“Blue Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose Essay

Rose challenges the view that intelligence can be measured by the amount of schooling a person has completed. He suggests that blue-collar and service jobs require more intelligence than meets the eye. He describes his experiences growing up observing his mother as a waitress in coffee shops and family restaurants. He depicts his mother as a dynamic woman who loved her job and put her heart and soul into being a waitress. He described the way she memorized who ordered what, how long each dish is supposed to take to prepare, and how she became a professional at deciphering the emotional needs of her customers and colleagues alike. He also details his uncle’s work at the General Motors factory and shows the amount of intelligence that was required of him as he rose from being on the production line to supervising paint jobs. Rose explains how he observed different types of blue- collar and service workers in action, and came to the conclusion that each of them have a skill that takes a lot of mind power to master. I agree with Rose that the amount of schooling a person complete doesn’t necessarily measure their intelligence level. Especially in today’s economy many people can’t afford to pursue higher education, and that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t make excellent doctors or lawyers if they could afford the schooling. Not everyone has the means to acquire degrees and titles; some don’t even have the desire. I believe that higher education is a worthwhile endeavor, but I also believe that it is the best route for some and not for all. Attending college is not the only way that a person can lead a happy and fulfilling life.

Life Easier Today Than It Was 50 Years Ago Essay

When you write a paper, you use some information that you have read in books, journals, on the Internet, etc. Your teacher might have told you, â€Å"Use your own words.† In other words, even when you use someone else’s information, you are not allowed to use the words they wrote. You have to use your own. You have to say the same thing in a different way. This is called paraphrasing. For example, if the book you are reading from says, â€Å"John Adams, who was involved in winning independence for the United States, was the second President.† You cannot write those words in your paper. You cannot even write, â€Å"John Adams, a man involved in winning independence for the United States, was its second President.† One way that you could re-write it is to say, â€Å"The second American President, John Adams, was also influential in gaining freedom for the country.† However, in spite of being told to use your own words, you might not know how to do it. There are a variety of techniques you can use. You can change the words for words of similar meaning; you can change the grammar; you can change the grammar or grammatical forms. In this reading, you will learn about ways that you can paraphrase. Methods of Paraphrasing Before you even begin to paraphrase, you need to make certain that you understand what you are reading. If you do not understand what you read, you cannot paraphrase it. There are six ways that you can change sentences to paraphrase the information. You will probably not use all of them in the same sentence, but you can use ones that are appropriate. (In each of the examples, only one change is made. This is not enough if you are actually paraphrasing.) Read about each type of change, and look at the examples. Then make that type of change in the sample sentences that follow. Changing Word Order One way you can change a sentence for paraphrasing is to change the word order. For example, you might change â€Å"Because I slept too late, I missed my first class† to â€Å"I missed my first class because I slept too late,† or â€Å"In order to pass that class, I had to study very hard† to â€Å"I had to study very hard in order to pass that class.† It is sometimes necessary to change the wording of the parts of the sentences. For example, â€Å"Terry wanted more books, but he couldn’t afford them,† can be changed to â€Å"Terry couldn’t afford more books, even though he wanted them.† 1. If you’re going to New York for Christmas, be sure to take warm clothes. __Be sure to take warm clothes, if you’re going to New York for Christmas.___________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Even though the weather was good, Joan was in a bad mood. ___Joan was in a bad mood, even though the weather was good._____________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 3. I had no money, so I borrowed some. __I borrowed some money, because I had none._____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Changing Parts of Speech You can also change parts of speech. If the sentence uses a noun, you can rewrite the sentence to use the verb or adjective form of the word, for example. You can change â€Å"Fifty-four men signed the Declaration of Independence† to â€Å"Fifty-four men put their signatures on the Declaration of Independence.† 1. The company needs to find a solution for this problem. __The company needs to solve this problem.______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. The poor economy has been the cause of high unemployment. ___The poor economy has caused high unemployment.______________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 3. If you eat rabbit, you will find its taste like chicken. __If you eat rabbit, you will find it tastes like chicken.______________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Using Synonyms English has many synonyms — words that have the same or similar meanings — so another way you can paraphrase is to change one word for a synonym. For example, you could change â€Å"Movies can be divided into three categories† to â€Å"Movies can be divided into three types.† 1. The way a person dresses affects the impression that other people have. __ The way a person dresses influences the image that other people have.___ ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. That phrase means â€Å"in a happy way.† ___That expression means â€Å"in a cheerful way.†_____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 3. There is little chance that the situation will improve. ___There is little possibility that the circumstances will get better.__________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Using Negatives or Opposite Expressions Another way to paraphrase is to change a positive expression into a negative expression, or a negative expression into a positive expression. You could change â€Å"Rather than building a traditional memorial, the city built a park† to â€Å"The city did not build a traditional memorial; instead it built a park.† 1. Shaun was disappointed, because the movie wasn’t very good. ___Shaun wasn’t satisfied, because the movie wasn’t very good.______________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Japan is not a small country, compared to European countries. __Japan is a large country, compared to European countries.________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Geri wanted some candy, but there wasn’t any in the bowl. __Geri wanted some candy, but the bowl was empty.________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Combining or Separating Sentences Long sentences can be divided, and short sentences can be combined with other short sentences. You can change â€Å"Ireland is a wonderful country, which has beautiful scenery, friendly people, and an interesting history† to â€Å"Ireland is a wonderful country. It has beautiful scenery, friendly people, and an interesting history.† You can also change â€Å"Ireland is a wonderful country. It has beautiful scenery, friendly people, and an interesting history† to â€Å"Ireland, which is a wonderful country, has beautiful scenery, friendly people, and an interesting history.† 1. Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII. She is one of England’s most famous queens. __Elizabeth I, who was the daughter of Henry VIII, was one of England’s most________ __famous queens.________________________________________________________________ 2. This book is about a woman who pretended to be a man to join the army in World War II. It is one of Lynn’s favorite books. ___This book, which is one of Lynn’s favorites, is about a woman who pretended to___ ___be a man to join the army in World War II.______________________________________ 3. If you go to London, you should be sure to visit Westminster Abbey, where many of the kings and queens of England, as well as other famous people, are buried. __If you go to London, you should be sure to visit Westminster Abbey. Many kings and_ __queens of England are buried there. Other famous people are buried there, too.______ Using Different Grammar – Structure, Voice You can paraphrase by changing the grammar of a sentence, for example, but changing from active voice (â€Å"The dog bit the man†) to passive voice (â€Å"The man was bitten by the dog†) or by making other changes in the grammar. You can change â€Å"It is not unusual for June to be a rainy month here† to â€Å"June is often a rainy month here,† or â€Å"It is thought that this new plan will save money† to â€Å"Many people think that this new plan will save money.† 1. Various languages are spoken in this country. __The people of this country speak various languages._______________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Frank studied French, and, as a result, he translated for our visitors from France. __Frank could translate for our visitors from France, because he had studied French.__ ________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Tom McGovern got married three times and had five children. ___Tom McGovern had three wives and was the father of five._______________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Exercise Read the following sentences and paraphrase them, combining the techniques that you learned in this article. 1. Gone with the Wind, which was published in 1936, covered 12 years of the life of a woman named Scarlett O’Hara during and after the Civil War. It began when she was 16 year old and tells the story of her love for two men. ___Published in 1936, Gone with the Wind was the story of Scarlett O’Hara and the___ ___two men she loved. It covers Scarlett’s life from the time she was 16 until she was__ ___28, during the Civil War and the years that followed.____________________________

Current Issues in Law and HR Course Work Essay

Organizations are considered to be the most incentive, social arrangement of today. It’s considered a marvel to know that thousands of people with individual backgrounds, skills and interests are coordinated into various organizations, so that they can pursue their common institutionalized goals and objectives. The historians of the future see today’s organizations as the greatest achievement of our time and era. For example biogenetic engineering have had some breakthroughs. The Apollo mission to the moon was made possible by the organization called NASA. Even on day to day basis organizations play an important role in our lives. The water we drink to the food we eat or the clothes we wear all comes from different kinds of organizations Human resource is defined by many companies as a combination of the administrative functions with the performance of the company’s employees and their relations along with the company’s planning. Human resource basically develops mostly from industrial and organizational behaviour. The major function that are included in HRM are recruitment, selection, training and development, orientation, placement, separation, career planning, performance appraisal, salaries and wages, incentives and gain-sharing, benefits, services and security and employee relations and assessment. The term human resource basically refers to the people of the company. The manager of the company engages in HR because the HR activities and tasks are considered to be an important part of the company. It basically helps the company to achieve the goals and the objectives that are set for them by the management. As you all know that human resource activities also make a large contribution to the company’s success in many ways but the HR activities mostly support the strategies of the organization. The HR department basically exists to support the managers and the employees of the company and to pursue the company’s goal or objectives (Werther & Davis 1996). The major challenges that would be faced by the organization are as follows: – †¢ Population-growth challenges †¢ Global Competitive Challenges †¢ Unemployment Challenges †¢ Social Responsibility Challenges †¢ Medical, Food, Housing Challenges †¢ Unknown Challenges †¢ Ethical Challenges †¢ Workforce Diversity Challenges The objectives of the HR department are based on societal, organizational, functional and personal goals. It is known that the objectives of the company are not formally stated that is they are not in the written form. The objective of the human resource management not only reflects the intention of the middle and top management but also balances the challenges that are faced by the HR department. Objectives are basically considered as benchmarks against which the actions can be evaluated. The human resource objectives not only reflect the intention of the management but also balance the organizational challenges, the HR function and the people who are affected by it. If the company fails to succeed in its objectives it would harm the company’s profits, performance and even the survival of the firm. As we know that there are four objectives that are common to the HR management. The objectives are as follows: 1. Organizational Objective: which basically recognizes that the HR management exists and it contributes to the organizational effectiveness. The HR department basically exists so that it can help managers of the company to achieve the objectives and goals of the company. HR management only supports the managers with the human resource issues. If we put is simply the HR department only exist solely to help assist the rest of the company. 2. Functional Objective: which basically states that this objective solely exists to maintain the department’s input at a level that is considered relevant to company’s needs. A relation exists between the objectives and the HR activities and they are appraisal of the employee, placement and assessment of the employee. 3. Societal Objective: this objective shows that the company has to be ethically and socially responsive to the needs and challenges of the society while the company minimizes the negative impacts of such demands on the organization 4. Personal Objective: shows that the HR management helps assisting the employees in achieving their goals and objectives. And these goals enhance the individual’s contribution towards the organization. To achieve these goals the HR department help the managers of the company to obtain, maintain, utilize and retain the right amount and types of workers. The objectives of the employees must be met otherwise the employees would not be motivated, retained and maintained by the HR department of the company. And the employees would neglect their jobs, voice their complaints or maybe leave the organization for a better opportunity (Werther & Davis 1996). It is not necessary that all the organization can meet the HR objectives every time. Some sort of trade-offs do occur that stops the company in achieving the stated goals and objectives. When the objectives are net by the department, they make a huge contribution towards the organization’s and employees needs. And with the help of these objectives the managers are able to see the kinds of activities that are needed to be carried out and why. There is a relationship that exists between the objectives and the activities of the HR. For example, for the societal objective the supporting activities would be legal compliance, union and management relations and benefits of the employees. For the organizational objective the supporting activities would be HR planning, employee relations, selection, training and development, appraisal, placement and assessment. For functional objective the supporting activities would be performance appraisal, placement, assessment and development of the employees. And for personal objective the supporting activities would be training and development, performance appraisal, placement, assessment and compensation of the employees. The HR activities are considered as actions that are taken by the department to maintain a workforce balance that is considered as appropriate to the organization’s needs. For example, small companies who do have the HR department have small budgets and small staffs therefore the HR department of such companies only focus on the activities that they consider are important for the company. The functions or activities that are considered important for such companies would be planning, recruitment, and wages and salaries of the employees. The functions that are performed by the HR department of the organization are as follows: – Planning is the first activity that is conducted by the department. Planning can be defined as the systematic forecast that determines the company’s future and the demand and supply of the employees that would be needed by the organization. HR planning is also known as employees planning which helps the HR department and other managers of the company to develop staffing plans so that they would go along with the strategy of the company. it is important that the company is staffed with the right amount of people so that the strategic operational and functional goals of the company can be met. It has been realized by a lot companies that the HR plans are very important if the organization wants to have strategic success. For example, companies like Nokia and Apple it is important to have strategic plans because it would help the companies by developing new products and introducing them as quickly as possible in the market. It is only possible when the company is staffed with the right kind of people. Without the right people strategy based opportunities would be lost to a better staffed organization like Motorola and IBM (Werther & Davis 1996). Recruitment is one of the important activities of the HR department. Recruitment is mostly concerned with attracting and finding individuals who are capable for employment. The recruitment process begins s when the new recruits are sought and this process ends when the applicant submits and application. People who find new recruits are called recruiters. The process of hiring is faced with some limitations like costs, incentives, job requirements, policies of the company, environment conditions, insufficient and scarce resources and EEO legislation etc. Recruitment is done in two ways 1) internal channel which includes job posting program and departing employees 2) External channel which includes advertising, walk-in and write-ins, employee referrals, state employment agencies, open house, international recruiting, temporary help agencies and leased employees etc (Recruitment Process) Selection is one of the activities of the HR department. Selection is defined as a process that is based on specific steps that are used to describe that which individual should be hired. This process starts when the individual applies for the job and it ends when the final decision is made by the management of the company. the selection process is also faced with some limitations like EEO legislation, Workforce diversity and external prohibitions etc. ( The Selection Process). The selection process is based on eight steps and these steps are as follows:- †¢ Preliminary reception of applications †¢ Employment tests †¢ Selection interview †¢ Preference and background checks †¢ Medical tests †¢ Supervisory interview †¢ Realistic job preview †¢ Hiring decision Orientation, Placement and Separation is considered to be an activity of HRM. Orientation can be defined as when the new recruits are given an overview of the company on the first day of work. The orientation program of the company is based on the following goals 1) the pride of belonging to the company 2) creates awareness about the company’s business 3) emphasize on customer focus and service 4) helps to reduce the concerns that are related to the job 5) helps with development of a team member and 6) helps to establish personal growth etc. Placement can be defined as the work activities that are assigned to a new employee. The role of HR department here is that to advice the managers of the company about the rules and the regulations and it also provide counseling to the employees. Placement is based on 3 classes 1) promotion, transfer and demotion. Separation can be defined as a decision where the individual and the company must part. Separation process starts either the employer or the employee. The role of HR department is to find a method which is satisfactory for conducting a separation in such a way that it reduces the harmful factors that might affect the company. Training & Development is concerned with that placing the employees in a job does not give the company the surety that the individual would be successful in his or her job. Training and development programs are considered important for all the employees. The distinction between training and development is that training is for now and development is for the future. For example at Corning Glass there are a lot of learning opportunities that range from skilled orientation training to seminars that deal with development issues, they basically help the managers to face the issues that might arise in the future. The employees of the company are not bothered that the class is intended for training or development. It is only concerned with whether the program has helped the employees and the organization or not (Training and Development). Training and development are based on the following steps: – †¢ Need assessment †¢ Learning principles †¢ Program content †¢ Training and development objectives There are some challenges that are faced by HR department due to training and development. For example cost effectiveness, desired program content, learning principles and appropriateness of the facilities etc. The role of HR department over here is that it helps to prepare the individuals for future job responsibilities. And it also attempts stops the employees from obsolesce, work force diversity, technological changes, affirmation action and employee turnover etc. (Werther & Davis 1996) Career planning is one of the activities of the HRM. When the department is doing career planning it is mostly concerned with whether the company’s training and development programs has helped the employees with promotion chances or not. A couple of decades ago career planning was seen as an individual’s problem but now career planning is seen as the HR department’s problem. The HR managers and specialist see career planning as a way to meet the internal staffing needs. The involvement of the HR department in career planning is increasing everyday due to its benefits like low turnover, satisfies the needs of the employees, personal growth, helps with workforce diversity and decrease hoarding etc. Performance appraisal is one of the major activities of HRM. Performance appraisal can be defined as evaluating an employee’s current or past performances relative to his or her performance standard. In this competitive world companies require a high performance so that they can become dominant leaders in their perspective markets. And at the same time employees also need feedback on their performance so that it can act as a guide for their future behavior and responsibilities. There are some challenges that are faced by the HR department regarding the performance appraisal like legal constraints, rater’s biases regarding the employee based on halo effect or personal prejudice or even cross cultural biases etc. It has been vied been viewed by the experts that when there is poor performance throughout the company it creates huge problems with the human resource management activities(Grote &Grote 1996). Wages and Salaries are concerned with compensation. Compensation can be defined as something the employees receive in their return of their input to the organization. Without proper compensation the employees of the company would leave and it would be difficult for the company to hire new recruits. The result of pay dissatisfaction can harm the productivity of the company and can also harm the quality of work life as well. There are some challenges that affect the compensation plan like wage rates, union, constraints by the government and equal pay etc. ( Salary and Wages) Security, Safety and Health is considered a challenge for the HR experts that how to comply proactively with the minimum costs for the organization and to provide with the minimum of costs for the organization and to provide the greatest of benefits to its employees, whereas in the area of employee security and health companies have taken a proactive action. It is the role of the HR department to face the challenges that arise overtime. The HR is usually faced with 2 kinds of challenges: 1) Internal challenges which are also the organizational challenges. Internal challenges for example would include union, information systems, organizational conflicts between the company and the employees. 2) External challenges are those problems that exist due to the changing environment and the management has no control over it. Change in the company’s environment actually evolves at different kinds of rates. External challenges would include workforce diversity, technology, economics and government. The HR department has to follow 4 steps so that they can overcome the external challenges. They are as follows: – †¢ Monitor the environment †¢ Evaluate the impact of the challenges on the company †¢ Take proactive measures that is implement approaches that would help the company to achieve its goals †¢ Obtain and analyze the feedback. It is the role of the HR department to achieve a balance between the trade-offs of efficiency and effectiveness. For example when jobs are under specialized the job design may be simplified by decreasing the number of tasks and if the job is over specialized the number of job tasks can be enriched and expanded by the human resource department.

Is there anything we can do to save the environment Essay

Is there anything we can do to save the environment - Essay Example Various aspects of going green can be used in such an initiative. To begin with, the world should start by the initiative of planting trees. Over the last decade, the world has experienced massive deforestation, where many trees are used as a source of energy, raw materials, and other uses. This has had a dire effect on the climate change, especially when looking at the ratio of gases in the air. With massive deforestation, the numbers of trees that purify the air are reduced. As such, there will be excessive carbon in the air. This will pose a danger to environmental conservation, as the initiatives will not be optimized. To rectify such a situation, there is a need to reflect on the positivity of planting trees on large scale (Cook 140). For example, the late Professor Wangari Maathai initiated the Greenbelt movement. This was an initiative to help in conserving the environment from the forecasted climate change. Through the initiative, she was awarded a Nobel Prize. This shows tha t the world is appreciating such initiatives in ensuring the world is conserved to the highest limits. Secondly, there is a need to stop deforestation. Many countries across the globe have initiated strict penalties on deforestation, as it is a threat to the world’s ecosystems. Therefore, this initiative should be enhanced in the whole world, as it will be a prudent approach in conserving the environment. According to research, the population of trees in the world has been drastically reducing.

Home work 2 (envi 423) Read the attachment carefully Essay

Home work 2 (envi 423) Read the attachment carefully - Essay Example Germany ($3.383 trillion), Japan ($5.88 trillion), and the United States ($16.02 trillion), it is safe to say that the Arab League members are not as rich as these â€Å"super power† countries (Central Intelligence Agency). A lot of the recent commotion in the Middle East is about Israel’s opposition of letting Occupied Palestine (referred to as West Bank or Gaza Strip) become an independent state because the territory that Palestine wants to occupy would pose a great loss to the resources of Israel and its citizens. According to the CIA World Fact Book, Israel’s 2012 GDP is $254 billion while Palestine’s GDP is merely 2.6% of Israel’s ($ 6.641 billion). 2.6% of a country’s GDP is not such a big loss if it will result to peace and finally ending the bloodshed between Israel, Palestine and their allies (Central Intelligence Agency). Ethnocentric mentality and greed are the culprits behind these twisted assumptions that many people from Western countries have. But in the end, it is neither the individual citizens of the Middle East countries nor that of the West benefit from all these politics and turmoil surrounding Middle East Oil. The ordinary citizens carry the costs while corrupt government officials and top company executives get insanely rich. The issue with Middle East Oil extends beyond politics and power, the real deal is in the equal distribution of resources on all levels of society across the different countries, whether oil exporting or not (Central Intelligence Agency). Central Inteligence Agency. The World Fact Book: Field Listing: GDP (Official Exchange Rate). 2012. Web. 27 January 2014.

To be Determined Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

To be Determined - Essay Example The young Daisy, an American girl of flirtatious demeanor and apparent stubbornness quite rare of women her age, meets and is pursued by the sophisticated Winterbourne—a bachelor of high status, but with decidedly traditional values. He is enamored by her, but is taken aback when Daisy’s behavior debunks everything he knows as true; that a young woman should never be outspoken or carefree, and that she should not be allowed to be friendly with men. Unless she is engaged to him, and that situation still calls for numerous restrictions. The young and pretty Daisy apparently enjoying the teasing and flirting with Winterbourne, also befriends an Italian gentleman named Giovanello—and their much-witnessed romps and trips around Rome sealed the girl’s fate and reputation as an unsuitable woman. Winterbourne acknowledges and supports this general opinion after concluding that Daisy had chosen Giovanello over him, and tries to dissuade her from creating an even mo re horrid image of herself. Daisy finds this laughable, and continues to move around with the Italian, until their regular evening outings cause her to be afflicted and to die of malaria, or Roman fever. In the end, Winterbourne is told of Daisy’s last message for him, which is to clarify that she is not engaged to Giovanello. Soon after, Winterbourne proceeds to live his regular life in Switzerland. The story clearly echoes a widely-acknowledged Victorian philosophy, called domestic ideology. During this time, a woman is only held as good, or true, when her environment and social parameters are limited to the home and family. She was required to uphold her identity foremost as a virtuous and dutiful wife and mother, coming from an earlier life as a good sister and daughter. Such are the ideology’s rules that should a woman violate or neglect any, she is immediately relegated to a persona of negative

INTERPRETING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

INTERPRETING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Essay Example (b) Chieftain has a large volume of cash balance which can be helpful for the company to pay off its current obligations easily. It improves the liquidity position of the company. However, it can be disadvantageous for the company too because idle cash would not earn any return for the company and would limit the company’s growth in future. (c) Chieftain has $4.6 million as accounts payable instead of having so much cash balance. It is so because the company might be finding difficulties to generate sufficient cash from its operations or might have higher inventory levels. (a) According to Kranhold (2007), the employees of General Electric (GE) were engaged in the practice of using improper accounting methods to record the revenues generated by the company during the years 2000 to 2003. (b) The possible reasons behind these activities being conducted by the employees of GE can be some personal incentives for the managers if they are able to generate higher revenues for the company. Another possibility can be that the employees might have been instructed by the top level managers of the company to conduct such activities so that it can mislead its investors by showing a better financial position of the organization. (d) Restating the financial results mean reviewing the previously published financial statements of the company to make adjustments for any kinds of errors that might be present in the disclosed financial information or may be due to some changes in accounting policies made by the company. GE did not restate its financial results in order to rectify its reported locomotive sales because the related changes were not that significant as compared to the total revenues generated by GE or the income generated by them. Restating the financial results would have resulted in only 0.2% change in its reported