A Study of Change Management in Coca Cola

A Study of Change Management in Coca Cola Introduction According to a Greek philosopher Heraclitus there is nothing permanent than change. He believed that change is the core of universe. This quote describes the importance of managing change in human as well as organizational life. A structured approach to transfer organization, its people and processes from current state to a desired future state is called change management. This process gives employees the ability to accept changes in the existing environment of the business. Change can be of different type for example, change in technology, operations or strategies etc. company needs to implement individual strategies to cope with each type of change. Organizations need to change and adopt dynamic survival strategies to stay alive in uncertain political, social and economic environment (Hiatt and Creasy, 2003). All environmental factors present in the nature experience change on continuous basis. Human nature resists change, so managing that resistance requires well planned change management strategies. This report is aimed at describing the importance of change management for organization its motives and objectives, change management processes, how company can involve all the stakeholders for successful implantation of change management and the strategies that an organization can adopt to implement the successful change. Reasons for adopting change Organizations need change for the following reasons: To respond to the rapidly changing environment To improve the overall performance of the company To rapidly respond to the customers demands To improve the effectiveness and efficiency To increase the employee performance To create the best practices inside the organization and setting standards for the industry To improve profitability and return on overall investment Change management is needed for organizational survival. So the company should adopt to change management techniques in order to maintain its worth in the industry. Importance of change management In a study 327 project managers had responded to the question that if you had a chance to do it again, what would you do differently? Most of them responded that we will implement an effective change management program planned way before starting the project. This study highlights the importance of change management in an organizational perspective. Change management moderates the risks that can cause failure (Jeff and Creasey, 2003). The change management process Change management is being studied by the philosophers, researchers and business experts for many years. A number of change management theories, approaches and philosophies are developed by psychologists and management professionals to implement successful change in the organization (Paton and MacCalman, 2008). There are three phases of change management i.e. preparing for change, managing change and reinforcing change. Preparation for change phase includes assessment of change capabilities and capacity and developing a strategy that fit to those capabilities. Second phase i.e. managing change phase includes processes like planning and implementation of strategies made in the first phase. Last phase which is the reinforcement of change includes the processes like collection and analyzing of feedback data, finding out gaps and coping with determined degree of resistance from inside and outside the organization and taking corrective actions to successfully conclude the change managemen t process (change management learning center, 1996-2011). Change managementA case of Coca Cola Corporation Coca Cola is a retailer, marketer and manufacturer of non-alcoholic drinks and is known worldwide for it coca cola beverage. In addition to its coca cola brand, Coca Cola Company offers 500 beverages and non beverages brands in about two hundred countries. The company was founded by Asa Candler in year 1892. Its headquarter is located in Atlanta, Georgia of United States of America. The company had total net income of approximately 11.8 billion US dollars in year 2010 with total number of employees 139,600 worldwide. Companys brand i.e. Coca Cola stands number one in the list of most well known brands of the world (Coca Cola company, 2006-2011). Coca Cola is a type of company that requires making changes in its products and business strategies according to the consumer expectations and external environment. Here in this study we would quote different examples from coca cola corporations history and will examine that what were the triggering events for opting the change and what strategies the company developed and implemented in order to successfully going through the transitioning process. Coca Cola Corporation is among one of the oldest corporations of the world. It has gone through many internal and external changes since it has been in existence. The company has used techniques of change management in order to survive from the consequences of those events. The company has faced a lot of external changes, for example in world war II, the company was able to manage its existing position at that time and also entered in many new markets and discovered new niches. The company established 64 plants across the world to supply drinks to the troops (Coca Cola company, 2006-2011). The company also provided free drinks to soldiers which were the part of its strategy to become a patriotic symbol for the people of the country. Also it boosted the sales, so the company achieved two objectives by carefully planning to respond to that external environmental change. The plants developed by the company in war era helped its expansion after the war. Barton et al (2002) reported that Coca Cola Corporation adopted acquisition strategy in time of Asian financial crisis. The company acquired bottling, coffee and tea shop businesses in Korea and Malaysia. Beverage is a type of industry where tastes and preferences of the consumers change on continuous basis. Coca Cola Company also responded to such consumer changing behaviors in effective way by developing new products like Diet Coke and Coca Cola Zero. The company also committed a marketing blender when a rival company launched a black beverage with comparatively sweet and smooth taste. The product was named as new Coke. But the sales gradually went down and company faced severe consumer critics and protests. The company managed this situation very commendably by restoring the old formula and naming the bottle as diet coke (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). As people are becoming more health conscious and willing to invest on health based products, coca cola is developing juices and vari ous energy drinks as well. This shows the companys strategy to responding varying consumer tastes and expectations and changing itself according to it. The coco cola company used theory of organization change presented by Kotler (1996) which elaborated the procedure to manage change on the people dimension of the organization. The well known CEO of coca cola Corporation Mr. Gouizetta who remained CEO of the company for seventeen years determined and solved the problem in manufacturing of drinks. He was the key man in revising coca colas operations and tailoring strategies that helped the company standing high among its competitors. He achieved objectives of the firm by planning and leading the tasks by himself and provided an inspirational leadership to the employees. He was the one who appointed talented human resource like Ivester who took great part in covering the weaknesses and exploiting the opportunities for the company (The Coca-Cola company case. n.d.). In addition to making operational and strategic changes, the company also changed its advertising strategy by targeting various groups of consumers like American consumers. African consumers, Middle and far eastern consumers and European consumers. The company altered the packaging of its coca cola brand and developed more product lines and broadened them globally (The Coca-Cola company case. n.d.). The present condition of coca cola company worldwide is very good. The company is selling its beverages throughout the world successfully. But in some countries, coca cola stores are not as according to the companys main marketing, inventory and efficiency theme. The company is planning to align its performance standards according to its own corporate culture and strategies with the help of a comprehensive change management plan. These changes will be implemented within the business operations and management of the company. CHANGE MANAGEMENT AT COCA COLA Employee engagement The recent change management at coca cola is directed towards the intrinsic values and motivations of the employees and can be referred to as employee engagement. The change management process, together with internal branding programs is expected to bring about ideal behaviors in employees, which would align the operations of coca cola worldwide, and bring about efficiency throughout coca cola across all its business segments. Coca cola hopes to bring about a thoroughly integrated system of communications, and focus on creating brand relationships with their employees. This would enhance the operations of Coca cola, as an integrated approach would mean all employees believe in engaging fully in the values, and this would become an inherent part of the employees at a personal level. Coca-cola is actively seeking to incorporate the change into its company if the recent conference on internal branding and and employee engagement held in February,2011 by Robin Gee, Head of Employee Engagement for Coca-Cola Refreshments (CCR) is any indication. Robin Gee is responsible for building capability in engagement, maintaining engagement momentum and ensuring that engagement is integrated into CCRs people practices (Samdahl,2011). For this purpose, employee engagement surveys are conducted twice every year for all the coca cola associates, which serve to highlight the areas where action is required, and further actions and implementations can henceforth be executed. Coca-cola believes that their business results hinge on the dedication of their employees to operational excellence. The company truly recognizes the importance of the people to the business, and knows that to continue to bring about tremendous results it is bringing in, employees throughout the world should believe in the values intrinsically, and therefore the employee engagement is being focused on all the countries the company serves to align thoroughly integrate and align the company so that operational efficiency can be achieved. Importance of change to coca cola Employee engagement is very significant to all segments of operations at coca-cola and has translated into performance in areas where employee engagement is higher. For coca-cola, an engaged workforce means: A more committed workforce Employee performance aligned with organizational objectives Employees have a clear idea of what is expected of them and what are the deliverables Customer experience focus an inherent part of employees values, who strives to provide a better experience to the customers. Customer focus was identified as a central tenant of the multi-year engagement strategy to be implemented in 2011( Gee,2011) When employees are aligned with company goals, they themselves adopt a proactive approach towards issues such as waste elimination Employees awareness gives them a voice which helps to influence legislations at local levels An integrated system of communication is very helpful in the volatile and dynamic markets of today, where conditions change very often and the company has to be responsive at all times Therefore, for all the business segment of coca-cola wherever they are located across the world, the change towards employee engagement is justified if they have to reap the fruits gained by an effective system of integration. Ensuring the Involvement of Required Stakeholders Coca Cola Company can use two change management tools to make sure that all people who are required to be the part of change management process. These tools are Force Field analysis and AKADAR model. Force field analysis is a technique developed by Kurt Lewin to scrutinize the forces that are causing an opposition to change process (Bass, 2009). By doing Force Field Analysis, Coca Cola Company will be able to inductpeople who are in need of appropriate training. Anothr useful tool is AKADAR model which stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. Through AKDAR model, firm creates awareness about the need of change, generate desire in the people to help in transitioning process, give knowledge to the people that how they can help the change process, develop an ability in the people to go through the change and provide them with continuous reinforcement to withstand the change (CMLR, 2011). Ensuring that change is successful Some considerations that will facilitate the change management process include: productive and consequential dialogues and talks with employee representatives Online and paper surveys from all the stakeholders involved in the change throughout the world, and with associates to gain an insight on their perceptions Effective communication at this stage for informing the stakeholders the reasons for change and the benefits it would bring Overcoming the inertia by taking all stakeholders in confidence. The surveys can serve as a pre requisite to gain an insight on the stakeholder perspective Details of the action planning process communicated to all those who would initiate the change Recommendations for Coca Cola Company In the volatile dynamics with which companies operate today, change in inevitable. Therefore, the focus should not be on avoiding change, rather bringing about a smooth transition towards the new change by communication about the change, and ensuring all parties of the change that it is for the best of all those involved. To successfully implement organizational change of any nature, a specific regards to organizational structure, design, culture, management and leadership is required to see whether the change would make a best fit with the organizational goals and objectives. First of all the company should ascertain the core problems exist in the company for the change management. The company may develop a change management program for responding to financially uncertain environment of the world. It can also develop change management programs for better operations and logistics. The company can introduce new procedures and technological systems to carry out operations. Programs can be introduced in forms changing companys mission and corporate culture enhancements. For all that, the most essential thing is to train upper management to provide them with specific skills necessary to effectively going through the transitioning process. Following is the brief expression of plans that the company can adopt. Systems thinking Systems thinking can be used to guide the successful change in the organization. The model is based on an integrative and interactive open system which consists of the variables, attributes, internal relations and environment. The system is based on characteristics like wholeness, interdependence, chain of influence, need for balance and adaptability etc in an open system where communication is seen as an integrated process that facilitates change within the organization. Several system characteristics are: wholeness and interdependence (the whole is more than the sum of all parts), correlations, perceiving causes, chain of influence, hierarchy, suprasystems and subsystems, self-regulation and control, goal-oriented, interchange with the environment, inputs/outputs, the need for balance/homeostasis, change and adaptability (morphogenesis) and equifinality: there are various ways to achieve goals. Different types of networks are: line, commune, hierarchy and dictator networks. Communication in this perspective can be seen as an integrated process not as an isolated event. Establishing new structure It is a well known fact that Coca Cola Corporation was a entrepreneurial venture started by one person who bought the formula from another firm and laid foundations of that beverages manufacturing firm. Current structure of the coca cola company is simple with minimal labor and management division. New system that can be adopted by the company may be the machine bureaucracy which Henry Mintzberg (1992) defined as an organization with clearly defined hierarchy, well defined area of operations, standard operating procedures, proper rules and regulations, well division of labor, formal relationships among the member of organization, centralized decision making, technical competence and standardization of work. Reducing employee defiance Opposition of change is a common human behavior. Particularly, in the workplace people resist the change in organizational culture, structure and policies. But in order to successfully and effectively implement the change management program, it is important for Coca Cola Company that it should develop strategies to reduce employee defiance to change.Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) explained six strategies which can be useful for coca cola Company in employee defiance management. First strategy is to involve the employee in change process and make them participate as far as they can. Second strategy is to communicate the change management programs to the people effectively as educate them about the benefits the programs would bring. This will make them comfortable in adopting the change. Third strategy is negotiation and agreement. The company should create a consensus on important change issues and with the agreement of all important stakeholders; it should launch the change management program. The resistance level will be zero on change programs that are being launched with the mutual agreement of all relevant stakeholders. Fourth strategy is that to support the employees who are due to some disability or emotional or psychological issue or some other threat unable to adapt to the change. If the company develops and proper channel to feel such people taken care of, they would adjust gradually to the change management program. In case of failure of above mentioned four strategies, company can manipulate the employees by calling union leader other relevant ones as fifth strategy. Sixth strategy is to force the employees with articulate or non-articulate methods but this is not a very good approach. Conclusion To conclude, it may be said that communication can be a key element to successful change management. Communicate the changes to the employees, tell them why the change was inevitable and how they will benefit from the change. The management should itself adopt a positive attitude towards the change so that employees can follow their lead and welcome the change. Coca-cola as a company has a heritage of embracing change rather than resist it and it should translate into their future endeavors towards change management to ensure that the organization is best poised to market and environmental conditions.

The use of PEST and SWOT in Healthcare

The use of PEST and SWOT in Healthcare PEST and SWOT analysis are instruments which have been used to study the big picture of the political, economical, social and technological impacts around the organization and looking upon the strength and weakness within the organization that will influence its current strategies and the future. Following is a PEST and SWOT analysis done in a pharmaceutical organization (cipd.com) Industry: Healthcare Sector Organization: Laboratory Allied Limited- Kenya 1. PEST analysis Political impacts Political instability due to upcoming elections (-5) High rates of Corruption(-9) Implementation of FDA policies and guidelines for international approval (+10) Influence of the Africa Union and East Africa union on trade freedom (+10) +6 Economical impact Recession and inflation (-3) More market for supplying products (+9) High prices of available local raw materials (-7) -1 Social impact HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis pandemic (-5) Different tribes and culture (5) Over population (-3) Climate change (-4) -7 Technology impact New and advance technology innovation (+10) Rapid evolution of technology(+8) No company website is established (-2) Slow internet speed (-4) +12 SWOT analysis Strengths Superb location of the organization (+10) A number of production equipments (+4) A Quality Assurance department (+7) Good marketing team and dedicated customers (+8) Excellent product prices (+7) +36 Weaknesses No research and development department (-6) Very few skilled analysts and technicians (-7) Financial resource is less for funding a new project (-7) Outdated equipments (-7) -27 Opportunities Newer marketing sites in central and southern Africa (+10) A wide range of marketing agents (+10) Import taxes are reduced thus able to buy raw materials from other countries (+10) +30 Threats Recession therefore no revenues (-6) Competitors (-6) Increment in the licence fee in 2011(-5) Security problems (-7) -24 On observing the current position of Laboratory Allied Limited, the PEST analysis (+10) and SWOT analysis (+15) shows that it is stable, but it could improve by developing and planning ways of altering the weakness and threats into strengthen. In conclusion Laboratory Allied Limited is a promising pharmaceutical company that could progress gradually into a number one choice of place to work in the future. ROLES AND ACTIVITIES OF HUMAN RESOURCE AND LINE MANAGERS IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 1. Human resource planning Human resource planning (HRP) or workforce planning is one of the classic human resource (HR) administrative tools in the estimation and identification of HR requirements used to meet the organization long-term objectives and economic opportunities. It is therefore defined as the systematic process for analysing the organization needs on how many employees are needed and what kind of knowledge, skills and talents is required in order to satisfy the organization needs (Armstrong, 2009:486). Line managers are required to provide information from their respective departments regarding to the strength of their workforce and what skills is required at the present and in the future. Thereafter, it is duty of the HR manager to gather and analyze these data which will help them to actualize the strategic plans of the human resource and by putting in mind to apply the economic theory when the demand is high the supply is low and vice versa, which will help the HR manager view the exact scenario in the organization and the labour market (D.Haffner handout I, 2010:20-21). HRP does not only assess the organizations current climate and its future labour but it does helps in the management planning of any needed recruitment, training and development of the right employee and the evaluating the progress of the organization which in turn helps in providing information to the managers regarding the need to review their forecasts and programs (Susan E. Jackson et al., 1990:223). Connecting business plan with HRP The objectives of any business vary from one organization to another which could be either short-term or long-term. Due to the constant and rapidly changes in the business, economic and social environments, these factors has played a great impact in many leading organizations to emerge their business plans with HRP so as to adopt a long-term plan. HRP is therefore the key element in every organizational strategic business plan in ensuring that its survival is sustained in the marketplace. Thus this is one of the responsibilities of the human resource in developing the human resource strategies that will be applied into the business plans. This is supported from the quoting of Kathyrn Connors (vice president of Human Resource at Liz Claiborne), who believes that the success of any organization strategies is by implementing the HR plans as shown in appendix 1 (Susan E. Jackson et al.1990:223). The human resource planning model in Appendix 2 shows how the various activities which are interlinked to each other and how they influence each other towards the achievement of the businesss SMART objectives, plans and its development (Armstrong,2009:fig.29.1:490) In a study case of British Gas, which is the countrys leading energy provider has implemented workforce planning model to help them predict the needed engineers who will help in meeting their customers quench for services. The managers are constantly carrying out a forecast programmes that will help them visualize how many more engineers they require in the future so as to meet the needs of their customers. Thus the British Gas success is because of the application of the HRP content in their business plans and putting customer first (Thetimes100.com). Looking at the PEST and SWOT analysis of Bio Energy in appendix 3 has the potential of growing because of its great and cheap services. Since British Gas is one of its competitors, they could apply the HRP principles and model as the way British Gas have. By doing so, they would be the of the top energy suppliers in the world because of their environmental conscious advantage. 2. Recruitment and selection Recruiting and selecting appropriate staffs is a great challenge for many HR professionals. In most of the upcoming companies the demand for labour is high but the research conducted by many HR managers is poor and still have difficulty in differentiating between recruiting and selection, therefore appointing the wrong employees. Therefore, this paper defines recruitment as the various steps an organization undertakes to attract applicants to work for an organization and meet its objectives. Selection is part of recruitment process that is involved in pinpointing the successful candidates for the jobs under reasonable and relevant assessment (Armstrong, 2009:515). A successful organization, be it small or large, always has an organized and a solid workforce that is comprised of well competent and qualified individuals. The human resource manager (HRM) and the line managers participate in different stages of recruiting and selecting the prospective candidates for their company. Process of recruiting and selecting Assuming that a human resource plan has been conducted regarding on how many more staff members are required, the HRM is then required to develop the organizations procedures and policies relating to recruiting new staff and ensure that the selection carried out in unbiased manner. Unsuccessful recruitment is when the companys money is been spent and no outcome is obtained, therefore HRM is also required to strategically plan a recruitment procedure that would be effective to the company. It is then the duty of a line manager to write up the role profile required to fill in his team. Description of individuals competency to perform/operate for example operating equipment and individuals skills, abilities and experience should be included in the role profile. In any role profile there is always an additional part that informs about the terms and conditions of the employment. One can argue about experience requirement because some of the recruiters don not require experienced applicants because in the long run they provide training at their workplace. The line manager should not over exaggerate the content in the role profile because unreal profile could lead to disappointment and dissatisfaction of the recruiter if the applicants do not meet their role profile standard (Armstrong, 2009:515-517). The next step is selecting the best and cost-effective recruitment method to attract prospective candidates. Methods such as internal and external recruitment, recruitment agencies and consultants among others are used by different organizations in recruiting candidates. For example the UKs public sector prefers to advertise their job vacancies both internally and externally which they believe to a good practice. Footnote? Before commencing, it is important for HR manager to initially perform an analysis for their organization before doing a scenario planning especially when the labour market is tight (recession).This in turn helps them to analyse and use this to develop the value of the employee needed and the brand of the employer (Derek, 2009:47-48,57-58). A survey carried out by CIPD (2008) on recruitment found out that a high percentage of candidates relied on recruitment agencies and the lowest percentage used journals for seeking jobs (Armstrong, 2009:520) hence it is crucial for the any recruiter to recognizing the best source of recruiting candidates. Choosing the BEST selection tools Anne and Nancy (2004) have described in their research findings how HR managers have wrong perception on the types of tools used for selecting employees. Poor selection of candidate is due to either poor use of tools or less time spent when selecting, thus it is the duty of line managers to carefully select the appropriate tool ensuring its cost and validity and analyse carefully on the characteristics of the applicants. The use of psychometric tests plays a vital role in measuring individual candidates in their ability, intelligence and personality (Anne and Nancy, 2004: 305-308). For example in an organization such Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the largest car rental business in UK has a well organized workforce of over 65,000 employees. Enterprise applies the recruitment and selection model in Appendix 4 to recruit new skilled staffs. They use the online recruiting method which they believe that is the easier way the applicant can apply. After the recruitment process, the HR manager will carefully select the appropriate candidates by using a standard documentation that matches the candidates with the required roles, qualities and skills needed in the organization. The candidates are then assessed by taking part in practical exercises and finally being interviewed by the senior manager for his final view (Times100). Howard self drive is a small upcoming company that deals with renting cars like Enterprise do. Looking into its external and internal context in Appendix 5 you can see its success is threatened by limited number of skilled staff. By applying the recruiting and selecting model used by Enterprise then they would have a better chance of being successful because of selecting the appropriate candidate for their organization. 3. Training and development The most effective way for a company to continue achieving its business plans is by expanding its strategies on training and development activities for their employees in order to allow them to flourish their skills and abilities. The theory a valuable employee is one who is well trained and has learnt, hence has shown continuous develop has been used by HR managers to ensure that effective training is provided to their employees and allowing them to progress continuously (D.Haffner, handout 2, 2010:26). The HR manager is responsible for establishing learning and development strategies that will be followed to achieve the better skills for their employees. In the other hand, line managers are in charge of planning training sections for their employees and assessing their progress from their learning and ensuring that every one of them has had the opportunity to train and develop continuously. The provision of learning and training opportunities in an organization provides the employers assurance for employees development and commitment to stay in the organization. Therefore money spent on their training would be worthy but this could also mean that training these employees would make them more competent and may decide to seek employment leading to losses (Derek, 2009:66). Learning programmes could be conducted either by informal or formal, web-based, self-directed or the blend of either 2 or more of them. Informal learning is normally considered by many managers as a source for knowledge but it is the best way to acquire knowledge from the fellow employees as they go by. On-job learning could be another way for learning where one can be coached, mentored, job shadow etc. This type of learning is cost free and more effective (Armstrong, 2009:666-673). For example Tesco, the largest British retail is keen in providing their employees training opportunities and evaluate their skills and abilities at their position at workplace. Employees are provided both on-the-job and off-the-job training. Training techniques used in on-the-job training e.g. shadowing, coaching, and mentoring and job rotation which provides effective learning. Off-the-job training is provided if new skills are needed. Every employee has a self-development chart which shows the learning progress. In Tesco, it is the responsibility of the employees to assess themselves on their development by setting their own SMART objectives. 360-degree appraisal is also been used in Tesco to assess the performance of the employee where the stakeholders are provided this opportunity. The development progress of any employee is rated from Red to Blue. Therefore, Tesco has applied the systematic training and Boyatzis models in appendix 6 in their training and developing program in t heir company for effective customer service (thetimes100). From the Appendix7which shows the analysis of Ganesh supermarket. The manager should apply all the principles Tesco have used for training and assessing the competencies of their employees which will bring success in their organization. 4. Health and safety (HAS) There are many activities occurring in our workplaces which are today governed by legislation that requires the employers to implement in their organizations so as to protect and manage the Health and Safety of their employees and other people who might be affected. The UK health and Safety work Act 1974 states the duties and responsibilities of employers, employees and including individuals who are self-employed on issues regarding to health and safety (Alan, 1996: 52). Health and Safety policies It is the duty of the employer, HAS officers, HR and line managers to bring about the policies and programmes of Health and Safety issues so as to protect their employees. These policies and programmes do not only apply to employees alone but also the consumers, suppliers and nearby communities who will be affected by what the organization does and produces. An employer should always have a signed HAS policy statement which acknowledges the intended agenda regarding to the safety of the employees. Although the issue is that the employer should implement policies on HAS but this relies on the responsibility of each employee to conduct themselves using their common sense. Assessing and auditing It is important to identify and assess any risks that threatens the HAS in an organization and be able to take proper measurements on managing them. A risk could be assessed using a 3-point scale or Holts and Andrews (1993) complex rating scale (Armstrong, 2009:963) which will determine if these risks are hazardous to the employees. It is important that the involvement of HRM, line managers and employees in the auditing HAS programmes as to ensure safety measurements are applied constantly. Training in HAS It is essential for every employee to be trained on ways to handle safety when a hazard has occurred but the issue is that it is not implementing into action. Many organizations only apply training when an accident has happened and at the time when vigilance has risen. This point is supported by the illustration below which was obtain from Herald of Free Enterprise, kings cross and challenges (Mark,1998: 354): many of the principles of good training are widely known in management circles and organization of highly quality will adopt them as part of their explicit policy. Unfortunately it is also true that organizations may pronounce them publicly and yet at the operational levels treat them causally. Senior management may fail to realize that this is happening. The true state of affairs only emerges when some disaster occurs.. A successful health and safety management system (SMS) is one that comprises of strategic plans and the implementation of policies according to HSE publication and British Standard guide which should be set up in an organization. A SMS model in appendix 8 has been developed to be applied in the management of HAS which shows how different issue influences each other in the achievement of safety at the workplaces (Alan, 1996: For example FirstGroup, is the leading public transport company have developed safety culture as one of their activities and their first priority is to provide safety to both their employees and customers. The employers of FirstGroup have implemented the Health and Safety Act 1974 in their organization and provide Prevention Handbook to their employees. Each employee is provided and assessed in their safety training programmes ensuring that each one of them is competent in providing first aid when a hazard has occurred. They have also introduced Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in their organization policies in order to consider those applicants that are physically challenged to join their workforce. Safety-themes are also displayed in their intranet and published in the companys newsletters. Conclusion This article describes the important of the roles and responsibilities of HRM and line managers in these activities in an organization and how they support each in various ways. Human resource planning ensures that the need of the right people at the right time and place are selected who are competent and able to fulfil the business strategies of an organization. Recruiting and selecting the applicants is crucial step for any organisation because of the difficulty in choosing the appropriate method and tools for selecting the candidate of choice. Finally, the need of training employees is an important issue today so that they are well profound with their appointed roles and duties at their workplace and making sure that health and safety in their surrounding is established.

Mirror for Man - A Logical Conclusion :: Mirror for Man Essays

  Mirror for Man  Ã‚  - A Logical Conclusion Kluckhohn explains the differences and similarities among people of the world as culture. Culture, in this instance, spans a variety of areas. To begin with, culture is the way a person was raised. In addition, it's the values a person was taught. Finally, culture is related to man's biological needs. Habits that a person is taught as a youngster will influence the rest of his life. Societies have a tendency to have distinct habits that their people live by, First, education is one example. To explain, in some areas of the world children are sent to school until they are 18 and in others they are never educated. Second, what people eat is part of their culture. In Italy people eat pasta on the other hand in Israel people eat fallafels. Finally, a person's dress is influenced by which society he lives in. To further explain, in the U.S. women wear anything from dresses to pants, but currently in Iran women wear dresses only and must wear a veil to cover their face. Certain societies have values that influence their people. Different civilizations have distinct social values. First, marriages are treated differently. In the U.S. most women feel that polygamy by a man isn't acceptable. Women feel jealous and furthermore it is illegal. On the other hand, a woman of Koryak, Siberia, would not comprehend how a woman could be so selfish and so unwanting of another woman in the house as to wish to restrict her husband to one mate. Certain countries also have religion while others don't. For example, in the U.S.S.R. atheism is the way of the State; in many Mid-East countries Mohammed is worshipped and the Koran is a sacred book. Third, bigotry is not something people are born with, but are taught. Little children play with anyone regardless of color, sex, or religion. Unfortunatly, adults become jealous or dislike a person, and instead of disliking the individual, they will dislike the individual's race, religion, sex, or anything else they can find to dispise. The adults will then teach the children their bel iefs and the hatred becomes a never ending chain. Similarities are shown by the fact that man has biological functions that can't be ignored. Men of all societies can't ignore nature. To start, all men have the same life cycle. This cycle is that all men are born and all men eventually die.

Slavery Essay -- American History

Slavery vs. Economics "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" --Declaration of Independence Slavery is a societal institution based on ownership, dominance, and exploitation of one human being by another and reciprocal submission on the part of the person owned. The owner may exact work or other services without pay and virtually without restriction and can deny the slave freedom of activity and mobility. Slavery is one of this country's most debated topics. In America's history slavery and economics go hand in hand. Most people think that the ban of slavery was a human rights issue in the south, where in fact it was a major economic one. The issue of slavery has been debated between the North and South since before the colonization of the thirteen colonies. It has been the instigator of many events throughout the history of the states. The North and the South obviously had very different views regarding the subject. The debate over the economic advantages of slavery in the South has raged ever since the first slaves began working in the cotton fields of the Southern States. Initially, the wealth of the New World was in the form of raw materials and agricultural goods such as cotton, sugar, and tobacco. The continuing demand for slaves' labor arose from the development of plantation agriculture, the long-term rise in prices and consumption of sugar, and the demand for miners. Not only did Africans represent skilled laborers, but also they were a relatively cheap resource to the South. Consequently, they were well suited for plantation agriculture. Whi... ... organizations which sprung up, as well as much bloodshed.(Abbott) Throughout the rest of time before the Civil War, slavery remained in the Southern states. Slavery was not abolished until 1865 when the 13th amendment was passed. Slavery has been around since the dawn of time, and it still exists today. Just because the Constitution says that slavery was outlawed, does not mean that the South followed the "rules" so to speak. If you look at society today, you can still see small types of slavery. In reference to the quote from The Declaration of Independence at the beginning of the paper, where it says that "We hold these truths to be self-evident", "all men are created equal", and "they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights", but do we as a society view everyone as it is put in the constitution? Everyone in society has his or her own answer.

Gang Violence Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Gangs Teen Essays

Gang Violence Gangs are becoming a growing problem in American society. More young people are turning to gangs to solve problems in their lives. When youths join gangs they drop social activities with family, friends and school. Members fall behind their classmates in school and do not try. A study shows that less than 1% of gang bangers is literate1. Gangs destroy teenager lives and destroy their chances for a good education and happy life. Gangs are now a haven for rats.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Teenagers are joining gangs every day. They join gangs for many reasons. A former gang member known as G-Ball was very young when he joined a his gang. He and a friend would play a game. They would pose as gang members to be cool. Then police arrested him and other gang members for stealing cars. G-Ball never wanted to be a gang member he wanted to act and dress like one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another former gang member, Alonzo, age 17 wanted to join a gang because he had nothing to do after school. Both he and G-Ball joined a gang by choice. Keith, age 17 was forced into a gang. If he didn't join, he'd be hunted down and killed by the gang members. When older family member already in a gang, younger siblings are often forced in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many gangs use graffiti to show their power and to mark their turf. "Everywhere you go you see graffiti." Professor Allen Walker Read of Columbia University said, "The pen is mightier than the sword." Gangs in Parma are very active with the pen. They "tag" their property buildings and houses everywhere. Police want to know where all the parents are. Why aren't they doing anything about this? Many people in Parma want to know the answer to the same questions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cincinnati also has active gangs. "Graffiti is a creeping problem in every neighborhood and in and on public buildings" said Mayor Roxanne Qualls of Cincinnati said. Graffiti is so bad that Star Bank has donated $25,000 to have students to help clean up all the graffiti.2 The city made a group called the "E-Racers". These people are ready to clean up all the graffiti. The gangs set school buses on fire, tear-up park benches, and drive across lawns including the police station lawns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Graffiti comes in many forms. Pictures are used to mark property (turf) but you may also see strange writing below it. They say to other gangs that they're the best, the number 1 gan... ...30 Jun. 1994. Breckenridge, Tom. "Gang graffiti makes its mark on Parma." The Plain Dealer 26 May 1994. Clinton, William J. "National Gang Violence Orivencion Week, 1994." The White House: Office of the President of the United States Sept. 10,1994 Internet. Delgado, Robert. "Anti-Gang Movement" Doug's Home Page Sept. 28, 1995. Internet. Gillispie, Mark. "Chicago gangs still thrive in the city of their birth" The Plain Dealer 12 Jan. 1992. Gillispie, Mark. "Federal agencies shift concentration to gangs" The Plain Dealer 19 Jan. 1992. Gillispie, Mark; Shepard, Paul. "Former gang members recall `gentler times`." The Plain Dealer 12 Jan, 1992. Gillispie, Mark; Shepard, Paul. "Suburban police hoping to nip gangs in the bud." The Plain Dealer 17 Jan 1992. Horswell, Cindy. "Gangs get a dressing down." Houston Chronicle 28 March 1992:1A+ Marrison, Benjamin. "Mayor seeks `New Cleveland`." The Plain Dealer 1 Feb., 1992. Neff, Jon. "On-line Guide to Gang Signs and Graffiti" Highway 51 1995 Internet Phoenix Police Department -- G.R.E.A.T. Phoenix Police Department Home Page 1994 Internet. Welson, Roger. "Off the wall" Natural History May 1993

Hunger Games Theme

What would we do if we were chosen at random to fight for our life? Would we just let it happen? Would we fight back and try our best to keep out dignity? Or would we do whatever it takes just to stay alive, even if it means losing site of who we really are? These are all decisions that Peeta and Katniss, two kids from a city called Panem had to make all by themselves. The novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has many themes, but the most important overall, is the importance of keeping dignity and humanity while fighting for our life. In the Hunger Games, a sixteen year old girl named Katniss and a sixteen year old boy named Peeta are chosen to go into the Hunger Games, where they will fight for their lives. During past years, competitors in the Hunger Games would do a number of unspeakable things in order to survive. Peeta however is the complete opposite. He wants to die with dignity. First off, in the novel The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, many things go wrong in Panem, the society that the main characters Katniss and Peeta live in. For example, their society is filled with many things such as war, starvation, poverty, and violence. Peeta and Katnis have been taught since they were little that no matter what you are doing you have to keep your dignity while doing it. Even if it is fighting to the death. The way that both Peeta and Katniss have grown up comes in really handy during the Hunger Games. It makes it extremely easier for them to keep their dignity during the games. However, many competitors will do anything in order to survive, wouldn’t you? Peeta however, is very different; he believes that if he is going to die, he should at least go with his dignity. This means that while everyone else loses their minds, he will still think straight and won’t do anything outrageous in order to survive. For example, a girl from district 9 said â€Å"here’s some advice, just stay alive† (127). This quote shows that she believes the only thing that matters is staying alive. She will risk anything to live, even her humanity and dignity. Peeta however, would basically rather die with his dignity than live knowing he completely lost his dignity and humanity during the Hunger Games. To Peeta, his dignity is just as important as his own life. The competitors in the Hunger Games family and friends are also loosing spite of their humanity and dignity even though it may not seem like it to them. The family members show their loss of dignity when all of them just sit back and watch as their loved ones battle for their lives. It is just one big game to them. Celebrations are thrown if their loved one kills another person’s loved one. They don’t even comfort the other family at all. Everyone just parties while one family is having one of the worst possible days of their lives. Watching as somebody’s child is being killed isn’t right. Imagine if our society was like this. We wouldn’t just sit back and watch as our family and friends die before our eyes, would we? The novel The Hunger Games is similar to the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding in a few ways. The most important however is the characters loss of humanity and dignity, which occurs in both novels. In Lord of the Flies, the large groups of boys that are stranded on the island lose sight of what is really important to them. They get caught up in trying to stay alive and doing whatever it takes to stay alive. Jack, from Lord of the Flies, ran around chanting â€Å"Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood† (69). This quote shows us that the boys are starting to lose their dignity. This is exactly what happens in Suzanne Collins, Hunger Games. All of the competitors chosen to compete in the annual Hunger Games get caught up in killing people to stay alive that they forget who they really are inside. Ralph, the boy from the novel Lord of the Flies is very similar to Peeta, the boy from the novel Hunger Games in many ways. For example, both Ralph and Peeta are one of the only people to keep their humanity and dignity while they are stranded on an island or in this case fighting to the death in a huge arena. All of the boys in the novel Lord of the Flies lose their dignity and humanity except for Ralph and piggy who stay sane. This is very similar to the Hunger Games. Everyone in districts one through eleven go crazy and forget who they are except for two people. Only Peeta and katniss who are from District 12 keep their dignity while struggling to stay alive. Peeta says â€Å"at least let me die with my dignity† (167). This quote shows us that Peeta won’t lose his humanity and dignity no matter what. In conclusion, the novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins shows us how society could end up if we lose sight of our dignity. She shows us that just because something bad could happen doesn’t mean that we have to forget what really matters to us, or even forget who we truly are behind all of the violent, or just plain old fake acts that we would have to put on just to live through the Hunger Games. She shows us through the eyes of Peeta that even when something gets tough, we just have to work through it and keep our head held high.

A Critical Analsysis Cultural Event Essay

School shootings has been a popularized term in both the United States and Canada for describing gun violence at educational institutions around the country. This especially applies to mass killings or shooting sprees perpetuated by the students or members of the faculty. School shootings are differentiated from acts of terrorism in that they are usually randomly targeted victims and involve students, faculty or alumni of the institution involved. This marked difference can be seen when we differentiate the Beslan School Hostage Taking (BBC News, 2004) from the Columbine Massacre. For our purposes, we would use the Columbine Massacre as our cultural event to be analyzed. This massacre has been well documented by a mountain of resources and has been extensively analyzed by researchers, law enforcement officers and medical practitioners. The Columbine Massacre is a well-known tragedy in the United States. It was a tragic day where two students who attended Columbine High School shot at their fellow students and teachers. This tragedy ended with more tragedy when the two students took their own lives. The abrupt and sudden death of the two students gave rise to more questions regarding this tragic incident. After the death of so many lives, no one was left to answer what motivated these two seemingly common boys to do such inhumane acts. Main Argument The purpose of writing a critical analysis of this event is to uncover the â€Å"deeper† implications of the event of school shootings on culture as a whole and on the writer as an individual. We will delve at the issue of school shooting from different angles that would show issues in our culture. It is the argument of this writer that school shootings can be prevented. To do this, we must pass stricter laws in gun control, prevent school violence, and reduce the amount of violence in multimedia and the Internet. Our effort to handle this tragedy has led to a valiant effort to rationalize and find solutions to prevent another Columbine. We must use this information and take responsibility by taking adequate measures in law and in practice. School shootings then as an event has brought to light the following issues: gun control, school violence, violence in multimedia and the internet, our culture on handling tragedies and our own responsibility towards preventing future killings. Support for Argument – Different Angles Gun Control The issue of gun control has been front and center in the debate regarding prevention of another Columbine Massacre. To support my main argument that stricter gun control laws can prevent another Columbine, it is argued that our laws on gun control are too lax. The access by which the shooters had to guns of high caliber and quantity of explosives prove the inherent laxity of our country’s gun control laws. In his movie, â€Å"Bowling for Columbine†, Michael Moore illustrates how guns are given away even when you open bank accounts in America. Even in Wal-Mart stores, guns were readily available. It has only been recently that Wal-Mart has pulled out guns from a third of its US stores. Even then, the company cites marketing decisions rather than lawful restrictions in its decision. (Pioneer Press, 2006) Stricter gun control laws will ensure that access and availability of guns will only be reserved for law enforcement. The consuming public, much less our children, must not be able to readily access guns without adequate reason. This reason must be well-defined in law and properly implemented to prevent young children from getting their hands on high-caliber weapons. Violence in Multimedia and the Internet The role of violence in multimedia and the Internet was a critical issue in determining what could be done to prevent another Columbine. Both shooters played violent games and were taking active part in online communities that catered to such games. Henry Jenkins, director of Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cautioned the Senate Commerce Committee from totally shunning the Multimedia and the Internet. In his testimony before the senate, he reminds us that media consumption is active and not passive. They are tools that we can use and mold to our advantage. It must also be remembered that media content is a process that is developed over a period of time. Different consumers react to media in different ways. When all else fails, real life would always trump media. It is read against our perception of the world. It is in this light that the writer argues that meaningful recommendations for law making can be legislated in order to control media to lessen the amount of violence available to our youth. Such legislated can be done without trampling on our bill of rights by asking media content providers to be more creative and our schools to use media in K-12 education. These are just some of the recommendations by Jenkins in order to prevent violence in media use for institutions. More will be discussed with regard to school violence in the succeeding paragraph. School Violence The issue of school violence had come front and center as one of the reasons for the Columbine Massacre. After the event, every circumstance surrounding the life of the two shooters was examined. They were part of â€Å"goth† groups and were not considered generally popular with the students in early reports. Some of the myths would even say that they were loners and only a few students knew them. The truth however, cannot be farther. Even though they were part of â€Å"goth† groups, both shooters had a steady group of friends and were not exactly alienated from the student populace. Recent studies have cautioned on inciting a sense of â€Å"moral panic† in reacting to the problem of School Violence. â€Å"Moral Panic† is a reaction to school shootings where teachers and other students would view fellow students and faculty as â€Å"threats† to public safety. This is not the environment that will lead to the prevention of School Violence. (Jenkins, Part I, 1999) In preventing school violence, the National Association of Independent Schools have come up with the following measures: 1) more support for the youth using digital communities, 2) use media education in K-12 institutions, 3) more respect and knowledge by adults for popular culture of children, 4) more tolerance in the school environment 5) establishing parental discussion groups on appropriate media content, 6) illicit more creative responses from media producers. (Jenkins, Part IV, 1999) Our Culture on Handling Tragedies The deeper implication of this event to our culture is that it is reflective of the way we handle tragedy. It shows the need of our culture to rationalize and put blame. But more so, it shows the resilience of our culture to heal, move on and adapt to the changing times. The event itself as described above shows two things. The first part of our description culled from the CNN report is a depiction of the extent of violence imparted by the two boys. What happened in Columbine was distinctly violent and ruthless. The second part of our description culled from the Jefferson County report is a depiction of our need as culture to rationalize such violence. The process of compiling, examining and connecting all the 4,400 leads to more than 80 investigators from the federal and local government to piece together. It took 10 months to complete and amounted to painstaking work and expense. Yet, it was needed for a sense of closure to most of the families of the victims. It is clear from the 10 different findings of the Jefferson County Report that no stone was left unturned. Myths were formed regarding a third shooter or another boy who has principally induced the shooters. A lot of these myths were debunked by the official Jefferson County report. The need to rationalize by our culture does not end there. We hope to do better the next time around. We hope that tragedy will not be repeated. We rationalize and we move on. The mountain of sources that pile up to rationalize, prevent and defend our schools abound. Our psychiatrists (Block, 2007), law enforcement officers (US Secret Service, 2002), and brother citizens (Cullen, 2004) have all come up with their ways and means to justify and contribute to the growing number of literature meant to keep the discussion alive. Some have even sued gaming manufacturers of violent games and are seeking financial damages they allege that: â€Å"Absent the combination of extremely violent video games and these boys’ incredibly deep involvement, use of and addiction to these games and the boys’ basic personalities, these murders and this massacre would not have occurred. † (Wade, 2001) For the psychiatrists who have reviewed the cases, some have even suggested being careful in removing restrictions to virtual outlets of rage. It is notable that the boys who perpetuated the violence were deprived abruptly of these virtual outlets. (Block, 2007) These are all indicative of the ways we cope up with tragedy. These are ways we rationalize and learn from our mistakes. As a culture, the event has deep implications with how we handle seemingly irrational events by acting human in all respects. We pride our rationale as a civilized nation and try to make it prevail over all odds and tragedies. In the end, whether or not there is a rationale explanation to the shootings, it would be hard to know. Adding insult to injury, the shooters in this tragedy also killed themselves. This is perhaps why the Columbine School shooting has left such a distinct memory in all those touched by it. There is seemingly a distinct lack of closure because no one can be held to blame. Our Responsibility in Preventing Future killings As an individual, the writer is very much affected to reflect on what is happening with his own life. The deeper implication of this event is to cause the writer to pause and reflect his actions and his responsibility. Any other student in our society can easily relate to the deaths of these students. We have all lived a rigid classroom to classroom, day and night existence. Everyday, we do our work, travel to school and sleep towards the next day to come. Those who died in the tragedy never got the chance to finish their lives as students or graduate into adulthood. Reading all these accounts and reflections about the lives of these students has made the writer focus more on living rather than continuing on the never ending effort to rationalize. Human life seemed to be less significant in light of the quick and abrupt way the lives of thirteen people were ended. School shootings as a phenomenon did not end with Columbine. Recent school shooting such as the one by Pekka-Eric Auvinen in Tuusuola High School happened only this year. (Xinhua, 2007) The greatest implication to the writer as an individual is to live a life of responsibility. The mountain of information available to implement ways of preventing another Columbine is there. With the rationalization done by our culture and the efforts we have made to move on, it is but proper that live a life of responsibility by implementing all studies made to prevent more shootings in law through gun control measures and in practice by guiding future generations to be more tolerant of other people. Conclusion The tragedy of the Columbine is only illuminated by the facts that can be culled from the events. However, the deeper problems that lie beneath can only be solved by careful and patient assessment of these facts and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. It is the argument of this writer that school shootings can be prevented. To do this, we must pass stricter laws in gun control, prevent school violence, and reduce the amount of violence in multimedia and the Internet. Our effort to handle this tragedy has led to a valiant effort to rationalize and find solutions to prevent another Columbine. We must use this information and take responsibility by taking adequate measures in law and in practice. The implementation of the suggestions by the National Association of Independent Schools through Henry Jenkins would be a good start in harnessing the power of media to lessen violence in school institutions. References CNN. com. â€Å"In depth Specials: Columbine† (n. d. ) Columbine. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from . Ward, Mark. â€Å"Columbine Families sue Computer Game Makers†. 1 May 2001. BBC News. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from Block, Jerald. â€Å"Lessons from Columbine: Virtual and Real Rage† American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, Volume 28, Issue 2 (July, 2007) United States Secret Service. â€Å"The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States† May 2002. United States Department of Treasury. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from < http://www. treas. gov/usss/ntac/ssi_final_report. pdf> Xinhua. â€Å"US Teenager chats with Finnish School Shooter about Massacre† 13 November 2007. English-Xinhua. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from < http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/2007-11/13/content_7060867. htm> BBC News. â€Å"Attackers Storm Russian School† (1 September 2004) BBC NEWS EUROPE. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from < http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/europe/3616868. stm> Pioneer Press. â€Å"Wal-Mart halting Gun Sales by Area† (15 April 2006) Free Republic. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from < http://www. freerepublic. com/focus/f-news/1615500/posts> Jenkins, Henry. â€Å"Lessons from Littleton† (1999) National Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved 15 November 2007.