Understanding the true meaning of rape and its effects

Understanding the true meaning of rape and its effects When people think of rape, they might think of a stranger jumping out of a dark shadowy place and sexually attacking someone. But the reality to all of this is, its not only strangers who rape. In fact, about half of all people who are raped know the person who attacked them. Females are most often raped, but males can also be raped. Most friendships, acquaintances, and date rape never lead to violence, of course. But, sadly, sometimes it does happen. When forced sex occurs between two people who already know each other, it is known as date rape or acquaintance rape. Even if the two people know each other well, and even if they were intimate or had sex before, no one has the right to force a sexual act another person against his or her will. Although it involves forced sex, rape is not about sex or passion. Rape has nothing to do with love. Rape is an act of aggression and violence. You may hear some people say that those who have been raped were somehow asking for it because of the clothes they wore or the way they acted. Thats wrong: The person who is raped is not to blame. Rape is always the fault of the rapist. And thats also the case when two people are dating or even in an intimate relationship. One person never owes the other person sex. If sex is forced against someones will, thats rape. Healthy relationships involve respect including respect for the feelings of others. Someone who really cares about you will respect your wishes and not force or pressure you to have sex. Date rape is defined as non-consensual sexual (vaginal, anal, oral) intercourse that is forced (by way of physical force or psychological coercion) on a person by someone that they know. Date rape is a criminal act that is perpetrated by a social acquaintance, a friend, or a dating or intimate partner of the victim. Date rape is a complex and difficult area of criminal law, given the nature of the relationship between the victim and the defendant. Most jurisdictions, however, make no legal distinction between date rape and rape that is committed by strangers. Alcohol has been used in years to commit rape because it is easy to access, and it is still the most widely used drug for committing sexual assault. The use of other date rape drugs to commit rape is becoming more common, however, because these drugs are easily combined with alcohol to enhance their effects. These date rape drugs are often referred to as club drugs because of their popularity in dance clubs and bars. Every state and the federal government treat the act of rape as a crime. Although there are slight variations in the terms used to define the act of rape among the different laws, there is one common element the victims lack of consent. The most common and lack of consent is stated when drugs and alcohol are used to commit a rape. In cases such as these the victim is incapable and is unable to fight off the attacker or is unable to say no, regardless of the victims state at the time of the attack it is still sufficient to meet the definition of rape. The type of rape that are mainly associated with drugs and alcohol is either acquaintance rape or date rape. Date rape alone has become a real problem in todays society. The issue was introduced to the public because of the high profile trails of Mike Tyson and William Kennedy Smith. More recently basketball star Kobe Bryant has also made headlines in a case related to date rape. In all of these cases the victim stated that they defendan ts, who they knew well forcibly, raped them. Many rape victims are in the late teens and early twenties. A recent study on the subject of date rape reported that women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four experience rape at rates four times higher than the assault rate for all women. Another study conducted in 1988 by M.P.Koss showed that five percent of the women raped reported the incident, but what is more alarming is that forty-two percent of the victims later had sex with the perpetrator again. Alcohol and Drugs Alcohol is just one of many drugs used to commit a rape. Others substances include marijuana, cocaine, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, chloral hydrate, heroin, morphine and LSD. Three of the most commonly used drugs today is Rohyonol, Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and Ketamine. These drugs were originally developed for specific medical reasons, but today they are used illegally in drug related sexual assaults, in cases where unsuspecting victims are incapacitated and left unable to resist sexual advances. In the last few years, drug related sexual assault has become a growing concern among health and community educators. There are a wide amount of drugs that has become known as date rape drugs or predatory drugs they are known by these names because they are used to incapacitate individuals for the purpose of committing a crime, often sexual assault. The fact remains that the use of recreational drugs to commit rape is not a new concept. Alcohol has been used for years to commit rape, because of its easy accessibility and today it is still the most widely used drug for committing sexual assault. However the use of other date rape drugs for committing rape is becoming more common, because these drugs are easily accessible, inexpensive, and have a rapid effectiveness on the victim. They can easily be combined with alcohol to enhance their effectiveness. These particular date rape drugs are often referred to as club drugs because of their popularity in dance clubs and bars (Kehner, 2004). Rohypnol is the trade name for flunitrazepam, it is a benzodiazepine similar to Valium but it is ten times more potent. It has many street names, such as roofies, roache, the forget-me pill, mind erasers and Mexican Valium. The pill was designed to be used as a sleeping pill in some countries, but it has never been approved for use in the United States. Rohypnol usually comes in the form of pills. After being slipped into someones drink, Rohypnol leaves no detected taste, color or order, and it will take effect after five to thirty minutes. The effects of this drug can be felt for many hours after being taken. Some of the effects that Rohypnol causes are blurry vision, drowsiness, confusion, dizziness and difficulty to move. Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) was designed for medical use; it is a popular drug in France and Italy it is used as an aid in childbirth because it relaxes the muscles. It has a great effect on sleep a very small amount produce relaxation, tranquility, and drowsiness. A high dose of this medication will induce sleep with five to ten minutes. However the sleep effects only last for three hours, but not everyone can be put to sleep by this drug. It is also used primarily to relieve withdrawal symptoms, cravings and anxiety among alcoholics. There have been reports of addiction and death related to Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), because of this in 1990 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned over-the-counter sales of the drug. This made the drug illegal except under the strict guidelines and monitoring under a doctors care. The possession of Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a felony punishable by up to twenty years in prison. Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is known on the street as liquidecstasy, liquid X, Georgia Home Boy, Cherry Meth, Blue Nitro, Water or Soap. Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a clear, orderless liquid that has a salty taste that can be masked by putting it into a flavored or mixed drink. The effects of the drug can be felt shortly after being taken, usually within fifteen minutes and can last for several hours. The drug reached its highest blood levels in twenty five to forty minutes. One gram of Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) powder can be dissolved in as little as one milliliter of water. There is no way to determine the concentration of Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) once it is in liquid form. Because of this even a small amount can result in temporarily unrousable sleep. When purchased at the club, Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is generally sold for a few dollars per dose, but when it is purchased in large quantities it is available for ten to fifty dollars per 100 grams. Some of the effects in clude drowsiness, deep unresponsive sleep, nausea, and loss of consciousness. Katamrine is known on the street as Special K, Vitamin K or Lady K it is a legal drug sold as a veterinary sedative or hospital grade anesthetic, when used in humans, the drug acts as a dissociative anesthetic it renders the user vaguely aware of, but detached from all bodily sensations. The pharmaceutical versions of katamine are clear, colorless liquids available in concentrations of ten, fifty, and one hundred milligram solutions. It is the liquid form tha is used as a date rape drug. Liquid ketamine is clear and colorless, and can easily be slipped into a drink without being detected. The liquid form is often baked into a solid form and sold on the street as a fine white powder. This powder can be snorted, smoked, or packed into gel caps and taken orally. The powdered form of katemine is often mistaken for cocaine or crystal methamphetamine. In all forms katamine is usually sold for twenty five to fifty dollars per gram. When taken orally this drug takes ten to twenty minutes to take effect. The most common effect includes hallucinations, cardiac excitement, confusion, violent or aggressive behavior and coma. There are many factors that make these drugs desirable to sexual predators, because they are tasteless, odorless and mainly colorless, these drugs are virtually undetectable. The trace of these drugs usually leaves the body within seventy-two hours from the time it has been taken and they are not found in any routine toxicology screening or blood test. Because of this many physicians and police have to look for these drugs specifically and have to work quickly to find them and get rid of them in a victims system. Another reason why date rape drugs are used in sexual assaults is because they are easily slipped into drinks and are very fast acting. They make the victim become unconscious but responsive with little or no memory of what happened to what is happening while the drug is active in his or her system. These drugs also led the victim to act without knowledge, often in a sexual or physical affectionate way. Like many drugs that are abused, date rape drugs make a person incapable of thinking clearly or making rational decisions. The use of these drugs guarantees a very vulnerable victim, one who is still able to participate in sex acts but who will have little or no knowledge of what happened in the sex act, and also will have no knowledge of what happened after the event. Because of this the victim does not have any clear memory of the event or events that took place or that is taking place during the sexual assault, the victim is also unaware that he or she has even been raped. Even if the person is aware of what is going on or has any suspicions, the victim often make poor witnesses because each of these drugs can cause amnesia while in a victims system. Myths about the Victim One of the most popular myths about rape is that the victim in some way was leading the offender on. Either she was seductive or was dressed in a provocative way or because of this she only got what she asked for. Regardless if this is true or not that if the victim did act seductively or was dressed provocatively, she still has the right to change her mind. There is no law against saying no, but it is against the law not to accept a victims refusal. There has been case study of the offenders that has reveal evidence of pathology and ownership of responsibility for the offense. They have admitted to not being able to have self control, respect for the other person and frustration because of low tolerance. Many people believe that females are the only ones who are victims of rape. But in actuality the victims of rape include males as well as females and they range in age from infancy to old age. The places where assaults have often taken place also have ranged from the victims own hou se to public parks, cemeteries, beaches, shopping malls, public restrooms, churches, and alley ways. There is no place, time of day, or season in which a rape will occur, or is there a specific type of person to whom it is going to happen to. There has also been frequent believes that if a victim really wanted to prevent an assault she could. But the reality still remains that rape occurs through intimidation with a weapon, threat of harm or injury, and in many cases brutal force. Every situation is different in one case of a victim screams, the offender might run away. But another offender might cut her throat. Myths about the offender Just as there are myths about a victim of rape, there are myths about the offender some of those myths are; sexual assault is an impulsive, uncontrollable act of passion. The victim is irresistible to the rapist. But the fact is, rape is an act of violence, not of sexual desire. The majority of rapes that take place are planned, the offender stalks out places, he or she does research on what enticement they will use in the attack or they deliberately get their victim to be involved in a sexual relationship with them. It is the vulnerability of the victim that attracts the sexual predator. There are no limits to offenders victims; they range from infants to the elderly. Anyone can become a victim, regardless of age, sex, physical appearance, marital status, ethnic, religious or socio-economic background can be raped. Another myth is sexual assault occurs only in large cities. The fact is rape have been reported all across the country in large cities and small towns. There is however m ore sexual assaults occur in large cities; this is because larger cities have a greater population. The downside to a victim that lives in a rural area is they dont have access to as many services as a victim in a larger city. Victims that are assaulted in rural areas may be less likely to tell anyone, report it to the police or seek support. Women are sexually assaulted when they are out alone at night. If women stay home they will be safe. The fact is many studies have shown that the majority of sexual assaults are committed in either the victims home or the offenders home, especially in date rape cases. Most rapists hide in dark alleys, waiting for a stranger to walk past. The majority of reported rapes occur either in the victims home or the home of the attacker. In many cases, the victim met the offender in a public place and then was convinced by the attacker to accompanying him or her to the place where the assault will take place. Rape victims know their attacker at least ca sually. In many cases, offenders were well known to the victim and were in relationships that one would normally trust, they were a boyfriend, family friend, close neighbor or relative. Most sexual assaults involve a black man raping a white woman. In ninety three percent of assaults, the rapist and victim are of the same race. In four percent of sexual assault cases, black men did rape white women, while in five percent of the cases, white men raped black women. Most rapists are poor. Rape crosses all class lines. People have been raped by doctors, lawyers, police officers, and other authority figures. Because of their social and financial positions, these offenders are seldom prosecuted for the acts of violence, and their actions are seldom publicized. A victim cant be sexually assaulted against his or her will. Rape is a crime of violence, not sexual passion. In many cases, some type of force is used, such as choking, beating, roughness, or use of a weapon. Often, the victim is t hreatened with death if he or she resists. Confronted with the fear of being beaten or killed, many victims do not attempt to fight an attacker. While a victim may not resist an attack due to socialization and fear of violence, this lack of resistance should not be equated with consent for the attack. Many mugging victims hand over their wallets willingly to maintain their safety, but they did not ask to be mugged. Sexual assault is provoked by the victim. Victims ask for it by their actions, behaviors, or by the way they dress. To say that someone wants to be raped is the same as saying that people ask to be mugged or robbed. In fact, most rapes are at least partially planned in advance and the victim is often threatened with death or bodily harm if he or she resists. Sexual assault is not a spontaneous crime of sexual passion. It is a violent attack on an individual using sex as a weapon. Sex is used to defile, degrade and destroy a victims will and control over his or her own bod y. For the victim, it is a humiliating, near death situation. No person would ask for or deserve such an attack. Only bad girls get sexually assaulted. Sexual assault occurs in all segments of our society. Most rapists choose their targets without regard to physical appearance or lifestyle. Victims are of every type, race, and socio-economic class, young and old alike. Most rapes are reported by women who change their minds afterwards or who want to get even with a man. FBI statistics show that only four percent of rape calls are false reports. This is the same false-report rate that is usual for other kinds of felonies. Women have rape fantasies and secretly desire rape. If you are going to be raped, you might as well relax and enjoy it. When people have sexual fantasies of seduction, they choose the circumstances and characteristics of their seducer. They are in control. In rape, the victim is never in control. There is a big difference between fantasy and reality. Rape is neither relaxing nor enjoyable. Again, victims often submit without struggle due to fear of physical force, or because the assailant is armed with a deadly weapon. Victims responses to rape reflect the violence and intense trauma of the event. Rapists are crazy, deranged, abnormal perverts. They are lonely men without female partnership. Rape is not a crime of spontaneous passion. Studies show that sixty and seventy percent of all sexual assaults are planned. Most rapists are married and having consensual sexual relations while assaulting other women. Rapists themselves do not describe their motivation in terms of sexual gratification, but in terms of hatred and conquest. Sex is used as a weapon to inflict violence, humiliation, and degradation on a victim. Indeed, rapists have said that rape is lousy sex. Sexual offenders come from all educational, occupational, racial and cultural backgrounds. They tend to test differently from the normal, well-adjusted male only in having a greater tend ency to express violence and rage. Men cannot be raped. Sexual assault, no matter the gender of the perpetrator or victim, is a form of violence where sex is used to demean and humiliate another person. Current statistics indicate that one in six men are sexually assaulted or abused in their lifetime. Typically, the perpetrator is a heterosexual male. Sexual assault of males is thought to be greatly underreported.

The Rationale Approach In HR Planning

The Rationale Approach In HR Planning Like any other form of planning, Human Resource Planning (HRP) is a rationale approach to the effective recruitment, retention and deployment of people with in an organisation, including, where necessary arrangement for dismissing staff, (G.A. Cole, 2004). HRP is therefore concerned with the flow of people through and sometimes out of the organisation. Normally it is a requirement for every organisation to plan ahead and make some assessment of their present employee situation, so as to ensure that an appropriate range of skills is available for the entire department within the organisation. Human Resource Planning is essentially concerned with analysing the existing human resource situation, assessing the external labour market and forecasting the supply situation, forecasting future demands for people and establishing and implementing human resource plan, (G.A. Cole, 2004). The organisations goals for securing the workforce whether for short or long-term includes recruitment and selection, training and development, promotion, redeployment and career planning, pay and productivity, motivation and appraisal, retirements and redundancy, all depends on a sound human resource planning process. Considering all the above organisations goals, Human Resource Planning has contributed a lot in helping Care UK to achieve its goals. Care UK is the leading independent provider of health and social care in UK. Its deals in Residential care services, Homecare services, Mental health services, Learning disability services, GP practices, NHS walk-in centres NHS CATS and NHS treatment centres. It has its head office at Connaught House, 850 The Crescent Colchester Business Park, Colchester Essex, CO4 9QB. In consideration to the Care UK recruitment and selection planning, the organisation has adapted both the internal and external recruitment and selection planning process for the managers and health care workers respectively. To maximise its internal capability and run its current 59 nursing or care homes, the organisation want to recruit more managers internally by offering a clear career path that will attract excellent candidates and keep these who have already joined us, said Carol Cunningham Care UK project manager. Candidates applying for home managers have to go through a rigorous selection process that involves recommendation by a senior manager or regional directors, aptitude and personality test and a structured interview with the project manager and operational manager to be selected. The Care UK recruitment policy is structured to ensure that all staff will be fairly employed, while meeting the criteria and standards set by Care UK and in accordance with appropriate legislation, (www. Care uk.com). As a recruitment process, Care UK do advertise their vacancies in the organisations website, national and local newspapers, job centre and internet. The organisation does strive to ensure that applicants are kept informed of their progress through the recruitment procedure and candidates are selected on the basis of their ability to perform the job required. Care UK operates an equal opportunity during its recruitment process where applicants are given equal opportunity regardless of their race, sex, religion and age. Basing on the sector of which the organisation operates, much emphasis has been put on the recruitment and selection process as it is a requirement that the right candidates are given jobs. As a result a sound recruitment and selection planning is needed to attract the right candidates for the jobs. As a legal requirement, all the applicants who are applying for positions of healthcare or domiciliary care assistants are subjected to a number of checks before they are selected. These checks includes, enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure, right to work, occupational health check and verifiable reference check including full employment history. Only the candidates with a satisfactory outcome of the above checks are selected interviewed and offered the opportunity to trained and work with the organisation. As a form of legal requirement, employees that are selected and offered job by the organisation are provided with a written particulars for employment which stipulate clearly the title of the job the employee is employed, scale or rate of remuneration or the method of calculating remuneration, intervals at which remuneration is paid, holiday pay, sick pay pensions arrangement, grieverance procedures applicable and length of notice to be given on either side. A written employment contract is then handed to the successful candidates that have been employed by the organisation. Having followed the Care UK recruitment and selection planning, the organisation has strict and tough policies when conducting its recruitment and selection process due to the nature of the sector in which it operates. The organisation does follow the right procedures by engaging in both internal and external recruitment process when vacancies do arise within the organisation and advertising the vacancies through all the avenues which makes it not discriminatory to the people interested for the available jobs within the organisation. Only the right candidates are offered the jobs merits while considering the legal requirements. The organisation through its recruitment and selection process puts all the legal requirements of employment like Criminal Record Checks, equal opportunity, Health and safety at work Act, 1974, Human Right Act, 1996, National Minimum wage Act, 1998, Human Right Act, 1998 and Employment Right Act, 1998 to mention but a few. Care UK has a sound training and development policy do to the nature of the sector in which the organisation is in. The organisation spends a lot of resource in the provision of training and development of staffs to ensure not only a regular supply of skills to employees but also as a way of improving on the employees standard of work. As an organisation, Care UK also sees an important role for training and development in the provision of skills and improvement of employee motivation. Since the organisation policy is based not only with the recruitment of people with experience but also individuals who willing and capable of working, it is paramount that the training and development of staffs is strongly looked at and also because the sector is too much regulated with new equipments brought in so frequently couple with new regulations, employees need to have thorough training and development policy well put in place. At Care UK, new employees for the post of healthcare assistants und ergo a three days intensive induction training to introduce them to the field of healthcare and the challenges they will faced ahead during the course of their working with the organisation, (www.care uk.org). After the induction training, specialised trainings are brought in and this is done through identifying training needs required by the employees and annual training updates are compulsory for all staff. Healthcare assistants are encouraged to undertake further qualifications and whenever possible, are provided with the opportunities to extend their studies through National Vocational Qualification, i.e. (NVQ2 and NVQ3). Those who are aspiring for the post of managers are carefully selected against rigorous selection framework and are subject to induction processes and are expected to continue to develop professionally, supported by the organisations performance and personal development planning processes. Having looked at the training and development policy of Care UK, it is of a high interest to develop a plan for professional development and training of the employees of the organisation. Before doing this, a clear distinction should be made between development and training. Development is a course of action designed to enable the individual to realise his or her potential for growth in the organisation while Training is concerned with the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills which can be applied directly to work of a particular type, (Penny Hackett, 1994). As a well known fact, a well-trained employee will have the confidence and the competence to produce better quality service and now turning to Care UK as an organisation, the first step to develop a plan for development and training for employees is to identify the individual training needs. Healthcare assistances are faced with a challenge of working with some complicated equipments and treating of patients which require s proper training. By analysing the training needs, this will help to assess the employees competence and identify what is required to perform the tasks. The second step would be to design a training programme for the organisation. For Care UK, training programmes should be both on-job training and off-job training as demonstrations on how to use equipments and coaching of trainee requires on-job training while presentations, interactive video, lectures and computer base training is more a off-job training. The third step is to identify the training courses that will help the employees to gain confidence and have the competence to perform the tasks. This will includes both the in-house training courses (tailor-made courses to suit the objective of the trainees like moving and handling techniques), external courses like shadowing of new healthcare trainees, and qualification courses like National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), (Penny Hackett, 1994). So turning to Care UK, employee s trainings should be structured to meet the objective of the organisation which focus on developing the employees to meet their potentials of facing challenging situations at work and giving them the opportunity to extend their studies through National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). Care UK as an organisation has a sound way of motivating the employees. This is done through training and promotion of employees. By training and promoting the staffs they feel they are part of the organisation. This can be evidenced through training of home managers scheme adapted by Care UK. After their training they are always promoted to senior management positions and also healthcare assistants are trained before they are allowed to start work. This also improves on their confidence and creates in them that the organisation rely want them and they are part of the organisation. Staffs are also encouraged to take external courses like National Vocational Qualifications payable by the organisation. All these makes the employees feel motivated to work for the organisation. This feeling of belonging to the organisation makes employees motivated as Abraham Maslow explained in his motivation theory. Employees are also rewarded for their hard work and this is done through pay and reorga nisation where each month the organisation announce an employee of the month and gifts and present are then given to the nominated employee. By recognising the good work done by the employee like this make them motivated to work hard and also encouraged other employee to work harder as they do also want to be nominated for the employee of the month. The organisations do strive hard to mach the pay of the employees to other employees in different organisation in the industry and all the employees are paid over the national minimum wage. This as well makes the employees not seek employment elsewhere as they feel better of at the organisation. At Care UK employees are supervised and given proper guidance as to how to do their work. Through proper supervision, employees feel more confidants when performing their tasks and motivated to work for the organisation. These things like good pay, high quality supervision, fringe benefits like gifts and presents are the hygiene factors to motiva tion as Herzberg pointed out in his motivation theory. Through high level of team building at Care UK where employee are trained to work in a team through double up calls, healthcare staffs are fully motivated as they feel safe when carrying out their duties. By encouraging team work within the organisation the employees feel they are part of the group hence working towards fulfilling the goals of the organisation. Team work plays a bigger role in motivating employees as they tend to learn more from each other. AS most employees at Care UK have a different value goals that they all want to achieve, as some want to be home managers, employees are rewarded differently basing on their individual needs. Employees are properly selected and trained basing on their value goals and as they see achieving their goals as is with the organisation, they will be motivated to increase their effort in achieving goals. Like employees who want to be home care managers will work hard with the expectat ion that they will one day be home care managers in the organisation as trainings are always provided to them. This feeling of expecting some reward in the future do motivate employees to work hard as mention by Vroom in 1964 in his Expectancy theory of motivation. Care UK also do organise end of year party for their staffs which brings a sense of togetherness at the organisation as employees do get to know their fellow workers. This kind of togetherness at the organisation helps to motivate employees to work towards the goal of the organisation. At Care UK appraisal of staffs are done after every six month where employees are asked individually by their line managers what they feel about the organisation, any area of concern that they feel should be improved, how they feel about their working conditions, any concern with other staff member. Through this appraisal exercise, employees are free to hear all their concern and where necessary proper steps are taken to improve the organis ation and facilitate the employees in performing their duties. At Care UK, the organisation is structured from top to bottom i.e. hierarchical arrangement where one level of jobs is subject to control by the next higher level. This kind of management is bureaucratic in nature and more authoritative in nature. The employees at the bottom of the hierarchy do not influence the decision making in the organisation a lot. Decisions are made from top to bottom. Because of the bureaucratic nature, the organisation enables the authority of officials to be subject to published rules and principles. Thus authority is legitimate, not arbitrary, (G.A Cole, 2004). In the organisation, information is passed from the top management to the healthcare staffs at the bottom. Little do the bottom healthcare staffs at the bottom influence the decision being made at the organisation. The top managers formulate all the rules and regulations to be followed by the bottom staffs, there is a clear separation of officials from the ownership of the organisation though the ap pointment to offices are made on the grounds of technical competence. This management style can be identified by Max Weber and the idea of Bureaucracy. Max Weber in his management school of thought do try to explain the kind of management style that Care UK has adapted. The management style is would recommend for Care UK would be more of a democratic nature where employees are given a bigger say in making decisions as it is through their hard work and commitments that has made the organisation where it is today. The employees work on the ground interacting with the clients and they are the eye of the organisation. If the are given a quit proportion to make decisions on haw to run the organisation it would improve on the image of the organisation and they would feel more part of the organisation. Since human resource planning is concern with the flow of people though and some times out of the organisation, Care UK has adapted a strong policy towards its human resource planning. This can be seen through the organisation recruitment and selection planning policy, training and development of its employees, promotion of the staff to new and top levels, redeployment and career planning processes, pay and motivation policy, appraisal of staffs. All these depend on a sound commitment of the organisation towards human resource planning. Care UK also has an effective recruitment and selection planning policy which comply with the national care standards and national laws of the country like criminal record checks, right to work in the country, equal opportunity, health and safety at work Act, national minimum wage Act to mention but a few. All this is done by the organisation throw its strong human resource planning.

You Will Always Remember Your First Time! :: essays research papers

You Will Always Remember Your First Time!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I wasn't real clear of what actually had just occurred, but I did know that I was in terrible pain. I laid beside the supercross track for at least 20 minutes answering the questions of very eager Emergency Medical personnel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Leave me alone! I will be all right.† I said to the medical guy that was tugging at my chest protector.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If there is one thing that I can not stand is twenty medical people trying to take all of your clothes off for a little cut or scrape. As I was put on a backboard and taken to the ambulance I couldn't help wondering what had went wrong. All I remember seeing was my body tumbling with my bike to an abrupt halt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I laid in the ambulance for what seemed like days. All I could hear were engines revving at high Rpm's and the roar of the crowd when someone styled for the crowd. It was very disheartening to know that I was in the back of an Ambulance at my first professional supercross. The only thing I could do was play the past events over and over in my head.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I couldn't believe it as I looked at a shiny gold and silver card. This card signified all of the rights and privileges of a professional supercrosser. Now I would have the right to race with the worlds best.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dad look it finally came!† I shouted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My dad looked at me with silly grin and said â€Å"Well you knew it was coming, you won your 25th race last month.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I stood there with a smile bigger than the sun on my face I said â€Å"I know but I am still excited about it. Just think I will be racing side by side with Damon Bradshaw and Kevin Windham.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He just smiled and patted me on the back as I turned and walked to my room. I sat dreaming of the race I will enter next month. I had no idea what was in store for me at this spectacular event.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As D-day drew nearer my mind overflowed with anticipation. I gathered my riding gear and my lucky Bart Simpson doll and headed out the door. I won my first race the day I sat my Bart Simpson on my handlebars between races. I have done it ever since to bring me good luck. The ride to Charlotte Motor Speedway was what I thought a trip that would never end. As we entered the pit area I was given a special pass to wear around my neck.

Comparison John Updikes AP and Timothy OBreins How to Tell a True War S

Comparison John Updikes AP and Timothy OBreins How to Tell a True War Story Although the short stories, â€Å"A&P,† by John Updike, and â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story,† by Timothy O’Brien, are both written in the technique of first person narrative, the two stories are conveyed to the reader in very different styles. John Updike, who was 29 at the time when he wrote â€Å"A & P,† narrates his story from the point of view of a 19 year old boy. The narration of the story of â€Å"A & P† illustrates the scene of the grocery store in which the teenage boy, Sammy, is a cashier who witnesses everything that goes on during the day. The store is a theater, having numerous skits taking place throughout the day with no script. Sammy is in the audience where he came only observe the acts to make up his own story and narrate the scene to others. Every important detail is observed through Sammy’s eyes and is expressed in the narration of his story of the A & P grocery store. Sammy sets the scene of a sunny, summer beach day in which three young girls dressed in nothing but bathing suits enter the store to buy some snacks for their day in the sand. Sammy is deeply intrigued by the girls and watches every move they make while ringing in other customers at the store. The girls parade through the isles as if they are putting on a show, just for Sammy. This is Sammy’s first live â€Å"girlie show† and he doesn't want to miss one single detail. Sammy expresses his excitement and fondness of one particular girl as he conveys the details of the one scene: She has on a kind of dirty-pink -- beige maybe, I don’t know -- bathing suit with a little nubble all over it and, what got me, the straps were down. They were a little off her shoulders... ... voices in the story, one for the part telling the actual war story to the other soldier, and one telling the whole story to the reader; war story and it’s reasons. The paragraph following the descriptive tale of his two buddies fooling around with the smoke grenades suggests this theory. In any war story, but especially a true one, it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. What seems to happen becomes it’s own happening and has to be told that way...The story as a whole was written to share with the soldiers who were there with the added tips guidelines to help them tell their own â€Å"true war stories,† and have them be remembered, as well as believed. The graphical depiction of the story is for the fortunate who were not present at the time of the war, who should always be reminded through out time how horrible and unnecessary war is.

Organisation culture Essay -- Business and Management Studies

Organisation culture Organisation culture can be defined as the collection of relatively uniform and enduring beliefs, values, customs, traditions and practices which are shared by an organisation’s members and which are transmitted from one generation of employees to the next. One view in the field of organisation culture is the culture metaphor. A metaphor is a word or phrase applied to an object or action which it does not literally denote.1 Metaphor can be powerful means of communicating ideas and are in common use in many organisations. It asserts that culture is a mental state that has to be tolerated since it is incapable of being changed by management. It adopted a phenomenological standpoint and conceptualised culture as a ‘process of enactment’ – not as something that exists ‘out there’ separate from people, but which was actually manufactured by company employees as they interacted with one another on a daily basis within the workplace.2 In highlighting the symbolic significance of virtually every aspect of organisation life, the culture metaphor thus focuses attention on a human side of organisation that other metaphors ignore or gloss over. The culture metaphor opens the way to a reinterpretation of many traditional managerial concepts and processes. It also helps to reinterpret the nature and significance of organisation environment relations. Culture of the organisation plays a key role in determining a structure that would suit. The organisation stance towards participation and risk-taking will have an impact on the decision pertaining to number of levels and delegation of authority. Congruence between culture and structure is important. Lack of congruence can result in mixed signals across the organisation. Organisational culture is based on differences in norms and shared practices which are learned in the workplace and are considered as valid within the boundaries of a particular organisation. Therefore the efficiency of an organization structure is determined by how well it fits into the culture in which it is set. The environments affect the structures chosen by organizational decision-makers through their society’s cultural expectations. Organisational structures are designed to insure survival through social legitimacy by reflecting the surrounding culture’s values and beliefs (Birnbaum-More a... ...se of authority here. For the most part individuals are encouraged to perform their tasks with few questions asked though important decisions are likely to be made as a result of political manoeuvring. The greatest strength of power cultures is their ability to react quickly but their success largely depends on the abilities of the person or people at the centre. In conclusion, organisational culture exercises a potent form of control over the interaction of organisational members with each other and outsiders. By supplying people with a toolbox of values, norms, and rules that tell them how to behave, organisation culture is instrumental in determining how they interpret and react to a situation. Thus, an organisation’s culture can be a source of competitive advantage. References 1. Andrew Brown.1995, ‘Organisational Culture’ Chap1, p13 2. David Buchanan & Andrzej Huczynski. 1997, ‘Organizational Behaviour’ Chap 18, p514 3. David Buchanan & Andrzej Huczynski. 1997, ‘Organizational Behaviour’ Chap 22, p681 Additional References l Gaeth Morgan. 1986 ‘Images of Organization’ 2 Laurie J Mullins. 2005 ‘Management and Organisational Behaviour’

Organizational Design

Founded in 2007, Noida Lab was conceptualized with a vision to provide a competitive R&D platform in wireless technology. Headquartered in Noida, aligning with ABC’s vision, Noida Lab is one of the fastest-growing companies in the mobile software sector. Noida Lab produces efficient and dynamic mobile software that continually pushes the boundaries of innovation to meet latest technology and provide the high quality products. JourneyABC Ltd. has established Noida Lab in 2007 in India with a firm belief towards success and the realistic goals. Noida Lab has transformed itself into one the most competitive and proficient R&D centers of ABC Ltd. worldwide. It is focused on embedded and PC software development for ABC Ltd., in a variety of areas related to Mobile Phones. Noida Lab started its operations with Regional Adaptation and Multimedia testing while focusing to bring great innovations and latest technologies in the era of wireless communications. Noida Lab is engaged in dev elopment of latest mobile software for all range of handsets.Noida Lab also focuses on Quality assurance which includes automation Testing, protocol testing, white box testing and GCF certifications Noida Lab is involved in development and testing of extensive range of mobiles software by the combination of exceptional talent and superior technology. The focus of Noida Lab is to produce best quality mobile phone software in both CDMA and GSM technologies.The center has talented engineers for carrying out R&D works having development and quality teams. The research and development activities are carried out in ideal manner to stabilize every model in terms of quality, features and enhancement. The dedicated team works in coordination with other centers across the world to produce high quality mobiles considering various factors such as market research, target customers, competing products etc.Organizational’ Size & HierarchyTotal employee size of the organization is approx. 20 00 employees and the average age of employees 30. Majority of senior management is home-country based and work in line with the local managers. Also many have come through transfer from other group’s subsidiaries.Chapter 1Consider your organization and identify the stage where it creates maximum value? What are the reasons? Also identify untapped opportunity for value creation by HR department of your organization. In growing complexities, it’s utmost important for the organization to redesign and transform its structure and culture to move from present state to the desired future state and thus increase effectiveness , also creating value and enhanced performance Creation of Maximum value.Since the company has recently developed its operations, it’s essential to focus at every level and identify strategies to engage human resources. HR team identified various initiatives during entire employee life cycle. Noida Lab has laid down some of the best example in thei r transformation process since the company is willing to have an impact: Flattening: Too many levels of hierarchy slow decision-making and are a barrier to empowerment. During the initial growth of the organization, ABC had many levels between the employee and the senior management.Decisions had to pass through many levels of approval before anything got done. Budding Bureaucracy was crushed and de-centralized was encouraged to tap the younger workforce’s mind. This change not only helped the employee but also the customers/ clients linked with the company. Strong emphasis on Onboarding: Comprehensive onboarding programs have been shown to have dramatic and lasting positive effects on retention and engagement rates of new employees. HR created on-boarding toolkit to for every department which included full series of trainings and seminars over an employee’s first year aiming to bring newest employees up to speed efficiently.Research shows that employees make the critic al decision to stay or leave within the first six months and that having the newest talent participate in an onboarding program can â€Å"maximize retention, engagement, and productivity† (HCI White Paper, 2008). More inclined workforce can serve client with better inclination through achieving results with passion.Organization’s success depends in large part on how well employees communicate – with each other as well as with various stakeholders. ‘We Learn’ Club is launched to engage employee to enhance communication and provide healthy engagement platform at workplace. There are various meetings  conducted among teams, team-managers, team-HR, and employees-senior management. Also included are monthly meetings through which all the organizational updates are shared with the employees and changes are launched. These approaches encourage information sharing amongst each and every level in the organization. With effect, employees are more compassion ate while dealing with client’s requirements, proving success in the projects.Learning & Development: ABC has a vision that it can’t develop unless there are strategic options for an employee to develop himself. There has been training programs right for a new joinee to a long lasting employee. Employees should observe that there is a growth opportunity for them and perceive the company as a development institution. Company has made tie-up with 2-3 top universities to provide higher education assistance program. On-line learning platforms like Learntrak and Harvard Mentor are available free of cost, also certifications options are available. Company has also identified SMEs (Subject Matter Expert) to identify and highlight budding talent within the company. With improved â€Å"Internal processes’ and focused â€Å"internal Customers†, company can achieve the success in its value chain.ABC has recognized certain values as important to corporate ethics and operational success. To make these values pervade at all levels there are many un-tapped opportunity. Creating a values statement for an organization involves examining the organization's purpose and goals. Once it is clear where the organization wants to go through the value creation process (input, conversion, and output), objectives can be achieved. ABC vision laid emphasis highly on customer satisfaction with effectiveness whereas same can be achieved if employees are treated highly valued and their attitudes, interests and preferences are more stable. Customer value proposition play an important role in meeting above objectives.Chapter 2Identify important conflicts involving employees and other stakeholder groups in your organization. Explain inducement and contributions for relevant stakeholders involved. Is there any ethical issue involved in above mentioned conflict? Which ethical model is appropriate for solving identified ethical issue?Stakeholders can be defined in many ways and different kinds of entities can be stakeholders, such as persons, groups inside as well as outside an organization. The stakeholders act according to their interest and use their power to influence the product in the direction they desire. To develop good working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, and to avoid conflict, it is essential to share a common purpose. Often conflicts are observed which can induce the scope for inefficiency.a. Interventions: Ambiguity in roles and demand often lead to interventions which displace ownership and hinder performance. Through management skills, stakeholders should be able to identify what these conflicts might be before entering into the communication process and hence the opportunity to intervene early.b. Clear Communication: There are no gaps if communication is clear. In organization, right from main vision to mission and even team goals, all should be strategically aligned and link in meeting each other’s object ives. One process output should be value input for the next, hence clear communication through positive relationship is important to prevent conflicts of interest and find a common purpose to agree on.c. Complex behavior: Since organization deal with human which is complex, hence difficult behavior are encountered often within stakeholders. It’s necessary to be assertive but use neutral language to defuse any aggression. Stakeholder mapping using power/interest matrix as adapted from Mendelow (1981) and Johnson & Scholes (1993) can be used as a powerful tool to identify contribution of every stakeholders. ABC ltd. has developed similar approach as mentioned in the fig below. They indicated that power and dynamism are relevant factors; low to high and static to dynamic.Too often relationships with stakeholders are conducted in an ad hoc or intuitive manner. A strategic approach (a plan with clear objectives, milestones and an evaluation) builds better ongoing relationships and is more likely to realize the benefits for the department and the stakeholders. There can be enormous ethical issues if the stakeholder management is not  proper in the organization. Keeping in view working model of ABC Ltd, below are some instances records: Stakeholders Group and Issuesindicators Employees Pay and Benefits Atleast minimum legal wage or local cost of living is incorporated Employee diversity Percentage of diverse groups and designed policies to cater different gender and races as equal Communication open-door policies/ ombudsmen Customers Product authencity/ quality/ safety No of defects/ recalled projects Customer complaint management Availability of set procedures and system to cater all queries Customer service Measures/ practices adopted to ensure effective service delivery Investors Transparency Availability of procedures to inform shareholders about corporate activities Stakeholder rights management litigation involving violations of shareholder rights Community/ Society development Public health and safety protection Availability of emergency-response plan Minimizing the use of energy Type, amount, and designation of waste generatedThe model of human behavior called the economic man model has been identified to solve ethical issues, which assumed the following: The decision-maker had access to perfect information concerning all aspects of the decision situation. The decision-maker could process all the relevant information when identifying and diagnosing problems. The decision-maker could identify all possible solutions to a problem and evaluate the outcomes of each alternative solution.Multiple goals of an organization could be combined into a single, simple mathematical equation. A rational decision-maker would always select the alternative solution that would produce the maximum benefit to the organization. All decision-makers process information in the same manner and make similar decisions.Chapter 31. Map generic and specific environment related to trainin g initiatives in your organization. How will you rank identified elements. As a statistically-based method to reduce variation in organization’s processes, Six Sigma is used as an all-encompassing business performance methodology. This has helped ABC labs to Align their business strategy to critical improvement efforts thus Mobilize teams to attack high impact projects, accelerate improved business results and also govern efforts to ensure improvements are sustained. Since the launch of Six Sigma, it helped the organization to increase their effectiveness by 60% and provided ample security checks for improvement. Other important aspect is developing leadership skills in the organization which is itself a very complex task.Amongst senior cadre in the company are people from diverse background, ethnicity and race, hence was key focus area. As part of its HR initiatives, the company conducted advanced programmes such as Foundations of Organization Learning (FOL) and Visionary an d Leadership Planning (VLP). It also conducted a series of communication exercises about the change initiatives to all its employees across the country. ABC labs are also using 360 degree purely as a leadership development tool, completely separate from  annual appraisals, which are mostly about meeting targets. ABC's top executives have each been assessed by at least four subordinates, four peers and their immediate boss. Each executive, in turn, has assessed at least ten others. Given that the 360 degree assessment form is five pages long and contains 50 questions, this makes for a massive logistic exercise.But assessing only the top management doesn't quite serve the purpose, since it is the middle managers that need to be promoted to senior leadership positions to meet the organization’s talent needs. Also to get around this, ABC labs has designated counselors, called Leadership Group Facilitators (LGF), senior managers who are not in the recipients immediate work orbit , assigned the task of presenting the feedback dossier and immediately discussing its findings.Strategy mapping is a powerful business tool. Strategy maps show graphically how organizations create value for customers and stakeholders. Good strategy maps communicate strategic intent internally and externally, and are one of the most effective communication tools an organization can use to build alignment, accountably, and a focus on results. Hence ABC labs has created well defined performance management system which binds individual KRAs with identified Organization’s competencies.Out of strategic initiatives, Balance scorecard is the most prominent and identified element. ABC labs started with critical approach about â€Å"what† and â€Å"why†, before â€Å"how†. Remember, performance improvement initiatives are â€Å"how’s†; organization vision, goals, and strategy are â€Å"why’s† and â€Å"what’s†. This strateg y was entirely focused to develop all the stakeholders within and outside the organization. Missing pieces like customer value proposition, strategic themes, mission and results in financial perspective was aligned through the Balance card.2. Based on resource dependence theory, identify one good and one bad illustration for inter-organizational relationship (which involve some other organization) involving your chosen firm.Key researchers Dean and Sharfman, (1993); Dutton, (1993) & Haley and Stumph,(1989) studies the nature of the decision and says that research into  decision making cognition and labeling suggests that the same internal or external stimulus may be interpreted quite differently by managers in different organizations or even within the same organization. Resource Dependence Theory tries to explain the relationship of different variables that affects decision making and also acts as a dominant approach in contemporary strategic management.Mergers and acquisitions h ave been one of the primary domains of inter-organizational action to be analyzed under a resource-dependence perspective. In past 1 year, ABC labs have acquired 2 business entities which lead to power imbalance. During acquisition, it was priority to ensure to enroll matrix structure as a way to create a balance between global product groups. As per the ABC Labs strategy, in this way management attention would be focused and balanced dimensions. Also given a clear specification of the purpose of a unit and of type of relationship with other units, unit managers will be able to work out most of the details for themselves.However the stakeholders of acquired companies were quite firm on maintaining the pre-dominant structure in their groups when got acquired. This created conflict, however with the series of management discussion and meetings, all were synced for the intended outcomes which include: An improved reporting structure that is helpful in complex decision making Efficient usage of shared resources that provide opportunities for skill development Competencies to deal with legitimate multiple sources of power, and The sharing of knowledge between divisionsThere were some inadvertent outcomes too which included excessive overheads in management, time losses with the frequent meetings also to resolve conflict and power struggle between divisions. ABC Labs is however being able to conceptualize now its organization structure and bring strategic power in action. Different theoretical approaches, such as institutional theory, strategic contingencies theory, resource dependency theory and decision-making theory were explored.

Baseball Culture

Baseball is a game played everywhere: in parks, playgrounds, in back alleys and farmers’ fields, by small children and old men, raw amateurs and millionaire professionals, and also all over the world. It is a leisurely game that demands blinding speed. It is the only game in which the defense has the ball. Americans have played baseball for more than 200 years, and is still one the most popular sports in the whole world. Baseball hasn’t always been the loving sport it is today before 1947 there were two separate leagues because there was a color barrier. The first person to break this barrier was Jackie Robinson an African American baseball player who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from April 15, 1947- October 10, 1956. This was the beginning of a new era and with this it created a whole new view on the game itself. Baseball is a game where people can come together as one unit but be complete strangers, where people can go to just hangout, and also where you can enjoy some of the best yet expensive food. At a baseball game it is considered good to yell out bad things at the away team, you usually do this with other fans which you most of the time do not know, you also scream with fellow fans when your team does a good thing, whether they score or someone just made a spectacular web gem. All of this is in good fun and the fact that you are able to share all this with random strangers is amazing, because a lot of times people do not like to step out of their comfort zone and talk to new people, but at a ball game you are able to do that no matter what kind of person you are. Through the game people are able to step out of their comfort zone and meet new people and interact with people they have never met before. Although if your team is the away team be careful because some fans really hate the other team and sometimes do crazy things. Since the beginning going to a ball game was always a way for people to get out and enjoy a thrilling game. It allows people to hang out with friends or ven go on a date, it lets people go out and see their favorite player and scream their name and try to get their autograph or if they are lucky even a picture. Going to a baseball stadium is just a great way for people to enjoy the sport they love and hangout. Going to a baseball game is probably one of the best times a person could ever have, because you never know whether or not the game could end up going into extra innings or it being a blowout victory for the home team. That is the fun in going to a game the excitement of anything can happen, imagine being a young boy or girl and catching a ball that catch would be with you for the rest of your life. Being at a game is a great experience and is one of the best events a person can go to because it allows you to be who you are just enjoy life because for those 3 hours you are at that game nothing else is on your mind except the game. While at a baseball game most people get hungry luckily baseball stadiums have some of the best food known to man. But that food comes at a price like a price of you are not paying for anything for less than $5. But although these prices are high it is just a must to at least get a hot dog at a baseball game. It’s just part of the baseball culture to eat something at a game. Although now it is not very unnatural for a person to only buy a drink because of how high the prices are at the stadiums now a days. Hopefully one day we can get to the days where a hot dog max only cost $1. 0 and a slice of pizza for the same price. Hopefully with less people buying, those prices will actually be seen and put into action. But the world may never know. All in all Baseball is a game, from when it first started to present day, where people from all around the world can come together and have one common love†¦ the love of the game baseball. Baseball is just one of those sports where no matter what kind of a person you are you will always be accepted by the people around you.