The Influence of Technology in Human Resource Management

Information technology, also known as IT, has drastically changed the workplaces of the world in the past 50 years. The field of human resources has historically been limited to a clerical or administrative role in the business arena, dealing mainly with tasks like payroll or attendance. In the modern market, new core HR responsibilities include recruitment and training, oversight of legal and regulatory compliance, benefits administration and the safeguarding of confidential employee information, along with many more. These tasks cannot be carried out effectively without the use of high-tech tools. Advances in technology have not only made the handling of basic administrative tasks more efficient, they have expanded the role of HR and created new disciplines within the field. Database management systems are a prime example of how technology has facilitated the growth and expansion of the HR field. Using a DBMS streamlines the management of employee information. Data entry and tracking, analysis of employee information, benefits administration and applicant tracking are all made easier and less time consuming, with the information available and organized with the punch of a key (Laudon and Laudon, 165). Human resource outsourcing is a rapidly growing field all on its own. Many businesses, small and large alike, are turning to HR specialization firms such as Aon Human Capital Services, Hewitt Associates, and Affiliated Computer Services. The Braun Consulting Group reported that while saving money is the reason for outsourcing for about half of the companies surveyed, gaining outside expertise, improving service quality, and being able to focus on their core business were also cited as key motivators. These companies characteristically offer services in four principal areas of HR functionalities: payroll, time and labor management, benefits administration, and HR management. Some of the most widely used software applications are payroll and compensation management software. Payroll software is designed to automate payroll tasks, including managing payroll tax issues like federal and state calculations. Additionally, payroll software assists in creating paychecks, filing tax forms, and creating employee tax records. Compensation management oftware automates salary reviews, plans, and budgeting to name a few. This software may be hosted in-house by the operating organization, or may be web-based. Web based providers include Oasis Outsourcing, Intuit, and Amycheck. These service providers have assisted small businesses and large corporations alike in streamlining payroll and benefits management. Employee recruitment and training are widely considered to be two of the most important t asks in human resource management. Attracting and retaining competent, reliable employees is necessary for success in any business. The advent of the Internet has drastically altered the way organizations search for candidates, and vice versa. The Internet allows businesses to reach a much greater pool of candidates with a greater range of knowledge, skills, and abilities, which in turn increases the odds of finding a good match for the position(s). Larger organizations often employ their HRIS departments in developing in-depth company websites with detailed job descriptions and requirements, as well as the organization’s mission statement and corporate culture, in an effort to attract employees that fit with the attitude and values of the company. Smaller organizations cannot afford to create and maintain a large and often expensive website like this, but there are many options for outsourcing online recruitment. In addition to outsourced companies, large job posting websites such as Monster. com are popular sites for people searching for jobs to post resumes and search for a wide range of openings. Technology has also been implemented in training employees. E-learning is a widely used tool in employee training and development. The term â€Å"E-learning† includes any form of training done with electronic support. This includes online training and development, tele-class training, chat room training, and video training. The advantages of these forms of training include convenience and the ability to control the pace of the instruction. The use of this medium, however, should mainly be limited to teaching the basic concepts and skills needed for the job, with more in-depth classic training for more specific skills or needs (Smith and Mazin 69). â€Å"Communication is the key to any change† (Rudnick, 45). In any business, ffective communication between employees, managers, and customers is not just a nice perquisite, it is vital to the success (or failure) of the organization. The era of paper memos, faxes, and â€Å"regular† mail is on its way out the door. Email has rapidly become the most widely used form of communication in the business world. Instant messaging, internal databases, and bulletin boards are also well used to communicate with suppliers, employees, and customers al ike (Laudon and Laudon, 191). The explosion of cellular phone and smartphone usage has also transformed the way organizations do business. Many organizations are allowing employees to work more hours from home, conducting business over the internet and phone. Hours are more flexible, and it is no longer necessary for a physical presence in the office for a large portion of the work. Communications with customers are also altered. The Internet has opened a vast new market to many businesses. A webpage has the potential to introduce the company to millions of new customers, and also allows for easier payments, shopping, and ordering, all from home. Businesses also have an increased opportunity for improving customer relations, thanks to the Internet. Feedback is available almost instantly via email, online discussion forums, and social media. The speed of the feedback allows organizations more time to troubleshoot problems and build relationships with satisfied, returning customers. In HR, this growth in the means of communication has opened new paths to employee relations as well. Many times, employees have avoided complaining about valid concerns due to fear of retaliation. The ability to send emails provides a relative anonymity that allows for more freedom of communication between the human resources department and a company’s workers. This also allows more ready access to information such as disciplinary guidelines and employee handbooks; keeping employees informed helps to improve the overall attitude of the workplace. One of the newest trends is social networking sites. Millions of people are registered with such sites as Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn. A TUC briefing on social media and HR lists some of the larger issues surrounding the use of these sites. Usage of these sites by employees certainly could be trouble for human resource managers. There is the worry that accessing these sites during work hours, on work stations, will interfere with productivity. Also, the conduct of employee’s on these websites has become a potential concern. Posts dealing with breaches of commercial confidentiality or undermining a company’s reputation could potentially require disciplinary action. These issues are still controversial at this point. Many advances in technology pertain to assisting disabled people in performing everyday tasks that they would otherwise be unable to do. As Don Dalton says, these solutions â€Å"remove the â€Å"dis† from various disabilities† and make their transition into the workforce much easier. This allows companies to hire a more diverse staff and keeps them compliant with EEOC. For people with physical impairments, Dalton lists a wide variety of available technology that can assist in using a computer, for example. The most cost effective is voice recognition software, but there are also many different types of keyboards as well as a head-mounted mouse controller that can be obtained for use in the workplace. Blind people also have options available. Speech synthesizers, document readers, and screen review packages give the blind the ability to access computer documents as easily as those who can see. These technologies and more allow companies to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. With this explosion of connectivity and technology in the workplace, security is also a huge concern. Hacker, theft, fraud and vandalism have been a classic worry of a business’s databases (Laudon and Laudon, 232). With the growing computer literacy of the workforce, and the growing use of computers at work for personal reasons, organizations are becoming more worried about threats from online sources to their networks. Malware became the leading threat to business’s online security in 2007 (Dumitru, 2). While these problems may seem to be a problem for the IT department, the human resources department should also keep up to date on computer security as well. The information in employee files is sensitive, and every precaution should be taken to insure it stays private, including tough security policies as well as strong firewalls. â€Å"The greatest tragedy in America is not the destruction of our natural resources, though that tragedy is great. The truly great tragedy is the destruction of our human resources by our failure to fully utilize our abilities, which means that most men and women go to their graves with their music still in them. Oliver Wendell Holmes said it best. The abilities, knowledge, and talents of an organization’s workforce are the biggest assets. Without qualified, motivated workers, any business great or small is doomed to failure. The past fifty years have been a remarkable tale of technological advances, however it should always be remembered that th e technology is here to assist and uplift men in their endeavors, not replace them. These advances have transformed the field of human resource management from a minor departmental position to playing a key role in the development and growth of any organization.

Food Adulteration Essay

Food Adulteration : In our daily life there are so many unhygienic and contaminated things for our health. Most of our things our contaminated. Even the food, which we eat, is adulterated. Now a question arises that what is adulteration? The answer is that the deliberate contamination of food material with low quality, cheap and non-edible or toxic substances is called food adulteration. The substance, which lowers or degrades the quality of food material, is called an adulterant. Adulteration brings a lot of easy money for the traders, but it may spoil many lives. Food adulteration can lead to slow poisoning and various kinds of diseases, which can even result in death. Adulteration makes the food items used in our daily life unsafe and unhygienic for use. An easy example of food adulteration is vanaspati ghee in desi ghee. The traders use it for their economic benefit without thinking about its effect on the common population of our country, which consumes it. For preventing it our government has made some certain commissions and laws. Still it prevails in our country on large scale. Adulteration should be checked properly in common food items so as to save people from its bad effects. Adulteration is the government and we for the common people therefore something should do a type of curse against it. Types of Food Adulteration In India, the most common type of food adulterations is of following types: 1. Milk :- It is adulterated by the addition of water, starch, skim milk powder and removal of cream. 2. Ghee :- It is adulterated with vanaspati and animal fats such as pig’s fat. In order to improve the flavor of adulterated ghee tributyrin is added. 3. Cereals :- Rice and wheat are mixed with stones sand grit and mud to increase the bulk. 4. Flour :- Wheat flour is mixed with soapstone and Bengal gram flour is adulterated with Kesari dal or lathyrus flour. 5. Pulses :- They are adulterated with Kesari Dal stones are added to pulses such as mott urad, and masoor. Toxic chemical such as metanil yellow are added to old stocks of pulses to improve their colour appearance. 6. Edible Oil :- They are mixed with cheaper oil, toxic oil (e. g. argemone oil) and mineral oil. 7. Honey :- It is adulterated with sugar and jaggery. Material required 1. Glass Wares : †¢ Test Tube, Beaker, Slides 2. Food Samples. †¢ Ghee, Milk, Oil, Pulses samples. 3. Chemical Required †¢ Conc. HCl. , Conc. Nitric Acid. 4. Test Tube stand. Procedure for detection the Adulteration in the food Items Adulteration in the food material can be detected in the following ways. 1. Vanaspti in Ghee :- Took one tea spoon full of liquid ghee. Added equal quantity of conc. HCl shook this mixture in a test tube. Now added a pinch of common sugar. Shook it well for about one minute and then allowed it to stand for 5 minute and observed the result. 2. Water in milk sample:- Put a drop of sample milk on a plain slide. Tittled the slide and observed the result. 3. Agremone oil in edible oil :- Took some amount of edible oil in a test tube. Poured 3-4 drops of conc nitric acid. Shook it well and observed the result. 4. Metanil yellow in Dal :- Took 5 gms of sample. Add 5ml of water and a few drops of dil. HCl and observed the result. Observation Table-A:- Detection of vanaspati in ghee Sr. No. Sample Procedure ObservationÃ'Ž 1. Ghee A Sample+Conc. + + + HCl + Sugar Crimson colour in lower layer of the mixture 2. Ghee B -do- + + 3. Ghee C -do- – Table-B:- Detection of water in Milk Sr. No. Sample Procedure Observation 1. Milk A Sample on a + plain slide + titled the slide 2. Milk B -do- + + 3. Milk C -do- + + + Table-C:- Detection of metanil yellow in dal Sr. No. Sample Procedure Observation 1. Pulse A 5gm of sample + + + 5ml of water + Pink colour Conc. HCl appearance 2. Pulse B -do- – 3. Pulse C -do- – Table-D:- detection of Argemone oil in edible oil Sr. No. Sample Procedure ObservationÃ'Ž 1. Edible Oil A 5 ml Sample + + + + 3 drops of Reddish Brown conc. HNO3 colour 2. Edible Oil B -do- + + 3. Edible Oil C -do- + Conclusions In Table A [Detection of Vanaspati in Ghee] Ghee A : It gives most positive test, hence is most adulterated. Ghee B : It gives more positive test, hence is more adulterated. Ghee C : It gives negative test, hence is not adulterated. In Table B [Detection of Water in Milk] Milk A : It gives positive test to small extant hence is least adulterated. Milk B : It gives more positive test, hence is more adulterated. Milk C : It gives most positive test, hence is most adulterated. In Table C [Detection of Metanil Yellow in Dal] Pulse A : It gives positive test, hence is adulterated. Pulse B : It gives most negative test, hence is not adulterated. Pulse C : It gives more negative test, hence is not adulterated. In Table D [Detection of Argemone Oil in Edible Oil] Edible Oil A : It gives most positive test, hence is most adulterated. Edible Oil B : It gives more positive test, hence is more adulterated. Edible Oil C : It gives positive test to small extent, hence is least adulterated.

Texas A M Acceptance Rate and Admissions Requirements

In many ways, Texas A&M is the consummate big college. It has over 50,000 undergrads, a city setting, and a campus that spans 5,200 acres. It offers quality academic and athletic programs, along with all the resources one would expect from such a large institution. For students looking for a true big college experience, Texas A&M has a lot to offer. Founded in 1876, Texas A&M was originally the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Texas. Today, it is just Texas A&M and offers 16 colleges and schools, 5,000 faculty, and 130 undergraduate degree programs. In addition to its home base in College Station, Texas, Texas A&M also offers a maritime branch in Galveston, Texas, an engineering branch in Doha, Qatar, and program centers in Mexico and Costa Rica. Texas A&M ranks in the top 100 public universities and ranks first among public universities for the number of students studying abroad. In addition, it has recently landed among the top five in the US News and World Reports categories of â€Å"best value†, â€Å"most affordable†, â€Å"best outcomes for low-income students†, and â€Å"student engagement†. If you’re interested in taking advantage of all that Texas A&M has to offer, don’t miss this post. Texas A&M accepts the Coalition Application or ApplyTexas . Official SAT or ACT score reports are required, as is an essay . You’ll also need to submit the standard application components of a high school transcript and an application fee or fee waiver. Teacher recommendations are optional, but if submitted, only the first two submitted will be considered. Texas A&M does not offer admissions interviews. Texas A&M opens admissions season early, with the office accepting applications beginning July 1st. The deadline for regular admissions applications is December 1st. Engineering majors can apply through the Early Action program, which has an October 15 deadline. Note that if a deadline falls on a weekend, the application will remain open until 11:59 PM  (CST) on the following Monday. This does not apply to the Early Action Deadline for engineering. Additional required documents will be accepted until 5:00pm (CST) on that Monday. In recent years, the acceptance rate at Texas A&M has pretty consistently been around 65-70% . This might seem like a fairly easy school to get into just based on that, but in reality, it’s a little more complex than that. Remember, Texas A&M is a huge school. There were over 37,000 applicants for the class of 2022. Of these, just 26,000 were offered a place in the incoming class. It may be tempting to take the acceptance rate at Texas A&M lightly, but this would be a mistake. Though the acceptance rate in 2018 was 70%, it’s important to remember that there were still 11,000 applicants who did not get in. US News and World Reports still considers Texas A&M a moderately selective school, and if you want to score a place there, you’ll need to make sure you meet all its admissions requirements. Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. Texas A&M requires all applicants to submit either the SAT with Essay or the ACT with Essay. Test scores are listed as a very important factor in admissions. The 75% of admitted students who submitted SAT scores received a composite score at or above 1140, while 75% of admitted students who submitted ACT scores received a composite score at or above 25. SAT Subject Tests are not required for admissions to Texas A&M, but can be used as placement exams. SAT and ACT writing sections are only considered as a method for validating college application essays. In addition to test scores, Texas A&M ranks the following factors as very important in their admissions process: 60% of students accepted to Texas A&M’s class of 2022 were ranked in the top 10% of their high school classes. 88% were ranked in the top 25%. Applicants to Texas A&M should take the most challenging course load that they’re capable of doing well in during high school and should aim to participate in 2-4 extracurriculars with increasing levels of commitment and leadership throughout your high school career. Texas A&M also evaluates applicants based on their volunteer work, work experience, status as a first generation college student, state residency, and application essay . While some of these factors are out of your control, you certainly can work to build a strong applicant profile in other ways.   Try to stick with your work or service work for a prolonged time. If possible, choose work or volunteer opportunities that are related to issues of personal importance or to possible career goals. Texas A&M likes to see students who are committed and grow in leadership within their communities. Of the admissions criteria ranked very important by the admissions committee, three are linked to your academic achievements. By taking challenging classes, achieving a high GPA, and attaining a solid ranking in your graduating class, you can prove to Texas A&M that you’re ready for the rigor of college academics. Your essay should be free of all grammatical, organizational, and other errors, and do a good job of representing who you are as a student, as a person, and as a member of your community. Texas A&M carefully reviews every admissions essay and weighs each in the application process. If you need help with your essay at any point, from choosing a topic to fine-tuning its organization or polishing it grammatically, don’t hesitate to contact ’s Personal Essay Specialists , who can help at any point along the way. Not everyone can get into Texas A&M. Though it can be hard to pinpoint any single reason for your rejection, ultimately it doesn’t matter exactly why you were rejected so much as what you do with your future from here. While many students might want to appeal their admissions decision or choose a second-rate college from which they can quickly apply to transfer to Texas A&M, neither of these options is your best bet. Instead, you are better off choosing a second choice school that is still a college you’d be happy to attend, with academic resources that would enrich your experience. Attending another school where you can succeed is always a great choice, and if, further down the line, you choose to transfer elsewhere, at least you have made good use of your time there. Texas A&M does accept transfer students, and their rate of acceptance is very similar to the regular admissions acceptance rate, as is the application process. You can learn more about the transfer application process on Texas A&M’s page Transfer: How to Apply .   Ã‚   For more help applying to Texas A&M or other schools on your college list, consider enlisting the help of ’s Applications Guidance service. Here, you will be paired with a personal admissions specialist from a top a college who can provide step-by-step guidance through the entire application process.

Empirical Evaluation in Software Engineering Essay

Empirical Evaluation in Software Engineering - Essay Example The systems developed are inherently complex by nature not to mention that they are constantly changing and this has in a large part required empirical evaluations to be carried out especially with regards to the large systems so as to incorporate continuity. Question 2 What factors might make it difficult to conduct an empirical evaluation of the scenario? Explain five factors and relate each of them to the scenario. There are several factors that might make it difficult to conduct an empirical evaluation in this scenario. They include: i. The researcher’s inexperience. The complex nature of carrying out such tasks requires one to have experience in this field. In this scenario, the person concerned has not even studied this subject and this coul prove to be a mjor stumbling block. ii. Inadequate resources. In order to carry out an empirical evaluation, large amount of resources are required. In our scenario, it might not be possible to acquire adequate funding to carry out s uch a project and therefore transforming theory into reality via empirical evaluation might not be possible. iii. Cumbersome. ... v. Inadequate information.Another difficulty might come about when seeking further information with regards to the two methods. There is very little information on the matter as there has been little or no reaserch done cocerning this. Question 3 Using the Fenton and Pfleeger model, why is it hard to show that an lntegrated Development Environment (such as those stated in the scenario) leads to improvements in the software project, or in the quality of the software produced. The end product in software production is greatly dependent on two factors; the experience of the developers and the input applied to the development process. A high quality software at the end of the day should do what it was intended for but in a simpler manner and for this to come to fruittion, it depends largely on the design principles and the developer. The Integrated Development Environment lays more emphasis on the ease of use, manageability and user interfaces. This makes it more difficult to evaluate th e importance of determining the quality of the controls, resources and input since they are determined by the developers. Further, in order to determine the output, provision of empirical evidence is key so as to predict it. Coming back to our scenario, this is not practical because of the complexities and numerous functionalities of the environments (Lewis & Veerapillai 2005) Question 4 Critically discuss the benefits and limitations of the case study and the survey study to answer'- the friend's question. There are many benefits that can be realised through conducting a case study method in the evaluation process. Some of these benefits may include; quantifying of the various benefits and functionalities that may be realised in a single

Home Nursing Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Home Nursing - Dissertation Example The American Indians also had their own midwives and traditions of birthing (Rooks, 2006). Changes in the legislation and the education system were eventually made in order to introduce midwifery and nursing education in the schools. The regulation of the profession was also set forth with the implementation of government control and management in the 1920s; these regulations have been modified throughout the years (Rooks, 2006). In the 1800s, birthings were attended mostly by midwives; the rest by physicians. Physicians soon replaced the role of midwives in the birthing when the former were made to undergo more training in the field of birthing. Hospitalizations of birthing mothers became one of the means adapted in order to improve the skills of birthing doctors. Gradually, the number of midwives trickled to a limited population with most of them being relegated to rural communities (Rooks, 2006). Nurse-midwifery however slowly made a rebirth in North America with the Frontier Nurs ing Service (FNS) founded in poor rural county Kentucky in 1925 (Rooks, 2006). It was founded by Mary Breckenridge who was a public health nurse with the Red Cross France. She was trained by British midwives in the birthing process and she used these skills to help poor families in Kentucky (Rooks, 2006). These nurse-midwives attended births only until the 1950s when the hospitals created midwifery services to assist in the post war baby-boom. In the 1960s, only about 70 nurse midwives were in practice. These nurse-midwives were however very much influential because they advocated family-centred maternity care and assisted in childbirth education; they also illustrated the importance of mother-baby rooming, the importance of encouraging breast... This paper approves that in order to ensure that the nurse and the midwife, as well as other health professionals are equipped to deal with the home health patients they would be monitoring, proper training and workshops must be set-up for them. These workshops and trainings would properly inform them of the inclusive details of their practice in relation to the patient’s needs. It would enhance their knowledge and skills; it would also serve to update their knowledge about postpartum care; and it would help focus their skills towards more specific patient needs. Through these staff trainings and workshops, they would be trained to know what to expect from their patients and the danger signs which may be associated with at-risk patients. This report makes a conclusion that this research very enlightening but also very much difficult. We had to convince ourselves to focus on the research and to ensure that we would be able to reach and fulfill the goals of this research. This process was tedious at times, but we understood that these were essential parts of the research. We were prompted many times to ask help from my fellow nurses in the reflection process. They were very helpful and they gave me strong and very insightful details about our research. We learned about the benefits of teamwork and coordination and of communicating with other health professionals, not just nurses. We found out that with proper and respectful coordination, the patient can benefit well from the improved practice and collaboration of health professionals. The referral process would be automatic and routine, to a point wherein the flow of communication would be seamless. This research assisted in the development of my analytical skills.

The Enlightenment Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Enlightenment Era - Essay Example This era condemned going with old, traditional ways of thinking only so that rational and carefully thought-of theories are formulated that are in time with the current events, of 18th century thereof. (E. Cassirer et al., 2007). Philosophy is a complete organism or system that is concerned with the human character and the world that exists. What this interaction basically is and how the human mind or the person itself interacts with the world he lives in. Philosophy is a question. It provokes mankind to answer questions and theories, and subjects a human to how life is lived and how is he living it, or how he is treating other people etc. This philosophy does not have some physical form, rather mostly through the expression in words. (Thomas, 2005) Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy. This is related to things like what reality is and what existence is defined as. And how do both of these function together. The enlightenment Era gave birth to this idea. Sometimes, this era is also known as the "age of criticism" and rightly said so because all formerly beliefs were questioned so that science and logic could follow through. Kant studied metaphysics closely and his knowledge of the functioning of society was based on metaphysics. He said that society has to retreat from what effect objects bring to the mind. He said that the new philosophy should be how the mind affects everything around it and those same objects. (Hunt, 2004). As far as the eighteenth century philosophers are concerned, they did some great work to bring this era to light. Some of these include Kant in Germany, the Encyclopedists in France, David Hume (1711-76) in Scotland and d'Holbach (1723-89). These philosophers became famous for their own different ideologies and concepts related to philosophy. There are many other popular and renowned names also that are worth mentioning like Plato, Ren Descartes, Aristotle etc. (Hunt, 2004). There have been many different philosophical ideas including rationalism, empiricism, the Encyclopedists, the analytic and synthetic, logic and also determinism. Philosophy is dependent on all of these. Other ideas that floated through this century are science, religion, morality, truth, reason, faith, belief, class, power, rationality etc. And all philosophers have written or shown their works through the expression of one of these or the other. The major philosophers of this age were Kant and Voltaire. Victor Hugo Voltaire is a huge name in the world of philosophy when we talk about the eighteenth century. Apart from Voltaire, Kant and John Locke have been great thinkers too. Locke defined empiricism and his works greatly relate to this field of philosophy. (Hunt, 2004). John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are some other names in the Enlightenment Era who have been said to create great works as thinkers in this period. The most famous of these works being "noble savage" and endorsement of the idea of free trade principle. The patron of these works was Rousseau. Because of this afore-mentioned work, relations pertaining to political and economic criteria were greatly affected. Many views changed and the association promoted this free trade concept. However, Roman Catholic views and theories were then

International Market Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Market Report - Essay Example Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana, Qatari business group partnership with the Harvey Nichols to open eight international stores in Doha. The proposed plan was established to open store in the year 2017. According to chief executive of Harvey Nichols, Doha is an exciting place to increase market portfolio. The store of Harvey Nichols provides ultimate fashion experience for customers. Harvey Nichols has three small-format stores and four large-format stores within the Ireland and United Kingdom. Research states that brand name perceived by people of Qatar is on higher level. The Qatari customers translate brand awareness well. The prime purpose of the report is to assess various strategic options and marketing environment to develop international presence. Additionally, the strategy of Harvey Nichols for international growth is effectively presented in the paper. The situational analysis is referred as the assemblage of strategies that are analyzed by managers on basis of external and internal environment of an organization. Moreover, it benefits to understand the business environment, customers and capabilities of organization. The business measurement tools implemented for situational analysis are SWOT analysis, PEST analysis and Porter five forces. It is a structured planning method that is useful for understanding strengths, weakness, opportunity and threats involved in a corporate venture or a project. The prime purpose of this method is to determine the effectiveness of opening store in Qatar. One of the major strengths of Harvey Nichols is its brand awareness. It is regarded as one of the most luxury and fashionable departmental stores globally. The deal struck by Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Qatari firm to bring one of the highly famous departmental stores in the world to make its debut in Qatar. One of the beneficial strengths of opening Harvey Nichols store in Qatar is high level of existing sales and distribution networks (Table 1). There

Implementing and evaluating my e-Learning design model in my workplace Assignment - 1

Implementing and evaluating my e-Learning design model in my workplace 2 - Assignment Example As a producer of information, every professional is expected to be able to share the information and ideas they have produced in their course of work. As consumers, they expect to have an easy way to access the information that has been produced by others in the same profession. This applies to all types of professions. Teachers are no except from this need of information production and sharing. In fact, this need to produce share and information and collaborate is highly necessary for teachers, regardless of the subject they are teaching (Cowen, 2014). As part of the Arabic teachers’ community, I have identified a need to have collaboration and sharing system for Arabic teachers. As a result of this, I have in the past come up with the design which when implemented will help in teaching Arabic teachers to share their ideas and to build each other. The following is an implementation and evaluation of the design I have designed in the past. The system is designed to aid learning and sharing of ideas. The system is geared towards helping teachers who are engaged in teaching Arabic to high school students. The system must be able to meet some pedagogical principles in order to aid in helping the teachers to not only share the knowledge but also to be able learn from the system. It must be able to motivate the teachers in using the system to enhance the system. The system is not going to be useful unless and until the system is used by the teachers. For this to be a reality, the system should be easy to use, and must prove it’s self-useful to the users in order for them to find it useful. This means that the system must be intuitive which means that the users must be find it easy to learn how the various components work and how they can navigate the system (Klopotek, 2002). It must also be able to act as a knowledge management system which means that it will be able to

Curriculum in a Learning Institution Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Curriculum in a Learning Institution - Assignment Example According to Freire (2014), most the curriculum fails due to lack of consideration of the learners in the process of designing curricula. This, in turn, serves to exclude some of the students from the positive learning process. The main need of education in providing knowledge to transform the society remains left out. For a curriculum to be inclusive, the students ought to have an opportunity of dialoguing with their teachers or mentors. Nevertheless, the act of dialogue must have love, bravery, and critical thinking. Designing curricula that allow students to have a dialogue with their teachers are fundament in transforming learning process. This kind of education from humanist educator allow for the transformation of both educator and students. Students need to be oppressed in to love what they are being taught. Learning is the fundamental right to any child and I had the privilege of attending a public school. In my personal learning experience, I knew early enough what I had to in school. Being in the old classrooms for hours did not bother that much. I had a passion for education with an aim of becoming a better citizen to build the nation. I spent hours perfecting my knowledge in various subjects except for mathematics that proved torturous to my brain. I tried to spend lesser time in trying to understand the formulas and concept. I had completely lost interest in the subject and perhaps it was due to my arrogant teacher. He had least humility to discuss any difficulty we experienced in his subject imposing fear among us. I developed the negative attitude towards the teacher and lost interest in the subject he taught. Assessing the effect of my mathematics teacher to my learning influence, it is clear to me that teachers and school leader have roles in the impact of students’ atti tude towards learning. If the teachers embrace, the dialogue in their teachings and enable interaction rather than imposing their knowledge on the students (Freire, 2014).  

Endowment Effect, Behavioural, and Standard Economics Theories Essay

Endowment Effect, Behavioural, and Standard Economics Theories - Essay Example Regardless of the participants’ immense experience in the real world market, he found out that the willingness to accept the mugs was nearly three times higher than the willingness to pay. This is an indication that even experienced negotiators are also susceptible to the endowment effect (Angeletos, Repetto, Tobacman, and Weinberg, 2001; p. 57). The result of these two experiments is similar indicating that the human brain makes a decision almost in a similar way and on the other hand, it is apparent to note that persons under the same environmental conditions often operate under the same constraints (List, 2004; p. 617). It should also be noted that the same constraints affect even those who have experience in certain fields. The endowment effect can be analysed using neoclassical or standard economics that is strongly built on the assumptions that ever turned to well established facts (Babcock et al. 1994; pg. 928). The most vital and preferred assumption is that all econom ic agents that include consumers, suppliers, and companies among others are fully rational and their visible hand works create market efficiency (Knetsch and Wong, 2009; p. 410). Rational economists often consider these assumptions a basic, logical, and self-evident; hence, they do not require any empirical scrutiny (Babcock and Loewenstein, 1997; p. 110). Materialism has also been identified as one of the forces behind endowment effect. Some people believe that the material they own is a central occupation that provides them with success and happiness. Using materialism to determine the existence of endowment effect, 317 first year students at Katholieke University Leuven, Belgium were subjected to a study. The survey provided a...This paper discusses the endowment effect, which can be analysed using neoclassical or standard economics that is strongly built on the assumptions that ever turned to established facts Materialism has also been identified as one of forces behind endowmen t effect. Analysing endowment effect through experimental evidence often leads to the behavioural economics that targets the analysis of new variables that are often ignored by the standard economics Endowment effect largely depends on behavioural decision making that analyses how people often make certain decisions. Behavioural decision-making is a vital field that is used by different other fields including psychology, political science, management, and economics among other Endowment effect is an essential element in economics since it causes conflict between the actual behaviour and macroeconomic theory that says that value of an object should be independent of the ownership The core behavioural economics depict realism of the psychological economic analysis that aims at improving the economics on its own terms including generating better phenomena predictions, generating theoretical insights, and suggesting better policies At the same time behavioural economics does not disregard neoclassical approach to the understanding and analysis of economics and neither does it reject utility maximization, efficiency, and equilibrium The understanding of standard economics is purely pegged on the understanding of behavioural economics without concentrating on the psychology of such concepts. In regards to human behaviour, standard economics model assumes that the actions of people are fully pegged on their full information on the action in question

Identifying the Intertwining Aspects of Free

Identifying the Intertwining Aspects of Freedom Essay To truly comprehend the depth of ones’ determination, a literary character-psychologist must take a step back and realign their perspective with various individualistic and public opinions. In my analysis of Richard Rodriguez’s: Hunger of Memory The Education of Richard Rodriguez and Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran I shall ponder the intricacies of several major themes associated within these controversial texts. In uncovering the underlying principles, we must first accept that there are intermingling concepts and themes. These themes and concepts are vital to the overall arguments found in each literary work. My analysis shall play a key role in evaluating how each piece plays its own role within the respective work. My diligent analysis shall ultimately focus on: the interweaving significance of self-identity, the essence behind a characters acceptance of public identity, the overwhelming drive to be successful in an ethnocentric society, the challenges associated with overcoming adversity, the complex vitality of ones’ definition of freedom(s), and finally the all-encompassing importance associated with education. My scrutiny of these works shall bring several sources into play in order to support the conclusions being drawn within this paper. Along with two literary works which emphasize the central themes expressed above, I shall be incorporating the movie, iRobot, one magazine article, one newspaper article, a reliable internet source, a singular case study, and lastly a peer interview into the scope of my paper. From the get-go, I shall seek to instill within the reader the acceptance that these themes are both an internalized as well as externalized challenge. We shall be uncovering how these changes affect different individuals on differing emotional, psychological, sociological, and physical levels. Let us proceed with comprehending the significance of how self-identity is formed on the part of our characters and how it affects our perspective of self-freedoms. Self-identity is essentially a private perspective being formed of how one reflects how they see themselves. Per Wikipedia, this self-concept is all about the â€Å"mental and conceptual understanding and persistent regard that sentient beings hold for their own existence† and is key to comprehending who you feel that you truly are on the inside. On the part of Richard Rodriguez, his self-perspective was one of true confusion where his â€Å"words could not stretch far enough to form complete thoughts† and his embarrassment â€Å"to hear (his) parents speak in public (where) their high-whining vowels and guttural consonants† was so unlike â€Å"the way gringos spoke† (14-15). Lost within his own misconceptions of American versus his Mexican immigrate status, he succumbed to being quiet, and timid. In his novel, he reflects that today he hears â€Å"bilingual educators say that children lose a degree of ‘individuality’ by becoming assimilated into public society† but they fail to see that assimilation has its benefits and is a necessity (26). This is because it eventually leads to a public individuality versus the private one; hence, isolation is less prevalent. Feeling secure within the world of books, he delved into reading and acquiring acknowledge as a means to understanding his essence. This tactic was one method of uncovering ones’ self-identity. The old saying that knowledge is power always plays an intricate role within a developing young mind and personality. For Rodriguez, this attainment of knowledge led to a greater comfort level in his sense of freedom. The case study from Economic Mobility of Immigrants in the United States from Economic Mobility Project states that â€Å"†¦second generation immigrants exceed the educational attainment of the first generation†¦(where) education is (considered) one vehicle that immigrants use to help their children get ahead. † This case study indicates that education is a determinant of wages and income in the United States, which Rodriguez had the early foresight to see. The bar graphs presented in this case study show that there is a definite correlation between those without an education from immigrants families and the amount of money they brought in weekly and annually. Because Rodriguez was socially disadvantaged, came from a family without an education, and characterized as lacking linguistic skills, he found himself literally tongue-tied in social environments. Instead he wisely shut himself off from the social world, and uncovered the monumental significance of learning material that children his age perhaps ignored. This level of sophistication created a self-identity tied to sophisticated thoughts and impressions. He indicates that he â€Å"felt that (he) had somehow committed a sin of betrayal by learning English† and though he acknowledges that he â€Å"turned to English with angry reluctance† he felt that his parents â€Å"encouraged (him) to learn English† (30). His social growth was stagnate at first by his overwhelming concern that people did not comprehend his immigrant status, but upon coming to terms with his ethnocentric background and westernization his self-awareness grew by leaps and bounds. As a â€Å"scholarship boy† (62) , he found himself literally memorizing words and phrases presented to students by their teachers. His self-identity became inter-wound with the idea of success, and this was â€Å"his primary reason for success in the classroom†¦(and) that schooling was changing and separating him from the life he enjoyed before becoming a student† (45). His drive for education enabled him to seek out new information and achieve successes that he might otherwise not have sought out. He has had the chance to incorporate his self-identity into an acceptance of his public one. His public identity was fashioned after society saw a well-educated Mexican immigrant who was driven by education and knowledge to pursue his dreams for higher education. Prior, the public had seen immigrants as mainly blue collar works with limited English linguistic skills and considered immigrants to be worthy of only remedial jobs. He reflects that â€Å"dark skin for my mother was the most important symbol of a life of oppressive labor and poverty†¦and the work (his) father found in San Francisco was work for the unskilled. A factory job†¦(where there was)†¦noise and heat.. and the dark stench of old urine† (119-120). These stories from his parents and awareness of blue collar jobs aided Rodriguez in his endeavors to educate himself; thus building a higher level of self-esteem that he otherwise would have lacked considering his preoccupation and concern that he was of immigrant status. His early and youthful withdraw from his family might be considered somewhat of a con, but in fact it showed him that his family in its way supported his desire to be successful and not become part of the blue collar workforce. His assimilation and learning of English lead to â€Å"diminished occasions of intimacy† at home because he â€Å"sensed the deepest truth about language and intimacy: Intimacy is not created by a particular language; it is created by intimacies† where this feeling arose because he used his public language, English, most of the day to move â€Å"easily† through society. (32) Through mature self-awareness he later became aware of the value associated with family and seemingly acknowledges that his family and immigrant background was like a reverse role model-ship. One example of this distance was when his father one day â€Å"opened a closet†¦and was startled to find me inside, reading a novel† (45) which was highly unusual and led to his family joking about what he â€Å"sees in (his) books†. This cultural adversity and mental hardships molded Rodriguez into a man who was ultimately virtuous, highly respected, successful, and knowledgeable. It also encouraged him to intellectually analyze material and find security in learning. This ethnocentric challenge to fit in is not unheard of for first generation children of immigrants. In reality, there are many immigrants from all over the world who come to America seeking to fulfill their hopes and dreams. Some come here under refugee status, some as students, others as H1 workers, and many as illegal immigrants. It is interesting that many have their own story and experience to tell about living in a foreign country. From my driving instructor, Victor Yang, I told that in Saudi Arabia they arrest both the driver and spouse of the driver if they were caught drinking while under the influence. You would think that only the guilty party would be affected, but in this manner the spouse too suffers. Therefore, the husband would probably feel less inclined to commit such a crime again as his loved ones too pay a penalty for violating the law. It might eliminate the freedom of the innocent, but for some it is the psychological and emotional embarrassment suffered by the guilty which limited the violations. I had the opportunity to work with a Muslim refugee from Bosnian who came to America as a teenager, and who was given the hard responsibility of caring for her one-armed mom whose left arm was blown off in the Bosnian marketplace, illiterate father, and young sister. She had to perform all the linguist responsibilities of obtaining paperwork, living space, find a job for her father, enrolling her kid sister in elementary school, running a household, and finally making her way through school. Her determination for education, her drive to live up to her own self-identity, her goals, and her insistence that the family not be on welfare lead to her having a successful job in corporate America. During my many conversations with her, I have heard how difficult it can be to insert your awareness of yourself and goals into a society which covertly favors Americans versus immigrants. Hers too is a story of triumph over adversity. Hers too is the story of many immigrants who faced identity hurdles, but stuck to their determination and knowledge-driven mindset. Her motto is â€Å"Always be self-driven and self-aware. † From my friend’s experiences as immigrant, I found myself curious as an American in uncovering if this â€Å"melting pot† was truly functional or fictional. One newspaper article that I ran into within the Washington Post, â€Å"America’s Racial and Ethnic Divides: Immigrants Shunning Idea of Assimilation† illustrates how a naturalized Mexican does not feel like she is American and she â€Å"resists the idea of assimilating into U. S. society (because she says) ‘I think I’m still Mexican†¦when my skin turns white and my hair turns blonde, then I’ll be an American†. From her external perspective and self-image, like Rodriguez had encountered, she is being differentiated by her skin color. The article points out that â€Å"it is no longer the melting pot that is transforming them, but they who are transforming American society. † Their inputs and idea of freedom and identity enable them to bring new perspectives and ideas into the American society; hence, the melting pot theory is invalid. We might consider it more to be a bowl of chili where every ingredient plays its own role in the end flavor. This ‘segmented assimilation, in which immigrants follow different paths to incorporation in U. S. society’ allows for immigrants to educate themselves and take advantage of opportunities and freedoms that they might not otherwise have. This also enables them to more easily face hurdles and complexities within their public identity. Richard Rodriguez found himself in a more difficult position because of his desire to not be defined as Mexican; which was his own self-identity in question.

Knowledge Management Is A Very Important Field Information Technology Essay

Knowledge Management Is A Very Important Field Information Technology Essay Nowadays, the knowledge management is a very important field to the organization. This is a new, abstract idea, and it is very hard to master it. An organization is considered a strong one if only it has a well-managed knowledge system. Because it is the specific intellectual assets that owned by each organization, it plays a true value key within the organization compared with many other things else. The knowledge captures, codification, transfer and creation is the system chain of the knowledge management, it includes: the explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge capture. In the present, many companies have faced the same problem of how to capture and store that knowledge efficiently for using in the future. Besides that, the knowledge management life cycle has been helping technique which data, information, and knowledge can use to support each other, identify main points, and capture the benefit of them. Basically, there are four models: Meyer and Zack Knowledge Management Cycle (1996), Bukowitz and Williams (2000), McElroy Knowledge management Cycle (2003), Wiig Knowledge Management Cycle (1993). Learning organization helps to create the improvement of the quality and performance of organizations, groups, and individuals.  This system programs goal is to aim to the development of how to get a better understanding of the challenges, techniques, and tools for planning and implementing the organizational development. Researching the learning organization has played a vital key, since the enterprises are facing with challenges and problems that they usually got in the fast developing economic every day. It is because the corporate knowledge management is the system that helps the business to consolidate in the market and also avoids the problems which are not essential. INTRODUCTION As mention above, knowledge management has a very important role on organization nowadays. It is the understanding and the skills of a personal or a group that help to solve the occurred problems more effectively and faster. Many modern organizations are facing an environment of global competition, it is the increasingly fierce driven by rapid changes in science, technology and the demands from its customers, and thus it is increasingly more and more difficult for the  independent labor and labor management. Learning organization somehow much likely a learning environment, it appropriates for all employees within an organization.  It is a place where employees can learn and exchange knowledge from each other.  Learning organization is a huge repository of knowledge which is started from many different sources.  It is also a brainstorming place for everyone to open their minds, creativity and inspiration. The purpose of this assignment will talk about learning organizations and how best practices can be shared through the organization. BODY LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS AND HOW BEST PRATICES CAN BE SHARED THROUGH THE ORGANIZATION KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE Organization cannot know what data, information and knowledge mean; because they are very abstract. If organization just receive data, information and knowledge which do not process, recognize, analyze to useful source, they are so hard to do business or anything else. So, they need some technique which can put data, information, and knowledge on line, support each other, identify main points, and capture the benefit of them. From that point, four models are stabled. But what does each knowledge management cycle meaning? First of all The Zack Knowledge Management (KM) Cycle (1996) was found from the process of designing and developing for information products. (  [1]  ) Knowledge Management in theory and practice book Seeing on picture above, the Zack KM Cycle has five steps is acquisition notice to high quality of data or information; refine is a first place where valued is added, creating more and more useable data or information, or keep data or information for next using; store like as refine, but in store, it do not need to find new data, it just need to save it carefully, maybe physical or digital; distribute is important step because at here data and information is decided to move necessary place, how it use; and present, this is a step to appreciate value which was added at acquisition and refine steps. Second Bukowitz and Williams Knowledge Management (KM) Cycle (2000).This cycle have more steps than the Zack Knowledge Management Cycle. It involves two processes, and in every process, it has from three to four stages. For organizations manage, maintain, control and expand information to create new values, Bukowits and Williams KM cycle divide into two parts which always interdependent is shown as chart below: 2Knowledge Management in theory and practice book The first stage is Get; it includes finding significant information that needed to make decision. In the internet era, with the large amount of information that can be searched or captured, the problem is how to catch the right information which is necessary and useful for solving problem. The second step is Use; this step we use to combine all the right information that we have had into a clear way and easy to understand. The third step is Learn; learning is an important step, it emphasis how to create the completive advantages for an organization. Learning from the failures in the past to consolidate and complement for the existing knowledge, in order to avoid the similar failures or problems in the future. The Contribute is the fourth step of this cycle; this stage acquires people in the organization contribute what they have got. Sharing their own knowledge to the other people. This stage turns the personal knowledge into the organizations knowledge. The next step is the Assess; this is a complex step which is dealt by the high level of organization. Usually the organizational level will judge that knowledge to see if it is the right and needed knowledge for the future needs of the organization. It is very important because it relates to the success of the organization. The sixth step is The Build and Sustain; this step will make sure the knowledge that they have gained is the right one and keep it as the intellectual capital of the organization and use it as the competitive advantages against their competitors. The last step is the Divest; this step has used to quit of using the current knowledge that it is no longer bring or create the value, benefit for the organization. Next is the McElroy Knowledge Management (KM) Cycle (2003), 3Knowledge Management in theory and practice book Including to knowledge production and knowledge integration; but two processes are linked together by organizational knowledge. And rely on broadcasting, searching, teaching, and sharing, knowledge integration can find new knowledge, at the same time it can abolish old. Finally is the Wiig Knowledge Management (KM) Cycle (1993). I think Wiig KM Cycle is popularized until now because it can address how knowledge is built and used as individual, team or organization through four steps: Build knowledge, Hold knowledge, Pool knowledge and Use/ Apply knowledge. Although four steps happen independent but it helps business successfully. Pool knowledge Hold knowledge Build knowledge Use/ Apply knowledge Wiig Knowledge Management Cycle (1993) Build knowledge learn from all kind of sources (personal experience, book, media, peers, education and training) to obtain knowledge (means do ways to create new knowledge as research plan, innovation by individual, hire new people, etc.), analyze knowledge (collect what appears to be knowledge from obtain knowledge), synthesize knowledge (combine different ideas and facts into single idea and impression), codify and model knowledge (represent knowledge in mind, document knowledge through book and manuals) and organize knowledge (by specifies uses frequently asked questions (FAQs), or framework). For example, if someone wants to open Noodle restaurant, following the Wiigs KM Cycle, the first step, they must have restaurant plan, where they begin, hire employees (for cooking, servicing), how to decorate for place, how to promotion which people can know their store, services criteria which employers train their employees. Hold knowledge mean knowledge is in tangible form which held in mind, book or document, databases, etc. It consists remember knowledge, cumulate knowledge, embed knowledge and archive knowledge. We must save and arrange it logically. It will be easy to find and understand when we need to have a merger with other knowledge. Remaining above example, with hold steps, employers Noodle restaurant should find out about flavor, taste, decorations food, etc. after that, they must make recommendation to chef in order to cook right food. It is so necessary, because if chefs do not make satisfy customers taste, customers will not come back again, because they will think food is bad so they do not need to waste their money. Pool knowledge, it is shared or put together so that it can be used for a particular purpose. Individual or organization may pool knowledge in several ways, as if they can coordinate knowledge of collaborative teams, identify who know knowledge or consult about difficult problems or opinions with scholars. Restaurant will have two parts which need to deploy that, one for employees and one for customers. With employees, managers need to organize team work, every team do their own work. Sometimes, they should have competition between teams that create excitement and interesting at workplace. About customers, managers should always ash them about taste, decorated form, services of employees, satisfaction or not, etc. Customers will feel that they receive attention kindly; they will like and come back. That is useful for restaurant; they will know strength points to keep developing and weakness points which are changed. Use knowledge to perform work, projects, collect information, provide standard services, products, describe or analyze situation and scope problems. Other points, this step identify knowledge sources, options, determine risks and benefits. After, it decides what need to do, compare with others and create decision making process. So, in short, both of four knowledge management cycles are so important. Every cycle has it own special particularity. Because they are help organization identifying, and locating knowledge or knowledge source; but depending every cycle, it has their way to collect knowledge. For instance, the Zack Knowledge Management Cycle can be applying information to learning organization. Moreover, different business has unique information which is useful for them, so thanks to the Zack, people can discriminate many kinds of information. Or as people know, organizational memories are created from best practices and bad practices. Information is the main point to link all memories. From the Bukowitz and Williams knowledge management cycle, people can make decision, combine information, practice all information what they learn to real situations, or reject or repair failures. One more points, that all cycles can address how knowledge id built and used as organization. They are also depicting all respect of information, from the beginning as data to knowledge; it creates opportunities to manage knowledge so that the expected value added to organization. In the other hand, knowledge management can be influenced at several levels, such as people, product, process, and performance which make knowledge to improve performance of organization. Like knowledge management cycles, four levels inter-depend each other. Both of them are want to increase profit and revenue for organization. Thus, the link between leaning organization and knowledge management is unquestionable, because learning as the same as knowledge management cycle, in there idea, knowledge can change, apply new knowledge, and refine old knowledge. THE KNOWLEDGE CAPTURE, CODIFICATION, TRANSFER AND CREATION The knowledge capture, codification, transfers and creation is the system chain of the knowledge management, capturing knowledge is the basic step of all. The general problems of many companies which want to build an effective knowledge management system are how to capture and store that knowledge nowadays. Usually, there are two kinds of knowledge capture those are the explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge capture [  [4]  ]. The explicit knowledge is the general knowledge that popularize for almost people in the organizations, companies. They are codified as the documents, reports, text, recording clips, images, video clips which may contain subtitle and sound or not, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Sometimes they are expressed as the books, magazines and outspread to people. Thus, explicit knowledge is captured, codified and transfer easily among people, since that knowledge has shown themselves as a tangible (books, reports, documents, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦), everyone can approach and acquire from them. Somehow explicit knowledge has a big amount about quantity aspect, but doesnt have a really high value about the quality aspect. Because that knowledge has been mastered or absorbed by many people. The other kind of knowledge capture is the tacit knowledge (or experience) capture. This subject is much harder to master then the explicit knowledge. Because tacit knowledge has not been codified or written as the documents, reports; its repository is usually in peoples brain or mind and cannot be easily accessed or transferred among people. It is very hard to reason or demonstrate the tacit knowledge because it is the personal experience, belief, feelings or the sensitiveness on their work. Thus, the tacit knowledge is very hard to encode or document as text, video clips, recording clips, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ then transferring among people [  [5]  ] For this reason, the transferring for tacit knowledge is pretty difficult. Beside the encouragement individuals to share their own knowledge to others, it is important to create a sharing environment such as building intranet webpage, internal blogs, holding some interview events among senior and staffs, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ These activities will help transfer tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge for people to learn, codify and store them as the value knowledge used for organizations purposes. Brainstorming is also the best way to transfer knowledge among people in organization, this practice is not only help figure out the best solution for each problem, and it is also help to share individual experience. Hence, enriching the knowledge for both people and the organization, and also motivate the staffs continually learns from each other. RESEARCH THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION. Modern organizations are facing an environment of global competition is increasingly fierce driven by rapid changes in science, technology and the demands from our customers increasingly more difficult, the  independent labor and management more difficult.  To survive and thrive in the business environment  [6]  of these dynamic, organizations must constantly change to meet the demands of customers, employees, and market competition.  So learning organization created to improve the quality and performance of organizations, groups, and individuals.  The program aims to develop a better understanding of the challenges, techniques, tools for planning and implementing change and organizational development to create a vibrant organization with good adaptation  environmental change and global competition is increasingly fierce. 7 (http://www.nestle.com.my/NR/rdonlyres/7F86211E-69FD-4855-8A75-5D8D1D1E3626/82581/people_focused.jpg) What is the learning organization? Learning organization is like a learning environment appropriate for all employees within an organization.  It was a place where employees can learn and exchange knowledge from other members of the company.  It was because as a huge repository of knowledge starts from different sources.  Is a place for everyones minds to open, creative and inspired paintings reflecting the ability of each person. What the learning organization do is to make people feel free because the employee is no longer passive players in the equation (just follow the assigned work that is limited ability to share and communicate), they will learn to express ideas and challenge themselves to contribute ideas and energy into a work environment by participating in a shift from a traditional working model to arbitrary a working model more open where hierarchy is clearly divided, and human potential is anticipated. Organizing training making an environment in which people can create the results they really want, and where they can learn to learn together for the advancement of the entire How is it work? Main activities of academic institutions include the following basic operations: create a system to resolve the problem, but to experiment with new approaches-to ensure the steady flow of new ideas,  learn from their own experience and history through multi-learning and gain experience from the incident has occurred and recognized the value of production failure instead of success is not effective, learn from  experiences and best practices of others, transferring knowledge quickly and effectively in the organization-through reports, the training program. The transfer of knowledge requires it accessible to everyone when and where they need it  [8]  . It is also important that knowledge is presented in a way that users can understand  [9]  . It must match the user needs to accept and absorb. Acquiring knowledge related to the collection and use of relevant knowledge from many sources, to solve a one or many problems. Using knowledge can be reused through the solutions have worked before. A learning organization also learns from the mistakes or recognize when old solutions no longer apply  [10]  . Beside that can synthesis of old knowledge to create a broader meaning or a deeper level of understanding  [11]  . Clearly, more knowledge can quickly be mobilized and used to help organizations more competitive. Why do we need to use this program? To compete in this environment saturated information that we currently live, the program is necessary to try to maintain all the activities, competition and continue to find ways to improve the organization. Learning organization accepts changing and continuous creation of favorable conditions for building a sustainable competitive for their company. The possibility that organizational learning can bring to companies such as: Increase the ability to think and improve the quality of team work of every employee through programs that employees can share information to each other more easily. In addition the program also helps employees identify the necessary changes and provide workplace learning opportunities to meet these needs. Changing trends management helping leaders have a clear vision and also help leaders get the admiration of the staff. Raise the quality of the work  [12]  : the results of our data are shared quickly and widely. Building a clearer vision: the staff never stops learning from best practices of the competition or in our local and national. Help employees feel free and independent: workers find joy working. Personal development is encouraged and rewarded. Staff saw a passion for personal development and organization Example: Buckman Laboratories International is the chemicals manufacturer in US. It opened in 1945 by Mr. Buckman and it is a $270 million company with 1,200 people working over 80 countries. Beside that, somebody doesnt know that Buckman Labs also sell knowledge. This company has the huge network of communication within the company. Buckman does not just focus on the manufacture of chemicals that he wanted to create a perfect working environment and easily connect with people. In a disease he had accidentally invented a completely new operating system with these conditions he can help managers and executive staff more easily, and collect customer information found quickly. He calls it a learning organization environment. It is an internal website, where every employee has a separate account and can access the site to find out and chat, discuss issues that people are interested. In addition, customers who wish to learn and interested companies can access the site with as guest and asking ques tions on forums, the issues that the staff can be exchanged quickly and commentary rapidly.  It is a means easier than the old style of communication (letters, papers, bulletin board, news .) Now the information concerning the company can be updated quickly  and websites can work 24 / 7 regardless of time.  Help employees and management will catch information and current trends change.  Buckmans program has made and has been applied to other companies and are pleased to cooperate with Buckman Labs to application programs that in their company.  [13]   What is best practice and relationship between Best Practice and Learning Organization? With the high failure rate of the current project, the company may think the only way to accomplish the goals set forth as the objectives can be met through the use of effective program management and engineering projects. So the best practice programs are being mentioned at companies. A best practice is a technique or method through experience and research, has proven a reliable guide to a desired result  [14]  . Best practice also means finding and using ways work best to achieve business goals. In business, it relates to how businesses operate successfully in the marketplace and compare the way the business with other business leaders. The level of progress will move much more slowly if an organization started a job where they have never done before, they will have to use one or more test methods to determine the effectiveness and problem of tasks before putting it to proceed. Through many course of figuring out how to most effectively perform their tasks. But to do that will make them lose a lot of time and effort, difficulty competing with other companies (when that time is an important factor in the competition). However, by relying on the experience of others or other organizations through the trials and errors to develop a method has been proven to be most effective, they can begin work by using a proven method  [15]  . Such method is known as a best practice. (http://c3consulting.com.au/uploads/pics/Best_Practice_Imp.png) Nghe Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ à ¢m Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ « Ä‘ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™n Xem tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ « Ä‘ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™n chi tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t Benefits of best practice are to communicate goals and strategies of the best companies.  A better communication of this policy will ensure that everyone in your business knows the direction in which the business is heading, and understand their part in its development  [16]  . A program that best practice is when it applies to all technology and modern techniques in the application.  Information that gives the best practice for staff was helpful, the staff there to help useful information to apply to the work and goals. RESEARCH THE PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT OF CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE In the modern life, having a solid development depends on the management knowledge in each organization. Most of enterprises are facing with challenges and problems that they usually got in the fast developing economic every day. Today, the employee are improved their knowledge by studying from others experiences so that the organization can save time and money for the training courses. Corporate knowledge management is the system that not only helps the business to consolidate in the market but also avoids the unwanted problems. Moreover, using the system can aid the organizations as well as individuals who could touch to the goal without mistakes easily because they knew how to pass up the mistake from the prior lessons of the other companies. In addition, living in a modern life liked today, the people are much more depending on the high technologies such as computers, internet etc day by day. They cannot even work efficiently without high-tech. however, everything has two aspects which are advantages and disadvantages. It leads to switch over from the offensive to the defensive. That is the reason why human are lazier than in the past. Their brains are not usually used for developing thinking anymore as well as they are losing the concentration skills for producing the new knowledge. As the results, corporate knowledge management was born to collect the data in the past and add the information in the present together for complement each other. Explicit knowledge could be considered as a useful technique which creates the efficient effect for the company. Furthermore, the enterprises also need some software to contain all the knowledge and classify documents according to parts. The managers and staff should collect as well as sharing the knowledge together. That is not only the best way to update the new knowledge but also known as a tool to help them manage the knowledge in professional and reduce the lost for organizations. CONCLUSION As we can see, knowledge management holds an important role in nowadays business. They are quite hard to control and it is new to the system. A strong or weak organization can only be defined with their knowledge system, they do a shabby job in managing the knowledge system they failed, and they exceed the others in managing the knowledge system they gain control of the situation. The knowledge system is the specific intellectual assets of each organization, and they play the main role within the organization compared to anything else. The system chain of the knowledge management is knowledge captures codification, transfer and creation. They also include the explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge. Capturing and storing that knowledge efficiently for using in the future are the problems that many companies still find it difficult to solve nowadays. The four models: Meyer ad Zack KM Cycle (1996), Bukowitz and Williams (2000), McElroy KM Cycle (2003) and Wiig KM Cycle (1993). They are the helping hands by providing techniques which data, information, and knowledge can use to support each other, identify main points, and capture the benefit of them. Learning organization helps to create the improvement of the quality and performance of organizations, groups, and individuals. This system programs goal is to aim to the development of how to get a better understanding of the challenges, techniques, and tools for planning and implementing the organizational development. The research of learning organization has play a vital key, since the enterprises are facing with challenges and problems those they usually got in the fast developing economic everyday. The corporate knowledge management is the reason; it helps businesses to consolidate in the market and avoids making mistakes which are not essential.

Evidence about the asteroid theory

Evidence about the asteroid theory Introduction The purpose of the case study is to investigate Did a meteorite make the dinosaurs extinct.These theories are not exactly been justified. It is an unsolved mystery nobody knows the reason and what caused the dinosaurs to become extinct. A meteorite is a body of matter that reaches the earths surface because it has not been heated up by friction with the atmosphere. It is made up of iron, stone or a mixture of both. Most meteorites are made as two asteroids are collided with each other or fragments of asteroids and comets. Asteroids are medium sized rocks that orbit the sun; Asteroids can be smaller than one-mile to almost 600 miles. There are many asteroids in our solar system. The asteroid belt was created when the solar system was formed and the asteroid belt is made from a cloud of dust, ice and gas. The Earth orbits the sun. The earth meets objects in space like dust or bits of rock broken off from asteroids. By the end of the Cretaceous period 50% of all living things on Earth and in sea were wiped out. Dinosaurs had been living on the earth about 230 million years ago and they became extinct nearly 65millionyearsago.Theirextinction hasconfused scientistsforyears. It affected plant and animals on land and in wa ter. Somescientistsbelievethatdinosaursdiedinallatonce,inamass extinction. AlargeasteroidorcometcrashedintoEarthandchangedtheclimate. Anincreaseinvolcanicactivitycausedashand dust whichblockedthesun. Diseaseswipedoutentirepopulationsofdinosaurs. AsevereiceagecouldhavechangedtemperaturesandfrozenalotofEarthswater. The amount of earths oxygen could have dropped which caused suffocation to the dinosaurs. Mammals came that ate dinosaur eggs. An exploding start supernova could have killed the dinosaurs. Any of these theories could have been responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs; none of these theories have been proven. The theory which has the most evidence and has been approved by most of the geologists and scientist is the Asteroid theory. Scientific Theories There are two types of extinction theories: Gradual extinction and catastrophic extinction. Gradual extinction would have been like the changes in the earths climate. It could also have been because new animals achieved in the struggle and coped with all the difficulties example mammals, etc. Theory explained that mammals ate dinosaurs eggs. Catastrophic extinction would have caused the death of the dinosaurs suddenly, such as an asteroid hitting the earth, or the eruption of volcanoes causing sudden death. There were many theories to show how the dinosaurs were wiped out.   The theories are not been declared yet. The most accepted theory is the Asteroid Theory. The first people who found this theory were Luis and Walter Alvarez in 1980. This theory explains that an asteroid hit or collided with the Earth nearly 65 million years ago and this collision would have given off so much dust into the environment that the sun rays would not be able to enter or shine and plants and animals would die. The debris in the atmosphere would have obstructed the sun for a long time causing changes in temperature; the temperature would get cooler and caused severe interruption to photosynthesis. Dinosaurs could not adapt to the changes in climate the occurred from this huge collision and therefore they were not able to survive. Because plants energy comes from the sun, they would probably be affected first by the changes in climate. Even though having this much support to the evidence a few geologists did not believe in the Asteroid Theory and asked to show the crater where the meteorite must have fallen but the crater had buried in sediment.The elements were left behind in lots of amounts in the K-T layer where the collision happened. The impact would have also created forest fires and long term environmental changes. The speed of the asteroid would have been 100,000 kilometres per hour approximately. Another theory that shows how the dinosaurs were wiped off is volcanic theory. The consequences of volcanic activity could have caused so much ash and gasses added to the atmosphere which then blocked sunlight and creating difficult conditions for dinosaurs. The level of volcanic activity would also have given off greenhouse gasses which increased the Earths temperature. It has also been suggested that a disease killed off the dinosaurs. A very dangerous disease may have spread among all the dinosaurs causing them to become extinct. A disease might have wiped out all the dinosaurs if they had no cure, but the disease wouldnt kill off all the plants all around the earth. Another theory is that the dinosaurs died during an ice age. During this time periods, temperatures drop, cooler temperatures may have killed all the plants and dinosaurs. Scientists have not found any evidence of an ice age that could have happened during the life of the dinosaurs. A supernova explodes with plenty energy and can keep our sun burning for billions of years. A supernova is a star that gives off large volumes of energy. The chance of a supernova to occur is nearly one in a million. The increased amount of radiation from a supernova could have affected the Earths ozone layer. Effects on Marine Life The amount of oxygen in the seas would have decreased. Many sea creatures would have died because of the collapse of the food chain. There could have been an increase of acid rain. The Asteroid effected species both on sea and land. Deflecting a meteorite To collision can only be avoided if we move the meteorite away or if the meteorite can split into small pieces so that they can burn up in the atmosphere by friction. The often move around very fast which makes it difficult to deflect it. If the meteorite is broken you would expect to get many small rocks intead of a large meteorite, but some of the small rocks may brun up in the atmosphere which is better than having a larger meteorite hitting the earth and causing problems A graph to explain the extinction, climate and the amount of iridium The climate is normal at the start of the Cretaceous period but during the end it eventually decreases and shows the evidence that climate change might have also caused the extinction. Cooler temperatures may have caused problems like the sunlight would not be able to shine. The dust from the asteroid would have blocked the sun. The mass extinction shows the decline of the dinosaurs almost towards the end of the Cretaceous period and by the beginning of the tertiary period all of the dinosaurs had vanished. The KT boundary sediments has high amount of element iridium shown, which is common in extraterrestrial material. Extraterrestrial material is a type of material or object that has fallen out of the Earth or its atmosphere and falls onto the planet. The page will explain the evidence about the two most proved theory. Evidence about the asteroid theory The evidence to explain the asteroid theory is that a crater was then found at around 1990, 150 miles in diameter named the Chicxulub crater which is located on the Yucatan peninsula. The crater was about 120 mile wide or across and 1 mile deep. Seismic monitoring equipment which is designed to hunt for oil discovered the huge crater. The iridium layer is what lead the Alvarez team to blame an asteroid collision for the extinction asteroids and other extraterrestrial bodies are enriched with high amounts of   iridium than the Earths crust The asteroid theory has gained more evidence than any other of the theories Evidence against Asteroid theory The Asteroid theory has proved more evidence than any other theory; there is still a problem with the theory. Paleontologists have to find dinosaurs fossils related to the time period of the impact and some evidence explains that dinosaurs might have already been extinct before this impact. Actually dinosaurs had been declining slowly before the asteroid hit the earth. There have been a lot of mass extinctions in the past history and many large asteroid collisions. Even though there have been many of these collisions they havent caused mass extinctions all around the world. The asteroid theory is still the most powerful theory to provide reasons for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Some scientist believe this impact did not cause the extinction of all the dinosaurs and other creatures, there could have been two or more collisions. Evidence to volcanic activity The dinosaurs could have died because of a volcano. A research explains that a volcano erupted in India. The researcher said: Now we find that another catastrophe, which is Deccan Volcanism, which has not had much attention paid to it, may be the real culprit. Volcanic eruptions on Indias Deccan plateau between 63 and 67 million years ago spewed huge amounts of sulfur dioxide into the air for around 10,000 years

The Media Influence on Society Essay -- Media, social reform, class hi

The Media influence on society According to Noam Chomsky, â€Å"What lies behind us and before us are very small matters compare to what lies right to the face.† The issue of the media influence on society’s cultural structure has frequently been debated. The impact on the audience by the media influences the interpretations of social order. Also, the media goes hand in hand with American politics. The information provided by the media is controlled by business cooperates and their economic interest that is shared by political elites. The media is responsible for creating different classes with respect to appearance, color, economic status, religion, and with the help of politics, advertisement because of the media’s powerful influence on public perception, which directly or indirectly affects the consciousness of a human being. The media can be very biased about a story, advertisements, coverage on different social issues. The media Pundits and talk heads talk about thinks which will make a story interesting, outrageous and as incredible as possible just to make profit out of it. For example, the media reporting of the Iraqi war, also known as â€Å"War on Terrorism†, influenced Americans to unleash a sentiment of patriotism which lead to a feeling of intolerance against the Middle Eastern. On the other hand, the media ignored people smashing the stores of the Middle Eastern looking ethnicity people in America. The Middle Eastern looking human being is looked upon as terrorist and the media help this influence of apprehension to spread. Entertainment and public information seen to be two key roles of the media and it is the mirror of the society. The media claims that it shows what audiences want to see. In reality the media is a dus... ...often heard, â€Å"oh, Oakland is dangerous place to live because it is mostly black neighborhood and crime rate is very high.† Why black and crime is related to each other? The media labels certain group of society but providing false or incomplete information about them. The black people are labeled by the media as criminals and drug addicts. Therefore, one will not see a white family living in a black neighborhood. The most effective way to change public opinion is the media. But information provided by the media is illogical. In the media, the image tends to float around stereotypes that spot of a person in society is mostly a function of their own hard work and achievement or, in case of the poor, lack of efforts and attainments. Labeling different social groups of society is on the outcomes of the media and it simply describes America as a class biased nation.

Archetypal Shame Society Essay examples -- German Literature Heroic Ep

Archetypal Shame Society Certainly one of the greatest works of German literature to date, Das Nibelungenlied is arguably the finest example of the heroic epic in all of Western literature. Ostensibly, Das Nibelungenlied is a story of deception, betrayal, and vengeance interwoven with themes of fate and the relationship between love and despair. The poet reproaches the main character, the queen Kriemhild, for her selfishness in sacrificing the lives of thousands of loyal knights to exact her revenge on those who betrayed and murdered her husband. However, underlying the story of Das Nibelungenlied is a tacit critique of its hypothetical society, which itself closely resembles the society of the poet’s audience. Hence, the poet intends to effect discourse amongst his audience regarding the political state of its society, and indeed this theme is even recapitulated in the very act of the epic’s reception. The premise for the poet’s political theory of the Nibelungenlied society is the same as that of English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his essays on the state of nature and the social contract. Hobbes believed that man, in his natural state, was driven by the primitive impulses of desire, aggression, fear, and most of all, survival. For the most part, the lives of uncivilized men were short and brutish. Thus, to protect themselves from each other and external threats, men entered into a social contract, in which they created an entity with authority to rule and power to defend. Nevertheless, this agreement is hardly a solution to the problem of man’s natural aggression towards his fellow man; it merely glosses over it. Perfect evidence of the Nibelungenlied society glossing over natural aggression are the knightly exhibi... ...ext has to be such that the audience member learns nothing new about himself or herself in his or her self-conscious reflection of that text. In this way, the audience member realizes the society of the epic is analogous to his or her own. There are natural urges that man has, such as aggression, for which the state will provide suitable outlets. However, one must be wary that during the sublimation of these natural urges, one does not neglect to recognize the implications of these urges, because it is these impulses that drive and form our societies yet at the same time threaten their existence. To be sure, an audience listening to a reading of Das Nibelungenlied might well be a sublimation of adventure-seeking or intellectual stimulation, but whatever it is, if it sustains the society, it should never be glossed over, for it may also destroy the society it serves.

Relationship Issues Essay -- International Relations, Japan, South Kor

Different arguments and disagreements between countries can be found throughout our history on this Earth. A relationship that is lesser known to a lot of people is the relationship between the two Asian countries, Japan and South Korea. Japan and South Korea are two countries that are trapped by their past that they share with each other and have shared for more than thirty-five years. Although the two countries are slightly similar when it comes to manners and other different aspects, they are also very different in cultures and beliefs. Different cultures and different beliefs are not the only reasons that are keeping Japan and South Korea apart though. Their history is the largest reason the Japan and South Korea do not have a strong relationship with one another. Japan and South Korea have a long history. A history of colonial rule and lack of trust in Japan, South Korea chooses not to ally itself with Japan and to not trust in Japan. Although the two countries have been workin g on stabilizing their relationship, they still need to overcome some issues and their past. South Korea may never learn to get past their long relationship with Japan, but they may be able to work around it. Japan and South Korea's unstable relationship could be improved by sharing their different cultures more or through a military alliance with each other. Japan and South Korea's relationship is known as a "quasialliance" (Cooney 9). South Korea and Japan are both allies with the United States, but Japan and South Korea still remain unallied to each other. Japan and South Korea still maintain an unstable relationship that could be improved drastically. They still have yet to overcome their differences and forget their past. Although the two count... ...ver people may go and whenever they may happen. Some consequences may occur but many benefits are also possible as well. Japan and South Korea have the potential to become allies. If they were to become allies they would become an extremely strong force in the Asian world. The process may take some time but eventually the two countries would be able to see eye to eye on certain issues regarding North Korea and other important matters. They may become allies through the culture the two already share with one another, or maybe they could become allies economically through the business relationship they have. North Korea and the United States might even play a role in the two countries becoming allies. Whatever the reason, Japan and South Korea can become allies. Both countries, Japan as well as South Korea, would both benefit by becoming allies with one another.

Diverse Workforce Essay

The term labor force is a general way to refer to all the people willing and able to work. For an organization, the internal labor force consists of the organization’s workers – its employees and the people who have contracts to work at the organization. This internal labor force has been drawn from the organization’s external labor market, that is, individuals who are actively seeking employment. With the development of the world, the labor force also changes. There are three major trends today in the change in labor force: 1. An aging working, 2. Diverse working, 3. Skills deficiencies of workforce. This report will talk about one of the three major trends in the change of labor force — Diverse Workforce. Diversity workforce refers to the variety differences between people in an organization. That sounds simple, but a diverse workforce consists of so many things, like gender, age, ethnic group, immigrants, physically and mentally disabled people, veteran status, sexual orientation, lifestyle, skill level, function or position within the company and so on. This paper is designed for advantages of a diverse workforce, problems of workforce diversity and strategies can be implemented to overcome the problems. 2.0 Advantages of a diverse workforce For an organization, a diverse workforce is good for it. Diversity is not only beneficial to both associates, but also to employers. Although associates are interdependent in the workplace, respecting individual differences can increase productivity. Diversity in the workplace can reduce lawsuits and increase marketing opportunities, recruitment, creativity, and business image (Esty, et al., 1995). In an era when flexibility and creativity are keys to competitiveness, diversity is critical for an organization’s success. Also, the consequences (loss of time and money) should not be overlooked. An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits. There are two advantages of why the diverse workforce important to an organization. 2.1More creative When employees come from diverse background, but bring individual talents and experience with them. This invariably contributes to an organization’s overall growth. Embracing employees with different skills and cultural viewpoints helps in understanding the needs and requirements of the customers, on a global scale. Diversity in workplace leads to a wide of viewpoints and business ideas. This helps an organization formulate the best business strategy, with its lager pool of different ideas and solutions. It can be more creative. Absolutely, with the world developing, a company need more creative to follow the world, and a diverse workforce can bring different employers, they have different background and experiences. So a diverse workforce is important to organizations. 2.2Increasing sales and earnings For organizations, the most important gold is profit. No one wants them lose money. Workforce diversity can increase sales and earnings. â€Å"Valuing diversity is part of Safeway’s approach to competing with specialty grocers and big-box stores such as Walmart and Target. Safeway invested in programs to attract, develop, and retain its best talent and to position the company as an employer of choice. Although 70 percent of Safeway’s customers are women, male leaders had been the norm in the retail grocery industry. Safeway took initiatives to help women, including women of color, advance into management. The CEO speaks regularly with employees about diversity issue, and employees have access to DVDs featuring interviews with successful employees who are women and people of color. The company ensures that all employees who qualify for its Retail Leadership Program, including those who work part-time and have flexible schedules to juggle work and family responsibilities, have the same opportunities for coaching, development, and advancement. A women’s leadership network sponsors development meetings between promising women and executives who suggest new job opportunities that can help the women advance to next level. With these and other efforts, the number of female store managers has risen a dramatic 42 percent, and financial analysts have concluded that the advancement of women and minorities has increased Safeway’s sales and earnings.† (Noe, el al. p.67) 3.0 Two problems of workforce diversity Although employing a diverse workforce has many advantages, it comes with some problems as well. 3.1 Communication Communication barriers lead to problems in a company attempting to create a diverse workplace. When a U.S. company hires employees of other cultures whose first language is not English, employees and managers may experience difficulties communicating with one another. This can lead to misunderstandings and a decrease in productivity. For example, if a manager gives instructions about completing a certain task to an employee who fails to fully comprehend the instructions, the employee may make mistakes if he tries to complete the task without receiving clarity. Sometimes it helps for companies to hire bilingual employees who can mediate and reduce language and communication barriers. To achieve the advantages of diversity, you must often provide diversity training, which includes cultural awareness and sensitivity training. Communication barriers become a major challenge in a diverse workforce. Employees that come from different cultures sometimes speak different languages, and encouraging communication can be a challenge. This can negatively affect both formal and informal communication and cohesion. It can also cause more errors and conflicts than you would likely find in a less diverse company. 3.2 Discrimination A company may encounter is reverse discrimination. This is a feeling that is associated with affirmative action policies. It is a major argument against such policies. Reverse discrimination is a claim by white males that they have been unfairly discriminated against. They claim they are equally or more qualified for the position, yet were passed over for a minority to receive the job. This can cause lawsuits in some cases, but mostly a sense of rejection by other workers in the company toward the minority who received the position. Although companies often train to avoid discrimination, the more diverse a workplace, the more potential for discrimination. This can create a hostile work environment where employees may fell oppressed if their emotional security is not protected. The company may face possible legal issues if prejudice and discrimination enter the mix and impact the decisions company leaders make. If managers make decisions about employees based on their personal traits, the company and the managers face potential lawsuits for discrimination. 4.0 strategies can be implemented to overcome the problems 4.1 Recognition As a manager or business owner, you must recognize that people have differences, be they physical, generational or cultural, and you cannot pretend that these barriers have been broken down. Instead, celebrate the differences among your employees, and encourage them to let their individualities show. For example, don’t hesitate to ask someone from another culture about their culture’s etiquette practices — their knowledge could prove useful to your business. Do not pigeonhole your employees. An employee’s worth comes from more than his ethnicity or age. 4.2 Fairness Acting fairly and acting uniformly are different, and only one enables you to successfully deal with diversity in your workplace. Don’t be fooled into thinking that by treating everyone exactly the same, you are demonstrating a fair attitude and respecting diversity. Instead, treat people fairly and respect the differences that make them who they are. For example, don’t schedule a mandatory meeting that falls on a religious holiday — it demonstrates a insensitivity and may breed resentment and foster feelings of being left out in any employees that are unable to attend. As a manager, you must fairness, whatever he or she is white or black, do not discriminate them. When the top managers treat the employees fair, the employees and employees can be respect themselves. 4.3 Patience Although employees that come from different cultures sometimes speak different languages, sometimes they cannot know what you say, as a manager or owner, you must have patience to listen to your employees’ suggestions so that it can help you improve yourself. 5.0 Conclusion A diverse workforce is a reflection of a changing world and marketplace. Diverse work teams bring high value to organizations. Respecting individual differences will benefit the workplace by creating a competitive edge and increasing work productivity. Diversity management benefits associates by creating a fair and safe environment where everyone has access to opportunities and challenges. Management tools in a diverse workforce should be used to educate everyone about diversity and its issues, including laws and regulations. Most workplaces are made up of diverse cultures, so organizations need to learn how to adapt to be successful. 6.0 References Esty, Katharine, Richard Griffin, and Marcie Schorr-Hirsh (1995). Workplace diversity. A managers guide to solving problems and turning diversity into a competitive advantage. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation. Lynne, M. D. Advantages & Disadvantages of Diverse Workforce in an Organization, [Online] Available at: http:smallbusiness.chron.com. [Accessed 3 November 2012]. Noe, R. A, et al (2011): Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 4th edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Josh, G. Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions [Online] Available at: http:www.multiculturaladvantage.com/recruit/diversity [ Accessed 7 November 2012] Tom, R. 5 Strategies for Dealing with Diversity in the Workplace [Online] Available at: http:smallbusiness.chron.com. [ Accessed 10 November 2012]