Family Essay

INTRODUCTION A family is the most important social group to which a person could belong to. Our families teaches us about the importance of knowledge, education, hard work and effort. It teaches us about enjoying ourselves, having fun, keeping fit and healthy. It teaches us all the social and moral etiquettes which a person learns and they learn them because of their family environment. The conditions in a family very much affect the livelihood and working of an individual. There for making your family very important. PREVIEW There are so many reasons why a family is important.  A family is what a person has been around their whole life they have helped that person even if that person doesn’t notice, the family has helped. and no matter what there is a bond between each person in a family a love that you can’t quite explain even when someone in the family has done something to hurt you no matter what happens you will love them even if you don’t think so now. But that is not what this speech is about, I will be focusing on how a family helps; 1.)shapes the personality, 2.) develops emotional strength, and 3.) can work as a support system. BODY I.It shapes the personality. Now how dose our family shape our personality? A.Well since childhood, we are taught be in accordance with the family traditions and cultures which have been going on since generations. B.The basic principles of life and lessons to live it nicely are also given to us by our family. C. The social, moral, and educational background decides the present and future of the child and that is decided by the family, especially the parents. (Transitional Phrase: It is the family which helps us to grow well and deal with the challenges of life because of how our emotional strength was developed). II. When the family goes through a hard time or a joyous time all the members of the family go through it and that is how our development of emotional strength is started. A.When family environment is good and stress free, then the mind of an individual remains delighted and free of any pressure. B.But if the family is broken or if there are continuous family  problems every now and then, this leads to serious mental stress. C.This in turn, has difficult effects on the education, career and future of a person. In other words, the emotional strength of a person and our ability to overcome crisis situations for the most part depends on how we have been brought up. (Transitional Phrase: When a family is well put together the and family members encourage us to do something we will certainly feel confident about whatever it is even if we are not that great at that certain thing.) III. Whenever we are looking for support we always look to those that we know will support us and so when our family works as a support system it will certainly help us a lot. A.And in order to do any job well, a person needs some backing or support to keep their confidence level high. B.Family is the biggest source of this because the family members know that person better than anyone else. therefore they know what is right for the individual and what is not and family should tell you what is not good for u or what they know you certainly cant do. C. If the family always help and encourages that person and that person can trust them then they and will go to them for advice or support trusting them to help them and trusting their judgment if they should or shouldn’t do something. D. Most importantly the family will always be with a person, even in the worst times of that individuals life the family will go through it with them. CONCLUSION Therefore â€Å"Cherish your life, Cherish your health, Cherish your family, and Cherish your friends. For these are the things that money can’t buy and will define your true wealth†.-unknown Appreciate your family because when everything goes downhill your family will be right there with you. And some people don’t have that, some people have to deal with struggles on their own and have a hard time because they do not having a family to help them go through it, yes they might have friends that will help them but there friends don’t have the deep connection that you have with your family they haven’t gone through all that you have because they haven’t been at your side as your family has. You might think that your brothers and sisters haven’t gone through the same thing that you have but there is such a deep connection between a family that they have dealt with you and how you take the situations. There is a reason why God gave you your family and not just  a friend that you know for a couple of years. there is a reason why you will have them in your life forever. However as I said before there is so much more but now is not the time for that, for now I hope you can see how a family is important because of how it helped shape the personality, develop emotional strength, and works as a support system. Families are like branches on a tree. We grow in different directions but our roots remain as one. So â€Å"No matter how bad things get, no matter how wrong things go, family will always be there! So treasure the family you have and don’t take them for granted!†- Nishan Panwar

How are decisions in real world organizations actually made? Essay

There are various decision making models in the real world. These decisions are made in different situations which can be stressful or normal business situations. Those who take decisions in an organization are individuals. There are various factors in any organization or group of people that have impact on their development and growths. One of such factors is conflict. This paper discusses various aspects of conflict management and negotiation at workplace. Conflict can be dues to various factors. These factors can be individual factors like attitude, perception, cultural and gender differences and it can be organizational factors like inappropriate allocation of resources, management styles, leadership and type of communication. Figure 2 Decision making processes Bounded Rationality There are various reasons to bounded rationality. These are as follows: common Biases and Errors, anchoring Bias, overconfidence bias, confirmation bias, availability bias, representative bias, escalation of commitment error, randomness error and hindsight bias. Intuition: Intuition can be defined as â€Å"Unconscious decision making process based on experience of the same job or industry. † Individual Differences: Individual differences contribute to individual decision making styles. Organization Constraints: There are various kinds of organizational constraints which are influenced by perception of an individual or group. These are as follows: Performance Evaluation Reward Systems System-imposed Time Constraints Historical Precedents Formal Regulation Cultural Differences This plays very important roles in multi-location or multinational environment. Every place on the earth has some kind of variety and difference attached to it. These differences grow stronger with the distances. These differences can be in appearance, social structure or behavior of an individual. This also contributes to decision making process. How can our perceptions shape ethical or moral decisions? Perceptions shape our ethical and moral decisions. An individual who perceives that dealing unfair with someone is unethical and not right thing to do will take decision in such a way that it benefits its employee. On the other hand a person with self centric approach will think about himself first and will justify it by saying himself a professional. Social capital in an economic sector is determined by the quality and frequency of the relationships between its members, which, some evidence indicates, can vary from region to region according to the socio-cultural evolution of each location. The quality of the relationships, in turn, is affected by the perception of the individuals about their capacity to establish good working relationships with others and perform adequately. Reference: Holloway, R. E. (1977) Perceptions of an innovation: Syracuse University Project Advance. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Syracuse University. Hutcheson, P. , Pearson, A. W. and Ball, D. F. (1996) Sources of technical innovation in the network of companies providing chemical process plant and equipment. Research Policy 25, No. 1, 25-41. Julie Gatlin, Allen Wysocki, and Karl Kepner2, Understanding Conflict in the Workplace1 retrieved on 21 June 2007 from http://edis. ifas. ufl. edu/HR024 Robbins, Stephen P, 2005 Organizational Behavior, Eleventh Edition, Prentice-Hall

Business Entity Case Study Essay

Lou, Jose and Miriam can go into business in the form of a corporation, or partnership, or LLC where Miriam provides monetary capital, while Lou and Jose provide manpower. An operating agreement or purchase-option agreement should be established under which Lou and Jose could each buy a predetermined portion of the business at a predetermined cost. If they choose to establish a corporation, they can elect to be taxed as an S corporation where they will not pay tax at the corporate level. The taxes will be paid at the personal level to avoid double taxation. One thing that should be guarded against is entering into a future agreement where manpower or future personal effort will be exchanged for shares or capital contributions. This is because capital contributions must have present value. Furthermore, Miriam must be aware that any present transfer of her capital contributions to either Lou or Jose capital account or shares, could be considered as a gift, and could subject Miriam to g ift taxation. Also, it could be viewed as taxable income to Lou and Jose, which would reduce their net investment value (Hartman, 2006). Extermination Business Based on the fact that Frank wants to establish the extermination business in many different places, the first thing he needs to think of is that his business should be a corporation. His plan will not qualify for a limited partnership. The only option available to Frank is the corporate option because Frank plans on establishing the business nationwide. Projecting the expected growth rate of the business, it may be best to file for a standard C corporation which will allow his business to take in more than 30 investors which will likely occur based on franchises or other opportunities by which he can acquire investor money for the business. One of the primary reasons is to remove his own personal liability by making the company a legal entity of its own. Frank must pay careful attention to the fact that he will be using chemicals in homes and they must be properly tested and  approved for public use. He must make sure that all the chemicals meet the requirements of necessary to be used in people’s home. Because of this, it is important for Frank to have someone who can take the time to verify the validity of each product that he uses to ensure its safety. Furthermore, he must ensure that he has adequate liability insurance to cover lawsuits should someone be injured by a chemical or by an employee in the home of a customer. The liability insurance would be necessary to cover the cost associated with medical bills or a lawsuit associated with an action taken on someone’s property. This insurance should be in place from day one and Frank must make sure that all employees are covered by such an insurance policy. Frank will have some time before he needs to focus on additional employment laws. The early stage of the business will not require a lot of paper works and legal actions. As the company grows to more than 50, it will require additional investments of time and money to ensure the company is operating within its legal boundaries. At that point the company will need to have some sort of legal representation to ensure the actions taken by the company are done in an appropriate and legal manner (Mallor, 2003). Construction Scenario Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a person cannot be discriminated against in employment based upon race, color, nationality, religion, sex age or disability, except where an employer would suffer an undue hardship if it were required to employ under the discriminatory condition, and where no reasonable accommodation of the employee is possible. In the case of Michelle who is pregnant, it presents an identifiable undue hardship to the employer, because should she or her fetus be injured during the operation of the jackhammer, the employer would be subject to a workers’ compensation claim. In addition, because the job requires the operation of the jackhammer, there is no reasonable accommodation that the employer can possibly provide, which would not prevent the employee from working. Therefore, even though the employer would discriminate against Michelle, it is not liable under either the Americans with Disabilities Act or under the Civil Rights Act which will be discrimination based on disability and sex respectively. In the case of Eric, him not having a high school diploma  excludes him from consideration for employment. However, as a person 40 years or older is protected by the Age Discrimination, because it is difficult for older employees to obtain high school diploma if they do not possess it already. This implies that, Surebuild could be liable for age discrimination, if the company uses the lack of a diploma as the reason for denying Eric. In the case of Felipe who does not speak English, Surebuild could be held liable for discrimination if English is not a requirement for the performance of the position he is applying for. Surebuild could be charged with discrimination against race, and nationality. Considering Nick, he has a high school diploma, and is well qualified for the job based upon his education. The problem he has is that, he has no experience and he is also epileptic. However, the advertisement does not state experience with a jackhammer as a requirement. The only issue at hand is his epileptic condition. Surebuild can deny Nick for employment and will not be liable for discrimination against him for being disabled. This is because he can have a seizure in the middle of the operation of the jackhammer and that can cause injury not only to himself but to others as well. However, if Nick can show proof or medical records that suggest that his illness is controlled by a certain medication and that he will not have a seizure while operating the machinery, then he should be qualified for the position. If Surebuild refuses to employ him based on his illness, the company will be liable for discrimination against the disabled (Mallor, 2006). References: Hartman, L. P. (2005). Perspective in Business Ethics (3rd Ed.). Columbus, OH: The McGraw-Hills Companies. Mallor, J.P., Barnes, J.A., & Bowers, T.L. (2003). The Ethical, Global, and E-Commerce Environment (13th Ed.). Columbus, OH: The McGraw-Hills Companies. * * *

Study of Branding Decisions (Cadbury Dairy Milk) Coursework

Study of Branding Decisions (Cadbury Dairy Milk) - Coursework Example Cadbury has been able to attain strong brand image and identity in the market. Therefore it has been able to differentiate itself from its major competitors in the market (Lasserre, 2012). The concerned company has focused on its branding strategy since it is considered as the most valuable intangible assets for the food products. A brand experiences strong brand equity in the market when the consumers prefers the particular brand in comparison to the other brands available in the market (Picton and Broderick, 2009). The product which experiences strong brand image in the market will be able to attract more customers. The popularity of Cadbury has increased because the consumers are aware of its brand name. It has been observed that 90% of the people recognize this brand (Wintzer, 2007). Cadbury dairy milk has adopted the packaging design strategy which includes the brand promotion and corporate design. The packaging style of Cadbury dairy milk mainly comprises of the following elements which includes the corporate purple colour of Cadbury, the script logo of Cadbury, the distinctive packaging design and the glass with full cream logo. Cadbury dairy milk has focused on these elements in order to increase the distinctiveness, high quality and memo ability in the minds of the consumers. From the very beginning the packaging has been considered as a very important marketing tool for attracting the customers (Perreault and MaCarthy, 2003).The concerned company has hired a team of experts that are engaged in improving the packaging of its product. The design of Cadbury reflects the quality and the brand image of the product. Cadbury dairy milk has used bright colour in its packaging, since bright colours assist in attracting the customers. The bright colour also facilita tes the customers in finding the product when it is displayed

Dissent Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dissent - Coursework Example alia’s stand that there is no liberty in the jurisprudence of doubt, and therefore, the popular will and public pressure should not be allowed to influence court rulings to avoid ruling according to the law. Consequently, the courts would be forced to abandon the constitution regarding the issue of abortion, thus forcing judges to substitute the law with their personal views and this would be even more chaotic. Ruling by personal views would mean that each abortion court case would be characterized by random and unpredictable results of undirected human opinions. Evidently, the situation would portray lack of proper tools and mechanisms in the judge’s-workbox and in the lawyer’s, and the infliction of harm on the law through judiciary’s internal divisions. I also support Scalia’s argument of constitutionalizing provision of truthful information to women seeking abortion even if it would influence their decision; emphasizing on the 24-hour waiting period; requisition of detailed demographic data regarding each women in search of abortion; and requiring that a doctor or a non-physician counselor offers information under the undue burden (Murphy, et al. 2013, 475). This stand depicts the state’s potential interest in life, and eliminates the difficulty in implementing the right to abortion (Murphy, et al. 2013,

NUR 654 Class Evaluation Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

NUR 654 Class Evaluation - Personal Statement Example Public Policies, I can say, overrule Nursing practice. In fact, going by the various policies that were reviewed through NUR 654, it is blatant that Nursing is at the mercies of the Public Policies. The policies can either lift the standards of nursing or bring it down. For instance, Representative Manny Diaz had sponsored a House bill that, in my opinion, would lift the face of Nursing in the State of Florida by liberating the experienced nurses. Before then, the prior laws had tied their hands. From a personal perspective, the policies are both constructive and destructive. These policies have been very instrumental in curbing the emergence of fraudulent nurses. The policies have always aimed at the perfection of nursing practice. For instance, even as HB 547 sought for the liberation of nurses, it still emphasized that a nurse must be under a strict supervision for a period not less 2000 hours in 3 years. This step is just to ensure that perfection is achieved for the good of the public. However, who formulates these policies and how they are passed into laws is a debatable matter. How can a legislator who has never stepped into a Nursing class, for instance, sit down and design policies that guide the practice? What does he or she know about nursing practice? I find this a weakness in the making of public policies. I suggest that policies that govern nursing be drafted by a panel of nurses, with little political and public

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

Internet Marketing - Essay Example There is no way I am not taking advantage of this new offer not in a million years and since the offer has a limited timeline, there is no time to shower. Even if I wanted to shower, I have no bath wash and I have to remember to pick that up after the coffee. Since the coffee shop is only a few blocks from my house, I just leave in my sweats and hope to not be late. On my way out I grab something I never leave the house without (besides my smartphone that is) and this is the google glass. The google glass is the best invention so far and I adore them. I have several reasons for that the first being that I get to take photos and record videos of funny occurrences and events on my way to the coffee shop without attracting the attention of people and hence little chances of being caught doing so. These pictures and videos I later share with my friends on facebook and instagram and we have a laugh about. It is also easier for me to get directions from my google glass and especially when my hands are full like they are about to be once I get my steaming hot coffee and free donut. Believe or not I actually work and not spend all my time playing with my tech toys or on social media. I therefore catch up with my work as I walk along the streets shopping, when waiting to meet my friends or potential clients or investors physically among other times. I ask my google glass to tell me how long it will take me to reach the coffee shop and it displays 3 min. In three minutes I will have gone through the urgent emails that I see are notified and alerting me as urgent. Flipping through this image without actually failing to continue walking is the best thing ever as I get to multitask while walking the streets without safety fear. A text message from my phone interrupts my email reading and it is reminder that I have arrived at the coffee house. This text message alert on my location is another great invention for the

Harlequin Enterprises case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Harlequin Enterprises case - Essay Example This is because; the firm has faithful fans all around the world. From the statistics and history of the sales, it is evident that due to the tactics that the management used to market their writers, many fans would still buy any book that the company publishes. The strong loyalty that the company enjoys from its audience is enough to put the company back to the top as the leading romance publisher in the world. A successful launch of new titles would need tactics that the enterprise exploited in the past. Since the beginning of the enterprise, it exploited ideas that dealt with the situation at hand. The marketing methods reflected the customer needs, making the firm stay ahead of other publishing competitors. Another key method is changing the titles to match the interest of the audience at the time of publishing. The management moved from producing series to single titles when the need, was necessary (Ivey). This enabled them remain relevant to the audience no matter what direction the customer interest changed to. For good management to succeed, the managers need to be flexible and change according to the requirements of the

Econ question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Econ question - Essay Example As the author correctly notes, the situation should not be oversimplified and he suggests that rejecting inherited wealth would lead to an equal society. On the other hand, the power of hereditary wealth cannot be used in the demonstration of particular thresholds of disparity typical of the developed nations in the twentieth century. At a particular point in the twentieth century, hard work was the guaranteed way of achieving a good living, then the considerable changes associated with the interwar era made things different. The changes have little involvement with the increase in the productivity of workers as compared to the effect that was felt by the very rich in the interwar era. The societies that were exceptionally imbalanced had been developed based on extreme concentrations of wealth, which made it possible for a small class of individuals to survive on capital income alone. The working rich did not simply overtake the rest of the population during the interwar period. The author dedicates most chapter seven in his book to a comprehensive walk through the data that explains the elements that influenced changes in distribution of income throughout the last century. The distribution of income for the French was extremely compressed by the interwar era, but disparity started to increase swiftly in the after the war because of the quick recovery and increased focus on reconstruction than on distributional concerns. This tendency in the direction of increased disparity stopped by the political changes that took place on the late sixties, but disparity started increasing again in the early nineties. In the division of his analysis, Piketty tries to develop a clear distinction between the contemporary definition of labour and inheritance, and the dissimilarity between income form labour and income from wealth. He

Personal Skills and Self Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Skills and Self Management - Essay Example Having started my career at the ANZ Banking Group about 14 years ago as an operator of Grade 2, I have progressed in my field and am now serving in the ANZ as Level 3 Supervisor within the Loan Operation Department. I hope to progress further and become the Operation State Manager in ANZ and get placed in Category C. The Operation State Manager manages two teams in the Institutional Loan Division. This includes 13 workers and 5 business units. The fact that the Operation State Manager has to take care of the business units in addition to the workers increases and complicates his duties manifolds. He is also expected to achieve the goals of higher management and meet stakeholder expectations. Duties of the Operation State Manager can be fundamentally classified into the four universally known functions of management namely planning, organizing, leading and controlling. One of the most important skills required of a Operation State Manager is communication because he has to interact wi th hundreds of people on daily basis. The word of Operation State Manager means a lot to them. ... If I am to become the Operation State Manager later in my career, it is imperative that I concentrate on improving my communication skills. For that, I would need to gain a good understanding of different styles of communication for use in different kinds of situations. There are four basic styles of communication namely assertive, aggressive, passive, and passive-aggressive. A manager has to see which style fits a particular situation. I also have to analyze the barriers to effective communication. Nevertheless, the manager needs to be more assertive in his communication because it promotes understanding and diffuses anger. ANZ defines leadership characteristics as supportive for the organizational culture. Hence, in order to be a successful manager In ANZ, I would need to conduct thorough analysis of the organizational culture, aims and objectives and accord my leadership qualities with them. The Operation State Manager at ANZ is necessarily a role model for the subordinates and th ey acquire motivation for him. Therefore, I would need to learn how to motivate employees. I would need to conduct a detailed literature review to identify the factors that serve as the biggest source of motivation for the workforce. Such factors include but may not be limited to money, promotion, paid leave and added privileges. It is important for me to optimize my own leadership skills instead of trying to copy other leaders because I believe that effective leadership originates in original personality rather than an artificial one. I expect myself to be ready for this position in the next 3-5 years. Communication and conflict resolution are two of the most fundamental aspects of my current capabilities

Retail Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Retail - Research Paper Example There are numerous retail organizations in the United States of America. Coach, Inc tends to deal with luxury leather based goods and is situated in America. It initiated as a small leather goods company and in the present times the company is popular for its ladies handbags as well as other items such as luggage, wallets, novelty accessories and briefcase among others. The main focus of the study is to comprehend the history of the chosen retail organization i.e. Coach, Inc. The study further progresses with the identification of the corporate stakeholders and responses to their issues. It will also attempt to offer the role of the retail industry in its social, economic and political setting. The domestic and the international ethics along with the ecological as well as natural resources affecting the company will be discussed in the paper. The retail industry might confront numerous social issues which need to be paid due attention. Therefore, the paper will try to throw light upo n the social issues faced by the company i.e. Coach Inc. The paper will endeavor to rate the industry’s overall social responsiveness and its accomplishments in the retail sector and will also attempt to rate the industry in terms of Saint Leo University’s core values. It will try to suggest changes that need to be made to be more in line with the core values of the Saint Leo University. History Coach Inc. was initiated in the year 1941 in the New York City. It was formed as a partnership named as Gail Manufacturing Company. Gail Manufacturing Company started as a family-owned business possessing that used to prepare small leather-based goods such as wallets as well as handbags. It was in the year 1946 when Miles Cahn as well as his spouse Lillian entered into the company. Both Miles Cahn and Lillian were the proprietors of the leather handbag producing company and they had good information regarding the leatherworks as well as business. It was by 1950s when Miles Cahn took over the business and operated it himself. During 1960s, Miles Cahn identified the different properties belonging to leather utilized for making baseball gloves. Miles Cahn recognized numerous ways of processing leather so that it can be made stronger as well as flexible. The company began preparing numerous handbags in order to complement the factory’s small margin in wallet manufacturing. The brand name given to the purse was Coach. It was during the 1960s when Miles Cahn recruited Bonnie Cashin to work for Coach. Before joining Coach, Bonnie Cashin was a renowned fashion designer. This deal proved to be the most renowned business alliances. Bonnie Cashin was there in the company from the year 1962 to 1974 and thus made alteration in the design of the bags. It was during the mid 1970s when the manufacturing of the handbags was shifted away from New York City to some other place in the United States. It was during the same period when the name of the company was change d to Coach Products, Inc. The company recorded strong business during the 1970s as well as 1980s and the company as well evidenced good demand for its products, it initiated a mail order system. Gradually, the company restricted its sales to

Kpis to Measure Sales Force Essay Example for Free

Kpis to Measure Sales Force Essay Sales Force of a company is often called the face of the company because they are the ones who actually face customers on the behalf of their business. And in terms of an insurance company, the sales force would be considered an important aspect of the business. Therefore, the need of effectively managing the insurance sales force also rises in importance. Effectively evaluating the performance of the sales force is necessary to figure out the loopholes in the performance and to devise ways to improve their efficiency. The nature of business is what makes an insurance company differ from other businesses around. Specially trained and motivated sales force is what required is in this form of business scenario where the customers are smart enough to bargain terms and where the competition in the insurance industry is immense. KPIs can be used to provide a holistic view of the business and with regard to Insurance Sales force Management. These can be categorised in four perspectives- financial perspective, operational perspective, customer service perspective and education and training perspective. Financial perspective comprises of KPIs like annual salary, incentive as percentage of salary, etc. This is to take care of the financial standing of the organization. Operational perspective represents KPIs such as percentage of renewed policies to the number of policies sold, percentage of policy lapses or missed payments, etc. This helps in conducting operations in a streamlined manner. Customer service perspective includes KPIs like number of referrals generated from customers, number of customer focused products developed, percentage decrease in customer complaints, etc. This angle works in making the organization build reputation and minimize losing customer base. The last perspective, Education and Training perspective talks ab out KPIs number of training sessions, number of motivational sessions, etc to ensure that the sales force is not leaving any stone unturned in achieving the targets. One of the most prominent challenges this industry has to encounter is the high attrition rate hinting at the very high professional pressure one has to go through. This in turn calls for implementation of as effective performance management system as possible. Balanced Scorecard is the measure that is dependable enough to combat such situations. This helps in creating a win-win scenario. The next hurdle to be faced is the concept of the task itself. There are a whole lot of verifications to be done before any funds are released when any claim is made. This requires clear strategy formulation from the organizational point of view. This is to further assist in laying down the goals, measurements and targets.

Marketing Strategy: McDonalds | SWOT

Marketing Strategy: McDonalds | SWOT McDonald was introduced by Dick and McDonald of Manchester, New Hampshire in San Bernardino, California. It was further expanded by business partner, Ray Kroc, of Illinois, who then together found the concept of McDonalds Corporation. The McDonald brothers had been in the restaurant business since 1937. It was the idea of Kroc to franchise their restaurants throughout the world. In 1956 McDonalds brothers had licensed the franchise rights for cook country. In 1959, Kroc opened 67 new restaurants, over new 101 locations in various countries. Like this they started expanding their business all over the world and proved to be best fast food restaurant. McDonald Corporation is one of the largest chains of fast food restaurant with 500,000 of employees serving nearly millions of customers daily. After a very careful study McDonald has given its company the trademark of happy clown character known as Ronald MacDonald. McDonald put great emphasizes is always on youngsters and childrens. They are following the analyzer type of business strategy with bureaucratic nature. McDonald success is hiding in its simplicity and strategic formulation of being strictly quality control, more hygienic and making cost effective production by hiring cheap and young workers trained properly under high supervision of managers. Human resource policies of McDonald are tightly and strictly under control The McDonalds Corporation is the largest worldwide franchised food service organization. In the 1960s, Ray Kroc franchised restaurants for the low sum of $950, demanding 1.9% of sales. McDonalds are able to overcome cultural barriers that have previously hindered other organizations. Because the local people immediately translate both the product and service, there is little hint of what may be construed as US brand culture. McDonalds is simultaneously global and local. Clearly, an increase in the number of franchised restaurants leads to the direct effect of an increase in McDonalds revenues. McDonalds can also boast that it is the largest retail property owner in the world. Task 1a Organizational structure gives a relationship between the tasks performed by the members of the company in the form of different department, following rules and regulation, and coordination and control mechanism. The structure either at the corporate level or at the franchising level, both have a great effect on business strategy followed by the McDonalds. McDonalds has mechanistic structure because tasks performed in the organization are highly repetitive at every local shop. There is a extreme division of labor, with relatively simple and small work activities. McDonalds has rigid and hierarchical management structure. They possess vertical communication within the organization flowing from top to bottom. Decision-making is highly centralized with the top management. So strategy planning could take place within this structure but it has to effectively communicate with the members to have its affectivity. Task 1b McDonalds SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis helps in understanding the internal and external factors affecting to the company. For identifying strategic option of a company it is compulsory to know the various strength and weaknesses. (S)trengths Mcdonald is socially responsible, community oriented company. They have easily adapted themselves to the global restaurant with different culture. Approximately 80% restaurant of McDonald are owned and operated by franchisees. The world wide restaurant of McDonald are provided with duplicate and systematic food preparation process. Macdonald are very serious about their consumers health, and there is proper checking of food and moreover all food items are bought from certified suppliers only. They are playing a great role socially by introducing Ronald McDonald house for the children. Mcdonald was the first food restaurant to provide the information to its customers about nutritional facts. (W)eaknesses Considering the weakness of the McDonald, it has got high-turn over employee. The main weakness they are having is lack of innovation in the industry. The main target of Mcdonald over advertisement is the children. (O)pportunities: There are many opportunities in front of McDonald by creating new product offerings. They can be more socially responsible by the use of sustainable packaging and use of green energy. At the same time they can open some of its franchises at the luxurious places to attract the major customers in the market. (T)hreats: The major competitors of McDonald are burger king and KFC which has included a variety of foods in their menu with fewer prices as compared to McDonald which has become a threat to the company. As the McDonald has largest part of their menu as fast food so the health awareness of the people has been also a issue to the McDonald. This recession period has also let down the revenue of the McDonald to a great extent. So considering the major threats and opportunities of the McDonald the strategic option for this organization could be: Emphasis on Local Management Environmental Friendliness Have to be flexible As some years back McDonald had already gone through a loss in brand image due to the issues related to the health problems by consuming food of the MacDonald. So today also there is some perception in peoples mind about that issues which could affect a lot to McDonald. So they need to make more of the positive reputation nationally or internationally, and tried to give environmental friendly services. Mcdonald has gained the global acceptance by hiring local management. Their main emphasises is to think globally and act local. Mcdonald should try to adapt itself to the constantly changing market. The market is dynamic. They have to make themselves much flexible so that they can adapt more better to the changing scenario. Task 1 c For adapting themselves to the changing environment McDonald need to focus on optimizing their speed, maximize service, minimize the cost of the product and emphasize reliability. They need to focus more geographically and psycho graphically research so as to find out the actual customers of the McDonald. As McDonald has already established them globally so they should focus on product development to stay in the market. They should introduce more of the healthier product to their menu in order to attract more of the health-conscious people. To do this they need to adapt strategies to gain competitors customers by giving more good options than others, including discount, introducing more packages to their menu, and lowering down the price of some of the food to make it affordable for the general consumer also. Task 2a For the implementation of the strategy part it is necessary to keep the various social responsibilities of McDonald in mind. They are highly focusing on reducing the weight of the packaging by not affecting the quality and quantity of food. They have added healthier food to their menu. McDonald is doing reusable material to maintain the sustainability. They pay a great attention towards the happy meal toy used by the millions of children, not to be made by lead. They have also involved in various charities doing social working. Task 2b MISSION STATEMENT McDonalds mission is to serve people with best quick service, good quality food at low cost. VISION STATEMENT Its vision is to dominate the global food-service industry in order to become the customers favorite place to eat. They want the Global dominance in sense of setting the performance standard for customer satisfaction and increases share in the market and profitability through successfully implementing our convenience, value and execution strategies. Most of all the greatest advantage is the vision or the dream with which the company was started. Sustaining this dream over the years is any companies greatest advantage. A brand usually revolves around this vision sustaining this vision and working in lieu with it is a great SCA. McDonalds was started out to help people who had very little time to cook or was too busy to get into a proper restaurant. The vision was to provide quick service, cheap products and quality satisfaction. Keeping this vision in mind the company which slackened a bit because of incompetent franchise holders is being weeded and new and better people are put in this place as the torch bearers of the company sustaining and living the vision. Task 2c For the implementation part of the strategy first of all there should be a clear picture of the strategy to be adopted in the mind of every person in the organization. As there is a change in culture need to bring in McDonald so three points have to keep in mind which is: leadership style, turning strategy into action and performance management. In any organization for the implication of any strategy a real leadership is always required which bring the effective growth. Leadership is the main thread to run the entire process of the translation of strategy into results. To start the strategy plan there should be a proper chart made consisting of all the various activities to be done during the project. During this work several questions need to be answered like what is the intent behind the strategy, what important issues need to be solved during the project, how that will be done and how much time will it take. Lastly how they will be succeeded. The work of performance management is to align the whole organization and make them work better to reach the highest point. They make sure that the strategy is communicated properly, measures the performance at every step, and always make an emotional contracting with the staff members to keep them motivated for the work to be done. Task 3a Project management techniques are the process used to gather the information, and get the work done more efficiently and effectively. There are many tools for the implementation of the plan like critical path flow analysis diagram, Gantt chart, brain storming method. I will be using Gantt chart so as to design the time table for the implementation of the strategy. Gantt chart is extremely useful for communication, budgeting, scheduling of the plan. It keeps all the record of task taking place. According to this scheduled plan the strategy will be completed in 2013 by going through all the necessary stages. Task 3b For the implementation of the strategy it is compulsory for all the members of the organization to coordinate. The top level of management makes all the relevant decision of giving work to the staff members and making sure to give them a timeline for the end of the work. In the organization first of all a board meeting is held to make the strategic planning and decide how to achieve it. Then specific goal and objectives are set according to the strategy planned. For the start of the project budget is made looking at the financial position of the company and all resources are being taken required for the completion. The manager should see that the strategic plan is simple, clear, based on real current situation, have enough time to settle. A time table is made to note the various roles and responsibilities of the members and making the time line for the responsible person. Task 3c Monitoring and controlling are the major portion as it assures the efforts made for the plan. It helps in keeping a regular check over the accomplishment of the task. It helps in measuring the corrective action. If something is going in a wrong way it could help in recognizing that and improving that .for example if there is change in environment so there has to bring a change in forecasting. There should be a continuous monitoring of performance of the project because that helps in predetermining targets and representing most important aspect of that. So the top management should make sure in doing the sales or market share analysis during the project time period. References http://www.mcdonalds.ca/en/community/rmcc.aspx Marketing as strategy, Nirmalya Kumar Applied strategic planning , Leonard David Goodstein, Timothy M. Nolan, J. William Pfeiff Strategic planning and management , Delmar W. Karger http://www.mcdonalds.com Peter, J. P., Donnelly, J. H.Jr. (2007). Marketing Management (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin Jolly , A. (1998) GROWING APPETITE CBI news march pp.20-1 Fifiled,P. And Gilligan, C,(1996), strategic marketing management, butterworth- Heinemann Vignalli, C.et al. (1999), various, british food journal, volume 101no.5/6

Risk Factors of Asthma

Risk Factors of Asthma Table of Contents (Jump to) Introduction: Thesis/ Hypothesis: Motivation: Background information Terminology Arguments Argument 1 Gender and age Allergy and asthma Genetic and asthma Argument 2 Smoking and asthma Overweight and asthma Argument 3 Poverty and asthma Air pollution and asthma Climate and asthma Conclusion Limitations Works Cited Appendix Introduction: Asthma has been one of the common disease of today, there is about one in 15 people has asthma in the world. Asthma is a chronic condition whose symptoms are attacks of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. There is no cure for asthma, but most people can control the condition and lead normal, active lives. This report we will be investigating the factors of asthma and also will be reaching variety of data and graphs. Thesis/ Hypothesis: The probability of developing asthma is influenced by uncontrollable factors such as age, sex or having other respiratory diseases; however, living habits of patients as well as the environment around them are also important factors that affect the severity or the chance of having asthma. Motivation: The main reasons why we choose asthma as our topic is because asthma has been a common disease in our life. There are millions of asthma sufferers around the world and some of them are around us. We believe by exploring the risk factors and the ways that can cause asthma like: age and sex, personal habit and environment, we can know more about the disease and how to prevent it. Background information What causes asthma? Asthma symptoms develop when the airways become inflamed as a result of exposure to specific environmental triggers, such as dust, smoke or even exercise. However, not all individuals exposed to the same triggers develop asthma symptoms. The main reason for this is that some individuals are genetically more like Asthma becomes more and more common disease in the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 13 people have asthma. Also, there are no ways to heal asthma but there are only some ways that can calm it down. Terminology Asthma: a disease of the airways or branches of the lung (bronchial tubes) that carry air in and out of the lungs. Asthma causes the airways to narrow, the lining of the airways to swell and the cells that line the airways to produce more mucus. These changes make breathing difficult and cause a feeling of not getting enough air into the lungs. Common symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, and excess mucus production. Asthma rate/ asthma prevalence: the percentage or number of people that have asthma. Allergy: an exaggerated response to a substance or condition produced by the release of histamine or histamine-like substances by affected cells. Air pollution: The condition in which air is contaminated by foreign substances, or the substances themselves. BMI: BMI stands for body mass index; it is used to indicate a persons fatness. BMI is calculated using the persons height and weight. Chronic disease: a disease that can be controlled, but not cured. Arguments Argument #1: Age and sex (other allergies) Age, sex are uncontrollable factors that will have an effect a persons chance of suffering from asthma, while having other respiratory disease can even increase the patients chance of developing asthma. Asthma is a chronic disease that a large part of the population suffers from it. Like many other diseases, the chance of developing Asthma differs according to the age group the person belongs to. On the other hand, the risk of having asthma for male and female are also different. These are due to the conditions of each persons airway will change according to their age and sex. Moreover, because asthma develops from airway inflammation, any other disease that is related to the respiratory system will also greatly increase the risk of developing asthma. Argument #2: PERSONAL habits (smoking, obesity) Asthma can also be acquired non-genetically due to personal habits such as smoking or being overweight. Some of the asthma patients developed it from the blood relatives, but the chance of developing asthma and the severity of the disease can be controlled by a person. For instance, smoking can do damage to the entire respiratory system and greatly reduce lung function. It can narrow the airway which will increase the risk of asthma. Also good personal habit, such as and lifestyle can keep you body in good shape and keep the airway unobstructed therefore avoiding asthma. Argument #3: ENVIRONMENT Living in a poor environment that has poor air quality or constantly exposed to allergen and dusts can also cause Asthma and even make it deteriorates. Asthma is a long term disease of a persons airway and lungs; therefore, although the direct cause of asthma is still not completely clear, breathing in dust such as wood dust or chemicals for a long period of time will affect the health of your respiratory system and then increase the chance of asthma developing. Argument 1 Gender and age Asthma is a disease that affects people from all age groups. However the chance of having asthma differs depending on which age group one is in. Figure 1.1.1 Graph of asthma prevalence and average humidity From figure1.1.1 above we are able to see that asthma actually usually happens before 30 years old, which is mainly childhood and early adulthood. Adults in their middle age will be less vulnerable to asthma, then the percentage of asthma patient slightly increase as it reaches old age. Moreover based on the data from statistic Canada, there are more male asthma sufferers than female. The average difference between female and male are 2.16, which means male have 2.16% more chance of having asthma. It can be a huge difference while dealing with the population of the entire country. Figure 1.1.2 Figure 2 based on the data from CDC and it showed asthma prevalence of age group below 12 years old. In this graph we are able to see that although very little infant have asthma, 16 to 17% of the entire population around 5 to 24 years old suffers from asthma, that means there are 3 asthma patient in every 20 person. Similar with the data from statistic Canada, the graph showed that people in their early ages are more likely to be suffered from asthma. This might be due to the incomplete development of the lung and airway so the airway is more sensitive and vulnerable and easily infected so as during old age. Figure 1.1.3 Figure1.1.3 above displayed the asthma prevalence of male and female. Among male, the asthma rate is more than 5% higher than female. It might be due to males respiratory systems slower growth. While among female, the asthma rate is higher after puberty. This can be due to males airway become much stronger after puberty. To conclude, although uncontrollable, gender and age is a risk factor that we should know in order to prepare for and preventing asthma. Allergy and asthma Another uncontrollable risk factor of asthma would be allergies and other respiratory disease. Figure 1.2.1 Figure 1.2.1 above used data collected from Unionville High School. In the sample, there are 4 people who suffer from asthma among 31 people which is near 13%. It matches the data from statistic Canada. Among these 4 people one of them own pet and two of them both own pets and have other allergies. Over half of the asthma patients have other allergies and the majority of them own pet. It shows owning pet might be a risk factor of asthma and the reason behind it might be the fur that can cause inflammation in the airway. Moreover there is a relationship between asthma and other type of allergies Figure 1.2.2 The result from another research also supported this argument. Most people that suffer from other allergies or atopic disease are also asthma sufferers therefore people with allergies are more likely to suffer from asthma. Genetic and asthma A very common way of having asthma is inheriting the disease from the family. This might be due to the genes they inherited from their parents have similar characteristic therefore asthma can be inherited. Figure 1.3.1 Looking at Figure 1.3.1 based on a sample from Unionville High School, 3 asthma sufferers out of 4 have family members that suffer from asthma. It is clear that the amount of asthma sufferers with siblings or parents that also have asthma is much higher than ones without. We can conclude that having a family member with asthma can raise the chance of developing asthma. Argument 2 Other than those uncontrollable factors that are related to a persons age, sex and other disease, ones everyday habit and activities is can also affect the asthma rate. Two of these unhealthy habits that can increase ones chance of having asthma will be smoking, overeating or lack of exercising that can cause obesity. Smoking and asthma Asthma is a common respiratory disease in the world. There are few ways that will turn this disease bad, Smoking is one of the major bad habit that turn asthma bad. Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco encased in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. According to the CDC, a research demonstrated that there is a higher rate to have asthma if you smoke. There are about 17% people in the US that smoke but there are about 21% people who smoke with asthma. Figure 2.1.1 The graph above demonstrated the people in different province in the United States and is split by with asthma who smokes and without asthma who smoke. The result shows that there are more people that smoke with asthma than without asthma. Overweight and asthma Although Asthma is a respiratory disease, ones body mass index (BMI) is also a factor of developing asthma and even an asthma attack.ÂÂ   BMI is calculated using ones height and weight; when a persons body mass index (BMI) is between 18.5 and 25, he will be considered normal, however when the persons BMI is between 25 to 30 he will be considered overweight and obese if the BMI is over 30. Graph 2.2.1 below shows the percentage of normal weight, overweight and obese adults suffering from asthma. Figure 2.2.1 The graph shows the relationship between ones BMI and asthma. For both men and women, the chance of suffering from asthma for an obese person is significantly higher than a normal weighted person. For the obese group, the asthma prevalence is almost 50% higher than the normal weight group. We can easily see that being overweight can greatly influence the prevalence of asthma, overweight people are more likely to suffer from asthma compared with others. This is because the extra weight on an overweight person will increase the pressure on his chest therefore it will be harder for the person to breath. On the other hand, inflammation, which obesity usually comes with, also contributes to increasing the risks of developing asthma. Inflammation around the wall of the airway will make it swollen and decrease the width of the airway, allowing lesser air to pass, and cause multiple asthma symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, and breathing difficulties. From the data, we are able to conclude the theory is true and being obese will greatly increase ones chance of developing asthma. Figure 2.2.2 https://nccd.cdc.gov/NPAO_DTM/IndicatorSummary.aspx?category=28indicator=30 From graph 2.2.3, we are able to see that according to CDC, more than 10% of the Americas population is obese, that means they will all be having a much higher risk of having asthma than the rest and they should be more careful about while doing strenuous exercise. Argument 3 While ones persona condition and habit changes his chance of developing asthma, like many other disease, the environment around the person can also influence the incidence of the disease. This is due to the environment can affect ones health condition slowly therefore a good environment can decrease ones chance of suffering from diseases and vice versa. Poverty and asthma One of the factors that can affect ones living environment is ones income. Typically, family that have more money will be able to afford living in cleaner area, more comfortable space and overall, a better environment; while the families with less income will not. Dust, small particles, molds, insects and many more types of allergens in these environment can trigger asthma and exposed to them will absolutely be a factor that causes asthma. Figure 3.1.2 Graph asthma prevalence by income in 2014 https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2014/table2-1.htm The graph above shows the percent of people suffering from asthma versus their poverty level in America. Federal poverty threshold in the graph is a measure of income for every person. The standard income for an American is calculated each year and it is shown in the table below. PERSONS IN FAMILY/HOUSEHOLD POVERTY GUIDELINE 1 $11,670 2 15,730 3 19,790 4 23,850 5 27,910 6 31,970 7 36,030 8 40,090 For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $4,060 for each additional person. From graph 1 it is clear that there is a trend that shows less people suffer from asthma as their income increase. For instance for people with income lower than the poverty guideline, the prevalence of asthma reached up to 10%. Moreover, the area one lives in also matters Figure 3.1.3 Graph of amount of asthma patient versus poverty rate in 2014 http://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/tables/time-series/historical-poverty-people/hstpov9.xls Figure 3.1.3 above showed the poverty rate and asthma rate of the four regions in the United States. It also indicated that as the poverty rate of a certain region or area gets higher, so does the asthma rate. In general, families living in poverty lives in less developed areas, which means that they might know less about how to deal with asthma and asthma prevention. These data prove the relationship between poverty and asthma; therefore family that have less income is likely to have a higher risk of having asthma. Air pollution and asthma As mentioned, asthma is a type of long term respiratory disease and it mainly affects the airway and trachea, which is a part of the respiratory system. It is used as a tube to transfer air in and out of the lung while breathing; so, during this process, the wall of the airway frequently makes contact with the air outside that contains many pollutants. Therefore unlike skin that covers the human body, the unprotected wall can get infected and be stimulated very easily. Then the inflamed airway will cause coughing, wheezing and even asthma. Therefore if the environment isnt clean and the air quality isnt good, the chance of developing asthma increases. Figure 3.2.1 Graph of emission of sulfur oxide and asthma rate from 2010 to 2014 Figure 3.2.2 Graph of emission of nitrogen oxide and asthma rate from 2010 to 2014 http://www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/default.asp?lang=enn=E79F4C12-1 The two graphs above show the relationship between the emissions of several types of air pollutants as percentage of 1990 level and the percentage of people with asthma in canada from 2010 to 2014. We are able to see that there is a trend, as the emission of the two air pollutants decreases the percentage of people with asthma also decrease. For example, sulfur dioxide, a form of sulfur oxide found in lower atmosphere, is a harmful toxic chemical. The r of the trend line is about 0.703, which means there is a strong relationship between the emission the chemical and prevalence of asthma. In fact according to CDC, exposure to this type of chemical will affect ones lung health. Asthma suffers is more sensitive to even low concentration of sulfur dioxide. On the other hand, there is also correlation between emission of nitrogen oxide and asthma prevalence. The r in graph 3.2.2 is 0.9 therefore it shows that the relationship with asthma prevalence is even stronger for nitrogen oxide. A r esearch done by WHO indicates that respiratory disease is more common in area with higher nitrogen oxide concentration. Therefore, inhaling either of these chemicals in the air can do damage on ones respiratory system can is one of the factors of asthma. Figure 3.2.3 http://www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/default.asp?lang=enn=E79F4C12-1 Luckily, from the graph above, we can see that the emissions of these toxic chemicals are decreasing. Thus we can expect that as the average air quality get better in the future and the concentration of these chemicals decrease, the percentage of people with asthma should also slowly decrease. Climate and asthma Last but not least, the climate of each region also has an effect on the chance of developing asthma. In fact, one of the factors that can affect ones respiratory system would be humidity. Humidity is the amount of water in the air and higher humidity would mean there are more water around the atmosphere. When the humidity gets higher, it will be more difficult to breath in this kind of atmosphere, but if the atmosphere is too dry, the airway will be inflamed due to lack of water and will also be a factored that triggers asthma. Figure 3.3.1 Graph of asthma prevalence and average humidity https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_data_states.htm https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/humidity-by-state-in-summer.php From this graph, we are able to see a U shaped trend. Most states in the United States have similar average humidity and asthma rate. However as the average humidity increase, more people suffer from asthma; as the average humidity decrease lower than 40% the amount of asthma patient increases again. As a matter of fact, the world health organization claimed that 50% humidity will be best to reduce the chance of developing asthma or asthma attack. State such as New Jersey and Maryland, are located at the east coast, had higher average humidity, being around 70% has more asthma patient; while states near the west coast has a lower average humidity around 60% and has less people has asthma there. On the other hand, the states in the middle region have a low average humidity near 30% to 40%; as expected the amount of asthma patients goes up. Therefore the theory a stated above is proven to be true, humidity can affect ones chance of developing asthma or an asthma attack. Conclusion Limitations Bias There is sampling bias in the result of our survey; this is because we take our sample from Unionville High School. The population in the school is mainly Asian therefore although we narrowed our report to only about North America; it cant represent the situation in North America precisely.ÂÂ   Moreover, we used snowball sampling while sending out the survey, the amount of Asians and non-Asians in the result will be more unbalanced. Not enough information When we are doing our research we found out that there are not many raw data that we can use, many of them are directly made into graphs or figures without posting the raw data and some of the data isnt able to be found on the internet. Moreover there are countries that do not make their data public. Therefore we decided to narrow our range down to only North America. And we found out that Statistic Canada and CDC have a lot of open source that we can work with Works Cited https://aspe.hhs.gov/2014-poverty-guidelines#tresholds https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/24/asthma_widea7d6c21be70cdf982718f2e7bcb6f1f5d5b3cfdc.jpg?s=1400 Appendix Table 1 Asthma, by age group and sex (Percent) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 percent Total, 12 years and over 8.5 8.6 8.1 7.9 8.1 Males 7.1 7.4 6.8 6.9 7 Females 9.8 9.8 9.4 8.9 9.2 12 to 19 years 11.1 11.8 10.2 10.9 9 Males 11.4 11.1 10.6 11.1 8.3 Females 10.8 12.5 9.8 10.7 9.6 20 to 34 years 9.5 9.1 9.7 8 9.3 Males 8.5 7.9 8.7 7.4 8.2 Females 10.5 10.4 10.7 8.6 10.5 35 to 44 years 7.7 8 6.8 8 7.2 Males 6.3 7.2 5.7 7.3 5.5 Females 9.1 8.7 8 8.7 8.9 45 to 64 years 7.9 8.1 7.1 7.1 7.5 Males 5.5 6.6 4.7 5.6 6.4 Females 10.4 9.6 9.4 8.6 8.6 65 years and over 7 7.3 7.7 7.5 8 Males 6.2 5.6 6.4 5.8 7.1 Females 7.6 8.7 8.8 9 8.7 http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/health49b-eng.htm Table 2 https://www.dovepress.com/cr_data/article_fulltext/s91000/91654/img/COPD-91654-T01.png Table 3 https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2014/table2-1.htm Table 4 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db239_table.pdf#1 Table 5 2014: Percent of adults aged 18 years and older who are overweight Location Value 95% CI Sample Size National 35.2 (34.9-35.5) 425,875 https://nccd.cdc.gov/NPAO_DTM/IndicatorSummary.aspx?category=28indicator=30 Table 6 Ratio of Family Income to Poverty Threshold All Ages Total Children Adults 18+ 0-0.99 15.8 15.6 15.9 1.00-2.49 12.9 13.2 12.9 2.50-4.49 12.4 12.8 12.3 4.50 and above 11.8 12.3 11.7 https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2014/table2-1.htm Region: All ages Total Children Age Adults Age 18+ Northeast 7,060

It’s Time to Face the Problems Caused by Our Ancestors :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

It’s Time to Face the Problems Caused by Our Ancestors The past two hundred years have witnessed a massive rise in both industrial and population growth. As a result we as a race have begun overusing and destroying our resources on a level never before seen in the history of humanity. OK. So what? Many would argue that we as a species need to expand; we have the right to control and use our environment to the extent that it will allow us. Humans can, should, and are affecting the world around them on a level never before seen or recorded by society. These last statements epitomize what I call â€Å"the economists view† of environmental degradation. We have always exploited the environment to a large degree, and we have always emerge fine, in fact, we are arguably more fine now than we have ever been in the past. So why bother? What is the problem with overpopulation, one might ask? More people on the Earth? Great! More people to expand humanity! More geniuses born into each generation to solve the problems the last generation left behind. What’s the big deal? Surprisingly, on the order of serious environmental problems, few people outside the scientific or political spheres have any idea about the threat overpopulation poses. The Earth’s population as of now is about 6 billion right now. It took the entirety of human existence up until 1960 to reach the level of 3 billion. It took, oh, 30 years after that for the world’s population to double. How long will it take to double again? As of now, all the soldiers that died in World War II would be replaced within less than half an hour. No one has any idea how many people the Earth is actually able to hold. As of now, we are sitting on a larger version of Easter Island not sure when the shoe is going to drop. More geniuses born to solve our problems for us? Not if they are born in to peasant parents in an Indian town and never get the education they can use to help humanity. The truth is we have no idea how many people the Earth can hold. One can even argue that the Earth can’t support all the people it has now. Millions upon millions do not have it as cushy as Americans do, there is mass starvation in many third world countries as well as other problems associated with children.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table Essay -- capital violenc

Gawain and Capital Violence In almost every example of romantic epics, and definitely every story concerning King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the characters carefully adhere to a strict code known as the chivalric code.. The five main tenets of chivalric code or in other words the knightly code are: showing courage and bravery, being honest, having honor and being respected among peers, being kind to others, and being courteous and well-mannered especially toward females. Gawain is the very embodiment of these chivalric values but through his encounter with the Green knight and the lady he fails to uphold the code because of its rigidness and strictness.. Violence is the mechanism that Gawain uses to gain his capital which is honor and the upholding of the chivalric code. Even though violence does lead Gawain to respect and honor in the end of the poem Gawain points out how cowardly it is to follow a code that is so strict, that it allows no room for any human mistakes and that he was justified in trying to save his life over his honor. Sir Gawain fulfills his requirements of the five tenets right from the beginning of the poem, as he shows courage and why he can be seen as the greatest knight in the round table. Sir Gawain asks Arthur to allow him to take the challenge. When the Green Knight first challenges the knights in Arthurs Court, it is King Arthur who takes up the challenge at first. But Gawain is quick to step in take the place of King Arthur as he says â€Å"I am the weakest of your warriors and feeblest of wit; loss of my life would be grieved the least† (Gawain 354-355). Gawain does not think highly of himself and feels that the only reason he is a knight of Arthur's court is because he is Arthur's nephew... ...rtesy toward females are all tested in the poem. Sir Gawain who is supposed to embody these principles is tested by the Green knight and the lady and he fails to uphold the chivalric code. The failure leaves Gawain scarred for life but it also reflects a change in attitude towards capital violence and the role that it should play in the knights’ life. Gawain makes clear that there is a limit to how loyal and strict a knight can be when he is following the chivalric code and that the demands of the code are so immense that eventually a knight will fail to uphold the code. But this failure to uphold the code and not adhering to capital violence does not show cowardice and is in reality just human mistakes that are expected and are justified Works Cited Armitage, Simon. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A New Verse Translation. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print.

Child molester and a killer Essay

As we talk about behavior, we can discuss about how certain behavior runs to becoming evil in such a way that nowadays and even before time, where war has occurred, this behavior exist. McCarthy wrote a book entitled â€Å"Blood Meridian† where he puts all the unprovoked violence by the monstrous Judge, Holden, who is a compulsive child molester and a killer as well. This is an epic novel during the expansion of West America sabotage Western novel and the mythology of the Wild West with full violence and wickedness. In this book, it shows the styles of evil acts and wants us to witness evil for us to fully affirm its mysterious reality. As we studied about the origins of behavior, we can also say that man has a natural evil instinct which can be manifested by certain evil actions. McCarthy expresses human behavior in the same way he talks about the animals in his stories. He used such magnificent language which was cited by the critics, and it merely represents the uncompromised crucial period of American history and McCarthy exclaim in his Blood Meridian, that goes ahead of Gothicism and naturalism, to conjure up a bloodletting feast in the American Southwest. Elie Wiesel comes into picture, who in real life; experience a deep shocking experiences and emotions during the Holocaust in the hands of the Nazis. At these times, he and many other prisoners experience mental and physical torture and they have been stripped of their humanity. According to Elie, prisoners become â€Å"wild beasts of prey, with animal hatred in their eyes; a strange energy had held them, and their teeth and nails had been sharpened. † This elevates humanity from immorality at its separation point. She wrote a book entitle â€Å"Night† which reveals that cruelty raise cruelty. Both McCarthy and Elie have written about the negative side of human behavior and depict the scenario during those times. She said prisoners turn against each other rather than giving comfort to each one of them. Captured from the book itself, when a Kapo is speaking to Eliezer, he saidâ€Å"Here, every man has to fight for himself and not think of anyone else. . . . Here, there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone† which illustrates the wickedness of some human beings. In contrast with Elie and Cormac McCarthy, in woman in the person of Hannah Arendt tries not to compare human behavior to animals. Hannah had written â€Å"Eichmann in Jerusalem† wherein she made an authoritative report about the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi leader. She takes account of supplementary factual material that gives enlightenment after the trial. She soberly state in her book that Eichman was not actually a Nazi at heart, and he was in fact a meek man because he was not really aware of Hitler’s euthanasia program and he is also helpful to the Jews in Palestinian immigration. Hannah Arendt’s shows that she is not only a thinker but also a moral human being because of putting herself in the place of the judge and jury in the courtroom of Jerusalem to major perpetrators of the murder of European Jewry. Hannah Arendt analyze Eichman’s personality instead of looking at him does not try to psychologically analyze it. It was in the end come out that Eichman is just an ordinary man who has been driven by the call of his career, and it turns out that he doesn’t really have personal hatred with the Jews. As we try to analyze the three authors point, we can generalize that evil behavior of man only comes out when time calls for it and is the result of frustration for human desires, denial human faculty, failure to realize human potential as well lack of education. It is indeed true that man’s animal nature or human nature is not basically evil. It just happened when there is an incomplete development, deficient cognition and dichotomous perception of reality that would ultimately direct to misinterpretation and disagreement, obliteration, and wars by the people who the power and has no understanding which we have greatly seen it in this study.

Bernini

The Baroque period is emphasized by drama and theatricality. The sculptor Bernie exemplifies this in his works. How does the Coronary chapel exemplify drama and theatricality? Bernie designed every aspect down to the last detail. What do you think of this style? Panoramic view (make it full screen): http:// www. Phantasmagoria. Com/502/Rome/Santa_Maria_Della_Aviators Some details: http:// www. Removable. It/Capped. HTML I really like Bering's style and I appreciate his attention to detail. The Coronary Chapel is very bright on the inside from the virtual tour I took. I like that and I think this is on repose.He wanted an open themed chapel that allows light in because the light signals that this is an open place and that you are welcome to come in. The floor to me is also beautiful and I appreciate the designs he displayed. The focal point is right in the middle and the patterns on the floor are concentric and move out from this point. Also every wall you look at has some sort of pat tern or color. It is a bit clustered but I like it. It is complex and works very well for him. You can spend all day looking at something new and that is the detail I like. Not many places built today have this same detail.Once again with the bright colors it is very welcoming. He draws your attention and wants you to come in and explore. The walls look to be stone and this gives it an earthy feel as well as an elegant flow. It looks to be rich and expensive and the artist did not cut any corners when they made this chapel. I like this and once again the attention for detail is amazing to me. The ceiling is even covered to display their creativity and skill. People come in Just to see the beautiful stone walls and they know that this building was built with the very best materials of this time as well as for today.

Antigone Interpretive Essay Essay

The play, Antigone, written around 422 B.C. by the author Sophocles, is the first of the three Theban plays written by this author. Although it was the first written, Antigone is the third in the series coming after the plays Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. This play follows the story of a girl, Antigone; and the king of the city of Thebes, Creon, who both have different beliefs about Antigone’s dead brother Polyneices. Creon makes a rule that no one can bury Polyneices because he was a traitor to the city and attacked it with an enemy army. So as an insult to him, he will not permit his burial. Antigone, on the other hand, believes that even though what he did is wrong, that family is family and she has a right to bury him. She does so, defying Creon’s law, but gets caught in the act and Creon sentences her to death. With this decision, he refuses to let go of, we see Creon’s contradictory opinions: on loyalty, by wanting what is best for the city yet he kil ls their princess, he kills his own son’s bride to be; he pays more attention to himself and what he says is best for the city, rather than his own family, especially his wife. The first example of Creon’s contradictory opinions is his belief that everything he does is for the best of the city. As this quote from Creon states, â€Å"I say to you at the very outset that I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor that is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that is best for the state; and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare- I have no use for him, either.† (1/20-24/1027) he states his belief in the safety of the city and its people, no matter what the cost is. So once Creon becomes aware of what Antigone has done, he stands by his word and orders her killed, thinking that if he lets her go the people will see him as weak and breaking his word, saying the good of the people comes first, above all else. What he doesn’t realize is that the opposite is true. The people become outraged with him because they feel that Antigone had a right to bury her brother as family, and because she is th eir princess. Nevertheless, Creon doesn’t listen to anyone, and has his guards lock her in a stone vault, with some food, so as to say he did not kill her but she died of starvation. From this act, this is the beginning of his spiral downward, and loss of respect from his own family. Soon after hearing what his father has done to his bride to be, Haemon, Creon’s son, rushes to the castle, to try to persuade his father  to spare her life. He feels she has really done no wrong. As usual, though, Creon does not listen to reason, even by his own son, as seen in this quote, â€Å"I will carry her far away, out there in the wilderness, and lock her living in a vault of stone. She shall have food, as the custom is, to absolver the state of her death. And there let her pray to the gods of hell: they are her only gods† (3/142-146/1045). After the argument with his father, Haemon flees the castle and isn’t seen until much later. Close to the end of the play, Creon finally realizes his wrongs only to find out it was too late. He goes to the tomb of Antigone to free her, only to find she hanged herself and Haemon at her feet crying. When Creon tries to apologize for his wrongs, now that he knows what he has done, Haemon, in a rage, ignores his father’s plea and takes his sword and strikes his father. Creon manages to narrowly escape the blade, which causes Haemon to become so enraged, he takes his sword and ends his own life in front of his father, and he dies there with Antigone. The third and final thing to happen to Creon, because of his opinions on loyalty, is that he neglects his own wife. While Creon is away trying to right his wrongs, his wife returns home to the castle, where she is informed by the messenger of what Creon has done. The messenger tells her how he sentenced Antigone to death, how Haemon tried to reason him but he didn’t listen. And worst of all, how their own child swung at Creon and then took his own life. All of this news is too much of a shock for her, so she leaves to her quarters without a word, which the messenger finds a bit suspicious, so he follows to make sure she is ok. At this time, Creon returns with the body of his son in arms, and talks with the choragus about all the grief he has gone through in this day. Then, suddenly the messenger returns with even worse news, which Creon doesn’t believe could be worse than what has already happened. The messengers tells him that his own wife took her life, â€Å"She stood before the altar, and her heart welcomed the knife her own hand guided, and a great cry burst from her lips for Megareus dead, and for Haemon dead, her sons; and her last breath was a curse for their father, the murderer of her sons. And she fell, and the dark flowed in through her closing eyes.† (Exodus/112-117/1060). From this, Creon cannot bear it any longer and asks if everyone else is dead, where his death is, but he is doomed to live with all he has done, still as king of the city. From all that Creon has learned in this play, from losing respect from the  people, to being cursed by his closet family, we can learn that sometime what we think is best, may not be right, or may not be the best for everyone, or even yourself. I believe the message Sophocles was trying to convey to us, is that we must all learn to care for the well-being of everyone by listening to advice offered, and listening to the opinions of those you are trying so hard to protect.

Strategic Hrm

Cornell University ILR School [email  protected] CAHRS Working Paper Series Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) 4-1-2006 Strategic Management and HRM Mathew R. Allen Patrick M. Wright Cornell University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cahrswp This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) at [email  protected] It has been accepted for inclusion in CAHRS Working Paper Series by an authorized administrator of [email  protected]For more information, please contact [email  protected] edu. Strategic Management and HRM Abstract [Excerpt] The purpose of this chapter is to discuss this intersection between Strategic Management and HRM, what we know, and future directions for SHRM research. We will begin by briefly discussing the concept of strategy and the popularization of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. Next we will address its role in creating the link between HRM and Strategic Management including key questions that the RBV has raised in relation to SHRM.We will then examine the current state of affairs in SHRM; the progress made, and key questions and concerns occupying the attention of SHRM researchers. Finally, we will conclude with our views on future directions for SHRM research. Keywords CAHRS, ILR, center, human resource, studies, advanced, link, information technology, business partner, strategic role, competencies, HR, HRM, HR professionals, management Comments Suggested Citation Allen, M. R. & Wright, P. M. (2006). Strategic management and HRM (CAHRS Working Paper #06-04).Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cahrswp/404/ This article is available at [email  protected]: http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cahrswp/404 CAHRS at Cornell University 187 Ives Hall Ithaca, NY 14853-3901 USA T el. 607 255-9358 www. ilr. cornell. edu/CAHRS WORKING PAPER SERIES Strategic Management and HRM Mathew R. Allen Patrick M. Wright Working Paper 06 – 04 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04Strategic Management and HRM Mathew R. Allen Patrick M. Wright Department of Human Resource Studies School of Industrial and Labor Relations Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-3901 April 2006 http://www. ilr. cornell. edu/cahrs This paper has not undergone formal review or approval of the faculty of the ILR School. It is intended to make results of Center research available to others interested in preliminary form to encourage discussion and suggestions. Most (if not all) of the CAHRS Working Papers are available for reading at the Catherwood Library.For information on what’s available link to the Cornell Library Catalog: http://catalog. library. cornell. edu if you wish. Page 2 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 Abstract Page 3 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 Strategic Management and HRM Introduction It has been said that the most important assets of any business walk out the door at the end of each day. Indeed, people and the management of people are increasingly seen as key elements of competitive advantage (Boxall & Purcell, 2003; Pfeffer, 1998; Gratton, Hailey & Truss, 2000).Spurred on by increasing competition, fast paced technological change, globalization and other factors, businesses are seeking to understand how one of the last truly competitive resources, their human resources, can be managed for competitive advantage. This idea that the human resources of a firm can play a strategic role in the success of an organization has led to the formation of a field of research often referred to as strategic human resource management (SHRM).This relatively young field represents an intersection of the strategic management and human resource management (HRM) literatures (Boxall, 1998; Boxall and Purcell, 2000). Wright and M cMahan (1992) defined strategic human resource management as â€Å"the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable the firm to achieve its goals† (1992, p. 298). The purpose of this chapter is to discuss this intersection between Strategic Management and HRM, what we know, and future directions for SHRM research.We will begin by briefly discussing the concept of strategy and the popularization of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. Next we will address its role in creating the link between HRM and Strategic Management including key questions that the RBV has raised in relation to SHRM. We will then examine the current state of affairs in SHRM; the progress made, and key questions and concerns occupying the attention of SHRM researchers. Finally, we will conclude with our views on future directions for SHRM research. Strategy And The Resource-Based View Of The FirmThe field of strategy focuses on how firms can position themselves to c ompete, and its popularity began increasing exponentially in the mid 1980s with two books. First, Peters & Page 4 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 Waterman’s (1982) In Search of Excellence provided a practitioner-oriented analysis of excellent companies and the common threads that united them. However, Porter’s (1980) Competitive Strategy presented a more academically based analysis of strategy, but in a way that practitioners/executives quickly gravitated toward.This Industrial/Organization Economicsbased analysis primarily focused on industry characteristics, in particular the five forces of barriers to entry, power of buyers, power of suppliers, substitutes, and competitive rivalry as the determinants of industry profitability. While this analysis did propose four generic strategies (cost, differentiation, focus, and ‘stuck in the middle’), the bulk of the analysis focused on external factors that determined company profitability. This f ramework seemed to dominate strategic management thinking of the early 1980s.However, with the advent of the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1980), strategic management research moved to a more internal focus. Rather than simply developing competitive strategies to address the environment, the resource-based view suggested that firms should look inward to their resources, both physical and intellectual, for sources of competitive advantage. Though others had addressed the concept of the RBV previously, Barney (1991) specifically explicated how firm resources contribute to the sustained competitive advantage of the firm.He suggested that resources that are valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable will lead to competitive advantage. Value in this context is defined as resources either exploiting opportunities or neutralizing threats to the organization and rarity is defined as being a resource that is not currently available to a large number of the organization’s current or future competitors (Barney, 1991). Inimitability refers to the fact it is difficult for other firms to copy or otherwise reproduce the resources for their own use.Finally, non-substitutability means that other resources cannot be used by competitors in order to replicate the benefit (Barney 1991). When all four of these conditions are met, it is said that the firm or organization possess resources which can potentially lead to a sustained competitive advantage over time. Page 5 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 The resource-based view has become almost the assumed paradigm within strategic management research (Barney and Wright, 2001).It has been the basic theoretical foundation from which much of the current strategic management research regarding knowledge-based views of the firm (Grant, 1996), human capital (Hitt et al. , 2001), and dynamic capabilities (Teece, Pisano, & Schuen, 1997) are derived. In fact, Priem and Butler (2001) ma pped RBV studies against eighteen strategy research topics, demonstrating the breadth of its diffusion within the strategic management domain.More importantly from the standpoint of this chapter, the resource-based view has become the guiding paradigm on which virtually all strategic HRM research is based (Wright, Dunford, & Snell, 2001). In spite of the wide acceptance of the RBV, it is not without criticism. Priem and Butler, (2001a, b) have leveled the most cogent critique to date suggesting that the RBV does not truly constitute a theory. Their argument focuses primarily on two basic issues. First, they suggest that the RBV is basically tautological in its definition of key constructs.They note that Barney’s statement that â€Å"if a firm’s valuable resources are absolutely unique among a set of competing and potentially competing firms, those resources will generate at least a competitive advantage (Barney, 2001: 102)† essentially requires definitional depe ndence. In other words, without definitional dependence (i. e. â€Å"valuable resources†) the diametrical statement – that unique firms possess competitive advantages – does not logically follow. Their second major criticism of the RBV as a â€Å"theory† focuses on the inability to test it (Priem & Butler, 2001b). They note he necessity condition of â€Å"falsifiability† for a theory. In other words, in order for a set of stated relationships to constitute a theory, the relationships must be able to be measured and tested in a way that allows for the theory to be found to be false. This relates directly to the tautology criticism, but brings the debate into the empirical realm. In spite of these criticisms, even the critics agree that the impact of the RBV on strategic management research has been significant and that the effort to focus on the internal aspects of the organization in explaining competitive advantage has been a useful one (Preim & B utler,Page 6 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 2001b). While the debate might continue as to the theoretical implications of the RBV for strategic management research, it is clear that it has made a significant contribution to Strategic Management and, more specifically, SHRM research (Wright, Dunford & Snell, 2001). A Brief History Of Strategic HRM Wright and McMahan’s (1992) definition of strategic human resource management illustrates that the major focus of the field should be on aligning HR with firm strategies.Jim Walker’s (1980) classic book, Human Resource Planning, was one of the first to directly suggest considering a firm’s business strategy when developing a human resource plan. Devanna, Fombrum, and Tichy’s (1981) article, â€Å"Human Resources Management: a Strategic Perspective†, added to the foundation. These attempts tended to take an existing strategy typology (e. g. Miles and Snow’s (1978) prospectors, analy zers and defenders) and delineate the kinds of HRM practices that should be associated with each strategy. These attempts to tie HRM to strategy have been referred to as â€Å"vertical alignment† (Wright & McMahan, 1992).Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Mills and Walton (1984) introduced an alternative to the individual HR sub-function framework for HR strategy. They argued that viewing HRM as separate HR sub-functions was a product of the historical development of HRM and current views of HR departments. They proposed a more generalist approach to viewing HRM with the focus on the entire HR system rather than single HR practices. This led to a focus on how the different HR sub-functions could be aligned and work together to accomplish the goals of HRM and a more macro view of HRM as whole rather than individual functions.This alignment of HR functions with each other is often referred to as â€Å"horizontal alignment† (see this Handbook, chapter 19. ) The combination of both vertical and horizontal alignment was a significant step in explaining how HRM could contribute to the accomplishment of strategic goals. However, given the external focus of the strategic management literature at that time, HR was seen to play only a secondary role in the accomplishment of strategy with an emphasis on the role that HRM Page 7 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 layed in strategy implementation, but not strategy formulation. Lengnick-Hall and LengnickHall (1988) stated â€Å"strategic human resource management models emphasize implementation over strategy formulation. Human resources are considered means, not part of generating or selecting strategic objectives. Rarely are human resources seen as a strategic capacity from which competitive choices should be derived† (1988, p. 456). A shift in strategic management thinking would be required to change that perception and open the door for further development of the SHRM literature.The diffusion of the resource-based view into the Strategic HRM literature spurred this paradigmatic shift in the view of the link between strategy and HRM. Because the resourcebased view proposes that firm competitive advantage comes from the internal resources that it possesses (Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1991), the RBV provided a legitimate foundation upon which HRM researchers could argue that people and the human resources of a firm could in fact contribute to firm-level performance and influence strategy formulation.This resulted in a number of efforts to conceptually or theoretically tie strategic HRM to the resource-based view. For instance, Wright, McMahan, and McWilliams (1994) suggested that while HR practices might be easily imitated, the human capital pool of an organization might constitute a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Lado and Wilson (1994) argued that HR practices combined into an overall HR system can be valuable, unique, and difficult to imitate, thus constituting a resource meeting the conditions necessary for sustained competitive advantage.Boxall (1996, 1998) proposed a distinction between human resource advantage (advantage stemming from a superior human capital pool) and organizational process advantage (advantage stemming from superior processes for managing human capital). The resource-based view also provided the theoretical rationale for empirical studies of how HR practices might impact firm success. One of the early empirical studies of this relationship was carried out by Arthur (1994). Using a sample of steel mini-mills, he found that a specific set of HR practices was significantly related to firm performance in the form of lower Page 8 of 26Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 scrap rates and lower turnover. Huselid (1995), in his landmark study, demonstrated that the use of a set of 13 HRM practices representing a ‘high-performance work system’ was significantly and positively related to lower turnover, and higher profits, sales, and market value for the firms studied. In a similar study, MacDuffie (1995), using data from automobile manufacturing plants, demonstrated that different bundles of HR practices led to higher performance, furthering the argument that the integrated HR system, rather than individual HR practices, leads to higher performance.Delery and Doty (1996) similarly demonstrated the impact of HR practices on firm performance among a sample of banks. This vein of research quickly expanded in the U. S. (e. g. , Batt, 1999; Huselid, Jackson, & Schuler, 1996; Youndt, Snell, Dean, & Lepak,, 1996), the U. K. (e. g. , Brewster, 1999; Guest, 1997; Guest, Michie, Conway, & Sheehan, 2003; Tyson, 1997), elsewhere in Europe (e. g. , d’Arcimoles, 1997; Lahteenmaki, Story, & Vanhala, 1998; Rodriguez & Ventura, 2003) and Asia (e. g. Bae & Lawler, 2000; Lee & Chee, 1996; Lee & Miller, 1999), as well as in multinational corporations operating in multiple international environment s (Brewster, Sparrow, and Harris, 2000). In sum, the RBV, with its focus on the internal resources possessed by a firm, has given the field a theoretical understanding of why human resources systems might lead to sustainable competitive advantage and provided the spark to generate empirical research in this vein (Guest, 2001; Paauwe & Boselie, 2005; , Wright et al, 2005). Key Questions Raised By The Application Of RBV To SHRMIn spite of the significant amount of research demonstrating a link between HRM practices and firm performance, there are several key questions regarding the RBV and its implications for SHRM research that remain unanswered. First, there is some question as to whether current research on HRM and performance is truly testing the RBV. Second, there is still a general lack of understanding around the concept of fit, and its role in the link between strategy and HRM. Third, there are still unanswered questions regarding HRM and whether orPage 9 of 26 Strategic Manag ement and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 not HRM defined as systems of HR practices truly constitutes a resource under the conditions outlined by Barney (1991) and, specifically, whether those resources are truly sustainable over time. Finally, there are several measurement and methodological issues that, while not within the direct scope of this chapter, are worth mentioning as they are pertinent to our discussion of this intersection between Strategic Management and HRM research. Testing of the RBV within SHRMWhile the SHRM research just discussed has used the RBV as a basis for the assertion that HRM contributes to performance, it has not actually tested the theory that was presented in Barney’s (1991) article (Wright, Dunford & Snell, 2001). Most of this research has taken a similar view on how HR practices can lead to firm performance. The model generally argues that HRM in the form of HR practices directly impacts the employees either by increasing human capital or motivation or bot h. This in turn will have an impact on operational outcomes such as quality, customer service, turnover or other operational level outcomes.These operational outcomes will in turn impact firm-level outcomes such as financial performance in the form of revenues, profits or other firm-level measures of performance (Dyer, 1984). In a similar vein, Wright Dunford and Snell, (2001) point out that there are three important components of HRM that constitute a resource for the firm that are influenced by the HR practices or HR system. First, there is the human capital pool comprised of the stock of employee knowledge, skills, motivation and behaviors.HR practices can help build the knowledge and skill base as well as elicit relevant behavior. Second, there is the flow of human capital through the firm. This reflects the movement of people (with their individual knowledge, skills and abilities) as well as knowledge itself. HR practices can certainly influence the movement of people. However, more importantly, the types of reward systems, culture, and other aspects of HRM influence the extent to which employees are willing to create, share, and apply knowledge internally. Page 10 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04Third, the dynamic processes through which organizations change and/or renew themselves constitute the third area illustrating the link between HRM and the resource-based view of the firm. HR practices are the primary levers through which the firm can change the pool of human capital as well as attempt to change the employee behaviors that lead to organizational success. There appears to be a general consensus among SHRM researchers around the general model of the HR to performance relationship and the role of HR practices, the human capital pool, and employee motivation and behaviors as discussed by Dyer (1984) and others.The implications of this for RBV and SHRM research is that while separate components of the full HRM to performance model have been tested such as HR practices (Huselid, 1995; McDuffie, 1995) and human capital (Richard, 2001; Wright, McMahan & Smart, 1995), a full test of the causal model through which HRM impacts performance has not (Wright, Gardner, Moynihan, & Allen, 2005; Wright, Dunford & Snell, 2001; Boxall, 1998). Current research has established an empirical relationship between HR practices and firm performance, but more remains to be done.By testing the full model, including the additional components of the human capital pool and employee relationships and behaviors, a more complete test of the underlying assumptions of the RBV could be established, thus adding credibility to the theoretical model of the relationship between HRM and performance. Fit and the Resource-based View of the Firm In the Priem and Butler (2001) critique of the RBV, one of the points brought up as a theoretical weakness of the RBV is lack of definition around the boundaries or contexts in which it will hold.They point out that â€Å"relative to other strategy theories †¦ little effort to establish the appropriate contexts for the RBV has been apparent† (2001 p. 32). The notion of context has been an important issue in the study of SHRM (Delery & Doty, 1996, Boxall & Purcell, 2000). Most often referred to as contingencies (or the idea of fit), contextual arguments center on the Page 11 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 idea that the role that HRM plays in firm performance is contingent on some other variable.We break our discussion of fit into the role of human capital and HR practices. Human Capital and Fit. The most often cited perspective for explaining contingency relationships in SHRM is the behavioral perspective (Jackson, Schuler & Rivero, 1989) which posits that different firm strategies (other contingencies could be inserted as well) require different kinds of behaviors from employees. Consequently, the success of these strategies is dependent at least in part on th e ability of the firm to elicit these behaviors from its employees (Cappelli & Singh, 1992; Wright & Snell, 1998).Going back to the distinction between human capital skills and employee behavior, Wright and Snell (1999) noted that skills and abilities tend to be necessary, but not sufficient conditions for employee behavior. Consequently, any fit to firm strategy must first consider the kinds of employee behavior (e. g. , experimentation and discovery) required to successfully execute the strategy (e. g. , focused on offering innovative products), and the kinds of skills necessary to exhibit those behaviors (e. g. , scientific knowledge).Obviously, the workforce at Nordstrom’s (an upscale retailer) is quite different from the workforce at Wal-Mart (a discount retailer). Thus, the resource-based application to SHRM requires focusing on a fit between the skills and behaviors of employees that are best suited to the firm’s strategy (Wright et al. 1995). While this idea of fit focuses on across-firm variance in the workforce, Lepak and Snell (1999) developed a framework that simultaneously addresses variation across firms and variations in HR systems within firms (see this Handbook, chapter 11).Their model of ‘human resource architecture’ posits that the skills of individuals or jobs within a firm can be placed along two dimensions: value (to the firm’s strategy) and uniqueness. Their framework demonstrates how different jobs within firms may need to be managed differently, but it also helps to explain differences across firms. For instance, within Wal-Mart, those in charge of logistics have extremely valuable and unique skills, much more so than the average sales Page 12 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 associate.On the other hand, at Nordstrom’s, because customer service is important, sales associate skills are more critical to the strategy than those of the logistics employees. HR Practices and Fit. The t heoretical assumption that the skills and behaviors of employees must fit the strategic needs of the firm in order for the workforce to be a source of competitive advantage leads to the exploration of how HR practices might also need to achieve some form of fit. With regard to vertical fit, as noted previously, business strategies require different skills and behaviors from employees.Because HR practices are generally the levers through which the firm manages these different skills and behaviors, one would expect to see different practices associated with different strategies. For instance, one would expect that firms focused on low cost might not pay the same level of wages and benefits as firms focused on innovation or customer service. Horizontal fit refers to a fit between HR practices to ensure that the individual HR practices are set up in such a way that they support each other (Boxall & Purcell, 2003; Baird & Meshoulam, 1988, Delery, 1998).An example of this would be a selec tion process that focuses on finding team players and a compensation system that focuses on team-based rewards. Theoretically, the rationale for horizontal fit suggests that (a) complementary bundles of HR practices can be redundantly reinforcing the development of certain skills and behaviors resulting in a higher likelihood that they will occur and (b) conflicting practices can send mixed signals to employees regarding necessary skills and behaviors that reduce the probability that they will be exhibited (Becker & Huselid, 1998).There appears to be some agreement in the literature that both types of fit are necessary for optimal impact of HRM on performance (Baird & Meshoulam, 1988; Delery, 1998; Delery & Doty, 1996; Boxall & Purcell, 2003), but not necessarily empirical support for these types of fit (see this Handbook, chapter 27; Wright & Sherman, 1999). Potential Pitfalls of Fit. The idea of fit, whether it be vertical or horizontal, raises two important questions for SHRM res earchers. The first question focuses on empirical support forPage 13 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 the idea of fit. Second, even if fit has positive consequences in the short term, does fitting HRM practices with strategy or other contingent variables universally lead to positive results? That is, are there negative implications of fit? As previously discussed, numerous researchers have argued for fitting HRM to contingent variables. However, the efficacy of fit has not received much empirical support (Paauwe, 2004; Wright & Sherman, 1999).Huselid’s (1995) landmark study sought to test the fit hypothesis using a variety of conceptualizations of fit, yet found little support. Similarly, Delery and Doty (1996) only found limited support across a number of fit tests. The lack of empirical support may largely be due to focusing only on a fit between generic HRM practices and strategy, rather than the outcomes, or products (Wright, 1998) of the HRM practices (sk ills, behaviors, etc. ). Thus, it seems that it may be too early to draw any definite conclusions about the validity of the fit hypothesis.However, while fit between HRM practices and various contingency variables might enhance the ability of HRM to contribute to firm performance, there is also the possibility that a tight fit between HRM and strategy may inhibit the ability of the firm to remain flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances. Firms are increasingly required to adapt to environments that are constantly changing, both within and outside the firm. A tight fit may appear to be desirable but during times of transition and/or change a lack of fit might make adaptation and change more efficient (Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall, 1988).Wright and Snell (1998) developed a framework in which HRM contributes to fit and flexibility simultaneously without conflict between the two, but this framework has yet to be tested and the question remains as to when and where fit might be more or less appropriate. The second question raised by contextual issues surrounding SHRM and the idea of fit is related to the efficacy of fit. Regardless of whether or not fit can have a positive effect on organizational outcomes, there is still some question as to whether or not true fit with key contingencies is feasible.Large organizations operate in complex environments, often across Page 14 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 multiple products, industries and geographies. This complexity leads to questions regarding the ability of the firm to fit HRM practices to all of these diverse and complex circumstances (Boxall & Purcell, 2003). In addition, Boxall and Purcell, (2003) argue that there are competing ideals within a business that require trade-offs in fit.They describe fit as â€Å"a process that involves some tension among competing objectives in management and inevitably implies tensions among competing interests† (2003, p. 188). A simple example o f these tensions can be seen in attempting to fit a strategy of commitment to employees with a hostile or extremely competitive operating environment. A firm with a strategic commitment to the well-being of employees operating in an economic downturn or time of increased competition may be forced to make choices between commitment to employees and a need for estructuring, layoffs or other non-friendly actions toward employees in order to stay solvent. In these situations, compromises will have to be made on either the fit with the strategy or the fit with the environment or both, raising the question again as to whether or not a true fit with contingencies is feasible. These questions regarding the ability to achieve fit and the desirability of achieving fit do not diminish the importance of understanding contextual issues in SHRM research.Understanding the contextual issues surrounding HRM and its impact on performance remains critical. In spite of the interest in the role of conte xtual issues and fit in SHRM, findings in support of contingency relationships have been mixed (Wright & Sherman, 1999). Much of this criticism could be due to ineffective methods used in the measurement of HRM or the contingency and performance variables studied or that the correct contingencies have not yet been studied (Becker & Gerhart, 1996, Rogers & Wright, 1998; Wright & Sherman, 1999).In addition, Boxall and Purcell (2000) have argued that more complex and comprehensive models of contingency relationships are needed in order to understand the impact of context on the HRM to performance relationship. Regardless of the reasoning, it is clear that the impact of context on this important relationship is not yet completely understood and more research is Page 15 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 needed to understand the role of context, as well as questions surrounding models of fit in SHRM research.HRM Practices and Sustainable Competitive Advantage Another issue that has been raised by the RBV and its application to SHRM research is the sustainability of HRM as a competitive advantage. Whether one focuses on bundles of HR practices as an HR system, the human capital pool or employee relationships and behaviors, there remains the question as to whether HRM as a resource meets the inimitability and nonsubstitutability conditions that are required in the RBV for sustained competitive advantage (Barney, 1991).According to Barney (1991), there are three general reasons why firm resources would be difficult to imitate: the resources are created and formed under unique historical conditions, the resources are causally ambiguous, or the resources are socially complex. Labeled as path dependency by Becker and Gerhart (1996), the unique historical conditions under which HRM is formed in individual firms may make its understanding and replication extremely difficult, if not impossible.HR systems are developed over time and the complex history involved in their development makes them difficult to replicate. The development and implementation of a single HR practice such as a variable pay system takes place over time including time to solicit management input and buy-in, work out discrepancies, and align the practice with current strategies as well as firm culture and needs. The end result is a practice that reflects the philosophies and culture of the firm and its management, created to solve the specific needs of the company.Compound that single HR practice with a whole system of practices each with its own history and evolution specific to a particular firm, its philosophies and current situation and you have an HR system that cannot be bought or easily replicated without a significant investment both of time and financial resources. Causal ambiguity implies that the exact manner in which human resource management contributes to the competitive advantage of the firm is either unknown or sufficiently ambiguous Page 16 of 26 Stra tegic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 so as to be difficult or impossible to imitate.According to Becker and Gerhart (1996), the ability to replicate a successful HR system would require an understanding of how all of the elements of this complex system interact and in turn impact the performance of an organization. Given the previous discussion of the basic HRM to performance model and the manner in which it is expected that HRM contributes to firm performance, it is difficult to imagine how the intricate interplay among various HR practices, human capital and employee behaviors, employee outcomes, operational outcomes and firm-level outcomes could be understood by a competitor in a meaningful way.Finally, Barney (1991) points out that competitors will find it difficult to replicate a competitive advantage based on complex social phenomena. Given the nature of HRM and its direct relation to employees, almost every aspect of the HR system, the human capital and especially the emplo yee behavior and relationships has a social component.The way in which HR practices are communicated and implemented among different departments and parts of the organization is influenced by the various social relationships involved; top management to general managers, general managers to department heads or managers and those managers to employees as well as interactions between departments and employees. The complexity of the social relationships in the case of HRM makes it difficult for competitors to imitate it. Finally, for a resource to constitute a source of sustainable competitive advantage it must be non-substitutable.This implies that competitors should not be able to use a different set of resources in order to achieve similar results (Barney, 1991). This concept has not yet been tested, but could provide for interesting research in the area of contextual factors and SHRM. If, in fact, it is found that a particular set of HR practices is positively related to performance in a given context, then, a follow-on question to that which would get at the substitutability question might be whether or not there is another set of HR practices for which the results are similar.This could lead to discussions about strategic configurations of HR Page 17 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 practices rather than universal high-performance work systems that have dominated past research (Delery & Doty, 1996). Regardless of whether there is one or many ways to achieve similar results in different contextual situations, the testing of these possibilities would lead to an increased understanding of the relationship between the RBV and SHRM research and the sustainability of HRM as a strategic resource.Measurement and Methodological Issues In addition to key questions surrounding the RBV and SHRM research, there are also several measurement and methodological issues which have hindered our ability to better understand the relationship between strategy and HRM. Measurement issues relating to the HRM, competitive advantage and key control variables have made the comparison of results across studies and interpretation of findings difficult (Rogers & Wright, 1998; Dyer & Reeves, 1995).In addition, there are questions around the appropriate level of analysis within the firm at which to test these relationships as well as issues related to the mixing of variables measured at different levels of analysis (Rogers & Wright 1998, Becker & Gerhart, 1996). Finally, as was pointed out, the majority of research to date has focused on the relationship between HR systems and firm-level performance and, while the findings indicate a positive relationship, there is insufficient evidence at this point to be able to infer that the relationship is causal (Wright et al. , 2005).A full discussion of these issues is beyond the scope of this chapter and a more thorough discussion may be found in other chapters in this text (see particularly chapters 26 and 2 7), but it is important to note in discussing key questions in SHRM that they exist and need to be addressed or at least considered in future research. Future Directions Research on SHRM management over the past decade has made significant progress in developing our understanding of the role that HRM plays in firm performance. The field now has a significant foundation upon which to build future research.In our opinion, future research should focus on both answering key questions that remain in understanding the relationship Page 18 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 between HRM and performance and by expanding or broadening what is considered SHRM. Such extension would encompass both other resources and other theories currently studied in strategic management research. Key Unanswered Questions The previous portion of the chapter pointed out several key questions that have been raised as a result of the application of the RBV to SHRM research that are not yet answered. First, research that directly tests the concepts outlined in the RBV has not been done (Priem & Butler, 2001). Thus future research should focus on testing the concepts of the RBV by testing the full model through which HRM leads to competitive advantage or firm performance. Do HR practices impact the human capital pool and the relationships and behaviors of the employees and do those outcomes in turn impact both operational and firm-level performance? Answering these questions by testing the full causal model would be a significant contribution to our understanding of the strategic nature of HRM.In essence, this reflects the â€Å"black box process† that Priem and Butler (2001) argued must be addressed by RBV theorists and researchers. Second, future research should focus on understanding the contextual questions surrounding the HRM to performance relationship. Mixed results in past contextual research is not reason enough to abandon the question all together. It is highly l ikely that HRM matters more or less in certain situations or under certain conditions. Efforts should be made to continue to test established models of HRM in new and unique situations.In addition, more thorough tests of moderating variables in the HRM to performance relationship should be tested. Given the complexity involved in the measurement and testing of these relationships and the mixed results of past research in this area it is likely that researchers will need to seek out contexts with reduced complexity such as departments within large organizations or small businesses where reduced complexity will provide more meaningful measures of potential moderating variables and more meaningful tests of the moderating relationships can be performed. Page 19 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04Another step that needs to be taken in understanding the role of context in the HRM to performance relationship is to move away from universal-type models of HRM such as highperform ance work systems and high-involvement work systems and develop and test different configurations of HR practices that might apply to specific situations. In doing this, researchers will be able to better understand the specific bundles or HR practices that are applicable or fit with different types of organizations or situations, thus making a significant contribution to our understanding of the types of HRM that will matter in a given situation.Expanding the Role of SHRM Future research in SHRM should focus on conceptually expanding what is considered to be the role of SHRM. Historically, SHRM has been viewed as the interface between HRM and strategic management (Boxall, 1996) with the focus of much research being on understanding how the HRM function (namely HRM practices) can be strategically aligned so as to contribute directly to competitive advantage.This implies a concern with how HR practices can contribute to strategy implementation without addressing the larger question o f how HRM can contribute or play a role in strategy formulation (Lengnick-Hall & Lengnick-Hall, 1988). Wright et. al. (2001) argued that it is the human capital (the knowledge skills and abilities of the human resources) as well as the relationships and motivation of the employees that leads to competitive advantage. The purpose of HR practices is to develop or acquire this human capital and influence the relationships and behaviors of the employees so that they can contribute to the strategic goals of the irm. Future research should examine human capital and the social interactions and motivations of the human element within a firm (Snell, Shadur, & Wright, 2002), not only as independent variables but also as mediating and dependent variables. A focus in this area will bring the field more in line with contemporary views in strategic management. Research in this area will also help us to get beyond questions regarding how HR practices can facilitate the strategic goals of a firm an d begin to understand how organizations can understand the resources found in their human element and use that Page 20 of 26Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 understanding to influence or even drive their decisions about their strategic direction. For instance, IBM’s strong HR processes/competencies led it into the business of offering outsourced HR services. This was an internal resource that was extended into a new product line, and illustrates how an understanding of such resources can influence strategic direction. Along these same lines, another way to break away from this notion of HRM as a facilitator of the strategic direction of the firm is by focusing on some of the resources currently salient to strategic management researchers.In their review of the RBV and SHRM relationship, Wright, Dunford and Snell, (2001) argue that the RBV created a link between HRM and strategic management research and that as a result of this link the two fields were converging. Be cause of this convergence, the potential impact of SHRM research on mainstream strategy issues is tremendous. Increasingly, strategy researchers are focusing on knowledge and knowledge-based resources (Argote, & Ingram, 2000; Grant, 1996;), human capital (Hitt et al. 001), social capital (Inkpen & Tsang, 2005; McFadyen, Ann, & Albert, 2004), capabilities (Dutta, Narasimhan, & Rajiv, 2005), and dynamic capabilities (Teece, Pisano, & Schuen, 1997), as critical resources that lead to organizational success. While HRM practices strongly influence these resources, the SHRM literature seems almost devoid of empirical attention to them. Only recently have researchers began to explore these issues (Kinnie, Swart, & Purcell, 2005; Thompson & Heron, 2005). Additional research in these areas would provide tremendous synergy between HRM and strategy.In addition, alternative theories such as ‘learning organizations’ (Fiol & Lyles, 1985; Fisher & White, 2000), real options theory (Mc Grath, 1997; Trigeorgis, 1996) and institutional theory (Meyer & Rowan, 1977) can be combined with SHRM research to enhance our understanding of the strategic nature of HRM. For instance, Bhattacharya and Wright (2005) showed how real options theory can be applied to understanding flexibility in SHRM. In addition, Paauwe and Boselie (Chapter 9) provide a detailed analysis of how institutional theory can better inform SHRM research. The use of these in addressing questions in SHRM research willPage 21 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 provide new lenses through which researchers are able to view the HRM to performance relationship, potentially providing new insights and ideas that will further our understanding of SHRM. Conclusion While the field of strategic HRM is relatively young, significant progress has been made at a rapid pace. Researchers have provided great theoretical and empirical advancements in a period of just over 25 years. Much of this progress is the r esult of the RBV and its emphasis on the internal resources of the firm as a source of sustainable competitive advantage.The RBV and its application to SHRM research created an important link between strategic management and HRM research. Its application has been followed by a significant amount of research using the RBV as a basis for assertions about the strategic nature of HRM. However, the link between HRM and strategic management can be strengthened by breaking away from the focus on HR practices. Other key resources currently being researched in strategic management have the potential to be directly influenced by HRM, but their coverage by SHRM researchers has been minimal, leaving a tremendous opportunity for future research in this area.In addition to this, new theories relevant to strategic management have yet to be combined with SHRM research, leaving potential for additional contributions to our understanding of the intersection between strategic management and HRM. Page 22 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 References Argote, L. , Ingram, P. , Levine, J. M. , & Moreland, R. L. (2000). Knowledge transfer in organizations: Learning from the experience of others. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 82(1), 1-8. Arthur, J. B. (1994). Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover.Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 670. Bae, J. , & Lawler, J. J. (2000). 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