Discussion for online Economics class Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion for online Economics class - Article Example The current position of China in global economy has also contributed to the inelastic nature of its Australian mining sector. For instance, China is more concerned with economic domination rather than profits. Thus, China has vast interests in controlling the mining and energy sector, leading to the inelastic nature of mining. Unlike other commodity such as farm produce and manufactured goods, minerals are increasingly becoming scarce. This indicates that their economic value increase at a faster rate than their market value. For instance, the market price of a barrel of crude oil is much lower than its economic value. This indicates that demand for oil is not driven by the market value of the product but by its economic value. In a normal economy, a boom is followed by a bust. Currently the Pilbara Region is experiencing an economic boom and, producers are cautious about a possible economic bust. In order to protect themselves against such occurrences, production decisions are not b ased on income from mineral

Job Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Job Analysis - Research Paper Example Quirin (1991) defines job analysis as a systematic approach for the collection of information regarding a job including roles, responsibilities and the skills required to perform those tasks. It is an important part of planning in human resource enabling the manager to determine job necessities, needed tools and skills, supervision of the employees and their interaction with the management. This paper focuses on all the elements of job analysis, based on the statement that job analysis is the backbone of an organization’s efforts to meet its vision, mission and objectives. Based on the contingency theory of organizational behavior, a job analysis of my immediate former position will be made in a bid to ensure that it is filled and operated satisfactorily. Organizational Behavior Theory Guiding this Job Analysis: Contingency Theory This is a radical shift from both the classical and neoclassical theories of organizational behavior in terms of its view on conflict at the workpla ce. While the two are focused on avoiding conflict since it interferes with equilibrium in the organization, contingency theory recognizes the fact that conflict is virtually inescapable, but manageable at the same time. Thus, organizations naturally evolve and adapt to meet their strategic needs through actions that are rational and sequential. Effectiveness is a key component in dealing with changes in the environment (Walonick, 1993; Chandler, 1962; Lawrence & Lorsch, 1969). This is the most applicable theory in job analysis since it provides for adaptability and variation in all aspects of a job, especially considering the fact that a job description should be able to accommodate uniqueness. Creating a job description that meets the specific objectives of the organization is preferable than copying what is already being used in other firms. Aspects to be analyzed for the Job Job analysis is aimed at collection of information about the job. To begin with information will be gathe red concerning the specific duties and tasks required by the job. A review of any possible physical requirements according to the environment of the job will then be done since the working conditions may not be accommodative to all people. The tools and equipment used will then be explored in detail, followed by establishing the inter-relationships of the position with superior, equal and junior staff. Finally, the requirements of the job from a prospective recruit will then be analyzed in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities (Branick and Edward, 2002). Job Description Several methods can be used to collect information for a job description including interviewing the incumbents and supervisors, observation, structured or open questionnaires and exploration of work logs among others (McNamara, 2010). A lot of these methods will not be applicable in this case since I am the incumbent. I will utilize the knowledge I have from my previous position to create a job description. Import antly, I will utilize Gibb’s Reflective Cycle that will enable me to reflect on my entire service for that position, coming up with an evaluation of the things I did well, where I went wrong and finally the best course of action I would undertake if I was to find myself in similar position (Jasper, 2003). The other method is to interview my former

Office Gym Time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Office Gym Time - Essay Example For the first group, Group A, a survey was sent to 20 random employees who had access to the office gym and also were offered an incentive of 30 minutes paid gym time by their office. For the second group, Group B, a survey was sent to 20 random employees, all of whom had access to the office gym but were not paid to do so by the company. Randomization was done through the use of a computer program to select random employee ID numbers. After the data was collected, it was graphed and analyzed. The first graph on the left compares the amount of office gym time that was used between the two groups. The top box plot shows Group A’s use of the gym, while the bottom box plot shows Group B’s use of the gym. As can be seen from the box plot, Group A spent considerably more time in the gym, and this was most likely due to the paid incentive. However, this graph alone is not enough to determine the program’s success. For further analysis, the box plot on the right shows employee satisfaction between the two groups. As can be seen from the box plot, it appears that Group A has slightly higher employee satisfaction. Further analysis was conducted by calculating the summary statistics. The table shows the calculated summary statistics for gym time for each group. From the summary statistics calculated in this table, we can conclude that Group As gym time was higher than Group Bs. This was most likely due to the paid incentive for Group A. However, a link needs to be made to prove the benefits involved. To show this link, the employee satisfaction summary statistics show the differences in employee satisfaction between the two groups. As can be seen by the summary statistics, the mean and median for Group A are both considerably higher. As such, it is statistically confirmed that Group As the level of satisfaction is higher than that of Group Bs.

Human Resource Management in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Human Resource Management in China - Essay Example In past building, money and the products were considered as the vital assets, but today Human resource is right up with the other monetary and liquid assets and in successful organizations it is considered as the most important strategic asset of the organization. Human Resource management has a great role in changing the business ideologies and modern rationales up to this point (Bhatia & Dey, 2005). This changed labeled the Human Resource department as the advocates of the employees, rather then the advocates of the employers as in the past. The modern world has admitted that Human Resource department is an important strategic department and has a key role in organization as it deals in managing the most vital asset of the organization, the Human workforce. Previously this department was considered as a wasteful and completely unnecessary expense center where as now it is considered as the strategic partner with other departments in achieving the organizational goals. Human Resource managers manage organizational activities through different practices. These practices are not a constant in all the organizations. Not all the managers all over the world use the same Human resource management methods (Daft, 2001). It is because they operate in different organizations that are placed in different countries and cultures. Therefore the responsibilities of the Human resource managers play a vital role for the organization as a whole. For example consider an Organization that is placed globally. Then the job of the Human Resource manager is to find out about the labor force of the country, their diversity, age trends, skills and culture. Where as other factors should also be considered such as the economical conditions, government regulations, infrastructure, laws and culture of that country. Managers must also screen the external environment before entering the market. If these factors are handled lightly before setting up a business in the country, organization may end up in loosing vast amount of money and resources. That is why HR managers should consider all the aspects very carefully as the availability of the required labor force and its nature of motivation may also depend upon these factors (Globalization & Environment, 2009). Other than that a company has to answer the questions, which must involve all the departments of the organization. These questions may include why they want to go to that country, who will be the workers, what will be the structure, from where will the finances come and what are the legal requirements to consider. These questions bring all the departments like Finance, legal and Human Resource department into play. As a HR manager ones job is to find out about the labor force availability and the legal issues dealing in the labor and the human resource laws of the country. Both the areas are the most important areas for the organization, as it enters a new country. As workers are the one who are responsible for running the business, where as legal laws keeps a check on companies activities and management in the treatment of the that workforce. The final decision maker must seriously consider the report submitted by the HR manager if the business is to be successful (Heller, 2007). PEST Analysis of

Issues for Women (or Minorities) in Leadership Research Paper

Issues for Women (or Minorities) in Leadership - Research Paper Example However, leadership is never an easy task. It takes great amount of skills and abilities to become a successful leader. Although there is no clear and definite description of a successful leader, there are some qualities which are required in a person for him/her to be a good leader. First of all, a leader needs to have a vision in his mind and should be able not only follow it, but also share it with his team members. Besides this, the leader needs to practice integrity, be dedicated towards the organization or the task, have creativity and be open to criticism and new ideas. Lastly, the leader also needs to be humble and fair towards others (Hakala, 2008). When it comes to being in the role of a leader, women are much different than men. Not only do men and women differ in their leadership styles, there is also considerable difference in their vision, approach towards problems and thinking patterns. However, being different does not mean that women are incapable of being successful leaders. There are several examples of women leaders who have been praised a lot for their leadership skills. But, on a mass scale, men still dominate in the capacity of leadership. This is because of a number of issues women face in leadership. Firstly, women in the social and cultural structure are seen to be less dominating than men. This is seen by the predefined notions and the practices which maintain a system of power in the society. This social structure has the tendency to shape decisions, interactions and social relations. As a result, researches have revealed that men and women draw out different responses from the people around them. The difference is primarily due to the above stated cultural and social factors. Hence, women leaders stimulate different reactions than male leaders because of preconceived expectations. This makes it very difficult for a

Report on HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Report on HR - Essay Example Effective human resource management would encourage team playing and would enhance collective performance in the organisation along with accentuating the individual performances. In case of performance management, a sound human resources policy would allow individuals to grow along with the growth of the organisation. This would entail involvement of the people in the work that they are assigned and autonomy in the context of the work done. There are several aspects of human resources which have a positive impact on the employees and help them to perform better in the organisation. The HRM can assign challenging and mentally stimulating jobs to the employees so that the employees find diversity and interest in the work that they do. The human resources managers often take several indicators which show that the organisational performance is increasing. Thus they try to make improvement in these indicators to bring an improvement in the overall organisational performance. In case of Wa l-Mart for example, the performance of each of the retail outlets is estimated by the HR department of Wal-Mart by analysing the length of the queues in the billing counters, the level of stocks that lie on the shelves and the stocks that are remaining at the end of the day. These are the key indicators that provide the HR department an idea about the areas where the performance can be improved to generate greater profits. (Harter, Schmitdt and Hayes, 2002, pp. 268-279). The managers in Wal-Mart act as the immediate superiors of the lowest level and junior level employees. Therefore it is important for the managers to encourage the employees to perform better in the daily activities of the retail store. The employees on the other hand should have respect for the managers and should be motivated by them for the achievement of any target that they need to meet. The human resource policies of Wal-Mart are progressive in nature in the sense that the implementation of the HR policies sho uld be done with efficiency and the goals that the line managers set for the employees have to be in accordance with the organisational policies. Thus it is essential for the managers to have leadership skills which would drive a positive energy in the entire organisation culture. Mutual respect should flow bilaterally for the line managers and the junior employees. The relations of the employees with the organisation and its various elements are some of the major benchmarks of the organisational effectiveness. The Human Resource Departments of the organisations generally engage the employee into participation programmes

Basics of finance and investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Basics of finance and investment - Essay Example Bad news is always remembered more because it is human nature that people’s miseries create a stronger impact in our minds. But it should also be remembered that if there is a Leeson, there is also a Warren Buffet. Money was lost on internet stocks, but just before that, money was also made on the same internet stocks. And Bernard Madoff was one of a kind, who took advantage of people’s confidence to him as a SEC consultant. There was nobody before or after him who operated at the level he did, because the there is usually in place an effective regulation of the market and most such operators are caught early on (Arnold, 2004). If there are no extreme developments such as market crashes and financial crises, investing for value long-term has always been sound strategy for enhancing wealth. There are several vehicles for investment: the savings account, the money market, certificates of deposit and common stocks are some of them. Each of these instruments is associated with a particular level of rate of return. The rate of return is the percentage gain an investment makes – in short, how much yearly earnings are expected as a proportion of the capital invested. The rates of return fluctuate, but they maintain a more or less consistent relationship with those of the others. For instance, the savings account in a bank would normally have the lowest rate of return which is denoted by its interest rate. The money market placement has a slightly higher interest rate, followed by certificates of deposit, and then the stock investment. The average rates of return for each of these instruments is shown in th e second row of Table 1 (source: UK National Statistics Online). The rate of return plays an important part in the concept of compounding. In compounding, the returns that have been accumulated for one year becomes part of the