Diary of Lady Murasaki Response Questions

Diary of Lady Murasaki Response Questions 1. Drawing evidence from the text, describe Lady Murasaki. Who is she? What is important to her? How important is she politically? Why do you think she keeps her diary? What are her frustrations with life at court? How typical/atypical is she as a woman in Heian Japan? Lady Murasaki was a Japanese poet at the Imperial court and served under Empress Shoshi. She writes this diary during her experiences at court and she finds the life of a lady-in-waiting, or a servant that has social certainty, and the events that are unfolded in court are important. She describes in her diary how she feels helpless at court and she is unhappy with her low rank in society compared to others in the Fujiwara clan which frustrates her, but makes her more inclined to write about it and keep a diary. She is a pretty typical woman in Heian Japan, but she often writes about how the other court women were less educated than her and that she was stronger-willed. 2. What does the text reveal about the political world of Heian Japan? What is the role of the emperor? What is the role of the regent? Which is more ‘important’? How do people gain and maintain political power? What happens to those who lose political power? During the Heian period of Japan the land was controlled by family clans and whoever was the most powerful family held the most importance. Within the family there is also ranks of political power branching down from the Emperor and Empress, but most of the other ranks are all related to each other through the family clan. The Emperor is the head of the family clan is said to be in that position by a heavenly right, while a regent is more of a governor addressing political issues. Both are important, but while the Emperor is the symbol of the people and their unity, the regent sparingly makes the differences in how the people get to live. 3. What does the text reveal about the roles of men in Heian Japan? How are they identified? What is their role in the family, in politics, in religion, in military? How much power and what type of power do men have? What do you find surprising about what is considered important/unimportant for men during Heian Japan? Why? Men controlled the majority of society as like any culture during this time period. The military was solely inhabited by men as was the political power, but women were allowed to be present in court and other social events. They had a good education and if they were in a political position they learned Chinese because it was used for legal documents and record keeping. 4. What does the text reveal about the roles of women in Heian Japan? How are they identified? What is their role in the family, in politics, in religion? How much and what type of power do women have? What do you find surprising about what is considered important/unimportant for women during Heian Japan? Why? Women during this time were surprisingly better off than in other centuries. They were excluded from public affairs, but involved in court as we can see in the diary. They were also educated and involved with events around the palace such as ceremonies, weddings, and poetry reciting. Women had to know how to dress correctly, but once they did they were expected to learn to dress very formally and elegantly. 5. What does the text reveal about social classes and social mores in Heian Japan? What are the differences between the social classes? How does social class affect the way people live and the political power they wield? What are the social expectations for men and women? What is good behavior/what is bad behavior? Does any of this surprise you? Most of Japan’s social class was in agriculture and lived outside the city walls and never entered the palace. Within the palace there are a separate set of social classes. The Emperor and Empress will always sit at the top of the ladder, but amongst everyone else there are strict guidelines to follow. Passages in the diary describe the uses of colors in clothing and how some colors shouldn’t be worn by certain social classes. The diary also accounts hat giving presents alter throughout social class. Nobles get the best gift and then the different ranks of courtiers, first rank being the highest and sixth rank one of the lowest. What does the text reveal about religion in Heian Japan? What is the role of religion? What type of religion do you see represented? What are the religious concerns of Lady Murasaki? What do her religious concerns reveal about life in Heian Japan? The religion of Shintoism can be seen with the heavenly right for the Emperor to rule over the people within his family clan name and to protect the imperial family. During the birth of Fujiwara no Michinaga, towards the beginning, Murasaki writes about the Buddhist priests coming and performing exorcisms and warding off evil. Lady Murasaki later writes that she â€Å"immerses [herself] in reading sutras for Amida Buddha†, which shows what kind of religious practices she participates in. All of these religions being present throughout the diary tells that religion is at a point of uncertainty in Heian Japan and there are many influences that come with them.

Passion and Betrayal in “Roman Fever” Essay

â€Å"Roman Fever† is a very dynamic story, were things aren’t necessarily what they appear. The characters have two faces: the ones they show each other and the ones evident to the reader through the narration. The setting, the title, and the dialogue all develop the plot. Hypocrisy and deceit are present throughout the whole story, and they greatly drive the plot. Wharton uses irony, an omniscient narrator, and symbolism to convey the theme of passion and how it can poison the mind, leading to destructive actions. The way the author chose to narrate the story is vital to how it is perceived. The story is in a third person omniscient point of view, which greatly develops the characterization of Grace and Alida. Various times throughout the story, one of the women says something to the other and afterward that narrator will reveal to the reader what she is really thinking. This helps show the reader the hypocrisy and deception in their words. One example of this is when the women are talking about roman fever and its dangers. In the midst of this, the narrator tells us that Alida thinks she â€Å"must make one more effort not to hate her† (Wharton 115). This exposes to the reader directly for the first time that there are some underlying issues and unfinished business between these characters that they are avoiding. Another factor that contributes to the progress of the plot are the numerous symbols that Wharton chose to employ. One of the most noticeable of these is the setting. Rome is a city that almost always evokes images of passion and romance. Within this setting, the climate and time changes directly parallel the gradual changes in the women’s relationship. This is especially evident when Alida first reveals that she wrote the letter that Grace had though she received from Delphin many years ago. After this information is brought to light, the two women stand â€Å"for a minute staring at each other in the last golden light† (117). The last few moments of sun are representative of the  last moments of politeness between these two women. After â€Å"the clear heaven overhead was emptied of all it’s gold† (118), all of the women’s passionate secrets start spilling out. Grace divulges that she answered to the letter, and that Delphin came to meet her tha t night. This revelation completely changes Alida’s idea of her relationship with her late husband. The ruins that are described, the forum and the Colosseum, also mirror what happened between these two women. These structures, once representatives of Rome’s magnificence, are now reduced to a â€Å"great accumulated wreckage of passion and splendor† (114). The same goes for the friendship between these women. Love and passion came between them, causing great betrayal on both sides. This has diminished their friendship until it is really no longer there, replaced by lies and treachery. Right before Grace reveals her greatest secret, that Barbara was really Delphin’s daughter, she is â€Å"looking away from [Slade] toward the dusky secret mass of the Coliseums† (119). The â€Å"secret mass† of ruins is a direct description of their friendship, which was destroyed because of jealousy and lies. Another important symbol in the sort story is the title. â€Å"Roman Fever† has a double meaning; it was an outburst of malaria that plagued Rome in the past, but it also represents the feverish passion present in the women’s story. It is a symbol for Alida’s jealousy of Grace, and how it has simmered inside her for all of these years. Both of the women are victims of roman fever in the sense that they both fell into dangerous games of love, passion, and betrayal. This betrayal is also alluded to in the story about Aunt Harriet. The story goes that Aunt Harriet â€Å"sent her little sister to the Forum after sunset to gather a night blooming flower†¦but she really sent her because they were in love with the same man† (115). The sister died. It is possible that Alida was inspired by this story to write the fateful letter to Grace. An element that greatly contributes to the overall tone of the story is irony. Many lines throughout the narrative all culminate to the final line of the story: â€Å"I had Barbara†(119). Here, Grace is revealing that her daughter Barbara is also daughter of Alida’s husband Delphin. This line alone exposes the irony in many other parts of the story. This is apparent when Alida is thinking about Barbara Ansley. â€Å"Babs†¦ had more edge. Funny where she got it, with those two nullities as parents† (112). Irony is also present when Alida tells Grace that she was â€Å"wondering how two such exemplary characters as you  [Grace] and Horace had managed to produce anything quite so dynamic?† (114). These lines are very ironic because the reader later learns that Horace Ansley had nothing to do with the birth of Barbara. Through the use of irony, symbols, and an all-knowing narrator, Edith Wharton presents passion, betrayal, and deceit between two women. It is repeatedly conveyed in the story that things are not always what they appear on the surface, it takes a second look to realize the underlying sentiments that are occurring. This is present both in the infinite symbols in the story as well as the passion that drove Grace and Alida’s friendship to ruin. Even though they had known each other for a long time, â€Å"these two ladies visualized each other, each through the wrong end of her little tel escope†(113). Because of the destruction that their betrayals had caused when they were young women, these two people who had been â€Å"intimate since childhood† (112) discover that they truly know nothing about the other at all.

Change and continuity

They are able to figure out the wind and monsoon patterns. Mediterranean sailors use square sails, long banks of oars, ships are nailed together. Indian Ocean sailors use triangular sails, no oars, and tied ships. Impact: Africa provides exotic animals, wood, and ivory. Somalia and Southern Arabia provide frankincense and myrrh. Less valuable than Mediterranean Sea. Isolate ports that lack fresh water. In 1200 The rising prosperity of Asian, Euroopean, and African states stimulate the expansion of trae in the Indian Ocean. Luxuries for the wealthy-precious metals and jewls, rare spices, fine textiles, and other manufactures. Contstruction of larger ships makes shipments of buk cargoes of ordinary cotton textiles, pepper, food grans (rice, wheat, barley), timber horses, and other goods profitable. Collapse of the mongol empire- disrupts overland trade routes across Central Asia, the Indian Ocean routes assumed greater strataegic importance in tying together the peoples of Eurasia and Africa. 1200-1500 Dhow is a cargo and passenger ship of the Arabian sea. They all have a hull construction. The hulls consist of planks that were sewn together, not nailed. Cord made of fiber from the husk of coconuts or other materials was passed through rows of holed drilled in the planks. Marco Polo fancifully suggested that it in dictated sailors’ fear that large ocean magnets would pull any nails out of their ships. The second distinctive feature of the dhows was their trianglular (lateen) sails made of palm leaves or cotton. The sails were suspended from tall masts and could be turned to catch the wind. Junk is the largest and most technologically advancd and most seaworth vessel of this time. Developed in china. Built from spruce or fir planks held toether by massive nails. The space below the deck was dived into watertight comspace below the deck was dived into watertight compartments to minimize floodin g in case of damage to the ship’s hull. Ibn Battuta, the largest junks have twelve sails made of bamboo and carried a crew of a thousand men. A large junk might have up to a hundred passenger cabins and could carry a cargo of over 1,000 tons. Trade is decentralized and cooperative. Comercial interest, rather than political authorities, tied several distinct regional networks together. Indian Ocean Use predictable monsoon winds and dhows. Islam gives Indian Ocean trade a boost. They provide a demand for resources and tie the region together. Operates independently of states. Ming dynasty does get involved. 1405-1433 Voyages of Zheng He Commands expeditions of the Ming dynasty. He is a Chinese Muslim with ancestral connection in the Persian Gulf. 1497-1498 Vasco da Gama reaches India Sailed around Africa and reached India. He becomes suspicious of the Muslim rulers intentions. His arrival in India leaves a bad impression on Calicut-the ruler of Calicut is not interested. 1505 Portuguese bombard Swahili Coast cities 1510 Portuguese take Goa Portuguese take Malacca Focus of attention after India. It is the 15th century’s main entrepot (a place where goods are stored and then distributed from. ) 1515 Portuguese take Hormuz 1535 Portuguese take Diu 1538 Portuguese defeat Ottoman fleet 1539 Portuguese aid Ethiopia Indian Ocean Trade vs. Trade in the Americas The reason that the Indian Ocean region prospered while the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires declined was because trade via the sea was a huge asset that none of these empires had (Safavid had minor ports but not enough to compete with European and New World countries. The innovation that was occurring between ship design, navigation, and cannons gave Europe a massive advantage. The Joint-stock exchange also causes these empires to fall behind in trade. Although the majority of sea traders were European, the majority of non-European traders were Islamic. The main reason that the empires fell in standing of the world is because they were strongly land based and simply did not have the resources to convert so much time and resources to the development that would have been needed to compete in the Indian Ocean trade network.

Organization Behavior and Learning Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organization Behavior and Learning - Term Paper Example The researcher states that the origin of empowerment as a form of theory was traced back to the Brazilian humanitarian and educator, Freire. He suggested a model for liberating the oppressed people of the world through education. Parpart, Rai, & Staudt, are of the view that empowerment is an alternative approach to social development in local, grassroots community-based initiatives. Lincoln, Travers, Ackers, & Wilkinson, observes that empowerment has been used across a broad variety of disciplines like community psychology, management, political theory, social work, education, women studies, and sociology. The concept of empowerment is conceived as the idea of power ie. either gaining, expending, diminishing, and losing power. The traditional concept of power was an isolated one, where it was held or used at the expense of other people. Empowerment has brought a new dimention of power. In recent times its has been shown that power can be strenthened through sharing with others. In th is sense, power sharing is multidimentional and helps people be incharge of their lives. A review of literature, that was conducted by the researcher shows little discontent in the application of empowerment in the workplace. For its benefits, it is assumed that empowerment is a universal solution appropriate to all organisations in all circumstances. Section 2 of this paper explores key terms, concepts, and theories of empowerment. Section 3 concludes with a discussion of the key concepts established in the paper.

Askweek3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Askweek3 - Essay Example your son might not be so committed to steer ahead the company, and this could probably be in terms of not being active in the organization, perhaps because the organization belongs to the father, or on the other hand, he may work hard to improve the status of the organization to please the father. With such deliberations, how would you ensure your son is in the right course? Another way through which your organization may deem appropriate to solve its challenges is through adoption of a more fractal system approach. What does this approach entails? What are challenges accrued from the use of this approach? According to Stacey (2011, pp. 491-493), people embracing the concept of complex adaptive systems might go about â€Å"rethinking the roles of leaders and managers†. In this regard, do you find this being applicable in your organization? If you were given an opportunity to advise your senior managers on ways through which their behaviors can help improve the status of your organization, what advice would you give? Leaders who fall into the neurotic forms of leadership fails to meet the long-term goals of the organization. Their behaviors exhibit short term strategic thinking. In this regard, and given an opportunity recommend the best strategies to oversee realization of long-term goals of your organization, what strategies would you

TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY - Essay Example the new appearing forms of families resulting from both demographic and structural changes occurring in the world, it is still very important to categorize it for analytical purposes. According to Rappaport and Rapaport (1982), there are five types of family diversity which are very important in understanding how family diversity takes shape in real life: It results from the different access to economic and material resources that the families may posses. Social class diversity gives rise to rich and poor families in the society and is very vital in the modern world. This is because it considerable implications on the well being of the members of the family. For example, the ability of a child to access educational opportunities is greatly determined or influenced by the social class and economic well being of the family. Children from poor or underprivileged families may not have good life as compared to those from well-t-do families. It refers to the different types of family organization which develop different realities for its members. Compare for instance single parent families (where children live with only one parent) with reconstituted families (which are as a result of divorce and remarriage) with dual career families (where both parents work outside the home). Merely all families go through various stages of development and families which are in their early stages of development are quite different from those in their late stages of development. The stages of families in the life cycle lead to different experiences of family life for each individual member of the family. It results from the difference in cultural preferences and arrangements that exist around the world. In the UK the nuclear families are the typical family arrangements with children and their parents staying or living differently and independently with considerable autonomy from their kin. In china, the family arrangement is the stem family where two or more generations live

How the life and personal qualities of Harry Bridges can inspire us to Scholarship Essay

How the life and personal qualities of Harry Bridges can inspire us to achieve our goals today - Scholarship Essay Example After completing school, Bridges declined to enter his father’s real estate business, choosing to be a merchant seaman at 16. In 1920, Bridges entered the USA, and became a longshoreman at San Francisco in 1922. Bridges protested against the stranglehold of the ship owners through the company-controlled Longshoremens Association of San Francisco and the Bay Region (the Blue Book Union). Speedups, arbitrary dismissals, blacklisting of militant workers, low wages, long hours and dangerous working conditions were endemic on the docks. Bridges earned support among the longshoremen for the revival of the local of the International Longshoremen’s Association, advocating "Organization...rank and file control... unity of action... union democracy... solidarity among all Coast ports... among all unions,† (ILWU website). The local ILA was formed in 1933. Despite pressure from the Roosevelt administration, theories of a communist conspiracy and media opposition, the 1934 Wes t Coast Longshore Strike began on May 9, with Bridges as the chairman of the Strike Committee. Bridges formed a coalition of all waterfront workers and effectively stopped shipping on the West Coast. On July 5, "Bloody Thursday," the police charged the workers picket lines, shooting into the ranks of unarmed men, and wounded over one hundred men. Two men were killed. This led to a general strike and finally, arbitration commenced, with the unions successfully negotiating joint hiring-halls, a thirty hour week, higher wages, union recognition and coast-wide contracts. In 1937, Bridges founded the ILWU, serving as President for 40 years. Bridges life was characterized by a shining integrity which one cannot fail to admire. He remained steadfast in his loyalty to his fellow-workers, insisting that the salary of all union officials be the same as that of a longshoreman’s wages. His tactics are a shining example of the adage ‘United we stand,

The Fall of The Spanish Armada Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Fall of The Spanish Armada - Research Paper Example Elizabeth was very ambitious and followed her father’s religion, protestant. In her rule, she declared the English religion as the Church of England, and not Catholicism. This upset the Spanish king who hated Protestants. This was the beginning of their differences. In her first thirty years of reign, Queen Elizabeth I of England made sure that peace prevailed in the country. Trade and commerce was thriving and the England ships were encompassing the territory, further across to the West Indies. This expansion of commerce became a source of conflict with Spain and Portugal. The two super powers, Spain and Portugal, were the rulers of the New World. They were practicing trade monopoly and the invasion of English traders was positively welcomed. The traders from England broke through the barriers establishment set up by Spanish and Portuguese army, and went to sell the black seized from Africa, making enormous profits. On their way back to England, the traders, notably Sir Franc is Drake and John Hawkins, would attack the Spanish ships and steal their gold (Arthur). Queen Elizabeth was aiding the traders with ships and finances, and had a share from the profits and the stolen treasure from the Spaniards. The pirates from England went on with their attacks on ships from and to Spain. Some of the Spanish shipments were carrying supplies to countries opposing Protestantism, while others were bound to Spain, carrying treasures and slaves for Spain. The Spanish ports in South America and Caribbean also suffered attacks. Elizabeth was said to share part of the loot, but the worst thing was that she used part of the loot to enforce Protestant movements in Europe that were against the Spanish Catholicism Empire. These actions from England deteriorated the relations between the two nations, but Philip did not want to attack Elizabeth directly. The Rodolfi Conspiracy of 1571 gave King Philip a chance to go against Queen Elizabeth. The conspiracy was set to assassinat e Queen Elizabeth I and empower her Protestant cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. The relation between England and Spain suffered greatly due to both parties. Elizabeth was giving a safe haven for the Dutch individuals who were harassing Spanish ships. Around 1570, the famous pirate and soldier, Francis drake, sailed around the globe destroying Spanish colonies and their shipments (Mattingly 47). To counter this move, the Philip conquered Portugal and strengthened his military powers. Elizabeth offered an asylum for the overthrown Portuguese leader Don Antonio, and gave him authority to lead harassment of the Spanish ships by the English army. In the quest of seeking ally nations against Spain, Elizabeth started negotiations with France. In response to an attempt by the French forces to fight the Spanish navy off Terceira, the Spanish navy destroyed the French forces easily, fatally injuring most of the soldiers. Spain had regained confidence in its naval superiority. In 1584, there was a n attempt on the life of Elizabeth. She ordered a serious campaign aimed against the Spanish ships and the Caribbean holdings, placing Frobisher and Drake as the leaders. In the year that followed, the queen ordered close to five thousand soldiers ruled by the earl of Leicester to shore up after their leader, William of Orange, died. In addition to these acts, the queen ordered the execution of Mary, her protestant rival in February 1587. The Spanish King at the time, King Philip

Risk management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Risk management - Assignment Example The bottlenecks realized during peak hours are quite frustrating and the need for a more convenient solution cannot be understated. The construction of the viaduct, however, comes with its risks and challenges and which must be borne carefully for a successful construction period. The demand for a better transit for the people living in the south of Auckland needs to be considered from all fronts with the risks of seismic performance, load capacity and environmental conditions being carefully considered. As part of the risk management outlook, the report herein will look at some of the attributes that the government and the construction companies ought to look out for in dealing with the construction of the NGA newmarket viaduct and how these risks can be mitigated or minimized. Categories As an agency, identifying and categorizing the possible risks and evaluating how important they are in the overall construction of the Newmarket Viaduct is essential. The categories will be discuss ed under four distinct provisions. The first risk is the operational risk. This is where the construction company has to look for alternatives that could cost the company due to improper process implementation and how system failure would affect the operations within the company and during the construction period. ... The company has to look for a better way of ensuring that the project does not fail in any way nor does it stall due to some attributes that could easily be sorted out through better planning (Flyvbjerg, Nils, and Werner, 2003). The third attributed risk category is that of a budget deficit risk. Wrong estimates coupled with changing financial prospects in the world could hamper the proper completion and adherence to the budget provisions available. This risks stalling the project since the government must get a clear picture as to why they have to add more money to a project that they had completely financed according to their initial estimates (Flyvbjerg, Holm and Buhl, 2002). The other type of risk is the quality and process risk where the company is wary of making blunders during its construction period (Cox, 2002). The issue of quality especially on a public system is important and requires that each guideline to be used is tailored to meet expected results. As a matter of fact, opening the area around the viaduct is paramount and proper construction coupled with timely delivery of the project will open up the south and give the people the quality they aspire to. By working on these categories, the company will ensure that the people of Auckland receive that which they desire and that which is greater and better quality than what they have at the moment. Risk identity and response Operational risk The first risk that had to be courted was the operational risk. This is the risk that played the greatest role in shaping the way the construction of the Newmarket Viaduct would be conducted. Risk identity: Priority had to be given to the most essential resources and provide continuity despite the delays that would result

To Kill a Mockingbird Evil Triumphs When Good Men Do Nothing Essay Example for Free

To Kill a Mockingbird Evil Triumphs When Good Men Do Nothing Essay In many battles between good and evil, the victory doesn’t always go to the side that has the biggest numbers. There are multiple examples in the Bible and in history where the side that was fighting for God’s way would win even though the odds were stacked against them. Many times the only reason evil wins is because good men are not willing to stand up and fight for what is right because when good men do nothing, nothing good gets done. Like if a person is in a jury of the court, and they don’t speak up. The convict goes free, and now out to commit more crimes. Or if a person is running away from something with another person, the other one falls and they don’t go back and get him/her and leave him/her behind, and something bad happens to the other person,(i. e. Death. Broken arm, leg, etc ) If a person is part of the defense of the court, and they don’t speak up, the convict goes free, and now out to commit more crimes, I could not think of any examples from the book besides if Tom got convicted not guilty and he went and raped another girl, but since Mayella was not really raped, but instead beaten by her father, so that was not true. So instead of a book example, since I could not think of one, I thought of a real life example. I thought of the Casey Anthony trial. Since no one spoke up about the crime. She was convicted not guilty. Someone had to have known something, either to prove her innocence or to prove her guilty. Or it could be k=like this, no one spoke up to prove tom’s innocence so evil triumphed and won by convicting tom If a person is running away from something with another person, the other one falls and they don’t go back and get him/her and leave him/her behind, and something bad happens to the other person. For this I thought of two examples, when Jem and scout are going through the Radley’s fence and Jem’s pants get hung on the fence. Luckily nothing too bad happened, as the pants were returned. Something could have gone wrong and Jem would have been severely hurt. The other example that I thought of was toward the end of the book when Jem and Scout are walking home from the play and Jem gets attacked by Mr. Ewell. Since scout falls and cannot get up (Life Alert!). Jem is attacked and thrown on the ground in result, breaking his arm. In conclusion, There are multiple examples in history where the side that was fighting for the right way would win even though the odds were stacked against them. Many times the only reason evil wins is because good men are not willing to stand up and fight for what is right because when good men do nothing, nothing good gets done -Robert Tucker.

Analysing the dimensions of Human Resources

Analysing the dimensions of Human Resources Human Resource Management (HRM) came into popular term over the past decades as a top managerial approach aimed at re-ordering the employment relationship to ensure employee efforts were strategically focused on achieving superior individual and organisational performance and competitiveness in increasingly volatile markets. All companies including British Gas are now paying considerable attention to make strong bond between HR practices and employees and organizational performance. The main purpose of this unit essay is to discuss about HRM as an approach to managing human resources such as labour in British Gas. 1.1 Explain Guests model of hard-soft, loose-tight dimensions of HRM. (P1) The most widely acceptable models of HRM are the soft and hard versions. The soft model is associated with human relation and the hard model on the other hand sees employees as human resource (Gratton et. al. 1999). The soft model assumes that employees respond better when an organisation recognise their individual needs and addresses them as well as focusing on the overall business objectives. The hard model primarily focus to promote human resource planning strategy, align with business strategy, outsourcing, flexibility, performance management and downsizing or work intensification. Some HRM models have been developed by UK academics including Guest and Storey. Guest has identified key features of personal management and HRM that allow for comparative measurement and acknowledging the close links between human resource strategy and general business strategy (Bratton and Gold 2003). The Guest model of HRM is given below: Policies Organisational job design Policy formulation and implementation/management of change Recruitment, selection and socialization Appraisal, training and development Manpower flows through, up and out of the organisation Rewards systems Communications systems HR outcomes Strategic Planning/implementation Commitment Flexibility/adaptability Quality Organisational outcomes High job performance High problem solving Successful change Low turnover Low absence Low grievance level High cost-effectiveness (Adopted diagram from Guest 1997) The model highlights the below key points: Linking to the strategic management of an organisation (Bloisi 2005) Seeking commitment to meet organisational goals and quality of work Focussing on the individual needs rather than the collective workforce to decrease turnover and absence Enabling organisations to devolve power and become more flexible Focussing people as an asset to be positively utilised by the organisation (Bloisi 2005). 1.2 Review the differences between Storeys definition of HRM and personnel and IR practices. (P2) There are some differences between HRM and Personnel Management (PM) and Industrial Relation (IR) practices as there are a lot of different views and contradictions. HRM is a new managerial discipline that has different perspectives of PM and IR, but create a new and broader disciple as a results of different views and contradictions of these two (Beardwell and Holden 1997). The main aim of PM and IR is to serve the objectives of the employer, towards an approach which seeks to gain the commitment of the employees and aims to satisfy the requirements of stakeholders. On the other hand, HRM is a theoretical strategic approach of competitive advantage or organizational success factor of tomorrow and it should be strategically integrated and aligned with the business strategy. Storey (1992) has established a theoretical model based on how an organisation has evolved from PM and IR practice to HRM practices is called a model of shift to HRM. Storey has underlined 27 points of differences between PM and IR against HRM. These points are grouped into four categories: beliefs and assumptions e.g., PM and IR requires the careful delineation of contract while HRM seeks to encourage employees to go beyond contract strategic aspects e.g., PM and IR takes time to take decision while HRM takes customer oriented approach with fast speed of decision making line management e.g., management role with line managers in PM and IR is transactional while it is transformational in HRM key levers e.g., communication in PM and IR is restricted while in HRM it is increased; and pay is evaluation based in PM and IR while in HRM pay is performance based. If these two strategies are not closely aligned, the organisation will find itself pulling in different directions and not making any progress toward meeting goals. 1.3 Analyse HRM from a strategic perspective and its implications for the role of the line manager and employees. (P3) For competitive advantages, an organisation should change old ways of doing business where most of the burden and responsibility of change will fall onto first-line managers of HR. They share the burdens and responsibilities with other line managers and employees. The first-line managers play a crucial role in making strategies for HRM because they are responsible for executing HR practices at the workplace (Nehles et. al. 2006). If these strategies are not identified and created consistency across business units to ensure closely aligned towards the attainment of corporate objectives, the organisation will find itself pulling in different directions and not making any progress towards meeting goals. The challenges for line managers are given below: Rapidly changing of technology that lead to the changing of business environment Pressure to do more with fewer resources to minimise production and other cost Downsizing of the employees to cut labour cost Greater workforce diversity as customers expectations are too high Increasing gap between available skills and required skills for a job. The line managers need employees with up-to-dated skills, multi-skilled, committed toward organisational missions and visions and competency for role play. The line managers also need tools and information systems to make quick and effective decisions. The line manager is directly accountable for the program impact of HR decision, while the HR team or employee is directly accountable for the compliance of the action. HR managers and employees must need a range of skills to cope with the change and make a productive environment. In this case, HR department provides full support and takes the lead in helping managers identify the core knowledge, skills and abilities required to support the companys competitive advantage (Buhlel 1999). For example, for a specific task, HR department may need to conduct an assessment and identify particular training needs. Then HR training specialist will be called up to actually deliver the training program. The HRM should do the following for managers and employees regularly otherwise business objectives will not be met in the long term. Providing training for such as problem solving, decision making and change management Creating positive environment Providing feedback and counseling on the options available to accomplish particular task/program with timely and professional manner Providing assistance with timely manner Supportive attitudes shown by the HR teams Collaborative relationship between line manager and HR team to effect needed action. 2.1 Review and explain a model of flexibility and show how this might be applied in practice (P4). Show how the case company might identify and apply this model to solve their workforce issues (M1). Flexibility refers to adjust and deploy the skills of its employees to match the skills required by its changing workload and production methods. Professor Chai Feldblum said We believe workplace flexibility is good for employers and employees, so its worth the effort to get it right for employers and employees (Gurchiek 2009). HRM can design a job where employees can work with flexibility considering the issues such as scheduling of hours work such as nontraditional start and end times; the amount of hours worked such as job sharing, phased retirement and part time work; the place of work such as a remote location or home; and changing work hours over the month or through the year depending on the demands of the job such as working more hours during busy periods and taking time off in quiet times. Review and explain a model of flexibility and show how this might be applied in practice (P4) Show how the case company might identify and apply this model to solve their workforce issues Workforce flexibility increases productivity and job satisfaction. It helps the company to become top in the markets maintaining the culture of diversity and tolerance. The flexibility depends on the nature of the job. HRM will need to ensure that the organisational culture is tolerant of alternate work schedules. The British Gas can provide 24/7 services to its customers and distribute its workload throughout the day as part of diversity and good customer services. More staff can be scheduled to work at peak time and less staff for off-peak time. The company can employ some staff who can work from home or remote area to reduce cost and provide better services to its customers within possibly less waiting time. The company needs to provide adequate training and support including equipment so that staff can work from home or provide services on demand to its customers. As a result, the company may need to pay less salary to such staff. For example, staff working from home or working on demand doesnt need to travel and/or can look after children home at the same time and as a result, they can work at cheaper rate than staff working at office. The company can employ local and nationwide staff on demand rather than employing them permanently to provide a maintenance and breakdown service for electrical goods and home wiring. The staff can be paid depending on number of services they provide. In order to provide quick and quality service to its customers, many staff working from home or staff working on demand should be employed and trained and reviewed their performance regularly. The company should randomly record and review staff telephone conversations and services provided to its customers operating a customer satisfaction online or postal survey. These resources can be used to train staff as well. 2.1 Review and explain a model of flexibility and show how this might be applied in practice (P4) Show how the case company might identify and apply this model to solve their workforce issues. (M1) 2.2 Describe the need for flexibility and the types of flexibility which may be developed by an organisation and give examples of how they can be implemented (P5). The employees need for flexibility at workplace. As a result, they can work better and more productive way than others. The need for flexibility at work place is given below: employees can look after children at home or spend more time with children and can reduce childcare cost older workers could remain longer if number of hours are reduced makes positive difference in retention and stress among lower-wage employees than their more advantaged counterparts increases moral, job satisfaction and higher level of engagement (Drucker 2010) decrease stress or turnout attract talent people in the organisation reduce consumption of employee commuting time and fuel costs. Flexibility can be different types such as flextime- allows employees to select their starting and ending time within a range of hours, reduced time, flex-leave- allows time off during the workday to address personal and family issues and flex-career- allows multiple points for entry, exit and re-entry. A company like British Gas needs to decide the scope of flexibility and make a plan considering all possible options for flexibility at workplace. The company can implement flexibility in the following ways: develop a business case looking at comparable companies like nPower, EDFEnergy and Southern Electric and their experiences with flexibility (Friedman D. E. 2010) reviewing existing and past programs and company policies to see how well they are working and what needs improving determine flexible work options, negotiate with employees if possible and review. introduce a pilot scheme to see how they work before fully implementing them help supervisors and managers to learn new ways of managing, including how to solve problem and look for win-win solution (Friedman 2010). 2.3 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of flexibility working practices from both the employees and the employer perspective (P6). Flexibility is a management tool that can benefit employers and employees but it may not be welcomed by all employees of an organisation. Research shows that 78% of respondents reported that having access to flexible work options contributes to their success as employees to a moderate or great extent (Pitt-Catsouphes 2009). So flexibility should be applied creatively and it works best when all employees and customers are involved in the process of developing flexibility. Advantages Flexible workplace helps organisation if employers and employees get flexibility while they take decisions, they can do much better way and can save a lot of cost and bring a lot of revenue for the business. Flexibility in workplace help the employees providing flexibility like working from home and limited employment could ensure that employees are at their optimum working level. Disadvantages Lower wage workers are more likely to report that using flexibility will negatively affect their advancement (Richman 2006) If the employees are not responsible enough and/or they are not monitored regularly, the business might actually face lack of productivity During the hiring of the individuals or employing someone, flexibility options should be discussed in detail and care should be taken into consideration to ensure that only candidates who are serious about their jobs, careers and professions will be employed by the company. Indeed, the success or failure of the implementation of flexibility depends on how well the employees take it, how they use it to become more productive, instead of finding ways to shirk work and how the management assists them to implement it. The company should consider a range of workplace factors such as extent of access to flexible work options, supervisor support of flexibility, negative work-family culture and extent of utilisation of flexible work options to bring full advantages of flexibility at workplace (Pitt-Catsouphes et. al. 2009). 3.1 Describe the forms of discrimination that take place (P7) Recruitment and selection have been considered as areas for discrimination. In general the following two forms of discrimination take place (Bratton and Gold 2003) during recruitment and selection process: Direct where employees of a particular gender, race, age, colour or ethnic group are treated more favourably than other employees. For example, a policy to recruit only young persons to field workers. Indirect where particular requirements treat everybody equally but discriminate to a particular group where the requirement cannot be justified. For example, applicants for field workers should be 1.85 metres tall could result in a low proportion of female applicants. 3.2 Review how the legislative framework and any proposed changes relating to discrimination in the workplace can be applied by an organisation (P8). How has the above case company designed their recruitment policy to apply relevant law to avoid discrimination (M2). All organisations should be aware of legislation concerning discrimination in employment and have a duty to protect their employees from any discriminatory behaviour. According to the law, it is unlawful to discriminate against anyone on the grounds of their sex, age, race, disability, religion or martial status in recruitment, selection, promotion, pay, training, hiring, transfer, dismissal and all other activities and responsibilities related to HRM. An organisation like British Gas should avoid discrimination during recruitment and selection process. This is not only a legal requirement but also it gives the best chance of getting the right person for the job. The following changes can be proposed relating to discrimination in the workplace to avoid discrimination during recruitment: Ensure that best people are recruited on merit and the recruitment process is free from bias and discrimination Application form should contain minimum of personal details and some specific questions to avoid discrimination during selection process such as asking candidates to indicate special requirement to attend interview During interview, certain questions that are relevant to the persons ability should be asked only but must not be asked something that discriminate from other Assessment such as skill test and interview should be fair, reliable and valid throughout the recruitment process Fully investigate if a complaint of discrimination is made against selection Monitor recruitment process and update and review all policies regularly to meet employment law requirements fully Must take care while carrying out necessary checks such as checking necessary documents to ensure that the candidate has right to work in the UK. 3.3 Explain a range of current initiatives and practices which focus on equal opportunities in employment (P9). The HRM should follow rigorous and fair selection process to recruit suitable employees to ensure equal opportunity is everywhere. After employment, each employee should get equal opportunities to get promotion, development, training and to get all other facilities provided by the organisation, and terms and conditions are based solely on job related ability and merit. The British Gas should consider the following initiative and practices which focus on equal opportunities in employment: All managers and employees should have training on equal opportunities Review the effectiveness of the policy and identify practices that may lead discrimination Advise and take swift action if it is expected that discrimination is taking place Make arrangement so that employees can make complaint easily regarding any issue of discrimination and they are kept well informed the progress of the complaint Look creatively at new work patterns, employee practices and flexible working and promote the idea of equal opportunities throughout the organisation All staff should be treated with dignity and respect at work Employers should make an environment to prevent bullying and sexual harassment as they lead to job insecurity, illness, absent from work and even resignation (ACAS 2009) Equal pay and disability discrimination policies should be implemented seriously at workplace Because of ill health, dismissal from job must not be taken place and if it does, it can be considered as discrimination. 3.4 Compare and contrast equal opportunities and managing diversity (P10). In order to promote equal opportunities and diversity at workplace, first thing is to have equality and diversity policy, then it is backed up by action plan to promote the policy at workplace and ensure that it is understood and followed across the business including areas such as recruitment, training and pay to avoid discrimination (Web1 2010). In order to minimise or avoid the chance of discrimination over equal opportunities and managing diversity, the organisation needs to monitor the process following the steps: Collect monitoring data providing separate monitoring sheet with application form, through appraisal, performance evaluation and direct complaint and filling direct monitoring form Analyse collected data confidentiality Review policies and action plan where necessary. 4.1 Explain performance management in practice (P11). Using examples describe how organisation organize and manage performance appraisal activity (D2) and communicate these findings to the relevant human resources manager (M3). Performance management is one of the responsibilities carried out by top management to examine actual practice at workplace (Pollitt 2002). The senior managers should carry out a performance review and provide feedback regularly or at least once per year to their fellow employees providing an opportunity for discussion of career objectives and progressions, identifying training needs, assisting to develop individual abilities and help in succession planning to maximise career potential. The performance appraisal should cover issues such as salary, promotion, retention/termination, recognition of performance, layoffs, identification of poor performance, job requirements, legal requirements and analyzing past and present performance. Performance management is a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes, standards and quality of products and of their own skills, behaviour and contributions (CIPD 2010). The British Gas should organise and manage the following performance appraisal activities: Arrange appraisal meeting with employees to discuss training required to improve skills, knowledge, standards and procedures and self-appraisal Let employees to fill in appraisal form Identify actions that help lead to improvement including the time and goals for the follow-up meeting Review the agreed activities Give and receive feedback Make effective communication at all levels. Managers and/or supervisors at the workplace should have communications to ensure that each employees performance appraisal activities are done on time. They should use a common information system possible an online system or intranet that will allow easy storing and accessing of performance reports and training needs information and generate automatic reminder messages regarding performance meeting and any activities due to complete. Using and sharing such information system at workplace, trainers and supervisors can provide effective and specific training to improve staff performance. 4.2 Critically evaluate different human resource practice in the workplace (P12). Use critical reflection to the above justify whether human resource practices are followed at British Gas or indeed any other company of your choice (D1) An organisation can use many different human resource practices in the workplace to evaluate employees performance such as performance appraisal, electronic performance, monitoring of quality services, monitoring competitiveness, calculating employee turnover rate, 360 degree performance management feedback system and reviewing safety incident. These practices promote human resource development of an organisation. For example, monitoring of quality service involves the recording of calls, team leader listening to calls, the provision of feedback, coaching on telephone technique and service delivery and the 360 process allows for multiple points of view to be given on any given individual to improve performance and identify training needs. A decent company like British Gas practices many from the above and does almost everything to maintain excellent customer services. The company has many call centres all over the Europe and provides adequate training and monitors employees performance regularly. The British Gas has launched a website called http://www.britishgasjobs.co.uk/ as Careers at British Gas. The website can be developed further to promote human resource development. In order to make aware potential and existing employees, job descriptions of all posts should be available on the website and these should be updated regularly. Potential candidates can be referred to the website. Once there is a candidate, the online system should conduct behavioral and technical tests first, then need a telephone screening, then bring them in for a face-to-face interview. The company can also use self-learning/service software programs within company website to reduce administrative costs and time, to increase information access for employees and managers and improve information accuracy (Price 2007). 4.3 Evaluate the impact of globalization on issues such as human resource planning (P13). Changes in the global business environment such as rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT), global dimension, currency exchange rate and takeover or expansion overseas have major consequences for HR managers (Price 2007). As a result, factors outside of a companys control that will affect its requirements for human resources and ways of managing them change as well and the organizational needs human resource planning based on cost benefit analysis in advance to use and manage human resources to meet organisational needs and add greater value (Friedman 2007). Indeed, the ICT and reduction in communication costs has facilitated the globalisation and increased competition. So human resource planning in any organisation is vital to train and develop employees. It should be strong linked with recruitment, selection, career planning and development, performance appraisal and the remuneration system otherwise the organisation cannot compete. 4.4 Review the impact of different national cultures and practices human resource professionals can employ to manage a cultural diverse workforce (P14). Demonstrate convergent/lateral/create thinking while answering the above questions (D3). National cultures differ mainly in four areas which are labelled by Hofstede (1980) as dimensions and these are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism, and masculinity-femininity. Research shows that a human resource policy can be familiar and effective to a country but it may be unfamiliar and ineffective to another country due to cultural factor. For example, pay for the performance scheme is very popular in the USA and UK but it may not successfully be practiced in another country (Suharnomo 2009). Laurent (1986) found that decision making in Germany is more centralised than in UK. On the other hand, organisations in UK spend more money for employee well-being and middle management development program than many other countries (Suharnomo 2009). Newman Nollen (1996) indicated that organisation performance is better in the organisations where there is congruency between national culture and human resource practices. An organisation must adjust its management practice in accordance with the environment or national culture to achieve successful organisational performance. For example, career development is stronlgly related to national culture in UK and USA. An employee who has good character will likely be able to use their capability in a workplace with other people. So cooperation is very important for every employee to meet organisational objectives. Conclusions Organisations with better learning, training and development systems, reward and recognition, and information systems can promote human resource development and improve organisational performance. These should be measured, monitored and updated staff skills time to time to meet organisational objectives.