The Sitcom - Similarities between Ourselves and the Characters Essay

The Sitcom - Similarities between Ourselves and the Characters A sitcom, short for situation comedy, is a comic television series made up of episodes involving the same group of characters in a recurring situation. When watching a sitcom one sees characters deal with life in an unmethodical, irrational, but humorous style. The ability to bring laughter out of situations dates back to variety shows, but dedicating a whole program around a group of characters is fairly new considering the long history of comedy. By being situational, sitcoms tend to poke fun at or bring the irony out of certain issues in life, whether at home or in the workplace. Because many people encounter these problems everyday, designing comedy programs with characters who also deal with these problems is easy. Seeing these characters turn our problems into humor is sometimes uplifting. All of a sudden, the problem may not seem as serious. The types of problems that the characters deal with are what categorize a sitcom. Sitcoms like â€Å"Everybody Loves Raymond,† â€Å"All in the Family,† â€Å"My Wife and Kids,† â€Å"Happ...

The Emerging Popularity of Human Resource Management

What were the socioeconomic changes in the 1980’s which contributed to the emerging popularity of Human Resource Management? Does the concept of Human Resource Management present a radical novelty or is it a mere repackaging of personnel management? Introduction During the 1980’s, a new management concept referred to as ‘Human Resource Management’ (HRM) became very fashionable. At that time, many academics questioned whether HMR was simply a renaming of the previously known personnel management (PM) tool, or whether it was, as some claimed, ‘a radically different philosophy and approach to management of people at work’ (1). Firstly, it seems appropriate to define HRM. However, the definition of HRM this has been widely debated, and so for our purposes, we will use Stephen Bach’s view that it ‘can be viewed as the involvement of particular strategies and approaches towards management of considerable labour’. We must also consider what we mean by â€Å"socioeconomic†, which we can state as the relationship between economic activity and social life. In this essay, the similarities and differences between HRM and PM are analysed in an attempt to see whether there is more to HRM than novel rhetoric. Socioeconomic Changes Towards the end of the 1970’s and the early part of the 1980’s, both the US and UK economies experienced recessions of relative magnitude. Both governments sought new economic solutions, and adopted policies known as â€Å"Thatcherism and Reaganomics†, that contained monetarism and free market economics. One of the consequences of this radical period was the reforming and reshaping of what many described as the ‘conventional model of industrial relations’ (2). These new policies inevitably led to the empowerment of employers, and resulted in substantive destruction of trade union power at that time and eventually became the turning point of the era of trade unionism. There were a number of consequences as a result of this reshaping of the economy; probably the largest of note was that there was a considerable decline in a number of the mature Basic industries, such as Steel and Coal, which was balanced by the increase in the Service sector (this is still apparent today as 70% of UK GDP comes from the service sector (3)). This period of decline in many Basic industries coincidently ushered in a time for new technologies based on hi-tech products, further assisting the aim of both governments to deregulate and intensify market competition through free market economics. With anti-union legislations and privatisation at the core of the Conservative party philosophy, as Thatcher pushed to remove the power of the â€Å"Socialist / Communist† trades unions, the result of which led to the encouragement of ‘firms to introduce new labour practices and re-order their collective bargaining arrangements’ (4). This gave companies the opportunity to develop direct relationships with employees, and hence reduce further the power of trade unions. These ‘direct relationships’ are what some people to consider as one of the fundamentals of HRM. On a more global scale, this was an important period in the development of globalization that saw competition intensify from overseas. Japan rapidly became one of the major exporters of very competitively priced manufactured goods to the US undercutting many domestic suppliers. This development, unsurprisingly, forced US companies to consider their cost structure in an attempt to see off this foreign competition. Companies quickly began to investigate the productivity of its workforce. One of the outcomes of this, which is judged to be one of the cornerstones of HRM, was to try to develop harmonious relations between employers and employees. The belief was already there that synergy could be created from the employee/employers relationship. Furthermore, it became apparent that an environment free of conflict could help unite an organisation so that individual employees could commit themselves to organisational success. This Unitarianism perspective became one of the antecedents of the development of HRM. Toward the end of the 1980’s as more and more academics continued to produce a wealth of literature on the subject of HRM, it became clear that there was a recurring theme for those companies that appeared to perform extremely well in these market conditions. It became obvious in these increasingly dynamic markets that companies that were proactive to market change were able to do so as a result of motivated workforce. The question that was begging to be asked was ‘how they were able to this so well’? The answer was through involved management styles that were instilling a culture in the workforce that was proactive rather than reactive. This is one of the key differences that will be referred back to later. It was suggested that these had been brought on by the intense competition and pressure, which eant a competent PM was more necessary than ever. There were several other socioeconomic changes that all acted as antecedents to the development and reshaping of PM that became known as HRM. These included increasingly strident demands of shareholders, changing work force (flexibility, part time largely through the employment of women), a changing age structure of the workforce, the young moving in the direction of private and service sectors, hence less prone to unionisation and finally increasingly mechanised manufacturing processes through new technologies. Differences between HRM and PM The second part of this essay looks at whether HRM was in actual fact a novel idea or whether in reality it was a re-labelling of PM. Looking through a variety of literature on the subject, it immediately becomes clear that it is extremely hard to find a definitive line to draw between HRM and PM. Legge for example mentioned he felt their wasn’t a huge difference between the two and in fact drew on some very clear similarities. However he does manage to point out some diverging aspects. While Torrington saw the development of HRM as only adding ‘a further dimension to the multi faceted role’ (5) therefore seeing HRM as an ongoing process in the evolution of PM. As a result he finds it hard to label HRM as a revolutionary model. There are those experts that do agree in the novelty of HRM. It’s these authors that remind us not to play down the effects of HRM, mentioning that while many of the techniques in HRM are similar to those in PM, it is the philosophical context of HRM that makes these techniques so much more effective. The model of HRM unfortunately is not uniform and is made up of several different theoretical approaches therefore it becomes even harder to define clearly. This is perhaps what has muddied water so much in the debate of HRM and PM. Perhaps the easiest was to try and find an answer to this question is to compare the differences versus the similarities. Firstly the differences: Storey puts particular emphasis on the ‘strategic character’ (1) and continuously mentioned how HRM decision and formulations of policies should take place on ‘strategic level within an organisation’. Meanwhile PM can be condemned for its limited consideration of business objectives during decision making. Another major concept that is fundamental to HRM (particularly in ‘Soft’ HRM) which cannot be identified in PM is the creation culture and values on an organisation level. The intention of this aspect is to drive towards employee commitment towards achieving organisational goals. This ‘commitment’ can be seen as a precursor of motivation and performance (6). Furthermore we can consider the aspects of communication within HRM, whereby it rejects collective bargaining and attempts to set up direct channels of communication with individuals. By operating in this manor, HRM attempts to meet the individual needs of the employee so that they can then go on to contribute to the organisation. Consideration of the ‘proactive versus reactive’ argument can also identify differences (with HRM viewed as proactive and PM viewed as reactive). Proactive workforces enable organisations to pre-empt changes in markets. However they can only be implemented if the workforce is sufficiently motivated. The final major difference that can be identified is the emphasis that HRM places on training and development, that PM does not seem to identify with in the same way (5). When we contemplate the similarities of the PM and HRM we can consider Legge’s work (he viewed the clearest change from PM to HRM to be the ‘re-labelling process’). He established three main aspects than run through both forms of management. He stated that ‘both emphasised the importance of integration. Both sought to deliver the right people to the right jobs’ (he saw this as the principal role of the management of people in an organisation). Both PM and HRM gave people- management to â€Å"line† managers. Guest also discusses personnel development and functioning on a strategic level. However the above theses partially contradict what many other authors thought (6). In conclusion, we can accept that while HRM and PM contain significant similarities, we have to acknowledge that they differ in terms of their meaning and emphasis. Perhaps cultural aspects and strategic considerations would be the most important alteration, when converting from one theory to the other. Perhaps it would be wrong to say that HRM was a completely novel idea, especially when so many of the procedures and techniques overlap. However it is correct to say that HRM took many of the principles of PM and applied them to a different philosophy and way of thinking, and in doing so, inherently took the continuous evolution of PM to what we today call HRM.

Justified and Ancient: Analysis

Justified and ancient. Throughout the years, the modern world has had an enormous impact on third world countries, where we continually influence them on different levels. Whether or not this is a good thing, is also continually discussed, like in this story where the theme is primarily our relations to the people from less developed countries. We usually fail to remember that we are in fact not cleverer nor superior when speaking of intelligence, just because we live in a world where electricity among other things is not an evolution, but a matter of course. These things are perfectly illustrated in the short-story â€Å"justified and ancient†, where Lee is a clear representative of the narrow-minded modern man. This confusion about the village grows as we follow Lee making his arrangements with the village president, until another happening makes the reader stop and wonder. When the deal is over the village president gives Lee a necklace worth nothing and expects the Zippo lighter in return as a â€Å"gesture of trust†. Punjee sharply announces that one must not offend the village president and Lee feels deeply pressured by this act. So why would anyone religious expect such gestures and why do Punjee and the president continually talk with mysteriously low voices in their own language? Soon the reader is about to find out. Throughout the story we have heard it all from Lee’s perspective, but as he walks out the village and sees a lady with a donkey, the perspective changes completely. Suddenly we hear everything from her point of view, which certainly changes the whole picture. From the neutral perspective of the woman, we learn that the village president actually delivers information to the local police, in favor of some money. This means that Lee will probably be caught the minute he steps into town and as it is described the policemen will enjoy this event greatly. Although the village has grown under these circumstances, which the president has created, the woman describes him as a man without honor. Surely she feels that despite the growth, corruption is too high a price to pay. What started out as giving the indication of a holy place, turns out to be a place founded on corruption. This indicates that the third world is not only influenced in a cultural way, as seen with the song, but also in their attitude towards economics and business. Materialism has had its entry in the third world, where the priorities are no longer religion or honor but in fact money. Lee’s attitude towards the Indian people, epresents the opinion a lot of western people posses. The opinion, that because we are richer, we are wiser and therefore superior to those people less fortunate. This story shows the complete opposite, because the bright one fools the less bright one, meaning that the village president fools Lee. Honorable or not the village president turns out to be far smarter than first expected, so perhaps the message of this story is, that one should never judge a book by its cover, but at least turn a few pages first.

Atomic Number 5 Element Facts

Atomic Number 5 Element Facts Boron is the element that is atomic number 5 on the periodic table. It is a metalloid or semimetal that is a lustrous black solid at room temperature and pressure. Here are some interesting facts about boron. Fast Facts: Atomic Number 5 Atomic Number: 5Element Name: BoronElement Symbol: BAtomic Weight: 10.81Category: MetalloidGroup: Group 13 (Boron Group)Period: Period 2 Atomic Number 5 Element Facts Boron compounds form the basis for the classic slime recipe, which polymerizes the compound borax.The element name boron comes from the Arabic word buraq, which means white. The word was used to describe borax, one of the boron compounds known to ancient man.A boron atom has 5 protons and 5 electrons. Its average atomic mass is 10.81. Natural boron consists of a mix of two stable isotopes: boron-10 and boron-11. Eleven isotopes, with masses 7 to 17 are known.Boron exhibits properties of either metals or nonmetals, depending on the conditions.Element number 5 is present in the cell walls of all plants, so plants, as well as any animal that eats plants, contain boron. Elemental boron is non-toxic to mammals.Over a hundred minerals contain boron and it is found in several compounds, including boric acid, borax, borates, kernite, and ulexite. Yet, pure boron is extremely difficult to produce and the element abundance is only  0.001% of the Earths crust. Element atomic number 5 is rare in the solar system. In 1808, boron was partially purified by Sir Humphry Davy and also by  Joseph L. Gay-Lussac and L. J. Thà ©nard. They achieved purity of about 60%. In 1909  Ezekiel Weintraub isolated nearly pure element number 5.Boron has the highest melting point and boiling point of the metalloids.Crystalline boron is the second hardest element, following carbon. Boron is tough and heat resistant.While many elements are produced via nuclear fusion inside stars, boron is not among them. Boron appears to have been formed by nuclear fusion from cosmic ray collisions, before the solar system was formed.The amorphous phase of boron is reactive, while crystalline boron is not reactive.There is a boron-based antibiotic. It is a derivative of streptomycin and is called boromycin.Boron is used in super hard materials, magnets, nuclear reactor shielding, semiconductors, to make borosilicate glassware, in ceramics, insecticides, disinfectants, cleaners, cosmetics, and many other products. Boron is added to steel and other alloys. Because it is an excellent neutron absorber, it is used in nuclear reactor control rods. Element atomic number 5 burns with a green flame. It can be used to produce green fire and is added as a common colorant in fireworks.Boron can transmit part of infrared light.Boron forms stable covalent bonds rather than ionic bonds.At room temperature, boron is a poor electrical conductor. Its conductivity improves as it is heated.Although boron nitride is not quite as hard as diamond, it is preferred for use in high temperature equipment because it has superior thermal and chemical resistance. Boron nitride also forms nanotubes, similar to those formed by carbon. However, unlike carbon nanotubes, boron nitride tubes are electrical insulators.Boron has been identified on the surface of the Moon and Mars. The detection of both water and boron on Mars supports the possibility Mars may have been inhabitable, at least in the Gale Crater, at some point in the distant past.The average cost of pure crystalline boron was about $5 per gram in 2008. Sources Dunitz, J. D.; Hawley, D. M.; Miklos, D.; White, D. N. J.; Berlin, Y.; Marusić, R.; Prelog, V. (1971). Structure of boromycin. Helvetica Chimica Acta. 54 (6): 1709–1713. doi:10.1002/hlca.19710540624Eremets, M. I.; Struzhkin, V. V.; Mao, H.; Hemley, R. J. (2001). Superconductivity in Boron. Science. 293 (5528): 272–4. doi:10.1126/science.1062286Hammond, C. R. (2004). The Elements, in Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (81st ed.). CRC press. ISBN 978-0-8493-0485-9.Laubengayer, A. W.; Hurd, D. T.; Newkirk, A. E.; Hoard, J. L. (1943). Boron. I. Preparation and Properties of Pure Crystalline Boron. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 65 (10): 1924–1931. doi:10.1021/ja01250a036Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.

Presidential Speech Essay

Presidential Speech Essay Presidential Speech sample: A number of issues are eminent in the modern day America. The nation is fighting against economic recession, political intolerance, rampant unemployment, derailed healthcare programs, and expensive foreign wars with perceived threats to American national security. Therefore, as a responsible president my government is proposing measures to transform the state of the United States economy into a more stability and realistic paradise where every American citizen is bound to make their dreams come true daily. Our wise and great founding fathers fought against foreign oppressions because they were ready to sacrifice their lives for our freedom. The modern American must be ready to make one final sacrifice to be part of the team whose main ambition is to transform our economy with a view to create viable employment and investment opportunities for our people. Transform American Healthcare to promote collective and secure healthcare scheme. Last but not least, the government is challenged by a proactive foreign and security policy that needs to change its policies to reduce expenditure of taxpayers’ dollars in foreign territories and wars that eventually benefit a few technocrats. Improving the economic situation For a long time, America is proud of having the most attractive and influential economy in the world; however, in the 21st century unlike before, population has tripled following high birth rate and doubled inflow of immigrants since America is a free and democratic nation. Therefore, the economy is experiencing a shock of providing enough jobs for over 300 million American nationals. The trend is unlikely to change unless we take the following dire measure. Government in-conjunction with representatives must enact a statute to check on mismanagement of government resources. Few previous government regimes overspend and overstretched the treasury forcing government to raise taxes that in turn lowered household incomes. My presidency promise to make credit available for institutions and individual Americans at a lowered tariff aimed to encourage growth of both small and medium business investors and multinational companies. International investors who were been keenly watching our dollar systems and wondering how the dollar was likely to pick up are amazed at the success and performance of our attractive capital markets investment policy that has seen a myriad of international competitive IPO sales for the first time since credit crunch hit America earlier in 2008. Improvement and Provision of Employment Opportunities One in every six Americans cannot find a decent temporary or full time career because American is not ready to sacrifice for a democratic future by sharing knowledge. Not only do jobs need to be increased, but also the wages need to increase through measures such as reduction in taxation rates across all sectors. Income, business, and national sales tax have to come down for production to pick up once more. Prosperity does not come through increase in spending, but increase in investment. By lowering taxes, the money that would have gone into government spending, which is usually unregulated and uncontrolled, will go into investment projects. The money left in the hands of the Americans will end up in the banks and other investment projects that will grow the American economy further. Better Healthcare Programs The healthcare system is now more expensive, yet less effective. The existing health care policies do not serve their purpose, and increase the amount Americans sacrifice in taxes to sustaining it. Major reforms are necessary to make sure that we have a healthy care plan that delivers on its purpose, and safeguards the health of the Americans. Stopping the Foreign war America needs to mind its own affairs before choosing to spend billions of the taxpayers kitty fighting unnecessary wars in foreign lands. Foreign lives costs more than just billions in dollars, lives of innocent American soldiers are lost fighting over issues that are of little benefit to the average American. Our troops and resources should be withdrawn from the far off nations and those resources be put to better use. The last thing we need is more damage in our foreign relationships by fighting against foreigners over vague issues such as national security, when we have much greater internal battles to win, on the economic, social, and political front. With the solving of these issues, America will be on its way to achieving greatness, and that every American will achieve his or her American Dream. Thank you!

Intrusive vs. Obtrusive

Intrusive vs. Obtrusive Intrusive vs. Obtrusive Intrusive vs. Obtrusive By Mark Nichol What is the difference between intrusive and obtrusive? The distinction between these words, and those between each of them and their synonyms, are subtle but useful. To be intrusive is to involve oneself into the affairs of others, generally in an objectionable manner, tactlessly but not necessarily in a way that calls attention to oneself. To be obtrusive, by contrast, is to interfere without regard for propriety or subtlety. They therefore can apply to the same situation, but intrusive emphasizes the effect on the recipient of the attention, while obtrusive focuses how the attention is perceived from the outside. The common element in intrude and obtrude, the root words for these synonyms, is -trude, from the Latin word trudere, which means â€Å"to thrust.† Ob- means â€Å"toward,† and in- is self-explanatory; protrusive, from protrude, featuring a prefix meaning â€Å"forward,† also means â€Å"pushy† but is used less often in this context. (Yet another word featuring the stem is extrude, which means â€Å"to thrust out†; the adjectival form is extrusive.) Other synonyms for this behavior follow: Impertinent: insolent or unrestrained, though it also has an unrelated original sense of irrelevance (from the Latin word pertinere, meaning â€Å"to pertain†) Insinuating: stealthily ingratiating, though the more common definition is â€Å"to imply or covertly suggest† (from the Latin word sinuare, also the origin of sinuous and meaning â€Å"to bend, curve†) Meddlesome or meddling: interfering (from the Latin word miscere, meaning â€Å"to mix†) Officious: interfering (from the Latin word officium, meaning â€Å"service, office†) Presumptuous or presuming: going beyond the bounds of what is considered appropriate (from the Latin word praesumere, meaning â€Å"to anticipate, assume, or dare†) Informal and slang terms for intrusive or obtrusive behavior include nosy (also spelled nosey), prying, pushy, and snoopy. Related descriptive phrases include â€Å"being a busybody† and â€Å"butting in.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comparative Forms of AdjectivesAmong vs. AmongstWhile vs. Whilst

Business Logistics Export of coal from Australia Essay

Business Logistics Export of coal from Australia - Essay Example Substances that burn to release heat energy are called fuels. Fuels that are formed naturally in the similar way to fossils are called fossil fuels. Fossils are the remains of animals or plants preserved through natural process for millions of years below the earth. Fossils fuels are formed from these remains of plants and animals through squashing by rocks built over it through natural wearing process. Coal, Crude Oil and Gas are fossil fuels. Usually the fossil fuels are found underground and therefore very difficult to get out. The organic maturity of coal determines its quality. It refers to the temperature, pressure and time of formation of any coal deposit. There are four types or stages of coal known as coalification; Peat, Brown Coal, Sub-bituminous and Bituminous. Coals are ranked according to its coalification which is the amount of changes occurred during its maturity from peat to anthracite. Sub-bituminous and lignite are ranked as low coals because they have low carbon content and high moisture levels. Their material is very soft and appearance dull earthy. Anthracite is the highest ranked coal as it has high carbon content and low moisture level, having hard and strong black material with more energy. Figure 2 shows the different levels of moisture content and carbon and energy content for coalification of coal. (World Coal Institute, 2005) Figure 2: Moisture and Carbon energy levels of different coal types Uses of Coal The most significant uses of coal as shown in Figure 2 above are in generating electricity, producing steel, manufacturing cement and