Brazilian Carnival The World s Most Notorious And...

Brazilian Carnival The word carnival comes from the Latin carne vale, or farewell to the flesh†.The Brazilian Carnival is the most anticipated events for Brazilians and one of the world’s most notorious and humongous parties. Carnival (actually Carnaval in Portuguese) is a wild celebration of food, alcohol, music and fun. Carnival is held all over the country; celebrations differ a bit by region, but Rio de Janeiro s celebration is the most popular, drawing crowds of 500,000 foreigners annually from across the globe. It s held annually for a few days before the start of Lent, the 40-day period of fasting, abstinence and repentance that s observed by the Roman Catholic Church before Easter.However, the Brazilians morphed it into a version uniquely their own over time, adding in elements from the people s African and indigenous cultural backgrounds. Thus, Carnival in Brazil eventually incorporated lots of parades, elaborate costumes, music, dancing and balls. A tradition also developed whe re people dress up in opposing roles: men dress as women, aristocrats dress as commoners, the poor dress as the rich. The Brazilian carnival has a deep history from around the world, tons of culture mix throughout, and so many events to explore. The Brazilian Carnival has a deep history that comes from around the world. It is the world’s largest party but, the origins of the celebration come from Africa and Europe religions. The carnival was originally to some a Greek spring

Buffalo Wild Wings Financial Performance Analysis Essay

TO: Buffalo Wild Wings CEO FROM: Vice President of Strategic planning of Buffalo Wild Wings (ID: -6775) DATE: October 20. 2016 SUBJECT: Buffalo Wild Wings Financial Performance Analysis This report will analyze the financial performance of Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) with respect to its competitors during the years 2014 and 2015. It will also intend to provide actionable proposals for BWLD’s future development. An in-depth financial analysis will be done in order to decide which company has the best performance. BWLD’s revenue has been growing at a rate of around 20% for the years 2014 and 2015, whereas the year-over-year growth of Red Robin and Texas Roadhouse spun around 10% and 12% respectively. So, we can conclude that BWLD is a faster-growing company in $ terms, and predict that its market prospect is rosy. However, the growth of net income in the year 2015 was only 1.06% for BWLD, which was much lower than expected since the growth of revenue was up to 20%. 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Relationship Management on Project Performance †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Relationship Management on Project Performance. Answer: Introduction Project management is the guideline for the planning, initiation, control, execution, and closing of the work for any particular team for the achievement of the distinct objectives and goals and thus meeting the specific success criteria within a specific time period (Bredillet 2008). A project is the temporary attempt that is designed for the production of a unique service, product or result that has a definite start and ending point. The main challenge of the project management is to attain the objectives and goals within the provided constraints of the project (Burke 2013). The information of the project management is normally described in the documentation of the project that is being created at the starting of the process of development. The primary or the main constraints of a project are time, scope, budget and quality (Kerzner 2013). The secondary constraints of the project include the probable challenges or problems for the optimization of the allocation of the required inpu ts and the applying them for reaching the previously defined objectives. The object of the project management is for producing a completed project that complies with the objectives of the clients. Projects are executed by several organizations or businesses (Larson and Gray 2013). The management of the production of the projects is done by the discipline known as project management. The following report outlines a brief description about the six articles of project management by Christophe N. Bredillet. This report helps to understand the overall review of the six papers of project management by Christophe N. Bredillet. The report identifies the context of the project management research agenda and the different perspectives and the development of the research agenda literature. Comparison and Discussion of Six Papers in a series by Christophe N. Bredillet published in Project Management Journal Modern project management initiated as an subsidiary of operations research, with the adoption of techniques of optimization, developed in that field, however has subsequently widened so that at least the nine schools of thought in project management can be easily identified (Bredillet 2008). For supporting these particular developments, the project management research community requires to be a complete and recognized part of the academic community in management, so that academics in the subject can receive complete recognition for their work and the others are encouraged to track research in the specific related areas (Unger et al. 2012). Identification of different perspectives in this research agenda. There are nine different perspectives used in the research agenda. They are as follows: i) Optimization School: Modern project management has the roots in the field of the operations research of the 1940s and 1950s (Bredillet 2008). Optimization tools like the techniques of network scheduling that includes the critical path methods or CPM and program evaluation and review technique or PERT. Both of these reflect the genesis of the modern project management in the management science or in decision sciences field. ii) Modelling School: Modern project management thoughts progressed from the optimization of one or two objectives like cost and time to modelling of the entire system of project management and also the interactions among the components of the system. Governance School: The governance school had two bursts of activities (Bredillet 2008). The first burst of activity investigated about the relationship between the project management and contract management, whereas the second burst of activity looked at the procedures of governance on a particular project and in an organization that is project oriented. iv) Behaviour School: The behaviour school is apparently associated with the governance school and it takes as its premise that the project as a temporary organization is a social system, and it includes various areas that are focused on organizational behaviour or OB, communication, team building and leadership, and recently HRM or human resource management. v) Success School: The success school focuses on the success and failure of the project. Project success literature describes two main and important components of project success (Bredillet 2008). They are as follows: a) Project success factors: The elements of a project that can be influenced to increase the likelihood of success; the independent variables that make success more likely. b) Project success criteria: The measures by which the successful outcome of a project is judged is known as project success criteria. vi) Decision School: This particular school focuses on the factors that are relevant to the initiation, approval, and funding of projects, as well as factors relevant to project completion, termination, and conclusions about their success or failure (Bredillet 2008). This approach addresses economic, cultural, and political rules that cause investments in projects. Process School: This school became popular in the late 1980s, particularly in Europe (Bredillet 2008). The focus is on defining structured processes from the conceptual start of the project to achieving the end objectives. Contingency School: This school recognizes the difference between different types of projects and project organizations, considers the approaches most suitable for various project settings, and adapts project management processes to the needs of the project (Bredillet 2008). It stresses that every project is different, and so the management approach and leadership style adopted need to be adapted to the needs of the project. ix) Marketing School: This school focuses on the management of early phases of projects, identification of stakeholders and client needs, stakeholder management, formation of project organizations, interactions between clients and contractors, and internal marketing of the project to the organization (Bredillet 2008). Identification of the development of research agenda literature. The European Academy of Management or EURAM has had a significant track on the project management at all of the seven of its conferences that started from 2001 (Leach 2014). The practice of management, the academic community, and the world economy would be more enriched if project management were taken more seriously (Turner 2016). The first methodology is an unstructured and explorative search of the literature about all the alternatives to the classical view initiated this study (Todorovi? et al. 2015). It is discovered that the rethinking initiative in the United Kingdom early on in the initial process. The knowledge about the process in United Kingdom is sought out, as well as all the other ways to rethink about project management, in an explorative fashion that provided everybody with knowledge about the field and a foundation for further studies (Bredillet 2008). Through the initial process, it is found twenty six different articles, textbooks, and many more to be relevant, offering new alternative perspectives and new insights into the traditional approach (Walker 2015). Productive research normally address the factors affecting the first estimates of time and cost that is needed for the accomplishment of the project objectives to the level of the expected quality and the methods for handling deliberatel y optimistic estimates and improvement of such estimates. The Journal of Management does not have project management as one of its subject areas, although it does have technology management and the operations management (Unger et al. 2012). This particular unstructured literature review sometimes becomes a major problem, as it does not follow a proper and a structured pattern. The second methodology is the framework for the structured literature review (Nicholas and Steyn 2017). This is a more systematic and structured approach than the unstructured and explorative literature review. This type of literature review requires an explicit research method, which utilizes literature as the input. This does not utilize questionnaire, interviews or observations as the inputs (Martinelli and Milosevic 2016). There are certain steps for this particular approach. The steps for this method are as follows: i) Planning of the Review: The review is planned in the first step, as without this planning it is impossible to complete this methodology. ii) Clarification of the Scope: The second step of this systematic methodology is the clarification of the scope and the conceptualization of the topic. Searching, Evaluation and Selection of the Review: The literature review is searched, evaluated and selected in the third step of the systematic methodology (Larson and Gray 2013). iv) Analysis of the Selected Literature Review: Once the literature review is selected, the review is analyzed in the fourth step of the systematic methodology. v) Reporting and Disseminating: Finally, in the fifth or the last step of the systematic methodology, the reporting and the disseminating is done. This particular methodology is extremely useful and beneficial as it follows a proper and systematic structure or pattern for the literature review. There are eventually four typical phases that is utilized in the structured literature review (Bredillet 2008). Although it is possible to separate the phases analytically, the actual research process was iterative, however is still presented in a structured manner. The four phases of the structured literature review are as follows: This review scope is normally focused on the outcomes of the research study and the theories of the rethinking literature (Fleming and Koppelman 2016). The coverage of the systematic literature review was more comprehensive with the purpose of the inclusion of the most of the literature within the scope that is defined. It is possible to describe the literature of the project management as either classical project management or rethinking project management (Bredillet 2008). However, these two mentioned categories are not all inclusive and monolithic. The intention of the present review is for presenting the assessment of the alternative perspectives, which are emerged for the rethinking project management in the United Kingdom (Todorovi? et al. 2015). For this reason, the outset of the current study was the identification of key terms and topics from the United Kingdom study that could be utilized in further search processes (Nicholas and Steyn 2017). Initially, the major concepts are decided. The major concepts that are decided include rethinking project management and reinventing project management. In the second phase, the objective was the creation of the search process, which would encompass the literature from the initial search process in the phase one and capture the appropriate literature (Fleming and Koppelman 2016). Eventually, the proper and the significant search strings are identified through the initial study. This initial study was a highly iterative process. The first inclusion of the third phase is the core of the conceptualization of the rethinking project management is the United Kingdom based network initiative that is documented in the special problem on rethinking project management (Martinelli and Milosevic 2016). The second inclusion of the third phase is the next area that share several ideas with the initiative of United Kingdom like the broader conceptualization beyond simple execution and seeing the projects as temporary organizations that are embedded in wider environments and in the permanent organizations (Walker 2015). This area includes various pa pers taking temporary organizations as their outset. The third inclusion of the third phase is the projects as practice papers. These papers are included as they make on the actuality of the theme of the projects from the initiative of United Kingdom (Bredillet 2008). There is a high criticism between classical project management and rethinking project management thinking; although there are some writings that rethinking project management is better amongst the two. Phase 4: The analysis of the literature review is divided into two coding processes (Hill 2013). At first, the inductive analysis is being conducted with the objective of the identification of the overarching of the topics and then gradually categorizing each contribution within one of the associated categories. Six categories are identified in this process (Mir and Pinnington 2014). Although some contributions touched upon different categories, each contribution was only associated with the main category of the contribution. Critical analysis for research agenda The six papers by Christophe N. Bredillet demonstrate that project management is the developing field for academic study in management of substantial richness and diversity that can create a valuable contribution to the development of management knowledge, as well as being of considerable economic importance (Leach 2014). The six papers review the considerable development and trends of research in the subject that has been categorized into nine major schools of thought like optimization, modelling, governance, behaviour, success, decision, process, contingency, and marketing (Fleming and Koppelman 2016). According to Blomquist et al. (2010), research on any project is not only an immature field of research, however, it is also frail when it comes to understanding what occurs in projects. The authors have contributed to make project management research matter to the academic as well as to the practitioner by developing a project as practice approach, in alignment with the ongoing debate in social science research. According to Svejvig and Andersen (2015), the results of a structured review of the rethinking project management or RPM literature based on the classification and analysis of 74 contributions and in addition take a critical look at the new world. Winter et al. (2006), tells about the story of a UK Government-funded research network called Rethinking Project Management, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council between 2004 and 2006. Winter et al. (2006) state that an important development in project management in recent years has been the emergence of a new class of projects, in areas such as organisational change and IT, integrated business solutions, and long-term public service delivery. According to Packendorff (1995), the theoretical field of project management (PM) can be described as a set of models and techniques for the planning and control of complex undertakings. The six papers or articles have proved that project management helps in achieving the objectives and goals of an organization. The main limitation of these six papers includes the unstructured methodology of literature review. This particular type of methodology becomes a major problem for any specific organization or school as mentioned. Conclusion Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that project management is the method for attaining the goals or objectives of an organization. The theoretical field of project management or PM can be described as the set of techniques and models and for the planning and control of the complex undertakings. Projects have become a significant way for structuring work in most organizations and constituting one of the most significant organizational developments. First, rethinking project management or RPM is a diverse research area and a literature review can offer useful input to the conceptualization of the rethinking project management concept by establishing a more integrated view and setting boundaries. Second, an understanding of the development of rethinking project management over time makes it possible to elucidate rethinking project management with all its sub versions from a broader historical perspective, enabling us to see how the components of the current stock w ere added and basically how one can arrive at the current situation. The above report provides a brief description about the six articles by Christophe N. Bredillet. The report critically reviews the six articles. A brief description about the various methodologies is also provided in the report. References Blomquist, T., Hllgren, M., Nilsson, A. and Sderholm, A., 2010. Project?as?practice: In search of project management research that matters.Project Management Journal,41(1), pp.5-16. Bredillet, C.N., 2008. Exploring research in project management: Nine schools of project management research (part 4).Project Management Journal,39(1), pp.2-6. Burke, R., 2013. Project management: planning and control techniques.New Jersey, USA. Fleming, Q.W. and Koppelman, J.M., 2016, December. Earned value project management. Project Management Institute. Hill, G.M., 2013.The complete project management office handbook. CRC Press. Kerzner, H., 2013.Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Kerzner, H., 2017.Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: a guide to measuring and monitoring project performance. John Wiley Sons. Larson, E.W. and Gray, C., 2013.Project Management: The Managerial Process with MS Project. McGraw-Hill. Leach, L.P., 2014.Critical chain project management. Artech House. Martinelli, R.J. and Milosevic, D.Z., 2016.Project management toolbox: tools and techniques for the practicing project manager. John Wiley Sons. Meng, X., 2012. The effect of relationship management on project performance in construction.International journal of project management,30(2), pp.188-198. Mir, F.A. and Pinnington, A.H., 2014. Exploring the value of project management: linking project management performance and project success.International journal of project management,32(2), pp.202-217. Nicholas, J.M. and Steyn, H., 2017.Project management for engineering, business and technology. Taylor Francis. Packendorff, J., 1995. Inquiring into the temporary organization: new directions for project management research.Scandinavian journal of management,11(4), pp.319-333. Rose, K.H., 2013. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)Fifth Edition.Project management journal,44(3). Schwalbe, K., 2015.Information technology project management. Cengage Learning. Svejvig, P. and Andersen, P., 2015. Rethinking project management: A structured literature review with a critical look at the brave new world.International Journal of Project Management,33(2), pp.278-290. Todorovi?, M.L., Petrovi?, D.?., Mihi?, M.M., Obradovi?, V.L. and Bushuyev, S.D., 2015. Project success analysis framework: A knowledge-based approach in project management.International Journal of Project Management,33(4), pp.772-783. Turner, R., 2016.Gower handbook of project management. Routledge. Unger, B.N., Kock, A., Gemnden, H.G. and Jonas, D., 2012. Enforcing strategic fit of project portfolios by project termination: An empirical study on senior management involvement.International Journal of Project Management,30(6), pp.675-685. Walker, A., 2015.Project management in construction. John Wiley Sons. Winter, M., Andersen, E.S., Elvin, R. and Levene, R., 2006. Focusing on business projects as an area for future research: An exploratory discussion of four different perspectives.International Journal of Project Management,24(8), pp.699-709. Winter, M., Smith, C., Morris, P. and Cicmil, S., 2006. Directions for future research in project management: The main findings of a UK government-funded research network.International journal of project management,24(8), pp.638-649.

Pantomime Essays - Pantomime, 19th-century Theatre, Circus Clown

Pantomime Pantomime This paper is about pantomime, about its origin, its people, how it has evolved, and how wonderful it is. Pantomime is a dramatic performance in which a story is told or a theme developed through expressive bodily or facial movement. The origin of pantomime can be traced back to classical farce and the Italian Commedia Dellarte. Not all pantomime is silent. The completely silent performance of pantomime was invented in Rome. Pantomime is sometimes used to worship. Mime is a short way of saying pantomime and also means someone who performs pantomime. A mime, if performing on the streets, will have a hat that is passed around for spectators to put money in. When doing pantomime, it should be noted that the imaginative performance skills are illusion and illustration. Also, you should cultivate an understanding of the role that the body plays in suggesting an idea, an impression, a sensation, or a character. Pantomime can be done solo, or in a group of any size. Before performing, a mime must do warm-up and relaxation exercises. Miming takes mental and physical strength. Perfect coordination of all parts of the body is essential for expressive movement and graceful poise in pantomime. A good mime must be very flexible. You must be fluid at changing posture to create a character. Facial expression changes everything while performing pantomime. You must be very relaxed when doing pantomime. People speak different languages, but most gestures mean the same thing. Animals, insects especially, have probably done pantomime before humans were even alive. For example, bees do pantomime when telling others where nectar is, and peacocks use pantomime to impress a mate. Prehistoric man was next, after animals, to do pantomime. Prehistoric men would do pantomime to try to influence nature to let them get a kill while hunting. Before language, prehistoric men told about a hunt with pantomime. Prehistoric men would use pantomime to tell the history of the tribe. A clown named Grock became a very successful mime. He started as an acrobatic clown at a very young age. Grock became famous because he succeeded in the circus and in the music hall. After years of successfully performing in circuses, he tried his clown routine in a theater in Berlin. Grock began to move away from broad comedy in the Grimaldi tradition, and towards Debureus type of performance. In his first performance in a theater, the audience did not respond. Grock realized that the type of performance required for the theater is different than that required by the circus. Grock began to use a clown as a pantomime character whose actions comment on life. Grock went on to become one of the greatest performers of the variety stage. Grock used music to portray mans struggle with fate, just like Beethoven, but in a different way. Before Grock would play violin, he would throw the bow up in the air and try to catch it, but miss. Then he would retreat behind a screen to practice and the audience could see the bow flying above the screen. He returned to face the audience and missed again. He became so flustered that he threw the bow in the air and caught it without even knowing it! When Grock sat down on the piano bench to play piano and found that it was too far from the piano, he would struggle to push the piano closer to the bench! Like all good comedy, this reflected mans struggle to tame nature. The circus was saved from too much clown tradition in the 1940s by a man named Emmett Kelly. The costumes were getting too elaborate. The usual clown costume descended from the vari-colored costume of the Roman mimes. Originally, it was intended to symbolize rags, like the clown was an impractical guy who didnt get along in the real world. A long evolutionary process ended up with vari-colored, but elaborate costumes. The costumes reached some sort of peak when the Harlequin costumes of the English pantomime had as many as fifty-thousand sequins on them. Emmett Kelly brought back the original idea and wore a tramps costume of actual rags. The usual clown make-up is a bright colored pattern which serves as a trademark for each clown. Kelly wore make-up to match his

Essentials of Human Resource Management free essay sample

Management involves setting goals and allocating scarce resources to achieve them. †¢Management is the process of efficiently achieving the objectives of the organization with and through people. †¢Primary Functions of Management Planning – establishing goals Organizing – determining what activities need to be done Leading – assuring the right people are on the job and motivated Controlling – monitoring activities to be sure goals are met 2. What is Human Resource Management? Definitions: . †¢Human Resource Management (HRM) is a subset of the study of management that focuses on how to attract, hire, train, motivate and maintain employees. Strong employees become a source of competitive advantage in a global environment facing change in a complex ways at a rapid pace. DeCenzo et al (2010:1) Human resource/personnel management may be defined as the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the procurement, development, compensation, integration and maintenance and separation of human resources to the end that individual, organizational and societal objectives are accomplished. We will write a custom essay sample on Essentials of Human Resource Management or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Edwin B. Elippo †¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœAll those activities associated with the management of employment relationships in the firm’Boxall and Purcell (2003: 1) †¢Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ The management of work and people in organizations’Boxall et al (2007. ) HRM as ‘an inevitable process that accompanies the growth oforganizations’Boxall and Purcell (2010: 29) †¢The policies, practices,and systems thatinfluence employees’ behavior, attitudes, and performance. Noe et al (2011. 1) HRM covers activities such as †¢human capital management, †¢knowledge management, †¢organization design and development, †¢resourcing (workforce planning, recruitment and selection, and talent management), †¢performance management, †¢learning and development, †¢reward management, †¢employee relations and employee well-being. HRM has a strong conceptual basis drawn from the behavioural sciences and from human capital and industrial relations theories. The philosophy of human resource management As conceived by the pioneers in the 1980s, HRM is fundamentally different from the personnel management practices of the time. †¢Beer et al (1984: 1) (the ‘Harvard school’)started with the proposition that: ‘Human resource management (HRM) involves all management decisions and actions that affect the nature of the relationship between the organization and employees – its human resources’. They suggested that HRM had two characteristic features: (1) line managers accept more responsibility for ensuring the alignment ofcompetitive strategy and HR policies; (2) HR has the mission of setting policies that govern how HR activities are developed and implemented in ways that make them more mutually reinforcing. †¢Fombrun et al (1984) – developed what has been termed their ‘matching model’, which indicated that HR systems and the organization structure should be managed in a way that is congruent with organizational strategy. The critical management task is to align the formal structure and human resource systemsso that they drive the strategic objectives of the organization’ (ibid: 37). †¢Hendry and Pettigrew (1990: 20) observed that: ‘What HRM did at this point was to provide a label to wrap around some of the observable changes, while providing a focus for challenging deficiencies – in attitudes, scope, coherence, and direc tion – of existing personnel management’. †¢Legge(1989: 25), whose analysis of a number of HRM models identified the following ommon themes: That human resource policies should be integrated with strategic business planning and used to reinforce an appropriate (or change an inappropriate) organizational culture, that human resources are valuable and a source of competitive advantage, that they may be tapped most effectively by mutuallyconsistent policies that promote commitment and which, as a consequence, foster a willingness in employees to act flexibly in the interests of the ‘adaptive organization’s’ pursuit of excellence. Storey (2001: 7) noted that the beliefs of HRM included the assumptions that it is the human resource that gives competitive edge, that the aim should be to enhance employee commitment, that HR decisions are of strategic importance and that therefore HR policies should be integrated into the business strategy. Underpinning theories of HRM David Guest (1987: 505) commented that: ‘Human resource management appears to lean heavily on theories of commitment and motivation and o ther ideasderived from the field of organizational behaviour’. These theories are summarized below. 1. Commitment the strengthof an individual’s identification with, and involvement in, a particular organization 2. Organizational behaviour theory describes how people within their organizationsact individually or in groups and how organizations function interms of their structure, processes and culture. 3. Motivation explains the factors that affect goal-directed behaviourand therefore influences the approaches used in human resource managementto enhance engagement (the situation in which people are committed to theirwork and the organization and motivated to achieve high levels of performance). . AMO theory- set out by Boxall and Purcell (2003) states that performanceis a function of Ability + Motivation + Opportunity to participate. 5. Human capital theory concerned with how people in an organizationcontribute their knowledge, skills and abilities to enhancing organizationalcapability and the significance of that contribution 6. Resource dependence theory. Resource depende nce theory groups and organizations gain power overeach other by controlling valued resources. HRM activities are assumed toreflect the distribution of power in the system. . Resource-based theoryoften referred to as the resource-based view, blendsconcepts from organizational economics (Penrose, 1959) and strategic management(Barney, 1991). The theory states that competitive advantage is achievedif a firm’s resources are valuable, rare and costly to imitate. HRM can playa major part in ensuring that the firm’s human resources meet those criteria. 8. Institutional theory. Organizations conform to internal and external environmental pressures inorder to gain legitimacy and acceptance. 9. Transaction costs theory assumes that businesses develop organizationalstructures and systems that economize the costs of the transactions (interrelatedexchange activities) that take place during the course of their operations. 10. Agency theory -also known as principal-agent theory, explains that in mostfirms there is a separation between the owners (the principals) and the agents(the managers). Agency theory indicates that it is desirable to operate a systemof incentives for agents, ie directors or managers, to motivate and rewardacceptable behaviour. 1. Contingency theory states that HRM practices are dependent on the organization’senvironment and circumstances. This means that, as Paauwe (2004:36) explained: ‘the relationship between the relevant independent variables(eg HRM policies and practices) and the dependent variable (performance)will vary according to the influences such as company size, age and technology,capital intensity, degree of unionization, industr y/sector ownership andlocation’. The goals of HRM The overall purpose of human resource management (or people management) is to ensure that the organization is able to achieve success through people. The following policy goals for HRM were suggested by David Guest (1991: 154–59): †¢Commitment: behavioural commitment to pursue agreed goals andattitudinal commitment reflected in a strong identification with theenterprise. †¢Flexibility: functional flexibility and the existence of an adaptableorganization structure with the capacity to manage innovation. Quality: this refers to all aspects of managerial behaviour that beardirectly on the quality of goods and services provided, including themanagement of employees and investment in high-quality employees. †¢Strategic integration: the ability of the organization to integrateHRM issues into its strategic plans, ensure that the various aspects ofHRM cohere, and provide for line managers to incorporate a HRMperspective into their decision making. Characteristics of HRM Conceptually, the characteristics of HRM are that it is: †¢strategic with an emphasis on integration; commitment-orientated; †¢based on the belief that people should be treated as assets (human capital); †¢unitarist rather than pluralist, ie based on the belief that management and employees share the same concerns and it is therefore in both their interests to work together †¢individualistic rather than collective in its approach to employee relations; †¢a management-driven activity – the delivery of HRM is a linemanagement responsibility; †¢focused on business values, although this emphasis is being modified The diversity of HRM Dyer and Holder (1998) have pointed out that HRM goals vary according to competitive choices, technologies, characteristics of employees (eg could be different for managers) and the state of the labour market. †¢Boxall (2007: 48) remarked that: ‘Human resource management covers a vast array of activities and shows a huge range of variations across occupations, organizational levels, business units, firms, industries and societies’. Hard and soft HRM A distinction was made by Storey (1989:8) between the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ versions of HRM. The hardone emphasizes the quantitative, calculative and business-strategic aspects of managing human resources in as â€Å"rational† a way as for any other economic factor. †¢By contrast, the soft version traces its roots to the humanrelationsschool; it emphasizes communication, motivation and leadership. ’ The ethical dimension HRM has an ethical dimension; that of exercising concern for the interests (well-being) of employees, bearing in mind Schneider’s (1987: 450) view that ‘organizations are the people in them: people make the place’. Beer et al (1984: 13) emphasized that: ‘It is not enough to ask how well the anagement of human resources serves the interests of the enterprise. One should ask how well the enterprise’s HRM policies serve the well-being of the individual employee’ (original emphasis). Ulrich (1997: 5) argued that HR professionals should ‘represent both employee needs and implement management agendas’. Boxall et al (2007: 5) pointed out that: ‘While HRM does need to support commercial outcomes (often called â€Å"the business case†), it also exists to serve organizational needs for social legitimacy’. 3. Why is HRM important to corporations? †¢The role of human resource managers has changed . HRM jobs today require a new level ofsophistication. oGovernment legislation has placed new requirements on employers. oJobs have become more technical and skilled. oTraditional job boundaries have become blurred with the advent of such things as project teams and telecommuting. oGlobal competition has increased demands for productivity. oOrganizations need HRM specialists trained in psychology, sociology, organization and work design, and law oEqual employment opportunity is emphasized and geared to hire the best-qualified candidate without regard to race, age, religion, color, sex, disability, or national origin. The Strategic Nature – HRM must be oa strategic business partner and represent employees. oforward-thinking, support the business strategy, and assist the organization in maintaining competitive advantage. oconcerned with the total cost of its function and for determining value added to the organization †¢HRM is the part of the organization concerned with the à ¢â‚¬Å"people† dimension. †¢HRM is both a staff, or support function that assists line employees, and a function of everymanager’s job. †¢HRM Certification oColleges and universities offer HR programs. The Society for Human Resource Management and Human Resource Certification Institute offer professional certification. 4. What are the Primary Activities of HRM? †¢Four basic functions: oStaffing Staffing function is concerned with seeking and hiring qualified employees. It involves strategic human resource planning, recruitment and selection. The goal of recruiting is to give enough information about the job to attract a large number of qualified applicants and simultaneously discourage the unqualified from applying. oTraining and Development The goal of training and development is to have competent, adapted employees who possess the up-to-date skills, knowledge and abilities needed to perform their current jobs more successfully. If that is attained, HRM turns its attention to finding ways to motivate these individuals to exert high energy levels. Training and development function tends to be a continuous process. This function encompasses the following – Employee Training, Employee Development, Career Development and Organization Development. oMotivation Motivation is a multifaceted process which involves the employee, the manager and the organization. The employee’s performance is based on his ability and willingness to the job. Review of job design and provision of latest technology can motivate employees. The element of respect between management and the workers should be maintained. This can be seen as involving employees in decisions that affect them, listening and implementing their suggestions. Performance setting and evaluation, feedback and reward system must be in place to motivate employees. Throughout the activities required in the motivation function, the efforts all focus on one primary goal: to have highly productive, competent, and adapted employees, with up-to-date skills, knowledge and abilities. oMaintenance Maintenance function is concerned with maintaining employee’s commitment and loyalty to the organization. This function puts into place activities that will help retain productive employees. HRM must ensure a safe and healthy working environment; caring for employees’ well-being has a major effect on their commitment. Employees’ assistance program and communication programs must be in place. Time and effort expended in this function help HRM achieve its ultimate goal of retaining highly productive, competent, and adapted employees, with up-to-date skills, knowledge, and abilities, who are willing to maintain their commitment and loyalty to the company. The process is difficult to implement and maintain, but the rewards should be such that the effort place in such endeavors is warranted. The following diagram will summarize the primary functions of HRM. Another look at the functions of HRM which goes beyond the four basic tasks: FunctionResponsibilities Analysis and design of workWork analysis; job design; job descriptions Recruitment and selectionRecruiting; job postings; interviewing; testing; coordinating use of temporary labor Training and developmentOrientation; skills training; career development programs Performance management Performance measures; preparation and administration of performance appraisals; discipline Compensation and benefits Wage and salary administration; incentive pay; insurance; vacation leave administration; retirement plans; profit sharing; stock plans Employee relations Attitude surveys; labor relations; employee handbooks; company publications; labor law compliance; relocation and utplacement services Personnel policies Policy creation; policy communication; record keeping; HR information systems Compliance with laws Policies to ensure lawful behavior; reporting; posting information; safety inspections; accessibility accommodations Support for strategyHuman resource planning.

Tip for Reusing a Turkey Thermometer

Tip for Reusing a Turkey Thermometer Did you know you could re-use the thermometer that comes with many frozen turkeys? It makes sense, when you think about it. Those thermometers contain a ball of metal and a spring. The thermometer is designed such that the metal will melt at the safe temperature for turkey meat (~180Â °F), releasing the spring and popping up the button. To reset the thermometer all you have to do is dip the tip of the thermometer in hot water (near-boiling will definitely work) to melt the metal. Push the button back down and remove the thermometer from the water, keeping the button depressed. Wait about a minute for the metal to cool, locking the spring back into place. There you go! If you dont cook turkey all that often, remember the thermometer is good for chicken or other poultry, too. Its much smaller than the typical meat thermometer and also much less likely to injure your hand if you go fishing around in a drawer for a thermometer that you rarely use. Youd need to cut open a turkey thermometer to confirm it is metal that holds the spring, as opposed to some polymer, but if is metal inside the thermometer, you should discard any thermometer with a damaged coating. Metals with low melting points tend to be toxic, after all. This also means that if you cut open your thermometer to examine its workings, you should use care and dispose of your experiment out of reach of children or pets.

Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Business Plan - Essay Example Computer software industry is booming and has the highest growth rate as compared to other industries. According to Commander (215) global soft ware market is worth $370 billion. Soft ware industry in the USA exceeded $ 261 billion in 2007. The annual growth rate was 14% in 2007. The annual growth rate has been above 15% since 1990. This indicates that the market is large and always growing. Application software programs perform actual business and industry roles. As a result, most businesses find it useful to analyse their company information. Soft ware application tools are becoming popular. They comprise of data access and retrieval, data management, data manipulation, program design and development software. According to Stair and Reynolds (168) businesses use e-products to improve the operations of the business enterprises. Word processing, inventory management software, database management, customized data analysis application, loan calculators, accounting applications, desktop publishing and graphic designs are part of the online office manager that are gaining world wide acceptance in the business world. Help managers and other workers to analyse company information. Information analyzed using the online office manager speed up decision making and conclusions in the business enterprises. Baldauf and Stair (421) asserts that e-products save company’s time and money. Therefore, there is a wide market for the online office manager application. The first objective of Buzweb Inc. is to develop user friendly office management applications that have various uses. The second objective is to ensure that the office management applications retain their effectiveness at all times. The third objective is to improve on the existing office applications. The fourth objective is to develop affordable office applications for all business enterprises. The management philosophy of Buzweb Inc. is