The Weight of “Nothing” in King Lear by William Shakespeare

The Weight of â€Å"Nothing† in King Lear Though the word â€Å"nothing† connotes insignificance and emptiness when taken out of context, it feels like one of the most significant and loaded words in King Lear. This one word becomes a critical tool to help us reflect on the development of characters and their relationships to one another throughout the play. The word â€Å"nothing† appears to play a crucial role in defining the relationship between Lear and Cordelia, and consequently has an immense impact on the fate and transformation of Lear. â€Å"Nothing† also helps draw a parallel between Lear and Edgar, and is used by the Fool as more than just a means to inject cryptic wit. Because the word â€Å"nothing† seems central to the play’s conflicts and, as a result, permeates the plot and development of characters, this response will draw out the word’s significance by examining some instances in which it appears in each act. Our firs t significant encounter with â€Å"nothing† happens when Lear says to Cordelia, â€Å"Strive to be interest. What can you say, to draw / A third more opulent than your sisters’? Speak† (I.i.85) and Cordelia responds, â€Å"Nothing my lord† (I.i.87). Lear repeats, â€Å"Nothing?† and Cordelia confirms, â€Å"Nothing,† to which Lear responds, â€Å"Nothing will come of nothing; speak again† (I.i.88-90). When Lear says â€Å"Nothing will come of nothing,† he is essentially determining that Cordelia will not receive anything from him if her response does not change; but it seems that what Cordelia meansShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Shakespeare s King Lear Essay1733 Words   |  7 PagesPaola Moreira Garrity AP Literature 28 November 2016 KING LEAR Although Lear and Cordelia start with a continuous quarrel, the compassion between these characters has a sense of necessity in both their lives. Neither of their souls would feel content without one another’s compassion. 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Similarly, Shakespeare explores the theme through the protagonist Lear, a king fascinated with grand showings of his sovereignty by staging and arranging situations that praise his egoRead MoreEssay about William Shakespeares Relevance Today2257 Words   |  10 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Relevance Today For as long as formal education has existed in Britain it has been a largely standard assumption that teaching the works of William Shakespeare is relevant and necessary. Perhaps the relevance of his writing is taken for granted, perhaps it is necessary to re-examine the role of Shakespeare for the modern audience. There are indeed many people who question the relevance of this 440 year old playwright to a 21st century audienceRead MoreKing Lear vs the Stone Angel Blindness1504 Words   |  7 Pages(Kingslover) This is a quote that can relate the characters in The Stone Angel and King Lear. 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Essay on The Assassination of John F. Kennedy - 4698 Words

The Assassination of John F. Kennedy On a clear sunny day in Dallas Texas, November 22, 1963 to be exact, at about 12:30pm, the Presidents car rounded the curve in front of the Texas School Book Depository building and proceeded on to Main Street throughout Dally plaza. Shots rang out and the President was rushed to the nearby hospital and was declared dead at 1pm. The Vice President took the oath of office and flew back to Washington with the slain leader. The accused assassin was arrested, charged and then executed on national television in front of millions. Three days latter, the Texas officials in charge of the investigation declared the case closed and the new President set up a hand picked committee to investigate. The†¦show more content†¦Can we really believe that? How can we if in 1963 the Vice President wasnt even held accountable? I think that it is Extremely important for the American people to know that there can be the overthrow of government, that there can be a coup d etat in America, and that, that in fact (it) did happen with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In order to prevent that kind of thing from happening again in order to expose the forces that were responsible for the murder and the cover-up that has ensued#8230; its necessary to expose them, otherwise we can have the same thing happen again#8230; If they were able to do it to John F. John F. Kennedy in 1963, they could do it to some other president in the future. (1) I think that this paragraph sums up the entire spirit of those who continue to research, write about, and study the John F. Kennedy assassination; it has come to phenomenal proportion over the last 36 years with over 2,000 books written on the subject and one Hollywood movie. The theories range from the bizarre such as retaliation from the aliens, to Elvis, to the official conclusion of the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin. The most common of the conspiracy theories include, Castro, communist, mob, CIA, the North Vietnamese and others. Before we can even start to draw a conclusion on to who was behind the John F. Kennedy assassination we must firstShow MoreRelatedThe Assassination Of John F. Kennedy982 Words   |  4 Pages O’Reilly and Dugard’s book, Killing Kennedy, is about the events leading to President John F. Kennedy being shot, as well as what happened after the assassination. This book also describes the rise and fall of John F. Kennedy. The authors also wrote about the Cold War, Kennedy dealing with communism, and threats of crime. January of 1961, the cold war was growing stronger and Kennedy was struggling with communism. During all of this happening, he was learning what it meant to be a president. 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Staff Development and Performance Appraisal in a Brazilian Research Centre Free Essays

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. emeraldinsight. com/1460-1060. We will write a custom essay sample on Staff Development and Performance Appraisal in a Brazilian Research Centre or any similar topic only for you Order Now htm Staff development and performance appraisal in a Brazilian research centre Cristina Lourenco Ubeda and Fernando Cesar Almada Santos ? Staff development and appraisal 109 ? ? University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil Abstract Purpose – The aim of this paper is to analyse the staff development and performance appraisal in a Brazilian research centre. Design/methodology/approach – The key issues of this case study are: the main organisational changes which have taken place over the last decades; the aspects of the organisational structure that have either contributed to or hindered competence-based management; the development of necessary researchers’ competences related to main projects and processes and the way of appraising the development of their competences. The analysis of this paper was carried out considering the following phases: strategic planning, speci? cations of projects and processes, competence-based management and performance appraisal of researchers. Findings – Although integration was found between the performance measurement and strategic plans de? ned by the research centre, competence-based management is still centred on individuals and based on their tasks. The link between researchers’ competences and their social context is not considered. Originality/value – Feedback from the results of research projects and recycling of organisational processes would allow the studied organisation not only to identify the individual competences necessary for each activity, but also to improve the relationship between professional growth and innovation brought about by competitive strategies of companies. Keywords Competences, Innovation, Human resource management, Performance appraisal, Research organizations, Brazil Paper type Case study Introduction Current competitive markets are highly in? uenced by the markets being globalised, technological innovation and stiff competition. Competence-based management appears in this scenario as an approach to human resource management which provides interaction between human resource systems and a company’s strategy (Santos, 2000; Schuler and Jackson, 1995; Meshoulam and Baird, 1987). Technological changes require companies to develop human competences as an important factor to achieve success and have competitive advantage (Drejer and Riis, 1999). The main objective of developing competences is to enable people to assimilate the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for their jobs (Sandberg, 2000). Strategic human resource management has attempted to link its practices to innovation strategies of companies which deal with changing, unpredictable and demanding markets (Hagan, 1996; Huselid et al. , 1997; Mills et al. , 1998; Jayaram et al. , 1999; Drejer, 2000a; Ray et al. , 2004). Human resource management consists of systems such as selection, staff’s performance appraisal, career management, compensation and motivation practices. European Journal of Innovation Management Vol. 10 No. 1, 2007 pp. 109-125 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1460-1060 DOI 10. 1108/14601060710720573 EJIM 10,1 110 All these systems may favour or hinder the development of competences which are necessary for a company’s strategy (Sandberg, 2000). The systems in human resources may help a company to increase its competitiveness by implementing competence-based management. Models for competence-based management have been widely used in order to align individual abilities with core competences of a company. A structure of competences is basically understood as a link between people’s development and a company’s strategy. Competence-based management uses a structure of competences to align its strategic objectives with its key processes in human resource management (Le Deist and Winterton, 2005). The aim of this paper is to analyse a Brazilian research centre by reinforcing the main challenges of implementing competence-based management in this centre which deals with innovation. Its mission is to develop solutions for sustainable development of Brazilian agribusinesses by creating, adapting and transferring knowledge and technology to bene? t society (Ubeda, 2003, p. 50). This research is relevant because: . it highlights the production and transfer of technology as a distinct factor in terms of innovation which allows companies to achieve a leading position in international markets (Fleury and Fleury, 2004); and . the development of competences which is directly linked to market demands is analysed (Mans? ld, 2004; Schroeder et al. , 2002; Hagan, 1996; Drejer, 2000a; Drejer and Riis, 1999). As a consequence, this analysis is based on a theoretical proposal concerning the development of individual competences which reinforces performance appraisal as a tool to identify and monitor staff’s competences, as well as taking into account a company’s core competence and external demands. The paper is based on three relevant topics: (1) Working competi tively involves placing high value on people, considering their experiences, ideas and preferences. Their participation in organisations is necessary because employees and managers have to discuss a company’s objectives together. (2) Encouraging employees’ participation means creating opportunities to offer people a collective perspective concerning the signi? cance of their professional practice and a way of being part of the future. (3) It is fundamental to consider not only the staff’s speci? c quali? cations needed for the positions in the organisational structure, but also their knowledge, experiences, skills and results for future innovations. Individual competences which are identi? d by performance appraisal in all the hierarchical levels of an organisation are important aspects concerning the success of a company’s competitive strategy. Once the company is aware of the individual competences needed for each process, it can identify new ways of developing its human resources by changing the focus of its human resource systems. An integrated model for human resource management with a business-oriented strategy uses individual competences as a reference for the systems in human resource management, such as selection, training and development, compensation and career management. Taking this into account, Dutra (2001, p. 27) says that: . . . organisations and people, side by side, create a continuous process of competence exchange. A company transfers its assets to the people, enriching and preparing them to face new professional and personal situations, inside or outside of the organisation. Its staff, in turn, while developing their individual abilities, transfer their learning to the organisation, providing it conditions to cope with new challenges. Competence-based management Competence-based management has a direct effect on the future performance of its human resources (employees, managers and directors). It also considers attitudes, values, personal characteristics and relationships in teams which are necessary for innovation and not only the knowledge and skills required for completing their jobs (Conde, 2001). Therefore, competence-based management is a strategic practice which aims at increasing the global performance of a corporation by increasing the individual performance of its employees (Hagan, 1996). It is necessary to identify factors which produce differences between individuals according to the results of their jobs and experiences (Moore et al. , 2002; Drejer, 2000b). For this reason, every company which strives for competitiveness in its market recognises that competence-based management and performance appraisal are strategic functions, as this has brought about innovation by recycling companies’ processes and individuals’ activities (Bitencourt, 2004; Drejer and Riis, 1999; Houtzagers, 1999; Baker et al. , 1997). Competence-based management creates opportunities for effective strategic human resource management. However, without performance appraisals, both for individuals and teams, a company can neither monitor its own development nor the progress of its staff’s performance. As a consequence, it cannot develop or manage its individual competences (Ritter et al. , 2002; Robotham and Jubb, 1996). Therefore, the main objectives of competence-based management are: . to guide managerial decisions related to providing employees with the resources necessary for them to carry out their work satisfactorily, as well as to meet their training needs; . to plan staff’s activities and identify the work conditions that in? uence their performance; . to guide the company’s human resource policies and guidelines; and . to reward, promote and even punish, warn or ? e employees. Development of individual competences When considering social interaction between people and objectives, competitive strategy makes use of a formal structure to exchange information and human resource management that provides guidelines for selection, job design and evaluation, performance appraisal and rewards (Devanna et al. , 1984). A competitive strategy formulation must be based on the strongest competences of a company. Constant progress of competences creates opportunities for systematic Staff development and appraisal 111 EJIM 10,1 112 re? ement and reformulation of competitive strategy and, by doing so, new ways can be identi? ed to develop competences (Fleury and Fleury, 2004). Developing individual competences is cyclical. According to environmental demands, companies de? ne their competitive strategy and core competences in order to channel their energy into their speci? c characteristics and, consequently, to adopt human resource systems that support the identi? cation and management of their individual competences. In this paper, development of individual competences is considered as a way of supplying information to other systems and processes. First of all, the company must: . establish what the strategy and organisational competences are; . de? ne the speci? cations of products and processes; . study the perspectives of necessary individual competences for each speci? c process; and . plan and carry out performance appraisal (Figure 1). When competence-based management is integrated into a company’s strategy, one can observe the relationship between identifying personal competences and main human resource systems: selection, training and development, compensation and career management. Companies which integrate competence-based management into strategic planning become able to make use of some tools, such as a balanced scorecard in order to measure the organisational performance in four balanced perspectives: ? nance, customers, internal processes and staff’s learning and growth. Kaplan and Norton (1997) highlight the importance of creating a strategic feedback system to test, validate and modify the hypotheses which are incorporated into strategic business units. When cause and effect relations are incorporated into the balanced scorecard, they allow executives to establish short term goals which re? ct their best expectations in de? ciencies and impacts and consequently affect performance measurements. From the feedback obtained by performance appraisal, supervisors and employees can identify what the necessary skills and knowledge are for activities to be developed, and what type of training is necessary to improve project management. Competence and human performance Individual competence associates explicit knowledge, personal skills and experiences with individuals’ results and judgement of organisational values which are obtained in ? their social context (Hipolito, 2001, p. 1; Fleury and Fleury, 2000; Zari? an, 2001; Sveiby, 1998). It considers the production and handing in of results which are linked to employees’ mobilisation, that is to say, it incorporates the value added by them to business, as shown in Figure 2. Ubeda (2003) emphasises that competence involves the individuals working closely in a team by doing practical activities, as well as their daily routine which results in a constant â€Å"know how to learn†. The individuals must be apt to take the initiative and assume responsibilities to cope with professional situations which they come across. This responsibility is undoubtedly the counterpart of decentralising decision making. Individuals will not give orders anymore, but they will individually assume the Staff development and appraisal INNOVATION 113 STRATEGY F F Mission Objectives E E E CORE COMPETENCES D B D SPECIFICATIONS OF PRODUCT AND PROCESSES A C E B A INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCES K C K PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Figure 1. The competence development process Source: Ubeda (2003, p. 50) responsibility for evaluating a situation, the required initiative and the effects that will inevitably arise from this situation. Therefore, a person or a team (when accepting responsibilities) accepts to be judged and be appraised for the achieved results in terms of performance for which they are responsible. They commit themselves to producing and handing in results of their activities. Thus, it is not possible to consider competence without presenting the logic behind human performance, as performance appraisal guides the development of individual competences according to business needs (Moore et al. , 2002; Lawler, 1995). The use of competences means rethinking the procedures of staff’s appraisal because: . . each individual becomes aware of which result must be reached and how it can be achieved. The competences form the basis of the language used to de? ne the expected behaviour which enables performance and improvement to be carried out (Conde, 2001, p. 80). EJIM 10,1 114 INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCE SKILL Know how to do something PRODUCTION AND DELIVERY Results ATTITUDE Intend to do something POTENTIAL Knowledge Figure 2. The individual competence concept Source: Hipolito (2001, p. 81) According to Dutra (2001, p. 33), one of the most dif? ult issues concerning people management is to de? ne and appraise performance in terms of the results to be handed in by a determined person, company or business. Performance appraisal makes it possible to identify three individual aspects that interact between themselves: development, effort and behaviour (Figure 3): Each aspect must be dealt with in a different way, concerning not only the way to appraise, but also the actions which follow the appraisal. In general, companies mix these three aspects and emphasise effort and behaviour. At the current moment, staff’s professional growth is the most important aspect of performance and it is worthy of special attention (Dutra, 2001, p. 35). Dejours (1997, p. 54) highlights performance appraisal as evaluating a job that can take place in two ways: evaluating usefulness and social relationships. Evaluating the technical, social or economic usefulness of the individual is linked to the workplace and the person who does it is generally in a hierarchical position (boss, manager or organiser) to appraise the usefulness. Evaluating social relationships is related to the alignment of the job and production with standards which have been socially established by peers in the same hierarchical level which enables the individual to belong to a collective group. This evaluation is related to the job and its activities. What is appraised and evaluated is the job and not the individual. From the perspective of the human factor theory proposed by Dejours (1997, p. 55), this is an essential point because an individual’s contribution to the job effectiveness makes recognition and compensation possible. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL BEHAVIOUR DEVELOPMENT EFFORT Figure 3. The three aspects of performance appraisal Source: Dutra (2001, p. 35) Recent studies point out models of performance appraisal based on behaviour and attitudes, but not only the ones focused on the analysis of functional features of each job (Moore et al. , 2002). They reinforce the increasing in? uence of technology, functional requisites and organisational learning in terms of developing competences (Drejer and Riis, 1999). According to Zari? an (2001, p. 121), nobody can compel individuals to be competent. A company can only create favourable conditions for their development. Thus, motivation becomes a key element in terms of developing competences. It is necessary for the employees to feel useful and be able to assume responsibilities. The individuals will be more motivated as they consider that the practice of their competences also contributes to the development of their projects and perspectives. Performance appraisal as an instrument to identify employees’ competences Competence-based management is supported by organisational competences that directly in? ence an individual’s competences, which are necessary for carrying out tasks and processes and, then are considered in performance appraisals. Consequently, the feedback concerning the data from these appraisals enables the whole organisation to recycle strategies and competences. Many authors highlight the dif? culty of measuring the impact of developing competences regarding a company’s performance (Mans? e ld, 2004; Moore et al. , 2002; Ritter et al. , 2002; Drejer, 2000a; Sandberg, 2000; Hagan, 1996). This situation is worsened if the individual metrics of each work process are thought to be measured. Becker et al. (2001) emphasise that performance appraisal systems are incoherent in terms of what is measured and what is important. When implementing a company’s strategy, human resource managers have to be able to understand exactly how people contribute to a company’s results by being valuable and how to measure this contribution. This situation only takes place if these managers really participate in the development of a company’s strategy. These authors state that satisfactory performance appraisal produces two types of results: 1) it improves the decision-making processes of the sector responsible for human resource management by focusing its activities on the aspects of the organisation that contribute to the development of a company’s strategy; and (2) it provides a better allocation of resources, de? ning direct relations between human resource investments and strategic assets of a company. Developing competences in a research centre Aiming at eva luating competence-based management in practice, a case study in a research centre located in Brazil was carried out. This organisation is a unit of a Federal public research corporation which consists of 37 research centres, three national service centres and 11 central unit of? ces and is present in almost all the States of the Brazilian Federation. This corporation has invested in training and quali? cations of its staff since it was founded. In 2003, there were a total number of 8,619 employees. Out of 2,221 researchers who work in this corporation, 45 per cent have a master’s degree and 53 per cent a PhD. Staff development and appraisal 115 EJIM 10,1 16 The studied research centre is responsible for developing new technology which can facilitate the life of producers and agricultural workers in the country. The organisation was chosen because it has implemented a performance appraisal system which aligns the development of its products and processes with human resource management. Methodology An empirical study was undertaken from February to November, 2003 using the following data colle ction instruments: interviews with opportunities for participants’ comments and analysis of documents. Seven professionals from this research centre were interviewed: four employees of the human resource area, the associate head of the research centre and two researchers. The participative observation of the researchers, the interviewees’ comments and the documental analysis provided a personal and close contact with the organisation identifying institutional materials, norms, routines and programs developed by the professionals. The key questions of this case study focus on: . the main organisational changes which have taken place over the last decades; . he aspects of the organisational structure that have either contributed to or hindered competence-based management; . the development of necessary researchers’ competences related to main projects and processes; and . the way of appraising the development of researchers’ competences. The case study The studied research corporation experienced some organisational changes over time that had clearly de? ned its bus iness-oriented strategy. There is a real concern about integrating this strategy with human resource management, however, the performance appraisal system shows an irregular historical background. The investigated corporation was founded in the 1970s, a period of outstanding economic growth in Brazil. Moreover, the Brazilian government supported the training of experts in research in public organs and in the agricultural sector (Ubeda, 2003). At that time, the corporation did not experience either ? nancial or human resource problems because the objective of the Federal government was to form a vanguard institution in its ? eld. The research guidelines of research were de? ned by the corporation’s headquarters and then followed by the research centres. The corporation’s concern about integrating strategies with human resource management increased from the 1990s onwards, as well as plans to implement a structured performance appraisal system (Table I). The research centres were regionally located according to product lines and were set up to solve local problems. These units followed and carried out nationwide policies, as well as guidelines de? ned by the corporation’s headquarters. At this moment, there was no concern about performance appraisal. From 1988 onwards, due to the current Federal Constitution being approved, public institutions became more concerned about the strategic management of the appraisal of processes and results, not only of the organisation but also of the individuals. Period Institution’s organisational scenario 1970s Development and consolidation of the studied corporation Employment and development of human resources Availability of ? nancial resources for project development Modernisation of management Application of strategic planning Focus on results Analysis of global scenarios Rede? nition of the research centre’s mission and vision Formulation of a global policy for the organisation consisting of research policy, businesses’ policy, and business communication policy Focus on the customers Organisational re-structuring of processes and projects 1988-1992 1994-1998 1999-2003 Source: Ubeda (2003, p. 69) Aiming to follow these changes of organisational and technological paradigms, the studied organisation started to adopt strategic planning principles in its institutional culture and drew up its ? st corporate plan for 1988-1992. In 1991, the corporation initiated a process of organisational change, using strategic planning techniques, focusing on their operations and processes in the market, guiding research projects towards solving social problems, and not only exclusively towards the progress of pure science, attempting to ? nd an increase in ef? ciency and effectiveness to continue being competitive and to guaran tee its sustainability (Nader et al. , 1998). From 1994 onwards, a new system to appraise individual job performance was created and integrated with both strategic planning and the institutional management system of the whole corporation, as well as with the operational plan of each research centre. To remain competitive and to guarantee sustainability, the corporation adopted a process of organisational change based on a management model drawn on results and customers’ requirements, as well as having been supported by the balanced scorecard methodology (Kaplan and Norton, 1997). From 1997 to 1999, the institution started implementing a new strategic management model in order to provide guidelines which really showed what was de? ned by the corporation. Therefore, the entire organisation’s staff would work in favour of the de? ned goals (Sentanin, 2003). Within its job structure, the institution manages its human resources by linking the achievement of the proposed goals of its annual operational plan to negotiating the proposed activities for each employee in the performance appraisal system. The performance appraisal system, besides being an instrument to recognise achieved results, is also used to identify human competences, which are important for research, and is a basis for selection, training and compensation practices in research centres. Concerned about meeting the needs of its customers, the corporation de? nes its strategic objectives and conveys them to its research centres that incorporate them into the annual operational plan. These units establish important processes to ful? the proposed goals in the performance appraisal systems of researchers, and consequently, researchers develop new practices and technology (Figure 4). Staff development and appraisal 117 Table I. Organisational scenario of the studied corporation EJIM 10,1 118 Corporate Strategic Plan Plan of Each Unit Annual Operational Plan Figure 4. Performance strategic management process in the organisation studied Performance Measurement Strategic Planning F E E D B A C K Strategic Management Model Based on Processes Performance Appraisal Source: Ubeda (2003, p. 82) In each research centre, there is an internal technical committee which co-ordinates research regarding themes and developed projects. This committee analyses pre-proposals and proposals of projects and processes of its unit with technical, operational and ? nancial criteria. Thus, each new project undergoes evaluation and approval of the committee. Once a project is approved, it can be developed, and after it is concluded, it is evaluated once again to re? ect on the results, assuring both the commitment of its staff and the quality of its technical projects and processes. The units’ type of structure is ad hocratic, according to Mintzberg’s (1983) terminology, because it consists of teams which develop the approved projects, as well as them being concerned with innovation and always centred on the development of new products and processes. The head of research of each unit co-ordinates and appraises the performance of the projects which are carried out. The structure of this centre is the re? ection of its strategies, since it attempts to create an integration of specialties using its project teams with the aim of competitiveness and customer satisfaction. As for the job structure, there are two functional careers: research and support for research. Data analysis, results and implication of this research Research on competence-based management was focused on performance appraisal because it is an important instrument to identify human competences based on the innovation strategy of the studied centre. In this performance appraisal system there is explicit planning of the following activities: . what the results of the jobs are expected to be; . ow the product should be presented and what the standard of performance is expected to be; . . when the deadline for the product to be presented is; and feedback of the results of the jobs. However, since 1994 when it was implemented, the performance appraisal system has undergone modi? cations to improve its methodology, attempting to make its participants aware of the need for periodic dialogue and monitoring the activities, as well as for the impartial and speci? c appraisal of the activities planned in relation to the availability of means to carry out these activities. The planning of employees’ activities must be made according to the goals of its unit, area or sector, and to the projects under the responsibility of the studied research centre (Ubeda, 2003, p. 82). Performance appraisal must consider the employee’s individual competences and the results of the job which were de? ned in strategic planning. Competence-based management aims at guiding managerial decisions, the processes of professional development, as well as planning the human resource systems. An analysis of the development of competences in the Brazilian research centre was carried out by comparing the main theoretical issues of the literature with practices of the organisation which was studied (Figure 5). Firstly, the strategic objectives (item 1 of Figure 5) of the studied organisation were formulated according to the corporation and unit’s missions and the corporation’s objectives. A synthesis of the theoretical issues concerning organisational competences (item 2 of Figure 5) is presented as follows: . eveloping organisational competences is based on the internal abilities of companies (Wernerfelt, 1984); . these competences consist of skills, abilities and technology which enable a company to meet the speci? c needs of its customers, that is to say, to achieve a competitive advantage superior to competitors (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994); Staff development and appraisal 119 FORMULATION OF STRATEGY (1) Objectives are defined according to the corporation and unit’s missions and the corporation’s objectives PRACTICES OF THE STUDIED ORGANISATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCES (3) ISSUES OF LITERATURE ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCES (2) ISSUES OF LITERATURE ON INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCES (4) ISSUES OF LITERATURE ON PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL (6) F E E D B A C K PRACTICES OF INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCES OF THE STUDIED ORGANISATION (5) ITEMS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL IN THE STUDIED ORGANISATION (7) Core of this analysis: researchers Focus of the performance appraisal: researchers’university degree qualifications Figure 5. Analysis of the development of competences in the research centre EJIM 10,1 . . 120 they require an understanding of competitive advantage mechanisms which may be used over time. When competitive strategies are being developed, companies have to make the best use of their speci? c features (Grant, 1991); and a competence can be de? ned by considering four elements and their relationships: technology, people, organisational structure and organisational context (Drejer and Riis, 1999). The main features of organisational competences practised in the researched company (item 3 of Figure 5) were: . focus on the internal ability of research in agriculture and breeding; . support for competitive agribusinesses development in the global economy; . ncouraging the development of agribusinesses with the sustainability of economical activities and environmental balance; . diminishing environmental imbalanced aspects of agribusinesses; and . supplying raw materials and food which encourage the population’s health, improving the nutritional level and quality of life. Individual competence issues in the literature (item 4 of Figure 5) may be summarised as follows: . individual competence links explicit knowledge, skills and experiences of individuals to the results and judgements of value built within their social ? etwork (Hipolito, 2001; Fleury and Fleury, 2000; Zari? an, 2001; Sveiby, 1998); . individual competence can be explained altogether by the skills (to know how to do something), attitudes (to intend to do something), knowledge (to understand why to do something and search for solutions) and results (to produce and come ? up with the solution) (Hipolito, 2001); and . in order to develop complex competences, complex systems involve not only many people in different areas of the organisation, but also interlocking technology. It is very dif? cult to understand and imitate them because they are very dependent on people and technology (Drejer and Riis, 1999). To develop individual competences in the research centre (item 5 of Figure 5), the following initiatives were carried out: . stimulating and rewarding creativity; . seeking effectiveness, developing actions with a focus on the achievement of results and solutions with compatible and competitive costs; . planning the company for the future by strategically positioning its resources and abilities; . eing committed to honesty and ethical posture by placing high value on human beings and dealing with all groups of society with respect; . attempting to meet the particularities of customers’ demands by following the principles of total quality; . stimulating leadership when creating, adapting and transferring knowledge, products, services and technology; . . . . encouraging partnerships with other organisations and individuals; developing partnerships in terms of science and technology in agribusinesses; striving for scienti? c rigour, using scienti? methods in research, caring about the exactness and precision of procedures in all the phases of the process, and not tolerating bias in results; and supporting teams which deal with problems in a systemic way in order to attain the ? nal objectives of their jobs. With regards to the issues presented in the literature on performance appraisal (item 6 of Figure 5): . the three main aspects of performance appraisal are people’s development, effort and behaviour (Dutra, 2001); . models for performance appraisal are based on behaviour and attitudes, and not only on the speci? functional analysis of each job (Moore et al. , 2002); and . technology, functional requisites and organisational learning in? uence the development of competences (Drejer and Riis, 1999). However, the main items of performance appraisal in the studied organisation (item 7 of Figure 5) are limited to: . rese archers’ ability of monitoring the projects being carried out; . researchers’ scienti? c publications, such as articles, proceedings of congresses and scienti? c journals, books and chapters of books; . production and transfer of technology; and . publicising the research centre’s image. Although there is integration between performance appraisal and strategic plans de? ned by the research centre, competence-based management is still centred on the individuals, and it is also based on their tasks and not on the individuals linked to their social context, as previously pointed out by Moore et al. (2002), Zari? an (2001), Drejer and Riis (1999) and Dejours (1997). The previous fact is also a result of the dif? culty in measuring innovation and the degree of the development of a research project. Until the moment the research project does not achieve the proposed objective, it is dif? ult to quantify how much this research has progressed over time. All the risks are assumed and the decisions are centralised by researchers who coordinate the project teams. These facts took place because of the studied organisation which did not manage to deal with complex competences in a decentralised way. Although this research centre is a reference in Brazil, the competence notion of this institution recognises only the scope of skills (to know how to do it) and knowledge (information and experiences), not considering the scope of the attitudes (to intend to do it). The organisation only recognises competences based on a university degree quali? cation, and does not include the initiative and the responsibilities necessary to cope with complex situations. It does not centre the development of individual competences either on speci? c projects or on integration and team work. Staff development and appraisal 121 EJIM 10,1 122 Project management and performance appraisal are centred on the main researchers’ skills and knowledge, minimising the importance of the competences of the other members of the research project team. However, it is important to mention that the quantitative criteria of performance appraisal do not only re? ect the concern about customers’ satisfaction, but also guide the distribution of resources and the human resource policies of the studied institution. Performance appraisal does not consider either the team aspect or the concept of feedback structured by 360 degrees appraisal in which all the staff appraise and are appraised by their superiors, subordinates and colleagues (Borman, 1997). Employees are appraised by their superiors in the studied centre. The results of the performance appraisal system contribute to strategic planning, however, the organisation and superiors are not appraised by the employees. In addition, an investigation into the organisational atmosphere was not made. There is not a channel for the feedback of performance appraisals which could result in both the development of researchers’ competences and the innovation process of this centre. The processes in which technology is transferred and research is carried out are not de? ned according to the guidelines and parameters of this research centre, but they are de? ed by the corporation. Regarding cultural aspects, there is a great resistance and incredulity of the performance appraisal systems and the development of competences, despite the employees being already familiar with the appraisal systems of the research projects. Considering this incredulity, the appraisers do not take the role of planning and monitoring individual jobs. â€Å"There is alwa ys something more important and more urgent to do than ‘to sit down with somebody to plan actions related to the individuals’ job and his/her respective performance† (Nader et al. 1998, p. 17). In Table II some theoretical references are compared with the investigated institution’s practice. This is an approach combining the presence of the aspects of: competence (skills, attitudes, knowledge, production and handing in), Competence-based management elements in the studied organisation Table II. Elements of competence-based management in the organisation studied Performance appraisal integrated with strategic planning Performance appraisal integrated with human resource systems Development of skills Development of knowledge Development of attitudes Consideration of the social context of project teams Development of competences according to production and delivery Performance appraisal based on results Use of balanced scorecard to establish and rede? ne goals Participation of all members of a research project team in the performance appraisal through 360 degrees performance appraisal Concern about employees and researchers’ professional growth considering all the elements of competence Feedback of appraisals in terms of attitudes, opportunities of professional growth and social context to develop new strategies Source: Adapted from Ubeda (2003, p. 95) Present Absent X X X X X X X X X X X X the performance appraisal model, and the strategic integration of processes with human resource management. Conclusions When dealing with current competitive markets and needs for technological innovation, as well as stiff competition for new market niches, competence-based management is really a strategic practice adopted by companies to attain competitive advantage in order to serve the customers quickly and ef? iently. As a consequence, the alignment of human resource management practices and business strategies is of fundamental importance to company’s competitiveness, and it emphasises people as a distinct resource for success. Thus, competence and human performance help the development of projects and internal processes. Competence-based management is carried out bas ed on identifying individual competences, using performance appraisal of results from an individual’s job. It is based not only on the competitive strategy and the organisational structure, but also on processes and projects of a company. It is also a reference for managers’ decisions concerning the selection, training and compensation policies of a company’s staff. To implement a consistent performance appraisal system which is capable of appraising the competences of each employee, it is necessary to check which knowledge, skills and attitudes should be developed in order to improve the internal processes of the organisation, without remaining focused only on jobs and tasks. In this case, the research centre is basically just concerned with its operational plans whose main reference is striving for productivity. However, it was observed in practice that the development of individual competences does not link the performance appraisal system to the collective and social approach of competence-based management, and it also does not include the scope of attitudes in order to integrate strategic planning, its monitoring, performance appraisal, the feedback of results of a research project and the improvement of processes. It is exactly this feedback, if well managed, that makes a difference, not only when identifying individual competences necessary for each activity, but also in the possibility of sharing professional growth concurrently with innovation and competitive strategy of companies. Feedback linked to the organisation’s strategy could increase the integration between all its organisational units and levels possible. New research to obtain greater understanding of the relationship between competence-based management and performance appraisal is necessary because the existing literature does not speci? ally examine the development of individual competences. The main contribution of this paper is to present not only the dif? culty of managing human competences, but also a vision of the process of developing competences in a research centre by analysing its particularities and limitations. References Baker, J. C. , Mapes, J. , New, C. C. and Szwejczewski, N. (1997), â€Å"A hierarchical model of business competence†, Integrated Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 8 No. 5, pp. 265-72. ? ? Becker, B. E. , Huselid, M. A. and Ulrich, D. (2001), Gestao estrategica de pessoas com scorecard: ? nterligando pessoas, estrategia e performance, Campus, Rio de janeiro. ? ? Bitencourt, C. C. 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Corresponding author Cristina Lourenco Ubeda can be contacted at: crisubeda@yahoo. com. br ? To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight. com Or visit our web site fo r further details: www. emeraldinsight. com/reprints Staff development and appraisal 125 How to cite Staff Development and Performance Appraisal in a Brazilian Research Centre, Essays

Ethics For Research

Question: Why are ethics increasingly important for research? Discuss your answer using examples from the literature. Answer: Introduction To most people ethics is the religious value like the Ten Commandments, a golden rule, a Hippocratic oath or like a wise aphorism like Confucius sayings. Nevertheless the ethics may be defined as the norms of conduct or the acceptable behaviour while doing a job. In a social setting the norms are supposed to be displayed although the same is supposed to be learned in the childhood. Few thinks ethics is common sense but if it was common sense the dispute regarding ethics would have ended long back. The world is changing fast and the people are taking about the ethics and ethical dilemma openly with students today more than before. The same people are interacting on different ethical aspects with students to make them aware of ethical needs of time as well as demands of ethics in job, may that be education or otherwise. Ethics in Work Ethics is to see that no code of law is broken while performing a job that is morally or legally incorrect. People accept some norms in various ways in light of their own experiences and values. The society has its own set of laws to manage and govern behaviour but ethics seems to be broader and informal than behaviour. Nonetheless, ethics and laws are not the same and are at times ethical but illegal. Thus the ethics may be classified as the discipline of study of standards of conduct (Ahc.umn.edu, 2013). Thus it is the method, procedure and perspective for deciding on how to act and why in a situation. For an example the days of Global warming may be looked by an economist in a view that economy needs to be boosted to give people better living by producing more while the environmentalist will have a different point of view and it would have an ethical judgement involved in the process. The perspectives are different in the two professionals case. The reasons to adhere to the norms of ethics are many of which the first suggests the norms of the research as knowledge, truth and avoidance of error (Thehastingscenter.org, 2014). Misinterpretation, fabrication, misrepresentations are the cases of research that needs to be avoided. Further it promotes values that are needed for promotion of group or collaborative work or team focus. In team trust, accountability, mutual respect, fairness plays a big role to have ethical standards to promote values for collaborative work. Copy right and patents are made to protect the intellectual property right interest while increasing collaboration. The other part is that the research must ensure that the research must ensure ethical norms so that the researchers are accountable to the public ad that there research in no way deviate the laws and principals of legal framework. The research must not harm people or animals in the process of the experiment, federal policies, ensure use of public money should be accountable to public (Rawbone, 2009). Such moral and ethical guidelines of research are not just necessary for a good research but also ethical outcome of the processes undertaken. The ethical norms of research can also help in building public support for the research with funding if they find integrity and trust and quality in the research activity. Again, research promotes other morale and social values in the values in the society as responsibility towards each other, human rights, animal care, public welfare, compliance with law etc. Hence any lapse in the ethical perspective has the capacity to harm human and animal so failure may harm the flora and fauna and jeopardise the health and well being of the staffs and students involved in the process (Niehs.nih.gov, 2015). The APAs Science Directorate gives guidelines to the researchers to follow as follows: Intellectual Property The intellectual property is the basis for Academes competitive publish or perish mindset when it comes to who gets the credit. The departmental chair dose not justify the ownership of the credit so minor contribution or writing for publication needs to be acknowledged too with footnotes or in introduction statement. The same rule is applicable to all in their own sphere of research. Multiple role The multiple role of a person in the research has to be carefully selected where the person have the understanding of the same. A student is a student in the class while may be the laboratory supervisor in the laboratory and have dual role and each needs to be understood and given individual attention. Thus a student cannot only be judged on his or her laboratory performance as the role being a student is also important where the student learns. Learning is a major part in execution. After earning execution can be measured and thus the measures has to be put that way and not measured as a expertslaboratory performance would be judged like. Informed Consent rules Again the research is to be carried in a consent process which ensures that the researcher is aware and agrees with the process of the research with full knowledge of relevant risk and benefits. Thus the learner or the researcher should be aware of the norms and the rights and responsibilities should be clear. The excessive or less or inappropriate inducement of the process should not be projected to lure the researcher in and thus the process should have enough arsenal to be able to have all the aspects of mutual consent and knowledge based agreement in place. Respect confidentiality and privacy The step is an interesting one considering the rights and responsibility of an individual in the research. Each participant has the right to choose to decide the level and the limit of information they choose to give. Thus the limit of confidentiality to disclose is in the hands of the percipients and that needs to be known by them. The knowledge of the laws both federal and state are to be known by the participants or needed to be told so that they are aware of the rights and responsibilities. When the participants in a research have the aforesaid they would have enough safeguard in place to protect themselves from data security and would also understand the limits of sharing of information in the data (Niehs.nih.gov, 2015). Ethical resources The ethical dilemma in a situation can be avoided by knowing what is ethical and what resources are available to them. Protection of Human Subject of Biomedical and Behavioural research of 1979 lay down the guidelines for such research. Codes and Policies for Research Ethics The various institutes involved with various aspects of human life have adopted ethics and its principles in their work and functioning understanding the importance and need. The government, health, education, aviation, industry etc are to name a few (Rath, et al, 2014). Food and drug administration, Environment Protection agency, National Science Foundation are to name a few and each of them have funded researchers and ethics rules. The need for such authority is to address various principles regarding honesty, objectivity, integrity carful execution, openness, respect for intellectual property, confidentiality, social responsibility and respect for others along with animal protection legal guideline following and human subject protection. The ethical backbone of any research needs to keep all aspects of the aforesaid clear in principal and in concept as the research is meant to do good to people and environment that they live in with a focus on protection of animal rights and value to natural resources as the damage or harm is not the desired outcome of the research and wont be accepted by the society. Therefore the ethical dilemma for the research should not make the aforesaid aspects of the nature as well as research peripherals endangered to make the research successful and competent to be honoured (Niehs.nih.gov, 2015). Ethical in research The decision making during a research work has to cover the policies and principals like any other guiding principles. The interpretation is important to access, apply and conduct the research in a suitable way and act in situation is guided by the ethics and ethical decision making comes into forefront here (Rath et al.2015) Falsifications, fabrication plagiarisms are the actions common in research misconduct and are considered to be unpardonable in research ethics. Nevertheless, the intent of the researcher has to be the intent to deceive which obviously can be proved with the produced papers with modern technology but poor record keeping or error in data entry is a different ball game all together which is constituted under negligence and not under misconduct. The process of conducting a research, procedures, interpretations can be put under research misconduct but not under deception or a case of unethical behaviour (Depts.washington.edu, 2015). However the behaviour such as publ ishing under different name, publishing twice in different journal, no information about the partner in the research process, discussion about the research with others where secret information are involved, stretching the facts are few to name. The actions are unethical and some cases illegal so utmost care needs to be adopted so that such disclosure and nondisclosure is done with utmost ethical purview and codes in mind. The professional ethics code are meant to see that the professionals do not break any of the codes under the institutional policy or to people and stakeholders in general (Rawbone, 2009). It difficult to state other deviations under the guidelines of ethics but the deviation from it is very much clear and understandable. The other very important aspect of research ethics is that different people disagree with the justified or proper action or path to take and there is no broad consensus about what needs to be done. There may be ethical dilemma in such a case where the researcher is unable to give a proper decision in such a case. The dilemma can be rectified by taking the course by asking the subject involved n the course directly about the opinion about the feelings to get the right step or measure for th e research to progress (Ahc.umn.edu, 2013). The course that the research may take during the process of conducting the research should have the element of consent from all parties involved while the researcher should also ensure that the path taken have the element of goodwill integrated in it. Nevertheless, there are a huge list of activity which may fall in the list of activity which may fall under other serious deviation and remain unclear to the people not involved but the researcher is clear and for them the case may be obvious so precaution from the researchers side is expected and so the Government have limited there focus (McLaughlin and Shardlow, 2009). Again, for a researcher who have taken the funding from a financial source which have not disclosed the financials, is considered an offence as making unauthorized copies of the paper. Same way over estimation of the findings and declaration of the same to the public is considered unethical especially for medical drugs as they have an effect on the people using those d rugs and the profits of the company producing them. Stealing data for research cause is also a fraud and an ethical misconduct that one should refrain from doing while doing research work. Thus the research work data has to be founded upon the work done with the team where the members name and role has to be disclosed and finds has to be true to findings while the results needs to comply with the ethical perspective like environment, human life animals etc (Asha.org, 2015). Conclusions The subject of ethics is not only a consideration but a subject of actual execution in a research situation. The deviation from it is considered to be anti social and unethical in cases of research. The cases of ethics are bound by regulatory norms and stated and in some cases it is not but the guiding principles are mandatory to follow and are taken for granted. The researcher as well as the research should follow as aspects of ethical values so that no animal, person, environment is harmed in the research process while no there should be mention of all people who were involved in the research in the paper. The data and the contents should be true to its contents and the findings should not be copied or stolen from other sources and that makes the research valid and matched up to the desired level. List of references Ahc.umn.edu,. (2013). A Guide to research Ethics. Retrieved 16 August 2015, from https://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/26104/Research_Ethics.pdf Asha.org,. (2015). Ethics in Research. Retrieved 16 August 2015, from https://www.asha.org/Research/Ethics-in-Research/ Depts.washington.edu, (2015). Research Ethics. Retrieved 16 August 2015, from https://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/resrch.html McLaughlin, H., and Shardlow, S. (2009). Different Cultures, Different Ethics? Research Governance and Social Care. RESW, 3(1), 4-17. Niehs.nih.gov, (2015). What is Ethics in Research Why is it Important?. Retrieved 16 August 2015, from https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/ Rath, J., Ischi, M., and Perkins, D. (2014). Evolution of Different Dual-use Concepts in International and National Law and Its Implications on Research Ethics and Governance. Sci Eng Ethics, 20(3), 769-790. Rawbone, R. (2009). Social Research and Ethics Review. Research Ethics, 5(2), 43-44. The Association of Research Ethics Committees -- News. (2009). Research Ethics, 5(1), 42-42. Thehastingscenter.org,. (2014). IRB: Ethics Human Research - The Hastings Center. Retrieved 16 August 2015, from https://www.thehastingscenter.org/Publications/IRB/sd

The Major Factors Affecting Future of the Tourism Industry in UK

This essay provides a critical analysis of the major developments that guide the future growth of tour and travel industry. It forms a discussion of the major factors affecting future of the tourism industry in United Kingdom, through study of factors that cause current effects.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Major Factors Affecting Future of the Tourism Industry in UK specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The research problem is an analysis of prospective effects and developments on future tourism particularly in United Kingdom, in relation to various international tourism industries. The study is significant due to the reason that there are various dynamic global approaches towards tourism and recently embraced technologies. The analysis also covers issue of economical impact of tourism practices to United Kingdom. This calls for an examination of what determines future outcomes and anticipatable changes. Lastl y, the research topic addresses the issue of new and anticipated strategies to secure the future of the industry. This means that the main purpose of this study is to evaluate various effects on future of tourism industry in United Kingdom. Some of the issues emerging from the study involve responsibility and conservation care accorded to natural and cultural heritage at various destinations. Secondly, the research will analyse aviation practices and effects on culture and ecology. Lastly, the study forms a critic on decisions and visions of tourism industry. People especially in the U.K. lack rationale or reason for visiting a chosen destiny. This is a major concern to future tourism because there is poor promotion of excellent local destinies. According to Urry (2002, p.59) and Theobald (1998, p.22), Tourism Council surveys indicates that most UK tourists do not considering possible personal gains or benefits of local visits. Availability of resources often determines travelling p lans and choices. In line with Urry’s analysis (2002, p.59), tourists are willing to venture deeper into meaning and discover foreign cultural experiences. The new trend is thus a possible prediction for appreciation and support for distinctive local cultures considering the major commercial industries in UK. People lack rationale for local tourism. As Whittingdale predicts (2007, p.36), analysis of tourism trends in the UK shows that people are forced into ‘geo-local’ tourism due to high economic costs.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ability to take into account purpose before travel would thus increase local travel. Low local tourism cause despair, but future predictions, shows that number of local visitors is increasing steadily. Haven-Tang and Jones’ view on tourism SMEs in UK (2005, p.293) and Appiah-Adu et al study (2000, p.96) presents pu rpose of quality service delivery and competition in the industry. Predicted local tourism is a major boost to alternative means of travel. As stated by Lumsdon and Page, (2004, p.100), the escalating costs of travel calls for alternative and cheaper means. If people can appreciate their locally available tourist destinations, then increased use of cheaper means of transport such as trains would emerge. Forsyth (1995, p.210) Burns and Novelli’s literature (2007, p.212), indicate that the future of tourism industry in UK depends on sustainability measures. Local tourism will definitely foster future support for better investments for alternative low-costs means of transport. Today, climate and ecosystem changes have devastating impact on the tourism industry. Current analysis indicates that UK travellers are concern with comfort, security and alternatives means (Cooper, 2005, p.14). This is a great threat to the future of tourism. There is negligence over the issue of managing tourists. If environmental costs exceed the economical gain, then in future, administrators need to place more focus on types of tourism practices for maximum economical, social and environmental gains. There are high hopes that the future of tourism will be sustainable and cultural ideal. Current major threat involves lack of enough support for local uniqueness and distinctiveness. Utopia destiny is a collection of ideas for a sustainable future. According to Cooper (2005, p.14), â€Å"ideal tourist destiny sparks ideas that are more creative and inspiring.† References Appiah-Adu, K., Fyall, A., Singh, S. April 2000. Marketing Culture and Customer  Retention in the Tourism Industry. [Online] The Service Industries Journal, Volume 20, Issue 2, pages 95 – 113. Web. Burns, P., Novelli, M. 2007. Tourism and politics: global frameworks and local  realities. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Ltd.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Major Factors Affecting F uture of the Tourism Industry in UK specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Cooper, C.P. et al. 2005. Tourism: Principles and Practice. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Forsyth, T. 1995. Business attitudes to sustainable tourism: Self-regulation in the UK  outgoing tourism industry. Web.  London, UK Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Volume 3, Issue 4 1995 , pages 210 – 231. Web. Haven-Tang, C., Jones E. 2005. Tourism SMEs, service quality, and destination  competitiveness. Oxford, UK: CABI Publishers. Lumsdon, L., And Page, S. (2004). Tourism and transport: Issues and Agenda for  the new millennium. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Publishers. Theobald, W. (998). Global Tourism. (Second Ed). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann Publishers. Urry, J. (2002) The Tourist Gaze (2nd Ed). London: Sage. Whittingdale, J. (October 23, 2007). Tourism: Report, together with formal minutes,  House of Commons, Media and Sports Committee. Vol 2. London: The Sta tionery Office.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This essay on The Major Factors Affecting Future of the Tourism Industry in UK was written and submitted by user Branden Fuentes 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.

The Classic Stereotype of the Native american essays

The Classic Stereotype of the Native american essays There are approximately 2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives living in the U.S. They fall into about 300 different tribal or language groups. Alcohol abuse has caused compounded problems for these people. The problems also have led to an unfortunate stereotype of these people. This stereotype perpetuates the image that all Indian people are afflicted with alcohol problems. No one really pays attention to the vast number of Indian people who are sober and live productive lives (Oetting and Beauvais 1989). Before the Europeans arrived and started to colonize, there were no alcoholic beverages like there are today. Some tribes produced a weak beer or other fermented beverages for ceremonial purposes only. When European colonists suddenly made large amounts of spirits and wine available to the Indians, the tribes had little time to develop social, legal, or moral guidelines to regulate alcohol use. Colonists often used it to establish trade for highly sought after animal skins and other resources. Traders found that serving alcohol at trade meetings gave them a distinct advantage in their negotiations (Liban and Smart 1982; Silk-Walker 1988). Extreme intoxication became more frequent in the inexperienced Indian populations. Numerous historical accounts describe violent bouts of drinking among tribes during trading sessions and on other occasions. History may have therefore sown the seeds for prevalence of alcohol abuse in the North American indigenous population. Early demand, with no regulation and strong encouragement, may have contributed to a tradition of heavy alcohol use passed down from generation to generation, which has led to the current high level of alcohol-related problems (May and Moran 1995). There is a history of the introduction of foreign intoxicants by dominant or conquering cultures. Perhaps the most often noted example, in addition to the effect...

Library Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Library Assignment - Essay Example All the same, this was never the key source of error. In the year, 1963 Price proceeded to work making use of several data in abstract compendia for the years 1907 to 1960. The study conducted in the years 1907 and 2007 by use of available statistics from several literature databases, Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and the Science Citation Index (SCI) have indicated findings relating to the Growth rate of scientific publications. Significantly, the intention of the study was to give information regarding the growth and development of Scientific Publications (Garfield, 27). The study is descriptive in that; it gives descriptive data on which the research was based on and also includes the statistical processes used in the description of the population in the study. The findings from the study assist in organization and data description. The variables involved were the data from the traditional scientific publishing. Traditional scientific publishing; publications in peer-reviewed journals, is still considered to be increasing though there are large variance between some sectors. There exist no signs that the growth rate has decreased within the past 50 years. At the same time, publications making use of channels, for instance, open archives, home pages and conference proceedings are reported to be developing at a higher rate. The growth rate for the SCI was compensating a declining section of the traditional scientific literature (Garfield, 29). There also exist some open signs that the compensation by the SCI is generally minimal in a section of the scientific areas with the largest development rate involving engineering and computer sciences. From the reading, it is obvious that the populace being considered are the humans, and this is with respect to how they rate the scientific publications. The common characteristics of this

Social Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Social Issues - Essay Example This was however refuted by the campaign group Crisis, which warns that people are merely moving from the streets into temporary shelters and then moving back onto the streets again (www.bbc.co.uk, 2001). Recent statistics reveal that there may be still be vast numbers of homeless people still populating UK’s streets. In evaluating the trends over time, about two thirds of homeless people in general were single persons over the age of 25 rather than members with families. In England, the number of people recognized officially as being homeless in the year 2007 was 99,500, and this revealed a decreasing trend. The current figure was half of what the figures were in the year 2004 and well below the high numbers that existed a decade ago(www.crisis.org.uk). Similar trends were not however, reported in Wales and Scotland. In the case of the fomer, the number of households recognized as officially newly homeless were 9300, which is an increase from the values of 2004. The homelessness trend has been fluctuating in Wales, it rose sharply from 2001 to 2004, then dropped sharply up to 2007 when it registered another increase. An increasing trend was also displayed in Scotland; the num ber of households which were categorized as newly homeless were 41,00 which are actually a third higher than they were a decade ago. Most people have little sympathy for homeless people, because they believe that these individuals deliberately choose to adopt this option so that they can scrounge off the sympathy and assistance of kindly folk. But as was pointed out in the BBC news item cited above, homelessness is like a vicious cycle because it creates its own set of problems. The failure to be able to demonstrate the existence of a permanent address means that such individuals are also not able to get jobs to earn money for themselves, which in turn, only leads to a higher incidence of homelessness.

Analysis of the Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Analysis of the Media - Essay Example Occasionally, ridiculous plans will spring up to send them back to Britain – and these plans usually involve the radio transmitter (which is where the show gets its name) (BBC 2010). While all of this is going on, Rene is pretending to be his own identical twin (also named Rene), because he actually created a ruse about his own death to keep the SS away from him. This means that his wife is masquerading as his â€Å"widow,† who occasionally fields advances from potential suitors and who more often tries to entertain the patrons with her singing. Because her voice is so awful, though, customers either just leave or shove some cheese into their ears to avoid the maelstrom. In the meantime, Rene is carrying on with his waitresses; Edith generally finds out, but Rene can always talk his way out of the situation. This is helpful for him, because the gay German Lieutenant Gruber, as well as the attractive females in the communist resistance are always making advances toward h im. The episodes run consecutively, with the plot continuing from one episode to the next, but it is possible to watch each one and enjoy it independently. When each new episode begins, Rene shows up at the beginning, narrating the past events to the audience and bringing them up to date on his latest imbroglio (Brown 2008). When it comes to the structuring of the comedy, 'Allo 'Allo! emerges as part of a genre that appeared on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in the decades after World War II. Hogan's Heroes, an American program, was one of the first television series that was able to use the Nazi machine as a source of comedy. The bumbling Colonel Klink, the commandant of Stalag 13, was constantly outwitted by his... The interplay between Basil and his wife, Sybil, serves up some of the most memorable comedic moments in the show. While she might agree, at least in principle, with his desire to make the hotel a more upscale establishments, she disagrees loudly (and sometimes violently) with his schemes. When Basil is trying a new idea, he usually gets Polly (the maid) or Manuel to help him – and to hide the truth from Sybil. Despite the anger that courses between them, though, it is clear that there is still some tenderness between them. â€Å"The Anniversary† is all about Basil's attempt to put together a surprise party for her (which goes awry when he pretends to forget the significance of the day, in order to make it even more of a surprise to her, and she storms out). However, Sybil is not a flat terror; instead, she often has the better hand when it comes to managing the hotel, particularly when there are difficult customers to be dealt with. There are other times, though, when she is talking loudly on the phone in the middle of a very busy scene at the hotel, and her braying laugh and loud voice make her a source o annoyance to others on the show.Manuel may be one of the most memorable characters from the show. From Barcelona, he still has only a limited grasp of British customs – and the English language.

Describe what leadership is and all the relevant leadership styles

Describe what leadership is and all the relevant leadership styles There are various definitions and concepts by a variety of people it comes to defining leadership. According to G a Cole leadership is a dynamic process in a group whereby one individual influences the others contribute voluntarily to the achievement of group tasks in a given situation. Leadership engages other people, for example subordinates. The role of the leader is to direct subordinates towards set goals or aims and objectives of the group or the business. Subordinates help define a leaders status by how much there are willing to listen and accept direction from the leader. Weak leaders tend to have no respect from group members and find it hard if not impossible to direct them. Leadership involves an unequal division of power between the people or person in charge and group members. This allows order and coordination within a group or organisation if there is one clear leader, employees will know who to refer to for confirmation on decisions or when problems arise. It should be noted however that some employees are note entirely powerless; they do contribute and shape activities in the group in various ways. If a group is to be highly effective and successful every member needs to contribute and play a part form start to finish, but more power usually concentrated in the hands of the leader. Different leaders have different forms of power; reward, coercive, legitimate, referent and expert power. Reward power is formed on the leader having the skill to reward group members for getting instructions done and achieving set goals. Employees are more likely to work harder if they know their efforts will be recognised and rewarded. Rewards could include promotion, pay rise or a bonus. Reward power is highly used in the workforce as a form of disciplining and motivating employees. Coercive power is formed on the leaders capability to make subordinates accountable for not achieving objectives or getting their job done on time. Through coercive power subordinates are aware that failure to meet job requirements might lead to tell off or job loss. Legitimate power is a form of formal authority, it usually comes with the job. Under legitimate power employees recognize the fact that the leader has the authority to exercise influence over them. In many cases employees are obliged to accept this power and failure to concur will mostly result in them being reprimanded or made redundant. Expert power is formed on the principle that the leader has the significant skills and expertise that other members in the group do not. Subordinates are more likely to respect, accept and acknowledge the leaders authority and leadership if they are know he/she is more experienced that there are in that field. Referent power comes from the other group members desire to be like their leader. This type of leadership usually links with charismatic and pragmatic leaders. James A F Stoner notes that possession of some or all of [the above powers] does not guarantee the ability to influence particular individuals in specific ways. A leader may have subordinates approbation as a specialist but still fails to motivate or make them more corporative in the workforce. A good leader must have the capacity and skills to draw upon and use the various forms of power to be able to influence employees. Good leaders must possess the power of influence if employees are to do the work that is required of them, on schedule and in some cases on budget. As a individual a leader must be able to look ahead, identify how to get ahead and guide colleagues ahead. For a leader to be successful according to Tim Hannagan he/she must share common goals with those around or have the skills to steer group members towards their way of thinking. Employees must intern momentarily give up their own views in favour of the leaders and the rest of the group, listening to other group members and compromising. Although employees go about different ways in achieving company objectives à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they accede to the preferences of the leader in exchange for the rewards they expect to receive as a result. Tim Hannagan 2005. Effective leaders motivate their employees by convincing them that the aims set for them is the best way to get the job done and will provide a better result. Happy employees work hard and are more likely to achieve the common objectives of the business or group. Leaders are in charge of employees under them therefore responsible for them and their actions in the workforce there are held accountable for the success and failure of their team. The accountability makes it comparative that the leader makes the best decisions, manages the team and communicates effectively with employees in such a way that action is taken and unneeded costly mistakes that could cost the leader, team members or the organisation avoided. Leadership involves avoiding obstacles and if they should arise overcoming them in the most cost effective way possible. The business environment as shown by the unexpected financial crisis is very unpredictable, so leaders need to be pragmatic and innovative if there are to survive and stay on top is an economic, technological and social environment that forever changing. The 21st century static business environment is rapidly changing and leaders need to evolve with the times if there are to retain employees and be successful. According to Hannagan leadership can be seen as performing the influencing function of management largely involved with establishing gaols and motivating people to help achieve them. In management there are various leadership styles and different leaders fall under different styles. Good leaders tend to use a style of leadership in response to the workforce or situation concerned to achieve the best result possible. There are old and modern styles of leadership, including; Transactional, Transformational, Participative and Situational Leadership. 1.Situational Leadership Situational leadership is ..an approach to determining the most effective style of influencing, considering the direction and support a leader gives, and the readiness of followers to perform particular tasks. David Buchanan, 2004. Situational leaders should be able to change their leadership style in response to the teams developing or changing behaviour, for example experience or willingness to accept responsibility. Blanchard and Heresy (1982) believe the maturity of the employee determine the leadership style of the leader, they believe that employer and employee relationship move through four stage. As employees become more experienced and skilled, the employer will need to change his style of leadership to motivate and take advantage of employees new found skills to make the team more effective, The Situational Model of Leadership SOURCE : OBNotes.HTM by WILF H. RATZBURG D1: LOW COMPETENCE HIGH COMMITMENT D2: SOME COMPETENCE LOW COMMITMENT D3: HIGH COMPETENCE VARIABLE COMMITMENT D4: HIGH COMPETENCE HIGH COMMITMENT As the diagram above shows the situational model of leadership has four stages : Phase 1 Directing . New subordinates are instructed in their tasks and the corporations procedures and rules. In the initial phase employees are given a lot of tasks by the leader. Subordinates are trained in their tasks as they are being familiarised to the organisation. They are told what to do, when and how to do given tasks. this is arguably a good and effective way to introduce new employees as a non directive [leader] would cause anxiety and confusion in new.. employees whilst a participatory, high relationship behaviour approach would à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦be inappropriate at this stage because the [employee] requires structure. James A.F Stoner, 1995. Phase 2 Coaching. In phase two there is more relationship behaviour than in stage one as subordinates become more accustomed to their job and the business. In this stage the participatory leadership style can be adopted as employees are considered to want more responsibility. Employees are more likely to seek more responsibility as they have become accustomed to the environment including how their leader wants tasks handled and completed. Task behaviour however remains necessary as employees still need structure to complete their work. The leaders trust and support for subordinates will increase at this stage as the leader becomes familiar with the team and wishes to encourage their efforts further. Phase 3 Participating. At this stage subordinates are more skilled and achievement motivation becomes mote noticeable which will lead to subordinates seeking more responsibility. As the employees become more experienced the leader will no longer need to strictly direct employees, in most cases skilled employees dislike autocratic leaders as they feel there are experienced enough to carry out certain task without strict supervision. There is a lot of interaction and support but little direction and task behaviour. The leader should however continually motivate employees by being supportive and considerate, if he/she is to bring out the best of employees. Phase 4 Delegating. High levels of delegation from the leader as employees are more confident, experienced and self-directing. Kenneth and Heresy feel that at this stage an employee no longer expect direction from their leader. There is less task or relationship behaviour. Under this leadership style leaders should constantly assess employee experience, motivation and ability to decide on which style is appropriate under changing conditions. If the leader chooses the most effective style there should be able to develop subordinates professionally and at the same time motivating them. The ability to be able to shift leadership styles is arguably a skill any good leader should possess as leaders are faced with different evolving situations on a daily bases. Leaders who are trained to flexibly use various leadership styles when faced with changing situations use the situational leadership style effectively as they know when to adapt or change to a different style. Leaders who are not trained to be flexible are likely to be more effective in situations that match their style of leadership. Failure to adapt will cause the leaders team to lack direction and to be less effective than if they had a flexible leader. 2. Participative leadership Participative leaders have total trust and confidence in employees. Leaders will always ask employees for ideas and opinions and then constructively use the ideas to further the groups or the organisations success. There is a lot of communication between the leader and employees and employees will be rewarded for their participation in the group. Being involved in the process of decision making help motivate and make employees more committed to their job and the business. When faced with unexpected problems employees are more willing to help as they no their input will be taken into account. Involving a group of people in the decision making ensures a better outcome, as suggestions are thoroughly analysed before the final decision is reached. Group decision making also unites employees as the social commitment amongst the group members is greater. Employees are more likely to corporate and come up with new ideas if they feel comfortable with the people around them. Leaders who adopt this style of leadership when operating usually have the greatest success as leaders. Businesses that use the participative style of leadership could be said to be the most successful in setting goals and achieving them and are also usually more productive. The success is due to the degree of participation and the maintenance of employee support for one another and from the leader. Participative leaders can improve the businesses effectiveness by using the skills, experience and knowledge of the workforce. Employees who feel and are involved setting business standards are more likely to feel ownership for the decisions made and tend to: Accept the legitimacy of decisions reached with their help; Accept change based on those decisions; Trust managers who ultimately ratify and implement decisions; Volunteer new and creative ideas and solutions. [David Buchanan 2004] It should be noted that it is the leaders choice to give or deny control to surbodinat6es under his control. Although an organisation might require their its leaders to use this type of leadership style, a manager might chose not to use it as effectively as they possibly can as they might feel involving subordinates in decision making might threaten their job position. The level of employee participation also depends on the sort of decision being made. Subordinates are usually involved when deciding on how to put goals into action, whereas employee evaluation on those decisions is done by the leader. Participative leadership is highly democratic and empowers employees. 3. Transactional leadership A transactional leader is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a leader who treats relationships with [employees] in terms of an exchange, giving [employees] what they want in return for what the leader desires, following prescribed tasks to pursue established goals. Transactional leaders perceive their association with employees in terms of bargains; they believe that employees are motivated by reward and punishment and not their willingness to work. Transactional leaders aim to create clear structures, where employees know exactly what they are expected to do. These type of leaders believe that social system are more effective with a clear chain of command, when employee are expected to yield all authority to their leader. Leaders who use this leadership style decide what subordinates need to do to attain their own and the corporations aims and objectives and help subordinates become confident in believing they can achieve the set aims and objectives through hard work, but employees are expected to do what they are told by the leader in all cases. Failure to comply with leaders instructions will lead to formal discipline which might result in job loss. As soon as a potential employee becomes an employee it becomes transparent the leader is in charge and in control. Employees who are successful under transactional leaders are usually the ones that follow orders Transactional leaders deem employees to be completely responsible for their work despite their skills, experience or resources. Subordinates are expected to take full responsibility for their work, success will be recognised and rewarded while failure is seen to be personally the subordinates fault despite internal or external influences that might have contributed to objectives not being met. Leader who use this type of leadership style believe that employees require little attention if they are meeting expectations or operating as expected. There is a variety of leaders that use this type of leadership. The leadership style might be effective with employees who are used to an autocratic leadership style and who work well under strictly structured conditions. The success of the leader is assured when the leadership style aligns with the work environment. Employees who are highly skilled and experienced are likely to despise and be unhappy under this type of leadership if it is constantly being used by the manager as they might feel they have more to offer to the business and will therefore despise being constantly told how to their job. Unhappy workers are unlikely to perform to the best of their ability and find a new job else where. .