Battered Women as Court Defense Essay Example for Free

Battered Women as Court Defense Essay One of the theoretical frameworks present, which is explains the rationale for battered women killings as a supplement to a self-defense court appeal is the condition of battered woman syndrome (Ogle and Jacobs, 2002 p. 51). Battered women who kill are often limited to pleading incapacity or provocation because the circumstances of the homicide do not fit into the narrow confines of self-defense law. Even when permitted to go forward with a self-defense claim, many women do not succeed. However, using the battered woman syndrome as a defense has troublesome implications. In practice, the battered woman syndrome defense echoes the old incapacity defense – she was acting out of learned helplessness rather than necessity – and fails to adequately consider the terrible experiences and choices these women face (Forrell and Matthews, 2001 p. 203). The cycle of battering theory posits that battering involves an identifiable pattern, which possess three phases as according to Walker (1979) (Ogle and Jacobs, 2002 p.51-52): (1). Tension building, in which the batterer seeks to create tension through intimidation, degradation, and threats in order to build a case for his next episode of violence and during this time, the victim is attempting to forestall the next battering incident; (2) acute battering incident, in which the batterer becomes violently abusive toward the victim in order to make his point, regain complete control of both the relationship and the victim, and prevent the victim from tying to leave; lastly, (3) contrition, in which the batterer, early in the relationship, makes gestures of apology, promises desistance, asks for forgiveness, and seeks reconciliation in order to keep the victim from fleeing (Ogle and Jacobs, 2002 p. 52). The proportionality, imminence requirements and the mare standards by which they are measured virtually preclude traditional self-defense for most battered women who kill their violent partners. For example, a 1995 U. S Department of Justice study, Spouse Murder Defendants, determined that 44% of women accused of murdering their husbands had been threatened with a weapon or physically assaulted at or around the time of the murder; of these, 56% were convicted. Not surprisingly, in states that relax the imminence and equal-force requirements when battered women kill and admit evidence on domestic violence and its consequences, more women are found to have killed n self-defense (Forrell and Matthews, 2001 p. 203). Battered Woman Syndrome does not explain how a woman suffering from learned helplessness (resigned to dying, hopeless, sure that nothing she does will have any influence on the outcome) suddenly becomes proactive and defends herself lethally. Learned helplessness creates a psychological and behavioral stereotype of the battering victim that can then be turned around and used against her in court if she does not exactly fit the typology of a battered woman suffering from this psychological problem. When such condition occurred, the battered woman is often not permitted to present certain testimony on the battering since she is believed not to be battered woman. In other words, if psychologists, through interviews and testing, cannot make a diagnosis of learned helplessness, then the woman does not fit the typology of a battered woman and cannot use that as a supplement to self-defense (Ogle and Jacobs, 2002 p. 52-53). Battered woman syndrome has been used for purposes beyond supporting the claim of self-defense. Such syndrome testimony has been admitted as relevant evidence into a broad range of criminal cases, such as fraud, drug running, child homicide and homicide of an adult other than the batterer. As part of the defense in these criminal cases, battered woman syndrome testimony has been offered to accomplish one of these three things: (a) to bolster the woman’s claim that she engaged in a criminal act under the duress/coercion of her abusive partner; (b) to support the notion of mitigation for the woman at the time she pleads guilty; or (c) to bolster a claim of diminished capacity in the sentencing phase of case (Freedheim et. al. , 2003 p. 485). Today, despite the concerns of a number of legal scholars, most jurisdictions permit testimony in criminal court about battered woman syndrome and a number actually guarantee its legitimacy through legislation. Twelve states provide for battered woman syndrome testimony by statutory law. In 1992, President George Bush signed the Battered Women’s Testimony Act, which specifically authorized a study of this type of testimony and required training materials to be developed to assist the courts. Moreover, this act also strongly encouraged state officials to accept battered woman syndrome testimony based on recognition that many women are victims of physical violence (Freedheim et. al. , 2003 p. 485). The conditions of battered women are still at risk knowing the fact that self-defense is still not considered as ground consideration of homicide; instead, the individual needs to be diagnosed with psychological defect before granting any possible excuse from the crime committed. The Case of Court Defenses. Probably, the most famous case of postpartum psychosis is that of Andrea Yates, a Texas woman who, in 2001, downed her five children – including a six-month old – in a bathtub (Cassidy, 2006 p. 242). Ms. Yates chased the last victim, her 7-year-old boy, as he tried to run away; however, she caught him and submerged him in the tub as she had done with the others. After wrapping the five bodies in sheets and placing them on the bed, she called the Houston Police and, upon their arrival, confessed (Dorne, 2002 p. 122). Prosecutors called for the death penalty, arguing that as long as she could distinguish between right and wrong, having postpartum psychosis is no excuse for murder. Since Yates testified that she knew it was a crime to kill her children, a jury convicted her of capital murder in 2002, triggering debate about whether the standard for mental illness was too rigid and whether the courts understood the nature of postpartum mental illness. However, an appeals court overturned that conviction die to erroneous testimony, and after a new trial in 2006, a jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity. Rather than sending her to prison for life, the judge committed her to be locked mental hospital until she deemed no longer a threat (Cassidy, 2006 p. 242). In response to the second verdict, legal experts said that, in the four years since the Yates case had been in court, the American public had become more understanding – even forgiving – of postpartum depression (Cassidy, 2006 p. 242-243). In Indiana, the case of Judy Kirby attracted national attention to the post-partum defense. Ms. Kirby, a 31-year-old mother of 10 had recently given birth. With four of her children in her car, she drove down a one-way highway the wrong way. Driving against traffic, she passed 16 â€Å"Do Not Enter† signs. Her vehicle eventually hit a minivan head on, killing the driver and his two teenage children. The four Kirby children, ages 5 to 12, were also killed; however, Ms. Kirby survived the crash. A distress note written by Ms. Kirby was found in her vehicle indicating that she was having problems coping and was experiencing relationship problems with her ex-boyfriend, who was also the father of two of her children. She was charged with seven counts of homicide, aggravated battery, and child neglect causing bodily injury, and was sentenced in 2001 to 215 years in prison (Dorne, 2002 p. 122). Another case that depicts the situation of battered women in the sense of self-defense includes the confrontation case of Commonwealth v. Stonehouse (Pa. 1989). Carol Stonehouse killed William Welsh after a series of events that the appellate court characterized as bizarre but believable because they were corroborated by disinterested witnesses. Stonehouse reported many instances of abuse, battery, assaults and threats to the authorities, but with no response issued. With all the efforts provided by Stonehouse; however, she was still charged with criminal homicide, convicted of third degree homicide, and sentenced to seven to fourteen years imprisonment (Ogle and Jacobs, 2002 p. 97). Conclusion The law provides absolute rule in terms of homicide and criminal offenses, although, certain conditions are granted with exemptions. Postpartum depression is one of the psychological defects that can be used ion order to excuse one’s self from committed murder granted the fact of evidence and reliable basis, such as with Yates. On the other hand, the case of Stonehouse’s battered experience was not excused despite of cruel and brutal experience that led her in killing for sake of self-defense. References Cassidy, T. (2006). Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born. Open City Books. Dorne, C. K. (2002). An Introduction to Child Maltreatment in the United States: History, Public Policy and Research. Criminal Justice Press. Forrell, C. A. , Matthews, D. M. (2001). A Law of Her Own: The Reasonable Woman as a Measure of Man. NYU Press. Freedheim etal, C. K. (2003). Handbook of Psychology. John Wiley and Sons. Ogle, R. S. , Jacobs, S. (2002). Self-Defense and Battered Women Who Kill: A New Framework. Greenwood Publishing Group. Schwartz, L. , Isser, N. (2007). Child Homicide: Parents Who Kill. CRC Press. Spinelli, M. G. (2003). Infanticide: Psychosocial and Legal Perspectives on Mothers Who Kill. American Psychiatric Pub, Inc.

HRM Information Systems

HRM Information Systems ABSTRACT Information technology is expected to drive Human Resource (HR)s transition from a focus on Human Resource Management (HRM) to Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). This strategic role not only adds a valuable dimension to the HR function, but also changes the competencies that define HR professional and practitioner success. The study aims at investigating what role if any do Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) play in SHRM. It attempts to examine how HR professionals and managers in different organizations see the effects of HRIS on strategic HR tasks and job roles. It also tries to find out if there is any significant difference in the usage of HRIS between Small/Medium (SME) size and large size companies. A survey questionnaire was sent to different companies. The target group of the questionnaire was HR managers, HR directors, and HR professionals in companies based in England. The scope was widened to include both large and small/medium sized organizations across all the business sectors. The results of the survey reveal that HR professionals not only consider HRIS usage as a support for strategic HR tasks but also perceive it as an enabling technology. The study also indicates that large sized firms are most likely to experience considerable HRIS usage in support of strategic HR tasks. Moreover, there was no significant difference in proportion to the size of a company regarding HRIS usage in support of commitment management and managing trade union relations with organizations. Low response rate of this study makes generalization rather difficult however, future research would benefit from higher response rates for more generalized results OVERVIEW The relationship between the HR strategies and the firms performance is an issue that has caused significant differentiations in the literature mostly because of the existence of many parameters that can influence the results produced through the examination of this problem in practice. Moreover, because within a firm, the participants and the interests are many it is difficult to identify the role and the significance of each particular organizational element particularly when there is no specific corporate plan for such an investigation. RESEARCH PROBLEM The human resources strategies followed by modern organizations present significant differentiations in accordance with the firms position in the market, its performance and its financial strength in general. In the long term, the application of specific human resources strategies has been found to be related with the performance of the organization. Moreover, where appropriate HR plans have been applied, the organizational performance has been found to be increased. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH Current research as already mentioned above will focus on the examination of the relationship between HR strategies applied within a particular organization and its performance. In order for the above task to lead to valid results, a series of other issues are going to be examined at a secondary level. These issues are indicatively: a) Which is the significance of the HR for the organizational operation, b) How the HR strategies can be more effective? c) Is there any chance for innovation in firms with specific HR plan or any relevant initiative has to be adapted to the existed framework? d) Which are the main aspects of organizational growth and e) Are there any other factors that can influence the firms performance and which would be their interaction with the HR strategies already implemented in the particular firm? LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH Current research is limited by the fact that it is rather unlikely for companies to provide data related with their employees problems related with the workplace. On the other hand, any programs or support tools existed are very likely to be provided by all firms that would be engaged in the research of current project. For this reason, although the job satisfaction and the personal development of employees would be rather easily monitored, the existence of problems in the workplace would be difficult to be proved. For this reason current research as already described above focuses on the examination of the human resources strategies followed by organizations in general as these practices can be observed in most firms of modern commercial market. The existence of specific differentiations in accordance with the specific issue will have to be proved either by statistics released in general or by cases examined particularly in the legal area. INTRODUCTION According to Likert, Every aspect of firms activities is determined by the competence, motivation and general effectiveness of its human organization. Of all the tasks of management, managing the human component is the central and most important task because all depends how well it is done. This quotation sums up the importance of human components in an organisation and the need for managing it effectively. Human resource management is concerned with all aspects of managing the human resources of an organisation. More specifically, human resource management involves determining the organisations heed of human resource, recruiting and selecting the best available employees, developing, counselling and rewarding employees, acting as a liaison with union and government organisation and handling other matters regarding to the well being of employees. Each of these functions is necessary to some degree irrespective of nature and size of the organisation. That is why in most of the organis ation a separate department know as Personnel/Human resource Department is created for the effective performance of these functions. The relationship between the HR strategies and the firms performance is an issue that has caused significant differentiations in the literature mostly because of the existence of many parameters that can influence the results produced through the examination of this problem in practice. Moreover, because within a firm, the participants and the interests are many it is difficult to identify the role and the significance of each particular organizational element particularly when there is no specific corporate plan for such an investigation. Organization must have a set of unique resources for gaining competitive advantage moreover proper utilization of those resources matters a lot. Today organization employee acts as a main resource and knowledge, skills and abilities have to be deployed and used to the maximum effect if the organization is to create value. LITERATURE REVIEW Human resources should be considered as a significant organizational asset. In this context, the application of the appropriate strategies for its development, can lead to the improvement of the corporate performance both in the short and the long term. However, there are also companies where human resources are not considered as having particular importance for the firms growth. In this context, Haines (1997, 95) supported that there are firms that view their human resources as an expense rather than an asset an element that is expendable and perhaps discarded when the skills possessed becomes obsolete; however when human resources are viewed as an asset, companies enhance individual value through training and human development and ensure continued contribution to the organization. The importance of human resources for the corporate performance has in any case proved both in the literature and the empirical research conducted in all industrial sectors. In accordance with the above, in order for a firm to achieve a stable and continuous growth, it is necessary that its employees are satisfied as this term has been explained in the literature. More specifically, in accordance with Kim (2005, 669) job satisfaction is an affective or emotional response toward various facets of ones job. Job satisfaction has been a topic of great interest for researchers and practitioners in a wide range of fields, including organizational psychology, public administration, and management. On the other hand, the existence of job satisfaction has been extensively related with the level of payment of employees in the particular sectors of a specific organization. Indeed, the study of Rudman (2003) showed that paying for performance is a big issue in contemporary human resources management; organisations have long believed that production and productivity improve when pay is linked to performance, and have developed payment-by-results (PBR) systems and incentive schemes to support th is belief. In the same context, it is noticed by Blinder (1990, 117) that employees usually feel that profit sharing and gain sharing are good for personal effort, company growth and productivity, and workplace atmosphere. However, in order for the firms to achieve the maximum level of growth, it is necessary to design and apply the appropriate HR policies as indicated by each particular firms needs. The use of fit as a criterion of evaluation of the appropriate corporate strategy has been extensively used in practice. Towards this direction Wright (1998, 56) mentioned that the basic theory behind fit is that the effectiveness of any HR practice or set of practices for impacting firm performance depends upon the firms strategy (or conversely, the effectiveness of any strategy depends upon having the right HR practices). In other words, the issues that need to be considered by a firm before applying any relevant HR strategy are many. Indicatively, Katzell (1975, 5, 11-12) tried to identify the relationship between the employee satisfaction (as a result of a specific HR strategy) and the corporate performance and found that policy-makers must face up to a serious dilemma and find some way to resolve it; the dilemma is this: policy-makers would like to achieve two objectives for work organizations, on the one hand to enhance productivity and performance, and on the other to improve the quality of working life and job satisfaction for employers because under certain conditions, improving productivity will enhance worker satisfaction and improvements in job satisfaction will contribute to productivity; what it does mean is that there is no automatic and invariant relationship between the two. Under these terms, corporate performance has been found to be related with the employees performance within a particular organization. From a different point of view, Lawler et al. (2003, 15) supported that HRs greatest opportunity to add value may well be to play a role in the development and implementation of corporate strategy; HR can make a logical case for being an important part of strategy development, because of the importance of human capital in the ability of the firm to carry out its strategy. In other words, HR strategy can influence the firms growth in accordance with the measures provided for the personal and professional development of the firms employees even in the long term. The implementation of appropriate diversity strategy has to be considered in this case as absolutely necessary because in case of inequality in the workplace, no cooperation would be regarded as existed even if such cooperation exists, it will be problematic. In this context, Mathews (1998, 175 ) noticed that before diversity strategies are implemented, the organizations cultural environment, management and evaluation systems should be examined to ascertain if existing personnel/human resources processes will support or hinder diversity in the organization; then, appropriate strategies can be designed to develop and manage diversity based on these findings. From the same point of view, Ramlall (2003, 60) supported that given that several large-scale studies have proven that HRM is a critical driver in an organizations financial performance, it is imperative for HR and other leaders to understand the critical nature and utmost importance of understanding the effectiveness of all HR activities in creating value for the organization. To a more thorough examination of the problem, Christensen managed to identify the five elements that are considered as most crucial in the improvement of the employees productivity (as this improvement is expected to lead to the increase of the corporate growth). More specifically, Christensen supported that there are five elements which are extremely important for the effectiveness of employees within a particular organizational environment. These are (1958, 34): a) The technical organization of the group; b) The social structure of the group; c) The individual task motivation, i.e., the willingness to work hard that each member brings to and maintains toward his job; d) The rewards he receives from doing the job, and e) The satisfactions he obtains from being an accepted member of the group. The above elements can exist in any organization and can influence the productivity of its employees either in the short or in the long term. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) During and after 1970s, several changes took place in many countries which led to the term Human resource Management in place of the traditional term Personnel Management. These changes, declining importance of trade unionism, shift from industrial employment to service sector employment, growing competition, deregulation of economies, etc. As a result, three important roles of human resources have emerged as stated below. Human resource policies can be integrated with strategic business planning and used to reinforce appropriate culture. Human resources are valuable and a source of competitive advantage. Human resources can be tapped mostly effectively by mutually consistent policies which promote commitment and Foster a willingness in employees to act flexible in the interests of the adaptive organisations pursuit of excellence. The term Human resource management has been the subject of considerable debate, and its underlying philosophy and character are highly controversial. Much of this controversy stems from the absence of a precise formulation of and agreement on its significance and definition (Storey, 1989; and 1995a), as cited by Bratton and Gold (2003: 7). Obviously, definition of the subject matter is needed for analysis and understanding of HRM theory and practice. HRM DEFINITION HRM has a variety of definitions but there is general agreement that it has a closer fit with business strategy than previous models, specifically personnel management. In all the debates about the meaning, significance and practice of HRM, nothing seems more certain than the link between HRM and performance (HRM Guide October 2006). Below are some of the definitions of HRM, although it can be argued that these will only be ones of several possible definitions. De Cenzo and Robbins (1996: 8) defined HRM as the part of the organization that is concerned with the people dimension, and it is normally a staff or support function in the organization. HRM role is the provision of assistance in HRM issues to line employees, or those directly involved in producing the organizations goods and services. Acquiring peoples services, developing their skills, motivating them to high levels of performance, and ensuring their continuing maintenance and commitment to the organization are essential to achieving organizational goals. This is much the case regardless of the type of organization, government, business, education, health, recreation, or social action. The authors proposed an HRM specific approach as consisting of four functions- staffing, training and development, motivation, and maintenance. In addition, Bratton and Gold (2003: 7) define HRM as the strategic approach to managing employment relations which emphasizes that leveraging peoples capabilities is critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage. This is achieved through a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programs and practices. The authors presented HRM functions as planning, recruitment and selection, appraisal and performance management, reward management, development, employee relations, health and safety, and union-management relations. Moreover, to Alan Price (2004: 32) HRM aims at recruiting capable, flexible and committed people, managing and rewarding their performance and d eveloping key competencies. Contributing to the working definition of HRM is Abecker et al., (2004). They see HRM as a strategic and target oriented composition, regulation and development of all areas that affect human resources in a company. Efficient and effective management of these resources to a large extend, affects human resource behaviour, and consequently the performance of the organization as a whole. Moreover, the authors identified HRM with the field it covers. These include planning aspects- personnel requirements analysis and personnel asset analysis, and change aspects- recruitment, personnel development and labour displacement (Ibid). Next, is the diagrammatic representation of the said field. Human Resource Management Change Aspects Planning Aspects Personnel Requirement Analysis Labour Displacement Personnel Development Recruitment Personnel Asset Analysis Figure1: Fields of HRM (Source: Abecker et al., 2004) It is however, somehow strange, that, an important aspect of HRM, payroll or compensation/payment is missing from the field in figure 1 above propounded by the authors. Abecker et al., (2004) like the previous other authors, did not present a conclusive and detailed definition of HRM including the other concepts (HR processes). Lastly considered are the opinions of various management scholars who have taken a more in-depth look at the whole concept of HRM. These opinions should be given the greatest weight, since they reflect more in-depth research on the subject than is done by most textbook authors. Few such authors are Dessler et al., (1999), and Torrington et al.,(2005). According to Torrington et al., (2005: 5) HRM is fundamental to all management activity and has evolved from a number of different strands of thought. It is best described as a loose philosophy of people management rather than a focused methodology. Thus, distinction has been made between HRM as body of management activities on one hand (generically described as personnel management) and then on the other as a particular approach to execute those activities (carrying out people-oriented organizational activities than traditional personnel management). An organization gains competitive advantage by using its employees effectively, drawing on their expertise and ingenuity to meet clearly defined objectives. Torrington et al.,(2005: 5) identified the role of the human resource functions with the key objectives. These four objectives are the corner stone of all HR activities. These include Staffing, Performance, Change-management and Administration. Staffing objective focuses on finding the appropriate pool of human resources needed to ensure full and timely supply of work force (Ibid). It therefore involves designing organizational structures, identifying working conditions for different groups of employees followed by recruiting, selecting and developing the personnel required to fill the roles. Performance objective aims at ensuring workforce motivation and commitment for effective performance. Consequently, employees training and development remain important. Moreover, managing change effectively and efficiently remains one of the core objectives in almost every business. Key issues here include recruiting and/or developing people with the required leadership skills to drive the change process. Change agents are employed to encourage acceptance of change by coming out with reward systems associated with the change process. Employees involvement is also paramount here and is encouraged. The aim is to avoid resistance to change, more especially where it involves cultural changes (attitude, philosophy or long-present organizational norms). Administration objective aims at facilitating the smooth running of the organization. Hence, there is the need for accurate and comprehensive data on individual employees, records of achievement in terms of performance, attendance, training records, terms and condition of employment and personal details are (Ibid). However, for the purpose of this study, literature on the HRM concept will be based on the opinions of Dessler et al., (1999). The authors defined HRM as the management of people in organizations. It consists of the activities, policies, and practices involved in obtaining, developing, utilizing, evaluating, maintaining, and retaining the appropriate number and skill mix of employees to accomplish the organizations objectives. The goal of HRM is to maximize employees contributions in order to achieve optimal productivity and effectiveness, while simultaneously attaining individual objectives and societal objectives Dessler et al., (1999: 2). To the authors, the function of HRM include assisting the organization in attracting the quality and quantity of candidates required with respect to the organizations strategy and operational goals, staffing needs, and desired culture. Helping to maintain performance standards and increase productivity through orientation, training, development, job design, effective communication, and performance appraisal. Helping to create a climate in which employees are encouraged to develop and utilize their skills to the fullest. Helping to establish and maintain cordial working relationship with employees. Helping to create and maintain safe and healthy work environment. Development of programs to meet economic, psychological, and social needs of the employees. Helping the organization to retain productive employees and ensuring that the organization complies with provincial/territorial and federal laws affecting the work place such as human rights, employment equity, occupational health and safety (Ibid). HRM PROCESSES This sub section illustrates the processes involved in executing the HRM functions. Each of the functions: planning, recruitment, selection, orientation and training, performance appraisal etc. goes through a process. Unless otherwise stated, the rest of this section will be drawn from (Dessler et al., 1999)s literature based on pages 165 to 533. PLANNING PROCESS Human Resource Planning (HRP) process reviews human resources requirements to ensure that the organization has the required number of employees, with the necessary skills, to meet its goals, also known as employment planning. HRP is a proactive process, which both anticipates and influences an organizations future by systematically forecasting the demand for and supply of employees under changing conditions, and developing plans and activities to satisfy these needs. Key steps include forecasting demand for labour considering organizational strategic and tactical plans, economic conditions, market and competitive trends, social concerns, demographic trends, and technological changes. RECRUITMENT PROCESS Recruitment is the process of searching for and attracting an adequate number of qualified job candidate, from whom the organization may select the most appropriate to field its staff needs. The process begins when the need to fill a position is identified and it ends with the receipt of rà ©sumà ©s and completed application forms. The result is a pool of qualified job seekers from which the individual best matching the job requirements can be selected. The steps in recruitment process include identification of job openings, determination of job requirements, choosing appropriate recruiting sources and methods, and finally, generating a pool of qualified recruits. Job openings are identified through human resource planning or manager request. Next is to determine the job requirements. This involves reviewing the job description and the job specification and updating them, if necessary. Appropriate recruiting sources and methods are chosen because there is no one, best recruiting te chnique. Consequently, the most appropriate for any given position depend on a number of factors, which include organizational policies and plans, and job requirements. SELECTION PROCESS Selection is the process of choosing individuals with the relevant qualifications to fill existing or projected openings. Data and information about applicants regarding current employees, whether for a transfer or promotion, or outside candidates for the first time position with the firm are collected and evaluated. The steps in the selection process, in sending order include preliminary reception of applicants, initial applicant screening, selection testing, selection interview, background investigation and reference checking, supervisory interview, realistic job previews, making the hiring decision, candidate notification, and evaluating the selection process. However, each step in the selection process, from preliminary applicant reception and initial screening to the hiring decision, is performed under legal, organizational, and environmental constraints that protect the interests of both applicant and organization. ORIENTATION, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Employee orientation is the procedure of providing new employees with basic background information about the firm and the job. Is more or less, considered as one component of the employers new-employee socialization process. Socialization process is an ongoing process of initialling in all employees the prevailing attitudes, standards, values, and patterns of behaviour that are expected by the organization. Training however is the process of teaching new or present employees the basic skills/competencies needed to perform their jobs. Whereas training focuses on skills and competencies needed to perform employees current jobs, employee and management development is the training of long-term nature. The aim is to prepare current employees for future jobs with the organization or solving an organizational problem concerning, for example, poor interdepartmental communication. Training and development processes include needs analysis, instructional design, validation, implementation, and evaluation and follow-up. CAREER PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS It is the deliberate process through which persons become aware of personal career related attributes and the lifelong series of activities that contribute to their career fulfilment. Individuals, managers, and the organization have role to play in career development. Individuals accept responsibility of own career, assess interests, skills, and values, seek out career information and resources, establish goals and career plans, and utilize development opportunities. The career stage identification entails career cycle (the stages through which a persons career evolves). These stages include the following: growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance, and decline stages. Occupational orientation identification is the theory by John Holland. This theory enumerates six basic personal orientations that determine the sorts of careers to which people are drawn. They include realistic orientation, investigative orientation, social orientation, conventional orientation, enterprise orientation, and artistic orientation. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS Performance appraisal may be defined as any procedure that involves setting work standards, assessing employees actual performance relative to these standards, and providing feedback to the employee with the aim of motivating the worker to eliminate performance deficiencies or to continue to perform above par. Processes in performance appraisal contain three steps: defining performance expectations, appraising performance, and providing feedback. First, defining performance expectation means making sure that job duties and standards are clear to all. Second, appraising performance means comparing employees actual performance to the standards that has been set, which normally involves some type of rating form. Third, performance appraisal usually requires one or more feedback sessions to discuss employees performance and progress and making plans for any required development. Some of the appraisal methods include graphic rating scale, alternation ranking, paired comparison, forced dis tribution, and critical incident methods. EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS PROCESS Employee compensation involves all forms of pay or rewards accrued to employees and arising from their employment. This however consists of two main components: direct financial payments, and indirect payments. While direct financial payments are in the form of wages, salaries, incentives, commissions, and bonuses, indirect payments are in the form of financial benefits like employer-paid insurance and vacations. Moreover, legal considerations in compensation, union influences, compensation policies, and equity and its impact on pay rates are the four basic considerations influencing the formulation of any pay plan. Benefits are indirect financial payments given to employees. These may include supplementary health and life insurance, vacation, pension, education plans, and discounts on say company products. Furthermore, income and medical benefits to victims of work-related accidents or illness and/or their dependents, regardless of fault are all part of employees compensation. The processes in establishing pay rates involve the following five steps: First, conducting wages/salary survey to determine the prevailing wage rates for comparable jobs, which is central in job pricing. Second, determine the relative worth of each job (job evaluation) by comparing the job content in relation to one another in terms of their efforts, responsibility, and skills. This eventually results in wage or salary hierarchy. Third, group similar jobs into pay grades, a pay grade comprises of jobs of approximately equal value or importance as determined by job evaluation. Forth, price each pay grade using wage curves. A wage curve is graphical description of the relationship between the value of job and the average wage paid for the job. However, if jobs are not grouped into pay grades, individual pay rates have to be assigned to each job. Fifth, fine tune pay rates. This involves correcting out-of-line rates and usually developing rate ranges. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCESS Occupational health and safety process aims at protecting the health and safety of workers by minimizing work-related accidents and illnesses. Laws and legislations to ensure and observe general health and safety rules bound employers. More so, rules for specific industries, for example, mining and rules related to specific hazards, for instance, asbestos have to be adhered to. The following steps are important in this process. Checking for or removing unsafe conditions by using checklist to audit a companys adherence to safety rules that are guarded against hazards, which cannot be removed. Next, through selection, screening out of employees who might be accident prone for job in question without compromising the human right legislation. More so, establishing a safety policy, this emphasizes on the importance of practically reducing accidents and injuries. Setting specific loss control goals by analyzing the number of accidents and safety incidents and then set specific safety goals to be achieved. Enforcing safety rules through discipline and conducting health and safety inspections regularly by investigating all accidents and near misses, and by having a system in place for letting employe

Best Buy Managing For Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay

Best Buy Managing For Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay The paper is a critical examination of Best Buy managing for competitive advantage. The essay brings forth strategies Best Buy uses as well as how these strategies are put into action in order for it to gain competitive advantage over its competitors. Competitive advantage refers to set of strategic advantages a business have adopted that make it be in a better position to compete or even out shine its rivals. Thus attaining Competitive Advantage fortifies and places an organization in a better position within the competitive business world. According to Pfeffer 21, this theory of competitive advantage was brought forth by Porter Michael back in 1990. He suggested that business entities as well as other non-profit institutions need to adopt some policies, procedures and plans that will help it to develop very high quality goods and services that can be sold at higher prices to consumers. With the fact that almost all kind of business entities do meet very stiff competitions there is thus need for each and every organization to adopt the best strategies that will help them cut themselves an edge in this competitive world of business, Best Buy not being an exception. However various business and management scholars have come to a conclusion that having these strategies is not important unless they are adequately managed; hence competitive advantage management (Pfeffer 142). This refers to set of mechanisms and plans that not only places and organization at an upper hand as compared to its competitors but making it stand out in the business environment. The paper recognizes Best Buy competitive advantage as being it customer-centricity this implies delivering modified and extremely personalized service to clients. All this has been attained by automating the services it provides to customers by using online services. Best Buy customer centered strategy It has been argued out that once an organization clearly understands the need, wants and aspiration of its customers, there is nothing that will block it from excelling provided it takes corrective actions towards attaining the same. Additionally, research as shown that business entities that focus or are customer oriented do have higher chances of securing a competitive advantage which in most cases translates to higher revenue generation, price earnings ratio, highly satisfied customers thus creating customer loyalty. This concept seems to have been well mastered by Best Buy. For instance, since the plan was rolled out, the profit margin for the organization rose by almost 3% (Jaynie Flanagan 122). It is worth mentioning that the strategy has been successful thanks to technological innovation that has allowed customers to even buy good 24/7 even during the holidays. It is important to note although this strategy was recently launched, the organization adequately trained and educated its store-level workforce so that they could be in a position to have in mind the varied needs of the customers on the basis of how they were segmented. One strategy that was a milestone in taking the business where it is to day is customers segmentation. Best Buy segmented its customers into five different levels which include; small-business customers that utilize the business services and products to foster increased profits in their business, busy mothers leaving in suburban that aim at enriching their kids way of life with technological innovation especially in entertainment,, men having families that are in quest of bettering their general way of living through entertainment and other ways, young men who are is thirst of technological innovation and finally very rich professionals that seek the best in terms of entertainment as well as other life experiences. It is worth noting heretthat this I in line with the notion brought forth by Mentzer in his article titles Achieving Competitive Advantage through Supply Chain Management he suggested that not all customers are created equally because there are those that are very crucial to success of any organization while some are not as crucial as other and thus need to be treated by using a different approach. This has been adequately addressed by Best Buy by segmenting its customers (Mentzer 3). According to Mentzer 1 after successfully carrying out a survey, which included slightly over thirty of its stores, Best Buy started rolling the strategy of computerizing the quote-to-order process aimed at making it possible for customers to buy in a 24/7 hour basis even if it is on holidays. In total over hundred of the companys store adopted this strategy. Reports suggested that the company financial result could be boosted and indeed it was and that less cynical outcomes are expected as well as development of a stable link between the company and its customers. Additionally, it is important to remember that for any organization to be prosperous even in its best strategies, the part played by its workforce is of paramount, it is evident that the company did provide education and training to its employees so that they could be well equipped with knowledge to help customers. An example where customer centricity was attained through the efforts of store employees is in Pasadena store in which there was a reconfiguration of the place to appeal to suburban mothers (Peppers Rogers 4) It entailed transferring small electrical appliances to a low rack situated on the walk way of the store from high shelves, this boosted sales of the same to almost two folds. Generally speaking, the company strategy fundamentally rests on viewing its initiatives from the customers point of view, clearly understanding what they need as well as trying its best in meeting these needs (Jaynie Flanagan 211). According to the vice chairman and CEO of the company, this is what gives them a cutting edge in the business environment. On the same note, the company has adopted a way of distributing its goods that is inline with customers demand and aspirations. This has time and a gained been managed by using enterprise resource planning system that seem to have successfully synchronized the need of clients. Additionally, the company best strategy is also its ability to harmonize it various chains of supply together with what its stores need; (Peppers Rogers 2) this has resulted to those employees who work as sales representative having at their disposal a variety of products that meet the needs of those customers that are dear to the company. Similarly, it is worth mentioning that Best Buy has successfully adopted technological innovation whereby customers need not to come to their stores to select or see those appliances they plan to buy. This carries with it a number of advantages for instance convenience and lack of being pressurized by sales persons to buy (Pfeffer 164). Additionally, it give one enough time to scrutinize the features one desire to have in a given appliance. Conclusion From the review of competitive advantage management of Best Buy Company, it is evident that technological innovation adoption and focusing in customer and empowering its employees are among the strategies that have played a better part in shaping the company. What make the company different is that it has clearly understood what its customers need and have taken serious steps towards attaining those things desired by the customers. It is thus no doubt that the company has thrived despite stiff competition from other well known business organizations such as Wal Mart, Dell among other. In my view, every organization must adopt a set of strategies to help it thrive now and in future.

Angular Momentum Essays -- Physics

Angular momentum and its properties were devised over time by many of the great minds in physics. Newton and Kepler were probably the two biggest factors in the evolution of angular momentum. Angular momentum is the force which a moving body, following a curved path, has because of its mass and motion. Angular momentum is possessed by rotating objects. Understanding torque is the first step to understanding angular momentum.Torque is the angular "version" of force. The units for torque are in Newton-meters. Torque is observed when a force is exerted on a rigid object pivoted about an axis and. This results in the object rotating around that axis. "The torque ? due to a force F about an origin is an inertial frame defined to be ? ? r x F"1 where r is the vector position of the affected object and F is the force applied to the object.To understand angular momentum easier it is wise to compare it to the less complex linear momentum because they are similar in many ways. "Linear momentum is the product of an object's mass and its instantaneous velocity. The angular momentum of a rotating object is given by the product of its angular velocity and its moment of inertia. Just as a moving object's inertial mass is a measure of its resistance to linear acceleration, a rotating object's moment of inertia is a measure of its resistance to angular acceleration."2 Factors which effect a rotating object's moment of inertia are its mass and on the distribution of the objects mass about the axis of rotation. A small object with a mass concentrated very close to its axis of rotation will have a small moment of inertia and it will be fairly easy to spin it with a certain angular velocity. However if an object of equal mass, with its mass more spread out from the axis of rotation, will have a greater moment of inertia and will be harder to accelerate to the same angular velocity.3To calculate the moment of inertia of an object one can imagine that the object is divided into many small volume elements, each of mass ?m. "Using the definition (which is taken from a formula in rotational energy) I=?ri2?mi and take the sum as ?m?0 (where I is the moment of inertia and ri is the perpendicular distance of the infinitely small mass' distance from the axis of rotation). In this limit the sum becomes an integral over the whole object:I = lim ?ri2?mi = ? r2 dm. To evalua... ...ne to follow the transferal of rotational energy to and from linear or other forms of energy.Angular momentum is used to explain many things, and it is has many applications. Angular momentum is also essential to our very existence, without the conservation of angular momentum we might drift into the sun or away into space. Angular momentum is a very important part of physics and physics is a very important part of angular momentum.ENDNOTESRaymond A. Serway, Physics For Scientists and Engineers, (Toronto: Saunders College Publishing, 1996) p. 325.David G. Martindale, Fundamentals of Physics: A Senrior Course, (Canada: D.C. Heath Canada Ltd., 1986) p. 320.ibidRaymond A. Serway, Physics For Scientists and Engineers, (Toronto: Saunders College Publishing, 1996) p. 325. Bibliography Blott, J. Frank, Principles of Physics: Second Edition Publisher not given: 1986 David G. Martindale., Fundamentals of Physics, Canada: D.C. Heath Canada Ltd. 1986 Olenick, P. Richard, The Mechanical Universe: Introduction to Mechanics and Heat, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1985 Serway A. Raymond, Physics For Scientists and Engineers, Toronto: Saunders College Publishing, 1996

Essay --

The meaning of contingency theory is one thing depends on other things. An effectiveness of a leader must be well fix between its style and behavior and the condition of the situation. A leadership style work in one situation might not necessary work in other situation. In contingency theory, leadership style describe as task-oriented or relationship-oriented. A relationship-oriented leader established respect, mutual trust and listen to employees needs. A task-oriented leader is motivated by task accomplishment. Next, task-oriented provide clear directions and set performance standards. The theory provides effectively matching the leader and situation. The most important elements to contingencies are the situation and followers. In contingency approach it’s surrounding with leader, followers and situation. The three main factors of contingency approach are leader member relations, position power and task structure. Task, structure, context, and environment are important to leadership style. Fiedler’s contingency model, situational theory, path-goal theory and Vroom-Jago contingency model developed the contingency model by Fiedler and his associates. The Fiedler’s contingency model was design to diagnose leadership style and situation in organization. The principle of this model is In Fiedler’s contingency model styles is task-oriented or relationship-oriented. To measure leader styles, Fielder’s developed the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale. When leaders who score high on this scale, which are relationship oriented and those who score low on this scale are describe as task oriented. A task-oriented leader builds respect, mutual trust and listens to employee’s needs. A relationship-ori... ...riented leadership and participative leadership (House & Mitchell, 1974, p. 83). Path goal theory attempts to combine the motivation principles become a theory of leadership. This makes path-goal theory unique because no other leadership approaches deal with this way. The other strength of path goal theory that is leaders clarifies the paths to the goals and helps remove any difficulties for the subordinates. The disadvantage that is path goal theory has not examined the basic motivational assumptions of the theory. Next, most leadership scholars agree that path-goal theory has not been adequately tested (Thomas, P. D. G. 1971). Path goal does not describe how a leader could use different styles to help subordinates feel assured of success. For example, path-goal theory does not explain how directive leadership increase subordinate motivation during ambiguous task.

Multi-layered security Plan Essay

Hardware and software are key pieces of any organization’s infrastructure. Components in each domain of the seven domains of the IT infrastructure may connect to a network or to the internet, and can be vulnerable to malicious attacks. Malicious attacks on hardware and software can also lead to more widespread problems. These problems can include loss of critical data or theft of financial information or intellectual property. Unprotected IT and network infrastructure assets can offer attackers and cybercriminals the widest opening to access sensitive resources. The ease of access makes assets that are connected to the internet the most common first point of attack. That means those assets should be you first line of defense. Technical failure and human error are the most common causes of unintentional downtime. Malicious attacks can occur and cause downtime in all seven domains of an IT infrastructure, but you are more likely to see them in the User, Workstation, LAN, and WAN domains. Opportunity cost is the amount of money a company losses due to downtime. The downtime can be either intentional or unintentional. Some organizations refer to opportunity cost as true downtime cost. It usually measures the loss of productivity experienced by an organization due to downtime. One of the most important things that information security professionals try to protect is their organization’s reputation and brand image. Companies that suffer from security breaches and malicious attacks that expose any assets are likely to face serious negative consequences in the public eye. In the popular usage and in the media, the term hacker often describes someone who breaks into a computer system without authorization. In most cases that means the hacker tries to take control of a remote computer through a network, or software cracking. The media and the general public also use the word hacker to describe anyone accused of using technology for terrorism, vandalism, credit card fraud, identity theft, intellectual property theft, or one of many other forms of crime. Protecting an organization’s computing resources requires that you have some idea what tools your enemy will be using. Knowing how attackers work makes it possible to defend against their attacks. Many organizations use the same tools that attackers use to help identify weaknesses they need to address and it is better to do so before an attacker does. Computer criminals and malicious individuals use a number of hardware and software tools to help carry out attacks. These tools and techniques include: Vulnerability scanners, Port scanners, Sniffers, War dialers, and Key loggers. As with most technology requirements, it is impossible to cover all of your organizational needs with a single machine or program. By the same token, haphazardly bolting together a number of unrelated solutions leaves cracks that only get bigger as time goes on. What’s required is a multi-layered, company-wide approach in which integrated products complement and reinforce each other. In multilayered Network intrusion detection Systems (NIDS) is the first level of protection against remote intruders. NIDS monitor all the communications that come in to and stop those that look suspicious. This prevents hackers from overloading your server with Denial of Server (DOS) attacks and scanning your ports for vulnerabilities. Next comes the firewall which only legitimate communications (e.g. email, password certified remote users) are permitted to go through the firewall. This prevents unauthorized users from logging into or using your network. Then comes Email Scanning, while an email is technically an authorized form of communication, it may contain objectionable content (pornography, confidential information, overly large files, etc.). This software scans the contents of the email and rejects those that violate your company policies. Internet Security similar to email, a web site is technically an authorized form of communication. However only certain web sites and downloads are appropriate for the workplace. This software uses internal criteria to limit the sites that can be visited, and scans what is downloaded. After that comes Server Level Virus Scanning which is a strong anti-virus program with updated signature files checks for viruses on every file that is saved to the server and protects against them. This is particularly important for email servers, such as those running MS Exchange. Workstation Virus Scanning: Not every file is saved on the server. Files from a number of sources – including those from infected floppy disks or downloaded off the internet – are put directly on the local workstation, which therefore requires its own Anti-Virus software. Update Communication Software: From time to time, prospective intruders and virus writers find vulnerabilities in popular types of communication software, such as Microsoft Outlook. When those holes are discovered software fixes or â€Å"patches† are made to close the vulnerabilities. It is therefore necessary to be diligent about being aware of these updates and applying them to the software. THE BEST DEFENSE: – Attentive Employees and Corporate Policies: We can implement many effective technological solutions, but the most essential piece of a secure business is a company of people who understand the various dangers and the role they play in preventing them. One regularly quoted statistic is that 80% of security breaches come from inside the company. Strong security requires strong corporate policies, clear management dedication, and good employee education about risks. 1) General This MLS plan will give a brief overview of the security strategies that will be implemented at each level of the IT infrastructure. 2) User Domain a. The usage of security awareness training to instruct employees of Richman Investments security policies b. Auditing of user activity 3) Workstation Domain a. The usage of antivirus and anti-malware programs on each user computer b. Strict access privileges to corporate data c. Deactivation of media ports 4) LAN Domain a. Utilizing network switches b. WPA 2 encryption to wireless access points c. Securing server rooms from unauthorized access 5) LAN to WAN Domain a. Closing off unused ports via a firewall to reduce the chance of unwanted network access b. Monitor inbound IP traffic, more specifically looking for inbound transmissions that show signs of malicious intent c. Run all networking hardware with up to date security patches, and operating systems 6) WAN Domain a. Enforce encryption, and VPN tunneling for remote connections b. Configure routers, and network firewalls to block Ping requests to reduce chance of Denial of Service attacks c. Enforce anti-virus scanning of email attachments i. Isolate found malicious software (virus, Trojans, etc.) when found d. Deployment of redundant internet connections to maximize availability 7) Remote Access Domain a. Establish strict user password policies, as well as lockout policies to defend against brute force attacks b. Require the use of authorization tokens, have a real-time lockout procedure if token is lost, or stolen c. Encrypt the hard drives of company computers, laptops and mobile device to prevent the loss of sensitive data

Plastic money Essay

Primary objectives:- †¢To know the perception of people towards plastic money. Secondary objectives:- †¢To know the importance of plastic money in the daily life of consumers’ W.R.T credit and debit cards. see more:plastic money †¢To study the benefits of debit card and credit cards. †¢To find out the market leader among the various banks/companies issuing credit and debit cards †¢To know the problems faced by respondents using plastic money. †¢To study the satisfaction level of consumers towards plastic money. Need of the study:- It is rightly said the plastic money is need of hour. People are using these cards on a vast scale. But after considering the review of literature it is seen the whole payment process of processing these cards is not safe and customer are facing many problems relating to plastic money. That’s why study is focused on consumer perception regarding the plastic money. Need of the study is to get to know about the comparative analysis of plastic money. There are many ethical issues and challenges in the market of plastic money which is required to be studied. This study is concerned with the Seven perks of plastic money Convenience, Budgeting technology, Reputation boosting, Corporate might, Cops and robbers, the float, openness to negotiations. Term plastic money Definition: A slang phrase for credit cards, especially when such cards used to make purchases. The â€Å"plastic† portion of this term refers to the plastic construction of credit cards, as opposed to paper and metal of currency. The â€Å"money† portion is an erroneous reference to credit cards as a form of money, which they are not. Although credit cards do facilitate transactions, because they are a liability rather than an asset, they are not money and not part of the economy’s money supply. Plastic money is a term that is used predominantly in reference to the hard plastic cards we use everyday in place of actual bank notes. They can come in many different forms such as cash cards, credit cards, debit cards, pre-paid cash cards and store cards. Cash Cards – A card that will allow you to withdraw money directly from your bank via an Authorised Teller Machine (ATM) but it will not allow the holder to purchase anything directly with it. Credit Cards – Again this card will permit the card holder to withdraw cash from an ATM, and a credit card will allow the user to purchase goods and services directly, but unlike a Cash Card the money is basically a high interest loan to the card holder, although the card holder can avoid any interest charges by paying the balance off in full each month. Debit Cards – This type of card will directly debit money from your bank account, and can directly be used to purchase goods and services. While there is no official credit facility with debit cards per se, as it is linked to the bank account the limit is the limit of what is in the account, for instance if an overdraft facility is available then the limit will be the extent of the overdraft. Pre-paid Cash Cards – As the name suggests the user will add credit to the card themselves, and will not exceed that amount. These are usually re-useable in that they can be ‘topped up’ however some cards, usually marketed as Gift Cards are not re-useable and once the credit has been spent they are disposed of. Store Cards – These are similar in concept to the Credit Card model, in that the idea is to purchase something in store and be billed for it at the end of the month. These cards can be charged at a very high interest rate and can are limited in the places they can be used, sometimes as far as only the store brand that issued it.