Talent Acquisition Strategies for the 21st Century.

In the past five years, we have gotten a taste of what is going to feel like in a market where there are simply not enough qualified people to fill jobs needed to be filled. The recent downturn has caused organizations to stop many of the programs that were starting to show promise in the field of Human Capital Management, particularly on the recruitment side of the house. In these testing times, one needs to have proper strategy in place to be successful in any venture.In business you cannot do everything by yourself. You need capable and highly accomplished people to assist you in achieving the goals that you have set for your organization. Today, we are in the era of ‘War of Talent'. Wherein it is becoming more and more hard to get right kind of talent and keep hold of them. Many organizations are trailing to competitors because they are not able to hire â€Å"right type of people† and retain them. â€Å"What is the difference between ‘Recruiting' and ‘St rategy Talent Acquisition'? Recruitment is nothing more than filling the vacant positions, whereas Strategic Talent Acquisition is a long term process. It is not only concerned with filling the vacant positions today, but also using the prospective candidate data for filling similar positions in future. Strategic Talent Acquisition allows an organization have a pool of competitive talent that could be used for filling the positions in future. Executive leadership cites the procurement of human capital among their top concerns.The first step to address this reality is the recognition that successful talent acquisition is no longer an annual process, but instead is the process of building long-term strategies. Whether it is board room pr factory floor, a combat is swiftly taking shape. It will unquestionably redefine how organizations do business in the 21st- century market. A prophesy of the warfare came two decades ago, when Mckinsey consulting predicted a progress in the business s etting that could later on become the most serious issue facing HR managers.This ‘Talent war' or skill shortage is threatening the very existence of many corporations. It is believed that around 1/3 of business failures are due to inappropriate hiring decisions and their inability to draw and keep hold of right kind of talent. ‘Star Performers' who don't get enough opportunities for growth and advancement in their current job often change jobs, and the shortage of talent becomes apparent. In this ‘War of Talent', there's a need for long-term, and strategic talent acquisition. Organizations can no longer erely fill the positions as and when any vacancy arises. They must think ahead to deal with the sudden exodus of talent and adapt their strategies to allay the high turnover risk. Traditionally organizations do not consider the recruitment process as one of tactical importance, but in recent years many organizations are facing this harsh reality that they no longer have a wide pool of candidates to choose from. Several changes in the past few years have tipped the balance in support of the highly talented individuals. Internet is one such change.It has brought the whole world into your living room. Candidates can now look for jobs online and send and receive enquiries about prospective positions within hours. Things are Further complicated by ‘Generation Shift'. It is the change in outlook amongst the generations of workforce who'll stay put in the next few decades. Today's young generation of workforce has the outlook and pattern of behaviour that differ noticeably from preceding generations. No longer pleased to waste their whole career with one company, generation Y prefers work-life balance over loyalty.They are very much mobile and do not waver to look for a different position somewhere else if work-life balance is hurt or if they are treated badly. Furthermore, they may merely look to alter the landscape every couple of years, movi ng to different part of the country to experience diverse cities or industries. Disparate to their parents or grandparents, they are ready to change jobs and switch to different company and might even regard as staying with the same company to be an indication of lethargy or lack of objective. Acquiring ‘Star Performers' is a both art and science.The key to success is to be able to attract the ‘Top Performers'. Encouraging ‘Top Performers' to identify other top performers outside your organization is an extremely useful tool. Corporations offer reward to their employees in order to get these names. Money can be an important factor in attracting ‘Top Performers', but it's not the only element. Being able to shape an opportunity and make it look exciting will always attract top talent. Today more and more organizations are using benefits and perks as incentives to retain the talent.The main idea behind the talent acquisition is to move away from a reactive thin king i. e. to recruit when an individual is either promoted or leave the organization to a more pro-active one involving building of the desired skill sets. An all-inclusive, competency-based procedure will assist in identifying, developing and retaining top performers, and ensuring sufficient knowledge transfer for the subsequent generation of workforce. A focus on retention will not only aid in implementing a succession plan, but will also work to tackle generational differences when recruiting these new generation employees.Supporting employees in maintaining a positive work-life balance will aid in retaining younger employees, and also young mothers who are raising children, or employees who are pursing educational opportunities. An assortment of scheduling options – and eagerness to work with your workforce on those options – makes an organization attractive to work in, and boosts the morale of existing workforce. It is also important that you make your employees clearly aware of their performance. This will not only build confidence of your employees but will also help them to grow.Provide feedback to your employees, and encourage them to improve their performance. Engagement is everything for new generation workforce. Habituated to receiving feedback via a multitude of technologies and social media. The members of this generation wish to see that their contributions and efforts are appreciated and recognized. Companies which demonstrate appreciation for hard work of its employees and which recognize the value of their workers contribution will be the ‘Employer of Choice' and find it easier to retain top talent.Keeping existing workforce happy can be one of the company’s most efficient promotion strategies, as workers praise their employers and extend positive buzz both inside and outside the organization. In the similar fashion, the talk of discontented employees can negatively influence the company’s hiring and retenti on efforts. Poaching is one of the quickest way to get talented people onboard and it is not unethical as well. If I identify a talented person who fits my requirement and is working in another company and if I can lure that talent in to my organization then there's nothing wrong in doing that.In the end, I like to conclude that there is no â€Å"silver bullet† that will guarantee that a company succeeds in its efforts to construct a prolific, and adaptable workforce which is competent enough to meet and exceed the companies goals. Understanding a candidate’s motivational fit is extremely crucial in all recruitment and retention efforts. Studies have proved that motivational fit is the sole major predictor of malingering, turnover and overall employee satisfaction. If people are pleased with their position and pleased with their compensation and other benefits, they will be more prolific and in turn your company will be more productive.

Eating Too Much Meat Will Kill You Essay

Bill Cosby once stated, â€Å"Did you ever see the customers in health-food stores? They are pale, skinny people who look half dead. In a steak house, you see robust, ruddy people. They’re dying, of course, but they look terrific.† On average, Americans consume about 8 oz. of meat a day, twice the amount as the rest of the world; about one-sixth of the total meat consumed, U.S being less than one-twentieth of the population. Meat is generally delicious, contains rich sources of proteins and minerals. Some nutritional diet programs like the Atkins Diet have linked certain types of meat-based diets to weight loss. On the contrary, eating too much meat has been linked to certain type of cancers, high cholesterol and an increased risk of contracting a foodborne illness. Americans need to recognize that diets high in meat increases the cancer risk and other health issues. Evidence suggested that consuming meat could damage the body. In a country known for its love for hambur gers and steak, consumers need to cut down on their meat for a healthy life. Consumers also need to understand grilling meat increase the risk of cancer. Part of the solution is eating healthy, but consumers also should be aware of what they’re eating. The big issue in America is quantity. Eating meat and fast-food meat on a daily basis for seven days a week, 365 days a year, is a big reason why the risk for cancer and other health diseases is dangerously high in U.S. United States slaughters more than 10 billion land animals every year (Freston 802), and the market research firm Packed Facts stated Americans spends 142 billion dollar on beef, chicken, pork, lamb at market retails. Eating too much red meat has been linked to increased risk of death from cancer and heart disease, according to a study from American Cancer Society, the more red meat you eat will increase the risk for cancer. A Journal published by the American Medical Association reported a 20-year study of nearly 149,000 adults between the ages of 50 and 74. Researchers examine the risk according to how much red meat, poultry, or fish the people had eaten. Researchers looked at how many people develop colon cancer after the study. The results were 30% to 40% are more likely to develop cancer in the lower part of the colon. People who ate the most processed meats were 50% more likely to develop colon cancer (Parish 6). Eating just three ounces meat a day increases the consumer’s chance of dying by 13 percent, and 20 percent increase if eating processed meat, like bacon and hot dogs. But it doesn’t mean we should completely cut out meat in our diet; these statistics demonstrates that the less meat you eat, the better. Consuming meat damages the body. According to Dr. Oz, from the Dr. Oz Show, eating a steak dinner can take two to three days to get out of your intestines (par. 3). Red meat takes more than 24 hours to completely digest. In the mean time, it is in your intestine rotting at 98 degrees, sending toxins through the body. Eating any food that does not completely digest will ruin your health. What happens is that the human stomach acids are not made to break meat down efficiently because of its high fat and protein contents. The body lacks the enzymes that digest proteins in the stomach. Protein digestion mainly takes place in the first section of the small intestines where the pancreas secretes the types of digestive enzymes to help break down nutrients into energy and allow the nutrients molecules enter the bloodstream. Hence, meat takes longer as it has to pass into the stomach and the intestines, opposed to carbohydrates, which are broken down easily by saliva and the stomach. Although red meat is digestible than any other food sources such as rice and vegetable, it remains in the digestive system for a longer period of time, leaving the meat to rot in your intestines. Dr Klein believes that animal protein is the primary cause for the inflammation of the intestines because meat rots in your stomach (4). It explains why eating animal protein for a long period of time can increase the risk of colon cancer. Also the kidneys work to remove excess protein from your body. Eating too much protein can stress out the kidney, leading to kidney damage. Grilling meat is a method that most people are familiar with. Grilling is part of American culture; it brings family and friends together for the holidays like Independence Day. Grilling is a method of cooking food hot and fast on your grill. Burgers, poultry, beef, seafood are typically grilled. Grilling is actually a much healthier option than frying food because it is low fat and you can grill food without adding oil on them. But unfortunately, grilling food may potentially introduce the risk for cancer. Those juicy hamburgers, especially the charred ones contains cancer causing chemical called carcinogen. When you grill meat, some of the fat drips down to the charcoal or flame and the smoke carry the carcinogen known heterocyclic amines (HCA ) and polycyclic armomatic hydrocarbons (PAH) to form. These compounds have been shown to affect our DNA and might cause cancer. PAH is the same smoke from forest fires, coal burning, car exhaust and smoking. Exposure to high amounts of PAH is dangerous to your health and long term exposure increase the risk of cancer. According to 2007 study in Epidemiology, women with high intakes of grilled, barbecued or smoked meats over their lifetime had a 74 percent chance of developing breast cancer (373). It is also important to not that these women has low intake of fruits and vegetables. Most people are not aware of the carcinogen when they are grilling the meat. But let’s face it, grilled meat taste good and people should not give up on their grass fed steak or burgers from the grill. There are couple ways to grill safely and reducing carcinogen. 1. Marinating meats for at least several hours that contains herb and spices can dramatically reduce HCA. Herbs/spices is highly potent antioxidant that helps prevent HCA formation. 2. Pre-cook the meat in either the oven or microwave and finish it on the grill to decrease the amount of the carcinogen. 3. Pick leaner cuts like skinless chicken, lean beef or pork; it decreases the fat from dripping down on the open flame. It also important to remember that well-done meat has a higher concentration of carcinogen. Medium-rare, or medium cook is healthier choice than well done. These tips to reduce and prevent carcinogen is a safe way to consume grilled meat, but what about restaurants that serves grilled meats? Unfortunately, the meat holds carcinogens. Study shows restaurant meat such as burgers, ribs, and chicken carry substantial amounts of carcinogen. Few years ago, KFC calls their new Grilled Chicken â€Å"the better-for-you chicken for health- conscious customers.† But a PCRM a test shows the grilled chicken contains a high level of carcinogen (Sullivan 12). Consumers eating grilled chicken from popular restaurant chains are exposed to substantial level of carcinogen. A study published in Nutrition and Cancers show that an independent laboratory examined one hundred samples from seven popular restaurants, and Phip, a carcinogen, was found in all the samples (33). These findings clearly show that eating grill chicken can potentially cause cancer. Consumers deserve to know what they’re eating is just as worse as a greasy high-fat fried chicken. It misleads consumers to think grilled chicken is healthy diet but in actuality a grilled chicken salad can increase the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and other dangerous health disease. If that the case, shouldn’t the government or chain restaurant provide warning labels on their product? Since Tobacco Company labels their pack with a warning that cigarette causes cancer; restauran ts serving cancer-causing meat should do the same. When parents cook chicken for their children, they try to be health conscious. If people knew there were high levels of carcinogens in their grilled chicken, they may not choose it as a healthy alternative. Meat is part of American culture; Western men often forge a strong link between eating meat and masculinity. Eating too much meat is a common problem in American Society. I believe most Americans don’t realize that they’re eating too much meat. When comparing the size of the burger we’re eating today to the past decades, our burger has gotten bigger. Bacon is a big part of American culture today. It brings child-hood memories of how mothers cooked bacon for their children. It is also a common breakfast food and is often associated with family gatherings. But, eating bacon every single day of your life has life threatening repercussion to your health. Most processed meat like bacon or hot dogs contains sodium nitrate. Sodium nitrate is a food additive used in m any processed meats. It increases shelf life, gives any meat a fresh appearance, improves the smoky flavors of bacon, and slows the rate of the foul smell, and reduces bacteria (Kortboyer 5). It seems sodium nitrate is a great additive but it is widely regarded as a toxic ingredient. It is a highly carcinogenic chemical and once it enters the human digestive system; it release toxin to a number of internal organs including liver and pancreas. USDA tried to ban sodium nitrate in the 1970’s but was vetoed by food manufacturers who complained that they are trying to ban bacon from America and insisted the additive was safe. The sodium nitrate is found in almost every meat package. It’s listed right on processed meat products like bacon, turkey, hot dogs, and meats in canned soups. If it’s so dangerous, why does food manufactures use it? It sells more meat products because it makes the meat appear fresh and vibrant. Consumers are often influenced by the appearance of the meat, and sadly they will buy meat that looks fresh because of the additives, but in reality, the meat could be months old. A proven strategy to help combat sodium nitrates is to consume large doses of vitamin C and E before your meal. Another safe alternative is purchasing nitrite-free meat to reduce the exposure to sodium nitrate. But, meat without nitrates is prone to spoilage. I believe meat industry uses the saturated fat argument to distract consumers from real issues like cancer. Fruits with high saturated fat like coconut juice wont increase a person risk of cancer to jump up 50%. The real issue is what’s added to the meat during processing and packaging. While eating too much meat can be dangerous, the solution is to consume less. Meat is rich in protein and the body needs protein to maintain cellular tissue. Reducing meat intake benefits the bones. According to Dr. Campbell of Cornell University, animal sourced proteins extract more calcium from the bones, causing the bone to weaken (par. 4). Another good benefit of cutting back on meat is it that makes the consumer eat more nutritious foods. A study from American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that participants who were served a meal with less meat ate more vegetables (Rolls 916). Eating small portions of good quality meat can help curb meat cravings and will not jeopardize the health. Many health education websites like Meatless Mondays offer idea of cutting back on meat consumptions. Another healthy alternative is replacing meat with non-meat sources of protein. Small red beans, black beans, legumes, dairy products are all good source of protein. While fish and seafood are technically meats, they do not carry the same risks as red meat, chicken, and pork because they contain low saturated fat and cholesterol. Non-meat protein not only has low saturated fat and cholesterol, they contain healthy fats, vitamins and minerals the body needs. Besides, the average person only needs about eight grams of protein per 20 lbs of body weight. Make no mistake, Americans love eating meats. Meat is essential part of a healthy diet, but over consumption of meat will kill you. America spends hundred of billion dollars on meat and it’s no wonder why cancer is epidemic in United States. Meat is considered a luxury in other country’s, but meat in America is readily available anywhere and consumers need to learn self-restraint. Meat like hot dogs and bacon is part of American culture, but consumers need to understand that meat industry’s uses dangerous additives like sodium nitrate and eating it for a long period of time will have repercussion to your health. Strong evidence claims that not only the harmful sodium nitrate harms the body, but also eating meat in general will damage the body. There are other healthy options like non-meat protein. But the solution to the problem is consumers need to be aware of what they’re eating and learn self-restraint.

Accounting for Business Combination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accounting for Business Combination - Essay Example The acquirer gains command over the assets and the associated liabilities. It is worthy of stating that when interchange in business takes place, it can be termed as business combination. It is significant for all the business combinations to be accounted for utilising the purchase process of accounting. Control can be gained by purchasing the assets themselves or by means of purchasing control over the corporation possessing the assets (Grant Thornton, 2011). The main objective of the paper is to discuss about accounting for business combination, to identify the current issues and thus to critically analyse them. The paper will endeavour to discuss numerous standards that can be applicable in resolving the issues related to accounting for business combination. Business Combinations One of the main goals of the business organisation is to attain growth. It is often stated by the top managements that growth or expansion is the major goal of the business organisation. A company may dev elop steadily by mounting its range of products. A number of the companies have attained their objective of growth by way of business combinations. The accounting for business combinations is primarily controlled with the help to four principles such as IFRS3, IAS 27, IAS 36 as well as IAS 38.The factor worth considering is that a business combination may be either friendly or might as well be unfriendly. When friendly combination takes place, it is the duty of the boards of directors of both the combining companies to bargain upon communally satisfying terms related to planned combinations. After that the stockholders of the combining companies need to approve the proposal. On the other hand, an unfriendly combination takes place when the board of directors of the company oppose the combination. In such cases, mostly by way of tender offer the acquiring company is capable of interacting with the individual shareholders (Qfinance, 2012). Advantages and Disadvantages of Business Comb ination There are numerous ways through which the companies may expand. A few of the companies might want to expand internally while others may choose to expand externally. An organisation may choose to expand internally by involving themselves in research and development. In case of external expansion, the companies attempt to expand through acquiring one or more companies. Along with quick expansion, there are numerous benefits of external expansion or business combination method in comparison to internal expansion (Deloitte, 2012). When the combination is vertical or horizontal, such combination with an existing company tends to present the management of the acquiring company with a business unit which is established possessing experienced personnel, productive facilities, regular suppliers as well as distribution channels. Furthermore, such business combinations assist companies to compete in an effective way in the international market. Most of the times, it is apparent that th e companies go for business combinations in order to take benefit of the income tax laws. By means of filing a consolidated tax return, the profitable corporations’ tax liability might be minimised because of the losses of unbeneficial affiliates. Diversification occurring from such combinations provides the combining companies with numerous benefits such as greater flexibility, an internal capital market, rise in the debt capacity of the company, greater shield from the rivals over proprietary information, and at times capability to make better use of the organisational resources (PwC, 2012). In spite of its innumerable benefits, business combinat

Managing Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managing Decisions - Essay Example e decisions which are taken on the basis of relevant assumptions which are made after considering for all types of situations and consequences which the organisation can face in future. As per this model there are seven basic steps which are taken while managing decisions. First of all, the main problem should be defined and analysed in order to assess the future situation which the company may face due to the problem. The second step is to identify and analyse all the alternative solutions of the problem. The third step is to analyse all the merits and demerits of the identified alternatives. Once all the alternatives have been assessed the fourth step is to rank all alternative solutions as per their strengths. Ranking helps to identify the optimal alternative solution which can maximise the satisfaction level, thus identification of the optimal solution id the fifth step of this model. Sixth step is to implement the chosen alternative. Once the alternative is implemented follow up s are done to assure that every thing is going as decided, this is the seventh step in normative model (Swansburg and Swansburg, 2002, p.256). Decision tree: The uncertainty aspects of the future events make the decision making more crucial and vital for every organisation. One of the most popular and common quantitative technique which is used to manage decisions regarding uncertain activities is decision tree. Thus decision tree can be defined as the graphical representation of various sequential decisions and the various expected values of those decisions. The decision tree helps to assess each decision as per their sequence in analysing the expected value of the given alternatives. The expected values are the probable value of the outcomes of various activities. These are considered... Center of discussion in this paper is decision making as an important aspect of every business enterprise. The success of the organisation largely depends upon the managerial decisions. Therefore it is very important to efficiently manage the decision making. The whole organisation starting from the recruitment of the human resource, planning for the production and manufacturing of products, planning for the projected business, demand forecasting, planning of the activities to be done in the organisation, budgeting, forecasting of the revenue, target customers, etc are very important for success of the organisation. Therefore, the managerial decisions are very important and have a great impact on the overall performance of the company. If any decisions regarding planning of the organisational activities or the short term targets set for the company are not done efficiently then the company can be severely affected in long run. There are many techniques which help the managers in thei r decision making. Some of the methods are quantitative and some are qualitative. Every method has its pros and cons but at the same time relevant in their own field. Thus the best technique is to combine the various techniques of decision making in other words the management should not depend on one technique of decision making but it should practice a variety of decision making tools which would increase the efficiency of decision making process and will also make the decision process faster and effective.

Government Intervention in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Government Intervention in Business - Essay Example The government as well makes sure that the welfare of the people is put as priority at all times, (at least in theory). This becomes evident with Government Owned and Controlled Corporations, wherein some governments enter into the manufacturing or distribution of fast moving consumer goods to post a more competitive price range for its people rather than the good produced by multinational corporations- this is very evident in third world countries especially in the fields of pharmaceutical corporations and basic commodities such as rice and oil. The government also subsidizes some semi government owned companies, or agencies which delivers basic commodities to the people. Example of which are in the fields of energy, transportation, food (rice). This is done, in order to avoid the monopoly of certain markets and private corporations which usually dictate the market price of goods that sometimes are higher than what the lower class could afford. Disadvantages of government intervention in business can be felt if the government no longer regulates but prevents business from doing its vital functions. Too much government control suffocates the economy. This can sometimes be evident through the different taxes, tariffs and trade regulations that governments post in order to protect, propagate or hinder a certain market. An example of which is that sometimes, As Stated the doctrine of laissez-faire, "workers are most productive and a nation's economy functions most efficiently when people can pursue their own economic interest freely". However, the economy of the United States is no where close to being a laissez-faire system. Based on studies, government spending and intervention in the economic sector has ballooned. The role of government has grown to a point where the benefits of government intervention are far outweighed by the negative effects on the economy as a whole(Ringer, 150). In the United States, one of the major areas in which the government intervenes is in the agricultural sector of the economy. The government has three ways it can intervene and help its producers. These ways include price policies, direct payments, and input policies. Price policies have the largest effect on producers. Tariffs, quotas, and taxes are just a few examples of price policies. While these policies bring revenue into the government, in the end they hurt consumers. Each of these policies raise the prices of both imported and native goods. They are designed to help stabilize prices and give the native producers a chance to compete with foreign goods. Under the doctrine of laissez-faire, the government would not interfere with prices and the native producers would be forced to lower their prices, giving the nation's citizens a better deal in the market. The use of taxes is one of the government's favorite ways to make its presence known in the economy. While this method seems blatantly obvious, many of the ways the government uses the money collected by taxation is not. Some of the money it takes is used to fund other programs designed to "protect" consumers and to "create" jobs. Because of

Operations ManagementQuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Operations ManagementQuality - Essay Example It led to the establishment of an innovative public and private partnership. The main support for the act comes from the Foundation of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards which was recognized in 1988. However, the purpose of this award is for the betterment of manufacturing and services of small and large businesses, education, health, non-profit corporations that relate and are reviewed to be remarkable in several areas of leadership and strategic planning, measurement, knowledge management, human resource, process management and their outcomes. This award is only given by the president of the United States to the businesses and corporations. The award program was created by the parliament in 1987 to be familiar with the United States organizations for their success in quality, performance and to increase awareness about the significance of quality and performance superiority as a viable edge. Although, the award is not only given for a particular product and service, but is divided into different categories such as manufacturing, service, education, small business, nonprofit organizations and health care services. In 1980's, many of the government officials and industry saw tha t a transformed emphasis on quality has become a necessity for doing a business rather than just being an option.

Music Education And Therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Music Education And Therapy - Essay Example The literature will be collected from books, journal, newspaper articles, websites, etc. Research plays an important role in education and teaching. As other professionals in the health and social care sector, there is a need to understand the importance of evidence-based practice in the field of education and teaching. Rather than working in a particular way because that is the standard, traditional or historical practice, or because of a feeling or instinct, it is now common practice to mix a number of research methods to achieve the desired outcomes. Research evidence could be from primary research that has been conducted by the practitioner, perhaps action research such as trialing different teaching methods and assessing results, or by literature searches of current educational research. These different types of research methods will be helpful in professional education practice (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). In order to understand the subject better, I will study four areas aca demic research that includes cognitive change and development along with strategies to encourage change where required, music therapy, music education and the relationship between the three concepts. Cognitive Change and DevelopmentChild development has been theorized and researched extensively over centuries but until the most recent decades (Piaget, 1951; Vygotsky, 1933). Early theories regarding the way people develop and behave focused on biological and cultural models (Darwin, 1859).... The literature will be collected from books, journal, newspaper articles, websites, etc. Theoretical Overview Research plays an important role in education and teaching. As other professionals in the health and social care sector, there is a need to understand the importance of evidence-based practice in the field of education and teaching. Rather than working in a particular way because that is the standard, traditional or historical practice, or because of a feeling or instinct, it is now common practice to mix a number of research methods to achieve the desired outcomes. Research evidence could be from primary research that has been conducted by the practitioner, perhaps action research such as trialing different teaching methods and assessing results, or by literature searches of current educational research. These different types of research methods will be helpful in professional education practice (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). In order to understand the subject better, I will study four areas academic research that include cognitive change and development along with strategies to encourage change where required, music therapy, music education and the relationship between the three concepts. Cognitive Change and Development Child development has been theorized and researched extensively over centuries but until the most recent decades (Piaget, 1951; Vygotsky, 1933). Early theories regarding the way people develop and behave focused on biological and cultural models (Darwin, 1859). On the other hand, Piaget and Vygotsky studied development in terms of cognitive change, with Vygotsky emphasizing the cultural influence and asserting that the child’s mind requires social interaction to develop, an ‘outside-in’ model (Vygotsky, 1933), while Piaget

International Environmental Agreements Assignment

International Environmental Agreements - Assignment Example As the study discusses  Kyoto Protocol was enforced on February 16, 2005, and its requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were binding on the 35 industrialized nations that were party to its sanction. The United States was not among the parties to the Protocol's ratification. The U.S. under Bush’s administration precluded the protocol. Instead, the U.S. formulated a discretionary climate change policy that regulated the domestic emission levels.This paper stresses that  the U.S. continued its membership to the UNFCCC but avoided any involvement with the Kyoto Protocol. Surprisingly, by 2012, the U.S. had embraced some of the Kyoto Protocol’s regulations. The Kyoto Protocol is viewed as an essential initiative towards a genuine reduction of greenhouse gas emission worldwide. Currently, in Durban, adjustment plans are underway to develop new protocols agreeable to all parties, whose implementation is anticipated by the year 2020.  In 1991, an agreement was s igned between the U.S. and Canada aimed at addressing trans-boundary air contamination, whereby toxins discharged at one area travels from one location to another, deteriorating air quality both at the point of emission and the surrounding.  Under the Scientific and Technical Activities and Economic Research Annex, Canada and the United States consent to organize their air contamination checking systems; use good configurations and strategies for observing and reporting.

Scene analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Scene analysis - Essay Example Gilbert said â€Å"It’s gonna take a crane to get her out† to which Ellen cried â€Å"There’s gonna be a crowd. I just know there’s gonna be a crowd.† At this point it is obvious that all of them are worried that the death of their mother would also be a source of her ridicule. They want to have a peaceful funeral for her and would not want to make her a laughing stock on her death. This was also a pivotal time where it is apparent upon the intensity of Gilbert that he will do just about anything to ensure that his mother’s honor will not be shamed. Though he said it matter-of-factly and without hint of remorse or discouragement, it is evident that the perplexity of the situation has caused him to think deeply. Gilbert’s character is consistent with how his actions are in a manner his redeeming quality which further shows his love for his family and how he will take measures to protect them no matter what cost. He stands as the father figure and this extends not only to his younger siblings but generally as the dominant male figure in the whole household. His sister’s reaction, although primarily to circumvent mockery, is also geared for their protection and this is also reasonable since she is a teenager. The subtext of Gilbert’s confusion and his devised plan aimed at protecting their mother ennobles his action for the general good. His face is not a contradiction of his intent but a forthright characterization of his ultimate

Macro5C Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Macro5C - Essay Example The continuous failures may have discouraged the workers therefore they stopped looking for jobs ahead and â€Å"gave up† the idea of employment. In the above calculation, these people were not included in the unemployed workforce as they are not currently seeking job. However, if the Bureau of Labor statistics decided to include these workers as â€Å"Unemployed labor force† then the number of unemployed would go up and therefore the unemployment rate will likely be increased followed by an increase in total workforce, as shown below: Unemployed workforce = 8.4 million + 1.2 million = 9.6 million workers Total workforce = 116.9 + 1.2 = 118.1 Million people New Unemployment Rate = (9.6 / 118.1) * 100 = 0.09129 * 100 = 8.129 % The discouraged workers are not usually taken in to the unemployed workers account as the term â€Å"unemployment† directly refers to people who are out of jobs and actively looking for them yet unable to find them, where as discouraged work ers are workers who have given up on their search. ... Answer 3: Unemployment is a vast term used in economics very frequently; unemployment does not only refers to people without jobs due to limited reasons but has more complexities to it that economics defines. There are different kinds of unemployment including frictional, structural, seasonal, classical and cyclical unemployment. Out of all these, for simplicity in theory, economists often use three types of unemployment for explanations of economic phenomena; cyclical unemployment, frictional unemployment and structural unemployment. Frictional Unemployment refers to unemployment that is a temporary condition caused as a result of â€Å"looking between jobs†. It’s when an individual leaves one job in search of another and this gap of leaving the job and finding a new job is a temporary period of unemployment known as frictional unemployment. On the other hand, structural unemployment is due to mismatch of skills of the workers; they may become obsolete or not appropria te for the job kind. These two are basic levels of unemployment that would ALWAYS be there in any economy as they are natural and inevitable, so economists don’t really worry about these kinds of unemployment. The major cause of concern for economists is the cyclical unemployment; also known as Demand deficient unemployment. This is caused as a result of lack of aggregate demand in an economy putting downward pressure on the economy and increasing the inflationary gap. This type of unemployment can drive the economy out of working condition if it exists for a long span of time without appropriate government interventions (The great depression of 1930’s may serve as an example for such a case). When economists talk about â€Å"Natural Rate of Unemployment† they are reffering to the full

The sociological explanations of relationship Essay Example for Free

The sociological explanations of relationship Essay Assess the sociological explanations of the relationship between occupation and social class. The term Social Class is widely used in sociology to differentiate the population on grounds of economic considerations, such as inequality in terms of wealth or income. An occupation is an individuals established choice of employment which provides most of the time a steady source of income. According to Karl Marx, the transition from feudalism to industrialization has produced a highly unequal capitalist society consisting of only two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the property, capital owning class. They own the means of production and monopolize the profits and values of industrial production. The proletariat are the landless wage workers, the mass of working people who labour for the bourgeoisie as the mode of production. Their rewards are mainly to be exploited by the bourgeoisie and be made poorer, not richer, by the social and technical advances of industrial development. This process is called pauperization. The bourgeoisie derive their class position from what Bilton et al. (1997) calls productive wealth. Productive wealth is wealth which generates additional income, such as capital invested in property or stocks and shares. However, Marx argues that it is not the bourgeoisies high income which allows them to become capitalists, rather it is the fact that they own the means of production. This therefore also makes them the sole owners of the products and their surplus, that is, the difference between the value of the labour and the value of the product of that labour. For example, Westergaard (1997), using statistics from government resources claimed that the power of the top class, which is only 1% of the population, has grown steadily from 1979 to the late 1990s. Denationalization of public enterprises (like British Airways and British Steel) has concentrated power in the hands of private businesses. The power of finance capitalists comes from mass corporate assets whose strategic deployment they lead. The globalist, Leslie Sklair (1995) takes this argument a step further. According to Sklair, the capitalist or ruling class is increasingly exercising power in transnational relationships, that is, relationships that cut across state boundaries. The capitalist economy has become the basis of the global system. Thus, wealthy corporatives like Sony or Ford can exercise as much power as many nation-states. Their products and ideology are increasingly penetrating places like the Third World market with advertising campaigns, brainwashing the masses there to accept these ideologies and products, even as they (the masses) complainingly join the ranks of the exploited. These are the main reasons why Marxists view social class as divisive rather than integrative. They do not believe it is functional for society like the Functionalist, but they do agree it is inevitable within capitalist societies. However, they also argue that there is conflict of interest between the two classes. Hence one day the proletariat will gain true class consciousness, become a class for itself instead of a class by itself, and overthrow the bourgeoisie. Only when this happens, and the means of production are communally owned will classes disappear. Marx for his part, refused to acknowledge class in terms of such categories as occupation, but rather in terms of a deeper understanding of property relations, control and ownership vis-à  -vis the proletariat. There have been many criticisms made of Marxs theory of social class. Peter Saunders (1990) rejects the Marxist view that such a small group of people in society constitutes a capitalist ruling class. While he does not deny that the hundred largest companies produce more than half of Britains manufacturing output, and therefore are responsible for taking the bulk of the key financial and administrative decisions which influences Britains industry, he merely views such individuals as an influential economic elite. Elite theorists also accept that power is concentrated in the hands of a few but denies that this power comes from the wealthy. They see instead power  deriving from the occupation of top jobs in society. For example, the position of Prime Minister automatically places one in the highest class and gives one power. In addition, Marxs theory fails to take into account the Middle Class. Although Marx identified the trend towards more non-manual workers, he made no analysis or explanation of the influence of this group in the class structure. These workers neither own the means of production nor can they be put into the proletariat. They enjoy tremendous benefits in employments, more than their manual labouring counterparts. They have greater job security, shorter hours, longer holidays, more fringe benefits, greater promotion prospects, higher life chances, higher standards of living, less chances of being convicted of criminal offences and higher incomes. For example, Westergaard and Resler (1976) found that men in full time non-manual employment in 1913-14 earned 142% of the average male wage, whereas those in manual employment earned 88%. The British sociologist, Anthony Giddeons believes that this class receives greater job benefits than the lower class or manual workers because they possess widely recognized skills, mainly mental and normally rather functional for society, which they can sell to the highest bidder. The sociologists, Roberts et al. (1977), interestingly discovered while conducting a study of a sample of 243 male white-collar workers that four images within the middle class exist. These four images were very different views of the white-collar workers and their position in the middle class and were affected by their occupational choices. The first image known as middle-mass was held by 22 percent of the sample. This 22 percent believed themselves between a small, rich upper class and an improvised lower class. They held the view that the middle class made up the bulk of the working force, and made no distinction between manual and non-manual workers, different lifestyles and images, and ideological cleavages. Most holding this view were in the middle-range of incomes for white-collar workers. The next image was called the compressed middle-class image and held by 19 percent of the sample. This 19 percent saw themselves squeezed between two groups: the small upper class and an increasingly working class. They felt  threatened by both groups. Persons falling into this category were usually small business people. The third image only had 15 percent of the sample subscribing to it. This image was named the finely graded ladder and contained four or more strata. This image is assumed as typical middle class image and persons holding this view tended to be well educated with professional qualifications and received impressively high wages. They had no sense of class loyalty and rejected the whole principle of social class. The fourth image called the proletarian image received 14 percent of the sample. They considered themselves working class and having more in common with manual workers than top management and higher professionals. Those holding this view were usually in routine white-collar jobs with little possibility of promotion and received rather low wages. Roberts et al. concluded that whilst it is true that there are factors present for the development of middle class attitudes among the white collar workers, such wide variations in white-collar class imagery meant that the middle class was fragmented. In this case, if one is to believe Robert et al. then one can argue that an individuals occupation and his/her opinion of the social status of his/her job, normally encouraged by his/ her level of income, results in what he/she deems as his/her social class, regardless of whether his/her personal view is correctly assumed or not. However, Roberts et al. have received numerous criticisms for their work. Many sociologists believe that one should never rely on subjective class images. Neo-Marxists believe that the middle class is in reality split in two with the upper part closer to the bourgeoisie and the lower part closer to the working class. In fact, the American Neo-Marxist, Erik Olin Wright (1978) acknowledges the presence of a petty bourgeoisie and identifies the Small Employers, that is, those persons who employ other workers, but more than half the profit their business comes from their own labour or that of other family members. This group exists between the Petty bourgeoisie and the Bourgeoisie and make up in the USA in 1969, 6-7%. Wright also notes the Managers and Supervisors group which is between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. This group creates 30-35% of the population and is actually in a contradictory position  within class relations. They possess characteristics of both groups but have neither as much control over the means of production as the Bourgeoisie nor as little control as the Proletariat. Persons within this class are normally managers, supervisors, technocrats and foremen. Foremen do not have the control over the means of production or investment but they do have minimal control over the means of production or over the labour of others. Finally, there are the Semi-autonomous wage-earners which consist of 5-11% of the population and are situated between the Proletariat and the Petty bourgeoisie. They have some control over how they work, how they produce and what they produce and hence have minimal control over the means of production. Wright uses as an example, professors in elite universities. According to him, the Bourgeoisie only took up 1-2% of the population. Marxists such as Harry Braverman, struggling to explain what Marxs doctrine does not, goes as far as to say that increasingly more members of the lower middle class are becoming part of the working class because many of them earn less than many manual workers. This process is called proletarianization. Marx ists like Westergaard and Resler believe in the existence of a coherent middle class. They refer to the upper middle class as the Petty bourgeoisie. Marxists claim that while the Petty bourgeoisie does not own the means of production, they are firm believers in the ruling classs values and usually have power over working class members. Marshall et al. (1988) criticises both Robert et al.s study and the Marxists theory. Instead, they point to Webers work on social class which they claim is a valuable explanation for the very broad differences in occupational rewards and position of manual and non-manual workers, as well as allowing gradations of social position within each class grouping. Like Marx, Weber specifically believed that ownership and non-ownership of property are important in the formation of classes. However, he disagrees with Marx on just how important owning property is. Weber preferred to determine a persons class based on their market situation, that is, their buying power in the marketplace. Neo-Weberians like John H. Goldthorpe also prefers to use market and work situation to explain the relationship between occupation and social class. For example he views the middle class as the intermediate stratum [Goldthorpe, 1980]. The intermediate stratum possesses a very weak class identity because the range of occupations within it differs  considerably and because its members are socially mobile. Hence, members remain only a short period before moving to a different class. Goldthorpe concluded that the middle class could not be united because they were divided into various strata. These can be placed into two groups: the service class, which hold higher and lower professionals, and the intermediate class, that is, routine non-manual workers, the self-employed and supervisors. Goldthorpe though changed his theory later. He decided that there did exist a primary division between different sections of the middle class based on employment status. Secondary divisions were based on employee relationships and this distinguishes class. Salary, increments, pension rights and career development opportunities on the other hand distinguished the service class. Savage et al. (1992) criticized both of Goldthorpes theories claiming that there existed a major division between professionals and managers in his service class. Goldthorpe admitted the next problem with his theory: large employers should be place in a separate category. He explains however that the group was so small that he did not see the need to place them by themselves and accepts that this might produce a small amount error. As mentioned before, Giddeons (1973) tends to see the Middle Class as those who possess educational or technical qualifications. They therefore have an advantage over the Working class and Underclass who have only their manual labour power to sell. The Underclass in particular are severely disadvantaged in that they tend to secure employment in the least desirable and most insecure jobs. Ralf Dehrendorf (1959) argues that the working class is divided into three levels: the unskilled manual worker, the semi-skilled manual worker and the skilled manual worker. He claims that this is due to differences in economic and prestige rewards linked to hierarchy of skill. Therefore, persons of the skilled manual workers group, such as skilled craftsmen, enjoy higher wages, more valuable fringe benefits, greater job security and higher prestige than semi-skilled and unskilled groups. In addition to this, Bilton et al. (1997) with regard to occupational labour markets, claim that there has been an erosion, over the past twenty to thirty years, of the traditional distinction between manual and non-manual jobs due to the expansion of the service sector. Today, white-collar jobs in  offices, retailing, repairs and servicing are so poorly paid and routinised that they are little different in terms of status and reward from traditional manual, or blue-collar work. This is especially true of those white-collar jobs which have become feminised in the sense of employing a disproportionate number of female staff. Giddeons furthers this argument, noting that women and ethnic minorities are particularly likely to be found in the lowly paid Working class and Underclass jobs. Employers recruit women to these type of jobs partly because of social prejudice, but also because they are likely to interrupt their careers as a result of marriage and child birth. Ethnic minorities are also the victims of discrimination and prejudice. In these cases, ones ethnic origin, gender and social background determines ones occupation and hence ones social class. To quote Giddeons: Where ethnic differences serve as a disqualifying market capacity, such that those in the category are heavily concentrated in the lowest paid occupations, or are chronically unemployed, we may speak of an underclass. In conclusion, occupation and social class are normally linked to one another. In most instances ones job tends to influence his place in the social strata and vice versa. Many sociologists examine how occupation and social class influence each other differently. In numerous cases they arrive at even more divisions within society than previously considered. Another interesting detail to note is that various other aspects like ones ethnicity and gender actually determine ones occupation and hence ones class. While the intricacies of occupation within the Working class and the Underclass is not discussed to the degree of which they deserve, let it be noted that divisions found within the Working class is discussed in length by W.G. Runciman(1990) and Marshall et al(1988). The basic idea being that the Working Class is even more influenced by an individuals occupation than  the Middle class. The Underclass is considered both by Charles Murray and Ralf Dehrendorf as a sort of disease b ut whether they are to be blamed for their economic state or not or whether certain occupations are just considered as underclass jobs is where these two sociologists depart in their theories. In many instances sociologists like Jan Pakulski and Malcolm Waters (1996) abandon the belief of the existence of social class and claim vigilantly that occupation cannot be influenced by some thing that does not exist. Others, such as Peter Saunders(1996) argue that the strict dictatorial ability of class is disappearing due to societies such as Britain becoming Meritocracies. Therefore, workers are not placed within strict strata because social mobility has now become easier. Instead, as the Functionalists, Talcott Parsons(1964) and Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore(1945) indicated, workers are now placed in socioeconomic order through a competitive process in which skills and abilities of different value and scarcity are carefully identified, evaluated and matched with societal needs.

Costs and benefits of the EMU

Costs and benefits of the EMU Abstract: This paper contributes to the ongoing debate over European Monetary Union (EMU) including the costs and benefits of joining it. Advocators of EMU stressed that it is essential to create a stronger European Union with greater economic, political and social cohesion, whereas the opponents did not support this stage of the European Unions construction such as the United-Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden, reviewing the merits of a single currency (OCA) and the requirements for a stable currency (Convergence Criteria). (Bernhard Winkler, 1996) Identify and discuss the costs and benefits of joining the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)? Do the benefits outweigh the costs? Introduction According to Franà §ois Mitterrand, â€Å"EMU is seen as a mean to recover some influence over European monetary affairs.† (Franà §ois Mitterrand, 1992)The French left wings president at time wanted the emergence of the European Union against the US dollar which has been widely used as the yardstick measurement for all currencies. In Europe, the existence of different national currencies was considered as the remaining barriers for a barrier-free single market and the influence of the dollar pressed the European Union (EU) to form an Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The genesis of the EMU with the initial impulse given by the Werner Report in 1970, then failed in 1973 with the oil crisis and finally relaunched with the Delors Plan in 1989 and the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992, was noteffortlessly. The EMU is a type of trade block involving a single market and a common currency. At the European scale, it involves a single European market within its borders and the adoption of the Euro. Economists usually refer to the EMU as an economic trade off between perceived benefits and cost of joining the area (Thomas D. Willett, 2002). There are diverging views on the extent of these costs and benefits, and therefore, especially on the question whether to join the EMU or not. The aim of this paper is to analyse the key issues surrounding the entry in the EMU, and balance positive and negative aspects. The pros and cons regarding the EMU require a careful analysis of the economic benefits and drawbacks at both national and company level. Debate surrounding the EMU There are many benefits that a country will have by entering EMU. Recently, the euro has gained a lot of influence since many European nations have adopted it. Indeed, the benefits of EMU increase and costs decrease as the level of integration intensifies. (Krugman, 1990)The growing importance of the euro in international trades and the increasing trade activities which result from adopting the currency clearly shows that benefits will outweigh costs. For a country international trades are fundamental in order to have a stronger economy. Therefore, the â€Å"antis-EMU† advocate that the process will submerge the individuality of the European nations in an â€Å"unwieldy federation, hobbled by bureaucracy, commanding little popular support and imposing a crippling burden of regulatory and other costs on Europes economies† (David Currie, 1997, pp.14) They believe that an organized Europe will have a negative impact for most member states as it will also â€Å"reduce the volume of trade and would certainly increase the level of unemployment† (Martin Feldstein, February 20, 2008). In order to join the EMU, a country must correspond to the Maastricht Convergence Criteria: price stability, sustainable public finances, exchange rate stability and durable convergence. The term â€Å"convergence† refers to the process of unifying technological and non-rival domains, preparing late countries in terms of structure and institutions to match with those at the forefront. One of the first obvious benefits is that the implementation of those criteria represents a factor of macroeconomic stabilisation and sustainable economic growth for both EMU countries and future members. However, the convergence requirements are also a clear example of conflict because they are considered as lacking economic rationale and imposing unnecessary pain. Many economists have attacked the convergence criteria, responsible of provoking instability and serving no other purpose except to delay. (De Grauwe, 1993) The convergence criteria and EMU itself seek to guard against â€Å"unsustai nable budgetary policies in a member state† because these are seen to lead to either â€Å"default or debt monetisation† which would â€Å"be a major threat to the overall monetary stability† (European Economy, 1990:100) Furthermore, the convergence criteria make clear that fiscal discipline is defined as the avoidance of an unsustainable build-up of public debt (Emerson, 1992, pp.107) and the transition to EMU for a country will amplify the domestic effectiveness of national fiscal policy for stabilisation purposes. (Emerson, 1992, pp.115) Benefits and costs of joining the EMU Our aim is to understand the incentives of the players in the EMU, and a natural starting point is to assess economic costs and benefits of a single currency for a country like France as an example. More or less, there are microeconomic benefits versus macroeconomic costs. a) Transaction costs and stable environment One of the most obvious benefits is the resulting ease of transactions across the European Union. Countries are using one currency and as a matter of fact, the elimination of exchange rate fluctuation helped to eliminate transaction costs in intra-EU trade. Firms and business are both saving time and money. For example, an estimated $30 billion[1] a year is spent on foreign exchange transactions. The transactions involve the change from one currency to another but also from accounting systems. Additionally, joining the EMU eliminates the possibility of exchange-rate variation with the EMU zone. If exchange rates move irregularly and unsystematically in response to arbitrary speculation, exchange volatility imposes a macroeconomic cost (David Currie, 1997). Thus, its elimination represents a real advantage as it provides a more stable environment for trade within the euro zone by lowering risks and uncertainties as the economy is more flexible and resources more mobile. b) Monetary policy and the European Central Bank Despite affecting a fundamental aspect of a countrys sovereignty, member-states must abandon monetary policy. Additionally, members are deprived from revenue of seigniorage which is the net revenue derived from the issuing of currency. This loss mainly affects high-inflation rate countries such as Greece or Spain for example. Monetary policy is not anymore at the national level but depends on a supranational authority, the European Central Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Established in 1998, the ECB is responsible for monetary policy covering the sixteen member States of the Euro zone. Granting monetary control to the ECB means that National governments are giving monetary policy instrument such as regulating exchange rate and interest rate, and this is likely to involve a cost. This cost will occur during recession or inflationary boom, when a country will be unable to raise or lower interest rates independently of other countries within the EMU. c) Fiscal power of member-states Joining EMU severely limits the fiscal power of member-states. While they maintain formal responsibility for fiscal policy, member-states will have to show fiscal rectitude to avoid penalty. Convergence criteria require countries to reduce their debt which produced a ‘squeeze effect (Gà ¤rtner, 1997) for countries with loose fiscal policy. Indeed, fiscal policy remains the only macro-economic tool that is available to governments. At the same time, the union has the power of coordination and surveillance, and the ability to recommend modifications of fiscal policy and to apply sanctions against governments that have no taken the recommended steps. d) A single currency and its effect on public support As we already mentioned earlier, a member-state joining the EMU will have to adopt a common currency: the euro. Despite the fact that the adoption of the euro will clearly affect the countrys sovereignty, some people ‘feel closer to other countries (European Commission, 2002) which can bring Europeans together and build a notion of European identity. Therefore, the adoption of a common currency can result in undermining a nations identity. Currencies such as the â€Å"Francs† or the â€Å"Deutsch Mark† have symbolized economic prosperity, especially due to the fact that people trusted them. Moreover, the â€Å"Franc† was the French national currency since 1795 and has remained for two hundred and four years. The Deutsch Mark had the reputation as one of the worlds most stable currencies. For a country like France or Germany, the change of their currencies was a memorable step. Moreover, an obvious economic consequence is the impact on the purchasing power. For example, in France the switch from â€Å"Francs† to the â€Å"Euros† had a major effect on the French purchasing power. Twenty euro is the equivalent of approximately a 120Francs and this was perceived as a large amount of money in terms of purchasing power before the introduction of the new currency. While the adoption of the euro was meant to bring stability over the long-term, a study has been conducted showing that price rises were evident in the service sector such as restaurants, cafà ©s, hairdressers and recreational and sporting services. (Eurostat, 2003) Nevertheless, French consumers have noticed a change in the cost of living. Additionally, adopting a new currency is not always the easiest thing to do. e) Effects on firms and businesses Another benefit is the increase in attractive opportunities for foreign investors and these effects are unevenly spread across firms and businesses. Thus, larger firms will benefit more from EMU. For example, strong domestic enterprises will benefit from a greater degree of internationalisation of their markets. It will be especially helpful to small and medium sized enterprises which may not be able to reap sizeable economies of scale. Nevertheless, firms and businesses will be the first to experience the negative effects from joining the EMU. For example, travel agents and banks that are losing commission on currency exchanges and European currency traders will no longer be able to exert this business. Moreover, the single currency may lead to the â€Å"Europeanising† (Brown, B.2004, pp. 57-60.) of labour markets within the EMU zone. Consequently, it would be much easier to compare wages across the zone, especially in sectors where trade unions wield bargaining power. This w ill lead to an increase of wages and could engender major problem to companies outsourcing in low wages countries such as in Eastern Europe. The single currency will remove just the elements of labour-market flexibility. f) Price transparency and price convergence Nevertheless, joining the EMU will foster competition as there is greater price transparency across countries. Indeed, a single currency makes easier to show how prices differ between countries. It has been found that â€Å"the prices of goods differ considerably in different countries and continents due to the differences in currency.† (McCallum, 1995, pp24-25) As an example, before EMU, a customer living in France was able to buy a high value-added car cheaper when going in Germany. Hence, this leads to lower prices in the short to medium run because consumers can buy from the cheapest source and thus, drive prices down as companies are running under pressure. Indeed, â€Å"The formation of the euro zone and the SM of almost 300 million consumers will inevitably sharpen competitive pressures throughout Europe†. (Spanos et Al., Greek, pp.638) The subsequent enhancement of competition will increase economic efficiency and should cause price convergence. (Spanos et Al., Greek, pp.639) Consequently, the EMU provides information to its members and thus, enables them to make wiser decisions. g) â€Å"One fit all† policy problem: Moreover, other problems of joining the European Economic and Monetary Union will occur in the medium to long term. Indeed, the concern is that whether the states are sufficiently similar for them to co-exist with a common currency. For example, not all states are at the same stage of the trade cycle which represents a periodic fluctuation in the rate of economic activity as measured by levels of prices, production and employment. As an example, the UK is the worlds fourth largest economy and the second largest in the EU. The City of London represents Europes major European financial centre. The case of the UK has specific arguments: the UK has a lower level of intra-EU trade, one of the highest percentages of home owners and is affected differently by oil price movements due to different arrangements. It is then weaker and more vulnerable to external shocks which are unexpected shocks that do not affect every nation equally. (D. Johnson, C. Turner, 2nd edition, p180-183) Hence, if t he UK joins the euro, they will have to increase their exchange risks because the euro is turning around the dollar. The pound for example is neutral compared to the dollar and the euro. Consequently, the inappropriateness of one monetary policy for so many states is a major cost of joining the EMU. The case against the UKs entry in EMU depends also on other factors such as the recession the country is undergoing and the influence of the United-States. Benefits outweigh the costs? The case of Greece is a good example to show how benefits can outweigh the costs. Indeed, Greece has recently entered the EMU and thus, represents a good example for a number of candidates. Hence, it is an example of an economy in transition that has made a lot of progress in order to fulfil the macroeconomic convergence. A study of Greek firms has been conducted by Spanos (Business strategy analyst at Athens University) which helps to understand how firms react when entering the EMU and found that leading Greek firms â€Å"appear fully aware of the dramatic changes they will have to address in the near futureIn line with recent empirical evidence, the findings presented here are encouraging in that they suggest a strong learning effect that has presumably led Greek management towards convergence.† (Spanos et Al, pp.646) We understand that both EU membership and the panorama of competing in the EMU have acted as major catalysts. In short, the EMU has contributed toward the dev elopment of western-type of management style. Additionally, Greek firms have new challenges to overcome and this requires new competitive strategies, organizational structures, and management processes. Consequently, Greek firms strategy has shifted toward offer better quality products and services, and a tighter cost control. Trade theories are examples of why benefits outweigh costs. (Aiginger, K. et al, 1999, pp.3) The traditional theory was described by Ricardo in 1817; a country can achieve a â€Å"comparative advantage† resulting from differences in productivity or endowments between countries and regions. Consequently, trade liberalization and economic integration will result in production re-location and increasing specialization according to comparative advantages. Additionally, Mundell (1961) McKinnon (1963) and Kenen (1969) identified the reasons why a country should or should not enter a monetary union. If for every member-state benefits outweigh costs then the currency area is optimal. An â€Å"optimum currency area† (OCA) considers the premise that â€Å"when an external shock hits the economy, it is easier to adjust the exchange rate rather than domestic prices or wages.† (A. Belke and D. Gros, (1997). pp. 3/50) Indeed, this approach assesses what a country loses by giving up the exchange rate as an adjustment instrument. Conclusions To conclude, according to Martin Feldstein, EMU is seen by France as an opportunity to be a â€Å"co-manager† of Europe as an equal of Germany. Furthermore, it has been assumed that economic integration among the European countries will lead to convergence while reducing asymmetric shocks. However, classical theories assess that integration results in more specialization due to comparative advantage. Hence, core economies (France and Germany) may benefit at the expense of less efficient economies such as Eastern member-states. Furthermore, with a Single Market, firms will have to expand in size in order to compete. Such large firms are mostly located in core economies of the EU. However, Greece case study showed that EMU has contributed to the development of firms by offering higher quality products and services. We can then conclude that if a country joins EMU, benefits will clearly outweigh costs. References: Aiginger, K. et al. ‘Specialisation and (geographic) concentration of European Manufacturing, Enterprise DG Working Paper No 1, Background Paper for the ‘The Competitiveness of European industry: 1999 Report, Brussels. Ardy, B., Begg, I., Hodson, D., Mahe, I. and Mayes, D. (Eds) (2005) Adjustment to EMU: One Europe or Several? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Backà ©, P., Thimann, C., Arratibel, O., Calvo-Gonzalez, O., Mehl A. and Nehrlich, C. (2004) ‘The Acceding Countries Strategies towards ERM II and the Adoption of the Euro: An Analytical Review, ECB Occasional Paper Series, n °10. Frankfurt: European Central Bankn http://www.ecb.int/pub/ Brown, B. (2004) ‘Existing EMU, the International Economy, 18 (2), pp. 57-60. C. Allsopp M. Artis, â€Å"The Assessment: EMU, Four Years On,† Oxford Review of Economic Policy 19 Cambridge University Press, Bernhard Winkler. â€Å"Towards a Strategic View on EMU: A Critical Survey.† Towards a Strategic View on EMU: A Critical Survey Jan.-Apr 16.1 (1996): 1-26. Print. Commission of the European Communities (2004) ‘EMU after Five Years, European Economy, Special Report, and Number 1/2004, http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/european_economy/2004/eesp104en.pdf Chang, M. 2009. Monetary integration in the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. David Currie, The Pros and Cons of EMU by, the economist intelligence Unit, January 20, 1997 De Grauwe, P. (2002) ‘Challenges for Monetary Policy in Euroland, Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 693-718 Dinan, D. 2005. Ever closer union: an introduction to European integration (3rd ed.). Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner. Chapter 15 European Central Bank (2008) Statistical data Warehouse, http://www.ecb.int/stats/prices/hicp/html Gà ¤rtner, M. (1997) ‘Who wants the euro-and why? Economic explanations of public attitudes towards a single European currency, Public Choice 93 (3-4): 487-510 Greek Firms and EMU: Contrasting SMEs and Large-Sized Enterprises, Spanos et al. 2001, European Management Journal, Vol. 19, No. 6, pp. 638-648. (Available electronically) Johnson and Turner, 2006, Economic and Monetary Union Chapter 15 Dinan, 2005, Economic and Monetary Union Dr Rachel Doern, Royal Holloway University of London, Lecture n °5: Economic and Monetary Union, 2009 Panos.C. Afxientiou (1998), Convergence, the Maastricht Criteria, and Their Benefits, Philip R.Lane. â€Å"The Real Effects of European Monetary Union.† The Real Effects of European Monetary Union 20.4 (fall, 2006): 47-66. Print. Susan A. Banducci, Jeffrey A.Karp and Peter H.Loedel. â€Å"Journal of European Public Policy.† Economic interests and public support for the euro(June 2009): 564-81. Print. Thomas D. Willett.Some Political Economy Aspects of EMU. Elsevier Science Inc, 2000. Print. Kathryn M.E. Dominguez, The Journal of Economic Perspectives â€Å"The European Central Bank, the Euro, and Global Financial Markets.† The European Central Bank, the Euro, and Global Financial Markets Fall 20.4 (2006): 67-88. Print. Werner Bonefeld, Economic and Political Weekly. â€Å"Politics of European Monetary Union: Class, Ideology and Critique.† Politics of European Monetary Union: Class, Ideology and Critique 33.35 (1998): 55-69. Print. http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/conferences/eu/Pages/emu8.htm http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmpubacc/541/54107.htm

Relationship Between Training and Employee Commitment

Relationship Between Training and Employee Commitment Is there a connection between a high level of commitment to training and development of employees? 1.0 Introduction This paper will discuss training issues within the UK, and what organisations and the government are doing to address a skill shortage. The labour force in competitor countries is educated to higher levels than those in the UK, and that higher education qualifications will ever more be in demand to address future skills needs, particularly at the technical, associate professional and customer service level (M. Doyle 2003). This skills shortage is being addressed by the government by encouraging individuals and organisations to take more interest in training. There are many organisations within the UK that have very good policies on training, the question is does training employees equate on the bottom line. The government has introduced several policies aimed at tackling the skills shortage. D Blunkitt (2000) discussed. â€Å"that our education reforms are all about the development of an educated citizenry democracy in which people are educated in and are able to participate in active self-government. Individuals that are knowledgeable are equipped to make moral judgements, and will be able to construct solutions to the challenges they face, both locally and globally†(Blunkett, 2000, p. 13). This has shifted the emphasis from organisations training employees to individuals taking more responsibility for their own training. The skills are then transferable between organisations, aiding to the mobility of the individual. But organisations still require employees ‘to be trained in their culture and core values. Organisations seek the competitive edge of rivals; they use training to increase the level of service they offer customers. This in turn will create loyalty with their customers, therefore increasing turnover. The human resource is discussed as the most valuable, and perhaps the last edge organisations can have. If all organisations trained to the same level, would this then eliminate the competitive edge? Organisations are implementing strategic HR as a change agent, not to replace an out dated personnel department. Although there is still evidence within the UK that once these interventions are implemented, they just replace the role of the personnel department. To be effective belongs on the board of an organisation. The organisation that will be reviewed is Tesco’s; during the past decade they have introduced strategic HR with increased training of employees. The role of HR within the organisation has increased in importance. Their practice of training and the importance of HR will be reviewed with the current theory. Tesco’s’ operates in a very competitive market; the consumer has choice where to shop for their groceries. They have expanded their portfolio to include CD’s, DVD’s, electrical goods and clothing. Recently they have expanded into the financial services offering customers products from Credit cards to insurance. All their products are available on the internet 24 hours a day. Their slogan â€Å"every little helps† is used to show their commitment to customers, this has been used to reduce prices and to increase the level of customer service. This slogan is now used in their staff training, that any intervention will increase the knowledge of the workforce. The organisation is widely reported in newspapers, this is due to the success of the business. They are rapidly expanding in the UK with the opening of their Metro stores and into new and foreign markets. This has taken a great deal of their resources in the planning and implementing stage of expansion. The core units need to remain focused, to retain the reputation they have built. Reinforcing the culture and values through training will focus employees on their roles. Whilst writing this paper it was identified that further paper could be written on cost analyses of the organisation, to identify if the extra resources they have placed on training has been value for money. This was outside the scope of this paper. 3.0 Methodology This chapter discusses the research methods used for the project and the justification for the choice of methods. It discusses methods that were not used, with justification of why they were not included. Included is a critique of methods selected, and with hindsight this identifies any changes that would have enhanced the research. This paper critically evaluates training within the UK and focuses on the training issues within Tesco. It will compare the HR and training practices at Tesco to the theory. The organisation was chosen as they had put themselves to forefront of training a decade ago, by becoming investors in people. Selection of the topic was stimulated and formed out of heightened political awareness on the subject area. The government has recognised skills gap between the UK and competitor countries. To address this issue they have introduced policies that included lifelong learning. The government’s green and white papers were used to review these policies. The nature of the research was discussed with colleagues and fellow students, this not only added practical ideas and suggestions; it also opened new avenues of thought. This was the discussed with lecturers sounding out ideas, gauging opinions and clarifying the question. Focusing in on the question was obtained by employing relevance trees, narrowing the research area. This gave direction to the research, although with reviewing the literature this direction changed several times (Buzan, J. 1995). Next, a research proposal was compiled, with the benefit of organising ideas and setting a time-scale for research. Theoretically, the proposal would highlight any difficulties with the research question and access to data. Creating a time-scale would focus on targets and meet deadlines in the completion of the paper. The literature review, discussing theories and ideas that exist on the topic formed the foundation of the paper. The findings from the research are then tested on theories for validity (Saunders, M. et al1997). The literature review was challenging, there is a vast amount of articles on the subject. Books journals and newspaper articles formed the back bone for the review. Tertiary data sources, such as library catalogues and indexes were used to scan for secondary data. This produced journals and newspaper articles, and Internet addresses. With the amount of literature, it took time to sort out relevant material to the research. Narrowing down the search Bell’s (1993) six point’s parameters was applied. Applying key words that were identified in the first search produced relevant and up-to-date material (Bell, J.1993). A limitation on the literature search was the amount of time to read all articles and books on the subject. Whilst reviewing the literature references to other relevant publications was followed and reviewed. Bells checklist on identifying the relevance of literature found was a practical method to reduce the amount of reading (Bell, J. 1993). The Case study material was compiled from the organisations web site and from articles that discussed their training policy. Tesco’s appear to be rarely out of the papers, with daily reports on their success. The organisation disseminates a lot of information on their web page, only relevant material was chosen. To produce primary data on organisations training proved to be a vast task, taking a lot of time to produce results. Instead it was decide to review previously published interviews and surveys. This was then compared to the literature review. Interviewing people within organisations was an option for primary research. The target of the interview would be the person that held enough power to influence decisions that the organisation makes. This was rejected due to the time limitations of the paper. The major limitation of the study lies in its relatively small sample size and the limited coverage. This was mainly attributable tithe limited time and resources available for the study. Although thesis a small sample it will conclude on the findings with recommendations for further research papers into the subject. 4.0 Literature Review 4.1 Introduction This chapter will review current and recent articles and books of the topics of Training, HR and government policy. 4.2 What is training? Training can be defined as a planned process to change attitudes, knowledge or skills and behaviour through a range of activities to achieve effective performance. When this training is in the work situation, it develops the employee to satisfy current or future needs of the organisation (Beardwell, I et al 2004). It is generally accepted that methods of training can usually be separated into two categories: on-the-job, and, off-the-job. On-the-job training is implemented at the trainees workplace, while off-the-job training is conducted away from the trainees workplace and takes them outside of their work environment (Mullins, L. 2005). Training can be used as a change agent, to change the culture of an organisation. It is also a tool to improve organisational effectiveness, especially in fiercely competitive markets. All too often organisations that are facing financial problems will cut back the training program, where as they could be used to increase overall performance. The training budget is viewed too often as an expendable, and the first to cut or even go in crises (Rogers 2004). 4.2 Why Train Nobody in business would disagree with the clichà © that a company is only as good as the people in it. But opinions differ on how that translates into practice, and what it means in terms of the way a firm goes about gathering and developing a world-class staff line-up. With near full employment in the UK, the fight for talent is as ruthless as ever, and getting, hanging on to and developing those people remains the HR issue of the moment. The principal function of any organisation is to increase the value of the business and therefore enhance the wealth of its Owner(s). This is obtained by efficient use of the limited â€Å"resources† available to them(T Blackwood, 1995). Garrick (1998) discussed that training inextricably linked to market economics, that knowledge is prized ins far as it can generate a market advantageâ€Å"(Garrick 1998:5). This leads to the assumption that though training and developing employees, it can give the organisation advantage, increasing profit. Best (2001) discussed the â€Å"new economy, as a knowledge-based economy without borders, where the race is between companies and locales over how to learn faster and organise more flexibly to take advantage of technology-enabled market opportunities† (Best (2001) cited in DeFillippi, R. 2002). Organisations have changed in the way they operate, shifting from immobile-wired infrastructures to mobile, miniature, and wireless modes of communication, computing, and transacting. Customers now demand 24 hour service, with â€Å"anytime, anyplace solutions of their problems (DeFillippi, R. 2002). Radical shifts are taking place in management theory; these shifts need to be reflected in the theory of training and development. The move towards a knowledge economy makes these shifts vital to the survival of the organisation. Ideas of training tend to focus on results; typically they are short-term and assume transferable skills. Ideas of personal development may be insufficiently focused on the workplace. Therefore for an organisation to enter the knowledge economy, it is vital for them to review their training and development to a broader aspect (Bryans, P. Smith, R. 2000). Increasingly, as the nature of business and organisations change, its ‘leaders are recognising that their most valuable assets are their skilled employees and, more significantly, the knowledge, both tacit and explicit, that is possessed by these employees. The knowledge is power clichà © has never been more accurate than in todays corporate world. This added value that this can be seen in products and services is now dependant on knowledge based intangibles (Rogers 2004). Since the late 1990s the business environment has drastically changed(Mullins, L. 2005). Chaos theorists have argued that the world of the organisations is â€Å"turbulent and chaotic, making it impossible for them to predict the future† Therefore conventional approaches to strategic decision making are no longer appropriate (Harrison, R. 1997:78).Competition and the pace of change in business require continuous improvement, therefore it means continuous learning. From this demand the market for business education has grown with a proliferation of courses, full- and part-time, open and bespoke (Mullins, L. 2005). 4.3 The Role of HR Recognition of the importance of HR has increased in recent years; thesis a result of competition from overseas economies. In countries for example Japan, Germany and Sweden investment in employee development is higher than the UK. This has led to some organisations reviewing their policies on training introducing continuous investment in their employees (Beardwell, I. et al 2004). This increase in training priority has been supported by a rise inhuman Resource Management. This practice emphasises that increased growth can only be maintained in the long run; by equipping the workforce with the skills they need to complete their tasks (Mullins, L.2005). Although it is argued that HR departments are within UK organisations mostly administration based. Rogers (2004) stated that â€Å"the threat revolves around a fundamental mismatch between the functions of Departments today and the real strategic human resource needs of modern business, which those departments it should be servingâ€Å". The image of training and development has changed and can be used a key driver for delivering shareholder value (Rogers 2004:25). The role of HR should not be administrative based; it should be a part of the long term strategy of the organisation. Appointed an HR manager to the board is the only way this can happen (Beardwell et al2004).Rogers (2004) discussed the â€Å"role of developing human capital strategies that HR has a real opportunity to shine†. There are numerous departments are failing to deliver the goods. This is caused by â€Å"too many departments are dominated and viewed by the board as fulfilling mainly administrative role, dominated by endless form filling† (Rogers2004 :25). For HR to succeed it must take on a proactive role within the organisation. Strategic HR creates value by providing opportunities for organic learning, development of intellectual capital and enhances core competencies. This value is crucial to the organisations future success (Treen, D. 2000). Employers are increasing extorting the best possible performance from employees. Best practice will increase the skills of the current workforce, and with recruiting it will reinforce the culture of a highly skilled work force (Mullins, L. 2005).Strategic HRM has gained both credibility and popularity over the past decade, specifically with respect to its impact on organisational performance (Paauwe, J Boselie P. 2003). To fully exploit the wealth of knowledge contained within an organisation, it must be realised that it is in human resource management that the most significant advances will be made. As result, the human resource department must be made a central figure in an organisations strategy to establish a knowledge basis for its operations (Mullins, L. 2005). There are fundamental differences in the approach to HR. Storey(1987) discussed these as hard and `soft’ versions of HRM.. The ‘hard version places little emphasis on workers’ concerns and, therefore, within its concept, any judgments of the effectiveness form would be based on business performance criteria only. In contrast, ‘soft HRM, while also having business performance as its primary concern, would be more likely to advocate a parallel concern for workers’ outcomes (Storey cited in Guest, D. 1999). These models of HR theory, will justify why there has been an increase in this management practice. Walton (1985) defined HR as â€Å"mutual goals, mutual influence, mutual respect, mutual rewards, and mutual responsibility† Walton further added that the psychological contract ‘under this guitarist, high commitment model is one of mutuality, but it is a mutuality strictly bounded by the need to operate within an essentially unitary framework (Walton cited in Beardwell, l. et al2004) There is a need for a higher value to be placed on employees. And therefore get the best performance from the employees. According toDelany (2001) â€Å"successful organisations keep people issues at the forefront of their thinking and at the core of their decision making and planning†. Delany adds â€Å"organisations that get the people things right are the organisations likely to be around in the future† (Delany (2001)cited in Mullins, L. 2005:748). The role of human resource explicitly views employees as another resource for managers to exploit. In the past, managements had failed to align their human resource systems with business strategy and therefore failed to exploit or utilise their human resources to the full. The force to take on HRM is therefore, based on the business case of a need to respond to an external threat from increasing competition(Guest, D 1999). This view reflects a longstanding capitalist tradition in which the worker is viewed as a commodity. The consequential exploitation may be paternalist and benevolent; but, equally, it may operate against the interests of workers. Essentially, workers are simply resources to be squeezed and disposed of as business requirements dictate. More importantly, the interests of workers and their well-being are of no significance in themselves. As John Monks (1998) stated â€Å"In the wrong hands HRM becomes both a sharp weapon to prise workers apart from their union and a blunt instrument to bully workers† (Guest, D 1999). 4.5 HRD HR and training literatures highlights the organisational benefits tube gained from adopting a systematic approach to HRD, therefore thronging development of employees skills underpins the wider business objectives (Keep, 1989). This systematic approach to training often includes models that identifying needs, planning, delivery and evaluation. Harrison developed an eight stage model to identify monitor and evaluate training. The evaluation stage is possibly the most problematic part of the training process (Reid and Barrington, 1997). Therefore using that theory HRD should be viewed as a vital function offal organisations, and not just there to satisfy training issues, a proactive role. Caravan et al (2000) discusses the emergence of strategic HRD practices, which are directly linked to the organisation’s strategies, with profit maximising paramount, HRD is atoll that should be employed to obtain and support this (Caravan et al,2000). Strategic HRD is not embraced by all organisations; some view other resources as more valuable. There are many individual interconnected components, that impact on the performance of the organisation. The human resource is in theory the most valuable resource, but does not always receive the respect, and the financial recognition to develop(Walton 1999). Mumford (1997) agreed with this stating that â€Å"other resources within the organisation have a higher value placed on them and they are protected by rules and regulations† (A Mumford 1997:78). The theory of HRD appeals more to academics that the practioners. Garrick (1999) noted that academics rather than practitioners are more eager to pursue the learning perspective. This opinion defines HRD as being solely concerned with employees rather than organisational Strategy (Garrick 1999). Although this view is not shared by all authors. Caravan et al. (2000) defines the learning perspective that defines HRD as â€Å"responsible for fostering the long-term, work related learning capacity at an individual, group and organisational level†(Caravan et al. 2000:66). A research undertaken by Robertson and OMalley Hamersley reinforces this view of HRD. A two-year qualitative study composed from eighteen semi-structured interviews concluded that continuous professional learning was important to professional workers. To conclude from the study, learning does not have to directly correlate with organisational strategy. Therefore HRD can also be defined as a continuous learning programmes and encouragement of self-directed learning (Robertson and O’Malley Hamersley cited in Caravan et al. 2000:71). Continuously during the late 1990s and into the current century there has been a shift in organisational HRD rhetoric. Walton (2004) has discussed this shift in practice as â€Å"from how to support learning to how to manage knowledge, from the learning organisation to knowledge management†. These are new implications for the HRD practitioner in what has loosely been named the new economy (Walton 2004). 4.6 Managers and facilitators Education, training and development for managers, especially in the UK, has traditionally fallen into the â€Å"nice to have† category rather than the â€Å"must have† This view of business is persistent, with the assumption that managers are born and not made (Stern, S 2002). The majority of managers have learnt their skills through on-the-job experience. The conventional assumption, that managers learn best through â€Å"doing† whenever possible (Reader, A. 1998). Focussing on the concept that the human resource is the highly valued, systems should be in place to protect their importance. Development for managers who manage employees is a basic component of management development (Marching ton Wilkinson 1996). Mumford(1997) discussed the reason for failure of some of the processes has been â€Å"clearly been due in some instances to the absence of the required skills† (Mumford 1997:78). The majority of Managers would profit from training, but they are not capable of managing even with the intervention of training. These managers would still find in difficult to transfer the new skills and practices into their work place. The people who should train are not trained themselves (Walton 1999). In the UK the majority of managers have been trained in a skilled occupation, and consequently promoted through the system (Beardwell Holden 1994). Although highly trained in their primary occupation, the challenges of the managerial role are foreign to their skills. Rees commented that â€Å"few people start their careers off in managerial role; they have to acquire skills in organising employees effectively in an ever increasing competitive environment† (Rees cited in Beardwell Holden 1994:373). Good employee developers make a difference to the individual employee and/or their organisational performance. A new employee with a skills gap can be made to feel part of the organisation when he is developed into his role. Employees can be identified who have the potential for more demanding work or promotion but who require support to make this change. This can then set up a cycle of good behaviour that is passed on when the receivers become managers and developers themselves. Anises study found examples of increased skills and knowledge, work experience, self-confidence, improved motivation, job performance and job satisfaction, all thanks to the developers (Sparrow 2004). 4.7 Learning Theories Organisations have an economic need for all employees to be flexible within the workplace. The culture should encourage them to use their own initiative and apply the knowledge to undertake a variety of tasks. Cognitive learning lets the workforce learn strategies, and then transfer the learning to be able to solve problems. Lewis (1958) broke the learning down into three key stages. The first stage is the disposal of the old level (unfreezing), second stage is to implement the new structures and processes (moving) and the final stage involves stabilising the company with its new structure (refreezing). This technique was used so the organisation and the employees would be able to understand and implement improvements to their methods of working. Problems that arise from organisational change, which it is not flexible and cannot adapt swiftly to situations such as economic recession (Lewis (1958) cited in Buchanan, D and Hucczynski, A 1991). Wilson (1999) summarised on three main adult learning theories. Behaviourist theories of learning recognise learning as a response to external stimuli. Maintenance of the new behaviour is enforced by positive and negative reinforcement, a system of punishment and reward. Cognitivist theories of learning emphasise the proactive nature of development. This school of thought perceives human beings as seekers of knowledge in an attempt to understand our own identities and positionality. Humanist theories believe that learning occurs as result of our natural inclination towards it. People learn because in an environment of â€Å"warmth, care and understanding† (Wilson, 1999:197)we cannot help it. In this sense education is learner-centred; the student initiates the development environment and needs assessment. People continue to learn throughout their life, whether this is formally taught or just experienced. The process of lifelong learning requires continuous adaptation. This is gained from increased knowledge and improved skills, which aid the individual to adapt to or change the environment. This allows for new possibilities and outcomes from situations that they face. These changes can raise the individuals self-esteem and confidence. Therefore the learning can generate far reaching changes in both the individual and the environment (Beardwell I et al2004) Reinforcing learning within in an organisations, requires what Hawkins (1994) called a change at the heart† this change is in â€Å"the understanding of learning, a shift from viewing learning as being abrupt facts to learning as a more multi-faceted and dynamic process†. As Hawkins suggests, it is not that we are learning any differently than before but our understanding of how we learn has begun to catch up with what happens in practice (Hawkins, 1994:9). The learning process has been challenged to create a culture that allows continual learning throughout the organisation. As knowledge is what matters, organisations and individuals alike must become continuous learners(Hawkins, 1994). 4.8 Identification of training The UK government has introduced the National Occupational Standards(NOS). These are used as benchmarks of good practice in learning, and to identify the benefits to organisations and individuals that use them. These agreed statements of competence, describe the work outcomes required for an individual to achieve the standard expected of them(Wagner, L. 2004). These benefits can be used as a tool for the Human Resource Management function, to review and identify competencies in the work place. This process can start with recruitment and selection, measuring people’s experiences that will be transferred to the role, identifying any skills gaps in the existing work force (Harrison, R.2002). Employees appraisals is a tool used as to identify development issues within the organisation. Harrison (1993) suggests that they are â€Å"system and process for the provision of both feedback to employees on all aspects of their performance, and the opportunity for discussion to agree actions to assist their future development† (Harrison1993:256). Mullins defined the advantages of regular staff appraisals as â€Å"a formalised and systematic appraisal scheme will enable a regular assessment of individuals’ performance, highlight potential and identify training and development needs† (Mullins 1996:639). The information collected from the appraisals can be used for strategic development of employees. Outcomes can be used as measurement of success from the initial objectives. Harrison (1997) defined three outcomes that should come from appraisals, feedback on performance, work planning and diagnosis of training and development needs. If these outcomes are satisfied in the appraisal, then it will have a motivating effect on employees. IPhone of these outcomes is not satisfied, then the others cannot be satisfied (Harrison 1997). 4.9 Psychological contract Organisations no longer offer â€Å"a job for life† there is no longer guaranteed employment, with a pension as a reward for loyalty and compliance. The psychological contract between employer and employee has shifted. Employees are increasingly mobile, changing employment for promotion, reward and job satisfaction; top employees have more choices to where to work. To retain these key employees the organisations culture needs to allow an environment of personal growth (Harrison2002). With less job security, the best reward an organisation can give an employee is transferable skills (M Marching ton Wilkinson, 1997). Workers have been forced to take more responsibility for their own careers, going where the work is rewarding and where they can develop skills that will guarantee their employability in whatever organisation. This mobility and free agency has created greater competition for skilled workers between organisations. Good workers have more choices than before, and are more liable to use them. Withal the costs involved in recruiting and training new employees, organisations need to retain them. And key to this is the intrinsic rewards (Harrison 2002). Career development is important to the individual employee; Harrison(2002) noted this as an organised planned effort comprised of structured activities or processes that result in a mutual career-plotting effort between employees and the organisation. This Isa central component of the psychological contract that binds the individual to the organisation (Harrison 2002). This further complicates the role of the HRD PR actioner, balancing organisational needs with the individual’s expectations. Some employees will develop their career with one employer, while others require transferable skills. The organisation requires employees with the right skills to ensure and sustain competitive advantage (Gilley and England, 1989:48). 4.10 The Facts in the UK When organisations do not employ the resources to evaluate the benefit gained from training, the needs analysis is not completed. Therefore any benefit gained is not known to the organisation. A studying 1989 revealed that only 3 per cent of UK organisations reviewed any cost-benefit analysis of their training intervention (Deloitte et al(1989) cited in Santos and Stuart 2003). This approach within the UK has barely changed in fifty years. Evaluation of training intervention does not receive the consideration that accepted opinion demands; it is not an important factor in determining the allocation of resources to training. The important factor within an organisation is the focus of HR on the training and development needs, so they are focused on the learning needs of theorganisation.UK organisations fail when assessing the effect of training, to both the individual and the organisation (Sloman 2004). A survey from the CIPD of 1,180 HR professionals agreed that the role of the HR department requires change to move forward. Mike Emmett, head of employee relations at the CIPD agreed with the survey stating â€Å"Theory community has internalised the message that it needs to spend less time on administration and operational issues and more time on business strategy and adding valueâ€Å" The role that HR has adopted in the Appears to follow on from the role of the personnel department. For Hardtop be successful the HR department should hold a strategic position within the organisation (Mike Emmett cited in Zneimer and Merriden 2004:38). The trend in the UK o Relationship Between Training and Employee Commitment Relationship Between Training and Employee Commitment Is there a connection between a high level of commitment to training and development of employees? 1.0 Introduction This paper will discuss training issues within the UK, and what organisations and the government are doing to address a skill shortage. The labour force in competitor countries is educated to higher levels than those in the UK, and that higher education qualifications will ever more be in demand to address future skills needs, particularly at the technical, associate professional and customer service level (M. Doyle 2003). This skills shortage is being addressed by the government by encouraging individuals and organisations to take more interest in training. There are many organisations within the UK that have very good policies on training, the question is does training employees equate on the bottom line. The government has introduced several policies aimed at tackling the skills shortage. D Blunkitt (2000) discussed. â€Å"that our education reforms are all about the development of an educated citizenry democracy in which people are educated in and are able to participate in active self-government. Individuals that are knowledgeable are equipped to make moral judgements, and will be able to construct solutions to the challenges they face, both locally and globally†(Blunkett, 2000, p. 13). This has shifted the emphasis from organisations training employees to individuals taking more responsibility for their own training. The skills are then transferable between organisations, aiding to the mobility of the individual. But organisations still require employees ‘to be trained in their culture and core values. Organisations seek the competitive edge of rivals; they use training to increase the level of service they offer customers. This in turn will create loyalty with their customers, therefore increasing turnover. The human resource is discussed as the most valuable, and perhaps the last edge organisations can have. If all organisations trained to the same level, would this then eliminate the competitive edge? Organisations are implementing strategic HR as a change agent, not to replace an out dated personnel department. Although there is still evidence within the UK that once these interventions are implemented, they just replace the role of the personnel department. To be effective belongs on the board of an organisation. The organisation that will be reviewed is Tesco’s; during the past decade they have introduced strategic HR with increased training of employees. The role of HR within the organisation has increased in importance. Their practice of training and the importance of HR will be reviewed with the current theory. Tesco’s’ operates in a very competitive market; the consumer has choice where to shop for their groceries. They have expanded their portfolio to include CD’s, DVD’s, electrical goods and clothing. Recently they have expanded into the financial services offering customers products from Credit cards to insurance. All their products are available on the internet 24 hours a day. Their slogan â€Å"every little helps† is used to show their commitment to customers, this has been used to reduce prices and to increase the level of customer service. This slogan is now used in their staff training, that any intervention will increase the knowledge of the workforce. The organisation is widely reported in newspapers, this is due to the success of the business. They are rapidly expanding in the UK with the opening of their Metro stores and into new and foreign markets. This has taken a great deal of their resources in the planning and implementing stage of expansion. The core units need to remain focused, to retain the reputation they have built. Reinforcing the culture and values through training will focus employees on their roles. Whilst writing this paper it was identified that further paper could be written on cost analyses of the organisation, to identify if the extra resources they have placed on training has been value for money. This was outside the scope of this paper. 3.0 Methodology This chapter discusses the research methods used for the project and the justification for the choice of methods. It discusses methods that were not used, with justification of why they were not included. Included is a critique of methods selected, and with hindsight this identifies any changes that would have enhanced the research. This paper critically evaluates training within the UK and focuses on the training issues within Tesco. It will compare the HR and training practices at Tesco to the theory. The organisation was chosen as they had put themselves to forefront of training a decade ago, by becoming investors in people. Selection of the topic was stimulated and formed out of heightened political awareness on the subject area. The government has recognised skills gap between the UK and competitor countries. To address this issue they have introduced policies that included lifelong learning. The government’s green and white papers were used to review these policies. The nature of the research was discussed with colleagues and fellow students, this not only added practical ideas and suggestions; it also opened new avenues of thought. This was the discussed with lecturers sounding out ideas, gauging opinions and clarifying the question. Focusing in on the question was obtained by employing relevance trees, narrowing the research area. This gave direction to the research, although with reviewing the literature this direction changed several times (Buzan, J. 1995). Next, a research proposal was compiled, with the benefit of organising ideas and setting a time-scale for research. Theoretically, the proposal would highlight any difficulties with the research question and access to data. Creating a time-scale would focus on targets and meet deadlines in the completion of the paper. The literature review, discussing theories and ideas that exist on the topic formed the foundation of the paper. The findings from the research are then tested on theories for validity (Saunders, M. et al1997). The literature review was challenging, there is a vast amount of articles on the subject. Books journals and newspaper articles formed the back bone for the review. Tertiary data sources, such as library catalogues and indexes were used to scan for secondary data. This produced journals and newspaper articles, and Internet addresses. With the amount of literature, it took time to sort out relevant material to the research. Narrowing down the search Bell’s (1993) six point’s parameters was applied. Applying key words that were identified in the first search produced relevant and up-to-date material (Bell, J.1993). A limitation on the literature search was the amount of time to read all articles and books on the subject. Whilst reviewing the literature references to other relevant publications was followed and reviewed. Bells checklist on identifying the relevance of literature found was a practical method to reduce the amount of reading (Bell, J. 1993). The Case study material was compiled from the organisations web site and from articles that discussed their training policy. Tesco’s appear to be rarely out of the papers, with daily reports on their success. The organisation disseminates a lot of information on their web page, only relevant material was chosen. To produce primary data on organisations training proved to be a vast task, taking a lot of time to produce results. Instead it was decide to review previously published interviews and surveys. This was then compared to the literature review. Interviewing people within organisations was an option for primary research. The target of the interview would be the person that held enough power to influence decisions that the organisation makes. This was rejected due to the time limitations of the paper. The major limitation of the study lies in its relatively small sample size and the limited coverage. This was mainly attributable tithe limited time and resources available for the study. Although thesis a small sample it will conclude on the findings with recommendations for further research papers into the subject. 4.0 Literature Review 4.1 Introduction This chapter will review current and recent articles and books of the topics of Training, HR and government policy. 4.2 What is training? Training can be defined as a planned process to change attitudes, knowledge or skills and behaviour through a range of activities to achieve effective performance. When this training is in the work situation, it develops the employee to satisfy current or future needs of the organisation (Beardwell, I et al 2004). It is generally accepted that methods of training can usually be separated into two categories: on-the-job, and, off-the-job. On-the-job training is implemented at the trainees workplace, while off-the-job training is conducted away from the trainees workplace and takes them outside of their work environment (Mullins, L. 2005). Training can be used as a change agent, to change the culture of an organisation. It is also a tool to improve organisational effectiveness, especially in fiercely competitive markets. All too often organisations that are facing financial problems will cut back the training program, where as they could be used to increase overall performance. The training budget is viewed too often as an expendable, and the first to cut or even go in crises (Rogers 2004). 4.2 Why Train Nobody in business would disagree with the clichà © that a company is only as good as the people in it. But opinions differ on how that translates into practice, and what it means in terms of the way a firm goes about gathering and developing a world-class staff line-up. With near full employment in the UK, the fight for talent is as ruthless as ever, and getting, hanging on to and developing those people remains the HR issue of the moment. The principal function of any organisation is to increase the value of the business and therefore enhance the wealth of its Owner(s). This is obtained by efficient use of the limited â€Å"resources† available to them(T Blackwood, 1995). Garrick (1998) discussed that training inextricably linked to market economics, that knowledge is prized ins far as it can generate a market advantageâ€Å"(Garrick 1998:5). This leads to the assumption that though training and developing employees, it can give the organisation advantage, increasing profit. Best (2001) discussed the â€Å"new economy, as a knowledge-based economy without borders, where the race is between companies and locales over how to learn faster and organise more flexibly to take advantage of technology-enabled market opportunities† (Best (2001) cited in DeFillippi, R. 2002). Organisations have changed in the way they operate, shifting from immobile-wired infrastructures to mobile, miniature, and wireless modes of communication, computing, and transacting. Customers now demand 24 hour service, with â€Å"anytime, anyplace solutions of their problems (DeFillippi, R. 2002). Radical shifts are taking place in management theory; these shifts need to be reflected in the theory of training and development. The move towards a knowledge economy makes these shifts vital to the survival of the organisation. Ideas of training tend to focus on results; typically they are short-term and assume transferable skills. Ideas of personal development may be insufficiently focused on the workplace. Therefore for an organisation to enter the knowledge economy, it is vital for them to review their training and development to a broader aspect (Bryans, P. Smith, R. 2000). Increasingly, as the nature of business and organisations change, its ‘leaders are recognising that their most valuable assets are their skilled employees and, more significantly, the knowledge, both tacit and explicit, that is possessed by these employees. The knowledge is power clichà © has never been more accurate than in todays corporate world. This added value that this can be seen in products and services is now dependant on knowledge based intangibles (Rogers 2004). Since the late 1990s the business environment has drastically changed(Mullins, L. 2005). Chaos theorists have argued that the world of the organisations is â€Å"turbulent and chaotic, making it impossible for them to predict the future† Therefore conventional approaches to strategic decision making are no longer appropriate (Harrison, R. 1997:78).Competition and the pace of change in business require continuous improvement, therefore it means continuous learning. From this demand the market for business education has grown with a proliferation of courses, full- and part-time, open and bespoke (Mullins, L. 2005). 4.3 The Role of HR Recognition of the importance of HR has increased in recent years; thesis a result of competition from overseas economies. In countries for example Japan, Germany and Sweden investment in employee development is higher than the UK. This has led to some organisations reviewing their policies on training introducing continuous investment in their employees (Beardwell, I. et al 2004). This increase in training priority has been supported by a rise inhuman Resource Management. This practice emphasises that increased growth can only be maintained in the long run; by equipping the workforce with the skills they need to complete their tasks (Mullins, L.2005). Although it is argued that HR departments are within UK organisations mostly administration based. Rogers (2004) stated that â€Å"the threat revolves around a fundamental mismatch between the functions of Departments today and the real strategic human resource needs of modern business, which those departments it should be servingâ€Å". The image of training and development has changed and can be used a key driver for delivering shareholder value (Rogers 2004:25). The role of HR should not be administrative based; it should be a part of the long term strategy of the organisation. Appointed an HR manager to the board is the only way this can happen (Beardwell et al2004).Rogers (2004) discussed the â€Å"role of developing human capital strategies that HR has a real opportunity to shine†. There are numerous departments are failing to deliver the goods. This is caused by â€Å"too many departments are dominated and viewed by the board as fulfilling mainly administrative role, dominated by endless form filling† (Rogers2004 :25). For HR to succeed it must take on a proactive role within the organisation. Strategic HR creates value by providing opportunities for organic learning, development of intellectual capital and enhances core competencies. This value is crucial to the organisations future success (Treen, D. 2000). Employers are increasing extorting the best possible performance from employees. Best practice will increase the skills of the current workforce, and with recruiting it will reinforce the culture of a highly skilled work force (Mullins, L. 2005).Strategic HRM has gained both credibility and popularity over the past decade, specifically with respect to its impact on organisational performance (Paauwe, J Boselie P. 2003). To fully exploit the wealth of knowledge contained within an organisation, it must be realised that it is in human resource management that the most significant advances will be made. As result, the human resource department must be made a central figure in an organisations strategy to establish a knowledge basis for its operations (Mullins, L. 2005). There are fundamental differences in the approach to HR. Storey(1987) discussed these as hard and `soft’ versions of HRM.. The ‘hard version places little emphasis on workers’ concerns and, therefore, within its concept, any judgments of the effectiveness form would be based on business performance criteria only. In contrast, ‘soft HRM, while also having business performance as its primary concern, would be more likely to advocate a parallel concern for workers’ outcomes (Storey cited in Guest, D. 1999). These models of HR theory, will justify why there has been an increase in this management practice. Walton (1985) defined HR as â€Å"mutual goals, mutual influence, mutual respect, mutual rewards, and mutual responsibility† Walton further added that the psychological contract ‘under this guitarist, high commitment model is one of mutuality, but it is a mutuality strictly bounded by the need to operate within an essentially unitary framework (Walton cited in Beardwell, l. et al2004) There is a need for a higher value to be placed on employees. And therefore get the best performance from the employees. According toDelany (2001) â€Å"successful organisations keep people issues at the forefront of their thinking and at the core of their decision making and planning†. Delany adds â€Å"organisations that get the people things right are the organisations likely to be around in the future† (Delany (2001)cited in Mullins, L. 2005:748). The role of human resource explicitly views employees as another resource for managers to exploit. In the past, managements had failed to align their human resource systems with business strategy and therefore failed to exploit or utilise their human resources to the full. The force to take on HRM is therefore, based on the business case of a need to respond to an external threat from increasing competition(Guest, D 1999). This view reflects a longstanding capitalist tradition in which the worker is viewed as a commodity. The consequential exploitation may be paternalist and benevolent; but, equally, it may operate against the interests of workers. Essentially, workers are simply resources to be squeezed and disposed of as business requirements dictate. More importantly, the interests of workers and their well-being are of no significance in themselves. As John Monks (1998) stated â€Å"In the wrong hands HRM becomes both a sharp weapon to prise workers apart from their union and a blunt instrument to bully workers† (Guest, D 1999). 4.5 HRD HR and training literatures highlights the organisational benefits tube gained from adopting a systematic approach to HRD, therefore thronging development of employees skills underpins the wider business objectives (Keep, 1989). This systematic approach to training often includes models that identifying needs, planning, delivery and evaluation. Harrison developed an eight stage model to identify monitor and evaluate training. The evaluation stage is possibly the most problematic part of the training process (Reid and Barrington, 1997). Therefore using that theory HRD should be viewed as a vital function offal organisations, and not just there to satisfy training issues, a proactive role. Caravan et al (2000) discusses the emergence of strategic HRD practices, which are directly linked to the organisation’s strategies, with profit maximising paramount, HRD is atoll that should be employed to obtain and support this (Caravan et al,2000). Strategic HRD is not embraced by all organisations; some view other resources as more valuable. There are many individual interconnected components, that impact on the performance of the organisation. The human resource is in theory the most valuable resource, but does not always receive the respect, and the financial recognition to develop(Walton 1999). Mumford (1997) agreed with this stating that â€Å"other resources within the organisation have a higher value placed on them and they are protected by rules and regulations† (A Mumford 1997:78). The theory of HRD appeals more to academics that the practioners. Garrick (1999) noted that academics rather than practitioners are more eager to pursue the learning perspective. This opinion defines HRD as being solely concerned with employees rather than organisational Strategy (Garrick 1999). Although this view is not shared by all authors. Caravan et al. (2000) defines the learning perspective that defines HRD as â€Å"responsible for fostering the long-term, work related learning capacity at an individual, group and organisational level†(Caravan et al. 2000:66). A research undertaken by Robertson and OMalley Hamersley reinforces this view of HRD. A two-year qualitative study composed from eighteen semi-structured interviews concluded that continuous professional learning was important to professional workers. To conclude from the study, learning does not have to directly correlate with organisational strategy. Therefore HRD can also be defined as a continuous learning programmes and encouragement of self-directed learning (Robertson and O’Malley Hamersley cited in Caravan et al. 2000:71). Continuously during the late 1990s and into the current century there has been a shift in organisational HRD rhetoric. Walton (2004) has discussed this shift in practice as â€Å"from how to support learning to how to manage knowledge, from the learning organisation to knowledge management†. These are new implications for the HRD practitioner in what has loosely been named the new economy (Walton 2004). 4.6 Managers and facilitators Education, training and development for managers, especially in the UK, has traditionally fallen into the â€Å"nice to have† category rather than the â€Å"must have† This view of business is persistent, with the assumption that managers are born and not made (Stern, S 2002). The majority of managers have learnt their skills through on-the-job experience. The conventional assumption, that managers learn best through â€Å"doing† whenever possible (Reader, A. 1998). Focussing on the concept that the human resource is the highly valued, systems should be in place to protect their importance. Development for managers who manage employees is a basic component of management development (Marching ton Wilkinson 1996). Mumford(1997) discussed the reason for failure of some of the processes has been â€Å"clearly been due in some instances to the absence of the required skills† (Mumford 1997:78). The majority of Managers would profit from training, but they are not capable of managing even with the intervention of training. These managers would still find in difficult to transfer the new skills and practices into their work place. The people who should train are not trained themselves (Walton 1999). In the UK the majority of managers have been trained in a skilled occupation, and consequently promoted through the system (Beardwell Holden 1994). Although highly trained in their primary occupation, the challenges of the managerial role are foreign to their skills. Rees commented that â€Å"few people start their careers off in managerial role; they have to acquire skills in organising employees effectively in an ever increasing competitive environment† (Rees cited in Beardwell Holden 1994:373). Good employee developers make a difference to the individual employee and/or their organisational performance. A new employee with a skills gap can be made to feel part of the organisation when he is developed into his role. Employees can be identified who have the potential for more demanding work or promotion but who require support to make this change. This can then set up a cycle of good behaviour that is passed on when the receivers become managers and developers themselves. Anises study found examples of increased skills and knowledge, work experience, self-confidence, improved motivation, job performance and job satisfaction, all thanks to the developers (Sparrow 2004). 4.7 Learning Theories Organisations have an economic need for all employees to be flexible within the workplace. The culture should encourage them to use their own initiative and apply the knowledge to undertake a variety of tasks. Cognitive learning lets the workforce learn strategies, and then transfer the learning to be able to solve problems. Lewis (1958) broke the learning down into three key stages. The first stage is the disposal of the old level (unfreezing), second stage is to implement the new structures and processes (moving) and the final stage involves stabilising the company with its new structure (refreezing). This technique was used so the organisation and the employees would be able to understand and implement improvements to their methods of working. Problems that arise from organisational change, which it is not flexible and cannot adapt swiftly to situations such as economic recession (Lewis (1958) cited in Buchanan, D and Hucczynski, A 1991). Wilson (1999) summarised on three main adult learning theories. Behaviourist theories of learning recognise learning as a response to external stimuli. Maintenance of the new behaviour is enforced by positive and negative reinforcement, a system of punishment and reward. Cognitivist theories of learning emphasise the proactive nature of development. This school of thought perceives human beings as seekers of knowledge in an attempt to understand our own identities and positionality. Humanist theories believe that learning occurs as result of our natural inclination towards it. People learn because in an environment of â€Å"warmth, care and understanding† (Wilson, 1999:197)we cannot help it. In this sense education is learner-centred; the student initiates the development environment and needs assessment. People continue to learn throughout their life, whether this is formally taught or just experienced. The process of lifelong learning requires continuous adaptation. This is gained from increased knowledge and improved skills, which aid the individual to adapt to or change the environment. This allows for new possibilities and outcomes from situations that they face. These changes can raise the individuals self-esteem and confidence. Therefore the learning can generate far reaching changes in both the individual and the environment (Beardwell I et al2004) Reinforcing learning within in an organisations, requires what Hawkins (1994) called a change at the heart† this change is in â€Å"the understanding of learning, a shift from viewing learning as being abrupt facts to learning as a more multi-faceted and dynamic process†. As Hawkins suggests, it is not that we are learning any differently than before but our understanding of how we learn has begun to catch up with what happens in practice (Hawkins, 1994:9). The learning process has been challenged to create a culture that allows continual learning throughout the organisation. As knowledge is what matters, organisations and individuals alike must become continuous learners(Hawkins, 1994). 4.8 Identification of training The UK government has introduced the National Occupational Standards(NOS). These are used as benchmarks of good practice in learning, and to identify the benefits to organisations and individuals that use them. These agreed statements of competence, describe the work outcomes required for an individual to achieve the standard expected of them(Wagner, L. 2004). These benefits can be used as a tool for the Human Resource Management function, to review and identify competencies in the work place. This process can start with recruitment and selection, measuring people’s experiences that will be transferred to the role, identifying any skills gaps in the existing work force (Harrison, R.2002). Employees appraisals is a tool used as to identify development issues within the organisation. Harrison (1993) suggests that they are â€Å"system and process for the provision of both feedback to employees on all aspects of their performance, and the opportunity for discussion to agree actions to assist their future development† (Harrison1993:256). Mullins defined the advantages of regular staff appraisals as â€Å"a formalised and systematic appraisal scheme will enable a regular assessment of individuals’ performance, highlight potential and identify training and development needs† (Mullins 1996:639). The information collected from the appraisals can be used for strategic development of employees. Outcomes can be used as measurement of success from the initial objectives. Harrison (1997) defined three outcomes that should come from appraisals, feedback on performance, work planning and diagnosis of training and development needs. If these outcomes are satisfied in the appraisal, then it will have a motivating effect on employees. IPhone of these outcomes is not satisfied, then the others cannot be satisfied (Harrison 1997). 4.9 Psychological contract Organisations no longer offer â€Å"a job for life† there is no longer guaranteed employment, with a pension as a reward for loyalty and compliance. The psychological contract between employer and employee has shifted. Employees are increasingly mobile, changing employment for promotion, reward and job satisfaction; top employees have more choices to where to work. To retain these key employees the organisations culture needs to allow an environment of personal growth (Harrison2002). With less job security, the best reward an organisation can give an employee is transferable skills (M Marching ton Wilkinson, 1997). Workers have been forced to take more responsibility for their own careers, going where the work is rewarding and where they can develop skills that will guarantee their employability in whatever organisation. This mobility and free agency has created greater competition for skilled workers between organisations. Good workers have more choices than before, and are more liable to use them. Withal the costs involved in recruiting and training new employees, organisations need to retain them. And key to this is the intrinsic rewards (Harrison 2002). Career development is important to the individual employee; Harrison(2002) noted this as an organised planned effort comprised of structured activities or processes that result in a mutual career-plotting effort between employees and the organisation. This Isa central component of the psychological contract that binds the individual to the organisation (Harrison 2002). This further complicates the role of the HRD PR actioner, balancing organisational needs with the individual’s expectations. Some employees will develop their career with one employer, while others require transferable skills. The organisation requires employees with the right skills to ensure and sustain competitive advantage (Gilley and England, 1989:48). 4.10 The Facts in the UK When organisations do not employ the resources to evaluate the benefit gained from training, the needs analysis is not completed. Therefore any benefit gained is not known to the organisation. A studying 1989 revealed that only 3 per cent of UK organisations reviewed any cost-benefit analysis of their training intervention (Deloitte et al(1989) cited in Santos and Stuart 2003). This approach within the UK has barely changed in fifty years. Evaluation of training intervention does not receive the consideration that accepted opinion demands; it is not an important factor in determining the allocation of resources to training. The important factor within an organisation is the focus of HR on the training and development needs, so they are focused on the learning needs of theorganisation.UK organisations fail when assessing the effect of training, to both the individual and the organisation (Sloman 2004). A survey from the CIPD of 1,180 HR professionals agreed that the role of the HR department requires change to move forward. Mike Emmett, head of employee relations at the CIPD agreed with the survey stating â€Å"Theory community has internalised the message that it needs to spend less time on administration and operational issues and more time on business strategy and adding valueâ€Å" The role that HR has adopted in the Appears to follow on from the role of the personnel department. For Hardtop be successful the HR department should hold a strategic position within the organisation (Mike Emmett cited in Zneimer and Merriden 2004:38). The trend in the UK o