Employee Empowerment

Employee Empowerment Free Online Research Papers Employee empowerment: A strategy and philosophy that enables employees to make decisions about their jobs. This term is used to express the ways in which non-managerial staff can make autonomous decisions without consulting a boss/manager. It is the state of feeling self-empowered to take control of ones own destiny. These self-willed decisions can be small or large depending upon the degree of power with which the company wishes to invest employees. Why apply Empowerment When employees feel as though they have choice and can make direct decisions, this does often lead to a greater feeling of self-worth. By offering employees choice and participation on a more responsible level, the employees are more invested in the company, and view themselves as a representative of such. Techniques of Empowerment One easy way to begin employee empowerment in the workplace is to install a suggestion box, where workers can make suggestions without fear of punishment or retribution. However, managers must then be willing to read and consider suggestions and also hold a once monthly meeting open to employees where all suggestions are addressed. One method used to empower workers is the use of work teams. Such teams are collections of employees empowered to plan, organize, direct and control their own work. The other method for empowerment is to change the team’s overall method of organizing. The basic pattern is for an organization to eliminate layers from its hierarchy, thus become much more decentralized. Power, responsibility and authority are delegated in the hands of those who actually do it. Ways to make empowerment successful Empowerment will enhance organizational effectiveness only if certain conditions exist. The organization must be sincere in its efforts to spread power and autonomy to lower levels of the organization. The organization must be committed to maintaining participation. Employee empowerment of any form can only work when managers are willing to be open to new ideas and strategies. The workers must truly believe that they and their managers are working together in their joint best interests. The organization must be systematic and patient in its efforts to empower workers. Turning over too much control too quickly can spell disaster. Finally the organization must be prepared to increase its commitment to training. Employees given more freedom in how they work will quite likely need additional training to help them exercise that freedom most effectively. Disempowerment Disempowerment means lack of empowerment while the term â€Å" disempowerment† represents a concept that describes a faulty or impaired process of empowerment. Eylon and Bamberger (2000) described disempowerment as an opposing construct to empowerment. It is associated with reduced feelings of self-efficacy and levels of performance.. The negative affective response that stems from disempowering acts could manifest itself in psychological withdrawal, fear, feelings of incompetence and lack of self-efficacy, and feelings of displeasure and personal offenseall of which can diminish response strength and distract from work performance. Research Papers on Employee EmpowermentTwilight of the UAWInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThe Project Managment Office SystemResearch Process Part OneIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraHip-Hop is Art

Atticus essays

Atticus essays Atticus, a deeply moving novel by Ron Hansen, opens in winter on the high plains of Colorado to the tropics of Mexico, as well as from the realm of whodunit detective mystery to the larger realm of the Mystery, which has its own heartbreaking, calming, and redemptive logic. Misunderstanding, dissolute, prodigal, wayward, wastrel, alias, and subornment are only a few words that tell the powerful story of Atticus. The case was labeled as a suicide. The body was identified as forty-year-old Scott William Cody, a blue-eyed white male. The plot of the book takes three sharp turns. It begins as a conventional novel about the relationship between a father and his troubled adult son. After one character dies, it zigs into a murder mystery, and by the end has zagged into something entirely different, a parable, let's say, in which characters find redemption. Atticus Cody, Colorado cattle rancher turned oilman, appears at first to be a remote and judgmental dad, but as we observe the g entle, persistent concern he shows for his wayward son Scott, we discover nothing less than the ideal dad. Scott's testing of his father's love goes way beyond normal bounds: his alcoholism and general irresponsibility actually cause the deaths of several other characters. Scott's peregrinations take Atticus from his home in Colorado to the slums and bohemian underworld of a Mexican town. There, Atticus confronts a seamy and labyrinthine corruption that tries to separate him from the love of his son. Atticus, the Father, won't let go, and that's the point. In my humble opinion, the message of the book is that an ultimately moving meditation on the ineffable, unmatchable love between a parent and a child should always be a close bond, because you might not have a second chance for reconciliation. Atticus Cody receives a surprise Christmas visit from Scott, his estranged son who has been leading the life of a wastrel expatriate in Mexico. The frictio...

The chemisrty in onions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The chemisrty in onions - Research Paper Example Some of these acids like the 1-propenesulfenic acid is acted upon by the lachrymatory factor synthase enzyme to produce a volatile gas known as syn-propanethial-S-oxide also referred to as onion lachrymatory factor. The syn-propanethial-S-oxide diffuses in the air and on reaching the eye; a stinging sensation is felt due to its activation on the sensory neurons (Block, 2010). The onion cells contain various different enzymes kept separate and upon cutting, the cells contents become free and mix with the acids kept in the onion forming volatile compounds. In the eye, a reaction occurs between the propanethiole S-oxide and the tears released from the tear glands forming a mild sulphuric acid stimulating rapid release of tears which in turn makes the situation more worse. The alliinase enzyme is responsible for breaking down onions compounds into unstable intermediates which either change into thiosulfinate or lachrymatory factor. Thiosulfinate is responsible for the distinct flavor and odor from the onions as well as converted into sulfur compounds that benefit the body by lowering the cholesterol levels, acting as anti-blood clotting, anti-asthma, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory. Research has confirmed that only one specific enzyme is responsible of causing the formation of the lachrymatory factor hence inhibiting it will stop crying and on the long run increase the thiosulfinate compounds yield. Several strategies ranging from laboratory research to local imaginations have been employed towards the production of tear free onions or the prevention of the lachrymatory factor from reaching the eyes by neutralizing it in the air. To start with, the New Zealand Crop and Food Research together with the Japan House Food Corporation in 2008 developed tear free onions aiming at less reaction and irritation to the eyes. The new variety, taste and look like the regular onions but the action of lachrymatory factor synthase enzyme is lowered through genetic alteration. Th e modification has been engineered through the production of genetically modified foods that have been said to contain the desired nutrients. Research refills that if onions are grown on sulfur deficient soils, the creation of lachrymatory factor and other sulfur compounds is reduced and sweet flavor enhanced. This is in relation to Vidalia; a brand of sweet onions (Imani, 2002). The local methods used in a daily basis include: Chopping onions while chewing gum. Though the method is not as certain to the expected results, less crying is evident but the coordination between keeping on chewing the gum as you cut the onions is tricky. At the end of it, less tears come out besides high levels of irritation. It has been found to be an easy and convenient method to use (Walter, 2006). The use of goggles is gaining popularity as it gives painless results. The goggles protect the eyes from the volatile gas hence no tears or stinging. They are easy and convenient to be used though it is an a dded cost and their tight grip causes uncomfortable moments (Dille, 1996). Another method fruitfully used is that of freezing the onions in the freezer for about 15 minutes before chopping. The temperature in the freezer is very low to an extent of inhibiting the onions from releasing chemicals that irritate the eyes. It is painless, no tears and irritation. The

Notions of genetic discrimination,genetic determinism,and a Term Paper

Notions of genetic discrimination,genetic determinism,and a utilitarian comparison - Term Paper Example Portrayals of scientific fact in the mainstream media are, to most scientists, for the most part inaccurate descriptions of legitimate research methods.One aspect of scientific research that the media commonly misrepresents is that related to genetic research. For instance, a study may be published associating on average a specific gene with a certain quantifiable behavior. The media, upon receiving word of this research, will change the wording of the story in order to sensationalize and sell the story as newsworthy, often relying on words like â€Å"cause†. Over time, the public has started to perceive â€Å"genes† as the causal determinants of our actions, our lives, and our decisions. This view, called â€Å"genetic determinism†, lies at the root of many fears about the specter of â€Å"genetic discrimination†, which many believe is on the horizon for developed countries where genome maps are becoming increasingly cheap. Nevertheless, it is not clear w hether genetic discrimination will grow to become the problem many are forecasting. From an ethical perspective, the problem of genetic discrimination may not lie solely in the act of discriminating against an individual based on his or her genome; rather, the problem may lie in people’s fears about a genetic bias, which may cause some not to seek a diagnosis. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that the moral content of an act (or rule) consists solely of the degree to which it maximizes happiness (or utility) in the greatest number of people. In other words, the good toward which all of our actions ought to pursue, under the utilitarian theory, is happiness, pleasure, or preference-satisfaction. Accordingly, if by ending the life of one person we save the life of twenty persons, then that act is not only allowable but also preferred under the utilitarian theory. Utilitarianism does have intuitive appeal insofar as any living being will seek to maximize its pleasure and min imize its pain. This moral theory acknowledges this fact and places happiness as the good toward which we evaluate all actions as either moral or immoral. The Utilitarian Argument against Discrimination Under a utilitarian framework, the argument against discrimination in any context follows from the assumption that society will be better off, or enriched, by the contributions of as many people as possible. Thus, if people were to be discriminated against in some fashion, their contributions to society (and ideas on how to make society better) would be lost without an audience. Therefore, as the argument goes, it is wrong to discriminate against people without looking at their character or actions. Utilitarians believe that policies like affirmative action, which are aimed at producing an equal society, are good in that they produce the most happiness for the highest number of people, primarily for the reason given above. However, if this equality lowered the overall good of society , utilitarians would immediately change their mind with respect to the equality-building measures. Likewise, in the case of genetic discrimination, utilitarians usually adopt legislation and other measures to counter the effects of discriminatory practices; nevertheless, if it were to be proven that equality-building attempts (such as banning mandatory genetic testing for new employees) hurt society, utilitarians would be obligated to change their opinions with respect to that situation. The Nature of Genetic Discrimination Genetic discrimination relates to making decisions because of genetic information when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, fringe benefits, or any other term or condition of employment (EEOC, 2010). Employers cannot utilize genetic informati

Discussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Discussion questions - Essay Example Merchandise inventory is the asset of the business and records movement in the cost of inventory and reports opening and ending inventory value held by the business. Entry into this journal is a debit entry whereas exist from this is a credit entry. This records the cost of purchase include suppliers price plus freight costs and insurance. Whereas, cost of merchandise sold is the cost of the business charged against revenues. Cost of merchandise is calculated as beginning inventory plus purchases less closing inventory. Journal entries to record the transaction would be as follows: a. Gross profit is calculated by deducting the cost of sales (merchandise) from the revenues generated by the business. Revenues are typically cost of sales plus the profit margin decided by the business. a. The role of accounting is not limited to recording of transactions but it is an integral part of planning and strategy development carried out by businesses. Assembling data generated by different business functions in order to summarize and report information pertaining to the business condition is primary task of the accounting function. Accounting is therefore considered as a series of processes which generate different information for various use including financial information, managerial information, cost information, and information for tax purposes (Warren, Reeve, & Duchac, 2012). Weygandt, J. J., Kimmel, P. D., & Kieso, D. E. (2010). Financial Accounting, Study Guide. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from McGraw Hill:

The Rise and Fall of the Iron Curtain Essay Example for Free

The Rise and Fall of the Iron Curtain Essay â€Å"Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was civis Romanus sum [I am a Roman citizen]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is Ich bin ein Berliner! All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words Ich bin ein Berliner!† ~ John F. Kennedy (Introduction) The Berlin Wall was built in the dead of the night on August 13, 1961 and stood for about 28 years until the Wall finally came down on November 9, 1989. The history behind the creation and destruction of the Berlin Wall is truly tragic. It was built due to the fact that the relationship between the Soviet Union and the other three Allies was crumbling over different views and once World War II was finally over, it was clearly evident that they weren’t going to be able to resolve their issues. The Allies (Western Germany) wanted to help fix Germany after being conquered and turn it into a democracy, but The Soviet Union (East Germany) disagreed and wanted to make Germany Communist. Neither side wanted to budge with their views so each side continued life under their completely different controls with the split being within Berlin. While West Germany was prospering, East Germany was falling apart. They could of been compared as night and day from each other. At a certain point, East Germany was losing so many people to West Germany, that in the middle of the night, The Soviet Union built a â€Å"rough draft† of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall was a split between East (Communist) and West (Democratic) Germany, but its destruction was almost as sudden as its creation. (Body) (Why the Berlin Wall was built) Before the Wall was built, people from either side could â€Å"freely† cross the boundaries every day for work or to just visit, but on August 13, 1961, that all changed. A quote that I found by Peter Galante summarized the day the Wall went up perfectly! â€Å"It was like splitting Manhattan down the middle of Fifth Avenue from the Battery to the Bronx; like splitting London with a zigzag line from Barnet to Croydon. . . . If you lived on one side and your office was on the other, you couldnt go to work. . . . If your mother lived on one side and you lived on the other, you couldnt go visit her. . . . The aim was simple and brutal: to shut a people in and annex to Communist East Germany what she had not been given by agreement, East Berlin. Its effect was cruel and horrible. At seven in the morning on the first day, a man went to see his child. Barbed wire, concrete blocks and armed police stood between them. For the people, it produced misery. From the people, it produced fortitude and heroism (Galante, 1965).† There are many reason of why the Berlin Wall built. One reason was due to the fact of economic reasons – too many people were moving from East to West Germany and this was crumbling East Germany faster. The second reason was political – West Germany was prospering and East Germany simply was not. (finish) (Why the Wall caused so much controversy) It is almost bluntly obvious to why the Berlin Wall caused so much controversy among the citizens of both East and West Germany. When the Wall first went up, it abruptly separated entire families, kept people from their jobs, and just basically tore people’s lives apart. No matter what they tried to do, they weren’t able to get through the boarders without some kind of conscience happening – being shot or attacked. People from East Germany tried to apply for visa’s to travel to West Germany and were regularly denied. Little by little, with the communist rule of East Germany locking its people within the city, people slowly but surely became frustrated and upset, which they had every right to be. (talk about different things people did to try and escape from East Germany) (Why is came down) (What was the aftershock of the wall coming down) (What is the significance of this event to today’s society) For almost 30 years, the sections of that Berlin Wall that still remain were the iron and concrete embodiment of the symbolic Iron Curtain between western democracies and the Communist world of the Soviet Union. I dont know if the wall itself has any impact today other than as a reminder of how bad things were in Eastern Europe in the early 1960s until the end of Communism there in the late 80s and early 90s. However, today we think of international terrorism, usually from the Middle East as the major threat, but when it was built by the Soviets and East Germans in August, 1961, the fear of Communism and nuclear war was as strong as the fear of Islamic terrorists, today, maybe stronger. (help?) (Conclusion) Today, although there is barely anything left of the Berlin Wall besides what is left as memorials of that horrible event, the scares of those 28 years are still â€Å"fresh† to those who had to go through or even witness that kind of torture. It is hard for us to truly imagine what life was like during that time. Having your town, city, state split straight down the middle, separated from friends, families, and loved ones for years by concrete and iron, and not being able to see them – that is truly unimaginable. I know I can’t imagine being separated from my family and knowing that if I â€Å"tried† to get passed that wall to see them, that I would either be shot, attacked by dogs, or something else, is scary. (need help finishing this) Bibliography Galante, P. (1965). The Berlin Wall. London: Arthur Baker Ltd.; 1St Edition edition (1965).

Spiritual Views in Emersons The Poet Essay -- Emerson Poet Essays

Spiritual Views in Emerson's The Poet Transcendental, and therefore pantheist, views run fluidly throughout Emerson's texts, especially as he attempts to define his image of the perfect poet in his essay, The Poet. He continually uses religious terms to express his feelings, but warps these terms to fit his own unique spirituality. This technique somewhat helps to define his specific religious views which mirror the view of transcendentalism and pantheism. Emerson's ideal poet is a pantheist who can express the symbols of the world through words. Emerson begins the essay by explaining that many people are taught "rules and particulars" to decide what is good art, and therefore deem themselves worthy critics although they have no feeling for art in their soul. He states that intellectual men, perhaps the cold Unitarians from which he broke away, theologians, and modern 'poets' do not acknowledge a relationship between the physical world and the mind and then praises the "highest minds" (such as Swedenborg, Plato and Heraclitus) who instead examine everything to its fullest manifold meaning. I find it interesting that in the lines "We were put into our bodies, as fire is put into a pan" and we are "but children of the fire, made of it, and only the same divinity transmuted, and at two or three removes, when we know least about it" that Emerson compares human souls to fire. Heraclitus believed that fire was the essence of everything, similar to Anaximander's concept of 'apeiron.' Emerson here shows his pantheistic view that we have all come from the same divine 'stuff,' and being "two or three removes" away from its Godly source, we are unable on a basic level to fully comprehend it. This is also remin... ...his ideal poet, and in doing shows that he feels the "poet is representative," both in using words as representative symbols and as a representative of life itself. The ideal poet becomes a portrait of a man incredibly close to nature, and therefore close to Emerson's view of God. The poet is a spiritual man who transcends our man made reality through introspection into the abyss of 'God's Reality,' bringing back with him carefully sculpted words for man-kind's consumption in an effort to help man-kind better understand life and the world in which it is lived. Works Cited Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The Poet." The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Vol. 1. Third Ed. Paul Lauter, et al., eds. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. 1646-1661. The Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ed. Brooks Atkinson. New York: Modern Library, 1950. Spiritual Views in Emerson's The Poet Essay -- Emerson Poet Essays Spiritual Views in Emerson's The Poet Transcendental, and therefore pantheist, views run fluidly throughout Emerson's texts, especially as he attempts to define his image of the perfect poet in his essay, The Poet. He continually uses religious terms to express his feelings, but warps these terms to fit his own unique spirituality. This technique somewhat helps to define his specific religious views which mirror the view of transcendentalism and pantheism. Emerson's ideal poet is a pantheist who can express the symbols of the world through words. Emerson begins the essay by explaining that many people are taught "rules and particulars" to decide what is good art, and therefore deem themselves worthy critics although they have no feeling for art in their soul. He states that intellectual men, perhaps the cold Unitarians from which he broke away, theologians, and modern 'poets' do not acknowledge a relationship between the physical world and the mind and then praises the "highest minds" (such as Swedenborg, Plato and Heraclitus) who instead examine everything to its fullest manifold meaning. I find it interesting that in the lines "We were put into our bodies, as fire is put into a pan" and we are "but children of the fire, made of it, and only the same divinity transmuted, and at two or three removes, when we know least about it" that Emerson compares human souls to fire. Heraclitus believed that fire was the essence of everything, similar to Anaximander's concept of 'apeiron.' Emerson here shows his pantheistic view that we have all come from the same divine 'stuff,' and being "two or three removes" away from its Godly source, we are unable on a basic level to fully comprehend it. This is also remin... ...his ideal poet, and in doing shows that he feels the "poet is representative," both in using words as representative symbols and as a representative of life itself. The ideal poet becomes a portrait of a man incredibly close to nature, and therefore close to Emerson's view of God. The poet is a spiritual man who transcends our man made reality through introspection into the abyss of 'God's Reality,' bringing back with him carefully sculpted words for man-kind's consumption in an effort to help man-kind better understand life and the world in which it is lived. Works Cited Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The Poet." The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Vol. 1. Third Ed. Paul Lauter, et al., eds. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. 1646-1661. The Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ed. Brooks Atkinson. New York: Modern Library, 1950.