Maya Angelou Biographical Approach Essay

Maya Angelou has remarked, â€Å"I’m always inspired by men and women who rise†¦That ability to rise is nobleness of the human spirit.† Write an essay in which you analyze Angelou’s beliefs about the human spirit, as reflected in the four works you just read. Before you begin, consider what Angelou has to say about her work: â€Å"I speak to the black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition—about what we can endure, dream, fail at, and still survive.† Writing Your Essay As you plan, draft, and revise your essay, keep the following tips in mind: †¢In the introduction, or the beginning of your essay, include a specific thesis statement that presents the key point you will prove in your essay. †¢Support your ideas with evidence from the four selections. Be sure to analyze how Angelou’s tone and use of stylistic devices contribute to the expression of her themes or main ideas. †¢Make sure that every paragraph has unity and coherence. All the sentences in the paragraph should relate to one main idea and help develop that idea. †¢End your essay with a conclusion in which you summarize your main points. Include a new, but related, closing insight or reflection. Create a one-page document that shows you have understood the book with the 2 parts below: †¢Part 1: First, think of the symbols in the book. Then, find pictures using â€Å"Google images† or â€Å"Clip Art† and paste them into the document. Then give a 1-2 sentence reason for the symbol. †¢Part 2: Write a book review. Make sure you convince me you have read it thoroughly! It should be no more than 1-2 paragraphs.

Personnel to Human Resource Management Essay

Personnel management refers to a set of functions or activities including recruitment, training, pay and industrial relations performed effectively but often in isolation from each other or with overall organisation objectives. In 1991, Hilmer noted that the Australian tradition of many sub-specialities or functions (industrial relations, compensation, training and pay) was out of date. The early 1990s was an are of great speculation on the future of the functions in managing people. The concept Human Resource Management (HRM) began to influence the practice of integrating functions with each other and organisation objectives. Coppleston (1991) explained â€Å"the HR function within any enterprise must first of all serve the organisation†¦ an investment area rather than a cost to the organisation.† Reinforced by other writers, human resources should be viewed as ‘human capital’, and that HR managers should strive to use them as investment creating an environm ent where the appropriate strategy is likely to emerge. (Williams, 1991) Alternate perspectives of HRM emphasise either the effective management of employees through greater accountability and control, the greater involvement in decision making processes, or both of these. (Nankervis, Compton & McCarthy, 1993) In countries such as Australia, the personnel management function arrived more slowly than its USA counterparts and came from a number of avenues. The orientation of personnel management was not entirely managerial. In the UK, its origins were traced to ‘welfare officers’ where it became evident that there was an inherent conflict between their activities and those of line managers. There were not seen to have a philosophy compatible with the view of senior managers. The welfare officer orientation placed personnel management as a buffer between the business and the employees. In terms of organisational politics this was not a viable position for those wishing to further their careers, increase their status, earn high salaries or influence organisation performance. Industrial relations further compounded the distinction through their intermediary role between unions and line management. (Price, 2005) However, during the 1970s, many Australian organisations found themselv es in turbulent business and economic climates with major competition from the USA, Europe and Asian markets. Concurrently, the Institute for Personnel Management (IPMA) and training institutions such as TAFE and universities were becoming more sophisticated in their approaches incorporating more  recent approaches such as ‘Excellence† and ‘Total Quality Management’. During this period the IPMA held national and international conferences, initiated relationships with the Asia-Pacific region, developed an accreditation process and the now titled Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. (Nankervis et al, 1993)By the 1980s, personnel had become a well-defined but low status area of management. Traditional personnel managers were accused of having a narrow, functional outlook. Storey (1989) comment that personnel management â€Å"†¦has long been dogged by problems of credibility, marginality, ambiguity and a ‘trash-can’ labelling which has relegated it to a relatively disconnected set of duties – many of them tainted with a low status ‘welfare’ connotation.† In practice, the background and training of many personnel managers left them speaking a different language from other managers and unable to comprehend wider business issues such as business strategy, market competition, labour economics and the role of other organisational functions. (Price, 2005) This set the scene to integrate personnel management with wider trends in management thinking. In 1999 (cited in Gollan 2005), Hunt suggested, ‘the key link to the success of the function lies in the struggle to acquire more influence, something that is being carried out in a climate of downsizing and outsourcing. Even the change of name from personnel to HR is indicative that the way people view and perform this role is changing – with the new name communicating a desire to break with the past and to throw off an image that was limp and limiting†¦ The future of the HR function may be far from certain †¦ [however] †¦ In situations of uncertainty, it is the confident who win through †¦ I know of no organisation whose senior managers believe their company will operate, in the future, without any human beings. Whether ensuring the supply of those human beings resides in a function called HR or not is rather irrelevant. Such themes included ‘human capital theory’ and human resource accounting, however, HRM gained further ground and prominence once introduced to the Harvard Business School MBA course in 1981. The four main approaches founded during the 1980s were: The strategic matching theories from the Michigan and  New York Schools; Multiple Stakeholders theory from the Harvard School; Political and Change Process Theory from the Warwick School and a Behavioural Transformation Theory from the Schuler School. (Price, 2005) Each theory expressed models that stress people as human resources which are a resource different to any other the organisation may have and therefore require to be managed differently. This could be conceived as rather confusing, however Townley (1994) argued that much of the confusion over the role of human resource managers is due to two factors: 1. The conflict between the welfare tradition of personnel management and the strategic orientation of more modern HRM and; 2. A gender divide between female or soft personnel management at lower management and administrative levels and male, hard nosed human resource managers within upper management. Benchmarking and best practice have become widely used terms in the past decade. HRM benchmarking is a process which provides knowledge of the key HR levers which are important to business outcomes; comparison with other businesses with better performance and ways of using that information to improve HR processes. This allows HR processes and outcomes to be quantified so that objectives can be set meaningfully and realistically. This was a revolutionary approach for many HR professionals who were used to subjective job descriptions and values with a focus on process rather than outcome which did not gain much credibility with other business units who were used to objective and quantifiable measures of performance. (Nankervis et al, 1993; Price, 2005) Vilinas and Harper (2005) explored the impact of performance management on staff, the organisation and the business. Performance management was found to be useful in improving role clarity, identifying and standardising performance objectives,, increasing performance feedback and assisting in the development of more useful and meaningful performance measures. The authors found that how performance management was viewed depended on the performance of the team. That is, if the team were performing well, it was viewed positively, if the team were not performing well, it was viewed negatively. Furthermore, Vilinas and Harper (2005), found difficulty in evaluating the impact of performance management systems in organisations. There fore it is difficult to determine the impact this human resource strategy on organisation performance in a  quantitative sense. Royal and O’Donnell (2005), argue that qualitative human capital analysis would assist in predicting organisation sustainability and future financial performance by providing substantial evidence indicating the link between particular HR practices and organisation performance. These practices included learning and development, flexible work policies and performance management. The focus on long term relationships between the organisation and staff was the impact on organisation performance rather than an economic exchange. Exploring the impacts of downsizing on organisation performance, Farrell and Mavondo (2005) reported on the contradictory evidence in the literature about this relationship and surveyed manufacturing companies in order to test the impact. The findings concluded that when redesign of organisations drive downsizing the impact on the business is positive, but it is negative when the organisation redesign is driven by downsizing. This indicated that good HR practice linking with the organisation strategic plan is more likely to provide a positive business outcome. According to McGrath-Champ and Baird (2005), HRM practices and the role of HR and employee relations practitioners have been undergoing major changes since the 1980s. Particular changes include the shift to enterprise bargaining. The authors used data from numerous surveys aimed at exploring the changing role of HR practitioners and the implications on the skills required in order to fulfil the changed role. This, in turn, impacts on the capability of the HR area in its ability to support and influence organisational performance. Given that small business is a significant employer in Australia, Bartram (2005) found they are not as likely to use participative management techniques, invest in training in the area of employee relations or develop organisation strategy. However, without the use of HRM practices, small business can be effected detrimentally particularly in a global economic climate. The evidence suggests that organisation performance will usually benefit from the integration of human resource management and product and market strategies, improved understanding of the needs of employees at the workplace, and better use of their skill and ingenuity. Strategies designed to achieve a more comprehensive use of employees’ human potential, desire to learn, flexibility and personal responsibility would appear capable of delivering higher levels of performance (Gollan & Davis, 1998). This is at the heart of the argument for more attention to HRM. Other things being equal, it will assist improve profitability through changing employee attitudes, overcoming resistance to change. (Gollan & Davis, 1998) Moreover, there will be experience of mutual advantage. Management can benefit from improved performance and reduced levels of turnover and absenteeism and being an employer of choice in the current labour tight market. As a result employees may enjoy more job security, development opportunities, autonomy and incentives to take ownership and responsibility for quality outcomes. (West & Patterson, 1998) While HRM approaches are worthwhile in terms of improving organisation performance, it can be difficult to measure the link between the improvement and the HR practice. The length of time can be fraught with problems when considering the impact of HRM on organisation performance. A short term consultation with staff could pay off years ahead in performance. The most difficult obstacle is in the change of organisation culture for both managers and employees in terms of leadership skills, strategy and resources for development. Based on research statistics of over 30 000 HR professionals, Brockbank (2005), stated ‘the HR field is outstanding at doing what it says it will do, in terms of delivering the basic HR infrastructure activity †¦is an intersection of HR competencies and agendas that have to do with managing the culture, contributing to strategic decision making, managing change and creating process of information flows that continually integrate the organisation†¦ HR professionals are mediocre at this set of activities†¦ the logic of HR’s role in bringing critical information about the external business world into the firm, disseminating it and using that information on  a broad scale within the organisation as the basis for integration, unity and ultimately organisational responsiveness.’ Brockbank (2005) further identified that HR’s market driven connectivity rates at 17 per cent of strategic contribution’s impact on organisation performance. The direct impact of HR on business performance has increased about 300 per cent since 1992. This is factored around the shift from focusing on traditional personnel functions and moving towards strategic input into the organisation’s development coupled with technological change and a global economy. In other words, this indicates that in order to make an impact, HR needs to understand the business their organisation is in including the customers, shareholders and stakeholders. To surmise, the evidence suggests there is a great deal of participation taking place in Australia, (Morehead, Steele, Alexander, Stephen & Duffin, 1997) however, findings from the research highlight the quality of many HRM practices need to be appropriate measured and reported in order to continue to develop the link between HR practices and organisation performance. From the research synthesised in this paper, it is evident that some human resource practices can contribute to high levels of organisational performance. Explored from a range of perspectives, the problems in demonstrating this relationship are highlighted. The number of dimensions to the problems making study comparisons difficult include: definitions used as a basis for the research; the ability to draw a relationship between human resource practices and organisational performance; methodological issues and; differences and variable measurement. There is further interest in identifying and demonstrating the impact HRM has on organisation performance none more highlighted than through the importance of people in the knowledge economy and organisation sustainability in a global market. References: Bartram, Timothy 2005, ‘Small firms, big ideas: The adoption of human resource management in Australian small firms’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Brockbank, Wayne 2005, ‘Turning Inside Out’, HR Monthly, April. Coppleston Peter 1991, ‘Present issues and future trends’, HR Monthly, April p8-9Farrell, Mark A., & Mavondo, Felix 2005, ‘The effect of downsizing-redesign strategies on business performance: Evidence from Australia’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Gollan, Paul 2005, High involvement management and human resource sustainability: The challenges and opportunities, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Gollan, P. & Davis, E. 1998, High involvement management and organisational change: Beyond rhetoric. Macquarie Graduate School of ManagementHilmer F 1991, ‘Hilmer discusses the future for Australians at work’, HR Monthly, August p9. McGrath-Champ, Susan & Baird, Marian 2005, ‘The mercurial nature of Australian HRM under enterprise bargaining’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Morehead, A., Steele, M., Alexander, M., Stephen, K. & Duffin, L. 1997, Change at Work: The 1995 Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. Melbourne: LongmanNankervis, Alan R., Compton, Robert L. & McCarthy, Terence E. 1993, Strategic Human Resource Management, Thomson Nelson Australia. Price Alan 2005, Human Resource Management in a Business Context, 2nd ednRoyal, Carol & O’Donnell, Loretta 2005, ‘Embedding human capital analysis in the investment process: A human resources challenge’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Storey, J. 1989, Human Resource Management: A Critical Text. Thomson Learning, 2nd ednTownley B. 1994, Reframing Human Resource Management: Power, Ethics and the Subject of Work, Sage. West, M. & Patterson, M 1998. People Power: The link between job satisfaction and productivity. Centrepiece, Autumn, p2-5Williams Ross 1991, ‘Transformation or chaos? HR in the 1990s’, HR Monthly, November, p10. Vilinas, Tricia & Harper, Sarah (2005), ‘Determining the impact of an organisations performance management system’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43

Protection and Conservation of the Yosemite National Park and its Essay

Protection and Conservation of the Yosemite National Park and its architecture - Essay Example Protection and Conservation of the Yosemite National Park and its architecture Some of the places are Mariposa Grove, Curry Village, Parsons Memorial Lodge, Wawona Lodge and they represent a vital part of American history. With steep cuts in funding and the budget, it will be impossible to maintain the places. In the next few paragraphs, I will try to explain the architectural significance and cultural importance of these places. Curry Village: Curry Village is an unincorporated community based in the Mariposa County of Yosemite national park. The camp had its origins in 1899 when David Curry and Jenny Foster set up a tented camp for which they had obtained permission and rights. It was a bed and meal camp for 2 USD/ day. The camp gradually extended and it now includes wooden cabins for visitors, dining rooms, lodge and a post office. The architecture includes heritage grade structures such as rustic wood framed cabins with hipped roofs that are installed on stone foundation. Some of the old structures still available are the 1914 entrance, the registration off ice of 1904, the dance hall built in 1913, the Foster Curry cabin constructed in 1916 along with the Mother Curry Bungalow of 1917 and other structures. These are unique structures untouched by today’s commercial constructions and remind us of how our forefathers lived in the past century (Curry Cabin, 1978). Please refer to the following figure that shows the Curry Cabin. Figure 1. Curry Cabin at Yosemite Park (Curry Cabin, 1978) Parsons Memorial Lodge: The Parsons Memorial Lodge was built in 1915 by the Sierra Club in the Yosemite national park. It is one of the first structures built of stone in the park and it was built in memory of Edward Parsons, one of the clubs directors. The architecture is worth noting since it encloses 1400 square feet area and this is a one story structure. The walls are constructed with rubble masonry and concrete core with gray granite, pink feldspar for the mortar. While the base is more than thee feet, it gradually tapers to two foot at the to p. A strong stone archway is used for the door and the low pitch roof is made of peeled log rafters. Interior and exterior log braces are rested on the external buttresses. Smaller peeled logs are placed on top of the rafter logs. It is regarded as a National Historic Landmark (Parsons Memorial Lodge, 2010). Please refer to the following image of the structure. Figure 2. Parsons Memorial Lodge (Parsons Memorial Lodge, 2010) Wawona Lodge: The Wawona Hotel was built in 1876 at Wawona in the Yosemite national park. The Victorian style hotel was meant to house tourists who visited the Mariposa Grove and other areas of the park. The structure is made of seven buildings with a circular drive and centered fountains. The external walls are aligned to the four cardinal directions. The buildings have a wood frame construction with painted exteriors. There are multiple porches and decorative woodwork. The architectural importance is that it is the largest Victorian hotel complex in America. Th e format used has a rural placement while the buildings have a Greek Revival style, stick style and Eastlake styles, evident in railings, brackets, cornice returns and decorative balustrades. Most of furniture are period pieces though not antique (HABS, 2010). Please refer to the following image of the hotel. Figure 3. Wawona Hotel, Yosemite National Park (HABS, 2010) Mariposa Grove: The Mariposa Grove is one of the natural wonders of Yosemite Park. The grove is made up of more than 30 giant

Health Care Continuum Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health Care Continuum - Assignment Example The concept is manifest in the application of life support machines for the extreme sick cases. Fayetteville, North Carolina has sufficient long-term care options including outsourcing of the health services. Additionally, the health centers in Fayetteville, North Carolina have acquired sophisticated medical equipment to cater for the long term health care services. The other option the region has is the offering of free guidance and counseling services because some terminal illnesses are caused by ignorance of the patients. The continuity health care services, which will be required in my community, include the provision of diagnostic equipment and proper prescription of drugs in order to promote prompt recuperation. Austine and Wetle’s claim that Mental Health Services are a Combination of Services is true because the delivery of medical services can never be unilateral. The health of a person is complex, thus it requires much attention from the medical practitioners. This initiative requires coordination of many health experts in various specializations. The recuperation of a patient results from concerted effort of more than one medical practitioner. In this regard, the continuum health care requires the service of many health care providers in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the health care sector. The integrated delivery systems ensure sound delivery of continuum health care. The continuum of healthcare ensures that there is integration of medical services in order to achieve efficiency and quality of the healthcare service. The headache of the integrated delivery system is the fragmented American health care system. According to Halloran, and Lowenstein (2010), there is a need for the integration of the health care in order to have a regulated health care system. In this regard, health care resources will be utilized for the welfare of the citizens. Additionally, the integration of the services will allow

Types Of Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Types Of Energy - Essay Example This form of energy is obtained by the conversion of wind energy a utilizable form of energy, for example, making electricity using wind turbines, wind pumps for pumping water, windmills for mechanical power or sails to propel ships. The important features of this form of energy include being clean, plentiful, renewable and zero emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) when in use. Large-scale production of wind power generation is done in wind farms which consists hundreds of single wind turbines connected to a network of electric power transmission. Its production is influenced by wind distribution in terms of strength and speed. This makes the production of wind power to be limited to certain places that experience winds that are substantially strong to turn turbines. This could be onshore and offshore places. Offshore wind power production involves the construction of wind farms inside in water bodies to generate electricity. Better wind speeds are available in these places compared t o on land/onshore. Some of the largest onshore wind farms are found in the US.Unlike other forms of energy, the production of wind power does take away farms from farm owners and neither does it render the land unusable for other purposes. It is highly compatible with agriculture. According to American Wind Energy Association (2009), landowners in the US receive a rental income of between $3,000 to $5,000 for each wind turbine as they continue to graze cattle or grow crops up to the foot of the turbines. In comparison to fossil fuels and other sources of power, the effects of wind power on the environment are less problematic. Their trends for the production and use of wind power have been rising and as of 2011, a total of 83 countries worldwide are using this form of energy on the commercial basis (REN21, 2011). Despite having lower levels of adverse environmental effects, wind power is not suitable for some places like Pitchandikulam because the area is forested. Trees act as windbreaks and therefore they reduce the speed and strength of the wind. This means that wind blowing over Pitchandikulam does not have sufficient power to turn turbines for generating electricity from wind. Pitchandikulam is also surrounded by other communities belonging to Auroville Green Belt and these communities are also forested and this reduces the power of the wind reaching this place. Pitchandikulam does not have an area with a very high altitude compared to its surrounding areas. This could have enabled it to utilize high-altitude winds for the generation of wind power. Alternatives energy supply or solution for Pitchandikulam which does not have a negative effect on the environment Wind power as a clean source of power could be the most suitable for Pitchandikulam. The alternative energy solutions or supplies for Pitchandikulam that do not have a negative effect on the environment is solar power. Solar power is a form of energy that is obtained from the conversion of sunlight into electricity. This is achieved through the use of various technologies that can be categorized as either active or passive depending on the mechanism through which they capture, convert and

Exploring Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Exploring Organisations - Essay Example Initially, the entity operated under the pretence of a mail and telephone entity enabling. Subsequently, William Hill has developed into the current dominant body. During the progress of the entity, the shareholding has changed enabling restructuring through new management. The entity made minimal returns since gambling was unlawful. Nonetheless, legislation of betting in 1960s transformed the entity fortune radically. Despite the legalisation of betting, this entity still had multiple hurdles to surmount as the government had instituted countless regulations relating to the operation of this industry. Consequently, entrepreneurs in the gaming sector opted to minimize their operation scale. Digital advancement has influenced this industry sizeably since it facilitated the development of betting culture. Betting expanded concurrently with the digital sector since it aired events that were subject to betting. Furthermore, economic expansion has resulted in the citizenry having surplus finances to expend on such frivolous activities. This write-up seeks to evaluate William Hill relative to its features, clientele, and future prospects. Additionally, it will appraise the entity status based on certain theories (Funding universe ND). William Hill is a public entity that has an assortment of feature, which make it suitably suited for this industry. First, the location of the entity in London allows it to attract clientele on a global level. Additionally, the listing in the London stock exchange (LSE) has facilitated the establishment of the entity as market leader. This entity operates in a trendy market, which is subject to countless alterations. Subsequently, the entity has to adjust its product persistently to sustain its market niche. Visibly, the entity operates in an industry that is exceedingly dependent on digital communication. Hence, investing in pertinent systems will provide the entity with a competitive edge. William Hill also faces competition from othe r entities that operate in the above industry. The gaming sector requires originality from the firms that partake in it. Subsequently, the reference firm, William Hill has endeavoured to create an excellent merchandise portfolio. Evidently, the entity commenced with few products. However, the pool of product, which the entity avails to the clientele, has stretched out exponentially. Creating such a commodity portfolio demands extensive creativity from the management. The managers have to perform far-reaching studies, which will guarantee product success. Not only do the administrators endeavour to create products but also institute appropriate promotional campaigns. Promotion represents a critical aspect since William Hills operations relate to events such as games requiring intensive advertising to attract bids. The above details provide basic information that is vital in organizational analysis of William Hill (Funding universe ND). SWOT analysis William has countless strengths th at have enabled the entity to dominate this industry in UK. First, the entity’s lengthy history has allowed the entity to assemble enormous volume of data. The enormous statistics coupled with the expertise of the exception workforce have been critical to the success of the body. These two constituents have enabled the entity model a unique culture that is central to attracting an extensive clientele base. The entity guarantees players countless opportunities to win. Moreover, the data assembled is

Tianxia in Chinese Moral or Political Thinking Essay - 1

Tianxia in Chinese Moral or Political Thinking - Essay Example This paper illustrates that Tianxia is interesting in the sense that it gives a Chinese replica of global order that is generally applicable, and gives Chinese-style resolutions to global issues more so how the traditional concept of Tianxia in international relations is combined with the long-held Chinese diplomacy of nationalism. Therefore, the Tianxia system has become the answer to such questions as to what is the role of China in the current world in terms of international relations and diplomacy. This research work is to examine how the Tianxia system is employed to solve the world’s problems and the institutions that come with it; it also examines the theoretical and past problems caused by the Tianxia system and its application in the present world order. It also examines what the Tianxia system must be applied domestically before it can be applicable or viable on the world stage. This is a legitimate world order that is quite distinct from the Western world order in i nternational relations; it is a framework for solving the world problems through the conceptualization of ideas and practically implementing them. Tianxia as a term in international relations should be construed in three different ways to have the relevant meaning when employing it in international relations. Geographically speaking, tian refers to the heavens, the sky and what is on top while Xia means below, inferior or below when the two words are joined, they mean what is below the universe or the sky. Normatively, Tianxia refers to all the people or the world institution, in understanding this, scholars have interdependently directed arguments that would solve problems not only in political philosophy, but also in political science, and this has the effect of unifying the world and the thoughts too.