Serving In Florida Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Serving In Florida - Essay Example The story â€Å"serving in Florida† is a story about a woman, Barbara Enrenreich, who started her life on a â€Å"low-wage life† in the Key West of Florida.  Among her  main  fears is that some locals may  possibly  recognize  her.  This recognition from locals interferes with her  main  task of investigating lives of the working poor. Barbara starts her life in Florida with an allotment of about $1,300 (Ehrenreich 16). The  amount  seemed too convenient to  enable  her pay two months’ rent on the apartment she rented. Afterwards, she embarks on hunting for a job. As her search for  job  continues, she realizes that there is no correlation between the number of vacancies or jobs available with the amount number of the available adverts. Moreover, it became apparent to her that the low wage jobs had high turnover. The high turnover  job  markets  facilitate  the main restaurants and hotels to keep the ads running. Regardless o f the tussle in the job search, the author proceeded with job search, and  eventually  managed to be hired. Her first job experience in Florida was the  application  of the job to the Winn-Dixie that had a computerized interview. The question asked wanted her to  determine  the  amount  of dollar  worth  the stolen goods the  prospective  employee had purchased in the previous year, or would he or she have turned in one of the employee to  steal. The  final  computer interview question was, â€Å"are you an honest person?†... Barbara engages herself into  several  job searches; however, she declines to  accept  the job offer at the Hearthside restaurant. The rejection might be because Barbara contemplates on spending  additional  $2.15 per hour on the trips that are associated with that job. Nonetheless, she settles in being a  waiter, and a  waiter  named Gail takes the  task  of training Barbara. Gail is a  woman  in her forties, has ever been homeless, and has for most her life  spend  her nights in her truck. Just recently, her boyfriend is murdered in prison. Another waiter by the name Joan also starts liking Barbara. Joan has three kids to whom she raises in a mobile home all by herself. There seems to be a  tremendous  generosity within these women that have never been noticed. Some of these traits are witnessed in their extra croutons in serving salad whenever the  management  allow  them to only  extra  six, or an  extra  rolls whenever the  manag ement  allow  them only one. Barbara after a while begins to develop these traits of  generosity  and caring, particularly towards customers and her coworkers. These ideals are clearly demonstrated, when Barbara clienteles and serves customers and her fellow workers with the  best  of  dinner  experiences she  acquired  before she became a narcotic (Ehrenreich 293). It is  apparent  that as Barbara is carrying out her duties as a waiter, she  truly  accomplishes her  mission  of investigating the lives of the poor employees. One day while wrapping some silverware, Gail told Barbara that she (Gail) was contemplating of hiring a  room  that would cost her between $40 and $60 per day (Ehrenreich 48). Barbara then asks her why she could  go  for

Implementation of the Hand-off Communication Tool Assignment

Implementation of the Hand-off Communication Tool - Assignment Example They typically occur during shift changes. Inadequate communication has been cited as a major cause of medical errors (Reisenberg, Leitzsch, & Cunningham, 2010). Researchers who were exploring the causes and nature of human error in intensive care settings found out that verbal communication between nurse and physicians contributed to 37% of medical errors (Reisenberg, Leitzsch, & Cunningham, 2010). In an Australian study, more than 14,000 admissions were investigated. The study revealed that approximately 17% of the cases had an adverse event closely associated to it. Among the 17% of the cases, 11 percent were attributed to communication errors (Reisenberg, Leitzsch, & Cunningham, 2010). According to TRICARE (2005), the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) requires that institutions of healthcare ought to implement a standardized approach to handoff communications in an effort to meet the ever growing need of patient safety. Current Scenario The cur rent tool in use has been associated with a number of delays. Nurses would file reports indicating that beds were not ready; patients missed their medication, nurses themselves not being ready and the absence of vital patient information. A questionnaire was submitted to healthcare personnel in an effort determine the cause of the delays. ... In other clinical nursing scenarios, many errors have been identified that have resulted from communication problems. For instance omission of critical information as a result of poor communication between healthcare personnel, miscommunication that has results in misunderstanding of information, inability of the receiving nurse to contact the ongoing nurse due to communication problems, use of communication tools like reports that often become too routine and result in loss of focus by many healthcare personnel (Ong, &Coiera, 2011). Other problems arising due to absence of standard communication procedure include idle chatting during handoffs that dilutes the importance of handoffs, illegible handwriting in reports, reports with judgmental statements, absence of research on handoffs and data that is in support of best practices, ethnic, cultural and racial barriers which interfere with communication channels, language barriers that frustrate efforts to communicate effectively, and s taff who resist change that comes with implementation of new routines (Reisenberg, Leitzsch, & Cunningham, 2010). Implementation I pass the baton is a technique that was designed with a primary purpose of streamlining the handoff process and have a well established and standardized means of communication. The main idea behind the use of this tool is to minimize information loss and more importantly ensure that exchange of information occurs in a timely manner and with a high level of accuracy. The culture and needs of a healthcare institution often dictate how the technique will be utilized. I pass the baton stands for I-introduction, P-patient, A- assessment, S-situation, S-safety concerns, B-background, A-actions, T-timing, O-ownership, N-next. This tool requires that a

Personnel management and human resource management

Personnel management and human resource management Topic â€Å"Personnel Management Human Resource Management the same wine, only different bottle†. Explain clearly, what is meant by the term human resource management, noting the differences and similarities to personnel management. Argue in favor of one approach to managing employees. Introduction In this document we plan to assess how human resource management is different from personnel management, why companies switched from personnel management system to the well known human resource management system, how is HR Management different from Personnel management, and why we chose the HR approach to employees. Human Resource Management Definition There are many definitions of what human resource management is, many people think that there is no difference between the old personnel management practices and the new human resource practices expect the new â€Å"label†, one definition that we think reflects the human resource management of today is : â€Å"Human Resource Management is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques.† Background All organisations, from small firms to giant corporations, from service companies to hi-tech organisations, engage in human resource management activities. They needs to utilise their resources effectively in order to achieve their objectives and targets. Human Resource Management is an issue of vital concern to all managers, and is the most important resource which employs all other resources to produce the desired outcome of the organisation. Thus the effective deploying of employees is a key element that adds to the competitive advantage of the firm (Molander, 1989). However, as globalisation and growing economic interdependence among nations emerged, along with rapid socio-economic changes and intensifying of the competition between organisations, the management of people increasingly became a critical issue for businesses. Therefore Personnel Management has to ensure that personnel policies and practices are geared to the objectives and strategy of the organisation in order to cope with the turbulent environment and respond to the new business needs and the external threats from the competitors. Consequently, this resulted in perpetual development and change of personnel management. In this respect the language of Human Resource Management has emerged to translate a new term for the management of employees in this active and changing world. However, the literature demonstrates a debate about the ambiguity of differentiating personnel from human resource management. Hendry (1995:55) states that: â€Å"Human Resource Management has gained rapid and widespread acceptance as a new term for managing employment. It remains, however; an ambiguous concept. People question whether it is any different from the traditional personnel management, nor it is clear what it consists in practice†. Some scholars however argue that HRM is an evolution of the process of personnel management (PM) and not a new theory of management employees, for example according to Torrington and Hall (1993:3): â€Å" personnel management is experiencing the biggest change in its history. Many commentators believed that the arrival of human resource management was to be the greatest change in emphasis, but that was no more than re-thinking the process inside the organisation..†. Similarly Guest (1987) also supports this notion by saying that label has changed whilst the content continues to be the same. On the other hand, other writers attempt to make a distinction between HRM and PM. Hendry and Pettigrew (1990:25) state that â€Å"HRM is then a perspective on personnel management, not personnel management itself†. Additionally, they argue that the strategic character of HRM is distinctive. Underpinning this distinction, Legge (1995) identifies three features differentiating HRM from PM where the former is concerned with managerial staff and promotes integrated line management activities, with more focus on senior management being involved in the management of culture. The developing countries are characterised by weak economic, legal and political institutions that lead to corruption, insecurity, conflict and lack of competitiveness in labour, technology and skills. The introduction of trade liberalisation and increased international competition in such conditions can have serious consequences for the infant industries in the developing countries (Stiglitz, 2000). However it is generally claimed that opening to the global markets increases the flow of foreign direct investment into the developing countries, allows them to catch up with the latest technology without need for considerable investment or research, bring capital into the country, build expertise, induce innovation, and thus contribute to the general economic growth. Francois and Schuknecht (2000) provide some empirical evidence that openness to global markets leads to GDP growth. These findings are of course challenged by others. The Term â€Å"Human Resource† comes from 2 different fields, in political economy and economics it is known as labor and it is one of the four factors of production for any establishment. Nowadays â€Å"human resource† is one of the most important departments in any organization, compared to the old days where human resource was seen as a marginal department, where improvement and strategic planning wasnt needed. The Human Resource System started back in the 19th, where two important movements occurred that changed the way companies and industries would treat their workforce, the first two companies in the 19th to do so were Cadbury and Bournville that recognized the importance of looking after their employees, and their families by offering them benefits or services that would help them in their daily work. After the second world war, major companies in the USA that just emerged in the market, started hiring personnel from the military and thus where able to apply new, selections, training, leadership and management development. The role of Human Resource Management shifted throughout the middle of the 20th century, when critics started saying that two different HR systems where created, the â€Å"soft† and â€Å"hard† systems, where the soft HR system focused on areas such as leadership, cohesion, and loyalty which was seen as an important role in the organization, and the â€Å"hard† side which was the old system of the human resource where organizations still viewed human resource as a marginal department that didnt need improvement and strategic planning, and that employees would be used as commodities. Purpose and Role The purpose and role of human resource management is to maximize the return on investment of the organization from the human capital and to minimize its financial risk, Human resource seeks to achieve the organizations goals and objective by hiring skilled and qualified individuals and by aligning the capabilities of the current workforce, the human resource department must support and respect the workforce and take into account legal and ethical practices. Key Functions The key functions of human resource are to set strategic planning and develop policies and systems to be implemented in a whole range of areas in the organization, such as the following: Recruitment and Selection Organizational design and development Performance, conduct and behavior management Industrial and employee relations Management of workforce personnel data Compensation, rewards and benefits management Training and development Trends and Influences In order for the Human Resource function to know the business environment in which the organization operates, it needs to take into calculation three major trends. Demographics The characteristics of a workforce or population such as gender, age or social status need to taken into consideration, the result of this trend may have an effect on the organization and its policies toward the workforce/employees, such as pension offerings, insurance packages and so on. Diversity The diversity within a workforce or population might also affect the organization and its policies, by diversity we mean race, gender, sexual orientation and so on. As an example organizations of today might notice that the majority of the workforce is made up of â€Å"baby-boomers† or older employees, so the focus of their benefits and policies might also change. Skills and qualifications As todays organizations and industries go from a manual to a more managerial focus, so does the need of organizations to hire highly skilled graduates, in a tight market, meaning that there arent many employees or workforce, organizations and companies might compete for employees by offering them different benefits or rewards. Structure Human resource development is the main structure of this function, where employees are viewed by organizations as assets rather than commodities, where developing the workforce will benefit greatly the organization, and allows its workforce for individual development, where the employee, organization and nation will benefit from this. â€Å"Human resources primary focus is in the growth and employee developmentit emphasizes developing individual potential and skills†. (Elwood, Olton and Trott 1996) Ethical Management This new Human resource practices and function is seen today as a more ethical approach to employee management, where the organization is trying to grow its employees skills and knowledge, rather than using its workforce as commodities, that can be replaced anytime. Differences and Similarities to Personnel Management There have been many debates about whether Personnel Management and Human Resource management is the same thing, just with a different name, but after some research into this matter people came up with some differences between the two functions. Human resource management is focused more on long-term planning, where organizations develop and train their employees for the future benefit of the company, where Personnel management is focused on the short-term planning where employees are treated just as commodities and arent given any or slim training in their respective field, In the planning process human resource management focuses on a proactive and integrated strategic planning, where the department plans for the future of employees and its organization, where personnel management has a more reactive and marginal approach to planning, meaning that organizations that plan to use personnel management see this department as a marginal, not so important and doesnt accord any strategic planning to it. The psychological contract of human resources is focused on commitment, where employees will become committed to their work, throw development of skills or career, thus increasing productivity within the organization, in the other hand, personnel management focuses on compliance, where employees are seen as commodities and are required to do their job and tasks as they are given by the manager without room for personal development. The employee relation in this two workforce management systems are totally different, in human resource management the relation between the employer and the employees is seen as one of the most important in the organization, where employees are the asset of the company, there is high trust between the employer and the employees and they are treated in a unitarist and individual way; where in personnel management, employee relation is focused on a pluralist and collective system, where the organization or personnel management has low trust toward his employees, treating them in a collective perspective. The structure and system of the two functions are different too, where human resources structure is more organic, where teamwork is the focus for the workforce, meaning that the organization takes into consideration the needs of their employees, where the main focus for the organization is the workforce and not the product or service, where in personnel management the spotlights are on the product or service and the its structure is more Bureaucratic, meaning the needs and wants of employees are not taken into consideration by the organization, with pre-defined roles for each employee, and its system is centralized, compared to the human resources individual system and its flexible roles offered to their employees. These two functions are evaluated in different ways too, where in human resource management evaluation is done throw maximum utilization, where organization try to maximize their employee potential rather than cost minimization like in personnel management. Our Point of View For those who recognize a difference between personnel management and human resources, the difference can be described as philosophical. Personnel management is more administrative in nature, dealing with payroll, complying with employment law, and handling related tasks. Human resources, on the other hand, are responsible for managing a workforce as one of the primary resources that contributes to the success of an organization. Our point of view regarding which of these two approaches to employee management is better, is that human resource management is better in the long-run, where personnel management would have an advantage in the short-term and in some industries like manufacturing where people posses no or low skills and knowledge; after reading both meaning and seeing their differences and similarities in their practices we can say that human resources has a more ethical approach to employees and that productivity and performance can be increased throw this function rather than by using personnel management. We chose human resource management because more and more employee are looking for a workplace where their work and family can be related, where he feels needed and where the organization will help him develop his skills and knowledge, throw training and coaching. To some people it might sound like there is no difference between the two functions, as it was said â€Å"the same wine, only different bottle†, but we dont agree with this statement since it can be seen clearly that its a â€Å"new wine, in the same bottle† where the â€Å"wine† defines how the function is structured and what it focuses on and the â€Å"bottle† meaning the organizations goals and objective, as we can see from many big companies like McDonalds or Burger King, human resource management is the way to go. Personnel management can be simply explained as â€Å"Play by rules†. There would be some pre-determined laws, rules and regulations which are supposed to be followed by the workers. If not followed reprimands and punishments would follow. This type of management is best suited for manufacturing industries where the employee education level is low and they are in need of personnel to manage them. On the other hand, human resource management is a type of management where the employees are considered as one of the assets of the company. They are not just considered as means of producing something but they are considered as the key role in the organizations operation. More importance is given to the people than to the rules and regulations here. This set up works well in service based industries where creativity, customer service, knowledge, ideas are employed. When a difference between personnel management and human resources is recognized, human resources are described as much broader in scope than personnel management. Human resources is said to incorporate and develop personnel management tasks, while seeking to create and develop teams of workers for the benefit of the organization. A primary goal of human resources is to enable employees to work to a maximum level of efficiency. Personnel management is often considered an independent function of an organization. Human resource management, on the other hand, tends to be an integral part of overall company function. Personnel management is typically the sole responsibility of an organizations personnel department. With human resources, all of an organizations managers are often involved in some manner, and a chief goal may be to have managers of various departments develop the skills necessary to handle personnel-related tasks. References Cornelius, N. (2001). Human Resource Management. Cornwall: Thomson Learning. G.N, M. (2006). Human Resource Development. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Raffle, J. (2004). Advances in Developing Human Resources Vol 6. Boston: HR Learning. SHRM. (2008, August 23). Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from SHRM: http://www.shrm.org

Two Great Rebellion Films :: essays research papers

Rebellion is a common topic in movies because it draws in audiences with its bad boys and bad attitudes. Two of the greatest rebellion movies of all time are Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean, and Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. The opening scene in Rebel Without a Cause shows a drunken teenage boy lying in the street, giggling, while he plays with a toy. The directors of these two films show rebellion using the same elements: themes, characters, and memorable scenes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In both films, the main characters are all rebelling against common things that audiences can relate to. In Rebel Without a Cause, Jim Stark is rebelling against his parents because he is upset with the fact that his father will not stand up to his mother. His girlfriend, Judy, is also rebelling against her parents, but for a different reason. Her father refuses to give her any affection because she is too â€Å"grown up.† Jim’s friend, Plato, is rebelling against his parents because they have abandoned him. These three characters rebel in many ways. Jim and Judy both smoke because they were told not to. Plato shot and killed puppies to get attention. Jim and Judy are both involved in a gang because it is â€Å"wrong.† Jim and Judy both pay a visit to jail: Jim because he is drunk and Judy because she ran away from home. In Bonnie and Clyde, Clyde Barrow is rebelling against the law and the common way of making a living. He rebels by robbing b anks. Bonnie also rebels against the law and her old life working as a poor waitress in a small town. She rebels by helping Clyde rob banks. C. W. Moss rebels against his overbearing father. Buck Barrow rebels against the law, but his wife is never too keen on the whole rebellion thing. Clyde, Bonnie, C. W., and Buck all rebel by robbing banks and stores, stealing cars, and killing. C. W. also rebels by getting a tattoo on his chest because he knows that his father will not approve of it. The theme of rebellion can be seen in both films by showing what the characters rebel against and how they rebel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Comparable characters can be seen in both films. Jim Stark is just like Clyde Barrow in that they are both the leading men and the main rebels. They are also played by cute actors.

Prohibition Research

Others suggested that those who drank should be: D hung by the tongue beneath an airplane and flown over the country o exiled to concentration camps in the Aleutian Islands o excluded from any and all churches o forbidden to marry tortured o branded o whipped o sterilized o tattooed o placed in battleship cages in public squares o forced to swallow two ounces of caster oil a executed, as well as their progeny to the fourth generation. ; A major prohibitionist group, the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WEST) taught as â€Å"scientific fact† that the majority of beer drinkers die from droopier (edema or swelling). Prohibition agents routinely broke the law themselves. They shot innocent people and regularly destroyed citizens' vehicles, homes, businesses, and vii other valuable property. They even illegally sank a large Canadian ship. Bathtub gird' got its name from the fact that alcohol, glycerin and juniper jug was mixed in bottles or jugs too tall to be filled with water from a sink tap so they were commonly filled under a bathtub tap. The speakeasy got its name because one had to whisper a code word or name through a slot in a locked door to gain admittance.Prohibition led to widespread disrespect for law. New York City alone had about thirty thousand (yes, 30,000) speakeasies. And even public leaders flaunted their disregard for the law. They included the Speaker of the united States House of Representatives, who owned and operated an illegal still. Some desperate and unfortunate people during Prohibition falsely believed t hat the undrinkable alcohol in antifreeze could be made safe and drinkable by filtering it through a loaf of bread. It couldn't and many were seriously injured or xi killed as a result.In Los Angels, a jury that had heard a bootlegging case was itself put on trial after it drank the evidence. The jurors argued in their defense that they had simply been sampling the evidence to determine whether or not it contained alcohol, whic h they determined it did. However, because they consumed the evidence, the defendant charged with bootlegging had to be acquitted. When the ship, Washington, was launched, a bottle of water rather than xiii Champagne, was ceremoniously broken across its bow. Prohibition led to a boom in the cruise industry.By taking what were advertise deed as â€Å"cruises to nowhere,† people could legally consume alcohol as soon as the ship entered international waters where they would typically cruise in circles. National Prohibition not only failed to prevent the consumption of alcohol, buy led to the extensive production of dangerous unregulated and untaxed alcohol 01, the development Of organized crime, increased violence, and massive political irruption. The human body produces its own supply of alcohol naturally on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Therefore, we always have alcohol in our bodies.Prohibition clearly benefited some people. Notorious bootlegger AY Ca pons made sixty million dollars†¦ Per year (untaxed! ) while the average industrial worker earned less than $1 ,OHO per year. But not everyone benefited. By the time Prohibition was repealed, nearly 800 gangsters in the City of Chicago alone had been killed in battleground shootings. And, of course, thousands of citizens were killed, blinded, or xviii realized as a result of drinking contaminated bootleg alcohol. The â€Å"Father of Prohibition,† Congressman Andrew J. Evolutes, was defeated shortly after Prohibition was imposed.

College Admission Essay

IntroductionI am writing this admission essay with the hope that I can a secure a place as a student in Bates College. Knowing that Bates College has been ranked as one of the best liberal art colleges nationally prompts me to send my admission letter to your institution. Besides its national accolade, learning of Bates' unique timetable that allows students to take advantage of abroad programs and its expansive offering of courses, equipped with the latest facilities and resources drew me to enroll to this college to help me accomplish my academic goals.Life ExperienceGrowing up in a small community, I had an inherent sense of unity in connection with my neighborhood collective. I lived in a society where neither skin color nor religious choice mattered. This sentiment among the community members did not last forever, though. Some residents formed a small religious group which incited other members of the society against a certain religion. They claimed that a particular religion wa s more superior to the other and urged everyone in the town to convert to that religion – a failure to covert would result in being chased away and even killed. This installed fear in our small society but neither religion was willing to negotiate, for each believed theirs was the correct spiritual path. What seemed to be a mere conflict transformed into a outright war. My community members began killing each other, women were raped, and others   were forced to flee to other towns for protection. These incidents lead to trauma: the people in our community that fled have been living in the fear of another attack and the terrible memories are still fresh in their minds. This experience inspired me to major in psychology to help erase these painful memories from  their minds and also bring a way forward for my community. I feel that attending Bates College would help me accomplish my goals.What I Look Forward To If AcceptedBates College is known for excellence in teaching as well as in learning. It offers state-of-the-art facilities, resources and programs which will be of great assistance to my psychology program – and in turn, my community. Resources such the library, imaging and computing center, as well as archives and special collection will make my learning easier. I al so read that the college offers funding for research, which will be of aid to my endeavors in finding a solution my communities' dilemma, if I can receive such assistance. If I am given a chance to join the ranks of Bates College, I will make the best out of the opportunity. My research assures me that the college has a Diversity and Inclusion Office of Intercultural Education. I would engage myself with learning how this office operates so as to intermingle with people from different cultures, religions and places, enabling me to learn how to connect with people from various life-circumstances. This educational experience will directly reflect on my career aspirations involving my communities' maladies. Bates College also allows students to take advantage of abroad programs. This program would especially be of great help to me, as I believe traveling to different places will supply me with a more comprehensive understanding of my studies.ConclusionI see this opportunity to join a prestigious college like Bates not only as a pathway to personal success, but as an educational endeavor that will provide me with a tool-set that will be able to handle the trauma of reality: the catastrophes that have occurred in my community. I am sincerely dedicated to the cause of my  fellow townsmen, and believe their recovery is assured if given the chance. Though you may consider my case special in terms of personal history, I would argue that every student's education is not solely for themselves, but rather for the greater good.