Kite Runner †Religion Roles/How Political Events Effect Characters Essay

3. In the novel The Kite Runner, the author Khaled Hosseini rarely mentions religion, but in a way, it plays a big role in the growth of the main character, Amir. In the beginning of the novel, Amir first questions his religion. Either he can listen to a â€Å"mullah† who taught that drinking was a sin, or he can listen to his more westernized father who thinks that religion is meaningless and drinks for his enjoyment. As one works their way through the novel, religion at first appears as a minor role, and eventually evolves into a much greater role in the life of Amir. The first important instance of Religion, appears in chapter three when Amir learns about sin and drinking. â€Å"Mullah Fatiullah Khan†, a teacher who taught Amir about Islam, said that â€Å"Islam considered drinking a terrible sin†, and that drinkers would one day answer for this on â€Å"the day of Qiyamat, Judgment Day†. Amir tells Baba, Amir’s father, about what he learned and Baba responds by saying that Amir has â€Å"confused what [he’s] learning in school with actual education†, says that â€Å"no matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one sin†, and that one sin was theft. Killing, cheating, lying, were all variations of theft. Amir blames himself for killing his mother, and believed that Baba hated him for this. Many people seek forgiveness through religion, but at this point of the novel, Amir has no idea which religion he should turn to. This young Amir seems as if he is indifferent toward Religion, and maybe might not care for it as a traditional follower of Islam would. Even though it seems this way, he will carry religion with him throughout the novel and will become a greater part in his life as he matures. In chapter twenty-four of The Kite Runner, Amir talks to the American Embassy about adopting Sohrab, Hassan’s son that Amir rescues from a Taliban official, and a man says that Sohrab is going to need to go to an orphanage again. Sohrab did not like the idea of being in an orphanage again and tries to commit suicide by slitting his wrists. Amir is able to get Sohrab to the hospital, then finds a white bed sheet and locates west so that he could pray. When he puts his forehead to the ground, he remembers that he hasn’t â€Å"prayed for over fifteen years† and has â€Å"long forgotten the words† but it did not matter to him. He then speaks the words he still did remember. In his prayer he says that he can now see that â€Å"Baba was wrong† and prays for forgiveness of his sins, betrayal, and lies. Amir promises to become a good follower and for his last words he asks for one last thing and says, â€Å"My hands are stained with Hassan’s blood; I pray God doesn’t let them get stained with the blood of his boy too. † I stated previously that many people seek for forgiveness through religion. For most of Amir’s life, guilt was carried with him and was never able to forgive himself. When he was in times of need, like his father’s diagnosis or Sohrab’s suicide attempt, he sought to his faith. This shows that Amir unconsciously also carried his faith throughout his life. Amir is a very introverted main character, but when he turns to his faith, the reader is truly aware of his feelings. Amir needs to believe in god to provide an agent for forgiveness. His faith will finally allow him to forgive himself, and will ultimately make Amir become more mature, and a man like his father. Months later on a Sunday morning, Amir gets out of bed and prays the â€Å"morning namaz†, and did not â€Å"have to consult the prayer pamphlet†. He says that â€Å"the verses came naturally now†. This shows that Amir has now accepted his faith and has grown from it. Amir’s religion and guilt played hand in hand with another. By reconciling and coming to terms with his betrayal of Hassan, he can finally now embrace Islam. 2. In the years of 1978 and before, Afghanistan was a peaceful country. The citizens relatively had freedoms, but with the arrival of the Russians and Taliban, these freedoms were to diminish. These political changes in Afghanistan have a direct effect on the characters lives in The Kite Runner. In chapter five, one reads about the first shootings that Amir hears. There were gun shots and explosions in the streets that lasted less than an hour. Those were â€Å"foreign sounds† to the Afghan people then. â€Å"The generation of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born. † Amir then states that â€Å"The end, the official end, would come first in April 1978 with the communist coup d’etat, and then in December 1979, when Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting. † This is the part of the story where everything begins to change for the characters in The Kite Runner. The communist takeover of Afghanistan would drive Baba and Amir, along with other privileged class, into exile. The political situation in Afghanistan had led to a point where â€Å"you couldn’t trust anyone in Kabul anymore† and â€Å"for a fee†¦ people told on each other†. Dead bodies would turn up on the sides of the streets with bullets in their heads. Baba had to then make arrangements for him and Amir to flee to Pakistan. Baba and Amir would have to leave their old life behind them. Baba would have to leave his life of luxury and wealth. Amir left behind his childhood life, and left his betrayal of Hassan in Kabul, which will carry with him throughout the novel. Amir states that â€Å"For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his. † When they settled in Fremont, California, Baba has a hard time fitting in and would eventually become unhappy working at a gas station. Amir on the other hand will have the opportunity to go to school and graduate college. The move to America is a set back for Baba, but for Amir, it will allow him to grow as a man. Amir would eventually return to Kabul in search for his nephew Sohrab. When Amir sees the streets of Kabul, he noticed that they are flooded with beggars. â€Å"They squatted at every street corner, dressed in shredded burlap bags, mud-caked hands held out for a coin. † The shocking thing here is that these beggars are mostly children, no older than six or five sitting at the laps of their mothers. Amir states that â€Å"the wars had made fathers a rare commodity in Afghanistan. † Hosseini paints a picture of the living situation that Amir’s half-brother Hassan was stuck to live with. Hassan was not privileged enough to flee, and had to live in this war torn Afghanistan. Amir’s nephew Sohrab is one of the unfortunate children that is born into a life of gun fire, explosion, and poverty. It is up to Amir to become a man and find â€Å"a way to be good again. †

Consider the dramatic significance of Act 1, Scene 5 Essay

William Shakespeare introduces the story of Romeo and Juliet by using a prologue. The function of the prologue is to explain the situation, setting the scene in Verona and the quarrel between the families is old, ‘ancient grudge’. The prologue informs the audience that the lovers are ‘star-cross’d’ and that their death ends the feud between the families; the prologue creates the dramatic back-drop of the play. By using a prologue, Shakespeare introduces the theme of love, informing the audience of the lovers. During Shakespeare’s time, it was not unusual to introduce the play by using a chorus. The chorus would silence the audience and create an appropriate mood for the first scene. The chorus emphasizes that the lovers are fated and their love is ‘death-marked’. The prologue helps create dramatic irony, the audience are aware that the play is a tragedy. Shakespeare’s audience did not mind being given the same narrative structure; however, Shakespeare introduced a new level of contemporary entertainment. It is said that for this particular play, Shakespeare relies upon a narrative poem, â€Å"The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet† published in 1562 and translated into English. However, Shakespeare’s play is not an adaptation of the poem because the relationship between Romeo and Juliet is much deeper and dramatised; the couple do not have many scenes together. In Act 1 Scene 1, two Capulet servants wander through the streets of Verona. They see servants from the house of Montague, they quarrel. This scene is opened by fighting; this is a dramatic opening and shows how deep the feud between the Montagues and Cauplets is. The speed in which the fighting breaks out prepares the audience for the way haste and speed plays a big part in the coming tragedy; the play starts on Sunday morning and ends on Thursday afternoon. This quarrel begins almost as a farce; biting your thumb at someone is an ancient Italian insult. In Romeo and Juliet’s world, the old and foolish overrule the young; Capulet and Montague’s quarrel is shown in a foolish light, however this also heightens dramatic tension. The town’s people and the Prince are tried of this enmity. Escalus, Prince of Verona, is the representative of law and order in the play. Escalus is furious with both families; he compares their behaviour to that of beasts. He is angry because their pointless fighting is disrupting the social life of the city. The Prince commands them to restore the peace or it will end in death. This dramatic irony allows the audience to be aware that the feud will end in death and no family will succeed, but they will cause problems for themselves. The families are ‘forsworn to love’ between themselves. The Prince’s name means justice and this is his role on each of the three occasions he appears. In less then a hundred lines, Shakespeare has created a tense atmosphere where even one word can trigger off unthinking violence. As the Prince departs, the mood changes because Lady Montague asks the question that the audience want to ask, ‘O where is Romeo? ‘ Benvolio becomes poetic as he talks about Romeo; he talks about sunlight and silence. This use of imagery by Shakespeare creates a deliberate atmosphere around the lovers in several scenes. Benvolio says that Romeo has been walking underneath a grove of sycamore trees; the name is being used as a pun, ‘sick amour’. Romeo is compared to Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, by Montague because of his speed. This is significant because this is the dawn of the lovers’ tragedy. These references to mythology are only connected with Romeo or Juliet. When the audience meet Romeo, he is in a melancholy mood, however, it is shown that Romeo enjoys his misery. Romeo loves Rosaline who does not love him, he plays with words of how love confuses and mixes up, turning order into chaos. Romeo’s speech is full of opposites, ‘brawling love’, ‘loving hate’ and ‘feather of lead’. This grouping together of opposites in the imagery is known as ‘oxymoron’. These images of chaos and confusion are repeated throughout the play. Romeo mentions of ‘still-waking sleep, that is not what it is’; this is almost a vision of the future, were he will find Juliet seemingly dead. Romeo’s language is artificial and forced. He uses so many ornate and different descriptions for his feelings because he is not really in love at all; he is in love with the idea of being in love. Romeo talks a lot in rhyming couplets, which makes his speech sound more like a well-rehearsed speech than a true expression of emotional torment. When Romeo meets Juliet, his language becomes more sincere and passionate. Romeo seems desperate to fall in love, but it is an idealised kind of love that he wants; he is realistic, uncompromising and given to extremes, which helps the audience to prepare for his headlong fall into passionate love in Juliet. The audience can conclude that Rosaline is only his fancy and he could be cured if he would follow Benvolio’s prescription and ‘Examine other beauties’. In Act 1 Scene 2, the real twist of the play begins. The audience have not yet met Juliet but hear Paris confidently asking Capulet for Juliet’s hand in marriage; this therefore produces tragic complications for Romeo and Juliet although they have not yet met. Capulet uses imagery to describe how young and unprepared Juliet is to become a bride. Juliet’s ‘ripeness’ to be a bride is talked of in the same breath as summer ‘withering’. Montague talks about Romeo being blighted like a bud bitten by a worm. These hints in the imagery prepare the audience for the upcoming tragedy. The love of Romeo and Juliet is full of promise and hope but doomed by fate. Capulet decides to hold a ball in which Juliet can meet with Paris. This idea of marriage to Paris creates a dramatic complexity; how is she going to meet and fall in love with Romeo if she is promised to Paris. In Act 1 Scene 3, the audience realise the importance of the Nurse, as the Nurse is more of a mother of Juliet than Lady Capulet; we realise this because of her emotional speech of Juliet’s childhood. We learn about Juliet’s age and a great deal about the personal sorrow of the Nurse. Lady Capulet is a contrast to the Nurse; she introduces the topic of marriage to Paris very abruptly and without sensitivity. ‘Tell me, daughter Juliet, how stands your dispositions to be married? ‘ she expects Juliet to obey her commands without question. Lady Capulet describes Paris in a sonnet, an elaborate comparison of Paris with a book. However, her extended metaphor has no impact upon Juliet’s feelings. Juliet’s reply to meet Paris shows only a young girl’s obedience. Act 1 Scene 4 shows Romeo openly being teased by his friends for his false love in Rosaline. Romeo and his friends are about to gatecrash the Capulet’s ball. The audience meet Mercutio; he describes Romeo’s dreams as being enchanted by Queen Mab. In such dreams, reality and madness seem to meet, and it is this sort of lovers’ dream that is about to come true for Romeo. Romeo agrees to go to the ball because Rosaline will be there but he feels uneasy and has a premonition of death. Romeo uses legal language prophesying that his premature death will result from what he begins tonight at Capulet’s mansion. This again shows dramatic irony as the lovers meet at this feast. The opening of Act1 Scene 5 is calm because we see domestic matters as the servants clear up after dinner. This dramatic delay sharpens the audiences desire to see what happens when they meet. Romeo and his friends enter as masquers and are greeted by Capulet; they mix in with the guests. Romeo catches his first glimpse of Juliet as she dances with Paris. Rosaline was invited to the ball, but we do not hear of her; Romeo has no eyes for her. Immediately, Romeo’s language becomes poetic as he describes Juliet’s beauty. Romeo considers her beauty as ‘too rich for use’ and ‘for earth too dear’; he feels that she is too fine for the uses of this world and too precious for earth. This sounds ominous and reinforces the sense of forbidden love. Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, recognises Romeo’s voice and is ready to fight; however, he is stopped by Capulet, who has become wiser since this morning’s quarrel. This gives time for Romeo to approach Juliet. Romeo and Juliet share a sonnet; sonnets were popular during the sixteenth century. Romeo compares Juliet to a saint; religious imagery is used throughout their conversation. Their formal use of language is rather dignified and stresses the purity and sincerity of their love for each other. The sonnet’s use of religious words isolates the characters from the rest of the scene. Romeo and Juliet kiss and are about to start a second sonnet but they are disturbed by the Nurse. The interruption by the Nurse brings the lovers back into the real world from their state of isolation and they begin to understand what has happened. From the Nurse, Romeo learns that Juliet is a Capulet, the family so bitterly at odds with his own and whoever marries her will be very rich, although her wealth is of no interest to Romeo. Juliet wants to know if Romeo is married; if he is then her wedding bed will be her grave. Juliet’s character has changed from an obedient child to determine and strong-minded young woman; however this could lead conflict with her parents’ wishes to marry Paris. Again the Nurse is the source of information as Juliet learns that Romeo is her enemy; ‘My only love sprung from my only hate’, the audience feel sorry for the ill-fated lovers. Romeo and Juliet’s hearts are tearing up as they learn that it will be difficult to be with their love, although it will be painful to be without; no matter what they do, they will suffer. This underlines the folly of the feud; if the two families would just accept each other, the feud would end and the lovers’ would be able to be with their other-half. The audience will want to know how the next scene is laid out. The stage is at a tense and worried atmosphere after many opposites and contrasting moods, it is at an appropriate mood for the tragedy to unfold.

Art and Historical Analysis of an Ancient Bell Krater Essay

In the Ancient Gallery in the Chazen Museum of Art, there is a bell krater from Attica, Greece that was made around 460-450 BCE. It is a ceramic vase that is in excellent condition with the exception of a few chips on the red-figure decoration. The Bell Krater (figure 1, figure 2) stands under two feet tall and is just over one foot in width. Overall, the scene and design style on this krater is mostly consistent throughout the entire body of the vase, but there are a few formal elements that separate the scenes on Side A (figure 1) from Side B (figure 2). The three main elements that will be discussed include technique, space, and line, as they all have a significant impact on how the viewer sees the artwork. While the Bell Krater is cohesive as a whole, the different use of formal elements on each side would have created individual impressions for the viewer in Ancient Greece as they surveyed both viewpoints while dining in their home. In the Bell Krater, the technique differs so greatly between Side A and Side B, that it is reasonable to suggest that each was painted by a different artist. The personal ways in which each artist handled the red-figure decoration establishes their separate techniques and thus gives each scene completely different emotions for the viewer to pick up on. On Side A, the red-figure decoration shows Theseus pursuing Helen, and uses strong yet intricate lines, giving the scene a sense of strength and intensity. The heavy strokes add definition and purpose to the figures’ actions, but the artist still manages to use plenty of detail, especially in the figures’ garments and faces. This detail would have allowed the scene to come to life for viewers in Ancient Greece by giving off a sense of motion from the intricate pleats of the clothing, and also emotion due to the different facial expressions of the figures. Side B, which portrays a maid bringing news to the queen, also uses strong lines, but with much less detail and fluidity. The intensity of these motions subside the resilience of the actions of the characters and create an overall more static scene due to the stiff lines and minor use of details in the scene within the garments and the figures’ faces. On account of there being less elaboration, viewers in Ancient Greece would have seen the picture as being much more static as well as containing less emotion, but it would also seem less intense and calmer than Side A. In the Bell Krater, the artists’ treatment of space helps to depict images of a three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional surface. This would have helped the viewer visualize the story that was being told in the scenes more readily by using body positioning, gestures, and stance to form space between characters and furthermore helped give different impressions to the viewers due to the differences in space on each side of the vase. On Side A, the viewer would have gotten the impression of forcefulness coming from Theseus towards Helen. This is due to the positioning of their bodies and their stance as Theseus reaches out to grab Helen, as well as how close the figures are placed together. On the contrary, with Side B the viewer would have had an impression that the characters are calmer but also less familiar with each other. This is because of the figures’ more relaxed postures, the erect stances of the maid and queen, and the fact that they stand at a further distance to each other than Theseus and Helen on Side A. The contrasting depictions of space on each side of the Bell Krater, one with a seeming forcefulness while the other maintaining a calmer demeanor, offers separate moods for the viewer to process. This allows the vase to have a certain depth of personality that adds to the stories the scenes are portraying that could not be accomplished with a single scene. In the Bell Krater, the artists’ treatment of line helps to create different paths of movement within each scene. The artists used smaller visible lines in the drawings to make a larger invisible line of sight which would have aided viewers in perceiving the types of motions that would have occurred in the stories being portrayed. Although the Bell Krater is bound together by the same patterns that surround the two scenes, there are some distinct differences between the two sides. For example, Side A depicts a linear point of view and horizontal focus through all three figures’ outstretched arms and Theseus’ spear which is held horizontally in the image. Alternatively, Side B has more vertical points of focus due to the figures’ upright stature, the positioning of their arms, which are bent at the elbows, and the staff and columns shown in the scene. The difference in types of lines on each side of the Bell Krater help create separate emotions for each scene. For someone observing this vase in Ancient Greece while dining, they would feel the sense of urgency being portrayed as well as a more rushed movement on Side A due to the horizontal lines. On Side B, the diners would notice slower movement being depicted as well as a sense of peacefulness due to the more vertical lines being used which was not present on Side A. In Ancient Greece, vase painting allowed for each artist to have different techniques and styles. In the case of the Bell Krater, it is possible that each side was painted by a different artist since the technique varies so greatly between the two. In red-figure painting, the painter outlined the figures and then colored the background black. The red clay of the vase was reserved for the figures themselves and a soft brush was used to draw the interior details. This type of painting allowed the artist to alter the thickness of lines and detailing of figures as they saw fit. As a result, there was variance in each artist’s techniques which created individual impressions of their work for the viewer to observe. During the Classical Artistic Period of Ancient Greece, kraters were used to mix wine and water during meals. When the artists created the Bell Krater, they would have taken the space of the object into consideration while sculpting and painting it. Space is not just when painters depict an image, but also the space that the object occupies. In this case, they knew it would be used while dining at a table setting inside a home. For this reason, the Bell Krater has a scene on each side of it so that diners can view the artwork from whichever side of the table they happen to be sitting at. The use of space both two-dimensionally and three-dimensionally for the Bell Krater would have allowed for differing impressions for the viewer while dining. In Ancient Greece, many of the scenes on vases were of mythological stories that were well known by the majority of the population. The Bell Krater is no exception to this, and depicts two stories on Side A and Side B that viewers in Ancient Greece would have been able to recognize easily with the help of line, which helps define the artwork’s shape and form. On Side A, the scene portrays Theseus pursuing Helen, daughter of Zeus. The story goes that Theseus, who was in search for a suitable wife, was persuaded by his friend Peirithous to marry a daughter of Zeus. Theseus decided to abduct Helen, a princess of Sparta, with the help of his friend. In order to return the favor to Peirithous, Theseus left Helen with his mother, Aethra, before he went to help capture Persephone from the Underworld for Peirithous. The two were tricked and captured by Hades though, and were unable to return to the living. The horizontal lines that are used on Side A help create the sense of urgency that is needed in order to correctly depict the scene from the story of Theseus abducting Helen. On Side B, the scene shows a maid bringing news to the queen. The origin of this scene is less obvious than Side A, but one possibility is that the maid and queen are Aethra and Helen. This is feasible because according to the story of Theseus and Helen, after Theseus was trapped in the Underworld, Helen’s brothers came to rescue her and in turn also made Aethra into her slave. The vertical lines and focus of Side B make this story seem even more likely because they help in giving the sense that the figures are less connected and less comfortable with each other than the figures on Side A. The scenes on the Bell Krater work together to create one cohesive vase, but the contrasting use of the formal elements on each side would have created distinctly different reactions from the viewer in Ancient Greece as they observed both sides while dining in their home. The technique, space, and line of the Bell Krater differ on each side of the vase and would have helped give the viewer a different impression of each scene due to these contrasting uses of the formal elements. Additionally, the technique behind red-figure painting, the uses for kraters, and the stories being told on the Bell Krater would all have helped give the viewer in Ancient Greece completely different feelings towards each side of the krater.

Pay and Reward - Tutorial Facilitation Speech or Presentation

Pay and Reward - Tutorial Facilitation - Speech or Presentation Example In the context of engaging appropriate individuals as well as retaining those who contribute their utmost efforts towards the organizations, it has been observed that increasing challenges are being witnessed by the modern organizations thereby, making it necessary for them to evaluate the initiatives of talent management. Therefore, it can be considered that the aspects of employee engagement, performance as well as productivity of the organizations are correlated in order to gain profitability as well as attain an effective competitive advantage. An effective structure of employee engagement is believed to significantly reduce employee turnover, absenteeism and notably contribute towards increasing the productivity as well as the profitability of the organizations. ...A successful employment brand significantly illustrates the employment experience of the existing employees and trigger desires for newly hired employees within the organizations. Creating an effective employment bran d and achieving superior reputation significantly gives rise to a sophisticated working environment which boosts productivity as well as trims down the attrition rates of the organizations (ICIMS, â€Å"6 Key Essentials for Engaging and Retaining Top Talent†). Potential Administrative Issues/Problems With respect to finding and hiring potential employees, it is considered imperative for the organizations to maintain the framework, principles as well as certain administrative issues pertaining to the organizations. The organizational principles are supposed to be the core aspects which aid to build an effective and sustainable position within the market. During the process of hiring or recruiting talents, the organizations should consider certain factors including educational background, adequate knowledge, and experience as well as behavioral aspects of the candidates. Moreover, the organizations are also known to possess certain principles that are frequently considered to b e inflexible in terms of hiring individuals. Compensations and Benefits It can be extensively observed that paying suitable and higher wages to the employees or paying additional compensation proves to be highly beneficial in terms of increasing talent engagement which also further helps to reduce the attrition rate of the employees.

Quantitative Methods for Accountants Math Problem

Quantitative Methods for Accountants - Math Problem Example Negative shadow price for contract obligation (-'3) indicates that each additional unit of product A to be produced according to the contract provision will have 3-equivalent negative influence on the value of the objective function. Reduction of the amount of product A to be produced and sold will have the opposite effect. Selling price - (Labour time required * shadow price for Labour time - Machine time required * shadow price for Machine time - Raw material required * shadow price for Raw material - Changes in contract amount* shadow price for contract) = .. Shadow price for raw materials (4) indicates that each additional unit of raw material bought or used will have '4-equivalent positive (negative correspondingly) effect on the objective function. Negative shadow price for contract obligation (-'3) indicates that each additional unit of product A to be produced according to the contract provision will have 3-equivalent negative influence on the value of the objective function. Reduction of the amount of product A to be produced and sold will have the opposite effect. d) The impact of producing Product D on the total contribution to profit can be calculated as indicated: Selling price - (Labour time required * shadow price for Labour time - Machine time required * shadow price for Machine time - Raw material required * shadow price for Raw material - Changes in contract amount* shadow price for contract) == '55 - ' (6*0 + 6*0 + 3*4 - 0*(-3)) = ' 55 - ' 12 = ' 43 As the calculated value is positive and quite significant the company also should produce product

How far do the merits of selection by interview explain the fact that Essay

How far do the merits of selection by interview explain the fact that it is the most widely used method of selection - Essay Example he side of the employees who are going to give in their best and thus benefit the organization in the long run, not to forget do themselves a favor in terms of their future growth and exposure levels. However all this is easier said than done since the problems do arise from time to time and it is significant that both the organization and the employee understand that they have to co-exist for the betterment of each other. No one of these two entities could exist in vacuum and thus it is of paramount importance to understand the very same. The end result would be in terms of success both for the organization as well as the employees who are very much a part of his organization itself. Then there is the aspect of interventions which crop up every now and then and which in essence mar the real motive of hiring the best possible candidates for the job. These include references from people who are in close association with the management who are there to make decisions but end up hiring their own acquaintances and relatives. This brings a bad name to the organization and also creates a sense of animosity within the employees since they think that the relatives could have their own say by using their relationships to full effects. To this day, interviewing has remained as the cornerstone of achieving the best results envisaged when it comes to recruiting and selecting individuals best suited towards a particular job, task or duty. This is due to its very direct manner of putting the interviewer and the interviewee in close association with each other. They have an eye ball to eye ball connection where the interviewer easily gauges the amount of confidence that the interviewee possesses within him and how he copes up with the pressure of giving an interview as well. It costs thousands of dollars to hire and train employees. How do managers attract top talent that supports the corporate culture? How do they keep these employees engaged? After investing in this talent,

Briefly characterise neoliberalism and discuss its likely Essay

Briefly characterise neoliberalism and discuss its likely contributions to the mutiple contemporary crises---food,environment,finance and energy - Essay Example Liberal paradigm stems from the studies of Adam Smith, an outstanding economist of the late 18th century, who argued that minimization of government’s role in economic relations would facilitation growth of trade. The liberal economic model had dominated in national and international economic relations for almost two centuries until the new Keynesian model took over in the 1930s. This model advocated interventions of the state in economic relations and proved its efficiency helping effectively rebuild European economies after the devastating world wars. However, despite the apparent success of Keynesian paradigm liberalism resurrected in the early 1970s with increasing numbers of economists supporting the claim that deregulation of markets, privatization and minimization of government intervention would foster further growth of the international economics. That resurrected model of economic liberalism was called neoliberalismii. Also known as ‘economic rationalism’, the neoliberal model â€Å"†¦has an interest †¦ to provide reason to limit government in relation to the market†iii and incorporates the â€Å"†¦beliefs in the efficacy of the free market and the adoption of policies that prioritize deregulation, foreign debt reduction, privatization of the public sector...and a (new) orthodoxy of individual responsibility and the â€Å"emergency† safety net - thus replacing collective provision through a more residualist welfare state†iv. In other words, neoliberalism stresses the role of self-conduct in economic relations requiring individuals to exercise more power and control over their life and well-being. This is often called ‘the entrepreneurial self’v. Government that promotes neoliberalism stimulates individual to adopt highly practical and rational relationships to themselves without limiting their freedom in economic relations. Therefore, this model

To The Salem-Keizer School District Officials Essay

To The Salem-Keizer School District Officials - Essay Example While it is true that clothing related to gang membership might some day involve innocent students in crossfire between the police and the gang members in the district, it is also worth noting that clothing is not a definitive answer to catching criminals. Moreover, there are students in your school district who cannot immediately afford to buy clothing that you do not forbid. Would you threaten them with suspension just because they do not have money to buy clothes that you deem proper Ms Pat Abeene, the district's Volunteer Coordinator, has stated that nonprofit groups might be able to help students with no money to replace banned clothes, and school counselors can direct students to those programs (Dress Code Leaves Some With Banned Brands). With all due respect, may I add that this offer is not even close to being useful, and if you do not provide the clothing yourself on an urgent basis, the parents of such students could sue the school district for suspending their children due to financial difficulties The prestigious Salem-Keizer School District has not given enough time to students' families to buy clothing that the district considers appropriate. ... And, what if twenty youngsters at the park are wearing sagging pants and only one out of them is a gang memberI am sure that you have discussed your dress code policy with the district police authorities. Would you also kindly send a letter to all parents in your school district informing them about the police officials' response Why do they think it is mandatory for students to stop wearing shirts with Old English writing, for example (Dress Code) And, kindly ask them what they would do to a child who wears the above mentioned example in dress at a local mall. What do they have to say about a student in your school district wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a U.S. army officer bravely holding a machine gun in his hand, and the title, 'Good luck America!' (Dress Code)I hope you can now see the ludicrousness of many features of the dress code policy. This essay is an address to the parents of students in the Salem-Keizer School District. It explains to the parents who cannot afford to buy new clothing for their children - replacing the banned items in the new dress code policy issued by the school district - the ways to take action in order to save their children from being removed from school. The essay advises these parents to first write the school district asking it to replace the old clothing items themselves. If the school district does not agree, parents are urged to take the matter to the district court. To The Parents Of Students In the Salem-Keizer School District The recently issued dress code policy in the Salem-Keizer School District has taken many of you by surprise. It is further evident from a news article on the subject that a lot of you cannot afford to replace the banned

The myth of original of Islam and how the I slam presented and use Research Paper

The myth of original of Islam and how the I slam presented and use example from Holy Quran and comparing it with the first story of creation in Genesis in the Bible - Research Paper Example reement in claiming that Adam was originally formed from the mud, that transforming a bunch of mud into an alive being is performed by God, that the formation of Adam took place before the formation of his companion Eva and that she was formed from the ribs of Adams (Von Rad 1973). But the Quran recounted that Eva was formed from the body of Adam only not identifying if it was from his ribs. It was recounted in the Bible that God gave Adam the ‘breath of life’, whereas in the Quran it is narrated that God gave Adam a ‘heavenly spiritual breath’ (Barto 2009, 88). This essay thus compares the Biblical and Qur’anic account of the Creation and the Fall of Man. The Bible begins with the beginning of time, the Creation. It is a complicated narrative that dominates the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, fittingly referred to as Genesis, and expands into the later chapter, where the story progresses and trails the story of our first parents, Adam and Eve. According to Katheer and Kamal-ad-Din (2001), obviously, the Christians read a similar Bible even if they referred to it as the Old Testament, and they usually understand it in a different way from its Jewish authors. However, the Muslims—the third group of Monotheists—have their own distinct rendition of such prehistoric episodes in a matching Scripture, the Quran, which they similarly worship as the Word of God. The description of the Quran of the absolute beginning of time, even though the same with that of the Bible in several points and meaning, both stipulate a supreme creation from naught, for instance, and on the Grand Designer’s crafting of humankind, is not specified in the continuous storyline of Genesis. The Quran is an anthology of God’s revelations to Muhammad over the final two decades of his existence (Sawma 2006). They are partitioned into 114 Surahs, but several of these Suras in all likelihood enclose multiple revelations. The Quran, therefore, is a compilation of

Carbonate and hydrochloric acid Essay Example for Free

Carbonate and hydrochloric acid Essay If you have a two fixed masses of hydrochloric acid, which have both been crushed up, the one with the smaller particles will have a higher rate of reaction, due to the fact that there is a higher surface area exposed to the hydrochloric acid. A good example to compare this to would be slicing a loaf of bread, then spreading butter on it. The more thinner you cut each slice of bread, the more you can get which means that you would be able to spread more butter. This type of theory is known as the bread and butter theory and is often used in biology. The higher surface area of marble chips there is that is in contact with the hydrochloric acid, the higher the rate of reaction, and the more products that are formed in a given amount of time. Light Some chemical reactions are affected by the presence of light. One example of a reaction that depends on the presence of sunlight is photosynthesis, which only takes place when sunlight falls on a plant, which contains green pigmentation called chlorophyll. Another example of a reaction that only takes place in the presence of light is that which occurs when a photograph is taken. Inside the camera is a transparent film, which a clear plastic film that is covered in an emulsion of a layer of gelatine which is filled with millions of tiny crystals of silver halides, especially silver bromide (AgBr). The emulsion that is used is similar for both colour and black and white film. The only difference is that the colour film contains three layers of emulsion which all contain different dyes. When light falls hits a silver bromide molecule, silver cations (Ag+) accepts an electron from the bromine ions (Br-) creating a silver atom. Ag+ + e- Ag Silver ion + Electron Silver atom The bromine atoms that are produced are then trapped in the gelatine. The more light that hits the photographic film the greater the amount of silver that is deposited. As you can see, most of the ways of increasing the rate of reactivity involve increasing the number of successful collisions within the reaction itself. Once you do this the rate of reaction should increase. However, just increasing the number of collisions doesnt necessarily mean that the rate of reaction is increased. This is because in order to increase the rate of reaction you need to increase the number of successful collisions. When collisions occur, if they do not have enough energy, which is in the form of kinetic energy, then they would repel each other. However if they do have enough energy, then they would combine, which is a successful collision. The way in which the rate of reaction is calculated is by using the following formula: Reaction rate= change in amount (or concentration) of a substance/products produced Time taken Therefore, in this case, I will be measuring the rate of reaction by measuring the quantity of products formed. The formula would then be: Reaction rate= carbon dioxide produced. Time taken Using this method you can work out the average rate of reaction between calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid in the time given for the experiment. The rate at which it reacts would be measured in x grams/minute. Aim The aim of this experiment is to see how the rate of reaction can be affected by a factor [variable]. The variable that we chose was the concentration of the acid, so the aim is to see how the concentration of hydrochloric acid can affect the rate of reactivity. Prediction Substances are prone to burn much faster in the presence of oxygen. For example a charcoal in a barbeque would often be burning quite slowly with a red glow. However, when you blow on t, the coal would become even hotter as it gets more red, and my even burst into flames. This is as you are blowing a higher concentration of oxygen onto it. Another example is acetylene, which burns extremely rapidly in the presence of pure oxygen. The energy produced, in the form of heat, is enough to burn through metal, which is what it is used for: C2H2 + 2. 5O2 2CO2 + H2O + heat Acetylene + Oxygen Carbon dioxide + Water + heat energy. Chemical reactions occur when successful collisions occur between particles. This is when particles gain enough speed that when they collide with each other they join together. Successful collisions between acetylene molecules and oxygen molecules occur when pure oxygen is used instead of air. Therefore, the rate of reaction increases the rate of reaction as well as increasing the amount of heat given off. From this, I can therefore predict that as you increase the concentration of the hydrochloric acid, you would also be increasing the rate of reaction. I predict that the shape of the graph would look like so: This is as the rate of reaction at the beginning would be quite rapid. This would eventually slow down due to the fact that the calcium chloride and the hydrochloric acid are being used up. I therefore predict that the shape of the graph would eventually level off, and all of the lines (the concentrations) should end up at the same level in the end. Preliminary Investigation There are two methods that may be used to measure the rate of reaction, which are: * How fast the reactants are used up. How fast the products are formed The method we are using is to measure how fast the products are formed; in this case how fast the carbon dioxide is formed. Preliminary experiments were performed beforehand to understand how the actual experiment should be carried out, decide on the quantities of substances used as well as comprehend the observations in the experiment, i. e. effervescence, in order to acknowledge the reaction. First, we had to decide on the concentration of hydrochloric acid used. The fist concentration that was tried was 3 molar, which I decided was too fast. This was as the reading on the gas syringe went above the maximum level quite rapidly, which is not sufficient as it means that the results would not be adequate enough to identify a trend, which is the main aim of this investigation. The next concentration level that was tried was 2 molar, which I decided was adequate enough for the maximum concentration. Even though the reading in the gas syringe did go above the maximum, I did keep in mind that I was going to be using a larger gas syringe for the actual experiment. Therefore the maximum concentration of acid that is going to be used is 2 molar, which is the variable. We are then going to reduce this to 1. 8 molar, 1. 6 molar, 1. 4 molar, 1. 2 molar and then finally 1 molar. I believe that these sets of variables would be adequate enough in order to identify a trend. After deciding on the quantities used, I then had to decide what volume of acid I was going to be using. The first volume I tried was 0. 5ml, which was too slow. I then tired 10 ml, which was again proving to be quite a slow reaction. So I then doubled the volume of the acid, which I believed was satisfactory, as the rate of reaction was good, and the amount of co2 produced was satisfactory, as it did not go over the syringe limit. I then had to decide what mass of calcium carbonate chips I had to use. The first mass that I had tried was 0. 5grams, which produced a far too slow rate of reaction. I then tried 2 grams of calcium carbonate, which was too fast of a reaction, and the amount of CO2 produced was off the reading on the gas syringe, so I halved it to 1 gram, which was satisfactory. The amount of time I am going to use is 90 seconds (one and a half minutes) as I believe that this is a sufficient amount of time in which I will be able to identify any trend between the concentration of hydrochloric acid and the amount of carbon dioxide produced. Here are the results for the volume of acid: Concentration of acid: 1M Mass of marble chips: 1. 0 gram Volume of acid used: 5 ml. Time (s) Concentration of acid: 1M Mass of marble chips: 1. 0 gram Volume of acid: 10 ml Time (s). Concentration of acid: 1M Mass of marble chips: 1. 0 gram Volume of acid: 20ml TConcentration of acid: 1M Mass of marble chips: 1 gram Volume of acid: 20ml Time (s) + Here are the results for the concentration of hydrochloric acid: Concentration of acid: 2M Mass of marble chips:1 gram Volume of acid: 20ml Time (s) 2 produced (cm3) + Concentration of acid: 1M Mass of marble chips: 1 gram Volume of acid: 20ml Time (s)(cm3)Â   The overall result for the preliminary investigation using the correct quantities would be: Time (s) 1 produced (cm3) with 1MÂ   The graph for the preliminary investigation looked like this: Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Patterns of Behaviour section.

HIV Prevalence in Uganda

HIV Prevalence in Uganda Uganda (HIV/AIDS) Section 1: Between 2002-2011, the international non-profit NGO AVSI Foundation has supported Uganda’s Ministry of Health (MoH) prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) program in four Northern Ugandan districts: Kitgum, Lamwo, Pader, and Agago. The program â€Å"aimed to be comprehensive, emphasizing social and medical care and support† and was successful in reducing HIV prevalence among HIV-exposed infants from 10.3% in 2004 to 5.0% in 2011, among other things. The MoH/AVSI PMTCT sites showed how a â€Å"comprehensive PMTCT program emphasizing social and community engagement alongside medical care and support can succeed in a remote setting with multiple challenges† (3). Despite the advances of the MoH/AVSI program, HIV/AIDS remains a critical issue in Uganda. Northern Uganda especially faces dispropriate challenges and adversities in regards to the national HIV/AIDS epidemic response. In 2011, the Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey measured a national HIV prevalence of 7.3%, but the HIV prevalence in northern Uganda specifically was shown to be 8.3%. Also, Uganda has one of the largest crude birth rates in the world. In 2011 Ugandas birth rate was 42.1/1000 (3). In addition, Northern Uganda has faced great adversity from the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) during the period 1986-2006. There was an estimated two million individuals mandated to live in internally displaced people (IDP) camps from this violent discord (3). The fallout from the war between the government and the LRA had worsened already sparse health services in the north. Due to the high birth rate, HIV prevalence, and structural violence faced in northern Uganda, the AVSI Foundation proposes to extend the MoH/AVSI PMTCT program for an additional five years with support from the Global Fund. Support from the Global Fund will allow us to broaden PMTCT services in 24 Northern Uganda MoH facilities (located in Kitgum, Lamwo, Pader, and Agago) and help expand these sustainable PMTCT service sites to other MoH facilities nationwide. Estimated Populations (2011) of Targeted Northern Ugandan Districts Kitgum 222,737 Lamwo 164,754 Pader 237,100 Agago 285,300 Link to Map: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zZ1ADMHAfHkY.krdFRCFxMCRQ Section 2: Goal: Impact Indicators Baseline* (Year 1) Target (Year 5) Reduction in HIV incidence among HIV-exposed infants 5% 3% *2011 estimate The first and foremost goal is to reduce HIV incidence among HIV-exposed infants by reducing Mother-to-child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV. MTCT occurs when an HIV-positive mother infects her infant with HIV during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or breastfeeding (1). Yet, the risk of transmission can be reduced to less than 5% if mothers undergo proper maternal ART treatment. The diagram below illustrates the many steps mothers need to take to successfully complete a PMTCT program. This series of complex steps is why it is absolutely critical to assist Ugandan mothers as much as possible to make successfully complete our program. However, even if HIV-positive mothers complete a PMTCT program in all of its entirety and give birth to an HIV-free infant, infants still remain at risk of HIV infection. Other channels, such as contaminated needles, can infect an infant who was initially born HIV-free. Thus, maintaining and promoting strict sanitation procedures, alongside a strong PMTCT program, is absolutely critical in reducing HIV incidence among HIV-exposed infants. The table below summarizes the PMTCT Indicators â€Å"number of HIV-exposed children (18 months or younger) tested† and the â€Å"number of HIV-exposed children (18 months or younger) that tested HIV-positive† measured by the MoH/AVSI program between 2002-2011. This data was used to formulate Year 1 and project a realistic target for Year 5. Section 3: Objectives: Outcome/coverage indicators Baseline* (Year 1) Target (Year 5) Increase the proportion of HIV-positive women who deliver in health facilities 81.1% 95% Increase the number of mothers who undergo HIV testing (in ANC) 96% 98% Increase proportion of HIV-positive mothers on ART treatment 78.5% 95% Increase antenatal care attendance (mothers) 20,032 50,000 *2011 estimate One of the main objectives is to increase the proportion of HIV-positive women who deliver in health facilities. It is absolutely critical for HIV-positive women to deliver in health facilities. After all, health facilities can provide better medical care and support than a traditional midwife would be able to in a home delivery. Furthermore, health facilities have more resources, equipment, and personnel to respond to any emergencies during delivery. Above all, delivering in a health facility will better guarantee the infant receives the appropriate antivirals need to PMTCT. HIV-positive women delivering at home run a higher risk of these crucial medications not being administered. Thus, increasing the proportion of HIV-positive women who deliver in health facilities better protects both the mother and the child, than a home delivery. The table below summarizes the PMTCT Indicator â€Å"percentage of HIV-positive women who delivered in health facilities† measured by the MoH/AVSI program between 2002-2011. This data was used to formulate Year 1 and project a realistic target for Year 5. Another objective is to increase the number of mothers who undergo HIV testing while in ANC. There are clearly many benefits for at risk individuals undergoing HIV-testing. However, the benefits of having undergone an HIV test are lost if the patient does not return to learn their result. Thus, it is absolutely crucial for our program will utilize â€Å"rapid testing at a women’s first antenatal clinic visit† (1). In contrast to a â€Å"conventional HIV test† that can take days or even weeks to attain results, â€Å"rapid tests can produce a result in as little as twenty minutes† (1). This will allow reduce the number of HIV-positive women who are lost from lack of follow-up and will also facilitate rapid enrollment of HIV-positive pregnant women into PMTCT program services. The table below summarizes the PMTCT Indicator â€Å"ANC women tested for HIV† measured by the MoH/AVSI program between 2002-2011. This data was used to formulate Year 1 and project a realistic target for Year 5. Another objective is to increase proportion of HIV-positive mothers on ART treatment (e.g. antiretroviral prophylaxis or triple antiretroviral therapy, depending on the circumstance). However, â€Å"to be fully effective, antiretroviral medication needs to reach newborn babies as well as their mothers† (1). The table below summarizes the PMTCT Indicators â€Å"number of HIV-positive women who received ARV prophylaxis† and â€Å"percentage of ANC HIV-positive women started on prophylaxis† measured by the MoH/AVSI program between 2002-2011. This data was used to formulate Year 1 and project a realistic target for Year 5. Specifically, our program will utilize and adhere to the 2013 World Health Organization’s (WHO) Option B guidelines for PMTCT (until subsequent more effective recommendation plans replace it). The WHO’s 2013 Option B advocates to provide â€Å"Provide all HIV-positive pregnant or breastfeeding women with a course of antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission† (2). They explicitly state that a triple-drug antiretroviral treatment should be administered throughout pregnancy and delivery. Furthermore, breastfeeding mothers should persist on the triple-drug antiretroviral treatment until at least one week after stopping breastfeeding. The steps and procedures of Option B are outlined in the flowchart below. Another objective is to Increase antenatal (ANC) care attendance for mothers. After it has been shown that â€Å"A number of clinical processes, such as antenatal care and safe delivery, can improve the health of both mother and child† (4). ANC services offer certainly offer many benefits for mothers but their benefits (just like in HIV-testing), are lost if women do not take advantage and utilize these services. There are numerous reasons a mother may not seek ANC services, even if they are â€Å"free†. A huge factor is accessibility difficulties. Pregnant women in low income countries, like Uganda, often have an increased difficulty in utilizing maternal programs because of their busy schedules. They are heavily occupied in caring for children, working, and running numerous kinds of other errands. Furthermore, many mothers live far away from health clinics and may lack a reliable means of travel. Both of these issues creates a huge barrier for women who need antenatal care services, but struggle to access it. Thus, our program will offer basic care and support services (such as food/transportation vouchers, housing assistance, and child-care services) to help increase ANC attendance. After all organizations, such as Partners in Health, have proven that by seeking to overcome the â€Å"social barriers† to accessing care by implementing â€Å"wraparound services [e.g. transportation costs ]† can help in addressing some of the â€Å"social and economic determinants of ill health† (4). The table below summarizes the PMTCT Indicator â€Å"ANC attendance† measured by the MoH/AVSI program between 2002-2011. This data was used to formulate Year 1 and project a realistic target for Year 5. Section 4: Activities: Main Activities Process/Output Indicators Program Year 1 Target Program Year 5 Target Responsible/implementing agencies Free/accessible HIV testing and antenatal care services for mothers ANC attendance (# persons) 30,000 50,000 Ministry of Health Maternal mobile teams Number home-births assisted 2,000 10,000 AVSI HIV counseling for mothers and their partners % HIV-positive mothers participating in therapy 25% 50% AVSI One of the main activities to be conducted is providing free and accessible HIV testing and antenatal care for mothers. Indeed, it has been proven, on behalf of the structural adjustment era, that â€Å"user fees in many resource-poor settings deterred the poor from accessing any health services (4). Likewise, charging service fees for PMTCT services would create a huge barrier for the poorest northern Ugandan mothers. On the other hand, providing financial support to mothers would encourage and give incentive for mothers to continue to attend and adhere to PMTCT program services. Thus, financial support will be given to mothers who attain antenatal services and HIV testing. This will not only help support poor Ugandan mothers, but will also reduces the likelihood of mothers being lost by lack of follow-up. Another activity that will be conducted is using maternal mobile teams to reach at risk mothers who have an increased difficulty and/or refusal to travel. After all, some pregnant women, despite being offered transportation services and/or financial support, will refuse to deliver in health facilities for whatever reason. Therefore, maternal mobile teams will be trained to provide â€Å"services such as HIV education, testing and counseling, and advice on infant feeding† (1). Maternal mobile teams should be used for the women who deliver at home and ensure that those who have tested positive for HIV have access to the essential antiretrovirals needed for PMTCT. Indeed, keeping track of mothers (especially HIV-positive mothers) who plan to delivery at home will be a challenge. Consequently, this will be a major a coordinating responsibility of community health workers who will be responsible for the gathering the necessary records (i.e. HIV-positive pregnant mothers) to pass on to the maternal mobile teams. Additionally, HIV counseling for mothers and their partners will be provided at no cost. Indeed, biomedical treatments are not the only thing needed for a successful HIV intervention. Social and emotional support are also crucial. Unfortunately it can sometimes prove difficult to persuade men to attend such services that are often regarded as â€Å"women’s clinics dealing with women’s issues† (1). Nevertheless, another vital activity will be to train and engage community health workers who will be paid to promote maternal education and social support to mothers. After all, the use of expert clients and other community-based volunteers helps reduce the stigma and discrimination of mothers living with HIV. It also helps improve the utilization of basic care services and adherence to Antiretroviral (ARV) Therapy. The term â€Å"expert clients† refers to people who are currently HIV/AIDs positive who serve as experienced role models for other PLHIV. Currently, expert clients work in almost every Ugandan ART site, engaging in various activities ranging from promoting health education to providing psychosocial support for PLHIV. Furthermore, mothers will be either followed up with an invitation to come to the health facility for specific interventions/services or visited by a team of health professionals (i.e. a maternal mobile team). Section 5: Our goals and objectives fit within the National Plan because they complement and scale-up an HIV infection prevention campaign to one of the most disadvantaged regions in the country, Karamoja. This 2013 campaign, called Elimination of Mother-to-Child-Transmission of HIV (eMTCT), is part of the Ugandan government’s large-scaled efforts to prevent new HIV infections. Furthermore, our goals and objectives further assist Uganda in their Ministry of Health 2010-2015 Scale Up Plan for PMTCT that aims to achieve an HIV-free generation of Ugandans by 2015 through the virtual elimination of MTCT of HIV, which utilizes a Sector-Wide Approach (1). Indeed, it is extremely critical to work with the public sector and not against the public sector. Our program is committed to working in public sector PMTCT health systems because â€Å"only governments can enshrine health as a human right and then implement programs to safeguard this right for its citizens on a national scale† (4). Section 6: a) We will involve Ugandan mothers by providing HIV counseling services for mothers and their partners. Social support is a crucial component of providing medical services. Indeed it has been shown that when â€Å"male partners are involved, both partners can get tested for HIV, know their status, and therefore improve the baby’s chances of a healthy survival† (1). Furthermore, counselors are better able to â€Å"emphasise the man’s responsibility for protecting the health of his partner and family† and can also advance the use of PMTCT services, â€Å"resulting in much higher rates of treatment uptake† (1). b) Community participation will be fostered by using community health workers to promote awareness, attendance, and adherence to PMTCT services. Specifically, community-based female volunteers who are â€Å"expert clients† (current HIV-positive mothers who serve as mentors and have experience with overcoming HIV-related stigma) will especially be invaluable. After all, community health workers can gain the trust of mothers who will thus be more likely to adhere to PMTCT services. c) This PMTCT campaign will help to improve the status of women in Uganda by empowering mothers to be active, confident, and assertive actors in the health of their children. Indeed, educating women is crucial to improving the health of infants. By increasing maternal education for mothers, indicators such as infant mortality will be reduced. d) Social equality is promoted by providing free antenatal care, HIV testing, and free antiretroviral treatment (WHO’s Option B); we are removing the financial barrier that would keep the poorest mothers from attaining maternal services. Indeed it is of the utmost importance to avoid punitive user fees† and other â€Å"cost-sharing devices that shift the burden of payment to those least able to pay† (4). As mentioned previously, charging user fees for services would exclude poorer populations. Not only will free treatment be provided, but financial support will be given to women who adhere to therapy. e) There will be an emphasis on education and expansion of programs nationwide to promote human resources development. We will train community health workers. These community health workers will pass on their training to mothers. These mothers will likewise be encouraged to share their acquired knowledge with friends, relatives, and other community members. In other words, creating a dynamic chain reaction of teaching will be a huge focus of this program. Moreover, we wish to spread the effectiveness of our PMTCT program from northern Uganda to other parts of the country. After all, â€Å"addressing maternal and child health comprehensively will require training more health workers; strengthening referral networks between communities, health centers, and hospitals; and ensuring adequate supplies at care centers- all elements of a robust health system† (4). Section 7: There may be potential opposition from the local context regarding the empowering of women our services inevitably (and justly) bring. According to the Foundation for Sustainable Development, â€Å"women face . . . discrimination, low social status, lack of economic self sufficiency, and greater risk of HIV/AIDS infection† (5). Because women typically have lower status than men in Uganda, some natives may potentially view this education and empowerment of women as a threat to their culture. The best way to address it will be to involve the mothers boyfriends, husbands, etc as much as possible in the lessons and counseling. Promoting equity is a crucial measure and indicator of a successful program. Another potential opposition to the plan will be the barrier of HIV-testing stigma that keeps mothers from getting HIV-testing. The best way to address this is to integrate HIV-testing as a standard part of antenatal care. Instead of asking women if they would like to â€Å"opt in† (receive HIV- testing), one would only ask them if they would like to â€Å"opt out† (not receive HIV-testing). In other words, if HIV-testing is set as the default option, women will be more comfortable with receiving it. And thus, overtime, HIV-testing will be normalized and become common practice, which will help remove the barrier of stigma. In brief, removing the â€Å"special status given to HIV testing helps to make it more acceptable† (1) Finally, any other existing NGOs in the area who are doing similar PMTC work may create conflict with our plan. There may be some â€Å"turf war† as different NGOs commonly have different agendas. The best way to address any NGO conflict is to do preliminary research to ensure we set up the PMTCT care services in areas that are not disrupting any â€Å"parallel programs†. References AIDS Education and Research Trust. Preventing PMTCT. AVERT. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. http://www.avert.org/preventing-mother-child-transmission-pmtct-practice.htm>. AIDS Education and Research Trust. WHO Guidelines. AVERT. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. http://www.avert.org/who-guidelines-pmtct-breastfeeding.htm>. Bannink-Mbazzi, Femke, MA. High PMTCT Program Uptake and Coverage of Mothers, Their Partners, and Babies in Northern Uganda: Achievements and Lessons Learned Over 10 Years of Implementation (2002–2011). Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 62.5 (2013). JAIDS. Lippincott Williams Wilkins, Inc., 27 July 2012. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. http://journals.lww.com/jaids/Fulltext/2013/04150/High_PMTCT_Program_Uptake_and_Coverage_of_Mothers,.20.aspx>. Farmer, Paul. Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction. Berkeley: University of California, 2013. Print. Gender Equity Issues in Uganda. Gender Equity Issues in Uganda. Foundation for Sustainable Development. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. http://fsdinternational.org/country/uganda/weissues>.

Causes Of The Genocide In Bosnia

Causes Of The Genocide In Bosnia In 1980, the president Josip Tito of Yugoslavia died. After the loss of their president, Yugoslavia had political and economic chaos. Slobodan Milosevic became the leader of Serbia in 1987. He was a strong Serb nationalist and encouraged his beliefs in Serbia and in other republics with large Serb communities. The Serbs in Bosnia were not happy feeling like they were now part of Milosevics Greater Serbia. The Yugoslavian Army mostly had Serbs. Radovan Karadzic led Serbs who built their own Republica Srpska in the East, while a Bosnian Serb army was in control of the other  ¾ of the country, driving out most of the Bosnian Croats. Then the European Union tried to help both sides, and failed. The U.N. didnt want to get involved, but helped a little by providing some troop convoys for humanitarian aid. They later decided to help more by providing six safe areas. The Serbs invaded five of the six safe areas and ethnically cleansed them. The Background: Bosnia is one of the several small countries that emerged from the break-up of Yugoslavia, a multicultural country created after World War One. Yugoslavia was composed of ethnic and religious groups that had been historical rivals, including the Serbs (Orthodox Christians), Croats (Catholics) and ethnic Albanians (Muslims). During World War Two, Yugoslavia was invaded by Nazi Germany and was separated. Following Germanys defeat, Tito reunified Yugoslavia by merging many countries. Tito, a Communist, was a strong leader who maintained ties with the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War, playing one superpower against the other while obtaining financial assistance and other aid from both. After his death in 1980 and without his strong leadership, Yugoslavia quickly plunged into political and economic chaos. Organizers: In the late 1980s, a new leader by the name of Slobodan Milosevic came to power in Yugoslavia. He used religious hatred to control the people by sparking old tensions between the Serbians and Muslims. He took advantage of complaints from the Orthodox Catholic Serbs by taking control of the country Kosovo, where the Serbs were the minority. Milosevic then turned his focus to Croatia, a country with 12 percent Serbs. With the assistance of Serbian guerrillas, Milosevic invaded the small country under the pretenses of protecting the Serbs. Milosevics motives for this genocide were strongly based on retaliation. Many Serbian citizens had been subject to genocide during World War Two and they finally had a chance to get even with their enemies. After 13 years at power, the Yugoslavian nations revolted and a national strike followed. Milosevic was tried on the following counts in 2002: genocide; complicity in genocide; deportation; murder; persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds; inhumane acts/forcible transfer; extermination; imprisonment; torture; willful killing; unlawful confinement; willfully causing great suffering; unlawful deportation or transfer; extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; cruel treatment; plunder of public or private property; attacks on civilians; destruction or willful damage done to historic monuments and institutions dedicated to education or religion; unlawful attacks on civilian objects. Mi losevic died on March 11, 2006, at the U.N. war crimes tribunal detention center. Victims: In the Bosnian genocide, hundreds of thousands of people were victimized. About 80% of these people were Bosnian Muslims. After The Yugoslav Republic of Bosnia declared its independence, Bosnian Serbs along with the Yugoslav army attacked the Bosnian and Croatian civilians. Between 1992 and 1995, Serbia decided to ethnically cleanse the Bosnian land by removing all Bosnian Muslims systematically. Many were forced into concentration camps. The Muslims were tortured, starved, and eventually murdered. Over the war, about one million Bosnian Muslims were forced out of their homes. In 1993, the Security Council in the United Nation had Sarajevo, Srebrenica, Goradze, and other Muslim territories in safe areas that were protected by United Nation peacekeepers. At a safe area in Srebrenica, Serbs held a very large massacre. Many of the Muslims escaped the fighting by running away. The men that were able to fight were kept behind and killed. The elderly, women, and children were taken to a Muslim controlled territory on busses. Once the massacre ended, the bodies were moved by bulldozers by the Serbs in attempts to conceal the evidence. World Response: As a result, U.S. President George Bush chose not to get involved militarily, instead recognizing the independence of Slovenia and Croatia. In April 1992, the U.S. and European community recognized Bosnias independence. Even though media showed the secret camps, mass killings, and destruction of historic architecture in Bosnia, the world community remained mostly indifferent. The United Nations finally responded by imposing economic sanctions on Serbia and the U.N. also deployed its troops to protect the distribution of food and medicine to dispossessed Muslims, however, the U.N. strictly told troops not to interfere with military against the Serbs. Through 1993, the U.S. and European Community still hadnt taken any military action until August 30, 1995. On this day, The U.S. led a massive NATO bombing campaign in response to the killings. Aftermath: Top of Form Peace negotiations were held in Dayton, Ohio, and an agreement was signed in December 1995. Bosnia is now divided into a Croat-Muslim Federation and Republika Srpska. A NATO peace-keeping Implementation Force of 60,000 was deployed; it was later replaced by a NATO Stabilization Force. The war in Bosnia led deaths of tens of thousands men and boys that left the country without enough workers to keep their economy stable. Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims who make up the Federation of Croats and Muslins are not getting along because of their political and economic differences. There is a rotating presidency of a Bosnian Croat, Bosnian Serb, and a Bosnian Muslim every three years that many experts consider to be dangerous. The ethnic differences between Muslims, Croats, and Serbs are still keeping the nation of Bosnia-Herzegovina from being one, because they all want more governmental control over the other. The effects of the Bosnian Genocide still float in the background for this troubled country. Because there is still ethnic disturbance in Bosnia, there is fear that genocide could occur once more in the torn country. By now, over 200,000 Muslim civilians have been systematically murdered. More than 20,000 are missing and feared dead, while 2,000,000 have become refugees.

Blessing and Vultures Essay -- English Literature

Blessing and Vultures In the poems ‘Blessing’ and ‘Vultures’, the poets both use vivid descriptive language to create pictures and moods. In ‘Blessing’, the poet begins the second stanza with the word ‘imagine’. This word involves the reader and tells them to create a mental picture of the scene. He uses lots of onomatopoeia in this stanza. Words like ‘drip’ and ‘splash’ create an image of a small amount of water falling into a tin mug. This also creates a mood of thirst and drought. The stanza is finished with the line â€Å"the voice of a kindly god.† This personifies the water and makes it seem heavenly. The third stanza creates a sense of rushing, in the same way that water would rush out of the burst pipe. This mood is created by using fast sounding words, such as ‘rush’, ‘bursts’ and ‘crashes’. These words are also onomatopoeic because they sound like the pipe bursting, the water rushing and crashing to the ground. It uses the word ‘silver’ metaphorically to describe the look of the water and also how precious it is. Another metaphor is â€Å"a roar of tongues†. Th...

Sojourn to Singapore Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

Sojourn to Singapore "Eat the durians...eat it!" Although a jumbled cacophony of encouraging voices seemed to levitate the humid night air, all hesitancy was not dispersed as I carefully probed the pulpy tropical fruit with an expectant tongue. Proudly, (and much to the glee of my Asian companions who enjoyed the various facial contortions), I swallowed the remainder, washed down with three full bottles of water. Before the initial incision into the durian, I was engulfed by the painfully distinctive odor that only three days and half a bottle of Listerine could remedy. With my experiences in Singapore as a United States representative to the Asian-Pacific Youth Science Festival, however, I also was engulfed by the myriad of Asian cultures, whose unique facets of language, tradition, and daily life broadened my spectrum of global understanding. All delegates from each of the fourteen economies were combined into groups and assigned a topic of concern facing the scientific community-diseases, genetic engineering, globalization, and global warming. Although my fellow group members resided in China, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia, we all share... ...and possibly the world. We composed papers, visually presented our conclusions, and became brothers and sisters in striving to accomplish our task. Of course, our interaction provided inestimable amounts of enjoyment for everyone-the Asian delegates were thrilled by my 'American humor.' On the final night, Group 24 assembled under a shelter and everyone exchanged teary-eyed good-byes with low voices. Little did I expect the torrent of ice and freezing water that crashed over my head and shoulders merely seconds later, wrecking the silent awkwardness. We laughed, and then we were friends again.

Population of China and Gender Imbalance Essay

China’s one child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit China’s population growth. It was designated as a â€Å"temporary measure,† to limit couples to just one child. Those who fail to follow the law are subjected to fines, pressures to do abortion, and forced sterilization. In 1979, the Chinese government embarked on an ambitious program of market reform following the stagnation of the economy after the Cultural Revolution. At the time, China was home to a quarter of the world’s people, who were occupying just 7 percent of world’s arable land. Two thirds of the population was under the age of 30 years, and the baby boomers of the 1950s and 1960s were entering their reproductive years. The government saw strict population containment as essential to economic reform and to an improvement in living standards. So the one-child family policy was introduced. The policy consists of a set of regulations governing the approved size of Chinese families. These regulations include restrictions on family size, late marriage and childbearing, and the spacing of children (in cases in which second children are permitted). The State Family Planning Bureau sets the overall targets and policy direction. Family-planning committees at provincial and county levels devise local strategies for implementation. Despite its name, the one-child rule applies to a minority of the population; for urban residents and government employees, the policy is strictly enforced, with few exceptions. The exceptions include families in which the first child has a disability or both parents work in high-risk occupations (such as mining) or are themselves from one-child families (in some areas). The policy has been estimated to have reduced population growth in the country of 1. 3 billion by as much as 300 million people over its first twenty years of existence. However, this rule has caused a bias against female infants; abortion, neglect, abandonment, and even infanticide have been known to occur to female infants. The use of IUDs, sterilization, and abortion are China’s most popular forms of birth control. However, over the past few years, China has provided more education and support for alternative birth control methods. This shift in focus on implementing this family planning policy was partly in reaction to what happened in 2007 when there were reports that in the southwestern Guangxi Autonomous Region of China, officials were forcing pregnant women without permission to give birth to have abortions and levying steep fines on families violating the law. As a result, riots broke out and some population control officials may have been killed. The result of such family planning policy has resulted in the disparate ratio of 114 males for every 100 females among babies from birth through children four years of age. Normally, 105 males are naturally born for every 100 females. When the Chinese government introduced the policy in 1979 to alleviate social, economic, and environmental problems in China, authorities claim that the policy has prevented 250 million births from its implementation to 2000. However, the policy is controversial both within and outside China because of the manner in which the policy has been implemented, and because of concerns about negative economic and social consequences. The policy has been implicated in an increase in of forced abortions and female infanticide, and has been suggested as a possible cause behind China’s significant gender imbalance. Despite these negative reports, favorable feedback from this policy is heard from the families themselves. Since the introduction of the one-child policy, the total fertility rate in China has fallen from over two births per woman to approximately 1. 7 births today. In total, China estimates that it has three to four hundred million fewer people today, with the one-child policy, than it would have had otherwise. The reduction in the fertility rate and thus population growth has reduced the severity of problems that come with overpopulation, like epidemics, slums, overwhelmed social services (such as health, education, law enforcement), and strain on the ecosystem from abuse of fertile land and production of high volumes of waste. Another favorable feedback as a result of this policy is that it is reported that the focus of China on population control helps provide a better health service for women and a reduction in the risks of death and injury associated with pregnancy. Increased involvement of women in the labor force is also another positive feedback. Women have traditionally been the primary caregivers for children; however, with fewer children, they have more time to invest in their careers, increasing both their personal earnings and the national GDP. Another feedback that appeals to environmentalists is that, with the policy, there is decreased environmental impact. China’s one child policy has the indirect consequence of reducing China’s total ecological footprint and thus reducing strain on ecological resources. Despite these successes, however, the one-child only policy draws criticisms from many quarters. First, the one-child policy has been criticized by human rights advocacy groups and Western religious groups, including some evangelical Christians, as well as by pro-life advocates. Within China, criticism tends to be focused on potential social problems caused by the policy. A second type of criticism has come from those who acknowledge the challenges stemming from China’s high population growth but believe that less intrusive options could have achieved the same results over an extended period of time. One very important concern was the human rights factor. The one-child policy is challenged in principle and in practice over violating basic human rights. Reported abuses in its enforcement include bribery, coercion, forced sterilization, forced abortion, and possibly infanticide. Even though in 2002, China outlawed the use of physical force to make a woman submit to an abortion or sterilization, it is not entirely enforced. In the execution of the policy many local governments still demand abortions if the pregnancy violates local regulations. Some critics also point to the possible economic and emotional costs the policy may bring to the people. As the one-child policy begins to near its next generation, one adult child is left with having to provide support for his or her two parents and four grandparents. This leaves the older generation with more of a dependency on retirement funds or charity, rather than their children in order to have support. If a child cannot care for their parents and grandparents, or if that child cannot survive, the oldest generation could find itself destitute. Another social problem seen is when some parents may over-indulge their only-child. The media referred to the indulged children in one-child families as â€Å"little emperors†. Since the 1990s, some people worry this will result in a higher tendency toward poor social communication and cooperation skills among the new generation, as they have no siblings at home. One important focus among sociologists is the issue of gender imbalance. China, like many other Asian countries, has a long tradition of son preference. Many argue that the one-child policy induces many families to use selective abortion, abandon female infants, and even kill female infants under the influence of the son preference. Some families even kill or starve the female infant and then try again for a male child. The commonly accepted explanation for son preference is that sons in rural families may be thought to be more helpful in farm work. Sons are preferred as they provide the primary financial support for the parents in their retirement, and a son’s parents typically are better cared for than his wife’s. In addition, Chinese traditionally view that daughters, on their marriage, become primarily part of the groom’s family. Becaue of this gender bias the sex ratio at birth (between male and female births) in mainland China reached 117:100 in the year 2000, substantially higher than the natural baseline, which ranges between 103:100 and 107:100. It had risen from 108:100 in 1981 — at the boundary of the natural baseline — to 111:100 in 1990. According to a report by the State Population and Family Planning Commission, there will be 30 million more men than women in 2020, potentially leading to social instability. The correlation between the increase of sex ratio disparity on birth and the deployment of one child policy would appear to have been caused by the one-child policy.

One fine example of which is religion Essay

Once again after years of oppression the natives savored freedom for the first time. However, one cannot deny the fact the three hundred years of colonization has brought about changes in society that until now is evident in the daily life of its Citizens. One fine example of which is Religion. The Spanish empire was indeed victorious in spreading the Catholic faith since as of the 2000 census, 87. 9% of its citizens claim to be Catholics. Churches that were built at the time of the Spaniards were maintained by the devotees and the church still holds power in society. Another by product of the colonization is the prevalent language which is Spanish. This is the most widely used language in Mexico and followed by English. Spanish has also taken different versions in the country. The language therefore is Localized which vary only in accents and tones. There are still parts of the country that uses their native language however it can’t be denied that almost the whole of Mexico is using Spanish as their primary language. Spanish Colonialism can also be observed in the names of its people. Since together with baptism the friars had given them new names, much of the population today have Spanish names. Example of which is Jose, Maria, Juan and etc. Further more; the population of Mexico is largely constituted of mixed blooded Spaniards who proudly carry with them Spanish names. The country has been branded as a Mestizo country wherein 60 to 70 percent of its population is composed of Mestizo. This is what three hundred years of colonialism did to the country. It has not only changed thief religion but their identity as well. Bibliography Almanac, World.Aztec People Today. USA: World Almanac Education Group, 2005. Anderson, J. O. â€Å"Pre-Hispanic Aztec Colorists El Palacio. † vol. 55 (1948). Anna, Timothy E. , The Fall of the Royal Government in Mexico City, Lincoln, NE. , University of Nebraska Press, 1978 MacLachlan, Colin M. , and Rodriquez O. , Jaime E. , The Forging of the Cosmic Race, A Reinterpretation of Colonial Mexico, Expanded Edition, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California, 1990 Ruiz, Ramon Eduardo, Triumphs and Tragedy, a History of the Mexican People, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 1992.

The Role of Strategic Groups in Understanding Strategic Human Resource Management

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. emeraldinsight. com/0048-3486. htm The role of strategic groups in understanding strategic human resource management Judie M. Gannon Oxford School of Hospitality Management, Faculty of Business, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK The role of strategic groups 513 Liz Doherty Business School, Shef? eld Hallam University, Shef? eld, UK, and Angela Roper School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK AbstractPurpose – This article aims to explore how understanding the challenges faced by companies’ attempts to create competitive advantage through their human resources and HRM practices can be enhanced by insights into the concept of strategic groups within industries. Based within the international hotel industry, this study identi? es how strategic groups emerge in the analysis of HRM practices and approaches. It sheds light on the value of strategic groups as a way of readdressing the focus on ? rm and industry level analyses.Design/methodology/approach – Senior human resource executives and their teams across eight international hotel companies (IHCs) were interviewed in corporate and regional headquarters, with observations and the collection of company documentation complementing the interviews. Findings – The ? ndings demonstrate that strategic groups emerge from analysis of the HRM practices and strategies used to develop hotel general managers (HGMs) as strategic human resources in the international hotel industry. The value of understanding industry structures and dynamics and intermediary levels of analysis are apparent where speci? industries place occupational constraints on their managerial resources and limit the range of strategies and expansion modes companies can adopt. Research limitations/implications – This study indicates that further research on strategic groups will enhance the theoretical underst anding of strategic human resource management and speci? cally the forces that act to constrain the achievement of competitive advantage through human resources. A limitation of this study is the dependence on the human resource divisions’ perspectives on realising international expansion ambitions in the hotel industry.Practical implications – This study has implications for companies’ engagement with their executives’ perceptions of opportunities and threats, and suggests companies will struggle to achieve competitive advantage where such perceptions are consistent with their competitors. Originality/value – Developments in strategic human resource management have relied on the conceptual and theoretical developments in strategic management, however, an understanding of the impact of strategic groups and their shaping of SHRM has not been previously explored.Keywords Strategic groups, Strategic human resources, Strategic human resource management , International human resource management, Hotel and catering industry, International business Paper type Research paper The authors would like to express their thanks to the organisations who participated in the research and the reviewers and Editors who provided insightful and excellent feedback on early drafts. Personnel Review Vol. 41 No. 4, 2012 pp. 513-546 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0048-3486 DOI 10. 1108/00483481211229401 PR 41,4 14 Introduction Most developments in strategic human resource management (SHRM) and international human resource management (IHRM) have drawn heavily on the strategic management literature (Becker and Huselid, 2006; Schuler and Jackson, 2007). Some of the earliest models associated with SHRM (such as Fombrun et al. , 1984; Beer et al. , 1984; Hendry and Pettigrew, 1986 and Guest’s (1989) model) provide insights into how leading HRM thinkers have approached the strategic dimensions of HRM. Such insights have focused on the links or ? be tween strategy and HRM, environmental analyses as the basis for strategic management informing (and in some cases informed by) HRM, and borrowing concepts and theories with their origins in the strategic management literature, such as organisational and product life cycles, and competitive strategies (Schuler and Jackson, 1987; Sanz-Valle et al. , 1999; Miles and Snow, 1984). Despite the advances made in both areas there has been minimal consideration of the ways that strategic groups, not only industries and ? rms, in? ence HRM strategies and practices in the pursuit of competitive advantage (Boxall, 2003). Strategic group research identi? es how groups of ? rms engage in similar strategies in order to compete effectively within industries and shape industry structure and competition. Panagiotou (2006 p. 440) de? nes strategic groups as: [. . . ] those groups of ? rms within an industry, which are characterised by similarities in their structure and competitive beliefs as well as t heir tendency to follow similar strategies along key strategic dimensions in a speci? operating environment. The performance differences between strategic groups are the focus for much of this research, but mobility between groups and the structural dimensions of industries have also received attention (Ferguson et al. , 2000; Leask and Parker, 2006; Porter, 1980; Reger and Huff, 1993). As such strategic group research has developed as a central research theme in strategic management. One of the most notable aspects of strategic groups research is that it highlights and reinforces the importance of particular industry contexts.This is an important consideration for the development of SHRM research as there is now growing recognition of the value of industry and sector speci? c SHRM research where the nuances and structural dimensions of industries are emphasized (Boselie et al. , 2009; Paauwe, 2008; Paauwe and Boselie, 2008; Tyson and Parry, 2008). The aim of this study is to explor e how the strategic group concept can inform SHRM approaches. Speci? cally it sets out to identify how strategic groups can help us understand why companies struggle to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.This aim is achieved by initially investigating the strategic group literature and evaluating where it adds insight and value to the SHRM approaches literature. Thereafter the ? ndings from an in-depth empirical study of the HRM practices and strategies deployed across a global industry are used to highlight the role of strategic groups in constraining companies’ capacities to differentiate their SHRM approaches and practices. Accordingly this article also satis? s the demand for more sector led SHRM research (Paauwe, 2008; Paauwe and Boselie, 2008; Tyson and Parry, 2008). This article unfolds as follows. Initially an evaluation of the strategic group literature is provided followed by an analysis of the contemporary debates in SHRM (Boxall and Purcell, 2000, 2003, 200 8; Boselie et al. , 2002, 2003). The limitations of the SHRM literature are re? ected on in light of the strategic group literature and the potential contribution this ? eld towards a more nuanced understanding of SIHRM approaches and practices.The research design for the study is subsequently outlined alongside an overview of the context of the research, the global hotel sector. The qualitative data analysis is then considered with the HRM practices and approaches which are found to be common across the whole industry, similar across particular strategic groups and distinctive to speci? c companies explored sequentially. The implications of these various layers of HRM practices and strategies, and speci? cally the strategic group dimension, are then discussed in relation to the extant research. Of speci? c note is the way such ? dings reinforce the challenges companies face when pursuing competitive advantage through human resources and how the national, industry and strategic grou p pressures for assimilation limit opportunities to develop idiosyncratic and integrated HRM interventions and strategic human resources. Literature review: building bridges between strategic groups and SHRM approaches Strategic groups The strategic group concept emerged within strategic management as an attempt to better understand the competitive backdrop and demands faced by companies operating in an industry (McGee et al. 1995; Porter, 1980; Short et al. , 2007). Strategic management analysis has typically taken place at the level of the ? rm and the industry, and has omitted the interface of ? rm and industry competitor behaviour. Originating from the broader ? eld of industrial organization economics in the 1970s, strategic groups were identi? ed as clusters of companies within industries (Porter, 1980). Such divisions arise because industries are not collections of heterogeneous companies but subsets of ? ms separated by mobility barriers limiting movement between groups (Fer guson et al. , 2000; McGee et al. , 1995). Strategic group research has facilitated a better understanding of how group structure can shape rivalry and ultimately performance, as well as group identities and reputations. It has also illustrated how strategic group reputations serve to reinforce mobility barriers to other industry competitors (Dranove et al. , 1998; Ferguson et al. , 2000; Leask and Parker, 2006; Peteraf and Shanley, 1997).The analysis of the business environment as an objective reality, achieved classically through cluster or factor analysis of company data (Reger and Huff, 1993), drives most investigations in this area. However, Panagiotou (2006, p. 441) summarises the problems of this prescriptive approach as leading to: [. . . ] a preoccupation by managers that strategic management is all about prescribing strategies for positioning a business in a particular industry structure, having ? rst carried out a thorough economic analysis based on the implicit notion th at industry structures are relatively stable and easily identi? ble. The role of strategic groups 515 More recently a cognitive approach to strategic group research has emerged based on the argument that managers’ simpli? cation of their complex competitive environments and perceptions of similarities and differences among their rivals will shape strategic decision-making (Panagiotou, 2006, 2007; Reger and Huff, 1993). Such managerial insights into competitive groupings offer clearer conceptions of the way decision-makers perceive their own organisations and their rivals and therefore how these determine and implement strategies.These arguments suggest that strategists’ PR 41,4 516 understand (and approach) their competitive environments in similar ways, and are related to the ideas of institutional assimilation and isomorphism (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Powell and DiMaggio, 1991). Therefore, the capacity of ? rms to pursue distinctive practices for competitive advant age may be limited by constraints, such as organisational inertia and forms of isomorphism (Reger and Huff, 1993; Boon et al. , 2009). Strategic groups are then another important aspect of the structural dimensions which foster this organisational sluggishness.These are critical insights where the pursuit of competitive advantage through human resources, HRM practices and strategies has gained substantial support in recent years (Becker and Huselid, 2006; Boxall, 2003). However, this quest for distinctive or idiosyncratic HRM practices and strategies to attain competitive advantage needs to be resolved against the pressures to conform and achieve social legitimacy within sectors. The next section evaluates the contemporary SHRM approaches and highlights where the strategic group literature contributes to their enhanced understanding.The strategic HRM approaches Three main SHRM approaches have emerged as the keystone for understanding and achieving sustained corporate success through human resources (Purcell, 1999, 2001; Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). While the opportunities for simultaneously enacting these approaches are now well-rehearsed it is useful to revisit them brie? y as part of developing the theoretical connection with the strategic group literature. The best practice SHRM approach encourages companies to adopt sophisticated or â€Å"high performance† practices across their human resources in order to achieve competitive advantage (Pfeffer, 1998; Huselid, 1995).Considerable criticism of the best practice SHRM approach occurs in relation to what actually represents â€Å"sophisticated† HRM practices and the empirical basis on which these practices are suggested (Marchington and Grugulis, 2000; Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). Furthermore, the conventional best practice SHRM approach suggests that these superior HRM practices should be adopted regardless of different industrial and national boundaries (Marchington and Grugulis, 2000; B oxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008).Recent evaluations of the â€Å"best practice† SHRM approach have emerged recognising that within industries there may be certain HRM practices and approaches which are obligatory (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). The â€Å"table stake† concept suggests there are established (HRM) practices adopted by all businesses in an industry which serve to legitimise their position in that industry. This concept has thus been recognised as an adaptation of the â€Å"best practice† SHRM approach (Boon et al. , 2009; Bjorkman, 2006; Boxall and Purcell, 2003; Paauwe and Boselie, 2003).The â€Å"table stake† version of best practice SHRM approach is based on the institutional assimilation literature where organisations struggle to distinguish themselves from their industry associates while simultaneously achieving legitimacy (institutional ? t) in their sector (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Powell and DiMaggio, 1991; Oliver, 1997). Isomorphis m is the process which constrains organisations’ attempts to differentiate themselves within the same institutional context (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983).Isomorphism emerges in two broad variations; competitive isomorphism where market pressures and performance targets are emphasised and institutional isomorphism where institutional factors associated with socio-cultural, technological and economic parameters are highlighted. The adoption of best practice SHRM approach across an international setting has also been roundly critiqued (Brewster, 1999, 2006; Sparrow et al. , 2004) due to the ingrained national institutional and cultural conventions, which are seen to regulate the value of various high performance HRM practices in other countries (Brewster, 1991, 2006; Sorge, 2004).However, this does not mean that across a country all industries have the same HRM practices. Much of the IHRM literature could be seen as disproportionately focused on the parent and host country culture s and systems in light of the evidence on SHRM approaches and practices in hospitals, local government and hotels (Boselie et al. , 2002, 2003). Such studies indicate that institutional and competitive isomorphisms differ across industry contexts creating distinct table stake HRM practices in different industries within the same country (Boon et al. , 2009; DiMaggio and Powell, 1983).Furthermore, such evidence recognizes that national institutional dimensions may have less of an impact than competitive institutional dimensions on some industries and their resulting people management practices. This level of industry interplay on the best practice approach is valuable but in light of the strategic group insights it is clear that companies do not compete directly with every other company in their industry. Instead they are likely to have particularly close rivals whose practices, products, managers, innovations and initiatives will be of speci? interest to them (Panagiotou, 2006; Pete raf and Shanley, 1997). As such there may be another layer of consistency and similarity in HRM practices due to the close rivalry of strategic groups, in addition to those identi? ed by the â€Å"table stake† version of the best practice SHRM approach across an industry. The â€Å"best-? t† SHRM approach suggests a ? rm’s market position and strategies drive and shape its HRM policies and practices. Within the â€Å"best ? t† SHRM approach a range of theories have emerged from those that more simplistically link speci? strategy choices to HRM practices and policies (Delery and Doty, 1996; Miles and Snow, 1984; Schuler and Jackson, 1987) to more complex models (Fombrun et al. , 1984; Hendry and Pettigrew, 1986) which envision a range of corporate characteristics (strategies, positions, portfolio characteristics) determining people management practices. Within the IHRM area, much of the research has also focused on the in? uential nature of national differ ences as well as strategic models (Perlmutter, 1969; Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989, 2000; Edwards et al. , 1996).For example: the models of international orientation (Perlmutter, 1969; Heenan and Perlmutter, 1979); product life-cycle phases (Adler and Ghadar, 1990); and international responsiveness versus integration (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989, 2000; Edwards et al. , 1996) are all based on strategic choice arguments derived from the strategic management ? eld. The main thrust of the strategic dimension to IHRM has revolved around the question of whether HRM practices are determined by corporate or business strategies and customised or standardised across national boundaries with many authors providing detailed analyses of the contingency of speci? factors (Boselie et al. , 2002, 2003; Coller and Marginson, 1998; Easterby-Smith et al. , 1995; Ferner, 1994, 1997; Ferner and Quintanilla, 1998; Hannon et al. , 1995; Newman and Nollen, 1996; Rosenzweig and Nohria, 1994; Rosenzweig, 2006; T hompson et al. , 1998). The weaknesses of the â€Å"best ? t† SHRM approach are its distorted attention on the external context as determining strategies and practices based on market positioning, cultural and institutional factors; and its inability to secure competitive advantage where several companies within the same sector pursue similar strategies and marketThe role of strategic groups 517 PR 41,4 518 positions (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008; Kamoche, 2001; Wright and Snell, 1998). Such criticisms are similar to those voiced by contemporary strategic management researchers on the objective and prescriptive versions of strategic management being the primary in? uence on strategic thinking and decision-making at the expense of managers’ and executives perceptions of positions and rivalries (Reger and Huff, 1993).Indeed Panagiotou’s (2006, 2007) research on executives’ perceptions, as opposed to the economic analysis of the competitive terrains, compe titor strategies and industry dynamics shaping strategic groups, highlights that executives whose ? rms belong to the same strategic groups react to events and market factors in similar ways. This suggests, that not only are companies constrained by the suggested strategies and market positions they develop, but that there are limitations to the options they can take to distinguish themselves because of the added level of similarity strategic groups create.Finally, the resource based view (RBV) SHRM approach has been proffered as an alternative to the best practice and best-? t approaches due its internal focus based on creating competitive advantage through the leverage of valuable, rare, inimitable, non-substitutable and rent achieving (human) resources (Morris et al. , 2006; Wright et al. , 1994, 2004). The empirical research supporting the RBV SHRM approach (Boxall and Steeneveld, 1999; Leonard-Barton, 1995; Marchington et al. , 2003) clearly highlights that human resources can ful? l the criteria of resources which deliver competitive advantage.The most valuable human resources are those identi? ed as the â€Å"strategic human resources† or â€Å"rainmakers† who ful? l the RBV criteria of adding exponential supplementary value to companies. By developing HRM practices, which are idiosyncratic and interdependent, the RBV approach argues that companies can capitalise on their proprietary knowledge and transfer it creatively and effectively across its workforce. Several authors (Bonache and Fernandez, 1999; Harvey et al. , 1999, 2000; Taylor et al. , 1996) have adopted this approach and identi? d that capitalising on internal resources to achieve competitive advantage is quite different from the best-? t SHRM approach because it surmounts the external views of the best-? t approach. This view is neatly outlined in the frustrations of Cappelli and Singh (1992 in Wright et al. , 2004 p. 11): [. . . ] many within strategy have implicitly assumed t hat it is easier to rearrange complementary assets/resources given a choice of strategy than it is to rearrange strategy given a set of assets/resources, even though the empirical research seems to imply the opposite.The RBV SHRM approach offers speci? c insights into the value of internal resources in securing successful international operations (Bonache and Fernandez, 1999; Harvey et al. , 2000). Speci? cally particular groups of human resources are seen to have an honoured position within companies where they transfer tacit knowledge to new markets and provide sustainable competitive advantage (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990; Scullion and Starkey, 2000). Taylor et al. ’s (1996) study used the RBV approach to identify the critical role of HRM competence within international ? ms, the part senior management play in identifying the company’s potential to develop HRM competence and the different groups of human resources who constitute ? rm strategic human resources. However, the weaknesses of this SHRM approach are its omission to clearly depict the interplay between internal resources and environmental factors, and the recurring evidence that ? rms struggle with the challenges of their competitive sector to achieve distinctiveness and success through their human resources and HRM practices (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). Once again the strategic groups literature provides speci? insights here in querying whether the pursuit of competitive advantage through the leveraging of the ? rm’s distinctive resources is restrained by the in? uence of their closest strategic group (Panagiotou, 2006, 2007). Clearly each of the SHRM approaches (table stake best practice, best-? t and RBV) have some resonance and these perspectives are summarised in Table I in terms of their initial focus and the levels of context where their attention is directed. There is an overall tendency across the SHRM literature for tensions, contradictions and imbalance (Boselie et al. 2009) as evidenced in the overly prescriptive best practice approach, the highly contingent best ? t approach (focusing on speci? c market or national context factors) and the RBV’s spotlight on the internal resources of the organisation. Individual adoption of these approaches is unlikely to provide a meaningful depiction of how companies might pursue competitive advantage via their human resources or HRM practices. Instead it is argued that companies can use a combined and simultaneous version of the three SHRM approaches in an attempt to balance the external and internal perspectives adopted by the best-? and RBV approaches, while also recognising the important in? uence industry isomorphism (table stakes) has on the creation of a set of HRM practices (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). Even where such a combined and simultaneous model of SHRM has been advocated (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008) there appears insuf? cient understanding of, and insight into, the industry or sectoral level of analysis (Boselie et al. , 2009; Boxall, 2003; Paauwe, 2008; Paauwe and Boselie, 2008). By exploring SHRM practices and approaches across an industry, rather than across speci? national or company contexts, a better understanding of the internal and external challenges faced by competing organisations to achieving distinctive HRM strategies and practices becomes manifest. Alongside this evaluation of the SHRM approaches, the strategic groups literature highlights that these clusters of close rivals may compound the SIHRM approaches Primary focus Level Company/? rm The role of strategic groups 519 Resource based view (RBV) Competitive advantage achieved through developing resources Internal which are Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Non-substitutable and Rent achieving Best ? Based on crafting HRM practices tied to strategic management External models – typically through strategic analyses tools of market position Based on aligning HRM practices to different in ternational and domestic cultural and institutional contexts and company demand for standardisation Best practice Originally identi? ed as sophisticated practices capable of External achieving competitive advantage Now associated with HRM practices which are â€Å"table stakes† essential for operating with social legitimacy within an industry Competitive market National contexts and competitive market Industry Table I.The initial focus of SIHRM approaches PR 41,4 challenges ? rms already face in realising differentiation through their human resources and HRM practices. Indeed where industry analyses highlight the importance of conformance of industry members, to particular HRM practices and systems, strategic groups suggest another layer of orthodoxy among closest rivals which limit the pursuit of distinctive competitive advantage by ? rms. Research design Analysis of strategic groups requires an industry focus and this research was undertaken within the context of the intern ational hotel sector.This sector has been identi? ed as international by nature (Litteljohn, 2003; Litteljohn et al. , 2007) with companies achieving growth through a range of market entry modes, typically engaging with different equity partners (Whitla et al. , 2007). Managing portfolios of hotels with diverse ownership arrangements (such as the asset light options of management contracts, franchises and part equity agreements) has created challenges for international hotel companies (IHCs) (Beals, 2006; Eyster, 1997; Gannon et al. , 2010; Guilding, 2006).Traditionally hotel general managers (HGMs) have been seen as strategic human resources (Boxall and Steeneveld, 1999; Marchington et al. , 2003) responsible for creating pro? table hotel units through their leadership and operational expertise in the hotel industry (Forte, 1986; Kriegl, 2000; Ladkin and Juwaheer, 2000). However, the asset light market entry modes developed more recently as a result of IHC portfolio expansion have resulted in managers and executives experiencing different challenges and requiring enhanced skills sets.At the heart of this study was the aim to explore how IHCs have developed IHRM strategies and practices to manage their international managerial resources within the broader context of the sector’s competitive forces, growing industry concentration and in the presence of strategic groups (Curry et al. , 2001; Litteljohn, 1999; Roper, 1995). Any attempt to capture people management strategies and practices across an industry, as well as at the ? rm level, involves the adoption of a comprehensive sample of organisations. This study used an industry de? nition of global operations based on companies operating hotels across ? e out of the six economically viable continents, as a purposive sample technique (Saunders et al. , 2000). This research stage comprised substantial secondary data collection on the broader international hotel industry with information on service levels, ownership modes, brands, portfolios and geographical penetration and the information is captured in Table II. Only nine companies met these global criteria and eight of these nine companies granted access to their senior human resource executives (typically Vice Presidents of Human Resources) and administrative teams, and HR systems and materials.The ? eldwork interviews took place at the European corporate headquarters, regional of? ces and in hotel units for the eight companies. Interviews with the senior HR executives for each of the eight companies form the main part of the data. These interviews lasted around four hours on average. In addition, time was also spent with administrative teams, reading documentation and observing meetings. A checklist was developed to complement the interview questions and data, and to systemise the collection of company documentation, observations and interactions with the administrative teams (Robson, 2002).Documentation included HRM policies, pe rformance appraisal forms, training manuals, organisational charts, company communications, job descriptions, succession plans and demonstrations and hard copies of HR databases. The interview 520 International hotel companies Suggested strategy and methods of growth Differentiation strategies – based on the power of the company’s hotel brand name. Expansion in prime city centre and resort locations and the development of hotel clusters in countries or regions achieved through management contracts and joint ventures Various strategies deployed at the different market levels.Budget brands operate on a no frills strategy. International luxury properties follow a differentiation (premium price) strategy. One third of properties are owned and two-thirds are management contract arrangements. Growth through management contracting, franchising or marketing agreements and some ownership Focused differentiation strategy based on distinctive design and architectural features ass ociated with properties and attention to detail service style. Grows solely by securing management contract agreements with select investors Differentiation strategy based on developing modern and ef? ient ? rst class hotels. Growth achieved through management contracting, rather than ownership, and a global partnership with one of America’s largest international hotel corporations Operates at different market levels – particularly concerned with distinctiveness and value for money and therefore a broad hybrid strategy is identi? ed Mixed type of operation is used across portfolio; approximately 46 per cent owned, 21 per cent leased, 22. 5 per cent management contracts and 10. 5 per cent franchised (continued) 150 ? Prestige international brand National UK mid-market brand 48 Number of hotelsBrands Number of countries Anglo-American Premium Britbuyer 900 Nine brands at international and domestic levels: Upscale Mid market Budget 50 Contractman International 200 Four lu xury or upscale brands 35 Euroalliance One upscale brand 16 50 * Euromultigrow 2,500 ? Seventeen brands split into: Upscale and midscale Economy and budget Leisure hotels 73 521 The role of strategic groups Table II. Pro? les of global hotel companies in sample PR 41,4 522 International hotel companies 2,300 ? Five brands: two at mid market Prestige brand Budget brand Holiday resorts 63 FranchiseKing GlobalallianceUSBonusbranda 700 Seven brands Two at both mid market and budget levels Prestige brand Suites Holiday resorts Prestige brand Mid-market brand – North America 63 35 USmixedeconomy Note: a This company did not participate in the ? nal stages of the research Table II. Number of hotels Brands Number of countries Suggested strategy and methods of growth Hybrid strategy based on presence across a range of market sectors but competitively priced in each sector. Company documentation states the aim as â€Å"To be the preferred hotel system, hotel management company, and lo dging franchise in the world.To build on the strength of the FranchiseKing name utilising quality and consistency as the vehicle to enhance it’s perceived ‘value for money’ position in the middle market. † Focused differentiation strategy based on international exposure and expertise in the luxury hotel market. Growth through management contracting, franchising or marketing agreements and some ownership Deploys several strategies including a hybrid strategy for its domestic units and a differentiation (with premium price) strategy for most of its international properties at the prestige level.Growth through management contracting and franchising, with limited ownership Adopts a variety of strategies including a hybrid strategy for its domestic units and a differentiation (with premium price) strategy for most of its international properties. Growth through management contracting some ownership and franchising 190 Prestige brand Mid-market brand – Nor th America 70 460 transcripts, ? eldwork notes and documentation allowed cases to be written for each company which were sense-checked by industry informants and against the research team’s notes and observations.Access was granted to the eight companies on the basis of offering con? dentiality to participants and organisations. Each company was protected through the allocation of pseudonyms and all data and notes collected removed company names and trademarks to provide con? dentiality. This is in keeping with the widely acknowledged dif? culties of gaining access within this industry (Litteljohn et al. , 2007; Ropeter and Kleiner, 1997). The cases built on the interview transcripts, observations and company documentation data meant that ualitative analysis was achieved through the tools and computer aided techniques recommended by key authors (Miles and Huberman, 1994; Silverman, 1997, 1999). The process of initial coding identi? ed HRM practices, management criteria and co mpany strategies and characteristics. Descriptive coding was then used to highlight speci? c activities and relationships between HRM practices and approaches, and company characteristics. Further interpretive coding and analytic coding were highlighted through the themes presented by the respondents and the theoretical relationships arising from the data and initial coding (Silverman, 1997, 1999).Of particular importance were the themes of similar and distinctive HRM practices deployed by the companies, strategic groups and across the sample. Results Across the sample of eight IHCs evidence of common HRM interventions deployed included: a reliance on strong internal labour markets for unit management positions; training programmes with universal components; the use of performance appraisal as a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating human resources talent, the deployment of speci? c contractual agreements and conventions; the recurrent use of corporate communications channels; and speci? HRM responses to cultural and international challenges. The shared aims of these practices indicated that the IHCs were adopting the table stake version of the best practice SHRM approach across their international portfolios (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008; Boselie et al. , 2003, 2009). The next stage of data examination involved the identi? cation of company speci? c HRM practices based on the best ? t and RBV SHRM approaches. However, subsequent analysis of the qualitative data began to identify another layer of similar HRM interventions centred on the appearance of strategic groups within the sample.There appeared to be similarities between the companies based on strategic variables such as parent company ownership, the scope of the hotels organisations’ activities (levels of internationalisation, geographical coverage, and market segments); resource commitments (including size, brands and market entry modes); and centric and transnational orientations. As a resul t the sample was demarcated into three strategic groups. These are labelled the Multi-branders, Mixed Portfolio Purchasers and Prestige Operators.Table III summarises the strategic similarities and differences between the three groups and their IHC members. Patterns of HRM interventions across the three strategic groups are apparent from the data supplied by the executives, their teams and the documentation. These patterns focus around six areas: The role of strategic groups 523 PR 41,4 Similarities Differences 524 Table III. International hotel company strategic groups Strategic Group 1 – The Multi-branders (two companies) National cultural origins FranchiseKing and Parent companies – related horizontally Euromultigrow diversi? d Mid-market brand dominates in Large size – 2,000 ? hotels one company while distinct High levels of internationalisation but brands used for different market strong domestic base (French and USA) segments by other Multiple brands (luxu ry to budget) Dif? culties aligning parent company, brand One company uses more names and operations franchising Hybrid strategies Range of market entry modes Ethnocentric orientation Global organisation Strategic Group 2 – The Mixed Portfolio Purchasers (two companies) Britbuyer and Similar size (between 400 and 1,000 hotels) Diversi? ation of parent companies is different USmixedeconomy Mid-position in internationalisation index Strong domestic presence and distinctive One company has more international operations ownership/partial ownership of Range of market entry modes hotels Acquisitive growth of European prestige brands One company has much smaller Brands offered at similar market levels Challenges of aligning disparate domestic budget brand domestic interests and international portfolios, corporate strategies and new acquisitions Ethnocentric orientation but with some geocentric aspirations Multinational rganisation Strategic Group 3 – The Prestige Operators (f our companies) Two companies have separate Parent companies – related diversi? ed Anglo-American domestic operations Similar size (between 50 and 202 hotels) Premium Similar levels of low internationalisation Contractman Two companies have grown Focus on luxury, ? st class hotel market International through strategic partnerships (resort and business) Euroalliance Strategies broadly differentiation and Globalalliance One company uses a broader focused differentiation range of market entry modes Growth primarily through management contracting Broadly geocentric but with some aspects of ethnocentrism Transnational organisation (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) the levels where HRM is focused; different views about management skills and transferability across brands; how international and domestic operations function; extent of owner in? ence and cultural differences; how and where managerial talent is found; and where speci? c career interventions emerge. Table IV captures some of the co mments from interviews across these six levels and the three strategic groups. The HRM interventions and features developed by the three strategic groups are outlined in Table V along with the strategic variables which distinguish the groups. Strategic group 1: Multi-branders The sheer size and scale of their multi-branded operations indicated parallels between the HRM approaches taken by the Multi-branders (see comments in Tables IV and V).Both companies boasted a critical mass of hotels in key countries or regions of the world resulting in more localised recruitment and development approaches. For example, they operated â€Å"UK only† management training schemes and then speci? c recruitment initiatives tailored to educational systems, notably the French training and German apprenticeship schemes. The size of these two companies also meant they allowed their distinct brands to develop individually which had apparently resulted in some speci? brand HRM practices. Both compan ies recognised there were few opportunities for managers to transfer between the different brands leading to bottlenecks in internal labour markets, where some brands grew more quickly and offered extensive transfer and promotion possibilities. The Multi-branders had attempted to deal with these issues in slightly different ways, though both now had structures, enabling moves between managerial levels across brands to achieve some overall parity across their company.In one company (Euromultigrow) there was a guide to the different positions within each brand to encourage internal brand transfers of human resources. This guide was based on extensive negotiations with managers across the company’s brands, although parent country nationals (PCNs) dominated among these managers and the company’s University was responsible for the roll-out training for this guide. Franchiseking had developed a competency-based HRM system designed to identify common areas of expertise across its brands and as one HR executive identi? d all managers with line responsibilities had to attend and use this framework. The competencies were developed in accordance with a HRM consultant ? rm and used existing and future â€Å"high potential† managers across the company’s portfolio to identify appropriate behaviours of successful managers. Competencies were heavily in? uenced by the company’s existing management team comprising mainly PCNs. The company then ran a series of training sessions for its senior managers so the competencies formed the basis for all selection, performance appraisal, promotion and training decisions and activities.These attempts to closely manage their large portfolios of standardised brands across geographically disparate locations meant the Multi-branders adopted an ethnocentric orientation to internationalisation with PCNs dominant in subsidiary management positions, which runs somewhat counter to their critical mass of units and attempts to localise too. The Multi-branders commented less extensively, compared with the members of the other two strategic groups, on the level of interference from property owners where management contracts were used.They argued this was probably because their highly standardised brands, even at full-service levels, meant owners knew what to expect, and they did not attempt to interfere in the day-to-day management of hotels. The selection of managers for managed properties was also less troublesome for the Multi-branders. In most cases executives could appoint whomever they wanted and The role of strategic groups 525 PR 41,4 526 The levels of focus for HRM Table IV.Responses from HR executives from the strategic groups Multibranders â€Å"Our area, regional human resource executives run national versions of our company University training and recruitment programmes to ? t with national vocational education. † Assistant HR director for Euromultigrow EAME â€Å"We have a critical mass of hotels in certain countries and have built real presence so we need to adopt some of their practices as long as they ? t now with our competences. † Corporate Training and Development Director FranchiseKing â€Å"In France, Germany, the UK and the Benelux and Scandinavian countries, where we have critical mass, they have some ? xibility for recruitment and training. It has been a bit of a struggle with our acquisition of M to get this right, though. † Britbuyer HR EAME director â€Å"Some areas, with more hotels, have a little bit more autonomy than others and we have them do their own management recruitment and training, based on our head-of? ce materials. † Vice President HR USmixedeconomy Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators â€Å"We run a graduate management programme to ensure we have our next crop of managers waiting in the wings. We also have an executive management programme which includes an MBA – both are designed to g et us the GMs of the future. Corporate Director of Human Resources Globalalliance â€Å"Our graduate management programme is being revitalised for next year and we’ll be targeting the brightest from the hotel schools in Holland and Switzerland for EAME. All our graduates must have language skills and meet speci? c knowledge requirements. † Anglo-American Premium Vice President of HRs â€Å"I don’t think graduate management schemes per se work. Instead we recruit graduates, mainly from Switzerland and the Dutch schools, into real jobs and although they’re a hotel resource, we (headquarters) monitor their progress and target them with speci? courses to try and bring them on. † HR Vice President Euroalliance (continued) Multibranders â€Å"We had to respect what was there. The predominant national culture of the newly acquired company) meant that we had a lot of communicating and educating to do within our company and within theirs. We moved managers within (names the acquired company) between units to give them a fresh start and many of them are still with us. It worked out well really. † Regional HR director USmixedeconomy Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators Views about management skills â€Å"No, not so many people transferred.It was and transferability across brands quite common between one brand and also quite common between (names two other company brands at the same market level) but not at all between the others. It was dif? cult, not good. Now we will have a stronger parent company from this new structure. † HR Vice President for Euromultigrow GMs skills needs â€Å"fall into four skill sets which†¦ one is managing myself based on the premise that if I can’t manage myself then I can’t really manage anybody else. Then managing others and then the third one is problem solving and decision making and the fourth one is pro-active achievement.Very dif? cult to measure, but the actu al achievement levels and the go for it and taking that extra risk, the entrepreneurial part. And then there is the languages and â€Å"We have been training them in the use of behavioural event interviewing to help them, â€Å"When we acquired company [M] there was cultural bit. † HR Vice President Euroalliance . . . to spot the competencies. This allows us a bit of a standoff basically because they to see where in the portfolio of brands they wanted to be acquired by somebody else†¦ It â€Å"It feels it is dif? ult to see where a young manager’s next move is in an international can move to† Corporate Training and didn’t help that the CEO of our company company without the right language skills Development Director FranchiseKing went ‘round their hotels saying ‘get rid of this’ or ‘do that’. Things have changed now, to allow widening of transfer options. †Anglo-American Premium Vice again. There’s more a ppreciation of what President of HRs [acquired company] does right on the international scene and we’re a lot more â€Å"There are core or critical parts to our open to learning from them.It’s now twobusiness; marketing and sales, managing way. † Britbuyer HR EAME director human resources, ? nancial management, creative decision –making and leadership. These need to be displayed across cultures across properties to make it as a GM. † Vice President HR Contractman International (continued) The role of strategic groups 527 Table IV. PR 41,4 528 How international and domestic operations function â€Å"For an international GM you need languages and international experience – that is why some managers from brands back home don’t make it. Vice President HR USmixedeconomy Table IV. Multibranders â€Å"Most of these potential GMs do tend still to be the same nationality as the company, but I don’t know why. We don’t necessarily want that, at all. † HR Vice President for Euromultigrow â€Å"All GMs are informed that the best way to read and become familiar with the (competency) guide is to read the English version ? rst – this is the authoritative version. † Corporate Training and Development Director FranchiseKing Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators â€Å"Why the four different parts of the world?Well each one has some strengths. I mean that States you take marketing and very different human resources. Asia you still have the luxury of being able to have a lot of employees and a far bigger budget because costs are lower. Japan because the way, the mentality of the Japanese market and customer is different, and Europe to do same thing but with a very tight budget because costs are so high. † Vice President HR EAME Contractman International â€Å"Our domestic brand managers aren’t our international mangers. There is no transfer, well ok I can think of one or two. You need international experience which creates a bit of a catch 22 – because it is the old thing of ‘you can’t get the job without the experience and you can’t get the experience without the job’. † Britbuyer HR EAME director â€Å"A future GM must have worked outside his or her home country before they can be promoted to this level. It is important for managers to have language skills not only to help them operate in particular locations but also because there are far more career opportunities for those individuals who can demonstrate language pro? ciency. Transfers are then an important aspect of developing a career. Anglo-American Premium Vice President of HRs (continued) Multibranders â€Å"Well most of the time, it depends on the case of course, most of the time, the shareholder of the hotel will be an investor but he will not be an operational actor. He is interested in the bottom line, not what goes on inside the hotel. † HR Vi ce President for Euromultigrow Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators â€Å"Usually owners interview the three candidates we put forward for each GM position and invariably, well they select the candidate preferred by the company, though Vice Presidents often have to use some powers of persuasion. Anglo-American Premium Vice President of HRs â€Å"We have to know our owners really well to give them the GMs they want and need. That’s a tough call when you’re growing so much. † Vice President HR Contractman International â€Å"Some owners are really dif? cult and have to be managed carefully. That’s where our Regional guys come in. Others are great and they are our business partners, with us for the long haul. â€Å" HR Vice President Euroalliance â€Å"Owners do have a lot of in? uence because if we give them somebody and they say ‘we don’t think this guy’s any good’, well!Although we could force them on them it isnâ⠂¬â„¢t a very sensible thing to do. So the owning company does have a big bearing on the GM slot. † Corporate Director of Human Resources Globalalliance (continued) Extent of owner in? uence and cultural differences â€Å"We have owners, for example, . . . but we have owners who are very, very clear about the people who we are likely, or more often than not, we can’t employ. Usually it’s in terms of nationalities and colours, race and sexual preferences they don’t like.It is their hotel and if they say ‘I don’t want somebody with red hair’ then you don’t put somebody â€Å"Owner interference depends on our brands, with red hair in, it’s as simple as that. † Britbuyer HR EAME director the more exclusive the brand the more in? uence but mainly we propose people ‘this candidate has our ? rm support’. â€Å"The frequency of moves our managers Obviously the quality of the relationship make are also driven by how tightly an with the owner is very important and you owner wants to hang on to them.So we’re must respect their wishes pertaining to GMs constrained by hardship factors, and but it doesn’t cause us much trouble really. † owner’s predilections and preferences. † Vice President for HR FranchiseKing Regional HR director USmixedeconomy The role of strategic groups 529 Table IV. PR 41,4 530 How and where managerial talent is found Table IV. Multibranders â€Å"We have our area, regional human resource people help our GMs identify their managers who might one day make it, who have the potential to be GMs too. The area human resource people then run some courses and do the training we have developed through our company university. HR Vice President for Euromultigrow Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators â€Å"How do we manage our GMs? Well we include all managers here – well it’s a very integrated approach to career development , or management development and the annual appraisal and it all comes together with succession planning and the work we coordinate here (gestures to the corporate head-of? ce). † Corporate Director of Human Resources Globalalliance â€Å"We’re [the executive team] in the hotels a lot, and the President was really great, yesterday he was saying ‘You know everybody whether you’re ? ance or business development or marketing, when you’re in the hotels and you spot people who are really good, notice it, you know get a note of the name, make sure that we’re also all talent spotting our own people. † HR Vice President Euroalliance â€Å"We must therefore nurture excellence in every one of our employees, especially our local nationals – the people who live in the countries where we operate hotels. † Vice President HR EAME Contractman International â€Å"At the Vice President and divisional director levels we’re always trav elling, listening to what are people are saying and telling them about what’s happening across the company.And spotting talent too. † Anglo-American Premium Vice President of HRs (continued) â€Å"I mean I am very conscious from this conversation we are not doing all we could to develop the next generation of GMs. It is partly because the number two position in some units has disappeared. So there aren’t enough opportunities for heads of departments to move on and develop their experience. We haven’t had a problem so far but as we increase (grow) we might be struggling for the right calibre of GMs in a â€Å"Some of our approach to identifying GM few years time. Britbuyer HR EAME potential is systematic, some is opportunistic. We’re trying to become more director systematic, through the new competencies process. We’ve recognised we have to have â€Å"You must realise that traditionally we have more local nationals and fewer expatriates. â €  consciously developed very good resident managers/EAMs (Executive Assistant Corporate Training and Development Managers) so when these individuals took Director FranchiseKing over their own units there was a very low risk of failure.Since our purchases and down-sizing, however, there are now some properties that no longer have a number 2 manager. Thus we have effectively stopped developing this ‘almost’ risk free human resource – it may cause us problems in the long term. † Vice President HR USmixedeconomy Multibranders â€Å"Our restructuring of brands and growth in franchising means we have to be clear about what managers do to make the hotels successful. Our company university is critical for training to our brands so all our managers know. † Assistant HR director for Euromultigrow EAME Potential GMs . . â€Å"It’s very intensive (the assessment centre) with personal counselling, tests to see where their stresses and strains are, and management skills across the board, running from 8 in the morning to 10 at night. It’s really very intensive and we have people â€Å"When we go outside, well we steal from the from across the world, with different â€Å"Performance of our business is crucial and competition and just rely on the grapevine or languages and cultures, the mix of people is seen to be the best element of these maybe on-spec applications.There’s some that is why so much investment and events. †Anglo-American Premium Vice development had been made in this area of use of executive search but that’s very President of HRs expensive. † Regional HR director competencies and performance management. There’s been a clear growth in USmixedeconomy â€Å"For the assessment centre a report is pro? ts since the competencies were ? rst written on them based on what we feel they developed. † Vice President for HR demonstrated, in the way they acted during FranchiseKing th e course.What is okay and the right way, what’s to be demonstrated and what’s to be discussed, where they feel they need development in, and from that we can more or less determine the time span its going to take so that they’ll be ready to be a GM, and what has to happen in-between so the individual development is planned. † Corporate Director of Human Resources Globalalliance â€Å"In fact it is incredibly incestuous and people just seem to appear or materialise. We wouldn’t directly poach someone, well . . . , but if someone made it clear to us they’d be interested then we’d feel ? e about calling them up. † Britbuyer HR EAME director â€Å"They all go on a leadership development programme and I design and I teach those with a co-trainer, I like to see that I’m there with them for a full week and we run an assessment process with the leadership development programme. So they’re booked for tests and exercises ba sed on the four management skills areas and they have individual feedback during the brief to let them know how they’re doing. This sets them with an individual plan for the future. † HR Vice President EuroallianceMixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators Where speci? c career interventions emerge The role of strategic groups 531 Table IV. PR 41,4 Strategic groups Strategic group variables HRM outcomes Brands and market segmentation Multi-branders Hard brands, serving several different market levels 532 Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators Allows more localisation of management talent due to standardisation and clear criteria for operating brands Movement within and between brands facilitated to prevent career bottlenecks Some soft (international) and some Dif? ult to facilitate movement hard (domestic) brands between international brands due to recent purchases, no transfer between domestic and international brands due to skills mismatch Importance of comm unication to assimilate new acquisitions Softer brands Emphasis on transfers to develop managerial experience of different countries/markets, and types of hotels Encourages and facilitates employees at all levels to gain international experience Large diverse organisations, structured on the basis of brands and some geographical factors Critical mass of units in some locations Organised on International and domestic divisions.Slow assimilation of newly purchased international brand Some critical mass of units Companies have developed guides to articulate management positions and skills across brands Critical mass allows multi-unit UGMs and more local recruitment and selection activities Some local recruitment and selection, less development through strong internal labour market and more acquisition of management talent Critical mass allows more localisation of management talent but not co-ordinated effectively throughout the companies Regional of? es co-ordinate transfers and HRM pr actices but also learn from subsidiaries to pass experience, knowledge and expertise on across other regions. IT plays an important role here Across company recruitment and development schemes rather than localised versions. Provides single ports of entry at (sub) department management level to locals (continued) Structure and organisation Multi-branders Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige OperatorsSmaller portfolios organised on regional lines Limited critical mass of units Table V. The IHC strategic groups, their strategic variables and the HRM outcomes Strategic groups Centric orientation Multi-branders Strategic group variables Primarily ethnocentric HRM outcomes The role of strategic groups Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators Highly standardised services seem to facilitate low reliance on PCNs at subsidiary level though they are prevalent at executive level Dif? ult to discern – bypassing of PCNs still mainly in place for acquired companies, some stages through acquisitions locations with HCNs (critical (McKiernan, 1992) mass) but dominated by Western nationals Aspiring geocentric Attempts to harness managerial talent from around the world regardless of nationality through co-ordinated and integrated HRM activities UGMs still primarily from Western (European and American) backgrounds, executives in particular 533 Methods of growth and market entry expertise Multi-branders Growth through hard brands and the development of suitable investors (master franchisees and owners)Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators UGMs have speci? c knowledge and skills in operating highly standardised hotel services and passing knowledge onto others (franchisees) HRM mechanisms de? ne performance and selection criteria for managers and employees Acquisition used alongside mixed UGMs are likely to have expertise methods of market entry (mainly in exploiting value from purchased properties management contracts) De-layering of organisational hierarchies (d isappearance of deputy UGM position) and local recruitment initiatives were seen to help realise returns on their acquisitions Managers demonstrate speci? Growth primarily through pro? ciency in managing more management contracting, some marketing agreements, and equity luxurious and culturally adapted hotels and their owners investment. Global but local More extensive and integrated outlook HRM interventions, which support extensive transfers and development opportunities, throughout human resources, not just managers Table V. PR 41,4 534 only in a few hotels or in speci? c countries and with speci? c types of owners (for example, governments) were there two or three managers presented to owners in a â€Å"beauty parade†.The Multi-branders were more concerned about the co-ordination of franchise operators and training and communication were seen to be vital mechanisms for managing these issues. These were the only companies who identi? ed mandatory training courses for manag ers and held speci? c courses that their franchise partners were obliged to attend. Constant travelling by corporate executives was seen to further reinforce company values and assist in harmonization between geographically disparate franchised, managed and owned units.Both companies showed evidence of strong similarities associated with managing their multi-branded, and multi-market entry strategies and large, diverse portfolios. Dividing their HRM interventions into areas or countries where there was a critical mass of units was appropriate given the scale of their operations. Strong values, often based on the origins of the company, ? were communicated through frequent communiques and training opportunities further reinforced the brand standards and achieved appropriate levels of corporate synergy in the face of competition from their smaller but potentially more nimble competitors.Strategic group 2: Mixed Portfolio Purchasers The Mixed Portfolio Purchasers had been through consi derable periods of change and growth prior to the researchers’ ? eldwork. In addition to acquiring smaller European hotel chains they had substantially expanded their domestic and international portfolios through other acquisitions and mixed market entry methods. Both had international and larger domestic sections which were managed almost completely separately, although