Emotional Labour Essay

This report investigates the shop manners and training offered to the floor sales staff at Next compared to that of those who work in the stock room. I would like to know how each environment affects the workers emotions. I think it’s an important question to ask because the people that work on the shop floor are constantly in contact with customers. It could be said that those that work in the stock room are not part of the stage setting and are more like the stage crew who work behind the scenes. I think it is important then to first address what emotion is. â€Å"Emotion theory is centred on the relationship of the person and its environment† (Lazarus, 1991 p40). This has implications on the question that I am posing as the stockroom workers interact in a different environment to their colleagues on the shop floor. There are two fundamental viewpoints to emotion the organismic and interactionalist viewpoint. The organismic model developing from the work of Charles Darwin, William James and early Sigmund Freud, â€Å"Defines emotion mainly as a biological process. For Freud emotion affect is libidinal discharge, for Darwin it’s instinct and for James it’s the perception of a psychological process† (Hochschild, 1983 p205) This leads organismic theorists to believe that there is a basic similarity of emotion across categories of people (Hochschild, 1983). The organismic model brings us to an elicitation-expression model (Hochschild, 1983) Interactionists believe emotion always involves a biological component but adds more points to social factors, which are present before, after and during the experience of emotion. For example why does a customer become violent when refused a refund, what in their cultural environment constitutes their response? If we conceptualise emotion as instinctive we will ignore questions about social entry. (Hochschild, 1983) â€Å"Emotions are experienced by individuals and through intention or inadvertent communication may be deduced by others who are observing†. (Lazarus, 1991 p40) Emotions can be a valuable source of information in determining how people are getting along. However, surface acting can disguise true emotion so you must be wary when reading emotions. â€Å"Society and biological inheritance creates a pattern of behaviour that shape emotion and expressions of the individual† (Lazarus, 1991 p40). I believe this statement relates to the way that shop assistants and customers are expected to behave. As you will see the training offered to the sales staff shows members of the work force how to act in a socially excepted way which is common practice in all chain stores. In a shopping environment how other people feel is a huge factor as to whether they buy something or not. Sales staff to some extent can influence this. I believe that for a customer to feel ‘at home’ in a shop the sales staff need to be friendly and approachable whereby you feel even if you haven’t bought any thing this time you are welcome back again. I think that this is the key to the success of stores like Next and Marks and Spencer’s where staffs have the correct shop manners to keep the customers coming back. From interviews undertaken with staff at Next I have uncovered strict guidelines in training which each new member of staff has to go through. (I will discuss this and whether I think it is appropriate later.) Drawing on my own experience, I have worked in what you would call a ‘downmarket’ clothes store and no training of shop manners was offered to me. It was my first proper job so I did feel as if I was being thrown in at the deep end. However, the shop was very small and my C.V. demonstrated that I had good people skills as I had worked on a market stall at the weekends and holidays. I assume that management didn’t feel the need to train me in what they thought should be the obvious way to behave towards customers. After speaking to senior sales staff at next and sponsors, these are longer standing members of staff who train new staff using the guidelines (see Appendix), I have gathered that management wish the customer to feel that they are the most important thing and that their shopping experience is being made easier by the staff. Next seem to have thought out its training program very clearly and assigns specific amounts of time to each activity. This helps to give the impression that training is viewed as an important part of the job. I think that Next places emphasis on its training as it is a chain store and it often directs customers to local stores if the stock isn’t available at the branch at which they are visiting, this calls for a sense of conformity between stores. I evaluated the training sessions which, are appropriate to the questions I am asking, by interviewing staff on how appropriate each session is, how achievable are the actions set out and how they affect emotions. The overall reaction that I had from staff was that they felt the training to be very obvious and many sponsors admitted to skipping through the training as quickly as possible because of this fact. Sponsors felt that by training staff with this obvious manner of behaviour was assuming that the trainee was, when prompted by myself, emotionally incapable of selecting the correct emotions for the customer situation. Training session 1 (Appendix Shop Manners). The trainee is told to be aware and not to get tied down in tasks when I asked staff about the reality of this they said they found it very annoying to be approached by customers when doing a job and often resented customers for ‘bothering’ them. However, this is where surface acting comes into play the employee hides what they feel and pretends what they don’t (Hochschild, 1983). The action is in the body language, for example the put on smile and sweet voice as it is for the people observed by Erving Goffman (cited in Hochschild, 1983 p35). The employee has to think back to their training to pick the right body language. A typical scenario: Now interrupted from a task possibly holding a huge pile of stock in their hand the employees are given a strict formula to follow, eye contact, a smile, appropriate greeting and to be friendly and sincere. This is a hard task when obviously it is inappropriate for the customer to target them and often there is another member of staff nearby doing nothing. However, the surface acting must continue as the corporate motto of â€Å"The customer always comes first† is relayed in your mind, plus I don’t want to lose my job if they complain to head office. Company control also works along who fears whom. As with flight attendants the fear hierarchy works indirectly through customers complaining, to head office (Hochschild, 1983). This type of scenario links with the question posed by Hochschild (1983 p89) that when feelings are set by management and where workers have weaker rights to courtesy then consumers do, when deep and surface acting are forms of labour to be sold what happens to the way a person relates to her feelings or to her face? Employees said that when they were the customers they were more aware of the shop assistants emotions and tried to be more courteous. However, they may just feel as though they do this because they wish that people would do this for them. I do believe that this statement does have some truth but surely when the stage setting is different, when they are the customer and not the ‘server’ they assume the actions of the customer. As on the stage as in life the person is the locus of the acting process. But when an institution is involved various acting elements are taken away from the individual and replaced by institutional mechanisms. In this case the fact that the customer comes first. â€Å"The locus of acting, of emotional management, moves to the level of the institution†. (Hochschild 1983 p49) The people are arranged according to institutional custom and the workers surface act in institutionally approved ways. Training Session 2 (Appendix In-Store Security) This training session makes shop assistants conscious of the need to be aware and the need for acknowledgement of the customers. You can use your training of greeting the customer in a functional way, to help reduce the comfort of shoplifters who are always aware of who is watching them. Senior staff said that it gets easier to spot thieves with practice; you get to learn their tricks of diverting your attention. Even though you have to be suspicious of certain customers you must always remember your training and be polite even if you feel that they are up to no good. Training Session 3 (Appendix Stockroom) As you can see none of the training here is connected to personal conduct, it doesn’t attempt to tell you how to act where as the shop floor assistants are told to be friendly, sincere, polite, confident and have a smile. They are even told that conversations must be work related. When questioned on the reality of this last statement floor staff said they do have non-work related conversations but they are of a toned down nature to the way they would speak in private. When I asked the stockroom workers about their conversations they said that if they were in a situation to have a conversation it would be more animated then if having it on the shop floor as they are not ‘in public’. Training Session 12 (Appendix Till Service) Customer interaction is crucial at the till point. Again the trainee is told how to act, to be sincere and polite. I asked staff how easy it was to do this. A typical scenario: It’s a very busy Saturday and all the tills are in operation when greeted by the customer with comments such as â€Å"I have been waiting ever such a long time, you know† and the like, it is difficult to be sincere and polite as there is nothing the staff can do to make the queue go any quicker. The staff member surface acts with her painted on smile and polite apologies. In the training suggestions of possible conversation are complimenting customers on their choice of purchase. Till operators said they tended to deep act in this case, only saying it if they meant it. Deep acting is a natural result of working on feeling expression is spontaneous (Hochschild 1983). As the Russian director Constantin Stanivlaski puts it a real feeling that has been self-induced (cited in Hochschild 1983 p35). The refund and exchange policy is an important part of training because it is the most likely time for customer conflict. The staff member is instructed to treat the customer in the same way as they would if they were making a purchase, this is easy if the customer has a receipt or is a well-known customer. But if the customer doesn’t have a receipt it makes it harder in some cases because you have the suspicion that the customer may have stolen the garment. In this situation the staff member is advised that the best thing to do is get a manager. As formal rules that prop up an institution set limits to the emotional possibilities that staff have to feel (Hochschild 1983). The point that demonstrates this is the manager gets paid more then a shop assistant because their pay package covers them for the emotional insults, which they may receive from refusing to give a customer a refund. I asked the managers how they dealt with abusive behaviour from customers. Managers gain the experience for dealing with inconvenient customers and they assured me that it gets easier as time goes on. â€Å"You have to detach what you are feeling from the situation and not let your own anger, or in some extreme cases fear get in the way†. (Appendix Initial Training Requirement Chart) This gives a summary of all the training offered to the different roles at Next. As you can see all staff members that are present on the shop floor, for any point of their shift, the number one training session is shop manners. This is not part of the stockroom workers training. (Appendix Sponsors Guidelines- 6.Performance Assessment Standards) This table demonstrates that all staff working on floor cover, fitting room, till service or replenishment are those that could possibly come into contact with customers. It demonstrates that shop floor staff members are assessed on their ability to smile and make eye contact with the customer and to be aware of shoppers. Stockroom staff members, on the other hand, are assessed solely on their physical, rather then any emotional objectives. Are our feelings really our own? From the research obtained in this report it is clear to see that the staff working on the shop floor are shown ‘how to act’ where as in the stock room it’s much more ‘natural emotion’. Institutional practice shapes the way in which shop floor workers are expected to behave. What makes some individuals prefer to work in the stock room compared to the shop floor? I asked the stockroom workers why they liked to work in the stockroom. I received comments such as. â€Å"You can be more yourself as you don’t have to work in uniform†. I think that management enforce a strict smart dress policy on shop floor workers to help them get into the role, which they have to play; it is part of the act. â€Å"In the stockroom you don’t have to interact with customers†. Some of the stockroom staff said the horror stories they have heard about customers puts them off working on the shop floor. As customers seem to be oblivious to the feelings of shop floor workers and assume that they are there just to serve them. â€Å"The stockroom has quite a different atmosphere to the shop floor it is more relaxed, you often get shop floor sales staff coming in for a ‘break’ from the hustle and bustle of the shop floor†. The stockroom workers said that on many occasions sales staff come in and tell them about incidents with customers that have just happened. This helps the member of staff to calm down, as the stockroom member often is able to bring them to ‘reality’ and point out that it is only a customer and not to get wound up. In the surroundings of the back office the sales floor worker is able to put the situation in context of life and go back to the ‘act’ moments later. Does personality have something to do with whether you like working in the stockroom or the shop floor? From observation and asking the floor staff it seems to me that the quieter people work in the stock room. When I questioned staff members on why they enjoyed working in the stock room I deduced they don’t feel the need to be on the stage acting, to them it is false they would rather be left to their own devices. I asked the floor staff whether they minded working in the stockroom as sometimes staff shortages calls for this. They said they didn’t mind but preferred the interaction and liveliness of the shop floor this corresponds with previous research, which shows emotional labourers like contact with the customer. Even though customers can be very unpleasant. (MG2076 starter pack: The Survey). Sales floor staff said they wished they could work in the stockroom on days when they were feeling ‘under the weather’ as the need to act in the corporate superficial way was much harder because their true emotions were harder to suppress. On days when everything is going well staff said it was a pleasure to help customers that are appreciative of their service but a customer who feels it is their right to be served can bring an end to that. This suggests that workers feelings are not their own and shop assistants surface act from day to day. I would like to investigate status and gender differences to see whether men or women are better equipped at working in either environment. â€Å"Is emotion work as important for men as it is for women?† (Hochschild, 1983 p 162) Hochschild believes it is not. Due to firstly lacking other resources women make a resource out of feeling. Secondly, each gender is called on to do different kinds of work, which Hochschild believes to be down to â€Å"different childhood training of the heart that is given to girls and boys† (Hochschild, 1983 p163). I think this gender separation at work is becoming less apparent as equal rights laws are being enforced and changing attitudes of society. At Next there is equality in the work place with men and women being treated equally with both being given the same responsibility. Thirdly, â€Å"the general subordination of women† leaves them more open to abuse. For example, a customer was being very rude to the floor manager on childrensware due to the fact that she refused to give the man a refund, because the garment had obviously been worn. The customer became very rude and abusive, which he thought would give him some hold over the woman. The female manager was about to give in to the customer when the shop manager, a man, noticed the disturbance and came over to assist his colleague. He refused to give the man a refund. I believe that as a man the shop manager saw the customer as a mere man and stood by the initial reaction of the female manager. The customer more intimidated by the act of the shop manager gave in very quickly and left the shop threatening â€Å"I will let head office know about this.† The manager was not browbeaten by this comment, as he knew the customer didn’t have a leg to stand on. This situation also lends itself to the fact that † a different proportion of the managed heart is enlisted for commercial use.† (Hochschild, 1983 p163-164) Women make defensive use of their beauty, charm and relational skills, which due to commercial exploitation can lead them to become estranged from these capacities. For male workers it is more their ability to wield anger and make threats that is used by the company and so this the capacity which they are likely to feel estranged from. (Hochschild 1983) Conclusion Each environment has an impact on the workers emotions. The sales floor is where surface acting takes place throughout most of the working day. The stockroom is a place where deep acting is given more of a chance to occur due to the fact that the company don’t suppose emotions upon its workers here. I think the training offered by Next is appropriate as it is what is institutionally expected by society. It is achievable by staff to act this way, as this is what they are getting paid to do. I think it does affect workers emotions being trained how to act because it must be hard to switch off at the end of the day. Eventually it must become instinctive to act in a socially expected way and it must become harder for staff members to express their true emotions when not at work.    Bibliography * Hochschild, A. R. (1983) The Managed Heart; the commercialisation of human feeling California: University of California Press. * Lazarus, R. S. (1994) Emotion and Adaptation New York: Oxford University Press * MG2076s Starter Pack MG 2076 Louise Goldstein

Banana Flour Essay

The industry is growing at fast rate due to increase in population and purchase power, tastes and preference change. And the supply of feeds from flour by-product as well as availability of cheap noodles grows. Four of the largest millers on the Philippines alone comprise the bulk of potential market for suppliers of fortificants (Vitamin A and Iron), as well as equipments or machineries, and labor in fortification. Over the past few years, different kinds of crisis or problems are reported and felt here in the Philippines and in other parts of the world, one of which is Health Problem or Malnutrition. Today, we are experiencing malnutrition. Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess, or in the wrong proportion the World Health Organization cities malnutrition as the greatest single threat to the world’s public health. Testing and studies show that cassava and potato have an ability to become flour. But it has poor availability because it is tropical root crop. So we decided to make a study about Banana. This study will help us to find the way that the flour or banana flour can be a great help to us. There’s so many fruit in the world and each of them have their uses.

Law Reform Essay

This report will focus on the contemporary law reform issue of young drivers and the law. Firstly this report will outline what young drivers and the law is. Secondly this report will examine the conditions that give rise to the need for law reform. Thirdly the agencies and mechanisms of reform will be identified. Finally, the effectiveness of the law reform process of the law reform process in achieving just outcomes in reform to young drivers and the law will be discussed. This report will conclude that the law reform process is effective but some areas are not considerate. What is the contemporary issue? Young drives and the law is referring to how young drivers are given laws due to the issues that occur. Due to this we are trying to lower the rates of death and insure safety for all drivers. Conditions that give rise to the need for law reform: Law reform is the process of changing the law to make it more current, correct defects, simply it and remedy injustice. Young drivers are twice as likely to be involved in fatal accidents, caught drink driving or caught speeding. The reasons for law reform are shown bellow: -Changing social values -New concepts of justice -New technology Changes to young drivers licences, the amount of hours they have to do or speed limits are changes to the law and reflect various groups in the community who want young drivers to get more experience and therefore be safer and more experienced drivers. This causes social conditions to change and the attitudes after so many fatal incidents involving young drivers. A new concept of justice is referring to when laws and outcomes are unjust in the way we live, so this law will need to be reformed. A way that new a concept of justice has been met is that young drivers are unable to drink any alcohol while on their L’s. This stops accidents and is decreasing the traffic offences on the road New technology causes new laws to be formed so there is no unfair usage of this technology and sometimes it takes time to ensure that all aspects of safety is met. Young drivers, and any drivers have to understand the law regarding texting, as this distracts the driver behind the vehicle. Agencies and mechanisms of reform For a law to be reformed, there is a long and usually costly process that needs to occur. Reasons for the law to be reformed are that it is no longer able to relate to society, dated or is not fair to needs and wants of the public. There are many different agencies of reform for young drivers and the law but the main areas are the NSW Law Reform Commission and the media. The way in which a law is reformed is by passing a bill – to do this, these seven steps must occur: 1.Formulations stage 2.Drafting bill stage 3.First reading 4.Second reading 5.Committee stage 6.Third reading 7.Royal Assent Stage The NSW Law Reform Commission is representing the state when reforming the laws that are no longer valid for today’s society. When research is done into changings laws, the public is always consulted. For the law to be changed there is a process that is taken into consideration. A reform has recently occurred to low the rates of deaths in P plate drivers. Due to this reform ‘‘the number of P1-plate driver deaths dropped 21 per cent (from 19 to 15) while the number of people killed in P1-plate related crashes dropped 20 per cent, (from 35 to 28)’’ said Eric Roozendaal in 2008. The media allows the public to be informed about issues that are occurring without impute from the government. This can encourage law reform to show opinions and views on different topics but can also slow down the law reform process. The media have done this by writing articles such as ‘A license to save young lives’, which is informing the public about personal views on how reforms should occur as death rates with the young are increasing. This article is asking people their personal view on the hours in which young drivers should be allowed to drive in – the law has recently be reformed to state that only one passenger can be taken past 11pm on a P plate licences. A mechanism of law reform is about how the law actually changes – courts, parliaments, the United Nations or intergovernmental organisations can do this. Due to the Motor Traffic Act 1909 (NSW) the law is always being reformed to adjust with society – society usually can send letters, make lobby groups about issues such as young drivers and the law to ensure safety within society. These issues are then addressed to the government and it is the government’s role to address the issues.

CTVA 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CTVA 2 - Essay Example The number of males portrayed in photos and pictures totaled 121 while the number of females totaled 69. In all, 15 people were identified belonging to different ethnic groups. The number of writers with male names counted 13 while with female names counted 7. Text pages were 67while artwork was visible through some of the photos and pictures also included on 47 pages. Article analysis: Palestine Goes It Alone by Dan Ephron Dan Ephron has written on the possibility of making peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians in the year 2011. Examining the article on the first core concept of media literacy, which states that all media are construction, one perceives this construction by projecting the opposite of what President Mahmoud Abbas intends to achieve; the title of the article also points out, â€Å"Goes it Alone†, doubting the success of the peace talks. First paragraph of the article speaks in favor of the chances of peace realization but the very next paragraph dismi sses such efforts as waste of time, recalling Yasser Arafat’s 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which was a one-sided attempt without any concrete result. Different decisions and determining factors are reflected. Till the end of the second paragraph, the writer goes on dwindling between the viewpoints of stakeholders to the peace talks. Here the external reality is presented not in simple words but by presenting the past historical context on failure of talks between the two warring countries, the one still far away from global recognition as an independent country, Palestine, reflecting decisions taken by Yasser Arafat. The writer has deconstructed historical events to forecast failure of any possible peace movement in 2011. Through crafted language techniques and following its own rules, the writer makes a start with, â€Å"ODDS ARE THAT 2011 WON’T†¦Ã¢â‚¬  making a pun by using all capital letters to stress on the conclusion that the writer wants to project. In another line, â€Å"Remember Yasser Arafat’s 1988...Independence?† indicates the uselessness of the efforts of peace talks. The conclusion of the article is already decided as the title suggests, â€Å"Palestine goes it alone,† indicating that no discussions can reach a conclusion until both the warring parties come to the table. As media through this article is conveying a sense of actuality, away from superficiality; one cannot imagine any wonder here that one-sided attempts at peace making will be fruitful. Palestinians while reading the article would have different feelings of remorse while Israelis might marvel at the economic growth achieved by the West Bank, which comes nearer to the 3rd media concept of different people experiencing the same messages differently. Palestinians could experience helplessness from the endless sufferings of their people because of political instability. Lingering of the talks and not reaching their aims, people could feel a sense of harassment over the peace efforts made by the Palestinian political leadership. A small article of hardly half page projects a realistic picture of the political aspects of the problem. Readers worldwide would react on the author’s viewpoint as per their political and geographical attachment with the region and its people. The whole

How vaudeville theatre elements are found in entertainment today Research Paper

How vaudeville theatre elements are found in entertainment today - Research Paper Example The decline of the Vaudeville genre can be traced to the rise of the cinema. Despite the fact that Vaudeville genre no longer exists in its entirety, some of the signature elements of Vaudeville can still be found in the American entertainment industry today. These elements include family entertainment, sensationalism, slapstick, and variety. As earlier stated, Vaudeville gained popularity after the American Civil War. The genre had however been introduced before 1820. At the beginning, the Vaudeville genre only appealed to the men in the society and it mainly had male performers. It was seen as the new and cheerful entertainment that provided the society relief in the times before and after the civil war. It was not until 1865 when Tony Pastor changed this to a form of Vaudeville that included men, women, and children. This followed the opening of ‘Tony Pastor’s Opera House’ in New York. The form of theatre included performances in which objectionable words had b een removed, and was thus appealing to the entire family. This form of Vaudeville genre remained in the entertainment scene for a long time. Later, different creative artists would follow the conventions that had been set by Tony Pastor in Vaudeville theatre performances. They also began to make use of female performers to further to promote the theatre (Page, 4). The acts in the Vaudeville genre consisted of a total of up to 15 different performances that included jugglers, trained animals, acrobats, singers, magicians, and dancers. The Vaudeville genre however evolved to the point where it became a form of light musical drama. There are some Vaudeville theatres that have however retained the original format and can be found in areas such as England. There are also some few theatres in the United States that continue to showcase the different forms of Vaudeville genre. In most cases however, there are only some of the elements of the original Vaudeville genre that can be seen in th e different genres of entertainment that can be found in the American entertainment scene (Bandle 1546). The success of the Vaudeville genre was mainly because of the level of mastery that the different artists that took part in the performances showed. They (the artists) were skilled in the use of the different tools that they had. They were also skilled in utilizing the stage to maximize the effect of their performance. The stage was set in such a way that it made use of few definite possibilities of use. The stage however allowed the use of scenery and lights to be manipulated by the writer or by the creator of the specific performances. The performers of the Vaudeville genre were focused on the enjoyment and the satisfaction of the wide audiences that were present during the performances (Gottlieb 21). There were several forms that made up the variety theatre that made up the Vaudeville genre. One form was the original variety shows that were designed to please the male audience s. There was also the minstrel show that was a form of performance for public amusement. The minstrel performances usually begun with a walk around that had verbal exchanges between the different performers and the audiences. The content of the comedy was adapted to the different social circumstances, issues and

TOWS analysis of the case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

TOWS analysis of the - Case Study Example Medical therapy is a secondary stage in the prevention where there is improvement in the walking distance after the primary stage of prevention. The medical therapy is helpful to determine fats, cholesterol and carbohydrates in the body. Medical concern and consideration for those that have developed the disease also involve using antihypertensive, anti-cholesterol, and smoking cessation. This is regarded as the primary stage when the condition is noticed (Alonso, McManus & Fisher, 2011). Revascularization is a secondary preventive measure. The measure is carried out through stenting, angioplasty, surgery and atherectomy. Improvements that have been observed in the technique has resulted to the use of endovascular revascularization to an extensive range of patients over the previous decade for both serious symptoms and less severe indications. In the technique, there are clinical trials that have been performed with the aim of determining the best strategies for patients with the con dition (Uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org, 2015). Physical assessment is an important aspect in prevention of the infection and help recovery from the condition. Physical assessment is done in the tertiary stage after treatment where the patient is seen through the infection recovery. Physical assessment will be able to portray some of the desired features of recovery such as low fats that leads to reduction in fatness in an individual (Alonso, McManus & Fisher, 2011). Uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org,. (2015).  Final Recommendation Statement: Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and CVD in Adults: Risk Assessment with Ankle Brachial Index - US Preventive Services Task Force. Retrieved 28 May 2015, from

Transportation Security at U.S. Seaports Research Paper

Transportation Security at U.S. Seaports - Research Paper Example The United States is one of the countries with the largest coastlines across the entire globe. This provides it a number or sea ports and sea shores to use in both transport activities, especially the exports and imports trade, whereby the country brings in new products from other countries while exporting its own products to different other countries. Furthermore, these seaports equally act as entry points for people from different countries who want to visit the United States. As such, it creates a transportation avenue, whereby congestion at the seaports due to transport activities is a common aspect. However, the traffic of people and goods leaving and entering the United States through its ports poses a security threat to the entire country at large. This is especially at the backdrop of the 9/11 terrorist attack carried out on the U.S. soil whereby nearly 3,000 people lost their lives.  As such, the security at these seaports within the United States is of crucial importance to all state actors, especially the innocent and naà ¯ve passengers who use the ports for daily activities, such as fishing and transportation. Currently, the number of seaports within the United States stands at over 300. Each of these ports is different in its own manner and style, as well as the intended purposes and daily activities. As mentioned earlier and going by the statistics of the losses suffered in 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attack, the issue of security is of grave importance to the operations carried out at these sea ports.

IHRM(international human resource management) Essay

IHRM(international human resource management) - Essay Example The following sections will deliberate on Volvo’s strategies of maintaining competitive advantage in the Curitiba market. Resources and capabilities that Volvo can obtain from Curitiba It is apparent that for any organisation to develop and maintain competitive advantage, just like Aaker and McLoughlin 2007 stipulated, some concepts of working towards attaining organisation’s goals should be articulated upon. Curitiba, being a region of congested traffic, has been a potential market for Volvo. This is arguably true because, as contingency theory stipulates, the environment in which an organisation operates involves articulation of factors such as size and technology among many other factors (Hooley, Piercy and Nicoulaud 2008). In this regard, it is evident that Volvo has strategized on gaining competitive advantage in the Curitiba market. The fact that Curitiba is traffic congested makes it a strategic market for Curitiba to operate in. in essence, Volvo specialises on providing the buses for public transport. Analytically, this is in line with strategically operating in an environment that can provide market for its automobiles. Basically, the primary goal of any organisation is to enter into a market that has demand for its products, thus offering an opportunity to make profits (Martin 2013). Nevertheless, it is indispensable of the management of organisations to apply principles of leadership and management in order to make the right decisions when entering new markets. In another dimension, Volvo must have considered the issue of corporate social responsibility. In any metropolitan area, organisations should focus on applying both economic and corporate social responsibilities in order to be successful. For example, before entering into the Curitiba market, Volvo was aware of the need to formulate a strategy that would bring growth in this region. For example, in the process of providing buses for public transport, Volvo has simultaneously cre ated jobs for many residents in the city. The CSR issues involve bringing in social and responsibility factors into action (Piercy 2009). When people get jobs through Volvo’s involvement in the public transport, their lives get uplifted, thus bringing the overall growth of the city. In addition, Volvo has been able to create its own organisational culture, through which its competitive advantage has been developed and maintained in Curitiba. Volvo’s organisational culture has been a reflection of its vision statement. However, organisation’s culture is developed strategically by its leaders and managers. It is the reflection of what the leaders and managers believes in and work towards realising their goals (Ranchhod and Gurau 2007). In order for Volvo to have managed to capture the Curitiba market, it is apparent that the management has developed a culture that keeps the company growing and surviving in a highly competitive market. For this to happen, the leade rship of the organisation should be well conversant with how to both manage the workforce and focus on customer satisfaction. Studies have document that forms that empowers their employees through various employees wellness and reward programs tend to have a smooth organisational culture development. Therefore, the human resource department must have a grasp of how it can motivate its employees in order to deliver top results. In regard to Volvo’s case, its workforce could be termed as proficient

Freshman Forced to Live on Campus Annotated Bibliography

Freshman Forced to Live on Campus - Annotated Bibliography Example The author of the article is credible and well aware of the trend, as she has been associated with the Arizona State University for more than three years (Soucie, 2009). The targeted audience of this article is the teacher`s faculty and students of the university, who are willing to know about current situation of campus housing (Soucie, 2009). Moreover, in this article it is explained that university students do not like to live in campus houses, but the reason behind their preferences is not clearly mentioned in the source (Soucie, 2009). Villagio apartments are most preferable houses of students and they so wanted to live in there, but due to economical situations, they cannot afford those houses (Soucie, 2009). Here, the author should mention the difference between rents of Tempe homes and campus houses, but he failed to do so. This article is useful and I will use this article as an important source for illustrating promotion of campus houses in the universities in comparison wi th other rental homes for students. This article is also taken from the same source. The title of the article indicates that the university is welcoming all new students to come and live in campus houses. The writer of this article is trustworthy and responsible because he is a qualified young journalist, who has recently passed out from the Arizona State University (Quizon, 2008). The author has targeted fresh students of the university and those who are willing to take admission in the Arizona State University (Quizon, 2008). The author has explicitly explained in his article that students, who live on campus houses, can have more chances to attain good marks in the exams, as previously it has been noticed that students who lived on campus houses performed more efficiently, than those who lived in other rental houses away from the campus (Quizon, 2008). Additionally, views and comments of faculty members show that campus intended to provide