Free Online Public Schools for SC Students K-12

South Carolina offers resident students the opportunity to take online public school courses for free. In order to qualify for the list, schools must meet several qualifications: the classes must be available completely online, they must offer services to the students state of residence, and they must be funded by the government. Virtual schools may be charter schools, state-wide public programs, or private programs that receive government funding. Here is a list of no-cost online schools currently serving elementary and high school students in South Carolina. List of Alabama Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Insight School of South Carolina link is to national network of schoolsSouth Carolina Virtual School Bad link https://www.k12.com/participating-schools.html?statesouth-carolina About Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Many states now offer tuition-free online schools for resident students under a certain age,  often 21). Most virtual schools are charter schools; they receive government funding and are run by a private organization. Online charter schools are subject to fewer restrictions than traditional schools. However, they are reviewed regularly and must continue to meet state standards. Some states also offer their own online public schools. These virtual programs generally operate from a state office or a school district. State-wide public school programs vary. Some online public schools offer a limited number of remedial or advanced courses not available in brick-and-mortar public school campuses. Others offer full online diploma programs. A few states choose to fund â€Å"seats† for students in private online schools. The number of available seats may be limited and students are usually asked to apply through their public school guidance counselor. (See also: 4 Types of Online High Schools). Choosing a South Carolina Online Public School When choosing an online public school, look for an established program that is regionally accredited and has a track record of success. Be wary of new schools that are disorganized, are unaccredited, or have been the subject of public scrutiny. For more suggestions on evaluating virtual schools see: How to Choose an Online High School. How to Choose an Online High School http://distancelearn.about.com/od/virtualhighschools/a/OnlineHighQ.htm 4 Types of Online High Schools http://distancelearn.about.com/od/virtualhighschools/a/HS_Types.htm Online Charter School Basics http://distancelearn.about.com/od/virtualhighschools/a/CharterInfo.htm How to Find an Online Charter School http://distancelearn.about.com/od/virtualhighschools/a/CharterSchool.htm School Accreditation http://distancelearn.about.com/od/accreditationinfo/a/accreditation1.htm Regionally Accredited Online High Schools http://distancelearn.about.com/od/virtualhighschools/a/RAOnlineHS.htm Online High School Pros and Cons http://distancelearn.about.com/od/virtualhighschools/a/hsprosandcons.htm

The Ambiguous Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald´s The Great...

Qualities like absolute moral perfection are even less attainable than world peace, and they have no place in quality literature. No one relates to the main character that never lets his emotions get the better of him once in a while. Truly powerful characters require at least some degree of moral ambiguity. Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby engages in illegal liquor sales and business with the man who rigged the World Series, which combine with his purest of intentions and virtually universal kindness to create some definitely ambiguous morals. Due to that ambiguity, Gatsby’s character remains imperfect and one whom readers can entirely relate to, while promoting the prominent theme in the novel of the American Dream’s†¦show more content†¦Before Nick could even manage to answer for himself Gatsby jumps in, answering for him â€Å"Oh, no†¦This is just a friend. I told you we’d talk about that some other time† (71). Immediately it becomes clear that Wolfsheim has some prior business connections with Gatsby. On its own, that would be no cause for alarm. Yet in not much time at all Gatsby tells Nick who the mysterious Mr. Wolfsheim is himself, describing him as â€Å"a gambler,† nonchalantly adding that â€Å"he’s the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919† (73). Suddenly connections with this man raise a lot of flags, as we have just begun to discover the sort of illegal activities Gatsby’s been engaged in during his pursuit of wealth. This is a man whom most find villainous, taking such a treasured American pastime and thoroughly corrupting it by fixing the results all together. Yet Gatsby defends the gambler, saying â€Å"he just saw the opportunity,† but â€Å"they can’t get him, old sport. He’s a smart man† (73). To most, that kind of defense wouldn’t really matter all too much, wrong is wrong no matter how itâ€⠄¢s spun. Yet the bad guys never think they’re the bad guys after all, and Gatsby sees no problem with what Wolfsheim did. Despite his purest of goals, there were a few who found fault with what Gatsby did in his pursuit of them. Tom probably disliked him more than anyone else, especially after he found out precisely what Gatsby did with Wolfsheim.Show MoreRelatedEssay on The Dust Jacket of The Great Gatsby723 Words   |  3 PagesThe Dust Jacket of The Great Gatsby The dust jacket of The Great Gatsby has an extremely complex yet influential relationship to its text as well as its author. Francis Cugat, the artist of the cover, developed the painting through a series of ten sketches[1]. In each sketch he develops a new element of the painting which indicates the level of complexity in the final work. Interestingly, Fitzgerald never mentions the artist’s name in his correspondents with his editor Maxwell Perkins[2]Read MoreEssay on Symbols of The Great Gatsby 1249 Words   |  5 Pageshope afloat. F. Scott Fitzgerald captured this era in his book, The Great Gatsby. Through his many symbols he illustrates the hopes, the forgotten God, and the oppressed Americans of the Twenties. The symbols in The Great Gatsby help convey several different themes, from wealth to loss of morals, to poverty. The green light in The Great Gatsby is an ambiguous symbol. The green light is deceiving at first, tricking the reader into thinking it is merely a symbol of hope. â€Å"Gatsby believed inRead MoreEssay on The Lessons of The Great Gatsby1799 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"The Great Gatsby† is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the 1920’s. The novel is narrated by a young man named Nick Carraway, who moves to West Egg, New York to learn more about the bond business so he can eventually sell bonds. He moves into an average house in between two huge mansions, so in comparison his average house looks like a small, run down shack. One of the owners of those mansions, and Carraway’s new neighbor, is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby has huge extravagant parties every night andRead MoreFitzgerald Explores the Jefferson ´s Ideal of ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ in The Great Gatsby2090 Words   |  9 Pagesto the ‘pursuit of Happiness.’ This ambiguous phr ase, ‘the pursuit of Happiness’ was originally inserted into the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson and is a clear and overriding concern in The Great Gatsby. In the 1920s, when the novel is set, America was experiencing a newfound level of prosperity; the economy was booming and the possibility of gaining wealth became an achievable reality. As a result, the pursuit of happiness in The Great Gatsby is far from the founding fathers’ initialRead MoreJay Gatsby s American Dream2866 Words   |  12 PagesResearch Paper Draft #3 Jay Gatsby’s American Dream Ever since its publication in April 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel â€Å"The Great Gatsby† has become one of the most criticized, cited, and analytical pieces of fiction in American literature history. It is a great representation of an era known as the Jazz Age when anything and everything was possible, or at least that is what people thought. Fitzgerald provides the reader with an insight of the internal mindsets of the characters, which justifiesRead MoreComparing Shakespeare s Midsummer Night s Dream, Pride And Prejudice And The Great Gatsby2712 Words   |  11 PagesPride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby. The main theme which brings A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby together is the idea of how love and marriage is presented. Shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Austen all portray love and marriage as being two separate issues, which rarely intertwine. The different contexts in which these texts are written have all had a huge impact on the way in which love and marriage is portrayed. The Great Gatsby was set in the roaringRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald978 Words   |  4 PagesMoral ambiguity is defined as the identification of a person as either purely evil or purely good. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, has an innumerable number of examples of moral ambiguity written throughout the story. One character in particular, Daisy Buchanan, has specifically showed moral ambiguity, as she is one of the main characters. Daisy Buchanan is a morally ambiguous character whose ambiguity is significant to the st ory, using examples from Daisy’s actions in the firstRead MoreWomen s Rights : Women And Ladies Merit Uniformity1615 Words   |  7 PagesThe worldwide thought of women s liberation alludes to the conviction that men and ladies merit uniformity in all open doors, treatment, admiration, and social rights. All in all, women s activists are individuals who attempt to recognize social disparity taking into account sexual orientation and prevent it from proceeding. Women s activist; it is a term that has lost its starting significance extra time. The term women s activist has distressingly been given a negative undertone, and numerousRead MoreSuccessful Learning Experiences for Students924 Words   |  4 Pagescompetition into education to help children get accustomed to its frequent appearance later in life, while an opposing theory believes competition is unhealthy and should be more heavily restricted. He states that, â€Å"At school this often results in an ambiguous attitude towards competition, which confuses students, who will then try to compete successfully without making it appear they compete.† These mixed signals must be clarified for students in order to have a productive classroom. Dr. Verhoeff isRead MoreThe Great Gatsby Enduring Love Comparative Essay ‘Obsessive Love Has the Capacity to Drive a Person to Insanity, Leading to Irrational Behaviour, Alienation and Despair’ Compare and Contrast the Ways Mcewan and3060 Words   |  13 PagesThe Great Gatsby amp; Enduring Love ‘Obsessive love has the capacity to drive a person to insanity, leading to irrational behaviour, alienation and despair’ Compare and contrast the ways McEwan and Fitzgerald present the complexities of human love in light of this comment. F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ian McEwanpresent obsessive Idealised love as deranged and harmful.Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, published in 1925,epitomises the euphoric atmosphere which permeated consumerist attitudes after

Becky Free Essays

The government, business, and consumers all have an important role a play in the field of environmental protection. The three components should form an interrelated system in which the government and consumers exert pressure upon businesses to act ethically in environmental matters, and business executives are committed to the issues of sustainable development that forms part of corporate social responsibility. Alan Larson in his remarks on corporate social responsibility addressing the National Policy Association Conference noted that although he believed in profit maximisation as the CEO’s primary objective, â€Å"in a global marketplace where reputation matters deeply, shareholder value depends more than ever on corporate values† (Larson 2001). We will write a custom essay sample on Becky or any similar topic only for you Order Now Thus, corporations cannot be interested in profits as the only priority; instead, they should be interested in the situation on the planet in general. Just as â€Å"sustainable development† is an appropriate measure for social progress, so â€Å"sustainable profits† should become part of the accounting vocabulary indicating that the corporation can â€Å"increase shareholder value by communicating to shareholders, employees, customers, regulators, and the general public how it is practicing environmental stewardship and social consciousness in its operations† (Larson 2001). Thus, business has an independent incentive to act ethically. However, Larson notes, the government can enhance this incentive by offering, for instance, the Award for Corporate Excellence only to environmentally conscious companies. Another way is to include the government regulations into guidelines of state structures, for instance, OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises or guidelines of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Consumers in the 1980s and later decades became aware of the influence of their purchasing choices upon the environment. Their responsibility to the environment, among other things, was included for discussion at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio under Agenda 21 (Yu ). Their role in sustainable consumption has to be defined through a range of consumer initiatives. Thus, the three parties can cooperate in enhancing environmental protection. References Larson, A. (2001, June 11). Role of the U. S. Government in Promoting Global Corporate Responsibility. Remarks to the National Policy Association Conference. Retrieved November 25, 2005 from http://www. state. gov/e/rls/rm/2001/3526. htm. Yu, N. (n. d. ). The Green Consumption Movement: The Roles of Government, Business, Academia, NGOs and Consumers. Retrieved November 25, 2005 from http://www. apo-tokyo. org/gp/e_publi/gsc/0315RES_PAPERS. pdf. How to cite Becky, Papers

The Performance Management

Question: Write an essay onThe performance management. Answer: The performance management is a vital function of the human resource department. It deals with the evaluation of the work performances of the employees and the adherence of the work benchmarks. It is necessary for the organization to evaluate the number of actual productive manpower. It is also helpful for the employees to determine the level of their performance and the areas for improvement. This report aims to describe the detailed approach of performance management. The organization Westpac Banking Corporation is chosen for the purpose of the study. The report aims to improve the understanding of the current performance management practices in Westpac. The report also gives suitable recommendations for the improvement of the performance management function. Introduction The Human Resource Department is an important section of the organization, which deals with the manpower of the organization. The employees of the organization are important since they determine the success of an organization. The report describes the Performance Management process in Westpac Banking Corporation, in Australia (Westpac.com.au, 2016). It is one of the big banks of Australia and has gained immense popularity since its inception. In this report, the performance management function of the selected organization is done. The detailed review of performance dimension in the organization is done. The current practices are identified and suitable recommendations are being done so that the performance management dimension of Westpac can be improved. The report also identifies the capabilities of the Performance Managers required for successful implementation of the laid down recommendations. Westpac Banking Corporation is also known as Westpac. It is a financial services provider and Australian Bank, with its headquarters located in Westpac Place, Sydney (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The bank is among the big four banks of Australia (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The Bank serves worldwide customers and has got 1429 branches and 3850 ATMs (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The major products of the company are consumer banking, finance and insurance, investment banking, global wealth management, mortgages, private equity, credit cards and others (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The annual revenue of the company was AED 21.642as recorded in the financial year 2015 (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The net income of Westpac was AED 8.012 billion in the year 2015 (Westpac.com.au, 2016). Workplace-based projects The business world is dominated by two approaches- Inside Out approach and Outside-In approach (Tyson, 2014). The two approaches use different ways to achieve the end objectives. The inside-out approach believes in the fact that the success of the organization depends on the inner capabilities and strengths of the employees of the organizations. This approach makes effective utilization of the human resources of the company. The approach identifies the core competencies of the employees, which help them to satisfy the external stakeholders. The inside-out approach comprises of strategies, which believe that the company achieves greater operational efficiency by the implementation of this approach. The implementation of this approach helps the organization to adapt itself to the changing environments. The Human Resource strategies deal with the policies as well as practices of the human resources and its integration with the organizational strategy (Berman et al., 2015). The purpose of the HR strategy is understood how the organization perceives its human resource practices (Bamberger, Biron Meshoulam, 2014). The HR strategy should be prepared as per the needs of the particular organization. The inside-out approach deals with the human resources function like skills, technologies, processes and others. The approach also seeks to identify the linkages of the human resource functions to the business strategies of the organization (Bamberger, Biron Meshoulam, 2014). The business strategy usually revolves around the people issues and its implications. Concept of Performance Management The process of planning, monitoring, reviewing the work objectives of the employees of an organization and analyzing the accomplishment of the same is known as performance management (Van Dooren, Bouckaert Halligan, 2015). The employees of the organization are assigned specific job roles to perform, which is based on the broad objectives of the organization. It is the duty of the human resource managers to ensure that the employees are conforming to the set job roles. The employees should be able to achieve the given targets and milestones in their job responsibilities. The organization constantly measures the performance of the employees after a fixed period (Bao et al., 2013). The employees should be able to achieve the set minimum requirements for the job position. The employees can achieve more than the basic requirements specified in the job role (Bamberger, Biron Meshoulam, 2014). In such a case, they get rewarded by various methods by the HR department, which would be discus sed in the later stages of the report. The performance management is the constant procedure of setting benchmarks, assessment of the progress and providing sufficient coaching to the employees so that they can improve themselves (de Waal, Kourtit, 2013). The ultimate motive of the human resource department is to help the employees grow and achieve their full potential. Performance Appraisal The systematic evaluation of the performance of the employees, so as to understand the capabilities of a person for further growth and development is known as performance appraisal (Iqbal, Akbar Budhwar, 2015). The objective of performance appraisal is the identification of the employees strengths and weaknesses so that the right person is present in the right job. The appraisal is also done to assess the inherent potential in the employees and any requirement for training and development (Armstrong, Ittner Larcker, 2014). The management can maintain the official records of the employees, which would help them in determining the wage structure, compensation package and increments. There are certain advantages of the performance appraisal process (Aggarwal Thakur, 2013)- Promotion- The performance appraisals help the managers to design promotion packages for excellent performances (Bednall, Sanders Runhaar, 2014). The promotion may be an increase in the designation, additional job tasks, and others. Compensation- The appraisal process helps the managers to design suitable compensation packages as per the merit ranking. The compensation package includes basic salary, bonus, extra benefits, perks and others (Madan Bajwa, 2016). Selection Validation- The performance of the employees gives an idea regarding the success of the selection process, carried out by the human resources department (Iqbal, Akbar Budhwar, 2015). Development of the employees- The performance of the employees gives an idea regarding the training needs of the employees (Armstrong, Ittner Larcker, 2014). The appraisal helps in analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the employees, which is essential for designing the training schedules. Role of Human Resource Department The human resource department plays a vital role in shaping the work performances of the employees (Kehoe Wright, 2013). The human resource practices and policies can have a direct impact on the performance of the employees. The employment engagement activities of the organization make the employees happy, which in turn increases their commitment and zeal to work (Armstrong Taylor, 2014). They become motivated, and there is a considerable increase in their productivity. The higher productivity levels of the employees are reflected in the enhanced customer service, which increases the customer satisfaction levels. It is the responsibility of the human resource manager to foster an organizational culture, which encourages the optimum performance of the employees (Bratton Gold, 2012). The high performance of the employees should be reflected in areas such as quality of performance, levels of customer service, increased productivity, profit generation and finally the enhanced delivery of increased value of shareholders (Kehoe Wright, 2013). The human resource department should strive to empower the employees, in such a way, that they exhibit excellent performance, which is associated with a higher business (Davenport, 2013). Methods of Performance Management in Westpac Westpac believes that the ability to achieve the organizational goal is possible due to the contribution of each employee of the organization (Westpac.com.au, 2016). This implies the importance of the effective management of performances of the employees. The Bank undertakes three steps in setting the objectives and analyzing the performance of the employees (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The three stages are- Formulation of specific expectations from specific job roles, thorough assessment of the performance of the employees and rewarding the employees who have demonstrated exceptional performance (Westpac.com.au, 2016).The formal appraisal process matches the level of performance of the employees against the requirements of the role. The Bank not only measures the performance of the employees but also analyses their behavioral aspects and attitude demonstrated in the workplace (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The Bank conducts the appraisal process twice every year (Westpac.com.au, 2016). There are also quarterly review processes in some business areas. The final performance rating is the foundation for salary hikes and increase of the variable remuneration (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The employees who have demonstrated exceptional levels of performances are rewarded (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The employee rewards can be promotions, pay hikes, paid vacations, increase in variable pay and other facilities. Performance Appraisal at Westpac The company uses a combination of the performance appraisal processes for evaluating the performances of the employees (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The first approach used is the Behavioral Checklist process (Boachie-Mensah Seidu, 2012). This process comprises a list of criteria, which should be followed by the employee to become a diligent employee. This method is considered favorable for situations when there is a need for checking the performance of the employees without comparisons. The second and the most common approach is the 360-degree appraisal (PotoÄ nik Anderson, 2012). This type of appraisal takes into consideration the feedback from all the stakeholders who come in contact with the concerned employee. The various types of stakeholders are the supervisor, manager, peers, team members, vendors, external suppliers, direct juniors and others. This type of appraisals takes into account the complete profile of the employee. The in-depth feedback of the employee is gathered and assessed accordingly. The third type of performance appraisal concerns with the Management by Objective (Uduji, 2013). This method is considered as the modern approach to performance appraisal. In this method, there is an agreement between the employee and the manager over specific and attainable goals, within a given deadline. The performance of the employee is measured at the end of the set period (Cherian Jacob, 2013). This method is useful as the appraiser can define failure and success easily. Consequences of Performance Management in Westpac The performance management procedure in Westpac is followed by a four step ordeal, which starts when the Bank finds out that a particular employee is unable to fulfill the set minimum standards of their job roles, and their demonstrated performance is not acceptable (Westpac.com.au, 2016). Step 1- The immediate manager of the employee engage in a face to face conversation with the concerned employee. The various aspects of the performance are discussed in the meeting. The communication process is a mutual process, in which both the employer and the employee, shares their individual point of views (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The manager shares the performance level of the employee in the period of review. He also explains that how the performance has not met the expectations of the company (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The manager shares that such under performance is not desirable from an organizational point of view. The employee also shares the reasons for low-performance level and any external factors that have been instrumental in this process (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The manager highlights the areas that the employees need to focus on, to improve the productivity levels. Step 2- The concerned employees undergoes informal coaching and suitable training programs that address the areas for development. The topics of the training can range from skill development to work related skills (Westpac.com.au, 2016). There is alsoa need to enhance the soft skills of the employees and improve the technical expertise needed to perform a specific job role. There are proper planning procedures regarding the training procedures of the underperformers. The training schedules are designed in such a manner so that the current performance of the employees is not affected (Westpac.com.au, 2016). For example, the training of the employees should not be carried out during the duty hours, which may further deteriorate the performance of the employees. Instead, the training programs of the employees should be carried out after duty hours or over the weekend, whichever is most suitable. The manager reviews the output of the training programs regularly (Westpac.com.au, 2016). In case the training outcome is not up to the mark, then necessary changes are made in the training schedule. Step 3- The Bank evaluates the performance of the employees post the training programs. If the employee has successfully achieved the objectives of the training program, then the coaching program is continued, and there is an ongoing assistance provided to the employees. The aim of the company is to provide handholding support for capacity building of the employees (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The human resources team of the Bank has a policy, which states that if there is a reoccurrence of the unacceptable performance of the particular employee within six months, then the employee could face dismissal (Westpac.com.au, 2016). Step 4- In the event of the repeated unacceptable performance of the employee, the Bank formally announces the same to the concerned (Westpac.com.au, 2016). The Bank provides one last opportunity to rectify the performance of the employees by providing them workshops and training modules. At the end of the training period, the employee may be demoted, dismissed or forced to give resignation. Recommendations There is a need to improve the present scenario of performance management. The employees should be presented with the opportunity to assess themselves. The employees should be given a copy of the Performance Appraisal Form so that they can evaluate their performance. This is helpful as it would allow the opening of the channels of the communication between the manager and the employee. The manager should be an excellent communicator who would be able to discuss any differences in opinion more easily and compare the two sets of evaluation for better evaluation (one form filled by the manager and the other filled by the employee). The manager should have excellent analytical skills. He should strive to gather information regarding a specific employee from more than one source. The unconventional sources should be utilized to gather an unbiased source of feedback The performance appraisal process should be followed by an open discussion with the concerned employees. The manager should have convincing skills so that he can make the employee understand the linkage of his performance with the vision of the company. The employee should be shown a "bigger picture" to make him understand the importance of his individual role in the organization. The employees who display excellent performance should be rewarded with promotions, higher packages, and others so that the employees are constantly motivated. The motivated employees would prove to be productive workers. Conclusion The performance management function is an important job of the human resource department. The performance appraisal is crucial for maintaining an optimum level of motivation among the employees. The human resource department is responsible for managing the performance of the employees. They are responsible for guiding the employees and help them achieve their optimum performance. The employees are motivated if they receive high salary and high positions in the workplace. The organization also needs to know the efficient employees and the employees who require training. The performance management of the employees is done for letting the employees know about the expectations of the organizations from them and find out suitable ways for fulfilling the same. The performance management needs to be done for aligning resources of the organization to achieve the organizational goals. Westpac has good performance management system; however it needs to be improved for optimum benefits to the o rganization. The quality of the human resources should be improved to achieve success for the organization. References Aggarwal, A., Thakur, G. S. M. (2013). Techniques of performance appraisal-a review.International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology,2(3), 617-621. Armstrong, C. S., Ittner, C. D., Larcker, D. F. (2014). An Exploratory Investigation of the Determinants and Ratings Implications of Performance Appraisal Plan Characteristics. Armstrong, M., Taylor, S. (2014).Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Bamberger, P. A., Biron, M., Meshoulam, I. (2014).Human resource strategy: Formulation, implementation, and impact. Routledge. Bao, G., Wang, X., Larsen, G. L., Morgan, D. F. (2013). Beyond New Public Governance A Value-Based Global Framework for Performance Management, Governance, and Leadership.Administration Society,45(4), 443-467. Bednall, T. C., Sanders, K., Runhaar, P. (2014). Stimulating informal learning activities through perceptions of performance appraisal quality and human resource management system strength: A two-wave study.Academy of Management Learning Education,13(1), 45-61. Berman, E. M., Bowman, J. S., West, J. P., Van Wart, M. R. (2015).Human resource management in public service: Paradoxes, processes, and problems. Sage Publications. Boachie-Mensah, F. O., Seidu, P. A. (2012). Employees' perception of performance appraisal system: A case study.International journal of business and management,7(2), 73. Bratton, J., Gold, J. (2012).Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Cherian, J., Jacob, J. (2013). Impact of self efficacy on motivation and performance of employees.International Journal of Business and Management,8(14), 80. Davenport, T. H. (2013).Thinking for a living: how to get better performances and results from knowledge workers. Harvard Business Press. de Waal, A., Kourtit, K. (2013). Performance measurement and management in practice: Advantages, disadvantages and reasons for use.International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management,62(5), 446-473. Iqbal, M. Z., Akbar, S., Budhwar, P. (2015). Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal: An Integrated Framework.International Journal of Management Reviews,17(4), 510-533. Kehoe, R. R., Wright, P. M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees attitudes and behaviors.Journal of Management,39(2), 366-391. Madan, D. P., Bajwa, J. K. (2016). Human Resource Management Practices and their Impact on the Job Performance of Employees with Special Reference to Banking Sector.International Journal of Engineering Technology, Management and Applied Sciences,4(4). Personal, Business and Corporate Banking. (2016).Westpac. Retrieved 21 May 2016, from https://www.westpac.com.au PotoÄ nik, K., Anderson, N. (2012). Assessing Innovation: A 360à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ degree appraisal study.International Journal of Selection and Assessment,20(4), 497-509. Tyson, S. (2014).Essentials of human resource management. Routledge. Uduji, J. I. (2013). Management by Objective: an Imperative factor for Shaping the Salesforce Morale.Management,5(17). Van Dooren, W., Bouckaert, G., Halligan, J. (2015).Performance management in the public sector. Routledge.

Famous American Essay Writers from Early Days to Contemporary Essayists

Last updated: June 2019The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. – Mark TwainFor Mr. Twain, essays were way more than academic assignments most of you love hating so much. His works inspired ideas and motivated people to change the world.Have you ever thought how famous essay writers could influence you? To be specific, how could their writings make you awesome? Table of Contents:Early American and Colonial Period: Before 1776Democratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers: 1776-1820Romantic Period: 1820–1860The Rise of Realism: 1860-1914Modernism and Experimentation: 1914-1945American Essay Writers of Postwar PeriodAmerican Essayists: Present DaysThe final wordsHeres the deal:Essay writers cover historical facts and events.They reveal peculiar details about those facts and events, which helps readers understand past and present better.And their essays serve well to students who need reliable in formation sources as references for their academic papers.The writing profession is among the most ancient ones. Great essay writers have been working since the dawn of history, with each period celebrating new names and their signature roles in the evolution of a language.Year by year, essay writers teach critical thinking and freedom of expression to young people demanding changes and self-development. Words are their weapon, powerful enough to influence your attitude toward writing in general, and your writing assignments in particular.Read these famous American essay writers, and youll reveal the secret of awesomeness: clear thoughts expressed with power words.The more you read, the better you write, after all.Early American and Colonial Period: Before 1776It was the time of revolutionary spirit in the air. No surprise, all essay writers of that time strove to send it over their works.Key topics of their essays were:Unjust lawsSlavery and fights against itCriticism of government with their policyDisagreements with aristocratsWarnings of implications such global changes might haveIt was the time of revolutionary literature. If your professor asks to write essays on corresponding topics, you might refer to works of the following American essayists:Samuel Sewall (1652-1730): The Selling of JosephJohn Woolman (1720-1772): Some Considerations on the Keeping of NegroesDemocratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers: 1776-1820The triumph of independence influenced moods and literature then. Essays by famous authors described antislavery, faltering steps of democracy, American exceptionalism, the Constitution, American generations, and relations between England and America.Refer to their works in your essays when appropriate. Those men of letters had to pay for publishing, so they did best for their writings to be topical, informative, and original.The triumph of independence influenced moods and literature then. Essays by famous authors described antislavery, falter ing steps of democracy, American exceptionalism, the Constitution, American generations, and relations between England and America.Refer to their works in your essays when appropriate. Those men of letters had to pay for publishing, so they did best for their writings to be topical, informative, and original.The famous essay writers of that time:Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790): Advice on the Choice of a Mistress; The Art of Procuring Pleasant Dreams; The Temple of Learning; and The WhistleThomas Paine (1737-1809): Common Sense and The American CrisisThomas Jefferson (1743-1826): The Declaration of IndependenceWashington Irving (1783-1859): The Mutability of LiteratureRomantic Period: 1820–1860Known as American Renaissance, this was the era of self-expression, inspiration, and a significant role of arts for both social and individual growth.The Romantic movement originated in Germany but spread to other European countries, England and France in particular. Essay writers of that time were poets and fiction authors as well, with the core topic of self-development. They talked about arts, self-awareness, the unity of self and nature, and a human mission in this world.We bet you know their names. Some of the famous essay writers then were:Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): Gifts; Self-Reliance; and The PoetEdgar Allan Poe (1809-1849): The Philosophy of FurnitureOliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809-1894): The Autocrat of the Breakfast-TableMargaret Fuller (1810-1850): Papers on Literature and ArtFrederick Douglass (1818-1895): The Destiny of Colored AmericansSusan B. Anthony (1820-1906): On Women’s Right to VoteDonald Grant Mitchell (1822-1908): My Farm of Edgewood: A Country BookThe Rise of Realism: 1860-1914The stark reality of life: Romantic moods cant take ages. 1860 was the year of realisms return and heyday. The U.S. Civil War (1861-1865) assigned topics to famous essay writers of that time, and it was the period when optimism had given its way to exhaust ion.America transformed into a powerful nation then. People knew quotes from famous writers by heart, as their words resonated with contemporary moods, and they knew how to write an essay that would work.American essayists covered such topics as wars, industrialization, urbanization, alienation, individual and national strengths. The most known names of that time are:A. Bronson Alcott (1799-1888): â€Å"Exercise† essay collection Table-TalkLouisa May Alcott (1832-1888): Death of a SoldierMark Twain (1835-1910): Advice to Youth; The Danger of Lying in Bed; and On the Decay of the Art of LyingHenry Adams (1838-1918): A Law of AccelerationMary Hunter Austin (1868-1934): The Land of Little RainW.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963): Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and OthersModernism and Experimentation: 1914-1945You are all a lost generation. Gertrude SteinThese words of the well-known novelist and art collector define writers of that time in the best way possible.Disillusioned with wars and l ife values they had, Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and other best-known representatives of their generation hated aristocrats and craved for recognition. Needless to say, they expressed such moods in writings.The Great Depression (1929-1939) had an impact on young essayists, too. They experimented with writing techniques, expressed their thoughts in tricky yet meaningful ways, and tried to cut through the clutter of their peers.Read works of these famous essay writers and learn from them if you want to polish writing skills and create A+ academic papers.George Ade (1866-1944): LuxuriesHenry Louis Mencken (1880-1956): The Libido for the UglyT. S. Eliot (1888-1965): Selected Essays, 1917–1932Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980): The Days BeforeF. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940): What I Think and Feel at 25William Faulkner (1897-1962): The Sound and the FuryErnest Hemingway (1899-1961): The Snows of KilimanjaroAmerican Essay Writers of Postwar PeriodEssay writers of 1945-1990 engag ed in self-reflection thrice. They observed, described, and commented on everything that was going on around. Writings of that time are of a big value today, as they help us understand life models and moods of postwar Americans.A hallmark of the period was verbal genres emerging and boom. Essayists wrote speeches, movie scripts, and song lyrics to describe and express public sentiments better. Influenced by Latin American realism and European existentialism, postwar literature was much multifaceted. Historical figures such as Nelson Mandela with his writings provided American essayists with food for thoughts too.Who are the writers able to influence your mindset and help you understand the outside world through the lens of historical events?Norman Mailer (1923-2007): The White NegroJohn McPhee (1931-present): The Search for Marvin GardensEdward Hoagland (1932-present): Heaven and NatureWendell Berry (1934-present): Against the Death PenaltyJoan Didion (1934-present): The White Album Joseph Epstein (1937-present): Plausible Prejudices: Essays on American Writing; A Literary Education and Other Essays; and Masters of the Games: Essays and Stories on SportRobert Lee Fulghum (1937-present): All I Really Need to Know I Learned in KindergartenWant to hop under the covers?Here comes the comprehensive list of famous essay writers’ best works for you to read, learn, and refer in your college assignments.American Essayists: Present DaysThey challenge predecessors ideas, adapting them to our quick-changing world. Contemporary essay writers cover topics such as human rights, gender equality, post-feminism, global urbanization, and other social issues.The Internet era influences writing forms and styles. Since people have no time and desire to read and analyze long manuscripts today, most essayists go online and publish short stories to hold the attention of an audience. Some communicate ideas through social media or video, as its the best way to reach Gen Z.Who are the most famous essay writers now?Marilynne Robinson (1943-present): When I Was a Child I Read BooksStephen Edwin King (1947-present): Great Hookers I Have KnownDavid Shields (1956-present): Reality HungerSarah Vowell (1969-present): The Partly Cloudy PatriotJohn Jeremiah Sullivan (1974-present): Pulphead(Here is the list of ten contemporary American essayists to read right now.)The final words:As you see, essay writing goes beyond college assignments. This literary form allows you to look back, rethink historical events and social heritage, understand the surrounding community better, and develop critical thinking.Reading and analyzing the best works of famous essay writers, you will not only become higher-ed but also learn how to influence others with your words and writings.Isnt it awesome?Let help you write your best essay today – become the writing influencer tomorrow!

Microsoft Powerpoint and Organic Food Essay

Microsoft Powerpoint and Organic Food Essay Microsoft Powerpoint and Organic Food Essay Thesis: One idea can go a very long way. Opening line: I would like to speak to you all today about recycling. This is not the kind of recycling that involves bottles, cans, and paper. I’m talking about recycling opportunity. Explanation: Towards the end of high school I began to realize how often we are asked to do things over and over again. While applying to colleges in particular, we are asked to write the same essays on the same topic. How many people in this room sent the same essay to a different college? Now, how many people looked over those papers and tweaked them for each school? I know I didn’t. I recycled my papers and my recommendations and sent them off to different schools. Now, I know that the college boards are not stupid and are aware of what it is their future students are doing, though I thought I was being very clever. Later in my first semester of college I began to realize the advantage recycling ideas could have for me†¦ if I did it right. All-in-all recycling opportunity is a synonym for the verb bullshit. The negative connotation â€Å"B.S.-ing† gets is something that should be analyzed. I think it depends a lot upon what kind of BS-er we’re talking about, yes there are different kinds. There are some who are very smart and just uninterested in the current topic they are being forced to learn, these people are usually very good with words, and go into car dealership jobs. Then there are those who have partied too hard and have forgotten the presentation all together. Those people usually try to act very smooth as they make complete fools of themselves. You have the plagiarizers, the class clowns, and the idea recycle-est. the latter is not trying to get away with anything or blow off the class, they are simply salvaging a previous opportunity. I like to try to stay in the category of idea recycle-est. I’m not very good on the spot. For example, when I was trying to decide what to talk about for this speech I looked at a few of my previous presentations that I’ve done for other classes. I have a fifteen minute one on organic food, a ten minute one on massage therapy, and even a 20 minute one on the effects of institutionalization. Any one of these can be recycled. The power points and bullet point papers are right there on my computer ready for my disposal. However, I could not come up here and give the same presentation every time†¦ in most cases. The key to good recycling is to first make sure what you are recycling has already received a good grade. This is especially true if you’re looking to do the least work possible, you definitely want to have a firm standing B+ base. If you already know what went wrong with the presentation the first time, however, and you know how to fix it then, by-all-means, go right ahead and use

Investigative report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Investigative report - Essay Example I would listen to customer as I walked around. It is important for you to note that Wal-Mart food chain stores are not as effective as you may think. The retail stores have a shortage of employees, a problem that people could hardly discover. Despite this problem, I observed that they stock a wide range of food and grocery products (Kipple, Adam and Wherry 23). During my visit to this Wal-Mart grocery store, I found that most customers prefer to shop there because the retail outlet stocks a variety of foods and grocery products. The food chain store stocks products such as cereals, soft drinks, fish, milk, fruit and vegetables. The list of grocery products on the shelves is endless. I found out that the retail store have a strength in availing products to the consumers on time (Kipple, Adam and Wherry 24). You should note that my observations were supplemented by consumer talks, which were not deduced from interviews. Indeed, I walked around the retail store just like any other consumer and never interviewed anyone. On another different note, the retail store had a shortage of employees ranging from the shop attendants, cashiers to the supervisors. The customers were hanging around the corridors and shelves because there were few shop attendants to direct them. Additionally, the same customers would line up for several minutes before they pay for the goods to the cashiers. There were many customers inside the retail store, not because they loved the store so much, but, due to the fact that employees were inadequate. I had thought that Wal-Mart is perfect and efficient even before visiting their food chain store. Being the leading grocery business in the US and the world, one might think that there are no problems in its operations. You should note that the retail store does well in stocking many types of products, but, has a shortage of employees to meet the customer needs. I will go beyond and remind you that Whole Foods is another company that deals with

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 219

Summary - Essay Example However, movies by Asian American are struggling to penetrate and segment the market. However, in comparison with the previous years, Asian American actors have made a remarkable improvement with several renowned films having attracted the attention of the moviegoers. The number of Asian characters in different movies that are being released into the market has also increased significantly. The increased level of globalization that has intensified the need for a diverse workforce and characters has opened up opportunities for these actors. Most of the Asian movies focus their attention on the local culture and the way people interact or deal with tough situation. In addition, they highlight significant activities such as marriage and vices in the society and how they affect individuals or a society at large. In addition, they enlighten people on current issues such as global terrorism. Therefore, the Asian and Asian American filmmakers are playing a significant role in complicating and enriching the changing dimension of the America on

Oepidus the king Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Oepidus the king - Essay Example The tragedy of â€Å"Oedipus the King† was presented at the third year of the Peloponnesian War, when plague was raging in the Athens. The tragedy â€Å"Oedipus the King† has in itself many references to eyes, sight, and blindness. In the centre of the story there is a man, who identifies the theme of the tragedy that is considered to be the theme of moral self-identity. It seems that in this drama the most important ideas regarding the nature and destiny of a man are expressed. The tragedy consists of a big variety of symbols and the specific symbols of blindness and sight are connected with the themes of knowledge and ignorance in it. And it is done so capaciously, simply and convincingly that it is available for the understanding even of an inexperienced reader. For example, the next lines show us that sight is used in ignorance way, while blindness can open much more: â€Å"†¦So I say this to you, since you have chosen to insult my blindness— you have y our eyesight, and you do not see how miserable you are, or where you live† (Sophocles, Oedipus the King), or other example that presents a blindness as symbol of knowledge: â€Å"He will be blind, although he now can see. He will be a poor, although he now is rich. He will set off for a foreign country, groping the ground before him with a stick† (Sophocles, Oedipus the King).

A strategic analysis of jetblue airways

A strategic analysis of jetblue airways The US airline industry trends have caused airline companies, including Jet Blue to struggle for survival. Retirement has caused a shortage of pilots and instructors. Flying schools experience less instructors and hours needed to train new pilots. In 2008, crude oil prices increased to a record $140 per barrel (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble, 2010). Increased prices of fuel allowed the airlines to charge passenger fees for fuel surcharges, baggage fees, and beverage and snack fees. Airlines continue to charge fees with increasing fuel prices to generate an airline strategy. After 9/11, Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (PDF), by issuing this Act; federal employees were tasked to handle all airport security. Increased screening for baggage and passengers, size limits on fluids and x-ray inspections. With the additional security measures, came financial burdens to the airline industry. Jet Blues strategic intent When Jet Blues was founded, David Nelleman wanted air travel to compassionate and fun. The strategic intent was to offer customers a low discount airline carrier with the comforts of home. As the first airline to offer electronic ticketing, Jet Blue wanted to delay its flights instead of canceling them. Agents were allowed to work from home and customers enjoyed gourmet snacks, coffees, in-seat televisions with satellite radio and movie channels. Jet Blue began to look into increasing the shareholder and customer values with the expansion of New Yorks JFK Airport with 8 am and 9 am flights. This was hopeful to Jet Blue executives; they wanted to appeal to younger customers, affluent New Yorkers, and those traveling to New York City. Opening up this new terminal has saved $50 million in labor, fuel, and vouchers. Now, the company serves more than 53 destinations (Thompson et al., 2010). JetBlues financial objectives success in achieving Although Jet Blues stock dropped by 50% in the five years, revenues grew 185% between 2003 and 2007, their operating expenses grew 222% during the same period. The loss in revenue was blamed on the cost of fuel (532% increase) and interest expense (658% increase). Jet Blue decided to take a conservative financial strategy in which they maintained high liquid ratios relative to the other major airlines (Thompson et al., 2010). Jet Blue was millions behind the competitor but developed new equity capital and credit, which was needed to keep the company, and allow them to maintain strong liquidity. Assessment of competitive advantage Cost. JetBlue operates at a lower cost than its competitors. According to Thompson, Strickland Gamble (2010), JetBlues total operating expenses were 12.17 per revenue passenger mile in 2008 versus $18.18 for American Airline, $18.18 for Continental, $20.95 for Delta, $13.85 for Southwest, $19.13 for United, and $21.45 for US Airways. Its planes, such as, the Airbus A320, tended to be newer than those of its competitors resulting in lower maintenance costs and no maintenance-related fines. The company increased flying time by minimizing turnaround time. Reservation agents worked at home resulting in cost savings as compared to a traditional call center. These measures paid off creating a major competitive advantages in the form of low operating costs that other airlines did not achieve. Organizational culture. JetBlues organizational structure was created based on five steps. First, the companys values were determined. Then, hiring managers selected employees who mirrored the companys values. Next, the company ensured that the company exceeded employee expectations and to listen to customers. And, finally, the company created a plan to drive excellence. The values established by JetBlue were safety, caring, integrity, fun, and passion. As an example, George Forman grills were set up at the JFK terminal to allow employees to have fun. By only hiring employees that mirrored those values, the company could encourage hiring managers to be creative during the hiring process and to weed out those that would not be a fit. By making these steps an active part of getting work done, JetBlue developed a strong organizational culture. Human resource practices. JetBlue is a company with a strong focus on people. In anticipation of airplane pilot shortages they implemented Aviation University Gateway, partnered with universities to identify exceptional candidates, and implemented internship programs. They addressed a lack of confidence in JetBlues leadership by providing leadership development training. They developed an airline training center at the Orlando International Airport. To make up for paying employees a lower base salary than its competitors, they offered health coverage, profit sharing, and 401k retirement plans. They also avoided layoffs through voluntary packages and attrition. This focus on meeting the needs of its employees, growing talent, and creating a talent pool was essential competitive benefits that were very difficult to imitate. JetBlues strategies for 2008 beyond and likelihood of success. In 2008, JetBlue adapted new strategies to re-evaluate the way its assets were used, reduce capacity, cut costs, raise fares, grow in select markets, offer services for business travel, form strategic partnerships, and increase ancillary revenues. JetBlue formed an alliance with Lufthansa to enable the company to use their terminals at JFK and signed a contract with Continental to provide LiveTV (Thompson et al., 2010). JetBlue reduced their capacity by selling nine aircrafts and reduced costs by delaying the delivery of 21 new aircrafts (Thompson et al., 2010). They reduced aircraft utilization rates, suspended service in some cities, and cancelled plan service in order to cut costs. After choosing Orlando to become a target market, they then raised prices but to lower fares than competitors. Furthermore, they provided incentives to corporate travelers, entered into agreements with Expedia for leisure travelers and Travelocity for business customers, and with Aer Lingus to expand t heir reach internationally. To generate revenue, JetBlue created new fees, including a fee for a second bag and for select seats. Even with these strategies, the airlines financial performance shows that they are falling short of expectations during the first six months of 2008 (Thompson et al., 2010). However, 2009 was a successful year for JetBlue. The company was one of only a few to report four consecutive quarters of profitability in this year (JetBlue, 2010). A net income of $58 million was generated with an operating margin of 8.5% which was an improvement of more than $140 million compared to 2008. They continued to have one of the strongest liquidity positions in the U.S. airline industry relative to our revenues. In addition, JetBlue generated positive free cash flow for the first time in its history. According to JetBlues 2009 annual report, these results demonstrated the benefits of JetBlues disciplined growth strategy, its focus on managing capital expenditures, rationalizing capacity, maximizing revenue, and controlling costs. Given that the company is prosperous in challenging times, it is likely that the companys sound strategies and cash-rich positions will give the company longevity over the long term. Conclusions The purpose of this report was to examine JetBlues business strategy. Trends in the U.S. airline industry impacting crude oil prices, pilot shortages, and 9/11 aviation security measures. Overall, these trends, combined with a weak economy, caused airlines to struggle to survive. JetBlue has survived by a focus on bringing humanity back to air travel at low fares. They focused on providing value, customer service, and unique extras for customers. Employees benefit from training and a strong organizational culture. The business benefited from measures to cut costs and form lucrative partnerships. Presently, the financial reports of JetBlue showed that the company was outperforming its competitors in a recession making the company highly likely to be successful over the long term.

Conflicts of Gender in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe :: Things Fall Apart

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are constant struggles between gender, identity, commodification, and class. Among the men and women in many African tribes that still exist today, there are divergences, which will always remain intact because of the culture and the way in which they are taught to treat each other. Chinua Achebe wrote the novel, Things Fall Apart, which is a great piece of African literature that deals with the Igbo culture, history, and the taking over of African lands by British colonization. The ongoing gender conflict is a prominent theme in Things Fall Apart presenting the clash between men and women of the African Igbo society. Throughout history, from the beginning of time to today, women have frequently been viewed as inferior, men’s possessions whose sole purpose was to satisfy the men’s needs. Maybe it's because men are physically stronger than women and have always had the ability to control them that way. In Things Fall Apart, the Igbo women were p erceived as being weak. They received little or no respect in the Igbo society and were harshly abused. The recurring theme of gender conflicts helps drive the novel Things Fall Apart by showing how important women are to the men, yet they do not receive the treatment they deserve. Women have many responsibilities in the Igbo society such as having children, cooking, cleaning, and farming. These are important function for women, yet they are not given much credit or meaning for their existence in the roles they fill. As Rose Ure Mezu points out â€Å"The world in Things Fall Apart is one in which patriarchy intrudes oppressively into every sphere of existence. It is an andocentric world where the man is everything and the woman nothing.† In some way Mezu is correct in saying that the man is everything and the woman nothing. The man holds the highest importance of the family and it is he who holds the titles. In Things Fall Apart, the reader follows the troubles of the main character Okonkwo, a tragic hero whose flaw includes the fact that "his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness" (2865). For Okonkwo, his father Unoka was the essence of failure and weakness.

Pornification of culture

In a world where amazing technology has change our way of life, the issue of pornification of culture has become a common phenomenon among people in all over the world especially among youth. This issue has become serious when there are lots of social illnesses that occur among teenagers nowadays. The integration of the Internet along with sophisticated gadget that seems to become enhanced day by day in which we ourselves could not imagine of how superior it is in the future has changed the system of communication a lot and with these modern technologies, the oundaries across the countries and time are no longer becomes a matter to us.However, when our life turn out to be more easier and faster, some of us would often violate the purpose of these facilities as it bring disaster towards one's life when they involve with the popular culture that exists in todays fashion, music, games, etc. It is not an issue if those are used in a positive and correct ways, but to some extent people us ed them to get access to pornography and many other related issue which is sometimes can abuse the role of man as a vicegerent in this earth.It will also lead o numerous types of social problems and this natural process that happened should not be look upon lightly, hence urgent action need to be taken strictly and serious to overcome this new challenges. When dealing with the rising trend of pornification of culture across the world today, people from all cultural backgrounds including parents are very concerns towards their children particularly girls.We are facing a serious issue of increasing influences from popular culture and celebrity which sometimes portrays bad role models towards children as they are not matured enough to consider which is good o follow and which is bad to avoid. Some people in the west, for example, are extremely worried about the increasing pornographic elements in children's fashion (Feiler, 2013).The way fashion designers intend to create new fashions among children and teenagers is as if they would like them to expose themselves with sexualisation through the various types of clothes and pants which every parent are worried about. The hardest part is when the children are always rebel against their own parents because those fashions are become common and usual to them. Even the west are fear with this rising issue, what more if we are Muslims. Both the Muslims and non-Muslims today are beginning to realize that they have to work together to deal with this complex challenges.The concern is not Just only towards the children's fashion. Recently, Muslims and non-Muslims in Canada were united to join effort in protesting against the proposed plan to ban the wearing of religious garments that reflects the identity of their own religion. This shows that many people around the world understand the importance of religion in a modern world (New Straits Time, 2013). The probability of both sides working together may involve the ole of rel igion in everyday life.The need to defend their own identity has urged them to be united so that everyone has rights to voice out their concern about religion. Discussing on the religion, nowadays, people begin to accept the true practice of need of religion in their life to guide them along straight path. Teenagers particularly becomes attracted towards Islam because of the increasing number of young Imams who are able to preach the teaching of Islam and at the same time follow their lifestyle which is in conforms to the way of life of the teenagers.Even though Islam in America today still remains a minority religion, many people have realized the proper religious teaching to their children in order to encounter the problems among youths today (New Straits Time, 2013). The importance of having young Imams in the society is crucial at this time in order to prevent the decline of morality among teen and guide them if they have gone astray and involve with social problems.Their roles are needed because sometimes the nurture from parents are not enough as they are always busy with works and from the teaching of these Imams, it also helps to provide with mental along with spiritual aspect of life. Not only that, women nowadays also begins to involve with the society as they starting to realize that women in their societies are the key to solving serious social and moral problems like teenage pregnancies, alcoholism and religious extremism (Shulman, 2012).We cannot deny that the role of women these days are also as significant as the role of man because the women is needed to encounter problems faced by most of the girls teen and women adults as the approach of women to women gives more comfort. Besides, they also feel like this is the time to bring back the dignity of women and levate their status in society so that women will not be oppressed easily by man and their Justice should also be preserved. This is one of the ways in order to help solving the problems in volving teenagers which become serious with the issue of pornification of culture.In one of the Western countries, the issues of alcoholism have achieved the alert stage in which actions should be taken immediately. The consumption of alcohol or known as binge-drinking in Britain had risen the expenses related to health and also caused rising levels of death and diseases (The Star, 2012). As we already know, lcohol is one of the major cause for the social problems today because it can makes people drunk and they are not realize of what they are doing.Thus, from alcohol drinking only, people can involve in prostitution, pregnancy, rape, murder and etc. which is very common issue that we heard lately. Everyone involving the government should begin to do something and taken several steps to reduce the consumption of alcohol so that the major illness among teenagers will slowly decrease. It is also becomes everyone's role in order to help reducing the problems slowly so that the problem s in the society will not be prolonged to the future.

An Overview Of Vaishnodevi Tourism Essay Example

An Overview Of Vaishnodevi Tourism Essay Example An Overview Of Vaishnodevi Tourism Essay An Overview Of Vaishnodevi Tourism Essay Vaishnodevi Nestled at a tallness of 5,200 pess, Vaishnodevi, is one of the holiest temples in the Hindu faith. Located in the hill of Vaishno Devi in Jammu Kashmir, Vaishnodevi is besides known as Mata Rani and is believed to be an embodiment of the Mother Goddess. This is the 2nd most visited topographic point of pilgrims journey after Tirupati. Significance If ancient Hindu texts and Bibles are to be believed, the Mother Goddess was infact born stat mis off from where her shrine is situated. Her place of birth seems to hold been the South of India and she was born to Ratnakar Sagar. She left the secular desires at merely 9 old ages of age to chew over and execute repentances to pacify Lord Rama, an embodiment of Lord Vishnu. Please by her devotedness, Lord Rama asked her to travel North and meditate in a cave in the Trikuta scope of Manik Mountains. This is how Vaishnodevi is believed to hold been established. Attractions The Vaishnodevi Shrine: This universe celebrated temple that attracts 1000s of fans each twelvemonth is the focal point of Vasihnodevi. Like most ancient shrines the history of the Vaishnodevi shrine is shrouded in antiquity and mysticism although it is believed that the shrine was discovered by the Pandavas and the Mother Goddess finds a reference in the heroic poem Mahabharata. On a mountain, merely next to the Trikuta mountains and overlooking the sanctum cave are five rock constructions which are believed to typify the five pandavas. Devouts believe that the Mother Goddess has the power to carry through their desires and that no 1 goes empty handed from her shrine. Baba Dhansar: This temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is located 15 kilometer from Katra. Many devouts throng to this temple to see the of course formed Shiv Lingam on which droplets of H2O autumn invariably throughout the twelvemonth. This temple is besides the locale for a just that is held during Shivratri. Shiv Khori: This is the sanctum cave residence of Lord Shiva and is situated about 70 kilometers from Katra and the alone attractive force of this cave is its form it is shaped like a Damroo , Lord Shiva s heavenly music instrument broad at the terminals and narrow at the Centre. Shiv Khori besides has a of course formed Shiv Lingam that is popular amongst fans. How to Reach Your Vaishnodevi Yatra starts from Katra, a town located 50 kilometer from Jammu. Katra is good connected by route to Jammu. The nearest airdrome to Katra is Jammu as is the rail caput. If you plan to go by route, you can take from a broad scope of conveyance options like coachs, private taxis, landrovers etc. Recently, a chopper service has besides been started for pilgrims who do non desire to do the long and backbreaking trek to the shrine on pes.

5 Rules About Conjunctive Adverbs

5 Rules About Conjunctive Adverbs 5 Rules About Conjunctive Adverbs 5 Rules About Conjunctive Adverbs By Mark Nichol Many words and phrases are similar in function to the conjunction and, but they’re not exact replacements; they even belong in a different grammatical class adverbs. But because of this similarity, they’re called conjunctive adverbs or adverbial conjunctions. When considering using any of the special adverbs discussed below the simplest and most common among this subclass with or in place of and, keep these rules in mind: 1. â€Å"As Well As† Stands Alone The phrase â€Å"as well as† serves to distance a phrase from a preceding item or list of items: â€Å"Bioethics addresses issues of medical administration, medical economics, industrial medicine, epidemiology, legal medicine, treatment of animals, as well as environmental issues.† Because â€Å"as well as environmental issues† is a separate phrase, the preceding list requires its own conjunction before the final item: â€Å"Bioethics addresses issues of medical administration, medical economics, industrial medicine, epidemiology, legal medicine, and treatment of animals, as well as environmental issues.† 2. Clauses Share Conjunctive Adverbs The presence of a conjunction in a subordinate clause obviates the need for another one in the main clause: â€Å"In addition to managing the application server and the database, the company also tackles Web applications.† When you begin a sentence with a connector, do not introduce another later in the sentence: â€Å"In addition to managing the application server and the database, the company tackles Web applications.† 3. Conjunctions and Conjunctive Adverbs Clash Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, in a sample sentence demonstrating the definition of also, allows the combination â€Å"and also,† as shown in this construction: â€Å"I did check-in procedures when they were first arrested and also checked them for weapons and such before they went into their rooms.† However, I see no point in retaining also and recommend its deletion: â€Å"I did check-in procedures with them when they were first arrested and checked them for weapons and such before they went into their rooms.† 4. Let Etc. Carry Its Own Load A similar redundancy can occurs with etc.; fortunately, few people commit this error in their writing, but in searching for examples online, I found many company names following the â€Å"Widgets and Etc.† model. Etc., an abbreviation of the Latin et cetera (hence the pronunciation), means â€Å"and so on,† and so forth,† â€Å"and the like,† so preceding it with and is redundant. By the way, style guides recommend using one of the English forms in favor of the Latin abbreviation. If you’re going to ignore this sensible advice, at least punctuate the sentence correctly by preceding the abbreviation with a comma: â€Å"Symptoms of alcohol abuse are identical to those of heart failure due to viral infection, high blood pressure, etc.† If etc. occurs mid-sentence, punctuate after it as well: â€Å"Symptoms of alcohol abuse are identical to those of heart failure due to viral infection, high blood pressure, etc., so it is easily misdiagnosed or missed.† 5. Take Care in Placing Too Too can be situated in various places in a sentence, depending on the sentence’s intended meaning: â€Å"Too, I think mediation should be considered.† However, it should not start a sentence: â€Å"I think, too, mediation should be considered first,† in which the placement of too clearly indicates that the writer is expressing an additional thought, is the correct syntactical arrangement. â€Å"I think mediation should be considered, too,† while also correct, is ambiguous: It could mean the same thing, or it could signal agreement with another person’s opinion. â€Å"I, too, think mediation should be considered first† unequivocally communicates the latter meaning. But don’t let the injunction against the adverbial conjunction too at the head of a sentence deter you from beginning one with the pure adverb too: â€Å"Too many cooks spoil the broth.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:English Grammar 101: All You Need to KnowProbable vs. PossibleUsing "zeitgeist" Coherently

Needs-Based Theories of Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Needs-Based Theories of Motivation - Essay Example Before going to discuss three needs-based theories of motivation, let us get a better understanding of what motivation actually is. Motivation means to inspire people to make them achieve their personal or professional goals. In workplace settings, it is extremely important to motivate people to increase their productivity. Williams (2010) states, â€Å"Motivating people to do their best work, consistently, has been an enduring challenge for executives and managers†. Needs Theory by Douglas McClelland Douglas McClelland presented this theory of needs. The theorist reveals that there are three needs, which affect or shape the behaviors of people. Those needs include need for power, need for affiliation, and need for achievement. Power is another human need. In this world, every person has the desire to influence others in order to control their behaviors and actions but the level of desire to control other individual’s behaviors varies from person to person. People, who are motivated by power, want to dominate and shape other people’s views and behaviors. The need for achievement is another need of a person to achieve all personal and professional goals. People struggle in their lives to achieve their goals and objectives. Achievement of any type of goal makes people happy and confident. The third need is the need for affiliation. People want to make relationships with other people in order to remain active in the society.

Critical Analysis of Lee Smith's All the Days of Our Lives Essay

Critical Analysis of Lee Smith's All the Days of Our Lives - Essay Example But the scene she sets is dreamy and romantic, full of color, yet devoid of emotion. The reader is made more aware that Helen lives life in a haze of Salem cigarette smoke, romantic daydreams and unrealistic perceptions. The picture she paints of her ex-husband Howard firmly places him in a tidy, orderly, realistic place, with a similar personality, her opposite, it emerges. She cries in bouts of self-pity throughout the story, but there is unconscious humor in the picture painted of a lonely, old lady cutting frozen dinners in two. And still we are in Helen's car, as she segues into the image of herself as a nurse, all in white. Her stream of consciousness has deftly moved the reader from the hot interior of an automobile to the cool, dark sea, and back again to the mundane reality of a divorced woman with too much on her mind, a vivid imagination and a way with words. The 'solid sun', coupled with the 'pest control man' lend an air of irritation and frustration, and her character begins to emerge as less empathetic when she refuses to respond to her apparently helpful neighbor. Within the setting of her home, her attitude to her children, her soap on TV, her lack of impetus, all serve to further dispel the idea of a woman with some spirit. Her 15 year old daughter, Denise, appears to have more common-sense, determination and grasp on reality than her mother. "In some funny way, she is not young at all" and "Denise will never have a ball in her life, and both of them know it." (Smith, p. 3) The reality of the toddler, the put-upon teenager and angry little boy, all gathered in a small, chaotic domesticity are not to her liking, but she can block them out with the imaginary drama, the luxury and wealth on the screen which she prefers to immerse herself in. The question arises as to whether Helen is selfish, weak, ineffectual or a victim of circumstances beyond her control. The answer may be that she is all of these. The atmosphere she soaks up from her TV serves to remove her from the reality of her life. She gives desultory attention to real people, avid interest to soap actors. It becomes more apparent when Judy, her childless sister arrives, that Helen is dependent on others. Judy faces life as it is and she acts as a catalyst to bring Helen down to earth for a time, reminding her of the eccentricities of Howard. She takes off Helen's 'rose-tinted spectacles', with honesty and humor and the result is that: "Even tragic Helen has to laugh." (Smith, p. 6) Their interaction has defined the differences in the sisters and the roles they play for each other. It has made Helen think about marriages, her sister's, her parent's and shows the reader that despite negative experience, Helen's perceptions remain detached from reality. "Helen had known all about marriage anyway, that it was like a beautiful pastel country out there, waiting for her to

Peter roberts watches expanding in HONG KONG Essay

Peter roberts watches expanding in HONG KONG - Essay Example PESTEL analysis (Porter, 1980) focuses on the external forces that play a key in role in a firm’s ability to produce and sell. The political analysis relates to the political context of a country and governments often use them to influence the business operations. According to (Porter, 1980), these factors include trading policy; international relations and taxation policy just to mention a few. Hong Kong is relative a stable and thus offers an excellent environment for international investors to conduct business. However, the imposition of 30% tax on international companies while letting local companies free could pose challenges to Peter Roberts watches in terms of competition (HKTDC Research, 2015). Porter (1985) posits that economic factors have a significant effect on business and, in particular, the national economy where the business is located. The economic factors influence business largely in terms of income, interest rates, and general demand. Kotler et al. (2013) argues that high-interest rates discourage investment whereas high inflation affects employee wages. Hong Kong is a rising, stable economy with low inflation rates; consequently, this will be more appealing to Peter Roberts Watches to conduct business. Porter (1985) describes social factors as encompassing factors such as population growth rates, social attitudes, and social demographics among others. The significance of these factors is in their ability to affect the demand for a firm’s goods. Hong Kong’s population has a significantly large proportion of its population composed of the Y-generation (Lenway & Murtha, 1994). This generation is fashion conscious and has a high affinity for trendy products. Peter Roberts Watches firm’s ability to produce a variety of watches including fashion will ultimately appeal to this population hence market (Peter Roberts, 2015). Technological factors

Pornography Should Be Free

Pornography Should Be Free from Government Control Essay Whether one feels strongly about the viewing, making and distribution of pornography by consenting adults, one cannot argue that sex isn’t everywhere. Evident in videos, movies, pictures, and advertisements, it’s a fact that sex sells. Who is to say that because pornography can be viewed easily in many ways, that it’s not a bad thing? Yet in the discourse of pornography as a whole, where does morality and money come into play? To whatever extent pornography is considered immoral; everyone should be entitled their own intellectual freedom. The government has made some steps in order to limit the spread of pornography, yet it is apparent that little can be done to ultimately affect it. In 1968, the Supreme Court case of Ginsberg v. New York held that the government can legally prohibit children from accessing certain types of sexually explicit material, the same material that can’t be banned for adults. Even though the Supreme Court ruled that a minor does not have the constitutional right to the same content as an adult, the task of restricting content on the internet is shaky, due to the difficulty of distinguishing adults from children. In 1973, a following Supreme Court case, Miller v. California, established the phenomenon of â€Å"variable tolerance†. Leaving a variable tolerance existing for explicit material, the Supreme Court allowed communities to decide what was indecent or obscene. Different levels of tolerance of pornography from community to community could be a successful system if in fact, pornography distribution can be limited community by community. Because people are mobile and the internet is boundary-free, the government cannot effectively restrict its availability to everyone (and possibly to anyone). Another notable court case involved with pornography was the 1982 case, Ferber v. New York. This case basically addressed all material showing a ‘sexual performance’ by a child under the age of 16, as obscene. It defined a sexual performance as, â€Å"actual or simulated sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, sexual bestiality, masturbation, sado-masochistic abuse, or lewd exhibition of the genitals.† It’s a federal offense to knowingly receive child pornography. According to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, â€Å"intellectual freedom is the right of every individual both to hold and express opinions and to seek and receive information.† The freedom of an adult to view pornography involving other adults is not really recognized as a recreational activity, mainly because it is scorned upon in many religions. Even the majority of parental figures in the world seem to demonize pornography when raising their youth. Yet no one really steps back and asks, why exactly is pornography immoral? One of the major arguments towards pornography being immoral is that in many pornographic depictions, people (usually women) seem to be victimized for a viewer’s pleasure. The only difference between an African American woman playing a role as a slave in the civil war era, an African American woman posing in shackle-like bracelets in a skinny jean advertisement, and an African American woman in a pornographic film, is that each different role requires certain talents and understandings that come together in order to entertain an audience. Immoral or not, pornographic material is nothing more than another way to make money. It’s seen or referenced to in many advertisements, and it’s difficult to find an â€Å"R† rated movie with out at least one nudity scene. Once again, sex sells. Wherever there is demand, there will be supply, and the statistics behind internet pornography are somewhat staggering. According to Information Science professor and researcher, Paul F Burton, â€Å"47% of the 11,000 most popular searches on the Internet are targeted towards pornography.† The money aspect of pornography is almost incomprehensible. There are over 1.5 million internet users viewing pornography every minute. From that audience, $3,075.64 is spent on pornography each second, and every 40 minutes, a new pornographic video is made in the United States alone. The market for pornography is huge.

Training and Development of Employee Soft Skills

Training and Development of Employee Soft Skills Introduction This paper will discuss training and development of employees and focus on soft skills. This will compare the literature with case studies and conclude on the benefits of training in organisations. Skills of employees are broken down into two main headings, hard (technical) that allow them to perform the tasks that make up the role, and soft skills that encourage interactions, with colleagues, peers and customers. This paper has concluded that both skills need to be present to gain the most from the customer relationship, although soft skills will increase the benefit of hard skills, they allow the communication of technical skills. Soft skills are the interaction between individuals, which includes communication and empowerment, autonomy and decision making. Soft skills are discussed as the last competitive edge organisations can posses, that add value. This skills are difficult to assess, many are already present in employees, but not nurtured. The theorist during the early 1990’s discussed soft skills from a management perspective; it was discussed as the hidden value (or skill) that organisations could offer. This perspective has now changed, to one of marketing theory, discussed in areas such as relationship marketing and customer value. This is opinion by marketers is that by encouraging soft skills in employees it will add value to the product. Marketing theory discusses that customer loyalty can offer the organisation repeat business; this is valuable as it utilises economies of scale, lowering marketing and production costs. This is a cost effective method to maintain and increase business, leading to a higher level of revenue, but it requires the organisation understanding what the customer requires from this relationship. The question raised at this point, is should customer loyalty be taken for granted, or can it be effected by actions from the organisation, therefore should it have resources ploughed into it. Can employees be trained to meet the needs of the customer? Can organisations build on this through skill utilisation of the human resource, can training affect the relationship, and will lack of training have a negative affect on this. The skills that are needed are classified as soft, in contrast to the hard technical skills that are required for job performance. At first the area researched was the customer’s opinion of their loyalty, why they made repeat purchases and what actually influenced their decisions. This area proved subjective, they enjoyed the experience of purchasing, and often attributed to the organisations representative. It then followed to look at the skills of organisations in further depth, studying the skills of their representatives, and how the training and developing of soft skills could add to this relationship. Literature states that the evaluation of training is neglected, although it must be noted that there is no universal method that can be employed. Evaluation of training is a subjective area, with various factors that impinge on the successful transfer of new skills. Numerous organisations were contacted, but the response level was low, therefore it was decided to review soft skills within three organisations, as an interaction with both colleagues and ultimately customers. The three organisations that were chosen are all in different industry sections and in different stages of the life cycle. The first organisation agreed to the research, but then became reluctant to disclosure further information. The organisations felt that the economic position they were in would not be helped by a report written into the possible causes, although, it was stressed this was not the purpose of the paper. It was agreed to keep the organisation anonymous, but meant that their accounts could not be discussed in relation to training. To maintain neutrality throughout the paper all three organisations would study in the same method. This focussed the paper on utilisation of soft skills, the amount of training invested in them and the ultimate benefit to the organisation. The paper concludes individually on all three organisations. Assessing their levels of commitment to skills training, the value they place in this, and the culture that encourages the transfer of skills. The main conclusions are drawn from this section. 3.0 Aims and objectives The aim of this paper is to study the value of soft skills training in terms of attracting repeat customers and increasing company profits. This aim is wide, to allow for other discussion which after reviewing the literature review and case studies, will appear relevant to the paper. The first objective is to determine the extent to which training can improve the soft skills of employees that are customer facing, combining this with practical experience. In terms of being combined with experience, it may be useful to study whether training before extensive experience of dealing with customers is more effective than training employees who already have significant experience. Do employees get stuck in their ways and find it harder to change. Although it must be noted that the organisational structure and culture will have a direct affect on level of transfer of new skills. The second objective will be to determine to what extent employee and managerial soft skills can influence the tendency of customers to become repeat, and potentially loyal, customers. Again, soft skills will only be one potential factor influencing customer choices, and it will be necessary to attempt to determine the impacts of the other aspects of the marketing mix: price, promotion, place and product. It is hypothesized that there will be certain combinations of the various aspects that will have the desired effect; however this may vary according to customer demographics. The third objective will be to determine the extent to which soft skills can be converted to company profits, as a result of gaining more customers, and repeat customers, and how this is affected by company training policies and expenditure. In other words, the data will be used to attempt to discover if expenditure on soft skills training actually produces significant rewards for a company. It will be necessary to study several organisations who have invested in soft skills training programs, and attempt to determine the perceived improvement in the soft skills of their employees. This should also be compare against an organisation that have not invested in soft skill training, to contrast the skills of the employees. The areas that will be examined will involve the structure, culture, leadership and training programmes within the organisations. These findings will be compared to the literature review and a marketing database Factiva to determine the importance customers place on the soft skills of company employees. Surveys of customers were considered; however they may produce even more distorted results, as many customers are unsure of their personal reasons why they make repeat purchases. The surveying of organisations will determine their expenditure on training, both in time and capital, and focus on soft skills. This should be discussed with the value they place on the customer and the level of repeat business they expect. 4.0 Methodology This chapter discusses the research methods used for the project and the justification for the choice of methods.   It discusses methods that were not used, with justification of why they were not included.   Included is a critique of methods selected, and with hindsight identifies any changes that would have enhanced the research.  Ã‚  Ã‚   This paper evaluates customer loyalty that is demonstrated through repeat business. Can organizations influence the level by training their employees in soft skills?   Selection of the topic was stimulated and formed the identification of customer loyalty perhaps being the last competitive edge that organisations can offer.     The nature of the research was discussed with colleagues and fellow students this not only added practical ideas and suggestions, it opened new avenues of thought.   This was the discussed with lecturers sounding out ideas, gauging opinions and clarifying the question.   Focusing in on the question was obtained by employing relevance trees, narrowing the research area.   This gave direction to the research, although with reviewing the literature this changed several times (Buzan, J. 1995).   Next, a research proposal was compiled, with the benefit of organising ideas and setting a time-scale for research.   Theoretically, the proposal would highlight any difficulties with the research question and access to data.   Creating a time-scale would focus on targets and meet deadlines in the completion of the paper.   This time scale proved invaluable when new avenues were investigated, it helped focus on where the project should be. The literature review, discussing theories and ideas that exist on the topic formed the foundation of the paper.   The findings from the research are then tested on theories for validity (Saunders, M. et al 1997).   The literature review was challenging, there is a great deal of academic research on training, but very little on the topic area. Journals and books were the back bone for the review, both in marketing and management theory. Tertiary data sources, such as library catalogues and indexes were used to scan for secondary data.   This produced journals and newspaper articles, books and Internet addresses.   With the amount of literature, it took time to sort out relevant material to the research.   Narrowing down the search Bell’s (1993) six point’s parameters was applied.   Applying key words that were identified in the first search produced relevant and up-to-date material (Bell, J.1993).   A limitation on the literature search was the amount of time to read all articles and books on the subject. Whilst reviewing the literature references to other publications were followed and reviewed.   Bells checklist on identifying the relevance of literature found was a practical method to reduce the amount of reading (Bell, J. 1993). Ethical considerations in research fall into three categories, during design, collection, and reporting of the data.   These areas were carefully considered at all stages of the research (Oppenheim, A.1996:84).   The data sought throughout the research should remain within the scope of the project (Saunders, M. et al 1997).  Ã‚   Participants were instructed on the purpose of the paper and how their input would be used. The person privacy must not be evaded during interviewing Oppenheim (1996) referred to this saying â€Å"respecting the respondents right to privacy, as the right to refuse to answer certain or all questions† (Oppenheim 1996:84).   By participating in the research, no harm should fall on the participant.   Consent must be obtained from both the organisation and individuals before commencement of research.   The data sought throughout the research should remain within the scope of the project (Saunders et al 1997).  Ã‚   Questionnaires were selected to obtain the overall picture of soft skills from employees and there relevance to customer retention. Before the questionnaires were distributed a letter was delivered given to all employees explaining the purpose of the research, and how the information was to be used.   The letter contained a contact number for the researcher, and gave a guarantee of anonymity of the information.   An advantage of communicating to respondents before the questionnaire was that it increased the response rate, and addressed ethical concerns (Saunders et al 1997).   Fellow students were used to pilot the questionnaires; to test the information gained from the questions and the time take to complete it.   From this, adjustments were made on the wording, removing technical jargon (Bell 1993).   Closed questions maintained the anonymity of the participants, but had the disadvantage of limiting the data that could be collected, therefore a mixture was used.   A cop y of the questionnaire is in appendix four. Processing the data from the questionnaires was achieved using a spreadsheet programme; variables were coded and entered into the computer.   This information was quantitative and proved easy to evaluate.  Ã‚   Other methods of research gave qualitative data; this was evaluated using key words, and summarising the script to show trends, although some subjectivity will always remain (Cresswell 1994).   Classifying the data into categories before it was analysed, putting it in groups of similar responses, allowed the data to be workable, then conclusion were drawn (Saunders et al 1997).   Interviews were used on key employees to gain the formal structure, market segment and background of the organisations (Wass Wells 1994).   After the questionnaires, some employees came forward interested in offering themselves for further input to the research.   Although helpful, they could show bias; those coming forward could have an axe to grind, using an interview to grind it, therefore this was rejected (Saunders et al 1997). Case studies of organisations that through varying levels require repeat business to compound and improve their market share have been reviewed and compared to the literature. The case studies discuss the organisations strategy, culture and management style. To produce primary data on customer loyalty proved to be a vast task, taking a lot of time to produce results. Internal and external operations of several organisations would have to be compared to reach any level of validity. Other methods of data collection were considered and rejected.   Focus groups would have offered free flowing information. This could have been facilitated with discussion led by the researcher.   The idea was rejected due to the limited resources. The amount of data collected would have taken a long time to analysis, and could have been bias. It was decided to do case studies on organizations and interview employees. The questionnaire remained anonymous, not only to protect employees, but to allow for the information to flow without recourse. The findings of this will be presented in section seven and in the appendices. Choosing a multi-method approach for a research strategy allowed several methods for the collection of data.   Adding validity of findings and different perspective to the research, each method selected complimented and triangulated the results of another.   Questionnaires and interviews triangulate the results from observation (Saunders et al 1997).   Each method employed for research has its own advantages and disadvantages’; using a multi-method approach reduces bias and increases validity (Saunders et al 1997). Multiple regression analysis will be the best method for analysing the data, once potential bias has been identified and removed. Several models will need to be tried, as the relationship may not be simple, and the model that is found to be most accurate would have implications for the analysis of the third objective, as there will potentially be an optimal level of soft skill training, above which the rewards will not match any further increase in expenditure. Multiple regression will often be the most apt form of analysis, as it will offer information on the explanatory power of certain variables, which will be useful when concluding whether training or experience are most important for soft skill development, the relationship between training and experience, and any potential significance of which of the two is acquired first. Also, for the second objective, multiple regressions can be used for both employees and managers, to determine whether it is the soft skills of employees, or of managers, that have more impact on the number of repeat customers a company receives.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The major limitation of the study lies in its relatively small sample size and the limited coverage. This was mainly attributable to the limited time and other resources available for the study. 5.0 Literature review   This section of the paper is broken down into five sections, which are all relevant. The first section will discuss training and development, followed by the changes in modern organisations, and what is expected of them. The third section will discuss skills and the requirements from them followed by a section of the theory on how to train; if the method selected for training is not appropriate then the end result will disappoint the organisation. The final section will discuss from the marketing aspect the value in attracting repeat business. 5.1 Training and Development This section will discuss what training and development is the benefits to the organisation and focus of the soft skills. 5.11 What is training and development? Training can be defined as a planned process to change attitudes, knowledge or skills and behaviour through a range of activities to achieve effective performance. When this training is in the work situation, it develops the employee to satisfy current or future needs of the organisation (Beardwell, I et al 2004). It is generally accepted that methods of training can usually be separated into two categories: on-the-job, and, off-the-job. On-the-job training is implemented at the trainees workplace, while off-the-job training is conducted away from the trainees workplace and takes them outside of their work environment (Mullins, L. 2005). Training can be used as a change agent, to change the culture of an organisation. It is a tool that can improve organisational effectiveness, especially in fiercely competitive markets. All too often organisations that are facing financial problems will cut back the training program, where as they could be used to increase overall performance. The training budget is viewed too often as an expendable, and the first to cut or even go in crises (Rogers 2004). 5.1.2 Why train Nobody in business would disagree with the clichà © that a company is only as good as the people in it. But opinions differ on how that translates into practice, and what it means in terms of the way a firm goes about gathering and developing a world-class staff line-up. With near full employment in the UK, the fight for talent is as ruthless as ever, and getting, hanging on to and developing those people remains the HR issue of the moment. The principal function of any organisation is to increase the value of the business and therefore enhance the wealth of its Owner(s). This is obtained by efficient use of the limited â€Å"resources† available to them (T Blackwood, 1995). Garrick (1998) discussed that HRD is inextricably linked to market economics, that knowledge is prized in so far as it can generate a market advantageâ€Å"(Garrick 1998:5). Leading to the assumption that HRD can give the organisation advantage aiding the ability to increase profit.   Therefore using that theory HRD should be viewed as a vital function of all organisations, and not just there to satisfy training issues, a proactive role. Garavan et al (2000) discusses the emergence of strategic HRD practices, which are directly linked to the organisation’s strategies, with profit maximising paramount, HRD is a tool that should be employed to obtain and support this (Garavan et al, 2000).  Ã‚   It is argued that organisations require new skills to survive; the new thinking is based on complexity and chaos theory. Organisations are viewed as self-regulating, emergent, open, whole systems. This contrasts the metaphor of organisations being machines to that of organisations as living systems (Capra 2002 cited in Nixon 2004:58). For organisations to prosper in the future global economy, workplace culture needs to enhance a learning organisation, fluid responses to the ever changing environment. This can only be obtained with proactive HRD policies, disseminat ing a culture of learning through out the organisation (Nixon 2004).   Since the late 1990s the business environment has drastically changed (Mullins, L. 2005). Chaos theorists have argued that the world of the organisations is â€Å"turbulent and chaotic, making it impossible for them to predict the future†. Therefore conventional approaches to strategic decision making are no longer appropriate (Harrison, R. 1997:78). Competition and the pace of change in business require continuous improvement, therefore it means continuous learning. From this demand the market for business education has grown with a proliferation of courses, full- and part-time, open and bespoke (Mullins, L. 2005). Investment in training and development is an issue that provokes varying reactions amongst business managers. The allocation of time and resource is an issue to organisations, therefore there is a tendency to focus towards on the job training and learning through experience. 5.1.3 What are Soft Skills The term that describes this interpersonal dimension of life at work is soft skills. Soft skills are attitudes and behaviours displayed in interactions among individuals that affect the outcomes of such encounters. These differ from hard skills, which are the technical knowledge and abilities required to perform specific job-related tasks more formally stated in job descriptions. In the past, it was felt that managers and employees did not need soft skills as long as they could do their work, but now even positions in hard, task-oriented roles require soft skills as well as technical skills (Muir, C. 2004) This introduces new challenges on how the organisation responds to the interpersonal evolution, how do you measure the need for soft skills, and how to design programs that address such needs? One theory is to ensure the workforce is a high-performing by (1) the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for the organisation to accomplish its current mission and that is (2) appropriately prepared for achieving the vision for the future (Muir, C. 2004) This position includes working collaboratively with Human Resource and Development partners in staffing and employment, organisation development, diversity, performance management, and total compensation to recruit, develop the capabilities of, and retain desired staff. This is used to create conditions that engage employees in productive, meaningful work. These conditions are a result of designing systems, providing needed resources, and implementing policies that support employees and that develop their skills and knowledge in ways that match the organisations evolving challenges and priorities. Guidance is vital in the training function, throughout the organisation to foster an enterprise-wide view of capability development (Muir, C. 2004) Soft skills development has been viewed as a fad. This is now viewed as a necessary component in organisational development. These skills it can be argued that these skills are at the very heart of creating capability in employees and leaders. Individuals require the technical skills unique to their role, whether they are craft workers in a maintenance department or payroll specialists in accounting. However, even at the individual employee level it soon becomes apparent that little work gets done in isolation. All employees must be skilled at participating in team projects and affirming others. They must be adept at managing conflict and creating inclusive relationships that improve team performance and launch ideas. Indeed, the soft skills of negotiating solutions are the essential tools of effective contributors everywhere (Muir, C. 2004) Moreover, those formal leadership roles, it is vital to be proficient in soft skills. Thinking systemically and acting strategically is the linchpin of effective leaders, but excellent soft skills are necessary to actually implement the vision and to communicate values, standards, and expectations. Although this is limited where command-and-control approach is appropriate. Individuals support what they help create, and soft skills are the essential tools for helping them contribute to their full potential (Muir, C. 2004) While soft skills are apparently essential workplace requirements, they are also it appears that they are lacking. According to Field and Ford (1995) soft skills are like an iceberg, `under the surface, and although hard to understand, help employees contribute fully to the new, challenging work environment. This makes them liable to subjectivity, difficult to define, observe or measure and open to the influence of work organisation and the social construction of skill in the workplace. Thus, it is the premise of this paper that an organisations culture, the predominant management style and the extent of management/employee soft skills will have an influence upon workplace participation (Field, L and Ford, B 1995). Soft skills are an important factor in the success of decentralised, participatory work environment programs. Soft skills include teamwork, decision making and conceptualisation. Changes to workplace organisational structure require soft skills to foster improved communication and understanding of accountability. The subsequent globalisation of markets, deregulation of various sectors and the pressure to be competitive have all had major implications for the management of organisations and the skills required of the workforce (Connell, J. 1998). 5.2 The changing nature of organisations Over the past decade organisations are changing, through pressure from the markets and the environment. This has forced change on many, this section will discuss the implications on organisations and how it has forces a change in the skills required from employees. This section will also discuss management sttl and the culture of organisation, and how this impacts on training. 5.2.1 Changing environment The present challenge facing learning facilitators is how will training continue to be relevant in todays ever-changing business landscape? Political, economic, social and technological factors are irrevocably changing the way and the nature of commerce. Throughout the UK, the economy is a state of flux, swinging from a traditional manufacturing base to small to medium-sized service based organisations. The sustained strength of the pound has not helped UK businesses that export products, thereby witnessing the decline of manufacturing. Forward thinking businesses are now recognising that it is through their people that competitive advantage can be achieved. Best (2001) discussed the â€Å"new economy, as a knowledge-based economy without borders, where the race is between companies and locales over how to learn faster and organise more flexibly to take advantage of technology-enabled market opportunities†Ã‚   (Best (2001) cited in   DeFillippi, R. 2002). Organisations have changed in the way they operate, shifting from immobile-wired infrastructures to mobile, miniature, and wireless modes of communication, computing, and transacting.   Customers now demand 24 hour service, with â€Å"any time, any place solutions of their problems (DeFillippi, R. 2002). Radical shifts are taking place in management theory; these shifts need to be reflected in the theory of training and development. The move towards a knowledge economy makes these shifts vital to the survival of the organisation. Ideas of training tend to focus on results; typically they are short-term and assume transferable skills. Ideas of personal development may be insufficiently focused on the workplace. Therefore for an organisation to enter the knowledge economy, it is vital for them to review their training and development to a broader aspect (Bryans,  P. Smith, R. 2000). Increasingly, as the nature of business and organisations change, its leaders are recognising that their most valuable assets are their skilled employees and, more significantly, the knowledge, both tacit and explicit, that is possessed by these employees. The knowledge is power clichà © has never been more accurate than in todays corporate world. This added value that this can b e seen in products and services is now dependant on knowledge based intangibles (Rogers 2004). 5.2.2 Organisational Structure There is conclusive evidence that the world of work has changed significantly over the past 20 years. Handy (1989) sees fundamental changes in organisational life reflected in what he refers to as the shamrock model with its three groups of workers core, contract and temporary or flexible. Guirdham (1995) says that the nature of work, the nature of organisations and the structure of the workforce have all changed and will continue to change (Handy (1989) and Guirdham (1995) cited in Falconer,  S and Pettigrew, M 2003:49) Reshaping of organizations, re-engineering, restructuring; all these things have led to leaner organizations and the dismissal of a lot of people. Many workplaces have disappeared from the scene, many competences are also disappearing and there is a risk of destroying uniqueness of some cultures as a whole (Civelli, F 1997:248). The corpus of knowledge, experiences and abilities, position or job status in an organisation was traditionally also a guarantee of job security. However, these are losing their traditional importance. In the marketplace it is difficult to recognize and get to know the abilities and knowledge of whole populations of young, highly educated people; the marketplace has difficulty in understanding the traditional value of experience (Civelli, F 1997). The major problem is how the knowledge, experience and capabilities can be actualised. The product in a society of more and higher educated people and with more institutionalised training is, paradoxically, a poorer work market. The relationship between people and work is institutionalised as a qualification at school and work experience. People learn not only inside the boundaries of institutions, but in everyday life situations. Illich, (1971) stated that most part of things we learn we have learned outside schools and outside works, factories, offices, banks or training courses (Illich, (1971) cited in Civelli, F 1997:248). Handy (1994) wrote instead of an organization being a castle, a home for life for its defenders, it will be more like a condominium, an association of temporary residents gathered together for their mutual convenience (Handy, C. (1994) cited in Civelli, F 1997:250). 5.2.3 Management Style and Organisational Culture The major viewpoint on work organisation this century have focused on increasing worker productivity through various strategies such as scientific management, human relations, the quality of working life and attempts to change organisational cultures. While the culture of organisations has increasingly become the focus of multidisciplinary research, concepts and definitions are as elusive as they are controversial. Arguments tend to polarise between anthropologists and management writers. Anthropologists view culture as the sum of the behaviours, values and attitudes of the group or the organisation, while management writers tend to adopt the view that culture is the product of management strategy and, as such, can affect productivity depending on whether it is weak or strong (Wiener, 1988). The strong (Deal and Kennedy 1982) and the excellent (Peters and Waterman 1982) culture strategies linked `positive culture with increased productivity. These culture strategies functioned for a time as the â€Å"new management panacea† amongst American organisations, when faced with losing the competitive edge they looked to Japan for an explanation of the qualities which led to their success. These qualities included transformational leadership style, encouraging the creation of a shared vision and a collective co Training and Development of Employee Soft Skills Training and Development of Employee Soft Skills Introduction This paper will discuss training and development of employees and focus on soft skills. This will compare the literature with case studies and conclude on the benefits of training in organisations. Skills of employees are broken down into two main headings, hard (technical) that allow them to perform the tasks that make up the role, and soft skills that encourage interactions, with colleagues, peers and customers. This paper has concluded that both skills need to be present to gain the most from the customer relationship, although soft skills will increase the benefit of hard skills, they allow the communication of technical skills. Soft skills are the interaction between individuals, which includes communication and empowerment, autonomy and decision making. Soft skills are discussed as the last competitive edge organisations can posses, that add value. This skills are difficult to assess, many are already present in employees, but not nurtured. The theorist during the early 1990’s discussed soft skills from a management perspective; it was discussed as the hidden value (or skill) that organisations could offer. This perspective has now changed, to one of marketing theory, discussed in areas such as relationship marketing and customer value. This is opinion by marketers is that by encouraging soft skills in employees it will add value to the product. Marketing theory discusses that customer loyalty can offer the organisation repeat business; this is valuable as it utilises economies of scale, lowering marketing and production costs. This is a cost effective method to maintain and increase business, leading to a higher level of revenue, but it requires the organisation understanding what the customer requires from this relationship. The question raised at this point, is should customer loyalty be taken for granted, or can it be effected by actions from the organisation, therefore should it have resources ploughed into it. Can employees be trained to meet the needs of the customer? Can organisations build on this through skill utilisation of the human resource, can training affect the relationship, and will lack of training have a negative affect on this. The skills that are needed are classified as soft, in contrast to the hard technical skills that are required for job performance. At first the area researched was the customer’s opinion of their loyalty, why they made repeat purchases and what actually influenced their decisions. This area proved subjective, they enjoyed the experience of purchasing, and often attributed to the organisations representative. It then followed to look at the skills of organisations in further depth, studying the skills of their representatives, and how the training and developing of soft skills could add to this relationship. Literature states that the evaluation of training is neglected, although it must be noted that there is no universal method that can be employed. Evaluation of training is a subjective area, with various factors that impinge on the successful transfer of new skills. Numerous organisations were contacted, but the response level was low, therefore it was decided to review soft skills within three organisations, as an interaction with both colleagues and ultimately customers. The three organisations that were chosen are all in different industry sections and in different stages of the life cycle. The first organisation agreed to the research, but then became reluctant to disclosure further information. The organisations felt that the economic position they were in would not be helped by a report written into the possible causes, although, it was stressed this was not the purpose of the paper. It was agreed to keep the organisation anonymous, but meant that their accounts could not be discussed in relation to training. To maintain neutrality throughout the paper all three organisations would study in the same method. This focussed the paper on utilisation of soft skills, the amount of training invested in them and the ultimate benefit to the organisation. The paper concludes individually on all three organisations. Assessing their levels of commitment to skills training, the value they place in this, and the culture that encourages the transfer of skills. The main conclusions are drawn from this section. 3.0 Aims and objectives The aim of this paper is to study the value of soft skills training in terms of attracting repeat customers and increasing company profits. This aim is wide, to allow for other discussion which after reviewing the literature review and case studies, will appear relevant to the paper. The first objective is to determine the extent to which training can improve the soft skills of employees that are customer facing, combining this with practical experience. In terms of being combined with experience, it may be useful to study whether training before extensive experience of dealing with customers is more effective than training employees who already have significant experience. Do employees get stuck in their ways and find it harder to change. Although it must be noted that the organisational structure and culture will have a direct affect on level of transfer of new skills. The second objective will be to determine to what extent employee and managerial soft skills can influence the tendency of customers to become repeat, and potentially loyal, customers. Again, soft skills will only be one potential factor influencing customer choices, and it will be necessary to attempt to determine the impacts of the other aspects of the marketing mix: price, promotion, place and product. It is hypothesized that there will be certain combinations of the various aspects that will have the desired effect; however this may vary according to customer demographics. The third objective will be to determine the extent to which soft skills can be converted to company profits, as a result of gaining more customers, and repeat customers, and how this is affected by company training policies and expenditure. In other words, the data will be used to attempt to discover if expenditure on soft skills training actually produces significant rewards for a company. It will be necessary to study several organisations who have invested in soft skills training programs, and attempt to determine the perceived improvement in the soft skills of their employees. This should also be compare against an organisation that have not invested in soft skill training, to contrast the skills of the employees. The areas that will be examined will involve the structure, culture, leadership and training programmes within the organisations. These findings will be compared to the literature review and a marketing database Factiva to determine the importance customers place on the soft skills of company employees. Surveys of customers were considered; however they may produce even more distorted results, as many customers are unsure of their personal reasons why they make repeat purchases. The surveying of organisations will determine their expenditure on training, both in time and capital, and focus on soft skills. This should be discussed with the value they place on the customer and the level of repeat business they expect. 4.0 Methodology This chapter discusses the research methods used for the project and the justification for the choice of methods.   It discusses methods that were not used, with justification of why they were not included.   Included is a critique of methods selected, and with hindsight identifies any changes that would have enhanced the research.  Ã‚  Ã‚   This paper evaluates customer loyalty that is demonstrated through repeat business. Can organizations influence the level by training their employees in soft skills?   Selection of the topic was stimulated and formed the identification of customer loyalty perhaps being the last competitive edge that organisations can offer.     The nature of the research was discussed with colleagues and fellow students this not only added practical ideas and suggestions, it opened new avenues of thought.   This was the discussed with lecturers sounding out ideas, gauging opinions and clarifying the question.   Focusing in on the question was obtained by employing relevance trees, narrowing the research area.   This gave direction to the research, although with reviewing the literature this changed several times (Buzan, J. 1995).   Next, a research proposal was compiled, with the benefit of organising ideas and setting a time-scale for research.   Theoretically, the proposal would highlight any difficulties with the research question and access to data.   Creating a time-scale would focus on targets and meet deadlines in the completion of the paper.   This time scale proved invaluable when new avenues were investigated, it helped focus on where the project should be. The literature review, discussing theories and ideas that exist on the topic formed the foundation of the paper.   The findings from the research are then tested on theories for validity (Saunders, M. et al 1997).   The literature review was challenging, there is a great deal of academic research on training, but very little on the topic area. Journals and books were the back bone for the review, both in marketing and management theory. Tertiary data sources, such as library catalogues and indexes were used to scan for secondary data.   This produced journals and newspaper articles, books and Internet addresses.   With the amount of literature, it took time to sort out relevant material to the research.   Narrowing down the search Bell’s (1993) six point’s parameters was applied.   Applying key words that were identified in the first search produced relevant and up-to-date material (Bell, J.1993).   A limitation on the literature search was the amount of time to read all articles and books on the subject. Whilst reviewing the literature references to other publications were followed and reviewed.   Bells checklist on identifying the relevance of literature found was a practical method to reduce the amount of reading (Bell, J. 1993). Ethical considerations in research fall into three categories, during design, collection, and reporting of the data.   These areas were carefully considered at all stages of the research (Oppenheim, A.1996:84).   The data sought throughout the research should remain within the scope of the project (Saunders, M. et al 1997).  Ã‚   Participants were instructed on the purpose of the paper and how their input would be used. The person privacy must not be evaded during interviewing Oppenheim (1996) referred to this saying â€Å"respecting the respondents right to privacy, as the right to refuse to answer certain or all questions† (Oppenheim 1996:84).   By participating in the research, no harm should fall on the participant.   Consent must be obtained from both the organisation and individuals before commencement of research.   The data sought throughout the research should remain within the scope of the project (Saunders et al 1997).  Ã‚   Questionnaires were selected to obtain the overall picture of soft skills from employees and there relevance to customer retention. Before the questionnaires were distributed a letter was delivered given to all employees explaining the purpose of the research, and how the information was to be used.   The letter contained a contact number for the researcher, and gave a guarantee of anonymity of the information.   An advantage of communicating to respondents before the questionnaire was that it increased the response rate, and addressed ethical concerns (Saunders et al 1997).   Fellow students were used to pilot the questionnaires; to test the information gained from the questions and the time take to complete it.   From this, adjustments were made on the wording, removing technical jargon (Bell 1993).   Closed questions maintained the anonymity of the participants, but had the disadvantage of limiting the data that could be collected, therefore a mixture was used.   A cop y of the questionnaire is in appendix four. Processing the data from the questionnaires was achieved using a spreadsheet programme; variables were coded and entered into the computer.   This information was quantitative and proved easy to evaluate.  Ã‚   Other methods of research gave qualitative data; this was evaluated using key words, and summarising the script to show trends, although some subjectivity will always remain (Cresswell 1994).   Classifying the data into categories before it was analysed, putting it in groups of similar responses, allowed the data to be workable, then conclusion were drawn (Saunders et al 1997).   Interviews were used on key employees to gain the formal structure, market segment and background of the organisations (Wass Wells 1994).   After the questionnaires, some employees came forward interested in offering themselves for further input to the research.   Although helpful, they could show bias; those coming forward could have an axe to grind, using an interview to grind it, therefore this was rejected (Saunders et al 1997). Case studies of organisations that through varying levels require repeat business to compound and improve their market share have been reviewed and compared to the literature. The case studies discuss the organisations strategy, culture and management style. To produce primary data on customer loyalty proved to be a vast task, taking a lot of time to produce results. Internal and external operations of several organisations would have to be compared to reach any level of validity. Other methods of data collection were considered and rejected.   Focus groups would have offered free flowing information. This could have been facilitated with discussion led by the researcher.   The idea was rejected due to the limited resources. The amount of data collected would have taken a long time to analysis, and could have been bias. It was decided to do case studies on organizations and interview employees. The questionnaire remained anonymous, not only to protect employees, but to allow for the information to flow without recourse. The findings of this will be presented in section seven and in the appendices. Choosing a multi-method approach for a research strategy allowed several methods for the collection of data.   Adding validity of findings and different perspective to the research, each method selected complimented and triangulated the results of another.   Questionnaires and interviews triangulate the results from observation (Saunders et al 1997).   Each method employed for research has its own advantages and disadvantages’; using a multi-method approach reduces bias and increases validity (Saunders et al 1997). Multiple regression analysis will be the best method for analysing the data, once potential bias has been identified and removed. Several models will need to be tried, as the relationship may not be simple, and the model that is found to be most accurate would have implications for the analysis of the third objective, as there will potentially be an optimal level of soft skill training, above which the rewards will not match any further increase in expenditure. Multiple regression will often be the most apt form of analysis, as it will offer information on the explanatory power of certain variables, which will be useful when concluding whether training or experience are most important for soft skill development, the relationship between training and experience, and any potential significance of which of the two is acquired first. Also, for the second objective, multiple regressions can be used for both employees and managers, to determine whether it is the soft skills of employees, or of managers, that have more impact on the number of repeat customers a company receives.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The major limitation of the study lies in its relatively small sample size and the limited coverage. This was mainly attributable to the limited time and other resources available for the study. 5.0 Literature review   This section of the paper is broken down into five sections, which are all relevant. The first section will discuss training and development, followed by the changes in modern organisations, and what is expected of them. The third section will discuss skills and the requirements from them followed by a section of the theory on how to train; if the method selected for training is not appropriate then the end result will disappoint the organisation. The final section will discuss from the marketing aspect the value in attracting repeat business. 5.1 Training and Development This section will discuss what training and development is the benefits to the organisation and focus of the soft skills. 5.11 What is training and development? Training can be defined as a planned process to change attitudes, knowledge or skills and behaviour through a range of activities to achieve effective performance. When this training is in the work situation, it develops the employee to satisfy current or future needs of the organisation (Beardwell, I et al 2004). It is generally accepted that methods of training can usually be separated into two categories: on-the-job, and, off-the-job. On-the-job training is implemented at the trainees workplace, while off-the-job training is conducted away from the trainees workplace and takes them outside of their work environment (Mullins, L. 2005). Training can be used as a change agent, to change the culture of an organisation. It is a tool that can improve organisational effectiveness, especially in fiercely competitive markets. All too often organisations that are facing financial problems will cut back the training program, where as they could be used to increase overall performance. The training budget is viewed too often as an expendable, and the first to cut or even go in crises (Rogers 2004). 5.1.2 Why train Nobody in business would disagree with the clichà © that a company is only as good as the people in it. But opinions differ on how that translates into practice, and what it means in terms of the way a firm goes about gathering and developing a world-class staff line-up. With near full employment in the UK, the fight for talent is as ruthless as ever, and getting, hanging on to and developing those people remains the HR issue of the moment. The principal function of any organisation is to increase the value of the business and therefore enhance the wealth of its Owner(s). This is obtained by efficient use of the limited â€Å"resources† available to them (T Blackwood, 1995). Garrick (1998) discussed that HRD is inextricably linked to market economics, that knowledge is prized in so far as it can generate a market advantageâ€Å"(Garrick 1998:5). Leading to the assumption that HRD can give the organisation advantage aiding the ability to increase profit.   Therefore using that theory HRD should be viewed as a vital function of all organisations, and not just there to satisfy training issues, a proactive role. Garavan et al (2000) discusses the emergence of strategic HRD practices, which are directly linked to the organisation’s strategies, with profit maximising paramount, HRD is a tool that should be employed to obtain and support this (Garavan et al, 2000).  Ã‚   It is argued that organisations require new skills to survive; the new thinking is based on complexity and chaos theory. Organisations are viewed as self-regulating, emergent, open, whole systems. This contrasts the metaphor of organisations being machines to that of organisations as living systems (Capra 2002 cited in Nixon 2004:58). For organisations to prosper in the future global economy, workplace culture needs to enhance a learning organisation, fluid responses to the ever changing environment. This can only be obtained with proactive HRD policies, disseminat ing a culture of learning through out the organisation (Nixon 2004).   Since the late 1990s the business environment has drastically changed (Mullins, L. 2005). Chaos theorists have argued that the world of the organisations is â€Å"turbulent and chaotic, making it impossible for them to predict the future†. Therefore conventional approaches to strategic decision making are no longer appropriate (Harrison, R. 1997:78). Competition and the pace of change in business require continuous improvement, therefore it means continuous learning. From this demand the market for business education has grown with a proliferation of courses, full- and part-time, open and bespoke (Mullins, L. 2005). Investment in training and development is an issue that provokes varying reactions amongst business managers. The allocation of time and resource is an issue to organisations, therefore there is a tendency to focus towards on the job training and learning through experience. 5.1.3 What are Soft Skills The term that describes this interpersonal dimension of life at work is soft skills. Soft skills are attitudes and behaviours displayed in interactions among individuals that affect the outcomes of such encounters. These differ from hard skills, which are the technical knowledge and abilities required to perform specific job-related tasks more formally stated in job descriptions. In the past, it was felt that managers and employees did not need soft skills as long as they could do their work, but now even positions in hard, task-oriented roles require soft skills as well as technical skills (Muir, C. 2004) This introduces new challenges on how the organisation responds to the interpersonal evolution, how do you measure the need for soft skills, and how to design programs that address such needs? One theory is to ensure the workforce is a high-performing by (1) the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for the organisation to accomplish its current mission and that is (2) appropriately prepared for achieving the vision for the future (Muir, C. 2004) This position includes working collaboratively with Human Resource and Development partners in staffing and employment, organisation development, diversity, performance management, and total compensation to recruit, develop the capabilities of, and retain desired staff. This is used to create conditions that engage employees in productive, meaningful work. These conditions are a result of designing systems, providing needed resources, and implementing policies that support employees and that develop their skills and knowledge in ways that match the organisations evolving challenges and priorities. Guidance is vital in the training function, throughout the organisation to foster an enterprise-wide view of capability development (Muir, C. 2004) Soft skills development has been viewed as a fad. This is now viewed as a necessary component in organisational development. These skills it can be argued that these skills are at the very heart of creating capability in employees and leaders. Individuals require the technical skills unique to their role, whether they are craft workers in a maintenance department or payroll specialists in accounting. However, even at the individual employee level it soon becomes apparent that little work gets done in isolation. All employees must be skilled at participating in team projects and affirming others. They must be adept at managing conflict and creating inclusive relationships that improve team performance and launch ideas. Indeed, the soft skills of negotiating solutions are the essential tools of effective contributors everywhere (Muir, C. 2004) Moreover, those formal leadership roles, it is vital to be proficient in soft skills. Thinking systemically and acting strategically is the linchpin of effective leaders, but excellent soft skills are necessary to actually implement the vision and to communicate values, standards, and expectations. Although this is limited where command-and-control approach is appropriate. Individuals support what they help create, and soft skills are the essential tools for helping them contribute to their full potential (Muir, C. 2004) While soft skills are apparently essential workplace requirements, they are also it appears that they are lacking. According to Field and Ford (1995) soft skills are like an iceberg, `under the surface, and although hard to understand, help employees contribute fully to the new, challenging work environment. This makes them liable to subjectivity, difficult to define, observe or measure and open to the influence of work organisation and the social construction of skill in the workplace. Thus, it is the premise of this paper that an organisations culture, the predominant management style and the extent of management/employee soft skills will have an influence upon workplace participation (Field, L and Ford, B 1995). Soft skills are an important factor in the success of decentralised, participatory work environment programs. Soft skills include teamwork, decision making and conceptualisation. Changes to workplace organisational structure require soft skills to foster improved communication and understanding of accountability. The subsequent globalisation of markets, deregulation of various sectors and the pressure to be competitive have all had major implications for the management of organisations and the skills required of the workforce (Connell, J. 1998). 5.2 The changing nature of organisations Over the past decade organisations are changing, through pressure from the markets and the environment. This has forced change on many, this section will discuss the implications on organisations and how it has forces a change in the skills required from employees. This section will also discuss management sttl and the culture of organisation, and how this impacts on training. 5.2.1 Changing environment The present challenge facing learning facilitators is how will training continue to be relevant in todays ever-changing business landscape? Political, economic, social and technological factors are irrevocably changing the way and the nature of commerce. Throughout the UK, the economy is a state of flux, swinging from a traditional manufacturing base to small to medium-sized service based organisations. The sustained strength of the pound has not helped UK businesses that export products, thereby witnessing the decline of manufacturing. Forward thinking businesses are now recognising that it is through their people that competitive advantage can be achieved. Best (2001) discussed the â€Å"new economy, as a knowledge-based economy without borders, where the race is between companies and locales over how to learn faster and organise more flexibly to take advantage of technology-enabled market opportunities†Ã‚   (Best (2001) cited in   DeFillippi, R. 2002). Organisations have changed in the way they operate, shifting from immobile-wired infrastructures to mobile, miniature, and wireless modes of communication, computing, and transacting.   Customers now demand 24 hour service, with â€Å"any time, any place solutions of their problems (DeFillippi, R. 2002). Radical shifts are taking place in management theory; these shifts need to be reflected in the theory of training and development. The move towards a knowledge economy makes these shifts vital to the survival of the organisation. Ideas of training tend to focus on results; typically they are short-term and assume transferable skills. Ideas of personal development may be insufficiently focused on the workplace. Therefore for an organisation to enter the knowledge economy, it is vital for them to review their training and development to a broader aspect (Bryans,  P. Smith, R. 2000). Increasingly, as the nature of business and organisations change, its leaders are recognising that their most valuable assets are their skilled employees and, more significantly, the knowledge, both tacit and explicit, that is possessed by these employees. The knowledge is power clichà © has never been more accurate than in todays corporate world. This added value that this can b e seen in products and services is now dependant on knowledge based intangibles (Rogers 2004). 5.2.2 Organisational Structure There is conclusive evidence that the world of work has changed significantly over the past 20 years. Handy (1989) sees fundamental changes in organisational life reflected in what he refers to as the shamrock model with its three groups of workers core, contract and temporary or flexible. Guirdham (1995) says that the nature of work, the nature of organisations and the structure of the workforce have all changed and will continue to change (Handy (1989) and Guirdham (1995) cited in Falconer,  S and Pettigrew, M 2003:49) Reshaping of organizations, re-engineering, restructuring; all these things have led to leaner organizations and the dismissal of a lot of people. Many workplaces have disappeared from the scene, many competences are also disappearing and there is a risk of destroying uniqueness of some cultures as a whole (Civelli, F 1997:248). The corpus of knowledge, experiences and abilities, position or job status in an organisation was traditionally also a guarantee of job security. However, these are losing their traditional importance. In the marketplace it is difficult to recognize and get to know the abilities and knowledge of whole populations of young, highly educated people; the marketplace has difficulty in understanding the traditional value of experience (Civelli, F 1997). The major problem is how the knowledge, experience and capabilities can be actualised. The product in a society of more and higher educated people and with more institutionalised training is, paradoxically, a poorer work market. The relationship between people and work is institutionalised as a qualification at school and work experience. People learn not only inside the boundaries of institutions, but in everyday life situations. Illich, (1971) stated that most part of things we learn we have learned outside schools and outside works, factories, offices, banks or training courses (Illich, (1971) cited in Civelli, F 1997:248). Handy (1994) wrote instead of an organization being a castle, a home for life for its defenders, it will be more like a condominium, an association of temporary residents gathered together for their mutual convenience (Handy, C. (1994) cited in Civelli, F 1997:250). 5.2.3 Management Style and Organisational Culture The major viewpoint on work organisation this century have focused on increasing worker productivity through various strategies such as scientific management, human relations, the quality of working life and attempts to change organisational cultures. While the culture of organisations has increasingly become the focus of multidisciplinary research, concepts and definitions are as elusive as they are controversial. Arguments tend to polarise between anthropologists and management writers. Anthropologists view culture as the sum of the behaviours, values and attitudes of the group or the organisation, while management writers tend to adopt the view that culture is the product of management strategy and, as such, can affect productivity depending on whether it is weak or strong (Wiener, 1988). The strong (Deal and Kennedy 1982) and the excellent (Peters and Waterman 1982) culture strategies linked `positive culture with increased productivity. These culture strategies functioned for a time as the â€Å"new management panacea† amongst American organisations, when faced with losing the competitive edge they looked to Japan for an explanation of the qualities which led to their success. These qualities included transformational leadership style, encouraging the creation of a shared vision and a collective co