And the winner is.... - the management theories and methods of Essay

And the winner is.... - the management theories and methods of employee-award-winning companies 2013 - Essay Example As a result, most organizations have shifted their focus from developing strategies to implementing sound human resource management practices. Motivation of employees has become a key aspect in the management of any organization and most organizations today develop employee motivation plans. Facebook, an American based social media company, has developed proper motivational package and this enabled the company to be awarded the ‘best company to work in’ award of 2013. In this paper, the emerging human resource practices will be discussed in relation to how it has changed business performance and employee motivation. While discussing the theories of management currently employed by the organizations, the paper will analyse the article ‘the best companies to work for in 2013’. Human resource management practices have changed from the previous notions that was money centred to a new one that is based solely on employee motivation and how the people are critical assets for the business (Lawler, 2003). Summary of article Facebook, one of the currently leading social media companies based in the united states adopted a human resource practice that is more people cantered. ... With the current cost of livings being overly high, the success and satisfaction of an employee depends on the package that the company offers at any given time. Companies should seek to motivate their employees through the development of flexible work schedules, provision of leaves and offs without any conditions attached and providing a cool work environment devoid of stressful occurrences (Lawler, 2003). Facebook understands these emerging principles of human resource management and has developed one of the best packages for its employees. The company offers one of the most attractive payment packages to its employee as compared to other companies that participated in the survey. As a company that understands the essence of adding value to the life of the employees, the company also offers other incentives and allowances to its employees. These include the provision of free transportation, provision of home and personal services like dry cleaning and other motivating incentives to parents working for the organization. Facebook seeks to develop a work environment where the employees can do what they love most, get paid favourably for their dream careers and enjoy every single moment of their time at the company (Nohria & Groysberg, 2008). Apart from Facebook that was above the park according to this report, McKinsey and Co also emerged as the second best company to work in, a feat that is attributed to its human resource management approaches. As a major consultant company with offices and subsidiary branches in different parts of the word, the company has strived to implement a recruitment program that seeks employees with great leadership abilities.

Federal Bureau of Prisons Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Federal Bureau of Prisons - Research Paper Example Whatever the intended function of prison is, the reality is that they perform a role in our society. We have the need to feel safe from people who would do us harm. Many commit crimes at the state level, so are sentences to local jails or state prisons. Others, however, wrong the country as a whole, and not just a given segment of society. For this offenders, the federal government has set up an elaborate system of prisons across the country divided into six different regions. The purpose of the Federal Bureau of Prisons is to â€Å"Protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prison and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure, and that provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens† (Roberts, 1997, p. 53). The purpose of this paper is to explain the function of the federal prison and to examine the actually effectiveness of its various pro grams and policies. History and Policies Established in 1930, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has stated its policy to provide more progressive and humane care and treatment for Federal inmates sentenced to serve time (Roberts, 1997, p. 53). ... 53). As one can see, this is quite an elaborate system of institutions, and each is governed by a nationalized set of policies designed to keep everything running smoothly throughout the country. Currently, the federal prisoner system is designed to care for about 219,000 inmates. Policies dictate that each inmate who is incarcerated is done so in order to order to ensure public safety. At the same time, the facilities that the inmates are housed in are designed to be safe, humane, cost efficient, and secure to the level required by each individual offender. Security Levels Just as with state and local prisons and jails, there are various levels of security existent in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The system is made of five distinct security levels. The goal in this division is to confine offending prisoners in a manner appropriate to their individual circumstance and crime committed. Each level has different features related to the number and presence of external patrols, towers, security barriers, or detection devices (Fliesher, 1998, p. 11). Each level of confinement will also typically have different types of housing within the institution, certain security features, and a different staff-to-inmate ration. It is also interesting to note that each institution in the federal system is designed to house a different security level as needed depending on the space available and the needs of the population (Fliesher, 1998, p. 11). The lowest level of security in the Federal Bureau of Prisons is minimum security. Prisons of this type are also known as Federal Prison Camps and typically have dormitory type housing, a low staff-to-inmate ration when compared to other

Precis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Precis - Essay Example This article throws light on a critical issue of which I had very little knowledge earlier. It opened my eyes to the negative side of globalization that basically triggered deforestation of the Amazon. Though the author has partially blamed the local people that are involved in logging and cattle ranching; but in my opinion, the government is solely responsible for not keeping its laws strict enough for people to avoid committing environmental crimes. The government has introduced Plano Amazonia to develop the Amazon forests which would further increase the rate of deforestation. Loggers and cattle farmers work together and keep moving the agricultural frontier upwards after having deforested some parts of the Amazon. At the cost of deforestation, Brazil has become the largest beef exporter in the whole world. With the efforts of environmentalists, the big exporters of soya bean and beef have pledged not to buy from growers in the Amazon, which is commendable and would save the Amazo n forests to a great deal. The congress has approved a land reform bill that claims to end illegal farming and environmental crimes but environmentalists are wary of it. Illegal land holdings are prevalent in the Amazon. The new law aims to introduce land regularization and eventually stop deforestation but it is very difficult for the weak Brazilian state to enforce it. Environmentalists have proposed commercializing the products of the forests, which would benefit the local people as well. Amazon fund have been set up by the Brazilian government and many countries, the UN and private companies shall donate to put an end to deforestation. Building roads through the forests to connect far off areas is essential for economic development, despite the effect that it would contribute to deforestation. Efforts are underway to preserve the forests as a

BUSINESS ETHICS Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

BUSINESS ETHICS - Dissertation Example This may be further represented in class biases and alienation. This definition would seem to not prohibit the use of humour to make jest of any ideological, political, or moral concern, but also positions these judgments outside of the specialization of business management. This definition represents the pragmatic way businesses have operated throughout the history of capitalism on the basis of humour and morale in social operations. This represents a slight change in my perception of what is ‘good’ Business and Management Research (BMR), but is not really a main aspect of ethical concern. Tutorial 2: Introduction to Interpreting and Evaluating Research (27 October 2010 and 3 November) In the essay â€Å"Product development: Past research, present findings, and future directions† by S.L. & Eisenhardt, K.M. ... It is unfair, unrealistic, and possibly morally wrong to expect people to be less than fully human when acting as employees as a company, by requiring them to â€Å"turn off† their moral, political, and ideological concerns in the organization of commercial activity. This represents a major change in my perception of what is ‘good’ Business and Management Research (BMR), because to do so leads to injustice, poor practices, and social harm in the greater population through valuing only the bottom line of business against the environment and collective heritage of humanity. Tutorial 3: The Context of Management Research (8 December 2010 and 15 December 2010) In the articles from â€Å"Looking at ourselves as we look at others: An exploration of the publication system for organization research† by Nord (1985), I learned to apply the principles of Business and Management Research (BMR) to the recent financial crisis where banks in America were donating to polit icians that wrote the legislation for their industry, and the relaxed standards of the Bush administration that allowed banks to take on excessive risk. The absence of both political regulation and business ethics in Wall St. financial banks largely contributed to the crisis. This represents a significant change in my perception of what is ‘good’ Business and Management Research (BMR), because of the importance of public relations, brand identity, and advertising in modern business. Tutorial 4: Evaluating Quantitative Research (24 November 2010 and 1 December 2010) I used the information received from Miller& Shamsie (1996) in their essay â€Å"The resource-based view

International Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

International Business - Research Paper Example A group of traders was found to be changing the price of the foreign currency by a considerable amount in the least regulated markets of the country. This activity created a disaster in the market by raising the value of the local currency in the global market. The other suspicious matter that was observed during the course was that the major global banks were being benefited in their investment schemes. The Attorney General of the United States, Eric H. Holder Jr. ordered for a strict investigation regarding the matter in order to find out the best possible strategy to resolve the problems that have arrived due to the trading of the currency. The team that was assigned for the investigation of the case focused on the records of the currency trading and the reaction of the market concerning the increase in the currency rate (Protess et al., 2013). The currency rate is a vital determinant of the international business. The value of the currency in the international business can be enumerated by the facts that the international currency reduces the transaction costs and assists in overcoming the barriers of the international business. In the context of the aforesaid event, it has been found that the major banks were involved in the violation of the currency in the US market. This led to a rise in the currency value and affected the international business strategy of the country. The article reveals that the US Dollar has gone through a decline as a consequence of the drop in the growth of the industrial sector and manufacturing process of the country. The demand for the US Dollar in the international market and the lack of gains in the stock prices led the national economy to a downfall and at times this kind of situation leads to financial crisis. It has been ascertained that the Japanese currency Yen was heading forward in the global market and transcending the US Dollar to a great fall in the value. As per the

Discuss the contribution of material culture Essay Example for Free

Discuss the contribution of material culture Essay The aim of this essay is to explore how useful material culture studies is to understanding societies which existed under Roman rule, especially those of Gaul and Britain. These provinces of Rome adopted Roman culture and used Roman objects for their own use, which could come under the heading of cultural bricolage, where new cultural items are obtained by attributing new functions to previously existing ones, however I shall address this later on in the essay. Woolf comments that anthropologists and archaeologists use the concept of culture as a way of making sense of the diversity of human societies that cannot be expressed simply in terms of biological variation. It is seen by many to be a more precise way of understanding societies rather than seeing how advanced or rich a society was.1 Studying and understanding social identity can also be seen as an excellent alternative to relying on narratives written by Roman authors who were biased and wrote from a Romano-centric position, and it also allows us to consider other elements, for instance class,status, gender, age, occupation, and religion. Material culture can be defined as the study through artifacts (and other pertinent historical evidence) of belief systemsthe values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptionsof a particular community or society, usually across time. As a study, it is based upon the obvious premise that the existence of a man-made object is concrete evidence of the presence of a human mind operating at the time of fabrication. The common assumption underlying material culture research is that objects made or modified by humans, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, reflect the belief patters of individuals who made, commissioned, purchased, or used them, and, by extension, the belief patterns of the larger society of which they are a part. 2 Concerning Roman culture, Woolf defines it as the range of objects, beliefs and practices that were characteristic of people who considered themselves to be, and were widely acknowledged as, Roman. It is believed that every man-made object required the operation of some thought and design. Therefore it is the assumption of material culture studies that this thought is a reflection of the culture that produced the man-made objects. With this theory we can see, in some way, how a culture, which had no written records of its existence, lived. One advantage of material culture studies is that it is beneficial to social historians who wish to know about an entire group and not just the elites of a particular society. A useful definition of the term archaeology is that it uses fieldwork and excavation, and the comparative study of sites and objects to compile information about the pastwhich can illuminate aspects of Roman life which were never recorded. However it does have its limitations as it cannot achieve certainty as all known sites and artefacts are merely a surviving sample of what once existed- and not necessarily a representative sample.4 So in understanding identity we may be able to place these artefacts in context as we will know what particular objects are used for certain practices, for instance burial customs or forms of pottery produced.5 Jones defines cultural identity as that aspect of a persons self-conceptualization which results from identification with a broader group in opposition to others on the basis of perceived cultural differentiation and/or common descent..6 Concerning material culture, Pitts chose 12 areas of study, these were: architecture, art, epigraphy (inscriptions in stone), faunal remains(animal bones), floral remains, funerary evidence, literature, monumentality, pottery, settlement (morphology and landscape archaeology) and small finds(portable material culture other than pottery).7 Epigraphic inscriptions allows us to observe how literacy spread through Gaul and Britain, along with helping us to trace an outline of the cultural geography of Roman Gaul8 Woolf also comments that inscriptions are useful as they represent a wide range of Roman cultural customs which included political, cultic, and funerary practices. He adds to this by suggesting that inscriptions should be seen as attempts made by people to assert their identities and to show their achievements in terms of status. Art and architecture are important as it gives us some insight into cultural ideologies, however this type of evidence only really survived if it was owned by the elites of the society, and the art and mosaics were only limited to this class, so it has its biases. Although it does have its uses as we can see how the adoption of villa architecture by the British and Gaulish tribes shows the acceptance and spread of Roman culture throughout the conquered countries.

With the Stroke of a Pen Government Reaction Paper Essay Example for Free

With the Stroke of a Pen Government Reaction Paper Essay Kenneth Mayer took an upright approach investigating the president’s executive power they used to issue amounts of executive order. He calls it â€Å"presidential edicts† which are official orders that the presidents create to assist executive branch in managing operations within the federal government. Mayer believes that this use of executive order; creating laws and procedures, is turned into an arbitrary order. This legislative act of making laws is stated in the constitution, given to congress; and with â€Å"the stroke of a pen† the â€Å"Laws of the Land† were made with no regard or interaction with the legislative. And as we learn in â€Å"With the Stroke of a Pen†, executive order can be criticized with substantial argument and can have â€Å"great impact†. Mayer put together charts of 1,028 presidential orders into categories, between March 1936 and December 1999, constructing two tables. Mayer leaned to the more necessary side of executive power, realizing the â€Å"formal and informal† restraints put on the president within the â€Å"separated system† and the use of checks and balances that protects, and also the vast difference in ones party in the congress can take the executive powers implied in the 2nd Article of the constitution away (not literally speaking). Mayer explained an issue dealing with Democratic issue with Eisenhower’s apathetic look on discrimination in housing and federal employment; with Kennedy’s promise to the people and equality of opportunity (constitutional) with the stroke of a pen came the fair housing order. As so with Clinton’s scare of impeachment, his idea of executive orders and unilateral decisions (such as, prohibiting the use of genetic information if hiring) showed the capability of a president. These presidential legislations therefore make general policy and link to public law. The argument many make about the executive order is that it’s a way for the president to avoid public opinion and constitutional limits. Though it’s said that this is an example of secrecy and totalitarianism, Mayer actually feels as if the president is limited enough and with all this his orders are constantly judged through a system (checks and balances) in our government anyway and through political parties in the congress. The constitution he says specifies that, President â€Å"shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed† meaning, that if laws aren’t being broken or disregarded then we have no argument against the president’s order. Supreme Court ruled in the steel seizure case (Youngstown), such decisions that aren’t constitutional or statutory. In the cases Mayer mentions about which are Korematsu v. U.S (decision of freedom fro internment camps of Japanese Americans), Schechter Corp v. U.S (about unhealthy chicken being sold, exceeding commerce clause), and Cole v. Young; these are all decisions that derived from executive orders. In the random sample of 1,028 executive orders between March 1936 and December 1999, took a look at the subject of the orders. Civil service which involved retirement exemptions, salary, holiday, and personnel; Public lands deal with land for public use, revoking previous land orders; War and emergency powers deal with orders creating or abolishing wartime agencies, and emergency preparedness procedures; Foreign affairs are orders dealing with importation, trade, aid, and affairs with other territories particularly signed by treaties; Defense and military policy deal with military personnel, intelligence community, and military lands; Executive branch administration order are orders creating boards, councils, agency transferring powers, and tax policies; Labor policy focuses on emergency boards and inquiry, and managing federal government labor policy; Domestic policy orders include energy, environment, civil rights, economy, and education. More than 60% of orders dealing with Executive branch, Civil service, and Public lands; the rest were dealing with Foreign affairs and War powers, and domestic and labor policy were small percentages. Since presidents have been given so much responsibility, orders are then handed down to clerks and subordinates. Mayer noticed through the second table/chart that focused on which the orders were made each year, that War and emergency powers have dropped since 1940’s, which is the result of no more World wars and such; also Foreign affairs, Executive branch, and Domestic policy orders have grown since 1930’s supporting the fact that executive orders do matter. When can a president rely on executive order? Mayer asks. Well in my opinion whenever he is stuck with the task of trying to protect the good, order, and equality among our union. The president is elected for the people by the people and in order for policies that can’t get through the congress as simple, and then this â€Å"Necessary evil† people call giving the president too much power is good. It’s fair to say that some power can be misused but, if the government and congress are doing there job right then the protections we have against a treasonous president or unconstitutional laws being made, almost nothing can go horribly wrong. With the bills and laws being opposed just because of parties in congress then executive order can be made first if the reason and issue is great.