Thursday, November 28, 2019

Outline of the Rwandan Genocide Essay Example

Outline of the Rwandan Genocide Paper Outline of the Rwandan Genocide: Draft Introduction Rwanda is a small land-locked nation, about 26,338 square kilometres in size, bordered by Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Tanzania. Though mainly flat, the country has a large mountain range on its northwest coast – the Virunga Mountains – that are home to the famous Rwandan Mountain Gorillas. In 1994, this seemingly insignificant country put itself on the world map, but for all the wrong reasons. Over a period of just one hundred days, over 800,000 Rwandans were killed in one of the worst genocides of the 20th Century. Tutsis and their Hutu supporters (the two ethnic groups in Rwanda) were massacred by Hutu militias, who encouraged ordinary citizens to kill their Tutsi neighbours. Between April and July 1994, while Europe and America looked on, this African nation was plunged into a state of severe panic and fear. Ethnic Tension: Tutsis and Hutus Though considered two different ethnic groups, the Tutsis and Hutus speak the same language, inhabit the same regions, have the same customs and traditions, and have intermarried for generations. In fact, there are very little physical differences between the two groups at all. In 1916 when Belgian colonists arrived in Rwanda, they distinguished between the two groups and consequently began to treat them differently. They believed that the minority Tutsis were superior and offered them better jobs and education, leading to ethnic tension. It is believed by some historians that the two were never defined by ethnicity, but by class or caste. Traditionally, the Hutu herded cattle and grew crops, whereas the Tutsi herdsmen became the landowners, a leading position that may have led to the belief held by the Belgians. We will write a custom essay sample on Outline of the Rwandan Genocide specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Outline of the Rwandan Genocide specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Outline of the Rwandan Genocide specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Ethnic tension grew, culminating with the loss of over 100,000 Tutsis during a Hutu rebellion from 1956 to 1959. During the early sixties, after independence was achieved in 1962, hundreds of thousands of Tutsis fled to neighbouring countries and were refused return by the Hutu governments. The desire to return to their homeland led to the formation of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) by Tutsi exiles in Uganda. Build Up to Genocide In 1973, Major General Juvenal Habyarimana, a northern Hutu, seized power in Rwanda. He attempted to overcome ethnic divisions, but failed due to the introduction of several anti-Tutsi measures such as their exclusion from secondary schools and universities. Discontent increased among the Rwandan people as many became impatient with the governments corrupt favouritism to northern Hutus. The post-1987 collapse of international coffee prices led to a severe economic decline in Rwanda, as coffee was their main exporter. These factors led to the 1990 Civil War, when the RPF invaded and fought against Habyarimana’s regime. In March 1992, a Transitional Coalition Government was formed, a cease-fire declared, a peace accord signed by Habyarimana and the RPF invasion halted with the assistance of the French military. Rwanda’s problems were not over however, and on April 6th 1994 a plane flying over Kigali (the nation’s capital), carrying Habyarimana and the president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira (also a Hutu), was shot down. Both men were killed. The Genocide Almost immediately political opponents of Habyarimana were murdered and the Akuza (Presidential Guard) launched a campaign of mass slaughter. Military officials, businessmen and politicians began organizing massacres. The Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines (a private radio station) called publicly for Tutsis to be killed wherever possible. Most killings were carried out by two unofficial all-Hutu militia groups – the Interahamwe (National Revolutionary Movement for Development) and the Impuzamugambi (Coalition for the Defense of Freedom). At its peak, the Interahamwe had 30,000 members united by a commitment to wiping out the Tutsis. As well as Tutsis of all ages and backgrounds, Hutus who supported ethnic reconciliation were also targeted. Public massacres (in churches, for example) were common and carried out almost entirely by hand, using clubs, machetes, sticks, axes and spears. Ordinary Hutu citizens were forced to kill their Tutsi neighbours – often people whom they had lived beside for many years and befriended. In the country, Hutu chiefs prepared â€Å"death lists† of local Tutsis, rounded up victims and made suitable sites available for massacres. Reaction: The Rwandan Patriotic Front In defense to this ruthless killing, the 14,000-man Tutsi-dominated RPF launched an offensive against the killers. Finally, in mid-July, they defeated the 35,000-man army and the militias, drove the remnants of the army and government into Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), and took control of the capital Kigali, declaring a ceasefire. United Nations aid workers and troops arrived to maintain order and bring back basic services. A multi-ethnic government took power, led by Hutu President Pasteur Bizimunga, Hutu Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramunga, and Tutsi Vice President/Minister of Defense Major General Paul Kagame, commander of the RPF. Most other cabinet posts were given to members of the RPF. After the Genocide: Refugees and International Support Following the end of the genocide in July and August 1994, two million Hutu civilians fled, joining one million already in exile. In Zaire, the destination of most refugees, sick and starving Hutu exiles were dying at an appalling rate of 2000 per day. The government encouraged them to return to the food, water and relative safety waiting for them in Rwanda, but fears spread by former government troops that Hutus would be prosecuted on return prevent many from going home. Genocide Trials did not start until the end of 1996 when many had eventually returned, but are still expected to take years to complete. In 1999, more than 120,000 citizen accused of involvement in the genocide were packed into overcrowded jails. Rwanda is still suffering because of the genocide fourteen years ago. Genocide trials are still under way and the government is gradually trying to improve living standards in their country. Families are still struggling with the loss of so many friends and relatives; one tenth of Rwanda’s population (800. 000 out of 8,000,000) was killed in just those one hundred days. One of the main issues still in debate today is the lack of action of the international community. Over 2500 UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda) agents had been stationed in the country since 1993, but all but 270 were withdrawn shortly after the start of the genocide. The UN refused to call the events â€Å"genocide†, as that would have obliged the UN and USA to send officials to stop the massacres. French, Belgian and Americans citizens were speedily removed from Rwanda, but claims that they were forbidden to intervene caused no assistance to be given to locals. In 1998, US president Bill Clinton issued an apology on behalf of the international community that not enough was done, and not quickly enough, to help the Rwandan people and to stop the genocide, which was what it should have been called from the start. Timeline: Important Events in the Genocide 6 April 1994: President Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira are killed the plane they are in is shot down above Kigali. Hutu extremists opposed to their President signing the Arusha Peace Accords are believed to be behind the attack. April: The Rwandan armed forces and Interahamwe militia begin the systematic killing of Tutsis and moderate Hutus. UN forces stationed in Rwanda find themselves unable to intervene due to a â€Å"monitoring† mandate. 8 April: The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launches a major offensive to end the killings. 9-10 April: French, Belgian and American civilians are rescued by their governments, but no help is given to native Rwandans. 11 Apr il: The International Red Cross (IRC) estimate: tens of thousands dead. UN soldiers protecting 2,000 Tutsis at a school are ordered to withdraw to Kigali airport. Most Tutsis are killed after their departure. 14 April: Belgium withdraws its troops from the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda due to the death of 10 troops in the previous week. 15 April: Slaughter of thousands of Tutsis gathered at Nyarubuye Church seeking protection. 21 April: The UN cuts the level of its forces in Rwanda from 2500 to just 270 troops. IRC estimate: over 100,000 dead. 30 April: The UN condemns the killing but omits the word genocide so that emergency genocide assistance doesn’t need to be given. Tens of thousands of refugees flee into neighbouring Burundi, Tanzania and Zaire. Mid-May: IRC estimate: 500,000 dead. 17 May: The UN Security Council says that acts of genocide may have been committed. It agrees to send 5,500 troops with to defend civilians, however deployment is delayed by disagreements between the US and UN over the financing of the operation. Trivial arguments include what colour to paint vehicles. 22 June: With arguments over the deployment still continuing, the UN authorises an emergency force of 2,500 French troops under Operation Turquoise to create a safe area in the government-controlled south-west part of Rwanda. The killing of Tutsis continues in the safe area despite the presence of the French. 4 July: The RPF takes control of Kigali and the southern town of Butare. 13-14 July: Refugees fleeing the RPF flood into Zaire. Approximately 10,000-12,000 refugees per hour cross the border into the town of Goma. There is a severe lack of food, water and shelter in refugee camps. 18 July: The RPF announces that the war is over, declares a cease-fire and names Pastor Bizimungu as president with Faustin Twagiramungu as prime minister and Paul Kagame (commander of the RPF) as Vice President/Minister of Defence. August: It is reported that approximately 2000 Hutu refugees in Zaire are dying every day due to inadequate living conditions. The newly instated Rwandan government is pleading for their return to food, water and relative safety in Rwanda. However, former government troops involved in genocide organisation convince innocent Hutu refugees that the Tutsis will arrest them on return to Rwanda. November: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is established by the UN Security Council to try those convicted of genocide involvement. Timeline adapted from: BBC6/04/04, â€Å"Timeline: 100 days of genocide† , 29/08/08, http://news. bc. co. uk/1/hi/world/africa/3580247. stm BIBLIOGRAPHY BBC, 1/04/04, â€Å"Rwanda: How the genocide happened†, 16/08/08, http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/africa/1288230. stm BBC, 30/03/04, â€Å"When good men do nothing†, 16/08/08, http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/3577575. stm WGBH Educational Foundation, 2008, â€Å"100 Days of Slaughter – A Chronology of U. S. /U. N. Actions†, 16/08/08, http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/etc/slaughter. html Ramsey, J. , â€Å"Global Studies: Africa†, Dushkin/McGraw Hill, Connecticut Peace Pledge Union, N/D, â€Å"Rwanda 1994†, 20/08/08, http://www. ppu. org. k/genocide/g_rwanda. html Cable News Network, Inc. , 1998, â€Å"Rwanda plumbs unanswered questions of 1994 genocide†, 25/08/08, http://edition. cnn. com/WORLD/africa/9804/07/rwanda/index. html Nouvel Observateur, 2006, â€Å"BBCs Stephen Sackur talks to Rwandas president, Paul Kagame on 7 December 2006†, 25/08/08, http://www. olny. nl/RWANDA/Lu_Pour_Vous/Dossier_Special_Habyarimana/Interview_Kagame_BBC_Hard_Talk_07_12_2006_FR. html Covert Action, N/D, â€Å"Genocide in Rwanda†, 25/08/08, http://mediafilter. org/caq/caq52rwanda. html Stanton, G. , 1998, â€Å"The 8 Stages of Genocide†, 27/08/08, http://www. genocidewatch. rg/8stages. htm Unit ed Human Rights Council, N/D, â€Å"Genocide in Rwanda†, 28/08/08, http://www. unitedhumanrights. org/Genocide/genocide_in_rwanda. htm Gendercide Watch, 2002, â€Å"Case Study: Genocide in Rwanda, 1994†, 28/08/08, http://www. gendercide. org/favicon. ico CATO Institute, 27/03/07, â€Å"REAL ID, the race card†, 31/08/08, http://www. cato-at-liberty. org/2007/03/27/real-id-the-race-card/ Johnson, J. , 30/04/07, â€Å"Politics, Theory and Photography†, 31/08/08, http://politicstheoryphotography. blogspot. com/2007_04_01_archive. html BBC, 4/04/04, Massacre at Nyarubuye Church†, 31/08/08, http://news. bc. co. uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/rwanda/default. stm Rotburg, I. , 2005, â€Å"Rwanda†, Mason Crest Publishers, Jordan Keane, F. , 1996, â€Å"Season of Blood†, Penguin Books, England Melvern, L. , 2004, â€Å"Conspiracy to Murder†, Verso, London Washington College of Law, N/D, â€Å"Group One: The Hutus and Tutsis†, 1/09/08, http://www. wcl. american. edu/humright/center/rwanda/jigsaw1. pdf? rd=1 Dallaire, R. , 2004, â€Å"Shake Hands With the Devil†, Arrow Books, London Allen, T. , Winter 2002, â€Å"General Romeo Dallaire – United Nations/Canada†, 4/09/08, http://www. thirdworldtraveler. com/Heroes/Gen_Romeo_Dallaire. html

Sunday, November 24, 2019

standard costing Essays

Benefits of the variance analysis/ standard costing Essays Benefits of the variance analysis/ standard costing Paper Benefits of the variance analysis/ standard costing Paper There are several benefits of the variance analysis; the variance analysis compares actual costs against budget. If actual performance is better than standard there is said to be a favourable costs variance. E. g. If standard labour cost is 36 but actually works out to be   32 theres a favourable difference of   4. This means that the costs are lower than expected. However if actual performance is worse than standard this is said to be an adverse or unfavourable variance. Variances are a method of control and can show if the firm is running efficiently. Variances can also be a motivating factor for the staff as if an adverse exists staff must work hard to change the adverse into a favourable in the future. Variance analysis is also classed as a method of appraisal as staff can easily know if they have done well when the variance is favourable. Staff can monitor their progress and assess how well they are performing. Variance analysis helps and is a tool of, Planning function. Control function. Motivating function The variance analysis can be used on any expenditure of the business. There are a number of advantages of using this techniques. By calculating variances a firm such as JCC can identify areas of weakness and inefficient practice. If a variance appears to be too high than it can be investigated using an approach called management by exception. This can allow tolerance in the control system. Some firms only investigate variances if they are more than 5 to 10% different from the standard . Disadvantages of the variance analysis/ standard costing It can be difficult sometimes to forecast as obtaining the numbers can be difficulty and costly. Variance analysis can also de motivate staff as it could restrict permanent improvements as the worker might achieve goal and not do more. Variances could also restrict the idea of continuous improvement as just meeting targets and not doing more could de motivate staff and company performance. In some cases to carry out standard costing it can require a business to gather large amount of information. The process can be time consuming and in some cases expensive. Most firms use standards costing as an ongoing process so the costs are ongoing. There are some unforeseen consequences with standard costing. A member of staff in order to achieve a favourable variance might purchase cheap poorer quality materials. This would bring the costs down but it could effect sales as product made with poor material. This could damage the reputation of the firm and losses as low sales. The variances have occurred due to many factors such as the decline in sales, material costs, labour costs and even the marketing of the product. The variances have occurred as the market is in decline and the firm is only aiming its product at the older segment and not at the younger age as they are more interested in computer games. The product is not targeted at the new market but only for those in there 40 60s. Another cause that I believe has resulted in the poor variances is the special order being lost probably due to the firm not meeting production deadlines so as a result the variance has occurred. I believe is the main reason why the variances have occurred and this is because of the machinery is said to be old and not reliable and also the variance targets could be set too high or even too low so this must be investigated to a further extent. The material variance resulted in an adverse this is probably due to the price of the material, the price of the materials could have increased so firm should of searched out for a new cheaper supplier. The budgeted amount was 490 whilst the actual amount was 342 so there was an adverse of 58. More material was used than predicted this I think was probably due to a lot of wastage or even workers making mistakes and wasting materials. Another reason for this variance could be the theft of the material. I think the firm did not take advantage of bulk buying so major discounts were lost and could have resulted in the adverse variance. The material costs could also have been budgeted too low and the firm did not realise the increase in prices, wastage so this could have also hindered the variance. The labour variance also showed an adverse, as the budgeted was 96 whilst the actual came to 105 meaning an adverse of 9. This is another adverse in the firms variance analysis and is caused by the ageing workforce I feel. Most of workers are in their later age and could suffer form illnesses. The main reason I feel the variances have occurred is due to the old machinery the firm owns as it could have broken down and valuable man-hours had been lost whilst the machinery was being fixed. Labour time management and training could also have occurred the variances as the workers could be poorly trained and could not carry lout the tasks in the required times. The power variance is shown to be a favourable in the analysis as budgeted was 4. 8 and actual was 4 so a favourable of 0. 8. This is a positive variance but it is only achieved as the firm has only produced fewer goods as machinery kept on breaking down. The variance could also have been set too low so even as this is a positive variance it musty still be investigated as why it has occurred as a positive. The fixed production cost variance is a favourable by . The budgeted amount was 50 whilst the actual came to 48. This has occurred probably due to good management or even a reduction in fixed costs. If a firm keeps its fixed costs too low they might be emitting vital functions of the business that could reduce the firms efficiency and in return could suffer high costs to the business in the loss of productive efficiency and sales by keeping fixed costs deliberately low. On the bases of my variance analysis I will recommend the following suggestions to the firm so the variances could be minimised. In order to minimise the variances the firm must recognise its operations. The sales variance was relatively high so the firm needs to concentrate and improve the marketing effect. The firms could take such actions as an increase in its advertising campaign, so it is increasing the knowledge of its product. To improve the variance the firm could target a new segment the younger generation with newer model cars and benefits. By effective marketing research and approach the firm should target new customers who would want these benefits. The firm main aim should be effective marketing especially at the newly identified 40 to 60 year olds. Ongoing marketing will increase potential sales thus higher profits can be achieved. The firm is selling nostalgia so variances could be achieved through effective management and by improving standard costs and the overall efficiency of the business. The firm must ensure that the budget costs are equal to actual costs and this can by done effective market research and planning that will result in a efficient firm. All extensive favourable variances that have occurred I feel must be investigated as they could have been set too low and the firm did not budget effectively. The firms number one aim should be to enforce accurate budgets and team working, training and also investment into new machinery and the results will show up in profits. Cellular production could also be used to create job deepening and widening as a result the average work day will became more interesting and worker will work more effectively and also less absentees. By training workers and working effectively the firm would benefit from correct budgets and profit. Bulk buying and extensive market research is vital to successful and must be fully met. I will now construct a sales forecast for the next year. Jan Feb March April May June Low low increase 10000 10000 15000 18000 20000 30000 July Aug September October November Decline high 20000 25000 25000 51000 80000 Dec Total 388800 for year predicted are. High 84800 I came to the above sales forecast conclusions that I have created y referring to the appendix 2 in case study that I had. By using the sales variance I have predicted that that sales will fall. The sales forecast above are my predictions but I have also taken into account the declining market, as children are less interested in toys and more in computer games. So I have decided to have a 10% decline in the sales predictions. I have taken 10% of the original sales prediction of 432000 from last year. The new total I have come to is 388800. A 10% decline. Later on sales that I have predicted should increase as the firm has identified the new market of 40to 60 years olds who are interested in model cars and also the exporting form Taiwan could help the increase of sales. Ensuring that the above recommendations made by me are taken into account. Of effective marketing and management, the control of budget, thus the sales should increase. I must reiterate that marketing should be an ongoing process so the consumers can be informed of what is new and available. The highest sales will be made at Christmas due to the festive season. This is the time of the year where JCC needs to get its marketing policy precise as most firms take advantage of the holiday season and launch many products. At the beginning of the year the sales are very low but gradually they will increase this would be due to the firm employing effective marketing and attracting a new segment. Based on the figures presented in appendix 1 I will calculate the monthly profit using marginal costing.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Company law assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Company law assignment - Essay Example Memorandum is therefore a document of great importance in relation to the proposal company (Palmer â€Å"Company Law (20th ed.)P.56. It is infact a charter of a company. â€Å"The memorandum defines the limitations of the powers of the company†¦it contains in it, both that which is affirmative and that which is negative. It states affirmatively the ambit and extent of vitality and powers which by law are given to the corporation, and it states negatively, if it is necessary to state, that nothing shall be done beyond that ambit. â€Å"It sets out the constitution of the company, it is so to speak the charter of the company, and provides on which the structure of the company is built. The importance of the memorandum lies in the fact that it defines the scope of companies’ activities as well as its relation with the outside world. Its purpose is to enable the shareholders, creditors and those who deal with the company to know what its permited range of its enterprise. The Articles of Association of a company are the internal regulations which govern the management of the internal affairs of a company. The articles are meant to regulate the internal affairs of a company. The members have full control and may by resolution alter them as they think fit so long as they do not exceed the limits defined by the memorandum or the Companies Act. The Companies Act defines Articles of Association as: â€Å"Articles means the articles of association of a company as

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Privacy Rights in Domestic Relations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Privacy Rights in Domestic Relations - Case Study Example According to some, the case was decided fairly, and within the boundaries of constitutionality and fairness. However, to others, it was a monstrous atrocity committed in the name of upholding the constitution. Much of this opposition came from the pro-lifers who saw this as a reaffirmation of a law that promoted what was tantamount to mass murder in their eyes. The laws were seen by â€Å"Pro-choicers† as a burden to women and aimed at creating restrictions, which resulted in the embarrassment that would eventually force women to carry the unwanted pregnancy to term. The case is significant in helping to show that the abortion law in America contrary to popular belief is more of constitutional than family law. This is underscored in that the only clause that was struck out from the five was the one requiring a woman to show evidence of her husband’s acquiescence to the operation. This was done on the basis that it occasions an undue burden on the woman, and may interfer e with the woman’s freedom to have an abortion (4LawSchool.com, n.d.). In this case, the issue of privacy is unequivocally relevant since those who had brought it forward wanted women to be able to have abortions on the strength of their own convictions, without being forced to consult their spouses of parents. Prior to the ruling, a married woman could not have simply had an abortion without her husband’s concept. Yet the fetus was in her and any health implications would be on her besides, a pregnancy will interfere with the woman’s life more than the man’s (Lloyd, 2011). Furthermore, the child might not be the husbands hence the need for an abortion. The disclosure would have traumatized the woman, and she may have carried the pregnancy to term rather than own up. The same case applied to minors having to seek permission from their parents. This amounts to an invasion of their privacy since if a girl has problems communicating with her parents, she may end up keeping the pregnancy until it was too late out of fear. Had I been a j udge in the trial, I would have struck down all the five requirements because abortion is allowed; there is no reason for it to be made harder for women than it has to be.  

Monday, November 18, 2019

Personal Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Journal - Assignment Example , I read more textbook concepts of entrepreneurship that made me realize how my idea would be a combination of both the lifestyle firm and entrepreneurial firm in the 21st century. Whereas the restaurant aspect has and provides value for the customers, the customer interaction aspect will allow people the opportunity to live out their fantasies or try something they cannot do on their own without the risk. On sixth of January 2014, I watched the Shark Tank program, after which I became very passionate about entrepreneurship, getting many insights on how to launch successful upstarts in the highly competitive business environment today. I also read a fantastic article in the November issue of INC. Magazine, concerning how to build the right organizational culture within an entrepreneurial firm; I would definitely apply some of these principles in my business since a positive workplace culture promotes business performance while enhancing value for customers accordingly. In addition to that, I also read an interesting article in November about the Fast Company that implemented the â€Å"iPourIt† self-service draft beer system with the RFID wristband that keeps track of pours. This system is a brilliant idea of saving in bars by getting rid of ‘over-pours’ that often arise due to bartenders tipping beer out of heady glasses while allowing customers to self-serve. The saved â€Å"over-pours† could amount to great saves in revenue per year thereby promoting business by adding profits; such a phenomenon system would greatly boost my entrepreneurial idea of business since it also does adopt the self-service concept. I am interested in working for myself and being independent financially without having to depend on upkeep from my parents or on employment by working for others; I am passionate about social networking because it enables me to make connections with my old contacts to establish new ones through the friends I already have. Social networking enables me to

Friday, November 15, 2019

Employment of elderly people in Hong Kong

Employment of elderly people in Hong Kong In the past decades, the discussion of work and aging has aroused widely public and professional thinking. In this paper, I would begin with the analysis of the current Hong Kong situations and characteristics of older workers, among which I pay most of attention to the low participation rate of elderly workers and try to demonstrate the reason accounting for that. The second part can be seen as a brief summary of the productivity and limitations of old workers in Hong Kong today. Finally, I would come up with several suggestions on how to encourage labor force participation. Keywords: employment of elderly, productivity, functional limitation, old worker Employment of elderly people Situations of the employment of elderly in Hong Kong With the baby boomer generations entering into their old years, the employment of older people has brought about wide public concern. According to the sources from Census and Statistics Department, at the middle of 2010, there are more than 1.78 million Hong Kong people over the age of 55, 51.46 percent of whom are age 65 and above, and 25.76 percent of whom are age 75 and above. Many of these people are working or have had work experience and, many of retired persons work at least part time after they leave their permanent job. Among all the features of older workers in Hong Kong today, we would focus on several main characteristics to help us understand the situation. Labor force participation rates In Hong Kong 2009, the labor force participation rates, which refer to the proportion of economically active population (that is the labor force) in the total population aged 15 and above was 26.5 percent for the age 55 and above. Among that, we can find that the labor force participation rate for this age group was apparently higher for males (37.6 percent) than for females (15.9 percent). Nevertheless, nearly ten years ago, the labor force participation rates of the age 55 or over was 56 percent, which is almost twice the number of today. The employed and unemployed population The unemployment rate of older worker is relatively lower than that of young workers. In 2009, the unemployment rate for age group of 60 or above was 3.1 percent, which substantially lower than its counterpart aged 20-29 group of 7.3 percent. There are a few reasons accounting for that, but the most important one would be that older people can retire as an alternative choice. On the other hand, people over the age of 50 are still employed for a number of reasons. Thomas Leavitt once mentions that, the majority of people at ages 50-62 would still choose to work mostly because they enjoy the satisfaction and useful feeling brought by working, which followed by the need to make money. However, at the age of 62 or over, the requirement for money becomes their major concern. Low labor force participation rate among older persons The downward trend in labor force participation rates among elderly is considered by many people. First of all, many would agree that the current social security policy carried out by the government is encouraging the increased employment rate for young people by removing the old workers in the labor force. Turner claims that: for any given employee at any given time, the alternative of retiring on a pension is more attractive than to keep working for a salary. (Turner, 1993) The social security and medical care of old people do protect them from low income, but is also reduces the employment rate. The productivity and functional limitations of older workers Most of us would agree that productive activity plays a significant role in successful aging and higher self-related happiness. Older people who remain high level of productivity accomplish better physical functioning and are less likely to die six years after self-report. Therefore, we would like to ask: how elderly Hong Kong people will take part in economic and social activities? The assumption that age and job performance are closely related has been confirmed by a variety of aging researches (McEvoy and Cascio, 1989). On one hand, many reported that older workers are more productive than younger workers for that they tend to be more dependable, careful and responsible. Certainly, no evidence shows that learning capacities will significantly fall with the aging process. Therefore, it is important to find out aged related decline causes so that we can extend work-life for elderly by providing protections, services and benefits. On investigating the effects of the potential of aging have on the productivity of older worker, I pay attention to the following factors: Age-related physical changes and limitations There are many indications imply that the strength of people declines with the aging process. Many people at age of 60 report that physically demanding job is hard and strenuous for them to carry on, so they tend to leave the work that is highly physical in nature. Apart from changes in strength, old people also experience the physical loss of endurance and balance and, an increase of reaction time as a result of peripheral nervous system gradually slows down. With regard to health and rehabilitation, it is well-accepted that the measures of functional capacity can reflect the extent to which elderly are able to work. However, the functional capacity does not merely mean an absence of disease. There are conditions which are directly related to aging, such as heart disease, cancer and stroke. While for those conditions such as hearing and visual impairment, they are not necessarily the functional limitations preventing people from work. Annis and colleagues (Annis et al. 1991) also conclude that weight gains are regarded as the fifth decade of life, followed by declines. They mentions in their research on anthropometric changes with age: the individuals body dimensions change also, characterized by increases in the size of the stomach and hips. Moreover, some old workers admit that they have difficulties to perform tasks involving highly repetitive manual actions, the use of small hand tools or using force (Tayyari Sohrabi, 1990). Age-related cognitive changes and limitations The traditional discussion about changes in cognitive ability of old people focuses on intelligence, memory, and learning and so on. According to medical findings, brain loses weight as a result of shrinking neuron size in cerebral cortex and some mental problems such as depression and dementia occur with aging. Yet in order to perceive the complicated relationship between cognitive change and working ability, I refer to some mental models of cognitive sciences to help us understand the situation in which old people gain knowledge, skills and experience through aging while loss perceptual capacity and motor speed. When assessing the changes in intelligence, major longitudinal studies (Schaie, 1985) claim that most individuals can maintain the stable intellectual level well into their seventies and over and that modifiability in brain function continue well into late adulthood. But findings also suggest that people tend to less efficiently process complex information with increase of age. Overall, there is no obvious evidence show that old peoples performance is unsatisfactory under the daily and ordinary job situations. Even if there are changes in problem-solving ability of older people, they can use job experience and extensive skills to compensate age-related slowing performance. Older adults deliver a decline performance on lab-related cognitive task but demonstrate good level performance in real-world job, and there appears to be no significant relationship between age and job capacities. Warren Buffett, born in 1930 and ranked as the worlds second wealthiest person in 2009, is one of the most successful, active and smart investors in the stock and capital market of the world today. He is often called the legendary investor Warren Buffett for his precisely judgment of the market and value invest philosophy. But he is not a special case in the expertise, problem solving and decision making condition of old people. Actually, everyday plenty of old adults are making the most important and complicated decisions in the world as executives, politicians, and world leaders. Researches find that cognitive processes appear to be more important in the differentiating the old and young managers. Expertise in a certain field can act as an improvement to cognitive aging. In a research conducted to investigate the relationship between cognitive aging and experience, sociologists find that among experienced players, those who are skilled in bidding strategies could ameliorate the neg ative influence of cognitive aging until nearly the age of 60. The highest level of a job description would be the creative thinking. The researches focus on creativity and idea productivity state that originality declines gradually from younger worker to older workers. Age-related sensory and perceptual changes and limitations When concern about old peoples visual changes, Fozard (1990) presents four main sensory and perceptual capacities we need to focus most. Firstly, he concludes that excessive extent of illumination can cause elderly workers adversely reactions. For example, older workers have shown to be more adversely affected by glare from lights in workplace. Secondly, he also mentions the disability of older adults to detect different visual stimuli, which he calls poor contrast. Old workers require more contrast between the stimuli before distinguishing them. Furthermore, a third age-related change in visual ability is the useful field of view, in which older workers gain messages from environment. Finally, he also points out that the decrease level of visual activity of older adult bring about the fact that they are not favorable to read printed material (Fozard, 1990). It is well recognized that many older people experience hearing changes such as difficulties to hear sounds at high frequencies. Sometimes we find older people would speak louder because they cannot hear themselves. What is more, many manifest trouble to understand what they have clearly heard at a given loudness. Suggestion about this can include reduce distracting noise in working place for old people. When we talk about older people, the most common stereotype of them would be slow to perceive things as an aging deficit. Scientific research findings indicate that it will take nearly 1.2 times longer for older people to finish cognitive process than their counterpart. In a conclusion, job performance is closely related to functional ability but deficits with aging can not necessarily prevent most of older workers from being still effective and qualified employees. Older workers have positive effects on labor force productivity and economic growth Encourage the labor force participation rate of elderly After talking about all the strength and deficits of older work, I would like to focus on the dealings with means of expanding the opportunities for them to regain active participants in the labor market. In the first place, empirical evidence that elderly have difficulty integrating information from multiple sources gives us a clue to develop communication and information-handling systems for older workers in workplace. For this reason, the priority for designing the system is to be acceptable by majority of users. What is more, in order to integrate into the labor force, older worker are longing for training of the new technology or skills in an easy to comprehensive way when they face up the difficulties with computerized work situations. Training and educational programs would be really helpful if we handle them on the right direction. That means we understand that elderly employees have alternative requirements for different position. Finally, if the government could apply more practical social policy and promote the social perspectives of the whole community, the low labor force participation rate may grow to meet the need of older people in Hong Kong. Even though we understand unemployment, no matter for young or old, is a problem brought about by economic recession, policy can still try to help aging who really need assistance in meeting their daily needs and can live peacefully.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

“Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave” Essay -- Literature Revi

The narrative essay of the â€Å"Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave† describes personal accounts Paul experienced as a slave. Cruel and unjust treatment done to him by his masters gave him to a strong desire to learn how to read and write in any possible way by being resourceful and be determined to learn. However, Douglas expressed â€Å"I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather a blessing† and â€Å"I envied my fellow slaves for their stupidity† (4); wherein he regrets learning and he also illustrated why he considered knowledge as a curse because he learned about freedom did not benefit him at all. In my case, I can also say I regret some things I learned in the past that I know would made me happier if I did not learned them at all. At age twelve, Douglas became a slave in the household of Mr. Hugh. Mrs. Auld was very kind and considerate when Douglas met her, because it was the first time having a slave in the household. She even taught him the A B C’s but Mr. Auld forbade instructing him. However, in the later part of the story, she changes into a wicked mistress. Mr. Auld expressed â€Å"If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master-to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world† (1) and this revelation was an eye opener of freedom awaits him. Mr. Auld tells his wife that if a slave was taught to read, it will cause Paul to be not satisfied and sad because he will yearn for freedom. Paul learned that learning to read is the key to his freedom. He was longing for freedom because he was treated badly. I am so impressed with the effort he put forth learning how to read and be a good writer. However, he regrets learnin... ...demonstrates that my experience did not benefit me from knowledge because I felt upset that if I have not known science, I would not doubt and my trust in God would not be at stake. Our knowledge is a key to our success and happiness in our life to give us personal satisfaction. Knowledge is power but not always. Sometimes our self-awareness and growth as an individual gives us negative thoughts that make us want to go back to undo it. Everyone wants to unlearn a part in our life that brought us pain and problems. Good or bad experiences brought by true wisdom can be used for our self-acceptance, self-fulfillment and these experiences would make us stronger as we walk to the road of our so called â€Å"life†, but Douglas’s and my experience about knowledge confirmed his belief that â€Å"Knowledge is a curse†. Both of us felt frustrated and sad from learning knowledge.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

End User

End user database Description A simple, searchable online database made up of structured records whose content Is generated by the participants. The records normally contain personal Information relating to a set of individuals. The database is self-perpetuating in that in order to access It, participants are usually made to submit their own information. Usually incorporates instant messaging capability for connecting participants based on a match. Purpose The purpose of this method Is to ‘find' others with matching needs or take control ever your data.For example, matching interests in order to connect or trade. Participants benefit from being able to use a single touch point for identifying matches and are able to compare offers from a pool of potentially similar records. Improves the likelihood of success through pre-vetting. Strengths * Can offer anonymity while retaining high levels of personal detail and control over how these are shared (I. E. Citizen held records). * Ma y include advanced testing to determine compatibility or matches between participants and records. Useful research tool, e. G. For determining average prices. Weaknesses * There is often a charge to access the database. * Sometimes there can be a stigma associated with being on a private database (e. G. If participants are looking to date). * Can soon become out of date and usefulness out of perspective it inactive records are not deleted. End users are those persons who interact with the application directly. They are responsible to Insert, delete and update data in the database. They get Information from the system as and when required.Types: a) Direct users: Direct users are the users who SE the computer, database system directly, by following instructions provided in the user interface. They interact using the application programs already developed, for getting the desired result. E. G. People at railway reservation counters, who directly Interact with database. B) Indirect user s: Indirect users are those users, who desire benefit from the work of DB'S Indirectly. They use the outputs generated by the programs, for decision making or any other purpose. They are Just concerned with the output and are not bothered about the programming part.There are several categories of end users: 1 . Casual end users occasionally access the database, but they may need different information each time. They use a sophisticated database query language to specify their requests and are typically middle- or high-level managers or other occasional browsers. 2. Naive or parametric end users make up a sizable portion of database end users. Their main job function revolves around constantly querying and updating the Off database, using standard types to queries and updates-called canned transactions- that have been carefully programmed and tested.The tasks that such users perform are varied: Bank tellers check account balances and post withdrawals and deposits. Reservation clerks fur airlines, hotels, and car rental companies check availability for a given request and make reservations. Clerks at receiving stations for courier mail enter package identifications via bar codes and descriptive information through buttons to update a central database of received and in-transit packages. 3.Sophisticated end users include engineers, scientists, business analysts, and others who thoroughly familiarize themselves with the facilities of the DB'S so as to implement their applications to meet their complex requirements. 4. Stand-alone users maintain personal databases by using ready-made program packages that provide easy-to-use menu-based or graphics-based interfaces. An example is the user of a tax package that stores a variety of personal financial data for tax purposes.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Employee Selection Principles and Techniques Essay Example

Employee Selection Principles and Techniques Essay Example Employee Selection Principles and Techniques Essay Employee Selection Principles and Techniques Essay Organizational Entry A study of managerial, professional and technical employees of a large OLL company mound that those who demonstrated success early In their career were more Likely to be promoted than those who were less successful early in their career (Dither Brett, 1991). Initial Job challenge has a positive impact on employee performance and success. The challenge should be compatible with your expectations and preferences. Employee preferences Challenging, interesting and meaningful work High salary Opportunities for advancement Job security Satisfactory working hours Pleasant working conditions Compatible co-workers Feeling of being respected and appreciated Opportunity to learn new skills Fair and loyal supervision Being asked ones opinion on work Issues Assistance with personal problems A study of business students showed the most important consideration to be the companys location, followed by salary and benefits (Barber Rolling, 1993). Another factor that affects employee preferences Is level of education. College graduates nave Deterrent preferences Trot null cocoons graduates anon tenure are also differences BTW college graduates. Engineering majors differ from liberal arts majors and students differ from C students. Age also plays an important role as well as specialization. Employee preferences change as a function of economic conditions. When Jobs are difficult to obtain, new employees may be more interested in pay and Job security. In a better economic climate when there are plenty of Jobs, issues such as challenging work or the opportunity to develop new skills rank higher. Preferences also differ as a function of race. A survey comparing Job preferences of black and white women college students, found that more blacks than whites wanted a high-paying Job rather than interesting work (Muriel, Frieze Frost, 1991). The recruitment process Sources of potential employees Recruiter characteristics College campus recruiting Information provision to Job recruits Sources of recruiting: Formal > ads in newspapers, referrals from employees, employment agencies, search services, placement services of professional associations, Job fairs, outplacement agencies, college campus, online recruiting (e. G. Several major newspapers including the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune have Jointly begun an online career employment service). Informal > contacting friends and acquaintances > more accurate information and more often lead to hiring. A study of 186 students at universities and training schools found that the longer the bob search, the less the students used formal recruiting sources. However, those who remained unemployed 3 months after the study began significantly increased their use of formal sources > the use of formal sources was high in the early stages of a job search and again later if the search proved unsuccessful (Barber, Daly, Contamination Phillips, 1994). Recruiter characteristics like smiling, nodding, maintaining eye contact, demonstrating empathy and warmth and showing thoughtfulness, competence and personalities are important and influence applicants to accept Jobs. College men expressed en same Kelvin AT JODI acceptance winter tenet recruiter was male of female, but college women said they would be much more likely to accept a Job offer if the company recruiter was male. Research has shown that 50% of women interviewed are offended by gender-related comments made to them by male recruiters about their personal appearance. Also, Job applicants prefer recruiters to spend time during the interview to provide information about the company, to seek information about the applicant (give the chance to the applicant to speak about their achievements), and answer applicant questions. Also issues like how comfortable the applicant feels in the presence of their prospective superiors and the location of the company are important. Campus recruiting Fewer than half of the corporate recruiters have received training in the proper techniques for interviewing Job applicants > problems with the success of campus recruiting. Many organizations are turning to computerized recruitment databases: compilations of student resumes. Colleges and universities also maintain online resumes of graduating seniors as well as listings of companies that are hiring. Also dents can access information about alumni who will serve as mentors. Universities also offer computerized videoconferencing facilities in which companies can conduct long-distance interviews with college seniors > company access to schools they may not visit. Major problem for campus recruiting is finding Job candidates who have a realistic view of the business world. Both applicants and recruiters may present misleading images in order to attract attention > high incidence of turnover in the first 3-5 years of the first Job entry. Realistic Job previews: provide information that is as accurate as possible about all aspects of a Job. Such information can be supplied through a brochure or other written description of the Job, through a film or videotape, or through an on-the-Job sample of the work to see if the applicant can perform the required tasks > reduction of unrealistic expectation about Jobs. Research shows that realistic Job previews correlate positively with Job satisfaction, 100 performance Ana reach turnover rates. Also teeny reduce ten mummer AT applicants accepting Jobs. Their effect varies as a function of the prior exposure applicants have had to the Job in question > a study of 1,117 applicants for positions as correctional officers found hat applicants with previous experience at prison work were far less likely to accept job offers after watching a realistic Job preview on videotape than were applicants who had no such prior experience (Meaning, Denies Ravioli, 1993). After the recruiting process has been completed and applicants and organizations have decided that each meets the others needs, the selection process formally begins. The Selection Process Job and Worker analysis > 1/0 psychologists must investigate the nature of the Job. The organization will not know what abilities potential employees should have unless t can describe in detail what they are expected to do to perform the Job effectively > Job Analysis: the study of a Job to describe in specific terms the nature of the component tasks performed by the workers. A Job analysis determines the specific skills necessary to the Job and from it a profile of worker qualification can be developed. Once these abilities have been specified, the human resource manager or the occupational psychologist must determine the most effective means of identifying these characteristics in potential employees, and evaluate them in each applicant. Then a score or level for the various abilities is established > the 1/0 psychologist may look at the present workers of the company to determine the cutoff scores that should be set. Recruitment decisions The company should then decide what recruitment method they will use to recruit new employees > ads, employment agencies, referrals from current employees. The response number of potential employees affects the criteria set for their selection > The selection ratio: the relationship between the number of people to be hired and the number available to be hired ( the potential labor supply). If there is a shortage of applicants and the Jobs must be filled within a few weeks, some requirements will have to be changed (e. G. He cutoff score on an intelligence test). A shortage of applicants may also force the company to expend its recruiting campaign and to offer higher wages, enhanced benefits or improved working conditions to attract and retain new employees. Selection techniques Application blanks, interviews, letters of recommendation, assessment centers and psychological tests. Usually a combination of techniques is used. In the U. S. Testing for drug use is no w widespread for all types of Jobs. Also, there is an increased concern for AIDS and some organizations screen their applicants for the HIVE. Some scientists have suggested that in the future, genetic testing may be applied to identify applicants who may be sensitive to certain chemicals used in the workplace and to predict those individuals who are likely to develop specific diseases. Testing the Selection Techniques Every new selection program must be investigated to determine its predictive accuracy or validity. This is done by evaluating the performance of the employees selected by the new procedures, through e. G. Supervisor ratings of their performance. By comparing hose ratings with the performance on the selection techniques we can determine how the 2 measures correlate. Did the selection techniques predict which of the applicants turned out to be the better workers? Based on the results, we either keep or modify our selection procedures. Fair Employment Practices 1972: regulations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) > all Job applicants regardless of race, religion, sex or national origin are guaranteed equal opportunities for employment > discrimination on such grounds is illegal. Adverse impact When a minority group of applicants or employees is treated markedly worse than he majority group in personnel decisions, that minority group is said to be the target of adverse impact in the selection process. Any selection rate for a minority group that is less than 80% of the selection rate for the majority group is evidence of adverse impact > the company could be challenged in court for maintaining different rejection rates for minority and majority applicants, but other evidence would also have to be presented and not Just statistical documentation. Dilatoriness Stetsons Interviews and application blanks have been greatly affected by nondiscrimination isolation because questions that discriminate against a particular group can lead to lawsuits. No questions can be asked that identify applicants national origin, race, or color. Applicants cannot be asked to name their birthplace or that of their relatives, to identify their religious affiliation, or to give the maiden names of female relatives. It is also unlawful to inquire about the clubs or societies to which the applicants belong and to ask them to submit photographs with their employment applications. It is lawful to ask if applicants have ever been convicted of any crime (as conviction loud be considered relevant to Job performance in certain instance such as when someone convicted for embezzlement applies for a Job as a bank teller), but it is unlawful to ask if someone has ever been arrested because members of certain minority groups are much more likely to be arrested on suspicion of wrongdoing. Reverse Discrimination Equal Opportunities legislation has sometimes resulted in discrimination against members of the majority group > reverse discrimination: the phenomenon that may occur when recruiting, hiring, promotion and other personnel decisions in favor of embers of a minority group result in discrimination against members of the majority group. A 4-year study of 13,509 employees in scientific and engineering occupations found that women and blacks had greater promotion opportunities than equally qualified white men (Sheehan, 1992). Persons hired or promoted on an affirmative action basis may be stigmatize in this way. New legislation notes that the rights of the majority group must not be unnecessarily restrained in the effort to help minorities and that minorities should not be hired or promoted solely on the basis of percentages. Other targets of discrimination Older workers The work force is aging. Life expectancy is increasing and health in later life is improving. At the same time, working lives have been getting shorter with a trend towards early retirement. Old age formally starts at the point of retirement: 60 for women, 65 for men, but older workers are considered the ones who are above 50 years AT age. However, management still prefers to hire younger workers, despite consistent evidence from 1/0 psychology research that older workers are as productive and sometimes more so, as younger workers and have lower absenteeism and turnover rates. In general, older employees do not suffer from poorer health, diminished vigor or declining mental abilities when compared with younger employees. Studies of about 24,000 persons in managerial Jobs in the manufacturing, clerical and service sectors of the work force found that age was positively related to performance in highly complex and cognitively challenging Jobs and that performance declined with age only in less demanding Jobs such as low-level clerical or repetitive assembly-line work (Viola, Walden McDaniel, 1990). However, the stereotypes about older workers persist. They receive more negative reference evaluations than younger workers > a meta-analysis of studies of ratings of older employees found that workers 34 years old and younger tended to give less favorable ratings to workers aged 55 and older than they did to younger workers (Finniest, Burke Raja, 1995). Older workers are protected by law against ageism (discrimination in hiring and promotion with regard to age). The emphasis in the developed world should shift from planning for early retirement towards encouraging longer working lives. In Finland, the government has taken an active approach towards the employment of elder people for some years > longitudinal research program: the Finance project > developed the concept of work ability to assess the ability of workers to do their Job and to predict quality of life > increasing heterogeneity in work ability amongst older groups of workers > Nation-level action programs to promote health and lifestyle, to make adjustments to the physical work environments and to design work and organizational systems more carefully to the needs of older workers (adjustments include improved workplace design to reduce the physical workload, regular updating of professional skills and knowledge, and the introduction of more flexible scheduling of work, for example, by introducing micro-pauses following peak loads). Different countries have adopted different approaches to the issue of ageing, work and health due to their policies towards labor market intervention as well as the organizat ion of their health care systems. A major factor is whether health care is supported through employer-funded insurance or through general taxation. Workers with disabilities Employees with physical and mental disabilities are protected by law against Job Localization. Employers are required to make reasonable accommodations to ten physical or mental impairments of a qualified applicant or employee with a disability if it would not impose an undue hardship on normal business operations. Defining the term disability has proven difficult and requires some 60 pages of government regulations: in general, a person is considered disabled if s/he has a physical or cognitive impairment that limits one or more major life activities. [sensory impairment: vision or hearing disabilities, motor impairment, cognitive impairment: learning disabilities, speech impairment, mental retardation]. Research has shown that disabled employees perform as well as or better than nondurable employees do. Job opportunities for disabled persons vary as a function of type of disability: Pl with impairments of vision, hearing or motor skills experience greater difficulty obtaining employment than Pl with less disabling conditions. Women workers Women face discrimination particularly when applying for what are still considered to be traditionally male Jobs. Once hired, women receive lower wages than men with similar skills and qualifications that are performing the same Jobs do. Gender-based wage discrimination: lower pay for comparable worth. Comparable worth: the idea that Jobs that require comparable or equivalent skills should receive comparable compensation. Thus, discrimination against women today may occur less in the hiring process but more in terms of pay and promotion. Discrimination based on sexual orientation Gay men and lesbian women face discrimination in hiring in public agencies and private companies. Some companies, such as ATT, Xerox and Levi Strauss actively sponsor support groups and networks for their gay employees. Discrimination based on physical attractiveness Beautys: Judgment based on a pleasing physical appearance > has shown to affect ring and promotion decisions. Many Pl Delve Tanat phonically attractive persons also possess more sealed personality and social traits. A bias against overweight Job applicants has also been found. Job Analysis Job analysis: the study of a Job to describe in specific terms the nature of the component tasks performed by the workers. Includes information about the tools or equipment used, the operations performed, the education and training required, the wages paid and any unique aspects of the job such as safety hazards. Essential for employee selection and the design of training programs. Also, it helps in he design of Jobs and workspaces for more efficient performance. Example: if an operator has to walk a long distance from the machine to the storage shelves every time it is necessary to replenish the supply of raw material, this wasted time and effort can be eliminated be redesigning the work area. Job analysis can also uncover safety hazards or dangerous operating procedures. It can also be applied to the development of Job evaluations which are used to determine appropriate wages for various Jobs > in order to determine fair pay, judgments are made by experts that are based on Job analyses after the collection ND evaluation of data from large numbers of employees on such Job-related factors as the specific skills required, the level of education, the level of responsibility and the consequences of making errors. 2 basic approaches to Job analysis: the Job-oriented approach and the worker- oriented approach. The Job-oriented approach: focuses on the specific tasks involved in performing a Job and on the Job outcome or level of productivity. The worker-oriented approach focuses on worker behaviors on the Job and on the specific skills, abilities and personal traits needed to perform the Job. Most Job analyses involve a combination of Job-oriented and worker-oriented data. Interviews: used in Job analysis and involve extensive meetings with the persons directly connected with the Job: the workers performing the Job and their supervisors, and sometimes the instructors who trained the workers for the Job. I nose Interviews may De supplemented Day quaternaries. Questionnaires: 2 types used: the unstructured one and the structured one. In the unstructured or open-end approach, the subject matter experts describe in their own words the components of the Job and the tasks performed. In the structured approach, workers and supervisors are provided with descriptions of tasks, operations and working conditions and are asked to rate the items or to select those items that characterize their Jobs. Length of Job experience and race have been shown to influence the content of the lob analysis. Level of education and gender have only minimal effects. A widely used questionnaires is the PAS: Position Analysis Questionnaire: consists of 194 Job elements related to specific behaviors. These elements are organized into 6 categories of Job behavior: information input, manila processes, work output, legislations with other persons, Job context and other Job activities and conditions. Subject matter experts rate each element for its importance to the Job in question. Such quantifiable ratings have an advantage over the kind of information yielded by the unstructured questionnaire. Direct observation: direct observation of the workers on the Job. But Pl may behave differently when they are being watched, so it is necessary for the Job analysts to remain as unobtrusive as possible. Also, they should observe a representative sample of workers and make observations at various times throughout he workday to take account of changes caused by such factors as fatigue. Systematic Activity Logs: workers maintain a detailed written record of their activities during a given period. Critical Incidents: The critical-incidents technique is a means of identifying specific actions or behaviors that lead to desirable or undesirable consequences on the Job. It is based on identification of those incidents that are necessary to successful Job performance. The goal is to have subject matter experts indicate the behaviors that differentiate good from poor workers. A single critical incident is of little value, but undress of them can effectively describe a Job task sequence in terms of the unique behaviors required to perform it well. Research comparing the effectiveness of various approaches to Job analysis indicates that they vary in their usefulness. The choice of a specific technique must depend on the organizations reasons for conducting the analysis in the first place. Unless the purpose of the Job analysis is stated (e. G. Refining a selection or training program), the company cannot make an informed decision about which technique to use or what kind of information to seek. But generally, a combination of methods provides

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

When Do SAT Subject Test Scores Come Out

When Do SAT Subject Test Scores Come Out SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips After you take the SAT Subject Tests, you probably want to find out your results right away. You'll have to be a little patient, though, as you might need to wait between two and six weeks to get your SAT Subject Test scores. We've compiled the exact score delivery dates below. We also offer tips on how to track down your scores and what to do after you get them. Read on to find out just when you'll get your SAT Subject Test scores. SAT Subject Test Score Release Dates 2019-2020 After some delays in score delivery in recent years, the College Board now promises online score delivery within three weeks for most SAT and SAT Subject Test dates. Additionally, any colleges you designate as score recipients should get your SAT scores within 10 days after you get your own score report. As you can see, delivery dates (to both students and their selected schools) can range from two weeks to more than five weeks (for June score deliveries). In the chart below, you'll find windows for score release dates for the rest of the 2018-2019 Subject Test dates: Test Date Online and Paper Score Delivery Date Scores Sent to Colleges By May 4, 2019 May 17, 2019 May 27, 2019 June 1, 2019 July 10, 2019 July 20, 2019 Source: The College Board And here are our estimated dates for the 2019-2020 Subject Test dates: Test Date Online and Paper Score Delivery Date Scores Sent to Colleges By Aug 24, 2019 Sept 6, 2019 Sept 16, 2019 Oct 5, 2019 Oct 18, 2019 Oct 28, 2019 Nov 2, 2019 Nov 15, 2019 Nov 25, 2019 Dec 7, 2019 Dec 20, 2019 Dec 30, 2019 May 2, 2020 May 15, 2020 May 25, 2020 June 6, 2020 July 15, 2020 July 25, 2020 Source: The College Board The College Board delivers paper score reports at the same time SAT Subject Test scores become available online; however, they're not explicit about when exactly colleges will get SAT Subject Test scores, only promising that colleges should get them within 10 days after students get their own score reports. At least you know exactly when you can get your scores online, though. Read on for a step-by-step explanation of how to access your SAT Subject Test scores on the dates above. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Raise Your SAT Score by 160 Points(Free Download) How to Get Your SAT Subject Test Scores Internet score delivery for SAT Subject Tests should take place around 8 am Eastern Time (5 am Pacific Time). According to students, the scores sometimes appear a few hours earlier. To get your scores, log on to your College Board account and go to "My Test Scores." Once there, you'll see your scores from any and all SAT Subject Tests you've taken. You'll need your username and password to be able to log in and view your scores. If you don't remember one or both of these, go through the steps to recover this info with the email associated with your account. If you need to recover your username and/or password, try to do so before score release day. It wouldn't be any fun to go through this rigmarole as your scores wait in your account, just out of reach! According to the dates above, your paper score report should be delivered to you around the same time they come out online. You can also get your Subject Test scores over the phone by calling 866-756-7346 (domestic) or 212-713-7789 (international). This service costs $15 per call, so you'll need to have a credit card on hand. Now that you know when to expect your SAT Subject Test scores and how to access them, is there anything else to keep in mind about the Subject Tests? How to Schedule Your SAT Subject Tests Since you now know when you'll get your SAT Subject Test scores, you should design your testing schedule with these dates in mind, especially when it comes to college application deadlines. At present, the College Board does not commit to having scores to colleges by specific dates, only stating when they'll start to deliver them. Therefore, I suggest giving yourself at least a week of leeway between your score release date and your application deadline. It's possible that colleges will be more lenient because of past score release delays, but I wouldn't risk it or risk getting stressed out about it. You want to leave enough time for colleges to get your scores. You might also leave extra time to retake a Subject Test or two if you end up being disappointed with your scores. Remember that all the SAT Subject Tests are multiple choice and your answer sheets are scored by a machine. Make sure to keep them neat and not make any stray marks or doodles, as the machine won't be able to tell the difference between a real answer and a stray mark. As long as you schedule your SAT Subject Tests with enough time for colleges to receive your score reports, you'll be all set- you just have to wait out the weeks until you get your scores! What to Do After You Get Your SAT Subject Test Scores You've gotten your SAT Subject Test scores. Now what? Do you focus on SAT/ACT prep? Apply to college? Or just totally forget about your scores? Here's a step-by-step guide on what to do after you see your SAT Subject Test scores. Step 1: Determine How Good Your Scores Are First, it's important to check that your Subject Test scores are up to par (or even better than) the average Subject Test scores at the schools you're applying to. This lets you see whether you're on track to being a competitive applicant or whether you need to work a little harder on presenting yourself as an ideal candidate to schools. To find the average SAT Subject Test score for a college, search for "[School Name] SAT Subject Test scores" or "[School Name] average SAT Subject Test scores" on Google. Look for links to the school's official website and click the one that's most relevant. A good score will be one that's equal to or higher than the school's average. Unfortunately, not all schools list average SAT Subject Scores. If you're having trouble finding your school's average or recommended SAT Subject Test scores, try comparing your scores with official Subject Test averages and percentiles. This will tell you how many test takers you scored higher than on a Subject Test. Step 2: Decide Whether to Submit Your Scores to Schools Now that you have an idea of how well you did on your Subject Tests, it's time to decide whether you want to submit your scores to schools. (Note that if you elected to use the College Board's four free score reports when you registered for the tests, your scores will be automatically sent to the schools you chose before you can know what your scores actually are.) If a school requires Subject Test scores and you're only going to take the tests once, go ahead and submit your scores, even if they weren't as high as you hoped they'd be. You don't really have much of a choice here since not submitting them means your application will be disqualified! On the other hand, if Subject Test scores are completely optional, only submit your scores if they're higher than the averages at the school. If you got a low score, it's better to not submit it since all it'll do is bring down the quality of your application. (By contrast, if you submit no scores, this won't have any effect on your application.) If your school strongly recommends SAT Subject Test scores, it's best to send them in. That said, if you scored poorly on a test, you can choose to not send in that score and instead opt to retake the test at a later point (if you can do so before your college applications are due, that is). Check out our guide for a list of all SAT Subject Test dates. Step 3: Start Working On Your College Applications If you decided to submit your Subject Test scores to your schools, congrats! Now, it's time to start buckling down on your college applications. You'll want to present yourself in the best possible light, so make sure to write a great personal statement, submit strong letters of recommendation, and get involved in extracurricular activities you're interested in. If you decided to retake a Subject Test, you'll want to balance your time wisely by studying for the test and getting a jumpstart on your college applications. I suggest making a study schedule so you can pace yourself and space out the things you'll need to prepare for your college applications. What's Next? Have you chosen the dates you'll take your SAT Subject Tests on? Check out our article for the best dates to take the tests, and get tips on how to balance them with the general SAT or ACT. Are you also taking the SAT? Make sure you know all the steps to getting and sending your SAT scores, and figure out how high of an SAT score you should aim for. If you're taking the ACT, learn how to get and send your ACT scores and what ACT score you should aim for. Want to get a perfect SAT or ACT score? Read our guides to learn how you can score a perfect 1600 on the SAT or a full 36 on the ACT. Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below:

Monday, November 4, 2019

Contemporary discourse in design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Contemporary discourse in design - Essay Example This ranged from making their homes more comfortable such as the case of the homeless of New York to making their homes more secure such as the case of Antonelli’s Grace Under Pressure. But the profundity of the meaning of home is best illustrated by the experience of the city dwellers of New York who managed to create a home out of a cart when they opted to live in the streets than in an institution. There, the city dwellers in New York showed that home is not just a physical structure or a dwelling but rather a place of comfort where one can be â€Å"at home†. There, the cart dwellers of New York illustrated that comfort does not only mean physical implements nor devices nor machines, but rather a place where one can be at ease with his surroundings. They opted to call a cart home where they can barely fit to live rather than stay than in an institution with all the amenities and provisions but does not treat them as human beings. The cart dwellers of New York came fi rst in the discussion of the expression of home, its design and its importance because they demonstrated the basic concept of what constitute a home; that home can be still home even if it cannot house or even if it is not a house. This is very important to stress because we always equate house with a home and the cart dwellers of New York demonstrated that it is not the case; that they are not synonymous with each other. You can â€Å"house† a person or a group of person such as what the city government of New York did to the homeless people of New York but you cannot just automatically make them feel at home and so they left. A house or structure has to have several components before it can be considered a home and a mere structure does not suffice to make it a home. Had we inferred home to be synonymous with structure or house, it would be incomprehensible why the homeless of New York City left the institution. The structure was imposing that could withstand any cruelty of nature. It is also secure from the onslaught of the outside world because it is guarded. Above all, the facility is free and its residents are assured of a steady supply of food and provision. Despite of all of this, the homeless of New York still left the facility. This is quite incomprehensible because it is not the nature of man to gallivant. His body is frail and meant for domesticated and sheltered stay that could become easily vulnerable to the elements. Unlike the beast whose body allows it to hunt when it roams around, man’s body will succumb to the elements when it is not sheltered. Yet, the homeless of New York preferred the uncertainty of the street rather than stay in the government run facilities. Close examination of the facility revealed why the residents left. True, it provides food and shelter but the condition and treatment of its residents made it far from being a home. â€Å"City-run shelters-though they provide food and respite from the elements-are dan gerous and unfriendly places that impose a dehumanizing, even prisonlike, regimentation on residents. Guards routinely treat clients as inmates, allegedly denying them food for the violation of rules. Some shelter residents are abused from place to place for food, showers, and sleep. Charges of violence by shelter security guards and clients are common2† This report only revealed that people will not endure shabby treatment just to have a

Friday, November 1, 2019

Employee Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employee Relations - Essay Example The Union disagreed with the Company’s decision to use a different criteria of determining eligibility for promotion and transfers instead of the one agreed upon during the collective bargaining agreement. The third grievance was about a discriminatory action by the company on its allocation of the parking lots. The union argued that the plant workers were allocated the farthest lots from the entrance. 2. What sections of the Wagner Act are in question here? Explain In all the three grievances touched a number of Wegner act sections particularly with regard to the regulation of collective bargain agreement engagements. For example, section 8(a) 3 of the act prohibits employees against discriminatory acts such as assigning them less desirable conditions as was witnessed in the allocation of parking slots in the company. The section also stipulates that matters of promotion or transfers should be solely based on seniority, merit and other criteria of determining eligibility sign ed in the collective bargaining agreement (Budd, 234). In this regard the second grievance will also be handled using section 2 of the act. ... In my opinion, all the three grievances of the union against the company were genuine. In the first grievance, I would rule that the company breached the contract by making changes in the time schedules prior to a mutual agreement. In the second grievance, the company also violated the collective bargaining agreement by using different criteria of eligibility in giving a temporary transfer to a Janitor instead of Mr. Burn who best suitable according to the provisions of the collective bargain agreement. Finally, allocating park workers the farthest car park slots was also discriminatory since it ensured that the workers spent more time between the parking lot and their working stations and this reduced the amount of their monthly bonus. Case 2__ Does the Duty to Bargain Preclude Unilateral Wage Increases? In the case study, Winn Dixie Stores Company effected unilateral changes in the wages of the workers arguing that there was no impasse during the negotiations (Budd, 260). On the ot her hand, the Union’s position of argument was that the Company violated the provisions of section 8(a) 5 and 8(a)1 of Wagner act which states that it is an unfair labor practice for employers to refuse to bargain collectively with the employee representatives when making changes to the wage rates and other terms of employment. Questions 1. You are an administrative law judge who has to decide on this case. Which party do you agree with and why? As an administrative law Judge presiding over the case, I would support the position of the employee Union that the company’s action amounted to unfair labor practice as stated in section 8 of the