Issues in Human Resource Strategies That Improve Organizational Performance Essay Example for Free

Issues in Human Resource Strategies That Improve Organizational Performance Essay A rapidly changing economic environment, characterized by such phenomena as the globalization, and deregulation of markets, changing customer and investor demands, and ever increasing product market competition, has become the norm for most organization. To compete, they must continually improve their performance by reducing costs; innovating products and processes; improving quality, productivity, and speed to market; and more importantly by improving their individual performance within the organization. In order to do this, a set of distinctive human resource strategies, defined as internally consistent bundles of human resource practices (Dyer Reeves, 1995), is clearly essential. Sparrow and Marchington (1998) suggested that HR practices are the most advanced, the most sophisticated, and the most efficient basis for organizing and for obtaining high performance from employees since it seeks to strategically integrate the interests of an organization and its employees. In addition, a number of studies have also indicated that there is a positive relationship between effective HR strategies and organizational performance. Specifically, it is suggested that HR practices can improve organizational and operational performance when matched with quality manufacturing strategies (Stone, 2002). Nevertheless, despite the positive relationship found between HR practices and firm performance, there are a number of issues and questions surrounding them. One problem in relating HRM and performance is the lack of theoretical background; resulting in both terms remain ambiguous concepts. Other questions arise in relation with the link between HR strategies and performance are the inconsistent findings in regards to what constitutes a high performance HR strategy (Becker Gerhart, 1996; Cooke, 2001) and the problems with HRM and performance measurements (Guest et al. , 2003). The aim of this essay is to outline and explain the issues in developing human resource strategies that improve organizational performance. Specifically, the essay shall begin with presenting the issue of theoretical background of the concept of HRM and organizational performance. Subsequently, it shall discuss the issue about diversified strategies used to improve performance, and the problems in measuring HRM and performance. ?HRM and Organizational Performance: The Lack of Theoretical Background Guest (1997) pointed out that to improve our understanding of the impact of HRM on performance; we need a theory about HRM, a theory about performance, and a theory about how they are linked. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of debates amongst leading researchers and practitioners about the concept and contributions of HRM practice in managing employees in overall organizational objectives (Loosemore, Dainty Lingard, 2003; Analoui, 1998; Sparrow Marchington, 1998). McCarthy and Stone (1986) argued that the concept of HRM is ambiguous and that its contribution to organizational performance remains unclear and is not well understood. In addition, Sparrow and Marchington (1998) pointed out that rather than adding value to the business through its strategic integration with managerial objectives, HRM can remain a disappointingly mechanistic function. Similarly, there is no universal theory about performance (Guest, 1997). It was proposed that the meaning of performance involves two dimensions; the types of criteria and the weight of each. Organizations have different interpretations of performance according to the sector of their industries. Service providers, for example, might consider customer satisfaction as their top performance indicator, while manufacturers might view inventory level as an important criterion to measure their performance level. In addition, some organizations put financial results on top of their performance indicator list and employee’s job satisfaction at the bottom, but others may view this in the opposite position. As a result, it is hard, if not impossible, to define the concept of performance that applicable for all organizations. The impact of HR practices on firm performance is without a doubt an important topic in the fields of human resource management, industrial relations, and industrial and organizational psychology (Huselid, 1995; Jones Wright, 1992). This literature, although largely conceptual, concludes that HR practices can help to create a source of sustained competitive advantage, especially when they are aligned with a firm’s competitive strategy (Jackson Schuler, 1995; Wright McMahan, 1992, both as cited in Huselid, 1995). Specifically, a large majority of published studies found an association between HR practices and firm performance, regardless of whether they are cross-sectional or longitudinal, whether conducted at establishment or company level, whether based on strong performance data or subjective estimates, whatever sector they are based on, whatever operational definition of HRM is used, and wherever they are conducted (Guest et al. , 2003). Nevertheless, despite the positive thrust of most empirical findings, Wood and de Menezes (1998, as cited in Guest et al. 2003) failed to find consistent associations between HRM and performance. Furthermore, Wood (1999) has also argued that the relationship between HRM and performance is relatively weak. One possible explanation lies in the various contingency factors, other than HR activities, that might contribute to organizational performance such as organizational culture (Kotter Heskett, 1992; Van der Post et al. , 1998), business strategy (Richard Brown Johnson, 1999), and political considerations (Ferris et al. 1998). ?Improvement Strategies: Is There One Best Way? Much of the research on the link between HRM and firm performance has looked at single HR practice such as compensation or selection, while others attempted to look on the impact of combining different HR practices to improve firm performance (Becker Gerhart, 1996). Pfeffer (1998, as cited in Tyson, 1997), for instance, put forward a seven-principle best practice which he believed is universally applicable. The seven best practice HRM elements include; employment security, selective hiring, self managed teams, high compensation contingent on organizational performance, extensive training, reduction of status difference, and information sharing. Theoretically, bundling several HR practices should produce greater performance effects than any of the individual human practices (Dyer Reeves, 1995). However, in reality, there is no single standardized bundle of HR strategies that is universally applicable for all organizations. Each firm might require different bundles of HR strategies to improve its organizational performance.

Social Commentary in Blood Brothers by Willy Russell Essay -- Blood Br

Social Commentary in Blood Brothers by Willy Russell The play, Blood Brothers by Willy Russell, is a twisted tale of two brothers born on the same day and from the same womb, yet they live in two entirely different worlds. In the scene with Russell Eddie and Mickey meeting for the first time. At first Mickey is suspicious of Eddie, (Mickey – â€Å"hello† suspiciously), but at that innocent age they talking and quickly bond. Eddie is well-mannered in all his ways – â€Å"ill look it up in the dictionary† and says â€Å"pardon†. This shows Eddie has a polite comportment in his speech– â€Å"ill looks it up in the dictionary† and says â€Å"pardon†. This shows Eddie is well educated and polite because of his wealth. However, Mickey isn’t and Eddie is innocent and because of his overprotective mother therefore doesn’t know much about reality and the world around him – Eddie says, â€Å"Pissed of. You say smashing things don’t you? And Mickey says, â€Å"Do you know the F word?† Eddie – â€Å"pardon, what does it mean?† Because the boys are young, they’re innocent and honest about everything. When they start sharing background information, they soon find out they are very similar and even share the same age, the same date of birth. They choose to become blood brothers which will mean a new stronger relationship. Mickey says,† this mean that we’re blood brothers† their affection is strong, because they bond so quickly. When Sammy enters the scene, it becomes tense as he makes fun of Eddie. Sammy _ â€Å"he’s a friggin poshy†, this means Sammy makes fun of his accent, he instantly recognizes he’s posh. Because Mickey is Eddie’s blood brother, he defends him as that was one of they’re vows they made when becoming blood brothers. Mickey and Eddie – â€Å"I al... ...u as well as everything’ else? Does she? Eddie does she?† Russell is trying to show that if you’re wealthy you aren’t going to be happy unless you have something to keep you going, he needs an achievable goal in life, Mrs Johnstone had her children, but Mickey only has his pills to keep him going. He has no hope of a job because of his criminal record, or his own home. He is terrified that Linda will leave him. In conclusion Russell is trying to portray that your situation depends entirely on the way you’re brought up. According to Russell it depends on nurture; the child that was given away got the better life, it wouldn’t have mattered which one was given away. As Eddie had the experience of a wealthy family he got the best opportunities in life. Mickey has to struggle with reality of being underprivileged, hence the unfairness of living in Britain.

Erickson Integrity Versus Despair Essay

Older adults spend more time thinking and reflecting about their past than they use to. They also tend to be much less critical now of decisions made years ago then they do at that time. They often remember dreams they wanted and how close they may have come. Is this process of reflection something that older adults go through? This may be in response to retirement, the death of a spouse or close friends, or may simply result from changing social roles. According to Erikson (1982), a personality theorist who examined aging as a stage of development, this struggle comes about as older adults try to understand their lives in terms of the future of their family and community. As the older adult enters late life, they begin the struggle of integrity and despair, which is the process by which people try to make sense of their lives. Thoughts of the older adults own death is harmonized by the understanding that they will live on through their extended family. Erikson calls this understanding a â€Å"life-affirming involvement† in the present. Within the integrity versus despair, older adults encounter a life review, the process by which older adults reflect on the events and experiences of their lifetime. The most important event at this stage is coming to accept one’s whole life and reflecting on that in a positive manner. Erikson believed that to achieve integrity, a person must come to terms with the choices and events that have made his or hers life unique, and accepting one’s life for what it is. He believed older adults that reached integrity become self-affirming and self-accepting, and they judge their lives to have been worthwhile and good. The adult feels a sense of fulfillment about life and accepts death as an unavoidable reality. Those people who can look back on their lives with happiness and decide that they have lived a well rounded and fulfilling life will gain ego integrity and will not be fearful of death. â€Å"People develop ego integrity and accept their lives if they succeed, and develop a sense of wisdom a â€Å"detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself†(Erikon’s Psychosocial Stages of Development, 2009). If a person looks back on their life and remembers negative thoughts and dissatisfaction with life they will develop despair and experience a fearfulness and anxiousness about death. â€Å"Too much wisdom leads to presumption, too much despair to a disdain for life† (Erikson’s Psychosocial  Stages of Development, 2009). It has also been said that â€Å"children won’t fear life if their elders have enough integrity not to fear death.†(Psychological Theory- Erikson, 1995). I think that Morrie Schwartz is a great example of Erikson’s integrity theory. Morrie’s basic core of integrity ran deep, more so than any one person. Morrie showed this when he commented on his own battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease â€Å"It was very important for me to make clear to myself that my body is only part of who I am. We are much greater than the sum of our physical parts. The way we look at the world is fashioned by our values and our thoughts about good and evil, things that go into making up who we are†.

Crash, and The Forest, The Trees, and The One Thing

The movie Crash tells the story of many seemingly unrelated people who are trying to live their lives in Los Angels, are actually intimately intertwined with each other. The article â€Å"The Forest, the Trees, and the One Thing† elaborates on the theme of interconnectivity by using the analogy of the individual trees, and how they come together to make a forest. Both the movie and the article show how people who are just trying to go about their dally lives affect others In more ways than we realize.The locksmith played by Michael Penn was the easiest to empathic with, because he was one of the only characters who was genuinely a nice person. The scene where he gives his daughter the invisible, impenetrable cloak was easy for most people to empathic with because he was being a good father by making his daughter feel safe. He is one of the most touching characters because even when the Iranian man is yelling at him and treating him badly, he tries to explain to him that the do or needs to be fixed, and not the lock that he keeps requesting.Sandra Bullock's racism visibly disturbs and Insults Michael Penn when he Is fixing her lock, because Sandra Is yelling at her husband that the man ‘†with the jail tattoos† is going to go give their eyes to one of his â€Å"homiest† so they can break in and steal from them. Michael does not say anything though, but he makes sure to leave all of the keys on the counter in front of her when he leaves to show her that she is wrong. Sandra Bullocks character Is a great example of how racial attitudes shape behavior.When Sandra and her husband are walking home from dinner, she Instantly grabs his arm when she sees two black men walking towards them. She Is racist so she immediately assumes that since they are black, they will try to rob them, which coincidentally is exactly what happens. This incident only serves to strengthen her already racist beliefs. When they get home, she is so paranoid that sh e makes her husband get their locks changed, and then wants the locks to be changed again in the morning because the locksmith has tattoos and is Latino.Her racist attitude towards others begins to show Its downfalls when she falls down the stairs at the end of the movie, and her own â€Å"friends† will not take her to the hospital because she is at the spa. Sandra then relies on her Mexican maid, who she regularly berates, to take her to the hospital and make sure she is taken care of. Sandra realizes that her aid is the only one who was there for her, and that her maid is her only real friend. Matt Dillon plays a bitter, racist cop who is teaching his rookie partner the ways of the force.The last thing that he says to his rookie partner Is ‘Walt until you've been on the Job a few more years. Walt until you've been doing It a little bit longer. † Dillon is implying that after a few years, Ryan Philippe will start to see the trends that eventually lead to more bla ck men being arrested than white men. This trend comes from racist cops who believe that black people are criminals, and it reinforces their life because they keep arresting black people. Dillon also blames the black supervisor at his fathers HOMO for not providing adequate treatment for his father.He thinks that she only has the Job because she Is black and he thinks that a more lady to get the Job. Ludicrous' character is a stereotypical black criminal in LA who has vowed to only steal from white people. When he hits an Asian man in the street, he wanted to Just leave him to die, but his friend made sure that they dropped him off at a hospital. In the beginning of the movie, he complains to his friend that everyone else thinks that hey have him figured out because he's black, especially when Sandra Bullock grabs her husband's arm. He then proceeds to steal Sander's car and prove that she was right to be scared.Ludicrous then breaks his one promise, to never steal from another blac k man, when he tries to carjack the Movie Director Cameron. After Cameron has the standoff with the police and he is let go with a warning, he drops off Ludicrous at a corner and tells him Mimi embarrass me. You embarrass yourself. † Ludicrous then commits what is probably the most morally correct act of his life by saving the updated Chinese people that he found in the back of a van that he had stolen. The last character that I am analyzing is Ryan Philippe, the rookie cop.When his partner Matt Dillon pulls over the black couple, he feels uneasy because he can see the racial motivation that his partner has for pulling him over. He is beginning to see â€Å"the real world† that is not sugar coated. When he requests to be moved to a solo car because he does not like how his partner is racist, the Chief tells him that he needs a better reason. He begins to realize that most people won't personally care about him, and that they only care about themselves. He is becoming aw are that it is a dog eat dog world, and he needs to learn in order to survive.The article â€Å"The Forest, the Trees, and the One Thing† and the movie Crash are both great examples of connectivity. In Crash, all of the characters affect each other in one way or another, and â€Å"The Forest, the Trees, and the One Thing† shows us, the readers, how we may affect more people than we think. The article tells us about the Forest, which is society, is made up of a multitude of trees, or individual people, and the One Thing that makes the Trees a Forest, is the One Thing, which is the interactions are connections between the Trees, between the individual people.This is also shown in the movie because of the many different interactions between all of the characters and how they unknowingly influence each other. The idea interactions and connectivity is expressed in â€Å"The Forest, the Trees, and the One Thing† is shown when the author says â€Å"The choices we make as individuals matter beyond our loves more than we can imagine†. The author also elaborates on the effects of racism in a society giving examples such as â€Å"When the subject of race and racism come up, white people often withdraw into silence as if paralyzed by guilt†.The character played by Ludicrous also expresses feeling similar to this when he talks to his friend about how everyone thinks that they know him and â€Å"type†. As humans we think of most things as a collection of parts that function together in order to do things that each part would be unable to do on its own. We think of families as individual people, the mother, father, daughter, son, sister, brother, and their relationships with each other is what makes them a family. If this is the way that we think of things and comprehend them, then we can think of society in that way as well, Just with more people, more trees.We begin to think about the relationships that we normally overlook, such a s the cashier at the Cutbacks that you make small talk with while you we realize how much of an impact we have on other people with Just these little interactions, we realize that all of us play a large role in the big family that we call society. In the forest, little trees can be protected from storms under the canopy of larger trees, or the larger tree can slowly kill the smaller trees by not letting enough sunlight through. Without realizing it, everyone influences everyone, and that, is the one thing that makes Just a bunch of trees, a forest.

Brown vs. Board of Education essays

Brown vs. Board of Education essays Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka was the landmark case that resulted in desegregating of public schools. On May 17,1954, the United States Supreme Court issued an unanimous decision that it was unconstitutional, violating the Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection clause) to separate children in public schools based on their race. Advocates of desegregation were certain that racially mixed schools, more than any other institutions , would facilitate the cherished American dream of equal opportunity. In this belief they reflected long standing assumptions about the powerful role of education in life. In many instances the schools for African American children were substandard facilities with outdated textbooks and often no basic school supplies. What was not in question was the dedication and qualification of the African American teachers and principals assigned to these schools.(www.hrcr.org/docs/usconstitution/brown2.html, p.1) Black schools were not only inferior in terms of facilities. As Peterson emphasized, segregation was as damaging as inequality. It shunted black students from the mainstream, isolating them and depriving them from association or competition with whites. Separation of African American children from others of similar age and qualifications because of their race "generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.""(Gollnick,p.169) As early as1849 with the Roberts case in Boston, Massachusetts, African American parents challenged the system of education in the United States which mandated separate schools for their children based on race.(1) There have been six cases involving the "separate but equal" doctrine in the field of public education in American courts, prior to Brown case in 1954. (Carson,p.69) In Cumming v. County Board of Education, 175 U.S. 528, Gong Lum v. Rice, 275 ...

French Expressions Using Champ

French Expressions Using Champ The French word un champ literally means field and is also used in many idiomatic expressions. Learn how to say sphere of activity, battlefield, having room to move, and more with this list of expressions with champ. Possible Meanings of Un Champ field (all senses)area, domainshot, frame (filming)champagne (apocope) Expressions with Un Champ un champ closcombat areaun champ dactionsphere of activityun champ dactività ©sphere of activityun champ daviationairfieldun champ davoinefield of oatsun champ de bataillebattlefieldun champ de blà ©field of corn/wheatun champ de coursesracecourseun champ de foirefairgroundun champ de manoeuvreparade groundun champ de minesminefieldun champ de neigesnowfieldun champ de tirshooting range, field of fireun champ de trà ¨flefield of cloverun champ de visionvisual fieldun champ dhonneurfield of honorun champ à ©lectriqueelectric fieldun champ magnà ©tiquemagnetic fieldun champ opà ©ratoireoperative fieldun champ optiqueoptical fieldun champ ouvertopen fieldun champ visuelvisual fieldles champscountry(side)les Champs Élysà ©esElysian Fields (mythology), street in Paris tout bout de champall the time, at every opportunitydans le champin the shot/picture (filming)en champ closbehind closed doorsen robe des champsunpeeled (potatoes)une fleur des champswild flowerhors champoff-camer ala profondeur de champsdepth of fieldsur-le-champimmediately, right awayla vie aux champscountry lifeavoir du champto have room to moveavoir le champ libreto be free to do as one pleasesLe champ est libre. The coast is clear.à ©largir le champto broaden the scopelaisser du champ quelquunto leave someone room to movelaisser le champ libre quelquunto leave someone a clear fieldmourir au champ dhonneurto be killed in actionpasser travers champsto go through/across fields/countryprendre du champsto step/stand backprendre la clà © des champsto run awayse retrouver en plein(s) champ(s)to find oneself in the middle of a fieldsonner aux champsto sound the general salute (military)sortir du champto go out of shot (filming)tomber au champ dhonneurto be killed in actiontravailler aux champsto work in the fields

Service and Sacrifice by America's Veterans Benefit Today's Youth by Essay

Service and Sacrifice by America's Veterans Benefit Today's Youth by - Essay Example However, Veterans who fought in the Second World War, the Vietnam War, the Korean War and the Gulf wars are still with us today and their sacrifice is remembered since they gave America the status of the global power it enjoys today. America did not come to this position overnight and government policy as well as the collective work of the American society itself certainly deserves credit but the veterans form an essential element in being the strong arm of the American government as well as the enforcers of American policy. This enforcement of American policy includes the protection of American interests around the world whether they are threatened in the black forest of Germany or on the islands of Japan. From the deserts of the Middle East to the mountains in South America, wherever there is a need for an American soldier, s/he is ever present and vigilant. Veterans were responsible for putting their feet on the ground and maintaining American control wherever it was needed. Undoubtedly, some of the wars have been called unjust and have also been noted as mistakes. The Vietnam war and even the gulf wars have been called unnecessary since the government decided to go into battle without all the required information or by working with the wrong data. However, that does not take anything away from the valor and the courage of the veterans who fought when they were told to fight believing that they were defending America, the freedom of the American people and their liberty. Thus, the freedoms enjoyed by the American youth can be credited to the efforts of the veterans who protected and defended America when they were called to do so. Had these veterans not offered their lives and their blood as a sacrifice, it is entirely possible that America would not be what it is today. In fact, from the first individual who died fighting in the War of American Independence to the soldiers who are giving their blood for their country today, the debt which the nation