Care and Compassion in the Nursing Profession Essay

Honor Code: As a student, I have neither given nor received aid/help on this assignment. Caring and Compassion in the Nursing Profession Nursing is a physically and emotionally demanding job. There are six virtues that should be followed when working as a nurse. Caring and compassion can be viewed as â€Å"nursing’s most precious asset† (Schantz, 2007). Caring and compassion are two different characteristics with similar meanings. Caring is defined as showing kindness or concern for others (Oxford, 2013). Compassion is defined as sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others (Oxford, 2013). Some people choose nursing as their job because their desire to care for others. Being a caring individual allows you to make a therapeutic relationship with a patient. When a patient feels cared for; emotionally they develop trust and self-worth. Caring requires you to physically meet your patient needs. When a patient has a sense a being cared for they may be more willing to participate. Most nurses have a certain mindset as â€Å"Do unto others as you would want done unto you† (Watson, 1988). Along with caring, compassion is reason why people desire to be nurses. Compassion is not sympathy you show toward a patient in need, but rather the sympathy that causes you to act on an inner desire to help that patient (Hart, 2011). When showing compassion it’s not doing things you are accountable to do as a nurse, but doing it because you are urged to do it as a human being to make a difference. All six virtues define nursing characteristic as a whole, but caring and compassion are key things to have when treating patients as nurses. To maintain a high quality of health care revolves around caring and compassion. It makes a big difference to have compassion in your heart to  care for others. Caring and compassion can have such a good impact on a patient to warthere he/she will gain self-worth and dignity. References Caring. (n.d). In Oxford online dictionary. Retrieved from http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/caring Compassion. (n.d). In Oxford online dictionary. Retrieved from http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/compassion Hart, M. (2011). Compassion: A Necessity For Quality Nursing Care. Retrieved from http://www.anurseiam.com/show_winners.php?winning_nurses_id=57 Schantz, M. (2007). Compassion: a concept analysis. Nursing Forum, 48-55. Retrieved from http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice/clinical-zones/management/compassion-in-nursing-1-defining-identifying-and-measuring-this-essential-quality-/5006242.article Watson, J. (1988). New dimensions of human caring theory. Nursing Science Quarterly, 175-181. Retrieved from http://rnjournal.com/journal-of-nursing/caring-and-the-professional-practice-of-nursing

A day … in the life

I wake with a constant mix of white noise acoustic guitar and the tortured lyrics of two broken men. This noise bleeds in through my ears. Why? Without it would I even know if I was awake? After the humdrum morning routine, philosophical conversation with Clo on the way to the bus stop and the inevitable journey on wonderful public transport I arrive at school. School this eternal lapse between comfort zones and paranoia. Comfort zones the lessons and places I'm comfortable in where I can really be me. Like drama selling line after line. I stretch the truth like a crooked sales man lie like a cheap Italian watch, showing all my emotions by portraying others. Some thing that is now so natural like I was born with it like the ability to breath. Paranoia, looking over my back makes me feel weak like a one armed boxer throwing punch after punch, after punch I'm so tired I give in I' m surprised when they duck. Sometimes I get so tired of getting out of bed but who would want to die like a cowardly little child? The doctors tell me there is nothing wrong with me so why do I get so full of anger, regret, and hatred? I got a trigger inside! Who doesn't know how to pull it? In the last year school has become easier but only slightly. The new found ease is all down the beautiful and profound idea of â€Å"options† being able to leave dull subjects behind in search of ones more to your interests making my life easier and the whole year generally happier. I'm not saying after options it all becomes perfect over night because schools still have the same problems as before the ones that schools pretend aren't there. But as we all know the future is more important than the present and my future will be a very bright and shinny one in fact my future will be orange. I see one supposed upside to school seeing my friends and my actual friends. There are some people who I really like and others I have nil time or respect for but I play politics. Who needs enemies? My real friends are the ones I know I can trust, the ones that I conclude to make school worth attending. The rest of the people I am seen with at school are all sort of bellow my level sort of unaware of the wonderful world we live in and all its great events that are there to bring peace love and enjoyment to our day. Don't get me wrong most of them are wonderful people but pay some attention the world does not revolve around your friends and your love life. My dream in life is to be a business man, actor, film maker, and comedian. Comedy is some thing that seems to come very naturally to me I love to make others laugh. I have always had a very mature sense of humor I am very into satire and those sketches with ridiculous but some how believable situations. I like my entertainment to be of quality but to also have a message. When people ask what I want to be I always tell them I want to be an international man of mystery. The only person who really knows what I'm talking about is me. I want to be an entertainer but that is all I want to be I don't want the following or the paps outside my door when I go to collect my milk or if I have left something in the car. I guess what I'm trying to get is simply this, I want to entertain people weather that be with business and product or film, comedy or television I also want the fortune ( a man needs to eat) the notoriety but not to be a brand. Do I ask for to much? Can I do it? Have I got it in me? I hope so. I would I have to admit that I do actually quite enjoy school but I also like the occasional sneaky day off with a â€Å"head ache†. The subjects I enjoy tend to be the ones were you get free reign over what you do like English no one tells you how much to write or how or what. I also like my computer based subjects I. C. T and digital applications I also enjoy science but not as much as I used to there's me thinking it would get better in year 10. But no! Were doing reports. Not good. But no matter how much I enjoy school I enjoy after school ten times more being allowed to take one hour in walking one mile that feels like a gift to me. Being able to just collapse and eat sleep and eat and watch the endless black hole of programmes made by and for severely brainless people on television. Go on my laptop, download applications that I don't actually need, music that I won't listen to unless iTunes shuffles to it, films I wont watch and television programmes that I want to watch when â€Å"I† want to. Although I take pleasure in my times after school with freedom, Saturday is the most important day of the week the ultimate day of freedom no bed times no rules eat what I like do what I like go where I like with who I want to do it with no obligation to see anyone. At the moment most of my weekends are spent with my wonderful girlfriend and vision of beautiful perfection April. She's the kind of girl makes life worth living its fun what ever we do as long as were together Some times I just look into her eyes and I know I'm happy well more like contented no desire to move or do anything else than to just look into her eyes . Our time together is more precious than diamonds or gold it is invaluable to me. Some times I pinch my self just to make sure its not dream. When I first met April I was in town with a friend I only went because I was told that I was to meet a girl. When I arrived outside McDonalds to meet my friend Heather who was the only one of this random constructed group I had ever laid eyes on before that. Sure I had spoken to April online but never seen her in the flesh and who where the others witch part of obscurity where they plucked from? and then I saw April she looked simply irresistible like a Hollywood beauty queen of old but like all Hollywood queens she had her entourage featuring her two best friends one either side her. Heather introduced us I said Hey and waved at her. She almost did exactly the same but after the wave came a smile that melted my heart that moment triggered shy mode: my hand snapped straight into the pockets of my jeans, my shoulders tensed I dared not do or say anything. 30 minutes, a solo trip to virgin and the stalking of two business men past the orange phone shop had passed before she spoke to me. She moved several paces away from her protection that eased me slightly so I took my hand out of my right pocket and lent it on her shoulder and said â€Å"so how are you? Then something trivial occurred witch distracted everyone so she cut short answer, then a scruffy looking unemployed man I know that much about him because who else where's camouflage jackets and buys a big Mac for breakfast? Looked straight at me then said something. At that point I took my arm off of her shoulder looked into her eyes and said confidently like it was a perfectly normal activity, April lets follow Him! We walked briskly behind him so that he noticed just to make a point. After finally thinking I could be alone with her and get know her better but alas cut short was our time alone as there was noise and a voice behind us as half her entourage caught up. But that didn't matter because at that point she took my and she has never let go. My usual Saturday activity is going into town spending my parent's money on food and junk that I don't actually want or need. This is called shopping or giving into to money grabbing organizations when I could be saving this money and putting it towards something practical mainly an item of consumer electronics some thing I have a big affiliation with. People who enjoy consumer electronics as much as I do are labeled as techys a clever take on the word treckie the term for star trek fans. My few on electronics is simple there is always one that is greater than the others and one that sells more than the others never normally the same thing witch has to said is a shame. But on reflection I would actually rather be buying pointless stuff with friends in town than being all alone at home with a new gadget I can't win. To me a Sunday is the day of rest a lazy day to recover one from the activities of Saturday a wind down before restarting for school on the Monday. A day for big dinners, being old fashioned and staying at home with family, or going out. But all in all Sundays are generally for being lazy. I used to like walking into town Sundays even though no decent shops open it just seemed calmer and quieter like an arctic village or a sleepy Cotswold hamlet. I guess I'm just impressed at the transition between Saturday and Sunday. A day in the life of me it's not really that bad. I suppose.

Business Society Planet

By accessing different articles discussing the concept named â€Å"The Triple Bottom Line†, I have developed the fundamental knowledge associated with one of the vital factors of sustainability and its impact on the global business. In the process of investigation, I have gained the significant understanding by reviewing the work developed by Timothy F. Slapher, who is a Ph.D. from Indiana University. Thanks to the particular work, I achieved the suitable perception regarding the meaning and concepts of the triple bottom line (TBL) and its applicability to the business (Bocken, et al., 2014). Over the past decade, maintaining or achieving sustainability is one of the key goals of the companies, whether it is a profit making, non-profit, or government enterprise.   From the different research works conducted by the previous scholars and academics, I have observed that the businesses from multiple genres find it challenging to measure the required degree of sustainability rega rding the operations and activities. Therefore, measuring the required level of sustainability is an unavoidable approach for the modern day businesses to ensure the achievement of sustainable growth (Boons & Là ¼deke-Freund, 2013). Different researchers like John Elkington strove to measure the sustainability during the mid-1990s by encompassing a unique framework gauging the performance of the corporate businesses of America. From the overall analysis of the theoretical works developed related to TBL, I have obtained the understanding that the particular factor reflects a useful accounting framework incorporating three magnitudes of performance: social, financial, and environmental (Bocken, et al., 2013). All of these perspectives apply to the operations of the business organizations to ensure the induction of ecological and social measures, which creates some significant challenges in different sectors. By the application of different studies, I have gained the knowledge that there are â€Å"five types of sustainable capital available for the business†. These capitals are responsible for shaping up the goods and services produced by the firm with the inclusion of quality. The identified process subsequently helps to promote the enhancement of healthy lives within the respective society. The five forms of capitals are known as manufacturing capital, financial capital, social capital, human capital, and natural capital (Seuring, 2013). I identify the suitable differentiation regarding these five individual types through analysing a project developed to provide appropriate explanation. In case of the natural capital, it refers to the available stock or energy of the business responsible for producing the goods or services for the community. The stock may include the renewable or non-renewable resources or the major processes like the climate regulations. On the other hand, human capital in the form of knowledge, skills, and motivation of the individuals are also liable to produce the product by the business. Social capital deals with the institutions helping to develop the human capital by the productive collaborations from others like the businesses, communities, or trade unions (Welford, 2013). Manufacturing capital suggests the fixed assets or materials supporting the production process. Lastly, financial capital plays the most important role to the overall economy while providing understanding to the business regarding the types of capital to be owned or traded. Combining all of these capitals in the right place to produce the goods or services is a highly challenging task for the global businesses, as the process requires the suitable availability of needful sources.   Dunphy et al. (2003) have identified â€Å"The Six Phases of Business Approaches to Sustainability† stating six framing principles for the designing the economic models of the organizations in a non-linear world. Based on the analysis of the particular work, I understand that these policies should need to be treated as the philosophy for the organizations and the business practices must need to be developed accordingly. The concepts of these principles are based on managing uncertainty, ability to adopt, maintaining openness, developing the participatory cultures and tools, shaping up a value-based approach, and establishing the system of change (Kolk & Buuse, 2013). All of these concepts are needed to be maintained by the business for promoting the development of a sustainable presence in the modern day environment. In the process of managing uncertainty, organizations face challenges diagnostically regarding the detection of underlying patterns and hidden relationships drivi ng the particular type of chaos. On the other hand, the modern day business environment is highly competitive and dynamically changing (Seuring, 2013). Therefore, the global companies are facing a considerable amount of difficulty regarding the ability to adapt and response accordingly while continuously learning to become agile. Lastly, I have come to know about some important examples where businesses successfully able to adopt the sustainable requirements to become a sustainable organization in the global context. The leading names like Starbucks and Ford have adopted the best practices required to develop sustainable business operations through changing and modifying their policies (Bocken, et al., 2014). Specifically, I have observed that the activities of these companies are altered dramatically by considering the critical climate change policies identified by their respective country government.   Bocken, N. M. P., Short, S. W., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2014). A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes.Journal of cleaner production,  65, 42-56. Bocken, N., Short, S., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2013). A value mapping tool for sustainable business modelling.  Corporate Governance,  13(5), 482-497. Boons, F., & Là ¼deke-Freund, F. (2013). Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda.  Journal of Cleaner Production,  45, 9-19. Kolk, A., & Buuse, D. (2013). Business models for sustainable energy development.  The European Financial Review,  2013(April-May), 64-69. Seuring, S. (2013). A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain management.  Decision support systems,  54(4), 1513-1520. Welford, R. (2013).  Hijacking environmentalism: Corporate responses to sustainable development. Routledge.  

Critique Article writing Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critique writing - Article Example ciates the significance of addressing the research question by deriving the importance of measuring and enhancing patient satisfaction in evaluating adequacy of treatment. Indeed, the study reckons that understanding the patients perception will help the nurses to meet analgesic goals (Bozimowski, 2012). The study notes the motivators of the research question by highlighting the significance of adequate patient teaching in enhancing patient satisfaction and perception. The research study notes the research gaps in previous studies that addressed the same topic by stating the failure of utilizing simplified tool to assess patients satisfaction. The study defines the most effective methods of addressing the research question in a clear, accurate, and simplified manner. The research study depicted a significant level of coherence and congruence by relating the most relevant qualitative factors and variables to address the research problem. Indeed, the study seeks to establish the congruence between nurses perceptions of their patients satisfaction with pain management and patients self-report (Bozimowski, 2012). It also establishes the correspondence between patients level of satisfaction, type of therapy used, and adequacy of teaching related to their pain management plan (Bozimowski, 2012). The data collection method and the research population were equally relevant to the study. However, the mixing of the evaluative study of the variables and the pilot study was seemingly confusing since one would struggle to establish the actual results. Indeed, the use of a simple survey to measure satisfaction demeaned the value of the research problem. The analysis of the collected data was reliable and the results correlated with the study by addressing the research question. In criticizing the nursing article, â€Å"Pain neurophysiology education for the management of individuals with chronic low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis† by Clarke et al. (2011), I

Post World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Post World War II - Essay Example The Killing Zone" (Grunt Space, 2004). From this list emerged another long list of Vietnam-inspired war movies and television series. And then, there's "We Were Soldiers Once and Young." This book inspired the movie directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson. The book and the movie present unadulterated details about war, not from the point of view of historians, politicians, and wide-viewed bestselling authors but from the individuals who were there. Ferguson (2003) presented a detailed military and national background about the events that surrounded the la Drang memoir of Moore. The war in Vietnam was considered a "boil" during America's Cold War with the former USSR and China. While Vietnam was fresh from its independence from colonial France, a revolution erupted as the communists controlled northern Vietnam. The 1956 Geneva Accord paved for a national election which was marred by communist rebels called the Viet Cong. America per se was under turmoil at that time as President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, with a non-interventionist new president Lyndon Johnson. Nevertheless, Johnson sent troops, using airmobile warfare initiated with the 11th Air Assault Division renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, 7th Battalion with the mission: to find and kill the enemy. Discussion: "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young" is a book written by retired Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore, battalion commander of the 1/7 Cavalry during the la Drang campaign, together with UPI war reporter Joseph L. Galloway. It was produced with intensive interviews among Vietnam war soldiers (survivors) and their families, loved ones, and all those who were directly involved and affected by the war. Moore wrote that every Hollywood movie had shown it the wrong way, which inspired him to write the book, "to make it right this time." While it is necessary to indicate political and global trends in presenting a part of history such as the United States' war with Vietnam, Gilbert (2004) acknowledged that "Light of another kind can be found in the examinations of the wars in Viet Nam provided by world literature and the world cinema," (p 14). This is indicative of the presence and essence of other details which are all contributory to historical facts that cannot be ignored altogether. Gilbert (2004) aptly placed it when he wrote "Viet Nam has greatly contributed to the human record of the strife-torn and oppressed. From the Western-influenced individualist style that emphasized the alienation of the self to the triumph of social realism that identified death on the battlefield as the highest form of self-realization, Vietnamese prose and poetry reflects the transition from a traditional to a colonial to a modern society that many people have made in the modern era." While the book

Critical Analysis of a Historical Science Assignment

Critical Analysis of a Historical Science - Assignment Example In DNA data is stored in codes consisting four chemical elements: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine(C) and thymine (T) (Watson, 2004). However, we realize that, in human beings, DNA consists of more than a billion elements, which are mostly similar in all humans. The order in which these elements appear determines the availability of elements to build and sustain a being. This can be likened to the order of letters that forms different words and sentences. The four DNA elements combine in a predetermined sequence, that is, A binds with T while C binds with G. This results in the arrangement of elements called base pairs. The ratio of adenine to thymine, and guanine to cytosine govern the pattern of DNA. Further, each element attaches itself to a sugar molecule and phosphate molecule to form a nucleotide. These nucleotides are then aligned in two strands to form a double helix, which is spiral in shape running in an anti-parallel manner. These arrangements are referred to as chromoso mes, which during the process of DNA replication, divide and are copied or replicated to develop more chromosomes. This results in all cells consisting enough chromosomes to support life fully. The key element of DNA is that it is capable of replicating itself to make millions of copies. A DNA strand in a double helix is the prototype for copying the series of bases. This is of paramount importance in cell division as the newly created cells need to obtain a similar DNA trait as the old cell. DNA together with macromolecules such as proteins, lipids and carbohydrates are essential in the establishment and maintenance of any life form, RNA viruses being the exception. The genetic code is the system used in reading the material contained in DNA. The genetic code spells out plan of amino acids which form proteins in the body and is studied by replicating existing DNA strands to RNA acid. This is done through a process referred to as transcription. Beings such as animals, fungi and plan ts, also referred to as eukaryotic organisms gather their DNA in the nucleus, mitochondria or chloroplast of their cells. On the other hand, beings such as bacteria and other single celled organisms commonly referred to as prokaryotes collect their DNA in the cytoplasm. The organization and packing of DNA in cells is tasked upon alkaline based proteins referred to as chromatin. These proteins include histones. Hydrogen bonds between nucleotides help to stabilize DNA; however, we note that interfacing nucleobases in a process referred to as base-stacking is also essential in steadying the DNA helixes. There are two classes of nucleobases, these are: purines which are formed when A and G are combined in the ratio of five to six and pyrimidines formed when six C and T bases combine (Watson, 2004). Biotechnicians examine the characteristics if nuclear based acids through a technology referred to as nucleic acid analogues. These techniques are typically used by medical and biology resear chers. Furthermore, we note that the arrangement of DNA is referred to as sense which is copied to its RNA and, on the other hand, antisense is the term used to refer to the arrangement of DNA on the reverse side. However, it is common for both sense and antisense to appear in a single strand of DNA. RNA antisenses are churned out in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, these RNA antisenses are mandated with controlling gene expression in the process of RNA-RNA base pairing which is quite similar to the base pairing process in DNA

Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies Assignment - 2

Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies - Assignment Example The combination of these qualities has been the pivotal reason behind the success story of Apple Inc. which revolutionized the retail industries and the technology. Apple Inc. is dedicated towards the main standards of ethical conduct, environment and social responsibilities. The prime purpose of the paper is to provide vivid information about the ethical and social responsibility, current position and strategies of the Apple Corporation. According to David Kurtz, â€Å"social responsibility is defined as the management values that comprises of contributing resources to the developing in nonprofit programs, community and maintaining the natural environment for the benefit of the general community†. Apple Inc. is a multinational corporation of America founded in 1976. Apple develops, designs, sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers and online services. Apple strives to be committed towards making an extraordinary technology and be socially and ethically responsible (Lencioni, 2012). According to the management of Apple Corporation, â€Å"social responsibility is defined as the essential in the manner of doing business in the organization†. In case of suppliers, it has been stated on the Progress Report of Global Suppliers Responsibility by Apple as providing safe working surroundings. Some of the social responsibility program initiated by Apple Inc. in the year 2010 includes increase in the number of facilities that are audited, use of probable conflict minerals are mapped, prevention of hiring underage workers, introduction of educated facilities that can help to manage third-party recruiters, protection of worker from other countries by dedicated additional resources and expansion in the training initiative. In case of training expansion, 300,000 workers are trained on their protections and

Position paper on capital punishment Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Position on capital punishment - Research Paper Example Some believe that it is a good way to punish serious criminals such as murderers, while others consider it unethical and immoral. Personally, capital punishment is right and should never be abolished, especially for certain horrid crimes such as murder. The main aim of this essay is to give readers some facts about capital punishment, and convince them that it is right and should be practiced as punishment for horrid crimes. Capital punishment is sometimes referred to as execution, the death sentence, or the death penalty. All these terms refer to a legal process whereby the state puts an individual to death to serve as a punishment, usually for a crime of high magnitude, committed by that individual (Mandery, 2005). Crimes that can lead to capital punishments are usually very serious crimes and are usually referred to as capital offences or capital crimes. The term capital has its origin in the Latin word ‘capitalis’, which literally refers to execution through beheading. Many societies have been practicing capital punishment for many years in the past (Rita & Blaskovich, 2007). Governments have been using it to execute political opponents and criminals with the aim of suppressing political dissent and punishing serious crimes. In most places where capital punishment was practiced, it was usually reserved for crimes such as military injustices, political crimes, treason, espionage, and mur der. In other countries, capital punishment was used to punish sexual crimes that included sodomy, incest, adultery, and rape. Capital punishment was also used to punish religious crimes, for example, apostasy in Islamic countries. In other countries, any crime that was considered a capital offence was punishable through capital punishment. Such crimes include drug trafficking, and human trafficking or corruption in China (McCafferty, 2010). Formal execution (capital punishment) dates back to the start of recorded

Nursing Professional Values Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nursing Professional Values - Essay Example Because of this concept, society always turns its needs whenever certain individuals seek professional health service to hospital institutions. Thus, closely monitoring the quality of the healthcare service and the administrative process of hospital institution is indeed beneficial for the society themselves. Through this actions, improvement measures and promotion of quality can be further develop for the advantage of the people thus certain essential tools and measures are developed for improving the quality of services provided by hospital institutions. In this regard, the role of the nurses plays a great implication as to how the said process of operational success could be garnered. Nursing students as training professionals in the field of hospital has to have the ability to handle ethical issues within the said industry. Undeniably though, it is essential enough to consider this particular matter when dealing with healthcare professions such as nursing (Lewis, 2005:78). True, being a nurse requires one to become highly involved in different human operations and are thus more susceptible to issues that are related to the said situations. Consequently, the said healthcare professionals are required to learn different levels of ethical concerns even during their training years yet. This particular training ensures them of the capabilities that they have to at least manifest their personal concern for their patients as well as their professional standing for the performance of their duties towards their clients (Potter, 2005: 54).Being a nurse itself requires hard work and perseverance in treating patients from different ages, genders and situations. According to the Department of Nursing Education, applicants for the nursing job must have certain characteristics that will help them give the needed medication for the patients they care for. The said characteristics particularly involve that of the five major values of professionalism that must be given full attention by nurses in performing their duties to the public. The five values include Altruism, Autonomy, Human Dignity, Integrity, and Social Justice (Barnes, 2005: 36).

Taget company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Taget company - Essay Example This led to the renaming of the Dayton Corporation into the Target Corporation in 1990 (Target Corporation, 2013). Target Company’s discount department store and hypermarkets deal with a collection of food and general merchandise and in their retail business, including perishables, dry, and frozen items. Target has grown into the second largest discount retailer in the United States and has taken the retail market with a storm since its inception. Target Company has been able to grow rapidly due to its business and operational strategies, innovations, strong brand recognition and awareness, in addition to employee retention. The company has invested into the unexplored and high-potential market field, such as the perishables and frozen food items, focusing on private label products, in addition to strategizing on the expansion of their business units into the global markets. The expansion into the rapidly growing global markets, such as China, Target Company has been able to w ithstand the fierce market competition and the economic slowdown in the United States. Target Company is listed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as TGT (Target Corporation, 2013). ... The Corporation has also established service programs for eligible team members to cater for their health and well-being, and for their spouses and other dependents (Target Corporation, 2013). Target Corporation’s social responsibility is enhanced through the maximization of its profits, through innovation and brand recognition, in addition to the extensive investment into the global markets (Cheeseman, 43). This is evident in the respective Company’s 10-k forms, and has ensured the maximization of profit for the corporation and the shareholders at large. It is also reflected in the growth of Target Corporation shares in the New York Stock Exchange. This has subsequently ensured the maximization of profits to the shareholders through the rise in dividends, from 1.07% to 1.66% in 2013. The rapid growth of Target Corporation has led to the increase in profits through the growth and recognition of its brand, which has in turn ensured the growth of the company shares in the NYSE (Target Corporation, 2013). Target Corporation also holds high business ethics, despite the fierce market competition from other similar companies, such as Walmart Stores (Target Corporation, 2013). Though the company is in the retail industry and offers discount sales, it upholds healthy completion through the maintenance of reasonable prices that are lower. Consequently, this is likely to increase the client confidence and lead to more product sales (Cheeseman, 35). The moral minimum is therefore upheld, whereby the corporation makes extensive sales and profit but still upholds healthy prices that do not harm other competitors. Target Corporation is also compliant to the customer protection laws and other

The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers Essay Example for Free

The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers Essay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report describes the findings of a qualitative research project, The Experience of Ethnic Minority and Migrant Workers in the Hotel and Catering Industry: Routes to Support and Advice on Workplace Problems, funded by the European Social Fund and Acas and carried out by the Working Lives Research Institute at London Metropolitan University. The research provides evidence of the conditions faced by ethnic minority and migrant workers in the hotel and restaurant sector, an industry already known for its harsh working environment. In-depth interviews with 50 ethnic minority and migrant workers in London, the West Midlands and the South West were carried out between May 2005 and May 2006. In addition, interviews were held with key informants to provide contextual information on features and trends within the sector. The key findings of the research are summarised here. Working conditions in hotels and restaurants †¢ Cash-in-hand, undeclared or under-declared, and illegal working was found among the ethnic minority and migrant restaurant workers interviewed, and affected both employment conditions and rates of pay. This was prevalent in small, ethnic minority-owned restaurants, usually employing members of the same ethnic group. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) was the rate commonly paid to basic grade staff, including bar and restaurant staff, hotel porters and housekeeping staff, particularly outside of London. The research also found a high incidence of flat rate payments per shift or per week, regardless of hours worked, below the NMW, often paid cash-in-hand. Long hours working was a further feature. Full-time workers did a minimum 40-hour week, with 50 to 60 hours a week being common, particularly in restaurants. Late night working, or until the last customer left, was often expected without extra pay. Some felt that they had no life outside work due to the long hours demanded by the job. In some instances, individuals had several jobs to earn money to support family or send back home. There was low awareness of holiday and leave entitlements. Very few workers received more than the statutory entitlement to four weeks’ holiday. Some reported getting no paid holidays or receiving less than the legal minimum, and there was generally low awareness of holiday entitlement. In small restaurants there was sometimes an informal policy of two weeks’ leave. It was common for workers to have received no written statements of particulars or contracts. This was found among both informally and legitimately employed workers, and was a source of anxiety for several. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 1 †¢ There were poor perceptions of job security in the sector. Few workers felt secure in their employment, often feeling they could be sacked on the spot, particularly those working informally. Some longer-term workers in regular employment were aware that increasing use of casual and agency staff meant that their jobs were not secure. Training available to migrant workers, particularly in restaurants, was minimal, usually only in basic health and safety, hygiene or fire procedures. In some hotels, however, managers had recognised the neglect of training in the past and were offering staff the chance to pursue National Vocational Qualifications. †¢ Problems at work †¢ There was a high degree of acceptance of the poor working conditions in the sector among interviewees, with issues such as low pay, long hours, unpaid overtime and poor health and safety standards often not perceived as particular â€Å"problems† but rather viewed as the nature of work in the sector. Where problems were identified these related to: pay; long working hours; workload; getting time off; bullying and verbal abuse, including racial harassment; problems getting on with colleagues; English language skills; and theft of property from work. Bullying and verbal abuse was common, particularly in kitchens where chefs were often known as bullies, but this was accepted by some as â€Å"just the mentality of the kitchen†. Sometimes the abuse had a racial element, with â€Å"bloody foreigner† used as a term of abuse. Racist abuse from restaurant customers was also regularly suffered by some waiters. In one hotel, several staff had experienced bullying from a manager, resulting in time off sick with stress. Staff believed there was an ulterior motive of trying to get rid of long-serving employees and replacing them with cheaper casual staff. Opportunities for promotion were felt by several interviewees to be inhibited by discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality or age, as well as the limitations imposed by work permit or visa rules. Some long-term workers felt they had been overlooked for promotion, with their age then compounding the problem as employers looked for younger staff to promote and develop. Where employees saw that they had opportunities to progress, this was due to the support of a manager. Opportunities were further limited by employer presumptions about the suitability of staff for â€Å"front-of-house† jobs, such as reception or waiter positions, based on ethnicity, gender and age. Some employers expressed preferences for white staff, or a â€Å"balance† of white and non-white front-of ­ house staff, on the grounds that it was what their customers wanted. The research found that such racial stereotyping was expressed openly in this sector in a way that may not be acceptable in other sectors. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 2 †¢ In the main, interviewees did not raise health and safety concerns when discussing problems at work, reflecting an acceptance of the hazards of this type of work. However many issues did arise during the course of interviews, which included: burns and working in hot kitchens; working in a confined space; back and shoulder pains; and tiredness from long working hours and heavy workload. Often, responsibility for health and safety, such as avoiding burns, was seen as primarily belonging to the employee and not the employer. Most workers believed that little could be done to tackle the problems that they were having at work, or felt that the only solution was to leave the job. A handful of workers had taken action to resolve their problems at work, either by raising concerns with their manager, or seeking outside support or advice. †¢ Support, advice and awareness of rights †¢ Workers felt poorly informed about employment rights in the UK, and had little idea of where to get information if they needed it. Many also were unsure about aspects of their own particular terms and conditions of employment, which was related to a lack of written information. As might be expected, those who had been in the UK for a longer time, and the small number who were members of a trade union, felt better informed about their rights at work. Trade unions had been a valuable source of support for a small number of interviewees, but for most workers, unions simply did not feature in their experience of work. But despite the difficulties of organising in the sector, including high staff turnover, no culture of trade unionism and employers that are hostile to trade unions, union membership was growing in one London hotel and catering branch. This was the result of recruitment campaigns that included information in several languages. Some interviewees either had, or would, seek support from community organisations about problems at work. However, there was a variation in the level of community support available in the three regions, with London and the West Midlands having established organisations representing a variety of ethnic groups, but such structures were much less well developed in the South West. Seeking support and advice through community organisations can also be a double-edged sword for those who work for employers within the same ethnic community, with some fearing that if they sought advice, word would get around and they would have problems getting work in future. Of the small number of workers who had sought support for problems at work, Citizen’s Advice, Acas and a specific project for service workers (no longer in existence) had been used. While a small number were aware of Citizen’s Advice, a couple thought that the service excluded them because of its name, which implied to them that it was for British citizens only. †¢ †¢ †¢ 3 Conclusions and recommendations †¢ While many of the working conditions and problems highlighted in this report are common to workers in the sector, the research found several features that serve to differentiate the experience of ethnic minority and migrant workers: immigration status; working in the informal sector; discrimination in the labour market and employment; and low expectations which increase tolerance of poor working conditions. For ethnic minority and migrant workers the difficulties in raising and resolving problems relate both to their own individual vulnerability and characteristics of work in the sector. Recent migrant workers may have limited English language skills and little or no knowledge of UK employment rights and support structures, factors that compound the difficulties of addressing problems in the sector. These include: the perception that there is a ready supply of labour to replace workers who complain; a lack of union organisation; a culture of poor personnel practice, such as minimal training and provision of information; and the informal nature of much employment obtained by ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector. There appeared also to be a lack of monitoring or enforcement of employers’ compliance with employment legislation in this sector. To understand the different experiences and motivations for ethnic minority and migrant workers working in hotels and restaurants, the research developed a typology of strategies that highlights at one end how some individuals feel they are acting strategically in relation to their work choices, whereas at the other, economic factors and limitations play a greater role in determining their choices. The strategies move from Career progression through Broadening opportunities and Stepping stone to Pragmatic acceptance and No alternative. The research makes a number of recommendations about how the position of this vulnerable group of workers can be improved through better access to employment rights and information, improvements in working conditions and career opportunities, and improved provision of support and advice. †¢ †¢ †¢ 4 1. INTRODUCTION This project, The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers in the Hotel and Catering Industry: Routes to Support and Advice on Workplace Problems, was funded by the European Social Fund and Acas and carried out by the Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University between May 2004 and July 2006. The project used qualitative research methods to explore the experiences and problems at work of ethnic minority and migrant workers in hotels and restaurants, with the aim of both identifying the range of experiences and problems encountered, and gaining a greater understanding of access to and use of support and advice to resolve these problems. The research therefore provides evidence of the conditions faced by ethnic minority and migrant workers, which is an area relatively neglected by research so far. Its objective is to inform policy in order to improve good practice in relation to the employment of ethnic minority and migrant workers, to prevent problems from arising, and to improve the support and advice mechanisms available. The key target groups for these research findings and policy objectives are thus employers, statutory bodies, the voluntary sector, trade unions and community groups. 1. 1 Background to the project At the start of the project a working paper (Wright and Pollert, 2005) was prepared to establish the extent of ethnic minority and migrant working in the hotel and restaurant sector, as well as pinpointing the main issues for workers in the sector identified by the existing literature. The working paper is available on the project website1. The paper showed that ethnic minority and migrant workers make up a significant part of the hotel and restaurant workforce – almost threefifths (59%) of workers in the sector in London described themselves as other than White British in the 2001 census (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27). Outside of London the picture reflects the differences in the concentration of the ethnic minority population across the UK. In the West Midlands, where 84% of the hotel and restaurant workforce were White British in 2001, the largest other groups were White other (2. 9%), Bangladeshi (2. 3%) and Indian (2. 2%). The sector is a particularly important source of employment for some groups, with 52% of male Bangladeshi workers employed in restaurants, compared to only 1% of white males (Holgate, 2004: 21). In London, migrant workers (those born outside the UK) account for 60% of those employed in the hotel and restaurant sector (GLA, 2005: 68), compared to 31% of all London workers who were born outside the UK. However there have been important changes in the composition of the hotel and restaurant workforce since the 2001 census, with employers filling vacancies in the sector by employing significant numbers of workers from the East European countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 (known as the A8 countries). The government requires nationals of the A8 countries who wish to work in the UK to register with the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS), and Home Office figures show that of the 375,000 workers registered between May 2004 and March 2006, 22% were working in hospitality and catering (80,570 workers) (Home Office, 1 http://www. workinglives. org/HotelCatering. html 5 2006a). There has, however, been a decline in the proportion of WRS applicants in Hospitality and Catering from 31% in the second quarter of 2004, to 18% in the first quarter of 2006, with Administration, Business and Management now employing greater numbers. The highest proportion of all applicants under the scheme were Polish (61%), followed by Lithuanian (12%) and Slovak (10%). The figures also show a movement of registered workers to other parts of the UK than London, with the percentage applying to London falling from 25% in the second quarter of 2004, to 11% in the first quarter of 2006 (Home Office, 2006a). While working conditions in the industry have been well documented as consisting of low pay, low status, exploitation of employees and lack of unionisation (e. g. Gabriel, 1988; Price, 1994; Head and Lucas, 2004; LPC 2005), little has been written in the UK about the actual experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers, with much of the existing literature focusing on management behaviour and strategy (Wright and Pollert, 2005). Some recent exceptions include a study of low pay in London (Evans et al, 2005), which included the hotel and catering industry. This study of 341 randomly selected low paid workers contained 90% who were migrants. Of their sample of hotel and hospitality workers, the largest group (two-fifths) were non-British whites, mainly from Eastern Europe, followed by Africans (24%). It found the lowest rates of pay to be in the hotel and catering sector, below contract cleaning, home care and the food industry. Other recent research has considered the experience of Central and East European migrants in low paid employment in the UK in the context of the A8 countries joining the EU, and covers hospitality, along with construction, agriculture and au pairs (Anderson et al, 2006). It is some 15 years since the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) undertook a formal investigation into recruitment and selection in hotels (CRE, 1991) in response to concern that the sector was failing to consider equal opportunities in employment practices. It found that ethnic minority staff were disproportionately concentrated in unskilled jobs, and found only one ethnic minority manager out of 117 hotels investigated. It made a number of recommendations about how hotels should improve their practices in relation to recruitment, monitoring, positive action and training taking account of equal opportunities issues. However, we have been unable to find evidence of any monitoring or evaluation of whether these recommendations have been heeded or implemented by hotel employers. While knowledge of employment rights among all workers in the UK is poor, it has been shown that vulnerable groups know even less (Pollert, 2005). A random survey of people’s awareness of employment rights in the West Midlands found that women, ethnic minorities, young people and the low paid were least likely to be aware of their rights (WMLPU, 2001). The research was undertaken in the context of considerable public debate on migration policy, and at a time when the government was intending to phase out low skilled migration schemes, such as the Sectors Based Scheme, which granted work permits to certain numbers of workers in skills shortage sectors such as hospitality, in the light of new labour available from the European Union (Home Office,2005). At the same time there is increasing concern for â€Å"vulnerable† workers, and the government has recently published a policy statement on protecting vulnerable workers, defined as â€Å"someone working in an environment where the risk of being denied employment rights is high and who does not have the capacity or means to protect themselves from that abuse† (DTI, 2006: 25). 6 1. 2 Research aims The research set out to address the following key questions: 1. What are the working conditions of ethnic minority and migrant workers in hotels and restaurants? 2. How are working conditions seen and what are perceived as ‘problems’, and how does this impact on acceptance of poor working conditions? 3. What type of problems do ethnic minority and migrant workers have working in hotels and restaurants? 4. How do these compare to the problems generally affecting workers in the sector and to what extent are they associated with particular labourmarket niches within the sector to which these workers are confined? If this is so, to what extent is the insecurity of migrant status relevant, or is racial discrimination relevant? 5. How much do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector know about their rights at work, and to what extent do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector attempt to enforce their legal rights at work, or instead try to find ways to achieve a sufficient income and manageable working conditions, even if this means colluding with illegal employment practices? 6. How much do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector know about where to get advice and support for problems at work? And who do they turn to for advice and support? To what extent do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector use statutory (i.e. Acas, CRE), voluntary (CABx, local advice agencies), trade union, community (groups or informal contacts through ethnic networks) or informal (friends, family) sources of support and advice? 7. What are the experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector of using all these sources of support and advice and what barriers do they face in accessing support and advice for workplace problems? 1. 3 Structure of the report The report describes the research methodology and access routes, together with the characteristics of the interviewees in section 2. The working conditions experienced by interviewees are described in section 3, confirming evidence from much of the existing literature on the sector, but also highlighting where the experience of ethnic minority and migrant workers may be particular. Section 4 describes the problems encountered by interviewees in their jobs in hotels and restaurants, but also considers the attitude of these workers to defining â€Å"problems† at work, as well as their approaches to resolving problems and barriers to resolution. The information, support and advice available to and used by the ethnic minority and migrant workers interviewed is explored in section 5, together with their awareness of employment rights in the UK. 7 In section 6 conclusions are drawn about the specific experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector, the problems that they face and their need for support and advice, suggesting that changes need to be made to practice within the sector, as well as in improved provision of support to ethnic minority and migrant workers. 8 2. METHODOLOGY The project employed qualitative research methods to gather in-depth accounts of the experiences of 50 ethnic minority and migrant workers. Interviews were carried out between May 2005 and May 2006. In addition, interviews and face-to ­ face and telephone conversations were held with key informants to provide contextual information on features and trends within the sector affecting ethnic minority and migrant workers. The strengths of using qualitative methods are that they can not only identify tangible issues (the problems themselves, for example), but also more elusive, subjective issues, such as motivation, perceptions of opportunities and of rights, sense of inclusion, integration and fairness – or their opposites – sense of frustration, alienation and barriers to obtaining support and fairness at work. 2. 1 Regional scope The research project was confined to England within the terms of reference set by the European Social Fund. Three English regions were selected in order to provide a comparison of experiences of migrant and ethnic minority workers: London, the West Midlands and the South West. London and the West Midlands have considerably larger non-white and migrant populations than other parts of the country, with significant numbers of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis working in the hotel and restaurant sector in the West Midlands (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27 ­ 28). In contrast, the South West is the English region with the smallest non-white population, but is experiencing a growth in migrant workers. The problems facing ethnic minority and migrant populations here have been less well documented, but where studies have been done, isolation from ethnic minority communities and support structures emerges as an issue (BMG Research, 2003; Gaine and Lamley, 2003; SWTUC, 2004). Tourism also accounts for 10% of total employment in the South West, with the greatest proportion of these (70%) employed in the hospitality sector – accommodation, restaurants, pubs etc. (Tourism Skills Network South West, 2002). In the South West it was decided to focus the research on two towns with a large tourist population and therefore a high demand for a hotel and restaurant workforce: Bournemouth and Plymouth. The Human Resources manager of a Bournemouth hotel group, interviewed for this research, said that only 32% of their workforce was British, indicating a high reliance on foreign-born workers. 2. 2 Definitions of ethnic minority and migrant workers The research includes both â€Å"ethnic minority† and â€Å"migrant† workers, categories which, in real life, are complex, changing and overlapping. Some ethnic minorities (using the Labour Force Survey definitions) will also be migrants. Migrants (defined here as all those who were born outside the UK, Home Office, 2002) may or may not be defined as ethnic minorities, and may or may not be discriminated against. White Australian or Canadian migrant workers, for example, would not be. But Kosovan people may be regarded as ethnic minorities, and suffer racism and discrimination, and Czech or Polish people may or may not be discriminated against, and while they may not be â€Å"visible† in terms of skin colour, in the way black and Asian people are, they are â€Å"visible† in terms of language, cultural characteristics, and discrimination. As many â€Å"white† Eastern Europeans are now 9 working in the hotel and restaurant sector, particularly since the EU enlargement in May 2004, it was felt to be important to include their experiences in the study. 2. 3 Access to research participants In order to include the experience of a broad range of interviewees from different ethnic groups and backgrounds, including both recent and more settled ethnic minorities, it was decided to use multiple routes to access interviewees. Therefore a range of bodies were contacted, many with a twofold purpose of: a) providing contextual information about the sector and/or the experiences of particular ethnic groups; and b) helping gain access to research participants. Organisations contacted included trade unions, community and worker organisations, sector bodies, employers and statutory and advice agencies (see Appendix 2). In the South West, where there are fewer organised community groups than in the two other regions, we spoke to officers at Bournemouth Borough Council, who gave us informal contacts within the main local ethnic minority communities, as well as putting us in contact with several community interpreters who spoke the main languages of the local ethnic minority groups: Portuguese, Korean, Turkish, Bengali and Spanish. These routes proved very useful in helping to access research participants and in providing interpretation for interviews. However, in the end, Turkish and Bangladeshi workers were reluctant to come forward to be interviewed, which the interpreters said was because they were fearful of speaking out about their employers, despite reassurances of confidentiality. In all three areas we used fieldworkers who were able to use their language skills to carry out interviews in workers’ native languages, namely Bengali, Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian and Mandarin. The fieldworkers were also able to provide access to workers who may not have come forward otherwise, being people who were known and trusted among their own ethnic communities, or who were able to provide sufficient reassurance of confidentiality. Training was provided in using the interview guide to all fieldworkers to ensure a common approach was used in interviews and that fieldworkers understood the aims and objectives of the research. While the approach used provided access to workers in a wide range of establishments,from large hotel groups to small independent restaurants, including several working ‘illegally’ or ‘informally’, we acknowledge that using such routes could not access the most hard-to-reach illegal migrant and ethnic minority workers, who may constitute a considerable proportion of workers in the sector. The research may not fully represent the worst conditions found in the ‘underbelly’ of the sector as suffered by many ‘illegal’ or ‘undocumented’ migrants, as portrayed, for example, in Steven Frear’s 2002 film about a London hotel, Dirty Pretty Things. It was decided not only to seek out interviewees who perceived themselves as having had a â€Å"problem† at work, but a range of people in different jobs in the sector, in order to explore their typical work experiences and their attitudes towards â€Å"problems† and conditions in the sector. 10 2. 4 Key informants In addition to the worker interviews, at least 20 key informants (see Appendix 2) provided further context on the hotel and restaurant sector, including regional knowledge. These included employers and employer representative bodies, trade union officials and branch members, community organisations, representatives of sector bodies and statutory and voluntary organisations. In some cases in-depth interviews were carried out, and in others more informal conversations were held either face-to-face or on the telephone. 2. 5 Worker interviews A total of 50 in-depth qualitative interviews were carried out in the three regions, with a greater number in London due to the huge range of ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector in the capital. The breakdown was as follows: Table 1: Worker interviews by region Region London South West West Midlands Total % 46% 24% 30% 100% No. of worker interviews 23 12 15 50 during the interviews, which and a half. Participants were of both themselves and their participation with a ? 10 shop A semi-structured interview schedule was used generally lasted between 45 minutes to an hour assured of confidentiality, and of the anonymity employer. They were thanked for their time and voucher. At the start of the interview, participants were asked to complete a two-page questionnaire giving basic demographic and employment details, data from which is provided in the following section. 2. 5. 1 Ethnicity Respondents were asked to describe their ethnicity, according to the classification used in the 2001 Census. The results are grouped together in table 2. Table 2: Ethnicity of the sample Ethnicity White Bangladeshi and Pakistani Chinese and Other Asian Black Mixed % 36% 26% 20% 16% 2% No. of interviewees 18 13 10 8 1 11 2. 5. 2 Country of birth Table 3 shows the range of countries from which interviewees came. It was notable that only one participant was born in the UK, despite attempts to find British-born ethnic minority workers in the sector. Both fieldworkers and interviewees themselves commented that many British-born people do not wish to work in a sector that is known for low pay and long hours, including the children of migrants interviewed, as they seek better alternative employment opportunities (some young British-born workers do work in the sector while they are students, but tend to do so for only a short time). Table 3: Country of birth Country of birth Bangladesh China Colombia France Ghana Holland Indonesia Ivory coast Korea Lithuania Philippines Poland Portugal Slovakia Somalia Spain Sudan Turkey UK Ukraine 2. 5. 3 Gender Women are under-represented in the sample (38% of interviewees) compared to their presence in the sector as a whole, but this reflects the fact that the sample includes a substantial number of Bangladeshi workers, who represent a significant group in the sector in the West Midlands, and most of these workers are male (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27-28). 2. 5. 4 Age Only one interviewee was under 21 years old. Almost two-fifths (38%) were aged 21 to 30 years old, and the same proportion were between 31 and 40 years old. Six interviewees (12%) were aged 41 to 50, and five (10%) were between 51 to 60. None of the interviewees were aged over 60. 2. 5. 5 Education Overall the sample was fairly highly educated, with 36% having a first stage or higher degree. Another 10% had post-secondary non-tertiary level education, and 36% had received education up to secondary level, while 12% had received. % 24% 10% 6% 2% 4% 2% 2% 2% 6% 8% 2% 4% 4% 6% 6% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% No. of interviewees 12 5 3 1 2 1 1 1 3 4 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 2 1 1 12 primary level education or less. A further 6% had other qualifications or the details of their education were not known. 2. 5. 6 Employment The majority (62%) of the interviewees worked in restaurants, while 30% worked in hotels. The remaining 8% either worked in both hotels and restaurants, as agency workers, or in catering services. More than half of respondents (54%) said there were 10 or fewer employees where they worked. A further 22% said there were between 11 and 25 people where they worked. Only 6% worked for employers with between 26 to 49 people and 10% said there were 50 or more employees where they worked. However these figures should be treated with caution, and may underestimate the number working for larger employers, as respondents may have interpreted the questions as referring to the workplace or department of the hotel where they worked, rather than the employer as a whole. Almost half the interviewees (48%) worked as waiters or waitresses, either in hotels or restaurants. Another 20% were chefs or cooks, and a further 4% worked in kitchens as general assistants. 12% said they were supervisors or managers and 4% described themselves as cashiers. Another 10% worked in other jobs in hotels as receptionist, general assistant or porter/bar worker. The majority of workers were full-time (70%), while 14% said they worked parttime, and 14% were casual workers. Working hours were long. The largest proportion (40%) worked over 40 hours per week – 10% worked between 41 and 48 hours, while almost a third (30%) said they worked over 48 hours a week. Just over a third (36%) worked between 21 and 40 hours a week. Only 6% did less than 20 hours a week. The majority (82%) had only one job at the time of the interview, with 18% having two or more jobs. However, some of those currently working in only one jo.

Analyse the suns newspaper leading article Essay Example for Free

Analyse the suns newspaper leading article Essay The Sun is a tabloid newspaper, which is generally short and easy to read. The word spirit adds evidence that The Sun targets a simple audience, which dont have to be highly educated. The Sun is aimed at the middle class market (red top). As well as being strictly right-wing politics, the paper also has an untrustworthy reputation, they can also have tendency to exaggerate the truth and even print lies. Papers often exaggerate to make the situation sound more devastating and to have a more dramatic effect on the reader. The Sun gives a graphical view into what happened on September the 11th. The article on the 12th September 2001 is presented quite visually. The paper uses headlines to attract the readers attention and to summarise the facts of the article. The main title for the article is The Sun Says. The title is printed in large capital letters, is bold and has white letters printed on a black background. White letters on a black background are used to focus people attention on the title. Bold text is also used to make certain text stand out from the rest. The heading is to summarise the article, which is what The sun says This short unfinished sentence makes the reader want read on and this creates suspense as well as getting reader interest. This heading is also influencing the readers point of view. The main Sub heading is All the world must unite to defeat these evil cowards. This heading is printed in large letters, is bold, underlined, has white letters on a black background and in the centre of the article. The heading is in the centre of the article this is to break up the text and grab peoples attention. The heading is used to give a message, which in this case is everyone, must join together to find out who committed this unprovoked attack. This heading is also exaggerated to creating drama and excitement to stimulate the interest of the reader. Below the sub heading in a picture of some of the people caught up in the accident. This is eye catching and is reinforcing what is being said in the text. The picture is followed by the caption Terror victims. New York workers flee the devastation covered in dust yesterday This caption is to get a certain response from the reader. The writer varies the sentence lengths to make short sentences punchy and hard-hitting on the audience. This simple short sentences They must is the first sentence of the article after the subheading. Short sentences are to emphasise a certain point. The point for this sentence is really the answer to the sub heading before it. This has a dramatic effect on its audience to unite in the wake of yesterdays horrors. An additional short sentence is Not after yesterday. This is due to the amount of lives that were lost and threat of another attack. This is playing on the audiences emotions. The writer uses a variety of techniques to help write a powerful article. Emotive language is used to provoke a certain response this can be demonstrated by the phrase But the world will never be the same again. This phrase is used to provoke an emotional response from the audience because the towers will never be rebuilt or be the same again. In order to create emotions, The Sun had to be biased and argue their point in order to get a certain emotion, among the audience. The writer uses the single word exactly which is written in Italic writing. This is to emphasise the word and make it stand out from the rest of the paragraph. The word is also to persuade the audience to adopt their point of view. Bold text stand is used several times throughout the article. Various examples of the bold text are It is our duty to support them, both morally and if necessary practically and They must be hunted down and killed. These quote are both subtitles. These subtitles are bold to catch the readers attention and make you want to read more. The bold also makes the text stand out from the rest of the paragraph. Both of these sentences give the read a feeling that if there is a war then we should back America. A rhetorical question is often asked for effect, this is to get a reader interested in what is happening. Were his words treated as bravado rather that a dire threat? By asking a question the reader is leaving the answer up to the readers imagination and for them to draw their own opinion. In addition, the writer also uses questions from famous people in order to support their view. By quoting the prime minister the writer helps to support this view and it gets the paper politically involved. Tony Blair quoted, The terrorists were in human Journalists often exaggerate the truth to have a greater impact on the reader. For example The world will NEVER be the same again. By exaggerating the story the writer is trying to create a more devastating story. By developing and twisting the story the writer is assuming what has happened, but cant prove what actually took place. This is called suppression and is created by saying an example of this is If they had a nuclear bomb, they would use it. Exaggeration is also being used to influence the readers point of view like in the phrase describing the disaster similar to Armageddon, Death Wish and the Towering Inferno. Writers some times use rhyming phrases in order to create phrases or slogans to keep the suspense of the article. Examples of rhyming phrases in the article include George W. Bush will not shirk from using might in the cause of right. And we have won before. We will win again. By playing on words, using Rhyming phrases and repetition the writer is focusing on a certain point or word. In this case the word is we which is at the end of the article to get across the point that we can win. The Language used in the Sun is informative, angry and sad. The language is a key tool in making a newspaper as affective as possible as it keeps the audience interested. A great example of this is the phrase New York workers flee the devastation of yesterday. This example of sad language is to provoke angry response from the audience. The language is also dramatic an example of this is he must be bold. This is to provoke the response that George Bush must be brave and daring. At the time of the disaster I was at school so I didnt find out until I got home. When I saw the pictures on the television I felt a great lose for the families and could not belief something like this could happen, it affects everyone. The bottom lines of the article are trying to get people to unite and get everyone to pray for America and for us all. This powerful phrase is supposed to have a lasting affect on the reader and to influence their opinion. The leading article is a story expressing the newspapers point of view they are normally hard hitting, powerful and personnel. Some times they are actually written by the editor and they are much more opinionated than other reports. This type newspaper tries to make up peoples minds for them as it is mainly biased.

Representation of Genders in the Media

Representation of Genders in the Media Course Diary Entry 1 Liesbet Van Zoonen: Feminist Media Studies (chapter 6, pp 87 104) 1. ABSTRACT The sixth chapter of Van Zoonens book Feminist Media Studies, Spectatorship and the Gaze, provides a compelling introduction to the area of feminist film studies, more specifically, to different issues surrounding the concept of the gaze. Van Zoonen draws on the arguments of Laura Mulveys work, who used psychoanalytic tools in explaining why women are presented in the media as being looked at and men as the ones who act. Van Zoonen stresses the difficulty of the proponents of psychoanalysis to explain the pleasures of female spectatorship, which, nevertheless, can be accounted for by employing different perspectives on media studies. After discussing ideas regarding the male gaze, Van Zoonen turns her attention to the way images of men are presented in popular media, emphasising the fact that, out of fear that their image could be homosexualised, different methods and narrative codes are employed in order to make the objectification of male bodies less evident. Hence, the traditional perception of men being the ones who have the power and women the ones who are looked at is still in place in patriarchal cultures, even though there are signs of trying to put it aside. 2. OUTLINE women are constructed in western popular media as being the passive object of the male gaze, whereas men as being the ones who act; the psychoanalytical paradigm was employed to explain this state of facts a) Laura Mulvey used psychoanalysis in her study of gender media representations as a useful tool in explaining the pleasures of male spectatorship, though failing to explain the independent female pleasure of looking at men scopophilia the deriving of sexual pleasures simply by looking narcissistic identification the desire of men to identify themselves with other men, presented on the screen as flawless characters the film industry is linked to patriarchy, according to Laura Mulvey; both scopophilia and narcissistic identification are achieved by the way filmmakers frame the action, including the objectification of women the male gaze fear of castration the trauma suffered by boys when discovering the physical gender differences is diminished by the way male spectators take control over womens bodies in the film industry one of the problems of the way Mulvey employed psychoanalysis it equates masculinity with being male and femininity with being female b) Mary Ann Doane contends the impossibility of reversing the gender roles (i.e. men becoming feminine and women masculine) no preconditions of voyeurism in women in childhood women do not experience the distancing from their mothers that boys do because of the sexual differences the female spectator can become masculinized by identifying with the male characters in the film or narcissistically identifying with objectified female characters c) criticism of the psychoanalytic paradigm: it reinforces the patriarchal norms by excluding the possibility of women to derive pleasure from viewing media products Women derive pleasure by looking at other women the psychoanalytical paradigm and beyond a) some argue that the bonding between girls and their mothers creates the pre-conditions of finding pleasure in looking at other women b) women have coexisting latent homosexual and manifest heterosexual desires Chodorows theory of female development c) Arbuthnot and Seneca assert that the psychoanalytic theory is concerned with male spectatorship and thus not appropriate to examine female experiences and motivations Women derive pleasure by looking at men a) Christianity repressing the abundance of nude representations of men made the patriarchal order imperceptible, whilst it still is the substratum of most societies b) the female gaze which is masculine by definition looking at the male body is less dangerous than the homosexual gaze c) narrative and visual techniques lessen the degree of subjection of the male body to the gaze of the female spectatorship e.g. staring back at the viewer, looking up or away from the camera, the text accompanying the images personifying male bodies and thus creating characters men presented as active (e.g. signs of physical activity or labour) and in control, just happening to be looked at, not as posing specifically for being viewed by female or male spectators male bodies presented like romantic objects, not sexual ones (e.g. Playgirl) 3. LITERATURE REVIEW The three chapters I have chosen Kaplans (1983), Staceys (1988) and Van Zoonens (1994) which do not offer a comprehensive discussion of the issue of the gaze, draw on the psychoanalytic explanations of the male gaze and attempt to explain which are the pleasures derived by female spectators watching media products. Hence, all authors use Laura Mulveys and Mary Ann Doanes ideas as a starting point for their discussion; Kaplan argues that psychoanalysis is a useful tool [] [, but not] necessarily uncovering essential truths about the human psyche (1983: 23). She further argues that it can explain only the current structural organization of society, which, I would argue, is a Marxist perspective; in her view, cinema is seen as a means of releasing the tensions created by the industrial society and psychoanalysis as a necessary means to understand the causes of these (Kaplan, 1983). Stacey (1988) identifies the gaps in Mulveys line of argument, more precisely the discussion of the male as an erotic object (which Van Zoonen analyses) and of female homosexuality, and exploits the latter to address one of the issues tackled in little depth by Van Zoonen (1994): female homosexual pleasure, which has been ignored by studies within the psychoanalytic framework. Stacey (1988), like Van Zoonen (1994), draws on Mary Ann Doanes idea that womens pleasures are not related to fetishism and voyeurism, as mens are and further acknowledges Mulveys argument according to which women oscillate between male and female identifications. In discussing possibilities for understanding and explaining the female gaze, all three authors argue that the reversal of roles is impossible without losing the specific gender identification; the female spectator becomes masculinized and vice-versa, and thus the structure remains basically unchanged (Kaplan, 1983). Stacey (1988), as does Van Zoonen (1994), rhetorically asks if women necessarily have to occupy feminine positions and men masculine ones. I would suggest that masculine and feminine actually refer to a set of characteristics associated with men and women respectively only because it has traditionally been thought that they occur more often in the specific gender from which their names derive. Hence, they are not intrinsic to men or women. However, there remains the problem that they are in opposition, not on equal terms. Moreover, if these names which refer to gender and sexual roles would be disregarded, I think it would not be a problem for female spectators to adopt an active (masculine) stance anymore. Further discussing the feminine and masculine spectatorships, Stacey (1988) contends that the subjectivities of spectators should be also taken into account, even if their standpoint is seen as masculine. Kaplan notes, drawing on Mary Ann Doanes argument, that if attempting to confer female spectatorship an active role and not masculinizing it, there is the danger of denying pleasure and of disembody[ing] their spectator (Kaplan, 1983: 28). An active main female character nearly always loses her traditional feminine characteristics in so doing [] of kindness, humaneness, motherliness (Kaplan, 1983: 29). The problem with this statement is that all these characteristics of femininity are actually constructed in the same way as concepts like active, sexually desirable etc are. Therefore, Kaplans statement does no justice to the role of the female spectator. The dominant images of women, all male constructs, as Kaplan (1983) emphasizes, are the objects of male fetishism and voyeurism, as all three authors mention. In addition to Van Zoonens (1994) overarching discussion of these Freudian concepts, Kaplan (1983) points at three male gazes in popular media, identified by Laura Mulvey: that of the film-maker, of the film viewer and of male characters in the film. According to this explanation of females position in the film framework, Kaplan argues, the man owns the desire and the woman (1983: 27), whereas female spectators only receive and return the gaze but cannot act upon it (1983: 31). Hence, male and female spectatorships are different in essential respects. All three authors have a feminist standpoint in common from whence they look at the representation of women in popular media. Stacey (1988) is probably the most dedicated of all three to the feminist cause, discussing issues which are taboo for other scholars (feminist or not): the homosexual female spectatorship. The arguments they bring forward overlap, being complementary in the respect that all offer new information. However, they do not discuss each others contribution to the feminist debate mainly because all three (Stacey to a lesser degree) offer an overview of the arguments brought forward by Laura Mulvey and Mary Ann Doane. All three concluded by pointing to the need of further discussing the sources of pleasure for female spectators both in relation to men and to other women. Moreover, the problem of confounding gender identifications with sexuality in film studies has also been stated as being an issue. 4. CROSSCUTTING THEMES The issues concerning the representation of genders in the media is one of the most important areas of concern for feminist scholars because of the many assumptions hidden under what comes across as common-sense. Nevertheless, this is only one of the issues in which feminists are interested. Among the general concern with the resources of conferring women a secondary role in patriarchal societies, feminists address issues of work and employment, and of motherhood. These two themes have several links with those raised by Van Zoonens chapter on the male and female gaze in popular media. One of the most evident crosscutting themes is that of womens passivity and male activity and control. As we have seen in Van Zoonens chapter (1994), female spectatorship is constructed as being passive and to be looked at, whilst male spectators act upon women by looking at their objectified bodies. Witz (1993/1997) asserts that women have traditionally been seen as having the natural duty to do the domestic work, not men, and that feminists struggled to determine the official recognition of this second job women performed. At least since the 18th Century, when the Victorian Domestic Ideology constructed women as passive, men have had the active role in a family, working in order to earn a wage for the household. Women, on the other side, have been seen as confined to the private sphere of life and, thus, as being passive since they did not have an active role in the public sphere, as men did. This way of seeing women as inferior to men has survived until the present day, when women have also acceded to work positions, and it can be easily seen in the structure of the labour market and in the representation of women in the media. The images of women in popular media, as objects of the male gaze, are opposed to representations of motherhood in different cultures. Reynolds notes that the good mother is endlessly patient, forgiving, nurturing and, most important of all, unfailing in her love (1996: 41); this characterization powerfully contrasts with the images of women as sexualized objects or as secondary characters who only disrupt the narrative. For children, mothers are the main characters of their stories and are entirely feminine (whereas the character of a mother in popular media would be either masculinized or it would be the object of the male gaze). Nevertheless, as Reynolds further argues, the problem is that in reality mothering [is] synonymous with subjugation (1996: 42). Moreover, motherhood is linked with psychoanalysis and the way boys suffer a trauma when they discover their difference from their mothers. In conclusion, the chapters I have looked at on different topics written by feminists share the same view that women are currently oppressed in patriarchal cultures. Women share subordination roles in media, at work, in the family etc. However, the hegemony of patriarchy is most evident in media representations of women. References: Kaplan, E. Ann (1983) Women and Film: Both Sides of the Camera, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 125-141 Reynolds, Kimberly (1996) Mothers in Madoc-Jones, Beryl Coates, Jennifer An Introduction to Womens Studies, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 38-61 Stacey, Jackie (1988) Desperately Seeking Difference in Gamman, Lorraine Marshment, Margaret (Eds.) The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture, London: Womens Press, pp. 112-129 Van Zoonen, Liesbet (1994) Feminist Media Studies, London: Sage, pp. 87 -104 Witz, Anne (1993/1997) Women and Work in Robinson, Victoria and Richardson, Diane (Eds.) Introducing Womens Studies, 2nd edition, London: MacMillan, pp.239-58

Technology in the Mathematics Classroom Essay -- Math Mathematics Tech

Technology in the Mathematics Classroom In today’s society, technology is advancing at such a rate that on can hardly stay ahead. Technology surrounds every person in civilization. To not use the technology that is readily available would be absurd. The same idea applies to technology in the classroom. Calculators, in particular, are becoming more readily available in the classroom, but technology should not stop there. Many inspiring computers programs, such as Geometer’s Sketchpad, Math Success, Fathom, Maple, and Minitab greatly enhance the mathematical teaching and learning that can take place in a classroom. With these types of programs, teachers can cover required more in-depth, and addition material more closely related to the students’ lives. In agreement with Bert K. Waits of Ohio State University, I believe technology, specifically â€Å"calculators[,] in conjunction with mental, paper-and-pencil, and estimation skills when appropriate, comprise the tools to help students work through the computations and manipulations necessary for solving problems† (p. 8). Many people are skeptical about 2 using quality technology in the classroom because they believe it decreases the student’s ability to complete mathematics problems without the technology. In my opinion, in agreement with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, â€Å"technology is essential in teaching and learning mathematics† (p. 24). Even though many people are apprehensive about using technology in the classroom, I feel confident that students can and will use the provided technology wisely and greatly appreciate the ideas and concepts that can be discovered by using technol... ...lassroom, I want all of my students to have access to a handheld calculator and a computer with mathematical software. I plan to encourage my future students to embrace technology and all of its advances. 7 Works Cited â€Å"Handheld Graphing Technology at the Secondary Level: Research Findings and Implications for Classroom Practice† 25 August 2003. gsecondary2.html>. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Reston: The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc., 2000. â€Å"Recommendations for Technology in Teacher Preparation† MAA. 24 August 2003. m>. Waits, Bert. â€Å"The Role of Calculators in Math Education.† 25 August 2003. .html>.

Is One Rodman Enough Essay -- essays research papers

Is One Rodman Enough? In today’s world everybody has his or her own view of what makes a male masculine and a female feminine. If a male were to possess some traits that would be known as feminine, he would be seen as a homosexual. Likewise, if a female were to possess some traits that would be known as masculine, she would be looked upon as being â€Å"butch†. Present day television shows and films mold most peoples’ views on gender identity. A person’s job helps to define their gender identity in other peoples’ eyes. Television and films portray certain professions to be very feminine. For example, have you ever seen a macho, male hair stylist in a movie or on television? A person’s choice of clothing also molds their gender identity in other peoples’ eyes. If a man were to wear tight, pink spandex all the time he would be looked upon as being a homosexual because spandex was made for females to wear. However, knowing all of this, there are some people who are considered exceptions to these concepts. Dennis Rodman is one of these exceptions. Rodman is a professional basketball player who is known for his aggressive style of play on the court. This aggressive style gives him a very masculine image. Nonetheless, he portrays himself as having many feminine characteristics when he is not playing basketball. Knowing this, are people like Dennis Rodman redefining the gender identities? Persons who display success and high status i... Is One Rodman Enough Essay -- essays research papers Is One Rodman Enough? In today’s world everybody has his or her own view of what makes a male masculine and a female feminine. If a male were to possess some traits that would be known as feminine, he would be seen as a homosexual. Likewise, if a female were to possess some traits that would be known as masculine, she would be looked upon as being â€Å"butch†. Present day television shows and films mold most peoples’ views on gender identity. A person’s job helps to define their gender identity in other peoples’ eyes. Television and films portray certain professions to be very feminine. For example, have you ever seen a macho, male hair stylist in a movie or on television? A person’s choice of clothing also molds their gender identity in other peoples’ eyes. If a man were to wear tight, pink spandex all the time he would be looked upon as being a homosexual because spandex was made for females to wear. However, knowing all of this, there are some people who are considered exceptions to these concepts. Dennis Rodman is one of these exceptions. Rodman is a professional basketball player who is known for his aggressive style of play on the court. This aggressive style gives him a very masculine image. Nonetheless, he portrays himself as having many feminine characteristics when he is not playing basketball. Knowing this, are people like Dennis Rodman redefining the gender identities? Persons who display success and high status i...

Valentine, by Ann Duffy and First Love by John Clare :: English Literature

Valentine is by Ann Duffy. The first thing that caught my attention was the title â€Å"Valentine†. Usually when you would hear that word your head would be thinking hearts, love, romance, and choclates etc but not in this case. In this poem it describes love as an onion and this is the constant imagery. The poets aim was to use the onion as a symbol of love rather than the everyday, typical gifts. I think the poem might have been written by a male but adapted by a female poet. My reason for saying this is mainly because when you read the poem it sounds as though it’s a male word because it talks about giving gifts which is normally from the man. Never the less it has more deep and emotional feelings in it which makes it sound like a female words. However we will never know for sure. The language that the poet uses whether it’s a male or a female is very powerful and strong because even if don’t enjoy the poem you would still remember parts of it because its so blunt and straight to the point .The poem also uses at some point simile and metaphors which also makes it very affective. In this poem it also constantly compares love to an onion. It uses the same words that can describe love as well as an onion , doesn’t really use sweet and fragile words or phrases that you would normally expect in a love poem but in my opinion having a bit of a change is always a good thing. â€Å"Blind you with tears† The word blind and tears show the nature of love and how love can hurt which leaves you heartbroken and in rivers of tears. However in cooking wise the onion would blind you and make you cry when you cut it, so the poet bought these two things together and joined them up to make his or her point more interesting for the reader. The language makes me feel very moved at some points because its very emotional and descriptive .My favourite verse was the last one because it uses strong words but with passion and a deep full meaning. â€Å"Lethal† Its scent will cling to your fingers, Cling to your knife Lethal means dangerous and I think this would describe love best because in reality love is romantic however if you don’t play it right and don’t abide by the rules then it could turn into a very nasty game. This is why love shouldn’t be messed about in the first place as it not a game in real life it could mess a persons life forever.

Modern Business Environment Essay

To what extent is the ‘soft’ HRM model achievable and desirable for organisations in the modern business environment? The modern business environment For the past few hundred years the business environment has been mostly based upon turning man hours and materials into hard products (produce). What we are seeing now is a shift away from this production by mass labour, to a system whereby goods are produced by machine and the services needed to facilitate this are produced by man. Taking the UK economy as an example, the latest economic forecast by the TUC (Fig 2) shows a steady decline of manufacturing in favour of service sector jobs. This reinforces the view that the emphasis is shifting from producing goods to providing services. â€Å"The only advantage many companies have are the competencies and abilities of their people† (Dewe 2002). With firms using the same machines competitive advantage (or disadvantage) is created by the knowledge and skills of the employees. Tom Watson Jr, former President of IBM recognised the shift: â€Å"all the value of this company is in its people. If you burnt down all of our plants & we just kept our people & information files, we would soon be as strong as ever. Take away our people & we might never recover† (People Management 1998:34). Knowledge therefore is power, we are moving from a physical economy to one A UK government report (Competitiveness White Paper 1999) sees this new environment as requiring â€Å"†¦greater receptiveness to know-how and the ability to see its commercial potential; eagerness to keep on learning at all levels in a business; and a flair in spotting new customer needs and fresh business opportunities.† This suggests that the modern business environment is a place where knowledge is key. In his speech to the Business Link annual conference, Peter Mandelson MP Secretary of State for Trade & Industry saw the knowledge economy as â€Å"transforming old jobs as much as creating new, with implications for manufacturing and service industries alike.† This leads us to the idea that the modern business environment is a place where investment is required in human capital to produce this knowledge economy. In the modern business environment, with the emphasis on value of human capital, security can no longer depend on a job or organisation but upon the employees own skill and competences (Van Ruysseveldt 1995:3-4). Organisations may not be able to guarantee long term employment, but to entice workers of quality they must look to other means. Hard & Soft HRM HRM can be divided into two approaches: ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ (Fig.3). As we see from the diagram ‘hard’ HRM is primarily financially driven, with a fairly hard view of controlling the wages bill, workers are seen as a cost rather than as an asset to the organisation, the emphasis is on getting the best return on their money, creating efficiencies. The company position will take precedent over the collective views and concerns of employees. Such a way of managing human resources was demonstrated by ‘Fordism’ where the workers on the assembly line were under tight controls and even had to divulge personal information to be able to work for Ford (White Heat 1994). The work of Taylor (Taylorism) and the principles of scientific management were used in the late 19th century to allow factories to be managed through scientific methods rather than by â€Å"rule of thumb.† This idea also treated the workers as just another cog in the wheel of production and worked out the best way that the worker could operate. The modern business environment has changed greatly since the days where all workers were seen as tools to be maintained, much like machines, with regulations and tight controls. This was the hard school of HRM where peripheral workers are disposable and labour is directly productive (Beardwell & Holden 2001:98). This model can also be viewed as ‘managing headcount in a rational a way as for any other economic factor’ (Storey 1987:6). The workforce was merely a factor of production or cogs in the wheel. This ‘hard’ HRM policy suits a workforce that is involved in a repetitive job; each process is standardised to allow tighter controls. The theory is that the firm should maximise human efficiency in the same way as any other resource. This was made a success by businessmen like Henry Ford in the days of mass industrialisation. However, with the advent of high technology machinery much of the repetitive work is now done by robot leaving only jobs for skilled maintainers and operatives, not leaving much scope for hard HRM practices to survive. McDonaldisation has built upon the ideas of scientific management and the successes of men like Ford. Each part of the process of bringing the food to the customer has been scientifically scrutinised and adjusted to make it more efficient. As a result of this approach, they have a controlled workforce and a set of strict rules and procedures that ensure the workforce is working exactly as the employers wish them to. McDonalds have recognised that there is still a place for the unskilled worker, as machines cannot be relied upon to do all the jobs. In this instance there is still a place for the hard school of HRM. ‘Soft’HRM (fig 3) revolves around the development of employees. Employees are viewed as assets to the company, rather than as purely another cost of production. This requires the management to regard the workforce as partners in the work process and nurture them to maximise their output. Heery and Noon (2001) suggests soft HRM is an approach recognising the need to treat employees as assets that must be looked after. A soft HRM policy would therefore place the emphasis on training and development in order to get the best out of the workforce as opposed to tight controls (Beardwell & Holden 2001:98). Therefore, a policy of ‘soft’ HRM seeks to increase production by ‘communication, motivation and leadership’ (Storey 1987:6). Becker (1992 Nobel prize winner for economics) suggests that expenditures on education, training and medical care could all be considered as investments in human capital. â€Å"They are called human capital, because people cannot be separated from their knowledge, skills, health or values in the way they can be separated from their financial and physical assets† (Donkin 2002) If employees have an inherent capital value for their knowledge and skills, it would be reasonable to assume that an organisation can improve its competitive-edge through the excellence of its people (SHL group 2002). The work of Maslows goes some way to explaining the reasons why humans need this development and training. Maslow suggests that individuals have a hierarchy of needs (fig 1). Fig 1 outlines Maslows theory that human nature drives individuals to satisfy ‘instinctual’ needs. The theory suggests that once an individual has achieved one set of needs they are no longer motivated to seek this (as they already have it) and will continue to want more thus rising up the hierarchy. Maslow’s theory would seem to suggest that a firm must ensure that employee’s needs are continually met not only the safety and physiological aspects (the legal requirements of an employee’s contract) to increasing employee productivity. If a firm has to continue to meet ever increasing needs to motivate staff then this theory would be a good explanation of why firms use ‘soft’ HRM. Types of ‘soft’ initiatives * Flexible working, working from home or allowing workers the choice of hours outside a core time of 10:00-15:00 for example. * Job Sharing, by allowing employees to become multi skilled (training) they can operate in a variety of roles thus making their job appear more interesting but also allowing a backup if an employee were to be off work at any time. * Parental leave, with the increased pressures on family life many firms now offer special breaks for staff with children, from allowing days off for hospital appointments to paid paternity leave. * Performance related pay; this could be seen as a hard or soft perspective dependant upon viewpoint. If a system of bonuses exists for good work this would be a soft measure. If (‘tele’ sales) you only get paid if you hit certain targets, this would be a hard measure. The primary argument in favour of PRP is that it acts as a motivator, through both providing incentives in the form of monetary rewards and by recognising achievements. Further benefits cited include the fact that individuals can identify closely with their employers’ goals and that this can increase productivity and encourage quality, flexibility and teamwork (Armstrong and Murlis, 1991). As we can see from the above examples ‘soft’ HRM is much more difficult to quantify than hard HRM. It is more an overall approach to staff welfare and development than a clear set of rules and procedures. What makes it so difficult to quantify is that two firms may claim to be operating the above ‘soft’ HRM policies but in practise they maybe very different systems. For example, the concept of flexible working can be interpreted as allowing employees freedom to choose to work from home or the office, or the firm may use the system of core hours (as above). These are two very different systems but both however come under the heading of flexible working. To decide which method a particular firm is using will require a broad look at the pay and conditions and the freedom employees enjoy. It is also useful to note that it is seldom a case of an employer operating one form of HRM, it is necessary for firms to allow their workers some freedom but at the same time retain control. A good example of this is Microsoft; they operate a seemingly soft policy on HRM with a whole range of employee benefits and training programmes (24hr nurse line, free entry to local events and professional development programmes). However, to retain the knowledge and skills that they develop the firm insists that if an employee is to leave the company they must not work in the computer industry for a period of 6 months. This shows that the organisation is willing to invest time and money to maintain a highly trained workforce but at the same time keeps a tight control on them. Why is ‘Soft’ HRM Desirable? To examine the reasons why a firm should adopt policies of soft HRM we must look at the dangers of not doing this. A recent CIPD survey (CIPD 10/2001) has outlined the costs of organisations for not retaining and motivating staff. The survey has shown that one in four employees left their organisation in 1999 (the highest figure since the survey was created in 1995). What was even more alarming was the cost of replacing these lost staff. The average price for replacing a management level employee was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6086 which was an increase of 28 percent on 1999 the highest cost was to replace a professional services employee which was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8316. The danger for organisations is how this turnover effects company performance, two thirds of organisations believe this to have a negative effect with 13 percent claiming that it has a serious negative effect. The CIPDs findings suggest that staff feel freer to leave an organisation when they know they can acquire employment elsewhere. In a labour market of low unemployment it seems that firms must make themselves more attractive to their employees. RebusHR, a firm that deals with outsourced HR issues for a range of companies sees soft HRM as â€Å"a good way of retaining and attracting the best staff†¦giving people choice and a feel-good factor†¦it shows that you’re interested in them and listen to what they say†(Shepherd K 2002). In the article entitled â€Å"Profitable personnel† (People management 1998:28-31) West and Patterson suggest that good employee relations are directly inked to increased performance. In their survey the ‘Sheffield effectiveness programme’ they found that people management ‘†¦is not only critical to business performance: it also far outstrips emphasis on quality, technology, competitive strategy or research and development in its influence on the bottom line.’ The survey looked at a firm called Zotefoams, which operated an ‘enlightened’ HRM policy. Workers on the shop floor operated in teams and were multi-skilled; they also had a certain level of responsibility for dealing with work priorities and quality problems. The aim was to create a multi-skilled and motivated workforce with more responsibility at the lower levels freeing up management for other tasks. With the management freed up for other duties this allowed the firm to be that much more flexible. Out of the 100 firms surveyed, Zotefoams enjoyed the highest profits and productivity over the seven-year period of the survey. In the final paragraph of the article, West and Patterson sum up their conclusions ‘†¦ those in which the managers have eagerly addressed these challenges [developing skills and ownership] that have experienced rapid improvements in financial performance.’ The findings in the ‘Sheffield effectiveness programme’ are backed up by a study by the Sunday Times (100 Best Companies to Work for 2002) in which 21,000 people were studied over a period of months from the bottom end of the corporate ladder. In an article within this publication, Milton Moskowitz and Robert Levering suggest that ‘Being a generous employer is not just good public relations – it’s also good for business, especially when times are hard.’ This viewpoint makes sense if we take into consideration the negative effect of labour turnover on a company’s performance and the high cost of recruitment. Entering into ‘soft’ practices in human resource management should save the organisation in the long term. The Human Capital Index, developed by the consultancy Watson Wyatt (Overell 2002) is based upon data of HR policies and practices gathered from 600 companies. This data is correlated against financial information. The firm believes it has identified how HR policies are effective predictors of value – and which policies bring most value to the organisation. Organisations with â€Å"the best† HR practices deliver twice as much value to shareholders as their average competitors (Overell 2002). Is soft HRM achievable? According to RebusHR (a large human resources organisation which handles HRM issues for clients such as DaimlerChryslerUK) the biggest barrier to the concept of soft HRM practices is the administrative burden of co-ordinating the information (Shepherd K 2002). This stems from the problem that ‘soft’ HRM is intangible, whilst it is possible to relate high staff turnover to lack of ‘enlightened’ HRM policies, it is not possible to directly quantify the benefits derived from the existence of ‘soft’ policies. This leads organisations to see the cost and extra burden placed upon the HR department with an introduction of a soft HR policy, but it is difficult for this to be weighed up against the benefits on paper. In the IPD survey â€Å"Benefiting from a balanced life† (July/Aug 1999) of the firms questioned many were operating soft policies with 75% offering paternity leave and 57% offering parents special dispensation for time off to look after their children. Popular also were job sharing schemes (57%) and flexi-time systems (47%). From this survey we can see evidence that firms are operating soft HRM policies, what is unclear from the research is to what extent these policies affect the bottom line. The impact of soft HRM is intangible which means it leads us to the problem of quantifying any real benefits. The whole concept of soft HRM appears to be to retain and motivate staff, in the TUC economic forecast we see a high level of employee turnover in the services sector (hotels, restaurants) show the highest levels of employee turnover, but is this as a result of hard HRM practises? true turnover costs are more complex than simply figuring out the average cost of replacement. The costs of losing a good performer are greater than the costs of losing an average performer. The true cost of losing a key seasoned player is hard to estimate. There is the investment in development of the employee, the value of the knowledge and experience gained, and the lost productivity that also have to be considered to arrive at a true cost figure. In the case of McDonalds we see a split between management staff and shop floor workers. Whilst the management have many flexible benefits (PRP, bonus, life/health insurance etc) the workers on the shop floor do not (McDonalds 2002). They are regarded as cogs in the wheel and are treated fairly but firmly as in the hard school of HRM. As a consequence of this, shop floor turnover is higher than that of the management. However, is this higher turnover a result of the HRM policy? Or is it a nature of the type of work? What I would suggest is that the sort of work involved with working on the shop floor of McDonalds is not conducive to a long career in that position. The result of this would be the high staff turnover for low skilled repetitive jobs. The dilemma facing HRM managers is that they need low skilled workers to provide the services such as discussed and to operate soft HRM policies such as training would move these workers away from where they were needed. We therefore cannot have it both ways there must be a balance between employee development and retaining quality people for their positions. If soft HRM seeks to address the retention and motivation of staff we must not lose sight of the fact that we do still need low skilled workers. Soft HRM assumes the existence of a knowledge society (Livingston 2001), the emphasis is on the human resources manager the harness the knowledge. Knowledge work is typically considered to be about variety and exception rather than routine. It is generally considered to be performed by professional workers with high levels of skill and expertise. Livingstone makes the point that the potential for waste of this knowledge through bad management is ‘immense and gut wrenching.’ This claim is given substance by Thompson. In his research only 14 percent of employees received any training at all and that almost half of that lasted for less than a week (figures referring to the UK 2001). For HRM to work effectively we must reorganize work to firstly make the most of existing knowledge and human capital but also to develop this human capital to maximise future performance. In this modern business environment knowledge takes the leading place from other drivers of economic change such as labour, technology and markets. The dilemma we face with soft HRM is that (as explained above in the McDonalds example) a lot of routine work is done by workers with minimal training and knowledge and only small numbers of highly skilled employees are required. Thompson pointed out that if employment growth is not dominated by knowledge work it’s going to be dominated by something else. There are strong and clear indications that it is dominated by low skill, routine work largely in the service sector. We can’t make every job high skill, high wage, and high learning because there are jobs that neither the employee nor employer can grow. One of the reasons they can’t be grown is because, in our other guise as consumers, a lot of us want the cheapest possible flights, goods, services and so on. We can’t have it both ways. If we want cheap, controllable, efficient service, we’re not going to create a lot of high wage, high skill, high learning jobs. There are many dilemmas associated with the ideas of hard and soft HRM. We must realise that we cannot expand the knowledge and skills of all members of society infinitely. There will always be a place for the unskilled worker and as such there must be a place for hard HRM. However, in todays changing environment soft measures must come to the fore. The notion of ‘the velvet glove concealing the iron fist of hard HRM’ (Beardwell & Holden 2001:93) shows that even soft measures are still measures of control. No matter how soft a companies HRM policies appear to be, they will still be designed for the benefit of the organisation rather than of the individual. 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