Importance of employee performance management Essay

Importance of employee performance management - Essay Example 72). â€Å"Given the current challenges of the economic climate and high rates of unemployment, performance management and employee evaluation is likely to remain a hot topic† (Gliddon, 2004 cited in Newman, 2008, p. 172). In simple words, performance management of employees is a process of getting the most out of employees. In order to achieve this, organizations need to work on a range of factors that include but are not limited to employees’ motivation, continued learning, skill improvement, allocation of right jobs to the right people, fostering teamwork, and providing the employees with an environment where they can thrive with their capabilities. Performance management has probably never been as important in the organizational context as it is today since the workplace is more dynamic than ever before with new kinds of technology surfacing and being integrated into the work setup so frequently. Managers in the contemporary age not only face the challenge of keepin g updated with the latest advancements of technology and integrating them into the workplace, but they also have to take the required measures to enable the employees to make effective use of those technologies. This makes it a continuous process with great margin of trial and error, requiring great knowledge and experience to handle the intricate issues with respect to performance management. â€Å"If you are a manager, the progress principle holds clear implications for where to focus your efforts. It suggests that you have more influence than you may realize over employees’ well-being, motivation, and creative output. Knowing what serves to catalyze and nourish progress—and what does the opposite—turns out to be the key to effectively managing people and their work† (Amabile and Kramer, 2011). Discussion Why is performance management important? Performance management of employees in an organization derives its importance from the fact that it is a way to reinforce the decisions related to organizational personnel like those related to transfer, promotion, compensation and reward, training and skill development, planning of human resources, and development of the organization as a whole (Bhattacharyya, 2011, p. 58). The level to which each of these factors is considered important may vary from one organization to another but all of these factors govern the performance of employees in any organization. Besides the primary importance of the different factors in different organizations, performance management strengthens the relationship between the management and the subordinates, and improves motivation and flow of communication in the organization, thus improving its overall performance. From the perspective of human capital, performance management plays a very important role in the development of the human capital of an organization (Smither and London, 2009). The importance of performance management of employees in the organizat ions is elaborated with the help of some case studies below: Case Study 1 One of the prime motivations behind conducting performance reviews is eradication of bad performers from the organization. This is a case in which performance management helped in the identification and weeding out of a bad leader. Usually organizations tell their managers to establish a paper trial to justify the termination of an employee that is deemed a poor performer. In such cases,

How has geopolitics changed the end of WWII Essay

How has geopolitics changed the end of WWII - Essay Example 24, 1960). In 1904 H.J.Mackinder developed his ‘Heartland theory’ presenting the world divided in ‘World Island’ comprising Europe, Asia and Africa, peripheral island groups of Americas, Australia, Japan and the British isles, and the ‘Heartland’ laying at the center of ‘World Island’ from the Volga to the Yangtze and from the Himalayas to the Arctic. Regardless the large scale character of this theory, its belonging to the postulates of geographic determinism is undutiful. Since then, despite many differences mainly in the relative percentage of the geographical factor, a great number of authors from German, British and American schools, more or less, could be associated with geographical determinism. Even Kjellen, besides his political-philosophical concept of nation and state, favored the most restricted meaning of the term of ‘geopolitics’ – â€Å"Geopolitics is the study of the state as a geographic organism or pheno menon in space; that is land, territory, or, most pregnantly, as country [Reich].†(/Kjellen, Der Staat als Lebensform, p.46, 1917/ Kristoff, The origins and evolution of geopolitics, p. 25, 1960). Kjellen’s formulations have been used to a certain degree in Germany, by K. Househofer, who claimed: â€Å"...geopolitics shall and must become the geographic conscience of the state.†(/ Houshofer, K., et al. Bausteine zur Geopolitic, p.27, 1928/ Kristoff, The origins and evolution of geopolitics, p. 21, 1960). Drawn along by Kjellen’s comprehension of autarky as good and necessary (Kristoff, L.K.D., The origins and evolution of geopolitics, p. 26, 1960) and developed by the apologists of geographical determinism, the concept of ‘natural boundary’ and the akin in spirit one - of ‘harmonic state’, were largely used in Nazi Germany as well as in the rest of the world, as a milestone in determination of the

Untitled (Society Portrait) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Untitled (Society Portrait) - Essay Example On the first gaze at the portrait, it seems that the lady definitely belongs to the aristocratic segment of the society. Lying half–seated on a couch, the lady seems a bit pensive in mood. The color of her skin, hair and eyes indicate that she is European by race. Interestingly, only very few colors are used in the portrait. Yellow, white, grey and shades of brown both deep and light are schematically used in the picture. At the same time, one can argue as that these coolers are building a theme for the portrait of the anonymous lady as well. Very interestingly, the background colors are very much different and the painter uses light and dark shades of blue along with tinge and shades of brown over it which is quite well synchronized and chosen deliberately as the color scheme of the portrait is on the lighter and drab side. Use of light is done meticulously throughout the portrait and the lines are so fine that nobody will ever find in determining the mood and gesture of the lady. The couch on the other hand is casted with the hue of red color and here too the use of brown both light and dark shades have been well organized keeping in mind the actual color scheme of the portrait. Taking a gaze at the socio-cultural aspect of the society portrait apart from its technical side, it can be well asserted that the hair style and the kind of wardrobe, the lady is putting up indicates a time frame of early half of the twentieth century. During that time, butterfly sleeves and use of shrugs, stoles and veils were very common. The lady is also putting up a necklace made of some yellow beads; the choice of simple yet exquisite jewelry in terms of both the necklace and the ear-ring and wristlet on the left hand is showing a mark of classy style. The lady is probably holding her bag or a veil black in color and very interestingly the side of the couch is having dark brown and black hues which is posited parallel to the lady’s black

Creative Process Assignment Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Creative Process Assignment - Article Example Ideas sometime needs inspiration forexample a personmay have a dream which gives them an idea. This idea has to be worked on immediately thus this person has to wake up in the middle of the night to right down these ideas lest they forget. Normal situations like taking a shower, watching a film or walking in the streets have a tendency of producing big ideas. In my own perspective everybody is creative if they decide to put their mind to it (Jaffe, 2003). Butif we look at the history of creativity which is the cornerstone of advertisements big ideas, we find out that the minds ability to be creative has been overshadowed(Griffin & Morrison, 2010). Creativity is a tough thing for most people yet it is very important in the contemporary society(Jaffe, 2003). Creativity is a process that seeps into the mind of the people. Everybody has their own creative process since each mind is unique thus ideas are born differently(Griffin & Morrison, 2010). I have my own creative process which I use to deliver my big ideas and I have to know my process just like an artist knows his tools. Novelty is my number one tool that I use before even starting the creative process(Griffin & Morrison, 2010). I do not necessarily have to have the idea at hand but if I have novelty I can always come up with new ideas which bring dynamism to the advertising world. My creative process involves four significant stages with the first stage being preparation(Griffin & Morrison, 2010). The preparation stage is where in my opinion makes the creative process tough. An example is when you see a person walking down the street you don’t look twice or remember him or her a few seconds after they have, passed. Why? Because it is ordinary, it is normal nothing stands out worth remembering(Jaffe, 2003). Now this same concept must be played in creativity in advertising. The preparation part means that I have to find out something new, something

Financial advisor as a career choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Financial advisor as a career choice - Essay Example An illustration: an insurance agent is qualified to sell variable annuities and life insurance. Their compensation is in terms of commission, fees or both (DE GOEY, 2003, p. 65). A financial advisor has the following duties: they should be independent of influence from outside so as to make reasonable investment recommendations, their selection of brokers should be based on the ability of proper execution of their responsibilities, make inquiry of client’s objectives of investment, financial and other factors before any recommendations are drawn, and always let the client’s interest have the upper hand. As a financial advisor there necessary skills and qualities required. The skills are grouped into two, financial and non-financial skills. The non-financial skills needed are: Relationship-management skills This is a people skill required to excel in the career of a financial advisor. A financial advisor is required to listen, ask the right questions, counsel clients, ed ucate clients, resolve conflicts, and understanding the different personalities. They should be knowledgeable in psychology and finance as well, though research has it that â€Å"15% technical knowledge and 85 % psychology. Clients mostly approach a financial advisor in case they are spending a lot, saving nothing or even saving everything. Therefore they need a financial advisor who is not biased thus will attend to their needs and will assist them in making their decisions on finances. I have acquired the life skill which is essential in the profession of a financial advisor. The life skill I have acquired has been of help since I interact with my fellow colleagues and I am able to solve issues amongst us. Therefore becoming a financial advisor will not be challenging as I will be in a position to relate with my co-workers, boss, and the people outside the firm. This could result to a recommendation of a client to me and it could warrant a promotion. According to chapter 8 of Fit zsimmons and Fitzsimmons for any improvement in performance there should be suitable management skills. Personal skills; I am competent enough to manage equally I have been a leader. The relations that I have created in college are evidence that in a job market I can create a good relationship with my co-workers, bosses, and people around me. At times the advisor goes to the extent of making less money so as to create good relationship hence develop a long-term relationship of trust. Leverage comes about after offering quality services and in return they get referrals of other clients and the satisfied clients are willing to offer more for consultancy. With trust the client follows the guidelines of the advisor. The interests of the client should be placed above your own (KANDAMPULLY, 2012, p. 68). Communication skills. They should be articulate, good in writing and presentation skills to assist a client With the appropriate communication skills it is possible to explain to the cust omer the available investment opportunities. A financial advisor should be ready to be involved in a one-on-one discussion with a client since that is the main role. Ability to take and relate complex investment ideas and strategies to their clients in a manner that is effective and simple. Professional competence and no arrogance should be reflected in their communication. Empathy coupled with confidence have created a communication style that is powerful. The module has improved my communication and listening skills in a great way. Personally: I have learnt to be confident with what I say. I have learnt to relate

Immunosurveillance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Immunosurveillance - Essay Example There is a third element in the research for investigating interactions between the immune system and neoplasia. This is that neoplasia deliberately develop certain defence mechanisms against the incumbent system in such a manner that they successfully evade punitive action (Chernock et al, Undated). This paper's purpose is to investigate what these evasive strategies may be and how they assist neoplasia to evade immune reaction. In the 1950s Lewis Thomas and Sir MacFarlane Burnet postulated the theory positing that effector cells of the immune system constantly patrol the body to actively identify and eradicate incipient tumour cells (Ichim, 2005). In the 1970, subsequent research found that T-cells may be implicated in this defensive mechanism (Ichim, 2005). This theory fell out of favour in the 1980s as research studies noted certain discrepancies in it but, in the 1990s, it was again revived because subsequent research studies noted that it was partially viable (Bhardwaj, 2007). It is observed that both the innate immune system - phagocytes, NK cells, NKT cells, cytokines, proteins, etc. - and the adaptive immune system - B- and T-cells, etc. - do fight neoplasia but, ultimately, it is observed for most spontaneous tumours that the overall immune system fails to entirely rid the organism of the cancerous cells. This is so as per three acknowledged phases to the immune response - 1) the elimination phase during which nascent tumourous cells are eliminated by the immune system; 2) the equilibrium phase when the tumour cells persist but are held in abeyance by the immune system; and 3) the escape phase when the tumour cells develop strategies to combat the immune system (Bhardwaj, 2007). This is the whole concept of 'immunoediting' and the last phase - the escape phase - is the one the paper is interested in because it is the one in which the neoplasia develop successful strategies in evading immune reaction. Evasive Strategies The evasive strategies adopted by neoplasia may be pre-existing or adaptive. Since such develop from healthy normal cells, some of the progenitor cells' evasive strategies pre-exist in them (Chernock et al, Undated). Pre-existing Strategies: Normal cells are incorporated by certain mechanisms that assist them in evading the body's own immune reactions. Such mechanisms may be self-tolerance, shielding from proper surveillance, antigen shedding, lymphocyte killing, secretion of immunosuppressive cytokines, lack of MHC2 expression, lack of co-stimulatory molecules and local secretion of prostaglandins and neuropeptides. These strategies are often sustained in neoplasm (Chernock et al, Undated). They ultimately, to a large extent, help the mutant cells maintain themselves with impunity in the organism's body. Adaptive Strategies: Nevertheless, such mutant cells are altered and have certain distinct proteins that differ from normal cells and these may be recognised by the immune system. To evade this eventuality such cells develop strategies that are not inherited from normal cells but are variants developed customarily by the mutant cells themselves as per requirements. Such adapted strategies may be up-regulation of the evasive tactics of healthy cells still existing in the mutants,

Challenges and security issues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Challenges and security issues - Research Paper Example Therefore, the organization failed to follow the standards laid down in testing the product before releasing it to the market. That led to the soft ware problem. Laudon (2011) says that in regard to technology, MacAfee’s system failed to detect possible dangers the product was posing to consumers using the windows XP and Service Pack 3, which was widely used in desktop PC configuration. In this case, technological factors played a significant role in MacAfee’s soft ware problem. Question 2 MacAfee lost a significant number of its customers as a result of the software problem. Actually, the company lost loyalty of its key clients after their computers crushed as a result of antivirus updates. According to Laudon (2011), the company lost most of its customers as a result of management’s sluggish response to the crisis, and the company’s initial effort to ignore the issue’s impact to the consumers. MacAfee’s reputation in the corporate business environment was dented as a result of its misleading reaction to the technical hitches on its systems. On the other hand, consumers’ businesses were affected as a result of their computers being crippled. According to Laudon (2011), this slowed down the normal operation of consumers’ businesses; hence leading to loses and idle time in labor. ... This was contrary to the fact that a significant number of clients were affected. Question 4 MacAfee’s management should come up with a set of standards meant to ensure adherence to testing procedures. This will facilitate efforts meant to determining a product’s quality before being released into the market. According to Laudon (2011), this will help to curb any deterrent effect a product may have on consumers. Chapter 8: How Secure is the Cloud Question 1 With respect to the security problem of tracking unauthorized activity, this can be controlled using a cloud vendor. According to Laudon (2011), this is a public company whose mandatory requirement by law is to disclose how it manages information. On the other hand, the problem can be controlled by use of cloud vendor that allow subscribers to choose where their cloud computing work takes place. Question 2 People who contribute to security problems in the cloud include those who hack into data bases and try to access companies’ information. They do this despite the fact that information stored within the subject databases is unauthorized to them. According to Laudon (2011), these people pose a security threat to companies’ information as they subject them to unauthorized alterations. In addition, organizations contribute to unauthorized access as they fail to pay attention to their security practices. Laudon (2011) agrees that they fail to secure their infrastructure. Lastly, the high cost of technology contributes to security problems. That is because of the dynamics and high costs associated with advanced technology. Most firms cannot afford secure systems for them to store and back