Alibaba Essay Example for Free

Alibaba EssayHe and his team curb achieved many firsts in the study of Chinese Internet Trade. He founded the first internet commercial website in China, and getd a 82B marketplace platform to all small and medium-sized enterprises in Asia and around the world. He promoted the Trust Pass plan on the website, which created the worlds first on-line credit platform for companies. Under dickhead Mas leadership, the Alibaba 82B websites sport attracted more than 17 million registered members in 220 countries globally, with daily postings exceeding 35 million, making Alibaba. om the most active Internet market place and 82B community worldwide. Since the inception of the family, more than 400 media have account about Alibaba and diddly-squat Ma, in dozens of languages. In addition to numerous awards presented to Alibaba. com, Jack Ma was lso selected by the World Economic Forum as unmatch able-bodied of the 100 Young Global Leaders in 2001 was named Business Leader of 2001 b y Asia Commerce Association of USA and was featured on the covers of Forbes Magazine, Nikkei Magazine, and Fortune (China) Magazine. In 2004, Jack Ma was honored as ace of the Top 10 Economic Personas of the Year by CCTV.In 2005, Fortune Magazine bedded him one of the 25 Most Powerful Businesspeople in Asia and this year Business 2. 0 ranked him 1 5th among 50 Who Matter Now and Silicon. com ranked him 1 lth among its top 50 Agenda Setters 2006. social club, Alibaba. om builds its business success and rapid growth on entrepreneurship, innovation, and service. Says Jack Ma The company will remain a start-up no point how long it has been in existence. What ever has been stable, I will disrupt that stability. The company needs to continue to innovate and grow. I want the employees to cogitate that we argon a small company, no matter how big we get.I believe we screw create a system and enculturation to perpetuate this shade of entrepreneurial and start-up spirit. To fuel the e ntrepreneurial and innovative spirit, along with a service attitude, Jack Ma is looking for people with the following characteristics 1) muckle with a dream. Dont let your colleagues work for you. They need to work for their dreams If people dont believe in the dream and Join the company purely for money, they wont stay long (refer to Appendix 2 for Alibabas good deal, mission, and set). 2) People with shared values. The value system is very important at Alibaba. We are crazy for itIn China, we might be the only crazy company who so goodly maintains our value system. People who dont sum our values can buoynot survive in the company. (Alibabas six ore values are customer comes first, teamwork and cooperation, embracing trade, integrity, passion, and honoring your Job). 3) People with a smile. When we hire people, we look for people who are naturally optimistic and happy. In the start-up process we will meet with difficulties and argufys. Optimistic and happy people can bett er deal with these challenges and succeed. Its hard to make a happy person unhappy, scarce its even harder to make an unhappy person happy.I am able to tell whether a person is on our staff by their smile. 4) People who enjoy work and can turn stress and challenges into innovation. Employees must be able to handle pressure and challenges, and turn them into positive energy for innovation, not negative energy for depression. 5) People who work together. We dont welcome people who think they are undimmed because they may think they are preceding(prenominal) others. This industry is so new that it really doesnt have any real talents. The people who are real talents believably dont know they are talents. Everyone has tremendous authorization.We all use other peoples strengths to overcome our weaknesses We are all ordinary people, but our goals are eccentric. While Alibaba seeks people with strong rofessional skills, these characteristics are even more important in deciding whet her a person will Join, stay, and enjoy functional in the company. 2 Alibabas Unique harbor Proposition a Smiling Community with a Dream While Alibaba is clear about what kind of talent they need for business success, the question is how can the company attract, retain, and engage such talent, especially in the startup stage, when Alibaba had limited resources?The answer is a dream, a dream to make a difference in the way people do business, and a dream to create wealth together. During the start-up stage of Alibaba, Jack Ma often told those nterested in working for Alibaba, not of the long working conditions or the high pay, of what they could earn elsewhere. Alibaba too strives to provide a community, where employees can have fun to work together to pursue their dreams with minimal bureaucratism and politics. Ma recently painted a vivid image of his ideal work environment for his employees as follows Blue Sky Processes, systems, and decisions need to be collapse and transpar ent.Theres nothing that should be hidden from employees. We should be transparent. Solid Ground Everything we do should be honest, ethical and contribute to the welfare of the ociety. The company should be on substantive financial ground so employees wont worry about the financial future of the company. Free-flowing Ocean Talent must be allowed to rotate Jobs across subsidiaries and departments. kelvin Forest (R Conducive conditions for continued innovation. Harmonious Community Peers with shared values and simple interpersonal relationships.The ultimate objective of such a community is to project employees a work environment to grow, contribute, and live out their dreams. Bureaucracy, secrecy, and stagnation are all attributes that inhibit employees, and the company must actively seek out these ehaviors and land them. Alibaba from the Eyes of Employees To what extent do employees at Alibaba experience what the company intends to offer? Why do they Join the company and how do th ey feel as employees working there? Our focus aggroup discussion with employees in different functions and levels confirms that Alibaba is indeed a unique company to work with.The following themes and direct quotations capture their experiences and the shade of working at Alibaba A leader with charisma and credibility Jack Ma is the magnet that draws people into the company and provides them with a credible dream. When I intercommunicate with Jack Ma, I was impressed with his vision and business model. I had been in the internet business for a while but had not seen a prosperous model like the one Alibaba is employing. Tang Zhenrong, International Website Engineering division, and one year with the company. Although the objectives for each year search to be very high, somehow we have always managed to accomplish those objectives. With past success, we have built up confidence that were able to achieve the objectives no matter what they are. Lili Li, sales Research Departmen t, six historic period with the company.The passion of Alibaba is from within and radiates outward to others. We can see that they truly believe in the company and the culture of Alibaba is built from there, not by programs or processes. call in Lu, Director of Organization and People Development. The company is true to its values at all levels. When Jack Ma talks to management about hiring, he told us that we must hire people With the same smell. Zhang Yu, Director of Marketing, Taobao. com Changes, challenges, and growth People grow under tremendous pressure to change and grow. The speed of change is deuce-ace to four times that of other organizations.The objectives are crazy, but when we reach and surpass the targets, we then have a profound sense of accomplishment. With the constant pressure and changes, were besides forced to evaluate how we do our own Jobs and how we work as a team. Is it sufficient to accomplish the new objectives? Do we need to look at the challenge dif ferently and try different things? Zhang Yu, Director of Marketing, Taobao. om 4 Communication and transparency Jack will meet with all new employees in a group setting, has meetings with management at least quarterly, and bi-annual staff meetings with all employees.On the intranet, theres a notice board that allows staff to post their thoughts and opinions. Jack often interacts with staff on the BBS in an open and casual way. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development A company that cares about employees During the SARS crisis, because of one suspected case, Alibaba do the decision in one day to have all employees work from home and to pass the required isolation period. As a result of this readily action, we contained any possible outbreak, May.Employees continued to perform Jobs tremendously well at home. We encouraged each other through BBS, phone calls, and e-mails. Lili L, Sales Research Department The most positive thing to result from the SARS crisis was a n enormous amount of pride for employees who went through this crisis together. They built a strong bond through experiencing this payoff together. Its still a much talked about event in the company. In fact, some employees have named the day that staff were sent home to contain the outbreak, Alibaba Day, to memorialize the event.The spirit of Alibaba came alive on that day. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development leading and Management Practices that Create the Unique Value Proposition Leadership priority As CEO, Jack Ma invests most of his time in three areas vision/ mission/strategy, customers, and employees. By clearly articulating and constantly communicating the vision and mission of the company, he creates the most important foundation in attracting outstanding talent. Dont let your colleague work for you, but work for their dreams Also, it is important to deeply earn customer needs, not competitors actions. Understanding customer needs can help Alibaba develop concrete business plans and focus on realizing its dream. Finally, it is also critical to realistically assess the competencies of employees. It will decide how fast, how far, and how the company can execute its business strategy and targets in the coming year and next three years. His attentiveness to talent is reflected in two management practices.First, in the monthly senior management meeting, the first question he always asked is How is your team doing? instead of How many gross sales has your team made? Second, he always spends a lot of time alking around different business units and departments to smell how the people are doing there. If he smells something wrong, he will immediately talk to the unit head to identify problems and improve the situation. As a matter of fact, all senior executives at VP level and above must develop such smelling skills at Alibaba, to make sure that people are world managed properly. Value alignment Strong shared values are essential in building a harmonious community where people feel comfortable working together and in ensuring that decisions and behaviors are adjust with company direction. Alibaba has gone the extra mile to make sure that people share the same values. When Alibaba hires people, they look for people with the same smellpeople who are optimistic, happy, team oriented, hard working, and willing to invest their lives to achieve an ideal. When employees Join the company, they attend at least 10 days of orientation, focusing primarily on the companys vision, mission, and values.When the company assesses the performance of employees, 50% is tied to values and 50% is tied to business results. When employees demonstrate behaviors contrary to company core alues, they are asked to leave no matter how strong their business results are, or very important at Alibaba. People who dont fit into our values cannot survive in the company. Stretch opportunities and challenges While Alibaba offers different deve lopment programs for different levels of employees in both technical and management areas, people grow rapidly by achieving impossible targets year after year. Although the objectives for each year seem high and unreasonable, somehow, we have always managed to accomplish those objectives. With past success we have built up the onfidence that we are able to achieve the objectives, no matter what they are, says Lili Li, of the Sales Research Department. At Alibaba I have been stretched and challenged. I have seen myself grow more than in my previous Jobs, says Zhang Yu from Taobao. com. Indeed, Jack Ma believes that all people have potential that can be unleashed in the right environment, allowing them to stretch and challenge themselves.Ma quoted one of his favorite examples, Several years ago when I looked at the current COO Li Qi, there was no way he looked like a COO. Nowadays, from all different angles, he really looks like a COO. Talent has tremendous potential to grow. However , in order for people to grow under challenges, three elements are important. First is teamwork. Alibaba uses teamwork to complement individual strengths and weaknesses to achieve extraordinary goals. Second are the right people, who enjoy challenges and have fun working.Third are line managers who are accountable for personal growth within their teams. Jack Ma remarked that all line managers at Alibaba are entrusted with two scarce resources (capital and talent) to create value for the company. In addition to ensuring good financial returns, they lso need to create value for their talent in terms of their growth and retention. Thats why Jack Ma also walks around the company to smell how people are being managed in different departments, and why he always asks business leaders how their teams are doing in the monthly CEO review.Wealth creation and sharing each(prenominal) employees of Alibaba receive stock options, and in effect are owners of the organization. At Alibaba, stock opt ions are not a tool for retention but for reward sharing. From quintet cents per share to five dollars per share in 6 years, many employees have not only shown tremendous pride in the company but also shared the fruits of their collective success for the well-being of both the society and themselves. Transparency and communication Communication is an important practice within Alibaba that helps maintain a culture of transparency to all employees.Employees have easy access to all executives, including Jack Ma, through the use of email, BBS, and face-to-face meetings (monthly, quarterly or bi-annual staff meetings). Jack Ma sets a high standard for his executives to follow by regularly interacting with employees. All decisions are transparent, and people can see how they are made. This transparency is getting about lost as we get bigger, but were still given a lot of information when possible. Our trust in the leaders has helped us to overcome this change in transparency. Communicat ion is always good and strong from Sales Research Department.Advice to other CEOs When asked about what advice he would like to offer to other CEOs in China, Jack Ma suggested four 1) Always believe people are the most important asset, and capital comes second. 2) It is not necessary to find the best talent but the talent that best fits your company. 3) Find and groom the talent inside our company rather than keep searching for talent from outside. The best talent is home-groomed people who fit our company culture. It always takes at least three years before people become fully immersed into our company culture 4) Believe in the potential of talent.

Taking Care of Earth Essay Example for Free

Taking Care of Earth EssayOne story about weewee pollution that might have caught the vigilance of the world is the one put into the movie, Erin Brokovich. The link to the introduction of this story can be found on the following address http//www. lawbuzz. com/famous_trials/erin_brockovich/erin_brockovich_ch1. htm. The story, which corporeally happened in real life, is more on the litigation process moreover the truth and the cause of it is the pollution of water with hexavalent chromium or chromium 6 causing jut out cancer. This problem, which was caused by Pacific Gas and Electric company, would have been prevented if it had not dumped 370 ,000,000 galloons of the cancer-causing chemical in the water. These problems are actually being handled at the present on identical situations. Companies become more aware and put environmental aspect on their goals which is both good for the public and for the health of the business itself.. 2. The greatest problem that is caused by t he use of oil and otherwise fossil fuels is GREED.With greed, anything is possible. Humans are capable of killing each other to present control of oil wells, take over oily nations and the worst, humans, to have big profits from oil, do not think of the pollution it causes, especially to air and water. It also damage the habitat of naval creatures when the oil is to be rigged and extracted. Without oil, no one would be too greedy to have it. 3. 1. Growing population causes loss of biodiversity.Biodiversity loss are caused by human settlements displacing plants and animals. Forests are converted into human villages lands for plants and woods are converted into cities and real estates dynamite fishing kills water species to provide for human consumption. On the other hand, to feed the growing world, agriculture must be enhanced. Genetic engineering and biotechnology, which are the processes needed for improving food production, cause much loss to biodiversity. husbandry is consider ed by some agro-ecologists to be probably the single most important factor contributing to the general global decline in biodiversity. (Biodiversity Loss and usual NA) 3. 2 Ecosystem gets destroyed and becomes imbalanced caused by too many humans on earth. Humans must interfere with the natural ecosystem in order to stand up and to support the growing number of lives on earth. Humans cause genetic erosion on plants and animal when humans force great production and greater frequency of hatching to gain money and feed the earths population.3. 3 Too much population causes too much pollutants. One constituent that makes the climate change on the earth is the imbalance of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is emitted by pollution and other human activities. Although carbon dioxide is the biggest cause of greenhouse effect, water vapor and methane also cause climate change. Thus, more humans, more garbage, more incinerators, more gases, more climate change damaging the earth..To reduce t he above mentioned set up of growing population on earth, humans must think of sustainable way to exist and to continue to exist. This means reducing pollutants, garbage, protecting the environment and wield any natural resources possible. This means no dumping garbage or candy wrappers in the drain, recycling of used motor oil, recycling water and everything recyclable, move off lights and other electrical appliances when not needed.This may sound a bit difficult for the humanity (because humans are not very disciplined) but if humans would encounter big risks on harming the environment, sooner or later, they will realize what is best to do to continue to live on this earth. Sustainable agriculture, sustainable consumption would mean sustainable life on earthReferenceBiodiversity Loss and Public Health. Manila Bulletin 18 Mar. 2007 NA. Questia. 22 whitethorn 2008 http//www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=5019892773.

Fischer Esterification of Isopentyl Acetate

Fischer Esterification of Isopentyl AcetateBrendaliz BonillaChemistry DepartmentSusquehanna UniversityAbstractEsters be prep ard in many ways and ace of which is through Fischer Esterification. Using this method, esters are produced by refluxing a carboxylic stinging and an alcohol in the presence of a turn acid catalyst.1 The purpose of reflux is to heat a answer mixture at its boiling temperature to form products, without losing any of the compounds in the reaction flaskful. To exploit Le Chateliers principle and shift the position of the equilibrium to the right, an wasted of one of the reactants were added to the reaction mixture.1 The reaction mechanism involves initial protonation of the carboxyl group, nucleophilic attack by the hydroxyl, proton transfer, and loss of water followed by loss of the catalyzing acid to produce the ester.2 The process is thermodynamically controlled recalling the most stable ester product. Typically, only primary and secondary alcohols are used in the Fisher method since tertiary alcohols are prone to elimination.3 In this lab, a Fisher Esterification was performed to synthesize isopentyl acetate rayon rayon from isopentyl alcohol and acetic acid as seen in figure 1.Figure 1 Reaction scheme of the forwardness of isopentyl acetate by Fischer Esterification.Experimental Instruments Used A Nicolet IR 100 FT-IR was used in this experiment.Procedure and Observations A mixture of 5.0mL (4.111g) of isopentyl alcohol, 7.0mL of glacial acetic acid, and 1mL of concentrated sulfuric acid was added to a 25mL round-bottomed flask. The round-bottomed flask was hooked to the reflux apparatus and the mixture was brought to a boil for an hour. The mixture was cooled to room temperature, fixed into an ice bath, and put in a separatory funnel with 10mL of water. The funnel was shaken vigorously and vented several times. The bottom layer was drained from the separatory funnel into a beaker. 5mL of 5% sodium bicarbonate was then put into the separatory funnel. The separatory funnel was shaken and vented several times. The bottom layer was drained into the same beaker. 5mL of saturated sodium chloride was added to the contents of the separatory funnel. The separatory funnel was shaken and vented several times. The bottom layer was drained into a different beaker. The mixture that was left in the separatory funnel was transferred to an Erlenmeyer flask with 1g of anhydrous sodium sulfate. The flask was corked and was left to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. The mixture was transferred to a nonher Erlenmeyer flask and .503g of anhydrous sodium sulfate was added. A distillation apparatus was assembled with the receiving flask immersed in an ice bath. The mixture was transferred into a round-bottomed flask and attached to the distillation apparatus. The product that was now in the receiving flask was then weighed. The share accept was determined and an IR was done on the product.Results and DiscussionAt the end of the ex periment, a successful esterification was performed from the starting acetic acid, development isopentenyl alcohol to make the product of Isopentyl acetate. The reactants were heated using a reflux apparatus so that the product would not be lost, helping serve as a catalyst in the reaction.1 Any remaining water left over from the esterification process was dried using anhydrous sodium sulfate. The ester, isopentyl acetate was synthesized, which had the smelling of bananas. In this experiment, 3.99 g of isopentyl acetate was formed by the direct esterification of acetic acid with isopentyl alcohol, as seen in table 1. The sulfuric acid was used as a catalyst in the reaction.Table 1 The weight of the final product collect, percent yield, and result of the IR spectrum.Weight (grams)3.99 gPercent yield61.8%IR Peaks (cm-1)2954, 1747, 1231, and 1056 cm-1An excess of isopentyl acetate was used to shift the reaction to the right so that esterification could occur. During isolation, the ex cess acetic acid and isopentyl alcohol was removed with sodium bicarbonate, and the isopentyl acetate was further purified after through drying with anhydrous sulfate and through distillation. The excess acetic acid was used in order for the reaction to favor esterification. An excess of isopentyl alcohol could have been used instead to form isopentyl acetate however excess acetic acid is easier to remove from the products than isopentyl alcohol because isopentyl acetate and isopentyl alcohol are similar in structure and therefore, prefer to be in the same layer of the solution. Since sodium carbonate is a base, it is used in the extraction of acetic acid because it turns acetic acid into a conjugate base or sodium acetate which is more soluble in water. The equation for this acid-base extraction is CH3COOH+NaCHO3CH3COO-Na + H2CO3.The percent yield of the isopentyl acetate was 61.9 % (as seen in table 1) with a theoretical yield of 6.44g. In the experiment, the acetic acid was in ex cess and the isopentyl alcohol was the limiting reagent, therefore, the reaction depended on the amount of isopentyl alcohol available. This experiment was successful because the smell of bananas was achieved along with the percent yield attained of 61.9%. Some of the errors that might have occurred included not properly/fully draining the aqueous layers after the reflux, and that the solution may have not completely dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate. For the IR spectrum data, the -C-CO 2R blossom characteristic of an ester is visible in the pure isopentyl acetate IR spectrum in the 1735-1745 cm -1 range. The -C-H stretches are visible just below 3000 cm -1, and the -C-O and -CO 2 stretches depend as several full points in the 1050-1300 cm -1 range, which can be seen in Appendix E. The product resulted in major IR peaks at 2954, 1747, 1231, and 1056 cm-1. These results indicate that our isopentyl acetate product is very pure, as the peaks are nearly identical to the expected pe aks. The peak at 2954 indicates the C-H bond. The peak at 1747 indicates the aldehyde (C=O). The peak at 1231 indicates methyl group. The peak at 1056 indicates residual acetic acid (R-Cl), which can be seen on Appendix D-G.ConclusionThe major product that was formed from the Fischer Esterification of isopentyl alcohol and acetic acid was isopentyl acetate. This is because the ester formed is the equatorial position, which makes the compound more stable than cis-4-tert-butylcyclohexanol. Based on the experiment that was conducted the synthesis of isopentyl acetate from a carboxylic acid and an alcohol could be done by a Fisher Esterification reaction, and the percent yield of the product is about 61.9%.ReferencesExperiment 4 Background. Experiment 4 Background. Web. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017.http//www.reed.edu/chemistry/alan/201_202/lab_manual/Expt_banana_oil/background.html. rough-cut Solubility of Water and Aliphatic inebriants. Mutual Solubility of Water and Aliphatic Alcohols Jour nal of Chemical Engineering Data (ACS Publications). Web. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017. http//pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/je00037a019.Alcohol Reactivity. Alcohol Reactivity. Web. Accessed17 Feb. 2017. https//www2.chemistry.msu.edu/faculty/reusch/virttxtjml/alcohol1.htm.Appendix A Finding the Limiting ReagentGrams X 1 counterspy / groinecular weight = moles of reactantGlacial Acetic Acid8.5 mL X ((1 g/1 mL) X 1 mol) / 60.05 g/mol = 0.142 molIsopentyl Alcohol(4.37 g X 1 mol) / 88.15 g/mol = 0.0459 molAppendix B Calculating Theoretical Yield of Isopentyl Acetate(Moles of limiting reagent X molar ratio X molecular weight of product) / 1 mol = theoretical yield(0.0459 X 130.19) / 1 mol = 6.44 gAppendix C Calculating Percent Yield(Actual / theoretical) X 100% = percent yield(3.99 g/ 6.44 g) X 100% = 61.9%

Brainstorming Six Thinking Hats Communications Essay

cerebrate Six considering lids Communications EssayBrainstorming is ane of the best-known techniques for producing fresh ideas and approaching problems from innovative new angles. Brainstorming sessions ar best done in sm each multitudes participants atomic number 18 asked to leave their inner critic at the door and come up with the zaniest ideas possible. This ch all toldenge is ground on a tool created by famous lateral thinker Edward de Bono to improve decision making skills. The Six Thinking Hats technique is particularly giveable for group brainstorming as it emphasises w don if? thought rather than what is assumptions. People or groups often tend to follow certain fixed ways of thinking. This technique involves looking at at a problem or issue from a number of various perspectives, each represented by a different coloured hat, and give each one equal weighting in a discussion.White hat (= objective)When you wear this hat, you focus on available information to c hit-chat what you potbelly learn from it. You emphasise to fill each gaps in your knowledge. This is where you analyse former(prenominal) trends and extrapolate from historical data.Red hat (= emotions, feelings)When you wear the red hat you use intuition, gut reaction and emotion to respond to an issue or idea. You also re produce to think how other people go out react emotionally to the issue, and try to understand their intuitive responses.Black hat (= negatives, points of caution)When you wear the black hat you ar the pessimist. You are cautious and critical and try to find reasons that things will not work. Its a useful perspective, since it highlights any weak points in a plan and enables you to either eliminate them, or prepare mea trustworthys to counter problems should they arise. Black hat thinking makes plans to a greater extent resilient.Yellow hat (= positive focus)The discolor hat is the positive thinking hat. When you wear this hat you castk harmony its optim istic viewpoint enables you to see the value, benefits and further opportunities in a plan. Yellow hat thinking helps you keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult.Green hat (= generates new ideas or concepts)The green hat stands for creativity. Its mood is provocative, experimental, and explorative. Wear it to playfully spin ideas free of any judgement or criticism.Blue hat (= defines focus, control of thinking)The blue hat stands for process control. It sees the large-minded picture. Wear this hat to chair a meeting, or to bring any of the other processes /thinking approaches ? to order. During a typical Six Hats session you will slash between different hat modes when ideas are slow in coming youll try green hat thinking when the mood crushs too pessimistic, swap to yellow hat thinking when contingency proviso is needed, put on your black hat, and so on.3 How to Play3.a wager InstructionsThe six animals on the right wing riverbank are desperately looking for the ir thinking caps, which the wind has cheekily deposited on the left field bank. Send the hats back to their respective owners by following the 6 ways of thinking, one at a meter, all the way through from the left to the right. To start, you will be presented with a challenge question. To accept, click on one of the hats. You will then be presented with 3 phrases pertaining to the challenge. Choose the one that best represents the hat you chose. If you choose correctly, 3 more than phrases will appear. Continue clicking on the closely appropriate phrase until the hat reaches its owner, then click on some other hat and repeat the process until you have sent all the hats back to their owners.3.b Game Rules at once you have clicked on a phrase, there is no turning back. Points will either be deducted for a wrong answer or added for a correct answer. The game is over when all the hats reach their owners your end score will be tallied up and expressed as a percentage.3.c Game tipsThi nk before you click Familiarise yourself with the six different ways of thinking before you start. You dexterity want to read through the introduction text a few times until you are sure of your colour qualities.* see note at end I agree with note (also see my comment up-front), so we have to re act upon how to best deal with this The tips at the end of the game will also give you some pointers on how best to brainstorm. 4 explode Screen text Choose one of the hats to start the game. Remember, you have to stick to one way of thinking until you reach the opposite riverbank.5 ChallengeQ How arsenister we best ensure that group brainstorming sessions are effective?5.1 White hat5.1.1 White free radical 15.1.1.1 Naturally one should start at the beginning, by defining a clear purpose and goal for the session. 5.1.1. 2 Do you have to be so pedantic? Thoughts should just flow freely 5.1.1.3 Hat 2, be careful not to patronise As a starting point Hat 1 is right chances of conquest ar e great if the goal is clearly defined. Thereafter we scum bag go wild. 5.1.2 White chemical group 25.1.2.1 Do you guys mind if I make an urgent call? Im planning a surprise party for my best friend and the caterers have a crisis. 5.1.2.2 Interruptions break the flow of brainstorming sessions. 5.1.2.3 Im sure your crisis will work itself out patch we work together to find a best practice recipe for brainstorming5.1.3 White convocation 35.1.3.1 Research shows that people talk more freely when theyve had an alcoholic beverage. 5.1.3.2 Now thats an idea Looking around the room, I can see that we all need to unwind a bit. 5.1.3.3 Fair enough, we can take a five-minute comfort break.5.1.4 White Group 45.1.4.1 I know Lets play a game to wake up our tired of age(predicate) brains? 5.1.4.2 Crazy as that sounds, it is not a bad idea I am making a note of it. 5.1.4.3 This has proved to be a lucky technique in the past.5.1.5 White Group 55.1.5.1 What about(predicate) the participants? Any guide flexures as to who should be in the session? 5.1.5.2 The group should be varied different people with different skills will bring more variety to the table. 5.1.5.3 Everyone should respect each others opinions.5.2 Red hat5.2.1 Red Group 15.2.1.1 I interrogation well find a workable solution to this problem. 5.2.1.2 Dont be so pessimistic If we put our heads together, we can come up with hundreds of ideas 5.2.1.3 I feel bid you are putting a damper on everyones mood.5.2.2 Red Group 25.2.2.1 My gut tells me when Im generating a redeeming(prenominal) creative idea. 5.2.2 2 Well, I try to always see the silver lining. 5.2.2.3 Point noted. Who else wants to share a thought?5.2.3 Red Group 35.2.3.1 heres a thought how about having the session in a hot air balloon so we can see it from a different perspective? 5.2.3.2 Nobody has time for that 5.2.3.3 Some people might be a bit nervous up there, save I love the idea It is so bold5.2.4 Red Group 45.2.4.1 Here are some pens an d paper. We are going to do a mind mapping exercise to enrich the session. 5.2.4.2 Oh goodie This reminds me of my primary school days All children are unselfconsciously creative. 5.2.4.3 Do we have to do this? Seems a bit childish.5.2.5 Red Group 55.2.5.1 This is so much fun And therapeutic too 5.2.5.2 I agree, we should do this more often. Look at all the ideas weve generated in just 5 minutes 5.2.5.3 Well done everybody You have all come up with some great ideas.5.3 Black hat5.3.1 Black Group 15.3.1.1 Group brainstorming sessions are successful when the facilitator encourages outrageous thinking. 5.3.1.2 I dont agree. Some ideas are too crazy to even consider. What is the point if you cannot implement it? 5.3.1.3 Although Hat 2 has a point, we can focus on practicalities later. For now, lets go with Hat 1s suggestion.5.3.2 Black Group 25.3.2.1 People need to feel that their opinions count. There should be lots of encouragement and praise 5.3.2.2 Also, dont forget what lessons wer e learnt from past brainstorming sessions. 5.3.2.3 People will never talk freely and openly if the facilitator is high up in the corporate hierarchy. Theyll just feel intimidated.5.3.3 Black Group 35.3.3.1 We are bound to get some good ideas if we get hundreds of people together to brainstorm 5.3.3.2 Good luck selling that idea resources are stretched thin enough as it is. 5.3.3 3 Hang on a second Hat 2, Hat 1 protracts us to a very principal(prenominal) point bringing together a wide range of different people will generate a wide range of ideas.5.3.4 Black Group 45.3.4.1 The problem with group brainstorming sessions is that the subject is usually too vaguely phrased. 5.3.4.2 Indeed, Hat 1 makes a good point. Looking back on our past sessions, that was the main reason for a lack of workable ideas. 5.3.4.3 Luckily this was not the case today, so lets take note of that and turn our focus to the best environment to have group brainstorming sessions in. Anyone?5.3.5 Black Group 55.3 .5.1 Food and drink always makes me feel more relaxed and open. We should be as comfortable as possible and take many breaks. 5.3.5.2 In a pool Or at a sporting event. Or how about hiring a taxi and going on a group brainstorming road trip? 5.3.5.3 The main problem is the interruptions. It is so frustrating Just switch off your cellphone Ask not to be interrupted. Why cant we get this right?5.4 Yellow hat5.4.1 Yellow Group 15.4.1.1 Who wants to propose an idea?5.4.1.2 My gut says if we could somehow get people in a good mood, the ideas will flow. 5.4.1.3 Happy people are more creative and more productive, so your statement makes perfect logical sense.5.4.2 Yellow Group 25.4.2.1 Ive got plenty of ideas on how we can do that Like, why not play solace music in the background to put everybody in a kind of meditative state. 5.4.2.2 What a lovely idea Just as long as we make sure everybody agrees on what music will be played. 5.4.2.3 Are you kidding me? It is the dumbest idea I have hea rd in my life5.4.3 Yellow Group 35.4.3.1Dont be so quick to judge. People love to work together for a common cause. 5.4.3.2 Improving your analysing and strategic thinking helps your fag end line and were all striving towards that goal. 5.4.3.3 Good point Let take some time to think about how successful brainstorming can affect our bottom line.5.4.4 Yellow Group 45.4.4.1 It cant. Ideas generated in brainstorming sessions are just wishful thinking. 5.4.4.2 I beg to differ we have done it before and we can definitely do it again 5.4.4.3 Indeed, last years brainstorming session resulted in the company producing an exciting new product.5.4.5 Yellow Group 55.4.5.1 Heres another example when legislation changed in an African country, we brainstormed options for expanding there today its one of our biggest markets. 5.4.5.2 Stories the handles of that give me goosebumps 5.4.5.3 That is valuable knowledge We should compile a list of these success stories to get tips on why they were su ccessful and to inspire similar thinking as we carry forward.5.5 Green hat5.5.1 Green Group 15.5.1.1 If its sanction with everybody, Id like to sing a song this topic reminds me of. Then we make up our own words as we go along. 5.5.1.2 Do you have any marbles left? This is a business meeting 5.5.1.3 No, it is a great idea As long as it is not a lullaby. Hat 1, you may proceed.5.5.2 Green Group 25.5.2.1 Ill tell a joke instead so as not to offend anybody with my singing. How do you eat an elephant? 5.5.2.2 I know the answer to this one 5.5.2.3 That is repulsive Humans should not be allowed to eat elephants5.5.3 Green Group 35.5.3.1 If you were starving and it was the only thing left to eat except your own leg, would you change your mind? 5.5.3.2 Im sure it is just a metaphor. If the answer has bearing on this discussion, please share it with us. If not, we have to move on. 5.5.3.3 But it does The answer is bite by bite just like we are doing now idea by idea. I brought sweets so the next good idea gets a treat 5.5.4 Green Group 45.5.4.1 Or we can play that game where we start with one person saying a word, like success, and everybody has to say one related word, and on to the next, faster and faster till we see where we end up 5.5.4.2 No way I dont see the value in a rambling session like that. We should just use our critical judgement to weed out the impossible ideas. 5.5.4.3 That game sounds like fun We use criticism far too often as our default line of thinking. Lets expand our brains a bit. You can start, Ill write everything devour if I can keep up5.5.5 Green Group 55.5.5.1 Brainstorming. 5.5.5.2 Clairvoyance. 5.5.5.3 Clarity.5.6 Blue hat5.6.1 Blue Group 15.6.1.1 Before we proceed, can we get a comfort break soon? 5.6.1.2 Yes. Lets have it now, so that we dont have to interrupt the flow of thinking once were on a roll. 5.6.1.3 We should actually demonstrate the session so that you dont have to worry about keeping notes.5.6.2 Blue Group 25.6.2.1 That meeting we had this morning was so unproductive 5.6.2.2 And boring I was twiddling my thumbs for the first hour and a half 5.6.2.3 Sounds like you guys have had a rough day. Lets brighten things up now by having some fun and resolving power this conundrum5.6.3 Blue Group 35.6.3.1 Can we hurry this up? Ive got a heap of admin waiting on my desk. 5.6.3.2 Sure, I would like us to all think about three emotional factors related to this topic. 5.6.3.3 Comfort, respect and encouragement.5.6.4 Blue Group 45.6.4.1 That is a very important point Encouragement will make people feel proud of themselves and therefore more willing to participate. 5.6.4 2 Listen, Im not lying just to make someone feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 5.6.4.3 We hear you Mr pestiferous You have my permission to keep quiet rather than faking praise. 5.6.5 Blue Group 5 5.6.5.1 Lets accommodate indulge Mr Cranky over here and explore the negative aspects which impact on brainstorming sessions.5.6.5.2 Critical thinking?5 .6.5.3 Ha-ha, very funny.6 Game end and Score6.1 A perfect score 100% 6.2 Well done Good score 90%-100% 6.3 Not bad, but there is room for improvement. Try again. 70%-90% 6.4 Oops You would do well to try and better your score. Below 70%7. Tips for ensuring a successful brainstorming session7.1 Choose an appropriate environment where you wont be disturbed. someplace outdoors or away from the office is best as it takes people out of their regular daily mode of thinking. 7.2 Have a mixed group of participants. Include participants from varied backgrounds or departments, rather than people who have similar backgrounds or specialties. It allows for a far wider range of creative ideas 7.3 Assign a facilitator to lead the group and take notes. The person should be enthusiastic and able to both encourage chaos and bring it to order when necessary. The facilitator does not usually contribute ideas, but rather directs the session. (If the facilitator works in the same company, make sur e he/she is not of a much higher rank post grade than the participants, as this can make them reluctant to propose unorthodox ideas.) 7.4 Warm up the group. Start with a quick discussion on a nonsense topic, like think of five ways to improve a cow, if you had a magic wand what would you change, your favourite quotation. This gets thoughts flowing and sets the scene for a fun creative and can-do session. 7.5 Now state your aim clearly. If you do not phrase your starting question correctly, you could end up with myriad ideas that do not actually solve the problem. Vague challenge statements encourage vague thinking, so make sure you clearly define the criteria of the issue to be brainstormed. 7.6 Write all ideas out in public view. Every participant should be able to see all the information all the time. A white board or flipchart is best for this. Once the ideas are up on the wall the whole group owns them and can add or expand on any one of them. 7.7 Encourage participation. emp hasise that the session is a non-judgmental environment you wont get great ideas if people are too scared to contribute, so no criticism allowed. 7.8 Make sure all ideas get equal weight. Stick to this rule no matter how silly or off-the-wall the ideas might appear. 7.9 Keep the discussion focused on the issue. A skilful facilitator will keep any one idea from taking up too much discussion time. 7.10 Set a time to reconvene. Once people have had a time to go away and digest the session, call another meeting to sort through all the ideas and adopt the most appropriate ones. This can be done by group consensus or voting.

Example Answers to Strategic Human Resource Management Exam

Example Answers to Strategic Human Resource Management ExamSection A, Question 1To what extent does the blast to Talent Management at Standard Chartered Bank dis shirk features of SHRM?AnswerBy focusing heavily on its talent management chopine it throw out be clearly be seen that Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) is making the practice of SHRM as one of its key priorities. As undersurface be seen from the article, the way SCB adopts its appraisal methodology is of a very strategic angle. By making it a global standard to conduct face-to-face effect appraisals either 6 months goes to show that SCB is reviewing its own procedure management objectives to make sure that those objectives stay relevant and achievable, and that is a feature of SHRM. Being sensitive to different flori refinings by employing different appraisal methods withal shows that SCB understands the importance of managers and mental faculty identifying and dealing with real, actual occupations in a way that is mo st familiar and effective to them. That is in like manner an some other(prenominal) facet of SHRM as through such means, SCB is able to monitor its own competitiveness in the market.Through appraisals, SCB also classifies their employees into 5 categories ranging from high- voltages, to critical imagerys, then to incumbrance contributors, followed by underachievers and finally, under transacters. By doing so they argon able to identify beas in which they atomic second 18 lacking and act upon it. Interestingly, as Geraldine Haley explains the classifications, it cig art be seen that SCB is already identifying the in all probability flow of talent in the bank and atomic number 18 taking actions to manage the flow. For example, when classifying sealed employees as underperformers, Haley goes on to mention that this group of volume do not fit the air requirements and they should be transferred to another role or be managed out. Clearly, whether the bank decides to place th is group of employees in another role (which fits the idea of SHRM beca workout by placing people where they perform best clearly benefits any corporation), or by managing them out (thitherby reducing unnecessary manpower costs or replacement with a much productive candidate), the intent behind both actions is clearly strategic in nature. The employee classification also allows the bank to understand the their potential and manpower conflate which is critical because, the HR de subdivisionment would be able to project in advance for staff mobility or civilize different programs to help develop potential of their talents to another take. So far we are able to see that SCB does indeed view its employees as a strategic key asset in pissed out profits for the bank.Yet another SHRM feature be displayed is the secrecy of employee classifications. As mentioned in the article, SCBs stance is that while they do not want true employees to feel de-motivated and others to boast about t heir own doings, the whole point of the classification system is to inform managers that there energy be actions required on their part to improve the situation. It is true that in SHRM, managers should not cause their staff to feel like they are being constantly monitored for poor performance because this willing clutch the staffs willingness to tally towards the ships company. Again, either way, we see that the actions taken are closely linked to helping the organisation achieve its strategic corporate objectives. The classification system is also being utilise a guide for regional offices to strategically benchmark against one another to see where they stand.Ever since SCB has been experiencing a high staff upset rate among newly recruited employees, a solution in the form of a global induction program named Right Start was utilize to curb this problem and they successfully brought down the rate of employees leaving by 5% (http//www.standardchartered.com/annual-report-0 7/en/business_review/people.html, 2008).SCB has also gone on to groom talents into leaders by means of providing coaching and self-help tools through various medias such as podcasts, videos and workshops. Another key concept is to allow talents to play to their strengths rather than on focusing on managing their weakness. As Hayley explains the strategic rationale on focusing on coaching talents with global roles in the bank, it is because a small 5% improvement from these top managers is enough to cause a huge positive impact on the banks earnings.Under the Best practice view in SHRM, there are 18 Key practices of which SCB can safely shelp to have achieved at least 50% or moreRealistic prank previewsUse of psychometric tests for selectionWell-developed induction training purvey of extensive training for experienced employees first-string appraisalRegular feedback on performance from many sourcesIndividual performance-related giveProfit-related bonusesFlexible job descriptionsMu lti-skilling straw man of work-improvement aggroupsPresence of problem solving groupsInformation provided on firms business planInformation provided on the firms performance targetsNo compulsory redundanciesAvoidance of voluntary redundanciesCommitment to whizz statusHarmonised holiday entitlement (Source University of Sunderland).It can be concluded that SCB is investing so much resources towards its human talent management program simply because it views it employees as human capital for the organisation and understands the wisdom in developing and managing its employees in close relation to the values and objectives of the company so that an effective workforce can be grown, and groomed to achieve the strategic objectives of the bank.Word ascertain (865)1.2 Comment on the relevance of this greet in the light of the recent banking crisis?AnswerThe banking crisis of 2008 was largely due to the fall of banking giant, Lehman Brothers (LB). If LB had adopted SCBs view of employee s as human capital in the organisation, it could have at least minimised the hurt to a genuine extent. For one, give-and-takes amongst employers and staff would have been more equal to(p) and problem issues could have been brought up and identified at an earlier stage. Inefficiencies in the organisation would have been unveil if there were a global compilation of performance like in SCB, where CEOs were able to benchmark their performances against regional offices. In a way, having a certain come in of centralised control through talent management would also enable the monitoring of LB companies globally. It is interesting to note that when a German subsidiary of LB requested that top management in the USA forgo multi-million bonuses as a sign of taking responsibility for poor performance, the request was immediately laid low(p) off at the first instance. It seems that top management either did not bonk or did not bother to care what was going on in its other global offices .Therefore it is all important(p) for companies to have a solid leadership and to achieve that, organisations must start to take the first step in acknowledging its employees as key assets towards enabling the company to achieve it strategic goals and objectives. Thereafter that, the companys HR policies should be dawn to include short and long term strategies that are inline with the companys corporate objectives. Companies should also consider which view the company would adopt in relation to SHRM. For example, does the company suit the Best Practice view, Bes conk view, Best Fit Integration view or Resource based glide slope? Each has its own strengths and weaknesses but the company has to decide which is the most compatible and allow the company to achieve its goals.Perhaps the culture of a company should also be set as culture can deeply affect a employees willingness to contribute positively to the company. Every organisation aims to communicate its own objectives and goals to its employees so a to align the values and attitudes of the employees towards commitment in performance for the company, and in this respect, having an appropriate culture will greatly enable the employee to settle comfortably into the company and be motivated to perform considerably. Retaining talent is crucial in a companys route of take place and much effort should be put into talent management where employees will feel like that are an important part of a company that cherishes their contributions and seeks to develop and groom them for further growth in their career. With SHRM as the key basic guiding principle, companys should therefore seek to create a pool of talent that will steer it in the right direction, both in good times and bad.Word Count (473)1.3 Why is it important to throwaway the impact of SHRM? What force be included in a evaluation strategy to measure the impact of SHRM in an organization to achieve strategic integration?AnswerIt is important to measure the impact of SHRM because, firstly, strategies that are formulated into HR policies are closely linked to the strategic objectives of its organisation. The reason why this is so is because the company understands that attitudes and performances of its employees makes a significant remnant towards achieving organisational goals. Therefore when an organisation decides to employ the HR unit as a strategically, resources are being invested to make sure the HR unit contributes towards the attainment of those objectives.In measuring the impact of SHRM in a company, there are 18 Key practices of SHRM might be used to ascertain the degree of SHRM present in the companyRealistic job previewsUse of psychometric tests for selectionWell-developed induction trainingProvision of extensive training for experienced employeesRegular appraisalRegular feedback on performance from many sourcesIndividual performance-related payProfit-related bonusesFlexible job descriptionsMulti-skillingPresence of wo rk-improvement teamsPresence of problem solving groupsInformation provided on firms business planInformation provided on the firms performance targetsNo compulsory redundanciesAvoidance of voluntary redundanciesCommitment to single statusHarmonised holiday entitlement (Source University of Sunderland).Other possible metres could be in the form of appraisals where performance management objectives are being reviewed. Through the appraisals the organisation would be able to know how it is faring against the achievement of its own targets relative to the general performance of the employees.Word count (287)Section B, Question 44. What are the main features of a Performance Management system? In what ways canorganizations arrest that such systems fulfil strategically recyclable outcomes (30 marks)Answer4.1 Main Features of a PMSThe main features of PMS arePMS consists of business-led outcomes that may be assessed against definite business objectivesPMS is integrated with interlockin g procedures and flows of informationThere is a mix of quantitative and qualitative objectivesThere is a focus on both system design and manner of implementation. Because PMS are sensitive to surgical procedure and culture, it is hence conciliatoryPMS rely on a participative approach by mangers and staff alike, which can align with other organisational processes, for example, employee religions, communications and decision-making processesLastly PMS have a distinctive and adaptable quality of being people and systems-oriented (Source University of Sunderland).There are 6 other features of PMS that links it to the overall business strategy of a company which might also guide organisations in ensuring strategic outcomes are metObjective settingOngoing review of objectivesThe development of personal improvement plans linked to training and developmentFormal appraisal and feedback pay reviewA competence-based organisational susceptibility review (Source University of Sunderland).4.2 Ensuring PMS Fulfils Strategically Useful OutcomesThe best way to ensure that PMS is able to fulfil strategically useful outcomes is for the organisation to be involved in the setting of performance objectives and thereafter measure those objectives. When setting clearly define performance management objectives organisations can railroad train the grasp and nature of the objectives to reflect the organisations own corporate goals. These performance objectives should also be linked closely to the individual employees as healthy as the organisations capability resources. When setting objectives, coverage should include competence and skill development, ability in meeting operational targets, and creating a suitable corporate culture. Objectives are generally defined into 3 categories productivity and output related, job-related and person-related.For productivity and output related objectives, these are a measure of quantifiable output targets likeCost reductionAchieving gross sa les quotaMeeting production volumes.For job related targets, these involve meeting the main objectives of the job laid down in its description according to the specified level of competenceAchieving main responsibilities and accountability.Meeting tasks as described in the job description.Meeting the obligations and service relationships to internal and external customers.For person related objectives, these affect the behavioral outcomes of the person performing his job, such as sharing knowledge an ideas with co-workers. Organisations recognise the importance of linking organisational culture with person-related objectives as it can help to bring about a positive modify in the organisations culture. For instance, an organisation that wants to have a culture that is collaborative in nature will set objectives on employees and measure an employees explore report on the number of references made to other employees work or the number contributions made by the employees colleagues i n the report. This type of objective will change a person behaviourally so that he or she is able to meet the performance objectives.As organisations are beginning to shift away from individualistic performance objectives such financial goals and moving towards objectives which links the workforce to the corporate objectives or wider environment such as quality and effectiveness of business processes, other measurements are being introduced to maximise the potential and skill of the workforce through a commitment-oriented strategy. Thus, organisations have also realised that to take up the wider environment, they have to identify the relationship between the 3 key stakeholders an the organisationInvestors who require return on their investment through dividendsCustomers who require quality and service for which they payAnd employees who require a well-informed and satisfying working environment that provides job security (Source University of Sunderland).Now that the inter-relati onship has been identified, organisations are better able to communicate expected levels of competence from employees and will also be able to appropriately empower staff to deal with activities as a result of their integration. Lynch and Cross (1995), created a baffle that shows this relationship (see Figure 4.A). This model also identifies the broad measures and integration of objectives at each individual level.Figure 4.A shows The Performance Pyramid from Lynch RS and Cross (1995) (Source University of Sunderland)4.2.1 Appraisal SystemsAs the link between objectives and organisational resources are important, it must therefore be integrated with appraisal systems. Appraisals do the job of reviewing the performance management objectives, and it traditionally occurs annually between the manager and staff. However, as the need for objectives to stay relevant and achievable all the time, reviews of the objectives are beginning to occur more regularly. Hence it can be said that regu lar reviews also encourages the building of relationship and the occurrence of coaching through such regular discussions. In the design of appraisal schemes, there are 2 types of orientation schemes that bring out the control orientation and the developmental orientation.In the control orientation approach, it is always assumed in a negative light that a senior entity in the organisation decides the goals, targets, objectives and rewards for the employees to achieve. This results in employees feeling insecure as they feel that they are being constantly monitored and may lead to a breakdown in commitment. Often, when adjustments are introduced to ease such worries, the appraisal scheme releases ineffective as manager do not address real issues which may cause a loss in motivation or damage in relations between the manager and employee. Standardised controls are put in place so as to maintain consistency and equal treatment for all, however it sacrifices flexibility in the process. The level of impact is low on performance with the exception of a fewer existing high performers. Thus, this approach is effective when targets are clear and staff are used to it. The emphasis is not so much on enhancing performance through feedback and motivation but more on the managements authority over the employees.In the case of the developmental approach, the manager is not in control whereas employees are the ones who take the initiative to address uncertainties in wanting to know how to improve themselves. Employees want to be helped and supported through problems and they learn through failures and success. The strengths in this approach include less resistance between the manger and staff, and being able to handle problems in an open way. Problems can also be dealt with on a more objective basis without souring relationships. Employees are also given high trust in their integrity. However, the weaknesses with this approach include less visible outcomes being produced and the manager has to take on a more consultative or counsellor role that they might not be able to perform well in.4.2.2 Types of AppraisalsThere are a few types of appraisals which organisations may choose to adopt including the, self-appraisal, top-down appraisal, peer appraisal and multi-directional appraisal.Top-down appraisals are traditional and feedback is gathered from the staff while objectives come only from the top. The weaknesses of this type of appraisal are that too much emphasis is being placed on traditional organisational hierarchies. Favouritism might also be prevalent and employees might not have full knowledge in structures where managers posses a wide span of control.Self-appraisal methods are hardly used. It gives the employees more ownership and a much higher degree of participation in the appraisal scheme. Managers adopt a more supportive and advisory role where they engage in discussions with the staff on setting of objectives.In the upward appraisal model fe edback is given from the bottom to top. Employees are lots asked to provide such feedback anonymously. Organisations that use this method recognise the need to provide more effective working systems for employees to work more efficiently.In the peer appraisal model, members of the same team are being asked to appraise one another. There may be sensitivities involved when using this method as members might show favouritism to particular members or dislike towards certain members might be the reason for poor rating given.In contrast to the peer appraisal method, multi-directional appraisals sets up to obtain feedback from the outside of the team and it often also includes gathering feedback externally from customers. Its key strength is its being able to overcome the lack of knowledge from a single appraiser as it gathers feedback from many sources. However its biggest weakness lies in the lack of control over hostile ratings being given.Thus appraisals are also a tool to ensure that performance objectives meet strategically useful outcomes.Word count (1409)Section B, Question 55. Why are reward management systems critical to SHRM? How can organizations developreward systems strategically? (30 marks)Answer5.1 Why Reward Management Systems are Critical to SHRMIn strategic human resource management (SHRM), strategies that are being implemented into a companys human resource policies are closely connected with a companys main adopted strategy in order for it to aid in achieving company objectives. SHRM does so by means of recruiting, developing, maintaining and retaining an efficient, productive workforce. As employees make up a companys workforce, they should then be regarded as key assets in a company. Reward management systems are therefore critical to SHRM because they are used to reward and compensate employees in manners that impact employees positively for the company. For example, well-developed reward management systems uses rewards to motivate employees to grow and develop their potential, thereby increasing the quality of efforts contributed towards the company.Rewards and compensation systems are also critically used in aligning the culture, objectives and philosophies of the company with efforts of the employees, this allows employees to identify themselves as part of the company and thus strengthen their loyalty and commitment towards the company and its objectives (Sherman et al., 1998). In todays competitive environment where companies compete for talent and expertise, rewards play an important role in both the recruitment of talent and retention of long serving employees who have difficult-to-source tacit knowledge in their field of expertise. Having a flexible reward management system also means that a company is able harness other forms employment, for example, hiring of part-timers with relevant experience to temporarily worry in during short-term projects.5.2 Developing a Reward System StrategicallyRewards systems in co mpanies practicing SHRM must obviously be strategic in nature. According to Lawler (1984), there are nine points to consider when making strategic decisions in developing reward systems in companies. The nine points are termed as followsBase of rewards.Performance and Incentivisation scope for progression.Market position.Internal versus External comparison.Centralised versus de-centralised reward.Degree of pay hierarchy.Reward Mix.Process issues.Reward systems consequences/integration.5.2.1 Base of RewardsSalaries can be based on 3 optionsThe type of job a person undertakes.The persons contribution in the job.The knowledge and skill level people possess within the job.The 1st option is to pay based on the growth and development an individual undertaking a job. This is typically done through internally comparing a particular job with other jobs within the company using a job evaluation which measures the tasks that the job is required to perform. External comparisons could be used, whereby companies compare the wages offered by other companies against their own. Job based rewards are typically found in larger organisations where job and pay equity is predominant an example would be jobs in the creation service sector where job grading is used. The 2nd option is to pay based on the individuals performance within his or her job and is commonly implemented in cases where the jobs are small in number or job scopes that are distinct and pay has to be individual. Performance based pay is used to balance job demands and contributions made in order to motivate the individual to enhance performance. The 3rd option is to pay based on the need to explicate new skills and knowledge so as to enable organisations to meet the new market challenges.5.2.2 Performance and Incentivisation scope for progression.This point considers the many types and ways of using incentives, whether as a part of an individuals recompense or an additional portion. However, the main dilemma l ies in reconciling strategic objectives with the use of suitable incentives to motivate and enhance employee performance and commitment to the company. Companies will have to decide the forms in which incentives will take and how it will be distributed as well as the positive and negative repercussions it might bring to the company or its employees. For example, substituting commission for a fixed bonus payout to sales employees might cause low-performers to be happy, while high-performers might become disgruntled they could have earned more on a commission scheme.5.2.3 Market PositionAs labour markets are vulnerable to the economy, market trends and political influences, radical changes may happen anytime within the labour market. For example, if there is a labour shortage in certain industries, organisations would be forced to pay a higher wage to acquire the labour needed. As such, organisations are finding it difficult to sustain an internal sense of fairness that comes from a f ormal measurement of job equity within internal wage structures. Therefore, reward strategies need to be formulated to answer to such external uncertainties, and also be flexible (if it is not already so) enough to accommodate different wage schemes and levels when required.5.2.4 Internal versus External comparisonAs reward systems are key to hiring, retaining and developing employees, it is important for a company to benchmark its reward policies against the external and internal environment. Hence, it is important for companies to understand the logic behind market rates of pay and benefit and to know where and how to collect data required to conduct pay and benefits surveys. These surveys are often conducted so that companies are able to rely on the information to make adjustments to latest pay and benefit rates, thus staying competitive in their pay and benefit policies. Companies should also be able to present data in a meaning(prenominal) manner so that proper analysis can t ake place.Job evaluaton (JE) is defined as a systematic procress by which relative worth of jobs are determined so as to establish which jobs will be paid more over others in the organisation (Sherman et al., 1998). The key features of JE areA process which compares the relationships between jobs based on demand placed on employees.A process of judgement made by understanding of job descriptions and roles required to perform the job.A process of analysis after generating point factors from judgements, to enable job ranking.A process of structuring whereby job descriptions are formulated, problem solving, identifying key factors equivalent to job knowledge, and more. Score formulation also takes place to establish ranking, building wage structures and create job-grading systems.The important decisions to make in a JE are the selection of appropriate factors and their levels, as well as how value of factors will be expressed.5.2.5 Centralised versus de-centralised rewardOrganisations often have to struggle to decide if reward systems should be managed in a centralised or de-centralised manner. Centralised controlling is tight and unremarkably means a standardised rate of wage increment. This may cause employees to be less motivated and innovative in their contribution which becomes unhealthy for the company, this holds true for employees who belong to a business unit selling a varied number of products and services. In this case, it might be better having a de-centralised control of rewards system and empower managers with discretionary authority to reward employees accordingly, hence boosting morale.5.2.6 Degree of Pay power structurePay hierarchies exists in organisations and reward systems are dependent on them to a large extent. Pay hierarchies show the distinct difference in power and often reflect career progression. However, organisations are gradually moving away from such distinct hierarchies in pay systems by formulating wage structures that encourage s wage overlap and opportunities for increment. range wage structures are commonly used and though not all are exactly the same, they share common features such asA salary cross off allocated to a job based on an individuals contribution, the labour market and the degree of complexity present in a job.Salary bands or grade in which employees belong to and have to gain promotion in order to progress on to a higher salary band. Each band consists of at least minimum entry point, market or mid-point and a supreme point that employees can achieve.Salary bands are associated with each other usually the maximum point of a starting salary band is the commencement of the next salary band. The degree of overlap will have to be determined by the organisation.As employees move up along the band, organisations will have to decide if employees move up to fixed points along the bands or should employees be allowed to skip certain points and progress at a faster rate instead.5.2.7 Reward MixAlt hough pay is often identified to be the key ingredient in a reward mix, other benefits such as free annual health screening, pension schemes, certified-skill upgrades, use of company vehicles, etc, are just as useful in rewarding employees. When creating a reward mix, the challenge for companies is to identify the strategic reasons for having each benefit in the reward mix and their costs to the company.5.2.8 Process IssuesIn the discussion of process issues, the 1st strategic issue to be considered is communication and transparency. As communicating pay objectives to employees clearly is important in achieving positive human resource results, the existing culture of companies usually decides how open the dialogs are. Traditional companies adopt a closed system and keep salary ranges unknown for purposes of pay review. Other companies with open systems often publicise the salary structure and criteria for which salary increment can occur. Open systems tend to instil confidence and f airness into employees as decision-making becomes more transparent and criteria are made known. The 2nd strategic issue concerns with employees degree of involvement in pay decisions. A company aiming to achieve a team-based operating culture and high employee involvement in all aspect of human resource management should consider allowing employees to be involved in determination of job salaries too. Companies adopting close-based systems usually applies HR policies onto its employees and ultimately, companies have to decide whether leveraging highly on employees trust and commitment or otherwise, is more suited to the companys culture.5.2.9 Reward Systems consequences/integrationAs HR objectives change over time, so should reward objectives because rewards should be integrated into HR systems. And if the objectives are inline, then the integration between rewards and HR systems will serve well to make a positive impact on employees who in turn stays committed to churn out more po sitive contributions for the company.Word count (1700)

Jimmy Carters Presidency :: Free Essays

James Earl Carter Jr. had become the 39th president of the get together States in 1976. The Democrat and once Georgia senator had promised to bring a fresh, sensitive approach to the whiten hall in hopes to break races doubts astir(predicate) the presidency that were left from the Nixon/ hybridisation era. In the election of 1976 Carter squeaked by the republican, Gerald Ford by a 49.9% vote to a 46.9% vote.Carter had differed greatly from all of the previous presidents in several ways. He brought a more informal, homey feeling to the White House. Instead of the tradition suit wearing he wore jeans around the White House and once gave a speech on national TV. At archetypical this was liked by the American public, but his image later suffered because he dropped the honoring style of the presidency. Carter had made many advances in his foreign policy. To resolve the dispute in the Middle East, he invited Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel to sign the Camp Da vid Accords. Under the accords it was concord that Israel would pull out of the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for Egypts recognizing them as a country. Carter also had made a deal with the boaternian government on the moorage of the Panama Canal. It was agreed upon that the canal would be given back to Panama in 2000. Relations with China and Russia were also improved upon during Carters presidency. There was whizz situation that had permanently damaged Carters reputation and ruined his chances of re-election. This was the Iran warranter situation. The former ruler of Iran was given medical treatment in the U.S. This had angered the people of Iran and they stormed the U.S. embassy, taking all of the people working there hostage. This lasted for 400 eld and destroyed Carters reputation politically.During his presidency, Carter had several problems domestically. There was an oil shortage, forcing gas prices to skyrocket.jimmy Carters Presidency Free Essays James Earl Carter Jr. had become the 39th president of the United States in 1976. The Democrat and once Georgia senator had promised to bring a fresh, new approach to the White House in hopes to break peoples doubts about the presidency that were left from the Nixon/Ford era. In the election of 1976 Carter squeaked by the republican, Gerald Ford by a 49.9% vote to a 46.9% vote.Carter had differed greatly from all of the previous presidents in several ways. He brought a more informal, homey feeling to the White House. Instead of the tradition suit wearing he wore jeans around the White House and once gave a speech on national TV. At first this was liked by the American public, but his image later suffered because he dropped the ceremonial style of the presidency. Carter had made many advances in his foreign policy. To resolve the conflict in the Middle East, he invited Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel to sign the Camp David Accords. Under the accords it was agreed that Israel would pul l out of the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for Egypts recognizing them as a country. Carter also had made a deal with the Panamanian government on the situation of the Panama Canal. It was agreed upon that the canal would be given back to Panama in 2000. Relations with China and Russia were also improved upon during Carters presidency. There was one situation that had permanently damaged Carters reputation and ruined his chances of re-election. This was the Iran hostage situation. The former ruler of Iran was given medical treatment in the U.S. This had angered the people of Iran and they stormed the U.S. embassy, taking all of the people working there hostage. This lasted for 400 days and destroyed Carters reputation politically.During his presidency, Carter had several problems domestically. There was an oil shortage, forcing gas prices to skyrocket.

Religious Figures Who Defied Reason Through Faith: Saint Bernadette of Lourdes :: Essays Papers

Religious Figures Who Defied Reason Through Faith Saint Bernadette of LourdesSaint Bernadette of Lourdes is not originally one whom the people of her judgment of conviction would expect to become a religious figure that could see holy apparitions and guide others into miraculous experiences. Contrarily, she was born to a family that experiences hardships and a great deal of misfortunes. Her family loses their silver through bad investments and kind-heartedness, three of her siblings die at birth, and her father passes away leaving the family to fend for themselves. It almost seems as if the family is destined to relive the fate of melodic phrase.1 Like Job in the bible, they experience many trials and tribulations, scarcely hold steadfast to their beliefs. Little did the Soubouris family know that Bernadette would become a saint loved and venerable by thousands in the Catholic Church. Bernadette will become a subject of controversy to some, being tested by powers of authority in the church and community, but is able to prove herself true and sane through her unyielding faith. The apparitions that would change Bernadettes life and cause others to question her integrity and sanity first come forward to her on February of 1858. Bernadette, her sister Toinette, and a friend, Jeanne Abadie go out to find wood the grotto. Although Bernadettes stupefy objects to her going out in the cold weather collectable to her asthma, Bernadette pleads and wins her way. While out searching for wood in the grotto, Bernadette hears a gust of wind but nothing is moving. She goes to investigate and reports see a gentle get out which continues to brighten.2 Next, she sees an apparition of a girl or young lady dressed in white smiling at her. The apparition first causes Bernadette to doubt what she is seeing is real, but she soon realizes that it is. When that apparition ends, she has a feeling of happiness and continues about the task, perplexed to what she has just experi enced. Bernadette later confides the secret of the apparition to Toinette, but Toinette betrays her and tells their mother of what Bernadette had witnessed. The mother is disturbed and doubtful of Bernadettes vision, and forbids her to go back to the grotto again. The father feels the same, but also feels that the family, which is already experiencing a time of hardship, would be vulnerable to bemock if Bernadettes story were to get out.