King Lear Character Analysis Essay English Literature Essay

King Lear Character Analysis Essay English Literature Essay Edgar is arguably one of the plays most pitiful characters, by the end of the play he is probably the character who ends up with the most wits. Edgar proves he is adaptable to the changing situations around him by making four different persona changes throughout King Lear. He started as a simpleminded victim of Edmund, but then he changed to a poverty stricken beggar, then an ordinary peasant, then a chivalrous champion challenging Edmund, and lastly the wiser, peaceful version of Edgar. Edgar is also the religious voice in the play. In the beginning of King Lear, Edgar would be clothed in some of the nicest garments because he`s the son of the Earl of Gloucester. Edgar was oblivious to the fact that his illegitimate brother had a plan ruing to oust their father from power. When Edmund told him to run away for a short period of time because Gloucester was mad at him, the simpleminded Edgar did not think twice and listened to his brother. After learning of his death warrant issued by his father Gloucester, Edgar realizes that the only way to stay alive is to take on his first of four persona transformations. When he makes his decision to become a Bedlam Beggar, he says Poor Turlygod! Poor Tom! Thats something yet! Edgar I nothing am (2.3.20-1). Edgar realizes that if he does not change himself to Poor Tom he will not survive. Edgar is wise for doing so because Gloucester has all the guards in the country looking for him (2.3.4). As he becomes a beggar, he is stripping himself of everything, his title, his clothes, and his personality. This goes along with one of the main themes of nothing in King Lear. Edgar starts conversing with Lear, his Fool, and Kent, whom are about to enter the hovel. Lear has already stated that he thinks that Edgar is a philosopher. While Gloucester is trying to bring Lear out of the storm, But Lear tells him Ill talk a word with this same learned Theban (3.4.150). Edgar is being spoken highly of by Lear, a Learned Theban is a learned Greek or scholar. In Shakespeares days, Greeks were associated with wisdom and education, especially in Philosophy. Edgar is the religious voice and can be seen as an optimistic voice throughout King Lear. Several times, Edgar spoke of the relationship between man and god. He believes in good will triumph evil; he is also able to see above luck, and believe in a higher plan. Edgar is Gloucesters saviour in the play. Without Edgar, Gloucester would have died sooner than he did with Edgar. As a result of everything that has happened to Edgar, he becomes much wiser and is able to show his compassion. Edgar has been hopelessly optimistic throughout King Lear. Even after seeing his father blinded, Edgar is being hopeful in thinking that it is only the worst if we believe it is, and nothing gets better if it is no believe to be the worst (4.1.26-7). He has some reason, else he could not beg. I th last nights storm I such a fellow saw, Which made me think a man a worm. My son Came then into my mind, and yet my mind Was then scarce friends with him. I have heard more since (4.1.31-7). After Gloucester is physically blinded, he was finally able to comprehend that Edmund, not Edgar was the one who had betrayed him. Even though, Edgar could hear Gloucester yearning for him, Edgar did not reveal himself to Gloucester. This is possibly one of the biggest mysteries in King Lear. Edgar may not have revealed himself to Gloucester as a form of torture because he was the one that issued the death warrant. It can also be looked at in the form of Edgar blinding Gloucester However, the reason may be that it was too overwhelming for Edgar to see Gloucester (his father who has always been strong) so broken and helpless. Any Father could not possibly ask his son to lead him to a cliff so he can jump to his death, but Gloucester who is depressed and blind, asks Edgar who he thinks is just a beggar to do the task. Edgar does not refuse the task of leading his father to jump to his death; instead, he carries out a clever plan to fool his father into thinking that he survived the jump. Edgar describes to his father that they are at the top of the cliff with the waves hitting the bottom of the cliff, but they cannot be heard because Gloucesters other senses are dulling from the pain of having his eyes gouged out. Gloucester believes his son and when he goes to jump, he faints. When Gloucester comes back to his senses, Edgar has transformed himself again to a peasant to make his plan work. The Peasant Version of Edgar convinces Gloucester that some fiend convinced him to jump, not Poor Tom, so the gods pitied him and saved him (4.6.69-72). The Gloucester suicide scene as a whole showed that Edgar still cares about his Father even though he issued the death warrant. He realized if he had let Gloucester die then he would have no one left that cared about him. At the beginning of the final act, Edmund takes on yet another persona. Hes disguised in the uniform of a knight when he draws Albany aside and give him the letter that Oswald was carrying. Edgar states that he wants to challenge Edmund in a duel to the death (5.1.44). He then becomes a chivalrous champion after he wins the duel against his brother Edmund. Edgar has endured so much throughout King Lear; becoming nothing, and having to see his father die from two extremes of grief and joy. But once Edgar takes his knight helmet off, he changes for the last time. He goes back to being Edgar, but there is little to no similarities between his first and current persona. First of all, he is no longer simpleminded, the things that he has seen have made him wise. The weight of this sad time we must obey, speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. The oldest hath borne the most; we that are young shall never see so much nor live so long. (5.3.323-26). In that quote he was saying that nobody will ever go through as much as Lear did or live so long, so we have to learn from this experience (5.3.323-26). Edgar is arguably one of the play`s most wise and caring characters. Edgar is the religious voice in King Lear. He has proven that he is adaptable to the changing situations around him by taking on five different personas throughout King Lear.

The Competitive Position Of A Company

The Competitive Position Of A Company This statement (in the coming referred to as The Statement) holds two different perspectives on the strategy thinking one based on competitive positioning and the other one based on industry structure and The Statement could to all appearances come from Porter. In Porters world it is the industry in which a company operates that is the foundation for the strategic analysis (reference). This is where the rules for competition are being made something that is well documented in Porters earlier work (see box Black box reference). In his later work (efter 1980 reference) Porter is more concerned about the resource needed to create a favorable competitive position within the industry. According to Porter every strategic formulation therefore needs to contain the two elements industry analysis and competitive positioning analyses (reference). My argument in this paper is that the two approaches cannot stand alone and that they are the two sides of the same coin. Taken the word limitations of this assignment into consideration, this is a short version of a huge area of strategic thinking, literature and ideas. How and why the stages of the evaluation has been undertaken I will be evaluating The Statements through two different theoretical approaches to strategy. The industry analyses (outside-in) versus the resource based view (inside-out). I will be working with the two approaches as two opposite poles in strategy thinking. In the industry analyses part I will be focusing on Porters early work (and the positioning school in the coming referred to as P-School) and their approach to strategy thinking. On the other side I will be focusing on the resource based view (in the coming referred to as RVB). This will be done through 2 different aspects A) The two approaches fundamental hypothesis and B) The two approaches key points of criticism. Finally I will compare the two rirections and make the following conclusion/thesis: The main statement of the assignment is too simplistic. In my view its a combination of internal and external factors that determines the competitive position of a company. The inside-out and the outside-in approaches have much in co mmon and for strategy development both approaches are relevant. A theoretical approach to evaluation of the statement There have been several attempts in literature to categorize strategy perspectives or schools of thought (e.g. Mintzberg 1990 and Whittington 2001). The two schools I will be looking at here P-school and RVB school each describing one part of a the SWOT framework (Barney 1991). RVB describes the strengths and weaknesses of a company, and the industry analyses are accountable for opportunities and threats as described in Barneys view on strategic framework. In the following I will try to make the correlation between two key views which both are occupied with the concept of competitive advantage through two components (Verdin Williamson, 1994); external sources and internal sources. Focus on the internal sources Resource based view (Inside out) The resources based view underlines the internal capabilities of the organisation in achieving sustainable competitive advantages in the market. Studies show that there are differences in companies returns within specific industries (Werner Field Montgomery, 1988). These differences are interpreted as caused by the existence of company specific differences in resources and skills. So it can be argued that it is the companies portfolio of resources and skills and the effective use of them, which determines a sustainable competitive advantage. Jay Barney is often mentioned as the author of the RVB approach (reference), but also significant contributions have been made by authors like Wernerfelt (1984) and Gary Hamel/ C. K. Prahalad (1990). With the publication of the book: The Theory of the Growth of the Firm (Penrose 1959) Edith Penrose advocates the view that the limitation of a companys growth opportunities are primarily related to its internal resources and capabilities. Grant, an other noble contributor to the RBV, puts the theses internal resources into three groups: tangible, intangible and human (reference). They all have similar but still slightly different understandings of RBV, but fundamentally they argument for an inside-out view, where the competitive advantage derives from a companys resources. Studies show that there are differences in companies returns within specific industries (Werner Field Montgomery, 1988). These differences are interpreted as caused by the existence of company specific differences in resources and skills. So the main hypothesis of the RBV writers is that is its portfolio of resources and skills and the effective use of them, which is the prerequisite for achieving sustained competitive advantage (reference). Fahy, Smithee (1999) cites Hooley, Moller and Broderick (1998) for criticising the resource-based view for its inward focus which risks ignoring the nature of market demand. Also Priem Butler (2001) made several points of critic by arguing that the role of product markets is underdeveloped in the argument, and that different resource configurations can generate the same value for firms and thus would not be competitive advantage. Priem and Butler further argue that the RBV is lacking detail and therefore being difficult to implement. The most outspoken criticism of the schools theory and method is directed against the schools one-sided emphasis on the companys resource at the expense of the market. It can be argued that this theory is too one track minded on enterprise resource being the only factor in building competitive advantages. The resource-based only relates inward inside out, so it does not create an immediate understanding of its environment, or the fact that a company must act in the environment in order to be competitive. Focus on the external sources Industry Perspective Porter is a prominent scientist in relations to the outside-in view at least his work before 1980 (reference) (which is what I will comment here). Porter and the P-School, tries explaining why some companies are more successful than other companies when they apparently are subject to the same business conditions (reference). In addition, the school has focused on answering the question What forces drive competition in an industry? (reference). In relation to The Statement Porter believes that for the individual company, the industry structure is essential for the companys strategic development and competitive position (reference). Porter identifies 5 different basic forces which determine a companys competitive position in the market a model of industry attractiveness Porters 5 Forces. The five forces is an out-side strategy tool which is used to illuminate the main competition issues in a market and measure how strong and important each one of them is. A critic of Porter and the P-school is linked to the fact that the choice of strategy is largely based on analytical desk work, without prior knowledge of real market conditions. Mintzberg writes in his book The rise and fall of Strategic Planning: The whole positioning school of which Porter is the leading spokesman depends to such an extent on strategic analyses, that it virtually replaces overall planning as the main activity (Mintzberg 1994:273). Porters Five Forces Model has some limitations with the market and business environment we have today. One of the criticisms is that the model assumes a relatively static market structure ((Prahalad and Gary, 1990) that can only create a snapshot picture of the market situation. Porters model is based primarily on the economic situation in the 80s were characterized by strong competition and a stable market structures. Todays market is dynamic, hectic and constantly changing (Prahalad and Gary, 1990), which also affects the firms acting in these markets. Another recent critique is made by Larry Downes (2001) who comments on Porters theory not being as important as they used to be, as new economic laws, conditions and markets have raised ( globalisation, digitalisation and deregulation). Still they are valid to some extent, as long as they are used with the knowledge that they have limitations within them. Hill and Jones (1995) make further criticisms of Porters 5 forces by stating that a companys success is not certain to be successful just because it operates in an attractive industry. The positioning school are solely focused on the market conditions and their crucial role in the competitive position of a company (reference). They do not involve the internal environment in determining/improving the competitive position of a company. This is a very limited view, which is the same critique as I put on the RBV its too one-sided. Alternative nonfinancial perspective to Inside-Out and Outside-in approach An alternative theoretical approach to Inside-Out and Outside-in in a nonfinancial measure could be done by looking at the contingency approach to management and strategy development. Fiedlers contingency model has the basic assumption that there is no best way of organizing or leading (Fiedler, 1964). Charles W. Hofer (1975) discusses the concept in terms of business strategy development. The contingency approach to strategy thinking underlines the importance of developing a best fit between structure, strategy and environment (là ¦rebogen side 69). Summery Not either or, but complementary I have now looked at our statement through two perspectives to strategy thinking. In my opinion, there is no one best way. Its about finding the perfect fit between inside out and outside in focus. The industry perspective and RBV perspective in strategic analysis are two parts of the same whole. E.g. in analyzing the industry perspective, it is possible to identify elements, which lies outside the area of RBV and vice versa. To be able to navigate successfully and be successful in todays dynamic markets you have to adapt to the external environments as well as the internal resources and ideally create the perfect fit between them. So its not neither or, but a complementary of both approaches, which is also the direction Porter is giving in his later work from 1985 (Murray, A. I.:390). Conclusion Strategic analysis has two dominant approaches or better referred to as fractions or perspectives. Outside In which is based on Porter and the positioning schools and the inside out concept which is often referred to as RBV Barney being the central author. This papers main point is that none of them can do without the other. The fundamental difference is that inside-out looks at the strategic analysis and a company competitive ability as being based on the internal resources and capabilities of which the company has at its disposal. On the other hand, outside in works from the starting point that it is the structure of a given industry which determines the companies competitive ability. An industry analyses requires both internal and external analyses to be successful. The Statement The competitive position of a company is determined by the industry structure in which it competes. should be rephrased to The competitive position of a company is determined by the internal resources available to the company and by the industry structure in which it competes. if the statement should be fully correct.

Physiological Effects of MDMA Use :: Health Drugs Essays

Physiological Effects of MDMA Use MDMA has significant cardiovascular effects. This is consistent with its norepinephrine releasing (Johnson et al. 1991; Rothman et al. 2001) and  £\_2 adrenergic agonist (Lavelle et al. 1999) properties. MDMA dose dependently produces robust increases in heart rate and blood pressure (de la Torre et al. 2000a; de la Torre et al. 2000b; Grob et al.). Peak cardiovascular effects occur between 1 and 2 hours after MDMA administration and largely subside within 6 hours of drug administration. A study suggested that the relationship between MDMA dose and cardiovascular effects was supralinear by de la Torre et al. (2000a) who reported unexpectedly high drug exposures (measured as AUCplasma for MDMA) and diastolic blood pressure increases in two volunteers given 150 mg MDMA. While pharmacokinetic data suggest MDMA has nonlinear kinetics, there is no clear evidence of supralinear relationships between dose and blood pressure or heart rate. In fact, there may be less increase in heart rate after higher doses. The tendency toward less heart rate increase with higher dose is consistent with a study using both conscious and anesthetized rats (O'Cain et al. 2000). In this rat study, 3 mg/kg IV MDMA decreased heart rate, while lower doses tended to increase it or leave it unchanged. Studies monitoring blood pressure found significant relationships between MDMA use and blood pressure. In one study, (Vollenweider et al. 1998) involving subjects without a history of MDMA use, one subject experienced hypertensive crisis from a dose typical of recreational use. The correlation of blood pressure is described, "A two way ANOVA for systolic blood pressure revealed a significant main effect of drug [F(1,2) = 41.09; p < 02] and a significant drug x time interaction [F(3,6) = 11.31; p < 007]. Significant changes occurred in the 0 to 75 minutes and 75 to 150 minutes interval (one way ANOVAs). Two way ANOVA for diastolic blood pressure was not significant, but one way ANOVAs showed significant changes in the 75 to 150 minutes and the 150 to 300 minutes interval. Increases were in the range of 10 to 30 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure and 5 to 10 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure." (Vollenweider et al. 1998 pp.245_246) This study shows a similarity in changes in systolic blood pressure, and a lesser similarity in changes in diastolic blood pressure. The occurrence of hypertensive crisis suggests caution in potential use and study.

Neo-liberal model of economic policy-making Essay -- Article Review, J

After reading the article from John Lovering, the first impression was that we, even those who are planners, sometimes forget what it means to be a planner and underestimate the importance of proper planning and its impact when practiced on a specific city or a region The fundamental argument that forms basis of the article is that the Neo-Liberal model which conceptualized and practiced planning for a couple of decades has been crashed. Now, as a planner, the main task is to help transform the physical and social legacies of Neo-liberal urban regeneration into resources for â€Å"real development† by converting failed exchange values into viable use values (Lovering, 2009). The article emphasizes the importance of contribution from the planners in achieving the goal. In the article, the arguments of the author seem to correspond to three fundamental arguments in regards to Neo-liberal approaches to planning. The three fundamental arguments of the author included criticisms of Neo-liberal model of economic policy-making, as well as the planning and planners during the era, and the possible ways to reconstruct through planning. The article started with criticisms of Neo-liberal model of economic policy-making. In this section, the first argument the author clearly stated that the Neo-liberal model is over, as well as its opportunity-driven pseudo-planning. According to the author, the â€Å"urban regeneration† which the Neo-liberalism supported, is more of a biased term for the urban construction which only created socially questionable and often environmentally harmful developments (Lovering, 2009). Looking at the absence of net growth in global employment during 1990s and 2000s while GDP per capita decreased, it is clear that the ur... ...ources and non-market opportunities. In this way, the benefit will be even spread among the public, disregards to their status. In practicing planning in the era of austerity, theory of Rational Comprehensive planning should be used to help planning. The classic rational process of rational comprehensive model which include identifying issues and opportunities, setting goals and objectives to collect data required to create alternatives, implementing the selected alternative, and monitoring and evaluating the solutions (Shipely, 2010). In terms of land used planning, there is no simple right solution. Because all the planning theories have both positive and negative sides of it, planners must learn to balance between theories to achieve broader social goal, while maximizing the equality among the people from the benefits which they must be getting as a public.

Sustaining Employee Performance

In this paper, team D will address the course design objectives of Riordan Manufacturing. First of all, the team will pick two job positions within the company, and discuss the general functions of performance management systems, job evaluation methods, compensation plans, and the importance of employee benefit plans. The two job positions discussed in this paper will be the Director of Administration, and Human Resources/recruiter. These positions were selected due to the extreme amount of importance their roles play in completing Riordan Manufacturing’s Mission. General functions of performance management systems The general function of performance management systems in organizations is for employers to manage employees’ performance and development by providing individual feedback on their performance evaluation to identify and plan measurable areas for personal development to ensure the organization’s strategic goals are being met (DeCenzo and Robbins, 2007). For years, many organizations provided appraisal type performance reviews to their employees that ranked them against other employees. This type of ranking system is problematic, as it is unfair to compare employees from different departments who’s primary goals may be different from one another and can viewed as putting down employees who may be unable to put in as many hours or as much effort as others who have only one set project at a time and can bog down to set higher numbers. If employee development is not properly measured and managed, the organization may find it difficult to meet their strategic goals. This in turn can create complications between mainstream workers and management, as well as the company, and their customers. Riordan Manufacturing uses a behavioral-anchored rating scale for their annual performance evaluations. The employees are rated by their performance in different areas of competencies to determine if they met, exceeded, or if they did not meet the standard expectations of the job. â€Å"Behaviorally anchored rating scales specify definite, observable, and measurable job behavior† (DeCenzo and Robbins, 2007, p. 264). This rating is issued and determined by managers and is a sufficient measure for performance management. Though this rating style eliminates competitive work habits that may assist in high productivity, it is a proven system that works much more consistent (Noe, Gerhart, & Wright, 2012) . Job evaluation methods Job evaluations are important for every organization to use because it ranks each position in the organization and is used to determine the pay structures for positions. Positions are usually broken down by responsibility, skill, effort, and work conditions. It is also helpful to separate the positions into groups such as managerial, professional, sales, and so on. This makes the rankings more valid within the job categories. To evaluate the director of administration a good evaluation method would be the ordering method. The ordering method uses a committee composed of managers and employee reps to arrange jobs in ranking order from highest importance to lower importance. The base of this is to compare two jobs and decide what job is more important or difficult. Then to add another job to the comparison until all of the positions have been compared and ranked. There are two major drawbacks to doing evaluations this way. One is there can be many positions within the organization which can make the processes confusing and long. Two, there are no consistent standards in the ranking evaluations. Another way to evaluate the director of administration position is through the classification method. This method was developed so that a standard was set in the evaluation processes. Classifications are set based off of skills, knowledge, and responsibilities and then by classes such as managerial, sales staff, and so on. Once these are established, then they are put in order by importance based on the criteria they are in. This process can be just as confusing as the ordering method if not done properly. A human resource department can be evaluated with the point method. The point method breaks positions down based on identifiable marks like skill, effort, and responsibility, and assigns points to the criteria’s. This method can be helpful because all positions with the same amount of points are in the same pay grade. Jobs can change over time but the rating scale under the point method stay intact (DeCenzo& Robbins, 2007). Even though the point method is the most reliable it is the most time consuming. Compensation plans Director Administrator and Human Resources/Recruiter are both important functions in a business. They have common commonalities. Between the two, they have distinctive, important functions. The Director of Administrations functions are to meet business goals and organize the personnel in the business. They also operate with financial management and marketing management. Human Resources are responsible to manage, hire, making plans to retain employees, and find the right candidates. Human Resources are an important tool for any organization, industry, and geographic location. The difference between Administration and Human resources is that the administrative function is predominantly to maintain the conditions of employment. On the other hand, Human Resources use the traditional process to manage Riordan Manufacturing’s goals and strategies, which follows with developmental organizational activities. Both positions seek for the compensation plans for the organization by administering to employee bonuses, overtime calculations, and payroll. Riordan Manufacturing focuses on Administration and Human Resources, because it can create investments in the future if the training programs are well elaborated and developed. Both fall into finding the best program functions (technical, finance). The development of employees is very important for Riordan Manufacturing since it helps create satisfaction among employees. The Board of Directors also maintains the executive and auditing committees under the corporate governance plan (Apollo Group, Inc. 2011). Riordan Manufacturing also has to implement a corporate compliance plan to have a safe future for the company. Riordan’s compliance plan will guide the company on how to handle current and future issues. The compliance plan is focused on working with issues, such as technological, logistical, and governance. By performing well in these areas, the company could be prosperous. The company has to maintain high quality in the performance of products and processes. This will help the company to be unsusceptible to product liability issues. Importance of employee benefit plans to employees working in team D’s chosen positions Director of Administration and Human Resources/Recruiter† Employees are offered benefits as a means to provide additional compensation above their regular salary to make their lives a little easier outside of the workplace. Health insurance, vacation and holiday time, social security and retirement plans, are all important benefits to employees and their families. At Riordan Manufacturing, the Human Resources Recruiters receive the same benefits that are of fered to every employee, which is an important factor for employee retention. The Directors at Riordan are offered special perks such as, travel benefits, a company vehicle, expense accounts, and other benefits that are not offered to every employee. Executive level employees receive these special perks to encourage them to work hard for the organization and to promote loyalty in the event of a hostile takeover. Conclusion Ending on a positive note, the team demonstrated in informative content to the reader, an understanding of the concepts of sustaining employee performance in this paper. These concepts are the four important activities of the HRM motivation function, and the connections to stimulating employees are observed. The team identified two job positions within Riordan Manufacturing, which are the Director of Administration, and Human Resources/recruiting. The team described the general functions of performance management systems. The team suggested two job evaluation methods for both of the job positions and answered questions about the advantages and disadvantages of these methods based on the recruiter and Director of Administration and Human Resources job positions. The team compared and contrasted the possible compensation plans for those two job titles. The team explained the importance of providing employee benefit plans to the recruiter/director of HR. An in-depth, comprehensive overview of activities planned in sustaining employee performance in the two positions at Riordan as referenced from week five materials, and the virtual organization site, followed by a logical conclusion. Sustaining Employee Performance In this paper, team D will address the course design objectives of Riordan Manufacturing. First of all, the team will pick two job positions within the company, and discuss the general functions of performance management systems, job evaluation methods, compensation plans, and the importance of employee benefit plans. The two job positions discussed in this paper will be the Director of Administration, and Human Resources/recruiter. These positions were selected due to the extreme amount of importance their roles play in completing Riordan Manufacturing’s Mission. General functions of performance management systems The general function of performance management systems in organizations is for employers to manage employees’ performance and development by providing individual feedback on their performance evaluation to identify and plan measurable areas for personal development to ensure the organization’s strategic goals are being met (DeCenzo and Robbins, 2007). For years, many organizations provided appraisal type performance reviews to their employees that ranked them against other employees. This type of ranking system is problematic, as it is unfair to compare employees from different departments who’s primary goals may be different from one another and can viewed as putting down employees who may be unable to put in as many hours or as much effort as others who have only one set project at a time and can bog down to set higher numbers. If employee development is not properly measured and managed, the organization may find it difficult to meet their strategic goals. This in turn can create complications between mainstream workers and management, as well as the company, and their customers. Riordan Manufacturing uses a behavioral-anchored rating scale for their annual performance evaluations. The employees are rated by their performance in different areas of competencies to determine if they met, exceeded, or if they did not meet the standard expectations of the job. â€Å"Behaviorally anchored rating scales specify definite, observable, and measurable job behavior† (DeCenzo and Robbins, 2007, p. 264). This rating is issued and determined by managers and is a sufficient measure for performance management. Though this rating style eliminates competitive work habits that may assist in high productivity, it is a proven system that works much more consistent (Noe, Gerhart, & Wright, 2012) . Job evaluation methods Job evaluations are important for every organization to use because it ranks each position in the organization and is used to determine the pay structures for positions. Positions are usually broken down by responsibility, skill, effort, and work conditions. It is also helpful to separate the positions into groups such as managerial, professional, sales, and so on. This makes the rankings more valid within the job categories. To evaluate the director of administration a good evaluation method would be the ordering method. The ordering method uses a committee composed of managers and employee reps to arrange jobs in ranking order from highest importance to lower importance. The base of this is to compare two jobs and decide what job is more important or difficult. Then to add another job to the comparison until all of the positions have been compared and ranked. There are two major drawbacks to doing evaluations this way. One is there can be many positions within the organization which can make the processes confusing and long. Two, there are no consistent standards in the ranking evaluations. Another way to evaluate the director of administration position is through the classification method. This method was developed so that a standard was set in the evaluation processes. Classifications are set based off of skills, knowledge, and responsibilities and then by classes such as managerial, sales staff, and so on. Once these are established, then they are put in order by importance based on the criteria they are in. This process can be just as confusing as the ordering method if not done properly. A human resource department can be evaluated with the point method. The point method breaks positions down based on identifiable marks like skill, effort, and responsibility, and assigns points to the criteria’s. This method can be helpful because all positions with the same amount of points are in the same pay grade. Jobs can change over time but the rating scale under the point method stay intact (DeCenzo& Robbins, 2007). Even though the point method is the most reliable it is the most time consuming. Compensation plans Director Administrator and Human Resources/Recruiter are both important functions in a business. They have common commonalities. Between the two, they have distinctive, important functions. The Director of Administrations functions are to meet business goals and organize the personnel in the business. They also operate with financial management and marketing management. Human Resources are responsible to manage, hire, making plans to retain employees, and find the right candidates. Human Resources are an important tool for any organization, industry, and geographic location. The difference between Administration and Human resources is that the administrative function is predominantly to maintain the conditions of employment. On the other hand, Human Resources use the traditional process to manage Riordan Manufacturing’s goals and strategies, which follows with developmental organizational activities. Both positions seek for the compensation plans for the organization by administering to employee bonuses, overtime calculations, and payroll. Riordan Manufacturing focuses on Administration and Human Resources, because it can create investments in the future if the training programs are well elaborated and developed. Both fall into finding the best program functions (technical, finance). The development of employees is very important for Riordan Manufacturing since it helps create satisfaction among employees. The Board of Directors also maintains the executive and auditing committees under the corporate governance plan (Apollo Group, Inc. 2011). Riordan Manufacturing also has to implement a corporate compliance plan to have a safe future for the company. Riordan’s compliance plan will guide the company on how to handle current and future issues. The compliance plan is focused on working with issues, such as technological, logistical, and governance. By performing well in these areas, the company could be prosperous. The company has to maintain high quality in the performance of products and processes. This will help the company to be unsusceptible to product liability issues. Importance of employee benefit plans to employees working in team D’s chosen positions Director of Administration and Human Resources/Recruiter† Employees are offered benefits as a means to provide additional compensation above their regular salary to make their lives a little easier outside of the workplace. Health insurance, vacation and holiday time, social security and retirement plans, are all important benefits to employees and their families. At Riordan Manufacturing, the Human Resources Recruiters receive the same benefits that are of fered to every employee, which is an important factor for employee retention. The Directors at Riordan are offered special perks such as, travel benefits, a company vehicle, expense accounts, and other benefits that are not offered to every employee. Executive level employees receive these special perks to encourage them to work hard for the organization and to promote loyalty in the event of a hostile takeover. Conclusion Ending on a positive note, the team demonstrated in informative content to the reader, an understanding of the concepts of sustaining employee performance in this paper. These concepts are the four important activities of the HRM motivation function, and the connections to stimulating employees are observed. The team identified two job positions within Riordan Manufacturing, which are the Director of Administration, and Human Resources/recruiting. The team described the general functions of performance management systems. The team suggested two job evaluation methods for both of the job positions and answered questions about the advantages and disadvantages of these methods based on the recruiter and Director of Administration and Human Resources job positions. The team compared and contrasted the possible compensation plans for those two job titles. The team explained the importance of providing employee benefit plans to the recruiter/director of HR. An in-depth, comprehensive overview of activities planned in sustaining employee performance in the two positions at Riordan as referenced from week five materials, and the virtual organization site, followed by a logical conclusion.

Is Odysseus a Hero? Essay

The Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, is an epic poem focused on Odysseus, an Ithacan soldier, and his journey that helps him grow as a hero. Odysseus makes idiotic mistakes that end up costing his crewmembers’ lives. His immature ways are sometimes interrupted by occasional courageous acts, but do not outweigh the negative ones. Even though he possesses some hero archetype qualities, Odysseus is not a hero. One way Odysseus proves himself to not be a hero by having an affair with Calypso while married. â€Å"And now, withdrawing into the cavern’s deep recesses, long in each other’s arms they lost themselves in love.† (250,159) This shows that even though Odysseus is so eager to get home to his family, he is willing to make love with another woman instead of staying faithful, like a hero would. We are also shown this through his acts in the Cyclops’s cave. Although he was warned by fellow shipmates to leave the island as soon as possible, Odysseus refuses to leave with the thought of being able to stay there and feast on the food found in the cave of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon. Polyphemus is at first a polite host, until the men overstay their welcome. The Cyclops then blocks the exit from the cave so Odysseus and his crew may not leave, but not before killing some of the shipmates. â€Å"Lurching up, he lunged out with his hands towards my men and snatched two at once, rapping them on the ground he knocked them dead like pups—â€Å" (325, 220) This shows that if Odysseus had not acted selfishly by staying in the cave, his crewmates would be alive. A final example of Odysseus not fulfilling the hero archetype is when he refuses to trust his men and does not tell them the content of the bag of winds. This causes the men to come up with the idea that the bag holds riches of coins and treasures. The men are so close to home they can see people on the shore, but the men are too curious and open the bag of winds. Upon the opening of this bag, the ship of Odysseus is then sent back to sea. â€Å"They loosed the sack and all the winds burst out and sudden squall struck and swept us back to sea, wailing, in tears, far from our own native land.† (53, 232) This tragedy could have been avoided had Odysseus shared with the shipmates what was being contained in this bag, instead of being secretive and trying to be the man of the hour. In conclusion, Odysseus may be learning from the mistakes he has made and growing as a hero, but is not at all a hero yet. He makes decisions based on selfish desires that cost many lives throughout the story. A hero is supposed to support his peers and stand up for what is right instead of making choices based on what he wants, and Odysseus does not. Although Odysseus may be perceived as a hero through many readers’ eyes of The Odyssey, he is not at all a hero.

Amazon Swot Analysis

The company’s positioning and business model * Amazon is the first mover of virtual retail supercenter selling products which started off from selling only books online and also offer the lowest possible prices to its customers. * Thus, Amazon is likely to be seen as a ‘broad differentiator’ who is in the middle of differentiate and cost leaders approaches. * However, it can be seen as more leaning to differentiators as most of its past and current strategies are focusing more on innovation of services to its customers.For example, Amazon Fresh for grocery, 1-Click Checkout system, cloud computing and storage etc. * Amazon apply the second approach for market segmentation; it recognize the different customer groups and offers as various products as possible to the customers to attracts more sales and gain more market shares. Successful strategies * First mover of IT retailer shop, popular feature on website such as product reviews, rating * 1-Click system, Mix pur chase, The Amazon Associate program * Growing to sell music CDs, then electronics products and so on. Avoid distribution and stocking cost strategy: Free shipping deal/promotion, cooperate with B&M companies so buyers can pick up product at B&M stores. * Online services for small to medium business, sell its SOA software services * Zshops for used products, and Amazon Web Service These strategies allowed Amazon to obtain its competitive advantage over its rivals, as it’s a unique and utilize the existing distribution channel and IT services advantages Failure strategies Online auction; lost to eBay and the market trend ( fixed-price market booming) * Unbox, Search engine market (track its customer across WWW) * Amazon Prime and Kindle book reader; lost to Google free online data storage and iPad These failure strategies result in declining in stock prices and investing funds, which can be huge in some of the project ie. Kindle, It can be seen as inefficient move which can be avoid if Amazon had done more planning and market research beforehand.Recommendations * Amazon should focus more on cost controlling strategy because the persistent issue for Amazon is high value chain cost, such as IT infrastructure cost, innovation investing, and operating cost. * Amazon can also put more effort on proper market research or planning strategy for shareholder interests, as the CEO seem to be having fun to innovate new services and learning from the market responses, either good or bad, he seem to be okay with both as a learning experience.