Modern Family Tv Show free essay sample

Holidays are always beautiful events in our life even if we only have it once a year. It’s the time when families enjoy been together. It is a time when we all happy and forget all concerns during the year. It is the time to apologize if we have done something wrong. But the most important is been with the people you love the most. Modern Family is a really fun TV show they have thought something important about the holidays. Since most of them would not at home during Christmas Day they decide to have an express Christmas. Christmas day it is important for people that celebrate this holiday, for others is just another regular day. But, even if people don’t celebrate Christmas they have a holiday that could be the same when they enjoy and gather together with their family. For Modern Family, it was important for them to make this express Christmas because they wanted to have a family reunion and celebrate together. We will write a custom essay sample on Modern Family Tv Show or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They all put their effort to accomplish their goal by buying the tree, putting the colorful lights, wrapping the presents and making dinner. Modern Family shows us that if we really want something it must be done if you really desire it. We saw that most of them have complications doing what they have to do. The Christmas tree was crash by two cars, the turkey was trade for a Christmas present, and the angel that goes on the tree fly over the window and broke. They all thought that it was a waste of time in doing the express Christmas. But, one of the members of the family says that even though the plan fell they all are together and it was the most important. It was true, they have their family, love and they are all happy about what they have. For many people Christmas could be a melancholy day where they don’t have any family or they do but they are far away. So, they don’t feel like celebrating since this type of holidays is to be with your family and love ones to celebrate. But, Modern Family, though us that even if something go wrong there is people out there that love you, care and support you. There is always someone out there that is willing to make them happy. Modern Family tries their best to come up with the plan and have their Christmas presents and celebrate it before. But, things didn’t go very well and the fun part was that they enjoy doing it anyways. Because they did it together as a family and that is what family is for to support each other. Holidays are the most precious events for most of us, because is the time to be with the family and also is the time to a new beginning.

Jane Fonda in North Vietnam - Myths of Womens History

Jane Fonda in North Vietnam - Myths of Women's History They started coming in the winter of 1999: emails asking me to do something about the book, written by Barbara Walters, already published and the basis of a television special reviewed on this site: 100 Women of the Century. (Ive never been clear how one does something about a book thats already been published and sold. I dont think these people really wanted to seize and destroy all copies, did they?) The protest was over the inclusion of Jane Fonda in the book and special. Id quoted Fonda in my review, this way: Who did Jane Fonda say popped into her mind as the most influential woman of the century? Coco Chanel! Fonda explains: And heres why: She freed us from the corset. Frankly, I thought anyone reading that quote was likely to come away with this conclusion: Jane Fonda was not exactly the brainiest commentator on the history of women in the 20th century, and not exactly a prime candidate for selection as one of the 100 most influential women of the century! But, I guess because I included Jane Fonda in that review, these Jane Fonda emails started to pour in. There are fewer of them now, though they continue to come, and unfortunately I suspect Ill get more after publishing this article, from correspondents who dont read carefully. An example of one I received, after writing the above words, from a Carl R. Brucker, includes these words: How can a woman who patronized the Vietnamese Army during war time be honored? You media publicicts need to have your heads examined and your patriotism questioned, maybe even your citizenship! What upset these writers so much? Heres the email that they sent to me - its also reproduced in many places on the web: Jane Fonda is being honored as one of the 100 Women of the Century. Unfortunately, many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms. Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our country, but specific men who served and sacrificed during Vietnam. Part of my conviction comes from personal exposure to those who suffered her attentions. The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot. The pilots name is Jerry Driscoll, a River Rat. In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a POW in Ho Lo Prison - the Hanoi Hilton. Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJs, he was ordered to describe for a visiting American Peace Activist the lenient and humane treatment hed received. He spat at Ms. Fonda, and was clubbed and dragged away. During the subsequent beating, he fell forward upon the camp Commandants feet, which sent that officer berserk. In 78, the AF Col still suffered from double vision (which permanently ended his flying days) from the Vietnamese Cols frenzied application of a wooden baton. Col Larry Carrigan was in the 47FW/DO (F-4Es). He spent 6 years in the Hilton - the first three of which he was missing in action. His wife lived on faith that he was still alive. His group, too, got the cleaned/fed/clothed routine in preparation for a peace delegation visit. They, however, had time and devised a plan to get word to the world that they still survived. Each man secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his SSN on it, in the palm of his hand. When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a camera man, she walked the line, shaking each mans hand and asking little encouraging snippets like: Arent you sorry you bombed babies? and Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your benevolent captors? Believing this HAD to be an act, they each palmed her their slivers of paper. She took them all without missing a beat. At the end of the line and once the camera stopped rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the officer in charge... and handed him the little pile of p apers. Three men died from the subsequent beatings. Col Carrigan was almost number four. But he survived... which is the only reason we know about her actions that day. I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in 1968 and held for over 5 years. I spent 27 months in solitary confinement, one year in a cage in Cambodia, and one year in a black box in Hanoi. My North Vietnamese captors deliberately poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a leprosarium in Ban me Thuot, South Vietnam, whom I buried in the jungle near the Cambodian border. At one time I weighed approximately 90 lbs  - my normal weight is 170 lbs. We were Jane Fondas war criminals. When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi, I was asked by the camp communist political officer if I would be willing to meet with Jane Fonda. I said yes, that I would like to tell her about the real treatment we POWs were receiving, which was far different from the treatment purported by the North Vietnamese, and parroted by Jane Fonda, as humane and lenient. Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees with outstretched arms with a large amount of steel placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane every time my arms dipped. I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda for a couple of hours after I was released. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She did not answer me. This does not exemplify someone who should be honored as part of 100 Years of Great Women. Lest we forget...100 Years of Great Women should never include a traitor whose hands are covered with the blood of so many patriots. There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Hanoi Janes participation in blatant treason is one of them. Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can. It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to know that we will never forget. For starters: any email that says Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can is probably at best an exaggeration, at worst an outright scam. (I always check similar emails at  http://urbanlegends.about.com  before passing them along, and I check out allegations of viruses at  http://antivirus.about.com  as well. Most of those panicked forward this everywhere emails are hoaxes or long-expired petitions.) Checking It Out When I started getting these Jane Fonda emails, I forwarded one to David Emery, Abouts Guide to Urban Legends.  David carefully checked out the stories  in the Jane Fonda  email,  and discovered that  the first two are false  - the ones where servicemen actually died. I repeat -   those stories have been debunked, and their falsehood confirmed by the supposed sources of the stories. The last one - where a serviceman was beaten because he said hed meet with Jane Fonda and tell her honestly about conditions in a POW camp - is confirmed as  true,  but did not involve Fondas direct action at all. Its fascinating, though, to see how persistent these Jane Fonda legends remain, despite the attempts of Davids site and others to debunk them. I vividly remember Jane Fondas trip to North Vietnam, as reported in the media. I remember proponents and opponents of the war alike finding her actions distasteful, ill-thought-out, and profoundly disrespectful of Americans serving in Vietnam. But I certainly didnt think that her act would generate such energy nearly thirty years later. When I wrote the review of Barbara Walters book in 1999, I thought that including Jane Fonda as one of the most influential women of the twentieth century was rather silly, an example of the preference for entertainers that Walters showed in her selections. Barbara Walters included several women even more notorious than Jane Fonda: Madame Mao and  Leni Riefenstahl, for instance. The book was about influential and important women - not simply wonderful women who should be held up as role models. Walters says in the book that she included Fonda for her contribution to bringing exercise into wide practice among women - not for her political views! Nevertheless, I didnt think Jane Fonda deserved inclusion as one of the 100 most influential women of the century. But the persistence of this Jane Fonda email, and the clear passion of the many who continue to distribute it and who continue to believe that Jane Fonda should be tried for treason for her trip to North  Vietnam,  have convinced me otherwise. Jane Fonda is influential far beyond what Id  thought,  if she can continue to generate this level of activity! The  whole  story on this email legend and why the first two-thirds is not believable:  Hanoi Jane Rumors Blend Fact and Fiction Update As of this writing, several years after first publishing this article, the waves of distribution of the Jane Fonda email have diminished somewhat. Perhaps this article has been able to play a part in getting people to think more carefully about an issue that carries a lot of emotional  weight. But whenever Jane Fonda is in the news, the erroneous emails return. To use the example of Mr. Brucker, whose email I excerpted on page 1 of this article: Hes still apparently convinced that Im honoring Fonda despite reading an earlier version of this article, failing to understand the difference between writing about someone and honoring them (or still being confused about the difference between myself and the author of a book I mentioned). Worse than his misunderstanding is the implication that anyone who publishes something about Fonda may need to have their citizenship questioned. What an insult to those people who have served in Americas military, thinking they were doing so to promote a free society, in which dissent is possible, and certainly where the writing about a controversy isnt reasonable grounds for challenging ones citizenship or patriotism. Whats next? Burn Barbara Walters book, bringing to mind  Fahrenheit 451? Burn Barbara Walters, bringing to mind medieval witch hunts or the Inquisition? I wish I could say that Mr. Bruckers tirade was unusual, and indeed some correspondents do read and write more carefully and without advocating closing down free speech. But unfortunately, too many seem to have difficulty understanding two major points: (a) listing several people as influential is not necessarily an honor, much less mentioning that a book listed someone as influential;  and in this case  the continuing venom only demonstrates Fondas continued influence; and(b) even if someone did honor Fonda for her other achievements, proposing to punish disagreement with the authors perspective by removing a writers citizenship or shooting the writer is not exactly in keeping with the reasons that many served bravely in Americas wars. On the other hand - whether Jane Fondas actions in North Vietnam fall into the realm of treason is still a matter of debate. The 2002 book  Aid and Comfort: Jane Fonda in North Vietnam,  by attorneys Henry Mark Holzer and Erika Holzer (compare prices) comes down on the side of yes. Fondas had few defenders recently - her fitness videos of the 1970s and 1980s (compare prices) have largely been replaced by newer videos by new fitness gurus, and Thomas Kiernans 1982 biography,  Jane Fonda: Heroine for Our Time  (compare prices), is out of print. Barbara Walters 1998 book,  100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century  (compare prices), in which Jane Fonda plays a minor role, is still a readable if light version of 20th century womens history, in which celebrities play a disproportionate role and which includes a few women who were influential but not exactly positive role models (Madame Mao and  Leni Riefenstahl, for instance). A Later Update This story has unfolded over many years.  I get far fewer emails now - because the email has morphed since the 2008 election into a story about Barack Obama instead of me co-writing this book with Barbara Walters.  I think I should be honored to be transformed into a President.  Dont believe that Obama is responsible for this, either.  Its you who will look ignorant.

Authentic materials as supplementary materials

Authentic materials as supplementary materials Plagiarism is a practice that involves the using of another person’s intellectual output and presenting it as one’s own’. This includes the presentation of work that has been copied, in whole or part, from other sources (including other students’ work, published books or periodicals, or unpublished works or unauthorized collaboration with other persons), without due acknowledgement. A student found guilty of plagiarism will be subject to some or all of the following: Referral to Course Coordinator for: counseling; submission of further work; use of the services of Student Learning Unit; the placing of a record of the alleged infringement on the student’s file. Referral of the matter to the Head of School for: issuing of written warning; re-submission of work for assessment or the undertaking of another form of assessment such as an oral or unseen examination; allocation of a fail grade to part or all of the assessment; allocation a fail grade to th e subject. Referral of the matter to the Dean for: suspension from the course; official disciplinary action by the University Disciplinary Committee Student Declaration I declare that this assignment is original and has not been submitted for assessment elsewhere. I declare that this assignment is my own work and does not involve plagiarism or collusion. I give my consent for the electronic version to be examined by relevant plagiarism software programs. I have made a photocopy or electronic copy of my assignment, which I can produce if the original is lost for any reason. Signed: ___________ ____________ Dated: / / How to submit Your assignment Students are required to submit their assignment to their lecturer. This should be done in class, but can be done via email or via the mail with prior agreement from the lecturer. Students should ensure they are aware of how and when to submit their assignment by checking with their lecturer before the due date. How to Collect Your Marked As signment Your work should be collected from the lecturer in class or from the VU-HANU Program Coordinator in HCM City, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha or in Hanoi, Ms. Nguyen Thai Ha. If work is not returned in class or prior to the end of semester please contact your lecturer or the program coordinator (Mr. Martyn Brogan ) More information about Plagiarism is available from the Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development Student Information Website: http://www.vu.edu.au/Faculties_and_TAFE/Arts_Education_and_Human_Development/Current_Students/Undergraduates/Faculty_Student_Forms/indexdl_88408.aspx TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I Introduction Research questions CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW Text book 2.1.1 Textbook Description 2.1.2 Textbook Evaluation 2.2 Authentic materials for ESP course book 2.2.4. The role of reading materials 2.2.1. Definition of authentic materials 2.2.2. The role of authentic materials 2.2.3. Advantages of authentic materials 2.2.5. The criteria of selecting readin g authentic materials 2.3. Applying authentic materials in extensive reading program 2.3.1. Applying authentic materials in extensive reading program 2.3.2. Post-reading activities 2.4. Motivations 2.4.1. Definition of motivation 2.4.2. Factors effecting motivation CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Kind of research 3.2 Participants 3.2.1 The researcher 3.2.2 Selection of the subject 3.3 Data collection instruments

Automotive Vs. Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Automotive Vs. Computers - Essay Example The paper is going to focus on Toyota and Dell as the products of these industries. Toyota has in the past been depending on its o its major supplier in Japan. However, Toyota being the current leading automotive supplier of cars in the world embarked on a competitive strategy that involved the production of quality cars hence utilized a reliable approach. In addition, Toyota’s supply chain called for responsiveness and efficiency. Moreover, its supply chain necessitates decentralization therefore many production units in various locations all over the world. However, these decentralized units must also the interlinked. This ensures that information flows consecutively throughout all available units. In fact there are four key feature of Toyota’s supply chain. These features include, inventory, transportation, facility and information. Therefore, it is prudent to conclude that Toyota involves numerous production plants; a number of storage facilities, a well-defined tra nsportation mechanism, and reliable information relaying procedures. ( Dudovskiy). This chain ensures that the end consumer gets a quality product and on time regardless of their location since decentralization takes care of it. On the other hand, Dell relies on an exceptional supply chain whose strategy depends on information gathering from its large customer capacity. As such, Dell uses a direct- sale strategy and the information attained are passed on to both the sales and the procurement sections in addition to its external suppliers. The advantage of an information approach strategy is that it allows for timely supply of the product. More so Dell has identified two channels, through which information is acquired such as amongst the customers and the sales personnel’s, and equally, amidst the sales, procurement and suppliers departments. Hence, this approach has helps the company to sell its products in large quantities and with required quality since there is information flow (Gilmore). The automotive industry can be said to stick to its unique supply chain because of the nature of its product. Automotive is bulky, this makes expensive to assemble in a single location. Moreover, car models are rigid to change because there are a variety of models that a customer can chose from. More so, car parts are expensive to make hence changing any part will most likely result to recalling all previously produced vehicles. Therefore, an automotive industry remains competitive only if it produces different car model that suits the needs of its many customers. In addition, the quality, engine performance and fuel consumption are the factors that customers are after in any car mode. Therefore it is only through decentralization that an automotive producer can understand well the needs and requirements of the market. On the contrary, computer producers are better place to use an interactive supply chain approach because their products can be produced from a central location and easily transported to the consumers. Hence, such compa nies will invest more in both the sales and procurement teams to get the market requirements and they will deliver easily on such demands. Consequently, this is an industry that deals more with technology hence they are aware that technology is dynamic. When it comes to the product, the producer mainly evaluates the production cost. In this regards, automotive produce

Book Market Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book Market - Assignment Example Memo Introduction: Since the higher education market is clearly grouped we have to use stratified random sampling So that each strata (group) gets properly represented by the sample selected and give a more precise estimate of the entire population. In stratified random sampling the entire population is divided into strata and samples are picked from each strata. There can be three types of stratified random sampling Proportionate Disproportionate Optimal Proportionate stratified random sampling: the ratio of-the number of elements chosen from a particular stratum (n1) to the total number of elements in that particular stratum(N1) is equal to the ratio of -the number of elements chosen from all other strata to the total number of elements in those strata. n1/N1=n2/N2=---------nn/Nn Disproportionate stratified random sampling: the ratio of the number of elements chosen from a particular stratum (n1) to the total number of elements in that particular stratum (N1) is not equal to the ratio of the number of elements chosen from all other strata to the total number of elements in those strata. n1/N1 not equal to n2/N2 This is used when separate statistical analysis for particular strata are required.Suitable ratios are thereafter used to restore original proportions. Optimal stratified random sampling: due to cost concerns the researcher might want to achieve maximum accuracy that is minimum variance while keeping the costs minimum. This can be done when high degree of precision is not required but only a fair amount of idea can serve the purpose. Advantages and Disadvantages of the above three methods: Advantages Disadvantages Proportionate stratified random sampling The sample represents the true population... Disproportionate stratified random sampling: the ratio of the number of elements chosen from a particular stratum (n1) to the total number of elements in that particular stratum (N1) is not equal to the ratio of the number of elements chosen from all other strata to the total number of elements in those strata. Optimal stratified random sampling: due to cost concerns the researcher might want to achieve maximum accuracy that is minimum variance while keeping the costs minimum. This can be done when high degree of precision is not required but only a fair amount of idea can serve the purpose. Since in this case a fair enough estimate is required as the company is just entering the book market and lack of precision will not cause harm as it is not a quality check but only a overall market estimate, optimal stratified random sampling is recommended.

Principles and practice of Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Principles and practice of Human Resource Management Essay In 21st century, the organization which considers its employees as an asset rather than cost has competitive advantage. The term suggested for employees is human capital. It refers to productive potential of ones knowledge and actions. In todays knowledge economy, efficient management of human capital ensures success for the organization. This tells the importance of human resource management. It is about managing human capital in the same way as asset management or financial management. Actually human resource management acts as a medium of exchange between employees and organization. Employees offer knowledge, abilities, skills, efforts, time, motivation, commitment and performance to the organization in return for job security, empowerment, generous pay for performance, training, promotion and trustful relationship. Thus human resource management is considered as a matching process that is matching organizational goals with employees needs in order to satisfy both optimally. The more formal definition of human resource management is the activities undertaken by the organization to attract, develop and maintain an effective workforce within an organization. (Daft, 1982) Thus attracting an effective workforce for an organization, developing it to its potential and finally maintaining it are the three main goals of the human resource management. And all the strategies are developed by the human resource department for attaining these three goals and these strategies tend to be organizational wide in order to support the overall corporate strategy. The skills required for attracting the workforce includes human resource planning, job analysis, forecasting, recruiting and selecting; skills for developing the workforce includes training and performance appraisal; and skills for maintaining the workforce includes wages, salaries, benefits and termination. Organizations especially perform human resource management in order to tackle the issues related to human resource proactively rather than reactively. ( Price , 2007). Having developed the concept of human resource management, we will now talk about the different approaches taken by the organization for pursing HRM. Read more:Â  Managing The Human Resources The first approach is hard HRM developed by Michigan business school and the second one is soft HRM developed by Harvard business school. (Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna, 1984) Both approaches are opposite as they are based on different sets of assumptions. (Storey 1992) Soft HRM has humanistic edge in managing employees while hard HRM considers employees as resources which have to be managed in the same way as capital equipments and raw materials. That is hard HRM is bit more technical and mechanical in its approach which involves in obtaining as cheap labor as possible that should be fully exploited. Soft HRM advocates unitary perspective which means employees and organization needs and interest are coherent which leads to mutual goals, influence, respect, rewards and responsibility. The outcome is therefore employee commitment and organizational success (Walton 1985). On contrary, pluralist perspective sees differences in employee and organization goals as a cause for conflicts and problems. Management’s task is to induce the appropriate behavior in workers so that their actions accomplish the company’s goals, not their own. This paves the way for showing direction and coercion by management. This perspective underlies hard HRM. .( Price , 2007) Mc Gregor in 1960 gave Theory X and Theory Y about the nature of employees. Theory X depicted employees who dislike work and try to avoid it when they can. People have to be coerced to work and have to be closely directed and regulated thus leading to tight managerial control. On the other hand theory Y depicted employees who like to work and exercise self direction and self control if they are committed to the goals and objectives. In this case there is loose managerial control and managements function is to foster individual growth and development. Apparently soft HRM is associated with theory Y which emphasizes employees commitment through trust, open communication, training and development and autonomous work environment. This will produce employee behavior which is self directed and this is the main reason for organizations competitive advantage. Whereas hard HRM contingent to theory X, focuses on quantitative, calculative and strategic aspects of managing HR as for any other factor of production. The practices of hard HRM consist of strict performance appraisal, supervision and external control over individuals activities. Now we will examine how soft and hard HRM approaches lead to different kinds of activities and outcomes at different stages of human resource lifecycle. The first stage is of attracting the potential employees. This requires human resource planning by forecasting HR needs and matching the individuals with expected job vacancies. The soft HRM will seek to forecast needed employees in order to complete a work unit or finding the best mix of employees for the team in order to elicit commitment from team members by setting of good team norms and strong cohesiveness. Whereas hard HRM will look to minimize the need for additional employees and will try to reduce the head count. This will lead to incomplete work unit. The job vacancies will not be fully matched with potential employees, which will lead to incomplete work outcomes or delays in achieving goals deadlines. However hard HRM is best suited in condition of financial crisis and economic recession. In these conditions companies are incurring losses and they cannot afford hiring of new employees. Hard HRM is helpful in minimizing external hiring and shifting and relocating existing employees within organization. This will make existing employees loyal because they were not laid off by the organization when downsizing is the only option that remains during financial crisis. (Fombrun, 1984). The recruitment and selection is the most important process in hiring of employees. It requires analysis of both job applicants and job itself. We have to look for desired characteristics in applicants so that he must make a good match with particular job requirements. If his skills, education and experience are not adequate for the specific job then it will lead to frustration and confusion. The result will be poor performance, job dissatisfaction and high turnover. Both soft and hard HRM approach will provide realistic job preview and job description so that employees can judge their potential for a specific job. However soft HRM approach will be more insightful as it will look into the hidden personality traits, attitudes and beliefs of the applicants so that they can be better integrated into overall corporate culture, norms and values. Whereas hard HRM will only look to match the applicants skills with the technical specification of the job. Soft HRM give more attention to the human processes such as communication, sharing of knowledge, cohesiveness and trust among employees. Interviews, paper pencil test etc are the most common selection devices and are used by both approaches. However soft HRM approach has additional selection devices such as personality test, psychological test, case studies and different types of surveys. The second stage in HR lifecycle is development of effective workforce which includes training and performance appraisal as the two most important activities. Soft HRM approach will be more inclined towards training for individual advancement and career development. Soft HRM will go for various types of training techniques such as on the job training, class room training, computer assisted instructions, conferences and case discussion groups. Employees will be made to learn multiple skills so that they can be rotated among various jobs in order to reduce monotony and introduce variety. Hard HRM will see training as an expense. It will usually design job which leaves little room for showing discretion and creativity. The job is monotonous and set rules and procedures are there to perform the job. So training is limited to learning those specific job procedures which limits career advancement. This reduces employee motivation and cause job dissatisfaction and high turnover rate because of increase in monotony. The practice of hard HRM is most suitable in assembly line work. However it will fail in work demanding creativity and originality and whose environment is more unstable and uncertain, for example, film industry. While considering the activity of performance appraisal, hard HRM is more stringent in its appraisal process. The poor performance is mostly attributed to individuals lack of ability and no consideration is given to various external factors influencing the individuals performance. External factors are outside individual control and includes pathetic work environment, work place conflicts, distrust, no sharing of information and resources, bad relations and poor communication with top management. (Drucker , 1954 ) On the other hand soft HRM gives objective feedback on employees performance. It also uses the technique of 360 degree feedback that uses multiple raters and self rating to enhance the reliability and credibility of feedback in the eyes of employees. Multiple raters can include customers, co workers, supervisors and subordinates. Employee is also given a chance to explain his point of view and give explanation if his performance is not up to the standard. At the end of the appraisal top performances are also rewarded with bonuses, recognition and promotion. The feedback style of soft HRM is such that employees are motivated to improve their performance further. It enhances employees self efficacy by making clear role expectations and removing role conflicts and role ambiguity. This approach is therefore best suited for organizations whose culture encompasses total quality management. TQM stresses for customer satisfaction by providing better quality product or services through dedication to training, continuous improvement and teamwork. The third and last stage in HR life cycle is maintaining of workforce so that they continue to work for the organization over the long run. This stage consists of four activities such as rewards management, industrial relation, occupational health and safety and termination. In soft HRM approach rewards are such that it recognizes individual’s accomplishment as well as teamwork. Rewards are administered in such a way that it promotes collaboration and cooperation among employees so that they work as a unit for the overall goals of the organization. The focus is on creating the synergy so that different department of organization works coherently and in alignment of corporate strategy. Ivancevich, 2003). Soft HRM approach also gives rewards which increases intrinsic motivation of employees. Intrinsic motivation to work comes from the internal satisfaction and honor one feels when he completes some meaningful work which makes the difference for the organization. These types of rewards increase employees’ sense of meaningfulness, competence, progress and choice. Intrinsic rewards which increase intrinsic motivation are important for increasing employees’ commitment to organization’s goals and mission. The hard HRM has tight control over rewards. Apart from basic salary, less effort is made to recognize individual performance. However calculated yearly bonuses are given when year end profit target is achieved. In other words no effort is made in hard HRM’s reward system to increase employees’ commitment to work. The main problem is that hard HRM follows corporate strategy in rewarding employees and no analysis is done about employee’s needs and desires. Soft HRM is good enough as its rewards system makes a best fit between employees’ needs and rewards. Moreover the other organization dynamics which affects rewards system is employees’ perceived equity of rewards. If the distribution of rewards is not considered equitable by employees then motivating effects of rewards will vanish. There will be feeling of cognitive dissonance in employees and to remove this feeling, he will either alter his inputs to the work or will demand changes in rewards. The soft HRM approach dealing with human processes designs reward system to improve employees’ perceived equity while hard HRM fails to do so. According to Herzberg, working conditions, pay, good company policy and interpersonal relationships are called hygiene factors and their presence removes job dissatisfaction. The hygiene factors are well cared by soft HRM approach. The hard one fails to provide hygiene factors because its main objective is to accomplish a task in most economical terms as possible. It is only the soft HRM approach that has clear and functional policies and procedures about occupational health and safety. (Noe, 2003). Soft HRM approach looks to build long term relationship with employees. It opens all channels of communication such as upward, downward and lateral. Moreover grapevine and management by objective techniques are also used by managers to delve deeper into employees’ problems and requirements. Hard HRM only uses formal and hierarchical communication channel. This is also the cause for many communication breakdown and distortion. The most important feature of soft HRM is of mentoring and socialization which greatly helps in building cooperative and trustful corporate culture and environment.

Comparing Stories: The Astronomers Wife & The Chrysanthemums :: essays research papers

Recently, I saw a movie about female tennis champion – Billie Jean King, and although I have never been into the feminism (neither can I say that I quite understand it), her character woke up some other kind of sensitivity in me. After this – to me significant change – I could not help myself not to notice different approaches of John Steinbeck and Kay Boyle to the similar thematic. They both deal with marital relationships and it was quite interesting to view lives of ordinary married couples through both â€Å"male† and â€Å"female eyes†. While Steinbeck opens his story describing the Salinas Valley in December metaphorically referring to the Elisa’s character, Boyle jumps directly to Mrs. Ames’s inner world. Although both writers give us pretty clear picture of their characters, Boyle does it with more emotions aiming our feelings immediately, unlike Steinbeck who leaves us more space to think about Elisa Allen. Mrs. Ames from â€Å"The Astronomer’s Wife† and Elisa Allen from â€Å"The Chrysanthemums†, two women in their best ages, did share similar lives. They were loyal wives, of decent beauty and good manners. They were married for some time, without any children and they were fighting the dullness of their marriages. At first, it looked like they were just caught in marriage monotony, but after the surface has been scratched deeper, it was clear that these two women were crying for attention: but they had different reasons. While Boyle describes Mrs. Ames as elegant, gentle, and quiet, Steinbeck gives to Elisa more strength. Her face was â€Å"lean and strong†, and her figure looked â€Å"blocked and heavy in her gardening costume†. Both women find their own ways to cover lack of happiness in their everyday lives. The astronomer’s wife is managing the house finding the silliest things to keep her busy: â€Å"†¦from the removal of the spot left there from dinner on the astronomer’s vest to the severe trashing of the mayonnaise for lunch†. Elisa spends her days in garden raising chrysanthemums â€Å"bigger than anybody around here.† The fact that these two women did not have any children can mislead us to the conclusion that they were both trying to satisfy the instincts they were probably having at the age of thirty-five. While this is the case with Elisa, the astronomer’s wife had different problem: the lack of communication with her husband and inca pability to understand the world he was in.