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.

Orca (Killer Whale - Orcinus orca) Facts

The killer whale, also known as the orca, is one of the most well-known types of whales. Killer whales are commonly the star attractions at large aquariums and due to these aquariums and movies, may also be known as Shamu or Free Willy. Despite their somewhat derogatory name and large, sharp teeth, fatal interactions between killer whales and humans in the wild have never been reported. (Read more about fatal interactions with captive orcas). Description With their spindle-like shape and beautiful, crisp black and white markings, killer whales are striking and unmistakable. The maximum length of killer whales is 32 feet in males and 27 feet in females. They can weigh up to 11 tons (22,000 pounds). All killer whales have dorsal fins, but the males is larger than females, sometimes reaching 6 feet tall. Like many other Odontocetes, killer whales live in organized family groups, called pods, which range in size from 10-50 whales. Individuals are identified and studied using their natural markings, which include a grayish-white saddle behind the whales dorsal fin. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: MammaliaOrder: CetaceaSuborder: OdontocetiFamily: DelphinidaeGenus: OrcinusSpecies: orca While killer whales were long considered to be one species, there now appear to be many species, or at least subspecies, of killer whales. These species/subspecies differ genetically and also in appearance. Habitat and Distribution According to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, killer whales are second only to humans as the most widely distributed mammal in the world. Even though they range across temperate areas of the oceans, killer whale populations are more concentrated around Iceland and northern Norway, along the northwestern coast of the U.S. and Canada, in the Antarctic and Canadian Arctic. Feeding Killer whales eat a wide array of prey, including fish, sharks, cephalopods, sea turtles, seabirds (e.g., penguins) and even other marine mammals (e.g., whales, pinnipeds). They have 46-50 cone-shaped teeth that they use to grasp their prey. Killer Whale Residents and Transients The well-studied population of killer whales off the western coast of North America has revealed that there are two separate, isolated populations of killer whales known as residents and transients. Residents prey on fish and move according to the migrations of salmon, and transients prey primarily on marine mammals such as pinnipeds, porpoises, and dolphins, and may even feed on seabirds. Resident and transient killer whale populations are so different that they dont socialize with each other and their DNA is different. Other populations of killer whales are not as well studied, but scientists think that this food specialization might occur in other areas as well. Scientists are now learning more about a third type of killer whale, called offshores, which live in the area from British Columbia, Canada to California, dont interact with resident or transient populations, and are not usually seen inshore. Their food preferences are still being studied. Reproduction Killer whales are sexually mature when they are 10-18 years old. Mating seems to take place throughout the year. The gestation period is 15-18 months, after which a calf about 6-7 feet long is born. Calves weigh about 400 pounds at birth and will nurse for 1-2 years. Females have calves every 2-5 years. In the wild, it is estimated that 43% of calves die within the first 6 months (Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, p.672). Females reproduce until they are about 40 years old. Killer whales are estimated to live between 50-90 years, with females generally living longer than males. Conservation Since 1964, when the first killer whale was captured for display in an aquarium in Vancouver, they have been a popular show animal, a practice that is becoming more controversial. Until the 1970s, killer whales were captured off the western coast of North America, until populations there began to decrease. Subsequently, since the late 1970s, killer whales captured in the wild for aquariums have mostly been taken from Iceland. Today, breeding programs exist in many aquariums and that has lessened the need for wild captures. Killer whales have also been hunted for human consumption or because of their predation on commercially-valuable fish species. They are also threatened by pollution, with the population off British Columbia and Washington state having extremely high levels of PCBs. Sources: American Cetacean Society. 2004. Orca (Killer Whale). (Online). American Cetacean Society Fact Sheet. Accessed February 27, 2010.Kinze, Carl Christian. 2001. Marine Mammals of the North Atlantic. Princeton University Press.Mead, James G. and Joy P. Gould. 2002. Whales and Dolphins In Question. Smithsonian Institution.Perrin, William F., Bernd Wursig and J.G.M. Thewissen. 2002. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press.

(1575)The Contradictions Of Profunc An Analysis Of The

(1575)The Contradictions of PROFUNC: An Analysis of the Problem of Human Rights and the Democratic Process in Cold War Canada In this political study the problem of human rights and the democratic process will be analyzed in the anti-communist contradictions of the covert Canadian operation called PROFUNC (PROminent FUNCtionaries of the communist party. PROFUNC defines a major problem with the democratic process by secretly monitoring and spying on communist party affiliates living in Canada in the aftermath of WWII. This Cold War policy not only sought to monitor communist, but it also sought to intern them in the potential WWWIII scenario with the Soviet Union. This type of policy defines a form of authoritarian type of governance that†¦show more content†¦It was a secret plan of the Canadian government to round up and imprison Canadian citizens who were communists or affiliated with communism. This plan, in hindsight, an indication of the extremes the Canadian government was willing to go through in its fight against communism (Chisholm 77). This type of secretive government program certainly defines the contradictions of a so-called democratic country, which has continually propagandized the idea of equal rights and the right of individuals to have different political ideas. The role of the RCMP actually presents a type of â€Å"police state† mentality that projects a threat to democracy as a part of human rights violations committed by the Canadian government during this time. The Cold Ear ideology of â€Å"capitalism versus communism† certainly created a hyper-reactionary dualism in Canadian politics, which viewed anyone who supported communism as an enemy of the state. PROFUNC certainly defines a concerted effort by government officials and the RCMP to monitor Canadian communists with the future potential of having them imprisoned during a time of war with the Soviet Union. Another problem with the PROFUNC program was that it was being used for monitoring and surveillance of worker’s unions and other anti-capitalist groups that did not directly support the Soviet communist ideology. Initially, the PROFUNC program was being utilized to stop the

Social Science for Health and Lifestyle- myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theSocial Science for Health and Lifestyle. Answer: Explanation of reasons for socio-economic differences The inner city versus the outer suburbs has been the perennial Australian divide. But the lifestyle differences of individuals who are living near the CBDs and those who are located towards the urban fringe has been growing (Balia and Jones, 2008). The host of the international indexes highlights that Australia has excellent liveable suburb. Individuals living in these parts have been diverging in numerous ways (Contoyannis and Jones, 2004). In this research it will explore some reasons as to why there is socio-economic differences in suburb. Arncliffe is the suburb which I resides in and the suburb which I will do the comparison with is Fairfield. The first reason for the socio-economic difference between these two suburb is the on the occupation rate. According to the research the central city of Sydney it has been restricted and there are development of the specialized producer services for example the office, hotel, convention, building apartment, as well as the entertainment cultural facilities (Hulse, Pawson, Reynolds and Herath, 2014). Based on the report on the table 9 Arncliffe suburb has been able to attain a higher professional workers as comparison to Fairfield which has a higher rate of the labourers which has caused a negative consequences to the historical sectoral and dismantled on the spatial redistribution mechanism (Occupation, 2011 Census). Additionally, the higher rate of the labourers has resulted to the lack of the educational qualification particularly to the areas which are away from the CBD. Another reason which could cause the socio-economic difference is the rate of the employment. Based on the research it is evident that Arncliffe has a higher percentage of the workers who work full time and there is a small amount of individuals who are unemployed (Hulse, Pawson, Reynolds and Herath, 2014). Arncliffe is situated in the inner part of Sydney and the suburb provides an easy access to the high level of the job creation. In comparison to Fairfield it is evident that it is located in an area which is far, where the opportunity for the jobs is slightly efficient as a result of the small rate of the creation of jobs, making the rate of unemployment to be high. Another reason of the socio-economic difference is that of the dwelling on the mortgage and rent. According to the census data it highlights that the rent payment for the Arncliffe is much higher than Fairfield that relate to many aspects. The first factor to the high rent rate has been associated to the issue of location. Arncliffe is located in the inner parts of the Sydney where the jobs are paid better and the rate of population is higher. When compared to Fairfield it has been located away from the CBD. The next reason for the socio-economic difference is cultural and the language diversity. Based on the census, Arncliffe a higher percentage of 51.8% against that of Fairfield which is 32.7%. According to social scientist they have suggested that the cultural diversity in a nation could lead to the societal instability (McKenzie, Pizzica, Gosper, Malfroy and Ashford-Rowe, 2014). The cultural diversity and the language could be said to result to the outcome which can less likely be defined in terms of the social aspects. The benefits of the aspects are disrupted by the aspect of discrimination and the racism, which has been a challenge to the social cohesion particularly in the Australian society. References Balia, S. and Jones, A.M., 2008. Mortality, lifestyle and socio-economic status. Journal of health economics, 27(1), pp.1-26. Contoyannis, P. and Jones, A.M., 2004. Socio-economic status, health and lifestyle. Journal of health economics, 23(5), pp.965-995. Hulse, K., Pawson, H., Reynolds, M. and Herath, S.K., 2014. Disadvantaged places in urban Australia: analysing socio-economic diversity and housing market performance. McKenzie, J., Pizzica, J., Gosper, M., Malfroy, J. and Ashford-Rowe, K., 2014. Socio-economic status and students experiences of technologies: Is there a digital divide?. ASCILITE2014.

The Atlantic Charter Essay Research Paper THE free essay sample

The Atlantic Charter Essay, Research Paper THE ATLANTIC CHARTER AUGUST 14.1941 The President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, stand foring His Majesty # 8217 ; s Government in the United Kingdom, being met together, deem it right to do known certain common rules in the national policies of their several states on which they base their hopes for a better hereafter for the universe. First, their states seek no aggrandisement, territorial or other ; Second, they desire to see no territorial alterations that do non harmonize with the freely uttered wants of the peoples concerned ; Third, they respect the right of all peoples to take the signifier of gov- ernment under which they will populate ; and they wish to see autonomous rights and self authorities restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them ; Fourth, they will endeavour, with due regard for their existing obli- gations, to foster the enjoyment by all States, great or little, master or vanquished, of entree, on equal footi ngs, to the trade and to the natural mater- ials of the universe which are needed for their economic prosperity ; Fifth, they desire to convey about the fullest coaction between all states in the economic field with the object of securing, for all, impro- ved labour criterions, economic promotion and societal security ; Sixth, after the concluding devastation of the Nazi dictatorship, they hope to see established a peace which will afford to all states the agencies of dwel- Trapa bicornis in safety within their ain boundaries, and which will afford confidence that all the work forces in all lands may populate out their lives in freedom from fright and want ; Seventh, such a peace should enable all work forces to track the high seas and oceans without hinderance ; Eighth, they believe that all of the states of the universe, for real- istic every bit good as religious grounds must come to the forsaking of the usage of force. We will write a custom essay sample on The Atlantic Charter Essay Research Paper THE or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Since no future peace can be maintained if land, sea or air arm- catkins continue to be employed by states which threaten, or may endanger, aggression outside of their frontiers, they believe, pending the establish- ment of a wider and lasting system of general security, that the disarma- ment of such states is indispensable. They will likewise assistance and promote all other operable step which will buoy up for peaceable peoples the oppressing load of armaments. Franklin D. Roosevelt Winston S. Churchill