Rime of the Ancient Mariner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Essay Example In this poem, the supernatural world plays a role of punishing mariner as a result of his misdeed of killing albatross. Mariner did not have enough respect for the supernatural world when he killed the albatross thus the supernatural decision to punish him in combination with the natural world. As he is subjected to the rigors of the dehydration and hunger he is also revealed dreams of the natural world touched with the supernatural as the ocean turns to sickening and rotting as well as spirits weaves through his vision. There is an interaction of the natural world which are the poem characters and supernatural world. For the natural world, the Ancient Mariner, who is regarded as a kind of mysterious figure, the poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariners, deals with two distinct times. The time of voyage and the time of Mariner are retelling. The interaction of the natural and supernatural world that exists here is that at the time of voyage, the Mariner uses a crossbow instead of firearm and that his ship is said to be the first to sail into the Pacific Ocean. It is clear that Mariners fate is decided by a vehicle of random chance and not just any kind of divine judgment. The Mariner acts this way in order to bring it out clear that he is more than just a natural world, thus kind of trying to compete with the supernatural worlds. For the spirits who comprised of the mysterious pole, spirits have some interaction with the natural world. The spirits resemble angles whereby in being wholly immaterial though have no regular place in Christian cosmology. These spirits are said to be the invisible being that are referred to as the epigraph to the poem. When mariner killed the albatross, he was punished by these spirits in essence that he failed to respect the supernatural world. These spirits in the poem act this way to demonstrate that, however, much one may come to know about the physical world, the spiritual one is far much ahead and different

Did the history of the People's Republic after the 1949 fulfil or Essay

Did the history of the People's Republic after the 1949 fulfil or depart from Mao's promises before 1949 - Essay Example This further resumed the civil war in China, after which the war restarted only in 1946, a year after the conflict with Japan. The war ceased in 1950, and the Republic of China was under the jurisdiction of the islands of Taiwan, Quemoy, Penghu as well as several other outlying areas. Mao Zedong was commonly regarded as Chairman Mao, who was a Chinese communist, revolutionary and a political theorist. He is known as the father of People’s Republic of China since its foundation in 1949. He ruled the nation as the chairman of the Communist Party of China until his death. Here the topic under discussion is the changes that were brought about in China during Mao’s period, after the Chinese revolution of 1949. There existed some inequalities in PRC due to the dissimilarities between the Mao period and the reform eras. To know the underlying nature of the Chinese society, one needs to understand China’s transition into the present era after Mao’s period. This ch ange was brought in its due effect after the era of Mao. Analysis: The changes that took place during Mao’s rule were based on the economy of China. There was the involvement of foreign capital in China from economic zones such as southern and eastern coasts. There was a connection of the part of China in terms of family and cultural relationships to other countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. During this time, the economy of Asia was growing fast and starting to play a more important role all over the world. This was one of the advantages of China; this led to the economic reforms in the country. China took its steps for development through various fields such as agriculture in the private sector, independence in the non-state sector in industry, transport and construction, which was in crisis during the USSR times. There arose some problems in the economy. â€Å"There has been a tendency for cycles of economic boom followed by centrally – induced restraint , but these have not called the whole project into question† (Bowles et al. 70). Even if there were problems in China, there developed some reform programs such as agricultural reforms in 1978, the industrial, commercial and urban reforms in 1984 and again the coastal strategy reforms in 1978. Some legal facilities were provided in order to surpass all the rights and duties when the economic policies were being developed in China. It was the situation of flexibility in the rules rather than the communist regime. In Mao’s rule there were limitations to implement rules and regulations over the labourers in the aspects of wage rates, trade unions and working conditions. This raised market oriented businesses in the economy, and the Cultural Revolution resulted in the independence of China from other foreign countries. The banks in China followed liberalization, and authoritarianism was not acceptable anymore in the Chinese society. In this era, discontent with socialism ha d started to grow. Chinese economy survived after the Cultural Revolution of 1966 by the implementation of Five Year Plan; however, this revolution overwhelmed the political system of China, and as a result, chaos spread. â€Å"Two years after the Cultural Revolution ended in October 1976, the principal survivor of that cataclysm, onetime CCP general Secretary Deng Xiaoping, initiated

How People with Disabilities Are Viewed and Treated Essay Example for Free

How People with Disabilities Are Viewed and Treated Essay We live in a society where people are judged for who they are and if they seem to have any type of flaws those flaws tend to make up who the person is. People with disabilities shouldn’t be judged by their disabilities. Our society has come a long way in accepting people with disabilities but we still have more to accomplish seeing as the harsh judgment still exists. We need to be able to live in a society where people do not judge, can accept others for who they are and help others who may need some assistance or guidance do to a disability, especially children. They are our society’s future. Just because they are disabled doesn’t mean they are not a part of the whole or that they cannot possibly make a positive difference in the world. As the author of the article, â€Å"A Child with Down Syndrome Keeps His Place at the Table† points out that we have made a lot of progress for children with Down syndrome in the United States. Most of that progress he points out is their rights to go to school. They have progressed from just being recognized as needing to be â€Å"somewhere special†, a place of horrific mistreatment. Such a place was exposed in a hidden camera documentary filmed by Geraldo Rivera in 1972 for severe neglect and mistreatment of the residence that all had some sort of disability. This place was Willow Brook State School and was located on Staten Island. His exposer of this school was a small part in a large change where advocates for the disabled, committed parents, as well as others fought for the rights that are presently in place today. Even with the many advances in society there still remains open bigotry though not as much. Though most are discrete and not as straight forward the hostile judgment is still there. The word â€Å"retard† is used in school yards between students and in movies but is not seen so much today as bigotry but as just being a bit â€Å"edgy†. Why as a society do we feel the need to dehumanize one another? Our society makes it very difficult for anyone with a disability to function freely in their own lives and to live without criticism. The author asks the question, â€Å"What is it about intellectual disabilities we find so difficult? † The focus of these disabilities tends to be on the positive qualities such as being â€Å"cute† or â€Å"happy† or â€Å"sweet†. This is meant to compensate for the disability. I see it as singling out a person because of their disability and using it as a way to make the disability easier to deal with and as a way to handle being around the person. I see this as being a bit degrading and selfish even. I believe that our society has come a long way in being able to accept people with disabilities. I also believe that we still have a ways to go. I have seen the good and the not so good in the way children with Down syndrome are accepted and/or treated because my niece Barbara has Down syndrome. Barbara does not speak but her school has been wonderful in teaching her to communicate using sign language over the years and recently started using a speech generating device. The device is to recognize the words she is saying and the words she is trying to say. The medical and educational treatment for children with Down syndrome has really improved over the years even just since the case at Willow Brook State School. Sadly, there are still reports of abuse in state owned homes and hospitals for disabled individuals. I am sure that there are places that have cases of abuse that have not been reported. Sometimes people just ignore what is going on because they fear they may lose their job. With the advances in mental health care less people have to send their children in to homes or hospitals. They are able to keep their children at home and receive in home care and mobile therapy. The schools offer extra help for these children so that they are able to be more focused on to get all the help that they need. The schools also offer special outings and activities that are helpful in their education and to give them more of an opportunity to interact with their classmates. The author of the article points out that he is a parent of a child with Down syndrome. With the subject being very personal to him he does not sound angry with the way the people in the restaurant were treated. He doesn’t seem to be judgmental in anyway. He simply points out what happened and mentions facts relating to the situation. He does offer his opinion that the waiter in the story did the right thing in speaking out and standing up for the boy. Even though the waiter could have lost his job for speaking out, he still did. I believe that the waiter did do the right thing and as the author pointed out, by speaking out for the child it shows that society has grown to accepting people disabilities and that they even have compassion for them. Should the waiter be considered a hero for standing up for someone who is being pointed out publicly for their disability? The author asks the same question. Personally, I don’t know if I can think of the act as heroic. I do believe as well that it was most definitely the right thing to do and it did take courage to say something knowing there was a risk of being fired. I am very curious to know if the waiter’s boss was aware of the situation and if so what was their opinion on what happened? The author did not mention that in the story. I think it would have been important to point out if the boss was sympathetic toward the child and his family or if they agreed with the customer who made the remark. I find it very inspiring that despite the harsh words and uneducated thoughts people express toward people with disabilities, the people with the disability usually do not judge in return. They clearly see the meanness coming from another person and they don’t have it in them to hold hard feelings. I wish we were all able to have such open and caring hearts. Why do we have such a selective view of things? Why do we have to be afraid of the things that are not â€Å"normal† to us? Having a disability does not make you less of a person. Having a disability means that you may have to work harder to do something’s that seems to come easily to anyone else. No person will ever be â€Å"perfect† so there is no reason for society to push the idea that anyone can be. We are all flawed in one way or another. Our flaws are what make us unique and make up who we are. The author pointed out that the child being in the restaurant made a statement that he was someone’s child. I don’t think we should have to explain or point out anything. The boy and his family should have been able to walk in to the restaurant and sit down and enjoy their meal peacefully, as the man who made the remark would expect to happen for his self or anyone he may have been seated with. If the boy became loud and disruptive then that should have been the issue not the simple fact that he was there and looked â€Å"different†. We live in a very intelligent world filled with many advances in technology yet we are not educated enough nor advanced enough to get along with one another. I think there should be more programs in schools to teach children more about life and basic lessons on being humane. The schools should have classes with specific lessons on mental health and disabilities. If children are more familiar with these types of things they may be more accepting and less judgmental. For some reason we tend to fear the unknown and are not always equipped with how to deal with our fears. With having so many issues today with bullying in schools it should be mandatory to have classes educating children on how to treat people, especially people with disabilities and teach them it is not acceptable. I think being aware bigotry still exists and educating on the issue would make a big difference in getting us closer to a more accepting society.

Recruitment And Selection Policies For Companies Management Essay

Recruitment And Selection Policies For Companies Management Essay In order to compete successfully in a global market, more companies are beginning to focus on the role of human resources, most importantly on recruitment and selection as a critical part of their core competence and a source of competitive advantage. A good recruitment is very essential for an effective human resource management. According to Sparrow and Hiltrop (1994), the effectiveness of many other human resource activities, such as selection and training, depends largely on the quality of new employees attracted through the recruitment process. Also, Sparrow (2006) pointed out that the challenges for HR business partners in handling recruitment for an international organisation vary in each country, but a common need is the question of how to ensure rigour and consistency across operations in very different cultures, business markets and labour markets. 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Hiring competent individuals has always been and will always be of paramount importance to business organisations, which is highly dependent on the recruitment and selection, which aims to attract and retain high-quality individuals in order to achieve continued success within the organisations. The importance of recruitment and selection should never be ignored. One of the earliest management writers, Taylor F.W (1911) complained about the typical way individuals were selected based on who you knew or who was first in the queue. Taylor introduced the idea that people should be selected for their skills and abilities, which should be tested before the selection decision. Due to the increase in internalisation, HR departments of multinational companies have put so much importance on the recruitment and selection of their staff, primarily because recruitment and selection is involved in making future predictions about future behaviour, so that decisions can be made about who will be most suitable for a particular job. 1.2 AIMS/OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY I aim to analyse the recruitment and selection policies of Ernst Young (EY) and KPMG in their different subsidiaries which are Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and to build the concepts on human resource management literature, which will help me to analyse what these companies did well? What these companies did badly? How these companies can be improved? What lessons we can learn from these companies? Would the recruitment and selection methods change overtime for Ernst Young Nigeria and KPMG Sierra Leone in the likely future?. 1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The importance of this study/paper is to explain and persuade my readers on the importance of an effective recruitment and selection policies from my analysis of Ernst Young Nigeria and KPMG Sierra Leone. 1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY According to Lee (1989) research is a systematic quest for undiscovered knowledge. The result of the pursuit of this knowledge is known as research. I would be carrying out a case study on Ernst Young and KPMG in their foreign subsidiaries; which are Nigeria and Sierra Leone and to carry out an analysis on the recruitment and selection policies used. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW There are many previous studies and literature concerning recruitment and selection, this review will aim to expand on these and use the concepts of human resource management literature to offer a diverse understanding. Recruitment is defined as searching for and obtaining potential job candidates in sufficient numbers and quality so that the organisation can select the most appropriate people to fill its job needs. Selection is the process of gathering information for the purposes of evaluating and deciding who should be employed in particular jobs. With that said, every organisation has to recruit workers, select them, pay them, and also motivate them and in the long run eventually arrange for their retirement or departure. However, things are done differently in different countries; not only do they have different cultures (the foreign subsidiaries am analysing are Nigeria and Sierra Leone which are Wes-African countries), they also operate with different educated and skilled workforces, and in different economic situations, with different labour laws, government support or control and so on. Recruitment and selection vary across different countries, in HRM there are the concepts of international and comparative human resource management, and there is a distinction between Comparative HRM and International HRM which was made clear by Boxall (1995). Comparative human resource management explores the extent to which HRM differs between different countries or between different areas within a country or different regions of the world (Brewster and Larsen, 2000). Comparative human resource management is telling us that employment systems differ noticeably between countries and that managing human resources has to vary from country to country. 2.1 INTERNATIONAL HRM In international HRM, which is the basis of this paper, primarily because it seeks to understand the approaches used in the management of employees by multinational companies in their subsidiaries. For these international organisations, human resource management is a key to success. International HRM examines the way organisations manage their human resources across these different national contexts. According to Brewster and Lee (2006), international organisations have employees who work across national borders. In international HRM, there are staffing issues that internationalizing companies encounter that are either not present in a domestic environment, or are complicated by the international context in which these human resource activities take place and how subsidiaries respond. There are four (4) main approaches in which multinational companies deal with the management of employees in their foreign subsidiaries, these approaches were developed in the international business strategy literature which focused on human resource management and was carried out by Perlmutter (1969) and Heenan Perlmutter (1979) these approaches are; Ethnocentric, Polycentric, Regiocentric and Geocentric approaches. In the Ethnocentric Approach; in this approach the strategic decisions are made at headquarters, few foreign subsidiaries have any autonomy. Key positions at the foreign operations are held by headquarters management personnel, this type of approach is common at the early stages of internationalisation because of the need to maintain good communication, co-ordination, and control links with corporate headquarters, subsidiaries are usually managed by expatriates from the parent country (PCNs). A common disadvantage to this approach is that the workers of the host country nationals (HCNs) feel inferior or cheated to the workers of the parent country nationals (PCNs) when salaries, compensation packages, company bonuses are compared. In the Polycentric Approach; in this approach the multinational company treats each subsidiary as a distinct national entity with some decision-making autonomy. Subsidiaries are usually managed by local nationals (HCNs) who are rarely promoted to positions at headquarters. Likewise parent country nationals (PCNs) are rarely transferred to foreign subsidiary operation. In this approach, there is continuity to the management of foreign subsidiaries, which avoids the turnover of key managers that, by its very nature results from an ethnocentric approach. However, the major difficulty with this approach is that of bridging the gap between the host country national (HCN) subsidiary managers and parent country national (PCN) managers at corporate headquarters. This approach will be further analysed in chapter 3. In the Regiocentric Approach; this approach is a reflection of the geographic strategy and structure of the multinational. Personnel may move outside their countries but generally only within a particular geographic region (e.g. Europe or Asia Pacific). In this approach, regional managers may not be promoted to headquarters position but enjoy a degree of regional autonomy in decision-making. In the Geocentric Approach; the multinational companies takes a worldwide stance in respect of its operations, it recognises that each part makes a unique contribution with its overall competence. It is usually accompanied by a worldwide integrated business, and nationality is ignored in favour of ability. Here, parent country nationals (PCNs), host country nationals (HCNs) and third country nationals (TCNs) can be found in key positions anywhere of the multinational, including those at the senior management level at headquarters, subsidiaries and on the board of directors. A common disadvantage to this approach is that it can be expensive to implement because it leads to an increase in training of workers and also the issue of relocation costs. The above literature illustrates the four (4) different approaches used by multinationals in the management of their employees in foreign subsidiaries, some authors believe the polycentric approach to be very global, in that, subsidiary managers are responsible for their own strategy and co-ordination is needed across multiple dimensions. However, there are critics such as Mayrhofer and Brewster (1996) who argue that the vast majority of firms are ethnocentric. These four (4) approaches provide an understanding of international human resource management (IHRM) within an organisation. 2.2 COMPARATIVE HRM There are also two (2) approaches to research and thinking in the field of HRM; due to the issue regarding whether HR practices can be transferred, these approaches are; the Universalist and the Contextual or in the terms of this chapter, the comparative (Brewster, 1999). These two (2) approaches are also reflected in the debate between the two (2) schools of thought that contest the notion of convergence. Some researchers argue that even when there are differences, they are reducing as the notion of globalisation becomes more established and societies are moving towards each other in the way they do things, also including the way they manage their human resources. Other researchers argue that there is little evidence of such a moving together and that, in fact, societies remain steadfastly different and even unique. The Universalist approach is very dominant in the USA but is widely used elsewhere. The main aim of the Universalist approach is to improve organisational performance and to achieve organisational goals in HRM, and in particular strategic human resource management (SHRM). The major problem with this approach, is that it operates only at the level of organisation, ignoring policy at the national or international level and because is dominant in the USA it therefore, pertains more to the USA and in reality, it fails to provide insights to different countries in their practice of HRM. In contrast, the Contextual approach or comparative searches for an overall understanding of what is contextually unique and why. It is more focused on understanding what is different between and within HRM in various contexts and what led to those differences. Most researchers working in this paradigm believe that it is the explanation that matters, any link to firm performance is secondary. Contextualist researchers study the importance of such factors as culture, ownership structures, labour market and so on which are the aspects of the subject rather than external influences upon it. At this point, is important to know that neither approach is right nor wrong, both approaches, and the others that exist in other parts of the world, have a contribution to make. However, in practice there are often debates between the different approaches used to understand the nature of human resource management. 2.3 DUNNING ECLECTIC THEORY From the concept of international HRM literature, we understand the four (4) approaches in which multinational companies manage their employees in foreign subsidiaries, however, to understand why these multinational companies decided to set up in foreign subsidiaries, can be better understood with the Dunnings Eclectic theory (Dunning, 1992) which usually involves an arising need to establish a corporate culture in their subsidiaries and also most importantly, to transfer knowledge from the parent country national (PCNs) to the host country national (HCNs) and third country national (TCNs) which involves the need for expatriates (number of people who are sent by multinational companies on foreign assignments on a short or long period of time). The Dunnings Eclectic theory explains the roles of expatriates, which are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To secure transfer of technology positions, as companies send the expatriates abroad in order to transfer their technology to the foreign subsidiary i.e. in countries where qualified people are not available, companies send the parent country nationals (PCNs) to fill out the positions. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To secure the headquarter control, where the multinational companies can exercise this control by using the parent country nationals (PCNs) in their foreign subsidiaries. In such situations firms try to incorporate the headquarters culture into the foreign operations, which in some cases may create cultural problems. Especially when multinationals tend to demand administrative and financial control in their foreign operations. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It leads to an opportunity for international experience or management development, several firms find international experience highly important before promoting their employees. Foreign transfers are here important in order to learn foreign cultures and environments. In such situations qualified host country nationals (HCNs) are available but managers are still transferred to foreign subsidiaries to acquire knowledge and skills. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To help in organizational development, this could be called the Geocentric approach. This role is performed only by the best people at the best places without nationality barriers. Transfers can take place from headquarters to subsidiaries, from subsidiaries to headquarters, or from subsidiaries to subsidiaries. Nationality of employees does not matter in this situation, as the objective of this staffing strategy is to get to know about different cultures, create international networks, decentralization, and interaction between managers of different nationalities. In general, this strategy is mostly followed by larger global companies. However, multinational companies are increasingly adopting a strong global mindset and reducing the number of expatriates that are usually sent on foreign operations, which is usually costly for the multinational companies. Interestingly, multinational companies are beginning to recruit and select more of the local talents in their foreign subsidiaries and also ensuring that the top management in their foreign subsidiaries understand the headquarters desires and corporate vision and making sure it conforms in line with the headquarters. CHAPTER 3 ANALYTICAL THEORY In order to ensure successful business management, leading companies and organizations are implementing new policies, standards, procedures, ensuring space for new organisational cultures, business models, new projects and products. Yet, managing human resources is more challenging than we may even expect or even imagine and also, most importantly recruiting and selecting the right quantity and quality of staff into an organisation. The following analysis shall focus on the recruitment and selection of Ernst Young and KPMG in their foreign subsidiaries which are Nigeria and Sierra Leone. 3.1 ERNST YOUNG IN FOREIGN SUBSIDIARY- NIGERIA Ernst Young (EY) Quality In Everything We do is ranked as one of the largest professional services in the world and one of the big four (4) auditors. Ernst Young which was founded in 1989 due to a global merger between Ernst Whinney and Arthur Young, however, its individual components can be traced back to 1849. Its global headquarters is located in London, United Kingdom in the region of Europe, furthermore, Ernst Young is a global industry which offers these professional services; audit, tax, financial advisory and consultancy to their clients. Ernst Young (EY) Nigeria was set up in the year 1991, and has been in Nigeria for twenty-one (21) years. Ernst Young is one of the largest firms of chartered accountants and business advisers in Nigeria. Their clients include many multinational companies from all sectors of business. The firm also serves an impressive array of middle market and privately held companies, this structure allows Ernst Young Nigeria to be very responsive to both established businesses and emerging and developing businesses. Ernst Young Nigeria provides four (4) principal services to their clients; Advisory, Audit, Tax and Transaction services. As at time of writing this paper, Ernst Young Nigeria has a staff of 260 people including sixteen (16) partners, these partners are both Nigerians and Expatriates, the firm is administered by the Partners who occupy key positions in the firm and are responsible for making decisions on the strategic direction of the firm. The objective of the recruitment and selection policies of Ernst Young Nigeria is: To recruit and select people according to merit (quality of being particularly good or worthy) so as to ensure efficiency and effectiveness and also that the right people (in terms of qualification and experience) occupy the right positions at Ernst Young Nigeria. This objective has helped Ernst Young Nigeria recruit and select the best type of applicants into their organisation. The reasons for recruiting at Ernst Young Nigeria is either to fill a vacancy i.e. replace a member of staff who has resigned or to bring in a new member of staff to ease the workload in the team. There are various factors which usually affect the design and implementation of recruitment and selection policies of any organisation. As expected the problems encountered during the design and implementation of the recruitment and selection policies of Ernst Young Nigeria is not for public knowledge. However, I am very certain Ernst Young Nigeria faced some challenges in the design and implementation of their recruitment and selection policies at the initial stage such as total lack of knowledge of the labour market and also an important issue of corruption which seems to be crippling the Nigerian economy. 3.2 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION POLICIES OF ERNST YOUNG IN NIGERIA This is carried out differently depending on the category of staff required, which are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Professionals These categories of staff are recruited either into the Audit, Advisory or Tax Departments. The three (3) different departments have different skill requirements. Application letters and CVs are lodged by applicants and are reviewed based on the different qualifications required by each department. The minimum qualification for this category is a first degree in any field, also, professional qualifications such as ACCA, CIMA or a Masters degree is usually an added advantage. After the recruitment process is carried out, the selection is carried out which is in form of an interview, an interview is conducted by either a Business Unit leader or Manager and the HR Head of Ernst Young Nigeria, to find out more about the individual and their experience, the chosen applicants are assessed during the interview to know if they have excellent communications skills. Depending on the position being interviewed for, applicants may be asked to answer a written test. If the candidate is found sui table, a second interview is arranged with the prospective Partner during which a discussion on the salary and terms of conditions of service for the position are also discussed. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Trainees Prospective Trainee Accountants send their applications and CVs throughout the year to the company. These application letters are reviewed by members of the Human Resource department and applicants are short-listed if they meet Ernst Young (Nigeria) requirements which are as follows: i. Applicants must be aged a maximum of 25 if they are yet to start the professional examinations. ii. Applicants should preferably be graduates with good degrees; non-graduates are considered if they have started the professional exams already with good results. Applications are short-listed based on the above-mentioned criteria. Short-listed applicants are invited for a two (2) hour psychometric test. Those applicants who pass the test, are then selected and invited for an interview, this interview is conducted by a minimum of two (2) people including the HR Head and an Audit Manager. Applicants are expected to portray a commitment to the professional course they are pursuing with the intention of qualifying within the shortest possible time. This interview assesses the candidates communication skills, intelligence, and confidence. The interviewers must also be convinced that the candidate has the personality to fit into the Ernst Young Nigerias structure. Thereafter, a training program is run for Trainee Accountants by three (3) Audit professionals to get them familiarized with Ernst Young Audit methodology. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Interns As part of Ernst Young Nigerias co-operate responsibilities, they offer internships/placement for graduates from recognized universities and polytechnics within Nigeria. This program should be over within three (3) months. To be eligible for the Internship Program, candidates must be in their third (3) year and possess a good predicated grade in their undergraduate degree with plans to pursue a career in audit, tax or advisory services. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Administrators à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Secretaries For the administrative staff and secretaries at Ernst Young Nigeria, an informal method of recruitment is usually used through the form of personal recommendation, often referred to as word of mouth. Those applicants who are suitable are then interviewed by the HR head, which is a very common form of selection. Thereafter, an appointment letter is sent to the suitable candidate detailing the terms and conditions of service and the salary attached to the position. The employee is required to return a signed copy of this agreement on commencement of work. 3.3 RESULTS FROM ANALYSIS From the overall framework, structure and organisation of Ernst Young Nigeria, I would say the management and staffing of employees in this subsidiary is using the Geocentric approach due to the fact that key positions at the subsidiary (EY Nigeria) are occupied by nationals of the host country (HCNs) and nationals of the Parent country (PCNs) who are all highly competent employees. The Regiocentric approach is also used by Ernst Young Nigeria reasons being that some staff are transferred within the same geographic region; some of the staff at Ernst Young Nigeria are from other African countries specifically from Ghana, South Africa all within the same geographic region. Ernst Young Nigeria commonly uses the internet method of recruitment; this method ensures a large pool of applicants, from which the best applicants are selected from. However, I disagree with this method of recruitment for a country like Nigeria, because Nigeria does not yet have a truly web coverage, therefore, people dont usually have access to the internet to apply for these jobs, and sometimes come across these jobs after the closing dates. For the recruitment of the Trainee Accountants into Ernst Young Nigeria, one of the criteria is that applicants should be a maximum of 25years; I frown upon this criterion because it is indirect age discrimination and should not be practiced, this cannot be present in Ernst Youngs headquarters due to the government legislation which frowns against any form of age discrimination. 3.4 KPMG IN FOREIGN SUBSIDIARY- SIERRA LEONE KPMG (cutting through complexity) is ranked as one of the largest professional services in the world and one of the big four (4) auditors. KPMG is a merger of Peat Marwick International and Klynveld Main Goerdeler this merger was established in 1987, in consonance with a decision of the international council to have all affiliate firms adapt the name to underscore the advisory functions of this world-wide firm. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen; Netherland in the region of Europe, KPMG is a global industry which offers these professional services; audit, tax and advisory. Its advisory services are further divided into three service groups- Management Consulting, Risk Consulting, and Transaction Restructuring. KPMG Sierra Leone was established in the 1930s by Edward Casselton Elliot but was not known as KPMG. It was called Peat Marwick Casselton Elliot and CO and has been in Sierra Leone for about 80 years. KPMG is the largest firm of chartered accountants and business advisers in Sierra Leone. Their clients include many multinational companies from all sectors of business. The firm also serves an impressive array of middle market and privately held companies, this structure allows KPMG Sierra Leone to be very responsive to both established businesses and emerging and developing businesses. KPMG Sierra Leone provides three (3) principal services to their clients; Audit, Taxation and Advisory services. As at time of writing this paper, KPMG Sierra Leone has a staff of 120 people including three (3) partners namely; Vidal T.O. Decker (Senior Managing Partner), Claudius Williams-Tucker (Tax Peoples partner) and Derrick Kawaley (Audit partner) all nationals of Sierra Leone, the firm is admin istered by the Partners who occupy key positions in the firm and are responsible for making decisions on the strategic direction of the firm. The objective of the recruitment and selection policies of KPMG Sierra Leone is: To recruit and select people according to set competencies, competencies are defined as a combination of behaviours, knowledge, skills and personality attributes. This objective has helped KPMG Sierra Leone recruit and select the best type of applicants into their organisation. The reason for recruiting at KPMG Sierra Leone is either to fill a vacancy i.e. replace a member of staff who has resigned or to bring in a new member of staff to ease the workload in the team. There are various factors which usually affect the design and implementation of recruitment and selection policies of any organisation. As expected the problems encountered during the design and implementation of the recruitment and selection policies of KPMG Sierra Leone is not for public knowledge. However, I am very certain KPMG Sierra Leone faced some challenges in the design and implementation of their recruitment and selection policies at the initial stage such as total lack of knowledge of the labour market. 3.5 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION POLICIES OF KPMG IN SIERRA LEONE This is carried out differently depending on the category of staff required, which are: Professionals These categories of staff are recruited either into the Audit, Advisory or Tax Departments. The three (3) different departments have different skill requirements. Application letters and CVs are lodged by applicants and are reviewed based on the different qualifications required by each department. The minimum qualification for this category is a first degree in any field, also, professional qualifications such as ACCA, CIMA or a Masters degree is usually an added advantage. After the recruitment process is carried out, the selection is carried out which is in form of an interview, an interview is conducted by either a Business Unit leader or Manager and the HR Head of KPMG Sierra Leone, to find out more about the individual and their experience, roles in KPMG have required competencies based on personal and technical skills. These are assessed during the interview together with communications skills. Depending on the position being interviewed for, applicants may be asked to answer a written test. If the candidate is found suitable, a second interview is arranged with the prospective Partner during which a discussion on the salary and terms of conditions of service for the position are also discussed. Trainees Prospective Trainee Accountants send their applications and CVs throughout the year to the firm. These application letters are reviewed by members of the Human Resource department and applicants are short-listed if they meet KPMG Sierra Leone requirements which are as follows: Applicants must be aged a maximum of 27 if they are yet to start the professional examinations. Applicants should preferably be graduates with good degrees; non-graduates are considered if they have started the professional exams already with good results. Applications are short-listed based on the above-mentioned criteria. Short-listed applicants are invited for a three (3) hour psychometric test. Those applicants who pass the test, are then selected and invited for an interview, this interview is conducted by a minimum of two (2) people including the HR Head and an Audit Manager. Applicants are expected to portray a commitment to the professional course they are pursuing with the intention of qualifying within the shortest possible time. This interview assesses the candidates communication skills, intelligence, and confidence. The interviewers must also be convinced that the candidate has the personality to fit into the KPMG Sierra Leone structure. Thereafter, a training program is run for Trainee Accountants by three (3) Audit professionals to get them familiarized with KPMG Audit methodology. Interns As part of KPMG Sierra Leones co-operate responsibilities, they offer internships/placement for graduates from recognized universities and polytechnics. This program should be over within three (3) months. To be eligible for the Internship Program, candidates must be in their third (3) year and possess a good predicated grade in their undergraduate degree with plans to pursue a career in audit, tax or advisory services. Administrators Secretaries For the administrative staff and secretaries at KPMG Sierra Leone, an informal method of recruitment is usually used through the form of personal recommendation, often referred to as word of mouth. Those applicants who are suitable are then interviewed by the HR head and the partner, which is a very common form of selection. Thereafter, an appointment letter is sent to the suitable candidate detailing the terms and conditions of service and the salary attached to the position. The employee is required to return a signed copy of this agreement on commencement of work. 3.6 RESULTS FROM ANALYSIS From the overall framework, structure and organisation of KPMG Sierra Leone I would say the management and staffing of employees in this subsidiary is using the Polycentric approach, due to the fact that top management staff consists of host country nationals (HCNs) who are nationals of Sierra Leone and who are recruited and selected to manage the subsidiary, as at time of writing this paper, there are no expatriates working at KPMG Sierra Leone, the company is administered by the partners (nationals of Sierra Leone) who are responsible for strategic decisions of KPMG Sierra Leone, which implies that the top management at KPMG Sierra Leone i.e. partners understands the desires and corporate vision of KPMG headquarters. The Regiocentric approach is also used by KPMG Sierra Leone, because some staff are transferred within the same geographic region, som

Buddhism and Christianity in the same light Essay -- essays research p

A community, a system of belief, a tradition and a way of life- Catholicism and Theravada Buddhism are all of these and many more. There are many affinities between Theravada Buddhism and Catholicism, but each tradition is marked with its own unique origins. Thus it is valuable to explore Buddhist rituals, practices, ethics and morals comparatively to those Catholic, but equally important to examine those features that are uniquely their own religion. Every religion that strives to achieve its own way of life chooses distinctive practices and rituals to reach their desired spiritual goals. When considering Catholicism and Buddhism, the two main forms of worship are prayer and meditation. While Nirvana is the ultimate spiritual attainment, most ordinary Buddhists show their commitment to the Buddha through several religious practices. The basic motives behind Buddhist practices mirror with those behind the Catholic tradition (Seay (2001,p.58). Both traditions aim to create togetherness within their community by developing a sense of communion with all present through a group activity. Some of these activities include group prayer/meditation and group singing/chanting. Another motive behind some Buddhist and Catholic practices is the principle of suffering, a significant element of religious tradition. This principle was formed on the basis of the suffering endured by Saddartha Gutama and Jesus Christ and is put into practice through traditions like achieving Nirvana and Le...

Comparing The Infernal Machine and Oedipus Rex Essay -- comparison com

Comparing The Infernal Machine and Oedipus Rex (the King)   Ã‚  Ã‚   The myth of Oedipus’s incest and parricide has been retold many different times. The basic story line has remained the same. Oedipus leaves Corinth to try to escape a fate of incest and parricide. After he leaving the city, he ends up saving Thebes from the Sphinx, becoming king of the city and in the process fulfilling the prophecy. The character of Oedipus changes in each play to help support a different meaning to the entire myth. Cocteau’s The Infernal Machine and Sophocles’s Oedipus the King are both centered on the myth, yet their themes are different. By changing Oedipus’s personality, motive, relationship with Jocasta, his mother and wife, and his character development Cocteau makes his theme the idea that the gods simply play with humans, instead of like Sophocles’s theme that man can not escape his own fate. Sophocles depicts Oedipus as an intelligent though too proud man, however Cocteau depicts Oedipus as an egotistical and not too smart man. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus actually solves the riddle of the Sphinx and then became known for being clever. Teiresias, an old blind prophet, reminds him of this: "But it’s in riddle answering you are strongest." Soph. O.T. 440. Oedipus intelligence is also shown in his inquisitive nature. From the beginning Oedipus searches for the killer of Laius by asking many questions. This eventually leads to his downfall, though Jocasta tries to make him stop asking questions: "I beg you—do not hunt this out—I beg you, if you have any care for your own life. What I am suffering is enough." (Soph. O.T. 1060-1063) Cocteau’s Oedipus does not have to solve the riddle of the Sphinx because she gives him the answer a... ... Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999. Cocteau, Jean. The Infernal Machine and other plays. (Bermel, Albert.). New York: New Directions. 1963. Ehrenberg, Victor. â€Å"Sophoclean Rulers: Oedipus.† In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Jaeger, Werner. â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Sophocles. (1991). Sophocles I: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone (Grene, David.). Chicago: University of Chicago.   Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixednew?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi

Pest Analysis Essay

The growing importance of environmental or ecological factors in the first decade of the 21st century have given rise to green business and encouraged widespread use of an updated version of the PEST framework. STEER analysis systematically considers Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors. Contents * 1 History * 2 Overview * 3 References * 4 External links History According to the site RapidBI The term PEST was originally called the ‘ETPS’ and was quoted in Aguilar, Francis (1967). Scanning the Business Environment. New York: Macmillan.. , who discusses ‘ETPS’ – a mnemonic for the four sectors of what he calls his taxonomy of the business environment: Economic, Technical, Political, and Social. Sometime after this initial publication, Arnold Brown for the Institute of Life Insurance reorganized it as ‘STEP’ as a way to organise the results of his environmental scanning. Over time by academics and others in business it was modified yet again to become a so-called STEPE analysis (the Social, Technical, Economic, Political, and Ecological taxonomies). In the 1980s, several other authors including Fahey, Narayanan, Morrison, Renfro, Boucher, Mecca and Porter included variations of the taxonomy classifications in a variety of orders: Due to the negative connotations of PEST, a STEP analysis (re-ordering of the acronym letters) also exists, but is used to a lesser extent. Some academics claim that STEP or PEST still contain headings which are appropriate for all situations and do not require additional elements, other claim that the additional breakdown of some factors to help individuals and teams undertaking an environmental scan. Political factors include areas such as tax policy, employment laws, environmental regulations, trade restrictions and tariffs and political stability. * Economic factors are economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rate. Social factors often look at the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. * Technological factors include ecological and environmental aspects and can determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing decisions. Technological factors look at elements such as R&D activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change. The pest  factors combined with external microenvironmental factors can be classified as opportunities and threats in a SWOT analysis. PEST/PESTLE alongside SWOT and SLEPT can be used as a basis for the analysis of business and environmental factors. [2] References Aguilar, Francis (2006). Scanning the Business Environment. New York: Macmillan..