Resourcing Talent Assignment

Activity A (1000 words) 4 factors that affect an organization’s approach to attracting talent| * The type of talent they look to attract: I mean which competencies will be more suitable to the job they want. * The sector which the organization is operating in. As some sectors are much easier to find the talents than others. As sometimes so sectors got many employees working in than others for instance, in Egypt, It is much easier to find talents in Tourism and hospitality sector than to find in Nuclear energy sector! Corporate culture and how they accept the new employees: As this a major factor that would affect their approach; I mean to do it publicly so the employees know that the company is hiring a new CEO or that should be done secretly. * The size of the company is a crucial factor: Big businesses impress job candidates by offering a bevy of benefits, brand-name recognition and maybe even a big coffee brand name in the lobby of the company. The power of their brand: is definitely would affect their way. As big brands are easily to attract talents compared to a nameless brand.The resources available to them (financial and otherwise) that is why they would chose an easy to way to attract the talent (the recruitment method they would use) and their selection methods would be very tough to select the best from the big pool of candidates they get (attracting company). | 3 organization benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce| Recruitment reflections benefit:Recruiting and maintaining a diverse workforce has its effect on the talents pool that any organization has in its blood stream.Widening the view for recruitment for all ethnic groups, different sexes, and different religions will definitely help to have all types of talents in the same place that will be reflected on the business outcomes. Reputation:Enhancing the organization’s reputation and image with external stakeholders. Many observational studies and surveys have tried to explore this area and its impact on any organization and its business.One of them had a reflective results, as its findings revealed that of the people surveyed that were currently employed, 58 percent would take a job with a company that had a bad reputation of diversity if they were offered more money. However, on average, these individuals would only consider the job if offered double their current salary. So it is quite clear how diversity in the workplace is now considered one of the attractions to any employee and how its absence would affect the cost of operations. Culture benefit:Managing better the impact of globalization and technological changeImproving knowledge of how operate in different cultures. 3 factors that affect an organization’s approach to recruitment and selection| Legal framework and working ethics:As the unlawful discrimination is prohibited, fairness and equality of opportunity could have legal requirements to be considered in the recruitment an d selection processes. Budget:Budget is one of the crucial issues in any organization approach to recruitment and selection. For different types of recruitment methods, they have a variable cost; For example: the price of online recruitment websites is very low if compared to other recruitment methods like head hunters.And relying on different selection methods is highly affected by the budget, such as relying on assessment centers needs expertise and more cost compared to CV database, and so on. Availability of required job or post: Knowing how many people are specialized in the vacant positions will affect the approach of the organization to recruitment and selections methods. I mean for instance, if we are looking for a vacant position of janitor, there will be no need to have an online ad or national press ad or assessment center as a tool to select the candidates.While if we got a vacant of senior consultant IT or business expert, definitely these functions and tools might be a pplied to recruit because we might need a high voice tool to reach everywhere so online or press ads might work and also this post is not common to find. How important is the post for the organization and it is level on the structureThe level that the vacant position is working in in any organization definitely would affect the approach of any organization to select the recruitment and selection methods to use.For example, if the required employee is in the high level or for executive position, those people who might be interested are not normally, at least in our region, apply through general email or address though, so head hunters might be a great tool for such positions. | Discussion comparing and contrasting the benefits of 3 different selection methods| 1. Assessment centers * They are far more accurate than a standard recruitment process as they allow a broader range of selection methods to be used during the process. They enable interviewers to assess existing performance as well as predict future job performance. * They give the opportunity to assess and differentiate between candidates who seem very similar in quality on paper. * They give the candidates a better insight into the role as they are tested on exercises typical for the role they have applied for. * They help employers build an employer brand. Candidates who attend assessment centres which genuinely reflect the job and the organisation are often impressed by that company, even if they are rejected. The cost of an assessment centre is usually cheaper compared with the potential cost of many recruitment phases and the cost of recruitment errors. * They are a fair process – they complement an organisation’s diversity agenda and ensure that people are selected on the basis of merit alone. 2. Typical and structured interviewsWhen it comes to evaluating the advantages of typical structured interviews, the main advantage is that all the applicants have an equal opportunity to prove that they have the required skills and experience for the job.Additionally, as an initial selection process, the structured interview questions are basically set up in a manner which allows the interviewer to obtain all the initial data as well as professional details that he or she would want to know about every applicant. 3. Telephone screening * Telephone interviews are simpler to arrange, and the process itself takes much less time than face-to-face interview sessions. * When using this method as an initial screening process, the cost of interviewing a large number of candidates is much lower than if they were interviewed in person. Telephone interviewing also cuts costs when candidates live far away, since most businesses reimburse interviewee travel expenses. Using the telephone to screen out unsuitable candidates can greatly reduce these costs. * This format is an ideal way to assess a candidate's telephone manner. This is particularly helpful if the job requires telephone c ommunication skills or is heavily customer-service based. | Activity B-Portfolio and Interview Observation Introduction The HR department has followed a recruitment process for filling a vacancy request for â€Å"Office Manager† at ALICO.The recruitment process outlined below highlights the main elements for filling this vacancy which includes: Planning: Identifying need for recruitment Setting the criteria for the job ( drafting job description, person specifications, set of competencies) Resourcing: drafting a job ad Short listing: interview-based competency Selection Offer of Employment Reason for Recruitment There are three main reasons why we are recruiting for the position of â€Å"Office Manager† at our company: 1) Growth in Business Operations: Our insurance company is growing and consequently the business is increasing.We need employ a senior staff member to manage the growing number increasing set of responsibilities and functions at the First Nations Office. 2) Change in Business Objectives: Need for diversity in terms of nationality is necessary to align with the trend of Emiratisation across business sectors in the UAE. In this case, a Emirati national would be preferred as likely candidate to fill this position. 3) Employee Exit: the person previously in charge running the overall office services at the First Nations Office has been re-located to another branch in a different country.A new team member is required to run the existing operation and ensure efficiency and control over them and in case of additional functions. Job Description Position: Office Manager PURPOSE The office Manager is responsible for organizing and coordinating office operations and procedures in order to ensure organizational effectiveness and efficiency. SCOPE The Office Manager reports to the senior Administrative Office and is responsible for providing office management services to the First National Office.This includes maintain office services and effic iency, suprrvisi9ng office staff and maintain office records. RESPONSIBILITIES Maintain Office Services Main Activities Design and implement office policies Establish standards and procedures Organize office operations and procedures Supervise office staff Monitor and record long distance calls Prepare time sheets Control correspondence Review and supply requisitions Liase with other agencies, organizations and groups Update organizational memberships Maintain office equipment Supervise Office StaffAssign and monitor clerical and secretarial functions Recruit and select office staff Orient and train employees Provide on the job and other training opportunities Supervise staff Evaluate staff performance Coaching and disciplining staff Maintain Office Records Design filing system Ensure filing systems are maintained Define procedures for record retention Ensure protection and security of files and records Ensure effective transfer of files and records Transfer and dispose records acco rding to retention schedules and policies Ensure personnel files are up to date and secure.Maintain Office Efficiency Plan and implement office system, layout and system procurement Maintain and replenish inventory Check stock to determine inventory levels Anticipate needed supplies Verify receipt of supply Perform other related duties as required. 3. Person Specification Form Position Required:Office Manager Department:First Nations Office Location:Abu Dhabi | Essential| Desirable| Assessment Method| Qualification| | | | BA in Business Management or equivalent | X| | CV| CIPD certificate in HR| | X| CV| Experience| | | |Minimum 4 years in Management| X| | CV| Minimum 2 years in HR functions| | X| CV| Knowledge and skills| | | | Ability to use MS Office competently| X| | Interview| Ability to design and manage administrative systems| X| | CV, interview| Writing procedures and policies| X| | Interview| Basic Financial skills| | X| Interview| Managing records| X| | Interview| Good ora l and writing skills in Arabic and English| x| | Interview| Excellent Organization skills| X| | Interview| Knowledge of time management applications| X| | Interview| Leadership skills| X| | CV, Interview|Mentoring and coaching| | X| Interview| Interview Assessment Form Candidate's Name:Hayya Al Ali Post:Office Manager Panelists:Monette, Mustafa, Moamen, Abdulaziz Date:27th June 2012 Score (1-5)1 No-low evidence 5 Meets competency fully| Comments| Competencies | 3| * Candidate seemed confident and has a positive attitude. * Demonstrated interest in working for ALICO * Candidate showed â€Å"initiative† since she gave brief information about ALICO * She is familiar with IT systems due to her academic formation. * CIPD certificate provides knowledge on HR. She has knowledge on how to combine HR and IT | -Overall Impression-Academic/Work Experience * Why have you chosen to apply to this position? * Tell me about a typical day at work? * Why did you decide to do the CIPD certifica te? How are you applying it? | 4| * Displayed fluency in English and Arabic * Able to express herself easily * Low tone when speaking but confident * Displayed coordination skills with large groups (10+) as per her role in committees. * Displayed skills in communicating message across to staff through her induction program which she gives across departments. She gave examples on how empathy and listening skills helped her build rapport with her team members. * Able to communicate with senior managers and entry level employees * Displayed her skill in convincing and influencing where she argued her case regarding an employee based on evidence and the benefit for the company. * Displayed experience in presentation design and delivery through her work in committees and induction| Essential CompetencyCommunication and InfluenceCommunicates clearly and effectively with a wide variety of people both formally and informally. . Please explain a time or situation when you had to communicate your views or ideas to senior management to get support? 2. What were the problems encountered? How did you handle them? 3. Here you mentioned committee involvement, tell me more about this experience. | 4| * Displayed skill in working within a tight timeframe and prioritizing tasks according to an action plan. * Able to balance work and personal life where she mentioned that â€Å"time management† is an area she improved with time. Displayed planning skills in her ability to design workflow for the Orientation program. * Identified essential skills for planning which include team discussions, research, benchmarking, setting objectives and implementation. | Essential CompetencyPlanning and Organizing Tendency to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others 1. Tell me about an example where you had to plan and organize a task in a short time-frame. 2. Tell me about your experience in designing the Orientation program. Who did it involve? 3.What a re the tools that you used for recruitment and selection since you did that in your previous job? | 3| * Showed experience in leadership skills through her involvement in various committees where she acted as President. * Acquired skills in leadership by attending a multitude of forums on the subject * Showed experience in managing and coordinating team activities and assign/delegate responsibilities (approximately 17 people) * Managing â€Å"emotional situations† with staff with empathy. * Displayed firmness if employees do not complete a task they have been assigned. Identified that lessons learned from leadership are: planning, being firm and having people accountable for their work. * Tries to sympathize and listen to employees. | Essential CompetencyLeadership Promotes and generate of cooperation among the team to achieve a collective outcome 1. In your resume, you mention that you have â€Å"leadership† skills, can you elaborate more on this? How many people did you manage in your last job? what did you learn from that experience? 2. What are the best ways of improving the performance of a team? 3.Demonstrate how you use your leadership skills to achieve project 4. What did you learn? 5. Please describe a time when you had to provide feedback to others on their performance. How did you go 6. What kind of feedback did you provide? | 3| * She displayed professionalism and confidence when facing a conflict whereby she maintained her position or opinion bc it is based on facts and respected other people's different opinion. * She seems a bit â€Å"stubborn† regarding her opinions which are based on facts. * Identified that â€Å"best practice† and policies are the best way to address a problem r make a decision * She respects the hierarchy of the organization and the decision making process should respect that hierarchy. | Desirable CompetencyDecision-Making and problem solving (Desirable)Tendency to make swift decisions and judgm ents even in the absence of all necessary information. 1. Give me an example where you had to make decisions in the absence of your Manager? 2. How did it go? 3. What did you learn? 4. Tell me about a time when you had conflicting priorities and what you did to resolve them. 5. What kind of problems do you handle best? 2| * Uses IT in analysis at her work. * Developed a new system that combines IT and HR that can produce data and statistics relevant for HR and Finance. * Knowledge in ERP systems and KPI development. | Desirable CompetencyData Analysis (Desirable)Tendency to analyze, organize, understand and present data. 1. What kind of IT skills did you acquire? How did you apply this in your work? 2. Tell me about a system you developed that helped organize the data. | 3| * Candidate interested in the job since she feels that it provides growth to her career | General Comments|Interview Evaluation ( group discussion)| * Considerable experienced in all HR functions * Sufficient kno wledge of management of office operations ( skills in IT and time management) * Good record in leadership and supervisory skills * Confident and organized. * Good skills in starting new projects * Has good initiative and self-motivation * May not have sufficient basic financial skills but is knowledgeable in excel sheets | DecisionCandidate is accepted for the position and offer letter to be sent by recruitment office. Signature †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ALICO Insurance LLC P. O. Box 2. UAE, Abu Dhabi Phone 00000000 – Fax 11111111 June 27, 2012 Hayyah Al Ali 11603, Abu Dhabi Dear Ms Al Ali, ALICO is pleased to offer you a job as an Office Manager of the First Nations Office located in Abu Dhabi. We trust that your knowledge, skills and experience will be among our most valuable assets. Sh ould you accept this job offer, per company policy you'll be eligible to receive the following beginning on your hire date. Salary: 45,000 AED monthlyBenefits: ALICO provided benefits for employees, including the following: Education assistance Health, dental, life and disability insurance Profit sharing Vacation and personal days To accept or decline this job offer: Sign and date this job offer letter where indicated below. Fax all pages of this job offer letter back to us. This offer is valid for one month from the date of send. If we didn’t receive any reply from you within a month this offer will be cancelled. For any clarifications, kindly contact Recruitment Department, Phone 897987789.We hope to welcome you on board personally. Sincerely, Abdulaziz Ali Recruitment Manager, Human Resources Accept Job Offer By signing and dating this letter below, I, Hayyah Al Ali, accept the job offer of Office Manager by ALICO. Signature:_________________________________ Date:_________ ____ Decline Job Offer By signing and dating this letter below, I, Hayyah Al Ali, decline the job offer of Office Manager by ALICO. Signature:_________________________________ Date:_____________ ALICO Insurance LLC P. O. Box 2. UAE, Abu Dhabi Phone 00000000 – Fax 11111111 June 27, 2012Mr. Moamen Azab 11603, Abu Dhabi Dear Ms Mary, We appreciate your interest in ALICO and the position of ‘Office Manager’ for which you applied. Though the selection committee appreciates the time you invested during the panel interview, it has selected another candidate who has experience in human resources-a main requirement for the position. Thank you for interviewing with our team. Everyone enjoyed meeting you and we hope that you consider applying for our open positions for which you qualify in the future Sincerely, Abdulaziz Ali Recruitment Manager, Human Resources

Reaction to Amistad Movie

Kaylan Earls March 22, 2013 COMM3820 Reaction To Amistad Amistad was a very touching movie and showed a lot of fight and determination from the West Africans and several others working to gain freedom for the slaves.. During the movie I felt that I to were experiencing the gruesome triumphs that the West African slaves experienced during their fight toward freedom. Though I have seen several movies dealing with race it is always interesting to learn more about history. Amistad showed how the West Africans stuck together and remained as one to fight for their freedom and be reunited with their families once again.An issue that really hit a spot was how the slaves had to continue to go back to trial after being given their freedom once before due to illegal captivation. I think because of history and how race had such a impact in past times, regardless if the slaves were illegally captivated, the White House made the decision based off what was right for only their sake. I think during those times African Americans were just seen for their color and were being enslaved just because just for that simple reason. Though it was great to see that the Mende people finally were granted their freedom after a third trial, t was not fair that they had to go through so much for something they were already given before. This film had a huge impact on my thinking about race. Being African American I know the marches and all that was put in to get to where we are today. It's so inspiring to see and makes me so much more appreciative that todays society is better than it was in the past. Though I am sure that there are still some racial problems it is not nearly as bad as before. I liked the movie because I feel like in a way it showed how we all should have been treated equally in a way because the Mende eople were enslaved for no reason. I think it relates to my life because their are still some that have their strong racist beliefs because of how they may have been raised. I t's scary to think of how life would be if I lived the life that some of my people did when they were alive. I think it would be safe to say that the society has come a long way and if we still dealt with the same issues we wouldn't have an African American President today. I believe that the film was a little gruesome but not at exaggerated at all with the in treatment of the blacks.The non-blacks seemed to have no sympathy in what they were doing, they were simply doing what they had do, because in their eyes it's life. There are many other films that show the same treatment to slaves. Only knowing some basic treatments I fully believe that the way the Mende people were treated in the movie is how they were treated realistically. As stated before, I really have a lot more appreciation for my race. My ancestors and so many others experienced some really hard times and had to deal with things that no human should ever have to deal with regardless of the color of their skin.Not that I never appreciated what my people have done for freedom, but it is always very inspiring and impactful to see how much went into a tremendous fight for freedom. In our generation now, not many know exactly what it was like to live the life that African Americans before we were born, so it's good that we have films that shows us and help us learn. I would hope that this movie had some type of impact on the society because it is a very touching film. No one now could ever put themselves in the shoes of those who actually experienced these times.I know that if it was hard to even watch the way the slaves were treated in the movie, I could only imagine what it was actually living it. This movie shows society that this treatment was unnecessary, there is no possible reason why African Americans were treated the way they were. Amistad was a touching, impactful movie and it would be a movie I recommend people to see, just to learn more about history. Today racial issues sometimes get over looked and to see a movie that shows how they use to be may make people become more aware of how they treat someone else that is a different race.

Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver’s novel called The Poisonwood Bible beautifully illustrates the lessons learned in a journey that is both physical and metaphysical. As this family travels from Bethlehem, Georgia to the Congo, Africa in order for Nathan, the father, to become a missionary, they each take their own journey of gargantuan proportions. As each character takes very different ideas out of their experiences in Africa, the reader too, is able to experience Africa from the vantage point of multiple narrators. Kingsolver asks the reader from the very beginning to take the journey with this family.â€Å"Oh, but I know better and so do you†¦Take your place then. look at what happened from every side and consider all the ways it could have gone† (Kingsolver 8). In an interview from Book Page, Kingsolver offers some explanation for looking at history. â€Å"We can never know, never look at history with anything but a narrow and distorted window,† says the author. We ca n never know the whole truth, only what's been recorded for us and what our cultural and political predisposition understands. Leah says history is never much more than a mirror we can tilt to look at ourselves† (Kanner).Many members journey from Georgia to the Congo and from ignorance to understanding. In the first section called â€Å"The Things They Carried,† Kingsolver shows the characters packing all the necessary things that they carry into the Congo on this journey. They hide objects in their waistbands that they can’t live without, like band-aids, scissors, cake mixes, and more. The cake solidifies before they are even able to attempts to use it. Before they even get there, Leah realizes these objects weigh her down. What hey realize is that they don’t â€Å"need† any of the objects they brought with them, and that our concept of need is warped by our culture.These possessions stand out against the items of the Congo. The demonstration garde n is a symbol that shows many characteristics of this journey of ignorance and understanding. Nathan’s purpose in the demonstration garden is to show the Congolese agricultural techniques. This garden is symbolic of the attitude that the family carries into the Congo. they believe that their way is superior and Africans are hopelessly backward. However, the plants that they bring are inappropriate to Africa as are the attitudes of the family.The plants are useless; they bear no fruit just like the attitudes of the family. When Mama Tataba tries to advise Nathan, he cannot heed her advice because he believes the Congolese are so backward that she doesn’t know what she is talking about. It never occurs to him that there are reasons other than â€Å"backwardness† as to why there is no agriculture in Kilanga. The journey continues as more attitudes change throughout the course of the novel. Adah believes that it is so terrible that so many children and adults die in Africa of things we can cure.So people like her have brought medicines and inoculations. However, this leads to overpopulation and food shortages and more. Another lesson the family learns on this journey is that human beings cannot change the balance of nature. Nature always finds a way to retain its own balance. Not all characters succeed in taking the journey. Nathan Price never â€Å"sees the light† of his journey. He arrogantly believes that he can change these ancient traditions to his own, and this would be for the betterment of everyone. His way of life is simply superior, but he is blind in so many ways.He actually is physically almost-blind in one eye because of an old war wound. He is figuratively blind to anyone outside his own version of his divine mission. He then loses sight temporally by ignoring Mama’s advice about the poisonwood tree. Kingsolver ultimately longs for the reader to make this journey as well, a journey to explore what really happened in the Congo. She wants the reader to question what we did in the Congo and how we respond to its destruction. This is why we hear the story from five different narrators. There is no right answer; there is only the journey of exploring the possibilities.Orleana is paralyzed at the end of the book. Rachel refuses to accept any part. Leah becomes an activist, attempting to right the wrongs of the world. Adah responds with science, wanting to figure out and understand her world. What this family’s ultimate â€Å"journey† becomes is one of arrogance and superiority to one of understanding and open-mindedness. â€Å"We aimed for no more than to have dominion over every creature that moved upon the earth. And so it came to pass that we stepped down there on a place we believed unformed, where only darkness moved on the face of the waters.Now you laugh, day and night, while you gnaw on my bones. But what else could we have thought? Only that it began and ended with us. What d o we know, even now? Ask the children. Look at what they grew up to be. We can only speak of the things we carried with us, and the things we took away† (Kingsolver 10) Works Cited Kanner, Ellen, Barbara Kingsolver turns to her past to understand the present. 1998 Retrieved June 3, 2007. from First Person Book Page site http://www. bookpage. com/9811bp/barbara_kingsolver. html Kingsolver. Barbara, The Poisonwood Bible. HarperCollins, Canada. 2005.

Did God Create The World or was it Created by Chance?

Many atheists argue that religious believers have blind faith ,but does it not take blind faith to believe that DNA and cells were created by chance. The DNA is too complicated to have just been created by chance. Think of the dictionary, if I told someone that I thought the dictionary was created by chance over billions of years ago you would think I was insane. Remember the second law of Thermodynamics- High Complexity equals low Entropy and Low Complexity equals high entropy. This means the more complex something is the more organised it will be. So in the beginning there was low complexity so must have meant high entropy or chaos, well then how was the earth created with such low complexity and such little apparent chaos. Also how does a DNA get created by chance if it comes from nothing. Years ago microscopes were useless and when you looked at a cell you would just see a blob. It could be easy to think that this blob came by accident. Which leads me to my second point how can something be created from nothing. In the beginning there was nothing and now according to many scientists there is everything. By everything I mean the earth and the universe. In living cells the catalysts are enzymes. In the 1980s there was another kind of enzyme found, this was the RNA molecule. The RNA molecule (which is also a carrier of genetic information and a catalyst) or ribozyme sped up the making of the basic DNA and protein. But even including this assuming a ribosome is 300 nucleotides long and every nucleotide has 4 types of different nucleotides on it the calculation would 4^300 which is a number far too great to have taken even 13 billion years to do let alone 4. 54 billion years. Other people besides creationist do not believe the Big Bang. Some people who want to deny God might say the ‘Intelligent Design Theory’ which states cells need a designer they are far too complex to have happened randomly. Think of it this way ‘Darwin’s Black Box’ which is a microscopic machine which was created to move the little flagellum a little bit took many years to create and was very complex it should be even harder to make everything else in the bacterium and to say it was created by chance would be preposterous. Opponents to Intelligent Theory Design hypothesise that there is a cluster of universes; more than our own observable universe. If our universe were one instance in a population of failed universes, then the fact that ours is fine-tuned for life would not be surprising. If this was true though and there were an infinite amount of universes then that means anything is possible. For example in one universe there could be an actual Easter Bunny living with an actual Father Christmas. So if this multiverse theory were to be true and there were many other parallel universes then that would leave an even bigger problem. Where are they? How do we know we are the ‘perfect’ planet. If this universe is fine-tuned and that is the reason why we are 19. 6 million kilometres from the sun or why gravity is not a little bit greater so the stars don’t become red-dwarfs. If they were red-dwarfs they would have been too cold to support life-bearing planets. All the rest of the planets are unfit for human life and this shows how unique the earth is which I believe must have taken a creator. Time is the creator of all things Well this is how it works we think to ourselves nothing is impossible, so the impossible become probable. The probable then becomes certain and the certain becomes reality. Spontaneous Generation is the theory that life came from inorganic materials but was proven wrong by Louis Pasteur. He wrote that you would need a parent cell to create another cell, it cannot just be formed just like that. Anyone who does believe in spontaneous generation have been deluded by their own poorly conducted experiments. Atheist prefer to hear that life came from inorganic substances instead of a creator or miracle. This makes sense because atheists believe that the universe just ‘popped’ into existence. One minute nothing, next minute everything. The earth also had to have been find tuned from the moments of its inception for it to be able to sustain life. And nothing was living in the beginning so there couldn’t have been any parent cell. This is thought of as Abiogenesis which the process by which living organisms are created from non-living things. This is obviously not true because there are no living things on earth that have come from non-living things. Why does science not know where the birds and butterflies migrate to? Why is we need maps and aids to help us fly our planes? How come a butterfly can fly to someplace it wants to get without any aid? Insects are very far down the evolutionary time scales. How does the most highly evolved life forms not have the capabilities of a simple butterfly. There are many things in nature we cannot replicate or improve upon. Things in nature are said to be the product of chance and time. Well what is time? How much does it weigh? What does it consist of? Time is not a thing. Time is a non-being. So you can add time to help you figure out the Big Bang Theory but in the end what existed first ,time or matter? Can time exist without matter? Things in nature are just too beautiful to be the outcome of a giant, random, nonsensical implosion. So according to atheists, if we leave chance and time to do its work on our computers ,will they just become the most high-flying, amazing piece of kits ever? NO, of course not. Birds can do all sorts of things,fly upside down, land on a thin piece of wire. Why can’t an aeroplane manoeuvre as well as a bird. If the bird just came by chance surely we could come with something much better than that. In 1953 Stanley Miller passed a spark through a chosen mixture of gases. What he found changed science forever. The gasses formed amino-acids. Amino acids which are the main ingredients in proteins. Proteins are what make up most of our body. In truth amino acids do link up together to form proteins but that is like saying bricks will come together to form a house . You would be missing important parts of the house like a door and a bathroom. This is the same for proteins ,they are far too complex to have been created just using amino acids. Some people also believe that there was a special protein which assembled itself by chance in a prebiotic environment. Prebiotic is the general term to refer to chemicals that induce the growth or activity of micro-organisms. Double Thinkers are also another sort of theory. It is the belief that God helped start evolution and the world. To Double Think actually means the acceptance of contrary opinions or beliefs at the same time, especially as a result of political indoctrination. In conclusion everything can’t start from one point of inception full of nothing. The Multiverse Theory is too extreme and crazy. To say that there are billions of other universes where something impossible in this universe is possible in another ,is too farcical to even consider. If we still believe in the Big Bang Theory then why is it still a theory and where does all the starting matter come from? ‘Our minds work in real time, which begins at the Big Bang and will end, if there is a Big Crunch – which seems unlikely, now, from the latest data showing accelerating expansion. Consciousness would come to an end at a singularity. ’-Stephen Hawking.

Mitigation of Earthquakes

The location of Kobe town played a great role on the magnitude of the damage caused by the earth quake that occurred in the town in 1995. The damage was far much as compared to the damage caused in the Northridge earthquake in 1994 as much as the magnitudes of the quakes were the same. Kobe town is on a narrow strip, where we have a narrow transportation corridor that was severely impaired due to the collapse of the elevated roads and railways and this caused dislocation of public and commercial traffic.There was evidence of ground failure including disruption of the road pavement, the subsiding of pavement around manholes and ejection of silt soils. The only transportation link became the ground level roads and this brought about congestion that impeded emergency response and recovery. There were large deformations in road pavements and also of the ground near buildings foundations in the district of Sannomiya of Kobe.The deformations were in the order of tens of centimeters and thi s could have been the likely cause of the damages that included tilting of the building or collapse of the entire structures that were experienced in many multistory buildings that occurred in Kobe especially in the down town area. The time of occurrence of the quake also served to increase the people who died. The quake occurred at 5:46 a. m. , the time which found many of the resident asleep or just beginning their morning routines. There were also so many old wood-frame houses with heavy clay tiles that collapsed causing many deaths.There was also the ignition of fires that followed immediately after the collapse of the structures. The fires could not be extinguished on time to avert more death because of the hindrance caused by the failure of the water supply system and the disruption in the traffic system. These did not happen in the case of the 1994 Northridge earthquake as all the fault rupture occurred at depth that were greater than 10km, and many of the multistory building s in San Fernando Valley were at least 20km away from the fault rupture that was closest (Paul, 1995).The Northridge earth quake also occurred at the time when there were no people occupying the building that were affected. These include a stadium that collapsed but there were no people in it at that early morning hours that the quake occurred. There was also the report of multi storey commercial buildings collapsing but were also not occupied during the time of collapse. In this town there was also incidence of fire eruption due to the breaking of the commercial gas pipe system, though this did not measure to what occurred at Kobe.There was also the collapse of the wood structure but the number was not as big as the one experienced at Kobe. There were few such structures in this town as compared to the large number in the Kobe case. The design aspect of the structures also averted the occurrence of more death as seen from none collapsing of school buildings which are reinforced aga inst earth quakes. Components to include in mitigation strategy a) Improve risk assessments. Risk assessment should be done to find out the chances that earth quake are likely to occur in a certain place and the frequency of such an occurrence and the severity determined.Such information should be combined with the inventory of the structures that are in existence, and are likely to be affected by such disaster accompanied by the fragility data. The fragility data estimates the degree of damage that various types of structure will experience, for example, the type of damage likely to be experienced by unreinforced masonry building which is in earthquake prone area. These risk assessments are very important in increasing public awareness about the threat posed by the natural disaster. b)Implementation of mitigation measures.Land use plan can help the communities reduce significantly on losses that are brought about by natural disasters like earth quakes by adoption of land use plans that aim at avoiding the hazards while taking care of the environment and other goals. There is however no willingness of local government to adopt land use measures to protect against hazards unless a direction is received from a higher level government. There should be accurate identification of the disaster affected areas though the mapping of the hazard zones could be very expensive for some municipalities.Earth quake disaster can also be reduced substantially by improving the building codes. The code will guide the standard of buildings that are allowed (to be built) in certain areas and the rehabilitation of already existing structures. The life safety of buildings is currently being set by building codes. The maintenance of the functionality of the structures also is a very important aspect and becomes very critical in certain class of structures. For example in the US there was establishment of seismic safety standards for federally funded new construction by the federal gov ernment.This has the mandate of addressing seismic safety standards of the buildings that are already in existence and are either owned or leased. About half of 30000 communities in US have not adapted any building code and the effectiveness of the building codes is also subject to reinforcement by the relevant authority (Science, 1999). This requires an ongoing inspection program and it has been noted that many communities lack the required number of inspectors that are required to perform the job efficiently.c) Improve technologies that support warnings and the dissemination of, and response to, warnings. A good mitigation strategy should address this issue as one of the component of the mitigation strategies. Warnings are expected to be time specific, show location of the expected disaster and the severity of the expected events. The uncertainty accompanied by the events should also be stated in the manner that will allow the taking of action to ensure the survival of people and the protection of institutions and property.There are some warnings that are developed in form of maps even before a disaster occurs in an area. These could also include the posting of signs in the areas or having a regulation that requires that real estate agents inform potential property owners the nature of disaster the area is prone to. d) Improve the basis for natural disaster insurance. Improvement of the basis of natural disaster insurance is an important component that should be included in the mitigation strategy.There should be reward for individuals that invest in hazard-reduction measures and this should be before and after the disaster. Individuals that are insured are to be awarded lower premiums for adopting mitigation measures before disasters such as the potential loses are considerably reduced. The insurance companies have the freedom of refusing to provide coverage unless the policyholder has agreed to undertake certain prospective measures that can lower the pote ntial losses. REFERENCES Collins, Larry (2000).Earthquakes: Lessons from the Past, Part 1. Fire Engineering, 153(6). Retrieved August 27, 2008 from http://search. ebscohost. com Collins, Larry (2000). Earthquakes: Lessons from the Past, Part 2. Fire Engineering, 153(7). Retrieved August 27, 2008 from http://search. ebscohost. com Comerio, Mary (2004). Public policy for reducing earthquake risks: a US perspective. Building Research & Information, 32(5). Retrieved August 27, 2008 from http://search. ebscohost. com Emergency Management Institute.(2004). Introduction to Mitigation, Lesson 4. Retrieved February 8, 2004, from http://training. fema. gov/EMIWeb/IS/is393A. asp Paul S. ( February, 7 1995) Kobe Earthquake: An Urban Disaster Eos, 76( 6), 49-51. Retrieved March 30 2009, from http://www. agu. org/sci_soc/kobe. html Science (18 June 1999). Mitigation Emerges as Major Strategy for Reducing Losses Caused by Natural Disasters:284(5422). 1943-1947 Retrieved March 30 2009, from http:// www. sciencemag. org/cgi/content/full/284/5422/1943

Exercise three Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Exercise three - Essay Example In the history of teaching information systems, there has been a shift of emphasis in regard to teaching OS material. Previously the focus was on disk operating system (DOS). This was the first operating system for IBM compatible desk top computers. Then, the RAM was quite limited and the programming language used was BASIC (Hailperin 57). In the 1980s sequential storage devices were used to store programs. Unlike RAM, these types of data is stored and accessed in sequence. Today we have many different types of operating systems, and they can be broken down into two types of OS. 1) Open source Operating Systems 2) Proprietary Operating Systems Proprietary OS are owned by corporations and controlled by them. Examples are DOS and WINDOWS versions. In open source OS, the codes are open to everyone and therefore, anyone can make changes to the OS. There is a third class of OS labelled as Embedded Operating Systems. They are the operating systems that are permanently stored on ROM (Read Only Memory) chips that are embedded into smart phones, video games, and other electronic devices. The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) was developed. The code typically uses an 8 bit code which would have 2 to the 8th power possible orderings of the bits. This could represent 256 different characters (Hailperin 264). This application software is more restricted in whatever it performs, but it often completes a task much better or easier than general purpose software. For example, a tax calculation program that keeps a record of expenses for tax purposes. The internet community knows that the main step in shielding their private information on the internet is to certify that they use an encrypted link. As a consequence, phishing attacks, which make use of SSL certificates, are risky as they are linked with increased level of guarantee. The extent of an RSA public key gives a signal of the power of the

CRITICAL REFLECTIVE EVALUATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CRITICAL REFLECTIVE EVALUATION - Essay Example According to Cowan (1999), he suggests that learners reflect in an educational sense â€Å"when they analyse or evaluate one or more personal experiences, and attempt to generalise from that thinking†. However, as Biggs (1999) points out, â€Å"a reflection in a mirror is an exact replica of what is in front of it. Reflection in professional practice, however, gives back not what it is, but what might be, an improvement on the original†. From the reflective model I had to describe what had happened? In my case I had a task to write a Dissertation. I was required to choose my own title and write 8 000 words. It took me time to find the right topic, and I was in doubt on which should be the best topic to write about. It is however of a great concern for the modern health care services to focus on the informal carers. It is because of this that I landed on my topic that was investigating the social care provisions for the informal carers, its implications to the care givers and receivers. If I was going to achieve this task, I was expected to consult and keep closely to my assistance some specialists with adequate experience. I therefore had a meeting with my supervisor to discuss a way to approach this project and fortunately enough, he was really ready to offer me all the assistance I wanted. After the meeting I had courage to begin my project by drafting a Gant Chart which guided me throughout all the stages of researching and writing my project. I adequately received all sorts of help that I required from my supervisor through every stage of writing this project without the supervisor tiring off. I therefore learnt how important it can be to use the knowledge and assistance of those who have the experience in such related fields. The word dissertation sounded like a very hard task to me at first. When I read the module and saw all I was required to do, I became very worried and anxious thinking of how I was going to do it. I felt like

Equal Employment Oportunity Commission Research Paper

Equal Employment Oportunity Commission - Research Paper Example It also forbade employers from recruiting or relieving employees on the based on gender or ethnicity. While the issue of race has been the cornerstone for the Civil rights act, the inclusion of gender into this provision happened much later due to the efforts of Representative Howard Smith. While skeptics alleged that Smith has done so in order to weaken support for the bill, the latter argued that he had done so only to demonstrate his support for the National Women’s Party. The inclusion of gender gains significance especially in cases where it is a distinctive attribute necessary for the job. The title VII of the Civil Rights Act led to the creation of the ‘Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC)’, which is the focus of this research study. The primary purpose of the EEOC is to ensure that no employers can (Choate, 2009): "fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his comp ensation, terms, conditions or privileges or employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." McDermott (2009) says that the role and significance of the EEOC has expanded over the years due to subsequent laws. Currently, the EEOC is tasked with eliminating discrimination in the hiring, firing and promotion of employees on the basis of race, gender, religion, color, age, ethnicity or physical disabilities. The EEOC also protects workers from discrimination in pay, training and the number of working hours. While the debate to assign protected-class status to each of these employee classes has been ongoing for several years, the role of affirmative action is also an important domain that influences the operation of the EEOC and is discussed in subsequent sections. About the Commission The EEOC was formed on 2nd July, 1965 out of six different statutes including the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the 1990 A mericans with Disabilities Act, the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and the 2008 ADA Amendments Act (Stallworth, 2008). Thus, the EEOC has been affected by several statues over the years (Doan, 2009). Each year, the commission handles thousands of complaints related to discrimination and harassment in the private sector, For instance, over 100,000 complaints were filed in 2009 alone. The number of complaints that were eventually filed as cases is historically low (only 300 cases filed in 2009), and are regarded as public records (Keppler, 2010). The cases handled by the EEOC receive widespread coverage in the media and are often discussed extensively in regional radio and television based on the state of origin of the involved parties. Cases that are deemed to have national ramifications are revealed by the press office of EEOC at its offices in Washington. The EEOC is headed by a number of commissioners and the general counsel who are appointed by the President of the United States. Such a ppointments must also be ratified by the Senate. The EECO operates through a central office that is assisted through a network of regional Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) offices. The latter process the information and complaints received as per the provisions of the various laws discussed in the preceding section. The regional EEOs

Long-run U.S. Economic Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Long-run U.S. Economic Growth - Essay Example Real GDP moves around the potential GDP. This is how GDP can be measured from the supply side. Again from demand side perspective GDP is determined by total consumption, investment and government expenditure in a closed economy and by an additional component called net exports in open economy. It has been statistically proven that industrial growth of a nation is closely associated with GDP growth. Also, industrialization forms the platform for structural changes in imports and exports. The economic developments underwent by the United States exemplifies how an underdeveloped economy could grow into an immense and affluent industrial state and show remarkable economic growth despite being intervened by short term downs. In more developed economies labor force seems to be distributed more towards the industrial and services sector and importance of agriculture is lessened (Cypher and Dietz, 272). After gaining independence along with 13 colonies, they came together to collaborate into a nation of 4 million people. During 1790, four fifth of the labor force in US belonged to the farm while the capital goods and technology along with finished products were imported from overseas. At present the major part of the nation belongs to the industries with more than 170 million people who are generating their own capital and technology in a society which is persistently expanding. It might be important to state that if supply of labor was the key to industrial growth, then other countries with high population like China and India could show similar levels of improvement. United States possessed several natural advantages for this growth to be sustained. Some of these were derived from the natural situation of the country. The nation had fertile lands and immense natural resources. The climate supported health and generated energy. There was no problem of overpopulation or pressure on existing resources and on the other hand, this scarcity also promoted growth and develop ment as it necessitated economic growth. The population was advanced in terms of culture, moral and political status. Most of them were literate and understood the law and adept in of self-government. The legacy of Calvinism enforced the resolution to earn and save and also democracy brought about an ability to consume as well as enjoy. All these factors combined made economic growth irresistible. Thus work, democracy, innovation and education made a combined effort towards taking the economy along the path of growth. The labor force was committed to work such their earnings went beyond subsistence and devoted long labor hours. The ex-colonies decided to amalgamate after independence and this led the growth of an internal market which provided stimulus to economic growth. Social mobility was utilized to serve as a tool for growth. The urge to be involved with new materials, technologies, machines all contributed towards different methods for improvement (Harris, 3). Again their devo tion towards expanding the education base promoted learning and improvement of human resources with time. All these factors combined to rebuild the continent from the colonial status and pushed it into the current stage of growth and development. Overview of Economic Growth in the late Eighteenth and Nineteenth century Net National Product of a country normally serves as a convenient measure of the

The importance of scientific research (Quantitative Methods) Essay

The importance of scientific research (Quantitative Methods) - Essay Example Fabrication occurs whÐ µn sciÐ µntific rÐ µsÐ µarch is not Ð µmpirically groundÐ µd, and thÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarch writÐ µr or sciÐ µntists tampÐ µr with Ð µvidÐ µncÐ µ, procÐ µdurÐ µs, or rÐ µsults in a way that Ð µithÐ µr provÐ µs or disprovÐ µs thÐ µir hypothÐ µsis artificially. FabricatÐ µd rÐ µsults, for Ð µxamplÐ µ, may Ð µxaggÐ µratÐ µ or changÐ µ cÐ µrtain variablÐ µs, just to support thÐ µ Ð µnd rÐ µsult as a form of rÐ µsÐ µarchÐ µr bias which is prÐ µdÐ µtÐ µrminÐ µd ahÐ µad of timÐ µ. Through history, pÐ µoplÐ µ havÐ µ triÐ µd to cut down on fabricatÐ µd rÐ µsÐ µarch. ThÐ µ sciÐ µntific mÐ µthod has bÐ µcomÐ µ morÐ µ and morÐ µ rigorous to cut out on Ð µxtranÐ µous rÐ µsÐ µarch. Original rÐ µsÐ µarch usÐ µs quantitativÐ µ or qualitativÐ µ mÐ µthods. OftÐ µn, thÐ µ population thÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarch wants to draw conclusions about may bÐ µ a fairly standard population in tÐ µrms of incomÐ µ, Ð µtc., but bas ic dÐ µmographic information will bÐ µ rÐ µquirÐ µd. SincÐ µ sÐ µlf rÐ µport may bÐ µ bÐ µing usÐ µd, Ð µthical problÐ µms sÐ µÃ µm to bÐ µ limitÐ µd. HowÐ µvÐ µr, original rÐ µsÐ µarch oftÐ µn brings inhÐ µrÐ µnt limitations to a mÐ µthodology. ... sciÐ µntific mÐ µrit in quantitativÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarch?   OvÐ µrall thÐ µrÐ µ arÐ µ many diffÐ µrÐ µnt facÐ µts of mÐ µthodology that can bÐ µ appliÐ µd to an Ð µxpÐ µrimÐ µntal dÐ µsign. This is a gÐ µnÐ µralization that can bÐ µ madÐ µ about thÐ µsÐ µ diffÐ µrÐ µnt typÐ µs of dÐ µsigns, which havÐ µ thÐ µir rÐ µspÐ µctivÐ µ advantagÐ µs and disadvantagÐ µs. SurvÐ µys and Ð µxpÐ µrimÐ µnts arÐ µ Ð µxamplÐ µs of fixÐ µd rÐ µsÐ µarch dÐ µsigns, which arÐ µ morÐ µ quantitativÐ µ than qualitativÐ µ and havÐ µ morÐ µ aspÐ µcts of this typÐ µ of thÐ µory. QuantitativÐ µ studiÐ µs such as thÐ µ onÐ µ outlinÐ µd in thÐ µ currÐ µnt rÐ µport’s mÐ µthodology tÐ µnd to rÐ µly on hard data and statistics that can providÐ µ gÐ µnÐ µralizablÐ µ rÐ µsults about a population, whÐ µrÐ µas qualitativÐ µ studiÐ µs could bÐ µ morÐ µ of a casÐ µ Ð µxamplÐ µ or subjÐ µctivÐ µ viÐ µwpoint. As thÐ µ Ð µxtant litÐ µr aturÐ µ statÐ µs about thÐ µ diffÐ µrÐ µncÐ µ bÐ µtwÐ µÃ µn fixÐ µd and flÐ µxiblÐ µ dÐ µsigns, â€Å"FlÐ µxiblÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarch dÐ µsigns arÐ µ much morÐ µ difficult to pin down than fixÐ µd dÐ µsigns. This is in part bÐ µcausÐ µ it is only in rÐ µcÐ µnt yÐ µars that rÐ µsÐ µarchÐ µrs havÐ µ givÐ µn considÐ µration to thÐ µ dÐ µsign issuÐ µs which thÐ µy raisÐ µ. PrÐ µviously thÐ µrÐ µ had bÐ µÃ µn a tradition in thÐ µ disciplinÐ µs of social anthropology of an apprÐ µnticÐ µship modÐ µl† (Robson, 2003). If qualitativÐ µ dÐ µsign havÐ µ lÐ µss history bÐ µhind thÐ µm in thÐ µ litÐ µraturÐ µ on thÐ µ subjÐ µct it might bÐ µ an indication that thÐ µy arÐ µ not nÐ µcÐ µssarily as Ð µffÐ µctivÐ µ. ThÐ µn again, this could just bÐ µ thÐ µ rÐ µsult of a dÐ µarth of intÐ µrÐ µst in rÐ µsÐ µarchÐ µrs rÐ µgarding this subjÐ µct, or could bÐ µ a projÐ µction of thÐ µ individual authors. GÐ µnÐ µrally fl Ð µxiblÐ µ dÐ µsigns offÐ µr bÐ µnÐ µfits to rÐ µsÐ µarch that is willing to changÐ µ as nÐ µw variablÐ µs comÐ µ up throughout thÐ µ procÐ µss, whÐ µrÐ µas fixÐ µd or

Writting assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writting - Assignment Example ovide for all recognized subsequent events provided the availability of additional evidence in their financial statements considering the availability of this information during the date of the balance sheet or the development of the financial statements. In cases that a probability exist weighing on which a liability has been incurred provides for the reasonable estimation of the liability. 25-8 provides for the creation of the recognition of a loss contingency once the range in which the loss falls is probable for estimation (Accounting Standards Codification, n.d). In the same context, the retirement of an asset proves possible once the uncertainties provided become certain, and the company comprehends the effect caused in totality. During the development of the financial statements of December 31, 2007, the company needed to provide for the uncertainty in its records and based on the estimate developed, it proved necessary to include the rough estimate of $17million in the financials as liability. During the year 2009, the record of the liability stated as $17 million needed amending since the ruling had been made on the case providing for $18 million despite the appeal holding. In 2010, W filed for appeal against the ruling of the court of appeal on the matter. This leaves uncertainty still surrounding the matter and hence the need to continue holding the liability stated in the books. According to the ASC 410-30 dealing with asset retirement, it is only recognized once fully ascertained which ascertainment occurred in 2011 after W lost the appeal. It is, therefore, prudent for the effect of the appeal to occur in 2011 in the financials of M. The company needs to have all the liabilities recognized the right and recorded in the books of accounts based on the Accounting Standards provided. These all provide for the company to have its books and reports run in accordance with the accounting principles providing a true and fair view in the company’s

Detroit Bankruptcy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Detroit Bankruptcy - Essay Example The announcement of bankruptcy by Detroit is a prophesied case. The liquidation of a municipal’s assets cannot happen as a result of the request of a creditor. A municipality is under the state’s jurisdiction as it is defined by the state. The 10th Amendment of the4 American constitution reserves any power not defined by the constitution for the state. Declaration of bankruptcy rulings ate made in U.S. Bankruptcy courts under federal jurisdiction Many factors have indicated reduced financial activity in the city. The population of the city dropped from a 1.5 million figure in the city’s peak in the fifties to a current size of around 700,000 leaving the city a shadow of itself with tens of thousands of abandoned buildings ("How Detroit went broke - Economics - AEI"). This coupled with the deindustrialization of the city have largely affected the collection of the revenues in the city. However, the major contributor of the state of the city is the accounting of th e funds of the municipality. Legacy costs These are the bills of the municipality in the form of public employee pensions, healthcare, and other post employment benefits. The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) in 2006 required all local governments to report publicly OPEB liabilities but did not require the funding of the shortfalls of the OPEB liabilities (John Macomber). The city of Detroit uses 43% of the entire annual city revenue in making payments of this kind. This leaves only, 57% to run the city and cover the wage bill. In the last few decades, the percentage of the city’s revenue used in the settling of these bills has been on the rise with an estimation claiming the percentage will reach 65% in four years. These unfunded liabilities of the Detroit city funds have acted as a weight pulling down the city finances (How Detroit went broke). Half of the $18 billion debt is accounted in public employee retirement benefits, which are not funded. In 2012, the cit y spent $145 million on retiree health care benefits, which is greater by more than half of the $99 million used in 2000 ("How Detroit went broke - Economics - AEI"). The accounting methods relied in the evaluation of the finances of pensions of public employees allows rates of return that are overly optimistic on the supposed riskless pension to be assumed (How Detroit went broke). These also make it possible for the employer in the form of the city of Detroit, to contribute annual contributions that fall short of the required amount. These transform the guaranteed benefits such as pensions, into risky ones. The cause effect of these is a pension liability at a $3.5 billion level when appropriate accounting methods are used which is over 5 times the liability under the city’s accounting methods (John Macomber). This is not helped by the ratio of employees to retirees receiving pension, which stands at 2:1. Increased taxes After the post-war manufacturing and expansion, the c ity started losing revenue because of the high population decrease rates. In response, the city changed its accounting policies and imposed a 1% income tax on all corporations, residents, and non-residents. This aimed to cover the loss in revenues and maintain the city budget (How Detroit went broke). Over the years, the tax rate has been on the rise with the resident income tax doubling only six years after its establishment. A new utility tax came into being in 1971 aiming to maintain the services offered by the city as well as

The Catholic Church in Ireland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Catholic Church in Ireland - Essay Example The 1937 draft was a betrayal of women (Mulhoffand, 1995)2 According to Mulhoffand; women played an active role in the overthrow of colonialism, the rise of suffragette movement, and the progress of labour movement. The constitution enshrined the Catholic Church as the state religion and relegated women's place to the home and with it their ideals and aspirations. With the democratic states seeking to run its politics, the Church sought to establish a relationship that harbored on non-interfere in specific areas of social life such as family, education and vocation over which it held jurisdiction (Crotty, 2004)3. The Catholic Church in Ireland, once the dominant social institution commanding overwhelming affiliation of church-goers, today maintains a role familiar to its competitive, pluralistic and competing interests. Ireland is a mix state between church-state separation and state religious neutrality, but a look at the 1937 constitution indicates that the Irish state has never been neutral when it came to religion. The recent trends show that Irish State is far from neutral in handling different religious communities. Currently, the relationship between secularisation and Irish state policy looks weak (Kissane, 2003)4. Richard D. Richard D. Finnegan (Ireland: The Challenge of Conflict and Change, 1983) wrote that the Roman Catholic faith in Ireland survived the Reformation, its penal laws and independence movement because its people felt that the church's religious liberty juxtaposed with Ireland's quest for freedom; the people felt that devotion to the church was devotion to the country. Moreover, the Gaelic Ireland movement associated devotion to the church with Irish cultural identity (Crotty, 2004)5. The autonomy that the church enjoyed saw it create its own style of institutions devoid of backward peasantry class or dominant landlord; it emphasised on a more traditional classical curriculum in its school. Gleeson and Munnelly (2004:3) wrote that the Catholic Church was not in favour of the creation of a separate single school subject on citizenship as it believed that moral education and personal development were best taught through religious education (Dr. Harris, 2005).6 In 1878 the government passed an Intermediate Education Act in which every student who passed the Intermediate examination was offered between 3 and 10. The church termed this system as a murder of the education system. The church was against such frivolities, and guarded their control over education, citing that the government system was a deviation from nationalism. The church protected their system to encourage children to learn more on nationalism and language. The primary curriculum was widened to take in more subjects, and much stress was laid on encouraging nationalism, particularly in the teaching of history. Irish was made compulsory (Changes in the Irish Education System, Ireland: culture and religion, 1912-49, multitext.ucc.ie)7. The Church also shaped public opinion against British nationalism and

Write up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Write up - Essay Example The focus of the company was to provide an end-to-end package of medical device contract manufacturing services. MDCM was renowned for its ability to produce highly customized versions for unique applications of specialized equipment, self designed and fabricated, used in the assembly of medical devices. MDCM is one of the largest companies in the contract manufacturing and packaging services sector of the medical devices industry. The firm’s success can highly be attributed to its close partnership with its customers that had produced tremendous customer satisfaction. MDCM’s record of winning over customers have led to its tremendous growth which allowed the company to expand and grow its geographical reach through acquisition within the country and now the company derived 40% of its revenues from eight of its largest accounts. Today despite the victory the company has achieved over the past decades, the evolving and unpredictability and high level competency in the global market, the company had announced its fifth consecutive quarterly loss with net losses amounting to thirty three million dollars. Despite the acquisition and expansion the company was not able to catch up to the global capabilities of other competitors that called for changes in growth strategy. The expansions and acquisitions could not be realized since the company has let these companies operate on their own believing that by letting these acquired companies operate on the basis of self autonomy to better cater to the local customers. Thus there was no unified system for the global MDCM Corporation that would have let it operated under one system of standard operations and procedures leading to a worst operating and profit margins. There was poor coordination since the all other companies under the corporation operates independently th at led to poorly controlled unified operations. The MDCM Inc. falls under the quadrant, responsive

Learning Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Learning Process - Essay Example The Learning process mostly depends on experience and leads to long-term changes in behavior potential. Behaviour potential designates the possible behavior of an individual, not actual behavior As opposed to short-term changes in behavior potential (caused e.g. by fatigue) learning implies long-term changes. As opposed to long-term changes caused by aging and development, learning implies changes related directly to experience. Major research traditions are behaviorism, Cognitivist (psychology) and self-regulated learning (Psychology of Learning 2005). Learning has to be periodically reinforced, so that knowledge will not eventually lose in that individual (Learning 2005). Example can be seen in infants and children. Imitation of a role model is a natural mechanism for infants and children, when learning from experience. Childs play is another method for learning by the example of other children, who naturally gain satisfaction by playing the role of teacher or mentor to a less-expe rienced child (Learning 2005). Learning by teaching, is a method of teaching which allows teachers to share the new lesson contents and let little groups prepare their part in order to teach this contents to the rest of the class (Learning 2005). In education and psychology, learning theories help teachers understand the process of learning. There are two main perspectives in learning theories, constructivism and behaviorism (Learning Theory 2005). Other informal theories of education deal with more sensible components of the learning process. One of these deals with whether learning should take place as a building of concepts toward an overall idea, or the understanding of the overall idea with the details filled in later.

Recruitment, Selection and Deployment of Human Resources Case Study

Recruitment, Selection and Deployment of Human Resources - Case Study Example The company lacked proper human resource planning when it came to recruitment and selection criteria which led to the problems above. The lack of proper motivation, unclear job specification, and minimal advertisement has been major deficiencies in Sodexo’s human resources. Effective HR planning and management should have been exercised to take care of the shortage of employees beforehand which is one of the organizational models lacking in Sodexo. Organizational and HR strategies should have been in line in order to meet the HR demand and supply of employees. The only way to solve these problems in Sodexo is for the HR to come up with new planning strategies and adopt an organizational model that will address their problems. This will ensure that their recruitment and selection process is motivating, enforces comparable evaluation methods and considers cultural diversity. Individual motivation according to Herzberg’s theory is the main source of motivation for the recruits and will ensure the lasting solution to the problem of staffing facing Sodexo currently (Weihrich and Cannice, 2010).

Effecitve Risk Management in Softwatre Development Utilizing Different Dissertation

Effecitve Risk Management in Softwatre Development Utilizing Different Methodologies - Dissertation Example Risks exist throughout the lifecycle, as it can be seen, some risks on budgeting, scheduling or others might be the reason for failure in project management. Unfortunate, there only 30% of the investigated projects were applying risk analysis and monitoring in their projects. It is easily assumed that ineffective risk management, or even lack of risk identification, risk analysis and risk mitigation in project life-cycle are the rational reason for being failure ((Baccarini; Salm and Love, 2004). Thus, an efficient risk management process for the project becomes more and more essential. 1.1.1 Background and Research scope Risk is usually defined to be a possibility which is predictable and avoidable (Boehm, 1989; Charette, 1989). Royer (2002) presents that each organization is supposed to set up their own risk categories checklist according to the different needs and requirement. Generally, risk management process, accorded to the PMBOK and CMMI principles, is identifying, analysing, monitoring and controlling. In different types of software projects, the ability for mitigating risks might be different because a wide range of methodologies contribute to developing software project such as waterfall model, agile methodologies, spiral model, and V model. Meanwhile, the procedure of risk management can be different as well. In this research, effective risk management will be presented along with diversified development models which are used widely nowadays. Regardless of different categories of projects, this research is focus on the most common risks in software project, by discussing on the ability of mitigation of risks and the process of risk management in three types of methodologies, exploring the effectiveness in managing the same kinds of risks in the development life-cycle. 1.1.2 Hypothesis and Objectives The hypothesis of this research is illustrated as that Waterfall is more effective in planning risk management and Agile methodologies tend to be more e fficient in mitigating and monitoring risks because of its flexibility. In order to prove the hypothesis mentioned above, the objectives is designed as follows: 1. Reviewing literature to identify the process of risk management in general software projects. 2. Reviewing literature to identify the typical types of risk in software development projects. 3. Reviewing literature to investigate the functionality of waterfall model in risk management 4. Reviewing literature to investigate the framework of Agile methodologies in risk management 5. To reveal the influences of the typical types of risks by interview 6. To outline the process of risk management in the authentic project risk management 7. To compare the effectiveness of different methodologies in risk management based on the process and managing typical types of risks. 8. By comparing the successful and unsuccessful project utilizing the same development method, discover the advantage and disadvantage of the method. 9. By comp aring the successful project utilizing different approaches, discovering the effectiveness in risk management of the methodologies. 1.2 Research Method A mixed-method research study takes advantage of the differences between qualitative and quantitative research techniques. In particular, in a purely qualitative study, it is difficult to have a large sample size, as

Court cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Court cases - Essay Example Frye v United States ruled on in 1933. In this case, Frye was convicted of 2nd degree murder. Attorneys for the defendant proposed an expert witness to testify as to results he discovered using a ‘deception test’, which is similar to modern day lie detector tests. The expert witness elaborated on how blood pressure is monitored by this device. The expert felt that scientific experiments showed that negative emotions, such as fear or anger, produces a rise in blood pressure. The expert then deduced that the same would occur for someone who is lying, since there would be a fear of detection of the lie. It was further reasoned that speaking truth would be natural, and so no emotion such as guilt or fear would enter the picture, and hence no rise in blood pressure. (FRYE V UNITED STATES) The Supreme Court ruled that there is a difference between (1) expert testimony gained through training and lengthy work experience in the field versus (2) expert testimony that is based on experimental research that has not yet gained solid scientific backing in the science community at large. As a result, the proposed testimony of the expert was not upheld as admissible evidence (FRYE V UNITED STATES). The ‘Frye Standard’ thus became a well known basis for future court cases to allow scientific techniques as admissible evidence only if it is already ‘generally accepted’ in the relevant scientific community. The second case is Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (DAUBERT V MERRELL DOW PHARMACEUTICALS, INC) Daubert was a 1993 product liability case where the Supreme Court had to determine what type of scientific evidence is admissible in court. Daubert sued Merrell Dow due to birth defects that occurred in two of their children. The mother was taking the drug Bendectin, which was manufactured by Merrill Dow. Science did not provide a direct link between the drug and any birth defects. Statistical data was proposed as an alternate solution, but

Mastery in skills of the five senses Essay Example for Free

Mastery in skills of the five senses Essay This writer believes all children need mastery in skills of the five senses. For this purpose, preschool age children will be taught how to make a peanut butter sandwich. The lesson will be presented in a sequential relationship. Materials to be used are: spoon, bread, peanut butter, and wax paper. This lesson will take place in the â€Å"kitchen† section of the classroom. The lesson will begin with a question as to how many of the children like peanut butter sandwiches. If there are children who do not like it, they will still participate in the lesson and not eat the sandwich. If a child is allergic, they will be individually taught on how to make another sandwich utilizing the same amount of tasks, and basic procedure. The class will then be split into pairs, because there is a ratio of 4:1, children can be easily supervised. The teacher will present a lesson on how to make the sandwich, from getting the spoon out of the drawer, to wrapping the sandwich in wax paper. After the teacher has â€Å"taught† the lesson, the children will then have to attempt to master the skill. They will work in pairs to help each other figure it out, and they will have to learn how to get along as there will be few to spoons. Staff will be required to assist children with spreading of the peanut butter or wrapping it in the paper. However, after the lesson is presented to the class, the children will work independently, each one responsible for the sandwich. The lesson: the teacher will gather the children in the kitchen area of the classroom. The teacher will then list and describe all the materials needed. Speaking out loud, the teacher will say exactly what they are doing, while the children are watching (i. e. taking a spoon out of the drawer, opening the jar of peanut butter, bread, spreading, and wrapping). The teacher will then state that there are only enough spoons for half the class and they will have to share. Once every child has made a sandwich, the teacher will lead the class outside to eat their sandwiches along with bananas. The teacher will instruct the whole class on how to use bananas with the sandwich by instructing how to mash the banana by using the peel. In order to gauge mastery of the lesson, staff will observe two pairs each (four children). The staff will have a check sheet for all tasks involved in the lesson. If a child fails at a task, the staff will point put the missed step and ask the child to repeat it. However, if a child is unable to spread the peanut butter but demonstrates motivation, staff will assist without marking the sheet. Since the whole class will be tested on mastery of skill, the teacher will ask the children to make a peanut butter sandwich for lunch about once a month. In addition, the teacher will introduce new ingredients, such as apples, celery, and fluff to further motivate the children to share, to learn the foundations of non-heat cooking, and to instill self-confidence in the children as they master each skill. By using a task oriented lesson, presented logically and step by step, the teacher is ensuring that each child masters the making of a simple sandwich independently.

Training And Development Analysis Essay Example for Free

Training And Development Analysis Essay Training and education have been increasingly conceived as contributing to the quality and productivity of work and thus the profitability of the organization. When good employees are hired, the organization is benefited by investing in their skill development. The training and development of the employees serve many purposes, apart from quality and productivity improvement. The organization becomes ready to adopt advanced technologies and is also able to find replacements when personnel move up the organization or leave it (ZeroMillion, 2002). Employees become more efficient and motivated and the organization also has adequate human resources for its expansion plans. In earlier times, people were selected and developed as managers based on knowledge of their work and understanding of the organization’s requirements. Workers were told on the requirements and expectations of the management, and the workers delivered it. There were no programs directed at career counseling and performance reviews. The need for stress counseling, interpersonal skills improvement, career advancement, recognition and rewarding was not felt. However in the 1950s to 1980s, the management began focusing on the need to train on core functioning areas like planning, finance, sales and accounting etc. Participants deeply involved themselves on a topic and then moved to another topic. Most management schools did not emphasize on an integrated curriculum of all topics. These managers could hardly solve problems as problems were integrated and the approach to solving them was only restricted to the topic relevant. A manager can solve problems effectively by integrating his knowledge and expertise across various domains. With wider recognition of human relations aspect in managing organizations, training programs were developed to improve efficiency and productivity through coaching, motivation, career development etc. (McNamara, 1997)   Today management schools review diverse management topics, analyze them, and apply that understanding to workplace requirement. Training and development play a vital role in an organization’s attempt of total quality (TQ). Training workshops facilitate stimulation of the attendees’ interest and knowledge, which would drive them towards TQ realization. When training workshops fail to encourage the attendees towards TQ realization, then such workshops have very little or no bearing. Many management personnel believe that interest in TQ would be automatically inculcated when employees mingle and share with each other. Thus, they anticipate great positive changes with every training session. However, many people in the managerial and supervisory roles would see the impending changes as a threat to their position and authority, and therefore indulge in tactics to avoid the implementation of changes. Training can bring about changes and wonders when planned and implemented properly. It should be noted here that training is not considered necessary by all companies, as most training events and sessions cannot be directly attributed to outcomes. Therefore some managers tend to perceive training as a luxury of larger companies who can afford to absorb the costs. Training initiatives need to be related to specific outcomes (Atkinson, 1998). By appropriate planning, the trainer is focused to deliver positive and tangible outcomes. When training is managed properly, the required changes or outcomes are successfully realized. However generalized training using inappropriate material, video presentations and irrelevant case studies are more directed towards the self interest of the trainer rather than the organization. Along with technological innovation and, research and development, training and development is also one of the most important investments a company can make for its progress. The quality of the employees is determined by their experiences and exposure within the organization. When these experiences are restricted in terms of time or opportunity for development, then the employees cannot be expected to solve bigger problems. The employees only tend to keep improving their expertise within the scope of their narrow field. Training in management is similar to athletic training in several ways. In athletics, the successful coachers are those who have undergone similar experiences like those of their trainees. The coach here understands how skills are acquired and how mental blocks like attitudes, hinder effective training. The athletic coach wouldn’t straight away plan a training strategy to make the athlete competitive for the Olympics.   The coachers learn the past performances of the athletes, their ups and downs and appropriately design training strategies. Similarly in management training too, the earlier experience and performance of the managers, their strengths and weaknesses are looked into, while planning their training. Past experiences and its associated success and failures, would help in predicting future behavior with and without training. Sometimes training can create problems by fueling hostility from mangers, mainly because of previous disappointments and sustained ill repute, rendering the training a waste of time and resources. However, determined policy makers can convert hostility into meaningful partnerships. Effective partnering can be developed by trainers crediting success and achievements to the managers. Historically, disappointments associated with training are less intense and take longer time to surface. This is because of the strategy adopted by trainers to play safe by ensuring their programs look successful. The trainers incorporate only standard, mild designs and methods to avoid slipping on the outcomes and attempt to camouflage this by asking for more time, staff and resource requirements. Even when managers have a slight positive attitude, there exists opportunities for better collaboration. Such managers would only demand evidence of the worth of the training. The training partner should welcome this and be ready to slow proof. Managers may sometimes want trainers to design programs or modify them to address their needs. By appropriately creating or modifying programs, a partnership is forged and strengthened. There are other managers who support training and partner with it without any critical examination. These managers don’t listen or speculate on informal concerns and go about answering, signing and scheduling the training. Such kind of cooperation and support would be sufficient for training programs that have been well established. However for training associated with change strategies, this support would not be sufficient. When managers presume ownership of training and are in charge of training, they assume a powerful role (Lynton and Pareek, 2000). They actively participate with the trainers and explore opportunities, options and situations for effective training. Proceeding further, managers acquire required competencies in training and join the training team. Managers have detailed understanding of the work settings and work process and their presence in the training team can be very beneficial. Preparing a training budget is an important administrative responsibility of the training manager. An organization’s concern for training is reflected by the amount sanctioned for training against the requested, budgeted amount. It is important for training managers to strive hard to position training within the organization as something that would enable employees to gain what the organization wants them to acquire. Training should not be perceived by internal customers as a mere classroom program or a teaching department. When, due to any finance crunches, budget cutting is required; it would most probably come down to the training budget. However, if the organization at any later date wants to impart some training or sees a need for training, can easily bring in funds from other programs or departments. Thus learning, if deemed necessary, would always be funded. An organization funds its training programs in several ways. Some organizations have a central training budget from where funds are efficiently transferred to the training department to take care of the organization’s training needs. Sometimes the training department is allocated sufficient money to run its own affairs, like its department’s salaries, supplies and over heads etc. The funds required for the conduct of the programs comes from the budgets of the departments requiring the training. The training department normally raises a charge for its services. Organizations use various terminologies for its budget like budget accounts or chart of accounts; and its own terminology for budgeted items. However a typical budget for the training department includes salaries, benefits, recruitment, consulting, supplies, postage, travel, communications etc. After allocation of funds, the training department tracks its spending on the basis of the same categories. Using a spread sheet, a report is generated showing the expenses for each category in the current month, year-to-date expenses, budget amount for the year and the remainder left for the year. All organizations have their own policies and format for reporting financial data and the training manager too has to conform to this. Employees rely on training, not only to improve their expertise on their current job, but also to help them prepare for responsibilities and prospects. Each job must be designed to provide opportunities for learning and growth. The jobs must be able to enhance skill variety, incorporate task significance and also include autonomy and feedback. Job dissatisfaction is an obvious outcome caused by jobs that are seemingly unrewarding in themselves. Employee resignations and turnover is also increased when people are not trained properly. Employees begin to feel that the demands made on them cannot be fully delivered without proper training. When new employees are not provided adequate training, they experience an ‘induction crises’. Learning and training programs raise existing skills and competences among employees to expected standards, while increasing their morale and confidence. Employees must be encouraged to acquire new skills so that they can assume bigger responsibilities and perform various tasks. Such multi-tasking would also help them to earn more under skill-competency based pay structure. Training is very important when organizations experience change. All successful change implementation efforts need to be supported by enabling structures like retention programs, rewards system and outplacement programs. Retention programs are very crucial as change implementation can turn out to be a major cause for employee turn over. Employees are generally encouraged to those aspects of work, which are rewarded and discard those aspects, which are not rewarded. Thus employees can be reallocated by appropriate training. Sometimes, change implementation may involve downsizing. However, the organization should work out to ensure minimal damage by downsizing, as downsizing can jeopardize any change implementation effort. Before laying off any employee, the manager must consider if the employee has any skills that can be deployed in another position or division of the organization. Here again the prospects of training for adapting is considered. Only when the employee looks incapable of acquiring newer skills or when the employee is not very enthusiastic of training should lay off be considered. If layoff is inevitable, the organization should ensure that a comprehensive outplacement services are offered to him, so that the employee holds the organization in high esteem in his further association with the industry (Harvard, 2005). When organizations introduce technological changes, the work processes are changed and training is required to help employees to perform their new responsibilities with ease and confidence. The machine and its human operator are two complementary units of the work process, and none can replace the other. Science-driven changes are fast and multidirectional. The impact of technology and its bearing on competition is very vast. Different technologies have varying impact on management systems. Technologies used in their work processing in banking, insurance, production line etc., require system redesign and new operator skills. In steel and power generation plants, the central control is carried out by electronic technology. Genetic, bioengineering and instrumentation technology backed procedures require considerable amount of decentralization and cooperation at operator levels. Thus change of technology or introduction of new technology into the work cycle, create certain demands to redesign the work process and work environment, for which training is necessary (Saini and Khan). While training programs are mainly proposed at the employer levels, work unions can also play a crucial role in training and development. The achievements of British trade unions is a standing example of what it can achieve for its members when it’s focused on training and learning. During the last few years, the British trade unions have adopted training and learning as an important element of their agenda. The role of unions in establishing ‘learning agreements’ with employers, creating union learning representative (ULR) and several union learning programs are seen as success stories associated with unions. Unions have also been provided a stakeholder role in the vocational education and training system (VET). Today, most of the important institutional bodies include a formal representation of unions. Unions are represented in the learning skills council (LSC) and the sector skills council (SSC). New sector skills agreements and regional skills agreements have been formed in sectors where unions are present. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has a formal representation on the National Skills Alliance to advice government on the implementation and progress of skills strategy. Although unions have very limited role at the policy formulation level, they have a larger new role in improving workplace learning. The establishment of the union learning representative is perceived as an innovation of the central union. The role of the representative is to support and motivate workers in taking up workplace learning. The success of workplace learning is evident from the associated facts and figures. As of December 2006, the TUC claims to have trained over 13,000 ULRs. More than 3000 workplaces have been covered with over 450 union learning projects, while over 67,000 learners benefit from these courses each year. There have also been many cases where unions have been in partnership with employers to develop learning and skills acquirement. It is important to note here that employers and employees perceive training and training success in different ways. Employers prefer to develop-specific skills that directly help their business. Union and employees on the other hand, would want to develop broad transferable skills, which can help in an individual’s employment and career. Such programs are very valuable to the employees and sometimes be a life changing experience for many. It helps them to advance their career, while also encouraging them to become more active in the union. A unionlearn random postal survey has highlighted an enormous latent demand for learning (Unionlearn, 2007)  Ã‚   Over 96% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that it is important to always be learning. People also wanted to take to learning for various reasons. About 81% of people wanted to study for their personal development or as a leisure time activity, while 56% wanted to learn, to benefit at their work. Sometimes workplace training is imparted remotely too through e-learning. The benefits of technology in learning is not just restricted to classroom learning alone, but also to workplace learning. The workplace trainer here needs to have appropriate teaching skills to help the understanding of remote students. The remote workplace trainer requires technology-based instructing skills, comparable to that of an academic teacher. In the coming years, probably all teachers, academic or workplace, would be trained to handle remote teaching, given the trend of e-learning. Successful e-learning for the American workforce calls for combined action by the public and private sectors. Quality issues, assessment and certification, and access to e-learning opportunities are vital areas that need to be focused to make e-learning more beneficial. Business houses need to realize the potential of e-learning and integrate e-learning into their strategies and operations. A training program is designed based on the assessed needs or requirement of the members.   The learning needs are separated into groups and the groups connected in a logical manner. Each group is then associated with goals or outcomes to be realized at the end of the training program. The goals are split into learning objectives, which are specific requirements that a trainee must know or be capable of, once the program is completed. For instance, if an organization’s needs are assessed and found that its supervisors should learn more on performance management, then the training program should have the following outcomes: 1) Supervisors should know the company policy on performance management. 2) Supervisors should manage employee performance only according to the rules and procedures of the company. 3) Supervisors must conduct themselves with the legal limits when addressing performance management issues. When a training program is to designed, it is essential that all departments are involved in it with the training department (O’Connor, Bronner and Delaney, 2003). A wider representation and involvement is necessary as the training outcomes would virtually affect everyone in the organization. The design team should also be represented by members from HR and Legal Departments. Based on the identified needs and the training outcomes, the duration of the training program and the modules are planned. The training professional must ensure that the program activity incorporate good instructional and adult learning principles. The program should have various activities giving priority to group work and interaction than individual readings or lectures. The programs should reflect the organizational culture while being focused on individual learning. The design of the training program should have relevance to the experience and knowledge existing already with the participants. The program should stop once the required learning has been accomplished. Segmenting a designed program helps the training team and the participants to focus on packets of contents, one at a time, for more clarity. The program content may be divided into days, with each day divided into units and each unit divided into modules. The effectiveness of a training session can be evaluated by several parameters. The training can be said to be efficient and effective when it has achieved its objectives. The validity of the training is determined by ascertaining whether the training has been able to solve problems associated with output, service and outflow. The validity of the training program is also seen from the perspective of the participants, whether it has met their needs.   The training program is evaluated by measuring the overall cost benefit of the program while validation is the judgment of objectives achievement. Using a series of tests and assessments, internal validation can be carried out to ascertain whether the participants have acquired knowledge, skills or experienced attitude modification. Common measuring instruments are the opinion of the attendees, opinion of trainers, opinion of managers and opinion of peers and colleagues.   The knowledge gained by training can also assessed through oral, written, objective or practical tests. The skills acquired can be assessed by asking the trainee to demonstrate the skills with a checklist and without a checklist, before judges (Ramaswami, 1992). The checklist must reflect the actions or procedures required to be performed. The attitudes of trainees are measured by actual observation of behavior, by judges, or by an attitude scale for reference. Apart from the training imparted, it has been perceived that certain attributes of the trainer itself can contribute to the influence of the participants. When the trainer is prepared and confident, the participants are convinced and feel at ease. When the trainer is enthusiastic and purpose-oriented, the trainees become interested and get a clear objective. The responsibility and involvement in enhancing productivity has gradually shifted from the management level executives to the capable and knowledgeable workers. The management facilitates and encourages workers to work independently and determine ways of doing things in a better way. This approach is significantly different from its earlier approach of controlling and instructing workers. The management also wants its employees to share their knowledge and expertise with others so that the organization benefits from the new knowledge. With more work being automated, workers have to think of ways and techniques appropriate to the speed and requirements of the automated facility. Learning is necessary to realize and understand better, the ways to doing things that would benefit the customer. Learning is very different from training, which is imparting of skills required for a particular task or work requirement. Learning is an ongoing process, which doesn’t require exclusive sessions or classes; and is perhaps the heart of productive activity (Thite, 2004). Given the globalization and intense competition in the market place, a suitable idea from anyone is appreciated as long as it contributes to process improvement. Ideas even help transform organizations by breaking new grounds. People are encouraged to think of solutions and apply them to their daily work. Organizations need to realize the power of learning and benefit from it to successfully face global competition. REFERENCES Unionlearn.(2007) The role of trade unions in the formation and distribution of learning and skills, [Electronic Version] downloaded on 12th May, 2008 from http://www.unionlearn.org.uk/policy/learn-2042-f0.pdf ZeroMillion (2002). Employee training and Development [Electronic Version] downloaded on 13th May, 2008 from 4. Employee Training and Development McNamara C. (1997) Brief History of Management training and Development. [Electronic Version] downloaded on 13th May, 2008 from http://www.managementhelp.org/mgmt_dev/history/history.htm Atkinson P., (1998) Creating Culture Change; Strategies for Success, Jaico Publishing House O’Connor, Bronner and Delaney (2003) Training for Organizations, Thomson Learning, Singapore Ramaswami N, (1992) A Handbook of Training Development, T.R. Publications Lynton R.P, Pareek U., (2000) Training for Organizational Transformation Sage Publications    Harvard (2005), The Essentials of Managing Change and Transition. Publisher: Harvard Business School Press. Thite M., (2004). Managing People in the New Economy. Response Books. Sage Publication Saini D.S, Khan S.A., (2000), (Eds) Human Resource Management. Perspectives for the New Era, Publisher: Response Books, Year of publication 2000.