Work Values, Attitudes, Moods and Emotions - the case of Wells Fargo Term Paper

Work Values, Attitudes, Moods and Emotions - the case of Wells Fargo Company - Term Paper Example In this context, the emphasis on work values, attitudes, moods and emotions in all organizational department has become a common phenomenon. In Wells Fargo Company the use of work values, attitudes, moods and emotions as tools for increase the firm’s competitiveness has been proved an effective strategic choice. However, as the literature suggests, the development of HR plans needs to be carefully monitored. Failures in regard to one or more parts of these plans may set the firm’s position in its industry in risk. The principles on which organizational strategies are based are not common in organizations worldwide. However, it seems that certain organizational decisions are likely to be based on similar rules and criteria. Also, it has been proved that the success of organizational plans is depended on the ability of organizations to identify and evaluate appropriately employee needs. In this context, work values, moods and emotions are of critical importance for organi zations in different industries. The role of work values, attitudes, moods and emotions in the development of organizational plans is highlighted in this paper. Reference is made to a specific company, the Wells Fargo Company, one of the most successful organizations in the greater Los Angeles area. The specific organization operates in the banking sector and is well known for its employee values. The specific organization is considered as one of the most successful for the American banking industry. The success of the organization has been highly related to one of its practices: work values, attitudes and emotions are highly taken into consideration when the key strategies of the organization are reviewed. Values, attitudes, moods and emotions are key elements of organizational strategies under the following term: the involvement of these elements in key strategic decisions is not standardized. This means that there are no specific rules imposing the use of the above elements in th e development of an organization’s strategic policies. However, the use of these elements seems to increase the effectiveness of organizational plans, even in the long term. In order to understand the role of these elements in an organization’s strategies, it would be necessary to review their characteristics; then, the ways in which these elements can influence an organization’s strategic planning process would be made clear. The framework of values in the context of modern organizations is reflected in the following definition: ‘values are an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct is personally or socially preferable to an opposite mode of conduct’ (Gilliland, Steiner and Skarlicki 4). On the other hand, Williams (1993) note that work values should be described as the belief that every organizational task needs to be accomplished on time in accordance with the guidelines given. Moreover, Allison and Kaye (2005) support the view that value s as an elements of organizational culture reflects the priorities of organization’s in regard to critical social and environmental issues, such as the protection of the environment, the support to the community and so on. At the next level, Niven (2011) notes that organizational values are quite important for the stabilization of the organizational performance; for this reason, it is suggested that regular changes on organizational values are avoided (Niven 2011). Rather, emphasis should be given on the development of a core framework of organizational values on which the organization’s aims and objectives would be based. Regarding the potential use of attitudes as elements of organ

Personnel to Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Personnel to Human Resource Management Essay Personnel management refers to a set of functions or activities including recruitment, training, pay and industrial relations performed effectively but often in isolation from each other or with overall organisation objectives. In 1991, Hilmer noted that the Australian tradition of many sub-specialities or functions (industrial relations, compensation, training and pay) was out of date. The early 1990s was an are of great speculation on the future of the functions in managing people. The concept Human Resource Management (HRM) began to influence the practice of integrating functions with each other and organisation objectives. Coppleston (1991) explained the HR function within any enterprise must first of all serve the organisation†¦ an investment area rather than a cost to the organisation. Reinforced by other writers, human resources should be viewed as human capital, and that HR managers should strive to use them as investment creating an environment where the appropriate strategy is likely to emerge. (Williams, 1991) Alternate perspectives of HRM emphasise either the effective management of employees through greater accountability and control, the greater involvement in decision making processes, or both of these. (Nankervis, Compton McCarthy, 1993) In countries such as Australia, the personnel management function arrived more slowly than its USA counterparts and came from a number of avenues. The orientation of personnel management was not entirely managerial. In the UK, its origins were traced to welfare officers where it became evident that there was an inherent conflict between their activities and those of line managers. There were not seen to have a philosophy compatible with the view of senior managers. The welfare officer orientation placed personnel management as a buffer between the business and the employees. In terms of organisational politics this was not a viable position for those wishing to further their careers, increase their status, earn high salaries or influence organisation performance. Industrial relations further compounded the distinction through their intermediary role between unions and line management. (Price, 2005) However, during the 1970s, many Australian organisations found themselves in turbulent business and economic climates with major competition from the USA, Europe and Asian markets. Concurrently, the Institute for Personnel Management (IPMA) and training institutions such as TAFE and universities were becoming more sophisticated in their approaches incorporating more  recent approaches such as Excellence and Total Quality Management. During this period the IPMA held national and international conferences, initiated relationships with the Asia-Pacific region, developed an accreditation process and the now titled Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. (Nankervis et al, 1993)By the 1980s, personnel had become a well-defined but low status area of management. Traditional personnel managers were accused of having a narrow, functional outlook. Storey (1989) comment that personnel management †¦has long been dogged by problems of credibility, marginality, ambiguity and a trash-can labelling which has relegated it to a relatively disconnected set of duties many of them tainted with a low status welfare connotation. In practice, the background and training of many personnel managers left them speaking a different language from other managers and unable to comprehend wider business issues such as business strategy, market competition, labour economics and the role of other organisational functions. (Price, 2005) This set the scene to integrate personnel management with wider trends in management thinking. In 1999 (cited in Gollan 2005), Hunt suggested, the key link to the success of the function lies in the struggle to acquire more influence, something that is being carried out in a climate of downsizing and outsourcing. Even the change of name from personnel to HR is indicative that the way people view and perform this role is changing with the new name communicating a desire to break with the past and to throw off an image that was limp and limiting†¦ The future of the HR function may be far from certain †¦ [however] †¦ In situations of uncertainty, it is the confident who win through †¦ I know of no organisation whose senior managers believe their company will operate, in the future, without any human beings. Whether ensuring the supply of those human beings resides in a function called HR or not is rather irrelevant. Such themes included human capital theory and human resource accounting, however, HRM gained further ground and prominence once introduced to the Harvard Business School MBA course in 1981. The four main approaches founded during the 1980s were: The strategic matching theories from the Michigan and  New York Schools; Multiple Stakeholders theory from the Harvard School; Political and Change Process Theory from the Warwick School and a Behavioural Transformation Theory from the Schuler School. (Price, 2005) Each theory expressed models that stress people as human resources which are a resource different to any other the organisation may have and therefore require to be managed differently. This could be conceived as rather confusing, however Townley (1994) argued that much of the confusion over the role of human resource managers is due to two factors: 1. The conflict between the welfare tradition of personnel management and the strategic orientation of more modern HRM and; 2. A gender divide between female or soft personnel management at lower management and administrative levels and male, hard nosed human resource managers within upper management. Benchmarking and best practice have become widely used terms in the past decade. HRM benchmarking is a process which provides knowledge of the key HR levers which are important to business outcomes; comparison with other businesses with better performance and ways of using that information to improve HR processes. This allows HR processes and outcomes to be quantified so that objectives can be set meaningfully and realistically. This was a revolutionary approach for many HR professionals who were used to subjective job descriptions and values with a focus on process rather than outcome which did not gain much credibility with other business units who were used to objective and quantifiable measures of performance. (Nankervis et al, 1993; Price, 2005) Vilinas and Harper (2005) explored the impact of performance management on staff, the organisation and the business. Performance management was found to be useful in improving role clarity, identifying and standardising performance objectives,, increasing performance feedback and assisting in the development of more useful and meaningful performance measures. The authors found that how performance management was viewed depended on the performance of the team. That is, if the team were performing well, it was viewed positively, if the team were not performing well, it was viewed negatively. Furthermore, Vilinas and Harper (2005), found difficulty in evaluating the impact of performance management systems in organisations. There fore it is difficult to determine the impact this human resource strategy on organisation performance in a  quantitative sense. Royal and ODonnell (2005), argue that qualitative human capital analysis would assist in predicting organisation sustainability and future financial performance by providing substantial evidence indicating the link between particular HR practices and organisation performance. These practices included learning and development, flexible work policies and performance management. The focus on long term relationships between the organisation and staff was the impact on organisation performance rather than an economic exchange. Exploring the impacts of downsizing on organisation performance, Farrell and Mavondo (2005) reported on the contradictory evidence in the literature about this relationship and surveyed manufacturing companies in order to test the impact. The findings concluded that when redesign of organisations drive downsizing the impact on the business is positive, but it is negative when the organisation redesign is driven by downsizing. This indicated that good HR practice linking with the organisation strategic plan is more likely to provide a positive business outcome. According to McGrath-Champ and Baird (2005), HRM practices and the role of HR and employee relations practitioners have been undergoing major changes since the 1980s. Particular changes include the shift to enterprise bargaining. The authors used data from numerous surveys aimed at exploring the changing role of HR practitioners and the implications on the skills required in order to fulfil the changed role. This, in turn, impacts on the capability of the HR area in its ability to support and influence organisational performance. Given that small business is a significant employer in Australia, Bartram (2005) found they are not as likely to use participative management techniques, invest in training in the area of employee relations or develop organisation strategy. However, without the use of HRM practices, small business can be effected detrimentally particularly in a global economic climate. The evidence suggests that organisation performance will usually benefit from the integration of human resource management and product and market strategies, improved understanding of the needs of employees at the workplace, and better use of their skill and ingenuity. Strategies designed to achieve a more comprehensive use of employees human potential, desire to learn, flexibility and personal responsibility would appear capable of delivering higher levels of performance (Gollan Davis, 1998). This is at the heart of the argument for more attention to HRM. Other things being equal, it will assist improve profitability through changing employee attitudes, overcoming resistance to change. (Gollan Davis, 1998) Moreover, there will be experience of mutual advantage. Management can benefit from improved performance and reduced levels of turnover and absenteeism and being an employer of choice in the current labour tight market. As a result employees may enjoy more job security, development opportunities, autonomy and incentives to take ownership and responsibility for quality outcomes. (West Patterson, 1998) While HRM approaches are worthwhile in terms of improving organisation performance, it can be difficult to measure the link between the improvement and the HR practice. The length of time can be fraught with problems when considering the impact of HRM on organisation performance. A short term consultation with staff could pay off years ahead in performance. The most difficult obstacle is in the change of organisation culture for both managers and employees in terms of leadership skills, strategy and resources for development. Based on research statistics of over 30 000 HR professionals, Brockbank (2005), stated the HR field is outstanding at doing what it says it will do, in terms of delivering the basic HR infrastructure activity †¦is an intersection of HR competencies and agendas that have to do with managing the culture, contributing to strategic decision making, managing change and creating process of information flows that continually integrate the organisation†¦ HR professionals are mediocre at this set of activities†¦ the logic of HRs role in bringing critical information about the external business world into the firm, disseminating it and using that information on  a broad scale within the organisation as the basis for integration, unity and ultimately organisational responsiveness. Brockbank (2005) further identified that HRs market driven connectivity rates at 17 per cent of strategic contributions impact on organisation performance. The direct impact of HR on business performance has increased about 300 per cent since 1992. This is factored around the shift from focusing on traditional personnel functions and moving towards strategic input into the organisations development coupled with technological change and a global economy. In other words, this indicates that in order to make an impact, HR needs to understand the business their organisation is in including the customers, shareholders and stakeholders. To surmise, the evidence suggests there is a great deal of participation taking place in Australia, (Morehead, Steele, Alexander, Stephen Duffin, 1997) however, findings from the research highlight the quality of many HRM practices need to be appropriate measured and reported in order to continue to develop the link between HR practices and organisation performance. From the research synthesised in this paper, it is evident that some human resource practices can contribute to high levels of organisational performance. Explored from a range of perspectives, the problems in demonstrating this relationship are highlighted. The number of dimensions to the problems making study comparisons difficult include: definitions used as a basis for the research; the ability to draw a relationship between human resource practices and organisational performance; methodological issues and; differences and variable measurement. There is further interest in identifying and demonstrating the impact HRM has on organisation performance none more highlighted than through the importance of people in the knowledge economy and organisation sustainability in a global market. References: Bartram, Timothy 2005, Small firms, big ideas: The adoption of human resource management in Australian small firms, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Brockbank, Wayne 2005, Turning Inside Out, HR Monthly, April. Coppleston Peter 1991, Present issues and future trends, HR Monthly, April p8-9Farrell, Mark A., Mavondo, Felix 2005, The effect of downsizing-redesign strategies on business performance: Evidence from Australia, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Gollan, Paul 2005, High involvement management and human resource sustainability: The challenges and opportunities, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Gollan, P. Davis, E. 1998, High involvement management and organisational change: Beyond rhetoric. Macquarie Graduate School of ManagementHilmer F 1991, Hilmer discusses the future for Australians at work, HR Monthly, August p9. McGrath-Champ, Susan Baird, Marian 2005, The mercurial nature of Australian HRM under enterprise bargaining, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Morehead, A., Steele, M., Alexander, M., Stephen, K. Duffin, L. 1997, Change at Work: The 1995 Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. Melbourne: LongmanNankervis, Alan R., Compton, Robert L. McCarthy, Terence E. 1993, Strategic Human Resource Management, Thomson Nelson Australia. Price Alan 2005, Human Resource Management in a Business Context, 2nd ednRoyal, Carol ODonnell, Loretta 2005, Embedding human capital analysis in the investment process: A human resources challenge, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Storey, J. 1989, Human Resource Management: A Critical Text. Thomson Learning, 2nd ednTownley B. 1994, Reframing Human Resource Management: Power, Ethics and the Subject of Work, Sage. West, M. Patterson, M 1998. People Power: The link between job satisfaction and productivity. Centrepiece, Autumn, p2-5Williams Ross 1991, Transformation or chaos? HR in the 1990s, HR Monthly, November, p10. Vilinas, Tricia Harper, Sarah (2005), Determining the impact of an organisations performance management system, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43

Literature Review of Microclimate: Senzo Tembe

Literature Review of Microclimate: Senzo Tembe This section of my project shows a series of studies and research done by other people which have a close relation to the experiment that I’ve worked on. Microclimate is the climate of a very small or restricted area, especially when this differs from the climate of the surrounding area. (Grade 12 geography focus book.) This reference helps me determine whether my hypothesis is true or not, comparing the quads at Michaelhouse. Historical background to the Saudi Arabian heritage, author Talib, Kaizer analyses different types of living environment with close precautions to microclimate in those particular zones, and the concomitant effect on vernacular buildings.(author Kaizer Talib) Quads such as Main quad have buildings which surround it, Talib Kaizer’s reference participates well in my study. Different types of species were grown in the same aerial environment, temperatures ranging from 5à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ° to 35à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ °C these were to determine whether species of different grass have an effect on temperature. Weight of foliage’s were taken to ratio, the usage of maximum yield of foliage’s were taken to find the optimum soil temperatures of the species that was tested. According to the ratio scale it was found that ratio was lowest at optimum soil temperature and was higher at soil temperatures above and below the optimum with slight exceptions. Ratios showed that partitioning of photosynthate is controlled by the rates of photosynthesis and root absorption. (According to R.L. Davidson, oxford university press.) The reference above also helps prove that the quads in my experiment will have an effect on the surface temperature of quads that contain more grass than others with less grass. Graph showing inverse proportion: In Tokyo an investigation was set to see whether land-use and anthropogenic heat (heat produced by humans.) on surface temperature. Sub-grid parametrization scheme which calculates the total surface heat composed on different surfaces, over 36 days in Tokyo the investigation was run in summer and majority of the days the investigation went on for it was particularly typical summer weather (clear skies, negligible gradient winds etc..). Anthropogenic heat was much larger at night, and was found that green vegetation areas including grass were more dominant during the day than at night (resource article by F. Kimura.) At a boarding school such as Michaelhouse with 550 boys excluding staff will also have a great effect on the surface temperature while my study was being taken. The urban heat island effect has been documented in many cities, one of the causes of urban heat island effect is of green spaces such as trees, grass etc†¦ being removed and replaced with city buildings. This causes elevation in temperature, increasing the population of trees in cities can lower the urban heat island effect. The case studied heat produced by green spaces and heat produced by manufactured city buildings was measured using a thermal satellite imagery, 143 sites were chosen and if every unit conducted in this predicament case study had to increase the green spaces slightly the surface temperatures would decrease by an amount of 1.2à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ °C. (A Terre haute case study, by P.J. Hardin and R.R Jenson). Michaelhouse is a very conservative school when it comes to trees, the amount of trees could disagree to my hypothesis and the effects of the surface temperature. Urbanisation process is one that influences the thermal balance of a certain area, cities are commonly several degrees hotter than a surrounding rural settlement. Urbanisation forces heat to increase in the CBD and urban areas surrounding the CBD, heat causes increase of electricity bills, and also making it very uncomfortable. Heat waves increase risks of sickness spreading around easier. In Manchester, United Kingdom this case study on how the effect of tree shade and grass on surface and globe temperatures in an urban area, months June and July 2009 and 2010. Small plots were specifically chosen for the study, areas which obtained both concrete and grass with/without the presence of tree shade surface temperatures composed. Global temperatures above each surface was tested, surface and shade affected the temperature greatly. Between the tree shade and the grass, grass de-elevated the temperature by up to 24à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ °C, while tree shade only affected the temperature by decreasing up to 19à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ °C. With no involvement to my hypothesis tree shade decreased the global temperature by 5à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ °-7à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ °C, this case study showed that trees have an influence to global temperature cooling and both tree shade and grass have a natural cooling system towards surface temperature. (Article by author D. Armson). Michaelhouse is located in a rural area which therefore makes temperature in the site lower the populated areas such as towns. Anthropogenic influences on climate are emissions of greenhouse gases and urbanisation. Differentiating the two on which has more of an affect to surface temperature is a difficult process since being that both parties increase the daily mean surface temperature. Urbanisation was compared to agricultural areas nearby, the results differed significantly, and reasons of the big differences between the two may have been the effect of population difference. (Eugenia Kalnay and Ming Cai.) This quote by Eugenia Kalnay and Ming Cai states the same as the above reference by author D. Armson Surface temperature has been reconstructed to hemispheric and global scale using proxy data for decadal to centennial climate changes in last two thousand years. Not many years ago more modern and accurate complementary methods and data were thoroughly tested and validated from experimenting with model simulations. â€Å"Knowledge about climate in past centuries can improve peoples’ understanding of natural climate variability, and address the question whether modern day climate changes are unprecedented in years to come.† (Summarised quote by Michael E. Mann). Many proxy data studies have emphasized on global and hemispheric mean temperatures in previous years, and some studies have tried to reconstruct the underlying spatial patterns of past surface temperature changes globally and in regional scales. Recent attempts to find out the hemispheric temperatures used the composite plus scale method, using proxy data such as tree rings and ice cores are standardized and centred are then composited to form hemispheric and regional series(Michael E. Mann). Theoretical models of surface temperatures oscillations are derived, diurnal and annual are donated amplitude and phase of lag, in terms of external conditions physical properties of soil and atmosphere. Physico-mathematical basis is the explanation of various microclimate characteristics. (Heinz Lettau) Wind speed: The fundamental atmospheric rate. It is commonly measured in knots by an instrument called the anemometer.(Oxford dictionary) In my study of the wind speed at Michaelhouse was used in rotations of the anemometer that I had created. The circulation that causes air to move is called atmospheric pressure, this atmospheric pressure is the weight of atmosphere pressing down towards the Earths’ surface. The global temperature affects the circulation of air flow, in high temperatures air expands and rises, and therefore sinks in low temperatures. (Focus, grade 12 geography text book.) Over a few years new mathematical functions have been proposed for wind speed density, the most commonly used function had come across in studies to be inadequate in finding the correct wind speed density, this function is called the two-parameter Weibull function. Whether the two-parameter function is unimodal or bimodal nature, due to the intricate behaviour of the function inadequate. This prevents it to be modelled by two-parameters model. Unimodal is produced by the two-parameter if it’s bimodal nature which makes it simply inadequate to model appropriately. Recent years other functions have been suggested for both uni/bimodal natured functions, more involved functions to better model the distributions.(A.N. Celik, author) Throughout the five days of gathering data the wind speed was different on every day. â€Å"The main factors that affect the wind direction and speed are the pressure gradient force, Coriolis force and friction. These particular factors cause winds to blow at different directions and different speeds; when they are working together.†(By Annalou Mack, Sciences 360, atmosphere and weather.) Bibliography: Armson, D. (2012). The effect of tree shade and grass on surface and globe temperature in an urban area. Urban forestry and Urban greening, Abstract. Bonan, B. G. (2008). Forest and climate change: forcings, feedbacks, and the climate benefits of forest. science, Abstract. Cai, M. a. (2003, May 29). Impact of urbanisation and land-use change on climate. Letters to nature, Abstract. Celik, N. A. (2010). Critical evaluation of wind speed frequency distribution functions. Journal of renewable and sustainable energy, Abstract. Davidson, R. (1968, December 28). Effect of root/leaf temperature differentials on root/shoot ratios in some pasture grasses and clover. Oxford index, Abstract. Dilley, L. E.-B. (2006). Focus. Cape town: Maskew Miller Longman. Graham, E. R. (1987). Sea surface temperature, sea wind divergence, and convection over tropical oceans. Graham and Barnet, Abstract. Hardin, J. P. (2007, May 25). The effect of urban leaf area on summertime urban surface kinetic temperatures. A Terre Haute case study, Abstract. Kimura, F. (1989, June 6). The effects of land use and anthropogenic heating on the surface temperature in the tokyo metropolitan. Atmospheric environment. Part B, urban atmosphere, Abstract. Lei, M. (2009). A review on the forcasting of the wind speed and generated power. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, Absract. Lettau, H. (1951). Theory of surface temperature and heat transfer oscillations near a level ground surface. American geophysical union, Abstract. Mack, A. (2006). Sciences 360. Atmosphere and weather, 1. Mann, E. M. (2007, November 20). Proxy-based reconstructions of hemispheric and global surface temperature variations over the past millennia. Surface temperature reconstruction for the last 2,000 years, 5. Talib, K. (1984). Shelter in Saudi Arabia. New york: Academy editions. Tsuruta, S. (2002). Confronting neutron star cooling theories with new observations. The astrophysical journal letters, Abstract. Senzo Tembe Effective Leadership Studies: Theodore Roosevelt Effective Leadership Studies: Theodore Roosevelt Daniel J. Safarik Theodore Roosevelt: Hero, Leader, Mentor Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt was many things. He was a civil servant, a war hero, and guardian of human rights. Roosevelts success has inspired many Americans throughout history. However, there was one man that he took under his wing and molded into his successor. Roosevelt was able to impact this mans life for years and led him to the presidency. Who did your leader mentor? The person that Roosevelt inspired and mentored the most was William Taft, the 27th President of the United States and Supreme Court Justice. Tafts professional relationship with Roosevelt began when Teddy offered him a seat on the Supreme Court, which he turned down to finish his duties as governor of the Philippines (William Taft: Life in Brief, 2017). This relationship would eventually lead Roosevelt to encourage Taft to run for president. Roosevelts endorsement would lead to Tafts 1908 victory. How did they mentor that person? Roosevelt began professionally mentoring Taft in 1903 when Roosevelt named Taft his Secretary of War. Taft became Roosevelts closest confidant and two worked very closely on many projects including the Portsmouth Peace negotiations, which ended the war between Japan and Russia. When Taft was elected in 1908 he used the tactics and skills he learned under Roosevelt. Taft continued Roosevelts goal of expanding U.S. foreign trade in South and Central America, as well as in Asia (William Taft: Life in Brief, 2017). Although Tafts presidency in many ways did not work out how Roosevelt had foreseen, it is clear that Taft was impacted by his mentor. Roosevelt gave Taft the tools to ensure that he was prepared to take on the challenge. Were they a good mentor? I believe that Roosevelt was a good mentor to Taft. According to Lesser (1995), one of the keys to good mentorship is great expectations. Roosevelt saw that Taft had potential to be a leader and pushed him to run for President, if not for this encouragement, Taft most likely would not have ever run and just stuck to his original plan of becoming a Supreme Court Justice (which he later completed). Many times mentors see what the mentee cannot yet see. Another key to good mentorship is good exposure (Lesser, 1995). Roosevelt was able to expose Taft to situations and people that set him up for success. If not for Tafts exposure to the Portsmouth Peace negotiations he many have not been successful expanding trade with Asia. Exposure like this is irreplaceable and can be very hard to come by, for this reason, I believe that Roosevelt was an excellent mentor. Did your leader display emotional and social intelligence with the mentee? Emotional and social intelligence are defined as skills that enable an individual to understand the impact of emotions on behavior and thinking, to regulate emotions and behavior, to understand the importance of emotions in others, and to understand social interactions and engage in adaptive ways with others in social situations. Emotional intelligence provides the foundation for social intelligence, which includes social awareness and relationship management (Gerardi, 2015). Knowing that Roosevelt was socially aware and maintained his relationships well, one can infer that he carried over these habits in his mentorship of Taft. Although their mentor/mentee relationship did not last much long after Taft became President, it is clear that Roosevelt helped Taft become skilled on how to adapt to others in social situations and become an excellent mediator and ambassador with countries around the world. References Gerardi, D. (2015). Conflict Engagement: Emotional and Social Intelligence. The American Journal of Nursing, 115(8), 60-5. Lesser, R. (1995). How to be a good mentor. Chemical Engineering, 102(8), 111. William Taft: Life in Brief (2017). In millercenter.org.

Welty’s A Worn Path: The Strength of Love :: A Worn Path essays

Strength of Love in A Worn Path   In the story A Worn Path, Eudora Welty shows an old woman living in a time period where racial prejudice is rampant and out of control.   Phoenix Jackson is a grandmother whose only motivation for living is to nurture her grandson back to health.   The strength of love may make people do or say unusual and implausible things.   The central idea of this story is that love can empower someone to over come many life-threatening obstacles.   The idea is shown when an old woman conquers all odds against her to show her everlasting love for her grandson.   Throughout the story Phoenix Jackson has to overcome many types of obstacles that hinder her in her devotion to help her grandson.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the main hindrances that stand in her way is the physical aspect of her age as well as the journey.   Phoenix Jackson is very weak and feeble because of her old age so that makes her long journey very strenuous.   Another physical obstacle is that she has to weave and duck under a barbwire fence.   Her feeble body cannot handle such tasks at her age.   The third hindrance she must defeat is that she must cross over a log that lay across a creek.   This requires concentration, skill, and patients.   Even people whom are twice as young as Phoenix have trouble doing such things.   Not many other emotional force other then love is strong enough to give power to an old woman who is living only for one reason.   She realizes that if she were to die then the fate of her grandson would be damned.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are also mental obstacles that obstruct Phoenix’s journey.   She has to triumph over her weariness because of her old age and her mental fatigue.   As she is walking her mind plays tricks on her, such as the time when she is in the field and mistakes the scarecrow for a dark mysterious figure that she is frightened of.   Another time is when she talks to herself and the animals in the woods.   She tells them not to get in her way because she has a long trip ahead of her.   The love that one person gives to another is never truly appreciated until the recipient realizes what that person has actually done.   The grandson may be too ill or even too young to realize what his grandmother is doing for his safety.

Internal Control Essay

1. Inform the president of any new internal control requirements if the company decides to go public Each of the five components of an internal control system is important. Let us focus on the control activities. These activities are the backbone of the company’s efforts to address the risks it faces, such as fraud. The specific control activities used by a company will vary depending on management’s assessments of the risks faced. The six principles of control activities are as follows: a. Establishment of responsibility b. Segregation of duties c. Documentation procedures d. Physical controls e. Independent internal verification f. Human resource controls All these apply to most companies and are relevant to both manual and computerized accounting systems. Establishment of responsibility: An essential principle of internal control is to assign responsibility to specific employees. Control is most effective when only one person is responsible for given task. Establishing responsibility often requires limiting access only to authorized personnel and then identifying those personal. Segregation of duties: Segregation of duties is indispensable in an internal control system. There are two common applications of this principle: a. Different individuals should be responsible for related activities. b. The responsibility for record-keeping for an asset should be separate from the physical custody of that asset. The rationale for segregation of duties is, the work of one employee should, without a duplication of effort, provide a reliable basis for evaluating the work of another employee. Segregation of related activities – Making one individual responsible for related activities increases the potential for errors and irregularities. Segregation of record-keeping from physical custody – The custodian of the asset is not likely to convert the asset to personal use when one employee maintains the record of the asset, and a different employee has physical custody of the asset. Documentation procedures: Documents provide evidence that transactions and events have occurred. By requiring signatures on the documents, the company can identify the individual responsible for the transaction or event. Companies should document transactions when the transaction occurs. Companies should establish procedures for documents. First, whenever possible, companies should use pre numbered documents, and all documents should be accounted for. Pre numbering helps to prevent a transaction from being recorded more than once or conversely from not being recorded at all. Second, the control system should require that employees promptly forward source documents for accounting entries to the accounting department. This control measure helps to ensure timely recording of the transaction and contributes directly to the accuracy and reliability of the accounting records. Physical controls: Use of physical controls is essential. Physical controls relate to the safeguarding of assets and enhance the accuracy and reliability of the accounting records. Independent internal verification: Most internal control systems provide for independent internal verification. This principle involves the review of data prepared by employees. To obtain maximum benefit from independent internal verification: a. Companies should verify records periodically or on a surprise basis b. An employee who is independent of the personnel responsible for the information should make the verification c. Discrepancies and exceptions should be reported to a management level that can take appropriate corrective action. Independent internal verification is especially useful in comparing recorded transactions with existing assets. Large companies often assign independent internal verification to internal auditors. Internal auditors are company employees who continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the company’s internal control systems. They review the activities of departments and individuals to determine whether prescribed internal controls are being followed. They also recommend improvements when needed. Human resource controls: Human resource control activities include the following: a. Bond employees who handle cash – Bonding involves obtaining insurance protection against theft by employees. It contributes to the safeguarding of cash in two ways: First, the insurance company carefully screens all individuals before adding them to the policy and may reject risky applicants. Second, bonded employees know that the insurance company will vigorously prosecute all offenders. b. Rotate employees’ duties and require employees to take vacations – these measures deter employees from attempting thefts since they will not be able to permanently conceal their improper actions. c. Conduct through background checks – Many believe that the most important and inexpensive measure any business can take to reduce employee theft and fraud is for the human resources department to conduct through background checks. 2. Advice the president of what the company is doing right (they are doing some things well) and also recommends to the President whether or not they should buy the indelible ink machine. When you advise the President, please be sure to reference the applicable internal control principle that applies. Some of the things that the company is doing right are: a. Documentation procedures – The organization uses pre numbered invoices. Documents provide evidence that transactions and events have occurred. This internal control activity says that whenever possible the companies should use pre numbered documents and all documents should be accounted for. Pre numbering helps to prevent a transaction from being recorded more than once or conversely from not being recorded at all. This control measure helps to ensure timely recording of the transaction and contributes directly to the accuracy and reliability of the accounting records. b. Establishment of responsibility – The organization uses petty cash. Employees are asked to place a note if they use any of the cash. This is according to the internal control activity ‘Establishment of responsibility’. This is an essential principle of internal control is to assign responsibility to specific employees. Control is most effective when only one person is responsible for a given task. This limits access only to authorized personnel. c. While interviewing, the president and the accountant do it together. It is good to have more than one people in an interview. d. The fact that he realizes the issues of any problems The president should not buy the indelible ink machine, because anyone in the company will have the access to print. The president has to voluntaries himself and decides about the indelible ink machine. He need not wait for authorization from anybody on installing this indelible ink machine. 3. Advice the president of what the company is doing wrong (they are definitely doing some things poorly). Please be sure to include the internal control principle that is being violated along with a recommendation for improvement. Some of the things that the company is doing wrong are: a. Meeting in a public place to discuss. This should happen in a private room. b. Physical control – The Company does not follow the physical control activity. The company does not have individual passwords to restrict access. The use of physical controls is essential. Physical controls relate to the safeguarding of assets and enhance the accuracy and reliability of the accounting records. The organization should have individual passwords for all employees. c. Establishment of responsibility – The Company does not follow the internal control activity of establishing responsibility. The indelible ink machine is a wrong option because anyone can use the machine to print. An essential principle of internal control is to assign responsibility to specific employees. Control is most effective when only one person is responsible for a given task. d. Human resource controls – The organization does not follow the human resource controls internal activity. Among the human resource controls internal activity, they do not follow the conduct thorough background checks. The company did not do background check. The employee did pornography and was a convicted felon who served time for molesting children. Conducting thorough background checks is the most important and inexpensive measure any business can take to reduce employee theft and fraud for the human resources department. The two tips are: 1. Check to see whether job applicants actually graduated from the schools they list. 2. Never use the telephone numbers for previous employees given on the reference sheet; always look them up yourself. The company must conduct background checks when recruiting. e. They have faith in their long term employees. The long term employees know well about the organization f. Establishment of responsibility – The organization does not have a responsible person for issuing the pay checks. This is an essential principle of internal control to assign responsibility to specific employees. Control is most effective when only one person is responsible for a given task. The company leaves the payday checks in the office for pick up. The paychecks should be mailed separately or it should be deposited directly into the employees’ account. Else one person should have the responsibility to handle the paycheck on pay day. g. Segregation of duties – It is an indispensable internal control system that the organization is not following. The two common applications of this principle are: Different individuals should be responsible for related activities and the responsibility for record keeping for an asset should be separate from the physical custody of that asset. Making one individual responsible for related activities increases the potential for errors and irregularities. The custodian of the asset is not likely to convert the asset to personal use when one employee maintains the record of the asset and a different employee has physical custody of the asset. In a company, same person cannot be both the treasurer and controller. The duties of the employees must be segregated clearly. h. Physical control – Use of physical controls is essential. Physical controls relate to the safeguarding of assets and enhance the accuracy and reliability of the accounting records. There is no internet sec urity in the company. They should have proper internet security.

How Computers have changed our world essays

How Computers have changed our world essays There isnt very many people around who can say that their lives have not been changed by computers. Computers have taken over our society as we know it. Everywhere you look, computers have greatly improved our lives. It can be as simple as going through a carwash, a computer processes the information that we feed it and adjusts the machine accordingly to give us the particular wash that we paid for. Although technology is a good thing to have, there is a few drawbacks. Every computer is a little bit different and you can not expect everyone in the workplace to become an expert on the computers. We all have our battles with technology. I have done hours of work before on my computer and I accidentally hit the wrong button , which made my whole computer freeze up and I lost all my work. Its frustrating and I wanted to smash my computer. All in all I feel that a business is better off using technology then not using it at all. I do not think that our society will ever be taken over by technology, rather I think that we will use it to our advantage and improve the quality of our lives. We need to make sure that we stick with our values and make sure that technology doesnt get out of hand. I think that we can always keep adding technology to our everyday lives as long as we dont let it take over our I think that if we let technology overtake our lives, eventually we will be overtaken by laziness. A lot of people are willing to spend a large amount of money in order to make their jobs easier and effortless, despite the fact it may not have the same quality as if you did it yourself. As long as they dont have to take up to much energy the consumer is happy they got the job done, though it costs them hundreds of dollars just to get the job done. Having computers in the workplace has enabled the business to run more efficient ...