Issues in Human Resource Strategies That Improve Organizational Performance Essay Example for Free

Issues in Human Resource Strategies That Improve Organizational Performance Essay A rapidly changing economic environment, characterized by such phenomena as the globalization, and deregulation of markets, changing customer and investor demands, and ever increasing product market competition, has become the norm for most organization. To compete, they must continually improve their performance by reducing costs; innovating products and processes; improving quality, productivity, and speed to market; and more importantly by improving their individual performance within the organization. In order to do this, a set of distinctive human resource strategies, defined as internally consistent bundles of human resource practices (Dyer Reeves, 1995), is clearly essential. Sparrow and Marchington (1998) suggested that HR practices are the most advanced, the most sophisticated, and the most efficient basis for organizing and for obtaining high performance from employees since it seeks to strategically integrate the interests of an organization and its employees. In addition, a number of studies have also indicated that there is a positive relationship between effective HR strategies and organizational performance. Specifically, it is suggested that HR practices can improve organizational and operational performance when matched with quality manufacturing strategies (Stone, 2002). Nevertheless, despite the positive relationship found between HR practices and firm performance, there are a number of issues and questions surrounding them. One problem in relating HRM and performance is the lack of theoretical background; resulting in both terms remain ambiguous concepts. Other questions arise in relation with the link between HR strategies and performance are the inconsistent findings in regards to what constitutes a high performance HR strategy (Becker Gerhart, 1996; Cooke, 2001) and the problems with HRM and performance measurements (Guest et al. , 2003). The aim of this essay is to outline and explain the issues in developing human resource strategies that improve organizational performance. Specifically, the essay shall begin with presenting the issue of theoretical background of the concept of HRM and organizational performance. Subsequently, it shall discuss the issue about diversified strategies used to improve performance, and the problems in measuring HRM and performance. ?HRM and Organizational Performance: The Lack of Theoretical Background Guest (1997) pointed out that to improve our understanding of the impact of HRM on performance; we need a theory about HRM, a theory about performance, and a theory about how they are linked. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of debates amongst leading researchers and practitioners about the concept and contributions of HRM practice in managing employees in overall organizational objectives (Loosemore, Dainty Lingard, 2003; Analoui, 1998; Sparrow Marchington, 1998). McCarthy and Stone (1986) argued that the concept of HRM is ambiguous and that its contribution to organizational performance remains unclear and is not well understood. In addition, Sparrow and Marchington (1998) pointed out that rather than adding value to the business through its strategic integration with managerial objectives, HRM can remain a disappointingly mechanistic function. Similarly, there is no universal theory about performance (Guest, 1997). It was proposed that the meaning of performance involves two dimensions; the types of criteria and the weight of each. Organizations have different interpretations of performance according to the sector of their industries. Service providers, for example, might consider customer satisfaction as their top performance indicator, while manufacturers might view inventory level as an important criterion to measure their performance level. In addition, some organizations put financial results on top of their performance indicator list and employee’s job satisfaction at the bottom, but others may view this in the opposite position. As a result, it is hard, if not impossible, to define the concept of performance that applicable for all organizations. The impact of HR practices on firm performance is without a doubt an important topic in the fields of human resource management, industrial relations, and industrial and organizational psychology (Huselid, 1995; Jones Wright, 1992). This literature, although largely conceptual, concludes that HR practices can help to create a source of sustained competitive advantage, especially when they are aligned with a firm’s competitive strategy (Jackson Schuler, 1995; Wright McMahan, 1992, both as cited in Huselid, 1995). Specifically, a large majority of published studies found an association between HR practices and firm performance, regardless of whether they are cross-sectional or longitudinal, whether conducted at establishment or company level, whether based on strong performance data or subjective estimates, whatever sector they are based on, whatever operational definition of HRM is used, and wherever they are conducted (Guest et al. , 2003). Nevertheless, despite the positive thrust of most empirical findings, Wood and de Menezes (1998, as cited in Guest et al. 2003) failed to find consistent associations between HRM and performance. Furthermore, Wood (1999) has also argued that the relationship between HRM and performance is relatively weak. One possible explanation lies in the various contingency factors, other than HR activities, that might contribute to organizational performance such as organizational culture (Kotter Heskett, 1992; Van der Post et al. , 1998), business strategy (Richard Brown Johnson, 1999), and political considerations (Ferris et al. 1998). ?Improvement Strategies: Is There One Best Way? Much of the research on the link between HRM and firm performance has looked at single HR practice such as compensation or selection, while others attempted to look on the impact of combining different HR practices to improve firm performance (Becker Gerhart, 1996). Pfeffer (1998, as cited in Tyson, 1997), for instance, put forward a seven-principle best practice which he believed is universally applicable. The seven best practice HRM elements include; employment security, selective hiring, self managed teams, high compensation contingent on organizational performance, extensive training, reduction of status difference, and information sharing. Theoretically, bundling several HR practices should produce greater performance effects than any of the individual human practices (Dyer Reeves, 1995). However, in reality, there is no single standardized bundle of HR strategies that is universally applicable for all organizations. Each firm might require different bundles of HR strategies to improve its organizational performance.

A College Writing Course in the 21st Century :: Writing Writers Education School Essays

A College Writing Course in the 21st Century Throughout the 21 century the basis of a college writing course was to make people become the best writers they can possibly be according to the colleges standards. The whole idea and purpose was to make everyone use the same techniques and formats in order to answer and write essays. Although this was a very good idea but the minority of the writers weren't as fortunate because they had their own way of expressing their thoughts which was very sufficient but it never met the colleges' standards therefore they weren't able to become what they wanted to because of their different format and use of the English language. The basis of college is pretty much to prepare us for the future and make us aware of the upcoming challenges which we are going to be faced with everyday of our lives as we go on into the world on our own. But what I actually began to realize as the years went on is that schools these days are focusing and narrowing every individual to use only a certain format in orde r to write and read even though there are many individuals out there that are very talented in the English language its just that they were never given a chance to show their writing skills but instead they were always taught to do it one way and not their own. In Amy Tan's reading I noticed an interesting experience which she had mentioned from her past which pointed out an interesting argument "I started writing nonfiction as a freelancer the week after I was told by my former boss that writing was my worst skill and I should hone my talents toward account management" (Tan 4). There it seems even though Tan loved writing it wasn't her best skill therefore the instructor directed her toward another field which she could succeed although she loved to write. From that point I could see that many college courses today try and point you toward what your good at but not what you like therefore it has to be you that makes that first step forward because if you really believe in yourself then do what ever it takes to meet your goal just like Tan accomplished. Whenever your judged by a professor in school its only an opinion coming from their own point, its how they see your skills through their own eyes and not how they see your skills through y our own eyes.

Response to Othello Essay

In the play Othello, originally written by William Shakespeare but reproduced by Michael Lynch and James Beggs, the overall entertainment value differed tremendously amongst its viewers. To determine the entertainment value, one must look at the theme, subject, individuality, and the verisimilitude of the play. I think the theme of Othello is that love is a powerful feeling that can easily be deceitful. In Othello, Desdemona and Othello both share a love for each other in which seems unbreakable, yet when others begin to feel jealous the feeling of love amongst others in the play becomes a lie. The subject of the play, Othello, is betrayal and loyalty. In this play, it had revealed ironically that one’s loyalty might cause one’s betrayal. Iago, a main character and the cunning instigator of the play, uses his loyalty to assist him in betraying Othello, and which in turn eventually leads to Othello’s tragedy. The play was not very unique in that there are many plays with a similar format, yet the outcome was not predictable. While watching the play, one could expect perhaps a more happy or comical ending to a short tragedy. Rather than ending in happiness, Othello ended with a number of deaths and many heartbroken, deceived people. I think Othello was somewhat believable in that the actors portrayed the characters in a respectively believable manner. The play never broke convention, and the majority of it was throughout a variety of people’s views. From watching this production, I have learned that in order for a production to be believable, it must follow suit of one or many perspectives throughout the play. Also, I learned that when acting in a play that is based on a time other than the present, the characters must put themselves in that time and infer what it was or will be like. The protagonist of the play was one of the main characters, Othello, and the antagonist of the play was another main character, Iago. Throughout the entire play, Iago attempts to sabotage Othello and his wife Desdemona’s marriage. The main conflict is that Othello and Desdemona marry and attempt to build a life together, despite their differences in age, race, and  experience. Their marriage is sabotaged by the envious Iago, who convinces Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful. As Iago gathers Cassio and Roderigo to help in his twisted scheme of things, the action rises. Iago tells the audience of his plan of action; he tells Roderigo he can have a second chance at Desdemona, arranges for Cassio to lose his position as lieutenant, and gradually insinuates to Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful with these men. What Othello fails to see is that Desdemona really is a loyal wife. In fact, her loyalty towards Othello is invisible to him. Through Iago’s manipulation, Othello suspects Desdemona of having an affair with another man and started to become insane. At the same time, Othello is loyal to Desdemona and he expects the same in return from Desdemona. This makes him become mad crazy and begin to crave the thought of murdering Desdemona. Othello is set in Venice throughout act 1, and then moves to Cyprus for the duration of the play. The time period is the late sixteenth century during the wars between Venice and Turkey. The play opens up in Venice, and a man is being hung by a noose for the wrong he had done. It then shifts to outside Desdemona’s aunts house, and resides in Cyprus after that. Othello’s time evolution goes in a timely order, over a span of a couple days. The mise en scene (total picture of the production) was overall decent. I believe the lights were very well designed and executed, especially in the scenes in which the moon and sun were seen. Furthermore, the music was also appropriate and the effects of the drums during battle scenes made it somewhat believable. The production of this play was very well made, granted that it was a very old play originally written during the time it took place, and acted out in the twenty-first century. The protagonist, Othello, was played by Jelani Brown. His performance overall was done very well. Many times in the play it was difficult to understand what he was saying due to a pronunciation maybe, or a technical issue. Otherwise the pronunciation issue, Jelani Brown produced an incredible performance. His character development was on track and he displayed great articulation. The antagonist, Iago, was played by Jon Cates. I think he was the best actor in the play. Throughout the entire play, he made the small things in theater really stand out; such as his facial expressions, body language, tone, and speed of speech. His character was meant to be played as someone who is basically up to no good and wants the others in play to love him, by making  them all hate each other. Iago was also my favorite character in the play mostly because he truly nailed his character. I feel that Jon Cates had an outstanding performance. Desdemona, the beautiful, innocent, sought-after young woman was played by Corrine Bryant. At first it was a little hard to get into Corrine Bryant’s character because she took a little longer than the others to develop. The other two main characters, Cassio, played by Jerris Ramirez and Roderigo, played by Justin R. Alvarez were perfect for their parts as well. Roderigo gave the play its comical appeal as he was a little oblivious at times and Iago had to get in his face and break it down for him. Jerris Ramirez and Justin R. Alvarez’ characters were played with great heart and made the play enjoyable for the audience. If I were to rate Othello based on a star system, I would give it four stars. Although I did like the play, I feel that the ratings should be devised of much more than just of someone’s like or dislike. I would probably not watch the play again, I think once was enough for me. I would recommend the play to people who enjoy Shakespearian tragedies, as this play was just that. I didn’t like how the play was set in the 1600’s, a time that is so far back that there is little entertainment. The play was very well put together and personally, I enjoyed it. I liked that the play was based on events that actually happened during that time period, rather than an unbelievable play.

The Death Penalty Is Immoral - 1521 Words

Sister Helen Prejean, the writer of the biographical account â€Å"Dead Men Walking†, advocates strongly for the abolition of the death penalty. The non-fiction work is based on her experience being the spiritual advisor of Sonnier and other inmates on death row. Prejean believes that if people know the truth about executions, they will oppose them. In her essay â€Å"Memoirs of a Dead Man Walking†, she openly opposes the death penalty. There are four reasons for her to oppose death penalty is immoral as. Firstly, it is a torture. Secondly,, it does not work out as a deterrent. Thirdly, and it costs more than life imprisonment. Finally, only the poor sentenced to death. She believes that the death penalty is immoral as it is a torture, it does not work out as a deterrent and it costs more than life imprisonment. However, I disagree with her argument, because death penalty is not seeing as a torture in history, Super Court and those criminals deserve the retribution; dea th penalty help deters crimes and poor cannot be the reason to escape the law. Prejean believes that the torture of the death penalty to human beings is not merely physically, but the essential torture is mental torturejust physically, the essential torture is mental torture. The torture begins from the time when conscious human beings are condemned to death and they will anticipate the death; h. However, the death penalty has not been regardedseen as torture in history. The death penalty for murder iscan approvedShow MoreRelatedIs The Death Penalty Immoral?1622 Words   |  7 PagesIs the death penalty immoral? In the United States, if a human being commits a capital crime, they can receive the punishment of execution administered by that state in which they performed that crime. When someone commits a capital crime, the jury can issue a guilty verdict that is punishable by death through lethal injection or electrocution. The death penalty is viewed as an extremely controversial topic that is debated daily among individuals. Determining fair punishment for co mmitting a crimeRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Morally Immoral1030 Words   |  5 PagesPresident Obama was quoted in 2006 saying, â€Å"If an offender has committed murder, he must die. In this case, no possible substitute can satisfy justice. For there is no parallel between death and even the most miserable life, so that there is no equality of crime and retribution unless the perpetrator is judicially put to death (Audacity of Hope 2006). As the leader of the free world and the President of our great nation, his values empower our society to believe in the same thing. The strength and influenceRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Immoral And Violates Human Rights915 Words   |  4 PagesPunishment by death for people convicted of certain crimes also known as the death penalty is unethical. There are currently 31 states including New Hampshire, in the U.S. with the death penalty and 19 states without. The death penalty is immoral and violates human rights. In some parts of the United States we have a biased criminal justice system which can lead to false an unlawful sentence to death. The death penalty also has irreversible outcomes if proven innocent, it doesn’t lower crime ratesRead More The Death Penalty Is Archaic and Immoral Essays559 Words   |  3 Pages The death penalty is simply a modernized version of the Holy Bible’s â€Å"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot†. Some argue that death is a necessary retribution for murderous cases - but is it effective morally? Revenge only glorifies violence, which is most definitely not the message the world strives to display. The death penalty is a negative form of punishment and insinuates a harsh reflection of society economically, politically, and socially. Read More Death Penalty: Ineffective, Inhumane, and Immoral Essays1228 Words   |  5 PagesThe death penalty is the pivot of much controversy within our society and government. Most peop le deem it a touchy subject, rarely making it a hot topic amongst general conversations. The issue usually raises many a blood pressure and may even have the tendency to end life-long friendships. The country is split on the issue and does not seem to find the desire to come to a compromise. While this is not true, this does not quiet the voices of people arguing for capital punishment. The issue of deathRead MoreArgumentative Essay On Death Penalty931 Words   |  4 PagesArgument Essay: Death Penalty The American Justice System has been using the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, as a way to serve a prisoners sentence usually due to the crime of murder. The death penalty in the American Justice System has been used for many years now. Although in 18 states the death penalty has already been abolished, there are still 32 states where it is still legal. The death penalty should not be legal in the American Justice System, because it is immoral, unjust, andRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty1331 Words   |  6 PagesThe death penalty has always been an issue or debate in the United States, typically being asked if it should be illegal or not. As of right now there are thirty-one states, including Ohio in which I live, that still use the death penalty as it is illegal in the rest. There are many supporters of it, there is also a huge amount of opposition. There are things included in both sides that can make the argument harder to be one-sided but I believ e that the death penalty should be legal throughout theRead MoreDeath Penalty Argumentative Essay1424 Words   |  6 PagesThe death penalty, or capital punishment, is the execution of an offender that is sentenced to death by a court of law for a criminal offense.   This type of punishment for inmates is involved in controversy over whether or not it is an acceptable form of punishment for criminals and also whether or not it is immoral.   There are many arguments for both sides of the debate, each making valid points and pointing out the flaws of the opposing position. Many religions are either for or against capitalRead MoreThe Death Penalty Should Be Endorsed: An Opinion Essay649 Words   |  3 PagesThe Death Penalty: The debate regarding the death penalty is an issue that has continued to attract huge controversies in the past few years. Consequently, public opinion about the death penalty has relatively changed in the recent years though this concept has less support unlike mid-1990s. The main reason for the minimal support of the death penalty originates from the fact that its proponents cite similar reasons to those provided by its supporters two decades ago. The major factors that haveRead MoreIs life in prison without parole better than the death penalty?812 Words   |  4 Pagesin prison without parole better than the death penalty? This is it, this is the last time you will ever see daylight again. The dim light of the outside world seems to be overtaken by shadows. You squeeze your eyes shut, and then everything goes dark.  That is the death penalty. What exactly is the death penalty? In the dictionary, it is defined as, the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offense. What the death penalty itself serves is retribution and revenge