Law of Non Contradiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Law of Non Contradiction - Essay Example One can also say that a premise cannot be true and at the same time not true, in the same sense (Anton, 2009). All these three statements express the law of non contradiction. In the problems and challenges that one comes across in one’s day to day life, if approached rationally, yet without adhering to the law of non contradiction, could give way to much confusion (Morrison, 2003). I arrived at this sound conclusion while dealing with my personal aim and ambition to pursue a healthy lifestyle. What one calls a healthy life style is in fact a broad based term that includes within its ambit a range of healthy practices and a long list of does and don’t does. It is only when a person sticks to or diligently pursues a list of practices and norms identified as being precursors and essentials of a healthy lifestyle that one could claim to be leading a positive and healthy life. It also stands to be true that an unhealthy lifestyle also includes within its ambit a list of pra ctices and norms that are not conducive to good health. Going by the fact that a healthy lifestyle is a set of distinct practices and values, as per the law of non contradiction, a lifestyle cannot be both healthy and unhealthy at one and the same time. ... For example when I decided to be committed to leading a healthy lifestyle, I was well aware of the fact that a healthy lifestyle involves eating those things that promote health and well being and avoiding those foods that harm or spoil good health. It naturally follows that when I stick to good and healthy foods that I could consider myself to be leading a healthy lifestyle. However, there did come moments in my life when I tried to cheat by consuming things like fast foods, shakes and sodas, believing that it was alright to have such foods and beverages once in a while, while leading a healthy lifestyle. In other words, I was trying to convince myself that while consuming unhealthy foods at some time in my life and hence leading an unhealthy lifestyle, I was also leading a healthy lifestyle. Now by the law of non contradiction, this was simply not possible. It states that at one time, either I could be pursuing a healthy lifestyle or an unhealthy lifestyle. It was simply not possib le to lead a healthy and an unhealthy life at one and the same time. The premise that logically followed was that while pursuing unhealthy habits and consuming unhealthy foods, I was conclusively following an unhealthy lifestyle at that moment of time, which positively violated my personal commitment to lead a healthy lifestyle. In other words, it meant that while adhering to unhealthy habits at a moment of time, I was positively resorting to an unhealthy life and hence could readily expect the results that go with an unhealthy lifestyle, irrespective of my commitment to stay healthy and fit. This catechism indeed turned out to be an eye opener for me and made me really respect the validity of the law of non contradiction in daily life. There is

Team Ground Rules and Guidelines Essay Example for Free

Team Ground Rules and Guidelines Essay Members should be on time with assignments and responsibilities agreed to. If they are not going to be on time, post a message ASAP stating late or absent. They should check the Learning Team Forum every day for questions and late/absent notices. Lastly, communicate when you are having trouble or struggling and need assistance. Expectations for Time Management and Involvement (Participation, communication with the team, accessibility, etc) Communicate, communicate, communicate! If you will be absent or out a particular day of that week communicate on Monday of each week when you will be out. If a member is struggling or needs assistance, ask right away. Always check the learning team ‘A’ forum everyday to see if there are questions or help needed. I think we need to step-up a team secretary\admin posting sections, assignments, and updates, etc. If no one volunteers, I will be happy to do it. What to do if a team member cannot be reached or isn’t participating to the satisfaction of the team? Again, communication is key. If we do not here from a member by Wednesday 6pm on their contributions each week, we divvy up the sections that need a volunteer. A time line and due dates should be set for each task. If someone has misses a deadline then a message is posted and we finalize the missing assignment. Also, a message is posted to professor Rita Solomon-Moore, as she should be our corporate boss and he needs to know when a member is slacking so credit is assigned appropriately. Special Considerations What do you, as a team, agree will make this team experience different from past team experiences. I have only been a member of 2 previous teams now which was a horrid experience in the first team because we went from 4 assigned members to two actual participating members and I felt I pulled most of the weight on the team of 2. So, it was not a team, but just a group of members. The 2nd team was better, but didn’t follow our charter. I hope that this team builds on the definition of a team – â€Å"a group of people organized to work together†. Communication is key allowing a group of people to work together. So, if there is no communication from a member for 3 consecutive days within the Learning Team A forum, we send a note to that member. If there is no response for a day, we notify the professor.

A Day in the Life of a Teacher Essay -- Papers

A Day in the Life of a Teacher I hear the sound of my alarm clock at 6:30am. Time to get up! I wish it was Saturday, no school! No, I'm not a child, nor a student, but a teacher! You don't think we enjoy everyday at work, do you? No. That's rubbish. Let me continue with my story of a day in the life of a teacher.. As I force myself out of bed, a chilling thought comes over me. It's Wednesday. This means I still have three whole days to get through until the weekend. Better get a move on if I want to make it on time. First, I take a shower. I do this every morning to liven myself up and to prepare for the day ahead of me. Today first up we have a whole school assembly. That's one reason why I don't like Wednesdays. The other few reasons I particularly don't like the day Wednesday is that I have recess yard duty and in the afternoon is the paper parade. I step out of the shower, thinking such thoughts of what has been happening in the last few days and what I have to do today. I get dressed and go out to have breakfast. Mmm, I like breakfast, my last chance in the morning to relax and not think about work, but it eventually creeps into my head anyway. Once I am finished I remember and organize, well I try to remember and organize everything that I will need. Which is a lot. When I arrive at school, about 10 to 8 I park, load up my stuff and walk to the front office. In the staff room I have a social chat to the other teachers, we talk about assembly, make our coffee or tea and get ready to leave. With a mug in one hand, handbag and everything else in the other, we back onto the staff door and out the front office. You can... ...up to the office. I have no time and energy to deal with them. I have a rather small class now so I actually have a nice afternoon watching the kids and marking work. I ask them to pack up and that takes a while but I think the kids don't mind because it's always fun to do art. Even cleaning up! The last bell goes and I sigh a breath of relief. It's a busy day for a teacher and the afternoon has just begun. After the students leave I then go ahead and work for another hour or so typing and planning for the next day, I get so much more work done when the students are all gone. When I feel I've done enough I go home and spend the rest of my day doing ordinary things, like crafts, or watching TV or grocery shopping. I love what I do because I'm interacting with people all day and children can be wonderful sometimes!

Free Things They Carried Essays: The Girl Next Door :: Things They Carried Essays

The Girl Next Door in The Things They Carried The Feminist Approach Method to critical analysis examines the feminism implied within the text. In Tim O'Brien's, The Things They Carried, the story, "Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong," is a story about the changes in a female when she is exposed to war. But, more importantly it is a story that illustrates how women are more than sex objects. "Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong," proves that female and male stereotypes do not always apply. "Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong," is a story being told by Rat Kiley to Mitchell Sanders, two soldiers of the Vietnam War. Mark Fossie's girlfriend, Mary Anne Bell, comes to stay with the soldiers in their perimeter. She arrives to Vietnam by a helicopter with the daily shipment of supplies for the soldiers. When the soldiers meet her she is identified as an innocent blond with "white culottes and this sexy pink sweater" (90). Even her name is a direct reference to the Virgin Mary, a sign of purity. The men in the perimeter are attracted to her, because they see her as a sex object. They view her as a daily source of survival. In the beginning of the story, Mark Fossie guides Mary Anne around by the arm, but after a while, Mary Anne begins to guide herself. Slowly, she becomes curious about the equipment and the war. She begins to adapt to life in Vietnam by eating with her hands, and using the phrases she hears from the soldiers. She becomes less concerned about her appearance and her cleanliness, and she begins to use weapons. Her voice becomes lower, her body becomes firmer, and her eyes become colder. She is becoming less of a sex object to the soldiers, because she is more masculine. One night Mary Anne does not come back to Fossie. He begins jumping to the conclusion that she is sleeping with other soldiers, when actually she is just hanging out with the guys. Mary Anne explains to Fossie that the war is like an appetite. On page 111, she states: "I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it's like I'm full of electricity and I'm glowing in the dark-I'm on fire almost-I'm burning away into nothing- but it doesn't matter because I know exactly who I am." This statement is referring to the idea that Mary Anne has found a part of her that was always missing.

PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Essay

The senior management has been advised by the legal department that the organization will need to become PCI DSS compliant before using online applications that accept credit cards and customer personal information. The management isn’t familiar with PCI DSS compliance; therefore, the management asked you to prepare a recommendation explaining PCI DSS compliance, how the organization can move through the compliance process, and the consequences of noncompliance. PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. PCI DSS originally began as five different programs: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB data security programs. Each company creates an additional level of protection for card issuers by ensuring that merchants meet minimum levels of security when they store, process and transmit cardholder data. PCI DSS specifies 12 requirements for compliance, organized into six logically related groups called control objectives. Each version of PCI DSS has divided these 12 requirements into a number of sub-requirements differently, but the 12 high level requirements have not changed since the inception standard. The control objectives are Build and maintain a secure network, protect cardholder data, maintain a vulnerability management program, implement strong access control measures, regularly monitor and test networks and maintain an information security policy. The requirements for compliance are, install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect card holder data, do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters, protect stored cardholder data, encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open public networks, use and regularly update anti-virus software on all systems commonly affected by malware, develop and maintain secure systems and applications, restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know, assign a unique ID to each person with computer access, restrict physical access to card holder data, track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data, regularly test security systems and processes and maintain a p olicy that addresses information security. According to Visa, no compromised entity has yet been found to be in compliance with PCI DSS at the time of a breach. Assessments examine the compliance of merchants and services providers with the PCI DSS at a specific point in  time and frequently utilize a sampling methodology to allow compliance to be demonstrated through representative systems and processes. It is the responsibility of the merchant and service provider to achieve, demonstrate, and maintain their compliance at all times both throughout the annual validation/assessment cycle and across all system and processes in their entirely.

The eNotes Blog New-Old Scribbles from Old, OldAuthors

New-Old Scribbles from Old, OldAuthors A curious trend seems to be spreading across the literary world whereby deceased authors previously unseen scribblings are being brought into the light. First we had Hemingways 47 alternate endings to A Farewell to Arms in print, then an uncovered and previously rejected short story by F.Scott Fitzgerald was published by  The New Yorker. And this week brings with it the new-old scribblings of not one, but two  famous authors, one thanks to science, the other to a private journal. Photo Via Daily Mail   One of those whose work will be newly uncovered is none other than Charles Dickens. In this case, there is no freshly discovered, unpublished manuscript to be sent to the printers. Rather, the hidden treasure has been in scholars hands all along; Dickens manuscripts were written out by hand, marked by scribbles and crossings-out throughout. Now, thanks to a newly invented lighting device, scientists will be able to literally illuminate Dickens thoughts on the page. Reports The Independent, The technology, separating layers of text, involves combining two or more digital images – a frontlit and backlit image of a page. By digitally subtracting one from the other, differences are revealed. The technology has already been worked on Dickens Christmas-themed short story The Chimes, which has wielded some interesting results. One sentence that was published as Years †¦ are like Christians in that respect was actually originally written by the author as Years are like men in one respect. Seem like a small change? It is, but scholars of Dickens are more interested in figuring out why such changes were made. One senior curator describes the technology as allowing scholars to almost see Dickens thinking aloud on paper. It certainly has Florian Schweizer, Director of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, excited, now that this science will be applied to longer manuscripts like Bleak House:  Were talking of tens of thousands of manuscript pages that could potentially be unlocked. Photo via Daily Mail Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the second infamous writer with a new work on the publishing circuit. The Sherlock Holmes authors career seems undeterred by the afterlife. Perhaps its been spurred on by the recent movie and television adaptations. Either way, his newest adventure yarn tells the exciting story of a young medical student who runs away to become the ship doctor aboard an Arctic whaler for   one thrilling year. The difference between this and Doyles other stories? Its actually his own. Yes, one of the earliest proponents of the mystery novel was actually studying to be a physician, until he put aside his education for a ride on the high seas. Luckily for us, he kept a journal on his travels, which has only now been compiled into a published work to be titled Dangerous Work. The Guardian had a sample: I fell into the Arctic Ocean three times today, but luckily someone was always near to pull me out. The danger in falling in is that with a heavy swell on as there is now, you may be cut in two pretty well by two pieces of ice coming together and nipping you. I got several drags, but was laid up in the evening as all my clothes were in the engine room drying after skinning a seal today I walked away with the two hind flippers in my hand, leaving my mittens on the ice. Doyle was just twenty when that account was written. Over the course of his year-long adventure he would grow immensely, dealing with such sobering moments as the death of a fellow crew member in his very arms. The first Sherlock Holmes story would not be published for another seven years, but the Doyle biographer who co-edited the diary has said that he found a direct link to the first tale at the end of Doyles voyage. What do you think of these authors secret works and edits coming to light? Is it fair to the legacy they intended to leave? Should we even be allowed to see them, or should they remain tucked away from the publics eyes? Tell us your thoughts below! (Feature Image Via Daily Mail)

Autism Shots or unknown essays

Autism Shots or unknown essays While some researchers are trying to find the cause of autism, others are trying to find new treatments for autism. There is no cause of autism; therefore, there are many different therapies. Some might fall short of the perfect treatment due to not well researched, not consistent, and not comprehensive. Some of the therapies that are used today are Sensory Integration, Chelation, Gluten and Casein free diets, and Applied Behavior Analysis. Applied Behavior Analysis is the best form of treatment because it is the most logical, it has positive scientific results, and it shows a great deal of improvement in autistic children. Lets start off by explaining what autism is; it is repetitive and restricted behaviors that include very narrow interests, inflexible adherence to routines and rituals, repetitive motor movements, or preoccupations with parts of objects. Autistic people suffer in three domains, which include social interaction impairments, communication impairments, and the presence of repetitive and restricted patterns of behavior. Communication impairments can include poorly developed language, lack of conversational skills, language that is stereotyped, and play that is similarly stereotyped or lack the quality of make-believe. Social impairments can include poor eye contact, poor nonverbal communication, lack of mutual attention behavior, poor awareness of others emotions, and poor peer relationship. The first treatment is called Social Integration which is defined as an innate neurobiological process and refers to the integration and interpretation of sensory stimulation from the environment by the brain, and it focuses on three basic senses: tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive. There are many reasons why this particular therapy is lacking. First, all observations took place in treatment sessions. So it did not indicate either it affects childrens behavior in their ...

5 Reasons Building a Personal Website Will Help You Find a Job

5 Reasons Building a Personal Website Will Help You Find a Job It’s all about the branding†¦how many times have we heard that mantra? How many times have we used it ourselves? Lots, and there’s a good reason: you need to stand out. In life, sure, but especially when you’re looking for a job. When you apply for a job, you know you’re great (confirmed by your fifth grade soccer trophy, among other things), but how do you prove that when there are 10, 20  other applicants with similar resumes? Building a personal website! It seems overwhelming, but a little bit of time up front can yield great results for your job hunt. Read on to find out why.1. It impresses hiring managers.Having a supplemental website that outlines your professional goals and achievements shows that you’re committed to your job search, and are trying to find ways to stand out in the crowd.2. Like your career, a website can evolve.A resume is what it is: a frozen snapshot of you at a particular point in your career. Once you send it out t he door via email or on paper, there’s no taking it back, no making changes in the short term. Having a personal website (which you’d link in the cover letter or the resume itself), gives you the opportunity to update information that hiring managers can see in real time. Think of it as a kind of living resume to supplement the traditional one that goes out.3. It’s easy.Even if you’re not comfortable with doing web design yourself, these days everyone has a brother, cousin, or roommate’s buddy who does freelance web design. And if you don’t go that route, there are plenty of free and inexpensive tools online that can help you get started with a basic website. Sites like Strikingly or GoDaddy can help you get your brand online quickly and easily.4. It’s a way to collect your branding in one place.Chances are, hiring managers are going to Google you. Normally what would come up is a smattering of social media accounts (and hopefully not that blog you started back before people knew they needed to moderate their online presence). Having your own branded site can collect all of those things in one place, creating a hub that’s all about you. (Of course, make sure that only the social media that shows you in your best professional light are included.)5. It can raise your profile.Your website won’t just be accessible to hiring managers- you might be surprised at the opportunities that could come from potential employers searching online. A website can also enhance your social media presence, and start building the kind of network that could introduce new opportunities as well.If you find that you’re struggling to get interviews or stand out from the pack as you apply for jobs, it’s time to shake things up a bit and add something new. Building a website shows a commitment to your professional brand, and could be just the extra edge you need to get in the door for an interview.

Portfolio of documents and exercises 04101 Essay

Portfolio of documents and exercises 04101 - Essay Example Include organising, leading or group activities. Those requiring initiative, creativity or giving intellectual development are also of interest. The following questions are designed to encourage you to provide specific abilities. Your examples can be taken from your education, work experience, placements or spare-time or other voluntary activities but do not write solely about course-work. Describe a challenging project, activity or event which you have planned and taken through to a conclusion. Include your objective, what you did, any changes you made to your plan and state how you measured your success. ï‚ · To analyze the extent of change in customer satisfaction due to either a change in customer expectations over Mobile Number Portability services before and after availing it or a change in the services provided by the mobile network operators to its customers which further lead them to avail MNP. ï‚ · Thus to suggest strategic and tactical actions for slowing down the rate of customer loss, increase customer satisfaction and attracting customers who are unhappy with their existing service contributor. Describe how you achieved a goal through influencing the actions or opinions of others (perhaps in a team context). What were the circumstances? What did you do to make a difference? How do you know the result was satisfactory? During the second year of my studies, I had a group assignment which required all the group members to prepare a presentation on one of our course modules. I myself chose to lead the team precisely because I could understand that other individuals in the team were reluctant to lead the way. The first major circumstance that came in front of me was that my team was formed of people belonging from different culture. This was mainly due to the fact that the five individuals within the group came from different countries. Therefore, it was important for me to understand the acceptance, tolerance and

Quality Management Tools & Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quality Management Tools & Techniques - Essay Example In addition, it is also used in the monitoring of the effects of process improvement theories. Consequently, as the standard the X-bar and R chart will only work in place of X-bar and s or the median and R chart. In order to create an X-bar and R chart you can use CHARTrunner and SQCpack software. The X-bar is used to show the mean or average of every subgroup. It also used to analyze central location. On the other hand the R-chart is used to depict how data is spread and study system variability. We can actually utilize the R charts and X-bar for any of the processes that with a subgroup size greater than one. Usually it is used when the size of the subgroup falls within two and ten. However, the s charts and X-bar charts are used those subgroups of eleven and more. The X-bar and R charts are only utilized; if you need to assess stability of the system, the data is in variable form, if the data is collected in such subgroups that are larger than one but are less than eleven. So as t o ensure the best of the results, before calculating the control limits should collect as many subgroups as possible. This is because with the small amount of data the variability of the entire system may not be represented by the X-bar and R chart. Therefore, the more subgroups utilized in the calculation of limits usually 20-25 the more reliable the results (Waite, 2010). As in the case of Scott and Larraine the utilization of 30 sub groups is actually recommended. Since Scott said that he noticed that the number of complaints seem to have significantly increased since the new system was installed, it can actually be diagnosed that the problems may be emanating from the system thus the need of checking if there is any variability in the system. But since the errors increased in the last third of the month it is also substantiated that the system has been in place close to a month. The X-bar and R charts can be of help if you commence to improve the system and later use them to ass ess the systems stability. After assessment of the system’s stability, should determine if there is need to stratify the data. This is because you may actually come across variability in the results should collect the data and enter it such way that lets you to stratify it by location, symptom, lots, time and operator. Moreover, since the hotel was continuously receiving complaints the X-bar and R charts can also be used to analyze the results of improvements of the process. This would curb down an increased trend of complaints of the inflated bills from the hotel staff. Finally, the X-bar and R charts can be used for standardization. This means the data should continue to be collected and analyzed through the process of operation. If changes have been made to the system that can make the collection of data to stop, then you can only have the perception and opinion that they improved the system (Waite, 2010). An X-bar monitors the average value of particular process overtime. This means that for every subgroup the x-bar value is plotted. The lower and upper control limits are the ones that define the range of inherent variation in the means of the subgroups when the process is in control. However, the R chart is used to monitor the process if the variable of interest is a quantitative measure. To find the upper and lower limits we use the formulae (Woodwall, 2011). UCL = ?+ 3vn and UCL ?-3vn To commence with, the R chart is

Borderline Personality Disorders Research Paper

Borderline Personality Disorders - Research Paper Example Often patients who are difficult are labeled with the disorder without fully exploring all other possible explanations for behavior (Wirth, 2001). While it is considered one of the most often diagnosed conditions in the clinical setting with 10% of the population suffering from the disorder, one of the problems in asserting a defined prevalence of the disorder is that often it is associated with addictive behaviors or misdiagnosed (Swift 2010). There are three primary theories that guide the treatment of borderline personality disorder. Clinicians look to biological, cognitive-behavioral, and psychodynamic causes in order to approach an effective course of treatment (Gunderson and Links, 2008). In the assessment of behavior disorders, finding a cause can be an illusive prospect. One of the predominant issues with the disorder is the overwhelming feminization of the condition, the diagnosis being one of the first areas of concern when treating a female patient. The relationship that w omen have with their social environment is a primary concern in the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. ... The disorder can define the future of those who suffer from its effects with a series of unstable and unsuccessful relationships. Self-destructive behaviors will also be common creating an inability to find success and move forward into a stable and secure life. The criteria for diagnosis will appear in early adulthood marked by a variety of effects within variations of context. The primary diagnostic criteria include emotional instability, inappropriate or intense anger, self-destructive acts, impulsivity, unstable relationships, identity disturbance, and chronic feelings of emptiness or boredom (Wirth-Cauchon, 2001). These basic criteria is further defined by a list of contexts from which a refined diagnosis can be assessed (see Appendix 1). The condition has the highest prevalence amongst women, one of the primary causes appearing to be sexual abuse in childhood with a variety of effects then manifesting as a result later in adulthood. As well, other forms of abuse such as neglect , emotional abuse, or physical abuse have appeared as precursors to the development of the disorder. In a study that compared other patients to BPD patients, 71% had suffered traumas of physical abuse while 68% had suffered sexual abuse, while 62% had witnessed serious domestic violence (Wirth-Cauchon, 2001, p. 66). The most common comorbidity associated with BPD is that of substance abuse. However, according to Lee, Bagge, Schumacher, and Coffey (2010), the effects of BPD are no higher or lower in substance abusers as they are in non-substance abusing patients. Therefore, the substance abuse seems to be a part of the of the self-destructive behavior rather than a

Due Diligence of PepsiCo Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Due Diligence of PepsiCo - Case Study Example Today, the company has under its brand, products like Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker. It has organized itself under three banners, namely, PepsiCo Americas Beverages, PepsiCo Americas Foods, and PepsiCo International. PepsiCo, as a leader in the Beverage Industry, is also very committed to its Corporate Social Responsibility and believes in giving back to the community. Its current growth strategy is 'Performance with Purpose', which lays down its commitment towards the community. It outlines PepsiCo's idea of being a leader with people's support. Apart from focusing on the larger community, PepsiCo also believes and works towards keeping its main people happy---PepsiCo's workforce is the focus of the company. The workforce receives great benefits and packages, as part of working with the leader. It is PepsiCo's way of retaining the talent pool, while also keeping them happy with the company's success. PepsiCo does not solely rely on financial rewards, packages and recognitions to keep its workforce happy. It also is well-dispositioned in terms of its commitment to diversity. The workforce at PepsiCo comprises people from different backgrounds, nationalities and ethnicities.

Beethoven Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Beethoven - Essay Example Beethoven spent his teenage and young adult years studying music and composing many of his own works. In 1790, he met the famous musician of the time, Franz Joseph Haydn. In 1792, when he was twenty-two, Beethoven moved to Vienna to study music under Haydn. The age difference between the two men caused difficulties; Haydn, being sixty at the time, was more old-fashioned in both his music and his teaching, while Beethoven was more rebellious with his music. He did not like conforming to the limitations set down by musicians of the classical era, and Haydn was not as willing to let him experiment. After some time, Beethoven was accepted into the palace of Prince Lichnowsky, where he had more musical freedom; indeed, there were times when Beethoven did not even feel like playing. The prince allowed him these moments, eventually giving Beethoven his own quarters in the palace so that he could have the utmost independence. In the early years, Beethoven focused on writing only keyboard and chamber music pieces. As he continued to age and grow in his music, he began to experiment with other genres. Between the years of 1792 and 1802, Beethoven had his first performances and compositions of keyboard and chamber works. Between 1802 and 1812, Beethoven wrote six symphonies, four concertos, five string quartets, a opera, several orchestral overtures and numerous piano sonatas, as well as more chamber pieces (Yudkin, pg. 199). Beethoven also established his own personal music style, one that people would be in awe of for centuries to come. Unfortunately, aside from various music styles, Beethoven discovered something else in 1802: he was gradually going deaf. The majority of his best works took place as his hearing became increasingly worse. Unlike many other people, Beethoven refused to let this simple little flaw get in the way of what he loved the

Due Diligence of PepsiCo Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Due Diligence of PepsiCo - Case Study Example Today, the company has under its brand, products like Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker. It has organized itself under three banners, namely, PepsiCo Americas Beverages, PepsiCo Americas Foods, and PepsiCo International. PepsiCo, as a leader in the Beverage Industry, is also very committed to its Corporate Social Responsibility and believes in giving back to the community. Its current growth strategy is 'Performance with Purpose', which lays down its commitment towards the community. It outlines PepsiCo's idea of being a leader with people's support. Apart from focusing on the larger community, PepsiCo also believes and works towards keeping its main people happy---PepsiCo's workforce is the focus of the company. The workforce receives great benefits and packages, as part of working with the leader. It is PepsiCo's way of retaining the talent pool, while also keeping them happy with the company's success. PepsiCo does not solely rely on financial rewards, packages and recognitions to keep its workforce happy. It also is well-dispositioned in terms of its commitment to diversity. The workforce at PepsiCo comprises people from different backgrounds, nationalities and ethnicities.

International trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

International trade - Essay Example The major types of jobs that I have been seeking from various potential employers are business oriented as per my qualification and academic credentials. Before I started looking for part time employment, my first step was to seek information about recruitment process. The major recruitment processes that employers use are identification of vacancy or need, specifying the job, advertisement of the specified job, managing the response of job seekers, shortlisting, planning for the interview, conducting interviews and making decision on who to recruit. When recruitment processes are taken into account, my areas of interest are how the employment agency identifies and advertise its vacancies, managing responses to job applications, how it plans and conducts the interviews and the appointments formalities (Garner & Alty,2001,p.72). Currently, most of job vacancies are usually advertised through media outlets. However, some job vacancies may be advertised through social networks in social arenas such as clubs, churches and family gatherings. Everyday, I go through job advertisements in the media in order to get a vacant position that fits my academic credential. My academic qualifications are bachelor of business management major and diploma in marketing. I always look for business and marketing related vacancies, check the level of work experience needed and other miscellaneous skills such as advanced computer skills. The media outlets that I use when searching for jobs include daily newspaper job advertisements, internet advertisement through job sited such as linked, and television job advertisements. I am active in social interactions especially with professionals and so I use the social networking opportunity to inquire about job opportunities. In my view, searching for job vacancies in different outlets h as been assisting me in locating many job vacancies, which I apply and get positive feedback and in some cases, employment opportunities. When one applies

Research design and methodology Essay Example for Free

Research design and methodology Essay Despite the fact that the complete genome of the organism was already sequenced, the specific genes coding for the needed enzymes to form pores in the host cell were still unidentified. With this lack of information, this study is formulated and designed. Culturing of B. bacteriovorus HD100 on prey dependent and prey independent set-ups: Predatory (HD) cultures of B. bacteriovorus HD100 will be grown on E. coli in Ca2_-HEPES buffer at 30Â °C, with shaking at 200 rpm (8). Escherichia coli ML35 and E. coli W7-M5 (10) will be used as the prey throughout the experiments. Escherichia coli ML35 will be cultured in nutrient broth (Difco Laboratories), and E. coli W7-M5, a lysine and DAP auxotroph, will be cultured in nutrient broth supplemented with 0. 2 mM lysine and 0. 1 mM DAP at 37Â °C with shaking at 200 rpm. Prey-independent HI strains will be plated on rich peptone-yeast extract (PY) medium (8). Synchronous cultures: Synchronous cultures will be used for performing various experiments as described below. Briefly, fresh bdellovibrios will be added to prey cells in HM buffer (3 mM N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES)-1 mM CaCl. LQ. One mM of MgCl2 will be adjusted to pH 7. 6 using NaOH (10). The organisms will be grown until a final concentration of 1010 bdellovibrios per ml and 5 x 109 E. coli per ml is reached. For proper aeration, volumes will be kept to ? 20% of the flask’s volume and incubated at 30Â °C with shaking at 400 rpm. Synchronous cultures will be examined at intervals for attachment and penetration with a Nikon model L-Ke microscope (Nippon Kogaku Inc. ) equipped with phase-contrast optics and a Nikon model AF camera. Time course Microarray analysis. Time course Microarray analysis will be performed to identify the genes to be expressed during the entry phase, specifically during pore formation on the host cell membrane of B. bacterovorus H100. Microarray slides of B. bacteriovorus H100 will be ordered from Advanced Throughput, Inc Services. Total cellular RNA will be extracted from B. bacteriovorus H100 cells at entry phase using the RNeasy mid kit (Qiagen). The RNA of the organism will also be extracted during the other stages of infection. This will serve as a reference for comparison of the genes expressed and not expressed at the desired stage. Complementary DNA synthesis, fragmentation, labeling, hybridization, staining and washing will be performed according to the Affymetrix B. bacteriovorus H100 GeneChip array expression analysis protocol (Affymetrix). Briefly, cDNA will be synthesized from RNA using Superscript II (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. RNA will be removed by alkaline treatment and subsequent neutralization. Complementary DNA will be purified with QIAquick PCR purification columns (Qiagen). Purified cDNA will be fragmented by DNase I (Amersham) at 37Â °C for 10 min followed by end labeling with biotinddUTP, using an Enzo BioArray terminal labeling kit (Affymetrix), at 37Â °C for 60 min. Hybridization will be performed in an Affymetrix GeneChip hybridization Oven 640. Washing and staining will be performed using an Affymetrix Fluidics Station 400. Arrays will be scanned with an Agilent GeneArray Scanner G2500A. GeneChip scans will be initially analyzed using the Affymetrix Microarray Suite 5. 1 software, from which PivotData tables will be exported. Raw data from the PivotData Tables will be analyzed in GeneSpring software version 6 (Silicon Genetics), using the parameters suggested by Silicon Genetics for analysis of Affymetrix Microarrays. Real-time PCR: Real-time PCR using the Applied Biosystems 7500 Real-time PCR system will be performed to confirm microarray results. RNA will be extracted from B. bacteriovorus H100 at initial phases of predatory life cycle up to entry phase as described above. RNA will be reverse transcribed into cDNA and simultaneously labelled using the iScript One-step RT-PCR kit with SYBR Green (Biorad). RT-PCR reactions will also be performed to amplify cDNA of housekeeping genes (identified from micro array studies) for normalization of fluorescence values. Identifying the specific hydrolytic enzymes of B. bacteriovorus which are involved in pore formation on host cell membrane. Many experiments showed that B. bacteriovorus H100 releases hydrolytic enzymes during predatory life cycle. According to Thomashow and Ritterberg, glycanases and lipopolysaccharideases are required for pore formation in the prey’s peptidoglycan and LPS layers respectively. The glycanase and/or peptidase could be responsible for weakening the peptidoglycan layer of the prey and thereby responsible for permitting conversion of the substrate cell to a spherical shape (10). Tudor et al. proposed another model for penetration. According to them peptidase is responsible for pore formation but not glycanase (11). Specific enzymes involved in pore formation are not known. The genes identified from the time course micro array technique will be mutated as described previously using suicide vector pSSK10. Resulting mutants will be complemented by using vector pMMB206 (8). Mutants will be analysed for the specific enzymes (using 2D-gel electrophoresis) and their actions on host cell i. e, as a glycanase, LPSase or peptidase will be observed by radio labelling experiments (10). Wild-type B. bacteriovorus H100 and complemented strains will be used as controls. Radio labeling experiments: Escherichia. coli W7-M5, auxotroph for lysine and DAP and cannot metabolize glucosamine, will be radiolabelled as described previously (9,10). Peptide portion of E.coli W7-M5 peptidoglycan will be labelled with [3H] DAP and the lipopolysaccharides and glycan portions of the peptidoglycan will be labeled with [3H]glucosamine. Various mutants and wild-type strains will be tested for predation using this radiolabelled strain. Solubilisation of glucosamine and DAP from labelled prey peptidoglycan will be measured as described previously (11). Briefly, samples taken at intervals will be precipitated with an equal volume of cold 10% trichloroacetic acid for 30 min followed by centrifugation. Resulting supernatants will be assayed for soluble radioactivity in a scintillation counter (Rackbeta II). Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis: The hydrolytic enzymes released by B. bacteriovorus H100 during its predatory life cycle will be analyzed by performing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Sample preparation for 2D-gel electrophoresis: Escherichia coli ML35 cells will be challenged with B. bacteriovorus H100 wild-type as well as the mutant strain. Culture fluid will be drawn from synchronous cultures during attachment and entry phases of B. bacteriovorus H100. Culture fluid will be centrifuged to discard any cell debris. Proteins in the supernatant will be precipitated using cold acetone. The precipitated proteins will be separated by centrifugation. The precipitated pellet will be air dried and will be dissolved in rehydration solution (8M urea, 2% CHAPS {3-[3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate}, 18 mM DTT, 0. 5% IPG buffer pH range 4-7; Amersham Biosciences), plus a trace of bromophenol blue. Sample protein concentrations will be determined using the BCA protein assay (Pierce). Resulting protein pellet will be subjected to 2D-gel electrophoresis.

Marketing Analysis of Dexit Inc

Marketing Analysis of Dexit Inc Case Analysis Report: Dexit Introduction to Dexit Inc. In 2001 a privately held firm known as Dexit Inc. (the â€Å"Debit Express† company) was formed by Renah Persofsky, a former member of the Bank of Montreal’s e-commerce subsidiary had left to pursue opportunities more aggressively. The company’s goal was to provide customers with a new convenient and easy to use electronic payment system that would provide an alternative option to cash for low-value transactions. Dexit Inc. had expected that this electronic payment service to be used for a small transaction averaging a cost of approximately of $4, however in addition there was a belief that this service could possibly be used for purchases potentially as large as $25. The design of Dexit’s service would allow customers to pay for goods and services by waving an electronic tag near a specialized reader that would be placed at a retail counter that would communicate in a secure manner with Dexit’s central payment clearing system. This process would on average be completed in less than three seconds which would generate fast no- hassle payments that could also be tracked enabling users to monitor their low-value purchases. This system which has been extensively tested and deemed to be highly reliable would be based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. With this technology a secure personal identification number in the customer’s tag would be read wirelessly by the merchant’s terminal. Problem Identification Flashing forward to today, Renah Persofsky (CEO) is facing critical decisions regarding the launch of Dexit Inc.’s electronic payment system. Currently Dexit has attracted two of Canada’s largest banks as early stage investors and as well Telus Mobility, the wireless subsidiary of the country’s second largest telecommunications firm. All three entities have expressed significant enthusiasm for Dexit’s wireless payment service however each wanted to see a firm marketing plan before commitment of further resources to Dexit. The key decisions that CEO Renah Persofsky faced in order to push ahead with the project had included: Deciding which merchants and consumers Dexit’s service would target which would  shape the other aspects of the marketing plan. Determining whether any additions or changes needed to be made to the product itself. Establishing the pricing strategy that Dexit would implement which would take into  account the value of the service to merchants and consumers and their willingness to pay. Create a promotional plan to reach each target audience and decide between a Toronto-only launch, regional launch, or national launch in major Canadian cities. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Dexit has major companies like two of Canada’s largest banks and Telus Mobility supporting them which gives them huge area to explore. The new system is much more effective than the previous ones launched in the market because it provides an efficient way to settle retail transactions. The transactions are very secure and takes just three seconds for transactions to work due to Radio Frequency Identification (RDIF) technology.The company is targeting retail businesses characterized by high-frequency and low-value transactions by providing them with system which provides ease, speed and security. They are also targeting consumers who make lots of small transactions. They are providing customers with username and password so they can access their own account and keep track of their transactions. As for merchants they will be able to register for an account by providing basic information about financial institution to settle payments which will be executed on a daily basis by tra nsferring funds electronically to the merchants bank. And for retailers they offered faster payment than cash, credits or debit. Weakness: The history of the product outside the firm has been unsuccessful due to merchants finding the payment process costly and inconvenient since they had to operate two separate terminals: a traditional swipe reader for customer who used debit transaction and second to read the card’s computer chip for stored value transactions. Also, with major company backing the company it is crucial for Dexit to provide them with positive result. Opportunities: Dexit has opportunity to establish itself in the largest market for digital transactions. It also has a chance to explore the global market as their long term plan which will help them to expand their market and develop sustained competitive advantages. It will also help Dexit to bring in new ideas, expand their horizons and strengthen their market value. Threats: Since it is not easy to replicate the domestic market success globally it might not have to same positive results. Other companies can also easily attain the technology which could increase the risk of losing customers to the rivals. There are many other companies that allow customers to make electronic payments. Those companies give cards instead of key tags which means that customers will most likely stick to using cards since they are used to it. Also Dexit has just entered the market so it will take a while for the company to get customers. The company will have a hard time dealing with its competitors. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Dexit Inc. are providing consumers an easier and faster methods of making their everyday transactions. The target for Dexit Inc. can be divided into the consumers and the merchants. Merchants can save a lot of time servicing a customer at a busy store and consumers could save a great amount of time avoiding line-up on their way to something important. Places like gas stations and fast food restaurants usually with a heavy customer traffic are potential merchant groups. Key tags will not only reduce the time it takes to processed with a transaction but will also reduce the amount of theft from the cash register since everything would be done by electronic money. This will enable them to take more customer by avoiding walkaways. Merchants such as Esso, Tim Hortons, Mcdonalds are possible businesses that would benefit having Dexit receives at their locations. Dexit’s consumer market can be segmented by their work and lifestyle and attitudes. A consumer’s perception towards a fast food restaurants is to attain a quick service, even when it comes to making the payment for their purchase. Customers that usually rush to Tim Horton’s are eager to either get to work or to an educational institute. The target market would vary from young adult to early 50s would are either employed or enrolled at an educational institute. According to Employment and Social Development Canada about 81.6 percent canadian from ages 25 to 44 are employed and about 71.3 percent canadians from ages 45 to 65 are employed. These employed canadian are always in a hurry to get to work on time and rushing back home to avoid traffic. OCUL on their website states about 458,251 student across Ontario alone on their updated statistics August 2014. Dixits main focus should be towards targeting Canadian student and employed customers who use electronic payment methods to make their everyday purchases smoother and quicker. Imagine not requiring to take out your wallet and being able t o make a payment through a key holder that is attached to you car keys, or being able to tell how much of you money was spend on everyday small expenses such as gas, coffee or morning breakfast. In Canada, the market size has been estimated to be about 536 billion dollars in the payment industry, with about 4.1 billion transactions made through debit and credit cards. These cards often get lost or stolen without consumer’s attention and are also misused by frauds that can cost consumes a great amount of money. Key tags on the other hand are quite secure since their have less chances of getting lost and consumers can easily notice if key tag is lost. Consumers would be feel more safe and secured to make smaller everyday transaction. Product Strategy The core benefit in using Dexit’s payment system is to make is easier for consumers and merchant to make small amount purchases more efficiently. Small Purchases ranging from a dollar to about 25 dollars. This for everyday consumer would speed-up their ordering time and for merchants would speed-up the selling process. The product would also help consumer keep track of their small purchases with security. Key chain fob with the RFID technology is a very good payment system. Consumers would find it easier and more convenient to use keychain to make their small purchases. Consumers and merchants save time and also the risk of losing money. Consumer will no longer need to worry about giving exact change or worry about losing pocket change on their way to a nearby store. Place Strategy Since Dexit’s key tag is a brand new idea in the market, it would be better if the product is first tested out in a smaller market. Having Dexit Inc. promote their product nationally would be costly and very risk. If product not successful it could cost Dexit a huge amount on loses. To ensure the product is successful it would be beneficial is the company decided to introduce the product only in Ontario first. Dexit should focus on attracting market share in Ontario, since it already has a bigger population than other provinces. In 2001, the amount of interac direct payments equaled to about 755 million traction only in Ontario. There are about 6,551,298 interac direct users with about 116,241 merchants that also use interac. Currently in ontario the unemployment rate is about 6.9 percent, which is quite low. Student in Ontario have a quite large population. Price Strategy Dexit Inc. requires to strategize the price they would charge the consumers and their merchants. Effectively balancing payments between consumers and merchants will lead to adoption by both and prevent them from seeking alternatives. To do this it is important to not charge either side in a way that they will perceive as detrimental. Consumers will not be charged upfront for registering or to acquire the RFID tag. This avoids creating an initial investment barrier between consumers and their service. Consumers won’t need to invest to try out Dexit. Instead they will be charged a small fee for each transaction. They will be attracted to use Dexit because of it’s convenience and time-saving capabilities. They won’t mind paying the small transaction based fee. Instead they will focus on the opportunity to use a new, innovative, time saving technology. Merchants won’t be charged a transaction based fee. This will encourage them to promote Dexit to customers using payment methods that do charge a transaction fee like debit or credit. This is one of the ways Dexit will use a push strategy. Instead they will be charged an upfront cost to have the reader installed in their store. Merchants are more likely to be ok with an upfront cost, seeing it as an investment to attract customers that use Dexit and a competitive advantage in terms of convenience. Customers who value their time and prefer convenience will choose locations that have Dexit readers installed. This is one of the ways Dexit will employ a pull Strategy. By balancing the costs between merchants and consumers Dexit can encourage adoption among both groups. By receiving short term payments from merchants and long term payments from consumers Dexit can smooth out their revenue, allowing them to better plan for future expansions and investments. Promotion Strategy The main goal of Persofsky’s promotional strategy was to reach her chosen target markets. This could be determined by either a Pull or Push strategy. With a Push strategy, merchants are given incentives to promote the Dexit service. With a Pull strategy, a buzz is created around the product and helps increase the demand from consumers. A Pull strategy would work well for Dexit, based on the fact it is a product of major convenience, one that could catch on in the marketplace when promoted properly. When â€Å"buzz† is created around a product that can offer consumers something quick and tangible, it has a habit of catching on and allowing other consumers to see the benefits for themselves. With minimal cash flow, Dexit is forced to get creative with the promotional aspect of the product and company. Traditional advertising can be considered, along with sales promotions and direct marketing. Traditional advertising is effective because it can be used on so many different channels, such as radio, newspapers, magazines and television. By using traditional advertising, Dexit can reach a large number of consumers through the wide variety of channels. Final recommendation With Dexit being a new product, and this type of technology being new to consumers, it will be important to generate a high volume of sales in the early stages. This will require Dexit to penetrate the marketplace with low initial prices to gain as much traction as possible. The most plausible revenue model it to charge consumers a small percentage to use Dexit services. The consumers will most likely use Dexit due to it’s convenience and time-saving capabilities. Consumers will sacrifice the small percentage they will be paying for each transaction to save time at the checkout. In addition merchants can be charged when they purchase the Dexit POS terminals, this will create extra revenue for the company. Merchants will be likely to purchase the terminals because they want to attract consumers who are using Dexit, in hopes of having them enter their store instead of going to a competitors location. It will be important to try and sell the terminals to chain stores, who will place the Dexit terminal in all of their stores, and also receive a discounted price for bulk orders. Consumers should be able to receive the RFID tags for free, this will give the consumer a sense of nostalgia with the product and be more likely to keep it and attach it to a key-chain or store it in their wallet. If the consumers have to pay for the tag and then pay a charge each time they use it, they may feel like they are being taken advantage of and decide to use traditional forms of paying. Many consumers are very price sensitive and the additional tag charge may be ll it takes for them to stay away from Dexit. Contingencies With any type of business plan it is important to plan for unexpected events or sudden changes in the marketplace. These contingencies can stem from any part of the company or product that is being launched into the market and how they will change the original marketing plan that was developed before the launch.In the case of Dexit, there are many different contingencies that should be thought out and planned before launch. Firstly, a contingency should be developed in the case that the equipment or software that is used in the Dexit tag is faulty or has some issues. This is a common type of problem with any product that involves technology as there is no way to guarantee with 100% certainty that the product will not falter. Secondly, a contingency should be developed in case the consumers do not catch on to the Dexit product and sales are lagging form initial estimates. This may include switching up the promotional strategy or targeting a different consumer group than originally thought. It will only take a short time period to see whether or not consumers are beginning to use Dexit or not and at that point a decision will be made to stay the course or switch up the marketing plan.

Effects of Marijuana :: Free Essays Online

The dominant fear about marijuana has been that its effects were somehow similar to the dangerously addictive effects of opiates such as morphine and heroin. Scientists feared that , like opiates, it had an extremely high potential for abuse and addiction. Despite widespread decriminalization of marijuana in the United States in the 1970's, this concern has remained the basis for federal law and policies regarding the use and study of marijuana. But the discovery of THC receptor sites in the brain refutes that thinking and may force scientists to re-evaluate their positions. The 1988 discovery of the THC receptor site in the brain was the pivotal event which led to the legalization of marijuana. The receptor breakthrough occurred in 1988 at the St. Louis University Medical School where Allyn Howlett, William Devane, and their associates identified and characterized a cannabinoid receptor in a rat brain. Receptors are binding sites for chemicals in the brain, chemicals that instruct brain cells to start, stop, or otherwise regulate various brain and body functions. Before this discovery, no one knew for sure just how the psychoactive chemical in marijuana workes on the brain. Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, researchers made tremendous strides in understanding how the brain works by using receptor sites as switches which respond to various chemicals by regulating brain and body functions. The chemicals which trigger receptors are known as neurotransmitters. The brain's neurotransmitters are known as endogenous ligands. In many instances, drugs mimic thes e natural chemicals working in the brain. Scientists are just now confirming their determinations as to which endogenous ligands work on the cannabinoid receptors. It is likely that the neurotransmitter which naturally triggers cannabinoid receptors is one known as anandamide. Many important brain functions which affect human behavior involve the neurotransmitter dopamine. Serious drugs of abuse such as heroin and cocaine, interfere with the brain's use of dopamine in manners that can seriously alter an individual's behavior. A drug's ability to affect the neural systems related to dopamine production has now become the defining characteristic of drugs with serious abuse potential. The discovery of a previously unknown system of cannabinoid neural transmitters is profound. While century-old questions such as why marijuana is nontoxic are finally being answered, new fascinating questions are emerging. In the words of Israeli researcher Raphael Mechoulam, the man who first isolated the structure of THC, "Why do we have cannabinoid receptors?

Is Reality TV worse than other tv? Essay

In â€Å"At Least It’s Not Snobby† By Trace Egan Morrissey, she brings up the fact that many people Joke about reality television, and even call it â€Å"trash. † Reality TV may show some of the worse sides of the world, but those sides do exist, and whether people admit it or not, it is amusing to watch. Reality TV teaches lessons without anyone even realizing it. It shows the world different morals. Things that used to be ore frowned upon in societies are somewhat more socially acceptable because of reality television, such as being gay. Viewers see a cast member struggling with being gay, and the viewer usually sympathizes. People that are gay can relate, and see themselves as not being so alone. The question still remains; Is reality television worse than other types of TV? An large amount of people would say. Yes. But it In truth could be labeled as worthwhile as any other sort of television, though it does meme to have Its ups and downs. In the â€Å"Watching TV And Looking Inward,† Andy Denary writes about how reality television is worthy of our attention. He states, â€Å"reality TV is at once a window and a mirror. Showing how real people react and Interact in extraordinary situations,† Reality television is engaging and amusing, still, Denary brings up the point that reality television can make a viewer think in a differ ent point of perspective. When itching these shows, we often think to ourselves, â€Å"What would I do f I were them,† â€Å"Wow, I would never do that,† and sometimes even, â€Å"This is ridiculous. † The shows get us thinking, and sometimes we are astonished by our reaction. Reality television actually exposes the reality of humanity. These shows, as foolish as some of them may seem, can actually teach and show us Important lessons. That Is why I agree with Denary when he says that reality television is worthy of our attention. Ton

Managing People & Performance Essay

This assignment seeks to holistically analyse the critical â€Å"people issues† which impact the effective performance of a Maltese sea passenger and vehicle service company, namely Gozo Channel Company Limited. The main area of concern has been highlighted to be emanating through lack of strategic approach within Gozo Channel’s HRM, more so there is no alignment between the company’s business strategy and HR strategy. Throughout, this document will seek new recommendations through various business methodologies on how to overcome the barriers and issues which are affecting people’s performance. The first part of this document explains what are the reasons which ultimately affect the performance of Gozo Channel’s employees and review of both the external and internal context are explored, thus identifying what the critical issues are. Part two of this document sets out the action plan of what is required to overcome such barriers and using different models acquired and researched from the Managing People and Performance module, a detailed plan is set up to tackle each and every area effecting the performance of employees. The elective pathway throughout this assignment is focused on High Performing Teams and one major factor being proposed with justification is motivation. The conclusive reflection concentrates on achieving a sense of â€Å"evolution† not a sense of â€Å"revolution† within Gozo Channel, in terms of a sound recruitment strategy, training and development. 1.INTRODUCTION Gozo Channel Company Limited is a government entity which for over thirty years has been providing sea ferry-transport for both vehicles and passengers between the island of Gozo and the main island of Malta. Although it operates the life-link between the two islands in a monopolistic environment, meaning without direct competition, in 2004 the government had to issue a call for a Public Service Obligation , according to the European Union transportation law, which basically â€Å"†¦is an arrangement in which a governing body or other authority offers an auction for subsidies, permit the winning company a monopoly to operate a specified service of public transport for a specified period of time for the given subsidy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wikipedia, 2009) 1.1.THE IMPACT OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATION ON GOZO CHANNEL’S HR OBJECTIVES Initially in 2004, the transport authority awarded a 6 year PSO contract to GC on the basis of its provisions, resources and standards (fleet, human resources, experience and infrastructure). At that time the company was awarded an annual subsidy of approximately â‚ ¬ 4 million. This â€Å"subsidy† as well as the revenue generated along with the various cost cutting exercises, resulted in recurrent annual profits, which in effect meant that the company seemed to be on the right track. In 2010 though, the PSO contract attracted a host of companies and consortiums, all of whom were all eyeing the Malta – Gozo sea-ferry transport service. This situation was seen as a major threat and created an aura of uncertainty among company employees, causing all sorts of speculation. It was the first time that the company had to compete for its â€Å"bread and butter† and speculative pressures forced GC in submitting an annual offer of approximately â‚ ¬ 800k to ensure continuity. This drastic decrease in subsidy requires a holistic review in GC’s business strategy but more importantly the HR strategy has to be properly aligned to meet its objectives. 1.2.MY ROLE WITHIN THE COMPANY As Human Resources and ICT Manager, analysing both the external and internal context of GC is vital to ensure the correct review of its current processes, policies and human resource capital. My role is to ensure that the HR strategy is parallel with the company’s business strategy and more importantly ensure that all employees are nurtured, motivated and trained to support such strategy, thus ensuring that GC move forward in one strategic direction. 2.CRITICAL ISSUE 2.1.INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS OF THE CRITICAL ISSUE Being a government entity the company has to deal with multiple socio-political pressures, especially in light that GC offers a life-link for the island of Gozo. In a nutshell the island of Gozo depends on GC and to a certain extent one can argue that without a permanent link, GC is practically the road which ensures intra-connectivity between the two islands. Having said that and in light of the new financial realities which the company is facing as mentioned in paragraph 1.1, I have to evaluate both the external and internal context to better understand the forces sustaining the critical issue. 2.1.1.EXTERNAL POLITICAL FACTORS GC’s board of directors are all political appointees and their strategy and vision is determined by the government in administration. Bearing in mind that each administration normally enjoys a term of 5 years, the business strategy varies every time which in essence deters continuity. 2.1.2.INTERNAL POLITICAL FACTORS Moreover the majority of GC’s employees have been politically â€Å"hand-picked†, meaning they were not employed on the basis of skill and/or merit but on merely nepotism. These two factors form an integral part of the company’s critical issue and though they are based on different levels of the company’s structural hierarchy, the source is the same i.e. Political. 2.1.3.EXTERNAL ECONOMIC FACTORS GC currently has 214 employees, of which approximately 80% reside on the island of Gozo and since its inception GC has been always regarded as a leading employer, providing the ever needed employment boost to Gozitans . According to the latest statistical data gathered from the National Statistics Office (May 2013); Gozo has a rate of 10.6% of the overall registered unemployed and with limited employment opportunities in Gozo, many Gozitans seek employment alternatives in Malta. Being a government entity also means that the trade unions have their fair share of influence on the external economic context in terms of collective bargaining and legislation, such as Family Friendly Measures , COLA etc. 2.1.4.INTERNAL CULTURAL FACTOR One of Malta’s leading trade unions, namely Union Haddiema Maghqudin enjoys the 50+1% of the GC’s employee membership; thus is currently the main recognised trade union representing the employees in three sections namely, Seaborne Officers, General Staff and Line Managers. GC together with UHM negotiates collective agreements which stipulate policies, procedural systems and regulate grades and pay structures. This stringent and rigid systematic approach intertwined with a unionised culture, with a strong â€Å"job for life† mentality spreading from top to bottom, restricts the change management concept of the company. This is further attested through the low employee turnover within GC, which is practically zero and only attributable to natural wastage . 2.1.5.TECHNOLOGY FACTOR Today’s market offers an array of Human Resources Management Systems which are systems and processes that intersect HRM and Information Technology. Although GC has invested in HRMS comprising of the following two packages; payroll, time and attendance, there is lack of a proper Human Resources package that allows ease of access for performance appraisals, benefits administration, recruiting and learning management, performance records, scheduling, absence management and analytics. 2.2.HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTION WITHIN GOZO CHANNEL Coupled with the main factors mentioned above, GC’s HR has a specialist approach leaning towards a â€Å"Personnel† role rather than that of the more dynamic and strategic role of HRM . Guest (1987) identifies the differences between Personnel and HRM as shown in Table 1 below. PersonnelHRM Time and planningShort-term, reactive ad hoc marginalLong-term, proactive, strategic, integrated Psychological contract ComplianceCommitment Control SystemsExternalSelf-control Employee RelationsPluralist, collective, low trustUnitarist, individual, high trust Structures and systemsBureaucratic/mechanistic, centralised, formalOrganic, devolved, flexible RolesSpecialist/professionalLargely integrated into line management Evaluation criteriaCost minimisationMaximum utilisation (human asset accounting) Table 1 – The differences between personnel and human resource management The traits listed by Guest (1987) under Personnel, are parallel to GC’s HR functions and the drawbacks are further highlighted in Gratton and Truss (2003) three-dimensional people strategy model whereby GC’s position is weak both in the vertical and horizontal alignment. Figure 1 – Gratton & Truss (2003): The three-dimensional people strategy The HR department has no influence on GC’s strategy and the functions are merely day-to-day administrative matters relating to staff driven by rigid procedures which have little discernible relationship with today’s realities; hence the alignment in the â€Å"mere tactics speak† position in the Gratton & Truss (2003) three-dimensional people strategy model as depicted figure 1. 2.3.MANAGEMENT AND COMPANY STRUCTURE This lack of strategic approach is further compounded by the fact that GC has no Chief Executive. Furthermore there is lack of leadership throughout the management team and people management seems to be focused on the HR department only, rather than integrated throughout the entire management structure. 2.3.1.STRUCTURE The company is currently driven by 4 department heads namely, Operations, Commercial, Human Resources and Finance, and although the structure is flat and ideal, there is lack of cohesion between them and each department is individually driven towards its own goals. 2.3.2.MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY Sumantra Goshal (2004) refers to the downfall of Enron and explains how Andrew Fatsow’s (former Chief Finance Officer of Enron) â€Å"†¦designed Enron’s management system around a firm faith that employees pursued only their own self-interest†¦Ã¢â‚¬  quoting Fatsow’s philosophy that â€Å"You must allow people to eat what they hunt†¦only then will they hunt well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Although the context of Enron is not related to GC’s context, it does show that when you ignore the company’s goals and pursue individualistic targets; the results lead to disastrous consequences. 2.3.3.PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Lack of leadership and people management is down to the fact that Line Managers tend to shirk such responsibility, but more so the main factor is lack of ability, hence the staffing issue mentioned in paragraph 2.1.2. 2.4.POLICIES & PROCEDURES GC has an SMS manual containing specific management procedures ranging from safety and environmental policies to people management policies. This manual is inclined to seaborne staff and the systems and procedures are rhetoric and â€Å"institutional† rather than practical. This goes to show that there is lack of communication between GC’s management and critical feedback, which is brought up during internal audits, management reviews, accident reports, etc., is not discussed and analysed correctly. Therefore the planning and implementation process of the ISM cycle is not maintained which eventually is why we are faced with such a situation whereby procedures are not in tune with the current requirements and realities. 2.5.TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT GC has no appraisal and evaluation system in place apart from stringent procedures for seaborne personnel, in line with the required standards of the maritime legislation. Therefore there is no manpower flow and no training strategy, albeit the occasional course organised ad hoc or as required. 2.6.COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS The downward process is non-existent and as highlighted management has no focal point in which all downward processes are channelled through. This is also coupled by the fact that lateral communication between management is also obscured by inter-personal conflicts. These conflicts are down to various reasons, such as lack of motivation, internal politics, greed, and selfishness, but the main factor is that management has no cohesion and everyone works within his own â€Å"castle† rather than in teams – a scenario where no one seems to share information. 3.ACTION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Having analysed the critical issue in the first part of this document, the tasks ahead have been clearly defined. I have set out a plan to change the mind-set of the current HRM system. This plan tackles 4 critical areas which are highlighted further on in section 3. The table below illustrates GC’s action plan showing the timescales for the implementation of each critical area. Critical IssueTime Frame PlanImplementationReview 3.1 – HRM StrategyBeginning of 1st QuarterEnd of 1st QuarterYearly 3.2 – HR Function and People ManagementBeginning of 2nd QuarterEnd of 2nd QuarterContinuous 3.3 – Enhancing the Performance of Human CapitalBeginning of 2nd QuarterEnd of 2nd QuarterContinuous 3.4 – Measuring & Validating The PerformanceBeginning of 2nd QuarterPeriodically as required Table 2 – GC’s Action Plan 3.1.HRM STRATEGY TYPE It is noticeable that GC’s HR strategy is not aligned with its Business strategy not to mention that the latter is in essence unclear due to the volatile state of the political implications as mentioned in section 2. Thus initially, the first action is to identify a clear vision to implement organisational goals. The â€Å"Line of Sight† model adapted from Higgs, in Rees & McBain (2004) ensures that GC’s business strategy is aligned with its people management policies and practices. On the basis of the issues mentioned in section 2, GC requires three types of HR strategies as defined by Higgs,M (2004); cost strategy, capability strategy and commitment strategy. Figure 2 – The line of sight model 3.1.1.COST STRATEGY As a result of the new PSO, GC has to ensure that part of the business and HR strategy has to focus on high revenue generation with the least possible level of man power cost. 3.1.2.CAPABILITY STRATEGY Parallel to this, GC has to also be strategically aligned to ensure that employees are nurtured, trained and motivated to cater for future capability demands. 3.1.3.COMMITMENT STRATEGY Together with the cost and capability strategies the company must also ensure that employees are committed towards the company’s strategy and goals. 3.2.HR FUNCTION AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Implementing the above three strategies requires changing the mind-set of the HR function from a specialist role to a strategic role. It is essential that all Heads of Department, Line Managers and Masters are fully responsible for people management and share this responsibility. This way a greater emphasis will be put on these roles to become the implementers of the HR policies and thus it is imperative to also improve communication between departments through shared responsibility and better knowledge of what is happening. Furthermore this gives an opportunity for all involved to be accountable for any actions taken, thus taking ownership of their problems, bring them closer to employees by helping them better understand the pressures they are facing, gives them a sense of empowerment and helps them to improve as managers by understanding better the processes and their position within GC. In order to implement this change in the management’s work ethic, it is essential that all those involved in managing people undergo training in the EIRA legislation, leadership skills and more importantly making them aware of GC’s policies, regulations and processes. 3.3.ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF HUMAN CAPITAL Gratton & Ghosal (2003) define human capital as â€Å"†¦an umbrella term comprising the intellectual, emotional and social capital of individuals and organisations†¦Ã¢â‚¬  GC’s bottom line employees lack motivation, drive and in some cases ability which in hindsight is attributable to the fact of a futile recruitment system mired further by political intrusion. Effectively GC’s HRM should aim at developing its human capital and at the same time enhance their performance to a high level of output. â€Å"The Bath people and performance† model by Purcell et al (2003) is the perfect model to adapt in order to achieve High Performance from employees. Utilising the best abilities and skills of each employee as well as motivating them through various incentives such as pay incentives, promotions & training and also by giving employees an opportunity to participate through feedback will aptly help motivate staff. Moreover it is essential that employees are managed, encouraged, respected and trusted. On the basis of this model GC’s HRM has to take a pro-active approach from the entry level of each individual and form a process based on a risk-based approach to examine historical events and future plans. The guidelines for such action should be based on cycle as shown below in figure 4. This way each individual employee will be monitored in an effective way and trained according to his/her competence needs, therefore training is vital for humans, to develop ability, to perform procedures, to operate systems. Figure 3 – The Bath people and performance model Figure 4 – GC’s HRM Guide for Action for Human Capital 3.3.1.EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION It is essential that GC has a proper recruitment and selection policy in place which works independently and â€Å"politically free† from external or internal interference. Jackson and Schuler (2000) define the terms â€Å"recruitment† and â€Å"selection† as â€Å"†¦Recruitment involves searching and obtaining qualified job candidates in such numbers that the organisation can select the most appropriate person to fill its need†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦Selection is the process of obtaining and using information about job applicants in order to determine who should be hired for long-or short-term position†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thus the selection board has to be fully knowledgeable and must have a clear path of the tasks, abilities and qualifications required for the relevant job so as to ensure that the right person/s has been selected. The model shown in figure 5 adapted from Briscoe (1995) identifies all the stages required to have an effective recruitment & selection policy in place. For starters, GC’s HR has to â€Å"asses the need for the job† through effective planning tools. A model which aptly covers such area is â€Å"The process of Human Resource Planning† by Armstrong (2006) shown in figure 6 below. This model identifies four key stages; business strategic plan, resourcing strategy, demand or supply forecasting and human resources plans, which in effect knits the action and implementation plan of this document leading to the four critical issues of HR resourcing, retention, flexibility and productivity. Figure 5 – Recruitment and selection process adapted from Briscoe (1995) Figure 6 – The process of human resource planning 3.3.2.TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Mabey and Salaman (1995) effectively links both the Business and HR Strategy to Training and Development arguing that â€Å"†¦unless attention is paid to all six dimensions shown in the figure, then the quality of training and development will be impaired and their business impact will be flawed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In essence this is another vital step to ensure that the HR strategy is aligned with the Business strategy thus developing human capital to attain high performance. The performance evaluation process of employees is not intended to castigate people but should effectively help the development process. Therefore effective appraisals and psychometric tests coupled by constant monitoring, would greatly assist the HR department in understanding individual training needs and requirements, as well as keeping in line with the company’s strategic training and development plan. A clear example of the lack of strategic human resource planning within GC is experienced in the marine engineering section. 3.3.2.1.MARINE ENGINEERS Malta currently lacks human resources in the marine engineering sector, which has been in decline over a number of years mainly through lack of interest from students to pursue such a career. This was further tarnished by the fact that the maritime authority failed to endorse the Higher National Diploma in Marine Engineering course and thus the few students who had applied for such course were forced to change career direction. Whereas currently GC’s position has been as a mere spectator over such issue, this calls for a more pro-active approach by highlighting such awareness with the authorities concerned and by ensuring that the maritime authority and MCAST provide endorsed courses, opportunities for sea time to students and more importantly courses are sustained. Moreover GC has to be directly involved in promoting the marine engineering career in schools and career expos, thus investing in the future of human capital – becoming an employer of choice. Figure 7 – Mabey and Salaman strategic training and development model 3.3.3.PERFORMANCE MANGEMENT AND REWARD SYSTEMS GC has to adopt a more business based approach to HRM and should include reward systems. Armstrong (2000) describes performance management as a â€Å"cycle† as shown in figure 8 below. It defines a clear plan of how to manage performance in four stages; plan, act, monitor and review. The monitor and review stages are intertwined with the training and development performance evaluation process. This cycle starts by planning and agreeing a set of targets with an employee, whereby it is fundamental to maintain the performance agreement realistically and it should include â€Å"team-based† bonus elements rather than a high level of â€Å"individual† performance to avoid having a â€Å"silo mentality† Higgs, in Rees & McBain (2004). Figure 8 – The phases of performance management The model below shown in figure 9 below, further explains Armstrong’s performance management system. Figure 9 – Phases of a performance management system 3.3.4.EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION A key element in achieving high morale of employees, job satisfaction, low absenteeism, enhanced productivity and high performance is down to motivation. Maslow (1954) identified a hierarchy of needs as shown in figure 10 below; which ranges from physiological needs, safety, love, esteem and self actualisation. Figure 10 – Maslow’s Pyramid Porter et al (2003) link these needs to general rewards and organisational factors as shown below in table 3. This table more importantly identifies the organisational factors for each level of Maslow’s pyramid. Although Maslow’s theory defines satisfaction as the main contributor to motivation it does not guarantee high work performance. This theory though does form an integral part to attain a motivated work force and further facilitates to understand better what factors are effecting individual employees. This theory therefore has helped me clearly define another important issue which effects performance management within GC – equity and fairness. 3.3.4.1.ENSURING EQUITY AND FAIRNESS Having the characteristics of a government entity, lack of motivation within GC is commonly effected through lack of equity between staff; in other words employees tend to become de-motivated when they feel that they are not rewarded for their work, efforts or perhaps even for the reason that they are rewarded on the same level as others who work far less than them. Adams (1965) Equity Theory tries to find the correct balance between the â€Å"inputs† and â€Å"outputs† of an employee. In other terms it defines the â€Å"fair balance† to ensure high performance as well as content and motivated employees. According to this theory Adams (1965) identifies what are the typical â€Å"inputs† and â€Å"outputs† of each individual and thus helping to identify the balance or imbalance which currently exist in GC. Such â€Å"inputs† include; effort, loyalty, hard work, commitment, skill, ability, adaptability, flexibility, tolerance, determination, enthusiasm, trusts in superiors, support of colleagues, and personal sacrifice while the â€Å"outputs† are mainly; financial rewards (such as salary, benefits, perks), recognition, reputation, responsibility, sense of achievement, praise, stimulus, sense of advancement/growth, and job security. A similar theory but has a greater impetus on motivational impact is the Herzberg et al (1959) Two-factor Theory. Frederick Herzberg identifies two factors which he calls â€Å"Hygiene† (factors of dissatisfaction) and â€Å"Motivation† (factors of satisfaction) and claims that unless you eliminate the employee’s dissatisfaction/s and moreover help him overcome such dissatisfaction/s; you can never motivate the employee. Although this theory could transmit effective motivation on an individual context, it could backfire unless â€Å"Hygiene† factors are tackled fairly, with equity and consistently. For example if an employee is dissatisfied on the basis of working as a Mooring Man , one can assume that by changing his grade; motivation will be achieved. Overall though such decision could create an aura of unrest between groups of staff who would view such judgment as unfair and thus pretend similar treatment in their regard, notwithstanding the fact that collective agreements would not allow such practise and in reality high performing teams can never be achieved through such methods. 3.4.MEASURING & VALIDATING THE PERFORMANCE Parallel to implementing the above recommendations, GC’s HR must ensure that management systems are in place to validate and measure the performance of such recommendations. 3.4.1.BALANCE SCORECARD In order to maintain constant focus to ensure that GC’s business activities are aligned to its vision and strategy, an ideal strategic system is the Balance Scorecard Kaplan R S and Norton D P (1992). This model will assist GC’s management to asses the performance of the organisation while also helps identify what should be measured. Kaplan and Norton describe the balance scorecard as â€Å"†¦The balanced scorecard retains traditional financial measures. But financial measures tell the story of past events, an adequate story for industrial age companies for which investments in long-term capabilities and customer relationships were not critical for success. These financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The balance scorecard is also an idealistic strategic tool for GC since the company has an important role as mentioned earlier, therefore the vision and strategy should be intertwined with the four core areas, namely Financial, Internal Business, Innovation & Learning, and Customer.    3.4.2.KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS The Balance Scorecard Kaplan R S and Norton D P (1992) will also enable GC’s HRM to develop its KPI. For example absenteeism can be strategically measured to evaluate to what extent this problem is within GC. In hindsight anything can be measured through KPI and GC’s management has to be intrinsically focused on measuring performance on the basis of directional, financial, qualitative, and quantitative characteristics. 3.4.3.MANAGEMENT REVIEWS GC’s management must review, analyse and discuss the performance of each department to ensure that policies and procedures are effective and not defective towards the performance of the company. The review process is intended to highlight any deficiencies which had been spotted either through KPI, incident reports, customer feedback and employee feedback. Moreover processes may be amended to incorporate new legislation and perhaps to evaluate whether the company has adequate resources. A clear example within GC is the new STCW 2010 legislation amendments which will effect GC from two different angles, namely human resource competencies in terms of certification and adequate resources to provide proper hours of rest periods to employees. 4.HIGH PERFORMING TEAM (ELECTIVE PATHWAY) In today’s ever demanding world of technological advancements and competition every company has to ensure that each individual employee must be motivated and managed appropriately to achieve a high output of performance. As clearly defined in section 3 of this assignment the following characteristics are vital to reach a level of having high performing teams within GC. The key characteristics to achieve high performing teams are: participative leadership by involving and engaging employees, effective decision-making, open and clear communication thus ensuring that employees use effective communication methods and channels, valued diversity in terms of valuing the different experiences and backgrounds in teams which contribute to a diversity of viewpoints thus leading to better decision making and solutions, mutual trust, managing conflict by dealing with conflict openly and transparently and not allowing grudges to build up and destroy team morale, clear goals developed by SMART criteria, defined roles and responsibilities, team building events to promote bonds between employees, and a positive atmosphere with an open culture which is focused on future goals. 5.REFLECTION This assignment and module has effectively allowed me to understand better what the critical issue is. It allowed me to recognise the negative effects of having a non-strategically HRM system coupled by external and internal political interference, which in essence renders the company’s strategic vision as a volatile state of mishmash. The â€Å"empowerment† given to me through this assignment to write down specific grievances which I have personally experienced through my current role as Human Resources and ICT Manager has enabled me to dig deep within GC. For starters my appreciation of the â€Å"human element† within GC has helped me explain why motivation through fairness and equity is vital in order to achieve a high performing team, something which is currently lacking due to the political cloud hovering over GC. Moreover it is essential that there is a strategy of â€Å"evolution† and not a strategy of â€Å"revolution† with GC. The positive effects that a proper recruitment system yields helps achieve results but through this module I realised the importance of training and development which are vital to augment the knowledge and competencies of GC’s human capital, helping themb to work towards achieving GC’s goals and objectives while at the same time safeguarding GC’s future planning. Overall the importance of aligning GC’s HRM to its business strategy is critical to achieve the correct synergy to implement all the processes mentioned in section 3 of this assignment. Consequently the action plan mentioned in section 3 has to be strictly adhered to, in order to change GC’s direction which is slowly destroying its â€Å"livelihood† as well as the â€Å"livelihood† of its employees. This statement further motivates me to push for the changes required by becoming a catalyst of this change in management strategy and as a result achieve the goals required to overcome any risks which eventually will effect GC employees and the Island of Gozo. 6.REFERENCES Armstrong, M (2000) Performance Management: Key Strategies and Practical Guidelines. Kogan Page cited in Henley Business School, MPP Core Module Notes Adams (1965) Equity Theory: Henley Business School, MPP Core Module Notes, pp96 and further cited: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_96.htm Briscoe, D.R (1995) International Human Resources Management. Prentice Hall Guest, D.E. (1987) Human resource management and industrial relations, Journal of Management Studies 24(5), pp. 503-521 Gratton, L & Truss, C (2003) The three-dimensional people strategy: putting human resources strategies into action. Academy of Management Executive, 17(3), pp. 74-86 Gratton, L & Ghoshal, S (2003) Managing personal human capital: new ethos for the ‘volunteer employee’. European Management Journal, 21(1), pp. 1-10 Ghoshal, S (2004), People Management, 12 February 2004, p.23 Higgs, M (2004) Future trends in HR. In: R McBain & D Rees (eds) People Management: Challenges and Opportunities. Palgrave Macmillan, Chapter 2 Herzberg et al (1959) Two-Factor Theory: Henley Business School, MPP Core Module Notes, pp93 and further cited: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_74.htm Jackson, S.E & Schuler, R.S (2000) Managing Human Resources: a Partnership Perspective. Cincinnati: South-Western College Publishing Kaplan, R.S and Norton, D.P (1992) â€Å"The Balanced Scorecard: measures that drive performance†, Harvard Business Review Jan – Feb pp. 71–80 Kaplan, R.S and Norton, D.P (1996) â€Å"Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System,† Harvard Business Review (January-February 1996): pp. 76 Labour Force Survey 2013 Q1 http://www.nso.gov.mt/statdoc/document_file.aspx?id=3627 Mabey, C., and Salaman, G (1995) Strategic Training and Development Model: cited in Henley Business School, Blackboard Learn, MPP Module & Key Resources Maslow, A (1954) Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper Row: cited in Henley Business School, MPP Core Module Notes, p92 NSO Register Unemployed http://www.nso.gov.mt/statdoc/document_file.aspx?id=3631 Porter, LW, Bigley, GA & Steers, RM (2003) Motivation and Work Behaviour, 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin: cited in Henley Business School, MPP Core Module Notes, p93 PSO definition – Wikipedia 2009 cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_service_obligation Purcell, J, Kinnie, N, Hutchinson, S, Rayton, B & Swart, J (2003) Understanding the People and Performance Link: Unlocking the Black Box. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development