Human Resources Final Project Essay

The role of the HR Department of the Department of Human Services (DHS) is to handle all aspects of employee relations. The areas it covers are Recruiting and Selection, Training and Development, Performance Management, Employee Discipline, Compensation and Benefits and Labor Relations. Each of these areas is vital to the effective operation of the company as a whole. Although each area is outlined in detail, there is still room for improvement in each. The Recruiting and Selection process at the Department of Human Services (DHS) is a fairly simple one. The requirements for the applicants are not strenuous; thereby allowing a wide range of applicants to be considered for the positions. It is recommended that a personality test be given to each applicant in order to gage their ability to handle the many different scenarios they will encounter while employed at DHS. A prerequisite for applying should be that the applicant has worked in an environment which required handling stressful situations. The Training and Development process at DHS consists of both Internal and External training methods. One such external method requires the new hire to travel to the corporate headquarters in Atlanta, GA. This training lasts for two weeks and requires the applicant to stay nightly at that location to complete the training. A suggested change to that training would be that it is held locally for those new hires that may not be able to travel for such long periods of time due to family obligations, such as having small children. As far as the internal training is concerned, the coaching portion done one on one with the new hire should be extended well after the training process has ended. This will ensure that the employee is still understanding his or her job duties and performing them accordingly. The Performance Management aspect of DHS is one in which the employees are evaluated yearly to measure their success in their position on an individual and team level. Each employee is measured according to his or her  position’s requirements and job duties. A beneficial change to this process would be to review each section of the evaluation form with the employee well in advance of their evaluation date. This will give the employee a heads up on the areas within their job that they need to focus one and the goals they need to achieve before their yearly evaluation time arrives. The Employee Discipline process at DHS serves to ensure that employees are receiving corrective action whenever a workplace infraction occurs. The employee can receive either an oral or written disciplinary action depending on the severity and frequency of the offense. Employees are given feedback on how to correct their action after the offense occurs. However, there are times when an employee is not given the proper follow up and feedback after an infraction occurs. This can in turn cause the employee to commit the offense again and make the disciplinary action process go to the next level. DHS should make sure proper follow up is done on a regular basis to ensure the education and growth of the employee. The Compensation and Benefits packages offered at DHS are designed to help make the company a competitive one. Salaries are paid on a bi-monthly basis on the 15th and last day of each month. Employees are given the option to add healthcare benefits, sign up for 401k or flexible spending accounts. There aren’t many incentives offered at DHS. One such incentive which could be offered is rewarding employees based on their monthly performance individually and as a team. This would assist with keeping employee morale high and giving them something to strive for. Also, the starting salary should be increased in order to keep the job a competitive one on the job market. Potential employees are attracted to a nice salary as well company incentives. It is essential for DHS to maintain strong and positive Labor Relations between employees and management. The employee should always feel as if they have the help and support of their management team. Communication between the two must be maintained at all times so that issues and concerns can be addressed effectively. One way for DHS to improve these relationships is for there to be more interaction between the employees and management in a non-working environment. This can be accomplished by  establishing company sporting leagues or having company picnics. The HR Department of DHS is the chief factor which ensures that the company is run smoothly and efficiently. Each functional area has a particular job to accomplish. It is important that each area be explored thoroughly to determine if each is accomplishing the tasks it has been given to handle. Implementing a few changes in each area will help to take the HR department to the next level. References Smith, A. E. (n.d.) What are furlough days? Retrieved on October 27, 2012 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-furlough-days.htm Recruitment (n.d.) retrieved on October 27, 2012 from http://www.ohrmd.dhr.georgia.gov/portal/site/DHS-OHRMD/menuitem.a90032b0182b9d5171f585c4da1010a0/?vgnextoid=bc80e250e1522310VgnVCM100000bf01010aRCRD People Management-Recruitment Methods (n.d.) retrieved on October 30, 2012 from http://www.tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_recruitment_methods.htm Heathfield, Susan, M. (n.d.) Hiring Freeze Retrieved on October 30, 2012 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/g/hiring_freeze.htm Temporary Worker (n.d.) retrieved on October 30, 2012 from http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/tempwkr Selection (n.d.) retrieved on October 30, 2012 from http://www.odis.dhr.state.ga.us/1000_adm/1300_ohrmd/MANUAL/0402.pdf Employee Orientation (n.d.) retrieved on November 3, 2012 from http://www.odis.dhr.state.ga.us/1000_adm/1300_ohrmd/MANUAL/0501.pdf Marti (April 6, 2010) Human Resources: Informal vs Systematic Appraisal retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http://bloghresources.blogspot.com/2010/04/informal-vs-systematic-appraisal.html Performance Management (n.d.) retrieved on November 8, 2012 from http://www.odis.dhr.state.ga.us/1000_adm/1300_ohrmd/MANUAL/0701.pdf Disciplinary/Dismassal Actions-Classified Employees (n.d.) retrieved on November 16, 2012 from http://www.odis.dhr.state.ga.us/1000_adm/1300_ohrmd/MANUAL/1601.pdf Drug Free Workplace (n.d.) retrieved on November 16, 2012 from http://www.odis.dhr.state.ga.us/1000_adm/1300_ohrmd/MANUAL/1301.pdf Grievance Procedures for Employees (n.d.) retrieved on November 17, 2012 from http://www.odis.dhr.state.ga.us/1000_adm/1300_ohrmd/MANUAL/1501.pdf Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M., (2011) Fundamental of Human Resource Management: Giving Performance Feedback (4th ed.) New York, New York: McGraw-Hill and Irwin Culpepper and Associates (November 24, 2010) Salary Structures: Creating Competitive and Equitable Pay Levels Retrieved on November 30, 2012 from http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/compensation/Articles/Pages/SalaryStructures.aspx Calculation of Salary Payments (n.d.) Retrieved on November30, 2012 from http://www.odis.dhr.state.ga.us/1000_adm/1300_ohrmd/MANUAL/0801.pdf Salary Adjustments (n.d.) Retrieved on December 1, 2012 from http://www.odis.dhr.state.ga.us/1000_adm/1300_ohrmd/MANUAL/0802.PDF Eligibility of Benefits (n.d.) Retrieved on December 1, 2012 from http://www.odis.dhr.state.ga.us/1000_adm/1300_ohrmd/MANUAL/0901.pdf

The lost princess

The room was damp and cold, cold with marks of water dripping down the unhomely painted walls. The paving slabs were freezing and impersonally decorated, there were no carpets covering them. There was no life nor humanity in the semidark chamber. There was no door nor curtains on the tiny window that looked on to the north, making the room even more dark and mysterious. It was unhomely and unlived. No one entered the freezing cube that composed the enchanted, shadowed lodging. It was empty of life even though the passage outside was full of it. The place was avoided by everyone. It had such a sense of emptiness†¦ When the threshold was crossed, a wave of uncontrollable panic entered into the intruders heart. The floor boards under the feet felt as cold as ice, sharpening the freezing terror. The walls were clammy, you couldn't lean on them†¦ It smelt damp. The air entered your throat and cut it like a knife. It felt dry and it was hard to swallow. The fear crept into your heart slowly but unceasingly and made its self bigger and stronger, petrifying you completely. It was like a serpents venom, spreading through your blood paralysing you vein by vein, artery by artery†¦ She entered the poisoned room. No sound was to be heard except for the faint drip, drip of water on the floor. For the first time in the room's history, it all failed. She laughed. It was a delightful laugh. The type you hear when a child is hugged by her mother. She frowned as the echo slowly returned to her. She felt a sudden warmth around her. She noticed that the floor was now covered in thick Indian carpets. It all felt cosy and warm under her small feet. She moved with the glamour and gentleness of a deer, so delicate and fragile†¦ There was a lovely scent all over the room. It was like someone had opened a bottle of the loveliest perfume and let it mix with the air. It smelt of the finest vanilla. Looking out of the window you could see the source of that magnificent smell. There was a small garden full of small vanilla plants, starting to bloom in the night's cold air. The room was now painted in the finest violet. The walls had stopped the dripping and sweating, and instead of the faint drip, drip you could hear a small bird tweeting in a tiny cage at the far end of the room. Soon she felt sleepy and noticed a current of warm air picking her up and carrying her to a cosy four-poster. There she slept for hours and hours†¦ As she slept the walls started to drip again soaking the silk carpets and returning the room to its old state to such an extent, that after a few minutes only the four-poster stood in the middle of the icy room. There was no sign of the tiny princess. Instead there was a little deer skipping and hopping under the moonlight in a garden full of tiny vanilla flowers.

Metabical Case Essay

The weight loss drug vailable in three four-week packages. The four week packaging was at the specific point where the consumer did not have to spend too much money to buy it, yet got invested in the product enough that they would come back to buy the second and third portions Marketing Research – According to the US survey 34% overweight 25. % obese 4. 7% severely obese – Health care providers were positive about the prospects of weight loss drugs. – Responses of individuals: indicates 12% would immediately opt for such a solution. – Focus group: Need of Prescription-strength drug with FDA approval & clinical results o backup weight loss results. Decision making The process of decision making for the consumers would follow the hierarchy of effects and would include the following steps Users involved in word of outh publicity – First prescription drug to be approved by the FDA specifically for weight loss of overweight individuals – credibility – First prescription drug for BMI of 25-30 – It worked on low dose formulation hence stress on liver and heart was lesser – Side effects were less severe and conditional – Behavioral modifications and healthier eating habits – Results were seen on an average in 12 weeks – More comprehensive support plan – The above advantage could be used for positioning in the following ways: Premium pricing as it is the only FDA approved prescription drug for weight loss. Strikingly different from dietary supplements for weight loss Segmentation & Targeting multi cluster segmentation Demographic – Income levels – High Income group, since they are ready to pay out of their pockets. – Gender- Females are more weight conscious. – Age: 35+ – Educa tion: college plus Psychographic : Based on, Physical activity, Food preferences, Nutrition, Self image, Overall health – â€Å"l want to be healthier† – † I want to fit into my skinny Jeans† Geographic : US is the largest geographic segment where 65% of the entire adult population is over-weight, obese or severely obese . Targeting customers with a BMI of 25-30 Positioning Strategy Positioning as a ?Life saving drug† Those 20 extra pounds can kill you. Being overweight leads to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes â€Å"It†s time to get Healthy- Metabical can help. † Positioning as a ?Motivational Therapeutic drug† â€Å"Discover a happier and a more attractive you† – Increases confidence – Boosts self- esteem Marketing Communication Strategy Electronic media – TV – Radio – Social media Print media – NEWS – Magazines Viral media DTC and prescriber advertising ?Free lunch† pre launch program Metabical Challenge – Biggest looser contest Medical education events Thank you

Criminological Theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Criminological Theory - Assignment Example Many theorists have contributed by presenting theories linking crime to the fields of biology, psychology and sociology. The basic tenets of the biological, psychological, and sociological perspectives for explaining crime will be identified and discussed here. In the 19th century, Cesare Lombroso gave biological description of crime. Lombroso gave significance to criminals instead of crime (Beccalossi, 2010). Lombroso attached ape like characteristics to criminals. According to his theory, criminals were born criminals and contained facial and bodily features alike to apes. The criminals were considered to have big jawbones, high cheekbones, longer arms, larger ears, extra hand fingers and toe fingers, and much more (Gibson, 2002). According to Lombroso, criminals were â€Å"vain, vindictive, lazy, dominated by a thirst for blood, and delighting in orgies† (Beccalossi, 2010, p. 564). Lombroso criminal personalities were savage and contained animalistic physical features. He connected criminality as something that one obtained by birth. He gave specific consideration towards genetically characterized appearances of people and rejected any social happening linked with criminality of criminals (Gibson, 2002). After Lombroso, Charles Goring presented his theory of genetic criminology, but unlike Lombroso, he did not specified bodily features of criminals. According to Goring, criminals showed criminal behavior because of having low IQ (Rafter, 2008). Goring also explained criminals as having deviated towards criminality by birth. William Sheldon, another biological theorist, described different bodily appearances as descriptive of criminal associations. Humans, according to Sheldon, were to be divided in three types of bodies were ectomorphs, endomorphs and mesomorphs (Rafter, 2008). Out of these three types, only mesomorphs were the one who were deviated towards crime. They had intimidating appearances like muscular bodies and strong figures

Cross-Cultural Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Cross-Cultural Management - Essay Example The American system on the other hand, is quite different as it believes in hiring people as long as it is profitable for the company to do so. Hence, the employment period can be quite short lived. The main focus in the Japanese system is on seniority rather than the work itself. The career graph is therefore, highly regulated, expected and, overall an automatic feature. The pattern of the work is itself quite general in comparison to the American working system which is much more specialized. The rate of promotion within the Japanese work culture is also quite slow in comparison to the American system in which the promotion rate is much faster. The permanent employees are considered to be more of general sort rather than specialists in their own fields. The Americans stress heavily on the shorter term goals as compared to the Japanese whose main focus lies on the longer term goals. The Japanese working environment is considered to be quite different from the American as the in the American culture the individual managers makes the key decisions and work individually while in the Japanese environment, there are groups of managers who collectively make decisions. In the Japanese system, the focus is on maintaining and fostering longer term relationships with the employees rather than the rules themselves in order to make sure that the corporate objectives and goals are being met by the company. Such a mechanism can be defined as more of an informal one as the focus is on the employees rather than on the rules themselves. Since the focus is on the employees and not on the rules, the Japanese strongly believe in a system of honor in which they strongly believe in the employees to act on goodwill and faith. By having such a system, it becomes pretty apparent that the interest in the employees is not merely restricted to the work place only but also extends to the home place as well. The American system focuses only on the work place of the employees having interest in the objectives rather than the employees themselves. The Japanese strongly adhere to equality and on a strong task orientation. The y give low priority to the former hierarchical considerations as the current are considered to be supreme. Individualism is not given much priority and the main work is done by the teams and project groups. Since, the focus is on the employees the groups are considered as equals. Though individuals are considered to be significant members, all groups are treated alike. The way of handling the tasks and the problems are by having a problem centered approach. The Japanese focus is the work itself -all the team members heavily focused and committed to the main goal. Since as outlined above, the main focus are on the employees themselves rather than on the goals, hence the team managers use comprehensive suggestion systems in which quality circles are always on hand in order to record the employee feedback. The employees concerns and suggestions are always listened-making them utmost priority. The recruitment of these people is done by judging them on the basis of their educational background. The top companies

Marketing in a regulated market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing in a regulated market - Essay Example Although it is a regulated market, the government decides on the production practices it realizes the tobacco monopoly and does not try to implement measures that would eventually curb the business out of operation (Pampel, 2009:89). The script outlines the basis at which producers deceive buyers, market the product against the wish of ethics and morals, and ignore the constraints issued by the world health organizations to amass profits at the long run, and a documented inclusion of defiant states to the constraints. Further, the script entails the marketing mix variables and the ethical concerns of tobacco. Ethical issues pertaining GBT’s practices The company advertises the Gold brand uniformly through social networks and media, and this aspect catches the public equally, but fails to warn possible buyers on the consequences of smoking. Another ethical concern arises from the untamed advertising that, tobacco contains medicinal value, which is an ancient belief, and the com pany expresses it to increase demand on the output (Smith, 2003:42). The third ethical dilemma arises from the product design and packaging of the cigarettes since there are no warning signs on the Gold brand depicting the possible health hazards of smoking. Distribution of the GBT’s Gold Brand (Place) Tobacco market decline would adversely affect a nation that grows, processes, produces, and sells the cigarettes. The economy of Malu produces tobacco and depends upon it for economic growth and change in the people’s lifestyles. The government allows distribution of tobacco product brands in different channels to reach a wide range of consumer effectively. The famous homemade cigarette brand of â€Å"Gold† sells among all ages in Malu, despite the constraints to refrain from the practice, this practice is unethical to the extent that it will harm the health of the citizens. The product reaches the market via proper distribution and adequate creation of awareness throughout the potential market segments in the south Asian country (Mani and Sandhu, 2006:69). Promotion marketing mix strategy of the GBT’s Gold Brand The various promotion practices of the Gold brand cigarettes are deceptive and meant to retain buyers, entice new ones, recall old consumers, and increase the marginal consumptions. The idea of deception enables the GBT firm to survive in the market since buyers tend to retain the â€Å"value† they derive from consumption of cigarettes and avoid quitting altogether, as they feel affiliated to the product. Therefore, Fiona’s practices are unethical and morally bend to lure citizens in promoting economic growth through consumption of cigarettes and, at the expense of their general welfare and health (Weightman, 2011:87). Pricing strategy of the GBT’s Gold brand The international Tobacco products Manager at GBT, Fiona Fuller defines the best practices that the company intents to take in the process of wedgin g out possible threats that may injure the company’s operations and the desire to acquire the set goals profitably in the next decade. Fiona adapts to penetration pricing in acquiring the market that guarantees the company that the new venture is profitable (Pampel, 2009:95). She understands the presence of strong brands in the market from European nations that currently dominate 20% of market. Therefore, she strategically prices the

Written Business Communication (Original Posting #1) Assignment

Written Business Communication (Original Posting #1) - Assignment Example I should try to resolve the conflict with my current employer by asserting the involved legal and ethical issues in the case for abolition of the intention to implement the technology. I should insist on a win-lose strategy in which I should be the winner because my position is right, as opposed to that of my employer (Singh, 2009). If the attempt fails then I should inform my previous employer of the case and at the same time seek legal protection for my job. While I recognize breach of my former employer’s intellectual property rights by using the software in my current organization, allowing the organization to proceed with the implementation undermines justice to my former employer. Virtue ethics, on this basis, requires my firm stand against implementation of the software by my current employer. My position against use of the software also does not justify my dismissal and this means injustice should I lose my job for doing the right thing. The situation therefore justifi es my right to seek legal intervention against my dismissal (Brooks and Dunn,