8_Sampling Strategy and Sample Size for a Qualitative Research Plan Paper

8_Sampling Strategy and Sample Size for a Qualitative Plan - Research Paper Example s are both the librarians and the library users, meaning that the study does not seek to obtain a sample from an unknown general population, which would in turn require that the sample is generalized to represent the entire population (McCabe, 2005). While the challenges facing funding and sustainability of library service is a common challenge for different libraries in different states, each library has its own unique challenges, which may not be generalized. Therefore, the aim of the study is not to obtain a representative sample of the population, but a sample that is unique to the Clayton County Library System (CCLS), in terms of exposure, usage and experiences. This is because; it is only such a sample that would be in a position to give both comprehensive and reliable information regarding the library. Thus, instead of seeking to have a sample population that can be inferred to represent the general population, the main target of the study is to delve into the intricacies of the experiences of the librarians and the library users, as a means of reaching an informed conclusion regarding the sustainability of Clayton County Library, so that a diversified structure of funding can then be recommended, based on this informatio n. Therefore, since the study is neither seeking a representative sample nor targeting generalization, the application of the purposive sampling strategy under non-probability sampling method is recommended for the study. The selection of a representative sample for this study is important, to ensure that the information gathered through the interviewing process is not biased. However, this is a secondary requirement as far as this study is concerned, considering that the main objective of the case study is to obtain as detailed information as possible, regarding the experiences of both the librarians and the library users. Obtaining experiences does not pose any major risk of biases, considering that sensitive information regarding the

How can insurance be used to decrease healthcare costs and increase Essay

How can insurance be used to decrease healthcare costs and increase quality of care - Essay Example The quality of the treatment is another problem that needs consideration. Most of the uninsured and low-income groups are not in a position to get good quality healthcare. The present essay is intended to study a brief history of healthcare industry and to analyze problems and reasons for the high costs associated. The proposals that are put forward for the reformation of current state of healthcare system also would be analyzed so as to reach a conclusion on the best strategy to be adopted so as to decrease the costs of healthcare and to increase the quality of the healthcare. The health insurance plans began in United States of America during the civil war that took place during 1861 to 1865 (Murray, 2007). At that time only accidents that was caused during transport and that too through either rail or steamboat had any coverage for insurance. Since then more and more plans, which provided coverage for most of the illness were added and in the year 1847, Massachusetts Health Insurance of Boston offered the first group policy with a lot of benefits. Individual disability and illness policies were issued by 1890. Arguments or cry for modern group health insurance plan was started in United States only in 1920s and by that time it was far behind many of the European countries. But there was no political pressure for such a law. Reformers started to ask the cost of medical care instead of wages lost due to sickness mainly because the former was much higher than the latter in as early as 1920s. During this period itself the health care available to poor people in the country was quite inadequate. The first company to offer health insurance coverage for all its employees was General Motors (Murray, 2007). The depression that gulped the country in 1930's resulted in more insurance coverage for unemployed and aged people. There was no priority for healthcare insurance at that time. Blue cross, which is a non-profit organization, began to offer health insurance in a number of states during this period. In Blues every one irrespective of age or sex or their disease conditions were charged the same premium. Since the Blues were created by hospitals, potential patients were encouraged to sign up (Noah, 2007). It was in 1940's that the present practice of employer-based system of health insurance was first offered (Noah, 2007). This was in an effort to combat the wage and price controls during the Second World War. The labor unions urged for better benefits and tax-free employer sponsored health insurance. The employers had to attract their employees and so they offered whatever that was asked for. Prepaid group healthcare was started at this time. President Truman was a proponent of national health program plan in which the government would be the payer of the whole of the American society. At that time it was opposed by American Medical Association and the law or bill could

Applications of Computer Technology

Applications of Computer Technology Provide an overview of how computer technology is used in a variety of situations every day We are at the stage now in life, that some of us can not survive without technology in every day life. Even for the stay at home mum, texting other parents about car pooling, we all have our washing machines, ovens, etc. Our mobile phones, which can be use for sending email on the go or to do conference calls, interviews, and video link. As we do not need to be in office on our lap tops or at computers to get our work done. Advantages of computer technology We can keep in contact with family and friends that are a board, by using a lap top or mobile phone. Children can let their parents know where they are at all times and that they are safe. Big   improves in the healthcare,   such as   key whole surgery, as this covers a range of different surgery and a shorter stay and quicker recover time, for all parents. As we are able to more detail scans and x-rays that can help detect medical conditions early and treatment can be given to cure or control conditions, (maternity) which will result in people living longer. We have information at our fingers tips and it is so easy to access information about courses, which working people can apply for courses on line that they can do at night,   to help improve their skills. We can use technology to improve the lives of many with disability, such as putting motors into wheelchairs and this can help the person become more independent. We can also avail of on line shopping, which we can order anything from clothes to a car part and these items can be deliver to our door. Disadvantages of technology As we sit and text people rather than meeting them to go walking, we are facing health problems, such as our backs, necks and   eye sight. It is so easy for children to get on to the wrong web site or chat room and talk to people, that might be giving them the wrong information, as they do not know who they are really talking to. This can happen on face book as well, but it gives them a chance to meet new friends around the world, but the down side of this is that they can be bullied on line as well. As we become more dependent on technology, we are losing the ability to communicate with people face to face, which might lead to people becoming, isolated and withdrawn from the public. The problem doing business on line is that you can be hack and some of your private details can be discover, as you shop on line your credit cards details could be expose. This can become an issues as our necks are always bend over, for long periods of time, also our thumbs and eye sight can become affected. As we all use technology in our busy lives, it can all come to a stand still, if we had a power cut at anytime. How computer technology impacts on our public life We are able to access current news and up to date information that we need, even when we are sitting waiting for a bus or a lift. Also keep in contact with friends and family, even the ones aboard, as we sit and get our lunch, as all places have their own WI/ fi How computer technology impacts our private life As we have the advantage of on line shopping, our details can be hack on line, as we use our credit cards and bank details to do any shopping or paying bills. Sometimes we forget that chatting face to face to a person is far better than bend over a phone texting. Current developments of computer technology It is easy to access information about courses and different web sites, which we can use to find out about, personal alarms, which can give many people independence in their own home. Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act The safety, health and welfare work act of 1989 was up dated in 2005, which allows the HSA to monitor health and safety in the workplace. This act is there to protect ourselves and others that come into the building, the HSA inspectors are there to make sure that employer and employee are complying with health and safety regulations. The HSA can enter any work place and can inspect all paper work, such as safety statement, accident and report forms, plus all policies and procedures. The employer must produce all records to inspectors and provide information when asked. Data protection legislations When you give your details to the bank or other organisation, they have a duty to keep all your details safe. This is what is know as data protection, organisations who use your details are know as data controllers and it is his responsibility on how this information it handle. Freedom of information acts The freedom of information acts 1997 was amended by the freedom of information acts 2003, obliged government departments the health service executive (HSE ) local authorities and a range of other public bodies to publish information on their activities and to make this information available to people. On the 14 of October 2014 the freedom of information act 2014 came into affect and repealed the 1997 and 2003 acts. The new acts made a number of changes, it widen the range that the acts applies to all public bodies. Defamation Act Defamation means that someone is trying to hurt or take someone reputation, when they write something about another person this is called libel or if they says something about another person this call slander. Defamation is not a crime, but it is a tort (a civil wrong rather than a criminal wrong) The person that is be defamed can sue the person, who is defamed them. The person that is been defamed will have to prove the following, that what the person is saying about you is published, false, injurious, unprivileged. Bibliography Tudor notes Defamation law mode simple / nolo.com Advice on data protection (for companies and individuals) Freedom of information www. Citizeninformation.ie/ word count 1,057

John Lennon Essay -- essays research papers fc

John Lennon "You've got to admit it's getting better it's getting better all the time," because of John Lennon, and the way he effected the world. "Imagine" the world without John Lennon. John Lennon had a huge effect on the world. Throughout his life Lennon was many things. He was a musician, lyricist, singer, artist, actor, humorist, political and peace activist, and writer. Because of Lennon the world was changed musically, socially, and politically. Musically he brought rock music into mainstream music. Socially he inspired a generation of teenagers. Politically he started up the movement to "Give Peace a Chance." He became the leader of the sixties, one of the most turbulent eras to date, and the role model to many people young and old around the world. John Lennon did not have any easy childhood. Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England (Bil 1). This was during the height of World War II, and his parents named him John Winston Lennon after legendary British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Lennon's parents were divorced and his father was working on a ship away from home when he was born. When his father came back, his mother would not let his father see him. So his father tried to kidnap him. His mother could not let this happen again so she sent him to live with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George. Aunt Mimi ran a strict household, and he did not really relate to her while he was growing up. So Lennon became a very close friend with his mother. Tragically in 1958 his mother was killed in a car accident right in front of him (Norman 1). Aunt Mimi sent him to Quarrybank Grammar School, but he was very bored and preferred writing and drawing. Lennon did not enjoy school life, and became a rebel at a young age. He often skipped class, and when he did go to class he sat and drew. His future looked very grim. When Mimi asked the headmaster of the school to write a letter of recommendation to the Liverpool School of Art, it gave everyone new hope. Lennon didn’t do well here either, while he loved to draw, he found the Liverpool School of Art too ridged and structured. He liked his drawings to be from his heart and full of emotion. He found that the curriculum did not allow him to do this. During his art exam Lennon drew cartoons, so he failed (Norman 1... ...e alive today, but "Let it Be." Works Cited Bil. "Working Class hero" Home of Classic Rock. 1997 <http://www.casagrande.com/~bilig/lenhist.html> (16 Feb. 2000). Gottlieb, Agnes Hooper, et al. 1,000 People, 1,000 Years. New York: Kondansh America Inc., 1998. "John Lennon-Biography." <http://www-cds-music.com/john_lennon.htm> (16 Feb. 2000). "John Lennon." Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees. 1994. <http://www.rockhall.com/induct/lennjohn.html> (16 Feb. 2000). "John Lennon shooting 1980." Great Events IV. 3pp. Bell & Howell Information and Learning- Proquest. 16 Feb. 2000. Morgan, Joan M. "A Tribute to John Lennon." 1999. <http://www.josnsukjournal.com/links/lennon.htm> (16 Feb. 2000). Norman, Philip, et. Al. "John Lennon Portfolio." 1998. <http://www.getback.org/bjohn.html> (16 Feb. 2000)

Despotism: Political Philosophy and 14th Century Essay

The Renaissance developed a new and unique form of politics referred to as Despotism. Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. The single ruling entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy. The great Renaissance historian John Addington Symonds refers to the 14th and 15th Centuries in Italy as the â€Å"Age of the Despots. † It was under the tyrannies, in the midst of all the wars and revolutions, that the Italians were given the chance to develop their peculiar individuality. This individuality determined the qualities of the Renaissance and affected Europe as a whole. Italy, due to their unique form of politics, was able to lead the way in the education of Western races, and was the first to distinguish Classical and Medieval life. The conditions that led to this new form of Political government were distinctive to Italian urban life. By the 14th Century, Italy was divided into many principalities surrounding city-States. The cities were an integral part of life in Italy due to commerce, and Italians were the first to reap the benefits of new and increasing trade due to their favorable geographic position in the Mediterranean Sea. Because there was a constant political and class struggle in the cities, Italy lacked a central authority of power. In cities such as Florence, Pisa, and Milan, the age-old rival between Pope and Emperor played itself out. The Guelph party supported the Pope, while the Ghibbiline party supported the Emperor. Civil wars were fought in the cities and ended with a despotism system of ruling, either with an oligarchy or an autocracy. The forming of these authorities was crucial, because peace is essential for trade, and the surplus wealth from commerce is what led to the growth or art and literature, which began the Renaissance. The despots, who were the powerful rulers during despotism, were not from traditional dynasties, and therefore they reached their positions of power in various other ways. Some were appointed by the Holy Roman Emperor to assert his rule, as was the case for the Visconti of Milan in the 14th Century. Other despots were hired soldiers, who later became rulers of the cities they were hired to protect, as was the case for the Sforzas in Milan in the 15th Century. Some despots were elected Mayor of their towns, some controlled their town’s elections- as the Medici family in Florence did, and some despots ruled solely because they were the sons and nephews of Popes. Due to their various ways of gaining power, the despot was usually not from a traditional dynasty, and therefore they did not have the traditional loyalty of the people. Each despot had to gain the loyalty of the people either through a winning personality, or by being clever in the political game. The Despotic court had to set its own rules, which were eventually written down in the Book of the Courtier, which became the guide book for the courts of Early Modern Europe. The most important and the most influential work dealing on Despotism is Machiavelli’s The Prince, and Machiavelli is considered by some to be the father of modern Power Politics. The Italian Renaissance was essentially a mind-set, a collection of powerful attitudes and beliefs. The development of despotism pacified the country from the chaos of their constant civil wars, and allowed them peace, which was essential for trade. As commerce reopened, people began traveling freely, and the level of education began to rise as well as the amount of books that were read. This soon led to an overwhelming growth of literature and art, of which the Renaissance is famous for.

Explain the concepts of equality,diversity and rights in relation to health and social care Essay

Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act aims to simplify and harmonize the old equalities legislation. Over the last four decades discrimination legislation has played an important role in helping to make Britain a more equal society. However, the legislation was complex and, despite the progress that has been made, inequality and discrimination persist and progress on some issues has been stubbornly slow. The Equality Act 2010 is intended to provide a new cross-cutting legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all; to update, simplify and strengthen the previous legislation; and to deliver a simple, modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. The Act has replaced the Disability Discrimination Act, combining it under one governing umbrella with all equalities issues. A disability access audit is still the best way to ensure you meet your duties under the Equality Act in regards to accessibility. What is the importance of equality, diversity and recognizing rights in early years services? 1. Legal – having proper policies and procedures in place should prevent successful compensation payouts for proven discrimination. 2. Ethical – it’s morally right to want to provide equal treatment to all stakeholders, especially children and parents/guardians. 3. Social – children can learn to be better citizens in a culturally diverse society, if given the right orientation from the beginning. Why is equality and diversity important in a mental health profession? One could argue it isn’t and that best person should always be chosen regardless as It is mainly a political ideal. However in this case there may in fact be an argument for it as follows. it may be important for those suffering mental issues to feel they are part of a wider community and having a wide selection of diversity etc. shows that society is all inclusive and will include them too. this can be very important for some mental attitudes and health problems. Equality and diversity is important for the patient, and prevents stereotypes and misdiagnosis. For example it is common in turkey to say you hear voices of spirits Djinns.Without diversity and understanding the person could be classed as schizophrenic. I know of a god-believer who got diagnosed as bi-polar just because the professionals dealing with her were not from her walk of life. I think it should be compulsory to imply it to all nations and races available. Why is it important to promote equality recognize diversity and respect rights in health and social care? 1. To promote equality a) In a democracy it is everyone’s right to have access to good health and social inclusion. Thus if any section of society is omitted then none of us can claim to be citizens of a democratic society. b) Everyone is also at physical risk, even if only some sections of society are initially exposed, to disease and ill health. 2.To respect rights and recognize diversity a) Consciousness, self-esteem, culture and physical health are interrelated Note: this might mean having to provide extra resources particularly for people who do not yet share competence in the major language Note: these high ideals are often held to, more in principle than in fact, in the majority of societies. This is because there are both passive and active (i.e. transfer of scarce resources) components of rights in all fields- education, health, justice, security, etc. In societies which emphasize individualism and demonize government intervention it is particularly difficult to achieve these aims. DISCRIMINATORY SELECTION DECISION Kai, a Native American, files a charge after he applied for a promotion, was interviewed, and was not selected. The investigation reveals that, based on objective qualifications, Kai was deemed one of the top candidates but the job ended up going to Ted, a similarly qualified White candidate from outside the company. The hiring manager tells the investigator that he thought that Kai was well qualified but he chose Ted because he â€Å"seemed to be a better fit; I’m comfortable with him and I can see him in my job one day.† When pressed to be more specific, the manager says he liked the fact that Ted worked for a competitor. However, the investigation reveals that although Ted did work for another company in the industry, it was not really a competitor. Employee and management witnesses tell the investigator that Ted’s experience working for another company in the industry was no more valuable than Kai’s experience working for the company itself. The witnesses also tell the investigator that, until now, the company practice had been to prefer qualified internal candidates over similarly qualified external candidates. There is reasonable cause to believe that Kai was discriminated against based on his race or national origin. What are the causes an effect of discriminatory practices? It can lead to a change in balance of workforce/people. If old/ethnic minorities/disabled etc. people are disadvantaged, there may be an unusually high proportion of young, white, fit people. This would deter anyone from the discriminated groups from applying. Alternatively, positive discrimination seeks to counter act the effects of discrimination by actively giving preference to underrepresented groups. This can have a good outcome, but it often leads to resentment on both sides because the â€Å"non-discriminated† feel that the â€Å"discriminated† have only got in because of their color/age etc., and the â€Å"discriminated† think that they are not being valued for what they can do and have only been chosen to fill a quota. What is the physical effect of discriminatory practices? The physical effects of discriminatory practice maybe that the individual who is being subjected to discrimination starts to feel unworthy within society, therefore this leads on to them starting to inappropriate there appearance,  lack of hygiene, which doesn’t reflect on a good person in the eyes of their community. Their health could also deteriorate – poor mental health, bruises, maybe from them self-harming to find a easy way to get away from the pain and unhappiness they are getting from individuals within community with discrimination towards them. Potential effects of Discriminatory Practices? Example of discriminatory practice is an old woman in a nursing home, in her notes she has been labeled as a ‘biter’. This makes care assistance reluctant and resistant to her How will this affect her physically, emotionally, mentally. Well I would think that she is not being given the proper mental care in the first place. As she is old and in a nursing home, she probably is a little forgotten by family anyway. This will create even less positive contact with her causing her to regress and become even more depressive. Unfortunately today we don’t always give the mental therapy that is needed to help elder people and leave them to suffer emotionally. I think she will eventually deteriorate at a faster pace and increase chances of premature death. What do you do? No one wants to go the extra mile to help these individuals and some nursing homes hire people who really don’t care and certainly don’t want to get bitten. Sad. So much of the medical profession is geared to making money and not in the quality and quantity of valued caring. What are the Emotional effects of discriminatory practice? Emotional effects of discriminatory practice are that individuals become stressed, for example as a result of being bullied. Also they can find themselves becoming more emotional with feelings of anger and frustration. These in all cause the individual to become upset which can in some cases remain a constant emotion that doesn’t seem to disappear.

Essay about Sexuality of Vampires

Essay about Sexuality of Vampires Essay about Sexuality of Vampires Sexuality of Vampires In Dracula, there are three other vampires besides Dracula. All three are female. There is an aire of sexuality whenever they are present. They have a very apparent influence over Mr. Harker. Whenever they are around him they seem to have a hypnotic spell over him, they also have an animal sexuality about them, and even the act of sucking blood has Mr. Harker in a sort of trance. The first time Mr. Harker meets these three vampires, he has been partially asleep. When he awakes, he finds three gorgeous women standing over him. Even though part of him knows he should be terrified, the other part is completely entranced with them. When he’s explaining how he feels about them he says, â€Å"There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning sense of desire that they would kiss me with those red lips† (Stoker 45). He is even engaged, but the spell that these vampires have over him is so strong, that he nearly forgets about his fiance. The women also seem to have an animal side to them. Even this side has Harker completely transfixed. Seeing an animal side to someone would usually send people running, but as stated in the previous paragraph, the women have some sort of hypnotic spell. When Harker sees this side of them he says, â€Å"There was a deliberate volu ptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white sharp teeth† (Stoker 46). Even the wolf side of them has Harker sexually attracted. The final act of sexuality that was done by the three women was simply the act of sucking blood. It is a sick, disgusting thing, but they have Harker practically craving it. As they are starting to descend on Harker, we read this on page 46, â€Å"Then she paused, and I could hear

Environmental Ethics Essay Sample

Environmental Ethics Essay Sample Environmental Ethics Essay Our environment is one of the most important structures of the physical world that need to be valued and respected. This is because it provides essential elements to offer life. The Earth’s atmosphere is one of the most important structures that Mother Nature created because it offers a place for every organism to thrive. Human Beings need an atmosphere so that they can live in a certain period of time. We thrive by scouting natural resources that sustain our survival such as food. Our environment offers us shelter from any environmental hazards such as natural calamities that often strikes anywhere around the world on a regular basis. However, our environment is at risk for being abused by the humanity due to manmade hazards. Environmental ethics is associated with the existing law that mandates the society to respect our natural environment and preserve the society. The goal of promoting environmental ethics is to decrease the number of environmental violations that risks our surroundings from being damaged. Environmental laws and policies ensure that our environment is protected from any man-made hazards that attempt to destroy our physical environment. As a result, any violators are apprehended by the local and national government units with the cooperation of the law enforcement agencies. The reason behind is that violators are responsible for destroying our natural environment through pollution. Apprehensions can imprison perpetrators of environmental ethics violations because they are considered threats to the society. This is because there is a growing problem with regards to the competition between nature and a man-made settlement that are changing our physical environment that is observed on a ra pid scale. Pollution is the main cause of environmental hazards that disrespects the essence of environmental ethics. Major companies such as mining firms usually dump toxic waste to water ways and sewerage systems that contaminate rivers, streams, and oceans. Land pollution is commonly caused by humans who dump their waste anywhere, which clogs the canals. As a result, clogged canals are the most common scenario that increases risks of flooding in an area that are filled with numerous waste materials. When waste materials will flow through the rivers and reach open seas, it creates a risk to marine ecosystems, which kills fishes and other marine creatures. Vehicles that are fueled by petroleum products are one of the main causes of air pollution. Vehicles need gasoline or diesel in order to generate energy. However, the smoke emits reaches the atmosphere and saturating carbon particles that block the sun’s rays. Global warming is the result of violating environmental ethics such as pollution. This is a condition wherein it saturates carbon particles into the atmosphere. The heat cannot escape from the Earth’s atmosphere towards space because it is blocked by the carbon particles that generated a thin layer above the sky. Gradual increasing of temperature causes the sea levels to rise, causing stronger natural calamities such as intense tropical cyclones. Violating environmental ethics serves as a lesson to the population because it results in a catastrophic impact on our environment. One example is low lying islands across the world that are slowly swallowed by the rising seas. This is a consequence that is non-stoppable because the sea level continues to rise each year that threatens low lying areas around the world to sink in the future (Sutter Berlinger, 2015). Reference Sutter, John D. Berlinger, Joshua (2015).  Final draft of climate deal formally accepted in Paris.  CNN. Cable News Network, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

Science Fair Project Ideas That Use Salt and Sugar

Science Fair Project Ideas That Use Salt and Sugar Here are ideas for science fair projects you can do using salt or sugar: How is the speed of sound affected by the salinity of water?Investigate the different types of salt used as de-icing agents. Which is the most cost-effective? Safest for the environment? Best at preventing ice formation? Under what condition?Grow table salt crystals. How is crystal formation affected by the  rate of cooling? Saturation of the starting solution? Other factors? Other crystals you can test include sugar crystals and Epsom salt crystals.You can make a density column by making solutions with different concentrations of sugar. How is the index of refraction affected by the concentration of sugar? Can you relate the angle by which light is bent to the concentration of the solution? Is the angle by which light is bent affected by the temperature of the solution?Which material increases the conductivity of tap water best? salt, sugar, or baking soda? What happens if you change the concentration of the solution?There are many types of salt available at most grocery stores, i ncluding table salt, rock salt, and sea salt. Other salts you can find include Epsom salts, potassium chloride (lite salt), and baking soda. Which type of salt works best for making ice cream in a baggie? When you crush sugar crystals you can cause them to emit light. This is an example of triboluminescence. Examine triboluminescence of sugar crystals, Wint-o-Green Lifesaversâ„ ¢, and other candies. Which produces the brightest spark? Does the ability to produce light seem affected by other facts, such as humidity?

Peter Berger's heretical imperative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Peter Berger's heretical imperative - Essay Example According to Berger, pluralism presents the crisis into which modernity has exposed religion (Woodhead Heelas & Martin, 2001). Berger focuses on modernity and its implications on religion. The contemporary society is characterized by plurality of institutions, consciousness and choices, which yield uncertainty. According to Berger, pluralism is â€Å"a situation in which there is competition in the institutional ordering of comprehensive meanings of everyday life† (Oldmeadow, 2010, p.33). Because of uncertainty, there are unsteady, inconsistent and erratic plausibility structures, particularly those of religion. Berger argues that religion becomes a matter of choice, which he best refers to as a â€Å"heretical imperative† (heresy). According to Peter Berger, there are three contemporary responses to the crisis that modernity thrusts religion into, which include deduction, reduction as well as induction. Berger denounces deduction, which entails the reaffirmation of inf luence of a sacred ritual against secular authority (Esposito, Fasching & Lewis, 2011). He also rejects reductionism, which reinterprets a sacred ritual on the basis of secular authority. In rejecting the two responses, Berger supports the third approach, which is induction. His belief is that the crisis facing religion is a product of the sterile antithesis of neo-orthodoxy and secularism (Woodhead Heelas & Martin, 2001). He believes that by shunning both deductive and reductive approaches and adopting inductive approach, the crisis can be triumphed. Berger explores the relationship between human religion and world-building. The society is presented as dialectic because it is considered as a human invention. Man cannot exist without society and without man, society cannot exist. This exhibits the dialectic nature of the society. Berger argues that pluralism undermines stable belief (Berger, 1979). Pluralism is the cause of secularisation. According to Berger, the basic dialectic pr ocess of society entails three steps. These include externalisation, objectivation as well as internalisation. The three moments are crucial for effective comprehension of empirical dimension society. Externalisation refers to â€Å"the ongoing outpouring of human being into the world, both in the physical and the mental activity of men† (Berger, 1979, p. 4). Objectivation refers to the achievement by the products of man’s activity of an authenticity that faces its initial makers. Internalisation on the other hand, refers to men’s manipulation of reality, in which they change the reality into structures of objective and subjective consciousness. Externalisation is a prerequisite for anthropology. It deals with the biological development of man, where he interacts with extra-organic surrounding of both physical human worlds. Human being must create his own world. As such, the world-building activity does not qualify as a biological superfluous occurrence, but a d irect product of man’s biological composure. Man creates his own world through biological means. This human world is characterized by uncertainty unlike animals’ world. Because humanly established structures tend to be unstable, man creates culture to ensure stable structure that cannot be attained biologically. However, culture needs to be progressively changed by man. The instability of cultural structures posses a significant challenge to man’

Brazil's development will attempt to lead sustainability for the next Essay

Brazil's development will attempt to lead sustainability for the next World Cup - Essay Example Introduction 1.1 Background Sports, conferences and entertainment events have become major events in which environmental sustainability has emerged as an important theme (Ponsford, 2011). Every event claims to be environmentally conscious but the extent to which the authorities take steps to attain sustainability remains a debatable issue. The event organizers should be responsible for making the first step towards sustainability as they make a major impact on the environment (Hill, 1998). The first step involves preparing an action plan based on various factors that are set together to create an event. Brazil is due to host the World Cup in three years’ time and the infrastructure development that this event calls for, is tremendous. Brazil is expected to invest US$18.7bn for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will fund 50 projects in 12 Brazilian host cities (Portal Brasil, 2010). The Minister for Sports claims that the development of Brazil to meet the demands of the event would greatly improve the country for the citizens. 1.2 Rationale for the study Hosting the World Cup requires the nation to be prepared in three main areas – the stadium, airport and transportation, and accommodation (De la Cerda, Fernandes, Huebner, Madanes & Suarez, 2011). Brazil is poised for growth since its foreign exchange policy is liberalized. The success of an event is not merely limited to whether the event was economically profitable. For most mega events economic benefits are overstated in order to justify the public expenditure by the federal government (Karadakis & Kaplanidou, 2010). It can cause tremendous debts as in the case of Montreal 1976 as it was burdened with capital and interest costs; as resources become scarce price inflation is likely for goods and services. The general population could also be burdened in terms of additional taxation to pay for the cost of hosting. Opportunity costs also arise when the government is unable to raise enough funds to host the event. A reasonable ratio between the profit generated and the costs incurred is based on short-term effects, and is derived from induced demand stimulus (Muller & Moesch, 2010). However, an event can be sustainable only if the added infrastructure continues to generate revenue and pay for its maintenance. Sustainability is not limited to environmental concerns but can expand to other regions as well. 1.3 Research aims and objectives With the aim to evaluate what steps the authorities have taken to ensure that development attempts will lead to sustainability for the next world cup, the objectives of the study are: To determine the likely damage to the environment and suggest measures for sustainable management To determine the likely impact of the World Cup 2014 on the GDP of Brazil and its population in the future generations To evaluate if Brazil is moving towards a sustainable event This study has great significance because event managers/organizers globally would make consc ious attempts while planning events to ensure minimum damage to the environment, to the people, to the nation as a whole. 2. Literature review 2.1 Definition – events –

Who Are The Innocents The Psychology Of Confessions Essay

Who Are The Innocents The Psychology Of Confessions - Essay Example A recent article (Kassin 2005) on the psychology of confessions, for example, suggests that video taping should be mandatory, but this proposal will focus on who innocents are, avoiding similar modalities. Therefore we will define innocence as a legal state and, remembering the legal maxim "innocent until proven guilty," innocents as those who are not guilty (Blackstone 1765). An study to measure why innocents confess that we will propose will be empirical, following an experiment closely resembling that carried out by Kassin and Kiechel (Kassin and Kiechel 1996), using participants testimony. The participants will carry out an experiment that contravenes the maxim "innocent until proven guilty" because we can show that the application of psychology to innocence is not relevant if innocent people can think themselves guilty as a result of Kassin and Kiechel's experiment. These psychologists' results are expected to be repeated. Kassin and Kiechel interestingly define features of innocents' false confessions as 'confabulated' and 'internalised' - interesting because these same words are used by memory research into false memory. Kopelman describes the varieties of false memory as "spontaneous confabulation in brain disease, false recognition cases, delusional memories and other delusions in psychosis, "confabulations" in schizophrenia, "internalised" false confessions for crime, apparently false or distorted memories for child abuse, pseudologia fantastica, the acquisition of new identities or "scripts" following fugue or in multiple personality, and momentary confabulation in healthy subjects."1 The academic psychology over confessions is mistaken when it presumes that establishing innocence is the purpose of law. Rather, trials happen because a crime has been committed and the law seeks to establish guilt, to punish the guilty. Psychology does not punish, as shown by Kassin and Gudjonnson, instead it designs confessional experiments. (Kassin and Gudjonnson 2004) Many experiments have inbuilt tricks to deceive, replicating experimenters' expectations, in much the same way that many pupils in the classroom replicate teachers' expectations. (Rosenthal and Jacobson 1968) An example of a study devised by psychologists includes a reaction time experiment. After warning participants not to hit a key that caused the machine to crash, experimenters deliberately crashed the machine, reasoning that participants could be made to confess. In many cases the participants did falsely confess, guiltily participating in the psychologists' study, whilst they believed the experiment was about reaction time. Legal cases abound where innocents have been convicted. In 2005, prosecutors forced a confession from a fourteen year-old boy, who confessed to murder in Illinois. The victim found an intruder in his parked car and was shot in the chest. The boy described to prosecutors how he broke into the car, struggled with the man and then shot him, after two weeks in detention and suggestions that he would go to prison for ten to fifteen years and that he would receive legal help. Moreover, the boy was encouraged to plead self-defence, in spite of the fact that the murderer had broken into the victim's car with a gun, firing it lethally. Another example comes from Escondido, California, where Michael Crowe, 14, confessed to the murder of his sister. He was falsely told by prosecutors that his hair was found in his dead sister's hand, that her blood was in his bedroom and that he failed a polygraph. He came to believe that he had an alter ego and confessed after hours of questioning with neither a

The Glory of Living Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Glory of Living - Essay Example The play questions the models of a family that are held up as the standard in society. Despite having a mother, Lisa is unable to have a normal childhood. The disintegration of the family is complete in the family of Lisa and Clint as the couple seeks to seduce young girls into a lurid kind of death. The sterility of this kind of an existence is repeatedly held up by the author as symbolic of the fact that such forms of life are unsustainable. The playwright, Rebecca Gilman, makes it clear that such instances of sterility do not represent the modes of sterility that were characteristic of ancient civilizations where it was a phase that would be followed by a regeneration. The two children that Clint and Lisa have only serve to heighten the disturbing mood of the play as the presence of a pedophile in the family makes the situation of the children complicated. They are moreover, placed not in the care The play’s pessimism regarding the state of affairs that modern life presents is a very postmodernist one, where it has become impossible for human beings to peel away the layers of life to reveal its true essence. Here, people wander through life; performing functions that they are aware do not possess any meaning. In this sense, the play also addresses existential issues that the modern man faces and has to deal with. The importance of the existential problems that the play poses is demonstrated by the absolute lack of meaning that Lisa, the anti-heroine of the play, puts into her actions. The main aspect of the play, however, remains the fact of the development of children. The life of children whereby they are at the complete mercy of their parent’s actions is demonstrated skillfully by Gilman’s play. The play, right from the scene where Lisa is charmed by Clint into a marriage that would lead her into a much more dissipated life than her mother, to the one where she discloses her dark secrets to the authorities, is a long series of events that displays the problems of a traumatic childhood. This childhood of hers is affected by the fact that her mother was a prostitute. The fact that Clint is a person who comes with a person, who may or may not have been a client of his future mother-in-law, is one of the most disturbing aspects of the play (Gilman). The guilt that Lisa feels at the end of the play is something that stems from the fact that she has not matured emotionally. The actions that she takes at various points in the play have no rational explanation. This fact is also the result of her dissociation from the real world where events follow a more or less rational course. The union of the grotesque and the real in the life of Lisa is another aspect of the play that is interesting and significant, dramatically. The grotesque events that are related in the play are a part of the life of Lisa. They are an everyday reality for her and this results in a disturbing atmosphere in the play. The grotesque becomes the nor m for Lisa when she arranges prey for her husband. The grotesque becoming the norm points to the development of the person. The abnormal childhood that was led by Lisa, where she was deprived of attention on the part of her mother. The negative influences of her husband too, become a reason as to why Lisa becomes what she becomes. The play offers no reason as to why Clint is the way he is, portraying

Palliative care, on communication at the end of life Assignment

Palliative care, on communication at the end of life - Assignment Example e family case, and in recording consistently the remaining days or hours of the patients as well as the responses of its family in these critical hours. 1. Preparing for a family meeting   -- This refer to the necessary requirements to be done by the care giver to set appropriate measure to communicate to the patient’s family. This stage may include formal or informal manner of putting across the message about the imperative of devoting fiduciary time together in order to prepare them psychologically and emotionally the possible termination of life. The nurse or care giver must ready all desired information available relating to the patient condition; the necessary or expected responses of the family; the needed medicines; and the desired emotional acceptance of patient’s family members to an impending unchangeable fate. 2. Conducting a family meeting  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ this refer to the actual meeting of the medical professional and nurses with the family to discuss empirically the condition of the patient. This is a sober condition where medical practitioners would persuasively convey to the family the patient’s state and the impending limitation of its life toward potential termination. This meeting should be conducted in confidentially, cordial but often straightforward, and delivered with certain level of empathy. Attending physician will be illustrating to the family that all medical care has been exhausted for the patient and that the necessary support care needed to remove potential hindrances that may impinge the optimal transference of supportive strategies from health care professionals to family who are recipient of palliative care. The meeting will likewise discuss the needed supportive care and plan for the next step intervention that are relevant and imperative to make palliative care effective for the dying. This is the most difficult part because the practitioner is called to balance one’s values in decision-making, these being the cornerstone,

Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Article review - Essay Example Nursing practice is evolving and nurses today are expected to be familiar in history taking and be professional always about how they do it. This article gives tips on how a comprehensive and complete history can be taken by nurses who are increasingly being delegated this important aspect of health care delivery. The authors give out steps to take during history taking so that it is systematic and all essential information obtained (including sensitive information). The nurses must be careful not to divulge confidential personal information and also make sure that there is prior consent obtained to get personal information related to history taking. Nurses must make sure that the environment in which they take information is appropriate and comfortable to the patient and additionally, they must establish rapport with the patient by making all appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication gesture. Some nursing experts prefer taking history in a set pattern or sequence but this is not very important. What is crucial is that all the needed information is obtained to get a comprehensive picture of the patients past and present health status. Communication is important to gain the patients trust so even the manner of how the questions are phrased or asked should be considered. Questions can be open-ended but nurses can ask more specific questions later on to clarify some information and make sure they got it right. Accuracy is crucial as the health assessment will serve as the basis for the doctor when making a diagnosis and when considering the course or type of treatment that is appropriate. The authors took extra efforts to present their ideas in an easily understandable manner, even placing important points inside a box such as appropriate communication skills, the desired sequence in taking history and listing by category using major body systems the usual kind of symptoms each body system will present if

Palliative care, on communication at the end of life Assignment

Palliative care, on communication at the end of life - Assignment Example e family case, and in recording consistently the remaining days or hours of the patients as well as the responses of its family in these critical hours. 1. Preparing for a family meeting   -- This refer to the necessary requirements to be done by the care giver to set appropriate measure to communicate to the patient’s family. This stage may include formal or informal manner of putting across the message about the imperative of devoting fiduciary time together in order to prepare them psychologically and emotionally the possible termination of life. The nurse or care giver must ready all desired information available relating to the patient condition; the necessary or expected responses of the family; the needed medicines; and the desired emotional acceptance of patient’s family members to an impending unchangeable fate. 2. Conducting a family meeting  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ this refer to the actual meeting of the medical professional and nurses with the family to discuss empirically the condition of the patient. This is a sober condition where medical practitioners would persuasively convey to the family the patient’s state and the impending limitation of its life toward potential termination. This meeting should be conducted in confidentially, cordial but often straightforward, and delivered with certain level of empathy. Attending physician will be illustrating to the family that all medical care has been exhausted for the patient and that the necessary support care needed to remove potential hindrances that may impinge the optimal transference of supportive strategies from health care professionals to family who are recipient of palliative care. The meeting will likewise discuss the needed supportive care and plan for the next step intervention that are relevant and imperative to make palliative care effective for the dying. This is the most difficult part because the practitioner is called to balance one’s values in decision-making, these being the cornerstone,

Produce a fully functional Essay Example for Free

Produce a fully functional Essay The company sells to small corner shops in the east midlands. All the sales to shops are currently recorded on an order form that will be processed in the companys main office. They use calculators to find out the total cost. They have a total of four company reps that they use to deliver orders and take new orders if required. Each of the rep carries a number of documents including order forms and a catalogue including a price list. The current system used to take orders can no longer handle the increasing quantity of trade and a new system is required. The company decided to solve this problem by giving each rep a laptop computer. A package will be installed into the laptops to process the data. The company will require the following features in the package:   An automated order form to replace the current one. A database containing each item of stock.   A facility to update the sales sheet.   A summary sheet to raise the stock order from the warehouse so they can be delivered on the next round.   A total sales sheet so it is possible to view any commission earned by the rep. A home page that can be used to navigate to the other pages.   An option to print so there is hard evidence of the documents. CURRENT METHODS USED   All of the sales to the shops are manually recorded on an order form that is processed in the main office.   The reps use calculators to calculate the costs.   The reps carry catalogues containing all the products available along with price lists.   The order forms are separate sheets.   The reps visit the shops about once a week and they make new orders if necessary   The reps receive 2% commission for any order over   1000. WORKING SPECIFICATION Front Page This sheet will link up with the rest of the sheets in the spreadsheet so users can search it easily. Order form. This sheet will be used when customers want to order products from the company. Information to go into the order form will include:   Date of order   Time of order   Sales persons name   Customer name and Address   Customer contact numbers   Name of product   Description   Price   Stock number   Quantity   Total cost Print out form This sheet will be identical to the order form and will show what the customers have ordered. There will be a print option so the customers have a receipt for what they have bought. Stock and price list This sheet will show all the products available from the company along with a price list. Address Sheet. This will include contact details for all the customers. DATA CAPTURE METHODS There are many of methods used to input data into a cell. Some are listed below.   Manually keying in information.   Selecting data from drop down lists   Macro programming   Hot keys Below I have drawn a table to show how the information will be captured. Typing into cells Selecting data from a list Automatic Hot keys Customer name Rep name Date Print Address Stock description Time Saving work done Contact numbers Stock model no. Total cost Quantity Total quote cost Below is a table to show what processing needs to be done to achieve the required output. Stock Code Lookup information within a database. Display stock in a cell. Rep Name Process index number from the rep table. Display the data in a cell. Customer Information Lookup information within the database. Display stock in a cell. Time and Date Process the system date and time. Display time and date in the cell chosen. Commission Finds out a total if over i 1000, and works out 2% of it. Displays commission total in a cell chosen. For a spreadsheet database to be successful, it should be as error free as possible. Information should be easily entered. An excel spreadsheet can provide the following functions. Tips and Help, to make it easier to use. Formatting of cells.   Labels and titles.   Highlighting and background colours   Drop down lists Validation and verification DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT By designing the spreadsheet first, it will be easy to put it together. I will provide ways of easily entering data into the spreadsheet. These will include   Data entry forms   Form like sheets I am going to enter some tips to help the user use the database. These will include.   Data entry messages   Validation messages Marcos will play a big roll in the design of the spreadsheet. I will use it to make the spreadsheet user-friendlier. It will be used to   Simplify data input.   Produce printed reports I will use more complex spreadsheet facilities to make it even easier to use.   Drop down lists- so data can be selected from a choice and not typed in every time.   Named cells- some of the cells will be named so it will be easy to use when carrying out formulae. Validation- this will restrict what data can be put into certain areas so it is easier for the users.   Lists and tables- these will be used to sort the data so it can be looked up. The Front Page I will place a variety of links and macro buttons on this page so that users can search the spreadsheet easily. The buttons will all be placed on the page. I will include a company to show the user that they are on the right program. I may colour code it to make it user friendly. The order form The order form will contain many formulas. I will use a combo box to create an area where the customer information goes. When the user selects their name in this box, the rest of the information will be shown. I will use V-lookup to do this. V-lookup will also be used to find products that the user wishes to order. When the stock code is typed in, information on that product will be shown. The column headings will be stock code, stock and model number, description, and price. I may colour code the different columns to make it more user friendly. In order to find the total cost for the products the customer wishes to buy, I must multiply the cost of the product by the quantity. Calculation Sheet This sheet is private and can only be viewed by the sales representatives. All calculations the reps need to make will be done on this page. For example they can mark up prices on this page. As this page is private I will insert a lock function with a password so customers cannot enter it. Commission form The function of this page is to calculate the amount of commission. The formula to calculate this will be: . This means that the rep will only get commission is a sale is over i 1000. ORDER FORM DEVELOPMENT This order form includes all the relevant information needed. I have neatly lined up the buttons next to the customer details box. However there are a few problems with it. It looks very bland. None of it is emboldened so important parts dont stand out. There is no title to show what the sheet is for. I will include these improvements in my next design. Certain important words have been emboldened. This makes it much easier to read and looks more professional. I have placed Order Form at the top so the user can see what the page is for. The buttons are in an odd position and should be rearranged to get a better balance. The form should include Online Direct Computers address in case the used needs it. Also an option should be added to show the sales person. Also it currently shows the price without VAT. Another calculation must be added to show the price with VAT added. It is still very dull so some colour needs to be added to make it more attractive and more user friendly. By adding colour and rearranging the buttons has improved the image and it now looks finished. The sales person name can now be added from a drop down list box. I will maintain this image throughout the program. TESTING I carried out a number of tests in order to check that the spreadsheet is running correctly and to check whether it matches up with the specification. There were four tests that I carried out: Continuous Testing   Testing Data   Invalid Data Testing   Specification test Continuous Testing- I will test all the formulas that I have put into the database including all the combo boxes and buttons. Testing Data- I am going to test data in the spreadsheet to see if it all works properly. I will test: Product information   Customer details   Sales representative names Invalid Data Testing-I will deliberately input some invalid data into some of the cells to see whether the error messages, that I created, appear. Specification test- I will compare my original specification to with my finished package. This will tell me whether the package will be able to do the job the user requires.E-Mail [emailprotected] com Invalid Data If I enter a stock code that isnt between 1000 and 1047 an error message will appear because there is no stock out side of this. If letters are typed in by accident an error message with appear. Specification Test Original Specification Comments Target Met Front Page This sheet will link up with the rest of the sheets in the spreadsheet so users can search it easily. I have created a front page that links up all of the pages in the database. Order form This sheet will be used when customers want to order products from the company. Information to go into the order form will include: Date of order   Time of order Sales persons name Customer name and Address   Customer contact numbers   Name of product   Description   Price   Stock number   Quantity   Total cost Date and time of order have been added into order form using the formula =NOW() The sales person names have been inserted into a drop down list that can be selected. There is space in a box at the top of the form for the customer name. This automatically there address and contact numbers. There is a box on the order form for stock codes to be typed in. This automatically brings up details including a total cost. Print out form. This sheet will be identical to the order form and will show what the customers have ordered. There will be a print option so the customers have a receipt for what they have bought. I have included an option on the order form to print so customers will have a receipt of what they have bought. Stock and price list This sheet will show all the products available from the company along with a price list I have produced a list of all the products available from online direct computers Address Sheet This will include contact details for all the customers I have produced a list of all the customers and there contact details. Examples of the sheets.

The Development of Soft Skill Training in the Workplace

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