Education for Economic Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Education for Economic Development - Essay Example The above investment would hand to hand with the necessities for development in most economic theories of development. According to Rostow’s theory, savings and capital formation are vital elements to successful goals of economic development (Smith 96). For a country to move through all the stages of development, a substantial part of GDP must be channel to saving which are used for investment. This is in line with the investment in education since it will lead to the formation of capital inform of human capital and hence, economic development. According to the Harrod Domar Model, the rate of economic development depends on two factors namely; savings (savings ratio) and productivity of investment (capital-output ratio). Investment in education will increase savings because education levels directly correlate with propensity to save. Skilled labor and human capital will lead to higher productivity of capital inputs. Therefore, an investment in the education sector will lead to positive development according to the Harrod Domar Model (Hanushek 611).

Beowulf as a hero in modern society Essay Example for Free

Beowulf as a hero in modern society Essay In the historic epic Beowulf, its title character, Beowulf, is perceived as an unconventional as well as a traditional hero in current society. Beowulf, the son of Ecgtheow and Hygelacs thane, is presented as a fearless warrior to the audience. This acknowledgment of Beowulf causes the readers to instantly recognize that Beowulf is a well-respected man. Beowulfs magnitude is seen at the very beginning of the poem as the narrator states, The man whose name was known for courage, the Geat Leader (Heaney 25). Beowulf is announced to the Danish people with magnificence. Before proving Beowulfs heroic qualities, the viewers are conscious of the fact that Beowulf is a great warrior and the son of a well admired man. It can be distinguished that from Beowulfs opening statements he will become a hero. Bravery is a key characteristic that identifies a hero. Throughout the entire poem Beowulf appeared to possess infinite valor. He displayed courage in his swimming competition with Breca, and in his fights with Grendel, Grendels mother, and the dragon that fatally wounded him. In all of Beowulfs struggles, he revels wisdom, strength, and motivation. In his clash against Grendel, Beowulf utilizes his sheer strength to kill Grendel. He used his mighty strength to rip off the monsters arm from the shoulder. As stated by the narrator, The monsters whole body was in pain; a tremendous wound appeared on his shoulder Beowulf was granted the glory of winning (Heaney 55). The defeat of Grendel fulfills Beowulfs heroic duty. This is also seen with Grendels mother. After Grendels death, Grendels mother desires to avenge her child. Beowulf fights her in water and still prevails. By keeping true to his word Beowulf is able to prove his worth. Near the end of poem, Beowulf faces his last episode. He takes on a dragon that is creating havoc upon the city. Before facing the dragon he knows that he might die and yet still fights with glory and all of his might. On page 171 Beowulf states, This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear your lord away (Heaney 171). Beowulf yet again completes his task as he kills the dragon, however, he immediately dies from his wounds. Beowulf, a true hero, confronts his death with bravery. It is Beowulfs strength, determination, and courage that enable him to become a distinguishable hero in modern society. Although Beowulf is portrayed as a true Anglo-Saxon hero, he has qualities that would depict him not as one in current society. From Beowulfs initial introduction he is seen as being conceited and aggressive. During the first feast, Beowulf tells of the story of his swimming race. Beowulf states, I was the strongest swimmer of allTime and again, foul things attacked mebut I lashed out, gave as good as I got with my swordMy sword had killed nine sea-monsters. Such night-dangers and hard ordeals I have never heard of nor of a man more desolate in surging waves. (Heaney 37). This quote reveals the cockiness of Beowulf. He is very arrogant as he believes that he is the best and the bravest. Arrogance is not a characteristic of a hero. Another flaw is shown in Beowulfs character as he fights Grendel and Grendels mother. Beowulfs quarrel with Grendel exposes his true expression of violence. While Grendel and Beowulf are wrestling, Beowulf manages to get Grendel in such as position where he ripped off Grendels arm from the socket. This violent act can be seen as very brutal. The killing of Grendel in such a way would deny the right to name Beowulf as a hero in present society. In addition, the killing of Grendels mother has the same effect. While battling Grendels mother, Beowulf seeks assistance from an ancient blade. With this sword, he delivers a final blow to the neck of the monster. After determining that she is death, he still proceeds and decapitates her. He then returns with the head and displays it in Heorot. The decapitation of Grendels mother illustrates Beowulf as disrespectful and in violation of the heroic code, which doesnt identify him as a hero. In the eyes of contemporary society Beowulf can be recognize as a paradoxical character as he is embodied by both heroic and callous qualities.

My Educational Philosophy :: Philosophy of Education Teaching

My Educational Philosophy Everyone has their own reasons for choosing a career. Some people make decisions based on the family business or income statistics. In my case, none of the before mentioned explanations apply. My decision making process began after tenth grade, which happened to be the beginning of my Four-H counseling career. At this particular 4-H camp, I was honored to hold the title ‘counselor‘. It is a position that holds power, influence, and respect. Throughout the week, I fulfilled my position by helping numerous children with an array of situations. The campers were taught new camp songs while also shown how to deal with troubling circumstances. The smiling faces at the end of the week proved that the entire staff had been successful. In that one week, I realized that I can make a difference. The feeling of triumph that I felt was incredible; that is the feeling that I want to experience more often. So, why do I want to be a teacher? For one, I have the desire to help others. I want to make students feel like they are someone. I hope to make every child know they can succeed in life. After explaining the cell division process, I am excited to see the look of accomplishment on a child’s face once they finally understand -- that is the feeling of success. As a teacher, I will be given many opportunities to lend that special helping hand. The subject that I have chosen to teach is one that I did not dominate throughout my high school career. That is why I chose the General Science degree. I can relate with the student that is too shy to raise their hand and ask a question. I know what it is like to work a little harder because something does not come naturally. And, most of all, I know how it feels to succeed. That is the feeling that I want everyone to experience. Corresponding with a science degree, I am also pursuing a mathematics degree. I believe that God gives everyone a gift of a natural talent -- this gift should be implemented in life.

A view from the future and the medieval ages

The great publicist of the enlightenment, Voltaire, even while he advocated the widening of historical inquiry to embrace social and economic activities and their effect, strongly believed that any objects worthy of historical study were the peeks not the valleys of the achievements of mankind. l This statement shows that among the civilization that rose, the western civilization is always ahead of the other societies. There is an assumption that western civilization are progressive than Asians. In comparison to the medieval world, view, however believed in a fixed order of things and was theocratic.It is true that the western civilization started the economic and social activity through the Industrial revolution. The industrial revolution began at the United Kingdom in 1750-1850 and spread to the Germany, United States and the rest of the Europe in 1850 – 1950. And in 19502050 it expand through Asia and Brazil . lt also started the massive release of additional carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In the comparison between Industrial Revolution and French revolution, we can see that the two have similarities.The French Revolution was a transformation in society and political. In the start of French Revolution, France becomes a monarchy. The Industrial revolution was resulted to transform agricultural economies to industrial. But it also changed the whole society. The social changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution were significant. As economic activities in many communities moved from agriculture to manufacturing, production shifted from its traditional locations in the home and the small workshop to factories.Large portions of the population relocated from the countryside to the towns and cities where manufacturing Duchesne,Ricardo, The Uniqueness of Western Civilization, KoninkliJke, Brill NV,2011 PASCUA, Diane JOY T. 2013-63299 enters were found. New groups of investors, businesspeople, and managers took financial risks and reaped great reward s. 2 There is also similarity in the Dark Ages and in the Industrial Revolution in social stratification. In the Dark Ages, Feudalism flourished in the Western Europe. It is a specific kind of decentralized government which started in Western Europe in ninth century to thirteenth. Three elements are considered in the classical Feudalism; the decentralized of government and law. 4 The lord is the most powerful in this stratification. They are the one who holds the power in economic aspects. In some cases, some lords are more powerful than the kings. While in the Industrial Revolution, industrialists, bankers and political leaders govern over the ordinary people. Industrialists hold the power in Economic aspects and they also â€Å"control† the political system because of the wealth. We can see that the power in this time is in hands of the wealthy.

Personnel Management Research in Agribusiness

Personnel Management Research in Agribusiness Vera Bitsch Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Michigan State University, 306 Agriculture Hall, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824 Tel: +517-353-9192, Fax: +517-432-1800, [email  protected] edu Paper presented at the 19th Annual World Forum and Symposium of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, Budapest, Hungary, June 20-23, 2009 Acknowledgements This study was supported by the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, Hatch project #0191628. The author would also like to thank the Elton R.Smith Chair in Food & Agricultural Policy at Michigan State University for supporting the participation at the IFAMA World Forum and Symposium. Copyright 2009 by Vera Bitsch. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. Personnel Management Research in Agr ibusiness (Executive Summary) One of the challenges faced by agribusinesses in the 21st century is the attraction, motivation, and retention of sufficient and qualified labor.However, personnel management research has mostly focused on other industries. Accordingly, agribusiness managers have little to rely on, when developing personnel policies and procedures. Once a business has grown beyond the labor capacity of the immediate family, personnel management becomes an issue and practices developed for large corporations do not always scale down well to smaller businesses or may not fit the agribusiness environment. This paper reviews the foci and results of personnel management research in the United States and in Canada, but results are likely applicable beyond these two countries.The analysis concentrates on publications analyzing personnel management publications, largely excluding labor market, immigration, and similar analyses. The unit of analysis is the business, not the mark et, society, or other institution. The review covers agribusiness and agricultural economics journals, and also animal science and horticultural science journals. Research reports and conference papers are included when accessible. With few exceptions, personnel management was virtually absent from agribusiness and agricultural economics research before 1990.Since then research methods cover the full range from in-depth, unstructured interviews and group discussions, through interview or moderator guide based approaches, up to fully structured surveys. Several broadly based results are emerging. First, many agribusiness managers perceive their personnel management competencies as a weakness, in particular during periods of organizational growth. Second, experienced managers typically have an adequate conceptual frame of the personnel management functions, but with respect to the details gaps and misconceptions persist.Third, the peculiar circumstances of agribusiness and farm work r equire specific skill sets and beginning managers could benefit from targeted training. Fourth, although compensation is important, employees’ job satisfaction and retention can be increased with inexpensive measures, such as feedback and appreciation. Fifth, the relationship between personnel management practices and financial success measures is complicated and difficult to assess. Few personnel management studies have been able to provide evidence of a substantial relationship between any particular personnel management practice and profit, or even productivity. Personnel Management Research in Agribusiness Problem Statement One of the challenges faced by many agribusinesses and farms in the 21st century is the attraction, motivation, and retention of sufficient and qualified labor. Although this problem is more pronounced in industrialized and developed economies, growing and transitional economies, including China, also face a lack of interest in agricultural work. In ad dition, personnel management research has mostly focused on other industries, neglecting agribusiness.Accordingly, agribusiness managers have little to rely on, when developing personnel policies and procedures for a growing business. Once a business has grown beyond the labor capacity of the immediate family, personnel management becomes an issue and practices developed for large corporations often times do not scale down well to smaller businesses or may not fit the agricultural or agribusiness environment. Farm Labor in the U. S. In 2007, U. S. hired farm labor comprised $21. 9 billion or 9. 1% of total production expenses. That was an increase in monetary expenses of $3. billion, compared to $18. 6 billion in 2002, but a decrease in percentage of expenses. In addition, contract labor amounted to $4. 5 billion in expenses or 1. 9% of total production expenses, up $1. 1 billion from 2002. Custom work and custom hauling, which includes machinery costs was up by $0. 8 billion at $4. 1 billion; 1. 7% of total production expenses (2007 Census of Agriculture). Hired labor was the third largest expense group behind purchased feed and purchased livestock and poultry. But farm labor expenses are not equally distributed regionally.According to Kandel, total farm labor expenses amounted to 22. 3% of the cash receipts in California, but only to 2. 5% in Iowa in 2006. The top five states in terms of payroll expenses were California, Florida, Texas, Washington, and Oregon. They account for 42. 8% of the expenditure on hired labor in the U. S. Runyan reported that 1910-19 the share of family labor of total farm employment was 75%; 1990-99 this share had declined to 64%. While total farm employment is declining, the role of hired workers is increasing with increasing farm sizes.However, farm wages rank near the bottom of all occupational groups, second only to private household work (Runyan). This fact may be ameliorated, at least in part, by lower cost of living expenses in rural communities (Gisser and Davila). By agricultural specialization, hired labor is most important for horticultural 3 operations (tree nurseries, ornamentals, fruit, and vegetables) and in dairy farming, followed by livestock and poultry farming; hired labor is least important in field crops.Objectives This paper reviews the foci and results of personnel management research in agriculture and agribusiness in the United States and in Canada, but results are likely applicable beyond these two countries. The goal of the review is to extract the lessons learned and derive guidance for both agribusiness management practice and future research. The specific objectives are to (1) analyze the state of the art of personnel management research in agribusiness, in particular agricultural production, including an analysis of research methods; (2) determine the ain themes with respect to (a) research questions and (b) empirical fields; and (3) summarize empirical results to (a) provide a f oundation for manager training and decision support and (b) serve as a roadmap to future research projects. Procedures Geographically, this paper focuses on the United States and Canada and the review is limited to publications in English. The analysis concentrates on publications analyzing personnel management questions, largely excluding labor market, migration, immigration, and similar analyses.Labor market, migration, and immigration studies are important to understanding the agricultural labor problem and a considerable amount of work has been done on these questions (see, e. g. , Devadoss and Luckstead; Ise and Perloff; Martin and Taylor; Taylor; Tran and Perloff; Walters, Emerson, and Iwai). Less work has been published on personnel management functions and the use of different management practices in agribusiness. Personnel management functions include practices to recruit, train, manage, organize, evaluate, compensate, discipline, and terminate employees, as well as, questi ons of job satisfaction, motivation, and retention.Therefore, the unit of analysis is the agribusiness or farm, not the market, society, or other macro institution. The review covers agribusiness and management journals, agricultural economics journals, and also animal science and horticultural science journals. In addition, research reports and conference papers (gray publications) are included when accessible and relevant. 4 Articles reporting on empirical research, as well as, review articles were content analyzed with respect to the objectives outlined above.A qualitative analysis method was used to determine the personnel management questions addressed, the research methods, the empirical field, the specific results with respect to the questions addressed, and the broader implications of each article. Only articles meeting the criteria summarized above are included in the discussion of the main themes and in the summary tables. Furthermore, although this paper is based on a com prehensive review, it cannot claim to include every study in this field. State of the Art Before 1990, personnel management was virtually absent from agribusiness and gricultural economics research (Howard and McEwan; Rosenberg and Cowen), with very few exceptions (e. g. , Adams, How, and Larson). For the agricultural field, personnel management research basically began in the early 1990ies, but many of these studies are difficult to access, because they have been published as conference or working papers, or in trade magazines, not in peer reviewed journals. Until the end of the 1990ies, studies remain few and common themes are yet to develop, with the possible exception of job attitudes, which appear as an early focus (e. . , Adams, How, and Larson). Additional themes emerging later include managers’ conceptualization of the personnel management functions, managers’ personnel management competencies and practices, and the relationship between personnel management pra ctices and organizational outcomes. Few studies focus on one particular personnel management function; more studies encompass a broad array of functions and the related management practices. Exceptions are studies of the management and preferences of migrant workers and of compensation (table 1).Compensation studies in agribusiness frequently are limited to a description of actual wages and their distribution, sometimes not including benefits, and not relating compensation to organizational outcome variables (see, e. g. , studies cited in Maloney and Milligan). Examples of compensation studies, which transcend this limitation, are a pay method and performance study (Billikopf and Norton), a study of the effect of compensation and working conditions on retention (Gabbard and Perloff), and studies of the relationship between wage, production technologies, and farm size (Hurley, Kliebenstein, and Orazem; Yu et al. . Gabbard and Perloff found that for the same monetary investment employ ee benefits increase the probability of retaining good workers more 5 than higher wages. Strochlic et al. also found benefits to increase retention. No relationship between wages and retention rates was found by Miklavcic, as well as Strochlic et al. Considering that, regardless of the personnel management model used (see Delery and Doty for the universalistic, contingency, and configuration models), specific management practices cannot e considered to function in isolation and independent of other practices. Conclusions based on such studies of singular practices would be limited. Therefore, even researchers interested in a particular personnel management function and in comparing relevant practices for this function, would have to take a more integrative approach and describe other practices to provide context. Empirical evidence for the relevance of the integrative approach in agriculture and agribusiness was provided in Adams, How, and Larson; Chacko, Wacker, and Asar; and Muger a and Bitsch.Despite many commonalities between different branches of agricultural production, the type and conditions of work vary, as does the dependency on weather and growth cycles, e. g. , comparing vegetable production to swine production. Both researchers and practitioners therefore will primarily look at the research matching their current undertaking most closely. Studies vary in their empirical coverage, with respect to the scope of farming specializations included, from studies focused on a single specialization (e. g. , floriculture) to studies including multiple specializations (e. . , horticulture, including floriculture, fruit and vegetable production), and the scope of personnel management functions analyzed, from single function studies (e. g. , compensation; see above) to studies including selected or multiple functions (table 1). Dairy farming stands out as the specialization most likely to be researched. Given that hired labor plays an even larger role in horticu ltural production than in dairy farming, the reasons for the higher interest in personnel management in dairy research are not obvious.The Journal of Dairy Science published papers of a Symposium: Dairy Personnel Management as early as 1993. In addition to the dairy studies reported in table 1 that address personnel management specifically other studies of dairy farming included personnel management questions in broader studies of farm expansion (Bewley, Palmer, and Jackson-Smith; Hadley, Harsh, and Wolf; Stahl et al. ). These studies found that personnel management competencies are most important for the success of farm expansion, but these competencies are also most challenging for farm managers.After an expansion, managers are more likely to use formal practices with respect to all major personnel management functions (Stahl et al. ), but some 6 problems, such as communication, persist (Hadley et al. ), although managers spend more time on personnel management. Also, personnel ma nagement education for large dairy farms has been emphasized as an opportunity for extension programming (Brasier et al. ).A relatively new arena of research, which cuts across different agricultural specializations, is the interface of personal management and sustainable or organic production. The questions being asked include whether sustainable and organic agriculture are inherently beneficial to employees, whether the commitment to sustainability does or should include a social component, and whether a fair labor certification approach would be beneficial to producers (e. g. Shreck, Getz, and Feenstra; Strochlic and Hamerschlag; Strochlic et al. ). Although a majority of certified organic farmers in California believe that organic agriculture is more socially sustainable than conventional agriculture, there is little support to include criteria on working conditions in the organic certification (Shreck, Getz, and Feenstra). On the other hand, Strochlic et al. found considerable interest in a fair labor certification (59% of respondents).Research Methods of Empirical Studies Considering the early stage of personnel management research in agribusiness, research methods were expected to be mostly exploratory and qualitative (Bitsch 2000 and 2005). However, research methods cover the full range from in-depth, unstructured interviews and group discussions, through interview or moderator guide based approaches, up to fully structured surveys administered at the business site or off-site one-on-one or in a group setting, over the phone, or mailed questionnaires (table 2).Fornaciari and Dean found a similar phenomenon in the study of religion, spirituality, and management, where research methods also include many quantitative approaches, despite the early stage of the research field. Reasons for the seemingly early venture into highly structured and quantitative research approaches are more likely to be caused by expectations set up in the qualification process of researchers, professional pressures regarding publication outlets, and differing prestige of certain research approaches in researchers’ professional fields than by research considerations.Although, this review of studies of personnel management in production agriculture and agribusiness cannot claim completeness, the number of studies employing unstructured or moderately structured methods (first two columns in table 2) appears lower than the number of studies employing highly or very highly structured methods (last two columns in table 2). 7However, even many of the quantitative, highly structured studies did not attempt (or accomplish) representative sampling and, therefore, their generalizability can only be judged based on their descriptions of the research approaches and the methods used, and the comparison of results across studies. As a result, researchers and practitioners planning to use studies of either research approach may need to analyze the original sources a nd pay close attention to details, before evaluating the applicability of their results to a different context.Most studies rely on a single method for data collection and multi-method studies are rare. An exception is the case study approach of best management practices by Strochlic and Hamerschlag that employed a variety of methods including semi-structured interviews with farm managers, focus groups with employees, and informal interviews with key informants. Multimethod approaches are likely to yield more valid results, due to the method triangulation involved.The method used most often by personnel management researchers in production agriculture and agribusiness is a survey questionnaire (table 2). Questionnaires are administered in a variety of ways, most frequently in person, which is more likely to garner to reliable results than mailed questionnaires, given the sensitivity of many personnel management questions, but also requires more resources. The number of studies using a mailed questionnaire is surprisingly high, considering the difficulty of developing a questionnaire that is fully understood by potential research participants.Other methods used frequently are moderately structured interviews either in an individual setting or set up as group discussions. Although resource intensive, these latter approaches are more likely to gather reliable data and allow for in-depth study of research questions than the more highly structured approaches, given the early stage of the field, the lack of common understanding of personnel management terms of potential research participants and researchers, and the multitude of interactions etween personnel management practices. Managers’ Conceptualization of Personnel Management Functions As early as 1967, Adams, How, and Larson observed that some farmers seem to have much fewer difficulties in finding and keeping the workforce they needed than other farmers in a comparable situation. Their research showed that this difference was not a chance occurrence, but that these farmers had invested considerably in the relationships with their workforce and carefully developed their personnel management practices.Similarly, Rosenberg and Cowen 8 found dairy managers’ assumptions about their workforce to correlate with their milk output, and suggest that those assumptions guide the choice of organizational structure and the management practices. Hence, it may be concluded that managers’ perception of which personnel management functions need to be given attention and which practices are available to them, will be the determinants of their management choices.After 2000, a renewed effort to delineate the field of agricultural personnel management resulted in three studies using focus group discussions to identify management practices in different areas of agricultural production and services, to describe their advantages and drawbacks from managers’ perspective and to critica lly review these practices. As a research method, focus group discussions are useful to integrate research and extension goals.The interaction between research participants and between research participants and the researchers triggers learning processes. In addition, relationships are developed and reinforced, which not only increase openness during the research process, but encourage participation in educational programs. During the research process, knowledge deficits can be diagnosed (Bitsch 2004). Bitsch und Harsh convened five focus groups with managers and owners of greenhouses, tree nursery operations, and landscape operations in Michigan.The study showed that horticultural managers conceptualize personnel management and its challenges and opportunities along the management process: recruiting and selection, training and development, performance appraisal and discipline, careers and relationships, and compensation. For the research participants, hiring immigrants and labor l egislation were also important HRM topics. In addition, Bitsch et al. convened four focus groups with dairy farmers and managers.Their perceptions of personnel management functions were similar to the horticultural study, and differences were mostly due to the more seasonal character of labor needs in the earlier study. Discipline was more important in dairy farming, because the continuous availability of work creates the need for terminating and replacing some employees who do not perform at the expected level. Seasonal operations often deal with these employees by providing less work to them, laying them off before the end of the season, and not recalling them for the following season.While horticultural managers considered working conditions mostly as an image problem in recruiting, to dairy managers working conditions were a permanent stress on employees. 9 Labor laws and regulations were less important in dairy farming, because few operations had their practices audited by gove rnment agencies at the time of the study. Finally, Bitsch and Olynk (2008) convened six focus groups with owners and managers of pork farms in Kansas and Michigan and reanalyzed the transcripts of the second study.Results of this study served to refine the framework of agricultural personnel management developed based on the first two studies. The most significant extension is an additional set of personnel management practices regarding the performance management function. Performance management describes the daily, informal interaction between managers and employees, including informal feedback, task-related communication, setting priorities, and dealing with problems. Although these practices are important in the day-to-day management processes, there has been little discussion about them in the literature.Also, working conditions were extended to include the organizational structure, and the social environment at work was established as another arena to be monitored and consciou sly managed. The resulting framework of agricultural personnel management includes eleven management functions: recruiting, selection, hiring immigrant employees, training, working conditions and organizational structure, social environment, performance management, discipline, performance appraisal, compensation, and labor law and regulation.Managers’ Personnel Management Competencies and Practices In a recent study, Stup, Holden, and Hyde identified competencies in different management areas on the senior and the middle management level of dairy farms through group discussions and then surveyed different managers about their comfort level with respect to these competencies. While managers were generally confident about their competencies, senior managers were least confident about their personnel management competencies (4. 95 on a 7-point Likert scale, 1=very low, 7=very high, n=41). Middle mangers ranked themselves second lowest in personnel management competencies (4. 1, n=22) and lowest in community service and public relations (4. 05, n=20). Bitsch and Olynk (2007) developed a typology of required personnel management skills for successful management in animal agriculture based on ten focus groups with dairy and pork farmers and managers. The typology consists of five skill sets: motivator, housekeeper, model employee, counselor, and change agent. This typology shows a number of commonalities with 10 the Competing Values Framework, used in general management education (Faerman, Quinn, and Thompson), but also industry specific differences.The motivator with the ability to train and motivate others, and to provide constructive feedback and the housekeeper with the ability to control, to lead, and to discipline others build the core of agricultural personnel management skills and also likely other production enterprises. In addition, the ability and willingness to be a model employee plays a surprisingly large role in agriculture. The function of the counselor, to support employees with their personal problems at work and beyond, was discussed less frequently by the research participants, but is necessary to prevent problems and to sustain employee productivity.The change agent initiates or implements innovations in the production process and was mentioned mostly by managers of larger farms. The authors point out that to be successful managers need to command a complete repertoire of skills including skills from each of the five types and not limit themselves to skills from only one type, for example, out of familiarity with certain behaviors (Hutt and Hutt). The role and the functions of middle management are a field of agricultural personnel management with few studies, but increasing importance.Not only did the share and impact of hired labor increase with increasing farm sizes, and personnel management became more important, but supervisors and middle managers are also playing a larger role. Billikopf (2001) interviewed far m supervisors in California and found them to struggle with personnel management tasks. Bitsch and Yakura employed a case study approach to develop a grounded theory of agricultural middle management (see Bitsch 2005, on grounded theory applications in agribusiness; see Glaser and Strauss on the foundations of grounded theory).The participating middle managers described an unexpectedly large number of different personnel management practices. Bitsch and Yakura suggested that these practices can be clustered into two basic types: traditional practices and participative practices. Traditional practices include reprimanding employees, orienting and training employees, monitoring and controlling employees, and dealing with conflict. Participative practices include accommodating employees (e. g. flexibility in schedules, task and team assignments), managing relationships with employees, providing information and goal setting, listening to employees, providing appreciation and feedback, r ewarding employees (non monetary), modeling work behavior, peer control, manager-induced team building, and training by coworkers. 11 Although this typology shows similarities with McGregor’s Theory X and Y, Bitsch and Yakura underline a significant difference. For the participating middle managers, using traditional or participative practices was not correlated with individuals.Each manager used both traditional, as well as, participative practices. The authors suggest that management success corresponds rather with the number of practices individual managers command than with the type of practices they use more frequently. McGregor had assumed that participative managers would be more successful. Bitsch and Yakura pointed out that some managers did use few practices, whereas others were using the full breadth of the described practices. Given that day-to-day management consists of many different management situations, anagers with a more complete repertoire are more likely to choose suitable practices. Employees’ Job Attitudes and Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is considered both a goal in itself, as well as, a means to reduce turnover and increase motivation and performance. Although meta-studies found a smaller relationship between job satisfaction and these correlates than expected, several studies of job satisfaction in agriculture have been conducted during the past 50 years (see Bitsch and Hogberg). One of the more frequently applied models is the empirically grounded two-factor model by Herzberg et al.This model is particularly suited to structure the analysis of job attitudes and their context. Empirical evidence that indeed job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are caused differently as predicted by the Herzberg et al. model is scant (Bitsch 2007). Independent of the theoretical models and the research methods several common results emerge from studies of job attitudes in agriculture. Porter pointed out that half of the dairy far m employees surveyed in New Hampshire saw appreciation of their work as the most important factor for their performance.In addition, they mentioned open communication with their supervisor, good records, and control of the work situation; Porter concluded that financial incentives are less important. Adams, How, and Larson found financial incentives to be important for a satisfactory employer-employee relationships, but stressed the importance of consideration for workers as human beings, taking into account personal problems of workers and helping to find solutions, and getting the right fit of worker and job (see previous section for middle managers’ practices for a similar finding).Bitsch (1996) in a study of tree nursery apprentices in Germany found that a large majority did desire higher wages, but almost half also 12 desired increased appreciation, more training, and more responsibility for their tasks. More training was also requested by Spanish speaking dairy farm emp loyees surveyed by Maloney and Grusenmeyer in New York. Surveying New York dairy farms, Fogleman et al. found that employees were least satisfied with the factor managers had most control over, that is performance feedback.Billikopf (2001) had found supervisors in all branches of agriculture to be mostly satisfied with their jobs. More detailed case studies with horticultural operations found for employees without supervisory responsibilities (Bitsch and Hogberg) and also for supervisors (Bitsch 2007) that the same factors seem to contribute to job satisfaction, as well as, to dissatisfaction, depending on their availability and characteristics.For both groups of employees, job security, achievement, technical competency of the superior, and personal relationships at the workplace were more likely to be perceived as positive. The work itself and organizational procedures and policies were perceived as ambiguous, contributing to both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Compensation was perceived rather negative, more negative by employees without supervisory responsibilities than by supervisors; the latter are likely to be higher paid and more likely to receive benefits.Employees without supervisory responsibility perceived their work/life balance more positive than supervisors; the latter are also less satisfied with their working conditions. Mainly, this was due to the fact that employees with supervisory responsibilities were expected to be available for work whenever required, whereas employees without supervisory responsibilities were given more flexibility. An earlier study in Germany, also had found that horticultural employees value flexible scheduling and benefit arrangements (Bitsch, Bromm, and Schalich).Relationships between Personnel Management Practices and Organizational Outcomes Relationships between personnel management practices and various organizational outcomes, such as productivity (Rosenberg and Cowen), profit (Adams, How, and Larson), or co mpetitiveness (Chacko, Walker, and Asar; Mugera and Bitsch) have often been assumed, but infrequently been empirically researched. Owners and managers of agricultural operations also testify to a relationship between personnel management practices and farm level outcomes (Bitsch et al. Strochlic and Hamerschlag). The few studies attempting the empirical description and measurement of these relationships in production agriculture and agribusiness have found limited evidence. 13 Rosenberg and Cowen tested several personnel management practices’ and management assumptions’ impact on dairy farm productivity, including prevalence of Theory Y assumptions (McGregor), upward and downward responsibility diffusion, employee selection procedure, employee assessment criteria, and employee performance feedback, along with record use and herd size.In addition to record use, the authors found that Theory Y assumptions and the amount of feedback provided to employees impacted producti vity. Feedback has also been found to be important in employees’ job satisfaction (Bitsch 1996; Fogleman et al. ). Although management assumptions are likely to guide organizational structure, personnel management practice choice, and managers’ communication and interaction with employees, the study did not provide evidence of the relationship between assumptions and particular practices.Stup, Hyde, and Holden analyzed several personnel management practices of successful dairy farms in Pennsylvania, including milk quality incentives, performance reviews, employment of Spanish-speaking employees, use of standard operating procedures for milking, feeding, and reproduction tasks, continuing training, and use of job descriptions. Except for continuous training of employees, farm success did not differ significantly for farms using compared to farms not using these practices.While differences in definitions between Stup, Hyde, and Holden, and Rosenberg and Cowen and little overlap regarding the management practices researched, make it difficult to compare both studies, it should be noted that Stup, Hyde, and Holden did not find performance reviews to be significant. Chacko, Wacker, and Asar compared perceptions of agribusiness managers with respect to the contributions of different technological and personnel management practices to their competitiveness. In general, managers ranked technological practices higher than personnel management practices.However, job security and measures of training and development were among the top ranked management practices. Job security has also been emphasized in job satisfaction studies (Bitsch and Hogberg; Bitsch 2007). Training has been found to stand out in Stup, Hyde, and Holden and has also been emphasized in job attitude studies (Bitsch 1996; Maloney and Grusenmeyer). Based on managers’ perception of particular technological and personnel management practices, Chacko, Wacker, and Asar also aggregated pr actices in a factor analysis and regressed these factors on perceived competitiveness.The regression analysis showed personnel management 14 factors to contribute to a higher extent to different measures of competiveness than technological measures. The employee commitment factor (job security, sharing of profits and gains) stood out as contributing to most competitiveness measures. Mugera and Bitsch used a resource based perspective to analyze whether personnel management practices and the personnel itself constitute a competitive advantage for dairy farms (see Wright et al. for a general discussion of the application of the resource based theory to personnel management).The authors conducted case studies with dairy farms to analyze the integration of personnel management practices with each other (e. g. , practices regarding recruitment, selection, training, and compensation) and their outcomes (e. g. , voluntary turnover and termination). The case studies provided empirical examp les of the applicability of the resource based theory and evidence of the use of personnel management practices as a competitive advantage. The authors emphasize that studies of isolated management practices may lead to misleading results, due to the importance of the integration of practices with each other.Therefore, they recommend an integrative approach to researching and changing personnel management functions. Strochlic et al. surveyed 300 organic farms of various agricultural specializations with respect to their personnel management practices and organizational outcomes. They found significant relationships between an overall labor conditions score and 5- and 10-year retention rates, several occupational safety related practices and person-days lost due to accidents and injuries. No relationship was found between the surveyed management practices and supervisory costs or access to sufficient labor.Conclusions Personnel management research in agribusiness has increased over t he past 20 years, but the field is in an early stage of its development. Although agribusiness managers and organizations are demanding more decision support and training in personnel management, a rapid increase in research volume cannot be expected. The number of researchers giving this field more than cursory attention is relatively small compared to other agribusiness fields. Research funding is limited or unavailable for many agribusiness related personnel management questions. Peer reviewed articles are rare, because ublication outlets lack sensible reviewers for this field and many editors do not perceive it as a priority. 15 Notwithstanding the early stage of personnel management research in agribusiness, several broadly based results are emerging. First, many managers on different hierarchical levels perceive their personnel management skills as an area of weakness. This weakness becomes more visible during organizational growth, when additional employees are needed and tas ks change from production orientation to management, including management of more personnel. Growth processes have been researched mainly in dairy farming.Despite managers’ perception of a lack of personnel management competencies, participation rates in educational programs targeting such skills are not very high. Second, experienced managers typically have an adequate conceptual frame of the personnel management functions, and potential challenges and risks, at least regarding the big picture. They acknowledge all textbook personnel management functions (recruiting, selection, training, performance appraisal, compensation, discipline, and labor law and regulation), although they do not necessarily practice conscientious management with respect to all of these functions.For example, performance evaluation and discipline are rarely practiced. Also, gaps and misconceptions persist with respect to the details of each practice and potential alternative practices, and typically t he details decide the success of these practices. On the other hand, managers perceive a need for additional practices, rarely discussed in the literature, with respect to performance management, the social environment at the workplace, working conditions and organizational structure, as well as, hiring immigrant employees.Third, not only are the personnel management tasks outlined above numerous and often times difficult to balance, but they also result in challenging requirements with respect to the breadth and depth of management competencies and practices. Due to the peculiar circumstances of agricultural work, including long hours and family relationships, requirements of managers are not less stringent, but rather more demanding than in other sectors. Various new and unexpected tasks need to be mastered by newly promoted individuals who normally are not prepared to deal with these tasks.Learning management in agriculture is often limited to imitating the supervisor (Hutt and H utt) and training in many cases consists of â€Å"sink or swim† (Bitsch and Yakura). Many farms could improve their HRM practices through preparatory and accompanying training of their supervisors and managers. On the other hand, given their lack of training, managers have acquired and are using a surprisingly large number of traditional, as well as non traditional, HRM practices. 16 Fourth, compensation is important, as can be expected, considering the low level of agricultural wages compared to other occupational groups.However, incentive systems are not necessarily preferred by employees (Porter; Strochlic and Hamerschlag). In many cases, job satisfaction can be increased with inexpensive measures, such as providing more feedback and appreciation for tasks well done. Similarly, many farms could use training and employee responsibility for task performance to increase productivity and job satisfaction. On the other hand, in general, employees seem satisfied with their work and specifically with its context.Flexibility, especially for employees without supervisory responsibility, and positive personal relationships at work, particularly with superiors, contribute primarily to job satisfaction. As Adam, How, and Larson stated, â€Å"Such relationships seem to be the end result of a combination of policies and practices on the part of farmers and of a genuine liking of farm work and their employers on the part of employees† (p. 60). Fifth, the relationship between personnel management practices and financial measures of organizational success is complex and difficult to assess.Few personnel management studies in production agriculture and agribusiness have been able to provide evidence of a substantial relationship between any particular personnel management practice and profit, or even productivity. In particular, isolated practices do not usually show a statistical relationship with financial measures or even intermediate measures, such as produ ctivity, retention, or supervision costs. Although this is to be expected according to the integrative model of personnel management, it hinders the development of manageable research projects that can be analyzed and described in a standard form.Additional problems stem from the lack of data availability and changing conditions and actors who also continuously develop new practices and strategies. Compared to twenty years ago, when Howard and McEwan declared the absence of personnel management research in the agribusiness field, managers and researchers have more to build on today. A suitable framework of personnel management functions in production agriculture has been developed (Bitsch and Olynk 2008), on which manager training and future research can build.This framework must be broadened to encompass the agribusiness value chain as a whole. Groundwork has been done to describe and conceptualize what managers do in their day-to-day practice to motivate and lead employees, and wh ich competencies they need to acquire to be or become successful managers of personnel. In addition, a lot more is known about how 17 agricultural employees perceive their work and its context and where they see improvement needs. Nevertheless, differences and commonalities between production agriculture and the broader agribusiness environment need to be explored further.Also, future research will have to develop methods to establish the relationship between personnel management practices and organizational outcomes and to analyze specific practices in their organizational context more indepth. Education and training of production agriculture and agribusiness managers, both in the classroom and beyond, can and has started to build on a growing body of empirical research, instead of solely relying on results from other industries and large organizations, which may or may not be applicable in the industry settings.Specific results from many of the studies discussed have been used to develop personnel management programs for managers in production agriculture, both in terms of determining educational needs, as well as developing and organizing program content tailored to managers’ experience and understanding. A consequence of the availability of more suitable education and training programs is more conscientious and improved practical decision making with respect to personnel management.The lack of definitive empirical evidence notwithstanding, improved decision making in this important management arena is expected to lead to higher productivity and profits, and also better quality of life for managers, as well as employees. References Adams, L. P. , R. B. How, and O. L. Larson. Viable Farmer-Worker Relationships: A Study of Selected Cases I New York State in 1966. Bulletin 1019, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, New York, 1967. Bewley, J. , R. W. Palmer and D. B. Jackson-Smith. â€Å"An Overview of Experiences of Wisconsin Dai ry Farmers Who Modernized Their Operations. Journal of Dairy Science 84 (2001):717-29. Billikopf, G. E. â€Å"High Piece Rate Wages Do Not Reduce Hours Worked. † California Agriculture 49 (1, 1995):17-8. —. â€Å"Crew Workers Split between Hourly and Piece-rate Pay. † California Agriculture 50 (6, 1996):5-8. —. â€Å"Interpersonal Communications Tops Concerns of Farm Supervisors. † California Agriculture 55 (5, 2001):40-3. Billikopf, G. E. and M. V. Norton. â€Å"Pay Method Affects Vineyard Pruner Performance. † California Agriculture 46 (5, 1992):12-3. 18 Bitsch, V. â€Å"Job Satisfaction during Apprenticeship. † Acta Horticulturae 429 (1996):97-102. —. Agricultural Economics and Qualitative Research: Incompatible Paradigms? † Forum: Qualitative Social Research 1 (1, 2000). Available at http://qualitative-research. net/fqstexte/1-00/1-00bitsch-e. htm. —. â€Å"Focus Group Discussions as a Research and Extension M ethod: The Case of Personnel Management Issues in Horticultural Businesses. † Acta Horticulturae 655 (2004):461-9. —. â€Å"Qualitative Research: A Grounded Theory Example and Evaluation Criteria. † Journal of Agribusiness 23 (Spring 2005):75-91. —. â€Å"Job Satisfaction in Horticulture: New Insights. † Acta Horticulturae 762 (2007):431-8. Bitsch, V. G. Abate Kassa, S. B. Harsh, and A. W. Mugera. â€Å"Human Resource Management Risks: Sources and Control Strategies Based on Dairy Farmer Focus Groups. † Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 38 (April, 2006):123-36. Bitsch, V. , U. Bromm and C. Schalich. â€Å"Improving the Horticultural Workplace: Fringe Benefit Options in Germany. † Acta Horticulturae 639 (2004):339-45. Bitsch, V. , and S. B. Harsh. â€Å"Labor Risk Attributes in the Green Industry: Business Owners’ and Managers’ Perspectives. † Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 36 (December, 2 004):731-45. Bitsch, V. and M. Hogberg. Exploring Horticultural Employees’ Attitudes toward Their Jobs: A Qualitative Analysis based on Herzberg’s Theory of Job Satisfaction. † Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 37 (December, 2005):659-71. Bitsch, V. , and N. J. Olynk. â€Å"Skills Required of Managers in Livestock Production: Evidence from Focus Group Research. † Review of Agricultural Economics 29 (Winter, 2007):74964. —. â€Å"Risk-increasing and Risk-reducing Practices in Human Resource Management: Focus Group Discussions with Livestock Managers. † Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 40 (April 2008):185-201. Bitsch, V. nd E. K. Yakura. â€Å"Middle Management in Agriculture: Roles, Functions, and Practices. † International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 10 (2, 2007):1-27. Brasier, K. , J. 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Faerman, S. R. , R. E. Quinn, and M. P. Thompson. Bridging Management Pract ice and Theory: New York State’s Public Service Training Program. † Public Administration Review 47 (July-August 1987):310-9. Fogleman, S. L. , R. A. Milligan, T. R. Maloney and W. A. Knoblauch. â€Å"Employee Compensation and Job Satisfaction on Dairy Farms in the Northeast. † Selected Paper, American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee, 1999. Fornaciari, C. J. and Dean, K. L. 2004. Diapers to car keys: The state of spirituality, religion and work research. Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion 1(1), 7-33. Gabbard, S. M. and J.M. Perloff. â€Å"The Effects of Pay and Work Conditions on Farmworker Retention. † Industrial Relations 36 (October 1997):474-88. Gisser, M. and A. Davila. â€Å"Do Farm Workers Earn Less? An Analysis of the Farm Labor Problem. † American Journal of Agricultural Economics 80 (4, 1998):669-82. Glaser, B. G. and A. L. Strauss. 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McEwan. â€Å"Human Resource Management: A Review of Applications to Agriculture. † Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 37 (1989):733-42. Howard, W. Y. , K. A. McEwan, G. L. Brinkman and J. M. Christensen. â€Å"Human Resource Management on the Farm: Attracting, Keeping and Motivating Labor. † Agribusiness 7 (1991):11-25. Hurley, T. M. , J. Kliebenstein and P. F. Orazem. â€Å"The Structure of Wages and Benefits in the U. S. Pork Industry. † American Journal of Agricultural Economics 81 (1999):144-63. Hutt, M. J. Influences of Attachment in Everyday Problem Solving.PhD dissertation, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1991. Hutt, M. J. and G. K. Hutt. â€Å"Organizing the Human Resource: A Review of Centralization, Decentralization, and Delegation in Agricultural Business Management. † Journal of Dairy Science 76 (1993):2069-79. 20 Ise, S. and J. M. Perloff. â€Å"Legal Status and Earnings of Agricultural Workers. † American Journal of Agricultural Economics 77 (May 1995):375-86. 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Stup, R. E. , L. A. Holden and J. Hyde. â€Å"Case Study: Profiles of Management Competencies Ide ntified by Successful Dairy Managers. † The Professional Animal Scientist 23 (2007):728-37. Stup, R. E. , J. Hyde and L. A. Holden. â€Å"Relationships Between Selected Human Resource Management Practices and Dairy Farm Performance. Journal of Dairy Science 89 (2006):1116-20. Stup, R. E. and T. R. Maloney. Managing Hispanic Workers: Perceptions of Agricultural Managers. College of Agricultural Science, Cooperative Extension, Pennsylvania State University, 2003. Taylor, J. E. â€Å"Earnings and Mobility of Legal and Illegal Immigrant Workers in Agriculture. † American Journal of Agricultural Economics 74 (November 1992):889-96. Tran, L. H. and J. M. Perloff. â€Å"Turnover in U. S. Agricultural Labor Markets. † American Journal of Agricultural Economics 84 (May 2002):427-37. Walters, L. M. , R. D. Emerson, and N. Iwai. Proposed Immigration Policy Reform and Farm Labor Market Outcomes. † Selected Paper, American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meet ing, Orlando, Florida, 2008. Wright, P. M. , M. C. Gary and M. Abagail. â€Å"Human Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Resource-based Perspective. † International Journal of Human Resource Management 5 (1994):301-26. Yu, L. , T. M. Hurley, J. B. Kliebenstein, and P. F. Orazem. â€Å"Firm Size, Technical Change and Wages: Evidence from the Pork Sector from 1990-2005. Selected Paper, American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, 2007. 2 Table 1. Scope of Personnel Management Studies and Personnel Management Functions Analyzed in Production Agriculture and Agribusiness Studies Focused on One Farm Specialization Studies Focused on One or Few Personnel Management Function(s) Dairy Immigrant employees Harrison et al. ; Maloney; Maloney and Grusenmeyer; Stup and Maloney Floriculture Recruiting and selection Maloney, Milligan, and Petracek Swine Compensation Hurley, Kliebenstein, and Orazem; Yu et al. Vineyards Compensation Billikopf and Norton Studies Encompassing Selected or Many Personnel Management FunctionsDairy Bitsch et al. ; Fogleman et al. ; Hutt; Hutt and Hutt; Mugera und Bitsch; Porter; Rosenberg and Cowen; Stup, Holden, and Hyde; Stup, Hyde, and Holden Swine Howard et al. Floriculture/Greenhouse Bitsch, Bromm, and Schalich Maloney and Milligan Horticulturea) Bitsch (2004); Bitsch (2007); Bitsch and Harsh; Bitsch and Hogberg; Bitsch and Yakura; Miklavcic; Strochlic and Hamerschlag Livestockb) Bitsch and Olynk (2007 and 2008) Studies Encompassing Multiple Farm Specializations Horticulturea) Compensation Billikopf (1995 and 1996) Compensation and working conditions Dunn; Gabbard and PerloffAgriculturec) Adams, How, and Larson; Billikopf (2001); Chacko, Tree nursery production Wacker, and Asar; Howard; Bitsch (1996) Rosenberg, Perloff, and Pradhan; Strochlic et al. a) Horticulture indicates two of more of the following specializations: floriculture and greenhouse, fruit, nuts, vegetable, and vineyard produc tion. b) Livestock indicates two of more of the following specializations: dairy, beef, swine, and poultry production. c) Agriculture includes at least one horticultural and one livestock specialization, as well as agribusiness. 23 Table 2.Degree of Structure of Research Approaches and Methods Used in Personnel Management Research in Production Agriculture and Agribusiness Unstructured or Little Structure Individual Methods Examples Unstructured interviewing Billikopf (2001)a); Hutta); Hutt and Hutta); Strochlic and Hamerschlag Moderately Structured Interview schedule Adams, How, and Larson; Bitsch (2007); Bitsch and Hogberg; Bitsch and Yakura; Howard; Mugera and Bitsch; Porter; Strochlic and Hamerschlag Highly Structured Administered questionnaires At the work site: Billikopf (1995 and 1996); Bitsch, Bromm, and Schalich; Fogleman et al. Howard et al. ; Maloney and Grusenmeyer; Rosenberg and Cowen; Stup, Hyde, and Holden At a housing site: Dunn Over the phone: Billikopf (1996); Malo ney; Maloney and Milligan; Maloney, Milligan, and Petracek; Strochlic et al. Group Methods Examples Unmoderated group discussion Stup and Maloney Moderated group discussion Very Highly Structured Mailed questionnaire Billikopf and Norton; Chacko, Wacker, and Asar; Hurley, Kliebenstein, and Orazem; Miklavcic; Rosenberg, Perloff, and Pradhan; Stup, Holden, and Hyde; Yu et al.Secondary data analysis: Gabbard and Perloff Questionnaire administered to individuals in a group setting Bitsch (2004); At school sites: Bitsch and Harsh; Bitsch (1996) Bitsch and Olynk (2007 and 2008); Bitsch et al. ; Harrison et al. ; Howard; Stup, Holden, and Hyde; Strochlic and Hamerschlag a) Studies where the method was not described sufficiently to categorize by the level of structure were categorized as unstructured. 24

How to Write a Great Reaction Paper

How to Write a Great Reaction Paper How to Write a Great Reaction Paper In order to write a great reaction paper, a particular order needs to be followed. For instance, one must read through the given document carefully, while noting the key points. Watching the documentary, or fully partaking part in the seminar for the reaction essay topic, is also crucial in preparation for writing a great reaction paper. Taking notes of key thoughts, during one’s participation in the reaction essay events, is also an important activity during the preparation. This is because the latter helps in the generation of several ideas from which an individual is able to choose their key points. Secondly, think of and briefly describe two key points that you want articulated in your reaction. In each key point, details like the various lessons learnt, the areas of agreement and the points with which you disagreed, need to be clearly stated. Since experts claim that a successful reaction paper is brief piece of work, the various points should be precise and clear. The third point on writing a great reaction paper is presenting a clear justification in support of the stated key points. The other step that is followed is the provision of a real life example regarding the subject of discussion, which must be clearly explained for a better understanding of it. Finally, a brief description of how the researchers point is connected to public relations is given. The bibliography entails presenting a list of various documents like books, magazines and other scholarly documents used during the research. In addition, the list of works the writer plans to consult in future can also be included in the bibliography section. Provision of research methods for a thesis is also a compulsory part of a thesis proposal. This section includes stating the various research questions to be addressed in ones findings. This section also gives details on how the stated project will be handled, in order to be completed within the stated period of time. This generally means that the plan to be followed, in order to get the work done in a shorter period, is given. In addition, the writer is supposed to convince their chosen committee that they are well prepared to conduct findings on the given topic, while providing various opportunities for the committee members. You never should forget about the custom writing services available for ordering a great custom reaction paper on any topic and discipline. The professional writers team will do all that’s possible to meet your expectations in regards to the research paper of any level. Simply place the order with an online custom writing service and, within your deadline, the paper will be sent to you. All you need to do is to select the custom agency with which you want to work. If you need quality reaction paper help visit now!

Marine Life Definition, Examples and Careers

Marine Life Definition, Examples and Careers To understand marine life, you should first know the definition of marine life. Below is information on marine life, types of marine life and information on careers working with marine life. Definition of Marine Life The phrase marine life refers to organisms that live in salt water. These can include a diverse array of plants, animals and microbes (tiny organisms) such as bacteria and archaea. Marine Life Are Adapted to Life in Saltwater From the perspective of a land animal like us, the ocean can be a harsh environment. However, marine life are adapted to live in the ocean.  Characteristics that help marine life thrive in a saltwater environment include the ability to regulate their salt intake or deal with large quantities of salt water, adaptations to obtain oxygen (e.g., a fishs gills), being able to withstand high water pressures, living in a place where they can get enough light, or being able to adjust to a lack of light. Animals and plants that live on the edge of the ocean, such as tide pool animals and plants, also need to deal with extremes in water temperature, sunlight, wind and waves. Types of Marine Life There is a huge diversity in marine species. Marine life can range from tiny, single-celled organisms to gigantic blue whales, which are the largest creatures on Earth. Below is a list of the major phyla, or taxonomic groups, of marine life. Major Marine Phyla The classification of marine organisms is always in flux. As scientists discover new species, learn more about the genetic makeup of organisms, and study museum specimens, they debate how organisms should be grouped. More information about the major groups of marine animals and plants is listed below. Marine Animal Phyla Some of the most well-known marine phyla are listed below. You can find a more complete list here. The marine phyla listed below are drawn from the list on the World Register of Marine Species. Annelida - this phylum contains segmented worms. An example of a segmented marine worm is the Christmas tree worm.Arthropoda - Arthropods have a segmented body, jointed legs and a hard exoskeleton for protection. This group includes lobsters and crabs.Chordata - Humans are in this phylum, which also includes marine mammals (cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters, polar bears), fish, tunicates, seabirds and reptiles.Cnidaria - This is a diverse phylum of animals, many of whom have stinging structures called nematocysts. Animals in this phylum include corals, jellyfish, sea anemones, sea pens and hydras.Ctenophora - These are jelly-like animals, such as comb jellies, but they dont have stinging cells.Echinodermata - This is one of my favorite phylums. It includes such beautiful animals as sea stars, brittle stars, basket stars, sand dollars and sea urchins.  Mollusca - This phylum includes snails, sea slugs, octopuses, squids, and bivalves such as clams, mussels and oysters.Pori fera -  This phylum includes sponges, which are living animals. They can be very colorful and come in a diverse array of shapes and sizes. Marine Plant Phyla There are also several phyla of marine plants. These include the Chlorophyta, or green algae, and the Rhodophyta, or red algae.   Marine Life Terms From adaptation to zoology, you can find an often-updated list of marine life terms in the glossary here. Careers Involving Marine Life The study of marine life is called marine biology, and a person that studies marine life is called a marine biologist. Marine biologists may have many different jobs, including working with marine mammals (e.g., a dolphin researcher), studying the seafloor, researching algae or even working with marine microbes in a lab. Here are some links that may help if youre pursuing a career in marine biology: Information on Becoming a Marine BiologistHow Much Does a Marine Biologist Earn?How to Get a Marine Biology Internship References and Further Information Marine Education Society of Australasia. Marine Phyla. Accessed August 31, 2014.WoRMS. 2014. Animalia. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on August 31, 2014.WoRMS 2014. Plantae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on August 31, 2014.

Definition and Examples of Euphemistic Language

Definition and Examples of Euphemistic Language Euphemism is the substitution of an inoffensive expression (such as passed away) for one considered offensively explicit (died or dropped dead). Contrast with dysphemism. Adjective: euphemistic. In his Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms (2007), R.W. Holder notes that in speech or writing we use euphemism for dealing with taboo or sensitive subjects. It is therefore the language of evasion, hypocrisy, prudery, and deceit. According to Ruth Wajnryb, Euphemisms have a short shelf life- once the stigma of the original catches up to them, the battery that runs the euphemistic device goes flat. The only way forward is to invent a new euphemism (Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language, 2005). Etymology: From the Greek, use of good words Commentary Examples:  Pre-owned for used or second-hand; enhanced interrogation for torture; industrial action for strike; misspoke for lie; tactical withdrawal for retreat; revenue augmentation for raising taxes; wind for belch or fart; convenience fee for surcharge; courtesy reminder for bill; unlawful combatant for prisoner of warUnfortunately for the CIA, enhanced interrogation turned out to be a translation of the same euphemism used by the Gestapo: verschrfte Vernehmung. (Scott Horton, Company Men. Harpers, April 2015 Dan Foreman: Guys, I feel very terrible about what Im about to say. But Im afraid youre both being let go.Lou: Let go? What does that mean?Dan Foreman: It means youre being fired, Louie. (In Good Company, 2004 Mr. Prince: Well see you when you get back from image enhancement camp.Martin Prince: Spare me your euphemisms! Its fat camp, for Daddys chubby little secret. (Kamp Krusty, The Simpsons, 1992) Paul Kersey: Youve got a prime figure. You really have, you know.Joanna Ke rsey: Thats a euphemism for fat. (Death Wish, 1974) The reconstruction of New Orleans has become a euphemism for the destruction of the citys cultural and historic heritage. (Ghali Hassan, 2006The more syllables a euphemism has, the further divorced from reality it is. (George CarlinWardrobe malfunction. (Justin Timberlakes description of his tearing of Janet Jacksons costume during a half-time performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII)Americans continually euphemize; they can never call anything by its name. You never invade anybody, you commit an incursion. (Gore Vidal, quoted in the Transatlantic Review, Spring 1975) Dont Panic The economic classification  recession was actually invented in 1937 when the economy was back in the toilet but FDR didnt want to call it a depression. And the description depression first surfaced during the Hoover administration, a substitute for a more vivid but disconcerting term of art: panic.(Anna Quindlen, Summertime Blues. Newsweek, July 7/14, 2008) Testing for Euphemisms In selecting euphemistic words and phrases I have accepted [Henry] Fowlers definition: Euphemism means the use of a mild or vague or periphrastic expression as a substitute for blunt precision or disagreeable use (Modern English Usage, 1957). A second test is that the euphemistic word or phrase once meant, or prima facie still means, something else. If that were not so, it would be no more than a synonym. (R.W. Holder, Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms. Oxford University Press, 2007) Steven Pinker and Joseph Wood Krutch on the Euphemism Treadmill - Linguists are familiar with the phenomenon, which may be called the euphemism treadmill. People invent new words for emotionally charged referents, but soon the euphemism becomes tainted by association, and a new word must be found, which soon acquires its own connotations, and so on. Water closet becomes toilet (originally a term for any kind of body care, as in toilet kit and toilet water), which becomes bathroom, which becomes restroom, which becomes lavatory. Undertaker changes to mortician, which changes to funeral director...The euphemism treadmill shows that concepts, not words, are primary in peoples minds. Give a concept a new name, and the name becomes colored by the concept; the concept does not become freshened by the name, at least not for long. Names for minorities will continue to change as long as people have negative attitudes toward them. We will know that we have achieved mutual respect when the names stay put. (Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial o f Human Nature. Viking Penguin, 2002)- Any euphemism ceases to be euphemistic after a time and the true meaning begins to show through. Its a losing game, but we keep on trying. (Joseph Wood Krutch, If You Dont Mind My Saying So, 1964) Euphemisms, Dysphemisms, and Orthophemisms During the Cold War of 1946-89, NATO had a deterrent (euphemism) against the Russian threat (dysphemism). In the mid 1980s the USSR claimed to have been invited (euphemism) into Afghanistan; the Americans claimed that the Russians were aggressors (dysphemism) there. We get invited in; they are aggressors; the orthophemism is take military action in a foreign land. (Keith Allen and Kate Burridge, Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006) Euphemisms During the Victorian Era In the mid-19th century, the human form and its functions were so taboo that any words even hinting that people had bodies were banished from polite discourse. It became impossible to mention legsyou had to use limb, or even better, lower extremity. You couldnt ask for the breast of a chicken, but instead had to request the bosom, or make a choice between white and dark meat. Nor could you talk about trousers. There were numerous euphemisms instead, including inexpressibles, indescribables, unmentionables, inexplicables and continuations. Charles Dickens made fun of this extreme delicacy in Oliver Twist, when Giles the butler describes how he got out of bed and drew on a pair of . . .. Ladies present, Mr. Giles, warns another character. (Melissa Mohr, By Gods Nails: Careful How You Curse. The Wall Street Journal, April 20-21, 2013) In Defense of Euphemisms Euphemisms are not, as many young people think, useless verbiage for that which can and should be said bluntly; they are like secret agents on a delicate mission, they must airily pass by a stinking mess with barely so much as a nod of the head, make their point of constructive criticism and continue on in calm forbearance. Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne. (Quentin Crisp, Manners from Heaven, 1984) Transforming Schools During one of many anti-austerity protests last summer, more than 1,000 people rallied to oppose Philadelphias plans to transform schools, a pleasant euphemism generally meaning school closures and mass layoffs. (Allison Kilkenny, The Fight for Phillys Schools. The Nation, February 18, 2013) Crazy Crazy (and hence crazed and cracked) originally meant cracked, flawed, damaged (cp. crazy paving) and was applicable to all manner of illness; but it has now narrowed to mental illness. It captures the stereotypical mental patient as someone flawed, deficient (cf. mentally deficient), and is the basis for many euphemistic expressions for madness: crack-brained, scatter-brained, shatter-brained; head case, nutcase, bonkers, wacko, wacky; falling to pieces; have a (nervous) breakdown; unhinged; having a screw/tile/slate loose; one brick short of a load, not a full load; not playing with a full deck, three cards short of a full deck; one sandwich short of a picnic; two bob short of a quid, not the full quid; his elevator doesnt go to the top floor; a shingle short; and perhaps hes lost his marbles. (Keith Allen and Kate Burridge, Euphemism and Dysphemism: Language Used as a Shield and Weapon. Oxford University Press, 1991) The Lighter Side of Euphemisms Dr. House: Im busy.Thirteen: We need you to . . .Dr. House: Actually, as you can see, Im not busy. Its just a euphemism for get the hell out of here.(Dying Changes Everything, House, M.D.)Dr. House: Who were you going to kill in Bolivia? My old housekeeper?Dr. Terzi: We dont kill anyone.Dr. House: Im sorrywho were you going to marginalize?(Whatever It Takes, House, M.D.) Further Reading Visual EuphemismWhy Do We Use Euphemisms?Biased LanguageBowdlerismCacophemismFifty Reasons Youll Never Be Told, Youre FiredGenteelismGeorge Carlins Essential DrivelGrawlixHow to Flatter an Audience With Euphemisms, Dysphemisms, and  DistinctioIndirectnessMinced OathNever Say Die: Euphemisms for DeathOrthophemismParadiastolePejorative LanguageRestauranteseSoft LanguageTaboo LanguageTitle InflationTop 20 Figures of SpeechUnder the Flapdoodle Tree: Doublespeak, Soft Language, and GobbledygookVerbosityWhat Are Weasel Words?

The Antitrust Battle Ahead Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Antitrust Battle Ahead - Essay Example It may so happen that the merged organizations gains at the expense of the consumer. This is where the government chips in, through its antitrust regulations. The government reserves the right, and rightly so, to intervene and block any merger deal which it feels would reduce competition in the industry and thereby adversely affect the consumers, either by way of high prices or by way of low quality. In some cases, these mergers may lead to less innovation thus indirectly putting consumers at a loss. Section 7 of the Clayton Act disallows mergers and acquisitions when such transactions may significantly lower competition, or may create a monopoly, or may lead to formation of cartels (Federal Trade Commission 2011). Simply put, the purpose of antitrust legislations is to enforce laws that promote competitive markets. These laws thus ensure efficient allocation of resources in a free market and prevent market failures. The focal point of antitrust economics is competition (Scheffman 2002). It is competition that is at the heart of many important business decisions and to a large extent determines the firms pricing strategies and tactics. The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, along with the Bureau of Economics is entrusted with the enforcement of such antitrust laws in the United States. The FTC and Department of Justice review scores of merger filings every year of which 95 percent have no competitive issues (Federal Trade Commission 2011). The first category consists of merger proposals wherein the competitive concerns can be resolved by mutual consent of the parties concerned. The revised merger proposal, so arrived after negotiations, retains the beneficial aspects of the deal and discards the threat. The federal regulators negotiated a settlement in the proposed merger deal of Comcast and NBC Universal. As a part of the revised deal, Comcast agreed to give up

, discuss methods to evaluate the effectiveness of your proposed Essay

, discuss methods to evaluate the effectiveness of your proposed solution and variables to be assessed when evaluating project outcomes - Essay Example ng utilized across the nation with both open and private immunization suppliers and is proposed by legislative and nongovernmental immunization projects and medicinal expert social orders. Assessment alludes to the assessment of restorative records to determine the immunization rate for a characterized assembly of patients and also to give focused on conclusion for development. This step is crucial in light of the fact that numerous studies have recorded that most social insurance suppliers, while strong of immunizations, dont have a faultless recognition of their own practices immunization rates. Pediatricians in these studies incredibly overestimated the extent of completely vaccinated youngsters in their practices. Evaluation increments attentiveness to a suppliers genuine situation and gives a premise for ensuing activities by supplier staff. Feedback is the methodology of educating immunization suppliers about their execution in conveying one or more immunizations to a characterized customer populace. Appraisal together with feedback makes the mindfulness important for conduct change. Feedback for the most part comprises of the immunization program delegate meeting with fitting supplier staff and talking about the effects of the appraisal to figure out the following steps to be taken. Nobody thing will be adequate for each supplier, and a solitary supplier may require diverse sorts of cause at distinctive phases of advancement. Things like little tokens of thankfulness and giving asset materials at gatherings have helped suppliers approach their assignment absolutely and make an environment of cooperation, yet more term objectives must be acknowledged also. Incentives represent a test to the inventiveness of the project agent additionally offer the chance to attempt new plans. The last AFIX segment, trade of information, runs as an inseparable unit with incentives. The more information suppliers have about their practices immunization scope status, how it

Climate change in the past, today and future Essay

Climate change in the past, today and future - Essay Example Previously, little awareness and concern was attributed to the changing patterns in climate and the risk on human health populations associated with it. However, today with the continued urbanization and distancing of human life from the natural systems, reality has dawned that the world’s climate system is indeed an integral part of the complex of life-supporting processes, and, therefore, requires urgent measures in its maintenance and sustainability. With the world increasing economic development and growth, many of the natural systems coming under pressure from the increased populations (Githeko and Woodward, 2003). Asia has a significant increase in human population and currently the most populated continent in the world, an aspect that has resulted in a reduction of resource availability, forcing individuals to engage in activities that despite being beneficial to human remain short lived and significantly contribute towards increasing climatic change. The increased population contributes towards difficult environmental and socio-economic challenges, caused by the activities indicated above, which increase the production of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases prove, as the greatest challenge for the world today, and most especially in Asia. Concerns remain the reduction strategies of the greenhouse emissions to levels that would not interfere with the climate system (Ebi, Mearns, and Nyenzi, 1999). Asia as a continent is currently undergoing significant industrialization and, therefore, a producer of significant amounts of gases, including the greenhouse gases, released into the atmosphere without prior treatment. On average, the atmosphere shields the earth surface of up to 50% of sunlight rays. Additionally, greenhouse gases, which take up 2% of the atmosphere, also play a significant role in the absorption of the sunlight rays up to 17% (Ebi, Mearns, and Nyenzi, 1999). For the light reaching the earth’s surface, absorption takes place followed by

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Uni 1 DB SA Second Week Essay

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Uni 1 DB SA Second Week - Essay Example ention costs the hotel should capitalize on training staff on using the hotel system reducing lead times, check in and out process times making the hotel efficient. For internal failure costs the hotel should ensure all the room services have met the quality requirements and are readily available at customer change requests. This effectively reduces lead time process and reduces time during change requests process. For external costs the hotel should ensure the all the services are available at check- in and out times. To determine the cost of quality for Hotel Escargo it’s important to use the metrics such check in and out times, change request process times and customer satisfaction. Examples of cost of quality under appraisal include a suggestion box cost for customers to give feedback on services received. For prevention costs include training and education of staff for technical use of hotel systems (Shelton, 2014). For internal failure costs include equipment and system failure costs to meet systems failures effectively. For external cost include complaints cost to timely deal with customer

The Positive and Negative Effects of Confucianism in East Asian Essay

The Positive and Negative Effects of Confucianism in East Asian Cultures - Essay Example The researcher of this essay aims to pay special attention to the three main elements of ethics form the core of Confucianism. These elements are Ren an obligation of altruism  and humaneness for other individuals within a community, you the obligation to do good and li a system that defines how a person should act within a community. There are just the 3 primary components of the Confucianism philosophy. Apart from these, etiquette, loyalty, filial piety, relationships and various other elements from the structure of this system. The philosophy, politics, society and the business industry of East Asian nations like China, Japan and Korea were all based on the concepts of Confucianism. According to historical facts, these countries prospered in leaps and bounds, all due to the fact that they followed the Confucian ethics in all aspects of the society. The philosophy of Confucianism was practiced in many cultures and countries in East Asia like China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea Vietnam an d various Chinese occupied territories like Singapore. China, however, was the birthplace of Confucianism. It came into being from the sixth century to the third century B.C., an age described as "The Age of Philosophers". Eventually, during 141 to 87 BC, it was declared as a state philosophy by Emperor Wu of Han. Confucianism in Japan began at a time when â€Å"Confucianism† was quite different from what it is today. During the long years from the fall of the Latter Han dynasty in 220 CE through the Tang (618–907), the classics esteemed by Confucius remained an important part for those who exercised authority over others. The sixteenth year of the reign of Ojin is often taken as the start of Japan’s experience with Confucianism, with traditional dating assigning this to 285 but around 404 being the more likely. Reportedly, in that year a Confucian scholar from the Korean kingdom of Paekche, Wang In (known as Wani in Japanese), arrived in Japan to tutor a son of Ojin, bringing along with him copies of the Analects and the Thousand Character Classic. And this is how Confucianism in Japan took off. During Korea’s lengthy Choson dynasty (1392–1910) Confucian ideals were deeply valued. In the early Choson scholars imported Confucianism from China, establishing it as the governing political ideology and further developing Korean-style neo-Confucianism. Modeling neo-Confucian ideals, they transformed Choson into a thoroughly Confucian society during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is an accepted fact that the nations of East Asia constitute a part of the fastest growing economy in the world. In the past 30 years, 3 smalls East Asian nations – South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore have exhibited phenomenal economic growth which now rivals that of Japan’s. These countries are now ranked as having the world most successful economies. The explanation for this boom in the economic systems can be dedicated to the fact that Confucian values form an ethical thread across the East Asia nations. The philosophy of Confucianism is dictated by a harmonious collective social order. This, in turn, ensures absolute loyalty and obedience to authority from the subordinates. This is the base that enabled the East Asian nations to skyrocket their economy.

Contemporary Issues and Policies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Contemporary Issues and Policies - Term Paper Example Consequently it shows hot information technology influences the structure and processes of the organization and policies that impact the project. Physical therapy is a health care profession that deals with the identification and maximization of the quality of life through prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. It involves an active interaction between the therapist, patient, families, community and other health professionals/providers. It is in this field that Outpatient Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Services (OTPRS) operates. OTPRS offers both physical therapy (neck and back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, hip, knee and ankle), and specialty programs (occupational and hand therapy, vestibular/ balance program, sports medicine, work related injuries, medical gym, chronic pain management, massage therapy, women’s health). In order to fit and remain competitive in the market, OTPRS has laid down strategies to incorporate the current issues and policies in US and the world. This is due to the realization that globalization as a modern issue demands for expansion of economic interdependence as a conscious state and organization strategy (Mastanduno, 2001). United States has modeled itself into a modern epitome of democracy with a good social, economic and political facet that is admired by many. The result has been an influx of people into US seeking employment, citizenship, health care and education. These people are from a different culture of the world. In order to incorporate this new group of potential clientele, OTPRS has embarked on an expansion project that seeks to study these new markets in line with their ethical and cultural backgrounds. However, it draws caution of the looming effect of new competition from Asian Tigers who offer cheaper therapeutic services to the market. This has prompted the organization to upscale its standard of operation to offer competent services without necessarily having to lower prices. OTPRS is a ware of an increase in the aging population in United States. There has been a constant 12.4 percentage increase in the number of persons 65 years of age and above (CDC, 2004). The population is characterized with functional limitation and a high prevalence of chronic diseases, hence, a high demand for therapeutic services. This trend has forced the company to expand its capacity in service provision though its 5 centers (Auburn, Covington, Covington Satellite, Maple Valley and Kent) and its online program. Through its online program, a patient can request for an appointment, pay their bills online, or even refer another patient to the organization. OTPRS operates in the health care industry with three major payers: government (Federal, State and local; employers and the health care consumers. Trends of consumption have shown that services that are covered with insurance and payment methods are consumed more that the ones borne by the customers. However, Medicare is now available to almost all of the American aging population. This is a positive aspect in the healthcare industry and will impact positively on players such as OTPRS. One of the regulations in the US health care industry is ‘The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996’. It is the major regulatory policy that affects organizations that provide services to consumers within the United States (NetIQ, 2005). Others include the