Compensation and Benefits Essay

Compensation and benefit plans are crucial to the achievements of the company. Job seekers look for the best job opportunity and compensation and benefits play a major role in the decision-making process. Compensation involves how employees are paid, hourly or salary, and benefits involve the type of medical, dental, vision and various plans offered such as a 401K for retirement. Organizations typically maximize in productivity with their business practices by providing benefits to their employees. Benefits usually attract candidates with paramount talent and experience that will lead the firm to the competitive advantage. Compensation and benefits may be a measurement tool for the effects of productivity, company growth, and success. The effects could indirectly change the recruitment and retention of labor. The allusion of the plan is for workers to believe the compensation plan is reasonable and fair (Cascio, 2010). Managers should incorporate cross-training to engage employees to excel in performing their job duties at the highest levels for the best outcome (Cascio, 2010). The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) established in 1938 set the standards for exempt and non-exempt positions. The FLSA ascertains the standards for minimum wage, recordkeeping, overtime pay ,and the standards for youth workers and how it affects worker in the private sector according to local, state, and federal guidelines. Effective July 24, 2009 non-exempt workers will receive no less than $7. 25 per hour. Exempt staff will not receive overtime pay; however, non-exempt workers will receive one hour and half of pay after 40 hours per week when required to work overtime. Management positions, such as administrative and professional staff, sales personnel, and IT staff classified as exempt.

Functional Areas of Business

Depending on the size of organization, functional areas may be directed by specific departments with upper management, mid-level and front line managers. In comparison, a small business is often managed by one leader only, who's responsibilities overlap. Management The management role includes more than simply being in charge of employees. Instead, this position coordinates and oversees the work of others, ensures organization goals are accomplished, and ensures the business success.Furthermore, managers monitor the efficiency and effective use of employees because workers are the most important resource f an organization (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). Managers also oversee and control functions that are not obvious, but play a crucial role in the company's success. Law is the legal aspect of business that effect business and small firms. Managers use business law to ensure operations are legally sound, noncompliance with all state, federal and international requirements, and regulations to help solve problems.Human resources or short HER address concepts of personal development throughout employee's lifestyle. During the hiring and training process human resources have a high importance. For proper compensation and if disciplinary actions are taken (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). A large role for managers plays the aspect of leadership which covers different ways to influence employees to achieve organization goal, inspire and motivate, handle conflicts, as well as power struggle and organizational change.Accounting maintains and audits financial aspects of a business that is separated into financial and managerial accounting. Financial accounting studies the creation of financial statement, for example, income statements and balance sheets. Managerial accounting looks at statements and helps make decisions, including budgeting for upcoming projects and control cost within the firm (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). Finance addresses the process of setting up and maintaining t he fiscal success of the firm including revenue. Finance is useful for managers in many ways, especially when needing fund for new business venture.The study of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services within countries and individual firms are a part of economics. It is used to maximize profits and to Andre market conditions, for example, recessions (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). Leaders collect data and use methods as well as static to interpret them to find out important information about their business as part of research and statistics. This fiction will help make decisions on what business practices to continue to use and which ones to modify in the future. Operations management is devoted to increasing the value of the firms supply chain.This function is used to ensure that the process f getting goods and service is smooth and error free (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). Marketing interests the end consumer in a product or service and to keep this client happy. Such technique is used to determine which product or service to offer, the type of advertising and creation of a good image of their brand. Strategic planning is applied to ensure origination's goals are met. Marketing helps bring all aspects of the firm together and ensures the company's success (Stephen & Robbins, 2010).The Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy addresses why small business, with between five to went employees, Often fail to grow. Most times, the difficulty directly relates to the little or no knowledge of growth requirement and organizations barriers. A SOOT analysis, which included strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, allows leaders to develop a company goal as well as an action plan on how to reach it. According to Perks, â€Å"Small businesses that grow during their flirts four years of establishment more than double their chance of survival (Perks, p. 21, 2010). Omnipotent view of management states that managers are directly responsible for the organization's success as well as failure. Actions and decisions of leaders are directly related to an organization's success. Well performing leaders adjust and maximize chances, improve bad performances, as well as manage the company. Therefore, managers are compensated for the business' success with stock options, incentives, ores. On the other side, upper management is believed to be responsible when profits are down and then fired or replaced by new managers (Stephen & Robbins, 2010).Symbolic view of management describes the failure and success of companies impacted by external influences that are outside of leader's ability to control. This view is arguing that managers have little control over external factors for example customers, economy, competitors, decisions of previous leaders and others. Managers have only symbolized influence and control by creating action plans, and limited influence of failure and success according to this view. Co nclusion Whether in a small or large company, managers oversee a wide range of functions to ensure the success and high performance of all areas. Functional Areas of Business Depending on the size of organization, functional areas may be directed by specific departments with upper management, mid-level and front line managers. In comparison, a small business is often managed by one leader only, who's responsibilities overlap. Management The management role includes more than simply being in charge of employees. Instead, this position coordinates and oversees the work of others, ensures organization goals are accomplished, and ensures the business success.Furthermore, managers monitor the efficiency and effective use of employees because workers are the most important resource f an organization (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). Managers also oversee and control functions that are not obvious, but play a crucial role in the company's success. Law is the legal aspect of business that effect business and small firms. Managers use business law to ensure operations are legally sound, noncompliance with all state, federal and international requirements, and regulations to help solve problems.Human resources or short HER address concepts of personal development throughout employee's lifestyle. During the hiring and training process human resources have a high importance. For proper compensation and if disciplinary actions are taken (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). A large role for managers plays the aspect of leadership which covers different ways to influence employees to achieve organization goal, inspire and motivate, handle conflicts, as well as power struggle and organizational change.Accounting maintains and audits financial aspects of a business that is separated into financial and managerial accounting. Financial accounting studies the creation of financial statement, for example, income statements and balance sheets. Managerial accounting looks at statements and helps make decisions, including budgeting for upcoming projects and control cost within the firm (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). Finance addresses the process of setting up and maintaining t he fiscal success of the firm including revenue. Finance is useful for managers in many ways, especially when needing fund for new business venture.The study of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services within countries and individual firms are a part of economics. It is used to maximize profits and to Andre market conditions, for example, recessions (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). Leaders collect data and use methods as well as static to interpret them to find out important information about their business as part of research and statistics. This fiction will help make decisions on what business practices to continue to use and which ones to modify in the future. Operations management is devoted to increasing the value of the firms supply chain.This function is used to ensure that the process f getting goods and service is smooth and error free (Stephen & Robbins, 2010). Marketing interests the end consumer in a product or service and to keep this client happy. Such technique is used to determine which product or service to offer, the type of advertising and creation of a good image of their brand. Strategic planning is applied to ensure origination's goals are met. Marketing helps bring all aspects of the firm together and ensures the company's success (Stephen & Robbins, 2010).The Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy addresses why small business, with between five to went employees, Often fail to grow. Most times, the difficulty directly relates to the little or no knowledge of growth requirement and organizations barriers. A SOOT analysis, which included strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, allows leaders to develop a company goal as well as an action plan on how to reach it. According to Perks, â€Å"Small businesses that grow during their flirts four years of establishment more than double their chance of survival (Perks, p. 21, 2010). Omnipotent view of management states that managers are directly responsible for the organization's success as well as failure. Actions and decisions of leaders are directly related to an organization's success. Well performing leaders adjust and maximize chances, improve bad performances, as well as manage the company. Therefore, managers are compensated for the business' success with stock options, incentives, ores. On the other side, upper management is believed to be responsible when profits are down and then fired or replaced by new managers (Stephen & Robbins, 2010).Symbolic view of management describes the failure and success of companies impacted by external influences that are outside of leader's ability to control. This view is arguing that managers have little control over external factors for example customers, economy, competitors, decisions of previous leaders and others. Managers have only symbolized influence and control by creating action plans, and limited influence of failure and success according to this view. Co nclusion Whether in a small or large company, managers oversee a wide range of functions to ensure the success and high performance of all areas.

To what extent does business process reengineering improve sustainable competitive advantage

Rationale / Background Due to the increasingly competitive and evolving environment of modern business, a significant focus now lies on business restructuring in order for firms to meet the demands of the global economy. Buhalis and Owen (2010) see this necessity as the driver behind business process reengineering and as a result the practice is widespread, for instance Attaran (2004) highlighted a study in which 87% of businesses were found to engage in the process. Much research has been conducted in this area (see Kettinger and Grover 1995), which points towards competitive advantage as the primary focal area. Based on Porter’s original five forces model (Porter 1979) companies now look to business process reengineering to create a sustainable competitive advantage for their firm. Whilst research done by Ansoff and McDonnell (1990) focuses on more traditionally held beliefs about a firm’s unique resources, many has since changed their beliefs on what is considered a dynamic capability wo rthy of creating a sustained competitive advantage. Meed et al (1994) cited a company needs to transform in order to adapt to its environment, and Osborne (1997) suggested that the very nature of the issue requires ever evolving material. Thus there is becoming an increased focus on the more subjective capabilities of modern organizations, as Barney’s 1999 article noted how strategic resources tend to be evenly distributed across firms and so there is a new focal point of knowledge being central to the business reengineering process and to creating a sustained competitive advantage for modern businesses. According to Grint (1994) reengineering quickly became the buzzword for businesses in the 1990’s, set on organizational improvement and change. Business process reengineering is defined as â€Å"a requirement to study fundamental business processes, independent or organization units and information systems support, to determine if the underlying business processes can be significantly streamlined and improved† by Langer (2008) and is based on operational objectives in order to improve performance. For instance a firm may wish to simplify their processes, improve communication procedures or speed up their operational turnover (Sayegh 2005.) As mentioned previously the very nature of business process reengineering requires a circular flow of communication in order for business processes to continuously improve, as Guha et al (1993) suggested the process reengineering cycle to be implemented into organizations in order to quickly tweak any issues with a new process with a minimal delay on output. The subject of business process reengineering is still relatively new and so there are suggestions for future improvements, as a significant focus now lies on not only creating the information systems but using them effectively. This requires what Earl et al (1995) called alignment, that a process must not only be operationally efficient it must also be aligned not only with the company’s other materials and systems but also with the existing knowledge of the firm’s staff. This view is supported by Burgelman et al (2008) who focused on the links between not only different management levels but also between different strategic levels of the business. The suggestion by Burgelman et al being that organizational knowledge is unevenly spread and so needs to be aligned more thoroughly. According to Brynjolfsson and Renshaw (1997) business process reengineering does suffer from low success rates, due to a lack of tools for managing the change proces s. Brynjolfsson and Renshaw proposed utilising a matrix of change in order to help managers identify and deal with critical issues. In this sense the importance of organizational knowledge is evidently the weak link in making business process reengineering reach its potential. Therefore much work has been done to attempt to bridge this success gap between the operational processes of a business and people’s ability to use them (see Khosrowpour 2006.) Attaran (2004) believed information technology to be a key element of a successful reengineering approach, citing Bill Gates’ comment on the 2000’s focus being on velocity. Therefore it is feasible for a company to rely on information technology to understand processes if they operate in a particularly fast paced industry like the example Bill Gates was referring to. In fact Johnson and Vitale (1998) believed innovations in information technology to be the future source of competitive advantage for firms, using exam ples of where it has been essential for business success for instance linking systems between an organizations diversified functional areas. Organizational knowledge is therefore seen to be one of few sources of a sustainable competitive advantage for modern firms. Tacit knowledge means that no two companies are the same (Collis and Montgomery 1995) and so as a dynamic capability knowledge appears to fulfil the necessary criteria, seen by Ambrosini and Bowman (2002) as being difficult to imitate, difficult to substitute or transfer and being scarce. Especially vital in the modern business environment is the speed in which knowledge can be created or transferred, as Saint-Onge (1996) noted how a company’s intellectual capital needs to be in line with rapid technological developments.This focus on human capital led Saint-Onge to cite the â€Å"knowledge era† of modern times. A key application for business process reengineering of this focus is the need to constantly reinvest in organizational knowledge, due to the attrition effects of competition decaying the casual ambiguity that knowledge creates (Reed and D efillippi 1990.) Therefore the real challenge for modern companies is how to undertake this required reinvestment in business process reengineering. Cavusgil and Calantone (2003) pointed out in their study on tacit knowledge that the primary issue is sharing knowledge throughout the firm. Howells (1996) noted that in order to be fully utilised tacit knowledge can be transferred on a variety of levels as in many cases knowledge should not only be transferred horizontally but vertically in firms, i.e. that managers must pass on their knowledge to their staff and vice versa. This vertical transfer is vital for informational systems as in many cases practicalities experienced by lower level staff are not considered by upper management. Due to the difficulty in representing tacit knowledge acknowledged by Lubit (2001) the suggestions on how to transfer knowledge throughout the firm focus on more informal means. Lubit believed social mechanisms to be the best option, citing how formalis ed processes will always leave gaps. Similarly Ambrosini and Bowman (2002) found that techniques such as individual questionnaires and storytelling were most suitable for demonstrating tacit knowledge. Description Project Aims and Objectives: To uncover relevant links between organizational knowledge and the firm’s business process reengineering, and the role of knowledge management in facilitating the reengineering process. To examine theoretical approaches to business process reengineering and empirical evidence of their respective success rates. To investigate the impact of business process engineering on sustainable competitive advantage from a theoretical standpoint. Research Methodology Due to the theoretical approach being adopted in this study, secondary research would be utilised in accomplishing the aforementioned research objectives. Based on this approach, the study would adopt an interpretivist epistemology. According to Saunders et al (2007), â€Å"Interpretivism is an epistemology that advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand differences between humans in our role as social actors†. Interpretivism relates to how people make sense of the world around them, and how they interpret social phenomena. Compared to the positivist view, the interpretivist view relates essentially to the interpretation of findings by those collecting data, and a common risk is that there may be issues of reliability and validity due to its subjective nature (Collis and Hussey, 2003). Based on recommendations by Collis and Hussey (2003), an inductive approach would also be utilized in conducting the research, as this involves analyzing the theoretical da ta concerning business process reengineering and competitive advantage, and drawing up a conclusion (after indepth analysis), on how both factors may be related. Data collection and analysis within this study would involve the systematic review of literature, reviewing previous studies on business process reengineering, knowledge management and competitive advantage to establish the relationship between all 3 variables, and ascertain if and how they the reengineering of business processes could actually lead to an improved competitive advantage within an industry. Through the combination of a number of results from a number of studies, the researcher hopes to uncover reasonable, reliable and valid insights into the subject area. Relevant databases such as Business Source Premier, Ingenta Connect and Emerald Insights would be utilized in finding these researches. Further research would also be conducted on institutes of business, such as those who may have statistics on how business processes affect competitive advantage. An entire subchapter would also be devoted to critiques of business process reengineering, particularly in its relevance to competitive advantage, as this allows for a balanced critical research and helps support the study’s reliability. Secondary research has been adopted as opposed to primary research, as it essentially bases our findings on more extensive research that may have been done in the past. These literatures are usually wider ranging and cover a lot more aspects of BRR than this research could have, if it adopted a primary approach. Deliverables This project intends to deliver clear conclusions and recommendations on the following: The relationship between business process reengineering and knowledge management within organisational settings. Do they necessarily impact on one anotherDoes effective knowledge management particularly promote better results when processes are reengineered Empirical findings on the success and / or failure rates of business process reengineering activities that have been conducted over the past decades. These could be differentiated based on industries, and conditions, such as whether the organisations properly utilised information technology or knowledge management systems. Empirical or theoretical evidence suggesting that business process reengineering does promote sustainable competitive advantage. Particular emphasis would be placed on how it was accomplished and the secondary factors (such as information or knowledge management technology) that may have acted as catalysts. Schedule Secondary research (literature search) to be completed within two weeks of the project’s s tart. Cross-examination of literature is to be completed within a week of the final data being collected. This will encompass all of the data to spot any clear patterns. Checking of the discovered patterns to ensure their viability, reliability and generalisability will also be aimed to be completed within the same week that the original cross examination has been completed. The Introduction and Methodology chapters would be written within a week from when the data has been gathered. This would help in the structure of these chapters. The systematic literature review would be written up and conducted using the thematic approach. Meaning that each of the project deliverables would be separated into different themes and analysed as such. Overall project timeline – A maximum of 4-5 weeks from starting to accumulate the relevant data to having a clear, presentable set of results. Resources Required No hardware resources are required, except for computer hardware to use in researching, analysing and writing up the project. Access to literature sources such as the journals mentioned above, and empirical results on business process reengineering may require library access to such journals and in-depth Internet research. The researcher is confident that he has the skills to accomplish all of these. References Ambrosini, V. And Bowman, C. (2002) Tacit Knowledge: Some Suggestions for Operationalization. Journal of management studies, Vol 38, Issue 6, pp 811-829. Ansoff, H.I. and McDonnell, E.J. (1990) Implanting strategic management. Prentice Hall New York. Attaran, M. (2004) Exploring the relationship between information technology and business process reengineering. Information and management, Vol 41, pp 585-596. Barney, J. (1999) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, Vol 17, No 1, pp 99-120. Buhalis, D. And Owen, R. (2010) Business Process Reengineering. Business Process Management Journal, Vol 6, Issue 2, pp 113-121. Burgelman, R.A. Christensen, C.M. and Wheelwright, S.C. (2008) Strategic management of technology and innovation. McGraw- Hill / Irvin. Cavusgil, S.T. Calantone, R.J. Zhao, Y. (2003) Tacit knowledge transfer and firm innovation capability. Journal of business and industrial marketing, Vol 18, Issue 1, pp 6-21. Collis, D.J. and Montgomery, C.A. (1995) Competing on Resources: Strategy in the 1990s. Harvard Business Review, July-August. Earl, M.J. Sampler, J.L. and Short, J.E. (1995) Strategies for business process reengineering: evidence from field studies. Journal of Management Information Systems, Volume 12, Issue 1 (June 1995.) Grint, K. (1994) Reengineering History: Social Resonances and Business Process Reengineering. Organization, Vol 1, No 1, pp 179-201. Guha, S. Kettinger, W.J. and Teng, J.T.C. (1993) BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING Building a Comprehensive Methodology. Information systems management, Vol 10, Issue 3. Howells, J. (1996) Tacit knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. Technology analysis and strategic management, Vol 8, No 2, pp 91-106. Kettinger, W.J. and Grover, K. (1995) Special section: toward a theory of business process change management. Journal of management information systems, Vol 12, Issue 1 (June 1995.) Khosrowpour, M. (2006) Advanced topics in information resources management. Vol 5. Idea group publishing. Langer, A.M. (2008) Business process reengineering. Analysis and design of information systems. Lubit, R. (2001) Knowledge Management : The Keys to Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Organizational dynamics, Vol 29, Issue 3, pp 164-178. Meed, J.W. Bots, P.W.G. and Sol, H.G. (1994) A hard core for soft problems: A business engineering case study within the Amsterdam municipal police force. TCBAUS IFIP Information systems international working conference, Gold Coast, Australia. Osborne, T. (1997) Business process reengineering. PACIS 1997 Proceedings. Porter, M.E. (1979) How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard business review. Cited by Smit, P.J. (2000) Strategic planning: Readings. Juta and Company Ltd. Reed, R. and Defillippi, R.J. (1990) Causal Ambiguity, Barriers to Imitation, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. The academy of management review, Vol 15, No 1 (January 1990) pp 88-102. Saint-Onge, H. (1996) Tacit knowledge the key to the strategic alignment of intellectual capital. Strategy and leadership, Vol 24, Issue 2, pp 10-16. Sayegh, F. (2005) Business process Reengineering. EFS Technical report No.21. (December 15th 2005.)

Lead me from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, death to life Essay

Lead me from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, death to life - Essay Example There are some people who live in eternal darkness and die in it. And there are some more privileged ones (by nature, or by some unknown destiny) who live in spaces and times brightly lit with noble emotions and lovely acts. But the greatest of all are those who overcome the darkness in their lives through self-realization and the will to act accordingly, because only they are capable of choosing their destiny. This is why this essay envisages to illustrate and prove that every human being, however immersed in darkness he/she is, has the potential to traverse the difficult path from darkness to light. Mathew has been my school mate and friend for two years but then suddenly he stopped coming to the school. When I tried to contact him, I felt he did not like that. I felt being looked upon by him as a nuisance whenever I went to meet him in his village town. Gradually, I gave up and went my way. He never returned to the school and then I heard that he was spending his nights away in ga mbling casinos in the nearby town with his step father, who had picked up a passion for this game and turned lucky. I also heard news that they were winning big money in the game. It was after three years that I saw him again. He had put on some weight. This time he was happy to see me and we spent an evening reminiscing our school days. I reminded him what a good athlete he was but he shrugged and said he did not regret leaving the studies and the school. It was visible that he had earned a lot of money. He was wearing a very expensive suit and fitting accessories including a Rolex watch and a Mont Blanc pen. But I pressed him to tell me whether he was continuing with his other two passions, painting and mountaineering. He told me he was not getting enough time for that. He told me also that every year he was earning more than the double of the previous year's income. On further talks, he revealed that his father had left his mother who disapproved of their gambling and that his gi rlfriend also left him as well. I asked him why he was chasing money as if there is nothing else in the world. He said, you people think that money is evil. But in this world, money can buy you anything. At that moment, I had to tell him that he was living in a world of illusion but he said it was my illusion (Plato, 1987, p.177). Though we had a nice evening that day, I felt he was moving towards the darker areas of human existence. And I could realize that he was already looking down on me as an unlucky guy who had yet to struggle his way up the ladder through the boring text books, projects and so on. Four years after that meeting, once again destiny brought us face to face with each other. I chanced upon him on a commuter train where I found him sitting engrossed in a book. I felt curious. After we exchanged greetings he suddenly became silent. Then he asked me, â€Å"Do you remember telling me that I was living in a world of illusion?† I nodded. He suddenly held my hands and said, â€Å"I have woke up from that world of illusion.† And he told me his story from where we left it four years back. On an evening that he realized his new girl friend was cheating on him in the game, he aimlessly strolled down the street. The girl had been collaborating with another man to help him win the game as she had developed an intimate relationship with that man without the knowledge of my friend. He was slightly depressed. The ugly face of truth that he had no real friends at all, was annoying him a little. Of late, he was loosing money in the game and those whom he thought as close to him were showing him a cold face. â€Å"How blind I have been to trust them,†

In respect of a Director of a UK authorised service company and their Essay

In respect of a Director of a UK authorised service company and their obligations under FSMA 2000, the Criminal justice act and - Essay Example the proliferation of statutes that essentially deal with the same problem there is a perception that each statute must necessarily be introducing a different aspect of the law. It makes sense that insider dealing should be simplified and included in one statute that could cover each of the behaviours that the government seeks to prevent and monitor. This research study demonstrates how the law relative to insider dealing can be simplified by simply placing it in one statute. By taking this approach directors can more easily inform themselves of the prohibitive conduct and have more certainty as to what amounts to insider dealing and what the consequences of insider dealer are. In this research study is divided into two main parts. The first part of the paper defines insider dealing and analyses the statutory provisions defining insider dealing. The second part of the paper analyses how and why insider dealing laws should be simplified. Insider Dealing Definition Dealing refers to act ivities in which an individual obtains: Or disposes of the securities himself, whether for himself or as the agent of some other person, or procures an acquisition or a disposal of the securities by someone else.5 Information in the context of inside dealing refers to inside information associated with â€Å"the securities themselves or to the state of the company† issuing the relevant securities.6 Grier defines insider dealing as gainful use of â€Å"secret information† related to investments that are traded in the open market by â€Å"those who are privy to that information and should not be taking advantage† of that information and knowledge.7 These definitions take account of the fact that insiders have sensitive market information that can significantly influence buying and purchasing behaviour and investment trends generally. An insider with this kind of information can exploit this knowledge for purposes that can either harm the company or the market for self-gain.8 It is entirely understandable that insider dealing laws are promulgated to safeguard against market abuses that constitute insider dealing. Statutory Definitions and Regulations of Insider Dealing The Criminal Justice Act 1993 which implements the EU Directive on insider dealing creates two offences of insider dealing.9 The offence of insider dealing occurs when an â€Å"individual has information as an insider in circumstances mentioned in subsection (3)† and â€Å"deals in securities that are price-affected securities in relation to that information.†10 Subsection (3) provides: The circumstances referred to above are that the acquisition or disposal in question occurs on a regulated market, or that the person dealing relies on a professional intermediary or is himself a

Developing a Health Advocacy Campaign Assignment

Developing a Health Advocacy Campaign - Assignment Example Driving while drunk or intoxicated is very dangerous because the risk of car accidents increase significantly when a person has a high level of alcoholic content in his/her blood. A large number of vehicular deaths and injuries occur annually in the United States because of drunk driving. It is due to this reason that the government of the United States has taken some prevention measures in collaboration with the state governments and different not-for-profit organizations to decrease the number of incidents associated with drunk driving. â€Å"In 2013, the rate of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities per 100,000 population was 3.2, representing a 65% decrease since 1982, when record keeping began† (Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility [FAAR], 2015). Although there has been a great decrease in the number of such casualties for the last two decades, but a lot more still needs to be done to prevent drunk-driving based road accidents. The purpose of this paper is to propose a drunk driving prevention policy based on the review of some existing prevention programs and laws surrounding this public health issue. The paper also includes discussion on the challenges associated with the proposed policy and the ways to overcome those challenges to make the proposed policy applicable in all respects. The people that are more prone to drunk driving include those between 21 to 35 years of age. Therefore, the targeted population for this paper includes adults of the above-mentioned age group. Some of the ways that can be used to reduce the severity of this public health issue include revoking or suspending driver licenses, establishing DWI courts, confiscating or impounding vehicle plates, immobilizing vehicles, increasing fines and incarceration for drunk driving (Hanson, n.d.). Along with all these measures, the most important step that needs to be taken at the government and nursing organizations level is

Performance Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performance Evaluation - Essay Example 6). Performance Evaluation Points of Concern The case study talks about a mid size manufacturing plant and the performance evaluation of an engineer is conducted who previously had worked in the aerospace industry and hard working employee. Major concerns with respect to performance review in the manufacturing firm was that the review was performed by someone who was not effectively trained and so he won’t be able to understand the criteria of judging a person and deciding upon the appraisal. Secondly, the engineer did not trust the company’s approach towards evaluation of performance as it concentrated only personal characteristic and relationship with the worker. Thirdly even after learning about the 360 degree evaluation method, the manager was not sure of implementing it. Most Commonly-Used Performance Evaluation Tool The plant manger evaluated the performance based on two criteria personal characteristic and relationship with the co workers of the engineer. ... A good relationship means working as a team to solve problems and learn on new skills in order to reach the objective of the team and can bring about effective result. Therefore comparing personal characteristic and relationship among the co workers, the latter is more important for effective result. Advantage and Disadvantage Advantage of including the superiors, subordinates and peers in the evaluation process also known as the 360 degree is it improves the performance of whole organization and focuses on individual growth. An all round feedback allows an employee to understand as to how other perceive them and getting feedback directly from customers, colleague in a safe way helps an employee get the reality of information. In addition it also includes certain disadvantages like it is time consuming and a complex process, it can result in intimidating for some employees due to extensive feedback and most importantly it requires training in order to work effectively (Fagerhaugh, 19 96, p. 80) Three Common Performance Evaluation Methods Three common performance evaluation methods which are used to analyze performance data are rating scale or the ranking method, 360 degree evaluation method and behavioral evaluation method. Common characteristic of the three methods is that they are used to evaluate performance of the employees by the evaluator. The ranking method is the most common and easiest method where the employees are ranked based on the relative worth towards the organization although the method suffers from defects like bias report from the evaluator and also not suitable for large number of people. The 360 degree helps to get feedback from multisource unlike the ranking method. The

Human resource problems - Google Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Human resource problems - Google - Essay Example trying to find ways to improve its workforce performance this could be effective through smart hiring, Google has to investigate how to improve managers. Improper hiring may lead to everything that will follow to be less fine. They should seek for a way to recruit the best candidates. Going to the data to find the optimal number of those to interview to Identify top talent and not running them off too arduous of a recruiting process. It can be discovered that the group hiring barred too many personal preferences in the process and an algorithm reviews declined resumes to get outlined applicant and bring them back to the rotation. Also on the other hand Google should investigate the lifestyle of the candidate before recruiting them in the social media such as; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram among others to be sure of their public images and how they participate in them (Youndt, et al. 866). Since recruiting and training cost incur some of the significant costs to the corporate, it has to consider keeping the existing talent to make the system affordable route to success. Google has to do crunching of the numbers to recognize which employees are expected to leave so that they can preclude the unwanted abrasion. Through this, they could be able to improve retention by more than 35%. This will also enable the company to retain the excellent employees who have set good standards in their performance; through this the company may improve its quality of performance and even improve it as time goes by (Collins, et al. 745). Managing the top leadership team; the most effective ways of the best leadership which most of the employees prefer is through one-on-one coaching, personalized response and interest in the employee personally has a positive impact on retention and job approval. Managers are rated two times annually by their staffers to fill the Google data machine and make certain all is well. Also, the managers could treat the employees through giving them some

Historical and Theoretical Perspectives on Teaching Reading Essay

Historical and Theoretical Perspectives on Teaching Reading - Essay Example In addition, the findings would be related in terms of their impact on classroom instruction by providing specific and supportive evidence for each theme or issue from the readings and from one’s personal experience, as required. The whole language approach emerged in the 1980s more as a philosophy than a mere teaching methodology. According to Todays-Learners (2010, par. 19), â€Å"reading should not be taught, but rather acquired through trial and error†. Promoters of this technique emphasize that students can substitute words with those that they commonly use as long as the idea remains the same. Correct spelling of words is not so much given priority for as long as the thoughts and concepts are appropriately ingrained (Todays-Learners, 2010, pars. 19 – 23). The modernist perspective has been discussed by Serafini (2003, par. 16) through a review of various scholars’ discourse on the subject; such as Street, De Castell & Luke, and Siegel & Fernandez, among others. This view contends that â€Å"reading is viewed as a cognitive, psychological process divorced from any of the forces that are inherent in social, political, or cultural institutions† (Serafini, 2003, par. 16) Children taught under this approach are given reading materials which are fluently read aloud and concurrently focusing on the main theme of the story or text. Teachers focus more on the diction and pronunciation of the texts as well as determining if the students are able to comprehend the main theme of the story. One of the more contemporary approaches associated with this perspective is the balanced or eclectic approach which utilized phonics and skills instruction into the teaching of reading. Stoicheva (1999) cited Cunningham and Hall (1998) describing â€Å"a balanced framework for literacy where instruction is divided equally between the four

Astronomy - Black Holes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Astronomy - Black Holes - Research Paper Example A black hole is a section in the space-time that traps everything passing across the area because of its exceptionally strong gravity force (Raine, & Thomas, 1). It is significant to note that light is also absorbed by the gravity. It is proven and established that an adequately compact mass is capable of distorting space-time to create a black hole. ‘Event horizon’ is a section around the black hole that is mathematically known as a ‘point of no return’. The absorption of light that passes the region resulted to the name ‘black’ hole since there is total darkness at the region. Astronomers are still making expeditions, and have managed to discover the largest black hole referred to as abyssal a yawn that is believed to be 10 times the size of the solar system. The black hole is believed to have absorbed billions of suns existing in the galaxy (Raine, & Thomas, 1). Black holes are created from heavy stars that have a mass of 20 to 25 times compared to the sun. Their gravity overpowers any force that is holding the stars up, making the cores collapse when the heavy stars ‘die’ (Raine, & Thomas, 1). Next, the star collapses exceptionally that is forced to be contained within its Schwarzschild radius, or event horizon, a region where light is absorbed. It is remarkably tiny, and is believed that a black hole fitting a town is probably having a mass of the sun, and the one fitting on a palm of a person has a mass of the earth. At this point, the materials that are enclosed within the Sachwarzschild radius will continue to fall and collapse indefinitely. The collapsing of the materials will reach a point where laws of physics shatter. Finally, ‘super-massive’ black holes are formed differently from the combination of earlier smaller black holes that were formed at earlier stages of the history (Merloni, Nayakshin & Sunyaev , 18). It is believed that small black holes had grown and sucked in gas from their nearby environment (Merloni, Nayakshin

Health systems of Canada and Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health systems of Canada and Australia - Essay Example Today, every country is expected to devise its own strategies of addressing the three major goals associated with the healthcare system. These include sustaining a healthy population, treating ill people, and safeguarding families from financial ruin that results from medical bills. This paper will compare health care systems of Canada and Australia. The health care system in Canada is comprised of various forms of health insurance policies, which aim at ensuring that every citizen in the country gets access to adequate health care. The system is funded through public means, and administered through either territorial or provincial basis. The federal government is the one that provides the guidelines through which care should be provided (Kliff, 2012). With regard to the health care system in Canada, individuals gain equitable access to medical treatments and preventive care. They can access these services from hospitals, through primary care by physicians, dental surgery, or other medical services. With limited exceptions, all individuals in the country are eligible for health coverage irrespective of their income, medical history, or living standards (Kliff, 2012). The kind of health care system prevalent in Canada is subject to significant political dispute as well as debates throughout the country. A number of critiques question whether the current system is efficient in terms of delivering treatments in a timely manner. These critiques stipulate that the country should implement a private system as in the case of the U.S. On the contrary, the government, policymakers, and individuals in the country worry that a private system would result to inequities in the health care system, as only the wealthy individuals can afford specific types of treatments (Kliff, 2012). The health care system in Australia is multidimensional comprising of both public and private health care providers, participants, settings, as well as supporting

The Influences of Cross Cultural Training Essay Example for Free

The Influences of Cross Cultural Training Essay The influences of cross cultural training on the organisation and staffs Cross-cultural efficiency is very fundamental in international organisations and even in domestic organizations that have suppliers, customers and partners in other countries. We need to firm understanding of it into everything we do, when working across cultures becomes our normal way of working. Therefore, cross cultural training becomes an important part of training employees because organisations want to push their performance to success. Furthermore, by cross cultural training such as leadership development for management across cultures, companies will become more competitive in the global business world. In addition, there are different programs to cover cross cultural training; each program will try to achieve a better understanding of client needs. Generally, Paige,1986 quoted in Bhawuk Brislin (2000) â€Å" defined cross-cultural orientation as training programs designed to prepare people to live and carry out specific assignments as well as those that is designed to prepare people to return to their home country after completing their assignment in another culture†. Nowadays important and big companies send their staffs to other countries to establish and manage their businesses, those staffs are usually chosen because of their skills but it sometimes these skills will be difficult to use in a new environment. So increase the possibility of success of those staffs to use their skills at the same level of their work in their country will be the priority of companies. Therefore cross cultural training is a significant importance to help to reduce the chance of failure in a new work environment. Bean (2006), gives useful information of this topic as in the Australian Context project over 60% of participants like to take more training because their knowledge improved about the culture, also 88% of participants want to be compulsory for all employees in positions of customers contact, and a survey of public sector show that in year 2000 to 2005 the cross cultural training was able to achieve its goals although the level of the training was low compared with the level of demand of increasing the training. So this study will exam the applying of the CCAC theory to cross cultural training, positives and negatives impacts of cross cultural training on both organisation and staffs. Initially, Tarique and Caligiuri (2009), stated that based on CCAC theory cross cultural training will be more effective in a country than pre departure because an employee will exercise what he has learned from training in own country in a country he will work in. Moreover, the theory takes about the sequencing of training activities, which is the activities of cross cultural training, should be over a suitable period to increase employees learning. Finally, CCAC provides guidance about the delivery of cross-cultural training when this guide is used the employees will be able to achieve a good understanding about the training. So based on the theory employees who has trained the cross cultural training will achieve a good improvement about the country culture, knowledge at work, and adjustment in the work and out the work. Secondary, the positive and negative impacts of cross cultural training on organisation and staffs. Firstly, a main goal of CCT is to improve more cosmopolitan directors who have more ability to understand cultural differences and who can apply this understanding in cross-cultural cases. This improvement requires more care to both the reactions and behaviours (Harrison, n.d.). The positive effects as Roysircar, Gard, Hubbell, and Ortega (2005) that described that in the process of self-reflection there was a good result of trainees in the improvement of multicultural organisations. The benefits of cross cultural training (1) decrease the strong of culture shock (2) help trainees to get a level of cultural proficiency faster (3) develop the effective of work (4) the general adjustment of trainees’ families will improve (5) improve the ability of employees to make relationships in work and out of work (6) develop communication, self-maintenance, and perceptual skills ( Eschbach, Parker, and Stoeberl 2001). Selmer (2006) found that big international firms could use cross cultural training to improve the level their global projects and to ensure their expatriates have skills required also they use it to ensure the success of their foreign assignment. Anderson’s (2001) showed that nearly all the expatriates in the private, public and non-government sectors said that their previous overseas experience had helped them to adjust to their new environments. Cultural awareness training use to strengthen the capacity of the team members to Adapt to conditions is unknown. It does not focus on specific geographic areas, but uses any area and clarification of adjustment challenges (Gudykunst et al, 1996). Brandl and Neyer (2009) analysed that goal of Cultural awareness training to change the members of teams behaviours toward information and alternative perspectives. Instead of seeing new information as a threat and refuse it, it teaches trainees to see new information as a chance to master unknown conditions. Brandl and Neyer (2009) also discussed that cultural awareness training improve team knowledge to know ways to deal with unknown situations. This is significantly important to manage uncertainty when working in a team in another environment . We say that CCT helps team members training in a more open approach with other members in global teams, too, it is more likely to be able to control errors that can not be avoided in the interpretation of others Messages and predict their behaviour (Gudykunst, 1998, p. 237). The CCT is so important because May rely on ready-made ​​concepts for others adversely affect the adaptation and experience is likely to lead to a climate of mistrust and exclusion team (Richards, 1996). Training in cultural awareness, When faced with team members how to Solutions for supporting and activating resourc es, they are more willing to explore unknown cases (Glanz et al, 2001). Moreover, cultural awareness training is the study of the main culture of the trainees and their impact on his / her attitude to enable the trainee to understand the differences of a cultural nature (Eschbach et al., 2001). CCT helps to increase managerial benefits in world operations such as cross-cultural discussions, increase the ability of making decisions, improve the relationship with customers, and other management prospects (Harris Moran, 1991). In hierarchical cultures, leaders are the ones who make decisions and staffs are implemented them without any rejection or modification of these decisions, while in cultures of equality, leaders and staffs work together to make decisions and do the implementation of the decision, so employees ,who do cross cultural training to understand these differences, should improve their cultural knowledge as a team early in the formation of the group to build confidence and decrease misunderstandings (Goodman, 2012). In British Petroleum Company a manager of employees mentioned that CCT assists BP Oil managers to create policies for national needs (Hagerty, 1993). CCT affects highly upon the trainees ability to make a positive relationship with the local employees, to achieve the aim of their global assignments (Ko Yang, 2011). Because the world is becoming smaller so CCT has become important for multinational companies to improve the knowledge of cultural difference and to succeed of their expatriates on global assignments, so CCT should lead to increase the performance of these companies (Caligiuri et al, 2001). CCT is important because distressed trainees are appropriate to have emotional support and encouragement to be given at this time (Grove and Tobin, 1985). Also Grove and Torbiorn (1985) proposed that cross-cultural training should try to changes in three psychological things, ‘applicability of behaviour, clarity of mental frame of reference, and level of mere adequacy’, Which leads to maintaining personal identity of the trainees while Change some of the values, behaviour, and ways of thinking patterns and behaviour to make them consistent with those prevailing in the new environment. There is a high demand for the CCT program at private and public firms to increase customer service performances, the fact that short training programs even lead to benefits and generate interest investments in CCT stronger and more focused on the work is likely to achieve greater returns for organizations measurable (Bean, 2006). Ashamalla (1998) argues that foreign language training has to be in CCT because knowing about the language of the host country is the main thing for success in living and working in that country. Rubin (1967) wrote that CCT may be an important technique to reduce of ethnic prejudice. Finally, CCT is concentrating on doing international assignment, and specific cultural issues (Shen and Darby 2006). On the other hand, the negative influences are Berrell, Wright and Hoa (1999), explained that the conflicts can be a significant problem as Australia managers, who worked in joint ventures with Vietnamese managers, wanted to control and manage the work on own way but Vietnamese managers wanted to work together with Australia managers to achieve the goals, also the view of Australia managers with the dealing with issues was open and enthusiastic which pushed Vietnamese managers to view this thing as a negative experience, but they try to solve any disagree problems while Australia mangers faced problems directly which created conflicts. Scullion and Collings (2006) wrote that the realisation of time and energy will be worthless if the cross cultural training programme fail to address key factors of effective performance in the host country. Cultural awareness training recognizes that cultural patterns are difficult tools and inconsistent (DiMaggio, 1997). Cross-cultural training may fail to make an important variation in cross-cultural adaptation and in performance on the global job results in transfer of training problem which is known as the trainee’s failure to apply the knowledge and skills gained in training to his/her work (Burke and Hutchins, 2007; Saks and Belcourt, 2006). The financial cost of trainees’ return to their countries, who fail to do the CCT successfully, is high; some studies put a cost from $50000 to $150000 which loss firms more money than the fact (Black Mendenhall, 1990). When managers, who do CCT, are unable to achieve high chances to their businesses because of they do not have enough cross-cultural skills, they prevent the firms from successfully achieve its strategic goals, also a shortage in management in cross cultural training programme may result a shortage of growth and success internationally (Harrison, n.d.). In summary, this study has sought to show CCAC theory, and its view about cross cultural training which it prefers the trainees do CCT before leaving their country to have an overview about the host country. Furthermore, it shows the positive and negative influences of CCT on both firms and staffs, for example, CCT will improve the performance of both global organisations and employees, communication skills, reducing cultural shock. Although it can create a conflict between staffs and financial cost can be more than needing but this study thinks the advantages of cross cultural training overcome the disadvantages. References: Anderson, B. (2001) Expatriate management: An Australian tri-sector comparative study. Thunderbird International Business Review 43, no. 1: 33–50. Ashamalla, M. (1998). International human resources management practice: The challenge of expatriation. Commercial Reviews, 8(2), 54-65. Bean,R. (2006) The Effectiveness of Cross-Cultural Training in the Australian Context. Research Report. Australia ,Commonwealth of Australia. Berrell, M., Wright, P., Hoa, T. (1999) The influence of culture on managerial behaviour. Journal of Management Development, Vol. 18 No. 7, 1999, pp. 578-589. Black, J. S, Mendenhall, M. (1990), cross-cultural training effectiveness: A review and a theoretical framework for future research. Academy of Management Review, 73(1), 113-136. Brandl, J., Neyer, A. (2009) APPLYING COGNITIVE ADJUSTMENT THEORY TO CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING FOR GLOBAL VIRTUAL TEAMS. Human Resource Management, May–June 2009, Vol. 48, No. 3, Pp. 341– 353. Burke, L., and Hutchins, H. (2007), Training transfer: an integrative review. Human Resource Development Review, 6, 263–96. Caligiuri, P., Phillips, J., Lazarova, M., Tarique, I., Biirgi, P. (2001). The theory of met expectations applied to expatriate adjustment : the role of cross cultural training. Int. J. of Human Resource Management, 12 :3 May 2001 357-372. DiMaggio, P. (1997). Culture and cognition. American Review of Sociology, 23, 263–287. Eschbach, D., Parker, G., Stoeberl, P. (2001) American repatriate employees’ retrospective assessments of the effects of cross-cultural training on their adaptation to international assignments. Int. J. of Human Resource Management, 12:2 March 2001 270–287. Glanz, L., Williams, R., Hoeksema, L. (2001). Sensemaking in expatriation: A theoretical basis. Thunderbird International Business Review, 43(1), 101–119. Goodman, N. (2012). Your Brain on Culture. Learning Officer, 32-34. Grove, C.L. and Torbiorn, I. (1985) A New Conceptualization of Intercultural Adjustment and Goals of Training, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 9: 205–33. Gudykunst, W. B., Guzley, R., Hammer, M. R. (1996). Designing intercultural training. In D. Landis R. Bhagat (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training (2nd ed., pp. 61–80). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Gudykunst, W. B. (1998). Applying anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory to intercultural adjustment training. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 22(2), 227–250. Hagerty, B. (1993). Trainers help expatriate employees build bridges to different cultures. Wall Street Journal (June 14), Bl. Harris, P. R., Moran, R. T. (1991). Managing Cultural Differences. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing. Harrison, J. (n.d.). Developing Successful Expatriate Managers: A Framework for the Structural Design and Strategic Alignment of Cross-Cultural Training Programs. HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING, 17(3), 17- 35. Ko, H., Yang, M. (2011). The Effects of Cross-Cultural Training on Expatriate Assignments. Intercultural Communication Studies XX: 1 (2011) Paige, R. M. (1986). Cross-cultural orientation: New conceptualizations and applications. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Quoted in: Bhawuk, D., Brislin, R. (2000). CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING A REVIEW. Delhi Business Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, Jan.2000 Rubin, I. (1967). The reduction of prejudice through laboratory training. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 3, 29-50. Richards, D. (1996). Strangers in a strange land: Expatriate paranoia and the dynamics of exclusion. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 7(2), 553–571. Roysircar, G., Gard, G., Hubbell, R., Ortega, M. (2005) Development of counseling trainees multicultural awareness through mentoring English as a second language students. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 33, 17-36. Saks, A., and Belcourt, M. (2006). An investigation of training activities and transfer of training in organizations, Human Resource Management, 45, 629–48. Scullion, H., Collings, D. (2006) Global staffing [ Internet], Abingdon, Routledge. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=enlr=id=w3LnFQhk_FICoi=fndpg=PA117dq=cross+cultural+trainingots=PO7QGtYn7hsig=KNU3g8vlJXgTMP7AnqRFuIMOzAA#v=onepageq=cross%20cultural%20trainingf=false [Accessed 13 October 2013]. Selmer, J. (2006) Munificence of Parent Corporate Contexts and Expatriate Cross-Cultural Training in China. Research Report. Denmark, Asia Pacific Business Review. Shen, J., and R. Darby. 2006. Training and management development in Chinese multinational enterprises. Employee Relations 28, no. 4: 342–58. Tarique, I., Caligiuri, P. (2009) The role of cross-cultural absorptive capacity in the effectiveness of in-country cross-cultural training. International Journal of Training and Development, 13:3, 148-164.

Effect of Ph and Glucose on Plant Growth

Effect of Ph and Glucose on Plant Growth Abstract: An experiment was designed and conducted to investigate the population growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae under various environment conditions such as temperature, pH levels and glucose concentration. The research questions were then arrived as: What is the effect of differing temperatures on Saccharomyces cerevisiae population growth? What is the effect of differing pH levels on Saccharomyces cerevisiae population growth? What is the effect of differing glucose concentrations on Saccharomyces cerevisiae population growth? The different temperatures were chosen based on kinetics and each temperature differing from the other by at least 10oC, so a notable change in the yeast population to be observed. Two of the temperatures chosen were below the optimum temperature and two above and one in the optimum temperature. Based on the optimum pH levels for the growth of the yeast, certain buffers with two pH values above and two below of the optimum pH and one in the optimum pH were prepared and stored. The glucose concentration that was used in cultures which tested for the effect of temperature and pH was chosen in such a way that would enable the yeast population to grow without limitation as far as glucose is concerned. One of the options for testing the effect of glucose over the yeast growth was the absence of glucose from the culture. The other options were to halve the optimum glucose concentration and the last was higher of the optimum value. When testing the different temperatures, the results showed that there was little growth in relative low and high temperatures and very high growth in the optimum temperature (the population almost quadrupled). In the different pH levels the yeast growth was little in low and high pH levels but was increased as pH was reaching the optimum pH. In the case of different glucose concentrations, the results showed that with no glucose in the culture was a small growth; in the glucose concentration of halve of the optimum value there was growth but again less than the optimum; in the glucose concentration above optimum there was very high growth as there was in the optimum value. Chapter 1: Introduction Research Questions: What is the effect of differing temperatures on Saccharomyces cerevisiae population growth? What is the effect of differing pH levels on Saccharomyces cerevisiae population growth? What is the effect of differing glucose concentrations on Saccharomyces cerevisiae population growth? The yeast: Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a single celled fungus that reproduces asexually by budding or division. It is one of the most well studied eukaryotic model organisms in both molecular and cell biology. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is maybe the most important and used fungus in the history of the world even from ancient times because of its use in the brewing of beer and in rising of dough in bread. That is the reason why is called brewers yeast and bakers yeast, due to the use of different strains of Saccharomyces for the alcoholic and sugar fermentation. S. cerevisiae is a very good type of yeast for biological studies owing to the rapid growth (doubling time 1.5-2 hours at 30  °C), the dispersed cells and the ease of replica planting. Moreover is a non-pathogenic organism, so can be handled fearlessly with only little precautions. Also large amounts of commercial bakers yeast are available with result being an easy and cheap source for biochemical studies. S. cerevisiae has round to ovoid cells between 3-8ÃŽÂ ¼m in diameter Respiration: In biology, respiration is defined as: the process by which the energy in food molecules is made available for an organism to do biological work (Kent, 2000; p.100). It is also called Cellular respiration. This process of cellular respiration happens in every living cell as it is the only way to obtain energy in a form that will be usable for the cell, so it can carry out the functions of movement, growth and reproduction (ibid). The food in yeasts must be obtained as they cannot produce it on their own. For yeasts, a very good source of energy is sugars. All strains of S. cerevisiae can metabolize glucose (a hexose sugar), maltose and trehalose. Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP): Adenosine Triphospate known also as ATP is the form of chemical energy that cells use to carry out biological activities. Without ATP an organism cant survive. During cell respiration the energy that is found in food molecules is transformed to ATP (Kent, 2000; p.100). Types of Respiration: There are two main types of respiration that take place within a cell: Anaerobic respiration (without oxygen) and Aerobic respiration (with oxygen). S. cerevisiae can metabolize sugars in both ways, but in this research the cultures of yeast were exposed to air hence to oxygen, so aerobic respiration was mainly the way that yeast cells grew and reproduced. Aerobic Respiration: Aerobic respiration is a complex process which involves different steps of reactions and its purpose is to metabolize food molecules. As these reactions take place and food is broken down, energy is released which is then used to synthesize ATP from ADP (Adenosine diphosphate) and inorganic phosphate (Kent, 2000; p.101). These reactions are carried out by special enzymes. There are the three major metabolic stages in aerobic respiration: glycolysis (which is also part of anaerobic respiration), Krebs cycle, electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation. Krebs cycle: The central phase of the aerobic respiration and occurs in the mitochondrial matrix. It involves the production of acetylcoenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) (Kent, 2000; p.104). Electron Transport Chain: It involves the highest production of ATP during respiration, meaning the 90% of ATP is produced in this stage. This metabolic stage occurs in the inner mitochondrial membrane (Greenwood. et al. 2007; p.127). Glycolysis: Cell respiration has to do with the production of ATP by the oxidation of sugars, fats or other substrates. In this research as substrate was used glucose. When glucose is the substrate, the first metabolic pathway of cell respiration is glycolysis, which is carried out by enzymes in the cytoplasm of the cell. A small amount of ATP is produced in this pathway by the oxidation of glucose. Glycolysis consists part of aerobic and anaerobic respiration because no oxygen is used (Allot, 2007; p.73). Enzymes: Thousands of chemical reactions are carried out within a cell. These reactions most of the times occur in a very slow rate. For that reason living organisms make biological catalysts which are called enzymes and speed up these reactions. Enzymes are globular proteins which act as catalysts of chemical reactions (Allot, 2007; p.18). An enzyme can increase to more than a billion of times the rate of a chemical reaction. Also cells can control which reaction occurs in their cytoplasm by making some enzymes and not others. Enzymes achieve to increase the rate of a reaction by decreasing the activation energy (the minimum amount of energy required for a reaction to occur) (Green. Et al. 2008; p.167)of the substrate or the substrates, when binding to the activation site (is the part of the enzymes surface into which the substrate is bound and undergoes reaction) (Greenwood. et al. 2007; p.114) Enzymes are sensitive molecules with very specific structure which enables them to carry out specific reactions. This structure including the active site can be damaged by various conditions and substrates. This damage is called denaturation and is usually permanent for an enzyme and if denaturation is occurred the enzyme can no longer carry out its function. As a result when enzymes are required to catalyze a reaction, is necessary that they have appropriate conditions. It should be remembered that different enzymes have different ideal conditions. The factors that affect the enzyme activity are: the temperature, the pH, the substrate concentration. In a specific point for each of the previous factors, enzymes work in the most effective way, known as optimum conditions. The effect of temperature, pH and substrate concentration upon the enzyme activity which affects the growth of S. cerevisiae yeast cells are studied in this research. Effect of Temperature: As the temperature is increased in an enzyme-catalysed reaction, the rate of reaction is increased up to maximum in a specific temperature. This is called optimum temperature. The optimum temperature of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is 30o- 32oC. In temperatures below of the optimum, when increasing the temperature there is an increase in the kinetic energy of the reactants and there are more frequent collisions between the active site and the substrates, so the activity of the enzymes is increased. The rate still rises as the temperature increases; till it reaches the highest rate where is the optimum temperature hence the highest enzyme activity. Above this temperature the rate starts to drop rapidly. This is due to the high energy that causes vibration inside the enzyme with result the bonds which maintain the structure of enzyme to break. This causes denaturation and the active site can no longer fit the substrate. Overall, at very low temperatures the enzyme activity hence the rate is low due to the low kinetic energy of the substrate but there is no denaturation, at the optimum temperature the rate is the highest and levels off because the increase in kinetic energy of substrate is cancelled out by the denaturation of the enzyme and at high temperatures enzymes are denaturated and the rate falls dramatically because denaturation exceeds the high kinetic energy of the substrates. These are summarized in the following graph. Effect of pH (hydrogen ion concentration): Most of the enzymes operate effectively in a small range of pH values. Between these pH values there is an optimum pH value in which the enzyme activity is the highest. The optimum pH of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is 5.5. Acids and alkalis cause denaturation of the structure of the enzyme by breaking mainly hydrogen and ionic bonds with result the substrate cant fit the active site. Furthermore the charges of the amino acids within the active site are affected by pH changes, so the enzyme is not able to form an enzyme-substrate complex. Above and below the optimum pH the enzymatic activity hence the rate is reduced considerably. Effect of Substrate concentration: In an enzyme-catalysed reaction the rate increases in direct proportion to the substrate concentration. The optimum glucose concentration of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is 2%. At low substrate concentrations, the rate of enzymatic activity increases sharply as the substrate increases. This occurs due to the more frequent collisions between the substrate molecules and the unoccupied active sites. On the other hand, at high substrate concentrations the biggest part of the active sites have been occupied with result when increasing the substrate concentration there is little effect on the rate of enzymatic activity. Chapter 2: Methodology Objectives of the study: To determine how the different temperatures affect the growth of population of S. cerevisiae. To determine how the different pH values affect the population growth of S. cerevisiae. To determine how the different glucose concentrations affect the population growth of S. cerevisiae. Hypothesis: Hypothesis 1: The population of S. cerevisiae will grow the most at the optimum temperature, meaning between 28oC to 32oC, and also the population growth at temperatures below the optimum will be higher than the population growth at temperatures above the optimum. Hypothesis 2: In the optimum pH, meaning at low acidic conditions of pH 5.5 to pH 6, there will be the highest S. Cerevisiae yeast cell population growth. At pH levels above and below the optimum pH there will be less growth but this growth level will be relatively of the same degree for the values of pH above and below. Hypothesis 3: In the optimum glucose concentration, meaning about 2% glucose, will occur the highest yeast growth. In the glucose concentration below of the optimum there will be much lower growth, whereas in the absence of glucose there will be almost none yeast growth. Variables: When testing the effect of differing temperatures on S. cerevisiae population growth: Independent variable: Temperature (5o C, 15oC, 30oC, 50oC, 60oC). Dependent variable: Number of S. cerevisiae cells. Controlled variables: 7mL buffer of pH 6 in every test tube, glucose concentration 2mL (2% glucose solution) in every test tube and 1mL yeast (0.02% yeast solution) in every test tube. When testing the effect of differing pH levels: Independent variable: pH (3, 4, 6, 8). Dependent variable: Number of S. cerevisiae cells. Controlled variables: Temperature (30oC), glucose concentration 2mL (2% glucose solution) in every test tube, 7mL buffer in every test tube, 1mL yeast (0.02% yeast solution). When testing the effect of differing glucose concentrations on S. cerevisiae population growth: Independent variable: Glucose concentration (0mL, 1mL, 2mL, 3mL of 2% glucose solution each). Dependent variable: The number of S. cerevisiae cells. Controlled variables: Temperature (30oC), 9mL buffer of pH 6 at 0mL glucose, 8mL buffer of pH 6 at 1mL glucose, 7mL buffer of pH 5.5 at 2mL glucose, 6mL buffer of pH 6 at 3mL glucose, 1mL yeast (0.02% yeast solution) in every test tube. Materials/ Apparatus: Test tubes Burette Micropipettes Pipettes Pipette-fillers Graduated cylinder of 10mL, 250mL and 1000mL Volumetric Flasks of 250mL and 1000mL Funnels Spatula Weight boats Beakers Plastic wash bottles Plastic bottles Cover slip Haemocytometer Microscope Digital multi-log Balance Waterbath Magnetic stirrer Thermometer Ethanol 70% 0.1M Citric acid 0.2M Sodium hydrogen phosphate Distilled water Yeast: Saccharomyces cerevisiae Source of yeast: YIOTIS S.A, INDUSTRY OF NUTRITIONAL PRODUCTS, ATHENS, GREECE. Procedure: Day 1: The first step before the start of the aerobic fermentation of yeast was to prepare the buffers. For the preparation of buffers of different pH, citric acid (3-carboxy-3-hydroxypentanedioic acid) and sodium hydrogen phosphate (Na2HPO4) were used. Four plastic bottles, labeled each with one pH value (3, 4, 6, 8 respectively), were required. 100mL of each of the buffers were prepared. The stock solutions of citric acid and Na2HPO4 firstly prepared. For the preparation of stock solution of citric acid of concentration 0.1M and volume 1L, 19.2g of citric acid and 1L distilled water required. For the preparation of stock solution of Na2HPO4 of concentration 0.2M and volume 1L, 28.4g Na2HPO4 and 1L distilled water required. A balance and a weigh boat required for the measuring of masses. The solutions were added and stored in two volumetric flasks of 1L respectively, which measured the volume of distilled water. Citric acid and Na2HPO4 were added into the flasks with the aid of funnels. The volumes were measured and put into four different plastic bottles by using two burettes of 50mL. The validity of each pH value checked by using a digital multi-log. The next step was to prepare the glucose solution. For the preparation of glucose one volumetric flask of 500mL used to measure the volume of distilled water and to store the glucose solution. 10g of glucose were weighed by using a balance, a weigh boat and a spatula. Half of a 100mL beaker filled with distilled water was used to dissolve the 10g of glucose. A magnetic stirrer used for better dissolution. After glucose was complete dissolved, was added to the 500mL flask using a funnel. The rest of the flask was filled up to 500mL with distilled water. Then, the yeast solution prepared for the purpose of the experiments of that day. Every day a new yeast solution was prepared. For the yeast solution 0.10g of dry yeast were weighted from sachet with a spatula and placed on the weight boat. The yeast was added to a 1000mL volumetric flask filled with 500mL distilled water with the aid of a funnel in order to avoid staking of dry yeast in the cylindrical walls of the flask. Afterwards the solution was swirled by smooth shaking. After everything was ready the experiments for the studying of the effect of differing temperatures on S. cerevisiae growth initiated. Three water baths were prepared and each one adjusted in three different temperatures 30oC, 50oC and 60oC. Each temperature was tested by using a thermometer and a digital multi-log sensor. Two refrigerators were used for the low temperatures and adjusted at 5oC and 15oC. After all temperatures have been reached, the preparation of cultures started. Five test tubes labelled with one temperature each. The cultures were prepared with half an hour difference in order to test the stability of the temperature and to take a sample from each test tube and count the initial population. A pipette of 25mL used to introduce the glucose to the test tube. A 10mL graduated cylinder used to measure the volume of the buffer and then was introduced into the test tube also. Then with another 25mL pipette, 1mL yeast was taken and placed also into the test tube. The yeas t solution was shaken before taking the sample as yeast cells tend to sink to the bottom of the flask due to their weight. Afterwards by using a micropipette, a sample was taken from the culture inside the test tube and placed on haemocytometer and then to the microscope to count the initial population (the cells found in the borders of the chambers were counted). The haemocytometer is a specialised microscopical apparatus used to count cells and other organelles. A haemocytometer consists of two counting chambers. Each chamber consists of an arrangement of squares of different sizes which are used to count easily the cells. These squares of different size form different grid layouts. In the centre of each chamber it is found a grid of squares of 0.2mm 0.2mm 0.1mm dimensions. There is another grid of squares of dimensions 0.25mm 0.25mm 0.1mm, in each of the four corners around the central grid. The grids of squares of 0.25mm 0.25mm 0.1mm dimensions were used for the counting of the yeast cells. A cover slip is placed above the chambers, so the samples are spread equally due to capillary action on the counting area. The test tube was then placed for 24hours in the temperature corresponding to what was labeled. This procedure was the same for the rest four test tubes. In the end of the day the glucose solution 2% was placed in the refrigerator, the 1000mL flask with the yeast solution, the haemocytometer, the cover glass and all the other apparatus was cleaned with ethanol 70% and washed with distilled water and left to dry. The use of 70% ethanol for the cleaning of haemocytometer doesnt have any negative effect on the yeast cells that were place on it to be counted. This happened in the end of every day. Day 2: The next day each test tube was removed with half an hour difference in the order that they were left for fermentation. Then a sample was taken with the use of a micropipette and placed on haemocytometer and again to microscope to count the yeast cells. After finishing with temperature testing the next thing was to study the effect of pH levels on S. cerevisiae population growth. A yeast solution was prepared the same way as Day 1. The glucose solution was removed from the refrigerator. Clean test tubes taken and labeled with different pH values 3, 4, 6, 8. A water bath adjusted at 30oC. Again, every culture was prepared the same way as Day 1 and placed in a test tube with half an hour difference. All test tubes with different pH levels were placed in the same water bath for 24hours. Before each test tube was placed in water bath, a sample was taken to count the initial population of each. Day 3: The cultures were removed in the order that were left to ferment and samples were taken to count the yeast population from each one. Between each measurement the haemocytometer was cleaned as was mentioned in Day 1. Finally, the effect of glucose concentration on yeast population growth was left. New yeast solution was prepared. The water was adjusted at 30oC. In clean test tubes the new cultures were prepared to test the glucose concentrations. The test tubes were labelled each with one concentration value. Samples were taken from each to count the initial population. The cultures were placed in water bath to ferment. Day 4: The cultures were removed from water bath and samples taken to count the yeast population. Weaknesses and Improvements: Weakness Improvement In the populations of yeasts cells that were counted in the microscope, there were both alive and dead cells  or denaturated cells. A dye such as methylene blue could be used to determine in each counting the live and the dead or inactive cells. The cells which would remain colorless would indicate enzyme activity and the dead or denaturated cells would be turned into blue. Methylene blue should be used only after the fermentation has finished because it inhibits the yeast cells by consuming the hydrogen ions that are produced during respiration. The test tubes, where the yeast cultures were left for fermentation, were slightly closed on the top with cotton in order to prevent the entrance of other microorganisms. This cotton plug prevented the easy flow of fresh air (containing oxygen) inside the test tube. This limited the availability of oxygen supply that the yeasts required in order to grow aerobically. The test tubes can be placed to ferment aerobically in a closed container such as BioFlo 3000. This kind of bio processing systems provide a wide range of options that enables the researcher to adjust a standard air flow which includes different options of certain proportions oxygen ggand air which can respond to oxygen-demanding yeasts or any other microorganism. There was absence of some basic element sources in every yeast culture that are necessary for better fermentation conditions such nitrogen and phosphorus sources. Lack of such sources lead to relatively low cell growth comparing to the growth that could be achieved without the absence of such elements. Bacto-peptone can be used as an organic nitrogen source. Yeast extract makes available many bio nutrients required for the fermentation of yeast cells. It also provides essential water soluble vitamins, amino acids, peptides and carbohydrates. Chapter 3: Data Collection and Processing Calculation of cell concentration In order to calculate the cell concentration for each factor, the comperative mean values, which are displayed above, were used. These mean values were applied to the following formula which enables to convert counted cells into cell concentration: In the above formula, C is the viable cells/mL, N is the counted cells, D is the dilution factor and 103 is the haemocytometer correction factor. An example with the application of the formula of cell concentration for the factor of temperature at 5oC and after 24 hours of fermentation is shown below: In the case of 24 hours of fermentation at temperature at 5oC, the viable counted cells, N=34.25, the dilution factor, D=1. In all experiments, when testing the different factors, the dilution factor is always one (D=1). Representation of calculated data of cell concentrations Tables of cell conentration (cells/mL) for the differing temperature values: Table with the initial population: Temperatures()  ±0.5 Cells/mL (Chamber 1, Chamber 2) (counted cells) Standard Deviation Table with the 24 hours fermented population: Temperatures()  ±0.5 Cells/mL (Chamber 1, Chamber 2) (counted cells) Standard Deviation Tables of cell conentration (cells/mL) for the differing pH levels: Table with the initial population: pH Cells/mL (Chamber 1, Chamber 2) (counted cells) Standard Deviation Table with the 24 hours fermented population: pH Cells/mL (Chamber 1, Chamber 2) (counted cells) Standard Deviation Tables of cell conentration (cells/mL) for the differing glucose concentrations: Table with the initial population: Glucose 2% concentrations (mL) Cells/mL (Chamber 1, Chamber 2) (counted cells) Standard Deviation Table with the 24 hours fermented population: Glucose 2% concentrations (mL) Cells/mL (Chamber 1, Chamber 2) (counted cells) Standard Deviation Chapter 4: Analysis and Interpretation 4.1 Graphs The data that is used for the sketching of the graphs is shown in chapter 3, in Data Processing, Representation of calculated data of cell concentrations. The respective table values were used for each of the factors. The software that was used for the sketching of the graphs is, Graph 4.3 (Ivan Johansen, 2007). effect of Temperature on S. cerevisiae population growth The effect of pH on S. cerevisiae population growth The effect of substrate Glucose concentration on S. cerevisiae population growth 4.2 Interpretation Testing Hypothesis 1: Comparing the different temperatures that the S. cerevisiae population left to grow, it can be seen based on both the cell concentration and the graph, that below 30oC the of the population grows rapidly as the temperature increases; the yeast population almost doubles when temperature increases from 5oC to 15oC and almost triples when temperature increases from 15oC to 30oC . Above 30oC the growth of the population is highly decreased; yeast population becomes almost 3.5 times less when temperature increases from 30oC to 50oC and when temperature increases from 50oC to 60oC the population decreases very slightly. As a result, the highest S. cerevisiae population growth is observed at 30oC. Consequently this should be the optimum temperature. Moreover, as temperature below the optimum point increases the population increases more from its initial value than it does at temperatures above the optimum point. Overall the hypothesis confirmed. Testing Hypothesis 2: Evaluating the yeast population growth at the different pH levels, it can be seen that the increase of population above and below the value of pH 6 is almost the same. The fact that at pH 6 it is observed the highest population growth implies that this is the optimum pH level. The lowest growth is observed at pH 3 and pH 8. In these specific pH levels the growth is slightly higher at pH 8 (population increases approximately 1.7 times) than it is at pH 3 (population increases approximately 1.3 times). The growth is higher in pH 8 as it is closer to the optimum pH. At pH 4 the increase in population is almost the same as it is at pH 8. Both pH 4 and pH 8 differ by 2 pH levels from the optimum level but the yeast population at pH 4 increases approximately 1.982 times where at pH 8 the population increases 1.7 times. This shows that S. cerevisiae operates better at acidic conditions. Overall the hypothesis is confirmed. Testing Hypothesis 3: Analysing the growth of S. cerevisiae at different glucose concentrations and for 24 hours of fermentation, the results obtained show that in the absence of glucose from the culture the yeast population didnt increase at all. The only increase that was observed from its initial population was 1.091.1 times, meaning that this 0.1 increase may have occurred due to the capacity of energy within the yeast cells. At 1% glucose concentration it was observed sufficient growth. The yeast population almost doubled from its initial value (increased approximately by 1.8 times). In higher glucose concentration the yeast cells population respond greater and as a result a higher population growth was observed. The initial population increased 3.9 times, meaning that almost quadrupled. In even higher glucose concentrations the population increased highly again but not enough so to be able to say that at 24 hours of fermentation S. cerevisiae requires more energy to reach the maximum replication cap acity. The population increased 3.954.00 times, almost the same of that of 2% concentration. Moreover, based on the graph plotted for glucose concentrations, it can be seen that after 2% glucose concentration the yeast population reaches plateau without any further increase. So the limiting growth glucose concentration is at 2%. Overall the hypothesis is confirmed.

Qantas Airlines: Human Resources Management

Qantas Airlines: Human Resources Management The Qantas Airways is the largest airline in Australia. Its Human Resource Management operates in the company in four major areas, which are business segments, corporate, shared services, development, and learning. This report gives limelight to the Qantas airways HRM and its role in ensuring perfect operations of the company. It further discusses change management and job analysis and design. The company has undergone intensive change management such as cutting of prices and labour costs in order to ensure high productivity, moderation of wages as well as the introduction of flexible structures through a versatile and motivated workforce. Moreover, the HRM is also responsible of ensuring that right people are hired and given necessary training under job analysis and design. However, despite the roles that the company has entrusted the HRM, there have been heightened cases of accidents and strikes from dissatisfied workers alleging that they are paid meagre salaries. This shows a HRM gap in delivering its responsibilities. Therefore, the report further argues that the HRM has failed in its change management and job design and analysis strategy. In order to correct the situation, the report further proposes that the HRM change its training and communication model. As a means to an end, the report discusses some of the implications emerging from the HRM problems and ends with a comprehensive summary. Description of Qantas and HRM Activities The Qantas Airways is Australias largest airline. It has a solid history as it began its business years back by transporting passengers and mails. Today, the company has expanded its operations in almost 140 destinations across the globe. It is Australias largest employers with around 37,000 employees. The human resource management operates in the company in four major areas, which are business segments, corporate, shared services, and development and learning. Under corporate level, the HRM is responsible for employees remuneration as well as benefits, the industrial relations of the airline with its competitors and development of the management. In the business segment level, the HR teams often collaborate with other business segments to ensure successful delivering of strategies that will ensure competitive advantage. Human resource has a major responsibility in the company and under shared services; the HRM is responsible of managing workers records, supporting remuneration and r ecruitment process and managing employees compensation as well as coming up with strategic plans on staff travelling schedules and schemes (Belobaba, Odoni and Barnhart, 2009). Finally, under the learning and development level, the HRM comes up with training programs for employees to help them deliver their work effectively. HR Functions; Change Management and Job Analysis and Design at the Qantas Airways Discussion of Two HR functions in the Qantas Change Management The Qantas airline was formerly owned by the government hence did not perceive efficiency and profits as its prime goal (Rothkopf, 2009). After its privatisation in 1995, the HRM had to adopt various management practices in order to overcome the companys external and internal influences. The HRM in their change management has emphasised on cutting costs and more so reduction of labour costs to guarantee heightened productivity, moderation of wages as well as the introduction of flexible structures through a versatile and motivated workforce (Marks, 2007). Cutting labour costs in the Qantas airways have involved strict measures from the HRM such as reducing wages and salaries through eliminating costly practices (Hernandez, 2011.). The Qantas airline HRM has undertaken immense changes in order to cope with diverse external and internal factors (Gillen and Morrison, 2005). Various factors led to changes in the HR management such as the need to have more profits in the company and the fact that the company was under government ownership. This means that the airline had maintained its authoritarian hierarchical structure, autocratic form of leadership, and strict procedures and rules (Hughes, 2012). In addition, the airline has been involved in a major change as far as training is concerned and in 2003, the HRM facilitated in the expansion of the companys apprenticeship programme (Gunn, 1988). According to Kirkpatricks model of learning and training, training helps in ensuring affirmative results (Kearns, 2010). Job Analysis and Design Job design and analysis is the cornerstone of the Qantas HRM. Job analysis can be viewed as the hub of all human resource management activities that are needed for effective organizational functioning (Berman et al, 2009). Under job analysis, the HRM is responsible for planning, recruitment, selection, placement, and induction of workers (Berman et al, 2009). The procedures that are often supported by job analysis process include personnel selection, training, job evaluation as well as performance appraisal (Berman et al, 2009). In addition, the process of job analysis supports the Qantas organizational strategy in dealing with market competition and talent crisis. According to human resource theory, strategic HRM focuses on connecting all HR functions with organizational goals (Rothwell and Benscoter, 2012). The Qantas airline HRM in the process of job analysis determines various training needs of workers. Moreover, in job analysis process, the HRM determines on some of the things that affect behaviour in the company. After job analysis process, the next step is job design, which aims at outlining and organising duties, responsibilities, as well as tasks in a single unit in order to achieve particular objectives. Job design in the Qantas airways is essential in enabling effective feedback. In addition, training is an imperative part in job design in order to make sure that employees are conscious of their work demands. Training encompasses leadership training to employee orientation (Aulenbach, 2007). Development and training plays an imperative role in ensuring success of a company. Today, most organisations view training as an imperative role of human resource (Price, 2011). From research conducted, it is apparent that most organizations such as the Qantas airways are spending a lot of money on training with a belief that it will consequently give them a competitive advantage in both global and local market (Jackson, Schuler and Werner, 2011). According to human resource theory (Bacon et al, 200 9), workers need maximum support from human resource function. In that case, the Qantas airways offer training to staff in order to motivate them as well as ensure competitive advantage in the company. Frances (2009) avows that training is imperative in ensuring imperative piloting skills. In 2009, the company opened approximately $10 million staff training centres in an effort to build on economies of scale.The HRM through job design help the workforce to make vital adjustments. Problems and Implications Faced by Qantas Although the two major basic functions of HRM is to ensure successful change management and job analysis and design, the Qantas airline has undergone through various challenges in these two areas. The HRM in their change management focused on cutting costs such as labour costs in order to increase productivity, ensure moderate workers salary and introduce flexible structures. However, they have failed in ensuring effective and non-biased change management. This is because, workers recently have been complaining of being paid meagre salaries and even gone for strikes. Under change management, they should have ensured successful remuneration of employees. However, it is embarrassing to note that a reputable company like Qantas with such successful change management strategy has failed to take care of its employees. The unsolved salary issues have caused employee outcry and various scandals in the company. The pilots have been protesting over meagre salaries and the union workers have c ontinued to demonstrate over pay inequality arguing they are paid 25% less than their equals in Victoria (Hernandez, 2012). In a survey that was conducted in 2012, on three thousand Qantas employees, the workers expressed dissatisfaction with the management of the company mostly the HRM (McDonald, 2012). Serious staff challenges have continued threatening the company yet up to now the HRM is still reluctant to come up with a new change management model such as ADKAR model that will cater for the interests of workers and allow the company to focus activities on particular business results (Hiatt, 2006). Under Job analysis and design, it is apparent that the HRM made immense mistakes in choosing the right candidates. Despite heavy training programs that the HRM has invested in during job analysis and design process, it is only in 2008 that the company was involved in an in-flight incident, which caused serious injuries to passengers and death of 129 passengers due to specious commands (Frances, 2009). In addition, it is apparent that training has not had a positive impact in the company since in 2006, the Qantas Airways pilots failed to monitor their position hence ended up to the wrong runway. Moreover, in 2009, the companys pilots failed to acknowledge and decided to overshoot their destinations by 150 miles (Frances, 2009). Frances (2009) alleges that captains in the company are not competent enough as they lacked knowledge on use of stick shaker and stall recovery thus causing serious accidents. It is hence clear that the HRM department leaves a lot to be desired as incidences ha ve continued to intensify despite the companys change management and job design and analysis strategy (Louise, 2011). With such a successful airline company, it is apparent that its HRM is ineffectual and has only led to losses than success. The company asserts that it is committed fully to developing its people, yet they do not seem to know how they can forge a beneficial relationship with its staff. There has been a lot of change in the company including cutting of costs, developing training programs, outsourcing working rules and regulations, collaborating with the unions yet the situation seem to be moving from bad to worse. It is apparent that the HRM has been incompetent in hiring the right personnel and dealing with employees. Implications to Stakeholders Various stakeholders include trade unions, government, shareholders, customers, community, business partners, employees, the media, and non-governmental organisations. They all have a major influence on the companys performance and its strategy. The media coverage on wrong decisions in the Qantas have affected negatively on the companys image. The problems discussed obviously imply that the HRM, shareholders, and business partners have been reluctant in solving the current crisis hence affecting the performance of the company. Because of the accidents reported, most consumers are not keen on using Qantas airline hence affecting profitability (BBC News, 2012). Additionally, the challenges in the company have also affected employees and consumers on grounds that they have lost confidence with the running of the company (Sandilands, 2011). The looming disagreement between Qantas and its pilots shows clearly that the HRM and business partners have failed in ensuring they contribute in effective management of the company. In addition, the Non-governmental organisations have failed in conflict resolution between the Qantas and its employees. It is apparent that the HRM, business partners, and non-governmental organisations involved have failed in coming up with rational solutions to ensure such current disputes do not develop into a major crisis. Instead of the companys CEO, Alan Joyce holding productive talks, he has been busy making provocative comments in numerous heated exchanges. For instance, he condemned union members on issues regarding wages arguing that their talks and protests were baseless (Bamber, 2011). The union leaders in return criticised senior managers and accused them of tarnishing the brand image of the company while they were awarding themselves hefty salaries. This hence implies that the community a s well as Union members have lost confidence on the companys stakeholders and this in return has led to bad publicity and reduced profitability. Consequently, the media has given a wide coverage on the companys latest controversies meaning that it is benefiting financially because of the developing story. It is upsetting to see Qantas employees go on strike due to poor management issues in a company owned by various stakeholders. The shareholders, business partners, the HRM, CEO, and Nongovernmental Organisations have a major role to play in ensuring issues in the company are resolved and the company goes back to its initial profitable situation. Therefore, they need to sit down and come up with a rational plan towards improvement (Bamber, 2011). Action plan and Recommendations With the increasing incidences, there is hence a need to come up with an action plan. First, all the stakeholders must meet to discuss on ways to solve the recent crisis. In the meeting, there will be change of communication and training model to more rational models that are employee oriented. The HRM will carry out the process and engage other stakeholders to give ideas on how salary and training issues ought to be handled. The change process will take place from 1st to 28th November in the companys boardroom. To carry out the process, the employees will be interviewed in order to show some of the areas they would need change. The entire companys workforce and managers will be given information concerning the changed plan. The recent problems involving HRM function has caused the company to suffer financially. The Qantas airline in their website asserts that, Qantas is committed to providing meaningful jobs with competitive salaries and superior benefits (Qantas, n.d). However, they have failed in fulfilling their promise as the strikes reported tell a different story. In addition, they allege that they provide targeted, quality training to the Qantas group and assists in the development of skills (Qantas, n.d). However, the accidents reported show a major gap in their training strategy. The HRM should revisit their training and communication model and make a change on it. It is time the company moved out of a market approach change strategy that only focus on making profits and focus on employee oriented approach that consider the interests of workers. With an effective training model, there will be workshop and focus group sessions where employees air their grievances and come up with solutions to th eir problems (Frances, 2009). In addition, effective HRM communication should contribute successfully to teamwork, learning, innovation, safety, and productivity (Krizan et al, 2010). Moreover, the HRM should invest heavily on their pilot candidates and ensure that they get the right training. Coming up with a HR strategic oriented communication model is important in guaranteeing that employees are at par with requirements and needs of the company. This will help in discussing paramount issues affecting the running of the company. Once there is fit between communication and training model in relation to the role of the HRM, the next step should be to come up with a tactical plan on how the HR will be managing their roles to ensure there are no more scandals. The HR needs to be involved fully in daily operations of the company to ensure alignment with needs of the employees. Moreover, the HRM should come up with performance management plan, which is imperative in following up on the performance of the staff members. The HRM should also be transparent in its strategy. This means that the companys operational and strategic agenda should be communicated clearly to workers and must be accepted. This will ensure employees needs are met and there are no operational challenges. In addition, its mission should be shared with other shareholders to make sure they are on the right path to correcting the image of the company. Todays HR models recognise on the fact that people do not leave their issues at home when they are going to work. For the company to be successful, it should focus on the needs of the workers whether personal or professional. This will motivate the workers to deliver quality work. In that case, there will be less accidents and remuneration problems in the company (Frances, 2009). In addition, in training sessions, the HR should focus on changing staff members attitude towards work and teach them on how to have a positive attitude. This will help in motivating workers and encouraging them to air their grievances through dialogue. Conclusion Similar to other managers in an organisation, HRM has various functions. The HRM ensure successful change management and right people are hired in various ranks. However, the HRM has failed, as there have been increased cases of strikes from discontented workers. Additionally, there have been numerous accidents reported in the company. To avoid such incidences in the future, it is important for the company to change its communication and training model. In addition, they should be transparent in their operations and involve other stakeholders to ensure they are trending on the right path. This will help in reducing accidents and strikes from dissatisfied employees.