A Framework for Marketing Image Management Review Free Essays

A Framework for Marketing Image Management Review Organization Image Management Prepared by: Nur Amirah Bt Sarudian806421 A Framework for Marketing Image Management This paper concentrating on company’s promoting picture which incorporate thusly, certain components, contributions, and publics. It is imperative to each organization to establish customer’s connection of an association. The discoveries of this paper show that solitary a precise methodology will yield helpful and exact data that an organization can convert energetically. We will compose a custom exposition test on A Framework for Marketing Image Management Review or then again any comparable point just for you Request Now Picture is essential to an association where it can depicted as a whole of convictions, perspectives, and impressions that an individual or gathering has an article. The item either is organization, item, brand, spot, or individual. An organization has numerous pictures which is relying on the particular article being considered, the general population surveyed and different conditions that related with pictures. Each association has a corporate picture, regardless of whether it needs one or not. When appropriately structured and dealt with, the corporate picture will precisely mirror the degree of the organization’s pledge to quality, greatness and connections. The associations with its different constituents including current and expected clients, workers and future staff, contenders, accomplices, administering bodies, and the overall population on the loose. Thus, the corporate picture is a basic worry for each association, one meriting a similar consideration and duty by senior administration as some other fundamental issue. A company’s picture is a dynamic and significant attestation of the nature, culture and structure of an association. This applies similarly to companies, organizations, government substances, and non-benefit associations. The corporate picture conveys the organization’s crucial, demonstrable skill of its authority, the bore of its workers and its jobs inside the promoting condition or political scene. All will in general have an exceptional picture, a picture that is in part purposeful and in part unintentional, somewhat self-made and mostly exogenous. The company’s picture or otherwise called a corporate picture is critical to each organization in light of the fact that the crude materials into a substantial item, apparatus use to make items or item stock. It alludes to how an organization is seen. It likewise a for the most part acknowledged picture of what an organization depend on. Ordinarily, a company’s picture is intended to be engaging the general population, with the goal that the organization can start an enthusiasm among shoppers, make portion of psyche, create brand value, and in this manner encourage item deals. A company’s picture isn't exclusively made by the organization. Different supporters of a company’s picture could incorporate news media, writers, ecological associations, worker's guilds and other Non-Government Organizations (NGO). The negative notoriety is corresponds with negative execution. In the event that this occurred, the organization needs to coordinate correspondence as an advertising office to address the misperception. As a rule, the organization needs to improve its presentation and some of the time it needs to impart its real execution level all the more successfully. The picture the executives procedure has four stages. It is use to ensure the procedure is possible, reasonable which is minimal effort and repeatable. The stages are plan, information assortment, picture hole examination and in conclusion, picture alteration activities and following. Configuration stage is when organization concluded necessities to track, for example, picture factors, items, publics and area. Corporate showcasing research office has an assignment of estimating and following picture and furthermore to employ research organizations, gather information, investigate results, and make proposals. The model is showcasing specialists who utilize advertising and different types of advancement to recommend a psychological picture to the general population. At the point when fabricated a plan stage, the organization decides the components, contributions, publics, and fitting contenders to follow after some time. At that point, the one-on-one meetings and center gathering is utilizing with considered the accompanying the kinds of inquiries, for example, factors followed like item, cost, salesforce, channels, interchanges, administration or backing. This choice dependent on factors that most effect on the buy choice. At that point, study the contribution are most significant either a low piece of the overall industry or enormous income commitments. After the contribution, organization should know the various publics for three kinds of buyer purchasing choices. Choices in type, land area and different elements need to choose by organization. It will concentrating on the term or the mission which has been chosen. Each means organization takes, it ought to choose who the important contenders are. It remembers the significant contenders and serious choices for client nd wholesalers observation. Finally, the inquiry needs to believe is the means by which frequently the predetermined pictures be followed. Picture following is exorbitant, organization will attempt to play out a money saving advantages examination to restrict the quantity of properties, contenders, and open inspected in the quantitative stage which is gotten from the st ructure stage. The data that organization needs is subjective proportion of the significance of the components in purchasing choice, subjective proportion of the key contenders, and subjective exploration for every one of the buyers and clients remembering for striking publics. This will keeps away from the chance of a misled picture estimation that prompts create speculations to be tried in the quantitative stage. Second, information assortment stage is gathered by phone studies. Utilizing phone overview has a few favorable circumstances and furthermore impediments. The points of interest is over sent surveys. The data or information can be gotten quicker. It additionally cause the questioner to can explain the inquiries that been posing. While the impediments utilizing phone overview is the point at which the survey is long or complex. The extraordinary activity is close to home meetings to gather the long or complex information from the reviews. Third, the picture hole examination stage is the point at which the showcasing research office sums up and breaks down the gathered information, and graphically depicts the outcomes. The picture is depicted on a lot of bipolar scales. Each scales runs from one to five (poor to superb). It has two profiles plotted over the scales which speak to a wide range of correlations. The examinations is two public’s sees, double cross periods, the organization and its significant rival, two items and finally the real picture and wanted picture. The gathering picture information need to show the significance of each trait. There is two techniques to examination information. To begin with, the immediate strategy incorporates asking the respondent to just position the properties by dispersing a steady aggregate of focuses over the qualities. Utilizing rating scale likewise can be use in direct strategy. Second, the circuitous technique is gotten from the information utilizing a relapse or conjoint approach. Organization needs to accomplish a high picture rating on each trait that is profoundly imperative to its objective open. In the event that organization picture isn't establishing the most ideal first connection, it truly could be losing a huge number of dollars, as possibilities dance away to ompanies they see as the better organization. That is to say, the organization will lose deals to its rivals. At that point, it additionally cause organization to overspend on a quality of low or less significance to the client which not needs it. The best activities is dedicate assets to the different factor wh ich is critical to the objective market. The factor is as a rule about the general population and the contributions model like amazing administrations, client assistance, item and deals power and correspondences quality. The correspondence quality resembles utilizing pamphlets, commercials, item bundles and business cards that reflect company’s picture. For instance, a children’s party arranging administration may make materials utilizing splendid hues and bright pictures that look fun and young. Four, all the investigation before show that the picture adjustment activities and following stage is an image of the company’s significant qualities and shortcoming as saw by respondents. Organization need to creates plan to alter any of its property standings; incorporate competitors’ standings on same characteristics. At that point, the firm’s remaining in every quadrant has various consequences for the board activity. It additionally recognized that changing the apparent quality significance is typically more troublesome than changing the apparent trait rating. At the point when the executives recognizes more than one picture holes it is possible that it genuine holes or recognition holes, they should be organized. They need to think about the five inquiries regarding the holes. The holes questions is the holes impact purchaser conduct, best technique to close the hole, expenses and advantages of shutting hole, time to close the hole and the better to change significance evaluations or quality appraisals. All the determining systems to close picture holes probably money saving advantage examination which incorporates potential contender reactions. The money saving advantages are remember the assets and time for improving picture impression of a specific factor or characteristic if contenders can close the picture hole quickly and requiring little to no effort. Shutting an alternate picture hole may lessen the chance of serious countermoves and result in favorable specialty situating. Subsequent to addressing the inquiry above, the executives will be in acceptable situations to set up a sound picture adjustment system. The executives can follow the showcasing picture has improved in the ideal heading after the activity plans are embedded. Corporate picture the board or organization picture the executives is one of the most intense promoting and the executives devices to use in guaranteeing the feasible execution of the corporate vision. It gives one of the most impressive vital advertising weapons accessible in the corporate munititions stockpile. It moreover

Afterlife essays

Existence in the wake of death articles Sooner or later in everyones life they experience contemplations about death, regardless of whether that theyre positive or negative relies upon their point of view toward existence in the wake of death. While some view demise as just the start of their everlasting life others see it as the outright end. Living in dread of day won't permit one to live calmly or joyfully in light of the fact that in actuality everyones life in the long run finishes with death. All through the short story, The Death of Ivan Illych, demise is exemplified as something horrible and undermines the principle character, while in the sonnet, Death Not Be Proud the essayist is by all accounts dread liberated from death. In the short story The Death of Ivan Illych when Ivan perceives his demise he doesn't start anything however misery and vulnerability. He wouldn't acknowledge the possibility that demise would end his life despite the fact that he was a novel and diverse individual. The character is totally lost with the possibility that passing is simply going to remove his life. His concept of death would something that he could feel coming so he would think about it. As much as Ivan made an effort not to consider his demise it appeared to trouble him. We can see this obviously when the metaphor, It resembled making an effort not to think about a toothache, when one truth be told, has a toothache is utilized. The possibility of death and the steady stressing over it tired him to such an extent. At that point we see the direct inverse in the sonnet, Death Be Not Proud. The author appears to be daring of death. The essayist appears to ridicule passing when he makes reference to that demise is just found with toxic substance, war and disorder. In the sonnet the utilization of representation, Death not be pleased, however some have called thee Mighty and shocking, for thou craftsmanship not really, gives the understanding that demise is an equivalent and represents no danger. The author gives that demise is just the start of our interminable life. The incongruity here is that while passing is the thing that murders individuals, in the... <!

The Link Between Tic Disorders and ADHD

The Link Between Tic Disorders and ADHD ADHD Symptoms Print The Link Between Tic Disorders and ADHD By Keath Low Keath Low, MA, is a therapist and clinical scientist with the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina. She specializes in treatment of ADD/ADHD. Learn about our editorial policy Keath Low Updated on February 18, 2020 ADHD Overview Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment Living With In Children Carol Yepes / Getty Images Tics are characterized by repeated, sudden, jerky, involuntary movements of one’s face, shoulders, hands, legs or other body parts. Movements may include eye blinking, shoulder shrugging, neck twisting, facial grimacing, sticking out tongue, flaring nostrils, clenching fists, jerking arms, kicking, and curling toes. Tics can also be vocal. These vocal tics may include throat-clearing, sniffing or snorting, grunting, dry coughs, clicking, hissing, barking, or even words or phrases. These movements and/or vocalizations may occur frequently throughout the day or they may occur only occasionally. They tend to increase under excitement, physical or social stress, anxiety  if the individual is very tired, or very idle. Some medications are also believed to exacerbate tics.?? Tics occur less often when a person is relaxed and calm. Tics do not occur during sleep. Treatment Treatment for an individual with a tic disorder may include medication to help control the symptoms. The older typical neuroleptics such as pimozide and Haldol are often used to reduce tics, in addition to the newer atypical neuroleptics/antipsychotics such as risperidone. Clonidine and guanfacine, types of anti-hypertensive agents, may also be used because of their reduced side effects.?? How Common Are Tic Disorders? The most common tic disorder is called provisional tic disorder (PTD), which was previously known as transient tic disorder, which is common in children.?? Tics which last one year or more are called persistent tics, which are also known as chronic motor of vocal tic disorders (CMVTD). Tics occur in about 20% of school-age children. Approximately 1 in 5 children age 6-17 years old may develop a tic, but may sometimes start as early as 2 years of age.?? Tic disorders do appear to have a genetic link, as they tend to run in families, and have also been linked to environmental factors. Chronic tic disorders affect about one percent of children and may indicate a more serious disorder called Tourette Syndrome (TS).?? Tourette Syndrome Tourette syndrome is a genetic, neurological disorder whose primary manifestations are the presence of motor and vocal tics. Tourettes is commonly associated with ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, behavior problems, and learning disabilities. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke report that approximately 200,000 Americans have the most severe form of Tourettes, while as many as one in 100 display the milder symptoms such as a chronic motor or vocal tics or provisional tics of childhood.?? Though Tourettes is a lifelong condition, symptoms tend to peak during the early teenage years with improvement in later adolescence and adulthood. Tourettes affects males approximately three to four times more often than females.?? ADHD A 2016 study found that 35â€"90% of children with tics also had ADHD.?? Research has found that chronic tic disorders, Tourette syndrome, and obsessive-compulsive disorder may have similar neurological origins, and an individual with any of these conditions is also quite likely to have ADHD. In children who develop tic disorders and ADHD, the ADHD usually develops 2 to 3 years before the tics.?? There has been some controversy over whether stimulants, the most common form of medication therapy for ADHD, worsen or even causes tics. Studies indicate that most children with co-occurring tics and ADHD do not experience an increase in tic severity while on low to moderate doses of stimulants.?? However, there does appear to be a small proportion of children for whom this is a problem. It is not clear if the stimulants actually cause the tic or if the stimulants trigger tics that were already pre-existing, but not yet obvious.?? It is also possible that tic disorders may look similar to ADHD in their early stages. So the tic would have developed whether or not the child had been treated with stimulants. If your ADHD child develops tics, report it to your child’s doctor. Together you will weigh the risks and potential benefits of medication, as well as explore alternative medicines to stimulants.

The Health And Natural Food Stores - 2082 Words

The health and natural food stores have become increasingly noticeable with the modern diet crazes in The United States. The health and food industry extends beyond the GNC s store, health consciousness also extends to the local grocery store. In the featured writing the following will be explained, the segmentation of local market, a developed strategy for attracting a target audience chosen, a developed strategy for building long term customer loyalty, a discussion on reasons for using strategies, furthermore a list of three potential methods of measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. Last a message for attracting the target audience. The topics discussed are ultimately going to be used for a new health food store called Phil’s†¦show more content†¦A strategy for targeting an audience is one of looking for families and individuals with disposable income and care for their wellbeing. Purchasing food items that provide important nutrients like potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium, could add up to $380 annually to consumers’ grocery bills(Gustafson, n.d.) Americans have seen the value of foods with preservatives in them and notice they can purchase unhealthy classified items at a lower cost and shorter preparation time in contrast to a fresh cooked meal that inherently takes hours to prepare. The diet of an American differs from developing countries and others, the food in the US contains preservatives that are cause for long term health problems. The goal of Phil’s Organics is not to frighten or terrify a customer into making healthier food choice but rather giving the customer the informed alternative, with an emphasis of little advertising exposure, again to gain the customers trust and do its part to reverse obesity trends in the US. Natural, organic and eco-friendly products’ consumers have been divided into 7 shopper segments based on demographics, their lifestyle, organic purchasing history, attitudes toward organic and natural products, etc. * True Believers : These consumers want above all to keep an healthy body. They are convinced of the benefits of organic and natural products for them, their their daily lives and the environment. They like to try

The General Perception Of CEO Compensation Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 1984 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Its general perception that CEOs compensation is very high and in recent years significant attention has been given to rising pay level of chief executive officer. Lot of researches has been done to explore the determinants of executive compensation. In most of studies positive relation between pay and performance has been investigated. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The General Perception Of CEO Compensation Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Shareholder desire maximization of their wealth and wish that the board of directors should design compensation system which motives senior executives to make policies that maximizes shareholders wealth. Stockholders returns are closely associated with accounting profitability in long run, so usually compensation system depends upon maximizing accounting profits. In most large companies managers are not owners, they are support to work in away that in the best interest of the shareholders who are owners. Agency theory argues that executives only goal is not the same as of wealth .executives other may include control, power and increase in their compensation level. In order to achieve their other goals they might avoid attractive but risky investments because they worried more about their safety of jobs than healthier and attractive profit. These problems arise because managers who are hired as agent of principals (owners) have their personal interest. Theses conflicts between p rincipals and agents are called agency problems. 1.1 THE COMPONENTS OF CEO PAY 1.1.1 Base Salaries Base salary is the standard yearly pay of the executive. Base salaries for chief executive officers are usually pre calculated through competitive benchmarking, even though job evaluation is also used to determine executive pay in organizations as well. Normally executives base salaries are frequently influenced by the judgment of the compensation committee consisting companys board of directors. The committee actually analyzes the gathered information from salary surveys usually from same or similar industry and then reach a conclusion to set the executive compensation. There can also be some other factors while determining executive compensation such as size of the organization in terms of employees, assets and revenues and whether the company is making healthier profits or going into losses. 1.1.2 Annual Bonus Plans Annual bonus plan is a variable pay usually fluctuating and tied to the performance of the organization. The main objective of executive bonus compensation is to motivate senior executives in order to get maximization of shareholders wealth, which is ultimately the main goal of organizations. Shareholders are basically owners and investors of the company but they not participate in management and day to day operations. Executives are decision makers of the operations of the firm hence they manage the business on the behalf of shareholders and get their remuneration and reward for their expertise and services they provide to the firm. According to agency theory executives only goal is not the same as of the shareholders that is the maximization of the wealth of shareholders; their other goals include power, Control ad increase in their personal compensation. Therefore, to bend the executives motive and decision making in the best favor of share holders, some flavor of bonus compo nent in added to executives compensative. Given below are five basic types of executive bonus compensation plans. 1.1.2.1 Stock Options Stock Options provide the executive with the right to buy company stock at a fixed price at some future date. Compensative is determined by difference between exercise price and option price of the stock (Initial and selling price of the stock).It means an executive will only be able to receive the bonus in the case when share prices increase. If the share price goes down than the option price, then the options become valueless. The shortcoming of the stock options is that rise and fall in share prices do not explain all dimensions of executives performance .It is not widely practiced in Pakistan. 1.1.2.2 Restricted Stocks The rational of the restricted stock is to promote longer executive tenure. In restricted stock executives or employees are given certain number of company share and they are prohibited from selling those shares for a period pre defined, it means they cannot sell those shares before a certain defined time period. If an employee or executive having restricted stock leaves the company on his own wish before date pre defined date the shares are forfeited. Thats how the restricted stocks are used to promote the longer tenure of executives, which is ultimately beneficial for the firm and shareholders in the sense that there will be consistency in the strategies and policies and executives remain with the firm for the longer period of time. The shortcoming of the restricted stock is that there is no downside risk to executive who always get profits like other shareholders. 1.1.2.3 Golden Handcuffs Golden handcuffs can be either a restricted stock in which the stock compensation is delayed until resting time provisions are fulfilled or to a bonus income that is series of annual or semi annul installments . It may also involve paying an executive any amount at the retirement time or any other predefined age. Compensation is forfeited in a case where executive resigns or is fired before time. The rational of golden handcuffs is to offer an incentive to executive to keep him with the firm. Short coming of this bonus plan is that it may promote risk a verse decision making due to downside risk borne by executive. Executives are considered to be valuable by the firms and most of the firms take great care of them. Executives are very much aware and use to cost cutting techniques and existing strategies that are formulated by them. When executives and changed, new comers bring in a lot of discontinuity in current strategy .Thus golden handcuffs are congruent with long term strate gies plans. Firms may adopt golden handcuffs when stability of executives or management is crucial to firms growth. 1.1.2.4 Golden Parachutes The rationale of golden parachutes is to talented executives with the firm. Golden parachutes involves compensative an executive with substantial amount if he retires, is fired or quiets the job. It means executive have right to get the bonus if they loose their position due to resignation, retirement firing or takeover. The shortcoming of the golden parachute is that it is rewarded regarded regardless of success or failure that means whether the wealth is created for shareholders or not. The difference between golden handcuff is paid in series of annual installments while in the case of golden parachute payment of bonus is made at the time of retirement, firing, takeovers or resignation. 1.1.2.5 Cash Its the type of bonus compensation paid in cash usually quarterly or annually based on accounting performance measures such as return on assets, earning per share, net income, return on equity. This type of bonus plan is introduced to offset limitation of market based measures of performance and to compensative on the basis of accounting measures of performance. There are some factors that are beyond the control of managements that causes firms share prices low despite really good performance by executives. In the above cases deserving executives are not paid bonus compensation due to undervalued share price. So cash compensation plan corrects that issue by compensating an executive on the basis of internally measured performance. Lot of criticism has been made on compensating an executive on the basis of accounting measures as there are flaws in accounting system and argue that these figures do not represent actual managerial performance and they believe that compensation shoul d be given on the basis of financial or market based measures which truly represents executives performance and maximizes share holders value 1.1.3 Executive Benefits and Perquisites As there is a huge difference between pay level of executives and low level employees, same way benefits provided by company to executives also vary from those of lower level employees. Executives receive many benefits like life insurance, pension plans and health insurance. Executives perquisites Perks are unique services and benefits provided by firms to executives. It includes membership in clubs; company maintained automobiles, executive dinning room special reserved parking, company aircraft use, physical exam, financial counseling, home security, sports tickets and many more. 1.2 WHO SETS CEO PAY CEOs are the policy makers in the organizations. There is a question that if chief executive officers are leaders and head the organization who formulate rules and regulations then do they set their own pay level themselves and who decides that whether they should be given bonus or not, if yes then how much? If we go through the controversial issue of chief executive officer compensation we will come to know that there is a strong perception that chief executive officers sets their own salaries, but usually this is not the real case. Normally chief executive officers compensation is set outsiders (Board of directors) who are very much aware about the conflicts between stockholders and managers (executives) and luterests of both parties. But we san not reject the fact that top level executives exert some influence on Board of Directors in setting their compensation (Both Base Salary and Bonuses). Usually committee of two or more than two outside directories is formed to set the d ay level of CEOs in most of the countries. The committee conducts market studies in the same industry and set the pay level. Then those recommendations about pay level are sent to human resource department and top level manages for approval ad revision before being presented to Full Board of Directors to Final Approval. 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Considerable attention has been given to high and rising pay levels of chief executive officers. Critics argue that chief executive officers compensation is very high and it reduces the value creation of stock holders who are actual owners of the firm. They believe that compensation level should be accordance with the performance of the firm and senior executives pay level should be set in a way that motivates them to make strategies that are in the best interest of shareholders. So, there is a need of precise relationship between chief executive officers compensation and those variables that can play a significant role in determining the executive compensation. The variables used in this study and their justification have been discussed in greater detail in chapter 3. 1.4 OBJECTIVE As mentioned above, abundant research has been carried out to find out the determinants of chief executive officers compensation but there is a lack of precise investigation to analyze the determinants of chief executive officers in Pakistan. In this way the objective of this study is to investigate or evaluate the relationship among the chief executive officers compensation, performance and size of the firm. For this purpose accounting based measures such as return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), Income before tax etc will be used as predictors while CEO compensation (Both cash and non cash) will be used as dependent variable to find out the impact of predictors on CEO compensation in Banking industry of Pakistan. 1.5 RESEARCH SCOPE/LIMITATIONS The scope of this study is to analyze impact of size and performance of the firm on chief executive officers compensation. Few limitations of this study has been given below. This research would just restrict to secondary data and no primary data will be used. The access of data would be restricted to public information and all organizations do not share their information. As data is collected from annual repots so annual reports are only available for last few years (Normally 4-5 years) on the websites of the organizations. 1.6 THESIS STRUCTURE The report is systematized as follows. Chapter (1) contains introduction of the thesis, which includes the statement of problem, scope and limitations, objective and some of the theoretical perspective regarding the executive compensation. In chapter 2 relevant literatures would be discussed. In chapter (3) methodology will be described that constitutes the data and justify the choice of the variables used in our analysis sample, technique and also estimate model used in analysis. In chapter (4) results would be analyzed after the data processing. Chapter (5) will conclude the thesis and will contain discussion and recommendations.

Essential Life-hacks for International students Free Essays

Life can be hard as an international student – with lectures to go to, bills to pay, and parents to speak to – it’s hard to stay on top of your studies. But students are resourceful, and they find ways to get the most out of whatever is around them – here are a few essential life-hacks for any student! 1.If you find reading English hard – leave yourself a sweet incentive. We will write a custom essay sample on Essential Life-hacks for International students or any similar topic only for you Order Now Mark each paragraph with a sweet to give yourself a reward for finishing another section, and to provide an incentive to finish the whole chapter! This is a great way to force yourself to read, especially if you struggle to read English. 2. If you struggle to understand your lecturers – record you lectures! You can use a program like Audacity or VLC media player to do this on your PC, or record them with you iPhone. You can then play the lecture back to yourself at a slower speed. This is a great way to also improve your English. Also, when crunched for time, listen to recorded lectures at double the speed! 3. If you’re dyslexic, there’s a special font called Dyslexie that could help you read more easily. Sometimes reading and writing English can be tough, especially if you are an ESL student. However this can be even tougher if you are dyslexic. Dyslexie makes things a little easier. Read more about it here. 4. If you are struggling to read the book, watch the film! If you are an ESL student then reading English books can be hard and time consuming. Luckily for you in the 21st century, there are loads of films and documentaries on all kinds of things. For example, for history and anthropology classes, watch a documentary on the topic, it’ll help you have a deeper understanding of the material. If no documentaries exist, open up YouTube and do a search on the topic. 5. Take notes in English. It might be tempting to try and write your notes in your own language; but forcing yourself to write your notes in English not only helps to improve your English skills, but it forces you to concentrate and focus. This is a proven way to improve the amount you remember and helps when you go to revision as you will remember more clearly the points that you had to focus to write. 6. Write down words you don’t understand in different colours This will act as a prompt for you to look up difficult words when you check over your notes. This will help to expand your English vocabulary and will also help you to gain a better understanding of your subject. Using coloured pens will fire up your visual memory. It also looks pretty and makes taking notes more enjoyable. 7. Google â€Å"site:edu [subject] exam† to find many different exam notes featuring problems pertaining to that subject. 8. Try an online interactive flash card site Flashcards are proven way to improve your memory, your English, and to generally help you get higher marks. There are loads of websites around that allow you to create your own flashcards and some where you can use ones that other people studying the same subject have already made. A popular site that we like is Quizlet. 9. When giving a presentation, set up a friend to ask you a question that you already know the answer to. It’s a great way to a) look like you know what you’re talking about b) boost your confidence. Being able to confidently answer your friend’s question will impress the whole class, and your lecturer! 10. Use our site!! The best thing you can do to really hack being an international student studying in the UK is to use our site’ Essay and Dissertation writing services. our site has worked with 1000s of international students and has helped them to achieve outstanding marks in any number of subjects. Head over to http://www.our site.com to see how you can get the best possible marks in your degree. How to cite Essential Life-hacks for International students, Essay examples

Life Essays (450 words) - Comedy, Fiction, Humour, Irony, Theme

Life You Save May Be Yours By O`Conner In rural America there are many lame people that are of no use to this society. The reason these people live in such slums is simply because they are worthless, just like the bums on the streets of the big cities, these people have no ambition. They sit around all day and rock back and back and forth in their rocking chairs made by the only person in their gene pool that has any common knowledge of outside world. Such people are the rejects of the social world. These rejects are the main characters of Flannery O' Conner's "The Life You Save May Be Yours." In this short story, O' Conner uses a lot of irony to show the ignorance of these rural people. The irony used in this short story conveys the pure innocence of the backcountry people in that they have no clue how stupid that their actions may look to others. They do what they feel will be right, which make sense to them. But when others find that there are such words, like "inbreeding", for the silliness that they call life they feel sorrow. But in this short story the character from the outside world, Mr. Shiftlet, is also an outcast in society and does not feel any remorse for the other characters. He plays along in their plans to be the same as years before and not to advance in technology and moral. The irony of this story develops in that Mr. Shiftlet agrees with the actions and offers of the other characters, the old woman and Lucynell. At first Mr. Shiftlet doesn't seem to entertained by the offer of staying with and working for the old woman but he agrees to it after little thought. Also, when the old woman offers her daughter up to marriage with Mr. Shiftlet he doesn't consider the thought of love but instead the offer of money that comes along. When he takes her as his wife he soon after leaves her for the car that they are riding in. Then after leaving her and not looking back he picks up a hitchhiker and admits the remorse he feels for leaving his mother and making the mistake of taking on a life of wandering. Flannery has a way of making his audience uneasy at certain points during his story. He makes them think for the characters and feel very unsafe with the characters' actions. He makes the audience uneasy with the tragic reality of rural America. These people will be poor and not care for the rest of their lowly lives. They will continue to be ignorant of the world as others know it and not care to learn about the way they could be living. The government will be their provider until they grow old and die.

900,000 Iraqis Killed in Repression and War

900,000 Iraqis Killed in Repression and War Casualty counts in Iraq have generated a war of their own. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published a study that estimated that in the 18 months following the American invasion in 2003, 100,000 more Iraqis died than would have been expected had the invasion not occurred. The study sparked controversy over methodology. It wasnt adding up body counts from bombs and bullets but surveying households about births and deaths that had occurred since 2002, verifying the cause of death through certificates only when possible... which wasnt often. When the same team updated its study in 2006, the death toll was up to 654,965, with 91.8 percent caused by violence. Conservative organs like The Wall Street Journal went nuts, charging that, because the study was funded by the liberal activist George Soros, it was not credible. (Where the Journals editorial page gets its logic is one of the great enigmas of the age). Saddam Hussein and the Death Toll in Iraq The well-documented Iraq Body Count site was putting the figure at one-sixth that of the Johns Hopkins study, though it was relying exclusively on verifiable press, government or non-governmental organizations reports. There comes a point though when casualty figures reach such a level that debating higher or lower numbers becomes an exercise in churlishness. Of course, theres a difference between 700,000 and 100,000 dead. But is that to say that a war thats caused 100,000 dead is somehow, in any possible way, less horrific or more justifiable? The Iraqi Ministry of Health produced its own casualty count of Iraqis killed as a direct result of violence not by survey  or estimates but by verifiable deaths and proven causes: At least 87,215 killed since 2005, and more than 110,000 since 2003, or 0.38% of the Iraqi population. One of the Journals strange and utterly meaningless comparisons in its 2006 editorial discrediting the Johns Hopkins count was that fewer Americans died in the Civil War, our bloodiest conflict. Iraq's Death Count Equivalent in the United States Heres a more telling comparison. The proportion of Iraqis directly killed in the war would amount to 1.14 million deaths in a country with a population the size of the United States a proportional figure that would exceed any conflict this country has ever known. In fact, it would be almost equivalent to the sum total of all American war casualties since the War of Independence. But even that approach understates the extent of suffering of the Iraqi population because it only looks at the last six years. What of the death toll under Saddam Hussein? 23 Years of Slaughter Under Saddam Hussein In the end, the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning John Burns wrote in The Times a few weeks before the invasion, if an American-led invasion ousts Mr. Hussein, and especially if an attack is launched without convincing proof that Iraq is still harboring forbidden arms, history may judge that the stronger case was the one that needed no inspectors to confirm: that Saddam Hussein, in his 23 years in power, plunged this country into a bloodbath of medieval proportions, and exported some of that terror to his neighbors. Burns proceeded to estimate the arithmetic of Saddams brutality: The largest number of deaths during his reign is attributable to the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). Iraq claims to have lost 500,000 people during that war.The 1990 occupation of Kuwait and the ensuing Gulf War caused 100,000 deaths, by Iraqs reckoningprobably an exaggeration, but not by much: the 40-day bombardment of Iraq before the three-day ground war, and the massacre of escaping Iraqi troops on the highway of death make the estimate more credible than not.Casualties from Iraqs gulag are harder to estimate, Burns wrote. Accounts collected by Western human rights groups from Iraqis and defectors have suggested that the number of those who have disappeared into the hands of the secret police, never to be heard from again, could be 200,000. Add it up, and in three decades, about 900,000 Iraqis have died from violence, or well over 3% of the Iraqi populationthe equivalent of more than 9 million people in a nation with a population as large as that of the United States. Thats what Iraq will have to recover from over the next decadesnot just the death toll of the last six years, but that of the last 30. Staring at the Abyss As of this writing, the combined combat and non-combat deaths of American and Coalition soldiers in Iraq, since 2003, total 4,595a devastating toll from the western perspective, but one that must be multiplied 200 times to begin to understand the extent of the devastation of Iraqs own death toll. Analyzed that way (since the cause of the violent deaths is not, to the dead and their survivors, nearly as relevant as the fact of the deaths themselves) even the Johns Hopkins figures become less relevant as a point of dispute, since, by focusing only on the last six years, they underestimate the breadth of the carnage. If the Johns Hopkins methodology were applied, the death toll would climb well above 1 million. One last question bears asking. Assuming that 800,000 Iraqis lost their lives during the Saddam Hussein years, does even that justify killing an additional 100,000, supposedly to be rid of Saddam? He who does battle with monsters needs to watch out lest he in the process becomes a monster himself, Nietzche wrote in Beyond Good and Evil. And if you stare too long into the abyss, the abyss will stare right back at you. Nowhere has that been more true, in this young and morally stunted century, than with Americas monstrous battle in Iraq.

15 Hilarious Things People Have Put on Their Resume

15 Hilarious Things People Have Put on Their Resume Here at TheJobNetwork, we have scoured every nook and cranny  of the internet and have compiled a list of epic proportions. Here are the top 15 most hilarious  things people have put on their resume. Most people take their resumes seriously, but not these guys. First thing first, if you are serious about making a great resume, make sure to download our resume samples for your specific job title.1.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"None of my references really like me, so please don’t believe what they say.†2.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I came up with the idea for Windows.†3. â€Å"I’ll introduce you to my wife if you hire me.†4. â€Å"I am proficient in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and all related search engines.†5.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’m a level 90 Shamanistic natural healer.†6.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"I quit  being a  porn actor and took a job at a gas station. They fired me because of ‘job performance issues.’ Right before the tank was full I’d pull the nozzle ou t and spray gas all over the car’s headlights.†7.   Werk Xperince: â€Å"i werked at da keyfuuud az da best bhag boiii†8.   Leadership Skills: â€Å"World of Warcraft Guild Leader9.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If yes, please explain.†Ã‚  Answer:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yes. Arson.  He deserved it. Will discuss in interview.†10. â€Å"List your most notable accomplishments.† Answer: â€Å"I learned how to store crumbs in the flaps of my fat for safe-keeping.†11. Skills: â€Å"I’m a BOSS at working.†12. Talents: â€Å"I am adored by my entire village. All of the villagers want me to marry their daughters.†13. Special skills: â€Å"I have destroyed the president of Nicaragua in tennis.†14. Languages: â€Å"I can speak Klingon.†15.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"This isn’t my real contact information. I need to conceal my identity because I am being followed. If you need to contact me, flip a coin into the sunlight and look north. I will be there.†If you don’t want to end up looking like anyone above, make sure to go over to our resume library to download a resume template for your desired job title.

Land Acquisitions in India Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Land Acquisitions in India - Research Paper Example The Left Front, which built a noteworthy political hegemony in West Bengal largely on the basis of Operation Barga and land reforms, has been brought to its knees after a substandard attempt at wresting a thousand acres for a car factory, illustrating how land issues have a seismic potential in our political landscape. This was one of the potential reasons behind the political turmoil occurred in west Bengal. People of west Bengal took the issue of land acquisitions in the rural areas of Singur and Nandigram as a prime case of malfunction in the context of malfunction. The economic boom caused during the post-liberalization period continues to create a voracious appetite for space to meet the demands of industrialization, infrastructure building, urban expansion, and resource extraction. Finding a way to balance the needs of â€Å"economic growth, equitable distribution and human rights, rescuing these complex and sometimes conflicting objectives from the demagoguery of single issue advocates†¦and political opportunists, is perhaps the greatest challenge facing our democracy† (Ghatak and Ghosh, 2011, p.2). The paper addresses the hindrances associated with land acquisitions in India, the role of â€Å"special economic zones†, and the policy implications. ... Special economic zones will be facilitated with exemptions from government taxes and duties such as service tax, sales tax and others by the government of India. Although The Indian parliament passed the SEZ act in June 2005, the law came into effect in February 2006. The states like that of Gujarat had approved regional SEZ legislation in the year of 2004. The Commerce and the cabinet minister for industrial growth, Shri Kamal Nath acknowledged that exports will increase five times and the GDP of the nation will rise 2%. It was also emphasized that SEZ will generate substantial employment across India. The Indian government emphasizes that SEZ will possibly grab the attention of global manufacturing sector. It will enhance the transfer of latest technology and will also generate incentives for infrastructure. Central government of India has given the approval of a total of 439 SEZ across Indian states. Of the total198 of these SEZs have essentially been notified already (Vaidya, Dha r, 2005, p-1) Ultimately 500 SEZs are deemed to be formulated. The total volume of land to be taken across India for the purpose of SEZ is 150,000 hectares. This land mainly agricultural and essentially multi cropped is potentially competent of producing almost 1 million tons of food grains. If SEZs are seen to be triumphant in the future and more refined land is acquired, they will imperil the food security of the person. The employment generated in the organized sector is yet less than 3 crore. Employment is less than 0.15 crore even in the information technology and ITES sector. Due to the growing automation, modern era of manufacturing grows joylessly around the world. With the booming automobile sector, the organized sector is also in a need of labor supply (SACW,

Change Readiness, Resistance, and Success Term Paper

Change Readiness, Resistance, and Success - Term Paper Example Some organizations implement the theory of community of practice to drive all the employees towards a common organizational goal, where each individual acts as vital equipment in the organizational machinery (Bach and Kessler, 2012). The creation of a community allows the company to develop a team or group with a common interest that works in favor of the organizational goals (Price, 2011). This paper is focused on the use of community of practice in the four frame model. The community of practice is a group of people who are engaged in the pursuit of a common goal or objective. This group of people usually shares a common issue or concern and they work together to meet both the individual and group’s objectives. Creating a community of practice helps a firm to develop new knowledge base and generate new ideas. The key feature of the community of practice is the high level of communication among the members. The constant interaction allows them to share individual knowledge and narrow down on a particular set of activities that needs to be performed in order to meet the desired goals (Wenger, McDermott and Snyder, 2002). Community of practice helps the firm to strengthen its human resource base by improving their overall efficiency level. This is achieved by connecting the people together, thereby facilitating a seamless communication within the group and also with the higher management. The vertical communication enables the employees to receive proper guidance and direction from the managers, whereas the horizontal communication helps them to learn about each other’s strength and weakness. Depending on this, the manager can make proper allocation of different roles and responsibilities (Delanty, 2003). The formation of community also helps the employees to work as a team where all the individuals are doing their part to achieve the desired organizational goals. It also provides a shared context of organizational knowledge and information, as the

Line Managers In Human Resource Management Management Essay

Line Managers In Human Resource Management Management Essay Abstract Restructuring, downsizing, and an increased need to focus on employees for competitive edge are levelled to be among the factors encouraging the devolvement of human resource management to line managers. However, recent research indicates that there is substantial potential for human resource specialists and line managers to share more effectively responsibility for their organisations human resource activities in business partnerships. The foundation for this is arguably commonality in opinions on the principles and practices of human resource activities. However, line managers and human resource specialists often have dissonant opinions on human resource management. This paper explores line manager and human resource specialists perspectives on line manager involvement in human resource management, theoretically and empirically. The primary work comprises a survey of the views of line managers and human resource specialists on devolving a range of human resource activities to line managers in a case organisation, Hilton Internationals UK hotels, which is seeking to achieve a successful human resource business partnership. Differences between line managers and human resource specialists perspectives are found in five aspects: understanding and ownership of the companys service and HR strategy; line manager involvement in and rankings of HR activities; HR specialists support of line managers; barriers to line managers involvement in HR activities; and the competence of line managers in HR activities. In addition, a need for more line manager training in human resource activities, together with addressing line managers heavy workloads and short ter m job pressures emerge as highly defined findings. These findings may have resonance for other organisations in devolving human resource management to the line and developing human resource business partnerships. Key Words: line managers devolving human resource management human resource business partnerships Background: Research Issue Business partnerships whereby human resource (HR) specialists and line managers share an organisations HR responsibility have recently emerged as the dominant model for HR professionals (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 2003). However, it is evident that such partnerships are generally not yet operating as effectively as they could. For the CIPD report on the role of front line managers in people management concludes that delivery of HR practices by the line is seen as an area requiring substantial improvement with HR managers tending to believe that line managers have not fully accepted HR responsibility (CIPD, 2003:2). A fundamental element of HR business partnership development is arguably commonality in line and HR manager perceptions on the HR function in which line managers are elemental (Larson and Brewster, 2003). Evidence that there is such commonality is conspicuous by its absence. Rather, there is evidence that line managers and HR specialists views on HR are generally divergent. The work of Ulrich (1997), Wright et al. (2001), Becker et al. (2001), Harris (2001) and Phelps (2002) on, for example, perceptions of levels of HR service, all point to this perceptual divergence. As McLean (2004) points out in her case study of line and HR manager perceptions of the importance and performance of the HR function, increasingly academic studies of HR are involving examination of different stakeholder perspectives. Because perceptual divergence may negatively impact on line manager and, ultimately, business performance (Gilbert, 2000; Kearns, 2004), understanding it is important. This article addresses, theoretically and empirically, stakeholder perspectives of HR in a dimension not covered thus far in academic studies: the issue of line managers and HR specialists perceptions on line managers involvement in HR. It analyses the inherent challenges from both line manager and HR specialist perspectives on line managers involvement in, and ability to deliver, human resource management (HRM) and human resource development (HRD) activities. First, line manager responsibility for HRM and HRD are discussed from theoretical perspectives. Next, primary work conducted in Hilton Internationals UK hotels on line and HR manager perspectives on line managers in HR is presented. Finally, the key findings and conclusions on the challenges in developing HR business partnerships are offered. Theoretical Perspectives Relationships between line managers, HRM and HRD are arguably changing (Gibb, 2003) and becoming more fused, despite continuing debate about the focus of HRM (Budhwar, 2000) and scope of HRD (Garavan et al., 1999). Indeed it is argued that fusing HRM and HRD is essential to provide the necessary synergy for HR to be a truly valued organisational partner (Ruona and Gibson, 2004: 49). In defining the connections between HRM and HRD, the relationship has been dubbed ambiguous and elusive (Mankin, 2003:2). The literature on these two areas largely treats HRM and HRD separately; therefore the theory underpinning this paper explores the challenges in line manager responsibility for HRM and HRD in turn. Since the advent of human resource management (HRM) in the UK in the 1980s there has been some debate about devolving aspects of HRM to line managers (Gennard and Kelly, 1997; Hall and Torrington, 1998). Indeed, the devolving of human resource activities to line managers has received much attention by both academics and practitioners in the UK and Europe over the last decade (Larsen and Brewster, 2003). Various reasons for this devolution have been cited, including restructuring, downsizing, and an increased need to focus on employees for competitive edge (Cunningham and Hyman, 1999; Renwick, 2000; and Gibb, 2003). Storey (1995), in articulating differences between personnel management and human resource management (HRM), highlights the critical role of line managers in delivering HRM. A recurrent and established feature in discussion on HRM is therefore the centre-stage role for line managers (Renwick, 2003:262). As to the benefits of line manager involvement, several researchers assert that line managers assuming some HRM responsibility can positively influence employee commitment and, ultimately, business performance. For example Cunningham and Hyman (1999:9) highlight the role of line managers in promoting an integrative culture of employee management through line management. Thornhill and Saunders (1998) signal the role of line managers in securing employee commitment to quality, while increased productivity has also been asserted as a basis for devolution of HRM (Industrial Relations Survey Employment Review, 1995). A recent Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) report indicates that line managers involvement in coaching and guidance, communication and involvement has a positive influence on overall organisational performance (Hutchinson and Purcell, 2003). A key finding from this report is that to gain line managers commitment to people management requires support from strong organisational values that emphasise the fundamentals of people management and leadership (Hutchinson and Purcell, 2003). Devolving HRM to line managers has, however, been noted as being problematic (McGovern et al., 1997:12). Renwick (2003) posits that the new millennium marked the onset of keen discussion about the challenges surrounding line manager involvement in HRM. Challenges lie not least in the relationship between line managers and HRM specialists (Cunningham and Hyman, 1997), the ability and willingness of line managers to carry out HR tasks properly (Renwick and MacNeil, 2002:407), and line managers knowledge of company policies (Bond and Wise, 2003). Hall and Torringtons (1998) research on the progress of devolution of operational HRM activities and its consequences points to organisations making sustained and deliberate efforts to vest HRM responsibility with line managers. However, the absence of a designated human resource specialist role (Thornhill and Saunders, 1998:474) may have negative effects on strategic integration and, consequently, organisational commitment, flexibility and qua lity. Renwick (2003), drawing on the work of Ulrich (1998) and Jackson and Schuler (2000), identifies that a partnership approach to HR requires the integration of HR activities into the work of line managers and that a real partnership approach requires a triad approach between HR specialists, line managers and employees. Similarly, the involvement of line managers in HRD has been the subject of academic debate and organisational challenges. In clarifying the role of line managers in HRD, Heraty and Morley (1995) assert that activities surrounding identification of training needs, deciding who should be trained and undertaking direct training either fall within the domain of line managers or in partnership with HR specialists. The aspects of HRD concerned with policy formulation, training plans and advising on strategy are meanwhile more likely to be undertaken by HRD specialists. Gibb (2003) asserts that concerns over increased line manager involvement in HRD are valid in that it may limit the use of specialist resources in HRD. Another issue is that while line managers have been identified as one of the key stakeholders with the HRD process (Heraty and Morley, 1995:31), difficulties in securing line manager acceptance of HRD responsibilities have been evident (Aston, 1984). Research has identified f actors that may enable and inhibit the take-up of line manager responsibility for HRD. Arguably the most significant enabler of line manager responsibility for HRD is the growing body of literature on the emergence and growth of HRD and in particular HRD with a strategic focus (Garavan et al., 1995:4). HRD may be seen as providing the key connection between HRM and business strategy (Garavan et al., 2001). Business-led approaches to HRD can indeed be evidenced (Sparrow and Pettigrew, 1988; Harrison, 1993). For Torraco and Swanson (1995), HRD is not only supportive of, but also central to, business strategy. It is also, as Keep (1989) maintains, central to HRM. Therefore it can be seen that there are important lines to be drawn between HRM, HRD, line managers and business strategy. McCracken and Wallaces (2000) model of the characteristics of strategic HRD indicates that all four of these factors are integral to a strategic human resource development (SHRD) approach being taken. In this model they are expressed as: integration with organisational missions and goals; HRD plans and policies; line manager commitment and involvement; and complementary HRM activities. Within this literature Garavan et al. (1993) and colleagues identify a range of strategic drivers that are moving organisations down the route of integration of HRD activities with strategic goals, including an increased emphasis on quality and change of leadership. In terms of enabling HRD at an operational level, de Jong et al.s (1999:183) research suggests that this is a feasible option providing specific conditions are met in organisations. One significant condition may be the credibility of HRD as an organisational activity in general. For despite the relatively recent interest in, and expansion of, HRD in UK organisations, there seems to be a residual issue of credibility of the training and development function in organisations generally (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2001). Organisational support for line managers in their HRD responsibility is important too in the facilitation of the devolution of HRD responsibility (Heraty and Morley, 1995), as is senior managers understanding of training and development issues (de Jong et al., 1999). Trust between line managers and HRD specialists is another important enabler (Garavan et al., 1993). Lastly, as emphasised by de Jong et al. (1999), line managers acting as role models in demonstrating commitment to HRD in their operational tasks may be a powerful enabler of HRD. On the other hand, a number of barriers to the effective delegation of HRD have been recognised. One potential issue that is conceivably acute in the hotel sector is the pressure of short-term imperatives (Tsui, 1987) that may squeeze out HRD activities for line managers. This factor, in combination with a lack of training in HRD, may minimise the priority of HRD for line managers (Aston, 1984; Brewster and Soderstrom, 1994; de Jong et al.1999). Untrained line managers may avoid a coaching role due to their discomfort with it (de Jong et al., 1999). Further, where managers do not reflect a belief in HRD in their operational role the impact of HRD is likely to be reduced (de Jong, 1999), the direct converse of reflecting a belief in HRD being an enabler of HRD, as pointed out earlier. Thus it is apparent that a number of challenges present themselves in devolving HR responsibility to the line in order to develop HR business partnerships. Arguably, the organisational context within which these challenges may be surmounted (or not) is a positive organisational culture, transcending formal and functional requirements, that supports change (Higgins and McAllister, 2004). Organisational culture may be conceived as the essential medium between formal organisational policy and implementation in practice (Maxwell, 2004;189). It has both a pervasive nature and behavioural outcomes, as Scholzs (1987;80) description reflects: corporate culture is the implicit, invisible, instrinsic and informal consciousness of the organization which guides the behaviour of the individuals [at work] and which shapes itself out their behaviour. In a sense, as Cunningham and Hyman (op. cit) claim, organisational culture may be an adhesive for HR business partnerships as it may support acceptance of devolved HR responsibility. The case organisation examined in this paper, Hilton International hotels, has sought to generate an organisational culture that links their HR activities to their strategic service quality initiative. This requires line managers and HR specialists in hotel units working in partnership to implement and deliver HR activities to employees. The next section of this article explains the methods used by the authors to investigate the views of both line managers and HR specialists on line manager involvement in HR, a key part of HR business relationships. Research Questions and Design Case Study Background The key strategic driver for devolving HR to line managers in the 76 UK based hotels of Hilton International was the development of a worldwide service quality initiative from a UK launch in 2001, following the integration of Hilton and Stakis hotels. This reflects Garavan et al.s (1993) assertion that increasing emphasis on quality and change of leadership moves organisations to integrate HRD activities with strategic goals. Integral to the new service concept in Hilton was the linking of all HR activities to the service initiative in an HR policy and employment package called Esprit. Within Hilton, Esprit is portrayed as being a concept directing the way employees are managed and work. It is a promise on how our colleagues are treated within the company (UK HR Vice-President), consisting of a range of HR activities. Further, HRHHHilton perceives Esprit as being fundamentally concerned with instilling a service culture throughout the organisation. In the words of the UK HR Vice-President, it is intended that Esprit should live in the hotels and [line] managers should determine recognition rather than it being seen as a Head Office initiative. Respect, recognition and reward are the key principles of Esprit. They are supported in practical terms by a comprehensive training and reward system which is packaged as a club employees join through achieving levels of training. Another central tenet of Esprit is that line managers in hotels are expected to assume much of the responsibility HRM and HRD activities together known as HR in Hilton that support the strategic quality service driver. These activities include selection, training and development, employee motivation and recognition, and performance management. Line managers are provided with support from specialist HR staff at unit and Head Offic e level. The strategic banner of Esprit is leading the organisation down the route of HR specialist and line managers having to work in partnership to deliver HR activities (Maxwell and Quail, 2002; Maxwell and Watson, 2004). In order to explore perspectives of the challenges in this partnership, views from both line managers and HR specialists were surveyed by the authors. The research questions that underpin this article are, from line manager and HR specialist perspectives: Is there a shared understanding of line manager HR roles and responsibilities? What are the key mechanisms that support line managers with their HR responsibilities? What are the barriers that hinder line managers involvement in HR activities? In order to explore the research questions, a deductive approach has been taken in developing the questionnaires, with the content being informed by the literature review, a series of semi-structured interviews with the UK HR vice-president of the case organisation, and semi-structured interviews with three hotel HR managers. Both questionnaire formats encompassed nominal, ordinal, ranking and Likert rating scales, and several open-ended questions. Both questionnaires were piloted, on consultation with a regional HR director, a hotel HR manager and an external survey organisation. The key themes in the line managers questionnaire were understanding and acceptance of Esprit, then exploration of HR activities in relation to involvement in and importance of HR including support mechanisms; barriers; training; level of confidence; and further support. The closing section of the questionnaire addressed biographical data of respondents. The questionnaire for a census of the HR specialists in Hilton Internationals UK hotels was developed to parallel the line managers survey. The survey population comprises 760 line managers, and 76 HR specialists in Hilton hotels throughout the UK. Following piloting for face validity (Veal, 1997), 10 questionnaires were distributed to each hotel for completion by line managers and one for the HR specialist in each hotel, for completion on a self-selected, self-administered, anonymous basis to address response bias (Mitchell, 1996). The response rate was 43% (328) for line managers and 60% (46) for the HR specialists. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative results. Open-ended question responses were coded into themes to enable these to be presented using percentage response rates. Quantitative responses are supplemented with qualitative statements where appropriate. Some 775 comments were included in the returns on the 11 questions inviting additional comments from line managers and some 258 comments from HR specialists on the ten questions inviting additional comments from them. A combination of qu antitative and qualitative data reduction techniques were used. Descriptive statistics, including the non-parametric Mann-Witney test to measure the significance of differences between the opinions of the two constituent groups (p The credible volume of primary data generated arguably affords a close analysis of the HR business partnership in Hilton Internationals UK hotels. Nonetheless, a few potential limitations should be raised. Firstly, the non-random self-selection of the line managers may have led to some response bias, though none has been identified. Secondly, the relative lack of anonymity for the HR specialists may have led to reservations in expression of their opinions. However, the nature of the results suggests otherwise. Possibly the inherent limitation of unique case studies, like Hilton International, in the wholesale transferability of findings is the most significant research limitation. With the importance of commonality in line manager and HR specialists on the involvement of line managers in HR, in conjunction with a lack of empirical work addressing the devolvement of HR to line managers in the tourism sector, the primary work is relevant. It may expose some key points in building an effective partnership between line managers and HR specialists that are not only valuable to Hilton but similarly market-orientated organisations. The findings reported next compare line managers and HR specialists perspectives on line managers in HR in relation to: the concept and ownership of Esprit; involvement in activities and ranking of the importance of activities; and supports of, and barriers, to HR activity. Empirical Findings Line manager profiles All 76 hotels in the UK are represented in the sample, with 34% of respondents located in Central and North England, 22% from Scotland and Ireland, 29% South of England and 16% in London. Thirty percent of the sample comprises senior managers, consisting of general managers and deputy managers, 53% are departmental managers, 9% supervisors and 7% (assistant and deputy departmental managers). Two percent of the respondents did not indicate their position in the organisation. Fifty six percent of the respondents have been in their current position for 1-5years, 15% over 5 years and 27 % less than one year. Of those who have been in their current position for less than one year, 39% have been with the organisation for less than one year, representing 10% of the total returns. Forty eight percent of the respondents indicated that they had been with Hilton hotels for 1-5years and a further 38% over 5 years. HR manager profiles All HR managers in Hiltons hotels have the same status and title. There was an even spread of HR manager respondents across the four regions with 26% located in Central North England, 24% from Scotland and Ireland, 26% South of England and 24% in London. In relation to length of service, 41% of the respondents have been in their current position for 1-5years, 50% over 5 years and 9% less than one year. Of those who have been in their current position for less than one year, 57% have been with the organisation for less than one year. Understanding of the Esprit HR Strategy Before examining views on human resource activities, it is important to ascertain whether there is a shared understanding of the philosophy of the strategic driver of Esprit as it is the foundation of HR activities (Heraty and Morley, 1995; Bond and Wise, 2003). Respondents were able to give multiple responses to the question on their understanding of Esprit within Hilton. From their majority responses (see Table 1), it is evident that the respondents do not have an understanding of Esprit that is commensurate with the Hilton conception. For the majority of line managers (87%) and HR specialists (72%) perceive Esprit as a club for employees. This majority view is represented across all levels of management, and is not dependent on length of service, age or gender. Only 26% of the line managers indicate that Esprit is a concept directing the way employees work, with a further 14% indicating that it is a way of working practices. In contrast, 57% of the HR specialists view Esprit as a concept directing the way employees work, with a further 43% indicating that it is a way of working practices. The differences across the line managers and HR specialists here are highly significant (p=.000). Further, only four line managers and four HR specialists indicated understanding of the concept and values underpinning Esprit in positing additional comments: [Esprit is] a belief/ culture system (HR manager, Scotland) and positive enforcement of Hilton as a group in the minds of our employees (line manager, Scotland). Table 1 here Ownership of the Esprit HR Strategy In a similar vein to the findings on understanding the Esprit strategy, there also appears to be discrepancies regarding ownership of Esprit that may be resonant of line manger willingness to carry out HR activities (Aston, 1984; de Jong et al., 1993; Garavan et al., 1995 and 2001; Renwick and MacNeil, 2002).The general view expressed is that there is multiple-ownership. Nearly all respondents provided three responses each to the question on this subject, generating a total of 865 responses. However in analysing these based on number of respondents it can be seen that 69% of line-managers and 59% HR specialists consider Esprit to be owned by Hilton, whilst 54% of line managers and 65% of HR specialists indicated that employees own it. Almost two thirds of the line managers consider it to be owned by human resource specialists (30% head office HR and 31% hotel based human resource specialists). Twenty three percent of line managers perceive it to be owned by senior management, compare d with 39% of HR specialists. Thirty percent of line managers expressed the view that departmental managers own it and 22% considered Esprit to be owned by the individual hotels. This contrasts with the views of the 61% of HR specialists who perceive that departmental managers own Esprit and 50% who indicated that the individual hotels own it. In the other response allowed for the question on ownership of Esprit, all respondents expressed the view that everyone in the organisation owns Esprit, reflecting the corporate view of ownership. What is starkly evident from this comparison is that HR specialists perceive that the Esprit strategic driver has multi-ownership more than the line managers. A significance value of 0.15 in the opinions of the HR and line managers on senior manager ownership of Esprit is a significant aspect of perceptual divergence, while divergence on perceptions of individual hotels, hotel HR and departmental managers ownership of Esprit is highly significant p= 0.000 (see Table 2). Moreover, it is again apparent that the general understanding of the HR managers on Esprit ownership is closer than that of the line managers to the formal Hilton position. Table 2 here Line managers in HR: understanding of roles and responsibilities Renwick (2003), drawing on the work of Ulrich (1998) and Jackson and Schuler (2000), identifies that a partnership approach to HR requires the integration of HR activities into the work of line managers. In order to obtain an overview of the range of HR activities undertaken by line managers, both line managers and HR specialists were asked to indicate their views on: the human resource activities in which line managers are actively involved; the level of importance of HR activities in relation to importance to business effectiveness; and ranking of the most important HR activities. Table 3 provides a breakdown of the results. Table 3 here The first notable point about the findings tabled above is that while all of the HR respondents opine that line managers are involved in four HR activities employee selection, motivation and morale of employees; performance appraisal; disciplinary and grievance procedures there are no activities that all the respondent line managers opine they are involved in. The second notable point is that in every activity the HR managers perceptions of line manager involvement is greater than the level of involvement as perceived by the line managers. The third conspicuous finding is that there are marked differences in perceptions in the relative value of employee budgeting and forecasting; ensuring HR processes are maintained; rewards and benefits; and performance appraisals. These findings strongly suggest that HR managers believe there is greater line manager involvement in HR activities than the line manager do and, further, some difference in HR priorities exists across the line manager and HR manager groups. In employee selection; motivation and morale of employees; and team briefings and communications, there are broadly similar findings in terms of prioritisation. Comments made in relation to line managers involvement in HR activities deepen insight into the respondents views. Twenty one percent of the line managers took the opportunity to provide additional comments on their role in relation to HR activities. Thirty eight percent of the comments relate to training, encompassing analysing training needs, encouraging employees to participate in training, delivery and evaluation. Communications was mentioned by 14% of the respondents predominantly with HR specialists, communicating HR issues to staff and attending HR meetings. Other activities mentioned by respondents include: coaching; sickness interviews, teambuilding and payroll management. Complaints regarding workloads and staffing levels were voiced in comments by 10% of the respondents, with 5% complaining about HR support within their hotel and head office. At the same time 9% of the managers were extremely positive about their role in HR activities, as illustrated by the following quote s from two of the managers: I feel I have a better/greater opportunity to be more involved within HR because of the hotels and staff itself. It is fantastic not only to be supported by our own team, but the whole hotel team as well; and I get support and encouragement continuously. I run my department as if I was HR but with the bonus of all the help I need being available works fantastic sic. Additional comments on line managers HR role were made by HR specialists and relate to ownership of Esprit, with echoes of findings noted earlier. For example, it was recorded that managers should have a role in all of the above in reality however many areas are not currently perceived as their responsibility (HR manager Central England). Another London based HR specialist indicated that managers also had responsibility for their own development, coaching and absence. Support of line managers in HR responsibility Opinions on a number of features of line manager support in HR were canvassed in the questionnaires. In order to gain an understanding of managers views on the value of HR, they were asked to rate certain HR performance aspects, with 5 being excellent and 1 being poor. The highest mean score was found in relation to line managers opinions on the working relationship with their hotel HR manager (M=3.91), indicated as an important factor by Garavan et al. (1999). In contrast, only nine percent of the HR specialists rated the working relationship with managers as excellent, with a further 59% rating it as very good and 26% as good. Overall, the mean score for HR specialists rating of their working relationship with the line managers was very good (M = 3.69), but slightly less good than the converse view of the relationship. In relation to specific support given by HR specialist to line managers, all HR managers indicated that they advised on training, with 96% indicating that they also provided support in tracking Esprit membership numbers, administrative support and evaluation of training. In addition, other support activities include coaching and mentoring of managers to help them achieve targets, specifically to ensure that they are up to date and that user-friendly policies are in place. Time management reminders; providing disciplinary advice; recruitment and retention; staff budgeting; conducting appraisals; and measure and recognise results through internal HR audits were also articulated by the HR respondents as support

Advertisements: How Do They Persuade Us Essay

Advertisements are part and parcel of our lives. Perhaps, they are one of the most decisive and, at the same time, imperceptible factors moulding and channelling our â€Å"purchasing habits,† so to speak. On the face of it, advertisements promote products and services; they create demand by dint of inducing and increasing consumption. Yet, the ways in which they convey their messages have a profound effect on all aspects of our lives: our happiness, our culture, family and interpersonal relations, business, stereotypes, wealth and status, individuality, and so forth. According to Leiss et al. (1990: 1), advertising is ‘a â€Å"privileged form of discourse†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, in that it can attract our attention, insinuating itself into our thought processes and carving out a niche in our lives. As we shall see, advertisements succeed in selling us a lot more than merely products; in fact, they contrive to reconstruct our relations to things and other people—in short, they interfere with our sense of identity, they equate us with things, and manipulate us. Williamson’s observation succinctly encapsulates their power: ‘Advertisements are selling us something else besides consumer goods: in providing us with a structure in which we, and those goods, are interchangeable, they are selling us ourselves’ (Williamson, 1978: 13). In the present study we are concerned with how advertisements, or rather ‘ad men’, to quote Packard (1957), persuade us to buy their products, and exploit our â€Å"hidden† needs—both processes taking place beneath our level of awareness. See more:  First Poem for You Essay In searching for more effective ways of persuading people to buy goods, a great many merchandisers or ‘probers’ (Packard, 1957) turned to psychologists in order to gain insights into the deepest recesses of the psyche and the factors that motivate people, and then to capitalise on their expectations and fears. Equipped with this knowledge, ad men nowadays exert a remarkable influence on people’s habits and conceptualisation of the world and themselves in relation to values—values which are, in great measure, determined by the marketplace. Packard (1957: 14), perhaps one of the most vehement critics of â€Å"the hidden persuaders† who have ensnared us by appealing to our unconscious or subconscious needs, eloquently captures the â€Å"state of the art†: The symbol manipulators and their research advisers have developed their depth view of us by sitting at the feet of psychiatrists and social scientists (particularly psychologists and sociologists) who have been hiring themselves out as ‘practical’ consultants or setting up their own research firms. These ‘motivation analysts’ have definitely become our shamans who, ‘having helped to inspire the fear of the devil [in us], [they offer] redemption’ (Bolinger, 1980: 2) by means of the products they sell. They are not only interested in moving their merchandise off the shelves; they are actually seeking out powerful communicative cues, ‘a discourse through and about objects’ (Leiss et al. , 1990), which will weld together people, products, and cultural models. In view of this, ‘we no longer buy oranges, we buy vitality. We do not buy just an auto, we buy prestige’ (Packard, 1957: 15). The sale of ‘self-images’ (ibid. ) is now the norm. Advertisements barely focus on products alone; it is the prospective buyers that they make â€Å"overtures† to—which is mirrored in the language used and in such features as the colours in the ad, its layout, and so on (we will consider some of these aspects in due course). As Ewen (1976, cited in Leiss et al. 1990: 23) notes, advertisers have effected a ‘self-conscious change in the psychic economy’ by inundating the marketplace with suggestions that consumers should buy goods in order to enter realms of experience previously unfamiliar to them. Gradually then, advertising has become a ‘highly organized and professional system of magical inducements and satisfactions’ (Williams, 1980 [1962], cited in Leiss et al. , 1990: 25) which can sell us emotional security, reassurance of wealth, ego-gratification, creative outlets, love objects, a sense of power and roots, and immortality (see Packard, 1957: 66-74 for further details). Many people would, at this juncture, hasten to defend advertising on the grounds that the consumer is a rational decision maker who avails herself of technology; advertising cannot create new needs but can only help increase or speed up consumption (Schudson, 1984, cited in Leiss et al. , 1990: 36); and without the help of advertising, consumers would have limited information about the products circulating around them. What they lose sight of, though, is the fact that ‘[w]e never relate to goods only for their plain utility; there is always a ymbolic aspect to our interactions with them’ (Leiss et al. , 1990: 45). Now that we have briefly outlined the â€Å"state of the art,† we move on to the actual study of advertisements and the ways in which they persuade us. There are many approaches to this end, but we will draw upon two: semiology, or the study of signs, and content analysis. Semiology, on the one hand, is concerned with the emergence and â€Å"movement† of meaning within the text and between the text and the world surrounding it. Content analysis, on the other, focuses on the surface meaning of an ad, detecting similarities and differences. Indisputably, the growing predominance of visuals in ads has resulted in a kind of ambiguity of meaning, which renders the interpretation of the message more complex and challenging. Earlier advertisements explicitly stated the message by describing the product and adducing arguments in its favour. In the 1920s, however, visuals were more frequently used, and these two, text and visual, became complementary. Still, in the 1960s, the text shifted away from describing the visual toward a more elaborate and mystic form, whereby it functioned as a â€Å"key† to the visual (Leiss et al. 1990: 199). Against this background of radical changes in the form and content of advertisements, the abovementioned approaches, semiology and content analysis, offer us an insight into the structures of ads and help throw light on the subtle elements, expectations and assumptions, with which they are imbued. Roland Barthes (1973, cited in Leiss et al. , 1990: 200-201), following Ferdinand De Saussure’s tradition, divides a sign into two components: the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the material object; the signified is its abstract meaning. Let us illustrate this with Barthe’s own example: Roses signify passion or love. If we analyse their â€Å"meaning,† we have three elements: the signifier—the roses; the signified—passion or love; and the sign—the â€Å"passionified roses† as a whole. Of course, there is nothing inherently â€Å"passionate† or â€Å"amorous† about roses; they are viewed as such within the context of western culture. In another culture, roses could signify something different, even the opposite of passion or love. Thus, any interpretation of advertisements from a semiotic perspective is bound up with cultural norms and values which may be at odds with those operating in different cultures or different systems of meaning. After all, the power of advertisements lies in, and appropriates, these very norms and values, with a view to reconstituting reality, while â€Å"tinging† it with an arcane suggestiveness and elusiveness. Drawing upon several advertisements, we will endeavour to probe into the ‘probers’’ minds, weaving the two approaches together. More specifically, we will focus on the rhetorical devices employed (e. . , metaphors, metonymy, jingles, etc. ), as well as the ways in which the text and the visual element prevail upon us to react, i. e. , to buy the product (e. g. , their proclivity for creating a problem, only to consign it to the â€Å"omnipotence† of the product, their spatial arrangement, etc. ). Unfortunately, an in-depth analysis is outside the remit of this study. Let us consider the following ad: A black Ford Zetec covers two pages in the magazine, while the text reads: â€Å"When the lorry in front loses its load, most drivers would find themselves losing control. Not if you’re driving the new 2. 0 litre Ford Focus Zetec ESP. One of the first cars in its class available with an Electronic Stability Program. ESP constantly assesses the angle you are steering against information received from sensors on the behaviour and direction of the car. By reducing engine power and braking individual wheels it helps you to maintain control and stability, allowing you to stay on track. It’s almost like it knows what to do before you do. So sit back, enjoy the ride and expect more. † And the motto just above the car is: â€Å"just steer. This common, albeit â€Å"catchy,† ad addresses the prospective buyer directly through the use of the pronoun you. What is more, the strategy it employs is that of creating a problem—or rather setting a scene familiar to many a driver (â€Å"When the lorry in front loses its load, most drivers would find themselves losing control. †) Only in the first sentence is there any mention of â€Å"most drivers†Ã¢â‚¬â€apparently in order to juxtapose them to you, the prospective buyer. â€Å"You† are not like â€Å"most drivers† because â€Å"you† are driving â€Å"the new 2. 0 litre Ford Focus Zetec ESP. Another device employed in the ad is the use of personification, as in â€Å"ESP constantly assesses†¦it helps you†¦It’s almost like it knows†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The new Ford Focus is more of a jinee in a bottle waiting for you to rub it than merely a car. All â€Å"you† have to do is â€Å"sit back, enjoy the ride and expect more,† revelling in the security its omnipotence affords. Finally, the pun in â€Å"just steer,† referring to the actual steering of the vehicle and, only obliquely, to the idiom â€Å"to steer clear of,† consciously or unconsciously, dares us to pop into the car and drive, reminding us of our inability to resist the temptation vs. he omnipotence of the vehicle. As Williamson observes, ‘puns perform the correlating function seen in all ads, but in a way that begs to be deciphered†¦condensation draws together both the denoted and connoted meanings of the ad, therefore making a deterministic connection between them’ (Williamson, 1978: 87). Yet, not all ads are so straightforward and direct. Let us examine the following ad (found in Williamson, 1978: 25). The ad shows Catherine Deneuve’s face and a Chanel No 5 bottle. There is no text linking these two; they are simply juxtaposed. But are they really linked, in the first place? One could say that they are supposed to be linked, in terms of an assumption that they are inextricably related. This link, though, is arbitrary, drawing upon our knowledge of a glamorous world of films and magazines, which Deneuve has come to be associated with. Thus, in juxtaposing her face, which signifies beauty and glamour, with Chanel No 5, there is a â€Å"latent† transference of meaning from Deneuve’s face to the product, and back again. Not only is her face rendered an object that is summoned to â€Å"argue† in favour of the product, but it also depends on that product for the beauty and glamour ascribed to it. Here, the use of language is irrelevant, as the ad appropriates the relationship obtaining between signifier (Catherine Deneuve) and signified (glamour and beauty). In other ads, the visual, not only complements, but virtually transcends, the text, to convey a meaning which is not always easy to decipher. Consider the Gordon’s Gin ad, where there are two different photographs of a famous actor of the 1950s, the second one being obviously altered to the point where the actor is barely recognisable. On the left side of the first photo, there is a text in italics, reading: Gordon’s is made with the pick of the Tuscan Juniper. On the right side of the second photo, the text written in a regular typeface reads: â€Å"Other gins are made with what’s left. † Finally, at the bottom of the page, there is a Gordon’s Special Dry London Gin bottle in the middle of the sentence: â€Å"If you’re not drinking (bottle of Gin) what are you drinking? † Apparently, the significance of the ad resides in assumptions and values outside its ‘grammar’ (Williamson, 1978). First of all, the juxtaposition of the two photographs appropriates the general belief that a good photograph means good quality, which then invites the reader to make the connection between he quality of the first photograph with that of the product through the association of the text in italics with the first picture, and the regular text with the second. Furthermore, the thin typeface (i. e. , italics) stands in stark contrast to the regular text, as it is associated with glamour and prestige and arouses â€Å"elegant† feelings. So, the last sentence â€Å"If you’re not drinking (bottle of Gin) what are you drinking? † could easily be rephrased as: â€Å"If you’re not one of those who prefer our gin, then who are you? Once again, the product is â€Å"put on a pedestal,† while tinkering with our desire for approval, that is, suggesting to us that we will find our identity only if we indulge in it. In addition, the use of the calligram, i. e. , the picture of the bottle, instead of the words naming it, establishes the product as something that has a substance all its own, which is beyond words. As Williamson (1978: 91) has noted, the calligram playfully seeks to erase the oldest oppositions of our alphabetical civilisation: to show and to name; to figure and to speak; to reproduce and articulate; to look and to read†¦[It is a] double trap, an inevitable snare.