Effective Human Resource Planning Essay Example for Free

Effective Human Resource Planning Essay The key to effective human resource management is human resource planning 1.0 Introduction Human Resources (HR) Management is a multifaceted function. This entity has an important place within companies in helping key personnel decide on the best staff for their needs, among other things. Sometimes, the employees chosen are full-time employees already working for the company or they could be contractors. Regardless, the goal of HR Management is to choose the most qualified person for the job. Again, HR Management is a group of professionals that wear many hats, some of which include employee benefits and compensation, hiring and terminating employees, and managing personnel policies and employee records. While smaller companies will often perform the tasks of HR Management on their own, most, larger corporations choose to hire professionals to oversee the entire HR department so we can say that the key to effective human resource management is human resource planning, as it is stated by Mark and Cynthia, it involves strategic plans, then devising ways to meet these objectives . In this essay I will try to focus on strategic planning which is a major factor of planning. 2.0 Aims of strategic plans The history of strategic planning begins in the military. According to Websters New World Dictionary, strategy is the science of planning and directing large-scale military operations, of maneuvering forces into the most advantageous position prior to actual engagement with the enemy (Guralnic, 1986). In an address to the strategic planning workshop director-general of kwazulu-Netal RK Sizani said employees must be able to advise, facilitate, support, consult, guide, monitor, resolve disputes and recommend strategic interventions to government and departments. They must be capable of producing rules, procedures, norms, frameworks, standards, draw common plans and goals which will enhance co-ordination. They require people who are experienced and somewhat capacitated and not junior entry  level officers. As organizations vary in size, aims, functions, complexity, construction, the physical nature of their product, and appeal as employers, so do the contributions of human resource management. But, in most the ultimate aim of the function is to: ensure that at all times the business is correctly staffed by the right number of people with the skills relevant to the business needs, that is, neither overstaffed. The second area should be about identifying which of these plans and strategies are so fundamental that there must be clear plans to address them before the organisation can achieve on any of its goals. These are likely to include: * Workforce planning issues * Progression planning * Staff skills plans * Motivation and fair treatment issues * Pay levels designed to recruit, retain and motivate people * A grading and remuneration system which is fair * Employment issues which impact on staff recruitment, retention, motivation etc. * A performance management framework which is designed to meet the needs of all sectors of the organisation. * Career development framework which look at development within the organisation at equipping employees with employability so that they can cope with increasingly frequent changes in employer and employment patterns * Policies and framework- to ensure that people development issues are addressed systematically: competence frameworks, self-managed learning etc. The HR strategy will need to show that careful planning of the people issues will make it substantially easier for the organisation to achieve its wider strategic and operational goals. 3.0 Recruitment of staff Recruitment should be preceded by an analysis of the job to be done (i.e. an analytical study of the tasks to be performed to determine their essential factors) written into a job description so that the selectors know what physical and mental characteristics applicants must possess, what qualities and attitudes are desirable and what characteristics are a decided disadvantage; * In the case of replacement staff a critical questioning of the need to recruit at all (replacement should rarely be an automatic process). * Effectively, selection is buying an employee (the price being the wage or salary multiplied by probable years of service) hence bad buys can be very expensive. For that reason some firms (and some firms for particular jobs) use external expert consultants for recruitment and selection. Equally some small organizations exist to head hunt, i.e. to attract staff with high reputations from existing employers to the recruiting employer. However, the cost of poor selection is such that, even for the ordinary day-to-day jobs, those who recruit and select should be well trained to judge the suitability of applicants. 3.1 The main sources of recruitment are: * Internal promotion and internal introductions * University appointment boards; * Agencies for the unemployed; * Advertising (often via agents for specialist posts) or the use of other local media (e.g. commercial radio). The organization put its trade mark for rapid attraction and it must take care not to offend the sex, race, etc. antidiscrimination legislation either directly or indirectly. Interviewing can be carried out by individuals (e.g. supervisor or departmental manager), by panels of interviewers or in the form of sequential interviews by different personal skills techniques to aid judgment include selection testing for: * Aptitudes (particularly useful for school leavers); * Attainments; * General intelligence. (All of these need skilled testing and assessment.) In more senior posts other techniques are: * Leaderless groups; * Command exercises; * Group problem solving. (These are some common techniques professional selection organizations often use other techniques to aid in selection.) Training in interviewing and in appraising candidates is clearly essential to good recruitment. Largely the former consists of teaching interviewers how  to draw out the interviewee and the latter how to rate the candidates. For consistency rating often consists of scoring candidates for experience, knowledge, physical/mental capabilities, intellectual levels, motivation, prospective potential, leadership abilities etc. 4.0 Analysis 4.1 Setting the strategic direction This process focuses on aligning human resource policies to support the accomplishment of the Companys mission, vision, goals and strategies. The business goals sit at the heart of any HR plan and in order to align business and HR you need to answer one key question, Can your organisations internal capability deliver the organisations business goals? Many organisations cite their people as their primary source of competitive advantage. Successful companies continuously identify and adopt innovative human resource management policies and practices to sustain that advantage. More importantly, they structure work and design training, performance management, pay, and reward policies to help members of the organization succeed in achieving desired organizational outcomes. In other words, they integrate and align HRM policies and practices to reinforce employee behaviors that can best realize the leaders strategic intent. In the most successful companies, the set of policies and practices that collectively make up a companys HRM system is the critical management tool for communicating and reinforcing the leaders strategic intent. 5.0 Conclusion While Human resource management strategies must be developed to support the achievement of the organisations objectives, it is a two-way process. These strategies can themselves be critical inputs in determining the strategic initiatives for the organisation. A fatal error, however, is to develop and implement Human resource management strategies without thinking of the  organisational strategic planning process. A common mistake is the development of workplace skills plans which are not linked to any strategic goals or objectives or which have no affirmative action components. So, Human resource planning is the key to effective human resource management. 6.0 References 1. http://www.searchbites.com/docs/HR_MANAGEMENT.asp (28th December 2004) 2. Mark Lengnick-Hall and Cynthia Lengnick-Hall. (22 December 2003) Human Resource Management in the Knowledge Economy: New Challenges, New Roles, New Capabilities, 3. Guralnik, D. (Ed.). (1986). Websters New World Dictionary (2nd ed.). Cleveland, OH: Prentice Hall Press. 4. R K Sizani, Workshop of the on implementation and action an address to the strategic planning, (02nd December 2001) 5. Behrman M, (2004), A guide to strategic human resource planning, Workinfor bulletin, south Africa 6. http://www.accel-team.com/human_resources/hrm_02.html, (31 December 2004) 7. A Strategic Human Resource Management System for the 21st Century. Naval Personnel Task Force, September 2000, Story Number: NNS040406-02, 04th June 2004 8. Human Resources, Pay Trends Bulletin ,The employers organisation for local authorities in the south east,(June 2004),

Cost Estimation for Meeting Perths Water Needs

Cost Estimation for Meeting Perths Water Needs (a) Introduction 2.1 This career episode is based on my engineering activity at the University of Western Australia. It is about an assignment I carried out during the second semester of my masters degree in the unit Process synthesis and design, worth 25 % of the overall grade. The assignment was released on 11 August 2015 and was due on the 18 September 2015.Thus the entire task was completed in just five weeks time. (b) Background 2.2. The project on Cost Estimation for Meeting Perths Water Needs was carried out as an assignment for the unit Process Synthesis and Design. I was part of a group of six people. The project required the calculation of CAPEX and OPEX for two different scenarios and comparison of both to determine the suitable one for real life implementation. This assignment involved several design stages along with the study of flow in a pipeline in order to select the appropriate piping and the length required to meet the water requirement over a 50 year lifetime. The project was completed successfully under the guidance of Prof. Mike Johns, School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering at the University of Western Australia. 2.3 Decreasing annual rainfall and subsequent decrease in water supply had become the talk of media and local government in Perth. This has caused an interest in techniques to supply fresh water to Perth. The project aimed at evaluating two different scenarios to meet with Perths increasing water demands. The first scenario considered in the project was a two stage RO Desalination plant that would intake seawater and produce fresh water at 1000 à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â€š ¬Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦. The second scenario was the design construction of a 2435 km Kimberly pipeline from Argyle dam to Perth capable of meeting the same fresh water requirement per day. 2.4 Some of the core duties I was involved in are as follows: I performed literature reviews and referred several materials to understand various prospects of the project. I divided the task among my team members and ensured that they accomplished their assigned tasks effectively. I estimated the CAPEX and OPEX for two different scenarios. I contributed to the discussion with the members of my team on the merits and demerits of each case of the project. I attended meetings with my supervisor and team members to discuss the progress of the project and to exchange our contributions. I also compared and validated certain theoretical results with that of my calculated ones using appropriate approaches to suit the requirements of the project. I welcomed the challenge in completing a cost breakdown analysis by selecting the appropriate material based on its mechanical properties, pressure head, volumetric flow rate, velocity and followed by certain significant assumptions throughout the project. I prepared charts and tabulations of selection and cost analysis for different equipment and materials. I also prepared a report on the comparison of CAPEX and OPEX of two different scenarios and contributed more towards the design of reverse osmosis desalination plant and its functions. (c) Personal Engineering Activity The assignment required the comparison of CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) and OPEX (Operational Expenditure) for two scenarios. The first scenario given was the reverse osmosis desalination plant. This process consists of several stages. I analyzed the process to determine the amount of feed required to produce 1000 à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â€š ¬Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦ of fresh water. I discovered that from the 45% recovery of the RO membrane system, a 2222.2 à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â€š ¬Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦ of salt water feed will provide the required 1000 à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â€š ¬Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦ of fresh water to Perth. Figure 1: Reverse Osmosis design selection block diagram 2.6 In order to determine the OPEX, all the steps involved in the process had to be accounted. In order to do so, I broke down the process into independent steps. The first step was the pre-treatment of feed water to avoid fouling in the membrane system. Managing membrane fouling with pre-treatment methods reduces the replacement rate of membranes and lowers the ongoing OPEX costs. The next step involved in the process was coagulation. I chose Ferric Salts as a coagulant because of its tendency to disinfect microorganisms, partially degrade and oxidize the organic and inorganic impurities, and remove suspended particulate materials in a single dosing and mixing unit process. The next step in the process was the passage of feed water through Dual-filters. After extensive research, I decided that the Anthracite bed on silica sand was best suited to remove suspended solids and colloids formed in the ferric salt treatment. Lastly the feed was passed through micron cartridge filters to re move fine particles and bacterial matter before it was processed through a high pressure pump to the membranes. 2.7 The final and the most important step of the process was the selection of membrane. Referring to a number of papers, I found out that the best suited membrane for the specific purpose was the Toray TM820-440 membranes. These membrane elements had a high salt rejection percentage, large flux, low cost and are efficient on energy use to minimize OPEX costs. Before distribution, the permeate needs to be treated to maintain pH and remove corrosion potential. Lime contactors can increase hardness, alkalinity and pH while preventing calcium to leech from pipes into the distribution system. 2.8 I prepared the CAPEX by scaling up the capacity of an existing desalination plant to match the desired capacity. I considered The Perth Seawater Desalination Plant in Kwinana which has a capacity of 45à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¸ and incurred a capital cost of $387 million AUD. I also took Southern Seawater Desalination Plant into consideration in Binningup which had a capital cost of $1400 million AUD and produces 100 GL/year. Of the two, I selected the Binningup desalination plant as it was built much more recently compared to that of kwinana. From calculations, I found that the proposed plant is 3.65 times larger than the Binningup plant and as such, the CAPEX could be approximated to $5110 million AUD. 2.9 Operating Costs can be classified as fixed or variable. Figure 2: Operating expenditure classification used in the project The table below summarizes the OPEX estimation for the Desalination plant. Table 1: Summary of RO Desalination OPEX Cost Components 2.10 The second scenario to be considered was the Argyle Dam Pipeline. The solution costs were based on quotes from two Australian companies:   Steel Mains and Flowserve. I selected these two companies based on a background study that I carried out. From the research, I learnt that these companies have been involved in numerous Australian water transport projects and abide by Australian standards. The final solution that I selected was based on Steel Mains cement mortar lined pipe model DN2200 and custom made pumps designed by Flowserve with an operating head value of 250 metres with inlet and outlet valves equal to the diameter needed. The 250 metres operating head was chosen as the pipes are designed to work at 2.7MPa. After discussion with the team members, two solutions were proposed: a real pipeline with outer diameter of 2159mm, 3 pipelines with 3 pumps per pipeline, and the other one having theoretical pipelines with outer diameter 2520mm, 2 pipelines with 3 pumps. The CAPEX estimation for the proposals is as follows: Table 2: Summary of Pipeline CAPEX Cost Components The OPEX estimation has been limited to the power requirements of the pumping stations and the personnel required to run the pipeline. Table 3: Summary of Pipeline OPEX Cost Components I compared the CAPEX and OPEX along with the advantages and disadvantages of both the scenarios to determine which of the two would be more suitable for real life application. For the Kimberley pipeline, the CAPEX cost ($36.6 billion AUD) heavily exceeds the desalination plant. This large CAPEX cost comes from the cost of purchasing DN2200 pipes which have an estimated lifetime of 100 years. The major factor contributing to the OPEX value from the pipeline is maintenance (77.7%). On the proposed desalination plant solution, the CAPEX cost is relatively low compared to the pipeline ($6.275 billion AUD). The majority of this cost comes from the installation of high pressure pumping station, and a seawater desalination system with energy recovery devices which are a long term investment to save on high energy costs of up to 50-60% associated with desalination. The majority of OPEX estimates come from the cost of power to run the plant (81%). Considering all the facts, I decided that the desalination plant should be selected over the Kimberley project. This is because the desalination plant is more economically feasible over a large time span. Even though the pipeline has been designed to facilitate this increase in demand, CAPEX estimates are too expensive to justify this project. I also carried out several calculations to determine the velocity of water running through the selected pipelines and was found to be 1.08 m/s. Table 4: Information summary of real (calculated values) and theoretical pipeline options Parameters such as Reynolds number, relative roughness, pressure drop, volumetric flow rate and pipeline elevation were also determined when selecting the appropriate pipeline for this project. Estimating the appropriate number of pumping stations at remote areas along the length of the pipeline was one of the tedious task in the project as it involved a lot calculations and literature reviews. A different approach to this project was the consideration of solar technology over wave supply to be the best present day strategy at remote areas as the supply of power to pumping stations was not be a viable option by the latter. Unfortunately, these winds are not a reliable option in the interior parts of Western Australia and so would not be a feasible selection for power supply to a potential pipeline. Overall, I was able to achieve all the objectives of the project successfully within the specified time and prepared a final report incorporating all the necessary design calculations, ide as and suggestions which could have improved the overall outcome of the project. A peer review was also submitted at the end of the project as a reflection on how each team member contributed individually for the project. (d) Summary 2.15 This project provided me with a valuable experience and great insight into an industrial project. I gained profound knowledge on process economics and also helped boost my confidence. During the course of the project, I understood the importance of team work and team management. I utilized my engineering knowledge for the successful completion of the project and as a whole, this project served as a stepping stone into the industrial world.

Macbeth Summary: Selfish Ambitions

Macbeth Summary: Selfish Ambitions The play begins with the brief appearance by three witches and then moves to a military camp where the Scottish King Duncan hears news about his generals, Macbeth and Banquo. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that Macbeths companion Banquo will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be king himself. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him. When Duncans death is discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains and easily assumes the kingship. Macbeth hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes. At a feast that night a ghost visits Macbeth. Macbeth goes to see the witches they show him a sequence of demons and spirits who present him with further prophecies: Macbeth is relieved by the prophecies given to him. Prince Malcolm, Duncans son, has succeeded in raising an army in England, and Macduff joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeths forces. Before Macbeths opponents arrive, Macbeth receives news that Lady Macbeth has killed herself. When Macbeth learns that the English army is advancing on Dunsinane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood, fulfilling half of the witches prophecy Macbeth is afraid. On the battlefield, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macduff, who declares that he was not of woman born but was instead untimely ripped from his mothers womb. Though he realizes that he is doomed, Macbeth continues to fight until Macduff kills and beheads him, Malcolm is now the King of Scotland. Shakespeare utilizes imagery, symbol and hyperbole to expose the consequence of wanton ambition. Macbeth is a play in which the characters provide the reader with gory descriptions of carnage as the result of some sort of ambition. The description of the battle is rich in imagery as it depicts the savageness of war which smoked with bloody execution, Like Valours minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave Which neer shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he unseamd him from the nave to the chaps, And fixd his head upon our battlements (1.2.18-23). This depicts the behavior a brave solider such as Macbeth must execute in order to prove his bravery in the field and his willingness to serve his king in hopes of advancing in rank. The only reason a solider fights is for glory and honor both of which are critical in advancing forward in life. Macbeth only fights because he wants to be prompted to a higher rank, which his relentless determination in battle achieves as he is crowned Thane of Cawdor. The blood that stains Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are symbols of guilt for committing a murder merely for attaining more power Heres the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand (5.1.4345) This line by Lady Macbeth is rich in imagery, Shakespeare allows the reader to experience the horror that accompanies murdering someone. The bloods stench is so strong that not even Arabian scents, which are a luxury, can mask the foul smell of another mans blood. On a deeper level the blood which is equivalent to the murder has stained her not only her physical body but her soul and no matter what she tries to do she will always be tainted by that act. Macbeth is a perfect example of this when he has murdered king Duncan and feels that he can do nothing to wipe his hands clean of the blood; Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas in incarnadine, Making the green one red.'(2.2.5859) Neptune is an allusion to the Roman god of the sea whose waters could not wipe the blood symbolic of the murder, meaning guilt, from Macbeths hands. Shakespeare uses hyperbole to captivate the readers attention that murder is in reconcilable when done for selfish reasons. Purpose: As a well know Satirist, Shakespeare goes to great extent to expound the consequences of harboring unbridled ambition. During this time Britain was divided into three parts, England, Scotland and. As a result of this fractured state Shakespeare witnessed much political turmoil at the hands of ambitious men. Shakespeare shares his disdain towards these temperaments through the story of Macbeth. The results of unchecked ambition are numerous, the betrayal that must take place for you to complete your goal, the guilt that overwhelms you and those close to you when you succumb to that ambition and do anything to fulfill it and the vengeance it erects in those who have been affected by unbridled ambition. In an attempt to get rationalize the murder of King Duncan; Macbeth concludes that he has no real reason to kill the king, other than his own ambition to become king. The results of this action demonstrates the dangers of unchecked ambition I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which oerleaps itself And falls on the other. (1.7). The quote is ironic because Macbeth recognizes the dangers of acting on such ambitions and realizes that it will most likely lead to his downfall but he still follows through betraying King Duncan who had just promoted and admired him for his loyalty and honor. The consequences of fulfilling your selfish ambitions are devastating to your psyche. By committing the murder Macbeth rapidly degenerates from the honorable solider he was, to a deceiving King who is void of any magnanimous qualities. From this instant, Theres nothing serious in mortality: All is but toys: renown and grace is dead; the wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees is left this vault to brag of (2.3) this is verbal irony because the other characters in the story believe he is being sincere about the murder but at this moment he is relinquishing himself of any personal qualities that may prevent him from being the cold and aggressive man Lady Macbeth wanted him to become. Further irony presents itself when Lady Macbeth exclaims as she sleepwalks Out, damned spot! out, I say! (5, 1) this is an outward manifestation of her inward guilt. After the murder of King Duncan both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth beginning to degenerate, Macbeth becomes a calculating tyrant while Lady Macbe th begins to feel guilt for her role in the deaths of Banquo and Macduffs family. The degeneration of the human mind is complete when Lady Macbeth commits suicide and Macbeth refuses to retreat despite knowing he is going to die. The downfall of Macbeth was that he allowed his ambition to take control of his life. Macbeth allowed other to influence his desires, like, Lady Macbeth and the witches. His mindset was morphed and because of this he gave into the wants and perceptions of other instead of being true to himself.

Character Education Programs :: essays papers

Character Education Programs One of the most important things to parents is that their child grows up to be a caring, healthy human being. Parents were actually asked what the most important thing they wanted for their children was. â€Å"The most common response, given by 48% of the parents, was making sure their child grows up to be a moral person.† (http://www.joe.org/joe/1998april/a3.html). A good way to ensure this is by implementing character education programs. With the increase in violence in young people today, character education programs are a great way to teach people various good and useful morals. Character education programs are exactly how they sound; they are designed to build one’s character throughout childhood so that the individual is able to make good decisions in life. Character education programs are intended to handle â€Å"aggressive behaviors, build self-esteem, resolve conflicts peacefully, encourage diversity tolerance, practice core values and promote character education† (http://www.joyinlearning.com/). The effect of character education programs on student’s behavior will be addressed. Character education programs are designed to help with many issues such as aggressive behavior, life skills, conflict and violence, safety, diversity tolerance and most of all, they exist in order to help build one’s character. Effective character education programs need to include many main beliefs. It is said that â€Å"Character education promotes core ethical values as the basis of good character.† This means that some values which include caring, honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect for self and others are all essential to building character education. The hope is that schools that implement character education programs look at these values as obligations for the student to uphold. The second thing that character education needs to have is thinking, emotion, and behavior. The point here is to help people understand the difference between what is right and wrong, good and bad, and to use those â€Å"good† values throughout their life. In schools using character education, intentional, proactive, and comprehensive approaches are used to follow the values of good character. The intentional approach and proactive approach try to develop character, and the comprehensive approach uses every feature of schooling. For example, it would use the environment in and surrounding the school to try and build character. It would also make sure that the bus driver for the school bus is in good character.

Conflict in Alls Well That Ends Well Essay -- Alls Well That Ends We

Conflict in All's Well That Ends Well  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the themes that emerges from Shakespeare's comedy All's Well That Ends Well is the conflict between old and new, age and youth, wisdom and folly, reason and passion. As one critic points out, a simple glance at the characters of the play reveals an almost equally balanced cast of old and young. "In performance it is apparent that the youth of the leading characters, Helena, Bertram, Diana and Parolles, is in each case precisely balanced by the greater age of their counterparts, the Countess, the King of France, the Widow of Florence and the old counselor Lafeu."1 Indeed, the dialectic between youth and age is established in the first act as the Countess sees a mirror of her former self in Helena's love sick countenance in scene three when she exclaims "Even so it was with me when I was young," and Bertram's worthiness to the ailing King of France in the previous scene appears to hang upon his youthful resemblance to his deceased father. As the King explains, "Such a man might be a copy to these younger times,/Which followed well would demonstrate them now/But goers-backward" [I.2. 49-51]. Like so many literary youths of his day, Shakespeare went backward for his source material for All's Well and based the play on Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. Boccaccio's early sixteenth-century story revolves around Giletta of Narbona, the daughter of a wealthy and respected physician. Giletta, like Helena (the daughter of the deceased--and indigent--Gerard de Narbonne), falls in love with young count Beltramo, follows him to Paris where she remedies the King's incurable disease, and, because of her newly-acquired royal favor, is granted the right to demand a husband: Beltramo. Despite ... ...ng the confusing and difficult landscape of gender politics and postmodern deconstruction. And rather than accept Helena's all too confident statement that "All's well that ends well," we might more willingly embrace the King's more ambiguous statement," All yet seems well." 1 J.L. Styan, All's Well That Ends Well (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984) 15. 2 W.W. Lawrence, Shakespeare's Problem Comedies, 1931 rpt (New York: Ungar, 1960). 3 Anne Barton, "Introduction," All's Well That Ends Well in The Riverside Shakespeare ed. G. Blakemore Evans (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974) 501. 4 Ibid, 500. 5 David McCandless, "Helena's Bed-trick: Gender and Performance in All's Well That Ends Well" Shakespeare Quarterly 45 (1994): 455. 6 Richard A. Levin, "All's Well That Ends Well, and 'All Seems Well'," Shakespeare Studies (1980): 131. 7 McCandless, 450.   

British Mercantilism

Mercantilism was more favorable to the colonies than it was to Great Britain because, Americans reaped direct benefits from the mercantile system, the average American was better off economically, and mercantilism had sufficient merit to be long perpetuated. Mercantilism was a huge success and a major factor in the development of the colonies. Mercantilism helped jump-start the formation of what we now call America. The American colonists reaped direct benefits from the mercantile system.Liberal bounties were paid to colonials who produced ship parts. The tobacco planters received special privileges in the colonies because of their addictive plant. The colonies had a monopoly on the British market. The direct benefits that the colonies receive help America grow economically because of mercantilism. Although the colonies reaped direct benefits the average American can be more significant to this subject. The average American was better off economically than the average Englishmen.For one the Americans paid no tax on any army because of the alliance with Britain. They paid no tax because of Britain’s forceful navy and saw no use to form an army of their own. The lack of tax and the direct benefits combined together help prove that the average American is better off than the average Englishmen. Mercantilism was a great success. Mercantilism had sufficient merit to be long perpetuated. Mercantilism was so triumphant that it is a system that can be used in our world today.Traces of mercantilism are indeed found in our world today proving the success of mercantilism to be phenomenal. Trade between countries still is a immense part of how we obtain our food and clothing and our bare essentials, as it was for the colonies and Britain. Mercantilism in the colonies obviously worked better than in Britain for these specific reasons; Americans reaped direct benefits from the mercantile system, the average American was better off economically than the average English men, and traces of mercantilism can be found in our world today.

Comparison of HR practices and employment relations philosophies Essay

Introduction In the face of ever-increasing globalization, both China and Taiwan have now joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO); a more open market economy and closer integration with the global economic order appears to be inevitable for both countries (Magarinos et al. 2002). Human Resource Management (HRM) is one of the critical tools for improving productivity and competitiveness at the grass-roots level (Poole 1997). This Essays aims to identify and compare the current HRM systems and practices at different types of enterprises in both China and Taiwan respectively (Zhu and Warner 2000), to evaluate their performance in this domain, as well as to illustrate the implications of the inter-relationship between social norms/ environment and the transformation of HRM in both economies. The outcome of this comparison may be meaningful in terms of understanding the theoretical arguments about the trend of HRM development towards a ‘convergent’ or ‘divergent’ model within the global production and economic systems of our time (Warner 2002) or possibly a hybrid ‘cross-vergent’ phenomenon where national cultural systems are blended with broader economic ideologies . HR practices and employment relations philosophies of China HRM is a term used to describe a wide range of activities involved in attracting, developing, motivating, and retaining the best and most capable people to perform within an organization. Western HRM places importance not only on systematic recruitment but also on selection, training, and development procedures, emphasizing motivation through involvement, and appraisal and incentives schemes (Child 1994). But the HRM in China is different. Its distinctive system is labelled human resource management with ‘Chinese characteristics’ (Warner, 1995). Labour management in China is currently undergoing a major change, shifting from the socialist model to a market-driven one. The ‘iron rice bowl’ is being slowly phased out. Guaranteed lifetime job security is being replaced by more flexible labour contracts. The ‘cradle to grave’ social welfare system is also fading out, with more performance-based reward systems replacing it (Warner 1997). Prior to the mid-1980s, when the Chinese government began economic reforms, most personnel issues enterprises were controlled by planning authorities, such as government personnel and labour bureaucrats. For instance, the recruitment of any person needed a pre-planned quota that was granted by the state. Neither the employees nor the employers (enterprises) had freedom to choose according to their preferences. People were assigned jobs for life with limited mobility. A worker’s personnel file recorded his/her employment history as well as a broad range of the person’s political activities. Wages and salaries were not determined by management, but fixed according to pre-determined grades based on seniority. Moreover, the Party Secretary’s organization maintained tight control of personnel within an enterprise. A manager’s political attitudes towards the Party were an important criterion in his/her appointment and promotion (Ding et al. 2000). The past two decades have seen the Chinese economy steadily evolve towards the state-engineered ‘market economy with Chinese characteristics’ (Warner, 1995). The productivity of the labour force has been recognized as the most valuable resource from the top central government to the grassroots organizations. The term ‘ren li zi yuan guan li’ (HRM in Chinese) frequently appears in books, local newspapers, and journal articles. In the real world, much has changed in HRM practices in China. One of the biggest changes is the increasingly predominant position of material rewards. The old wage grade system was abandoned nationally and the new ‘post plus skills’ (gang ji gong zi zhi) system was adapted. Under the reformed employment system, Chinese managers now have greater freedom to ‘hire and fire’ (Child, 1994). Even though fully fledged HRM on Western lines seems still far away, many personnel policies have been substantially changed: workers are employed on fixed term contracts, apprenticeships have been reformed, and training has been expanded for both workers and managers in most Joint Ventures and State Owned Enterprises (Warner, 1997). With the reforms of the employment system, a new terminology of HRM cam to China in the mid- 1980s (Warner 1999). Initially, HRM as an academic concept was introduced by joined teaching arrangements between Chinese and foreign universities, as well as in management practices in foreign-owned enterprises, mainly from Japan, the USA and Europe (Warner 1995). The Chinese translation of HRM is renli ziyuan guanli hich means ‘labour force resources management’. But in fact, some people now use it misleadingly as a synonym for personnel management (PM) (renshi guanli) and indeed treat it as such (Warner 1997). This form of older PM practice is still very common in SOEs and a fair degree of conservatism continues to pervade the administration of personnel on such enterprises. Certainly, it is still somewhat far from the initial concept of HRM as understood in the international business community (Poole 1997). In parallel, attempts were made to import ‘enterprise culture’, code for adopting and adapting the Japanese model (Chan 1995). This is normally found in firms entering JV arrangements with Japanese MNCs or where the Japanese have set up wholly owned firms on site. Some aspects of the Japanese management system such as the quality control circles (QCC) and total quality control (TQC) have been practised in both local and foreign companies. However, the system is closely adapted to local laws and practices. The term HRM is in fact mostly de rigueur in the most prominent Sino-foreign JVs, particularly the larger ones. Even in such firms, management seems to be more inward-looking, focusing on issues like wage, welfare and promotion as found in the conventional personnel arrangements rather than strategic ones like long-term development normally associated with HRM. Clearly, at this time, there is not a homogeneous model of HRM in Chinese enterprises. Individual enterprises are reforming their HRM systems differently on the basis of their existing conditions and the respective impact of economic reform. HR practices and employment relations philosophies of Taiwan The Taiwanese management system is also rooted in traditional Chinese culture and values, predominantly in the form of small size family businesses, coupled with strong family control and extensive subcontracting networks (Chen 1995). However, in the first half of the twentieth century, Taiwan was colonized by Japan and Japanese influence was widespread, including its management system. Taiwan gradually developed large businesses in the capital – intensive sector owned and/or controlled by the State under the Nationalist government since the late 1940’s (Lee 1995). Generally speaking, the characteristics of the Taiwanese management system can be summarized as follows: hierarchy, paternalism, strong personal loyalty and commitment, and the importance of personal loyalty and commitment, and the importance of personal connections (guanxi) in business and individual lives (Chen, 1995). These characteristics are rooted in Confucianism, a belief system that values harmony, and the tendency to see individuals in a family and socially dependent context. Different stages of economic development were accompanied by differing management patterns. In Taiwan, for instance, its economic development since the 1960’s can be divided into two stages: the export expansion period between 1961 and 1980 and the technology – intensive industries expansion period from 1981 to recent years (Lee, 1995; Zhu et al. 2000). HRM in Taiwan also changed over the two periods. The main characteristics of HRM during the export expansion period can be identified as follows: Recruitment Recruiting blue-collar workers relied heavily on informal channels, such as employee referral and company network. For the recruitment of white – collar workers, formal channels were preferred (Lee 1995). Since most middle and high- ranking management positions were filled either by the owners’ family members or by internal promotions, little outside recruiting activity took place (Lee 1995). Training Company – sponsored training was not popular during this period. Apprenticeships were also not common in Taiwan. However, as a rule, more skilled workers received formal on-the-job training (OJT) than did semi-skilled and unskilled workers, and foreign-owned companies offered more OJT programmes than did local companies (Lee 1995). Compensation Packages include basic pay and various types of bonus, such as those based on the year-end results, competition, invention, long-service and so on (Chen 1998). It was common for Taiwanese companies to adopt the Japanese seniority-based wage system for basic pay (Lee 1995). With the traditional culture of avoiding conflict between management and employees, most workers can be promoted up the scale of their job title if their annual performance is ‘above-average’ (Chen 1998). Trade Unions These worker bodies were controlled by the government during this period (Zhu et al. 2000). The ruling Kuomintang (KMT) – now known as the Guomingdang Party – guided most unions through local government control over the election of union officials, fostering KMT branches at workplaces and ‘supervision’ by larger affiliates of the sole national union peak council, the Chinese Federation of Labour (CFL) (Zhu et al. 2000). Thus the government was able to maintain a low minimum wage and control the adjustment of wage rates in the public sector (Lee 1995). Expansion of Technology – Intensive Industries (1981 – Present) During this period, not only did the structure of the economy change quickly, but employment relations, human resource management practices, and the government’s labour policies were similarly affected (Lee 1995). The industrial system became more complex and formal, and government policy became more pro – labour orientated as mentioned above. Changes in industrial structure and government policy and legislation had a profound impact on HRM and the structure of organisation in Taiwan. To cope with the increase in production costs employers adopted many strategies, such as employing foreign workers at lower wages; with government permission (companies can employ foreign workers up to 30 % of total employees) (Zhu et al. 2000)., improving the efficiency of the workforce by providing more training, introducing automated machinery to substitute labour, and subcontracting their work (Lee 1995). In addition, in order to obtain a further comparative advantage many companies from Taiwan relocated their operations to low-wage countries, especially to mainland China and south-east Asia (Zhu and Warner, 2001). However, different kinds of enterprise have different approaches towards change in the labour market and to the challenges of global economic competition. Two major variables here are predominantly family-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and predominantly state- owned large enterprises (LEs). Most SMEs still maintain a centralised decision-making process. However, there is now a tendency for owners to gradually withdraw from routine management activities. Some high-ranking managers are trained and promoted within the companies and are not necessarily family members. Management professionalism becomes increasingly important as a response to criticism of managerial favouritism. Most SMEs now pay attention to both pre-training and continuous training in order to cope with market changes and link the skills of employees with the needs of production. Trade unions have generally been weak in Taiwanese SMEs. Although the Trade Union Law (1975) required unions to be established in workplaces in most sectors with more than 30 employees (Lee 1988; Warner 1995) the reality is that even now a large number of SMEs are without union organisations. There is a general feeling that managers in SMEs do not want union involvement in decision-making (Zhu and Warner 2001). On the other hand, state-owned large enterprises (Les) in Taiwan for years enjoyed monopoly status in key sectors. They were mostly in the strategic industrial areas that had received strong support from the government. However, in recent years, privatisation and marketisation have dominated their economic decision-making and these enterprises are facing restructuring and reform. Generally speaking, LEs have well-established systems of external recruitment of managers. Using examination, interview and evaluation procedures, SOEs can recruit the most capable people from outside their organizations. For a long time, people sought positions within LEs for security, better pay and welfare, good working environment, and social prestige; it made recruitment even more competitive. Therefore, so far the qualifications of managers in these enterprises remain highest, with university graduates and post-graduates of high quality. In addition, public recruitment of employees is the main recruiting channel for Les. However, the public sector is not allowed to employ foreign workers. In terms of training, both on-the-job training and professional training are provided by the enterprises. The compensation package has not been changed as well. In fact, among all types of enterprises, Les seem to have the highest salary-levels. Bonuses are paid as group incentives equivalent to three or four months’ wages (Zhu and Warner 2001). Trade Unions in the Taiwanese public sector have been subservient to the government for a long time (Frenkel et al. 1993). Even now, trade unions in these state-owned LEs are not wholly independent, although they have a strong membership base. The functions of these unions were described as ‘promoting enterprise productivity as well as protecting workers’ interests’; they also provide a useful bridge between employees and management in order to guarantee smooth industrial relations (Zhu et al. 2000). Comparatively speaking, we can see that HRM policies and practices in China and Taiwan were both plainly under the influence of traditional culture (Redding 1995) and the changing political and economic environments (Zhu et al. 2000). Key characteristics such as collectivism, hierarchy, harmony, loyalty and strategic thinking can for instance, be found in both management systems. these characteristics are reflected in HRM, for example, in group-oriented production activities (teamwork), group-based performance evaluation and incentives, relatively narrow gaps in salaries between management and employees, co-operative and harmonised labour management relations and seniority-based wage systems (in particular during the pre-reform systems). In addition, strategic thinking and management have had to deal with such changes, in particular during the period of economic transition. In recent years, both increasing global competition and the Asian financial crisis have forced enterprises to adopt more flexible policies and management systems. New political environments, reformed legal frameworks and economic pressures have also have also added new dimensions of HRM. Conclusion Although traditional culture continues to influence HRM, such as group-oriented production activities, group-based performance evaluation and incentive, relatively small differences in salary between management and employees, co-operative and harmonious labour management relations, and so on, other differences remain vis-à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½-vis the stage of economic development and technology, market environment. In conclusion, it can be argued that that there will at least be a degree of ‘relative convergence’ (Chan 1995) given the evidence presented here. The trends towards globalisation may in many significant respects only strengthen tendencies towards greater similarities in HRM policies and practices over the coming decades, although both societies can be expected to retain their distinct identities.    References 1. Chan, A. 1995, Chinese Enterprise Reforms: Convergence with the Japanese Model? , Industrial and Corporate Change, Vol.14, No. 1, pp.449-70. 2. 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