Current strengths and weaknesses of the Microsoft company Assignment

Current strengths and weaknesses of the Microsoft company - Assignment Example Communication and innovation is not prioritized within the organization. Despite the popularity of handheld devices, the demand for computers in the united sates and across the world continues to grow. In this regard, it is realized that the future prospects for the organization are still good. Apple and Linux certainly threaten the large market share presently held by Microsoft. Indeed, the popularity of the products from these manufacturers continues to grow and there is a strong indication that Microsoft cannot continue to hold the 88% market share (Phelps, 38). Fluctuations in the exchange rates across the world greatly affect the demand for the software in certain countries. The fluctuating currencies greatly affect revenues from the organization especially in the international markets. It is presently realized that some hardware manufacturers like Oracle, Sun manufacturers, and IBM have collaborated with new platform technologies thereby greatly reducing the demand for windows (Stross, 45). In the same way, some of the hard ware manufacturers issue software application with their hardware sales. This means that Microsoft’s products do not apply in such

Marketing Analysis on Facebook Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Marketing Analysis on Facebook - Assignment Example While the social networking sites are predominantly driven by individual actions as people are more or less free to use the platforms as they like. However, in some countries, the political environment is closed and the governments do not want people to interact freely on the social networking sites. There are clashes between the ideals of personal freedom and liberty of speech and local political and legal restrictions. China makes an excellent example for this issue, where the government monitors Internet activity of its citizens and also does not hesitate in hacking the social networking accounts or personal search data. While this is an extreme case, the difference in political ideologies across different countries does impact on the profitability and growth of the online organizations, and especially the online social networking organizations like Facebook. In addition, the cyber security laws and cyber privacy laws are different across different countries which make an organiza tion Facebook vulnerable to legal or social problems. While the Facebook model is basically based on the Western concepts of personal freedom and absolute privacy, different regions of the world do not conform to these ideals. As can be seen from the latest statistics, Facebook’s more than half members are now from countries in Asia and Latin America. However, the problems related to legal and political interference are not restricted to the politically closed countries or countries with non-democratically elected governments. There are several instances where European countries like Germany and France have objected to the use of the personal data by Facebook to target advertisements (Simpson, 2012) to the customers as a violation of their countries laws. While competitors like search engines like Google too face similar political legal issues, the concerns are magnified for social networking sites (Harwood, 2009). This is because, the account holders on the social networking sites are not really looking for buying or selling something as their primary objective (which may be the case with a large number of users on search engines), and keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances is all that they desire. The invasion of privacy in the case of social networking sites is more acutely felt than it is on the search Engines, and hence the political and legal ramifications are more intense (Cashmore, 2010). Economic Environment The business models of online organizations, be it the search engines or the social networking sites, differ from the brick and mortar businesses and this implies that the revenues and growth models in the Internet sector too is different (Cashmore, 2010).The social networking models are largely dependent on their large loyal customer bases to attract advertisers. Another way of remaining competitive is to increase the spend of the individual users. However, the increase in sales or revenues is often offset by the large cost inlays that are needed for the massive scale of operations (Keatin, 2012). The costs are associated largely with capacity building and obtaining more applications to attract more spend per user. So, while the social networking model has the potential to scale up quickly and generate large revenues,

Absorption Spectroscopy Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Absorption Spectroscopy - Lab Report Example It is valuable since it can accurately determine very tiny analyte concentrations (to the range of up to 10-5). It employs Beer-Lambert’s law to determine concentration. This law relates the thickness of the cuvette used in the analysis with the concentration of the analyte. It can be written as A= ÃŽ µcl, where This experiment involves the analysis of the risk that a consumer gets exposed to when he ingests a dye present in various commercial food items. This will be accomplished by determining the concentration of the dye present in the sample by use of absorption spectroscopy and then comparing it with the measured LD50 of that dye. To find the mass of the food dye present in the sample, the formula mass = number of moles / molar mass. The molar mass of Allura Red is 496.42 g/mol. The number of moles can be found by: moles = mass / molar mass From published literature, the LD50 of Allura Red is between 6-10 g/kg body weight (Vinaya Corporation). The amount of Allura Red that must be ingested to cause a fatality to a person whose weight is 56 kg is given by ((6g x 56 kg)/1kg). This gives a mass of 336 grams of Allura Red. To ingest 336 grams of Allura Red in sparkling fruit water, one would have to ingest 102.893 liters of sparkling fruit water: 20 ml of the fruit water has 0.06531 grams of Allura Red. To get 336 grams the person would have to consume ((20x336)/0.06531)=102.893 liters. The mass of Allura Red found in sparkling fruit water is relatively low. This makes the dye relatively harmless to human beings. The value obtained is relatively low, because of this; it can be said with a relatively high degree of confidence that the experiment was successful. It is possible errors were introduced into the experiment during the handling of the cuvettes. It is possible that the sides of the cuvettes were touched with dirty hands while they were being filled and then being placed onto the spectrometer. This might

Marketing Analysis on Facebook Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Marketing Analysis on Facebook - Assignment Example While the social networking sites are predominantly driven by individual actions as people are more or less free to use the platforms as they like. However, in some countries, the political environment is closed and the governments do not want people to interact freely on the social networking sites. There are clashes between the ideals of personal freedom and liberty of speech and local political and legal restrictions. China makes an excellent example for this issue, where the government monitors Internet activity of its citizens and also does not hesitate in hacking the social networking accounts or personal search data. While this is an extreme case, the difference in political ideologies across different countries does impact on the profitability and growth of the online organizations, and especially the online social networking organizations like Facebook. In addition, the cyber security laws and cyber privacy laws are different across different countries which make an organiza tion Facebook vulnerable to legal or social problems. While the Facebook model is basically based on the Western concepts of personal freedom and absolute privacy, different regions of the world do not conform to these ideals. As can be seen from the latest statistics, Facebook’s more than half members are now from countries in Asia and Latin America. However, the problems related to legal and political interference are not restricted to the politically closed countries or countries with non-democratically elected governments. There are several instances where European countries like Germany and France have objected to the use of the personal data by Facebook to target advertisements (Simpson, 2012) to the customers as a violation of their countries laws. While competitors like search engines like Google too face similar political legal issues, the concerns are magnified for social networking sites (Harwood, 2009). This is because, the account holders on the social networking sites are not really looking for buying or selling something as their primary objective (which may be the case with a large number of users on search engines), and keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances is all that they desire. The invasion of privacy in the case of social networking sites is more acutely felt than it is on the search Engines, and hence the political and legal ramifications are more intense (Cashmore, 2010). Economic Environment The business models of online organizations, be it the search engines or the social networking sites, differ from the brick and mortar businesses and this implies that the revenues and growth models in the Internet sector too is different (Cashmore, 2010).The social networking models are largely dependent on their large loyal customer bases to attract advertisers. Another way of remaining competitive is to increase the spend of the individual users. However, the increase in sales or revenues is often offset by the large cost inlays that are needed for the massive scale of operations (Keatin, 2012). The costs are associated largely with capacity building and obtaining more applications to attract more spend per user. So, while the social networking model has the potential to scale up quickly and generate large revenues,

Modern Family Essay Example for Free

Modern Family Essay Modern Family is a documentary-style comedy about three branches of the extended Pritchett family: Dad Jay has married a younger woman and is now raising a teenage stepson; his daughter Claire has a husband and three kids of her own; and his gay son Mitchell has just adopted a Vietnamese baby with his partner. Modern Family premiered on ABC in September 2009 as part of the networks new Wednesday comedy lineup, and was immediately met with positive reviews and strong ratings, becoming the breakout show of the night. Modern Family was created and is executive-produced by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, who worked together as writers and producers on Frasier, and co-created the short-lived sitcom Back to You; Levitan was also the creator of Just Shoot Me. This investigation will highlight the key aspects which has made Modern Family a very likable program over the last few years. the way in how the show appeals to viewers will be discussed as well as the values and attitudes of society are re? ected through the main characters. I Will also indicate some of the controls and constraints that Modern Family has to deal with in order to make their show successful and appropriate. Also featured will be the discussion of some of the obvious stereotypes which the show portrays and the impact of Modern Family on Todays society. But to be able to understand all these aspects, you will need to familiarise yourself with the main characters ? rst. Characters Jay Pritchett: The father of Claire and Mitchell, husband of Gloria, grandfather of Lily, Luke, Alex, and Haley, and the stepfather of Manny. He is the owner of a construction ? rm and is presumably the wealthiest family member. Jay has a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. Like both his son and daughter, Jay is generally more realistic, mild mannered, and sensible than his partner, Gloria, who is unashamed of the fact Jay is many years her senior. A recurring plot involves Jays relationship with his son Mitchell, which became more complicated due to Jays reaction to Mitchells sexual orientation. Gloria Pritchett: Jays wife and Mannys mother. She is from a small village in Columbia. She is a very loving wife and mother despite the age difference between her and her husband. Her voluptuous ? gure and overall beauty is often remarked or noticed by other characters on the show. One of her most distinctive traits is her very thick Colombian accent, which sometimes leads her to mispronounce English words, such as ultimatum as old-tomato and earrings as hair-rings. She often supports Manny when Jay tries to tell him to be less sensitive or hide his cultural background. Manny Delgado: Glorias 14-year-old son from her ? rst marriage. He is very outgoing and not the least bit self-conscious. He is very intelligent, mature and intuitive for his age and is often shown doing adult-like things, such as having conversations with Claire about her marriage and kids, and drinking coffee. He has inherited his mothers passion for life, though Gloria has also said, Manny is passionate, just like his father. This causes Manny to be very romantic. Manny is not afraid to take chances, leading him to ask out older girls, and develop a crush on Haley. Phil Dunphy: Claires husband of 20 years who sees himself as the cool dad. He dotes on his wife Claire and constantly tries to ? nd ways to bond with his three kids. He is seen as very competitive, one example being his nature of always beating his son at basketball. He has a very juvenile attitude, and is referred to by Claire as the kid [shes] married to. He uses a parenting method that he calls peerenting, which is a combination of talking like a peer but acting like a parent. He is a real estate agent who is very con? dent in his work, once saying I could sell a fur coat to an Eskimo. Claire Dunphy: the daughter of Jay, Mitchells older sister, and the helicopter soccer mom of the Dunphy family and its three very different kids. She was once a wild-child who made a lot of mistakes over the years, and she is fearful that her children could make the same mistakes, especially her oldest daughter, Haley. She is often exhausted from stress created by her family but is still a loving mother. When it comes to her kids she has dif? culty controlling Haleys independence and irresponsibility, Alexs manipulative nature, and Lukes lack of common sense. She also gets annoyed with her husband, Phil, constantly. Claire is a very competitive person, much like her husband, and is portrayed with a personality that causes her to freak out easily, and get angry. She is very strict about a clean house. She is seen as an experienced parent by Cameron and Mitchell, so she is called upon for her parenting advice Haley Dunphy: the daughter of Claire and Phil, who is portrayed as the stereotypical teenager who is often embarrassed by the presence of her parents. Haley is 15 at the beginning of the series, and is a freshman in college as of Season 4. Haley is depicted as being a bit of a bimbo, who focuses more on social status than studies. She is a little naive, especially when it comes to arguing with her parents. She is concerned about her popularity at school, as well as her social and sexual life, which contributes to her being embarrassed by her parents. Alex Dunphy: the 15-year-old daughter of Claire and Phil, and also the most erudite and intelligent of the three siblings. She is very bright and cares much more about her studies than friends/social life and boys. As the middle child to a shallow big sister and a goofy younger brother, she enjoys messing with them when they are rude to her, which is fairly often. Often taking advantage of their naivete by fooling them into believing unrealistic things, she at one time convinced Haley and Luke that they could charge electronics by rubbing the battery on their heads (Haley) and putting it in their mouths (Luke). She, as a stereotypical precocious kid, displays a sense of superiority because of her erudition, constantly putting her accomplishments on display and demanding recognition for them. Luke Dunphy: Phil and Claire? s 14-year-old son, who is often doing his own thing. At times, he can be a troublemaker, once shooting his sister with a toy gun and getting into a ? ht with Manny at school. Luke is playful, very innocent and does not always understand the repercussions of his actions, like most children; he once announced at a family gathering that his mom thought her dads new wife was a gold digger, although he misheard it as coal digger. Mitchell Pritchett: Also referred to as Mitch, is Jays son, Claires younger brother, Luke, Alex and Haleys uncle, one of Lilys fathers, and partner of eight years to Cameron. He is a low-key, mild-mannered person. At most times he is the exact opposite of Cameron which usually causes disagreements. Cameron acts as a counterbalance to Mitchells uptight, worrying ways. He usually responds to homophobia (whether real or perceived) by giving speeches. Because of his mild-mannered, uptight nature, he is sometimes embarrassed by Camerons ? amboyance. Cameron Tucker: Also referred to as Cam, is Mitchells partner of eight years, and one of Lilys fathers, who has a very big dramatic personality. His bubbly outgoing personality contrasts to Mitchells uptight manner, which causes them to have opposing character traits. Cameron was born on February 29, 1972 and grew up on a farm in Missouri. Lilly Tucker-Pritchett: the adopted Vietnamese daughter of Cameron and Mitchell. When she was introduced to the family, they accepted her with open arms, although Mitchell originally wanted to wait to tell them about her. She is at times doing activities with both of her fathers but remains with Cam at home while Mitchell works. How Does It Appeal? A key aspect of the show? s appeal is the similarities people ? nd between the extended family and their own family. Some characters from the show are Phil Dunphy, Claire Dunphy, Jay Pritchett, Gloria Pritchett, Mitchell Pritchett, and Cam Tucker. There are many other characters that make up this family, which make for much more diversity. The dynamic between these different immediate families and their values (including traditional, gay, straight, and multicultural) are what gives Modern Family its large demographic. The diversity of the Pritchetts helps reach a large audience. The ? rst part of this family is the Pritchett-Delgado family. This consists of Jay, the family patriarch, Gloria, the younger second wife, and Manny, her son. The fun part in watching this family is the culture clash between Jay and Gloria. Gloria and Manny are Hispanic, while Jay is white. It is interesting as they try to make sure that Manny gets a combination of both cultures in his life. Next in this family is the Dunphy family. This has Claire, Jay? s daughter and mother of three, and Phil, Claire? s fun husband. Their children are also in the show. First is Haley, the epitome of some teenage girls who seem to only care about their social lives as opposed to spending time with their family. Second is Alex, the smart child and Haley? s opposite. Last is Luke, the youngest and most rambunctious of the three. He is very close to Manny. The Dunphy? s are a very traditional family, but has had some of the more memorable moments in the show. Some of them come from Phil, who is known for having a very fun sense of humor. Finally there is the Pritchett-Ticker family. This is made up of Mitchell, Jay? s gay son and Claire? s younger brother, Cam, his partner, and Lily, their adoptive daughter from Vietnam. It is fun to watch their family and see how different they are from the other two parts of the family. It? s also important because it helps to put the similarities into perspective for many viewers, and that is very valuable these days. Stereotypes Stereotypes are an inevitable part of modern culture. They are standardized and simpli? ed views of groups and minorities based on prior assumptions. â€Å"Modern Family† constantly utilises and plays with the notions of Stereotypes. â€Å"Modern Family† attempts to create a new stereotype by conforming and altering old stereotypes. There is Jay, the Grandfather who remarried to a beautiful, busty Colombian woman Gloria and her son, Manny. Jay? s daughter, Claire, married to Phil, who have 3 children, Haley, Alex and Luke. Finally, Jay? s on Mitchell has an adopted Vietnamese daughter with boyfriend Cameron. The entire program works by challenging and changing stereotypes, in particular that of Gay parents, Cam and Mitch. Cameron and Mitchell are, in a way, a stereotypical gay couple. However, the humour and the message is portrayed through their confrontation of that stereotype. In one episode, they are confronted with the notion that one of them in the couple is â€Å"the woman. † This stereotypical view, that society is asking them to conform to, forces not only a humorous situation, but also challenges the characters? Gender and Identity. The show cleverly alters the ideas of stereotypes, and plays to into them, but also puts â€Å"name to a face† as it were. Stereotypes are not necessarily formed solely on against minorities, and this show challenges every one. Each character is a â€Å"stereotype† in their own right – be that â€Å"the dumb socialite,† or â€Å"the only child† or â€Å"the loud Colombian woman†. In season 4 there is an episode titled â€Å"Fulgencio† Which con? rms the perception that Latinos working in America are poor and struggle for money but still work very hard. Gloria? family comes to visit the new born baby in the family and the Columbian family endeavors the entire episode to clearing the house, especially Gloria? s sister. it is a positive representation of Latinos because they want to work even if they are on a holiday. But the beauty and hilarity of Modern Family is that each character confronts each of their stereotypes and we, as an audience, see that there is a lot more than meets the eye. Instead of simply accepting some of these stereotypes, Modern Family challenges some of these and in doing so creates a new opinion on the viewers Controls and Constraints There are many controls and constraints that will affect any media production, and Modern Family is no exception. Time: Time is one of the main factors that affects the production. Each episode is meant to run for approximately 20-23 minutes excluding ad-breaks. This means that the group of people who are putting together an episode, must avoid making a very long plot and address the main issue of the episode almost immediately. Another constraint of the show is its budget. Budget: The budget of any program is an outline of how much that production will cost, or how much the director is willing to spend. In its ? st three seasons. There has been episodes ? lmed in Hawaii, and a ranch. These episodes were have been ? lmed in these locations and not a studio with a backdrop of that location. This would have possibly meant that the budget for those 2 episodes would have been greater than some of their other episodes. It is also rumored that the ABC is planning to ? lm a future episode in Columbia in which the viewers will be introduced to Gloria Pritchett? s family. Taking into account the budget of a normal episode, and adding to that international ? ights for the cast and crew, this could very well be the most expensive episode yet. Rating/Audience: One of the most important controls and constraints which affect a media production, is the audience and their expectations. The producers of the show will give a classi? cation or rating so that viewers have some idea of what to expect. Modern Family has a rating of PG13. A PG-rated motion picture should be investigated by parents before they let their younger children attend. The PG rating indicates, in the view of the Rating Board, that parents may consider some material unsuitable for their children, and parents should make that decision. The more mature themes in some PG-rated motion pictures may call for parental guidance. There may be some profanity and some depictions of violence or brief nudity. However, these elements are not deemed so intense as to require that parents be strongly cautioned beyond the suggestion of parental guidance. There is no drug use content in a PG-rated motion picture. Since people under the age of 13 are still likely to watch the show, The writers of an episode must be very careful about any potential jokes that might affect a child. E. g. Modern Family is not allowed to make a joke about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the tooth fairy not existing because a young person watching the show who believed they existed could end up being very upset. An example of this is from an episode from season 1 when Cameron and Mitchell take their adopted daughter Lilly to go an see Santa Claus at the local mall. The reason all types of ? lm media have these ratings, is to protect the viewer from seeing something they might not want to see. Values and Attitudes Re? ected Through Characters In mainstream media, there seems to be different views on gay marriage, but it seems to be slightly more in favour of accepting the life choices made by these people. In Modern Family, there is a gay couple called Cameron and Mitchell. The way that they positively re? ect the values and attitudes of society is the fact that they are very open about being gay. Another way it is positively re? ected is through the other main characters. They all seem to be very accepting even the Patriarch of the family Jay Pritchett, he accepts his sons choice even though he is uncomfortable with it. In one of the early episodes of season 2, the couple shared a kiss which pleased the audience. Ultimately, then, the show re? ects the experiences and insecurities of its creators and assumed audience, middleclass, middle-aged straight white men. Also in its Pilot episode, Cam and Mitch announce to the family that they have adopted a baby from Vietnam and the whole family (Including Mictchell? s homophobic father Jay) are very accepting of their choice. It reassures them that being tolerant is as good as being inclusive and that heterosexual white families with shrill stay-at-home wives are the norm. Its exploration of the pressures of feminine ideals is considerably less sympathetic meaning that Phil? s wife Claire Dunphy is arguably the least likable character, and story lines have included three women getting their period at the same time and going crazy, and ? ery Latina Gloria needing to be chaperoned because her pregnancy brain makes her too forgetful to function. Modern Family is one of very few to feature main characters who are gay (one of whom is played by a character who is actually gay outside of the production) and people of color, and it shows Cam and Mitch to be caring, capable parents. t challenges some of the values and attitudes which are evident, and the fact that Modern Family presents this unit in such a non-threatening way may be the key to its acceptance. Impact On Society Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Casted as Mitchell Pritchett) said that Modern Family might be doing a lot to change the views on gay marriage. The actor said he has had several people approach him and remark how the show has had an impact their lives and their views. Its impossible to measure how wide the impact is, but the fact that even one person changed their mind says a lot about the depth of the show. Modern Family is hardly the ? rst show to feature gay characters. However, it is one of the ? rst that doesnt really make an issue out of it. In fact, it is easy to forget that Cameron and Mitchell are a gay couple. There are no political statements or agendas. They are just two people living their lives. The fact that it has affected the views of other people indicates that it is a very important show. It takes something special to alter the mindset of an individual. This show ? ts the bill. They keep doing what they do. Modern Family shouldnt try to change the world. However, if they change a few minds while carrying on as normal then there is nothing wrong with that. Modern Family has also made people who watch the show feel better about themselves because viewers now know that there own family isn? t the only family who has troubles. It is happening all around them. This helps us to understand that Modern family is one of the most realistic television sitcoms going around at the moment. Conclusion It is quite evident that Modern family has had an impact on todays society in a positive way along with providing the viewers with plenty of laughs along the way. For people to want watch a program and understand some of the meaning it constructs, then the show must appeal to the viewer in the ? rst place, and Modern Family does this by creating a storyline that most people can generally relate to. Once people become immersed in the show they start to pick up some of the stereotypes that are evident, e. g. Gay couple, loud South Americans etc. Because we relate with the characters, we feel inclined to display the same values and attitudes that the characters do which is respecting people even if they? re gay or of a different nationality. This leads to its impact on society which is without a doubt a positive one. Perhaps Modern Family is changing the views towards gay marriage and it is better that they? re doing it in a way where people can watch a television program that people can enjoy, but also learn from it. It is amazing to consider how successful a TV show can be due to the controls and constraints it faces, and Modern Family perfects it.

Strategic Human Resources Management Practices In Business

Strategic Human Resources Management Practices In Business Strategic human resource management is to ensure that human resource management is fully integrated into strategic planning that human resource policies cohere both across hierarchies and that HRM policies are accepted and used by line managers as a part of their every day work Integrating human resource management strategies and systems to achieve the overall mission, strategies, and success of the firm while meeting the needs of employees and other stakeholders. Source: Herman Schwind, Hari Das and Terry Wagar, Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach. Strategic HRM has four meanings: The use of planning. A coherent approach to the design and management of personnel systems based on an employment policy and manpower strategy and often underpinned by a philosophy. Matching HRM activities and policies to some explicit business strategy. Seeing the people of the organization as a strategic resource for the achievement of competitive advantage. HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING: According to Terry L. Leap and Michael D.crino Human resource planning is a process of determining and assuming that organization will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at the proper times, performing jobs which meet the needs of enterprise and which provide satisfaction for the individual involved. Overall we can say HRP is a process of anticipating and making provision for the flow of people into, within, and out of an organization. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING: Strategic HR planning is an important component of strategic HR management. It links HR management directly to the strategic plan of your organization. Based on the strategic plan, an organization can develop a strategic HR plan that will allow making HR management decisions now to support the future direction of the organization. A comprehensive HR Strategy will also support other specific strategic objectives undertaken by the marketing, financial, operational and technology departments. An HR strategy planning provides overall direction for the way in which HR activities will be developed and managed to gain competitive advantage in an organizational performance. The HR planning enables the organization to implement policies that enhance the skills and competencies of the people Strategic human resource planning consists of a number of objectives, but all the objectives must be closely aligned to overall business goals in order to be effective. Even a large human resources department is not a revenue-generating section of the organization. Therefore, human resources executives must demonstrate the employers return on investment through strategic activities. Strategic activities are forward-thinking processes that support business growth through recognition of the value of human capital . Strategic HR Planning Today In these times of great economic changes, the importance of human resource planning is more apparent than ever. A short-sighted lay-off, intended to temporarily reduce overhead, can result in much heavier long-term costs. Organizations have to spend more money and time for recruiting training new employees if they couldnt retain the old experience, skilled employees in right time. In the recent scenario of globalization and faster communication, a smart human resources plan encourages the organization to keep a longer view of things and retain talent so that, once this economic upheaval has calmed down, itll have a committed team intact. The overall purpose of strategic HR planning is to: Ensure adequate human resources to meet the strategic goals and operational plans of your organization the right people with the right skills at the right time Keep up with social, economic, legislative and technological trends that impact on human resources in your area and in the sector Remain flexible so that your organization can manage change if the future is different than anticipated STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING PROCESS: The strategic HR planning process has the following steps, Mission , Vision Value Strategic Analysis Strategic Formulation Strategic Implementation Strategic Evaluation Assessment A. Mission, Vision Value Mission The basic purpose of the organization as well as its scope of operations. Strategic Vision A statement about where the company is going and what it can become in the future; clarifies the long-term direction of the company and its strategic intent. Core Values The strong and enduring beliefs and principles that the company uses as a foundation for its decisions. B. Strategic Analysis It deals with scanning Internal and external environment as well as competencies (i.e. knowledge, skills abilities) of the organization and forecasting human resource demand accordingly. The following will define these terms broadly. External environments The major external forces influencing the organization as follows , Economic factors: general and regional conditions Competitive trends: new processes, services, and innovations Technological changes: robotics and office automation Political and legislative issues: laws and administrative rulings Social concerns: child care and educational priorities Demographic trends: age, composition, and literacy Internal environment The Internal environment consists of the followings, Core Competencies : Integral knowledge, competitive advantages through people Organisational culture: The culture and quality of work life in an organization. The human capital architecture of the firm: core knowledge workers, traditional job-based employees, contract based employees, partners etc. Human Resource Forecasting This is a critical element of planning especially in strategic human resource planning which deal with mostly long term HR strategy of the organization. We can say this can be of as following, Demand for Human capital Demand forecasting of employees has both qualitative and quantitative approach. The qualitatively we can use management forecasting or Delphi techniques where as quantitative we can use trend analysis to study the demand. Supply of Human Capital Forecasting the Supply of human capital can be done through obtaining the Staffing Charts which shows graphical representations of all organizational jobs, along with the numbers of employees currently occupying those jobs and future employment requirements, with the information from the personnel files of employees and their replacement succession planning details and their individual development plans. Gap Analysis This is a tool that helps an organization to compare its actual performance with its potential performance. I strategic human resource planning it means the study of the gasp between the demand and supply of competencies of human capital with reference to the business objectives and strategies. This can be of Performance Gap Analysis ,Training Development Gap Analysis ,Skills Gap Analysis Or Competence Gap Analysis. C. Strategic Formulation In this stage HR professionals need to develop a logical practical course of action to use the strengths of the organization to capitalize on opportunities, counteract threats, and remove internal weaknesses. These action plans has to be formulated in all levels of a business organization i.e. corporate strategy, business strategy and functional strategy. Corporate strategies deal with the policies and procedures involved in mergers or acquisition, business alliances, joint venture or any future intent for growth and diversification. Business level strategy deals with value creation for the organization as well as keeping an eye on low cost productivity and overall efficiency to make it competitive and profitable. Functional strategy plays a vital role. The HR professional has to align the business objectives and the HR initiatives, policies and practices both internally and externally. Some of the examples are Training Development Strategy, recruitment strategy, IR strategies, Retention strategy etc. D. Strategic Implementation This stage is the time to take actions on all the strategies and plans made. First , we have to balance the demand and supply of human capital by forecasting business activities or trends and also by maintaining a record of all the applicants of past, present and future. Secondly, as per above plan out the attrition /retention strategies, downsizing or lay off techniques have to be made. Then need to work on the training development of employees with other reward, incentive or welfare practices. E. Strategic Evaluation Assessment Now we need to assess the HR function, the work force with comparing the organizations processes and practices with those of other companies. Here the HR professional has to take the help of few metrics or mapping or scorecard techniques for the evaluation. In addition, the HR strategy can add value is by ensuring that, in all its other plans, the organization takes account of and plans for changes in the wider environment, which are likely to have a major impact on the organization HR PROFESSIONALS AND THE MODERN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS In the modern context, Strategic human resource planning is a planning about the nature of the present future work demand labor supply for both short term long term that serves to achieve the strategy objective of the firm. The role of human resource management is changing is changing very fast, to help companies achieve their goals. HRM has gone through many phases from hiring firing to relationship building, from there to legislation role, now its role is shifting from protector screener to strategic partner as a change agent. Today, to create value and deliver better results, HR professionals have begin not by focusing on the work activities or work of HR but by defining the deliverables of that work. So as the planning is not to set goals but also to make sure to achieve them. According to Richard Chang, author of The Passion Plan at Work, HRM focuses mainly on HR Research and Information Systems, Union/Labor Relations, Employee Assistance, and Employee Compensation/Benefits where as Human Resource Development, according to Chang, includes Career Development (helping individuals align their career planning), Organizational Development (helping groups initiate and manage change), and Training and Development (designing / developing, and delivering training to ensure people are equipped to do their jobs). But SHRP as a part of SHRM involves both area and creates an overlap between them in todays HR functions. Mostly all of the HR leaders and professionals in large international organizations are participating in SHRP by giving strong contribution in decision making and strategic teams. But in small and medium size companies there is a lack of contribution of HR professionals due to their non-involvement in organizational or functional strategic planning and the stereotypical negative views of HR functions. Most of the Top management teams till now consider HR functions as a compliance function or more of a consultative service and HR professionals are involve d in implementing a strategy only after the strategy is decided. To gain its position in the strategic decision team, HR have to Know and understand the business strategies, processes its objectives Understand how the various organizational components interact and the process of business and what the long-term implications of HR decisions are. The impact of HR decisions must be thoroughly researched and analyzed before changes are implemented. Understand the five major non-HR components of any business: finance, marketing, sales, operations and accounting. Align HR strategy to organizations Mission Statement and objectives. Strategies can range from functional strategy and capability strategy to results strategy. HR professional face lot difficulties while applying the SHRP in reality. As various functional stages they face different challenges. So they have to overcome them as follows , Selection Staffing: If HR knows in the firsthand the clear direction and requirement of the company, it will easy to place right people at right place in right time which will save both time and money of the organization. But in many organizations only few leaders have that access. The HR officers are not aware of this. So to cope of with the pace of today globalization and expansion of business all level of professionals has to be well versed with these requirements. Training Development: Training and development are most important in view of the strategic growth process of a company. So the knowledge , skill and competence of employees has to be accessed strictly by HR professionals without any interference of the higher authority or being biased by any sort of favoritism. In reality this is not 100% successful yet because of lack of HR interest and also lack of tools to evaluate these. If HR people can be equipped with all the new tools techniques to perform these tasks they would be able to speak instantly to any issues, and possibly provide input that could help a company achieve its goals faster. Organizational Development Change Management: In long term strategy always change has a critical role in different processes of the workplace. Each department is known to these changes of their related departments. if these will be timely intimated to the HR departments , they will be able to take care of the organizational development issues with unique solution and make sure of t he positive impact of the change on overall process. this is only possible when there will be proper chart or data available with proper maintenance for which HR department has to take necessary required steps. CONCLUSION The ultimate goal of strategic planning is the identification of opportunities along with some risks by aligning objectives and activities of an organization with proper allocation of available resource to produce the desired profit for it. In these processes HR has should play an important role at every step for successful achievement of the various strategies plantings process which will also increase the value of HR professionals and HR functions globally. So we can conclude on that HR is not only for employee welfare or personnel management or any compliance issues but also deserve a strong position in t he strategy making process with the top management. If organizations take HR professionals and their suggestion during strategy planning process , it will gain more than as expected by adopting a suitable SHRP to the organizations strategies and goals. Especially , at this stage of rapid globalization where demand of specific skilled persons in and from different locations aremore required to help the organizations to gain a huge amount of profit in less time and optimum utilization of resources, SHRP and the participation of HR managers to create strategies along with the top management is most necessary step to do for further progress in business.

Diversity Essay -- essays research papers

Abraham Lincoln once said, â€Å"The strongest bond of human sympathy outside the family relation should be one uniting working people of all nations and tongues and kindreds.† For an organization to work well it has to have a diversity of people, good communication with all the employees, and to be organized in a way that is effective and efficient to function properly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I currently work at the Turlock Junior High School (TJHS). It is an organization that is composed of the administrative staff, teachers, classified staff and students. To be able to function, each branch has diverse group of people working together to make TJHS a better place for children to learn. TJHS has employees with different cultural background and who speak different languages. The employ...