thorough exam and treatment, which could include, powders, prescription pills and if you have the ringworm of the scalp, a shampoo. Let us take a look at the various treatments that are available for the many different ringworm infections. Ringworm Treatment Prescribed by Doctor The treatment for ringworm on the various parts of the body may not be the same. It varies according to the area of the body that has the infection. Before we look at the treatment as prescribed by Doctors, we should look at the types of Ringworm infections that humans can get. The ringworm infections are classified according to the area of the body that they may affect. Ringworm of the Skin Ringworm of the skin includes conditions such as athlete’s foot also called Tinea Pedis, jock itch or Tinea Cruris. Jock itch is most common in men due to moist conditions between the scrotum and the thigh which are perfect breeding ground for fungi. Ringworm of the penis is extremely rare, but does occur sometimes and appears like ringworm infection on other parts of the body. The most common form of all ringworm is Tinea Pedis or Athlete’s Foot, which is caused by sweating in the foot. The moisture gets trapped between the toes and presents a perfect atmosphere for fungal growth. Drugs Used for Treatment of Skin Ringworm Infections Imidazoles: It is an organic coumpound which is colourless and dissolves in water to give an alkaline solution. Many drugs use Imidazole or its derivatives called imidazoles. They are used in treatment of a variety of infections most notably anti-fungal drugs. This is a group of prescription drugs that include: Clotrimazole Miconazole Ketoconazole Ecconazole Oxiconnazole Sulconazoole Setaconazole These drugs are sold under the names: Lotrimin, Nizoral, Spectazole, Monistat-Derm, Exelderm, Eratzco, etc. They can be sold as cream, powders, pessaries, capsules or lotions. It may be essential to get a prescription for some preparations of these drugs. Allylamines: It is an organic compound and comes as a colorless liquid. It is also the simplest form of stable unsaturated amine. It is used in pharmaceutical industry especially in migraine drugs and antifungal formulations. Common anti-fungal drugs of this family are: Naftifine Terbinafine These drugs are marketed under the name of Naftin and Lamisil for topical use. Can also be presented as creams, powders or sprays. Naphthiomates : Tolnafate The drug is sold under the brand name of Tinactin, Aftate, Absorbine, etc. and is available in spray, lotions, cream or powder form for topical application. Substituted pyridines: Ciclopirox It is marketed under the names of Batrafen, Mycoster,Loprox, etc. It is used as a cream or lotion for topical use. Ringworm of the Scalp It is known as Tinea Capitis and is generally caused by the species of fungi called Trichophyton. It is one of the most virulent form of ringworm and is most commonly found in children. Treatment of Scalp Ringworm There are several drugs that are used in the treatment of Tinea Capitis. These include: Griseofulvin: for children, it is to be taken orally for 4 – 6 weeks depending upon the severity of the infection. Terbinafine: Is another drug that is given orally to children. It is available in tablet or granular form. This drug is also given to adults. The dosages and the duration of treatment varies for children and adults. Itraconazole: Is another oral antifungal drug that is given to adults for treatment of Tinea Capitis. It comes as tablets or capsules and even as a liquid solution. In children, an antifungal cream or lotion such as Lamisil may be applied to stop the infection from spreading. A selenium sulfide based shampoo should also be used till the infection is fully cured. In ringworm of adults, if the infection is very serious, the doctors may also prescribe prednisone, a corticosteroid to be taken orally. A Ketaconazole based shampoo may be prescribed to be used twice a week till the infection is cured. Ringworm of the Body Ringworm infection on the face, arms, legs, and trunk are included in the ringworm of the body or Tinea corporis. It is usually caused by Trichophyton or Microsporum fungi. It can develop on any part of the body and spread to other parts fairly quickly. Treatment of Tines Corporis It is treated by topical antifungal cream, gel or lotion. The drug is applied topically to the infected area twice a day. The treatment is continued for a week or more after the symptoms have disappeared. The drugs used for topical treatment can include: Butoconazole Ciclopirox Clotrimazole Gentian Violet Miconazole Tolnaftate Sometimes, the infection can be difficult to treat. Under such conditions, the topical treatment may be supported by oral therapy too. The oral treatment should be taken for a minimum of 2-3 weeks. The treatment could include: Itraconazole Terbinafine Beard Ringworm As the name suggests it is the ringworm of the beard area on the face and is caused by two fungi – trichophyton mentagrophytes or trychophyton verrucosum. It is also called tinea barbae, and usually causes superficial infections, but sometimes deeper infection may occur. Treatment of Tinea Barbae The treatment of tinea barbae includes oral as well as topical treatment. The topical antifungal treatment can include gel, lotions or creams to be applied on the infect area. Oral treatment is given with antifungal medicines that include: Griseofulvin Terbinafine Itraconazole Sometimes a corticosteroid prednisone may be included to alleviate the symptoms, if the infection is very severe. It also helps to reduce scarring and permanent loss of hair on the face. Ringworm of the Nail Nails can also get ringworm. Ringworm of the nails is called Onychomycosis or tinea unguium. The nail infections can occur in anyone but the people more at risk are: diabetics, people who wear artificial nails, use public swimming pools, and work in areas where the hands are moist or under water for extended periods of time. Treatment for Nail Ringworm it is a very stubborn ringworm infection and it is best to go to a doctor for the treatment of the infection as the likelihood of nail ringworm infection recurring are very high. The doctors prescribe drugs such as: Itraconazole Fluconazole Terbinafine Griseofulvin The patient may also be prescribed anti-fungal nail paints such as amorolfine or tioconazole and other topical treatments to control and eliminate the infection. The length of the treatment may last several months depending upon the type of fungus that caused the infection and the severity of the infection. Home Remedies For Ringworm Treatment Besides the prescription and over the counter drugs available for ringworm infections, there are several home remedies available for treatment of ringworm. These include: Garlic: It has excellent anti-fungal qualities and has been used for treatment of ringworm for centuries. Peel some cloves of garlic and slice it into thin slices and apply them on to the infected area. Secure with a bandage and leave overnight. Applying garlic paste or rubbing smashed garlic cloves on to the infected area also helps. Ingesting garlic enhances the potency of the treatment, so eat plenty of garlic while treating the ringworm. Apple Cider Vinegar: This is another good home remedy for ringworm. Soak a cotton ball in Apple Cider Vinegar, and apply it directly on to the infected area. Repeat 4 – 5 times a day for a minimum of 2 – 3 days for best results. Tea Tree Oil: It is a good antifungal agent that can be used to treat ringworm. Make a 50% solution in water and apply to the infected area 2 – 3 times a day for up to four weeks to cure the symptom and eliminate the infection. Turmeric: This is best applied as fresh juice extracted from fresh turmeric root. Apply directly on the affected area 2 -3 times a day till the symptoms disappear. Vinegar and Salt: one very affective home remedy is a paste of vinegar and salt. Apply directly to the affected area, leave it on for five to ten minutes and then wash off and dry the area. It may take uptp a week for the infection to disappear. Natural Remedies for Ringworm Treatment A lot of people prefer natural remedies for treatment of skin rashes and infections. For ringworm treatment the following natural remedies have been found to be very useful: Aloe Vera: It is a very good skin treatment and is also applied for ringworm. Apply the juice directly on to the affected area for best results. It will take a few days for the infection to disappear. Coconut Oil: Helps to cut down the itchiness of the infection when applied topically and makes the skin smooth. It is also used for treatment of ringworm of the scalp. Apply to the infected area and leave overnight. This helps to stop the buildup of the infection. Colloidal Silver: It is a powerful natural antibiotic and is effective in destroying many different microorganisms. It is also a great way to treat ringworm infection naturally. Colloidal Silver is available in gel or liquid form and should be applied directly to the affected area of the skin twice a day till the symptoms disappear. Jojoba Oil: This is the safest remedy for ringworm and can safely be applied in ringworm infections in babies. Apply a mixture of Jojoba oil with lavender oil on infected area several times a day till the symptom disappear. Lavender Oil: Lavender oil is known for its antifungal qualities and is also effective in treatment of ringworm. Studies have shown that lavender oil actually kills the fungi thus eliminating it completely. Sit should be applied topically, directly on to the infected area twice a day, till the symptoms completely disappear. Lemongrass Tea: Lemon grass tea is a good way to fight fungal infections. You can apply the used tea bags on to the infected area for quicker relief. Mustard Seeds: They should be soaked in water and ground into a paste to be applied directly on to the infected area. Leave it on for relief from itching and irritation. Myrrh: This is another powerful antifungal agent. Make a paste of half and half myrrh and goldenseal with water, to apply directly on to the infected area. Use twice a day till the infection clears. Olive Leaf: Olive leaf infusions have anti-fungal qualities and also help to boost the body’s immune system and prevent further infections. Take about 250 mg of the infusion thrice a day to cure ringworm rash. Conclusion Ringworm infections can last a long time and may be difficult to treat. If you suspect you have ringworm infection, it is best to consult a doctor to get proper medication. It is highly contagious and all precaution should be taken to prevent it from spreading to other people. While on treatment, it is best not to miss a dose and to continue with the treatment for a few days after all the symptoms have disappeared. Ringworm treatment for humans can be in the form of ringworm ointments, oral medicines, pills, pessaries, capsules, tinctures, solutions, lotions, nail-paints, shampoos and injections depending upon the area which is infected and the severity of the infection. A combination of prescribed, home and natural remedies may help you get rid of ringworm fast.

Love :: essays research papers

When you think of your past love, you may view it as a failure. But when you find a new love, you view the past as a teacher. In the game of love, it doesn`t really matter who won or who lost. What is important is you know when to hold on and when to let go... You know you really love someone when you want him or her to be happy, even if his or her happiness means that you`re not a part of it. Everything happens for the best. If the person you love doesnt love you back, dont be afraid to love someone else again for you`ll never know unless you give it a try. You`ll never love a person you love unless you risk for love. Love strives in hurting. If you dont get hurt, you don`t learn how to love. Love doesnt hurt all the time. Though the hurting is still there to test you, to help you grow. Dont find love, let love find you. That`s why its called falling in love because you dont force yourself to fall. You just fall... You cannot finisha book without closing its chapters. If you want to go on, then you have toleave the past as you turn the pages. Love is not destroyed by a single failure or won by a single caress. It is a lifetime venture in which we are alwayslearning, discovering, and growing. The great ironyof life is letting gowhen you need to hold on and holding on when you need to let go. We lose someone we love only when we are destined to find someone else who can love us even more thn we can loveourselves. On falling out of love, take some time to heal and then get back on the horse. But dont ever make the same mistake of riding the same one that threw you the first time. To love is to risk rejection; to live is to risk dying; to hope is to risk failure. But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. To reach for another is to risk involvment; to expose your feelings is to expose trueself; to love is to risk not to be love in return. How to define love: fall but not stumble, be constant but not too persistent, share and never be unfair, understand and try not to demand, hurt but never keep the pain.

Demmings Fourteen Points Essay examples -- essays research papers

Demming's Fourteen Points   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Demming’s formulation of his Fourteen Points is seen by many as the management equivalent of the â€Å"10 Commandments†. Like many quality driven approaches, the fourteen points take a holistic view of an organization, how it works, and its relationships with its stakeholders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Point 1: Create constancy of purpose towards improvement of product and service, wth the aim to become competitive, to stay in business and to provide jobs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Constancy revolves around the customer. Success depends on how well a company evalutes its processes, products and markets in order to understand future requirements. This requires a commitment to invest and adapt to to changes in the market place.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Point 2: Adapt new philophies. Management must awake to new challenges, learn their reponsiblities and take on leadership for change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quality means giving the customer what they expect. Business cannot afford mistakes. Mistakes of any type are costly, and reliable products reduce costs. Demming 3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Point 3: Cease reliance on mass inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for mass inspection by building quality into the product in the first place.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dependency on inspection at key points in a process to ensure quality is too late, expensive and...

Nurse Burnout Essay

The helping professions, including nursing, are characterized by the fact that they are not something external to the individual, but encompass the whole person. The activities performed by nurses, require a personal commitment and direct interaction with people. Therefore, it is common to work with the most intense aspects of patient care (pain, anger, frustration, fear, death, etc.). All this, plus small, medium or large daily doses of stress can cause nurses to have a predisposition to experience some degree of burnout, which can lead to the manifestation of unfavorable attitudes and feelings, both for the professional and the person who receives their service (Wright, 2011). This set of attitudes and feelings lead to the so-called â€Å"Nurse Burnout.† That’s why I wanted to address this issue, because it is clearly a very important factor when caring for a patient, because this depends on the quality of care nurses provide and our own faith that what we do helps th em. Nurse burnout is not like every other type of stress, it’s a process that graduallly develops, and it mainly covers 3 dimensions: 1. Emotional exhaustion: This is due to a reduction of one’s own emotional resources and the feeling that we have nothing to offer others, and psychologic manifestations, such as depression, anxiety, and irritability 2. Depersonalization: Refers to the development of negative attitudes and insensitivity towards patients, as well as to colleagues. This leads to the idea that â€Å"others† are the real source of the problems. As a result, we enter the final phase: 3. Lack of personal accomplishment: The perception that the chances of achieving the desired objective at a health community have disappeard, along with experiences of failure and feelings of low self steem. Experiences of stress which trigger responses in the individual, if maintained over time, cause changes in his/her adaptation. These responses mediate the stressor-hea lth relationship. In the implications of burnout we can differentiate those derived for the individual himself and those derived for the organization (McHugh, 2011). The nurse suffering from Burnout becomes a rigid, stubborn and inflexible  person, blocking the progress and changes, to the extent that they require new adaptation efforts. The nurse is also viewed as a cynical person, appearing unmotivated, unsympathetic and even aggressive with patients with a distant and dehumanizing treatment towards them (Witkoski, 2012). The most important consequences on the organization can include a decreased job satisfaction, low or no interest in work activities, deterioration of the quality of service, increased accidents, and low job involvement. This burnout prevents nurses from evolving, and leads to fatigue. Fatigue causes stress, and stress can also lead to many health problems, such as hypertension, palpitations, tachycardia, and menstrual alterations. In every hospital, there is always going to be nurses who are more prone to burnout than others, especially those who work in units in which patients have chronic illnesses, terminal diseases, and/or are more dangerous than other patients. How can nurses avoid or treat a burnout? There is many interventions designed for nurses, and can be classified as individual or as a group in the working place. One of the effective ways to avoid burnout is to forget work problems after a shift, take short breaks during work, or make a goal/ objective before starting a s hift and make sure that you discuss successes and dissatisfactions at the end of a shift. Making friendships with other nurses can be satisfactory and motivating, as well as asking for help when the amount of work is excessive or when you are not preparared for it. Sharing doubts and opinions with other nurses is also helpful. It is extemely imporant to not ignore problems, and instead stablish an action plan to solve them. As a group in a health facility, it is recommended to take a few minutes to listen to what other nurses have to say, to help new nurses get used to the system, to respect others, and to make others feel comfortable, but most importantly to promote collaboration. It is very imporant to change our attitude when facing times of stress. Organization is essential in every case to bring together innumerable tasks, and take note of diverse situations to achieve goals. It has also been reccommended to have a relaxation technique to decrease stress and help concentrate in the moment and manage your thinking around work, such as yoga, meditation exercises, or educational classes to promote an escape from thoughts about work, and prevent burnout (Wright, 2011). References Morse, G. (2012). Burnout in mental health services: A review of the problem and its remediation. Adm Policy Ment Health, 39(5), 341-352 McHugh, M., Wright,. (2011). Nurses’ widespread job dissatisfaction, burnout, and frustration with health benefits signal problems for patient care. Health Affairs, 30(2), 202-210 Witkoski, A. (2012). The longer the shifts for hospital nurses, the higher the levels of burnout and patient dissatisfaction. Health Affairs, 31(11), 2501-2509

Suicide in the Trenches- Analysis

Suicide In The Trenches In my analysis, I will demonstrate how Siegfred Sassoon has used many different language techniques to show his perspective on the true meaning of war. For example, the poet has used simplistic diction that creates an image of the destruction of a â€Å"simple soldier boy†. At first we see him whistling, this then degrades to depression which lead him to committing suicide. Siegfred Sassoon concludes his poem with anger and a powerful message. â€Å"Sneak home and pray you’ll never know† emphasizes that those who aren’t soldiers have to â€Å"sneak home and pray† to show their empathy for the soldiers.In the last line it implies the fact that the crowd doesn’t have to go through â€Å"the hell where youth and laughter go†. Sassoon had used a simple rhyme scheme of A-A-B-B to create a ‘joyful’ melody in the readers mind. The rhyme scheme makes the poem sound very light hearted when it is actually a v ery sad topic. It is quoted in â€Å"I knew a simple soldier boy Who grinned at life in empty joy† the sound ‘oy’ sounds very content which creates an irony throughout the whole poem. It makes an impact on the reader since it would sound like a nursery rhyme.It sets up the paradox of ‘nursery rhyme’ but ending with ‘death’. In the first stanza Siegfred Sassoon has made a very innocuous opening with â€Å"I knew a simple soldier boy†. As you read more, it reveals the evolution of the cost of war. In the first stanza the young soldier immediately loses the innocence of youth. The poet has used simple words to create an impact to the reader. Such as â€Å"simple† has connotations with innocence which establishes the soldier is still a young boy and not a man.In the 3rd line of the first stanza Sassoon quoted â€Å"slept soundly†. The usage of sibilance creates a harsh and bitter tone throughout the stanza. Also, it add an importance on the phrase â€Å"slept soundly†. People who can sleep soundly are the people who have nothing to worry about before they go the bed. This highlights how the boy was so innocent at the start of his experience in war. This is also linked with the word â€Å"whistled† (4th line, 1st paragraph), which is an action done when only someone is content and oblivious.At the end of the first stanza, Siegfred Sassoon had hinted by writing â€Å"lark†. Larks were found in the countryside that might mean the â€Å"simple soldier boy† was from there. News and propaganda weren’t available in the countryside. Before leaving for the war the young soldier boy did not know the reality of a soldier’s life. The delicate â€Å"lark† is the opposite of the true reality of a soldier’s life. The second stanza contrasts with the first stanza it shows how war has shaped this young boy. This is shown in â€Å"in winter trenches, cowed and glum†.The line â€Å"grinned at life† relates to â€Å"cowed and glum† as it suggest the inner changes in his maturity which leads him on to committing suicide. This links on to â€Å"lack of rum† that shouts imagery. This establishes the scenario that the boy is going through alcoholism. One of the symptoms of alcoholism is depression. Additionally, rum was usually given to troops before an attack to steady the nerves, increase confidence and numb feeling. Therefore this could inform the reader that the young soldier boy’s solution for life is death.The tone that the poet wanted to emphasise is a very bitter and sarcastic as we can see in the last stanza â€Å"You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye†. From this quote Sassoon strongly feels the general public is not able to empathise for the devoted soldiers. This brings out the theme that nobody knows how tragic war feels like without personal experience. The quote also shows how much anger Sassoon had towards the whole concept of war. â€Å"You smug-faced crowd† is represented as an insult to the higher status men during the period of war.The trenches had apparently turned a young light-hearted boy into a disheartened boy who had â€Å"put a bullet through his brain†. The alliteration of the letter ‘b’ also makes a severe and brute tone that creates a very bitter mood, mainly because the highpoint of the story is about the suicide. the rhyme of â€Å"brain† and â€Å"again† at line eight tries to form a connection that although a young boy was convinced to join the war and fought tremendously for his country and himself. However, in the end, he was pushed to his limit and â€Å"no one spoke of him again†. This shows how cruel and selfish war is.The boy had sacrificed his childhood fun, laughter and playful life in for nothing to return. This is effective because it makes the reader think about ‘why is there warâ⠂¬â„¢ and ‘why are there innocent lives at risk’ which creates the bitter mood. The diction used in the poem sends the reader a clear message about war. In the last stanza, the word â€Å"kindling† is being used to describe the â€Å"eyes† of the â€Å"smug-faced crowds†. â€Å"Kindling† is used to describe the facial description which shows that it is a very shallow expression feature that expresses the lack of empathy shown to the young men.However, Siegfried tries to show with a sarcastic tone that they think war is a glorious thing; they feel proud of the children risking their lives with nothing in return and seem to understand and appreciate what they are doing. But in reality the public cannot imagine what these children are going through. This is how the word â€Å"kindling† reveals a shallow side of everyone’s personality. In my personal opinion, the last stanza is the strongest and most impactful stanza. While the prev ious two stanzas shows the transformation of the boy when he enters war.The last stanza directly attacks people who support war, and only see the glory and honour. The poet shows us the other side: the dying and suffering. â€Å"Sneak home and pray you’ll never know† shows that while the â€Å"crowds† support war, they are not willing or are too afraid to think of the consequences, sacrifice and price of war. A price that separates families and destroys children. The poet uses an extreme example to illustrate his point of view. The poet was successful as it has left me thinking about the hardship that a soldier endures and the true cost of war.

Consumer Buying Behavior Comparison in Marketing Strategies Essay

In order to help creating new offerings, improving communication, organizing delivery and, eventually, increasing the sale. It is important to understand the consumer buying behavior from situational, personality and social aspects. This paper will briefly discuss the marketing strategies of two giant retail department stores, Walmart and Macy’s, in terms of customer buying behaviors. Macy’s atmospheric settings provide strong stimuli for its customers. First, every season, Macy’s puts up different window showcases to demonstrate its classic and artistic tastes. Also, different ambient colors are used in its shopping environment. These seasonal changes should be able to boost the sale of the fashion apparel. Secondly, Macy’s decorates different themes for different holidays, such as Easter, Mother’s day, Halloween, Christmas, etc. the gift shopping behaviors are likely induced by these themes. Thirdly, Macy’s always plays a comfort and light background music, customers would spend more time into shopping with a good mood as the text points out:† People’s moods temporarily affect their spending patterns† (Tanner, J., Raymond, M. & Schuster, C, 2001) On the other hand, it seems that Walmart pays a lot of attention to the shoppers’ personality factors. First, Walmart concentrates on the idea of â€Å"money saving†. Walking into a Walmart, the â€Å"Rollback† tags with two comparing prices are everywhere. The economical shoppers would compare more on the prices. Secondly, customers who prefer one stop shopping might find that Walmart, with its stock of food, toy, auto parts, etc, is more convenient than other shopping centers. Thirdly, Walmart shelves â€Å"as seen on TV† items and dollar items along the cashier to affect the shopping decisions. While waiting in the checkout line, customers are likely to pick up these items as they are categorized as low-involvement products. Moreover, social factors are also well considered by these two retail giants. In terms of social class, Macy’s focuses more on the middle-class families whereas Walmart targets on the customers with standard income. Wal-Mart exclusives have a mean household income of about $57K (Scarborough Research, 2005). Also, the products, Walmart is selling, represent the main stream of a geographical culture whereas Macy’s might satisfy some groups with special subculture interests such as high-end golf clubs or perfumes. In sum, consumer buying behavior is a very important element in the marketing strategies of a company. Situational, personality and social factors will influence the consumer buying behavior dramatically.

Hrm Practice in Banking Sector

[pic] Faculty of Business BBA Program A Thesis on Human Resource Management Practices in Banking Sector: On Southeast Bank Limited Submitted to Md. Ashraful Haq Chowdhury ASA University Bangladesh (ASAUB) Submitted By Mir Tasnuva Tanzin BBA (Major in HRM), Batch #2nd ID: 073-12-0137 Date of Submission August 20, 2011 Submission Report Dear Sir, With due respect I would like to inform you that I have successfully completed my Thesis Program from May 15, 2011 to August 15, 2011 at Southeast Bank Limited and conducted the study on â€Å"Human Resource Management Practice in Banking Sector† A case Study on Southeast Bank Ltd. Thesis Program works as a bridge between the academic and the practical knowledge. I am very much fortunate that I got the opportunity to work with some experienced and devoted professionals. As recommended my work is based on the functional procedure of different desks and different departments of the Bank. I tried my best to put meticulous effort for the preparation of this report. Any shortcoming or flaw may arise. I will welcome any clarification and suggestion regarding this report. Sincerely Yours, Mir Tasnuva Tanzin ID 073-12-0137 Batch #2nd Student of BBA ASA University Bangladesh August 20, 2011 Md. Ashraful Haq Chowdhury ASA University Bangladesh. Reference : Letter of Transmittal Dear Sir, Here is the report that fulfills the partial requirements of Thesis program, which is very helpful for a student to know the activities of an organization. This kind of report also gives an important guideline to do research in the future. Thank you very much for your kind supervision and cooperation without which I could not be able to complete this report. I take every opportunity to express my gratitude to you. Thanking you Mir Tasnuva Tanzin ID 073-12-0137 Batch #2nd Student of BBA ASA University Bangladesh Acknowledgement All commendations go to Almighty Allah, the most merciful, most benevolent to man and his action. I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. M. A Mohit the Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of Southeast Bank Ltd. for giving an opportunity to work on the topic as student. I am greatly indebted to Mr. Md. Hamidul Islam Mia HOB of Dhanmondi Br. And HRD of Southeast Bank Ltd. for providing excellent working environment and his full time assistance in preparing this report. I extend my thanks to Mr. Saidul Islam, Mr. Reza, and Mr. Humayon of Southeast Bank Ltd. Dhanmondi Br. Who have their well hearted cooperation and valuable time in completing this report I am also grateful to all the employees of Southeast Bank Ltd. Of Dahnmondi Branch as they helped me out in explaining the work practice and accompanied me through my research period. Finally, my thanks to ASA University (ASAUB) authority for sincere ooperation and all the faculty members whose integrated effort made me capable of conducting this Thesis. Executive Summery This report is an effort to reflect a clear idea about the Bunker-Customers Relationship, strategies, activities and performance of Southeast Bank Ltd. The researcher was assigned it in the Dhanmondi Branch of Southeast Bank Limited (SEBL) as an intern. The researche r presents this report on the basis of the knowledge and experience gained during the research period. The research report is a partial fulfillment of BBA program. In the report on HRM practices in banking sector: A case study on Southeast Bank Ltd. the overall role of HR managers in a bank and how they play their role is presented. Human resource managers perform an identifiable set of activities that affect and influence the people who work in an organization. These activities include HR planning, job analysis, recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, designing performance assessment and compensation systems, and labor relation Since, the HR department plays a support role within the organization; it interacts with a variety of constituencies. TABLE OF CONTENTS |Page# | |Prefatory parts | | |Title Fly | | |Title Page | | |Later of Submission | | |Acknowledgement | | |Executive Summery | | |Table of Content | | | | | |Report proper | | |Chapter One- Introduction | | |1. 1 Background of the study | | |1. 2 Objective of the report | | |1. Methodology of the report | | |1. 4 Scope of the report | | |1. 5 Limitation of the repo rt | | |Chapter Tow – Overview | | |2. 1 Historical Background of Southeast Bank Ltd. | | |2. 2 Special Features of the Bank | | |2. Board of Directors | | |2. 4 Management of the Bank | | |2. 5 Capital Structure of the Bank | | |2. 6 Deposits Status of the Bank | | |2. 7 Profit and operational results | | |2. 8 Selection Process | | |2. Mission, Vision and Objective of SEBL | | |Chapter Three – Understanding the HRM | | |3. 1 General Concept of HRM | | |3. 2 Objectives of HRM | | |3. 3 Basic Principles of HRM | | |3. Approach of HRM | | |3. 5 Philosophy of HRM | | |3. 6 Standard Organ gram of HR Department in a large organization | | |3. 7 Responsibilities of HR Department in a large organization | | |Chapter Four – HR Planning & Forecasting | | |4. Concept of HR planning & forecasting | | |4. 2 Steps of HR planning | | |4. 3 HR planning and the strategic planning process | | |4. 4 Forecasting HR needs | | |4. 5 Forecasting the Internal HR Supply | | |4. Foreca sting the External HR Supply | | |Chapter Five – Recruiting & Selection | | |5. 1 Concept of Recruiting & Selection | | |5. 2 The Recruiting and Selection Process | | |5. 3 Job Analysis | | |5. Job Analysis Methods | | |5. 5 Steps in job Analysis | | |5. 6 A Comparative Discussion between Job Analysis, Job Description, Job Specification, and Job Evaluations. | | |5. 7 Sources of equipment | | |5. 6 Internal sources | | |5. 7 External sources | | |5. 8 Methods of recruitment | | |5. Advantages & disadvantages of internal recruitment | | |5. 10 Advantage & Disadvantage of external recruiting | | |Chapter Six – Training & Development | | |6. 1 Concept of Training & Development | | |6. 2 Need and important of training | | |6. Objectives of Training | | |6. 4 Guidelines and Framework to Design a Training and Development Plan | | |6. 5 Training method | | |Chapter Seven – Compensation & Employee Benefits | | |7. 1 Concept of Compensation & Employee Benefits | | |7. Co mponents of the compensation system | | |7. 3 Wages vs. Salary | | |7. 4 Establishing Pay rates | | |7. 5 Importance of Job Evaluation | | |7. 6 Types of Employee Benefits | | |7. Employees Benefit Programs initiated by HRM | | |7. 8. Employee Services | | |7. 9 Incentive Plans | | |Chapter Eight – Employee Relationship | | |8. 1 The Meaning of Ethics | | |8. 2 Organizational culture | | |8. Employee Discipline and Privacy | | |8. 4 Types of Disciplinary Actions | | |8. 5 Disciplinary Proceeding | | |8. 6 Disciplinary Appeals Processes | | |8. 7 Disciplines without Punishment | | |8. Managing Dismissals | | |8. 9 Grounds for Dismissal | | |Chapter Nine | | |Conclusion | | |Bibliography | | Chapter 1 Introduction 1. 1 Background of the study There is no doubt that the world of work is rapidly changing. As part of an organization then, HRM must be prepared to deal with the effects of the changing world of work. For them, this means understanding the implications of globalization, technology changes, workforce diversity, changing skill requirements, continuous improvement initiatives, contingent workforce, decentralized work sites and employee involvement. We should look how this change is affecting HRM goals and practices. The current challenge of HRM is to integrate programs involving human resources with strategic organizational objectives. More and more, organizations are under tremendous competitive pressure worldwide. HR managers must find ways to develop effective programs to meet this challenge. Another important aspect of HRM is the need to ensure cost effectiveness of programs and policies through the optimal utilization of human resources. 1. 2 Objective of the report The broad objective of the report is to co-ordinate classroom knowledge with practical situation. Specific objectives of the report are: ? To fulfill the course requirement of MBA program; ? To acquire practical knowledge about HRM practices in banking sector’ ? To have practical exposure in banking environment that will help a lot of to understand the future work life; ? To analyze HRM practices in Southeast Bank Limited with classroom (theoretical) knowledge; ? To recommend for improvement of existing HR policy of Southeast Bank Limited. 1. 3 Methodology of the report Methodology includes direct observation, face-to-face discussion with respective executive of the bank, study of files, circulars etc. and practical work. In preparing this report, only secondary data have been used. The required data have been collected from following sources- ? Employees service book of the bank; ? Annual report of the bank; ? Different publications regarding banking function; ? Reference books from library of Stamford University Bangladesh. 1. 4 Scope of the report This report covers only human resource practices is Southeast Bank Limited. It focuses on overview of the bank including a comparative study about standard theoretical aspect of HRM and the existing banking practices. The report also investigates the perceptions of employees of the bank toward employee benefits and development policy. 1. 5 Limitation of the report In spite of hearted cooperation from the bank officials, I faced some limitation in preparation the report. The major limitations are as follows: Learning of overall HRM practices in banking sector within just three months was really tough. Another limitation of this report is bank bank’s policy of not disclosing some data and information for obvious reason, which could be very much useful. Chapter 2 An Overview of Southeast Bank Ltd. 2. 1 Historical Background of Southeast Bank Ltd. Southeast Bank Limited is a scheduled Bank under private sector established under the ambit of bank Company Act, 1991 and incorporated as a Public Limited Company under Companies Act, 1994 on March 12, 1995. The Bank started commercial banking operations effective from May 25, 1995. During this short span of time the Bank had been successful to position itself as a progressive and dynamic financial institution in the country. The Bank had been widely acclaimed by the business community, from small entrepreneur to large traders and industrial conglomerates, including the top rated corporate borrowers for forward-looking business outlook and innovative financing solutions. Thus within this very short period of time it has been able to create a image for itself and has earned significant reputation in the country’s banking sector as a Bank with vision. It has been growing faster as one of the leaders of the new generation banks in the private sector in respect of business and profitability as it is evident from the financial statements for the last 4 years. The Company Philosophy – â€Å"A Bank with Vision† has been preciously the essence of the legend of bank’s success. 2. 2 Special Features of the Bank a) It has been performing conventional commercial banking activity and striving to introduce Islamic Banking functions. ) It is the pioneer in introducing and launching different customer friendly deposit schemes to tap the savings of the people for channeling the same to the productive sectors of the economy. c) For uplifting the standard of living of the limited income group of the population the Bank has introduced Consume r Credit Schemes by providing financial assistance in the form of loan to the consumers for procuring household durables, which have had encouraging responses. d) The Bank is committed to continuous research and development so as to keep pace with modern banking. e) The operations of the Bank are fully computerized so as to ensure quick, prompt flawless and services to the customers. 2. 3 Profile Southeast Bank Limited was established in 1995 with a dream and a vision to become a pioneer banking institution of the country and contribute significantly to the growth of the national economy. The Bank was established by leading business personalities and eminent industrialists of the country with stakes in various segments of the national economy. The incumbent Chairman of the Bank is Mr. Alamgir Kabir, FCA, a professional Chartered Accountant. Mr. M. A. Kashem a member of the Board and Mr. Yussuf Abdullah Harun were past Presidents of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI). Southeast Bank is run by a team of efficient professionals. They create and generate an environment of trust and discipline that encourages and motivates everyone in the Bank to work together for achieving the objectives of the Bank. The culture of maintaining congenial work – environment in the Bank has further enabled the staff to benchmark themselves better against management expectations. A commitment to quality and excellence in service is the hallmark of their identity. 2. 4 Board of Directors In SEBL the board of directors has been conceived as the sources of all power headed by its chairman. It is legislative body of the bank board can delegate its power and authority to professionals, but can not delegate, relinquish or avoid their responsibilities. The board of directors of the bank consists of 13 members who are reputed business personalities and leading industrialists of the country. 2. 5 Management of the Bank The management team headed by the CEO, Shah Md. Nurul Alam, the President and Managing Director has to take full loan of carrying out the guidelines, rules and regulations and directions given by the board from time to time and provide all the vital information to the BOD for their knowledge and effective decision making. A graphical representation of the hierarchy of the bank is in point. 2. 6 Capital Structure of the Bank The Authorized Capital of the Bank remains unchanged at Tk. 500. 00 million. The Bank went public and floated shares of Tk. 150 million in December of the previous year which was fully subscribed, thereby raising the issued and paid-up Capital to Tk. 330 million. With the increase of paid up capital, the capital base of the Bank has become stronger. 2. 7 Deposits Status of the Bank The Bank mobilized a total deposit of Tk. 38,258. 15 million as on December 31, 2005 as against Tk. 27, 930. 8 million as on December 31, 2004 showing an increase of 30%. The combination of competitive interest rates that offered sustained deposit raising efforts of the Bank and confidence reposed by customers in the Bank resulted in this growth of deposits. Steps are being taken to further increase the deposit base continuously at a Reduced average cost of funds. 2. 8 Profit and operational results The operating profit of the Bank increased to Tk. 665. 16 million in 2003 compared to Tk. 492. 56 million in 2002 recording an appreciable increase which was due to prudent lending and optimum management of funds. The Bank participated in the primary and secondary stock markets and made considerable capital gains during the year. Notwithstanding the tough and cutting edge competitiveness prevailing in the market, the business of this Bank has expanded substantially compared to that of the previous year. This year the management team as well as the workforce is confidently poised to take on newer challenges with a view to reach the ambitious level of performance in respect of accomplishment of the total business activities including attainment of higher profitability of the Bank. 2. 9 Selection Process Southeast Bank Ltd recruits employees on the basis of newspaper circulation & by online e-application on Southeast Bank Limited's web site. At the e-application section candidates are obligatory to drop their CV & on the foundation of Southeast Bank Limited's vacancy & precedence candidates are required to follow their selection procedure as follows: Step 1: Completed application: The application form is given in the online and completely filled applications are carried forward for the preliminary test (employment test). Step 2: Employment test: The Human Resource department mails the admit card to the applicants who have completed the online application successfully via post card. The questionnaire of the test is based on mathematics, English and the respective job questions. It is usually held on 100 marks. The employment test typically holds in any government major educational center. Such as teachers training college of Dhaka, etc. Step 3: Comprehensive interview The applicants passed in the employment written test are called by the bank. They are mailed an invitation for the viva-voce for their post. The applicants have to bring their original educational certificates for producing the same before the interview committee. The certificates are tested here with the application form information. And if any disparity is found the applicant is not allowed confront the interview committee. The passed applicants are given conditional job offer. For permanent job offer they have to pass background examination & medical test steps. Step 4: Background examination: The Human Resource Department scrutinizes the background of the applicant and tries to find out all ins and outs of the respective applicant. The applicants are kept unknown about the background enquiry source. Step 5: Medical test: The applicants are to go for a medical check-up to the authorized medical center Southeast Bank Ltd. Southeast Bank Limited does not carry the medical fees. It is to be carried by the applicant himself. The test report directly goes to the Human Resource Department and the applicants are not permitted to see it. Step 6: Permanent job offer If the 6th, Background examination, and the 7th Medical test, steps are passed successfully, Human Resource Department of Southeast Bank Limited sends an ‘Appointment as Probationary Officer' letter. At the amalgamation day, the applicants are bound to sign up a ‘Letter of Undertaking' for five years continuous service to the bank from the date of confirmation. If he leaves before completion of 5 years confirmed service or during the probation period he will have t refund to the bank 50% of total salary and allowances drawn to him 2. 9 MISSION, VISION AND OBJECTIVES OF SEBL Mission The mission of the bank is to become a highly competitive modern and transparent institution comparable to any of this kind at home and abroad. High quality financial services with state of the art technology. ? Fast customer service. ? Sustainable growth strategy. ? Follow ethical standards in business. ? Steady return on shareholders, equity. ? Innovative banking at a competitive price. ? Attract and retain quality human resource. Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. Vision A Bank with Vision is the motto of Southeast Bank Limited. The vision is to be the most efficient financial intermediary in the country through reducing the investment and savings gap of the economy by savings mobilizations and encourage the pace of industrialization. The relentles s journey to achieve that vision started in 1995, since the very inception of the Bank. The journey still continues and will never stop. SBL sets a high standard for itself and every achievement of the bank is a striving agent to reach a new height. Objectives Whether in treasury, consumer, or corporate banking, SBL is committed to provide the best. Meeting the demand of discerning customers is not the sole objective. The Bank believes that to provide standard financial services is to deliver a quality that makes every transaction a pleasurable experience. The bank also believes that Customer is always right and in the core of everything. So providing them friendly and personalized service, tailor-made solutions for business needs, global reach in trade and commerce at the doorsteps and high yield on investments are the core objectives of the bank. But the bank also tries to do the best in conjunction with achieving the ultimate objective of a business organization – Wealth Maximization. Chapter 3 Understanding the HRM 3. 1 General Concept of HRM HRM deals with the design of formal system in an organization to ensure effective and efficiency use of human talents to accomplish organizational goals. Human Resource Management (HRM) is to refer to the philosophy, policies, procedures and practices related to the management of people within an organization. Hr management functions through which manager recruit, select, train and develop organization members. HRM is the systematic planning, development and control of network of interrelated processes affecting and involving all members of an organization. These processes include- ? HR planning & forecasting Job & work design ? Staffing/ recruitment & selection ? Training & development ? Performance appraisal & review ? Compensation & reward ? Employee protection & representation ? Organization & improvement 3. 2 Objectives of HRM The objective of HRM can be described as follows- ? To hire the right person for the job ? To reduce emp loyee turnover ? To motive people to perform at high effort levels. ? Not to waste time with useless interviews. ? To remove unfair labor practices. ? To maintain a high morale & better human relations inside the origination. ? To maintain organizational peace. ? To attract competent people and retain them in the organization. To recognize and satisfy individual needs. 3. 3 Basic Principles of HRM ? Treat people with respect and dignity; ? Treat people as adults; ? Deal with people as complete individuals. ? Treat all employees with justice. ? Provide people with justice. ? Provide people with opportunities for growth and development. ? Make people feel that they are most valuable asset for the organization. ? Rewards should be earned, not given. ? Not to underestimate the potentials of people. ? Provide people with all relevant information. 3. 4 Approach of HRM Strategic approach People are the strategic asset of an organization. People have core competency, the basis of competitiv e advantage. Human resource approach People are human beings with a lot of potentials and intellectual abilities. Commodity approach People are commodity. They are viewed as a cog of a machine. Proactive approach Anticipate challenge of problem before they arise. Preventive is better than curative. 3. 5 Philosophy of HRM 1) Labor is viewed as a technical factor of production. They are treated as a commodity and they can be bought and sold. They are hired and fired at will. It is consistent with theory X. 2) Labor is viewed as human factor with a lot of positive potentials, so they must be treated with respect and dignity. This is consistent with theory Y of McGregor. 3. Standard Organ gram of HR Department in a large organization In organizations large enough to have a HR or personnel department, the personal director and his or her staff will play a key role in the designing and monitoring of human resources system. Larger organizations are more likely to help design and implement HR system. A f ull-time specialist tends to emerge when organization have about one hundred employees. A standard structure of HR department in a large company of several thousand employees is shown below: Fig: Structure of HR Department in a Large Organization 3. 7 Responsibilities of HR Department in a large organization |Position |Responsibilities |VP , HR |Executive committee, Organization planning, HR planning, Policy, Organization development | |AVP, Recruitment & Employment |Recruiting, Interviewing, Testing, Placement & Termination | |AVP, Compensation & Benefits |Job analysis and evaluation, Surveys, Performance appraisal, Compensation administration, | | |Bonus, Profit sharing plans, Employee benefits. | |AVP, Training & Development |Orientation, Training, Management development, Career planning & Development. | |AVP, Employee Relation |EEO relations, Contract compliance, Staff assistance programs, Employee counseling. | Chapter 4 HR Planning & Forecasting 4. 1 Concept of HR planning & f orecasting HR planning is the first step in the recruiting and selection process. Human resource planning is the process of assessing the organization’s human resources needs in light of organizational goals and making plans to ensure that a competent stable workforce is employed. † – Wendell French. â€Å"Personnel planning is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill, and how to fill them. â€Å"—Gary Dessler. In the words of Colman Bruce (1997) HRP is the process of determining manpower requirements and the means of meeting those requirements in order to carry out the integrated plan of the organization. According to the above definitions, HRP consists of the following elements: ? Establishing and recognizing the future job requirement ? Identifying deficiency in terms of quantity Identifying deficiency in terms of quality& specification ? Identifying the sources of right type of man ? Developing the available manpower and ? En suring the effective utilization of workforce. 4. 2 steps of HR planning HR planning is a process involving few stages: ? Integrate HR planning with corporate planning The first stage of HR planning is to integrate it with corporate planning. All manpower planning stems from business plans in relation to a corporate strategy. ? Forecasting internal & external environment The second stage in HR planning is to forecast of assess the internal and external environmental factors include government influences economic, geographic and competitive condition. Assessment of internal HR capabilities The next stage is the analysis of internal inventory of HR capabilities. Assessment of internal strengths and weakness as a part of HR planning requires the current job and employees capabilities are audited and organizational capabilities are inventoried. ? Predicting & Forecasting HR demand and supply The information gathered from external environmental scanning and assessment of internal strengt hs and weaknesses is used to predict of forecast HR supply and demand in light of organizational objectives and strategies. ? To locate the required HR Once the demand for HR has been forecasted, then their availability must be identified. The fourth stage of HR planning is to locate the sources from where personnel required will be available. The source may be internal and external. ? Allocation of HR The final stage of HRP is concern with allocation of human resources within organization overtime. 4. 3 HR planning and the strategic planning process HR planning should be an integral part of a firms strategic and HR planning process. The effective HR planning and strategic planning process is shown below: Fig: HR Planning Process 4. 4 Forecasting HR needs When a firm makes a plan for employment requirements, the firm usually needs to forecast personnel needs, the supply of inside and outside candidates. Different techniques like trend analysis, ratio analysis, and scatter plot can be used to estimate staffing needs. ? Trend analysis Trend analysis means studying variation in the firm’s employment levels over last five years. ? The scatter plot A Scatter plot shows graphically how to variables; business activity and firms staffing levels are related. For example, a newly established bank, which has 20 branches, expects to expand to 50 branches over the next five years. The HR director wants to forecast the requirement of manpower. The director can analyse the relationship between size of another 5 well-reported banks (in terms of number of branches) and their existing manpower. |Name of banks |Size (number of branch. |Existing manpower | |Prime bank |41 |1024 | |Dhaka bank |29 |688 | |NCC bank |41 |1000 | |Exim bank |28 |934 | |Southeast bank |38 |765 | If the bank carefully draws in a line to minimize the distances between the line and each one of the plotted points, the bank will be able to estimate the optimum number of staff needed for each bank size. Thus, for a 50 branches bank, the HR director would assume he needs nearly 1100 staffs. ? Ratio Analysis A forecasting technique for determining future staff needs by using ratio between, for example, number of customers and employee needed. 4. 5 Forecasting the Internal HR Supply Once the demand for labor is predicted, it is necessary to forecast the supply of labor that the organization will already have available to meet the demand. The internal supply of labor consists of all the individuals currently employed by an organization. The internal supply of labor is discharged. To predict the future supply the organization needs to maintain amanagement inventory chart and Human Resource Information System (HRIS). 4. Forecasting the External HR Supply The firms can’t always get all the empliyees they need from their current staff and some time they just don’t want to. So, forecasting the availability of outside supply is extremely important in human resource planning. Bec ause of the need for continuous and adequate staffing, every enterprise depends on the quality and quantity of human resources external to it. Chapter 5 Recruiting & Selection 5. 1 Concept of Recruiting & Selection Recruiting is the process of discovering potential candidates for actual or anticipated organizational vacancies. It involves searching and sourcing for viable job candidates. Recruitment is the process of finding qualified people and encouraging them to apply for work with the firm. On the other hand, selection is the process of choosing among those who do apply. Once an effective recruitment program has supplied enough applicants’ pool the organization faces the task of choosing the best ones for specific jobs. 5. 2 The Recruiting and Selection Process The recruitment process – putting the right people in the right positions at the right times- is one of the most critical tasks any organization faces. Throughout the recruitment process the organization attempts to â€Å"sell† itself to the more promising candidates – that is, to convince them that the organization is a good place to work. The standard recruitment process of a large organization is – Fig: The Recruiting Process Personnel selection is a process of measurement, decision-making and evaluation. The goal of personnel selection system is to bring into organization individuals who will perform well on the job. The standard selection process of large organization typically consist of eight steps : Failed Failedpassed Failed passed Failedpassed passed Problems passed Unfit Fig: The Selection Process 5. 3 Job Analysis A job analysis is a systematic exploration of the activities within a job. It is a technical procedure used to define the duties, responsibilities, and accountabilities of a job. This analysis involves the identification and description of what is happening on the jib – accurately and precisely identifying the required tasks, the knowledge, and the skills necessary for performing them, and the conditions under which they must be performed. 5. 4 Job Analysis Methods The basic methods that HR manager can use to determine job elements and the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities for successful performance include the following – 1) Observation Method Observation method is a job analysis technique in which data are gathered by watching employees work. 2) Individual Interview Method Using the individual interview method, a term of job incumbents is selected and extensively interviewed. The results of these interviews are combined into a single job analysis. 3) Group Interview Method Meeting with a number of employees to collectively determine what their jobs entail. 4) Questionnaire Method Under the questionnaire Method, workers are sent specifically designed questionnaire on which they check or rate items they perform on their job from a long list of possible task items. 5) Technical Conference Method A job analysis technique involves extensive input from the employee’s supervisor. 6) Diary Method The diary method requires job incumbents to record their daily activities. 5. 5 Steps in job Analysis The steps involved in conducting the job analysis include: Fig: Steps in a job analysis 5. A Comparative Discussion between Job Analysis, Job Description, Job Specification, and Job Evaluations. Job Analysis The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it. Job Description A job description is a written statement of what the jobholder does, how it is done, under what condition it is done and why it is done. It is a list of job duties, responsibilities- one product of a job analysis. ? Job Specification The job specification states the minimum acceptable qualifications that the incumbents must possess to perform the job successfully. ? Job Evaluations Job evaluation specifies the relative value of each job in the organization. 5. 7 Sources of equipment There are two sources of requirement: internal and external. Deciding whether the position is to be filled internally or externally is often as early task in recruitment planning for a specific vacancy. Entry-level jobs must be filled externally, but for other positions, internal sources are used. Internal sources are as – ? Hiring relative and dependents of the existing employee; ? By promotion and transfer of existing employees; ? From employees on leave, long course deputation of loan from similar other organization. External sources are as – ? New entrants as fresher from school and colleges; ? Educated unemployed due to lack of opportunities elsewhere; Retired hands with experiences; ? Head hunting. 5. 8 Methods of recruitment There are two methods of recruitment this are – ? Method for internal recruitment ? Job position Job position involves announcing job openings to all current employees. The announcement carry information about the nature of the positio n and the qualifications needs and any employee who is interested may did no the job. ? Employee Referrals Another way to find applicants is through employee referrals by other departments. Informal communications among managers can lead to the discovery that the best candidate for a job is already working in a different section of the firm. ? Skills Inventories Information about every employee’s skills, education, work history and other important factors is stored in a data base, which can then be used to identify employees with the attributes needed for a particular job. ? Method for external recruitment Finding qualified applicants from outside the organization is most difficult part of recruitment. Typically, the external recruitment process uses different methods: ? Advertising Advertising is one of the most popular methods. The most useful advertisement is one that specifies the exact nature of the job, the qualifications required and the salary range. The advertising medium should be selected carefully, with the target audience in mind. ? Employment Agencies There are three types of employment agencies: a) Public agencies; b) Private employment agencies; c) Management consulting firm. Educational institutions generally have placement offices to assist their graduates in finding work. Unfortunately, these kinds of agencies are not popular in our country. ? Campus recruitment Sending an employer’s representatives to college campuses to screen potential applicants and create an applicant pool from the recent graduate is called campus recruiting. It is an important source of management trainees, promotable candidates and professional and technical employees. ? Internship Many college students get their jobs through college internship. Internship is important manpower source for the organization. Internship can be win-win situation for both students and employers. ? Professional Organization Many professional organizations operate placement services for the benefit of their members. These organizations publish of job vacancies and distribute these lists to members. ? Employee leasing Individuals who are hired by one firm and sent to work for a specific duration of time are called leased employees. When an organization has a need for specific employee skills, it contracts with the leasing firm to provide a certain number of trained employees. ? Personal contact Another means of recruiting is the personal contact. Some times personal and good communication can provide an opportunity to get experience manpower as well as better job offer. 5. 9 Advantages & disadvantages of internal recruitment When internal recruiting is used, the vacancy is filled by a person of known ability. There are some benefits of internal recruitment: ? Improve goodwill of the organization; ? Improve morale and motivation of employees; ? Improve probability of better selection since the candidate is better known to the organization; ? Less costly. In the case of internal recruitment, the firm also faces some difficulties ? In breeding prevents injection at new blood in the organization. ? Option in limited in locating right talents. Inhibits innovation and creativity. ? Encourage seniority mire then merit. ? Higher probability of likes or dislikes. 5. 10 Advantage & Disadvantage of external recruiting External recruiting can bring in new ideas and viewpoints. Another advantage are – ? Injection of new blood with new knowledge and creativity. ? Economic in the long run. There are some disadvantages of external recruiting – ? External recruiting is the costly; ? Cause brain drain due to fear of lack of growth potential; ? Hanger probabilities of employee turn over; ? Demoralize existing employee. 5. 11 Practices in the Bank Recruitment Objectives of the Bank: ? To build a jubilant worthy cadre of officers. To provide the bank with an efficient and cost effective human resource setup. ? To keep bank free from unhealthy practice of Trade Union. The bank strictly follows all steps of recruiting and selection process to achieve above-mentioned objectives. The bank recruits from both internal and external sources. The bank makes its applicants pool only by newspaper advertising. Some times they recruit from internship student, where foreign banks i. e. HSBC and Standard Chartered bank, recruit major of their fresh executives from internship students pool. But the bank normally does not go f or campus recruitment as well as other methods. Chapter 6 Training & Development 6. 1 Concept of Training & Development Training is a planned effort by an organization to facilitate employee’s learning of job related knowledge and skills for the purpose of improving performance. Training is the process of teaching new employees the vasic skills they need to perform their job. Training is a learning experience that seeks a relatively permanent change in individuals that will improve their ability to perform on the job. The training function, now popularly called HR development. Employee development, by design is more future oriented and more concentrated with education than employee job – specific training. Development therefore, focuses more on the employee’s personal growth. 6. 2 Need and important of training Training is mainly job-oriented; it aims at maintaining and improving current job performance. The need for the training program may arise due to the following: ? Entry of new recruits ? Promotion ? To increase productivity ? To improve quality ? To met organizational objective ? To prevent accident ? To support personal growth and development 6. 3 Objectives of Training 1. Establish a comprehensive understanding of the target audience community in Partner regions, 2. Identify and agree the target group(s) for the training needs analysis (TNA) within partner regions, 3. Design and implement an analysis of training needs questionnaire, 4. Analysis and document perceived training needs 6. 4 Guidelines and Framework to Design a Training and Development Plan 1. Education for Social Change (Popular and Folk Education) Free Online Lesson Plans, Lecture Notes, etc. 2. Online Resources (each having lists of resources) About Training and Development 3. Online Educational Directories, Learning Portals, etc. About T&D 6. 5 Training method Training methods consider the choice of method for employee training. With training objectives defined and learning principles in mind. Methods of training are basically tow types- ? On the job training The initial stages in the planning and design of an on the job training are: a) Refer to the agreed objectives for the training as produced in the TNA or the initial planning stages. ) Consider the identified target learning population and how they might affect the training design. c) List the ways in which each objective might best be met. d) Decide whether the learning might be best achieved by an on the job or off the job training. ? Off the job training Off the job training:- Off the job training is conducted in a location specifically designated for training. It may be near the work place or away form work, at a special training center or a resort. Conducting the training away from the work place minimizes distractions and allows trainees to devote their full attention to the material being thought. Chapter 7 Compensation & Employee Benefits 7. 1 Concept of Compensation & Employee Benefits Once employees have done their jobs and been appraised, they expect to be paid. Employee compensation refers to all forms of pay or rewards going to employees and arising from their employment. It has two main components: (1) Direct financial payments (wages, salaries, incentives, commissions and bonuses), and (2) Indirect payments (financial benefits like employer-paid insurance and vacations, child care facilities). In addition to compensation in the form of wages and salaries, HRM provides workers with various services and programs known as employee benefits. 7. 2 Components of the compensation system Fig:-Components of the compensation system 7. 3 Wages vs. Salary The words wage and salary are sometimes considered synonymous, but they have slightly different meanings. Wage refers to an hourly rate of pay and is the pay basis used most frequently for production and maintenance employees. Salary refers to a weekly, monthly or yearly rate of pay. Clerical, professional, sales and management employees are usually salaried. 7. 4 Establishing Pay rates The process of establishing pay rates while ensuring external, internal and procedural equity consists of five steps: 1) Conduct a Salary Survey The first step of establishing pay rates is to conducting a salary survey of what other employers are paying for comparable jobs. A survey aimed at determining prevailing wages rates. A good salary survey provides specific wage rates for specific jobs. 2) Job Evaluation Job evaluation is a systematic comparison done in order to determine the worth of one job relative to another. It is a formal and systematic comparison of jobs to determine the worth of one job relative to another and eventually results on a wage or salary hierarchy. 3) Group Similar Jobs into Pay Grades Once has used job evaluation to determine the relative worth of each job, the committee can turn to the task of assigning pay rates to each job; however, it will usually want to first group jobs into pay grades. It could, of course, just assign pay rates to each individual job. A pay grade is comprised of jobs of approximately equal difficulty or importance as established by job evaluation. 4) Price Each Pay Grade – Wage Curves The next step is to assign pay rates to the firms pay grades. The firm can use a wage curve to help assign pay rates to each pay grade. The wage curve shows the relationship between the value of the job and the average wage paid for this job. 5) Five – Tune Pay Rates Five – tuning involves developing pay range and correcting out of line rates. Pay ranges is a series or levels within a pay grade, usually based upon years of service. 7. 5 Importance of Job Evaluation Job evaluation is aimed at determining a job’s relative worth. It compares jobs to one another based on their content, which is usually defined in term of compensable factors like skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. 7. 6 Types of Employee Benefits a) Mandatory Benefits Organizations are required to pay these benefits to the employees by law, rules, acts or ordinance. Example: Salary, Bonus. b) Non-mandatory benefits Optional programs and services such as tuition refunds, variety of discount programs, day care facilities for children, credit program etc. 7. 7 Employees Benefit Programs initiated by HRM There are many benefits and various ways to classify them. We can classify them as I. Pay for time not worked II. Insurance benefits III. Retirement benefits IV. Service benefits 7. 7. 1 Pay for Time Not Worked Pay for time not worked – also called supplemental pay benefits- is one of an employer’s most costly benefits, because of the large amount of time off that many employees receive. Common time off with pay periods include holidays, vacations, jury duty, funeral leave, personal days, sick leave, sabbatical leave, maternity leave and unemployment leave insurance payment for laid off or terminated employees. The following figure illustrates a wide rage of such benefits: Fig:- Payment for time not worked. 7. 7. 2 Insurance Benefits Most employers also provide a number of voluntary insurance benefits. Medical or health insurance is a major optional protections benefit offered by employers. Insurance benefits include worker’s compensation, group hospitalization, accident, disability insurance and group life insurance. ? Worker’s Compensation Worker’s compensation provides promote income and medical benefits to work related accident victims or their dependents regardless of fault. Worker’s compensation benefits can be monetary or medical. In the event of a worker’s death or disablement, the person’s dependents are paid a cash benefit based on prior earnings. ? Health and Disability Insurance Health and disability insurance helps protect against hospitalization costs and the loss of income arising form off-the-job accidents or illness. Many employers purchase the insurance from life insurance companies. Most health insurance plans provide at least basic hospitalization and surgical and medical insurance for all eligible employees at group rate. ? Life Insurance Group life insurance provides cower rate for the employer of employee and includes all employees, including new employees, regardless of health or physical condition. In addition to hospitalization and medical benefits, most employers provide group life insurance plans. In many cases, the employer pays 100% or 50% of the basic premium, which usually provides life insurance. 7. 7. 3 Retirement Benefits A very important benefit to most employees is a retirement plans. The major retirement benefits are the social security program and pension plans. ? Social Security Most people assume that social security provides income only when they are over 60, but it actually provides three types of benefits: The familiar retirement benefits- provide an income if the employee retire at 60; survivor’s or death benefits payable to the employee’s dependents regardless of age at the time of death; and disability benefits payable to disabled employees and their dependents. These benefits are payable only if the employee is insured under the social security Act. ? Pension Plans Pension plans provide a fixed sum when employees reach a predetermined retirement age or when they can no longer work due to disability. There are many kinds of pension plan: ? Contributory VS. Noncontributory Under contributory plans, both employees and employers are required to contribute to the pension fund, while under noncontributory plan; pension funding is the sole responsibility of the employer. In noncontributory plans where contributions are based on company profits (deferred profit sharing plans), accumulated funds are usually allocated on the basis of salary. ? Defined benefit VS. Defined contribution plan With defined benefit plans, the employee knows ahead of time the pension benefits he/she will receive. The defined pension benefits itself is usually set by a formula that ties the person’s retirement pension to an amount. Defined contribution plans specify what contribution the employee and employer will make to the employee’s retirement or savings fund. Here, in other words, the contribution is defined, not the pension. With a defined benefit plan the employee knows what his/her retirement benefits will be upon retirement. With a defined contribution plan, the person’s pension will depend on the amounts contributed to the fund and on the retirement fund’s investment earning. 7. 8. 4 Employee Services In addition to the benefits describe above, organization’s offer a wealth of services employees may find desirable. These services can be provided to the employee at no cost or at a significant reduction from what might have been paid without the organization’s support. Services provided to employees may be- ? Wellness Program In an effort to stimulate wellness, many employees can provide recreational facilities for employees or reimburse employees for health club memberships. Other companies provide incentives for employees to participate in exercise programs, ‘quit smoking, lower blood pressure or cholesterol or to take similar steps toward good health. ? Educational Assistance Another important benefit is educational assistance. Some times companies offer monthly stipends for students. Typically, employees are reimbursed for tuition and possibly for books or other associated costs. ? Child-care Assistances It is likely that every major company will soon consider offering child-care assistance as an employee benefit. In most recent year this benefit is being popular in our country because of the number of women in the labor market has increased dramatically. ? Another Services are Another important services, that can be provided by the company are: Social and recreational events, employee assistance programs, credit unions, housing, tuition reimbursement, company paid transportation, free coffee, baby-sitting services or referrals. 7. 9 Incentive Plans Manager may offer group and individual incentive plan those ties pay to some measure of he firm’s overall profitability. Several incentive plans are: ? Piecework Plans A system of pay based on the number of items processed by each individual worker in a unit of time, such as items per hour or items per day. ? Merit Pay as an Incentive Merit pay or a merit raise is any salary increase the firm awards to an individual employee based on his or her individual performance. ? Profit Sharing Plans Profit sharing plan is a plan whereby employees share in the company’s profits. There are several types of profit sharing plans: ? In cash plans In cash plans, the firm simply distributes a percentage of profit as profit shares to employees. ? Deferred profit sharing plans The firm places a predetermined portion of profit in each employee’s account under a trustee’s supervision. ? Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) ESOPs are company wide plans in which a corporation contributes shares of its own stock or cash to be used to purchase such stock of the firm’s stock tor employees. Chapter 8 Employee Relationship 8. 1 The Meaning of Ethics Ethics refers to â€Å"the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group† and specifically to the standards individual use to decide what he/she conduct should be. 8. 2 Organizational culture Organizational culture is the characteristic values, traditions and behaviors a company’s employees share. A value is a basic belief about what is right or wrong, or about what should or should not do. 8. 3 Employee Discipline and Privacy The purpose of discipline is to encourage employees to behave sensibly at work (where sensible is defined as adhering to rules and regulations). In an organization, rules and regulations serve about the same purpose that laws do in society; discipline is called for when one of these rules or regulations are violated. A fair and just discipline process is based on three prerequisite: rules and regulations, a system of progressive penalties and an appeals process. The four main types of employee privacy violations upheld by courts are intrusion, publication of private matters and disclosure of medical records and appropriation of an employee’s name or likeness for commercial purposes. 8. 4 Types of Disciplinary Actions ? Minor Penalties ? Reprimand / censure; Withholding for a specified period or stoppage of increment, confirmation or promotion; ? Stoppage for a specified period at an efficiency bar in the time scale; ? Any other minor punishment. ? Major Penalties ? Recovery fr om salary of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to the band by the employee; ? Degradation to any lower post; ? Compulsory retirement from service with or without retirement benefits; ? Removal from service; ? Dismissal from service. 8. 5 Disciplinary Proceeding ? Before imposing any penalty as above, the employee concerned shall be informed in writing about the charges and also be given an opportunity to answer to the charges in writing. An inquiry into charges may be held before taking final action in this regard and the competent authority may appoint an inquiry officer senior in rank to the accused to inquire into the charges and to submit his findings before passing final order in the case. ? An employee, against whom disciplinary action is proposed to be taken, may be placed under suspension, or the competent authority may order him to proceed on leave. ? The period of suspension will not exceed 90 days. If an employee, put under suspension, is not found guilty, he shall be entitled to full salary for the period of his suspension. ? If an employee put under suspension, is awarded any penalty in case of compulsory retirement or dismissal from service, the effect shall be from the date of suspension and in the case of any other penalty, the effect shall be from the date of passing of the order by the competent authority. An employee who has been awarded any penalty shall have a right to appeal to the competent authority within 30 days (or any period determined by the authority) from the date of the order. 8. 6 Disciplinary Appeals Processes The disciplinary appeal process consists of following three steps: Steps 1: Management review In step 1, the complainants submit a written complaint to a member of management (e. g. manager, senior manager or managing director) within seven calendar days of the occurrence of the eligible issue. Steps 2: Officer Complaint If not satisfied with that decision in step 1, then in step 2, the complainant submits a written appeal to the vice president or senior vice president of the division within seven calendar days of the step 1 decision. Step 3 Executive appeal Review Finally in step 3, the complainant may submit a written complaint within seven calendar days of the step-2 decision to the employee relations department. This department then investigates and prepares case file for the executive review appeals board. 8. 7 Disciplines without Punishment No one likes being punished. The basic aim of discipline without punishment is to gain an employee’s acceptance of the rules by reducing the punitive nature of the discipline itself. 8. 8 Managing Dismissals Dismissal is the involuntary termination of an employee’s employment with the firm. Dismissal is the most drastic disciplinary step the manager can take. Because of this, special care is required to ensure that sufficient cause exists for it. Managing dismissals is an important part of any supervisor’s job. The best way to handle a dismissal is to avoid it in the first place. Many dismissals start with bad hiring decisions. Using sound selection practices including assessment tests, reference and background checks, drug testing and clearly defined job descriptions can reduce the need for many dismissals. 8. 9 Grounds for Dismissal There are four bases of dismissal – 1. Unsatisfactory Performance Unsatisfactory performance may be defined as persistent failure to perform assigned duties or to meet prescribed standards on the job. Specific reasons include excessive absenteeism, tardiness, and adverse attitude toward the company, supervisor or fellow employees. 2. Misconduct Misconduct is deliberate and willful violation of the employer’s rules and may include stealing, rowdy behavior and insubordination. 3. Lack of Qualification for the Job Lack of qualification for the job is an employee’s inability to do the assigned work although he/she is diligent. 4. Insubordination Insubordination, a form of misconduct, is sometimes grounds for dismissal. It should remember that some acts are or should be deemed insubordinate whe