A Study of Small Sculpture from the Mesoamerican...

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Olmec, Maya, and Aztec were dominating societies of Mesoamerica, rich in culture, community, and art. While life may not be completely interpretable yet, much in known about how these societies were constructed, and how their religion dominated their lives. Much is generally made of their massive stonework, their ceremonial complexes, and ritual sacrifices, but their small jade, ceramic, and stone sculpture deserves as much attention as the works of much larger size have received. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Olmec were thought to have set many of the patterns seen in later cultures throughout Mesoamerica.1 San Lorenzo, the oldest known Olmec building site, as of the time of the Brittanica article,†¦show more content†¦She has remarkably realistic features and proportions, as well as a short, but feminine hairstyle, womanly hips, and an expression of empowerment. Maybe this was not what the artist was trying to express, but the meaning changes through history, and yet, this piece can still relate to issues in society today (fig. 5). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ceremonial complexes were popular during the Middle Formative period for many Mesoamerican cultures. A wide array of Olmec style ritual sculptured objects, created from jade or other green stones, were found to be seated or standing figures, zoomorphic creatures, masks, and other small objects.7 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Figure 6 is a small, carved figure depicting a supernatural being riding a jaguar, as it is so named for this. At only 8.9 cm tall, this piece is gray-green jadeite with a milky patina and a vain of softer mineral. Based on similar depictions of this being and the jaguar elsewhere in Olmec art, the creature could represent the ruler’s animal spirit companion. It is â€Å"his means of locomotion in his trance journey into the other world.†8 While F. Kent Reilly’s opinion is of this object having ritualistic ties to Shamanism, this, in theory, is only speculation, as such an object could have been produced purely for the enjoyment of the OlmecShow MoreRelatedEssay about Shamanism1696 Words   |  7 Pagesunderstand the meaning of shamanism one must uncover the original definition. The word shaman comes from the language of the Evenk, a small Tungus-speaking group of hunters and reindeer herders from Siberia. It was first used only to desi gnate a religious specialist from this region. By the beginning of the 20th century it was already being applied to a variety of North America and South American practices from the present and the past. Today people have gone as far as defining the word shaman as any humanRead More The Maya Essay1356 Words   |  6 Pages The Maya were a dominating society of Mesoamerica, rich in culture, community, and art. While life may not be completely interpretable yet, much in known about how these societies were constructed, and how their religion dominated their lives. Much is generally made of their massive stonework, their ceremonial complexes, and ritual sacrifices, but their small jade, ceramic, and stone sculpture deserves as much attention as the works of much larger size have received. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;TheRead MoreNative American Civilization : The Aztec, Or Mexicas Essay3157 Words   |  13 PagesOne of the first societies to ever mandate education was the Aztec, or Mexicas, which allowed children of any social stature to be educated, ^ possible input in of a dash rather than a comma including slave children. It is hard to imagine that this grand empire is highly associated with their practices in human sacrifice. When the Spanish invaded and took over, many believed that the Aztecs will killed ^were killed by this ^the Spanish conquest, but ^;but, the truth is that illnesses brought by theRead MoreEssay on Chicano Art3962 Words   |  16 Pagesthe lives of humanity. The creative nature in Artists is a complex matter to define. The uncertainties in the intrinsic nature in art lay difficult aspects that can only be answered by values, themes and skills depicted in an artist artwork. Apart from playing the intricate psychological effect on humans, the artw orks have been used as a tool of expression that has been revered and uniquely preserved for future generation. Among some of the most revered modern forms of artwork has included ChicanoRead MoreThe Birth of Civilization18947 Words   |  76 Pages1 The Birth of Civilization Mohenjo-Daro Figure. Scholars believe this limestone statue from about 2500 B.C.E. depicts a king or a priest from Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus valley in present-day Pakistan. 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The Epic Of Gilgamesh King Of Uruk - 1332 Words

In the verse narrative The Epic of Gilgamesh the principal character Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, is described as an entity that is two-thirds god and one-third man. Gilgamesh is a hero/protagonist who exhibits many more human features than divine features. This makes him a flawed hero because all humans are flawed. He is even described in human terms. â€Å"A perfect physical specimen, gifted athlete and sex machine† [Davis p.154]. His primary flaws are pride and arrogance with his pursuit for immortality being more of a human search than something that a god would desire. He is the â€Å"model for many successive flawed heroes, Gilgamesh is the man who seemingly has it all but sets off on a series of quests seeking to become more noble, or†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The flood of the Gilgamesh legend is the same as the one mentioned in the Bible and Uta-napashtim is the equivalent of Noah and his Ark† [Hunt p.60]. While Gilgamesh exhibits his human characteristi cs throughout the epic, the fact that nature controls part of his destiny takes away his ability to control his future and makes him similar to all other humans. â€Å"So did the biblical authors ‘sample’ these Mesopotamian stories (cataclysmic flood)? The many parallels are too striking to ignore† [Davis p.158]. The Epic of Gilgamesh is similar to many bible stories and Aesop’s Fables where an individual with weaknesses and imperfections goes on an adventure or journey. During that journey the individual encounters a number of problems and confronts them the best that he can. In doing so he learns a lesson and is a better person for it similar to the morals found in each of Aesop’s Fables. â€Å"His great quest has been a failure but the end of the story finds Gilgamesh at peace with himself and his surroundings† [Hunt p. 61]. At the beginning of the epic Gilgamesh is seen as a leader to be feared and displays behaviors that are more like a human as opposed to the behavior of a god. Gilgamesh did not display any amount of empathy as the ruler of Uruk. He did what he pleased on a human level including making people into slaves, forcing women to have sex with him against their will and stealing food and

Exploring the Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal Free Essays

EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL IN MULTI NATIONAL COMPANY. BY MITHILA S. PARAB 2007-08 A Dissertation presented in part consideration for the degree of â€Å"MA MANAGEMENT† ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my supervisor, Nick Bacon for his invaluable advice and guidance throughout the project. We will write a custom essay sample on Exploring the Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal or any similar topic only for you Order Now I would like to thank all the participants who participated in my research. I would like to thank my family and friends for their guidance and encouragement throughout the project, without which the project would have been impossible. ABSTRACT This dissertation seeks to present the effectiveness of the appraisal system of a Multi national company in India. Hence, the performance appraisal system of this company was studied. The study also explains how performance appraisal systems have encouraged employee development in the organization considered. The study explores the importance of performance appraisal in the organization. It explores how organizations have to be organized and systematic in their approach, so that they can extract the exact performance from their employees which can help them, to create a balance between performance and achieving organizational objectives. This paper, explains how performance appraisal helps in evaluating and assessing the employees on a common ground and helps to establish training and development program which helps the employee to grow in the organization. It also helps, to understand how performance appraisal helps in other personnel decisions like promotion, salary increments etc. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Performance appraisal overview How widespread is performance appraisal? Objective of study Overview of chapters CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW How was performance appraisal evolved? Linkage of Human resource management and Performance appraisal Pg. no 6 7 8 9 9 11 11 14 17 20 23 25 26 26 27 29 30 31 Purpose of performance appraisal Perception of PA i n organization How is Pa conducted? Management by Objective: Graphic Rating Scale BARS and BOS Motivation and Goal setting theory Feedback 360 degree feedback Summary of Literature Review CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHOD Research objective Research methods Quantitative Vs Qualitative Why Qualitative? Research Tactics Primary data Design of interview questions When was research done? Secondary research Limitation of Qualitative research Summary of research methods CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF DATA PART A COMPANY INFORMATION PART B ANALYSIS OF DATA Summary of chapter CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 34 34 34 34 35 36 36 36 37 38 38 39 40 40 42 53 54 5 Exploring the effectiveness of Performance Appraisal in Multi national company. CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the effectiveness of performance appraisals in Multi national company and its effect on the employees and the organization. This paper, explains how performance evaluation helps in assessing, evaluating and appraising employees performance in the organization as well as rewarding employees and providing them with the necessary training and development. It tries to explain, how it motivates employees when goal setting theory is applied in order to perform better in the organization. The, study basically highlights the impact of performance appraisal on the employees and on the organization. The key purpose of performance management in organizations is that it helps in; measuring the effectiveness of performance in the organization also, it helps in identifying training needs and largely promotes motivation towards work. But, how exactly does performance appraisal help in running the organization? Every organization has a set of objectives and functions and the main task is to accomplish the desired objectives and functions. This can only be achieved, if the employees know their duties well. Employees form an important asset of the company, therefore they should be provided with a proper package, remuneration and good training and development. All these facilities will only help the employee to be, highly motivated towards their work and would help in producing the right output i. e. performance. Performance appraisal is used all over the world. Many organizations use 6 performance appraisal in order to develop a clearer picture of their organization. The performance appraisal process allows an organization to measure and evaluate an individual employee’s behavior and accomplishments over a specific period of time (DeVries et al. , 1981). In recent years the attention towards performance appraisal has increased rapidly, due to its important potential implications ,relating to fair employment practices and the because of increasing concerns about employee productivity in the organization. (Pearce and Porter,1996 ) What ultimately lies is the end product which is performance which has to proper, therefore, in order to achieve that, the employees should be utilized to the full extent. Organizations have to be organized and systematic in their approach, so that they can extract the exact performance from their employees which can help them, to create a balance between performance and organizational objectives. Performance Appraisal : Overview The most basic purpose of performance appraisal is to provide information to the employees about their job and the amount of effort and behavior expected from them. Performance appraisal (PA) systems aim to help, develop individuals, improve organizational performance and to develop the basis from which builds a baseline for planning for the future. Generally PA includes the following main purposes: 1 Creation of a shared vision of the organization’s objectives, occasionally through a mission statement communicated to all employees. 2 Setting of individual performance targets relating to the operating unit’s target within the overall organization. 3 A formal review of progress towards these targets, and/or the identification of training needs. 4 The PA system assessed regularly to evaluate its effectiveness for overall organizational performance. (Coates,1994) 7 McEvoy and Cascio(1990) suggested that employees should be told their duties i. . they should be told what is expected from them plus effective orientation towards effective performance. As a result, the intention is to provide employees with an adequate understanding about their job, and encourage employees to work towards their organizational goals. When objectives are set for the employees it becomes simpler for them to attain the desired task. Performan ce can be obtained, when a desired goal is given. Locke’s ( 1968) Goal setting theory emphasizes the importance of conscious goal levels as determinants of employee performance. Goal setting theory is summarized as follows- a. hard goals produce a higher level of performance than easy goals, b. some specific hard goals produce higher level of output; c. behavioral intentions regulate choice behavior. How widespread is performance appraisal? Performance appraisal is widely used in many Western countries. In US the percentage of organizations using performance appraisal increased from 89 percent to 94 percent from 1970s to 1980s. (Locher and Teel,1988) Similarly, in UK the use of formal performance appraisal system has rapidly increased. Armstrong and Baron,1998) Appraisal is particularly prominent in some big industrial sectors in the UK, such as financial services. Cully et al (1998) add that performance appraisal has developed from an initial application to the middle managers and professional occupations and is now frequently applied to non-managers and professionals. 8 Performance appraisal is also used in non-western countries like China, India, Hong Kon g and Japan. Objective of the study: The aim of this study is to explore the operation and effects of performance appraisal in Multi national company. It will assess whether the appraisal process creates a positive response or negative response from employees and assess the subsequent impact on employee attitudes and behaviors. The appraisal process studied is that of a Multi national company in India. The appraisal system of this company was designed to improve employee productivity. The findings, suggests that the performance appraisal system is important in the Multi national company among employees and the organization. The study also explains how performance appraisal systems have encouraged employee development in the organization considered. An over view of the existing literature relevant to this topic is considered in the following chapter. Over view of the chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction: A brief introduction about the purpose of the research is given. A brief overview of performance appraisal is presented. Then the research objective is mentioned. Then a brief description about the remaining chapters is given. Chapter 2 : Literature review: Chapter 2 comprises of Literature review. It starts with the history of performance appraisal system. It explains how performance appraisal system was evolved in the industry and what its current importance in the industry is. The chapter then, explains 9 the various concepts relevant to the subject. The purpose and perception of appraisal system is explained. This is followed by the process of performance appraisal. The literature review was designed to explain the main motive of the research, therefore accordingly the relevant literatures pertaining to the research was only considered. Chapter 3 : Research methods Chapter 3 comprises of research method adopted in the. This chapter gives an overview of the research and the research objective. It then explains the purpose of qualitative research adopted in the research. It then highlights the relationship between the study and the research method adopted. The majority of the chapter explains how the data was collected for the research and the process of data analysis. Chapter 4 : Analysis of Data Chapter 4 comprises of the Analysis section. This section gives a brief introduction to the parameters on which the employees are tested in the organization and the scale on which they are judged are explained. This chapter then explains the findings of the research. This section broadly explains the reaction of the employees, of the appraisal system of their company. Chapter 5 : Conclusion Chapter 5 concludes the research by stating briefly the findings of the research and sums up the whole research. The conclusion also suggests recommendations for fur 10 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW: This chapter gives a review on the literature of performance appraisal. It explores areas from the time performance appraisal was evolved till the current rating scale in the industry. How was performance appraisal evolved? Evolution of performance appraisal. The formal performance appraisal system has a short but considerable historical background. Grint (1993 ) traces evidence of performance appraisal system in the third-century Chinese practice. In this context, â€Å"Imperial Raters† were employed by emperors of the Wei dynasty to rate the performance of the official family members. (Wiese and Buckley, 1998 ) Performance appraisal was seen in the industry in early 1800. In UK, Randell (1994) identified its use in Robert Owen’s use of â€Å"silent monitors† in the cotton mills of Scotland. Here, the Silent monitors were blocks of wood with different colors painted on each visible side and it was hung above each employee’s work station. At the end of the day, the block was turned so that a particular color, representing a grade (rating) of the employee’s performance, was facing the aisle for everyone to see. (Weise and Buckley, 1998) Anecdotal evidence indicates that this practice had a facilitating influence on subsequent behavior. 11 In US the trend of performance was started in1813 in the US War department. Here , an Army General submitted an evaluation of each of his men. Using a global rating, with descriptions of his men such as â€Å"a good-natured man† or â€Å"a knave despised by all† (Bellows and Estep, 1954,Weise and Buckley,1998). One impetus of development of performance appraisals in United States was traced in salesman selection by industrial psychologists at Carnegie- Mellon University (Scott et al. , 1941), who used trait psychology to develop a ‘man-to-man’ rating system. Historically, performance appraisals have been used for administrative purposes, such as retention, discharge, promotion, and salary administration decisions (DeVries et al. 1981; Murphy and Cleveland, 1995; Patten, 1977) as cited in Weise and Buckley (1998) By the early 1950s, 61 per cent of organizations regularly used performance appraisals, compared with only 15 per cent immediately after World War II (Spriegel, 1962,Weise and Buckley,1998). The primary tool was the trait-rating system, which focuses on past actions, using a standard, nume rical scoring system to appraise people on the basis of a previously established set of dimensions (DeVries et al. , 1981). The main tool, used under here was rait rating system. But, there were a lot of inconsistencies found in it, as the manager had to take up the role of a judge and not a leader. This laid to the development of new systems based on management by objectives. Peter Drucker first proposed the concept of Management by objective in 1954. Mcgreror then used it in the appraisal process in the year 1957. He suggested that, employees should be appraised on the basis of short-term goals, rather than traits, which are jointly set by the employee and the manager. (Weise and Buckley,1998). This method was very advantageous as, this lead to a transformation of a managers role from being a judge to a helper. It also shows that, employee 12 productivity ultimately leads to performance. Thirdly, it shifts the orientation towards future actions instead of past behaviors (DeVries et al. , 1981; Patten, 1977) However, when employees performance was measured on the basis of units, then MBO was ineffective. This lead to new development in the appraisal process , where the employee was evaluated on the basis of ‘behaviour based rating’. The first tool, to focus on behaviors was the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS), designed by Smith and Kendall (1963) Therefore, it is seen that PA system has come a long way for the betterment of the organization and the employees. New development of PA was useful at every stage. Today, performance appraisals are expected to serve a number of purposes simultaneously. When discussing the uses of performance appraisal, it is important to distinguish between organizational goals, rater goals, and ratee goals. (Weise and Buckley,1998) Thus, Performance appraisals today should be used as a vital tool to identify the work potential of an employee, instead of choosing the best individual in the organization. Performance appraisal goals needs to become more inclusive – goals which are beneficial to both individual and organization. For example, instead of just assisting an organization make decisions concerning an individual, performance appraisals should be used to help an individual make personal decisions regarding his/her current performance and provide strategies for future development. (Weise and Buckley,1998) Performance appraisal is regarded widely as a necessary attribute of management, part of an over-riding value set of efficiency, of being seen to succeed, to perform and to control. (Barlow,1989) Performance management forms a baseline for setting the objectives and helps in giving a clear picture to employees and clearly explains, what is expected from them. Therefore, the question that arises is, whether performance appraisal system is meant only for completing the organizations objectives? Yes, performance appraisal does that ,but at the same time it gives training and development to employees, proper pay package 3 and right remuneration packages which help in motivating the employees to produce the right output i. e. performance. Performance appraisal is a unique and significant managerial tool used to motivate and control workforce. Linkage of Human resource management and Performance appraisal: Human resource forms an indispensable part of the organization. Hence, it is very im portant to examine the role of appraisal in the effective and efficient utilization of this resource. (Cummings and Swab, pg 56) Fig : 1. The process of Human utilization PERFORMANCE HUMAN ABILITIES AND ENERGIES PROCESSING AND CONVERSION of HUMAN ENERGIES According to Bratton and Gold,(2003:7),† Human resource management (HRM) is a strategic approach to managing employment relations which emphasizes that leveraging peoples capabilities is critical to achieving competitive advantage, this being achieved through a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programs 14 and practices. † HRM forms a core in understanding people’s behavior towards their colleagues as well as their companies. The model laid down by Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna (1984) of HRM gives a clear picture of the HRM process. Bratton and Gold,2003) Fig 2. HRM Process Selection: Performance Human resource development Appraisal Rewards In this modelSelection: Selecting the right candidate who would fulfill the organisational goals and objectives Performance: The output of employee’s abilities which add value to the organization Human resource development: Providing the necessary training session, this would help the employees to possess the relevant knowledge and skill to perform better in the organization. Due to this the employees would improve individual skills as well as advance in the organization. 15 Appraisal: Appraisal which depends largely upon the employees capability to perform would then show the employee’s competencies and talent. The modern human resource system may be divided into four parts acquisition of human resources(recruitment and selection),training and development ,motivation and compensation. Performance appraisal is involved in all four parts and serves to tie them together by providing feedback information for all of the other parts. ( Latham and wexley,1977 : griffin:604) Performance appraisal therefore is known as the powerful tool for managing human resources. Forbrum and Laud,1983) Therefore, an HRM process forms an important element in the organizational structure. HRM department knows the objectives and function well of the organization. Therefore, it knows what kind of people the company needs and recruits in that way. It provides adequate training session to employees so that they know their tasks, well in advance and act accordingly, it helps in encouraging and motivating employees and sees to it that, the employees do their duties well. When the employees know their task well, they would obviously perform well. But, still HRM has to do another important task is to check whether the performance of the employees is as per the standards or not. This is where a formal appraisal system comes into picture. Therefore, Huber,(1980) rightly puts it that in the context of human resource management, formal appraisal serve three purposes: 1. Evaluation, 2. development and 3. Employee protection. Richard Johnson (2004) suggest that organizations need to match HR framework and practices up to holistically corporate strategy in order to achieve superior performance in the organization. 6 WHY is PA necessary? Earlier, PA did not exist in the organization. Then why did the need of performance appraisal arise? Why was it necessary to include performance appraisal system in an organization? Cant a organization run efficiently if there is no PA system ? Wiese and Buckley (1998 ) gave an answer to this. They said that, a formal performance appraisal system serves as an asset in conducting formal decision proce ss within the organization . It also helps employees, in developing their career and increasing their commitment towards their organization. Murphy and Cleveland (1995) add that it is always advantageous to use a formal appraisal system in the organization. Performance appraisal provides information that is relevant for many personnel decisions, like increments in salaries, it introduces scope for promotion, transfers, and training and development programs, as well as for employee development and performance feedback (Jacobs, Kafry, Zedeck,1980) Huber(1980) is also of the same opinion that millions of public and private employees have their performance appraised in order to determine salary, promotions, tenure, layoffs and development potential. Purpose of performance appraisal: The most known purpose of performance appraisal is to improve performance of individuals. Performance appraisal has basically two important purposes, from an organizational point of view: 1. The maintenance of organizational control and 2. the measurement of the efficiency with which the organizations human resources are being utilized. (Cummings and Shwab. 1973 pg. 55) But ,there are also a variety of other declared purposes and desired benefits for appraisal, including: Improving 17 otivation and morale of the employees, clarifying the expectations and reducing the ambiguity about performance, determining rewards, identifying training and development opportunities, improving communication, selecting people for promotion, managing career growths, counseling, discipline, planning remedial actions and setting goals and targets. (Bratton and Gold,2003:284, Bowles and Coates,1993). However, according to Armstrong and Baron, there is rise in more harder and judgmental forms of performance appraisal than softer and developmental approaches. Therefore there has been a shift in performance appraisal away from using it for career planning and identifying future potential and increased use of it for improving current performance and allocating rewards. (Redman and Wilkinson,2001: pg. 60) Performance appraisal can be used as an effective tool to improve employees’ job performance by identifying strengths and weaknesses of the employees and determining how their strengths can be best utilized within the organization and overcome weakness over the period of time. The next question that comes into mind is that who gets more out of the appraisal process the organization or the employees? Who obtains more gain out of it? Both, i. e the organization and employees or any one of them. The following studies give us an explicit understanding of the different purposes of performance appraisal in the organizational context and highlights the different key features of performance appraisal. It also helps us to know who benefits from the appraisal system. Mcgregor (1972) in his paper, â€Å"An uneasy look at performance appraisal† said that formal performance appraisal plans are designed to meet three needs, one of the organization and one two for the individual: The following are his ideas about PA. 8 Firstly, PA provides systematic verdict to back up salary increases, promotions, transfers, demotions or terminations. Secondly, PA forms a means of telling subordinate how he is doing, how his performance is towards the organization and suggesting the changes in his behavior, attitudes, skills or job knowledge improvements ,they let him know â€Å"where he stands† with the boss. Thirdly, PA is increasingly being used as a basis for coaching and counseling of the individual by the superior. Similarly, Murphy and Cleveland (1995) studied how performance appraisal is used in organization. They compared ‘between individual’ and ‘within-individual’ performances. The ‘between individual’ performances was able to provide information to make decisions regarding promotion, retention and salary issues. The ‘within individual’ performances was useful in identifying the training and development needs which includes performance feedback, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of employees as well as determining transfers. Another use of performance appraisal was found out through this study was that of ‘ system maintenance’ which was used to identify the organizational goals and objectives, to analyze the organizational training needs and to improve the personnel planning system of the organization. Finally, documentation purposes are to meet the legal requirements by documenting personnel decisions and conducting validation research on the performance appraisal tools. Bowles and Coates (1993) conducted a postal survey of 250 West Midland companies in June 1992, where the organizations were asked questions pertaining to the use of Performance management in the organization. These questions included the perceived function of PA in the management of work, its strengths and weaknesses, the role of 19 commitment in the management of work. Through their survey they found out that PA was beneficial in the following ways: 1. PA was beneficial in developing the communication between employer and employee, 2. It was useful in defining performance expectations and 3. Identification of training needs. An important study in the field of employee’s performance appraisal program was conducted by Redman et al (2000) on National Health Service Trust hospital (UK). In this study, they explained the effectiveness of performance appraisal in public sector. Their research was mainly to check in what context does performance appraisal hold an upper hand in proving its worth in the public sector. The results however were pretty surprising. The results obtained showed that performance appraisal was considered as ‘organizational virus’. Nelson (2000) adds that PA largely helps the employee to have a focused and fixed approach towards the target goal. He elaborates that appraisal system acts like a boosting factor for the employee to do his job well. It recognizes the employee’s capabilities in order to achieve the given objective and function. It also helps in knowing the shortcomings of the employees and acts like an important element, for career development and planning. Perception of PA in organization It revolves if PA gives a positive impact or a negative impact to the employees. It shows whether the employees get motivated to perform better, if they receive a good feedback or do they get de-motivated and loose interest in their job. So far, we have 20 come across the purpose, uses of PA in the organization, but the perception i. e. the understanding of PA is not taken into consideration in most cases which is important for the employee as well as the organization. If the employees don’t recognize this, then they would suffer unnecessarily in the organization the reason being that, an employee has a certain level of expectation from his company when he joins it; he expects sum kind of growth from it, also the organization expects a lot from him. But, a negative feedback of performance would largely hamper him mentally and make him loose his interest in his job. There would be change in his attitude, which would be problematic for him as well as the organization. He would be de motivated to achieve the organizational objectives. Many employees have a kind of view that, their promotion or salary increments largely depends on their performance. Employees therefore are in a dilemma and consider this situation as ‘survival of the fittest’ . They know for a fact that, their performance is only taken into consideration at the end of the day, and in order to grow in the company they need to be pro active towards their work. The feedback the employee receives from his superior, may simply describe the level of performance achieved. (Evans,1986) Hence, it is important for the managers to conduct the appraisal process properly. Employees can only accept criticism if it is useful and relevant to them. Managers should know how to provide information regarding improvement in performance and how to present criticism as well. Managers feel that whenever they have to provide a negative feedback, the employee is most likely be dejected and de-motivated. Meyer et. al (1965) carried out a study in General Electric Company where certain points relating to performance feedback was highlighted. In this study, 92 appraises were appraised by their managers on two 21 occasions over two weeks. The study was carried out by questionnaires, interviews and observation. The first interview, included performance and salary and the second performance and improvement. It was observed, that there was a lot criticism pointed out by the managers, which lead to defensive behavior of the employee. The conclusions from this study were that- Criticism leads to create a negative impact on the motivation and performance of the employees. Interviews designed to improve performance should not at the same time weigh salary and promotion issues. Participation by the employee in goal setting helps to produce favorable results. After this study, there were many studies which reflect upon employee’s performance issues due to negative feedback. Ilgen et. al (1979) add that the appraisal has to be fair. Employees who believe that the appraisal system is under any kind of bias and misunderstanding between them and the managers are, most likely to be dissatisfied by their work and can also leave their jobs. The extent to which employees are able to accept feedback will vary to a considerable degree between employees and managers will need to be able to cope with such variations . That is ,they will need to ‘know’ their people as individuals, and this itself will be a reflection of the development of managers. ( Bratton and Gold,2000,p. 286) One possible reason for the widespread dissatisfaction with performance appraisal in organization is that the systems used by organizations do not help them or their employees meet the desired goals. ( Murphy and Cleveland. ) It has been shown that individuals are motivated to seek feedback (if it is seen as a valuable resource) to reduce uncertainty and to provide information relevant to self evaluations (Ashford, 1986). 22 How is PA conducted? Performance appraisal system should not merely be a checklist of ‘do’s and don’ts ‘,it should provide a wider perspective to the employees. Performance appraisal has to be designed in such a way that, both, the employee and the organization can obtain fruitful results from it. A performance appraisal system should be made in such a way that the organization can ensure proper accomplishment of goals; at the same time the employee can expect clear and concise work expectations. Knowing what is expected from them is the first step in helping one cope better with the stress usually associated with lack of clear divisions. Baker,1984) To make performance appraisal effective,our criteria need to be present. These are? Employees should be actively involved in the evaluation and development process ? Bosses need to enter performance appraisals with the constructive and helpful attitude. ? ? Realistic goals must be mutually set. Bosses must be aware,and have knowledg e of the employee’s job and performance. (Baker,1984) Cole (1988) presented the following appraisal process framework. This framework explains how the appraisal process is carried out. First, the appraisal form is completed by the manager and the employee then a formal interview is explained where a job improvement plan is established which gives three outcomes action agreed, promotion or transfer or salary review. 23 FIG. 3 PA PROCESS APPRAISAL FORM COMPLETED INTERVIEW CONDUCTED JOB IMPROVEMENT PLAN ACTION AGREED PROMOTION OR TRANSFER SALARY REVIEW 24 APPRAISAL METHODS: Management by Objective: Management by objective (MBO) was introduced by Peter Drucker in 1954 which changed a managers role from being a judge to a helper. Management by objective is an approach where employees are evaluated by how well they accomplish their tasks and objectives which are important to be critical in the successful completion of their job. MBO is a process, which converts organizational objectives into individual objectives. It helps in goal setting, planning, self review and performance review. In goal setting, the organizational objectives are used as guidelines through which the individual objectives are set up. Goals are set up between the managers and the employees, which become the standards against which the employee’s results will be evaluated. MBO is used in planning process ie making the action plan for carrying out the assigned goals. It includes identifying the proper activities necessary to accomplish the objectives. Self-control is another important step in MBO, where a systematic monitoring of performance is done by the individuals so that they get a clearer picture of their performance. (Rudman,2003) says that it is crucial to have very precise and well defined objectives, this will eradicate scenarios whereby the appraiser have to appraise performance based on unclear objectives which will in turn will affect motivation. The advantage of MBO lie in its result oriented emphasis. It assists the management for planning and control functions and is considered as a result oriented approach for performance appraisal ,because employees would know exactly what is expected of them and how they will be evaluated and how their evaluation will be based on their success in achieving their goal. MBO clearly defines an employee’s goals and objectives to be achieved in the organization. 25 Although management by objectives has many positive features, its limitations need to be understood. The primary issue that needs to be addressed by the organization is the high level of management commitment and time required to reorient the thinking of employees (Patten, 1977,Weise and Buckey,1998). Graphic Rating Scale (GRS) GRS is considered as the most popular and oldest of the appraisal systems. GRS is used mainly in evaluating performance based on quantity and quality of work. In this the rating of an employee is done on some specific areas only. The rater has to mark the employee on the basis of certain scale which best describes the employees performance in the organization. GRS helps in analyzing employees on a quantitative scale and can help to compare and contrast the employee’s behavior on this scale. There is greater standardization of items so comparability with other individuals in diverse job categories is possible. (Henderson, 1984, p. 175) BARS and BOS : Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) was introduced by Smith and Kendall. BARS development is a long and arduous process, involving many steps and many people. From this process, performance dimensions are more clearly defined and are based on more observable behaviors. Weise and Buckley,1998) This system received special attention in the field of performance appraisal. This method was useful in analyzing the performance on the basis of behavior. BARS, clearly highlights the 26 definite, observable and measurable behaviors done in the job. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale was greatly accepted because it made use of specific behaviors which is derived for each job and which would produce relatively reliable and error-free ratings. Behavior observation scales were then introduced which were intended to improve BARS. (Latham and Wexley, 1977) Motivation and Goal setting theory Performance appraisal process and its outcome can affect an employee’s motivation. Employee’s performance is seen as most directly as a consequence of the employee’s ability and his motivation to perform. (Cummings and Swabs, 1973, pp. 46) In Organisational context, the performance is evaluated by examining the employee’s abilities and capabilities to achieve the desired objectives. Behaviour Maintenance Model The BMM presented by Cummings and Swabs attempted to show how people become motivated to perform effectively in the organization. This model shows the importance of outcomes in the motivational process. 27 Fig 4 Behavior Maintenance Model SATISFACTION GOAL ATTAINMENT MOTIVATION GOAL ASPIRATIONS In the framework, Goal aspirations lead to goal attainment and motivation. When goal aspirations leads to goal attainment which when achieved by the employee give a sense of job satisfaction him. When an employee is satisfied then he ultimately becomes motivated to work more efficiently in the organization. Evans(1986) also presented a model of motivation in which a goal ie a starting point is set up by the supervisor or the individual and it is then accepted by them. This goal largely influences the employee’s persistence, attention effort and the approach or the strategy which he adopts to complete the goal. These factors and the constraints of performance determine the actual performance. When this task has been accomplished then this actual performance is compared with the original 28 Fig 5 Evans Model of Motivation Goal set and goal accepted Effort Constraints on performance Attention Persistence Strategy Ability Performance Comparison with goals Feedback Locke( 1968) introduced the Goal setting theory whereby the employee gets motivated to work for his organization when he has a goal to achieve. Locke’s Goal setting theory is summarized as follows- a. hard goals produce a higher level of performance than easy goals, b. some specific hard goals produce higher level of output; c. behavioral intentions regulate choice behavior. Feedback Feedback about the effectiveness of an individual’s behavior has long been recognized as essential for learning and for motivation in performance-oriented organizations. Ilgen et al 1979) Feedback is considered as an important tool in performance appraisal 29 process. Feedback can be a useful tool for development, especially if it is specific and behaviorally oriented, as well as both problem-oriented and solution-oriented (Murphy and Cleveland, 1995) One of the basic purposes of formal appraisal process is the provision of clear and performance based feedback to employees. ( Carroll and Sc heiner,1982) Some organizations use feedback as a development tool ,while in some organizations it is used for merit evaluation and compensation adjustment. McEvoy and Buller,1987; London ,Wohlers and Gallagher,1990) Feedback is very essential for the employees because it forms a baseline for the employees which help them to get a review of their past performance and chance to improve their skills for the future. (Ashford,1986) says that when feedback is considered as a valuable resource, then only the individuals feel motivated to seek it, which helps in reducing uncertainty and provides information relevant to self evaluations. There is also evidence that performance feedback (if given appropriately) can lead to substantial improvements in future performance (Guzzo et al. 1985; Kopelman, 1986; Landy et al. , 1982) 360 degree performance appraisal: 360 Degree appraisal is used to describe a comprehensive nature of feedback which is received by an individual through everyone in the job. It is also referred to as ‘multisource feedback’ or ‘multi-rater feedback'(Kettley,1997) adds that when an individual receives feedback from different sources of the organization, including peers, subordinate staff ,customers and themselves, i. e. When a feedback is received from ‘all-round’ a job, then the process is known as 360 degree appraisal or feedback. 0 Nearly all the Fortune 300 companies are adopting 360 degree appraisal process. (London and Smither, 1995). The demand of 360 degree, in UK is increasing rapidly. (Handy et al, 1996, Geake et. al, 1998) There hasn’t been a lot of empirical evidence on the 360 degree appraisal system. (Fletcher and Baldry 1999 : pg63) say that-‘The actual amount of empirical evidence on the impact of 360 degree feedback is disappointingly small considering its extent of its use; widespread adoption seems to have reflected faith rather than proven validity’. Even though 360 degree, is not widespread enough it is been used for a lot of purposes. Research has shown that 360 degree is used for the following purposes(Fletcher and Bailey 2003) state that 360 degree feedback gives a great scope to commend and criticize on their sub ordinates performance. It also helps in building up the competency of the organizations framework and objective. It aids in increasing self awareness as self-assessment corresponds to subordinates perception. Summary of literature review. Performance appraisal was evolved in the third century in China in the Wei dynasty. Weise and Buckley, 1998) PA was seen in industry in the early 1800. In UK, Randell (1994) observed it in Robert Owens ‘silent monitors’. In US, an Army General introduced it in for evaluation of his army men. Earlier, PA was used only for administrative administration. The linkage of human resource management and performance appraisal is shown in the research. Huber (1980) rightly puts it that in the context of human resource purposes like retention, discharges, promotion and salary 31 management, formal appraisal serves three main purposes: 1. Evaluation, 2. development and 3. Employee protection Richard Johnson (2004) also suggest in this context that organizations need to match up with the HR framework, objectives and practices up to holistically corporate strategy in order to achieve superior performance in the organization. The research explained why a formal performance appraisal was necessary in the organization. PA gives an employee a proper understanding of his duties and tasks towards his organization. It helps the organization to evaluate employees on a common ground and gives scope for retention, salary decisions, promotions, training and development programs etc. Jacobs, Kafry Zedeck,1980 ) Studies by McGregor, Murphy et al, Bowles and Coates etc explained the various purposes of performance appraisal. About 61% of organization adopted Performance appraisal by 1950. Performance appraisal developed on the basis of objectives and goal function, thus MBO was evolved. MBO was helpful in setting up goals, which became the standard against which th e employee’s performance was compared. However, MBO was ineffective performance was measured in units. Therefore, behaviorally monitored performance review was introduced. Thus, Behaviorally Anchored Rating System (BARS) was introduced. BARS was designed by Smith and Kendall in 1963. BARS was found to give more accurate rating of performance. Behavior observation scales were then introduced which were intended to improve BARS. (Latham and Wexley, 1977) It was seen that performance appraisal can be used as a motivational tool. The Behavior Maintenance Model presented by Cummings and Swab in 1973, which explained how people become motivated to perform effectively in the organization. 32 Similarly, Evans (1986) also presented a model which explained how individual and manager decide a goal and how this goal largely influences the individual’s persistence, attention and the strategy he/she adopts to complete the goal. These factors determine his actual performance. When the individual’s tasks are achieved then this actual performance is compared with the original goal. Locke(1968) introduced the Goal setting theory which emphasizes the importance of conscious goal levels as determinants of actual performance. Goal setting theory is summarized as follows- a. ard goals produce a higher level of performance than easy goals, b. some specific hard goals produce higher level of output; c. behavioral intentions regulate choice behavior. Feedback is another important element in the field of performance appraisal. the feedback which an individual receives is the report of the performance achieved by him/her. 360 degree feedback was introduced which refers to feed back received by an individual through everyone in the organization. 360 degree feedback includes feedback from peers ,sub-ordinates and customers. It is also known as ‘multi-source feedback’. 33 Chapter 3 RESEARCH METHOD This section would help understand and explain the reasons behind the choice of the methodology I have adapted for this research The choosing of research methodology depends on the nature of study topic (Creswell, 1994 ). Research objective The research objective was to understand the effectiveness of an appraisal process on the employees. The main purpose of this dissertation was, to study the employees ability to perform well in the industry and to check the impact of performance feedback over their job. Research methods. Quantitative Vs Qualitative. Denzin and Lincoln ( 2000 ) say that, Qualitative research generates the socially constructed nature of reality, the intimate relationship between the researcher and what is studied, and the situational constraints that shape inquiry. They seek answers to questions that stress how social experience is created and given meaning. In constrant, quantitative studies emphasize the measurement and analysis of casual relationships between variables, and not processes. (pg 8) 4 Qualitative research thus has a humanistic element to it, whereas Quantitative research is grounded in mathematical and statistical knowledge. (Gephart,2004) Qualitative research is a representation of peoples mind and, it is interpretative and highly inductive. (Van Maanen, 1998) Another interesting difference between the two methods is, that quantitative techniques require the researcher to produce and verify hypothesis and reduce entities into simple variables for the benefit of understanding and generalizing. Also, it assumes that all occurrences are independent events that have no connection to the surrounding environment. On the other hand, qualitative research attempts to prove and understand phenomena rather than explaining the cause and effect relationship. Further, it believes that all occurrences are linked in some way to the surrounding environment. (Easterby smith et al,2002) Why qualitative? The goal of qualitative research is to understand the research topic more explicitly, from the perspective of the interviewee, and to understand how and why they have arrived at this perspective. Gephart, 2004) adds that, qualitative research methodology largely depends on recounting, understanding and explaining complex or interrelated phenomena, namely, the methodology is to understand multi-dimensional, dynamic picture of a subject of study. Qualitative research method was ideal for this project, because it gave a deeper understanding of the, given theories and helped in obtaining an edge in knowing the concepts well. As the data obtained through qualitative is the interviewees own responses, it helps in gaining a broader perspective about the topic. The exact responses pertaining to the literature review helps in linking the data well. 35 Research Tactics The tactics used for data collection for the research are classified as follows: Primary data: The research deals with the reaction of the employees after being appraised. Hence , it was necessary to conduct the research through semi structured interviews. Cooper and Schindler (2001) suggest in this context , that if the research is an exploratory study, use of interviews is more appropriated for the researcher to understand and get an in depth view of the topic being explored. Design of interview question . : The interview questions were designed, keeping in mind the research objective. Eight questions were designed in accordance with the literature review. The interview questions were categorized into four parts. The first part, reflected the employees basic experience with performance appraisal. The second part, focused on the training aspect of the organization, which forms an important part of the appraisal process. The third part, focused on the direct implications of the appraisal process on the employee’s life. The last part was designed to reflect answers relating to motivation and better performance in the organization. The questions designed were open-ended because ,it could give the employee the chance to elaborate his given situation. Easterby-Smith, et al. , (2002) state that, investigators conduct qualitative interview to understand ‘how individuals construct the reality of their situation formed from the complex personal framework †¦ in order to help explain and predict events in their world’. 36 When was the research done? The research was done in mid July to mid August. Data analysis: For the data collected in this research through interviews, a framework given by Bryman and Bell(2003) was used. The framework is known as Theoretical sampling which is explained as follows. Theoretical Sampling: It is a process of data collection for generating theory where the researcher collects and analyzes data and decides what data to collect next and where to find it, in order to develop his theory as it emerges (Bryman and Bell, 2003. Thus, data was collected from various sources until there was a theoretical saturation. The same content leads to descriptive content analysis which is discussed in detail in the next section (Bryman and Bell, 2003, p. 330). Figure – Theoretical sampling 37 Secondary research This has been provided through the available research and various reports. This was done by accessing the library and books, journals, market reports and internet extensively. Limitations: Limitations of qualitative research. : The big problem with qualitative data is how to condense highly complex and context-bound information into a format which tells a story in a way that is fully convinced to the eader. â€Å"(Cassell and Symon, 2004) Qualitative research methods are descriptive. Also ,they are subjective in nature which always leads to a kind of research bias. Sometimes, the interviewees were not willing to open up much, towards 38 some question. This would either lead to incomplete information or incorrect information. Another important limitation was time constraint. Due to time cons traint, the researcher was not able to take many interviews. Summary of Research methods: The research method was done keeping the research objective in mind. The research method adopted for this research was Qualitative research method. Qualitative research method helps to understand multi-dimensional, dynamic picture of a subject of study. The research tactics adopted for the research were done in the form of primary data source and secondary data source. Primary data was obtained in the form of structured interviews. The questions designed for these interviews were open ended. The secondary data was obtained in the form of reports, books, journals etc. A theoretical sampling method of Bryman and Bell (2003) was adopted for data analysis method. 9 CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF DATA: This section is divided into two partsPart A describes the parameters on which the performance appraisal process is designed in the organisation. The parameters helped the researcher to understand the effectiveness of performance appraisal in the organization. Part B describes the analysis of data. The analysis of data explained in detail the respondent’s view s about the appraisal system PART A : COMPANY INFORMATION; Following is brief description of the various parameters adopted by the company in order to conduct the formal appraisal system. The appraisal system is conducted twice every year. First, in June and the other in January . The performance appraisal system in the company is conducted on the basis of 5 parameters. 1. Business Acumen 2. People Leadership 3. Effective Communication 4. Execution 5. Customer Centricity Business Acumen: 1. Business Acumen refers to the ability of the employees to conduct quick and accurate decisions pertaining to the business strategies. Performance appraisal considers Business Acumen as an important tool in analysing the individual’s business related activities in the organisation. 40 . People Leadership : People leadership refers to the employees ability to show leadership skills. It also shows whether the employee is able to motivate employees, helps in building up morale of his subordinates. He acts with empathy and ensures better coordination in his team. The company considers this as an important parameter because it helps in knowing the leadership skill of the employee. 3. Effective Communication: Communication is an integral part of every organization. The employee should be having good communication skills. He/she should be able to communicate at all levels. . Execution: Execution is the process where the employee should be able to execute the given task in a specific period of time. Under this parameter, the employee’s efficiency and potentiality is considered. His/her prompt reaction to any situation is considered. This parameter also tests an employee’s capability to handle work load under pressure. 5. Customer centricity : ‘Customer is the King’ . This parameter focuses on the employees way of handling customers. It checks the employee’s promptness in handling the customer and his/her ability to make the customer satisfied. The above parameters are calculated with the help of the following 3 point rating chart. 41 3= Outstanding The employee understands his job very well. Performance is exceptionally good and much higher than the standard set up. Clearly understands the key objectives and goals of the organization and achieves them in time. Efficient and prompt. 2= Meet expectations Performance meets the required expectation. May exceed expectations in areas like communication and customer centricity. Good understanding of objectives and goals. = Needs Improvement Performance doesn’t meet the expectation and lacks consistency. Lack of understanding of key objectives and goals. Requires additional training and development sessions. PART B : .ANALYSIS OF DATA The analysis of data was done on the basis of the responses obtained through the interview process. The analysis is done by the respondent’s views over the performance appraisal process present in the company. 42 A total of 6 respondent s agreed to participate in the research. The interview was designed, taking into consideration the research questions. The interview considered four main aspects, which are as followsA. Performance appraisal process B. Training and development C. Feedback D. Impact of performance appraisal A. Performance appraisal process. The questions designed under this section were to understand the performance appraisal process in the organisation. This would give the researcher, a clearer picture of the organisational PA process by presenting exact views of the interviewees. Questions under this section: Q 1) Do think it is necessary to have a formal appraisal process in the organisation? Q 2. ) What are your views about the appraisal system in your organization? Responses : Q. 1 ) Do think it is necessary to have a formal appraisal process in the organisation? Yes. We have a formal appraisal process twice a year in June and January where my manager shares the feedback on the goals defined to achieve by the end of given period. ( Respondent no. 1) 43 Yes, it is necessary to conduct a formal appraisal process. It gives a clearer understanding of our objectives and functions and makes us more competent to achieve our goals. ( Respondent No. 2) Yes. I have gone through a formal appraisal process about 10 times since 2002. I feel it an essential part of the organization. We, the employees , know our duties well in the organization ,we know what is expected from us and our target goals are laid down for the coming period. ( Respondent no. 4) Q 2. ) What are your views about the appraisal system in your organization? The appraisal system is very comprehensive as it focuses our accomplishment summary, strengths/growths, improvement and development needs and plans, Training needs and other certifications and potentially career interests. It also rates employees based on people leadership, effective communication and customer centricity. ( Respondent No. 1) I think it’s important to have formal appraisal system. It not only helps you achieve your long-term goals but also helps you understand where you stand in comparison to your colleagues. There will be lot of other hard working people in organization, who will be working towards the same goal or same position that you want, so this process gives you a more clear path, vision as to what you can do differently that will set you apart from other employees. It generates a healthy competition. (Respondent no. 2) 44 The Appraisal System in my organization is well-organized, both from the Performance Capturing viewpoint as well as from the Review and setting up the goals and expectations of an individual. ( Respondent no. 5) It was seen from the above responses that, the employee were generally happy about the current PA process, because it was designed to help them grow and develop in the organisation. It provided them with the necessary guidance to improve their performance and other key skills in the job. The employees stated that it lead to healthy competition amongst the employees. B. Training and Development The second part of the interview focused on the training skills obtained through the appraisal process. The questions were designed to understand if the organization really requires training and development program and whether it is useful for them to grow in the organisation. Questions asked- Q. 1) Do you think a formal appraisal process should include training and development programs? Why? 45 Q. 2. ) How did the training and development program of the appraisal process help you? Were you satisfied with it? Q. 1)Do you think a formal appraisal process should include training and development programs? Why? Responses to Q1. Yes, an appraisal process should possess training and development processes, because it helps an individual to work on his/her improvement areas which could be addressed by training in appropriate soft or technical skill-set. For example If an individual lacks delegation of work to its peer sub ordinates, then he can be recommended for ‘Delegation of Authority’ training which would enable him to understand the concept and delegate responsibility. Respondent 1) Yes, it’s important to have training and development programs part of appraisal process. It’s important for every employee to understand how the appraisal process works and how are they evaluated. They should be given training so that process is very transparent for them and they understand everything. Also once the appraisal is done and employees have given their improvement areas, it’s important to conduct different development programs to help them work on their improvement areas. (Respondent 4) 46 Yes. The formal appraisal process should include the training and development programs. The main objective of an appraisal process is to showcase where an individual stands from the performance and organization expectations point of view, and what are his development needs and GnOs (Goals and Objectives) for the upcoming year. The Trainings and Development programs help and individual to enhance his abilities and acquire the required skills to meet the expectations/goals set for him by the organization/management and also help his to grow in the organization. (Respondent 3) Q. 2. ) How did the training and development program of the appraisal process help you? Were you satisfied with it? Answers to Q2. The training and development needs were fulfilled in some areas unlikely in certain areas like leadership it was not fulfilled based on project, location and time priorities. It’s a very costlier affair to organize training onsite and hence had to do a lot of self learning and receiving coaching feedback from assigned coaches. (Respondent 2) Yes, I was satisfied with the training and development programs as it helped me to work on my improvement areas. After going through different training and development programs, my Leadership and People management skills improved a lot. This in turn helped me to manage my team more efficiently, by understanding there needs, by motivating them and helping them to achieve their individual goals. This helped us to meet our targets set by the organization and also gave production benefit to the Customer. (Respondent 5) 47 I have attended various programs/training in my career till date. They have always helped me to enhance my abilities and skills . For example, the Six Sigma Green Belt Training and the LEAN Quality Trainings have given me a vision to think about Quality in every task we do and thus improvise the performance. The Coaching Manager and Leadership trainings have helped me to emerge as a better colleague, Team Lead and a mentors to my peers and subordinates. I have been pretty satisfied with these training and would look forward to the opportunities to attend more of them. (Respondent 3) The overall response in this context, was pretty positive. The employees thought that training and development formed an important element in the process. However, one respondent highlighted a different point where training and development was not provided. The training guidelines helped them to understand their organizational objectives and functions well. All the respondents were satisfied with the training and development program because it helped them to enhance their skills in the job. C. Feedback: The questions designed under this section helped to obtain the immediate reaction of the appraisal system. This was required in understanding how the employees feedback is in the organization. These are the following questions: 48 Q 1. What is your immediate response after being appraised? Q. 2. Was your performance discussed in detail? Were any improvements suggested? Q 1. What is your immediate response after being appraised? The responses obtained were as followed: Its always to good to know your strengths and your improvement areas. It provides platform to work on areas for the coming period. (Respondent 2) After appraisal I know what are my strong areas, which sets me apart from others and I have to keep working on that. It also helped me to identify my improvement areas, which I have to focus so that I can grow in the Organization and achieve my goal (respondent 3) This depends upon how the discussion goes along with my managers and appraisers. If the Managers convince me about How to cite Exploring the Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal, Essay examples

Ethics In Marketing Pepperstone Companies

Question: Discuss about theEthics In Marketing for Pepperstone Companies. Answer: Ethics in Marketing Field In the course of recent years, enthusiasm for good issues has become to a great degree in trade and particularly in the advertising ground. As a result, there have been an incredible number of articles, diary, books and research that have been accessible. Be that as it may, just a little number of them has prescribed on way to deal with social obligation and morals. They do not have a fused methodology for building social duty and morals component of the vital advertising arranging strategy. This has been appeared by case; beguiling promoting, misdirecting bundling and flawed offering perform (Cahn Markie 2011). Business order advertising is for the most part helpless against dissatisfaction with moral practices. Ethics has turned into a vital and particular piece of promoting and a matter of hot examination in different fields these days. Then again, as of late purchaser development and natural halls that have come into survival are solidly perceived and screen unscrupulous conduct, and have acquired adjustments business hone and in the tenets, which direct how organizations must conduct themselves. Along these lines, every one of those propositions ought to be given authoritative document that contains moral principles for key advertising. In this way, the general population is making a decent attempt to keep up their moral qualities by keeping the promoting rules as per it. They set forward that the sub controls of promoting (that is; publicizing, individual offering, valuing, advertising exploration and universal showcasing) offer wide open doors for dishonest activities (Craig 2015). Many people have energetically reacted to the unfeeling objection got and modified the strategy they perform However, countless are not cognizant about the ethical sets and regardless of the fact that they will be, they don't hold quick to them and make a move in an inadmissible way. Moral clashes in advertising can for the most part emerge in two settings; firstly the distinction between the requirements of organization, industry, and society. Besides, the contention emerges when the enthusiasm of individual and association change. Along these lines, there ought to be the essential point or instructing the advertisers about the moral standards and social obligations in this aspect. The larger part promoting practices have moral substance yet they accidentally put words that might be remorseless and exploitative for some individuals and this may place them in threat. For instance the main case applies to the auto fabricating organizations that is unsafe for environment yet in the meantime owning an auto is need. In any case, this affects the oil cost and environment however yet assembling of autos can't be ceased in light of the fact that 70% of the family units own autos. Thus, the organizations that produce cigarettes have unfriendly affects on society however yet the produce it and make individuals dependent on it. In spite of the fact that they put a notice on the bundle yet what do you believe is that enough? Indeed, even government has no appropriate response to it. Governments have been quiet about this issue in light of the fact that the fundamental obligation lies on the general public who pays notice to their social needs like an auto as a vital and required item in their life and they can't exclude them out of their lives and can't work without it. Or maybe they ought to consider the forthcoming results due to the autos just and its related issues as well. Essentially tobacco organizations finish their probability just by warning individuals and don't step to individuals to dispose of this unsafe cigarette smoking. Governments ought to likewise appreciate this perspective (Fitzpatrick Carolyn 2006). NEXTDC.LTD and Pepperstone Ethical Issues in NEXTDC.LTD and Pepperstone in Australia Ownership of the Intellectual Companies They at last chose to simply ahead and manage it later in the event that they were tested. Each startup expands on prior thoughts and advancements. Now and again that is reasonable use, however frequently it is an infringement of others' IP or competitive innovations. Nobody documented suit to obstruct the endeavor yet she is troubled still by her own negligence for others' protected innovation. Business visionaries frequently leave one organization and instantly begin another organization that is a blend of others' protected innovation and their own. How can one resist such an enticement? What is it that one owes his/her previous organization? How should one even know where he/she got the thought behind his/her startup in a presentation at their previous organization, in discourse with a companion or in the shower some morning? These are the kind of questions one must always ask before starting his or her business as it is unethical to use ones information and ideas for your own benefit (Freeman Wicks 2009). Who is really on the team? One situation cited in this article: The preliminary team consisted of old long time friends, some of whom whose skills did not even scale as quick as the others that were present. Should the team have fired the main perpetrator and procure back the stock taken at a proportion profitable to the firm? In many of the situations deliberated, the outstanding originators experienced no responsibility to safeguard the coating perpetrator or the goods. How do define evenhandedness in a case where the original management splits up the loot? What should we do when an individual steps out or donates less over time of the setting up a business owing to wellbeing or household distresses? The recompenses are so great that gluttony can result in fierce comportment as the underlying group competes for greater shares of balance. In NEXTDC and peperstone for example, every businessperson believed their donation to the venture was important. But it was overheard that some numerous, too, where business people had created previous clerks and early experts prosperous alongside with the principal group. Should companys lie to its Funders? One endeavor industrialist depicted business visionaries who protected up the disappointment of their preparatory item in the commercial center by sending workers to put available outlets to purchase the item in outsized amounts. However, they have never succeeded to, and subsequently the harm to their notorieties was extensive. They are known to be sorrowful for money and enticement to overstate. The following progression of issues are known to do with extending reality or complete lying at various phases of the business cycle. Principal situation always appear when business people or even organizations look for financing. Another group that is known to mislead forthcoming funders about the discouraging advancement on their central innovation are always excited to haul a mechanical rabbit out of the cap later (George 2008). At extraordinary danger to the managements own particular projection and to those of the organization, the management found all and let go each individual that were included. A decent for example, is that of a situation where more than a couple of members in the numerous combination talks lauded the manager that touched base in a presentation having a gravely required plump of funding plan. The company survived and went ahead to be sold to a much greater firm. Yet, the CEO found that the money related reports given for the end were deceptive. Later, with the organization near impoverishment, speculators fulfilled the managements honesty by approaching it with financing. Should Companys Lie to Customers? Concern has been enunciated by many people that even with late administrative requirements and ventured up due tirelessness, the potential for underhandedness still exists. Another vast influence is to raise deals and returns, and to make a lot of innovative work diligent work, to give justifiable reason explanation behind a higher stock cost in a unique open commitment. It's additionally powerful for organizations to extend reality with clients to acquire income. This happens to be outstandingly regular with Internet based organizations like the pepperstone, which now and again are not solid. Organizations that are not skillful to convey on guarantees or that send items that require modification before they in actuality work for some numerous purchasers (Lussier Herbert 2013). NEXTDC reported that the most melancholy stricken choices by the side of its startup concentrated on whether to make known blemishes or to postpone transport of another era of made merchandise since it wasn't prepared. The management noted they at long last met the guarantees, however just on account of a sudden specialized leap forward. Should Organizations lie to Financial Specialists? Most new and on the expansion organizations, for example, the NEXTDC and pepperstone are inclined to the bad habit. Business individuals and business venture entrepreneurs' morals are frequently especially tried as they gravitate toward a "liquidity occasion. Organizations have to labor for a long time to get them prepared for the IPO according to some reports from Pepperstone. The allurement to put outside of anyone's ability to see any last-minute obnoxious amazement is overpowering. An endeavor pepperstone is reviewed, as an entrepreneurial working gathering that won an agreement by promising stock characteristics that had not yet been produced (Murphy Lacznaic 2006). Should Companies lie to hit their Numbers? At the point when business people find themselves with costly investment opportunities and millions in new success, they regularly ascend their way of life to partner their claimed riches. At that point there's paycheck time. The most extreme case of all times is amid the second from last quarter of 2002, in the last huge innovative air pocket. The matter is still scandalous in the Silicon Valley, as an ascent of organizations yielded to an enticement so as to control their profit. Any risk of a paycheck shortage put in threat to their house of cards. According to some investigation by the board that was reviewed in a case in which business people protracted the meaning of income acknowledgment further and further to experience the exhortation they had given the business sector, notwithstanding reserving income in view of close to assessed deals from introductory deals calls. Individuals, for example, the NEXTDC and pepperstone recounted CFOs feeling strained to make the numbers work. Keeping in mind various escaped with it, others didn't. Their arrangement distorted, furthermore the organization hardly lasted. Who owns the Company Data? One CEO, of the popular NEXTDC who requested to be anonymous uncovered that his employees were revealing new items that contained files the organization had guaranteed to safeguard classified. As pepperstone in Australia gather always-important information, the allurement is extraordinary to adapt that data, amplifying the significance of client assentation and protection strategies. Be that as it may, the C.E.O pondered regardless of whether to accuse his staff or himself for drawing nearer them to extremes. He slaughtered the advancement lines and needed to view as unpromising a few million dollars of improvement cost. What is a Companys Role in the Community? A few differing specialists have been ensnared in a project to make it somewhat simpler for new companies to get required in their group, and to save a few originators' stock for early altruism. The run of the mill gathering discourse for these honors proposes the business people have developed group administration hooked on the starting scrutinization of their organizations and credit to the business accomplishment into a limited extent to that profession. Organizations must work day in and day out in the event that they are to be triumphant. Be that as it may, others see this in an unexpected way. Consistently, grants are given in Australia to organizations that empowered the area meeting of their staffs. There are broad inquiries regarding social obligation: Does a startup have a duty to be convoluted in its group? Incalculable business people reverberation what many individuals say: numerous trust that organizations need to quit kidding (Thompson leidlein 2008). References Cahn, M. S., Markie, P. (2011). Ethics: History, Theory, and Contemporary issues. Craig, J. (2015). Organisatonal Ethics: A Practical Approach. Fitzpatrick, R. k., Carolyn, B. (2006). Ethics in public Relations: Responsible Advocasy. Freeman, E. R., Wicks, C. A. (2009). Business Ethics. George, B. G. (2008). marketing ethics. Lussier, N. R., Herbert, S. (2013). Business, Society, and Government Essentials: Srategy and Applied Ethics. murphy, E. p., lacznaic, R. g. (2006). marketing ethics: cases and readings. Thompson, N. W., leidlein, E. J. (2008). Ethics in City Hall: Discussion And Analysis For Public Administration.

Online Music Industry free essay sample

Why are Tunes and Spottily so popular? Critique 4 Sources 5 Introduction 4 In this casework, we want to focus on the changing environment of music industry. It started with radio, later on gramophone, vinyl and records, Cads and now online music. We want to research why this new type of listening and sharing music is so popular and finally, will it take over all the other sectors of music. Tunes Tunes Is software of the company Apple.Since Apple has paid so much attention ND effort on making mobile phones, music players and computers that have excellent applications to play music, they also created a proper Instrument for people to play the music they wanted. Whats nice about this is that its not only meant for downloading, buying and listening to music but also for watching movies, programs and videos and listening to the radio. When the customer wants to use this application, the only thing that it requires is to download the program from the Internet to your computer or to any machine for free. We will write a custom essay sample on Online Music Industry or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After this, you Just start to buy and then download music, films, etc. The software and create your own playbills. In these plastic you can then categorize the song by the name of the artist, the name of the song or the album. After this you can play these songs one after another based on the alphabets or the singer, album or in a totally random order. If you dont have the music you want to have, you can also buy it from Apple Store. The price for one song is 0. 99? and for an album Its 9. 99?. However, for some of these songs you can only play these songs with the Tunes playing program or Apples own Pod music players since the songs are DRUM-protected.Lately they have started to release more of unprotected songs which also affect the pricing but are more convenient for the users. Now you have created your own database of music and you can listen to it when and wherever you like, even without internet connection. Spottily Spottily Is a Swedish music service where customers can listen to the music straight Daniel Eek Jaw Martin Lorenz. The program was published to the audience in 2008 and a part of Spottily ABA is now owned by many different record-companies. If you dont have Internet connection, you can listen to the songs that you have downloaded through Spottily to your computer. The service is for free but for the songs that you download, you have to purchase. There is also another option that is not for free Inch is getting Spottily Premium. This means that you will have to pay 9. 99 Euro per month. With this application, you dont have to listen to the adverts that are playing in between the songs and there is no limit of how many times one song can be listened to. There are also other benefits such as getting preview published songs from many artists. Also the quality of the sound is better that for the free users and they can save a maximum of 3 333 songs to be listened to without Internet injection. To use Spottily, you ought to have a Faceable account and you can use the same account for many devices at the same time but you can only listen to music from one at one time. Spottily is available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, England, USA, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. In September 2010 they had more than 10 millions users and the number is constantly Increasing.The music selection in Spottily is very wide and in September 2010 there Nerve 10 millions songs available that customers can search for based on the name of he artist, the song, the album and/or the style of the music. When wanting to download songs, one song costs 1. 59 Euro. The price of one song decreases as more songs are bough at the same time, for example buying 10 songs costs 9. 99? and buying 100 songs costs 60. 00?. However, you can play these songs with whatever music player you want since the songs are not DRUM-protected. In September 2009 Spottily was published for phone and Raindrop phones and in March for Simian phones.Using this mobile application, a customers needs to have Spottily Premium or Spottily Unlimited which costs 4. 99 Euro per month. When using Spottily on your mobile, you can also listen to music when being offline. With this unlimited application you can listen to Spottily as much as you want. In that way its better than the free version (Spottily Open published in May 2010) since with the free version you can only listen to music for 20 hours in a month. In April 2011 Spottily announced that [o are only able to listen to one song five times in a month and that you are allowed to listen to music only 10 hours a month for free.On Spottily a customer can see Inch songs his/her friends are listening since Spiffy is connected to Faceable. This Nay customers can also share their playbills with others and link music to their friends. NH are Tunes and Spottily so popular? Before Tunes and Spottily became so popular, the means of listening to music were basically records, radio and CD since the asss. Also Youth was published on the 1 5th of February 2005. What makes online music players so much better and revolutionary is that they make everything easier. Using online services makes finding new and up to date music much faster.The only thing you need to do is to find the name of the song, artist, album or even a couple of sentences of the lyrics ND type them into services like Tunes Store and Spottily and you will find what you Whats new. In Tunes this is also possible by going to the Store and it gives you a list of most popular songs. This way you are immediately updated of the latest news. Nowadays you no longer need to buy a whole album of one artist if there is only one song you like. This way it is so much cheaper since you always have the option to either listen to it from Spottily for free or then buy it from there or Tunes Store.With Spottily you can also connect the versatile playbills you have created or mound to your mobile phones and even TV. You dont have to carry extra devices such as CD-players or MPH-players with you. Just carry your phone and all the music available for you to enjoy. Critique There are a couple of things that we can criticize online music services on. Firstly, artists and record companies complain that the compensation they receive is not sufficient enough. There are songs that have been played thousands of times and the money that the artists receive can be something like 30 Euro. This seems to be too little.

Silas Marner (Silas Marner) and Jolil (Salt on a Snakes Tail in Come to Mecca) could both be described as outsiders in society Essays

Silas Marner (Silas Marner) and Jolil (Salt on a Snakes Tail in Come to Mecca) could both be described as outsiders in society Essays Silas Marner (Silas Marner) and Jolil (Salt on a Snakes Tail in Come to Mecca) could both be described as outsiders in society Paper Silas Marner (Silas Marner) and Jolil (Salt on a Snakes Tail in Come to Mecca) could both be described as outsiders in society Paper Essay Topic: The Outsiders The characters of Silas Marner and Jolil Miah are quite different in their background. They are different ages, different races and religions, and the places they are brought up in are also quite different. Silas grew up in the rural countryside, while the changes of the industrial revolution were going on (in the early nineteenth century), whereas Jolil lived in Brixton, in a rough council estate in urbanised London, in the nineteen sixties. Yet although they lived in a different day and time, their situations were somewhat similar. Their communities contrast in a number of ways, but both Silas and Jolil do not fit into these categorised societies. Silas, by the end of his lifetime, has at last been integrated into the community of Raveloe, and is accepted by the neighbours and other people in the village. But what happens to Jolil only makes him feel more of a misfit in his society than ever. Jolil, a young Muslim boy growing up in London, is torn apart between his different cultures and societies. His father, who has emigrated from Bangladesh and doesnt really know as much about the people and society in England, wants Jolil to practise his own religion and culture. However Jolil is more into Kung Fu, and hangs around with a black friend who his father doesnt approve of. He is not very well integrated with the children at school, except for maybe some of the other Asian kids. Right at the beginning of the story, it says, He usually left school gate with five or six of the other Asian boys. It wasnt planned, but it was necessary. If they walked home together, they could pass the gangs of older white boys who gathered outside the school gates without fear. Theyd take the short route home, and if they passed the cluster of hostile faces outside the white estate at the end of their street, they could quicken their steps and feel the safe warmth of being part of a crowd. Jolil was not the only one who hated having to watch your back all the time, feeling under threat. There was a group of them, who felt safer and confident together. It was the one thing they had in common, and walking home together was the one thing they could do to keep safe. Because it is set in the sixties, a time when many people were emigrating over from many other Asian countries, the people already in Britain at the time, had quite a negative and racist attitude towards them and the story reflects this attitude. He couldnt really practise his culture in the society, for fear and embarrassment. However, at the beginning of the book, Silas Marner, the main character, Silas, seems to get on with everybody has plenty of friends to turn to, he even has a fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, which he his hoping to marry once he has enough money, which he his slowly saving up. Everybody has trust in him, but when the deacon of the parish falls ill, it is Silas turn to look after him and this is the turning point in Silas life. While he having one of his cataleptic fits, which were not very common or heard of then, somebody creeps in to the deacons room and steals a bag of money from the bureau, the same night the deacon dies. Somebody has framed him by putting his knife near the scene, and the stolen bag of money has been planted in his cottage. All of the evidence points the crime to him, however Silas claims that he wouldnt do anything of the sort, and protests that he has never been known to tell a lie. Since its all the evidence against Silas word, it is decided to call the lots, a process which relies purely on chance. Silas realises what he could lose, his friends and family, Sarah and his dignity, but places his trust in God, who he relies on to clear his name. Only Silas and God know that he is innocent, however the lots declared that Silas was guilty. This is a great shock to Silas, especially as he had put all his faith in God to prove that he was not guilty of the crime. Suddenly after the trial, Silas recalls that he lent his knife to his best friend, William Dane. After this, Silas not only loses his trust in God, but William, who he has grown up with all his life. They have all betrayed him, even Sarah who ends up marrying William about a month after the trial and after this, Silas is sentenced to exile and dep arts from Lantern Yard shortly after the wedding. Silas moves into a stone cottage away from Lantern Yard, into another small community called Raveloe where he stays in isolation, without mixing, or fitting in the society. It is not only the fact that he is ashamed of the crime that he is supposedly meant to have committed, but that he has lost faith in god, and believes that if he makes more friends, or socializes, he may end up being hurt like he was in Raveloe. This is the deception that he has created for himself, and is not willing to ache the way he did at Lantern Yard again. If people dont know him, they cannot hurt him. It is also the village itself that affects Silas attitude. Raveloe has a completely different atmosphere to Lantern Yard. And what could be more unlike that Lantern Yard world than the world in Raveloe. The people are not as relaxed, although the farmers go to the local pub The Rainbow to socialize. The people were also much more religious, and they practised their religion in a different way that Silas knew. Mrs Winthrop is the one who finally encourages Silas to learn about the church. The other major factor contributing to Silas loneliness in Raveloe, is his epileptic condition. When his fits occur, they provoke people into gossiping, as the men do in The Rainbow. They discuss when and where he has had these strange visitations and try to give a possible explanation, but many feel that what happens to Silas cannot possibly explained, it is unnatural. Mrs Osgood is quite impressed with Silas after he produces a linen tablecloth, because he works with such speed and determination in his weaving. Silas earned a lot of money working at the loom, and much of this went to charity. He does not think of himself, but is very proud. But, soon starts to save and count up the money. He is finally holding 5 golden guineas, which he has earned after all the hard work he has done, it is the first experience he has with the joy of his money. This money would not let him down like his faith in God had. He stayed at his loom so that he could earn more of these guineas, making them the centre, the purpose of his life. This becomes Silas obsession, it was still what he lived for, what ruled his life. When he first moved to the village of Raveloe, money was not a great importance in his life. There is one incident, which rattles the whole village and their impression of Silas Marner. He has a reputation of keeping himself to himself and being a bit of a loner and forlorn. When he is told of poor Sally Oates illness, he prepares a natural remedy, which treats her better than any of the medicines the doctor gave her. This arouses superstition about Silas but it also shows his compassion for people. As more and more people hear of the great deed he did, and cured Sally Oates of her fateful illness, everyone begins to seek his knowledge of herbs and medical cures, they rush to his cottage, as they think that he must be the same sort of person as the Wise Woman, who in her description sounds much like a witch. However he wouldnt accept the money, and refused to help, denying that he had any knowledge of any drugs. In the novel, Eliot writes Silas might have made a profitable trade in charms as well as in his small list of drugs; but money on this condition was of no temptation to him. he would rather make money honestly, than deceit the people, some of whom have walked from other villages to see him. This sort of work does not appeal too him at all. However they did begin to get slightly annoyed, and resent him for not giving them what he wanted, and this heightened the repulsion between him and his neighbours, and made his isolation more complete. They start to leave him alone and not bother him, but also make him feel more uncomfortable around them by shunning him. It is partly because he was a social misfit in the village that he began to save the sovereigns that he earned, and hid them under a loose brick in the floor. For fifteen years, Silas has collected and not spent a penny on things he could do without, until he has a small fortune hidden under there. He gains comfort, contentment and even enjoyment from spilling the coins from the bag and calculate how much money he has accumulated. The night he discovers the money missing is a crucial one, he is taken aback. At fist he cannot believe that the coins have disappeared without a trace, he panics and becomes hysterical, he refuses to accept that the money isnt there. He frantically searches the house, looks everywhere, and distressed, as he does not see it anywhere. He has lost everything he had worked and is screams to release his grief. He finally has to acknowledge that the coins are nowhere too be found, they have been stolen by somebody. We know that Silas is deeply upset by this loss as he goes to The Rainbow, a place where he has never set foot the whole fifteen years he has lived in the village. This is the turning point in Silas life in Raveloe. He turns to the community for help for the first time. The people in the pub are astonished at the sight of Silas bursting through the door in a great panic about something. And everyone is in a fluster and a few accusations go on. The whole community, even the women pull together to try and help Silas recover from the shock. They do this by actually coming to visit him and try to comfort him, as do Dolly Winthrop and Mr Macy, but also by making an investigation, finding witnesses and getting suspects although without any success. At this stage, Silas is slowly getting to know the people he has been living with for the last fifteen years, and during one of the visits from Mrs Winthrop who is tender-hearted woman, encourages him to buy himself a new suit and go to the town church one Sunday. But he explains that the town where he grew up, they attended a chapel, and Dolly is not entirely sure of the meaning of the word itself. She is just surprised that Silas has never devoted himself to church. This is his next step towards mixing in the society After a while, the excitement wears off, especially as they are getting nowhere, but them is revived the night of New Years Eve, when young Eppie walks, literally in on Silas life. She sees the glowing fire in Silas cottage and walks toward it, caring for nothing else except the heat. Because Silas is having one of his epileptic fits, he doesnt notice until he recovers, but even then, all he sees is Eppies golden curls by the fire, and the illusion looks like his gold coins have turned up. The small child arrived at the cottage as mysteriously as the gold disappeared. Only when Silas reaches out to touch it does he realize that it is the head of a little girl. Silas, still not entirely clear on what is going on, first mentions his little sister. Could this be his little sister come back to him in a dream-his little sister whom he had carried about in his arms for a year before she died, when he was a small boy without shoes or stockings? through this, we know that he has been through a lot when he was only young, and the pain of his sister dying must have been tremendous. Silas has been hurt pretty much all through his life, it isnt a wonder he has no longer any faith. It is this similarity that brings Silas so close Eppie, she is only a small child and cannot let him down as other people can. Again, after discovering the body of Eppies mother, he turns to the community at the Red House for help. He is determined to keep and bring Eppie up alone, instead of giving her up to the parish. Since he now has a child in his care, the community are now beginning top automatically assimilating with him, especially Mrs Winthrop who naturally acts as a mother to Eppie. However, Silas remains very protective of Eppie, he does not want her to leave him, or be taken away from him.. I think he feels that if he relies on Dolly Winthrop too much, he may end up losing Eppie but also tries to remain independent. He is reluctant to accept the help of the neighbours in fear of this. But shell be my little un, said Marner rather hastily; shell be nobody elses I would say that he is being rather selfish and not really thinking of Eppie, after all, what Mrs Winthrop is saying in this paragraph is perfectly reasonable and justifiable, and also for Eppies benefit, and she will be the one most effected by the decisions made about her own future. It is these two people that eventually assist him into taking part in the community. Mrs Winthrop has experience of bringing up children and has valuable knowledge, which Silas should take into account and listen to. I think that Silas quite forgets that the child isnt even his own, and his behaviour is too possessive. Maybe he feels a sense of duty to look after Eppie, since she came to him in the first place. The major step Silas takes towards integration is the christening of Hephzibah in the town church. By allowing this, Silas is letting Eppie become apart of the community, and establishing her own links with society. Through Eppie, Silas gets a sense of security about himself, when given the opportunity; she chooses not to take the chance to leave his old cottage and live with her biological father Godfrey Cass, in his large comfortable mansion. Silas money is returned to him, but he does not feel the comfort as he did from it. Silas then makes the decision to take Eppie into his home village and find out if his name was ever cleared of the crime, and what became of the parson. However, after returning to Lantern Yard after tree decades, he is nervous, and anxious, as he cannot remember the way properly and feels again, like a stranger in his own home town, but soon begins to feel at ease when they have reached Prison street. But when they discover that the Lantern Yard and the chapel have been replaced, and can find no one who can tell them when and how the changes occurred. I do not think that Silas or Eppie are very disappointed, as the past has been erased, the past that caused Silas so much sorrow, although he will never know what happened about his case, only that he did not deserve to be exiled from the place. After seeing the present state of Lantern Yard, Silas must have been glad that he moved to another village, where he got so much happiness, especially in the last fifteen years. Silas has regained his faith in god, after being hurt all his life. Silas has finally found something he can be sure will not betray him in his life; he has overcome his weakness. As Eppie says, You wont be giving me away father, she had said before they went to church; youll only be taking Aaron to be a son to you. This makes Silas confident that Eppie will never leave him, and is true to her word, even though has married Aaron. He realizes that his restored faith has brought back all the things he missed, Eppie, Aaron and Dolly have bought more happiness and contentment than he could ever achieve with his money. The gold was his barrier with the society, Eppie was the link. Jolil, like Silas Marner, had a passion in his life, something that he lived for, although the two things were quite different. Jolil has a passion for Kung Fu. He idolises Bruce Lee who was the expert, the master of this art. He even compares himself with this person, and tries to find the similarities between them. As Jolil is staring into the mirror, not very oblivious of what is going on around him, he touched his cheekbones. Yes, they were somewhat like Bruce Lees. He only becomes aware when his father asks about the book he had bought home from that day. Jolil does not really try to explain to his father, just tried to hide the book. The only two people he can talk to about Kung Fu are his teacher, Mr Morrison, and Errol, his friend. But is reluctant and discomfited to practise in front of everybody else. We are not told why he trusts Mr Morrison but he doesnt want to explain to Mr Morrison why he was impatient to get home so quickly instead of waiting after school to see him about his English work. This also tells me that Jolil thinks that Mr Morrison also doesnt understand. Jolil thinks he didnt really catch on, it was another reading exercise to him when Mr Morrison gave him the book. Jolil considers his infatuation with Kung Fu to be a secret, as not many people know he is into it, but his close family may know. Jolil thinks that this secret is just another way he doesnt fit into school, or the other children in the playground. He often talks to Errol, who he is receiving training from. I also think that Jolil looks up to Errol, he speaks of Errols modesty in the playground, and Jolil has learnt a lot of tricks from Errol. Errol is African Caribbean. We can tell this from his name, and also because Jolils father refers to him as a darkie. I think that his fathers disapproval of Jolil hanging around with Errol only makes him more determined to do so. Jolil and Errol must be very close friends, because Jolil goes to visit his house on the Saturday, whereas he doesnt even mention any other friends he has. Errol is Jolils only true friend, and he can be himself around him. The reason for Jolils deep interest in this martial art is that he wants to be a hero and protect everybody. He has many dreams and ambitions for his future in Kung Fu. He is trying to discipline himself, but hasnt much confidence, he knows that he will have to be the best to become typical hero. Jolil then starts to compare himself with other Indian actors, like Rajesh Khanna, but this time; he isnt going to be a typical film star. But if he ever became famous, he wouldnt go and live in Malabar Hill like the other film stars did. Hed use his powers to do other things, to right a lot of wrongs, to be a saint of the fighting world. He wants to be admired and respected as his sister-in-law respects and admires Indian film stars. Jolil knows that it will be hard to achieve his dreams, but believes that he can do it, and is prepared to do all of the hard work. Jolil was reading the book that Mr Morrison gave him, and flicking through the pictures of Bruce Lee. The red scars on his body were supposed to be blood wounds, but they looked deliberately cut into neat patterns. He is a little sceptical, but continues to flick through the book. When he first finds out that Mr Morrison is going to show the whole school a video on the secrets of Kung Fu, he is very excited, enthusiastic and hopes to learn the secrets so that he may use them to protect himself, and others, he will never have to live in fear again, this video will teach him everything. But he is absolutely devastated when he finally sees the film. He feels let down and disappointed, as he faith in this film, the art of Kung Fu is really an illusion. It means he has to continue living the way he does; he cannot change it. It has destroyed his confidence, a nd his faith in Kung Fu. I dont think Jolil was as upset about the fact that Kung Fu was an illusion as he was about the fact, he put his trust in it in the first place, and he must have felt quite foolish. The first incident that we are directly told about in the story is when Jolil and his father are put in a situation where they are made to feel uncomfortable and awkward in their society. As they walk down the alley on the way to the mosque, the gang of white boys hanging around the parapet, begin to take advantage of the circumstances, as there is a group strong healthy youths confronting a young boy and an old man. As Jolil and Mr Miah approach the boys, the atmosphere grows tenser, and Jolil begins to regret taking this route, although it is shorter, and he also knows that they cannot run away; its too late to turn back. As the pair enter white territory, they are in a very vulnerable position. Mr Miah becomes very nervous at this point, his posture stiffens and his steps quicken. However, at first, he was fairly confident and scoffed at the thought of being felt inferior to anybody, yet now he becomes even more anxious. He realizes what is coming as well as Jolil, so their insult s and abuse begins. The boys sneer and taunt the fact that Jolil and his father are Bengali Muslims living in a mainly white area. They mock their accent and language to upset Jolil, in a threatening tone. The feeling of relief is expressed soon after, as Jolil describes the peace and serenity of the mosque, Mr Miah, in my opinion, is right in one way, that everybody should have the right to walk the streets without fear, but is merely being obstinate in his choice to take the short route than, take the longer but safer route. He is false I one sense, he puts on a fearless, self- assured act, to impress his son Jolil. It is the way he tries too bring his son up, but tries a little to hard. Jolil takes these offences more seriously, and is a lot more hurt by them. He can understand their jokes and puns properly, and the prejudice and racism involved. He has grown up with people like these, in this country, and with the children at his school, and has gradually learned to avoid and handle this. Mr Miah however has not had this experience and knowledge or understanding of the twists in the English language. To him, their rudeness is just an everyday part, which you must learn to accept, and tolerate their behaviour towards him as normal in that society. But he is also embarrassed, but refuses too swallow his pride and believe that he has been humiliated, especially since it was in front of his son. Therefore he makes excuses, you see why the Koran forbids us to drink? This is his reason for not sticking up for them. He is blaming their racist attitude on the alcohol; they dont consciously know what they were saying. A sober man would never consciously do this. On the way back, its almost as if, Mr Miah as automatically regained his confidence since he knows that he is safe and secure. He claims he would be ready to defend them both, had there been need. Jolil again makes a comment, which questions what is father is saying; his father replies, My mouth was dry boy. This again, is not a proper justification. The second event in the story is not as distressing, but equally as significant as the incident in the alley. This shows that something as simple as buying chairs, can be turned into something much more critical. There is much more stereotyping about Asians at this particular time. It is that all Asians are working class, ignorant to the British standards of living, and go for the cheapest thing available (tight) even if it isnt very good quality, and they all must have large families. The shopkeeper ridicules them, even though it isnt too obvious from when they first enter the store. Even on the way back they are confronted, because Jolils father spits onto the streets, provoking the youths however does not anticipate that the two white boys will begin to terrorize them again. After reading this, I feel that Mr Miah made a foolish move, and should have predicted that the whites would respond in this way. Although he tries to tell Jolil to escape while he can, Jolil sees the opportunity that he has been waiting for to show that he can fight like a tiger. Nevertheless, Jolil gets hurt in the attack and when one of the other youths gets injured, they see the chance to make a run for it. Leaving the chairs they rush straight back to their flat. Jolils mother and brother are quite suspicious as to why Jolil has red marks on his face and why him and his father seem nervous and why. Khalil does not accept his fathers answer, but shuts up when he uses God in hid defence, as he doesnt go against Allah. Mr Miah does not arouse much suspicion with Jolil, when he caught in the middle of the night, fiddling with the floorboards underneath the lino in the kitchen. But does warn Jolil not to let anyone find out about the incident, who immediately agrees, as he too ashamed to tell anybody since they ran away instead of facing the bullies. We later find out, that Mr Miah did stick up for them, and stabbed one of the boys, who died. It was obviously the knife, the murder weapon that he was hiding under the floor that night, and the police have already started investigating the murder when Jolil gets back from home. There is an immediate reaction of shock.