Earthquakes Essays (1154 words) - Geography Of California

Earthquakes Earthquakes have plagued our lives for as long as people have inhabited the earth. These dangerous acts of the earth have been the cause of many deaths in the past century. So what can be done about these violent eruptions that take place nearly with out warning? Predicting an earthquake until now has almost been technologically impossible. With improvements in technology, lives have been saved and many more will. All that remains is to research what takes place before, during, and after an earthquake. This has been done for years to the point now that a successful earthquake prediction was made and was accurate. This paper will discuss a little about earthquakes in general and then about how predictions are made. Earthquake, "vibrations produced in the earth's crust when rocks in which elastic strain has been building up suddenly rupture, and then rebound."(Associated Press 1993) The vibrations can range from barely noticeable to catastrophically destructive. Six kinds of shock waves are generated in the process. Two are classified as body waves-that is, they travel through the earth's interior-and the other four are surface waves. The waves are further differentiated by the kinds of motions they impart to rock particles. Primary or compressional waves (P waves) send particles oscillating back and forth in the same direction as the waves are traveling, whereas secondary or transverse shear waves (S waves) impart vibrations perpendicular to their direction of travel. P waves always travel at higher velocities than S waves, so whenever an earthquake occurs, P waves are the first to arrive and to be recorded at geophysical research stations worldwide.(Associated Press 1993) Earthquake waves were observed in this and other ways for centuries, but more scientific theories as to the causes of quakes were not proposed until modern times. One such concept was advanced in 1859 by the Irish engineer Robert Mallet. Perhaps drawing on his knowledge of the strength and behavior of construction materials subjected to strain, Mallet proposed that earthquakes occurred "either by sudden flexure and constraint of the elastic materials forming a portion of the earth's crust or by their giving way and becoming fractured."(Butler 1995) Later, in the 1870s, the English geologist John Milne devised a forerunner of today's earthquake-recording device, or seismograph. A simple pendulum and needle suspended above a smoked-glass plate, it was the first instrument to allow discrimination of primary and secondary earthquake waves. The modern seismograph was invented in the early 20th century by the Russian seismologist Prince Boris Golitzyn. "His device", using a magnetic pendulum suspended between the poles of an electromagnet, "ushered in the modern era of earthquake research." (Nagorka 1989) "The ultimate cause of tectonic quakes is stresses set up by movements of the dozen or so major and minor plates that make up the earth's crust."(Monastersky Oct, 95) Most tectonic quakes occur at the boundaries of these plates, in zones where one plate slides past another-as at the San Andreas Fault in California, North America's most quake-prone area-or is subducted (slides beneath the other plate). "Subduction-zone quakes account for nearly half of the world's destructive seismic events and 75 percent of the earth's seismic energy. They are concentrated along the so-called Ring of Fire, a narrow band about 38,600 km (about 24,000 mi) long, that coincides with the margins of the Pacific Ocean. The points at which crustal rupture occurs in such quakes tend to be far below the earth's surface, at depths of up to 645 km (400 mi)." (Monastersky Dec, 95) Alaska's disastrous Good Friday earthquake of 1964 is an example of such an event. Seismologists have devised two scales of measurement to enable them to describe earthquakes quantitatively. "One is the Richter scale-named after the American seismologist Charles Francis Richter-which measures the energy released at the focus of a quake. It is a logarithmic scale that runs from 1 to 9; a magnitude 7 quake is 10 times more powerful than a magnitude 6 quake, 100 times more powerful than a magnitude 5 quake, 1000 times more powerful than a magnitude 4 quake, and so on."(Associated Press 1992) The other scale, introduced at the turn of the 20th century by the Italian seismologist Giuseppe Mercalli, "measures the intensity of shaking with gradations from I to XII." (Associated Press 1992) Because seismic surface effects diminish with distance from the focus of the quake, the Mercalli rating assigned to the quake depends on the site of the measurement. "Intensity I on this scale is defined as an event felt by very few people, whereas intensity XII is assigned to a catastrophic event that

Spelling Reform and the Writer

Spelling Reform and the Writer Spelling Reform and the Writer Spelling Reform and the Writer By Maeve Maddox A reader, responding to Case of the Missing is: foliage, verbiage, miniature , asks reasonably: Can’t we change the spelling? Before the widespread use of dictionaries, the answer to this question would have been Of course we can! Not anymore. The free and easy use of personal spellings to convey the pronunciation of the word intended by the person writing has not been an option since the middle of the seventeenth centuryat least not for writers who wish to avoid having their credibility questioned. Attempts to regularize English spelling began as long ago as the 1550s and reform groups are still at it. Some of the suggestions would require quite a learning curve. Reformer Thomas Smith (1568) increased the alphabet to 34 letters and put marks over all the long vowels. John Hart (1570) added special characters for sounds that dont have letters in the English alphabet, such as /ch/ and /sh/. William Bullokar (1580) created a system that made use of extra letters, accents, apostrophes, and various hooks above and below letters. Printer Ben Franklin promoted spelling reform by having a special font cut with extra symbols, and efforts have been made in more recent times to change spelling to conform to pronunciation. In 1898 the National Education Association adopted 12 simplified spellings in its publications: tho, altho, thoro, thorofare, thru, thruout, program, catalog, prolog, decalog, demagog, and pedagog. A glance at the NEAs website suggests that theyve given up on all but two. In the 1940s the Bible and some classics were printed using a phonetic system of spelling invented in the 1830s by Isaac Pitman (the shorthand man). Traditional English spelling is like our relatives: to be complained about, but not easily dispensed with. This extract from an experiment by Noah Webster (quickly abandoned, by the way) illustrates how ugly and internally inconsistent a reformed system can be: There iz no alternativ. Every possible reezon that could ever be offered for altering the spelling of wurds, stil exists in full force; On the whole, English speakers remain indifferent to the efforts of spelling reformers, and that is a good thing for writers. Writers, of all people, need to appreciate and cherish the variety of English spelling. Take this example from Robert Sklars Movie-Made America: Once admitted to the intimacies of reel life, movie patrons wanted their fantasies continued unbroken into real life. Sklar could not have written that sentence with its play on reel and real if English had only one spelling for the long E sound. TIP: Traditional English spelling is a useful item in the writers toolbox. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Grammar Mistakes You Should Avoid20 Pairs of One-Word and Two-Word Forms10 Tips to Improve Your Writing Skills

Profiles of an Effective Teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Profiles of an Effective Teacher - Essay Example In addition, it is the role of the school principles to hire reliable teachers with all the qualities of effectiveness. From the research effective teaching is described as a practice used to cultivate learning skills, create motivation, and instill knowledge to students. Skills and competencies of an effective teacher could be demonstrated when teaching in class, planning their lessons, modes of motivating students in classes among others. However, to improve the level of effectiveness of the teachers, principals should play a big role by devising various activities that could assist in guiding the teachers. The principal should supervise the teaching practices and evaluate the progress of the teachers to find whether they are on the right track towards effectiveness. The principals should come up with the ways to reward effective teachers and also creating guidelines that can assist the teachers to develop their skills and competencies. To improve the achievement of schools, principals should create strategies that could impart positive changes in the performance progress of both the teachers and students alike. The principals should adopt five domains implemented by Marzano (2013). Firstly, the principals and the teachers should develop data the focuses on the improvement of the students’ performance both at school and outside the school. Secondly, the teachers and principals should improve the existing instructions continuously that seem to pull back the performance of the school. Thirdly, the school should have a definite and reliable curriculum based on effective teaching and learning practices. Fourth, cooperation and collaboration among the teachers, principals, parents, and students should be put in place in the schools’ virtues.

International Perspectives In Organisations Literature review - 1

International Perspectives In Organisations - Literature review Example The next sections of the discussion will emphasize on the constraints of different global cultures in the theoretical approach of management. The study will further illustrate the cross-cultural differences and its impact in management and leadership. The last section of the critical analysis will elaborate the effect of business downsizing on the organisational behaviour and sustainability. The argument of this article is based on the responsibilities of international corporations and organisations on the global population. In this argument Arnold (2012), has elaborated and defended the views that are supporting and promoting the role of transnational corporations and business entities as the agent of justice for the base of economic pyramid. This argument has explained the role of corporations in the reduction of global poverty and inequality. The author has also discussed two separate perspectives of normative legitimacy that support the role of corporations and other business entity as the agents to promote global justice (Arnold 2012). The first perspective focuses on the normative legitimacy of different international institutions which are responsible for governing various international trade regulations and business activities. Though this domain of normative legitimacy has accrued huge attention of political and legal scholars, the author of the article has pac ifically focused on the second perspective which evaluates the legitimacy of corporations in regards to its activities within global societies. This argument has detailed the importance of ethical and moral legitimacy of corporations in regards to their global activities (Buchanan and Keohane, 2006). According to the view of Palazzo and Scherer, (2006) moral and ethical legitimacy of organisations is not dependent on the legal and political norms but it is influenced by the deliberative communication process. During the explanation of the

2 response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

2 response - Essay Example The essay also conveys the beautiful message that one should love oneself in the very natural manner that one is born with and should not listen or act according to what others have to say about them. It also emphasizes on the fact that it is the values that are found within a girl that makes her more beautiful rather than the cosmetic covered face. There is no point in hurting oneself at the behest of others who are always ready to point out only the bad parts of something and not the good ones. 2. The author needs to come up with either any textual help from an essay or a personal story to prove her allegations regarding the singer Shakira. It was just her opinion that she has given in the essay about the singer and there is no valid proof to prove the fact that she has incorporated in her work about the singer. Wearing provocative clothing and moving her hips are just personal comments that the author has given to the singer. The author should have provided certain proved facts or the views of some other writers to discuss her views. By providing her view points only, the author has given rise to a weak point in the essay which may be criticized by others who read it. 3. The weakest part that the essay contains is that it bases its deductions and relies its studies on flimsy poetry and imaginative ideas. It compares the very practical aspects in reality to the imaginative concepts of poetries and stories. Moreover it takes into account the very tiny age of girls which is not the correct thing to be done. The magazines and the books that the author talks about are for women. The age group of children that the author talks about is not this rather that of small girls who are not at all connected with the magazine part. Thus there is no coherence in the writing. There could have been stronger points in the essay if it would have the proper coherence required and if it could provide the readers with more clarity about the

Trinidad and Tobago: Policies on Inflation

Trinidad and Tobago: Policies on Inflation On September 8th 2010, the Honorable Winston Dookeran, the Minister of Finance for Trinidad and Tobago presented the Budget Statement for 2010/2011 fiscal year. The budget gave a comprehensive summary of the financial plan of the government, giving details of its expected levels of revenues as well as expenditure for the 2010/2011 fiscal year. Of the many areas of concern raised in the Budget by the Minister of Finance, inflation and government expenditure take precedence in this analysis. Due to the high levels of inflation in Trinidad and Tobago, the paper seeks to address the impact that various monetary and fiscal policies proposed by the government in the 2010/2011 Budget Statement have on inflation. The positive and negative effects of monetary and fiscal policies on inflation will be examined. Further, the paper will also examine the areas of government spending for the fiscal year 2010/2011 with the aim of identifying changes in expenditures patterns of the government and justifying reason for expenditure in certain sectors in this tough global economic climate. Time series data was utilized in order to determine trends and determine major changes in government expenditure. Suggestions were also made in an effort to identify certain plans that the government should consider and policies that it should monitor based on its current policies which it intends to undertake. The problem of inflation is one which plagues most developing countries as well as developed countries in recent times. Inflation is characterized by increases in the overall prices levels in a country over a period of time. In recent time headline inflation in Trinidad and Tobago has been influenced primarily by surging food prices while core inflation has remained relatively stable. Headline inflation measures the extent of changes in the prices level of all goods and services within an economy whereas core inflation can be defined as headline inflation minus other volatile components such as food prices. Based on the Central Bank of Trinidad Tobago Annual Economic Survey for 2009, changes in headline inflation from 2005 to 2009 was primarily due to changes in food prices, during which core inflation was relatively stable. This postulates that changes in the overall inflation rate which is referred to as headline inflation was due mainly to changes in food prices during which core inflation remained relatively constant. Further, the Summary of Economic Indicators June 2010 by the Central Bank of Trinidad Tobago has summarized that headline inflation rose to 13.7 percent from June 2009 to June 2010 primarily due to food inflation which increased to 31.1 percent during this same period, while core inflation remained constant during the year at 4.3 percent. The Trinidad and Tobago 2010/2001 Budget Statement estimates were made based on an average inflation rate of seven percent. This figure can be identified as the Government forecast for inflation for the fiscal year. The budget statement identified inflation as a concern with particular emphasis being placed on food price inflation. Inflation reduces customers purchasing power and thus it becomes more difficult for people to acquire basic goods and services. Therefore, it becomes imperative for Government of Trinidad and Tobago to put measure in place to reduce inflation and also to ensure that policies implemented to promote various sectors within the economy have little or no inflationary effects. In the budget statement, the government proposed plans to revitalize the agricultural sector in an effort to increase food production and expand the agricultural sector. The government further identified factors such as water resource management, drainage and irrigation as paramount to its public sector investment programme tailored towards making agriculture more profitable. In addition it proposed certain initiatives such as the enhancement of the Agricultural Development Bank which will provide a Loan Default Fund facility to assist farmers with natural calamities and interest payment, the reduction of interest rates to between three and five percent and the availability of twenty million dollars for greenhouse projects. All these initiatives as mention before are geared towards making agriculture more attractive, more profitable and more productive in an effort to reduce the food import bill of Trinidad and Tobago. Due to the lack of a productive agricultural sector in Trinidad and Tobago, fluctuating oil prices and the global financial crises, the cost of importing good such as food items has become more expensive. As a result, this higher cost is being passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. This type of inflation is referred to as cost push inflation. Cost push inflation causes a contraction in aggregate supply and with aggregate demand remaining unchanged, the final result is an increased in overall prices. Therefore, if the initiatives undertaken by the government are successful and result in an increase in the production of food locally in Trinidad and Tobago, this could reduce the number of food items which are imported, thus decreasing the food import bill. Food prices will fall and subsequently headline inflation as changes in food prices is the major contributor to changes in headline inflation. Monetary policy can also be used to strengthen the local agriculture sector. The Budget also supports the Trinidad and Tobago Central Banks reduction of the Repo rate to 4.5 percent with further reductions to be expected. The repo rate is one of the monetary instruments used by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. The Repo rate was introduced by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago in May 2002 and it is the rate at which the Central Bank is prepared to provide funds overnight to commercial banks that are unable to meet their liquidity demands. This reduction in the repo rate to 4.5 percent is expected to reduce the interest rate in an effort to attract investment. Lower interest rates are expected to attract investment from the private sector and also foreign companies in an effort to increase aggregate supply primarily through increased food production and thus reduce overall prices levels. A lower interest rate can lead to an increase in investment which raises aggregate exp enditure as purported by the Keynesian Cross. This increases real gross domestic product which further results in an expansion of the aggregate supply curve and a reduction in price levels. The Central Bank using accommodative monetary policy needs to ensure that the money supply does not grow too rapidly causing inflation. Accommodating monetary policy most times results in increases in the price level. Milton Friedman, a famous economist stated that inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output. The Classical school of though is based on the quantity theory of money which is given by the equation MV=PY where M refers to the money supply, V refers to the velocity of money, P refers to the price level, Y refers to the real current gross domestic product and PY refers to nominal gross domestic product. The Classical school of thought believes that V and Y are constant and therefore, any changes in the money supply by the central bank will have a direct impact on the price levels. Therefore, it is imperative that the Central Bank ensure that the mon ey supply does not increase too rapidly and also that if the money supply does increase it is as a result of changes in output. The government in its effort to improve the production of oil and gas has reduced the petroleum profit tax from fifty percent to thirty five percent. In addition, due to the reduction in oil production over the past decade by approximately twenty five percent, the government decided to revise the Supplemental Petroleum Tax Regime with a new system which will use base rates and a sliding scale mechanism for both marine and land operations. The government also provided incentives which includes a twenty percent reduction in the Supplemental Petroleum Tax rates for mature or small oil fields, an Investment Tax Credit of twenty percent on qualifying capital expenditure in respect of the Supplemental Petroleum Tax for mature oil fields both land and marine. High energy cost in some industries will result in higher cost to consumer and a reduction in aggregate supply. Since oil and gas is used in almost all industries in some way or form, the reduction in these taxes could result in a fall in cost to companies both within and outside the energy sector. The lower cost of inputs would lead to an increase in aggregate supply. Additionally, lower operating cost can be passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices. However, it is important to note that if actual output does not increase, this would result in a contraction in aggregate supply. This would lead to and increase in the overall price levels and subsequently periods of falling real GDP. This phenomenon is referred to as stagflation. Stagflation is characterized by periods of falling output and increases in the price level. Situations like the CLICO Fiasco, the financial situation facing the Hindu Credit Union and other economic and social policies pursued by the government, has prompted an increase in budgeted expenditure from approximately $44 billion last fiscal year to $49 billion this new fiscal year. Government expenditure is a key component of aggregate expenditure which helps determine the level of gross domestic product. The gross domestic product of Trinidad and Tobago is made up primarily of revenues from the oil and energy sector. However, there has been declining production of oil over the past 10 years of approximately twenty five percent from 130,000 barrels a day to 103,000 barrels a day and based on the Annual Economic Survey 2009 from the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, there has also been a continuous fall in real GDP growth from 2006 to 2009 fell where in 2009 negative three percent of real GDP growth was registered. The Keynesians argued that increases in aggregate expenditure caused by increases in consumption, investment, government spending or net exports can lead to an inflationary gap when actual GDP exceeds potential GDP. Thus and increase in government spending as purported by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for this fiscal year can result in an inflationary gap. Furthermore, the budget also highlighted that the government owed contractors monies amounting to approximately $4 billion while there were outstanding VAT refunds still had to be paid in the amount of $2.8 billion. This lack of funds by the government has resulted in businesses experiencing cash flow problem. This makes it very difficult for businesses to meet their financial obligations. Also, based on the inventory system that the business uses whether it be First In First Out or Last In First Out it can be extremely difficult for the business to replenish stock in periods of inflation and can further affect the revenue that the business generates. As a result businesses may not have the necessary cash to replenish inventory which can result in limited supply which can manifest itself into even higher prices for customers in order for businesses to meet with the increase cost of inventory. Thus it becomes important that the government find ways to assist those businesses and pay o ff monies owed to these businesses in an effort to increase the cash flow within these businesses and prevent prices from rising further due to cash flow problem being experienced by businesses. Although the impact of government policies on inflation is very important, it is also important to analyze the level of government expenditure for this fiscal year 2010/2011 for Trinidad and Tobago. The Minister of Finance in his budget address stated that the calculations in the 2011 Budget were made based on a real GDP growth rate of 2 percent, average inflation of 7 percent, oil price of US$65 per barrel and gas price of US$2.75 per mmbtu. The total government expenditure for this fiscal year for Trinidad and Tobago was estimated at TT$49 billion. Government spending comprises transfer payments, current expenditure and capital expenditure and is financed by revenues raised through taxes or government borrowing or a combination of both. Government spending is a critical component of total expenditure and some of its functions include providing public and merit goods, promoting economic activity, influencing resource allocation, stabilizing the economy and the redistribution of inco me and wealth. When government uses government expenditure and taxes to influence the economy, this is referred to as fiscal policy. Based on the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, Annual Economic Survey 2009, there has been an overall increase in government expenditure from the fiscal year 2005/2006 to 2010/2011. In 2005/2006 government expenditure was TT$ 31 197.9 million, in 2006/2007 it was TT$ 37 765.9 million, in 2007/2008 it was TT$ 44 715.1 million. In 2008/2009 where the country experienced its first deficit in seven years government expenditure was TT$ 45 584.2 million, in 2009/2010 it was TT$ 44 347.3 million and 2010/2011it is estimated to be TT$ 49 billion. It is also important to note that most components of government spending during this same time were also increasing such was current expenditure, expenditure on goods and services, wages and salaries and interest payments. During most of this period government spending as a percentage of GDP increased from 27.8 percent in 2006/2006 to 32.5 percent in 2008/2009. However in 2009/2010 government expenditure as a percentage of GDP fell to 31.3 percen t. Thus over the past five years government spending has increased by approximately TT$18 billion. In the 2010/2011 Budget statement, there was a breakdown on some of the areas of expenditure. Education and training received TT$ 8 325 million, Infrastructure received TT$ 5 918 million, Health received TT$ 4 341 million, National Security received TT$ 4 762 million, Agriculture received TT$ 1 836 million and Housing received TT$ 1 837 million. The government proposed expenditure pattern is an attempt to reduce inflation, foster economic growth and development and providing a better standard and quality of life for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has identified national security as one of its major areas on concerns. As of October 27th 2010, Trinidad and Tobago had recorded a total of four hundred and one murders. Crime has escalated in Trinidad and Tobago and the safety of resident and visitors are important. As a result the government has a projected expenditure figure of TT$ 4 762 million for national security. Recurrent expenditure for national security from 2004/2005 to 2008/2009 has increased from TT$ 1 874.5 million to TT$ 3 870.2 respectively. This shows the continued spending by the government towards promoting law and order and reducing crime. The government also has provided a special duty allowance of TT$ 1000 for more than 7000 police officers with taxes on this allowance waived. This increase in allowance can be used as a tool to motivate police officer in performing their duties. The government will also undertake initiatives such as the refurbishment and upgrading of polic e stations, introduction of bike patrols, the establishment of a National Security Operations Centre and a Special Criminal Court to expedite the court process. From 2004/2005 to 2008/2009, recurrent expenditure for Agriculture has increased continually from TT$ 362.9 million to TT$ 586.1 million respectively. However, recurrent expenditure in agriculture is not a significant part of recurrent expenditure as other areas such as health, education and energy. Therefore, Trinidad and Tobagos government expenditure in Agriculture is reflective of the government initiative to make agriculture more profitable and increase the local production of food. As mentioned before this venture is undertaken in an effort to reduce the food import bill of the country and further reduce the level of inflation caused by food prices. Also, this could result in increases in Agriculture contribution to gross domestic products thus making the country less reliable on energy and its associated products as its primary course of revenue. Further, expenditure in health has increased from 2004/2005 to 2010/2011. The Minister of Finance in the budget highlighted that health was another major issue facing Trinidad and Tobago. As a result expenditure in this sector will be geared towards the provision of adequate and timely health services to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Government expenditure in the health sector will include expenditure to build new health facilities such as hospital, upgrade and expand current health facilities and services, improve access to health services, reducing communicable diseases and improving health care management. These initiatives in the health sector reflect the importance of health services and how important it is for person to have access to adequate and proper health services. This fiscal year, education and training accounted to approximately 17 percent of total government expenditure. The government has realized that knowledge is a critical component of an economy and as a result the government will continue initiatives such as the GATE programme and also restructure the On the Job Training programme. Some economists believe that knowledge does not experience diminishing returns. Therefore, this reflects positively on the economy of the country as the country may even decide to sells advising services which is an initiative that Trinidad and Tobago are pursuing. Moreover, the government has also decided to allocate approximately 12 percent of its total expenditure to infrastructure. Initiatives include providing person with a steady water supply and other basic amenities, implementing flood mitigation plans and the cleaning and de-silting of rivers. Also, sights and several attractions will be upgraded. This is in an effort to market Trinidad and Tobago as a major tourism destination which will further creates jobs and increase the contribution of tourism to gross domestic product. Thus, this will also make the country less dependent on energy and its products as the countrys main source of revenue. It is also important to note from the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Statistics that from 2004 to 2009 government expenditure on areas such as goods and services, wages and salaries and transfer and subsidies increased continuously. For example, government expenditure on goods and services increased from TT$ 2, 440, 407 000 in 2004 to TT$ 5, 860, 175 000 in 2009 which marks an increase of approximately 58.35 percent over the five year period. This again reflects the high import bill especially on food items for Trinidad and Tobago over the past 5 years. The continuous increases in expenditure on wages and salaries paid by the government during this same period reflect the fact that the government is the main employer within the economy. This paper has sort to identify the effect of government policies and expenditure patterns on inflation and an analysis on government expenditure. The paper highlighted that certain initiatives undertaken by the government could help in reducing the overall price level in the country. These initiatives include the revitalization of the agricultural sector, increased government expenditure, reductions in the Petroleum profit tax and a reduction in the repo rate. The revitalization of the agricultural sector is geared towards reducing the food imports bill and subsequently food inflation. The reduction in the repo rate is in an effort to lower commercial banks interest rate to stimulate investment in certain areas such as manufacturing with the goal of reducing imports and subsequently food prices and inflation. The reduction in the petroleum profit tax to 35 percent is in an effort to stimulate oil production which has been declining over the past few years. However, as highlighted ea rlier in the paper, these initiatives need to be monitored careful as they can lead to further inflationary pressures. For example, a reduction in the repo rate can trigger lowers interest rates, banks experiencing excess liquidity and increased level of investment increases the money supply and leads to inflation as argued by classical economists. The paper also commented on government expenditure and identified an increase in government expenditure from the previous fiscal year to this fiscal year. Government expenditure in key areas such as education, health, infrastructure and national security increased over the past few years. National security and health were two major areas of concern for the government which received significant budgetary allocation by the government. The increase in crime and lawlessness has caused government to put measure in place to try to curb the crime problem in the country and also motivate the police to carry out their duties. Also, the government plan to improve the health sector was reflected by the governments budgetary allocation for the sector. The government also increased its funding in the agricultural sector in an effort to make agriculture more profitable and increase the production of food. The government also allocated revenues in other areas apart from energy in order to find alte rnative sustainable sources of revenue such as agriculture, tourism and manufacturing. It would be recommended that the government continue to pursue it agricultural initiatives and derive ways to make agriculture more attractive to individuals in its effort to make the sector more productive and profitable. In this way agriculture can contribute more to GDP both in the primary and secondary sectors as agricultural products are diversified and used into other sector such as manufacturing. This would also lead to other sector such as manufacturing contributing more to GDP and reduce the countrys reliance on primarily revenues from the energy sector. Also, the government would have to find ways to control the money supply which could take the form of selling government treasury bills and bonds. This would be in an effort to cope with the excess liquidity faced by commercial banks. In addition, due to the depletion of the natural resources available to the country which is reflected in the decreasing amount of oil produced for the past years, the government would be advis ed to develop other sector such as agriculture, manufacturing and tourism to increase the contribution of other sectors towards gross domestic product. It is know that an Open Petroleum Economy such as Trinidad and Tobago is one where rapid increases in GDP exist alongside high level of unemployment. According to the Open Petroleum Economy Model if anything negative happens to the oil sector the entire economy can suffer due to high dependence on that once sector. Seers argued that such a model represent a time bomb based on the balance of payment problems it can pose and how the wealth generated from it can disappear overnight. Therefore, it becomes increasingly important for Trinidad and Tobago to diversify into other sector of the economy. The country can pursue the manufacturing of some of the food which it imports and also pursue sustainable tourism development which can lead to increased employment. This would make the country less dependent on mainly oil as its main source of revenue as it currently the case. Further, the government should be extremely careful in its spending patterns and will be encouraged to spend in areas which will be productive to the country and benefit the citizens of the country. Spending should focus mainly on providing citizens with basic necessity items such as public and merit goods and proper social infrastructure. In this tough economic climate, the government should be very critical of the areas in which it spends money as excessive spending can have negative effects on the economy such as inflation. Does staff induction impact upon labour turnover? Does staff induction impact upon labour turnover? DOES STAFF INDUCTION IMPACT UPON LABOUR TURNOVER IN THE UK HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY? CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview This dissertation studies human resource management (HRM) and specifically employee induction and labour turnover. It aims to explore, evaluate and analyse the impact of employee induction on labour turnover in the hospitality industry. There is a plethora of literature that supports induction training and promotion of organisational culture, suggesting it can lead to higher levels of commitment, productivity, quality of service and profitability and reduced level of labour turnover (Boella, 2000: Fowler, 1999: Hofstede, 1994: Mullins, 1992: Nickson, 2007: Taylor, 2008: Torrington, 1994: Storey, 2007: Watson, 1995). 1.2 Rationale It is widely recognised by academics (Boella 2000:, Boella and Goss-Turner 2005:, Cook, 1993: Fowler, 1999: Goldsmith, Nickson, Sloan and Wood, 2003: Meighan, 2000: Mullins 1992: Sommerville, 2007: Storey, 2007) that high levels of staff turnover can lead to lower levels of customer service, reducing customer satisfaction decreasing profitability. The original reason for undertaking this study stems largely from the authors personal experience of working in the hospitality industry. Experiencing first hand the effect of a high labour turnover through team members either; resigning, being sacked, changing department or coming to the end of their contract. The effects of the high turnover added pressure to existing staff as they had to cover shifts, train new staff whilst also losing shared knowledge and expertise; leading to reduced staff morale, productivity, levels of service and customer satisfaction. Employee turnover has a research stream that can be traced back to the work of March and Simon (1958) and was primarily based upon the level of job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Labour turnover has always been high in hospitality, leisure and tourism compared to other sectors (Boella, 1992). This is reinforced with a survey by Roberts in 1995 (cited in Goldsmith et al 2003) found that of the 150 hospitality companies surveyed, where 95 percent identified high labour turnover as a problem. Ten years later and the industry still has a reputation for very high levels of labour turnover (Boella and Goss-Turner, 2005). The UK hospitality, tourism and leisure industry sector accounts for nearly 5% of the UKs total economic output, employing around two million people, representing one in 14 jobs, approximately 7% of the total UK workforce (People 1st, 2009). According to research by the Charted Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), the hospitality industry has the highest staff turnover in the UK. A survey by People 1st (2009) reinforced this point by highlighting the 31 percent turnover figure in 2008/2009, costing an estimated  £414 million. The average cost of filling the vacancy created by turnover at  £219 without marketing, with marketing it would cost  £673 and  £764 for a managerial position. With the world recession, organisations are looking to save money where ever possible, reducing staff turnover is one area that could be seen as a target. 1.3 Aims and Objectives 1.3.1. Aim To evaluate the effect staff induction has on labour turnover in the UK hotel sector; looking specifically at operational staff. 1.3.2 Objectives The objectives for this dissertation are as follows: To evaluate literature on labour turnover, staff induction, organisational culture and commitment and HRM approaches in the hospitality industry. To analyse different approaches to induction and its effect on labour turnover. To evaluate models of best practice in induction and evaluate their use in the hospitality industry. To make recommendations on a best fit model of induction in the hospitality industry. Concluding the research and identifying limitations to the dissertation. 1.4 Research Methodology Research can be defined as â€Å"an orderly investigation of a defined problem using scientific methods to gather representative evidence and draw logical, unbiased conclusions (Poynter, 1993-p1). Sekran (2000) defined research as â€Å"the process of finding a solution to a problem after thorough study and analysis†. This dissertation is â€Å"a review of existing knowledge in a particular area together with the creation of a new slant of this knowledge† (Clark, Riley, Wilkie and Wood, 1998: p.7). The dissertation uses secondary research only. According to Clark et al (1998) and Sekran, (2000) secondary research does not introduce any new data and is based solely on data that already exists. The generic topic of HRM, linked to organisation culture, commitment, loyalty and staff induction has been widely researched and producing many academic journals, articles and theory which can be drawn upon. There are numerous advantages to using secondary research. As the data has already been published it can save resources such as time and money (Sekran, 2000), larger sets of data can be collected, analysed and evaluated with the effort focused on the analysis and evaluation (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). Furthermore, it can present higher quality data than primary research, it provides both qualitative and quantitative research (Sekran, 2000) and it can be checked by anyone at any time. Saunders et al (2007:p.256) stated that additionally it allows â€Å"more time to think about the theoretical aim and substantive issues† and can lead to â€Å"unforeseen or unexpected discoveries.† However there are some disadvantages to using secondary data. The data could have been collected with a purpose different to the research question it is being used for (Saunders et al, 2007). The data may be out of date, old or unreliable, so first the validity of the source must be v erified (Sekran 2000). Clark et al (1998) identified that up to date information may be difficult to obtain. Types of secondary data that are to be used in this research project uses various sources, including; government publications, industry statistics and reports, book and journals. These will be providing the main source of information, as the majority of this research is reliable and easily available. In order to locate information and sources, Emerald, Brookes Electronic Library, Google Scholar, and Brookes Library will be used. Online resources are quick, simple and easy to access. 1.5 Limitations to Research The research for this project does not include primary data, and is purely based on secondary research, as explained above this has its drawbacks. The project focuses on the UK as will hte literature however non UK sources will be used. 1.6 Chapter Structure This section will briefly outline the chapter structure and give an overview of what each chapter entails. Chapter 1 This chapter outlines the aims and objectives of the research paper, including a rationale justifying the reasons for this enquiry of research along with possible limitations and problems that may occur. It will also give a brief overview of the research methods used. Chapter 2 This chapter defines and identifies labour turnover in the UK hospitality industry. Exploring the patterns, causes and effects including the induction crisis. Chapter 3 This chapter aims to define and describe the current staff induction process, highlighting key approaches and models. Exploring the importance of socialization and building loyalty and the benefits. Chapter 4 This chapter draws on the research and applies it in indentifying a best fit staff induction model to reduce labour turnover in the hospitality industry. Chapter 5 This chapter aims to evaluate and review the effect staff induction has on labour turnover. This chapter also provides a conclusion with the recommendations and limitations to the research. CHAPTER 2 EVALUATING LABOUR TURNOVER IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY AND ITS IMPACT UPON PERFOMANCE 2.1 Introduction Labour turnover is an important issue to all employers worldwide; from governments and multinational companies to small privately owned business (Goldsmith, A., Nickson, D., Sloan, D. and Wood, R. 1997). Labour is an essential resource to any business, determining future success (Lucas, 2004). This chapter defines labour markets, explores the concept of labour turnover, defining it and highlighting key methods used to measure labour turnover, along with the effects. 2.2 Labour Markets The starting point for all strategic activity in HRM is to understand in which an organisation operates (Goldsmith et al, 1997). It is only possible to formulate accurate policies and practices once its keys features have been identified and their importance understood (Torrington, Hall and Taylor, 2005). The labour market is the source that provides the fuel for labour turnover. Riley (2000) refers to the labour market as a pool of available talent in which employers compete to recruit and subsequently retain staff. Labour markets are not organised, centrally planned, structure co-ordinated machines, rather a free flow or movement of employees in and out of jobs (Goldsmith et al 1997). Riley (1996) summed up the free flowing, erratic nature by stating that the market consists of thousands of individual decisions by employees and employers independently. Over time these small, singular choices provide a pattern or trend of the labour market, meaning the supply and demand in a labour market can be determined by the independent unconnected decisions (Torrington et al, 2005). One model created to help understand the labour market within the hospitality industry is the ‘dual labour market theory (Goldsmith et al, 1997 p16). They state the labour market is ‘made up of two distinct but related groups or markets, a primary labour market and a secondary labour market. Below in Table 1 is an outline of each theory. PRIMARY LABOUR MARKETS SECONDARY LABOUR MARKETS 1. Jobs are supplied by large, highly profitable firms. 1. Jobs are supplied by mainly small firms where profitability is not easily assured. 2. There is a high capital to labour ratio in these firms and high productivity. 2. There is a low capital to labour ratio and productivity tends to be low. 3. Production is usually large scale in nature and based on substantial proactive investment in technology. 3. Production is usually small scale and intensive in nature, and in commercial personal service industry at least, technological requirements are based on clearly defined needs. 4. There is a stable demand for products arising from national and international markets. 4. Demand for products and services is subject to irregular and/or seasonal fluctuations rooted in local and regional markets. 5. Wages and skill levels are relatively high. 5. Wages and skill levels are relatively low. 6. Opportunities exist for training and advancement. 6. Training opportunities are limited as are opportunities for advancement. 7. Employment is stable. 7. Employment is unstable. 8. Unionisation is often high. 8. Unionisation is low or nonexistent. Table cited in Goldsmith et al (1997) p17. Woods (1997) agreed with the dual labour market theory, summarising the primary market as consisting of highly profitable large firms, relatively highly skills jobs with the opportunity for training and development. It is widely perceived that the majority of the hospitality industry is similar to the secondary labour market; with profitability not guaranteed, relatively low paid, low level skilled jobs that are intensive (Goldsmith et al, 1997). 2.3 The UK Hospitality Labour Market The UK hospitality, tourism and leisure industry sector accounts for nearly 5% of the UKs total economic output, employing around two million people, representing one in 14 jobs, approximately 7% of the total UK workforce (People 1st, 2009). However as highlighted by Lucas and Wood (2000) the hospitality industry id highly reliant on young part time and casual labour. The State of the Nation Report 2009 by People 1st reinforces their point with 16 percent of the hospitality workforce aged between 16 and 19 years old, whilst only 5 percent are over 60 years old. Of the total workforce 59 percent are female of which 55 percent are part time employees, compared with 31 percent male. Boella (2000) identified that the common hospitality employee is typical of the secondary labour market; seeking short term employment, with relatively low or no skills. They have no desire to create a career and consequently leave after a short term of employment. This constant turnover is part of a vicious cycle, whereby employers are reluctant to invest in employees and as they leave soon after training (representing a loss of investment) and the employees leave due to little or no training (Goldsmith et al, 1997; Mullins, 2001). 2.4 Labour Turnover As already established the hospitality industry has a high level of turnover. Boella and Goss-Turner (2005, p178) define labour turnover as ‘the total number of leavers expressed as a percentage of the total number of employees in a department, unit or organisation. Lashley and Lincoln (2003) agreed by highlighting labour turnover simply as the movement of labour out of and into a working organisation. To understand how ones organisations faring it is possible to compare to industry averages. It is clear that hospitality had a higher than average figure in 2007. This high level of turnover is widely accepted as normal (Mullins, 2001). Industry Average Turnover 2007 Hotels and Catering 32.6% Retail and Wholesale 27.5% Media and Publishing 27.1% Construction 27.1% Call Centres 24.6% Communication 23.5% Manufacturing 20.95 Table: Turnover Rate. Cited in Taylor (2008 pp434). 2.4.2 Benefits of Labour Turnover It is highly debated in the literature as to whether turnover is a positive or negative within a business. Carrel et al (1995) in Taylor (2005) present the notion of functional versus dysfunctional turnover, suggesting that functional promotes innovative ideas and methods. Boella (2000) agreed and stated that with new employees ‘comes a breath of fresh air, a necessary change to prevent stagnation. Torrington et al (2005) also draw attention to research by Hom and Griffeth (1995) that has shown function turnover exists greater than dysfunctional. The net results is an improvement in productivity as the poorer employees quit, leaving a higher proportion of good employee enhancing organisational effectiveness. 2.5 Reasons for High Labour Turnover People leave employment for a variety of reasons, many of which are outside the power of an organisation to influence; such as leaving is retirement. Highlighted below are some of the key reasons of labour turnover. 2.6.1 Induction Crisis Mullins (1998) cited staff turnover to be at the highest level during the first few months of employment as the induction crisis. A report in 1984 by the HBTIB states that in the specific sector of guesthouses and hotels almost 45 percent of all new workers left their employment within the first three months, and 15 percent within the first month. This has reduce slightly over the last 20 years, with the People 1st (2009) survey highlighting that over 10 percent of turnover came within the first six months of employment, with bar staff at an average of 30 percent. This trend is disruptive and expensive, especially as the investment of training and time have been lost (Mullins, 1998). Torrington et al (2005) go further and identify more costs lost, such as marketing and interviewing, although these can be saved if the next employee is hired internally as opposed to externally. 2.6.2 Outside Factors Outside factors relate to situations where someone leaves for reasons that are largely unrelated to their work (Torrington et al, 2005). One of the most common reasons is relocation, whereby an employee moves cities or countries. Others might include the lifelong passion to travel, illness, and family issues (Meighan, 2000). To an extent this type of turnover is unavoidable, however is may be possible to provide childcare or flexible working hours (Torrington et al, 2005). 2.6.3 Push and Pull Factors With push factors the problem is dissatisfaction with work or the organisation, leading to unwanted turnover (Torrington et al, 2005: Lashley and Lincoln, 2003). Causes could include a range of issues from; insufficient development opportunities, boredom, ineffective supervision, poor levels of employee involvement or personality clashes (Goldsmith et al, 1997, Fowler, 1999: Mullins, 1995 and Torrington et al, 2005). If there are no opportunity to voice these concerns an employees tend to look elsewhere for work. Pull factors are the opposite, the attraction of a rival employer. Salary levels are often cited as the main cause, when a rival offers a better employment deal (Fowler, 1999). However it could also be; better opportunities, a chance to work with a particular person, or location issues such a commuting distance (Torrington et al, 2005). The two main aims for employers are to take are to ensure they know what the competition is offering, so they can be realistic and competitive (Meighan, 2000). Its also important that an employee understand what he has and appreciates it. 2.7 Understanding Labour Turnover Torrington et al (2005) stress that there is very little an organisation can do to manage turnover unless they understand the reasons for it. 2.7 Costs of Labour Turnover In monetary term labour turnover cost the industry  £414 million in 2008/2009 (People 1st, 2009). However this has a decreased since 2000 according to Boella (2000) who stated that labour turnover was  £430 million. The formula used to calculate labour turnover is the number of employees who left during a period divided by the average number of employed during a period, times by 100 and represented as a percentage. Boella (2000) identified that although the results of this formula givers a labour turnover percentage, it does not give any indication of productivity of the staff, so it is best to monitor both. Lashley and Lincoln (2003) state that there are a number of ways to determine the cost of labour turnover, yet the prevalent statistic used compares the number of leavers to the number to the normal component of staff. Whilst this is easier and quicker to calculated, it is less accurate and doesnt take into consideration the seasonality of an organisation, and giving no indication of the amount of time spent by an employee at the organisation Meighan (2000). Torrington et al (2005) suggests that labour turnover represents both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include advertising, travel expense, marketing, additional staff overtime pay, interview time (Boella, 2000: Lashley and Lincoln, 2003 and Mullins, 1998). These cost are easily calculated and visible. Indirect costs associated with labour turnover include loss of leadership, low levels of staff expertise, reduced productivity, increased wastage and reduce customer satisfaction (Boella, 2000: Mullins, 1998: Taylor, 2005 and Torrington et al 2005). These intangible costs affect the remaining staff more, and are difficult to put a price on. 2.9 Conclusion The three common reasons stated by Torrington et al (2005) for leaving include: Dissatisfaction with the conditions of work, especially house. A perception that they were not being given sufficient career development opportunities A bad relationship with their immediate supervisor. The nature of the industry itself (seasonal, limited career structures). The nature of individual units (location, size, staff/work ratios). The nature of individual managers (lacking formal management training, acceptance of high labour turnover). High proportion of worker from the secondary labour market. Torrington et al. CHAPTER 3 AN ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT APPORACHES TO INDUCTION 3.1 Introduction The following chapter provides a definition staff induction and socialisation and its importance, highlighting the key areas and effectiveness. The aim is to investigate the theories behind the induction process and its requirements. An employee is an ambassador to their organisation, representing them through their attitudes and behaviour, how they act is partly down to the organisational culture (Sommerville, 2007, p 47). How employees understand and learn these attributes begins with staff induction and socialisation. In HRM literature, organisational socialisation is widely recognised as a key process ensuring new employees can be efficient and effectively integrated within the organisation (Taylor, 2006). Both induction and socialisation are entwined together. Staff induction practices govern unconsciously or deliberately organisational socialisation (Torrington et al, 2005). With the continuous process whereby new recruits are brought into the firm is an important element of HRM practice. If executed well it can help to retain the new employee and reduce staff turnover (Lashley and Best, 2002). 3.2 Performance Management Systems There have been a significant number of studies over the last 15 years investigating the link between HRM and organisational performance. These have focused on the extent to which (if at all) high commitment or best practice HRM may lead to improvements in worker or organisational performance (Taylor). The idea is that particular bundles of HR practices have the potential to contribute improved employee attitude and behaviours, lower levels of absenteeism and labour turnover, higher levels of productivity, quality and customer service in all types of organisations (Sommerville). Performance management aims to directly link together individual goals, departmental purposes and organisational objectives (Torringon et al). Examples of performance management systems include; recruitment and selection, training and development. Armstrong and Baron (2007, p7-8) defined a performance management system: Communicates the organisation vision and objectives to all employees Set departmental and individual performance targets linked to organisational objectives. Uses formal review procedures to communicate performance requirements. Conducts formal reviews of progress Uses the review process to identify training, development and reward outcomes. Evaluates the whole process. 3.3 Induction Training Starting a new job can be a stressful process, wondering if you will fit in with your new co-workers, if everything is as good as advertised. Whilst some nerves are inevitable, helping to reduce them and making the new employee feel welcome are vital in retaining new comers (Lashley and Best, 2002). The term ‘induction can be interpreted in several ways, however in the generally used in the context of the workplace to describe the entire process of an adjusting to their new working environment and jobs (CIPD, 2010). Whenever new employees join an organisation there is always a period of learning and adaptation before they become fully effective (Meighan, 2000). Partly, this involves finding out about the practicalities of the job and facts about pay, other employee benefits and the organisations rule and regulations (Fowler, 1999). But there is also the need to understand the less tangible but very powerful influence of ‘the way we do things around here or culture (Meighan, 2000). Every organisation has its own culture and new employees are unlikely to be fully effective or feel comfortable in their work until they have absorbed this cultural influence and adjusted to it (Taylor, 2006). Induction has a number of distinct purposes (Armstrong, 2007), all of which are concerned with preparing the new employees to work as effectively as possible and as soon as is possible in their new jobs. The induction is the initial process of learning and adjustment (Fowler, 1999). Meighan (2000, p5) went further and defined induction as ‘a planned, systematic process to help new employees settle into their jobs, quickly, happily and effectively. Marchington and Wilkinson (2008) suggest that induction covers a variety of informal and formal programmes. From simple greeting and showing a new employee to their work station to personalised programme away from the immediate place of work. However some academics (Lashley and Rowson, 2000: Marchington and Wilkinson, 2008: Skeates, 1991: Storey, 2007: Tayeb, 2005) believe that the induction process begins with recruitment and selection. Here the employee and employer can discuss expectations and understand whats realistic, assisting in reducing a mismatch the job role, benefits and expectations. In accordance with these views induction (Skeates, 1991, p16) has been describe as being any arrangement made to familiarise the new employee with the organisation, safety rules, general conditions of employment and the department in which they are involved in. Boella (2000) reinforces this point by suggesting that the induction processes also involve welcoming the new recruit and introducing them to their new colleagues, and that the process starts from the initial contact with the employer. Irrespective of whether or not a structure process is in place, all employees go through an induction phase. In many organisations especially those that do not have a specific human resource department or manager, this may be little more than greeting before being shown to their workplace. New employees may be told to ask questions if needed and are left to get on with the job as it is assumed they already posses the skills to complete the task. Sometimes a rite of passage may consist of a joke, (go and get me a long weight), with little attempt to explain anything about the company from its mission statement to direction. Even information regarding health and safety or disciplinary procedures. However this can leave the employee feeling isolated and confused, unaware of the rules, causing them to leave. Each problem represents a cost to the employer; poor quality of work, unproductive new starter, time spent on disciplinary issues, re advertising the job. In these circumstances it i s unlikely the employer will develop commitment and loyalty (Taylor, 2006). Organisation socialisation is one of the fundamental processes that define how cultures emerge (Tuttle, 2002). It underpins the social structures (Cable and Parsons, 2001) that shape not only how social actors interact but also the boundaries of action and the rules of engagement. In the context of organisations, socialisation is a process that significantly shapes their way of core practices shape how things are done and why they are done in a particular way (Torrington et al, 2005). Staff induction and socialisation (Ardts et al, 2001) are central to the replication of an organisation because they enable new individuals to become functional members of a group. Ardts et al (2001, p159) defines organisation socialisation as â€Å"the learning process by which newcomers develop attitudes and behaviour that are necessary to function as a fully fledged member of the organisation†. This extends the process of inducting a new employee to the organisation by imprinting the norms, expectations and behavioural patterns. It focuses on the interaction between a stable social system and the new members entering it. Successful socialisation is the transformation from an outsider to participating effective insider (Copper-Thomas and Anderson, 2006, p492). 3.3.1 Psychological Contract One of the major influences on behaviour at is the psychological contract (Boella, 2000). The contract refers to the unwritten expectations (Taylor, 2006) of the employer and employees have of their relationship. What each other expects to be delivered, what they expect from the working experience, how they expect to be treated (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2005: Meighan, 2000: Taylor, 2006). These expectations exist only in the head of employees, but this does not mean they should be underestimated (Torrington et al, 2005). Like written contracts they can be breached, broken or changed without consent, resulting in dissatisfaction, de-motivation, and higher levels of staff turnover (Armstrong, 2007). The loyalty and commitment from the employee are lost because of a perceived injustice or a disloyal breach of their contract (Boella, 2000). Riley (2000) stated that the old contract characterises the yester year workforce; focusing on building long term relations, job security and career progression in exchange for loyalty. The ‘new contract has modified to typify the current flexible, transactional workforce (Taylor, 2007). The employer offers employment for a limited period, with some development opportunities in exchange for the employee completing a set of defined duties to an agreed standard until a better offer arises. As a result there is greater flexibility with less commitment (Tanke, 2001) and loyalty, as employees see their employment as short term and an opportunity to make money, develop skills and experience (Torrington et al, 2005), increasing the likelihood of staff turnover. In recent years much debate has been raised on the subject of the old versus the new contract (See TABLE *****) The Old Psychological Contract EMPLOYEE OFFERS EMPLOYER OFFERS Loyalty Security Commitment Future career

Chinese language and literature Essay

Chinese is a unique language. Anyone who learns it will find it difficult to really understand and master the language if he/she does not completely cast away the habits and concepts acquired from his/her mother tongue or other foreign languages. Chinese is a language of great international importance in the present world of globalization. Modern Chinese (also known as Mandarin, Pu Tonghua or Guoyu) is spoken in the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, and increasingly so in Hong Kong. It is one of the four official languages in Singapore. There are significant communities of Mandarin speakers in Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia, the USA, Mongolia, Vietnam, Brunei, South Africa, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, the UK and Mauritius. Mandarin is spoken by about 1 billion of people all over the world. It is also one of the five official languages of the United Nations. The communicative unit of Chinese is the sentence. Sentences in Chinese are quite different from those in other languages. During communication, certain parts of a sentence may often be omitted. This is one of the differences between Chinese and other languages. The language and script of the Chinese language belongs to the ‘Sino-Tibetan’ family. Chinese is also described as a tonal language, which means that a syllable generally is pronounced with a characteristic tone. On the whole Chinese lacks the inflections (suffixes, prefixes) that are characteristic of many other languages. While foreigners are under the impression that Chinese characters are countless, the fact remains that even China does not have anyone capable of mastering all the characters. The Kangxi dictionary of 1716 contains 47,000 characters whereas the Chinese dictionary of 1986-90 contains 56,000 characters. In fact there are only 3,000 characters which are often used. Other than being a language it is used for writing and keeping records. Chinese also has a great value in the field of calligraphy and is greatly appreciated as a work of art. Over the vast area throughout which Chinese is spoken, there are many different dialects. Some of which are mutually unintelligible. Chinese characters are the symbols used to write Chinese. Chinese characters developed more than 3000 years ago out of ideographs. Some of these are still in use today. Every Chinese written character represents a one-syllable word. Many Chinese words, however, are compounds composed of two or more characters. In these compounds each character contributes a meaning to the total concept. Modern Chinese characters fall into two categories: One with a phonetic component, the other without it. Majority of those without a phonetic component developed from pictographs. Characters of this type which do not contain phonetic components account for only a small proportion of all Chinese characters, but many of them are in common use. Most of the Chinese characters contain a phonetic component that tells the pronunciation and an idea component that indicates something of the meaning. These idea components are also called radicals and are often written on the left-hand side of the character. There are more than 250 radicals. The phonetic component is often a character in itself. If one knows the pronunciation of the character it is based on, one can know the pronunciation of many characters in which that component is used. One of the unsolved problems of â€Å"pinyin† is that some characters, though written differently and with different meaning, sound the same. However, usually one can tell from the context which one to use. The tone of a Chinese word is just as important as it s pronunciation. This aspect of speaking Chinese is the most difficult for English speaking people to learn. In English, the tone of a word varies with the mood of the sentence; in Chinese, the tone stays the same whether the sentence is a question, exclamation or a simple statement. The Chinese written language is an ancient and unique writing system with a history of 6000 years. There are a total of 60,000 characters, of which only 3000-4500 are frequently used. Ancient Chinese characters evolved from pictures. Each Chinese character is composed of various strokes. These strokes are basically straight lines. From top to bottom and left to right are the main directions. There are eight basic strokes used for writing Chinese characters. These strokes are used in a certain order to write Chinese characters. In the past few decades standard language has gradually been formed based on the language of the norm with Beijing as the norm and a grammar modeled on modern vernacular writing. This language is called ‘Pu Tonghua’ and is gradually being popularized. It will eventually become the form of spoken and written Chinese in universal use. b) Discuss the ways in which Chinas language and literature reflect other aspects of Chinas culture such as kinship, art, politics, religion, economics, and the Chinese world view in general. A Chinese name is composed of two parts – a surname and a given name. The surname comes first, followed by the given name. Most surnames are monosyllabic. The most common surnames are Zhang, Wang, Li, Zhao and Liu. There are a few disyllabic surnames such as Zhuge, Ouyang and Shangguan. Given names can be either monosyllabic or disyllabic.

Operations Business Report – Case Study: Qantas

Executive Summary Cantatas Is Australia largest domestic and International airline Cantatas was founded In the Queensland outback In 1920 and It began Its operations with one aircraft carrying mail and now it has expanded to 146 planes transporting people all over the world Cantatas' major influences they have to deal in today's market with include globalization, technology and the increased cost-based competition and the strategies that they have Implemented to meet these influences are outsourcing and a mix of established and leading edge technology .Competitive Advantage Cantatas, having two flying services (Cantatas and Starters) allows them to organism and book two aircrafts to serve the passenger to compete the competitive advantage more than others Cantatas established the frequent flyer program that different from other Lorene to make customer loyalty. Cantatas Is also In coalition with many local companies.Woolworth is the most known and the idea is to provide a competitive advantage to each other Cantatas is known for premium service so they incorporate Starters as a budget flight giving a competitive advantage, but also a cost advantage Cantatas is one of the worlds most recognizes and reputable brand, which gives them an opportunity to exploit their competitive advantage. 3. Operations Cantatas manages to sustain a competitive advantage In the market, predominantly due to how their operations function and how they manage It. 3. 1 – strategic Role of operations Cantatas has three different strategic roles of operations.These strategies that Cantatas has incorporated are cost leadership, differentiation and market focus Operations management within Cantatas includes scheduling, determining staffing levels and staff training and has demonstrated its ability to respond quickly to challenges and the success of rival low cost airlines Cantatas' operations are strategically important because most organizational activity comprises the day-to-day acti vities within the operation function Its strategy and operations go hand-in- hand and Is a key determinant of its ability to achieve long term success and ultimately, a competitive advantage within the marketThe influences and current operational responses by Cantatas include globalization, rapidly developing technology and increased cost-based competition Globalization has made Cantatas re-think about their operations as they need to not only keep up with constant fluctuations and how the world is responding to it, to sustain their competitive advantage.The responses from Cantatas regarding globalization include o launching new airlines in Asia due to the Asian century we are experiencing and o cost minimization to be more internationally competitive. The rapidly developing technology from Cantatas has allowed for operational processes to be a lot more efficient and effective. The changes have included o newer planes o new check ins o Q bag tags Due to the expanding market of aircr aft, it has resulted in an increased cost based competition.Cantatas has had to respond to these changes within the market and the responses from Cantatas include o outsourcing o online bookings o employing more labor saving techniques The influences that Cantatas has had to deal with has made them change a lot of heir operations but the way they have responded to it, has allowed them to sustain a competitive advantage 3. – Operations Processes The operations processes are classified into three separate groups, inputs, the transformation process and outputs Inputs are classified into sub groups, which are transformed and transforming resources This means, Cantatas focuses on food ingredients for their catering services, computers, labor, and capital. The transformation process are also classified into subgroups, which include volume, rarity, variation in demand and visibility (the four Vs..) and monitoring, controlling and improvement. In terms of the four vs.., Cantatas expe riences a predictable major increase in demand for the school holidays and other major events but also had to cope with major decreases such as the 9/1 1 bombings Monitoring and controlling at Cantatas involves taking corrective action and making new plans if necessary Customer service is Cantatas' major output and they continually focus on delivering the highest levels of customer service. They have recently adopted the â€Å"Net Promoter Score† as a key measure of customer service. The processes that Cantatas have implemented, how they identify peak times of the year and then deal with those situations has given them a competitive advantage over other businesses, which fail 3. 4 – Operations Strategies There are a number of strategies for improving operations at Cantatas and the two major strategies that Cantatas have implemented are outsourcing and technology Outsourcing is on the increase within Cantatas and currently, Cantatas outsourcer early all of its IT operat ions and some small call centre operations.The advantages that outsourcing has given Cantatas include saving in capital outlay, saving in labor and saving in cost Cantatas relies heavily on technology, but airline technology is complex and it is continually being advanced and updated. Cantatas was one of a number of airlines, who placed advance orders for the new Airbus AWAY, but they were opted to make sure they were not the airline to receive the very first ones asCantatas are all about quality for the customer Cantatas made sure that they could sustain their competitive advantage within the market by ensuring that they got leading edge and established technology that was well reviewed and started outsourcing the right things to keep the operations effective and efficient 4. Conclusion Through Cantatas' strategies they have adopted, the way they have changed and adapted to the influences within the market and the efficiency of the their processes, it has allowed for Cantatas to no t only gain a competitive advantage but sustain it as well

Free Essays on OCD

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you may feel you are the only person facing the difficulties of this illness. But you are not alone. In the U.S., 1 in 50 adults currently has OCD and twice that many have had it at some point in their lives. Fortunately, very effective treatments for OCD are now available to help you regain a more satisfying life. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder where a person has recurrent and unwanted ideas or impulses (called obsessions) and an urge or compulsion to do something to relieve the discomfort caused by the obsession. Compulsions are behaviors that help reduce the anxiety surrounding the obsessions. Worries, doubts, and superstitious beliefs are all common in everyday life. However, when they become so excessive such as hours of hand washing or driving around and around the block to check that an accident didn’t occur then a diagnosis of OCD is made. In OCD, it is as though the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just cant let go. People with OCD often say the symptoms feel like a case of mental hiccups that won’t go away. OCD is a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing. It is not your fault or the result of a â€Å"weak† or unstable personality. The thoughts and behaviors a person with OCD has are senseless, repetitive, distressing, and sometimes harmful, but they are also difficult to overcome. OCD is more common than schizophrenia, bipolar disease, or panic disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Yet, it is still commonly overlooked by mental health professionals, mental health advocacy groups, and people who themselves have the problem. Many people still carry the misconception that they somehow caused themselves to have these compulsive behaviors and obsessive thoughts. â€Å"Nothing could be further from the trut... Free Essays on OCD Free Essays on OCD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you may feel you are the only person facing the difficulties of this illness. But you are not alone. In the U.S., 1 in 50 adults currently has OCD and twice that many have had it at some point in their lives. Fortunately, very effective treatments for OCD are now available to help you regain a more satisfying life. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder where a person has recurrent and unwanted ideas or impulses (called obsessions) and an urge or compulsion to do something to relieve the discomfort caused by the obsession. Compulsions are behaviors that help reduce the anxiety surrounding the obsessions. Worries, doubts, and superstitious beliefs are all common in everyday life. However, when they become so excessive such as hours of hand washing or driving around and around the block to check that an accident didn’t occur then a diagnosis of OCD is made. In OCD, it is as though the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just cant let go. People with OCD often say the symptoms feel like a case of mental hiccups that won’t go away. OCD is a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing. It is not your fault or the result of a â€Å"weak† or unstable personality. The thoughts and behaviors a person with OCD has are senseless, repetitive, distressing, and sometimes harmful, but they are also difficult to overcome. OCD is more common than schizophrenia, bipolar disease, or panic disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Yet, it is still commonly overlooked by mental health professionals, mental health advocacy groups, and people who themselves have the problem. Many people still carry the misconception that they somehow caused themselves to have these compulsive behaviors and obsessive thoughts. â€Å"Nothing could be further from the trut...

Upton Sinclairs The Jungle essays

Upton Sinclairs The Jungle essays Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is the tale of a Lithuanian immigrant, Jurgis Rudkus, and his family. Jurgis and his family move to the United States in the middle of the Industrial Revolution, only to find themselves ill-equipped for the transition in the workplace and in society in general. Jurgis faces countless social injustices, and through a series of such interactions, the theme of the book is revealed: the support of socialism over capitalism as an economic and social structure. Jurgis learns soon after transplanting his family that he alone cannot earn enough to support his entire family, in spite of the intensity of his valiant efforts to work harder. Soon his wife and the rest of his family are working as well, all attempting to chip in to cover family expenses. However, such exposure proves itself to be too dangerous and detrimental to the Rudkuses. Jurgis becomes hardened by his negative experiences as he realizes that, in a capitalist society like the one he was living in, there is no justice. Hard work is not justly rewarded, and often times corruption is rewarded in its place. Through and through, he sees that capitalist life is not fair. Soon he is injured on the job and is forced to stay home and out of work while his mangled foot heals. Jurgis is sidelined from work for two months, and upon his return he finds himself replaced by another worker. Desperate for a job, he takes a dreaded position at the glue factory. Hi wife is pregnant, his family is working themselves to the breaking point, and the bills are getting the best of them. Jurgis turns to drinking. Things get worse. He learns that his wife has been forced to have sex with her boss. Jurgis, in a rage, attacks the man at the Packing house and is arrested for battery. He spends a month in jail, at which time he meets Jack Duane, a character who introduces him to the "easy" life: a life of crime. Within a month ...

Proposed research topic Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proposed topic - Research Paper Example While making a direct contribution to economic development, the indirect effects also affect transportation, logistics and retail sales. These contributions constitute to the economy’s GDP growth of 45 percent. This is a significant indication of tourism as a powerful component with a multiplier economy effect. Globally, the total tourist population projects a strong continuous growth in the future. They key drivers to this population growth will be an increase in the ageing population in developed countries, higher levels of income, and lifestyle improvement. Because tourism is mainly leisure, an improving economy puts more population at a position of enjoying this leisure. Given that the tremendous tourism growth affects the wider Dubai region, there is need for correct forecasting of this trend demand in order to enhance decision making on the major infrastructural investments. Precise predicting will also enhance evaluation of conjunctural planning and situation for flow i n demand. This research study assesses the trend of growth in the tourism sector and the effects. It examines the main indicators of tourist activities as measured using several approaches such as the number of guest nights, destination visited, age of tourists and gender. Background In UAE, tourism is one of the most profitable sectors. In this region, this economic activity acts leverage to the government in maintaining income of several foreign currencies to the UAE region. The main attraction to tourists is shopping. Other key attraction includes modern and ancient culture of the people living in this region. In Middle East, the major shopping capital is in this region attracting investors and shoppers from Asia, Europe, Africana and other Middle East regions. In Dubai, tourists and other visitors get convenient access to shopping and sports conveniences, airports, hostels and resorts. Studies reveal that, between the years 2001 and 2009, UAE tourist sector experienced a boost a s the returns from the sector grew to Dh 41 billion. In another study, Ryan (2009) established that tourism had the main economic significance and played a significant role in the UAE developed. According to Stephenson and Ali-Knight (2010), the total economic impact from this sector amounted to Dh71 Billion. This study goes further to examine the capital investments together with the direct and indirect income generated from tourism and other economic activities. In his findings, Wakefield (2012) established that tourism contribution constituted to 7.8 percent of the economy’s GDP. The leading state was Dubai where the contribution was 7.6%. At the state level, the main tourism economy was Dubai at 66 percent. Closely following Dubai is Abu Dhabi at 17 percent and Sharjah with 9 percent of the tourism economy. In the year 2008, tourism sector experienced a deflation. This downward trend emerged from the global economic crisis. However, the deflation did not go beyond 15 perc ent. The tourism sector is also responsible for job creation in the UAE economy. According to an analysis of Inhorn (2011), the tourism sector employs 160, 053 people. While most of this labor is imported, the citizens are the main beneficiaries from these employment opportunities. Studies have examined the economic effect of tourists in UAE from three perspectives. One of these perspectives is the direct effect. This

Research Method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Research Method - Essay Example Bank of Muscat pays special consideration to the employee welfare and it undertakes a number of training programs in order to build employee skills and to increase competence within its workforce. And this has been the core reason for selecting Bank Muscat as the organization to be researched. As a part of the study the factors that affect the effectiveness of the internal environment of a business setting a number of options of study were available to be analyzed. Out of the variety of the topics which included Performance Appraisal, Leadership Effectiveness and Team Building, the Impact of training on Employee performance was chosen as the topic of the research. The dissertation proposed basically focuses on the extent to which training the employees pays off in the context of the Job satisfaction, Employee Efficiency, Customer Satisfaction and ultimately Organizational performance. The theme of the dissertation would be analyzed on the basis of a research conducted over the internal environment of Bank Muscat. The findings of the research would then be utilized to test the theories developed in the past and to modify them so as to improve their application to the current business scenarios. Moreover the research would serve the purpose of key decision making to managers and would help in improving the understanding of key Human Resource Management concepts. The basic purpose of undertaking the dissertation is to analyze the effect of training on employee’s performance and ultimately on the organization’s success. The outcome of the research will be used deduce the extent of training that is being provided to the employees at Bank Muscat and its degree of effectiveness as perceived by them. The dissertation will also be used to find out the significance of maintaining the internal environment for an organization. Since the dawn