Compensation (Human Resources) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compensation (Human Resources) - Essay Example ion is simply the salary of an employee while indirect compensation is more different for it includes legal obligation programs such as health insurance, retirement programs, paid leave or housing. Benefits and rewards receive by the employee from the employer is the non-monetary compensation. According to Tatum (2010), in order for employees to be more productive and motivated, business should provide more detailed incentive – the total compensation package. The package should be well designed to attract, retain, and motivate competent workers in the organization. To decide on what component to be included in the compensation package is far more complicated than just deciding on the payment of employees. The expectations of the employees on what would their compensation package consist of, would be a pressure for the organization. The components of the total compensation package include total compensation (base pay and incentives), benefits, work-life balance and training, career and personal growth (Construction Business Owner, 2007). These components are needed for an organization to survive into today’s tough business environment. Base pay and incentives are usually the largest component and the most common of a compensation package. These are important being the introduction of employment to assure that employees have comfort in their lifestyle. Salary would be based on the role of the worker on how the role is being delivered while incentive usually refers to the payment for performance. Benefits are the second component that typically provides: medical benefits, dental plan, paid time off, holidays, social security and many others (Construction Business Owner, 2007). Giving benefits to their employees are adopted by over 80 percent companies today. This component is important to attract employees who are looking for long-term and stable jobs that would surely build loyalty in the organization. Another component of compensation package is the work-life

The Financial Markets Essay Example for Free

The Financial Markets Essay The development of the regional markets to global level and innovative developments in the technology field has greatly boosted growth and expansion of financial markets. Capital markets in the emerging economies are quite evident and this is a direct result of global links in financial development policies. The rapid economic growth and industrialization process in the emerging economies is also attributed to the globalization of the financial markets which significantly promote capital inflows (Agtmael 2007). On the other hand, economic problems and financial crises in other nations could easily be transferred to other countries as a result of these interactions. This was evident with the Asian currency crisis of 1997 that affected the major economies of the Asian region; the Russian financial crisis that saw countries of former Soviet Union suffer an economic depression and the disintegration of the long-term capital management in 1998 (Kahn 1979). Many countries have now undertaken a process of finding a solution to such occurrences in future and the most notable research is that conducted by the Japanese central bank. The World Disinflation Trend Structural changes in the global financial market have influenced the international, market environment in terms of prices of products. In 1990s the world experienced a change in disinflation rates reflected by a notable increase in the supply of products to the world market as a result of the rapid industrialization in the emerging market economies. Development and innovative technology plus anti-inflation policies adopted by many nations also played a significant role in the disinflation development. The inflation rates in the Group of eight (G-8) countries declined by about 3-4%, these countries are the greatest economies in the World of all nations and they include; United States, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, Britain, Russia and France (Drori et,al 2006). Significant of them all is Japan which has experienced a faster deflation rate resulting in prices of consumer goods ranging from less than one to about zero percent. The European countries and the United States are the great beneficiaries of the disinflation phenomenon that resulted from the economic polices in the early 1990s. These nations has earned real economic base for their financial and commercial activities leading to a steady expansion of economy and consumer price stability (Kahn 1979). The European monetary union is a great success due to reduced inflation in the member countries. The great economic depression was an eye opener to most of the countries and this lead to change in economic policies of many central banks in different nations. Most of the nations that are in the developing stage are currently mare concerned about the threat of price decline which has not occurred for quite some time now since the great economic depression. These economic development have lead to better financial services in the US and European nations. The federal reserve reduced its rated from 6. 5 % to 1. 25% between 2001 and 2002, the European central bank on the other hand reduced refinancing rates by half and by the year 2003 it was about 2. 0 % from 4. 75% in the year 2001 (Drori et,al 2006). Central banks in the group of eight countries are concerned about calls by other economies to reduce short-term interest rates. Such conventional monetary policy is intended to stimulate economic activities that target the lower zero bound short term interest rates. Such policies are borrowed from the bank of Japan which established the trend in 2001 (IFM 2003).

Employee Performance Case Study

Employee Performance Case Study Problems inside the Slough branch and options to improve employee performance There are several key issues that impact the Slough branch. These include poor management, a lack of motivation of employees and ineffective communication between the workforce. The manager is perhaps one of the major problems in this subsidiary because his lack of professional management skills impacts on the employees and their work. As a manager and team leader, one aspect of supporting staff in periods of high demand is to help them manage their time more effectively and thereby help to reduce their stress levels and work pressures. Mr. David Brent, the manager of this branch, fails to do this for his staff. One failure on Brents part is his inability to deal with the impending merger with the Swindon branch. His lack of acknowledgment of the change results in unease amongst the workforce. His attitude in general is poor and he fails to act professionally. It has been suggested that considering training as an investment decision could vastly improve motivation in the workforce[1] but that this should only be done after careful consideration. Looking at the theory of leadership by Burrhus Skinner, an American psychologist, we assume that leadership capabilities are rooted in characteristics possessed by individuals and these skills are not necessarily in every individual[2]. If we consider the theory as true, we can easily conclude that David Brent is not a good leader as he does not have relevant characteristics. Referring to Peter Druckers ideas[3], the leaders job is to prepare people to execute and operate effectively and then give them freedom to do so. David Brent is failing to do this which suggests that specific training would be useful. In this case, introducing training is essential to improve the skills and the attitude of David Brent. With this type of training, the aim should be to change some of David Brents behaviour, par ticularly to his employees. For example, he must change the way he talks to his employees, he does not know how to interact in a professional way with them to the detriment of the managerial relationship. He also does not enforce order; nor does he follow company procedures. If these issues were properly addressed, then there is the possibility that staff motivation may increase knowing that proper leadership is in place. Another issue in this branch is the ineffective communication between all levels and departments of the workforce. This does not allow for improvement in the employees work and it often leads to them being lazy and unproductive and even, on occasions, disrespectful towards their colleagues. The employees, even if they attend some work meetings, are not able to express themselves properly because the manager does not allow them to do so. Instead, he spends much of his time in meetings trying to be friendly and relatable at the expense of communicating issues and tasks with the team. In this case, to improve and increase the communication in this branch, it would be useful to introduce a discussion group once a week[4]. This type of meeting would be with all key employees and the manager to talk about any problems and all situations approaching that week. All staff could be involved in identifying the vital goals and develop procedures and strategies to reach those goals. This session should ideally last about 30 minutes and be on a fixed day each week so that the whole team has a joint focus. Perhaps the biggest factor damaging the employees performance is the impending merger with the Swindon branch; the insecurity of their positions makes them worried. However, due to the poor management, the staff do not feel motivated to work as they are not held accountable for their actions. As they rarely get disciplined for their absence of productivity, they do not feel that they need motivation to work. Also they do not receive any feedback on how they work, meaning they cannot improve their performance or find out if they have done well. All these factors put their jobs at greater risk. One of the ways we could improve motivation in the work force is to consider Lockes theories on motivation and set specific goals for the employees to achieve[5]. Locke set out that it is through working to specific aims set by both manager and employee that a persons work can improve. This could be made possible by introducing one-on-one meetings between the manager and all members of staff. By having regular appraisals employees could track their performance and be motivated to improve as targets appear more achievable. These sessions should be done each week with all employees struggling with meeting their targets. Perhaps if the employees feel more motivated to achieve their targets they could begin to feel more secure in their positions at the company. Overall, I think that we should work very hard to change all the problematic and inappropriate situations because all the lies combined with unprofessional behaviour has deeply damaged the integrity of the Slough branch. Employee Appraisal for Gareth Keenan When deciding what appraisal system to use for Gareth Keenan I looked at many major models to find one which would best show his potential within the company. There are several jobs appraisal systems that could be used, however I have evaluated the strengths of these and concluded that the best system in Keenans case is Wether and Davis Ratings Scale[6]. I first looked at the Checklist method to try to evaluate Gareth Keenans work[7]. This system requires the user to work through a list of the employees capabilities and answer either yes or no. The problem I have found with this system is that it is not very motivational. By answering simply yes or no, the results are stark and it is difficult to motivate Keenan if his appraisal results mainly in no. It could be hard to see if he improved between meetings as this method may not show small improvements he has made. The second appraisal that I looked at is the Forced Choice Method[8]. This method is made in blocks of two or more, and the rater indicates which statement is most or least descriptive compared to the employee. Again, I find this procedure not useful for Gareth Keenan because the many aspects of his job may not be properly framed in this restrictive format. This employee has not got a big personality but he tries, often with bad results, to be a good supervisor and to be appreciated by the manager and the rest of the staff. He needs to see any improvements even if he does not yet do enough to be seen as a good employee and supervisor by them. This will allow him to gain confidence in what he does and set targets for improvement in all aspects of his job, not just ones set out in the Forced Choice Method. Overall I decided to use the Ratings method as it is the most simplistic and it allows for easy personalization relevant to the specific role and shows an easily understandable scale of competency. This table can show the various activities and performances required by the employee inside the workplace and crucially, it provides a scale of performance allowing for easy interpretation of key successes in Keenans work, as well as areas in need of improvement. This kind of appraisal can show every little improvement, or every worsening skill set, that the employee has therefore allowing for a clear sign of progression between ratings. This could be useful for Gareth Keenan because it should motivate him to improve and if the appraisals are held often enough, show his constant growth in areas for development. Also, as comments and suggestions can be attached to this appraisal system it can help him to change his approach to his work and suggest a change to his style of his communication for him to work on. Furthermore, I suggest a personality test[9] for Gareth Keenan, in order to understand which aspects of his personality he could work on more to improve his relationships with his coworkers. Bibliography Dwyer, J. R., Career Development and Advancement Patterns of Aboriginal Executives in the Canadian Federal Public Service, USA, 2000 Skinner, B. F., Science And Human Behavior, USA, 1965 Drucker, P., The Practice of Management, Oxford, 2007 Ledlow G., Coppola N., Leadership for Health Professionals, Burlington, 2011 Cole, G., A., Human Resource And Personnel Management, London, 2004 Aswathappa, K., Human Resource And Personnel Management, New Delhi, 2005 Manna, G., Introduzione alle tecniche per la valutazione della personalità  , Palermo, 2006 [1] Career Development and Advancement Patterns of Aboriginal Executives in the Canadian Federal Public Service, Rocky J. Dwyer, 2000. [2] Science And Human Behavior, B.F Skinner, 1965. [3] The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker, Classic Drucker Collection Edition 2007. [4] Leadership for Health Professionals, Gerald Ledlow and Nicholas Coppola, 2011. [5] Personnel and Human Resource Management, Cole G. A., 2004. [6] Human Resource And Personnel Management, K. Aswathappa, Fourth Edition 2005, p. 243. [7] Ibidem, p. 244. [8] Ibidem, p. 244/245. [9] Introduzione alle tecniche per la valutazione della personalità  , Giovanna Manna edito da Franco Angeli, 2006.

interculturalo event :: essays research papers

1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Describe the event, its purpose, the cultural group originating the event, and how you learned of the event. Believe it or not,(like everything else I’ve written about in this course) my cultural event was Italian/American in nature. The event in question was the marriage of an American groom and an Italian bride. The bride’s family consisted, in large part, of grandparents and older relatives that had been born and raised in Italy. Obviously the younger relatives were primarily second and third generation Italians as well. The groom and his family, on the other hand, were American mutts. Their cultural background was extremely diluted, consisting of a multitude of cultural circumstances. Seeing as the American groom (Richard) proposed, I suppose the origin of the event could be considered American, although without the consent of the Italian bride (Tessa), there would be no wedding, so let’s call it Italian/American in origin. My wife and I were invited to attend the wedding by her great-aunt, who comes from the Italian side of the union. 2) What element(s), if any, is/are similar in your culture? For the most part the wedding was just like any other American wedding. During the ceremony a couple of symbolic and superstitious traditions similar to American traditions were performed. First, whereas in American culture superstition dictates that the bride must have â€Å"something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue†, the Italian groom carried a piece of metal in his suit pocket to ward off evil eyes. I found the second action, one of symbolic nature, a bit odd. In American culture, couples frequently light unity candles to symbolize their lifetime union of happiness. The symbolic gesture in this wedding was a bit different though. The newly married couple smashed a vase, with the remaining pieces representing the number of years the couple is expected to be happily married. I found this act kind of strange. Suppose the vase only broke into two or three pieces (it didn’t, it shattered into hundreds). Such an occurrence would seem certain to dampe n the enthusiasm for a superstitious couple. Aside from a couple of exceptions, the rest of the wedding was similar to any other wedding, with a buffet of food, cash bar, and a D.J. spinning records (or cd’s, as the case may be). 3) What did you see and experience at this event that made you feel confident you understood accurately?

Gawai Day or Gawai Dayak

Gawai Day or Gawai Dayak is a festival celebrated in Sarawak on 1 June every year. It is both a religious and social occasion. The word Gawai means a ritual or festival whereas Dayak is a collective name for the native ethnic groups of Sarawak (and neighboring Indonesian Kalimantan): the Iban, also known as Sea Dayak and the Bidayuh people, also known as Land Dayak. Thus, Gawai Dayak literally means â€Å"Dayak Festival†. Dayak would visit their friends and relatives on this day. Such visit is more commonly known as â€Å"ngabang† in the Iban language. Those too far away to visit would receive greeting cards. It started back in 1957 in a radio forum held by Mr Ian Kingsley, a radio programme organiser. This generated a lot of interest among the Dayak community. The mode of celebration varies from place to place. Preparation starts early. Tuak (rice wine) is brewed (at least one month before the celebration) and traditional delicacies like penganan (cakes from rice flour, sugar and coconut milk) are prepared. As the big day approaches, everyone will be busy with general cleaning and preparing food and cakes. On Gawai Eve, glutinous rice is steamed in bamboo (ngelulun pulut). In the longhouse, new mats will be laid out on the ruai (an open gallery which runs through the entire length of the longhouse). The walls of most bilik (rooms) and the ruai are decorated with Pua Kumbu (traditional blankets). A visit to clean the graveyard is also conducted and offerings offered to the dead. After the visit it is important to bathe before entering the longhouse to ward off bad luck. The celebration starts on the evening of 31 May. In most Iban longhouses, it starts with a ceremony called Muai Antu Rua (to cast away the spirit of greed), signifying the non-interference of the spirit of bad luck in the celebration. Two children or men each dragging a chapan (winnowing basket) will pass each family's room. Every family will throw some unwanted article into the basket. The unwanted articles will be tossed to the ground from the end of the longhouse for the spirit of bad luck. Around 6 pm or as the sun sets, miring (offering ceremony) will take place. Before the ceremony, gendang rayah (ritual music) is performed. The Feast Chief thanks the gods for the good harvest, and asks for guidance, blessings and long life as he waves a cockerel over the offerings. He then sacrifices the cockerel and a little blood is used together with the offerings. Once the offering ceremony is done, dinner is then served at the ruai. Just before midnight, a procession up and down the ruai seven times called Ngalu Petara (welcoming the spirit gods) is performed. During this procession, a beauty pageant to choose the festival's queen and king (Kumang & Keling Gawai) is sometimes conducted. Meanwhile, drinks, traditional cakes and delicacies are served. At midnight, the gong is beaten to call the celebrants to attention. The longhouse Chief (tuai rumah) or Festival Chief will lead everyone to drink the Ai Pengayu (normally tuak for long life) and at the same time wish each other â€Å"gayu-guru, gerai-nyamai† (long life, health and prosperity). The celebration now turns merrier and less formal. Some will dance to the traditional music played, others will sing the pantun (poems). In urban areas, Dayaks will organise gatherings at community centres or restaurants to celebrate the evening. Other activities that may follow the next few days include: cock-fighting matches, and blowpipe and ngajat competitions. On this day, 1 June, homes of the Dayaks are opened to visitors and guests. Traditionally, when guests arrive at a longhouse, they are given the ai tiki as a welcome. From time to time, guests are served tuak. This would be called nyibur temuai which literally means â€Å"watering of guests†. Christian Dayaks normally attend a church mass service to thank God for the good harvest. Gawai Dayak celebrations may last for several days. It is also during this time of year that many Dayak weddings take place, as it is one of the rare occasions when all the members of the community return home to their ancestral longhouse. Up till 1962, the British colonial government refused to recognise Dayak Day. Gawai Dayak was formally gazetted on 25 September 1964 as a public holiday in place of Sarawak Day. It was first celebrated on 1 June 1965 and became a symbol of unity, aspiration and hope for the Dayak community. Today, it is an integral part of Dayak social life. It is a thanksgiving day marking good harvest and a time to plan for the new farming season or activities ahead.

Free Essays on Family Preservation

In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act passed (P.L. 96-272), which required child protection services (CPS) to make "reasonable efforts" to prevent children from being placed into foster care. From this law, human services agencies and child protection agencies began to focus on the development of family preservation services (FPS). The emphasis of FPS, cumulated in 1993 in the Family Preservation and Support Act, which encouraged states to begin or further develop FPS by providing funds. "By the mid-1990s, most states had passed some form of legislation requiring the provision of preventivite child welfare services...closely reflecting the Homebuilders model" (Linblad, Dore and Stern, 1998, pg. 14-15). The Homebuilders model "is based on a crisis intervention theory, social systems theory and social learning theory" (Linblad et al. 1998, pg. 15). Their goal is to "add resources to relieve pressure and to facilitate the development of a safe, nurturing environment for children within the context of family" (Kinney, Haapala, and Booth, 1991, pg 3). There are different models of FPS, although many recognize the Homebuilders model as the prototypical family preservation service, yet all models have five characteristics in common in order for them to be classified as FPS. First family preservation services are crisis oriented. "Crisis theory postulates that when people go through periods of high stress, their regular coping mechanisms break down, leaving them open to change in either a positive or negative direction." Families that are referred for FPS, are usually experiencing the possibility of their child/children being removed from the home by CPS or the environment of the home is so hostile that the parent is refusing to let the child/children live with them, or the child is running away. (Kinney et al. 1991, pg 15) FPS also has an emphasis on family strengths, and is family centered. Focusing on strength... Free Essays on Family Preservation Free Essays on Family Preservation In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act passed (P.L. 96-272), which required child protection services (CPS) to make "reasonable efforts" to prevent children from being placed into foster care. From this law, human services agencies and child protection agencies began to focus on the development of family preservation services (FPS). The emphasis of FPS, cumulated in 1993 in the Family Preservation and Support Act, which encouraged states to begin or further develop FPS by providing funds. "By the mid-1990s, most states had passed some form of legislation requiring the provision of preventivite child welfare services...closely reflecting the Homebuilders model" (Linblad, Dore and Stern, 1998, pg. 14-15). The Homebuilders model "is based on a crisis intervention theory, social systems theory and social learning theory" (Linblad et al. 1998, pg. 15). Their goal is to "add resources to relieve pressure and to facilitate the development of a safe, nurturing environment for children within the context of family" (Kinney, Haapala, and Booth, 1991, pg 3). There are different models of FPS, although many recognize the Homebuilders model as the prototypical family preservation service, yet all models have five characteristics in common in order for them to be classified as FPS. First family preservation services are crisis oriented. "Crisis theory postulates that when people go through periods of high stress, their regular coping mechanisms break down, leaving them open to change in either a positive or negative direction." Families that are referred for FPS, are usually experiencing the possibility of their child/children being removed from the home by CPS or the environment of the home is so hostile that the parent is refusing to let the child/children live with them, or the child is running away. (Kinney et al. 1991, pg 15) FPS also has an emphasis on family strengths, and is family centered. Focusing on strength...

Learn More About Marie Curie and Radioactive Elements

Learn More About Marie Curie and Radioactive Elements Dr. Marie Curie is known to the world as the scientist who discovered radioactive metals such as radium and polonium. Curie was a Polish physicist and chemist who lived between 1867-1934. She was  born Maria Sklodowski in Warsaw, Poland, the youngest of five children. When she was born, Poland was controlled by Russia. Her parents were teachers, and she learned at an early age the importance of education. Her mother died when she was young, and when her father was caught teaching Polish - which had been made illegal under the Russian government. Manya, as she was called, and her sisters had to get jobs. After a couple of failed jobs, Manya became a tutor to a family in the countryside outside Warsaw. She enjoyed her time there, and was able to send her father money to help support him, and also send some money to her sister Bronya in Paris who was studying medicine. Bronya eventually married another medical student and they set up practice in Paris. The couple invited Manya to live with them and study at the Sorbonne - a famous Parisian University. In order to fit in better at the school, Manya changed her name to the French Marie. Marie studied physics and mathematics and quickly received her masters degrees in both subjects. She remained in Paris after graduation and started research on magnetism. For the research she wanted to do, she needed more space than her small lab. A friend introduced her to another young scientist, Pierre Curie, who had some extra room. Not only did Marie move her equipment into his lab, Marie and Pierre fell in love and married. Radioactive Elements Together with her husband, Curie discovered two new elements (radium and polonium, two radioactive elements that they extracted chemically from pitchblende ore) and studied the x-rays they emitted. She found that the harmful properties of x-rays were able to kill tumors. By the end of World War I, Marie Curie was probably the most famous woman in the world. She had made a conscious decision, however, not to patent methods of processing radium or its medical applications. Her co-discovery with her husband Pierre of the radioactive elements radium and polonium represents one of the best-known stories in modern science for which they were recognized in 1901 with the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1911, Marie Curie was honored with a second Nobel prize, this time in chemistry, to honor her for successfully isolating pure radium and determining radiums atomic weight. As a child, Marie Curie amazed people with her great memory. She learned to read when she was only four years old. Her father was a professor of science and the instruments that he kept in a glass case fascinated Marie. She dreamed of becoming a scientist, but that would not be easy. Her family became very poor, and at the age of 18, Marie became a governess. She helped pay for her sister to study in Paris. Later, her sister helped Marie with her education. In 1891, Marie attended the Sorbonne University in Paris where she met and married Pierre Curie, a well-known physicist. After the sudden accidental death of Pierre Curie, Marie Curie managed to raise her two small daughters (Irà ¨ne, who was herself awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935, and Eve who became an accomplished author) and continue an active career in experimental radioactivity measurements. Marie Curie contributed greatly to our understanding of radioactivity and the effects of  x-rays. She received two Nobel prizes for her brilliant work, but died of leukemia, caused by her repeated exposure to radioactive material.