Human Resource Development and Training Strategies

Human Resource Development and Training Strategies In the early 1980s, the field of personnel management shifted its function from handling staffing and related administrative activities to the development of people as a resource of the organization (Sims, R. 2006). Thus, here comes the field of Human Resource Development (HRD). The term HRD started out first simply as training, then involved into training and developmentà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ TDà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °, and finally into HRD. Therefore, some confusion arise relating to the difference between Human Resource Development and training and development. In order to differentiate HRD and TD, the author illustrates this essay by clarifying the definition of HRD and TD, their respective main purpose, and the strategies of each term. Definition of HRD Because of the evolving nature of HRD, defining HRD is difficult. The first definition of HRD offered by Harbison and Myers related HRD to broad contexts, including economy, political, social and culture contexts, rather than just individuals and organizations. They defined HRD as a process to increase the knowledge, skills and capacities of all the people in a society: In economic terms, it could be described as the accumulation of human capital and its effective investment in the development of an economy. In political terms, HRD prepares people for adult participation in the political process, particularly as citizens in a democracy. From the social and cultural points of view, the development of human resources helps people lead fuller and richer lives, less bound to tradition.(Harbison and Myers, 1964) HRD was also referred as a learning experience provided by employees, leading to the improvement of their performance and/all personal growth (Nadler and Nadler, 1989). A recent definition from Swanson (2009) explained the term HRD as a process of developing and unleashing expertise which aimed at improving organizational system, work process, team, and individual performance. Definition of TD Generally speaking, training and development is defined as a field concerned with organizational activity whose objective is to improve the performance of individuals and groups in organizational context. To be specific, writers of some literatures have divided the term TD into two independent parts: training and development. Separated definition for each word is created, which makes the definition of training and development quite straightforward. Training was defined as a planned and systematic process to modify or develop attitude, knowledge or skills through learning experiences, to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. (Garavan et al.,1995; Harrison, 1993; Reid et al. 1994) . A separate definition of development was that the growth or realization of a persons ability through conscious or unconscious learning, which usually includes elements of planned study and experience supported by coaching and counseling (Wilson, 1999). Similarities can be seen from these definitions that both HRD and TD provide human resource with learning to improve performance. However, their emphasises are different according to the definitions. TD focuses more on the improvement of individual performance, whereas HRD is a business approach which plays a crucial role in the improvement of whole organizational. II. Main Purpose of HRD and TD Main purpose of HRD The key functions of HRD are individual development, organizational development, career development and performance improvement. Actually, the main purpose of HRD is under debate of researchers and practitioners. Should it focus on increasing the performance requirements of its organizations and enhancing the productivity of the workforce or on developing the individual competency and skills? When practiced in productive organizations, HRD should contribute directly to the organizations goal. As a result, performance improvement becomes the main purpose of HRD. There are many aspects that HRD could improve performance: individual, process, as well as organizational levels. For instance, performance is impeded when the goal of an organization do not fit various internal and external realities (culture, for example). HRD could solve this problem by formulating a goal that fit in the organizational culture while a culture change process being implemented in order to support the goal of the organization. Main purpose of TD In many literatures, the purpose of TD concentrates on individual development. There is need to train and retrain the employees on continuous basis. TD has the goal of influencing basic values and beliefs of individual. Meanwhile, there are also technical and management TD programmes related to systems and procedures appeal to the inherent logic, and the planning methods and people skills appeal to the strategies of succeed. The relationship (or difference) of HRD and TD (and other HRD functions) could be illustrated by figure1: Figure1 (Haslinda, 2009) Although the main purpose of TD is individual development, which is one of the four key functions of HRD, we can not say that TD is a subset of HRD. HRD and TD are discrete entities. HRD is the integrated use of TD, organizational development, career development and performance development to improve individual, group, and organizational effectiveness. III. Strategies of HRD and TD 1. Strategies of HRD To contribute to the goals and missions of the organization, efforts of making HRD strategies must take place. First, there should be a clear overview of the relationship between the organizations missions, strategic agenda, and competitive environment. Followed by an assessment of the current capacity of workforce, special needs are identified. An evaluation system needs to be built in order to examine if the target competencies indeed enhance the actualization of organizational goals. Finally, the organization needs senior leadership and a culture that support lifelong learning of the work role of each employee. 2. Strategies of TD Training and development in an organization also requires a mechanism that establishes the competencies required by an organization to achieve success. Therefore, the strategy of TD includes 1) identifying the employees training needs, 2) finding out the HR strategic plan, 3) establishing personal developing plans and 4) evaluating the TD outcomes by assessment. The process could be revised over and over again. The strategies of HRD and TD have several points in common. However, those tiny distinctions make HRD a more strategically orientated organizational process. Conclusion In spite of the existence of some similarities, HRD and TD are differentiated in their definitions, purposes, as well as in strategies. HRD has roles that extend far beyond training and development (Stead and Lee, 1996). It is an extension (or evolvement) of TD and is associated with an organizations overall business success and employees TD process.

Child Labor - Economic Exploitation of Children Essays -- Foreign Dome

Child Labor - Economic Exploitation of Children   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Child labor is a serious problem in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries. It has been linked to many nations and cultures for hundreds of years. Child labor is defined by Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: as any economic exploitation or work that is likely to be hazardous or interferes with the child’s education, or is harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development. Labor is defined as a difficult, or fatiguing mental and/or physical work. It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that it became the problem it is today. With the arrival of the factory system in the 18th century, during the 1700s, children as young as five were being used as workers in England. During this period, a law called the English Poor Act gave the government the responsibility to care for children that had no parents or whose parents were too poor to care for them. Under this law, the government would take these â€Å"pauper children† and place them in jobs where they could become apprentices and learn a trade. The law was not usually affective because when children were handed over to the factory owners and usually became slaves. This is a violation of the â€Å"Human Rights Document: Universal Declaration of Human Rights† in article 4, which states: no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Children were used to tend to machines in factories and many worked in the dark, damp coalmines, carrying coal on their backs up ladders. Many children would work 10 to 15 hour days. This is a violation of the â€Å"Human Rights Document† in article 24, which states: everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay. They were forced to work in dangerous and unhealthy conditions, and their wages were incredibly small. There are many reasons why these children work; poverty, lack of education, lack of knowledge of one’s rights, and cultura l tradition are all contributing factors. These children are often deprived and mistreated. They may get beaten or severely punished for making even the slightest mistake. This is another violation of the â€Å"Human Rights Document† in article 1, which states: all human beings are bor... ...the child labor; they don’t have any legal power. The trade unions are weak and don’t have the funds to do the job. Over several years the proposed law, now known as the Child Labor Deterrence Act, has been reintroduced along with a companion bill in the House. However, no vote has been taken on the House bill and the proposal was still pending at the beginning of 1998.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some U.S. cities are passing laws to ensure that the goods they purchase are not made in foreign or domestic sweatshops. In 1992, the organization established the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), which has implemented more than 600 action programs in 27 countries. The goal of these programs is to prevent and fight child labor by helping children withdraw from work in selected villages, provide support services for the children and their families, and change community attitudes towards child labor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Putting an end to child labor requires changes on many fronts, especially on attitudes about child labor and the world’s poor. To help bring about changes in attitudes, activists in many countries are raising awareness that child labor violates fundamental human rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Andrea Dworkin :: essays research papers fc

Andrea Dworkin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Andrea Dworkin has been an influential write, speaker, and activist for over two decades. She claims to be a feminist, and that her ideas are beneficial to women. This paper will show that many of her most popular beliefs are not only detrimental to society, but also not in the best interests of women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In letters from a war zone, Andrea Dworkin presents a collection of speeches and short articles she has composed during her career as a writer and activist. Many of her articles deal with censorship and pornography. One claim is central to all of these, pornography is an act and not an idea, thus censorship is not relevant to it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In response to a New York Time Review of her 1981 book, Pornography: Men Possessing Women, Dworkin writes, â€Å"Pornography says the women want to be hurt, forced, and abused; pornography says women want to be raped, battered, kidnapped, maimed; pornography says women want to be humiliated, shamed, defamed, pornography says that women say no but mean yes - Yes to violence, yes to pain.† (Dworkin p 203)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In response to Dworkin's fiery rhetoric, Wendy Mcelroy writes that Dworkin has scientific backing and even cites evidence to the contrary. â€Å"In Japan, where pornography depicting violence is widely available, rape is much lower per capita than in the United States, where violence in porn is restricted.† Mcelroy attacks the belief that pornography cause violence, stating that even if a correlation is present, is does not necessarily mean there is a causal relationship. (McElroy 102)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lynne Segal sees in inherent harm in trying to link the two together. She believes that feminists who try to do so are wasting valuable time that could be spent on other important issues. â€Å"In the end, anti-pornography campaigns, feminist or not, can only enlist today, as they have invariously enlisted before, guilt and anxiety around sex, as well as lifetimes of confusion in our personal experiences of sexual arousal and activity.† â€Å"In contrast, campaigns which get to the heart of men's violence and sadism towards women must enlist the widest possible resources to empower socially.† (Gibson 19)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another argument of Dworkin's is that pornography should not be protected as free speech under the first amendment. It is her contention that protecting what pornographers say, is protecting what pornography does. Pornography is more than words. They are acts against women. â€Å"Pornography happens to women.† As a result, bans on such material are warranted, not only because it is harmfully and discriminatory to women, but also because there are no civil liberties that are violated in preventing an act.

On Morality Essay

What is Morality? The inevitable fore comings of being a child literally flash right before your eyes. One minute you are learning how to walk and talk and in the next you are graduating high school. We find ourselves constantly wondering where the hell all that time went. And in between all this growing up it seems we acquire a set of â€Å"morals† and â€Å"values†; merely things we tend to blame our actions and thoughts on. It’s like this illusory line comes into play where we place the good and the bad. Perhaps once you have a belief about something it becomes permanent and forever engraved in your head but I don’t think I have the particular values or perspectives on life as I once did. To think that one of a parent’s main ambitions is to produce a child and raise it to have said good morals and values. It is only slightly disturbing to think of Hitler or Stalin’s parents and wonder what happened? As an adolescent we are taught an abundance of things, but if asked to come up with pertinent examples, I think a lot of us would stutter to come up with a few. The problem is that these lessons and ideals become instilled in us therefore becoming second nature – no thought process needed. A moral is something so excruciating and hard to be defined. Everyone seems to have their own set, but how is it that the majority sees the differences between okay and not in agreement? The absence of an explanation leads me to conclude that your own values and morals are dependent upon the circumstances you are subjected to. The point that I am so desperately trying to convey is that certain situations I had to deal with as a child and a young adult have led to my morals and values consequently changing. Joan Didion once said, â€Å"I followed my own conscience. I did what I thought was right. How many mad men have said and meant it? † (On morality, 1965) A statement that is so relevant to my own thinking due to the fact that I have felt myself questioning where and how the â€Å"good and bad† contour was formed. If a mad man truly felt that a mass murder was right, and cohesive with his conscience, then who are any of us to circumscribe his well -being? When you think of this mad man in a different context, you resolve that maybe rather than being â€Å"mad† possibly, he has converted his pragmatic necessities into moral imperatives without second thought. â€Å"You see I want to be quite obstinate about insisting that we have no way of knowing – beyond that fundamental loyalty to the social code- what is â€Å"right† what is â€Å"wrong† what is â€Å"good† what is â€Å"evil†. I dwell upon this because the most disturbing aspect of morality seem to me to be the frequency with which the word now appears; in the press, on television, in the most perfunctionary kinds of conversation. † (Joan Didion, on morality) What Joan Didion and presumably I keep diverging back to is the improper use of the word. What truly matters is exactly that- the way in which you toss these words around. Words like morals and values are merely titles. The manuscript of my childhood may or may not have stayed but there are still reminiscent little bits that remind me of who I am and where I came from. So what is morality? I have no idea.

“Dune” by Frank Herbert and “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain Essay

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, â€Å"we do not read literature for improvement or instruction.† However, there are many reasons to disagree with Holmes’ conjecture; there is a great deal of literature that provides philosophical insight along with entertainment. The wisdom and education provided by books such as Mark Twain’s â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† and Frank Herbert’s â€Å"Dune† strongly contradicts Holmes’ view. â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† was a novel written two decades after slavery was abolished in the United States, yet it was set back in the time when slavery was abundant in the South. It has many instances of what could be perceived as racism, but the book is mostly against racism, mostly in its portrayal of Jim. â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† shows how Huck and Jim become friends throughout the course of the novel, showing that their friendship can transcend race, an idea revolutionary for its time. At a time when racial tensions were running high in the South, Twain’s book showed how a friendship between a white teenager and a black adult could be pure and authentic. While most adults in the book had many flaws, Jim is mostly compassionate, loyal and benevolent character. In fact, Jim is seen as more of a father figure to Huck than his own father was. When they undergo their adventure on the raft, Huck and Jim make a connection that was unheard of in those days between black and white men. This connection is shown by the line â€Å"I hadn’t had a bite to eat since yesterday, so Jim he got out some corn-dodgers and buttermilk, and pork and cabbage and greens-there ain’t nothing in the world so good, when it’s cooked right- and whilst I eat my supper we talked and had a good time†, which shows how much of a strong connection Huck and Jim really made. When Jim asks why a Frenchman can’t speak English, he simply mirrors the question of why a black man and a white man couldn’t be treated the same: â€Å"Is a Frenchman a man?† Huck’s change in attitude toward slavery over the course of the novel shows Twain’s true attitude toward slavery. At the beginning of the novel, Huck contemplates and even resolves to turn Jim into slavers, thinking that taking someone’s property is immoral. However, Huck’s attitude progressively changes throughout the novel; in Chapter 31 Huck says he would rather â€Å"go to hell† than turn Jim in. Jim’s longing for his family and the story about his dead daughter shows his humane side and shows that black men are no different from white men, thus they should not be treated differently. The novel â€Å"Dune† by Frank Herbert centers on a man named Paul Atreides and his struggle to gain back a planet that was given to him and brutally taken away by his longtime rivals. While the novel is one of science fiction’s best because of its plotline, the philosophical points made in the novel make it truly great. The novel uses religion as a driving force in politics at a time when religion was believed to be dying down. Another important revolutionary idea was the human control over ecology. The planet Dune was a desert wasteland, valuable only for its single resource: melange. Melange, a clear comparison to petroleum, was a resource harvestable only on Dune and was used in everything from prolonging life to powering spaceships for faster-than-light travel. People inevitably try to sculpt the planet to harvest this resource more efficiently, but run the risk of killing the sandworms, the producers of melange, and destroying the economy completely. However, the most important idea in the book is the concept of precognition, the ability to see into the future. The book shows it not as a positive quality, but as something that could ruin your life forever and make it a dull eternity; it poses the question â€Å"what is the point of living if you already know everything that will occur in your life?† Oliver Wendell Holmes said that we don’t read novels for instruction or improvement. However, I think that these two novels significantly oppose Holmes’ idea; they are not only for enjoyment, but they also contain a plethora of ideas that were revolutionary for their time. These works, among others, have provided inspiration and wisdom to countless readers. This is why most works are not simply for enjoyment, but also provide mental stimulation for those that seek it.

A Taste of Honey Play Analysis Essay

A Taste of Honey is a play written by Shelagh Delaney. Shelagh Delaney was born on the 5th of November, 1939 in Salford, Lancashire. At eleven years old she failed to pass the examination that would allow her to enter a grammar school, and she went to a secondary school named Broughton. She was accepted into the grammar school at a later stage as she has proved herself to be intelligent. She was seen to be a ‘late developer but by this time she had lost interest in her academic progress and so therefore did not continue on to higher education. Her first play was A Taste of Honey, which she wrote when she was 18, was accepted by a Joan Littlewood for production by Theatre Workshop Company. The first opening of the play was on the 27th of May at the Theatre Royal in East London. A Taste of Honey was transferred to West London on the 10the of February. For this play she received the Foyle’s New Play Award and an Arts Council Bursary. In the 1950’s England was felling the effects of World War II, so when Shelagh Delaney wrote the play she had experienced World War II. Also because of the World War only lower/ middle class groups would watch the play. Another factor that has caused the play, A Taste of Honey, to be a great success is that it contained issues that were never openly discussed and were consider to be illegal. For example: homosexuality- this was never discussed openly and was considered very bad, racism- Black people or people that were coloured were also considered lower class. The mood, tension and suspense had been built up during the play. In Act 1 Scene 2 Jo meets with her boyfriend and during a conversation he asks her to marry him and she accepts his proposal even though he will be away on his ship for six months and so she will have to wait before he can marry him. She is given a ring by her fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e which she wears around her neck instead of on her finger. This is because she doesn’t want her mother to see the ring. Back in the apartment Helen tells Jo that she is going to marry Peter. Peter enters and Jo starts to shout at both Helen and Peter, while Helen is defending and attacking both Peter and Jo. Peter, however, is ignoring or criticising Jo and flattering Helen. Helen and Peter leave and Jo’s boyfriend arrives and keeps her company. On Helen’s wedding day Jo is feeling sick and cannot attend her mothers wedding. Helen then see’s the ring around Jo’s neck and starts scolding Jo violently for think of marrying this young. Jo then asks about her father and Helen explains, and then runs off to her wedding. There is a lot that happens in this scene both Helen and Jo plan on getting married. And this has built up a lot of tension. But there moods with each other getting married are not positive. Helen is not happy with Jo considering marriage at such a young age. Jo is also not happy that Helen is marrying Peter but is unable to do anything about it. The timing of this happening is also coincidental as Helen and Jo both were planning to marry at the same time this cause the audience to build up suspense. The scene is ended with Helen leaving Jo behind this will leave the audience thinking of what is going to happen. The scene is ended with suspense so that the audience is egger for the next scene. Act 2 scene 1 begins and Jo’s pregnancy is quite obvious and her boyfriend has not returned. Jo and Geof, a boy she met in a fairground, return to Jo’s apartment. The scene beginning with Jo being obviously pregnant cause’s drama for the audience also Jo’s black boyfriend has not returned from his sale this make the audience think that the boyfriend will never return. Jo is currently living alone and is working in a shoe shop in the day and working at a bar in the evenings to pay the rent. This has set the mood of Jo’s environment to be busy and Jo seems to be very tired. As when she returns from the fair she falls onto her sofa as she is tired, she as says that she has to be up before half past seven. This makes us think that going to work is very necessary for her and she is finding it difficult. Geof, an art student, who had been thrown out of his lodgings, says that the reason he was thrown out was because he was behind on the rent. Jo challenges him and keeps on persisting that he is lying as she knows he is homosexual. She even states that ‘I always wanted to know about people like you’ she offends Geof with her insensitive mocking and curiosity. She finally says that Geof should tell her why he was thrown out (even though she knows why she wants to hear it from Geof) or get out Geof heads for the door to leave and is stopped by Jo begging for him to stay, ‘Geof Don’t go. Don’t go. Geof! I’m sorry. Please stay.’ I think that this shows that Jo wants some company as she is alone and finding it difficult to pay for the apartment. Jo is not threatened by Geof staying in her apartment as he is homosexual and is therefore not physically attracted to her she also says, ‘That’s why I’m letting you stay here. You won’t start anything.’ When Geof is with Jo the mood is peaceful and is not chaotic. Also, Jo’s character is different she is not as aggressive as before. The audience are interested in Geof as they want to know facts about him because of his homosexual personality. It might be that Geof was thrown out because he was homosexual and he doesn’t want to admit that he is gay, also in that period of time homosexuality was wrong. After Jo apologises they start talking and tell each other that they like each other and they are becoming closer and their relationship develops. There mood has changed and they are now talking about each other and asking questions about there past. Geof brings up the subject of the baby and Jo’s mother, he thinks that Jo should tell her mother about her pregnancy. Jo replied ‘Why?’ this shows that she still doesn’t think that her mother should have nothing to do with Jo’s baby. Geof then goes on to ask what kind of woman is she and Jo replies by saying ‘†¦she’s rich†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Geof says that she should be interested in her mother’s money as she will be needing it later for the baby, as the baby will be costing Jo more money then she can afford. When Geof says that she will need baby clothes a cot and a pram, Jo replies by saying, ‘I’m not planning big plans for this baby or dreaming big dreams.’ This shows that Jo has thought that she will look after the baby with the barest amount of money. Jo’s character is strange in comparison to other mothers. Most mothers will be hoping for the best for their children. Jo, however, is not interested; she has no idea to look after a child as she has never been looked after by her mother very well. I found it strange when Geof says, ‘You’re feeling a bit depressed, Jo.’ He was telling Joe how she felt and this shows that Geof is already having feelings for Jo. When Geof offers Jo a cigarette she declines it, she said she only smoked to annoy her mother. I think that this shows that Jo did things to annoy her mother to get revenge. Jo’s character to towards her mother does not change through out the play. Geof asks Jo about her black boyfriend when Jo answers the questions she is giving false answers. I think that she has forgotten about the boy and has moved on with her life. Geof sings two nursery rhymes; this lightens the mood and shows that Geof is still childish and young in heart. When Geoffrey and Jo go to bed Jo says, ‘You’re just like a big sister to me.’ This shows that Jo has no sexual attractions towards Geof and sees him more like a friendly sister who looks after her. Jo comments on the children’s appearance, ‘†¦look at those filthy children.’ I think this is because as she is pregnant she is thinking about children and looking at other children on the streets. She then says that is there parents fault, but then says, ‘His mother ought not to be allowed.’ Jo is referring to her own mother in a way as Jo was treated badly and sometimes thinks that her mother should not of had her. Geof is homosexual but still tries to kiss Jo and even asks to marry her. Jo declines, is it shown that Jo likes Geoffrey but she is not sexually attracted to him. I think that the reason Geof asked Jo to marry him is because he want to be normal or a least be treated normal. So if he gets married people won’t think that he is homosexual and as Jo has a baby it will save him the trouble. Geof knows that if he stays with Jo his life is heading nowhere, but he wants to stay with Jo, ‘I’d sooner be dead than away from you.’ Geoffrey has grown a strong feeling for Jo and visa-versa, however, Jo likes him as a big sister. Helen enters the room and the mood has changed, that tension between Jo and Helen is now strong. Helen is not surprised that Jo is in bed, she thinks that Jo should still be going to work in her condition. Helen’s character is still expecting much of Jo even when Helen is sick she would ask Jo to do the work. Jo doesn’t even welcome her mother politely, ‘What blew you in?’ Helen assumes that Geoffrey is Jo’s boyfriend. While Helen and Jo argue Geof enters defending Jo but is shut up by both the ladies. Even with Jo in pregnancy Helen is still as violent she is throwing threats at Jo, ‘I’ll give you such a bloody good hiding in a minute†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Then Helen knows that she was right and told Jo not to get married at such an early age but gets into a mess none the less. Helen then says that she didn’t come to argue but actually came to give money but Jo doesn’t want it even when she needs it not from her mother anyway. Helen does care about her daughter but doesn’t show it although she does show it more then Jo, ‘Look at your arms. They’re like a couple of stalks!’ she doesn’t want her daughter to be unhealthy. When Peter enters, the mood changes everyone is concentrating on him and want him out of the room. It is obvious that Peter is not in love with Helen and it maybe that she is not in love with Peter it might be that she only married him for his money. When Drunken Peter enters he insults the other three, when he sees that Helen is giving his money away he is angry with Helen, ‘Giving my money away again?’ Peter then takes his money back from Helen and therefore contradicting Helens offer of a home to Jo. When Peter leaves he calls Helen to com with her but she says no. Helen is unsure of her choice so asks Jo if she should stay with her and Jo replies no. I can see that Helen was unsure to make her decision and when she ask Jo and she said no she yelled out yes to Peter. When Peter asked Helen if she’s coming she replied no, however, Peter still insists that Helen come with her. I think that even when he has lost interest in Helen he doesn’t want to let her go, this is just like him and his money. Helen’s last act of affection is shown, she tells Geof to make sure that she goes to the clinic regularly. As soon as Helen leaves the mood has changed, it is back to that ‘jokey’ mood with Jo and Geof. This is shown when Geof says that at least Helen left her some money but Jo says that Peter took it back but she has a cigarette for him. Geof replies, ‘Oh, smashing†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ I have noted that their moods change and they are back to their original state. This scene is one of the most relevant scenes in the whole play; it shows the relationship between Jo and Geof from when it first started to when they have a strong bond. It also is the first scene with homosexuality init so this is very appealing to the audience. It also is the scene when Helen finds out that Jo is pregnant and is therefore quite dramatic. This scene is very significant to the play as without this the scene it would not be as effective.

Internet Technology, Marketing, and Security Essay

Social Media Marketing: The use of internet and social networking in the workplace has grown substantially over the last few decades. Because of this, individuals are now using the internet in various ways. Technologies such as social networking sites, blog sites and other innovations give individuals a chance to interact with one another (Apigian, Ragu-Nathan, Ragu-Nathan, & Kunnathur, 2005). Social media marketing is the process of marketing through the methodical use of technical concepts and techniques toachieve specific goals for a company. This is a form of internet marketing which used to achieve branding and marketing communication goals by participating in various media networks (Major, Pennisi, & Riese, 2010). There has been a steady incline in the use of internet and social networking in places of work over the past decade because of the web-based technologies that are being used for work and work related activities. Although social media is a relatively new trend, it is becoming a very important part of any business’s marketing and client base development platform. What could once be accomplished by a traditional website now needs to be supplemented by a vigorous and responsive utilization of the tools social media offers (Bosari, 2012). Due to the increased use of internet technology, a business cannot survive without the support of social media. Social media marketing increases the exposure and traffic of a business, and the businesses use this as a tool to gain marketplace intelligence, to generate leads and to develop loyal followers (Stelzner, 2012). Some of the important reasons why social media marketing has become exceedingly important to businesses of all sizes are: * Today’s consumers are more tech savvy and have started taking time to research online before making a purchase. With the presence of social media, the business can engage with the clients and reassure them about the product and as well as the company, thus giving the business a chance to reach out and actually connect with their audience, and making the product mor e real and reliable. * The social media sites also act as platform for a virtual social life, and having a presence there is a smart business move, especially for small businesses. This shows that it is smart to take the business to the target audience where they will come across one’s brand and product. * When many different people on a social media refer to a company’s content, then the articles related to the company, the search engines pay attention to this and in turn use this factor to provide better search engine placement for the content in your website (Stelzner, 2012). * Social media also provides the kind of transparency needed for a business. When someone likes the website, product or services provided by the company, everyone in the person’s social circle can see it, thus helping in creating a higher brand exposure. Advantages & Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing: The use of internet in day to day life and the number of people using internet everyday has changed the way many businesses think about advertising. Many of the businesses direct customers towards their social network pages than their own websites. There are definitely many advantages to this, but at the same time, there are a few drawbacks as well (Hoffman, 2010). Advantages to businesses through social media are: * The biggest advantage is that the businesses can connect with networks that are full of potential customers that they may otherwise never come across through traditional marketing methods. * Social media networks are the best platform for word of mouth marketing, the most effective way increase one’s sales. These sites also allow the customers to voluntarily promote the services and products within their network of friends, thus increasing the brand awareness. * Social media sites are perfect for communicating with customers and understanding their questions and concerns, and are also the best platform for market research. * These sites also help a business to keep close watch on what the competition is doing and how are they being received by the people, and plan their strategies accordingly. Disadvantages of social media marketing for businesses are: * The biggest drawback of social media networking is that advertising violates the users’ privacy policies. This is because, in order to provide the businesses with the information about the target audience, these sites gather personal information of the users and sell them to businesses, thus violating their privacy. Many also debate whether this is an ethical practice or not. * Businesses will have to invest money as well as other resources in order to keep themselves up to date, and to keep track of all the activity happening on their network. This could sometimes also be more time consuming than traditional marketing. * Social media can also have a negative impact on the productivity of the employees if they waste valuable time using these channels for personal use, and may also have a negative effect on the company’s reputation. Use of Social Media Marketing by Pepsi: The rise of technology, which is reshaping the world drastically, even the well-established brands have to play by the digital rules. No major industry in America immune to the need to adapt to today’s more â€Å"connected† world, where companies have to harness evolving relationships between technology, customers, and suppliers (U.S. News, 2012). While many brands are still cautious about the use of social media for business, Pepsi understands that cyberspace is a fertile ground for building relationships with customers who might not be reachable through the traditional marketing methods, and thus making Pepsi one of the most â€Å"connected† companies in the U.S. according to the U.S. News (Hatch, 2012). For the first time in 23 years, Pepsi did not place an ad in the Super Bowl, but instead, chose to spend the money on their new experiment: The Pepsi Refresh Project. This was not only an innovative strategy for brand marketing, but also ground breaking in regards to using interactive methods and social media on a new level. Pepsi has launched a digital dashboard which features a lot of references to pop culture which will help them bring in more of their target audience of 18-35 year olds, and the content being a part of Pepsi’s â€Å"Live for Now† campaign (Hatch, 2012). Brian Solis, a principal analyst at the Altimeter group and author of The End of Business As Usual: Rewire the Way you Work to Succeed in the Consumer Revolution says that â€Å"today’s connected consumers are getting groomed and conditioned to expect the world to come to them†, and Pepsi has already taken the first step in that direction by trying to connect with them, and trying make t hem feel like they want to be a part of the brand (Hatch, 2012). With this strategy, Pepsi showed how an established brand can effectively utilize five critical aspects of social media marketing in gaining more customer insight: consumer engagement, user-generated content, data aggregation, geo-local, and inbound marketing (Horton, 2012). i. Consumer Engagement – by launching the digital dashboard, Pepsi has encouraged the visitors of the website to comment on different TV shows which are related to pop culture. It has also encouraged them to select songs and encores for a Pepsi concert series in the summer featuring major artists, who will be selected by voting through Twitter by both live audience as well as the ones watching online. ii. User-generated Content – in social media marketing, customer reviews, comments, or other inputs from customers play a very important role. In order to keep track of this, Pepsi has started using a tool called SocialFlow which ranks the content within the audience segments, what the customers are interested in. By doing so, Pepsi is able to understand its consumers’ wants and needs, and in turn act accordingly in order to gain their loyalty. Moreover, by keeping track of the consumers’ views about its products, Pepsi is able to manage complaints before they can escalate (Horton, 2012). iii. Data Aggregation – with social media, a company has better access to different statistics of the consumers, which would be very hard to gather in the traditional marketing methods. This data helps Pepsi understand its consumers better and also tells them how they can attract new ones. iv. Geo-local Reach – with the increase in the usage of smart phones, Pepsi can now incorporate social media with location-base mobile marketing. v. Inbound Marketing – today’s consumers want to be listened to an d social media networks give them the perfect platform for them to communicate with the brand. Other Businesses Using Social Media: Ford Motors – The once great American automobile company, Ford Motors, was on the ropes in 2009. But it has now reported its biggest annual profit since 1999. There are many reasons for this turn about like: the closure of about quarter of their plants, the reduction of its labor and health care costs, and the sale or retirement of underperforming brands. Along with all of the above, Ford has also been engaging in first-time conversations with its customers (Roman, 2011). Ford invested around one-quarter of its marketing dollars on digital and social media, which was double the amount spent by any of its competitors. Ford now has â€Å"social media agents†, who openly converse with their customers on forums, message boards, enthusiast sites that are not owned by Ford, as well as through official Ford Twitter and Facebook accounts. They use customized search engine tools to find and respond to customer queries, comments or concerns, including about new product arrival, warranties and repairs (Tellem, 2012). Social networking sites have allowed Ford to meet customers where it might not have been possible previously through traditional advertising, and allowing them to go where the customers go. For example, Ford created the Fiesta Movement using social media, before the all-new fiesta went on sale in North America, to create a buzz about the car and as a way to introduce it to the market. This campaign inspired tens of thousands of people, not only to merely listen to the advertising, but also to engage in an ongoing dialogue with the company through channels of their own choosing: to post videos, to share feedback, and stay engaged and in touch with â€Å"The Ford Story,† very often via multiple feeds (Roman, 2011). Ford employees respond to an average of 2,000 people weekly via social media and the interaction have continued to rise from a year ago. Also, rather than dealing with the issues the traditional ways shows that the Ford is being proactive in resolving the consumers’ issues rather than wait for their calls and then react. This is win-win situation for Ford or any other company that proactively reaches out to consumers who have issues (Halliday, 2012). Whole Foods Market – Whole Foods Market believes that customers who are more knowledgeable about food are more likely to be their customers, so the company makes efforts to help people learn more about ingredients, locate recipes, etc. Keeping this in mind, and taking this policy to heart, 5% of Whole Foods Market’s tweets are promotional and 10% are content-based. The rest 85% are responses to customers. Rather than controlling everything from the headquarters, most of its Twitter activity comes from staffers in local stores, who know their local markets and can respond to local issues much faster. This also shows how Whole Foods has made social media a part of each and every one of its stores (Eckhouse, 2011). Not all the customers shopping at Whole Foods are serious foodies. Many treat Whole Goods as a supplemental grocery store – where they pick up special items or pre-made meals. Whole Foods uses social media to give these occasional shoppers more reasons to connect by announcing flash sales on seasonal items, and also to promote gift boxes (Friedman, 2011). With the help of social media, Whole Foods strives to: * Provide something to the customer – Whole Foods works hard to answer questions about recipes, wine, cheese, ingredients and health tips. The company found that customers who are more knowledgeable about food are more likely to be Whole Foods customers, so helping them learn more about food helps make the store more appealing as a destination (Eckhouse, 2011). * Serve all the customers – Whole Foods believes that everyone who enters a store should be respected irrespective of how often one visits the store. The company wants its staff to interact with each and every customer, and give them more of a reason to come and they will. For example, Whole Foods tweets out flash sales on seasonal items that will only be in the stores for a single day. Whole Foods also uses social media to promote its gift boxes as another way to reach its occasional customers (Eckhouse, 2011). * Encourages conversation – To use Twitter as a two-way communications tool, Whole Foods works diligently to get its followers to respond and interact. For example, it holds contests with questions about food and healthy living. Nor does it take itself too seriously. It posted cooking tips for insects on its website as an April fool’s spoof as well as a YouTube video making fun of an incredibly crowded and despised parking lot for one of its Los Angeles stores (Eckhouse, 2011). Future Impact of Social Media: In the current competitive world of global business, a company needs to make use of every tool available to gain an edge. One such tool is social media, which includes websites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogs and forums. Social media has a direct impact on key areas such as marketing, transacting business and customer relationships. Some of the ways in which social media will affect businesses are (Edge, 2012): * Business performance driven marketing – with the help of social media and the various platforms it provides, companies have a better opportunity to interact with and understand consumers across multiple networks, and drive them to purchase. With so many options available and opportunities to understand performance, businesses will be focusing more on how social media drives business and marketing performance as opposed to just â€Å"getting the word out†. * Demand for innovations – with the increase in the usage of social technology and mobile integration, more agencies and brands will hire technology and innovation managers. They will be responsible for staying on top of trends in marketing technology and will be the digital leaders spearheading such projects. * Increase in consumer experience – along with technology, there will also be a change in the experience that takes place between brands and their customers online. Relations will become both more data driven and more interactive. Ideas will be bigger and brands will have to find innovative ways to create consumer driven brand experiences to woo their customers. References Apigian, C. H., Ragu-Nathan, B. S., Ragu-Nathan, T. S., & Kunnathur, A. (2005). Internet technology: The strategic imperative. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research , 6 (2), 123-145. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://www.csulb.edu/web/journals/jecr/issues/20052/paper4.pdf Bosari, J. (2012, August 8). The developing role of social media in the modern business world. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneywisewomen/2012/08/08/the-developing-role-of- social-media-in-the-modern-business-world/ Eckhouse, J. (2011, August 9). The Whole Foods Twitter strategy: Tweets as fresh as the food. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://therealtimereport.com/2011/08/09/the-whole-foods-twitter-strategy-tweets-as-fresh-as-the-food/ Edge. (2012). 5 Ways social media technology will impact the future of brand marketing & advertising. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://edge-collective.com/5-ways-social-media-technology-will-impact-the-future-of-brand-marketing-advertising/ Friedman, B. (2011, August 4). Whole Foods Market’s Subtle Social Media Marketing Plan. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://socialmediatoday.com/bradfriedman/326139/whole-foods-market-s-subtle-social-media-marketing-plan Halliday, J. (2012, March 27). Ford taps social media for customer service. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanhalliday/2012/03/27/ford-taps-social-media-for-customer-service/ Hatch, D. (2012, May 15). Pepsi measures online pulse with social media strategy. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/articles/2012/05/15/pepsi-measures-online-pulse-with-social-media-strategy Hoffman, D. L. (2010, October 1). Can you measure the ROI of your social media marketing? Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2010-fall/52105/can-you-measure-the-roi-of-your-social-media-marketing/ Horton, C. (2012, May 17). 5 Ways Pepsi’s Use of Social Media is Right On. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://socialmediatoday.com/synecoretech/509355/5-ways-pepsis-use-social-medi a-right Major, A. L., Pennisi, L. A., & Riese, M. (2010, November). Using social media to market your business. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from NebGuide Web site: http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g2029/build/g2029.pdf Roman, E. (2011, February 1). Lessons from Ford’s brilliant use of social media. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ernan-roman/lessons-from- fords-brilli_b_816605.html Stambor, Z. (2011, November 21). Wal-Mart’s Facebook page is a relative hotbed of conversation. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/11/21/wal-marts-facebook-page-relative-hotbed-conversation Stelzner, M. A. (2012). 2012 Social media marketing industry report. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from Social Media Examiner Web site: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/SocialMediaMarketingIndustryReport2012.pdf Tellem, T. (2012, September 9). Do you use social media? Ford does! Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://social.ford.com/our-articles/suvs/explorer/do-you-use-social-media-ford-does/ U.S. News. (2012, May 15). America’s most connected companies. 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