Symbolism In Hills Like White Elephants

Symbolism In Hills Like White Elephants Many stories contain symbolism such as the conch in the well known story Lord of the Flies symbolizing order on the island, or the name Fortunado in the story The Cask of Amontillado, symbolizing an ironic ending to the character. One story in particular that uses symbolism throughout the whole story to represent many different things is the short story Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemmingway. Hemmingway is an outstanding author and writes magnificent stories. This short story of his is about a couple who is discussing abortion in Spain and how difficult their problems are. Hemingway does a tremendous job using symbolism to show their problems throughout the story. Ernest Hemingway had a very interesting life and was a man who lived life as it came. His writing touched millions of people. He wrote about fascinating stories that were very strong and unforgettable. Hemmingway wrote about all sorts, pretty much whatever he felt like writing. Hemingway was born in Oak Park Illinois on July 21, 1899. His parents were Dr. Clarence Edmonds and Grace Hall Hemingway. His father was a practicing doctor, and later taught him how to hunt and fish. Hemmingway also liked to box.Unlike the bond with his father, Hemingway did not have a good relationship with his mother. Hemingways education consisted Oak Park and River Forest High School. Here is where he realized he had a gift of writing. Hitting the age of 18, Hemmingway decided to move to Kansas City instead of attending college. While in Kansas City, he obtained a job as a cub reporter on the Kansas City Star. During this time, he kept to himself. His writing style was first introduced by the Kansas City Star, it was brief and straight forward. Although his career was doing well, in May of 1918, Hemingway wanted to join the Army but was rejected due to a defective left eye which he inherited from his mother. Instead of joining the Army he joined the Red Cross. When he was overseas, one night he was sneaking smokes and chocolate into the soldiers. While doing so, he was hit in the leg by an Austrian machine gun and got over a hundred pieces of metal stuck in his body from grenades. Through unbearable pain, he managed to save a wounded soldier and carry him to safety. For his courageous acts, he was awarded the Italian Medal of Valor, a very high award. He recovered from injuries at the Ospedale Croce Rossa American, in Milan. This stay in Italy set a tremendous place to write his novel, A Farewell to Arms. After Hemmingways recovery, He returned to Oak Hill to live with his mother, until he was forced out for not having a job. After the trouble with his mom, Hemmingway moved to Chica go and got a job writing for the Toronto Star and was a sparring partner for boxers. While in the windy city, he came upon a women by the name of Elizabeth Hadly Richerdson. Hemingway fell madly in love with her and wanted to marry but money was a big problem. The two moved to Canada where their son John Hadly Hemingway was born in 1923. Shortly after, Hemmingway received a Nobel prize for his piece, The Old Man and The Sea. As success was finally with Hemmingway, tragedy struck. On one ofhis flights, his plane crashed leaving him with devastating injuries including a concussion, paralysis of the sphincter, first degree burns in his face, arm and head, a sprained right arm and shoulder, a crushed vertebra, and a ruptured liver, spleen and kidney. He was in much agony and pain for many months. In April 1961, Hemmingway tried to kill himself by putting a gun to his head, but did not succeed in suicide. While cleaning his shotgun in July of 1961, Hemmingway accidently shot himself. The gun which was made just for him took his life, and the life of an Author whose writing touched millions of people (Unknown, Ernest Hemingway Biography. The Hemmingway Resource Center. 4-1-10 http://www.lostgeneration.com/childhood.htm). Hemmingways story, Hills like White Elephants, has many symbolizing parts. Practically everything in the story symbolizes a different item. The story is about a girl by the name of Jig, and an American man, whose name is not stated. The story takes place in a railroad station while the two are waiting to board a train to Madrid. As the two await the trains arrival, they get into an intense, heated argument on whether or not the girl Jig should get an abortion. Jig wants to keep the baby, but the story indicates the man does not at first, but then emphasizes that he wants to do whatever Jig decides on. The story ends by the man carrying the bags to the other side of the tracks as they prepare to board the train and depart. The ending leaves us puzzled and unclear about the decision Jig made. At the end of the story she says I feel fine which leaves us questioning if she was going to go through with the abortion. There are many symbols in the story, but the three that are most recogniz able are the hills, white elephants, and the rail station. The hills symbolize one of many things. One could be obstacles that we as people must climb in order to achieve things. Being that they are hills and not giant mountains, we are able to get over them. This represents that the Jigs baby is a major obstacle in their life that they both can overcome and go on with normal lives. The Hills could very well be viewpoints to see from, but they block the views for people that live in the valley of the hills. This represents that in the story Jig views the Hills and finds opportunity while the man sees nothing because he is worried that the child will cause him to not have a happy and successful future. The Hills also could present a form of imagery being that the hills represent the shape of a pregnant woman. Jig could view the hills as a woman bearing a child is lying on her back with her stomach and breasts swollen from the pregnancy. During a part of the story, Jig mentions while viewing the scenery that they could have all this. Saying th is, she was meaning that the hills represented a challenge to face, new life to partake in, and possibility for the both of them. The white elephants are another sign of symbolism, which could possibly represent the baby. A white elephant is a valuable possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth. It is also a gift that is useless to one person, but priceless to another. This being said is that the baby is priceless to her, but her partner could care less about having a child. The last main symbolizing item in the story is the train station. It can mean one of many things. One side of the station is a dry, dead landscape, which represents dissipation and death of the baby, while the other side is green and beautiful, representing life, and a new beginning. Besides the landscape, the tracks also have a meaning. Railroad tracks run parallel, which means they never touch or run into one another. This could symbolize the relationship of Jig and the American man (Schaefers, Adam. Analyzing the Symbolism of Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. Lifestyle. 4-1-10 ). Hemmingway wrote many great stories and used symbolism in many great ways. In his story Hills like White Elephants; he did an amazing job showing the trouble of a couple on a decision affecting the rest of their lives. Hemmingway has many other great stories and his stories and symbolization has given people different ways to view stories and has touched the hearts of millions. Citations: Schaefers, Adam. Analyzing the Symbolism of Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. Lifestyle. 4-1-10 . Cummings, Michael J. Hills Like White Elephants. Cummings Guides. 4-1-10 . Unknown, Ernest Hemingway Biography. The Hemmingway Resource Center. 4-1-10 . Machete, Ernest Hemingway . Literary Analysis. 4-1-10 .

Reflective Paper

Reflective Paper – Effective Human Resources Management Theresa Tapley BUS 303 Dr. Kevin Righter March 13, 2010 Reflective Paper – Effective Human Resources Management Effective Human Resources Management (HRM) plays a major role in ensuring that an organization will survive and prosper. The HRM facilitates the most effective use of people or employees to achieve organizational and individual goals. The HRM consists of numerous activities which include, equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance, job analysis, human resource planning, the recruitment, selection, motivation, and orientation of employees, performance evaluation and compensation, the training and development of employees, labor relations, and the safety, health, and wellness of the workforce. Effective human resources management plays a vital role in the success of an organization and is an active participant in charting the strategic course of competitiveness, productiveness, and efficiency. An effective HRM focuses on action rather than on record-keeping, written procedure, or rules. Although the use of rules, records, and policies are incorporated, â€Å"action† is the focus. The HRM emphasizes the solution of employment problems to help achieve organizational objectives and facilitate employees’ development and satisfaction. An effective HRM is, also, people-oriented. Whenever possible, the HRM treats each employee as an individual and offers services and program to meet the individual’s needs. An effective HRM program is concerned with helping an organization achieve its objectives in the future by providing for competent, well-motivated employees. Human resources are incorporated into an organization’s long-term strategic plans to assist with ensuring that future growth needs will be adequately staffed with qualified, trained employees (Ivancewich, 2010, pg 5). EEO and Affirmative Action One external factor that has a powerful influence on my company's HRM unction is the equal employment opportunity and human rights legislation, which has a profound effect on our policies and procedures concerning recruiting, selection, evaluation, and promotion. The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an independent federal agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability and retaliation for reporting and/or opp osing a discriminatory practice. This commission is empowered to file discrimination suits against employers on behalf of alleged victims and to adjudicate claims of discrimination brought against federal agencies. No other regulatory area has as thoroughly affected HRM as the EEO programs have. It has implications for almost every activity in HRM and sets standards for hiring, recruiting, training, terminating, compensating, evaluating, planning, disciplining, and collective bargaining. Employers, to prevent employment discrimination in the workplace or to take remedial action to offset employment discrimination implement EEO programs, (Ivancevich, 2010, pg 65). According to the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) website, the EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. The laws also apply to all type of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, demotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits. During the employment selection process, each candidate should be evaluated on their qualification of the job requirements, based on their experience, education, and skill set. Many corporations use testing as an important tool. Rae T. Vann, general counsel of the Equal Employment Advisory Council, a national association of large federal contractors, observed, â€Å"When done properly, testing can be a very important tool in the employment selection process, and we commend the Commission on its efforts to improve the quality and fairness of tests and other job screening methods† (Title VII: Affirmative Action, 2006). I encourage my Clinical Managers to become familiar with the provisions of the EEO standards and guidelines. It is essential that they make every effort to seek counsel from our HR dept when initiating the interview and hiring process, dealing with poor performance, disabilities, demotions, appearance of harassment, and training and re-training. Throughout my five years of administrative management, I have unfortunately had to learn HRM and EEOC laws the hard way, through trial and error. With each mistake that I have made, such as not consulting the HR department before decreasing a dual role employee’s hours so that she could focus on one role due to extremely poor performance, I have learned the proper steps to come to the same conclusion. The decrease in hours caused her to lose her benefits and subsequently she filed an EEOC claim of discrimination and retaliation. Fortunately, due to proper documentation of the corrective actions, developmental action plan and the documented counseling, our HRM has adequate information to refute the claim. Now, I consult my HRM representative with any concerns, questions, or updates related to employee situations. Planning, Recruitment, and Selection Human resources planning are the processes by which management ensures that it has the right personnel, who are capable of completing those tasks that help the organization, reach its objectives. It involves forecasting of human resources needs and the projected matching of individuals with expected vacancies (International Labour Organization, 2010). An effective HR plan, also, provides mechanisms to eliminate any gaps that may exist between supply and demand. HR planning determines the numbers and types of employees to be recruited into the organization or phased out of it (Ivancevich, 2010). The Human Resource Planning Process incorporates strategic planning which will have a direct effect on the organization's profitability. The strategic plan must adapt to environmental circumstances. It must forecast how many and what employees are required for the organizations staffing requirements. Next, it must determine how many and what kind of employees are currently employed with the skills and training necessary for the future needs. Finally, after the HR system has analyzed the supply of and the demand or future workers, these two forecasts are compared to determine what action should be taken. Effective workforce planning is a critical element of effective strategic and operational planning. Workforce planning provides managers with a strategic basis for making human resource decisions. It allows managers to anticipate change ather than being surprised by events, as well as providing strategic methods for addressing present and anticipated workforce issues. The US Department of Health and Human Services states, â€Å"Organizational success depends on having the right employees with the right competencies at the right time. Workforce planning provides managers the means of identifying the competencies needed in the workforce not only in the present but in the future and then selecting and developing that workforce† (US Dept. Health and Human Services, 2010). The HR department for my company has implemented a staffing model tool that projects future, potential, or expected growth versus the actual census, the current staffing and skill set of that staff, and calculates the hiring needs of specific positions within the direct and indirect patient care. Once the future needs are determined, then the hiring process begins. Human Resources Development Training and development are processes that attempt to provide an employee with information, skills, and an understanding of the organization and its goals. Training and development are designed to help a person continue to make positive contributions in the form of good performance and advancement within the organization. A solid orientation program is the first step in developing an employee. It reduces anxiety and fears, reduces start-up costs of a new employee, reduces turnover, saves time for supervisors and co-workers, and develops realistic expectations, positive attitudes toward the employer and job satisfaction. Once will established in a specific position, then the manager and employee must set goals for development and advancement. Management and professional development is designed to reduce obsolescence and to increase employees’ satisfaction and productivity. An important part of development is the evaluation process. Performance management is the process by which executives, managers, and supervisors work to align employee performance with the firm’s goals. An effective performance management process determines and evaluates performance, provides feedback to the employees about their performance, and measures and monitors skill-set (Ivancevich, 2010, pg 251). The company that I work for has an excellent formal performance evaluation process that is very effective in the development the employee and the motivation to succeed. Appraising and managing performance at my workplace starts form the day of hire. Each newly hired direct or indirect patient care must attend a through and intensive training program. After 90 days, from date of hire, the new staff member is evaluated for suitability for the position. The manager will present a written 90-day evaluation to the staff member. This evaluation will result in a successful completion of the introductory period, determine a need for an extension of 30 days to improve and meet expectations, or termination due to being unsuitable for the position (this usually occurs when the staff member continually fails to follow policies and procedures and/or causing patient endangerment). Every manager must complete an annual evaluation for staff members under their direct supervision. The score on the evaluation determine the merit increase and caps set forth by the company. When a staff member is failing to follow policy and procedure, putting patient’s safety in jeopardy, tardiness or excessive absenteeism, insubordination, breaking confidentiality and HIPPA regulations, and etc. the manager will conduct corrective action in the form of documented counseling, written corrective action, final corrective action, 3 day suspension, and/or termination. To make this process more effective and ensure compliance with EEOC and federal and state regulations, both next level supervisor and the HR dept representative must approve all final corrective actions, 3-day suspensions, and terminations. Compensation and Benefits There are several reasons that an employer or corporation will offer benefits and services to their employees. One reason is to keep the organization competitive in recruit and retaining employees. Another reason is to keep a union out or because the union has won this during negotiations. Finally, is the fact that providing benefits and service contributed to increased employee performance and job satisfaction (Ivancevich, 2010, pg358). Federal and state governments mandate three benefits programs offered by private and not-for-profit employers. The three mandated programs are unemployment insurance, social security, and workers’ compensation. In addition to the benefits required by law, many employers provide other kinds of benefits voluntarily, such as, compensation for time not worked, insurance protection, retirement plans, FMLA or medical FMLA, life insurance, short and long-term disability, and various retirement programs and stock ownership plans. Some organizations offer tuition reimbursement and flexible benefits plans. Whenever I am interviewing a candidate for a position, I always spend a portion of the interview discussing and explaining our benefit package. Sometimes our hourly rate is not quite as high as our competitor, but our benefits and employee services usually out ways the difference in compensation. Safety and Health The Human Resource Management team of the dialysis company of which I am employed, works very closely with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to ensure that the most acceptable and innovative concepts in employee safety and health are used. The NIOSH is the primary federal agency that conducts research on the safety and health of the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970, to provide research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health established it in 1971 (Bradley, 2002). The NIOSH develops and promotes the use of national and state-based surveillance systems to identify, quantify, and track injuries and illnesses. Epidemiological analysis of these databases helps identify unsafe and unhealthy workplace conditions. NIOSH also supports laboratory and field research to further identify, assess, and control occupational hazards and exposures and the diseases and injuries they cause. In addition to identifying risks, the NIOSH develops and evaluates prevention measures such as control technology, personal protective equipment, and work practices. Through research internally within our company and the NIOSH, many improvements and standards have been put into place for water treatment safety and personal protective equipment. We have strong policies and procedures that protect both the employee and the patient from exposure to health or safety hazards. There are several reasons for establishing good occupational safety and health standards. First, on a moral note, an employee should not have to risk injury or death at work, nor should others associated with the work environment. The second is economical in nature. Many governments realize that poor occupational safety and health performance results in cost to the State, through social security payments to the incapacitated, costs for medical treatment, and the loss of the employability of the worker. The employing organizations also sustain costs in the event of an incident at work, such as legal fees, fines, compensatory damages, investigation time, and lost production, lost goodwill from the workforce, customers, and community. Lastly, from a legal standpoint, the occupational safety and health requirements may be reinforced in civil law and/or criminal law. It is a known fact, that without the extra â€Å"encouragement† of potential regulatory action or litigation, many organizations would not act upon their implied moral obligations. During a Frontline interview with assistant secretary of labor for occupational health and safety, John Henshaw, the question was asked, â€Å"How successful do you think OSHA has been at protecting workers in the United States? † Mr. Henshaw replied, â€Å"In the last 30 years, OSHA has made some tremendous strides in reducing injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. In the last six to eight years, injuries have gone steadily down and fatalities have gone down to the point where they are the lowest ever (Frontline, 2002). The dialysis industry is carefully scrutinized to uphold acceptable OSHA safety and health standards. We, also, have internal auditors that simulate inspections to ensure compliance and safe practices. Employee and Labor Relations Labor relations can refer broadly to any dealings between management and workers about employment conditions. Most commonly, however, labor relations refer to dealings between management and a workforce that is already unionized, or has the potential to become unionized. Labor relations are thus crucial to industries like autos and airlines with heavily unionized workforces. In the United States, labor relations were profoundly affected by the National Labor Relations Act passed during the 1930’s, which gave workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. Labor relations have been drastically affected by the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibited the â€Å"closed shop†, as well as, the introduction of right-to-work laws in more than 20 states (Ivancevich, 2010, pgs 477). By the early 21st century, labor relations were less affected by labor unions, to which only 8 percent of private sector workers belonged in 2004, about half of the rate in 1983. The decline reflects the increase in labor relations consultants, who have helped managements avoid unionization (Anonymous, 2010). The presence of a union directly affects most aspects of Human Resources Management, including recruiting, selection, performance evaluation, promotion, compensation, and benefits, among others (Ivancevich, 2010, pg. 34). Unions were once thought of a being for blue-collar factory workers, but now even engineers, nurses, teachers, secretaries, salespersons, college professors, professional football players and even physicians belong to unions. Within my workplace, we have an ongoing informational and educational campaign against the unethical practices of recruitment and enticement for our employees. We offer seminars and counseling in regards to the unionization tactics. While facing declining membership, union officials have turned to highly questionable practice of organizing new members through a process called â€Å"card check†. With card checks, paid union organizers try to persuade workers to sign cards saying that they favor union representation. This persuasion comes in the form of deception, coercion, and harassing visits to worker’s homes. John Ivancevich describes this practice as the â€Å"authorization card† (Ivancevich, 2010, pg. 480). Under current laws, as soon as more than 50 percent of the workers sign a union authorization card, all employees within that organization will be required to participate in the union and pay union dues, even though not a single employee has actually been able to cast a personal, private vote. Often times, individual will sign the cards under intentional or unintentional misunderstandings or to get the organizer to stop harassing them, even though the employee may have no desire to join a union (Anonymous, 2010). Conclusion Human Resources Management is the heart of every organization. It serves as an advocate for each employee, while also protecting the organization from legal repercussions. Whether it is ensuring equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance, providing job analysis, planning for the future staffing needs and subsequent recruitment and selection of qualified candidates, each of these areas are vital to a well-organized corporation. The HRM is paramount in the motivation, training, and development of employees. Ensuring a positive orientation experience, and concise performance evaluation and compensation will aid in retention and job satisfaction. Finally, the HRM has an extremely important role in labor relations and ensuring the safety, health, and wellness of the workforce. References Anonymous. (2010). When voting isn’t Private. Retrieved on February 26, 2010 from website: http://www. unionfacts. com/articles/cardCheck. cfm Bradley, J. (2002). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved on 3/1/2010 from website: http://www. cdc. gov/niosh EEOC Office of Legal Counsel staff members (2006). Title VII: Affirmative Action. Retrieved on February 12, 2010 from website: http://www. eeoc. gov/eeoc/foia/letters/2006/vii_affimative_action. html Frontline. (2002). A Dangerous Business. Frontline Interview with John Henshaw. September 30, 2002. Retrieved on 3/2/2010 from website: http://osha. gov International Labour Organization. Retrieved on February 11, 2010 from website: http://wwwilo. org Ivancevich. J. (2010). Human resource management (11th ed. ). Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780073381466. US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved on February 10, 2010 from website: http://www. hhs. gov/ohr/workforce/wfpguide. html Reflective Paper Reflective Paper – Effective Human Resources Management Theresa Tapley BUS 303 Dr. Kevin Righter March 13, 2010 Reflective Paper – Effective Human Resources Management Effective Human Resources Management (HRM) plays a major role in ensuring that an organization will survive and prosper. The HRM facilitates the most effective use of people or employees to achieve organizational and individual goals. The HRM consists of numerous activities which include, equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance, job analysis, human resource planning, the recruitment, selection, motivation, and orientation of employees, performance evaluation and compensation, the training and development of employees, labor relations, and the safety, health, and wellness of the workforce. Effective human resources management plays a vital role in the success of an organization and is an active participant in charting the strategic course of competitiveness, productiveness, and efficiency. An effective HRM focuses on action rather than on record-keeping, written procedure, or rules. Although the use of rules, records, and policies are incorporated, â€Å"action† is the focus. The HRM emphasizes the solution of employment problems to help achieve organizational objectives and facilitate employees’ development and satisfaction. An effective HRM is, also, people-oriented. Whenever possible, the HRM treats each employee as an individual and offers services and program to meet the individual’s needs. An effective HRM program is concerned with helping an organization achieve its objectives in the future by providing for competent, well-motivated employees. Human resources are incorporated into an organization’s long-term strategic plans to assist with ensuring that future growth needs will be adequately staffed with qualified, trained employees (Ivancewich, 2010, pg 5). EEO and Affirmative Action One external factor that has a powerful influence on my company's HRM unction is the equal employment opportunity and human rights legislation, which has a profound effect on our policies and procedures concerning recruiting, selection, evaluation, and promotion. The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an independent federal agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability and retaliation for reporting and/or opp osing a discriminatory practice. This commission is empowered to file discrimination suits against employers on behalf of alleged victims and to adjudicate claims of discrimination brought against federal agencies. No other regulatory area has as thoroughly affected HRM as the EEO programs have. It has implications for almost every activity in HRM and sets standards for hiring, recruiting, training, terminating, compensating, evaluating, planning, disciplining, and collective bargaining. Employers, to prevent employment discrimination in the workplace or to take remedial action to offset employment discrimination implement EEO programs, (Ivancevich, 2010, pg 65). According to the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) website, the EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. The laws also apply to all type of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, demotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits. During the employment selection process, each candidate should be evaluated on their qualification of the job requirements, based on their experience, education, and skill set. Many corporations use testing as an important tool. Rae T. Vann, general counsel of the Equal Employment Advisory Council, a national association of large federal contractors, observed, â€Å"When done properly, testing can be a very important tool in the employment selection process, and we commend the Commission on its efforts to improve the quality and fairness of tests and other job screening methods† (Title VII: Affirmative Action, 2006). I encourage my Clinical Managers to become familiar with the provisions of the EEO standards and guidelines. It is essential that they make every effort to seek counsel from our HR dept when initiating the interview and hiring process, dealing with poor performance, disabilities, demotions, appearance of harassment, and training and re-training. Throughout my five years of administrative management, I have unfortunately had to learn HRM and EEOC laws the hard way, through trial and error. With each mistake that I have made, such as not consulting the HR department before decreasing a dual role employee’s hours so that she could focus on one role due to extremely poor performance, I have learned the proper steps to come to the same conclusion. The decrease in hours caused her to lose her benefits and subsequently she filed an EEOC claim of discrimination and retaliation. Fortunately, due to proper documentation of the corrective actions, developmental action plan and the documented counseling, our HRM has adequate information to refute the claim. Now, I consult my HRM representative with any concerns, questions, or updates related to employee situations. Planning, Recruitment, and Selection Human resources planning are the processes by which management ensures that it has the right personnel, who are capable of completing those tasks that help the organization, reach its objectives. It involves forecasting of human resources needs and the projected matching of individuals with expected vacancies (International Labour Organization, 2010). An effective HR plan, also, provides mechanisms to eliminate any gaps that may exist between supply and demand. HR planning determines the numbers and types of employees to be recruited into the organization or phased out of it (Ivancevich, 2010). The Human Resource Planning Process incorporates strategic planning which will have a direct effect on the organization's profitability. The strategic plan must adapt to environmental circumstances. It must forecast how many and what employees are required for the organizations staffing requirements. Next, it must determine how many and what kind of employees are currently employed with the skills and training necessary for the future needs. Finally, after the HR system has analyzed the supply of and the demand or future workers, these two forecasts are compared to determine what action should be taken. Effective workforce planning is a critical element of effective strategic and operational planning. Workforce planning provides managers with a strategic basis for making human resource decisions. It allows managers to anticipate change ather than being surprised by events, as well as providing strategic methods for addressing present and anticipated workforce issues. The US Department of Health and Human Services states, â€Å"Organizational success depends on having the right employees with the right competencies at the right time. Workforce planning provides managers the means of identifying the competencies needed in the workforce not only in the present but in the future and then selecting and developing that workforce† (US Dept. Health and Human Services, 2010). The HR department for my company has implemented a staffing model tool that projects future, potential, or expected growth versus the actual census, the current staffing and skill set of that staff, and calculates the hiring needs of specific positions within the direct and indirect patient care. Once the future needs are determined, then the hiring process begins. Human Resources Development Training and development are processes that attempt to provide an employee with information, skills, and an understanding of the organization and its goals. Training and development are designed to help a person continue to make positive contributions in the form of good performance and advancement within the organization. A solid orientation program is the first step in developing an employee. It reduces anxiety and fears, reduces start-up costs of a new employee, reduces turnover, saves time for supervisors and co-workers, and develops realistic expectations, positive attitudes toward the employer and job satisfaction. Once will established in a specific position, then the manager and employee must set goals for development and advancement. Management and professional development is designed to reduce obsolescence and to increase employees’ satisfaction and productivity. An important part of development is the evaluation process. Performance management is the process by which executives, managers, and supervisors work to align employee performance with the firm’s goals. An effective performance management process determines and evaluates performance, provides feedback to the employees about their performance, and measures and monitors skill-set (Ivancevich, 2010, pg 251). The company that I work for has an excellent formal performance evaluation process that is very effective in the development the employee and the motivation to succeed. Appraising and managing performance at my workplace starts form the day of hire. Each newly hired direct or indirect patient care must attend a through and intensive training program. After 90 days, from date of hire, the new staff member is evaluated for suitability for the position. The manager will present a written 90-day evaluation to the staff member. This evaluation will result in a successful completion of the introductory period, determine a need for an extension of 30 days to improve and meet expectations, or termination due to being unsuitable for the position (this usually occurs when the staff member continually fails to follow policies and procedures and/or causing patient endangerment). Every manager must complete an annual evaluation for staff members under their direct supervision. The score on the evaluation determine the merit increase and caps set forth by the company. When a staff member is failing to follow policy and procedure, putting patient’s safety in jeopardy, tardiness or excessive absenteeism, insubordination, breaking confidentiality and HIPPA regulations, and etc. the manager will conduct corrective action in the form of documented counseling, written corrective action, final corrective action, 3 day suspension, and/or termination. To make this process more effective and ensure compliance with EEOC and federal and state regulations, both next level supervisor and the HR dept representative must approve all final corrective actions, 3-day suspensions, and terminations. Compensation and Benefits There are several reasons that an employer or corporation will offer benefits and services to their employees. One reason is to keep the organization competitive in recruit and retaining employees. Another reason is to keep a union out or because the union has won this during negotiations. Finally, is the fact that providing benefits and service contributed to increased employee performance and job satisfaction (Ivancevich, 2010, pg358). Federal and state governments mandate three benefits programs offered by private and not-for-profit employers. The three mandated programs are unemployment insurance, social security, and workers’ compensation. In addition to the benefits required by law, many employers provide other kinds of benefits voluntarily, such as, compensation for time not worked, insurance protection, retirement plans, FMLA or medical FMLA, life insurance, short and long-term disability, and various retirement programs and stock ownership plans. Some organizations offer tuition reimbursement and flexible benefits plans. Whenever I am interviewing a candidate for a position, I always spend a portion of the interview discussing and explaining our benefit package. Sometimes our hourly rate is not quite as high as our competitor, but our benefits and employee services usually out ways the difference in compensation. Safety and Health The Human Resource Management team of the dialysis company of which I am employed, works very closely with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to ensure that the most acceptable and innovative concepts in employee safety and health are used. The NIOSH is the primary federal agency that conducts research on the safety and health of the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970, to provide research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health established it in 1971 (Bradley, 2002). The NIOSH develops and promotes the use of national and state-based surveillance systems to identify, quantify, and track injuries and illnesses. Epidemiological analysis of these databases helps identify unsafe and unhealthy workplace conditions. NIOSH also supports laboratory and field research to further identify, assess, and control occupational hazards and exposures and the diseases and injuries they cause. In addition to identifying risks, the NIOSH develops and evaluates prevention measures such as control technology, personal protective equipment, and work practices. Through research internally within our company and the NIOSH, many improvements and standards have been put into place for water treatment safety and personal protective equipment. We have strong policies and procedures that protect both the employee and the patient from exposure to health or safety hazards. There are several reasons for establishing good occupational safety and health standards. First, on a moral note, an employee should not have to risk injury or death at work, nor should others associated with the work environment. The second is economical in nature. Many governments realize that poor occupational safety and health performance results in cost to the State, through social security payments to the incapacitated, costs for medical treatment, and the loss of the employability of the worker. The employing organizations also sustain costs in the event of an incident at work, such as legal fees, fines, compensatory damages, investigation time, and lost production, lost goodwill from the workforce, customers, and community. Lastly, from a legal standpoint, the occupational safety and health requirements may be reinforced in civil law and/or criminal law. It is a known fact, that without the extra â€Å"encouragement† of potential regulatory action or litigation, many organizations would not act upon their implied moral obligations. During a Frontline interview with assistant secretary of labor for occupational health and safety, John Henshaw, the question was asked, â€Å"How successful do you think OSHA has been at protecting workers in the United States? † Mr. Henshaw replied, â€Å"In the last 30 years, OSHA has made some tremendous strides in reducing injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. In the last six to eight years, injuries have gone steadily down and fatalities have gone down to the point where they are the lowest ever (Frontline, 2002). The dialysis industry is carefully scrutinized to uphold acceptable OSHA safety and health standards. We, also, have internal auditors that simulate inspections to ensure compliance and safe practices. Employee and Labor Relations Labor relations can refer broadly to any dealings between management and workers about employment conditions. Most commonly, however, labor relations refer to dealings between management and a workforce that is already unionized, or has the potential to become unionized. Labor relations are thus crucial to industries like autos and airlines with heavily unionized workforces. In the United States, labor relations were profoundly affected by the National Labor Relations Act passed during the 1930’s, which gave workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. Labor relations have been drastically affected by the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibited the â€Å"closed shop†, as well as, the introduction of right-to-work laws in more than 20 states (Ivancevich, 2010, pgs 477). By the early 21st century, labor relations were less affected by labor unions, to which only 8 percent of private sector workers belonged in 2004, about half of the rate in 1983. The decline reflects the increase in labor relations consultants, who have helped managements avoid unionization (Anonymous, 2010). The presence of a union directly affects most aspects of Human Resources Management, including recruiting, selection, performance evaluation, promotion, compensation, and benefits, among others (Ivancevich, 2010, pg. 34). Unions were once thought of a being for blue-collar factory workers, but now even engineers, nurses, teachers, secretaries, salespersons, college professors, professional football players and even physicians belong to unions. Within my workplace, we have an ongoing informational and educational campaign against the unethical practices of recruitment and enticement for our employees. We offer seminars and counseling in regards to the unionization tactics. While facing declining membership, union officials have turned to highly questionable practice of organizing new members through a process called â€Å"card check†. With card checks, paid union organizers try to persuade workers to sign cards saying that they favor union representation. This persuasion comes in the form of deception, coercion, and harassing visits to worker’s homes. John Ivancevich describes this practice as the â€Å"authorization card† (Ivancevich, 2010, pg. 480). Under current laws, as soon as more than 50 percent of the workers sign a union authorization card, all employees within that organization will be required to participate in the union and pay union dues, even though not a single employee has actually been able to cast a personal, private vote. Often times, individual will sign the cards under intentional or unintentional misunderstandings or to get the organizer to stop harassing them, even though the employee may have no desire to join a union (Anonymous, 2010). Conclusion Human Resources Management is the heart of every organization. It serves as an advocate for each employee, while also protecting the organization from legal repercussions. Whether it is ensuring equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance, providing job analysis, planning for the future staffing needs and subsequent recruitment and selection of qualified candidates, each of these areas are vital to a well-organized corporation. The HRM is paramount in the motivation, training, and development of employees. Ensuring a positive orientation experience, and concise performance evaluation and compensation will aid in retention and job satisfaction. Finally, the HRM has an extremely important role in labor relations and ensuring the safety, health, and wellness of the workforce. References Anonymous. (2010). When voting isn’t Private. Retrieved on February 26, 2010 from website: http://www. unionfacts. com/articles/cardCheck. cfm Bradley, J. (2002). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved on 3/1/2010 from website: http://www. cdc. gov/niosh EEOC Office of Legal Counsel staff members (2006). Title VII: Affirmative Action. Retrieved on February 12, 2010 from website: http://www. eeoc. gov/eeoc/foia/letters/2006/vii_affimative_action. html Frontline. (2002). A Dangerous Business. Frontline Interview with John Henshaw. September 30, 2002. Retrieved on 3/2/2010 from website: http://osha. gov International Labour Organization. Retrieved on February 11, 2010 from website: http://wwwilo. org Ivancevich. J. (2010). Human resource management (11th ed. ). Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780073381466. US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved on February 10, 2010 from website: http://www. hhs. gov/ohr/workforce/wfpguide. html

Gamification

70 percent of global organizations will have incorporated gamification into at least one element of their training program by 2014 according to research firm Gartner. Gamification, put simply, is the use of game theory in platforms of interaction with employees, customers and the wider community. The advent of game technology allows training providers to integrate the positive reinforcements of gaming into the learning environment.While some may roll their eyes and make some assertion that big business is kowtowing to the younger crowd or that gamification is a passing fad, others embracing it and creating loyalty among customers and higher engagement among training participants. A common discussion among training specialists is the cost-effectiveness of training as some studies show that participants retain a mere 10% of content. Indeed, the prospect of sitting all day listening to someone talk about a topic that you have little interest in would test anyone’s tenacity for un divided attention.So while some readers would have already disengaged with this article (because they have little interest in the topic, maybe gamification would have been a better way to engage the nay-sayers to gamification) let us look further at why gamification works: Games give us real time feedback, if a participant gets something wrong they are corrected immediately. It does not wait for the participant to get back to the workplace, wait for the scenario to arise and fail with real-world clients or profits at stake. Games involve problem solving, which sparks our creativity.Games provide us with fun and enjoyment, which increases the motivation to continue playing and maintain our attention. Games involve goals which provide us with the motivation to complete the tasks. Games are based on storylines, storylines create affiliation and emotional attachment. Gamification could effectively destroy the need for those dreaded performance appraisals be it yearly or quarterly. As th e human resource professional in the organisation we are viewed as the uncool ogre come performance appraisal time. The line managers hate them, the employees fear them and we get sick of reminding everyone to do them.Gamification take the performance appraising away from line managers through developing a standardised inventory of correct answers, the employees are given goals promoting competition between departments, which increases social interaction between employees. The gamification pulls employees in rather than us as HR practitioners and leaders having to push the process onto them. It is amazing what a gold star can actually do. Positions that have KPI’s can now be set up as a game to beat your highest score, beat your co-worker with relevant rewards tied to it.

Rising Divorce Rate - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 934 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category Psychology Essay Level High school Tags: Divorce Essay Did you like this example? Humans are made to be live in Couple We all know that basic and most common sentence used for human society. More or less every culture accepts this thing. Well since last so many years (one can say when human didnt know about human phycology even) men living with women. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Rising Divorce Rate" essay for you Create order As the societies grew we gave the name to that bond, where a man lives his entire life with women and vice versa, called Marriage. Developed society gave Marriage a Legal status. Legal definition of marriage may very country to country and society to society. Marriage itself is joyful word in first look. Indeed there are so many aspects that will lead a human to marry. Thinking of getting married is exciting. One can count thousand good points for getting married, But There is one thing which is stick to marriage like curse since the starting of it. That is Divorce Breaking up of Marriage, Couples getting separated, that is divorce. Now lets think Why Divorce, Whey the ratio of it is increasing day by day in our society. I have here few points in that concern, some of which are very common since starting but some which are surprising reason of divorce in modern society. Most common reason of divorce is, two people are not comfortable with the way they live, most of the time this happens in the early stage of marriage may be between 6 to 12 months only. Hurrying up in getting married is also one of the most common reasons of divorce. That is also the situation where you dont get enough time to know your partner. Now lets move ahead where people spend enough time in marriage than also they get separated, here most common reason is extra marital affair. We all know what it is but thing is why. After spending enough time though, here the most common factor is difference of interest; men want something else after a certain stage and same is the case for women. Sometimes it can be economical condition of men that leads women to get separated. Child or Children, they can be the reason like where men dont ta ke proper care of their kiddo or in some cases women does that too. So these were the very common and well known reason for divorce, they were and they will always be good percentage of reason in divorce. Now lets focus on some of the surprising and wired (to some people) reasons why marriages are braking more often in todays world than it happen before. Sex LifeThis reason can change whole life at a large rather than marriage life. People are getting more sex addicted than before, reasons easy availability of 3Ps (porn, pimps and prostitutes). They lead people to have sex with more than a single partner (we can run horses of your imagination), and the habit of same can destroy once marriage life. Internet Dating: This is the place where you can lie as much as you want if the person you talking to is far from you. Some couples get marry via internet dating sites, in these cases there are more chances of getting cheated in marriage, you never know that the other fellow is already divorced or mother/father or getting married 2nd or 3rd time, these thin gs can break current marriage if come out at later stage. Live Free: Now this is the point where someone will hardly find negativity, two people getting separated from each other at good note, just because they want to be free and single again. This can sound wired to some people but yes now a days people are getting married with mutual consent just to get experience of marriage life. There by get separate, now these couple may stay together after divorce as well. Change in SexThis is one more reason which is leading divorce now a days. A man becoming interested in men and same for women, this is no harm to any one in marriage but a sex change can completely change entire life as well. One is left with no choice to get divorced if other fellow does a sex change until and unless the one is also feeling same. Celebs: Some people are so obsessed with celebs life that they also want to do what they do, sounds wired but we all know one case of a famous singer getting divorced overnight only after few hours of marriage. That really effect the youth following them, by watching such things they also dont hesitate in getting divorced without thinking. Polyamory Other Group Marriage Society: These can be much wired for some people, but yes now a day other types of marriage other than normal one where there are men is allowed to have multiple women as wives and same is the case with women. If one of the fellow form normal married couple is attracted to such married life normal marriage can get broken up. Nut Cell: Now here I am giving some more reasons in a nut cell why divorce rate is getting high, early marriages, getting married to different society people, like different culture or country , want of child in some cases , easy availability of partners even after divorce, more of a work and less of a family time. So these were the reasons I find fit to see as a major reasons behind Rising Divorce Rate. Some People say that Marriages are made in Heaven, if it is so I wish Divorces were only for Devil. Never leave your loved once until and unless its very necessary.