Architecture and Burials in the Maya and Aztec essays

Architecture and Burials in the Maya and Aztec essays Plundering and carnage were the overlying results of the Spanish conquest of MesoAmerica beginning in 1519. The ensuing years brought many new "visitors," mostly laymen or officials in search of wealth, though the Christianity toting priest was ever present. Occasionally a man from any of these classes, though mainly priests would be so in awe of the civilization they were single handedly massacring that they began to observe and document things such as everyday life, religious rituals, economic goings on, and architecture, which was the biggest achievement in the eyes of the Spaniards. That is how the accounts of Friar Diego de Landa, a priest, were created, giving us rare first per-son historical accounts of the conquest and the people it effected. To archaeologists monumental architecture is more important than an inscribed stelae listing names and dates. There is so much more to learn from a building than a slab of stone usually seething with propaganda. In most societies they are what remains after conquest, usually for their beauty or ability to withstand the elements. Landa was amazed by what he found. "There are in Yucatan many edifices of great beauty, this be-ing the most outstanding of all things discovered in the Indies; they are all build of stone finely ornamented..." (Landa, 8). If it were a commoners domestic dwelling we would learn through the study of remaining artifacts and middens what objects were used on a daily basis and also the standard of living, helping us to construct an accurate view of the long neglected commoner. According to Landa steepled roofs covered with thatch or palm leaves protected the habitat from rain. Homes were often divided into two sections, a living section, customarily whit ewashed, and a domestic area where food was prepared and inhabitants slept (Landa, 32). In Aztec societies commoners often lived in calpolli, a residential area segregated by occupation, usually surrounde...

How to Write a Perfect Internship Resume (Examples Included)

How to Write a Perfect Internship Resume (Examples Included) The good thing about searching for an internship: no one expects you to have decades of experience in the field. The tougher part: you’re still looking to get that foot in the door, so you don’t yet have tons of related experience. So how do you square that for your resume, and make sure that you’re putting up the resume that will get you hired as an intern? Let’s start by looking at what not to do. Kaitlyn is a junior in college, looking to get an internship for the summer.Kaitlyn Martin63 University Place, Apt. 2CStorrs, CT 99999(555) 555s)How to Write a Perfect Occupational Therapist ResumeHow to Write a Perfect Physician Assistant Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Receptionist Resume (Examples Included)How to Create a Perfect Retail ResumeHow to Write a Perfect Sales Associate Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Social Worker Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Truck Driver Resume (With Examples)

Business Management and Organizational Behavior Assignment

Business Management and Organizational Behavior - Assignment Example The factors that Jasper Hennings need to think about while settling on his course of action are culture of the business, values and beliefs which are being followed, management and employee aspects of the organization. Jasper Hennings also needs to consider the mental status of the employees while committing the offense. He requires holding up a session with the guilty employee, talking about the issues and the motive behind the actions. Jasper Hennings needs to judge all of his employees similarly and biasness should be strictly avoided in the prevailing scenario while judging and making a decision about the course of action with Henry Darger (Richard, L. D. & Marcic, D., â€Å"Understanding Management†). In the Rio Grande Supply Company, the expressed cultural values and beliefs include honesty, integrity and a reverence for every individual employee. In addition to the expressed culture values and beliefs, other subconscious values and beliefs include interest, motivation, trust and the adopted norms. In Rio Grande Supply Company, conflicting norms and values are present. Henry Darger, the chief of operations, has been found to be guilty as he violated company’s internet policy and used internet to surf certain unauthorized sites. The policy clearly stated that none of the employees are allowed to use the Rio Grange’s computers for everything except the business related purposes. Beside this, Henry Darger is being hypocritical towards an employee as he fired the lady employee for her offense. However, he himself is identified to be violating the company’s policy and it raised conflict between the norms and the ethical values of working culture, as watching adul t pornography related sites in working hours at office is strictly offensive. And, any failure to follow the rules and policy would hamper the image of the company. Henry Darger being one of the administrative members should

Business report on Tesco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business report on Tesco - Essay Example Tesco Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesco that was established in 2008. The chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesco is Dave Lewis. Including franchises the firm has 6,814 stores across the globe. The firm also has six online stores. Tesco is a publicly traded company whose stocks are openly sold in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the symbol TSCO. As of November 28, 2015 the price of TSCO stocks was $169.15 (Yahoo, 2015). The market capitalization of the company is $13.67 billion. The accounting of the company is based on a fiscal year instead of the natural year. The 2015 fiscal year started on March 1, 2014 and it ended on February 28, 2015. The independent auditor of the company is PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Tesco Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesco that was established in 2008. The chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesco is Dave Lewis. Including franchises the firm has 6,814 stores across the globe. The firm also has six online stores. Tesco is a publicly traded company whose stocks are openly sold in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the symbol TSCO. As of November 28, 2015 the price of TSCO stocks was $169.15 (Yahoo, 2015). The market capitalization of the company is $13.67 billion. The accounting of the company is based on a fiscal year instead of the natural year. The 2015 fiscal year started on March 1, 2014 and it ended on February 28, 2015. The independent auditor of the company is PricewaterhouseCoopers.   In fiscal year 2015 Tesco generated sales of  £62,284 million. The sales of the company decrease by 2% in comparison with the previous year. The net income of the firm in 2015 was a loss of  £5,766 million. In 2014 the firm was able to achieve a profit of  £970 million. The total assets of the firm as of February 28, 2015 were  £44,214 million, while the total equity of the firm at the same date was  £7,071 million. The cash reserve of Tesco at the end of fiscal year 2015 was  £11,819 million. The bad financial p erformance of the firm in 2015 caused the cash reserve of the company to go down by 9.68%. In terms of total liabilities the company owes  £37,143 million. The net margin shows the absolute profitability of a company, while the gross margin is a measure of broad profitability.  

Models of art and self-management practices Essay

Models of art and self-management practices - Essay Example Modern art deals with money. For centuries artists earned money when they sold their paintings. Nevertheless an image of a ‘poor artist’ can hardly disappear from our consciousness. Artists die and only after their deaths greatness of their talents was acclaimed by public. Currently, researchers claim that â€Å"the irrational exuberance of the contemporary art market is about the breeding of money, not the fertility of art, and that commercially precious works of art have become the organ grinder's monkeys of money† (Kuspit). This apt expression characterizes a shift of the primary objective of art, which is aesthetic pleasure, to a means of enrichment. We live in the epoch of art parody. It is very hard to distil art from a mixture of different stereotypes and concepts around it. In the majority of cases, art issues are mixed with issues from political, economic or technical spheres. Opponents of this point of view may claim that art and money have always been i n interdependence. It is possible to claim that nowadays ‘art has become a dependency of money’ (Kuspit). Huge investments in art in a modern society are directed on art overwhelm. Thus a modern paradigm of art is the following: ‘money is superior to art’ (Kuspit). This can be confirmed by a steady growth of auctions. From the very beginning of history of art, its main function has always been in coding human beliefs, goals and interests. Next to correlation of art and economics, political context of art is also widely discussed. Even museums are compared to â€Å"exhibition ventures like, which contribute to the shaping and promotion of the ideas that govern our social relations† (Haacke). Consequently, artists are considered to be agents, who exert influence on the society. Different political structures, sponsors from political institutions witness the fact that there is an intention to establish relationship between politics and art. If we restor e in our memories socio-critical art of previous years, especially after revolutions, we can clearly see that art was a tool of political manipulation. For example, Vladimir Tatlin, a representative of Russian Realism, developed a project The Monument to the Third International (1920). This project has never been embodied into life, but a spirit of technical progress, a huge power of Russia after revolution was transferred by this artist. Socio-critical art has always been a powerful trigger of society ideological behavior formation. Consequently, this type of art can be saved only at times of great revolutions or turbulent historical events, when politicians involve all possible means in order to create necessary social moods in their countries. Rosler (2010) in her article confirms politicized air of socio-critical and political art: such type of art is a â€Å"robust support for revolutionary ideals or displaying identification with provincial localism, with the peasantry or wit h the urban working classes, especially using fairly ephemeral forms (such as the low-cost prints available in great numbers)† (Rosler 2010). On the one hand, the author criticizes this type of art, but on the other hand we can think about a propagation of art among public (Rosler 2010). Nowadays in spite of a high-speed technological progress and availability of technical means of communication, participants of auctions have an ability to look at masterpieces, but all the rest of the society can be satisfied by

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

Book Review: Little Girl Lost Essays -- essays research papers

PART A Little Girl Lost is an autobiography of Drew Barrymore co-written with PEOPLE magazine's Todd Gold. Drew Barrymore, a twenty-five year old actress (ET, Never Been Kissed, to-be-released Charlie's Angels) has overcome an addiction, proven herself to be a competent, intelligent woman, and is a major influential role model among today's teenage girls. Her biography begins with her first blockbuster, ET, and her experiences while filming and during post-production, as well as the relationships that were made and have served as basis of support throughout her whole life (Steven Spielberg as her Godfather). From there Drew travels backwards, providing a brief background of her parents, of her role in continuing the Barrymore family legacy within film industry, and then of the Barrymore's tendency to indulge in drugs and alcohol. Drew confronts the tabloids and gossip columns regarding the attention she received at such a young age, acknowledging the belief by many that she was a victim of 'celebrity glamour and fame'. Drew argues that her addiction to mind-altering substances stemmed not from the high profile lifestyle, but from her insecurities as a young girl conquering adolescence. When she was not filming, Drew attempted a normal life by attending a public school, where she was isolated because of her erratic schedules and enormous amounts of public speculation. Unfortunately, Drew longed for a regular life with real friends and a family similar to those of her clas...

Raccoon

Neil Ms. Parkhurst Chemistry 10/3/2012 Law of Conservation of Mass Inquiry Lab Background In the 19th century, Antoine Lavoisier discovered the Law of Conservation of Mass, the Law of Conservation of Mass states that mass is neither created nor destroyed during ordinary chemical reactions or physical changes. A Closed System can not exchange any of heat, work, or matter with the surrounding. An Open System can exchange all of heat, work, or matter. It allows interactions between its internal elements and the environment. PurposeThe purpose of this lab was to designed and complete a laboratory experiment that proves the law of conservation of mass. Procedure First of all, a flask was taking out and filled in with 15ml of water. The mass of the flask & water was determined and recorded. Then, an Alka Seltzer tablet was filled in the water. After a while, placed the flask & water & Alka Seltzer tablet on to the balance pan, the mass of the whole system was determined. This procedure was for the open system. For the close system, a flask was taking out and filled in with 15ml of water.The mass of the flask & water was determined and recorded. Then, an Alka Seltzer tablet was placed in a balloon, and put the balloon on the top of the flask, the Alka Seltzer tablet fell into the water. After the reaction was done, measured the mass of it, recorded it into the data table. IV. Data Table Data of Law of Conservation of Mass | |Mass | |Open system before |126. 3g | |Open system after |126. 09g | |Closed system before |143. 65g | |Closed system after |145. 21g | Conclusion and Analysis The mass of the open system before was 126. 53g, and the mass of open system after was 126. 09g. The mass of closed system before was 143. 65g, after was 145. 21g.Both set of data were close enough to justify the law of conservation of mass which is the mass were about the same before and after a reaction. According to the reaction, which was H2O + NaHCO3 = CO2 + H2O + NaOH, showed that the re were some gas which was CO2 were produced. According to the law of open and closed system, the CO2 were escaped from the open system, on the other hand, it were keep in the closed system. Because of that, the open system was missing some of the mass of gas, it made the first procedure differ from the second procedure.

the narcocorridos essays

the narcocorridos essays LC524 KA DRUG CARTELS A view of the Mexican trafficker counterculture Angel A. Fierros Farell (ID 1017664) Before analyzing the phenomena of the narcocorrido we must first study what is a corrido. Musically, a corrido is similar to the musica ranchera (Mexican country music) it has verses, remates and tag endings. Typically the corrido tells a story and identifies who, where, when, and why in the verses. The corrido was created during the Mexican revolution to preserve the historical and mythical exploits of the period. So, the narcocorrido was created to tell, boast or communicate the history of a narcotic trafficker, an organization or simply what is like to be a narcotraficante (drug dealer). Narcocorridos have become the pop music for much of Northwest Mexico. The genre has been a major part of Mexican folk music for at least a century and now the narcocorrido has become a pervasive part of the "narcoculture" in places like Culiacan, capital of the state of Sinaloa. Most corridos tell of historic events narcocorridos recount the exploits of drug smugglers, often from the smuggler's point of view. Most include an execution or a shootout between traffickers and the police or other bloody events all set to a polka beat and the obliviously cheerful norte It is possible to see some parallel in gangster rap in the United States including Mexico's own Tupac Shakur called Chalino Sanchez, the most famous of the narcocorrido singers, was taken from his car after a show here in 1992. His body was found the next morning, with a bullet to the head. The case remains unsolved. Today, more than five years later, a number of narcocorrido singers still imitate his raspy tenor. One even calls himself "El Chalinillo" (Little Chalino). Also like gangster rap is the fact that most narcocorridos are never heard on the radio because stations around Mexico have...

Money Makes the World Go Around

Money Makes the World Go Around Read why some professions are more valuable than others. What Is Too Much? We live in a world where entertainers and athletes earn more money in a year than teachers and social workers make in a lifetime – so the everyday, middle-class person has to wonder: Why is this so? Are these people simply more valuable than me? You’re not going to like this – but, yes, they are more valuable than you, economically speaking; celebrities are quite valuable to the marketplace. In a capitalistic society, athletes and entertainers are walking billboards for a brand, product, enterprise or service – and these stars are subsequently rewarded with copious amounts of money for this exchange. It’s been this way for a long, long time. Professional athletes make up a good percentage of these celebrities. And they do not make too much money if they are doing it legally. They have earned it. How to Save Money in College? But first, let’s consider who decides what constitutes â€Å"too much money.† Let’s look at the kind of money professional athletes make in a year. In Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes in the world, the top earner in 2015 was boxer Floyd Mayweather: He made $300 million, $285 million from his winnings. In that list at number 10, NBA star Kobe Bryant made $49.5 million – $23.5 million from his contract, and $26 million in endorsements alone. These are extraordinary amounts of money, enough for a single person to never have to work again in their life. And if it’s the struggling everyday people of the middle and lower classes deciding whether these numbers illustrated â€Å"too much money,† they would likely advocate the burning of these money-sucking pigs. In America, the median salary is about $50,000, according to a 2016 article published on Foxbusiness.com titled, â€Å"Average Salaries for Americans: Median Salaries for Common Jobs.† But if they tried to put themselves in the shoes of the celebrities – well, in the wallets of these celebrities – they would find themselves reaping the rewards and basking in the sunshine of extravagant wealth. And they’d probably want more of it, realizing it meant a life free from common worries, problems, and generally negative experiences. So, once again, professional athletes could never make â€Å"too much† money. Their banks accounts are filled with hard-earned money. Everybody Is Paid According to His Talents Professional athletes earn their money because they possess an otherworldly talent and work ethic. They say talent is nothing without the effort to hone it. Well, these athletes making several million dollars a year were not only born with God-given talent or skill for a certain movement or sport – they took that talent to become one of the best in the world at their sport. That takes amazing character and self-discipline – like the patience and dedication to climbing over a massive wall each and every day for years, knowing for sure that success is just around the corner. Black Economy the Father of the Poverty Take basketball legend Michael Jordan, a late bloomer: He grew six or more inches the summer after his sophomore year in high school, that year not making the varsity team. He then worked on his craft and bettered himself. He eventually became a star in high school and college, and then was drafted into the NBA – and the rest is history. He was the best player in the league for years, making the top salary too, before retiring and investing his money. He is now a billionaire. Income Is Balanced by Tax Professional athletes, both actively playing and retired, deserve all of their money because they are highly taxed – just like a large corporation. Now the tax system may be imperfect – because there is certainly some inequality in how much money people of different tax brackets are taxed – but we can generally see that a person is taxed more with the more money they make. Each year some of these athletes still are taxed hundred of thousands of dollars, if not millions. So anyone would want to make more money if they were taxed each large amounts of money. It’s best to conclude this argument by asking the reader, to be honest here. There is never too much money to be made unless of course, it comes through evil, violent tactics. Then it’s not deserved. But professional athletes deserve every penny they earn, even if it’s disgusting, whether through competing in their sport, getting paid through endorsement deals, or by merely showing up to things and attracting people. They do no make too much. What they make is, well, just right.

Strategic Issues and problems of Starbucks Essay

Strategic Issues and problems of Starbucks - Essay Example This is because such firms are found to generate higher revenue than Starbucks in the market. The company was forced to change its marketing strategy as it could not compete with advertisement investments made by McDonald’s. Moreover, since the economic downturn, financial analysis shows that gross profit of the company has fallen. The company since 2012 has ceased operations of more than 500 underperforming stores across markets of U.S. and many other nations. Currently, the firm lacks adequate finances to expand business in the long run. It is also found that McDonald’s has, unlike Starbucks, gained competitive advantage in business through outsourcing, R&D, distributions and sponsorships activities. At this juncture, it is analyzed that the company can only sustain in such competition by introducing new innovation process in business and product differentiation perspectives. For such expansion programs, the company needs to develop new fund raising strategies. In the contemporary world, extent of business complexity has significantly increased. Profit and revenue generation a strategy of firms in the not only depends on internal and external factors, but are also highly influenced by effectiveness of its strategic management. Presently, the restaurant industry is dominated by giant global firms like, McDonald’s and Starbucks. It is found that scope of business internationalization of these firms has increased remarkably since last few years. Through business expansion, these firms have gained impressive global market demand shares as well as augmented brand value in business. However, since the global financial crisis, McDonald’s has won over Starbucks in terms of market competition McDonald’s has invested huge amount of capital in business, thereby generating severe barriers to expand for Starbucks. From the case study is found that Starbucks is facing financial crunch in its business, at present.

Management Theory - Henri Fayol Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management Theory - Henri Fayol - Research Paper Example For the effective performance of an organization, it would be critical to know in advance what needs to be done, the activities to undertake to do what is to be done and also when these activities are to be done. Thus, planning essentially entails the what, how and when with regards to performance (Pryor & Taneja, 2010). It encompasses the determination of both short and long-term objectives; development of strategies and actions aimed at the achievement of the set objectives; and formulation of rules, policies, and procedures to be adopted during the implementation of plans and strategies (Raju & Parthasarathy, 2009). Planning does not necessarily have to be deliberate or systematic. The second management function, referred to as organising by Fayol, involves identifying activities needed to achieve organisational objectives and implementing the plans; grouping activities to come up with self-contained jobs; assigning jobs to employees; delegating authority to promote execution of tasks and commanding the required resources; and establishing interrelated coordinating relationships (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2012). Therefore, organizing basically involves the combination and integration of physical, financial and human resources in a productive fashion for the achievement of the organizational goals. This yields an organizational structure comprising of organizational positions, associated responsibilities and tasks and an interrelation of authorities and roles. Commanding refers to maintaining activity among personnel. Fayol uses this terminology as a function of management to describe direction, leadership, and supervision (McNamara, 2009). It thus encompasses leadership and the aim of setting the organization in motion.