A Birds Eye View Essays

A Birds Eye View Essays A Birds Eye View Paper A Birds Eye View Paper It was a long summers day and the faint breeze blowing at me, but refreshing me as I passed under a tree. I felt the relief from the baking sun that was beating down on me and everything within reach. As I soared past the familiar sight, I had arrived to my home. I progressed swiftly up the spiral stone steps leading into a turret. It was strong and made out of roughly hewn, grey bricks, which at the present were quite rustic but charming. I could see for miles on end up here. The sky stretched out above me like an insipid blue sheet, every now and then, peppered with wispy, buoyant clouds that just seemed to hang there in the balance. The display beneath were merely squares and oblongs sewn together, it looked rather much like an enormous patched-work quilt. The fields were divided up with trees and hedges compiling of different greens and yellows. The cars and houses resembled little toys from a distance, and the farmers were ploughing through their rippling, satin-like fields, haymaking and patently getting ready for harvest. Autumn was approaching, it had been a year, but yet I still cannot forget. I found the whole house quite bizarre really. Wherever I seemed to go I would feel this kind of presence and coldness that seemed to be indescribable. It made me feel like some futile, inane supernatural believer. I felt quite weird being in such a large room so I decided to have a wonder around this grand house. The family had told me to feel at home and so I took the liberty of exploiting their hospitality and explored the old house. Talking about the family, they seemed very accommodating and friendly, and if it hadnt been for them, well, I would have still been in the middle of nowhere, I suppose. I wished that my father hadnt lived in such a derelict and deserted place. The weird thing is I dont really remember how I ended up there. They explained that they found me unconscious in my car although I found it strange when they were repeating to me the events because it sounded like I was just asleep. Nevertheless I was very gracious for their hospitality and I felt quite comfortable staying there. After all I would be going in a couple of hours. Each room that I entered gave the impression that I was not alone and the chill was still as palpable as ever. The night before, I recall hearing strange noises. It was like there were other people who had witnessed these weird happenings, but I was engulfed with tiredness that it could have been all a warped dream. Before I could progress any further, the butler appeared right in front of me. This startled me a little and he presented me with a plateful of breakfast delights. I hadnt eaten anything since the day before so I dug in at once. Wow, these look amazing, did you make them yourself? I asked. The butler didnt answer, and before I could question his silence, he had placed the plate down on a big oak table and departed the dining room. Soon all the family members started to file in and I thanked them again for their generosity and informed them of my departure. But that would be unwise! exclaimed the father. Im sorry, I replied in bewilderment. I mean well it seems like youre going to have to stay here for a while longer as there was a storm yesterday and many of the roads are closed so Im afraid you wont be leaving today he tailed off in a suspiciously. I wasnt sure how to reply, I mean these people had been really humble to me; I didnt want to offend them or anything. Well okay, I suppose I could stay here for another night or so, I mean I dont want to be a nuisance or outstay my welcome I looked sincerely at the family. Its not a problem, we like having another creature in the house remarked the mother. What she said bemused me a little, but I tried to keep a bemused look from creeping on to my face and instead gave a short smile back to the mother. but Im going to have to let my father know, I mean he was expecting me yesterday, so would it be possible to use the telephone, its just I cant seem to find my phone? I asked anxiously. Im sorry that wont be possible, the lines are all dead, said the father stiffly, and afterwards subsequently he walked off in a soldier-like manner. His loquacious nature had disappeared entirely. Now all the warmth of a loving family that I had felt the night before was gradually starting to vanish. When everyone else had finished breakfast, I was left there by myself. I hadnt felt out of place before but now I felt I was getting the cold shoulder. I wanted to get out of this place but I couldnt or maybe I could. I couldnt possibly talk to these people again after that little display, so I rushed back up to my room and searched for my bag. I took out a pen and a notepad and started to scribble down a sorry note. I paused, what would I say? That I couldnt actually talk to them because they were creepy. Scrap this idea I thought, Id just tell them face to face thats the least they deserved. I slipped on my jacket and grabbed my bag, hurryingly. I had rummaged every room but no one was to be seen anywhere until I reached the living room. The fire flickered and danced around the room, filling the room with a warm but a peculiar glow. The whole family was sat there eyeing me. A disturbing feeling rooted at the pit of my stomach. Im sorry, but as much as youve welcomed me here, I really do have to go now. I blurted out as quickly as I could pronounce the words. I thanked them yet again, and when I didnt hear a reply, I jammed my eyes shut and turned around to face the powering main door. I walked steadily towards it hoping that they would not impede or obstruct me from making my escape. Every step I took, the floorboards creaked in an eerie manner causing a cold sweat to cover me. As I managed to reach the door, I heard another set of feet following me. I didnt dare to turn round I didnt. I grabbed for the door handle and turned it with a quick cocking motion, but unsurprisingly it didnt open. I knew it, I murdered under my panting breath. I had no choice but to turn around. A tunnel of darkness pierced occasionally with flashes of brilliant light that surged out of the living room with a silhouette of who looked to be the mother. She was closing in on me although I couldnt see her face but her eyes still remained vivid and there was a glimmer of a smile in them. It was then, snip- its of my life flashed before my eyes. Why? Am I dying? I could see petal-like wings with a camouflaged dress that I somewhat admired on the woman. Her cheeks were rosy and soft but colourless at the same time. As she approached me, I dropped to the ground; it was like all my energy had been captivated out of me. What was happening? I kept questioning myself but I didnt have any answers. My vision started to blur and the last image I had was my reflection in her mirrored eyes. I could feel pain on my shoulder blades and the feel of ruffled feathers began to emerge, there was this unbreakable bond between us. Stop it! I shouted in agony. Stop it, youre hurting me. But they didnt listen. I strained my eyes and searched further a field and saw a thin road stretching away into the distance like a grey ribbon. Everything was as calm as a summers sea. The sun faded into a haze of amber and gold, filling the land with shadow. As I became restless and agitated, I peered down and immediately I felt a wave of dizziness and nausea wash over me. Everyone and everything was departing from the scene, abandoning me, all alone, deserted on top of a castle. I looked at the view for a few seconds but then a sudden wind gushed past me, which caused the flag to flap and my wings to spread. Nobody will ever notice that Im gone, Im all alone and no-one can know what I am. Ive always wondered what it would be like to fly and now I actually can, I dont want to anymore. Every second I spend thinking about what everyone looks like. What my family look like, but I cant see them I wouldnt be able to face them. Maybe one day a miracle will happen but in the mean time I can only wallow in my own pain. Although I still dont know why.

Samuels imaginative use of dramatic techniques and stagecraft Essays

Samuels imaginative use of dramatic techniques and stagecraft Essays Samuels imaginative use of dramatic techniques and stagecraft Paper Samuels imaginative use of dramatic techniques and stagecraft Paper we, as spectators know the answer and reason as to why Helga is acting this way towards her child. Shortly after the relationship between Eva and Helga is portrayed, a cross-cut with the parallel story of Faith and Evelyn is then revealed. During the play Samuels creates a dual time frame and flicks the story between two time periods, through the introduction of more modern, recently invented props such as televisions and the stage directions instructing that only Evelyn acknowledges Eva and Helga, yet she ignores them due to her repression of past memories, Samuels suggests the juxtaposition to the audience. She does this to show the deep similarities between the two relationships, the situation with Faith and Evelyn seems to echo the past of Eva and Helga, to give a more dramatic impact of the interaction between the characters. Furthermore, another reason as to why Samuels makes use of this technique is again linked to her method of dramatic irony and placing the audience in an all-knowing position as the happenings of Eva and the things she experiences give us insight as what Evelyn is thinking and shown her secret past and memories, a gift the rest of the characters are not granted. Evelyns character shows powerful connections with Helgas disposition, both mothers are reserved and show little emotion. Although as the play progresses Helga becomes more vulnerable to her love towards her daughter and loses her control and self restriction, a defining moment in the play is shown when Eva gets on the Kindertransport train ready to depart to England and through her dialogue and subtle description of her parents actions at the time, for instance Youre knocking too hard, your knuckles are going red. The audience is made aware that both mother and father have gone from calm, controlled personas, to hysterical, distressed and desperate at the concept of losing their daughter, perhaps forever. Simultaneously, whilst Helga does not abandon her emotional repression until the very last minute when Eva leaves, Evelyn in turn stays restricted throughout the play until towards the end of the play as she finally confronts her past and instinctively battles with her former self a nd fears. A slight amount of her emotional repression has been chipped away and the audience may have sympathy for Helga during the scene as she has been stripped away of her whitewash and endured the very thing shes always feared the most, reminiscing her painful memories. As she earlier remarked, Evelyn has now been pricked into exposing her weaknesses and the audience is left to wonder whether or not she will recover from these emotional scars at the end of the play or will she bleed forever. Both daughters within the play, Eva and Faith long for their mothers to show love and sentiment. Neither children truly wish to leave their childhood homes and leave as many possible opportunities for their mothers to abandon all responsibility and efficiency, and want their daughters to stay with them. Much of Evelyns characteristics can be revealed through Samuels use of props within stage directions. Throughout almost the entire play, Evelyn continuously polishes glasses, if not cleaning other thing s. Whenever faced with strong subjects with any relations to her past or emotions, she begins to polish a glass, for instance, as Faith becomes indecisive as to move out of the family home and clearly hints for her mother to ask her to stay, Evelyn disregards and ignores what she has to say, Evelyn concentrates on polishing and replacing glasses. This can be seen as a symbol Samuels employs to show the basic survival methods of Evelyn, that her obsession with cleaning is a way of controlling her emotions and direct her energy into something else. Evelyn appears to unconsciously often compare her own personality with connotations of a glass, such as A chipped glass is ruined forever Here Samuels is suggesting that this new, reformed, diverse identity Evelyn has created for herself is delicate, and implies that it will be destroyed to be remained with her younger self, Eva. This is a terrible thing in the eyes of Evelyn, as her re-invented identity is a form of protection, a barrier against her emotional pains.

The feminist media in middle est Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The feminist media in middle est - Essay Example I. A Brief History of Media in the Middle East and the Origins of the Female Presence From a historical standpoint though, Middle Eastern media dates back to the early 1800s. During the times of the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Iran to name but a few, media in official and private arenas began to take shape (Fortna, 97). Although Middle Eastern media at this time was largely financed by subscription and advertisements, it became a popular tool in the transmission and dissemination of cultural/technical works – largely aided by the newly imported printing technologies from European nations (Fortna, 97). However, it wasn’t until the early 20th century when media became a professional occupation, that the power of media (writing, journalism, and illustrations) was fully harnessed. By 1925, print and roving journalists had begun creating teams, to comment on the popular media of the day – radio and cinema (Fortna, 97). Regarding the first notable female presence in Middl e Eastern media, it appears that this is not well documented and varies greatly depending on the type of media. For example, since the inception of Aziza Amir’s first Arabic feature length film in 1927, females have been permitted to make and direct films (Skilli, 48). Filmmaking has offered women (feminist or otherwise) to encapsulate the complexities of female realities and offer a somewhat covert challenge to the dominant view of the female role – for example, Abnoudi’s 1971 file (Horse of Mud), encouraged Middle Eastern people to consider the impact of gender roles and socioeconomic class on the daily lives of Middle Eastern women (Skilli, 48). Critical feminist films that overtly challenge the dominant order are still subject to censorship in the Middle East to this day. For example, when Tahmineh Milani’s feminist film, roughly translated as the â€Å"Hidden Half† was introduced to the public in 2001, she was both arrested and then interrogat ed (Skilli, 49). Women did not become notable in the establishment of publishing houses until the 1980s, when Iranian feminist Shahla Lahiji became the first publishing house owner. Following this, several other women were able to establish publishing houses, and put women’s issues in the public arena for the first time (Skalli, 45). Females did not appear in contemporary journalism in the Middle East until the 1980s – and faced dual threats: from religious quarters and from censorship of the semi-military government when publishing materials that aimed to discuss women’s rights, women’s issues, or any other topic that threatened the prevailing order (Skalli, 41). Sakh (2004) argues that even when women were/are afforded the necessary freedom to participate in mass media outlets in the Middle East, there is no guarantee that they support feminist causes, or aim to promote discussion of issues relevant to women (Sakr, 8). In fact, female illiteracy is a ma jor Middle Eastern issue, which serves to promote compliance with the dominant system, preempt challenges to it, and keep women in a subordinate position (Sakr, 8; Skalli, 41). Regarding female appearance on television, much progress has been made in the past 30 years. Notably, Jordon’s most prominent female reporter, Rana Husseini, and Algerian reporter Horia Saihi, have constructed stories on the female experience of war

American History X Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American History X - Research Paper Example While in prison, Derek decides to take a new turn after a visit by his former Black English teacher Dr Sweeney. A brutal rape by Aryan Brotherhood prison gang fuels the transition after his defection. However, on leaving prison, Danny had stepped in his shoes and joined Neo Nazi movement. Derek has to fight to achieve a new life for himself and Danny. The film is full of flashbacks, employing the language of racism to capture sophisticated variations. On TV news, Derek narrates how his father had tutored him to racism through his dinner table conversations not forgetting his death in the hands of black narcotics. The film is full of scaring scenes and convincing scenes that reveal Neo Nazi skin heads bonding. In their meetings led by Derek, they take drugs, beer, engrave tattoos, and carry heavy metal with them. In the Neo Nazi’s world, slogans replace thought, fuelling a mindless hatred towards their black enemies and the film brings out the best of this movement. Neo Nazi mo vement comes out strongly from American History X film. Neo Nazi movement also called skinheads have their origin in England after World War II. According to Prejudice Institute, â€Å"the first wave of what we today recognize as skins polarized themselves in the 1970s. This happened against the various youth counterculture movements† (â€Å"Prejudice Institute† web). ... In 1980, a second wave of this movement was in action when Ian Stuart founded Neo Nazi movement. Apparently, he was a singer and the leader of the Screwdriver band that played an important role in the spread of the movement. The group identified themselves by Nazism and belief in white power and they portrayed it through their way of shaving heads, tattoos, t-shirts, and their confrontational style. Neo Nazi movement cemented its operations in the 1990s because it took advantage of independence war and other ethnic conflicts in of Croatia. To catch the attention of the media, Neo Nazi movement brutally attacked tourists and foreigners, gay people, and people from other cultures. According to Libcom, some of their memorable attacks came in 2003 when Neo-Nazi skinheads attacked six people including five old people and 11-year old boy from Egypt (Kontrrazvedka web). Neo Nazi has links with order supremacist groups like KKK and White Aryan resistance (WAR). Stuart published books by name blood and honour that he distributed to older white supremacies in the US to gather membership. Statistics reveals that skinheads age range from 13 to 27 years mostly teens from various social economic backgrounds. Most get to enrol in high school and continue through college and at work. Recruitment happens at the concerts that attract many young people to listen to Neo Nazi’s music and performances. For instance, Screwdriver songs like White Power and Nigger performed mainly on Hitler’s birthday or at Hate Festivals are tools of transformation. Skinheads also use publications and cyberspaces to promote their ideas and recruit members (â€Å"Prejudice Institute† web). According to Cooter, the group have adopted a new tactic for

Business, Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business, - Research Paper Example In this regard supply chain management has a key role to play in the success of companies with aspects like outsourcing being on the rise. The present study would analyze the aspect of vertical integration versus strategic alliances as a possible supply chain management strategy of firms engaged in the aerospace and defense industry competing in the international markets in a globalised market environment. Business level co-operative strategy In general terms, strategic alliances can be defined as co-operative agreement and arrangements between the two or more partners, and hence, the co-operative relationship management is one of the prime requirements in strategic alliances. The strategies aims to meet this requirement are known as the business level co-operative strategies. Co-operation is one of the basic attributes of the strategic alliances and the partners must have a clear understanding of this attribute for framing a set of business level co-operative strategy. Kwok and Hamp son have identified the very specific parameters to measure and frame the co-operative strategies in case of strategic alliances. ... oss border strategic alliance The need for greater consolidation within the highly capital intensive aerospace and defense industry segment has paved the way for greater alliance and collaboration among various organizations for an effective supply chain management. The need to develop high end research has also promulgated the need to have greater strategic alliances with international partners. For example the NATO partners are actively trying to enter into greater collaborations and strategic alliances with the US and European companies in a bid to improve upon the efficiency of the companies (Lorell et.al, â€Å"Implications of European Consolidation and Increased Aerospace Globalization†). Strategic alliances also help in developing a greater synergistic association between the companies and the civil sector. The example of the modern air fighter Euro fighter Typhoon is a good example in which five European nations namely Germany, UK, Spain and Italian companies went into a strategic alliance to create a world class fighter aircraft. Another such example involves the case of EUROFLAG consortium in which five European national companies have entered into a strategic alliance to manufacture fifth generation fighter aircrafts. However the aspect of cross border alliances also involve certain hindrances mainly in the form of government contracts and regulations, arms policies and export rules of different nations, disparities in the requirements and finally the absence of multinational legal structure across various nations etc that can have serious implications on the development of cross border strategic alliances between players in the aerospace and defense industry (Commission of the European Communities, â€Å"Cross Border Industrial Integration†). Vertical

Relationship Between HRM and Employee Attitude

Relationship Between HRM and Employee Attitude The relationship between HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes Introduction The concept of human resource management (HRM) has received focussed attention for around 20 years, with the catalyst being that many US companies found they were being rivalled and in some instances overtaken, in markets they had dominated (Ehrlich, 1994, p. 492). As Lodge (1985, p. 319) observes: By the early 1980s there was still little disagreement that US corporate managers, employees and trade unions would have to change their ways in order to compete successfully for markets in America and abroad. Harvard university academics introduced a new compulsory component of HRM into their MBA syllabus and reinforced this so-called Harvard Model with influential books and articles (Beer et al., 1984; Walton, 1985b; Walton and Lawrence, 1985). While there would surely have been a genuine desire to help US business, US society, and even US employees, there was also a long-term effort to ensure that the Harvard Business School faculty provided leadership in human resource management (Walton and Lawrence, 1985, p. xx). The Harvard concept stresses that HRM should lead to employee commitment not simply as a means to employer objectives of improved productivity and profits, but because the fulfilment of many employee needs is taken as a goal rather than merely a means to an end (Walton, 1985a, p. 49). At about the same time as the Harvard concept was being developed another viewpoint was being promulgated by academics who supported a strategic concept of HRM, with the major work edited by Fombrun et al. (1984). This work emphasises that the four generic human resource activities of all organisations: selection/promotion/placement process; reward process; development process; and appraisal process (Tichy et al., 1984, p. 26) need to be strategically aligned with the organisations overall strategic objectives. Hard and soft HRM British writers have focused on the differences between the Harvard commitment concept of HRM and the strategic HRM concept. Keenoy (1990, p. 368) sees the Harvard concept as philosophically grounded in the recognition of multiple stakeholders and the belief that the practice and benefits of HRM can be achieved through neo-pluralist mechanisms, while the strategic concept is almost uniformly unitarist in orientation and displays a quite singular endorsement of managerial values. The former is frequently referred to as soft HRM, while the latter is hard HRM. In theory, soft HRM fulfils employee needs as an end in itself, and the favourable attitudes generated from the use of appropriate HRM practices (Guest, 1997) together with communication, motivation and leadership (Storey, 1987, p. 6), result in commitment to the organisation and improved performance. Hard HRM is only concerned with the effective utilisation of employees (Guest, 2002) and emphasises the quantitative, calculative and business strategic aspects of managing the head count resource in as natural a way as for any other economic factor (Storey, 1987, p. 6). If the reality of soft HRM practice was that it produced the benefits referred to in the rhetoric of academic evangelists such as Richard Walton then it should be highly favoured by both employees and employers. Questions have been raised by a number of researchers, however, about the ability of soft HRM to achieve these benefits. There are two concerns. The first is that the real motive behind its introduction is to undermine unions (Sisson, 1994). Indeed, going back to the introduction of the Harvard concept of soft HRM, Lawrence (1985, p. 362) writes about a seminal colloquium on HRM between 35 senior executives and Harvard academics. He claims that the question as to whether HRM was designed to keep the union out was emphatically denied, and he protested that all but three of the firms represented were at least partially unionised, with several having had a significant number of units of both kinds, with their older plants unionised and the newer ones not. An unreasonable interpr etation therefore would be that these leaders of commitment HRM will happily dispense with unions given the opportunity. Indeed, Lawrence (1985, p. 362) admits that there was a general view that in a well-managed unit with decision-sharing, a union was not needed to represent employee interests. Guest (1990, p. 389) concludes, the main impact of HRM in the United States may have been to provide a smokescreen behind which management can introduce non-unionism or obtain significant concessions from trade unions. The second concern is that meeting the needs of employees has never been an objective in itself, and has simply been the normative view of what Harvard academics would like to see as the employment relationship. Truss et al. (1997, p. 70) in a study of soft and hard models of HRM, concluded that even if the rhetoric of HRM is soft, the reality is almost always hard, with the interests of the organisation prevailing over those of the individual. Similar conclusions have been reached by Keenoy (1990), Poole and Mansfield (1992), Guest (1995) and Legge (1995a, b, 1998). If the soft model of HRM has validity, then there should be a clear relationship between the experience of soft HRM practice and positive employee attitudes (reflecting their needs are being met) and increasing employee commitment as well as improved productivity. Surprisingly, however, most of the research and reporting on HRM has ignored the views of employees. Legge (1998, p. 14) points out: when reading accounts of HRM practice in the UK and North America it is noticeable the extent to which the data are (literally) the voices of management. Guest (1999, p. 5) agrees, claiming that from its conception human resource management reflected a management agenda to the neglect of workers concerns. Some studies have considered employee reactions to HRM (Gibb, 2001; Appelbaum and Berg, 2000; Mabey et al., 1998) but Guest (2002, p. 335) is perceptive in his criticism that a feature of both advocates and critics of HRM is their neglect of direct evidence about the role and reactions of w orkers. Even the exceptions noted which gave employee reactions to HRM did not relate the employee experience of HRM practices to their reactions, and Guest (1997) argues for a research agenda that addresses this gap. This paper aims to contribute to this gap by fulfilling two major objectives. The first is to add to the limited number of studies which have tested to see if there is a relationship between HRM practice and positive employee attitudes. The second objective is to see if there is a significantly stronger relationship between HRM practice and employee attitudes if employee perceptions of HRM practice are taken as the measure of HRM rather than employer perceptions, which has been the approach taken in general by previous researchers. HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes The soft model of HRM, as stated previously, suggests a relationship exists between the use of appropriate HRM practices and positive employee attitudes, and while theoretically these relationships remain poorly developed (Guest, 1997, 2001), a number of attitudes are nonetheless widely considered to be an outcome of soft HRM. For example, levels of job satisfaction, which is the affective perception that results from the achievement of desired outcomes (Harber et al., 1997), are found to be related to levels of HRM practice (Guest, 2002; Ting, 1997). High levels of employee commitment have also been found to be related to the use of appropriate HRM practice (Guest, 2002), and results from investing in HRM practices which benefit employees. For example, the provision of opportunities for training and skill development benefits the employee by equipping them with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to function autonomously and responsibly (Guest, 2002). Furthermore, it impro ves retention and enables them to cope with change in the work environment (Guest, 2002). Organisational fairness is the term used to describe the role of fairness as it directly relates to the workplace and is concerned with the ways employees determine if they have been treated fairly in their jobs and the ways in which those determinations influence other work-related variables (Moorman, 1991, p. 845). The HRM systems, policies, and procedures that operate in an organisation have been identified as impacting on an individuals perceptions of bias and fairness (Kurland and Egan, 1999; Greenberg, 1990). Studies show that where employees believe they are treated fairly in the workplace then they hold positive attitudes towards the organisation (Moorman, 1991), whereas HRM practices that are perceived to be unfair have been found to result in the employee feeling bewildered and betrayed and thus less committed (Schappe, 1996). As far as the relationship between HRM practice and employee attitudes is concerned, the HRM practice dimension has been measured by collecting data from employers in one of the two ways using additive measures of HRM practice or self-reports about the extent to which particular HRM practices have been operationalised. A possible third approach would be to collect employee views about the operationalisation of HRM practice and then relate these reactions to their attitudes. These approaches are described below. The additive approach To date the most common approach for assessing the relationship between HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes is the additive approach. This involves employers indicating, using a yes/no response format, which HRM practices from a predetermined list currently operate in their organisations. The yes responses are then added together, and the assumption is that a higher sum indicates better HRM. Researchers using the additive approach usually correlate the total number of practices with the HRM outcomes being examined. Research exploring this relationship show a strong correlation between high numbers of HRM practice and positive employee attitudes (Fiorito, 2002; Guest, 1999; Guest and Conway, 2002; Appelbaum and Berg, 2000). While this approach is frequently used, it has attracted criticism (Fiorito, 2002; Guest, 1997, 2002). The additive approach is very simplistic. If an employer claims a practice is utilised there is no differentiation on the basis on how well, or to what extent the practice exists. For example, there could be token training and development, or a high level of commitment to a professional and effective training and development programme. Both examples are credited as a yes. This perceived weakness has led some researchers to use employer self-reports about the strength of HRM practice. Employer self-reports about the strength of HRM practice Guest and Peccei (1994) suggest that an improvement on the additive approach is to assess the extent or strength of practice using response bands such as those contained in Likert scales. Such an approach sees employers self-reporting, either on the extent they consider particular HRM practices to be effective (Delaney and Huselid, 1996), or alternatively on the extent to which HRM practices have been operationalised (i.e. to what extent practices are practised) in their workplace (Kane et al., 1999). Guest (2001, p. 1099) claims further research is needed to test the extent that employer and employee views on HRM practices coincide or differ. Specifically he suggests: There is now a need for more research comparing the responses of managers responsible for developing and overseeing HRM practice and employees to identify levels of agreement about the operation of practices such evidence as it is possible to glean from reports about levels of autonomy and consultation suggest that levels of agreement might be quite low. Support for this assertion has already been found. For example, Appelbaum and Bergs (2000) study comparing supervisor and employee perceptions about participative initiatives in US organisations found wide differences. Similarly, Kane et al. (1999) also found evidence of perceptual differences about HRM between different organisational stakeholders. While managers and employers are important stakeholders, so too are employees. This has led to a strong call for employee voice to be heard in HRM research (Guest, 2001). Employee self-reports about the strength of HRM practice Given the apparent perceptual differences between employers and employees perceptions of HRM then a third approach that could be used would see employees reports on the strength of operationalised HRM practice analysed in relation to their levels of work-related attitudes. There is now growing support for assessing HRM from the employee perspective emerging in the literature (Fiorito, 2002; Gibb, 2001; Guest, 2001), and given that where the concern is employee attitudes, then it is intuitively logical to relate that to employee rather than employer perceptions of the effectiveness of HRM policies and practices. Method The most common approach employed in studies assessing the relationship between HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes is the survey (Cully et al., 2000; Guest, 1999), and this is the method of data collection used in this study. Four areas of HRM practice are examined good and safe working conditions, training and development, equal employment opportunities (EEO), and recruitment and selection. These areas of HRM have been selected because they have previously been identified as those likely to have the greatest impact on employee behaviour and attitudes (Guest, 2001). Three employee work-related attitudes are examined organisational commitment, job satisfaction and organisational fairness. These attitudes are generally considered to be desirable outcomes that result from the use of soft HRM (Meyer and Smith, 2000; Guest, 1997). Measurement Three approaches are used to measure HRM practice an additive measure completed by the employer, and two perceptual measures, one completed by employers and one completed by employees. All three measures relate to practices characterised in the literature as soft HRM or best practice HRM (Guest, 1999; Guest and Peccei, 1992; Johnson, 2000; Kane et al., 1999). They are employee-centred (i.e. they should produce benefits for employees when operationalised), and thus should impact on employee work-related attitudes. The additive measure, as stated, is the one most commonly used in research of this type. The additive measure used in this study asks employers to indicate, using a yes/no response format, which practices, from a comprehensive list of 80 practices (20 for each functional area covered), currently operate in their organisation (for example, Do you consult employees on their training needs?). A 20-item scale consisting of statements about HRM practice is used to assess the strength of HRM practices (five items for each of the four functional areas). Respondents are asked to indicate, using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree, the extent they consider each practice occurs in their organisation, for example, EEO is promoted within this organisation (see Appendix 1 for a full list of statements). The same scale is used for both the employer and the employee groups, with the wording amended to reflect their different perspectives. Employer and employee assessments of HRM using this measure are, therefore, concerned with the judgements these groups make about the extent a particular HRM practice has been operationalised in the workplace. The ÃŽ ± coefficients for the five item measures relating to each of the four areas of HRM practice examined ranged from 0.83 to 0.88, suggesting high internal consistency exists (Browne, 2000). The s tatements about HRM practice on the perceptual measure closely reflect the ones used in the additive measure, but there is not a direct correspondence as that would have resulted in an excessively long measure. Three widely accepted measures of employee attitudes are used. Guest (1997) suggests organisational commitment should be measured using the standard measure developed by Mowday et al. (1979) the organisational commitment questionnaire (OCQ) because this scale captures the extent the employee identifies with the organisation, their desire to remain in the organisation and their willingness to exert effort on behalf of the organisation. An adapted and shortened version of the OCQ is used in this study to measure organisational commitment. Again, respondents are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree with each of the statements using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree (ÃŽ ±=0.8535). To measure job satisfaction, an adapted and shortened form of the Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire (Weiss et al., 1967) is used. The scale has six items and respondents are asked to indicate how satisfied they are with respect to each of the statements, using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1=very dissatisfied to 5=very satisfied (ÃŽ ±=0.8664). While organisational fairness has two dimensions distributive and procedural this study is concerned only with procedural fairness and HRM policy and practice. The measure used is an adapted and shortened six-item version of the procedural justice scale used by Moorman (1991). This measures employees perceptions about the way formal procedures are carried out. Respondents are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree with each of the statements using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree (ÃŽ ±=0.9160). Employer and employee respondents were also asked to provide a range of demographic information. Analysis Data are analysed using SPSS, Version 11, using matched employer and aggregated employee data from 37 organisations. Correlations, using Pearsons r, are completed to explore the relationships between HRM practice and employee attitudes. The multiple linear regression technique is used to explore the differential impacts of the three approaches being tested. The sample In total, 234 organisations were originally contacted to participate in this study. A total of 40 organisations agreed to participate. The person most responsible for operationalising HRM practice was requested to complete the employer survey. Employee participation was voluntary, and the company fully endorsed their participation. The employer participant was requested to distribute the surveys to a representative sample of their workforce, in terms of occupational classification, ethnicity and gender. The targeted population of employees consisted of a total of 1,075 full- and part-time employees from the 40 participating organisations. A total of 626 employees responded (a response rate of 58 per cent) by completing the survey and returning it in the reply-paid envelope provided. In total, 37 usable matched sets of data were obtained. These 37 matched data sets comprise one completed employer questionnaire (total usable employer responses=37) and on average 15 employee questionnai res for each organisation (total usable employee responses=572). The number of actual employee responses received for each organisation varied with workplace size, and ranged from eight to 31. The demographics for the employer and employee samples are reported in Table I. New Zealand is a relatively small country and organisations employing in excess of 100 employees are usually classified as large, with those having between 50 and 99 employees classified as medium and organisations with under 50 employees as small. Three-fifths of the organisations participating in this study can be classified as large; one-fifth are medium, and the remaining five small. Of the 37 participating organisations, 19 are located in the private sector, 18 in the public sector. Around 35 per cent of the participating organisations are located in the service industry, with this group being evenly represented across both sectors. All other organisations are classified in the manufacturing, transport, retail, sales, education and health industries. Both the employer and the employee samples are reasonably a representative of organisations and the composition of the workforce in New Zealand, with the only notable exception being the employee sample is skewed in terms of occupation towards professional and semi-professional groups. Results The first analysis examines the relationship between additive measures of HRM practice and attitudes. The number of practices for each functional area varied considerably between organisations. Generally it is found that there are relatively high levels of practice for the areas of good and safe working conditions (M=15.95, SD=3.22), training and development (M=16.77, SD=2.76), along with recruitment and selection (M=16.52, SD=2.50). EEO is the one area, on the other hand, where a considerably lower mean level of practice exists (M=12.17, SD=5.96). According to prior research, high numbers of HRM practice are associated with positive employee attitudes (Guest, 1999). The results of the analysis for this relationship are reported in Table II. These findings differ from those previously reported. Using aggregated employee means, when levels of organisational commitment (M=3.72, SD=0.78), job satisfaction (M=3.72, SD=0.79) and organisational fairness (M=3.70, SD=0.86) are correlated with the combined additive measure of HRM practice, the results show that higher index scores in the number of HRM practices are not related to higher levels of organisational commitment (r=0.155, df=35, p=>0.05), job satisfaction (r=0.085, df=35, p=>0.05) or organisational fairness (r=0.146, df=35, p=>0.05). When this relationship is examined by functional area the correlations are also found not to be significant. Next the relationship between HRM practice and employee attitudes is examined using first employer self-reports, and second employee self-reports. These results are also reported in Table II. Statistically significant correlations are found to exist between the three attitudes measured and employee assessments of HRM practice for all the functional areas examined. However, no significant correlations are found between employer self-reports about the strength of HRM practice and employee attitudes. Data are then analysed using a regression technique, enabling the predictive qualities of each of the three approaches for assessing HRM practice to be explored. The model used for regressions is shown in Figure 1. All the measures of HRM practices were entered into a multiple regression[1] equation so that the character of the relationship between different measures of HRM practice and employee attitudes could be explored. It is found that nearly 51 per cent of the variance in organisational commitment (R 2=0.506, p The results of the regressions for the three measures of HRM practice, along with the three measures of employee attitudes, are presented in Table III. When the results of the regression for the three different measures of HRM practice are analysed it becomes evident that employee assessments have the greatest level of predictive power for attitudes. The regression reveals that numbers of HRM practice and employer assessments about the strength of HRM practice account for very little of the variance in attitudes. On the other hand, employee assessments of HRM practice appear to be very influential. Around 47 per cent of the variance in organisational commitment is explained by employee assessments of practice across the four HRM areas examined, with even larger and equally significant levels of variance being explained by this for job satisfaction and organisational fairness. If we exclude employee assessments related to EEO from the analysis, as it uniformly records the lowest ÃŽ ² across all three attitudes, the ÃŽ ² statistic for the remaining three functional areas of HRM practice implies that for every increment in employee assessments, levels of attitudes increase by between 0.17 and 0.34. The most statistically significant and consistent increments are in relation to employee assessments of good and safe working conditions, along with training and development, and these are found to apply to all aspects of work-related attitudes measured. Also worth noting is that, not surprisingly, assessments of recruitment and selection practices accounted for the largest variance in levels of organisational fairness. Discussion and concluding remarks Consistent with the work of Appelbaum and Berg (2000), Cully et al. (2000) and Guest (1999), this study also finds that a significant relationship exists between HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes. There is a strong statistically significant relationship when HRM is researched from the employee perspective. However, there was no significant relationship when HRM practice was measured using the additive approach or employer self-reports. These results have implications for current approaches used to assess the HRM practice-employee work-related attitudes relationship. This study demonstrates that by far the greatest correlate of employee attitudes are employees own assessments of the strength of HRM practice. Interestingly, higher levels of HRM practice, using an additive measure, are not found to be significantly associated with attitudes across any of the four functional areas of HRM examined. In fact, it is revealed that higher levels of HRM practice are in some cases related to decreased levels of job satisfaction and organisational fairness. For example, looking at the data for each functional HRM area, it is possible that higher levels of EEO practice may actually have no, or even a negative, effect on employee attitudes, with a strong inverse relationship being found for job satisfaction. Similarly, weak relationships are found when the relationship between employer assessments about operationalised practice and attitudes are examined. So while Guest and Peccei (1994) suggest these areas are important aspects of best practice HRM, this study finds them to be unrelated to attitudes when data are collected from employers. Put together these results suggest that if managers want to maximise employee attitudes, then implementing lots of practices is not sufficient. Practitioners need to be aware that the way they implement their HRM practices may be a more important determinant of employee attitudes than the number of practices they put in place. This builds on the research findings of other recent studies (Armstrong, 2001) that suggest it is possible that it is the quality of the practice that counts and not the quantity. It may be that practitioners may need to undertake regular attitudinal surveys to assess employee reactions to current HRM practice and assess these on a longitudinal basis to identify what is working and what is not. It was beyond the parameters of this study to examine the complex relationship between HRM practice, employee attitudes and business performance; it has, however, explored the narrower relationship between HRM practice (for the areas of good and safe working conditions, training and development, EEO and recruitment and selection) and three employee attitudes (organisational commitment, job satisfaction and organisational fairness). While regressions tell us nothing about the cause-effect nature of relationships between assessments of HRM practice and employee attitudes, these findings strongly suggest that incorporating the employees experience of HRM into analyses exploring the HRM practice, employee attitudes relationship will contribute further to our understanding about what aspects of HRM have the potential to yield the greatest performance outcomes. Arguably, more so, it would appear, than exploring this particular relationship solely using additive measures or employer self-re ports. This study has some limitations. This study found the standard deviations for assessments of HRM practice and work-related attitudes amongst employee groups within each organisation to be reasonably low, showing close agreement. Nonetheless the aggregated data has been developed from a relatively small sample, thus it may not be representative of the bulk of employee views. The evaluative nature of the questions used introduces the possibility of common method variance (i.e. an artificial correlation across questions due to mood or other contaminants (Fiorito, 2002)). Also, the HRM practices used in this study are supposedly best practice; however, there is still insufficient evidence available to confirm that they are indeed best practice. Finally, Gibb (2001) suggests effective HRM is about implementing best practice. While this may very well be true, it is clear from this study that simply introducing best practice, or even assessing the effectiveness of practice from the employers viewpoint, is no guarantee that they have been successfully implemented. If the organisations objective is to improve employees workplace attitudes, then possibly a better way to confirm which HRM practices are having the greatest impact, and hence are effective, is to correlate employees assessment of them with employees attitudes. Further studies in this area are now required. References Appelbaum, E., Berg, P. (2000), High performance work systems: giving workers a stake, in Blair, M., Kochan, T. (Eds),The New Relationship: Human Capital in the American Corporation, Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Armstrong, G. (2001), The Change Agenda: Performance through People, The New People Management, CODE, London, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P.R., Mills, D.Q., Walton, R.E. (1984), Managing Human Assets, Free Press, New York, NY, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Browne, J.H. (2000), Benchmarking HRM practices in healthy work organizations, American Business Review, Vol. 18 No.2, pp.54-61. [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Cully, M., Woodland, S., OReilly, A., Dix, G. (2000), Britain at Work: As Depicted by the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey, Routledge, London, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Delaney, J.T., Huselid, M.A. (1996), The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 39 No.4, pp.949-69. [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Ehrlich, C.J. (1994), Creating an employer-employee relationship for the future, Human Resource Management, Vol. 33 No.3, pp.491-501. [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Fiorito, J. (2002), Human resource management practices and worker desires for union representation, in Bennett, J., Kaufman, B. (Eds),The Future of Private Sector Unionism in the United States, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] (1984), in Fombrun, C., Tichy, N., Devanna, M. (Eds),Strategic Human Resource Management, Wiley, New York, NY, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Gibb, S. (2001), The state of human resource management: evidence from employees view of HRM systems and staff, Employee Relations, Vol. 23 No.4, pp.318-36. [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Greenberg, J. (1990), Organisational justice: yesterday, today and tomorrow, Journal of Management, Vol. 16 pp.399-43 Relationship Between HRM and Employee Attitude Relationship Between HRM and Employee Attitude The relationship between HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes Introduction The concept of human resource management (HRM) has received focussed attention for around 20 years, with the catalyst being that many US companies found they were being rivalled and in some instances overtaken, in markets they had dominated (Ehrlich, 1994, p. 492). As Lodge (1985, p. 319) observes: By the early 1980s there was still little disagreement that US corporate managers, employees and trade unions would have to change their ways in order to compete successfully for markets in America and abroad. Harvard university academics introduced a new compulsory component of HRM into their MBA syllabus and reinforced this so-called Harvard Model with influential books and articles (Beer et al., 1984; Walton, 1985b; Walton and Lawrence, 1985). While there would surely have been a genuine desire to help US business, US society, and even US employees, there was also a long-term effort to ensure that the Harvard Business School faculty provided leadership in human resource management (Walton and Lawrence, 1985, p. xx). The Harvard concept stresses that HRM should lead to employee commitment not simply as a means to employer objectives of improved productivity and profits, but because the fulfilment of many employee needs is taken as a goal rather than merely a means to an end (Walton, 1985a, p. 49). At about the same time as the Harvard concept was being developed another viewpoint was being promulgated by academics who supported a strategic concept of HRM, with the major work edited by Fombrun et al. (1984). This work emphasises that the four generic human resource activities of all organisations: selection/promotion/placement process; reward process; development process; and appraisal process (Tichy et al., 1984, p. 26) need to be strategically aligned with the organisations overall strategic objectives. Hard and soft HRM British writers have focused on the differences between the Harvard commitment concept of HRM and the strategic HRM concept. Keenoy (1990, p. 368) sees the Harvard concept as philosophically grounded in the recognition of multiple stakeholders and the belief that the practice and benefits of HRM can be achieved through neo-pluralist mechanisms, while the strategic concept is almost uniformly unitarist in orientation and displays a quite singular endorsement of managerial values. The former is frequently referred to as soft HRM, while the latter is hard HRM. In theory, soft HRM fulfils employee needs as an end in itself, and the favourable attitudes generated from the use of appropriate HRM practices (Guest, 1997) together with communication, motivation and leadership (Storey, 1987, p. 6), result in commitment to the organisation and improved performance. Hard HRM is only concerned with the effective utilisation of employees (Guest, 2002) and emphasises the quantitative, calculative and business strategic aspects of managing the head count resource in as natural a way as for any other economic factor (Storey, 1987, p. 6). If the reality of soft HRM practice was that it produced the benefits referred to in the rhetoric of academic evangelists such as Richard Walton then it should be highly favoured by both employees and employers. Questions have been raised by a number of researchers, however, about the ability of soft HRM to achieve these benefits. There are two concerns. The first is that the real motive behind its introduction is to undermine unions (Sisson, 1994). Indeed, going back to the introduction of the Harvard concept of soft HRM, Lawrence (1985, p. 362) writes about a seminal colloquium on HRM between 35 senior executives and Harvard academics. He claims that the question as to whether HRM was designed to keep the union out was emphatically denied, and he protested that all but three of the firms represented were at least partially unionised, with several having had a significant number of units of both kinds, with their older plants unionised and the newer ones not. An unreasonable interpr etation therefore would be that these leaders of commitment HRM will happily dispense with unions given the opportunity. Indeed, Lawrence (1985, p. 362) admits that there was a general view that in a well-managed unit with decision-sharing, a union was not needed to represent employee interests. Guest (1990, p. 389) concludes, the main impact of HRM in the United States may have been to provide a smokescreen behind which management can introduce non-unionism or obtain significant concessions from trade unions. The second concern is that meeting the needs of employees has never been an objective in itself, and has simply been the normative view of what Harvard academics would like to see as the employment relationship. Truss et al. (1997, p. 70) in a study of soft and hard models of HRM, concluded that even if the rhetoric of HRM is soft, the reality is almost always hard, with the interests of the organisation prevailing over those of the individual. Similar conclusions have been reached by Keenoy (1990), Poole and Mansfield (1992), Guest (1995) and Legge (1995a, b, 1998). If the soft model of HRM has validity, then there should be a clear relationship between the experience of soft HRM practice and positive employee attitudes (reflecting their needs are being met) and increasing employee commitment as well as improved productivity. Surprisingly, however, most of the research and reporting on HRM has ignored the views of employees. Legge (1998, p. 14) points out: when reading accounts of HRM practice in the UK and North America it is noticeable the extent to which the data are (literally) the voices of management. Guest (1999, p. 5) agrees, claiming that from its conception human resource management reflected a management agenda to the neglect of workers concerns. Some studies have considered employee reactions to HRM (Gibb, 2001; Appelbaum and Berg, 2000; Mabey et al., 1998) but Guest (2002, p. 335) is perceptive in his criticism that a feature of both advocates and critics of HRM is their neglect of direct evidence about the role and reactions of w orkers. Even the exceptions noted which gave employee reactions to HRM did not relate the employee experience of HRM practices to their reactions, and Guest (1997) argues for a research agenda that addresses this gap. This paper aims to contribute to this gap by fulfilling two major objectives. The first is to add to the limited number of studies which have tested to see if there is a relationship between HRM practice and positive employee attitudes. The second objective is to see if there is a significantly stronger relationship between HRM practice and employee attitudes if employee perceptions of HRM practice are taken as the measure of HRM rather than employer perceptions, which has been the approach taken in general by previous researchers. HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes The soft model of HRM, as stated previously, suggests a relationship exists between the use of appropriate HRM practices and positive employee attitudes, and while theoretically these relationships remain poorly developed (Guest, 1997, 2001), a number of attitudes are nonetheless widely considered to be an outcome of soft HRM. For example, levels of job satisfaction, which is the affective perception that results from the achievement of desired outcomes (Harber et al., 1997), are found to be related to levels of HRM practice (Guest, 2002; Ting, 1997). High levels of employee commitment have also been found to be related to the use of appropriate HRM practice (Guest, 2002), and results from investing in HRM practices which benefit employees. For example, the provision of opportunities for training and skill development benefits the employee by equipping them with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to function autonomously and responsibly (Guest, 2002). Furthermore, it impro ves retention and enables them to cope with change in the work environment (Guest, 2002). Organisational fairness is the term used to describe the role of fairness as it directly relates to the workplace and is concerned with the ways employees determine if they have been treated fairly in their jobs and the ways in which those determinations influence other work-related variables (Moorman, 1991, p. 845). The HRM systems, policies, and procedures that operate in an organisation have been identified as impacting on an individuals perceptions of bias and fairness (Kurland and Egan, 1999; Greenberg, 1990). Studies show that where employees believe they are treated fairly in the workplace then they hold positive attitudes towards the organisation (Moorman, 1991), whereas HRM practices that are perceived to be unfair have been found to result in the employee feeling bewildered and betrayed and thus less committed (Schappe, 1996). As far as the relationship between HRM practice and employee attitudes is concerned, the HRM practice dimension has been measured by collecting data from employers in one of the two ways using additive measures of HRM practice or self-reports about the extent to which particular HRM practices have been operationalised. A possible third approach would be to collect employee views about the operationalisation of HRM practice and then relate these reactions to their attitudes. These approaches are described below. The additive approach To date the most common approach for assessing the relationship between HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes is the additive approach. This involves employers indicating, using a yes/no response format, which HRM practices from a predetermined list currently operate in their organisations. The yes responses are then added together, and the assumption is that a higher sum indicates better HRM. Researchers using the additive approach usually correlate the total number of practices with the HRM outcomes being examined. Research exploring this relationship show a strong correlation between high numbers of HRM practice and positive employee attitudes (Fiorito, 2002; Guest, 1999; Guest and Conway, 2002; Appelbaum and Berg, 2000). While this approach is frequently used, it has attracted criticism (Fiorito, 2002; Guest, 1997, 2002). The additive approach is very simplistic. If an employer claims a practice is utilised there is no differentiation on the basis on how well, or to what extent the practice exists. For example, there could be token training and development, or a high level of commitment to a professional and effective training and development programme. Both examples are credited as a yes. This perceived weakness has led some researchers to use employer self-reports about the strength of HRM practice. Employer self-reports about the strength of HRM practice Guest and Peccei (1994) suggest that an improvement on the additive approach is to assess the extent or strength of practice using response bands such as those contained in Likert scales. Such an approach sees employers self-reporting, either on the extent they consider particular HRM practices to be effective (Delaney and Huselid, 1996), or alternatively on the extent to which HRM practices have been operationalised (i.e. to what extent practices are practised) in their workplace (Kane et al., 1999). Guest (2001, p. 1099) claims further research is needed to test the extent that employer and employee views on HRM practices coincide or differ. Specifically he suggests: There is now a need for more research comparing the responses of managers responsible for developing and overseeing HRM practice and employees to identify levels of agreement about the operation of practices such evidence as it is possible to glean from reports about levels of autonomy and consultation suggest that levels of agreement might be quite low. Support for this assertion has already been found. For example, Appelbaum and Bergs (2000) study comparing supervisor and employee perceptions about participative initiatives in US organisations found wide differences. Similarly, Kane et al. (1999) also found evidence of perceptual differences about HRM between different organisational stakeholders. While managers and employers are important stakeholders, so too are employees. This has led to a strong call for employee voice to be heard in HRM research (Guest, 2001). Employee self-reports about the strength of HRM practice Given the apparent perceptual differences between employers and employees perceptions of HRM then a third approach that could be used would see employees reports on the strength of operationalised HRM practice analysed in relation to their levels of work-related attitudes. There is now growing support for assessing HRM from the employee perspective emerging in the literature (Fiorito, 2002; Gibb, 2001; Guest, 2001), and given that where the concern is employee attitudes, then it is intuitively logical to relate that to employee rather than employer perceptions of the effectiveness of HRM policies and practices. Method The most common approach employed in studies assessing the relationship between HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes is the survey (Cully et al., 2000; Guest, 1999), and this is the method of data collection used in this study. Four areas of HRM practice are examined good and safe working conditions, training and development, equal employment opportunities (EEO), and recruitment and selection. These areas of HRM have been selected because they have previously been identified as those likely to have the greatest impact on employee behaviour and attitudes (Guest, 2001). Three employee work-related attitudes are examined organisational commitment, job satisfaction and organisational fairness. These attitudes are generally considered to be desirable outcomes that result from the use of soft HRM (Meyer and Smith, 2000; Guest, 1997). Measurement Three approaches are used to measure HRM practice an additive measure completed by the employer, and two perceptual measures, one completed by employers and one completed by employees. All three measures relate to practices characterised in the literature as soft HRM or best practice HRM (Guest, 1999; Guest and Peccei, 1992; Johnson, 2000; Kane et al., 1999). They are employee-centred (i.e. they should produce benefits for employees when operationalised), and thus should impact on employee work-related attitudes. The additive measure, as stated, is the one most commonly used in research of this type. The additive measure used in this study asks employers to indicate, using a yes/no response format, which practices, from a comprehensive list of 80 practices (20 for each functional area covered), currently operate in their organisation (for example, Do you consult employees on their training needs?). A 20-item scale consisting of statements about HRM practice is used to assess the strength of HRM practices (five items for each of the four functional areas). Respondents are asked to indicate, using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree, the extent they consider each practice occurs in their organisation, for example, EEO is promoted within this organisation (see Appendix 1 for a full list of statements). The same scale is used for both the employer and the employee groups, with the wording amended to reflect their different perspectives. Employer and employee assessments of HRM using this measure are, therefore, concerned with the judgements these groups make about the extent a particular HRM practice has been operationalised in the workplace. The ÃŽ ± coefficients for the five item measures relating to each of the four areas of HRM practice examined ranged from 0.83 to 0.88, suggesting high internal consistency exists (Browne, 2000). The s tatements about HRM practice on the perceptual measure closely reflect the ones used in the additive measure, but there is not a direct correspondence as that would have resulted in an excessively long measure. Three widely accepted measures of employee attitudes are used. Guest (1997) suggests organisational commitment should be measured using the standard measure developed by Mowday et al. (1979) the organisational commitment questionnaire (OCQ) because this scale captures the extent the employee identifies with the organisation, their desire to remain in the organisation and their willingness to exert effort on behalf of the organisation. An adapted and shortened version of the OCQ is used in this study to measure organisational commitment. Again, respondents are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree with each of the statements using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree (ÃŽ ±=0.8535). To measure job satisfaction, an adapted and shortened form of the Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire (Weiss et al., 1967) is used. The scale has six items and respondents are asked to indicate how satisfied they are with respect to each of the statements, using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1=very dissatisfied to 5=very satisfied (ÃŽ ±=0.8664). While organisational fairness has two dimensions distributive and procedural this study is concerned only with procedural fairness and HRM policy and practice. The measure used is an adapted and shortened six-item version of the procedural justice scale used by Moorman (1991). This measures employees perceptions about the way formal procedures are carried out. Respondents are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree with each of the statements using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree (ÃŽ ±=0.9160). Employer and employee respondents were also asked to provide a range of demographic information. Analysis Data are analysed using SPSS, Version 11, using matched employer and aggregated employee data from 37 organisations. Correlations, using Pearsons r, are completed to explore the relationships between HRM practice and employee attitudes. The multiple linear regression technique is used to explore the differential impacts of the three approaches being tested. The sample In total, 234 organisations were originally contacted to participate in this study. A total of 40 organisations agreed to participate. The person most responsible for operationalising HRM practice was requested to complete the employer survey. Employee participation was voluntary, and the company fully endorsed their participation. The employer participant was requested to distribute the surveys to a representative sample of their workforce, in terms of occupational classification, ethnicity and gender. The targeted population of employees consisted of a total of 1,075 full- and part-time employees from the 40 participating organisations. A total of 626 employees responded (a response rate of 58 per cent) by completing the survey and returning it in the reply-paid envelope provided. In total, 37 usable matched sets of data were obtained. These 37 matched data sets comprise one completed employer questionnaire (total usable employer responses=37) and on average 15 employee questionnai res for each organisation (total usable employee responses=572). The number of actual employee responses received for each organisation varied with workplace size, and ranged from eight to 31. The demographics for the employer and employee samples are reported in Table I. New Zealand is a relatively small country and organisations employing in excess of 100 employees are usually classified as large, with those having between 50 and 99 employees classified as medium and organisations with under 50 employees as small. Three-fifths of the organisations participating in this study can be classified as large; one-fifth are medium, and the remaining five small. Of the 37 participating organisations, 19 are located in the private sector, 18 in the public sector. Around 35 per cent of the participating organisations are located in the service industry, with this group being evenly represented across both sectors. All other organisations are classified in the manufacturing, transport, retail, sales, education and health industries. Both the employer and the employee samples are reasonably a representative of organisations and the composition of the workforce in New Zealand, with the only notable exception being the employee sample is skewed in terms of occupation towards professional and semi-professional groups. Results The first analysis examines the relationship between additive measures of HRM practice and attitudes. The number of practices for each functional area varied considerably between organisations. Generally it is found that there are relatively high levels of practice for the areas of good and safe working conditions (M=15.95, SD=3.22), training and development (M=16.77, SD=2.76), along with recruitment and selection (M=16.52, SD=2.50). EEO is the one area, on the other hand, where a considerably lower mean level of practice exists (M=12.17, SD=5.96). According to prior research, high numbers of HRM practice are associated with positive employee attitudes (Guest, 1999). The results of the analysis for this relationship are reported in Table II. These findings differ from those previously reported. Using aggregated employee means, when levels of organisational commitment (M=3.72, SD=0.78), job satisfaction (M=3.72, SD=0.79) and organisational fairness (M=3.70, SD=0.86) are correlated with the combined additive measure of HRM practice, the results show that higher index scores in the number of HRM practices are not related to higher levels of organisational commitment (r=0.155, df=35, p=>0.05), job satisfaction (r=0.085, df=35, p=>0.05) or organisational fairness (r=0.146, df=35, p=>0.05). When this relationship is examined by functional area the correlations are also found not to be significant. Next the relationship between HRM practice and employee attitudes is examined using first employer self-reports, and second employee self-reports. These results are also reported in Table II. Statistically significant correlations are found to exist between the three attitudes measured and employee assessments of HRM practice for all the functional areas examined. However, no significant correlations are found between employer self-reports about the strength of HRM practice and employee attitudes. Data are then analysed using a regression technique, enabling the predictive qualities of each of the three approaches for assessing HRM practice to be explored. The model used for regressions is shown in Figure 1. All the measures of HRM practices were entered into a multiple regression[1] equation so that the character of the relationship between different measures of HRM practice and employee attitudes could be explored. It is found that nearly 51 per cent of the variance in organisational commitment (R 2=0.506, p The results of the regressions for the three measures of HRM practice, along with the three measures of employee attitudes, are presented in Table III. When the results of the regression for the three different measures of HRM practice are analysed it becomes evident that employee assessments have the greatest level of predictive power for attitudes. The regression reveals that numbers of HRM practice and employer assessments about the strength of HRM practice account for very little of the variance in attitudes. On the other hand, employee assessments of HRM practice appear to be very influential. Around 47 per cent of the variance in organisational commitment is explained by employee assessments of practice across the four HRM areas examined, with even larger and equally significant levels of variance being explained by this for job satisfaction and organisational fairness. If we exclude employee assessments related to EEO from the analysis, as it uniformly records the lowest ÃŽ ² across all three attitudes, the ÃŽ ² statistic for the remaining three functional areas of HRM practice implies that for every increment in employee assessments, levels of attitudes increase by between 0.17 and 0.34. The most statistically significant and consistent increments are in relation to employee assessments of good and safe working conditions, along with training and development, and these are found to apply to all aspects of work-related attitudes measured. Also worth noting is that, not surprisingly, assessments of recruitment and selection practices accounted for the largest variance in levels of organisational fairness. Discussion and concluding remarks Consistent with the work of Appelbaum and Berg (2000), Cully et al. (2000) and Guest (1999), this study also finds that a significant relationship exists between HRM practice and employee work-related attitudes. There is a strong statistically significant relationship when HRM is researched from the employee perspective. However, there was no significant relationship when HRM practice was measured using the additive approach or employer self-reports. These results have implications for current approaches used to assess the HRM practice-employee work-related attitudes relationship. This study demonstrates that by far the greatest correlate of employee attitudes are employees own assessments of the strength of HRM practice. Interestingly, higher levels of HRM practice, using an additive measure, are not found to be significantly associated with attitudes across any of the four functional areas of HRM examined. In fact, it is revealed that higher levels of HRM practice are in some cases related to decreased levels of job satisfaction and organisational fairness. For example, looking at the data for each functional HRM area, it is possible that higher levels of EEO practice may actually have no, or even a negative, effect on employee attitudes, with a strong inverse relationship being found for job satisfaction. Similarly, weak relationships are found when the relationship between employer assessments about operationalised practice and attitudes are examined. So while Guest and Peccei (1994) suggest these areas are important aspects of best practice HRM, this study finds them to be unrelated to attitudes when data are collected from employers. Put together these results suggest that if managers want to maximise employee attitudes, then implementing lots of practices is not sufficient. Practitioners need to be aware that the way they implement their HRM practices may be a more important determinant of employee attitudes than the number of practices they put in place. This builds on the research findings of other recent studies (Armstrong, 2001) that suggest it is possible that it is the quality of the practice that counts and not the quantity. It may be that practitioners may need to undertake regular attitudinal surveys to assess employee reactions to current HRM practice and assess these on a longitudinal basis to identify what is working and what is not. It was beyond the parameters of this study to examine the complex relationship between HRM practice, employee attitudes and business performance; it has, however, explored the narrower relationship between HRM practice (for the areas of good and safe working conditions, training and development, EEO and recruitment and selection) and three employee attitudes (organisational commitment, job satisfaction and organisational fairness). While regressions tell us nothing about the cause-effect nature of relationships between assessments of HRM practice and employee attitudes, these findings strongly suggest that incorporating the employees experience of HRM into analyses exploring the HRM practice, employee attitudes relationship will contribute further to our understanding about what aspects of HRM have the potential to yield the greatest performance outcomes. Arguably, more so, it would appear, than exploring this particular relationship solely using additive measures or employer self-re ports. This study has some limitations. This study found the standard deviations for assessments of HRM practice and work-related attitudes amongst employee groups within each organisation to be reasonably low, showing close agreement. Nonetheless the aggregated data has been developed from a relatively small sample, thus it may not be representative of the bulk of employee views. The evaluative nature of the questions used introduces the possibility of common method variance (i.e. an artificial correlation across questions due to mood or other contaminants (Fiorito, 2002)). Also, the HRM practices used in this study are supposedly best practice; however, there is still insufficient evidence available to confirm that they are indeed best practice. Finally, Gibb (2001) suggests effective HRM is about implementing best practice. While this may very well be true, it is clear from this study that simply introducing best practice, or even assessing the effectiveness of practice from the employers viewpoint, is no guarantee that they have been successfully implemented. If the organisations objective is to improve employees workplace attitudes, then possibly a better way to confirm which HRM practices are having the greatest impact, and hence are effective, is to correlate employees assessment of them with employees attitudes. Further studies in this area are now required. References Appelbaum, E., Berg, P. (2000), High performance work systems: giving workers a stake, in Blair, M., Kochan, T. (Eds),The New Relationship: Human Capital in the American Corporation, Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Armstrong, G. (2001), The Change Agenda: Performance through People, The New People Management, CODE, London, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P.R., Mills, D.Q., Walton, R.E. (1984), Managing Human Assets, Free Press, New York, NY, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Browne, J.H. (2000), Benchmarking HRM practices in healthy work organizations, American Business Review, Vol. 18 No.2, pp.54-61. [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Cully, M., Woodland, S., OReilly, A., Dix, G. (2000), Britain at Work: As Depicted by the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey, Routledge, London, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Delaney, J.T., Huselid, M.A. (1996), The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 39 No.4, pp.949-69. [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Ehrlich, C.J. (1994), Creating an employer-employee relationship for the future, Human Resource Management, Vol. 33 No.3, pp.491-501. [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Fiorito, J. (2002), Human resource management practices and worker desires for union representation, in Bennett, J., Kaufman, B. (Eds),The Future of Private Sector Unionism in the United States, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] (1984), in Fombrun, C., Tichy, N., Devanna, M. (Eds),Strategic Human Resource Management, Wiley, New York, NY, . [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Gibb, S. (2001), The state of human resource management: evidence from employees view of HRM systems and staff, Employee Relations, Vol. 23 No.4, pp.318-36. [Manual request] [Infotrieve] Greenberg, J. (1990), Organisational justice: yesterday, today and tomorrow, Journal of Management, Vol. 16 pp.399-43

Queen Elizabeth’s Treatment of Catholics Essay -- British History

Queen Elizabeth’s Treatment of Catholics The reformation of England had been a long drawn out affair dating back to King Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy in 1534. By the accession of Elizabeth in 1558, many historians believe that she inherited a country, which was still predominantly Catholic in belief. Although people of South Eastern England were likely to be influenced by the peoples of Europe, who were experiencing reforms, Doran (1994) suggests that the number of Protestants accounted for just 14 per cent of the population of Sussex and less than 10 per cent in Kent. Whether rural lifestyles were largely unaffected by changing religious doctrine due to a primitive communications network or general disinterest, as long as the laity were allowed to continue living as they had previously, is open for debate. However the attitudes of city dwellers in London, England’s premier city and official residence of the monarchy were quite different. The brief rule of Queen Mary, Elizabeth’s predecessor and Catholic half sister had brought about the restoration of Catholic practices and also a regime of Protestant persecution. Public executions of branded heretics proved to have an adverse reaction as it created strong anti-Catholic sentiment and rather than to extirpate the Protestant faith, those who converted to Protestantism, if they were not exiled went underground. Described by Briscoe (2000), Elizabeth I is considered to be one of the country’s most successful and popular monarchs. Unlike the reign of her sister Mary, which was by and large disastrous, Elizabeth made herself a powerful image of female authority ‘through the embellishment and through concrete policies that she urged her nation to follow’ (Jagger (1995)). Her policies could be attributed to the rigorous education she received as a child, which included history, languages, moral philosophy, theology and rhetoric. Her tutor Roger Ascham believed her mind to have no ‘womanly weaknesses, and her perseverance and memory to be equal to that of a man’ (Jagger (1995)). As an adult however, although very intelligent, ruthless and calculating at times, she was also renowned for her indecisive nature. This was due to the fact that ‘she sought peace above all other objects’ (Johnson (1974) p2): a trait, which many historians believe to have come from her father. Elizabeth viewed Catholicism as ... ... Doran S. (1994), Elizabeth I and religion 1558 – 1603, p48  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Routledge Doran S. (1994), Elizabeth I and religion 1558 – 1603, p7 Routledge Doran S. (1994), Elizabeth I and religion 1558 – 1603. Routledge Jagger A. (1995) The life of Elizabeth I www.luminarium.org/renlit/eliza.htm Johnson P. (1974) Elizabeth: A Study in Power and Intellect Weidenfeld & Nicolson Johnson P. (1974) Elizabeth: A Study in Power and Intellect Weidenfeld & Nicolson Johnson P. (1974) Elizabeth: A Study in Power and Intellect Weidenfeld & Nicolson Queen Elizabeth I quote: Modern History Sourcebook: Queen Elizabeth I of England Selected Writing and Speeches http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/elizabeth1.html McGrath P. 1967, Papists and Puritans under Elizabeth I, Blandford Press McGrath P. 1967, Papists and Puritans under Elizabeth I, Blandford Press Warren J. (1998), Elizabeth I: Religion and foreign affairs, Hodder & Stoughton Warren J. (1998), Elizabeth I: Religion and foreign affairs, p66 Hodder & Stoughton Warren J. (1998), Elizabeth I: Religion and foreign affairs, p69 Hodder & Stoughton Warren J. (1998), Elizabeth I: Religion and foreign affairs. Hodder & Stoughton   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Executive Summary on Bee Farming Business

I. Executive Summary A. Type of Business Nature The nature of the business is bee farming. The proponents’ primary purpose is to examine the impact of interventions in bee-keeping. Beekeeping (apiculture) does well in a wide range of agro-ecological zone and fits into a broader category of diversification of agricultural activities. The intervention provides an avenue for increased income. Name The proponent chose â€Å"BAMBU BEE FARM† as a business name. It’s because the word BAMBU came from the first letter of the partners’ last names.The location of the business will be Agbuacan, Agsungot, Cebu City. Products/Services The proposed business revolves on bees and the production of honey. B. Management, Marketing & Financial Highlights The business is a sole proprietorship. It does not need to have a complicated business venture to have a successful beekeeping business. In the marketing aspect, the businesses that require the use of honey are: bakeshops as an alternative for sugar, fast food chains (i. e. McDonald’s, Jollibee, etc. as syrups for breakfast meals, skin clinics as facial masks or treatments, and households for personal use. As there are lesser producers for organic honey which is the main product of the proposed business than processed honey, competition is not that high so the business is not that risky. In financial aspect, it shows the financial activities and its profitability in operating the business. With only a little capital, the return on investments will be fairly high. C. Socio-Economic ContributionsMankind has been interested with bee farming/beekeeping for centuries even before the use of sugar cane has been discovered because of honey – use as a primary sweetener. This golden, sweet treat is from the nectar of the flowers, gathered by the bees. As a result, agriculture has recognized the primary participation of bees in the pollination of the different fruits and flowers around us. Many would suffer if bees would stop in their pollinating activities – crops will die, flowers will wither, trees will bear no fruit and most of the entire ecosystem will fall.The rewards of beekeeping to mankind is not just the sweet, succulent honey but also other products such as royal jelly, propolis and beeswax that could serve as food supplements and medicines to some illnesses. Even the pollen that they harvested can be a good source of protein for a healthy diet. Honey and propolis have antibacterial qualities. Royal jelly (the substance that is secreted from glands in a worker bee's head and is used to feed brood) is loaded with B vitamins and is widely used overseas as a dietary and fertility stimulant.Pollen is high in high protein and can be used as a homeopathic remedy for seasonal pollen allergies. Apitherapy  is the use of bee products for treating health disorders. Even the bees' venom plays a vital role here — in bee-sting therapy. Venom is administered with s uccess to patients who suffer from arthritis and other inflammatory/medical conditions. This entire area has become a science in itself and has been practiced for thousands of years in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Focus on the Learner Essay Essays

Focus on the Learner Essay Essays Focus on the Learner Essay Essay Focus on the Learner Essay Essay Part 1 The pupils go toing the pre-intermediate class are largely Czech subjects ( except one Polish pupil ) and are in their early mid-thirtiess to 1960ss. They all have a good degree of motive and their grounds for larning English include personal development. relocating to an English speech production state. obtaining a better occupation. going. learning English at a higher degree. and pass oning with native talkers or household members populating abroad. : Most of them have learnt the linguistic communication at school and/or university for at least 4 old ages ( frequently with long interruptions ) and were taught by instructors who used both Czech and English in the schoolroom. The lessons were teacher-centred and focused on grammar. command and prep. go forthing few chances for speech production pattern. One pupil has besides been go toing English class offered by her employer. and besides learns English independently. Two of the pupils are multilingual ( they speak either German or Gallic ) . A figure of them have attended English lessons at Akcent IH in the yesteryear. which they enjoyed because they were exposed to assorted speech patterns of native talkers. They prefer lessons where merely English is spoken and are really receptive to CELTA learning schemes. Students are happy to work in braces or groups. though some would wish to be corrected more frequently and experience they learn more when speaking to the instructor. They enjoy a mixture of speech production pattern and grammar work. which most perceive as hard. but easier than listening or talking â€Å"because grammar can be learned† . They are all eager to pass on efficaciously with native English talkers. develop their hearing accomplishments ( hard because of accents/talking velocities ) and talking accomplishments ( eloquence. bettering their speech patterns ) . The pupils besides want to broaden their vocabulary and better their authorship accomplishments. All pupils are passionate about going. music. dance and athleticss. and actively prosecute these avocations. Part 2A: Description of mistakeMistake illustrationCorrectionssReason Grammar Not utilizing the right proper noun when mentioning to a peculiar state It is the same in Britain or in Gallic.It is the same in Britain or in France.Most probably a faux pas. though perchance pupil doesn’t know the right word for the state or hasn’t had adequate pattern utilizing it. Excluding â€Å"-s† in the present simple 3rd individual remarkableShe drink a batch of java.She drinks a batch of java.SS are cognizant of the regulation but haven’t internalized it yet. Probably confounding for them because the verb signifier merely changes in the 3rd individual seaborgium. Vocabulary Using the incorrect adjectival ( intending )difficult baggageheavy baggageL1 intervention: difficult and heavy are the same in Czech ( tezky ) Using incorrect verb ( collocation: you ride a motorcycle. but drive a auto ) Do you cognize how to sit autos?Make you cognize how to drive a auto?Drive in Czech ( ridit ) is similar to sit. Student learned the significances of drive/ride in the past but mixes them up. Pronunciation Incorrect sounds/ven// wen/Student hasn’t had adequate pattern utilizing the sound /w/ . which does non be in Czech. and uses the sound /v/ alternatively. Incorrect sounds + wrong word emphasis?/d? ? : pan/?/d? ? P? n/L1 intervention: in Czech. word emphasis is ever on the first syllable. Student would besides profit from boring pronunciation to rectify the vowel sounds. Part 2B: Skill 1: ListeningThe pupils handle listening for effect and specific information good if the context is really clear from the start. undertakings are graded to their degree and the activity is prosecuting ( as was the instance when listening to a vocal ) . Essential vocabulary must be clarified before the hearing undertaking. Because they are non exposed to talk English outside the schoolroom really much and hold had small listening pattern in their old larning experience. they sometimes struggle with the different speech patterns of English talkers ( indigens who speak rapidly are peculiarly hard to understand ) . Skill 2: SpeakingTalking undertakings work good with the group. particularly if the subject is something the pupils can associate to ( like New Year’s traditions. or their avocations: traveling and vacations were peculiarly stimulating subjects ) and have/are taught the necessary vocabulary. Free speech production undertakings work best when preceded by guided pattern. At times. the speech production undertakings progress easy and pupils are hesitating to speak. They frequently stop to believe about the truth of what they are traveling to state and ever profit from discoursing their thoughts in braces before prosecuting in the activity. This has to make with their old English acquisition experiences. in which accomplishments development was neglected – they were non encouraged to portion their thoughts or develop eloquence. Part 3 Activity 1: /v/ vs. /w/Purpose: To clear up and pattern the pronunciation of the sounds /v/ and /w/ in normally encountered words. Rationale: Students have problem articulating the sound /w/ . Often they say /vi: kend/ alternatively of /wi: kend/ or /ver/ alternatively of /w? r/ . The sound /w/ does non be in their native linguistic communication. so they use the closest sound in Czech: /v/ . I found that this mistake is widespread amongst the pupils. The activity I have chosen is suited because. apart from boring the pronunciation of /w/ and /v/ . it encourages pupils to place regulations as to which of sound to utilize in which words. I’ve adapted the undertaking to include some of the words they had problem with in category. Activity 2: Summer cantonment Purpose: To give pupils pattern utilizing the right signifier of the present simple 3rd individual singular in the context of forming a summer cantonment. Rationale: Students are already familiar with the regulation for organizing the present tense for the 3rd individual singular. However. particularly during talking undertakings. they omit the â€Å"-s† at the terminal of the verb and utilize the bare infinitive signifier. The activity I have chosen is a speech production undertaking. because I believe that pupils will profit from pattern to avoid doing this sort of mistake in a productive undertaking and it will promote eloquence. BibliographyMillin. S. ( 2011. June 18 ) – Pronunciation jobs for Czech talkers of English Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //sandymillin. wordpress. com/2011/06/18/pronunciation-problems-for-czech-speakers-of-english/

Great Bear Rainforest Essays

Great Bear Rainforest Essays Great Bear Rainforest Essay Great Bear Rainforest Essay This is where anyone who knows the industry or is at least a little environmentally aware realises that something is not quite right. Interfor has been the subject of intense protesting and disapproval by a variety of environmental organisations, including Green peace for their destructive logging practices in the Great Bear forest in British Columbia. Interfor says it is working towards sustainable harvesting in the Great Bear Rainforest, said Tamara Stark, Green peace forest campaign co-ordinator in Canada. The company is spending a considerable amount of money on public relations, trying to convince customers that its logging practices are second-to-none. Weve got the pictures to prove its shoddy logging is a long way from qualifying as even second rate.' [11] Green peaces claims that is has the pictures for proof are backed up they the posted pictures on their site, and make the companies claims that it is environmentally sustainable sound quite hollow. Another example of problems with the SFI certification claiming sustainability are made apparent when you do more research into the companies that have been given certification by the organisation and are still in good standing. : Pacific Lumber, also known as Maxxam, has been a participant in good standing in the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) of the American Forest Paper Association since 1996. Yet in recent years, Pacific Lumber has become notorious for its role in the Headwaters controversy over clear cutting of ancient redwoods. In addition, in November 1998 its license to practice forestry in California was suspended for several months, after the company had been cited numerous times by inspectors for violating state forestry practice rules.[12] So what is going on here? How is it that these supposedly certified companies are still certified when the slightest bit of research turns up incredibly environmentally unsustainable evidence. To see the answer to this question one only needs to re-examine the first sentence of the certification report. Pacific Lumber, also known as Maxxam, has been a participant in good standing in the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) of the American Forest Paper Association since 1996.[13] The important four words in the sentence are American Forest Paper Association. The SFI is in fact an industry run certification association, and the industry set out, principles for sustainable forestry are far too broad and open-ended to be meaningful. The program has few fixed requirements or benchmarks for measuring a companys performance. Nor does it require any independent review of its members claims. And it allows every company to decide for itself how to tailor the guidelines to its own forests. So vague are the SFIs guidelines, in fact, that virtually any company could belong. Environmental organisations have denounced the SFI and pointed out the coincidence that SFI came on the scene just as environmentalists had thrown their support behind a truly rigorous, independent system for certifying well-managed forests? The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), awards seals of approval for environmentally and socially responsible forest management practices.[14] The FSC is unique in the fact that it is the only certification program that exists right now that has the endorsement of environmental organisations. What is also a telling sign of its truly sustainable nature is the fact that the industry is calling on the FSC to relax its standards so that more companies may receive certification. [15] It is important to note though that of the above companies mentioned Home Depot and IKEA are demanding wood with FSC certification and not SFI certification. Another company known for its less then environmentally friendly practices has however taken steps and received FSC certification and plans to continue to do so for its other forests. Irvings Allagash Woodlands have been awarded certification as a well-managed forest under the rules of the non-profit Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The 569,520-acre woodland in Maines Aroostook County was the subject of a year-long assessment by an independent team of scientists and forestry experts under the auspices of Scientific Certification Systems, an FSC-accredited certification body.[16] The fact that Irving, has gotten its standards in Maine at least up to an acceptable level speaks well of the company and its movement towards environmentally conscious forestry practices, whether or not Irvings Canadian operation will be certified is not, however, discussed on the website. Further research on the Canadian Forestry Service website shows however that Irving had its Black Brook, New Brunswick forest operation certified by the FSC in October 1998. The rest of its Canadian operations have only however been certified to ISO standards, which as noted does not have the support of environmentalists, and are not considered to be environmentally sustainable. The FSC standards are what sets the program apart from the other certification initiatives, the standards range from requiring forest managers to show a long term commitment to sustainable forestry, compliance with all international treaties in signatory countries, respect for indigenous peoples rights and that they control forestry practices on their land, the view that economic viability must be long-term economic viability, maintenance of High Conservation Value Forests, and that plantations should promote the protection, restoration and conservation of natural forests, and not increase pressures on natural forests.[17] This has lead to the FSC being a much more exclusive list of organisations, due to the unwilling ness of many companies to submit to the FSC standards. Greenpeace and WWF recognize that the Forest Stewardship Council is currently the only system ensuring credible certification of good forest management. The statutes and requirements of the FSC clearly reflect international agreements reached at the Earth summit in Rio and thereafter.[18] It is the even implementation of these standards and the problem of how to evaluate all these criteria that has another party, the forest auditors speaking up over the difficulty of truly measuring many of these qualifications laid out by the various certification systems. The areas of management practices such as the level of site degradation, stocking levels, and fibre utilisation are indicators that are fairly simple to monitor, however, for objectives such as maintaining healthy wildlife populations, or water quality, auditing without standards or accepted levels of performance becomes a significant challenge.[19] While at first it may be easy to assume that that isnt that much of a challenge at all, one then has not considered such factors as regional differences, natural cycles in wildlife, etc. make the measuring process much more complex. In many areas, provincial legislation and certification initiatives for sustainable forest management systems are ahead of the science.'[20] There are also the questions of how much constitutes a problem, if for example five hanging culverts in one forest seems to be fine due to the make up of the soil in that area, what then do you do if five hanging culverts in an other area with less supporting soil is a problem. How then do you have a certification system that is uniform when in fact the biosystems in question are anything but? IT is important to realize just what we are currently able to verify in the field. Science has not developed to the point where auditors can measure the actual results systems will be established to document the intended outcome, but this is only a forecast.[21] As there are no established practices and concrete correlations between specific eco-forestry practices and their environmental outcomes the realisation as to whether or not specific practices are effective cannot presently be measured. The ultimate impact of sustainable forest management activities in the forest can only be assessed over a period of decades or perhaps centuries. The final group that needs to be examined within the context of a disscusion of the state of sustainable certification of Canadian forests is the government of Canada it self. The Canadian Forest Service (CFS) is the government entity in charge of the care of Canadian forests and its mission statements reads, The CFS promotes the sustainable development of Canadas forests and competitiveness of the Canadian Forest Sector.[22] The CFS is now implementing a number of programs along with the provinces to move Canadian forests into a sustainable mode of operations. The CFS received a less then favourable review when the final report of the Senate Sub-Committee on the Boreal Forest: Competing Realities: The Boreal Forest at Risk was released on June 28, 1999.[23] The senate committee stated that Canadians must find better ways to manage the boreal forest to meet the competing realities of preserving the resource, maintaining the lifestyle and values of boreal communities, extracting economic wealth and preserving ecological values.[24] This of course is the bureaucratically polite way of saying that what we have been doing in Canada in the way of sustainable forest management has fallen short of the kind of environmentally sustainable practices necessary to promote long term preservation of the Canadian boreal forests. Indeed the report stated as much with the following line, Portions of Canadas remaining undisturbed boreal forest and its areas of old growth are now at risk from both climate change and over cutting. The committee concluded that the demands being placed on Canadas forests can no longer be met under the current system of management.[25] The CFS seems to be trying to rectify this problem through the promotion of sustainable forestry certification, sixteen million hectares of Canadian forest have been certified under one of the three certification programs in Canada, being the Forest Stewardship Council, the International Standards Organisation, or the Canadian Standards Organisation. The government is very pleased with the fact that its certification push is going ahead. However this is where the difference between the FSC and all the other non-environmentally endorsed certification programs comes into play. Out of the sixteen million hectares only two hundred and twelve thousand hectares have been certified by the FSC. This includes the one hundred and ninety one thousand hectares of Irvings FSC certified land in New Brunswick. This fact remembered in the context that the other certification systems have been considered too weak, or completely useless by environmental organisations makes the push towards certification by the Canadian government seem less then effective. It is also important to realise that more then half of the sixteen million hectares of forest had been certified before the report of the senate sub committee report was released stating that the demands being placed on Canadas forests can no longer be met under the current system of management,[26] this same system of management that, somehow, in spite of the fact that it is considered to be unsustainable in by the criteria in the report, has received certification by the ISO and the CSA. This apparent contradiction, about sums up the position of the Canadian government when it comes to what it is doing with regard to the sustainable management of its forests. The certification process in Canada should however at all levels be considered a good thing, as one of my articles put it, the fact that the industry is doing something at all is a good sign. The problem now is getting the standards all to the point where they are truly sustainable. Environmental organisations and the FSC are adamant about keeping certification at the level at which the FSC has set it. It is now up to consumers to give industry and government the added push to switch their practices to sustainable levels, it was the push of consumers which started this process and the push of consumers that will continue this process, until then one must be educated to know if the certification sticker on the wood that they are purchasing means something, or is just another piece of packaging garbage. Bibliography References Anonymous, Certifying forests poses challenges Wood Technology; San Francisco; Jan/Feb 1999; Volume: 126. Issue: 1. Start Page: 12-14 Anonymous, Champion to open forests to third-party sustainability reviews Wood Technology; San Francisco; Jan/Feb 1999; Volume: 126. Issue: 1. Start Page: 12 Anonymous, It aint necessarily so The Amicus Journal; New York; Spring 2000; Anonymous; Volume: 22. Issue: 1. Start Page:6. Anonymous, McDonalds wants forestry practice info. Pulp Paper; San Francisco; May 1999; Anonymous; Volume: 73. Issue: 5. Start Page: 23.