Mario’s family Essay

Mario’s family happens to be in the lower bracket of society. As Mario got home one night, Gloria, his wife, asked for money, which they needed to feed their daughter. Mario told her that he doesn’t have money. Gloria didn’t believe him, and asked him to tell the truth. Mario told his wife the truth – he was fired from his job. The reason is because of an apple. He stole an apple for his daughter because he thought that she would like it – this part shows his love for his daughter. He left with Pablo, his old crime buddy, even if Gloria pleaded very hard for him not to go with the man. Another summary of The World Is An Apple When Mario got home. Gloria saw Mario and she was asking for some money to feed there children to Mario. Mario said that he have no money because he did something. Gloria didn’t believe on what Mario said and said to tell the truth. When Mario answered it, Gloria was shocked on what she heard because Mario lost his job. Gloria asked Mario if how he lost his job and Mario answered it and Gloria was shocked again because Mario said that he lost his job because of an apple. Gloria said that how can he loose his job by just taking one not a dozen not a crate but one apple and Mario answered that he just saw it rolling and he found himself putting it in his bag because Tita would love to have it, and Mario told Gloria that there’s no need to worry because he found a new job. Suddenly Pablo was there ruining the whole conversation and asked them if how is there daughter doing and he’ll loan a few pesos to help there daughter and Gloria said that no thank you because Mario stopped depending on Pablo. Pablo said that Mario’s new job was with Pablo and when Gloria heard it he told Mario that it’s a bad doing and risky. But Mario didn’t listen and walks away with Pablo and told Gloria not to worry because he will come back early morning and don’t wait for him. Gloria cries and shouting Mario, while Tita was crying also because he heard the conversation.

Great-Man Theory Essay

Introduction As I have read about it, a particular interest in my has been raising about the wonderful way many people has utilized their natural abilities as a medium of reunion and leadership. I found a string link between this gifts or skills these men had and their particular behavior in the time they lived. I would like to talk about the special characteristics that had to be present; more specific the building process of a divine individual, a prophet capable of guiding its people and the importance they have represented to humanity, whether realistic or not, since the theory has been around ever since. Great-Man Theory In order to get to know more about the theory of the great man, we should not ignore that this is a theory based on leadership. So, what is leadership? Scholars have defined leadership as â€Å" the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task†. To my personal beliefs, leadership is: a medium to an end, it is a very particular tool with which gifted individuals in the interpersonal field can either alone or together command, guide, and lead another group of people towards completing an established goal by cheering, supporting and setting a relation with the subordinates based on a strong dose of trustworthiness. Now, the Great-Man theory of leadership according to Winston & Patterson (2006) refers â€Å"to the idea that leaders possess innately superior qualities that distinguish them from other people, including the ability to capture the imagination and loyalty of the masses.† In other few words, that leaders are born, not made. Winston & Patterson (2006) also quote that â€Å"a leader achieves influence by humbly conveying a prophetic vision of the future† meaning that he resonates with the follower beliefs and values in such a way that the follower can understand and interpret the future into present-time action steps. According to Leadership Central (2012) Dr. Thomas Carlyle a true believer of this theory would say that â€Å"effective leaders were a package of Godly motivation and the right personality.† Under this definition, the same Dr. Thomas Carlyle, this time quoted by Lapham’s Quarterly (2012) included as great-man leaders historical characters such as â€Å"Muhammad, Shakespeare, Luther, Rousseau, and Napoleon† undoubtedly amazing leaders that shaped their time. But, other many scholars – and I think I am going to take their side – refute this theory. Although Cherry (2012) gives a different definition, and I quote â€Å"the great man theory is a conjecture aimed at explaining the history of the effect of the great born men or heroes: people of great authority, thanks to their charisma, intelligence and wisdom have used their power in such a way as to leave a decisive historical impact† there is a powerful contradictory hypothesis quoted by Leadership Central (2012) in which they say â€Å"Herbert Spencer one the most forceful critics of the theory explains that the great-man theory is a nativist hypothesis of leadership† and in this approach, leaders cannot be made, but just born. Of course, the leader nativism is highly refutable, cultural skills are by definition highly refutable and acquirable only through human interaction and an environment conducive to the transmission of knowledge. Leadership Central (2012) focuses in that â€Å"many factors in life shape the individual’s skills to lead† and I believe their in the right position, since leaders are a product of society, which means leaders are shaped by the time they live in and not the way around. Let’s take another example of a another so called â€Å"great-man’ leader. This time we have John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a famous character not only in his home country, but around the globe. His incredible abilities as a leader are not put in doubt, though the fact that he was this good just because he was born that way for sure are. Although factors such as â€Å"your up-bringing, education, experiences are only modeling your leadership abilities† says Lapham’s Quarterly (2012), a person’s background and circumstances may have influenced what they are, it is only in their hands the responsibility of what they want to be. Other examples to refute this nativism theory are Stephen R. Covey’s paradigms shifts and rescripting. Since a paradigm is the way an individual perceives, understands, and interprets the surrounding world, â€Å"a paradigm shift is a change in thinking when we gain additional insight and understandings† (Covey, 1989). Anything could influence the way a individual thinks, and this individual could perform a rescripting process, proving that a person does not have to be born with superior skills to acquire a leader scheme, but he can obtain them throughout lived experiences. Cherry (2012) explains that the term â€Å"Great Man† was used â€Å"because, at the time, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership†. To make it clear, this leadership theory leaves behind women despite they could have innate abilities (I’m not saying this is the only ability they have) which is the basis of the â€Å"great-man† theory. For example, we have had great women capable of leading people, on the one hand the ex-prime minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher also known as the â€Å"Iron Lady† which is the longest-serving British prime minister of the last century. We also find Oprah Winfrey, who not only is one of the most richest women in the world, but named also as the most influential women in it. So, was Dr. Carlyle in the right position, or is it the time he lived that did not allow women to arise as great leaders? Earlier when I gave my own definition of leadership and said that leadership is a matter of persons who can either alone or together exercise their leadership skills, I knew it was not only me, it results that Winston & Patterson (2006) think similar to me, since they say that â€Å"leadership may be provided by a group of persons†. Having said that, we can now refute another focus of this great-man theory concentrated in that leadership â€Å"can only be exercised by one person, the great man† (Cawthon, 1996). While some might say this is true, because most of companies, countries, or firms have one person as it’s head leader, well this is true. But, let’s face it there can not be more than one president in a nation, there can not be more than one president in a firm o company. Although there is the board of directors, which is the group in charge of every decision the company should take. All in all, yes, according to Cherry (2012) â€Å"you can find more individuals as leaders than groups as leaders†, but that does not mean, groups don’t exist, to the contrary, they exist more than ever, and a good example of that is the music group â€Å"The Beatles† which you can say was the most influential band of the last century leading into a simple cause millions of people. You can find also groups leading millions of people to manifest against the violation of human rights, more recently the group called Invisible Children Inc. who â€Å"only employs 43 people but with its movement has encouraged thousands more† to spread the word about Joseph Kony’s crimes (ICU, 2012). â€Å"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has† (Mead, 1970). I completely agree with Cawthon (1996) when he says that many people, of course â€Å"scoff at the theory, because it is anecdotal and unscientific†. At the end, the great-man theory does not have any credibility, because even though the ability to lead is directly linked to one’s personality, the belief that leaders are born and not made finds no veracity. In our times, it is meaningless to think of it as a viable explanation for a person’s skills in guiding, since it’s been proved that the this theory popularized in the 1840’s but suggested much earlier, only took into consideration men born in a social status that would allow them to lead regardless of their abilities, from there the hypothesis of the innate leader. Nowadays that particular matter has been changed, since a person’s background is not judged but instead their ability to be a leader is highly paid. As Cawthon (1996) says â€Å"Individuals in every society posses different degrees of energy, moral force and intelligence, and in whatever direction the masses might be influenced to go, they are always led by the superior few†. In the managerial world, Winston & Patterson (2006) say â€Å"a growing number of leaders from different parts of the world are being formed† so do not let people fool you when they say someone was born to be a leader, because given today’s uncertainty many so called traditional leaders are being superseded by those with best abilities to manage people. So, you better base your leadership skills in what you have learned, most importantly in what you truly are and let other people influence you before you can exercise a bigger influence on them, because leadership is doing the right things. Do not ever live upon other’s expectations, you are what you choose to be, for that, being a leader is not being born a leader living what others have scripted, but rescripting your life and forging yourself through stimulating yourself from experiences and knowledge acquired in life. After all If your actions inspire others to learn more, dream more, become more and do more, you are a leader. REFERENCES Cawthon, D.L (1996). Leadership: The great man theory revisited. Business Horizons, 39(3), 1-4. Retrieved April 7, 2012, from Academic Search Premiere. Cherry, K. (2012). The great man theory of leadership. Journal of Effective Management, 3(2), 10-17. Retrieved April 7, 2012, from Academic Search Premiere. Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people. Provo: Free Press. Invisible Children (2012). More about us. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from www.invisiblechildren.com Lapham’s Quarterly. (2012). Great man theory. Retrieved April 7, 2012, from http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/voices-in-time/great-man-theory.php Leadership Central. (2012). Great man theory. Retrieved April 7, 2012, from www.leadership-central.com Mead, M. (1970). Culture and commitment. San Francisco: Natural History Press. Winston, B. & Patterson, K. (2006). An integrative definition of leadership. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 1(2), 7-14. Retrieved April 7, 2012, from Academic Search Premiere.

18 to 20 Page Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

18 to 20 Page Research Proposal - Essay Example Dropping out Ð ¾f Ã'•chool limitÃ'• oneÃ'• choiceÃ'• Ð °nd labor market advantageÃ'• in an increaÃ'•ingly Ã'•ophiÃ'•ticated economic Ð °nd Ã'•ocial climate; thuÃ'•, an incomplete high school education engenders grave conÃ'•equenceÃ'• for thÐ µ individual Ð °nd Ã'•ociety in termÃ'• Ð ¾f economic impact Ð °nd future productivity (Ð…trothÐ µr, 2006). These negative impacts of dropout rates are heightened when students with special needs are in question because they have disabilities that already act as a handicap when they try to embark on a career. Furthermore, the dropout rates of special education students triple that of ordinary students (Blackorby and Wagner, 2006; deBettencourt, Zigmond and Thornton, 2005). This makes the issue of the high dropout rates of special education students more pressing. That is why it is highly important for the causes and reasons for special education students dropping out of high school to be examined. Sadly, it is only in the recent years that awareness for the drop out rates of special education students have arisen. This is because â€Å"students with disabilities are included in the â€Å"all students† agenda of federal, state, and district standards-based reforms† through the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Thurlow, Sinclair and Johnson, 2002). Furthermore, studies that have been conducted that present usable data related to students with disabilities that can be adapted to the present times are very few compared to studies of drop out rates of regular students (Lehr, et al., 2004, p. 13). The fact that special education students â€Å"have been identified as being among the lowest performing students on current high-stakes tests† shows the urgency of the need f or programs that can help them stay in school and graduate. This is the primary reason why there is a need to closely examine the top reasons why special education students drop

Collaborations in a Medical Team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Collaborations in a Medical Team - Essay Example The patient is the principal figure in this procedure and there are various steps to be followed in the recovery of the patient which must be to the satisfaction of the patient’s needs (Gorske and Smith, 2009).This essay gives an account of the primary and the secondary care of patients with mental illness. It outlines the various roles of doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and the patient as members of the primary and secondary team and how various government trusts assist in the provision of health and social services for the treatment of a person with mental illness. This essay analyzes how collaborations in a medical team involving the treatment, and care of a person with mental illness is possible through relationship building and care planning. The paper outlines the practices and procedures of mental nursing in relation to service user partnerships. It analyzes the relationships that exist between mental patients, nurses and whether the mentioned relationshi p is a partnership. On most occasions the relationship between the medical teams involved and the patients is full of tension. Partnership is as a process where two or more individual, or bodies come together to jointly work for the benefit of one another.Heller et al, (1996), observe that the relationship between medical practioners and a patient is an example of a partnership (p.32). The aspect of user partnership means the provision of care services by the patient in collaboration with the medical staff, and the main aim is to achieve a common goal which is recovery of the patient. In a mental institution, user partnership takes an example of a collaboration of a nurse with a person with mental illness. It also involves the collaboration of the medical team in providing care services to the patient which can be primary or secondary care. Acheson (1999) observes that primary health care is the first contact of a mental patient with treatment of his/her condition since it brings ca re to the locality of the patient minimizing expenses involving hospital care (p.28). Primary care increases the recovery of the mental patient and reduces the chances of separating the patient from his family due to involuntary admission to mental hospitals. The care leads to better utilization of the available human resource facilities and reduction of stigma associated with terminal illness. Provision of primary health care in England is through public and private sector, and the following are the teams involved in the provision of such services. Doctors, health visitors, support staff, nurses/assistant practitioners, psychologists, counselors and social workers. The roles of these people are different but related. For instance the roles of the doctor is to diagnose the nature of the mental illness, however, he can’t perform this duty effectively without the assistance of a nurse. The role of the medical doctors is to perform diagnosis, while the duty of nurses and social workers is to make follow ups. From this analysis, doctors and nurses require each other’s services for effective care in the primary health care system. Psychologists and counselors play an important role in the care of a terminally ill person, and a counselor has a duty to build the confidence of the patient which is low due to stigma. These people cannot effectively utilize their services without the help of social workers and the support staff (Acheson, 1999). They assist a patient in understanding their mental condition and the help in offer. The patient is a member of the primary health team, and he has the responsibility of cooperating with the medical team for his/her recovery.

Trends in Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Trends in Organizational Behavior - Essay Example Ben Bernanke, the famous economist and current chairman of the board of governors of the Fed is constantly pursuing his current strategy (Lowenstein, 2008). He hasn’t considered the potential threat to the country of facing a major break down in terms of a great depression as was in the horrible recession of 1970s (Fortune, 2008). Several other economists challenge Bernanke on his loose monetary policy and are of the view that the opportunity cost of maintain this trend far much a higher than if we accept to sustain a small tightening to fight back the hikes in inflation and to avoid a shocking recession of the economy (Lowenstein, 2008). The various indices and statistics have further depicted a picture acknowledging a similar result that might be faced by America, if this continues. The dollar has been facing constant depreciation against various currencies of the world including Euro as the most threatening element in terms of trade. The purchasing power is reducing, though export s show a positive growth, the prices of import continue to climb up, thus burdening the foreign reserves day by day. This issue is not only the cause of the rising oil prices but due to the change in priorities and trends in spending. People are hesitant to save and thus consume more than they can and/or they should. This in turn is gradually rusting the economy and exhausting its credit line. The Fed is now considering the threats and is now putting controls on the dollar to regulate and fix its devaluation and monitor the soaring inflation. The article is relevant to the organizational behavior in term of the effects that it has on the economy. With such unproductive conditions, the employees are confused and face the threat of losing their jobs. They want to have more in terms of salaries/wages and/or compensations due to the

The Global Enterprise Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Global Enterprise - Assignment Example As the paper explores UK has been marked as the ninth largest exporter of goods and services and fifth largest importer in the world. Some of the main industries which are operating in the UK currently are the financial services industries, aerospace industry, pharmaceutical industry, and the automotive industry. The major booster of the UK economy is the oil and gas production in the North Sea which is worth  £250 billion. London is the largest hub for the economic activities in the UK and in fact, in the whole of Europe. It is known as the world’s biggest financial center and largest city economy. As the research declares the tourism industry doesn’t only contribute to the GDP and bring foreign revenue to the country, but it also creates jobs and growth opportunities for businesses; this causes more production, more growth, and more employment which overall strengthens the economy. Tourism results in direct consumer spending which causes the economy to strengthen. UK is amongst the countries that are most desirable for tourists in the world. This is a dominating factor in making the economy powerful in the recent years and in the coming years, as predicted. The UK has enjoyed the strength and power of their economy ever since the Industrial Revolution took place. Even though there have been many competitions and challenges in the economies from USA and Germany, in 2015, UK still holds a great powerful position in the world economy as a global strength.

E-Commerce Business Models And Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

E-Commerce Business Models And Concepts - Essay Example Due to this, they end up not meeting the set objectives and being ineffective. The core reason of this is poor development, and the fact that most of these sites do not meet minimum software quality requirements. As the business world becomes more competitive, website firmly hold the position of one of the most crucial tools a company must possess in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Armed with an e-commerce site companies become more flexible, and are able to adjust accordingly with market dynamics. It is evident that many companies now realize the importance of websites as a tool to gain market share and improve sales. This paper is intended to highlight the essential parts of quality e commerce sites, and through the identification of current market trends show the best concepts applicable in a successful online store. Business Background http://www.horchow.com/: The Horchow management structure consists of activities such as the allocation of tasks, supervision and coord ination, which are directed towards the accomplishment of the aims of the company. The company structure mainly participates in the accomplishment of the company goals this is because the company has several dedicated employees whose main agenda is to assist the company to achieve his company's goals. Most flourishing companies like unique home decor, Paul Michael Company, Bensons would not have reached the places they are without their websites (Plumley & Wyrostek, 2011). Horchow has several supervisor is in each and every department, this ensures the employees work up to the required standard. This contributes to the making of designing high quality decor products because the management has catered everything governing the employees work. The company uses various business models to make it distinct from other companies. The business models also help to describe the organizational architecture of capture mechanisms, delivery which are employed by the company's enterprise. The compa ny has applied business models such as, collecting intelligence, user generated content, and improving the available systems. It also uses transport services such as airline and private courier services to ensure their products are available all over the continent. The goals of the business are primarily marketing the products on sale and making sure they increase their profits though online sale and delivery. The company also seeks to be capable of running consumer satisfaction surveys so as to assist they gauge their progress. Finally, the ultimate goal is to ensure that the company becomes a reputable and among the most respected and successful in this field of business The website will, therefore, be designed so as to make sure the company achieves most of its goals in the most efficient way possible. The website will become a partial platform for the marketing department. This is because many people nowadays depend on the internet for many things, making it an easier place to a ccess customers. The products will be marketed by posting them on the website and giving information on the latest home decors awaiting release and those already in the market. In order to enhance marketing, company will have to alias with the most visited websites and have accounts in social platforms such as Facebook, linked in, twitter and MySpace among others. Secondly the company will should be able to give customers the ability to purchase items and request them to get delivered to supported locations. The products shall be priced ant the availability of a customer to purchase the items collectively using a virtual card. This will

A few kind world for superstition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A few kind world for superstition - Essay Example People believe that wizards and witches speak with spiritual beings, and they have the power of either carrying out good or bad. Furthermore, because of their relationship with spiritual beings, witches and wizards have the capability of foretelling the future. This is just a superstitious belief. Superstition has four major manifestations amongst people (Davis, 2). The first type of manifestation is referred to as the vain observance manifestation (Davis, 2). Vain observance refers to the use of techniques for purposes of obtaining a result or a consequence, that by following the natural process, it would be difficult to obtain the results under consideration. A good example of vain observance is sorcery and witchcraft. Sorcery relies on spiritual beings or demonic forces for purposes of controlling other people, or causing harm to them. Furthermore, sorcery and witchcraft aims at gaining an advantage over other people through un-natural means or methods. This is for the benefit of the sorcerer, or the wizard (Murphy, 13). This aspect of vain observance has come under criticism by some leading religions such as Christianity and Islam. These religions condemn the existence of sorcerers and magicians, and they are viewed as deceiving the society. This is because they use demonic forces to manipulate and lie to the people. By looking at this crit ique, it is therefore possible to denote that even the church believes in the existence of spiritual beings, and their capabilities. The second manifestation of superstition is divination (Davis, 3). Divination refers to an attempt of gaining insight to a situation or question through an occultist process. Throughout history, many people have used divination through a variety of forms or procedures. This is by interpreting sign, events, omens, or an alleged contact with a supernatural being

Business and Ethics. Which global dimensions of collective existence Essay

Business and Ethics. Which global dimensions of collective existence are more often cited in moral considerations of global busi - Essay Example All moral ethics should be considered while developing the structure of an organization. This is the key to success for firms and it will make them flourish in the international market. â€Å"Indeed there are several factors triggering international convergence of ethical standards and ethical perceptions. A variety of initiatives by MNC’s, non governmental organizations, governments and international organizations have promoted this tendency. These efforts, along with the critical role of information technology in disseminating news and practices around the world, have elevated the forces working towards universal forms† (Yadong Luo, 2007, P. 207). Although due to globalization world now faces many challenges including the migration and condition children. The current process of globalization has impacted on patterns ad processes of transnational labour migration and has more recently led to increase in labour migration. Migration has bought about many opportunities fo r different family members. it is common that older family members finds it difficult to adjust t a new culture living style but children finds experience such a situation differently. Some of them easily cope up with the situation easily but others may find it difficult to adapt to such a situation. The migration can have mixed experiences. A recent survey points out that children of the same area have different experience on migration. But a common fact is that when migration is occurred from normally under developed section to developed area with aim a livelihood, the experience is rough for most of the families especially for children. Such situation ca mainly leads to child labour, rough, long working conditions and under payment. â€Å"The brief survey of the current wave of globalization on children shows just how large are the transformational in so many critical parts of the ordinary life† (Kaufman & Rizzini, 2002, P.16). Line of Argumentation: With the present situa tion of labour and the condition of the migrant labour it is necessary to consider the life of the people who suffers from the worst side of all these. With globalization the purpose of migration is mainly employment and the migrant labour especially children are suffering from the change situation. So it is important consider the moral values behind these process in order to protect the people from all these. â€Å"Under contemporary globalization, international labour mobility has increased, while levels of exploitation and deregulation have accelerated. Lack of legal protection for migrant workers heightens their attractiveness as instruments of 'maintaining competitiveness' because they are obliged to work in situations where decent work conditions are not enforced. Irregular migrants are especially vulnerable because the threat of apprehension and deportation thwarts unionizing and exposure of dangerous working conditions† (Taran & Geronimi, 2003). For an organization to be successful in the global market, internal and external issues regarding the organization as well the migrant labour and their families is to be considered. â€Å"From the perspective of social responsibility, business ethics embodies standards, norms and expectations that reflect a concern of major stake holders including consumers, employees, share holders, suppliers, competitors and the community†

Australian National Identity Essay Example for Free

Australian National Identity Essay According to Zimmermann there are as many legal systems as there are national states. Every country has its own unique legal system. However, we can allocate among them three main legal systems. These are: Civil Law, Common Law and Islamic Law. Civil and Common Laws are the most influential legal systems in the world, especially in its Western part. All three of these legal systems have existed and developed for many centuries. Further will follow the description of the historically appearance of each legal system separately. Civil legal system is considered to be the oldest and the most widespread one. It also known as Continental, Roman or Romano-Germanic law. In general, Roman law consists of a combination of three main subtraditions such as Roman Civil Law, Canon Law and Commercial Law. The development of Roman Law cover more than a thousand year period, starting from the publication of the law of the XII Tables in Rome (450 B. C. ) and the code of Emperor Justinian I Corpus Juris Civilic , which was created in period from 529 – 534 A. D and later developed by medieval legal scholars. Countries with Civil legal system: France, Germany, Japan, Russia and Uzbekistan. The Common law evolved in England since 11th century after being conquered by the Normans in 1066 A. D.. Afterwards William I the Conqueror created central government and began to standardize the law by combining the best of Anglo-Saxon law with Norman Law which led to a creation of English Common Law. â€Å"William’s enduring legacy was the creation of highly centralized legal system†. [1] (Kritzer, H, M, 2002). The case law originally appeared when the King understood, that many cases, which he had to solve were similar and needed standardization. During the 14th century legal decisions on the common law started providing precedents for the judges to follow. In 1769 Sir William Blackstone wrote Commentaries on the Laws of England, which became the basics of the most common law statutes. These are countries with common legal system: England, United States of America, Australia, Canada, Pakistan, and India. The Islamic Law is called Sharia. The primary sources of Islamic Law are Qur’an and Sunnah. Sharia covers all aspects of every day life of Muslims, including such things as: economics, family and social issues. The legal systems in the World are divided into three main groups: Common, Civil and Islamic legal system, as it was discussed earlier. According to Zweigert, K. and Kotz, H. there are five main differences this two legal systems can be compared: historical background, legal investigation, legal institutions, the sources of law and last one is its ideology. Civil and Common legal systems have both similarities and differences. The main difference between these two legal systems is that common law in England was based on customs, the court existed a long time before there were any written laws. In contrast, the Civil Law developed from ancient Roman Law of Justinian I The second difference is the role of sources of law. At present time there are such sources of law as codes, legislation, customs, judicial decisions (case law), equity and doctrinal writing. Each legal system has several sources from those which were mentioned above. For instance, as De Cruz (2007) points out â€Å"the main sources of law in Civil law countries are the codes, enacted law, doctrinal writing, custom and decided cases. †[2] Civil legal system is codified statutory system, where the main principles and rules are stated in codes. This means that codes and statutes are valued higher and case law is considered just as a secondary source of law. On the other hand the Common law system is uncodified, â€Å"governed by case law and statutes play only an auxiliary role to precedents established by courts†[3](Kritzer, H M, 2002). Equity and case law are accepted sources of law in Common law countries. They do not exist in Civil law jurisdiction. Equity is understood not only as justice but is also considered as a set of legal principles, which are applied in Common legal system. Equity deals with â€Å"situations by applying notions of good sense and fairness†. [4] (Elliott, C Quinn, F, 1996). The law is dominantly created by judge and often without checking the legislation, only by drawing analogy the previous similar cases. This moment shows the difference of the legislators in civil law and in common law. In the civil law, judges should apply the law, which was created by the legislator, on the basis of separation of powers. On the other hand, in common law the judge is given the power to create the law. Another difference between civil and common law system is the force of precedents. In civil law system, the court decides the particular cases according to the legislation and legal norms. But in the common law the courts are supposed not only to solve the cases, but also give an example of how similar cases have to be solved in the future. This means, that decisions, which are made by higher level courts in a specific areas are binding the lower ones to follow them. This makes the court in the common law the basis of legislation. Court procedures are also differentiating in both civil and common legal systems. We all know that at the court two parties cooperate by presenting their evidence to each other. Civil legal system has an inquisitorial procedure. In inquisitorial procedure the judge is the active person, who also takes more investigative role. Common law countries use the accusatorial system, which is also known as the adversary procedure. † The common law principle which places the responsibility for collecting and presenting evidence on the party who seeks to introduce that evidence. †[5] (Woodley, M, 2005). In accusatorial procedure judge is a passive person in comparison with the inquisitorial procedure. Moreover, the last word in court procedure (Civil legal system) has the defendant, whereas in Common law the last world has the prosecutor. Next difference would be legal institutions. It can be seen on the following examples. Trust is a branch of law which exist in Common law countries, significantly developed in England. It regulates relationship between trust and trustee. Trust is the person who delegates their ownership, whereas trustee is the person who owns trusts’ proprieties due to many reasons (e.g. underage) The principle of presumption of innocence works differently in Common and Civil law in criminal cases. In Common law it means that a person is innocent until his gilt is proven by the prosecutor and by the facts he presents. On the other hand in civil legal system, it suggests that a person is found to be guilty until he proved that he is innocent. Convergence theory is a system, when one particular country has a mixed legal system. Mixed jurisdiction in recent time, became a subject of huge debates and discussions in European Union. This is happening because, EU has united many countries with different legal systems under a single legislation. So now EU is becoming an area of convergence, where two major legal systems, civil legal system of the continental Europe and common legal system of England, are getting mixed with each other. But this kind of situation with the mixed jurisdictions did not occur only in European Union. Louisiana and Quebec are examples of mixed jurisdiction systems. Before being a part of USA, Louisiana was a French colony since 1731 till its cession to Spain in 1763. In this period of time Louisiana had a French legal system. But after its cession, French law was replaced by Spanish Law. The Spanish law included â€Å"Nueva Recopilacion de Castilla (1567) and the Recopilacion de Leyes de los Reinos de las Indias (a rearrangement of major legal texts up to 1680), and, in default of a specific rule in a later enactment, the Siete Partidas (a compilation of laws, based on the Justinian compilation and the doctrine of the Glossators, made under King Alfonso X in 1265 and formally enacted under King Alfonso XI in 1348)† (Tetley,W., 2000). On 20 December of 1803 Louisiana became part of United States of America. USA had a common law legal system. The mixture of common and civil law systems lead to a misinterpretation of laws, because all other codes were written in different languages. That is why, Edward Livingston in 1808 created a â€Å"Louisiana civil code†, which was approved by the major advocates of common law. In 1825 the Louisiana civil code was modified by adding missing force and was organized similarly with French Civil Code. The third civil code was evolved in 1870. The complete edition of all three codes was published in 1938. Starting from 1976 Louisiana’s State University is now responsible for the Louisiana civil code. Another striking example of the mixed of jurisdictions, would be Quebec. For a long time before being ceded by the Great Britain, Quebec was the part of France, and called le Canada. This means that in Quebec was under French Civil Legal system. After cession with Great Britain, the legal systems got mixed, and this lead to a confusion of the applicable law. The French population boycotted the new English law. To make some clarifications were made by creating a Quebec Act 1774, which combined both civil and common legal systems. In 1791 The Constitutional act divided Quebec into Upper Canada, with common law system and Lower Canada with civil law. Nowadays Canada still has a mixed jurisdiction The mixed jurisdiction is, in my opinion, a myth, but many countries are trying to reach the convergence between these two main legal systems. As I stated before, some countries already have mixed jurisdiction, but this mixture often leads to some misunderstandings and confusions to the legal authorities of the country. Convergence theory is a myth, but as long as developed countries will try to mix both of these legal systems, it can become reality. Bibliography Books: 1. De Cruz, P. , (1999). Comparative law in a changing world. 2nd ed. GB: Cavendish Publishing Ltd. 2. Elliott, C Quinn, F. , (1996). English legal system. New York: Addison Wesley Longman 3. Tetley, W. , (2000). Mixed jurisdiction: Common Law vs. Civil Law (Codified and Uncodified). USA: Louisiana Law Review. 4. Woodley, M. , (2005). Osborn’s Concise law dictionary. 10th ed. London : Sweet Maxwell 5. Kritzer, H M, (2002). Legal systems of the world. California : ABC-CLIO 6. Zweigert, K. and Kotz, H. , (1998). An introduction to comparative law. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Internet Sources: 1. Pejovic, C. ,(2001). Civil Law and Common Law: Two different paths leading to the same goal. [online] Available from: [Accessed 17 March 2009]. 2. Radford University. Description and History of Common Law [online]. Available from: http://www. runet. edu/~junnever/law/commonlaw. htm [Accessed 18 March 2009]. 3. Common Law vs. Civil Law. [online] Available from: [Accessed 17 March 2009] 4. Rial, J. S. , (2002). Origins of Common Law. [online] Available from: [Accessed 17 March 2009] 5. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, (2007). Corpus Juris Civilic. [online] Columbia University Press. Available from: http://www. infoplease. com/ce6/society/A0813641. html [Accessed 16 March 2009]. 6. Law. com Dictionary. Common Law. [online]. Available from: http://dictionary. law. com/definition2. asp? selected=248 [Accessed 17 March 2009] [1] Kritzer, H M, 2002, Legal systems of the world, volume I A-D, ABC-CLIO, California. [2] De Cruz, P, 2007, Comparative law in a changing world, 3d edn, Routledge-Cavendish, Oxon. [3] Kritzer, H M, 2002, Legal systems of the world, volume I A-D, ABC-CLIO, California. [4] Elliott, C Quinn, F, 1996, English legal system, Addison Wesley Longman, New York. [5] Woodley, M, 2005, Osborn’s Concise law dictionary, 10th edn, Sweet Maxwell, London.

The Importance Of Employees In An Organization Marketing Essay

The Importance Of Employees In An Organization Marketing Essay The article focuses on the importance of employees in an organization. The categorization of employees as the most valuable asset of an organization has been proclaimed by many marketing, human resource and other business experts. However, it is just a claim and no concrete measures are taken to harvest this invaluable asset. Companies focus on the four Ps of marketing strategy, rather than the role of employees in delivering customer satisfaction. This article advocates the concept of the fifth P, which is not packaging or public relations but rather people-power. The article focuses on the importance of an organizations workforce in marketing strategy. The author touches on general marketing concepts covered by great authors such as Kotler and Levitt and builds upon them with relation to the human resources of an organization. In the academic context, the article is a practical approach to internal marketing and covers the concept of including the 5th P in the marketing mix. From an industrial context, the theoretical concepts covered stress the implementation of these concepts in the industry. The author reiterates the importance of refraining from platitudes and instilling the value of employees with regards to customer service at all levels of the organization. From a scholarly point of view, the article builds on attempts to include people power by authors such as Parkinson (1988), Gross et al. (1993), Rafiq and Ahmed (2000) and Judd himself in 1987 and 2001. The difference between this article and others is that it focuses on people powe r as an integral part of the marketing mix over all sectors in an economy whereas other articles focused on its role in specific industries or the importance of employees in internal marketing. An organization needs customers to survive and be profitable and customers are looking for value. Marketing persuades the customer that value is to be found in a specific organizations product or service thus an organization has two main marketing objectives which are to satisfy customers and to provide customers with a differentiated product that holds value for them. An introduction of marketing mix in the article explains that it is the combination of price, promotion, placement and most importantly product that an organization develops to attract and satisfy customers. The marketing mix elements must provide an offering that holds value for customers and substantially differentiates the offering from competitors. According to Levitt (1986), marketing is basically about getting the customer and this customer orientation defines all aspects of marketing strategy. The article bases its argument for the 5th P firstly on this concept of customer orientation which is the cornerstone of marketing principles. The second concept is the role of employees in differentiating and delivering value. Kotler (2000) mentions employees as a differentiating element for organizations. According to him, an organization consisting of qualified, courteous and helpful staff is automatically differentiated from a competitor who does not have a customer-oriented staff. According to the author, most business authors mention the employees as the most important asset of an organization (Freeman, 1993; Shoniwa and Gilmore, 1996; Peak, 1997; Business Week, 2000). This assertion by various authors has not had any real impact on the way organizations consider their human resources Although motivational theories have changes from a more scientific to humanistic approach and managers of every organization claim in their annual reports that their employees are the driving force, or they are invaluable but implementation of these assertions in strategies and organizational behavior has been lacking. Thus the central idea of the article is that the main aims of marketing which are delivering value to customers through differentiation and achieving customer satisfaction are attainable through the organizations employees. The organization cannot be fully customer oriented until its employees are focused on creating and delivering value to the customers. Employees at all levels of the organization should be committed to the customer and that is the only way an organization can be fully customer oriented. Accordingly, it is vital that employees be included in the marketing strategy as the fifth P. The author proposes that people-power be included in the marketing mix as employees are as important in differentiating and delivering value to the customer as price, product, placement and promotion. In explaining this orientation towards people-power, the article explores the marketing ideas of differentiation and the marketing mix which are the basis of marketing strategy. An organization can differentiate its product offering through product, design, style, name, logo, packaging, features, store location, availability, branding, goodwill and personal touch (Chamberlin, 1965). But the core concept is perceived differentiation in the mind of the customer, thus differentiation is only effective if it is perceived by the customer to add value to the product (Kotler 1986). Thus, on this basis of differentiation the organization can attract customers and satisfy them. The marketing mix denotes elements of marketing strategy and product development that can be modified by the organization. These elements represent the augmented product or service offering to the customer and can be differentiated to suit the customers needs. Price, place, promotion and product are widely accepted as the four Ps (McCarthy, 1960). However Kotler (1986) the marketing Guru, suggested that public relations should be a part of the marketing mix as did Mindak and Fine (1981). Political power has also been suggested as a marketing mix variable (Kotler, 1986) whereas Wind (1986) asserted there were 11 Ps in the marketing mix. However, recently the concept of relationship marketing has been pushed forward as a replacement for the marketing mix (Groà ¶nroos, 1994). Although, relationship marketing has gained prominence it does not compromise the significance of the marketing mix; according to the author. In fact, it is another concept of marketing that requires the harvestin g of human resource to develop relationships and thus deliver value to the customer. The inclusion of people-power was first discussed by the author in previous articles with regards to field sales in B2B marketing (Judd, 1986) and with regards to non-profit organizations (Judd, 2001). With reference to industrial and manufacturing concerns it was included in the marketing mix by Gross et al. (1993) and to small businesses by Parkinson (1988). Although, it has been discussed by many other scholars (Christopher et al., 1993; Harris, 1999), recently people power has ignited more interest with regards to organizations across all sectors of the economy. The strengths of the article are that it clearly states the concepts of marketing and its aim to introduce people-power in the marketing. It clearly refers to many previous articles and books about marketing and makes an informed leap into the stretching of the marketing mix. The conclusions derived in the article, are easy for the reader and the student to grasp as there is a logical progression from one concept to another. The concept of employees as a major force that determines the success and failure of an organization is not a new one, however mostly it is just a statement with no real actions by marketers or managers to instill it in their strategies; this article correctly identifies and criticizes this and provides a real workable path to employee involvement in creating value for the customer. It does not focus on the customer relations employees or the board of directors; rather it covers all employees that work in an organization whether or not they directly or indirectly influence the marketing strategy. The author believes that every employee influences the customer through his performance whether directly or indirectly. The main weakness of the article is that though it advocates the importance of employees in a marketing concept; he does not put forth details about how different employees can affect the organization. The author does not use any primary research. The author states many sources but only focus on major concepts from Levitt (1969). The article does not bring any major new conclusions to the marketing world except for the employee matrix and how different employee roles should change due to the induction of people power. The research methodology the article follows is usage of secondary research. A wide variety of sources and references have been incorporated from the books and journals. The author covers different perspectives of the marketing mix and differentiation. He considers different views of employees. In detail, he discusses Levitts theories and Rafiq and Ahmeds summary on internal marketing. The author has not conducted surveys and studies himself although he has build upon concepts and ideas from his older articles in 1987 and 2001; both dealt with people power in specific types of organizations. The author has chosen to specific examples in his article for the implementation of people power in the marketing mix. One is an industrial setting and the other a non-profit organization. In each organization there are different levels of contact with the customers and different levels of involvement with the design and execution of the marketing mix. The most involved in both areas are the contactors which would include marketing management, sales people, customer service, design engineers and so on. Influencers are involved in the marketing mix but have little chance of customer interaction; they include RD, senior management and process engineers. Modifiers have high customer contact but no involvement in the marketing mix and include receptionists, credit and billing departments. Isolateds are not involved in either of the two areas and examples include Human resources, accounts payable and personnel department. In a nonprofit organization the situation is slightly different as most employees are customer oriented and involved in the marketing mix. Volunteers in a nonprofit organization make up a major part of the people and are an integral part of the organization. Thus the major finding of the article is that as people power becomes the 5th P; the management needs to develop a strategy for the contactors, modifiers, influencers and most importantly the isolateds. The strategy of managing people in the organization to develop a customer oriented approach is found in many articles about internal marketing. Piercy (1995) states that views of performance diverge amongst internal and external markets and employees may perceive service to be high quality but customers may be of a differing opinion thus even employees not in contact with the customer should be aware of the customers needs and priorities and an analysis of divergence between external and internal market should be carried out. Internal barriers may be recognized and should be the basis of the internal marketing strategy and thus the gap between the external and internal market should be closed. Rashid and Ahmed (2000) in their article focus on the three step implementation of internal marketing. Firstly employees should be treated as customers and thus the second step involves marketing techniques to be used to move the employees to a more customer oriented approach. Thirdly, strategi es should be developed create awareness about the employees role in the organization and its strategy and change management should be undertaken. Another approach to managing people power is that the CEO should be responsible for directing the organization into a more customer oriented approach (Levitt, 1969). Webster (1988) agrees with this concept of the CEO being the guiding force for commitment to marketing strategy. This article however, takes a different approach by dividing employees into categories based on the level of involvement in the marketing mix and customer contact as mentioned previously. The article proposes different strategies for different types of employees and claims this will be more effective than a blanket approach. As contactors and influencers may already be customer oriented but modifiers and isolates may need different strategies to develop customer orientation and focus on the bigger picture. The article outlines a management process as a result of the analysis which details the desired strategies and outcomes for specific types of employees. Contactors are directly involved in the marketing strategy and have high probability of contact with the customers; thus it is vital that the organization firstly hires qualified people who understand the customer. The contactors should be experts in their field, highly motivated and have in depth knowledge about the organizations customers. As they are the designers of the marketing mix, if their focus is on customer satisfaction, so will be the strategies they design. Modifiers should be effective communicators, and frequent communication training should be carried out. As the modifiers have customer contact but are not involved in marketing strategy. They should be thoroughly educated with regards to the customers value to the organization, the marketing strategies and the customers needs. Modifiers need to be reminded regularly o f the bigger picture and customer focus, as a rude receptionist can entirely change the customers perception of an organization. Influencers are the driving force behind the marketing strategy, thus they should be knowledgeable about the market and be able to judge things from a customers point of view. In order to increase their customer orientation they should be evaluated on customer orientation based standards. As they lack contact with the customer, programs should be implemented that enable them to interact with customers directly. Isolateds have no contact with the customer and are not involved in the marketing mix such as accountants, HR department, and operations and so on. They are the support staff and carry out organizational activities that enable service to the customer. However, these employees are focused on the organization and processes and have no sense of serving the customer. Thus they should be made aware of the customers and their needs. Methods such as writte n, audio and visual materials should be used to present the customer, the marketing strategy and their contribution to satisfying the customer. Regular inter department events can be held to make them feel a part of the organization and learn more about its strategy and goals. The processes explained in the article are useful for the academic community for the development of a human resource oriented marketing strategy. The concepts of differentiation and marketing may mention people in the organization but for students to realize the importance of people in the success of an organization is vital. Marketing strategies that focus on customer orientation and differentiation through employees may be just as successful as forming strategies based on branding or product features. This focus is useful for practitioners as well, as organizations need to actualize the potential of their employees. As commitment to the customer is not a part of motivational strategies, management needs to develop their own strategies to develop customer orientation through internal marketing. For marketers to develop a customer oriented approach in the organization, formalizing people power and developing and implementing strategies to harness this power is vital. Critique of the Judd article The article provides many references and sources however it lacks substantial evidence to back up the claim of people power. It is a conceptual paper that does not focus on practical examples and studies which detracts from the message. The author could have created a greater impact on the reader by providing results of surveys and researches or conducting studies himself. Although the paper cites many relevant respected sources it does not provide concrete support for the authors stance. The article is focused and to the point; and the diagrams are clear and simple. However, one feels that the article should have given generic examples rather than focusing on non profit and manufacturing organizations as the purpose of the article is people power across all sectors. The topic that Judd covers has been a source of debate in recent years. Human resources have gained importance and their value and input has been recognized in the academic world as well as in firms. The marketing mix has also been analyzed and criticized by many scholars as being too limited and many authors have proposed different elements to be added; as Kotler (1987) did in his books Principles of Marketing and Marketing Management. Although many authors promote human resources as an integral part of marketing, they often take different approaches. As Piercy (1995) in his article on internal marketing states that views of performance diverge amongst internal and external markets and employees may perceive service to be high quality but customers may be of a differing opinion thus even employees not in contact with the customer should be aware of the customers needs and priorities and an analysis of divergence between external and internal market should be carried out. Internal barriers that are identified should be the basis of the internal marketing strategy and thus the gap between the external and internal market should be closed. He focuses on identifying customers and suppliers within the organization. He also emphasizes the importance of employees views to be aligned with customer views just as Judd focuses on the employees being customer oriented even if not in contact with the customer. The proposal of 7 Ps by Rafiq and Ahmed (1995) in a generic marketing mix also proposes the inclusion of participants in the mix. Other Ps that they propose are physical training and process. The article is very different from Judds as it focuses on all aspects of the marketing mix rather than only people. The article focuses on a 7P vs 4P idea, and presents surveys and primary research which represent acceptance of the 7P framework. Another major difference is that participants means suppliers and customers as well and not only employees. The similarities include the focus on training and a customer focus throughout the organization; as it is vital for participants to create synergy and be aware of each others needs. As Judd focuses on the importance of people within the organization as an element of the marketing mix; Rashid and Ahmed focus on the entire marketing mix with participants as an integral element. It provides the Boom and Bitner framework which considers all human actor s as participants and as an element of the marketing mix. An article by Gronroos (1997) about relationship marketing focuses on the simplicity of the 4P framework and how it cannot apply to current organizations. It focuses on how relationship building with customers is of utmost importance and it is the foundation of marketing. This involves employees as being the force that enable the organization to build long term mutually beneficial relationships with customers. This is similar to Judds theme of the element of people power and their importance in providing service to the customer. Judd focuses on the marketing mix and Gronroos dismisses the marketing mix. But the element of employees being the basis of all services and marketing is common among the articles although the approach is different. According the article marketing attracts and persuades the customer and relationship marketing makes promises and builds trust. Judds article also focuses on customer orientation and building relationships but through internal marketing and the ma rketing mix. In his paper, Marketing Redefined; Gronroos (1990) covers the limitations of the marketing mix and its ignorance of customer relations. This article focuses on development of customer relations being more important than the 4 Ps just as Judd stresses the importance of people power as another P. However, the two papers reach the same conclusions from different points of views; customer orientation and relationship building is achieved through employee focus and commitment. Chris Lane (1988) wrote a paper on putting people first in the marketing mix. Lane (1988) focuses on the importance of the service giver in the marketing mix. He states that the service giver is the utmost important marketing factor as services are intangible and more emotional. He does not focus on a generic marketing mix, rather on the service industry. Although, caring for people and harnessing human resources is considered as vital to marketing, he does not focus on all the employees as being vital like Judd does. As Judd covers the generic marketing mix and focuses on customer orientation throughout the organization; Lane focuses only on the service industry and the service provider as being important. Judds article does not present a unique approach to the marketing mix and does not provide unique solutions as well, but it actively focuses on all employees of an organization. The articles strength is that it covers all types of human resources and their addition to the marketing mix, rather than just the influencers and contactors. The main weakness is the lack of primary research and statistical results that would have helped Judd in further persuading the reader about his assertions. Evaluation The article brings up an interesting view of employees and how to develop customer orientation in them. Although the importance of employees and HR is a common subject, this article develops a marketing perspective on employees. It proposes that for all types of organizations, the marketing mix should include people-power as the fifth element and thus strategies should be developed for employees to achieve customer orientation at all levels of the organization. The author builds up on his previous article on the same topic and thus it is not an entirely new concept. The strategies that the article proposes may achieve customer orientation in the organization, but it seems unlikely that the support staff and receptionists can be convinced to value the marketing strategy of the organization and customer focus as much as contactors and influencers. The article has a limited focus on the marketing mix; which has been criticized for being outdated. It does not focus on the relevance of re lationship marketing to people power and customer orientation. Judd touches on internal marketing but does not incorporate it in his views of employee and management roles. The article provides new roles for employees and new management responses based on the inclusion of the 5th P and customer orientation; however it might be difficult for marketers to convince other managers to implement these strategies unless there is high level commitment from the top. Thus, the initiative should be taken from the very top in order for customer orientation to take root at every level of the organization.

The Shawshank Redemption: A Comparison of the Short Story and the Film

The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King is both a wonderful film and a brilliantly written short story. There are many themes represented in each form of The Shawshank Redemption. The one major theme that interests me in both the film and the story is freedom. Freedom serves a large purpose for both the story's writer and the filmmaker. Both use similar examples to signify freedom, not only in the jail, but also in a larger context about life. There are many events and examples in both the film and the short story that signifies the theme of freedom. The one main difference is when the film uses the director’s technique to portray a feel of freedom for the inmates. The overall three issues used in this essay are all linked to the feeling of the inmates feeling the sense of freedom with the prison walls. In both the film and the short story, which involves freedom is when Andy Dufresne approaches the narrator, Red. Andy asks Red, "I wonder if you could get me a rock-hammer."(28) Andy's reason for wanting a rock-hammer is because he was "a rockhound. At least... I was a rockhound. In my old life."(29) Andy states that he would like to be a rockhound again on a limited basis because it gives him the feeling of freedom. This example serves the purposes of both the story's writer and the filmmaker. The act of Andy Dufresne being able to go on "Sunday expeditions"(29) at Shawshank shows the reader and/or viewer that it will make him feel free, like when he collected ...

Gilgameshs Heroism Essay -- World Literature Epic of Gilgamesh

A hero is someone who tries the best to help everyone and will do everything in his or her power to help out another person. The term hero means different things to different people. Today many people believe that a hero is a person who can accomplish what others can not or a person who puts themselves on the line for the other people. Men, women and children can all be heroes if they truly feel in their hearts the need to help others in even the smallest ways. In our modern world heroes are defined in so many ways. Anyone can be a hero, a best friend, a devoted mother/father, a teacher, etc. On the other hand, in the older days, before laws and technology, heroes were the men who fought against evil things, who rescue damsels in distress; they were the manly men, the king's knights, god like creatures, brave warriors. As criteria for any epic story a hero must be involved in the story. Furthermore, these heroes had to meet also specific criteria. The definition of an ancient time hero is very different than a hero today. Above all, he should be a skilled warrior, who had to respect authority, both governmental and religious. Around the time that the epic called "Gilgamesh" was written heroes were considered to be the men who helped or did virtuous deeds for many people. The Mesopotamians thought a hero was someone with courage and bravery, who rise above all of the normal people. They were considered to be the part of God. The Epic of Gilgamesh centers on Gilgamesh, a man with superhuman qualities who struggles and searches for immortality and knowledge. Moreover the epic is about his grown to full maturity through this quest. Therefore who exactly is a hero and what is the role of the hero? In this paper the term "Heroism... ...mes a better individual, and it is all of the work he did after that moment that has made him be recognized as a hero. Gilgamesh is more of a hero because once he realizes that he could be doing better things for other people he changes his actions. Enkidu is a hero but not on purpose. He is created as a hero on the other hand, his own conscious, his own choices make him more humane, and he has changed his primitive way of living. In conclusion, "The Epic of Gilgamesh" is a story about the meaning of being a human. Like most people of today Gilgamesh is not discover that meaning until the later part of his life. It is sad to think that most of the people in our contemporary world are to caught up being "successful" that they stop searching for a purpose in life aside from themselves. Gilgamesh is a hero because he saw the flaws and decides to eliminate them.

Old Man And The Sea Summary Essay -- essays research papers

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961) Type of Work: Symbolic drama Setting North Coast of Cuba; early twentieth century Principal Characters Santiago, an old, weathered fisherman Manolin , a boy, Santiago's young fishing companion The Marlin, a gigantic fish Story Overveiw Eighty-four days had passed since Santiago, the old fisherman, had caught a fish, and he was forced to suffer not only the ridicule of younger fishermen, but near-starvation as well. Moreover, Santiago had lost his young companion, a boy named Manolin, whose father had ordered him to leave Santiago in order to work with more successful seamen. But the devoted child still loved Santiago, and each day brought food and bait to his shack, where they indulged in their favorite pastime: talking about the American baseball leagues. The old man's hero was the New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio. Santiago identified with the ballplayer's skill and discipline, and declared he would like to take the great DiMaggio fishing some time. After visiting one particular afternoon, the boy left Santiago, who fell asleep. Lions immediately filled his dreams. As a boy he had sailed to Africa and had seen lions on the beaches. Now, as an old man, he constantly dreamed of the great and noble beasts. He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of Great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach ... He loved them as he loved the boy. Before dawn of the next day, the fisherman, as usual, hauled his salt-encrusted skiff onto the beach and set out by himself. But today, in hopes of breaking his unlucky streak, he was determined to sail into deep waters, out much farther than the other anglers would go. He followed the sea birds and flying fish; they would tell him b y their movements where the fish congregated. He watched the turtles swimming near his boat. He loved the turtles, "with their elegance and speed... " Most people are Heartless about turtles because a turtle's heart will beat for hours after he has been cut tip and butchered. The old man thought, I have such a heart too ... Early on, Santiago managed to land a tenpound tuna. Thinking this a good omen, he used the fresh meat to bait one of his lines. By n... ...ng manly courage, endurance, and noble suffering. In fact, the novel would be little more than an adventure story were it not for Santiago's dialogues with himself - his repetitive and symbolic musings, daydreams and plottings. Unlike other fishermen, who see the ocean merely in terms of economic gain, Santiago looks on the sea and its inhabitants with love and respect. Notably, he prefers to call the sea "la mar," its feminine form, rather than the harsher, masculine "el mar." Some readers may see Christian symbolism in the story: Santiago means St. James in Spanish; the battle with the fish lasts three days; Santiago, arriving at the shore, carries his mast, like a cross, on his shoulders, and, like the biblical Christ, stumbles under its load. Later, the fisherman lies down exhausted on the floor of his hut with his arms stretched out stiffly and the palms of his hands up. But the giant fish - representing the hopes and dreams of mankind - and the old man's relationship with it, is what creates the extraordinary pathos of the novel. And, in the end, even Santiago's (humankind's) modest expectations are snatched from his grasp.

Linguistics Lecture Essay

Today’s Objective †¢ Begin to understand the fundamental ways of thinking in Linguistics. Some properties of grammar †¢ †¢ †¢ creativity generality parity Some properties of grammar: Parity ? all grammars are equally valid prescriptive grammar descriptive grammar ? ? Is this statement a scienti? c observation? A. Yes B. No People who live in East Hamilton often say â€Å"I seen him† where they should say â€Å"I saw him† Clicker frequency is BD. Is this statement a scienti?  c observation? A. Yes B. No In Finnish, prepositions come after nouns. Kissa on poydan alla cat is table under â€Å"The cat is under the table† Is this statement a scienti? c observation? A. Yes B. No If you end a sentence with a preposition you sound ignorant. Gymboree is one of the stores that I shop at. Gymboree is one of the stores at which I shop. Clicker frequency is BD. Clicker frequency is BD. Some properties of grammar: Universality ? ? ? ? all grammars share some universal properties phonological syntactic etc. Some properties of grammar: Mutability ? ? ? ? all grammars change over time sounds words & word forms sentence structures [w] not [hw] in Canada by age Some properties of grammar: Inaccessibility ? almost all grammatical knowledge is unconscious (a. k. a. implicit) How can we observe unconscious knowledge? Some properties of grammar ? ? ? ? ? ? creativity generality parity universality mutability inaccessibility.

Strategic Human Resource Management: a Paradigm Shift for Achieving

International Bulletin of Business Administration ISSN: 1451-243X Issue 7 (2010)  © EuroJournals, Inc. 2010 http://www. eurojournals. com Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM): A Paradigm Shift for Achieving Sustained Competitive Advantage in Organization Benjamin James Inyang Department of Business Management, University of Calabar P. M. B. 1115 Calabar, Nigeria E-mail: benji1955. [email  protected] co. uk Tel: +234 8033773403 Abstract The human resource of an organization offered the potential synergy for sustained competitive advantage, when properly deployed, maintained and utilized.From the onset, the traditional HRM, the formal system for managing people in organization, concerned itself essentially with transactional and administrative support services. The emergence of SHRM, concerned with the relationship between HRM and strategic management of the organization, was a paradigm shift. The strategic business partner model emphasized the proper integration or fit of HR practices with the business strategies of the organization, to generate a competitive advantage.To perform successfully, the roles of business partner and change agent under SHRM, the HR practitioner must be highly knowledgeable, multiskilled and acquire core competencies like business knowledge, strategic visioning and global operating skills, credibility and integrity, internal consulting skills, among others. Keywords: Strategic human resource management, human resource management, competitive advantage, fit, integration, business strategy, strategic business partner. 1. IntroductionAn organization requires the utilization of a complex array of resources to grow, survive and achieve the ultimate mission or objectives that informed its existence or creation. The mobilization and deployment of these resources – human, financial and material – in the right resource-mix, gives the organization leverage toward the desired end. Of these resources, the human resource is t he most potent and central, contributing significantly to corporate bottom line and competitiveness.The organization therefore gains sustained competitive advantage through people, the organization workforce. Competitive advantage is simply defined as anything that gives an organization an edge over the competitors in its market. According to Porter (1985), the unique talents among employees, including flexibility, innovation, superior performance, high productivity and personal customer service are ways employees provide a critical ingredient in developing a firm’s competitive position.Similarly, Chiavenato (2001) notes that employees are purveyors of activities and knowledge whose most important contributions in the organization are their intelligence and individual talents. There is a 23 growing consensus that effective management of human capital is critical to an organization’s success (Barney & Wright, 1998; Jackson, Hitt & DeNisi, 2003; Akhtar, Ding & Ge, 2008). Managing the human resources in the organization is the traditional responsibility of the personnel manager, a precursor to human resource management (HRM).Some scholars however equate HRM with personnel management, concerned with providing staff support in the organization (e. g. Guest, 1989). Other scholars consider HRM as a natural development of personnel management practices in the face of changing economic and business environment (Armstrong, 1989 & 2004; and Fajana, 2002). The people-management discipline is undergoing continuous metamorphosis, with the recent emergence of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in organization and management literature.In a recent review covering 30 years, Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall, Andrade & Drake (2009) present an evolutionary and chronological perspective on the development of SHRM. The authors identify the following seven themes which influenced the development of the field of SHRM: (1) explaining contingency perspective and fit, (2) shifting from a focus on managing people to creating strategic contributions, (3) elaborating HR system components and structure, (4) expanding the scope of SHRM, (5) achieving HR implementation and execution, (6) measuring outcomes of SHRM, and (7) evaluating methodological issues.SHRM is evolving as a new approach to the management of people, and specifically focusing on integrating the human capital to business strategy to enhance organizational competitiveness. According to Aswathappa (2004:39), â€Å"the advent of SHRM has brought forward the issues of linkages between the employer-employee relationships and wider organizational strategies and corporate objectives†. â€Å"The field of strategic human resources management has enjoyed a remarkable ascendancy during the past two decades, as both an academic literature and focus on management practice† (Becker & Huselid, 2006:898).The transition from the older HR practice with focus on staff matter to a subject of re-birth which focuses on linking people as organizational asset with the business strategy of the firm (Niehaus, 1995) means that the HR professional is performing a new and more challenging responsibility that requires new competencies and skills. He has to think outside the traditional organizational box of HR – and develop a radically different approach to manage the human capital and create a fit between HR architecture and business strategy formulation and implementation in the firm.The HR architecture, according to (Becker & Huselid, 2006:899) â€Å"is composed of the systems, practices, competencies, and employee performance behaviors that reflect the development and management of the firm’s strategic human capital†. This paper discusses the emergence of SHRM as a paradigm shift and the pertinent issues raised or implied in this transition. It further presents the resource-based view (RBV) of integrating SHRM with business strategy.The organizational im plications of the strategic business partner model for corporate competitiveness, and the strategic skills and core competencies required of the HR practitioner are finally discussed. 2. Literature Review: Traditional HRM versus SHRM In their seminal thesis on the development of HR function, Jamrog & Overholt (2004:1) declare that â€Å"over the past 100 years the HRM professional has been continuously evolving and changing, adding more and different responsibilities†.The authors’ account shows that the HRM function has evolved through many stages, from the medieval time through the industrial revolution, the scientific management, the human relations movement, etc. , to the present strategic business partner model. For most of its history, HR has mainly focused on the administrative aspects of HRM, except recently, with the strident call for HRM to become a strategic business partner (Ulrich, 1997; Brockbank 1999; Lawler III & Mohrman, 2000; and Lawler III & Mohrman, 2003). 24Some scholars therefore, are wont to differentiate between the traditional HRM and SHRM. Traditional HRM is transactional in nature, concerned essentially with providing administrative support in terms of staffing, recruitment, compensation and benefits (Rowden, 1999; and Wei, 2006). Ulrich (1997) argues that the HR function has been an administrative function headed by personnel whose roles are essentially focused on cost control and administrative activities. Managing people is therefore the responsibility of HR manager.HRM is then a â€Å"formal system for the management of people within the organization† (Bateman & Zeithaml, 1993:346). For Inyang (2001:8), HRM is simply â€Å"organization’s activities, which are directed at attracting, developing and maintaining an effective workforce†. The many transactional or administrative activities involved in managing the human resources of an organization – training and development, staff motivation, compensation, staff commitment, quality performance, etc. are meant to be carried out effectively to influence the achievement of corporate objectives (Inynag, 2008a).The paradigm shift from the administrative aspects of HRM led to the emergence of SHRM as a new generation of value-added core responsibility or function of HRM. The emphasis of SHRM is that of a strategic business partner. It now supports the company’s competitive advantage by providing high quality people and by helping business managers strategically plan the functions of the human capital within the organizations (Rowden, 1999). SHRM strongly beliefs that critical organizational capabilities or performance behaviors are sine qua non, for the attainment of a particular business strategy or goal.Unlike the traditional HRM which covers a wide range of employment practices, including recruitment, selection, performance appraisal, training and development and administration of compensation and benefits, SHRM refl ects a more flexible arrangement and utilization of human resources to achieve organizational goals, and accordingly helps organizations gain competitive advantage (Wei, 2006). For Becker & Huselid (2006:899) the traditional HRM differs from SHRM in two important ways: â€Å"First, SHRM focuses on organizational performance rather than individual performance.Second, it also emphasizes the role of HR management systems as solutions to business problems (including positive and negative complementarities) rather than individual HR management practices in isolation†. This therefore reflects a shift of emphasis from operating efficiency of individual employees to managerial efficiency of the entire organization. The distinction presented in this review shows SHRM as a more systematic approach, which extends beyond the management of human capital and people – management activity to involve the integration of human factors to strategic business goals of the organization.The s trategic business partner focus of SHRM helps to add value to the organization – by contributing to the bottom line and competitive advantage. Despite its current popularity among academics and HR professionals, SHRM is still experiencing problems of status identity and precise definition (McMahan, Virick & Wright, 1999: 101). Dyer & Kochan (1994) note the problem of status identity as affecting the development of a systematic theory of SHRM.Even the definitions of SHRM vary in emphasis among scholars: Wright & McMahan (1992); and Lundy (1994) emphasize the elements of HR planning; Hendry & Petigrew (1990, 1992) stress the management of organizational change; Watson (1986) defines it as coordination mechanism of the organization; Beer (1984), Guest (1987), Dyer & Holders (1988), Lengnick-Hall & Lengnick-Hall (1990); Schuler, Dowling & De Cieri (1993), Truss & Gratton (1994); Ulrich (1997), Boxall (1999); Brand & Bax (2002) highlight HR policies as a tool for business strategy .Despite the differences in definition, a common thread that is emerging in the literature is that which stresses the relationship between business strategy and HR practices as the core of SHRM. What has also emerged from the literature is the broad agreement of the basic function of SHRM, which is concerned with designing and implementing a set of internally consistent policies and practices that ensure the human capital of an organization contributes to the achievement of its business objectives (Schuler & MacMillan, 1984), Baird & Meshoulam, 1988; Jackson & Schuler, 1995).On his part, Armstrong (2004:105) states that SHRM is essentially â€Å"concerned with the relationship between human resource management and strategic management of the firm†. Following from this, he defines 25 SHRM as â€Å"the overall direction the organization wishes to pursue in order to achieve its goals through people† (p. 105). SHRM is a strategic approach to manage human resource of an org anization. It concerns all organizational ctivities which affect the behavior of individuals in their effort to formulate and implement planned strategies that will help organization achieve the business objectives. According to the Gomez-Mejia, Balking, & Cardy (1995), SHRM implies a managerial orientation that ensures that human resources are employed in a manner conducive to the achievement of organizational goals and missions. SHRM must give careful consideration to the organizational import of all human resource decisions and to their links with the external environment and the organization’s competitive strategy (Beaumont, 1993).In their own contribution, Boxall & Purcell (2003) argue that SHRM is concerned with explaining how HRM influences organizational performance. It is obvious from this point that SHRM is based on the principles incorporating, the concept of strategy. Therefore, if HRM is a coherent approach to the management of people, then SHRM implies that this approach is done on a planned way that integrates organizational goals with policies and action sequences (CIPD, 2007). 3. SHRM and Business Strategy Fit or IntegrationThe new business context, which is characterized by increasing globalization, greater organizational complexity, market competitiveness and cutting-edge information communication technology, is prompting organization executives to take more interest in the deployment and utilization of their human resources. The HR function is therefore playing a far more strategic role in the business or corporate strategic planning process in the organization. The emergence of SHRM is increasingly adding more value to the organization. Thus, SHRM is based on HRM principles, which integrate the concept of business strategy.Strategy here refers to â€Å"the pattern of organizational moves and managerial techniques or approaches used to attain organization objectives and to pursue the organization’s mission† (Inyang, 200 4:20). Strategy is also considered as â€Å"the process by which the basic mission and objectives of the organization are set, and the process by which the organization uses its resources to achieve these objectives† (Tichy, Fombrun, & Devanna, 1982:47). Organizations must choose and follow the diverse approaches in order to achieve success or gain competitive advantage.Scholarly advocacy as already noted has consistently emphasized the need for HRM to become a strategic business partner. That means that SHRM has to be integrated with business strategy. This is also the issue of fit. Integration or fit refers to the involvement of SHRM in the formulation and implementation of organizational strategies and the alignment of SHRM with the strategic needs of an organization (e. g. Buyens & De Vos 1999; Schuler & Jackson, 1999). To become strategic business partner means that the HR managers should participate in strategic decision-making alongside other senior managers in the org anization.This, according to Ulrich (1997), would provide greater opportunity to align HR goals, strategies, philosophies and practices with corporate objectives and the implementation of business strategies. The involvement of HR managers would be to become members of senior or top management in the organization (Budhwar, 2000; Teo, 2000). Membership at this level in the organizational hierarchy offers opportunity for SHRM to represent its concerns and influence the direction of business strategy from the onset of the decision making process.This involvement from the crafting stage of strategy decision-making will enhance commitment on the part of the HR managers during implementation stage of such business strategy. Inyang (2008b) argues for the co-optation of the HR manager to business policy formulation as a business partner, to help drive policy implementation to success and attain competitive advantage. There is research evidence that integration tends to result in enhanced co mpetence, congruence and cost effectiveness (Black & Boal, 1994; Teece, Pisano & Shuen, 1997). 6 There is increasing attention being focused on SHRM discourse about congruence or fit† or integration between HR practice and business strategy (Baird & Meshoulam, 1988; Wright & McMahan, 1992; and Wei, 2006). The underlying assertion in the fit analyses is that the employment of effective HR practices and the design of an HR system compatible with the firm strategy are sine qua non for the successful implementation of the organization’s business strategies (Lengnick-Hall & Lengnick-Hall, 1988).Fit is therefore a fundamental feature of SHRM, which connotes the utilization of human resources to enhance the attainment of organizational goals. According to Wright & McMahan (1992:298), fit means â€Å"†¦ the pattern of planned human resource deployment and activities to enable a firm to achieve its goal†. Scholars of SHRM identify two kinds of fit: horizontal fit and vertical fit. Horizontal fit refers to the congruence among various HRM practices (Baird & Meshoulam, 1998), and vertical fit refers to the alignment of HRM practice with strategic management process of the firm (Schuler & Jackson, 1987).Generally, vertical fit or integration is necessary to provide congruence between business and human resource strategy so that the latter supports the accomplishment of the former, and helps to define it. Horizontal fit or integration with other aspects of the HR strategy is required so that its different elements fit together. The aim is to achieve a coherent approach to managing human resources, in a manner in which the various practices are mutually supportive.Both types of fit contribute significantly to the competitiveness of an organization and it is important for organization to arrange a variety of HR practices in a systematic way. According to Pfeffer (1994), a set of properly arranged HR practices can have a positive impact on a firm perf ormance when they are properly implemented. Creating a proper fit or integration is the key issue in SHRM and it is this congruence in organization’s HR practices that impact on the bottom line. Figure 1 below illustrates these concepts and their impact on the organization.Figure 1: Two Types of Fit Vertical: (Alignment of HR practices with business strategy) SHRM Integration/Fit Horizontal: (Congruence among HR practices) †¢ †¢ †¢ Bottom Line Competitiveness Performance SHRM is essentially about integration – integrating HR practices with the business strategy of the organization. Both the vertical and horizontal fits create the congruence between business strategy and human resource policies which jointly enhance the attainment of bottom line, competitiveness and performance.Thus SHRM helps the organization to achieve strategic fit with its market environment. One of the key policy goals of SHRM according to Guest (1989) is to ensure that HR is integra ted into strategic planning so that HRM policies cohere both across policy areas and across hierarchies and HRM practices are used by line managers as part of their everyday work. Walker (1992) points out that the HR strategies are functional strategies like marketing, production or IT strategies, but they are different in the sense that they are intertwined with all other strategies in the organization.Managing the human resource is a very unique function in the organization, and the human capital provides the 27 resources for implementing all business strategies. Therefore, HR planning should be an integral part of all other strategy formulations in the organization. 4. SHRM and the Resource Based View (RBV) of the Firm The RBV of the firm is based on the ideas of Penrose (1959), who sees the firm as â€Å"an administrative organization and a collection of productive resources†. A firm that obtains and develops the human resource can achieve competitive advantage (Hamel & P rahalad (1989).Other researchers have similarly advocated the need to align HR systems with the firm’s strategy to create competitive advantage (Barney, 1986, 1991; and Wright & McMahan, 1992). The underlying assumption of the RBV of the firm is resource heterogeneity. This means that the resources that different firms own are unlikely to be identical. Accordingly, these resources owned by the firm that help it achieve sustained competitive advantage must meet four requirements. The resources must be (i) valuable, (2) rare, (3) inimitable, and (4) non-substitutable.This follows therefore that if the resources a firm employs cannot be easily imitated by another firm or substituted by similar resources another firm employs the firm can easily take advantage of this to gain competitiveness not simultaneously pursued by other firms. Snell, Youndt & Wright (1996) argue that human resources meet these four requirements. Others have equally shown that the linkage of organizational r esources and firm strategy cannot be easily identified and imitated by other firms due to the social complexity and causal ambiguity (Barney, 1991, Boxall, 1998).Thus, the integration of human resource practices and policies with the appropriate strategy can generate a sustained competitive advantage for the firm (Wei, 2006). The firm’s HR policies, practices and strategies are a unique blend of process, procedures, personalities, styles, capabilities and organizational culture, which are difficult to imitate. As Purcell, Kinnie, Hutchinson, Rayton & Swart (2003) point out, the values and HR policies of an organization constitute important non-imitable resources, as long as they are enacted and implemented effectively.One of the most important factors of competitive advantage is the ability to differentiate what a business supplies to its customers from what is supplied by its competitors. Purcell et al (2003) maintain that such differentiation can be achieved by having HR st rategies, policies and practices which ensure that: 1. The firm has higher quality people than its competitors. 2. The unique intellectual capital possessed by the business is developed and nurtured. 3. Organizational learning is encouraged, and 4.Organizational specific values and a culture exist that ‘bind the organization together [and] give it focus’. The RBV of the firm is concerned with developing strategic capacity, making adequate investment in the organization’s human capital to add more value to the firm. According to Armstrong (2004:108), the aim of RBV â€Å"is to improve resource capability – achieving strategic fit between resources and opportunities, and obtaining added value from the effective deployment of resources†.It is generally acknowledged that the human resource is an organizational asset, and when it is adequately trained and effectively deployed can contribute immensely to the bottom line. Aligning the HR systems with busin ess strategy is therefore a sine qua non for organizational competitiveness. Business strategies designed to achieve organizational objectives are not likely to succeed when HRM is not involved in both strategy formulation and implementation. Organizations must create the conducive environment for integrating HRM with business strategy since the HR supplies the energies for driving organization strategies.Wei (2006) notes that the HR system and practices are crucial in facilitating the achievement of business strategy through the management of people. Several studies have shown that a firm’s HR creates value in the organization in different ways. The impact of SHRM on organizational performance is quite obvious. SHRM has positive effect on business performance (Martell & Carrol, 1995); SHRM can help an organization to allocate its human 28 resources more effectively, promote operating efficiency, and encourage creativity and innovation (Dyer, 1983; Walker, 1980); it enables t he firm ope more effectively with the challenges of environmental change (Cook & Ferris, 1986; Tichy & Barnett, 1985); encourages a more proactive management style, transmits organizational goals clearly and motivates greater involvement by line managers in HRM concerns (Gomez-Mejia, Balking & Cardy, 1995); enhances organizational morale, financial performance, and overall organizational performance (Huang, 1998; Anderson, Cooper & Zhu, 2007); brings about commitment, customer satisfaction and innovation (Pfeffer, 1994; Chew & Chong, 1999; Bowen, Galang & Pillai, 2000; Wright & Kehoe, 2008); enhances market value per employee (Becker & Huselid, 1998); creates value for customers and stakeholders (Ramlall, 2006); and brings about return on equity (Delery & Doty, 1996).Garavan (2007:11) sees strategic human resource development as contributing â€Å"to the creation of firm-specific knowledge and skill when it is aligned with the strategic goals of the organization†. Increased p roductivity has also been noted in small enterprises that align or integrate their formal and informal HR practices and strategies with the business strategies of the organization (Singh & Vohra, 2005). 5. The Roles of SHRM Professional The HR professional has more challenging roles to perform under SHRM – the emergent business partner model. Unlike the traditional HRM, which is transactional in nature and is concerned with administrative activities, SHRM is a value-added core responsibility that aligns the HR system, policies and practices with business strategy to gain sustained competitive advantage for the firm.In performing the new challenging roles, the HR professional must think outside the traditional organizational box of HRM and develop a more systematic and radically different approach to manage the human element to effectively support the firm’s business strategy formulation and implementation. For successful implementation of the business partner role, the HR manager needs to understand the company’s business direction and its competitive position in the market place. Apart from this, to become a successful strategic partner, the HR manager must have competencies that have to do with the business issues involved in strategy and strategy development, and ability to contribute to organizational design and change management (Lawler, III and Mohrman, 2003).The HR function, according to Rowden (1999) must change from a staff function that delivers prepackaged HR services to a service that helps managers create customized strategic plans to influence the effectiveness of company performance. The HR manager can play an important role in the formulation of strategy and providing the human resource required to support various strategies and strategic initiatives in the organization. He provides the leadership role in developing the human capital and the necessary capabilities to enact the strategy and drive the implementation and chang e management processes to success (Lawler III & Mohrman, 2003). Good human capital management is a prerequisite for successful execution of business strategies.According to Ulrich (1998), the modern HR professional must perform four complementary roles. The first role, administrative excellence, is important because it is an immediate way of contributing to the overall efficiency of the organization. As administration expert, he must rethink how work is done throughout the organization. The second role HR professionals must realize is that of employee champion. The HR manager must play the crucial role of employee advocate. He should be the employee’s voice in management discussion, offer employee opportunities for personal and professional growth; and provide resources that employees need to meet the demands put on them.The new role might also involve suggesting, that employees be given more control over their own work schedules. This is the issue of employee empowerment. Tw o additional roles the modern HR professional must realize are those of strategic partner and change agent. Being a strategic partner calls for an on going evaluation of the alignment between current HR practices and the business objectives of the firm, and a continuing effort to design policies and practices that maximize this alignment. HR practitioner should be held responsible for defining an 29 organizational architecture – that is, identifying the organization’s way of doing business.Such framework as looking at the organizational components – strategy, structure, rewards, processes, people, style and shared values may be adopted. This new knowledge will allow HR to add value to the executive team with confidence. Being a change agent the HR manager must play a key role in implementing and managing organization change, assessing potential, sources of resistance to change, and collaborating with line managers to overcome these barriers. The HR professionalà ¢â‚¬â„¢s role as a change agent is to replace resistance with resolve, planning with results and fear of change with excitement about its possibilities. These last two roles – strategic partner and change agent – are of particular interest to us because they represent the emerging strategic dimension of HR function SHRM.In addition to the above roles the HR practitioner needs to be a model and take on the specific role of integrating people strategies with business strategies in a way that advances the bottom line. Metzler (1998) adds that: the HR manager must play an active and guiding role in enabling the organization to choose its human resources well, invest in these people, support that growth and respect their needs, while fostering innovations needed to achieve the strategic business objectives. The HR professional operating under the SHRM system must chart roles that include early and active involvement in key strategic business choices. He must become the part ner of decision makers in the organization, and sharing accountability for organizing and performing work.He must carry out effective monitoring to see that everyone in the organization, and at every organizational hierarchy, stay focused on share strategic priorities. He must challenge old ways and constantly promote innovation to enhance corporate performance and the firm’s competitiveness. 6. Requisite Strategic Skill Development and Competencies To function as a strategic business partner and successfully execute the new critical and challenging responsibilities, to bring about the bottom line, the HR professional needs to possess the relevant strategic skills or core competencies. Ismail & Long (2009: 118) define competency in general term â€Å"as a personnel related concept referring to a set of behavioral dimensions of one’s effective performance work†.Inyang (2009:65) considers competencies as constituting â€Å"a cluster of related knowledge, attitude s, and skills, which an individual acquires and uses together, to produce outstanding performance in any given area of responsibility†. A lack of certain competencies may affect the HR professional in the performance of the strategic role in the organization (Aitchison, 2007). Zigarelli (1997) identifies seven strategic skills that can help the manager develop effective strategic plans to handle the emerging challenges in the organization: 1. Global operating skills: These skills enable him to understand the issues of globalization and how to do business with individuals of diverse background or nationalities. 2.Business and financial savvy: He needs to understand financial reports, business goals, and possess the business acumen necessary to understand and support the function. 3. Strategic visioning, critical thinking and problem solving skills: As a strategic business partner, he needs the skills to take the lead in contributing to strategy, vision, and critical thinking to gain credibility for the HR function. 4. Ability to use information technology: The HR professional must be well grounded in information communication technology (ICT) and leverage this for business results. ICT is the engine that drives the modern organizations to business success and offers them sustained competitive advantage. 5.Deep HR knowledge: He needs to be well grounded in the theoretical and practical fundamentals of HR to adequately articulate HR practices. He needs to invest more time and resources for training and development. 30 6. Change management skills: He needs these skills to move the organization to new and more efficient ways of doing business. He needs to show commitment to change management in the organization. 7. Organizational effectiveness skills: These skills enable him to diagnose the effectiveness of the organization as accurately as possible to portray the current and future state of the organization. He can then monitor and correct inefficiencies. Ye ung, Wolcock & Sullivan (1996) identify the following core competencies that effective HR professionals should develop: 1.Business knowledge: Capacity to understand competitive issues impacting the business (e. g. , market, products, technology, processes) and to understand how business can create profit and value. 2. Customer orientation: Ability to viewing issues from the perspective of customers. 3. Effective communication: The ability to provide both verbal and written information clearly, consistently and persuasively. 4. Credibility and integrity: To walk what you talk, act with integrity in all business transactions and honor personal commitments. 5. Systemic perspective: The ability to view problems and issues in the context of the bigger picture and understand the inter-relationships among sub-components. 6.Negotiation and conflict resolution skills: The capacity to reach agreements and consensus in spite of different goals and priorities. Similarly, Ismail & Long (2009) ex amine six competencies – business knowledge, strategic contributions, HR delivery, personal credibility, HR technology and internal consultation, which HR professional needs to possess in order to function in his strategic partnership role and to excel in the current competitive environment. These competencies are based on Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS) under the initiative of the University of Michigan in the year 2003 (Brockbank & Ulrich, 2003), except internal consultation.The HR practitioner must acquire consulting skills which constitute a combination of diagnostic and behavioral skills that enable the professional, who is in support function in the organization to collaborate with the line managers to develop strategic solutions to business performance problems. As an internal consultant therefore, the HR manager is in a better position to contribute significantly to the functioning of other departments, solving problems, and delivering enhanced performance (Ism ail & Long, 2009). The rapidly changing global business environment calls for high knowledgeablity on the part of the human resource managers, to function effectively as strategic business partners. According to Inyang (2008a: 61), â€Å"Human resources practitioners need to broaden their horizons, seek more knowledge and information to manage the intellectual capital effectively.This requires people who are multi-skilled, self-responsible, visionary and able to learn, to handle, to lead the organization to success†. The HR practitioner is also expected to develop a new mindset, as he becomes a strategic partner. In fact, to be a strategic partner, â€Å"the HR function must go beyond delivering services, maintaining records, and auditing. It needs to spend time being a member of the management team, doing strategic HR planning and making contributions to organizational design, strategy development, and strategic change† (Lawler III & Mohrman, 2003:4). 31 7. Conclusion The traditional HRM practices, which are concerned with the management of people in an organization, have contributed significantly to organization bottom line.HRM offers traditional and administrative support services in the organization, in terms of staffing, recruitment, training and development, compensation and benefits. It generally concerned itself with attracting, developing and maintaining effective workforce. The emergence of SHRM as a paradigm shift generated more value-added core responsibility, and emphasized the need to integrate HR practices with business strategy. SHRM is a strategic business partner model, which strongly beliefs that critical organizational capabilities or performance behaviors are necessary for the attainment of a particular business strategy or goal. SHRM is a more radical and systematic approach to the management of human capital, placing more emphasis on organizational performance rather than individual performance.It is this approach that help s to create a fit or congruence or integration of HR practices with business strategies that enables the organization to achieve sustained competitive advantage. The RBV of the firm highlights the strategic position of the human capital, as an organizational asset, that contributes significantly to the overall performance of the organization, when adequate investment is made on the human resources. The HR practices must be properly aligned with the strategic goals of the organization. To function as a strategic business partner and a change agent, to successfully handle the emerging challenges of SHRM, the HR practitioner must possess the requisite strategic skills and core competencies.The skills and competencies required include among others, being highly knowledgeable about business and its environment, developing a strategic vision, global operating skills, understanding and applying the ICT regime, organizational effectiveness skills, change management skills and ability to und erstand and manage conflict as well as possess internal consulting skills. References [1] [2] [3] Aitchison, D. (2007). â€Å"HR transformation: Myth or reality†. HROA Europe and sharedpertise forums in association with TPI. Survey Report January 2007. Akhtar, S. , Ding, D. Z . & Ge, G. (2008). â€Å"Strategic HRM practices and their impacts on company performance in Chinese enterprises†.Human Resource Management, 47(1), 15-32 Anderson, K. K. , Cooper, B. K. & Zhu, CJ. 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