Act 4 of the crucible is dynamic theatre Essay

The Crucible provides us with what can only be described as masterpiece of dramatic writing. Written by Arthur Miller in 1952, the most powerful scenes in â€Å"The Crucible† have several common characteristics; very effective use of stage directions, long build-ups of suspense that come crashing down in thundering climaxes, intense displays of emotion and an abundance of dramatic irony.  The play, set in 1692, is based upon the outbreak of accusations of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller wrote the play using this 17th-century case (and fictionalising it) to comment on a 20th-century phenomenon – the exposure of suspected communists. In 17th century Salem the inhabitants feared witchcraft as America feared communism in the 1950’s; and many similarities can be drawn between the events of the two periods. Both were exaggerated out of all reasonable proportion and each contains communities that display an irrational fear of an ill perceived threat to their stability of life. Indeed, the theme of culpability that runs throughout the play is mirrored constantly in modern society, particularly in politics, where those in office are frequently blamed for incidents that are completely beyond their control. The writing of this play stemmed from Miller’s personal interest in the Salem witch trials and at the time, America was in the middle of the McCarthy political â€Å"Witch Hunt†. Miller himself was called before a committee, and he began to notice a certain resemblance between the two trials, such as ‘naming and shaming’ by people anxious to divert attention from themselves, together with confessions given under duress. This has resulted in the play being seen as a political allegory. At the beginning of act 4 we see symbolic setting and scenery created through Miller’s clever use of stage directions, which in turn, introduces and establishes the tone that will continue throughout the remainder of the play. For example, the reference to â€Å"moonlight seeping through the bars† of the darkened cell metaphorically suggests to the reader that there is still hope for the  wrongly accused sufferers of the witch hunt, the light being a positive aspect in the otherwise bleak atmosphere. This technique of using light symbolically is revisited later in the scene; â€Å"the new sun is pouring in†, reinforcing the theme of dramatic lighting that is so very important within the play. It is perhaps this phrase that best sums up the intensity of relief felt at the end of the ordeal, and emphasizes the theme of transition and change, highlighted in particular by the word â€Å"new†. Another way in which Miller successfully creates tension within the play is through the use of apposite props and evocative scenery, most notably in the jail; â€Å"†¦a high barred window, near it, a great, heavy door†. This evokes a strong sense of oppression, in particular the â€Å"heavy door† which could be arguably be seen as a metaphor for the ignorance displayed by the townspeople of Salem. Furthermore, we see the play end on a very dramatic note; â€Å"The final drumroll crashes, then heightens violently†, surely emblematic of the last brutal act of the witch-hunt; the violent demise of the hero and the end of the suffering of those persecuted by fear and ignorance. Dramatic theatre would be nothing however, without the powerful characters at the heart of the story, and the depth they bring to it through their emotions and actions. At the very beginning of the scene, we see a representation of the main theme of the story; the helplessness of the villagers against the cruel authority of Danforth, illustrated by the forcible removal of Tituba and Sarah Good from their cell. The power struggle between those in office and the common man draws great empathy from the audience and reinforces the brutality of the entire ordeal. Indeed, the women’s response to the guards; â€Å"We goin’ to Barbados, soon devil gits here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  highlights the villagers’ great superstition around Satan, giving the audience insight into how the situation has spiraled out of control, and how their fears fuel the fires of hysteria, allowing the oppression of the villagers to continue unabated.

Working with and Leading People

Cool Sounds is an established music retailer throughout the UK and it has around 280 stores and 15000 employees, both full time as well as part-time. The products sold by Cool Sounds range from CDs and DVDs to software for computer consoles. The organization has a tall structure and most of the decisions are made from the Head Offices although leading people is usually the specific remit to store management team. Cool Sounds has planned to open a new flagship store in Coventry and hire 80 more employees. I being the general manager of the store have prepared this paper to address some of the issues related to recruitment, selection and retention, leadership, performance appraisal, etc. (Anthony, Kacmar & Perrwe 2005). RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND RETENTION What does Cool Sounds look for in its employees? Cool Sounds looks for a strong academic record when assessing the application of employees. Past experience shows that academic skills are seldom sufficient to be a successful professional within a company as challenging, dynamic and diverse as Cool sounds. Therefore, Cool Sounds has identified four skills and qualities as being essential to performing to the high standards that they expect from their employees. Capacity, achievement, relationships and technicality are these skills identified by Cool Sounds. Capacity is the diagnostic ability to put problems in an extensive but in a relevant view. Achievement is the ability to get things done. Relationships refer to the ability to work efficiently with others in a team and technicality is the ability to understand and approach technical issues coupled with an enthusiasm for technical challenge. The HR management refers to these qualities throughout their assessment and selection process, looking for candidates who can show them to a greater degree than their contemporaries. (Benefiel 2008). Applications and resumes Cool Sounds offers an amazing range of recruitment in many different fields and also requires people from diverse backgrounds. Every year Cool Sounds examine its business requirements and accordingly they conduct external recruiting and for this, they should advertise in the leading newspapers and shortlist the candidates suitable by interviewing them after which they must select candidates on the basis of their degree, although work experience really counts but they should also recruit candidates on the basis of their answers and intelligence. All applications should be assessed and candidates based on the above mentioned qualities and both internal and external selections should be done. Cool Sounds should recruit employees both internally and externally. (Butteriss 1998). The Interview Process Once the recruiters have reviewed the candidates’ application forms and CVs/Resumes, they must conduct telephonic or face-to-face interview and many other interview techniques and questions must be asked to determine the personality of the candidate. Cool Sounds must conduct competency based interviews in order to evaluate the competence in a candidate. (Barker 2008). Situational interviews are conducted by asking questions like e. g. ‘A person in your team is disrupting information, how would you handle the situation? ’ Behavioral interviews should also be conducted in which Cool Sounds should inquire about the candidates’ achievements and any challenges they have faced e. g. ‘Please tell us about a time when you were under great pressure? How did you cope? What was the outcome? The content of the responses to the questions asked should then assessed by Cool sounds. Offer and Onboarding Once the candidates have been successfully selected to work in the organization, they should be called in for a management trainee program. (Clawson & Corner 2004). Offer To give their candidates the best value they can get, Cool Sounds should make sure that it provides the job that the person wants, for instance, if the employee is more flexible about their preferred job and location, the more likely should Cool Sounds should be able to give what the employee want. After finding a suitable vacancy, the employee should be invited to a ‘Get to Know You’ session so that the employee meets the business managers they’ll be working with, as well as some of their team, and find out more about the position. This would also give the employees as well as the company itself to double check whether the candidate is suitable or not and if a suitable match is lacking at this point, Cool Sounds must continue to explore for more candidates. Gravett 2003). Onboarding This is when the employees’ career begins with Cool Sounds and the onboarding programs should be carried out so that employees can get to know the organization better. Moreover, the company should always be ready to guide its employees in the best possible way, so that the employees can have a feel of what their job role is in the organization, what they are supposed to do, and find out how Cool Sounds operates itself. Retention Rewards and Benefits Rewards and benefits are major set of HRM activities and so Cool Sound should provide their employees rewards and benefits and the most common rewards they can give to the employees are worker’s compensation, social security and unemployment insurance. Reward System Reward system serves as a strategic purpose of attracting, motivating and retaining people, therefore Cool Sounds should provide bonus to their employees in order improve the performances of the employees. By taking a look to the performance of the employee or his sincerity with the organization, the employees should be given rewards to keep them motivated. (John 2001). Pay Structure Pay structure is the difference of pays of employees within the organization and it is vital to give the same pays to the employees having same designation so that no sort of conflict arises between them; however the pay must only be different for employees on the basis of their performance. Individual Pay Decisions To promote the employees, individual pay decisions should be made as well and Cool Sounds must ensure that employee’s individual contribution is recognized and rewarded through performance-related pay and bonuses, moreover, facilities must be provided to their hardworking employees and they should also work on the enhancement of the technical knowledge of the employees. Other factors of retention Health and medical benefits should be provided to the employees, every employee should be fairly treated and job security should be provided to them. (Kay 2000). Legal and ethical issues When staff is to be recurited, some legal and ethical issues need to be considered. Code of ethics These include age and gender, race and religion discrimination and sexual harassment and it is mandatory for the HR Department of Cool Sounds to make sure a fair treatment of employees. Employees know that they are safe and they can approach someone in case they are unfairly treated by anyone. Legal issues The HR Department should act as a negotiator and works to establish cooperation between the legal entities, regulatory agencies, supervisors and employees to properly address and determine the issue prevailing. BUILDING WINNING TEAMS. The culture followed by an organization highlights its personality. Culture basically comprises of the assumptions, the values and norms of an organization, the financial position of the organization and about its members and their behaviors. Whenever a new member is added to an organization, they don’t take much time to study and learn about the type of culture being followed by an organization. However, every organization has its different culture and although new employees may take time to adjust but they soon get to know about it and work accordingly and the culture of an organization makes an organization different from others. The culture an organization adopts should be such that it should be accepted by all the employees and it basically helps to understand the human system in an organization and there are basically two types of challenges a culture has to overcome. Once an employee joins an organization, he has to get accustomed to its culture effectively and only those who can adopt it well can survive. After the employees adopt the culture, it leads to a collective learning process creating shared assumption and beliefs. Team learning This refers to the learning that develops the ability in a team to create the results expected and desired by the other members. It further builds personal mastery and shared vision. Team learning leads to good results and growth becomes more rapid. Team learning is dependent on the type of members a team consists of and the way they think and take the other members. (Kline & SaCool Soundsders 1997). Problematic areas One of the major problems being faced by the HR department is because of the diversified workforce at an organization. Many people feel uncomfortable to working with people of a different age, sex, or culture. Despite the fact that employing people from different groups is good but it can lead to a clot of conflicts. The management has to manage a diversified workforce effectively or it can effect employee satisfaction and productivity negatively and the employees who recognize themselves as valued members of their organization are more diligent, concerned, and innovative and this tends them to work harder. Another problem can be the economic unrest prevailing. People from diversified groups would be having different definition of ambition. The outcome of ambition is mostly unpredictable, some ambitions begun in selflessness end in rancor; others begun in selfishness end in large-heartedness. It can at times be uncontrollable as well and some people may not be able handle ambition serving it as a grief to others. It also leads to jealousy. Other than that, people might opt any way to achieve their goals and these might be unlawful as well. Team Charter †¢ Policy formulation – It is essential for the employees to obey the set of rules and policies set by Cool Sounds as this is essential so that proper regulation can be maintained at the work place. (Christensen & Irwin 1976) Knowledge Management – It relates to the programs such as the objectives of the organizations, creating ways to improve the performance of the employees, developing a competitive advantage and creating innovation. (Evans 2003). †¢ Ethics – this is the most important area of philosophy is about right conduct and good lif e and is considerably broader than the common idea of analyzing right and wrong. †¢ Customer Satisfaction – Serving the customers well. Team roles identified by Belbin These roles are identified on the basis of the behaviour of the people when they work in teams and these have a great impact on their performance as well. The roles that Beblin identified are mentioned below. Action Oriented Role †¢ Implementer – the role of the implementer is to translate the ideas and the decisions of the team into actions that can be managed. †¢ Shaper – his role is rather goal directed and more challenging as he has to overcome obstacles and work under great pressure. †¢ Completer/Finisher – the basic task of the completer is to meet deadlines. People Skills Oriented Role †¢ Co-ordinator – facilitates interaction as well as decision making. †¢ Teamworker – it is vital for the teammaker to listen attentively to his team members, to be collaborative and to cooperate with them. Resource Investigator – developing contacts, have excellent communications skills and exploring new ideas are the basic roles played by a resource investigator. Cerebral/Intellectual Role †¢ Planter – his basic goal is to solve problems. †¢ Monitor/Evaluator â⠂¬â€œ having good judgemental and thinking skills are essential for an evaluator. †¢ Specialist – constant learning and building knowledge. The ideas that are proposed by the team members should be implemented in the store if they are feasible. For instance, in the case of Cool Sounds, both the shaper as well as the completer is important so that the store can do its best. To make the store operate in a better way, it would be good to discuss ideas with the team members so that new things can be implemented and this would give a competitive edge to the store. Moreover, it is also vital for the planter to solve problems and negotiate with the team members in order to keep things going in an orderly manner and to avoid conflicts. LEADERSHIP Leadership is basically the process of social influence in which one particular person is able to help and support the others in order to accomplish a common task. It is also about creating something that could help out the people achieve something that is extraordinary. There are a lot of leadership theories proposed by many theorists. Leadership style is the manner or approach of providing direction; implementing plans and motivating people and according to Kurt Lewin, the 19th Century German psychologist suggested three different styles of leadership. All three styles of leadership can be used by Cool Sounds depending on the type of the employees they have hired. (Kouzes & Posner 2008) Styles of Leadership 1. Authoritarian /autocratic – Such leaders have full authority to take decisions and are preferred by such employees who need close supervision in order to complete the tasks assigned to them. Northhouse 2006). 2. Participative or democratic – Such leadership involves including the employees in decision making, however the final decision is taken by the leader. 3. Delegate of Free reign – The leader permits the employees to make decisions for them. However, in any event leaders are the ones who are actually responsible for all their decisions. This style is usually used where employees are few and have greater awareness. (Lee 1991). Skills in leaders The leaders are the ones who should encourage their juniors to suggest ideas that could lead to creativity and innovation. The employees should be rewarded, supported and proper amalgamation should be provided for the processes. Fund learning should be encouraged. This can be done by prioritizing it into budgets and work plans and to make it accessible to the employees or it would be of no use. Trust and respect should be placed on all the levels of the organization. Free communication and personalization should be allowed. Constant training or at least monthly or yearly training programs should be held for all the staff to keep on learning new things. The return on investment should be taken care of. The employees should know how much they are contributing to the company. These are some more factors that could help UN to retain their current employees. (Leat 2001). In order to manage conflicts, the leaders should use conflict management i. e. an amalgamation of different processes that aids in eliminating the sources of conflict and these processes includes negotiation, mediation and diplomacy and dispute resolution or alternative dispute resolution are other terms for conflict resolution. Motivational techniques Empowerment It facilitates the process of making choices and translating these choices into decisions by enhancing the choice making abilities of involved individuals and groups. As a result of this empowerment, individual and collective assets are created which are crucial to the efficiency of organizational and institutional development which controls the utilization of these assets. (Schein 1993) Equity theory This is all about how satisfied an employee is regarding the distribution of resources. The theory was proposed by John Stacy Adams in 1962 and he said that employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs and the outcomes. Everyone expects to be fairly treated and this keeps them motivated to stay in an organization. This theory is basically based on the ratio of inputs (contribution made by employees) to the outcomes (behaviors and contribution of the employees). This theory would be useful for Cool Sounds because it describes the relationship between the level of motivation that an employee has and the way he receives equitable or inequitable treatment. This relationship is basically between the employee and the employer. With this, the issue to comparison arises as what the employees do is that they compare their input and outcome with that of the others. The inputs mainly are the time the employee gives to accomplish a task, his expertise experience and skills, etc. however, the outcomes are the monetary compensation such as the benefits the employees receive and likewise. Therefore, it can affect the morale, efficiency, productivity, and turnover of the employees at the organization. Furthermore, there are certain assumptions of this theory when it is being applied to a business. For instance, if an employee expects a fair return for her contribution and by comparing her input and outcomes or is not being fairly treated. This comparison is called social comparison and this discourages the employees badly and if the management does not work on it and the result of this would be that the employees will start distorting their inputs as well as the outputs. Therefore, the organization must ensure that they take care of all this in future. Expectancy theory This is basically about choice and the way in which people make choices. It is a motivation theory and was proposed by Victor Vroom. In this theory, the level of motivation of the employees is expected to rise when they put more efforts to do the tasks they are assigned to do and this makes them do better work and this leads to organizational rewards that are valued by the employees. Two things that the expectancy theory emphasizes is the self-interest of the rewards that the employees want and how the employees behave with reference to it. According to this theory, the behaviour of the employees is a result from conscious choices among alternatives. The sole purpose of this theory is to maximize pleasure and reduce the pain involved in completing a task. This theory is based on three concepts that results in motivation. 1. Valence – this is what an employee prefers for a particular outcome and the employee must be motivated to prefer to attain an outcome than the idea of not attaining it. 2. Instrumentality – the extent to which a first level outcome leads to the second level. . Expectancy – Probability that an action will lead to the first level outcome. Therefore, Cool Sounds must use proper reward systems making sure that the performance of the employees is measured properly. WORK AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS As the store would be divided into various sections that must function effectively, some work activities need to be analyzed. For this, it is important for the leaders to plan out things for each department efficiently and motivate the employees of the respective department to perform well. The development needs of an employee can be identified by doing performance appraisal and it would also help to identify the effectiveness of the activities. Performance Appraisal Performance appraisal is done for the purpose of promotions. It is the assessments of an employee’s performance. It serves for administrative and developmental purposes. Administrative purpose provides information for making salary, promotion, lay-off decisions and documentation. Developmental purpose can be used to diagnose training needs and career planning. Cool Sounds appraises its employees because feedback and coaching based on appraisal information provide the basis for improving day-to-day performance. (Perlmutter, Bailey & Netting 2000). Results Appraisal Cool Sounds should appraise its employees’ performance. Results appraisals tend to be more objective and can focus on production data such as sales volumes or profits. Management by Objectives A process in which objective set by subordinate and supervisor must be reached within a given time period. This is another name given to â€Å"Results appraisal. † Aim of MBO. Cool Sounds must use MBO to achieve a set of goals that is clear, specific and reachable, and when managers want to empower employees to adapt their behavior as they deem necessary in order to achieve desired results. The standard of performance at Cool Sounds should be based on job analysis after which performance standards should be notified to its employees. (Morgan 1997). Managers and Supervisors Cool Sounds should also use its managers and supervisors as a source of appraisal information because they are often in a best position to observe an employees performance. Internal and External Customers Cool Sounds should use its internal and external customers as sources of performance appraisal information and it is a good idea for employees to evaluate their own performance. 360-Degree Appraisal Cool Sounds should also use multiple sources of appraisal to gain a comprehensive perspective of one’s performance because each source of performance appraisal information has some limitations, and different people may see different aspects of performance. 60-degree appraisal is beneficial and would be accepted by employee if not linked with increments. (Frappaolo 2006). Performance Appraisal Interview Employees want to know how they are doing, but typically they are comfortable about getting feedback. Cool Sounds should conduct performance appraisal interviews thoughtfully and must summarize the employees’ specific performance, and then supports the employees who are not performing well and appreciates those whose performances are good. Conclusion. Therefore, it is essential for Cool Sounds to take care of the employees they select and recruit because the employees serve as an asset of an organization and so it is a must for them to retain them as well. Moreover, they must also manage the teams well and good leadership skills are essential to make the employees work well. Conducting performance appraisal is also necessary as it can help Cool Sounds find out the level of performance of the employees and how they can further improve their performance. (Lewis 2003).

Expresso Espresso Essay

The specialty coffee industry had seen steady growth for years and the trend was expected to continue until at least 2015. Of the various segments within the specialty coffee industry, most of the growth was attributable to beverage retailers â€Å"Coffee and kiosks†. In 1979 there were approximately 250 specialty coffee retailers. The number quadrupled by 1989 to approx 1000 outlets, and it exploded to roughly 15000 by 2002. Nationally, specialty coffee sales totaled over $ 10 billion in 2005. For specialty coffee beverage services, including coffee, espresso, tea, chai and granite the leading drinks in 2004 were espresso-based beverages with average with an average of $50395/store. The second best selling drinks were drip-brewed coffee beverages at $ 333336 / Store, and the third were cold and iced coffee beverages with an average of $22061 / Store. b- The Industry According to the national coffee association, 54 % of adults in America consumed coffee daily, with over 18 % buying specialty coffee beverages. Specialty coffee buyers were generally more affluent, well educated, and worked in urban areas. Research indicates that individuals with college degrees purchased almost 50 % more specialty coffee more than those without college degrees. The link to education was even greater for people with some postgraduate education. In addition to education, households with two working parents and kids were more likely to purchase specialty coffee. Accordingly the market was an educated urban resident with disposable income to spend on fine coffee. 1- Rival of competitors Starbucks cooperation was the premier coffee retailer in the USA. Industry analysis generally credited it for popularizing specialty coffee and legitimizing higher drink prices. Starbucks expect revenues to grow 20 % / year and to increase its dominating 40 % market share. Starbucks has strong profits and cash flow that it planned to use to open company owned and licensed stores domestically and abroad. Diedrich coffee roasted and sold various brands of coffee through company retail stores and through  distributors, restaurants, mail order, and specialty stores. It is a company with revenue of 52.5 M in 2005 with growth 3 % more than 2004. Caribou coffee went public in 2005 reporting sales of $ 191 M in 2005. The firm expects to add 40 new outlets in 2005 and another 130 in 2006. Coffee Beanery was a franchise; with over 200 branches in 2005 expect 40 new stores in 2006. Peet coffee & Tea was another competitor with 111 retail stores. Also there were large restaurants trying to fin d ways to capitalize on the specialty coffee industry i.e.: Macdonalds, Krisspy, Dunkin, Donuts †¦.. 2- Threat of substitute product As mentioned above, the specialty coffee industry had seen steady growth for years and the trend was expected to continue. 3- Bargaining power of Suppliers There is no mention of suppliers in the case 4- Threat of new entrants Entering the market requires heavy investment in establishing a name and make lots of outlets. It is a growing market with lots of pioneers that can make branches anywhere and threat the other chain in there selling areas. 5- Bargaining power of buyers There is a threat of bargaining power of buyers as there is a lot of competitors, which give the choice to convert from one chain to another. Moreover, chains are working strongly in the promotion, price, opening branches everywhere, developing the product, and cares regarding quality. It is a hard competition. c- The Organization The specialty coffee industry had seen steady growth for years and the trend was expected to continue until at least 2015. Of the various segments within the specialty coffee industry, most of the growth was attributable to beverage retailers â€Å"Coffee and kiosks†. In 1979 there were approximately 250 specialty coffee retailers. The number quadrupled by 1989 to approx 1000 outlets, and it exploded to roughly 15000 by 2002. Nationally, specialty coffee sales totaled over $ 10 billion in 2005. For specialty coffee beverage services, including coffee, espresso, tea, chai and granite the leading drinks in 2004 were espresso-based beverages with average with an  average of $50395/store. The second best selling drinks were drip-brewed coffee beverages at $ 333336 / Store, and the third were cold and iced coffee beverages with an average of $22061 / Store. d- The marketing strategy 1- Product Todd tried to remain the purist in developing his product. He preferred to make fresh drinks from Espresso instead of drip-brewed coffee although it is less cost. Expresso menu offered traditional European style which is half caramel and half chocolate. Todd was following starbucks new product developments since people use to come and ask him for the same. i.e.; green tea cappuccino, iced tea, spiced cappuccino, pumpkin cappuccino and eggnog cappuccino. In addition to traditional coffee drinks, the shop also sold teas, smoothies and muffins, lemon bars, cookies and brownies. Todd did not present sandwiches or soups. Also he presented retail items such as T-shirts and coffee mugs with humorous coffee related sayings on them. 2- Prices Todd went looking at everyone else’s prices. He made sure that his prices were 10 % lower than any competitor. He believed that having a low price was important in attracting new customers. 3- Promotion Todd offered product with prices 10 % less than competitors as he thinks it is more direct than using a â€Å"buyer cards† used by competitors. He says to customers â€Å"Our prices are already 10 % lower than everybody so I am giving you a discount now† Other promotion, Expresso Espresso advertised on the local radio station that Todd believed it had a strong student’s audience. In addition the company placed ads in the campus. Flyers typically showed the menu and contained a 10 % off coupons. Another promotion idea , Todd was having live music. Band play was on Fridays and Saturdays nights during summer. 4- Publicity Todd created a policy whereby he would give away all tips. A huge coffee cup sat on the front counter with a sign indicating the charity of the week. Todd would collect whatever people chose to give and pass it on to good cause. The local paper considered this approach so novel that it ran an article on the practice. Customers had the opportunity to help others as they treated themselves. This had a considerable Feel good value for those participating. e- Primary Problem The specialty coffee industry had seen steady growth for years and the trend was expected to continue until at least 2015. Of the various segments within the specialty coffee industry, most of the growth was attributable to beverage retailers â€Å"Coffee and kiosks†. f- Secondary Problem There is a huge competition, and competitors such as Starbucks and other big companies are getting outlets everywhere expanding to get a higher market share. Expresso Espresso got another competitor â€Å"Satori Coffee House† half a mile away, also Carpe Diem is another competitor near to it, third one is Daily Gring which is very near to the University of South Alabama, Beaners is a franchise operation competing with Expresso Espresso. Perhaps the competitor that worried Todd the most was Starbucks. It is located in the busiest road in Mobil, which announced plans to build a drive through store on old shell road about 400 feet east of Expresso Espresso. Todd was concerned that Starbucks would take customers from Expresso’s drive through window. g- Alternative Solutions The importance of complete the order within 45 sec. for the drive through. The consistent of serving high quality drinks, although the expensive ingredients they put but better taste. The kitchen should support making items like breakfast foods and sandwiches; expected spending on kitchen development can increase by 30% of fixed asset. The expected increase in sales would be from 15 to 20% as of the increase in the current market. Todd must start work in financials to understand what sales he need to reach profitability. Keep invest in advertising and PR.

Marketing to children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing to children - Essay Example For many years now, television advertising aimed at children has not been allowed in Swedish terrestrial television because of its perceived negative impact on children. Just recently, McDonald’s has been under attack for its seeming lack of responsibility in luring children into buying their â€Å"unhealthy† Happy Meals by offering it with toys. O’Brien states that McDonald’s has been accused of â€Å"deceptive marketing to children† (2011). Today, all over the world there are calls to totally ban all forms of advertising to children. There are many opposing views presented to support whether or not advertising to children should be eliminated. Advertisements that are unethical are those that do not involve getting the parents’ consent (Smith, 2010). Using cartoon characters in advertisements are intended specifically to target on children. These are the advertisements that can easily manipulate children. Smith identified four elements that can indicate that the advertisement is aimed at children are the music, images, voices and colors (2010). Most advertisements directed to children use special effects in presenting the products. These are the factors which usually captivate children and capture their attention. These special effects cloud the real idea and use of the products being advertised (Bjurstrom, 1994). What makes it even more unethical is if it is placed in publications read by children alone or advertised in children’s television shows or displayed where there are lots of children. Other advertisements directed to children that are unacceptable are those that make children think that they are infe rior if they do not possess a wide range of new products. (Clay, 2000). These advertisements do not promote the right values to children, instead distorts their values and encourage materialism at an early age. Impulsive buying may be a long-run effect of these unethical advertisements. And since most brands being advertised are those that cost more, children become more drawn to the expensive stuff rather than to the reasonably-priced items which most of the time do not advertise (Business Mantra, 2010). One major concern why some parents are fighting for the ban of advertising is its negative effects on the eating habits of children. Since most products being advertised on television are mostly food items which are low in nutritional values and with a high content of sugar, salt and cholesterol, it negatively influences the food preferences of children. In defense of McDonald’s advertising to children, its CEO Jim Skinner asserted that they have the right to advertise freel y and it is the parent’s responsibility to choose what their children eat; that is, the company serves â€Å"a balanced array of quality food products and provides the information to make individual choices† (O'Brien, 2011). This defense by McDonald’s is often the argument articulated by most companies to justify their advertising geared towards children. Their excuse is that it is the parents’ responsibility, not the advertisers or the companies who commissioned the advertisement. A problem posed in advertising to children is its tilting of the power balance principle of marketing (Smith, 2010). To be ethical, the advertisement must adhere to this principle which states that the scales should not favor either the consumer or the marketer. Directing the advertisement towards children who are very vulnerable means tilting the scale in the marketer’s favor, which is abusive and not fair. There are moral issues involved in advertising to children. Fir st, children are very naive and trusting that advertising can influence them unduly (Bjurstrom, 1994). According to Bjurstrom, children lack the experience and the capacity to decipher the messages that they receive in advertisements; thus, may view it as exerting pressure on them to buy (1994). Children are at a stage called proximal development where

An Appointment Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

An Appointment Letter - Essay Example In this paper we have to write an appointment letter to client recommending a contract type for a rural housing scheme and the reasons for the choice, for writing the letter we must assume some data i.e. we know the client and asking for an appointment and discussing the contract, therefore it is a Formal letter and the it is from an Architectures office to a client discussing about a Rural housing scheme in England. I refer to your letter/ our conversation [delete as appropriate] of the [insert date] regarding my Appointment as architect for the respective project. I request you to accept the proposal of this project as it will be a profitable project for you. Please consider the following points which will help you in taking decision. Land Availability: Land is available at a very affordable cost in that particular area, keeping this in mind we can buy land as much as we need or more than that, which will help us in future for different purposes. Availability of Raw Material: Raw m aterial is easily available in that particular area and it is also at an Affordable cost and as much as we require at the time we require it. Availability of labor: Both skilled and Unskilled Labor is available, who can operate machines we require for the construction. Easy placement of the design of the project: Even complicated designs can be made on the particular area, which is one of the biggest advantages.... area, which is one of the biggest advantages. Another important point that we should keep in mind is the availability of land and the importance of developing a rural area, as the land is available at a reasonable and cheap cost and the site is easy to build, so we can construct our own markets (Super Market, Shopping Complex, whole sale and Retailers shops of different house hold needs etc...) in that particular area which will be helpful to the locals living that particular and it will also be profitable to you.It is all together an Affordable housing Land supply, it is will prove to be a very good project as for the shortage of housing in rural areas. As the great majority of rural developments is small scale, it is likely that after development cost will be increase and it will be profitable. Finally the nature of Affordable housing development in rural areas is important. I once again request you to except the proposal of this project as it will be really profitable to every one included in this project and I hope the above points will be helpful to you in taking decision. I have written the terms and condition which will apply to the project are those set out in the ______ Condition of Engagement for the Appointment of an Architect (CE/99), two copies of which are enclosed. They are completed in accordance with the terms we discussed and negotiated with you on an individual basis. I should be pleased if you would check that you are entirely happy with them. Please consider the following conditions: 1. The law of the contract will be the law of [insert the relevant law, e.g.

King Arthur Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

King Arthur - Essay Example Geoffrey also translated an ancient book titled â€Å"History of the Kings of Britian†, which was most likely highly elaborated upon in his hands. This was the first work to cover the life of King Arthur in much detail. It was taken as truth until around the 17th century. Modern historians trace much of the content of Geoffreys â€Å"History† to Celtic mythology and other Breton writings, as well as some historical works tying the content back to actual events of the time period. â€Å"Life of Merlin†, another of Geoffreys writings, was both written and placed into the timeline after â€Å"History of the Kings of Britian†. However, since Merlin appeared in the original â€Å"History† as well, his role was made more mythical by extending his lifespan to an impossible degree. Geoffrey did this in order to make the events in â€Å"Life of Merlin† and â€Å"History† agree with each other, even though it is most likely that the Merlin from â€Å"History† and the Merlin in â€Å"Life of Merlin† were two different people. As a reward for his work, Geoffrey was first named Bishop of St. Asaphs and then Archbishop Theobald. However, he was unable to fill this role well due to the Welsh revolution that was taking place. In addition, he died shortly after being named Archbishop, and was never really able to enjoy being elected to the position. I selected this reading because it is more interesting for me to learn about real historical figures and the background of the stories than it is to study the life of characters that never existed. Geoffrey of Monmouth is the man responsible for the popularity of the Arthur stories we know and love today; this alone makes him worthy of further study. This reading attempts to be as historically accurate as is possible. There are probably errors, given the scarcity of records that remain about Geoffrey of

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods for Dissertation

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods for providing near real time traffic information - Dissertation Example TOMTOM Company: Traffic Navigation System: Navigation system holds most significance in the present day lives of people allowing them to obtain information on traffic congestion and road safety, targeted towards reducing the negative effects of traffic problems. Navigation systems are owned particularly to obtain high quality information on traffic routes and in destinations that are unfamiliar for the drivers. Navigation systems provide the owners and drivers with suggestions on which route would be safer and suitable for them to reach to a particular destination (SWOV Fact Sheet – Safety effects of navigation systems 2010). TomTom Company provides its customers with a TomTom navigation device that allows them to obtain traffic updates on the screen of the device. Mobile phones of individuals can be connected with these devices. The company can keep a track of where these people are exactly moving and thus provide them with the accurate traffic updates on the location where t hey are present at a particular time. Other quality traffic information sources are used along with the availability of this device thus making the real time traffic information being available more effectively. ... One of the advantages of the navigation tool is that it provides road safety by allowing owners and drivers with suggestions to choose the most suitable route. This reduces the exposure of the users to dangers. With suitable route being suggested, the travel time also gets reduced. Users have to search less for the suitable routes on their own (SWOV Fact Sheet – Safety effects of navigation systems 2010). HD Traffic real-time traffic information is the basis for the navigation tool offered by TomTom. GPS and GSM systems are the fundamental concepts of the system that allows reliable information on traffic to the users of the navigation tool (White Paper – How TomTom’s HD TrafficTM and IQ RoutesTM data provides the very best routing n.d.). However a disadvantage of the tool is that adjustment of the tool needs to be done by the owners and doing this while driving is a risky task. However the overall mental stress and effort of the users reduce with the use of a na vigation tool. Moreover, traffic problems are reported to users at early stage so that they can avoid congestions and problems related to road traffic on their routes. However during certain times, information provided by these tools might be incorrect, particularly if the road maps on the tools are not updated regularly. Wrong information leads to wrong decision making in terms of choosing any particular route. Another major disadvantage of the tool is its dependency on categorization of roads which makes it difficult to determine which questions on the desirability of road categorization considering the safety on the roads (SWOV Fact Sheet – Safety effects of navigation systems 2010). GOOGLE Company: Google Maps, Traffic Sensors, and Crowdsourcing: Google maps, traffic sensors

Aviation Security and al Qaeda in Yemen Case Study

Aviation Security and al Qaeda in Yemen - Case Study Example This pragmatic and preventive practice had been discontinued. An illustration of this change was the failure to interrogate the Christmas Day bomber. This individual had been provided with a lawyer and informed that he was entitled to remain silent (Thiessen, 2011, p. 133). Aggressive interrogation of terrorists is essential for obtaining information about future terrorist attacks. Consequently, the Obama Administration’s reluctance to engage in such interrogation has rendered the nation vulnerable to terrorist attacks. There is a major lacuna in the strategy of the US. It relies upon Yemen to assist it in identifying and neutralizing al Qaeda terrorists. However, the Yemeni government employs, harbors and relies upon these terrorists for political support and perhaps even its very existence. There is a marked reluctance among the Yemeni authorities to wage a serious war against the al Qaeda terrorists, who reside in their country (Rollins, 2010, p. 12). It was discovered by the National Commission on Terrorists Attacks Upon the United States that the weaknesses inherent in the aviation security system had been used by the al Qaeda terrorists to conduct the September 11 attacks. Some of the weaknesses identified by this commission were first, a preliminary screening process that concentrated upon identifying likely aircraft bombers (Elias, 2004). However, this process had ignored potential hijackers. Second, slipshod screening at checkpoints and the prevalence of permissive rules with regard to small knives. Third, the absence of in-flight security measures, such as the presence of air marshals and reinforced cockpit doors. Fourth, the adoption of a non – confrontational strategy, across the industry, while addressing hijackers. Fifth, the absence of capabilities and protocols for executing a synchronized Federal Aviation Administration and military response to suicidal hijackers and multiple hijackings (Elias, 2004).  

Global Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Global Marketing - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that organizations, which are operating in any industrial sectors including in the sector of Information Technology (IT), would want to expand their operations into foreign territories due to various factors. That is, organization could think about entering foreign markets if they have achieved optimal success in the home market, or due to heightened competition or saturation in the home market, or due to good opportunities in the foreign market, etc, etc. Whatever is the motivation for the firms to enter foreign territories, it is paramount on the part of the organization to study the foreign market in an in-depth as well as extensive manner. Various factors will be at ‘play’ in those foreign markets, and those factors will either aid the entering organization or will pose a major challenge to the organization. These factors will be visible both in the macro as well as in the micro environment of the organization. In the macro -environment, factors including political, social, cultural, economic, etc., could impact the entering organization. In the micro or in the immediate environment of the firm, market factors including competitors, recent trends, etc., will impact the organization. After analyzing these factors, the firms have formulate a set of objectives, so they have can have a clear path, regarding what to achieve and how to achieve those objectives. The next key process is analyzing the various entry modes and finding out the best entry mode. The firms should also plan out the marketing strategies that have to be implemented in the entering countries before-hand, so they can aptly reach their products or services to the intended customers. All these key processes will be applicable to our software development firm as well. Our company is a medium sized software firm developing software for applications in many sectors particularly electronics and communications sector. In our home operations in U K, we have around 2000 employees working in our various offices in number of cities. We are achieving optimal success and good profits in the UK market, but still some competition is emerging. Although, we can aptly fight the competition, with the intention to grow further, we are looking at foreign expansion. So, after achieving great success in the UK market, our firm has decided to broaden our horizons and target, initially the two foreign markets of Brazil and India. This report will first do an environmental audit of both the countries through the PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces tool, and by focusing on the market as well as the competitors. Secondly, the report will set the SMART global marketing objectives for going international, then will discuss about the entry modes, finally ending with the discussion about the marketing strategies that has to be implemented for optimal success. Environmental Audit Every market or country including Brazil and India has certain uniq ue or common political, social and economic conditions, along with different clients’ base, consumer behaviour and competitors. These distinct aspects could aid as well as impede the organisations’ entry into that particular market as well as the resultant success. So, understanding and analyzing these aspects behaviour in relation with the product or service is a key necessity. Based on this analysis only, the marketing strategies need to be formulated, so that organisation can reach maximum customers, entice them and importantly build long-term relationship, thereby retaining them. As the above mentioned country specific aspects need to be mainly analyzed in relation with the product that is going to be launched, the product’s profile should ‘fit’ with the consumer of that particular market. Although, it applies to all product range, it is of utmost importance to the firms dealing in the IT sector. So, from the above understanding, it is clear tha t, the macro and the micro environment for the software firms as well as the consumer behaviour in the Brazilian and Indian market has to be analyzed, based on

The Level of Legal Immigration Essay Example for Free

The Level of Legal Immigration Essay In recent years, a political battle had been in the center of a very heated and controversial debate is the battle of immigration. Terrorism, the drug war, and the national deficit have all fueled interest in a long dormant debate. According to the United States Census, â€Å"immigration will propel the U. S. population total to 438 million by 2050†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Haub). The Hispanic population alone will exceed to an estimated 100 million, which subsequently is in relevance with the over 60 percent of immigrants coming from Mexico. Proposals have recently been put through by the  President and House of Representatives to deal with various aspects of illegal immigration, varying from amnesty for existing illegals, guest worker programs, deportation, fines for unpaid taxes, stricter border enforcement, and so on. However, very little attention has been given to legal immigration. Yet since this nation has become more and more ethnically diverse than it has ever been in decades, immigration is in general good for the country, therefore, it should be an acceptation for America to have this so-called â€Å"melting pot† grow more by increasing the level f people that are allowed to enter the country and work towards citizenship. Legal immigration should increase to benefit the improvement of the overall image of America intentionally, as it is seen as an openly welcoming country; immigrants who return home or maintain contact with family back home have a true image of America, not the one propagandized in much of the intentional media. It’s no secret that the United has a very unfavorable image around the world. Most American citizens are proud of their country and are happy to be here. So why do people have such an unfavorable image aboard? What percentage of the people in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that have been sampled in these favorability opinion polls do others think have actually been to the United States for any significant amount of time? Think about it, for those that haven’t lived here, their opinion of America is based almost entirely on the media. Thus, the socialists, communists, and propagandists that dominate the international news media may be the most responsible for America’s image. This problem can be alleviated by allowing more people to enter the country. Real people can see what it eans to have freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom to publish and assemble. They can see our diversity and our shunning of those who lack tolerance. They can sample our sports and entertainment. They can meet for themselves the â€Å"evil Americans†. As more people return home or communicate with loved ones, people around the world will increasingly learn what a great country we have. Decreasing or eliminating legal immigration will inevitably create more incentive to come to the country illegally, which leads to less assimilation and fever taxpaying, law-abiding itizens. Many individuals have only one true hope for a better for themselves or their children – emigrate to America. The enormous number of immigrants in this country show that they will try to get here whether or not there are laws to stop them. Illegal immigrants must hide their identities. Thus, they aren’t going to be attending American schools, filing tax returns, or doing other things that typical Americans do. Plus, if they’re already breaking the law by being here, what’s to prevent them from breaking other laws we have? Legal immigrants, especially those ho plan to stay permanently, must pay taxes and are more likely to attend school to learn history, English, and a marketable skill. Since they don’t have to hide, they are more likely to assimilate with other Americans and adopt the culture. Lastly, they can eventually earn the right to vote and participate in our political process, meaning they can develop a decision-making stake in the future of our country. Furthermore, the increase of legal immigration in the U. S. gives struggling people all over the world and opportunity for a better life. This country was built on immigrants who ought opportunity as well as political and religious freedom. At some point in this debate the American people need to set aside the question of whether it’s good for this country and look at the point of view of the immigrant. Imagine you were in a place where you could be stoned to death for practicing your religion. Imagine you got paid the same regardless of how hard you worked. Imagine you were unable to study for a new career or start up your own business. Imagine you were forced to rely on government rationing of food to scratch out a living. Imagine the only access to medical care was physicians with only a few months of training who lacked vaccines and basic medical equipment. Would you want to live the rest of your life like this? Would you want your kids to live their whole lives like this? In speculation, most people, if given a choice would take the risk in coming to America to achieve something better. This country was built and has grown on the backs of such people. In the end, the government is highly responsible for keeping immigration reform more of path to greater and more lucrative opportunities for those entering this country with proper documentation. More importantly, they should make sure they give background checks to each immigrant to make sure he/she does not have ties to any terrorist organization (most especially al-Qaeda) in order for this great country to be a safe-haven environment. With the increase of jobs in America, many of those should be more accessible to newly naturalized citizens. It’ll be a shame if Americans still make strong accusations against immigrants for stealing their jobs.

Literature Review on the Employer-Employee Relationship

Literature Review on the Employer-Employee Relationship BACKGROUND The Employer-Employee relations is no doubt an enormous topic in Human Resource Management that covers key areas of Employment relationship, Collective Bargaining, performance and reward management also Employee involvement which help to determine the nature of organisational commitment and performance. The employment relationship aspect deals with the role and influence of law which determines the rights and responsibilities/rules that govern the behaviour of both employer and employee which has an impact on how relationship works out. However in recent years newer concept have emerged in Human Resource Management that has considerable changed relationship that was formally dependent upon interaction of formal legal regulations.(Beardwell and Claydon 2007) Collective bargaining is a situation where representatives of both parties come together to negotiate on matters relating to pay, terms of employment and working conditions, in recent years there has been a shift from the traditional collective bargain to a more individualised method of bargaining.(Henderson 2008). Performance and reward management relates to the use of individualised pay, performance-related pay and performance management. This factors determines behaviour in terms of motivation, communication and level of commitment.(Beardwell and Claydon 2007) Employee involvement is a form of employer-employee relations that allows more participation of the employee in organisational decisions, this is when employees can influence decisions that are normally reserved for management(Marchington and Wilkinson 2008). Employee relations is characterised by both conflict and cooperation, Marchington and Wilkinson (2008) described the management of employee relations as being vital to the success or failure of an organisation and it is seen as central to Human resource management. (Dawson 1995)acknowledged that the achievement of organisational objectives depends upon employment relations, evidence from (Limerick 1992)suggests that individual empowering should be consistent in the event of strategic change. Considering the competitive nature of industries and technological advancement, the importance of employer-employee relationship becomes more critical, reason being that to meet constant changing needs of consumers, effective human resource management becomes very crucial in achieving business success. I am an MBA (General Management) Student and I am interested in this topic because as a future General Manager/business owner I want to have a better understanding on the effective ways developing positive employee relations, also to have an idea of the factors that motivates employees, how strategic objectives can be achieved through effective communication with employees? I am basing my research on a multinational company. The greatest asset of an organisation is considered to be the Human Resource and the greatest challenge of an organisation is how to manage these human resources efficiently and effectively so as to achieve set objectives of the organisation, my research objective will be to stress the importance of employer-employee relations, because in the UK the relationship is considered to be an employee to do a particular job in return for wage or salaries for the work they do and this goes beyond mere work for pay. PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE For the purpose of this research, my focus will be on the impact of employer-employee relations on key areas of Collective bargaining, performance and reward management which places emphasis on motivation and various reward systems, also emphasis will be placed on employee involvement and participation in the context of organisational commitment, all these variables constitute to the achievement of organisational objectives. The literature review will be divided into four parts A brief history and Definition Theoretical and Empirical literature Benefits of mutual employer-employee relations Employer-employee relations within the UK including Ford A brief history In the early 70s the relationship between employers and employees in work place was more of a collective relationship which involves collective bargaining where representatives of both employer and employees meet to negotiate on matters relating to pay, terms of employment and working conditions, representatives of employees are known as trade union(Henderson 2008). Organisations were encouraged to recognise and work with trade unions so as to improve the employment rights of workers through collective bargaining(Marchington and Wilkinson 2005). However, in the early 1990s, countries like UK where trade unionism were highly recognised witnessed a significant decline in trade unionism, employee relations changed from the traditional collective method of bargain to a more individualised method as a result of increase in sophisticated HRM style initiative in communication, participation and recognition(Henderson 2008) (Edwards 2003) described the relationship between employer and employee as a system where both parties have common and divergent interest, this is a situation where employer and employee communicate their requirement and views to one another in terms of agreement on work related issues. Theoretical literature (Newell and Scarbrough 2002) posed different dimension on how organisations handle issues of employee relation and on this basis four management style have been suggested: Sophisticated human relations: employees are viewed as the most valuable resource of the organisation, emphasis employees appraisal and extensive method of communication aimed at enhancing employee loyalty and commitment. Trade unionism is discouraged. Many US companies adopt this style. Consultative approach: this is similar to the first approach only those trade unions are recognised. This style is mostly found in the European countries such as Germany Traditional style: employees are seen as a mere factor of production, it represents the Taylors management approach. Unions are opposed. Constitutional style: this is similar to the traditional style only that unions are recognised and accepted. It limitation above theory is that different management styles can be used in the same organisation for example the sophisticated human relations style can be used when managing managers while the traditional style when managing other employee(Newell and Scarbrough 2002). Considering theories that relate to performance and reward management, motivation theories like the Maslows hierarchy of need, his theory identifies five levels of needs. Level 1- physiological needs like food, water and comfort. The organisation provides financial reward. Level 2-safety needs: the organisation provides this by benefits. Level 3- social needs: the organisation satisfies employees social need through social gathering. Level 4-esteem needs: the organisation helps to satisfy employee esteem needs by showing employees appreciation of work done. Level 5:self-actualisation needs: deal with self needs, discovering individuals full potential(Beardwell and Claydon 2007). Researchers have often criticised this theory following the proportion that there is no clear relationship between needs and behaviour. Alternatively Alderfers ERG theory suggested that needs could be classified into three instead of Maslows five; these types of needs are existence, relatedness and growth. He rzberg identified two factors based on his research namely motivators and hygiene factor(Beardwell and Claydon 2007).Several other theories of motivation will be examined in my dissertation. Besides motivation, modern theory in employee participation known as employee engagement was defined by CIPD 2007 as the combination of commitment to the organisation and its values that goes beyond job satisfaction and motivation. This can be linked to psychological contract which will be later discussed extensively, but this has to do with a stronger emotional attachment between employer and employee that helps in attracting and retaining employees(Henderson 2008) The concept of soft model HRM throws light to the positive attitude created from the use of appropriate HRM practices together with communication, motivation and leadership enhances commitment to the organisation and improved performance (Guest 2002). while the Hard HRM model emphasizes on the effective utilization of employees, ensuring that HRM strategy are driven by overall corporate strategy(Keenan 2005). Empirical literature In a research carried out by (Edgar and Alan 2005) they stated that effective HRM policies and practices should be measured by their perceived quality, not simply by the number of practices introduced. Another important issue raised by (Mac Mahon 1996) is that, even in small firms where the need for improved productivity is very important, reward systems was rarely tied to productivity and performance, and also conflict between employer and employee tend to be rare rather conflict was apparent on a personal level. (Savolainen 2000)also linked employer-employee relations with the aspect of leadership and suggested three development strategies: 1)Trust building or participative strategy, 2)The entrepreneurial cooperative strategy, 3)Negotiative strategy. Findings also revealed how organisation change or move towards a new workplace and the role of line managers. Another research suggest that the effective communication of information and ideas to employees should be developed through practice and commitment, findings also revealed that organisation should assess current culture to desired objectives and as a result new attitude often needs to be acquired by both employer and employees(Owusu 1999). In the work of (Dawson 1995) evidence suggest that human resource strategy has shifted focus of job design to career development, skill development which enhanced employee involvement. From my findings I have discovered that most research on areas of employee relations have focused more on the impact of HRM practices on employee performance, however few researchers have worked on employee relations and how it affects organisational commitment and performance, the justification for this research is to shed more light on the impact of this relationship and how it can be improved to enhance organisational performance. I have decided to look at a car manufacturing company (Ford motor company). Benefits The mutual relationship between both parties increases motivation which in turn leads to increase productivity and profit maximization. Estenson (1999) describes employer-employee relations as a key ingredient in the implementation of quality improvement(Savolainen 2000). Furthermore, (Sadri and Lees 2001)said a positive relationship between both parties could lead to a competitive advantage over other firms in the industry and also provide enormous benefits to the organisation. Employee Relations within the UK and Ford Motor Company In the early 1990, the Workplace Industrial Relation Survey reported a decline in trade unionism in the UK, which was replaced by employee involvement in form of line managers who were responsible for HR activities(Henderson 2008). Thus some empirical research in Britain confirmed a key role of line manager in handling human resource activities notable in areas of employee relations(Redman and Wilkinson 2006). Finding of Hamill pointed out that a lower percentage of US owned plant in the UK recognized unions also that US owned company were more likely to have implemented individualized pay(Eric and Jonathan 1995). Ford is the biggest selling motor company in the UK with several large plants located in the UK. Ford Britain and its dealers employ around 35, 000 people in areas of product development, manufacturing, sales and marketing and service departments. However in recent times Ford launched a diversity strategy which has helped to them embrace the new employee relations in Employee engagement(FORD MOTORS COMPANY 2009). RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following question and objectives are based on findings from the background and literature review. Should employers embrace employee involvement and participation? Does mutual relations between employer and employee lead to organisational commitment? What is the relationship between organisational commitment and organisational success? Apart from pay, how else should employers reward performance? Should employees be involved in setting organisational objectives? RESEARCH OBJECTIVES To critically analyse how positive employer-employee relationship can impact on organisational success. To critically evaluate the benefits of employee involvement in setting organisational goals and objectives. To critically analyse how different management style can impact on employee behaviour in terms of motivation and commitment. To critically evaluate the relationship between employer and employee in Ford Motors company and how it affects their performance. To recommend ways of improving employer-employee relations to achieve higher productivity and profit maximization. RESEACH PLAN Research perspective According to (Jewell 2008)states that the positivist approach is based on the experiment and desire to establish causality between variables. However the positivism aspect of this research is to establish a relationship between employer-employee relations and the achievement of organisational objectives. There are two variables namely dependent and independent variables, the independent variable here is the employer-employee relation and the dependent variable is the achievement of organisational objectives. Both quantitative and qualitative research will be done through primary (from questionnaires) and secondary data. Both deductive and inductive reasoning will be used. Research Design My research design will be a case study design which entails an extensive analysis of a single case. This would be an analysis of Ford Motor Company. Data collection Method Data will be collected in dept from different sources; I will use two different sources of data collection methods: Secondary and Questionnaire. Secondary Data: This will be collected from existing sources such as textbooks, articles, internet, and journals. Access to these Data will be done through the universitys online databases such as Science Direct, Emerald and the Internet; this will address the first three research objectives. However secondary data will limit to fully address the fourth objective that is why primary data will used. Questionnaire The fourth and fifth objectives of this research is to seek information from mostly employees of Ford Motor Company on how they are being treated by employers and how it affects their performance, this will be best achieved by a the use questionnaire. Questionnaires will be distributed to over 300 people and I expect a rate of return of 30-40 %. My questionnaire will be brief so as to achieve this. However access to respondents will be achieved through a family friend in London whose friend is an employee in fords manufacturing plant in Dagenham, London. I have contacted him and he has decided to help with the distribution of the questionnaire bureaucracy Sample A Quota sampling method will be employed for my questionnaires because I wont be able to send questionnaires to all the employees of Ford, so the study will be based on a small percentage of employees mainly in the engineering department of the company and my findings will then be generalized. Analysis of Data For the questionnaire I will use excel to present a descriptive and presentational analysis for data collected. The level of analysis will be more bivariate which will allow me analyse two variables together. Limitations The first limitation will be the generalisabilty of my research because it is a single case study and I will focus on a small percentage of a large population of Ford employees in the UK. The second limitation will be the validity of my research work; I will make sure I go through the literature of my study frequently so as to guard against data not relevant to my research. The third limitation will be the response rate and collection of questionnaires; in order to keep the response rate high like 40% more questionnaires will be distributed. Concerning reliability to the research, I will try to ensure that a result of the research is replicable in future. Another limitation might be that employee might be reluctant to disclose some information about their employers which might affect the reliability of the research. Ethical Considerations Research ethics I have read and understood the BES ethics students handbook, and i will comply with the BES ethical guidelines and complete the ethics compliance and checklist forms. All documents regarding ethical approval will be submitted. Results from surveys will be kept confidential and safe. In addition I will seek approval of my questions for my questionnaire from my supervisor, also the reason and intended result for the research will be explained in front of the questionnaire. Plagiarism As for plagiarism, I understand what it means and the consequences, I will make sure I cite and acknowledge the work of others. REFERENCES Anon. (FORD MOTORS COMPANY 2009) Ford Motors Company [online] [NOV. 11, 2008] Beardwell, J. and Claydon, T. (2007) Human Resource Mnangement: A Contemporary Approach. Essex: Pearson Education Limited Dawson, P. (1995) Redefining Human Resources Management: Work Restructuring and Employee Relations at Mobil Adelaide Refinery. International journal of Manpower 16, (5/6) 47-55 EDGAR, F. and ALAN, G. (2005) Human Resource Management Practice and Employee Attitude: Different Measures- Different Results. PERSONAL REVIEW 34, (5) 534-549 Edwards, P. (2003) The Employement Relationship in the Field of Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice in Britain. Oxford: Blakwell Eric, L. and Jonathan, M. (1995) Multinational Corporation and Employee Relations. Glamorgan Business School, Glamorgan: MCB University Press Guest, D. (2002) Human Resource Management, Corporate Performance and Employee Well Being:Building the Worker in Human Resource Management. Industrial Relations 44, (3) HENDERSON, L. (2008) Human Resource Management for Mba Students. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development Jewell, S. (2008) How to Write a Research Proposal. Coventry Keenan, T. (2005) Human Resource Management. Edinburg: Edinburg Business School Limerick, D. (1992) The Shape of the New Organisation: Implication of Human Resource Management. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 30, (1) Mac Mahon, J. (1996) Employee Relations in Small Firms in Ireland: An Exploratory Study of Small Manufacturing Firms. Employee relations 18, (5) Marchington, M. and Wilkinson, A. (2005) Human Resource Management at Work. london: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development Marchington, M. and Wilkinson, A. (2008) Human Resource Management at Work. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development Newell, H. and Scarbrough, H. (2002) Hrm in Context: A Case Study Approach. New York: Palgrave Owusu, Y. (1999) Importance of Employee Involvement in World Class Agile Management Systems. International journal of Agile Management systems (1/2) 107-118 Redman, T. and Wilkinson, A. (2006) Contemporary Human Resource Management. Pearson Education Sadri, G. and Lees, B. (2001) Developing Corporate Culture as a Competitive Advantage. Journal of management Development 20, (10) 853-859 Savolainen, T. (2000) Towards a New Workplace Culture:Development Strategies for Employer-Employee Relations. Journal of Workplace Learning 12, (8) 318-326

Rethinking The Deterrence Theory Criminology Essay

Rethinking The Deterrence Theory Criminology Essay With much popular appeal, the concept of deterrence has been widely accepted and understood, by judges and parliamentarians alike, to be a central tenet in the principles of sentencing and the wider penal system in England and Wales. Significantly, section 142(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 expressly enjoins sentencers to take account of deterrence as one of the purposes of sentencing when determining what and how severe the appropriate punishment in a given case should be. In practice, as deterrence is widely perceived by judges, not only in the English and Welsh jurisdiction, but also elsewhere in the common law world, as a primary means through which to afford public protection, in many cases involving adult offenders, precedence has tended to be given to deterrence over other considerations in the interest of the community.  [3]  Nevertheless, tensions are palpable between deterrence and other sentencing aims.  [4]  The question of, for instance, whether punishment s hould be an end in and of itself, or whether it ought to be understood as a facilitator of the ideal of offender rehabilitation, remains in the front line of critical discourses into sentencing in the contemporary era.  [5]  Thus, it has become increasingly necessary to deliberate upon the worthiness and value of deterrence not only in the context of sentencing but also to the purpose of the entire penal system. Within this context, the following essay will proceed by first providing an overview of the paradigm of deterrence within the broader framework of the contemporary penal system. It will then attempt to identify and question the moral and empirical underpinnings thereof. Further, it argues that from a criminological or sociological perspective, efforts to achieve deterrent effect, in particular where the individual offender is concerned, are in large part counterproductive. Finally, this essay observes, whilst arguing that deterrence as a penological theory is morally and empirically unsound, that it would be impractical to assume that deterrence will be abandoned altogether in English sentencing law in the near future. Rather, the more prudent and reasonable way to approach the matter would be to continue to observe the constantly evolving concept in an era of significant social, cultural, political and economic change. In conjunction with other penal theories, elements of deterrence will appear to remain a highly influential sentencing tool. Exposition of the deterrence theory Deterrence is one of the oldest paradigmss in the history of criminological and jurisprudential inquiry. As early as in the early eighteen century, the primary purpose of state imposed punishments was said to be the reduction of crime, by means of terrifying [potential offenders] into obeying the law.  [6]  The punishment of prison and the deterrence it brings about, by the relinquishment of the fundamental freedoms, were onceived of as the best means of reducing offending in modern society  [7]  . Johnson defines the verb deter as to discourage by terror, to fright from anything.  [8]  Deterrence can also be defined as including two separate aspects, depending on the class of people being directed at, namely individual (specific) deterrence and general deterrence.  [9]  Translated into judicial language in the specific context of sentencing, a Hong Kong judge, HHJ Ching Y Wong SC, drew the distinction thus: A deterrent sentence may be in personam [that is, individual] or in rem [that is, general]. Normally if the circumstances that pertain to an offender are such that the court is of the opinion that it must be brought home to him that he is not to commit such offences again, for example, a repeat offender, a deterrent sentence  in personam  is proper. When an offence is, inter alia, so prevalent or is so serious within its class, and the court is of the opinion that those of like minds are to be strongly discouraged from committing the same or similar offences, then a deterrent sentence  in rem  is called for.  [10]   In simpler terms, specific deterrence is directed at the offender in question and is expected to prevent her from reoffending by the imposition of punishment; general deterrence, on the other hand, focuses on the public at large, and prevents potential offenders from engaging in criminal conduct in the first place.  [11]   With its roots in the classical and utilitarian thinking of crime,  [12]  the deterrence theory is often compared to a cost-benefit analysis performed in the economic field.  [13]  Underlying the theory is the assumption that all offenders, and potential offenders, are by nature rational, the hallmark of their actions being the pursuit of maximum pleasure and minimum pain. It follows that, as offenders choose, rationally and voluntarily, to commit crime, they respond readily to the perceived costs and benefits of their actions.  [14]  As Lundman explains, If their calculations suggest that perceived benefits will exceed possible costs, then rational [offenders] commit [crimes] in anticipation of enjoying rewards. However, if these calculations lead [criminals] to conclude that costs will exceed rewards, then the rational course of action is to seek gratification in ways other than [criminality].  [15]   In other words, if the calculation of the consequences of offending leads to the conclusion that there is more to be lost than there is to be gained from committing crime, the potential offenders should be naturally deterred.  [16]  Thus, within the utilitarian framework criminals are invariably errant, though still rational, individuals whose perversity or anti-social self interests serve to offer some perceived benefits of offending.  [17]  It is in this light that Bentham passionately argues for the usefulness of deterrence, on the ground that the threat of punishment is the force employed to restrain [possible offenders] from commission of crime, from which the pain of punishment might result.  [18]   Underlain by these ideas of rationality and self-interest, for deterrence theorists there are certain qualities necessary to an effective deterrent punishment. As Newburn elaborates on these qualities first enunciated by Beccaria  [19]  , punishment must come with certainty and be enforced consistently, and that it does should be acknowledged by the offender; there must be celerity in the law, with punishment coming as promptly as possible, in order that both the public and the offender himself could see the relationship between the punishment and the offence as inevitably causal; and finally, it must be properly proportionate to the crime, namely one that is relatively mild and moderate and inflicts pain just exceeding the advantage derivable from the crime.  [20]   Moral problems with the deterrence theory An emphasis on deterrence often leads to a harsher sentence than the offender would otherwise be deemed to deserve.  [21]  The Court of Appeal has held, relying on the Strasbourg jurisprudence, that the legitimate object of deterrence can, in appropriate cases, amply justify such sentences.  [22]  It seems apparent that in such cases the sentencing aim of deterrence can be paramount. Whilst weight would, in theory, have been accorded to the interests of the offender, where the alleged crimes are considered as threatening the wider community, the utilitarian theory of deterrence demands that individual rights and proportionality, in its narrow sense, subsume under the societal interests.  [23]   Young is critical of this judicial use of deterrence as a sentence enhancing factor.  [24]  He argues, not unconvincingly, that the theory is arguably inconsistent with fundamental notions of justice.  [25]  Indeed, why a persons liberty need be sacrificed for the educational impact it will have on others is a legitimate question to pose. This concern has been shared by del Vecchio, who emphatically stated that the human person always bears in himself something sacred, and it is therefore not permissible to treat him merely as a means towards an end outside of himself.  [26]   A more fundamental moral weakness of the notion of deterrence pertains to the coherency of its ideological premise rationality. As in the analysis in Part I, deterrence has traditionally built upon the premise that individuals will desist from reoffending because of the fear inherent in the discipline and punishment meted out by the state. In a moral sense, then, a semblance of common reasoning is central to the application of the utilitarian understanding of deterrence. Yet, as the famous philosopher John Rawls persuasively argues, there is no reason to assume that our sense of justice can be adequately characterised by familiar common sense precepts or derived from the more obvious learning principles.  [27]   It seems indeed somewhat simplistic to assume offenders as rational beings before or in the course of committing a crime. As the Home Office rightly conceded in 1990, offenders very seldom weigh up the possibilities prior to their conduct and typically do not act only after on rational premeditation.  [28]  In many instances criminals need to take their decisions hastily. Two young males fighting in a public street, for example, are unlikely to have ever thought about the consequences of their actions in the heat of the moment.  [29]  Moreover, as Cornish and Clarke argue, the decision-making process of offenders is remarkably limited in their understanding of possibilities, potentials and consequences.  [30]  For instance, most petty criminals are often badly informed about the criminal liability, let alone the penalties, associated with the crimes they commit.  [31]  As a result, even accepting that offenders are rational, it would be difficult, if not impossible, f or offenders to have accurately balanced the costs and benefits of the commission of the criminal act.  [32]   The weakness becomes even more obvious in the case of such rarer but usually more horrendous crimes as those involving violence, the offenders of which are characteristically not reasoning. Hudson plausibly argues that crimes of such kind are usually committed without a prior careful calculation of risk.  [33]  Most killings, for instance, are not rationally planned, but are impulsive and driven by strong emotion.  [34]  In other instances, such are crimes that involve intentionality where offenders commit crime regardless of the risk.  [35]   Interestingly, probably comprehending the moral difficulties existing therein, English courts have rarely invoked deterrence as a standalone ground for an otherwise disproportionate sentence. It is often relied on in conjunction with other penal theories. Deterrence has, according to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, customarily been recognised as the twin of punishment.  [36]  Thus some commentators have gone further in contending that, in fact, punitiveness resides in the epicentre of the contemporary penal policies supposedly informed by the utilitarian principles of deterrence.  [37]  For them, the current political discourse and policy initiatives [blame] the offenders, [silence] excuses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and [see] the punishment of the wrongdoer as the proper response.  [38]  Deterrence, then, has not been upheld on any principled basis, but has rather been reduced to a morality that has to be upheld whatever the functional benefits.  [39]   As a result, from a philosophical perspective, classical utilitarianism upon which the theory of deterrence is based would seem quite unable to do justice to the mode in which many of our actual ends matter to us.  [40]   The epirical (in)validity of the deterrence theory It seems fair, to say that the empirical literature examining deterrence has not yielded enormous success different studies often tend to contradict each other, on occasions directly and completely.  [41]  Some evidence suggests that swift punishments do not abate the incidence of subsequent crimes any more than delayed punishments, owing to the cognitive capacity of humans to imagine.  [42]  More research efforts have been put into the consideration of the other two aspects of deterrence. By and large, there is some evidence, albeit anecdotal in one way or another, showing that certainty of punishment has a greater deterrent effect than does severity of punishment.  [43]   However, even this is more than what Radzinowicz and King have been prepared to accept. They quite sensibly argue that, more precisely, it is the certainty of detection or intervention, not of punishment, that is the more crucial element in deterrence.  [44]  Lending support to this view, commenting on figures in the United States, Cornish and Clarke suggests that offenders are more likely to be put off by the immediate fear of exposure and being caught, as opposed to the threat of some penalty relatively remote in time.  [45]  Thus it may not be any surprise when Gough concludes that deterrence should only be a minor consideration, if occupying a role to play at all, for the purposes of sentencing.  [46]  What is needed, in Goughs opinion, is tougher enforcement and targeted strategies that increase detection certainty, rather than any toughening of sanctions. On the other hand, there is a more critical view that the reduction of crime in these studies cannot be ascribed to deterrence. What have been influential might well have been the incapacitating effect of the punishment or other myriad variables quite apart from the risks of punishment, including the motive for the crime, the strength of the temptation, the strength of inhibitions or moral revulsion against it.  [47]   In any case, all these studies, deriving as they do from crime statistics, must be interpreted with caution, whether they be supportive or dismissive of the deterrence principles. After all, there are no such things as empirical truths as such.  [48]  In determining whether or not deterrence should be regarded as being beset by empirical difficulties, the entire discussion would prove moot if one does not appreciate the problem of interpreting crime statistics in the first place. Notoriously, any organised way of understanding about crime, criminals and crime control framed in definitional and empirical terms is intricately problematic.  [49]  Ultimately, criminality is a natural by-product of such industrial, capitalist experience as economic growth, the easier availability of social opportunities, and the increased recognition of individual liberties.  [50]  It is essentially a social construct, varying as it does across time, place and people.  [51]  Viewed from such a perspective, deterrence is but part of a means devised by the state to statistically manage the social problem of crime.  [52]  Put in this wider social and political perspective, the extent to which deterrence is, just as punishment, thought to be a fundamentally important social theory inescapably reflects the broader political economy of the urban society in which one lives.  [53]   As such, although crime data and criminal statistics are ostensibly transparent and open manifestations of offending patterns, to divorce the quantifiable empirical data from the broader politicisation of crime would be an unrealistic exercise provided the complex settings in the modern liberal democracy such as this country, in which crime, sociology and political economy are inextricably intertwined.  [54]  Doubts have therefore historically been cast onto the verity of the official figures with the most pessimistic criminological interpretations suggesting that crime statistics are universally doctored, and thus of limited worth to the understanding of the relationship between crime, the state and punishment.  [55]  In the final analysis, imagining crime figures as being free from bias would be to ignore the tension between broad generalization and the specification of empirical particulars,  [56]  and the interpretation thereof will inevitably entails an overly object ive view of an inherently subjective phenomenon.  [57]   The anti-deterrent effects of punishment: a criminological perspective Some criminologists do not merely dismiss deterrence as unconvincing, but have gone further in arguing that, quite far from producing the intended result, fear of punishment might sometimes lead directly to the commission of crime. It is possible that a criminal who has already offended, but not yet apprehended, feels that they have little to lose from further offending, because they have to be punished anyway. As Taylor cites as a striking example, at some point in the last century, a substantial minority of unmarried women in Scotland have been driven to commit infanticide exactly because of the fear of being publicly humiliated as a punishment for adultery.  [58]   For those who have been apprehended and punished, further offending behaviour is still not impossible under the labelling theory, under which criminality is to be thought of as a quality created inevitably when punitive sanctions are applied to behaviour considered to be offending.  [59]  The offender takes on a criminal identity when he is labelled as such by a range of social reactions, including and following the imposition of an official sanction, which has the effect of isolating her from society.  [60]  Her opportunity to live by legitimate means whilst being labelled criminal would quite conceivably be reduced considerably, and resort might then have to be had to illegitimate ways of life. In this way the label is dramatised to the extent that it becomes entrenched and internalised.  [61]  In this light, the labelled, stigmatised and socially isolated, have to accept their status as criminals and rebuild their lives accordingly, leading to a greater degree of devia nce.  [62]   In this sense, punishment within the context of deterrence may in truth be counterproductive in reducing incidence of recidivism.  [63]  With all the negative social interactions that punishment entails, a sentence which speaks to the deterrence of the individual offender appears to reinforce the self-prophecy of criminality, render reintegration into the conventional world difficult, and a criminal career almost inevitable.  [64]  Thus punishment with a deterrent element may ironically result in the promotion of the kind of activities that it is designed to prevent. Conclusion: Abandoning deterrenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦or not? Deterrence has for the most part been discounted as an effective and justifiable approach to sentencing by academics, in particular criminologists, who are often more willing to consider the causes in addition to the consequences of criminal activity.  [65]  However, the popular appeal of the notion as a commonsense approach to sentencing appears to persist to this day. Given the important case of Attuh-Benson,  [66]  it seems unlikely that attempts, however able and sincere, to bring the criticisms levelled against the usefulness of deterrence before the courts would be of any avail. There the Court of Appeal forcefully pronounced that [i]f a different approach is to be adopted it should be in response to guidance from the Sentencing Guidelines Council who may wish to consider this matter.  [67]  After all, it is important to bear in mind that the way in which the state responds to criminality has always constituted an inexorably divisive conundrum with hardly any consensus as to what ought to represent a just punishment.  [68]  And sentencers, even those of the eminence and seniority of the Lord Justices of Appeal, will understandably consider and defer to the legislative objectives set forth in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, one of those being deterrence. Indeed, according to established principles of the common law, this is not an ar ea in which the court should, in the words of Borins DCJ, sitting in the Canadian Supreme Court, pass on the wisdom of Parliament.  [69]  As such, discourses of deterrence are likely to remain a distinguishing feature of the English sentencing policy, as in elsewhere in the world. (4172 words) Table of cases: Canada: Ciccone  (1974) 7  SASR 11  October, 113 Guiller (1985) 48 CR (3d) 226 Luxton  (1990) 58 CCC (3d) 449 Smith (1987) 34 CCC (3d) 97 England and Wales: Attuh-Benson [2004] EWCA Crim 3032 Bieber [2008] EWCA Crim 1601 Brown v Stott  [2001] 2 WLR 817 Holloway  (1982) 4 Cr. App. R. (S) 128 Howells  [1999]  1 All ER  50 Sargeant (1974) 60 Cr App R 74   Zampa  (1984) 6 Cr. App. R. (S) 110 European Court of Human Rights: Ezeh Connors v. United Kingdom  (2004) 39 EHRR 1 Hong Kong: AG v Tang King-ming  [1986] HKLR 211 HKSAR v Hiroyuki Takeda [1998] 1 HKLRD 931 Secretary for Justice v Ma Ping-wah [2000] 2 HKLRD 312