Angel and Demons Book Report Essay

ANGELS AND DEMONS Angels and demons is a heart pounding adventure written by the author Dan Brown and published in 2000. Dan Brown is also famous for his bestselling novel The Davinci code (published 2003); both these novels feature the fictional college professor Robert Langdon as the main character or â€Å"hero† in the story. Both of these stories revolve around the delicate subject of religion as he incorporates religious fact into fantasy. First off, our characters include Robert Langdon who is a professor of symbology at Harvard University. He is flown to a Swedish nuclear research facility known as CERN (Which really does exist) by the director of CERN Maximilian Kohler to investigate the murder of esteemed scientist Leonardo Verta. Leonardo Verta was the head scientist of a research group working on an antimatter energy source until he was killed, and the anti-matter stolen. Robert leaves CERN with Leonardos daughter Vittoria Vetra to Rome in search of the stolen anti-matter. Robert leaves CERN with a new counterpart and one clue to solve the unraveling mystery of who stole the anti-matter and killed Leonardo Verta; the ambigram branded into the scientist chest saying Illuminati. Soon after arriving in Rome Robert and Vittoria are rushed to Vatican City by commander of the Swiss guard Commander Olivetti, as the situation grows more dire after four high ranking cardinals are kidnapped by the illuminati assassin, with one clue, one will each be slaughtered on the alters of science along the path of illumination. When the threat comes in that if they don’t stop the assassin by eight o’clock the Vatican will be destroyed, as they race against the clock to stop the destruction of the Vatican new problems will rise and betrayal is around every corner. This book is strongly recommended for readers who enjoy large scale mysteries and people who enjoy stories involving conspiracies. This is because this story involves a race against time and a struggle to stop a secret society that controls half of the government itself. This tale is a mind bending race against time and an enemy who seems to be everyone and control everything.

Black on Black Crime Essay

Black on black violence is an enormous problem in the African-American community. Living in a neighborhood that is mostly minority, many may have witnessed a lot of black on black violence. The black on black violence has continued to arise in many communities and continues to be a problem around the world. Black on black violence is ignorant, and many black Americans should be coming together instead of killing one another. African-Americans people should be helping each other achieve in the world, instead of putting one another. By African-Americans killing one another, it proves to other races that black people do not know how to act, and that we are truly ignorant in this world. African-Americans need to realize that all we have is each other and by killing each other we show that brotherly love does not exist among our own. Studies show that 1 and 146 African-American males are at the risk of a violent death, whereas the ratio for Caucasian men is 1 and 189. This study shows that African-American men are more likely to become the victim of a violent death than a Caucasian man. This study is saddening because African-American people should be making a difference in the world by proving we are better than what people make African-Americans out to be. In another study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (covering reported violent crime that occurred between 1993-98) when the offender had been identified, 76% of the time the violence was intra-racial. [2]. † Enrico Ferri, a student of Lombroso, considered Black people to be of an â€Å"inferior race† and more prone to crime than others. In 2008 a total of 40 homicides were committed in Little Rock, 54% were committed by blacks against blacks. Nationally, homicide is the leading cause of death for young black men ages 10-24, and the second leading cause of death for black women ages 15-24. The effect of this violence in the African-American community is tremendous; Violence is very much part of what it means to be Black in America. These studies are very high when it comes to showing how violent African-Americans are, and what they are capable of. African-American people should look at these studies and want to make a difference, if not for them, then for the future of the African-American race that have to suffer the consequences for the actions of others. The cause for all of this black on black violence is the gang violence that has been rapidly increasing as the years have passed. All of these people that are a part of a gang, go around killing people because of a street that they do not even own. So many African-Americans become a part of a gang because they probably do not have love and support at home. Since they do not get it there, they run to the streets to be with people that they think care about them and will give them support. Many young boys that are from gangs feel, since they grew up around gangs, then they might as well become a part of one. The boys that are in these gangs think their purpose for being in a gang is to protect the street they live on. But what they do not realize is that their lives are put in danger when they try to protect something not even theirs. Whether in the Black community, or any community, we know that there are some factors that correlate with a lower rate of violence. Two of the leading ones are: economic stability and strong social networks. Communities in which people have their basic needs met correlate with a lower incidence of violence. Both of these will be difficult to achieve until racism is addressed (see reason number one) and African-Americans achieve equal opportunity. This statement is true because, if African-Americans had the same opportunities as Caucasians and had way more to look forward to, then maybe African-Americans would not commit these violent crimes. Another way to help reduce black on black crime is to talk about it more in the media or in public forum. This would help directly and indirectly those affected by black on black crime. The Center for Healing Hearts and Spirits created a Media Awareness Campaign that educated 200,000 community residents on black on black crime. They also hosted a crime summit that had over 1,200 people to part take in it. If there were more information and awareness available about this rising act of violence between African Americans, maybe there would not be as many homicides involving blacks. African-Americans need to realize that life is more important than taking someone else’s life. Now a day, people take life for granted and act like it is something to play with. When people do not care about their own life, how can they care about the person whose life that they are taking? This is a problem with people today; they do not care about nothing in life so they take it out on the next person. Years past, African-Americans would get spit on, beaten, and put in jail just because they were black. They were not killing people; they were punished because of their skin color. If more African-Americans appreciated the life that they were given and respected others, maybe more could learn how to get along and come together as a people.

BP Russian Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

BP Russian Analysis - Case Study Example While partnerships are vital for the success of an organization, they may become sources of business failure if their construction is not efficient. BP Russia is one of the companies that have engaged in partnerships that have undermined its potential to grow and take advantage of the market. An analysis of BP Russia will reveal the various aspects of partnerships that determine its failure or success and the way organizations can benefit from such business partnerships. BP proposed an alliance with Rosneft as part of the organization commitment to take advantage of mergers to increase organization productivity. The proposed partnership between BP and Rosneft would have numerous benefits if successful. The main aim of the strategic alliance was to use a collaborative approach on the development of oil reserves of the Kara Sea in the Russian Arctic (University of Virginia 6). The first benefit of the alliance is that the two would have a greater financial worth, which would help to explore the Kara Sea in a more profitable manner. Since the exploration of oil and development of oil reserves is a costly operation, it is difficult for any organization to go it alone without a partnership. On this note, the alliance would allow BP to take advantage of the oil reserves, develop them and hence increase productivity, which means higher profits for both organizations. Secondly, BP had a long-term plan in the terms of the partnership. The terms of the strate gic alliance was that BP secure 9.5% of Rosneft bringing its total share of Rosneft at 10.8%. This share swap condition would have a long-term benefit for BP Russia. Increasing its share value in Rosneft would be an increase in its share value. On this note, it is possible to term the strategic alliance as a worthwhile development strategy for BP Russia. On the other hand, managers must be aware that there are always implications for success or failure of a partnership. The success of the BP-Rosneft alliance would

Adapting to ChangesSituational Leadership Assignment

Adapting to ChangesSituational Leadership - Assignment Example The situational model comes with a number of strengths and limitations as described below. The situational leadership engages supple approach to meeting the distinct demands of every situation and individual. This model offers a prescription of understanding the capabilities and the nature of subordinates to enable the provision of exact requirements for better performance of a task. For instance, pushing an individual forward on to a task may work if the concerned party is low on confidence other than the employee who lacks the necessary skills (Carew, Carew & Blanchard, 2008). Putting in mind that employees often present their strengths and weaknesses at work, situational leadership approach enables a leader to personalize his approach towards the employees. This model mainly dwells on the need for leaders to constantly understand the needs of their subordinates. To assess and develop a better understanding of an employee’s abilities and lead him/ her towards performing tasks effectively, it is paramount that communication is used. Thus, the situational leadership model enhances the levels of communication between the leader and the subjects hence increasing the levels of efficiency and productivity in the organization (Fernandez, Cho & Perry, 2010). Most leaders under the situational leadership model are often under constant pressure to analyze their situations prior to making decisions on any action. Other leadership styles emphasizing on leaders following their strengths and innate traits often present more instinctive reactions to problems. Other prominent situational leadership models propose that leaders ought to constantly establish the manner in which their actions offer immediate and long-term motivation to the employees. The major challenge to this question is that each response varies depending on the follower and the situation. Despite the effectiveness of the situational theories, they are always criticized for their rigidity. The

Proposal Outline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposal Outline - Assignment Example No profits arise, as any surplus income over expenditure is paid as extra rebate to the Department of Defense, normally to service central funds. DEFCO is monetarily self-sufficient, has no assets or shareholders and provides no personal interests. No one has taken any stake in the organization [1]. DEFCO has self-service shops in all the military camps. In total, it has 29 shops, which provide services to Military Personnel. Initially it was created solely for service provision regardless of whether a branch was making profit or not. Over the years, it managed to adopt profit motives and achieve growth in both sales and profitability. It has also managed to expand its branch network to a maximum of 29 shops. The Managing Director of DEFCO working in collaboration with various Chief Officers is responsible for managing the organization. The DEFCO Board of Management exercises the daily operation of DEFCO through the Managing Director who is appointed by this board. The policy of DEFCO is in the hands of Council of Members who comprise the Chief of General staff as chairman, the Army, Commanders and the Managing Director of DEFCO act as members. The ICT department uses the centralized management technique. This makes is difficult to be able to sort a problem that arises in those shops that are located in distant places. This resulted to many problems being presented to the Help Desk, hence becoming difficult to tackle the problems all at once. Therefore, this technique is not efficient in solving of problems. The E-Business Suite is a new system, and a good number of the employees have the proper expertise of how to go about it. As a result, many mistakes are made and it takes time for those mistakes to be

Agree1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Agree1 - Essay Example Most of the learning for a nurse about such situations and the decisions they entail takes place only on the job. The profession of nursing is very challenging and demanding emotionally, psychologically, and often physically also because a nurse is faced with new types of situations every day. Nurses frequently need to refer to the nursing code of ethics to make informed decisions in all the different sorts of situations. The choices and decisions nurses make can make or take someone’s life, so it is critically important that nurses stay updated on the nursing code of ethics and try to memorize it as much as they can. The ethical environment of a workplace is shaped by the challenges faced therein every day (American Nurses Association, 2010). So nurses should listen to the opinions and suggestions of the patients and their family members, but try to convince them with better alternatives based on their knowledge of the nursing code of

Art history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Art history - Essay Example visually appears the same as buon fresco, the pigments simply adhere to the surface since they are not absorbed into the wall; hence fresco secco does not have buon secco’s longevity (Gardner et al: 410). â€Å"This mural painting is among the greatest twelfth century European paintings in the United States†(MFA1, 2008). Earlier it had decorated the apse or semicircular area behind the altar of the monastery church of Santa Maria de Mur, in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees. The large-eyed, solemn figure of Christ, dominates the composition. He holds a book on which is inscribed reinforcing passages relating to Christ’s centralization in Christian art and doctrine, which states: â€Å"I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh into the Father but by me†. All four Evangelists, who are authors of the New Testament Gospels, surround Christ. The fresco’s lower tiers contain the twelve Apostles, the original followers of Christ, and scenes from the Bible. The formality, symmetry and positioning of the figures are Byzantine, but the Spanish artist substituted Byzantine mosaic in favor of direct painting on plaster coated walls. The iconographic scheme in the semi-dome of the apse is more closely related to those of the Romanesque Church portals of France. In the fresco, Christ in a star-strewn Mandorla is flanked by the signs of the four Evangelists, which is the apocalypse theme that greatly fascinated the Romanesque imagination. Seven lamps between Christ and the Evangelist signs symbolize the seven Christian communities where St.John addressed his revelation, the Apocalypse, at the beginning of his book. Below, the apostles stand in pairs, adding to the formality of the composition. The main figures are presented with partitioning of the drapery into volumes, made to look tubular by local shading. The painter stiffened the irregular shapes of actual cloth into geometric patterns. The effect overall is one of simple, strong, and str aightforward

Occupational Health and Safety Hazard Material Management and Hazard Essay

Occupational Health and Safety Hazard Material Management and Hazard Communications - Essay Example Hydrochloric acid is a hazardous material that ought to be handled with care. The spill response entails confining the spill using absorbent barriers (such as rags), diluting the acid, and neutralizing the acid. The primary problem experienced during the clean-up process is attributable to the properties of hydrochloric acid. The acid will corrode everything that gets into contact with it. In addition, it can cause damage to body tissues. The acid spill leaves a trail of damage to both humans and materials even after it has been contained. The spill response for water-soluble solids entails confinement, neutralization, and disposal. Sodium azide is a hazardous solid that is soluble in water. The clean-up process with such solids mostly involves neutralizing with hydrochloric acid (Burke et al., 2012). If the process is not conducted as required, the clean-up process can turn into a larger spill due to hydrochloric acid. In addition, the clean-up process may involve vaporizing the water to extract the solid. Some of the chemical components of the solid may be released into the air causing health concerns for the people involved. Oil is the most common hazardous water-insoluble liquid that has significant environmental effects. The spill response process entails confinement. Oil floats on water; hence it forms a layer. The oil spreads fast over the water body making it difficult to confine it. In addition, the oil may vaporize and mix with air posing health problems to the people involved. Oil is highly flammable and may lead to explosions when exposed to

Performance Evaluation of Banking Industry in Bangladesh Essay Example for Free

Performance Evaluation of Banking Industry in Bangladesh Essay Banking is an essential industry that affects the welfare of all other industry and the economy as a whole. In fact, growth and development of a country significantly depend on the level of growth and development attempted by the banking sector. There is a consensus regarding the positive role played by the financial sector in promoting economic development (Gerschenkron, 1962; Patrick, 1966; Galbis, 1977). In Bangladesh, banking sector has flourished a lot compared to other sectors of the economy. But the role of this key sector in national development is not satisfactory. There is not only an extremely strong capital stock but the rate of capital formation is also very meager. The current rates of domestic savings and investments as a % of GDP are 20.2 and 24.4% respectively (Bangladesh Bank Annual Report 2004-05). In the past, the rate of savings and investment were much lower than the present rate. Therefore, development plans of Bangladesh have been largely aid development. Between 1972-73 and 1981-82, aid has financed on an average of 75% of fixed investments and the lions share of the development budget (ERD). Under these Circumstances, internal resource mobilization is an urgent necessity for a self-reliant Bangladesh. Towards this end, banking Industry may play a crucial role in mobilizing community’s savings and channeling the same into the socially desirable sectors of the economy. As financial intermediaries, banks can play a crucial role in of most economies. In the absence of effective functional securities market, the banking sector in Bangladesh takes the lead in mobilizing resources and allocating funds to profitable ends. The effectiveness of financial intermediation can affect economic growth. The financial intermediation affects the net return to savings and gross return to investment. The prominence of financial institutions for rapid economic growth is unanimous. The bank based view of financial system highlights the positive role of bank in mobilizing resource, identifying good projects, monitoring managers and managing risks. The role of banking institutions as intermediary between the investor and entrepreneur is of vital importance in a developing country like Bangladesh. The evaluation of Banks performance is a complex process involving interactions between the environments, internal operations, and external activities. In performing this evaluation concerned authorities in the banking sector prior to independence felt for resource mobilization and using the same in the desired sectors. For this reason all the commercial banks were nationalized immediately after independence (Bhattacharjee, 1989). Development of private sector is essential to cope with the challenges of globalization. But considering the socio-economic condition of Bangladesh, extreme privatization, particularly in the banking sector, may not be desired. Because, even though, the number of private banks (local foreign) are increasing and the number of nationalized banks are decreasing, still the NCBs occupy a dominant place in the banking sector of the country and play a pioneering role in capital formation, stimulating the level of industrialization, poverty alleviation and human development and in the overall economic development. NCBs provide loans to productive and priority sectors both public and private covering agriculture, industry, trade and commerce. On the contrary, private banks mainly operate in towns and metropolitan cities and do business with noted entrepreneurs and with the affluent sections of the society; while foreign banks operate only in the cities and do business with the elite section of the society. Hence, this paper focused on the performance of the banking sector in general with a wider lance. As financial intermediaries, banks can play a crucial role in the most economies. In the absence of effective functional securities market, the banking sector in Bangladesh takes the lead in mobilizing resources and allocating funds to profitable ends. The effectiveness of financial intermediation can affect economic growth. The financial intermediation affects the net return to savings and gross return to investment. The prominence of financial institutions for rapid economic growth is unanimous. The bank based view of financial system highlights the positive role of bank in mobilizing resource, identifying good projects, monitoring managers and managing risks. The role of banking institutions as intermediary between the investor and entrepreneur is of vital importance for a developing country like Bangladesh. So the study is a demand of the time for better progress towards a developed future. 2.0 Conceptual Background of the Study Performance indicates the degree of management’s success in allocating the sources of the firm’s capital to productive use and is focused in the in the market value of the firm’s capital. Performance may be defined as the accomplishment of the goals which are taken into consideration. The word performance may be the synonym of efficiency in the context of business phenomenon. Many scholars opined that performance of a firm may be considered as the term managerial performance. An evaluation of performance indicates to what extent an enterprise achieves its target. Evaluation is a judgment worth of something and like all judicial matters, it calls for justice, equity and good conscious on the part of the person making the evaluation. It is to be considered an integral part of the management control on a continuous and systematic basis. Performance evaluation is an essential tool of management. It is relevant both in seeking answer to various questions to be asked about area of activities in which performance might be improved. The main purpose of performance evaluation is to assist in decision on two levels i.e. at a lower level. It can be used to inform the day to day decision making of the management indicating how to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of the banks in short term. At a higher level it can be used to inform the annual planning and budgeting process in which decisions are taken about the long term deployment of resources and target for achievement. Thus it can be said that performance evaluation means a method under which the performance of an organization is evaluated differently. In Bangladesh performance of banking sector was considered with a very high note from the very beginning. It was felt that new born liberated country will need the performance of banking sector to keep the economy live. In doing so, after the war of liberation, the banks operating Bangladesh(except those incorporated abroad) were nationalized. These banks were merged and grouped for achieving the goal of government and people. With the passage of time the number and types of bank expanded and the area of banking support is also enlarged vividly. For this, study becomes a necessity to find out loop holes as well as areas so that service can be expanded towards all necessary ends. For doing so banking industry plays a pivotal role in capital formation and stimulate the level of industrialization, poverty alleviation and human development. In a sense, healthy banks and healthy economies seem to go together. Therefore, performance of such organizations particularly; operational efficiency, management soundness, productivity, profitability and social profitability are of great concern. An in-depth study to analyze the performances of the banking industry of Bangladesh by applying the most widely used indicators of bank performance could be worth while. The banking industry of Bangladesh is composed of five types of banks viz. Nationalized Commercial Banks(NCBs), Specialized banks(SBs), private Commercial Banks(PCBs), Foreign Commercial Banks(FCBs) and Islamic Banks(IBs) differ in their motives. Different types of banks give priority to different stakeholders. So, performance analysis as a whole can make the industry more creative and more supportive to achieve their organizational goal as well as can help the nation to avoid poverty and learn to lead prospective lives. Because , performance analysis as a whole will bring out all loop holes for back benchers in this sector and allow them with information to go ahead with prospective mentality. 3. Objectives of the Study The broad objective of this proposal is to make a comprehensive analysis of growth, productivity, profitability and performance of the banking industry in Bangladesh and to suggest measures for improving their performance. The specific objectives of the proposal are as follows: †¢ To analyze and compare the growth trends of banking facilities/services and output of banking sector as an industry. †¢ To measure and compare the productivity trends of banking sector. †¢ To compare overall performance of the cross section of banks from various angles. †¢ To conduct an in-depth analysis of the causes of lower or higher levels of productivity and performance (if any) among all banks. †¢ To evaluate existing remittance disbursement system and direct its profitable utilization through proper planning and action. †¢ To suggest the possible lines of actions to improve the performance of various categories of banks. 4. Justification of The Study 1. Literature Review From a detail literature review it is found that a good number of researches were conducted in the field of performance evaluation in banking sector. But unfortunately, Performance Analysis of Banking Industry in Bangladesh as a whole was not conducted. As such the literature review of the following articles, journals and research work compelled me to have a distinct idea that a research of having a complete picture of Banking industry is a demand of the time. As such my literature review found following ideas: Abedin, Roy and Mustafi(1989) in a study titled, â€Å"A Preliminary Note on Measurement of Productivity in the Commercial Banks of Bangladesh,† mentioned that there was a steady growth of bank output during 1975-1988. The output was measured as the volume of working fund handled per employees. There were variations in the levels of productivity of different types of banks. They also mentioned about a falling trend of productivity index of private banks with little variations during 1985-88. In case of Foreign banks they reported a sharp fall of productivity index from 100 in 1985 to 37 in 1986, then a rising trend. The limitations of his study were that he did not considered the social aspects of the Banks. The data on working fund were not comparable with any published data of Bangladesh Bank (BB) due to using the end June and end december figures of every year. The study neither attempts to analyze the causes of lower or higher productivity of banks nor strongly suggests the measures for increasing the levels of the banks productivity. Cookson(1989) in his article titled, â€Å"Productivity in the Banking Industry in Bangladesh† stated that productivity in the banking industry is very difficult to estimate by using available data. He also said that the conceptual difficulties limit comparisons among the banks in Bangladesh. In this paper the author tried to give a proper definition of labor productivity in commercial banking. He pointed out that the productivity of the total commercial banking system was stagnant. However, he took a partial approach for measuring productivity of the banks. In no way it reflected the total productivity scenario of the banking sector. Shakoor(1989) ’s paper on â€Å"Measurement of Profitability in Commercial Banks in Bangladesh† investigated the nature of productivity of four nationalized commercial banks(NCBs) during 1972-86 and that of five private commercial banks (PCBs) during 1983-86. The paper focused on some selected indicators of general productivity and profitability, such as deposits, advances, income, spread, expenditure etc. per employee and per branch. He used some statistical measures such as averages, standard deviation and coefficient of variations both NCBs and PCBs. The other statistical measures like, trend, correlation, regression analysis etc. were not used by the author. He observed that the productivity of the NCBs in Bangladesh had an increasing trend during 1972-86 and the productivity of the selected private banks showed better situation when compared with that of NCBs during the period under study. But, his study had limitations and in no way that reflected the total productivity trend of the commercial banking sector as a whole. Bhattacharjee and Saha(1989) in their joint eff0rt titled, â€Å"An Evaluation of Performance of NCBs In Bangladesh† tried to measure the performance of NCBs for th1973-1987. They analyzed the performance of NCBs on the basis of five sets of indicators. They are: (a) General business measures in terms of total business, deposit, advances, gross income and net profit; (b) Social profitability measures in terms of deposit mobilization (time deposit), branch expansion. (number of branches) and employment generation; (c) Branch Performance Measures in terms of profit per branch, deposit per branch, business per branch and gross income per branch; (d) Employee performance measures in terms of profit per employee, income per employee and business per employee; (e) Profitability measures in terms of rate of profit on equity, profit per unit of deposit and profit per unit of advances. The authors found upwards trends in almost all the performance measures. Besides, inter bank and intra bank variations in performance measures were also observed by them. Observing ‘means’ and ‘standard deviations’ of selected measures in NCBs , the authors reported that the NCBs could maintain the rising trends. They mentioned that in spite of disinvestment of two NCBs and growing importance attached to the development of private banking, the NCBs still played a dominant role in the banking sector. They hoped that achievement of the NCB sector may further be enhanced if due care is taken to improve the existing planning and monitoring system of relative operational performance aspects of thee banks. Abedin(1990) in his book titled â€Å"Commercial Banking in Bangladesh: A Role of commercial Study of Disparities of Regional and Sectoral Growth Trends(1846-1986),† examined the role of commercial banks under the private ownership(1846-1970) in increasing regional and sectoral disparities in rendering the banking services in Bangladesh. He also investigated the part played by the commercial banks under the public ownership(1971-1986) in mitigating any such disparities. In this perspective the author tried to critically examine the growth trends of banking facilities in Bangladesh for the period from 1846 to 1986. This study analysed the impacts of nationalization of commercial banks on different regions and sectors of Bangladesh economy after the independence of the country. The author identified some factors influencing credit deployment such as legal requirements of cash reserve, political pressure on the bank executive etc. There are some other important factors, which should not be overlooked. Such as, motivation factor of the bank executives, job security, honesty etc. The study rightly identified that, regional economic disparities led to the growth of regional imbalances in the distribution of banking facilities. The political economy of the monetary policy and banking was also responsible for this(page 260). To discuss about limitations it can be said that, within the scope of a single thesis, to deal with a large number of issues is neither possible nor desirable. The author admitted that many current issues of banking operations could not be analyzed in this dissertation. It would be more worthy and specific if some of the key issues were mentioned. Chowdhury(1990) in his dissertation titled â€Å"An Evaluation of the Performance of Commercial Banks in Bangladesh† assessed the overall contribution of the commercial banks in the financial development of Bangladesh. He analyzed the trend of commercial bank’s branch expansion, deposit mobilization and deployment of credit for the period 1972-86. The productivity and profitability aspects of the Nationalised Commercial Banks (NCBs) and Private Commercial Banks(PCBs) for the period 1983-1986(covering a period of four years) were also examined in the dissertation. The study covered all commercial banks excluding foreign and Islamic banks and used secondary data. The study stated that the growth pattern of the financial development and the contribution of commercial banks towards financial development in Bangladesh was not only uneven but also very slow. The study observed that the growth and development of commercial banking in Bangladesh during 1972-86 was not satisfactory. The author observed that the trends of profits, profitability and productivity of the commercial banks, over the entire reference period, were characterized by uneven variations indicating unsystematic and unplanned business expansion of the commercial banks. The study identified that the frequent variations in the ‘burden’ of the commercial banks was mainly responsible for the uneven trends in profits and profitability. Like any other study , the study had also some shortcomings. The post denationalization and privatization period 1983-86 (four years) was too short in comparison to the pre denationalization or nationalized period 1972-1982 (11 years). The period considered (1983-1986 i.e. four years)for the comparative analysis between the performance of NCBs and PCBs was very early to mature. Since the study measured the productivity and profitability performance using single measures such as ratio of net profit volume of working fund, ratio of total income to total expenditure and ratio of total income to manpower expenses, those measures had limits to justify the results. If some additional measures had been used, then the results might be more realistic. So this study has some limitations and inadequacies which are expected to be minimized in the present study. Moniruzzaman and Rahman(1991) made a comparative study of pre and post denationalization periods in the article titled, â€Å"Profitability Performance of Denationalized Banks- A Comparative Study of the Pre and Post Denationalization Periods.† They Observed that the profitability performance of Uttora Bank Limited and Rupali Bank Limited became unsatisfactory after denationalization. But in the case of Pubali Bank Limited, they observed a Decreasing trend before denationalization and increasing trend after denationalization. The limitations of the paper are that, they had taken into consideration a very short period of three years before and three years after denationalization of the two banks. They did not try to find out why profits of those denationalized banks (Uttora, and Rupali Bank limted) were falling. They used the variables like total expenses , total income, net income and total assets only. They ignored other important variables, such as deposits, advances, number of Bank branches, number if employees etc. So the study was very limited and incomplete.

Platos Theory of Forms Essay Example for Free

Platos Theory of Forms Essay Explain and define Plato’s theory of Forms with your personal Criticism. Plato was born in Athens on 428 BC. He was a Greek philosopher who laid foundations of western philosophy. He raised basic questions and problems of western thought, goodness and virtue, truth and knowledge, body and soul, ideal political state, and use of Literature and Arts were some of the pre dominant topics of interest to Plato. Plato devoted himself completely to philosophy. He was a student of Socrates. He was a great admirer of Socrates and he initially joined Socrates school of thought to learn philosophy. Later after the death of Socrates, he found an academy where geometry was most prominent in the curriculum along with mathematics and philosophy. He was also influenced from pre-Socratic thinkers like Heraclitus and Parmenides; who rejected physical world and said that inner is more important than believed apparent world. He was also influenced by mathematical concepts derived from Pythagoras. He learned dialectical method of following truth in order to derive a philosophy, ideas and opinions. According to Encyclopedia Britannica literally word Form means, â€Å"The external shape, appearance or configuration of an object in contradistinction to the matter of which it is composed. In Aristotelian Metaphysics, the active, determining principle of a thing as distinguished from matter, the potential principle. † (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012) In Stanford Encyclopedia it is stated that, Plato’s term ‘eidos’ by which he identified the permanent reality that makes a thing what it is in contrast to the particulars that are finite and subject to change. The Platonic concept of form was itself derived from the Pythagorean theory that intelligible structures and not material elements, gave objects their distinctive characters. Theory of Forms states about what is real and what is not. The real is thought to be perfect whereas things which are not real are changing. Plato advocates that the world of forms is different from world of appearances. World of Forms can only be understood by philosophers and those who seek the truth. The dialogues in this theory portray knowledge as the process of leaving dark caves for going into sunlight. People who live in dark caves find their reality in shadows. These shadows are actually the symbol of the apparent world and it is just a shadow of what is real. Plato says that this world is not real; it is only the ‘world of forms’ which is real and never changes. It can be explained by many examples; for example we all try to seek knowledge but in reality what we learn is an opinion only. Likewise one thing is beautiful for someone but it can be ugly for someone else. People who have an urge to know and understand the true knowledge in the world can only touch the ‘intelligible world’. This world of objects is not independent because it depends on another real world of ‘pure forms or ideas’. Objects in this world have got their qualities from the ideal world. An object is beautiful because it takes that beauty from the ‘higher realm’. This concept of ideal Forms and forms of the world can be explained by geometry. Any square or triangle that we draw or construct is imperfect because it is ‘merely approximate the ideal triangle’. This ideal triangle has no connection with senses or reason because it is not concrete but a concept or an idea in the real world. Plato says that, the world of forms can be characterized as ‘changeless’ , ‘eternal’ and ‘real’ whereas physical world undergoes many changes and decay. The criticism on Plato’s theory of forms is that, he could not be able to draw a logical connection between ‘the realm of forms’ and ‘physical world’. According to Aristotle, this theory does not explain that how permanence and order can be attained in this world and how we can have objective knowledge of this physical world. Plato separated two worlds so distinctly that it failed to explain a former two points. The objectivity and permanence of real world does not explain this physical world hence establishes no strong connection between the two worlds. In my opinion Plato puts an argument that intellectual truth is truer than physical truth. This universe is created by God who is pure and the ultimate reality. He has no physical being but he has created a physical universe. This physical world is a copy of the real universe which only exists in the mind of creator. Similarly all horses are copies of one horse which exists at some higher land of truth. Likewise all beds are only copies of an ideal bed which lies in heaven probably. These examples are given by Plato to prove that world of forms is different from world of reality. It concludes that forms are relative and they are mere imitation of the real. The basic function of theory of forms is unification. It serves to unify ‘groups of objects or concepts’ by connecting them to a pure essence of the real world.

Managing the individual performance within organisations

Managing the individual performance within organisations Managing individual performance in organisations has focused on estimating performance and distributing reward, with effective performance which is seen as a result of interaction between individual ability and motivation. By and large, it is recognised that planning and enabling performance have a critical effect on individual performance. Managers use several techniques to find out performance and effort of employees. Performance appraisal is process which is taken by managers to review performance and formalize it. Performance management has critical effect on individual performance and in this case also on company goals. In this part of assignment performance appraisal and performance related pay will be described in depth. Pay Strategy Provide market competitive compensation that incorporates both salary and non-salary benefits, such as healthcare, retirement, life insurance, disability insurance, annual and sick leave, and other optional benefits. To assist in the administration of compensation plans, most organizations utilize some type of formal pay structure.   A formal pay structure provides the framework and formal structure for assessing jobs and grouping similar jobs together.  Ã‚  Factors used in grouping jobs within a pay structure often include: Complexity Responsibility Level of Suspension Accountability Organisational impact Market Value The two most common forms of pay structures are Grades and Bands.  Ã‚  The distance between the minimum and maximum of a pay range is called the range spread.   Grades typically have very narrow range spreads, while  Bands have very broad range spreads.   This has led to the commonly used term of broadband to describe the range of pay rates within a structure using a band approach. (http://www.hr.vt.edu/compensation/HYPERLINK http://www.hr.vt.edu/compensation/compmgt/comp_philosophy/index.html compmgt/comp_philosophy/index.html) For those employees who were with Virginia Tech around 1999 2000, you may remember when the state switched from pay grades to pay bands.   Unlike the old pay grade system where an increase in responsibilities often meant a promotion to the next pay grade, pay bands represent a much broader range of different types of jobs and levels of responsibility.   As you can see in the illustration below, in a grade system Job A and Job B are in different pay grades.  Ã‚  However, in pay band system such as we currently have at Virginia Tech, Job  A and Job B are in the same pay band.   Please notice however that even though the pay band is the same, there is still a significant difference in the target salary level due to the differences in the level of responsibility and job content of the two jobs. ( http://www.hr.vt.edu/compensation/ compmgt/comp_philosophy/index.html) The key points here are: Its not necessary to be moved from one band to another in order to receive a significant salary increase and Just because two positions have different levels of responsibility/complexity/etc, does not necessarily mean that they should be different pay brands. Figure 2. Pay Structure Grades and Bands www.hr.vt.edu/compensation/compmgt/images/L_grades_bands_med.jpgimgrefurl Performance appraisal Robert Bacal, Performance Management A Briefcase Book, (1999, p.12) tells Performance appraisal is usually considered to be the process and time when manager and employee sit down to review the employees performance over the last year, or month, or even shorter time spans. Most of the time people think of it as a once a year event, which is a recipe for disaster. Traditionally performance appraisal systems have provided a formalised process to review employee performance. This normally requires the manager and employee to take part in a performance review meeting. Why Should You Appraise Performance According to Dessler and Walker (1999, p.452) there are several reasons to appraise performance. First, appraisals provide information upon which promotion and salary decisions can be made. Second, they provide an opportunity for you and your subordinate to review the subordinates work-related behaviour. This in turn lets both of you develop a plan for correcting any deficiencies the appraisal might unearth, and reinforce the things the subordinate does right. Finally, the appraisal should be central to your companys career plan because it provides a good opportunity to review employees` career plans in light of their exhibited strengths and weaknesses. Performance Appraisal System flow In performance appraisal meetings, several of methods are used to document, or record, or summarize performance discussions, rating scales, critical incident summaries, etc. All these methods are gathered and processed by similar system flow. P.A Handbook (1995, p.8) describes performance appraisal system flow: Planning Developing Employee Performance Appraisal Plans (EPAP) Elements Standards (Benchmark Performance Standards) Employee Participation Documenting Elements and Standards Monitoring Feedback during the Performance Year Progress Reviews Developing Employees Formal Development Informal Development Rating Eligibility Interim Appraisals Rating Critical Elements Rating of Record Discussion with Employee Reconsideration Process Action Based on Performance Rewarding Performance Links to Other Personnel Actions Dealing with Poor Performance Figure 1. The Performance Appraisal Cycle (John Shields, 2007, p: 23, Managing employee performance and reward) As seem above performance appraisals are essential for the effective management and evaluation of staff. Appraisals help develop individuals, improve organizational performance and feed into business planning. Performance appraisals also typically feed into organizational annual pay and grading reviews, which commonly also happen at the same time the business planning for the next trading year. Performance appraisals are also essential for career and succession planning, staff motivation, attitude and behavior development, communicating and aligning individual and organizational aims and encouraging positive relationships between management and staff. Goals of the Performance Appraisal System According to Beer, Russell and Ralph (1995, 23) the process of performance management is one of the most important leadership responsibilities. The performance appraisal system has three primary goals: Provide a helpful structure, open and honest communication between the employee and his/her supervisor Improve employee development through performance feedback and through the identification of future professional development activities Measure and document job performance as a basis for making promotion, compensation and other personnel management decisions Dessler (2006, p.336) Managing employee performance is an integral part of the work that all managers and rating officials perform throughout the year. It is as important as managing financial resources and program outcomes because employee performance has an extreme effect on both the financial and program components of any organization. Beer, Russell and Ralph (1994, p.24) the effectiveness of appraisal systems hinges on a range of different factors. Three most common reasons for failure of an appraisal system are: Unclear performance criteria Poor information sharing and connection with the boss Appraiser missing information on the managers real performance Other problems are a lack of ongoing performance feedback, a lack of focus on management development, the review process lacking structure, etc. According to Claydon and Beardwell (2007, p.511) The purpose of performance planning, review and appraisal need to be made clear if employees at all levels in the organization are to play an active part in the process. It is possible that some employees and line managers may meet performance appraisal schemes with distrust, suspicion and fear, but an integrated effective process can lead to increased organizational performance and employee motivation. It is important for employees to be genuinely involved in the design of an appraisal scheme, the evaluation of performance, and the objective-setting process. An appraisal scheme should be set up in an atmosphere of openness, with agreement between management, employees and employee representatives on the design of the scheme. Employees need to have a clear understanding of the purpose of the process. However applying performance appraisal its own is not really worthy. Other performance management systems and performance appraisal systems should put in practice as a whole. Robert Bacal , Performance Management A Briefcase Book,(1999, p. 34) Pay for Performance Coy (2009, p.S7) in challenging economies it is believed that keeping employees happy is essential for organizations performance. To do this, tying employees` pay to their performance is widely popular. Indeed, with the emphasis on competitiveness, productivity, and the trend for virtually all employers is to tie at least some portion of their employees` pay to employees` and companys performance. In most theoretical models of HRM, pay is essential on the regulation of the employment relationship. Academician, policy makers, and corporate leaders recognize the difficulty of appraising the use of reward systems as a key element in the pursuit of substantive HRM goals of obligation, flexibility and quality. Pay for performance is a tool which HR professionals can wield in an effort to retain their best. When it is carefully applied, pay for performance systems can systematically link with employee goal achievement, providing very specific incentives for employee behavior that are in line with broader organizational objectives.(Bratton and Gold, 2007, p:238) Figure 3. A Model of Reward Management (Bratton and Gold, 2001, p:246) Advantages of PFP It is not difficult to see why PFP has attracted the interest of managers, consultants and government ministers. Bratton and Gold (2007, p.455) describes its theoretical attractions are considerable and include the following reasons: Attracting good performance Hewlett-Packard (Case study 1) In the early 90s, Hewlett-Packard seemed a perfect setting for innovations in pay. A so-called built-to-last company, it was highly decentralized and enjoyed a sense of mutual trust, high commitment, and wide use of management by objectives. The workforce was salaried and the merit system was based on peer comparisons at the salaried level. There were no executive bonuses. Stock options were awarded as recognition. But there was also a lot of pressure in the company, said Beer. Managers of thirteen units took the initiative of appealing to headquarters to try something new to spur on their employees. According to Beer, managers in many companies look to pay-for-performance for good reasons. They expect that it will attract and motivate people. They expect performance standards will outweigh the costs of whatever incentives they put in place. They also want protection against business exigencies: should the market go south, they dont want to be permanent ly stuck with new costs. (Lagace, 2003) Increasing in quality individual performance McDonalds (Case study 2) Base pay, rewards pay, and rewards program follows as Pay For Performance its the best results and great opportunities pay. Employees base pay is the most portion of their compensation. McDonalds sustain the competitiveness of their base pay through an annual review from both external market data and internal peer data. Moreover, they have a broadbanding compensation system that allows for flexibility in term of pay, movement and growth. In addition, incentive pay provides to their employees with the opportunity to earn compensation when their performance meet and exceed goals. The long term of incentives are granted to eligible employees to both reward and retain key employees who have shown sustained performance and can impact long term value creation at McDonalds. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/13396918/Performance-Appraisal) Enhancing communication BMW (Case study 3) In 2001, the new bonus payment arrangement applied for production employees in the Germany and UK operations. The bonus system applied to all 36,000 production employees who operated with defined performance targets. On top of the basic salary a fixed 25% additional bonus was paid to all employees for meeting prearranged quotas. This quota involved producing a set number of units to the companys quality standards by a workforce of an agreed size. Employees in each group were consulted and invited to comment on whether the quotas that were realistic and achievable. In addition, employees could also earn extra pay through a personal supplement, that was payable if an individual contributed to the group results. Expectations and specific goals were discussed and agreed in talks between the employee and the supervisor. Thus, an individuals contribution to the group was discussed every year and this assessment determined the personal supplement received. (Boddy. 1998 P. 283) Improving motivation The Christmas bonus at Gourmet Foods (Case study 4) for many years that Gourmet Foods never have Christmas bonus when Andrew Straw appointed as a managing director, he decided to give  £70 extra for Christmas bonus to all 120 staffs. When they heard the news everyone is very excited and looking forward to it without knowing of the amount of the bonus. After they got the pay slips they very disappointed because they feel it is too small. When their managing director found out about this he wish he did not give it to them and turn it into new packaging equipment instead.  . (Leopold, Harris and Watson, 2005, Page 218) Strengthening management control Entre Computer Services (Case study 5) Entre Computer Services founded by Ed Souders in 1980s. Souders is a former worker of IBM so he adopted many methods from it including appraisal, pay-for-performance, and sales incentives. Unfortunately, in the 1990s, his business was falling down and almost faced bankruptcy. He decided to make some changes. Using the Deming philosophy along with new strategies can improve sale performances and profits. He created trusting and working relationship. Encouraged more teamwork and less self driven so that his workers gain more passion and happiness toward their job. There are 4 main goals of this method: Ensure maximum productivity of the Support Team. Ensure the Personal Development of the Support Team. Ensure that Support Team members understand what their job responsibilities are. Ensure employees are as happy as they could possibly be while at work. (Mary Jenkins, 2002, p.176-178) Identifying developmental objects Strengthening the individual employment relationship at the expense of collective Gainsharing at Southern California Edison (SCE) (Case study 6) In 1994, electricity industry was removed from government control. That made the market more competitive. Therefore, SCE needed to change its compensation for competition. The change was the introduction of a Gainsharing arrangement. Employees were invited to sacrifice 5% of their basic salaries in return for up to 10% gainshare if the organization reaches profits targets. 100% of employees agreed to the plan. Most of them tried to create ideas to save money. For instance, employees agreed to wash their own overalls. The outcome was that the scheme generated an estimate $96 million and $40 million was paid out to employees. More important, the scheme played its part in getting employees focused on what was important in working cost-effectively and being involved in designing effective working methods. (Stredwick, 2005 P.355-356) Rewarding employees without needing to promote them. The Jennings Ford Accident Repair Centre (Case study 7) In the early 1890s Jennings main hobby was repairing and trading bicycles, moving into premises opposite the old Bridge Street showroom for sale of motorcars employing 6 people in 1911. The company, by meeting Ford Motor Companys exacting standards, was appointed an authorized dealer for Ford Motor Cars in 1917. The Jennings Ford Accident Repair Centre in Gateshead has received a reward from Ford Motor Company. Continuing to achieve and improve sales within the centre at the Eslington Park dealership has resulted in a reward for Jennings loyal and dedicated centre manger. The manager said They constantly strive to provide the best possible service to their customer and they are always looking at the ways how to future improve internal systems and procedures. (http://www.jennings-ford.co.uk/ ) Drawbacks of PFP Most of us are happy to see individuals rewarded for exceptional performance or effort and would like payment decisions to be based on such criteria. The problem arises when attempts are made to put the principles in practice. Wiscombe (2001) says that a system which is fair and objective in theory can easily fail to achieve when implemented. Arguing that PFP can have a role to play in organizations, but its positive effects are limited. Moreover, while not fundamentally flawed. PFP is difficult to implement effectively in practice. As a result, system fails as often as they succeed. The major reasons of failures are: Employees concentrate on their salary and bonuses instead of their jobs. Most of the staff is demotivated when they are told their ratings. Gallery Furniture Company (Case study 8) Jim Mclngvale, the owner-President of Gallery Furniture Company applied Dr. Demings advice to his business. In 1991, he took commissions, bonuses, and incentives of his sale persons but put it in to their salaries instead. These amazingly increase sales, profits and customer satisfactions; however, some sales people left the company because of disappointments but it still benefit the business in the long run. He also took the appraisal system off because he believes that his employees are not students. He treats his workers with respects and they do the same toward him.  (Mary Jenkins, 2002, p.170-171) People focus on their own objectives instead of cooperation with colleagues. Some managers change ratings for political reasons. When the results have an impact on pay levels, employees tend to downplay their weakness. As a result development needs are not discussed or addressed. Managers avoid demotivating their staff. As a result poor performers are reward as well as good performers. Homeserve Ltd: The new performance bonus (Case study 9) Jean Frear got a new job at Homeserve Ltd as the HR director. She tried to use new bonus payment method which she think it worked very well at her previous job, the Moddens Food. Normally, the engineers work on Mon to Fri and will get better overtime rate if they work on Sat and Sun. To make it more competitive, she cut the premium overtime rates for Sat and Sun also the evening delivery then based on working hours only. After one year of this experiment, she got the result. The number of the calls from customers is increase about missing parts of the hardware. Overall salary bill is higher than ever but the performance is going the opposite way. She found that the engineers tend to work only for their shifts and hardly willing substitute for the others on holidays or sick leave. (Leopold, Harris and Watson, 2005, page 222-223) PFP systems tend to discourage creative thinking, challenging of established ways of doing things and questioning attitude among employees. Low income often leads managers to reduce ratings, creating a situation in which perfect employee performance is not rewarded. Pay strategy at Eastern Power plc (Case study 10) At Eastern Power plc, they use the Pay for Performance method to calculate employees salary. To make it convenient, it will be decided by senior managements. After 2 years, this method has been complained as an unfair system by most of the employees. According to the line managements, they reported that they had no idea how to improve their performance because the method is unclear. (Leopold, Harris and Watson, 2005, Page 215) A general tendency is the increasing number of organizations where total compensation contains a part depending on performance. According to the consultation firm Hewitt Associates, 50% of the firms used pay-for-performance in 1990, and in 2000 already 80% (Wiscombe 2001). An analogous tendency is also witnessed in Estonia. According to the salary survey conducted by the consultation firm Fontes in 2005, compensation policies of 91% of the firms in the survey include some kind of pay-for-performance. Opinions about the effectiveness of pay-for-performance are different. The survey conducted by the Hewitt Associates in 2000 suggested that even these enterprises which have used the pay-for-performance system do not completely believe in its effectiveness: 21% of the firms said they do not believe its effect on improving work performance; 57% believed the effect was limited. A study conducted by the same firm in 1995 indicated that the pay-for-performance system had failed in 48% of the organizations (Wiscombe 2001, www.HYPERLINK http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/23/06/78/index.phpworkHYPERLINK http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/23/06/78/index.phpforce.com/archive/feature/23/06/78/index.php.) Results of other surveys confirm the success of using pay-for-performance. An analysis of pay-for-performance programmes conducted in the USA in the second half of 1990s suggests that performance improves in approximately two out of three programs (Heneman, Ledford, and Gresham 2000). There are various reasons for the contradictory opinions and results. One may be definitely different methods which are used, differences in business sector, lack of clarity of concepts used by researches. On the other hand, it can be assumed that application of pay-for-performance and its results can only be opposing because the creating, implementation of the respective system and assessment of the results must often link conflicting interests of different stakeholders. Other Case Studies Tele-working at the Mid Western Bank For The Mid Western Bank the Individual Performance is believed to be the best way to rate their staffs bonus payments. To make sure of this conclusion they set 4 aspects which are correctness, attendance levels, cooperation (which includes teamwork) and communication skills to confirm it. By making everyone concentrate on only their job, for the top performance employee can have 25 percents of their pay. Unfortunately, this result can be applied effectively with call centre staffs a competitive labour market. The other concern is that this method encourage employee to be more selfish and lost interest in helping the others and the absenteeism is also rising even though it will be effect the rating. (Leopold, Harris and Watson, 2005, Page 234) Nucor Corporation, United States Nucor Corporation, the largest steel producer in the United States. The secret to success is to give huge bonuses of 100% or even 150% to 160%, thus, every employee can see how the incentive arrangement affects their wages each week. Even in the down times, the company doesnt lay people off. Such as, the plant shuts down its production lines for a day or two a week but salaried executives still work. About 80% of Nucors employees are on this production-incentive plan. Other employees also have performance-based compensation. When the whole organization is involved: To make it work, the most important thing is the involvement of the whole company, even if there is only a 1 percent profit, it should be divided among everyone, including the administration. Everyone is part of the team building. For instance, gives non-production employees other awards -from a free dinners for outstanding work to one share of stock for every year of employment. (www.findarticles.com) Health Net of California Health Net of California announced that was paying $18 million to 70 physician groups statewide in recognition of their efficiency and quality in 2004. Of the total, $5 million was tied for the Pay for Performance program, which rewards physician groups for providing high-quality clinical care and customer service. In addition, Health Net is working with through the Integrated Healthcare Association to make wider the potential of Pay for Performance quality measures and increase the proportion of compensation for physician groups that present a commitment to quality and efficiency. PFP bonuses were paid to Health Nets commercial physician groups. The other quality disbursements, which are paid to commercial and Medicare physician groups, include shared-risk funds, financial investments in technology and a generic drug incentive program. (www.findarticles.com) Abbey National Alan Eagles role as Assistant Manager of the Abbey National Community Partnership is to identify opportunities for staff who want to volunteer. He run a matched time scheme where staff can claim up to 35 hours of paid work time per year to match their own volunteering time commitment. Why would a banker necessarily want to be a treasurer in their spare time? Employee volunteers are like any other volunteers they need to feel that their contribution is worth it. To ensure this, organizations need to offer volunteer roles that are properly thought out. They believe that an employee who volunteers can specify personal objectives for community activities, as well as work related goals, in their annual appraisal. If they achieve those goals they are financially rewarded. (http://www.voluntarymatters3.org/motivation/case_studies/case_study3.html) The Royal Bank of Scotland In 1998, the company launched RBSelect that is a total reward benefits package giving employees. The package is divided into six groups: private health cover; insurance, including life assurances for spouses and partners; saving such as voluntary contribution to pension schemes; lifestyle features, which include the managers company car, childcare vouchers and retail voucher; basic salary; and holiday. Even the Christmas bonus can be traded in for a different benefit. Employees can change their benefits package once a year. The new total reward system has been positively received and is expected to have a positive impact on recruitment and retention. (Boddy, 1998 P.282-283) The National Security Personnel System Nearly all of the employees in the Defense Departments new personnel system were rewarded for their job performance in their first paychecks in 2009, with the average pay raise and bonus totaling 8.35%. 98% of the more than 170,000 employees rated under the National Security Personnel System received performance-based payout, meaning their supervisors graded their work as a 3 or better out of 5 possible points. The majority of those employees 55.4% earned a rating of 3, defining them as valued performers. Worker in the Washington area received the highest overall increase of the General Schedule employees, at 4.78%. General Schedule employees have earnings potential beyond their annual raise, while under NSPS, within-grade pay boosts, quality step increase and bonuses are factored into the overall performance-based pay increase. (http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0209/021809b1.htm) Lloyds TSB STAFF at Lloyds Banking Group is set to get about pounds 80min bonuses despite amulti-billion pound bailout from the taxpayer. The payments were apparently authorized by the Government as part of the deal for it to take a controlling interest of at least 65% in the firm. The figure is lower than the pounds 120m Lloyds bosses were thought to be seeking, but will still provoke controversy over rewards for failure. Newspaper reports suggested that some 4,000 junior staff will each get about pounds 1,000 this year, making up half the pay-out. Unions have argued that staff from the former Lloyds TSB deserve to receive bonuses, because their side of the business remained in profit while its merger partner HBOS lost billions of pounds. A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Lloyds had agreed that there would be no discretionary bonuses paid in 2009 except to the most junior staff, earning an average of pounds 20,000. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6784/is_2009_March_10/ai_n31418985/) General Motors-Powertrain Division In the mid 1980s, GMs sale was going down dramatically and looks to be continued for some times. On contrary, new Japanese company was booming. Behind their success GM found that they used Dr. W. Edwards Demings rules. After trying this method for one year GM Powertrains H.R. staffs agree that appraisal system has some flaws. (Mary Jenkins, 2002, p.148) Strategic approach to rewarding performance at Unilever At Unilever, to improve its employees performance and cut off unnecessary pay the manager created the model proved to be effective as global called Work Levels. With six levels of qualitatively different work in the company use to encourage people to work as a team instead of oneself. Predictably, many workers complained at the beginning but years after years it became clear that the method benefits both employees and the company. (Duncan Brown, Michael Armstrong, 1999, p.92-95) Conclusion The organizations having job evaluation in practice, are determined the causes of pay inequity through the carefully implementation of pay design that is based on base pay structure. A tentative effort to introduce this discrete and coherent function is required to carry out the comprehensive review. There must be a system of inequity recognition through the organization achieves its smart objectives and vital to prioritize the analysis which are very likely to enlighten on any potential inequities. It is a management tool that asserts the jobs of comparable value are treated and paid equally and emphasizes to estimate the size of inequity. Nevertheless, change in the pay system in any organization can be resistive. It can be suspected among the employee in term of pay changes, apparently. The purpose of pay system design should not be decrease or cut the employees pay rather than fixing the inequity within the organization and taking all the relative perspective into account before the implementation of the required method. To make it constructive, expert facilitation of job design team can be useful to ensure that safe and sound primary principles are going to be followed while the organization gets its cherished goals. In addition, where it eliminates many flaws in term of analysing the jobs worth but also effectively productive with the employers perspective. This method can be typically undertaken by the employers to prevent them from prejudice or discrimination and to establish a platform where everyone has got equal opportunity to build up their career. No doubt, it enhances and defines an appropriate and decisive track for any organization practicing this feasible method that can be comp

The Devils Shadow :: essays research papers

The Devil's Shadow Time Setting: The Devil's Shadow by Clifford Lindsey Alderman took place in the late seventeenth century from 1692-1693. This is the time period that the Salem Witch Trials took place. The main plot of the story rested on the events leading up to the Salem Witch Trials, the trials themselves, and the aftermath of the trials. Detailed accounts of witch executions, the actual trials, and the events that caused the trials were discussed in the story. Place Setting: Most of the action in this story took place in Salem, Massachusetts. This was the birthplace of the witchcraft hysteria and it was also the actual site of the Salem Witch Trials. The town of Salem, Massachusetts in the late seventeenth century was a small puritan community that was largely uneducated and very superstitious. Since many lacked education, they did not understand many events that happened in their daily lives. Many things that went wrong in their daily lives would be blamed on witchcraft or sorcery. Such common things as burnt bread or broken plates would be blamed on the supernatural. Many people, especially the uneducated, firmly believed in the existence of witches and warlocks. They believed that such individuals had the power to perform "black magic" that caused some kind of trouble. Every time something bad happened they would blame it on witches and witchcraft. Main Characters: One of the main characters in this story was Tituba, an African slave woman from Barbados. She was purchased in Barbados by a merchant named Samuel Parris. She lived in Barbados until Samuel Parris brought her to Salem to work as his servant. She was known to practice Obeah, an African cult sorcery. People who performed or practiced Obeah were said to be able to predict the future, make magical charms, and drive away evil spirits. Tituba was accused of teaching witchcraft to a small group of girls in Salem. Samuel Parris, another main character in this story, was a merchant who attended Harvard University. He was the owner of Tituba and her husband. He had studied to become a minister before he left Harvard. He was a business man who traded slaves, sugar, and rum in Barbados. Things began to not work out for him when he started making less and less money. He gave up his career as a merchant in 1689 and moved to Salem to become a minister. Other main characters in this story include the girls that were taught witchcraft by Tituba, the judges in the courtroom, and the men and women who were accused of witchcraft.

The Causes of the American Revolution Essay -- Essays on American Revo

The American Revolution began for many reasons, some are; long-term social, economic, and political changes in the British colonies, prior to 1750 provided the basis for and started a course to America becoming an independent nation under it's own control with its own government. Not a tyrant king thousands of miles away. A huge factor in the start of the revolution was the French and Indian War during the years of 1754 through 1763; this changed the age-old bond between the colonies and Britain, its mother. To top it off, a decade of conflicts between the British rule and the colonists, starting with the Stamp Act in 1765 that eventually led to the eruption of war in 1775, along with the drafting of The Declaration of Independence in 1776. Originally the fighting between Britain and France began in 1754 with a quarrel in North America. It had two different names. In America it is known as the French and Indian War. In Britain and Europe it is known as the Seven Years? War, because the fighting lasted from 1756 to 1763. A result of the French and Indian war was a British decision to reconsider its relationship with its colonies. Prior to the French and Indian War, Britain had loosely controlled its colonies. British leaders regarded the colonial government as inferior. As long as only a few serious conflicts between Britain and America occurred, the British government permitted colonial assemblies to oversee the royal governors and to pass new laws that suited to the needs of the colonists. In addition, the British did not always enforce their laws in the colonies. For example, the British Customs Service, which was unproductive, understaffed, and open to corruption, did not enforce the Molasses Act of 1733. British leaders did not insist on strict enforcement of this tax or other commercial duties because thriving American trade was making Britain very wealthy and powerful nation. British statesman and political theorist Edmund Burke, a orator who successfully championed many human rights and causes by bringing people to attention through his moving speeches. Described his country?s policies toward the colonies as ?salutary neglect? because he believed their leniency was actually beneficial. As a result of this salutary neglect, the colonists developed a political and economic system that was virtually independent. They were loyal, although somewhat... ... Townshend duties on certain imported goods. Indeed, American patriots used tar and feathers to wage a war of intimidation against British tax collectors. These were the actions that made our country leap towards a revolution and eventually make it free. As the first line of the constitution says ?We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.?, and this selection along with the rest of the constitution still stands today and has not been changed or altered since it was made. Works Cited Carroll, Andrew, Letters for a Nation, Broadway New York, 1997 Gottschalk, Louis. "Cause of Revolution." Schenckman Publishing Company, Inc.: Cambridge, 2011. "American Revolution" Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution Olsen, Keith W., et al. An Outline of American History. Web. 20 July 2015. http://202.194.48.102/englishonline/world/AmericanStudies/Am-history/index.asp The Causes of the American Revolution Essay -- Essays on American Revo The American Revolution began for many reasons, some are; long-term social, economic, and political changes in the British colonies, prior to 1750 provided the basis for and started a course to America becoming an independent nation under it's own control with its own government. Not a tyrant king thousands of miles away. A huge factor in the start of the revolution was the French and Indian War during the years of 1754 through 1763; this changed the age-old bond between the colonies and Britain, its mother. To top it off, a decade of conflicts between the British rule and the colonists, starting with the Stamp Act in 1765 that eventually led to the eruption of war in 1775, along with the drafting of The Declaration of Independence in 1776. Originally the fighting between Britain and France began in 1754 with a quarrel in North America. It had two different names. In America it is known as the French and Indian War. In Britain and Europe it is known as the Seven Years? War, because the fighting lasted from 1756 to 1763. A result of the French and Indian war was a British decision to reconsider its relationship with its colonies. Prior to the French and Indian War, Britain had loosely controlled its colonies. British leaders regarded the colonial government as inferior. As long as only a few serious conflicts between Britain and America occurred, the British government permitted colonial assemblies to oversee the royal governors and to pass new laws that suited to the needs of the colonists. In addition, the British did not always enforce their laws in the colonies. For example, the British Customs Service, which was unproductive, understaffed, and open to corruption, did not enforce the Molasses Act of 1733. British leaders did not insist on strict enforcement of this tax or other commercial duties because thriving American trade was making Britain very wealthy and powerful nation. British statesman and political theorist Edmund Burke, a orator who successfully championed many human rights and causes by bringing people to attention through his moving speeches. Described his country?s policies toward the colonies as ?salutary neglect? because he believed their leniency was actually beneficial. As a result of this salutary neglect, the colonists developed a political and economic system that was virtually independent. They were loyal, although somewhat... ... Townshend duties on certain imported goods. Indeed, American patriots used tar and feathers to wage a war of intimidation against British tax collectors. These were the actions that made our country leap towards a revolution and eventually make it free. As the first line of the constitution says ?We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.?, and this selection along with the rest of the constitution still stands today and has not been changed or altered since it was made. Works Cited Carroll, Andrew, Letters for a Nation, Broadway New York, 1997 Gottschalk, Louis. "Cause of Revolution." Schenckman Publishing Company, Inc.: Cambridge, 2011. "American Revolution" Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution Olsen, Keith W., et al. An Outline of American History. Web. 20 July 2015. http://202.194.48.102/englishonline/world/AmericanStudies/Am-history/index.asp

Health Care” Right or Privilege” Essay

There has been an active debate about health care reform among many Americans in the United States. Some the recent concerns and questions involving a right to health care are access, fairness, efficiency, cost, choice, value, and quality. Health Care† Right or Privilege† Health care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector. Health insurance is now primarily provided by the government in the public sector, with 60-65% of healthcare provision and spending coming from programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration (â€Å"Health care in the United States.,† 2011). In the United States, ownership of the health care system is mainly in private hands, though federal, state, county, and city governments also own certain facilities. The non-profit hospitals share of total hospital capacity has remained relatively stable (about 70%) for decades. There are also privately owned for-profit hospitals as well as government hospitals in some locations, mainly owned by county and city governments. There is no nationwide system of government-owned medical facilities open to the general public but there are local government-owned medical facilities open to the general public. The federal Department of Defense operates field hospitals as well as permanent hospitals (the Military Health System), to provide military-funded care to active military personnel. The federal Veterans Health Administration operates VA hospitals open only to veterans, though veterans who seek medical care for conditions they did not receive while serving in the military are charged for services(â€Å"Health care in the United States.,† 2011). Hospitals provide some outpatient care in their emergency rooms and specialty clinics, but primarily exist to provide inpatient care. Hospital emergency departments and urgent care centers are sources of sporadic problem-focused care. Surgery centers are examples of specialty clinics. Hospice services for the terminally ill who are expected to live six months or less are most commonly subsidized by charities and government. Prenatal, family planning, and â€Å"dysplasia† clinics are government-funded obstetric and gynecologic specialty clinics respectively, and are usually staffed by nurse practitioners (â€Å"Health care in the United States.,† 2011). Over 45 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured. Those living in poverty exhibit the worst health status. Employment, education, income, and race are important factors in a person’s ability to acquire healthcare access. Having established that there are people lacking healthcare access due to multi-factorial etiologies, the question arises as to whether the intervention necessary to assist them in obtaining such access should be considered a privilege, or a right(â€Å"Health care in the United States.,† 2011). An active debate about health care reform in the United States concerns questions of a right to health care, access, fairness, efficiency, cost, choice, value, and quality. Some have argued that the system does not deliver equivalent value for the money spent. The USA pays twice as much yet lags behind other wealthy nations in such measures as infant mortality and life expectancy, though the relation between these statistics to the system itself is debated. Currently, the USA has a higher infant mortality rate than most of the world’s industrialized nations and life expectancy is ranked 42nd in the world. (â€Å"Health care in the United States.,† 2011) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law (along with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010) is the principal health care reform legislative action of the 111th United States Congress (à ¢â‚¬Å"Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,† 2011). A majority of the states, and numerous organizations and individual persons, have filed actions in federal court challenging the constitutionality of PPACA. As of September 2011, federal appellate courts are almost evenly divided on the constitutional issues raised in this litigation; at the district court level, three judges upheld the constitutionality of PPACA and three declared it unconstitutional, in part. PPACA includes numerous provisions to take effect over several years beginning in 2010(â€Å"Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,† 2011). Perhaps the biggest disappointment of our legislative and executive branches of government in the creation of â€Å"Obama Care† is that they lacked vision and a concrete understanding of the bigger picture when crafting and ‘pushing’ this new agenda. With a broad brush assessment, we can see that the architects of â€Å"Obama Care† failed in addressing the following two areas: Bridging Safety loophole s that needlessly lead to over 100,000 medical-related deaths and hundreds of thousands more in injuries in American medical institutions each year. Propagating the misperception that a one-tiered, national health system plan, with greater centralized control, can work somehow ‘better’. One of the provisions I disagree with is the shared responsibility requirement, commonly called an individual mandate, it requires that nearly all persons not covered by Medicaid, Medicare, or other insurance programs purchase and comply with an approved insurance policy or pay a penalty. The only people exempt from the mandate are individuals of recognized religious sects or those individuals able to obtain a waiver from the Internal Revenue Service in cases of financial hardship(â€Å"Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,† 2011) . The Act’s provisions are intended to be funded by a variety of taxes and offsets. Major sources of new revenue include a much-broadened Medicare tax on incomes over $200,000 and $250,000, for individual and joint filers respectively, an annual fee on insurance providers, and a 40% tax o n â€Å"Cadillac† insurance policies. There are also taxes on pharmaceuticals, high-cost diagnostic equipment, and a federal sales tax on indoor tanning services. Total new tax revenue from the Act will amount to $409.2 billion over the next 10 years. $78 billion will be realized before the end of fiscal 2014(â€Å"Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,† 2011). I have two problems with what many Americans now refer to as â€Å"Obama Care†, one I am no fan of paying higher taxes. Any economist will tell you that raising taxes does not stimulate economic growth and without economic growth people will continue to spend less, businesses will not hire new employees or expand, and the unemployment rate will continue to rise. Also an increased unemployment rate means more people in need of government assistance, along with more Americans unable to afford health care. So in short our government is going to raise taxes to give all Americans health care which will in effect cause more Americans to become unemplo yed and lose there health care and become subject to a penalty. Sounds like the democratic version of utopia is nothing more than a double edge sword doomed for failure. The concept of utopia is an unrealistic dream; for each person’s vision of utopia is different. The other problem I have with Obama’s centralized health care plan is that we are letting government dictate what we as American have to purchase or be subject to a fine if we do not comply. Our constitution states each person has the right to pursue happiness, it does not say the government should or could guarantee it, just that you have to right to pursue it. Some people suggest making healthcare mandatory is the same as having to purchase automobile insurance, the only problem with this type of thinking is that you do not have to drive or own a car. If you choose not to, no one fines you for it. I view health care as a right in respect that I have the right to purchase health care or to choose not too. I believe all Americans have the right to choice and should not be fined or penalized if they choose to exercise that right. Too many people today view our government as a separate entity and believe that it owes them something. We as Americans are in fact the government, for we are a government of the people for the people. References Health care in the United States. (2011). In . Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Health_care_in_the_United_States&oldid=456210485 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (2011). In . Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act&oldid=456759152

Literacy Narrative Essay

Throughout my childhood, the idea of having a college education was greatly stressed. As a result, it was my duty as the next generational child, to excel in my studies and achieve a life of prosperity and success. Learning became the basic foundation of my growth. Therefore, my youth was overtaken by many hours spent reading and writing what was known to be correct â€Å"Standard† English. I first found this to be a great shortcoming, but as I grew older, I began to realize the many rewards acquired by having the ability to be literate. During adolescence, I began reading and writing through a fundamental learning program called, â€Å"Hooked on Phonics. † This program consisted of long hours spent reading short novels and writing elementary phrases which were commonly taught in the second and third grade. With the motto, â€Å"Improve your child’s reading and writing skills in just four weeks! † I was bound to become the next Mark Twain. The method of this course specialized in the improvements of word acquisition rates as well as reading speed; however, it lacked in the area of teaching comprehension. At a young age, I was instilled with the dire need to be highly educated and although I was unable to experience a fun and adventurous childhood like many other children, I am grateful for being raised with a greater knowledge and wisdom than that ingrained in many. From my past experiences, I have grown to prefer reading over writing. When I am reading, I can visualize the text in any way that I see fit. It is almost as if I am rewriting the novel using the illusions that I feel express the words in a passage. For example, in the current independent novel I am reading, it portrays a woman of high stature who is able to lure men in, like a hunter does its prey, and feed on their weaknesses. When I am reading this phrase I automatically visualize a fisherman trying to catch a fish using his worms as bait. Although this illustration has no reference to the novel, it is the picture that I chose to use, depicting the woman and her way of getting what she wants. As the audience, I have control over what I am reading and can express myself in any way that I would like, without having to worry about what society thinks of my views and opinions. Unlike reading, when writing, it is important that grammar, spelling and vocabulary terms are used correctly, therefore restricting me from writing in the way that I would prefer. The most stressed phrase while in high school was, â€Å"It is not the content of the essay, but rather the mechanics of grammar and speech that are most prominent. † Unfortunately, I have never been one to enjoy the art of writing. In fact, I was recently given a diagnostic test, determining at which level I write and whether or not I should be upgraded to a higher achieving English class. Unfortunately, I did not pass the test with flying colors. This was not due to the fact that I am incapable of writing a good paper, but rather that I am unable to write in a limited amount of time, using the emphasized principles of correct; grammar, vocabulary and spelling. In the reading, Shitty First Drafts, by author Anne Lamott, it is a fact that in order to write a brilliant paper, a first draft must be created. According to Lamott, â€Å"The Only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts, all writers write them. † (94) This is a quote in which I can relate being that in order for me to begin a final draft, I must first have written a first draft, usually one that is in absolute disarray. From here I can begin my journey into the final essay. This is one reason why my diagnostic writing was so disorganized; I didn’t prepare any sort of rough draft to guide me through the writing processes, which inevitably lead to my remaining semester in Writing 01 instead of Writing 10. Writing is an area that requires much preparation and efficiency, ultimately resulting in my reluctance to write just for the heck of it. Overall, writing is too complex! It is rather important to be well-rounded in the aspects of reading and writing. Our country is built on the belief that English is one of the greatest languages of the world and without it anything properly called â€Å"thought† is impossible. Although there are many types of different cultures in America, in order for us to communicate, it is greatly emphasized that we all have the ability to speak and write in the same language. For instance, if I were to visit a foreign country, it would be to my benefit to speak the same language as others. This same principle is being stressed in America today. As foreigners migrate to America, they have an obligation to learn the culture, speech and skill, learned by other American citizens and use them to their own advantage as a mean to get ahead in life. It has become a proven fact that in order to succeed in America-with a number of relatively minor although often highly visible exceptions-it is important to speak, read, and understand English as most Americans speak it. It is also a fact that people who don’t learn to speak â€Å"Standard† English have a much more difficult time achieving job and career success. An example of this theory is found in the short story titled, â€Å"Talking in the New Land,† by Edite Cunha. Edite and her family are a valid example of how, speaking one language which is culturally different than that of the common language can be a disadvantage in the long run. Throughout the story Edite and her family struggled to communicate because they had no knowledge of how to convey their issues to others. According to Edite, â€Å"I looked at her blankly, not knowing what to say. What was a Social Security number? † (549) As a result, her father was unable to collect on his unemployment and they failed to pay their rent. This is largely due to their inability to speak the English language. In any event, Edite had no choice other than to begin her lessons in learning â€Å"Standard† English for the sake of her and her family. The American language, commonly referred to as â€Å"Standard† English, is one of the most widespread languages in the world and therefore has become a tool that can help people of different backgrounds communicate with one another. It bestows a power that is almost invaluable, a power which allows us to have our own views, opinions and preferences. It gives us the freedom of speech, (The First Amendment) which inevitably allows us to express our ideas and thoughts in every fashion possible, without having to gain permission from the rest of society. There are many connections between my reading experience and the power of language. I am given the power to read in the privacy of my own home without the interruptions of others. Therefore, I am able to read aloud and gain an understanding of the text, without having an audience to critique my reading skills. I am given the power to express my opinions and views without having to debate why I had that sort of reaction to the reading. Lastly, I can read at my own pace. I have no obligation to read speedily in order to seem as though I have no complications with the words in the text. In my opinion, people should be given the right to speak and read in any language that they wish. Although, it may benefit them to be knowledgeable in the speech that is being taught and spoken in the common country, everyone has their own cultural background and each has the right to be literate in the way that they desire. They were given the right to freedom of speech through the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and therefore, have the right to speak in their own native language. Literacy plays a major role in the lives of humans today. It gives us the power to read, speak and write and is therefore a valuable asset to society and the development of its economy.