History of the Trumpet free essay sample

Trumpets are one of the oldest instruments. In ancient times, people used animal horns or shells like a trumpet. It was first used for signaling in ancient China (2000 SC), Egypt (1 500 SC), and Scandinavia (1000 SC). It was long and had no valves. In Roman times, the trumpet was played at military and civilian ceremonies. The first musical use of the trumpet was in the late sasss where it had acquired the folded shape similar to todays. In the 1 asss, Emergent, Germany became the center of trumpet making.During that time, the first music for trumpets was written. In the late sasss, the trumpet became a regular member of the orchestra. Short pieces of tubing called crooks were invented and used to lengthen or shorten the trumpet so it could play more notes. In the 17th to 18th century, trumpets were mostly in the key of D of C for courtly purposes and E flat or F in the military. We will write a custom essay sample on History of the Trumpet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The valve trumpet was invented in 1815, making crooks unnecessary. Today, trumpets are usually played In orchestras, Jazz bands, brass ensembles, popular music and bands. Different sized trumpets have different pitches and are used in different musical groups. Most trumpets in bands are in the key of B flat major. Historically, trumpets were used for many different things but music was not thought of until the late sasss. Louis Armstrong , born In 1901 and died In 1971, was a trumpet player. He was one of the most famous and Influential trumpet player In Jazz history. Many people thought he was the greatest Jazz cornet and trumpet player In the world.He was born in New Orleans and he learned to play the trumpet while serving a sentence for leniency In the Home for Colored Waifs. Dizzy Gillespie, born In 1917 and died In 1993, was also a trumpet player. He was an American trumpet player, composer, and band leader. Dizzy Gillespie real name is John Barks Gillespie. He was born In Chewer, South Carolina. Dizzy co founded the bebop Jazz movement with Charlie Parker and Theologies Monk. I have chosen a recording to listen to, from a CD called Trumpets In Modern Jazz. It Is called Cush and the performer Is Dizzy Gillespie. I chose this recording because I new Dizzy Gillespie was famous and I wanted to hear how he played the trumpet and to see If he really Is as good as everyone says. Trumpets may be loud and annoying sometimes but they have survived through the years so treat trumpets with respect and It might let out the best music In the world. Today, trumpets are usually played in orchestras, Jazz bands, brass ensembles, Louis Armstrong , born in 1901 and died in 1971, was a trumpet player. He was one of the most famous and influential trumpet player in Jazz history.

The Appreciation Of An Exchange Rate †Economics Essay

The Appreciation Of An Exchange Rate – Economics Essay Free Online Research Papers The Appreciation Of An Exchange Rate Economics Essay The appreciation of a exchange rate can send mixed feelings and mixed signals. It is important you read those signals adequately. An appreciating exchange rate has numerous affects in the economy. Its appreciating sends ripples through the economy. The exchange affects the amount of a commodity we buy .It also has an impact on what type of commodity we buy. Yet purchases are not the only thing affected. The selling of our commodities and merchandise is affected as much if not more. When our exchange rate appreciates it means that our dollar is appreciating. This has its ups and downs. Often nations will fix their exchange to get what they think is the biggest advantage. Fortunately Australia has a free exchange rate which means that it is not controlled. The appreciation of our dollar affects things such as the following. Imports are less expensive Exports drop due to their price CAD will rise because of more demand of imports Foreign investment will fall due to contraction in export and domestic competing markets. When our exchange rate appreciates it will cause our exports to fall. The reason for this is because our dollar is now stronger which means our international buyers find it dearer to buy from us. They have to pay us in Australian dollar but because our dollar is stronger it is too expensive for them to buy from us. One of the winners in the appreciating of our exchange rate is imports. As our dollar appreciates and gets stronger it will mean that our buying power will increase on the international market. The way it works, take for example of a buyer from Australia buying coffee from Argentina. Previously he could buy two bags for a dollar now that our dollar is stronger we can buy more of their currencies which means he can now buy three bags of coffee. Now you might think this is a good thing but there are always two sides to every tale. Now that our dollar is stronger the domestic market can purchase imports comparatively cheaper than before. This means an increase in things like luxury items. This is where the problems start. The moment the private sector start buying imported goods and luxury items it increases our international debt and our CAD. This is not the only problem say for example both Australia and Japan both make shoes. Now that our dollar is stronger it means that it is cheaper for us to buy the shoes made in Japan rather than the local shoes. This causes a couple of problems. Firstly it means that our money and incomes are flowing out of the country and secondly because we are know buying shoes from overseas our local industries suffer which then creates unemployment. Another industry and sector of the public that will find the appreciation of the exchange rate good is the people that travel overseas. The reason for this is that if the dollar appreciates they will lose less or might not lose anything when converting their currencies. Things that they buy overseas will also be cheaper for them than previously. One of the main groups that will prosper form the appreciation of the dollar is the debtors. Companies that have huge foreign debt will prosper while the dollar is strong. The reason for this is that if the dollar gets stronger we can payback more of the debt because we can buy more of the local currency than before the appreciation. Yet one thing that is sure to hurt Australia if the exchange rate appreciates is the decline in overseas tourists. If our dollar gets to strong it will be very expensive for tourists to come and visit our nation. The cost of it would deter many tourists. The main problem for them would be when they have to convert their currency into ours they would lose a sufficient amount. This is hard to imagine yet countries in Europe experienced this problem when they joined the Euro because it became very expensive for tourists. Research Papers on The Appreciation Of An Exchange Rate - Economics EssayDefinition of Export QuotasThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalTwilight of the UAWThe Project Managment Office SystemBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of Self19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy

Reseach paper on the tectonic plate and hot spots in Yellow Stone Research

Reseach on the tectonic plate and hot spots in Yellow Stone National Park, Wyoming - Research Paper Example The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is home to an enormous biodiversity of insects, birds and mammals, all of which are coming under increasing pressure from a growing human population. Human Population and Economics The population of Wyoming alone is estimated to be around 522,830 (Local Census) and the GYR has one of the fastest population growth rates in the U.S. (Hansen et al.). Population growth in the GYR is driven by ecological and social, rather than economic factors, with ‘quality of life’ being the predominant reason stated for relocation reasons. The most common businesses are tourism related or are service industry businesses such as insurance and real estate firms (Rasker and Hansen 30). A large percentage of the population is also retired (Ibid 31). The state GDP as of 2005 was $27.4 billion (Local Census) Historical population levels were far fewer and centered on extraction industries such as mining, logging, grazing and agriculture. These industries now only represent 5% of the region’s economic output (Rasker and Hansen 30). Developments are being built on the 3million acres of privately owned land that was previously used for agricultural purposes. These lands fringe the federally owned parklands of the GYR (Rasker and Hansen 30). ... he GYE Animal populations of the GYE include large and varied populations of herbivorous, insectivorous, and predatory bird species, insects, reptiles, fish and herbivorous, omnivorous and carnivorous mammals. Many of these species are registered as endangered. The grizzly bear is common to the region, as are large herds of grazing ungulates, including some of the last bison and Elk herds in North America. The wolf has also been successfully re-introduced to the region (Yellowstone National Park). Most bird species reside in lowlands where primary productivity is at its highest and the climate most agreeable. This places them directly in competition with human populations for productive lands (Hansen et al.). Geology, Volcanism and Seismicity of the GYE YNP is located in a volcanic caldera or ‘super volcano’ that was formed about 600,000 years ago (kya). The Yellowstone caldera (YC) lies above a ridge centred, mid-continental hotspot/magma plume that continues to be volc anically active (Foulger and Natland 922). The ridge forms the north-easternmost part of one of two volcanic chains in western America that are linked in origin to the Juan de Fuca Plate subducting beneath the North American Plate (Suppe, Powell and Berry 400). The YC is situated at the convergence of the Western U.S. Plate and the North American Plate. The Western Plate’s eastern boundary is fastened to the Yellowstone hotspot and it is slowly drifting eastwards, creating the Great Basin (Suppe, Powell and Berry 400). A volcanic eruption has not occurred since 70kya when lava flows covered much of the region (Brantley et al. 1). The YC continues to be volcanically active, as evidenced by YNP’s famous geothermal features and the high frequency of earthquakes that occur in the region. Thousands

Menu Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Menu Analysis - Research Paper Example In essence, the prices are placed some point in the midst of a description, which does not appeal to the client. The menu design should be able to capture the client’s eyes and mind to enable quick but correct decision-making. A well-designed menu such as a letter fold format helps the customer to follow, the description as given by the hotel aide. As per the price menu under consideration, the hotel check indicates that, the hotel lies in the class of tourist, the lowest class in the hotel rating. The pricing and the foods offered indicate the class of the hotel must be low. For instance, the cost of the garden griller, which is $8.75, is relatively low compared to one or two stars hotels. The first flaw in this menu is the lack of the name of the hotel. The name of the hotel is a critical component on the menu. It adds confidence to the clients. The other flaw explicit in this menu is the use of plastic cover. This is really disorienting to the clients who judge the quality of the foods and beverage from the appearance and quality of the menu. A good menu should have a canvas or hard cover. This makes it appealing to the clients. In the case of pricing, the foods and beverages should be priced accordingly to ensure that appropriate profit margins are achieved. The dollar sign used should be avoided. Overpricing or under pricing should be avoided by first assessing the industrial average prices per a certain type of food or beverage. In addition, the anticipated profit margin should be calculated relative to the buying price of the material and the labour used. This will ensure that the hotel does not run on losses and at the same time, it does not loose customers due to exorbitant prices. This implies that, despite the menu being an internal instrument of a hotel, it should be well compared with the rest within the same industry. In essence, pricing methods such as those based on competition, factor

Alcoa Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Alcoa Inc - Essay Example It has a large product base – most of them are considered as most sustainable products. Serving different markets ranging from Aerospace to consumer packaging industry, Alcoa, over the period of time has been able to generate strong growth rates. Further it is also being continuously expanding into various markets and currently most of its revenue growth is coming from China. Based on the projections of the China’s future economic performance and strong demand being generated from that region, it is largely believed that the future performance of the company would largely depend upon how the Chinese economy performs. This is also because of the fact that the growth in North American markets for the company has been negative and considering the recent credit crunch in the market, it is largely anticipated that the demand from the traditional region of business for Alcoa would decrease substantially and company has to rely on the other markets to develop. Alcoa is the leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum as alumina facilities and is also an active player in other aspects of the industry also. It products are served in markets like Aerospace, Alumina, Aluminum Ingot, Automotive, Building and construction, commercial transportation, Industrial Products and services as well as packaging and other consumer products. â€Å"In addition to aluminum products and components including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa ® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems† (Alcoa, 2008). The company has a presence in almost 34 countries with 97000 employees working for the company in various positions in various countries. It has been the honor of the company that it has been labeled as most sustainable company in the world in World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland. The company has a record of working on creating an environment which is often considered as safer

The Development of Soft Skill Training in the Workplace

The Development of Soft Skill Training in the Workplace Introduction Since the beginning of the twentieth century and especially after World War II, training programs have become widespread among organizations in the United States, involving more and more employees and also expanding in content. In the 1910s, only a few large companies such as Westinghouse, General Electric, and International Harvester had factory schools that focused on training technical skills for entry-level workers. By the 1990s, forty percent of the Fortune 500 firms have had a corporate university or learning center. In recent decades, as the U.S. companies are confronted with technological changes, domestic social problems and global economic competition, training programs in organizations have received even more attention, touted as almost a panacea for organizational problem. The enormous expansion in the content of training programs over time has now largely been taken for granted. Now people would rarely question the necessity of training in conversational skills. However, back to the 1920s, the idea that organizations should devote resources to training employees in such skills would have been regarded as absurd. Such skills clearly were not part of the exact knowledge and methods that the employee will use on his particular job or the job just ahead of him. Nevertheless, seventy years later, eleven percent of U.S. organizations deem communications skills as the most important on their priority lists of training, and many more regard it as highly important. More than three hundred training organizations specialize in communications training (Training and Development Organizations Directory, 1994). Previous studies on training have largely focused on the incidence of formal training and the total amount of training offered. This study, however, draws attention to the enormous expansion in the content of training with an emphasis on the rise of personal development training (or popularly known as the soft skills training, such as leadership, teamwork, creativity, conversational skills and time management training). Personal development training can be defined as training programs that aim at improving ones cognitive and behavioral skills in dealing with one self and others. It is intended to develop ones personal potential and is not immediately related to the technical aspects of ones job tasks. Monahan, Meyer and Scott (1994) describe the spread of personal development training programs based on their survey of and interviews with more than one hundred organizations in Northern California. Training programs became more elaborate; they incorporated, in addition to technical tra ining for workers and human relations training for supervisors and managers, a widening array of developmental, personal growth, and self-management courses. Courses of this nature include office professionalism, time management, individual contributor programs, entrepreneur, transacting with people, and applying intelligence in the workplace, career management, and structured problem solving. Courses are also offered on health and personal well-being, including safe diets, exercise, mental health, injury prevention, holiday health, stress and nutrition. Training Excuses Training is one element many corporations consider when looking to advance people and offer promotions. Although many employees recognize the high value those in management place on training and development, some employees are still reluctant to be trained. It is not uncommon to hear excuses regarding why someone has not received training. Some people are just comfortable in what they are doing. Some fail to see the value of training because they really believe that they already know it all. And while that might be true, the knowledge value of training and development is not the only perk. Training and development offers more than just increased knowledge. It offers the added advantage of networking and drawing from others experiences. When you attend a seminar or event with others who have jobs that are much like yours, you have the added benefit of sharing from life experience. The seminar notes or the conference leader might not give you the key nugget you take back and implement in the workplace. Your best piece of advice for the day might come from the peer sitting beside you. Another common excuse is that there is not enough money budgeted to pay for training. Who said that training always carries a heavy enrollment fee? Training can be free. You can set up meetings with peers who are in similar positions and ask how they are doing their jobs. Follow someone for a day to see how he organizes or manages his work and time. The cost to you is a day out of your normal routine, so the only drawback may be working a little harder on an assignment to catch up from a day out of the office. You usually dont think twice about taking a day of vacation, so why should a day of training be any different? Time is another often-heard excuse when training and development is mentioned. Have you considered that training and development might actually give you more time? Often the procedures, ideas, short cuts, and timesaving hints learned in training and development sessions equal more time in the long run. Have you heard the old saying that you have to spend money to make money? Well, in a sense, the same is true for training and development. You have to devote some time to training and development to make you more productive in the long run. What is Training in terms of organization? Transferring information and knowledge to employers and equipping employers to translate that information and knowledge into practice with a view to enhancing organization effectiveness and productivity, and the quality of the management of people. It also means that in organizational development, the related field of training and development (T D) deals with the design and delivery of workplace learning to improve performance. Difference between Training and Learning There is a big difference: Training implies putting skills into people, when actually we should be developing people from the inside out, beyond skills, i.e., facilitating learning. So focus on facilitating learning, not imposing training. Emotional maturity, integrity, and compassion are more important than skills and processes. If you are in any doubt, analyze the root causes of your organizations successes and your failures they will never be skills and processes. Enable and encourage the development of the person in any way that you can. Give people choice we all learn in different ways, and we all have our own strengths and potential, waiting to be fulfilled. Talk about learning, not training. Focus on the person, from the inside out, not the outside in; and offer opportunities for people to develop as people in as many ways you can. A Brief Critique of Previous Approaches to Employee Training It is a classic question in the training field, first raised by human capital theorists, that why firms train their employees. Many attempts have been made to address this question, but the question of why firms provide general-skill training has not been fully understood. There have been two main theoretical approaches towards employee training, namely, the human capital approach and the technology-based approach. The human capital approach regards training as investment in human capital. Training is provided only when the benefit from productivity gains is greater than the cost of training. The technology-based approach regards training as a skill formation process. According to this approach, the expanded training in the contemporary period is driven by the rapidly changing technologies and work reorganization. These two approaches are popular in academic and policy discussions. What they have in common is that they assume an instrumental logic and technical rationality behind tra ining decisions. Training is provided because it satisfies the functional needs of an organization. Studies with these approaches have largely overlooked the content of employee training, as if all kinds of training programs equally contribute to human capital accumulation or skill formation. Moreover, personal development training becomes a puzzle if viewed from these approaches, because it does not seem to follow from an instrumental logic or technical rationality. The Puzzle about Personal Development Training The puzzle about personal development training comes in the following four ways. First, it is not innately or immediately related to the technical aspects of specific job tasks. Second, prior need analysis is rarely conducted for such training, despite suggestions to do so in many training handbooks. Third, organizations and trainers seldom conduct evaluations of behavior or outcome changes brought out by such training. Evaluation, when there is one, is often about how one feels about the training or what one has learned. The evaluation questionnaire is often called a smile sheet, as trainees often respond happily to the questions. But the impact of the training remains uncertain. Fourth, the rapid expansion of personal development training has taken place in the absence of scientific evidence of any link between such training and improvement in organizational bottom lines. Core Argument So, why have organizations increasingly engaged in personal development training? It is because that the rise of the participatory citizenship model of organization over time has driven the expansion of personal development training in organizations. This argument is based on an institutional perspective towards organizations. It is distinct from previous approaches to training in two ways. First, it recognizes that training is not only provided to satisfy functional needs of firms, but is also shaped by the shared understanding about individuals and organizations, which is called organizational model in this study and is independent of the functional needs. Second, training decisions are not only affected by the internal conditions of an organization, but are also affected by the dominant ideologies and practices in the organizational field. Importance of Developing a Role in Training Developing a national role in training is important for an employers organization for several reasons. First, it enables the organization to contribute to the development of a countrys human capital, through its influence on education policies and systems and training by public training institutions, to better serve business needs. It also enables it to influence employers in regard to the need for them to invest more in training and employee development which employers should recognize as one key to their competitiveness in the future. Second, it provides an important service to members, especially in industrial relations in respect of which sources of training for employers in developing countries are few. Third, it is an important source of income provided the organization can deliver relevant quality training. Fourth, it compels its own staff to improve their knowledge without which they cannot offer training to enterprises through their own staff. Fifth, the knowledge required for training increases the quality of other services provided by the organization policy lobbying, advisory and representation services. Sixth, it contributes to better human relations at the enterprise level and therefore to better enterprise performance, by matching corporate goals and people management policies. Finally, it improves the overall image of the organization and invests it with a degree of professionalism, which can lead to increased membership and influence. Many entrepreneurs seem to view employee training and developmen t as more optional than essentiala viewpoint that can be costly to both short-term profits and long-term progress. The primary reason training is considered optional by so many business owners is because its viewed more as an expense than an investment. This is completely understandable when you realize that in many companies, training and development arent focused on producing a targeted result for the business. As a result, business owners frequently send their people to training courses that seem right and sound good without knowing what to expect in return. But without measurable results, its almost impossible to view training as anything more than an expense. Now contrast that approach to one where trainings viewed as a capital investment with thoughtful consideration as to how youre going to obtain an acceptable rate of return on your investment. And a good place to start your thoughtful consideration is with a needs analysis. As it relates to training and development, needs analysis is really an outcome analysiswhat do you want out of this training? Ask yourself, Whats going to change in my business or in the behavior or performance of my employees as a result of this training thats going to help my company? Be forewarned: This exercise requires you to take time to think it through and focus more on your processes than your products. As you go through this analysis, consider the strengths and weaknesses in your company and try to identify the deficiencies that, when corrected, represent a potential for upside gain in your business. Common areas for improvement in many companies is helping supervisors better manage for performance. Many people are promoted into managerial positions because theyre technically good at their jobs, but they arent trained as managers to help their subordinates achieve peak performance. Determining your training and development needs based on targeted results is only the beginning. The next step is to establish a learning dynamic for your company. In todays economy, if your business isnt learning, then youre going to fall behind. And a business learns as its people learn. Your employees are the ones that produce, refine, protect, deliver and manage your products or services every day, year in, year out. With the rapid pace and international reach of the 21st century marketplace, continu al learning is critical to your businesss continued success. To create a learning culture in your business, begin by clearly communicating your expectation that employees should take the steps necessary to hone their skills to stay on top of their professions or fields of work. Make sure you support their efforts in this area by supplying the resources they need to accomplish this goal. Second, communicate to your employees the specific training needs and targeted results youve established as a result of your needs analysis. Third, provide a sound introduction and orientation to your companys culture, including your learning culture, to any new employees you hire. This orientation should introduce employees to your company, and provide them with proper training in the successful procedures your companys developed and learned over time. Every successful training and development program also includes a component that addresses your current and future leadership needs. At its core, this component must provide for the systematic identification and development of your managers in terms of the leadership style that drives your business and makes it unique and profitable. Have you spent time thoughtfully examining the style of leadership thats most successful in your environment and that you want to promote? What steps are you taking to develop those important leadership traits in your people? Financial considerations related to training can be perplexing, but in most cases, the true budgetary impact depends on how well you manage the first three components (needs analysis, learning and leadership). If your training is targeted to specific business results, then youre more likely to be happy with what you spend on training. But if the training budget isnt related to specific outcomes, then money is more likely to be spent on courses that have no positive impact on the company. In many organizations, training budgets are solely a function of whether the company is enjoying an economic upswing or enduring a downturn. In good times, companies tend to spend money on training thats not significant to the organization, and in bad times, the pendulum swings to the other extreme and training is eliminated altogether. In any economic environment, the training expense should be determined by the targeted business results you want, not other budget-related factors. To help counter this tendency, sit down and assess your training and development needs once or twice a year to identify your needs and brainstorm how to achieve your desired results effectively and efficiently. Your employees are your principle business asset. Invest in them thoughtfully and strategically, and youll reap rewards that pay off now and for years to come. Beyond Training: Training and Development Training is generally defined as change in behavior yet, how many trainers and managers forget that, using the term training only as applicable to skills training? What about the human element? What about those very same people we want to train? What about their individual beliefs, backgrounds, ideas, needs and aspirations? In order to achieve long-term results through training, we must broaden our vision to include people development as part of our strategic planning. Although training covers a broad range of subjects under the three main categories (skills, attitude, knowledge), using the term training without linking it to development narrows our concept of the training function and leads us to failure. When we limit our thinking, we fall into the trap of: Classifying people into lots and categories Thinking of trainees as robots expected to perform a job function Dismissing the individual characteristics of people and the roles they play Focusing only on what needs to be done without adequately preparing the trainees involved to accept and internalize what is being taught. We are dealing with human thoughts, feelings and reactions which must be given equal attention than to the skill itself. We thus create a double-focus: people development and skills training. These two simultaneous objectives will give us the right balance and guide our actions to reach our goal. To clarify our training and development objectives, and identify our criteria for success, we must ask ourselves a few questions: Do we expect an automatic, faultless job performance? Does attitude count? Does goodwill count? Do loyalty and dedication count? Does goal-sharing count? Does motivation count? Do general knowledge and know-how count? Do people-skills count? Does an inquisitive mind count? Does initiative count? Does a learning attitude count? Does a sense of responsibility count? Do team efforts count? Do good work relations count? Does creative input count? Do we want employees to feel proud of their role and contribution? How can we expect such qualities and behavior if we consider and treat our personnel as skills performers? However, we could achieve the desired results if we address the personal development needs of the employees involved. When we plan for both training and development, we achieve a proper balance between the needs of the company and those of the trainees. The synergy created takes us to new levels, to a continuing trend of company growth. Our consideration of the people involved results in work motivation, goal-sharing, and a sense of partnership. Not only do the employee-trainees perform at the desired levels, but they offer to the company and its customers their hidden individual gifts and talents, and this reflects itself in the quality of service. Customers feel and recognize efficient performance, motivation and team-work. They become loyal customers. We can learn from the case of a small restaurant operator who had become desperate at the negligent attitude of his servers, resulting in customer complaints. He decided to seek professional expertise to help him replace his employees with motivated, trained people fresh out of a waiters training school. Following some probing questions it came to light that, besides hourly pay, he did not offer much to attract and retain loyal and dedicated employees. Through professional consultation, he came to realize that even if he paid higher wages to new trained employees, the problem would persist because employees want more than wages from their work place. They want: Organization and professional management Information regarding the business and its customers Recognition for their role in the companys success Acknowledgement of their individual capacities and contributions Positive discipline / fairness A say in the way the business is run. The restaurant operator realized that until then he had treated his employees as plate carriers and this is exactly how they had behaved and performed. He was ready to change his mode of operation: he diverted his focus to the needs of his employees, re-structured his organisation, planned new operational strategies, a human resources strategy, training and development guidelines, disciplinary rules and regulations. He communicated and shared these in a meeting with his employees and handed out the employee handbook prepared for that purpose. He also reminded them of their responsibilities towards the business, the customers, and themselves (taking charge of their own training, development, and work performance). They were more than pleased when he asked them to express their opinions, make comments and suggestions. He was surprised at the immediate transformation that took place. He began receiving excellent reviews from his customers, the employees worked as a team, their motivation sky-rocketed and he never had to replace them! All this was accomplished by extending the previous concept of training to that of training and people development. Training and Development represents a complete whole that triggers the mind, emotions and employees best work performance. It is not only business managers and owners who must do this shift in thinking, but Human Resources Directors and Training Managers (whose title should be Training and Development Managers). By their actions, they should offer a personal example, coaching and guiding all the people in an organisation to think beyond training and invest efforts in people: Professional development Personal development. Contrary to what some managers think, people do not quit a place of work as soon as they have grown personally and professionally through training and development programs at least they do not do so for a long while. They become loyal to their employer and help him/her grows business-wise, which offers them more opportunities. They chart their own course for career advancement within the broader framework of organizational growth. Do we not call employees our human resources asset? Whatever their positions, each expect to be treated as such; when they are, they give more than their physical presence at work. Training Evaluation Training Improving business performance is a journey, not a destination. Business performance rises and falls with the ebb and flow of human performances. HR professionals lead the search for ways to enhance the effectiveness of employees in their jobs today and prepare them for tomorrow. Over the years, training programmes have grown into corporate with these goals in mind. Training programmes should enhance performance and enrich the contributions of the workforce. The ultimate goal of training is to develop appropriate talent in the workforce internally. In India, training as an activity has been going on as a distinct field with its own roles, structures and budgets, but it is still young. This field is however; expanding fast but controversy seems to envelop any attempts to find benefits commensurate with the escalating costs of training. Training has made significant contributions to development of all kinds. Training is essential; doubts arise over its contribution in practice. Complaints are growing over its ineffectiveness and waste. The training apparatus and costs have multiplied but not its benefits. Dissatisfaction persists and is growing at the working level where the benefits of training should show up most clearly. This disillusionment shows in many ways reluctance to send the most promising people for training, inadequate use of personnel after training etc. With disillusionment mounting in the midst of expansion, training has entered a dangerous phase in its development. Training is neither a panacea for all ills nor is it a waste of time. What is required is an insight into what training can or cannot do and skill in designing and carrying out training effectively and economically. The searchlight of inquiry may make the task and challenges stand out too starkly, too simply. Using experience with training in India and other rapidly developing countries has this advantage at similar risk. The contribution that training can make to development is needed acutely and obviously. At the same time, the limited resources available in these countries make this contribution hard to come by. These lines are sharply drawn; on the one hand, no promise can be ignored; on the other, no waste is permissible. Much of the training provided today proceeds as if knowledge and action were directly related. This assumption is itself a striking illustration of the wide gulf that separates the two. On a continuum with personal maturation and growth at one end and improvement in performance of predetermined tasks at the other, education lies near the former, and training near the later. Focusing training on skill in action makes the task wide and complex. Training embraces an understanding of the complex processes by which various factors that make up a situation interact. For every training strategy, no matter which, the proper focus right from the very outset is on one or more people on-the-job-in-the-organization this whole amalgam. Wherever the focus moves during the training programme, the starting point becomes the focus again at the end. The difference lies in what people have learned that they now apply. That difference, in terms of more effective behavior is the measure of the efficacy of training. The training process is made up of three phases: Phase 1: Pre-training. This may also be called the preparation phase. The process starts with an understanding of the situation requiring more effective behavior. An organizations concerns before training lie mainly in four areas: Clarifying the precise objectives of training and the use the organization expects to make of the participants after training; selection of suitable participants; building favorable expectations and motivation in the participants prior to the training; and planning for any changes that improved task performance will require in addition to training. Phase 2: Training. During the course of the training, participants focus their attention on the new impressions that seem useful, stimulating and engaging. There is no guarantee that the participants will in fact learn what they have chosen. But the main purpose remains: participants explore in a training situation what interests them, and a training institutions basic task is to provide the necessary opportunities. Having explored, participants try out some new behavior. If they find the new behavior useful, they try it again, check it for effectiveness and satisfaction, try it repeatedly and improve it. Finally, they incorporate this new facet into their habitual behavior in the training situation. If they do not find it useful, they discard it, try some variant, or discontinue learning in this direction. The intricate process of selection and testing is continuous and more or less conscious. It is important that work organizations meanwhile prepare the conditions for improved performance by their participants upon their return. Phase 3: Post-training. This may be called the follow up phase. When, training per se concludes, the situation changes. When the participants return back to work from the training, a process of adjustment begins for everyone involved. The newly learned skills undergo modification to fit the work situation. Participants may find their organizations offering encouragement to use the training and also support for continuing contact with the training institution. On the other hand, they may step into a quagmire of negativity. More effective behavior of people on the job in the organization is the primary objective of the training process as a whole. In the simplest training process, improvement is a dependent variable, and participants and organizations independent variables. The training process has the following major objectives: Improvement in Performance Training will be an important aid to managers for developing themselves as well as their subordinates. It is not a substitute for development on the job, which comes from doing, experiencing, observing, giving and receiving feedback and coaching. Research has shown that 80% of a persons development takes place on the job. However, training can contribute the vital 20% that makes the difference. Training can bring about an improvement in a persons: Knowledge Skills Attitude Thereby raising his potential to perform better on the job. Growth Training is also directed towards developing people for higher levels of responsibility thereby reducing the need for recruiting people from outside. This would have the effect of improving the morale of the existing employees. Organizational Effectiveness In company training provides a means for bringing about organizational development. It can be used for strengthening values, building teams, improving inter-group relations and quality of work life. The ultimate objective of training in the long run is to improve the companys performance through people performing better. Benefits of Training Evaluation Evaluation has three main purposes: Feedback to help trainers understand the extent to which objectives are being met and the effectiveness of particular learning activities as an aid to continuous improvement Control to make sure training policy and practice are aligned with organizational goals and delivering cost-effective solutions to organizational issues Intervention to raise awareness of key issues such as pre-course and post-course briefing and the selection of delegates Evaluation is itself a learning process. Training which has been planned and delivered is reflected on. Views on how to do it better are formulated and tested .The outcome may be to: Abandon the training Redesign the training new sequence, new methods, new content, new trainer Redesign the preparation/pre-work new briefing material, new pre-course work Rethink the timing of the training earlier or later in peoples career, earlier or later in the training programme, earlier or later in the company calendar Leave well alone The following are the clear benefits of evaluation: Improved quality of training activities Improved The Development of Soft Skill Training in the Workplace The Development of Soft Skill Training in the Workplace Introduction Since the beginning of the twentieth century and especially after World War II, training programs have become widespread among organizations in the United States, involving more and more employees and also expanding in content. In the 1910s, only a few large companies such as Westinghouse, General Electric, and International Harvester had factory schools that focused on training technical skills for entry-level workers. By the 1990s, forty percent of the Fortune 500 firms have had a corporate university or learning center. In recent decades, as the U.S. companies are confronted with technological changes, domestic social problems and global economic competition, training programs in organizations have received even more attention, touted as almost a panacea for organizational problem. The enormous expansion in the content of training programs over time has now largely been taken for granted. Now people would rarely question the necessity of training in conversational skills. However, back to the 1920s, the idea that organizations should devote resources to training employees in such skills would have been regarded as absurd. Such skills clearly were not part of the exact knowledge and methods that the employee will use on his particular job or the job just ahead of him. Nevertheless, seventy years later, eleven percent of U.S. organizations deem communications skills as the most important on their priority lists of training, and many more regard it as highly important. More than three hundred training organizations specialize in communications training (Training and Development Organizations Directory, 1994). Previous studies on training have largely focused on the incidence of formal training and the total amount of training offered. This study, however, draws attention to the enormous expansion in the content of training with an emphasis on the rise of personal development training (or popularly known as the soft skills training, such as leadership, teamwork, creativity, conversational skills and time management training). Personal development training can be defined as training programs that aim at improving ones cognitive and behavioral skills in dealing with one self and others. It is intended to develop ones personal potential and is not immediately related to the technical aspects of ones job tasks. Monahan, Meyer and Scott (1994) describe the spread of personal development training programs based on their survey of and interviews with more than one hundred organizations in Northern California. Training programs became more elaborate; they incorporated, in addition to technical tra ining for workers and human relations training for supervisors and managers, a widening array of developmental, personal growth, and self-management courses. Courses of this nature include office professionalism, time management, individual contributor programs, entrepreneur, transacting with people, and applying intelligence in the workplace, career management, and structured problem solving. Courses are also offered on health and personal well-being, including safe diets, exercise, mental health, injury prevention, holiday health, stress and nutrition. Training Excuses Training is one element many corporations consider when looking to advance people and offer promotions. Although many employees recognize the high value those in management place on training and development, some employees are still reluctant to be trained. It is not uncommon to hear excuses regarding why someone has not received training. Some people are just comfortable in what they are doing. Some fail to see the value of training because they really believe that they already know it all. And while that might be true, the knowledge value of training and development is not the only perk. Training and development offers more than just increased knowledge. It offers the added advantage of networking and drawing from others experiences. When you attend a seminar or event with others who have jobs that are much like yours, you have the added benefit of sharing from life experience. The seminar notes or the conference leader might not give you the key nugget you take back and implement in the workplace. Your best piece of advice for the day might come from the peer sitting beside you. Another common excuse is that there is not enough money budgeted to pay for training. Who said that training always carries a heavy enrollment fee? Training can be free. You can set up meetings with peers who are in similar positions and ask how they are doing their jobs. Follow someone for a day to see how he organizes or manages his work and time. The cost to you is a day out of your normal routine, so the only drawback may be working a little harder on an assignment to catch up from a day out of the office. You usually dont think twice about taking a day of vacation, so why should a day of training be any different? Time is another often-heard excuse when training and development is mentioned. Have you considered that training and development might actually give you more time? Often the procedures, ideas, short cuts, and timesaving hints learned in training and development sessions equal more time in the long run. Have you heard the old saying that you have to spend money to make money? Well, in a sense, the same is true for training and development. You have to devote some time to training and development to make you more productive in the long run. What is Training in terms of organization? Transferring information and knowledge to employers and equipping employers to translate that information and knowledge into practice with a view to enhancing organization effectiveness and productivity, and the quality of the management of people. It also means that in organizational development, the related field of training and development (T D) deals with the design and delivery of workplace learning to improve performance. Difference between Training and Learning There is a big difference: Training implies putting skills into people, when actually we should be developing people from the inside out, beyond skills, i.e., facilitating learning. So focus on facilitating learning, not imposing training. Emotional maturity, integrity, and compassion are more important than skills and processes. If you are in any doubt, analyze the root causes of your organizations successes and your failures they will never be skills and processes. Enable and encourage the development of the person in any way that you can. Give people choice we all learn in different ways, and we all have our own strengths and potential, waiting to be fulfilled. Talk about learning, not training. Focus on the person, from the inside out, not the outside in; and offer opportunities for people to develop as people in as many ways you can. A Brief Critique of Previous Approaches to Employee Training It is a classic question in the training field, first raised by human capital theorists, that why firms train their employees. Many attempts have been made to address this question, but the question of why firms provide general-skill training has not been fully understood. There have been two main theoretical approaches towards employee training, namely, the human capital approach and the technology-based approach. The human capital approach regards training as investment in human capital. Training is provided only when the benefit from productivity gains is greater than the cost of training. The technology-based approach regards training as a skill formation process. According to this approach, the expanded training in the contemporary period is driven by the rapidly changing technologies and work reorganization. These two approaches are popular in academic and policy discussions. What they have in common is that they assume an instrumental logic and technical rationality behind tra ining decisions. Training is provided because it satisfies the functional needs of an organization. Studies with these approaches have largely overlooked the content of employee training, as if all kinds of training programs equally contribute to human capital accumulation or skill formation. Moreover, personal development training becomes a puzzle if viewed from these approaches, because it does not seem to follow from an instrumental logic or technical rationality. The Puzzle about Personal Development Training The puzzle about personal development training comes in the following four ways. First, it is not innately or immediately related to the technical aspects of specific job tasks. Second, prior need analysis is rarely conducted for such training, despite suggestions to do so in many training handbooks. Third, organizations and trainers seldom conduct evaluations of behavior or outcome changes brought out by such training. Evaluation, when there is one, is often about how one feels about the training or what one has learned. The evaluation questionnaire is often called a smile sheet, as trainees often respond happily to the questions. But the impact of the training remains uncertain. Fourth, the rapid expansion of personal development training has taken place in the absence of scientific evidence of any link between such training and improvement in organizational bottom lines. Core Argument So, why have organizations increasingly engaged in personal development training? It is because that the rise of the participatory citizenship model of organization over time has driven the expansion of personal development training in organizations. This argument is based on an institutional perspective towards organizations. It is distinct from previous approaches to training in two ways. First, it recognizes that training is not only provided to satisfy functional needs of firms, but is also shaped by the shared understanding about individuals and organizations, which is called organizational model in this study and is independent of the functional needs. Second, training decisions are not only affected by the internal conditions of an organization, but are also affected by the dominant ideologies and practices in the organizational field. Importance of Developing a Role in Training Developing a national role in training is important for an employers organization for several reasons. First, it enables the organization to contribute to the development of a countrys human capital, through its influence on education policies and systems and training by public training institutions, to better serve business needs. It also enables it to influence employers in regard to the need for them to invest more in training and employee development which employers should recognize as one key to their competitiveness in the future. Second, it provides an important service to members, especially in industrial relations in respect of which sources of training for employers in developing countries are few. Third, it is an important source of income provided the organization can deliver relevant quality training. Fourth, it compels its own staff to improve their knowledge without which they cannot offer training to enterprises through their own staff. Fifth, the knowledge required for training increases the quality of other services provided by the organization policy lobbying, advisory and representation services. Sixth, it contributes to better human relations at the enterprise level and therefore to better enterprise performance, by matching corporate goals and people management policies. Finally, it improves the overall image of the organization and invests it with a degree of professionalism, which can lead to increased membership and influence. Many entrepreneurs seem to view employee training and developmen t as more optional than essentiala viewpoint that can be costly to both short-term profits and long-term progress. The primary reason training is considered optional by so many business owners is because its viewed more as an expense than an investment. This is completely understandable when you realize that in many companies, training and development arent focused on producing a targeted result for the business. As a result, business owners frequently send their people to training courses that seem right and sound good without knowing what to expect in return. But without measurable results, its almost impossible to view training as anything more than an expense. Now contrast that approach to one where trainings viewed as a capital investment with thoughtful consideration as to how youre going to obtain an acceptable rate of return on your investment. And a good place to start your thoughtful consideration is with a needs analysis. As it relates to training and development, needs analysis is really an outcome analysiswhat do you want out of this training? Ask yourself, Whats going to change in my business or in the behavior or performance of my employees as a result of this training thats going to help my company? Be forewarned: This exercise requires you to take time to think it through and focus more on your processes than your products. As you go through this analysis, consider the strengths and weaknesses in your company and try to identify the deficiencies that, when corrected, represent a potential for upside gain in your business. Common areas for improvement in many companies is helping supervisors better manage for performance. Many people are promoted into managerial positions because theyre technically good at their jobs, but they arent trained as managers to help their subordinates achieve peak performance. Determining your training and development needs based on targeted results is only the beginning. The next step is to establish a learning dynamic for your company. In todays economy, if your business isnt learning, then youre going to fall behind. And a business learns as its people learn. Your employees are the ones that produce, refine, protect, deliver and manage your products or services every day, year in, year out. With the rapid pace and international reach of the 21st century marketplace, continu al learning is critical to your businesss continued success. To create a learning culture in your business, begin by clearly communicating your expectation that employees should take the steps necessary to hone their skills to stay on top of their professions or fields of work. Make sure you support their efforts in this area by supplying the resources they need to accomplish this goal. Second, communicate to your employees the specific training needs and targeted results youve established as a result of your needs analysis. Third, provide a sound introduction and orientation to your companys culture, including your learning culture, to any new employees you hire. This orientation should introduce employees to your company, and provide them with proper training in the successful procedures your companys developed and learned over time. Every successful training and development program also includes a component that addresses your current and future leadership needs. At its core, this component must provide for the systematic identification and development of your managers in terms of the leadership style that drives your business and makes it unique and profitable. Have you spent time thoughtfully examining the style of leadership thats most successful in your environment and that you want to promote? What steps are you taking to develop those important leadership traits in your people? Financial considerations related to training can be perplexing, but in most cases, the true budgetary impact depends on how well you manage the first three components (needs analysis, learning and leadership). If your training is targeted to specific business results, then youre more likely to be happy with what you spend on training. But if the training budget isnt related to specific outcomes, then money is more likely to be spent on courses that have no positive impact on the company. In many organizations, training budgets are solely a function of whether the company is enjoying an economic upswing or enduring a downturn. In good times, companies tend to spend money on training thats not significant to the organization, and in bad times, the pendulum swings to the other extreme and training is eliminated altogether. In any economic environment, the training expense should be determined by the targeted business results you want, not other budget-related factors. To help counter this tendency, sit down and assess your training and development needs once or twice a year to identify your needs and brainstorm how to achieve your desired results effectively and efficiently. Your employees are your principle business asset. Invest in them thoughtfully and strategically, and youll reap rewards that pay off now and for years to come. Beyond Training: Training and Development Training is generally defined as change in behavior yet, how many trainers and managers forget that, using the term training only as applicable to skills training? What about the human element? What about those very same people we want to train? What about their individual beliefs, backgrounds, ideas, needs and aspirations? In order to achieve long-term results through training, we must broaden our vision to include people development as part of our strategic planning. Although training covers a broad range of subjects under the three main categories (skills, attitude, knowledge), using the term training without linking it to development narrows our concept of the training function and leads us to failure. When we limit our thinking, we fall into the trap of: Classifying people into lots and categories Thinking of trainees as robots expected to perform a job function Dismissing the individual characteristics of people and the roles they play Focusing only on what needs to be done without adequately preparing the trainees involved to accept and internalize what is being taught. We are dealing with human thoughts, feelings and reactions which must be given equal attention than to the skill itself. We thus create a double-focus: people development and skills training. These two simultaneous objectives will give us the right balance and guide our actions to reach our goal. To clarify our training and development objectives, and identify our criteria for success, we must ask ourselves a few questions: Do we expect an automatic, faultless job performance? Does attitude count? Does goodwill count? Do loyalty and dedication count? Does goal-sharing count? Does motivation count? Do general knowledge and know-how count? Do people-skills count? Does an inquisitive mind count? Does initiative count? Does a learning attitude count? Does a sense of responsibility count? Do team efforts count? Do good work relations count? Does creative input count? Do we want employees to feel proud of their role and contribution? How can we expect such qualities and behavior if we consider and treat our personnel as skills performers? However, we could achieve the desired results if we address the personal development needs of the employees involved. When we plan for both training and development, we achieve a proper balance between the needs of the company and those of the trainees. The synergy created takes us to new levels, to a continuing trend of company growth. Our consideration of the people involved results in work motivation, goal-sharing, and a sense of partnership. Not only do the employee-trainees perform at the desired levels, but they offer to the company and its customers their hidden individual gifts and talents, and this reflects itself in the quality of service. Customers feel and recognize efficient performance, motivation and team-work. They become loyal customers. We can learn from the case of a small restaurant operator who had become desperate at the negligent attitude of his servers, resulting in customer complaints. He decided to seek professional expertise to help him replace his employees with motivated, trained people fresh out of a waiters training school. Following some probing questions it came to light that, besides hourly pay, he did not offer much to attract and retain loyal and dedicated employees. Through professional consultation, he came to realize that even if he paid higher wages to new trained employees, the problem would persist because employees want more than wages from their work place. They want: Organization and professional management Information regarding the business and its customers Recognition for their role in the companys success Acknowledgement of their individual capacities and contributions Positive discipline / fairness A say in the way the business is run. The restaurant operator realized that until then he had treated his employees as plate carriers and this is exactly how they had behaved and performed. He was ready to change his mode of operation: he diverted his focus to the needs of his employees, re-structured his organisation, planned new operational strategies, a human resources strategy, training and development guidelines, disciplinary rules and regulations. He communicated and shared these in a meeting with his employees and handed out the employee handbook prepared for that purpose. He also reminded them of their responsibilities towards the business, the customers, and themselves (taking charge of their own training, development, and work performance). They were more than pleased when he asked them to express their opinions, make comments and suggestions. He was surprised at the immediate transformation that took place. He began receiving excellent reviews from his customers, the employees worked as a team, their motivation sky-rocketed and he never had to replace them! All this was accomplished by extending the previous concept of training to that of training and people development. Training and Development represents a complete whole that triggers the mind, emotions and employees best work performance. It is not only business managers and owners who must do this shift in thinking, but Human Resources Directors and Training Managers (whose title should be Training and Development Managers). By their actions, they should offer a personal example, coaching and guiding all the people in an organisation to think beyond training and invest efforts in people: Professional development Personal development. Contrary to what some managers think, people do not quit a place of work as soon as they have grown personally and professionally through training and development programs at least they do not do so for a long while. They become loyal to their employer and help him/her grows business-wise, which offers them more opportunities. They chart their own course for career advancement within the broader framework of organizational growth. Do we not call employees our human resources asset? Whatever their positions, each expect to be treated as such; when they are, they give more than their physical presence at work. Training Evaluation Training Improving business performance is a journey, not a destination. Business performance rises and falls with the ebb and flow of human performances. HR professionals lead the search for ways to enhance the effectiveness of employees in their jobs today and prepare them for tomorrow. Over the years, training programmes have grown into corporate with these goals in mind. Training programmes should enhance performance and enrich the contributions of the workforce. The ultimate goal of training is to develop appropriate talent in the workforce internally. In India, training as an activity has been going on as a distinct field with its own roles, structures and budgets, but it is still young. This field is however; expanding fast but controversy seems to envelop any attempts to find benefits commensurate with the escalating costs of training. Training has made significant contributions to development of all kinds. Training is essential; doubts arise over its contribution in practice. Complaints are growing over its ineffectiveness and waste. The training apparatus and costs have multiplied but not its benefits. Dissatisfaction persists and is growing at the working level where the benefits of training should show up most clearly. This disillusionment shows in many ways reluctance to send the most promising people for training, inadequate use of personnel after training etc. With disillusionment mounting in the midst of expansion, training has entered a dangerous phase in its development. Training is neither a panacea for all ills nor is it a waste of time. What is required is an insight into what training can or cannot do and skill in designing and carrying out training effectively and economically. The searchlight of inquiry may make the task and challenges stand out too starkly, too simply. Using experience with training in India and other rapidly developing countries has this advantage at similar risk. The contribution that training can make to development is needed acutely and obviously. At the same time, the limited resources available in these countries make this contribution hard to come by. These lines are sharply drawn; on the one hand, no promise can be ignored; on the other, no waste is permissible. Much of the training provided today proceeds as if knowledge and action were directly related. This assumption is itself a striking illustration of the wide gulf that separates the two. On a continuum with personal maturation and growth at one end and improvement in performance of predetermined tasks at the other, education lies near the former, and training near the later. Focusing training on skill in action makes the task wide and complex. Training embraces an understanding of the complex processes by which various factors that make up a situation interact. For every training strategy, no matter which, the proper focus right from the very outset is on one or more people on-the-job-in-the-organization this whole amalgam. Wherever the focus moves during the training programme, the starting point becomes the focus again at the end. The difference lies in what people have learned that they now apply. That difference, in terms of more effective behavior is the measure of the efficacy of training. The training process is made up of three phases: Phase 1: Pre-training. This may also be called the preparation phase. The process starts with an understanding of the situation requiring more effective behavior. An organizations concerns before training lie mainly in four areas: Clarifying the precise objectives of training and the use the organization expects to make of the participants after training; selection of suitable participants; building favorable expectations and motivation in the participants prior to the training; and planning for any changes that improved task performance will require in addition to training. Phase 2: Training. During the course of the training, participants focus their attention on the new impressions that seem useful, stimulating and engaging. There is no guarantee that the participants will in fact learn what they have chosen. But the main purpose remains: participants explore in a training situation what interests them, and a training institutions basic task is to provide the necessary opportunities. Having explored, participants try out some new behavior. If they find the new behavior useful, they try it again, check it for effectiveness and satisfaction, try it repeatedly and improve it. Finally, they incorporate this new facet into their habitual behavior in the training situation. If they do not find it useful, they discard it, try some variant, or discontinue learning in this direction. The intricate process of selection and testing is continuous and more or less conscious. It is important that work organizations meanwhile prepare the conditions for improved performance by their participants upon their return. Phase 3: Post-training. This may be called the follow up phase. When, training per se concludes, the situation changes. When the participants return back to work from the training, a process of adjustment begins for everyone involved. The newly learned skills undergo modification to fit the work situation. Participants may find their organizations offering encouragement to use the training and also support for continuing contact with the training institution. On the other hand, they may step into a quagmire of negativity. More effective behavior of people on the job in the organization is the primary objective of the training process as a whole. In the simplest training process, improvement is a dependent variable, and participants and organizations independent variables. The training process has the following major objectives: Improvement in Performance Training will be an important aid to managers for developing themselves as well as their subordinates. It is not a substitute for development on the job, which comes from doing, experiencing, observing, giving and receiving feedback and coaching. Research has shown that 80% of a persons development takes place on the job. However, training can contribute the vital 20% that makes the difference. Training can bring about an improvement in a persons: Knowledge Skills Attitude Thereby raising his potential to perform better on the job. Growth Training is also directed towards developing people for higher levels of responsibility thereby reducing the need for recruiting people from outside. This would have the effect of improving the morale of the existing employees. Organizational Effectiveness In company training provides a means for bringing about organizational development. It can be used for strengthening values, building teams, improving inter-group relations and quality of work life. The ultimate objective of training in the long run is to improve the companys performance through people performing better. Benefits of Training Evaluation Evaluation has three main purposes: Feedback to help trainers understand the extent to which objectives are being met and the effectiveness of particular learning activities as an aid to continuous improvement Control to make sure training policy and practice are aligned with organizational goals and delivering cost-effective solutions to organizational issues Intervention to raise awareness of key issues such as pre-course and post-course briefing and the selection of delegates Evaluation is itself a learning process. Training which has been planned and delivered is reflected on. Views on how to do it better are formulated and tested .The outcome may be to: Abandon the training Redesign the training new sequence, new methods, new content, new trainer Redesign the preparation/pre-work new briefing material, new pre-course work Rethink the timing of the training earlier or later in peoples career, earlier or later in the training programme, earlier or later in the company calendar Leave well alone The following are the clear benefits of evaluation: Improved quality of training activities Improved

Analysis of Scenes 4-5 of The Glass Menagerie :: Glass Menagerie essays

Analysis of Scenes 4-5 of The Glass Menagerie "Tom Fishes in his pockets for his door key, removing a motley assortment of articles in the search, including a shower of movie ticket stubs and an empty bottle. At last he finds the key, but just as he is about to insert it, it slips from his fingers. He strikes a match and crouches below the door." Tom is a character that is constantly looking for individuality and adventure. Unfortunately, his everyday life cannot provide those for him. The apartment building he lives in is comparable to a bee hive. Every member's identity is lost not intentionally, but because it is second in importance to labor. He wants time to retire in thought every now and then and express himself somehow. All this labor supresses his creative nature whose persistency will eventually win over his practical side. In this scene, we see Tom searching for a key in his pocket. The contents of his pocket, one can argue, are filled with ways to escape his everyday life. The movies he attends are like therapy sessions that are crucial to his health. The empty bottle suggests that he was drinking that night. Tom abuses alcohol to alleviate some of the pain caused by other people abusing him. The key he is looking for cannot be found readily; not because it fell through the crack, but because he cannot escape his fait. Circumstances incarcerate him in and endless cycle of work, abuse, and supression of thought. There is no apparent way out of such a predicament, but Tom has to keep looking for the key. "Tom: You know it don't take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, Laura. But who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail?" Tom openly admits to Laura that he is very unhappy with his life. Laura has been known to cry because Tom feels trapped in the appartment, but Amanda dismissed it as nonsense. She thinks it is a trivial matter, and that Tom should stop thinking about himself so much. What she doesn't realize is that she is the one always thinking about herself.

Doctrine of Double Effect: Consequentialism Essay

The Doctrine of Double Effect states that it is a morally relevant difference between those bad consequences we aim and intend to bring about, and those that we do not intend but still foresee as a likely outcome of our actions. Under certain circumstances, it is morally acceptable to risk certain outcomes that would not be acceptable to intend. Though it is always wrong to kill innocents deliberately, this doctrine says, it is sometimes permissible to allow certain actions to occur understanding that some side effects will be negative. Considering that some side effects involve death, we need to consider the question of whether it is ever morally permissible to use people as a means to one’s end. Warren Quinn attempts to present a deontological way of viewing the Doctrine of Double Effect. The configuration of Doctrine of Double Effect prepared by Quinn makes distinctions on moral assessments. In proportion to consequentialist moral theory, the distinction the Doctrine of Dou ble Effect comprises between intended and merely foreseen consequences does not matter for moral evaluation with the exception of factors that are consequential for production of better outcomes. In Deontology edited by Stephen Darwill, Deontology is a element of ethical teachings centered on the idea that actions must be guided above all by adherence to clear principles. Thomas Nagel suggest that the core idea in deontological thinking is the Doctrine of Double Effect and the innermost idea is one ought not in one’s actions aim at evil and in this way to be guided by evil (177). Quinn suggests that there are two major problems dealing with the rationality and discrimination between cases when it comes to the Doctrine of Double Effect. In the following exert from Deontology, Quinn gives examples of contrasting cases from modern warfare: In the case of a strategic bomber (SB), a pilot bombs an enemy factory in order to destroy its productive capacity. But in doing this he foresees that he will kill innocent civilians who live nearby. Many of us see this kind of military action as much easier to justify than that in the Case of the Terror Bomber (TB), who deliberately kills innocent civilians in order to demoralize the enemy. Another pair of cases involves medicine: In both there is a shortage of resources for the investigation and proper treatment of a  new, life-threatening disease. In the first scenario doctors decide to cope by selectively treating only those who can be cured most easily, leaving the more stubborn cases untreated. Call this the direction of resources case (DR). In the contrasting and intuitively more problematic example, doctors decide on a crash experimental program in which they deliberately leave the stubborn cases untreated in order to learn more about the nature of the disease. †¦Guine a Pig Case (GP). Another pair of medical examples is found in most discussions of Doctrine of Double Effect. In the Craniotomy Case (CC) a woman will die unless the head of the fetus she is trying to deliver is crushed. But the fetus may be safely removed if the mother is allowed to die. In the Hysterectomy Case (HC), a pregnant mother is allowed to die. In the Hysterectomy Case (HC), a pregnant mother’s uterus is cancerous and must be removed if she is to be saved. This will, given the limits of available medical technology, kill the fetus. But if no operation is performed the mother will eventually die after giving birth to a healthy infant. (Darwell 195) In the above case I obviously see that there is a significant difference between the cases. The fetus is not yet a person, and the mother has a right to seek defense from anything that is hazardous to her health. Quinn makes the distinctions that the doctor in Craniotomy Case does not intend to actually kill the fetus; he probably would be happy if it survived. In this case it is little difference between the Hysterectomy Case and the Craniotomy Case. Quinn produces a projected way to revive the Doctrine of Double Effect. He recommend that the Doctrine of Double Effect should be reiterated in the following way: One to make possible a differentiation between agency in which injury comes to a quantity of victims, at least impart, from the agent’s deliberately connecting them in something in order to further his purpose specifically by way of their being so involved and harmful agency in which either nothing is in that way intended for the victims or what is intended does not contribute to their harm. The overhaul of the Doctrine of Double Effect will produce the result that in the Terror Bomber and  Craniotomy examples, the agency involved is the less customary kind, whereas in strategic bomber, Diversion of Resources , and cancerous uterus, the agency is involved is more acceptable kind. This works alongside with the original understanding of the Doctrine. The majority of military actions would be morally out of the question if the killing of civilians were absolutely forbidden. When factories, naval dockyards, and supply lines are bombed, civilian carnage is inevitable. In these cases, the philosophy of the Double Doctrine of Effect comes into to play. When it comes to this, there is a huge and undeniable gray area; for instance, could it be permissible to bomb a hospital in which Osama Bin Laden is lying ill. In the doctrines most precise form, it holds that if an action has two effects, one good quality and one unpleasant, then the action is morally permissible. The following questions must be asked: is the action good in itself or not evil; is the good effect the only one aimed for; the good follows as immediately from the action as the evil effect, and the reason for performing the action was as important as that for allowing the evil effect. Are the consequences good on balance? It is important that it is; the goodness of the goo d must outweigh the evil of the evil effect. Walzer goes as far to say that the actor should seek out ways to lessen the evil effect, accepting risk to his or her self. â€Å"There is obviously leeway for military judgment here: strategies and planners will for reasons of their own weigh the importance of their targets against the importance of their soldiers’ lives. But even if the target is very important, and the number of innocent people threatened relatively small, they must risk soldiers before they kill civilians† (Walzer 157). Still if the noncombatants are in harm’s way due to direct actions of the enemy, or due to the adult noncombatants own choice, the agent is duty-bound by jus in bello’s highlighting on distinction to alter his campaign from those otherwise recommended, if those tactics will foreseeable result in noncombatant casualties. Could one claim that the bombing campaign America set out over Kosovo did not meet the Double Doctrine Effect? Yes, the campaign failed to meet Walzerâ €™s extra requirement because pilots flew high to guard themselves and dropped bombs imprecisely, which resulted in greater civilian casualties. In Just and Unjust Wars, Walzer claims, â€Å"Double effect is a way of reconciling the absolute prohibition against attacking non-combatants with the legitimate conduct of military activity† (153). These non-combatants are placed in the category of innocence. Indeed, it is unjustified to kill the innocent, but these victims aren’t entirely innocent. It can be said that they are beneficiaries of oppression; they enjoy the contaminated fruits. In certain cases, it could be understandable but not justifiable. Those who are opposed to this notion would claim that the children among them, and even the adults, obtain every right to look forward to a long life like anyone else who is not actively participating in war. This is the whole notion of noncombatant immunity, which is not only crucial to war but of any decent politics. Anyone who renounces this policy for a moment is not simply making excuses for terrorism, but they are joining the lines of terror’s supporters . The act of terror incorporates the deliberate killing of noncombatants as a means to an end; therefore, it is not accepted by the Doctrine of Double Effect. â€Å"The question of direct and indirect effect is complicated by the question of coercion. When we judge the unintended killing of civilians, we need to know how those civilians came to be in a battle zone in the first place. This is, perhaps, only another way of asking who put them at risk and what positive effects were made to save them† (159). Do intentions really validate this doctrine? Could it be possible to leave out the intentions and simply judge the rightness or wrongness of an act by its consequences, the way a consequentialist would do? Consequentialist will only choose to perform actions with the best consequences, which ignores our prima facie duties to others. In this case, the answer would not be sufficient enough for the Doctrine of Double Effect because this doctrine encompasses deontological constraints. Quinn shows in the following account how the doctrine reflects a Kantian ideal of human community: This ideal is given one natural expression in the language of rights. People have a strong prima facie right not to be sacrificed in strategic roles over which they have no say. They have a right not to be pressed, in apparent violation of their prior rights, into the service of other people’s purpose.  Sometimes these additional rights may be justifiable infringed, especially when the prior right is not terribly important and the harm is limited, but in all cases they add their own burden to the opposing moral argument. (207) The Doctrine of Double Effect gives each individual value, which is not based on the majority of people. Gives individuals rights against being used as means to any end. In the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski, Between 120,000 and 250,000 civilians were killed. The decision to use this deadly weapon for Americans was allegedly not for revenge but to bring an end to this dreadful war. I would like to believe former president Harry Truman was under the impression that the evil performed would not surpass the greater good that would come out of the action. At that time it was believed that the Japanese were fighting an unjust and aggressive war. In the following exert in Just and Unjust Wars, Walzer has part of commits made by Truman after the decision to drop the Atom bomb in the following: â€Å"We have used [the bomb] against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war† (Walzer 264). The shortening of the agony of war was the justification of the use of the atomic bomb. President Truman claimed that the alternative, an invasion, would have cost countless American lives. In his justification, he shows evidence that he believes American lives are more important than the lives of others; I definitely do not believe this is the way the Doctrine of Double Effect was suppose to be executed. Now if he was specifically to state that one half of a million American lives would have been taken if the war was not stopped, he then can claim the net savings from the terror amounted to around a quarter of a million lives. In the case of valuing American lives more and theirs less, it looks somewhat obvious that the Doctrine of Double Effect was not used properly. Under any circumstances, the use of such a lethal weapon against Americans on American soil could never be justified. Many moral philosophers are not pleased with the Doctrine of Double Effect; Jim Holt gives an account of some of their objections in the following: If you ask the terror bomber why he is killing civilians, he will say, â€Å"to win a just war might even say that he does not need the civilians actually to be dead, but only to be thought to be dead until it is over to demoralize the other side. If his victims could be miraculously brought back to life after the end of the struggle, he would not object. In this sense, he does not really intend their deaths†¦. If I can kill Saddam Hussein only by shooting him through innocent human shield, do I intend harm to the innocent shield or not? (Holt) Is the difference among directly intended effects and inevitable effects a contrived one? The point he is trying to make is that the incidental fatalities of a calculated bomb are just as dead as the intended victims of a terror bomber. This objection brings up another point made by Quinn in relation to the closeness of these situations. â€Å"†¦it surely matters how close the connection is between that which is, strictly speaking, intended and the resulting foreseen harm. If the connection is close enough, then the doctrine should treat the harm as if it were strictly intended. And the reply might go on, the connection is close enough in the cases I have used to illustrate the doctrine’s negative force (196). In reference to the meaning of closeness, an illustration of closeness was supplied through an example of a glass. Someone could violently heat a glass just for the purpose of hearing the noise made from the initial impact. In cases involving force against something as fragile as a glass, the shattering is to be expected immediately after the action. These two actions form a causal relationship, so the connection seems intangible opposed to conditional. It is morally acceptable to risk certain outcomes that would not be acceptable to intend. The Doctrine of Double Effect has prima facie reasoning in its make-up; therefore, it has a strong responsibility to do what is morally acceptable to our own standards. Proponents of Doctrine of Double Effect coincide more with deontological views opposed to consequentialist theories. Even though the Doctrine in some cases allows  harm among individuals, they recognize that in real life cases there are events that have sufficient reasoning behind them. Though it is always wrong to kill innocents deliberately, this doctrine says, it is sometimes permissible to attack a military target with the understanding that some civilians will die as a side effect. Even a dog knows when it is intentionally or accidentally kicked; therefore, We can not deny that intentions are of some importance. The question is whether or not the difference can be held up as morally acceptable. â€Å"For causal critics of the doctrine sometimes seem to suppose that its defenders must be ready to allow killings or harmings simply on the ground that the agency is indirect. But nothing could be further from the truth. The doctrine in no way lessons the constraining force of any independent moral right or duty† (203). The Doctrine of Double Effect is centered among the impression of acceptable actions. The quest of good is less appreciated where a significant harm is intended as a means than where it is merely foreseen. The deontologists grasp the idea that one or both of the distinctions between doing and allowing and intended and merely foresee effects scientifically affect what morality approves and condemns. Lying on this outlook, it is of importance morally not just what outcomes we bring about or fail to bring about, but the structure of our agency in this regard. The deontologist theories conflicts in the company of the act consequentialist, who holds that one morally ought always to do an act that leads to an outcome that is not worse than the outcome that would be reached by any other act. Quinn gave an excellent account of the deontological view of the Doctrine of Double Effect, but his theory has flaws. What if the American government for an upright decent reason terrorizes the city of Berlin, and they can do this effectively by dropping bombs over Toronto? Our government does not strictly intend to include the people of Toronto for the reason that their attachment does not advance our objective; if all of the residents were out of town and survived, and our purpose still would have been served. In his reconstruction of the Doctrine of Double Effect, Quinn excludes our acts as indirect agency; therefore, the slaughter of the inhabitants of Toronto is  parallel to a merely foreseen consequence. I don’t believe this exemption is one that he anticipated to make, but it is a loose end that needs further explanation. Works Cited Darwell, Stephen. (2003). Deontology. Malden, MA: Editorial material and organization. Holt, Jim. Terrorism and the Philosohers. Can The Ends ever justify the means?2 June 2004.http://slate.msn.com/?id+2064544. Walzer, Michael. (1977).Just and Unjust Wars. A Moral Argument With Historical Illustrations. 3rd ed. Basic Books..

Theme 101 What Is It and Why It Matters (with 10+ Actual Examples!)

Theme 101 What Is It and Why It Matters (with 10+ Actual Examples!) What is the Theme of Your Story? A Guide for Authors Pop quiz: what is the theme of a story? Let's get the obvious answers out of the way. It's not the song that comes near the start, nor does it relate to decor and costumes (like in a 'pirate-themed' party). Theme in literature relates to what a book is about.â€Å"What Start the quiz!Share your results in the comments below!How do you approach themes when writing fiction? Do you start with a theme in mind, or do you look for common threads as you’re writing? Or are themes not necessary to all forms of fiction? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Incredible Disappearing LinkedIn Profile - Part II

The Incredible Disappearing LinkedIn Profile - Part II In March, I published an article which now turns out to be Part 1  of this series on the disappearing acts LinkedIn has been playing. I covered the Summary section, job descriptions, contact information, the Interests section, e-mail subject lines, saved searches, alumni and other top navigation items, tagging and notes, and LinkedIn group features. Since then, many people have written to me with questions about how to find additional â€Å"lost† features with the new LinkedIn, so I’m publishing Part II! Here are some of the things you might have noticed have changed or gone missing in the new LinkedIn, plus a correction to the first item. 1. Your summary section. Last month I reported that the first 210 characters (including spaces) are visible when you initially view someone’s profile. It turns out there’s a range of characters that might appear, from about 205 to about 230. Everyone’s profile is different, and it’s not exactly clear why. Fewer characters appear on the mobile app than on the desktop app, so make sure you write a great hook in your first 10-15 words! Here’s what my summary looks like on desktop: And here it is on mobile: Test yours and make it look great! And make sure to put a unique selling proposition in your first 10-15 words so you grab attention quickly. 2. Advice for contacting. There used to be an option under your Contact Information section to write a few lines about whom you want to contact/connect with you and why. It no longer exists sorry folks! 3. Creating and viewing secondary language profiles. Several people have written to me to say they can’t figure out how to add a profile in a second language. Don’t worry – the feature is still there! It has just moved. Check out the right-hand column to find the option to â€Å"Create a profile in another language.† Here’s what the screen will look like: And here’s your list of language choices: What HAS disappeared, at least for now, is the ability to view someone’s secondary language profile directly from their primary language profile. As LinkedIn said to me when I asked about this issue, â€Å"The ability to see other members [sic] secondary language profiles has not been fully re-implemented back into the new user interface.† If you happen to know or strongly suspect that someone has a profile in a second language, I encourage you to Google their name with the word â€Å"LinkedIn† – such as â€Å"Juan Ortiz LinkedIn† – to discover all profiles under that name. If they have an uncommon name you will likely find their multiple profiles. If they have a common name, it will be more difficult. You could also write to the person to ask if they can provide the profile URL for their secondary language profile. 4. Saved posts and suggested reading. LinkedIn has talked a big talk about the option to save articles and get suggested reading, but how do you do it? Both of these options are located on the mobile app only. To save articles on your phone, open the article you want to save and click on the ribbon icon in the upper right. Or you may need to click the 3 dots first: The article will automatically save. See the LinkedIn Help article on  saving, retrieving, and deleting articles on Pulse. For feed preferences, click on the gear to the right of your search bar when viewing your profile to reveal an Account tab and a Feed Preferences option under that. Click on the gear to go here: Click on Feed Preferences to get to this screen: Click â€Å"Follow fresh perspectives† and you’ll be able to follow people who post articles on the topics of your choice. 5. â€Å"Trending Storylines.† LinkedIn has been promoting this feature for quite a while, without mentioning that there might not be anything on your desktop or mobile app that actually says â€Å"Trending.† On my desktop app, the section says â€Å"Suggested for you.† Have you seen a screen that says â€Å"Trending†? I’d love to see what that looks like. Please let me know! 6. LinkedIn Groups. I mentioned in my previous article that while LinkedIn Groups are still around, there’s a lot of talk that they might be becoming irrelevant or extinct. What I didn’t cover is how to find them! They are under the catch-all â€Å"Work† tab: 7. Controlling the order of your sections. You can no longer rearrange your major sections like Summary, Experience, Education, Volunteer Experience, etc. So you won’t be able to customize your profile based on which sections are most important in your individual experience. While on the one hand I am sad about this change, I also think it makes things easier for readers who know what to expect to see where. You still have the ability to rearrange positions within your Experience section IF you have more than one current position or two positions that cover the exact same time period. To arrange your positions, hover over the 4-bar icon under the pencil icon and, if you qualify according to the parameters above, you’ll get a plus sign with arrows that you can click on to drag and drop the position you want to move. 8. Profile Strength Meter – and 100% Complete Profiles You’ll be able to see your own strength meter when you’re viewing your own profile, but you can no longer see anyone else’s profile strength. Additionally, there is no longer such thing as a â€Å"100% Complete Profile.† The best you can do is aim for â€Å"All-Star† status, if you’re not already there, by answering the questions LinkedIn presents to you when you log in. Okay, those are the main items that have come up since March. What else did I miss? Please ask any additional questions you may have about the new LinkedIn redesign. I promise to answer them if there are enough to warrant a Part 3!