The Value of Hrm to Business Organisations Essay Example for Free

The Value of Hrm to Business Organisations Essay The value of HRM to business organisations Section 1: Literature Review The approach to the employment of people experienced a major shift from traditional personnel management towards human resource management (HRM) in 1980s, when the deflation and recession crashed into the infrastructure of employment. After that shift, the employees were more likely assumed as valuable assets and a key source of competitive advantage (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002), and the effective management of ‘resourceful humans’ tended to be seen as a crucial approach to improve organizational performance through ‘the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce using an array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques’ (Storey, 2007, p. 7). As an integral and prominent part of HRM, the pay and reward management also has undergone many considerable changes over the past two decades driven by the shift of organizational management as mentioned above. More recently, the notion that equilibrium pay level results from Adam Smith’s â€Å"invisible hand† – market forces – can hardly explain the pay and reward system of HRM, which involves far-researching aims (Gilman, 2009). Lawler’s ‘new pay’ began to attach much importance to the understanding of the organization’s goals, values and culture and the challenges of a global economy when formulating pay strategy (Armstrong, 2002). And its model suggested that the reward strategy should consist of three key elements: the organization’s core value, structural issues and process, whose consistency would be the key factor of effectiveness of the reward system (Lawler, 1995). More frequently, the reward system is now linked to business strategy through motiving people to behave in expected ways. As Gomez-Mejia (1993, cited in Kessler, 2007) stated that the new approach to pay is more about achieving business objectives, rather than the issues of internal equity and external equity. However, the reward system as a strategic tool in practice is quite doubtful. Many studies showed the indeterminate results from such system like PRP in  terms of performance (Gilman, 2009). And Lewis (2006) also pointed out the limitations of assumptions in Lawler’s model. What’s more, the pay design is fraught with difficulties in changing people’s behavior for organizational goals. For example, the business objectives may contradict on each other in pay policy (Marchington and Wilkinson, 1998). Additionally, it was argued that the business strategy should not be primacy over internal and external equity. As Kessler (2007) suggested that the employees are more likely to feel good and act in ways to progress business objectives if they are paid fairly. And he also pointed out that business strategy and equity may be well related, rather than being alternatives. In the light of these statements, various types of payment scheme are developed such as Payment by Results, Performance Related Pay, Total Reward and Skills-based Pay. And each of them involves a range of principles like internal and external equity, working time, outcome, skills and competencies, effectiveness, experience. The combinations of different principles vary from organizational objectives, cultures and features. Thus there is unlikely to be an all-fit system for every organization. This paper will then focus on the Performance Related Pay (PRP) and the organizations with PRP system. Performance-related Pay (PRP) appears in organizations during 1980s as a result of motivating people to improve their work performance and developing a culture which performance plays a determinant role. First-generation system implemented in the 1980s did not acquire desirable results. Some organizations are carrying out second-generation system to avoid previous mistakes. Others are trying the pay relevant to competence or contribution (Armstrong, 2002). Nowadays, PRP is introduced continuously in two-thirds of organizations (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002). ‘Performance-related Pay (PRP) provides individuals with financial rewards in the form of increases to basic pay or cash bonuses which are linked to an assessment of performance, usually in relation to agreed objectives’ (Armstrong, 2002, p. 286). According to Armstrong (2002), Performance-related Pay provides the following  potential advantages: Firstly, it incents individuals and thereby enhances personal and organizational performance. Secondly, it can be used as a lever for change. Thirdly, it conveys an idea that performance plays a significant role in general or specific fields. Also, it connects incentive programmes with the fulfillment of certain results which contribute to realize organizational goals. Additionally, it is beneficial for organization to recruit and retain people with monetary incentives. Finally, it satisfies a fundamental human need to acquire rewards for fulfillment. However, there are some problems about PRP. If employees agree about the principle and practice of PRP, then they will do better jobs and organization will acquire beneficial outcomes. Inversely, if they do not agree about either the principle or practice of PRP, they will not be motivated effectively for better work performance and organization will get bad outcomes (Lewis, 1998, cited in Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002). According to a research made by Marsden and Richardson (1994, cited in Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002), PRP may cause jealousy among employees. Unfairness exists in distribution of performance payments which is the major reason for the non-efficiency of motivation. The amount of money is also a significant element for successful introducing PRP. If it is not large enough, then it is hard to trigger a change in work performance. As Lawler (1990, cited in Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002, p. 501) suggested that variable pay less than 10 per cent of base salary would be not attractive in PRP scheme. An organization introduces and develops a PRP programme generally involving these main stages: setting objectives for rewarding employees according to their performance; analyzing the circumstances of organization, including its culture and the type of employees; determining who should be participated in line managers, team leaders, employees and trade unions; considering methods of performance appraisal; carrying out the plan and assessing its effects. PRP should be schemed and conducted with great care and organizations have to be flexible to adjust the plan timely for constantly changing environment and the feedback from staff (Armstrong,  2002). The following part will describe two organizations conducting PRP scheme. Section 2: Case Study Description In this section, two pieces of empirical researches are introduced for the further analysis in next section. The first case of Finbank is regarded as an unsuccessful case of PRP system. And the second case of NHS has been chosen for two reasons: Firstly, though NHS is not exactly a business organization, the PRP of NHS was set by commercial-oriented objectives (Bach, 1994, cited in Dowling and Richardson). Therefore NHS still bears mush resemblance of business organizations in respect of PRP. Secondly, few empirical researches showed the positive result of PRP in the four journals. Thus the case of PRP in NHS is introduced here for its commercial-oriented objectives and relatively successful results. 2.1 The case of Finbank’s reward strategy for managers  (Summarized from Lewis, P. (2000) Exploring Lawler’s new pay theory through the case of Finbank’s reward strategy for managers. Personnel Review, 29(1), pp. 10-32.) The article explains consequences and effectiveness of introducing PRP in Finbank, by using Lawler’s model, where Lawler argues that three principal elements of reward system – core vale, process and structure – need to be consistent for the effectiveness of the system. The interviews of managers and personnel staff were conducted to explore their views on the reasons why the bank adopted PRP, and the extent to which it was successful. Finbank introduced the new reward system with the business objectives of ‘driving up income and driving down costs’, where the incremental system never worked and any increase in salary depended on performance. This shift was expected to create a â€Å"performance culture†, while the process of implementation was more likely to result in a reduction of trust between Finbank and its managers. Consequently, PRP in Finbank was regarded as the main measure of cost control, not incentive mechanism for better performance. The research showed that the low level of communication was the one of main features in Finbank’s PRP and reduced the effectiveness of the whole system. A lack of participation and involvement in objectives setting and performance appraisal resulted in low acceptance of the new system, and low levels of openness in performance feedback and reward criteria also declined the credibility of PRP process. In conclusion, a fundamental inconsistency between the process and the values in Lawler’s model was argued for the deficiencies of PRP system. While, more limitations of a simple top-down process assumption, an assumption of causal link between reward strategy and employees’ behavior, deterministic assumption in Lawler’s model were tested by the Finbank case. 2.2 The case of PRP system for managers in the NHS  (Summarized from Dowling, B. and Richardson, R. (1997) Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(3), pp. 348-366.) This paper assesses the use of PRP (performance-related pay) for NHS (National Health Service) managers and explains the limited success drawbacks in the scheme’s design and administration. In addition, some refinements and implications of the scheme are also concluded. In the first section, the author gives a brief introduction of NHS scheme. The three key elements of the scheme include the setting of objectives, the appraisal of the degree that these objectives being achieved and the increased payment linked to the assessment. As for the evaluation criterion of the scheme, the author took various factors into consideration, such as its impact on manager’s motivation. However, evaluating a single policy innovation can be rather difficult as long as the circumstances maintain uncertain. To make subjective judgments of the extent the scheme succeeds, some explanatory theoretical framework based on scheme’s three key elements is also launched, including structured interviews and questionnaires for gathering data from managers. According to the respondents, the scheme exerts limited positive effects on managers’ motivation and colleagues’ co-operation, and no evident corresponding negative consequences are indicated. The difference in the results may be explained in the following two reasons: the better implement and the mature design. The author tries to figure out why the scheme motivates only a certain group of people by examining the raw data and using formal multivariate analysis on further study of the scheme’s three elements. Considering both the qualitative and quantitative material involved, the initial examination of the raw data suggests that the three elements of the scheme have different degrees of success. Respondents were most satisfied with many of the objective-setting process elements which may result from improved motivation levels; however, respondents expressed more insistent reservations on the of the performance-judging process elements; in terms of the rewarding element, even few respondents believed the scheme’s financial provisions themselves act as an incentive. So this could be another problem of implementation which hinders the success that the scheme supposed to have. Section 3: Analysis and Conclusions 3.1 Analysis of the case of Finbank As mentioned in the section 2, the research of Finbank’s reward strategy followed the analytical structure of Lawer’s model, where the effectiveness of the reward strategy depended on the consistencies between three crucial elements: the organization’s core values, process of implementation and the structure of pay. In this section, the element of process will be focused and used as analytical framework. 3.1.1 Setting objectives In the major background of recession and deflation of the 1980s, it seems reasonable to set the business objectives as ‘driving up income and driving down costs’ in the condition where PRP was introduced to Finbank with the closure of branches and the consequent loss of jobs. According to author’s research, most managers interviewed regarded cost reduction as a major motive for the introduction of PRP, which led to reduction of trust between  the Finbank and its managers. This negative effect of PRP results from the fact that the business objectives may be contradictive on each other in pay policy (Marchington and Wilkinson, 1998). For ‘driving up income’, the bank want to create the managers behaviors and attitudes meeting with customers’ needs. Whereas for ‘driving down cost’, salary cost the major cost in the financial industry would be cut producing negative attitudes. For sure, the motivational effects of PRP were seriously restricted by the objective of cost reduction. 3.1.2 Measuring performance As Beer and Walton (1984) suggested, the acceptance could be improved by the involvement and participation in decision making and administration of reward system, but such participation was rare for the time-consuming. The research also showed the low acceptance and credibility of performance appraisal with the lack of such participation in Finbank. And the author argued that the criteria of appraisal encouraged managers to focus on â€Å"hard† financial and short-term targets rather than â€Å"soft† and long-term ones like developmental relationships with staff and customers, which managers thought were more important. It sounds reasonable, but more cautious consideration should be taken in this issue. For the â€Å"soft† performance cannot be reliably tested and easier for managers to argue. And such is human nature, that the â€Å"hard† criteria of PRP can hardly meet pleasantness of â€Å"risk-averse† employees, who were used to enjoy the securi ty and predictability of the automatic annual increase in the incremental system. 3.1.3 Performance feedback and translating performance into reward The research showed that there was little feedback on performance received by managers. Furthermore, there were no clear criteria about how to translate a certain performance into reward. These two processes have key functions in changing employees’ behaviors, where Finbank seemed to be a failure. Furthermore, a lack of openness in performance feedback process and reward criteria led to the low trust and credibility in the whole PRP process, which seriously had negative impact on the effectiveness of the system. Personally, the lack of money available to drive the PRP and the cost-control objective appeared to be the main reasons for these results. 3.1.4 Major value of PRP in Finbank PRP was a powerful symbol of â€Å"performance culture† at Finbank, which emphasized individual performance rather than the length of the service. This major shift of culture would definitely change employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Though it seems that the change was not positive and the motivational effects of PRP was a failure in this case, the PRP was still an integral and crucial part of business strategy of Finbank, which drove Finbank from poor commercial performance in 1980s to a recovery in profits in 1900s. On the credit side, PRP of Finbank indeed achieved one of the most importance objectives driving down the cost, which practically is the obvious and vital value of PRP in Finbank, though it is theoretically not the major function of PRP. 3.2 Analysis of the case of NHS The analysis from the research suggests the PRP scheme in NHS is comparatively successful. Although Marsden and Richardson (1994, cited by Dowling and Richardson, 1997) state PRP not only has positive influence, it also has many serious drawbacks; Thompson(1993, cited by Dowling and Richardson, 1997) argues PRP may demotivate employees rather than incenting them; Cannell and Wood(1992, cited by Dowling and Richardson, 1997) question the role of monetary incentives in motivation, because they believe people who work for Health Service are not for money; according to the questionnaire, 29 per cent managers motivated by the scheme and the majority of them thought they work harder than before. From this point, in my opinion, the PRP in NHS is working, but with limited effectiveness. The PRP scheme in NHS has three elements: setting objectives, judging performance and the according rewards. Goal setting plays an essential role in PRP scheme. The best objectives are challenging but reasonable with agreed deadlines, otherwise, it may challenge managers instead of motivating them. Besides, making objectives clearly and acquiring feedback and support from immediate superior also exert an impact on the effectiveness of objectiveness. While the process of goal-setting in NHS is relatively success, because the majority of mangers thought objectives fit above characteristics and enhance their motivation and work behavior. For judging performance, to a certain extent, it reduces the effectiveness of PRP in NHS. As mentioned in the material, 67 per cent managers thought it is subjective to evaluate work performance to determine the awards. It is hard to keep fairness in judgment which is from the ideas of assessors. To conduct PRP scheme, it is necessary to remain objectives in performance appraisal with agreed criteria. As mentioned in section 1, the amount of money is also an important element for successful introducing PRP. If it is not large enough, then it is hard to trigger a change in work performance. NHS managers appear to do not pay attention to this point. From the research, it can be found the monetary incentives were thought to be sardonic which was too little to act as a motivator. Probably, the limited cash environment may be a reason for it. The feeling of not reflecting personal fulfillments and subjective judgments make the rewards highly critical. After analyzing main elements of the scheme, some aspects of it should be improved by policy makers. Firstly, people challenged by their objectives may be motivated to work harder. Therefore, objectives set should make people feel reasonable. This demands managers acquire appropriate feedback and support from their immediate superiors timely. Additionally, the process of performance appraisal should be operated with fairness. Otherwise, it may destroy the sense of challenge and cut down PRP’s effectiveness of motivation. Secondly, the scheme’s financial aspects are the other important part. The scheme should make the clarity to managers of the relation between effort and rewards, which is beneficial for strengthening the reliability and predictability of PRP scheme. Thereby, it heightens the motivational and behavioral effects of PRP scheme. (2922)

Symbols in Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House

Symbols in Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House Symbols of new beginnings for Nora In A Doll’s House the protagonist, Nora lives in a Victorian society where women are heavily controlled and treated as second-class citizens. The average Victorian women belonged to a stereotype that the women were required to stay home and clean, prepare meals and raise children. In marriage Victorian women lost ownership of their wages, all physical property, including land, and all other cash generated once married. The husband would represent both man and woman placing the husband in control of everything and that including the wife as if she was a piece of property. This was Nora before her new beginning. The playwright employs a variety of literary techniques and symbolism to convey the transition from a traditional Victorian woman to the image of her seen at the end of the play; an embittered yet sophisticated, intelligent, and newly empowered woman boldly escaping the infantilizing clutches of her old life. Amongst the symbols employed throughout the play many were one s in which represented a new beginning for Nora. From the point of act one she played the submissive, seemingly selfish, foolish wife refusing to acknowledge the strength that she was building. From the Christmas tree to the macaroons to the Tarantella to New Year’s day are very important symbols which are Nora’s loves, they are what helped her to obtain her new beginning, these symbols conveyed to the reader the beginning a new for her. Christmas is favored holiday for Nora, the level of happiness is exponential, but part of the reason why she is so happy is the joy that she has when playing the role of a wife and mother. The toys that she chose for her children suggests that she is fine with the status quo of Victorian society, girls being nurturing and growing up to be a homely wife and mother while boys grow up to be strong and powerful. Though during this stage her action of wanting to buy something for herself implies that she wants to make a decision for herself going against the status quo. At this point though unaware she starts to think of independence as if the thought of it was in the back of her mind. Though Torvald does not allow her to do so, the fact that Torvald will not trust her with money to buy herself a present demonstrates a major imbalance of power. We see her during the play ordering the Christmas tree and then decorating it, secretly acting independently an implication of growth of strength to be an independent woman growing, edging towards a new beginning. During Christmas Eve Nora believed her marriage to be one that had little to no issues. At the beginning of the second act, the tree has been stripped and the candles burned out; stage directions dictate that is should look â€Å"bedraggled†. This represents the end of Nora’s innocence and foreshadows the Helmer family’s eventual disintegration, the tree represents the family and its unity, the stripping of the tree foreshadows Nora stripping from the family unit and her becoming her own person and reaching her new beginning. She is starting to change significantly at this point. Though the first implication of a strength that was beginning to grow was in her little act of eating a macaroon. The macaroons was a treat that Torvald had forbidden Nora from eating. Nora claims that she â€Å"would never dream† of doing anything that Torvald did not want her to do, but this is disproved in the very opening of the play when Nora eats macaroons while she was alone in the living room. The macaroons come to represent Nora’s disobedience to Torvald, as this was her first act of disobedience seen by the audience. The macaroons show that Nora is the perfect little â€Å"pet† that Torvald views her to be. The macaroons function in the play was to demonstrate that although that some families and lives seem picture perfect, most of the time it is not true, as proven by Nora’s need to hide the bond and macaroons from Torvald. Ibsen’s use of symbolism in using such a minor pleasure impacts the story in a huge way by subtly showing the audience that Nora’s lifestyle is not as truthful, happy and dependent as it seems, an independent act can lead t o more and such implies her growing strength. After giving a tempestuous performance of the tarantella Nora asks that the macaroons be served at dinner, indicating a relationship between the macaroons and Nora’s inner passions, the tarantella and the macaroons can be said to be two of Nora’s loves which help to show the audience the truth of who she really is. The tarantella symbolizes a side of Nora that is fiery and passionate she could express her true nature in this dance. The Tarantella was a wild southern Italian dance, generally danced by a couple or line of couples. The dance was named after the tarantula spider, whose poisonous bite was mistakenly believed to cause tarantism, an uncontrollable urge for wild dancing. The cure prescribed by doctors was for the sufferer to dance to exhaustion. Pyscologists reason that the only form of expressing passion to its fullest, was the Tarantella. It is the fiery, passionate dance that allows Nora to drop the faà §ade of perfect mild-mannered Victorian wife it is the catalyst in which Nora is able to demonstrate a repressed side of herself, her true self. Ibsen’s placement of the Tarantella in the third act is an foreshadowing element which implies the breaking out of Nora. Her new beginning, is clearly seen in this dance something that is not controlled. Throughout the play Nora uses performances to please Torvald, and the tarantella is no exception; he admits that watching her perform makes him desire her. However this is only under controlled circumstances, and Torvald seems to enjoy that the performance impresses other people more than anything. But she can be only controlled to a certain point such can be said when Torvald was trying to give instructions â€Å"slow down†, trying to control her as he watched her practice before the actual event. Though this seems to be only done to please her husband with a performance, what drives her to perform is the underlying aspect that she can demonstrate her emotions to the fullest uncontrolled. New Years day is traditionally viewed as a new beginning and such can be said to be the Helmer family’s view, they are looking forward to this new beginning. Torvald starts a better paying job at the bank at which he works, Nora is almost free if not already free of her debt by New Years day. By the end of the play Nora has definitely made a new beginning for herself though not as expected; without her children and her husband. As the secret about the debt is found out by Torvald and she has reached an epiphany because of this that she â€Å"existed merely to perform tricks† blaming him and her father for treating her like a spoilt child and a plaything for their own entertainment. They wanted her to be ignorant and helpless, and thus far she has only tried to please them and in turn missing out on any opportunity to educate and improve herself. All the times she subtly rebelled or disobeyed or rather she was the one in control behind the scenes but now she is seen clearly, no more deception. Nora’s submissiveness to Torvald is no longer seen. She shows herself no longer as a child but as an adult woman these symbols that the author has employed has shown her development over time. Especially when Torvald fails to provide the strength that she needed, because of that she can truly say that she no longer loves him. Her realization that she wants to pursue her independence is not so much a transformation but an awakening to a strength that she had possessed all along and with this strength she can begin a new.

Classification Essay: Three Types of Friends :: Classification Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In life we come across many people. Some will hate us while others will adore us. The ones who hate us can be referred to as enemies and the ones who show us adoration are referred to as friends. There are three types of friends. They are the aquaintinces we make in school, the friends we loose as one grows, and best friends who may stray, but never too far away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, there are those friends that are only seen in school. Seeing them on the street is like they are not even there. One may have known them throughout their whole school career, but have never talked to them outside of school. These school aqquaintinces are nice people to talk to , but there is never an effort to do anything more than that. These friends are good because there are never any chances to take with them. One just talks to them and then they go on their merry way. These school aqquaintinces are the peopl who are talked to about different hoobies and class studies. Not ones personal life. School aquaitnices are the people that one will not see for the first time until the schools ten year reunion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second, there are former friends. These are the ones taht grew up in ones neighborhood and moved away. These are the friends who will bring back memories that people thoght were forgotten. One might be embarassed at first about seeing their former friend, but as soon as conversation begins all the embarassement will be a thing of the past. Former friends are the ones that little secrets about meaqningless ideas were told to as a child, or the person who spent countlerss nights at ones house sleeping over. These are the people that knew ones parents very well, almost as well as the friend was known. Tehen all of a sudden out of nowhere this former friend is never spoken again to for years. Former friends give a sense of oldness to a person. In the long run they are good to have and to talk to.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, there are best friends who are the people that have been known all their lives or even just a few years. These friends regardless male or female can talk to a friend about anything on their mind. Many experiences have occured between two best friends or even a group of best friends. These kinds of friends share a common bnd that will last forever. Intimate secrets and special favors are all traits in which best friends can rely on each other for. Classification Essay: Three Types of Friends :: Classification Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In life we come across many people. Some will hate us while others will adore us. The ones who hate us can be referred to as enemies and the ones who show us adoration are referred to as friends. There are three types of friends. They are the aquaintinces we make in school, the friends we loose as one grows, and best friends who may stray, but never too far away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, there are those friends that are only seen in school. Seeing them on the street is like they are not even there. One may have known them throughout their whole school career, but have never talked to them outside of school. These school aqquaintinces are nice people to talk to , but there is never an effort to do anything more than that. These friends are good because there are never any chances to take with them. One just talks to them and then they go on their merry way. These school aqquaintinces are the peopl who are talked to about different hoobies and class studies. Not ones personal life. School aquaitnices are the people that one will not see for the first time until the schools ten year reunion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second, there are former friends. These are the ones taht grew up in ones neighborhood and moved away. These are the friends who will bring back memories that people thoght were forgotten. One might be embarassed at first about seeing their former friend, but as soon as conversation begins all the embarassement will be a thing of the past. Former friends are the ones that little secrets about meaqningless ideas were told to as a child, or the person who spent countlerss nights at ones house sleeping over. These are the people that knew ones parents very well, almost as well as the friend was known. Tehen all of a sudden out of nowhere this former friend is never spoken again to for years. Former friends give a sense of oldness to a person. In the long run they are good to have and to talk to.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, there are best friends who are the people that have been known all their lives or even just a few years. These friends regardless male or female can talk to a friend about anything on their mind. Many experiences have occured between two best friends or even a group of best friends. These kinds of friends share a common bnd that will last forever. Intimate secrets and special favors are all traits in which best friends can rely on each other for.

Clapham Junction By Paul Theroux :: essays research papers

*Meaning of the title: A junction is a place where roads come together or such as in this story break up in different directions. This regers to the end, where Mrs. Etterick asks for 'one single and one return to Sunbury, please'. Mrs. Etterick is going to drop her retarded daughter, Gina, at a special institution in Sunbury for Christmas. She doesn't want her daughter around: their ways are separated in the station (although Mrs. Etterick travels with Gina to Sunbury). 'Clapham' is a word that is often used by Theroux (the writer) in his other short stories (not in this book). Narrator: The narrator is an omniscient and unintrusive narrator: he knows everything but he doesn't give a comment. Hints in the story: * In the beginning they are talking about Gina and Mrs. Etterick says that 'hers is not the sort of affliction that can be cured in a place like Sunbury'. We don't know what's in Sunbury but we know that there's something with Gina that cannot be cured there; she has a disease. * Cox asks Mrs. Etterick 'Are you going away for Christmas?' and a bit further he asks 'So you might be alone?' and she answers 'I'm not sure'. * p.111 They hear Gina's present: a transistor. Mrs. Etterick explains it 'I decided to give Gina her present early' characters: All the characters (4-Mrs.Etterick/Rudge/Cox/Gina) are telling stories but the important thing is that they don't listen to each other, they constantly interrupt each other; they 're very selfish in a certain way but they apparently work in the same company/building: Cox says that 'When I didn't see you in your office (p.111) ...' And Rudge said that is was 'a party with all the secretaries'. Another similarity is that they sill don't know what they're going to do with Christmas (where/with who?). Mrs. Diana Etterick: She has a daughter, Gina who is nearly thirty but she's retarded. She lost her husband Richard (who works at the university) in Thailand (while they were living there) to a twenty-one year old Chinese girl, who was determined to leave China. They're both now in Australia while she's alone (except for now). She's very cynic avout that - p.112 Rudge asks 'Was it a tropical disease?' 'Yes', replies Diana 'she was about 21...' She hates Christmas: she didn't went to the par ty at work and on p.112 she says 'In Bangkok, you never know it was Christmas' and 'I'd like to spend the next eight days in bed,watching rubbish television.

All Quite On The Western Front Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"All Quiet On The Western Front†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World War I was a fierce and very disturbing time for many people. During war people will stretch their own personal boundaries and limits just to stay alive. Although every solider was someone’s son, by the end of the war this was not a factor. By thinking of an enemy as less then human, the act of killing someone’s son was a little easier on the minds of each soldier. To everyday people it is apparent that the war changes people, but the extent of the change is not so easy to see. This change is symbolized in the movie, â€Å"All Quiet On The Western Front.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the beginning of the movie, Paul Baumer and his friends were excited about the war. Their teacher Mr. Kantorek, had put a theory in their heads that war was a patriotic duty. If you loved and wanted to support your country, then going to war was a must. With this theory in your head, the act of war is a very difficult thing to handle. Paul realized that war was a horrible place to be. Yes you were fighting for your country, but at the same time all of your friends and family were dying around you. In the end was it really worth it? This was the question that ended up on Paul’s mind, and was a question that would not be soon to leave his conscience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paul was a good boy. He had a good education, was a non-smoker, and had many friends. His teacher was amazed a...

Importance of Learning Asian Languages Essay

If I asked an English speaker, â€Å"Hello, how are you?†, the answer almost invariably will be â€Å"I’m fine, thank you†. This brief dialogue itself establishes a relationship between the two people. It not only stands proof of the two individuals’ ability to speak English but also their collective ability to converse in a common language. From the very beginning a certain level of trust is created as both persons can comprehend what the other is saying and thus, within the limitation of his or her expression, know what the person is thinking. With this also comes fluency in the conversation and in the vocalization of ones thoughts. Not only does this make the interaction faster, it also allows both persons to speak their mind freely and without much hesitation. Now instead, think of a French speaker asking â€Å"Commo à §ava?†, his translator translating, â€Å" How are you?†, the English speaker answering, â€Å"I’m fine, thank you† and the translator translating back, â€Å"Je suis bien, merci†. Quite evidently, the conversation becomes longer and quite tedious. But beyond that, the two individuals also feel a disconnect, as neither of them know for sure what the other is saying. The existence of the middleman disrupts the trust that would otherwise be established in the relationship. Also, both individuals hesitate and think twice before saying anything, pondering its interpretation in the other’s language. The purpose of the above examples is to show the benefit of conversing in a common language. If there is such a radical difference in communicating so briefly, the differences in longer and more complex conversations will be drastic. A common language gives the individual more access, establishes trust and therefore gives the individuals power. Throughout history we have witnessed expansion of various empires and in the process interaction of societies speaking different languages. Examples can be taken from the invasions of Indian kingdoms by the British Empire, British colonization of Australia or from the forceful inhabitation of Native American lands by the European immigrants while USA was being founded. The pattern in all these has been the same. The invaders start from trade. Through this they learn about the native people’s society and culture. Language is an inevitable need of trade and so the foreign traders learn the local language and the natives learn the tradersà ¢â‚¬â„¢. Slowly this gives the invaders access to the local community and gradually colonization takes place. Thus, we see how language gives power. Even in the current scenario, things have not changed a lot. Although the purpose of knowing a foreign language may not be to take over another country, language still gives the individual who speaks it an immense amount of power. It is so in all aspects of the word, the more people you can communicate with, the more are your chances to succeed. This power is exactly what the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants the citizens of Australia to have. Asia is progressing rapidly, but why would Australians knowing Asian languages â€Å"power Australia into the world’s top 10 wealthiest nations by 2025†? This is because as Asian countries progress and become global leaders, due to their economic and populous advantage, a large part of the world’s business will be conducted with or through them. India and China consist of 5/14th of the world’s population and this population spreads around the globe, knowing Mandarin or Hindi will give the speaker a great tactical advantage in an increasingly competitive world. But you may ask that if a common language is the only thing attracting Australia to have its citizens learn languages like Hindi and Mandarin, what’s wrong with their native English itself? The answer to this has two sides. The first is that English is becoming an increasingly global language and in the coming days, everyone who will do business with the Asians will almost definitely know English. In such cases, having a common language will not be enough. Knowing their native language and establishing an intimate relationship is what will give the language speakers an edge over the others. The other side is that as evidently seen today, a large percent of the Indian population speaks English and in terms of the people who do business, all of them speak English. But in the case of the rest of eastern Asia, few people, even in the corporate world speak fluent English. These aren’t baseless claims. There are various reasons behind this phenomenon such as the British rule over India for over 200 years, the mostly secondary sector development of countries like China and Japan and India’s global dependence for its services export. Since the beginning of British rule in India, many Indians have been learning English to facilitate themselves to get better jobs in the British government. Even after independence, English remained deeply incorporated in the Indian education system. Thus, English was never introduced to Indians as a global language learnt to facilitate communication as is being done now in various countries. It was imposed on on Indians as a necessity to survive in the British common wealth. This is why even the Indian lower middle class knows a moderately good level of English. Also, as India has developed, its tertiary sector has developed tremendously, specifically in the field of Information and Technology. The blooming IT industry far outmatches the demand for IT services in India and therefore there is a need to outsource these services. Thus, interaction of the average Indian with the outside world has increased and so has his need to speak English. As opposed to this, countries like China and Japan have seen the most development in the secondary sector. With the highest population and cheap labour, China has become the manufacturing hub of the world. But this surge in the manufacturing sector has resulted in only the entrepreneurs of these countries being in communication with the rest of the world. Their laborers, with no need to communicate with people outside the country, have found no need to learn English. As these Asian superpowers rise, the existing world leaders relatively decline in their economic and political status. With this in mind and considering that the whole of Europe barely amounts to half the population of China, learning learning Asian languages will be much more advantageous that learning European languages except for specific purposes. One could argue that some European languages like Spanish and French could be used in communication in earlier Spanish and French territories like South America and Quebec but this wouldn’t provide any advantage considering the economic and populous strength of Asian countries. Although all the pros favor learning Asian languages, it isn’t such an easy task, especially for a country that has been under British rule and speaks English that has a completely different script than any of the Asian languages. In this aspect it would be easier for students in Australia to learn European languages, as the script is the same as English. Another factor affecting the foreign language Australians would prefer to learn is their ancestry. Most of the Australian population consists of European immigrants who moved to Australia during the British rule. Many of these immigrants now in the 4th or 5th generation after the migration see a loss of culture in the generation following them and therefore would prefer that their children learn their mother tongue and be well rooted in their origins. Although a valid argument, people need to make a conscious choice between the past and the future. Learning their original European languages may give them a better taste of their own culture but by doing that, they are possibly depriving themselves the chance of a better future. Even the aspect of education is quite debatable. It is a well-known scientific fact that as you grow older, your ability to learn different languages decreases. The language learning agility during childhood allows children to master various languages irrespective of the differences between them. I myself have learnt English, French and Spanish, all having the same script while also knowing Hindi and Gujarati, both of which follow a different script than that of European languages. There are people out there who know various languages from many scripts and you don’t need to be a linguist to learn them, you just need to be a kid! This unconventional tactic to teach Australian citizens Asian languages could prove to be a great advantage to learners in this Asian century and could facilitate Australia to make it one of the ‘top 10 most wealthiest countries by 2025’ which, as stated by Julia Gillard, the Australian Prime Minister, is the primary goal of this initiative. To materialize this goal will take a lot of effort and will put a great toll on Australia’s education budget. If achieved though, Australia won’t be far behind the Asian giants in the coming global race.

Photosynthesis: Light and Plant

ESS Internal Assessment: Lab Report Aim: The aim is to measure the rate of photosynthesis of an aquatic plant (Cabomba species) at different light intensities. Hypothesis: If the distance between the lamp and the plant increases the rate of photosynthesis decreases because the plant requires light for photosynthesis to occur. Variables: Independent: The independent variable for this experiment is light intensity. In each trial the distance between the plant and the lamp will be increased, from 15 cm in the first trial to 30 cm in the second and then 50 cm in the third.Dependent: In this experiment we will measure the oxygen bubbles the plant releases into the water, per minute, to determine the rate of photosynthesis. Constant: * The species of plant (Cabomba) and the specific plant specimen is going to be kept the soma throughout the experiment because most different species or specimens may photosynthesize at a different rate to others. * The amount of water was also kept constant * The temperature of the water was kept constant at about 25 degrees Celsius (Room Temperature) as nothing was done to alter it throughout the experiment. The time periods were also kept constant as we did three trials of five minutes each and always measured the amount of bubbles per minute. Method: 1. Add Sodium Bicarbonate to the water 2. Put plant in water 3. Put the lamp at 15 cm for the beaker containing the plant specimen. Make sure this is measure accurately 4. Light the lamp at the same time as the timer is started 5. Observe, count and document how many oxygen bubbles were released by the plant Materials: 1. Water 2. Sodium Bicarbonate 3.Lamp 4. Glass Vile 5. Funnel Data Collection: Measure| 15 cm| 30 cm| 50 cm| 1| 4| 3| 4| 2| 5| 5| 2| 3| 5| 5| 2| 4| 3| 4| 3| 5| 6| 1| 4| Average | 4. 6| 3. 6| 3| Discussion: The results show, that on average, the further the lamp was moved away from the plant, the fewer bubbles formed. This is due to the fact that the lamp provides heat and light for the plant, to components that are vital for photosynthesis to occur. The bubbles in the water were oxygen bubbles that are released by the plant as it respires.As the lamp is further away the plant receives less light and therefore slows the rate of photosynthesis. With less photosynthesis the plant begins to release fewer oxygen bubbles. Evaluation: Our experiment went fairly well, however our results were not very accurate for various reasons. Firstly, the lamp we sued was a simple table lamp instead of UV light used to mimic sunlight. Therefore the light used was not an accurate imitation of sunlight. This may not have allowed the plant to increase it’s rate of photosynthesis to the fullest.Therefore the rates may have been lower then they would have been in the plant’s natural environment. The second factor that may have made our experiment less accurate was the fact that the lamp was not the only source of light hitting the plant. There was general ceil ing lighting in the room and a small extent of daylight falling on the plant. This can also have slightly manipulated our results, as we cannot be entirely sure if the rate of photosynthesis was solely influenced by the distance between the lamp and the plant and not by he other light sources in the room. We did not make any measurements of the temperature of the water or discuss the effects this may have had on the rate of photosynthesis. We also knew very little about the natural environment of the Cabomba plant. Therefore our experiment was not an accurate imitation of the plant natural process of photosynthesis, as we had to apply more components such as water temperature, proper lighting etc.We were very successful at measuring the amount of bubbles released per minute as we took turns and worked very successfully as a team, one member taking the time and the other watching and counting the bubbles, therefore we believe that our recorded results are fairly accurate. We also mad e sure that the lamp was always at the aforementioned distance from the plant specimen. Therefore I believe that our results were rather accurate given that they were recorded in a classroom environment. Conclusion: