Teenage pregnancy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Teenage pregnancy - Assignment Example In developing countries, rampant teenage pregnancies may have long-lasting effects on the members of the community such as continuation of poverty. Unicef. (2008). Young People and Family Planning: Teenage Pregnancy. Retrieved January 27, 2015, from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unicef.org%2Fmalaysia%2FTeenage_Pregnancies_-_Overview.pdf&ei=eSHHVOG9C4HlUMvPg4gN&usg=AFQjCNEFM-dJ5DUmA4Hv3uDkywb5EVqxIw&sig2=1ufPGEIhzhF0UZ-qQA4Pfw&bvm=bv.84349003,d.d24 UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, is an organization that was set up by the United Nations to cater for children’s welfare and heath after World War II. However, even after the assistance of World War II, UNICEF continued to operate as an arm of the United Nations, dealing with children issues in member countries. My assessment: the organization relies on researches and investigations to come up with reports that are important in coming up with policies touching on children matters. The above report explicitly touches on teenage pregnancy, and it is based upon research that was carried out by The Lancet’s Maternal Survival and Women Deliver Series (2006/2007) and 2007 World Health Report. According to the report by UNICEF, teenage pregnancy can occur either through early marriages or unintended pregnancies before the age of 20. According to the report, 49% of girls in developing and least developed countries get married before they reach their 20th birthday. Most people in developing and least developed countries believe that marriage is for procreation, and thus the teenager married of will have to get pregnant. The reliability of this report based on the source is good because this is an organization that deals specifically with children issues and is in a better position to comment on children’s issues. However,

Colgate Marketing Plan analysis

Colgate Marketing Plan analysis Colgate has realised the significance of marketing plan in its 200 years of existence. This is essential towards understanding the business plans, aims, and communicating the companys horizon within the operational market. This report will focus on the marketing plan for the new Colgate toothbrush called 360 Actiflex, as part of Oral care and Health products which comprises of Tooth paste, Tooth brush, Mouth wash and dental floss. Oral care is important because research indicate that a clean mouth prevents gum disease and prevent heart disease. The plan will address the niche market of dental professional which will recommend the product to their clients and the product brand name will remain to be Colgate. Situation Analysis Colgate Palmolive has been in existence for over 200 hundred years and they operate in more than 70 countries such as Brazil, America, Latin America, Asian etc which will enable to penetrate the new market easily. This is as a result of their brand, experience, capacity in term of resources and existing structure. Product Classification The 360 Actiflex brush with flexible head for cheek and tongue cleaner is design to clean all direction, to remove bacteria from your teeth, cheek, gum and tongue for healthier mouth. Customers want toothbrush that can give them healthy clean teeth and breathe at a reasonable price. Market Summary Colgate Palmolive is aiming to increase its market share in toothbrush which is currently at 30% in 2009 by demonstrating proficiency and professionalism by serving new and existing customers. Through the RD, Colgate has been able to improve their existing products and introduce more products which meet the customers need in dental care. Market Needs According to research, customers only need two or three toothbrushes a year. 65% of customers have more than one toothbrush, 24% keep brush at work 54% have special toothbrush for travelling. Buying Behaviour Pattern Customers base their purchase of tooth brush on how comfortable it feels in their mouth, whether it is soft enough and suits their mouth size or flexible enough. Their purchase is also base on the ability of the toothbrush to remove food particles, plaque removal and gum stimulation. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Colgate maintains strong relationship with dental professional, wholesalers and retailers. Have a good communication with the consumers through media and other social resources Extensive industry knowledge and expertise Well designed training programme. Ability to convince customers to spend more though continual rebranding and growing company sales by releasing new twists on under established brands. Weaknesses Increase competition where other competitors produce the same products. The recent recession has impact on the reduction of planned expansion. Opportunities Oral care is a growing industry with the ever changing customers taste. Continuous innovation using the idea technology challenge. Threats Changes in exchange rates for foreign currencies, which may reduce the U.S. dollar value of revenue, receive from oversea market sales. Political or economic instability or changing macroeconomic conditions in our major markets, Lack of well-established or reliable legal systems in certain areas where the Company operates, Objective Setting Colgate by introducing the 360 Actiflex toothbrush is aiming to achieve the following objectives: To retain the 20% existing loyal customers To increase current awareness level of brand from 5% to 15% in 12 months through integrated campaign of advertising, sales promotion and sponsorship. To acquire more customers by targeting the luxury segments of the market. Strategy Development The objective of Colgate Palmolive is to position the company as continuous market leader of oral care and Heath care, serving domestic market as well as international market. To enter the market Colgate will start with our dental professionals whom we have collaboration with in our existing various areas of operation. The company will make small adaptation upon on this product which will permit to save cost. There will be a launch of the product in selected dental professionals where the demonstration of how the product is use will be provided. Tactics As part of tactic the large advertising campaigns will be launched through promotion activities which will include advertising by posters, television, outdoor adverts, online adverts. B: CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE MARKETING PLAN, IN PARTICULAR ITS MARKETING ENVIRONMENT. Marketing environment entails the players and powers outside the marketing that affect management steadiness to build and sustain effective relationships with target customers. Prosperous Companies mostly identify the vital importance of continuously observing and adapting to the ever-changing environment. The marketing environment of a company can be categorised into two areas this include macro environment and micro environment, the macro environment include the main actors of the company involved in producing, distributing, and promoting the offering. The marketing environment analysis can provide insight of online and offline competitive environments. Using Five Forces Model, Porter explains that in any industry there are five forces that influence what happens within the industry, these five forces combine to make up the business environment. By studying the structure of dynamics between these forces, the company can discover opportunities for improving the marketing strategies. When developing company marketing plan which include the marketing, this can not be completely ruled out strategies Colgate Palmolive can identify the forces as: The Threat of new entrants There has been n o major new entrant to the industry for the past few years leaving the giant manufacturer of consumer goods like Colgate and others to dominate the scene. However, no major changes appear to be existing barriers to entry such as the economies of scale already benefited by the Colgate as a player who have been in the business for long. As a result of difficult trading conditions in the environment, capital requirements and integration costs are high due to the downturn in the increase interest rates rises. Power of supplier Tighter credit markets may lead to business disruptions for certain of the suppliers, contract manufacturers or trade customers which could, in turn, adversely impact colgate business. Even though this look impossible as the supplier will not want to loss Colgate business because of its global presence worldwide, this cannot be totally ruled out. Competitive Rivalry Significant competition in the industry could affect the business, for instance the rigorous competition around the world, especially from the bigger multinational consumer product companies who have greater resources than Colgate. The ability to compete depends on the strength of our brands and on our ability to protect our patent, trademark and trade dress rights and to defend against related challenges brought by competitors. A failure to compete effectively could adversely affect the growth and profitability of the company Limitation of the Five forces method The limitation of this method is the interaction of the forces with each other especially in relation to the cosmetic life cycle which affect the competitive forces significantly. Media/IT Interference at Colgate Palm Olive In 200 years of existence, information technology and media has assisted to develop a vibrant organization at Colgate. As the trend in IT changes over the years, it has also been reflected in every operations the organization. Starting with the ancient IBM system units of early 1950s to the first consumer computers of 1977 (Apple I, II III), Colgate has grown alongside to compliment the transition with time. In the modern era, parts of the positive impacts can be seen in bulletin board services, computer conferencing, computer output on microfilm, communication network, decision support systems, Electronic mail (e-mail), Electronic spread sheet, Telex, video chat, teleconferencing and the likes has been a major contribution of IT and media to the industry. Not to mention the advanced electronic instrumentation for packaging and transportation that we could notice at every stage of production. Marketing to a layman can now be found on twitter, facebook, youtube, text messaging, google, eposters and the likes. On a negative side, insecurity of data and records has been a major setback of modern IT and media in marketing. The major fear here lies in the future of the system whether or not it still pose similar advantages or negative significance. All the aforementioned means of marketing in the modern era has lots of impacts both positively and negatively: Positive Impacts of Media/IT Marketing speed and Convenience Modern IT/media has posed lots of advantages on how fast information can be disseminated. A SATA system has a data transfer rate of 300Mb/s (Wisegeek 2011). It indicates that a huge data of the size of a disc could be communicated to a large set of audience in less than one second. Marketing is now possible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Customers can now bridge the queuing problems at stores (Hollensen 2007). Cheaper dissemination routes Because of easy means of data flow, the cost of distribution has fallen considerably over time. It cots as low as 50 pence to fax a page whereas millions of pages will sent across the internet/media at almost a free distribution cost. Apart from the fact that the whole world receives the information at once and at the same quality, the impacts are the same with the impression expressed. Moreover, it is possible to search for the lowest price available for brands (Hollensen 2007). Online financial services are also possible through these means. Effective communication Media and IT has made it possible to decide on target audience, detailed information like product, availability, and pricing are provided for the people. Through the use of multimedia, the customers could have a better understanding of their needs by for example depicting the interior decorations or by showing the beauty of housing estates. Means of reducing workloads Marketing requires lots of workloads which have been reduced by adopting information technology. IT supports the full range of organizational functions and processes that delivers products and services to customers and other key stakeholders (Chaffey et al. 2000). Different functional parts of the organization can be corporately glued with the aid of this tool. Negative Impacts of Media/IT Despite the raging benefits enjoyed by the organizations using IT/Media, the following fears are yet to be addressed: Authentication Identity problem is still yet a major problem of modern marketing. The use of passwords as a safe key has been compounded by the hacking programmers. Loop holes have been created in lots of marketing links. This has posed a challenge to the future of e-marketing/media communication systems. Spam Disease Spam diseases in marketing involves filtering off of positive information from the direct sender by hackers or computer viruses Data Saturation Crashing marketing There is tendency for marketing crash of similar products from different manufacturers. Sometimes we found it difficult identifying the differences in the advertisement from similar companies. Insecurity channels Crackers often capture details rendering the marketing system unsafe for customers. Many fears have been expressed by customers on crackers capturing the credit/debit card details. This is still a threat to be investigated in future of information technology and media. References S Hollensen (2007) Global Marketing A decision-oriented approach, fourth edition pp. 499-506. Wisegeek (2011) A website on data transfer rate, [online], Available at www.wisegeek.com/what-is-data-transfer-rate.htm Assessed: 29 Mar. 11

How Chaucer Combines Realism and Convention through the Franklin :: essays research papers

How does Chaucer combine realism and convention through the character and words of the Franklin? The Franklin character is portrayed as a convention primarily by being a Franklin a nameless type. Chaucer’s audience is aware of the typical attributes of a Franklin so it is then up to Chaucer to further the character by incorporating realism through aspects of his personality. Therefore giving the reader a connection with the character and make them appreciate him more as a person. In the prologue of the Franklin’s tale Chaucer makes his Franklin and individual, by showing his insecurity as a citizen in the shadow of the aristocracy, shown in his disdainful treatment and interruption of the squire. â€Å"’In faith, Squier, thow hast thee wel yquit And gentilly. I preise wel thy wit,’ Quod the Frankeleyn, ‘considerin thy yowthe’† His patronising attitude reveals his insecurity portraying him as a realistic character but also adding to the conventional Franklin image. A Franklin being a ‘freeman’ he was rich and would have held a good position owning his own land, but he would never be at the same level as the noble classes and there would have been the obvious social climb and striving for further power Chaucer’s audience would have probably observed amongst Franklin’s. We see how the Franklin is striving for a better position for his own family incorporating the convention of the social climb and the realism of his family life. â€Å"I have a sone, and by the Trinitee, I had levere than twenty pound worth lond Though it right now were fallen in myn hond, He were a man of swich discrecioun As that ye been.† Through other more specific attributes of the Franklin realism is conveyed such as the outstanding generosity and hospitality of the man and his wide learning and travelling. Chaucer further combines realism and convention in the tale the Franklin tells. At first it appears a very conventional unoriginal tale of courtly love, stolen from a Breton Lay, such was the style at the time to give your own twist on an existing story rather than make your own. It is full of stereotypical images you’d expect from a courtly love story. With the setting of a lady and a knight in the garden and then the characters themselves starting off as being solely types of the knight, lady and squire and how these characters all stay within their roles. The knight leaves the lady to go on a quest.

The Human Resource Management

This paper is written from the perspective that Human Resource Management (HRM) practices are continually evolving to meet the changes of dynamic work environments. New technologies, increasingly rapid exchanges of information, social paradigm shifts and the restructuring of family systems contribute heavily to the need to find and apply methods of HRM that meet the needs of industry, workers and consumers. To do so effectively, vision and creativity are required in addition to on-going awareness of the bottom line. At the opening of the 20th century, the majority of jobs in America were held in two areas, agriculture and industry. Population distribution tables for that time demonstrate that most of the nation inhabited rural areas rather than urban areas. This continued to be the trend up until WWII, when men left the country to fight and women left rural America to fill factory jobs as their contribution to the war effort. This movement was the beginning of nationwide workplace and societal changes that have accelerated during the last half of the 20th century. The move from rural to suburban environments changed the way we did business as a nation. Where extended families resided in and supported each other in culturally defined rural settings, nuclear families found themselves alone in homogenous neighborhoods. (1) This created a demand for goods and services that were formerly provided by extended family and community members, opening up new markets and creating jobs. It also created the need to recognize the management of workers as a separate and formal discipline. As we move into the 21st century we can trace our nations† business growth over the last 100 years. We moved from an agrarian base to an industrial one. By the mid-50s† the majority of jobs were found in factories. Manufacturing suffered heavy blows during the late 60†³s and early seventies and was displaced by the service industry. With the closing of the 20th century those services have become increasingly technological. Surviving those changes requires adaptation, not only in the retooling of physical plants and the retraining workers, but also in the way we manage those workers. Some feel that there appears to be an underlying theme in books and papers on the subject of HRM, that there is only one correct way to manage people. (2) Maslow on Management offers a much different approach, demonstrating conclusively that one size does not fit all; i.e., that different people need to be managed differently. HMR models operating on the assumption that there is a single right way to manage people are using workplace criteria that are quickly becoming a thing of the past. The â€Å"one way† model views people working for an organization as employees who work full time and are solely dependent on that organization for their livelihood and their careers. These employees generally were viewed as subordinates with limited or very narrow skill sets. (3) These images of the worker may have been valid several decades ago. However, today every one of these images has become insupportable. While the majority of people working for an organization may be classified as employees, a very large and steadily growing minority – by working for the organization – no longer work as employees, but instead as outsource contractors. The concept of subordinate positions is fading as well, even in those areas that are considered fairly low level. As technology becomes increasingly more complex special knowledge is required in all operations. Subordinates, increasing their skill sets, become associates. The secretary, with knowledge of specialized software, becomes the Administrative Assistant. In order for the organization to run smoothly, the individual who does his job well, often has more knowledge about his job than his boss. (4) For example, the vice president of marketing may know a great deal about selling, but nothing about market research, pricing, packaging, service, or sales forecasting. Workers in these positions may report to the vice president, but are often experts in their own areas. Formerly, lower technological expectations and a firmly established hierarchy allowed general managers to delegate narrowly defined personnel responsibilities to those functioning as specialists. Today however, such practices would be inefficient to the point of being considered static, and must be replaced. To fail to do so would be to ignore and fail to address the many unprecedented pressures that demand a comprehensive and more strategic view in relation to the organizations† human resources. From the view point of General Management, what does the organization need? The General Mangement picture of HRM is viewed from a global perspective, as demonstrated by a survey of Fortune 500 CEOs in 1989. The results of that survey determined that effective management of Human Resources must address corporate needs in the eight following areas: 1. Increasing international competition makes the need for greatly improved human production mandatory. The crisis experienced in both the automobile and steel industries serve as clear illustrations. Foreign management practices, particularly Japanese management models, are being used to guide developing HRM techniques, especially those that seem to increase employee commitment while providing companies with a long term source of workers with necessary competencies and skills. 2. As organizations increase in size and complexity layer upon layer of management has resulted in expensive, but not particularly effective, bureaucracies. Multiple layers of management also serve to isolate workers from the competitive environment in which organizations operate as well as company policy makers. It†s hoped that a reduction of middle management layering will put workers closer to the competitive environment, fostering commitment to the organization as well as sharpening the competitive edge. Multinational companies have additional challenges in managing human resources, and need to adapt policies to work within diverse cultures and vastly different social values. 3. Some companies may face declining markets or slower growth, handicapping the organizations† ability to offer advancement opportunities and job security. How then to attract and retrain a competent and highly skilled work force? 4. Greater government involvement in human resource practices generates a need to re-examine HRM policies and mandates the development of new policies. For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act forced the revision of HRM policies in companies across the nation. 5. America†s workforce has become increasingly more educated making it necessary to rethink assumptions about employee capabilities and the delegation of responsibilities. Under utilization of employee talent is a major cause of workforce turnover. 6. Expectations and the values of the workforce are changing, particularly those values and expectations relative to authority. This fosters a need to reexamine how much involvement and influence workers should be given. Means of voicing employee concerns and addressing those concerns with due process need to be provided. 7. As workers become more concerned with life and career satisfaction corporations are revisiting traditional career paths and seeking more alternative career paths that take into consideration employee lifestyle needs. 8. Demographic shifts in the workforce, particularly the infusion of women and minorities into organizations, are causing corporations to reexamine all policies, practices and values that impact the treatment, responsibilities, and advancement of these groups. (5) How do universal General Management issues affect HRM departments and practices? While narrower in scope than those concerns voiced by General Management, impact areas identified by HRM professionals closely mirrored major corporate needs identified by General Managers. Human Resource professionals, in an effort to meet the needs of both worker and organization, have examined ways to ensure a desired working environment while increasing productivity. In the early 1990s, the advisory board of the Commerce Clearing House were asked to identify the issues that they felt would shape the role of human resource functions in the next decade. Commerce Clearing House advisory board members saw four main HRM areas where current issues would influence the role of the human resource function in the near future: compensation; communication and personnel practices; employment relations; and Equal Employment Opprtunity requirments. (6) Compensation issues focused on the diversity of worker needs, pay-for-performance plans, and the regulation of employee benefit plans. Flexibility and adaptability in HRM practices are primary keys in addressing worker needs. Job sharing, staggered scheduling and flex time are some of the outcomes generated by creative approaches to HRM practices. Pay-for-performance plans hold the allure of rewarding productivity while providing monetary motivation. Successful implementation of such practices, however, require effective performance evaluations. To attempt such compensation without valid, reliable, and standard assessment instruments is to court litigation. Fairness is a national concern strongly affecting human resource managers. Personnell plansfocused soley on organizational needs must be abandoned to benefit workers and organizations alike. One example is the growing social phenomena of two career couples. As the numbers increase nepotism policies must be reexamined. Managing change and preparing people for change also require HRM professionals to rethink policy. New demands for an increase in functions such as retraining evolve as workers move through change. Training and professional development are crucial in all areas of operation. Even the lowest clerk needs to stay abreast of the latest innovations brought on by technical advancement. The march of technology, however, not only changes jobs, it makes some of them redundant or obsolete. In an era of company reconfiguration it becomes apparent that layoffs and divestirtures will occur when retraining isn't an option. Outplacement policies must be considered and developed in preparation of the need. HRM professionals also understand the need for the development of effective HR auditing instruments to measure employee perceptions of management fairness and the climate for effective communication within the company. The information obtained by employee attitude surveys can be greatly beneficial to supervisors, but only if they've been trained to use it. (7) The legal environment of personnell management is many fingered and quite comprehensive. In addition to regulations stemming from the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), passed in 1970, HRM is greatly affected by the broad umbrella of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) regulation. As well as protecting workers form discrimination based on race, color, or creed, EEO serves workers in many other areas. Age discrimination also falls under this umbrella. With an increasing number of age discrimination suits, organizations need to develp a sensitvity to age issues and policy specific to older employees. A recent off shoot of EEO is the American with Disablities Act (ADA). ADA has created a need for new policies and procedures in accommidating employees with handicaps and disabilities. The emerging legal view that Acquired Immune Deficiancy Syndrome (AIDS) is a handicap brings policy questions about AIDS testing to the forefront. There is great potential for conflict in providing for the needs of other employees and creates an HRM channel that must be carefully navigated. Benefit plans that are regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) require special attention. Companies must be prepared to provide resources that not only offer such plans but also impeccably manage those employee benefit plans. Failure to do so will lead to subsequent suits by employees challenging plans that are out of compliance with ERISA disclosure, reporting and fiduciary standards are problematic. Governemnt regulation is also partly responsible for shifting attention from union group representation to regulations and policies that emphasize the rights of individual employees. It is mandatory that this factor be taken into consideration in personnel planning and policy making. The role of unions as bargaining units is on the decline and will continue to diminish as bargaining relationships become increasingly stable. This translates to decreased strike activity and fewer actions filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). While that is a positive outcome the trade-off must be recognized, prepared and accounted for. While businesses will see fewer strikes, they can expect to see increasing numbers of employment-at-will and wrongful discharge suits. An additional considertion affects employers who contract temporary employees. This practice is experiencing an increasing number of suits by temporary employees alleging unlawful activity. This surely influences staffing policy decisions. It should come as no surprise that such pressures have created the need for a greater emphasis on the human aspect of business. With something so seemingly obvious the qustion is why hasn't this human aspect been addressed before? It may be due, in part, to the tendency to educate, develop, and train managers to fixate on analytical and technical aspects while assuming that â€Å"business as usual† in dealing with employees was sufficient to promote productivity. So why are companies now hoping to find solutions to business problems in the human side of enterprise? The answer lies in part to growing societal pressures. Concern over the condition of blue-color jobs in the 1930s, as well as civil rights and equal opportunity legislation in the 1960s and 1970s, has paved the way to revamping HRM policies to recognize and respond to shifting social values. More simply put, other approaches to improve employee productivity and organizational effectiveness haven†t worked. (9) The area of single most impact on worker performance lies outside of the work environment. Family needs are the primary cause of absenteeism, tardiness, and lower productivity. (9) The here are several factors creating this phenomena. First there is the steady flow of women into the work place. In 1970, 20.2% of women worked outside the home. That figure grew to 73.8% in 1995. The increase in two career couples has assisted families in reaching financial stability and filled a need for personal satisfaction. It has also, however, created a void in care giving that was traditionally a woman†s role. Another major cause of family issues impact is the increasing number of single parent homes. Single parent homes have grown from 12% in 1970 to 49.8 % in 1995. (10) As the sole burden of child rearing is placed on a worker, childcare arrangements, school obligations, and childhood illnesses are far more likely to interfere with attendance and productivity. Another social phenomenon, which strains workers and, in turn, disrupts the workplace, is increasing longevity. As the population grows older the phenomena of living longer allows workers the luxury of postponing marriage and having children. It†s relatively common today for couples to postpone their first child until their late thirties or early forties, a time formerly used for the preparation of an empty nest. Instead of retiring to grandparenthood these later in life parents are dealing with teenagers and how to get them through college. A large percentage of the workforce now finds itself in the position of not only having children to care for, but elderly parents as well. Add to the list of family pressures the moral and financial obligation workers must contend with in providing for the wellbeing of two generations. The American worker is now faced with a double whammy in the attempt to meet family needs. When looking at the increasing longevity of the workforce, one must consider that piece of the big picture which has to do with the rate that people retire. It†s estimated that within the next twenty to thirty years the retirement age in developed countries will, by necessity, move up to seventy-nine or so. Seventy-nine, in terms of health and life expectancy, correlates with the age of sixty-five and the health and life expectancies of 1936, when the United States, the last western country to do so, adopted a national retirement plan (Social Security). (11) As America continues to gray, a significant percentage of the work force will develop unprecedented needs that are geriatric in nature, impacting worker expectations of benefit packages. The question facing business in the future is determining what that age and experience are worth in terms of monetary compensation and benefits. This is a dilemma currently being faced by the Armed Forces, with many branches finding themselves to be top heavy with senior officers. The funding resources dedicated to personnel are not distributed in a fashion that attracts and retains military members, seriously jeopardizing the productivity of military organizations. (12) This is relevant in that many private organizations as well as public and government agencies are finding themselves in the same position. Retirement Incentive bonuses have become common place and are a primary tool used by organizations to cull the workforce. Will this remain a viable means of thinning an aging workforce? In addition to family pressures, and salary and benefits needs, there is a growing concern throughout the nation†s work force concerning quality of life. While benefits and compensation are key to employee satisfaction, and therefore productivity, a strong value is placed on the emotional satisfaction one finds professionally. These emotional perks come out of all areas, and are as solid as additional training and added responsibility or as intangible as recognition, appreciation, and creativity. (13) Business must take into account the social implications of such information, as it becomes essential to address staff needs and to determine successful strategies that should surround any HRM policy. The management of human resources centers on a single basic function of the management process: staffing. The HRM professional is charged with matching the right person to the job. While recruitment is an exacting area of HRM, a more significant piece of employee productivity lies in motivation. Motivation methods are key to fashoning successful HRM models. Motivation is a deceptively simple concept but probably one of the most complex components of human resource management. Motivation is simple in terms of human behavior. People are basically motivated or driven to behave in ways that they find rewarding. So the task seems easy; just find out what they want and hold it out as a possible reward or incentive. It becomes complex when trying to find a universal incentive in a very diverse workforce. What has value to worker A may be meaningless to worker B. And what has value at one point in time may become insignificant at another. For example, everyone has a need to eat. A big steak dinner, as an incentive to succesful completion of a task, is motivation – as long as your hungry! Had you just eaten, a steak dinner would hold no interest . An additional factor in the motivation equation has to do with the reality of obtaining the reward. Telling a person that they will be promoted to sales manager if sales in that jurisdiction increase is empty if that task is percevied as virtually inpossible. Two conditions must be met for motivation to occur, according to Vroom's expectancy theory of motivation. First the value of the particular outcome (such as recieving a promotion) is very high for the person and, secondly, the person feels that there is a reasonably good chance of accomplishing the task at hand and obtaining the outcome. This is the process of motivation. (14) Theories of motivation center on a a single basic question: what do people want? Abraham Maslow states that humans have five basic categories of need; physiological, safety, social, ego, and self-actualization. These needs have been arranged in order of there importance to humans. When the basic physiological needs, food, drink, etc., are met, they no longer serve as motivation. Instead, those urges toward safety, i.e., protection and security, become the driving force. Human beings move up this needs ladder as basic needs are met. Frederick Herzberg has divided Maslow's hierarchy into two planes, the lower meeting physiological, safety and social needs, and the higher meeting those needs surrounding ego and self actualization. Herzberg believes that the best motivation lies in satisfying those higher level needs. Based on his studies, Herzberg believes that factors that satisfy lower level needs, which he identifies as hygiene factors, are markedly different from those, reffered to as motivators, that satisfy higher level needs. Herzberg states that if hygeine factors are inadequate workers will become disgruntled, but once satisfied there is no incentive to perform. Therefore, hygiene factors are necesary for preventing dissatisfaction, but very inefficient in encouraging motivation. Job content, however is the source of motivating factors. Opportunities for achievement, recognition, responsibility, and more challenging jobs motivate employees. Motivating factors work because they appeal to higher level needs that are never completly satisfied. According to Herzberg, the best way to motivate employees is to build challenge and opportunities for achievement into their jobs. Herzberg reffers to this method of applying his theory as job enrichment. Basically, job enrichment consists of building motivators like opportunity for achievment into the job by making it more interesting and challenging.

The Whipping Boy

THE WHIPPING BOY This is an adventures story about friendship and villains . Jemmy, the whipping boy, has to live an unfortunate life in the castle . he is a stand-in for any discipline the prince is given . The prince, prince brat, is the most horribly behaved boy in the kingdom! So as you can see, Jemmy, the whipping boy, is given a lot of whippings! Not only was Jemmy physically abused, he was emotionally and verbally abused by the prince. Then, one day prince brat got tired of being told what to do! So he asked Jemmy to run away with him, Jemmy agrees. Deep in the forest they got kidnapped by two outlaws! They manage to escape and hitch a ride with a potato man. They are hunted down and recaptured, but yet again they were able to escape. They traveled through the sewers and hope to find third way home. Prince brat is cruel and mean. He enjoyed watching Jemmy get whipped. Most of his misbehavior was so that Jemmy could get whipped. A whipping boy, according to prince brat, is supposed to bawl and cry, but Jemmy never did, he was very strong and held in his screams. Never did a tear come out. While they were captured, the prince slowly stared realizing the negative effects of his behavior, by seeing how good of a person Jemmy was, it got him to look within himself and search for his qualities. In one instance, Jemmy reached out and gave the prince’s sleeve a tug, and the prince reached out and grabbed his hand. Because they had this common enemy, they had to band together. This showed the prince the meaning of friendship. Prince brat is a whole new person! Sweet and kind. Now all the kingdom loves him for being nicer and kinder. Now they have a new bond, and prince brat has a best friend

Tree Leaf Abscission and Cellular Senescence

Tree Leaf Abscission and Cellular Senescence Leaf abscission occurs at the end of annual plant senescence which causes the tree to achieve winter dormancy. Abscission The word abscission in biological terms means shedding of various parts of an organism. The noun is of Latin origin and was first used in 15th century English as a word to describe the act or process of cutting off. Abscission, in botanical terms, most commonly describes the process by which a plant drops one or more of its parts. This shedding or dropping process includes spent flowers, secondary twigs, ripe fruits and seeds and, for the sake of this discussion, a leaf. When leaves fulfill their summer duty of producing food and growth regulators, a process of shutting down and sealing off the leaf begins. The leaf is connected to a tree via its petiole and the twig-to-leaf connection is called the abscission zone. The connective tissue cells in this zone specifically grow to be easily broken apart when the sealing process begins and have a built-in weak point which allows for proper shedding. Most deciduous (means falling in Latin) plants (including hardwood trees) drop their leaves by abscission before winter, while evergreen plants (including coniferous trees) continuously abscise their leaves. Fall leaf abscission is thought to be caused by a reduction of chlorophyll due to shortened hours of sunlight. The zone connective layer begins to harden and blocks the transport of nutrients between the tree and leaf. Once the abscission zone has been blocked, a tear line forms and the leaf is blown away or falls off. A protective layer seals the wound, preventing water evaporating and bugs getting in. Senescence Interestingly, abscission is the very last step in the process of cellular senescence of deciduous plant/tree leaves. Senescence is a naturally designed process of the aging of certain cells that takes place in a series of events that prepares a tree for dormancy. Abscission can also occur in trees outside of autumn shedding and dormancy. Leaves of plants can abscise as a means of plant defense. Some examples of this are: dropping of insect-damaged and diseased leaves for water conservation; leaf fall after biotic and abiotic tree stresses including chemical contact, excessive sunlight, and heat; increased contact with plant growth hormones.

DMB essays

DMB essays Imagine standing on a stage, overlooking 70 tiered rows in what is possibly the most beautiful amphitheater in the world. As Dave Matthews and his fellow band mates walk on stage, the crowd cheers wildly. You are at Red Rocks and the scene is set for the Dave Matthews Band. Red Rocks Amphitheater is located in Morrison, Colorado, 15 miles west of Denver. It provides seating for 9600, and has some of the best acoustics found anywhere on Earth. Since 1941 it has been home to many concerts and performers and is the perfect backdrop for a live performance. Recorded on August 15, 1995, "Live At Red Rocks 8.15.95" was created at the height of the bands musical talent and at the bottom step of their climb to fame. It was shows like this that left fans mesmerized by the funky, jazz-infused riffs that the band played. It is this kind of energetic and intimate live music that keeps the fans coming back. The members of the Dave Matthews Band (or DMB for short) are each very unique, especially i n the instruments that they play. This is what makes the band and its music really work. Dave Matthews provides lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Boyd Tinsley plays the violin, Stefan Lessard is on bass guitar, Leroi Moore blows the woodwinds, and Carter Beauford plays the drums. Matthews is a very talented musician. He provides very unique singing styles and an abstract, awkward ability to play the guitar. Tinsley plays the violin like no other. It is odd to find a band with a violin, but his talent forces it to work. Lessard, who joined the band when he was only 16, provides funky bass lines that fill in the empty spots. Leroi Moore plays flute, saxophone, and clarinet which mixed with modern instruments, create an odd combination of sounds, finally Carter Beauford, known for his excellent improvisational skills and perfect fill-ins, lights up the drums with a talent that few have. These five musicians joined together on the night of August 15,...