A Synopsis of the Kennedy Family

The Kennedy family has long been plagued by tragedy and scandal. The patriarch of the Kennedy’s, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, outlived five of his own children. Many Kennedy offspring grew up not knowing their father. Kennedy administrations have long been wracked with scandal. Despite all of this, the Kennedy’s have long been thought of as America’s â€Å"royal family†. What is it about the many misdeeds and tragedies of this particular family that has drawn America towards them? Why it is that America has been fascinated by the royal status of the Kennedy, and just what is it about this beleaguered dynasty that has mesmerized generations?The patriarch of the Kennedy political dynasty, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, better known as Joe, came from very humble beginnings. His father, Patrick Joseph Kennedy, came to America during the great potato famine in Ireland. He was in the U. S. only nine years when he died of tuberculosis. After the death of his father, Josephâ €™s mother Bridget began working at a saloon and was eventually able to earn enough money to buy her own saloon, which was quite prosperous. The money from this saloon went to support Joseph’s education at Harvard.After graduating from Harvard, Joe went into the liquor business, and from the liquor business he got into the movie business, all the while racking up large sums of money and making himself a very rich man. On October 7, 1914, Joe married Rose Fitzgerald and began the greatest political dynasty in American history. Joe used his fabulous wealth to further his own ambitious political career. He was able to earn favors from powerful politicians, and even formed a relationship with Franklin D. Roosevelt by being one of his major supporters during his first bid for president.After FDR was in office Joe expected to be rewarded for his large contributions by being nominated for either Secretary of Treasury or Ambassador to England. Although it was the Secretary of Tre asury position that he really wanted, he was barely able to finagle the Ambassador position out of Roosevelt, and he only managed this by using his powerful influence in the media. Joe was a horrible politician, and many of the comments he made prior to World War II prevented him from ever holding a high public office, (The Kennedy Curse; page 43) including the one that was his ultimate goal, president. While ambassador to England, Joe made comments indicating that he sympathized with Nazi Germany and supported their extermination of the Jewish people.He also said that democratic countries should bribe dictator countries in order to avoid war, and also made many other statements that indicated that he did not support democracy. Soon after the war started Joe returned to the United States where he was relieved of his title and banished from all aspects of going-ons’ in Washington, D. C. After his aspirations of holding high office were dashed, Joe Kennedy placed all his expect ations on his eldest son, Joseph Kennedy Jr. Born on July 15, 1915, Joe Jr. received all the benefits of coming from a wealthy and influential family. He graduated from the best schools, and was almost through with law school when World War II broke out, which prompted him to drop out, join the navy and become a pilot. He was awarded his wings in May of 1942, and was sent to England in September of 1943. He flew many missions and collected many accolades.He was on the verge of being offered leave when his younger brother, John F. Kennedy won a heroic battle in the Pacific and stole his limelight. This upset Joe Jr. more than many people realized (The Kennedy Curse; page 36). Instead of accepting his offered leave and going home, Joe Jr. stayed in Europe and continued to fly, often taking more and more risks. In 1944 he volunteered for a top-secret mission, in which the odds of him living were only 50-50. His mission was to take a bomber loaded with 21,170 pounds of explosives and fl y over England to Normandy and crash-dive on a German V-2 rocket-launching site.Shortly after take-off on August 12, 1944, his plane exploded killing both Joe Jr. and his co-pilot. Joe was awarded the Navy Cross and the Air Medal posthumously (countrystudies. us). While World War II was raging in Europe, another Kennedy was frolicking in England. Kathleen (Kick) Kennedy was prominent in London society during England’s war era. She had succeeded in capturing the heart of William Robert John Cavendish, who was the son of Edward William Spencer Cavendish, who was the present Duke of Devonshire.By marrying William Cavendish, better known as Billy Hartington, Kick would secure a place at the top of British society and become a duchess in the process. Even though Billy was engaged to Sally Norton for a while, Kick was able to use her charm to win Billy’s heart. The only problem that seemed to exist was the fact that Billy was a member of the Angelican Church of England, whic h had a reputation for being notoriously anti-Catholic. However, Kick was a Kennedy and therefore everything would work out in her favor, because that’s what happened to Kennedy’s.Normally the Cavendish’s would never have allowed the marriage, but because of the fact that while the war raged on and taxes were increased and the fortune that was once the inheritance of Billy was slowly trickling away, the Cavendish’s were willing to allow the marriage due to the fact that Kick’s father was named the fourth wealthiest man in America. So even though Kick would be able to marry Billy, she would break many Catholic laws, and would be condemned to eternal purgatory. Billy made several compromises, such as getting married in a civil ceremony instead of an Angelican Church.However, one of Billy’s major stipulations was that his children would not be raised Catholic. After they were married on May 6, 1944, Billy offered Kick another compromise regardi ng the rearing of their children. He said that if Britain’s rigid class structure survived the war, then their children would have to be part of the Angelican Church; but if the class structure was gone then their children could be raised in the Catholic faith. Despite all these agreements, Kick’s entire family except for Joe Jr. condemned her decision, especially her mother Rose.Shortly after Kick and Billy married, Billy was called off to fight while Kick was left to her own devices. A few months after her wedding she received bad news; her favorite brother had been killed in a plane accident. She flew to the U. S. for Joe’s memorial service and remained there for several weeks. Subsequently, she was still in the U. S. when she received news that Billy had been killed in action on September 9, 1944. She immediately flew to England for the memorial service. She remained there even after his service, and was still prominent in British affairs.Even though she was no longer married to the future Duke of Devonshire, she still had several responsibilities, including planning balls and dances. It was at one of these dances that she first met Peter Fitzwilliam, a returning war hero and eighth earl. Pretty much everything Billy had been, but more exciting. For Kick and Peter it was considered love at first sight, although there were several obstacles, such as the ever-present problem of religion, and more importantly the fact that Fitzwilliam was married to Olive Dorothea.Even though Fitzwilliam was in the process of seeking a divorce when he first met Kick, he pursued a relationship with her while still being married to Olive. Kick’s relationship with Fitzwilliam, deemed a ‘scandalous affair’ by most prominent people, was violently condemned by her mother. Her mother threatened to cut off Kick’s allowance and pretty much kick her out of the family. Kick decided to seek her father’s support and arranged to meet h im in Paris. During their trip they ran into several delays, which caused them to run into bad weather.It was on May 13, 1947, that the plane carrying Kick, Peter, and two pilots crashed in the French countryside, killing all people on board (The Kennedy Curse; page 55). Even though he had lost two children already, Joe Kennedy still harbored aspirations of having one of his sons in the White House. Since his oldest son had died, the mantel fell on his next oldest son, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. After returning to the United States, John Kennedy, also known as Jack, used his war hero title as a springboard to get into politics. His first victory was in 1946 when he was elected into the U. S.House of Representatives, into which he was reelected in 1948 and 1950. In 1956 he unsuccessfully tried for vice president on the democratic ticket, but was successful in winning the primary for the democratic presidential nomination in 1960. In campaigning for the presidency, he used his New Front ier Program to garner support. The New Frontier promised an extension of economic benefits, an increase in federal aid for education, better health insurance for the elderly, a new department of urban affairs, an end to recession and a restoration of growth, a tax cut to stimulate the economy, and also funding for the space program.Due to the fact that JFK had a narrow victory over Richard Nixon, he often faced opposition in congress, especially from conservative southern democrats (Encarta. msn. com). Even though he is today viewed by many people as an influential figure in American history, JFK’s administration was far from ideal. When he first took office he inherited a problematic situation with Cuba and its dictator, Fidel Castro. His failed attempt to overthrow Castro is known as the Bay of Pigs fiasco. The Bay of Pigs is actually the place where U. S. acked Cuban exiles unsuccessfully tried to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. The exiles were quickly defeated by Castro ’s forces, resulting in a very public embarrassment for the Kennedy administration.The Bay of Pigs fiasco almost in turn led to the Cuban missile crisis, which was a confrontation between the then U. S. S. R. and the United States, the closest the world has ever come to seeing nuclear war (Encarta. msn. com). The confrontation started when U. S. intelligence learned that the Soviet Union was supplying Cuba with long-range nuclear weapons, capable of hitting several U. S. targets. JFK was able to negotiate with the Soviet president, Khrushchev, and convinced him to take back the weapons from Cuba in exchange for the removal of several nuclear weapons located in Turkey that belonged to the U. S. Even though JFK was able to avoid nuclear war, one of his greatest legacies was his penchant for womanizing. This supposedly left him with chronic venereal disease, which is blamed for the death of his infant son, Patrick. JFK was able to cover up all his affairs because he had a close trusting relationship with most members of his secret service.This close relationship with his bodyguards was more of a hindrance than anything else because it prevented the agents from performing at their best. Security was very relaxed during JFK’s administration, which may have been one of the contributing factors to his assassination in 1963 (The Kennedy Curse; page 106). JFK originally went to Dallas in order to secure votes from this crucial state for his reelection. His approval rate in Texas was at an all time low, and JFK hoped a visit there would up his public opinion. Preparation work for his parade was sloppy; very few of the buildings along the parade route were inspected or secured.The night before his planned parade several of his secret service members went to a club where they drank and didn’t come back to the hotel until three or four o’clock in the morning (The Kennedy Curse; page 112). The next day, November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot in the head by Lee Harvey Oswald as his open car made its way down the parade route. The assassination of JFK has long been disputed as a conspiracy involving almost all of Washington and even the Mafia rather than just a mad act by a lone gunman. Evidence to support the conspiracy theory includes the trajectory of Oswald’s’ bullets.Many people say that the number of bullets and the directions of the wounds inflicted to JFK indicate another gunman (How Did It Really Happen? ; page 270). All these conspiracy theories sprang up after the murder of Oswald by Jack Ruby, which prevented Oswald from ever being questioned. Even though the family was still reeling from the death of the young president, life went on and there was still the push to have a Kennedy in the White House again. This time the mantel fell on the next brother, the former attorney general under JFK himself, Robert Kennedy, better known as Bobby.Bobby had begun his career much as his older brothers had, g raduating from prestigious colleges including Harvard and the University of Virginia. After completing his education he was made an attorney in the U. S. Department of Justice, where he worked for a year before leaving his post to become the manager of his older brother’s presidential campaign. After the election was over he was appointed to the position of attorney general where he gained prominence for his determination to crack down on organized crime.He is especially remembered for his investigation of teamsters David Beck and James Hoffa, as well as his activism for civil rights (Encarta. msn. com). After the assassination of JFK he resigned his post but remained active in politics, representing New York in the United States Senate. He continued working on civil equality and trying to improve the lives of the poor. In 1968 he began his campaign to be elected as the democratic candidate for president. His campaign was going well and many people thought that he would be th e next president and carry on the Kennedy name in the White House.However, when walking through the pantry in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, on June 6, 1968 he was fatally shot by Sirham Bishara Sirham, an Islamic extremist (Encarta. msn. com). He left behind ten children and a pregnant wife. As with the assassination of JFK many people suspected that there was a large complicated conspiracy behind the murder of Bobby Kennedy. Many witnesses say that there were more than one gunman in the pantry at the time that shots went off, and others say that they saw a couple running out of the hotel yelling, â€Å"We shot him, we shot him! † (homepages. com. cp. co. uk/~dlewis/crime. htm). However, as with the assassination of his older brother, we may never know the whole truth of the murder of Bobby Kennedy. One would think that after so many tragedies, the Kennedy’s would give up having their name in the White House. However, they still had one hope that lay in the youngest brother, Edward Kennedy, better known as Ted.Ted followed the same path as his brothers before him, graduating from the best schools and getting straight into politics. His career started off when he became district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts in 1960 (Encarta. sn. com). In 1962 he was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by his older brother, JFK. In 1969 after his two older brothers had been assassinated, he made plans to begin campaigning for the democratic nomination for president. However, his plans were cut short, not because of another tragedy but because of a scandal that happened at Chappaquiddick Island. Ted Kennedy was driving to a rented beach house on the island with a young woman that had worked on Bobby’s campaign, Mary Jo Kopechne. The only way to the island was over a bridge that connected Martha’s Vineyard and Chappaquiddick Island.No one is sure if he was drunk or just inattentive, but either way he drove off the bridg e, killing Kopechne in the process. Instead of sticking around and waiting for someone he left the scene. Not only did he leave, but he also failed to report the crime until his car was found in the water several days later. He was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident, driving without a license, and reckless driving, as well as having to pay $90,000 to Kopechne’s family. Many people think that he should have received a harsher punishment, such as manslaughter charges, and that the only reason he was able to avoid these harges was the power and influence of the Kennedy name. Even though his aspirations for president were extinguished, Ted remained in the Senate, representing Massachusetts even to this day. The people discussed are only a small majority of the Kennedy family, and the incidents only a small portion of the numerous scandals and tragedies that plague the Kennedy’s. Even through so many tragedies, the Kennedy name remains an influential sound in pol itics, and the remaining members of the clan part of a royalty all their own.Bibliography †¢Reader’s Digest How Did It Really Happen? Copyright 2000 †¢Klein, Edward The Kennedy Curse oSt. Martin’s Press, NY, copyright 2003 †¢http://www.countrystudies.us/united-states/history-120.htm †¢http://www.sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/jfk.html †¢http://www.jpkf.org/BIOG.HTML †¢http://www.pbs.org/wgbn/amex/kennedys/peopleevents/p_joe.html †¢http://www.who2.com/josephkennedysr.html †¢http://www.encarta.msn.com †¢http://www.homepages.tcp.co.uk/~dlewis/crime.htm †¢http://www.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-chappaquiddick-incident.htm

Innovative Technology: the Lead Cause of Employee Redundancy? A Literature Review

Introduction Technological developments have led to an increase in adoption of different innovative technological solutions in organisations. Several positive consequences have emanated from this, including the increase in efficiency of operations (Thompson, 2011). There have also been negative consequences, one of these being the fact that services of some employees are rendered unnecessary, leading to their possible dismissal (Klehe et al., 2011). This section intends to carry out an in-depth and critical review of literature on the adoption of innovation technology and employee redundancy. Workplace Innovation and Innovative Technologies In order to understand the need for innovative technologies, it is vital to develop an understanding of innovation at the workplace. Innovation is defined by Mumford (2012) as the process by which new ideas, methods or devices are introduced so as to provide better solutions for issues being faced by an organisation. The constant changes in the business environment, coupled with an increasing competition across all business industries have made innovation an inevitable option for almost all companies (Thompson, 2011). According to Sung and Choi (2014), workplace innovation is at the intersection of three organisational elements, which are technology, skills, and human resource management. The coexistence of these elements lies in the fact that when the adoption of technology is driven by the strategic human resource management policies, there is a likelihood of HR managers to improve organisational processes through investing in employee training programs to improve their skills. Con versely, static human resource management presents a barrier to the adoption of technology and thus, less workplace innovation (Tushman & O’Reilly, 2013). This perspective of workplace innovation clearly indicates that technology adoption plays a key role. Technological innovation is the development or extensive adoption of new and better technologies by organisations (Nordhaus, 2007). Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2011) argue that there has been an increasing pace of technological innovations, which is expected to further increase in future. There are a variety of innovative technologies, which is based on the differences in services and products that are offered by different companies. Whereas development of innovative technologies has been in place for a long time, it was accelerated by the onset of information and computer technologies in the 1960s (Teece, 2010). Often referred to as the computer revolution, it began with the initial use of computers commercially and went on t hrough the introduction of the internet and later, e-commerce (Nordhaus, 2007). Even though they may be expensive to acquire and maintain, there are several advantages that are associated with these innovative technologies (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011). For businesses, one of the advantages is the reduction of costs. This is because it reduces the overdependence on employees and as a result, eliminates expenses that could be incurred in form of salaries, benefits and training costs. It also eliminates the losses associated with employee turnover and reduces wastages in operations (Davenport, 2013). For manufacturing companies, it makes it easier for them to streamline their processes and implement lean manufacturing strategies (Leiponen & Helfat, 2010). Innovative technologies also increase productivity and reduce downtime. Campbell-Kelly (2009) argues that algorithms used in computerisation of tasks in workplaces eliminate biases that are typical to humans. Whilst human have to ful fil other tasks that are unrelated to their occupations like eating, sleeping and grooming that often disrupt their work routines, algorithms are programmed to accomplish the range of tasks that it is allocated without these interruptions. As a result, it enables companies to meet demands from customers, expand their operations and increase their returns (Campbell-Kelly, 2009). Trends in Innovative Technologies In explaining workplace innovative technologies of the 21st century, Autor et al. (2003) categorise tasks into four. These are routine, non-routine, manual and cognitive tasks. Routine tasks are those that are accomplished by following explicit steps, and can be easily executed by machines. Non-routine tasks, on the other hand, are more complex, and have not been adequately understood by programmers to develop a specified computer mode for their operations (Autor et al., 2003). Both routine and non-routine tasks can then be classified into cognitive or manual tasks. Whereas manual tasks relate to physical duties, cognitive tasks relate to manual work. Historically, automation or computerisation was limited to routine manual and cognitive tasks, which are known to involve explicit activities that are rule-based. However, with the technological developments that have taken place over the years, even tasks that are non-routine are also being automated (David & Dorn, 2013). Examples of i nnovative technologies being used in present-day organisations are mobile robotics. These are widely used in the health and manufacturing sectors to accomplish tasks that were initially handled by manual labour (Gomes, 2011; Dudek & Jenkin, 2010). Other tasks, as illustrated by Autor et al. (2003), include navigation of automobiles, deciphering handwritings, fraud detections and healthcare diagnostics. In healthcare, for instance, oncologists in leading medical centres are the Watson computer from IBM to offer chronic care and diagnostics for cancer treatment (Cohn, 2013). The computer utilises data from 600,000 medical reports, 2 million pages of from medical journal articles and 1.5 million criminal trials and patient records to benchmark and recognize patterns. This enables the computer to make a near accurate comparison of a person’s genetics, symptoms and history of his/her family medications so as to come up with the most appropriate plan for treatment (Cohn, 2013). Nor mally, it could take many employees to analyse all this data in order to provide a near-accurate diagnosis and treatment prescription. The fact that all these can be executed by a single machine renders many hospital employees jobless (Walker, 2014). This is one of the examples that denote the milestones that have been reached in regard to technological innovation. Societal Impacts of Innovative Technologies There are several societal impacts that have been associated with the adoption of innovative technologies in organisations. Of interest in this study, however, are their impacts on the jobs of employees in different organisations. This concern has been raised by several researchers, including Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2011), who argue that automated or computer controlled equipment have widely contributed to the recent increase in the levels of unemployment across the world. They also state that automation is no longer limited to routine tasks in manufacturing industries (Autor et al., 2003). It is increasingly being applied on other autonomous tasks, which increases the possibility of a reduction on the demand for manual tasks. An example is the recent development of an autonomous driverless car by Google (Rathod, 2013). In another study by Beaudry et al. (2013), they also established that within the past 10 years, there has been a huge decline in the demand of manual skill as a resu lt of increased automation and dependency on computer and information technology. This is even with the increase in the number of people who enrol in and graduate from higher education institutions. This research, however, fails to put into consideration the jobs that have been created as a result of technological developments and the computer revolution. Among the industries that have prospered because of information technology and, as a result, absorbed many employees include the telecommunications sector (Leiponen & Helfat, 2010). According to Acemoglu (2011), this has resulted into a situation where skilled employees have move down the occupational ladder to take up roles that were originally handles by semi-skilled or unskilled employees. This pushes the low-skilled labourers further down the ladder, forcing some of them to move out of employment. These findings concur with David and Dorn’s (2013), who established that there are increasing proportions of skilled workers in organisations. This does not, however, mean that there is an ongoing creation of jobs for skilled employees. It means that automation has taken up most of the jobs that were originally handled by skilled and semi-skilled employees. Several questions have been raised in regard to technological innovations and employee job security (David & Dorn, 2013). One of these is the extent of unemployment that will be brought about by innovative technologies. With the on-going trends of automating tasks that were originally considered as un-automatable, even skilled employees face the risk of losing their jobs. By losing jobs, these people also lose a source of income, making the impacts to spill over to their families and dependants (Acemoglu, 2011). Even with the widely available evidence on ‘technological unemployment’ resulting from these technological innovations, there are economists who still insist that it cannot happen (Campa, 2014). They argue that even though automati on leads to the displacement of workers, it reduces operational prices in several companies, leading to reduced prices. These reduced prices trigger increased consumer demands, which require more products and services to be satisfied. As a result, more industries will have to be created, which provide a basis for hiring more workers. This argument is often referred to as the Luddite fallacy (Walker, 2014). Even though this has been more or less true for the past two centuries, it is yet to be proved whether it will still hold true with the acceleration in technological innovations that has been facilitated by the computer revolution. Governmental approaches to employee redundancy The effect of automation on employment in the United Kingdom and across the globe has raised concerns among different stakeholders (Acemoglu, 2011). As organisations continue to take advantage of technological advancements to increase their competitive positions in their various industries of operation, more employees face the risk of losing their jobs. In response to this, there are several policies that have been put in place by the government to reduce redundancy (Gov.uk, 2014). However, these policies are general and do not focus on the redundancy that may be brought about by technological innovations in the workplace. Some of the reasons that are cited for redundancy, alongside adoption of technological innovations, include changing the location of business premises, acquisition of one company by another or reduction of staff members with the aim of cutting costs in the organisation (Griffith & Macartney, 2014). In case an employee is selected to be made redundant, employers are required to provide a clear explanation for the decision. Some of the reasons that can be included as explanations for this are skills and qualifications of the employee, their attendance and disciplinary records, success/lack of success at the workplace and their overall workplace performance (Gov.uk, 2014). Reasons for redundancy ought not to be related to prejudice or discrimination. There also has to be an appeal procedure that provides employees with a platform to question his/her selection for redundancy in case they feel that the selection is unfair in any way. On dismissal, companies are also required to pay their employees a statutory redundancy pay (Gov.uk, 2014). Whereas these policies offer a slight reprieve to employees in regard to losing their jobs to technology, there has been no quantifiable argument to pinpoint their effectiveness (Griffith & Macartney, 2014). Even with the extensive research that has been carried out on innovative technologies and their effects o n employment, there is still a shortage of literature that explains the approaches that companies can use to retain employees while adopting these innovative technologies. How to find a balance between innovative technologies and employment Referring to the literature that has been reviewed on innovative technologies and the ‘technological unemployment’, it is clear that the most likely trend will be an increased adoption of innovative technologies at the workplace, with a consequent increase in technological unemployment (Huizingh, 2011; Campa, 2014). However, there are different approaches that have been suggested by researchers that will help in reducing the adverse impacts of technological innovations on employment and employee living conditions. For instance, Piovarciova (2014) suggests that governments need to introduce an unconditional basic income for the growing number of unemployed people. This will result in the continuation of the market economy as the cycle of consumer spending will be propped up. Yet, this suggestion has been downplayed by many, with some arguing that providing everyone with a guaranteed basic income will mean that the working populations will have to part with more money in form of taxes (Gajewska, 2014). Another approach was offered by Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2012) who suggested that, in order to avoid being overtaken by machines in workplaces, people need to work towards advancing their capabilities faster than the pace with which technological advancements are taking place. In addition to this, super-intelligent minds ought to develop new desires that will trigger the creation of new industries (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2012). However, all these suggestions may be impractical because the acceleration in development of innovative technologies that has been facilitated by computer and information technology could be challenging to catch up with. Moreover, some of the human capabilities that will have to be advanced include skills in designing and developing new and more advanced innovative technologies, which are being fought against in the first place. Mitigating employee redundancy caused by technological advancement As earlier established, there are several reasons why companies lay off employees, one of these being automation of tasks. Automation reduces costs of operation, standardises quality of repetitive processes and increases the pace at which work is done. However, not all layoffs are necessary (Bartels et al., 2012). There are several measures through which employee redundancy can be mitigated. This section intends to address some of them. Effective strategic planning All successful organisations have managers who are strategic planners and future oriented. The ability to take chances and make future projections determines if the company will survive the tough times that are the norm of a globalised and competitive world. In line with this proposition, Autor et al. (2003) state that a clear, elaborate, well-planned and structured strategic plan ensures that the organisation is prepared for any eventualities. As such, organisations need to prepare for technological advancements and make the necessary adjustments in their workforce. One of the adjustments that can be made is distributing employees who could be redundant to other departments to reinforce their operations (Gall, 2011). Hiring highly skilled employees and offering employee training Based on analysis conducted by Waters (2007), technological advancement ordinarily automates most of the functionality of an organisation that does not require highly skilled and/or specialised labour. As su ch, companies whose larger population of employees is not highly skilled are susceptible to employee redundancy in case of technological innovations in the organisation (Walker, 2014). To mitigate this while still allowing the company to grow and advance, organisations should have a highly skilled, effectively trained and tested labour force, which will still be effective after acquisition of new technological innovations. Gall (2011), who concurs with this opinion, states that organisations are expected to invest heavily in training staff that can facilitate growth and stability of the organisation. The limitation of this strategy is that not all tasks in the organisation require a high level of skills to be accomplished (Bartels et al., 2012). In addition, if skilled employees are assigned tasks that they consider not to match with their skill set, they are likely to seek employees in other companies, increasing employee turnover. Continuous evaluation of employees Even with the automations of tasks in organisations, companies will still find it difficult to dismiss employees they regard as being valuable to the organisation. There is thus a need for standards to be set to gauge the performance such as performance appraisals (Waters, 2007). Rewards can be put in place for employees who positively contribute towards the organisation’s prosperity and punitive measures for those who do not. With such measures, employees will continuously upgrade their skills and increase their value to the organization (Palaiologos et al., 2011). This will increase their chance of retention in case of an automation of tasks. Even with such measures in place, there will still be employees who will be not as effective as others. Employee cross-training Cross-training refers to the provision of training for employees to enable them improve their levels of proficiency in roles other than those of their functional areas or departments (Ramanigopal et al., 2012). An example is when an employee in the production team of an organisation is provided with training on roles in the human resource department. Whereas this is commonly done with the aim of replacing employees who might have moved to other organisations, dismissed or on leave, it can also be used to mitigate employee redundancy occurring as a result of automation. Employees whose jobs will be taken over by machines can be distributed to other functional areas, where they will effectively fit (Abernathy, 2011). Cross-training, however, has the limitation of being costly to the organisation. Planned and progressive acquisition of innovative technology Most organisations tend to apply technological advancement as a reactive measures rather than an active measure (Gall, 2011). As a reactive measure, organisations apply technological advancement for purposes such as warding off competition, subscribing to the new standards set by the government or other regulatory bodies, meeting the unexpected high demand from the clients or any other reason which was not planned but rather as a result of unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, employee redundancy is normally high and there is need to take action against it (Campa, 2014). However, this can be mitigated through planned and progressive implementation of technological advancement. When technological advancement is planned, the organization will be ready for the change and the employees will be adequately skilled to tag along with the change and still be relevant (Teece, 2010). Progressive implementation will allow for critical analysis of the impact if the technological advancement a nd thus laying down better strategies or corrective measures to mitigate the negative impacts of the technology while at the same time reduce employee redundancy (Gall, 2011). All the suggested approaches towards mitigation of employee redundancy as a result of technological innovation only provide a slight solution. This is because of the fact that whilst the current employees in the organisations will be retained, there will be a shortage of employment positions to accommodate new workers (Walker, 2014). Thus, this will only provide a shot-term solution to technological unemployment. The relationship between technological advancement and unemployment Employee redundancy that is majorly caused by technological advancement is also regarded as one of the primary contributors to the high levels of unemployment in the society (Autor et al., 2003). In order to fully understand the concepts behind the relationship between technological advancement and unemployment, one has to understand the genesis of formal employment and technological advancement. From the onset of capitalism in the society, there was need for specialised labour to ensure that the high demand for goods and services was met. The surplus production of food led to larger populations and thus higher demand for goods and services. The industrial revolution helped to set the platform on which technology was used in industries to enhance productivity and maximise on the resources available (Huizingh, 2011). The use of technology helped to automate repetitive tasks and standardise the quality of goods. The more beneficial technology was to the organisations, the more it was harnessed to ensure that capitalism prevailed and the needs of the people were met. However, the unskilled labourers lost their jobs when machines were able to do the work that they did faster and at lower costs (Antonelli, 2014). This situation led to the term commonly referred to as technological unemployment where people lost their jobs to machines. The use of machinery led to the employment of only skilled labour (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011). The invention of computers was revolutionary to the way humans lived, communicated with each other and also the way they worked (Gajewska, 2014). There was more automation of functions in organisations and the skills that people possessed then were rendered obsolete. According to Ayres (2009), many organisations, such as Google, have specific departments that are focused on research and development of new technologies to make work cheaper, easier and faster. Each and every day, there is a new invention aimed at making life for humans better but the inventions could also lead to massive unemployment (Campa, 2014). The development of robotics is one of the forms of technological advancement that has led to unemployment. Robots are being used to perform the tasks that were initially being performed by people (Ayres & Warr, 2009). For example, as earlier stated, Google has recently launched a driverless car which is not prone to accidents (Rathod, 2013). These technologies require highly skilled labour to operate. However, since most of the world’s population is unskilled thus technology is leaving them jobless thus increasing the levels of unemployment (Campa, 2014). The acceleration if the digital revolution is conditioned by the basic human desire to be better. Tasks that were considered to be complex and had to be done by highly skilled professionals are also being overtaken by technology (Nordhaus, 2007). Careers, such as banking, are being taken over by automated teller machines and online banking leading to unemployment of skilled labour. The use of 3D printers and the integration of artificial intelligence in the technological advancement concepts are leading to obsolesce of skills that were considered impressive, such as surgery (Cohn, 2013). As much as technological advancement is criticised for causing massive unemployment in variou s industries for both skilled and unskilled labour, there are many jobs which may be related to the technological advancements which have been created as a result (Mumford, 2012). For instance, although the librarians and libraries are becoming less significant with the invention of computers and the internet, jobs for people who are manufacturing the computing devices have been created. In addition, other computer and information technology related industries, like telecommunications, have expanded and created more jobs (Leiponen & Helfat, 2010). Technological advancement can thus be regarded as constructive destruction where it causes unemployment in some sectors while creating employment in others. The future of technological advancement Technology has been regarded as a solution for several problems within and outside organisations. This mentality has deterred people from considering the adverse impacts that it has on society. One of the many drawbacks of technological advancement is employee redundancy, which is the subject of this study. In this regard, researchers like Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2012) are for the opinion that technology is but an improved means to unimproved ends and cannot equal social and moral progress. According to Walker (2014), as technological advancements progress, there are resulting limitations in people’s learning abilities and their flexibility in adopting new ideas. This will in turn limit their innovation and as such, the rate of technological advancement will decline. However, Gomes (2011) presents a conflicting argument, stating that technological advancement is limitless and will continue to advance as long as humanity survives. This is because of the tendency of human beings to design easier approaches to day-to-day tasks. Human beings strive on a daily basis to make their lives better and are not satisfied with the level of progress made. Even though several strides have been made, there still is need for improvement (Huizingh, 2011). This is evidenced by the recent technological innovations that have been made, included the development of smartphones and driverless cars. In addition, for all innovations, there are often flaws or discoveries of better ways tha t they can deliver their intended tasks. Thus, there is a persistent need for further improvements of previous designs (Acemoglu, 2011). One of the factors that could limit the adoption of innovative technologies in workplaces is the increasing concern of their greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption (Wheeler, 2013). However, this concern is being addressed by a further development of technological innovations that are more environmental friendly, and use sustainable energy sources like solar and wind power (Hansmann et al., 2012). Based on these findings, unless raw materials needed to facilitate technological advancements are depleted, technological advancements are expected to endless. Summary This section has reviewed a wider range of literature on innovative technologies at the workplace and its impacts on employee redundancy. A wide range of literature suggests a positive relationship between the adoption of innovative technology and technological unemployment. However, the Luddite fallacy developed by some economists states that that there is no positive relationship between the two. Other issues that have been addressed in this section include the trends in innovative technologies, the affects that they have on social life and how the resulting employee redundancy can be mitigated. In regard to whether there will be an end to technological advancements, most of the literature that has been reviewed suggests that technological innovation will progress. This argument is supported by the trends in technology innovations in the 21st century, where tasks that are non-routine and were considered as being non-automatable, are now being automated. One of the gaps that have be en identified in literature is on the measures being taken by organisations to limit employee redundancy as a result of technological innovation. References Abernathy, W.B. (2011). An analysis of the effects of selected management practices on organizational productivity and performance. Performance Improvement, 50(6), pp.39-47. Acemoglu, D. (2011). Skills, tasks and technologies: Implications for employment and earnings. Handbook of Labor Economics, 4, pp.1043-171. Antonelli, C. (2014). The economics of innovation, new technologies and structural change. New Jersey: Routledge. Autor, D., Levy, F. & Murnane, R. (2003). The skill content of recent technological change: An empirical exploration. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4), p.1279–1333. Ayres, R.U. & Warr, B. (2009). The Economic Growth Engine: How Energy and Work Drive Material Prosperity. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing. Bartels, B., Ermel, U., Sandborn, P. & Pecht, M.G. (2012). Strategies to the Prediction, Mitigation and Management of Product Obsolescence. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Beaudry, P., Green, D.A. & Sand, B.M. (2013). The great reversal in the demand for skill and cognitive tasks. NBER Working Paper. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research. Brynjolfsson, E. & McAfee, A. (2011). Race against the machine: How the digital revolution is accelerating innovation, driving productivity, and irreversibly transforming employment and the economy. Lexington: Digital Frontier Press. Brynjolfsson, E. & McAfee, A. (2012). Thriving in the automated economy. Futurist, 46(2), pp.27-31. Campa, R. (2014). Technological Growth and Unemployment: A Global Scenario Analysis. Journal of Evolution & Technology, 24(1), pp.86-103. Campbell-Kelly, M. (2009). Origin of computing. Scienti?c American Magazine, 301(3), p.62–69. Cohn, J. (2013). The robot will see you now. The Atlantic, 20 February. Davenport, T.H. (2013). Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Chicago: Harvard Business Press. David, H. & Dorn, D. (2013). The growth of low-skill service jobs and the polarization of the US labor market. The American Economic Review, 103(5), pp.1553-97. Dudek, G. & Jenkin, M. (2010). Computational principles of mobile robotics. Cambridge: Cambridge university press. Gajewska, K. (2014). Technological Unemployment but Still a Lot of Work: Towards Prosumerist Services of General Interest. Journal of Evolution & Technology, 24(1), pp.104-12. Gall, G. (2011). Collective worker responses to redundancy and restructuring. Bingley: Emerald. Gomes, P. (2011). Surgical robotics: Reviewing the past, analysing the present, imagining the future. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 27(2), pp.261-66. Gov.uk. (2014). Redundancies, dismissals and disciplinaries. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/redundancies-dismissals [Accessed 16 July 2014]. Gov.uk. (2014). Redundancy: your rights. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights/overview [Accessed 16 July 2014]. Griffith, R. & Macartney, G. (2014). Employment Protection Legislation, Multinational Firms, and Innovation. Review of Economics and Statistics, 96(1), pp.135-50. Hansmann, R., Mieg, H.A. & Frischknecht, P. (2012). Principal sustainability components: empirical analysis of synergies between the three pillars of sustainability. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 19(5), pp.451-59. Huizingh, E.K. (2011). Open innovation: State of the art and future perspectives. Technovation, 31(1), pp.2-9. Klehe, U.C., Zikic, J., Van Vianen, A.E. & De Pater, I.E. (2011). Career adaptability, turnover and loyalty during organizational downsizing. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79(1), pp.217-29. Leiponen, A. & Helfat, C.E. (2010). Innovation objectives, knowledge sources, and the benefits of breadth. Strategic Management Journal, 31(2), pp.224-36. Mumford, M.D. (2012). Handbook of Organizational Creativity. London: Elsevier. Nordhaus, W. (2007). Two centuries of productivity growth in computing. The Journal of Economic History, 67(1), p.128. Palaiologos, A., Papazekos, P. & Panayotopoulou, L. (2011). Organizational justice and employee satisfaction in performance appraisal. Journal of European Industrial Training, 35(8), pp.826-40. Piovarciova, V. (2014). Development of Economic Systems–Impulses and Alternatives. European Scientific Journal, 9(10), pp.280-4. Ramanigopal, C.S., Joy, P.A., Palaniappan, G. & Hemalatha, N. (2012). Knowledge Management Strategies and their roles. International Journal of Engineering and Social Science, 2(2), pp.51-72. Rathod, S.D. (2013). An autonomous driverless car: an idea to overcome the urban road challenges. Journal of Information Engineering and Applications, 3(13), pp.34-38. Sung, S.Y. & Choi, J.N. (2014). Do organizations spend wisely on employeesEffects of training and development investments on learning and innovation in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(3), pp.393-412. Teece, D.J. (2010). Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range planning, 43(2), pp.172-94. Thompson, J.D. (2011). Organizations in action: Social science bases of administrative theory. London: Transaction Publishers. Tushman, M.L. & O’Reilly, C.A. (2013). Winning through innovation: A practical guide to leading organizational change and renewal. Cambridge: Harvard Business Press. Walker, M. (2014). BIG and Technological Unemployment: Chicken Little Versus the Economists. Journal of Evolution & Technology, 24(1), pp.5-25. Waters, L. (2007). Experiential differences between voluntary and involuntary job redundancy on depression, job-search activity, affective employee outcomes and re-employment quality. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80(2), pp.279-99. Wheeler, S.M. (2013). Planning for Sustainability: Creating Livable, Equitable and Ecological Communities. New York: Routledge.

Threater review Arthur Asher Miller

Asher Miller was one of the greatest playwrights and essayists of the 20th century. He won numerous awards for his writing including the Tony Award for best play and Pulitzer Prize for drama. He lived a long fruitful life and provided a total of seven decades In playwright. Earlier Life and Potential Influence to His Writing: Arthur was born In October 1 7th, 1915. He was the second of three children of Solder and Augusta Miller. HIS father was a well-known man In the community and they were well off. Urethra's father owned a women's clothing manufacturing business called â€Å"S. Miller & Sons† 1 and his mother was a school teacher.However, due to the Wall Street crash of 1929, the family lost their wealth and had to move to Gravesend, Brooklyn. Later in the teen years, Arthur had to pick up a part-time Job to save up for college and they lived a middle class life struggling with money. He did poorly in high school because he was more focused on athletics. After he graduated he went to college and later dropped out of NY City College because he was not able to keep up with both work and school. To sum it all up, â€Å"Living through young adulthood during he Great Depression, Miller was shaped by the poverty that surrounded him.The Depression demonstrated to the playwright the fragility and vulnerability of human existence In the modern era. † 2 Professor Eric Rabble at the university of Mulligan said, â€Å"It Is no surprise then that many of his plays deal with Individuals rendered helpless in the face of uncontrollable social forces and the impact that this sense of helplessness has on the individual and the relationships that surround him. † 3 After a few years, he applied to the University of Michigan and was apparently denied admission two times before acceptance because of his poor grades in high school.Once he was accepted, he majored in Journalism and became the editor for Michigan Daily. 4 Becoming a Playwright: Miller's writing flourished in college. He gained confidence In playwright when he won the Hoped Award for a play he wrote in 6 days called the â€Å"No Villain†. He then switched his major to English and this Is when he realized he had the talent to become a professional playwright-5 Luckily, Miller had the opportunity to meet one of the most Influential playwright Instructors name Kenneth Thorpe Rowe, who apparently has taught many other professional playwrights.Rowe motivated and instructed Miller the fundamentals of playwright. He also helped Miller connect to Broadway later in his career by using his connections. 6 With the help of Rowe he rewrote â€Å"No Villain† and revised the play into another title called â€Å"They Too Arise† and won another Hoped Award for the play. 7 Miller struggled financially throughout college and was a night editor, earning a very small salary. 8 â€Å"In 1 936, as a student at the University of Michigan, the National Youth Administration pai d me $1 5 a month o feed a couple of thousand mice in a cancer research laboratory,† Miller recalled. L walked two miles to get to the genetics lab. I washed dishes for my meals, but without that ANY money, I couldn't have paid my room rent and would no doubt have had to leave school. Jobs In those times were next to Impossible to find. † 9 1 strongly believe that these kinds of hardships In his college life and the terrible economy near future. In 1938, Miller graduated from the University of Michigan with a BAA in English. Miller struggled financially throughout college and wrote some radio scripts ND a few short stories for income after graduating. 0 He briefly worked for Federal Theater Project but it was closed by the US Congress due to â€Å"presumed communist influence†. Al In August 1940, Miller married his college sweetheart, Mary Grace Clattery. 12 Mary supported Miller with his writing by being the editor and also provided income working as a waitress. They had two children together named Jane and Robert. Playwright Career: After losing his Job and, at one point, even collecting federal assistance, he found many different work including being a ship fitter's helper at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.He kept up with his writing by writing many radio plays and scripts after work. 13 It was not until 1944 that Miller went to Broadway with his play called â€Å"The Man Who Had All the Luck†. Unfortunately, the play was closed after a total of six performances, two of which were previews. The play received negative reviews from critics and it nearly ended his playwright career. However, being the man of the family and having the obligation to support the family, he went on writing two books titled Situation Normal (1944) and Focus (1945). 14 Then in 1946 Miller released a new play called â€Å"AllMy Sons†. This play earned Miller major credits for being one of the best playwrights at the time. This play was a major success in Broa dway. It ran 328 performances and also earned Miller two Tony awards for Best Author and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. 15, 16 This play was rated one of the best ten plays of 1947. 17 With the income from this play, he built a small studio in Connecticut. It was here where he created one of the best plays of all time, â€Å"Death of the Salesman† (1948). 18 This is by far the most recognized play for Miller. He won numerous Tony Awards including thePulitzer Prize for Best Drama. There have been numerous revivals of â€Å"Death of the Salesman† and have been played in theater over thousands of times. There have even been film and television adaptations of this play. Some critics stated that â€Å"Death of a Salesman† was the first great American tragedy written. Following this success, Miller expressed his political beliefs with the play called â€Å"The Crucible† (1953). It seems that he is comparing the Salem Witch Trials in this play with th e ongoing sass and sass â€Å"anti-communist Red Scare and the congressional hearings of Seen.Joseph McCarthy going on in the United States at the time†. 19 â€Å"In reading this play, one can pick up on three important themes. The first is how people use escape goats to gain in their personal lives, and secondly, how one deals with their own personal set of morals, when placed against an entire groups. Lastly, The Crucible deals with the idea of how people in power will sacrifice what is truly right for the protection of their own power, or face†. 20 In June 1956, he divorced his first wife and married again with a well-known actress named Marilyn Monroe a few weeks later.They only lasted 4 years and Miller got married for the third time with Engine Mortar in 1962 and had two children together. 21 Miller's Influences and Style: Arthur Miller was heavily influenced by United States sociology of his time and had a deep insight with human behavior facing tragedy. Miller' s writing style is known for his honesty and true nature of man. His famous works like â€Å"Death of the Salesman† emphasize a difficult conflict within one family and address the larger issues his relationship with his uncle named Many Newman, who was also a salesman.His uncle practically had the personality and idea of Wily in â€Å"Death of the Salesman†. Miller wrote short stories in the earlier days about a failure of an unsuccessful salesman. He later on transformed this story into one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. 22 Miller said he was inspired by the Greeks, particularly Sophocles. â€Å"l think the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity,† Miller writes. From Rooster to Hamlet, Made to Macbeth, the underlying trudge is that of the individual attempting to gain his ‘rightful' position in his society. † Miller considers the common man â€Å"as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were. â€Å"23 Miller wrote many different kinds of plays and scripts in his career. However, two of his most famous works like â€Å"Death of the Salesman† and â€Å"All My Sons† are known for being the best tragedy plays known to date. His protagonists in these two plays were both hard-working American men with their family, going through a struggle or conflict and involve a lie with a big truth moment.In â€Å"Death of he Salesman†, Wily wanted to believe that he was a â€Å"successful† salesman and that his sons were going to successful Just like him, achieving the American dream. He had all his hope on his older son Biff, who was popular and athletic. Wily believed that Biff had all the ingredients needed to be successful and wanted to believe that Biff would be successful. However, Biff confronts Wily about what is reality and why Wily needs to stop lying to believe that Biff is something special when he was Just ordinary. Similarly, in â€Å"All My Sons†, Joe lies to his own sons about a crime he omitted which killed 21 American pilots.Apparently, Joe who was a businessman purchased and sold faulty machine parts to the air force to get out of a tight financial situation and to top it all off, blamed his partner for the wrongdoing when he was the one that did it. However, this action later haunts him and his family. His son Larry went missing in World War II and for three years his fiance named Ann had been waiting for him. Apparently, his other son Chris falls in love with Ann and wanted to marry her. Joey's wife Kate did not want to accept that Larry was dead and knew that he secret would be revealed if they got married.Ann gave Chris Larry suicide note confirming that Larry was absolutely dead because he killed himself knowing his father had killed 21 American pilots because of his selfish action. Chris read this out to the whole family. 24 Interestingly enough, both of these plays ended with the protagonist committing suicide. Wily ended his life to provide insurance money to Biff to start his own business and Joe shot himself in head not wanting to face the judgment from his dead son, who killed himself because of his father and other son ho was ready to throw him in prison. 5 Both of these plays questioned morality and ethics. How far will a man go to save his family? Will he kill a man and keep his family hidden from the dirty truth? Or would he even kill himself to provide his son an income to start a business? It questions human instincts and how low a man would go to protect their own family. â€Å"The closer a man approaches tragedy the more intense is his concentration of emotion upon the fixed point of his commitment, which is to say the closer he approaches what in life we call fanaticism. â€Å"26

Major Approaches to Knowledge Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Major Approaches to Knowledge Management - Essay Example Peter Drucker introduced the first related term ‘Knowledge Worker’ in 1960. Over the years, there has been a significant growth in this field and various authors and scholars have brought a number of different areas of focus on the subject. Carlie (1998) highlighted that several theories were developed to manage the intellectual capital in the 21st century. Graham and Thomas (2008) believed that KM is supported as a means of harnessing and utilizing intellectual resources to address challenges, as well as improving innovation, business performance and client approval. Since 1996, there has been immense and rapid growth in terms of KM. Knowledge is the awareness of what one knows through study, reasoning, experience or association, or through various other types of learning (McInerney, 2002). KM consists of four key processes to include knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing, scoring knowledge and knowledge use. DeNoni, Orsi, and Pilotti (2009) believed that the impleme ntation of knowledge management needs effective methods of accessing, measuring and controlling information to manage increasing complexity. This paper aims at highlighting the major approaches that have been developed for KM. This paper addresses the various approaches that have been developed and the importance that this plays in the success of a business. A comparison of the similarities and the differences of the major approaches are discussed. Finally, the importance of computer technology in capturing the unique level dependent organizational knowledge will also be discussed. It is essential to briefly understand the meaning of KM before moving into the various approaches. KM has been discussed and described by several experts. Ron Young, CEO of Knowledge Associates International has defined KM as, â€Å"the discipline of enabling individuals, teams and entire organizations to

A Business Proposal for J. R Creative, a Web Design firm Dissertation

A Business Proposal for J. R Creative, a Web Design firm - Dissertation Example Give our experience in commercial web development and business-to-business sales; we are quite sure that we will offer a unique and quality service to small business operators compared to our competitors in the market. With most firms, including the small services wanting to have an online presence, the demand for web design and development has gone up and there are no signs of that demand going down soon. Having a fully functional and professional website is nowadays a competitive advantage on the business owners. Even more interesting and enterprising, is an ecommerce website through which the business can advertise and sell its merchandise. Notably, very few companies in Newcastle have taken advantage of this business niche, as there are no dominating participants in this huge market. One of the possible reasons for this untapped market might be due to the expensive project costs. The highest profit margins in website designs are in servicing large and medium sized corporations. B y developing a system to cut costs will allow J.R Creative to design and develop websites as larger companies at very low costs to our clients. This plan is aimed at looking at the market analysis and J.R Creative’s financial plan. ... is will entail professional catch web designs that display the products and services offered by the firm, their missions and objectives and their contact details. J. R Creative will market its services to the small entities as a step by step process, first starting out with a small, simple websites, then gradually up scaling and adding more features to the site. Later on the website can become a fully-fledged ecommerce trading platform. Despite the fact that we want to bring on board many clients who simply need an online presence and probably nothing more, our main focus or area of interest will be on clients who are keen on implementing a large percentage of their company onto the internet. Traditionally, these types of clients will need the following services: Database driven websites Ecommerce trading platform e.g. a shopping cart Dynamic website content and features Aggressive online market Social bookmarks like Facebook, Twitter and many more Target Market Segment J.R Creative will focus on attracting small businesses. The market segment of web design is made up of small firms, large firms and individuals who may want to have personal websites to blog and update their information. Since J.R Creative is a small start-up, it may not be able to provide services that large firms and corporations need. Large firms usually need large database driven websites which need to be maintained every day, a service we may not be able to provide. There is simply low amount of services available for this market which has such a huge demand. Businesses have been picking up in Newcastle, which is attributable to favourable economic conditions in the United Kingdom and the European Union. In addition to the vibrant supply and demand ratio, it is technically easier to less costly to

Rose for emiley written by william faulkner Essay

Rose for emiley written by william faulkner - Essay Example These devices include motifs, themes and symbols; for instance, the theme of tradition versus change, symbol of the hair strands and Emily’s house and motifs such as watching and dust. Themes, symbols and motifs play significance roles in enhancing the story’s plot and of characters’ traits. Themes The theme of ‘tradition versus change’ is notable throughout the story, particularly through Emily’s mysterious figure through which Faulkner demonstrates the struggles, which emerge from attempting to maintain tradition in light of sweeping change. Jefferson town is at the crossroad, accepting a modern commercial future while remaining perched in the past. This is notable in the eroded glory of the Grierson home to the cemetery where the town buried unknown Civil War (Faulkner 83). Emily is part of the tradition, steadfastly remaining unchanged over the years regardless of the countless changes occurring in her community. She represents traditions which people seek to honor, but she is also a burden cut off from the external world as she nurses odd behaviors that others do not comprehend. In essence, Faulkner uses the theme of ‘tradition versus change’ to show how Emily inhabits a timeless vacuum, as well as the world conjured by her imagination. For instance, Emily refuses to have metallic numbers embedded to her house when Jefferson receives modern mail services. While Jefferson holds traditional notions, such as reputation and honor in high regard, the narrator is rather critical towards the old men who wore Confederate uniforms to Emily’s funeral. The narrator notes that like Emily, the old men considered time a relative element. The theme of the power of death also enhances the story’s plot. Death permeates the story from the mention of Emily’s death at the beginning of the story (Faulkner 11). In all instances, death prevails over all attempts to master it. For instance, Emily who is a key fixture in her community slowly succumbs to death. The narrator compares Emily to a drowned woman who is bloated and pale after staying too long in the water. Emily tries to exert power over death by denying its existence. This is most notable through Emily’s treatment of Homer, after the death of the latter. Motifs The story encompasses motifs such as dust, which underscores decay and deteriorations. The dust which covers Emily’s house is a fitting description of the lives which faded within the house. Faulkner writes that when the aldermen went to secure Emily’s tax payments, Emily’s house smelt of dust and disuse, and the dust rose when they sat. This demonstrates the degree to which Emily’s house was a place of stasis in which memories and regrets remained undisturbed. The dust also portrays the cloud of obscurity which hides Emily’s nature as well as the secrets inherent in her house (Faulkner 112). A Rose for Emily also encompasses the motif of watching in which Emily is the subject of the narrator and Jefferson townspeople’s intense controlling stare. Instead of establishing real connections with Emily, the townspeople establish subjective and imprecise interpretations of the woman they hardly know. The townspeople attended Emily’s funeral under the pretense of honor and respect, but they wanted to satisfy their curiosity regarding the town’s most eccentric person. Perhaps the most ironic dimension of the story is that of the theorizing and gossiping which the townspeople do behind Emily’

Operational Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Operational Management - Essay Example The range of the bolts according to the length differs from 2 inches to 12 inches. According to the length and function of the bolts, thickness of the bolts varies. In the particular section of the organisation bolts come in several sizes. Here sizes differ either by half inch or by an inch. Mostly the different sizes of bolts are received in the organisation in an ascending order and the bolts are loaded in the container accordingly. The containers do not arrive in a specific order. Each container consists of 5000 bolts irrespective of the size. Special colour codes are used for recognising the varieties of bolts contained in each container. Nuts also arrive in the assembly line in the similar manner as the bolts. The major work process of the employees starts after arrival of both bolts and nuts as they need to couple up the nuts and bolts. After coupling up the nuts and the bolts, it should be loaded in a designated container. The responsibility of carrying out the loaded containe r for weighing is the responsibility of other employees employed for the specific purpose. Regarding the productivity of the section, it can be stated that 1000 nuts and bolts are coupled up in an hour. This productivity is not according to the expectation especially while measured in comparison to the cost of production. Moreover, to deal with the bulk sales, the productivity needs to be stimulated. 2.0 Assembly Methods Assembly methods can be of several types. From the above discussion, the method followed by the organisation can be identified. Assembly line can be considered as a line of the factory equipments and workers associated with the production work and manufacturing products that move on the line from station to station until the products come as the final products. Assembly line methods are introduced in a manufacturing unit to stimulate its efficiency and productivity as it can reduce the required time to manufacture finished goods. The method that has been used in thi s manufacturing unit is a break down method where the entire production processes are divided into certain units. The nature of the work of each section is different. The reason behind breaking down the production process is to enhance the accuracy of the production. Moreover, the assembly method used in this section can be considered as the manual assembly because there is involvement of 200 employees. The comparison between the different assembly methods including manual method can be exhibited in terms of cost of production and volume of the products as follows: Figure 1: Comparison of Assembly Methods Source: (Chan & Salustri, â€Å"Comparison of Assembly Methods†). In this note, it can be recommended to the management to adopt ‘just-in-time’ process. Through this process delivery of the goods can be ensured in proper time. Thus, wastage of idle time and space and processing waste can be eliminated to a certain extent (Inventory Solution, 2007). 3.0 Current A ssembly Station and Employees’ Feedback The number of current assembly stations is four. At the first assembly station different sizes of nuts and bolts are

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Chipotle - Essay Example In addition, Moes South West Grill provides their customers with options to add different types of cheeses or olives to their menu.1 In addition, Moes Southwest Grill usually offers its clients the option of salsa and free chips whereas at Chipotle, customers are not provided which such options. Moes Southwest Grill usually asks its customers after making their orders if they want salsa and chips too to be added. Another advantage of Moes Southwest Grill is that they have more items offered in their menu when compared to Chipotle. One can get nachos at Moes Southwest Grill and not in Chipotle menu. Another thing Moes Southwest Grill offers its customers is the option of free chips and salsa for every customer. Here Chipotle does not do that, they make you pay for chips and salsa. After you create your menus item, they ask you if you wants chips and salsa with your order. Also Moes Southwest Grill has more items to select from like nachos. Currently you cannot get nachos from Chipotle because it is not on their menu. In conclusion, Chipotle usually places emphasis on providing food with integrity. For them to maintain their mission, means they have to secure their suppliers. This will have to be done by increasing their demands for organic ingredients. In addition, they have an option of working directly with the

Contract Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Contract Law - Essay Example On the other part of a contract is the acceptance of any given offer. In terms of definition, acceptance refers to the concluding unqualified term of acquiesce to all the conditions of an offer as declared by the postal law. With reference to offer, acceptance must be communicated to be valid as demonstrated through several different studies. Notably, the communication of acceptance is usually in writing, orally, and inferred from demeanor. Noteworthy, there can always be an acceptance simply when there is an offer. Nevertheless, in the absence of an offer, acceptance cannot take place at all and so there is no officially binding contract that can be produced. This paper critically examines the law that relates to acceptance and offer. Examining the law relating to Acceptance of an Offer The law relating to acceptance and offer can be examined through various ways. Such methods come in relation to the basics of contract law, which to some extent have some comparable aspects. Essentia lly, the law that relates to acceptance and offer can be clearly understood through understanding the essential elements of contract law that define such aspects accordingly. In one way or the other, various studies have explored this topic from a thoughtful standpoint. However, the most important thing is that such studies bring comparable understanding in terms of the law that relates to offer and acceptance. In general, there is always a law that defines various aspects of a contract1. That is been the case there is some evidence that the law that relates to offer and acceptance is comprised of several segments. Through the definition of the two terms that is, offer and acceptance, we will be competent enough to explore and examine the law in a thoughtful standpoint. This is well depicted through the case of Gibson v Manchester City Council [1979] 1 WLR 294 Through critically examining the law relating to acceptance and offer, one can deduce that there are various concepts that a re taken into consideration. From literature and with reference to the postal law declaration, it is evident that an offer may rescind an offer previous to been accepted. However, the revocation has to be communicated to the offered party, even though not essentially by the party offering. Most importantly, an offer may not be withdrawn if it has been summarized in an option. On the contrary, acceptance is the final and expression of concord based on the terms of an offer as declared by the postal law. It is no protection to an act based on an agreement for the defendant to assert that he never intended to be bound by the concord2. This is especially if at all the circumstances is proved at examination that the conduct was such that it corresponded to the other party that the defendant had actually settled. Through the case study of Gibbons v Proctor (1891) 64 LT 594, this can be well understood. Through examining the law relating to acceptance and offer, it is worth to contemplate that a contract has to be created, in the assumption that the other requirements are met accordingly. This occurs especially during instances when the parties provide objective demonstration of the aim to form the contract3. For sure, the assent must be provided to terms of the accord. More often than not, this entails the generation, through making sure that one party involved in the offer has to bind in the lead of certain terms, and the involved parties' that is,

Measuring performance standards Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Measuring performance standards - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss the hospital’s patient falls, hospital acquired infection, and patient satisfaction regarding data collection. It includes other examples of data management and display tools in performance and quality improvement and their use in healthcare. Patient Falls The term ‘fall’ of a patient describes â€Å"a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground or at a lower level† (Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, 2007, p. 2). Whether the resulted injury is mild or severe, health institutions recognize how it affects the patients and could lead to other complications, aside from the current illness the patient possesses. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2010), falls represented nearly 47% of all safety reports and aggregated events in 2003 comprising about 11% of all root cause analyses. The statistics is relatively high and consequently calls for immediate prevention. In order to properly monitor and prevent the patient falls, the hospital needs data designed to assess this problem. According to the Veterans Health Administration National Center for Patient Safety (n.d.), there are three simple rules to carry out proper measures: (a) the data should contain a numerator and a denominator to determine the ratio of patient falls and persons to assist intervention; (b) the data should â€Å"specify the time in which the information [is] collected† (p. 70), making the range of time for each set of data equal, which is one of the factors of accuracy; (c) the data should mention measurement strategy (as cited in Joint Commission Resources, Inc [JCR], 2006). Appropriate strategies are a vital part of a reliable patient falls’ data (as cited in Joint Commission Resources, Inc [JCR], 2006). Furthermore, a reliable data is a product of a long-term research. For example, Morse’s (2008) research about patient falls where it took her â€Å"32 years to collect enough data† (p. xi). Therefore, a data collection that ranges in weeks would not be reliable, but consistent data collection for a period of predetermined years would provide a solid base to design interventional strategies. Hospital Acquired Infection Hospital acquired infection is one of the dangers originated by poor sanitation of hospital equipments and improper use and disposal of hospital waste. The World Health Organization (2002) stated, â€Å"infections acquired in health care settings are among the major causes of death and increased morbidity among hospitalized patients† (p. 1). Since these infections affect both developed and underdeveloped countries, all medical centers should be aware of its prevention. The American Hospital Association Resource Center (2010) recorded about 42,000 adult patients acquired infection during their hospital stay. It is, then, reasonable to apply appropriate measures to prevent such incident. Prevalence and incidence data provide the best way to mon itor hospital-acquired infection. The data should contain all the records that reported incidents of infection to assure reliability. In that way, there will be accurate surveillance about the improvement of the hospital with regard to these cases. In some countries, including the United States, data reporting of hospital-acquired infection is mandatory and reported on a quarterly basis (Horton & Parker, 2002). Patient Survey Satisfaction One of the determinants of the quality of service is patient satisfaction. As Shelton (2000) explained,

Writing Conclusion and summary for the Report Essay

Writing Conclusion and summary for the Report - Essay Example The importance of constructing new storage ponds has increased in importance due to heightened concerns regarding droughts. The District has Conditional Rights to build these four ponds, which together could have water rights to hold up to 13 acre feet. The purpose of our involvement was to perform a technical analysis, water capacity estimate, feasibility study, design, cost estimate, and draft application for building up to four additional water augmentation ponds within the Districts territory. The following deliverables were requested: 4. Design for each of the four detention ponds including the proposed construction sequence, pond liners, water input sources, pond water capacity, outlet works including water flow back into the watershed, flood protection, erosion control, landscaping, and costs. As part of our investigation, we performed a site visit on January 29 and also met with Mr. Laves to obtain the background on the FHMD storage ponds. We also MoreInformationHere. This report contains our findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Pond areas lacking sufficient amount of clay are highly susceptible to excessive seepage. Pond areas can be sealed by clay blankets to prevent seepage. The clay blankets are placed on pond areas where â€Å"Water is to be impounded as well as the upstream slope of the embankment†. (USDA Ponds 63) Minimum clay blanket requires 20 percent clay and to reduce cost, clay can be obtained from borrow areas close to the ponds. â€Å"The minimum compacted thickness is 12 inches for all depths of water under 10 feet. Increase this thickness by 2 inches for each foot of water over 10 feet and above.† (USDA Ponds 63) Clay blankets are constructed similar to earth embankments and are spread uniformly over pond areas in layers of 6 to 8 inches and each layer should be compacted completely, â€Å"under optimum moisture conditions†. The clay blankets

Discuss the importance of dreams in the play Essay Example for Free

Discuss the importance of dreams in the play Essay Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and author. He was a prominent figure in American literature and cinema for over 61 years, writing a wide variety of plays. Miller was born into a moderately-wealthy Jewish family in New York City. His father, Isidore Miller, was a ladies-wear manufacturer and shopkeeper who was ruined in the Great Depression. His mother, Augusta, was a housewife who valued literature and education. His sister, Joan became an actress. Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play by Arthur Miller and is one of his most famous and commonly revived works. Viewed by many as the American Dream of achieving wealth and success, Death of a Salesman made both Arthur Miller and the character Willy Loman household names. Some of the other titles Miller considered for the play were The Inside of His Head and A Period of Grace. The American Dream is the faith held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations. What the American Dream has become is a question under constant discussion, and some believe that it has led to an emphasis on material wealth as a measure of success and/or happiness. The American dream is a dream of having 2 children and living in a perfect house with financial security. This ideal is closely related to Horatio Algerism. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/American_dream In the play Death of a Salesman, dreams are discussed and shown in many different ways throughout the play. There are dreams that happen during ones sleep, hopes and ambition type dreams, day dreams, fantasies and national/cultural dreams. In this play all are explored, and the national dream focused on is The American Dream. Dreams in this play stimulate the characters reactions and actions; they also affect the way the play is structured and explain behaviour of both the past and present. The play is unusually structured; there are no scenes just three main sections, Act 1, Act 2 and the Requiem. Within Act 1 and Act 2, there are several dreams and possibly flashbacks but the audience is unaware of what is real or not. The American Dream features in the play but not informing the audience that The American Dream is what it is partly focusing on. On page 82, Biff says Weve been talking in a dream for fifteen years. First of all the reader thinks hes saying hes been taking in the dream for 15 years but reading the sentence over we see talking. The reader thinks that it means the American dream, and at this point in the play Biff realises himself and his family has been trying to live this dream but are unsuccessful. The American Dreams is partly to do with status and having the best of everything. It also focuses on popularity, success, ownership, wealth and your house and objects within it. The American Dream is linked to capitalism and consumer culture, which is when we are sold items we dont really need. This is a symbol of success and if you can afford these luxury items they are a fall back for your family. When someone dies their family receives insurance, not only life insurance but also insurance for the object used in the death, for instance a car. This is all part of Willys plan to make his family more wealthy. Willy is scared of becoming an ordinary man, which in those days was a man that can no longer afford the luxury items that Willy possesses, when Linda is talking to Biff on page 44 she says Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. Hes not the finest character that has ever lived. But hes a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. This shows the reader that Linda knows about Willys depression and that she knows he is becoming and has a fear of becoming a typical, ordinary man. This is not what Willy wants or wanted at all, Willy wanted to be well known around the country and great, successful. The depression that Willy held may have been caused by the lack of positive attention, his lack of progress in his job or his fear of becoming this ordinary man that he never wanted to be. Linda also knows that in his last months or weeks, herself and her sons need to make up to Willy and give him the most positive attention that they can. On page 44 Linda says Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person. This is also evidence to suggest Willys want for death. Willy is not progressing at all in his job, his ex boss son is now at the top of his career ladder but Willy, still near the bottom should have retired. But his dreams and passion to become rich and successful meant that he forced himself to carry on working and hope that one day these dreams will be fulfilled.

A Dolls House and A Street Car Named Desire

A Dolls House and A Street Car Named Desire A Dolls House focus is on womans function in society, particularly in the of marriage and motherhood context. In particular, Helmer has a very clear definition of the role of a woman. He strongly believes a woman divine duty is to be a good wife as well as a mother. He is representative of the degrading nature of men towards women. He views women as childish, helpless beings alienated from reality as well as prominent moral forces responsible for the purity of the world through their influence in the home. This is also why the book is called A Nora, in light of being a moral agent, outrages the contemporary audience and continues to perplex and fascinate the ones not entirely at ease with her final act when she decides to throw of the shackles of marriage, living her husband and three children in search of herself. She realizes her life has been voiceless that she has just been an object, to sire children and please her husband in marriage and her father in as a child. She has been a doll, a plaything. The moral aspects are not especially so that she leaves Helmer but that she abandons her children. Nora make out the differences between freedom and responsibility based of patriarchal laws and true freedom upon which a human agency ought to be base upon. Listen, Torvald- Ive heard that when a wife deserts her own Husbands house just as Im doing, then the law frees him from all responsibility. She goes on to tell him that her living will result in a win-win situation as she would be freeing him from responsibilities, resulting in absolute freedom for both of them. We also find out that Noras attachment to her husband is founded on delusion of romantic love, but her repudiation toward him is not at all an illusion. Helmer tells her that before everything else she has to not only be a wife but also a mother, since it is the norm. Nora in turn rejects this and tells her that it no longer forms part of a belief system and tell him that before everything else she should be allowed her human rights to be herself. She says that in her eight years of marriage she has lived with a stranger and gone ahead to bear him children which in a sense are degrading to degrading for a woman to live with a stranger and be used as an object of amusement and procreation yet according the marriage institution, it demands that the status quo remains and the societal conception of duty for the sake of the lie she ought to be nothing more than doll, a plaything. Her revolutionary message is that mutual trust and respect within an environment that is free from repression is the only way that can result in a true bond between a man and a woman. This is symbolized by her closing the door to her house (doll house). The old south social tradition diminishes the values of unmarried women that expose them to destruction or domination by men. Social rule in the Old South diminishes unmarried women completely, leaving them vulnerable to domination or destruction by men. By showing the triumph of brutality over discretion and delicacy, Stanley actions depicts the disposable character of Blanches type. Equally Eunice insistence that Stellas marriage to Stanly must continue, her reasoning is that the only means of a womans survival lays in males companionships. This is a lie and as such chooses to ignore the glaring truth that by acknowledging the suffering in the hand of their husbands is the only means to ensure their survival. In scene eleven, the behavior of Blanche towards the men playing poker as well as during her bath reveals the extent in which being raped has scarred her emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing. The bathing is different form earlier one as it is symbolic of her effort to wash off Stanley violations as opposed to her past sexual indiscretions. The disturbing realities of the marriage institution is also brought out that by making Blanches deception and illusion about her past appear as a minor issue in the light of Stanly marriage. Marriage is depicted as a sort of illusion that is based on lies. Blanches and Stellas roles are thus changed, with the latter admitting that she may have got into a world of illusion as she cannot believe her sisters accusation about Stanleys rape story and as such goes on to cling to him. Blanch madness protects Stella from the harsh truth as it prevents Blanches ever giving credibility to her claims. On the other hand Stanly, whose behavior is known to the audience, via his present actions as there exists no back story about him, is dominant, aggressive and sexually oriented. This makes Blanche intrusion upset his structured life. His endeavor to unmask the real her is violent and cruel where in their final confrontation he rapes her resulting in Blanches nervous breakdown. This represents the plight of unmarried women in that south, they are disrespected and disposable which is unethical. Work cited: Leavy, Barbara Fass. In Search of the Swan Maiden: A Narrative on Folklore and Gender. NYU Press, 1995. A Streetcar Named Desire.sparksnotes.com, spark notes, (n.d). Web. 3 Mar. 2011.

What Strategies Have Trade Unions Been Adopting Essay

What Strategies Have Trade Unions Been Adopting Essay Employee relations do not exist in a vacuum. They are located within, influenced by, and in turn impact upon many other aspects of the work organisation and wider society, therefore, employee relations have been defined and described by different authors and establishments in so many ways but the most important aspect to all their definitions is the fact that employee relations are basically the study of the regulation of employment relationship between employers and employees (Rose, 2004). The direct relationship formed between the negotiation of two important institutions are known as the trade union (or more often called a non-union collectively representing employees) and the state. A trade union in its simplest role represents a group of workers in connection with one employer. The trade union density can be seen in Appendix 1, which shows the membership rate and the decline in membership. The strategies below have been used by trade unions to curb the decline of trade union membership. One important question to be asked in the United Kingdoms employment relation is the extent to which union decline since the 1970s is essential. This has made unions experience increase and a decrease in membership rates and regular restrictions on union actions through legislation and government action. More so, recent union decline has happened to fall into a longitudinal cycle which reflects a season of readjustment to fluctuating economic conditions and structures. Others have concluded arguing that the factors responsible for union decline are such that unions are likely to struggle to recover any significant presence, particularly in the private sector. Trade Unions have responded to the loss of their members and the appearance of a more fragmented labour market in various ways. The decline in the number of the union from 326 in 1988 to 167 in 2008 has proved that many unions have merged to consolidate resources and improve their economies of scale (EIROnline 2009). Some strategies that have been put in place to renew trade union membership are partnership, organising, workplace learning and the procurement process that have been other key responses. Furthermore, The Unite announced that it will only offer community memberships to students, single parents and the jobless for 50 pence a week, and is considering using the scheme to offer legal support and educational facilities in exchange for collective community action (The Guardian 2012). There exists various methods for trade unions to secure new members, in which they may choose to sit tight waiting upon external environment (unemployment to fall, manufacturing to recover, firms to grow in size, etc.), also, they may engage in several initiatives to recruit new members, whereas those in authority may strategize plans such as recruitment drivers targeted towards specific group of people and to improve the success of the organisation. Many unions have pursued to offer new services (both to employees and employers), while others have decided to use the traditional approach explaining the roles of the trade union such as protecting employee rights, etc. The individual unions and the labour movements particularly face several choices and challenges due to the structure of so many unions out there in various job territories and the authority of TUC. For example, some unions such as the old craft-based unions like the NGA, had a close membership base while others especiall y the two well-known ones (the TGWU and GMB) and a number of ex-craft based unions (such Amicus) which their recruitment process has improved are always in constant competition for members in similar job territories. In recent years trade union has tried to regulate competition more closely by signing off all single union agreements but this has resulted in a challenge as the Congress does not have enough power over its affiliates (expulsion, for example: The TUC strongest agreement can actually increase competition between unions as the excluded union is no longer bound to respect other unions membership territories, and vice versa). Appendix 2 summarizes those possibilities Unions face many options when it comes to the issue of recruitment because they can choose to seek more members in places where recognition already exists, they can also decide to recruit in areas where no form of recognition exists (this will happen with the intention that as membership grows it will lead to recognition), they can also merge with another union which will not only increase their membership but also their recruitment base and finally trade unions can try to secure recognition (single-union) agreements at a non-union which would serve as a process of delivering membership from among those employed at the site (Willman 1989). The Union merger which is one of the strategies of membership renewal by trade unions. Willman 1989, particularly argues that the option of merger or employment agreement is a more cost effective method than choosing individual members especially in places where employers are hostile to unionism, this therefore means that the more cost-effective means are likely to hold sway, even though it will lead to more inter-union competition for members in a particular area (this is what Williams terms as market share unionism). The increase in market share unionism has been prominent in the UK labour movement in the last generation which made famous unions have either participated in merging or have successfully completed one. This pattern of decrease in the number of unions have been happening since 1920 as shown in appendix 3, what seems to be new is the speed at which the number of unions decline which has led to an increase in merging activities and also helped to curb the nations smaller trade unions, for example, the 1980s have recorded the most steepest decline ever in the number of trade unions falling by over one-third in the ten-year period and in the 1990s a number of unions fell about one-quarter. The increasing ratio of decline within the trade union movement is due to the fact that in 2000 the eight largest trade unions (each having 250,000 members or more) accounted for over 72 percent of all union members meanwhile less than 10 percent of all unions now account now account for almost 87 perc ent of all union members. Merging up unions can exist in various forms such as the amalgamation (which is where two or more unions join together to form a new union) and transfer engagements (where one union is incorporated by another and loses its legal rights) (Bird et al 1992). One popular merge that recently occurred in 2002, was the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) with Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union (MSF) to form AMICUS. Another merger that took place was the merger in 2001 of the Institution of professional of Professional Managers and Specialists (IPMS) and the Engineering and Managers Association (EMA) to form Prospect. With over 1.5 million members as at date, UNITE is known to be Britains largest trade union (The guardian 2012). In general, more unions seek mergers than them actually achieving it (Willman 1996). The most important attribute of recent merging compared to the ones in last decades is that defensive mergers (the 1970s) where small unions required the security of bigger unions so as to avoid financial problems/ membership decline (Undy et al 1981). For example, the merging between the 1980s and early 1900s are known to be aggressive (Buchanan 1992), but in recent years it has involved two strong unions who decide to pool their resources for mutual advantage. E.g. NGA/SOGAT (to form GPMU) and ACTT/BETA (to form BECTU). Amicus and Unison are two major aggressive mergers that are designed to protect their membership and also expand trade union territories so as to improve growth. Merging has been successful, however, they are faced with challenges which are driven by the problems of membership decline which has not only been a defensive case, as sometimes the opposite might just happen. As Waddington 2003 stated that there has been no evidence that merged unions have been very successful into new areas of membership growth. The outcome resulting from the desire to merge has been to simplify the historical complex structure of the British Union or change the decline in membership (Waddington 1995). Trade unions in earlier years were (closed) craft based organisation that allowed less skilled workers (e.g. boilermakers, municipal workers, etc.) to survive and they can be ranked under the GMB. Many unions always lay claim to job territory but in the recent years the union movement have been dominated by just four or five super unions with their membership base been more diverse and the competition for members between unions will not stop (Waddington 1995). For mergers, financial control can lead to improvement in administrative efficiency of super unions but problems of representative effectiveness may be aggravated. The main solution to this problem is the single-table and single union agreements. This solution involves the changes in employee relationship at first, but Willman and Cave 1994 noted that inter-union cooperation (joint ventures) can be more effective if further mergers make it easy to communicate with super-unions, which brings a conclusion about union mergers that regulating TUC or joint ventures between major union can essentially increase union membership. Another strategy to be looked into is recruiting new members. In recent decades, many unions have focused their resources on recruiting new members, which was recorded as a success. Some unions such as the multi-occupational industry unions (e.g. NUM) and single-occupation (single industry unions) which already have a high union density (e.g. ASLEF), their goal of recruiting new members is particularly non-existent. There is a better possibility for general unions (e.g. TGWU and GMB) or those that happen to be in areas of employment growth where union density is low (e.g. UNIFI in finance, etc.). Kelly and Heery (1989) illustration makes it clear that recruitment targets will vary significantly for different trade unions, depending on the proximity of the job territories of potential members to those organised by the unions and the coverage of recognition agreements among target groups. In some cases(close consolidation) the union might be involved in a mopping-out activity of non-union members within the unions existing job territories where the agreements still exist (this is usually referred to as an in-fill recruitment). For example, the TGWU recent recruitment strategy was targeted towards a 100 percent or a 100 per cent plus campaigns but in other situations the union might have a recognition agreement for the industry or specific companies but organisation is poor and union density is low and this is because the institutions are small and difficult to organise/ the labour turnover is high. Statistics from the Labour Force Survey suggests that around 3 million employees who are not union members but work in establishments where there is union recognition and gives an indication for a large membership consolidation (Monks 2001). Whereas, most union organising is directed towards consolidation (Heery et al 2003). Some other membership groups are particularly not covered by a recognition agreement (usually higher level or management grades) but find themselves working in organisations where the union density is already high (close expansion). The most difficult groups to recruit (distant expansion) are those in job territories where the union does not seem to have recognition agreements nor experience of any organisation to build on. It is in this group that one would find out that the membership growth is particularly high but there is poor union organisation. The first step of any recruitment and organisation strategy is identifying membership targets/ what unions term as mapping'(which is about building up a detailed profile of the workplace, workforce, etc.). During union recruitment, most of them wonder why union sign up? and this is so because unions attract a number of new members by offering mouth-watering services to an individual (Bassett and Cave 1993). Bassett and Cave 1993 have it that the new trade unions have a role model to be the Automobile Association or BUPA, having the trade union in form of a private sector organisation which engage in providing many services to people who wish to buy them. This form is widely known as passive consumerism which has evidence for the provision of union credit cards, insurance schemes and other private benefits (Fairbrother 2002). However this strategy has not been particularly successful as it has its shortcomings; For example, it makes too many emphases on the extent of individualism adopted by employers in their human resource management policies (Gallie and Rose 1996) and also the extent to which employees have adopted the model, by placing individual benefits over and above collective protection in their reasons for joining trade unions. This happens because of social injustice, employment insecurities, etc. in the UK today, which makes most people join the union because if they have a problem at work it will definitely be sorted which is the principal reason for joining along with improved working condition and pay but just a few would choose non-work related service such as trade discounts, etc. (Waddington and Whitston 1997). Therefore, individualism is not only the major reason for union decline but the high demand of workers from unions seem to be the core. The way unions translate workers demands has brought unions to a moderation which Kelly 1996 demonstrates as a case where unions are brought to inadequate returns thus subjecting them to greater dependence on the goodwill of the employer. This, therefore, leads to the danger of the servicing model which has a contrast to the organising model. See Appendix 4 for the organisation cycle. Militancy is focused on solidarity as opposed to striking action (Organising works 1996). Whereas the servicing union expects the union only to ask questions regarding what they can achieve with the union but the organising union focuses on the membership being a value because the act of membership workers should be able to generate its own issues, organise to solve their own problems, etc. The organisation model is particularly focused on participative forms of union organisation. The importance of self-organisation is that workers recruit fellow workers (like-recruits-like), generate their own agenda and also solve their problems. Organising strategy has an advantage to smaller unions or occupational groups within larger unions such as TGWU and the GMB in London, it has done no more than to help stabilise aggregate union membership in the UK (Heery and Adler, 2004). Many unions are particularly careful with the organisation and the financial implication of an organising strategy, that is, the impact on union hierarchy and decision making, etc. especially if they experience a reduction in the benefits they get from the union. Better co-ordination of the TUC is majorly needed to spread the organisation agenda widely throughout the labour movement and to anticipate competition especially in their quest for new members. Many unions and TUC feel that organising is one of the several methods to be used to rebuild labour movement membership base, their bargaining power and their political influence with the government of today. In some cases, all these methods the labour movement adopt (moderation and militancy, the partnership with employees and independent workplace organisation, servicing and organising) are most times often too contradictory. Lastly, the final strategy to be discussed is recruitment through employer agreements, looking back into union mergers the most common aspect of was that they deliver a whole group of people into unions, so the signing of a single union agreement with an employer can ensure a substantial number of members of the union concerned. The costs incurred during presentations and the making of approaches to employers, the potential payoffs are always considerable. Also, the employer recognition comes from other benefits of the union. Trade union experience single union agreements over the past years with some similarities and a number of differences from union recognition and member representation. For example, representation by a single union (Cully et al 1999) compared to 36 per cent in 1990 (Millward et al 1992). In a majority of establishment (72 per cent) where management recognised only one union which was a result of a formal single union agreement rather than having it working out another way (Cully et al 1999). With this it may become more popular in future as a result of statutory union recognition procedure but anywhere else where trade unions who have signed single agreements at greenfield or non-union sites must still convince potential membership that they would gain if they join the union rather than free ride under the umbrella of the recognition agreement. Research has it that employees still demonstrate an urge to join the union even when they benefit from company specific training, etc. all of which are major reasons for trade union membership (Newell 1993). The difference between single union from single table agreements, the latter represents coming together (co-operation) of unions who negotiate together with employers around the same table leading to time-saving and increasing flexibility, among workplaces with two or more unions present. Single union bargaining is often associated with single status and more integrated pay schemes, multi-skilling and teamwork. The main difference is that single table agreements are negotiated at brownfield sites (where unions are well established) but the distinctive attribute of single union agreement is that unions only begin their recruitment of members after recognition has been granted rather than secure recognition as a result of building up a strong and committed membership base. However, this has not been particularly successful because it presents the union movements with a problem of inter-union competition (also known as beauty contents) and individual members with inadequate representation and protection. There has been a revival of interests as a result of employment relation Act 1999, which Gall 2003 noted that some employees have established that what they face is not one of granting or granting recognition but to which union should recognition be granted and with what type of deal. TUC figures show that around one-third of all recent recognition agreements were the result of an approach by the employer. The major response of the unions involved in such agreements is that the alternative will be non-unionism which is what many unions have ended up with but from union movement and employee involvement it will be better for a union to get support from the workforce and gain recognition from the employer rather than the other way round. This is so because it has been done in the past especially in the manufacturing sector in larger establishments where most of the single union deals are to be found. Kelly and Waddington 1995 argue that unions should satisfy employers with a more rewarding approach although more difficult to achieve and find ways of making employers tolerate a trade union presence. The organising model adopted by the TUC are now widely adopted by many unions, including TGWU and GMB but more notable by GMPU, ISTC, MSF, UNISON, TSSA and USDAW seeks to achieve both objectives; to meet the needs of employees and command a hearing from employers so as to reduce trade union decline In conclusion, the difficulties in which trade unions movement face in recent years are certainly considerable, but yet at the same time not insurmountable. Membership continue to decline but unions continue to attract new members and most workers, union and non-union hold positive views about trade unions (Diamond and Freeman 2001). There have been evidence that more workers would join unions if they are given the opportunity or incentive to. For more workers to have the opportunity to then the trade union will have to recruit and organise in the workplace and also for workers to want to join they must be convinced that through collective action they can change their working lives and simply change their insurance or secure discounts on a range of private benefits. More strategic union policies are designed to reverse their fortunes, most notably the emphasis on recruitment, organisation and participation are reflections of this. The development of strategic union initiatives based on the organising model are at least less dependent on the changes in the labour market and trade union legislation, however not all state policies are conducive for a revival of the labour movement, in many cases the opposite is the case. It is the general role of the state in employee relations that we now turn.