Climate Change: A Greenland Perspective Essay -- Global Warming Envir

Climate Change: A Greenland Perspective Works Cited Not Included Climate change is the alteration of temperature and precipitation patterns over an extended period of time. Across the globe, scientists are identifying climate change in relation to the greenhouse gas emissions and solar cycles. While most researchers believe that the increase of atmospheric CO2 is effecting global warming, others are endorsing the concerns of another Ice Age, which is likely to occur due to orbital variations of the Earth. In his article, Abrupt Climate Change, Richard Alley titles one section, ?Chilling Warmth,?15 which perfectly describes the angst of many people who foresee a deadly warming trend, and also the paradox of global warming causing another ?Little Ice Age.? These competing discourses are extremely pertinent to the country of Greenland, which is at the forefront of the climatic change debate. Greenland and other Arctic countries continue to be at the head of the discussion on climate change, whether due to melting ice caps, or advancing glaciers. Our understanding of climate change across the world has been possible due to Greenland?s ice cores; proxy records, such as O18 dating, reveal atmospheric air temperatures at which the sheets of ice were formed.16 Oxygen in the ice cores can also reconstruct the history of precipitation. Greenland remains a critical story teller of cooling and warming trends, since the 1990s, when scientists first started to extract from the gigantic sheets of ice.17 Scientists who view increased CO2 emissions as directly related to a warming climate are radically concerned for the outcomes of warming oceans, rising sea levels, and higher precipitation levels. For example, in an article for Nationa... ...ric air temperature, but in contrast to Amos? belief that Arctic temperatures in Greenland have decreased by 1.29 degrees Celsius, since 1985, Peter Spotts of The Christian Science Monitor, documents a seven degrees Fahrenheit increase in Alaska, western Canada, and Russia over a fifty year period.33 From the research that I have conducted, I have realized how integral Greenland is in the dialogue on global warming and abrupt cooling; furthermore, I recognize that climate change needs to be of global concern, not only to scientists, but to the government and all citizens; every regional climate change in the Northern Hemisphere directly influences temperature and precipitation in the Southern Hemisphere. We are all connected, and it is imperative that humans intervene and become aware of how their environmental choices may affect biodiversity around the world.

What I Expect From a University Education Essay -- Essays Papers

University Education Expectations "Sarah Dalton...," I heard my name called. My new professor requested that I stand up to present my speech, and the entire class turned to focus on me. With my hands shaking and body trembling in fear, I made my way to the front of the room. I could feel 30 strange pairs of eyes burning into me like hot needles, and the first words of my professor reverberated in my head. "This isn't high school. You're a college student now!" I stared back into my new classmates' faces, and it finally hit me. I was now at a point in my life where I could make my own decisions. This inspired me to further contemplate my realization. I began to ask myself, "Now that I'm in college, what type of education do I expect from SOU in terms of a higher education?" My thoughts eventually focused on three main points: professors should present themselves as equal guides and learners, rather than simply dictating information to passive learners; students should have the ability to learn in an unprejudiced envir onment; and the university should provide opportunities for ind... What I Expect From a University Education Essay -- Essays Papers University Education Expectations "Sarah Dalton...," I heard my name called. My new professor requested that I stand up to present my speech, and the entire class turned to focus on me. With my hands shaking and body trembling in fear, I made my way to the front of the room. I could feel 30 strange pairs of eyes burning into me like hot needles, and the first words of my professor reverberated in my head. "This isn't high school. You're a college student now!" I stared back into my new classmates' faces, and it finally hit me. I was now at a point in my life where I could make my own decisions. This inspired me to further contemplate my realization. I began to ask myself, "Now that I'm in college, what type of education do I expect from SOU in terms of a higher education?" My thoughts eventually focused on three main points: professors should present themselves as equal guides and learners, rather than simply dictating information to passive learners; students should have the ability to learn in an unprejudiced envir onment; and the university should provide opportunities for ind...

Role of Marketing Staff

The Role of the Marketing Staff DONALD R. LONGMAN Business management [S increasingly dependent upon marketing to gain enduring competitive advantage. This article describes the rich opportunities for success presented by a change rn the approach to marketing stafF work and acquisition of professional personnel for it. GREAT DEAL has been written in recent years about the marketing concept. We may expect to see much more; for competition in American industry is increasingly centered in marketing-. This is a substantial change from the situation only a few decades ago. Success then hung on creative skill in evolving substantially new types of products, new production processes, new efficiency systems. Each step forward in these areas produced relatively strong and enduring competitive advantages. This is much less true today. Mass training of skilled research and development men and of production engineers, increased mobility of manpower, and mass communication at the professional level have all served to spread technological know-how with amazing speed. Competitors employ research men and engineers of parallel training, professional contact, and skill. If one company's team seems relatively inept in the competitive battle, it is still possible to call upon a superior group of consulting engineers for help while a new team is being built. Under these conditions, competitors quickly identify and match successful innovations made by any company in their field. They may even improve on the original innovator's ideas. It would be vain to suppose that even such corporate giants as Esso, U. S. Steel, or^ General Motors could gain and hold for long a major competitive advantage in product or manufacturing process. Indeed, it has become common practice to grant licenses to competitors on a royalty basis, thus removing technical innovations as a basis of competitive advantage in the market. Competitive Opportunities It^ is this comparative equality in production skills that is forcing a shift in the weight of competition to marketing. Marketing is still a relatively unexplored area. Our customers are so many, so scattered, and so nonhomogeneous in nature and in demands that they are difficult to understand. We are not even sure how we can best serve them economically and efficiently. Changes are still commonplace among big, well-established companies in such basic elements as channels of distribution, discount systems, warehousing arrangements, and service policies. Such changes grow as much out of uncertainty and insecurity m marketing decision as out of changes in the market itself or m marketing institutions. Marketing offers a rich area of opportunity for competitive advantage, richer today than that offered by any other phase of business. But if a company is to seize this opportunity, a lot has to be done. 29 30 Journal of Marketing, July, 1962 Requirements for Efficient Marketing 1. A Sound Understanding of the Market First, it is essential to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the market itself. This is a matter of getting the facts, completely and accurately. One has to know the exact size of the market and its geographical distribution. One must know who make up the market, the numbers and kinds of people. Where do they buy, in what quantities, how often, why? What products are available for them to choose among? What are their characteristics, their prices, tbeir patterns of distribution? What are the products used for, what satisfactions do they provide? Why is one brand chosen over nother; and why do people change in their choices? There is so much that needs to be known, and known well. How else can we think constructively of the marketing process until we have a solid grasp of the facts, a sure sense of perspective? The truth is that little effort to think constructively about marketing was made during the decades when competitive success was estab lished by production efforts. Systematic collection and analysis of marketing facts have been undertaken, even by the largest and most progressive companies, only during the last fifteen or twenty years. Indeed, the evolution of marketing, research may serve as n index of the shift in competitive pressure toward marketing. We possess today the tools and techniques for acquiring quickly and efficiently almost all the basic data necessary to provide executives with a sound perspective in marketing. Yet marketing research is still inadequately utilized; there is ample room even now for a company to gain major marketing advantages over competitors simply by superior knowledge of the facts of the business. The 10,000 professional marketing research men today are probably not a third of the number we may expect when marketing has been developed to a peak of fficiency comparable to production. 2. Innovation The second requisite to superior marketing lies in innovation. There is no progress in acceptance of routine, in copying competitive practices, in turgid operation. Indeed, in the fiuid environment of marketing, with changes in policies, practices, and procedures borne no more of creative thought than of uncertainty, the well thought out, tested innovations may prove extremely rewarding. We must be prepared to consider alterations, often radical changes, in methods and policies. We must become creative, cultivating a flexibility of mind that seeks and considers ew approaches. We must be prepared to reexamine the basic premises upon which our policies rest. We must begin to ask the fundamental questions and to fix them in our mind, looking, looking always for new answers. There exists a unit expected to devise and explore new ideas in the production area. It is supposed to suggest innovations, to challenge current practices. It is staffed with men of imagination, men of specialized education, men whose minds are constantly stirred and challenged by contacts with ba sic research scientists in our universities, foundations, and government units. They are in continuous ontact with other professionals throughout the country, often in other countries, and are constantly stimulated by the ideas and exploratory efforts they encounter in a wide variety of industries. They are Research and Development men. There is no comparable unit in marketing, even in companies whose marketing costs far exceed manufacturing costs. The nearest marketing pai'- allel'is to be found in advertising agencies. These owe their independent existence to the very fact that creative imagination and innovation are obviously essential to advertising; and even the largest advertisers do not provide in their marketing rganizations a climate conductive to high quality creative work. But the advertising agency is concerned fundamentally with only one of many marketing activities. It is not well equipped to serve as the creative arm for the entire marketing function. It is not paid e nough to do the job; nor is the company advertising manager who works with the agency so positioned in his own company that he could spark the creative effort for the entire Marketing Department. This means that a new and different unit is needed to function within the company itself. It must be staffed with men of creative minds, trained n seeing and exploring possibilities not clear to others. They need to be observers of marketing in all of industry, stirred and challenged by professional association with creative men in universities, consulting firms, everywhere that pioneering thought g-oes on. They must imagine, synthesize ideas, experiment systematically. They may be engineers exploring the application of operations research to warehousing. They may be psychologists studying the foundations of sales- †¢ ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Donald Longman is Vice President and Director of Research for the J. Walter Thompson Company, New York. He is President f the American Marlteting Associ ation and Chairman of the International Marketing Federation. In earlier years Dr. Longman was a university professor and a government executive. He has held senior positions in business in both line and staff capacities. He is the author of a number of books and articles. The Role of the Marketing Staff 31 men's or dealers' morale and motivation. They may be marketing researchers probing ways to break old consumer buying habits and build new ones. They may be systematically testing consumer responses to a range of product styles, flavors, or scents. They must be the Marketing R and D. . Scientific Approach to Decision Making The third major requisite to superior marketing lies in hard-headed, scientific decision making. This requires a solid grasp of the facts of a business through research and through experience. More important, it requires imagination, perceptiveness, thoroughness, objectivity, analytical skill, and emotional stability. Few people acquire all these traits in the normal course of their lives; our marketing executives today introduce large portions of emotion, hunch, habit, and haste in their judgments. But needed qualities can be developed as a matter of explicit training. In increasing measure they are being developed in the best of our Schools of Business. Decision making is extraordinarily complex in the marketing field. When decision is required between alternative policies or procedures, it is necessary first to grasp fully and completely the exact nature of the alternatives and all their implications. It may seem simple, for example, to select a brand name for a new product; but this is only true for one who does not know both the values and dangers in a name. A name can convey a sense of quality, lend itself to easy recall, facilitate effective advertising, express values to be received in use; n sum, it can secure a privileged competitive position to its owner. Or it can be easily ridiculed or played upon, fail of copyright, be subject to confusion with other names, and so on. In truth, there are scores of facts to consider in selecting names, a wide variety of criteria to employ in judgment. There is a lot at stake. If this is true of names, i magine how much more true this is of issues concerning pricing, packaging, discount systems, employment and motivation of salesmen, advertising themes, and so on and on. Each issue must be studied objectively, its implications uncovered. All the facts relevant to ecision must be marshalled. The possible effects of alternative courses must be weighed. Experimentation or testing may be considered. This is the slow, arduous, but hard-headed and scientific approach to decision making. This is the way to confident action, desirable any time but mandatory when significantly new, creative innovations are put into effect. Those of us privileged to have close contact with marketing management over the past twenty years have seen a slow but steady progress toward this kind of decision making. Arbitrary, hasty, â€Å"seatof- the-pants† decisions based on hunch, enthusiasm, nd personal preferment for the individual advocates of one course are becoming less common. Yet there remains much room for improvement in decision making today. 4. Efficient Administration The fourth requisite to marketing success lies in efficient administration—the daily execution of policy and practice, the employment of facilities and men, the operating job. This is the field of marketing performance, so obviously necessary that it could not be overlooked. Here the need is for inspiring leadership of men, operating drive, astute supervision of performance in every detail, the building and aintenance of a morale that instills a motivation in the doers of the marketing job. Broadly speaking, marketing can claim credit for superior performance in this area; it has been given thought and attention at a senior business management level. By the same token, it is the marketing requisite least rich in opportunities for improvement and, therefore, least likely to yield a competitive advantage in marketing. The very obviousness of the need for sound administration has tended to obscure the nee d for the other three basic requisites in marketing—a full understanding of the market itself; the development f creative, new ideas or innovations; the making of decisions on a hard-headed, scientific basis. Administration is a big job, involving, the employment and supervision of hundreds, even thousands, of people, as well as the purchase, maintenance, and operation of equipment and facilities of countless kinds. And the huge expenditures for marketing lie under the administrator's control. Small wonder, then, that marketing administration was equated with all of marketing, until increasing competitive equality in other areas forced people to study more seriously the nature of the marketing function. Sound administration is a fundamental component of marketing, but is far from all of it. It is the operation of a gigantic â€Å"machine. † This marketing machine works on the materials provided it, and under the policies and procedures set for it. The machine operator, skilled as he may be in his function, is rarely qualified alone to conceive, test, and decide upon new ideas, on new policies and procedures. He is not an innovator. He is not a researcher. He is not a trained and objective decision maker. These are different problems, requiring skills and training different from his, perhaps even a different temperament. A New Organization of the Marketing Function The slowly growing recognition that marketing management requires much more than administra32 Journal of Marketing, July, 1962 tive skill has led our largest and most progressive companies to bring a new kind of man to the Marketing Vice Presidency. He tends to be more thoughtful, sometimes skilled more in handling ideas than in handling men. He is more objective, analytical, less emotionally involved in his assignment. He has begun demanding research—searching for ideas, thinking of both â€Å"strategy and tactics. † The basic administrative management of arketing, the line operating responsibility, is being delegated to a subordinate General Sales Manager or Director of Field Sales Activities. Concurrently, staff departments in marketing have grown in number and influence. New units have appeared. We now have Product Managers, Marketing Operations Managers, Research Managers, along with the older Advertising and Credit Mana gers. Even Marketing Accounting and Marketing Personnel Managers may serve as members of the Marketing Stafif. Functions and Operation of the Marketing Staff The functions of these several staff groups have not been clearly crystallized as yet. Broadly speaking. , most of them are supposed to study all phases of the company's marketing operations in the area of their specialization; keep the Marketing Vice President closely posted on trends and developments in their areas; check performance efficiency; and recommend policy or procedure changes when they seem needed. Thus, the Product Manager for a particular product keeps closely informed on all competitive conditions affecting his product, observes regional and district sales performance on the product, notes obstacles to sales success, and proposes means of overcoming them. The Operations Manager concerns imself with the supply, maintenance, and efficient performance of all physical facilities, stores, warehouses, delivery systems, etc. As a superior specialist in this area, he advises the Marketing Vice President on ways to improve efficiency and service, and to cut operating costs. The same kind of work is done by the Credit Manager, the Marketing Accounting and Personn el Managers, and the Advertising and Sales Promotion Manager. Collectively, the staff managers cover all the difiierent functions in marketing. When these Departments were set up, it was natural, of course, to staff them with young men ho had proved themselves successful in the company's marketing activities. So, they were drawn from the ranks of the administrators. Generally this is still true, for this is the logical source of men and these jobs are still not clearly enough defined to suggest the need to look elsewhere. But this will change, indeed is in the process of change. It is not enough for the Product Manager or Operations Manager to serve as an observer of operations, to be an administrative second-guesser in a particular area of specialty. This would be a most routine approach to a job, unworthy of senior personnel. Rather, the staff Manager and his assistants must use their advantageous positions to acquire all relevant information affecting their functions. They must assimilate, analyze, and evaluate these data constructively. They must add to this, the stimulus of wide-ranging contact and observation of their industry and of many others. They must cultivate a flexibility of mind inviting new ideas. They must become creative—considering all manner of policies, procedures, activities which can add to marketing opportunities or improve service and increase efficiency. They must develop and explore their creative deas, testing mentally or in the market place those which seem most promising. In handling such tasks, they develop habits of thoroughness and objectivity, making scores of decisions on the basis of a scientific approach. They are truly staff experts— observing, creating, testing, recommending ways of doing their part of the marketing job better than it has been done before . This is the basic job of the Product Manager. Concentrating all energies on the one product or product line for which he bears responsibility, it is his job to conceive new and better ways to market it. His work may lead to recommended product odifications, package changes, price or distribution revisions. He may study advertising, promotion, guarantees, and service, and come up with new recommendations. He is the innovator, the preliminary decision maker, working from intimate knowledge of all relevant facts. The same is true of the Marketing Operations Manager. He is studying the nature and design of his retail outlets, the number and location of warehouses, the packing and order-filling system, the volume and distribution of inventories. He has scores of subjects to study, each offering opportunities for significant improvement. If he can nly conceive a better type of retailing equipment for his stores, a better system of truck scheduling, a finer system of production-distribut ion coordination, he can strengthen his company's competitive position and add to its profits, just as can the Research and Development Manager or the Production Manager. What is true of Product and Operations Managers is just as true of the Advertising, Sales Promotion, and Public Relations Managers. It is just as true of the Marketing Personnel Manager. By use of cost analysis, the Marketing Accounting Manager can make significant contributions to policy on reas of operation, channels of distribution, a quantity discount system, and a hundred other things. We need an explicit, articulated understanding that this is the job of the Staff Manager. We need The Role of the Marketing Staff 33 to recognize formally, and afiirmatively that innovation and scientific decision making is the particular province of these men . . . that collectively they represent a kind of R and D for Marketing. The Staff as Professionals When this is done, we will have a very different set of specifications f or men to fill these jobs. They must possess keenly analytical but highly fiexible minds. They must be imaginative, creative. They must be objective, thorough, trained in the scientific approach to problems. They must know the rudiments of collection, assimilation, and evaluation of data. They must be well informed, with wide contacts in industry and education. In a word, they must be professionals. Broadly speaking, this is the kind of background and training we find most often today in marketingresearch men and consultants. This implies that in time most senior staff positions in marketing will be research positions. After all, research, viewed broadly, is nothing more than the systematic, horough, objective examination of a problem; the orderly acquisition of all relevant data bearing upon it; and the meaningful, creative evaluation of the data in terms of conclusions and recommendations. This is, indeed, what is expected of Marketing Staff Managers. With further passage of time, however, the specific functions of marketing research will be narrowed. Today anyone engag ed in simple fact gathering may be called a research man. Ten years from now, however, the term prohably will be reserved largely for those who by long, and specialized training have mastered the more complex and intricate echniques of research. They will be the specialists in sampling, in operations research, in projective techniques. The Marketing Research Department will not be large, and it will carry out its work on a service basis for all the Marketing Staff Managers. The changes ahead are already very much in the process of being made. Product Managers, Advertising Managers, staff men of every kind are addressing themselves ever more seriously to their Jobs, going farther and farther beyond routine, specialized, administrative observation and suggestion. They are getting into their jobs more deeply han ever, and so they feel impelled to creative and decision making roles. And more and more such jobs are going to research men and to men whose training and temperament commend t hem for a research approach to business. The trend will quicken as there is more widespread specific recognition and articulation of the ultimate character of staff work. MARKETING MEMO We Are Already Living in the Future . . . ^ Are you enjoying your life in 1985? Through no time machine, via no crystal ball, we are, today, living lives accurately predicted by early science forecasters and science fictioneers—but predicted for about 1985. Our age is a good quarter of a century ahead of its time, thanks to developments that would have waited many more years—except for urgent military necessity. Many of us resent defense spending. We begrudge its existence as a necessary waste that helps insure freedom, but yields no tangible return. How wrong we are! Our defense research dollars, aimed at strengthening our military muscle, are pushing civilians toward richer, healthier, safer, more convenient living. It was military money that led to the development of the safety door lock and the low-profile anti-skid tires now on many new automobiles. Military necessity mothered rainwear that remains indefinitely repellent to water, oil. and grease despite repeated laundering and dry cleaning. ^John G. Hubbell, â€Å"Life in 11)85 Today,† reprinted by permission of Quest . . . for tomorrow Magazine, Vol. 2 (Summer, 1961), p. 14. Copyright of Journal of Marketing is the property of American Marketing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Keda Case Analysis Essay

Organization– ERP supports tightly knit collaboration among different departments. Departmental boundaries are replaced by streamline data flows & integrated business processes. Human Resources- Management, department heads, IT staff and users worked as a team. Keda provided high customization across increasingly diverse product lines to meet client needs. Technology- Technology is integrated to support all primary activities. ERP enables flow of information across department, so timely and strategic decisions are made. Purchasing – Technology enabled right estimates and timely access of raw materials. Stocking could be limited Service Customer Service and repair of parts Service Customer Service and repair of parts Outbound IT helped keep track of delivery of customized products and faster financial reconciliation Outbound IT helped keep track of delivery of customized products and faster financial reconciliation Inbound ERP enabled effective inventory management Inventory could be received in timely manner Inbound ERP enabled effective inventory management Inventory could be received in timely manner Marketing & Sales Low percentage of unsold inventory, improved market responsiveness, costing estimates Marketing & Sales Low percentage of unsold inventory, improved market responsiveness, costing estimates Operations Keda has a broad offering spanning industrial machinery for ceramics, stone processing, building Materials & energy resource management Operations Keda has a broad offering spanning industrial machinery for ceramics, stone processing, building Materials & energy resource management 2) Reasons for Keda to embark on an ERP implementation project There was a pressure and incentives from Chinese government to promote computerization in corporations in an effort to catch up with the foreign firms. 3) Inventory Management- Â  Keda’s low volume and high customization across an increasingly diverse product line made it difficult to keep track of the many unique, individual parts. 4) Cost Management – Mess in material management made cost of a product unclear and costing was based on experience. Profit or loss from sale of product was unclear due to mess in material management. Thus pricing of products was difficult. ) Opportunity Cost – Keda struggled to meet demand. It produced much below the market demand. Suboptimal use of resources represented a significant opportunity cost for the company. Reusable materials were scrapped and precious machine time was often wasted. 6) MRP II system – Keda had opened multiple pants. The existing MRP II system could not support multi-plant operations. 3) Critical Su ccess factors and the structures in place ‘Top management support, key users involvement and clear roles and responsibilities between IT, consultants and staff were critical success factors’ and central to the initiative’s success. The implementation team was built taking into account the roles and responsibilities of all the employees of Keda. Top management were responsible for critical decisions, key users supplied the actual data, IT staff used this data as requirements for the process design, managers and department head acted as intermediaries between users and IT team. The key users were at the core, the consultants acted as coaches and the IT officers provided task support to users and consultants. Vital representatives such as departmental managers and essential operational staff possessed comprehensive understanding of the operations and needs of the department. Top management would provide overall project direction and make critical decisions; consulting support would be provided by personnel from Digital China; project managers would be assigned from both KEDA and Digital China; departmental representatives would oversee the business process design and system design aspects; and the IT department would provide all necessary technical support. Each ERP system module was assigned an owner from the associated department, who was fully responsible for the workflow and operational details of the module. The key users ensured that the system’s design correctly reflected business practices, and they also played a crucial role in training users within their respective departments. Manager from each department worked closely with the IT department. Determined team effort was a beneficial and essential part of project success. Involving all the stakeholders helped limit resistance and endless changes once the system went live.

What’s Make an Effective Hrm

Course Study Guide Part 1: Course Info 2012–13 International HRM INDU1130 Contents 1. Welcome3 2. Introduction to the Course4 2. 1Introduction and Rationale4 2. 2Aims4 2. 3Learning Outcomes4 2. 4Learning and Teaching Activities4 3. Contact Details5 4. Course Content6 5. Assessment Details8 5. 1Summary of assessment8 5. 2Assignment one – Group presentation and individual report8 5. 3Assignment two – Essay11 5. 4Final Examination13 5. 5Resit Assessment13 6. Reading13 6. 1Core Textbooks13 6. 2Supplementary Reading14 6. 3Other Sources15 7. Other Details15 8. Feedback sheets15 . Past Exam Papers18 1. Welcome Dear student, Welcome to the final-year course International Human Resource Management. We hope that you will enjoy the course. This course, which is an option for students on the BABM and other programmes, assumes no detailed prior knowledge of the field of human resources management. This course handbook explains how the course is organised and what the assessme nts are. It also lists the lecture and tutorial topics. Tutorials accompany the weekly lectures, and are designed to deepen your understanding of the topic using real-life examples.We expect you to attend all lectures and tutorials, and to do all the prescribed reading (detailed in section six) – generally, you have to read one chapter per week from the course textbook. This course deals with the question how organisations (private-sector companies as well as public sector organisations) manage people, in particular how they motivate employees to achieve the high standards of performance required in today's competitive markets. The course also deals with the wider social, economic, political and historic context within which organisations operate.The course is split into two parts: The first term introduces you to Human Resource Management (HRM), while the second term introduces Employment Relations (ER), sometimes also called Industrial Relations (IR). Both fields are closel y related, but focus at different aspects of the employment relationship (the relationship between employer and employees). HRM focuses mainly at the company level, while ER also investigates the national (and international) levels; and while HRM focuses more on individual employees, ER concentrates more on groups of employees and their representatives, trade unions.Human resource management is both an academic theory and a business practice. It is based on the notion that employees are humans, and thus should not be treated as a basic â€Å"business resource† (despite the name â€Å"human resource management†). HRM focuses on the human aspect of a company and its strategic importance. HRM is, supposedly, very different from traditional â€Å"personnel management†, which is a purely administrative function. HRM is much more than the pure administration of personnel and their contracts (e. g. wages, payment systems, and working hours).HRM deals with topics such a s employee involvement (i. e. giving employees a say at work) and motivation. Employment relations or industrial relations focuses on the wider relations between management and workers, particularly groups of workers represented by trade unions, and the structure of labour markets. Industrial relations can take place on many levels, such as the â€Å"shop-floor† (i. e. at the level of the factory or office), the regional level, or the national level. Governments set the framework for industrial relations through legislation and regulations.The climate and institutions of industrial relations vary considerably between countries, being more â€Å"cooperative† in some (e. g. Germany and Japan) and more â€Å"adversarial† in others (e. g. the US, the UK and France). Again, We hope that you will enjoy the course and find it useful! Good luck! Niels-E. Wergin-Cheek (course leader)and the course team| | 2. Introduction to the Course 2. 1Introduction and Rationale Human resources are being recognised increasingly as vital to achieve competitive advantage, and managing human resources is thus a vital activity.The course introduces relevant concepts and theories in the field of HRM, and will provide students with the knowledge, understanding and key skills required to undertake human resource management at a professional level. This course is aimed at those students on generalist business and management programmes (in particular BABA and BABM students) in the Business School who have not previously studied any specialist HR courses. The course focuses, as much as possible, on comparative and international aspects of HRM. 2. 2AimsThis course aims to outline the background and the main theoretical frameworks for the study of HRM; explain the historical context in which HRM is located; and introduce the broad functional areas of HRM, its organisational responsibilities, and how they interact. Rather than focusing solely on the situation in the UK, read ings, examples, and case studies from a variety of countries will be used, highlighting international diversity, allowing students to compare the role, activities, and institutional frameworks of HRM in different national contexts. 2. 3Learning OutcomesKnowledge and understanding of: * reasons why human resource management is a vital part of organisational success, * main theoretical frameworks used in HRM, * broad activities of HRM such as resourcing, reward, performance management, training and development and employee relations, * policies and practices in these key areas of HRM that are available to HR managers, * best practice in these areas and the business reasons for them, in particular the role of employee involvement and participation in motivating and empowering employees, * the ways in which these areas are interconnected, the external and internal factors which potentially have an impact on these four areas, * the strategic integration of the main HR functions into corp orate strategy, * international and comparative aspects of HRM (†¦) 2. 4Learning and Teaching Activities The course supports the student in an independent learning process in which teaching is interspersed with reading and information gathering. Students are encouraged to relate key theories within the subject field to practice at workplace level. Lectures introduce and familiarise the students with the main issues surrounding the course.Tutorials contain a combination of tutor-led and student-centred activities. The latter will be used to enable independent learning with students collaborating in groups. Activities include the discussion of videos, case studies and other readings, as well as group discussions, role plays and presentations by students. 3. Contact Details Name | Room| E-mail | Phone | Office Hours| Le Quyen Thuy Trang| | [email  protected] com| +84-903 148 548| | 4. Course Content Abreviations: ch: chapter, wk: week; chapter numbers refer to core textbooks (se e below) Lecturers: Bui Quoc Liem, Le Quyen Thuy Trang | Date| | Topic| | Reading| Block 1| | PART I: The HRM arena and context| | | 1| | Lecture| The nature of human resource management (NW)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Introduction to the course | | ch. 1| 2| | Lecture| The Context of Human resource management (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Oil Tool Inc case study| | ch. 4| 3| | Lecture| Strategic human resource management (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Air National case study| | ch. 2| 4| | Lecture| International human resource management (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| FAEKI case study| | ch. | 5| | Lecture| Restructuring Work and Organisations (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Wolds Insurance case study| | ch. 5| 6| | Lecture| Flexibility (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| ‘Flexibility at Burton Group and Ferodo’ exercise| | ch. 5| | PART II: HRM functions and practices| | | 7| | Lecture| Resourcing I: HR Planning (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Presentation 1: Human Re source PlanningCDX Bank case study| | ch. 6| 8| | Lecture| Resourcing II: Recruitment and Selection (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Short listing exercise| | ch. | 9| | Lecture| Resourcing III: Performance Management, Appraisal (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Presentation 2: Performance Management, AppraisalInsight Communications case study| | ch. 8| 10| | Lecture| HRD / Training and Development (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Presentation 3: HRD / Training and DevelopmentAppoint in Hase, Repent at Leisure case study| | ch. 9| 11| | no class| Reading week| | | 12| | Lecture| Employee Reward (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Presentation 4: Employee RewardCity Bank case study | | ch. 0| 13| | Lecture| Evaluating HRM (PG)| | Bratton,| | | Tutorial| Report surgery session| | chs. 14+15| Block 2| | PART III: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT – STRATEGIC AND GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS| | | 14| | Lecture| Chapter 1: Performance Management and Reward Systems in Context  Ã‚  | | Aguinis| | | Tutori al| Case Study: Good practice in performance management | | ch. 1| 15| | Lecture| Chapter 2: Performance Management Process  Ã‚  | | Aguinis| | | Tutorial| Case Studies:Disrupted links in the performance management process at Omega Inc.Performance Mangement at the University of Ghana| | ch. 2| 16| | Lecture| Chapter 3: Performance Management and Strategic Planning  | | Aguinis ch. 3| | | Tutorial| Case Study: Creating a Strategy and Linking It to Performance at The Gap, Inc| | | PART IV: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT – SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION| 17| | Lecture| Chapter 4: Defining Performance and Choosing a Measurement Approach  Ã‚  Ã‚  | | Aguinis| | | Tutorial| Case Study: Identifying Task and Contextual PerformanceChoosing an Appropriate Performance Measurement ApproachSt. Jessica’s Urban Medical Center Emergency Room| | ch. | 18| | Lecture| Chapter 5: Measuring Results and Behaviors  Ã‚  | | Aguinis| | | Tutorial| Case Study: Accountabilities, Objectives and StandardsT he College of Business at VIP University| | ch. 5| 19| | Lecture| Chapter 6: Gathering Performance Information  | | Aguinis ch. 6| | | Tutorial| Evaluating an Appraisal Form used in higher education| | | 20| | Lecture| Chapter 7: Implementing a Performance Management System  Ã‚  Ã‚  | | Aguinis| | | Tutorial| Implementing a Performance Management Communication Plan at Accounting, Inc. Training the Raters at Big Quality Care| | ch. 7| PART V: EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT| 1| | Lecture| Chapter 8: Performance Management and Employee Development  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chapter 9: Performance Management Skills  Ã‚  Ã‚   | | Aguinis| | | Tutorial| Development Plan Form at Old Dominion UniversityEvaluation of a 360-Degree Feedback System DemoPersonal Developmental Plan at BrainstormWas Robert Eaton a Good Coach? | | chs. 8+9| PART VI: REWARD SYSTEMS, LEGAL ISSUES AND TEAM PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT| 22| | Lecture| Chapter 10: Reward Systems and Legal Issues  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chapter 11: Managing Team Performance   Ã‚  Ã‚  | | Aguinis| | | Tutorial| Case Study: Stryker & Boeing Reward PlansCase Study: Rewards System at H.H. Haley Company| | ch. 10+11| 23| | Lecture| Revision Lecture | | Re-read| | | Tutorial| Exam preparation| | | 24| | no lecture| -/-| | Re-read| | | Tutorial| Exam surgery session| | | | | 5. Assessment Details Your mark for this course is made up from three components: two pieces of coursework (an essay and a portfolio), and the final exam. These components are weighted differently (i. e. some count more than others): the exam accounts for half of your final mark, the essay for one fifth, the portfolio for three tenth.Marks range from zero to 100 per cent (zero being the worst). In order to pass the two pieces of coursework and the exam, you need to achieve at least 40 per cent. If you fail any of these, you might be able to retake the failed piece of assessment once. The assessment will be different from, but similar to the original one. You must follow the instructions given for each assessment, otherwise you might fail. It is important that you hand in both pieces of coursework on time. Late submissions will be marked zero (unless you are granted â€Å"extenuating circumstances†, e. . for being ill; cf. section 7. 2). In order to pass the course, the weighted average of your four pieces of assessment needs to be at least 40 per cent. If you fail the course, you might have to re-take it in the following academic year. 5. 1Summary of assessment Assessment Title| Weight towards final grade| Pass Mark| Due Date| Group presentation and individual report (HRM part 1)| 15%| 40%| 28 December 2012| Essay (HRM part 2)| 35%| 40%| 03 April 2013| Final examination| 50%| 40%| May 2013| Total| 100%| 40%| | 5. Assignment one – Group presentation and individual report Task:This assignment consists of two parts, a group presentation and an individual report. Both elements are compulsory, but only the second part will be marked. If you do not complet e both parts of the assignment, you will automatically be marked zero. Part one:Prepare a 15-minute group presentation investigating one of the following topics, using a case study: 1. Human Resource Planning 2. Performance Management and Appraisal 3. Human Resource Development / Training and Development . Employee Reward Your presentation should be based on a case study, i. e. it should investigate: * how one organisation (either a private company or a public-sector organisation) deals with these issues, * what actual or potential problems the organisation is facing in doing this, * what the causes for these problems are, * what alternative solutions to solving these issues there are, and how these could be implemented. For detailed guidance, please see the instructions on analysing case studies below.NB: The presentation itself is not marked. However, if you do not participate in preparing and delivering the presentation, you will not be allowed to submit the second part of this a ssignment (see below), which is marked. Part two:Prepare an individual report on the topic of your presentation. Your report should be based on extensive individual research on your topic, and should be referenced throughout. Your report should not merely summarise the case study, it should cover your topic (e. g. Human Resource Planning) in general.You should then use the case study to illustrate the topic, following the instructions on analysing case studies below, and relate this to the four questions above. It is important that your report develops an argument rather than just summarising points from the textbook or the case study. This is an individual piece of work (that is, you are not to write it collectively with fellow students); and that you should develop your points from the presentation further, rather than just repeating it in written form. You have to attach the slides you used during your presentation, otherwise your assignment will be marked zero.Sources to be used : HRM and Employment Relations textbooks * Employee relations and HRM textbooks * Academic journals (e. g. Industrial Relations Journal; Employee Relations) * HR Practitioner journals (e. g. Personnel Today, People Management) * Newspaper articles (e. g. Financial Times, Independent, Guardian, not tabloids like, for example, the Sun) * CIPD website (www. cipd. co. uk) Word Limit:1,500 words Due Date: 28 December 2012 Weighting:This assessment is worth 15% of the overall mark for the course. Format: Word-processed, eleven point font, 1. 5 spacing, wide margins (2. cm top, left and bottom; 5cm right); attach a header sheet (cf. section 8. 2). If you do not follow these formatting instructions, you will be marked down ten percentage points as a penalty. FeedbackYou will receive written feedback. It is important that you read it as it will help you with your next assignment. Nota Bene: The individual report must be your own work, and not copied by or from another student or from books e tc. If you use ideas, quotes or data (such as diagrams) from books, journals or other sources, you must reference your sources, using the Harvard style.Make sure that you know how to reference properly, and that understand the guidelines on plagiarism! If you do not, you might fail! 5. 3Assignment two – Essay Choose one of the following two questions. You must follow the instructions given below! Question 1: What makes an effective Human Resource manager? What skills, competencies and knowledge does he or she require to become a successful manager in the organisation of today? Use at least one actual case example to illustrate your answer. Suggested Structure: Part of essay| What should be included|Introduction| Define what is meant by an HR manager. Outline the skills, competencies and knowledge required, using textbooks and journals. Give an overview of the essay’s main sections as well as your argument. | Main body| Discuss at least one case example of good practice , relating them to the skills, competencies and knowledge identified in the introduction, using the sources described below. Divide the main body into subsections, using your own subheadings. | Conclusion| Summarise your answer to the question and the main arguments you have used to arrive at that answer. References | In-text references and list of references (at the end of the essay) in Harvard style. | Sources to be used: * HRM textbooks (658. 3 in library catalogue) * Academic journals (e. g. Human Resource Management Journal) * HR practitioner journals (e. g. Personnel Today, People Management) * CIPD website (www. cipd. co. uk) * Corporate websites Question 2: How would you describe â€Å"good practice† in performance management in today's work organizations? What processes, strategic planning, measurement approach, and skills would you recommend?Illustrate your answer with at least one real life case example. Instructions: Word Limit:2,000 words Due Date: 03 April, 2013 Weighting:This assessment is worth 35% of the overall mark for the course. Format: Word-processed, eleven point font, 1. 5 spacing, wide margins (2. 5 cm top, left and bottom; 5cm right); attach a header sheet (cf. section 8. 2). If you do not follow these formatting instructions, you will be marked down ten percentage points as a penalty. FeedbackYou will receive written feedback. It is important that you read it as it will help you with your exam.Nota Bene: The essay must be your own work, and not copied by or from another student or from books etc. If you use ideas, quotes or data (such as diagrams) from books, journals or other sources, you must reference your sources, using the Harvard style. Make sure that you know how to reference properly, and that understand the guidelines on plagiarism! If you do not, you might fail! 5. 4Final Examination The exam lasts for two hours (plus reading time). It is a â€Å"closed book†, which means that you are not allowed to bring any books or notes into the exam (dictionaries are not allowed either).The exam accounts for 50 per cent of your overall mark for the course. The exam has two sections with four questions each. You will have to answer two (out of the four) questions from each section. Each question carries equal weighting. You will have revision lectures to prepare you for this that you must attend. Please refer to your Study Skills booklet for tips on revision and examination technique. Past exam papers for most courses are available in the library and on the University of Greenwich Business School website at http://gibs. gre. ac. uk/admin/pep. sf. Past exam papers for this course are available in section ten of this handbook. 5. 5Resit Assessment Your coursework and exam results will be reviewed by a Subject Assessment Panel (which looks at the course) and a Progression and Award Board (which reviews your progress). The discussions in these two committees will determine whether you have failed any cou rsework or exams, and whether you will be offered the chance to do resits. Please note that there is no automatic right to do resits; whether these are offered depends on your overall progress.Resits will usually involve a new coursework topic or exam. Where you have been deemed to have failed a piece of group work, or a presentation or a test, any resit of these will normally involve a similar piece of individual coursework. If you have been notified that you have to complete coursework resits, check on your course’s WebCT/Blackboard site where the details of the assessment task, submission dates and methods will be explained. If you have been notified that you have to complete exam resits, check the University’s exam timetable on the Student Portal. 6. Reading 6. Core Textbooks Block 1: Bratton, John and Gold, Jeff (2007): Human Resource Management – Theory and Practice (4th ed. ). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ?37. 99, ISBN: 978-0230001749. Block 2: Herman Aguinis, (2013): Performance Management (3rd ed. ). Pearson. ISBN: 978-0132974356 We expect you to buy both of these books. They are essential to prepare you for, and help you with, lectures, tutorials, assignments and exam. The books are available in the university bookshop, which is located in the Mews building on campus (the first building on the left when entering the campus hrough the West Gate, opposite the library). NB: We have negotiated a special deal with the publisher: If you buy both books together at the University Bookshop, you will receive a discount of about 30% (? 20). 6. 2Supplementary Reading Bach, S. and Sisson, K. (2005): HRM and Personnel Management (4th ed). Oxford: Blackwell. Bamber, G. , Lansbury, R. and Wailes, N. (ed) (2004): International and Comparative Employment Relations: Globalisation and the developed market economies (4th ed). London: Sage. Baron, J. and Kreps, D. (1999), Strategic Human Resources: Frameworks for General Managers.New York: Wiley. Beardwell, I. , Holden, L. and Claydon, T. (2004): Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach (4th ed). London: FT Prentice Hall. Blyton, P. and Turnbull, P. (2004): The Dynamics of Employee Relations (3rd ed). Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan. Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2003) Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice (3rd ed). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Edwards, P. (2003): Industrial Relations – Theory and Practice. Oxford: Blackwell. Ferner, A. and Hyman, R. (ed) (2000): Changing Industrial Relations in Europe (2nd ed). Oxford: Blackwell. Foot, M. and Hook, C. 2005): Introducing Human Resource Management (4th ed). London: FT Prentice Hall. Gennard, J. and Judge, G. (2005): Employee Relations (4th ed). London: CIPD. Hollinshead, G. and Leat, M. (1995): Human Resource Management: an international and comparative perspective on the employment relationship. London: Pitman. Hollinshead, G. ; Nicholls, P. and Tailby, S. (2003): Employee Relations (2nd ed). Londo n: FT Prentice Hall. Huczynski, A. and Buchanan, D. (2003): Organizational Behaviour: an introductory text (5th ed). Harlow: Pearson. Hyman, R. (1975): Industrial Relations: A Marxist introduction.London: Macmillan. Hyman, R. (1989): The Political Economy of Industrial Relations. London: Macmillan Press. Hyman, R. and Ferner, A. (ed) (1994): New Frontiers in European Industrial Relations. Oxford: Blackwell. Kessler, S. and Bayliss, F. (1998): Contemporary British Industrial Relations (3rd ed). London: Palgrave Macmillan. Legge, K. (2005) Human Resource Management: rhetorics and realities (anniv. ed). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. London: FT Prentice Hall. Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management. London: Palgrave. Noon, M. and Blyton, P. (2002): The Realities of Work (2nd ed).Basingstoke: Palgrave. Redman, T. and Wilkinson, A. (2006): Contemporary Human Resource Management: Text and Cases (2nd ed). London: FT Prentice Hall. Salamon, M. (2000): Industrial Rel ations: Theory and Practice (4th ed). London: FT Prentice Hall. Torrington, D. ; Hall. L. and Taylor, S. (2005): Human Resource Management. London: FT Prentice Hall. Watson, T. (2002): Organising and Managing Work. Harlow: Pearson Education. Other books on Human Resource Management, Personnel Management or Industrial/Employee Relations in the library will also be useful to follow up particular topics.These are found at shelfmark (the book’s ID number, which can be found on it’s spine) 658. 3, or you can search the library OPAC (on-line catalogue) with keywords. The catalogue can be accessed at the library, and via the internet at http://libcat2. gre. ac. uk/TalisPrism. 6. 3Other Sources In addition to reading the texts, you should also read and consult the following newspapers, journals and web sites that are all available in the library: Newspapers: * Financial Times * The Independent * The Guardian * The Independent * The Times Journals: * Human Resource Management J ournal Incomes Data Services (IDS) Studies and Reports * Industrial Relations Journal * IRS Employment Trends * People Management * Personnel Today * Personnel Review Web Sites: * Trades Union Congress: www. tuc. org. uk * Confederation of British Industry: www. cbi. org. uk * UK Government: www. direct. gov. uk * Department of Trade and Industry: www. dti. gov. uk * ACAS www. acas. org. uk * European Industrial Relations Observatory: www. eiro. eurofound. eu. int * Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: www. cipd. co. uk * People Management journal: www. peoplemanagement. co. k * Incomes Data Services: www. incomesdata. cu. uk . See also the websites suggested in the set texts 7. Other Details Please refer to your programme handbook for any further information you might require including methods of submitting assignments, advice and administrative procedures. 8. Feedback sheets The following three pages show the feedback sheets that your tutors will use to mark your assi gnments. Have a look at them to see what is required! ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK Course: INDU1130 – International HRMAssignment 1: Report Student:_________________________Marker: ? NW ? PG | A| B| C| D| E| | ) Content (20%)Content relevant to topicTopic covered well| | | | | | Content has little relevanceSuperficial treatment of topic| 2) Argument (20%)Logically developed argumentAccurate presentation of evidence| | | | | | No coherent argumentEvidence questionable / no evidence| 3) Structure (20%)Good introduction (appropriate length, defines concepts used, gives overview of essay)Good main section (appropriate length, divided well into subsections using subheadings)Good conclusion (appropriate length, summarises answer and arguments used)| | | | | | Introductions not good or missingMain section not structured wellConclusions not good or missing| 4) Format (20%)| | | | | | (overall mark for section 4; details below)| 4. 1Style Fluently writtenAcademic writing style| | | | | | Inele gantly writtenInformal writing style| 4. 2 PresentationWell set outCorrect overall length| | | | | | Untidy and difficult to readUnder / over length| 4. 3 ReferencingCorrect in-text referencing in Harvard styleCorrect list of references in Harvard style | | | | | | Incorrect or missing in-text referencing Incorrect or missing list of references | 4. Syntax Correct spelling and grammarGood sentence construction| | | | | | Incorrect spelling and grammarPoor sentence construction| 5) Sources (20%)Adequate number of sources usedSources of appropriate quality (academic sources)Good range of sources (articles, chapters etc. )| | | | | | Too few sources usedInappropriate sources (e. g internet sources)Poor range of sourses. | NB: each of the five sections (content, argument, structure, format, sources) carries roughly equal weight towards the final mark; but marks are not derived mechanically from above feedback. Key to Grades: A: Excellent, B: Good, C: Satisfactory, D: Some inadequacies, E: Poor| General comments:| | First markerGrade awarded:| | Second markerGrade awarded:| | Final grade:| | ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK Course: INDU1130 – International HRMAssignment 2: Essay Student:_________________________Marker: ? NW ? PG | A| B| C| D| E| | ) Content (20%)Content relevant to topicTopic covered well| | | | | | Content has little relevanceSuperficial treatment of topic| 2) Argument (20%)Logically developed argumentAccurate presentation of evidence| | | | | | No coherent argumentEvidence questionable / no evidence| 3) Structure (20%)Good introduction (appropriate length, defines concepts used, gives overview of essay)Good main section (appropriate length, divided well into subsections using subheadings)Good conclusion (appropriate length, summarises answer and arguments used)| | | | | | Introductions not good or missingMain section not structured wellConclusions not good or missing| 4) Format (20%)| | | | | | (overall mark for section 4; details below)| 4. 1Style Flu ently writtenAcademic writing style| | | | | | Inelegantly writtenInformal writing style| 4. 5 PresentationWell set outCorrect overall length| | | | | | Untidy and difficult to readUnder / over length| 4. 6 ReferencingCorrect in-text referencing in Harvard styleCorrect list of references in Harvard style | | | | | | Incorrect or missing in-text referencing Incorrect or missing list of references | 4. Syntax Correct spelling and grammarGood sentence construction| | | | | | Incorrect spelling and grammarPoor sentence construction| 5) Sources (20%)Adequate number of sources usedSources of appropriate quality (academic sources)Good range of sources (articles, chapters etc. )| | | | | | Too few sources usedInappropriate sources (e. g internet sources)Poor range of sourses. | NB: each of the five sections (content, argument, structure, format, sources) carries roughly equal weight towards the final mark; but marks are not derived mechanically from above feedback. Key to Grades: A: Excelle nt, B: Good, C: Satisfactory, D: Some inadequacies, E: Poor| General comments:| | First markerGrade awarded:| | Second markerGrade awarded:| | Final grade:| | 9. Past Exam Papers EXAMINATION PAPER – 2003/04 SESSION INTRODUCTION TO MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES – INDU1025UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH BUSINESS SCHOOL – LEVEL 1 This is a TWO HOUR examination plus ten minutes reading time. It is a closed book examination INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES You MUST answer ALL the questions in Part A (case study) Choose ONE question from Part B Choose ONE question from Part C Section A carries 33% of total marks Section B carries 33% of total marks Section C carries 33% of total marks ————————————————- SECTION A CASE STUDY SUPERSTORES Superstores is a large food retail company that has been in existence for 100 years. The organization has built a reputation for good quality fo ods, and depends on relatively well-off customers for its market.Most stores are in the South East of mainland Britain. There are more than 4,000 employees, and it is very dependent on part-time women workers and also student workers who mainly work in routine store jobs, paid just above the minimum wage level. Managers are full-time and are assigned to each store. The firm has medium to high labour turnover, because of the unsocial hours that some staff have to work, and the fact that students often do not want to stay for long. The firm has never recognized trade unions, but has had an informal system of local employee committees. However, many of these committees are no longer being used, so that there is little consultation with employees in some stores.The big retail food firms in Britain are in intensive competition with each other to sell food at low prices, which means that Superstores must find ways to cut labour costs by using its employees in a more effective way. At the same time Superstores must improve the customer service it offers and also give its customers a greater variety of quality foods. The trade union TGWU (Transport and General Workers’ Union) is actively recruiting Superstores employees. It looks as if Superstores will be presented with a claim for union recognition in the near future. The Managing Director of Superstores is aware of this, and is considering whether or not to accept a trade union presence, and if he should negotiate a partnership agreement with the union if they are recognized.SECTION A QUESTIONS – YOU MUST ANSWER ALL OF THESE (33%) 1. Advise the Managing Director on the legal position in Britain on trade union recognition. What are the advantages to Superstores of recognizing trade unions? What are the drawbacks? 2. What kind of flexibility is Superstores getting from its part-time employees? Why is this important in food retailing? SECTION B – YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE FROM THIS SECTION (33%) 3. What is Hofstede’s theory of culture? How does this help companies that operate in more than one country? What are the main criticisms of his theory? 4. Identify and outline the different managerial frames of reference. Which style of management fits each of these?Illustrate your answer with real-life examples. 5. Outline the legal position in Britain on redundancy. Besides conforming to the law, what are the advantages to firms of having a redundancy policy? 6. Briefly outline THREE theories that try to explain how the labour market works. Discuss which one best fits the current situation of the 21st century. SECTION C – YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE FROM THIS SECTION (33%) 7. What is meant by Taylorism and Fordist work systems? What problems are created by these ways of organizing work for people managers? 8. Outline TWO types of payment systems and the sort of jobs paid in each way. What are the recent trends in payment systems in the UK? 9.Describe TWO different theories that exp lain how people learn. Why do people managers need to know how people learn? 10. What do we mean by ‘performance appraisal’? What are the objectives of an appraisal interview, and what are the main problems that can arise? EXAMINATION PAPER – 2004/05 SESSION INTRODUCTION TO MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES – INDU 1025 UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH BUSINESS SCHOOL – LEVEL 1 This is a TWO HOUR examination plus ten minutes reading time. It is a closed book examination INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES Answer three questions in total, answer one question from each section. All questions carry equal marks. This is a closed book examination. ————————————————-SECTION A – Answer ONE question from this section 1. â€Å"Collective bargaining causes unnecessary conflict between management and workers and should be replaced by individual, direct negotiations betwe en employees and managers. † Discuss. 2. â€Å"Firms should avoid trade unions†. Discuss. 3. â€Å"Collective bargaining it the best way to give employees a voice at work. † Discuss. SECTION B – Answer ONE question from this section 4. Explain the differences between recruitment and selection. Outline three recruitment methods and three selection methods. 5. Explain the difference between overt (written) contract of employment and the covert (unwritten) psychological contract of employment. 6.Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the flexible firm for employers and employees. SECTION C – Answer ONE question from this section 7. HRM has been the subject of much debate. How would you attempt to define and explain its underlying principles? 8. â€Å"Reward refers to all of the monetary, non-monetary and psychological payments that an organization provides for its employees in exchange for the work they perform†. Describe different forms o f reward and outline the main objectives of the reward system. 9. Define ‘performance management’ and explain the role of the ‘appraisal’ in performance management. Discuss different forms of appraisal.

Understanding Job Analysis

Web Exercise: Understanding Job Analysis Week 3 Human Resources Management Professor Lawrence R. A. Prosper March 23, 2013 1. How easy was it to find the specific occupation you were looking for, and how comprehensive was the information provided about that occupation? I was immediately impressed by the O*NET Resource Center after opening the site. The design was smart and the site was easy to navigate despite the many choices available to explore. This is a great example of what a Government agency working with the business community and the actual workers from each occupation can accomplish.A wealth of useful information is presented to the public at no cost in an easy to use format. I was quickly able to locate information that was specific to my chosen occupation. My current job title is Special Projects Manager which is a hybrid description. My primary duties are to initiate the acquisition of production machinery and when needed, additional building space to install the equipme nt; that is the Project Manager role. I also ideate and participate in projects related to safety, facilities management and production flows which justifies the Special Projects designation.I selected Project Manager in my search and was directed to the page for Architectural & Engineering Managers which gave a brief description of similar titles (Project Engineer, Project Engineering Manager), what these managers do, and what they would be expected to do on the job. The last item listed some on the job duties as to direct, review, or approve project design changes and to confer with management, production, or marketing staff to discuss project specifications or procedures: basically , my assigned duties.Following the link to Advanced Manufacturing, I was able to see examples of descriptive information about specific jobs. This page had a graphic of a sample career Ladder/Lattice for Advanced Manufacturing which was very similar to my actual career path. The job titles were a bit d ifferent but did show a familiar progression from helper, to operator, to production supervisor, to engineering/production manager. This was my path to my current position but I made it here without a college degree, a feat that would be impossible in this company today.I maneuvered to the Engineering Manager page and found more job specific information. A good amount of detail was devoted to the Job Description and some mention of the required education, workforce preparation, work experience, licensure/certifications, salary and the employment outlook for the next 10 years. The information for this occupation was easy to read and comprehensive. As someone who is presently in this field I can say the duties and expectations presented are realistic. For a person considering pursuing a career in this area a path can be established to achieve that goal by using this resource as a guide.What did you think of the occupations O*NET suggested as matching your skills? Was the occupation yo u are in or preparing for among those listed? This exercise has confirmed that I have ended up in an occupation that suits my skill sets, abilities and personality. The non-scientific results earned on the Interest Profiler test were also quite representative of me as a person and the specific area scores did indicate an affinity for my chosen field. My chosen occupation is Project Manager and this was among the professions listed.I continue to prepare for this occupation by attending college to complete my degree despite having worked at my company for 29 years. A Project Manager works alone while being involved with coordinating the work of many unconnected groups simultaneously. It can be a demanding profession and may not provide satisfaction to certain personalities. The skills detailed on the O*Net are well defined and can be interpreted as needing one to be technically knowledgeable, have good people skills, and to be adaptable to changes in the scope of a project.Math skills are important in the product design and for producing the cost analyses and project justifications. I recently completed algebra and statistics which the job description notes as necessary. Character skills are described as needing attention to detail, integrity, adaptability, analytical thinking, dependability and stress tolerance. I match up well in those areas and at times tend to overdo the attention to detail. Problem solving skills are used to notice a problem and figure out the best way to solve it. This is a difficult skill to master and sometimes the logical solution is not the best choice as a solution.Finally, there are project management software tools available and learning to use them benefits the project and the teams involved in the work progression. You can also contact them to tell them your computer has died and you want to use the program on your new computer. They are the ones to reset the activation counts. Just explain what has happened. NP124865399 2. As an HR professional, how could O*NET be useful in conducting a job analysis? Explain specifically how you would use the data from this site to assist your organization. 3. As a director of human resources, would you have your staff use this site? Why or why not?

Face of War

The Face of War There are many different forms of artwork that can depict moments in my life. Many musical compositions, sculptures, and architecture, that express the trials and tribulations that I have endured in my lifetime. There is one piece of artwork that I find to be a complete expression of my entire life. Although â€Å"The Face of War† by Salvador Dali was influenced by tragedy in times of war; I have a different view on the painting. The painting itself shows a head that was severed from the body, lying in the sand. The head which looks withered has an expression on it of pain and misery. Its eyes and mouth are filled with identical faces all of which are surrounded by serpents tugging and biting at the rotting heads. to me the painting symbolizes many facets of human experience. It symbolizes pain, death, loss, frustration and despair. All of which I have experienced in dealing with low self-esteem, acceptance issues, and lack of motivation to accomplish anything. I am 30 years old and am just deciding what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have experienced pain in more ways than most people will be able imagine. From the constant loss of loved ones, to the emotional pain and physical pain inflicted on myself as well as the physical pain and emotional pain that has been inflicted by loved ones. Moments of despair and frustration have brought me to seek comfort in pain and suffering. I see the painting and it screams out to me speaking a constant struggle with one's feelings, a war inside that no one can see, and the infinite battle within myself that will either make me or break me. This piece of art has a great cultural value as it represents a period of time in which war was a big issue and everyone was feeling the consequences that war brings. It symbolized the pain of the people that were directly and indirectly involved with these tragedies.