Neoplatonism Essay Example For Students

Neoplatonism Essay The Neoplatonic DoctrineAs characterized by Funk and Wagnals, Neoplatonism is a sort of optimistic monism wherein a definitive truth of the universe is held to be an unbounded, mysterious, impeccable One. From this one exudes nous (unadulterated insight), whence thus is inferred the world soul, the inventive movement of which incites the lesser spirits of people. The world soul is imagined as a picture of the nous, even as the nous is a picture of the One; both the nous and the world soul, notwithstanding their separation, are therefore consubstantial with the One. The world soul, be that as it may, on the grounds that it is middle of the road between the nous and the material world, has the choice both of protecting its honesty and imaged flawlessness or of getting out and out sexy and degenerate. A similar decision is available to every one of the lesser spirits. When, through obliviousness of its actual nature and personality, the human spirit encounters a misguided feeling of separateness and freedom, it turns out to be egotistically self-decisive and falls into sexy and corrupted propensities. Salvation for such a spirit is as yet conceivable, the Neoplatonist keeps up, by goodness of the very opportunity of will that empowered it to pick its wicked course. The spirit must converse that course, following the other way the progressive strides of its degeneration, until it is again joined with the origin of its being. The genuine gathering is practiced through an otherworldly involvement with which the spirit knows an all-swarming bliss. Doctrinally, Neoplatonism is described by a clear cut resistance between the otherworldly and the lewd, expounded from Platos dualism of Idea and Matter; by the supernatural speculation of interceding offices, the nous and the world soul, which transmit the perfect force from the One to the many; by an abhorrence for the universe of sense; and by the need of freedom from an existence of sense through a thorough austere order. (Funk and Wagnalls) History of NeoplatonismNeoplatonism started in Alexandra, Egypt, in the third century AD. Plotinus was the organizer of Neoplatonsim and was conceived in Egypt. He learned at Alexandra with the savant Ammonium Saccus. Alongside 224 others he helped convey the Neoplatonic principle to Rome, where he built up a school. Other significant Neoplatonic masterminds were the Syrian-Greek researchers, Porphyry and Lablichus. The Syrian, Athenian, and Alexandrian SchoolsNeoplatonism was the remainder of the incredible schools of traditional agnostic wa y of thinking. Platonism, just as Aristotlism, Stoicism, and Pythagoreanism, all gave a clumsy comprehension of old style Greek agnosticism. It consolidated way of thinking, magic, and theosophy. For three centuries it filled in as a last bastion of agnostic knowledge and exclusive way of thinking in an inexorably threatening Christian ruled empire.The school of Alexandra was not equivalent to the foundation under Ammonius. It appears to go back to the late fourth and early fifth hundreds of years, spoke to by the mathematician Theon and his little girl Hypatia, who was martyred by a Christian horde under the induction of the notorious church pioneer Cyril. Oppression appears to have been normal. Hierocles was flagellated by the experts in Constantinople, notwithstanding the way that his lessons were more monotheistic than those of other agnostic Neoplatonists. It was uniquely with Heimonius and his child Ammonius that a positive progression can be followed at Alexandra. Olympiodoru s, the Platonic reporter, was the last agnostic leader of the school. After his demise it went into Christian hands under the Aristotlean pundits Elias and David.The schools last head, Stephanus, moved to and became leader of a foundation in Constantinople in 610. In 641 the Arabs caught the Alexandrian school. It along these lines had a significant influence in the transmission of Neoplatonic thought to both the Byzantine and Islamic developments. ConclusionProcluss works applied an extraordinary effect on the following thousand years. They not just shaped one of the scaffolds by which medieval scholars rediscovered Plato and Aristotle, yet in addition decided logical strategy up until the sixteenth century, and through Pseudo-Dionysius offered ascend to and supported the Christian supernatural quality of the medieval times. In 529, Justinian shut the school of Athens. Damascius, the Aristotlean pundit Simplicius, and five different Neoplatonists set out for Persia, trusting they w ould have the option to educate and proceed there under Chosroes I. In any case, conditions were troublesome, and they were permitted to come back to Athens. Neoplatonism was the remainder of the incomparable Hellenistic frameworks of thought to fall. However a considerable amount of it survived in Christian and Islamic structure. In the West, Christian neoplatonism applied a solid impact on reasoning and religious philosophy at any rate until the ascent of logical realism in the seventeenth and eighteenth hundreds of years. Neoplatonismhad a significant impact on medieval Christian and Islamic magical idea and on Jewish Kabbalah, Renaissance Hermeticism, the Cambridge Platonism of the eighteenth century, and nineteenth century Theosophy.In the more philosophical Islamic circles it is as yet going solid, showing up in progress of present day Islamic thinkers such asFritj of Schuon and Sayyed Hossien Nasr.And through Theosophy its follows can be found in the current New Age developme nts, and through Islam and Sufism (for example cutting edge essayists like Fritjof Schuon) it advanced into the New Paradigm and transpersonal brain science field. (Neoplatonism) Works CitedAdolph Harnack and John Malcolm Mitchell, Neoplatonism, in Encyclopedia Brittanica, vol XIX, p.376, (Eleventh Edition, 1911); R. T. Wallis, Neoplatonism, p.94Neoplatonism. 18 October 1998. http://www.kheper.auz.com/points/Neoplatonism/Neoplatonism.htmR. T. Wallis, Neoplatonism (1972); R. 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E-Bulletin Board System Essay Example for Free

E-Bulletin Board System Essay Part 3 Methodologies These Chapters give, the exploration depicted the strategy for the examination utilized and information gathering methodology, instruments and information handling procedures. Likewise give the Technical Background, Theoretical and Conceptual Framework that will handle in this section. A. Specialized Background In this examination the principle propose of our framework is to make a dependable Computer Based Record Remittance System. In which we improve the looking and refreshing the settlement of the representatives of the Columban College uniquely the previous workers that mentioning the record of their settlements. The proposed framework will utilize elevated level dialects Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) for the framework programming and for the style will be use Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) and for the records of settlements will be utilized database (SQL). It can look and update documents of the settlements that will fill in as the records. The records will be in the database that the chairman can see and can look, include, alter, and update. The proposed framework will utilize the product Microsoft Windows Apache Server MySQL PHP Pearl (WAMP); this product will be expected to run the framework and to have the option to utilize it. The hypothesis given in Figure 1. 1 shows that the utilization of the procedure of model additionally discloses to us that each capacity inside our organization contains key components that characterize our procedures. The sources of info that are expected to play out the procedure and the procedure characterize the progression taken to make the yield, and the yields will be the item or administrations made. This hypothesis help us in our proposed framework to decide the elements of our sources of info which are the records of the settlements that all information will be process in the manner that information passages of all documents that they need to store in the database. Also, the yield will be the entered information that is presently the new record, and it can utilize now as the first document in the organization. C. Theoretical Framework This applied system turns into the focal topic, the center, the primary purpose of the examination. It envisions the possibility of the proposed framework that can access by the head. Figure 2. 0 Conceptual Framework The progression of the Figure 2. 0 uses an elevated level language Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) for the application programming and along these lines the data source (Database, Searching, Adding, Editing, Updating, and Deleting). The information gathered gave huge and fundamental outcomes and ends, and potential answers for flighty issues that may emerge. The properly chosen instruments utilized were the survey, and the procedure applied was the perception technique. Perception This strategy is essential in social affair realities that will bolster the examination in a manner which advances the legitimacy of the information assembled. This strategy was adjusted on the grounds that examples frequently emerge and may not be stayed away from when certain information isn't satisfactorily and soundly made sure about using poll and with the exception of through perception.

Surprising Facts About Customer Loyalty Marketing

Surprising Facts About Customer Loyalty Marketing Ask any business owner or manager and they will tell you the importance of marketing.After ensuring that your product or service is of high quality, marketing is the next most important thing to focus on.Failing in your marketing efforts is disastrous. You may get few or no customers, which results in little profit or huge losses. What follows this is disappointments and frustration.82% of small businesses fail due to cash flow problems. Issues with cash flow are largely connected to revenues and revenues are directly affected by the success of your marketing campaigns.You might know about the various forms of marketing.From the traditional and still powerful word-of-mouth marketing to the more recent social media marketing.But do you know about customer loyalty marketing? If you do, are you using it?WHAT IS CUSTOMER LOYALTY MARKETING?Customer loyalty marketing is based on a very important factor in business: customer retention. This is the effort you put in your business to ensure t hat once customers buy from you, they keep doing so.There are many ways of ensuring your customers keep coming back.Customer loyalty marketing is one approach and when used well, it’s a pretty powerful tool. You also have the opportunity to utilize this tool regardless of the size of your business.You simply gather information about your customers and their shopping habits then use that for marketing purposes.When using this approach for marketing, your marketing efforts will be towards these same customers and not your leads.This kind of marketing uses personalized messages which the customers are able to identify with and respond to. This is opposed to the generalized marketing messages often sent out to all customers hoping that a good number of them get moved to the point of taking action.At the very basic level, you just need to collect the name and maybe mobile number of the customer. You can also get their email address if you intend to communicate with them through email.W ith the right system in place, you can have the records of your customers’ shopping attached to their profiles. You then use this information to make better business decisions as you also send them relevant marketing messages.Apart from marketing, which we will look at in detail in a while, there are three other benefits of such a system.The below can however also be achieved by analyzing your sales data without necessarily putting up a customer loyalty system.Avoid excess inventory â€" your sales data can help you reduce your levels of inventory. Your sales reports can show you patterns which will help you know the best frequency at which to restock. When you see that you only sell thirty pieces of a product in a month, then you know there is no need to stock fifty. If it takes three days to get the ordered goods, then you can safely buy forty pieces instead of fifty. The ten pieces will be your buffer stock.This reduction in inventory levels will also help reduce cases of theft and unnecessary damages.Avoid expired inventory â€" the same excess stock can end up expiring before it’s bought by customers. This is especially true for foodstuff. When foods get close to their expiry dates, you may need to reduce the prices to help sell them faster.Though a good strategy to avoid total loss, you have reduced your margins thus your profitability. In the worst case scenario, you may have to sell at a loss in an attempt to at least get something small and not lose everything.Improve cash flow â€" the worst nightmare for any business is having cash flow problems. No matter the size of your business, you will always need some cash for daily, weekly or even monthly use. Not having this money has been the cause of many business failures.As long as you have unsold stock, your cash flow is stuck. You spent money to buy the goods but haven’t sold them quickly enough to make the money you expected. Sales data is critical in determining the movement of goods thus helping forecast your cash flow needs.FACTS ABOUT CUSTOMER LOYALTY MARKETINGAnd what about the marketing bit?This is probably the most exciting part, especially if you are a marketer.Having collected the information you need to start your targeted marketing campaigns, it’s now time to get things rolling.If you have heard about marketing to your loyal customers, here are some facts to get you started on your own loyalty program. These will guide your strategy and increase your chances of success.1. Brand Purpose Determines Brand LoyaltyThere is one thing you need to find out before running your customer loyalty marketing campaign. It is the one thing which will give you direction on even who to target.What you need to find out is what makes customers loyal to your business. This should form, at least in part, the basis on which you communicate your message.To understand the reason for this, consider that 89% of customers are loyal to brands which share their values.For example, your busin ess values may include transparency. Guided by that principle, you always give information about your business practices. You have videos showing how you go about your operations, some of the ingredients of your products etc.When customers get to trust you and see your effort towards helping them know you more, you will easily earn their loyalty. They will see themselves represented in your company.In that case, supporting your business will for them be similar to bringing a necessary change to the world. This is what makes them unwaveringly supportive and will even stand up for you.This can be very beneficial especially in the social media world where negative reviews and comments can tarnish your brand’s name in an instant.It should however be obvious that consumers aren’t just drawn to words spoken or typed as part of your vision and mission statements. They have to see the evidence of what you claim to stand for.As such, you need to find out what you have been communicating to your customers. If they feel that you truly believe in the same things they do, then you have a partnership.Not only will they buy from you, they will embrace your marketing efforts and gladly refer others to you.2. Personalization Breeds LoyaltyYou know that you have some loyal customers and you endeavor to treat them exceptionally well. But did you know that they can still leave you for your competitor?There are cases of customers sticking with a brand through thick and thin. But in today’s world of numerous options with freebies to entice them, many are disloyal. And you can’t blame them.Customers everywhere are seeking the best experiences and they are getting them. Customer experience is making huge differences for many businesses and you need to tap into it too.According to research, 88% of consumers who rate a brand’s customer experience as “very good” are likely to recommend the brand.With customers being unique, it’s important to understand that you can’t o ffer all your customers the same package. Every one of them would prefer something tailored to their own tastes.Ironically, very few customers will give you all the information you need so as to be able to offer them personalized treatment.Ask too many questions and you’ll appear ignorant of privacy preferences. Fail to provide the right kind of messaging or treatment and you’ll get shunned.In your quest to have a customer loyalty marketing program, keep this fact in mind. The more personal you can get with the customer, the more loyalty you’ll get from them.So put in the effort to know them well. The better you know them, the more they’ll embrace you and become loyal to you.3. Smartphone Apps Make It More AttractiveLoyalty programs are not very new; they’ve been there for a while. Still, there is always something new and refreshing you can add or do depending on your creativity.One thing has however changed through the years. And that is the means of connecting with your customers.From signing them up for the program to communicating with them about the benefits they are eligible for, things have gone mobile.Smartphones brought many benefits with them and the biggest is the use of social media. But these same devices are used for may other tasks. Including signing up for loyalty programs.Watch the below video of a loyalty program running entirely on a smartphone. It’s easy for customers to sign up and provides lots of insights for better decision making. Traditionally, you would have had to print forms to be filled. In the current digital age, all you have to do is let the customers download an app for the same purpose.Of course, there is the danger of them not downloading the app despite promising to do so. And even after downloading the app, if there are too many steps to be followed, they may not sign up.Apart from simplifying the process, you can take more steps towards ensuring they sign up and enjoy doing it.One option is to develop an app f or your program then have something like a QR code printed on the receipt. Since QR code readers are common in smartphones, the customer can then scan it and be directed to the app download.You can go a step further and make it even easier than that. If you keep a printout of the QR code or a version of it in a tablet at the POS, the customer can scan it during check out. As the cashier handles the billing, the customer can be registering.If your program gives points, then the purchase made can earn the customer points immediately.4. Fights Apathy in CustomersHere is one surprising though proven fact about customer loyalty marketing.Running these campaigns have the effect of making apathetic customers change their attitude towards your business. If you run your customer loyalty program well, you’re bound to cause some excitement among your customers.How?You see, there’s nothing as exciting as being recognized.Even among employees, recognition is one of the most important things to receive. Your customer loyalty program should provide the means to this excitement.There are two things about the program that will be the reason behind this excitement.The first one is the messaging used in marketing. The second is the personalization of the message.Did you know that mentioning someone’s name makes them feel good and more likely to connect with you?There’s a real difference between saying to your friend, “Hi” versus “Hi Mike.”In mentioning your friend’s name, you create an atmosphere of friendship and trust. Your friend Mike will feel invited to connect with you at a deeper level as opposed to if you just said a plain “Hi.”To see how this works, think of a situation where someone forgets your name.What does that tell you? Will you not conclude that you were not important enough for him to remember?There is a lot of power in calling people by name. The same applies in using it in a message.But there is more to it than the greeting. The message c ommunicated is equally important.One of the reasons you should have a customer loyalty program is so as to get data about your sales. It’s this data that you’re supposed to use in communicating offers to your customers.Personalized message exampleFor example, you may have a customer called Shirley who buys an aloe vera shampoo every week. Armed with this information, you can make her look forward to her next shopping by telling her about an offer.Since aloe vera is medicinal, you can tell her that you have some exciting news for her scalp. Promise her that her hair will be better-looking and her confidence will increase.Inform her about discount prices in the conditioner section, including the aloe vera conditioner.This is a good example of cross-selling.You can then craft a message such as the one below:Dear Shirley,We have good news for you. Our Aloe Vera sale is on this weekend. Apart from the great discounts on individual products, you can save more than 10% when you buy two or more products. For your hair, combine our Aloe Vera shampoo and conditioner and get healthier and shinier hair. Say goodbye to hair breakages and welcome more confidence. See you on Saturday.If Shirley shops over the weekend and you send her such a message on Thursday, you will have her counting down towards Saturday.On that Saturday, for Shirley, it won’t be the normal shopping day. There will be something exciting about it. And as long as a customer is excited, the chances of buying more from you increase.And who knows, she may even tag a friend along. That’s double benefit for your efforts.5. It’s more profitable to sell to existing customers than new onesLike many businesses or marketers, you may be fixated on lead generation and qualification. Indeed that’s necessary and even crucial since you have to gain new customers.The more customers you have the higher the chances of increased profits.But just how much do your lead generation efforts cost? In comparison, have you considered the cost of customer retention?Building your current relationships is cheaper and more beneficial. Consider the below figures. Source: SaaSquatchIt’s likely that the biggest reason you haven’t been focusing on customer retention as with lead generation is the time factor.Granted, working on these relationships takes time for the efforts to pay off. But in the long run, your loyal customers are more beneficial to your business.The reason is quite simple: they have developed a friendship and trust your brand to treat them well.As a marketer or business owner, you obviously know that relationships are the backbone of a profitable business.A good relationship with suppliers gives you better credit terms. A good relationship with your employees gives you more productivity. So, what would a good relationship with your customers give you?Still on new customers, apart from the financial costs, how much time do you spend looking for them? What about qualifying them in the hope that they will buy just one product?While you think about that, remember that there are other businesses looking for the same customers. B oth established competitors and startups are fighting to appeal to the customers not loyal to any brand.If the loyal customers are harder to get, don’t you think it’s better to make it difficult for the competition to get your customers?6. Loyalty point exchanges work bestIf you’re in touch with customer loyalty marketing trends, you may have heard of or seen some partnerships. These are called loyalty point exchanges.These exchanges are formed by several businesses coming together to market their customer loyalty programs to more people than their current customers.One of the clearest benefits is the awareness created when your program is co-marketed on your behalf by another business.Since these are partnerships, you will also be creating awareness about the other business.This will not necessarily be by you talking about the other business. You’ll just be telling your customers that they can benefit from the other business due to the partnership.For example, you may be ru nning a bakery. A reasonable business to partner with could be the nearby coffee shop. When talking to your customer about your program, you can tell them that the points earned at your shop can get them some free coffee in the partner’s shop.For the customers involved, they will have been provided with a great convenience since they won’t have to sign up for multiple programs.More than that, they get to enjoy more offers. And if all these are courtesy of being your customers, then they have more reasons to love your brand.FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE STARTING A CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAMIf you have not yet set up a loyalty program for your business, consider doing so.There will be some costs attached. However, the benefits will easily cancel out the costs involved.To help you get started, here are some things to consider as you design the program.1. MembershipOne of the biggest and foremost questions to ask yourself is, “Should the program be open to all customers or only a selec t few?”It may seem more beneficial to have as many customers in the program as possible but that doesn’t have to be the case.In making the program open to all, you increase your marketing reach thus increasing the potential benefits. However, it’s possible that not all customers will embrace the idea. Some may even criticize it. If that happens, stay positive and focus on the benefits to come.You may also opt to sell the idea only to your top customers. You may need to decide how to define “Top customers.” Are they those who buy most goods or those who buy the most valuable goods?For most marketers, top customers are picked based on value.As such, the customer who buys a $200 product once a week is a top customer depending on your total weekly sales.This is in comparison to the one who buys twice a week, five items per shopping with the total being $50.If you target the high-value customers, you will need to be careful how you advertise the program.You cold try something l ike, “Shop over $200 and become a premier customer.”2. Types of BenefitsThe type of benefits you’ll give your registered customers also matters. You can come up with many different options though three are common.You could offer coupons, gift cards or redeemable loyalty points.To decide on these, you may have to understand your customers. It would be best to give them what they prefer. Still, you could avail a combination of these options.For example, you could offer points which can be redeemed for coupons, gift cards or product purchases.3. The Reward SystemThe reward system should also be well thought out during the design period.A popular option is to have the same rewards available to every registered member. However, there’s another option gaining popularity and it’s for a good reason.This is the multi-tier reward system.It separates customers into categories. The customers can themselves choose where to belong if it’s based on a regular fee or purchase value.You t hen outline the benefits offered to members of the various categories. That can come in handy in showing customers why they should aim to be in the higher category.Here is a snapshot of the way Sephora is implementing this strategy. Source: Sephora4. Information to CollectThe amount of information to collect is also a critical part of the program design.It would be best if you can collect as much information as possible. That way, you could send your customers birthday wishes and the like.If you believe your customers can give you their dates of birthâ€"just the day and monthâ€"then go ahead and ask for it. You can tell them it’s for sending them birthday wishes.However, it has been noted that not many customers are willing to spend time answering many questions. The shorter the process, the better. Others are also privacy-conscious.In that case, seek to only collect the most important information.As long as you will have a way of connecting a customer to their shopping records, then their name and mobile number should be enough. That will enable you to know them more and communicate your offers.In case you want to use email communication, you can also ask them for email addresses. If you do so, assure them of the safety of their email addresses. No-one likes being spammed.5. Program PartnershipsRemember what we said about loyalty point exchanges?Try as much as possible to give your customers real value. Connect with several businesses in related niches and form a partnership. The more your customers can get from the program, the higher their excitement and loyalty.Since integrating systems can pose a challenge, these partnerships are best formed with businesses which have no loyalty program already in place. This provides the opportunity to build one together.In case the partners you want to work with already have these systems in place, you can still work it out if they agree to it.If the developer of their POS and yours or your IT guys can utilize any available Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), then you can have the different systems communicate with one another.The costs of taking this route might be high and so you’ll have to do a thorough cost-benefit analysis before goi ng for it.6. Sign Up MethodAfter all considerations, customers will have to sign up. How will they do it?Do you want them to fill online forms, printed forms, scan a code or download an app?The answer to this question depends on the demographic of your customers.That said, going digital will prove easy and convenient for both you and them. You can have one of your staff help in the process of signing up.Any customer with a smartphone can be directed to scan a code which instantly downloads the app onto their phone. They can then be taken through the registration.If the process is easy, then no help will be required after the download. You can just wait to get the sign up confirmation.For any customer without a smartphone, an easy-to-fill and attractive-looking form can be used for the registration.Whatever you do, ensure the process is short and simple.CONCLUSIONWith the heightened business competition, you cannot afford not to have a customer loyalty program. If you intend to retai n your current customers, then this is the only way to go.You’ll be able to learn their shopping habits and thus run more personalized and relevant marketing campaigns.This reduces your overall marketing costs, increases your revenues and guarantees that you’ll be staying in business for longer.

Correlation Between Motivation And Other Behavioral Processes

One can define motivation in terms that make a clear distinction between other concepts or processes, and it is important not to simply subsume motivation into other constructs such as emotion. Nevertheless, it also is useful to consider the relation between motivation and other behavioral processes. The neural representation of behavioral functions is highly complex, and it is problematic to try and neatly place core psychological functions into distinct neural systems that do not overlap (Salamone 2010; Salamone et al., 2007). Thus, when discussing motivation it is important to consider the relation between motivational processes and other important processes such as emotion and reinforcement, because in several ways, motivational†¦show more content†¦The modern study of instrumental conditioning, and thus the conceptualization of reinforcement, was established by the seminal work of Thorndike and Skinner. Thorndike (1911) formulated the Law of Effect to describe the proc esses involved in instrumental conditioning. Several years later, Skinner (1938) composed what he termed â€Å"The Empirical Law of Effect†, which focused on the relation between response output and the stimulus events that followed these responses. As described by Skinner, positive reinforcement occurs when a response is followed by a stimulus, and response probability increases. The stimulus that leads to such an outcome is known as a positive reinforcer. Clearly there is an associative learning component to the reinforcement process. There is a complex associative structure involving S-S and S-R associations (Colwill Rescorla 1986), with the core being the action-outcome association based upon the contingency between the response and the reinforcer. As described by Timberlake Allison (1974) and Allison (1993), for instrumental learning to occur, an organism must learn â€Å"what leads to what†. Nevertheless, there also is a key motivational component to instrum ental behavior (Dickenson Balleine 1994; Salamone Correa 2002). Cofer (1972) stated that motivation provides the conditions for reinforcing behavior or weakening it. As stated by Salamone Correa (2002) â€Å"The reinforcer can be described as a goal, aShow MoreRelatedPsychology1731 Words   |  7 Pagess concern for the anatomy of the mind and led to greater concern over the functions of the mind, and later to behaviorism. Behaviorism- Behaviorism (also called the behavioral approach) was the primary paradigm in psychology between 1920s to 1950 and is based on a number of underlying assumptions regarding methodology and behavioral analysis: Psychology should be seen as a science.   Theories need to be supported by empirical data obtained through careful and controlled observation and measurementRead MoreThe Theoretical Construct Of Self Regulation1218 Words   |  5 Pagesactivities. The most commonly reported and observed strategies employed by the four young participants were seeking social assistance, seeking information, and environmental structuring. Although this study looked at young learners, the findings supported other studies of students use of language-learning strategies that effective learners are more flexible with their repertoire of strategies and are more successful at monitoring and adapting their strategies. The data from the study also indicated thatRead MoreLeadership Reflections: Motivating and Influencing Behavioral Change1156 Words   |  5 Pagesinfluencing behavioral change, both as a leader and as a follower. To gain additional perspective, the discussion then considers the relative effe ctiveness of a study partner’s strategies to assess their potential for motivating and influencing behavioral change in the author’s organization. Organizational Roles and Responsibilities As an external change management consultant, the author acts both as a leader and as a follower (Vecchio, 2007) in motivating and changing the behavior of others withinRead MoreThe Biological Approach : Mental Processes And Behaviors1356 Words   |  6 Pagesmental processes and behaviors by focusing on genetics and physiology. Psychologists who use the biological approach believe that mental processes and behaviors are caused and explained by activity between the nervous system and the brain. The biological approach is very scientific; therefore, psychologists can perform consistent, measureable experiments to examine how our genes, neuronal activity, and neurotransmitters interact with our environment and how they influence our mental processes and behaviorsRead MoreBehavioral Therapy : Skinner And Albert Bandura Essay1211 Words   |  5 Pagesall been successfully treated using this approach† (Wilson,2011). 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On a hierarchical level extraversion often describes a person who is sociable, active, assertiveRead MoreAlcohol, Cognition, and Impusivity1561 Words   |  7 Pagesa variety of cognitive processes (Norton Halay, 2001). Some of these cognitive processes include: executive decision making, impulse control, modification of emotion, and future preparation (Norton et al., 2001). The focus of this Research Paper will be to examine the cognitive effects of alcohol consumption and any correlations between impulse control (impulsivity) and alcohol consumption. Research studies have shown that alcohol use disrupts the neurocognitive processes involved in self-regulationRead MoreBehavioral Economic Research Concerning Ethical Consumerism And Connections1636 Words   |  7 Pagesthis study, I sought a premise of behavioral economic research concerning ethical consumerism and connect ions to psychology. Through basic search engines and the citations of other articles, a comprehensive set of studies and articles was compiled to identify and frame the research question. As a study focusing primarily on a marketing and psychological relationship, a primarily correlational research design was employed with a local survey to evaluate any behavioral connections and contribute to theRead MoreLearning Concepts and Research Approaches1337 Words   |  6 Pagesdescription of the concept of learning, distinguishing between learning and performance, and a comparison/contrast of the conceptual approaches to the study of learning. Whereas learning affects behavior, understanding how people learn and adapt can enable productive learning and may facilitate enhanced lifespan development. Concept of Learning Learning involves gathering information through sensory processing of stimuli and the behavioral changes the acquisition of that knowledge produces. KnowledgeRead MoreSelf Awareness And Self Acceptance904 Words   |  4 Pagespersonality as â€Å"the unique combination of emotional, thought, and behavioral patterns that affect how a person reacts to a situations and interacts with others† (pg. 254). Comprehending the facets of personality is the underling factor acquired to increase self awareness and self acceptance. It is the fundamental aspect of identifying individual strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for personal growth. Robbins et al. (2015) outlines motivation as â€Å"the process by which a person’s effort are energized

Gender Roles And Gender Norms Essay - 1774 Words

Gender roles are sets of rules, and societal norms that dictate how people should act, or behave in society. Many gender norms are often influenced by the pressures from culture, family, media, and peers. Although gender roles are not biological, many people are still coerced into believing that individuals are not supposed to practice desired wants, or freedom because only certain genders can exercise the right to paint one’s nails, open doors, pay for a date, and more. Often, gender roles and gender norms begin at birth. Parents often purchase items that reflect femininity or masculinity. Society has also placed stigmas on those that use certain colors such as pink even though it was once viewed as a masculine color. Thus, people are afraid to violate these norms in fear that he or she may be hurt, ridiculed, and out casted. A norm violation are actions or behaviors that defies the social norms of communities. These social norms vary from culture to culture. However, norm v iolations are not taken too lightly in many places, and often, individuals who break these norms are mistreated similarly. Many people are still not open minded about the idea of women who curse, openly check out men, and swear. I did just that. The potluck was very formal, and I was told beforehand to wear a form fitting dress, high heels, my hair down nicely, and make up. I did the opposite. I chose to wear slacks, and a white collared shirt similarly to what every man in the gathering wore. I alsoShow MoreRelatedGender Roles And Gender Norms Essay1610 Words   |  7 Pagessociety’s rules and norms that we live in. An example is when children introduced to certain roles that are linked to their biological sex, teaching how a child how a man and woman should behave. When a child is born, parents would typically dress their child according to their sex. If it is a boy, he is dressed in blue, and if it is a girl, she is dressed in pink. 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Now, as adults we realize that Cinderella was mainly about gender roles and societal norms. â€Å"Results suggest that the prince and princess characters differ in their portrayal of traditionally masculine and feminine characteristics, these gender role portrayals are complex, and trends towards egalitarian gender roles are not linear over time† (EnglandRead MoreThe Role Of Sex And Gender As A Cultural Norm1507 Words   |  7 PagesThe role of sex and gender as a cultural norm is everchanging. From definition to terminology to legality and politicization, t hese topics vary from one culture to the next and one era to the next. One of the strongest examples of a culture carrying very different ideas of sex and gender is an early Northern European Culture. Carol Clover, in her essay â€Å"Regardless of Sex: Men, Women, and Power in Early Northern Europe,† identifies a â€Å"one-sex, one-gender model †¦ that plays out in the rawest and mostRead MoreGender Roles Are A Set Of Societal Norms Essay1648 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Gender roles are a set of societal norms dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their actual or perceived sex or sexuality† (Oxford). Is it a boy or girl? What sport will he play? When will she take dance lessons? Women shouldn’t have jobs! Men should work while women take care of the house! Women belong in the kitchen! Men don’t do household chores! These are just some examples of stereotypes adopted by societyRead MoreGender Roles Are Set Of Societal Norms1530 Words   |  7 Pages Introduction Gender roles are set of societal norms dictating the types of behavior which are genrally considered acceptable , appropriate based on their actual or perceived sex or sexuality of the person. Gender roles are also determined by the prevailing cultural norms. Gender stereotypes also alters the the attitudes, traits, and behavior patterns of males and females. Gender stereotypes on the basis of sexism, or the prejudiced beliefs that value males over females. Common forms of sexism inRead MoreGender Roles : A Social Norm For Women1633 Words   |  7 Pagesthought about gender roles growing up. I wanted to shave my legs by the time I was eight, I wanted to wear makeup before I even hit sixth grade, and I used to cry when my mom told me I had to wear pants to school instead of a dress when it was cold outside. I was your stereotypical feminine female. But as I have grown up, I have begun to realize that many people are not like me. I have also begun to realize what many more people expe ct from me. Wearing makeup has become a social norm for women. LittleRead MoreImpact Of Social Norms On Gender Roles3192 Words   |  13 PagesThe purpose of this study is to determine the impact social norms have on gender roles. Social norms can be described as group views of how affiliates should behave in a certain perspective (Baron, 2009). Gender roles are the behavioral norms that are considered appropriate for either males or females in a social or personal relationship (Baron, 2009). This inquiry will test the influence social norms has on gender roles in marriage. There will be a total of 100 college students who will participateRead MoreDoes Gender Role Norms Affect Behavior?1698 Words   |  7 Pages, 2005). These ideas, called â€Å"gender role norms,† affect the way people believe they are supposed to act, think, and even feel depending on their sex (Mahalik et al., 2005). These norms can be learned through simple observation, such as how children of different sexes act in television commercials and what behaviors are reinforced by parents depending on their child’s biological sex. As children grow up, their knowledge on gender norms and judgments on which norms can be violated generally increaseRead MoreGender Roles Are Based On Norms, Standards, Or Beliefs Created By Society931 Words   |  4 PagesGender Research Paper Gender roles are based on norms, standards, or beliefs created by society. American culture created the ideals that masculine roles (men) have traditionally been associated with strength, aggression, and dominance, while feminine roles (women) have traditionally been associated with passivity, nurturing, and motherly. â€Å"When Men Break the Gender Rules: Status Incongruity and Backlash Against Modest Men† focuses on atypical men who behave modestly during a job interview and

A burglary Free Essays

As I found him suspicious,l continued to monitor his movements. Seeing the man crouching close to the bushes and casting furtive glances every few seconds as he made his way to the black door. ‘ continued to watch him until he climbed over the fence and realized that he was a burglary. We will write a custom essay sample on A burglary or any similar topic only for you Order Now Racking my brains as fast as I could and I decided to call the police and my neighbor,whose name was Peter. After calling them,l told them what I witnessed in a muffled frenzy. After a short while,the police were arrived at Pewter’s house. The sirens of the police car reverberated through the air. Ran down towards them and told them the burglary was inside. Just then,he was fleeing from the house. L shouted,†let is him! â€Å"the policemen hurriedly ran to catch him. The burglary ran helter-shelter as he headed to the nearest exit This proved to be a costly mistake for him as the police officers gave chase like a group of Olympic athletes. Len no time,they had caught up with him and immediately cornered him to one side. After seeing he was caught,I ran into the house to check. When I entered,my eyes dinned and my jaw dropped at the sight of the house. As Pewter’s belongings were strewn away,the drawer and cupboard were opened and cleared of all the valuables. The robber had ransacked and rummaged his home. After he was back,l helped him to clean up all the messy and he appreciated to me for my help. Len addition,he told the security to improve the security system and he wanted to be sure that such an unfortunate accident would never happen again. In the end,when came back home and told my parents about how had handled the situation,they were full of praise for me. How to cite A burglary, Papers

Risk Register Analyse the benefits of Risk Management Tool

Question: Analyse the benefits and limitations of using the selected risk register for project risk monitoring and control for the project you chose for your Final Project. Answer: Risk register A risk register or risk log is a risk management tool that presents various risks identified at the beginning or during the life of the project. It can be represented as a scatter plot or in tabular format and it enables the project manager or other risk facilitators to manage risk situations or events effectively and efficiently. It also classifies and grades the risks in terms of probability of occurrence and the seriousness of its impact on the project (Pritchard and PMP 2014). For this report, an example of the risk register has been critically evaluated. Further, analysis of the benefits and limitations of the selected risk register for project risk monitoring and control is undertaken. In addition, a revised version of the selected risk register has been presented in manner that would address the most severe limitations of the selected risk register. Link https://www.projectmanagementdocs.com/project-planning-templates/risk-register.html#axzz4BAQyWg00 In the link above, the risk register has been formulated as Risk Identification Qualitative rating Risk response Risk Risk category Probability Impact Risk score Risk ranking Risk response Trigger Risk owner Loss of key employee Project risk Low High - - Recruitment of key employees Conflicts at the work place Project manager Increase in the prices of raw materials Business risk Medium High - - Cost control measures to keep the overall cost of the project balanced Pricing trends in the market, governmental policy change Project manager The above risk register enables the risk facilitators to identify and categorise the risks that the project may face during the project life cycle. Further, the likelihood of occurrence of risk and its impact on the project success is presented. Further, risk ranking and risk score aims at presenting a quantitative value of the identified risks. Lastly, triggers, risk response and risk owner represents what are the symptoms, action taken and who is responsible for mitigation of the identified risks are The benefits of above risk register for project monitoring and control can be seen as it allows all the important data or information about the projects risk at a single table. The tabular representation of risk registry also enables the projects risk management stakeholders a clear picture of the risk associated with the project and view present status of each risk, at any point in time (Hillson and Simon 2012). The limitation of the above risk register is that it does not take into account the quantifiable risk elements. In presenting qualitative values of the risk suffers from the expertise and experience of the project manager or risk facilitators. This limitation has been addressed in the revised risk register that presents both qualitative and qualitative data about the identified risks. Further, in the above selected risk register model does not presents a contingency plan, in case the control measures fails to address the issues related to the identified risks (Kerzner 2013). Revised risk register Risk No. Date identified Risk description Owner Triggers Probability Impact Risk rating Control measures Contingency plan Mitigation techniques 1 5/5/2016 Loss of key employee Project manager Job discontentment Low High - Recruitment of back up employees Third party arrangement Mitigate 2 20/5/2016 Increase in input material cost Project manager/ procurement officer Market trends, inflation, governmental policy change Medium High - Cost control measures Contracting the supplies of raw materials Transfer References Hillson, D. and Simon, P., 2012.Practical project risk management: The ATOM methodology. Management Concepts Inc.. Kendrick, T., 2015.Identifying and managing project risk: essential tools for failure-proofing your project. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Kerzner, H.R., 2013.Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Pritchard, C.L. and PMP, P.R., 2014.Risk management: concepts and guidance. CRC Press.

General William Westmoreland Essays - Vietnam War, Viet Cong

General William Westmoreland During the late nineteenth century the French concouquered Vietnam and made it a protectorate and in 1941 the league for the independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh) was formed to fight for independence from the French and on Sept. 2nd .1945. Ho chi Minh proclaimed it independent from France. The French opposed this and wanted to re-establish their rule but where defeated on the battlefield by the Viet Min and where forced to surrender this ended a war and French rule. After the war there was a conference in Geneva where Vietnam was divided into two parts along the seventeenth parallel there where now a north and a south Vietnam similar to Korea the north being lead by Ho Chi Minh was mainly communist. North Vietnam at the time was a very poor area being cut off from the agricultural benefits of south Vietnam Ho Chi Minh was forced to ask for help from communist allies like the soviet union and china whom gave needed supported both before and during the war. The south lead by an anti-Communist ruler named ngo Dinh Diem was headed towards a democracy. The south being supported by the French and the united states of America clearly shows how closely this conflict was tide to the cold war going on between the eastern and western superpowers who supported the war efforts on either side. North Vietnams goal was to unify both north and south Vietnam leaving one communist state even if it meant using military force, at this time the cold war was still going on an since the u.s.a. Feared the spread of communist in Asia, John F. Kennedy gave economic and military aid to south Vietnam in order to prevent the takeover of the south by the north although all though the conflict was still a civil war and the united states where not officially involved they where the force behind the south. The North Vietnamese resented the United States getting involved and on august 2nd 1964 three Vietnamese torpedo boats opened fire on an u.s. destroyer stationed 30 miles off the coast of Vietnam in International waters. The next day Johnson gave the order to "attack with the objective of destroying any hostile forces." Retaliation air attacks began that very same day with the goal of destroying Vietnams gunboat capability. As two more United States boats where supposedly sunk more American air and sea forces where sent into the region but held back from direct combat. This is when the United States officially entered the Vietnam War. They did this for a few different reasons the first was that they wanted to keep the independence of south Vietnam, the second had a lot to do with the cold war against communism. America believed that if north Vietnam would be able to turn the south communist as well then Vietnam could become very powerful, after all the U.S. had just witnessed the French be defeated by Vietnam. If Vietnam was to become a more powerful country then they would be able to persuade other Asian countries to become communist as well. I think that the U.S.A. felt it had to prove to it's allied nations that it was willing to fulfil its vow of stopping the spread of communist. As the u.s. decided whether or not to move the combat to North Vietnam or not. The North Vietnamese made a surprise attack and moved the combat to the south when it attacked one of the U.S.A.'s major airbases in Bein Hoa. Johnson immediately ordered a retaliation bombing on the north called rolling thunder which was supposed to scare them and convince them that they had no chance of winning. Bombing of this sort continued for some time. While u.s. troops where being brought in from other places in the world in order to launch a ground attack. By the end of 1965 over 180,000 American soldiers where stationed in South Vietnam under General William S. Westmoreland. The United States with superior firepower helicopters, planes, and many other advantages over the North Vietnamese where very confident about the outcome of the war. They where to be surprised by the Viet cong's surprise attacks and concealment as well as knowledge of the land and unity in the people. As the war pressed on it came more and more obvious that the Americans where not going to win this one simply because they where the richer larger more influential superpower. Soldiers where having a hard

The Cask of Amontillado Montresor’s Untrustworthiness and Mental Instability Essays

The Cask of Amontillado Montresor’s Untrustworthiness and Mental Instability Essays The Cask of Amontillado Montresor’s Untrustworthiness and Mental Instability Paper The Cask of Amontillado Montresor’s Untrustworthiness and Mental Instability Paper The Cask of Amontillado Montresor’s untrustworthiness and mental instability The cask of amontillado is a short story that Edgar Allen Poe wrote in 1846. Poe has written this particular story to be told in a first person point of view. Since Montresor is the narrator this concludes the fact that he is telling the story from his point of view. From the beginning it is clear that Montresor is an unreliable narrator. Throughout the story it is quite noticeable that Montresor is not trustworthy as a narrator, and that he has a mental instability. The very first sentence it shows that this story is going to be told by Montresor (from a first person point of view). In the first sentence of the first paragraph Montresor claims Fortunato has bestowed â€Å"thousand injuries† against him. Even though Fortunato has supposedly insulted Montresor; Montresor never goes on to state what exactly Fortuanto has done to him. Next he states that he â€Å"vowed revenge† on Fortunato. Just from the one sentence Montresor shows he has a bias for how the story happened and played out. The next sentence is Montresor talking to an unknown person, basically telling then that he is going to diverge the story to them. â€Å"You, who so well know the nature of my soul†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is how Montresor addresses this person. How he has addressed the unknown person gives the idea that it might be a priest whom he is speaking to. If it is assumed that it is a priest, it could be interpreted as a sign of remorse. Although after reading the whole story it is quite clear that he does not regret what he has done to Fortunado. Throughout the story Montressor talks of what he has done to Fortunado with little to no remorse in his voice. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity† shows that Montressor knew completely well what he was about to do to his ‘friend’ and has not the slightest though of not doing it. Not only does Montresor plan to punish Fortunado but with impunity, which means without exemption. He shows the reader he has plans for his revenge but never tells the reader exactly what Fortunado has done to deserve to be punished with impunity. This alone shows that Montresor is trying to get the unknown person whom he is speaking with to sympathize with him. Montresor antagonizes Fortunado through the whole story with the allure of the Amontillado. There are at least three occasions that Montresor talks of finding Lushesi instead of Fortunado to try the wine to authenticate it. Montresor obviously knew that it irritated Fortunado when he spoke of having Luchesi come to authenticate the wine. This was almost like a slap in the face for Fortunado and made him want to come to the tombs even more. This move by Montressor shows how desperate he is to keep Fortunado interested in coming to the tombs. It shows how he has calculated his plan of revenge and is trying to execute his master plan. In the very last paragraph, second to last sentence Montresor states: â€Å"For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. † This sentence is referring to the tomb where he has entombed Fortunado to die, as well as the tomb of his other ancestors. Half of a century is at least fifty years, thus Montresor is stating that it has been over fifty years since the incident thus he could have easily forgotten what actually happened in the tomb. Most people can not even remember what happened a year ago one hundred percent accurately, much less fifty years later. In conclusion Montresor is a very unreliable narrator. Not only has it been over fifty years since the event, but Montresor also has a bias as to what happened with Fortunado. Montresor also clearly shows his mental instability with his lack of remorse with what he did to Fortunado. In this story of Edgar Allen Poe’s it is quite noticeable that Montresor is not a trustworthy narrator and that he has a mental instability.

Child J and Langford E (2011) Exploring the learning experiences of Essay

Child J and Langford E (2011) Exploring the learning experiences of nursing students with dyslexia - Essay Example However, the title somehow implies that it is a research study concerning how nursing students with dyslexia naturally learn and behave in the classroom setting. Nevertheless, the study is actually one focused on how nursing students with dyslexia should be able to cope with the rigors of clinical practice, not of classroom work. Therefore, the title should have been â€Å"Exploring the learning experiences and coping mechanisms during clinical practice of nursing students with dyslexia.† As to the authors, both are credible. Both Jenny Child and Elizabeth Langford are senior lecturers of adult nursing of the University of England. Therefore, their profession as well as the fact that they are members of the faculty of a prestigious British university makes them credible. However, it would have been better if it was clearly stated that both authors were nurses, although it is most likely so. Moreover, the abstract does summarize the key components of the study: the aim, the met hod used, findings and conclusions. However, it should have had elaborated a little bit more on the three points that it mentioned in the Findings summary section. Just like the abstract, the rationale for undertaking the research is clearly outlined. In fact, the research study flowed smoothly from its aim to how it was conducted and to the results that it yielded. Moreover, the aim of the research is clearly addressed. Nevertheless, the authors say that the study aims to â€Å"examine the learning experiences† of nursing students with schizophrenia. This examination of learning experiences may not have exactly been in a traditional classroom but are actually of a clinical setting. Furthermore, the statement of the aim of the study should have been at least two sentences for such length. There must also be an â€Å"and† between the word â€Å"placements† and the phrase â€Å"to establish ways,† and this syntax problem may somehow disrupt an average stude nt’s reading. Regarding the ethical issues, the study clearly states that â€Å"the participants gave informed consent in writing to take part in the study† (Child & Langford 2011). This statement alone implies the idea that care has been taken to ensure that the proper ethical issues have been addressed in the study. Moreover, individual interviews have been conducted obviously in order to make sure that the privacy of the nursing student is protected. Moreover, there is a separate subsection called â€Å"Ethical considerations,† where it is stated that the study has been approved by the university ethics committee and that programme managers have also expressed their prior approval to it. Still, more on the subject of ethics, the questions used in the interviews of nursing students have been properly structured so as not to get any of the participants to be emotionally hurt. For example, only the words â€Å"disabilities† and â€Å"difficulties† have been used to refer to a possible case of dyslexia, which was not mentioned in the original questionnaire. Moreover, the data taken from the questionnaires have been â€Å"anonymised† in order to protect the identity of the participants (Child & Langford 2011). There seems to be no available literature on what type of questionnaire should be made available to students with dyslexia but the questionnaire used in this study seems very practical

Argument Analysis Advertising Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Argument Analysis Advertising - Assignment Example Yet the notion of advertisement in persuading the consumers remains the same. Over the last 10 years the advertisement media have developed immensely principally led by the digital media revolution (Kelley & Jugenheimer, 7). The paper will seek to analyze the reason behind the changing structure of advertisement with logical underpinnings. The backdrop will be online advertising. 2. Online advertisement- A dominating business Online advertising in the present world has become one of the most significant businesses generating huge revenues related to the web based businesses. The development of the websites at very cost effective structure has led the smaller web sites like that of the blog sites earn huge revenue. The online internet marketing forms the nucleus of the estimated aggregate e-commerce economy worth $34 billion. In the year 2008, online advertising in the United States of America accounted for around 8.8 percent of all forms of advertising. The potential of the online ad vertising is also boosting as per the estimates of the market analysts (Evans, 2). 2.1 Supply side analysis The suppliers get the ease in carving out a niche in their business by driving consumers directly to the sites which is basically a large platform where the consumers can explore the varieties of goods and services and purchase them by making few mouse clicks. The cost of advertising is highly minimized in this case. The enhanced technologies lead the suppliers in executing efficient business operations matching the exact needs of the customers. The networking chains also get amplified in the online advertisement. As an instance it can be said that if a person has visited an organization’s website and possess interest in the industry then they can recommend it to other people interested in business which is an example of precision marketing. Online marketing also comes with much lower risks as with the development of the technology it helps the entrepreneurs in judging properly the status of the business and making cost benefit analysis (Mapping the Display landscape, 8). There are many other supply side causes that led to the rapid development of online advertising but the scope of discussion is limited and hence the relevant ones are elucidated. 2.2 Demand side analysis The consumers can shop their favorite stuffs sitting in the comfort of the room at the expense of just a few clicks and they possess greater control over the content they view on the website as compared to traditional media like television. Majority of the online advertising inventory possess a real time and customized platform for the particular viewer (Evans, 2). As compared to the traditional advertising, the consumers are no longer just receivers at one end of the communication but also actively take part in the marketing process with the inclusion in the development as well as that of the distribution of the advertisements. The consumers collaborate in the structuring of mar keting and develop a more efficient personal relationship with the companies (Liu, 5). The online advertising allows the economy for the reduction of the amount of resources which are allocated in developing content for the purpose of

HRM Effectiveness In Improving Performance

HRM Effectiveness In Improving Performance This article examines the strategic role of HR and its main practices, describes the outcomes of the respective category of HR practices, explains the critical reasons for measuring HRs efforts, and proposes a framework for assessing HR. Ultimately, organizations would be able to utilize the information to determine how particular HR practices correlate with better business results; determine potential areas for investments, expansions, and reductions; justify budget allocations; and be more accountable for each dollar spent within the organization. The framework proposed does not merely explain the cost for each of the major HR activity, but demonstrates the value of the activity and hence, the opportunity to determine if it is a worthwhile investment and strategy for creating a competitive advantage. What value does the human resources (HR) function contribute to the bottom line of the organization? Over the years, there has been tremendous emphasis placed on HR practitioners becoming strategic business partners and being a value-added source within organizations. Traditionally, HR professionals could talk generally and conceptually about employee morale, turnover, and employee commitment being outcomes of HR efforts. Furthermore, the HR function is often viewed as an expense-generator and an administrative function and not as a value-added partner. Ulrich (1997b) reiterated that to fulfill the business partner role of HR, concepts need to be replaced with evidence, ideas with results, and perceptions with assessments. This article examines the strategic role of HR and its main practices, describes the outcomes of the respective category of HR practices, explains the critical reasons for measuring HRs efforts, and proposes a framework for assessing HR. Ultimately, organizations would be able to utilize the information to determine how particular HR practices correlate with better business results; determine potential areas for investments, expansions, and reductions; justify budget allocations; and be more accountable for each dollar spent within the organization. The framework proposed does not merely explain the cost for each of the major HR activity, but demonstrates the value of the activity and hence, the opportunity to determine if it is a worthwhile investment and strategy for creating a competitive advantage. The framework has proven its effectiveness at many companies showing how HR creates value, utilized the information collected to increase investments in specific HR strategies and eliminating ineffective investments, and used as a critical resource in the strategic business planning and budget allocation. The companies include Fortune 500 and smaller companies from retail, transportation, and financial industries. Understanding the Strategic Role of HR In todays business environment, organizations need to be constantly evaluating their internal and external environment for challenges and opportunities to remain competitive and to sustain growth. Political, economic, social, and even psychological changes within our societies create significant impact on organizations. Given any significant change or event, how ready are we as an organization to react in order to remain competitive? Many factors are driving changes in organizations today including the use of technology, globalization, changes in workforce demographics, eliminating the bureaucracies in organizational structures, and balancing work-family issues. Understanding the potential of an organizations resources and optimizing the output of such resources given the changes, provides the impetus for HR being the key source of creating the competitive advantage for the organization. Insert figure 1 about here To create value and deliver results, HR professionals must begin not by focusing on the work activities or work of HR but by defining the deliverables of that work. HRs roles in building a competitive organization include management of strategic human resources, management of transformation and change, management of firm infrastructure and management of employee contribution (Ulrich, 1997a). Although these roles are valid and have proven to be value-added in recent years, there is now the critical need to move beyond the strategic business partner role to players in the business (Ulrich Beatty, 2001). Players, according to Ulrich Beatty, contribute to the profitability of the organization, they deliver results and they do things to make a difference. The roles of players are to a) coach b) design, c) construct, d) change the organization, e) creating followers, and f) playing by the rules. Another perspective on the role of HRM suggests that in leading-edge companies, HR profession als play four key roles: a) strategic business partners, b) innovators, c) collaborators, and d) facilitators (Schueler Jackson, 2000). As a strategic business partner, HR professionals should understand the nature of the business from a strategic, operational, financial, and other aspects necessary to be part of an effective team managing an organization. Functioning as an innovator, HR professionals are challenged to continuously search for strategies that will create value for the organization and not merely function in a reactionary mode. Furthermore, HR professionals will also serve as collaborators with senior leaders and all employees to implement business strategies forming the strategic link throughout the organization. As facilitators, HR professionals function as the change agent providing rationale, support, and readiness for planned changes designed to support the business strategies. The fundamental role of HRM is essentially to maximize profitability, quality of work life and profits through effective management of people (Cascio, 2003). Given this premise, it can be easily inferred that HRs role is to help create value to the organization. Figure 1 illustrates some of the external challenges and changes facing organizations, their impact on the organization, and how HR is impacted. The Importance of Measuring HRs Activities Even though HR professionals are convinced that their efforts add value to the organizations bottom-line, there is frequently little evidence to demonstrate such belief. A recent survey of 54 companies in the Midwest, USA conducted by the author revealed that 51 of the 54 companies conducted little or no assessment of their HR departments efforts and therefore could not have provided any quantitative measures of HRs value to the organization. In addition, a study conducted by Becker, Huselid, and Ulrich (2001) indicated that less than 10% of the 968 firms that participated in their study had a formal estimation procedure to measure HRM. Measurement in most HR departments is usually restricted to processes measuring costs and not showing value added (HRPS, 1993). There is now the imperative need to justify each dollar invested, compare strategies to determine maximum worth, and to decide on where to invest especially as companies scramble to survive after the September 11 tragedy. Pepitone (1997) reiterated that HR leaders should know how to prove the value-added of their services because management is increasingly requiring departments to give evidence of their worth. In addition, Sorensen (1995) stated that the best way for HR to gain credibility so that it can make meaningful changes is for practitioners to measure the cost and effectiveness of what they do. And they must put that into language that senior executives understand: financial results. HR managers need to measure the cost and effectiveness of their activities far more closely than they have in the past. Many organizations have been forced and are conti nuing to determine ways of being more cost-effective. Many of the other functions including finance, accounting, and marketing are able to show a return on investment for their respective efforts, so given the increased emphasis on HR practices, it is imperative for HR to be able to show its effectiveness in creating value for the organization. The new HR is a transformed role comparing itself to any other function, not only through espoused value creation strategies, but through outcomes, qualitative and quantitative measurements, and direct relationships to profitability. The simple option of showing HRs value or becoming extinct as a department presents itself to HR professionals and given the strong belief of HR as a source of added value in organizations, there is no choice than for HR professionals to be able to quantitatively and qualitatively explain its strategic role in the organization. There has been substantial evidence over the years to show the relationship between HR and organizational performance as summarized by (Yeung Berman, 1997). Some of the studies include MacDuffie and Krafcic (1992), US Department of Labor (1993), Pfeffer (1994), Arthur (1994), Huselid (1995), and Ostroff (1995). Even though these studies exist, there still lacks a framework that is grounded in theory, yet practical enough for practitioners to use that shows the major HR activities, outcomes of the respective activities, and how they can be measured. The framework describes clusters within the HR function and encompasses: a) strategic planning, b) selection, c) training and development, d) organization development and change, e) performance management, f) rewards system, and g) organizational behavior theory. HRs Activities Outcomes Even though there are several classifications or groupings of HR activities, the author uses seven groups of activities seen as being most strategic and influential in realizing the strategic business objectives of the organization. Todays economy dictates that organizations continually assess the external and internal environment and make relevant changes in order to remain competitive. The author examines each of the clusters and provides a description of each, its importance in achieving the business strategy, and how it can be measured to determine its effectiveness. Insert figure 2.0 about here Strategic Planning The role of the HR function has changed tremendously over the past 10 years where HR functions have previously been viewed as not being an integral core of the business and merely viewed as an administrative function to todays economy where HR practitioners are more frequently considered business partners. Being a business partner, the ideal situation would be the inclusion of the HR leader in the strategic business planning (SBP). In the most fundamental sense, SBP involves choosing how an organization will compete (Rothwell, 1994). The questions of what product to produce, where should the product be sold, how many to make available, how the products and services differ from the competition are included as part of the business planning process. Business strategy can also be defined as the process by which the basic mission and objectives of the organization are set and the process by which the organization uses its resources to achieve the objectives(Tichy, Fombrum, Devanna, 1982) . Why is it important for HR to be involved in the strategic planning process? In developing strategies in todays complex and dynamic business environment, there is the critical need for business leaders to continually assess their talent pool to determine if the appropriate expertise needed to accomplish the business strategies are available within the organization. If not, where and how can the organization acquire the necessary skills? Another critical area is to identify what skills are needed to be developed internally for current employees to perform at the level necessary for the organization to be competitive. Does the organization need to change any of its current policies and practices in order to derive the intended behaviors of employees? How should performance be measured and what types of rewards should be given for the intended behaviors? These are all fundamental areas of effectively managing an organization and imperative to be addressed at the strategic planning stage . Typically, the HR function has the most experience and knowledge in addressing these critical issues. Strategic planning seeks to identify those organizational decisions and actions, which yield the greatest advantage under various assumptions about the organization and its environment. The integration of human resource function into the organizational strategy provides the basis to enable the human resource function to support and implement the strategic plan to achieve a competitive advantage (Wofford, 2002). This strategy provides for the maximization of human capital, reduction of wasted and inefficient labor and other financial investment, and eventually maximizing profitability. By addressing these issues at the strategic planning stage with HR included, there is the higher likelihood of more efficiently reaching the business outcomes and avoiding chaos, massive layoffs, crises resulting from not having skilled employees to carry out particular tasks and not having the right fit among employees, corporate strategies, and business environments. C.K Prahalad (Prahalad, 1990) in describing the roots of competitive advantage, stated that the real sources of competitive advantage are to be found in managements ability to consolidate corporate wide technologies and production skills into competencies that empower individual businesses to adapt quickly to changing opportunities. Moreover, Tichy et al., (Tichy et al., 1982) reiterated that there are three core elements for organizations to function effectively and include mission and strategy, organization structure, and human resource management. Clearly, the HR function plays a pivotal role in determining the busi ness strategy through the assessment of the organizations capabilities to successfully compete through a particular strategy, determining the appropriate rewards system, determining appropriate organization structures, and developing strategies to increase employees performance. Given the definition of strategic planning as how an organization will compete, the question arises as to how would an organization be able to assess the effectiveness of its strategic plan. Indicators of a successfully crafted strategic plan include creating advantages that are sustainable over a long period of time. Has the planning resulted in a) the attainment of the organizations goals and objectives, b) financial profitability, b) positioning to create advantages for the short-term and long-term, and d) created a sense of social responsibility? In essence, this process determines the decisions and actions an organization will undertake to create and sustain competitive advantages. Acquisition of Employees In the era of increasing globalization and the struggle to create sustainable competitive advantages, organizations are continuously evaluating their strategies to ensure that they have the expertise needed to help achieve the mission of the organization. The economic challenges due to the consequences of the 9/11 terrorists attacks on the United States also continue to affect organizations financial position and subsequently on recruitment and selection strategies. Gatewood Feild (2001) define selection as a process of collecting and evaluating information about an individual in order to extend an offer of employment. Fitz-enz (2002) described ways of measuring the cost per hire, source cost per hire, and interviewing cost. Indeed, these are critical metrics in deciding the cost in acquiring employees. Nevertheless, to fully understand the value and effectiveness of the selection process, one has to analyze the impact of the employees contribution to the organization not only from a cost factor, but the performance in the short-term and long-term. Has the employee been able to contribute to the successful implementation of the business strategy? In examining the efforts that are part of the acquisition, one has to examine the effectiveness of the planning process, advertising and recruitment sources, effectiveness of the interviewers in selecting the right candidate, change in the pool of qualified candidates, and performance of the incumbent on the job. HR Planning involves the process that specifies the activities that a firm must use in order to develop its human resources to improve its overall practices (Gatewood Feild, 2001). The process entails determining how many employees the organizations needs to be performing at its optimum and where the employees should be working in the organization given the external and internal challenges and opportunities. With the economy still struggling to improve after 9/11 terrorists attacks, organizations have been forced to layoff even thousands of employees in some cases in order to survive. The real challenge for HR in the upcoming months and even years would be to predict the demand for their products and services and then to determine the need for labor. Nevertheless, one still has to be able to reasonably predict labor demands and determine if employees have to be laid off or how many employees have to be recruited within a specific period. In addition, HR Planning should involve the s kills and competencies currently available within the organization and what other intellectual capital would be needed in the future to adequately meet the needs of the stakeholders. Another aspect of the acquisition process involves the advertising and recruitment sources. Given the high costs of advertising in newspapers, internet websites, journals, employment agencies, and direct and indirect costs associated with advertising, there is a definite need for HR professionals and other senior leaders to be aware of the effectiveness of the respective sources being used to advertise and recruit their candidates. In assessing the effectiveness of recruitment and advertisement sources an organization uses to recruit its employees, it is imperative to relate the actual performance of the incumbent to the advertising and recruitment. Some of the factors that should be included in this evaluation are historical employee turnover data, absenteeism, actual performance on the job, and ability to advance in ones career. There may also be a high level of correlation with specific school, number of years of work experience, education major, GPA, and other such factors with o nes performance. Given the collection and analysis of this data, HR is much more likely to invest their advertising and recruitment budget to where real value is created for the organization. Fitz-enz (2002) described the need to ensure that the recruitment function to be efficient and further stated that it is better to measure recruiters as a team than as individuals whenever applicable. In determining their efficiency as a team, Fitz-enz stated that the measurements should focus on the productivity of their interviewing techniques, the average length of interviews for the respective job groups, number of interviews needed to make a quality hire. Another means of determining the effectiveness of the recruitment function is a measure to show the change in the number of qualified candidates that is available for selection. This could be a significant cost reduction strategy given that advertising costs can re reduced if there are qualified candidates available for future openings and other jobs currently available. Training and Development The American Society for Training Development estimates that US organizations are spending more than $60 billion annually on employee training and development. Given this significant investment, it is reasonable for one to ask about the benefits of such investments, especially since more companies are seeing a need for lifelong learning and are integrating technology in their strategies. Swanson (1995) defined employee training and development as the process of systematically developing expertise in individuals for the purpose of improving performance. The argument as to whether T D helps to create a competitive advantage has shown that conceptually, it can be a source of competitive advantage. Nevertheless, there still is a critical need to develop frameworks and strengthen the argument for being aware of the actual benefits provided by this intervention. Developing a framework for assessing the financial benefits of T D, Swanson (2001) listed three questions that provide the vari ations on the assessment of HRD, of which T D is a major category. What is the forecasted financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention? What is the actual financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention? What is the approximate financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention? (Approximate financial benefit is used whenever there is some level of uncertainty of the exact value created by the intervention). The framework describes three perspectives to assess the benefits including positive benefits, relative benefits, and return on investment. The positive benefits are those indicators that show the benefits exceeding the costs. The key issue in this perspective is to determine that the benefits at least equal the costs. It may also mean the inability of the measurement to show a financial benefit, but demonstrates the benefit of for example, strengthening the culture and maintaining the tradition of the organization. Return on investment (ROI) is a ratio that expresses the relationship of every dollar of performance value to every dollar expended to achieve that value. In understanding the impact of the training, it is imperative to determine what difference, if any, the investment made in supporting the business strategy of the organization. The assessment of the training should focus on the difference of the performance of the employee, the department, the process, and the overall performance of the organization. Furthermore, were there adequate opportunities for the employee to practice what they learned in the classroom, were they rewarded for improvements made as a result of attending the training, and can a relationship be demonstrated with the training and the organizations performance? Fitz-enz (2002) suggested that in addressing the results of the training process, the following questions be answered: How well did the employee learn? How effectively did the employee apply the learning from a business standpoint? What difference did it make to the business perspectives? In sum, measuring the impact of a training initiative regardless of the scope, size of investment, and number of employees involved, there is the imperative need to determine the purpose of doing the training and if the goals have been met at various intervals after the intervention had been completed. To determine the benefit, ROI, or whatever terminologies we choose to describe the outcome, one has to consider the direct costs of developing and implementing the intervention, in addition to the indirect and opportunity costs. This total cost would then have to be compared with the intended benefits and actual benefits immediately after the training and at different intervals after the intervention based on its nature. It is therefore imperative to address the following questions given the critical need to understand the impact of the intervention: Has the employees attitude changed since the training? Did the employee acquire knowledge and expertise in an area that would enable him/her to perform more effectively on the job? Has the employees performance changed after the training? How has the change in the employees performance affected the business strategy and performance of the organization? These are all areas to be integrated in assessing the impact of training and development in todays economy. With answers to these questions, it is relatively simple to determine if the training investment was worthwhile and to articulate how training and development supports the business strategy and contributes to the bottom-line of the organization. Organization Change and Development Given the continuing changes in the global economy, demands of customers, preferences and values of employees, it is a necessary component of the HR strategy to ensure that the organization is adapting to the external and internal variables it current faces and would likely face in the future in order to meet its stakeholders expectations. The pace of global, economic, and technological development makes change an inevitable feature of organizational life (Cummings Worley, 2002). A growing importance and competency expected from the HR professional, therefore, is his or her ability to plan and implement the necessary changes for the purpose of improving performance. Swanson (1995) defined organization development (OD) as the process of developing and implementing planned changes in organizations for the purpose of improving performance. The opportunity for HR through its organization development interventions is to create organizational effectiveness at the individual, department, f unction, process, and organizational levels. Many OD practitioners may argue that OD is not a measurable effort, at least quantitatively. The challenge arises again as to what value do the change efforts really have on the bottom-line of the organization. Should OD be excluded from quantitative measurement? Given a downturn in the economy and the need to reduce labor cost, are OD practitioners able to justify their worth to the organization? In answering these questions, it is necessary to examine the outputs of OD. In many instances, the outputs should be an improvement in performance at the individual, process, and organizational levels. Fitz-enz (2002) suggested that OD can be measured through productivity, quality, service, responsiveness, development, and survival. How efficiently are products and services delivered to the customer? These factors are indeed critical in assessing the effectiveness of ODs efforts and therefore, should be part of the process of making changes in organizations. Some of the key measurements can be derived from the following questions: What is the quality of the output and does it meet the customers expectations? Does the service offered by the organization provide a competitive advantage as compared to its competitors? How effectively does the system respond to changes in the external environment? Does the organization allow for maximum sharing of information, leveraging each employee and work unit, and resolving any internal or external challenges? Are the values and ethics of each employee and work unit representative of the overall culture of the organization and supportive of the business strategy? The responses to these questions based on the respective organization provide the basic measurements in assessing the readiness and effectiveness of the organization to function effectively in its current and anticipated internal and external environments. Should the responses indicate less than optimal performance at the individual, process, and organization levels, the opportunity exists for HR to conduct an analysis and develop, and implement planned changes to improve performance at all levels. As pointed out by (Becker et al., 2001), HR professionals too often want to measure their success by their activity rather than the actual business results. By having concrete answers to these questions, there will be appropriate responses in answering the role of OD in achieving the business strategy of the organization. Performance Management Performance management systems make clear to employees what is expected of them and assure line managers and strategic planners that employee behaviors will be in line with the companys goals (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2003). Many organizations still rely on the performance appraisal viewed as an annual ritual and primarily the responsibility of the HR function. In todays economy and the utmost of managing performance to create a competitive advantage Noe, et al (2003) grouped performance management into three categories of defining performance, measuring performance, and the feedback aspect of performance. Performance management systems are geared to ensure that each employee within the organization, based on previously conducted job analyses, is performing the tasks intended at the expected level to support the strategic business objectives of the organization. The thinking of HR practitioners and other business leaders that an annual performance appraisal is performance management must become obsolete. Effective performance management entails a process where each employee is fully aware of his or her role in the organization, what type of output is expected, and how the output will be measured. How would one determine the effectiveness of the performance management system in creating competitive advantages for the organization? In answering this key question, the following areas should be addressed: Ensuring that job descriptions are developed through timely and effective job analyses. Job descriptions are updated on a regular basis to reflect to changing business environment. Feedback is shared continuously among all stakeholders. Every employee is fully aware of his or her role in the organization, which can easily be accomplished in the performance planning phase of the process. There are measurable outcomes assigned to every task reflecting the role of the position and incumbent in achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. There must be congruency and consistency in performance measures across the entire organization and performance standards should always be measured consistently. The process and the system must be viewed as credible, fair, valid, and reliable. A survey with numerical ratings can be used by employees and supervisors to assess if ones role and responsibilities are fully aligned with the goals of the organization, satisfaction with the actual process and satisfaction with the supervisors management of the performance management process. An aggregate of the responses produces an assessment of the performance management system and its effectiveness in improving individual and organizational performance. One of the critical strategies in performance management is to understand the fundamental role of each employee in achieving the mission of the organization. By mapping a process through the identification of the purpose and role of each incumbent, one is easily able to identify where the deficiencies may exist and to develop corrective actions, identify the strengths of each individual and to maximize each employees potential and hence their contribution to the financial contribution to the bottom-line of the organization. Rewards System The starting point for any reward system design process needs to be the strategic agenda of the organization (Lawler, 1990). By understanding where the organization is positioning itself for various intervals in the future, an organization could design the reward system to provide incentives specifically designed to foster behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes among the workforce that directly correlate with the strategic agenda of the organization. As indicated by Lawler (1990), numerous studies including (Vroom, 1964, Lawler, 1971, and Kerr, 1975) have shown that effective rewards systems can significantly increase the motivation of individuals to increase their performance. As inferred from these studies, the fundamental intent of rewards in organizations is to provide incenti