Carbon Fiber

Carbon Fiber report Table of Contents Introduction 3 Historical events of Carbon fiber 3 Properties 4 Applications 4 Conclusion 5 Bibliography 6 Introduction There are a lot of new materials that has emerged and been used by engineers and scientists such as Aerogel, Metal foam, Bioplastic, Carbon fiber, Graphene and others. This is helping engineers build all new types of machines and instruments such as touch screen mobiles, automobile sensors, computers, planes and a lot more.This report will focus on a certain material called Carbon fiber. This material is being used lot due to It Is properties, for example Carbon fiber is five times stronger than steel and weighs three times less. Most cars use steel for body parts but imagine replacing steel with carbon fiber that would open a whole new road for car industries. The report will discuss some historical events and background information about carbon fiber. Also, it will focus on carbon fiber properties and two applications for It.H istorical events of Carbon fiber In the late 1800s Thomas Edison carbonized bamboo and cotton to produce filaments for his light bulbs Oohnson. n. d. ). In 1958 Roger Bacon created high performance carbon fibers at the Union Carbide. His method was to heat strands of a material called rayon (artificial silk) until they are carbonized, but this method proved to be inadequate because the resulting fibers had only carried 20% of carbon and the properties of it were Inefficient, such as low strength and stiffness (â€Å"Carbon (fiber) ,n. d. † ).In the early 1960s the process of Carbon fber was developed by Dr. Akio Shindo at Agency Of Industrial Science and Technology of Japan, which improved carbon fiber and contained 50% of carbon (â€Å"Carbon (fiber), n. d. In 1963, the properties of carbon fiber were acknowledged, such as high strength, by W. Watt, L. N. Philips and W. Johnson at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire (â€Å"Carbon (fiber), n. d. † ). In the early 1960s, engineers began applying carbon fiber to aircraft because of it Is properties like high strength and light weight.The results of using carbon fiber In this area made aircraft much lighter, faster and also heat resistant due to the aircraft Itself and atmospherically (Johnson, n. d. ). 1 OF3 Between tne years a IYBU, Caroon TIDer was manuTacturea to De given to tne ilitary and also was produced to be used in sports such as NASCAR and Formula 1 to make the vehicles lighter and faster Oohnson, n. d. ). In the early 21st century, the manufacturing of Carbon fiber had expanded greatly through Asia, Europe and the United states, because the industries had been requesting Carbon fiber, industries such as sports and aerospace Oohnson, n. . ). Properties Carbon fiber is a material that belongs to the family of polymers. It is made with an extremely thin strings of carbon (like hair) that are twisted, then the strings are oven together to make it look like a piece of fabric. To make the shape of the fabric- carbon permanent is to place it over a selected mold or any shape that is desired and then it is covered with a stiff liquid resin or liquid plastic. Finally, it dries up to maintain the selected shape (Deaton, n. d. . Carbon fiber has a lot of amazing properties and characteristics, such as high strength and high rigidity, even though it is relatively light; it is like the property of steel's strength and the lightness of plastic combined in one material. Also, Carbon fiber resists fire and heat because the aterial itself reflects heat competently if it is in a condition of a dense layer, which leads us to the matter of expansion due to heat; this material has a low expansion to heat unlike steel.Comparing steel to Carbon fiber, steel has a low corrosion resistivity which means it is more susceptible to rust unlike carbon fiber that has a high corrosion resistivity (â€Å"Carbon fiber characteristics, n. d. † ). Carbon fiber can abso rb vibration, in other words a good vibration damping (Kiron, n. d. ). which opens a door to set or attach carbon fiber to moving machines or automobiles. Moreover, Carbon fiber appears in x-ray vision thus it cannot be stolen or for any illegal activity. Also, in a medical view, Carbon fiber is being used to support limbs or injured knees but this study is still to be researched Oohnson, n. . ). Applications Carbon fiber can be used in so many ways; it can be customized for customer's desire. In this section two applications will be discussed which are automotive and military. Carbon fiber is used for automobile racing and styling, for example car parts such as the hood (bonnet) for it is heat resistivity, trunk, lip, fender, car rims (wheels) nd much more to make the car lighter, faster, able to absorb vibration and more attractive. In addition, if the car is lighter it means that less fuel will be used.Also, the bodies of motorcycle racing which are called fairings are made out o f Carbon fiber; these fairings are especially designed for racing. Exhausts (mufflers) are also made out of carbon fiber for both cars and motorcycles for carbon's fiber heat resistivity and sound. Carbon fiber not only plays an important role in the racing world but also will play in the normal daily world in cars (â€Å"Carbon (fiber),n. d. † ). Carbon fiber is used in the military; it is used in planes, tanks, military cars, missiles even soldier's personal gear such as a helmet, boots, rifles, armor other equipment.Less weight means less energy and faster movement whether if it is a vehicle or a human. Of course there is a lot of information for using Carbon fiber for military reasons, but it is classified, only shallow information is given to civilians Oohnson, n. d. ). Conclusion 10 sum up, tne nlstory 0T Caroon TIDer was 01scussea ana looked Into tnrougnout tne years of development and the people who played an important role in the history of his material were introduc ed. Also, the family of the material was identified and the making of Carbon fiber was explained thoroughly.Carbon fiber has outstanding properties such as high rigidity, strength and low weight. To add, Carbon fiber has been widely used in applications such as automobiles and military. These two examples are two of many applications that are being used for carbon fiber in everyday life. Although carbon fiber can be very expensive, it is still used in many industries. Engineers can use Carbon fiber in many designs in various applications hat can be used for people such as modern bicycles, cars, baseball bats, fishing rods and much more.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon-based_lifehttp://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/fuel-economy/carbon-fiber-oil-crisis.htmhttps://www.thoughtco.com/uses-of-carbon-fiber-820394https://www.thoughtco.com/applications-of-carbon-fiber-820384http://textilelearner.blogspot.com/http://www.christinedemerchant.com/carboncharacteristics.htmlhttps://ai tracing.com/

Pozzo & Lucky’s Relationship

During the two character’s appearance in act 1 we learn a lot about both characters through the relationship they have with each other. While Lucky’s lack of speech under Pozzo’s domain makes it difficult to identify his personality, we can still infer a lot about him. ‘Pig’, ‘hog’ and ‘swine’. All abusive vocatives thrown at Lucky by Pozzo. An instant indication that the relationship between these two characters is far from friendly, and makes the relationship between Vladimir and Estragon seem certainly pleasant. It is clear that Lucky acts as a type of servant to Pozzo and this is clarified when he attempts to describe their relationship in the quote â€Å"He wants to mollify me, so that I'll give up the idea of parting with him†. It is instantly clear that Pozzo’s character is extremely arrogant. He lords over the others, and he is decisive, powerful, and confident. When his character is introduced he refers to the other two as human, but as inferior beings; then he condescendingly acknowledges that there is a human likeness, even though the â€Å"likeness is an imperfect one.† This image reinforces his authoritarian god-like stance. Pozzo's superiority is also seen in the manner in which he eats the chicken, and then casts the bones to Lucky with an air of complete omnipotence. Yet there are several quotes after he becomes acquainted with Vladamir and Estragon for example â€Å"I'd very much like to sit down† and referring to them as ‘gentlemen’ which suggest that, due to his long and lonely journey, he seeks the approval of them both and to be, as he quotes ‘old friends’. This provides the audience with a hint that despite has vast knowledge he is lacking somet hing which he cannot gain from Lucky which is a companion. Together the two characters represent the antithesis of each other. From one man who seems to be incapable of not contributing his input to someone who barely speaks a word. An inexhaustible amount of polarities can be applied to their relationship. However, Beckett has left a lot of information unsaid; Pozzo tells us that his profound knowledge was taught to him through none other than Lucky himself, whether this is simply a metaphorical term is undetermined however this does hint to the audience that perhaps the two characters were once not so dissimilar. Further enigma is created through pozzo exclamation that Lucky has become insufferable: â€Å"I can't bear it . . . any longer . . . the way he goes on . . . you've no idea†. This leaves the audience alienated in terms of context, we are unaware of Lucky even speaking let alone driving someone to such an extent. This could also be seen as a malicious side to Pozzo’s character as he could potentially be lying as he sees Estragon and Vladimir warming to Lucky and is envious of that. Read also Intro to Public Relations Notes Similarities can be seen between Pozzo ; Lucky’s relationship in comparison to Vladimir ; Estragon’s, in a sense that, the two relationships have an element of irascibility. Vladimir and Estragon fail to agree on things and often find themselves in disputes, yet they are still bound by each other and depend on one another. This is, in many ways mirrored in Pozzo and Lucky’s relationship, although there is a much bigger gap in terms of authority. Despite this, the two still depend on each other and are even bound by a rope which could be representative of an umbilical cord which brings about references to religion, life and other common themes within the play. To conclude, the relationship that Pozzo and Lucky have is very significant in the play and when the tables are turned in act 2 with Pozzo losing his sight we learn a lot more about the two characters than in their introduction in act 1. The master and the servant have little in common but are bound to each other much like our main characters Vladimir and Estragon.

Managing International Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Managing International Trade - Essay Example The 1960s saw the company diversify into research and manufacturing of drugs with development of the Ibuprofen painkiller. The company has diversified its development to other places and in 1968, the company acquired through purchase Timothy Whites and Taylors Ltd chain. Ion 1978, the company acquired Tamblyn Drugs chain in Canada which saw it entering the market. In 1987, the company became UK’s second largest drugs chain by acquiring Clement Clarke Ltd. and Curry and Paxton Ltd. In 1998, it ventured into dentistry and ‘well-being’ services offered to its customers. The company has seen sales and acquisitions with companies related to the field such as Optical Express but in 2006, the company developed a merger with Alliance Boots Ltd. In 2012, it was announced that Walgreens wanted to acquire a 45% stake in Boots. This is supposed to be a long term investment issue. The company mission statement is, â€Å"to become the world’s leading pharmacy-led health and beauty group†. This would be done through collaboration with Walgreen where Boots would boost Walgreen in the UK market and Walgreen boost Boots in the American and Chinese markets where it has prospered. The corporate level strategies of the company are to focus on its core activities in business. This is specific in the pharmacy led health and beauty retailing as well as pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution. This is to be achieved alongside realizing international branding of the products so that a third dimension is created. The strategy therefore includes growing the core businesses in the existing markets as well as continued delivery of improved products and saving of costs. Growth opportunities are supposed to be achieved through pursuing the growth opportunities in new high growth markets. The company also seeks to launch new brands in new markets, deliver synergies through strategic partnerships with other companies. The partnerships may

Research Methods in Social Sciences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Research Methods in Social Sciences - Essay Example   The experimental survey is a planed design that inflicts a great deal control over the conditions of the research procedure (Ruane, 2004). All experiments entail random task of participants in the phenomenon of the research, dependent and independent variables. The main aim of performing an experiment is to examine casual associations between the dependent variable and independent variable. Researchers might carry out experiments in extremely controlled laboratory settings or in field environments, in which the researcher has somewhat less control over the resultant forces that may influence the variables. In the laboratory, the researcher normally has adequate control over peripheral forces that may affect the participant. Simon indicates that the purpose of the experimental technique is to generate data from which a researcher might obtain genuine conclusions as efficiently as possible. The disparities in outcomes displayed among the different experimental and control groups do not arise from disparities in original forms among the groups. Rather, they result from differences among the stimuli offered to the experimental groups. As Crane, & Brewer asserts, the researcher who prepares the study and plans the conclusion measures, also resolves how the independent variable is to be maneuvered in most experimental research. In addition, most experimental research aims at testing forecasts based on hypothesis rather than generalizing directly from the simulated setting of the laboratory to real experience.  

Discussion question Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Discussion question - Research Paper Example It was crucial to keep the test cognizant of the emerging challenges. The other common issue is that many people are championing for the inclusion of nursing ethics as a compulsory subject and not elective one. Maintaining certification is an important process that a client or practitioner can only address by following the stipulated law. Failure means that a nurse will lose his practice certificate. However, one has to question the need to seat for continuous tests if experience matters. Updating of the online test empowers nurses to understand emerging issues in the society with respect to their roles. Consequently, they can make appropriate choices. The issue of inclusion of nursing ethics as a compulsory subject can be solved by implementation of state laws that would require students to register for nursing ethics as a compulsory course (Finkelman & Kenner, 2013). My nursing philosophy is dependent on continuous education while being sensitive to the surrounding environment. Consequently, I appreciate the need to maintain certification and updated tests. In addition, nursing ethics is a cornerstone of moral

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN CONTEMPORARY NURSING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN CONTEMPORARY NURSING - Essay Example In spite of this, relevant studies indicate that the nursing profession has inconsistently continued to define social justice (Browne 2008, p. 83-85; Judy et al. 2010, p. E3-4), a critical concept that has introduced discrepancies between professional expectations and competence within practice. This paper will critically analyze the concept of social justice within the nursing profession by analyzing related literature and debate on policy concerns and forces that affect social justice within the practice. Also, the paper will analyse the application of nursing professional values in relation to social justice. As identified in the introductory section, the concept of social justice within the nursing practice is surrounded by inconsistencies that cut across nursing expectations and practice. A study conducted by Pfitzinger (2013, p.1) involving the review of literature published on PubMed and CINAHL databases revealed that a majority of currently published articles related to social justice within nursing lacked a defined action plan and had inconsistencies within the definition of the notion of ‘social justice’. Additionally, those that have action plans were unable to guide clearly nurses on how to engage in acts related to social justice. The education system is challenged with inadequate instructional methods that prepare the engagement and integration of concepts of social justice in nursing due to the uncertainty of the topic within practice (Browne & Tarlier 2008, p.85; Judy et al. 2010, p.E1-9). With the existence of such confusion, nurses are not expected to deal accurately with the vice of social injustice within the practice. Interestingly, pressure is mounting on instructors regarding the introduction of social justice concepts within the classroom setting with the looming confusion of defining the concept (Boutain 2005, p.405). Pfitzinger (2013, p.1) clearly explains the

Discuss strategies adopted by the President to improve U.S. relations Essay

Discuss strategies adopted by the President to improve U.S. relations with Iran - Essay Example Nuclear weapons have been banned in wars and only those countries that had nuclear weapons by the time of the ban in the 1960s have been allowed to keep them. These are five in number. Further, these five countries have been urged to reduce their missile heads in a wave of reducing risks of nuclear attacks. Although manufacturing of nuclear weapons goes against international treaties thus illegal, Iran has been accused of having ambitions of creating nuclear weapons. The Obama administration has been very vocal in their effort to ensure Iran does not engage in such activities. President Obama has offered to negotiate directly with Iran in an effort to improve the US relation with the Arab countries. He visited Cairo, Egypt in 2009 and expressed his willingness to work together with countries with similar visions as the US in maintaining peace. He recognized both the Israel and Palestine states and stressed the need for these nations to co-exist together. Iran’s president, Ahmedinejad has been vocal in the opposition of the creation of the Israel nation citing that Israel should be wiped off the world map. The stern and provocative comments have always jeopardized negotiation talks between the US and Iran as Israel wants to be part of the negotiations with both Israel and Iran having hard-line stands. In a negotiation meeting in 2009 held in Geneva, involving Iran and six global powers, President Obama was very critical to point out after the meeting that Iran must not use negotiations as delay tactics for it to further its nuclear ambitions. In the meeting, Iran pledged to let UN inspectors to inspect its suspected enrichment programs in return for Iran to be allowed to pursue peaceful nuclear research. Although the US and Iran have engaged in other talks like discussing the war in Afghanistan, the nuclear saga continues to be the main area of focus (Wolf, 2009). During the held negotiations, various diplomatic negotiation rules have been broken. Hard line

Lesson Plan for The Diary of a Killer Cat by Anne Fine Essay

Lesson Plan for The Diary of a Killer Cat by Anne Fine - Essay Example They may appreciate the differences and learn how to develop a story. The evaluation of children would be done separately for each objective of the lesson plan. For vocabulary lesson, vocabulary sheets would be filled out from all the students. They will be assessed on the number of words they get right. A peer review will be conducted for the dramatic representation of different passages of the book. The class will vote for the group whose performance they liked best on the basis of following the script, creativity and good acting. Adaptations in teaching plan will be made according to any known weakness of a child. Further more, following the assessment results, individual attention will be given to the children with weak performances. The teacher will begin with reading out aloud the beginning of the book. It is proposed in the anticipatory set that the teacher would pause here and ask the children regarding how they would expect the plot to develop. Such an activity is included so that the reading of the book doesn’t appear monotonous to the children and they taken interest in the story. Also it would stimulate their imagination and allow them to take up the role of story writers themselves hence providing them an opportunity to enhance their creative thinking skills. Furthermore, the teacher may pause at later instances as well to ask general questions regarding what has been read. Such an exercise would keep the students alert and allow greater comprehension skills to develop as well. As the story would be read aloud to them, the children would be encouraged to make a list of the new words they come across. At the end of the reading session they’ll be handed out student dictionaries and showed the manner in which they can locate the meaning of a desired word. Such an activity would work to teach the use of

Personal and Professional Ethic Essay Example for Free

Personal and Professional Ethic Essay List 2 examples of legal issues affecting healthcare and describe how you determined your choices to be legal issues. 2. Give 2 examples of ethical issues affecting healthcare and describe how you determined your choices to be ethical issues. 3. Give 2 examples of moral issues affecting healthcare and describe how you determined your choices to be moral issues. 4. Describe the impact your own personal ethics may have on your practice as a healthcare professional. 5. List 3 ideas that you have for keeping your personal and professional ethics separate: . How does diversity (ethnic, social and cultural) play a role in providing patient care for your chosen profession? Unit 9 Project Questions: Part II (NOTE: you may need to refer to chapter 3 and/or Unit 2 for this section) 7. What is the name of the professional organization related to your chosen career? (NOTE: a list of professional organizations can be found in the Code of Ethics and Professional Organizations module in the Reading section of Unit 2) 8. How will your professional Code of Ethics help to guide you in making decisions on-the job? NOTE: a link to your Code of Ethics can be found in the Code of Ethics and Professional Organizations module in the Reading section of Unit 2) 9. How does your professional Code of Ethics differ from the American Medical Association Code of Ethics? 10. Does your professional organization offer a credentialing exam for your career? If so, what is the name of the credential you can receive after passing the exam? 11. For most allied health professionals, a certification can be preferred but is optional. Why is this? 12. Name two healthcare professionals in which a license would be required to practice.

Location Based Social Networking Essay Example for Free

Location Based Social Networking Essay Imagine yourself in a locality surrounded by strangers- a new city, a new state yet, no more totally strange. Check-in Yo!, update your profile and you are all set for the location. The location based social networking app Yo!Buddy is making you familiar with the society and locale wherever you are. You can see the like-minded interests and hobbies pursuant, neighbors and have chance to communicate with them. If you think you are not familiar with the ones you desire to go ahead and say ‘hello’, do not feel the set back. Yo! will show you everyone using the app around you, upto 5km. The further you go with Yo!, it has the feature to update and check-in your location, nearby people, activities and events. What more would you ask your locality to show you than what you desire- the users and chance to communicate with them. Yo! finds it simple and unique to bring your online friends and neighbor closer to you in your real life. When you meet your locality people online more often chances to meet them in real life increase much more. Who knows you go to a big mall and are just checked-in to find out that another of your neighbor or friend is nearby or even an online Facebook friend has come to visit the city. You might even be idling at home on a weekend to find another of the Yo! user nearby you too is idling. This makes your networking stronger with him/her. Yo! is mastering itself to provide you the platform so that every time you check-in, the GPS based Yo! records it for you and fellow users. You can even check-in Yo! through your Facebook profile, connect with your friends nearby and be updated on how about of them. The social networking on web is changing and applications like Yo! are changing it for our betterment. You have the world shrunk in a piece of computer.You have Facebook, Twitter to make friends followers worldwide and network. Though most of the friends or followers you get through these are virtually available and you might not have them when you need them. We are traveling to distant places for various reasons and at a strange place we feel left alone, most of the time. We like to see and enjoy our stay, befriend the people around and see nice places or just sit in a corner and still be updated as who are doing what nearby. Imagine yourself to see and doing whatever you like. Imagine to be updated and also open to be welcomed and involved in the surrounding. Location based social networking is bringing the world more alive to you- on your android application, in your palm. You just have to give it a try: invite and spread it to people around you, check-in, update and you are all set to say ‘Yo! Buddy, Wassup!’

Relationship Between Training and Employee Commitment

Relationship Between Training and Employee Commitment Is there a connection between a high level of commitment to training and development of employees? 1.0 Introduction This paper will discuss training issues within the UK, and what organisations and the government are doing to address a skill shortage. The labour force in competitor countries is educated to higher levels than those in the UK, and that higher education qualifications will ever more be in demand to address future skills needs, particularly at the technical, associate professional and customer service level (M. Doyle 2003). This skills shortage is being addressed by the government by encouraging individuals and organisations to take more interest in training. There are many organisations within the UK that have very good policies on training, the question is does training employees equate on the bottom line. The government has introduced several policies aimed at tackling the skills shortage. D Blunkitt (2000) discussed. â€Å"that our education reforms are all about the development of an educated citizenry democracy in which people are educated in and are able to participate in active self-government. Individuals that are knowledgeable are equipped to make moral judgements, and will be able to construct solutions to the challenges they face, both locally and globally†(Blunkett, 2000, p. 13). This has shifted the emphasis from organisations training employees to individuals taking more responsibility for their own training. The skills are then transferable between organisations, aiding to the mobility of the individual. But organisations still require employees ‘to be trained in their culture and core values. Organisations seek the competitive edge of rivals; they use training to increase the level of service they offer customers. This in turn will create loyalty with their customers, therefore increasing turnover. The human resource is discussed as the most valuable, and perhaps the last edge organisations can have. If all organisations trained to the same level, would this then eliminate the competitive edge? Organisations are implementing strategic HR as a change agent, not to replace an out dated personnel department. Although there is still evidence within the UK that once these interventions are implemented, they just replace the role of the personnel department. To be effective belongs on the board of an organisation. The organisation that will be reviewed is Tesco’s; during the past decade they have introduced strategic HR with increased training of employees. The role of HR within the organisation has increased in importance. Their practice of training and the importance of HR will be reviewed with the current theory. Tesco’s’ operates in a very competitive market; the consumer has choice where to shop for their groceries. They have expanded their portfolio to include CD’s, DVD’s, electrical goods and clothing. Recently they have expanded into the financial services offering customers products from Credit cards to insurance. All their products are available on the internet 24 hours a day. Their slogan â€Å"every little helps† is used to show their commitment to customers, this has been used to reduce prices and to increase the level of customer service. This slogan is now used in their staff training, that any intervention will increase the knowledge of the workforce. The organisation is widely reported in newspapers, this is due to the success of the business. They are rapidly expanding in the UK with the opening of their Metro stores and into new and foreign markets. This has taken a great deal of their resources in the planning and implementing stage of expansion. The core units need to remain focused, to retain the reputation they have built. Reinforcing the culture and values through training will focus employees on their roles. Whilst writing this paper it was identified that further paper could be written on cost analyses of the organisation, to identify if the extra resources they have placed on training has been value for money. This was outside the scope of this paper. 3.0 Methodology This chapter discusses the research methods used for the project and the justification for the choice of methods. It discusses methods that were not used, with justification of why they were not included. Included is a critique of methods selected, and with hindsight this identifies any changes that would have enhanced the research. This paper critically evaluates training within the UK and focuses on the training issues within Tesco. It will compare the HR and training practices at Tesco to the theory. The organisation was chosen as they had put themselves to forefront of training a decade ago, by becoming investors in people. Selection of the topic was stimulated and formed out of heightened political awareness on the subject area. The government has recognised skills gap between the UK and competitor countries. To address this issue they have introduced policies that included lifelong learning. The government’s green and white papers were used to review these policies. The nature of the research was discussed with colleagues and fellow students, this not only added practical ideas and suggestions; it also opened new avenues of thought. This was the discussed with lecturers sounding out ideas, gauging opinions and clarifying the question. Focusing in on the question was obtained by employing relevance trees, narrowing the research area. This gave direction to the research, although with reviewing the literature this direction changed several times (Buzan, J. 1995). Next, a research proposal was compiled, with the benefit of organising ideas and setting a time-scale for research. Theoretically, the proposal would highlight any difficulties with the research question and access to data. Creating a time-scale would focus on targets and meet deadlines in the completion of the paper. The literature review, discussing theories and ideas that exist on the topic formed the foundation of the paper. The findings from the research are then tested on theories for validity (Saunders, M. et al1997). The literature review was challenging, there is a vast amount of articles on the subject. Books journals and newspaper articles formed the back bone for the review. Tertiary data sources, such as library catalogues and indexes were used to scan for secondary data. This produced journals and newspaper articles, and Internet addresses. With the amount of literature, it took time to sort out relevant material to the research. Narrowing down the search Bell’s (1993) six point’s parameters was applied. Applying key words that were identified in the first search produced relevant and up-to-date material (Bell, J.1993). A limitation on the literature search was the amount of time to read all articles and books on the subject. Whilst reviewing the literature references to other relevant publications was followed and reviewed. Bells checklist on identifying the relevance of literature found was a practical method to reduce the amount of reading (Bell, J. 1993). The Case study material was compiled from the organisations web site and from articles that discussed their training policy. Tesco’s appear to be rarely out of the papers, with daily reports on their success. The organisation disseminates a lot of information on their web page, only relevant material was chosen. To produce primary data on organisations training proved to be a vast task, taking a lot of time to produce results. Instead it was decide to review previously published interviews and surveys. This was then compared to the literature review. Interviewing people within organisations was an option for primary research. The target of the interview would be the person that held enough power to influence decisions that the organisation makes. This was rejected due to the time limitations of the paper. The major limitation of the study lies in its relatively small sample size and the limited coverage. This was mainly attributable tithe limited time and resources available for the study. Although thesis a small sample it will conclude on the findings with recommendations for further research papers into the subject. 4.0 Literature Review 4.1 Introduction This chapter will review current and recent articles and books of the topics of Training, HR and government policy. 4.2 What is training? Training can be defined as a planned process to change attitudes, knowledge or skills and behaviour through a range of activities to achieve effective performance. When this training is in the work situation, it develops the employee to satisfy current or future needs of the organisation (Beardwell, I et al 2004). It is generally accepted that methods of training can usually be separated into two categories: on-the-job, and, off-the-job. On-the-job training is implemented at the trainees workplace, while off-the-job training is conducted away from the trainees workplace and takes them outside of their work environment (Mullins, L. 2005). Training can be used as a change agent, to change the culture of an organisation. It is also a tool to improve organisational effectiveness, especially in fiercely competitive markets. All too often organisations that are facing financial problems will cut back the training program, where as they could be used to increase overall performance. The training budget is viewed too often as an expendable, and the first to cut or even go in crises (Rogers 2004). 4.2 Why Train Nobody in business would disagree with the clichà © that a company is only as good as the people in it. But opinions differ on how that translates into practice, and what it means in terms of the way a firm goes about gathering and developing a world-class staff line-up. With near full employment in the UK, the fight for talent is as ruthless as ever, and getting, hanging on to and developing those people remains the HR issue of the moment. The principal function of any organisation is to increase the value of the business and therefore enhance the wealth of its Owner(s). This is obtained by efficient use of the limited â€Å"resources† available to them(T Blackwood, 1995). Garrick (1998) discussed that training inextricably linked to market economics, that knowledge is prized ins far as it can generate a market advantageâ€Å"(Garrick 1998:5). This leads to the assumption that though training and developing employees, it can give the organisation advantage, increasing profit. Best (2001) discussed the â€Å"new economy, as a knowledge-based economy without borders, where the race is between companies and locales over how to learn faster and organise more flexibly to take advantage of technology-enabled market opportunities† (Best (2001) cited in DeFillippi, R. 2002). Organisations have changed in the way they operate, shifting from immobile-wired infrastructures to mobile, miniature, and wireless modes of communication, computing, and transacting. Customers now demand 24 hour service, with â€Å"anytime, anyplace solutions of their problems (DeFillippi, R. 2002). Radical shifts are taking place in management theory; these shifts need to be reflected in the theory of training and development. The move towards a knowledge economy makes these shifts vital to the survival of the organisation. Ideas of training tend to focus on results; typically they are short-term and assume transferable skills. Ideas of personal development may be insufficiently focused on the workplace. Therefore for an organisation to enter the knowledge economy, it is vital for them to review their training and development to a broader aspect (Bryans, P. Smith, R. 2000). Increasingly, as the nature of business and organisations change, its ‘leaders are recognising that their most valuable assets are their skilled employees and, more significantly, the knowledge, both tacit and explicit, that is possessed by these employees. The knowledge is power clichà © has never been more accurate than in todays corporate world. This added value that this can be seen in products and services is now dependant on knowledge based intangibles (Rogers 2004). Since the late 1990s the business environment has drastically changed(Mullins, L. 2005). Chaos theorists have argued that the world of the organisations is â€Å"turbulent and chaotic, making it impossible for them to predict the future† Therefore conventional approaches to strategic decision making are no longer appropriate (Harrison, R. 1997:78).Competition and the pace of change in business require continuous improvement, therefore it means continuous learning. From this demand the market for business education has grown with a proliferation of courses, full- and part-time, open and bespoke (Mullins, L. 2005). 4.3 The Role of HR Recognition of the importance of HR has increased in recent years; thesis a result of competition from overseas economies. In countries for example Japan, Germany and Sweden investment in employee development is higher than the UK. This has led to some organisations reviewing their policies on training introducing continuous investment in their employees (Beardwell, I. et al 2004). This increase in training priority has been supported by a rise inhuman Resource Management. This practice emphasises that increased growth can only be maintained in the long run; by equipping the workforce with the skills they need to complete their tasks (Mullins, L.2005). Although it is argued that HR departments are within UK organisations mostly administration based. Rogers (2004) stated that â€Å"the threat revolves around a fundamental mismatch between the functions of Departments today and the real strategic human resource needs of modern business, which those departments it should be servingâ€Å". The image of training and development has changed and can be used a key driver for delivering shareholder value (Rogers 2004:25). The role of HR should not be administrative based; it should be a part of the long term strategy of the organisation. Appointed an HR manager to the board is the only way this can happen (Beardwell et al2004).Rogers (2004) discussed the â€Å"role of developing human capital strategies that HR has a real opportunity to shine†. There are numerous departments are failing to deliver the goods. This is caused by â€Å"too many departments are dominated and viewed by the board as fulfilling mainly administrative role, dominated by endless form filling† (Rogers2004 :25). For HR to succeed it must take on a proactive role within the organisation. Strategic HR creates value by providing opportunities for organic learning, development of intellectual capital and enhances core competencies. This value is crucial to the organisations future success (Treen, D. 2000). Employers are increasing extorting the best possible performance from employees. Best practice will increase the skills of the current workforce, and with recruiting it will reinforce the culture of a highly skilled work force (Mullins, L. 2005).Strategic HRM has gained both credibility and popularity over the past decade, specifically with respect to its impact on organisational performance (Paauwe, J Boselie P. 2003). To fully exploit the wealth of knowledge contained within an organisation, it must be realised that it is in human resource management that the most significant advances will be made. As result, the human resource department must be made a central figure in an organisations strategy to establish a knowledge basis for its operations (Mullins, L. 2005). There are fundamental differences in the approach to HR. Storey(1987) discussed these as hard and `soft’ versions of HRM.. The ‘hard version places little emphasis on workers’ concerns and, therefore, within its concept, any judgments of the effectiveness form would be based on business performance criteria only. In contrast, ‘soft HRM, while also having business performance as its primary concern, would be more likely to advocate a parallel concern for workers’ outcomes (Storey cited in Guest, D. 1999). These models of HR theory, will justify why there has been an increase in this management practice. Walton (1985) defined HR as â€Å"mutual goals, mutual influence, mutual respect, mutual rewards, and mutual responsibility† Walton further added that the psychological contract ‘under this guitarist, high commitment model is one of mutuality, but it is a mutuality strictly bounded by the need to operate within an essentially unitary framework (Walton cited in Beardwell, l. et al2004) There is a need for a higher value to be placed on employees. And therefore get the best performance from the employees. According toDelany (2001) â€Å"successful organisations keep people issues at the forefront of their thinking and at the core of their decision making and planning†. Delany adds â€Å"organisations that get the people things right are the organisations likely to be around in the future† (Delany (2001)cited in Mullins, L. 2005:748). The role of human resource explicitly views employees as another resource for managers to exploit. In the past, managements had failed to align their human resource systems with business strategy and therefore failed to exploit or utilise their human resources to the full. The force to take on HRM is therefore, based on the business case of a need to respond to an external threat from increasing competition(Guest, D 1999). This view reflects a longstanding capitalist tradition in which the worker is viewed as a commodity. The consequential exploitation may be paternalist and benevolent; but, equally, it may operate against the interests of workers. Essentially, workers are simply resources to be squeezed and disposed of as business requirements dictate. More importantly, the interests of workers and their well-being are of no significance in themselves. As John Monks (1998) stated â€Å"In the wrong hands HRM becomes both a sharp weapon to prise workers apart from their union and a blunt instrument to bully workers† (Guest, D 1999). 4.5 HRD HR and training literatures highlights the organisational benefits tube gained from adopting a systematic approach to HRD, therefore thronging development of employees skills underpins the wider business objectives (Keep, 1989). This systematic approach to training often includes models that identifying needs, planning, delivery and evaluation. Harrison developed an eight stage model to identify monitor and evaluate training. The evaluation stage is possibly the most problematic part of the training process (Reid and Barrington, 1997). Therefore using that theory HRD should be viewed as a vital function offal organisations, and not just there to satisfy training issues, a proactive role. Caravan et al (2000) discusses the emergence of strategic HRD practices, which are directly linked to the organisation’s strategies, with profit maximising paramount, HRD is atoll that should be employed to obtain and support this (Caravan et al,2000). Strategic HRD is not embraced by all organisations; some view other resources as more valuable. There are many individual interconnected components, that impact on the performance of the organisation. The human resource is in theory the most valuable resource, but does not always receive the respect, and the financial recognition to develop(Walton 1999). Mumford (1997) agreed with this stating that â€Å"other resources within the organisation have a higher value placed on them and they are protected by rules and regulations† (A Mumford 1997:78). The theory of HRD appeals more to academics that the practioners. Garrick (1999) noted that academics rather than practitioners are more eager to pursue the learning perspective. This opinion defines HRD as being solely concerned with employees rather than organisational Strategy (Garrick 1999). Although this view is not shared by all authors. Caravan et al. (2000) defines the learning perspective that defines HRD as â€Å"responsible for fostering the long-term, work related learning capacity at an individual, group and organisational level†(Caravan et al. 2000:66). A research undertaken by Robertson and OMalley Hamersley reinforces this view of HRD. A two-year qualitative study composed from eighteen semi-structured interviews concluded that continuous professional learning was important to professional workers. To conclude from the study, learning does not have to directly correlate with organisational strategy. Therefore HRD can also be defined as a continuous learning programmes and encouragement of self-directed learning (Robertson and O’Malley Hamersley cited in Caravan et al. 2000:71). Continuously during the late 1990s and into the current century there has been a shift in organisational HRD rhetoric. Walton (2004) has discussed this shift in practice as â€Å"from how to support learning to how to manage knowledge, from the learning organisation to knowledge management†. These are new implications for the HRD practitioner in what has loosely been named the new economy (Walton 2004). 4.6 Managers and facilitators Education, training and development for managers, especially in the UK, has traditionally fallen into the â€Å"nice to have† category rather than the â€Å"must have† This view of business is persistent, with the assumption that managers are born and not made (Stern, S 2002). The majority of managers have learnt their skills through on-the-job experience. The conventional assumption, that managers learn best through â€Å"doing† whenever possible (Reader, A. 1998). Focussing on the concept that the human resource is the highly valued, systems should be in place to protect their importance. Development for managers who manage employees is a basic component of management development (Marching ton Wilkinson 1996). Mumford(1997) discussed the reason for failure of some of the processes has been â€Å"clearly been due in some instances to the absence of the required skills† (Mumford 1997:78). The majority of Managers would profit from training, but they are not capable of managing even with the intervention of training. These managers would still find in difficult to transfer the new skills and practices into their work place. The people who should train are not trained themselves (Walton 1999). In the UK the majority of managers have been trained in a skilled occupation, and consequently promoted through the system (Beardwell Holden 1994). Although highly trained in their primary occupation, the challenges of the managerial role are foreign to their skills. Rees commented that â€Å"few people start their careers off in managerial role; they have to acquire skills in organising employees effectively in an ever increasing competitive environment† (Rees cited in Beardwell Holden 1994:373). Good employee developers make a difference to the individual employee and/or their organisational performance. A new employee with a skills gap can be made to feel part of the organisation when he is developed into his role. Employees can be identified who have the potential for more demanding work or promotion but who require support to make this change. This can then set up a cycle of good behaviour that is passed on when the receivers become managers and developers themselves. Anises study found examples of increased skills and knowledge, work experience, self-confidence, improved motivation, job performance and job satisfaction, all thanks to the developers (Sparrow 2004). 4.7 Learning Theories Organisations have an economic need for all employees to be flexible within the workplace. The culture should encourage them to use their own initiative and apply the knowledge to undertake a variety of tasks. Cognitive learning lets the workforce learn strategies, and then transfer the learning to be able to solve problems. Lewis (1958) broke the learning down into three key stages. The first stage is the disposal of the old level (unfreezing), second stage is to implement the new structures and processes (moving) and the final stage involves stabilising the company with its new structure (refreezing). This technique was used so the organisation and the employees would be able to understand and implement improvements to their methods of working. Problems that arise from organisational change, which it is not flexible and cannot adapt swiftly to situations such as economic recession (Lewis (1958) cited in Buchanan, D and Hucczynski, A 1991). Wilson (1999) summarised on three main adult learning theories. Behaviourist theories of learning recognise learning as a response to external stimuli. Maintenance of the new behaviour is enforced by positive and negative reinforcement, a system of punishment and reward. Cognitivist theories of learning emphasise the proactive nature of development. This school of thought perceives human beings as seekers of knowledge in an attempt to understand our own identities and positionality. Humanist theories believe that learning occurs as result of our natural inclination towards it. People learn because in an environment of â€Å"warmth, care and understanding† (Wilson, 1999:197)we cannot help it. In this sense education is learner-centred; the student initiates the development environment and needs assessment. People continue to learn throughout their life, whether this is formally taught or just experienced. The process of lifelong learning requires continuous adaptation. This is gained from increased knowledge and improved skills, which aid the individual to adapt to or change the environment. This allows for new possibilities and outcomes from situations that they face. These changes can raise the individuals self-esteem and confidence. Therefore the learning can generate far reaching changes in both the individual and the environment (Beardwell I et al2004) Reinforcing learning within in an organisations, requires what Hawkins (1994) called a change at the heart† this change is in â€Å"the understanding of learning, a shift from viewing learning as being abrupt facts to learning as a more multi-faceted and dynamic process†. As Hawkins suggests, it is not that we are learning any differently than before but our understanding of how we learn has begun to catch up with what happens in practice (Hawkins, 1994:9). The learning process has been challenged to create a culture that allows continual learning throughout the organisation. As knowledge is what matters, organisations and individuals alike must become continuous learners(Hawkins, 1994). 4.8 Identification of training The UK government has introduced the National Occupational Standards(NOS). These are used as benchmarks of good practice in learning, and to identify the benefits to organisations and individuals that use them. These agreed statements of competence, describe the work outcomes required for an individual to achieve the standard expected of them(Wagner, L. 2004). These benefits can be used as a tool for the Human Resource Management function, to review and identify competencies in the work place. This process can start with recruitment and selection, measuring people’s experiences that will be transferred to the role, identifying any skills gaps in the existing work force (Harrison, R.2002). Employees appraisals is a tool used as to identify development issues within the organisation. Harrison (1993) suggests that they are â€Å"system and process for the provision of both feedback to employees on all aspects of their performance, and the opportunity for discussion to agree actions to assist their future development† (Harrison1993:256). Mullins defined the advantages of regular staff appraisals as â€Å"a formalised and systematic appraisal scheme will enable a regular assessment of individuals’ performance, highlight potential and identify training and development needs† (Mullins 1996:639). The information collected from the appraisals can be used for strategic development of employees. Outcomes can be used as measurement of success from the initial objectives. Harrison (1997) defined three outcomes that should come from appraisals, feedback on performance, work planning and diagnosis of training and development needs. If these outcomes are satisfied in the appraisal, then it will have a motivating effect on employees. IPhone of these outcomes is not satisfied, then the others cannot be satisfied (Harrison 1997). 4.9 Psychological contract Organisations no longer offer â€Å"a job for life† there is no longer guaranteed employment, with a pension as a reward for loyalty and compliance. The psychological contract between employer and employee has shifted. Employees are increasingly mobile, changing employment for promotion, reward and job satisfaction; top employees have more choices to where to work. To retain these key employees the organisations culture needs to allow an environment of personal growth (Harrison2002). With less job security, the best reward an organisation can give an employee is transferable skills (M Marching ton Wilkinson, 1997). Workers have been forced to take more responsibility for their own careers, going where the work is rewarding and where they can develop skills that will guarantee their employability in whatever organisation. This mobility and free agency has created greater competition for skilled workers between organisations. Good workers have more choices than before, and are more liable to use them. Withal the costs involved in recruiting and training new employees, organisations need to retain them. And key to this is the intrinsic rewards (Harrison 2002). Career development is important to the individual employee; Harrison(2002) noted this as an organised planned effort comprised of structured activities or processes that result in a mutual career-plotting effort between employees and the organisation. This Isa central component of the psychological contract that binds the individual to the organisation (Harrison 2002). This further complicates the role of the HRD PR actioner, balancing organisational needs with the individual’s expectations. Some employees will develop their career with one employer, while others require transferable skills. The organisation requires employees with the right skills to ensure and sustain competitive advantage (Gilley and England, 1989:48). 4.10 The Facts in the UK When organisations do not employ the resources to evaluate the benefit gained from training, the needs analysis is not completed. Therefore any benefit gained is not known to the organisation. A studying 1989 revealed that only 3 per cent of UK organisations reviewed any cost-benefit analysis of their training intervention (Deloitte et al(1989) cited in Santos and Stuart 2003). This approach within the UK has barely changed in fifty years. Evaluation of training intervention does not receive the consideration that accepted opinion demands; it is not an important factor in determining the allocation of resources to training. The important factor within an organisation is the focus of HR on the training and development needs, so they are focused on the learning needs of theorganisation.UK organisations fail when assessing the effect of training, to both the individual and the organisation (Sloman 2004). A survey from the CIPD of 1,180 HR professionals agreed that the role of the HR department requires change to move forward. Mike Emmett, head of employee relations at the CIPD agreed with the survey stating â€Å"Theory community has internalised the message that it needs to spend less time on administration and operational issues and more time on business strategy and adding valueâ€Å" The role that HR has adopted in the Appears to follow on from the role of the personnel department. For Hardtop be successful the HR department should hold a strategic position within the organisation (Mike Emmett cited in Zneimer and Merriden 2004:38). The trend in the UK o Relationship Between Training and Employee Commitment Relationship Between Training and Employee Commitment Is there a connection between a high level of commitment to training and development of employees? 1.0 Introduction This paper will discuss training issues within the UK, and what organisations and the government are doing to address a skill shortage. The labour force in competitor countries is educated to higher levels than those in the UK, and that higher education qualifications will ever more be in demand to address future skills needs, particularly at the technical, associate professional and customer service level (M. Doyle 2003). This skills shortage is being addressed by the government by encouraging individuals and organisations to take more interest in training. There are many organisations within the UK that have very good policies on training, the question is does training employees equate on the bottom line. The government has introduced several policies aimed at tackling the skills shortage. D Blunkitt (2000) discussed. â€Å"that our education reforms are all about the development of an educated citizenry democracy in which people are educated in and are able to participate in active self-government. Individuals that are knowledgeable are equipped to make moral judgements, and will be able to construct solutions to the challenges they face, both locally and globally†(Blunkett, 2000, p. 13). This has shifted the emphasis from organisations training employees to individuals taking more responsibility for their own training. The skills are then transferable between organisations, aiding to the mobility of the individual. But organisations still require employees ‘to be trained in their culture and core values. Organisations seek the competitive edge of rivals; they use training to increase the level of service they offer customers. This in turn will create loyalty with their customers, therefore increasing turnover. The human resource is discussed as the most valuable, and perhaps the last edge organisations can have. If all organisations trained to the same level, would this then eliminate the competitive edge? Organisations are implementing strategic HR as a change agent, not to replace an out dated personnel department. Although there is still evidence within the UK that once these interventions are implemented, they just replace the role of the personnel department. To be effective belongs on the board of an organisation. The organisation that will be reviewed is Tesco’s; during the past decade they have introduced strategic HR with increased training of employees. The role of HR within the organisation has increased in importance. Their practice of training and the importance of HR will be reviewed with the current theory. Tesco’s’ operates in a very competitive market; the consumer has choice where to shop for their groceries. They have expanded their portfolio to include CD’s, DVD’s, electrical goods and clothing. Recently they have expanded into the financial services offering customers products from Credit cards to insurance. All their products are available on the internet 24 hours a day. Their slogan â€Å"every little helps† is used to show their commitment to customers, this has been used to reduce prices and to increase the level of customer service. This slogan is now used in their staff training, that any intervention will increase the knowledge of the workforce. The organisation is widely reported in newspapers, this is due to the success of the business. They are rapidly expanding in the UK with the opening of their Metro stores and into new and foreign markets. This has taken a great deal of their resources in the planning and implementing stage of expansion. The core units need to remain focused, to retain the reputation they have built. Reinforcing the culture and values through training will focus employees on their roles. Whilst writing this paper it was identified that further paper could be written on cost analyses of the organisation, to identify if the extra resources they have placed on training has been value for money. This was outside the scope of this paper. 3.0 Methodology This chapter discusses the research methods used for the project and the justification for the choice of methods. It discusses methods that were not used, with justification of why they were not included. Included is a critique of methods selected, and with hindsight this identifies any changes that would have enhanced the research. This paper critically evaluates training within the UK and focuses on the training issues within Tesco. It will compare the HR and training practices at Tesco to the theory. The organisation was chosen as they had put themselves to forefront of training a decade ago, by becoming investors in people. Selection of the topic was stimulated and formed out of heightened political awareness on the subject area. The government has recognised skills gap between the UK and competitor countries. To address this issue they have introduced policies that included lifelong learning. The government’s green and white papers were used to review these policies. The nature of the research was discussed with colleagues and fellow students, this not only added practical ideas and suggestions; it also opened new avenues of thought. This was the discussed with lecturers sounding out ideas, gauging opinions and clarifying the question. Focusing in on the question was obtained by employing relevance trees, narrowing the research area. This gave direction to the research, although with reviewing the literature this direction changed several times (Buzan, J. 1995). Next, a research proposal was compiled, with the benefit of organising ideas and setting a time-scale for research. Theoretically, the proposal would highlight any difficulties with the research question and access to data. Creating a time-scale would focus on targets and meet deadlines in the completion of the paper. The literature review, discussing theories and ideas that exist on the topic formed the foundation of the paper. The findings from the research are then tested on theories for validity (Saunders, M. et al1997). The literature review was challenging, there is a vast amount of articles on the subject. Books journals and newspaper articles formed the back bone for the review. Tertiary data sources, such as library catalogues and indexes were used to scan for secondary data. This produced journals and newspaper articles, and Internet addresses. With the amount of literature, it took time to sort out relevant material to the research. Narrowing down the search Bell’s (1993) six point’s parameters was applied. Applying key words that were identified in the first search produced relevant and up-to-date material (Bell, J.1993). A limitation on the literature search was the amount of time to read all articles and books on the subject. Whilst reviewing the literature references to other relevant publications was followed and reviewed. Bells checklist on identifying the relevance of literature found was a practical method to reduce the amount of reading (Bell, J. 1993). The Case study material was compiled from the organisations web site and from articles that discussed their training policy. Tesco’s appear to be rarely out of the papers, with daily reports on their success. The organisation disseminates a lot of information on their web page, only relevant material was chosen. To produce primary data on organisations training proved to be a vast task, taking a lot of time to produce results. Instead it was decide to review previously published interviews and surveys. This was then compared to the literature review. Interviewing people within organisations was an option for primary research. The target of the interview would be the person that held enough power to influence decisions that the organisation makes. This was rejected due to the time limitations of the paper. The major limitation of the study lies in its relatively small sample size and the limited coverage. This was mainly attributable tithe limited time and resources available for the study. Although thesis a small sample it will conclude on the findings with recommendations for further research papers into the subject. 4.0 Literature Review 4.1 Introduction This chapter will review current and recent articles and books of the topics of Training, HR and government policy. 4.2 What is training? Training can be defined as a planned process to change attitudes, knowledge or skills and behaviour through a range of activities to achieve effective performance. When this training is in the work situation, it develops the employee to satisfy current or future needs of the organisation (Beardwell, I et al 2004). It is generally accepted that methods of training can usually be separated into two categories: on-the-job, and, off-the-job. On-the-job training is implemented at the trainees workplace, while off-the-job training is conducted away from the trainees workplace and takes them outside of their work environment (Mullins, L. 2005). Training can be used as a change agent, to change the culture of an organisation. It is also a tool to improve organisational effectiveness, especially in fiercely competitive markets. All too often organisations that are facing financial problems will cut back the training program, where as they could be used to increase overall performance. The training budget is viewed too often as an expendable, and the first to cut or even go in crises (Rogers 2004). 4.2 Why Train Nobody in business would disagree with the clichà © that a company is only as good as the people in it. But opinions differ on how that translates into practice, and what it means in terms of the way a firm goes about gathering and developing a world-class staff line-up. With near full employment in the UK, the fight for talent is as ruthless as ever, and getting, hanging on to and developing those people remains the HR issue of the moment. The principal function of any organisation is to increase the value of the business and therefore enhance the wealth of its Owner(s). This is obtained by efficient use of the limited â€Å"resources† available to them(T Blackwood, 1995). Garrick (1998) discussed that training inextricably linked to market economics, that knowledge is prized ins far as it can generate a market advantageâ€Å"(Garrick 1998:5). This leads to the assumption that though training and developing employees, it can give the organisation advantage, increasing profit. Best (2001) discussed the â€Å"new economy, as a knowledge-based economy without borders, where the race is between companies and locales over how to learn faster and organise more flexibly to take advantage of technology-enabled market opportunities† (Best (2001) cited in DeFillippi, R. 2002). Organisations have changed in the way they operate, shifting from immobile-wired infrastructures to mobile, miniature, and wireless modes of communication, computing, and transacting. Customers now demand 24 hour service, with â€Å"anytime, anyplace solutions of their problems (DeFillippi, R. 2002). Radical shifts are taking place in management theory; these shifts need to be reflected in the theory of training and development. The move towards a knowledge economy makes these shifts vital to the survival of the organisation. Ideas of training tend to focus on results; typically they are short-term and assume transferable skills. Ideas of personal development may be insufficiently focused on the workplace. Therefore for an organisation to enter the knowledge economy, it is vital for them to review their training and development to a broader aspect (Bryans, P. Smith, R. 2000). Increasingly, as the nature of business and organisations change, its ‘leaders are recognising that their most valuable assets are their skilled employees and, more significantly, the knowledge, both tacit and explicit, that is possessed by these employees. The knowledge is power clichà © has never been more accurate than in todays corporate world. This added value that this can be seen in products and services is now dependant on knowledge based intangibles (Rogers 2004). Since the late 1990s the business environment has drastically changed(Mullins, L. 2005). Chaos theorists have argued that the world of the organisations is â€Å"turbulent and chaotic, making it impossible for them to predict the future† Therefore conventional approaches to strategic decision making are no longer appropriate (Harrison, R. 1997:78).Competition and the pace of change in business require continuous improvement, therefore it means continuous learning. From this demand the market for business education has grown with a proliferation of courses, full- and part-time, open and bespoke (Mullins, L. 2005). 4.3 The Role of HR Recognition of the importance of HR has increased in recent years; thesis a result of competition from overseas economies. In countries for example Japan, Germany and Sweden investment in employee development is higher than the UK. This has led to some organisations reviewing their policies on training introducing continuous investment in their employees (Beardwell, I. et al 2004). This increase in training priority has been supported by a rise inhuman Resource Management. This practice emphasises that increased growth can only be maintained in the long run; by equipping the workforce with the skills they need to complete their tasks (Mullins, L.2005). Although it is argued that HR departments are within UK organisations mostly administration based. Rogers (2004) stated that â€Å"the threat revolves around a fundamental mismatch between the functions of Departments today and the real strategic human resource needs of modern business, which those departments it should be servingâ€Å". The image of training and development has changed and can be used a key driver for delivering shareholder value (Rogers 2004:25). The role of HR should not be administrative based; it should be a part of the long term strategy of the organisation. Appointed an HR manager to the board is the only way this can happen (Beardwell et al2004).Rogers (2004) discussed the â€Å"role of developing human capital strategies that HR has a real opportunity to shine†. There are numerous departments are failing to deliver the goods. This is caused by â€Å"too many departments are dominated and viewed by the board as fulfilling mainly administrative role, dominated by endless form filling† (Rogers2004 :25). For HR to succeed it must take on a proactive role within the organisation. Strategic HR creates value by providing opportunities for organic learning, development of intellectual capital and enhances core competencies. This value is crucial to the organisations future success (Treen, D. 2000). Employers are increasing extorting the best possible performance from employees. Best practice will increase the skills of the current workforce, and with recruiting it will reinforce the culture of a highly skilled work force (Mullins, L. 2005).Strategic HRM has gained both credibility and popularity over the past decade, specifically with respect to its impact on organisational performance (Paauwe, J Boselie P. 2003). To fully exploit the wealth of knowledge contained within an organisation, it must be realised that it is in human resource management that the most significant advances will be made. As result, the human resource department must be made a central figure in an organisations strategy to establish a knowledge basis for its operations (Mullins, L. 2005). There are fundamental differences in the approach to HR. Storey(1987) discussed these as hard and `soft’ versions of HRM.. The ‘hard version places little emphasis on workers’ concerns and, therefore, within its concept, any judgments of the effectiveness form would be based on business performance criteria only. In contrast, ‘soft HRM, while also having business performance as its primary concern, would be more likely to advocate a parallel concern for workers’ outcomes (Storey cited in Guest, D. 1999). These models of HR theory, will justify why there has been an increase in this management practice. Walton (1985) defined HR as â€Å"mutual goals, mutual influence, mutual respect, mutual rewards, and mutual responsibility† Walton further added that the psychological contract ‘under this guitarist, high commitment model is one of mutuality, but it is a mutuality strictly bounded by the need to operate within an essentially unitary framework (Walton cited in Beardwell, l. et al2004) There is a need for a higher value to be placed on employees. And therefore get the best performance from the employees. According toDelany (2001) â€Å"successful organisations keep people issues at the forefront of their thinking and at the core of their decision making and planning†. Delany adds â€Å"organisations that get the people things right are the organisations likely to be around in the future† (Delany (2001)cited in Mullins, L. 2005:748). The role of human resource explicitly views employees as another resource for managers to exploit. In the past, managements had failed to align their human resource systems with business strategy and therefore failed to exploit or utilise their human resources to the full. The force to take on HRM is therefore, based on the business case of a need to respond to an external threat from increasing competition(Guest, D 1999). This view reflects a longstanding capitalist tradition in which the worker is viewed as a commodity. The consequential exploitation may be paternalist and benevolent; but, equally, it may operate against the interests of workers. Essentially, workers are simply resources to be squeezed and disposed of as business requirements dictate. More importantly, the interests of workers and their well-being are of no significance in themselves. As John Monks (1998) stated â€Å"In the wrong hands HRM becomes both a sharp weapon to prise workers apart from their union and a blunt instrument to bully workers† (Guest, D 1999). 4.5 HRD HR and training literatures highlights the organisational benefits tube gained from adopting a systematic approach to HRD, therefore thronging development of employees skills underpins the wider business objectives (Keep, 1989). This systematic approach to training often includes models that identifying needs, planning, delivery and evaluation. Harrison developed an eight stage model to identify monitor and evaluate training. The evaluation stage is possibly the most problematic part of the training process (Reid and Barrington, 1997). Therefore using that theory HRD should be viewed as a vital function offal organisations, and not just there to satisfy training issues, a proactive role. Caravan et al (2000) discusses the emergence of strategic HRD practices, which are directly linked to the organisation’s strategies, with profit maximising paramount, HRD is atoll that should be employed to obtain and support this (Caravan et al,2000). Strategic HRD is not embraced by all organisations; some view other resources as more valuable. There are many individual interconnected components, that impact on the performance of the organisation. The human resource is in theory the most valuable resource, but does not always receive the respect, and the financial recognition to develop(Walton 1999). Mumford (1997) agreed with this stating that â€Å"other resources within the organisation have a higher value placed on them and they are protected by rules and regulations† (A Mumford 1997:78). The theory of HRD appeals more to academics that the practioners. Garrick (1999) noted that academics rather than practitioners are more eager to pursue the learning perspective. This opinion defines HRD as being solely concerned with employees rather than organisational Strategy (Garrick 1999). Although this view is not shared by all authors. Caravan et al. (2000) defines the learning perspective that defines HRD as â€Å"responsible for fostering the long-term, work related learning capacity at an individual, group and organisational level†(Caravan et al. 2000:66). A research undertaken by Robertson and OMalley Hamersley reinforces this view of HRD. A two-year qualitative study composed from eighteen semi-structured interviews concluded that continuous professional learning was important to professional workers. To conclude from the study, learning does not have to directly correlate with organisational strategy. Therefore HRD can also be defined as a continuous learning programmes and encouragement of self-directed learning (Robertson and O’Malley Hamersley cited in Caravan et al. 2000:71). Continuously during the late 1990s and into the current century there has been a shift in organisational HRD rhetoric. Walton (2004) has discussed this shift in practice as â€Å"from how to support learning to how to manage knowledge, from the learning organisation to knowledge management†. These are new implications for the HRD practitioner in what has loosely been named the new economy (Walton 2004). 4.6 Managers and facilitators Education, training and development for managers, especially in the UK, has traditionally fallen into the â€Å"nice to have† category rather than the â€Å"must have† This view of business is persistent, with the assumption that managers are born and not made (Stern, S 2002). The majority of managers have learnt their skills through on-the-job experience. The conventional assumption, that managers learn best through â€Å"doing† whenever possible (Reader, A. 1998). Focussing on the concept that the human resource is the highly valued, systems should be in place to protect their importance. Development for managers who manage employees is a basic component of management development (Marching ton Wilkinson 1996). Mumford(1997) discussed the reason for failure of some of the processes has been â€Å"clearly been due in some instances to the absence of the required skills† (Mumford 1997:78). The majority of Managers would profit from training, but they are not capable of managing even with the intervention of training. These managers would still find in difficult to transfer the new skills and practices into their work place. The people who should train are not trained themselves (Walton 1999). In the UK the majority of managers have been trained in a skilled occupation, and consequently promoted through the system (Beardwell Holden 1994). Although highly trained in their primary occupation, the challenges of the managerial role are foreign to their skills. Rees commented that â€Å"few people start their careers off in managerial role; they have to acquire skills in organising employees effectively in an ever increasing competitive environment† (Rees cited in Beardwell Holden 1994:373). Good employee developers make a difference to the individual employee and/or their organisational performance. A new employee with a skills gap can be made to feel part of the organisation when he is developed into his role. Employees can be identified who have the potential for more demanding work or promotion but who require support to make this change. This can then set up a cycle of good behaviour that is passed on when the receivers become managers and developers themselves. Anises study found examples of increased skills and knowledge, work experience, self-confidence, improved motivation, job performance and job satisfaction, all thanks to the developers (Sparrow 2004). 4.7 Learning Theories Organisations have an economic need for all employees to be flexible within the workplace. The culture should encourage them to use their own initiative and apply the knowledge to undertake a variety of tasks. Cognitive learning lets the workforce learn strategies, and then transfer the learning to be able to solve problems. Lewis (1958) broke the learning down into three key stages. The first stage is the disposal of the old level (unfreezing), second stage is to implement the new structures and processes (moving) and the final stage involves stabilising the company with its new structure (refreezing). This technique was used so the organisation and the employees would be able to understand and implement improvements to their methods of working. Problems that arise from organisational change, which it is not flexible and cannot adapt swiftly to situations such as economic recession (Lewis (1958) cited in Buchanan, D and Hucczynski, A 1991). Wilson (1999) summarised on three main adult learning theories. Behaviourist theories of learning recognise learning as a response to external stimuli. Maintenance of the new behaviour is enforced by positive and negative reinforcement, a system of punishment and reward. Cognitivist theories of learning emphasise the proactive nature of development. This school of thought perceives human beings as seekers of knowledge in an attempt to understand our own identities and positionality. Humanist theories believe that learning occurs as result of our natural inclination towards it. People learn because in an environment of â€Å"warmth, care and understanding† (Wilson, 1999:197)we cannot help it. In this sense education is learner-centred; the student initiates the development environment and needs assessment. People continue to learn throughout their life, whether this is formally taught or just experienced. The process of lifelong learning requires continuous adaptation. This is gained from increased knowledge and improved skills, which aid the individual to adapt to or change the environment. This allows for new possibilities and outcomes from situations that they face. These changes can raise the individuals self-esteem and confidence. Therefore the learning can generate far reaching changes in both the individual and the environment (Beardwell I et al2004) Reinforcing learning within in an organisations, requires what Hawkins (1994) called a change at the heart† this change is in â€Å"the understanding of learning, a shift from viewing learning as being abrupt facts to learning as a more multi-faceted and dynamic process†. As Hawkins suggests, it is not that we are learning any differently than before but our understanding of how we learn has begun to catch up with what happens in practice (Hawkins, 1994:9). The learning process has been challenged to create a culture that allows continual learning throughout the organisation. As knowledge is what matters, organisations and individuals alike must become continuous learners(Hawkins, 1994). 4.8 Identification of training The UK government has introduced the National Occupational Standards(NOS). These are used as benchmarks of good practice in learning, and to identify the benefits to organisations and individuals that use them. These agreed statements of competence, describe the work outcomes required for an individual to achieve the standard expected of them(Wagner, L. 2004). These benefits can be used as a tool for the Human Resource Management function, to review and identify competencies in the work place. This process can start with recruitment and selection, measuring people’s experiences that will be transferred to the role, identifying any skills gaps in the existing work force (Harrison, R.2002). Employees appraisals is a tool used as to identify development issues within the organisation. Harrison (1993) suggests that they are â€Å"system and process for the provision of both feedback to employees on all aspects of their performance, and the opportunity for discussion to agree actions to assist their future development† (Harrison1993:256). Mullins defined the advantages of regular staff appraisals as â€Å"a formalised and systematic appraisal scheme will enable a regular assessment of individuals’ performance, highlight potential and identify training and development needs† (Mullins 1996:639). The information collected from the appraisals can be used for strategic development of employees. Outcomes can be used as measurement of success from the initial objectives. Harrison (1997) defined three outcomes that should come from appraisals, feedback on performance, work planning and diagnosis of training and development needs. If these outcomes are satisfied in the appraisal, then it will have a motivating effect on employees. IPhone of these outcomes is not satisfied, then the others cannot be satisfied (Harrison 1997). 4.9 Psychological contract Organisations no longer offer â€Å"a job for life† there is no longer guaranteed employment, with a pension as a reward for loyalty and compliance. The psychological contract between employer and employee has shifted. Employees are increasingly mobile, changing employment for promotion, reward and job satisfaction; top employees have more choices to where to work. To retain these key employees the organisations culture needs to allow an environment of personal growth (Harrison2002). With less job security, the best reward an organisation can give an employee is transferable skills (M Marching ton Wilkinson, 1997). Workers have been forced to take more responsibility for their own careers, going where the work is rewarding and where they can develop skills that will guarantee their employability in whatever organisation. This mobility and free agency has created greater competition for skilled workers between organisations. Good workers have more choices than before, and are more liable to use them. Withal the costs involved in recruiting and training new employees, organisations need to retain them. And key to this is the intrinsic rewards (Harrison 2002). Career development is important to the individual employee; Harrison(2002) noted this as an organised planned effort comprised of structured activities or processes that result in a mutual career-plotting effort between employees and the organisation. This Isa central component of the psychological contract that binds the individual to the organisation (Harrison 2002). This further complicates the role of the HRD PR actioner, balancing organisational needs with the individual’s expectations. Some employees will develop their career with one employer, while others require transferable skills. The organisation requires employees with the right skills to ensure and sustain competitive advantage (Gilley and England, 1989:48). 4.10 The Facts in the UK When organisations do not employ the resources to evaluate the benefit gained from training, the needs analysis is not completed. Therefore any benefit gained is not known to the organisation. A studying 1989 revealed that only 3 per cent of UK organisations reviewed any cost-benefit analysis of their training intervention (Deloitte et al(1989) cited in Santos and Stuart 2003). This approach within the UK has barely changed in fifty years. Evaluation of training intervention does not receive the consideration that accepted opinion demands; it is not an important factor in determining the allocation of resources to training. The important factor within an organisation is the focus of HR on the training and development needs, so they are focused on the learning needs of theorganisation.UK organisations fail when assessing the effect of training, to both the individual and the organisation (Sloman 2004). A survey from the CIPD of 1,180 HR professionals agreed that the role of the HR department requires change to move forward. Mike Emmett, head of employee relations at the CIPD agreed with the survey stating â€Å"Theory community has internalised the message that it needs to spend less time on administration and operational issues and more time on business strategy and adding valueâ€Å" The role that HR has adopted in the Appears to follow on from the role of the personnel department. For Hardtop be successful the HR department should hold a strategic position within the organisation (Mike Emmett cited in Zneimer and Merriden 2004:38). The trend in the UK o

Social Psychology Essay -- Psychology

Social psychology is a science that study social thinking (how we perceive ourselves and others, judgement we make and our attitudes); social influence (such as pressure to conform, group of people) and social relations such as aggression and helping (David G. Myers, 2008). Social psychological research methods vary by location: in the laboratory or in the field. Also, it varies by method: correlational or experimental (David G. Myers, 2008). A field research method is everyday situations, for example, Piliavin et al. (1969) Good Samaritanism. Laboratory research method is a controlled situation; for example, Zimbardo (1973) Stanford Prison Experiment. A correlational method measure relationship between two or more variables: independent variable(s) and dependent variable. The independent variables are the experimental factors that the researcher can manipulate, while dependent variables are the things that the experimenter no control over, that include the outcome of the experiment (Class notes). The experimental method explores cause and effect of the study (David G. Myers, 2008). In a decent city of New York, Kitty Genovese on her home was brutally murdered. Within half hour, on two separate occasions, she was sexually molested and stabbed to death by a man (Malim and Birch, 1998). The fact that she was crying for help must have conveyed to the 38 people who heard her screams that no-one else had gone to help her. The event spurred Lantene and Darley (1970) to conduct a Laboratory experiment, investigating two important concepts: diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance. Diffusion of responsibility is the idea that people are less likely to help when there are others; no one helps because everyone is thinkin... ...08). Social psychology. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,. 3-29, 187-269,427. Kendra Cherry (2012). About.com. (A part of The New York Times Company) What Is Social Psychology? Available: http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/f/socialpsych.htm. Last accessed 14/02/2012 Mark Holah. (2008). Piliavin, Irving., Rodin, Judith., & Piliavin, Jane. (1969). Available: http://www.holah.karoo.net/piliavinstudy.htm. Last accessed 7th March 2012. MalimTony and Birch Ann (1998). Introduction to psychology. London and New York : Palgrave Macmillan. 102-105, 640-642,826, 830. Richard Gross . (February 2012). Bystander intervention in the New York subway. Psychology Review. 17 (3), 11-13. Www. Phillipallan.co.uk/magazines. Saul Mcleod. (2007). Simply Psychology. Available: http://www.simplypsychology.org/research-methods.html. Last accessed 14/02/2012.

Philosophy of Education :: Philosophy of Education Teaching Essays

Philosophy of Education Educating children profoundly affects their lives and influences the life of anyone who comes into contact with those children. Education provides a foundation for a child to base the rest of his or her life on. Without a solid education, it becomes impossible for an individual to provide for themselves and their family. Also, well-educated people can make decisions that benefit both their own interests and the interests of society as a whole. In this paper, I will address my personal opinions and philosophy about education. First, I will address the nature of the student. Next, I will examine the nature of knowledge, followed by the purpose of public education, and method. Finally, my paper will conclude with a discussion of the curriculum areas that are most important in elementary school. Additionally, I will relate my views to pragmatism and progressivism, and to Plato?s teaching, three valuable theories regarding education. No two students are exactly alike. Nevertheless, they do share one fundamental characteristic -- every student has the ability to learn. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato believed that a student?s learning ability is determined entirely by genetics. According to Plato, people are either golds, silvers, or bronzes. The golds are the smartest and the bronzes are the slower learners. I don?t really agree with this philosophy. Yes, some children are naturally intelligent and others are not. But natural ability is not the only factor to consider. Students differ on their level of motivation regarding learning. Some students will settle for a ?C? while others push themselves to get an ?A.? Others are perfectly happy with failing grades. Motivation, or lack of it, can be blamed on one of two causes: environment and genetics. Some feel that a child?s desire to learn is most influenced by their home environment. Genes have also been blamed for a child?s longing to l earn. I feel that both factors play a role in how a child approaches education. In a home where education is strongly emphasized, a child is probably going to want to learn. However, this is not always true.

The purpose for the establishment of the ALSTOM

The ALSTOM Power Service was established in 1999 after the merger of the company with ABB. It was started as an independent unit which was expected to run the service business of the ALSTOM group, which is base in Paris.The purpose for the establishment of the ALSTOM power service was to develop and market the company's service activities for the already installed power generation capacity. The ALSTOM power service was meant to provide a solution for the market demand to service the business within the industry.The main aim for the segment was to provide service to the existing plants in order to prolong their service other than installing new plants in the process of   optimizing maintenance and enhancing plant efficiency, and this accounted for about 35% of the demand of the power industry.The ALSTOM started as a segment of the ALSTOM group which was intended to provide service to the industry and it did this by combining the existing company distributed service departments and d edicated distinct resources and its management towards developing   as a service business, however it was not autonomous until 2003 when it was guaranteed its autonomy. The segment started with a labour force of more than 10000 employees worldwide in various local units of which all were inherited from the ALSTOM group.  Question one: Critical analysis of the industryALSTOM power service operate in the power industry where its provide service to the power industry. The business of ALSTOM power service heavily depend on the operations of the manufacturing company in the industry and in this case they are expected to orient themselves of how the plants which have been installed by the manufacturers perform their functions in order to provide the service of supplying parts and also doing the repair in prolonging the service of the plants. It should get updated on a day to day technological changes that happens in the mother plant manufactures so as to stay relevant in the marketQue stion Two: The leadership, organisational structure and cultural issues in ALSTOM power service i) Leadership issues.The leadership of the company was based on promotions where an individual was to work at a lower post, and later promoted to higher ranks after the mastery of the company's operations and the requirement of the industry.Walter Granicher was given the responsibility to lead the company based on the ground that he had worked within the industry since 1976 till 1999 when he was given the leadership of the ALSTOM power service. This is a good strategy for ensuring efficiency because decisions making will be made by persons with a more understanding of the industry requirements and also with the understanding of the organisation's culture (Hatch, 2006).This kind of leadership can however be perceived as the most   appropriate in maintaining the company's culture but it is limited to the reason that the company's culture might not be the best, thus it will be locking the company to new cultures which could have otherwise been introduced   into the company if the company could have taken a leader from outside the company in the process of encouraging diversity of culture.The decision making of the segment was not done solely done by one person, that is Walter but rather in conjunction with other managers working in specialized divisions within the segment.This scenario enabled effective decision making because each and every manager had a role to play in the making of a joint decision where Walter can be perceived as the coordinator of all the decision that were made within the   segment (Mullins 2005).This is no like in the situation where decision making is done one leader in the organisation with inadequate information about the operation of each division in the segment. The single minded decision making exposes an organisation to the risk of making a wrong decision which might cripple the organisation's performance than when the decision is m ade jointly by involving a wide range of participants with varied experiences.