Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 11

Questions - Assignment Example Finally they will formulate a screening process. Staffing professional will perform other duties apart from recruiting such as; 2. Training and evaluation- candidate while in probations staffing professionals will monitor their performance and make recommendations. They will advice management on whether to retrain or recruit another candidate(s). Organization’s effort of retaining their workforce in a given period of time (sometimes a financial year). Retention is targeted on high performing and valuable employees. The other group of low performers will be retrained or fired to save the organization some costs. 2. Training executives- staffing professional undertake executive training to improve competence and efficiency. Assessment is made before training to determine the strengths and weaknesses of individual executives. 5. After hiring the candidate must be trained while being monitored to ensure he qualifies in actual job environment. This period is known as probation and will influence the next step by the staffing managers. Management will find strategies to retain employees to reduce turnover costs. Retaining high performing employee will ensure continuity and avoid unnecessary recruiting costs. Strategies will range from training to motivation of the existing work force. Some low performing employees leaving will benefit the organization from making losses. Assessment of the workforce will show low performances. The organization is more profitable without their contribution. These employees might be placed in an area which they are unqualified hence leaving will benefit them. High morale and outstanding performance by employee will result in low turnover. Employee retention or non retention will result in high turnover an organization. To correct high turnover managers and staffing professionals will correct factors affecting retention. Staffing professionals are very crucial

Learning From Interprofessional Collaboration In Practice Social Work Essay

Learning From Interprofessional Collaboration In Practice Social Work Essay Interprofessional working (IPW) in health and social care is essential for effective service provision and is a key driver of modern healthcare. In a changing and more pressured working environment, health and social care professionals need to be partners in delivering services, embracing collective accountability, be flexible and adaptable and have shared goals in integrating care around service users (Fletcher 2010a, Pollard et al, 2010). According to Tope and Thomas (2007), analysis of policies from as early as 1920 in health and social care have recommended professional collaboration, improved communication and teamwork to improve outcomes for service users. There have been similar recommendations in government policy since this time (Tope and Thomas, 2007). High profile investigations since 2000 highlight deficiencies in IPW across health and social care. Inadequate communication between professionals in cases of the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry (HM Government 2001), the Victoria Climbie Inquiry Report (Laming, 2003), and The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report (Laming, 2009) have caused nationwide concern beyond the professions and services involved, causing a frenzy of media comment and public debate. Core recommendations are for professionals to improve communication between agencies, to have an ethos based around teams and working together and to improve professional accountability. The investigations provide evidence that collaborative working can only improve outcomes and underpins the real need to find out how best to develop a work force that can work together effectively (Leathard, 1994, Anderson et al, 2006 and Weinstein et al, 2003). Policy also recommends putting service users at the forefront of care and coordinating services across the authorities, voluntary and private sector organisations (DoH, 1997, DoH, 2000a, DoH, 2000b, Doh, 2001a, DoH 2001b, DoH 2001c, DoH, 2002a, DoH, 2006, DfES, 2006, HM Government 2004, HM Government 2007). Literature suggests that IPW improvements begin in interprofessional education (IPE) (DoH 2000b, DoH 2002b, Fletcher 2010a, Freeth et al 2002, Higgs and Edwards 1999, HM Government, 2007 Reynolds 2005,). IPE has been defined as learning which occurs when two or more professions learn from and about each other to improve collaboration and quality of care (CAIPE, 1997). The need to produce practitioners who are adaptable, flexible and collaborative team workers has focused attention on IPE, which aims to reduce prejudices between professional groups by bringing them together to learn with and from each other to enhance understanding of other professional roles, practice contexts and develop the skills needed for effective teamwork (Barr et al. 2005; Hammick et al. 2009, Parsell et al, 1998). At our interprofessional conference, we worked in teams of mixed student professionals. We introduced ourselves, our disciplines and our course structures, elected a chair and a scribe and set about to complete our tasks. Cooper et al (2001) identify one of the benefits of IPE as understanding other professional roles and team working. In their study, they found evidence to suggest that early learning experiences were most beneficial to develop healthy attitudes towards IPW (Cooper et al, 2001). None of the members of my group knew what a social worker did and I explained my training and professional role to them. McPherson et al (2001) describe how a lack of knowledge of the capabilities and contributions of other professions can be a barrier to IPW. In our discussions, we talked about our preconceived ideas. Social workers were described as hippies and doctors described as arrogant. Leaviss (2000) describes IPE as being effective in combating negative stereotypes before these develop and become ingrained. Atwal (2002) suggested that a lack of understanding of different professionals roles as well as a lack of awareness of the different pressures faced by different team members could make communication and decision making problematic. The conference provided an opportunity for us to interact with each other and was conducive to making positive changes in intergroup stereotypes (Barnes et al, 2000, Carpenter et al, 2003). Barr et al (1999) describe how IPE can change attitudes and counters negative stereotyping. The role play exercise gave us an understanding of differing pressures faced by each professional. Our team worked well together, taking turns to let each other speak, listening, challenging appropriately when needed and creating our sentences by the end of the conference. I feel that our friendly and motivated characters made communication and thus teamwork easy in the group. Weber and Karman (1991) found that the ability to blend different professional viewpoints in a team is a key skill for effective IPW. Pettigrew (1998) emphasises that the ability to make friends in a group of other professionals can reduce prejudice and encourage cooperation in future IPW. We agreed that teamwork was essential to IPW and can assist in the development and promotion of interprofessional communication (Opie, 1997). We felt that IPE allowed us to teach each other while encouraging reflection on our own roles (Parsal et al, 1999). We were very clear on how we worked as a group and effective as meeting our tasks and I feel we reached the Tuckmans performing stage (Tuckman 1965). Baliey (2004) describes team members who are unable to work together to share knowledge will be ineffective in practice. Although, there is an argument that this is more likely to happen in teams where the concept of IPW is new and team members lack skills to understand the benefits of IPW or adopt new ways of working (Kenny, 2002). Being in our second year of study and having all had experience of working in an interprofessional setting, we were very motivated at the conference and in achieving our objectives. It is noted that personal commitment is important for effective IPW (Pirrie et al, 1998). We acknowledged the issue of power in our professional social hierarchies. In our role play exercise, we found that we all looked to the doctors first for management of the service users treatment and they commanded the most respect. We agreed that medicine was the most established out of all the healthcare professions (Page and Meerabeau, 2004, Hafferty and Light, 1995) and that other professions have faced challenges in establishing status (Saks, 2000). I felt this was especially relevant to social workers who have recently extended their professional training to degree status to bring it in line with other professions. Reynolds (2005) suggested that hierarchies within teams could contribute to communication difficulties; for example, where input from some of the team members were not given equal value. Leathard (1994) describes that rivalry between professional groups especially in terms of perceived seniority are a barrier to IPW. The Shipman Report (2005) noted the importance of ensuring all team members are valued, recommending less hierarchy in practice, more equality among staff, regardless of their position. We talked about valuing and respecting each others professional opinion. Irvine et al, (2002) discuss how IPW can break the monopoly of any single profession in providing sole expert care, promoting shared responsibility and accountability. We discussed understanding, supporting and respecting every individual in the workplace to promote diversity and fairness. We also concluded that institutions and differing professional pressures could be a barrier to IPW. Having previously worked in an interprofessional HIV team for Swansea NHS Trust, I found that team members were given priorities from their managers which impacted on their availability to attend team meetings. Wilson and Pirrie (2000) suggest that a barrier to IPW can be a lack of support from managers and the workplace structure. Drinka et al (1996) describe how during times of work related stress, individuals can withdraw from IPW. We acknowledged that institutional support would be essential to effective IPW. Dalrymple and Burke (2006) discuss that different professionals have different priorities, values, pressures and constraints, obligations and expectations which can lead to tension, mistrust and go on to cause to discriminatory and oppressive practice in IPW. In light of the above learning, we all felt that IPW had occurred naturally in our first year placements, where it was considered the norm in our working environments and where the concept was understood and encouraged. The conference had highlighted some of the barriers to IPW and we will take this knowledge into our practice settings. Word Count 1348 Section 2 How would you take what you have learnt about IP working into practice? The conference highlighted some key issues about IPW that I will take into practice. One of the most significant developments in health and social care policy in recent years has been the move away from the professional being the expert with the power and knowledge to the patient centred care with professionals applying their knowledge to the needs and rights of the service user (Barrett et al, 2005). The social model of care identities issues of power in the traditional medical model approach to care and looks at how dependency on the professional can be a side effect of the helping relationship and be disempowering for service users (Shakespeare, 2000). Informing, consulting with and incorporating the views of service users and carers is critical to effective interagency interprofessional practise. There is a drive in recent policy for service users and carers to be engaged in service provision and the recent white paper Liberating the NHS (HM Government, 2010a), calls for more aut onomy for service users, making them more accountable through choice, being able to access services that are transparent, fair and promote power and control over decisions made. Nothing about me without me ( HM Government, 2010a, page 13) is a commitment that will shift power from professionals to service users, a huge change in current culture. The service user is the central vision, a team member involved in decisions made about their care, transforming the NHS to deliver better joined up services, partnerships and productivity (HM Government, 2010) My learning has reiterated the importance of service user involvement and I have reflected on ways to implement this in practice. In previous employment, I helped to run a patient public involvement group at the HIV service, Swansea NHS Trust. This enabled service users to give feedback and make suggestions for improvements (i.e. having evening nurse led clinics, introducing the home delivery of medication). In my experience, service users were actively involved in shaping services in their communities and it was very successful. In my practice, I will continue to value the service user as part of the interprofessional team as well as encourage this practice in my places of employment. In my placement at a supported housing charity for young mothers, ways to achieve service user involvement were being introduced. One of my roles was to carry out a questionnaire with the aim of getting feedback and empowering the service users. Reflecting on this, I can now see how valuable this exerc ise was and I will continue to see the value in gaining service user feedback and always aim to do this in practice. I discussed this with my group and this added to our learning. Informal unpaid carers, the voluntary and private sector are also essential team players and the value of their contribution is being acknowledged increasingly as the success of an interprofessional workforce (Tope and Thomas 2007). In my role within the HIV service, Swansea NHS Trust, I coordinated an interprofessional team and ran a support group for African women living with or affected by HIV in conjunction with social services and the Terrence Higgins Trust. I understand the value that the third sector organisations can be for service users, often filling gaps in statutory services. The Terrence Higgins Trust were able to provide funding for activities as well as support sessions, training opportunities and counselling. Social Care Institute for excellence (2010) in a response to the white paper, Liberating the NHS (HM Government, 2010a) discuss how around 90% of direct social care services are delivered in the private and voluntary sector. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a soci al policy research and development charity, discuss that the state is withdrawing from many welfare functions and increasingly relying on the voluntary sector to fill gaps in care (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 1996). The recent strategy document, Building a Stronger Civil Society (HM Government, 2010b) discusses how integration with the voluntary sector will be essential to meet the challenges faced by the health and social care provision. The report focuses on our society being able to access wider sources of support and encourage better public sector partnerships, shifting the power from elites to local communities. The government are also keen to support and strengthen the sector and promote citizen and community action (HM Government, 2010b) . My learning has made me aware that future teams will include professionals across all sectors and communication with these sectors will be essential to our professional roles. Working with the voluntary and private sector as well as statutory services, will require skills to acknowledge different agencies focus on care. Petrie (1976) acknowledges that each profession holds a direct focus to care and it can be challenging to communicate. Laming (2003) called for the training bodies for people working in medicine, nursing, housing, schools, the police etc to demonstrate effective joint working in their training. I feel that it would be useful in the future to incorporate more of these professional groups in IPE conference. Fletcher (2010a) discussed how he would hope this could be achieved in future IPW programmes at UWE. I feel that the addition of these extra professions would really add to the learning. Fletcher (2010b) discusses the central dilemma in ethics between health and social care professionals about having a different focus and the best angle for patient care. These value differences can cause conflict (Mariano, 1999). I feel, in practice, it will be important to take time to find out what each agency/ professional does and I will always remember that in IPW, we have a common goal providing a good service for the service user. Leathard (2003) identities that what people have in common is more important than difference, as professionals acknowledge the value of sharing knowledge and expertise. In my practice, I will uphold professional responsibility and personal conduct to facilitate respect in IPW. Carr (1999) explained that the professional has to be someone who possesses, in addition to theoretical or technical expertise, a range of distinctly moral attitudes and values designed to elevate the interest and needs of service user above self interest. According to Davis and Elliston (1986), each professional field has social responsibilities within it and no one can be professional unless he or she obtains a social sensibility. Therefore, each profession must seek its own form of social good as unless there is social sensibility, professionals cannot perform their social roles (Davis Elliston, 1986). The conference highlighted the benefits of professional codes of ethics, setting of standards for our professional work, providing guidance as to our responsibilities and obligations and obtaining the status and legitimacy of professionals (Bibby, 1998). I feel that is in im portant to always uphold our values and ethics to create respect in our communities and with this comes respecting each others roles. I believe that shared values will underpin this in practice. Darlymple and Burke (2006) discuss that we have a shared concern that the work we do makes society fairer in some small way and we have a commitment to social justice. I feel that IPE has facilitated respect and mutual understanding across our professions. It has made me aware of the importance of professional development, about how we are part of the wider team of health and social care services and how our common values can underpin effective partnership working. It reinforces that collaboration is required as not one profession alone can meet all of a services (Irvine et al. 2002). My social work degree is a combination of theory and practical learning. It is through combining this learning and by reflecting on my experiences throughout the course, that will set my knowledge base, allow me to relate theory to practice, allow me to test my ideas and thinking while identifying areas that need further research becoming a reflective practitioner (Rolfe Gardner, 2006 and Schon, 1983). As a group we discussed that there we all value continued professional development, reflection and awareness and personal responsibility for our learning (Bankert and Kozel 2005). It is this that we agreed we would carry forward as we start our working careers. Word count 1352 Section 3 References Anderson, E., Manek, N., Davidson, A. (2006) Evaluation of a model for maximising interprofessional education in an acute hospital. Journal of Interprofessional Care 2 182-194 Atawl A (2002) A world apart: how occupational therapists, nurses and care managers perceive each other in acute care. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 65(10) 446-452 Bailey, D. 2004. The Contribution of Work-based Supervision to Interprofessional Learning on a Masters Programme in Community Mental Health. Active Learning in Higher Education 5(3): 263-278 Bankert, E., G. And Kozel, V,.V (2005) Transforming pedagogy in nursing education: a caring learning environment for adult students. Nursing Education Perspectives 26 (4) 227-229 Barnes, D., Carpenter, J,. and Dickinson, C (2000) Interprofessional education for community mental health: attitudes to community care and professional sterotypes. Social work education, 565 583. Barr J, Hammick M, Koppel I and Reeves S (1999) Evaluating Interprofessional education: Two systematic reviews for health and social care, British Educational Research Journal, vol 25, no.4 533-544 Barr H, Koppel, I., Reeves S,. Hammick M, Freeth D, (2005) Effective interprofessional education, argument, assumption and evidence. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Barret, G., Sellman, D., Thomas, J. (2005) Interprofessional Working in Health and Social Care. Palgrave: London CAIPE (Centre for the advancement of interprofessional education) (1997) Inter-professional Education- a definition. CAIPE Bulletin no.13. Carpenter, J., Barnes, D, and Dickinson, C. (2003) The making of a modern careforce. External evaluation of the Birmingham University programme in community mental health. Durham. Centre for Applied Social Studies. Available at http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/sass/research/ipe.pdf (accessed 24/10/10) Carr, D. (1999). Professional education and professional ethics, Journal of Applied Philosophy, 16(1), 33-46. Cooper, H; Carlisle, C; Gibbs, T; Watkins, C., 2001. Developing an evidence base for interdisciplinary learning: a systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing 35(2), 228-37 Dalrymple, J., Burke, B. (2006) Anti- Oppressive Practice: Social Care and the Law Berkshire: Open University Press. Davis, M., Elliston, F. (Eds.). (1986). Ethics the legal profession. New York: Prometheus Books. DfES (Department for Education and Skills (2006) The Lead Professional: Manager;s guide. Integrated working to improve outcomes for children and young people. Nottingham. DoH (Department of Health) (1997) The New NHS: Modern, Dependable, HMSO, London DoH (Department of Health) (2000a) A Health Service of all the Talents: Developing the NHS Workforce. London. DoH (Department of Health) (2000b) The NHS Plan: A Plan for Investment, A Plan for Reform. London. DOH (Department of Health) (2001a) Working Together Learning Together: a Framework for Lifelong Learning for the NHS. London. DOH (Department of Health) (2001b) Valuing people. A new strategy for learning disability in the 21st century. Stationary Office. Norwich. DoH (Department of Health) (2001c) The National Service Framework for Older people. Stationary Office, Norwich. DoH (Department of Health) (2002a) Shifting the balance of the balance of power: securing delivery. London. DoH (Department of Health) (2002b) Chronic disease management and self care national service frameworks. A practical aid to implementation in primary care. London. DoH (Department of Health) (2006) Our health, our care, our say: A new direction for community services, London Drinka, T.J.K., Miller, T.F. and Goodman, B.M. (1996) Characterizing motivational styles of professionals who work on interdisciplinary healthcare teams. Journal of Interprofessional Care 10 (1) 51-62 Fletcher, I. (2010a) Interprofessional Education, Origins, rationale and outcomes. UWE Bristol, IPE Level 2 Conference. Fletcher, I. (2010b) Ethics and Interprofesisonal Education, UWE Bristol, IPE Level 2 Conference Freeth, D., Hammick, M., Koppel, I, Reeves, S and Barr, H. (2002) A critical review of evaluations of interprofessional education. London: Higher Education Academy. Hafferty, F. and Light, D (1995) Professional dynamics and the changing nature of medical work. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 35. Extra Issue: forty years of medical sociology: the state of the art and directions for the future, 132-153 Hammick M, Freeth, D, Goodsman D, Copperman J. (2009) Being interprofessional. UK: Polity Press Higgs, J. and Edwards, H. (1999) Educating beginning practitioners: challenges for health professional education. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann   HM Government (2001) Learning from Bristol: the report of the public inquiry into childrens heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary 1984 -1995. London: HMSO http://www.bristol-inquiry.org.uk/final_report/report/index.htm (accessed 06/10/10) HM Government (2004) Every Child Matters: Change for Children 2004. London: HMSO http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2004/ukpga_20040031_en_1 accessed 05/10/10   HM Government (2007) Creating an Interprofessional Workforce: An education and Training Framework for Health and Social care in England. London: HMSO http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_078442.pdf (accessed 20/10/10) HM Government (2010a) Liberating the NHS Crown Copyright http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_117705.pdf (Accessed 07/10/10) HM Government (2010b) Building a stronger civil society: A strategy for voluntary and community groups, charities and social enterprises. Crown Copyright. http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/426261/building-stronger-civil-society.pdf (accessed 15/10/10) Irvine, R., Kerridge, I., McPhee, J and Freeman, . (2002) Interprofessionalism and ethics consensus or clash of cultures? Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16:3, 199-210 Kenny G (2002) Inter-professional working: opportunities and challenges Nursing Standard 17(6): 33-35Dalrymple, J., Burke, B. (2006) Anti- Oppressive Practice: Social Care and the Law Berkshire: Open University Press. Laming, (2003) The Victoria Climbie enquiry: a report on the inquiry by Lord Laming. HMSO. London http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4008654 (accessed 20/10/10) Laming, Lord (2009) The protection of Children in England: A progress Report. Norwich: HMSO Leathard,A. 1994, Going inter-professional: Working together for health and welfare, Routledge London and New York Leaviss, J. (2000) Exploring the perceived effect of an undergraduate multiprofessional educational intervention. Medical Education, 34 (6): 483-486 Mariano, C (1999) The case for interdisciplinary collaboration, Nurse Outlook, 37 (6), 285-288 McPherson, K., Headrock, L and Moss, F (2001) Working and learning together: good quality care depends on it, but how can we achieve it?. Quality in Health Care no.10 Supplement II 46-53 Opie, A. (1997) Thinking teams thinking clients: Issues of discourse and representation in the work of health care teams. Sociology of Health and Illness, 19, 259-280. Page, S. and Meerabeau, L. (2004) Hierarchies of evidence and hierarchies of education: reflections on a multiprofessional education initiative. Learning in Health and Social Care 3 (3) 118-218 Parsell, G., Spalding, R., Bligh, J. (1998). Shared goals, shared learning: Evaluation of a multiprofessional course for undergraduate students. Medical Education, 32, 304-311. Petrie, H. G. (1976) Do you see what I see? The epistemology of interdisciplinary inquiry. Educational Researcher. February, 9-15 Pettigrew, T. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 65-85 Pirrie, A., Wilson, V., Elsegood, J, Hall, J, Hamilton, S, Harden, R, Ledd, D and Stead, J (1998) Evaluating multidisciplinary education in health care. Edinburgh SCRE Pollard, K. C., Thomas, J. and Miers, M (eds) (2010) Understanding Interprofessional Working in Health and Social Car, theory and practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Reynolds F (2005) Communication and clinical effectiveness in rehabilitation. Edinburgh: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinmann Rolfe, G. and Gardner, L. (2006) Do not ask who I am confession, emancipation and (self)-management through reflection. Journal of Nursing Management. 14 593-600 Saks, M. (2000) Professionalism and Health Care. In C. Davies, L. Findlay, A. Bullman (Eds.), Changing Practice in Health and Social Care. London. Sage SCIE (Social Care Institute of Excellence) (2010) response to Liberating the NHS White Paper and associated consultation papers. http://www.scie.org.uk/news/nhswhitepaper.asp Accessed 20/10/10 Schà ¶n D (1983) The reflective practitioner. Basic Books: New York Shakespeare, T (2000) Help. Birmingham, Venture Press. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (1996) The future of the voluntary sector. Social Policy Summary. http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/sp9.pdf (accessed 19/10/10) The Shipman Inquiry (2005) Fifth report safeguarding patients: lessons from the past, proposals for the future. HMSP. London Tope, R. And Thomas, E (2007) Health and Social Care Policy and the Interprofessional Agenda. A supplement to Creating an Interprofessional Workforce: an education and training framework for health and social care. hhttp://www.caipe.org.uk/resources/creating-an-interprofessional-workforce-framework/ (accessed 25/10/2010) Tuckman, B. (1965) Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological bulletin, 63, 384-399 Wilson, V. and Pirrie, A. (2000) Multi Disciplinary Team working: Beyond the Barriers The Scottish Council for Research and Education, Edinburgh Weber, M. D., Karman, T. A. (1991). Student group approach to teaching using Tuckman Model of Group Development. American Journal of Physiology, 261, 12 16. Weinstein, J. et al, 2003, Collaboration in Social Work Practice, Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Essay --

Database Security: Database security is a critical Domain of Computer and Information Security that deals with protection of an individual database or group of database from illegal access, injections or possible destruction. Data can be a customer's information, intellectual property, financial asset or any number of other records that can be maintained and managed on a system. Without Database security people are at risk of identity fraud, theft, destruction of property and much worse. The global costs of such security breaches runs from over a billions of dollars yearly, and the cost to individual companies can be extreme, sometimes disastrous. One of the most popular method for protection of database includes storing a backup in a secondary location or datacenter. The Advantage of storing backup in secondary location is the process of restoration and damage prevention in case of data destruction or disaster at Primary source . A firm’s database infrastructure often contains the most important data and are subjected to a wide range of attacks. Some of the threats to database security are excessive and unused privileges, SQL Injection, DoS etc. Excessive and Unused privileges is when someone in the firm is granted database privileges that exceeds the requirement of their job function, these privileges may sometime be abused. A good example for Excess and Unused Privilege can be a University System Administrator who’s primary function is to maintain student information, but due to excessive privileges could potentially have access to modification of Student’s grades. Another example could be of an employee with access to human resources database access, leaving the organization i... ... The use of portable devices are causing most of the organizations to deal with higher risk from hackers gaining access to sensitive data. Database are mainly targeted by attackers since it contains high volume of important and potentially critical data. The best way to overcome these risk are through storing important information as backups and securing data transmission over public network. Organization should set up firewalls between company’s intranet and internet in order to block any external device access into the network . With all being said organization should continuously educate their employees about the risks and keep a track and secure the portable devices used by IT personnel. If such security measures are implemented by an organization they can ensure that critical and important information could be less susceptible to vulnerabilities.

Ib Math Sl Type 1

Purpose of Investigation The purpose of this investigation is to find out the general trends of the Olympic gold medal height each time the event is held. It also could be used to predict the next gold medal height in the upcoming Olympic events. We could know as well what functions can be used to plot the graphs. People could also analyze the pattern of rise or decrease in height of the winning height in the Olympic game. This investigation also allows future participants to find out information about previous gold medal heights and can make them easier to set targets for their performance in the Olympic Games. a. b.The function I used for constructing this graph is Gaussian. Because from the list of functions in the graph-constructing program, the Gaussian function is the most accurate shape when plotted according to the data given which is the statistics of height of gold medalist for men’s high jump in the Olympic. The technology I used to plot all the graphs is Logger Pro 3. 50. c. The difference is not significant after I adjust it. It can be seen from the graph itself that the shape of it is also similar. The limitation is that it is plotted on a lower values compared to the original and so it couldn’t reach the 1980 mark like the original graph. . With the technology I used, the function I find to have a similar shape is the cubic function which is the red line. There are some period that the cubic function has a higher value. Also there are some points where the two graphs meet. But in the end the cubic is lower than the original and couldn’t reach the 1980 mark. e. According to the original graph, if in the year 1940 and 1944, the estimated height will be 198. 2 and 199. 6 respectively. f. Estimated winning heights in 2984 and 2016 are 235 and 241 respectively. From the data, the winning height generally tends to rise from year to year the Olympic is held.The estimated winning heights are obtained from the graph until the year of 2016. g. My model fits well with the additional data. However, there are some points that the graph doesn’t reach according to the additional data given. h. The overall trend from 1896 up to 2008 is that the gold medal height rises from year to year, although there are some years that the gold medal height fall compared to the previous Olympic event which are in the years 1896 to 1904, 1936 to 1948, 1968 to 1972, 1988 to 1992, and 1996 to 2000. i. No modifications are required are needed to fit my model into the new data.

What Can Businesses Learn from Text Mining

Case StudyWhat Can Businesses Learn From Text Mining? Text mining is the discovery of patterns and relationships from large sets of unstructured data – the kind of data we generate in e-mails, phone conversations, blog postings, online customer surveys, and tweets. The mobile digital platform has amplified the explosion in digital information, with hundreds of millions of people calling, texting, searching, â€Å"apping† (using applications), buying goods and writing billions of e-mails on the go.Consumers today are more than just consumers: they have more ways to collaborate, share information, and influence the opinions of their friends and peers; and the data that they create in doing so have significant value to businesses. Unlike structured data, which are generated from events such as completing a purchase transaction, unstructured data have no distinct form. Nevertheless, managers believe such data may offer unique insights into customer behaviour and attitudes t hat were much more difficult to determine years ago.For example, in 2007 JetBlue (the American Airline) experienced unprecedented levels of customer discontent in the wake of a February ice storm that resulted in widespread flight cancellations and planes stranded on Kennedy Airport runways. The airline received 15,000 emails per day from customers during the storm and immediately afterwards, up from its usual daily volume of 400. The volume was so much larger than usual that JetBlue had no simple way to read everything that its customers were saying.Fortunately, the company had recently contracted with Attensity, a leading vendor of text analytics software, and was able to use the software to analyze all of the e-mail it had received within two days. According to JetBlue research analyst Bryan Jeppsen, Attensity Analyze for Voice of the Customer (VoC) enabled JetBlue to rapidly extract customer sentiments, preferences, and requests it couldn’t find any other way.This tool us es a proprietary technology to automatically identify facts, opinions, requests, trends, and trouble spots from the unstructured text of survey responses, survey notes, e-mail messages, Web forums, blog entries, news articles, and other customer communications. The technology is able to accurately and automatically identify and many different â€Å"voices† customers use to express their feedback (such as a negative voice, positive voice, or conditional voice) which helps organisations pinpoint key events and relationships, such as intent to buy, intent to leave, or customer â€Å"wish† vents. It can reveal specific product and service issues, reactions to marketing and public relations efforts, and even buying signals. Attensity’s software integrated with JetBlue’s other customer analysis tools, such as Satmetrix’s Net Promoter metrics, which classifies customers into groups that are generating positive, negative, or no feedback about the company. Using Attensity’s text analytics in tandem with these tools, JetBlue developed a customer bill of rights that addressed the major issues customers had with the company.Hotel chains like Gaylord Hotels and Choice Hotels are using text mining software to glean insights from thousands of customer satisfaction surveys provided by their guests. Gaylord Hotels is using Clarabridge’s text analytics solution delivered via the Internet as a hosted software service to gather and analyze customer feedback from surveys, e-mail, chat messaging, staffed call centres, and online forums associated with guests’ and meeting planners’ experiences at the company’s convention resorts.The Clarabridge software sorts through the hotel chain’s customer surveys and gathers positive and negative comments, organizing them into a variety of categories to reveal less obvious insights. For example, guests complained about many things more frequently than noisy rooms, but complaints about noisy rooms were most frequently correlated with surveys indicating an unwillingness to return to the hotel for another stay. Analyzing customer surveys used to take weeks, but now takes only days, thanks to the Clarabridge software.Location managers and corporate executives have also used findings from text mining to influence decisions on building improvements. Wendy’s International adopted Clarabridge software to analyze nearly 500,000 messages it collects each year from its Web-based feedback forum, call centre notes, e-mail messages, receipt-based surveys, and social media. The chain’s customer satisfaction team had previously used spreadsheets and keyword searches to review customer comments; a very slow manual approach.Wendy’s management was looking for a better tool to speed analysis, detect emerging issues, and pinpoint troubled areas of the business at the store, regional or corporate level. The Clarabridge technology enables Wendyâ₠¬â„¢s to track customer experiences down to the store level within minutes. This timely information helps store, regional and corporate managers spot and address problems related to meal quality, cleanliness, and speed of service. Text analytics software caught on first ith government agencies and larger companies with information systems departments that had the means to properly use the complicated software, but Clarabridge is now offering a version of its product geared toward small businesses. The technology has already caught on with law enforcement, search tool interfaces, and â€Å"listening platforms† like Nielsen Online. Listening platforms are text mining tools that focus on brand management, allowing companies to determine how consumers feel about their brand and take steps to respond to negative sentiment.Structured data analysis won’t be rendered obsolete by text analytics, but companies that are able to use both methods to develop a clearer picture of the ir customer’s attitudes will have an easier time establishing and building their brand and gleaning insights that will enhance profitability. ENDCase Study Questions: 1. What challenges does the increase in unstructured data present for businesses? 2. How does text mining improve decision-making? 3. What kinds of companies are most likely to benefit from text mining software?Explain your answer. 4. In what ways could text mining potentially lead to the erosion of personal information privacy? Explain. 5. Visit a website such as TripAdvisor. com (or high street retailer ) detailing products or services that have customer reviews. Pick a product, hotel, or other service with at least several customer reviews and read those reviews, both positive and negative. How could Web content mining help the offering company improve or better market this product or service?What pieces of information should be highlighted| What can businesses learn from text mining? 1. What challenges does the increase in unstructured data present for businesses? The increase in unstructured data, such as that generated from e-mails, phone conversations, blog postings, online customer surveys and tweets, presents challenges for businesses as it has no distinct form, unlike structured data, which is generated from events such as completing a purchase transaction.The challenge of having unstructured data means that it can be difficult to interpret a large quantity of data in a short time as there are so many differing pieces of data rather than just a few structured pieces. The need to use tools such as text mining to interpret unstructured data adds extra challenges specifically those related to finance. The cost of implementing such tools can be great; not only does the technology need purchasing; the rate at which technology evolves means there will be costs in the upkeep with regards to updating new software.Other costs will include staff training; this will have an initial outlay a s well as a continuous financial impact as new technologies will require new training. 2. How does text-mining improve decision making? Using text mining improves decision making as it can analyse a vast quantity of data, condense the results into specific categories and reveal information that would have been less obvious otherwise. It can show correlations between many different factors more easily than without the text mining analysis.Using these less obvious insights gleaned from the information it is possible for a business to make better informed decisions that may never have been thought of if it was not used. Using text mining tools allows companies to build predictive models to gain insight into both their structured and unstructured data. Using these tools it is possible to recognise patterns and common themes amongst unstructured data, particularly those gained from things such as focus groups and blogs. Identifying these themes allows better decisions as it can show corr elations between data that otherwise would not have been visible.An example of this practice is the use of listening platforms such as Nielson Online which can determine the feelings of consumers and allow a company to better make decisions based upon their customers’ wants and needs. 3. What kinds of companies are most likely to benefit from text mining software? Large companies that have information system departments will benefit mostly from text mining software as it will enable them to speed up processes that they are already concentrating on. The text mining software will allow these companies to analyse large amounts of data that would normally take weeks to work through in just days.Other companies will benefit from smaller packages of the text mining software, particularly those that incorporate ‘listening platforms’. This will allow companies to more easily gauge how they are perceived by their consumers in terms of brand satisfaction and highlight any improvements that need to be rendered. Financial and communications provider companies can benefit from using text mining software by using it to identify their customers’ needs from their customer feedback to interpret better ways in which to retain their most profitable clients.Marketing companies can benefit from using text mining software to implement predictive modelling to improve marketing and promotions to their target audience and retailers can benefit from text mining software to quickly identify any major issues that occur on store level to better help managers improve their stores. 4. In what ways could text mining potentially lead to the erosion of personal information privacy? Text mining could potentially lead to the erosion of personal information privacy as it gives such an increased insight into the movements and habits of the public.Although text mining can help make improvements in the services being offered, it also gains a large amount of information abo ut an individual. This insight into one’s personal information further adds to the ever growing ‘big brother society’ or ‘surveillance society’. With the introduction of things such as increased CCTV monitoring the streets and larger quantities of data constantly being stored by companies there is much speculation that personal privacy is quickly being eradicated. Text mining tools may be another way in which this is apparent.An example of this is text mining tools used on holiday purchases; such a simple task can give an insight into the financial circumstances of an individual from the cost of the holiday to any extras purchased with it, as well as spending habits of that individual and other preferences. One way this information could infringe privacy is if it is then used to market other products specifically to that individual based on their prior purchases. 5. How could Web content mining help the offering company improve or better market this product or service?What pieces of information should be highlighted? Using Tripadvisor. com to read reviews on a hotel in London it has been possible to see the differing opinions of guests staying there. The hotel needs to utilise these reviews in order to better promote their services and to eradicate any problems. Using web content mining could be the most efficient way to do this. The hotel has 736 reviews of which 630 are positive and 106 are negative. It would be inefficient to manually read hrough this amount of text and cross reference specific points that need addressing. Using web mining tools the hotel could easily find which points they can use to market their services, some which appear to be the accessibility to amenities, particularly the tube station, and which points they need to improve on, particularly apparent is the attitude of the staff. Not only will web mining easily flag up these points it will easily show trends in the feelings of the guests, which could be missed if the reviews were to be analysed manually.The hotel would also save time and money by allowing the use of web mining as it eradicates most man power and human error. Bibliography Books Kenneth C. Laudon, Jane P. Laudon (2012). Management Information Systems: Managing The Digital Firm. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Online Sources Daily Mail Online (2010) Big Brother society is bigger than ever: New technology is ‘undermining privacy by stealth’. Available at: http://www. dailymail. co. uk/news/article-1328445/Big-Brother-society-bigger-New-technology-undermining-privacy-stealth. tml#ixzz1s9qMFfIg (Accessed 10/04/2012) JISC (2012) The Value and Benefit of Text Mining to UK Further and Higher Education. Digital Infrastructure. Available at: http://bit. ly/jisc-textm (Accessed 10/04/2012) Nucleus Research (2007) SPSS Text Mining. Available at: http://www. spss. ch/eupload/File/PDF/Guidebook%20–%20SPSS%20Text%20Mining. pdf (Accessed 10/04/2012) World Ac ademy of Science, Engineering and Technology (2005) Powerful Tool to Expand Business Intelligence: Text Mining. Available at: http://www. waset. org/journals/waset/v8/v8-21. pdf (Accessed 10/04/2012)

Free Essays on Dumpster Diving

A precursory reading of Lars Eighner’s article about dumpster diving revels that the author began the practice of â€Å"scavenging† about a year before he actually became homeless. This suggests to the reader that while dumpster diving may provide an effective method for survival while being homeless, for Eighner, the process of diving has more of a symbolic significance. What Eighner reveals in his article, however, is not only a reflection of his own personal struggles with materialism; rather it is a larger commentary about how life in America has become driven by consumerism. Critically assessing what Eighner writes about dumpster diving, it is quite evident that the author supports the ideology that life can be sustained through the practice. By offering such helpful hints as to cut the mold off of cheese and always ask â€Å"why was this thrown away?† when selecting food from the dumpster, Eighner is able t provide for his readers a practical guide for living, and further surviving, on the streets. However, as the reader progresses through the article, it becomes clear that the main objective of the author is not to show the reader how to survive on dumpster. Instead, Eighner’s point is to demonstrate that the average homeless individual can live, and live well, off of what many Americans see as simply refuse. To elucidate these points, Eighner notes that he has come to two conclusions after ten years of dumpster diving. The first is that there is no value in the abstract. Material things that most individuals collect and put in their homes have no inherent value to the process of life. Second, Eighner has come to conclude that material possessions are transient while ideas are more transcendental. As such, the author believes that material possessions essential have no value. What Eighner argues is that a society that is driven by materialism has essentially no meaning. Further unless ideas are created, materialism will consu... Free Essays on Dumpster Diving Free Essays on Dumpster Diving A precursory reading of Lars Eighner’s article about dumpster diving revels that the author began the practice of â€Å"scavenging† about a year before he actually became homeless. This suggests to the reader that while dumpster diving may provide an effective method for survival while being homeless, for Eighner, the process of diving has more of a symbolic significance. What Eighner reveals in his article, however, is not only a reflection of his own personal struggles with materialism; rather it is a larger commentary about how life in America has become driven by consumerism. Critically assessing what Eighner writes about dumpster diving, it is quite evident that the author supports the ideology that life can be sustained through the practice. By offering such helpful hints as to cut the mold off of cheese and always ask â€Å"why was this thrown away?† when selecting food from the dumpster, Eighner is able t provide for his readers a practical guide for living, and further surviving, on the streets. However, as the reader progresses through the article, it becomes clear that the main objective of the author is not to show the reader how to survive on dumpster. Instead, Eighner’s point is to demonstrate that the average homeless individual can live, and live well, off of what many Americans see as simply refuse. To elucidate these points, Eighner notes that he has come to two conclusions after ten years of dumpster diving. The first is that there is no value in the abstract. Material things that most individuals collect and put in their homes have no inherent value to the process of life. Second, Eighner has come to conclude that material possessions are transient while ideas are more transcendental. As such, the author believes that material possessions essential have no value. What Eighner argues is that a society that is driven by materialism has essentially no meaning. Further unless ideas are created, materialism will consu...

5 Cases of Confusion Between Things and Their Names

5 Cases of Confusion Between Things and Their Names 5 Cases of Confusion Between Things and Their Names 5 Cases of Confusion Between Things and Their Names By Mark Nichol 1. â€Å"Users can choose from any website that offers RSS feeds, short for ‘Really Simple Syndication.’ â€Å"RSS feeds† is not short for â€Å"Really Simple Syndication.† The sentence refers to RSS feeds and then explains what the initialism stands for, but the association of the spelled-out term with the initialism is confusing, so the additional information needs to be distinguished from the main point: â€Å"Users can choose from any website that offers RSS feeds. (RSS is short for ‘Really Simple Syndication.’)† More simply, the parenthesis could be introduced as here: â€Å"Users can choose from any website that offers RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds.† However, the information is not essential and is better introduced in a trailing parenthesis. Use your judgment according to the context of each case. 2. â€Å"This is a camera obscura, a Latin term that means ‘dark chamber.’† This sentence suffers from the same type of confusion as the previous example. A camera obscura is not a Latin term; it is a device with that Latin name (and though the origin of the name is Latin, the term, despite being taken from that language, is English). Revise the sentence to clarify both points: â€Å"This is a camera obscura, a device whose name, borrowed from Latin, means ‘dark chamber.’† 3. â€Å"The pre-emptive offer also a common term in corporate transactions is hardly new.† Here, the concept of the pre-emptive offer is being mistaken for the name of the concept. Again, word the interjection of information to clarify the distinction: â€Å"The strategy known as a pre-emptive offer that phrase is also a common term in corporate transactions is hardly new.† 4. â€Å"With his talkie debut, as British secret agent Bulldog Drummond (1929), he became the first silent star to become even bigger in sound films.† This sentence attempts to name both a character and a film in one designation, but as we all know from physics class, two phenomena cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Separate the reference to the title character from that of the film title: â€Å"With his talkie debut, as the titular British secret agent in Bulldog Drummond (1929), he became the first silent star to become even bigger in sound films.† 5. â€Å"John is a Wetland Watcher a moniker he wears with pride and satisfaction.† This sentence’s conflict of concept and name is not as jarring as in the previous examples, but the statement would nevertheless benefit from more of a separation of the two elements: â€Å"John is a Wetland Watcher, and that’s a moniker he bears with pride and satisfaction.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" "Owing to" vs "Due to"Shore It Up

The Commonly Confused Words Avocation and Vocation

The Commonly Confused Words Avocation and Vocation The English language is full of words that sound similar but have different meanings - or ones that sound different but actually mean similar things. The nouns avocation  and vocation  are among the former group. Although these two nouns look and sound very similar, their meanings are actually not the same.   Definitions An avocation is a hobby or any other activity taken up in addition to ones regular work; it may especially refer to something that is a persons true passion or interest. A vocation is ones principal occupation, often used in the context  of a calling to a particular way of life or course of action. Why Do They Sound Alike? Both  avocation  and  vocation  derive originally from a Latin verb,  vocare,  which means to call.  Avocation  derives from a compounded version of this word,  avocatio, which compounded  ab  (a preposition meaning away from) and  vocare  to create a word that signified a distraction or something off the main path. Since an avocation is an interest thats off the path of ones day-to-day work, its easy to see how this word has come through.   Vocation, in contrast, comes from  vocare  without any alterations. When the word  vocation  appears, it typically carries a connotation of not just a job, but a job thats part of a persons calling in life. It can still be used just as a synonym for job or occupation, but in contemporary usage, it more often has that extra layer of meaning as a job that feels more like a calling. Examples Michel Roux is the chef of a London restaurant by profession and a marathon runner by avocation.Joan Feigenbaum . . . was delighted when she found her true vocation in the Summer Research Program at ATTs famous Bell Labs.(Notable Women in Mathematics: A Biographical Dictionary, ed. by Charlene Morrow and Teri Perl. Greenwood, 1998)Music was  the only vocation  anyone had ever heard of for a blind child, and the church took up a collection of pennies and nickels to buy Pilgrim a fiddle.(Michael Crummey, Sweetland. Liveright, 2015) Practice (a) After retiring from teaching, my father decided to focus on his  longtime _____ of juggling.(b) By  outward account Simone Weil was a failure several times over, yet in her true _____  as a writer  she succeeded brilliantly.(Thomas R. Nevin,  Simone Weil: Portrait of a Self-Exiled Jew. The University of North Carolina Press, 1991)   Answers to Practice Exercises Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words Answers to Practice Exercises: Avocation and Vocation (a) After retiring from teaching, my father decided to focus on his  longtime avocation of juggling.(b) By  outward account Simone Weil was a failure several times over, yet in her true vocation  as a writer  she succeeded brilliantly.(Thomas R. Nevin,  Simone Weil: Portrait of a Self-Exiled Jew. The University of North Carolina Press, 1991)  Ã‚   Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words

Introduction to Communication-Improve Your Listening Essay

Introduction to Communication-Improve Your Listening - Essay Example my personal concerns is however a strategy to overcoming the barrier because shifting focus from self is likely to reduce effects of my concerns on my concentration through establishing psychological stability. An effort to concentrating on a message in a communication is another strategy to overcoming the barrier and is likely increase amount of information that I capture (Beebe, Steven & Beebe Susan, 2011). Poor attitude is another barrier to my listening. I am often critical during communication and am quick to identify possible mistakes in a speaker’s presentations. I am equally judgmental over a speaker’s physical appearance and negative attitude shifts my attention from a speaker and associated message. Focusing on message content, rather than its structure and the speaker, is the possible strategy to overcoming the barrier because it can reduce my criticism and improve my ability capture information in communication through focusing on message details (Beebe, Steven & Beebe Susan,

Human Capital of Sundale Club Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Capital of Sundale Club - Case Study Example The problem at Sundale started when Ted Ellis hired Chuck Johnson to become the Club’s men’s activity manager. Mr. Johnson happened to be a gay person in the closet. His behavior was a bit unprofessional at times apparently and some of the club members complain that he made advances to them. The staff did not like or respect Mr. Johnson. They visualized him as a troublemaker that was harassing the customers. Frank Havens wanted to do something about the impending issues. The problem was that the company did not have a corporate culture that encouraged open communication. Also, the hiring of Chuck Johnson did not follow normal protocols. He was given his position based on his personal friendship with Mr. Ellis. In the business world, there is no room for favoritism. Favoritism causes internal problems because the employees of a company lose respect for the business entity when such behavior occurs. The general perception when these types of things occur within an organiz ation is that hard work does not pay off and there is no opportunity for professional growth for the employees of the company. It is important for companies to encourage open communication between the employees of a firm. A good manager is able to captivate its subordinates by supporting them and leading by example. When employees trust their boss they open up to them and provide them with helpful insight on how to improve the operations.

Trusts Law Arguments by Jones Garton and Margaret Halliwell Essay

Trusts Law Arguments by Jones Garton and Margaret Halliwell - Essay Example The articles by modern authors Jones Garton and Margaret Halliwell consider this phenomenon from a modern perspective. They refer to the most well-known cases in this field: Milroy v Lord, Re Rose, Pennington v Wayne and some others. In order to define the level of trust in perfect/imperfect gifts, it is relevant to refer to additional reading from previous years and to current sources (Substantial Change in Trust Tax Law, 2006; Diamond, 2002). A complicated nature of gift is the absence of contract basis, i. e. there is no special consideration of gift transfer (Langbein, 1995; McKendrick, 1992). Moreover, if a giver fails to complete required formal stages or has no legal title, gift may fail. Courts refer to the generally accepted motto in this kind of cases: â€Å"equity will not perfect an imperfect gift† (Langbein, 1995). Consequently, there are a lot of controversies appearing in trust cases. That’s why it is relevant to discuss a balanced nature of trust. In oth er words there is a need to consider its theoretical basis and practical implementation. A consideration about constitution of trust is a vividly discussed issue for academics and researchers, because practical implementation of trust in trusts law is rather rare. The trusts law has some specific features, which have to be discussed in detail. The most striking issue is that transfer may occur even if all formalities were not followed. Re Rose case is well-known with this regard and there is even a name for ‘Re Rose’ principle taken after the case. In this case the settlor transferred shares in a private company on behalf of certain trusts. Nevertheless the authority of the company didn’t register transfer at once and the question which had to be solved by court was when the shares were transferred. The date of settlor’s decision to transfer the shares was acclaimed to be the relevant date of transfer. This principle was discussed in other cases as well (C unningham, 1992, p. 63). Pennington v Wayne is another interesting case for discussion. In this case the concept of unconscionability appears and the court considers this concept to be a primary fact in the case discussion. This concept was taken for granted as a decisive point because not all formalities were followed in the process of gift transfer. Jones Garton’s article The articles by Garton and Halliwell present two points of view on property and securities transfer mechanism. It is relevant to note that both of these authors suggest interesting considerations about trusts law in England. Jones Garton combines the ideas on trust collected from additional sources and law cases. He speaks about constituent nature of trust. Operational mechanisms of trust are focused on the main claim that â€Å"equity will not infer a perfect trust from an imperfect gift† (Garton, 2003). The basic claim was taken from Milroy v Lord (1862) case, from more contemporary case Penningto n v Waine (2002) 1 WLR 2075. In accordance with Garton there are different principles in the rule of the ‘last act’ which establishes constitution and its application. Garton’s work impresses readers by his considerations about the ‘workings’ of trusts in Rose’s case which are express and constructive. Therefore it is clearly seen that Garton is interested in a concept of trust in imperfect gifts.

Self-awareness and Career Management (2) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Self-awareness and Career Management (2) - Essay Example I will undertake the MBTIÂ ® Step I Programme and take the applicable courses from ICA in order to get closer to my goal of being a highly competent accounting person. Measurable Immediately after my graduation I will seek to find employment in the accounting function of a small organization while in the accounting graduate program. I lack work experience in accounting, therefore, the chances of a large multinational organizations declining my application would be very high. I will apply to small or medium sized organizations in the capacity as a trainee or junior or staff accountant in the accounting department. After working for a period of 12 to 18 months in a small or medium sized organization while sharpening my skills in accounting, I would venture out in search of employment in a multinational organization in the capacity of Accounting Manager or Senior Accountant. I would also strive to attend at least 6 public workshops during the next year in order to gain exposure and und erstanding of the accounting process and how to maintain accounts ledgers. Attainable The immediate goal would be to find work experience in the field of accounting with a long term goal to establish a career path within the accounting area at Qatar Petroleum Co. Within the first three months after graduation my goal will be to equip myself with suitable work experience and then work within the accounting field for a minimum of 12-18 months. Additionally, my skills in writing and speaking English need to be improved. Another skill that needs improving is proficiency with excel spreadsheets as it would be important in maintaining a large database of accounts and presenting charts and diagrams on project schedules. I will join the Brookes Entrepreneurs club and also the Oxford Entrepreneurs club in order to expand my network with both compatible and diverse individuals, thereby increasing my prospect of navigating myself into accounting function. Darling (2005) discusses the importanc e of networking. Networking with others who have had similar experiences will be helpful to me as I investigate relocating to the UK and then relocate to the UK. Realistic During the holiday break, I will purchase a CD that teaches how to use Microsoft Office tools more proficiently in order to be armed at managing databases of accounts. I will do more research on the current accounting job market; make an appointment with the Careers and Advice centre; and speak with a career advisor on making my CV more attractive to prospective employers. My interview skills will need to be reviewed with my Career advisor. Upon graduation, I will venture out in search of employment in Accounting Management as a graduate manager-trainee level or even at a staff level. Timely I would aim at improvement of my information technology skills with Microsoft office tools during the next holiday break (2010-1011). I will also join the Brookes Entrepreneurs society and the Oxford Entrepreneurs society imme diately. I will find employment in the capacity of an accounting graduate trainee or an accounting manager – trainee within the first three months after graduation. To summarize, I have goals established to take the MBTIÂ ® Step I Qualifying Programm

Why do companies decide to invest overseas and to go multinational Assignment

Why do companies decide to invest overseas and to go multinational - Assignment Example Jepson (2002) explains the unprecedented flow of foreign direct investments during the last two decades has made spectacular contributions to the economic restoration of Europe and to the industrialization of many of the developing countries. Spectacular, too, have been the returns realized by the international corporations that undertook the investments. However, if we examine the conditions a host country must satisfy if it is to continue attracting foreign investments, quite distinct limits to a country's ability to keep its doors open to the foreign investor become apparent. A few basic facts will make the point. (McLaughlin Mitchell 2006). Barry (2002) defines that the most fundamental fact is this: A country's capacity to absorb foreign direct capital inflows is ultimately limited by its ability to service that capital, in terms of current account debits (e.g., dividends) and eventual repatriation of principal. In turn, a country's ability to service the stock of foreign-owned capital is tied to its ability to generate sufficiently large payments surpluses on other current account items. (Relying on a positive balance in the capital accounts is just putting off the day of reckoning.) These relationships are obviously more easily stated in the aggregate than conclusively sorted out in detail. The "current account" of a country's balance of payments has many components, and "foreign-exchange availabilities" come from many sources.

Music Publishing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Music Publishing - Essay Example Musicians are artists that are mostly hard working and unacknowledged. Making money with music is not an easy road. The way for any business to make money is through volume and this is no different in the music industry. Volume comes when one recording is sold repeatedly so that the money accumulates and makes the people who created and own the music money from its sales. What typically happens, however, is that those with the power ‘buy out’ the rights to what a musician plays so that they do not get paid for every use of the recording that is paid for by one entity or another. Musicians with power will continue to own their rights, but those who are hired for short term of only for the period of time to make a recording are bought out so that the re-sale of the music is not limited by a large body of ‘partners’ who all have rights to be paid (Harrison 2011, p. 232). There was a time when even the artists were not included in the group who was paid on the r eturn of selling the music. Paul McCartney can attest to the pain of that as he saw his entire catalogue of music sold to Michael Jackson after sharing with him that it was going up for sale. As a result of that sale, every time that McCartney wants to play â€Å"Hey Jude† he has to pay a royalty, even though he wrote the song. (Marinucci 2009). In order to create ownership to a piece of music the contract must include that ownership will be retained either in part or as a whole. The statement that is being addressed is whether or not â€Å"All musicians featured on a popular music recording are entitled to an appropriate share and interest in the music publishing copyright of the work performed on that recording†. In addressing the definitions of music, composition, and ownership, the answer is that it is not the case that all musicians would be qualified to gain as an author to a piece of music should they participate in its recording. Contribution is very specifical ly defined and if a contributor does nothing to qualify under the parameters that have been set, they are not eligible for an interest in the exploitation of that piece of music (McLeod and DiCola 2011, p. 78). 2. Defining Music The first thing that must be done in order to support a legal definition of ownership and the right to be paid for music is in defining what is meant by music. The written composition is not what is being discussed. Music is what is heard. Arnold (2009, p. 1) uses the example of a piece of music that is played by Louis Armstrong as it is compared to that of Peter Ecklund. The distinction is clear as the sound that Armstrong creates has a quality that is unique to his own personal nuances in the work. In modern collectives, however, it is not as simple as that. Burnard (2012, p. 68) discusses the creative process for musicians. It is a process that sometimes is led by one or done isolated, that can be done by only select members, or is most often a collective experience in which the philosophy and intentionality of the group is expressed through what is produced musically. This not only includes the musicians, but the producer and sometimes the managers as they all work towards the production of a type of audible expression. Burnard (2012), p. 69) states that this is a â€Å"non-linear, multifactorial, and relational†

Why do companies decide to invest overseas and to go multinational Assignment

Why do companies decide to invest overseas and to go multinational - Assignment Example Jepson (2002) explains the unprecedented flow of foreign direct investments during the last two decades has made spectacular contributions to the economic restoration of Europe and to the industrialization of many of the developing countries. Spectacular, too, have been the returns realized by the international corporations that undertook the investments. However, if we examine the conditions a host country must satisfy if it is to continue attracting foreign investments, quite distinct limits to a country's ability to keep its doors open to the foreign investor become apparent. A few basic facts will make the point. (McLaughlin Mitchell 2006). Barry (2002) defines that the most fundamental fact is this: A country's capacity to absorb foreign direct capital inflows is ultimately limited by its ability to service that capital, in terms of current account debits (e.g., dividends) and eventual repatriation of principal. In turn, a country's ability to service the stock of foreign-owned capital is tied to its ability to generate sufficiently large payments surpluses on other current account items. (Relying on a positive balance in the capital accounts is just putting off the day of reckoning.) These relationships are obviously more easily stated in the aggregate than conclusively sorted out in detail. The "current account" of a country's balance of payments has many components, and "foreign-exchange availabilities" come from many sources.

Cross cultural awareness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Cross cultural awareness - Essay Example Stereotypes are simplified and standardized conceptions about groups of people or individuals (Hurst, 2007). These stereotypes are used as mental shortcuts by people when they are dealing with people about whom they know little personally (Hurst, 2007). For example, there are stereotypes about Blacks, Latinos, Older Workers, Female Workers, Arabs and Asians among scores of others. When interacting with a person from any of these stereotypical groups, it becomes easier to think of them as having the specific characteristics that are associated with the group. For example, two African persons – though they may be coming from countries as diverse as America and Egypt, might be considered to be both aggressive, good in sports and bad in academics etc. as these attributes come with the stereotype of ‘Black’ person. Stereotypes are not all bad as they may actually help you in making quicker decisions as they provide an easy way to understand behaviors (Ewen and Ewen, 2006). For example, in the case of Germany, the people can be expected to desire more efficiency in overall hotel operations while in the case of Japan, the hotel guests may require more expression of courtesy from the staff. Having this knowledge from the typical stereotypes, the hotel can tailor its package accordingly to provide the best service delivery as desired by different people. Stereotypes can also help in understanding the differences in a non-complex manner and thus enable better decision making (Ewen and Ewen, 2006). For example, in the hotel context, stereotypes can help in serving the people belonging to different groups better. It may be useful to know what people from different regions prefer in terms of dà ©cor, food or service, and this knowledge can be derived from stereotypes. Next benefit of stereotyping is that it provides us with a mental file or a mental background in the context of which we can make sense of

HRM Strategic Interventions Overview

HRM Strategic Interventions Overview Although human resource management is a phrase which has been in use for over 40years, it did not come to the fore as a distinctive approach to managing people until the mid 1980s, when it became generally known as HRM. The vocabulary for managing the employment relationship has undergone a change. Personnel Management has increasingly given way to human resource management (HRM) or, better still to strategic human resource management (SHRM). It was charted/noticed in the writings of US academics and managers (for example, Tichy et al., 1982; Fombrun et al., 1984; Beer et al., 1985; Walton and Lawrence, 1985; Foulkes, 1986). This was, however, taken up by both UK managers (for example, Armstrong, 1987; Fowler, 1987) and UK academic (for example, Hendry and Pettigrew 1986; Guest, 1987; Miller, 1987; Storey, 1987; Torrington and Hall, 1987). By the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s it became a common term. Strengthening this change was the emergence, in 1990, of two new academic journals Human Resource Management Journal and International Journal of Human Resource Management. It heralded the pushing-aside of personnel-management and the solidification of HRM. Perhaps the most important reason why HRM emerged as the dominant philosophy for managing people in the 1980s is that chief executives, prompted by economic and business trends, and the view of a number of influential writers such as those mentioned abov e and Kanter (1984), at last began to appreciate that competitive advantage is achieved through their employees i.e. the people who implement the corporate plan, and that they must do something about seeing that it happens in their own organisation. Porter (1985), another highly influential writer captured this view when he wrote: HRM is an integral part of the value chain at firm level. The impact of global competition, complexity, technological change and shifts in employee values have affected UK as well as US chief executives, and it has been said by Fowler (1987) that HRM represents the discovery of personnel management by chief executives. For years, chairmen in their annual reports have been paying lip-service to the message people are important. Now, however, competitive pressures from one-culture, high-commitment firms, and changes in employees expectations have indicated the need for action instead of words to obtain fuller use of their human resources. Having said all these I intend to discuss HRM in perspective, its various strategic interventions (SHRM) and analyse/focus more on Performance Management. I will also highlight the challenges and benefits of this strategic intervention using a particular model and how it truly improves an organisations effectiveness. Understanding HRM A common theme within the human resource management (HRM) literature in recent years has been the adoption of HRM practices designed to achieve high levels of employee performance, flexibility and commitment. Here, human resource (HR) practices are placed in a much more direct relationship with organisational policy making and performance issues than traditional approaches to personnel management (Bach and Sisson, 2000). In the 1980s, original writers in the area of human resource management (HRM), Beer et al. (1984), stressed that in the face of increasing international competition, organisations had to focus on the value of investments in human resources as a major source of competitive advantage. The transition from personnel management to HRM reflects this emerging organisation-wide commitment to human capital development. The change, however, has activated considerable discussion within the academic literature about the successful strategic positioning of, and responsibility for , HRM (Beer, 1997; Dyer and Holder, 1988; Guest 1987; 1989). The effective use of diverse/different people seems to be the primary assets of any organisation aside from its financial, technological and physical resources therefore it has to be managed effectively and strategically. What then is HRM? There are quite a few descriptions : Beer et al (1984) Human resource management involves all management decisions and actions that affect the relationship between the organisation and employees its human resources. Pettigrew and Whipp (1991) Human resource management relates to the total set of knowledge, skill and attitudes that firms need to compete. It involves concern for and action in the management of people. Bratton and Gold (2003) Human resource management is a strategic approach to managing employment relations which emphasizes that leveraging peoples capabilities is critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage, this being achieved through a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programmes and practises. As you can see, the emphasis is, first, on the interests of management, secondly, on adopting a strategic approach, thirdly, on obtaining added value from people by the processes of human resource development and performance management and, finally, on gaining their commitment to the objectives and values of the organisation. We can therefore identify the following as basic characteristic features of HRM: It is a top-management driven activity; The performance and delivery of HRM is a line management responsibility; It emphasizes the need for the integration of business and personnel strategies; It involves the adoption of a comprehensive and coherent approach to employment policies  and practises; Importance is attached to strong cultures and values; It places emphasis on the attitudinal and behavioural characteristics of employees; Employee relations are unitarist rather than pluralist, individual rather than collective, high trust  rather than low trust; Organizing principles are organic and decentralised with flexible roles and more emphasis on  teamwork; Rewards are differentiated according to performance, competence or skill. It is however important to note that these characteristics will be applied in many distinctive ways in different organisations. HRM as practised in America, UK, India, Nigeria or anywhere else will have features which will be affected by economic and political environment, and the industrial relation climates and practices of the country. HRM as practised in any country will depend on the culture and tradition, structure, technologies, products and markets of these countries. Drawing on Squires (2001) work, these practises suggest three basic questions: (1) what do HRM professionals do? (2) what affects what they do? and (3) how do HR professionals do what they do? Firstly, to understand what HRM professionals do we can identify 8 key HRM functions, policies, programmes and practises designed in response to organisational goals and contingencies, and managed to achieve those goals. These functions contain alternatives from which managers can choose. The functions are: (1) Planning; (2) Staffing; (3) Developing; (4) Motivation; (5) Maintaining; (6) Managing relationships; (7) Managing change and (8) Evaluating. Secondly, to identify what affects what they do, we must understand that HR activities that managers undertake vary from one workplace to another. These variations may be due to the following: (a) external effects (economic, political, legal regulations, social aspects,etc) (b) strategy and (c) organisation (size, work and structure, technology,etc). Lastly, how do HR professionals do what they do? This points to the means or skills by which they accomplish their managerial work. These could include technical, cognitive, and interpersonal skills and processes according to Squires (2000) work. Thus far, I have tried to analyse the origin of HRM and its meaning. I have also shown how it contributes to the functioning of work organisation. Now, this is the important part of my discourse the defining features of HRM the theoretical perspectives. Practice without theory, they say, is blind, Hyman (1989). Models of HRM Like I pointed out before, the extent to which HRM is applied, and how it is applied, will vary considerably according to the type of organisation and the environment in which it operates. This will be governed by the policy goals of the enterprise and may be hard or soft depending on the philosophy of top management. But we can identify five major HRM models ( The Fombrun, Tichy and Devana model: developed by the Michigan school ( Fombrun et al, 1984); The Harvard model: the analytical framework of the Harvard model offered by Beer et al. (1984); The Guest Model (David Guest , 1989,1997), The Warwick Model (Hendry and Pettigrew, 1990) and the Storey Model (Storey, 1992) that seek to demonstrate analytically the qualitative differences between traditional personnel management and HRM. These models fulfil at least 4 important intellectual functions for those studying HRM: (1) they provide an analytical framework for studying HRM ( like stakeholders, situational  factors, strategic choice levels and notions of competence and commitment) (2) they legitimate certain HRM practises/interventions (3) they provide a characterisation of HRM that establishes variables and relationships to be  researched and (4) they serve as a heuristic device something to help us discover and understand the nature  and significance of key HR practices/interventions. The Fombrun, Tichy and Devana model For my discourse here, I shall be applying the above model, (Fig 1), which emphasizes the interrelatedness and coherence of HRM activities/practises or interventions. They introduced the concept of strategic human resource management by which HRM policies are inextricably linked to the formulation and implementation of strategic corporate and/or business objectives (hence the name matching model). This HRM cycle in their model consists of four key constituent components: selection, appraisal ( performance management), rewards and development, these four human resource activities aiming to increase organisational performance. The strength of the model is that it expresses the coherence of internal HR policies and the importance of matching internal HR policies into the organizations external business strategy. What makes the model particularly attractive for many personnel practitioners is the fact that HRM assumes a more important position in the formulation of organisational policie s. This model ultimately introduced the concept of strategic human resource management (SHRM) (Fig 2). A strategic orientation provides the framework within which a coherent approach can be developed to the creation and installation of HRM policies, system and practises or interventions. SHRM is concerned with those decisions which have a major and long-term effect on the employment and development of people in the organization and on the relationships which exist between its management and staff. It will highlight how the organization intends to manage its human resources. These intentions provide the basis for plans, developments and programmes for managing change Hendry and Pettigrew (1986) amplify this with the following: use of planning; a coherent approach to the design and management of personnel systems based on an employment policy and manpower strategy, and often underpinned by a philosophy; matching HRM activities and policies to some explicit strategy; seeing the people of the organisation as a strategic resource for achieving competitive advantage. Guest (1992) argues that such a coherent approach to human resource management policies can also lead, via the generic HRM outcomes of strategic integration, commitment, flexibility/adaptability of the workforce and quality (all necessary ingredients when developing a competitive edge), to the following benefits to the organisation which has adopted SHRM: High job performance; High problem solving, change and innovation; High cost-effectiveness; and Low turnover, absence, grievances. Storey (1992) adds to this list attitude and behaviour changes amongst the workforce, resulting in highly desirable increases in competitive performance. Grant (1991) sums up a now-widely-held view that capabilities are the main source of a firms competitive advantage. SHRM aims to provide the framework within which these key characteristics can be fostered. In essence, SHRM requires a holistic approach, with not only an internal integration between HR practices/interventions(recruitment, selection, rewards mechanisms, appraisal performance management), but also an integration between those practices/interventions summarised in an HR strategy and the organisations strategy overall. Thinking holistically about HRM may lead to a greater degree of success simply because changes envisaged in one area of an organisation (e.g. structures) are more likely to work because all the knock-on effects of such a change have been considered (e.g. recruitment, selection and induction policies). Summarily, SHRM ensures that the culture, style and structure of the organisation, the quality, commitment and motivation of its employees, contribute fully to the achievement of business objectives. HR Strategic Interventions Based on the model I am discussing on I shall look briefly at the practises/interventions: recruitment/selection, rewards, human resource development but focus more on performance management. Selection: This is one of the major practices carried out by any organization in ensuring the selection of the right people to join its workforce (IRS, 1999a). The selection(recruitment) process is concerned with identifying, attracting and choosing suitable people to meet an organisations human resource requirements. While recruitment is searching for and obtaining potential job candidates in sufficient numbers and quality so that the organisation can select the most appropriate people to fill its job need (Dowling and Schuler, 1990); selection is concerned more with predicting which candidates will make the most appropriate contribution to the organisation now and in the future (Hackett, 1991). There has been correlational data, Terpstra and Rozell (1993) supporting the conclusion that organisations using a wide variety of selection procedures (such as interviews, cognitive ability test, bio data and the evaluation of recruiting sources, etc) had higher levels of overall performan ce, annual profit, and growth in profit. Rewards: Reward management is the process of developing and implementing strategies, policies and systems which help the organisation to achieve its objectives by obtaining and keeping the people it needs and by increasing their motivation and commitment, Armstrong and Murlis (1991). It is also central to the effective management of the employment relationship. It is not just about money but also concerned with intrinsic as well as extrinsic motivation; with non-financial, as well as financial rewards. This motivates and leads directly or indirectly to the satisfaction of many needs. It can act as an incentive to improve performance and as a way to recognise success in a highly tangible way. Human Resource Development: Human resource development comprises the procedures and processes that purposely seek to provide learning activities to enhance the skills, knowledge and capabilities of people, teams and the organisation so that there is a change in action to achieve the desired outcome. It incorporates traditional views of training and development but seeks to extend attention to learning throughout an organisation as a strategy to cope with change. The idea of learning at work has become an obvious good thing, and this has led to growing interest in HRD as a profession and its theoretical development, although there are continuing debates about the meaning of HRD. There is evidence to suggest that learning has an impact on an individuals earning power and employment prospects. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Performance management can be defined as a strategic and integrated approach to increasing the effectiveness of organisations by improving the performance of the people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of teams and individual contributors, and also can be seen as a continuous process involving reviews that focus on the future rather than the past . (Baron and Armstrong, 1998: 38-39). Performance management, unlike the performance appraisal or annual evaluation process, is an ongoing assessment of employees in a manner geared to match their goals to the organizational goals. It also makes strong use of goal-setting and metrics to identify progress and areas of individual strengths. It is important to point out here that employees, as well as supervisors, are often confused by the differences between performance management systems and performance appraisals. Performance appraisals, also called Performance evaluations are tools used to measure the effectiveness of an employee; most organizations conduct performance appraisals once a year during an annual evaluation process. A performance management system, however, is much more dynamic. It can use the performance evaluation tool but also incorporates other elements into the performance management cycle. The overall aim of PM is to establish a high performance culture in which individuals and teams take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and for their own skills and contributions within a framework provided by effective leadership. History and Evolution of Performance Management and Appraisal Performance management systems, in various forms, have been employed for nearly two millennia. In the third century AD, the Chinese were not only using performance appraisal systems but were critiquing each others biases in their evaluations of their employees (Murphy and Cleveland, 1995; Evans, 2004). During the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, factory managers became aware of the importance of their employees performance on their production outputs (Grote and Grote, 1996; Murphy and Cleveland, 1995). The development of the philosophy of performance evaluation systems in America has been attributed to such researchers and philosophers as Peter Drucker and Douglas McGregor, who developed ideas of management by objectives (MBOs) and employee motivation (Evans, 2004; Murphy and Cleveland, 1995). Spreigel reported in 1962 that by the early 1960s more than 60% of American organizations had a performance appraisal system. The systems popularity stemmed from the Armys implementation of a performance management system for its officers (Murphy and Cleveland, 1995). Since then, researchers have continued to develop theories of how different performance evaluation methods can contribute to the success of the organization. Elements of Performance Management Armstrong (2006) identifies the five elements of performance management as agreement (of employee, unit, and organizational goals), measurement, feedback, positive reinforcement and dialogue (contingency management). These ensure that the performance management process is positive, successful and a boost to employee improvement. Continued feedback and assessment is key to the performance management process as shown in the performance management cycle (Fig 3). There are four main elements of the planning portion of the performance management cycle: role creation and development, objective planning, assessment and development planning. The first step, role creation and development, is important because an employee must understand his or her role in the organization before the performance of that role can be fairly assessed. By first defining the employees goal, a supervisor can then align the employees objectives with the organizational goals. In performance management, employers provi de continuous appraisal through feedback and re-alignment of goals based on performance. Unlike the annual evaluation process, most performance management systems are designed to meet the changing needs of both the organization and the employee. The following are the aims of PM as expressed by a variety of organisations (source IRS, 2003): Empowering, motivating and rewarding employees to do their best. Armstrong World Industries Focusing employees task on the right things and doing them right. Aligning everyones individual goals to the goals of the organisation. Eli Lilly Co Proactively managing and resourcing performance against agreed accountabilities and objectives. ICI Paints The process and behaviours by which managers manage the performance of their people to deliver a high-achieving organisation. Standard Chartered Bank Maximising the potential of individuals and teams to benefit themselves and the organisation, focusing on achievement of their objectives. West Bromwich Building Society The organizations that have chosen to use a performance management process have often done so because the annual evaluation process has failed to meet their appraisal needs. The constant communication loop of performance management enables organizations to meet both the goals of their organization and the development and feedback needs of their employees. In contrast, the  annual evaluation process, which is retrospective in nature, provides no formal opportunity for employees to receive feedback about their performance, request development to increase their efficiency or ask for new goals during the year. Role Creation and Development In order for performance management to be effective, an employee must have a clear understanding of his or her organizational role and responsibilities. Armstrong says that the role profile defines the role in terms of the key results expected, what role holders are expected to know and be able to do and how they are expected to behave in terms of behavioural competencies and upholding the organizations core values. Defining the core competencies for each employee is one step in effective goal creation because it allows the supervisor to communicate personalized feedback. Effective and SMART Objectives Creation There are many different kinds of objectives in an organization. Armstrong identifies that effective objective-setting results in an agreement on what the role holder (employee) has to achieve and is an important part of the performance management processes of defining and managing expectations and forms the point of reference for performance reviews. He also identifies the following types of objectives: 1. ongoing role or work objectives: based on the job description 2. targets: quantifiable goals that should be met 3. tasks/projects: specified results or product 4. behavioural expectations: outlines desirable and undesirable behaviours 5. values: outlines the values of the organization 6. performance improvement: areas that need improvement 7. developmental/learning: provide specific areas to meet improvement needs Luecke (2006) notes that effective objectives are recognized as important, clearly written in specific terms, measurable and framed in time, aligned with organizational strategy, achievable but challenging and supported by appropriate rewards. Armstrong provides the SMART mnemonic, to help set effective objectives S = specific/stretching M = measurable A = achievable/achievable R = relevant T = time framed The creation of appropriate, measurable objectives is key to the performance management process; they provide a framework for assessment and, without them, the performance management system would fail. Assessment of Goal Achievement After defining roles and setting goals, the manager and the employee must determine whether the employee had been successful during the assessment period. If the goals are SMART, then assessing the employees performance will be simple: if the employee met the specific goal within the time frame designated, then the assessment would be a positive one. The most important aspect of the assessment is the performance review. There are many ways to conduct performance reviews. Some organizations conduct reviews at certain intervals throughout the  year; others create a timeline based on the goals developed. Many organizations have employees conduct a self-evaluation prior to the evaluation meeting; Aguinis (2007) identifies that self-appraisals can reduce employees defensiveness during an appraisal meeting and increase employee satisfaction with the performance management system, as well as enhance perceptions of accuracy and fairness and therefore acceptance of the system. Both employees and employers have historically disliked the performance review process. Armstrong reports that most appraisals have existed in a vacuum, with little or no relation to the workplace: employees have resented the superficial nature with which appraisals have been conducted by managers who lack the skills required, tend to be biased and are simply going through the motions. In order to have a productive, positive performance review, Aguinis identifies six recommended steps: 1. Identify what the employee has done well and poorly by citing specific positive and negative behaviours. 2. Solicit feedback from your employee about these behaviours. Listen for reactions and explanations. 3. Discuss the implications of changing, or not changing, the behaviours. Positive feedback is best, but an employee must be made aware of what will happen if any poor performance continues. 4. Explain to the employee how skills used in past achievements can help him overcome any current performance problems. 5. Agree on an action plan. Encourage the employee to invest in improving his performance 6. Set up a meeting to follow up and agree on the behaviours, actions, and attitudes to be evaluated. After creating goals and assessing progress, the employee and employer have identified areas that can be improved; the action plan for this improvement is called development planning. This development plan ensures that employees will continue to meet the needs of the organization through the identification of their weaknesses and the opportunity to address them through workshops, classes, and other educational channels. Quantitative and qualitative advantages The literature findings suggest that the introduction of SPM has a positive impact in terms of revenues, sales and net profit. Various studies (Malina and Selto, 2001; Sim and Koh, 2001; Braam and Nijssen, 2004; Neely HYPERLINK #idb49et al.HYPERLINK #idb49, 2004;) identified that organizations implementing and using SPM systems were able to achieve an increase in revenue, an increase in profit, a reduction in costs, and a higher ROA. These studies also indicate that organizations that initially used an SPM system suffered decreased results when they reverted, for whatever reason, to traditional measurement systems. Other studies (Kald and Nilsson, 2000; Sim and Koh, 2001; Neely HYPERLINK #idb49et al.HYPERLINK #idb49, 2004;) showed that organizations using an SPM system experienced a myriad of qualitative benefits, such as improvement in internal communication of the strategy, closer collaboration and better knowledge sharing and information exchange between organizational units, stre ngthened focus on what is important for the business, more focus on the achievement of results, higher quality of performance information, better strategic alignment of organizational units, higher operational efficiency, improvement of management quality, better understanding by people of the organizational strategy, higher commitment of personnel to the organization, more clarity of people of their contribution towards achievement of the strategy and organizational goals, higher innovativeness, better achievement of organizational goals, more pro-activity, more clarity for people about their roles and goals, more effective management control, higher employee satisfaction, stronger process orientation, strengthened reputation of the organization as a quality firm, and a better strategic planning process. Quantitative and qualitative disadvantages Literature findings also show that PM systems are not without disadvantages. Various studies (Kald and Nilsson, 2000; Sim and Koh, 2001; IOMA, Business Intelligence at Work, 2005; Neely HYPERLINK #idb49et al.HYPERLINK #idb49, 2004;) stated that organizations experienced disadvantages after the implementation and subsequent use of SPM but only in non-financial performance terms, no quantitative disadvantages were found in the literature. Disadvantages reported are: too many performance indicators; not enough strategic information in the system; too much internal competition; too expensive and too bureaucratic; performance indicators too subjective and therefore unreliable; performance information too aggregated; too much financial information; and too much historical information. Because of these incredibly negative effects that an improperly conducted performance management system can have on an organization, the system must be implemented thoughtfully and executed consistently. Conclusion Performance management, unlike traditional annual evaluation, provides employees with feedback throughout the year. The system allows constant re-evaluation of goals, progress and performance. This process requires more interaction between the supervisor and supervisee and encourages the professional development of the employee to meet the organizations changing needs. While this more dynamic evaluation process is time-consuming, the increased  productivity levels resulting from performance management have proven to be valuable to many organizations. Lord Kelvin once said: When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you will know something about it [otherwise] your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely in thought advanced to the stage of science (cited in Fisher, 1990). So I believe that performance management (which also details performance measurement) is a very vital HRM strategic intervention.