Human Resource Practices in Sme Sector

EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 Human Resource Practices in SME Sector: An Exploratory Case Study of Pakistan Naveed R. Khan Faculty of Management and Economics Sciences, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, 35900, Malaysia naveed. r. [email  protected] com Mustafa Rehman Khan Faculty of Management Sciences, Institute of Business and Technology, 75190, Pakistan [email  protected] com Abstract The role of human resource practices (HRP) at its significance in small and medium enterprises (SME) become an emerging topic, especially in developing countries.This study aims to gauge the level of HR practice being exercise in SME. Quantitative approach has been followed and data was collected from 195 SMEs through a structure questionnaire. Findings suggested that SME are performing moderate level of HR practices and owner/managers are aware with the importance of HR practices in their organizations. Moreover, compensation is the most significant factor of HR practices foll owed by employee performance, recruitment and selection and training and development.HR function has been substantially implemented and HR practices are being carried out in number of SME and is contributes at all phases of organization’s functions. The globalization and dynamic milieu is forcing the SME sector to switch informal functions to formal manner. However more coherent approach is required to replace the traditional way of practicing HR functions. This study validates the implementation of HR practices in SME as documented in the literature. It further provides a reference for academicians and practitioner to build upon a contention for future research. 7 7Keywords: recruitment and selection, training and development, employee performance, compensation. COUNTRY CASE STUDIES Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=2155840 EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 1. Introduction In the era of globalization, business environment becomes highly dynamic with high r isk and uncertainty. This uncertainty decreases market share and increases organizational inefficiency. As elsewhere, Pakistani SMEs too are affected by the recent global economic meltdown. Escalating inflation in Pakistan further compounded the situation for SME growth.Human resource working in SME sector plays a vital role in economic growth without any space for their personal growth. It is therefore observed that retention is one of the major problems in small and medium size industries. Slightly better emoluments provide good reasons to an employee to switch over from one organization to another organization. Growth in salary in SME sector is far behind the growth in inflation which is a source of depression and made them less productive at their workplace (Khan, 2011). SMEs are identified as the leading employment generation sector, nation wide.In context of the Karachi city which contributes 30% in manufacturing sector of Pakistan and 90% in Sindh’s GDP and around 20% of the total GDP of Pakistan. These figures indicate the potential and further growth in this sector further it prove the argument that SME sector shall plays pivotal role and have potential to grow. Moreover, extensive economics activities at sea ports and industrial zones increase the significance of Karachi city, hence is called the financial and business hub of Pakistan, providing millions of economic opportunities (Ghouri et al. 2011). This study has been conducted to measure the gap between philosophies and practices of HR practices. HR scholars have argued that SMEs are insignificantly practicing the HR function in Pakistan. It may be consider that the owner / managers are not able to utilize their human resource strategically and coherently. Perhaps this is due to the shortage of HR professional in SME sector. Further, fragile structure and substandard formalization intends management to ignore organization’s most valued assets, that is, 8 the workforce.This ignorance causes the job dissatisfaction in employees and ultimately affects the organizational performance. However, employees perform the essential tasks within the organization, and organizational human resource systems are designed to support and manage this human capital. 7 This study aims to measure HR practices in SME operating in Karachi, Pakistan. The city is considered as the hub of commerce and financial activities of Pakistan. SMEs operating are having a mix of proper and casual setup.The study is designed to measure the level of HR practices and identify the most significant HR practice among recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and employee performance. Consistent with the discussion so far, this study seeks to answer the following questions. 1. What is the level of HR practices followed in the SME? 2. What is the most/least important practice of HR, among four facets, in SME? 1. 2 Brief Overview of Employment in Pakistan Over the years, Pakistan ha s substantially moved from agriculture economy to manufacturing economy.Economically active size is the largest in the total population of the country. Human capital is enriched with diverse skills from unskilled labor to high-skilled critical mass. Pakistan’s urban growth rate is highest in South Asia. Estimated in 1980s, urban population growth rate was 4. 5% per annum and projected to 60% by the turn of the century. That proved true. Karachi’s urban economy and its employment pool is the glaring example of this. Its formal and informal sectors provide greater employment potential and are in a position to use human capital efficiently (Khan et al. , 2011).ISSN: 1582-8859 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=2155840 EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 At present, SMEs are recognized as the backbone of the country’s economy by representing nearly 90% of all the enterprises in Pakistan. SMEs form a significant po rtion of the manufacturing and services sector. According to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s report (2010) the labor force today is divided in agriculture 43%, manufacturing 13%, construction 7%, transport 6%, and services 14% and the other head carrying the rest of the burden.The total workforce in Pakistan is 102. 7 million; out of which 55. 77 million people are employed in 2010 with $2400 per capita income; this labor force will increase to 154. 4 million by 2030 with the growth rate of 2. 05. However, 15. 2% unemployment rate was recoded in 2010. SMEs provide 80% employment of the non-agricultural labor force. In Pakistan small and medium enterprises offer diverse employment and production and share 40% in annual GDP of Pakistan (Khan, 2011). 2. Literature Review Pakistan’s SMEs sector is very different from SMEs working in industrialized world.Here, small and medium size businesses are usually not documented mostly with purpose. Pakistan has also a un ique culture of not sharing information with others. Freedom of public information is only on paper. Businesses profiles are not uploaded on the website and it is even so difficult for field researchers to collect basic information through interviews. Limited academic studies are conducted so far on HR practices in Pakistan’s SME environment. This study thus dependent on earlier researches conducted in environment other than Pakistan for conceptual understanding and theory development.Selected literature is reviewed for this study whose results are generalizable to any other environment. Basically, employees perform the essential tasks within the organization, and organizational human resource systems are designed to support and manage this human capital (Gramm and Schnell, 2001). HRM philosophy emphasizes on the benefits of meeting employee needs and enables them to have control over their work, moreover, satisfied workers willing to improve their efficiency, effectiveness a nd productivity to get the work done.The extensive use of high-involvement work practices represents a significant investment in human 7 capital. Basic microeconomics suggests that investments in human capital (employees) are justified when such investments are more than offset by future returns in the form of increased productivity. Thus, firms will make greater use of such practices when employees are viewed as particularly vital to firm success (MacDuffie, 1995). By adopting effective HR practices firms can acquire not only new skills and knowledge and change the attitudes of their employees but also improve their organizational performance.Through effective HR practices firm can get rid of traditional ineffective and inefficient practices which in turn enable the firm to maximize the achievement of its objectives (Delery and Doty, 1996). Armstrong (2006) defines human resource management (HRM) as the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization's most val ued assets – the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business.Findings from previous studies indicated that increased concern for HR practices among firms resulted from the need to develop HR as a source of competitive advantage (Walker, 2001; Wright et al. , 2001; Wright and Snell, 1991). In relation with the SMEs recent studies acknowledged the relevance and applicability of HR practices in small and medium scale firms (Nankervis et al. , 2002; Singh and Vohra, 2005; Chang and Huang, 2005; Schlogl, 2004) SMEs who successfully integrate their HR system with their vision and organizational objectives, are achieve their goals in a more organized manner (Singh and Vohra, 2005).Hence it would build-up more 9 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=2155840 EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 comprehensive business strategy to retain the position in the industr y. According to Chang and Huang (2005) human resources are viewed as a strategic asset that creates value when embedded in the operational system in a manner that can enhance firm’s abilities to deal with a turbulent environment. Sevral studies indicated that to improve organizational performance and develop a competitive advantage, firms need to implement an ffective HR practice system (Zheng et al. , 2006; Osman et al. , 2011; Katou, 2012). Studies on HR practices indicated that HR theories and models are assumed that they are applicable to all types of organizations regardless of their type, sizes and nature of human resource practice functions (Arthur, 1994; MacDuffie, 1995; Huselid, 1995; Youndt et al. , 1996). However, Nankervis et al. (2002) study findings suggested that previous empirical evidences are still not able to provide enough evidence to suggest that HR practices works for all kinds of organizations.Traditional literature on human resource practices identifie d four general categories, which include: Staffing, training, evaluation and compensation (Dessler, 2008; Mathis and Jackson, 2008; Fisher et al. , 2006). In few cases, these categories are aggregated in a slightly different manner, and certainly there is overlap and interrelationship among them (Shub and Stonebraker, 2009). Shub and Stonebraker (2009) define these categories as: Staffing generally involves the human resource activities of planning, job analysis and design, recruitment and selection.Training generally involves the HR activities of employee training, organization development and career development. Evaluation generally involves HR activities of various evaluation designs, both formal and informal, and different evaluation periodicities. Lastly, Compensation generally involves the HR activities of base wage or salary system, incentive system and perks, as well as benefits. Generally, the relationship-based approaches to staffing, training, evaluation, and compensation are shown in the literature to be directly associated with firm performance (Huselid, 1995; Osman et al. 2011; Ngo et al. , 1998) 2. 1 Human Resource Management and its Measurability Stone (2005) defined human resource management as it involves the productive use of people in 7 achieving the organization’s strategic business objectives and the satisfaction of individual employees need. This definition clearly indicates that the organizations’ objectives are dependent on their work force productivity. Moreover, work task, work environment, freedom in work, opportunities provided and the benefits are provides are few of the most important needs a worker may perceive.The effective HRM practices are able to link these practices with organization structure and objectives. Many studies investigating human resource management practices have looked primarily into an organizational structure construct. To accurately measure â€Å"human resource practices†, a number of H R functions may need to be evaluated. However, these characteristics or facets may not be of equal importance to every organization. One of the most comprehensive and widely used measures for human resource practice is presented by Dessler (2008) and Fisher et al. 2006). In this study human resource management practices is characterized as multidimensional, and it has four major facets namely i) recruitment and selection, ii) training and development , iii) compensation, iv) employee performance evaluation. 2. 1. 1 Practice of Recruitment and Selection Recruitment and selection is the first facet of human resource practice, which involves planning, forecasting, and job analysis for the future demand of employees according to the need and demand of the firm.Moreover, various tools and techniques have been used by the firms for the improvement of staffing process to avoid the loss in terms of time, money and potential employees. 2. 1. 2 Practice of Training 10 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES Eur oEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 Training is another dimension of human resource practice where firms invested on the development of their employees’ knowledge, skills ability and other on-job required skills to improve the productivity of employees.Training can transform human resource to human capital where skilled employee would better perform in the success of organization as compare the employees who can get training lesser or never. 2. 1. 3 Practice of Compensation Compensation is one of the most extrinsic practices of human resource function in an organization setting. This dimension determines the level of job of an employee on the basis of their perceived knowledge and experience.Moreover, the matching of their job knowledge with the pay or compensation provided them must demonstrate the market level competitive packages. Good compensation plan would therefore, inevitably influence on employees’ performance. However, the extent to which an employee who is getting the good compensation package will perform well would also depend on his/her overall assessment of various factors like the compensation package in other organizations in relation to the work load and the possibility of getting better compensation packages (Purani and Sahadev, 2008). . 1. 4 Practice of Evaluation This aspect of human resource practices generally involves the activities of various evaluation designs, both formal and informal, and different evaluation periodicities (Shub and Stonebraker, 2009). It is a means of getting better results by understanding and managing performance within an agreed framework of planned goals, standards and competency requirements. It functions as a continuous and evolutionary process, in which performance improves over time.Moreover, it provides the basis for regular and frequent dialogues between managers and individuals about performance and development needs (Armstrong, 2006). 3. Research Methodology The study comprises on a quantitative survey of 195 SMEs. The data was collected from the companies operating in Karachi through a self-administered questionnaire. The study covered manufacturing and 7 service sectors SMEs. In the study, SME referred to the firms employed between 10 to 250 employees, this definition have been adopted from the SME policy 2007 and SMEDA.The SME were identified and randomly selected from the listing of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) and Jamal’s Yellow Pages. The questionnaire was adopted from Chew (2004) and modified according to the nature and objectives of the study and tested for reliability, prior to data collection. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of three sections. Section one focused on collecting background information of the respondents. Section two captured the characteristics of the firm and last section obtained the information concerning the HR practices adopted by the firm.To examine the hypotheses of the study, descripti ve statistics analysis were performed using SPSS 17. The sample size for this study was 300 however only 195 questionnaires, with response rate of 65%, were found acceptable for analysis. 3. 1 Reliability Testing To measure the reliability of the instruments used, Cronbach’s alpha was employed. According to Sekaran (2005), if the alpha value is greater then 0. 7, the instrument is acceptable. The internal consistency reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha) for the scales used in this study are well above the level of 0. , thus are acceptable for the analysis purpose. In Table 3. 1, alpha scores of all variables with complete response of 195 SMEs are given. 11 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 Table – 1: Reliability Coefficients of the Constructs (n = 195) Constructs Recruitment and selection Training and development Compensation Employee performance No. of Items 4 6 6 5 Cronbach’s Alpha . 750 . 792 . 845 . 824 ISSN: 1582-8859 4. Rese arch Findings 4. 1 Characteristics of the Respondents The characteristics of the respondents are presented in the following table.Table – 2: Characteristics of the Respondents (n = 195) Variable(s) Gender Male Female Age 20-25 yrs 26-30 yrs 31-35 yrs 36-40 yrs 41-45 yrs 46-50 yrs Over 50 Education Intermediate Bachelors Masters MS/M. Phil PhD Other Total Frequency 167 28 %age 85. 6 14. 4 Variable(s) Marital Status Married Unmarried No response Position in Firm Owner but not manager Owner and manager Manager but not owner No Response Frequency 130 64 1 %age 66. 7 32. 8 0. 5 29 48 40 32 16 21 9 3 77 103 7 0 5 195 14. 9 24. 6 20. 5 16. 4 8. 2 10. 8 4. 6 1. 5 39. 5 52. 8 3. 6 0 2. 6 100. 14 108 70 3 7. 2 55. 4 35. 9 1. 5 12 7 Work Experience 1 – 4 Years 5 – 7 Years 8 – 10 11 – 13 14 – 16 ; 17 Total 42 37 45 20 19 32 195 21. 5 19 23 10. 2 9. 7 16. 4 100. 0 As shown in the table 2, statistics of the respondents clearly and logically depict the pic ture of their characteristics. In total of 195 respondents 167 were males and 28 were females. Likewise 130 respondents were married and 64 were unmarried. The age and years of work experience among the respondents ranged from 20 to more than 50 years and one to more than 17 years respectively.In terms of education 3 respondents obtained intermediate certificate, 77 obtained bachelor’s degrees, 103 have master’s degree and 7 have MS/M. Phil degree, however none of the respondent has a PhD. COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 The in-depth analysis of statistics highlighted some interesting facts of the respondents. The Female owner/manager represented the 14. 4 % of total respondents which show significant contribution of females in the total workforce, however, this proportion need to be increase at substantial level.Moreover, sixty percent respondents’ age ranged from 20 to 35 years, it shows that young entrepreneurs/managers are coming into the industries with new passion for growth. Likewise 52. 8 percent respondents have a Master’s degree. This combination of ‘young age’ along with ‘education’ shall change the mind-set of traditional business practices and may bring new innovative ideas and measures which shall boost the SME sector in near future. 4. 2 Characteristics of the Firm The characteristics of the firm are summarize in Table 3.These characteristics depict the picture of the firm’s form of business, number of employees working, age of the firm and type of business. Table – 3: Characteristics of the Firm (n = 195) Variable(s) Form of Business Solo proprietor Partnership Private limited Age of Company 3-5 years 6-8 years 9-11 years 12-14 years ; 14 years Total Frequency 24 74 97 23 15 42 51 64 195 %age 12 38 50 11. 7 7. 6 21. 5 26 32. 8 100. 0 Variable(s) No of Employees 10 to 50 51-100 101-150 151-200 201 – 250 Type of Business Manufacturing Se rvices Total Frequency %age 45 16 26 73 35 89 106 195 23. 8. 2 13. 3 37. 4 17. 9 45. 6 54. 4 100. 0 13 7 The in-depth statistical analysis shows that fifty percent SME are the private limited firms and 32. 8 % firms are operating since more than 14 years. Likewise, 37. 4 % SME employed the workers range from 151 to 200. Lastly, 54. 4 % SME are fall under the category of services firms. 4. 3 Distribution of firm by Business sector The SME, participated in this study, represented various business sectors in the manufacturing and services industry. The distribution of the sample firms by type of business sector is presented in table 4.Table – 4: Characteristics of the Firm (n = 195) Variable(s) Business Sectors Financial Institution Engineering/Construction Energy/Petroleum Frequency 18 23 5 %age 9. 2 11. 8 2. 6 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 Chemical/Pharmaceutical Education Textile Telecommunication Logistics Others Total 18 15 19 18 17 62 195 9. 2 7. 7 9. 7 9. 2 8. 7 31. 8 100. 0 ISSN: 1582-8859 The statistics indicated that eight different business sector firms were participated in this study. Most of the firms are from Engineering/Construction business sector which comprises of 11. % of the firms participated in the study. Energy/Petroleum business sector have the least presentation in the sample which comprises of only 2. 6%. However, the ‘others’ head carrying the rest of the burden comprises of 31. 8%. 4. 4 Human Resource Practices The mean and standard deviation scores of HR practices variables which include recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and employee performance are recorded, from the firms, are presented in table 5. The results depict that the mean scores of HR practices ranged from 3. 352 to 3. 83. Hence, at the general level, results suggest that the SME in the study practiced the HR function, to a certain extent. Furthermore, recruitment and selection is moderately practiced in the organization (mean = 3. 49, SD = 1. 10) along with training and development (mean = 3. 35, SD = 1. 081), compensation (mean = 3. 68, SD = . 975), and employee performance (mean = 3. 69, SD = 1. 34). Table – 5: Descriptive Statistics of Variables (n = 195) Items Recruitment and selection Training and development Compensation Employee performance Overall HRM Practices 4. . 1 Recruitment and selection Table 6 highlights the descriptive statistics for each item. Out of the four items of selection, â€Å"only the best people are hired to work in this organization† (mean = 3. 74, SD = 1. 07) followed by â€Å"the values and beliefs of this organization are discussed in interviews with potential employees† showed the second highest mean value of 3. 69 (SD = 1. 054), followed by, â€Å"when new employees are hired, they must go through an extensive hiring process in which they are interviewed a number of times† (mean = 3. 44, SD =1. 53), and â€Å"employ ees of this organization are involved in the hiring of their peers† (mean 3. 11, SD = 1. 152). In general, the SMEs appeared to have moderate level selection practices in their organization. Table – 6: Descriptive Results of recruitment and selection (n=195) Mean 3. 497 3. 352 3. 683 3. 682 3. 553 Standard (SD) 1. 10 1. 081 . 975 1. 349 1. 126 Deviation 14 7 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 Items Only the best people are hired to work in this organization. The values and beliefs of this organization are discussed in interviews with potential employees.When new employees are hired, they must go through an extensive hiring process in which they are interviewed a number of times. Employees of this organization are involved in the hiring of their peers. Total Mean (Selection) 4. 4. 2 Training and development Table 7 highlights the descriptive statistics for each item. Out of the six items, â€Å"people are properly oriented and trained upon joining this organization† showed the highest level of training practice (mean = 3. 67, SD =1. 042), followed by â€Å"the company provides enough training for the employees to learn new ways to do their job† (mean = 3. 9, SD = 1. 037). â€Å"This organization does provide regular opportunities for personal and career development† (mean = 3. 43, SD = 1. 045). â€Å"Training provided by the firm often consists of both classrooms teachings and On-Job-Training (OJT)† (mean = 3. 27, SD = 1. 168); â€Å"This organization subsidizes, assists or reimburses employees for training they get outside the organization†, mean = 3. 22, SD = 1. 097). However, â€Å"employees in this organization receive additional compensation† have the lowest level of practice in the variety of activities (mean = 2. 0, SD =1. 099). Table – 7: Descriptive results of Training and development (n = 195) Items People are properly oriented and trained upon joining this organization. Th is organization does provide regular opportunities for personal and career development This organization subsidizes, assists or reimburses employees for training they get outside the organization Employees in this organization receive additional compensation Training provided by the firm often consists of both classrooms teachings and On-Job-Training (OJT). The ompany provides enough training for the employees to learn new ways to do their job Total Mean (Training) 4. 4. 3 Compensation Out of the six items in table 8, â€Å"Employees are given positive recognition when they produce high quality work† showed the highest level of compensation practice (mean = 3. 89, SD =. 965), followed by â€Å"This organization pays well† and â€Å"This organization offers good opportunities for promotion† (mean = 3. 723, Mean 3. 6769 3. 4359 3. 2205 2. 9077 3. 2769 3. 5949 3. 352 SD 1. 04202 1. 04524 1. 09713 1. 09906 1. 16885 1. 3793 1. 081 Mean 3. 6923 3. 7436 3. 1128 3. 4410 3. 497 ISSN: 1582-8859 SD 1. 05405 1. 07737 1. 15213 1. 15337 1. 10 15 7 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 SD = . 927) and (mean = 3. 723, SD = 1. 018) respectively. â€Å"The way in which employees in this organization are compensated† (mean = 3. 65, SD = . 920). â€Å"This organization values individual excellence over teamwork† (mean = 3. 61, SD = 1. 015); â€Å"This organization offers a good benefits package compared to other organizations†, mean = 3. 49, SD = 1. 007).Table – 8: Descriptive Results of Compensation (n = 195) Items This organization pays well The way in which employees in this organization are compensated This organization offers a good benefits package compared to other organizations This organization values individual excellence over teamwork Employees are given positive recognition when they produce high quality work This organization offers good opportunities for promotion Total Mean (Compensation ) 4. 4. 4 Employee performance SMEs are highly intended to let its employees know, how they are performing (mean = 4. 08, SD = 2. 98).Table 9 the descriptive statistics is highlighted for each item. The measurement of an employee's performance on the job is a priority in this organization receives the 2 nd highest mean value (mean = 3. 77, 16 SD = . 895), followed by the measurement of turnover and absenteeism is a priority in this organization† and â€Å"when evaluating the employees for promotion, seniority is one of the criteria taken into account† (mean = 3. 517, SD = . 937) and (mean = 3. 517, SD = . 970) respectively. However, â€Å"this organization 7 makes a point of keeping track of factors that it considers critical for success† receive the lowest mean value (mean = 3. 0, SD =. 959). Table – 9: Descriptive Results of Employee performance (n = 195) Items The measurement of an employee's performance on the job is a priority in this organization. Th is organization makes a point of keeping track of factors that it considers critical for success. The measurement of turnover and absenteeism is a priority in this Organization When evaluating the employees for promotion, seniority is one of the criteria taken into account Does your company lets its employees know how they are performing Total Mean (Evaluation) Mean 3. 7795 3. 5077 3. 5179 3. 5179 4. 0872 3. 682 SD . 89534 . 95986 . 3799 . 97041 2. 98408 1. 349 Mean 3. 7231 3. 6513 3. 4974 3. 6154 3. 8923 3. 7231 3. 683 SD . 92793 . 92024 1. 00706 1. 01574 . 96522 1. 01800 . 975 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 5. Discussion and Conclusion Small and medium enterprises may have a significant contribution in the economic growth of a country. The swift progress in entrepreneurial set-ups depicts healthy business activities. The findings of this study measure the level of HR practices in SME. The mean score of overall HR practices reported at 3. 553 indicated a modera te level of HR practices, followed in the firms.The adequate level of HR practices is an indication that the SMEs, participated in the study, are involved in implementing and practicing HR activities in their organizations. However, sophistication HR practices bring ample opportunities to gain competitive advantage in the market in terms of HR outcomes i. e. employee retention, satisfaction, competencies and commitment. This increase in HR outcomes may significantly affect the SME performance. Hence HR practices should consider as the source of sustain competitive advantage and owner / manager should therefore put the HR agenda in central to any strategy.Human resources are consider as the activators of all non-human resources and are means for developing competitive advantages in the market place (Stone, 2005). Compensation practice of employees has a significant role followed by employee performance. These are considered as the key factors in managing HR in SME. Hence are practice s in a comprehensive manner. However recruitment and selection and training and development practices are still need the attention and would like to practice in a more sophisticated manner.Especially, training and development, since, trained and motivated employees and managers contribute effectively under these practices. Moreover, scant attention is being paid to new HR practices to manage knowledge and its effective use (Taha, 2006). Efficient HR practices in a SME may bridge the information gap and improve the organizational performance. Moreover, HR practices framework in SMEs requires a collective approach to practices HR functions working as a set or â€Å"bundle† rather than independently (Delery, 1998). SMEs owners and managers should broaden the scope of HR practices.It will increase the retention rate of employee, enhance the competencies and commitment in work force and levitate the level of 7 satisfaction among employees. This shift in-turn enhances the organizat ional performance in terms of quality, productivity and market share. Successful HR system also helps to integrate the other organizational functions in lesser time. This integration will open long term investment opportunities through organizational strategy. Finally, appropriate strategies at national level may enable the SME sector to boost the national economy. Acknowledgement: I would like to acknowledge Dr.Mashhood Ahmad Khan and Dr. S. M. Taha for providing guidance in initializing this study and insightful comments at different stages of this research. ISSN: 1582-8859 17 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 References Arthur, J. (1994). 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Human resource management, manufacturing strategy, and firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 39: 836-65. Zheng, C. , Morrison, M. , Neill, G. O’. (2006). An empirical study of high performance HRM practices in Chinese SMEs. International Journal of Human Resource Management. 17(10): 1772-1803. 19 7 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES

P2 †Describe the Four Main Tissue Types in the Body

The Cell P2 – Describe the four main tissue types in the body Inside the body, there are four mains types of tissue which include the Epithelial, Muscular, Nervous and Connective. Tissues are known as groups of cells which have a certain structure to retain a specific job. Epithelial Tissue covers the body surface and forms the lining for most internal cavities. It protects our insides, it’s known as the skin. It also absorbs in the intestinal lining and stomach, otherwise known as the gut. It also filters in the kidneys and secretes(forms glands).Epithelial cells are attached to each other closely forming a protective barrier and have no blood vessels but can soak up nutrients from blood vessels in connective tissue from underneath. It protects the body from dirt, dust, bacteria and other microbes which could harm you. It is innervated which means it has a lot of nerves in it and it is very good at regenerating for example having a grazed knee or sunburn. It also prote cts the main organ which is the heart, from rubbing against and harming the lobes in the heart against lungs.It gives us an extra barrier for security and saves the heart from many different injuries and also helps protect the upper body around the heart area. Connective Tissue is internal support for our organs, it protects them and wraps around them like a cushion. It stores nutrients and runs through the organs’ capsules and inside deep layers of the skin. These tissues have some sort of supporting role, which include bone, tendons, blood, adipose and cartilage.There are three different categories for connective tissue; Supportive connective tissues are like bone and cartilage, Fluid connective tissues are like the blood and Connective Tissue proper are both loose and dense connective tissue, which links the tissues together. Bones support the lungs and protect from injury. Elastic connective tissue is also found in the lungs and is able to extend like an elastic band when forced. Connective tissues also give shape and strength to other tissues that form the heart, it ensures the heart beats and functions properly..Nervous Tissue is the main component of the nervous system, it conducts impulses too and from body organs by neutrons. The three main elements of nervous tissue are found in the brain, spinal cord and nerves. Nervous Tissue controls many systems in our bodies without us being aware of it. When we breathe, air moves in to our respiratory system and if we should choke a coughing reflex should occur by nerve reflexes sent from the brain. Nervous tissue also plays a big part in our cardio vascular system, it automatically tells the heart to beat and keeps blood pumping around the body, this also controls the heart rate.Functions of the nervous system are sensory input, integration, control of  muscles  and glands,  homeostasis, and mental activity. Muscular Tissue is responsible for the bodies’ movement, moves food, blood and wast e through the bodies’ organs and is responsible for mechanical digestion. There are three different types of muscle tissue; Smooth Muscle found in blood vessel walls and organ walls and spindle-shaped cells for pushing things through organs, involuntary. Skeletal Muscle found in large body muscles, voluntary, packed in bundles and attached to bones for movement.Skeletal muscles are important for holding bones in the correct position so they are essential to the rib cage to protect your respiratory system making sure your cardio vascular system receives enough oxygen. Cardiac Muscle found in the heart wall, involuntary and striated muscle with intercalated discs connecting cells for synchronized contractions during the hearts’ beat. Cardiac muscles ensure the heart receives oxygen from the lungs which is carried through the blood, when the cardiac muscles relax after contracting the heart fills with blood containing oxygen.

Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination Essay

Most people have experienced prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination at some time in his or her life. There is no doubt social discrimination, prejudice, and hostility still create serious problems and challenges, even in today’s apparently more and more individualized and â€Å"enlightened† society. This paper will discuss prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination in the context of social psychology; what the consequences of stereotyping and discrimination are; and strategies to improve attitudes, judgments, and behaviors. Social psychologists recognize prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination â€Å"by focusing on whether they involve feelings (affect), cognition, or behaviors. † (Feenstra, 6. 1 Prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination, para 1). Prejudice is a negative belief or feeling (attitude) about a particular group of individuals. Prejudices can be passed on from one generation to the next. Cognitive schemas can cause stereotyping and contribute to prejudice. Stereotypes are beliefs about individuals involving their membership in a particular group. These beliefs can be positive, negative, or unbiased. Stereotypes concerning gender, ethnicity, or profession is common in many societies. â€Å"Discrimination is negative behavior toward individuals or groups based on beliefs and feelings about those groups. A group you are a part of is called your ingroup. Ingroups might include gender, race, or city or state of residence, as well as groups you might intentionally join. A group you are not a part of is called your outgroup. † (Feenstra, 6. 1 Prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination, para 1). Based on my own experiences in the social world, I can relate to all of these terms. The era in which I grew up ushered in the civil rights movement, anti-war protests, hippies, the Cuban missile crisis, and political and feminist activists. The world was a changing place; many times, we saw and heard prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination at its worst. Unfortunately, we are seeing the same types of prejudices, stereotyping, and discrimination going on today; especially since the â€Å"9-11† attacks and with the â€Å"Occupy or 99%† movement going on today. Social identities depend on the groups to which people belong. Any group a person belongs to is an ingroup, and those that they do not belong to are considered an outgroup. Social cognitive research suggests that outgroup discrimination and prejudice are a result of basic and functional cognitive processes such as categorization and stereotyping. â€Å"Our prejudice and stereotypes come not only from the way our systems process information but also from the world around us. Societal origins of prejudice involve the norms in the world around us, the competition that exists between groups, and the social inequalities that exist in the world. Ingroup favoritism leads to unequal treatment of those we have categorized as in the outgroup. And outgroup homogeneity bias blinds us to the differences within the outgroup. † (Feenstra, 6. 1 Social Cognitive origins of prejudice and stereotypes, para 2). â€Å"Immediate social contexts do shape individual responses to individual outgroup members. This exemplifies a social psychological analysis, that is, how actual, imagined, or implied other people influence and individual’s stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. † (Fiske, 2000, P. 303). Categories help us deal with large amounts of information. They make it possible for us to process more information and save cognitive energy, so we use categories copiously. â€Å"That might not be a problem if all we did was categorize people, but it turns out that along with quickly and easily developing categories, we use them to make later decisions (Tajfel, 1970). † (Feenstra, 2011, 6. 2 Categorization, para. 4). Competition for resources can also create prejudice. This competition could be economic interests, political or military advantage, or threats to the safety or status of the group. People can become angry if they feel that a rival group is taking resources or prestige from their ingroup; and anger is a strong motive for prejudice (Feenstra, 2011). â€Å"Social discrimination results from the generalization of ingroup attributes to the inclusive category, which then become criteria for judging the outgroup. Tolerance, on the other hand is conceptualized as either a lack of inclusion of both groups in a higher order category or as the representation of the inclusive category in such a way as to also include the other group and designate it as normative. † (Mummendey & Wenzel, 1999, P. 158). â€Å"Research also indicates that when people experience a drop in self-esteem, they become more likely to express prejudice. An unfortunate implication of this research is that for some people, prejudice represents a way of maintaining their self-esteem. At the same time, the link between prejudice and self-esteem suggests a hopeful message: it may be possible to reduce prejudice with something as simple as a boost in self-esteem. † (Plous, n. d. , P. 10). Stereotyping and discrimination can powerfully affect social perceptions and behavior. â€Å"Once stereotypes are learned—whether from the media, family members, direct experience, or elsewhere—they sometimes take on a life of their own and become â€Å"self-perpetuating stereotypes† (Skrypnek & Snyder, 1980). One way this can happen is by people experiencing a stereotype threat that lowers their performance. Stereotypes can also become self-perpetuating when stereotyped individuals are made to feel self-conscious or inadequate. † (Plous, n. d. , P. 19). Since all of us are part of a social group, we all have the possibility of having our performance disturbed by stereotype threat. â€Å"The roots of prejudice are many and varied. Some of the deepest and most intensively studied roots include personality factors such a right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, cognitive factors such as the human tendency to think categorically, motivational factors such as the need for self-esteem, and social factors such as uncharitable ingroup attributions for outgroup behavior. Research on these factors suggests that prejudiced attitudes are not limited to a few pathological or misguided individuals; instead, prejudice is an outgrowth of normal human functioning, and all people are susceptible to one extent or another. † (Plous, n. d. , P. 11). The most important question is, what can we do to improve attitudes, judgments, and behaviors in order to reduce prejudice and discrimination? â€Å"The contact hypothesis proposes that contact between members of groups that hold prejudice against one another may reduce prejudice. Contact can reduce prejudice when a number of conditions are satisfied. Common goals, called superordinate goals, are particularly helpful in bringing groups in conflict together. † (Feenstra, Ch. 6 Summary). Looking at the world today with all of the large bank and corporate bailouts, the state of our economy, continued protesting, and the discontent of the majority of the American people; I do believe that we are inadvertently creating self-fulfilling prophecies in our society. In Self-Fulfilling Prophecies, Michael Biggs states, â€Å"A theory of society could, in principle, prove self-fulfilling. Marxism predicts that capitalism is fated to end in revolution; if many people believe in the theory, then they could forment revolution (Biggs, 2009). † It seems that now would be a good time for everyone to learn and practice the Seven Pillars of Mindfulness (Kabat-Zin, 2010). People throughout the world live with prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination, and the consequences of the resulting actions every day. There is no doubt social discrimination, prejudice, and hostility still create serious problems and challenges, even in today’s apparently more and more individualized and â€Å"enlightened† society. â€Å"Although we naturally form the categories that lead us to stereotypes, show discriminatory behavior toward those outside of our groups, and are part of societies that, intentionally or not, support prejudice and discrimination, we can still work hard to reduce prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination through our interactions with others. † (Feenstra, Ch. 6 Conclusion). References Biggs. M. (2009). Self-Fulfilling Prophecies. Retrieved from http://users. ox. ac. uk/~sfos0060/prophecies. pdf Feenstra, J. (2011). Introduction to social psychology. Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Fiske, S. T. (2000). Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination at the seam between the centuries: evolution, culture, mind, and brain. European Journal of Social Psychology (30), 299-322. Retrieved from http://www2. psych. ubc. ca/~schaller/Psyc591Readings/Fiske2000. pdf Kabat-Zinn, J. (2010). Mindful Attitudes. Retrieved from http://mindfulworkshops. com/? tag=non-judging. Mummendey A. & Wenzel, M. (1999). Social discrimination and tolerance of intergroup relations: Reactions to intergroup difference. Personality and Social Psychology Review, Vol. 3, No. 2, 158-174. Retrieved from http://dtserv2. compsy. uni-jena. de/ss2009/sozpsy_uj/86956663/content. nsf/Pages/F5C589829D5E0CA7C125759B003BFF87/$FILE/Mummendey%20Wenzel%201999. pdf Plous, S. (n. d. ). The psychology of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination: An overview. Wesleyan University. Retrieved from http://sscholar. google. co. uk/scholar? start=10&q=Prejudice, +stereotype,+discrimination+ingroup+vs. +outgroup&hl=en&as_sdt=0,3.

The Mobile Communication Industry and EU Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Mobile Communication Industry and EU - Essay Example Under its new name, Vodafone Group Plc., the company begun to claim its place as one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications company with ownership interests in 26 countries across five continents and partnership networks in 33 other countries. Vodafone does not manufacture cellular phones and network equipment so it has become the largest purchaser of these products. In 2004-05, the company bought $23-billion worth of these products from third parties, including $12 billion on handsets, network equipment and IT services from all over the world The company today boasts of the Vodafone Speaking Phone which was devised to address a major EU concern about giving communication access to disabled persons. The Speaking Phone converts its screen content into speech to allow the blind to "read" text messages. This is just one of Vodafone's products and services that "democratize" access to communication technology. Right now, Vodafone is developing another project called M-PESA, which seeks to enhance the access of mobile telephony to banking. This would allow customers to borrow, transfer and pay cash through the use of SMS text messaging. Another project in the pipeline intends to include voice and data communication in its services.As for Telefonica, the company has operated in Spain for 80 years but only under the auspices of EU did it break out of its mold to expand to all Spanish and Portuguese-speaking markets which spread to17 countries in the European, African and Latin American continents. From just fixed telephony, it begun to offer broadband, mobile-cellular telephony and Internet services. By 2005, Telefonica was the world's sixth largest company in terms of market capitalization and seventh in the EuroStoxx50 ranking. It now serves 153.5 million customers worldwide, involving 16 million fixed lines, nearly 5 million data-Internet access and over 20 million mobile telephones. With over 1,5 million direct shareholders, Telefonica trades on the major national and international stock exchanges. The aggressiveness and enterprise shown by Telefonica and Vodafone are exactly the kind of business cultures the EU seeks to foster through the EU Enterprise Policy. Under this policy, EU promotes innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness in manufacturing and services and ensures that all business within the region compete and trade on fair and equal terms. The overall goal is to make Europe an attractive place to invest and work in. EU is all about integration and in this regard, the enterprise policy works to coordinate policies on trade, research, the internal market, employment and training, the information society, regional development and taxation, without overlooking the importance of environmental protection. Under the enterprise policy, EU also preoccupies itself with removing obstacles to competition across the board, preventing new ones from going up and limiting, improving and simplifying the process of regulation. Most of the barriers to intra-EU trade have in fact been dismantled with the imposition of product standards on public health, the consumer and the environment. The EU Enterprise P

Slavery in Colonial America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Slavery in Colonial America - Essay Example Once a person bought a slave, he/she was that person’s property and he could do anything with him that he wished. The slaved would be whipped and treated even badly if he made any mistake. If a slave cracked a disease, that was very common in those times, he was not treated with medicines, etc. (Schneider, 2007). Most slaves used to die due to these terrible living conditions and nobody was accounted for the slaves’ death. (Buell, 2004). In short, once a person became a slave, he was treated worse than animals and there was no value for his existence or his life and if anything bad happened to him, nobody would be accounted for it since he was a slave who was worthy of nothing. (Horton, 2006). The process through which people were made slaves and were sold out was very cruel. First, the slaves, usually Africans were captured. These people included both men and women of all ages. If these people had children, they were captured along with their parents only to grow up and become slaves automatically. These captured people were tied together to prevent them from running away, which was the case many a times whenever the slaves got the opportunity. (Buell, 2004). Then these slaves were taken to special places called Slave Factories where they were tested for their health, strength and wellbeing. The stronger and healthier the slave would be, the higher he would be priced for. The slaves were also tested for their appearance and beauty. For male slaves, the more handsome and good-looking they were, the more expensive they got and for female slaves, the more beautiful they were, the higher they were priced at. (Buell, 2004). After the tests were carried out, the weak and malnourished slaves were set free as they were not of much use while the others were then branded with blazing iron brands in order to create a Slave Identity. (Buell, 2004). Once these people were made slaves, they were the property of the capturer and were then

The Roman Republic in Sallust's Account, the Conspiracy of Catiline Essay

The Roman Republic in Sallust's Account, the Conspiracy of Catiline - Essay Example Although an account of personal observations and opinions, this document can be considered as a written eyewitness account of an indigenous intellectual of Rome - an onlooker to the establishment, growth and decline of an ancient superpower. By analysing the contents of the document, it is evident that the Roman historian attributed the ascent of the Roman Republic to the valor of the people, that their strength in arms provided them the security of their rights and liberty from various enemies. The Romans’ might and bravery allowed them to forge allies and supporters, thus having provided a firm respect from neighboring city-states and sovereignties. The people upheld valor by bestowing the military culture amongst their young ones. From the childhood up to adulthood, primarily in all generations of Romans, the republic was well protected. Honour and glory became the primary theme of Rome. Sallust furthered the explanation of Roman beginnings by recounting the virtues that ha d transpired after the military conquests and expeditions of its people. Good morals such as loyalty to citizenship, patronage in religion and the natural adherence to justice molded the Roman society. The historian also mentioned in his account that the Romans’ animosity for opponents and their preparedness for battles caused Rome’s neighbours to make ties rather than to make war. With this, the Roman Republic was born. It was built from brute strength and the consolidation of brilliant minds, which produced a formidable state that caused the creation of the Roman law. These laws were protected by the Senate and implemented by the monarchical nature of the republic. Technically, though Sallust’s account can be classified as merely a product of observation and a product of subjectivity, it cannot be denied that the supposed biography intricately described what the Roman society was through the eyes of a true intellectual Roman scholar. His experiences and role i n the writing of the history of Rome makes his account a strong primary source for subsequent scholars of this particular field. Thus, the observation of the author accounts to a very interesting point of view with relation to the climb of the Roman Republic to greatness. Its origins revealed that force and decisiveness were needed to establish an immovable government. Sallust then went to a pessimistic standpoint - the demise and the eventual fall of the Roman Republic. At the time when Rome had military supremacy in Europe, when the Roman army continuously fought battles and repeatedly won, the toils of war caused a spark in the destruction of the values. Looting the wealth of defeated states were the ingredients for the downfall of the great Republic. The need for an expanding Rome almost immediately transformed into a pure desire for the material. The Romans craved for money and treasures, which distorted the Roman theme of honour and glory. Thereafter, Sallust described the con tinuous corruption from an extreme desire for the material to the unjustifiable claim for power, which created tyranny. This attribution of the demise of Rome was simple but revolutionary for the mainstream history of the republic. Sallust had concretely specified the core causes of the destruction of Rome. This is a very humanistic approach to the problems of ancient empires alike. The temptation of grabbing too much power gets the best of its wielder. In this case, Rome which had an obvious record of

Got Milk Advertisement Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Got Milk Advertisement Analysis - Essay Example The body copy of this ad is strong in the sense that it suggests that having strong bones is pertinent to the females’ bodies since bones usually grow till an age of 35 years. The calcium present within milk makes a woman look strong and make her feel healthy at the same time. More than that there is no harm in having a schedule which is reliant on consuming milk and it is a part of her fashion regime all the same. The subtextual content is also demonstrated by the girl’s dressing style where certain parts of her body are kept naked so as to have a sort of interest by the target audience, i.e. both males and females. (Davis, 2005) This woman holds a glass filled with milk till the half level which implies that she drinks on a regular basis and hence the reason that she remains fit and healthy. Also some milk is left on the corners of her lips which proves the notion just mentioned. The element of sexuality is very clearly presented within this ad since the manner in whi ch the woman has been attired speaks volumes about the way the ad is being targeted to the people under study. Her belly is apparent enough and so is one of her breasts which suggest that the ad is hitting on the sexuality aspects that have been presented within the ad itself.  

McKinsey case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

McKinsey case study - Essay Example An organization can get competitive advantages in the market than other competitors by applying knowledge management efforts. It also helps to do more improved and innovative performance. Sharing of knowledge is a major part of knowledge management system which can overlap the traditional learning procedure. In this regard SECI model can be used by any organization to handle its knowledge management system in a better way. The model is mainly focusing on the tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. In this model four modes of knowledge conversion are identified. These modes are Socialization, Externalization, Combination and Internalization (Becerra-Fernandez and Leidner, 2008). This model is describes as follows. 1. Socialization [Tacit to Tacit] – In this mode knowledge is passed on through practice, observation, guidance and imitation. Tacit knowledge is such kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by verbalizing it or by means of writing it down. Here social interaction is an example of tacit to tacit knowledge transfer system. Sharing knowledge through face to face or through experience both come under this mode. Meeting, conference etc are the examples of socialization in which people can get knowledge through sharing experiences. This kind of knowledge sharing system is time and space specific and also difficult to formalize. 2. Externalization [Tacit to Explicit] – In this mode tacit knowledge is transformed or coded into manuals or documents so that it can distribute in a easier way throughout the organization. Every employee of a certain organization can get access of knowledge through this system. Here tacit knowledge is coded into explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge means such kind of knowledge that is codified, articulated, expressed, stored in certain media and readily transmitted to

Selection of a Case study organization (Attempt 1) Assignment

Selection of a Case study organization (Attempt 1) - Assignment Example From the very bottom line costs to the increases in service speed and reliability that deliver greater value to organizations and their customers, innovation actually stands at the epicenter of the strategic approaches adopted towards success in the 21st century. Bolstered by the rapid changes in the market structure that powers competition from almost every corner of the globe, organizational emphasis on external as well as internal collaboration as a gateway in accessing the right mechanisms of expediting the incorporation of new ideas is fundamental in leveling the playing field with larger competitors and the numerous aggressive startups. Amway, a direct-selling, family-run organization headquartered in Ada, Michigan, is a perfect sample organization that has grown from a lean structure to operationalize its services in 100 countries courtesy of the numerous radical shifts of strategy that brings on board â€Å"consumer needs, technology and business value† in their search for competitive advantage over the years since inception. A multi-level marketing company with over five decades in business, Amway has built numerous brands within its core product categories [nutrition, beauty, and home], managing to increase its annual revenues from a modest base to a whopping $11.3 billion in the financial year 2012 (APQC, 2013). At the heart of the company’s growth momentum is an innovation culture summarized as 5x5s; a â€Å"five minutes—five slide† presentation for all to showcase ideas for evaluation and further pursuit. Using an Open Innovation Business Model that majorly sources ideas from the external networks, Amway wields a great deal of freedom in pursuing powerful innovations that only serve to propel its strategic needs. The organization long recognized that it does not command as much resources as its forerunner-competitors in the industry, and thus devoted its

How Do Political Parties Affect Voters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How Do Political Parties Affect Voters - Essay Example Identification of parties is a concept where an individual joins and supports a political party. Because joining parties varies from one person to another. It might be from family influence, for example, parents, influenced by religion or unions. Usually, voting follows an individual’s party ID. The Electoral College was greatly affected by the rise of parties in politics through causing a great shift toward the outcome of winner-take-all of the general vote. Before the entrenching of systems of the political party, electors from particular states cast different votes for the presidential candidates. By 1830s, the rise of the parties led them to begin assigning state electoral votes to one candidate during the election. Most people would agree that political parties sway the voter with the false promises they make to the voters, advertisements and ways they use to make their opponents look dirty. All these tactics are false representations that the voter falls for, from time to time, and sways their judgment from a rational view of the political parties. (Duignan, 2013). A political party is an organization that allows people who are like-minded to work together in promoting particular ideas to achieve particular goals. The collaboration and co-operation of people with varying skill, views, experiences and knowledge within a political party are the main cause for the party to create policies across a variety of concerns required by the national interest. According to Houghton Committee, 1976, a political party serves as an aggregate for many diverse interests in the society forming them into a reasonable and clear political program. They make electoral choices simpler for citizens and facilitate the government by providing coherence to parties in the parliament. They perform a selection of candidates to the parliament and other bodies of the government and enable citizens to participate in processes of policy-making. Finally, political parties help provide a broad education on politics.  

Employee Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employee Motivation - Essay Example However, in the event of a major organisational or operational change in an organisation, the administration or management should inform the staffs in advance which gives makes the employees feel more indulged and appreciated part of the organisation. Different organisations have different ways of motivating their labour force. Most frequently, rewards are given depending on the factors of operation and results. Many employees think of motivation as monetary reward. According to Jan-christoph & Koen (2005), monetary motivation does not provide the required concentration among the human resources. Taking all matters into consideration, employee motivation should be a strategy used by companies to increase the levels of production and operations. Any form of a major change in an organisation should be a cause to worry. This is because the reaction of the employees is unpredictable (Schermerhorn, James & Richard, 2004). A good number of employees do not feel comfortable when embracing change especially when it is an operational change. They perceive it to be a new internship procedure in a familiar environment. However, change in an organisation is an important factor to consider. The change is not the crucial factor of concern, but how employee will embrace the change in the organisation. In modern day business environment change is important as much as human resource is. As much implementing change is vital in an organisation the tools of operation in these case employees need to be considered (Bruno & Margit, 2002). With a proper approach it is easy to effect change in organisations. Effective discussions with the head of HR can lead to the best solution when employees are concerned. Additionally, training should be provide d to familiarise the staffs on the new operation methods. If the employees will be required to do more complicate duties and their operation level increase, the organisation must consider a proper and efficient reward system. In words of Sharlyn (2005) with an efficient training and reward system implementing change in companies should not be a difficult step as far as human resource is concerned. It is an obvious assumption that productivity levels go hand in hand with employee motivation levels. The organisation’s productivity level can be maximised if motivation levels among employees are also maximised (Aidan, 2008). Future operations structure should consider employees need. These needs include social needs, financial needs, psychological needs, safety needs, esteem needs and self actualisation. The satisfaction of these needs will lead to definite employee motivation. If the organisation is dedicated to fulfil these needs the employees will feel obligated to dedicate to flourish the productivity of the organisation. Self actualisation means the ability of an employee to reach his full potential by working and increase his abilities (Cable & Parsons, 2001). The operation structure should be in way it puts the employee full potential in activities. Additionally, the operations should not undermine the capabilities of the employee. An employee working in full potential is likely to be dedicated to his work more than employee who does not exploit his full potential. Safety need require assurance of good health and treatment in case of accident during operations (Geoff & Jan, 2000). Fulfilment

Dumping in our Waters Essay Example for Free

Dumping in our Waters Essay Water is probably one of the most important resources we have. People can survive without food for several weeks but without water we couldnt live for more than a week. Millions of liters of water are needed every day worldwide for washing, irrigating crops, and cooling industrial processes, not to mention leisure industries such as swimming pools and water sports centers. (Internet Source) Despite our dependence on water, we use it as dumping ground for all sorts of waste, and do very little to protect the water supplies we have. There are several threats to our water resources. Oil spills kills thousands of seabirds and can wreck water desalination plants and industrial plants drawing their water from affected coastline. (EBSCO CD-ROM source) Poor management of existing water resource can lead to these resources running out or at least shrinking. Much of the pollution in the rivers and seas comes from chemicals, mainly from agriculture. Another pollution issue, which is not brought up often, is thermal pollution. As you can see we have many problems in our waters and we need to protect the waters. In the long run water pollution is going to harm us more than we now it, because a little bit of our ocean is dieing and sometime in the future its going to kills us. The thing thats worries me the most is the animals. The animals in the ocean are dieing everyday in the ocean because of the bad pollution we have right now. Every year millions of animals dies because of the water pollution we have and 65% of the sea animals die because of the pollution. (Internet source) Companies, industries and people litter in our waters and for sure that is not a good thing. We need to learn that we are not going to live very long if we keep doing this. Every year it has gotten worse, the water pollution has gone about 3% every year and that a whole lot more litter and killing that we do. (Internet source) People like us cause water pollution. Dumping our trash into the ocean is one thing that causes this problem. Another is an oil tanker spilling oil in the ocean or not recycling our trash is seriously destroying the waters even more. The effect by all this water pollution is killing the waters but also a big part is killing our animals. Sea animals are very important to our lives. One of the main problems is the oils spill we have every year. People call this oil slicks a common name for oil spills. One of the hugest media surrounding oil spills was Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War. (Internet Source) He caused many oil spills during the war and that serious killed many of the animals in the ocean. Although measures have been taken to prevent spillage from oil tankers, there will still be accidents as the world use oil, and there is always the possibility of oil being spilled in war or by terrorist activity. (EBSCO CD-ROM source) Oil also gets into the sea from many other sources. On a graph 37% of oil pollution comes from industrial discharges and urban run-off. 33% from vessel operation, 12% on tanker accidents, 9% on atmosphere, 7% on natural sources, and last 2% from exploration production. (Internet source) Oil pollution is a major problem in water pollution and there is really no simple solution to this problem but what we can do is try to prevent, come up with ideas to stop the pollution and protect our waters. For many years has been used as coolant in industry, especially in power stations. It was never though of as a problem back in the day, because nothing was actually added to the water. However, higher temperatures can cause enzymes and microbes to speed up, and can eventually kill sea animals. Change in temperature can cause fish to migrate to regions where the water is best for them, but kill any species, which cannot move away. (Internet Source) Recently people have realized that only small changes in temperature are need to have considerable environment impact. One possible solution is to use the excess heat from industry to heat home. (Internet Source) In the book Water is everyones business it says this might sound very attractive but it is only practical when the homes are fairly close to the power station, and even promise cheap heating is not enough to persuade many people to live next door to a power station. (Behrman A.S. 121) This subject brings me up to my next one, which is a world without trout. If water temperatures keep rising such possibly thing might happen. Unless something is don trout and salmon will be eventually killed because of thermal pollution. The primary cause of this warming water trend and cold water fishery decline is by carbon dioxide. Although transportation produces whopping amounts of atmospheric pollution, fossil fueled power plants alone  generate 40% of the carbon dioxide in our air. Ways to prevent this is to find other sources to light up our houses. Now a days companies and industries have found other resources and it has been helping a little bit at a time. Last of all Drugs in the waters has cause many problems as well. Most drugs are in local streams, rivers, and perhaps even farms, as sewage bio solids used as fertilizer. Most drugs that are not used or have been used are being trashed in our oceans. Now what kind of people does that? This is serious is harming the waters, animals, and even us. Chemicals that come from drugs float around in the water and you dont even now about this. How does that make you feel because, many people have gotten sick of this pollution and even died. If people have gotten sick of this it takes a while before it kicks in but for sure you get a good dose of sickness. This serious is a big problem that we can easily prevent. Its so simple just dont trash the waters with the drugs, anywhere than the waters that we so need. This student from West Torrance high school sponsored a poll asking the students whether they think water pollution wills damage our ocean in the long run? 96% of the students think it would. The other question was do you think we should take care of the ocean more because of all the pollution? 87% of the students said yes and 13% said no. (Poll) This poll shows you that we should take care of our waters and think about what pollution is going to do to us in the long run. In conclusion all these problems that we have in the world should try to be prevented or stopped. We all can be a part of this by not littering because you really dont now where that trash is going. Most of it goes to the ocean and it kills the waters. Slowly and slowly the waters are going to be destroyed and we really need it. Water is probably the most important that we need to live. Without water we would die, animals would die and everything would die. This essay should be consider by all of the people because in the long run we are not going to live very long if we still pollute the waters. We need water in many different ways and we cannot live without it. Also the animals that we have should not go through the pain of dieing because we are polluting the waters. They have not done anything to  us so we shouldnt do anything to them. Prevent the water pollution in the world as little but as you can because you never now what possibilities it can do.

Sony Corporation Research and Development

Sony Corporation Research and Development Sony Corporation is an international company that was established in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, the companys headquarter is located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company was originally called Tokyo Telecommunication Engineering Corp which started with as little as $1500. Ibuka and Morita decided to operate the firm internationally in the 1950s and changed the name to Sony since the name Tokyo Telecommunication Engineering Corp was already taken at the time. The first product Sony released onto the market was a transistor radio in 1955 which was the first one in Japan at the time; some other key products developed by Sony are the Headset stereo walkman in 1979, Compact Disc Discman in 1984 and Mini Disc system which was launched in 1992. Today Sony offers a wide range of electronic equipments such as home and portable audio system, digital cameras, DVD players, televisions, video game console, mobile phones and both home and portable computers. The company has become extreme ly successful today; according to its consolidated financial results, its sales and operating revenue were 78.88 billion US dollars in 2009. So just what makes the company so successful despite operating in such a competitive industry and starting with so little fund? To answer this question we will examine the organisation, management and research and developments of the company as well as any strategic alliances and collaborations with other firms. Before we look at the research and developments carried out by Sony Corporations, I would like to quickly mention the recent trend of RD activities in the UK as well as the global. According to the DIUS review, the 850 largest corporate in the UK spent over â‚ ¤21.6 billion on RD activities in 2007, which was an increase of 7% compared to the previous year, 2006. Globally, 1,400 of the worlds most active companies invested over â‚ ¤274 billion in 2007, which increased by 9.5% from the previous year. These data suggest that Research and development becomes more and more popular to companies all over the world as companies starting to understand the importance of RD activities RD is vital to the survival of a company due to the increasing competition from rivals in all kind of industries in the world. Companies need to constantly improve the design and performance of its products in order to stay ahead of its competition. By having better products with better design, performances and more importantly products that suits consumers taste than rivals, a company can gain a larger portion of the market shares, therefore making more profits. Research and development activities can usually be separated into two main categories, they are internal RD and non-internal RD. Internal research and development is basically any RD activities that are carried out or managed by the company itself. On the other hand, non-internal research and development are RD activities that arent operated by the company itself, strategic alliances and collaboration with other companies is a good example. Sony Corporation employs both internal and non-internal RD activities which we will be discussing shortly The below diagram demonstrates the amount of money spent in RD by Sony Corporation from 1998 to 2007. As we can see from the diagram, RD expenditure has increased gradually from 375314 billion yens to 514483 billion yens from 1998 to 2003. And from 2003 to 2007, the amount on money invested in RD fluctuates between 514483 billion yens to 543937 billion yens. Sony Corporation spent around from 5.8% to 7.8% of their sales and operating revenues on RD during this period of time. So just what did Sony Corporations RD focuses on?   According to the companys fact book that was published in 2006 on its website, it stated that the companys RD will be focusing on four main areas, they are: Platforms for home and mobile electronics Semiconductor technologies Devices technologies and Software technologies To improve the platforms for home and mobile electronics, Sony focuses on developing products that support the high definition content. In semiconductor technologies, Sony focuses on developing electronic applications for Cell, which is a very powerful microprocessor.In devices technologies, Sony is focusing on developing Blu-ray disc technologies which is designed to enhance High Definition vision to the next level. Finally for software technology, Sony focuses on developing software that helps consumers to operate electronic products in a more user friendly way. Other software focuses are codecs and Digital Rights Managemnet (DRM) which is designed to protect products such as music, video and ebooks. Sony Corporation has a total of three developments group and four research centres around the world. There 3 groups and 4 centres are under Sonys direct control, they are: Technology Development Group – this department involves in developing common element technologies and newly launched products in order to expand the business. Display Device development Group – this department involves in developing new display for the next generation of products Core Technology Development Group this department involves in developing new devices for the next generation of products Materials Laboratories – this department involves in finding new advanced materials to produce more superior products which in turn increases the competiveness of the company. Information Technologies Laboratories this department focuses on researching in new information in order to produce products that set apart from rivalrys products 6)A-cubed Research Center – this department involves in research of image signal processing technologies Sony Computer Science Laboratories   The seven departments we have just looked at is operated by Sony Corporative Headquarter directly, which means they are in-house RD, we will next look at the non-internal RD activities carried out by Sony, its strategic alliances and collaborations with other major companys Sony has a large number of different strategy alliances and collaborations with different companies. In this essay, it will be focusing on two of the most well known examples, they are Sony Ericsson and Sandisk. Sony Ericsson was established in October 2001, it was a joint venture of Sony

Asphyxiation Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Asphyxiation The Vancouver Sun later confirmed the events of that night: two hikers found two dead bodies at Camper Creek on the West Coast Trail on the sixth of May 1998. The article didn’t say who the hikers were, nor did it say who the dead Native Americans were, for what would the world do with those four meaningless names? None of the four was famous, beautiful, or rich: just normal people drawn together on one particular night. The encounter was determined by two simple factors: the speed of the hikers along the soggy trail and the speed of leaking gas that asphyxiated two men in a patrol cabin. The hikers never knew the two indigenous people, except for what they wore that night, what booze they drank, and what side they slept on. And those simple details were just enough to make the dead bodies Human: capable of joking, singing, fighting, and eating. So the sudden termination of these lives confused the hikers, for they weren’t sure what they should feel about the death of two strangers. The hikers stared and stared at the bodies, perhaps feeling sadness for the friends, parents, and lovers of these men, but feeling only emptiness for the men themselves. They were just two more anonymous faces, frozen in their final dreams and nothing more than dead. I. Dididat Nations People have lived on Vancouver Island since the last ice age, when the Bering Strait froze and allowed human passage from Asia to North America. The Pacific Northwest tribes thrived for thousands of years in this rich ecosystem, where trees grow to such vast sizes that a hollow trunk may hold twenty people without much trouble. For thousands of years, the forest remained a bountiful network of life: moss and lichens crept over every tree... ...we found the bodies, yet the crashing blue-green water spins me into a reality that is worlds away from the sight of stiff men. I'm not sure if this is healing or forgetfulness; all I can be certain of is the bite of the water on my skin and the dropping sun. I stare at my hand under the surface of the water, fascinated by how far away it looks and by the deep blue color of my fingernails. That hand isn't a part of my body, how can it be, it is deep in the water, opening and closing experimentally as water crashes on top of it. I want to leave it there, forever feeling the numbing water, forever fighting the currents that would wash it out to the Pacific Ocean. But then my arm moves, lifts my hand, and I realize it is mine, as are my legs and toes and wet matted hair. And the water keeps falling, pounding, rushing and I just stand there, staring, watching, waiting.

the garand :: essays research papers

The US Rifle M1 was the first semiautomatic rifle to be the standard small arm of the US Military, and the first semiautomatic rifle to be adopted by a major military power. It was the product of a genius, John Cantius Garand. While the M1 Rifle was never officially referred to as the Garand, it is known by no other name so widely. First adopted in 1936, the M1 Rifle served the US in World War II, Korea, a host of "police actions" and interventions, and, in the hands of allies, in the Vietnam War. Even there the US Army used the M1 rifle as a sniper rifle even though the M1 had by that time been supplanted by the M14 and later the M16. The M1 Garand is a full-blown combat rifle with maximum range of 3,200 meters and maximum effective range of 400 meters. Fully loaded with 8-round en block clip, cleaning kit in butt stock, sling and with stock of dense GI issue wood the M1 weighed in at 11-1/4 lbs. The M1 came into production in 1936 using the .30-06 rifle cartridge. It was the designated service rifle of World War II and the Korean War for the United States Military. Also was designed for semi-automatic fire using a spring steel clip containing 8 rounds. This is where the term "clip" originated. All other rifles used a detachable or fixed magazine. There is some discussion on whether this is accurate though. The M1 Garand was designed for long-range accuracy and was the only rifle that had fully adjustable rear sights, with windage and elevation. Criticisms of the M1 are its weight, limited ammunition supply, the fact that single rounds could not be pushed in (8 round clip, or nothing). Also, the spent clip was automatically ejected after the last round was fired, making a distinctive sound, which could be fatal in close quarter or sniper operations. This be true the M1 proved to be quite accurate, durable, rugged and reliable. The M1 Rifle was also distributed to several nations under many American military assistance programs and used to date. During The Vietnam War the M1 served as a training rifle for troops inducted into the U.S. Army and still serves in the training rifle role for the U.S. Navy. The M1 was the main rifle of many military reserve units until the mid-1970s (for example, the M1 was seen in the hands of Illinois National Guard troops during confrontations between Guardsmen and demonstrators outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention complex), when it was replaced by the M16.

Marquis de Lafayette Essay -- Essays Papers

Marquis de Lafayette The Marquis de Lafayette is best remembered for the part he played in the American War of Independence. He contributed in helping the Americans gain free control over the colonies by breaking away from British home rule. For sixty years he fought with consistency and insight for political ideals and social reforms that have dominated the history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Hence, Lafayette can be attributed to the spreading of liberty and freedom throughout America and France. Therefore, he is viewed as a symbol of liberalism in a once absolutist world. Born on September 6, 1757, Gilbert Montier de Lafayette lived in the Chateau de Chavaniac. This beautiful palace is located in the thick forests of France. Lafayette lived there with his aunt and grandmother until the age of ten. During those years, he rummaged through the woods in search of the legendary werewolf who endangered local peasants. Accordingly, even as a child, the marquis had an â€Å"ambition to free his native place from the fabulous monster† (Latzko 4,5). At the age of eleven, the marquis was sent to school in Paris at the College du Plessis. He resided there for four years, learning various subject matter and proper etiquette that would enable him in change to become an educated and well-mannered noble. The curriculum included Latin, the study most emphasized in France at the time; and French rhetoric, which he greatly favored (Gottschalk 18, 19). At the early age of fifteen, the marquis was quite established in his community. While engaged to be married to Adrienne d' Ayen, Lafayette became a lieutenant in the Noailles cavalry (Gottschalk 32). This phenomenon marked the begin... ...ceiving on revisiting the country a few years ago, I know not . . . but when he came to America he was received everywhere as the Savior of the Country† (Bedoyere 36). Inevitably, this statement represents the opinion of many Americans still today. Fortunately, Lafayette gave his all to help the American cause. With his help and the efforts of all the colonials, the United States made its own country and became â€Å"the land of the free†. Works Cited - De La Bedoyere, Michael. Lafayette. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1934. - Gottschalk, Louis. Lafayette Comes To America. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1935. - Latzko, Andreas. Lafayette: A Life. New York: Viking Press, 1931. - Sedgewick, Henry Dwight. La Fayette. Indianapolis: The Bobbs- Merrill Company, 1928. - Woodward, W.E. Lafayette. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1938.

How to write an excellent motivation letter

An important part of the application procedure for the Bachelor programme in International Business Administration (IBA) is the motivation letter. However, for many applicants this part of the application can be very daunting. To help increase your self-confidence and relieve a bit of your application stress, we have put together this short article with background information and tips on how to write a solid motivation letter here below. For the format of your motivation letter (font, line spacing, max. pages etc), please read the general guidelines.Why do we want a motivation letter?The main goal of the motivation letter is to find out if you are the kind of student we are looking for in our IBA programme. Important programme characteristics are:IBA is an international programme IBA students are high performersThese characteristics are fundamental success factors of the IBA programme. It is therefore of vital importance that only students who have a real interest in studying in an i nternational setting and are willing to actively contribute to the programme are admitted.The international dimensionThe importance of the international dimension of the IBA programme explains why the first of the four items covered in the motivation letter asks you to: â€Å"Tell us about your international background†: where were you born, where have you lived, what is your nationality, where did you go to school, in what kind of international activities have you participated. You can also write about what you feel you can add to the international dimension of the programme. Students without an international background may find this question to be quite disheartening and worry that this will put them at a disadvantage.Our advice here is not to worry. If you do not have an international background, you don’t have it and you cannot be blamed for  that. You may have participated in other international activities, like back-packing in Australia, a summer language cours e in Spain or maybe you attended an international or a bilingual secondary school. All of these types of activities can be used as examples of your â€Å"international drive.†Why IBA?The second item we would like you to address in your motivation letter is your ambition to study International Business Administration. Some questions to ask yourself are: Why do you want to study a business programme (and not for instance Chemistry) Why are you attracted to an international business programme? For our Dutch applicants it is very important to explain your motivation for choosing the International, English language programme as opposed to the Dutch language programme.Why IBA at RSM?In the third question you will be asked to elaborate on why you would like to be chosen to participate in the IBA programme at RSM as opposed to another university. We are interested in this because it has been proven that students who made a deliberate, well-thought out study choice, perform better and contribute more to the level of the programme. For RSM it is clear that ambitious and high-performing students influence each other in a positive way.Your future plansIn the final question we ask you to tell us about your plans for the future. Honestly speaking, you cannot have a ‘wrong’ plan for the future and as a young person you are not to blame if you do not have any concrete ideas at this point in your life. However, we still like to trigger your imagination with this question. In conclusion, the motivation letter for the IBA programma is an important part of your application package. It is something to be taken seriously, but also something to have fun with. Tell us who you are, what your dreams and motivations are and most importantly, why you think you should be selected for the most prestigious IBA programme in the Netherlands! How To Write An Excellent Motivation Letter How to write an excellent motivation letterAn important part of the application procedure for the Bachelor programme in International Business Administration (IBA) is the motivation letter. However, for many applicants this part of the application can be very daunting. To help increase your self-confidence and relieve a bit of your application stress, we have put together this short article with background information and tips on how to write a solid motivation letter here below. For the format of your motivation letter (font, line spacing, max. pages etc), please read the general guidelines.Why do we want a motivation letter? The main goal of the motivation letter is to find out if you are the kind of student we are looking for in our IBA programme. Important programme characteristics are:IBA is an international programme IBA students are high performersThese characteristics are fundamental success factors of the IBA programme. It is therefore of vital importance that only students who have a real interest in studying in an international setting and are willing to actively contribute to the programme are admitted.The international dimension The importance of the international dimension of the IBA programme explains why the first of the four items covered in the motivation letter asks you to: â€Å"Tell us about your international background†: where were you born, where have you lived, what is your nationality, where did you go to school, in what kind of international activities have you participated. You can also write about what you feel you can add to the international dimension of the programme.Students without an international background may find this question to be quite disheartening and worry that this will put them at a disadvantage. Our advice here is not to worry. If you do not have an international background, you don’t have it and you cannot be blamed for  that. You may have participated in other international activities, like back- packing in Australia, a summer language course in Spain or maybe you attended an international or a bilingual secondary school. All of these types of activities can be used as examples of your â€Å"international drive.†Why IBA? The second item we would like you to address in your motivation letter is your ambition to study International Business Administration. Some questions to ask yourself are: Why do you want to study a business programme (and not for instance Chemistry) Why are you attracted to an international business programme? For our Dutch applicants it is very important to explain your motivation for choosing the International, English language programme as opposed to the Dutch language programme.Why IBA at RSM? In the third question you will be asked to elaborate on why you would like to be chosen to participate in the IBA programme at RSM as opposed to another university. We are interested in this because it has been proven that students who made a deliberate, we ll-thought out study choice, perform better and contribute more to the level of the programme. For RSM it is clear that ambitious and high-performing students influence each other in a positive way.Your future plans In the final question we ask you to tell us about your plans for the future. Honestly speaking, you cannot have a ‘wrong’ plan for the future and as a young person you are not to blame if you do not have any concrete ideas at this point in your life. However, we still like to trigger your imagination with this question. In conclusion, the motivation letter for the IBA programma is an important part of your application package. It is something to be taken seriously, but also something to have fun with. Tell us who you are, what your dreams and motivations are and most importantly, why you think you should be selected for the most prestigious IBA programme in the Netherlands!