Patterns and Trends and Theoretical Frameworks in Education

Introduction Recent research in education and learning process introduces a number of challenges and constraints that both teachers and students encounter. In particular, numerous studies are dedicated to exploring the traditional frameworks that contribute to teacher training and learning enhancement.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Patterns and Trends and Theoretical Frameworks in Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More More importantly, these research studies also highlight the main pitfalls of traditional curriculum and instruction. In order to improve the learning classroom settings, the scholars explore contemporary techniques in instructing students and training teachers. Specific focus is made on the analysis of collaborative approach to enhancing support of learning and teaching processes, development of alternative theoretical frameworks and concepts, and evaluation of the impact of a socio-cultural context on the classroom environment. The importance of a collaborative approach to a learning process is enormous because it enhances support and assists both teachers and students in exploring new dimensions of knowledge acquisition. Hence, Muir and van Linden (2009) assert that collaboration is vital for motivating students to integrate experimental learning opportunities. Indeed, experimental learning can become a basis for collaborative teaching that can facilitate students’ engagement into a classroom setting. Similar to Muir and van Linden (2009), Wilson et al. (2010) suggest that promoting collaborating can eliminate problems that students of 11-year-old age category experience while learning language. In particular, the researchers consider vocabulary teaching through vocabulary instruction and concept maps as important aspects of collaborative practice. Other theorists and scholars also emphasize the strength of collaboration and supporting mechanisms to enhance tea ching (Hechter et al., 2012; Penuel et al., 2007). Patterns and Trends Specific attention requires the concept developed by Daniel (2011) who focuses on family-school partnerships for developing sustainable pedagogical practice.  The scientific exploration proves that the existence of traditional theoretical frameworks related to improvement of teaching and learning approaches have become obsolete.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, lack of theoretical support requires the development and integration of contemporary, alternative techniques that can be congruent with innovation and technological advancement. In this respect, Hechter et al. (2012) focus on the importance of pedagogical, content and technological knowledge to enhance the role of classroom setting. Penuel et al. (2007) assume that students should be able to use technologies for understanding instructions and e stimating the adequacy of their technological competence. Use of concept maps is another important skill that can advance students’ motivation to acquire knowledge (Wilson et al., 2010). Hence, technology contributes greatly to the development of modern approaches to improving support mechanisms. The proposed findings are confined to the evaluation of recent frameworks and concepts that build the basis of an academic process. In this respect, all the scholars express unanimous opinion concerning the obvious lack of theoretical foundation and conceptualization. Moreover, Wilson et al. (2010) insist on reconceptualization of current techniques in teaching and learning to improve education and create new dimensions for students and teachers’ professional growth and development. Contextual analysis of classroom environment undermines the quality of education because insufficient attention is given to the strategies that teachers apply while providing instructions. In this respect, Daniel (2011) advises to refer to contextual aspect that shapes efficient landscape for working curriculum. In particular, engaging socio-cultural environment provides support to students through family-school collaboration (Wilson et al., 2010). In particular, the importance of context is explained by greater opportunity for students to approach the learning process and gain necessary experience in different disciplines. Theoretical Frameworks In order to understand the techniques and approaches that students employ to understand and perceive the course material, specific emphasis should be placed on the analysis the theories that complement the practical dimension. Due to the fact that the research question seeks to define the contemporary techniques to improving the learning and teaching approach, the attention should be given to such frameworks as the theory of multiple intelligences, conditions of learning, and cognitive frameworks for learning and reading. The theory of multiple intelligences is associated with the diversity of pedagogical approaches that should be implemented in a classroom setting. It also focuses on the necessity to introduce person-centered learning approaches and interactive training. Andronache et al. (2011) analyze the theory and agree with the idea that â€Å"†¦these multiple human faculties, the intelligences, are in a significant extent independent from each other† (p. 19).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Patterns and Trends and Theoretical Frameworks in Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, the main task of a teach lies in recognizing the competencies and gifts that each student possesses or lacks to employ the corresponding instructions. The connection between the theory and individualized training is evident, which is another aspect that should be taken into consideration to answer the research question. Finally, teac hers should establish educational goals and multiple techniques as a priority in a teaching process.  The theory of conditions of learning proposed by Gagne amplifies the instructor’s role in explaining the course material to students. According to this theoretical framework, it is recommended that the teachers should not only possess knowledge of the subject he/she teachers, but also be able to guide the learning process through implementing relevant learning theories (Alutu, 2006). Appropriate guidance to students ensures creation of favorable conditions for learning, as well as enhances students’ motivation to increase their performance. In particular, Alutu (2006) states, â€Å"the teacher as a guide also demonstrates some leadership roles which have their impact on the learner behavior† (p. 45). In this respect, this branch of educational psychology relies on successful interaction with the course materials that need to be learnt by students. Therefore, t he theory of conditions of learning provides a sufficient platform for answering the research question concerning how students with different abilities can be approached in a classroom setting. Finally, the cognitive learning theory examines the significance of developing specialized mechanisms for students to respond to the material they learn during classes. Perception, attitude and behavior have a potent impact on students’ readiness to cognize the new material. More importantly, cognitive models are relevant for integrating experimental learning. According to Turton (2012), â€Å"†¦experimental learning model offers an appropriate four-domain learning cycle that includes procedural and perceptual learning and critical reception† (p. 34). Additionally, the theory focuses on the roles and models that students take during a learning process. Cognitive theory also allows the teachers to take a different look at the reading classes. Indeed, reading comprehension is premised on a number of cognitive factors, as well as students’ aptness to understand the teacher’s instructions. Finally, the awareness of unique response mechanisms that students use provides a wider picture on the concrete experience they gain during a learning process.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, the proposed theory is of high relevance for the introduced research because it integrates a variety of teaching strategies. What is more important is that the theory implies an action-oriented approach to understanding the basic concepts. References Alutu, A. N. (2006). The Guidance Role of the Instructor in the Teaching and Learning Process. Journal of Instructional Psychology. 33(1), 44-49. Andronache, D., Boco, M., Stanciu, D. I., Racula, R. O. (2011). The Valences of Multiple Intelligences Theory in Optimizing the Training Process. Journal of Educational Sciences, 18-28. Daniel, G. (2011). Family-school partnerships: towards sustainable pedagogical practice. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39 (2), 165–176. Hechter, R., Phyfe, L. D., Vermete, L. A. (2012). Integrating Technology in Education: Moving the TPCK Framework towards Practical Applications. The University of Western Australia, 39, 136-152. Muir, G. M., van Linden, G. J. (2009). Students T eaching Students: An Experiential Learning Opportunity for Large Introductory Psychology Classes in Collaboration with Local Elementary Schools. Teaching of Psychology, 36, 169–173. Penuel, W., Boscardin, C., Masyn, K. and Crawford, V. (2007). Teaching with student response systems in elementary, Education Technological Research Developement, 55, 315–346. Turton, W. (2012). Honing Cognitive Behavior Therapy Skills through Experimental Learning. Mental Health Practice. 15(10), 33-35. Wilson, G., Nash, M., Earl, G. (2010). Supporting students with language learning difficulties in secondary schools through collaboration: The use of concept maps to investigate the impact of teachers’ knowledge of vocabulary teaching. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 26 (2), 163–179. This essay on Patterns and Trends and Theoretical Frameworks in Education was written and submitted by user Braxton House to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Essay Sample on Terrorism Its Roots and Reasons

Essay Sample on Terrorism Its Roots and Reasons Terrorism, an issue that plagues our world every minute of everyday. You never know when or where a terrorist organization is going to strike. All groups reasons are different, some for political or religious reasons, others for hatred. The roots of terrorism are believed to have started in 1007 A.D. Hassan ben Sabbah born in Qom, Iran was an Ishmaili Muslim and opposed all other Muslim groups except for the Ishmaili’s. He is believed to be the father of terrorism. Ben Sabbah’s actions had started a whole new trend, people began to follow his actions and started to form terrorist organizations. Terrorism started back then and its motives and tactics have continued to evolve through the reign of Stalin and Lenin in the Soviet Union and Mao Tse-tung in China. Many people consider what Hitler did in Germany to be terrorism, and when you actually think about it, it makes sense. When you define terrorism most definitions say it is the act of violence and/or intimidation to achieve certain political or religious goals. The definition of a terrorist is a person that employs terror or terrorism as a political weapon. And when you think about that definition that pretty much fits Hitler. He wanted to create a s ociety that fit his personal political agenda. Of course the examples are from world history, but what about in the United States? Do we have terrorism in our own country committed by our citizens? Of course we do, take the Oklahoma City Bombing for example. Timothy McVeigh, out for himself and his own political agenda. The first act of terrorism recorded in the US was in 1622 committed by Indians, when they massacred the people in the settlement of Jamestown. Terrorism is problem everywhere not just the middle east, contrary to what people think. People think there is such a thing as a â€Å"typical terrorist†, but there really is not. I guess it could be said that terrorists are stereotyped in many ways. Many people believe that terrorists in the Middle East are either Muslims or Islamic, which is not true either. Just because a person is of one region of the world it does not mean they are a terrorist. As far as I am concerned it could be a next door neighbor. But to understand what terrorism is you must first understand the causes; the motivation to commit these acts of violence. First, at the government level states may use terrorism against their own people or other nations for several reason. One states may wish to force their message of ideology, politics, or religion upon people or other nations. Second states may use terrorism to eliminate dissent among the population. Third governments may resort to terrorism to eliminate normal political systems or because of fear of another system developing and being embraced by citizens. Fourth, the government may use terror to harass, control, or eliminate political, religious, or radical minorities. Fifth, the government may be in constant conflict with external enemies. Sixth, the government may be in business purely for itself and for what it can get without regard to the welfare of its citizens(Mullins 90). Then there is the reasoning behind individual terrorism. An individual terrorist’s act is very different from that of a group or how a government would use terrorism. Although the ideology and motivation is the same; to invoke a violent act to achieve some political ends, how it is wanted by the individual. Some reasons for an individual committing terrorist acts are: First, minorities that are economically or politically repressed with poor job opportunities are prone to terrorism. Second, rising employment and inflation can result in people turning to terrorism in and attempt to force improvements in economic and workforce conditioned. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on Terrorism topics at our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with custom papers written by highly qualified academic writers. High quality and no plagiarism guarantee! Get professional essay writing help at an affordable cost.

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 20

Marketing - Essay Example The report is based on the study of the segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) analysis of Apple and Samsung in the US market. These two organisations are the leading electronic goods manufacturer and dealer all over the world. This analysis is also emphasises on the importance of marketing mix strategy while analysing the different stages of STP strategy (Wood, 2008). Apple Inc. is a multinational company headquartered in California. It was established in the year of 1976 by Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne. Apple offers consumer electronics, personal computers, software and online services to its customers (Marketline, 2014). Samsung is the leading electronic consumer durable organisation founded by Lee Byung-chul in the year of 1938. It is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea (Mukit, 2014). The product portfolio of Apple includes portable computers such as Macbook series, iPod, iPhone, iTune, printers, servers and wifi based stations. Apple MacBook and iPhones have created their status symbol. Their product category also includes different accessories and peripheral products such as printers, magic mouse and storage devices (Worstall, 2014). The distribution channel of Apple includes technology consultant and independent service provider. They prefer to sale their product only through authorized resellers, retailers and distributors. They also promote and sale their products through Apple authorized franchisee stores (Paczkowski, 2012). Apple is focused on promoting their products within students and professionals. Through their promotional activities they try to attract their customer’s attention towards the special features and benefits of their products. Their promotional procedure includes advertisement through all the possible media and sales promotions. Samsung has a wide product portfolio which includes Tablet, notebooks, printers, wide range of mobile phone and television, cameras, refrigerator,

Case Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Analysis - Research Paper Example It transports more passengers, and it is also offers more regular schedule for domestic flights compared to its competitors. It offers low fares than any other airline because of its low-operating expenses. Chris Lauer accounts â€Å"Southwest Airlines is the largest low-fare carrier in the world† (1). Southwest’s also has a good customer service, a dedicated staff and personnel, and an exceptional management team that keeps on making an excellent pricing and marketing plan for the company. One of Southwest’s successful strategies is serving less congested airports that helped minimize total travel time for passengers, and this allowed the company to avoid paying the higher landing fees and terminal gate costs. Southwest is routinely improving its information system for faster flow of information in order to enhance the airlines function, cut costs, and improve its customer service On account of Southwest’s aim to carry out its low-fare strategy continually, the company operated only one type of aircraft. Along with this, Southwest flight attendants were responsible for cleaning up trash left by passengers and getting the plane presentable for the next flight while rival carriers had cleaning crews. The airline also did not have a first-class section on any of its planes. Also, passengers with checked baggage who were connecting to other carriers in order to reach their destinations were not offered baggage transfer services. Southwest also has a tarnished reputation regarding the management’s failure to conduct the required inspections for fuselage fatigue cracking. Southwest’s has growth opportunities by having a first-class section on its planes and by serving more domestic flights and possibly international flights. The airline should also offer a baggage transfer services to passengers who have connecting flights with other carriers in order to improve its customer service.

Compare Yvette with Virgil.(The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz) Article

Compare Yvette with Virgil.(The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz) - Article Example As for Yvette, she is in love with the protagonist and tries to take care of him. This woman does everything possible to change his selfish nature and teach him morals. She believes that time will pass and Duddy will appreciate her love and patience. Unfortunately, nothing is changed and Yvette gives up her attempts to find an ideal sweetheart in the person of Duddy. Yvette cannot stand the protagonist’s ambitious character any more. Virgil does not try to change Duddy, despite Yvette. He just does his work and obeys Duddy, his boss. It seems that Virgil is more realistic than Yvette. He understands that it is impossible to change a person for the better without his/her own decision to improve his/her character and attitude towards other people. Both Yvette and Virgil are great dreamers, but their dreams are different. Yvette is more worried about her own personality. This woman wants to find her true love. Virgil’s dreams do not concern only him. He wants to help other people; this person has an intention to help epileptics. His plan is to create an Epileptic Awareness publication to give these people the same support as all other minorities have. Works Cited Mordecai, Richer. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. New York: McClelland & Stewart, 2001. Print.

Cinematography In A Horror Movie

Cinematography In A Horror Movie Abstract: From our child hood we have been imagining ghosts and seeing imaginary things that are almost improbable to exist to give us terrific fears and these fears come to haunt our dreams. Watching a horror movie gives us that old feeling of fear and makes us emotionally attached to the film. The horrific images from the movie with its special effects and sudden sounds would make many watch them even though its scary. But almost all the horror movies end after balance is restored and everything turns to normal to give the audience a sense of satisfaction. The dissertation is based on the Study of cinematography and special effects in a Horror movie. In the recent past camera, lighting and special effects are of greater importance and fame, so it will be worth exploring those topics. As far as the technical aspect is concerned a brief research of how these kind of films are being filmed from the shooting spot itself, will be very useful for an aspiring artist to get a better idea about its development. Horror films go back as far as the onset of films themselves, over 100 years ago. Introduction: The researcher was interested in watching horror films from his childhood and he was deeply interested in these genres. In his childhood the researcher was very much impressed with the serial mainly called Genmam-X and Marmadesam. The drama that he staged in his schooldays with horror and scary effects as the theme was applauded well by the audience. The tremendous response from the viewers made him start learning the concepts and idea relating to this genre and finally concluded with this concept. It is difficult to show scary effects in screens. If the director gets his requirements from all the technicians the film will be successful, otherwise it will not. In order to get success the film must contain interesting characters and it also depends on their acting. And in terms of technical aspects the cinematography and special effects play a major role. In Indian cinemas, there is some response for these kinds of genre when compared to Hollywood. The main aim of the upcoming short film is that after seeing this, many people have to change their mind to see horror films also. So the main thing that the film should contain is better cinematography with matching special effects. Instead of concentrating on the story alone, cinematography and special effects should be given more importance. Aim: To give the thrill the viewer expects mainly the use of the camera, lightings and Special Effects, Were Script play the secondary role. Statement of the problem: The main purpose of adding the special effects is to frighten the viewer.When it goes beyond the limit it might not be watched by many people. In this situation it may go to another genre of hardcore horror. It may scare people but it will create some abnormal effects in the minds of some people. Objectives: How is cinematography in horror films different from other films? What are special Effects? How is Special Effects done in horror movies? A Study of the cinematography for horror movies. How is make up done for horror movies? Research Questions: What are Special Effects? Colors and intensity of lights? Camera trick and technique in cinematography? Special Effects (Make up) for horror movies? How the horror movies getting winning changes? Significance of the study: Horror movies are the best platform to find rich special effects and lighting and Much interesting camera handling which gives the viewers a different experience From other films. The study through this dissertation is to understand The cinematography in horror films and application of special effects in them. Table of content Chapter 1| Introduction 1.1 | Aim 1.2 | Statement of problem 1.3 | Research questions 1.4 | Objectives 1.5 | Significance of study Chapter 2 | Review of literature 2.1 | Movies 2.2 | Websites 2.3 | Books and articles Chapter 3 | Research Methodology Chapter 4 | Horror films 4.1| Definition 4.2| History Chapter 5 | Introduction to Cinematography 5.1 | Camera 5.1.1 | Lens 5.1.2 | Filters 5.2 | Depth of Field and Focus 5.3 | Aspect ratio and Framing 5.4 | Camera Movements and Camera Angles 5.5 | Lighting Chapter 6 | Cinematography in Horror Films 6.1| over View 6.2 | Camera Works in Horror Films 6.2.1| Camera Movement and Angles 6.2.2| Analysis of Movie Shots 6.3 | Lighting Chapter 7 | Different between Normal films and Horror Films (Cinematography) Chapter 8 | Special effects 8.1| History 8.2 | what is Special effect 8.3 | Planning and use 8.4 | Live Special effect 8.5 | Make up Chapter-9 Integration of dissertation with project Chaper-10-Analysis and conclusion REVIEW OF LITERATURE Movies Reference: Psycho (1960) and the director is Alfred Hitchcock. The cinematography is done by John L.Russell. Psycho is one of the best Hollywood horror movies best for lighting. In one scene the psycho is going to kill the lady who is taking her bath were the lighting was done very well to signify the horror. It is considered to be the best cinematography, in 1961 by John L.Russell .Oscar was nominated for this film. Reference: The Thing (1982) directed by John Carpenter with Special Effects by Rob Bottin. The movie was taken in 1982. In that period they used special effects and visual Effects and make up. The makeup was so realistic that it attracted the viewer Quickly. A human is transformed to a demon easily and the scene is presented very effectively which will fascinate the people. . The comment was that it was too scary. This shows how they have applied VFX and SFX. And the Best special effect 1982 Rob Bottin Saturn award was nominated for this Film. Reference: Van Helsing and the director is Stephen Sommers.The cinematography is handled by Allen Daviau. The movie Van Helsing comes under the genre of horror and it came out in the year 2004. In this movie they followed a really nice cinematography. Actually this movie came out from the comic that Van Helsing is a ghost hunter who will be roaming around the earth in search of ghost, In this movie also he is coming to a village in search of the ghost. There are two interesting characters in this movie. One is the Frankenstein and the other one is the wolf character which was in the custody of the villain. The extra ordinary thing about the movie is that the CG In early days, man used special effects and later it got developed into visual effects. In this movie there are many visual effects shots. A few examples include the climate sequence where the ordinary man transforms into a wolf that is a quality CG work in the industry. Further there are many VFX shots in the movie. Special effects include the blood bossing from the mouth and the usage of the miniature in the movies where Gabrie l (hero) taking the Frankenstein away from the village. Most of the shots were shot inside the studio and they were composited later. Usage of expressive and breath taking matte paintings added to the quality of the movie. The cinematography of the movie plays a major role because of the proper establishment and composition. Reference: Mirror-2 directed by Victor Garcia. Cinematography is done by Lorenzo Senatore. It is really a kind of hardcore killing movie where we can find the hero who is replacing the old security guard in the office. The main concept behind this movie is the revenge by the girl who is killed by the head officer. And he is killing the people through the medium mirror. The main success behind the movie is the lighting and cinematography. Reference: Saw-4, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and cinematography by David Armstrong. This movie is the successor of the three early parts. The success behind the movie is the usage of the equipments and the method he used for killing others. In the first scene of the movie the villain killed the victim by tying the body to a steel bed and the axe was in a to and fro motion just above the stomach of the victim where it got peeled into many pieces. Website Reference: This Media Studies Factsheet was researched Written by Steph Hendry The horror films are not from this period. Those films were taken from the very early times where they only depend on the special effects and the camera tricks .At that time also some nice pictures came namely the Frankenstein a ghost which was made by a man by assembling many internal organs .This is the fact, that behind the creation of the ghost namely Frankenstein, is one type of ghost. There are many types of ghost that may include the external ghost which was having its own appearance and they will have some special characteristics. The Internal ghost is that it will enter ones body and it will do some thing inside the body of the character. This is the kind of ghost and others include the vampire. Mostly all the thriller movies have this type of ghost, there will be a character sucking blood from the humans and using them for their existence. They will be more like humans living with them but they will have some special characteristics In the earlier periods the ghost will be only living inside the cave and later the living area of the ghost also increased ,no matter where the ghost are living- it may be at school, it may in our home or inside ones soul no matter where it will be. So we can go to the place as we wish when going for this kind of genre. And nowadays time is also not a matter for the ghost it may come at day time or it may come when we are sleeping and when we are in dream. The only fact is that vampire can roam around the world during day times. (Reference: www.darkwebonile.com )accessed on Book

The Pros and Cons of Ethnographic Reflexivity Essay -- Pro Con Essays

The Advantages and Limits of Ethnographic Reflexivity Awareness of writing choices generates an appreciation of the reflexivity of ethnographic research. Reflexivity involves the recognition that an account of reality does not simply mirror reality but rather creates or constitutes as real in the first place whatever it describes. Thus ‘the notion of reflexivity recognizes that texts do not simply and transparently report an independent order of reality. Rather, the texts themselves are implicated in the work of reality-construction (Emerson et. al., 1995:213). According to Robert M. Emerson and colleagues, reflexivity is a method in which the ethnographer is aware that his/her writing choices are shaped to acknowledge the ethnographers presence in the culture being studied. Thus, while writing and analyzing fieldnotes, the ethnographer-as-author grows increasingly aware of his role and responsibility in telling the story of the people being he/[she] studied; for in writing he/[she] re-presents their everyday world[1]. By taking the ethnographers presence in consideration, the ethnography becomes more than a mere piece of text. In the process of writing his/her analyzes of a culture, the ethnographer is constantly reminded that his work is to understand a realm of reality. In the following I will discuss the approach Dorinne K. Kondo and Renato Rosaldo use in writing their reflective ethnography. Dorinne K. Kondo in Dissolution and Reconstitution of Self: Implications for Anthropological Epistemology suggested that to understand the culture one studies the ethnographer should account his/her presence. In other words, the ethnographer should write about his/her experiences because it establishes the â€Å"I was there† author... ... argues that even though our mission is to understand the culture we our studying one cannot make final assumptions about a culture. One has to reflex on the fact that a culture is always changing and that our preparation of our discipline is not often the method one uses in fieldwork. As I reflect back to my own ethnographic research I found that even though I am Mexican-American and part of the Latino culture on campus my own community often challenged my interpretations. My interpretations were often critiqued by the male Latino culture, they felt that the meaning was much deeper and that I could not fully grasp the meaning because of my gender. Thus, I agree being reflective on ones ethnography can one fully add more meaning and understanding of a culture. [1] Emerson et. al. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995: 213.

Belonging in Romulus, My Father and This Is England

Our perception of belonging is shaped by various aspects, one of the most influential of these being the confined expectations of society. As one understands and accepts the socially constructed definition of how an individual may belong, one begins to label themselves under this classification. This awareness causes one to alter and shape their behaviour according to their own perception of whether or not they belong, which in turn is based on society’s standards. It may serve as a process of belonging, or alternatively, as a barrier. This concept is evident in the first scene of the film This is England, as 12-year-old Shaun enters his new school, wearing his fathers’ old denim jeans. He stands helplessly among his classmates, most in ties, hats and uniform jackets. This juxtaposition immediately shows Shaun’s quickly formed perception of how one may belong in this environment, as a fight is initiated caused by his incompatible choice of clothing. His sense of belonging is determined by society’s expectations, and therefore his behaviour is shaped accordingly. Shaun further isolates himself from the society as a result of this, sitting unaccompanied in the playground. This act of cruelty causes Shaun to place blame upon his mother, who brought him from Germany to England, determined to start life afresh after the death of his father. Consequently, this gives rise to the additional seclusion from what was once a place of belonging, his home, and his family. A similar concept is evident in Romulus, My Father, a memoir written by Raimond Gaita. Raimond’s mother Christine experiences a life of rejection from society. In like manner as Shane encountered upon moving to England, Christine held a powerful sense of belonging to her home culture in Germany, and therefore the sudden change in landscape only furthered the isolation that was also influenced by her mental illness. Gaita feels that her psychological incapacity was exacerbated by the unwillingness of the community to accept and help her. He explains the behaviour of society as â€Å"the unattractive side of a conception of value whose other side nourished a distinctively Australian decency. Gaita’s personification of society shows that the extent to which this cruelty has reached is inhumane. â€Å"Such was the division of the human spirit in that part of the world at that time. Like many other sharp divisions, it could not capture the many worthy ways of being human. It nourished some possibilities, maimed others and would not allow some even to see the light of day†¦Ã¢â‚¬  sense of belonging may have aided in the healing of her illness, but paradoxically it was her illness that meant she would never experience a sense of acceptance. Society’s expectations formed Christine’s latest perception of belonging, in turn shaping her behaviour. The community in which she lived held a strong belief in ‘character’ as a defining quality through which individuals show they have the right ‘fit’ to society. â€Å"Tom Lillie and others disliked my mother partly because they saw her engaging vivacity as a dangerously seductive manifestation of personality in a woman they believed to be lacking entirely in character – a ‘characterless woman’. † In its historical and cultural context, women of rural Victoria in the 1950s were expected to hold a conservative nature. Perhaps that is why women at that time and in that place were especially vulnerable to the deadening attractions of middle-class respectability. † The negative connotations attached to the word ‘deadening’ reflects Gaita’s attitude to such restrictions, expressing through emphatic language his understanding of those who are not immediate conformists to the expectations that society has created. The community is repelled by her inability to care for Raimond, her promiscuity and her obsession with appearance over responsibilities. Christine’s understanding that she may never belong in a society that holds such defined expectations of women shapes her behaviour in that she pushes herself further away from the community, all the while influencing her to attempt to regain a connection with her family. This is England also emphasizes the dominant ideology of its era. White nationalism and patriotism were seen as the norm, and the movement against immigrants was extreme due to the area the film was set in, a low class area, where unemployment records were extremely high. The entire film displays each scene very black and white, as a representation of the reality of the issues in its context. Towards the end of the movie, Combo and Shaun decide to raid a shop with a Pakistani shop-keeper. As Combo leaves the store, he threatens the shop-keeper, bellowing, â€Å"this is our little Shandy, and we’ll come ‘ere anytime we like†. A close-up of the shaken shopkeeper, who does not retaliate to Combo’s words, shows that white people were accepted as being superior to colours. Shaun’s involvement portrays his acceptance of the values and customs that being a skinhead require, and his alteration of his behaviour upon adhering to these expectations in order to belong. The final scene of the film shows Shaun wandering along the beach, carrying a British flag. He pauses and throws the flag out to sea, a symbol of the knowledge he has gained and what has come from his experiences. Shaun is seen at the same location in the beginning of the film, this device being used as a sound and visual metaphor that symbolises the issues and his understanding of belonging have very much changed over time.

Riordan Benchmarking †Human Capital Development

Riordan Benchmarking – Human Capital Development Free Online Research Papers Riordan Manufacturing is facing a decline in morale and work ethics. Declining sales and uneven profits over the years not only forced the company to change its sales processes, but also prompted them to adopt a customer-relationship system. Riordan’s HR reward and compensation policy program need to be revised to deal with the existing problem. HR professionals over the world know that their toughest job is recruiting and retaining top-notch employees for their companies. With unemployment at its current rate, expanding businesses search for qualified workers like big-game hunters stalking the most elusive prey (Vault, 2008). Compensation plan and benefit plans are two compensation package’s companies are using to invest in its employees. Some organization form compensation committees to ensure that strategies and compensation programs are properly managed (Vault, 2008). To assist Riordan Manufacturing in changing its sales process, Team B has chosen the following com panies to use as a benchmark: Toyota, Infosys, Qualcomm, IBM, Disney, and Honda. Team B will then analyze each company by providing key concepts, such as; designing the elements of an effective employee relations program, create a career development planning model that incorporates attention to key developmental success factors, evaluate compensation and motivation practices as they relate to organizational strategy, and discuss the impact of ethics on the determination of compensation and rewards systems. Elements of an effective employee relations program Toyota has a different approach of how they run their company compared to most corporations. Part of Toyota’s success stems from the philosophy using employees ideas. The philosophy is, since employees are the individuals who perform the work, then why not ask them for ideas involving efficient methods of completing job tasks. This philosophy gave employees the opportunity to express ideas, which helped maintain employee morale therefore, improving relationships between employer and employee. What makes Infosys Technology a successful business is that it offers a benefit program to company employees, which is designed to boost morale and promote healthy careers? (Frauenheim, E., 2006, para 1). During the companies annual survey the results revealed that three quarter of Infosys employees were satisfied with the company. According to the VP of Human Resources, low turnover, high employee satisfaction and a reputation as an employer are critical to a company whose chief assets are the programming and problem-solving skills of its employees. (Frauenheim, E., 2006, para 4). Infosys offers a group of workplace initiatives, the company’s employee relations program. This program provides a variety of benefits to their employees such as counseling services, celebration of cultural events, athletic contests and health fairs to their employees and immediate family members. This program adheres to create an environment of professionalism but provides an incentive to the emplo yees. Management creates strong relationships with their employees. The employee relation program helps keep attrition low while maintaining a strong reputation. Infosys Technologies won the award for the 2006 Optimas Award for Service. Riordan Manufacturing is a diverse industry that includes multiple educational backgrounds, generations, ethnicities and family situations. In comparison to Infosys Technology, management believes that the employee’s families are a priority. Culturally they have strong family bonds. Riordan needs to create a work environment in which employees are confident that they can achieve important behaviors if they attempt and perceive that many positively valued outcomes will result if they perform these behaviors. (Dreher, G. and Dougherty, T.W., p. 36-37, para 5). Like Riordan Manufacturing, Infosys Technology conducted an internal annual survey. The results were very different for both companies. Riordan’s report shows a decline in overall job satisfaction, particularly in the areas of compensation and benefits. As for Infosys Technology’s report, employees are satisfied with the company. Career development plan Career development planning is one of the alternative solutions to motivation and rewards problem. Employees want their career development program outlined and expect company to help and provide means to achieve the career goals. Company wants to make sure that career development goals are mapped to company goals. Training programs in an organization is the key to help employees moving forward to their career path along with business goals achievement. Both benchmark companies have career development programs and different effective training programs to help developing career and making development programs a success. According to Southgate (2002), Qualcomm has always been a company where growth and development opportunity and challenging positions exist. Employees have been part of the company from day one. According to McMurrey (2007), a new employee’s orientation is significant in the first impression of the organization. A company’s sincere efforts to include and inform its new hires helps to build a foundation of trust that will support the employee in the future. Qualcomm has a youthful and relaxed corporate culture. Employees can plan the training objectives with managers, who make sure the training plans are mapped to company business goals. Qualcomm has an innovative online development tool that allows customized professional development plans and aligns learning with divisions’ goals and objectives. Each employee has its own development plans and way of achieving it. Employees choose new challenging and innovative projects, e-learning and other available training programs from their learning center depending upon individual interests and capabilities. In IBM, career development plan is for both employees and as well as managers. IBM executives learned from survey that workers wanted greater access to more and varied experiential learning. Employee development model has following 6 steps mentioned by IBM web page: 1. Establish personal business commitment 2. Assess skills/competencies 3. Update individual development plan 4. Complete actions on individual development plan 5. Review individual development plan progress with manager 6. Document development results for the year IBM has created different training programs to help employee achieving the career development plans. IBM has created ‘Blue Opportunities’, a program offering training opportunities such as stretch assignments, cross-unit projects, short and long term job rotation, and on-site job shadowing via an employee only internet site. The goals of ‘Blue Opportunities’ are developing employees skills, expanding their knowledge, and offering exposure to potential career or job changes. Enhancing leadership and management skills in a time-efficient way is of critical importance to managers. Morton (2004) mentions that a new program named ‘Role of the Manager@IBM’ uses the learning process to address business unit priorities and define action plans. It creates new e-approaches to align teams on key business objectives and target managers’ individual development needs in leading performance through people. Surveys conducted with all participants after the learning program application showed that 92 percent of participants were satisfied with the program. An article ‘Addressing retirement of the baby boomer generation from IBM mentions that IT executives will need to do more than just maintain their workforce skills. Executives will need to proactively address succession planning with a training solution geared toward equipping younger workers and older non-IT hires with the knowledge and skills needed to advance their careers within the company. In Riordan Manufacturing scenario, research and development employees feel that they’re not being challenged and company doesn’t have any career development programs. Other than providing better benefits and rewards, company has an opportunity to develop a career development plan model that incorporates attention to key development success factors. Riordan can develop in house learning center and other web based programs like Qualcomm and IBM to provide more resources for career and skills development. Riordan can assign more challenging assignments to individuals based on their development plans like Qualcomm and IBM. Evaluate Compensation and Motivation Practices Riordan Manufacturing is not having success with its new corporate strategy primarily because the company failed to revise its employee rewards system when they chose to adopt a new customer-relationship management (CRM) system. The new strategy also involves forming self-directed sales teams comprised of a sales person, a product engineer and a customer service representative. The product engineers and customer service representatives are not yet rewarded for their contributions toward sales. This inequity is contributing to Riordan’s problems with employee retention. All company’s must 1) encourage desired job behaviors by 2) offering to exchange them for 3) a reward that the employee feels is important; these are the three elements of motivation (Milkovich, 2004). Honda provides a good example of a company that designs employee rewards programs to support its organizational strategies. For one division of Honda, this type of alignment occurred to support a new company-wide environmental objective. The division began by first choosing a goal of winning environmental accreditation known as ISO 14001. Other tangible steps this division took were; to reward employees for recycling practices, offering employees carbon credits as part of their benefits package, hiring an environmental engineer to promote the accreditation goal, and creating an educational program to explain to staff why the goal was important and how employees could benefit from the program (Cotton, 2008). The same division of Honda has another strategic objective to design employee rewards to retain key staff. â€Å"A good brand makes it easier to attract, retain and motivate talent† (Cotton, 2008). Toward that end, the division incorporates the family into employee benefits as an essential part of its reward strategy. Two specific examples of these family benefits are gym membership and childcare for staff returning from maternity leave (Chubb, 2008). Disney augments traditional salary and benefit rewards with earned incentives of training and two-day park passes for families. The proof that Disney is successful with its choice of employee rewards is described by Mr. Lynch, â€Å"we enjoy the lowest turnover rate in the industry† (Boisclair, 2000). Riordan can learn from both Honda and Disney to design a reward program to help the company achieve success with its new strategy. Impact of Ethics Ethics play an important role in designing compensation and rewards systems because â€Å"how you reward and recognize employees sends a powerful message to staff at all grades about what the organization sees as important† (Cotton, 2008). Unethical behavior may occur through the actions of the employer or through the actions of the employee. Business leaders need to design equitable plans that don’t discriminate against any legally protected groups. Also, business leaders need to avoid designing incentive programs that entice employees to engage in unethical behavior such as was discovered at Sears in the 1990’s where employees were charging customers an average of $235 for unnecessary car repairs (Milkovich, 2004). Some workers of a Lincoln, Alabama auto assembly plant recently raised concerns that Honda exhibits favoritism with regard to job promotions (Kisiel, 2007). Some of Honda’s workers are beginning to wonder if their best recourse for solving this inequity will be to form a union at that plant. If the accusation is true, it raises a question about Honda’s ethics relative to employee career development practices, which ultimately relates to employee compensation. â€Å"As in other employment matters, employers must make decisions without regard to individuals age, sex, race, or other protected status† (Noe, 2003). Overall Analysis Riordan Manufacturing has now determined what it must do to motivate its employees, but to what cost or risk to Riordan or the employees? The perception Riordan’s management team portrays is one that their departments need more money or acceptance. The risk may be high for Riordan here because if one area is rewarded and not another, then distrust is created due to favoritism. Riordan may need to utilize an employee performance and job function-based evaluation formula to achieve who needs to be compensated and who is actually missing the inner needs. It may be the senior management that needs to be retrained in understanding the inner needs of their staff. Riordan Manufacturing can sustain minimal risk if it looks into the inner needs of the senior management, as well as retraining management on understanding the inner needs within their own departments. This understanding will create low to minimal risk for employees, creating a win-win for Riordan Manufacturing. Motivation is a â€Å"willingness to exert effort toward a goal† (Dreher Dougherty, 2001, p23) and rewards motivate people. When a leader develops a system for compensation and rewards, then communicates it clearly to his/her employees, he/she will begin to align his/her employees to the company’s strategic goals (Rosalis, 2005). Communication is important while implementing any rewards system. The employee must understand what is expected of him/her and what he/she will get in return for his/her efforts. Riordan Manufacturing might find the use of flexible hour’s works for some of the employee population. By allowing the sales staff to work flexible hours, Riordan Manufacturing would be adding to the employees’ quality of life and in return, the employees are motivated and less likely to leave the company. The same could be done for the RD staff. Riordan Manufacturing is dealing with turnover and changing the leave program or introducing something as simple as on-site massages might start to motivate the employees and create a better culture. Conclusion Team B has provided a thorough analysis of the benchmarking companies that will assist Riordan Manufacturing’s sales processes and successfully transition into a customer-relation system (CRS). Riordan Manufacturing will align the company’s reward and compensation with their business strategy. Riordan Manufacturing will provide opportunities as rewards; create employee relations, develop career plans while boosting employee morale and work ethics. Generic Benchmarking Infosys Technologies/ Melissa Lohman Infosys Technologies, (Frauenheim, 2006) founded in 1981 based in Bangalore has 49,400 employees. Infosys Technologies is of the major Indian firms that provides software-outsourcing services in the U.S. and other parts of the world. The company specializes in application development, system integration and product engineering. They provide these services to industries in healthcare, energy and financial services. In addition, Infosys subsidiary Progeon provides business process outsourcing services and has a consulting division based in Fremont, California. (Frauenheim, 2006). Infosys Technology offers a benefit program designed to boost morale and promote healthy careers, (Frauenheim, E., 2006, para 1) which makes an impact to the employees who have since left the company. Bikramjit Maitra, the VP of Human Resource Development was unaware that the company had a fitness program available to all the employees. Just a year ago, Infosys was shy of 10%, which is a low figure for the software industry. The company conducted an internal survey in 2004. The results were that three quarters of Infosys employees were satisfied with the company. Low turnover, high employee satisfaction and a reputation as an employer are critical to a company whose chief assets are the programming and problem-solving skills of its employees. (Frauenheim, E., 2006, para 4). The VP of Human Resources believes that the reason for Infosys Technologys success is due to a group of workplace initiatives, which happens to be the companys employee relations program. The program offers counseling services, celebrations of cultural events, athletic contests and health fairs to their employees and immediate family members. This program adheres to create an environment of professionalism but provides an incentive to the employees. (Frauenheim, 2006) Infosys Technologies creates strong relationships with their employees. The program assures that Infosys as a company avoids impersonal and bureaucratic and because of this, the company grew from a handful of employees to 40,500 in just five years. This program has been a success to Infosys Technologies in developing a workforce and management that keeps attrition low (Frauenheim, E. 2006, para 10) while maintaining a strong reputation. The company wins the 2006 Optimas Award for Service. Toyota Corporation/ Melissa Lohman Toyota Motor Company was established around 1935. How the vision became a reality occurred when an inventor created a prototype for a vehicle called the A1. Once he created the prototype, he knew at that moment that his legacy must continue and that occurred when Toyota Motor Company was born. Toyota holds a different view from our western one. The same way their culture is different, so is how they run their companies and how they treat their employees. Toyota looks to their employees for ideas. Since the employees are the ones on the assembly line, they are in the best position to come up with time saving ideas. The employees are very likely to look for new and better ways to do things because of the mere fact that they are given most of the responsibility. The reason this process works so well for Toyota is that they give their employees more opportunities to make decisions. The workers do not have to stop production to ask management a question. The employees are allowed to run their own quality control. This empowerment fives employees much more of a feeling of pride in work as well as wanting to produce the highest quality so that it reflects well on them. To look at the view of some of the independent dealerships employees have expressed why they are happy with Toyota. An employee named Jeff expressed how he feels about Toyota he states, Toyota treats their employees well; he especially enjoys the work/life balance. He is proud to work for a company that is moving in the right direction. Another individual who owns and operates one of the franchises believes the importance to treat employees with the same respect and care that they would give to family. He believes that the atmosphere is friendly because the employees are happy and enjoy what they do. In closing, the determining factor of the success of a company is brainpower. It does not matter so much about whom to hire; it matters when companies correctly use the brainpower that they already have. Qualcomm Inc. (Sameer Sangal) Qualcomm Incorporated (Qualcomm) is a developer and supplier of integrated circuits and system software, based on code division multiple access (CDMA) technology, for wireless voice and data communications, multimedia functions and global positioning system products headquartered in San Diego, California. Qualcomm is in a robust financial position. Qualcomm makes consistent investment in research and development (RD). The 2008 SWOT analysis prepared by DATAMONITOR states the company’s RD expenditure in fiscal years 2007, 2006 and 2005 were approximately $1.8 billion, $1.5 billion, and $1 billion, respectively. Qualcomm’s RD expenditure as a percentage of sales was 32.4%, 20.4%, and 17.8% during 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Staff turnover can cost companies dearly. Qualcomm has a history of keeping employee highly motivated and low employee turnover rate. According to Southgate (2002), when most of the companies were laying off people in 2001, Qualcomm created new 1500 jobs. Half of the newly created 1500 positions got filled with internal staff. The key to avoiding big layoffs is tied to a strong employee-retention program. Qualcomm employees appreciate the company’s commitment to employee education and the company’s responsiveness to needs. The strong two-way communication benefits Qualcomm. Raises are given twice a year, with the average raise being around three percent (excite.com). Employees can get hands-on experience by working on cutting-edge technology or may plan formal training objectives with managers, who make sure the training plans are mapped to company business goals. Employees who choose formal training objectives which could involve classroom time or reading a book on a technology topic, Qualcomm pays for the employees’ hours spent on such initiatives. According to Phillips and Connell (2006), in Qualcomm, each employee has individual development plans aligned with organization’s goal. Employee development for job growth and career advancement is achieved by interesting and more challenging work assignment according to individual abilities and interests. As per details from Qualcomm web page, Qualcomm has a corporate learning center which provides hundreds of leading-edge professional and technical development solutions for local, regional and international offices. Learning opportunities available on Qualcomm’s campuses, online, and at nearby colleges and universities include advanced engineering degree programs online, live classroom sessions, web-based programs and computer-based training in technical and professional areas such as leadership development, supervisory skills, time management, and other advanced wireless technologies. An innovative online development tool that allows customized professional development plans and aligns learning with divisions’ goals and objectives. A tuition reimbursement program and a library filled with educational and technical resources are other resources available to help employees developing their skills and career path. Qualcomm is demonstrating to the employees that company has a plan for career development and training. Competitive compensation packages such as salary, bonuses, stock options, and the traditional health and retirement package are another tool that helps keep employees onboard. Sullivan (2006), executive vice president of human resources at Qualcomm says, â€Å"Qualcomm is as exciting a place to work today as it was in the early days. To me, this implies both a continuous renewal and focus on the individual (and on the organization) to maintain a very successful and stimulating environment†. Fortune magazines list of 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for nine consecutive years shows that company has the right career development programs to motivate employees. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Sameer Sangal International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is the world’s largest information technology (IT) company providing business consulting, IT services, hardware, software and financing. The view at IBM is that offering employees flexible working patterns is an option that must be taken seriously. Flexibility and mobility need to be the cornerstone of ones thinking, no matter what area or line of business one is in. The ability to work flexibly is seen by employees as an added benefit so to have the option in place is an important factor in attracting, retaining and motivating key staff. Meredith (2005), IBM’s worldwide mobility strategy and program manager says that mobility and flexibility not only assist in the responsiveness demanded by customers, but it’s key to attracting and retaining crucial talent and skill, the nature of our industry requires knowledge-based employees. IBM study (IBM, 2008) indicates that the majority of the 400-plus human resources (HR) executives surveyed are more concerned about their organizations’ ability to upgrade existing employee skills than attracting new talent. Company further explains the greater effectiveness from traditional forms of learning, such as on-the-job training and instructor-led classroom experiences. E-learning in its various forms also a very effective form of employee development techniques. Employee development model has defined 6 steps mentioned by IBM web page, establish personal business commitment, assess skills/competencies, update and complete actions on individual development plan, complete actions on individual development plan, review individual development plan progress with manager and finally document development results for the year. IBM created a program to offer experiential learning opportunities to thousands of employees. Nancy (2007) mentions that during IBMs World Jam 2004, a 72-hour online dialogue that senior leaders opened up to the companys 355,766 employees worldwide, executives learned that workers wanted greater access to more and varied experiential learning. Nancy further explains that as a result of such interest, the IBM learning and career development department created Blue Opportunities, a program now offering 95,000 learners about 1,400 training opportunities such as stretch assignments, cross-unit projects, short and long term job rotation, and on-site job shadowing via an employee only internet site that erases country borders. The goals of ‘Blue Opportunities’ are developing employees skills, expanding their knowledge, and offering exposure to potential career or job changes. Once managers and employees build individual development plans, employees can search for opportunities from Blue program to help them achieve their goals. IBM managers are not different from employees and would need more training to lead the global teams and creating an innovative environment for employees in the fast changing and challenging world. IBM learning group believes that management development is a transformational and extended process, rather than a classroom event. Morton (2004) states that at IBM, managers work 10 to 12 hours per day, sometimes longer and in this situation off site training is not feasible. IBM learning team created a new program the â€Å"Role of the Manager@IBM program†. This program uses the learning process to address business unit priorities and define action plans. It creates new e-approaches to align teams on key business objectives and target managers’ individual development needs in leading performance through people. Finally it provides learning and communications initiative that would support peer learning and shared objectives. Disney – Phyllis Duzenack â€Å"Deliver the right rewards to the right people to align employees with your strategic goals† (Rosalie, 2005). Disney has mastered this approach so well that other companies clamor to attend the Disney Institute for training. â€Å"For more than two decades, we’ve offered professional development programs to those interested in studying the Disney approach,† said George Aguel, senior vice president for Walt Disney Parks and Resort. â€Å"Since that time, more than a million business leaders from around the world have experienced ‘the business behind the magic’ (Alonzo, 2007). The type of training offered at the Disney Institute is â€Å"targeted, professional development that helps organizations meet their business challenges† (Boisclair, 2000). The idea is to not just offer interesting training content, but to present it in an environment that is stimulating and entertaining. An example of a company successfully using the Disney Institute as a key resource is taken from the global audit firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers. After participating in the college recruitment course offered at the Disney Institute, the audit firm was able to increase its job-offer acceptances from 40% to 70% (Boisclair, 2000). It’s important that Riordan’s management team provide all workers with an explanation of what is expected from them, and to provide them with training and tools necessary to do their jobs. The next essential step is to determine the extra rewards to be given only to those committed workers who achieve the company’s new strategic goals. Rewards will provide a higher return for a company when they are targeted for the most critical workers, in this case the newly formed sales teams, because those workers create the most value for the company in the marketplace (Rosalie, 2005). Management needs to provide these employees with a clear understanding of which of their day-to-day responsibilities correlate most strongly with company strategy. As it would be for any company, the logical next step is for Riordan to learn what motivates their sales teams and to offer custom rewards. Disney recognizes that a competitive salary and benefits are no longer enough to ensure workers achieve company goals. Disney augments such traditional rewards with earned incentives of training and two-day park passes for families. Disney is â€Å"known for creating a service culture, stimulating creativity, and recruiting, training, and managing our own employees,† says Larry Lynch, the Disney Institute sales director. Further proof that Disney is successful with its choice of employee rewards is described by Mr. Lynch, â€Å"we enjoy the lowest turnover rate in the industry† (Boisclair, 2000). If a particular business approach is working, others will want to copy it. This is the experience of the Disney Company, and helps clarify why Disney represents a good benchmark for Riordan Manufacturing to develop new employee compensation and motivation practices in support of its new strategies. Honda – Phyllis Duzenack Some workers of a Lincoln, Alabama auto assembly plant recently raised concerns that Honda exhibits favoritism with regard to job promotions (Kisiel, 2007). If true, this raises a question of Honda’s ethics relative to employee career development practices, which ultimately relates to employee compensation. â€Å"As in other employment matters, employers must make decisions without regard to individuals age, sex, race, or other protected status† (Noe, 2003). To make an informed decision about whether to form a union or not, Honda’s workers met with United Auto Worker recruiters to learn about the benefits that may be gained by forming a union at the Lincoln, Alabama assembly plant (Kisiel, 2007). Honda representatives responded by writing two letters to plant employees. The purpose for writing the letters was to remind workers of the financial benefits they have enjoyed by not forming a union thus far. Honda’s North American operations have not had to layoff anyone for the past 30 years (Kisiel, 2007). The company attributes this circumstance in part to the fact that its North American plants are not unionized. A 30-year history without layoffs, for an industry fraught with layoffs, certainly presents a compelling case for employee job security. Assuming the content of both letters was appropriate; Honda has taken the right approach to merely state its position on the issue without interfering with the worker’s right to learn about, or form a union if they so choose. The question workers need to weigh is whether their concerns about career development and fair compensation and will be maximized by forming a union or by remaining non-union. Likewise, Riordan Manufacturing has a problem with regard to its career development system. We know about this problem from reading the multiple comments from Riordan’s employee survey that reveal discontent with the lack of career development. If left unaddressed, staff will likely continue to leave their jobs, or may consider forming a union. Secondly, Riordan failed to revise its employee rewards system when they chose to adopt a new customer-relationship management (CRM) system. Only the sales person of each newly formed sales team is currently receiving rewards. Product engineers and customer service representatives are not yet rewarded for their contribution. This obvious reward inequity is contrary to the concept of employment outcome fairness (Noe, 2003), and has contributed to Riordan’s problems with employee retention. References Addressing retirement of the baby boomer generation. (2008). 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Strategic HR Review; Nov/Dec2005, Vol. 5 Issue 1, p12-13, 2p. Retrieved May 15, 2008 from EBSCOhost database. Milkovich, G., Newman, J., (2004). Compensation. New York: McGraw-Hill. Morton D. (2004). Case Study: Role of the Manager @ IBM. Retrieved May 16, 2008 from learningcircuits.org Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhert, B., Wright, P.M., (2003). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Norihiko Shirouzu (2005, July 14). Mean but Lean, Toyota Seeks Outside Help; With In- House Quality Gurus in Short Supply, Auto Maker Turns to Its Assembler Affiliates. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. B.4. Retrieved May 9, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 867761901). One-on-One Training Crosses Continents. HRMagazine; Nov2007, Vol. 52 Issue 11, p54-56, 3p. Retrieved May 15, 2008 from EBSCOhost database. Phillips J and Connell A. (2006). Managing Employee Retention. 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The differences between Americas mass incarceration rates compared to one other country - Research Paper Example This essay compares US and Canada incarceration rate and the costs, in an attempt to provide viable recommendation on how the government should conduct its incarceration. Incarceration refers to the arrest of suspected criminals before their conviction and to confine them from the public. Incarceration in US was started as a security measure that aimed at safeguarding the public from potential criminals. The US imprisons many types of criminals including drug offenders and non-violent offenders. This situation is different in Canada as the government imprisons only those with high risk of violence. Statistics shows that the US has five times higher the rate of incarceration as compared to Canada. Approximately, the US incarcerates about 750 people per every 100 thousand which is much than the rate Canada which about 117 people per every 100 thousand individuals. In total, there are about 1.6 million prisoners in America. 90% of the prisoners in the US comprise young males at the age bracket of 20 to 30 years. In Canada, 70% of males of young age are in prison, and the rest is composed of women. By race, the percentage of blacks and Latinos in prison is much higher than that of the whites. Per every 100 thousand people in US, 3,074 blacks, 1258 Latinos are imprisoned while only 459 whites are victims (Cox, 2012). This is different in Canada where the ratio of whites to blacks in prison is fairly balanced. From the statistics, it is clear that the incarceration rate is much higher in US and more biased than the case in Canada. Evidently, the US spends a lot in maintaining their prisons as compared to Canada. Many scholars have come up to criticize the hefty spending of the US in maintaining prisons. The average cost of maintaining a prisoner is between $20 thousand and $30 thousand each year. Canada prisoner maintenance cost is much lower by 30%, which ensure that the nation spends little on incarceration. This shows that the US

Global investment house ksc Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Global investment house ksc - Assignment Example The income statement on the other hand focuses on the period, usually 12 months within which the accounts were prepared. However, the information about what happened in the past years and the asset and liability position does not provide all the needs of all the users of the financial statements. There is the need for some further information and guidelines that provides hints to users of financial statements and other interested stakeholders. One of the main areas that is of great importance is a prediction of the survivability of the business into the foreseeable future. This is known in general as the â€Å"Going Concern† convention. In the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), there is a standard that ensures that going concern is reported in the financial statement. IAS 1 requires that financial statements a disclose the Going Concern status of the entity in a given period. This provides a standardized basis for a universal approach to reporting going concer n that can aid comparability on a year-by-year basis as well as a company-to-company basis. Research Problem Clearly, Going Concern reporting as stipulated by IAS 1 seeks to ensure that financial statements reflect the survivability of the entity the report is prepared about. ... Aims and Objectives of Study The aim of the research is to undertake a critical review of the concept of Going Concern and how it is attained in Financial Reporting. In order to attain this end, the following objectives will be explored: 1. A critical review literature review of the Accounting concept of Going Concern; 2. An examination of the effectiveness of Going Concern reporting in businesses; 3. A practical evaluation of Going Concern reporting in a Kuwaiti entity 4. An analysis of a financial report of a Kuwaiti entity to ascertain the Going Concern reporting procedures. Going Concern Convention â€Å"The going concern postulate or continuity postulation, holds that business entity will continue its operations long enough to realize its projects, commitments and ongoing activities† (Riahi, 2010 p212). Going concern is therefore a convention which indicates that a business will continue to remain operational and pay its bills and remain liquid into the future. â€Å"Goi ng concern is not only about the net book value of a firm's assets, but also such elements like goodwill and likely future profitability, assuming the existing management remain in control of the entity† (Brower and Brueschke, 2012). This means that going concern is evaluated and analyzed by the examination of the firm's assets as well as other indicators of continuous operations. Thus, it will involve the hard and soft elements of an entity including the assets and other intangibles like going concern which provides clues on how a firm will remain operational even if the company is assured of getting customers to remain liquid. Another angle through which a business' going concern can be evaluated is â€Å"...the amount of