The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management

The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management Introduction Organisations are shifting towards the strategic management of their human resources to keep pace with the highly dynamic business environment. The traditional human resource management practices, including personnel management, are ineffective in the face of current speed, magnitude of change, and frequency that the organisational and business environment poses.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, organisations are finding it critical to provide renewed attention towards the building, as well as strengthening of partnerships by designing strategic human resource coordination (Chiavenato, 2001, p. 17). A lot of emphasis is being placed on the maximisation of human capital in the wake of the current changes where the human resource practitioners are involving themselves more in strategic plan ning. The focus of HR practitioners is on improving the business and the development of their professional competencies. Armstrong (2000, p. 11) points out that HRM has overly been a simplistic practice, having gaps between reality and rhetoric and containing many contradictions. The presence of these shortcomings has influenced organisations to seek for a transition from the traditional HRM practice to the strategic HRM. The HRM practice is in transition as it also seeks to increase its effectiveness. As Lengnick-Hall et al. (2009, p. 64) note, strategic HRM has mainly been conceptual in its focus since the 1980s. The 1990s saw an increase in theoretical advances, including the introduction of resource-based view as the concept continued to receive more recognition and research. Other important accomplishments were also made in terms of the empirical research conducted during the period. This chronology of events and studies shows how the strategic HRM concept has grown over time t o replace the traditional HRM practice. Presently, broader HR perspectives have been established to help in determining the influence of the concept of strategic HRM on organisational performance. As organisations insist on pursuing their strategic human resource management transformation, they train their aspirations on some major values that they hope to attain incrementally. These include formulating a business strategy as the main source of attaining competitive advantage, as well as formulating a management culture to embrace the belief. It seeks to enhance operational excellence that focuses on client service for both the managers and individual employees and to deliver the resultant services at a lower cost. Additionally, strategic HRM targets to create managers with a full understanding of the human capital and the business implications of the business problems. This makes it easy for the access and modification of the HR system with the purpose of solving the problems arisi ng.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This research seeks to analyse and offer comprehensive details concerning organisations and their addition of incremental values owing to their transition to strategic human resource management. In helping to achieve this objective, the research mainly bases its analysis on secondary sources of information, including text books, journals, and other relevant authored materials on the topic. In particular, the research will expound on several organisational examples that have transformed their HRM practises from personnel management to strategic human resource management. These examples include Sears, Lucent, Quantum, and Herman Miller. Critical Analysis Addition of HR’s Incremental Value to an Organisation’s Performance In the majority of firms, the wish to achieve sustainable competitive advantage is barricaded by a spects such as the economies of scale, access to capital, patent protection, and regulated competition (Hoffman, 2000, p. 1). However, an ensuing economic paradigm has provided an avenue for competitive advantage, challenging the conventional wisdom on strategy, HR’s relationship concerning firm performance, and the role of the organisation’s HR. New trends on the global front, including globalisation, are piling many pressures and demands on firms to continuously innovate, adapt to their environment, and enhance their speed and efficiency to cope with the challenging situation. Firms, in retrospect, face the rising need to give more attention to strategic intellectual capital and increase their intellectual capital (Choy, 2007, p. 1). Sears Transformation to Strategic HRM Sears’ objective in adapting strategic HRM was to make its employees feel comfortable while working outside an environment that lacked the usual command and control (Murphy Zandvakili, 2000, p. 93). The firm wanted its workforce to get accustomed to innovation and risk taking. Sears’ reasons for transforming included both external and internal business forces interplay, including competitors, customers, finance, culture, and employees. Sears transformation in achieving strategic HRM has introduced a more elaborate balanced scorecard that clearly defines and empirically verifies the existing relationships (Neenan, 2008, p. 48). The important relationships highlighted include sales associate behaviours, financial performance, and customer satisfaction. In other words, all managers who do not necessarily fall under HR need to be provided with a clearly articulated investment plan in human capital. This helps in influencing their buy-in on the broader HR role (Neenan, 2008, p. 48).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company changed its reward approach, adopting intrinsic rewards as a means of motivating their workers more and dropping the extrinsic reward system. As Armstrong and Murlis (2004, p. 42) point out, the intrinsic reward approach is strategic, business-aligned, performance-driven, integrative, distinctive, and flexible. There is a need for reward management to be bound with the business strategy owing to the critical aspect of reward management to the management of human resources. The traditional payment system that the firm used on its employees involved goal sharing, where the employees’ incentive pay was pegged on customers’ satisfaction. Sears’ reward management scheme was also affected by the company’s communication efficiency with its employees. Communication was a major issue, given that Sears is a well established corporation that runs several branches countrywide and employs thousands of workers. The retailer experien ced high turnover rates, thus calling for a more continual reorientation of the new employees that were hired (Salisbury, 2008, para 1). Sears’ transformation has seen it mandate a multi-perspective system of appraisal for all its managers. The firm has established some of its critical strategic imperatives to include the transformation of the retailer into a suitable place to work in, a place favourable for shopping, as well as a place that is suitable for investing in (Thomas, 2012, p. 99). Sears’ strategic HRM emphasizes on the achievement of behaviour consistencies to match with leadership competencies that sustain its 3C’s to achieve these objectives. In setting performance objectives, individual employees are challenged to improve their â€Å"line of sight† pitting the individual employee or team behaviour, on the one hand, and the firm-level outcomes, on the other hand (Oliver, 2003, p. 18). Additionally, the performance objectives are prearranged like a treadmill, such that an employee who fails to improve finds himself or herself moving backwards. Sales associates in the firm receive direct customer feedback to get a glimpse of the actual feeling from their own customers. The company has developed a strong commitment to compete with its industry rivals purely on customer service to ensure that it emerges as the best employer choice for its employees. The Sales Associates set up the quality of performance that drives the general customer service in the company (Business Wire, 2006, para 6).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another critical value addition has been experienced in the area of employee development. The company has established its own university, Sears University, which serves more than 20,000 managers every year. The institution also stresses on the employment of intact teams purposely to support knowledge sharing even after completing the program (Collins Rainwater, 2005, p. 16). This program has been a great success for the company mainly due to the strong support that the senior management team has been offering towards funding the initiative. Lucent’s Case of Strategic HRM Customer service The transformation towards achieving strategic HRM at Lucent has seen the company refocus attention towards improving customer service. The new HR structure of the firm has emphasized on client services on up to three levels. The levels include senior leaders, supervisors/coaches, and employees/retirees. The HR Business Partner plays the critical linchpin role that creates value at Lucent. T he arrangement is done strategically in a way that gives the senior business leaders an opportunity to work together with the HR leaders. The Business Partners are measured against client satisfaction objectives that strictly focus on the end results (PR Newswire, 2001, para 1). The delivery channels play a critical role in sustaining this, where the senior executives enjoy the exclusive rights during the declaration of the annual ultimate goals and objectives. Like in the case of Sears, Lucent has also developed a strong commitment, especially within the senior management at the firm, to develop HR initiatives that constantly seek to develop solutions for the clients (Namuduri, 2006, p. 3). Through the adoption of this strategy, managers at the firm attend all staff meetings, including those that do not necessarily discuss HR issues. This is done to enable the HR representatives to understand the business clearly. A team of up to 58 professionals drawn from the HR function, also re ferred to as the HR Accelerators, specifically work towards eliminating HR policies and practices that add no value for the firm and its shareholders. A competency model was established within the firm’s framework in its plans to support Business Partner role in HR development. Lucent developed the competencies using both external benchmarking sources and internal reviews, which emphasise on areas that seek solutions for a particular question (Quandt, 2007, para 4). The firm seeks to determine the exact knowledge, commitments, and skills required to help the Business Partners in their quest to serve the expectations of their customers fully. The main areas singled out included understanding the firm’s business, the business of its clients, and the HR business. The customer focus, personal impact, and management in a competitive and changing environment were also established as critical areas. By defining, acquiring, and leveraging resources, Lucent managed to implement HR solutions to offer solutions to the problems and challenges that the firm faced. Strong pay-performance relationship The strategic HRM at Lucent seeks to develop a strong relationship between pay and performance. This strategy targets to add value through rallying people within the organisation as the source of the company’s competitive advantage. Lucent has constantly focused on using stock options as a means of aligning its employees’ interests with the organisational objective of increasing the market value. The firm offered 100 options for each of its employees as â€Å"founders grants†. This was at the time when it went public (Walker, 2006, p. 18). Quantum Employee development Quantum’s strategic HRM seeks to hire its employees based on the fundamental characteristics of the organisation that support and sustain organisational success. The firm relies heavily on operations and product development through teamwork. Applicants seeking for employme nt in the firm but unable to work in teams are never selected. The main idea of the firm is the fact that working in teams or groups helps in supporting knowledge exchange between individuals. This, in turn, enhances the overall organisational quality level and performance (Manufacturing Close-Up, 2013, para 2). Quantum’s strategy on HRM further extends to the selection of employees, where behaviour and competency are very critical. Emphasis on these two critical aspects is based on the premise that the firm increases its chances of producing if workers with the right behaviour and competency are acquired. The general principle held by the management is the fact that applicants who manage to survive the selection process of the company are in a better position to start at â€Å"merge speed† (Business Wire, 2002, para 3). Performance management Quantum has established a significant performance management system whose main objective is to integrate adequate competency mo dels through the HR system of the organisation. The firm, as part of its performance management, has formulated up to nine critical Value Behaviours that the management places a lot of emphasis on. However, a multi-step process that involves individuals’ multiple rankings is required because of its overreliance on team-based work formations. Ranking is done by other members of the team (Business Wire, 2002, para 4). The team leader and the business unit manager also provide their ratings of the group and its individuals to help come up with effective team compositions and general performance management. Herman Miller, Inc. Competitive advantage Strategic HRM at Herman Miller has been designed in a way that helps the firm to achieve competitive advantage in the industry. Although strategic HR is a relatively new phenomenon, Herman Miller has pursued it for a significant period. The firm practice servant based leadership and employee advocacy as ways of influencing the overall competitive advantage (Walker, Bovet Joseph, 2000, p. 1). Employee participation is emphasised in the company and it is considered as both an obligation and an opportunity. Employees are trained extensively to equip them with ideas and knowledge on how to create value in the firm (Firooz, 2012, p. 675). To enable this to happen, the firm contemplates integrating the use of a Balanced Scorecard approach to act as Learning Maps. The Scanlon plans and Employee Stock Option Plans, abbreviated as ESOP, have continuously been applied in the firm to enhance involvement during business literacy training. In addition to these frameworks, Herman Miller has adopted the Economic Value Added framework (EVA) to heighten business literacy training even further. The company has introduced a formal course that lasts for two hours for all its employees. This offers an avenue through which concepts are passed on to the workers. In addition to the already existing courses, plans are also underway to i ntroduce EVA301 whose main objective is to offer more advanced training. A series of courses referred to as â€Å"train the trainer† are currently pursued at Herman Miller to empower team leaders. Their subsequent empowerment helps them and others in the organisation to offer teachings to the rest of the employees (Walker, Bovet Joseph, 2000, p. 5). The Transition from Personnel Management to Strategic Human Resource Management Personnel management mainly focuses on operations, including recruitment, selection, as well as administrative functions. As opposed to strategic human resource managers, personnel managers are functional specialists who have little status or power (Bloisi, 2007, p. 12). Personnel managers mainly play the role of linking the employee and employer to articulate both their needs. Personnel management has been prominent in the past, with organisations practicing it to seek the achievement of their end objectives. The organisational changes and transforma tion towards strategic HRM have been instigated by changing power balance, as well as the changing management concerns within the workplace (Redman Wilkinson, 2006, p. 4). Trade union membership has been declining in the recent years, while concerns by the management have focused more on efficiency and productivity. Organisations are also increasingly facing pressure to change and are in the process seeking ways of adjusting to the global competition through downsizing their workforce, de-layering, and decentralisation (Redman Wilkinson, 2006, p. 4). These changes have transformed firms into being more flexible, adopting continuous change programmes, and becoming flexible. This is the essence of strategic HRM, where focus is on performance management, process re-engineering, learning organisation, and culture change (Redman Wilkinson, 2006, p. 7). As Armstrong (2006, p. 19) notes, strategic HRM mainly emphasises on organisations attaining integration and strategic fit with their business strategy. Strategic HRM mainly focuses on organisational culture and commitment achievement because of the new changes in the business environment. It places more emphasis on line managers and their role as HR policy implementers (Armstrong, 2006, p. 19). The holistic strategic HRM approach mainly deals with the organisation and its interests, as well as taking into consideration how important the individual employee interests are. The HR professionals seek to become business partners and not administrators in the firm. Their focus is to treat the employees as critical assets of the firm, but not as cost overheads (Armstrong 2006, p. 21). Although strategic HRM can seek to initiate new business policies and practices, the implementation role is left to the line managers (Armstrong, 2006, p. 97). The organisation does not only stop at providing HR policies because strategic HRM is focused on improved organisational performance. Instead, the implementation process takes the c entral role. Strategic HRM targets to achieve up to six critical objectives for the organisation, which include conceptualising interests, establishing the mission and vision statements, and determining structural, as well as functional roles. Additionally, it seeks to determine the managerial operatives and define the job descriptions, prepare the HR policy documents while placing emphasis on performance management, and managing the organisational culture. Human Resource Management The shift towards strategic HRM practice of the traditional personnel management has gone through the human resource management stage. Human resource management focuses more on the management and its needs in regard to the provision, as well as use of the human resources. HRM promotes the undertaking of activities that deal with the human resources with other management members. It does not promote working between the management and the employees directly. Its main emphasis is on planning, monitoring and controlling, but not mediating (Torrington, Hall Taylor, 2004, p. 23). The main HRM role involves aligning structures and the human resources to achieve the organisation’s business structure and the planned scope. The concern is on the human aspect comprising the organisational structure. However, HRM differs from the strategic management of the human resources in the sense that the latter bases on the general organisational strategy. It also focuses on the strategies of the organisational units in existence. The operational management, therefore, develops the strategic plans aimed for the staff. HRM is mainly characterised by favouring liberal principles and goals. It does not only refer to a typical worker who goes to his or her place of work and waits for payment at the end of it all. Instead, the worker matters a lot in the survival of the organisation and gets the treatment of a management subject. The constant change, increase of competitiveness, rapid science and tec hnology development, and the associated difficulties require that the management of an organisation should search constantly for solutions that are good and adequate. It is conclusive to point out that it is decisive to treat and manage human resources within the organisation. It gives importance to HRM, while seriously challenging those in charge. The Strategic HRM Approach Unlike personnel management practice, strategic HRM emphasises on the need for human resource planning. It involves determining the actual size of staff member that can help the organisation to meet its future needs and achieve a workforce whose composition has the necessary skills (McKenna Beech, 2002, p. 117). Firms are targeting to achieve efficiency in their performance, while ensuring that the employees in the firm associate themselves fully with the organisation in their quest to maintain the right size of workforce. Strategic HR planning seeks to acquire, utilise, improve, and retain the organisationâ₠¬â„¢s human resources (Mullins, 2005, p. 797). Organisations are realising the importance of including HR planning as an integral component of the broader corporate planning. In this new framework, information plays an important role of determining the range of the plan, target dates, forecasting period, and the needed skills and occupations (Mullins, 2005, p. 797). The organisation needs to carry out an analysis of the existing resources, undertake an estimation of the probable resources according to the target dates agreed, and factor in the current staff development, losses, and the external forces like labour availability and legislative change (Mullins, 2005, p. 799). Forecasting of staff requirements is a critical aspect of strategic HRM. It helps in ensuring that the organisation attains its corporate objectives as per the scheduled dates. The management, nevertheless, must take several measures to offer the appropriate staffing resources required. Overly, changes in the popu lation trends have to be taken into account to include some considerations like the ageing of the workforce, the number of young people being absorbed directly from school, competition levels from other organisations, advancement in automation and information technology, and employment legislation (Mullins, 2005, p. 799). Employee selection Strategic HRM has seen the emergence of new techniques in employee selection. These techniques emphasise on efficiency and quality performance. The Credit Suisse process is among the new employee selection techniques that firms adopting strategic HRM practice employ. As Marchington and Wilkinston (2005, p. 176) mention, strategic selection methods currently used by organisations include references, application forms, assessment centres, graphology, and work sampling. These techniques are all applied together because no single technique offers the perfect decisions that can address the issue of certainty (Marchington Wilkinston, 2005, p. 176). Th e transition of personnel management, therefore, has seen a multiple number of methods being preferred by managers. In this new practice, employers may confirm with the references after, or before the interviews. The references are maintained as critical aspects of recruitment that inform the decision to employ a particular individual. The CIPD (2004, p. 2) indicates a collection of other selection techniques employed by organisations that have adopted strategic HRM, including the use of questionnaires and numeracy and literacy tests. A combination of all these techniques during the selection process enhances the overall quality of employees selected because each of the methods has limitations. A more complimentary technique is used as an alternative to achieve a perfect judgement, the probable fit with the organisation’s culture (Jackson et al., 2008, p. 552). Interviews The strategic HRM shift has seen a majority of organisations adopt the use of interviews as the most comm on technique in the recruitment process (Bloisi, 2007, p. 147). According to Bloisi, up to 68% of organisations consider the use of interviews, particularly the more structured interview types. These interviews are used as a determinant of the selected teams. Other organisations prefer the use of structured, panel interviewing (CIPD, 2005, p. 1). Additionally, behavioural questioning within the structured interviews is also used as a technique for determining the right employees. Organisations are emphasising on acquiring individuals who are better placed in terms of their behaviours to serve it towards the achievement of the objectives. Organisations must ensure that they acquire the right employees because strategic HRM entails attaining efficiency and objectives within the stipulated time. Although individual skills are crucial in determining the selection decisions, employees must also be competent enough to fit into the organisation’s culture (Armstrong, 2006, p. 404). C onclusion The organisational transition from personnel management practice to strategic human resource management has been taking place since the 1980s. The business environment has been changing over the years, with the emergence of trends such as globalisation influencing the need for organisations to speed up their transition to strategic human resource management. Various challenges within the contemporary business environment make it inadequate for personnel management to achieve its intended goals and objectives effectively. The external changes within the business environment comprise of increased competition, the need to satisfy customers’ needs accurately, advanced technology and techniques, and the intricate nature of the global economy. Organisations will be unable to create the needed competitive edge over their rivals, unless they shift to strategic human resource management. Sears’ performance management target has seen it mandate a multi-perspective appr aisal for its managers, where greater emphasis is placed on consistency of behaviours to match with its leadership competencies. The firm intends to train its managers to be actual leaders in its quest to make it a compelling place for customers to do their shopping and one where workers will get the attraction to work in. Lucent’s strategic human resource management has seen Lucent focus on strong pay-performance relationship where it has increased stock options usage. From this strategy, the firm has succeeded in aligning the interests of its employees with the corporate goal of doubling the market value and overall performance. Further strategic management programs at Lucent have seen it increase service quality in every level of its operation. The new HR structure of the firm has helped in providing and sustaining a model that emphasises services at three main levels, including individual employees, senior leaders, and supervisors. Herman Miller, Inc., on its part, has st rategically focused on pushing for a buy-in from the line managers to enhance people-based competitive strategy. The employees participate in the decision making process in the firm to facilitate ‘ownership’. The idea of the firm is to make employees more valuable by allowing them to fully participate in the crucial management role in decision-making. The transition from personnel management to strategic human resource management has seen firms focus a lot of their attention on the selection procedures that they employ. The most important objective that the management seeks to attain is the creation of a workforce that fits perfectly within the cultural base of the organisation. The contemporary organisations are spending much of their resources in training workers to increase their ability to compete with others. Employees who have their skills improved regularly increase the possibility of the organisation attaining its objective. Strategic management of the human res ource has seen firms focus more attention on the selection of their employees, with more techniques being employed to ascertain the behaviour of the prospective employees. Individual behaviour is crucial even as organisations seek to achieve a cultural fit into the complex business environment. List of References Armstrong, M Murlis, H 2004, Reward management: a handbook of remuneration strategy and practice, Kogan Page, London Armstrong, M 2000, Performance management: Key strategies and practical guidelines, 2nd edition, Kogan Page Ltd, London Armstrong, M 2006, A handbook of human resource management practice, 10th edition, Kogan Page Limited, London. Bloisi, W 2007, An introduction to human resource management, McGraw-Hill Education, Maidenhead Business Wire, 2002, Dan DiLeo joins Quantum Photonics Strategic Advisory Board, http://wires.vlex.com/vid/dan-dileo-quantum-photonics-strategic-54486061 Business Wire, 2006, Premier Mounts named as a top supplier for sears holdings corp oration: company recognizes top suppliers as Partners in Progress, businesswire.com/news/home/20060731005548/en/Premier-Mounts-Named-Top-Supplier-Sears-Holdings Chiavenato, I 2000, ‘Advances and challenges in human resource management in the new millenium’, Public Personnel Management, vol. 30 no. 1, pp. 17-27 Choy, WKW 2007, ‘Globalisation and workforce diversity: HRM implications for multinational corporations in Singapore’, Singapore Management Review, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 1-19. CIPD 2004, Recruitment, retention and turnover: A survey of the UK and Ireland, CIPD, London. CIPD 2005, Recruitment, retention and turnover: A survey of the UK and Ireland, CIPD, London. Collins, D, Rainwater, K 2005, ‘Managing change at Sears: a sideways look at a tale of corporate transformation’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 16-30. Firooz, A, 2012, Investigate and explain the relationship between human resource competency dimen sions with organizational performance, Life Science Journal, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 673-678 Hoffman, NP 2000, ‘An examination of the sustainable competitive advantage† concept: past, present, and future’, Academy of Marketing Science Review, vol. 2000, no. 4, http://thoughtleaderpedia.com/Marketing-Library/Sustainable%20Competitive%20Advantage/SustainableCompetitveAdvantage_hoffman04-2000.pdf Jackson, SE, Schuler, RS Werner, S 2008, Managing human resources, 10th edition, Thomson South-Western, New York, NY Lengnick-Hall, ML, Lengnick, CA, Andrade, LS, Drake B 2009, ‘Strategic human resource management: The evolution of the ï ¬ eld’, Human Resource Management Review, vol. 19, pp. 64–85 Manufacturing Close-Up, 2013, Quantum Communications adds Kevin Sunday to firm, highbeam.com/doc/1P2-35064821.html Marchington, M Wilkinson, A 2005, Human resource management at work: people management and development, 3rd edition, CIPD, London. McKenna, EF, Be ech, N 2002, Human resource management: a concise analysis, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Harlow, Essex, England Mullins, LJ 2005, Management and organisational behaviour, 7th edition, Prentice Hall, Harlow, Essex, England Murphy, TE Zandvakili, S 2000, ‘Data- and metrics-driven approach to human resource practices: Using customers, employees, and financial metrics’, Human Resource Management, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 93-105. Namuduri, SK 2006, Analysis of resource-sharing decisions in dyadic collaborative knowledge creation: A game-theoretic approach, Georgia State University, http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/managerialsci_diss/9 Neenan, RM 2008, ‘Whos keeping score?’, Quality Progress, vol. 41, no. 6, pp. 48-52. Oliver, M 2003, Engagement wins employees over, Haymarket Business Publications Ltd, New York, NY PR Newswire, 2001, Lucent Technologies announces new strategic alliance agreements aimed at enhancing product development and speeding deployment, prnewswire .com/news-releases/lucent-technologies-announces-new-strategic-alliance-agreements-aimed-at-enhancing-product-development-and-speeding-deployment-74632482.html Quandt, SR 2007, Effective improvisational leadership during CEO succession, Benedictine University, Lisle, IL Redman, T Wilkinson, A 2006, Contemporary human resource management: text and cases, 2nd edition, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Essex, England. Salisbury, D, 2008, The future of retirement plans, The Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/ad/article/employeebenefits-future Thomas, W. 2012, ‘Operations research vis-a-vis management at Arthur D. Little and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1950s’, Business History Review, vol. 86, no. 1, pp. 99-122. Torrington, D, Hall, L Taylor, S 2004, Human resource management 6th ed. FT. Prentice Hall, Essex, England Walker, B, Bovet, D Joseph, M 2000, ‘Unlocking the supply chain to build competitive advantage’, International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 1-8. Walker, S 2006, ‘Delivering market-leading support at lucent’, Knowledge Management Review, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 18-23.

3 Parenthetical Punctuation Puzzles

3 Parenthetical Punctuation Puzzles 3 Parenthetical Punctuation Puzzles 3 Parenthetical Punctuation Puzzles By Mark Nichol 1. â€Å"Thanks to technology, we can have independence, relative independence, from the harsh qualities of the real world on a day-to-day basis.† This sentence’s punctuation a series of three commas implies a flat progression of ideas without modulation. But the writer, after the fact, modifies the absolute word independence with the qualifying term relative, and should signal this slight case of backpedaling by marking the phrase â€Å"relative independence† as an interjection: â€Å"Thanks to technology, we can have independence relative independence from the harsh qualities of the real world on a day-to-day basis.† 2. â€Å"You, yes you, can say you were there for the advent of the Apple iPod.† The writer almost immediately interrupts the sentence to emphasize the importance of the reader’s qualification to make the claim. The interruption, however, is weak because it is accomplished with a pair of quotidian commas rather than two dashing dashes. Also, note that if the writer had correctly punctuated the parenthetical phrase (â€Å"yes, you†), the result would be a confusing sequence of three commas (â€Å"You, yes, you, can say . . .†), which would further diminish the impact of the interruption. The correct treatment is â€Å"You yes, you can say you were there for the advent of the Apple iPod.† (The third parenthetical option, to place â€Å"yes, you† in parentheses, is the equivalent of whispering the phrase, which is not the connotation the writer intends.) 3. â€Å"The potato, and for that matter ginger root, are not true roots, but underground stems.† This sentence is a more complicated variation of the one in the previous example complicated, because the interjection (â€Å"and for that matter ginger root†) itself includes a parenthetical phrase that the author has erred in not setting off with punctuation: â€Å"For that matter† is an interjection within the phrase â€Å"and ginger root.† The larger interjection should be set off by em dashes, though parentheses are also correct; commas will suffice for the one within: â€Å"The potato and, for that matter, ginger root is not a true root, but an underground stem.† (Note, too, that I altered the sentence’s plural construction to a singular one: Factually, ginger root is also an underground stem rather than a true root, but in the sentence as it is structured, because ginger root is within a parenthetical phrase, is and the nouns root and stem refer only to potato.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and ToesWhen to Form a Plural with an ApostrophePeople vs. Persons

An analysis of three women from three works by edith wharton Essay

An analysis of three women from three works by edith wharton - Essay Example Her works display her inborn wit and are characterized for their humor, incisiveness and uneventfulness (Wikipedia). As a child, Wharton lived overseas until the age of six when her family settled in New York. She was not formally schooled, but she educated herself by receiving instruction from her governess and by reading through her father's collection of books (Dwight and Winner). In 1885, aged 23, she married Edward Robbins Wharton, but the marriage was tumultuous and unhappy. The marriage ended in divorce in 1913, on grounds of her husband's public infidelity and degrading health. Wharton's first work published, The Decoration of Houses, is not a work of fiction, but a work on architecture and landscaping. In the course of her life, Wharton has traveled extensively through Continental Europe, eventually settling in France. From France, she observed the battles of World War I from the frontlines and wrote Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort, a series of articles about the fighting. She was involved actively in the Red Cross and with the refugees, and was given the French Legion of Honor award for her efforts. In a writing career spanning forty years, Wharton would produce more than forty volumes of work. Her first work published, The Decoration of Houses, is not a work of fiction, but a book on architecture and landscaping. ... r work, responding particularly to the elegance and precision of her prose and the sharpness of her wit; others don't like her at all, finding it hard to "get into" her fiction because she seems so cold, the prose seems so detailed and self-conscious, and the subject matter is so elite" ("Edith Wharton"). Said Dwight and Winner, Edith Wharton "was a born storyteller, whose novels are justly celebrated for their vivid settings, satiric wit, ironic style, and moral seriousness," whose works contain characters are "[o]ften portrayed as tragic victims of cruel social conventions, they are trapped in bad relationships or confining circumstances." The three works chosen for this paper, The Other Two, The Muse's Tragedy and The Pomegranate Seed, are works of Wharton that provide examples to this statement. One such character trapped by conventions is Mrs. Alice Waythorn from The Other Two. The story is told from the point of view by Alice's third husband Mr. Waythorn, whose glowing fascination for his charming bride then turned to doubt about her personality and the fact that she was married twice before him. It is a doubt that grew each time he encountered her former husbands, to wane into numbness with familiarity with them, and to be resolved in the most humorous and unexpected of turns. The Muse's Tragedy, aptly named, is the story of a woman named Mary Anerton, who was seen by the society she moves in as the muse of the renowned poet Vincent Rendle, and immortalized in his "Sonnets to Silvia." While the public whispered of the great love affair between poet and muse, which lent fame - and after the poet's death, authority on his works - to Mrs. Anerton, the truth is that the love affair existed only in Mrs. Anerton's mind, the fruit of her unspoken longing for the

Introduction to Human Resource Management Essay - 2

Introduction to Human Resource Management - Essay Example From the report it is clear that induction training is one of the important and beginning steps for the new as well as the existing employees to revitalise their creative ideas and thus contribute to the overall efficiency of the organisation. It also intends to increase the employees’ willingness motivating them to be more enthusiastic at work emphasising on both the existing and fresh employees. This process intends to be highly beneficial for the new employees motivating them to become more productive cooperative towards the company statement as well as the vision of the company by generating awareness regarding the previous records and achievements by the organisation. This discussion stresses that the next step of the induction training is to provide the information about organisational structure to the employees indicating the overall structure of the organisation. This includes the different divisions as well as the briefing about the responsibilities possessed by the employee groups. The step following this process will intend to provide a briefing about the HR Policies of the company referring it to be one of the most important facets of induction training encompassing with the different processes in the working period excluding the operation level works. It is worth mentioning in this context that the involvement of effective HR policies of an organisation signifies the different phases of the employees from the reporting time to the time when the employee decides to resign from the organisation.

Creating a sense of community Essay Example for Free

Creating a sense of community Essay Introduction Organizations, leaders and employees often need to be commended on a job well done and celebrate it with some exceptional time off from work. This is a positive step for the organization because it not only shows appreciation for those individuals who come to work every day to make sure that their organization achieve all of its goals, but illustrates the organizations appreciation for it valuable staff and employees. This can be done by simply honoring most federal and calendar year holidays throughout the year, company holidays including time off for birthdays and banquet celebrations as well. In addition, on a dismal note, sometimes an organization may have to honor its employees and staff for tragic circumstances that may occur throughout the year. Celebrating the community is key for an organization in terms of keeping their employees motivated and excited about giving their best effort on each task at hand. Kouzes Posner mentions that celebrations serve as important a purpose in the long-term of an organization as does the daily performance of tasks ( Kouzes Posner, p.310, 2013). Celebrating the community serves as a medicine that brings an organizations and its employees together in each prospective shared values and commitments. Overview of community building practices Kouzes Posner states that In acknowledging the community (†common unity†) that individuals share with each other, a sense of team spirit is created among leaders who build and maintain the social support that is required for individuals to thrive and excel during tough times ( Kouzes   Posner, p.310, 2013). Organizations must have in place an supportive structure that will support the employees and enhance their opportunities for appreciation for their hard work. Communities that have a strong commitment for connecting celebrations, community and commitment will set themselves far above average organizations. An outstanding leader who has made the vow to help renew those employees’ commitments will be headed in a positive direction. This approach will serve as a motivational and retention tool for the leaders and organization. Organizations should commit themselves on building fun activities and socials that are fitted for those employees, it’s a celebration of appreciation and respect. Celebrating those outstanding deeds that each employee exemplified should not be kept in house. The good news should be shared with the community, the public. Kouzes Posner suggest that private rewards do little to set an example for the organization ( Kouzes Posner, p.313, 2013). However, having the opportunity to share someone’s story of success is worth celebrating and it will also highlight the individual and the organization in a positive manner. Organizations that connect celebration, community and commitment for the long haul will undoubtedly be successful. Organizations that ensure that their employees understand that they are part of the big picture know that shared values, destiny and victories are important to securing a sense of community. Leaders should make sure that all employees have the opportunity to play a functional role in the celebrations and the framework that support the organizations values. Celebrations can come in all forms such as cyclical celebrations, celebrations of triumph, personal transitions, workplace altruism, events and ritual for comfort and letting go. Not every celebration is upbeat and enjoyable. There are times when a employee may have a sick family member or even suffered a loss of a loved one. Author Colleen Young mentioneds that in ttoday’s organization, the fledgling, but active, community continues to grow, providing peer-to-peer support and information for a very specific point in the health continuum, namely for people living with life-threatening disease, for friends and family who care about and for them, and for people dealing with grief and loss (Young, C. 2013). Different cultures There are many different cultures all around the world that handle  their employees differently. Individuals take time to celebrate their prospective cultures that have a particular meaning for them. Leaders that do not implement group interactions or celebrations could lack the reinforcement of a common purpose for different cultures. The organization have to get involved in each culture collaboration. The cultures in communities are many, such as the Chinese community which is the largest and the fastest growing group among Asian and Pacific Islander populations. It also has many different dialects that a leader and organization must understand. Furthermore, there’s the African American Community and the Central American Community. The African American Community has a group history of oppression and survival also affects the way it is organized. The networks and organizations that form to protect the rights of their members influence the way in which members of the group organize for self-help. It is important for an organization to know about their history and celebrated it accordingly. Lastly, there is the Central Americans who fled from poverty and oppression in their countries to seek a more secure and better life in a new place here in the United States. Challenges that leaders face in respecting the cultural differences Some of the challenges that a leader may encounter are not knowing the unknown and how to deal with tension among the groups when resources are limited. Another challenging situation that will likely to confront the leader is struggling with immigrants whose culture, institution and tradition are not readily familiar to most mainstream groups. Some of those cultures may not have community groups with leaders. Therefore, there is no organization or guidance. Culture typically refers to a set of symbols, rituals, values, and beliefs that make one group different from another. Culture is learned and shared with people who live or lived in the same social environment for a long time. Provide best practices for overcoming these challenges There are several best practices that can help the leader to overcome those cultural challenges. Kouzes Posner discusses that Reflection and Action can help when social interactions required to uphold individuals or groups to a high standard. People are asked to go beyond their comfort zone, so as a leader you should set the example by getting personally involved in the celebrations of varies cultures ( Kouzes Posner, p.329, 2013). Some other  best practices may include Plan a celebration today, reinforce core values in your celebrations. A leader need to start the celebration right now and don’t procrastinate. Understanding those cultures now will make for a better transition of understanding. Lastly, a leader should understand the cultures values and what they aspire to realize ( Kouzes Posner, p.331, 2013). Being innovative and obtaining values and loyalty are key factors that will enable a leader to be successful in dealing with multiple cultures. SDLP I will implement my understanding of connecting celebration, community and commitment to my professional career. I have a clearer picture of how to bond and recognize those employees who work hard and treat them like an individual should be treated. I will go a step further in implementing a framework that will celebrate the key values of my staff when they go the extra mile to achieve their goals. My commitment to them will highlight and reward them not just internally, but publically as well. I know that this will be a motivation tool that can help shape the future of me as a leader and my organization. I will document my newly found knowledge of celebrating a community in my SDLP.

Maternal Bond in Toni Morrisons Beloved Essay -- Toni Morrison Belove

Maternal Bond in Toni Morrison's Beloved  Ã‚     Ã‚     The maternal bond between mother and kin is valued and important in all cultures.   Mothers and children are linked together and joined: physically, by womb and breast; and emotionally, by a sense of self and possession.   Once that bond is established, a mother will do anything for her child.   In the novel Beloved, the author, Toni Morrison, describes a woman, Sethe, who's bond is so strong she goes to great lengths to keep her children safe and protected from the evil that she knows.   She gave them the gift of life, then, adding to that, the joy of freedom.   Determined to shield them from the hell of slavery, she took drastic measures to keep them from that life.   But, in doing so, the bond that was her strength became her weakness, destroying the only thing she loved.   Slaves, in the United States, were denied everything -- all forms of identifying with the human race.   They were denied their freedom of life: the very right to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of nature in the world, it not being theirs to enjoy.   Additionally, they were denied the very way in which all humans identify themselves -- through the influence of others.   They were disallowed community and harmony among their peoples.   Children were taken from their mothers, and brothers from their sisters.   Dr. Kubitcheck says, ?Another crucial part of identity and culture, language, also has been lost to the slaves? (126).   Individual slaves were often placed on plantations with other slaves from different parts of Africa, speaking completely different languages, and thus having no way of communication between them.   ?Symbolically,? Kubitcheck says, ?slavery . . . obliterated African identity? (126).   Because... ...ing - the part of her that was clean? (251).   Sethe?s ?commitment to her children remains unshakable,? Kubitcheck says (123).   Though her actions were appalling and disgraceful according to the community, it was done with a sense of love and protection, so as not to break the maternal bond.   The bond between a mother and her child is beyond the grasp of words.   Toni Morrison, in Beloved, tries to take hold of it. Creating a character who is so consumed by her children being a measure of her worth, Morrison shows the strength of the maternal bond.   It is that which has the power to love something or someone with all one?s heart.   It is that love which, giving life, is strong enough to kill. Works Cited 1.   Kubitcheck, MD.   Toni Morrison: A Critical Companion.   London: Greenwood Press, 1998. 2.   Morrison, Toni.   Beloved.   New York: Plume, 1987.      

Philippineâ€American War

The Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection (1899–1902), was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following annexation by the United States.The war was part of a series of conflicts in the Philippine struggle for independence, preceded by the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish-American War. Fighting erupted between U. S. and Philippine revolutionary forces on February 4, 1899, and quickly escalated into the 1899 Battle of Manila.On June 2, 1899, the First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the United States. The war officially ended on July 4, 1902. Members of the Katipunan society continued to battle the American forces. Among them was General Macario Sacay, a veteran Katipunan member who assumed the presidency of the proclaimed Tagalog Republic, formed in 1902 after the capture of President Aguinaldo. Other groups, including the Moro people and Pulahanes, continued hostilities until their defeat at the Battle of Bud Bagsak on June 15, 1913 Opposition to the war inspired Mark Twain to found the Anti-Imperialist League on June 15, 1898.The war and occupation by the United States would change the cultural landscape of the islands, as the people dealt with an estimated 34,000–1,000,000 casualties, disestablishment of the Catholic Church as the state religion, and the introduction of the English language as the primary language of government and some businesses. In 1916, the United States granted the Philippines autonomy and promised eventual self-government, which came in 1934. In 1946, following World War II, the United States recognized Philippine Independence through the Treaty of Manila.

Challenges of Life

Some of Life’s Challenges Education has always played one of the most challenging parts of my life. It has become even more of a struggle with the other priorities in my life such as work and my hockey club team. I always try my best to get around to these events while at the same time, try to avoid the worst possibilities-like not having a source of transportation or falling behind schedule with another event. These issues of rides and time can occur often but I do learn to work with what my sources are, which is hardly anything, and somehow manage to be okay at the end of the day.To begin with, working is a huge responsibility and sometimes can be a bigger priority than school. I work all morning shifts which keeps me from having any classes in the daytime. In addition, the morning time at the Galleria Mall is slow but the regulars are always there early, sometimes before the mall even opens, and it becomes frustrating when trying to concentrate on my work with a customer wa lking in every other minute.This causes me to lose my train of thought, which you all know can be very thwarting. Last, but worst part is that when I get off work, I have class right after! I come to class grumpy, hungry, and hardly without a desire to learn anything. For quite some time now, cars have been a huge hobby as well as a passion of mine. Not too long ago my mom and I began to share cars because she had returned hers due to the end of her lease.Furthermore, this has become a serious problem in which one of our schedules becomes ruined and in most cases I am the one that makes the sacrifice of skipping a hockey game, being late to work, or having to be dropped off at class an hour and a half early. Lastly, I have developed the habit of having to ask for rides from friends or family. This becomes very nerve wrecking which makes me feel terrible for always having to ask and sometimes I don’t even manage to find a ride because my family and friends have their own thing s to get†¦

When You Feel Overwhelmed... Or Fail - CoSchedule Blog

When You Feel Overwhelmed... Or Fail Blog Marketers (just like you) are overwhelmed. Theres so much to do to be successful. Or is there? The noise is so intimidating: If you write a blog post, you better optimize it for SEO. That content  better be at least 2,500 words long. You have to research everything + back up your claims. It has to  be actionable. It has to be well-designed. You need to build an email list so you can share it. You need to post it on all of your social networks. All of the messages should be optimized for each social media account. You need to publish that blog post, send that email, and post to every social network at the best time. The list goes on and on. ^ And that example is just for writing a blog post. What about writing, designing, publishing, and promoting e-books, hosting webinars, starting your podcast, and beyond? Im sure you see my point. When You Feel Overwhelmed Or FailBut what would your life be like if you were to  focus on doing fewer things extremely well? You will create more effective projects. You will build skills and subsequently boost your efficiency. You will improve  a process you can delegate, and subsequently scale your results. Intense focus on doing work that actually makes a difference will  eliminate the overwhelm. And subsequently, you will fail less frequently. Do one thing well. Then embellish upon it. Do one thing well. Then embellish upon it.A big mentor of mine told me recently: Think of every project in terms of little experiments. via @garrett_moon Nathan Ellering (@njellering) January 31, 2017 If you look at that blog post you want to write as an example here, that means: Write the dang thing. Ship it (imperfections and all). ^  At first, you dont need to optimize it for search engines. It doesnt need to be extremely well-edited. You may not need graphics at all. You dont need to optimize it to capture email addresses. Because if you dont focus on doing one thing well at first- and let yourself become overwhelmed with #allthethings  you could do- youre probably spreading yourself too thin. Youre doing many things just alright  without doing one thing extremely well. All of the fringe things that make up a well-rounded  project will come over time. But, as Seth Godin says: If you don’t ship, you actually haven’t started anything at all. At some point, your work has to intersect with the market. At some point, you need feedback as to whether or not it worked. Otherwise, it’s merely a hobby. After you nail the core skill that will make your project successful, you can optimize it further. As you think of projects in terms of little experiments, you  wont waste time  writing an entire strategy around something that is actually a big huge guess. Ship. Learn. Iterate. 9 Things  We Tried  That Didnt Work Out So Well At Least At First And with that here are a number of experiments  the (mostly) marketing team at has tried and failed. Im sharing these stories  so you can implement a similar approach of  testing + agility in your marketing operations. Also learn from our failures so you dont have to experience them yourself. #1: Executing Without A Solid Plan Is Kind Of A Bad Idea (Really Bad, Actually) Last year, I got really excited about launching an editorial strategy course. We had just added a couple new friends  to  the marketing team. So I wanted to refocus my time on something completely new and exciting. I jumped into creating content without telling anyone. The goal, the game plan, the sprints, the tasks- everything existed in my head and was not communicated well with the team. I didnt even ask them for their thoughts on what a great course would look like for the audience. The result? I had to scrap a lot of work and restart. This is why I remind myself: Fail fast. Fail once. Now we have a brainstorming meeting for big ideas like this where I ask the team one question: What would a project like this look like for ? Everyone helps  shape the project. Everyone has  a stake in the strategy. Then I pare down the ideas into realistically achievable sprints. #2: More Meetings Fewer Meetings A lot of people think fewer meetings are  better than  more meetings. Theyre wrong. Our  Product team often uses meetings as a  method to get more work done faster. For example, theyll touch base in the mornings. Then theyll set up another touch point that day in mid-afternoon for a show and tell of what theyve completed so far. This gives the product owners a chance to review the progress and see how things are looking. So if anyone is off track, they can course correct without wasting a lot of time working on  something that would be changed anyway. More touch points like this keep us focused. The key is  these meetings are focused on execution + creating effective work quickly. Theyre like deadlines. And they work because nobody  wants to show up for a show and tell and have nothing to show. #3:  Data-Driven Decisions Assumptions Its easy to let assumptions guide your work. Its another to use data to understand what really works. We tested sending well-designed emails to our audience with the assumption that more people would click through. After testing the designed emails against plain text, the results were not even close. Plain text emails get way more clickthroughs with our audience. But if we hadnt tested, we would have never known. Test. Measure. Learn. Its easy to let assumptions guide your work. Its another to use data to understand what really#4: Plan Way Ahead For Video Content We recently launched #OverheardAt, a new video series. It was a brand new project without a defined process. Snags included sketching, video length, and editing in post-production. ^ Essentially, a better plan + over-communication is the best way to resolve those challenges with video, especially because its really hard to change video content after its been recorded. A big lesson here is that  this was the first time doing it. To build a skill and a solid, repeatable process, you need to start, hone, and optimize. We wont make the same mistakes again. To build a skill and a solid, repeatable process, you need to start, hone, and optimize.#5:  Start + Improve In October 2016, we launched a weekly podcast called The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast. Like any skill you build, I started by first concentrating on finding amazing guests  and sharing helpful  stories other marketers would love. I had to learn a brand new process complete with the foundation/structure + outreach + writing questions + actual interviews + audio quality + promotion + a lot more. My early interviews were a little rocky. The audio could have been better. But Ive gotten a lot more comfortable, and now I just edit out my awkwardness (ha). Now that were covering lots of different marketing topics, weve also changed the name of the podcast to The Actionable Marketing Podcast. Its a matter of focus. And you can listen to my thoughts on that here. The lesson learned here is starting, shipping, iterating. #6: Spend Money To Make Money We started dabbling in AdWords and Facebook Ads to reach a larger audience. At first, I was spending next to nothing and getting next to no results. For projects like paid advertising, you need to invest a significant amount up front because you have no idea what kind of ads will convert (and which wont). Which means, especially as you start, you need to spend some money to understand whats not working to know where you can improve. Ad creative is a big huge guess until you look at the data. Some of my favorite ads never converted while some ads I would have never guessed would do so well are still among our top-performers today. Again, personal opinion should never get in the way of measuring real results. #7: Customers   Traffic + Email Subscribers Profitable customer action. Thats the reason marketing exists, right? To drive profitable customer action. For about two years, the Content Marketing team at focused on building traffic. Once the traffic was on our website, we optimized the content to convert that traffic into email subscribers. That is still an approach I recommend starting with. But weve recently made a pivot. What we used to call our Content Marketing team is now the Demand Generation team. Its a matter of focus: To provide the most helpful marketing content on the internet that attracts an audience of marketers who are interested in organizing their marketing execution with . Were using data to understand what content we publish influences the best kinds of customers for our business. Then we learn the  qualities + topics that help us  attract the right audience. And we use that knowledge to  ship more content that aligns among  our best performers. ^ Id definitely recommend doing this for your own marketing. #8: Stop Doing Whats Not Working (RIP #CoChat) For about six months, we hosted a weekly Twitter chat. Six months deep, I wrote a quick survey and shared it with our Twitter chat participants. I really wanted to know if any of them were more likely to buy because of the  chat. The results were a resounding no. Not a single participant was more likely to purchase because of participating in the chat. At least, thats what they told me. Literally. So, as a matter of focus, we shut down #CoChat. It was sucking our resources into a project that was not delivering measurable results to our goals. Stop whats not working to refocus your efforts on what does. Stop whats not working to refocus your efforts on what does.#9: Reward Yourself  For Providing Value concentrates on providing value in every project we ship. When we launched our Headline Analyzer the first time, we  didnt have a way to capture email subscriber leads. When we saw the tool take off, we provided a  content upgrade in exchange for an email address. The tool was valuable for our audience. For free. So we wanted to also have a way to continue to communicate with those folks. Thats fair. Heres another example:  We knew  our audience loved getting free PDFs. Then we started experimenting more: Wouldnt editable spreadsheets, Word docs, and slide decks be even more helpful? And what if we bundled more of those things together so instead of giving one thing away for free, wed give away three, five, or heck, even 10? ^ Every time we gave away more helpful stuff, we converted more people. Every time we gave away more helpful stuff, we converted more people.When you provide something valuable, you, as a marketer, deserve to be rewarded in some way. Think about the conversions, the desirable action. You put in the work, you deserve something out of it. Dont be afraid to make the ask. How To Overcome The Overwhelm (Or Failures) So what  have all of those stories + failures  taught us about overcoming the overwhelm? Plan Your Work. Then Work Your Plan. People who write down goals are more likely to make them a reality. Plan how you will execute a project. Then follow the plan. Leave out the frills and focus. Start With Minimum Viable Tests (Then  Optimize Further) Garrett likes to say: The simplest approach is often the best place to start. Nail a core skill, then optimize further. Doing Less Is Often Doing More You dont have to do everything to be successful. Instead of spreading yourself too thin,  master a 10x project. Then scale it. Being really good at one thing is better than being mediocre at many things. Embrace Frameworks Thought processes are easy to pass along to your team when you embrace easy-to-remember frameworks. For example, the framework that drives our entire Demand Generation strategy is: The right content The right audience The right amount of effort If we do those three things incredibly well, we win.  Everyone on the team can repeat that framework to you if you were to ask. Could your marketing team benefit from a simple framework like that? Ship + Learn + Iterate Dont shoot for perfection. Create something just good enough to produce the desired result. Learn the skill. Then hone it. As you improve your process, optimize it with additional opportunities for growth.

What Is a Five Paragraph Essay

What Is a Five Paragraph Essay Because a five-paragraph essay is a chosen vehicle for measuring a students writing proficiency, it is essential that each master this patterned format writing to score well. What Is a 5 Paragraph Essay? Students at the college or university level are often required to write essays as part of an exam or as a general writing-composition assignment. Unless an assignment calls for a more in-depth composition (persuasive essay, research paper, dissertation), or if a written exam instructs otherwise, more than likely the student is to respond to a question or write on a topic in the form of  a  five-paragraph essay. While many students are taught in high school how to write this particular type of essay, it may seem a foreign concept to others. Students must be able to apply these skills and their knowledge of that material in the form of an essay. An essay of this sort may have them making an argument, or simply conveying information on a given topic, to their instructor or professor. In most instances, whether for an exam or an assignment, instructions will not always specify that the student responds to a question in the form of this particular kind of essay – â€Å"Respond to the following questions in a five-paragraph essay.† Unless students are asked to write longer-type papers, or responses in brief one-paragraph segments in exams, writing a five-paragraph essay may be the safest approach – and it is always beneficial to know the formula for writing one. HOW TO WRITE A 5 PARAGRAPH ESSAY 5 Paragraph Essay Outline An essay can be written in just FIVE paragraphs. Here is a detailed information about a 5 paragraph essay outline. Introduction The first paragraph, the introduction, includes an opening, topical sentence as a way to ease the reader into the essay; secondly, this paragraph states the topic (a text, book, article, or issue, etc.) being examined in an accompanying thesis statement, a single-sentence summary of the argument the student is making in the rest of the paper – the claim the student is making about the topic. If it’s not an argument the student is making, it is best if they view the thesis statement as a declaration or theory that is put forward as a premise for the rest of the paper. Body Paragraphs Often referred to as â€Å"the meat of the essay,† the next three paragraphs support and evidence the thesis statement. Each one usually begins with some kind of transition (first of all, secondly, lastly) and a topic sentence to keep the reader’s focus on the topic at hand – and each one includes very pertinent information and in no particular order: each paragraph needs to restate the thesis but in a different way than it was originally written in the introduction without diluting the original argument. Once again, each of these body paragraphs serves to evidence the thesis – to build a stronger argument for the student making the case of something. Each of these body paragraphs, usually, are to include a quote, or paraphrase, or summary, as well as a commentary on how these points of evidence defend or make a stronger argument. Also known as the body paragraphs, the three paragraphs take on different aspects or elements of a story or topic – whatever is needed to defend the thesis – and always tie into the argument being made. Conclusion The conclusion paragraph restates, in a clever way, the argument first declared in the introductory paragraph and summarizes the most important points that comprised the three body paragraphs. By this time, the student, if they have made a valid argument with this five-paragraph essay, will have convinced the reader (most likely the professor or instructor) that their argument is valid. Again, a 5 paragraph essay format is used to argue a position in a thorough, persuasive manner; and, in some entry-level composition courses, a professor will require their students to submit papers in this genre to build the student’s analytical and writing skills and to demonstrate their understanding of a given topic. If you are going to write a five-paragraph essay and would like to receive quality academic guidance and assistance, we are happy to help. We have experts in writing all kinds of essay types and guarantee you a  quality of service. Rest assured: your paper will be properly written and formatted, will contain only recent research data and will be fully original. We guarantee you total customer satisfaction to inform the details of your assignment, place an order.

Art and the Church and the national parks are practically the same Term Paper

Art and the Church and the national parks are practically the same thing. You're defended because you're ineffectual - Term Paper Example One of the artists who have created very effective art in recent times is Giuseppe (2012) Pellicano. Giuseppe work is quite the opposite of the ineffective artist as described by Connor (2006), and his artistic work does not need to be defended. As a conceptual artists Giuseppe has been able to attract the attention of the masses to issues that are critical to the society. One of Giuseppe (2012)’s artwork the The Left.Left. Rigtht. Left. Porcelain has been able to attain critical acclaim for the artiste and cannot be said to be ineffectual as Connor (2006) claims. Under a concept similar to Eleanor Antin’s 100 boots concept, Giuseppe (2006) developed the Left. Left. Left, right, left exhibition to remember the American soldiers who lost their lives in the Iraq war. The Left.Left. Rigth. Left Installation According to Giuseppe (2012), the title emanates from a cadence call in the military used in ordering soldiers into marching formations. This call is made by the leadin g soldiers then the others repeat behind him in unison. The title was symbolic as it echoes with the Camaraderie and unity among the soldiers who fought in Operation Iraq freedom , Operation New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom. The artwork was created by using porcelain moulded into the shape of military boots. Initially, Giuseppe (2012) set out to mould a boot for every soldier who had lost their life in the three operations. The combat boot had five parts that made up the various side of a boot. The boot was made by bandying the five parts of the boot together and the pouring the mixed Porcelain into the mould. The mould was then allowed to shape for three hours before the mould was unfastened to release the boot that looks like the real life boot. The porcelain was allowed to dry further before removing the seams at the junction of the moulds. The surface is then thoroughly smoothed and cleansed to improve its aesthetic appeal. Before, taking the boots to the kiln, a hole was made in the tongue of the boots and Dog tags were fastened through the hole in the tongue. According to the creator, Porcelain was chosen as the material to be creating the boots as its the best among clay bodies and would represent the absolute respect the creator wished to show the soldiers. Porcelain remains white even after firing a colour the creator felt represents stillness and silence used to pay the last respect to a fallen soldier. According to Giuseppe (2012) the same material and slip casting was chosen for making the boots to make sure their represent the view that humans are all equal. According to Giuseppe (2012) the similarities in design would mirror the fact that each soldier was made of blood and flesh, regardless of religion, sex or race. The need to create boots from the same cast explains why the creator was unable to mould more than a 100 boots, as the cast has a short lifespan that can only create a limited number of boots. The idea to fasten dog tags on the boots was taken from another artwork also used to commemorate the lives of fallen soldier in a previous war. This artwork is named Above and Beyond and is displayed at the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum. It is 10-by-40- foot sculpture and is fastened with soldiers name bearing the names of every soldier who fell in the Vietnam War. Similarly, Giuseppe (2012) used dog tags bearing the name, date of death and the