The Big Lebowski Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Big Lebowski - Movie Review Example The Big Lebowksi is it is as it is meant to be told by its creators. It may be a mess to some but it’s a frank and honest yet entertaining movie that offers raw and awkward humor. Story. Mistaken to be the big Lebowski, Jeff Lebowski was assaulted by two men who were claiming that they were sent to collect money from Lebowski’s wife. They have beaten him and peed on his rug. Eventually they have learned that they picked the wrong Lebowski and left. Encouraged by his friend Walter to seek compensation with the peed rug, they pursue to find the big Lebowski. The Dude’s request was rejected and he was even insulted by the big Lebowski. Days later, the big Lebowski’s wife was kidnapped, and he made arrangement with the Dude to be the courier of the ransom money in exchange of his request. Series of misfortunate events upon their delivery of the ransom money to the kidnappers, the Dude learned many things about the truth behind the alleged kidnapping. There was no kidnapping happened, as Bunny just went to a vacation trip with a friend, and it was revealed that the big Lebowski had orchestrated the whole thing – this was his plan to get the supposed ransom money from his first wife’s account and used the Dude to be the fall guy to deliver the fake suitcase. Walter had physically assaulted the big Lebowski and near end they had a fight with a nihilist’s group. Donny died of heart attack in the process. After saying eulogy and scatter Donny’s ashes, the Dude and Walter headed back to their bowling routine session. Characters. The film has a perfect casting to portray the main idiosyncratic characters, perhaps because Cohen brothers had gathered fine actors such as Jeff Bridges and John Goodman. The actors had really synched in with the characters they were portraying. Perhaps the Cohen brothers had in mind the actors’ personalities while writing the film’s characters i.e. Tara Reid being the reckles s and mindless trophy wife and Julianne Moore as an intelligent yet pretentious feminist and an artist. The main protagonist of the film is Jeff Lebowski but preferred himself to be called The Dude. The Dude is portrayed by Jeff Bridges. The Dude is a type B personality who can be easily discern as perpetual bum, cares little about money and cares only for bowling with his equally type B friends. It was reported that the Cohen brothers had written The Dude slightly based on Bridges character for being laid-back and slacking perspective in life. However, it was also revealed that the main influence of the character of the Dude was based on the film distributor that Cohen brothers had met named Jeff Dowd. Much like the Dude in the movie, Dowd was also called â€Å"The Dude†, fond of drinking White Russians, and shares physical appearance of the Dude on-screen: shaggy long hair, way of dressing, etc. Another reference for the Dude’s character is the Cohen brothers’ friend, Peter Exline, a Vietnam War veteran who also has a thing for rugs. The Dude has a main best friend named Walter Sobchak and was played by John Goodman. Walter is also a Vietnam War veteran and is The Dude’s teammate. He values the rules of bowling second to the doctrines

Criminology and Francis T. Cullen Essay Example for Free

Criminology and Francis T. Cullen Essay In this paper I will be discussing the classical school and the positive school and their relations to these current provisions 462.37., 462.39.-462.41 and 810 of the Canadian Criminal Code. After briefly summarizing these provisions, I will explain which law best represents the principles of the classical or positive school. Section 462.37 relates to classical school because it is a violation of the social contract. It also displays the use of fair procedure, proportional punishment and deterrence. It focuses on the deterrence of crime in comparison to the positive school where their primary goal is to identify features that influence crime and crime prevention. Section 810. accurately represents the positive school because it focuses on how the state can prevent the criminal from doing the crime. Section 462.37 outlines the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime where if one person is convicted of using the proceeds of crime to purchase goods or property, the state has the authority to confiscate it.(Criminal Code, 1985). This law favors the principles of the classical school in terms of deterrence, fair procedure and a violation of the social contract. The social contract is an obligation where the sovereign has the duty to protect individuals living under their rule in return for the people to give up their individualistic powers and live accordingly. Using the proceeds of crime to purchase desired goods and property is a violation of the social contract, because the profits were accumulated through illegal criminal activity. Due to this committed offence, a proportional punishment must be applied on the delinquent. The purpose of having punishments is to deter the offender from repeating the same crime; specific deterrence. In order to have a lasting effect on the offender, punishments should be chosen so it inflicts fear on them and is equivalent to the harm done. (Beccaria. 1983). Deterrence is based on a person who seeks pleasure and avoids pain, hedonistic decisions are made using the rational calculator. (Bentham, 1789). However, deterrence isn’t justified through the severity of the  punishment, but through its certainty and proportionality. In section 462.37 of the criminal code the punishment is proportional to the harm done because the state is only disposing the goods and property that he/she purchased using the proceeds of crime. (Criminal Code, 1985). Everything else will remain intact, unless proven otherwise. In any case, the punishments in classical school should be mild enough to exceed the pleasure expected from a crime. Anything beyond proportional punishment is considered as sinister and completely useless. (Beccaria, 1983). â€Å"Crimes are more effectively prevented by the certainty.† (Beccaria, 1983) What Beccaria means is that rather than having only a handful of offenders caught and severely punished, society should catch more offenders and effectively punish them in order to protect society. In violation of this law, the convicted offender must be found guilty through a humane trial. If the offender if found guilty through the fair procedure of the court, then a punishment can be applied on the accused. In the accused’s defense a trial is held to balance the probabilities of this offender using the proceeds of crime. Once the judge has made the decision of guilty, then Her majesty can dispose of the property and goods purchased through the proceeds of crime and otherwise in accordance to the law. Moreover, this section of the criminal code has a more classical scholiast approach because it allows for deterrence of crime through fair procedure and proportional punishment all because of the violation of the social contract. This law doesn’t apply the principles of the positive school because it does not act at the â€Å"root causes† of why the offender did the crime in the first place. This law serves the purpose to deter crime and punishing the offender proportionally, whereas the positive focus more on determining the causes and influential factors crime. (Gabor, 2010). The Sureties to Keep the peace, section 810, exemplifies that if an individual feels unsafe because of another person that might harm them or anyone in close-relations to that person. The state has the right to convict this offender to a recognizance. The offender must keep the peace for a given time or else the state can dispose of their desirable goods; however, if peace has been kept, the offender is freed. (Criminal Code, 1985). This law follows the concepts of the positive school because the goal is to prevent crime in order to protect society from future  dangers using a scientific approach. It also includes some aspects of Lombroso’s theory of the born criminal, using biological determinism.(Lombroso, 1911). The state’s obligation is to protect society’s individual me mbers from harm. Their duty is to recognize harmful behavior and then take actions to prevent it using whatever is necessary. In this provision the government has taken the duty to protect this individual who fears an attack coming by securing the offenders desirable goods and telling them to keep the peace or else they will dispose of the objects. The purpose of recognizance is to prevent future dangers the criminal might create. There is no need to wait for the actual crime to occur, but to take action to prevent it through the security and warning given to the offender to keep the peace. As seen in the law, the offence has not yet been committed; therefore, the victim relies on other factors to prove on reasonable grounds that this offender will harm the individual. Lombroso’s theory of the â€Å"Born Criminal† shows that the criminals are biologically different from non-criminals thus they can be identified using physical features. (Lombroso, 1911). For example, one would feel more comfortable being followed by a clean, well-shaved, harmless looking man rather than an ape-like looking impr ovised, homeless man. People unconsciously judge criminality based on the physical features of others. Biological determinism is the idea that crime is not committed through rational choice, but through other factors that they have little or no self-control over such as biological traits and features. In the provision the state has the authority to send the offender to recognizance under reasonable grounds and a convincing argument by the victim. This argument may include judging a criminal based on Lombroso’s theory of born criminal and biological determinism. Moreover, the government also has the duty to identify the risk and future dangers that this offender might display. Balancing the probabilities that the offender will actually attack the victim is taken into consideration when deciding the extreme of the conditions and the time period the delinquent will go into recognizance. However, if the delinquent does not keep the peace in the given time, their punishment may range from a fine, to the disposal of secured goods. Knowing this, if a criminal has this unstoppable drive and passion for criminality, then something like a $5000 fine, will not stop them from doing so. In most restraining orders what ends  up happening is the victim is attacked or harmed anyways, because today people have an uncontrollable desire to commit crime. Criminals that have a compulsive desires for crimes act indifferently to the consequences because of biological influences or desperate situations.The law excludes the punishment of breaking a recognizance, but one can see that a positivist would use trial, not to determine the innocence or guilt of the offender but to ask the question, will they do this again? They would also want to know where the offender would attack, who and why? From a classical school perspective, only the guiltiness of the offender matters so they can apply proportional punishment. This provision doesn’t exemplify the classical school because it shows that offenders do not have control over their criminal behavior, thus making it irrational. This law is based on the priority to prevent crime and determine its causes rather than to deter cr ime and inflict punishments on the offender using a scientific approach. Moreover, section 462.37 displays concepts of the classical school because it is considered a violation of the social contract; the deal that society gives up their power in return for safety. This provision also shows that this act was done out of rational choice by weighing out the consequences and benefits before committing to an action. Fair procedure is used to defend the rights of the offender; however, the main purpose is identify the guiltiness of the delinquent. Fair procedure in this law is shown when the state balances the probabilities of the proceeds of crime actually being used on his/her acquired property and goods. After the offender has been proved or has pleaded guilty, a proportional punishment is applied on him/her. In this case, the proceeds earned through crime that the offender used to purchase goods and property will be confiscated, everything else will remain. Section 810. represents the positive school because it is an example of how the state would protect society. In this provision the crime has not happened yet, one is only worried and fears and attack. Biological determinism is used to identify who would pose a threat; this is based on physical features. This law also focuses on the risk and future dangers the offender might display. Securing valued items of the delinquent is a method used by the state to prevent a future danger from occurring and lessening the risks. In conclusion the classical school is more about the deterrence  of crime whereas the positive school focuses on the prevention of crime. Works Cited Beccaria, C. (1983). An Essay on Crimes and Punishments. Francis T. Cullen, Robert Agnew Pamela Wilcox (Eds.), Criminological Theory: Past to Present (pp. 27-29). New York: Oxford University Press. Bentham, J (1789). An Introduction to the Principle of Moral and Legislation. Joseph E. Jacoby (Ed.), Classics of Criminology (pp.105-109). Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press. Gabor, T (2010). Basics of Criminology (1st Ed.). Ottawa: McGraw Hill Ryerson. Lombroso, C (1911). Criminal Man. Francis T. Cullen, Robert Agnew Pamela Wilcox (Eds.), Criminological Theory: Past to Present (pp. 27-29). New York: Oxford University Press.

Human Resources value proposition of GASCO

Human Resources value proposition of GASCO Introduction: The report presented here is regarding the HR value proposition of GASCO. GASCO is also known as Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. The company was born in the year 1978, in the very heart of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) in its capital Abu Dhabi. Value proposition is best explained by Ulrichs model which shows the factors one should look for to check whether the HR system helps to realize any value to the organization. The report will find out the same with the help of questionnaire analysis from the HRs in the company. GASCO: GASCO is also known as Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. The company was born in the year 1978, in the very heart of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) in its capital Abu Dhabi. Replying to a question about the vision of the founder of the company, late Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan he replied that he believed in the sound operation of the Emirates important gas assets. The amalgamation and establishment of Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd or GASCO as a combined venture among the ADNOC (known as Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), Total, Partex, and Shell, and the addition of a wholly owned ADNOC Company named ATHEER in the year 2001, supported GASCO in appreciating the vision to be among the one of the most inventive, caring and respected companies in the hydrocarbon and gas industry. (Author, 2010) GASCOs promise in meeting the prospect of its diverse stakeholders employees, community, shareholders, non governmental bodies and regulatory bodies, was freshly recognized through the restitution of the combined Venture contract originally signed in the year 1978. The new contract, which is now contracted to run until the year 2028, September 30th, will permit GASCO to grasp the peculiarity of being one of the chief players in the worldwide gas and hydrocarbons industry, conducting the transportation of liquid and gas products, onshore gas processing and contributing to the economys GDP of in a responsible and sustainable manner. (Author, 2010) Literature Review: A HR value proposition is a proposal that defines the measurable and quantifiable gains that an organizations or individuals making the proposal promise to deliver. The development procedure of a HR value proposition is based on the reviews and analysis results of the gains, prices and values to be delivered to the customers by an organization, potential customers, and other constitutive groups working within and outside of the organization. It can also be viewed as positioning of a value, where term Value can be defined as = Benefits / Costs (where costs include all the risks taken). (Becker, 2002) Value is said to be added to a HR proposition when the work done by the HR professionals helps people to accomplish their goals and targets. What matters most is the benefits a person receives from this work and not design or the way the program was made or the policies used in declaration. The actions which do not fulfill these goals are not pursued. Hence HR value proposition can be viewed as the exercises, professionals involved and departments which work to achieve this aim and work to obtain productive and positive results for all the stake-holders like people working, managers, etc. (Spickett-Jones, 2003) Regrettably, in some organizations HR proposition is not seen as a group of people brought together to build something productive, rather it is seen as a cost centre. As such many of such groups are closed down during cost cutting processes. In order safeguard their position in an organization; they should increase their influence over their customers and stakeholders. They should emphasize less on their procedure and processes and more on the results and benefits they are providing. They should be in line with the productivity and their stakeholders. (Tuominen, 2004) Nowadays HR personnel are becoming redundant and its ironic that the services that they deliver are more focused on business performance improvements from central goals. With the shift in societies from an old era of business to the new knowledge and service oriented business goals and economies, having a better HR deliverable at ones exposure would become an added advantage and necessity to combat the increasing competition for an organization. (Winfried Daun, 2005) Such HR proposition values are largely effected by intangibles and managing these intangible properties of an organization. These intangible properties include : research and developments, leadership, brand positioning and strength, quality of service, speed, governance, tacit knowledge, loyalty of customers and the employees, reputation, informal processes, innovation , plant flexibility, trusted networks. Managing these intangible is important because they have deep impact on the shareholder values and are necessary regarding the future growth and expectations of the investors from the organization. (Winfried Daun, 2005) A comprehensive study by Ulrich and Brochbank shows the necessary steps required so as to deliver the required competencies to the stakeholders in a new economy. The figure below shows the systematic display of what should be done and how it should be done. This is the mapping out of HR value proposition, showing how to deliver desired stakeholder values. (Becker, 2002) Figure 1: The Ulrich and Brochbank HR Value Proposition There are 14 HR transformation criteria which have been derived from HR value proposition transformation. These are listed below: HR value proposition element: Knowing the realities of external business world Criterion 1 An efficient and efficient HR function is one which one which HR professionals who can acknowledge the external business environments and realities and adapt measures in such a way to combat these situation, allocating HR resources and apply HR practices accordingly. (Becker, 2002) Serving both the internal as well as external stakeholders Criterion 1- an efficient HR function is generating market value for its investors by increasing intangibles. Criterion 2- A good HR function increases the customer share by connecting with its target customers. Criterion 3- An efficient HR function assists its line managers to deliver strategies by developing capabilities of an organization. Criterion 4: A good HR function elucidates and lays down base for employee value proposition and improves individual abilities. (Aughton, 2005) Creating efficient HR practices Criterion 1: A good HR function can manage people, processes and practices such that it adds value. Criterion 2: An efficient HR function can manage performance management process and practices such that it adds value. Criterion 3: An efficient HR function can manage information process and practices such that it adds value. (Aughton, 2005) Developing HR resources Criterion 1: An efficient HR function can manage work flow design and processes such that it adds value HR value proposition element: Developing HR resources HR transformation criteria. Criterion 2: An efficient HR function adjusts its organization in accordance with the strategies of the business. Criterion 3: An efficient HR function makes a clear strategic plan for coordinating the HR investments with the goals of business. (Aughton, 2005) Ensuring Professionalism of the HR environment Criterion 1: An efficient HR function consists of HR professionals who carry out their duties and responsibilities accurately. Criterion 2: An efficient HR function develops HR professionals who display HR competencies. Criterion 3: An efficient HR function would invest in training, development and growth of its HR professionals. Nowadays, HR professionals make use of systemic-based competencies in order to map defined set of the HR Value Proposition and hence enhance and improve the strategies delineated by Ulrich and Brockbank so as to deliver appropriate value to stakeholders. The efforts taken by the HR professional put in action the HR proposition model by having casual link between initiatives taken by the HRs and business results desired. Instead of having a line of sight with the key stakeholders expressed in words and tables, an orderly among the HR Value Propositions provide HR professionals a clear vision as to how they should actually act so as to deliver stakeholder values. (Stuart E Woodhead, 2000) Mapping out the HR Value Proposition model provides a clear vision and framework that formulates the role of HR professionals as the service key business driver that delivers the proper stakeholder value, going beyond just theoretical model and language. It provides a fabric that generates a shared interpretation of the business, significantly assisting the communication efforts. Hence with the proper programs and policies available, it facilitates a desired environment and culture. Thus by using relevant tools and techniques required to corroborate the systemic-based competencies, the HR professionals can link the fourteen criteria of HR Value Proposition model and incorporates them into well functioning systematic HR business model. (Becker, 2002) In order to understand the working and mapping of Ulrich and Brockbank 14 criteria can be mapped using application of 2 mapping techniques, which are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ System Dynamics mapping à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Socio-ecological mapping. System Dynamics mapping is centre to the growth of stakeholders driver model which makes the visible connections between employee growths, capabilities of an organization, experience of customers and returns of the investor. (Tuominen, 2004) Socio-ecological mapping is needed to carry on strategic reviews and growth in the surroundings which have become unpredictable due to intangibles. It is required to represent social trends between and within an organization and its surroundings. Diagram below gives a perspective of a high level system of the HR Value Proposition and extent of these two mapping techniques. Figure 2: System viewpoint of HR Value Proposition System dynamic mapping: System Dynamics mapping gives a technique of describing the underlying structure which establishes a blueprint of events that can more often than not contemplate changes in the efficiency of intangibles like increasing waste, cyclic phenomena in supply chains, lack of innovation, declining sales, worker burnout, and so on. (Spickett-Jones, 2003) The uses of system dynamic mapping for a HR professional are as follows: 1. Modeling and mapping the delivery of the stakeholder values over a particular frame of time (productivity, profitability, customer share etc.) in accordance with the levels of availability of tangible and intangible resources (knowledge, customers, staff, relationship management, suppliers, innovation, reputation, etc.) 2. Exploring and researching new business options like, developing a business case for practicing a new learning and growth initiative by figuring the effects of top line i.e. revenue and bottom line i.e. cost on the business performance. 3. Researching and exploring methods to solve a given problem like, exploring different options for improving the falling service quality. Socio-ecological mapping: Socio ecological mapping refers to the people in the concerned environment. Socio-ecological mapping is necessary for understanding relationships between the people in the system through different time frames. From time to time, expectations and values of an organization change around the globe. They need to act through their plans in their environments. This leads to creation of an external environment which has discontinuous and dramatic shifts in its social values and expectations from the community. This leads to a situation when people continuously change their minds regarding the choices about certain services and products. HR professionals should be able to recognize any significant changes socially that can affect their organization because such unsettling and unpredictable surrounding acts upon their industry or concerned organization. Hence, they will need to direct their strategic planning process and plans in accordance with these changes and need to build an organizational environment around, which has continuous learning and information about the surroundings in case their organizations have to be successful for the long term. In order to understand which technique should be used in what environment let us consider two situations. The first situation considers the end results of HR personnel not following socio-ecological representation in an area thats part of the HR Value Proposition as the External Business Realities element. It has not been made explicit by Brochbank and Ulrich. Regardless, this area is necessary for survival of business in the new era of service or knowledge oriented economy. The second situation studies a position in which HR professionals use Systems Dynamics representation to display how their efforts add stakeholder value. Both situations involve System Dynamics mapping for the criteria titled as Serving external and internal stakeholder in the HR Value Proposition Model. In one case, the contribution was important and distinct while in other case was not so significant. Figure 3: Organization in framework with its surroundings Figure 4: Organization in situation with its Industry surroundings The term extended social field addresses to the area beyond the organizations industry environment. This is also in reference with the wider or global community as in contextual environment. According to criterion 1: An efficient and efficient HR function is one which one which HR professionals who can acknowledge the external business environments and realities and adapt measures in such a way to combat these situation, allocating HR resources and apply HR practices accordingly. It insists on the fact that organization should pay attention to its environment outside the firm. The HR professionals should be able to engage in conversation regarding the changes in external surroundings like changes in economy, rates technologies and so on. In order to keep them informed about the new information, HR professionals should conduct environmental scans using processes which have been transformed from OST (Open Systems Theory). OST is social science knowledge body that manages people and their organizations and should have an open, clear, adaptive and active relationship with their surroundings over time so as to ensure viability and good results. It also says that people can be seen as purposeful and informative open systems that can change and generate systems and their surroundings. Serving external and internal stakeholders other criteria are: Criterion 2- an efficient HR function is generating market value for its investors by increasing intangibles. Criterion 3- A good HR function increases the customer share by connecting with its target customers. Criterion 4- An efficient HR function assists its line managers to deliver strategies by developing capabilities of an organization. Criterion 5: A good HR function elucidates and lays down base for employee value proposition and improves individual abilities. These criteria are being depicted in Figure 4 which concerns the Organization in context with the industry environment. Hence we can see that representing the information in form a systematic form makes it easier for organization-industry interface to provide HR professionals with chances to make clear, significant and visible necessary contributions to performance of business forming a unique view; so as to adapt with increasingly significant and emerging new service or knowledge oriented economy. Research Questions The concern here is to verify the extent till which, GASCOs HR system delivers value proposition. For this purpose, we will use the Ulrich model as shown in literature review and will verify the 5 dimensions of the model in GASCO. In this report, we will check whether the five dimensions in Ulrich model are satisfied in GASCO and will comment on the value proposition of companys HR system. The concerned objectives would be as follows: Ulrichs Value proposition dimension Criterias to check for Knowing the external business realities Checking for HRMs efficiency in understanding realities of external business and thus adding value. Serving External and Internal Stakeholders Any increase in the value of investors money by HR system. HR capacity to increase customer share HRs capacity to motivate line mangers to participate in strategic issue. Enhancing individuals ability Creating HR practices Management of employees in such a way that add to value Managing performance of the employees Information is correctly managed and utilized Hr manages work flow design and adds value to the organization. Building HR resources HR alignment to strategic objectives of the business HRs clear strategic planning process and alignment of strategic business objectives with HR objectives Ensuring Professionalism To check the presence of a professional HR system Training and developments presence in the organization. Methodology The methodology involves conducing survey analysis to test the research questions in GASCO as presented in above section. The methodology is divided into two parts: Literature review and finding the factors we should look for finding the value proposition of GASCO Prepare separate questionnaire for every dimension (5 separate questionnaires) Analysis of the result using excel charts The questionnaires would be distributed to HRs in the company. With a small help from of one of our contact in GASCO, we distributed these instruments in the company in which 30 people from HR staff participated. The questionnaires are designed so that they address every aspect of research questions given above. Questionnaire: Knowing the external business realities Do you keep the track of competitors strategies and use the information in forming HR practices? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you keep the track of quality of Human resource existing in the market? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you conduct regular meeting (formal or informal) with the HRs of competitors so that you can get aware of the external environment of the HR system in the industry? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you aware yourself with the rules and regulation of the government that are existing and that can exit in future to make a better HR policy? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you choose employees taking into consideration the relations with the suppliers, contractors, clients etc? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you consider the cultural aspect of the employees in your HR systems? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Taking the example of the giant recession which the world recently faced, did you took any steps like shortening of work force, reduction of pay to respond to the situation and cut the cost? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree As GASCO is an exploration firm, do you intake scientist and other post of employees taking into mind the kind of work going on in the industry? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Technology keeps on changing, when you hire an employee, do you keep in mind the present and future techno skills which the employee should know? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you conduct regular training to bridge the gap between present skills and those required as according to recent external environment characteristics? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Questionnaire: Serving internal and external stakeholder Do you keep an eye on companys intangibles and try to increase these in GASCO? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you conduct regular training for the employees to increase their capabilities? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do your staff is in contact of the customers? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you keep an eye on the organizational suppliers and try to maintain and build strong relationships with the suppliers? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you take the feedback of your distributors and other stakeholders and then apply them in modifying your HR strategies? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you encourage your line managers to come up with a solution on their own and appreciate employee participation? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do your staff make regular visit at customer end and try their best to understand the need of the customers and deliver them on time? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree As GASCO is an exploration firm, do you intake scientist and other post of employees feedback in aligning the need of the organization with current trend in the market? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you keep an awareness of investors attitude towards the company? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you make changes in your policy as to consider the investors reaction? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Questionnaire: Creating HR practices Do you keep try to create policies that helps in building up a culture rather than making just a profitable entity? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you conduct performance appraisal of employees on regular basis so that possible value addition action can be taken? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you appreciate any value addition in employee by proving certifications or by rewarding the employees adding some value in the firm? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you manages the work flow so that every step, the value can be recognized? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you use value chain analysis in your system? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you encourage performance management techniques at the workplace? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do your ensure work life balance so that more satisfaction can be creating for employees and the job turnover rate can be enhances? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you take employee feedback and try to use these feedbacks in ways that ensure value addition to the organization? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you keep information about the employees, their skills, areas of expertise, potential etc? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you create a culture of learning and learning sharing? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Questionnaire: Building HR resources Are you aware of Strategic plans of the business? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you make adjustment in the organizational human resource, in terms of number of employees, posts in firm etc? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you make a periodic diagnosis of the firms requirement and then predict future requirements? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you enter into practices like Knowledge management or Learning Management system that can give you a strategic advantage? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you hire employees keeping in mind future need of the organization? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you take steps to store the knowledge of the present employees so that even in the case these employees do not remain the part of the firm, but still there best practices can be stores in a knowledge base? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you have a position like KMO or Knowledge management officer so look after the suture aspect of the company? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Are your plans for strategic Human Resource planning transparent and everyone is aware with the same? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you considered the case where GASCO enters into another strategic partnership with a new firm and to deal with issues like cross cultural management, work force diversification etc? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you have a clear strategic planning process? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Questionnaire: Ensuring HR professionalism Does HR system in the company have clear roles? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you have a clear documented HR policy which is well structured and is comparable to best practices in the industry? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree As the workforce is UAE is devised in terms of religion background, educational history, culture etc. do your policies are neutral for all of the employees and are you can equal opportunity employer? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you follow a well framed system for recruitment and selection? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you have a policy document for various aspect of Human Resource Management in the organization? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you keep the record of previous training and development of employees and make provision for future training according to that only? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you think that HR practices in GASCO helps employees to find their core competencies and which in turn, help the company to generate its own competencies? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you conduct training for recruiters and other HR staff regularly? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Are you connected to any professional HR practice organization which provides you regular guidelines to work and helps you to standardize your HR system and practices? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Do you have a clear strategic planning process? Strongly Agree Agree Dont know Disagree Strongly disagree Presentation of results Result for knowing the external business realities Do you keep the track of competitors strategies and use the information in forming HR practices? Do you keep the track of quality of Human resource existing in the market? Do you conduct regular meeting (formal or informal) with the HRs of competitors so that you can get aware of the external environment of the HR system in the industry? Do you aware yourself with the rules and regulation of the government that are existing and that can exit in future to make a better HR policy? Do you choose employees taking into consideration the relations with the suppliers, contractors, clients etc? Do you consider the cultural aspect of the employees in your HR systems? Taking the example of the giant recession which the world recently faced, did you took any steps like shortening of work force, reduction of pay to respond to the situation and cut the cost? As GASCO is an exploration firm, do you intake scientist and other post of employees taking into mind the kind of work going on in the industry? Technology keeps on changing, when you hire an employee, do you keep in mind the present and future techno skills which the employee should know? Do you conduct regular training to bridge the gap between present skills and those required as according to recent external environment characteristic

Revolutions - A justified Means of Change? :: Political Politics

Revolutions - A justified Means of Change? Since the beginning of time, revolutions have directed the progression of most societies. Not only have they improved the lives of many, but they have also been the cornerstones to building some of todays most powerful and democratic countries. Most people have heard of the French and American Revolutions, however history tells us there have been hundreds more, from small town Revolution to major countries. Revolutions are justified means of change because they help to motivate and inspire people to press for rights that in turn will benefit the country and future generations as a whole. Most revolutions occur because of widespread dissatisfaction with an existing system. Poverty and injustice under cruel, corrupt, or incapable rulers combined with social problems is a recipe for disaster. One can only push people so far. If other ways of establishing the changes that must be made does not work, then creating a revolution might be the only option left. The French Revolution abolished absolute monarchy, feudal privileges, and serfdom, removed the estates, and established equal liability to taxation. The revolution also began reforms in the fields of education and law. How can anyone say that the revolution proved detrimental to France? The other intangible results of the revolution were embodied in its ideals, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," which became the platform of liberal, democratic reforms in France and Europe in the 19th century. The American Revolution ended two centuries of British rule for the 13 colonies and created the modern United States of America. The Revolutionary era was an exhilarating and productive time for most people living in North America. In the wake of the Revolution came events as varied as the drafting and ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America, which ensured that the rights of all Americans were to be protected, and to guarantee that all people would be involved in running the country with their form of government, democracy. The basic makeup of this was to ensure that all citizens were treated equal. This prompted the phrase "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Revolutions are not perfect, and there are always negative aspects to a revolution. They do not always create a better country, or even resolve the issues that proposing the revolution were for, and in some cases lead to worse conditions than what the country had to begin with.

Meta Tags and Meta Keywords :: Internet Technology Essays

Meta Tags and Meta Keywords Meta Tags are thought to be the be all-end all of search engine rankings. This is not true. Meta Tags are a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for high rankings. Meta tags are designed to provide basic information to the search engine about the site. Meta tags appear at the top of the HTML document within the <head></head> section of the document. In the following example, nine different types of Meta Tags are identified: Content-Type, Copyright, Resource-type, ObjectType, Author, Rating, Distribution, Description, and Keywords. The two meta tags of primary interest to search engines are the â€Å"Description† and â€Å"Keywords† tags. These tags describe the contents and key words for the search engine. <HTML> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta http-equiv="Copyright" content="1998, 1999 MotorCities.com, Inc."> <meta name="Resource-type" content="Document"> <meta name="ObjectType" content="Journal"> <meta name="Author" content="Car Pictures .com Webmaster"> <meta name="Rating" content="General"> <meta name="Distribution" content="Global"> <meta name="Description" content="Gallery of car pictures, car videos, car sounds, car photos, car photographs, automobile pictures, automobile videos, automobile sounds, automobile photos, automobile photographs, auto pictures, auto videos, auto sounds, auto photos, auto photographs, pictures of cars."> <meta name="Keywords" content="Gallery of car pictures, car videos, car sounds, car photos, car photographs, automobile pictures, automobile videos, automobile sounds, automobile photos, automobile photographs, auto pictures, auto videos, auto sounds, auto photos, auto photographs, pictures of cars, Porsche pictures, Ferrari pictures, Lamborghini pictures."> <title> Car Pictures .com -- Gallery of pictures (photos or photographs), video, sounds, wallpaper and specifications of all cars, motorcycles and all vehicles. </title> </HEAD> Several excellent sources that detail the use of the Meta Tag are: The Web Developer’s Virtual Library (http://wdvl.com/Authoring/HTML/Head/Meta/ ) Search Engine Watch (http://searchenginewatch.internet.com/webmasters/meta.html) Internet Marketing Chapter 13: Driving Traffic to Your Site: Understanding and Using Search Engines for Search and Site Optimization. Adding Keywords Using the META Tag Maximum -800 characters. Adding keywords simply requires editing the HTML code and adding the meta tags, as in the following example. The top of a web page source code on your site might look like: <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>ACME Corporation Devices Information</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <H1>ACME Corporation Innovative Opening Devices Information</H1> Create a META tag with the following information: <META name="keywords" content="brochure"> TO ADD ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS <META name="keywords" content="brochure, widget, wholesale"> The top of your HTML document would then look like: <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>ACME Corporation Devices Information</TITLE> <META name="keywords" content="brochure, widget, wholesale"> </HEAD> <BODY> <H1>ACME Corporation Innovative Devices Information</H1> QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT META KEYWORDS Q) META keywords tag - should I use UPPERCASE, lowercase or a mixture, commas or spaces? A) Use lowercase, separated by commas, with a space after the comma.

The Beauty of Chinese Poetry

Chinese poetry is considered to be some of the most beautiful poetry in the world. In the poem â€Å"In Early Summer Lodging in a Temple to Enjoy the Moonlight† by Po Chu-I the author’s use of nature, the city of Ch’ang-an, and his friendship with the others that join him is truly a symbol of balance from Chinese culture. In this poem Po Chu-I discusses the destruction of beauty and the loss connection with its boundaries. His use of words paints a picture of a beautiful scene that would capture the imagination of any reader. Is Po Chu-I’s poem a clear reflection of Taoism’s views of balance? In this poem Po Chu-I uses nature to reflect the beauty that is missing in the city that he and his friends now live in. In one example, â€Å"When the wind has stolen the shadows of new leaves and birds linger on the last boughs the bloom†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the author’s use of nature allow the reader to know that it is early summer when him and his friends go on this journey outside of the city. Also, another example, â€Å"And the South-East was still clothed in red†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the author’s use of words along with nature allows the reader to know that it is sunset. With simple use of nature the author has let you know where this takes place, what time of year it is and time of day. Po Chu-I use of nature is a key element of this poem and shows the beauty of nature to the reader. In the city of Ch’ang-an the author and his friends have been trying to get rich and have decided to take a break and leave the city and go to the temple of Tao. In this poem the city represents the destruction of nature and a place where they feel unfulfilled. One example of this is: â€Å"In Ch’ang-an, the place of profit and fame, Such moods as this, how many men know? The author refers to this as a comparison of the city to the beauty of the nature that has been destroyed by the city life. Po Chu-I used the city as the opposite of nature, he even explains how the city is separated from the nature with a gate. Ch’ang-an is a symbol of the unfulfilled happiness that the author and his friends are feeling by living in the city. The friendships tha t Po Chu-I show in this poem are clear to the reader. â€Å"Till day broke we sat in her clear light laughing and singing, and yet ever grew tired†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is a good example of the author’s friendships that he has and how they all traveled out into nature to sing and dance under the moonlight. It shows the connection that the author and his friends share with one another. A similar example â€Å"To the western cloister we carried our jar of wine; while we waited for the moon, out cups moved slow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The author and his friends all share this common bond of being unfulfilled living in the city, and all travel outside of the city to bask in nature, share a drink or two, and dance under the moonlight. This is an example of nature and the city being connected by the authors’ friendships. In the poem â€Å"In Early Summer Lodging in a Temple to Enjoy the Moonlight† Po Chu-I used many techniques to connect the ideas of Taoism into his poem. He incorporated nature, friendship, and the city of Ch’ang-an. All of these techniques helped to create a poem that not only appeals to the imagination of the reader but also the complex problems of feeling unfulfilled with a disconnection with nature. Po Chu-I used all these techniques and created a perfect balance between nature, city living, and friendship. This conveys the balance that is taught in Taoism in Chinese culture.

Othello By William Shakespeare †What is the dramatic significants of the first scene? Essay

Q. What is the dramatic significants of the first scene? A. During his reign as literature king Shakespeare wrote the play Othello. The play is based mainly on the conflict between Italy and Cyprus in the early 1600’s; Shakespeares characters also reflect this troubled time. Act one Scene gives the reader their first glimpse as to what the play might represent. The scene starts in the middle of an argument between Iago and Rodergio somewhere in Venice. They are arguing about Othello marriage to Desdemona (the daughter of Brabantio a important Venetian senator.) Roderigo questions Iago about his lack of knowledge surrounding this event. From the language used we know that Iago has taken money from Rodreigo to keep track on Desdemona as Roderigo is secretly in love with her. Iago has failed by not knowing about Othellos secret wedding to Desdemona. â€Å"That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse as if the strings were thine shouldst know of this.† The fact that this scene begins mid way through an argument is very significant as this would of grabbed an audiences attention in the early 1600’s as there were no microphone and no proper way of showing the audience that the play has begun. In starting this way the play has interested the audience and left them with the question, what is this argument about? Iago is what was known as during the time of Elizabethan theatre a Machiavliel villain. This means the audiences know this character is untrustworthy; he is only really out for himself. Iago wants Power and money. Through out this scene money terminology is used to a great affect. This shows that money and status was very important at this time. â€Å"By debitor and creditor; this counter caster, he, in good time, must be a lieuitenant be,† Iago is a very bitter man he wants to take his own revenge upon Othello even if this means Othello will truly suffer the consequences as he was not given the top job, which he believes he deserves. However Othello gave the job to Michael Cassio who we not yet been introduced too. Iago makes cruel comments about Michael Cassio stating he is all talk and no action on the battlefield this is highly insulting. Iago is also very cruel when talking with Roderigo about Othello he is very racist and patronizing Othellos name is never used throughout this scene he is referred to as â€Å"The Moor.† I believe this to be very rude and pure jealousy on Iagos part. However this does not really matter at this moment as Othello is highly regarded within this society. Within this scene Iago clearly shows he is not someone to be trusted. He is very ironic with that the fact that he shows Roderigo and the audience he is who he is and no one can change that about him. At this point the audience sense the Irony of this particular line. He is admitting he cannot be trusted. â€Å"I am not what I am† Iago decides that one of the ways in which to seek his revenge upon Othello is by telling Brabantio (Desdemonas father) about her secret wedding to Othello. However Iago is very cunning as he talks Roderigo into calling upon Desdemona father and telling him the truth, as obviously he doesn’t want this crime to be traced back to him this plan makes perfect sense. â€Å"Call up her father, Rouse him, make him after his poison his delight.† Brabantio then enters this scene he asks about what is all the noise about as this scene takes place in the middle of the night. Brabantio is obviously worried as Iago calls out and say thieves are at Brabantios this creates a lot of fuss. Iago tells him that someone close is plotting against him (Othello) and that he should be more aware. Iago wants to be seen as a hero. Roderigo then takes the lead, as Iago does not want to get into trouble as he has still got to go back to Othello. Roderigo breaks the news to Brabantio. The language here shows that Roderigo is trying to break this news gently but the truth is he does not care about the consequences. â€Å"The worser welcome, I have charged thee not to haunt about my doors; in honest plainness thou hast heard me say etc Upon malicious bravery dost thou come to start my quiet.† Branbantio cannot believe what he is hearing he is in shock as he regards Othello highly. This clearly shows Othello has a very high status. Roderigo swears it is true and Iago backs this up showing his character to be a liar. Brabantio is forced to believe them making him insanely jealous and totally nieve. Iago then explains that Desdemonas happiness is important to him; once again Iago seems like our unlikely hero. Brabantio decides that he must go and find Othello to confront him. At the end of this Roderigo and Iago are once again left alone this is very significant to the scene as it shows that this scene had begun and ended in a very similar way. Roderigo finally reminds Iago of their deal the only thing they want is revenge on Othello. They strongly believe he deserves it, however as an audience we cannot make this judgement, as we have never met him. The only thing we as an audience can go off if what other characters have said about him. We believe Othello to be noble and brave not cunning and kneiving. Iago finally leaves to go back to Othello. This shows Iago is a plotter by going between these two characters, we do not know where his loyalty lies. Finally Brabantio returns and goes to find Othello he is angry and upset. Roderigo decides to go and find Othello too. This scene ends on a semi tense cliffhanger. This scene leaves the audience wondering what may lie ahead. The dramatic significants within this scene shows dramatic irony mainly focusing on Iago. This villain needs to be stopped, but how? Is the question still to be answered.