Fololio Mulagia Essay Example for Free

Fololio Mulagia Essay In May of 2011 a Samoan schoolteacher by the name of Folole Muliaga was sent home from a New Zealand hospital suffering from a terminal illness called cardiomyopathy. Because, doctors believed she did not have much longer to live she was sent home with two oxygen tanks to help aid her with her illness. McNaughton (2006) states that on May 29 a contractor for Vircom EMS was sent by Mercury Energy to the Muliaga’s home to disconnect the electricity supply. Mrs. Muliaga pleaded with the contractor to keep the electricity because of her health condition but he disagreed. A few short hours later Mrs.  Muliaga would perish. Prior to the Muliaga’s electricity being disconnected, the family had an outstanding balance of $168. 00, and could not afford to pay the bill. The case of Folole Muliaga would later be broadcast around the world capturing the attention of many government officials. This paper will cover many aspects including but not limited to: the consequences and outcomes of the scenario, the illegal and unethical aspects of the Mercury Company, was the role of the coroner and police department justifiable, and lastly, what reforms and guidelines were put in place as a result of the devastating tragedy? Evaluate Ethical Behavior: The Historical Case of Folole Muliaga Folole Muliaga, a 44 year old terminally ill mother of four suffering from cardiomyopathy perished after not being able to pay a $168. 00 electricity bill. As a result of Mrs. Muliaga sickness she was unable to continue her teaching career which brought in the majority of the household income. Johnston (2007) states that Mercury Energy was unaware that disconnecting power to a South Auckland home could have potentially life-threatening consequences. The resulted consequence was too harsh; to disconnect the electricity given that Mrs. Muliaga was just released from the hospital days earlier. The major price Mrs. Muliaga paid was dying 3 hours after the electricity was disconnected from her home. The family of Mrs. Muliaga would later dispute that the bill was not overdue, and that it was actually due days later. Bennett (2007) states that Folole’s husband actually made a partial payment on May 17 and would make another payment a few days later. The Mercury Energy contractor who disconnected the power says he was unaware that Mrs. Muliaga depended on oxygen tanks to live. What’s disturbing is that the Muliaga family states that when the ontractor arrived, Mrs. Muliaga invites him in and thourgly explains to him her health circumstances. She begins to plead with him not to disconnect the electricity, but he is not being attentive to her needs. He states he is simply doing his job, and that she must contact Mercury Energy to have the electricity restored. Although health professionals who treated the victim said her health problems had tremendously worsened over the past few months, does not make it morally nor ethically factual for the company to not hear the concerns of its customers. After the incident went ational the general manager for Mercury Energy stated that he was sure the company was not at fault for Mrs. Muliaga’s death. Cleve (2007) He contended: I’m confident that the processes we have put, the communications we had with the customer, were very clear about the circumstances that would happen. The general manager’s arrogance toward Muliaga’s death clearly shows his lack of concern and unethical behavior. His thoughts are that the company done nothing immorally or illegally wrong. In the case of Folole Muliaga there was almost a trial by media, pressuring Mercury to change how they conduct business with customers who ave severe medical conditions. A company’s culture is the biggest element of how it handles difficult situations. Companies no matter how large or small should have a value statement that aids them on what is considered ethical behavior. The actions of Mercury Energy were illegal in the eyes of many consumers and shareholders around the world. It’s very bothersome and also reality that individuals who occupy senior level managenet roles does not uphold the standards and intergrity when it comes to satisfying the needs of customers. Meredith (2007) says the behavior of Mercury Energy top xecutives serves to do no more than confirm just about every negative stereotype there is about impersonal, arrogant, and greedy corporates. What makes Folole’s story so alarming is that Mercury Energy is a state owned enterprise, which means the taxpayers solely, owns the company. Research states that Jones (1991) a moral issue is present when a person’s actions, when freely performed, may harm or benefit others. It’s imperative to know that many judgments are moral decisions because they have a moral component, such as the case of Folole Muliaga. The actions that took place in Mrs. Muliaga’s home was horribly illegal and unethical, because the situation was not investigated thourghly. If the contractor would have taken five minutes to contact someone about Mrs. Muliaga’s severe health condition her life probably could have been prolonged. The contractor’s irrational behavior to further assist the family is what makes this situation so demoralizing. A few weeks after Folole’s Muliaga’s death, Police announced that there was no evidence that did not point to Mercury Energy nor the contractor’s that they were at fault for Mrs. Muliaga’s death. After Folole’s death the family expressed that the Police department showed lack of â€Å"Cultural Awareness† and had â€Å"institutionalized racism†. Bridgeman (2010) Coroner Gordon Matenga concluded that Mrs. Muliaga died of natural causes but, an arrhythmia caused by morbid obesity and that the cessation of oxygen therapy and stress arising from the fact of the disconnection (as opposed to the way in which the power was disconnected) have contributed to her death. To agree with the coroner’s report individuals would really have to reexamine Folole’s case. Certainly, the victim had health issues that contributed to her death. But, the question we must ask ourselves is that if Mrs. Muliaga’s electricity was never turned off would she have still perished a few hours later. Many of us would answer the question by saying no, she would still be alive. In many of our thoughts and private belief’s we would say that Mercury Energy is responsible for her death. Summary: The Folole’s Muliaga’s story should have been an eye opener for all major corporations. Many companies today do not follow Corporate Social Responsibility. Many top managers and executives are simply in the business to make a large profit off of its shareholders and onsumers. Organizations have to reexamine the culture, morals, and values of why they are in business. Meredith (2007) In the case of Mercury Energy, those needs should have been understood to include the cultural and economic issues of a Samoan family struggling to make a go of their lives in New Zealand and to have been deserving of care and respect in addressing what turned out to be the life threatening issue of the discontinuation of their electricity supply. A variety of theoretical perspectives have been established to support researchers and most mportantly managers on social issues. These concepts would help organizations to understand the importance of having values and morals when it comes to dealing with the public. The social life cycle theory was used to analyze the Mercury Energy case. Ackerman (1975) found that, in general, the responsiveness of business organizations to social issues progresses through a three-phase trajectory; policy, learning, and commitment. Most of us who are familiar with the Muliaga case would say that the company was in refutation about the Muliaga issue.

Strategic Human Resource Management

Strategic Human Resource Management INTRODUCTION: Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a subject that is in continues phase of transition, from its first emergence in the mid-1980s. In past two decades many authors, theorists and consultants suggested variety of theories and models which can be practically applied in the organization to manage people more effectively. However, according to Legge (1995) and Grantton et al (1999) cited by (Michael Armstrong 2004: 1) there is often a gap between rhetoric of SHRM and reality. Therefore, the main emphasis of this assignment is on the practical execution of these theories and models with the particular reference to Telenor Pakistan (Subsidiary of Telenor ASA, Norway). For the better understanding of the Strategic HRM it is essential to know the basic concept of HRM: it can be defined as strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organizations most valuable assets the people working there who collectively and individually contributes to the achievement of its objectives. (Armstrong and Baron 2003: 3). Development of SHRM: In the last 15 years SHRM has grown considerably. According to Schuler et al. (2001) the development of SHRM is two phased transformation: from personnel management to traditional human resource management (THRM), and then from THRM to SHRM. To survive in the cut-throat competition, organization HR must focus on a new set of priorities, which are more business and strategic oriented such as flexible workforces, quality improvement, team-based job designs, employee empowerment and incentive compensation. Definition of SHRM: Strategy is derived from the Greek word strategia, which means Generalship. The term strategic has been borrowed from the military and modified for the use in business. In business, as in the military, strategy bridges the gap between policy and tactics. Together, strategy and tactics bridge the gap between ends and means. (http://home.att.net/~nickols/strategy_definition.htm) In spite of high focus paid by different scholars the term SHRM still remains unclear. Some theorists have suggested SHRM as an outcome, others have suggested it as a process, and other scholars have recommended it as a combination of both: outcome and process. As an outcome, (Wright and McMahan 1992) cited by (Armstrong 2004: 41) defined SHRM as the pattern of planned HR deployments and activities intended to enable a firm to achieve its goals. Likewise, (Snell et al 1996: 62) described SHRM to be organizational systems designed to achieve sustainable competitive advantages through people. As a process, (Ulrich and Lake 1991) defined SHRM a process of linking HR practices to business strategy. Furthermore, (Bamberger and Meshoulam 2000) suggest that SHRM is a competency-based approach to personnel management that focuses on the development of durable, imperfectly imitable, and non-tradable people resources. Cited by (Chang and Huang 2005: 436) Truss and Gratton (1994) Considered SHRM both: process and outcome, and defined SHRM as the linkage of HR functions with strategic goals and organizational objectives to improve business performance and cultivate an organizational culture that fosters innovation and flexibility. Cited by (Chang and Huang 2005: 436) Michael Armstrong ultimately defines strategic HRM as an approach to making decisions on the intentions and plans of the organisation in the shape of the policies, programmes and practices concerning the employment relationship, resourcing, learning and development, performance management, reward and employee relations. (Armstrong, 2006: 115). In the absence of a common definition, broadly theorists and Authors have been reached to an agreement on its basic function of SHRM, which encompasses designing and implementing a set of internally consistent policies and practices that ensure the human capital of a firm contributes to the achievement of its business objectives (Schuler MacMillan 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Jackson Schuler 1995) cited by (Wei, L. 2006: 49). APPLICATION OF MODELS AND THEORIES: The chosen organisation is Telenor Pakistan (100% owned subsidiary of Telenor ASA, Norway). The Human Resource department is known as Human Capital Division at Telenor; Company regards employees as human capital from which a return can be attained by investing prudently in their development. This concept of managing people is also supported by authors like Fomburn at el 1984 and Guest 1999 cited by (Armstrong 2004: 7) Background of Telenor Pakistan: Telenor Pakistan is one of the leading mobile networks in the country, 100% owned by Telenor ASA-(Norway) and adds on to its operations in Asia together with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Telenor launched its operations in March 2005 headed by the CEO Tore Johnson as the single largest direct European investment in Pakistan. Telenor spread across Pakistan, creating 2,200 direct and 20,000-plus indirect employment opportunities. (www.telenor.com.pk) Key facts about Telenor-ASA Group: Employs more than 34,000 people worldwide. Ranked as 7th largest mobile operators in the world. Ranked 5th in Business Weeks 2007 global ranking of the top 100 performers in the technology industry, beating Microsoft, Apple and Nokia Recorded revenues of NOK 91.1 billion (USD 15.9 billion) at the end of 2006 a 37% increase compared to 2005 (www.telenor.com) Telenor PK has been consistently profitable with highest customer satisfaction. This success is reflected in the Revenues increased by 31% and estimated market share increased by 4%. In the year 2007 Telenor has won many prestigious awards like PSHRM (Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management) Preferred Graduate Employer Award 2007, the best brand award, and the most Innovative Mobile Operator at the 6th SAARC Communication Industry Conference 2007, The above landmarks are the true reflection of motivated and well developed human recourse. This can be associated with the dedication and professional excellence of Telenor employees towards the ultimate goal customer delight! (www.telenor.com.pk) Practical Application of Valuing HR: To get the insight of how Telenor Pakistan practices Strategic HRM, first it would be appropriate to know the meaning of SHRM. In 1986 Hendry and Pettigrew suggested that strategic HRM has four meanings: The use of planning; A coherent approach to the design and management of personnel systems based on an employee policy and manpower strategy with underlying philosophy; Matching HRM activities and policies to some explicit business strategy; and Seeing the employees as a strategic resource for the achievement of competitive advantage (Cited by Armstrong, 2006: 114). As the test of fire can only produce the fine steel the application of Hendry and Pettigrew can be reflected by the real example when implementation of planning, good management of human resource brought the Telenor back on track: right after the cartoon controversy of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Jan-06, things got worse for Telenor Pakistan. This incident caused outrage in the Islamic world resulting in consumer boycott for weeks, numerous demonstrations and other protests. In Pakistan due to the western image of Telenor, it became one of the earliest victims of this incidence, resulting drastic slump in sales, and complete abandon of all marketing campaigns. The situation was so critical that Telenor has to make some important decisions as the company had to announce annual salary increments and yearly bonus due after the performance appraisal of past year. Due to the heavy losses and limited funds, it was tough for thee management to pay out the annual bonus to staff. However, analysing the situation closely company decided to pay it out, since it was the right of employee who worked hard in past year. This action of Telenor really standout as other companies has decided otherwise. This made the employee more faithful and loyal towards the company. Furthermore, company was in big dilemma to go for downsizing or not. Lay off would be the common way for other but Telenor decided to retain all the employees; this was even against the employees expectation, as most of the sales people has nothing to do at that time. Yet again to encourage the employees moral and develop their faith in the organization took this bold step. These practical examples can be seen as true picture of how Human capital division regard the people as the most valuable assets for the organisation. Creating Conducive Environment: McGregor in 1960 at the MIT Sloan School of Management came up with two sets of assumptions about human nature (see the Table below). McGregor called these two contrary sets Theory X and Theory Y: with the assumptions underlying that people at work are negative for theory X and people at work are positive and progressive for theory Y. Table of Assumptions Theory X and Theory Y Outdated (Theory X) Modern ( Theory y) Assumptions about people are: Assumptions about people at work: Most people dislike work; they do avoid it when they can. Work is natural activity, like play or rest. Most people must be coerced and threatened with punishment before they will work. People require close direction when they are working. People are capable of self-direction and self-control if they are committed to objectives. Most people actually prefer to be directed. They tend to avoid responsibility and exhibit little ambition. They are interested only in security. People generally become committed to organisational objectives if they are rewarded for doing so. The typical employee can learn to accept and seek responsibility. The typical member of the general population has imagination, ingenuity and creativity . Source: http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/mcgregor/ Being one of the modern organizations Telenor PK human capital division operates with the norms of theory Y. In one of the interviews, CEO Telenor Pakistan Tore Johnsen said: At Telenor Pakistan our philosophy is to unlock the hidden human potential by building expertise and by providing an energizing environment. Telenor is a young organization with an average employee age of 27 years which means that we are interested in finding young talent and equipping it with the competencies that the fastest growing network requires in one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. (http://www.telenor.com.pk/pressCenter/pressrelease.php?release=97lang=en) Telenor HR managers always put high emphasis on incessant customer-centred and employee-driven expansion; such kind of encouraging atmosphere makes employees more confident and allowed them to work freely, whereby they can take their own initiatives to set future direction for the organization which attains competitive advantage. Benefiting Employees to Create Competitive Edge: SRHM is developed in three important phases. All of them hold vital importance to understand the subject and these three phases were: the human relations movement, the total quality management movement, and the contingency approach to management. Theories forwarded by Elton Mayo, Douglas McGregor and Mary Parker Follett were most influential in the human relations movement. Mayo suggested managers to look deep into the emotional side of the employees. On the other hand Follett argued that managers should inspire and stimulate job performance instead of simply demanding it. She also emphasised on quality circles employee empowerment. (http://books.google.com/books?id=AiIPAAAACAAJdq=Mary+Parker+Follettei=2U0qSMj6GJXEyQTUyYmnCg) These viewpoints instigate new way of thinking about human nature behaviour. HR managers in Telenor Pakistan hold tight to these views by providing flexible working environment to staff and hiring only those employees who can understand the companys strategy. Staffs are benefited by profit sharing and incentive schemes which can keep them focused to work more efficiently. Taking the high care of emotional side of employees, one of the benefits that company provides is the free medical treatment policy which is exactly the same for all the staff e.g. from president to junior officer all are entitled for same health benefits. Talking to the local press Nayab Baig (VP HCD) said: we believe in continuous improvement of employees and taking the standards of service to the utmost levels of excellence. (www.telenor.com.pk) Management skills: According to (Kreitner and Kinicki 2004: 6) there are 11 skills exhibited by effective managers, as shown below: In Telenor above mentioned skills are often displayed by the HR managers to deal with the employees in order to induce high performance and employee morale. Moreover these skills also play a vital role in building the climate of trust and motivation among the team members. Lower turnover rate from all the departments of the company as compared with other telecom operators and consistency with higher employees satisfaction, are the factors that exhibit the high involvement and administrative expertise of HR managers in Telenor. To set every staff member in the same direction Human capital Division uses the technique known as Hochin which means compass to check the direction. To enhance the communication level Telenor operates Open environment in offices, whereby there are no cabin for senior staff and every employee from president to junior officer need to work on the same floor. This also inculcates fun and informal culture in the company. With the help of clear communication managers make sure that companys vision and mission, as well as job description are clear to the employees. To provide the feedback on employees performance there is automated IT-system known as TDP (Telenor Development process). This helps company to use performance relationships that can achieve the purpose SHRM to create competitive advantage. Employee Motivation: Terence Mitchell in 1972 proposed a model that provides the basis for how motivation among staffs influences job behaviours and performance. Following is the model which combines the elements from different motivational theories to explain the relationship between motivation and job performance. As mentioned in the below diagram, employees bring set of unique characteristics to the work place, such as their ability, emotions, moods, job knowledge, traits and values, these individual set of skills are then enhanced by the motivational process and transformed into the job performance. Individual inputs Ability, job knowledge Dispositions and traits Emotions, moods, and affect beliefs n value Skills Motivated behaviour Focus: direction, what we do. Intensity: effort, how hard we try Quality: task strategies, the way we do it. Duration: persistence, how long we stick to it. Performance Motivational Process Arousal Attention Intensity and Direction persistence Job context Physical environment Task design Rewards and reinforcement Supervisory support ancoaching Social norms and organisation culture Enable, limit Source: TR Mitchell, Matching Motivational Strategies with Organisational Contexts, in Research in Organisational Behaviour, Vol19, ends LL Cummings and BM Staw (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1997) P 63. To motivate the employees at all levels Telenor offers competitive pay, excellent benefits and exceptional advancement opportunities. With the caring atmosphere Telenor provides relaxed and enriching working environment. Furthermore, training and further education programs ensure a high professional standard amongst all staffs. Such motivational tools create bunch of talented and loyal workforce which plays a crucial role in the organizations ongoing business success. Moreover, to get the 100% commitment from the employees Telenor uses following management criteria for all managers for annual evaluations. They are; (a) Passion for business (b) Change and constant renewal (c) Operational excellence (d) Empower people (e) Integrity. Source: http://www.telenor.com.pk/careers/whyTelenor.php Task 2: Role of the HR Function: According to (Armstrong 2003: 38) The role of HR function is to enable the organization to achieve its objectives by taking initiatives and providing guidance and support on all matters relating to its employees. Moving one step further Michael Armstrong emphases on basic aim of HR function which is to deal effectively with everything concerning the employment and development of people and the relationship that exist between management and workforce. As the personnel standards (Lead Body 1993) cited by (Armstrong 2003: 39) suggested that Personnel management is exercised as a part of full management process and cannot be viewed in isolation. Although a support activity it must be proactive. It must promote business solutions that take advantage of opportunities stemming from business issues just as it must find solutions to apparent constraints. Activities of HR functions: According to (Mithis and jackson 2006: 6) the HR function becoming transactional as organizations compete globally. Furthermore they have suggested seven key HR activities which ideally the every FR function should perform in the organization, those activities are as follows: Strategic HR management Equal employment opportunity Staffing HR development Compensation benefits Health, safety and security Employee and labour relations By combining the HRM function with business strategy, SHRM creates more efficient and effective arrangement and utilization of human resources to attain the organizational goals, and which helps organization to gain a competitive advantage. Telenor Pakistan has developed strong relationships among teams, which helps in creating high levels of coordination and therefore instigating high levels of quality and performance efficacy. This is only possible because of HR function is performing the required tasks within the organization. All the HR activities mentioned above are critical for the success of Telenor and theses activities are often displayed by the Telenor leadership at the top and the frontline managers, to create an environment in which employees can achieve the level of excellence, by not only performing their jobs effectively but also developing their skills and capabilities to the ever changing demands of contemporary organization. The main focus of SHRM is to develop the firms capability in order to deal with changes in an external environment through a better utilization of human resources. Telenor Pakistan has embedded this strategy in their core business, so the company can respond quickly to external changes. HR Function Models: There have been many attempts to categorize the work of the HR function in order to analyze its verity, diversity and complexity. One of the oldest and perhaps one of the best models was proposed by Karen Legge in 1978 cited by (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005: 131). In 1986 Tyson and Fell came up with their own building Site analogy in which they have identified three roles for the personal function. However, Tyson and Fell (1986, p24) rejected the assumption that HR assumes great maturity as it develops along the continuum. Storey (1992) forwarded another model which was updated by Caldwell (2003). This model proposes fourfold map based on two dimensions: the degree to which HR is strategic or operational, and the extent to which it intervenes and has a high profile. (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005: 131-132) Author (date) Categories for the HR roles Reasons for differentiation Legge (1978) Conformist innovator Deviant innovator Problem-solver Relating the work of HR to the values and norms of the organisation Looks for new innovation often based on social values not economic ones Identifying and resolving problems Ways to gain power and influence Tyson Fell (1986) Clerk of the works Contracts manager Architect Predominately administrative serving the needs of line managers Often where systems and procedures and heavily formalised involving industrial relations Greater integration into corporate strategy HR planning and development are important Time-span for decision-making Degree of discretion Involvement of HR Story (1992) Caldwell (2003) Handmaiden Regulator Adviser Change-market Provide a service to meet the demands of the line managers Mainly concerned with managing problems and discontent Operate at strategic level, provide support for line-managers and work to help shape policies and practices Internal consultant leaving much of HR practice to line managers Level-strategic or tactical Degree of interventionism Ulrich (1998) Administrative support Employee champion Change agent Business partner Improving efficiency within function and organisation Improving contribution commitment and engagement of workforce Improving the organizations ability to transform and change Implementing and developing the strategic plans of the organisation Level, focus and time-frame Managing processes for people (Armstrong, 2006, pp. 76-81) Ulrich in 1998 pointed out that there is sort of disconfirmation between the activities that HR perform and the real work of organization. He believes that HR should not be defined by what it does but by what it delivers. Furthermore he proposed that HR can deliver excellence in for in four different ways: (a) Business partner (b) Administrative support (c) Employee champion (d) change agent. Ulrich model for the HR function: Source: (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005: 135) Application of Models: All of the above stated models hold great value in present world, but the model that fits the Telenor Pakistan HR function is combination of these; Proposed Paradigm: Deviant Innovator Architect Regulator Change agent Employee champion Deviant innovator: Here the HR looks for new innovation driven from social values rather than economic ones. Telenor Human Capital Division plays this role by providing equal opportunities to all employees and providing flexibility in working hours where the staffs is studying or doing some other courses. Empowerment is the key in this role of HR, in Telenor Pakistan line managers are encouraged to delegate authority to their lower level, where by encouraging junior staff to gain confidence and develop their capabilities to cope the future demands. Architect: According to Tyson and Fell this is the most sophisticated role of Hr function it is concerned with grand designs at a senior level and the integration of HR into the broader business plans. Telenor HR managers display the quality of architect by creating the right culture in the organization e.g. open environment to promote speedy work and higher level of communication. Secondly operating as business managers rather than personnel professionals, those can proactively work to analyse the present and future needs of employees. Regulator: Telenor HR work as regulator by managing and resolving departmental conflicts, for example, different incentive plans for Sales and Customer services department can create discontentment among the employees, such issues are regulated by HR to compensate the staff equally. Moreover, HR develops policies practices, and level of hierarchy at which decisions are taken. Change Agent: This role of HR seeks to develop new processes culture and providing new vision to the company. Human Capital Division in HR work as change agent in a manner that it develops the organizations ability to sustain the change forces and transform vision into reality. For instance the service centres operations timings were increased from 9:00am to 9:00 pm to cater the changing demand of customers. However, to facilitate employees company has provided conveyance allowance with higher rate of pay to keep the workforce motivated. Employee Champion: HR in Telenor performs this role by working as a representative of employees by conveying the concerns of the employees to the higher management. Furthermore, as suggested by Ulrich, HR department keep regard of things by which employees are kept motivated and will to work beyond contract when needed. For example in Telenor there is IT regulated system know as service desk, if any employee has any issue he/she can log that complaint on the system and HR will take care of that issue. Source: (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005, pp 132-135) Horizontal vertical Integration: HRM Align: Alignment of Human resources simply means integrating people management decisions with a core business strategy of the organization. By align or integrating human resources management into the organisations planning process develops and promotes strong relationship between HR and management. By this action of management it ensures that the management of human resources contributes towards the achievement of desired goals of company and for any shortcomings managers are held answerable for their HRM decisions. In contemporary organization like Telenor Pakistan, in routine the work requires high level of coordination and most of the work is interdependent among the employee groups. To facilitate high level of coordination and to generate quick response all the Telenor employees are trained for multitasking with very little job description, which clearly mentions one thing at the end: Working for Telenor is better than working for department. This kind of HR structure prevents its not my job attitude and the absence of rigid work roles develops strong partnerships between different departments and create efficacy. Why to align? Study of (Miles Snow 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Wright McMahan 1992) related to SHRM put high emphasis on creating fit between HR practice and business strategy. Implementation and execution of effective HR policies and the design of a HR system align with the firms overall strategy, are vital for the successful implementation of business strategies which can gain competitive advantage.(Lengnick-Hall Lengnick-Hall 1988). HR alignment increases the firm capabilities to better serve and anticipate its customers needs, aggrandizes the organisations strength to implement strategic business goals, and provides decision-makers with vital information for resource provisioning. Finally, it is important for the firms accountability. By regularly defining, maintaining, assessing and communicating HR goals throughout the organisation ensures that the management of human resources contributes towards the mission accomplishment. For any shortcomings managers will be liable for their HR decisions. There are the other areas as well where HR office contributes to align with mission accomplishment, such as HR function working as a consultant, for instance Telenor Pakistans HR office provide consultation to the manager rather than telling manager what he/she can or cannot do. (Wei, L. 2006) Horizontal Integration: One of the vital roles of Strategic HRM is create horizontal integration which aims to ensure that the different elements of the HR strategy fit together and are mutually supportive. (Hendry C and Pettigrew A, 1986: 2), also cited by (Michael Armstrong, 2006, p156). (Walker, J. W. 1992), described strategic HRM as the means of aligning the management of human resources with the strategic content of the business. Vertical integration: Vertical integration focuses on developing a reciprocity or two-way communication between strategic planners and human resource planners in organisations (Milkovich et al., 1983). Walker, J. W. 1992 in his book Human resource strategy suggested that vertical integration is necessary to provide congruence between business and human resource strategy so that it supports the accomplishment of the business. Such two-way methods of communication results in meaningful information regarding human resource being fed into the strategic planning process. Following is the graphical presentation of how the Horizontal and vertical integration creates an overall fit for the organization. Determinants of Both Types of Fit: In Telenor Pakistan Integrative strategies are executed by involving the coordination of human resource planning and the personal functions such as recruitment, training, and career management. These strategies are also practiced to minimize the cost and to instigate efficient coordination of resources to obtain their maximum output. Telenor horizontal and vertical integration goes a long way in building a team that is vibrant and well coordinated for achieving the corporate objectives and long-term goals. Moreover, Telenor practice Vertical integration, to emphasise the congruence of a HR measures with the strategy the firm is pursuing. This in long term can gain a competitive advantage for the organization. Telenor HR exercise vertical and horizontal integration by the help of following Hr tools: Clarifies goals and objectives Encourages participation Planning and organises Facilitates work Provides feedback Empowering and delegates Recognises good performance In practice Telenor HR in many ways influence the achievement of horizontal fit and vertical fit, as achieving both kinds of fits are necessary for company to performance efficiently. More importantly the vision of Telenor is HR and customer oriented which embraces the theories and models discussed above: Our vision is simple: Were here to help. We exist to help our customers get the full benefit of communications services in their daily lives. The key to achieving this vision is a mindset where every one of us works together: Making it easy to buy and use our services. Delivering on our promises. Being respectful of differences. Inspiring people to find new ways. Source: www.telenor.com.pk. Recommendations: Follow are the recommendations to improve the vertical and horizontal integration: (a) There is nothing permanent except change; likewise the top management role in Telenor Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic Human Resource Management Introduction This point of time when globalization become a natural phenomenon, bring human resource in a lime light. A large number of organizations viewed human resource as a source of competitive advantage. There is greater acceptance that distinctive competencies are obtained through highly developed employee skills, distinctive organizational cultures, management processes and systems. However, it is necessary to invest the concept with clear meaning. In todays highly competitive business environment, organizations cannot sustain excellent performance unless they develop a competence for rapid, continuous strategic change. According to Edward E. Lawler (2008) the source of competitive advantage has shifted in many organizations from reliability to innovation and flexibility. Further argue that it is a combination of the right structure and the right people that provides the foundation and tools for creating competitive and innovative organizations. Traditionally, human resource has been considered a factor only after the strategic business decisions are made. Human resource issues were not even discussed during the decision to purchase the business. One human resource executive put it succinctly when he said â€Å"the line job is to tell us where the business is going and then it is up to us to find the people to develop.† Companies like GM and AIG are some of the example when they sour large number of their stake because they had not considered the human resource implication of their purchase. However, companies such as IBM, GE, and Intel use of human resource management as an integral part of strategy formulation. Indeed, many companies have begun to require the human resource component in their strategic plan. Where they begun a great deal of experimentation and problem solving to decide what data are required, what issue should be considered, and how they can relate to the various aspect of the business. The major emphasis in strategic planning has doubtless been on formulation. This led to a conclusion up until 1980 that much time and thought had gone into analyzing and planning strategy yet very little into implementation. But after 1980 it changes to the effective implementation of the strategy. i.e getting people to do the right things to make strategies happen. In this respect, the human resource tools become central and focus. Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic human resource management is a multipart process which is frequently developing and being studied and discussed by academics and commentators. Its characterization and associations with other aspects of business setting up and strategy is not complete and estimation varies involving writers. It has been defined as: * All those activities affecting the actions of individuals in their efforts to put together and put into action the strategic needs of business. (Schuler, 1992) * The prototype of planned human resource deployments and activities anticipated to facilitate the forms to attain its goals (Wright, Macmahan, 1992) In general, Strategic human resources management is defined as the linking of HRM with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility. Boxall and Purcell (2003) argue that strategic HRM is apprehensive with explaining how HRM influences organizational performance. They also point out that strategy is not the identical as strategic plans. Strategic planning is the formal procedure that takes place, generally in larger organizations, defining how things will be done. However strategy exists in all organizations even though it may not be in black and white and expressed. It defines the organizations behavior and how it tries to cope with its environment. Strategic HRM is based on HRM philosophy incorporating the concept of strategy. So if HRM is a logical approach to the management of people, strategic HRM now implies that that is done on a planned way that integrates organizational goals with policies and action sequences. Coppers Lybrand (CL) consider HRM and its development as their top priority. The administration is determined in hiring and retaining skilled and competent workers. Each worker should meet the demands of the highly competitive and growing business industry worldwide. Chairman and CEO says that the attraction and retention of people, which they consider as the highest intellectual capital is the critical objectives of CL. The Basic Architecture of HR Source: Brian Becker et al. 2001 Implementing Strategy There are four generic human resource activities of all the organization 1. Selection/ promotion/ placement process Example of Chase Manhattan bank During the period between 1975and 1980 the bank underwent major managerial changes key to the bank s successful turnaround from a troubled bank in the mid -70s was a careful strategic level selection and placement of executive. Historically in banking in general and specifically at chase senior level positions were based on historical precedent with old-boy net works playing a major role. Also the tradition incident based on historical precedent with old-boy net works playing a major role. Also the tradition in banking was reward those with banker skills not those with managerial skills which were implicitly considered to be less importance .Under the stress of serious performance problems chase manhattan when the trust manager retired corporate management decide that the department whose operation had been essentially stable should focus on a more aggressive growth strategy instead of seeking a veteran banker chase hired a man whose experience had been with IBM because it was felt h e brought a strong marketing orientation to the trust department which the new strategy required. Similarly, when chase reorganized it retail banking business from a low margin operation in which the stress was keeping down costs of to a more expansionary business offering broader consumer financial services it hired because of his entrepreneurial skills an executive who had been a division chief of a small industrial firm and had a track record of entrepreneurial management experience. 2. Reward processes Good selection is the sine qua non of performance. Once people are in job and perform however they should also be rewarded for good performance. These incumbents should also be developed to improve performance and prepare them for a new position. The linkage to reward outcomes reduces or eliminates the developmental value of appraisals. Rather than an opportunity for constructive review and encouragement, the reward-linked process is perceived as judgmental, punitive and harrowing. For example, how many people would gladly admit their work problems if, at the same time, they knew that their next pay rise or a much-wanted promotion was riding on an appraisal result? Very likely, in that situation, many people would deny or downplay their weaknesses. Nor is the desire to distort or deny the truth confined to the person being appraised. Many appraisers feel uncomfortable with the combined role of judge and executioner. 3. Development process Ensuring that organization has an adequate supply of human resource talent at all levels is no easy task especially when organization is going to a rapid strategic changes. The key is to have a human resource planning system that make accurate forecast. In order to plan for the future, an accurate inventory of current human resource stock is important. This should include both the current individual performance and the future potential of an individual. 4. Appraisal process A basic human tendency to make judgments about those one is working with, as well as about oneself. The human inclination to judge can create serious motivational, ethical and legal problems in the workplace. Without a structured appraisal system, there is little chance of ensuring that the judgments made will be lawful, fair, defensible and accurate. Appraisal systems began as simple methods of income justification. That is, appraisal was used to decide whether or not the salary or wage of an individual employee was justified. In many organizations but not all appraisal results are used, either directly or indirectly, to help determine reward outcomes. That is, the appraisal results are used to identify the better performing employees who should get the majority of available merit pay increases, bonuses, and promotions. Sue Peattie It has been seen that Food market continuous to grow rapidly since 1990 in UK. (Sue Peattie). In order to full fill the demand of the market, markets had to use all available marketing tools. Promotion is one of the major adapted tools to maintain or increase the sales. However, more focus remains on price base promotion. As more and more competition is coming into market. This tool needs more attention. Business tends to use different kinds of promotions to attract more and more sales. Buy one get free one free, buy three in price of one, bundle deal are good attraction for promotion. Example: â€Å"During 1972-82, US per capita consumption of variety meats (offal) reached a high of 5.66 lb in 1977 and then declined to 4.21 lb in 1982. The objective of this market test was to measure the effects of promotional and merchandising strategies on food store sales of selected beef/pigment variety meats. Promotion took place in 8 test stores of one food chain in three test markets (Salina, Topeka, and Wichita, Kansas) during three eight-week test periods (TP). Promotional and merchandising strategies tried were: (1) a special clearly designated display section for variety meats; (2) point of purchase (POP) price signs; (3) colored wall posters; (4) POP nutritional information and recipes; (5) newspaper advertising at two conventional supermarkets; (6) in-store advertising at all stores; (7) price specials; (8) personal salesmanship; and (9) product taste samples. Average weekly sales (lbs) of total variety meats increased in every test store from TP-1 to TP-2. Sales of 5 beef it ems (heart, liver, sweetbreads, tripe and oxtail) increased significantly. Retail sales increased 9.6% in the test stores compared to a 6.0% seasonal increase in purchases by all stores associated with a wholesale supplier (AWG). A seasonal decline in lbs of variety meats sold of 19.6% in test stores from TP-2 to TP-3 was matched by a 19.1% drop in wholesale purchases by all stores. Promotion in TP-2 increased retail sales over those of TP-1, but continued promotion in TP-3 did not lead to further sales increases.† (Source: http://www.cababstractsplus.org/abstracts/Abstract.aspx?AcNo=19901880256) Strategic HRM and human capital management Many writers have argued that strategic HRM and human capital management (HCM) is one and the same thing, and certainly the concept of strategic HRM matches that of the broader explanation of HCM relatively well as the following definition of the main features of strategic HRM by Dyer and Holder (1998) shows: * Organizational level because strategies involve decisions about key goals, major policies and the distribution of resources they be inclined to be formulated at the top. * Focus strategies are business-driven and focus on organizational effectiveness; thus in this perspective people are viewed first and foremost as capital to be managed in the direction of the achievement of strategic business goals. * Framework strategies by their extraordinarily nature provide unifying frameworks which are at once broad, contingency-based and integrative. They incorporate a full accompaniment of HR goals and activities planned specifically to fit extant environments and to be commonly reinforcing or synergistic. This argument has been based on the information that both HRM in its appropriate sense and HCM rest on the supposition that people are treated as assets rather than costs and both focus on the importance of adopting an integrated and strategic move toward to managing people which is the concern of all the stakeholders in an organization not just the people management role. However, the perception of human capital management complements and strengthens the idea of strategic HRM relatively replaces it. (Armstrong and Baron, 2002) Strategic HRM could consequently be viewed as the essential framework within which these estimation, reporting and management course of action take place and make sure that they are iterative and communally reinforcing. Human capital consequently informs and in turn is shaped by strategic HRM but it does not substitute it. Strategic HRM and business performance Since the mid 1990s, CIPD and others have been generating evidence for the impact of people management practices on business performance. Much emphasis has been put on the importance of ‘fit. In other words it is argued that HR strategies much fit both with each other and with other organizational strategies for maximum impact. The main areas of practice which all the researchers agreed have an impact on performance are around job design and skills development. However, CIPD work found that practices alone do not create business performance. They can create ‘human capital or a set of individuals who are highly skilled, highly motivated and have the opportunity to participate in organizational life by being given jobs to do. However, this will only feed through into higher levels of business performance if these individuals have positive management relationships with their superiors in a supportive environment with strong values. All these factors will promote ‘discretionary behavior, the willingness of the individual to perform above the minimum or give extra effort. It is this discretionary behavior that makes the difference to organizational performance. Conclusion The SHRM idea is a influential idea if function properly within an organization. HR groups are able to plan for potential growth and react to any changes that may take place. In addition, SHRM allows companies to completely make the most of their human assets to make real improvement over their competitors. This advantage comes from having the HR policies and strategies perfectly aligned with the corporate goals so that the organization has the right human capital, right remuneration packages and training methodologies to allow the employees to efficiently do their jobs. There may also be an remarkable view of HRM as an implicit part of the major strategic change Initiative, relatively as a critical stand alone component of reform. This view may now be Changing as more and more people realize the need to reform human resources management as an equal and necessary component of overall Government-wide reform and reinvention. In short, SHRM allows an organization to create a competitive advantage with their human capital by aligning their strategic goals with their HRM systems. Author Ronald Sims states it clearly when he writes: â€Å"Successful organizations in the prospect must strongly make parallel their HRM strategies and programs with the external opportunities, competitive strategies, and their only one of its characteristics and core capability. Organizations that fail to clearly define HRM strategy or competitive strategy that explicitly incorporates human resources will not be successful† (Sims, 2002, p. 30). Bibliography # ARMSTRONG, M and BARON, A. (2002) Strategic HRM: the key to improved business performance. Developing practice. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. # SCHULER, R.S. (1992) Strategic human resource management: linking people with the needs of the business. Organizational Dynamics. Vol 21, No 1. pp18-32. # WRIGHT, P.M. and MCMAHAN, G.C. (1992) Theoretical perspectives for SHRM. Journal of Management. March. pp215-247. # BOXALL, P. and PURCELL, J. (2003) Strategy and human resource management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. # DYER, L. and HOLDER, G. Strategic human resource management and planning. In: DYER, L. (ed) (1998) Human resource management: evolving roles and responsibilities. Washington DC: Bureau of National Affairs. Cavusgil, T.S. and Zou, S. (1994), â€Å"Marketing strategy-Performance relationship: an investigation of the empirical link in export market Ventures†, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 58, January, pp. 1-21 Sims, R. R. (2002). Organizational success through effective human resources management (1st ed.). Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Truss, C., Gratton, L. (1994, September 1994). Strategic human resource management: A conceptual approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 5(3), p. 663.

Analyze The Avon Product Inc

Analyze The Avon Product Inc The report has been designed to analyse the Avon Product Inc that has been undergone by major strategic change. Furthermore this report has been divided into two parts, first part of the report will explain the organisation back ground and the strategic change that has been adopted, further second part of the report will discuss the influence of external environmental forces, how they affect on the organisation performance. Avon Vision Statement : To be the company that best understands and satisfies the product service and self-fulfillment needs of women globally Organisation Background Avon is the largest seller, marketer and manufacturer of beauty related products around the world. Avon generates 98% of its revenue from cosmetics products. The company markets to women in more than 110 countries through more than Five millions independent sale representatives. Products categories are for instance skincare, fragrances, cosmetics, toiletries and also jewellery, watches, home products candles and toys. Moreover, 98% of the company sales are generated via direct sales. This sales approach had also been successful in the Asian and Latin America market. However, could not be for the American market. Strategic change According to Lynch (2006), define Strategic change is the pro-active management of change in organisations to achieve clearly identified strategic objectives. It may be undertaken using either prescriptive or emergent strategic approaches. Avons strategic change According to Johnson (2008) define in orders to diagnose the strategic change within organisation, it is important to consider the type of change that is required and also identify the type of change that has been adopted For over the last 124 years, being a global manufacturer and marketer of beauty related products, Avon has been adopted several changes and devoted to empower women by helping them to look beautiful. Avon major strategic changes are: Avon has invested the millions on research development to bring the innovative products and also focused on the increases advertisement for the sustainability of brand competitiveness. Avon eliminated the layers of Hierarchal management and redesigned the organisational structure to take the full advantage of Global sale Avon helped million of women across the world to build a better future for instance, provide the opportunities to become, entrepreneurs, representative or their own business owner. www.avon.com Organisational structure According to Carnall, (2007) ideal organisational structure is based on the right balance of information, resources and power to support the organisation objective. On geographically Avon operates business in six regions and has sales operation in 63 countries also products are distributed more than 52 countries in the world. Primarily Avon conducts business through direct selling and marketing by millions of Avon independent representative. Generally distributor purchased products directly from Avon on discounted price also Avon provide an opportunity to their representative to manage their business online including two way communication with Avon. Moreover in some countries for instance in USA, representatives can build their own web page for the sales of Avon Products. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE According to Cameron, (2004), if current organisational culture does not support to achieve the organisation objectives or goals then organisation should involves themselves to change organisational cultural in order to achieve the organisational goals. However, since 1866 Avon organisational cultural is the most recognisable and considered the pioneered to sell the cosmetics products via using direct selling model and continue to maintain the same sales model since its foundation. Furthermore, 98% of revenue of the cosmetics product which is 6 billion dollar is come from direct selling model which impressed the other cosmetic companies to follow the direct sale model. Appendix 3 illustrates Avons organizational culture by using the cultural web model from Johnson and Scholes (2005). Stakeholder analysis According to Spicker (2008) state the stakeholder analysis will explain, how external and internal stakeholder influence on the organisation, and whats there needs and expectations, also what organisation need from each of them. Stakeholder analysis for Avon Stakeholder Interest Power Attitude Expectations/Needs Government Worldwide High High Mixed The acceptation to meet the all local, national and environmental laws of the country where they operate. Shareholders High High Positive Always take interest on maximization of shares value and dividend. Customers High Low Positive Take active interest in products and appearance. Communities Low Low Mixed Take interest in the respect of using natural resources, environmental issues and minimization of recycling and reuse practices. Suppliers Low Low Neutral Surety of contracts and payment. Take interest to add value to produce the products. Media Medium Medium Negative Always take interest to publish negative factors regarding harmful ingredients of cosmetics products. Executive team High High Positive Need to appreciate the whole organisation effort and give reward and reorganize the effort of representatives and employees worldwide. Employees High Low Positive Expect to achieve financial need and economical independence and support their happiness. The key environmental influences The PEST framework categories environmental influences into four main types: political, economic, social, technological. Political factors Avons products Inc business ranges cover many countries and it offers approaches to women who work in those countries to attained financial independence and good performance. In some countries, this move is regard as a way to advance the economic growth and create personal wealth. However, owing to the political differences among countries, it causes different influences on Avons corporate strategy. For instance, there is a Data Protection Act within the European Union which is aimed at protecting the privacy and safety of personal information. Different implementation dynamics of this policy in Europe countries will have different effects on Avons representatives calling door to door. Economic factors The key dominant factors that influence on customers for buying Avon products are their economical condition, inflation and interest rates. Simultaneously, Avon is also affected by currency fluctuations rates. Avon has employed about 5.3 million representatives and this leads to the free and actively cosmetics market to sell and buy Avons products. Social factors Consumers preferences and buying powers has changed by time to time and they are related to the local culture and personal working conditions. Countries in different climates and environmental circumstances would commend different cosmetic products for their citizens and this is a big concern for Avon to reach the goal that not only value and contain the similarities among different customers but also respect and create the differences of their needs. The top objective of Avon is to serve women all over the world with its products to reach their identical aspiration look their best at all places at all time. Technological factors The revolution and innovation of technology can influence the behavior of peoples. In the process of researching and product developing, cosmetic industry always put new products into a position of consequence. Avons strategy is to enhance the brand competitiveness through investing millions on the research and development of its products and increasing the advertisement of its products on media. . Managing change According to Mullins (2010) External environment can affect the organisational performance and organisation effective performance will depends on the interaction of its external environment. SWOT analysis Strength Avon products are sold in 110 countries around the world by five millions representatives. The products are sold in comparatively moderate prices. Additionally, features of personalization in customer service, creation in products design and satisfaction guarantee are the key factors which provide Avon a competitive advantage among the cosmetic industry. Furthermore Avon uses variety of electronic order systems to help representatives to increase the accuracy of business process and efficient business operations. The cost-effective sales strategies and the diversity of business model give Avon the ability to be the superior in cosmetic market. -Revenue growth stable From the companys record, it shows there was a stable and forceful growth in recent years which successful outstripped its key competitors. Avons revenue grew at a compounded annual growth rate (GAGR) of 10% during FY2006-2008 and this result a stable operation of the company. Dominant position provides more opportunities to attract new consumers Avon is one of four top brand leaders in cosmetic industry with brand value about $5,264 million in the top 100 global customer companies. The pioneered anti-aging skincare and perfume category induced Avon with wide business presence and leading position to attract new Opportunities Weakness Declining North American operation The declining trend of Avons North America business has slowed down in FY2008, but compared with FY2007, the total revenue of North America has still decreased 4.9 %, and Avons North America operation has contributed 23.3% to the total revenue of the company at last. Obviously, the top line was affected by the weak performance of this geographic segment. Opportunity Emerging markets The importance of emerging market such as Brazil with an annual growth of 20%, china which has valued approx $10,200 million with the enormous increase of population in future and the sudden growth of economy will offer a huge potential market for cosmetic industry .Furthermore The increasingly fierce competitions among cosmetic market, in order to capture the Brazilian market Avon has announced its plan to build the new distribution centre in brazil. Threats, In order to achieve the global recommendation in cosmetics business and gain the market share from emerging market, Avon has faced strong competition from its competitors for instance, LOreal, Unilever and Estee Lauder, Revlon and Procter Gamble. Conclusion This report offers an attempt to understand the major strategic change undergone by Avon Cosmetics Limited. Furthermore, report evaluated the effectiveness of the change in relation to Avons structure, culture. Being a global manufacturer and marketer of beauty and related products and a direct selling organisation, Avon was faced with several challenges in the external environment. The factors were: fierce competitions from multinational companies, consumer behaviour worldwide, government rules and regulations, technological and social background. It was found that the major strategic change does relate to the objectives of the organization and matches the organisations capability, including its structure, culture and politics. . References Cameron, Esther (2004) Making Sense of Change Management, London (UK), Kogan Page Limited Carnall, C A. (2007) Managing Change in Organisations. Harlow (UK), Financial Times Prentice Hall Johnson, G., Scholes, K., and Whittington, R. (2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy. ion. Harlow (UK): Financial Times Prentice Hall Johnson, Gerry (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy, Harlow (UK), Financial Times Prentice Hall Lynch, Richard L (2006), corporate strategy, Harlow, England, FT/Prentice Hall Mullins, Laurie J (2010), Management and Organisational Behaviour, Harlow (UK), Financial Times Prentice Hall Spicker, Paul (2008) Social policy: themes and approaches, Bristol (UK), Financial Times Prentice Hall (2009).Avon Products, Inc. SWOT Analysis, Avon Products, Inc. SWOT Analysis,1. Retrieved from Business Source Premier Database Title: Change Management: A Critical Perspective Author(s): Simon Shurville Journal: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business Year: 2008 Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Start Page: 447

Judaism :: essays research papers

Early History of Judaism It has been argued that Judaism can be seen not only as a single religion, but as a group of similar religions. It has also been pointed-out that through all the trials and tribulations that Judaism has suffered through, that there have been common themes that have proven omni-pervasive. Any institution with roots as ancient and varied as the religion of the Jews is bound to have a few variations, especially when most of its history takes place in the political and theological hot spot of the Middle East. In this discussion, many facets of Judaism will be examined, primarily in the three temporal subdivisions labeled the Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Period, the Divided Monarchy, and the Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era. Among all the time periods where the religion has been split, these three seem to be the most representative of the forces responsible. As for a common thread seen throughout all Judiasms, the area of focus here is the place associated with the religion : Jerusalem. This topic will be covered in detail first, and then the multiple Judaism arguments will be presented. In this way, it is possible to keep a common focus in mind when reading about all the other situations in which the religion has found itself. A brief conclusion follows the discussion. A Place to Call Home No other religion has ever been so attached to its birthplace as Judaism. Perhaps this is because Jews have been exiled and restricted from this place for most of their history. Jerusalem is not only home to Judaism, but to the Muslim and Christian religions as well. Historically this has made it quite a busy place for the various groups. Jerusalem is where the temple of the Jews once stood; the only place on the whole Earth where one could leave the confines of day to day life and get closer to God. In 586 BCE when the temple was destroyed, no Jew would have denied Jerusalem as being the geographic center of the religion. From that point on, the Jewish people have migrated around the world, but not one of them forgets the fact that Jerusalem is where it all began. It is truly a sacred place, and helps to define what Judaism means to many people; a common thread to run through all the various splinters of the religion and help hold them together. Even today, as the Jewish people have their precious Jerusalem

Maifest Destiny :: essays research papers

The technical definition of manifest destiny is to be ordained by god to do something. In the case of US history is was manifest destiny to move west and expand the boundaries of the early United States. Manifest destiny was an excuse and still is. People in the early United States need an excuse that what they were doing was right in order to help them sleep at night. That excuse was called manifest destiny. There are several examples in our history in which we implement manifest destiny not just once or twice but many times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Proclamation of 1763 when Great Britain promised the Native Americans that the colonists would not travel beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The problem was that Great Britain could not control weather or not the colonist expanded out west or not. The colonists wrote it off as manifest destiny.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Trail of Tears is possibly the saddest stories in American history. Native Americans were forced to leave their land and travel the 800-mile journey west to find new land and a new home. Nearly one quarter the population did not survive that journey, they died of broken bones, snake bites, disease, and just shear exhaustion. The Trail of Tears is not the only time that we force the Native Americans to pick up and leave their land and homes either. In the end the Native Americans ended up on small reservations as apposed to the entire country that they had before.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Louisiana Purchase was a hypocritical decision. Jefferson was portrayed the government as small and not in want of much land then he bought enough land to double the size of the early United States. Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; he bought the land from Napoleon for $15 million dollars.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next major point in the manifest destiny’s history is the Lewis and Clark expeditions. These two people just wondered west proving that coast to coast trading was possible claiming land along the way.

Jose Aquino

Sure we have gone a very long way to back in the days Of Martin Luther King J. R. , Blacks/Minorities are not so bluntly discriminated but now in days its as if this new form of subliminally resentful actions are being brought to this day and age. Examples like the recent tragedies regarding Mike Brown and Erick Gardner make my argument even more clear to understand and to prove. Of course there are a few people who believe that the actions the police officers took were necessary. Perhaps they might say, ‘ ‘They asked for it,† â€Å"They Resisted arrest,† they had it coming. Y to them that events such as the police killings are a nexus where white racial resentment and white supremacy are made to confront black/ minority pain, reasonable hurt, and the righteous anger. Why is it that the media has always showed the â€Å"gang member† as a Black or Hispanic male? These are subjects we should be asking ourselves and realize how that can be crucial to some ones perception about a group of people and think about the repercussions all this can have to future generations. Just recently released to the public was data that disappointingly proves the Boston Police department has used racially biased policing.Researchers concluded that police targeted Blacks in 63. 3% of encounters, while Blacks make up less than a quarter of Boson's population. This racial disparity cannot be explained. They also found that Blacks were more likely than whites to be subjected to repeat police/civilian encounters and to be frisked or searched. The bottom line is that race was a significant factor driving the BED'S stop and frisk practices. Those on the opposing side would become speechless to this information. These people who were randomly targeted ere minding there business and going about there day.But because of this current view that society has emplace they were boxed in to this stereotypical box, leading to them being victimized. How do we put an end to all of this? First we need to know our own conscious and unconscious feelings. Perhaps think about what stereotypes we may have and ways we might eliminate these believes or figure out why these ideas have been introduced and of course find the ROOT of this. But perhaps the most important but most difficult is to educate ourselves well enough to hanged the way people think and work within the system so that new ideas and change can be accomplished.The simple fact is that racism both personal, institutional, and structural remains a force in American life. It impacts the lives of everyone, whites included because the result of tension , and shapes the broad material circumstances of minorities in countless negative ways. Yes, there are many ways in which we've made progress, and we should celebrate them. But just because we don't face the racism of the past doesn't mean we've solved the problem.

Improving Patient Safety by Utilizing Information Technology Essay

As the push towards patient safety increases with regulatory agencies such as the Florida Agency for Healthcare administration (ACHA) and The Joint Commission (TJC), formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), highlighting the need for higher qualities of standard, hospitals such as Memorial Hospital Pembroke in Hollywood Florida are interested in finding ways of achieving optimal patient care standards and propel themselves up the list of top performers on key quality measures. Of equal importance is the need to optimize the cost effectiveness of this quality of care by reducing length of hospital stay and reducing instances of readmissions for the same or related complaints. Individual department such as pharmacy, radiology and laboratory each have computerized systems specifically aimed at task completion within the department taking no thought of the dissemination of that information across the spectrum of not only medical departments but also to administrative and clerical departments. With the advent of care possesses such as computer physician order entry(CPOE) and electronic medication administration record systems(EMARs) aimed at both quality and cost effectiveness the necessity exist to provide all needed information including medical records, radiological imagery such as CT scans, MRIs, and laboratory results at the immediate disposal of the practitioner. Administrative departments such as billing, medical records, medical supplies, and social services requiring real time updates on care administered, supplies expended in administering this care and follow up required in order to complete the continuum of care. There is therefore the need to integrate all these various clinical and administrative processes into a single efficient hospital based system of delivery of care. Electronic Health Record systems (EHRs) are not only designed to provide such services but also information to patients and stores and manages data collected on patients. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided $34 billion via Medicare and Medicaid for the implementation and use of EHRs. Two such systems EpicCare and HCS eMR respectively define themselves as follows. â€Å"The EpicCare Inpatient Clinical System spans all hospital departments and specialties, giving providers the tools they need to deliver safe, high-quality care. EpicCare’s role-based navigators simplify relevant information access for physicians, nurses, therapists, dietitians and any other provider in the hospital setting† â€Å"HCS eMR meaningful use software is a Workflow Driven / Focused solution focused on high User Adoption. HCS eMR works for your hospital because it: Builds on existing processes such as Medication Reconciliation †¢ Integrates with existing technology to streamline processes †¢ Leverages sophisticated rules and timely alerts to drive success †¢ Can be implemented quickly and is fully adopted †¢ Is economical â€Å" Organizational and individual barriers to proposed change Several potential barriers exist to the implementation of an integrated electronic health records system (EHRs), these include structural, financial/business, technical/professional, and cultural. Structural Memorial Hospital Pembroke is not a standalone hospital rather it is one of five hospitals in the Memorial Hospital System (MHS) formerly known as the South Broward Hospital district of Florida, as such much consideration has to be given to the eventual implementation across the system not only to Pembroke itself. Diversity in buyers and payers of supplies and services across the system would impact heavily on integration. There are also different providers of information technology in various departments that would have to be modified to enable integration via a central system of informatics. Financial and business The infrastructural implementation of EHR systems requires initial high dollar investment which in the current economic environment may require budgetary restraints on other services and supplies. Although the intent is clear and the potential promising, there is limited evidence of the economic benefits of EHR systems in healthcare mainly because it is in its infancy, the hospital board of governors may require extensive due diligence studies prior agreeing to any such change. Cultural The cost-benefits across the continuum of providers e. g. octors, nurses and recipients e. g. patients of healthcare have yet to be realized and as such much caution and resistance is to be anticipated. Clinicians inclusive of nurses envision health informatics particularly EHRs as being time consuming and takes away from, autonomy, actual time spent with patients, also old habits are hard to break, and question what personal benefits are to be gain from this intrusive system. Not to be ignored is the additional scrutiny as all processes will be documented at time of process and provides a permanent record, errors cannot be deleted. Departments who previously had autonomy on how information is transferred and disseminated from the individual department to other practitioners may show reluctance to â€Å"opening up† to the scrutiny of others. Patients also will be required to accommodate intrusion, as with the availability of previously restricted information at the bedside from computers on wheels (COWs) more time may be spent at the bedside by practitioners instead of doing time consuming reviews and making notes prior to patients’ rounds. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) which provides federally regulated protection of patients health information held by healthcare professionals, is another possible barrier that impact the implementation of the proposed change, and care has to be taken to limit the unnecessary access of patient’s data. Factors influencing proposed change Important factors that may affect whether implementation of an EHR at Memorial Pembroke is employed include, how receptive management and staff are to the change, the existence of available EHR systems providers versus in-house creation of a system, Cost of purchasing, implementing and maintaining a system and if funding is available, real benefits to be attained, are they measurable, and structural, cultural and financial readiness of the organization for the change. Receptiveness of management and staff If the existing system works for staff or is perceived to work then many questions arise among the participants why does there need to be this intrusive change. Can the proposed benefits to be realized justify the overhaul and inconvenience to come and am I going to be remunerated for my efforts? Available EHR systems There are many systems already on the market including EPICare inpatient-core; HCS eMR and ChartAcess which are ready for implementation have a system of support and maintenance. Although these are expensive systems, to build an in-house system replicating these would be time consuming and require extensive developmental processes that would certainly result in delay in implementing such a system. Cost May be divided into acquisition and maintenance, acquisition cost include cost of software, training, installation, paper to electronic conversion and implementation productivity loss, which may not be measurable. Maintenance cost includes upgrades, replacement of hardware and internal and external support cost. Acquisition cost will be significant and may impact on the ability of the organization to meet other budgetary demands. Maintenance cost are spread out over time and may not be as impacting, also the possibility exist that cost savings from the use of the EHRs employed may offset maintenance cost. Factors influencing organizational readiness There are certain basic requirements of readiness which Memorial Pembroke must meet in order to be ready for health IT without which failure is almost assured. These are Organizational culture, Management and leadership, Operational and Technical readiness. Organizational culture – defined as an assessment of how the organization perceives EHR, general staff and physicians’ perceptions and patient involvement. Does Memorial Pembroke view EHR as a liability or as an asset, is the staff open to what is better for the patient or are they more concerned about turf protection, are nurses prepared to record even the most minor detail if it means a better overall picture of the state of the patient. Management and leadership – does the organization have the management that appreciates the importance of the change to the overall goals of the organization and is there a readiness to apply necessary resources to include human resources, financial resources and information and to manage these resources not only for current but also future EHR needs. Is there an executive team, a strategic plan, quality improvement and care management, and sound financial management? Operational readiness – takes into consideration, protocols, operational procedures, staffing needs for the implementation, training plans and programs, preparedness of project managers and IT staff for the implementation. Technical readiness– considers the organizations technical environment and information technology capabilities to deal with and absorb the change. Is there adequate server capacity, a rational process of procurement also potential for growth and development of the department? In short can they handle it? Theoretical model related to proposed change The model best related to this organizational change which seeks to enhance the institution as a whole in the furtherance of improved quality of care for patients as also to optimize the organizations ability to be effective in the administrative process and other peripheral processes involved in this change is organizational development. Organizational change targets the entire organization and creates a climate of open discussion with valued feedback which helps to reinforce or modify to the change. It depends on the utilization of process consultants to facilitate interventions and to manage the change. Internal and external resources to support change Within the organization several resources may be found which may facilitate or enhance the change to be implemented, these include competent senior management who portray a sense of confidence and facilitate dialogue with staff thus enabling them to be active participants, a strong human resource department that arranges and implement training programs aimed at preparing staff for the change. A vibrant IT department with competent personnel knowledgeable in IT systems that can facilitate incorporation of new technology to its network. Staff that are trainable and who understand the dynamism of the organization and of change and are willing to adapt in order to meet organizational goals. Externally advantage has to be taken of a proven provider of EHRs that has the experience and support infrastructure that will facilitate attainment of the organizational goals. Independent consultants who are experienced in the change to be implemented, and who are able to monitor and manage the change at each stage of implementation. Research data that provide information aimed at making informed decisions, provided by research specialist and not ad hoc pieces of information.