CASE MGT - 491 STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Essay

CASE MGT - 491 STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT - Essay Example This paper will discuss a new strategic human resource management plan for a middle size firm. The paper will discuss the new HR plan from the point of view of a Chief executive officer. The new plan will be aimed at ensuring the HRM department meets its strategic goals. The HRM will be expected to come up with minimum requirements for every position in the organization. The minimum requirements will be dictated by the roles and responsibilities for each role. This information will enable the HRM decide if the person in charge of a post is worth it. It will also be important during the hiring process since it will guide the hiring team on which candidate to choose. After coming up with the minimum requirements for each post, the HRM will develop a skills inventory which will gauge the worthiness of the current employees. The HRM department in close cooperation with the overall management will discuss the number of employees that the organization requires in each department. This will be guided by the trends in demand and supply as well as the current and future objectives of the organization. Once the number is determined, a hiring or firing plan will be established. Firing /retrenchment and hiring exercises will be based on department requirements and the qualifications of each employee/interviewee. Employee job satisfaction is important since it increases employee retention (Lawler & Boudreau, 2009). Factors such as technologies and organization cultures contribute in determining the level of employee job satisfaction. The company will invest in technologies proposed by the HRM. Moreover, the company will focus on creating a culture that values the employees. A culture of valuing employees increases productivity, invention and employee retention. All employees will be treated equally regardless of their diversities (Abang & Abang , 2009. The long-term goals of the organization will be used to determine the labor demands

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway Essay Example for Free

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway Essay 1. A Clean Well-Lighted Place 2. In the short story A Clean Well-Lighted Place written by Ernest Hemingway in 1933, there are three characters that are defined by light.   First there is the elderly gentleman who is a customer in the bar.   He regularly comes to the bar to get drunk while he sits in the shadows of the leaves of a tree.   This man has lived a long life and has known much pain.   In fact he has known enough pain that he has tried to commit suicide. The two waiters inside the cafe knew that the old man was a little drunk, and while he was a good client they knew that if he became too drunk he would leave without paying, so they kept watch on him. Last week he tried to commit suicide, one waiter said. (Hemingway)   He drinks to dull his pain of loss and pain.   The shadows are symbolic of all of his bead memories clumped together and the leaves that through tiny shadows to hide him are specific memories.   Even though he wraps himself in the darkness, he must be close to the light in order to survive.   The light, or goodness, gives him hope to carry on in a life that he cannot even successfully leave. The next character is the young waiter who must have the light.   He has not lived long, has a wife, and children.   Because his life seems to be exactly where it should be things are good and that is represented by the clean light of the bar.   Because of his youth, there has not been time for messes or losses.   He fears the shadows that shroud the elderly man because he sees them as foreshadows of his own life that he does not want to face. Hell stay all night, he said to his colleague. Im sleepy now. I never get into bed before three oclock. He should have killed himself last week. (Hemingway) The last is the older waiter.   This man has experienced enough life that he, like the elderly gentleman, prefers the dark.   He sees the light as only something to illuminate the defects in life.   The light is very bright and pleasant but the bar is unpolished, the waiter. said. (Hemingway)   This way feels that understands that he has more in common with the elderly man in the shadows, but he longs to be back in the light. I am of those who like to stay late at the cafe, the older waiter said. With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night. (Hemingway) 3. Hemingway uses A Clean Well-Lighted Place to ponder the meaning of life.   Life is lived and through the journey, individuals know the joy which leave them with a lack of understanding of others like the young waiter and the elderly man.   You should have killed yourself last week, he said to the deaf man. The old man motioned with his finger. (Hemingway) Only those who are satisfied with life should be around him.   Money is not what makes people happy. The elderly man has money, but still he tries unsuccessfully to committee suicide.   Hemingway was well into his career at this time and had plenty of money yet he was not happy.   He adds the quick glimpse of the girl and the soldier who brave the fear of getting caught for the sake of love or the physical part of love to show that there are things that are meaningful in life that are worth the risk.   Yet in the end people are left with their shadows of memories that are so painful that they either desire for nothing but to turn back to the light part of their lives or to desire to leave life.

Godhead :: social issues

Godhead On May 20, 325 AD the world was forever changed. Emperor Constantine called a meeting of the 318 Bishops at Nicea and on that day they instituted one of the greatest flaws of American religion today. This is the doctrine of the Trinity, suggesting the view of the Oneness doctrine, believing on one God and His name being Jesus, is no longer correct. The Trinity doctrine cannot be proven by simply reading the scriptures; it has to be described and explained in detail, before you can begin to see the Trinitarian view. The Trinity doctrine is a doctrine of inference, not a doctrine of fact. If you ever listen or take part in a Oneness verses Trinity debate you will find that as long as they are quoting scriptures the Trinity looses ground. Hence, the doctrine of the Trinity must be â€Å"injected† into the scriptures to prove itself. One man once said â€Å"The Trinity has to be piped into Scripture before it can be piped out.† The best example is: everyone knows you can’t get milk from cotton. But, if you take the cotton and soak it in milk first then you can squeeze the milk from the cotton. In the same sense the Trinity doctrine is like this. Before you can begin to see the Trinity doctrine, someone has to tell you about it and then go to scripture to prove it as fact. By just reading the scriptures first, no one will ever find the Trinity represented, for the scriptures prove the Oneness of Jesus Christ all through the Bible. I do not understand how the doctrine of the Trinity can get around the unity of the Old Testament and New Testament stating the One God facts. Deuteronomy 6:4(NKJV) states: â€Å"Here, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:†. That sums up the doctrine of the Oneness. But, one instance will not satisfy. Here are just a few of the misconceptions of the Trinity Doctrine that cause it to be in fault: First: â€Å"Elohim† â€Å"Elohim†, meaning "God", is sometimes confused to show the plurality of the Godhead, this is not a correct interpretation. In the Hebrew words are plural in construction but singular in the way that they are used. Also the Hebrew often used plural forms to show majesty or greatness of one person or deity. Even though these are plural words, to say they represent a multiplicity in the Godhead would be wrong.

Prejudice and Ethics in Counselling Essay

If a counsellor finds herself drifting into judgemental thoughts upon listening to a client describe a lifestyle in which she eats all day, while attempting to lose weight, it will be extremely difficult for me to keep the results of my emotional response to this judgemental attitude from reflecting in my voice and choice of words in working with the client. Clients may be dysfunctional, but they aren’t emotionally insensitive or unintelligent, and are very likely to hear the implied feelings of the therapist. Obviously, this will do little to establish or maintain the kind of trust necessary for effective counselling. I need to recognise this more in myself. I am sure that intellectually I try to have no prejudices; however I know that I do because I can tell by the tone of my voice or the little voice that may appear in my head. I know that I am hypocritical in several of these instances. For example, I may think that that unemployed people are lazy, and that fat people are lazy too, when I have been unemployed and not looking for work. Even though I don’t often think in prejudicial terms I can do if under pressure and stressed, and looking for someone to blame. Therapists are necessarily aware of and respect cultural, individual, and role differences, including those based on age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socio-economic status and consider these factors when working with members of such groups. Therapists try to eliminate the effect on their work of biases based on those factors, and they do not knowingly participate in or condone activities of others based upon such prejudices. Because of the tendency to generalize, rather than be specific, it is quite possible to encounter therapists who simply don’t see obesity as a disability, and therefore excuse themselves, internally, from their prejudice in this area, rationalizing that the person is not disabled, but simply lazy. There are therapists who within the privacy of their own thoughts, may feel the same way about alcoholics or drug addicts. These therapists may realize that their prejudice is counter-productive to the therapeutic process, and may attempt to avoid voicing their feelings around other therapists or in the presence of their clients, but while they may succeed in not overtly expressing these feelings in front of their clients, they are usually unable to keep from letting them slip in the presence of their friends. If they are lucky, they will receive productive feedback, who may assist them in overcoming their own prejudices. This, in fact, is the idea behind supervision in the therapeutic process, wherein a therapist is monitored and overseen by another therapist who has more experience. This provides the opportunity for the therapist to be made aware of any limitations being imposed on the therapeutic process due to prejudicial attitudes, judgements, lack of education with regard to a particular illness, and many other areas. Realistically not all therapists receive the benefits of adequate supervision, and it is quite possible to find those that are limited by the prejudices with which they, knowingly or unknowingly, view the world, of which their clients form a part. Specifically addressing areas: Religious Affiliation Many of those who seek counselling have had atypical experiences in their upbringing. This often leads them into exploring areas of belief which most people with a more conventional upbringing would never consider appropriate, even if they were exposed to the opportunity. One example is Wicca which many people, out of ignorance, associate with devil-worship or something equivalent. If a counsellor is a devout Christian, with no exposure to the truth behind various forms of paganism, and if the client’s belief in these things comes up in the course of therapy, it may be very difficult for the therapist to resist a little preaching or proselytizing, or to avoid associating the client’s religious beliefs with their coincidentally ‘different’, and likely dysfunctional lifestyle. Obviously, if the client gets a sense of this, they are likely to shut down and be less forthcoming with their thoughts and feelings. Class This comes under the heading of ‘socio-economic status’. There are some therapists who firmly believe in ‘dressing down’ when working with clients from a disadvantaged socio-economic background. This doesn’t mean looking sloppy or wearing torn jeans, but just dressing simply as in trousers and a t-shirt, rather than a suit. While there is some truth to the value of not unnecessarily emphasizing a visual difference between the therapist and the client there are other therapists who insist that they should dress according to status. I feel that a therapist should dress in whatever way makes them feel most comfortable, since it is this feeling of being comfortable that the client will notice. Of course, there are other ways in which the therapist can err in contrasting their social status with that of the client. The client may get them to talking about themselves, and the therapist may let it slip that they just bought a new car. This does little to assist the client, and may engender the feeling that â€Å"sure, the ideas you talk about work for you, but that’s only because your life and background is so much better than mine†¦ hey’ll never work for me in my situation†. For this reason, therapists are trained not to indulge in disclosure of their personal life beyond what might be useful in establishing rapport with the client. Ethnicity This is a prominent area in which prejudice is not tolerable. There is a difference between overcoming prejudice against someone, and being proactive for someone of a race with which you are not closely acquainted. It is one thing to avoid politically incorrect vocabulary, but quite another to be aware of appropriate role models for those of another race, based on a knowledge of their contributions to society. Of course a client of colour is very likely to pick up on such limitations on the therapist’s part. Age Ageism is one of the most recent entries into the area of prejudicial conscience. Factors contributing to this prejudice include fear of death and loss of control, an almost worshipful regard for youth and beauty, a societal sense of self-worth based on productivity, and a stereotype of the elderly as being institutionalized and in poor health – something which is simply not the case with the majority of seniors today. Counselling a senior in regard to their love life will obviously be a stretch for the counsellor who is not age positive. Seniors are especially likely to be aware of, and sensitive to, any indication on the part of the therapist that they view them in some judgemental way as they’ve learned a lot about reading people in their lifetimes. Gender Sexism can severely compromise the ability of a therapist to nurture the self-esteem and independence necessary for a client to progress. A female therapist who is unable to get past her own expectations that a male should be the strong, responsible provider in a relationship is not likely to be of much value to a male client who needs to take the time away from such responsibilities which will facilitate his ability to explore deeply repressed feelings. Also women who have had a bad experience with a certain type of chauvinistic male may then begin to see men as inferior and have difficulty dealing with an assertive male. A therapist who has herself experienced domestic violence may feel uneasy or threatened by a male who divulges that he is or was a wife-beater. The therapist must be able to compartmentalise her own feelings in order to treat the client. Sexual Orientation and Practices Prejudice against a gay male may be inseparable from prejudice against the practice of anal sex. It is also equally possible for a male therapist to resent a gay female. Contempt is a difficult emotion to mask, and a client with an alternate orientation, or the practitioner of an unusual sexual lifestyle, maybe more likely to keep this quiet. If this information is never disclosed due to fear of repugnance, it may hamper the progress of therapy. Mental Health Diagnosis Most therapists have been carefully trained to be cognizant of the very real stigma which a diagnosis of mental illness can cause in the experience of a client. When you consider that a large percentage of therapists initially enter the field of mental health either seeking to comprehend their own problems or out of the desire to help others which is based on having been raised in an emotional environment which promotes the dysfunctional beliefs of co-dependency, it is not hard to understand that they might a familiarity with the trauma of mental illness in the course of their own upbringing. Such a background can emerge during therapy as fear of, or repulsion by, certain symptoms or behaviours which might have been exhibited by family members during their own childhood, and caused them to experience their own traumas. If these feelings haven’t been resolved, the therapist may resist the very presence of the client whose behaviours trigger unresolved emotions from their own past. It is hardly therapeutic for the therapist to feel threatened by the client when they are at their worst in terms of symptoms or behaviours. A therapist who is only comfortable with clients who are acting ‘normal’ isn’t much good. Physical Disorders Any disability which is not understood can engender fear and loathing, nervousness and uncertainty. A client with cerebral palsy in addition to a mental disorder may have to work at finding a therapist who has the patience, compassion and education about the physical condition needed to make any headway into the mental condition. In this sense it is also a responsibility of the client to interview the therapist to ascertain that the therapist is competent. Most therapists eventually realize that the nature of their occupation requires that they work on and resolve their own issues as diligently as they work on resolving the issues of their clients. Having removed the emotional blocks which might cause them to unconsciously stifle the feelings nd behaviours of their clients, they still need to educate themselves in the area of multicultural awareness so as to be able to provide motivation and proactive guidance to the clients in their charge regardless of age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, socio-economic status, or any combination of these. Other things that may induce prejudice are: †¢ Jargon – the use of specialized language, creating barriers which reinforce power differences. Stereotypes – terms use d to refer to people from different groups, i. e. older people as ‘old dears’. †¢ Stigma – terms such as ‘mental handicap’ carry a damaging stigma. †¢ Exclusion – this might be inadvertently asking a Muslim what his ‘Christian’ name is, rather than his ‘first’ name. †¢ Depersonalization – this relates to terms such as ‘the elderly’ rather than ‘older people’ and ‘the mentally ill’ rather than ‘people with mental distress’ Use of language with clients: I believe it is critically important to explore our use of language as therapists. Mindful of some of the settings in which counsellors work and the specific difficulties clients struggle with, we need to be sensitive to some of the words in common use and which are deeply offensive. Working with people who have dependency problem we must be aware not to term suffers as ‘drug user’, ‘drug abuser’, ‘drug pusher’ or ‘recreational drug use’, ‘alcoholic’, ‘alcohol abuser/misuser’ It is only in recent years that we have developed a language to describe the phenomenon of child sexual abuse. Previously there was no discourse and children’s distress went often unheeded. Burstow (1992: 202) refers to ‘eating disorders’ as ‘troubled eating’. She says ‘There is nothing more orderly than the precise regimen that women who are anorexic follow’. We hear of ‘date rape’ and somehow it is thought to be less traumatic or damaging than other rape. Burstow (1992) refers to ‘psychiatric survivors’ having been ‘psychiatrized’ by the system, and Wilson and Beresford (2000) use the term ‘people with madness and distress’ rather than the more sanitized ‘mental health service users’. It is important for the therapist to develop awareness of the social and political backdrop to their clients’ stories. Does this woman, for example, stay in a violent relationship because of her personal psychology, or do issues of poverty and powerlessness and lack of appropriate support services contribute to her problems. Is she a black woman? What would her (and her children’s) experience be of a refuge where all the other women, including workers, were white. And if she were a lesbian, how might she be received or understood by her heterosexual peers.

Organizational Characteristics Essay

This paper will describe the culture and the organizational characteristics of a chosen organization, Publix Supermarkets. Detailed throughout will be the common characteristics of the organization as it operates on a day to day basis. Specifically the system based on individual units, rules and norms expected of the associates and supervisors as well as the hierarchy will be established for the reader to garner a better understanding. Furthermore, the communication networks, organizational orientation, approaches to and by leadership members, as well as the decision making and communication procedures put forth by members of management will be analyzed. This paper will describe which 4 of these listed characteristics are most influenced by communication between members and levels of Publix Supermarkets. The author has been employed with this supermarket chain for more than 7 years and has ample knowledge and understanding on the organization as a whole. Common Characteristics of an Organization Publix Supermarkets is a grocery chain unlike many others for a variety of reasons. Founded in 1930 in Winter haven, Florida by George W. Jenkins, Publix is known for its customer first atmosphere and pleasurable shopping experience. The grocery chain whose motto states they will never knowingly disappoint their customers operates in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee and currently has more than 1000 stores in operation (Publix.com). Jenkins’ supermarket chain has continued to grow on their customer friendly business sense. Publix has since become a Fortune 500 company and is privately held and owned by its employees. For as well as they treat their customers, the chain treats its associates and management staff just as well if not better. Publix workers who have been with the company a base number of years receive shares of stock for every 1000 hours worked, and can purchase more shares of stock at almost any time during a given year. The grocery chain is also well known for its high ranking employee benefits and treatment in the employment world. Rules/Norms (Written and Unwritten) Outside of the big green P logo, the Publix atmosphere is what customers relate to with the chain more than anything else. Communication with customers is a major asset in following proper Publix protocol. The smiling helpful associates, clean stores, and consumer friendly set up of product is where Publix truly prides itself as an organization. Each experience ends with a friendly cashier and bagger, and the bagger will always bring the customer to their vehicle and help load product into the car for them. Believe it or not this all relates to performance evaluations that are done quarterly, where associates are evaluated on their behavior amongst the customers. Customer intimacy is something Publix takes very seriously. The Publix image extends onto its associates as well. All employees are expected to show up to work on time and be clean shaven in full clean uniform attire. Each department and job class has their own specific uniform; however all include proper hygiene, reasonable hairstyling, and proper equipment to perform their tasks to better serve the shoppers. Publix is an organization that understands how to promote their brand by utilizing all available options to do so. Clean stores and clean happy associates promote the â€Å"Publix Way.† This plays a major role in nonverbal communication between Publix associates and their customers. Aside from dress code and customer relations, two major elements, there are many other standards Publix employees are held to. A good example of one unwritten Publix rule would be: communication between associates when out on the sales floor during business hours must be respectful, and if at all possible must include the customer. Also, outside from positive communication both verbal and nonverbal with customers and fellow associates employees are expected to communicate both effectively and respectfully with management teams as well. Hierarchy The Publix store level hierarchy is something that runs seemingly parallel in each department throughout the store. Each department and sub department have their chain of command as follows: part time associates, full time associates, assistant department manager, and department manager. The two major departments, grocery and customer service, have the most associates, in order to better supervise their employees there is a position called a team leader that fits into the hierarchy between the full time associates and the management team. Publix is a company that only promotes from within. This is a big selling point for associates and applicants alike. Knowing that the opportunity for advancement is always there is a major asset for the associates in the store. Communications between the different levels of the chain of command are fluid. The associates can go to their department managers, or team leaders, with any concern or idea. The department managers at store level then communicate with the store’s assistant manager and store manager about the associate’s ideas and concerns. Communication Networks The information Publix gathers through their retail channels is usually information based on product analysis and placement that they can pass down to the management teams at store levels to assess further. Ultimately the store will take the advice of corporate and try to taper the information in the way it works most effectively for each store. Each store can take the same information and depict it differently. Information about new products, events, or openings may not influence all stores, or influence them all at the same level. There are times, during major events like hurricanes, holidays, or back to school time, where Publix store level employees must take the information sent to them by corporate including sales figures and forecasts in order to build the proper displays and floor models for customers to browse. Having product out that customers take interest in can help drive sales. The communication between the different levels of Publix Supermarkets goes hand in hand with communication networks at the store level. Leadership Approaches A major tool in the line of communication at Publix is how they allow anyone who is willing to step up and be a leader, do so. When every associate feels that sense of empowerment in their employment it urges them to lead in a different way, work harder and do a better job to lead by example. Publix pushes their associates to be role models both in the stores, and in the community. The management teams are in place to ensure guidelines are followed, but showing quality leadership through positive communication means so much more. Communicating with leaders is always a situation associates take very seriously in any industry or business. This is no different in the retail world at Publix. Associates voice their concerns and feelings to their leaders, whether it be management, team leaders, or even fellow associates who take on the responsibility of leading a specific group. At Publix supermarkets the communication had with leadership is always something associates should come away from feeling they were heard out and understood, good virtue for any organization to sustain. Conclusion Publix through the years has become one of the most widely respected organizations in America. This is due to the quality product and customer service put out the grocery chain, but also playing a role in the respect factor is the culture of the organization. This of course starts at store level and works its way to the corporate ranks, and is in large part to do with positive, effective communication. Publix supermarkets are known throughout the world a company that is great to work for, just as much as they are to shop at. Through utilizing all of the common communication characteristics Publix has continued to promote a very associate friendly atmosphere through the years. The supermarket chain takes pride in the fact that each associate understands their value to their company and takes pride in hiring quality applicants. Publix utilizes its rules and norms, hierarchy, communication networks, and strong leadership approach in all day to day activities in order to remain a successful industry leader.

Marks Spencer Essays

Marks Spencer Essays Marks Spencer Paper Marks Spencer Paper Essay Topic: Marketing Marketers use PEST analysis in order to investigate the outside environment in which an organization is operating. PEST stands for: * Political factors affect the activity of the business. Political developments are generally out of the control of an organization, but it needs to forecast and anticipate change and then react accordingly. The development of the European Union has provided both opportunities and threats to British organizations. Its recent enlargement meant the market for British products expanded by 45 million customers. * Economic influences look at how the performance of the economy impacts on organizations. All economies go through cycles of prosperity, recession and recovery. The business cycle is especially important because of its direct effect on consumer and business spending. During times of prosperity, both consumers and business customers buy more goods and services. * Social environment describes the characteristics of society, the people who live in that society and their values and beliefs. The first area of study tends to focus on the population demographics revealing information about size, gender, ethnic groups, income levels, educational attainment, occupations and family structure. This information is very useful to marketers in predicting the size of markets for many products from food to clothe. * Technological developments affect many organizations. Growing ownership of computers and the influence of the Internet is allowing people to buy virtually anything without having to leave their homes. Mobile phones are also now being used for advertisements. Political Factors MS: Political factors affect MS in a lot of ways. Some of those ways are explained below: The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 makes it illegal for anyone to be directly or indirectly discriminated against or harassed on their grounds of gender. It applies to all aspects of employment, training, treatment at work, dismissal and redundancy. There are some expectations such as acting and live in jobs, but however these are rare. Marks Spencer follows the Sex Discrimination Law in order no to get sued. However if MS choose not to follow this act they will get sued which will mean they will have more expenses in the business. Also if MS also get sued they will be in the newspapers probably all around the world which means MS will then end up loosing their customers as well as publicity which will also go into their expenses. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 protects people with disability against discrimination in employment, when obtaining goods and services, buying/renting land or property and gaining access to business premises. Employers must make reasonable adjustments to the workplace to enable a disabled person to do the job. Public bodies must have policies and action plans to tackle discrimination and no employer must treat a disabled person less favourably than able bodied people without justification. Discrimination is not divided into direct or indirect but is based on the grounds that less favourable treatment cannot be justified. Marks Spencer must follow the Disability Discrimination Law. The things that MS do to follow this law are they have lifts in all of their stores if the stores have stairs, they have lowered cash tills which is easier for the disabled person to reach, they also have electric wheel chairs which are good for the disabled people if they can not walk. If MS did not follow this law they would get sued and loose profit from the business. National Minimum Wage Act 1998 the minimum wage in the UK is  £5.73 for all adult workers. MS are paying most of their staffs the minimum wage  £5.73 per hour The mandate trade union proclaim on Tuesday, 24 February 2009 that they have made and agreement with MS for a new pay deal which is above the terms of the national wage agreement. Normally Marks Spencers staffs receives 5.73 per hour but it depends on how old they, if they are 22 years then they will receive that amount if below the age then they will receive less. Although a complex retail environment and call from employers groups for an extended pay pause, MS agreed to increase staffs wages above the current rates of pay to 6.7%. Mandate Assistant General Secretary, Gerry Light said, This deal is significant both in terms of Marks and Spencers recognition of the contribution from its staff members and also in terms of the local partnership process which can work successfully, even in difficult economic times, between employers and trade unions. The deal will see the implementation of the first phase (3.5%) of Towards 2016 paid to all staff from 1 January 2009 which means Marks and Spencer staff will not see a three month pay freeze as was negotiated in the National Wage Agreement and will instead see their pay increased ahead of schedule. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 creates a minimum wage across the United Kingdom, currently  £5.73 per hour for adults. It was a flagship policy of the Labour Party in the UK during its 1997 election campaign and is still pronounced today in New Labour Party circulars as an outstanding gain for at least 1.5 million people. The national minimum wage (NMW) took effect on 1 April 1999. No national minimum wage existed prior to this date, although there were a variety of systems of wage controls focussed on specific industries. Part of the reason for Labours minimum wage policy was the decline of trade union membership over recent decades (weakening employees bargaining power), as well as a recognition that the employees most vulnerable to low pay (especially in service industries) were rarely unionised in the first place. The minimum wage was opposed by the opposition Conservative Party, including the Conservatives current leader, David Cameron. all employers must pay a minimum hourly wage to workers over the age of 18 regardless of where they work the size of the firm or the workers occupation. From the 1st October 2004 the national minimum wage was extended to workers aged 16 and 17 but this does not include apprentices aged 16-18. Apprentices aged 19 and above qualify for the minimum wage after the first twelve months of their apprenticeship. Marks Spencer pay all of the workers at least the minimum wage and even more for other workers. It is good for Marks and Spencer that the minimum wage isnt so big because they dont have to over pay their workers. However if the minimum wage keeps increasing then MS might have to cut jobs which means their sales and profits will be lower. Economic Factors MS: Economic factors affect MS in a lot of different ways. Some of those ways are explained below: Costs of credit (borrowing): Cost of borrowing influence MS in a good and bad way because they have to borrow money to expand however the bad way is that they have to pay back interest rates in return Marks Spencer has to be careful with the amount of money that they borrow from the bank. The reason for this is because when you borrow money from the bank you have to pay them interests because the bank is sacrificing their ability to use that money. Marks Spencer has to be careful not to borrow more than they actually need because interest repayments may rise causing MS more expenses which at the end of the day for them is profit that could be made. Competitive pressures: Competition affects MS in a bad way because they have to fight in order to sell their products. Competition is one of the biggest influence to MS. Marks Spencer competes against businesses such as Tesco and Asda for market share by making their products high quality and healthy as well as having good prices on them. Marks Spencer has many different ways that they could beat the competition. However they are already beating the competition because their main competitor is Waitrose and MS is more popular and has better prices than Waitrose products. This is a good for MS because they are one of the healthiest retailers in the UK and have competitive prices. Energy prices: Energy prices are an important cost of MS and are a bad impact because MS has more costs to pay. This is because MS stores use electricity for light, cash machines, heating and air conditioning. When energy prices increase MS then have to figure out ways how to use less electricity whether that would be installing solar panels in their store or something else. This has a big impact on MS because their business costs increase which means that they have to raise costs of their products in order to retain their profits. Social factors MS: Social factors affect MS in a lot of different ways. Some of those ways are explained below: Ageing population: The number of older people in the UK is increasing all the time. This has a good impact on MS because their target market will increase in age meaning more sales. This means that MS must produce things such as clothes for older people. However this is a good affect on MS because this will increase their profits more due to the amount of people that are going to buy their products is increasing. The old people will also eat healthy foods and MS food is really healthy if not the healthiest out of all the different food organisations in the UK such as Tesco and Asda. Hosting a major sporting and cultural events: Marks Spencer Celebrity culture: Celebrity culture is a good impact on MS because a lot people want to become celebrities. If they can not become celebrities they try to dress and live like celebrities. This is why Marks Spencer has to pay celebrities such as Twiggy to advertise their products to customers in positive ways. When MS use celebrities to advertise their products customers will buy them more because they will think that they will look like the celebrity that is advertising those products. It costs MS a lot of money to employ celebrities in order to advertise their products however it is like an investment for MS because their sales will increase on the products that they will advertise. Technological factors: Technological factors affect MS in a lot of different ways. Some of those ways are. Internet: Internet is a good impact for MS because they are able to sell their products online. MS have a website which is www.marksandspencer.co.uk in their website you can everything online and get it delivered straight to your home. This means that MS is able to expand their business to those who can not leave their home but want to use MS products. Internet has made a good opportunity for MS to expand their business globally.

Evaluate training and development methods that may assist organisations in meeting their strategic objectives essay part 2

Evaluate training and development methods that may assist organisations in meeting their strategic objectives essay part 2 Evaluate training and development methods that may assist organisations in meeting their strategic objectives essay part 2 Evaluate training and development methods that may assist organisations in meeting their strategic objectives essay part 2Evaluate training and development methods that may assist organisations in meeting their strategic objectives essay part  1Researchers (Harrison Kessels 2004: 120) distinguish two types of organisational training benchmarking systems, which are external and internal. The external training benchmarking system implies the training that involves the interaction between organisations operating within the similar or alternative industries. In terms of the external training benchmarking the training is conducted by outsiders, for instance, coaches from other companies or educators from educational institutions. External training involves the use of such training methods as coaching, when coaches are hired by the organisation from outside to train employees respectively to the target training program offered by the coach to the organisation.The internal training bench marking system implies that the training that involves organisational divisions and units. In case of the internal training benchmarking, the training is conducted by insiders, i.e. professionals working within the organisation. One of the methods that can be applied in terms of the internal training benchmarking system is the delegation. The delegation involves the delegation of functions of employees to each other, when employees replace each other and perform their tasks. In such a way, they learn to work at different positions expanding their professional skills and experience and understanding better how their colleagues work and how the entire organisation functions since employees learn how they work at different positions in one and the same organisation.Another method that may be applied in terms of the internal training benchmarking system is knowledge sharing management. Today, the knowledge sharing management is very popular because it is cost-efficient and allows keepin g the knowledge within the organisation without sharing it with outsiders. The knowledge sharing management implies the training of employees, who can then share the acquired knowledge with other employees. In fact, the knowledge sharing management can facilitate the integration of new employees, when newcomers work along with experienced employees, who share their knowledge and experience with them. This training and development method is cheap and effective because employees take a proactive position and learn through action.In addition, it is possible to distinguish the on-the-job training, including project-based learning and job-shadowing teams (Guest, 2003: 182). In fact, knowledge management and delegation are methods of the on-the-job training. On-the-job training is cost efficient. Moreover, it saves not only money but also time because employees can keep working and training at the same time. Project-based learning and job-shadowing teams are also effective methods of on-t he-job training that allow employees to develop their professional skills, while working in teams and learning from each other.Another strategic approach to the training and development process is the in-house training schemes, such as computer-based training; virtual reality; simulations; projects; lecture sessions; developmental programmes; professional development; and apprenticeship training (Kamoche 1996: 228). Such training methods are effective for free lancers and employees, who work at home. For instance, many IT companies use distance job to save costs and to create comfortable conditions for the work of their employees. As a result, they increase the effectiveness of their employees’ performance and save costs. At the same time, they naturally prefer the in-house training schemes to keep the costs of training low and maintain the workplace environment, which employees are accustomed to.Also, it is worth mentioning external courses, including HE/FE; private training providers; and professional standards (McLean McLean 2001: 314). External methods of training are essential, when organisations lack knowledge or do not have sufficient internal resources to develop the target skills and competencies in their employees. In such a situation, they have to hire outsiders, who can reach training and development goals of organisations.In addition, there is self-managed learning, which includes study groups; voluntary participation in distance learning; drawing on mentoring schemes; and personal development logs (Purcell 1995: 72). Self-managed learning is quite a controversial method of training and development. On the one hand, self-learning is efficient because employees are self-motivated and are aware of the importance of training. On the other hand, there is always a risk that employees can lose motivation and fail in the training process.Furthermore, researchers (Guest 2004: 172) distinguish the planned experiential training, which includes actio n learning sets; outdoor developmental programmes; apprenticeship; technical training schemes; open forums; video-conferencing; and brainstorming. The planned experiential training is effective, when organisations have a clear, long-run plan of their development. However, this method is not always efficient in the highly changing business environment, when training priorities may change unexpectedly changing plans of organisations.In the course of the implementation of either training and development method, organisations should take into consideration the major training costs of the particular method to determine whether they are capable to implement this training and development method successfully or not. In this regard, human resources costs are particularly important and include the following costs: salaries of trainers/instructors; management/supervisor salaries; external training provider fees; loss of production costs; subsistence costs; trainers/trainees (Reddington 2005: 1 75). Human resources comprise the core of the training process and organisation invests substantial funds into the training and development of their human resources.In addition, organisations should take into consideration the equipment costs, which they will have to spend on training, including training equipment aids; depreciation of training/equipment/procedures/processes (Keep Mayhew 1999: 144). Today, equipment comprises an important part of training costs because organisations work in a highly technological environment that requires using the up-to-date technologies and equipment in the training process. The use of such equipment naturally increases costs of the training and development process.Also organisations will have to cover administrative costs, while conducting their training, including wages/salaries of administrative staff; systems procedures; training facilities; electronic equipment; general administrative costs (Huselid Becker 1996: 35). Administrative costs increase respectively to the organisational structure and hierarchy. The more complex the organisational hierarchy is the higher are administrative costs.Furthermore, material costs comprise a large part of training and development costs, including distance learning packages; materials used for technical; practical learning; educational resources; protective clothing; Health Safety and regulation procedures (McCracken Martin 2005: 289). Material costs comprise an integral part of the contemporary training and development process because organisations use various material resources for the training of their employees and they have to cover their costs.Thus, the training and development process is very important for the successful organisational development. However, there is no universal training method that will be equally effective for all organisations. Instead, organisations should determine their training and development needs first and then through negotiation and collaborati on with key stakeholders, including managers and employees, elaborate the training and development method and strategy that meet needs and expectations of the organisation. In such a way, they can develop the effective training and development program that will function in a long-run perspective.