Nature vs. Nurture Essay

Over recent years the nature vs. nurture debate has been extensively discussed and researched. Should human characteristics such as intelligence, personality, behavior and ability be attributed to our genetics or our environment? One problem with this is how to pin a trait down to either an inherited or learned characteristic, or perhaps itÂ’s both. Are we to blame for our behavior or is inevitable due to our genetics? This question and others seems to be part of the controversy over the subject. Also, these questions play a factor in how to change and adapt behavior. Different techniques would be more effective depending on the cause of a particular behavior or characteristic. When analyzing the causes of behavior problems in children the question of nature vs. nurture is a legitimate question. One recent study conducted by the University of Virginia and several others including one in Australia studied 1,045 twins and their 2,051 children. Some of the parents were identical twins with others being fraternal. This affected the amount of genes that were shared among the siblings. Participants were twins from a volunteer twin registry and information was gathered through a series of phone interviews beginning in 1993 and ending in 2003. The study discovered that spousal fighting wasnÂ’t to blame for behavioral problems in their children. Rather, it was the genes that influenced how often they argued with spouses. These genes when passed to their children caused more conduct problems. The conclusion of the study was that in family therapy, more focus on the child rather than the parents would be more effective (Society for Research in Child Development, 2007). This conclusion supports the theory that it is nature or our genetics that influence this particular behavior. On the other end of the spectrum another study involved observing children in different childcare settings. Researchers from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development studied the children beginning in 1991 from the age of one month until they were school age. These 1,364 participants were selected at birth and were studied through phone and personal interviews at three month intervals. The childrenÂ’s cognitive and social functioning was measured at certain intervals and followed up to the  children on sixth grade. It was concluded that center based care yielded more aggression and disobedience than other types of childcare, with the quality of childcare was also found to be a factor (Society for Research in Child Development, 2007). This conclusion supports the theory that it is nurture or our environment that influences this particular behavior and the type of care children receive is an important factor in a childÂ’s development. Both of these studies posed the question of whether the cause of a particular problem, this one being behavioral issues, is genetic or ones environment. Both of these studies looked exclusively at one cause or the other with little being discussed about the other possibilities. The differences in the studies was the length of time given to each study with the genetic study being short term and the childcare study involving observations over a period of time. Another difference is the twin study looked at parents of a specific group, that being twins. The child care study looked at the children of many different types of parents. While both of these studies have their merits, neither study was able to conclusively determine the cause of behavioral problems observed as being attributed solely to genetics or the environment. The question of which one plays a greater role will likely continue to be asked. Hopefully this leads to more research and answers that will further our understanding of human behavior. References Society for Research in Child Development (2007, March 26). Center-based Care Yields More Behavior Problems; In Other Types Of Care, Problems Short-lived. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com ¬ /releases/2007/03/070326095340.htm. Society for Research in Child Development (2007, February 7). Parents’ Genes, Not Parents’ Arguing, May Cause Children’s Conduct Problems. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com ¬ /releases/2007/02/070207090943.htm.

Reaction of Natives to the Japanese Occupation of Sea

The Japanese occupation of Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaya impacted and hence triggered a response in Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaya in the form of various nationalist groups. Some groups were formed and sponsored by the Japanese, yet others were formed to oppose the harshness of Japanese rule. Economic: The economic drain on the colonies in South East Asia resulted in the opposition of the natives towards the Japanese. In Malaya, the devastation and collapse of the economy caused a nightmare for the people of Malaya. However, many nationalist groups were formed within racial groups. The Chinese formed the Malayan Peoples’ Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA). However they were not able to unite the society because membership was limited to Chinese only and they practiced excessive revenge against collaborators, causing the Chinese community to regard them with fear and wariness and the other racial communities could not join, hence fragmenting the effort. The Japanese sponsored the formation of the Indian National Army (INA) led by Chandra Bose, however the independence struggle lacked unity and ultimately failed. They also sponsored the formation of the Union of the Peninsular Indonesia (KRIS), however there was not much support from both the ethnic Malays and Japanese and also failed in the end. In Vietnam, the rampant inflation and the scarcity of basic necessities caused the nationalism in Vietnam to flourish. When the famine in Tonkin broke out in 1944, the Viet Minh took over granaries belonging to the Japanese and rich landlords and distributed the rice to the peasants. This contributed to the rise of the Viet Minh as they were viewed as heroes. Hence, in both cases, the harsh conditions caused by the Japanese occupation led to the rise of nationalist groups in Malaya and Vietnam. Social: The Japanese Occupation changed the society of Vietnam and Indonesia. It gave the people of Vietnam an obvious nationalist cause, to expel both the Japanese and the French. This allowed to Viet Minh, who promoted the struggle for independence, to flourish. The negative effects of Japanese policies roused the nationalist feelings of the people, making them more united in their fight for independence. In Dutch East Indies, the Japanese pursued active policies which affected the development of nationalist groups. The Muslim teachers were given better treatment and respect in contrast to the Dutch who generally ignored them. The Japanese also sponsored the formation of the Consultative Council of Indonesian Muslims, also known as Masjuni, for the Muslims as a channel to voice their views directly to the top Japanese administration. They also imposed a uniform legal and education system, making Indonesian society more united and hence making it easier to cultivate nationalist feelings. The social changes caused by the Japanese to these two South-East Asian countries contributed to the rise of nationalism, which in turn served as the backbone of the natives’ struggle for independence after the Japanese occupation. Political: The political changes in Indonesia and Vietnam aided the rise of nationalism in these two countries. In Indonesia, the Japanese released several notable pre-war leaders from prison, allowing the released leaders to lead the nationalists. They also promoted the formation of the Pemuda Movement, which together with PETA helped to mobilize many youths and exposed them to nationalist ideas. Hizbullah, an organization for youth who opposed colonialism, was also formed. Furthermore, Soekarno, one of the released leaders, gave numerous nationalist speeches to active youths. These youths formed a significant base for the nationalist opposition to the re-imposition of Dutch colonial rule. In Vietnam, the rise of nationalism led by the Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh, is seen when the harsh conditions caused by the Japanese resulted in the solidification of the struggle by the Vietnamese for independence from the French and Vietnamese. Furthermore, the Japanese also actively strengthened religious groups like the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao to counter the influence of the communists and nationalists. However, these groups would later become major nationalists groups after the Japanese Occupation. The Japanese directly caused the rise of nationalism in these two South-East Asian countries due to the effects of their policies, effectively aiding the nationalists in their struggle for independence from not only the Japanese but also their former colonial masters at the end of the war. In conclusion, the groups that mushroomed as a result of the Japanese occupation served as the main backbone of anti-colonial struggles for independence both during and after the Japanese occupation. Though the rule of the Japanese varied in different countries in the region, the end result was the same in all, nationalist groups ready to lead the struggle for independence with or without Japanese support. The reaction of the people in response to the Japanese forever changed the history of South-East Asia.

Describe why high constraint research is needed to determine Essay

Describe why high constraint research is needed to determine causeandeffect relationships and why variability is critical in aiding in this determination - Essay Example This is because it indemnifies that if a supposed cause is purposely influenced and, thereby, precedes the observed effect incorporate procedures that help finding out if the cause is connected to the effect incorporate methods or not. This helps in reducing and evaluating the influence of inappropriate factors that could create the effect supposed to be attributed to the cause. High constraint research has helped in controlling extraneous variances. To control external influences the subjects are separated into an experimental and a control group. This control group helps in comparing the data and it remains ideal. It also assigns random units to situations to give variability to the situation. This variability helps in determining the causes and effect of the situation if it appears in a different way. For example while performing an experiment different control or variables are taken to ensure the perfect conclusion in different situations. By further comparing the results the tre atment effects are determined. It takes the overall view of a situation and then derives its constants. All the values or situations are put together and the research is conducted. This research helps to forecast the consequences of future cause and effect relationships. Performing experiments is one form of High constraint research. "The experiment provides the most rigorous test for

Organisational Design Problem Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organisational Design Problem - Coursework Example The internal structures did not change to match the growth of the company like required for successful global expansions. As observed, the corporate culture left loopholes where the inferior performers get rewarded while the productive employees get penalized. The core value of the organizational structure is to ensure that activities like task allocation, coordination, and supervision get stirred towards achieving goals of an organization. As such, the structure of an organization is critical to the performance and operational modes. The structure is known to affect an organization in two positive dimensions. The first dimension is that it offers a foundation for the development of standard operating procedures and routines. The second dimension is the determination that individuals handle a certain task and decision-making process. The structure ensures that it defines the extent with which these views shape the organization’s choice (Campbell and Craig, 2005). There are several challenges faced by the company due to rapid expansion and poor organizational structure. When an organizational structure does not coincide with facts evolving in operational action, it leads to poor performance when the company is expanding (Armstrong, 1996). COY’s inadequate organizational structure hampered cooperation regarding the established centers and the headquarters. Consequently, it leads to the hindrance of completion of defined operations (Peris-Ortiz and Sahut, n.d.). The structure results in a lag in time and misuse of resources when poorly implemented. As such, the organizational structure should be adaptive to the process requirements. The primary aim would involve optimizing the ratio of effort and input to output (Bahram Ranjbarian, 2011). Normally, the strategy of a company that has poorly implemented its organizational structure will change but the

Management accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Management accounting - Assignment Example Before I begin discussing this statement, I would like to make my stand known. I disagree with this statement and I welcome the opportunity to argue and defend my case; this disagreement will form the bedrock of my whole discussion. Based on research and my professional experience, modern developments like activity-based costing (ABC) have brought significant benefits and advantages to businesses and organizations everywhere regardless of the size (small, medium-sized and large). These developments have allowed businesses and organizations to implement more efficient systems that guarantee long-term growth provided the implementation process is done correctly and professionally (Cotton 2001, pg. 29). ABC, for example, is a recent modern development/innovation that has been rapidly adopted by organizations in many industries. Governments and NGOs have also been quick to adopt and implement ABC and to make it a core component of their management policies. This shows that there must be something beneficial about these modern developments and ABC in particular, their fanciness is inconsequential to their primary functions. It is important to note that the adoption of such developments/innovations is not done in a wholesale manner because they come with their own disadvantages that must be addressed (Lucas 2006, pg. 39). However, overall, such developments are more beneficial and therefore rightfully warrant adoption and adoption. Let us go back to ABC. This is a technique employed in determining correct costs. It is used to assign resource costs (based on activities that are conducted) to cost objects like customers products, or services. The basis for the ABC approach to costing is that an organization’s products or services stem from activities. Activities consume resources which in turn incur costs. In ABC, the costs of resources are normally assigned to activities on the basis of

The issue of lurking doubt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The issue of lurking doubt - Essay Example But after the passing of CAA 1966, the court is now vested with the power of allowing an appeal against a conviction if the court feels that the jury’s verdict should be discarded on the basis that the case is unsafe or not acceptable or does not satisfy all conditions. Lord Widgery stated that a court must leave the objective part of a case and take a subjective measure of the case analysis. The subjective measure proposed by Widgery is that the court should decide whether to let the matter rest as it is or whether they have some lurking doubt. In this case, the lurking doubt is considered if it makes the court wonder if some miscarriage of justice was committed. This subjective test is strictly not based on the evidence received by the court; instead, it is based on the general feel of the case and the personal opinion of the judge(s) of the case. The precedent set by Lord Widgery in 1966 became the lurking doubt test for the appellate court, where each member of the bench c onsiders if the verdicts given are unsafe or unsatisfactory and then allows the conviction to pass or be quashed. The decision on whether the lurking doubt test should be consigned to history or still be used is based on the court itself and the trial jury. An analysis of different cases indicated that the test is still in use but can be arguable. From an analysis of Malleson’s () research into the use of the lurking doubt test, it is found that after Widgery’s introduction of the test in Cooper, 6 cases used the test between then and 1989.... inst a conviction if the court feels that the jury’s verdict should be discarded on the basis that the case is unsafe or not acceptable, or does not satisfy all conditions. Lord Widgery (1969) stated that a court must leave the objective part of a case and take a subjective measure to the case analysis. The subjective measure proposed by Widgery is that the court should decide whether to let the matter rest as it is or whether they have some lurking doubt. In this case the lurking doubt is considered if it makes the court wonder if some miscarriage of justice was committed.7 This subjective test is strictly not based on the evidence received by the court; instead it is based on the general feel of the case and the personal opinion of the judge(s) of the case. The precedent set by Lord Widgery in 1966 became the lurking doubt test for the appellate court, where each member of the bench considers if the verdicts given are unsafe or unsatisfactory and then allows the conviction t o pass or be quashed. The decision on whether the lurking doubt test should be consigned to history or still be used is based on the court itself and the trial jury. An analysis of different cases indicated that the test is still in use but can be arguable. From an analysis of Malleson’s () research into the use of the lurking doubt test, it is found that after Widgery’s introduction of the test in Cooper (1969),8 6 cases used the test between then and 1989. However, in 1990, of the 102 successful appeals, 6 of them included the aspect of the lurking doubt test, as compared to 14 out of 114 cases in 1992.9 In the 1992 cases, Malleson states that the 14 convictions were reversed based on the court’s opinion that the jury reached wrong decisions, despite the fact that no new evidence was

SIM #4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SIM #4 - Essay Example Unfortunately, the destiny of the unproductive branches is fire. Thus, I will consider myself unproductive if I fail to convey the message about God to those who do not know Him. As a result of this, I will also be in a position to incur the punishment that will be imposed on me by God by proving unproductive. A church has also a role to play in enhancing the growth of productive souls. It does this by informing its audience on what they are obliged to do by God. A church also provides its audience with spiritual words as well motivational words as portrayed in the Bible in order to develop their faith. A church that enhances spiritual development and observance of God’s will correlates to the fruitful vine. However, some churches portray different pictures to the society. For instance, the dressing code, songs sung, and the mode of dancing in some churches show how believers have gone astray. Other churches are known also of using their services to generate money. In connection to the passage, churches that contribute to ungodliness among believers correlate to unfruitful vines and need to be

Child Labor in Africa Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Child Labor in Africa - Research Paper Example According to Andvig, child labor refers to labor carried out by believably too young children, which means that by so doing, they unduly decrease their current economic welfare or their income earning capabilities in future, either by decreasing their own individual productive capabilities in future or by contracting their future external choice sets (3). In Africa, children’s work is a generally accepted part of childhood. A household framework wherein children’s work is used to profit parents as well as the extended family network, to secure training and socialization opportunities as well as sustenance for its members is prevalent in Africa. Child labor, in the African context, is deemed as vocational education, especially where children work together with their parents in the rural setup. A long history of domestic and agricultural work by children in numerous parts of Africa exists (Bass, 20-22). Besides education, Africans view child labor in terms of instilling k nowledge and responsibility of a way of life or of a trade. Particularly in the rural areas, child labor in Africa, rather than create a negative connection, presents itself historically as a method of useful training as well as social reproduction for children. Child labor is therefore a historically key part of childhood in African rural, subsistence agricultural areas. It also embodies a crucial part of overall production in the rural setups whereby parents bear many children because they can be profitable economically. Just like in the rural areas, children’s work in African urban areas is a natural extension of the indigenous educational system. While girls work in the domestic setting, boys work in the apprenticeship system. Parents usually foster their children to strangers, extended family members as well as religious leaders in urban areas. They do this with the intention of providing training opportunities for their children as well as future opportunities for other family members to migrate to urban areas. Moreover, if a child becomes established in the urban area, his/her whole family profits because he/she may help the others and they all send remittances back home. Fostering however exposes some children to situations that are potentially exploitative, especially if there is no parental supervision (Bass, 22-23). D'Andrea explains two types of child labor in Africa, the first one being trafficking of children. This involves the transportation, recruitment, receipt or transfer of a child for the purposes of labor, slavery, sexual exploitation or forced labor. The recruitment of these children is on untrue promises of employment and education and they are transported in risky conditions. Areas where trafficking is common include Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Niger. The other type of child labor is bonded child labor whereby a family receives payment in advance in order to hand over a child to an empl oyer. The United Nations notes the fact that Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa where children constitute almost one-half of the population, has the highest number of working children in the world as a proportion of the child population. The continent has roughly 80 million child workers and by the year 2015; this number could increase to 100 million. Citing statistics from International Labor Organization

MARKETING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

MARKETING - Essay Example ith only Apple products and hence the sales people are equipped with knowledge about the company products and this brings about customer satisfaction. In order to retain its customers, Apple continues to design and unveil new products like computer, iPods and iPhones among others (Schneiders, 14). Branding has to do with having desirable products, ideas, manifestos among other things and not solely about the name or logo of the company. Apple has adopted the emotion branding where it aims to connect with the emotions of the customers which emphasizes that their products are not just for physical but also emotional gratification. It has succeeded in this through having Apple Brand Personality where customers express their imagination, aspirations and dreams when using Apple products (Schneiders, 33). This explores issues of pricing, architecture, consistency among other issues that the company holds of value. In Apple, their value strategies mainly revolve around the monolithic architecture of all their products in such a way that they are recognizable by anyone. They have also ensured consistency of the products they make and especially the computer quality and technological desirability. Compared to other companies that are competitors of Apple, this company’s product prices are fair and match the quality of their products (Schneiders,

Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola Essay Example for Free

Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola Essay The book â€Å"Pagan Christianity† by Frank Viola and George Barna leads readers into the world of religion, religious customs and rituals, sermons and religious clothing. The authors show how the church has changed over times and what new practices and beliefs it has adapted. Frank Viola is known to be an American writers and speaker who has published a series of books devoted to problems with church calling people to return to the biblical principles. Therefore, the central thesis of the book is that people should get back to biblical principles in their religious beliefs because modern church practices are rooted in secular or Pagan practices which have nothing to do with the Bible and God’s commandments, as well as the church doesn’t resemble the early church which was described in the book of Acts. Modern church is based on hierarchical structure; whereas the author claims Jesus came with the strong intent to put an end to legalism, structure and hierarchy. The book is very interesting from historical viewpoint and I think that it is broadly accurate offering us new insights and facts from religious past. Pagan Christianity The authors start their narration with strong claim that modern churches have little resemblance with the early centuries churches described in the New Testament. With the partaking of the Traditional Church the author became very interested trying to reveal what we went on. The first chapter is reflection of authors’ inquiries on the subject of interest. For example, Viola questions whether there was a need to turn down light and to wait when the Spirit would move on to another church. The author thinks we are the ‘Children of Lights’, although he admits that he doesn’t agree with any theologian and preacher offering his unbiased review. It is said that the word ‘pagan’ is a part of book’s title and it is applied to the churches being discussed. However, even the authors agree that often this term is not applicable. In the second chapter the author discusses the issue of the Church Building and ‘modern’ church-goers\believers. It is emphasized that the Church has built itself. The original meaning of the word refers to the Greek language ‘ekklesia’ and it means a group assembled. Viola argues that time and words are describing the gradual development of Holy Places and things which are considered important parts of religious world. The authors discuss Constantine as he was one of the first Christians who gave legitimacy to the Christian Religion. Constantine promoted and supported grand displays of religious architecture. Further, the authors review religious clothing, music, steeples, architecture, thrones borrowed from other cultures along with customs and rituals. In the third chapter Viola provides overview of the order of traditional Worship and description of Sunday morning sets. He argues that standard order should be held in all churches with only slight differences. For example, he writes: â€Å"You can scour your Bible from beginning to end, and you will never find anything that remotely resembles our order of worship†. Further, the authors describe contributions of historical Church leaders – Luther, the Puritans, the Pentecostals, etc. In the fourth chapter they describe the sermon abandoning principles of Protestantism. The authors argue that the early churches were not the sermons; instead, they were places for gathering and Jesus functioned as its Head. In the fifth chapter Viola and Barna introduce the Pastor which is viewed as an obstacle to functioning of every member. The pastor is the fundamental figure in Protestantism and he â€Å"is often better known, more highly raised, and more heavily relied on than Jesus Christ Himself†. (p. 65) And it is a serious mistake. It is noted that the word ‘pastor’ isn’t a tile – instead, it is a function. Viola notes that the word ‘pastor’ is referred to in Ephesians 4:11 only one time: â€Å"a scanty piece of evidence on which to hang the Protestant Faith. In this regard there seems to be more biblical authority for snake handling than there is for the present-day pastor†. p. 66) In the sixth chapter there is a detailed description of Sunday morning costumes. The authors describe dressing up for church, what clothing is appropriated and why. The next chapter is devoted to the origins of Music Ministry and description of the hierarchy of clergy. The eighth chapter analyzes Tithing stressing that it is used in the New Testament and Clergy Compensation, althou gh it is never used by the Christians. Further, the authors specify Baptism, its core principles and fundamentals. They explain that Baptism has replaced the Sinner’s Prayer. The Lord’s Supper was firstly a festive banquet and, therefore, lost its concrete picture of ‘The Body and Blood’. The final chapters are devoted to religious education and how it is possible to receive the qualification to Minister the gospel. Viola and Barna provide new insight into the New Testament offering so-called second glance at Jesus, churches, pastor functioning, religious customs and education. Conclusion: Strengths Weaknesses Frank Viola and Geroge Barna offer new ideas and facts about religious order, customs, traditional music and dressing. The book is very informative, innovative and well-organized. Moreover, it is very interesting from historical perspective as it is challenging and thought-provoking. The authors incorporate many references about the culture of time, adaptation of church, etc. I like their idea about church building that church is not the place – it is the people. Nevertheless, there were several controversial moments I can’t agree with. I see that Viola offers his own version of organized empire and it seems that he is supreme speaker and the founder of knowledge. It is evidence of hierarchy which he manages to escape. Moreover, he claims that such situation shouldn’t happen in church, although he puts himself on superior position. Viola calls people to leave their church as all of them don’t follow Biblical principles. However, he tells we are the Body of Christ contradicting himself. I think that we shouldn’t worry about such doctrinal issues. Despite certain weaknesses, the book is very informative and fresh.

Examining The Early Churches Strengths And Weaknesses Religion Essay

Examining The Early Churches Strengths And Weaknesses Religion Essay The purpose of this essay is to see how the church began 2,000years ago, with a small group of disciples empowered by the Holy Spirit, who preached, and taught, healed in synagogue, and everywhere they went, lives and society was changed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Strengths of Early Church The early church did not just start to grow after Jesus ascension by its own enthusiasm. The disciples on the day of Pentecost were all together in one place. One of the strength of the early church is their ability to wait on God. Jesus instructed his disciples to wait (Matt 28:19-20, Luke 24:49) first for the Holy Spirit in order to do the work he commissioned them for. The disciples waited until when the Spirit descended on them on the day of Pentecost. The power received at the out pouring of the Holy Spirit enabled them to fulfil their mission. Waiting is sometimes part of Gods plan in order to be truly effective. Descent of the Spirit The apostles and disciples were the first recipients of the outpouring of the spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues (Act 2:6). They received power to function like Jesus Christ; to preach the gospel with boldness, with signs and wonders following. The disciples spoke in prophetic speech that people of diverse nationalities represented at Jerusalem recognised their languages, which drew their attention unto God. Peters sermon on the day of Pentecost led to revival that caused salvation of over three thousand people. Followed by diverse forms of miracles, and healings enhancing the spread of the gospel. The Church was Bold Initially the disciples were very timid. But after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit they were filled with boldness to do mighty works and witnessing effectively. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit inspired evangelism and proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. From the day of Pentecost when Peter spoke to community of believers the gospel has spread from Jerusalem to Syria, Asia, Europe and Africa. Despite persecutions, oppositions, imprisonments, plots they never relent, they kept on moving never dare to go to a new place to preach the word of God. The Early Church was very Prayerful Another characteristic of the early church was that they are very prayerful, committed to Gods will through prayer (Act 1:14). As it faces challenges the churches always came together to pray so that healings, miraculous signs and wonders will take place (Acts3:1-3, 4:1-10). The Church was in one accord One of the strengths of the early church is unity. The church was one, and there was no proliferation in the body of Christ. There were house fellowships where believers met for teachings and breaking of bread. None of the early Christians felt that what they had was their own; they never allowed any of the brethren to suffer when others had plenty. The unity brought by the Holy Spirit increased loyalty, commitment and love for God. Without unity, the church could not have survived; therefore they had everything in common. Perform miraculous signs and wonders Signs and wonders followed the apostles everywhere they went. The healing of the man at the Beautiful gate by Peter and John created a stir in Jerusalem that saved five thousand people (Act 3:1-3). The early Church did much miraculous work through the help of the Holy Spirit as the Lord had done. They confirmed the gospel with great power, miracles and abundant grace as they spread the good news. A lot of people were attracted to the early church by expressions of Gods power at work. People of Prayer The early Christians devoted themselves to prayer. They understood that Gods kingdom could only be manifested in its full power through fervent prayer. (Act 1:14, 2:42, 3:1, 6:4, Eph 6:18). In those days devote Jews pray 2 or 3 times a day and it was the custom of the disciples to follow this devotion. Peter and John went to pray at the temple (Acts 3:1), while Luke and Paul did the same (Acts 16:16). God rewarded Cornelius for keeping to hours of prayer (Act10). Weakness of the early church External Opposition: The early church was not without its own problem. The church experience both miracles and opposition the same time. There is external opposition from Jewish leaders who became uncomfortable with message of Christian liberty preached by the early believers, which undermined Jewish legalism. Besides the opposition from religious circle believers found themselves in conflict with social patterns of the day, because they no longer participate in emperor worship, refused to take part in bloody roman sport and pagan shrines. As a result persecution arose, many were exiled, killed, mocked and imprisoned. Jewish and Gentile Conflicts: God has no favourite nation or race, he only favours and accepts anyone who turns from sin and believed him. The Apostles initially want all people to be saved but did not understand that salvation was no longer restricted to Israel alone, but for everybody. The Jewish-Gentile conflict is the greatest barrier to the spread of Gospel in the 1st century. Until the issue was resolved, in council at Jerusalem, it was a barrier. Administration: as the early church increased in size, so did her needs and challenges. The new believers were moved by the Holy Spirit to share their possession (Acts 4: 32-37). But as the numbers increased, it became difficult for equal distribution of goods to meet the needs of everyone. The Hellenist believing widow felt neglected. To rectify this, the Apostles created the office of deacon to oversee the physical needs of the people. Later we see the Pastoral epistle written by Paul to Timothy and Titus, about the spiritual and character qualification expected for church leadership; in order to keep the church from false teachings (1Tim 3:1-13, Tit 1:5-9). Dishonesty and Greed: In order to gain recognition Ananias and Saphira lied about their giving to the church. (Moreover any unrighteousness move in the church prevents the working and movement of the Holy Spirit). God dealt harshly with the couple in order to reveal his hatred to all greed, deceit and dishonesty in the kingdom. The Peril of Heresies: The early church was not immune against false teachers and heresies. Already Jesus had warned his disciples several times in the Gospels to watch out for leaders who would introduce destructive heresies among Gods people (Matt. 24:11, 24:24-25). For example the book of Jude was written against false teachers who are distorting the gospel of Gods rejecting traditional Jewish and Christian teaching about morality, advocating sexual licence. In their teachings they denied original apostolic revelation about the person and nature of Jesus Christ (Jude 8, 16, 2pet 2: 1-3:4). Comparism between the early church and the church today The early church relied much on the leading of the Holy Spirit to get the gospel to the whole world, which I believe todays church need to learn from. Paul and Barnabas were commissioned by the Antioch church through the leading of the Holy Spirit, were directed by the spirit of God to specific areas to be a witness on their missionary journey. Our evangelistic or missionary moves should be according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Act 13: 1-5). Churches today do so many things in the name of the Lord with ulterior motives. Many at times we tend to do what we want in the name of the lord rather than what Gods want. The early churchs motives were pure. Their aim was to spread Christianity as far as they could. Some churches today are being run under the idea of men not of God. The Spirit of God had being relegated or given a minor role in the church. Making many worship centres to lack power thus dry and lukewarm. During the apostolic age the early church was established on apostolic pattern. But tragically the church today have departed from apostolic faith and doctrine but patterned itself according to human ideas and modern thought that now proliferate our churches today. Conclusion The gospel cannot be confined to one corner of the world. Therefore what the early church did is possible in our generation. The church was bold, filled with power because the early disciples were committed to the task of evangelising the world. Churches need to be committed to the work of soul winning and world mission, for example in the west secular humanism has become the dominant philosophy for many and the church is not immune to all this. We need to be more involved in world issues by ministering to the social ills of our environment, by our evangelistic move.

A True Patriot: Walt Whitman Essay -- essays research papers fc

A True Patriot: Walt Whitman When one talks of great American Poets, if the person has any since of intelligence, then they can in now way fail to mention Walt Whitman. Whitman is unmistakingly a great American poet, So great, that Ralph Waldo Emerson said that he was an â€Å"American Shakespeare† (Tucker 247). While the debate still goes on about that comment, there is no debate about the greatness of Whitman. Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, NY on May 31, 1819 on Long Island. He was the second of nine children. He never developed a close relationship with his father, but he was very close to his mother. When he was four, he moved to Brooklyn where he went to school for six years and, when he was eleven, dropped out and began work as a clerk in a Law Office. Shortly thereafter, he became a typesetter’s apprentice. He then began to teach school on Long Island. Bored by this, he began to edit and publish the Long Islander, an area newspaper (Funk 293). But this attempt at a steady job was unsuccessful as well, he then began to write political essays and started to write what would become his life's work Leaves of Grass. He would write various books of poems, most of which would be added to Leaves of Grass, which he re-published nine times. Whitman spent his last days as the sage of Camden, New Jersey, where he died on March 36, 1892 (Magill 406). Walt Whitman, through his admiration for a fallen President, condemnation of war, and his theme of camaraderie, illustrates a definition of patriotism. Walt Whitman was an American, and he loved President Abraham Lincoln. He had the upmost respect for the sixteenth President of the United States. His admiration was shown in his most famous work, O’ Captain, My Captain. This is without a doubt the most popular poem of Whitman’s career. In it, he repeats the word Captain; this word refers to Abraham Lincoln, the fallen President. He uses phrases like â€Å"fallen cold and dead† to tell of the mournful death of Lincoln. Whitman mentions a â€Å"ship†, which is the Union in the Civil War. He also uses the â€Å"voyage† to symbolize the Civil War. The overall mood of this elegy to Lincoln is grievance for the lost loved one of Whitman. He had a deep reverence for the President and it was a great pain for him when Lincoln was assassinated (Whitman 63). Another poem that Whitman wrote, that is famous for its grievance of the fallen Presi... ...d have to be close with those around you. The only way to counteract the horrors of war is the camaraderie of the soldiers, if they developed friendships then they could look past the horrible thing that is war (Magill 406). A patriot is defined as a person who loves his or her country. If there is anyone that has ever lived in this great country that can be called that, then it should be Walt Whitman. Whitman showed his love for his country and his allegiance to his president. One can deny that he is the greatest American poet, but no one can deny that he is a great American patriot. Works Cited Magill, Frank N. ed. Magill’s Critical Survey of Poetry. 7 vols. Englewood Cliffs, 1987. Tucker, Martin ed. Moulton’s Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. The Mid-Nineteenth Century to Edwardianism. Englewood Cliffs, 1975. Unger, Leonard ed. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. 7 vols. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1974. Whitman, Walt. Drum Taps. Grosset & Dunlap New York: NODATE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Whitman, Walt. â€Å"Leaves of Grass.† Timeless, Timeless, Themes: The American Experience. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2000.

Amy Tans Mother Tongue Essay -- Amy Tan Writing Chinese Essays

Amy Tan's Mother Tongue In Mother Tongue, Amy Tan talks about how language influenced her life while growing up. Through pathos she explains to her audience how her experiences with her mother and the Chinese language she came to realize who she wanted to be and how she wanted to write. The author, Tan, has written the books The Joy Luck Club, and The Kitchen God's Wife. She is Asian-American, her parents are originally from China, but moved to Oakland, California. The audience in Tan's essay is people 20-35 years old who are culturally diverse. Tan focuses on this audience in order reach out to those who are in her past situation. In her house, there were two languages spoken: English and Chinese. Tan knew how to speak both well, but her mother did not. She constantly had to be the translator for her mother, which was embarrassing for Tan. She felt the world thought her mother was inferior because she could not speak English well, though her mother was an intelligent being. The language created a barrier. Tan did not do as well in English class as she did in math and science in school. All of the tests told her the same thing. Yet Tan was determined to write. She found her style through her mother by breaking through the barrier of language. Her m essage is to always believe in yourself and embrace your heritage no matter what anyone else believes. Mother Tongue is written in order of importance. Tan introduces the audience to the fact that ...

Wedding Speech from the Father of the Bride -- Wedding Toasts Roasts S

Wedding Speech from the Father of the Bride Thank you for that welcome, I haven’t had applause like that since Frank’s bachelor party in Angels lap dancing club! Ladies and Gentlemen, for those of you who don’t know me I’m Mike, Claire’s Dad and on behalf of my wife Angela and I, I would like to welcome you all here today to celebrate the marriage of our daughter Claire to Frank I would like to welcome Frank’s Mum, Margaret, partner Don, sister Helen and husband Simon as well as all our relatives and friends. I know a few have travelled considerable distances to be here. Thank you, its very much appreciated. At this point I would like to mention three important people who are not here today. Firstly Frank’s Dad who died a few years ago when Frank was a boy. Of course I never knew Dave but I have recently seen a photograph and could hardly believe it wasn’t a photo of Frank, they were so alike. I believe that’s where Frank gets his passion for fast cars and motor bikes from. I would also like to mention Claire’s Grandfather Les, who also passed away about ten years ago. Claire and Les shared the same birthday He doted on Claire and vice versa. And I would like to mention Doris, Claire’s grandmother, who died just a month ago, she was so looking forward to seeing Claire walking down the aisle today but unfortunately she succumbed to her illness. They are all here in spirit and I’m sure they are ... ... morning. At our silver wedding celebrations, we brought the box down from the loft, you know the one with the wedding album , order of service sheets etc. I also came across these (produce two L Plates) As I said I’m fully qualified now and I was going to throw them away, but then I thought I know who could do with these (give one each to the bride and groom.) Just before I close, ladies and gentlemen, some of you will know my own parents will celebrate their own Golden Wedding in February. My Mother was born Molly Robson and became a Bartle , now fifty years later it’s typical of Claire to address the inbalance. So ladies and Gentlemen would you please be upstanding†¦ the toast is Mr and Mrs Robson.

How to Avoid Translation, Transaction and Economic Exposures

Part 1 Question a Provide examples of how real world multinational corporations (MNC) reduce their translation, transaction and economic exposures. Translation exposure is the effect of changes in exchange rates on the accounting values of financial statements (Shapiro, 2010, p. 356). The translation exposure arises from the conversion the financial statements denominated in foreign currency from denominated in home currency. The MNCs could reduce their translation by using funds adjustment. For an example, if the devaluation of USD is expected for a Chinese company.The company could use direct funds adjustment such as pricing the exports in RMB and pricing the imports in USD, investing in RMB securities and replacing loans in RMB with the loans in USD. The company also could use indirect funds adjustment as paying out dividens, fees and other expends in advance, and speeding up the payment of accounting payable and delaying the collection of accounting receivable in USD. Transaction exposure measures the exchange gains and losses in cash flows in the value of domestic currency, which is denominated in foreign currency (Shapiro, 2010, p. 57). Multinational corporations often lower transaction exposure by making the contract with bank to lock in a forward exchange rate. For an example, an Australian import company expected to pay to an American supplier 10000 USD for the goods half year later. The company could sign a forward foreign exchange which is fixed at 0. 9 AUD per USD, and it allows carrying on the transaction in contract provision deadline any time, take at that time exchange rate as. So if there would be depreciation of home currency, and the Spot exchange rate is at 1. AUD per USD, the company had the right to convert their AUD into USD at previous exchange rate which is at 0. 9 from bank, so the amount of balance was the financial savings in cash flows. Economic exposure measures the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on the operating cash flows t horough the sales price, sales volume, and production cost (Shapiro, 2010, p. 359). So the multinational corporations could reduce their economic exposures by marketing and production strategies.For an example, in the export business, if the currency is soft in home country, the company should more revenue and profit from product pricing, and they should consider lower price by reducing cost of product, such as expanding their scope of operation for reducing the cost of production, shifting production to home for reducing cost of currency exchange. Conversely, if the home country supplies with hard currency, they could shift production to local with soft currency for reducing cost of production. Question bDefine the international debt, equity and trade financing options available to MNCs. Explain why MNCs use these financing source. International debt financing refers to the fund demanders’ credit behaviours of raising funds directly from the public by issuing various debt or stocks in the international bond market (Shapiro, 2010, p. 464). There are two kinds of foreign bond. The first kind is the bonds denominated in the local currency that are issued in the national bond market, and the second kind is the bonds denominated in the home currency that are issued in the local bond market.The important foreign bonds in the world include Yankee bonds of the US and Swiss franc bonds of Swiss, Samurai bonds of Japan and Bulldog Bond from the London market. International debt financing can have multiple sources of capital from different foreign markets. The international debt can be issued in a great number with low cost, and MNCs only need to pay the interest as required and return the principal on the due date. The company’s business condition has nothing to do with creditors and creditors cannot intervene with the company’s management and operation.The management and decision-making are both subject to the discretion of the company itself. Int ernational equity financing refers to enterprises’ fund-raising by issuing stocks in the foreign markets (Shapiro, 2010, p. 466). Since stocks can only be transferred but cannot be withdrawn, the capital raised by international stock financing is long-term capital. For the MNCs could benefit lots of advantage of the International equity financing. Firstly, the international equity financing could reduce the funding risk.For some large MNCs located in the small countries, the market could not meet the need of huge issues, it is necessary to finance in more market. Then, issuing the overseas shares could attract more overseas investors, so there is an increase of demand for the companys’ shares, thereby the price of share would also increase and achieve the maximization of the wealth. Trade financing refers to the short-term financing or credit facility provided by banks to importers or exporters in relation to the settlement of import and export trade (Shapiro, 2010, p. 36). Trading financing is divided into import and export trade financing. In general, in respect of import financing, a letter of credit is adopted (Shapiro, 2010, p. 638). When the issuing bank has received proper and complete documents as required, the applicant makes the payment under the letter of credit to repay the short-term financing. The letter of credit is easy to operate and makes the approval procedures of the administration of foreign exchange much simpler. At the same time, a sight letter of credit is also used.As a result, importers can have access to the long-term letter of credit financing. The export trading financing could take a packing loan. Before exporting the goods specified in the letter of credit provided by the overseas importer, the packing loan is employed to cover the expenses of goods, materials, production and shipment. When the shipment of the goods is completed, the exporter presents all the documents to the negotiating bank for payment under the t erms of the credit.Upon the receipt of the payment of goods, the packing loan should be paid back (Bank of China, 2012). Part 2 Briefly explain the differences between the foreign direct investments (FDI) and portfolio investment. Then collect the required the data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) website and answer the following questions: Foreign direct investment refers to the trade activity of directly entering other countries for production by means of joint venture, sole proprietorship, etc (Shapiro, 2010, p. 198).With direct investment, investors can possess all or part of the enterprise assets and the ownership of operation, and directly perform or participate in the operation and management. Portfolio investment refers to the investment behaviours of purchasing financial securities of other countries to obtain certain proceeds (Shapiro, 2010, p. 198). Compared with direct investment, indirect investment’s investors only have the right to certain proceeds on a regular basis in addition to stock investment, but have no right to intervene with the invitee’s operation and management.Question a List the ten largest recipient countries of US FDI in the years 1990, 2000 and 2010. You need to provide the list of countries as well as the amount of FDI in USD. [pic] Source: U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) website. Question b What factors do you think account for these countries being the largest recipients of US FDI? Firstly, both these countries have strong political stability, because there are no changes of government and wars in recent, and the social condition and the rate of economic development of that country are positive.The positive political stability brings a safe investment environment to MNCs, which effectively enhances their confidence and willingness to invest. Secondly, these countries have reasonable, normative and stable legal systems. The countries could provide enough protection for foreign investors. Then, t hese countries have a good economic outlook in their domestic such as the low inflation, balance-of-payment surpluses and the strong growth rate of per capita GDP. So, the positive economic situation, the less likely it is to face risk that will inevitably harm foreign companies (Shapiro, 2010, p. 30). Question c Has the list of recipient counties changed over the concerned period? What might account for these changes? Yes, the list has changed over the concerned period. For most MNCs, the political and economic risks may discourage investors to invest in the countries. Political risk refers to the possibility of causing loss to investment activities of foreign investors because of the change in investment environment as a result of the change in the political situation of the host country (Shapiro, 2010, p. 277).Generally speaking, the main political risk influenced on the investment decision which includes: War Risk, when a political change or war occurs in the host country, it wi ll bring damage to the sales or profits of foreign-funded enterprises in the host country and even endanger the survival of these enterprises Legal risk, with the unreasonable laws and regulations and the direct legal confrontation between the investment country and host country, host country cannot provide enough protection for foreign investors, the assets of enterprises are more likely to suffer loss.Policy change risk, the change in policies concerning land, tax, market and exchange of the host country may influence the profits and development of enterprises. The government in the host country may set up barriers or impose various pressures for enterprises of the investment country, which often results in loss or bankruptcy for foreign-funded enterprises. Government relations risk, inharmonious government relations will lead to mutual hostility and sanctions in economy.As a result, foreign-funded enterprises are the first to be affected, which generates great risk for investment and operating activities. Economic risk mainly stems from the change in the economic policies and economic situation of the host country (Shapiro, 2010, p. 277), which changes may strike the foreign-funded enterprises and generate risk for their investment and operation. The economic risk mainly includes: Exchange rate risk, foreign investment activities often involve the conversion of different currencies.The change in exchange rate may increase the production cost, reduce the profitability of enterprises. Tax risk, the preference level of tax policy in the host country directly influences the management efficiency of enterprises. Interest rate risk, the fluctuation in the interest rate of the host country will have a direct impact on the financing cost and capital utilization efficiency of enterprises. Question d Do you except a change to the 2010 list over the next decade? Explain.Yes, I think some countries in the Third World and Eastern Europe will come into the list. With the strong economic and growth and rising standard of living, these emerging markets might be so profitable to the investors, and these host governments do recognise the free market oriented situation that it has play the role of economic growth. In the past years, the Third World’s and Eastern European countries are more open to the FDI by setting up free market oriented policies. These countries introduced a number of trade liberalization polices.In the free market system, prices and interest rate are set by market. The countries also have tax reform in the past years, that brought to foreign investors much more preferential taxation. They are accelerating the privatisation programme, it identified that government was willing to accept and support private economic activities, which leads to advance the inflow of FDI. After that, these countries also are trying to move forward is to revamp the entire civil service which could provide enough preferential treatment and protection for foreign investors.References Bank of China, 2012, Packing Loan, International Trade Financing. Accessed on: http://www. boc. cn/en/cbservice/cb3/cb35/200806/t20080627_1324121. html Shapiro, A. C. , 2010, Multinational Financial Management, 9th edn, John Wiley & Sons, New York, p. 198, p. 227, p. 230, p. 356, p. 357, p. 359, p. 464, p. 466, , p. 636, p. 638. U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2012, U. S. Direct Investment Position Abroad on a Historical-Cost Basis. [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]

Banksy-Graffiti Art Essay

The life of the street artist is, by necessity, one of anonymity. In many of the world’s cities, the most noticeable and breathtaking pieces of art aren’t created by world-renowned talents. They are created by the unknown street artist under cover of darkness. We never see them and they are known only by their tagging pseudonyms. Banksy is a British graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. It has been said, Banksy â€Å"was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became graffiti artist. Style Banksy began as a freehand graffiti artist in 1990–1994 as one of Bristol’s DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ). He was inspired by local artists and his work was part of the larger Bristol underground scene. From the start he used stencils as elements of his freehand pieces, too. By 2000 he had turned to the art of stencilling after realising how much less time it took to complete a piece. He claims he changed to stenciling while he was hiding from the police under a rubbish lorry, when he noticed the stenciled serial number. Banksy’s stencils feature striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. Subjects often include rats, apes, policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly. Asked about his technique, Banksy said: I use whatever it takes. Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl’s face on some billboard, sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is the key. Stencils are traditionally hand drawn or printed onto sheets of acetate or card, before being cut out by hand. Because of the secretive nature of Banksy’s work and identity, it is uncertain what techniques he uses to generate the images in his stencils, though it is assumed he uses computers for some images due to the photocopy nature of much of his work. He mentions in his book, Wall and Piece, that as he was starting to do graffiti, he was always too slow and was either caught or could never finish the art in one sitting. So he devised a series of intricate stencils to minimize time and overlapping of the colour. Banksy once characterised graffiti as a form of underclass â€Å"revenge†, or guerilla warfare that allows an individual to snatch away power, territory and glory from a bigger and better equipped enemy. Banksy sees a social class component to this struggle, remarking â€Å"If you don’t own a train company then you go and paint on one instead. † Banksy’s work has also shown a desire to mock centralized power, hoping that his work will show the public that although power does exist and works against you, that power is not terribly efficient and it can and should be deceived. Banksy’s works have dealt with an array of political and social themes, including anti-War, anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, anti-imperialism, anti-authoritarianism, anarchism, nihilism, and existentialism. Additionally, the components of the human condition that his works commonly critique are greed, poverty, hypocrisy, boredom, despair, absurdity, and alienation. Although Banksy’s works usually rely on visual imagery and iconography to put forth his message, he has made several politically related comments in his various books.

Hrm Practice in Banking Sector

[pic] Faculty of Business BBA Program A Thesis on Human Resource Management Practices in Banking Sector: On Southeast Bank Limited Submitted to Md. Ashraful Haq Chowdhury ASA University Bangladesh (ASAUB) Submitted By Mir Tasnuva Tanzin BBA (Major in HRM), Batch #2nd ID: 073-12-0137 Date of Submission August 20, 2011 Submission Report Dear Sir, With due respect I would like to inform you that I have successfully completed my Thesis Program from May 15, 2011 to August 15, 2011 at Southeast Bank Limited and conducted the study on â€Å"Human Resource Management Practice in Banking Sector† A case Study on Southeast Bank Ltd. Thesis Program works as a bridge between the academic and the practical knowledge. I am very much fortunate that I got the opportunity to work with some experienced and devoted professionals. As recommended my work is based on the functional procedure of different desks and different departments of the Bank. I tried my best to put meticulous effort for the preparation of this report. Any shortcoming or flaw may arise. I will welcome any clarification and suggestion regarding this report. Sincerely Yours, Mir Tasnuva Tanzin ID 073-12-0137 Batch #2nd Student of BBA ASA University Bangladesh August 20, 2011 Md. Ashraful Haq Chowdhury ASA University Bangladesh. Reference : Letter of Transmittal Dear Sir, Here is the report that fulfills the partial requirements of Thesis program, which is very helpful for a student to know the activities of an organization. This kind of report also gives an important guideline to do research in the future. Thank you very much for your kind supervision and cooperation without which I could not be able to complete this report. I take every opportunity to express my gratitude to you. Thanking you Mir Tasnuva Tanzin ID 073-12-0137 Batch #2nd Student of BBA ASA University Bangladesh Acknowledgement All commendations go to Almighty Allah, the most merciful, most benevolent to man and his action. I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. M. A Mohit the Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of Southeast Bank Ltd. for giving an opportunity to work on the topic as student. I am greatly indebted to Mr. Md. Hamidul Islam Mia HOB of Dhanmondi Br. And HRD of Southeast Bank Ltd. for providing excellent working environment and his full time assistance in preparing this report. I extend my thanks to Mr. Saidul Islam, Mr. Reza, and Mr. Humayon of Southeast Bank Ltd. Dhanmondi Br. Who have their well hearted cooperation and valuable time in completing this report I am also grateful to all the employees of Southeast Bank Ltd. Of Dahnmondi Branch as they helped me out in explaining the work practice and accompanied me through my research period. Finally, my thanks to ASA University (ASAUB) authority for sincere ooperation and all the faculty members whose integrated effort made me capable of conducting this Thesis. Executive Summery This report is an effort to reflect a clear idea about the Bunker-Customers Relationship, strategies, activities and performance of Southeast Bank Ltd. The researcher was assigned it in the Dhanmondi Branch of Southeast Bank Limited (SEBL) as an intern. The researche r presents this report on the basis of the knowledge and experience gained during the research period. The research report is a partial fulfillment of BBA program. In the report on HRM practices in banking sector: A case study on Southeast Bank Ltd. the overall role of HR managers in a bank and how they play their role is presented. Human resource managers perform an identifiable set of activities that affect and influence the people who work in an organization. These activities include HR planning, job analysis, recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, designing performance assessment and compensation systems, and labor relation Since, the HR department plays a support role within the organization; it interacts with a variety of constituencies. TABLE OF CONTENTS |Page# | |Prefatory parts | | |Title Fly | | |Title Page | | |Later of Submission | | |Acknowledgement | | |Executive Summery | | |Table of Content | | | | | |Report proper | | |Chapter One- Introduction | | |1. 1 Background of the study | | |1. 2 Objective of the report | | |1. Methodology of the report | | |1. 4 Scope of the report | | |1. 5 Limitation of the repo rt | | |Chapter Tow – Overview | | |2. 1 Historical Background of Southeast Bank Ltd. | | |2. 2 Special Features of the Bank | | |2. Board of Directors | | |2. 4 Management of the Bank | | |2. 5 Capital Structure of the Bank | | |2. 6 Deposits Status of the Bank | | |2. 7 Profit and operational results | | |2. 8 Selection Process | | |2. Mission, Vision and Objective of SEBL | | |Chapter Three – Understanding the HRM | | |3. 1 General Concept of HRM | | |3. 2 Objectives of HRM | | |3. 3 Basic Principles of HRM | | |3. Approach of HRM | | |3. 5 Philosophy of HRM | | |3. 6 Standard Organ gram of HR Department in a large organization | | |3. 7 Responsibilities of HR Department in a large organization | | |Chapter Four – HR Planning & Forecasting | | |4. Concept of HR planning & forecasting | | |4. 2 Steps of HR planning | | |4. 3 HR planning and the strategic planning process | | |4. 4 Forecasting HR needs | | |4. 5 Forecasting the Internal HR Supply | | |4. Foreca sting the External HR Supply | | |Chapter Five – Recruiting & Selection | | |5. 1 Concept of Recruiting & Selection | | |5. 2 The Recruiting and Selection Process | | |5. 3 Job Analysis | | |5. Job Analysis Methods | | |5. 5 Steps in job Analysis | | |5. 6 A Comparative Discussion between Job Analysis, Job Description, Job Specification, and Job Evaluations. | | |5. 7 Sources of equipment | | |5. 6 Internal sources | | |5. 7 External sources | | |5. 8 Methods of recruitment | | |5. Advantages & disadvantages of internal recruitment | | |5. 10 Advantage & Disadvantage of external recruiting | | |Chapter Six – Training & Development | | |6. 1 Concept of Training & Development | | |6. 2 Need and important of training | | |6. Objectives of Training | | |6. 4 Guidelines and Framework to Design a Training and Development Plan | | |6. 5 Training method | | |Chapter Seven – Compensation & Employee Benefits | | |7. 1 Concept of Compensation & Employee Benefits | | |7. Co mponents of the compensation system | | |7. 3 Wages vs. Salary | | |7. 4 Establishing Pay rates | | |7. 5 Importance of Job Evaluation | | |7. 6 Types of Employee Benefits | | |7. Employees Benefit Programs initiated by HRM | | |7. 8. Employee Services | | |7. 9 Incentive Plans | | |Chapter Eight – Employee Relationship | | |8. 1 The Meaning of Ethics | | |8. 2 Organizational culture | | |8. Employee Discipline and Privacy | | |8. 4 Types of Disciplinary Actions | | |8. 5 Disciplinary Proceeding | | |8. 6 Disciplinary Appeals Processes | | |8. 7 Disciplines without Punishment | | |8. Managing Dismissals | | |8. 9 Grounds for Dismissal | | |Chapter Nine | | |Conclusion | | |Bibliography | | Chapter 1 Introduction 1. 1 Background of the study There is no doubt that the world of work is rapidly changing. As part of an organization then, HRM must be prepared to deal with the effects of the changing world of work. For them, this means understanding the implications of globalization, technology changes, workforce diversity, changing skill requirements, continuous improvement initiatives, contingent workforce, decentralized work sites and employee involvement. We should look how this change is affecting HRM goals and practices. The current challenge of HRM is to integrate programs involving human resources with strategic organizational objectives. More and more, organizations are under tremendous competitive pressure worldwide. HR managers must find ways to develop effective programs to meet this challenge. Another important aspect of HRM is the need to ensure cost effectiveness of programs and policies through the optimal utilization of human resources. 1. 2 Objective of the report The broad objective of the report is to co-ordinate classroom knowledge with practical situation. Specific objectives of the report are: ? To fulfill the course requirement of MBA program; ? To acquire practical knowledge about HRM practices in banking sector’ ? To have practical exposure in banking environment that will help a lot of to understand the future work life; ? To analyze HRM practices in Southeast Bank Limited with classroom (theoretical) knowledge; ? To recommend for improvement of existing HR policy of Southeast Bank Limited. 1. 3 Methodology of the report Methodology includes direct observation, face-to-face discussion with respective executive of the bank, study of files, circulars etc. and practical work. In preparing this report, only secondary data have been used. The required data have been collected from following sources- ? Employees service book of the bank; ? Annual report of the bank; ? Different publications regarding banking function; ? Reference books from library of Stamford University Bangladesh. 1. 4 Scope of the report This report covers only human resource practices is Southeast Bank Limited. It focuses on overview of the bank including a comparative study about standard theoretical aspect of HRM and the existing banking practices. The report also investigates the perceptions of employees of the bank toward employee benefits and development policy. 1. 5 Limitation of the report In spite of hearted cooperation from the bank officials, I faced some limitation in preparation the report. The major limitations are as follows: Learning of overall HRM practices in banking sector within just three months was really tough. Another limitation of this report is bank bank’s policy of not disclosing some data and information for obvious reason, which could be very much useful. Chapter 2 An Overview of Southeast Bank Ltd. 2. 1 Historical Background of Southeast Bank Ltd. Southeast Bank Limited is a scheduled Bank under private sector established under the ambit of bank Company Act, 1991 and incorporated as a Public Limited Company under Companies Act, 1994 on March 12, 1995. The Bank started commercial banking operations effective from May 25, 1995. During this short span of time the Bank had been successful to position itself as a progressive and dynamic financial institution in the country. The Bank had been widely acclaimed by the business community, from small entrepreneur to large traders and industrial conglomerates, including the top rated corporate borrowers for forward-looking business outlook and innovative financing solutions. Thus within this very short period of time it has been able to create a image for itself and has earned significant reputation in the country’s banking sector as a Bank with vision. It has been growing faster as one of the leaders of the new generation banks in the private sector in respect of business and profitability as it is evident from the financial statements for the last 4 years. The Company Philosophy – â€Å"A Bank with Vision† has been preciously the essence of the legend of bank’s success. 2. 2 Special Features of the Bank a) It has been performing conventional commercial banking activity and striving to introduce Islamic Banking functions. ) It is the pioneer in introducing and launching different customer friendly deposit schemes to tap the savings of the people for channeling the same to the productive sectors of the economy. c) For uplifting the standard of living of the limited income group of the population the Bank has introduced Consume r Credit Schemes by providing financial assistance in the form of loan to the consumers for procuring household durables, which have had encouraging responses. d) The Bank is committed to continuous research and development so as to keep pace with modern banking. e) The operations of the Bank are fully computerized so as to ensure quick, prompt flawless and services to the customers. 2. 3 Profile Southeast Bank Limited was established in 1995 with a dream and a vision to become a pioneer banking institution of the country and contribute significantly to the growth of the national economy. The Bank was established by leading business personalities and eminent industrialists of the country with stakes in various segments of the national economy. The incumbent Chairman of the Bank is Mr. Alamgir Kabir, FCA, a professional Chartered Accountant. Mr. M. A. Kashem a member of the Board and Mr. Yussuf Abdullah Harun were past Presidents of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI). Southeast Bank is run by a team of efficient professionals. They create and generate an environment of trust and discipline that encourages and motivates everyone in the Bank to work together for achieving the objectives of the Bank. The culture of maintaining congenial work – environment in the Bank has further enabled the staff to benchmark themselves better against management expectations. A commitment to quality and excellence in service is the hallmark of their identity. 2. 4 Board of Directors In SEBL the board of directors has been conceived as the sources of all power headed by its chairman. It is legislative body of the bank board can delegate its power and authority to professionals, but can not delegate, relinquish or avoid their responsibilities. The board of directors of the bank consists of 13 members who are reputed business personalities and leading industrialists of the country. 2. 5 Management of the Bank The management team headed by the CEO, Shah Md. Nurul Alam, the President and Managing Director has to take full loan of carrying out the guidelines, rules and regulations and directions given by the board from time to time and provide all the vital information to the BOD for their knowledge and effective decision making. A graphical representation of the hierarchy of the bank is in point. 2. 6 Capital Structure of the Bank The Authorized Capital of the Bank remains unchanged at Tk. 500. 00 million. The Bank went public and floated shares of Tk. 150 million in December of the previous year which was fully subscribed, thereby raising the issued and paid-up Capital to Tk. 330 million. With the increase of paid up capital, the capital base of the Bank has become stronger. 2. 7 Deposits Status of the Bank The Bank mobilized a total deposit of Tk. 38,258. 15 million as on December 31, 2005 as against Tk. 27, 930. 8 million as on December 31, 2004 showing an increase of 30%. The combination of competitive interest rates that offered sustained deposit raising efforts of the Bank and confidence reposed by customers in the Bank resulted in this growth of deposits. Steps are being taken to further increase the deposit base continuously at a Reduced average cost of funds. 2. 8 Profit and operational results The operating profit of the Bank increased to Tk. 665. 16 million in 2003 compared to Tk. 492. 56 million in 2002 recording an appreciable increase which was due to prudent lending and optimum management of funds. The Bank participated in the primary and secondary stock markets and made considerable capital gains during the year. Notwithstanding the tough and cutting edge competitiveness prevailing in the market, the business of this Bank has expanded substantially compared to that of the previous year. This year the management team as well as the workforce is confidently poised to take on newer challenges with a view to reach the ambitious level of performance in respect of accomplishment of the total business activities including attainment of higher profitability of the Bank. 2. 9 Selection Process Southeast Bank Ltd recruits employees on the basis of newspaper circulation & by online e-application on Southeast Bank Limited's web site. At the e-application section candidates are obligatory to drop their CV & on the foundation of Southeast Bank Limited's vacancy & precedence candidates are required to follow their selection procedure as follows: Step 1: Completed application: The application form is given in the online and completely filled applications are carried forward for the preliminary test (employment test). Step 2: Employment test: The Human Resource department mails the admit card to the applicants who have completed the online application successfully via post card. The questionnaire of the test is based on mathematics, English and the respective job questions. It is usually held on 100 marks. The employment test typically holds in any government major educational center. Such as teachers training college of Dhaka, etc. Step 3: Comprehensive interview The applicants passed in the employment written test are called by the bank. They are mailed an invitation for the viva-voce for their post. The applicants have to bring their original educational certificates for producing the same before the interview committee. The certificates are tested here with the application form information. And if any disparity is found the applicant is not allowed confront the interview committee. The passed applicants are given conditional job offer. For permanent job offer they have to pass background examination & medical test steps. Step 4: Background examination: The Human Resource Department scrutinizes the background of the applicant and tries to find out all ins and outs of the respective applicant. The applicants are kept unknown about the background enquiry source. Step 5: Medical test: The applicants are to go for a medical check-up to the authorized medical center Southeast Bank Ltd. Southeast Bank Limited does not carry the medical fees. It is to be carried by the applicant himself. The test report directly goes to the Human Resource Department and the applicants are not permitted to see it. Step 6: Permanent job offer If the 6th, Background examination, and the 7th Medical test, steps are passed successfully, Human Resource Department of Southeast Bank Limited sends an ‘Appointment as Probationary Officer' letter. At the amalgamation day, the applicants are bound to sign up a ‘Letter of Undertaking' for five years continuous service to the bank from the date of confirmation. If he leaves before completion of 5 years confirmed service or during the probation period he will have t refund to the bank 50% of total salary and allowances drawn to him 2. 9 MISSION, VISION AND OBJECTIVES OF SEBL Mission The mission of the bank is to become a highly competitive modern and transparent institution comparable to any of this kind at home and abroad. High quality financial services with state of the art technology. ? Fast customer service. ? Sustainable growth strategy. ? Follow ethical standards in business. ? Steady return on shareholders, equity. ? Innovative banking at a competitive price. ? Attract and retain quality human resource. Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. Vision A Bank with Vision is the motto of Southeast Bank Limited. The vision is to be the most efficient financial intermediary in the country through reducing the investment and savings gap of the economy by savings mobilizations and encourage the pace of industrialization. The relentles s journey to achieve that vision started in 1995, since the very inception of the Bank. The journey still continues and will never stop. SBL sets a high standard for itself and every achievement of the bank is a striving agent to reach a new height. Objectives Whether in treasury, consumer, or corporate banking, SBL is committed to provide the best. Meeting the demand of discerning customers is not the sole objective. The Bank believes that to provide standard financial services is to deliver a quality that makes every transaction a pleasurable experience. The bank also believes that Customer is always right and in the core of everything. So providing them friendly and personalized service, tailor-made solutions for business needs, global reach in trade and commerce at the doorsteps and high yield on investments are the core objectives of the bank. But the bank also tries to do the best in conjunction with achieving the ultimate objective of a business organization – Wealth Maximization. Chapter 3 Understanding the HRM 3. 1 General Concept of HRM HRM deals with the design of formal system in an organization to ensure effective and efficiency use of human talents to accomplish organizational goals. Human Resource Management (HRM) is to refer to the philosophy, policies, procedures and practices related to the management of people within an organization. Hr management functions through which manager recruit, select, train and develop organization members. HRM is the systematic planning, development and control of network of interrelated processes affecting and involving all members of an organization. These processes include- ? HR planning & forecasting Job & work design ? Staffing/ recruitment & selection ? Training & development ? Performance appraisal & review ? Compensation & reward ? Employee protection & representation ? Organization & improvement 3. 2 Objectives of HRM The objective of HRM can be described as follows- ? To hire the right person for the job ? To reduce emp loyee turnover ? To motive people to perform at high effort levels. ? Not to waste time with useless interviews. ? To remove unfair labor practices. ? To maintain a high morale & better human relations inside the origination. ? To maintain organizational peace. ? To attract competent people and retain them in the organization. To recognize and satisfy individual needs. 3. 3 Basic Principles of HRM ? Treat people with respect and dignity; ? Treat people as adults; ? Deal with people as complete individuals. ? Treat all employees with justice. ? Provide people with justice. ? Provide people with opportunities for growth and development. ? Make people feel that they are most valuable asset for the organization. ? Rewards should be earned, not given. ? Not to underestimate the potentials of people. ? Provide people with all relevant information. 3. 4 Approach of HRM Strategic approach People are the strategic asset of an organization. People have core competency, the basis of competitiv e advantage. Human resource approach People are human beings with a lot of potentials and intellectual abilities. Commodity approach People are commodity. They are viewed as a cog of a machine. Proactive approach Anticipate challenge of problem before they arise. Preventive is better than curative. 3. 5 Philosophy of HRM 1) Labor is viewed as a technical factor of production. They are treated as a commodity and they can be bought and sold. They are hired and fired at will. It is consistent with theory X. 2) Labor is viewed as human factor with a lot of positive potentials, so they must be treated with respect and dignity. This is consistent with theory Y of McGregor. 3. Standard Organ gram of HR Department in a large organization In organizations large enough to have a HR or personnel department, the personal director and his or her staff will play a key role in the designing and monitoring of human resources system. Larger organizations are more likely to help design and implement HR system. A f ull-time specialist tends to emerge when organization have about one hundred employees. A standard structure of HR department in a large company of several thousand employees is shown below: Fig: Structure of HR Department in a Large Organization 3. 7 Responsibilities of HR Department in a large organization |Position |Responsibilities |VP , HR |Executive committee, Organization planning, HR planning, Policy, Organization development | |AVP, Recruitment & Employment |Recruiting, Interviewing, Testing, Placement & Termination | |AVP, Compensation & Benefits |Job analysis and evaluation, Surveys, Performance appraisal, Compensation administration, | | |Bonus, Profit sharing plans, Employee benefits. | |AVP, Training & Development |Orientation, Training, Management development, Career planning & Development. | |AVP, Employee Relation |EEO relations, Contract compliance, Staff assistance programs, Employee counseling. | Chapter 4 HR Planning & Forecasting 4. 1 Concept of HR planning & f orecasting HR planning is the first step in the recruiting and selection process. Human resource planning is the process of assessing the organization’s human resources needs in light of organizational goals and making plans to ensure that a competent stable workforce is employed. † – Wendell French. â€Å"Personnel planning is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill, and how to fill them. â€Å"—Gary Dessler. In the words of Colman Bruce (1997) HRP is the process of determining manpower requirements and the means of meeting those requirements in order to carry out the integrated plan of the organization. According to the above definitions, HRP consists of the following elements: ? Establishing and recognizing the future job requirement ? Identifying deficiency in terms of quantity Identifying deficiency in terms of quality& specification ? Identifying the sources of right type of man ? Developing the available manpower and ? En suring the effective utilization of workforce. 4. 2 steps of HR planning HR planning is a process involving few stages: ? Integrate HR planning with corporate planning The first stage of HR planning is to integrate it with corporate planning. All manpower planning stems from business plans in relation to a corporate strategy. ? Forecasting internal & external environment The second stage in HR planning is to forecast of assess the internal and external environmental factors include government influences economic, geographic and competitive condition. Assessment of internal HR capabilities The next stage is the analysis of internal inventory of HR capabilities. Assessment of internal strengths and weakness as a part of HR planning requires the current job and employees capabilities are audited and organizational capabilities are inventoried. ? Predicting & Forecasting HR demand and supply The information gathered from external environmental scanning and assessment of internal strengt hs and weaknesses is used to predict of forecast HR supply and demand in light of organizational objectives and strategies. ? To locate the required HR Once the demand for HR has been forecasted, then their availability must be identified. The fourth stage of HR planning is to locate the sources from where personnel required will be available. The source may be internal and external. ? Allocation of HR The final stage of HRP is concern with allocation of human resources within organization overtime. 4. 3 HR planning and the strategic planning process HR planning should be an integral part of a firms strategic and HR planning process. The effective HR planning and strategic planning process is shown below: Fig: HR Planning Process 4. 4 Forecasting HR needs When a firm makes a plan for employment requirements, the firm usually needs to forecast personnel needs, the supply of inside and outside candidates. Different techniques like trend analysis, ratio analysis, and scatter plot can be used to estimate staffing needs. ? Trend analysis Trend analysis means studying variation in the firm’s employment levels over last five years. ? The scatter plot A Scatter plot shows graphically how to variables; business activity and firms staffing levels are related. For example, a newly established bank, which has 20 branches, expects to expand to 50 branches over the next five years. The HR director wants to forecast the requirement of manpower. The director can analyse the relationship between size of another 5 well-reported banks (in terms of number of branches) and their existing manpower. |Name of banks |Size (number of branch. |Existing manpower | |Prime bank |41 |1024 | |Dhaka bank |29 |688 | |NCC bank |41 |1000 | |Exim bank |28 |934 | |Southeast bank |38 |765 | If the bank carefully draws in a line to minimize the distances between the line and each one of the plotted points, the bank will be able to estimate the optimum number of staff needed for each bank size. Thus, for a 50 branches bank, the HR director would assume he needs nearly 1100 staffs. ? Ratio Analysis A forecasting technique for determining future staff needs by using ratio between, for example, number of customers and employee needed. 4. 5 Forecasting the Internal HR Supply Once the demand for labor is predicted, it is necessary to forecast the supply of labor that the organization will already have available to meet the demand. The internal supply of labor consists of all the individuals currently employed by an organization. The internal supply of labor is discharged. To predict the future supply the organization needs to maintain amanagement inventory chart and Human Resource Information System (HRIS). 4. Forecasting the External HR Supply The firms can’t always get all the empliyees they need from their current staff and some time they just don’t want to. So, forecasting the availability of outside supply is extremely important in human resource planning. Bec ause of the need for continuous and adequate staffing, every enterprise depends on the quality and quantity of human resources external to it. Chapter 5 Recruiting & Selection 5. 1 Concept of Recruiting & Selection Recruiting is the process of discovering potential candidates for actual or anticipated organizational vacancies. It involves searching and sourcing for viable job candidates. Recruitment is the process of finding qualified people and encouraging them to apply for work with the firm. On the other hand, selection is the process of choosing among those who do apply. Once an effective recruitment program has supplied enough applicants’ pool the organization faces the task of choosing the best ones for specific jobs. 5. 2 The Recruiting and Selection Process The recruitment process – putting the right people in the right positions at the right times- is one of the most critical tasks any organization faces. Throughout the recruitment process the organization attempts to â€Å"sell† itself to the more promising candidates – that is, to convince them that the organization is a good place to work. The standard recruitment process of a large organization is – Fig: The Recruiting Process Personnel selection is a process of measurement, decision-making and evaluation. The goal of personnel selection system is to bring into organization individuals who will perform well on the job. The standard selection process of large organization typically consist of eight steps : Failed Failedpassed Failed passed Failedpassed passed Problems passed Unfit Fig: The Selection Process 5. 3 Job Analysis A job analysis is a systematic exploration of the activities within a job. It is a technical procedure used to define the duties, responsibilities, and accountabilities of a job. This analysis involves the identification and description of what is happening on the jib – accurately and precisely identifying the required tasks, the knowledge, and the skills necessary for performing them, and the conditions under which they must be performed. 5. 4 Job Analysis Methods The basic methods that HR manager can use to determine job elements and the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities for successful performance include the following – 1) Observation Method Observation method is a job analysis technique in which data are gathered by watching employees work. 2) Individual Interview Method Using the individual interview method, a term of job incumbents is selected and extensively interviewed. The results of these interviews are combined into a single job analysis. 3) Group Interview Method Meeting with a number of employees to collectively determine what their jobs entail. 4) Questionnaire Method Under the questionnaire Method, workers are sent specifically designed questionnaire on which they check or rate items they perform on their job from a long list of possible task items. 5) Technical Conference Method A job analysis technique involves extensive input from the employee’s supervisor. 6) Diary Method The diary method requires job incumbents to record their daily activities. 5. 5 Steps in job Analysis The steps involved in conducting the job analysis include: Fig: Steps in a job analysis 5. A Comparative Discussion between Job Analysis, Job Description, Job Specification, and Job Evaluations. Job Analysis The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it. Job Description A job description is a written statement of what the jobholder does, how it is done, under what condition it is done and why it is done. It is a list of job duties, responsibilities- one product of a job analysis. ? Job Specification The job specification states the minimum acceptable qualifications that the incumbents must possess to perform the job successfully. ? Job Evaluations Job evaluation specifies the relative value of each job in the organization. 5. 7 Sources of equipment There are two sources of requirement: internal and external. Deciding whether the position is to be filled internally or externally is often as early task in recruitment planning for a specific vacancy. Entry-level jobs must be filled externally, but for other positions, internal sources are used. Internal sources are as – ? Hiring relative and dependents of the existing employee; ? By promotion and transfer of existing employees; ? From employees on leave, long course deputation of loan from similar other organization. External sources are as – ? New entrants as fresher from school and colleges; ? Educated unemployed due to lack of opportunities elsewhere; Retired hands with experiences; ? Head hunting. 5. 8 Methods of recruitment There are two methods of recruitment this are – ? Method for internal recruitment ? Job position Job position involves announcing job openings to all current employees. The announcement carry information about the nature of the positio n and the qualifications needs and any employee who is interested may did no the job. ? Employee Referrals Another way to find applicants is through employee referrals by other departments. Informal communications among managers can lead to the discovery that the best candidate for a job is already working in a different section of the firm. ? Skills Inventories Information about every employee’s skills, education, work history and other important factors is stored in a data base, which can then be used to identify employees with the attributes needed for a particular job. ? Method for external recruitment Finding qualified applicants from outside the organization is most difficult part of recruitment. Typically, the external recruitment process uses different methods: ? Advertising Advertising is one of the most popular methods. The most useful advertisement is one that specifies the exact nature of the job, the qualifications required and the salary range. The advertising medium should be selected carefully, with the target audience in mind. ? Employment Agencies There are three types of employment agencies: a) Public agencies; b) Private employment agencies; c) Management consulting firm. Educational institutions generally have placement offices to assist their graduates in finding work. Unfortunately, these kinds of agencies are not popular in our country. ? Campus recruitment Sending an employer’s representatives to college campuses to screen potential applicants and create an applicant pool from the recent graduate is called campus recruiting. It is an important source of management trainees, promotable candidates and professional and technical employees. ? Internship Many college students get their jobs through college internship. Internship is important manpower source for the organization. Internship can be win-win situation for both students and employers. ? Professional Organization Many professional organizations operate placement services for the benefit of their members. These organizations publish of job vacancies and distribute these lists to members. ? Employee leasing Individuals who are hired by one firm and sent to work for a specific duration of time are called leased employees. When an organization has a need for specific employee skills, it contracts with the leasing firm to provide a certain number of trained employees. ? Personal contact Another means of recruiting is the personal contact. Some times personal and good communication can provide an opportunity to get experience manpower as well as better job offer. 5. 9 Advantages & disadvantages of internal recruitment When internal recruiting is used, the vacancy is filled by a person of known ability. There are some benefits of internal recruitment: ? Improve goodwill of the organization; ? Improve morale and motivation of employees; ? Improve probability of better selection since the candidate is better known to the organization; ? Less costly. In the case of internal recruitment, the firm also faces some difficulties ? In breeding prevents injection at new blood in the organization. ? Option in limited in locating right talents. Inhibits innovation and creativity. ? Encourage seniority mire then merit. ? Higher probability of likes or dislikes. 5. 10 Advantage & Disadvantage of external recruiting External recruiting can bring in new ideas and viewpoints. Another advantage are – ? Injection of new blood with new knowledge and creativity. ? Economic in the long run. There are some disadvantages of external recruiting – ? External recruiting is the costly; ? Cause brain drain due to fear of lack of growth potential; ? Hanger probabilities of employee turn over; ? Demoralize existing employee. 5. 11 Practices in the Bank Recruitment Objectives of the Bank: ? To build a jubilant worthy cadre of officers. To provide the bank with an efficient and cost effective human resource setup. ? To keep bank free from unhealthy practice of Trade Union. The bank strictly follows all steps of recruiting and selection process to achieve above-mentioned objectives. The bank recruits from both internal and external sources. The bank makes its applicants pool only by newspaper advertising. Some times they recruit from internship student, where foreign banks i. e. HSBC and Standard Chartered bank, recruit major of their fresh executives from internship students pool. But the bank normally does not go f or campus recruitment as well as other methods. Chapter 6 Training & Development 6. 1 Concept of Training & Development Training is a planned effort by an organization to facilitate employee’s learning of job related knowledge and skills for the purpose of improving performance. Training is the process of teaching new employees the vasic skills they need to perform their job. Training is a learning experience that seeks a relatively permanent change in individuals that will improve their ability to perform on the job. The training function, now popularly called HR development. Employee development, by design is more future oriented and more concentrated with education than employee job – specific training. Development therefore, focuses more on the employee’s personal growth. 6. 2 Need and important of training Training is mainly job-oriented; it aims at maintaining and improving current job performance. The need for the training program may arise due to the following: ? Entry of new recruits ? Promotion ? To increase productivity ? To improve quality ? To met organizational objective ? To prevent accident ? To support personal growth and development 6. 3 Objectives of Training 1. Establish a comprehensive understanding of the target audience community in Partner regions, 2. Identify and agree the target group(s) for the training needs analysis (TNA) within partner regions, 3. Design and implement an analysis of training needs questionnaire, 4. Analysis and document perceived training needs 6. 4 Guidelines and Framework to Design a Training and Development Plan 1. Education for Social Change (Popular and Folk Education) Free Online Lesson Plans, Lecture Notes, etc. 2. Online Resources (each having lists of resources) About Training and Development 3. Online Educational Directories, Learning Portals, etc. About T&D 6. 5 Training method Training methods consider the choice of method for employee training. With training objectives defined and learning principles in mind. Methods of training are basically tow types- ? On the job training The initial stages in the planning and design of an on the job training are: a) Refer to the agreed objectives for the training as produced in the TNA or the initial planning stages. ) Consider the identified target learning population and how they might affect the training design. c) List the ways in which each objective might best be met. d) Decide whether the learning might be best achieved by an on the job or off the job training. ? Off the job training Off the job training:- Off the job training is conducted in a location specifically designated for training. It may be near the work place or away form work, at a special training center or a resort. Conducting the training away from the work place minimizes distractions and allows trainees to devote their full attention to the material being thought. Chapter 7 Compensation & Employee Benefits 7. 1 Concept of Compensation & Employee Benefits Once employees have done their jobs and been appraised, they expect to be paid. Employee compensation refers to all forms of pay or rewards going to employees and arising from their employment. It has two main components: (1) Direct financial payments (wages, salaries, incentives, commissions and bonuses), and (2) Indirect payments (financial benefits like employer-paid insurance and vacations, child care facilities). In addition to compensation in the form of wages and salaries, HRM provides workers with various services and programs known as employee benefits. 7. 2 Components of the compensation system Fig:-Components of the compensation system 7. 3 Wages vs. Salary The words wage and salary are sometimes considered synonymous, but they have slightly different meanings. Wage refers to an hourly rate of pay and is the pay basis used most frequently for production and maintenance employees. Salary refers to a weekly, monthly or yearly rate of pay. Clerical, professional, sales and management employees are usually salaried. 7. 4 Establishing Pay rates The process of establishing pay rates while ensuring external, internal and procedural equity consists of five steps: 1) Conduct a Salary Survey The first step of establishing pay rates is to conducting a salary survey of what other employers are paying for comparable jobs. A survey aimed at determining prevailing wages rates. A good salary survey provides specific wage rates for specific jobs. 2) Job Evaluation Job evaluation is a systematic comparison done in order to determine the worth of one job relative to another. It is a formal and systematic comparison of jobs to determine the worth of one job relative to another and eventually results on a wage or salary hierarchy. 3) Group Similar Jobs into Pay Grades Once has used job evaluation to determine the relative worth of each job, the committee can turn to the task of assigning pay rates to each job; however, it will usually want to first group jobs into pay grades. It could, of course, just assign pay rates to each individual job. A pay grade is comprised of jobs of approximately equal difficulty or importance as established by job evaluation. 4) Price Each Pay Grade – Wage Curves The next step is to assign pay rates to the firms pay grades. The firm can use a wage curve to help assign pay rates to each pay grade. The wage curve shows the relationship between the value of the job and the average wage paid for this job. 5) Five – Tune Pay Rates Five – tuning involves developing pay range and correcting out of line rates. Pay ranges is a series or levels within a pay grade, usually based upon years of service. 7. 5 Importance of Job Evaluation Job evaluation is aimed at determining a job’s relative worth. It compares jobs to one another based on their content, which is usually defined in term of compensable factors like skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. 7. 6 Types of Employee Benefits a) Mandatory Benefits Organizations are required to pay these benefits to the employees by law, rules, acts or ordinance. Example: Salary, Bonus. b) Non-mandatory benefits Optional programs and services such as tuition refunds, variety of discount programs, day care facilities for children, credit program etc. 7. 7 Employees Benefit Programs initiated by HRM There are many benefits and various ways to classify them. We can classify them as I. Pay for time not worked II. Insurance benefits III. Retirement benefits IV. Service benefits 7. 7. 1 Pay for Time Not Worked Pay for time not worked – also called supplemental pay benefits- is one of an employer’s most costly benefits, because of the large amount of time off that many employees receive. Common time off with pay periods include holidays, vacations, jury duty, funeral leave, personal days, sick leave, sabbatical leave, maternity leave and unemployment leave insurance payment for laid off or terminated employees. The following figure illustrates a wide rage of such benefits: Fig:- Payment for time not worked. 7. 7. 2 Insurance Benefits Most employers also provide a number of voluntary insurance benefits. Medical or health insurance is a major optional protections benefit offered by employers. Insurance benefits include worker’s compensation, group hospitalization, accident, disability insurance and group life insurance. ? Worker’s Compensation Worker’s compensation provides promote income and medical benefits to work related accident victims or their dependents regardless of fault. Worker’s compensation benefits can be monetary or medical. In the event of a worker’s death or disablement, the person’s dependents are paid a cash benefit based on prior earnings. ? Health and Disability Insurance Health and disability insurance helps protect against hospitalization costs and the loss of income arising form off-the-job accidents or illness. Many employers purchase the insurance from life insurance companies. Most health insurance plans provide at least basic hospitalization and surgical and medical insurance for all eligible employees at group rate. ? Life Insurance Group life insurance provides cower rate for the employer of employee and includes all employees, including new employees, regardless of health or physical condition. In addition to hospitalization and medical benefits, most employers provide group life insurance plans. In many cases, the employer pays 100% or 50% of the basic premium, which usually provides life insurance. 7. 7. 3 Retirement Benefits A very important benefit to most employees is a retirement plans. The major retirement benefits are the social security program and pension plans. ? Social Security Most people assume that social security provides income only when they are over 60, but it actually provides three types of benefits: The familiar retirement benefits- provide an income if the employee retire at 60; survivor’s or death benefits payable to the employee’s dependents regardless of age at the time of death; and disability benefits payable to disabled employees and their dependents. These benefits are payable only if the employee is insured under the social security Act. ? Pension Plans Pension plans provide a fixed sum when employees reach a predetermined retirement age or when they can no longer work due to disability. There are many kinds of pension plan: ? Contributory VS. Noncontributory Under contributory plans, both employees and employers are required to contribute to the pension fund, while under noncontributory plan; pension funding is the sole responsibility of the employer. In noncontributory plans where contributions are based on company profits (deferred profit sharing plans), accumulated funds are usually allocated on the basis of salary. ? Defined benefit VS. Defined contribution plan With defined benefit plans, the employee knows ahead of time the pension benefits he/she will receive. The defined pension benefits itself is usually set by a formula that ties the person’s retirement pension to an amount. Defined contribution plans specify what contribution the employee and employer will make to the employee’s retirement or savings fund. Here, in other words, the contribution is defined, not the pension. With a defined benefit plan the employee knows what his/her retirement benefits will be upon retirement. With a defined contribution plan, the person’s pension will depend on the amounts contributed to the fund and on the retirement fund’s investment earning. 7. 8. 4 Employee Services In addition to the benefits describe above, organization’s offer a wealth of services employees may find desirable. These services can be provided to the employee at no cost or at a significant reduction from what might have been paid without the organization’s support. Services provided to employees may be- ? Wellness Program In an effort to stimulate wellness, many employees can provide recreational facilities for employees or reimburse employees for health club memberships. Other companies provide incentives for employees to participate in exercise programs, ‘quit smoking, lower blood pressure or cholesterol or to take similar steps toward good health. ? Educational Assistance Another important benefit is educational assistance. Some times companies offer monthly stipends for students. Typically, employees are reimbursed for tuition and possibly for books or other associated costs. ? Child-care Assistances It is likely that every major company will soon consider offering child-care assistance as an employee benefit. In most recent year this benefit is being popular in our country because of the number of women in the labor market has increased dramatically. ? Another Services are Another important services, that can be provided by the company are: Social and recreational events, employee assistance programs, credit unions, housing, tuition reimbursement, company paid transportation, free coffee, baby-sitting services or referrals. 7. 9 Incentive Plans Manager may offer group and individual incentive plan those ties pay to some measure of he firm’s overall profitability. Several incentive plans are: ? Piecework Plans A system of pay based on the number of items processed by each individual worker in a unit of time, such as items per hour or items per day. ? Merit Pay as an Incentive Merit pay or a merit raise is any salary increase the firm awards to an individual employee based on his or her individual performance. ? Profit Sharing Plans Profit sharing plan is a plan whereby employees share in the company’s profits. There are several types of profit sharing plans: ? In cash plans In cash plans, the firm simply distributes a percentage of profit as profit shares to employees. ? Deferred profit sharing plans The firm places a predetermined portion of profit in each employee’s account under a trustee’s supervision. ? Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) ESOPs are company wide plans in which a corporation contributes shares of its own stock or cash to be used to purchase such stock of the firm’s stock tor employees. Chapter 8 Employee Relationship 8. 1 The Meaning of Ethics Ethics refers to â€Å"the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group† and specifically to the standards individual use to decide what he/she conduct should be. 8. 2 Organizational culture Organizational culture is the characteristic values, traditions and behaviors a company’s employees share. A value is a basic belief about what is right or wrong, or about what should or should not do. 8. 3 Employee Discipline and Privacy The purpose of discipline is to encourage employees to behave sensibly at work (where sensible is defined as adhering to rules and regulations). In an organization, rules and regulations serve about the same purpose that laws do in society; discipline is called for when one of these rules or regulations are violated. A fair and just discipline process is based on three prerequisite: rules and regulations, a system of progressive penalties and an appeals process. The four main types of employee privacy violations upheld by courts are intrusion, publication of private matters and disclosure of medical records and appropriation of an employee’s name or likeness for commercial purposes. 8. 4 Types of Disciplinary Actions ? Minor Penalties ? Reprimand / censure; Withholding for a specified period or stoppage of increment, confirmation or promotion; ? Stoppage for a specified period at an efficiency bar in the time scale; ? Any other minor punishment. ? Major Penalties ? Recovery fr om salary of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to the band by the employee; ? Degradation to any lower post; ? Compulsory retirement from service with or without retirement benefits; ? Removal from service; ? Dismissal from service. 8. 5 Disciplinary Proceeding ? Before imposing any penalty as above, the employee concerned shall be informed in writing about the charges and also be given an opportunity to answer to the charges in writing. An inquiry into charges may be held before taking final action in this regard and the competent authority may appoint an inquiry officer senior in rank to the accused to inquire into the charges and to submit his findings before passing final order in the case. ? An employee, against whom disciplinary action is proposed to be taken, may be placed under suspension, or the competent authority may order him to proceed on leave. ? The period of suspension will not exceed 90 days. If an employee, put under suspension, is not found guilty, he shall be entitled to full salary for the period of his suspension. ? If an employee put under suspension, is awarded any penalty in case of compulsory retirement or dismissal from service, the effect shall be from the date of suspension and in the case of any other penalty, the effect shall be from the date of passing of the order by the competent authority. An employee who has been awarded any penalty shall have a right to appeal to the competent authority within 30 days (or any period determined by the authority) from the date of the order. 8. 6 Disciplinary Appeals Processes The disciplinary appeal process consists of following three steps: Steps 1: Management review In step 1, the complainants submit a written complaint to a member of management (e. g. manager, senior manager or managing director) within seven calendar days of the occurrence of the eligible issue. Steps 2: Officer Complaint If not satisfied with that decision in step 1, then in step 2, the complainant submits a written appeal to the vice president or senior vice president of the division within seven calendar days of the step 1 decision. Step 3 Executive appeal Review Finally in step 3, the complainant may submit a written complaint within seven calendar days of the step-2 decision to the employee relations department. This department then investigates and prepares case file for the executive review appeals board. 8. 7 Disciplines without Punishment No one likes being punished. The basic aim of discipline without punishment is to gain an employee’s acceptance of the rules by reducing the punitive nature of the discipline itself. 8. 8 Managing Dismissals Dismissal is the involuntary termination of an employee’s employment with the firm. Dismissal is the most drastic disciplinary step the manager can take. Because of this, special care is required to ensure that sufficient cause exists for it. Managing dismissals is an important part of any supervisor’s job. The best way to handle a dismissal is to avoid it in the first place. Many dismissals start with bad hiring decisions. Using sound selection practices including assessment tests, reference and background checks, drug testing and clearly defined job descriptions can reduce the need for many dismissals. 8. 9 Grounds for Dismissal There are four bases of dismissal – 1. Unsatisfactory Performance Unsatisfactory performance may be defined as persistent failure to perform assigned duties or to meet prescribed standards on the job. Specific reasons include excessive absenteeism, tardiness, and adverse attitude toward the company, supervisor or fellow employees. 2. Misconduct Misconduct is deliberate and willful violation of the employer’s rules and may include stealing, rowdy behavior and insubordination. 3. Lack of Qualification for the Job Lack of qualification for the job is an employee’s inability to do the assigned work although he/she is diligent. 4. Insubordination Insubordination, a form of misconduct, is sometimes grounds for dismissal. It should remember that some acts are or should be deemed insubordinate whe