Essay The Last Circus Essay

We all go through different stages of development in our life, and some of these stages are not as easy as others. At some point every little child needs to leave his or her childhood and grow up, because no matter how much you want to, you can’t stay a child forever. The development from a child to an adult is an extremely sensitive and tough period. The things you used to know suddenly change and become something completely different. It is this kind of development we see in the short story â€Å"The Last Circus† which is published in 1980 and writhen by Ray Bradbury. The development is shown through the main character and is brought up in many various ways. The short story is based on the main character, Douglas, who lives with his father, his mother and his brother Skip. The family is an ordinary middle class family, which is shown because they don’t have any kind of extraordinary luxury. The family fits right into the old traditions where the mother cooks, cleans and takes care of everyone. The father is more concerned about what is going on in the world and is not very involved in his two son lives. In the beginning of the story Douglas seems to be a normal young kid who loves spending time with his best friend, Red Tongue, but as the story goes on it is getting more clearly that Douglas is going through a development from being a child to becoming an adult. The way Douglas is starting to mature shows the development, and is also the biggest difference between Red Tongue and Douglas. All the way through the circus show Red Tongue is amused and laughs, but that is not the way Douglas reacts to the show. To him the circus is no longer something he finds interesting or funny, and it is at this point that he has developed from being a young, childish and innocent kid to a more adult person who doesn’t think that circus shows are the meaning of life anymore. This makes Douglas a round character, and Red Tongue a flat. He goes through a development, witch Red Tongue doesn’t. Red Tongue’s name even symbolizes youth and that he doesn’t go through a development – (Page 81, line 1-2). The story takes place during the Cold War in the 1950s. At that time there were atom bomb hysteria in America because of the nuclear war, which occurred at the end of World War II. The United States was at that time the  only country that had nuclear weapons, but in 1949 the Soviet Union did a nuclear test on an atomic weapon, called RDS-1 and later in 1952 the USA tested the first hydrogen bomb2 on the Marshall Islands. After the testing the islands were turned in to toxic fumes and dust. This frightened the American people, because they were afraid that there would be a future nuclear war. This are reflected in the text. Douglas’s father is extremely worried and fears his own doomsday. He tells Douglas all his worries about the war, but children at his age shouldn’t worry about such serious matters. This is a part of what starts his development – propulsion of having to grow up fast. The story is written with a single major character viewpoint and is therefore told with a first-person narrator whom is Douglas. The reader discovers everything in the story at exactly the same time as Douglas does. It allows the reader all the descriptive forces of the third person-narrator and almost as much intimacy as the first person-narrator. It can also be easier for the reader to identify with just one character, which in this story is the main character, Douglas. The narrator can be a bit untrustworthy because it is just told from one point of view, and especially since the narrator in this text is a child. It is written in the past tense, indicating that it is an experience Douglas already has had. The structure of the text follows three main points – an exposition, a conflict and a resolution. In the first part of the story, which is the exposition, Douglas, RT, and their values are introduced – (page 81-82, line 21). The reader gets the necessary background information to understand the meaning of what happens later on in the text. The next part of the story is where the conflict flares up between Douglas and what happens around him. This happens because his father starts talking about the atom bombs, witch unknowingly starts the Douglas development – (page 82-85, line 34). This conflict is also the climax. At the end of the story the resolution is given by the conflict being resolved. Douglas is finally starting to understand that he is going through a development, and also that things are beginning to change – (page 85-88). The story switches 7 times back and forth between him being at home and at the circus;. one: Douglas is at home – two: he is  at the circus – three: back home – four: at the circus – five: at home – six: at the circus – seven: at home again. Because of the switching back and forth between the environments the story is not chronological. The main theme of the text is the development from childhood to adulthood. In the beginning of the story Douglas is a happy, young, innocent and careless boy, but later his father unknowingly starts the development in him, by talking about the atom bombs. It is here Douglas realizes that there are other things in life than just the circus and cowboys. After this he starts maturing and loses his innocence.

Human Resource and Management Essay

It is widely accepted that functions involving management include planning goals of the organization, organizing its employees so that efficiency can be achieved, leading involves employee motivation and influence, whereas control function makes sure that all other functions help bring success to the organization . Another viewpoint is that there is a fifth function which is staffing. Staffing involves the HRM department making sure that the appropriate people with valuable skills are placed on jobs (Bartol, 2004). Human resource department has become more important today as it is integrated and much more strategically involved. The HRM department sees it very important in order to be successful as an organization much effort should be put on recruitment of employees, then they should be motivated to perform their task, and trained to execute their responsibilities effectively. To built an efficient work force and maintain it on that level the HRM needs to influence employee behaviour when they seem off track. The few ways in which they can do is by organizing which includes job design/redesign, remuneration and benefits, training and development, and performance management. Job Design Job design is method which involves organizing employee tasks and giving them responsibilities. It also focuses on changing duties of employees so that job satisfaction is gained, which therefore increases efficiency. It focuses on the content of job and effect it has on employee motivation and effectiveness. If job satisfaction is achieved productivity can also be achieved, some people prefer jobs which they feel comfortable at, identifying what makes a good job for the employee can be helpful in improving performance, this can make difference on cost resulting from absenteeism and low turnover. The job fit matches characteristic of people with characteristic of jobs. A person not fitting a job can be disastrous for the company and the employee. By re-designing the job the person/job fit can be may be improved, this can affect employee motivation as the job becomes favourable for employee, catering to their need of job-related satisfaction, for example a person who does not likes to talk much may find it awkward and frustrating at a bank teller job because there he may have to interact with people all day long (Keaton, 2001). Read more:Â  Areas of Human Resources Management Business The ways to re-design a job includes job enlargement and job enrichment, this involves reducing the problems faced by the employee on job. Broadening the scope of the job by expanding the tasks to be performed may reduce the monotonous job experience, as their would be new tasks for the employee to perform, this may help influence behaviour as the employee may achieve job satisfaction and also feel more important as a part of the organization. Job enrichment deals with the employee given more responsibility then before, by adding planning, controlling and evaluating to his job function. Job enrichment may include giving the employee the entire job rather then a part of work, expanding the assignment so that the employee can learn from new tasks, moreover developing new areas of expertise. It may also include giving the employee more autonomy so that he can organize work according to his will, along with giving feedback to higher officials. The more these characteristics are in the job the more motivating it becomes. For the employees motivational value comes from job enrichment due to the feeling of employees that work is now more meaningful, due to the fact that they are more responsible for outcomes. These changes therefore satisfy the employees need for growth, work motivation, work satisfaction, and work effectiveness (Schuler, 2008). Remuneration and Benefits The HR department has also the responsibility of setting employee remuneration, which is the financial payment to employees for their work. This can be used in influencing employee behaviour, it is necessary for the organization to reward employees fairly. If the employee feels he hasn’t been rewarded well he will be de-motivated. Organizations work towards keeping their skilled employee the time, they do not want to lose employee who have worked with them and are good at what they do, also for motivating employees to be more effective and efficient at work HR department tries to best set the wages inline with the expectance of the employees. Well paid employees feel more satisfied with work and are also more willing to give something extra to the organization, in long term this can increase employee commitment and built a trusted relationship between employee and employer. The other option which the HR department uses in influencing behaviour is the benefit system. Employee benefits are does part of the process that reward in addition to cash pay. These benefits may include insurance, medical, pension schemes, a company car or loan, and paid holidays. These benefits care for personal security and needs (Armstrong, 2000). The aim of employee benefits is to contribute to a competitive reward package, also to provide tax-efficient method of remuneration. This is also to provide for the employees need and also for their request for financial help, thus demonstrating that they are part of a caring organization so in turn they can be motivated to carry out work. This also increases the commitment of employee to the organization. The benefit strategy should be directed at the goal of achieving objectives of the business by ensuring it has high quality, committed people in their ranks. A flexible benefit plan helps employee choose between two or more benefits. An employee will be more motivated if he has a say in his benefit package, this way employee can gain better appreciation for the value of benefit he is be being rewarded. Benefits can also be aligned with work, such as giving paid holidays, this can be helpful in achieving short term targets of organization (Robert, 2008). The HR department has therefore the responsibility to work out the best reward system so that employees can benefit and feel satisfied with their work effort (Armstrong, 2000). Training and Development Training and developing employees so that they can deliver their best to the organization is one of the main functions of HR department. The HR department has to continuously work towards perfecting their work force, training them so that they can adapt to the changing business environment. HR department uses training and development to bring about a permanent change in the employees behaviour. Training is defined as helping employee do their current or future work better, where as development involves acquisition of knowledge, skills, personal development, and the right attitude so that the employee is prepared for future opportunities (Bacal, 1998). Training is used in altering the behaviour of the employee in a direction that will help achieve organizational goals. Training helps employees master their present skills or acquire new skill for the execution of another job. Learning is a part of training which brings about a permanent change in employee behaviour. Before training the personal analysis should be conducted so that it could be determined who requires training and their readiness for training. For training to be successful immediate reinforcement is needed so that appropriate behaviour is learned. The learner must be awarded in ways which satisfy needs, such as pay, promotion and recognition. Standards of performance should be set for the employee, as when these standards are met the employee gets a feeling of accomplishment. The training should be meaningful and should also give employee enough time to absorb. The employee should be encouraged to practise the behaviour again and again so that he could perfect his skills. This way a permanent change is brought about in the employee’s behaviour. There are different approaches to training, which includes on-job training and behavioural modelling. On-job training is that an employee is placed in a real work situation and is showed the job and tricks of the trade by a supervisor. This method widely uses the employee’s learning capability to understand and retain the task execution. The other method is behaviour modelling. This is used in increasing interpersonal skills by observing an experienced employee. These methods help bring about a favourable response from the employee. For this training and development procedure to be successful the HR department should ensure that training is linked to business objectives so that everyone is pointed in the same direction. The training should be focused on outcomes and not activities, also allowing employees enough time to adapt. Training should be motivating so that employee expectations could be met, of providing career pathways, increasing job satisfaction and also improving job security. Employee must be shown how to acquire new competencies and what are the benefits of gaining them The HR department should ensure that not only the organizations needs are respected but also the employees and what they want to achieve, so that positive change is brought about in behaviour. Performance Management and Appraisal The HR department knows how much it costs to acquire employees and retain them as a good working unit, they want to be sure that the outlay on staff is achieving an appropriate return. For this HR departments concentrates on performance management and appraisal, which is about creating relationships and ensuring effective communication within the organization. HR department cite as a process which ensures success for everyone, valuing the effort put in by the employees and also influencing and motivating them for their hard work, they feel it helps asses the employees so that they could be rewarded fairly. This is a communication process between employees and their supervisors, which helps built a clear understanding about the job function and what the employee is expected to do. How they can work together to build, improve or sustain employee’s positive conduct. It focuses on employee’s achievement on the preset objectives and how he can bring about a change in his behaviour so that necessary results can be achieved, with continued reviewing of performance against the plans the HR department ensures that objectives are met. The process of discussing work in progress, and how employees can enhance productivity with regular feedback can help determine where the employees stand, and also assess their accomplishments. Appraising an employees job makes them aware of how a task should be executed, also giving them a degree of empowerment which is the ability to make day-to-day decisions. It also helps employees on how to enhance performance, which in turn presents a chance to the employee to develop new skills and appropriate attitude towards work. If the employee understands his duties he can act more freely within the given framework. Performance appraisal is a part of performance management, it is a judgemental process of the performance of the employee on job. It is mainly done for the employees behaviour is moulded according to the companies determined objectives (Bacal, 1999). Performance appraisal brings about favourable attitude of the employee, in the form of commitment and motivation. This is why it important to appraise employees, its importance can be identified as a development to clarify why it is essential to have an effective training program (Banfield, 2008). It is also important for reward purpose as it identifies the deserving employee to receive a reward and who should be trained to achieve high efficiency. Employee motivation is the key behind his compliance to change and this appraisal system stimulates effort to perform better. Employees can be given a legally acceptable reason for promotion or reward and also in case of discharge or transfer so that the employee can’t feel of being treated unfairly. The basic compliance to change of behaviour for an employee comes with monetary incentives, therefore this system helps identify what to pay the employee. This system also encourages communication so that a sense of trust builds between the employee and supervisor, this can be beneficial for the organization as they can work towards carefully shaping the behaviour of the employee so that needs of the organization are catered for, as the employee will respect his supervisor’s decision and will work with commitment and desire. Conclusion The employees are the most important resource of any organization, their commitment and sincerity to the organizations objectives is much sought after. The HR department’s role in this is significant as it sets a benchmark of high standards for the organizations employees. Ensuring that change in behaviour they want is achieved in manner which is acceptable to the employee. The HR department first has to identify the lacking, if it’s concerned with the job they can use job design to influence employee behaviour as an inappropriate person/job fit can be de-motivating for the employee and costly for the organization. If they feel their employees value monetary benefits more they can alter their remuneration and benefit packages according to the need of the employee to generate a feeling of importance in the employee, thus motivating them to achieve organizational goals. The HR department can also analyse the skill level and competence of the employee so that any lacking can then be corrected by employing training and development methods, thus equipping their workforce with new skills and knowledge, readying them to face the challenging business environment. Lastly HR department can use performance management to mould the behaviour of employee according to the need of the organization. With a continuous judgmental system employee motivation and work efficiency can be measured, and then rewarded accordingly. A motivated workforce is the key to any achievement for the organization, so this is what organizations should continuously strive to achieve employing the discussed techniques to influence them.

Week6 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week6 - Article Example There is the possibility of reorganizing or refunding debts of the federal government. In order to take these steps, there needs to be evaluation and assessment of refunding or reorganization of debts. A good way that the federal government could reorganize or refund its debts obligation is whereby the city’s administrators highlight upon the debts with high interest rates (Seitz & Ellison, 2004). These types of debts can hamper the government’s ability to perform other financial duties or obligations. Therefore, refunding would imply that the government would add new debt to the existing debt kitty. In turn, the government would be forced to increase debt in order to facilitate payments of both interest and the existing debts (Lee & Joyce, 2008). If the government’s new debt can be increased at high interest rate, this would offer economic prosperity and other possible benefits may be realized in case the interest rates decrease such as transforming the conditio ns of the debt that may permit the local government of Seattle to revise their payment plan that may assist with short-term budget demands. Refunding debts to substitute a lower interest rate may poses some economic merits, if other transformations are made, like term, there is a probability that there will be a net rise in the debt costs over the debt’s term. Furthermore, another refunding or reorganization tactic is the reduction of the overall expenditures gained by the government. This would establish an additional financial base that should be diverted towards settling the city’s debts. In order for the federal government to decrease the high debts, it is vital that alternative funding options are created in order to support its debt obligation. The federal government may provide financial help in quarterly or annual terms. Another alternative is for the city to try to maximize revenues gathered (Shapiro, 2004). My budget has a defined goal that I have to

Different branches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Different branches - Essay Example These branches have different roles. The legislative branch has a primary role of making laws. Laws are made, discussed, and voted on by the Congress. In addition, the President’s appointments to various positions such as the Cabinet, Supreme Court, and the federal courts are approved by the Senate implying that this is a role of the legislature. The executive carries out the function of enforcing the laws that have been previously passed by the legislature (U.S. Federal Government, n.d). Here, the President has the sole duty of making laws official. The cabinet advises the President on important matters. The judiciary is mandated with the role of interpreting the laws and applying laws to cases. In addition, the judiciary determines whether a law violates the constitution. The main reason why the U.S government has three branches is to balance power through a system known as a check and balance system. This system ensures that no branch is overpowered and keeps the power in check since no individuals can allocate themselves more power than the constitution provides. A three-branch government was also appropriate with respect to controlling the government as all branches have equal responsibilities (U.S. Federal Government, n.d). The basic concept behind the separation of powers is distributing power among individuals and groups. This was to ensure that no one group or individual had absolute power over others to the point of making individual decisions meant for a country. The system of check and balances ensures that each group has some form of power over the other. Federalism can be said to be a political concept where a territory is governed by two governmental levels. This can be expounded from the U.S context of having the constitution allocating certain powers to both state governments and the central government. Similarly, the state governments have significant power on specific

ERP story Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ERP story - Case Study Example Another big challenge was regarding the data definitions and standardization among the three member companies and their systems. The project should enable consistency in data. Also the data should be available to everyone on a real time basis unlike current situation. A big challenge was also identified in non-standardization of interfaces for different applications and companies. Similar interfaces were desired for all systems as a result of the project. This would enable rotation of employees and easier knowledge transition. A major desired characteristic of the project was to ensure that the accounting and financial systems of the 3 companies are in sync and there is minimal manual intervention and control. There is also a need to make the human resource management processes more efficient by realizing economies of scale and leverage the individual capabilities of the 3 companies to the advantage of the whole group. Another characteristic of the project would be to create a uniform sales and marketing environment for the 3 companies and to leverage the use of internet and social media. Jean Roberge has identified his challenges and characteristics in mainly 2 areas which are obviously very important. However, he seems to have neglected challenges in a very important area which is People Management. In such a huge ERP project, the implementation would change the entire way in which people are going to work. Therefore, the required change in the mindset of the people is a big challenge (Wong et. al.). Therefore, a desired characteristic of the project should be to have training and counseling sessions for people to enable a smooth transition. These sessions would also enable them to overcome their apprehensions regarding lay-offs and job-cuts. Another challenge which should be considered is data migration. Migration from old systems to new systems especially in case of huge historical data could be a big challenge and can take days or

The United States 5th Marine Regiment WWI-WWII Research Paper

The United States 5th Marine Regiment WWI-WWII - Research Paper Example Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps, George Barnett, was well aware of these shortcomings. Barnett, who also enjoyed prominent social and political connections in Washington, was desperate for participation of the Marines in the ongoing war in France to overcome those flaws. He sought reorganization of the scattered small detachments into more structured battalions and regiments. Due to his incessant efforts and determination, President Woodrow Wilson directed the Secretary of War on May 29, â€Å"In pursuance of the authority vested in me by law, it is hereby directed that you issue the necessary orders detaching for service for the Army a force of Marines to be known as the Fifth Regiment of Marines† (Camp, 26). Commandant Barnett assembled Marine detachments scattered across United States and Caribbean into the 5th Marine Regiment with battalions at Philadelphia and Quantico, which was officially activated on June 08, 1917. On June 14, the regiment, under the comma nd of Colonel Charles A. Doyen, USMC, started sail towards France on the escort fleet comprising four groups. The first groups embarked in naval transports such as HENDERSON and DE KALB sailed on the same day. However, the last group including HANCOCK sailed three days later. The first groups also encountered submarines on the way, but were not hit. The regiment arrived at harbor of St. Nazaire, France, on June 26, where it was assigned to the 1st Division, American Expeditionary Force, under the command of Major General John J. Pershing, USA. The 5th Regiment was the first marine regiment having the honor to serve with the Army in Europe (McClellan, 30-32). Pershing did not keep the regiment intact. Many of the regiment’s units were deployed as line of communication troops performing non-combat duties, which spread dismay among men and hampered the training. In words of the 2nd Battalion Commander, Major Frederick M. Wise, USMC, â€Å"We were pretty badly split up †¦ O ne battalion in St. Nazaire, half a battalion in England, and my battalion a few miles from Menacourt† (Camp, 32). Training of some elements was conducted as part of the First Division (regulars) in the Gondrecourt training area. However, it was soon realized that 1st Infantry Division already contained its full complement of four regiments. The regiment was thus reassigned to Fourth Infantry Brigade under the 2nd Division. From September onwards, the available units of the Fourth Brigade as a unit of the Second Division of Regulars started training in the Bourmont training area (McClellan, 31). The Fourth Brigade of Marines was composed of the 5th Marine Regiment, the 6th Marine Regiment, and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion. After his promotion to Brigadier General, Col. Doyen became the first commanding general of the 2nd Division on October 26th, 1917. The command of the 5th Regiment was temporarily handed over to Lieut. Col. Hiram I. Bearss, USMC, until Col. Wendell C. Nevil le, USMC, reported on duty on January 01, 1918. The 5th Regiment consisted of three battalions containing four companies each, the 84h Machine Gun Company, Supply Company and Headquarters Company. The 1st Battalion commanded by Major Julius Turrill, USMC, was comprised of 17th, 49th, 66th and 67th companies, the Second Battalion commanded by Major Frederick Wise, was comprised of 18th, 43rd, 51st and 55th companies, and the 3rd Battalion command

Institutional investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Institutional investment - Essay Example This development has shifted the attention to the role and importance of institutional investors to financial markets. What this means is that these entities came to dominate and dictate the trajectory and the pattern of investment choices, affecting the dynamics of financial markets in the process. This paper will explore this theme. This objective will be undertaken in the context of financial markets with high institutional investors. Institutional Investors: A Background There is no standard definition or precise concept explaining the dynamics of institutional investors. But Lumpkin (2000) offered a general view, which will effectively serve the purpose of this paper. He explained that institutional investors are those financial institutions that invest savings of individuals and non-financial companies in the financial market (pp.195). The breadth and diversity of this definition can be tempered by a key requirement: That, money is being managed by institutions as distinguished by those administered by retail investors. Based on this definition seven principal categories of institutional investors exist: private pension funds; state and local retirement funds; mutual funds; life insurance companies; property and casualty insurance companies; non-pension fund money managed by banks; and foundation and endowment funds (Baums and Buxbaum, 1994, pp.667). This classification highlights a diversity which means that institutional investors are driven and influenced by different factors. There are however commonalities. For example the sector operates on the basis of well-defined risk-return criteria and employs sophisticated investment strategies and methods (Blommestein and Funke, 1998, pp.69). Furthermore, the OECD identified the common factors that drive the growth of this sector: There is a rising demand for retirement â€Å"products† such as mutual funds and guaranteed-equity plans, among others, due to the increase of ageing population in developed economies; The technological development especially in communications, computing and information fields lead to the enhanced capabilities of institutional investors to provide intermediation and services that entail minimal risks, with all these transpiring at very high speed but at a cheaper cost; There is the deregulation of the banking and securities industries since 1980s, which intensified competition among financial institutions, further encouraged by easing of restrictions on cross-border capital flows (Lumpkin, pp.198). All in all, the theoretical underpinning for institutional investment is intermediation. Wealth is not directly funneled to the market. Instead, money is delegated by investors to managers who will manage it in turn. This is fundamentally different from investments by individual agents or by the manner by which corporate entities own and manage their stocks. The business model works because the operational landscape is conducive and the outlook is very favora ble as demonstrated by current statistics, trends as well as projections by experts and agencies like the OECD. The Role of Institutional Investment There is the claim that institutional investment is critical in the modernization of financial markets. To put it another way, its emergence has supposedly brought about reforms that led to the efficiency in financial market. This argument appears to be valid because institutional inv