Human Resource Practices in Sme Sector

EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 Human Resource Practices in SME Sector: An Exploratory Case Study of Pakistan Naveed R. Khan Faculty of Management and Economics Sciences, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, 35900, Malaysia naveed. r. [email  protected] com Mustafa Rehman Khan Faculty of Management Sciences, Institute of Business and Technology, 75190, Pakistan [email  protected] com Abstract The role of human resource practices (HRP) at its significance in small and medium enterprises (SME) become an emerging topic, especially in developing countries.This study aims to gauge the level of HR practice being exercise in SME. Quantitative approach has been followed and data was collected from 195 SMEs through a structure questionnaire. Findings suggested that SME are performing moderate level of HR practices and owner/managers are aware with the importance of HR practices in their organizations. Moreover, compensation is the most significant factor of HR practices foll owed by employee performance, recruitment and selection and training and development.HR function has been substantially implemented and HR practices are being carried out in number of SME and is contributes at all phases of organization’s functions. The globalization and dynamic milieu is forcing the SME sector to switch informal functions to formal manner. However more coherent approach is required to replace the traditional way of practicing HR functions. This study validates the implementation of HR practices in SME as documented in the literature. It further provides a reference for academicians and practitioner to build upon a contention for future research. 7 7Keywords: recruitment and selection, training and development, employee performance, compensation. COUNTRY CASE STUDIES Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=2155840 EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 1. Introduction In the era of globalization, business environment becomes highly dynamic with high r isk and uncertainty. This uncertainty decreases market share and increases organizational inefficiency. As elsewhere, Pakistani SMEs too are affected by the recent global economic meltdown. Escalating inflation in Pakistan further compounded the situation for SME growth.Human resource working in SME sector plays a vital role in economic growth without any space for their personal growth. It is therefore observed that retention is one of the major problems in small and medium size industries. Slightly better emoluments provide good reasons to an employee to switch over from one organization to another organization. Growth in salary in SME sector is far behind the growth in inflation which is a source of depression and made them less productive at their workplace (Khan, 2011). SMEs are identified as the leading employment generation sector, nation wide.In context of the Karachi city which contributes 30% in manufacturing sector of Pakistan and 90% in Sindh’s GDP and around 20% of the total GDP of Pakistan. These figures indicate the potential and further growth in this sector further it prove the argument that SME sector shall plays pivotal role and have potential to grow. Moreover, extensive economics activities at sea ports and industrial zones increase the significance of Karachi city, hence is called the financial and business hub of Pakistan, providing millions of economic opportunities (Ghouri et al. 2011). This study has been conducted to measure the gap between philosophies and practices of HR practices. HR scholars have argued that SMEs are insignificantly practicing the HR function in Pakistan. It may be consider that the owner / managers are not able to utilize their human resource strategically and coherently. Perhaps this is due to the shortage of HR professional in SME sector. Further, fragile structure and substandard formalization intends management to ignore organization’s most valued assets, that is, 8 the workforce.This ignorance causes the job dissatisfaction in employees and ultimately affects the organizational performance. However, employees perform the essential tasks within the organization, and organizational human resource systems are designed to support and manage this human capital. 7 This study aims to measure HR practices in SME operating in Karachi, Pakistan. The city is considered as the hub of commerce and financial activities of Pakistan. SMEs operating are having a mix of proper and casual setup.The study is designed to measure the level of HR practices and identify the most significant HR practice among recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and employee performance. Consistent with the discussion so far, this study seeks to answer the following questions. 1. What is the level of HR practices followed in the SME? 2. What is the most/least important practice of HR, among four facets, in SME? 1. 2 Brief Overview of Employment in Pakistan Over the years, Pakistan ha s substantially moved from agriculture economy to manufacturing economy.Economically active size is the largest in the total population of the country. Human capital is enriched with diverse skills from unskilled labor to high-skilled critical mass. Pakistan’s urban growth rate is highest in South Asia. Estimated in 1980s, urban population growth rate was 4. 5% per annum and projected to 60% by the turn of the century. That proved true. Karachi’s urban economy and its employment pool is the glaring example of this. Its formal and informal sectors provide greater employment potential and are in a position to use human capital efficiently (Khan et al. , 2011).ISSN: 1582-8859 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=2155840 EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 At present, SMEs are recognized as the backbone of the country’s economy by representing nearly 90% of all the enterprises in Pakistan. SMEs form a significant po rtion of the manufacturing and services sector. According to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s report (2010) the labor force today is divided in agriculture 43%, manufacturing 13%, construction 7%, transport 6%, and services 14% and the other head carrying the rest of the burden.The total workforce in Pakistan is 102. 7 million; out of which 55. 77 million people are employed in 2010 with $2400 per capita income; this labor force will increase to 154. 4 million by 2030 with the growth rate of 2. 05. However, 15. 2% unemployment rate was recoded in 2010. SMEs provide 80% employment of the non-agricultural labor force. In Pakistan small and medium enterprises offer diverse employment and production and share 40% in annual GDP of Pakistan (Khan, 2011). 2. Literature Review Pakistan’s SMEs sector is very different from SMEs working in industrialized world.Here, small and medium size businesses are usually not documented mostly with purpose. Pakistan has also a un ique culture of not sharing information with others. Freedom of public information is only on paper. Businesses profiles are not uploaded on the website and it is even so difficult for field researchers to collect basic information through interviews. Limited academic studies are conducted so far on HR practices in Pakistan’s SME environment. This study thus dependent on earlier researches conducted in environment other than Pakistan for conceptual understanding and theory development.Selected literature is reviewed for this study whose results are generalizable to any other environment. Basically, employees perform the essential tasks within the organization, and organizational human resource systems are designed to support and manage this human capital (Gramm and Schnell, 2001). HRM philosophy emphasizes on the benefits of meeting employee needs and enables them to have control over their work, moreover, satisfied workers willing to improve their efficiency, effectiveness a nd productivity to get the work done.The extensive use of high-involvement work practices represents a significant investment in human 7 capital. Basic microeconomics suggests that investments in human capital (employees) are justified when such investments are more than offset by future returns in the form of increased productivity. Thus, firms will make greater use of such practices when employees are viewed as particularly vital to firm success (MacDuffie, 1995). By adopting effective HR practices firms can acquire not only new skills and knowledge and change the attitudes of their employees but also improve their organizational performance.Through effective HR practices firm can get rid of traditional ineffective and inefficient practices which in turn enable the firm to maximize the achievement of its objectives (Delery and Doty, 1996). Armstrong (2006) defines human resource management (HRM) as the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization's most val ued assets – the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business.Findings from previous studies indicated that increased concern for HR practices among firms resulted from the need to develop HR as a source of competitive advantage (Walker, 2001; Wright et al. , 2001; Wright and Snell, 1991). In relation with the SMEs recent studies acknowledged the relevance and applicability of HR practices in small and medium scale firms (Nankervis et al. , 2002; Singh and Vohra, 2005; Chang and Huang, 2005; Schlogl, 2004) SMEs who successfully integrate their HR system with their vision and organizational objectives, are achieve their goals in a more organized manner (Singh and Vohra, 2005).Hence it would build-up more 9 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=2155840 EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 comprehensive business strategy to retain the position in the industr y. According to Chang and Huang (2005) human resources are viewed as a strategic asset that creates value when embedded in the operational system in a manner that can enhance firm’s abilities to deal with a turbulent environment. Sevral studies indicated that to improve organizational performance and develop a competitive advantage, firms need to implement an ffective HR practice system (Zheng et al. , 2006; Osman et al. , 2011; Katou, 2012). Studies on HR practices indicated that HR theories and models are assumed that they are applicable to all types of organizations regardless of their type, sizes and nature of human resource practice functions (Arthur, 1994; MacDuffie, 1995; Huselid, 1995; Youndt et al. , 1996). However, Nankervis et al. (2002) study findings suggested that previous empirical evidences are still not able to provide enough evidence to suggest that HR practices works for all kinds of organizations.Traditional literature on human resource practices identifie d four general categories, which include: Staffing, training, evaluation and compensation (Dessler, 2008; Mathis and Jackson, 2008; Fisher et al. , 2006). In few cases, these categories are aggregated in a slightly different manner, and certainly there is overlap and interrelationship among them (Shub and Stonebraker, 2009). Shub and Stonebraker (2009) define these categories as: Staffing generally involves the human resource activities of planning, job analysis and design, recruitment and selection.Training generally involves the HR activities of employee training, organization development and career development. Evaluation generally involves HR activities of various evaluation designs, both formal and informal, and different evaluation periodicities. Lastly, Compensation generally involves the HR activities of base wage or salary system, incentive system and perks, as well as benefits. Generally, the relationship-based approaches to staffing, training, evaluation, and compensation are shown in the literature to be directly associated with firm performance (Huselid, 1995; Osman et al. 2011; Ngo et al. , 1998) 2. 1 Human Resource Management and its Measurability Stone (2005) defined human resource management as it involves the productive use of people in 7 achieving the organization’s strategic business objectives and the satisfaction of individual employees need. This definition clearly indicates that the organizations’ objectives are dependent on their work force productivity. Moreover, work task, work environment, freedom in work, opportunities provided and the benefits are provides are few of the most important needs a worker may perceive.The effective HRM practices are able to link these practices with organization structure and objectives. Many studies investigating human resource management practices have looked primarily into an organizational structure construct. To accurately measure â€Å"human resource practices†, a number of H R functions may need to be evaluated. However, these characteristics or facets may not be of equal importance to every organization. One of the most comprehensive and widely used measures for human resource practice is presented by Dessler (2008) and Fisher et al. 2006). In this study human resource management practices is characterized as multidimensional, and it has four major facets namely i) recruitment and selection, ii) training and development , iii) compensation, iv) employee performance evaluation. 2. 1. 1 Practice of Recruitment and Selection Recruitment and selection is the first facet of human resource practice, which involves planning, forecasting, and job analysis for the future demand of employees according to the need and demand of the firm.Moreover, various tools and techniques have been used by the firms for the improvement of staffing process to avoid the loss in terms of time, money and potential employees. 2. 1. 2 Practice of Training 10 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES Eur oEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 Training is another dimension of human resource practice where firms invested on the development of their employees’ knowledge, skills ability and other on-job required skills to improve the productivity of employees.Training can transform human resource to human capital where skilled employee would better perform in the success of organization as compare the employees who can get training lesser or never. 2. 1. 3 Practice of Compensation Compensation is one of the most extrinsic practices of human resource function in an organization setting. This dimension determines the level of job of an employee on the basis of their perceived knowledge and experience.Moreover, the matching of their job knowledge with the pay or compensation provided them must demonstrate the market level competitive packages. Good compensation plan would therefore, inevitably influence on employees’ performance. However, the extent to which an employee who is getting the good compensation package will perform well would also depend on his/her overall assessment of various factors like the compensation package in other organizations in relation to the work load and the possibility of getting better compensation packages (Purani and Sahadev, 2008). . 1. 4 Practice of Evaluation This aspect of human resource practices generally involves the activities of various evaluation designs, both formal and informal, and different evaluation periodicities (Shub and Stonebraker, 2009). It is a means of getting better results by understanding and managing performance within an agreed framework of planned goals, standards and competency requirements. It functions as a continuous and evolutionary process, in which performance improves over time.Moreover, it provides the basis for regular and frequent dialogues between managers and individuals about performance and development needs (Armstrong, 2006). 3. Research Methodology The study comprises on a quantitative survey of 195 SMEs. The data was collected from the companies operating in Karachi through a self-administered questionnaire. The study covered manufacturing and 7 service sectors SMEs. In the study, SME referred to the firms employed between 10 to 250 employees, this definition have been adopted from the SME policy 2007 and SMEDA.The SME were identified and randomly selected from the listing of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) and Jamal’s Yellow Pages. The questionnaire was adopted from Chew (2004) and modified according to the nature and objectives of the study and tested for reliability, prior to data collection. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of three sections. Section one focused on collecting background information of the respondents. Section two captured the characteristics of the firm and last section obtained the information concerning the HR practices adopted by the firm.To examine the hypotheses of the study, descripti ve statistics analysis were performed using SPSS 17. The sample size for this study was 300 however only 195 questionnaires, with response rate of 65%, were found acceptable for analysis. 3. 1 Reliability Testing To measure the reliability of the instruments used, Cronbach’s alpha was employed. According to Sekaran (2005), if the alpha value is greater then 0. 7, the instrument is acceptable. The internal consistency reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha) for the scales used in this study are well above the level of 0. , thus are acceptable for the analysis purpose. In Table 3. 1, alpha scores of all variables with complete response of 195 SMEs are given. 11 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 Table – 1: Reliability Coefficients of the Constructs (n = 195) Constructs Recruitment and selection Training and development Compensation Employee performance No. of Items 4 6 6 5 Cronbach’s Alpha . 750 . 792 . 845 . 824 ISSN: 1582-8859 4. Rese arch Findings 4. 1 Characteristics of the Respondents The characteristics of the respondents are presented in the following table.Table – 2: Characteristics of the Respondents (n = 195) Variable(s) Gender Male Female Age 20-25 yrs 26-30 yrs 31-35 yrs 36-40 yrs 41-45 yrs 46-50 yrs Over 50 Education Intermediate Bachelors Masters MS/M. Phil PhD Other Total Frequency 167 28 %age 85. 6 14. 4 Variable(s) Marital Status Married Unmarried No response Position in Firm Owner but not manager Owner and manager Manager but not owner No Response Frequency 130 64 1 %age 66. 7 32. 8 0. 5 29 48 40 32 16 21 9 3 77 103 7 0 5 195 14. 9 24. 6 20. 5 16. 4 8. 2 10. 8 4. 6 1. 5 39. 5 52. 8 3. 6 0 2. 6 100. 14 108 70 3 7. 2 55. 4 35. 9 1. 5 12 7 Work Experience 1 – 4 Years 5 – 7 Years 8 – 10 11 – 13 14 – 16 ; 17 Total 42 37 45 20 19 32 195 21. 5 19 23 10. 2 9. 7 16. 4 100. 0 As shown in the table 2, statistics of the respondents clearly and logically depict the pic ture of their characteristics. In total of 195 respondents 167 were males and 28 were females. Likewise 130 respondents were married and 64 were unmarried. The age and years of work experience among the respondents ranged from 20 to more than 50 years and one to more than 17 years respectively.In terms of education 3 respondents obtained intermediate certificate, 77 obtained bachelor’s degrees, 103 have master’s degree and 7 have MS/M. Phil degree, however none of the respondent has a PhD. COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 The in-depth analysis of statistics highlighted some interesting facts of the respondents. The Female owner/manager represented the 14. 4 % of total respondents which show significant contribution of females in the total workforce, however, this proportion need to be increase at substantial level.Moreover, sixty percent respondents’ age ranged from 20 to 35 years, it shows that young entrepreneurs/managers are coming into the industries with new passion for growth. Likewise 52. 8 percent respondents have a Master’s degree. This combination of ‘young age’ along with ‘education’ shall change the mind-set of traditional business practices and may bring new innovative ideas and measures which shall boost the SME sector in near future. 4. 2 Characteristics of the Firm The characteristics of the firm are summarize in Table 3.These characteristics depict the picture of the firm’s form of business, number of employees working, age of the firm and type of business. Table – 3: Characteristics of the Firm (n = 195) Variable(s) Form of Business Solo proprietor Partnership Private limited Age of Company 3-5 years 6-8 years 9-11 years 12-14 years ; 14 years Total Frequency 24 74 97 23 15 42 51 64 195 %age 12 38 50 11. 7 7. 6 21. 5 26 32. 8 100. 0 Variable(s) No of Employees 10 to 50 51-100 101-150 151-200 201 – 250 Type of Business Manufacturing Se rvices Total Frequency %age 45 16 26 73 35 89 106 195 23. 8. 2 13. 3 37. 4 17. 9 45. 6 54. 4 100. 0 13 7 The in-depth statistical analysis shows that fifty percent SME are the private limited firms and 32. 8 % firms are operating since more than 14 years. Likewise, 37. 4 % SME employed the workers range from 151 to 200. Lastly, 54. 4 % SME are fall under the category of services firms. 4. 3 Distribution of firm by Business sector The SME, participated in this study, represented various business sectors in the manufacturing and services industry. The distribution of the sample firms by type of business sector is presented in table 4.Table – 4: Characteristics of the Firm (n = 195) Variable(s) Business Sectors Financial Institution Engineering/Construction Energy/Petroleum Frequency 18 23 5 %age 9. 2 11. 8 2. 6 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 Chemical/Pharmaceutical Education Textile Telecommunication Logistics Others Total 18 15 19 18 17 62 195 9. 2 7. 7 9. 7 9. 2 8. 7 31. 8 100. 0 ISSN: 1582-8859 The statistics indicated that eight different business sector firms were participated in this study. Most of the firms are from Engineering/Construction business sector which comprises of 11. % of the firms participated in the study. Energy/Petroleum business sector have the least presentation in the sample which comprises of only 2. 6%. However, the ‘others’ head carrying the rest of the burden comprises of 31. 8%. 4. 4 Human Resource Practices The mean and standard deviation scores of HR practices variables which include recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and employee performance are recorded, from the firms, are presented in table 5. The results depict that the mean scores of HR practices ranged from 3. 352 to 3. 83. Hence, at the general level, results suggest that the SME in the study practiced the HR function, to a certain extent. Furthermore, recruitment and selection is moderately practiced in the organization (mean = 3. 49, SD = 1. 10) along with training and development (mean = 3. 35, SD = 1. 081), compensation (mean = 3. 68, SD = . 975), and employee performance (mean = 3. 69, SD = 1. 34). Table – 5: Descriptive Statistics of Variables (n = 195) Items Recruitment and selection Training and development Compensation Employee performance Overall HRM Practices 4. . 1 Recruitment and selection Table 6 highlights the descriptive statistics for each item. Out of the four items of selection, â€Å"only the best people are hired to work in this organization† (mean = 3. 74, SD = 1. 07) followed by â€Å"the values and beliefs of this organization are discussed in interviews with potential employees† showed the second highest mean value of 3. 69 (SD = 1. 054), followed by, â€Å"when new employees are hired, they must go through an extensive hiring process in which they are interviewed a number of times† (mean = 3. 44, SD =1. 53), and â€Å"employ ees of this organization are involved in the hiring of their peers† (mean 3. 11, SD = 1. 152). In general, the SMEs appeared to have moderate level selection practices in their organization. Table – 6: Descriptive Results of recruitment and selection (n=195) Mean 3. 497 3. 352 3. 683 3. 682 3. 553 Standard (SD) 1. 10 1. 081 . 975 1. 349 1. 126 Deviation 14 7 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 Items Only the best people are hired to work in this organization. The values and beliefs of this organization are discussed in interviews with potential employees.When new employees are hired, they must go through an extensive hiring process in which they are interviewed a number of times. Employees of this organization are involved in the hiring of their peers. Total Mean (Selection) 4. 4. 2 Training and development Table 7 highlights the descriptive statistics for each item. Out of the six items, â€Å"people are properly oriented and trained upon joining this organization† showed the highest level of training practice (mean = 3. 67, SD =1. 042), followed by â€Å"the company provides enough training for the employees to learn new ways to do their job† (mean = 3. 9, SD = 1. 037). â€Å"This organization does provide regular opportunities for personal and career development† (mean = 3. 43, SD = 1. 045). â€Å"Training provided by the firm often consists of both classrooms teachings and On-Job-Training (OJT)† (mean = 3. 27, SD = 1. 168); â€Å"This organization subsidizes, assists or reimburses employees for training they get outside the organization†, mean = 3. 22, SD = 1. 097). However, â€Å"employees in this organization receive additional compensation† have the lowest level of practice in the variety of activities (mean = 2. 0, SD =1. 099). Table – 7: Descriptive results of Training and development (n = 195) Items People are properly oriented and trained upon joining this organization. Th is organization does provide regular opportunities for personal and career development This organization subsidizes, assists or reimburses employees for training they get outside the organization Employees in this organization receive additional compensation Training provided by the firm often consists of both classrooms teachings and On-Job-Training (OJT). The ompany provides enough training for the employees to learn new ways to do their job Total Mean (Training) 4. 4. 3 Compensation Out of the six items in table 8, â€Å"Employees are given positive recognition when they produce high quality work† showed the highest level of compensation practice (mean = 3. 89, SD =. 965), followed by â€Å"This organization pays well† and â€Å"This organization offers good opportunities for promotion† (mean = 3. 723, Mean 3. 6769 3. 4359 3. 2205 2. 9077 3. 2769 3. 5949 3. 352 SD 1. 04202 1. 04524 1. 09713 1. 09906 1. 16885 1. 3793 1. 081 Mean 3. 6923 3. 7436 3. 1128 3. 4410 3. 497 ISSN: 1582-8859 SD 1. 05405 1. 07737 1. 15213 1. 15337 1. 10 15 7 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 SD = . 927) and (mean = 3. 723, SD = 1. 018) respectively. â€Å"The way in which employees in this organization are compensated† (mean = 3. 65, SD = . 920). â€Å"This organization values individual excellence over teamwork† (mean = 3. 61, SD = 1. 015); â€Å"This organization offers a good benefits package compared to other organizations†, mean = 3. 49, SD = 1. 007).Table – 8: Descriptive Results of Compensation (n = 195) Items This organization pays well The way in which employees in this organization are compensated This organization offers a good benefits package compared to other organizations This organization values individual excellence over teamwork Employees are given positive recognition when they produce high quality work This organization offers good opportunities for promotion Total Mean (Compensation ) 4. 4. 4 Employee performance SMEs are highly intended to let its employees know, how they are performing (mean = 4. 08, SD = 2. 98).Table 9 the descriptive statistics is highlighted for each item. The measurement of an employee's performance on the job is a priority in this organization receives the 2 nd highest mean value (mean = 3. 77, 16 SD = . 895), followed by the measurement of turnover and absenteeism is a priority in this organization† and â€Å"when evaluating the employees for promotion, seniority is one of the criteria taken into account† (mean = 3. 517, SD = . 937) and (mean = 3. 517, SD = . 970) respectively. However, â€Å"this organization 7 makes a point of keeping track of factors that it considers critical for success† receive the lowest mean value (mean = 3. 0, SD =. 959). Table – 9: Descriptive Results of Employee performance (n = 195) Items The measurement of an employee's performance on the job is a priority in this organization. Th is organization makes a point of keeping track of factors that it considers critical for success. The measurement of turnover and absenteeism is a priority in this Organization When evaluating the employees for promotion, seniority is one of the criteria taken into account Does your company lets its employees know how they are performing Total Mean (Evaluation) Mean 3. 7795 3. 5077 3. 5179 3. 5179 4. 0872 3. 682 SD . 89534 . 95986 . 3799 . 97041 2. 98408 1. 349 Mean 3. 7231 3. 6513 3. 4974 3. 6154 3. 8923 3. 7231 3. 683 SD . 92793 . 92024 1. 00706 1. 01574 . 96522 1. 01800 . 975 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 5. Discussion and Conclusion Small and medium enterprises may have a significant contribution in the economic growth of a country. The swift progress in entrepreneurial set-ups depicts healthy business activities. The findings of this study measure the level of HR practices in SME. The mean score of overall HR practices reported at 3. 553 indicated a modera te level of HR practices, followed in the firms.The adequate level of HR practices is an indication that the SMEs, participated in the study, are involved in implementing and practicing HR activities in their organizations. However, sophistication HR practices bring ample opportunities to gain competitive advantage in the market in terms of HR outcomes i. e. employee retention, satisfaction, competencies and commitment. This increase in HR outcomes may significantly affect the SME performance. Hence HR practices should consider as the source of sustain competitive advantage and owner / manager should therefore put the HR agenda in central to any strategy.Human resources are consider as the activators of all non-human resources and are means for developing competitive advantages in the market place (Stone, 2005). Compensation practice of employees has a significant role followed by employee performance. These are considered as the key factors in managing HR in SME. Hence are practice s in a comprehensive manner. However recruitment and selection and training and development practices are still need the attention and would like to practice in a more sophisticated manner.Especially, training and development, since, trained and motivated employees and managers contribute effectively under these practices. Moreover, scant attention is being paid to new HR practices to manage knowledge and its effective use (Taha, 2006). Efficient HR practices in a SME may bridge the information gap and improve the organizational performance. Moreover, HR practices framework in SMEs requires a collective approach to practices HR functions working as a set or â€Å"bundle† rather than independently (Delery, 1998). SMEs owners and managers should broaden the scope of HR practices.It will increase the retention rate of employee, enhance the competencies and commitment in work force and levitate the level of 7 satisfaction among employees. This shift in-turn enhances the organizat ional performance in terms of quality, productivity and market share. Successful HR system also helps to integrate the other organizational functions in lesser time. This integration will open long term investment opportunities through organizational strategy. Finally, appropriate strategies at national level may enable the SME sector to boost the national economy. Acknowledgement: I would like to acknowledge Dr.Mashhood Ahmad Khan and Dr. S. M. Taha for providing guidance in initializing this study and insightful comments at different stages of this research. ISSN: 1582-8859 17 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES EuroEconomica Issue 3(31)/2012 ISSN: 1582-8859 References Arthur, J. (1994). 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Body Atlas Essay

Last meeting, we watched a film called body atlas. The film was about human body, bones, heart, blood, skin, reproductive system, and etc. It gives us a basic understanding of the parts and function of different systems in the human body. For example, the heart, it keeps our body alive because it pumps blood all around our body that contains oxygen. Heart has the main role of blood circulation in the body. Another important part of the body is the blood. It carries substances like nutrients such as amino acids and oxygen to the other parts of the body. It also contains white blood cells which are vital for the body’s immune system. From the film, one that strikes me the most was the reproductive system and how babies are made. We’ve all know the basic idea on how to make babies – man meets woman, they both get naked and have sex, and nine months later, a baby pop out. But from the film we’ve watched, it shows the step by step process on how the egg cell an d sperm cell meet and how is the baby created inside the body. When a man ejaculates, despite the millions of sperms cell produced and released , only one can fertilized an egg. If an egg cell meets up with a healthy sperm on its way to the uterus, the two can join and begin the process of creating a new life. The first 12 weeks of pregnancy, known as the first trimester, abound with changes and growth in the unborn baby. It takes up to two weeks for the process to be completed for you to become pregnant. In the 3rd week, sperm and egg come together to create a zygote. In the fifth week, though the unborn baby is less than 1/4-inch long, her brain, heart, spinal cord and other vital organs begin to form. The baby’s circulatory system also begins the first stages of development. Sixth and seventh week, Some of the baby’s basic facial features are now visible during the sixth and seventh weeks, and his heart begins pumping blood. Eight week, with legs and arms growing longer and fingers beginning to develop, also develops an upper lip and nose, and the nipples and eyes are visible. Ninth and tenth week, Bones begin to form in your baby’s arms, which now bend at the elbows. The baby’s toes also start developing, and his eyelids and ears continue to be formed. At the 10th week, your baby’s  head gets rounder, the neck begins to develop and the eyelids close to guard the eyes. At the 11th week, the baby ends the embryonic period and enters the fetus stage. The fetus begins to develop external genitalia. In the final week of the first trimester, the baby grows fingernails. After that, a new life begins.

Nutrition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Nutrition - Essay Example We must keep in mind that different types of fibers have different characteristics and these characteristics benefit us in different ways. Now the question remains, how exactly do fiber rich foods benefit us? The answer is simple. Fibers escape from the small intestine without getting digested. These then help in various bodily processes such as growth of healthy bacteria and nutrients absorption. The reason it is difficult to understand the benefits of fibers is because there are many types of fibers that have different characteristics. Barley, beans and oats decrease the level of cholesterol. Soluble fiber rich foods when mixed with water swell in volume and when passing through the small intestines, they trap bile acids from the gall bladder. These acids are made from cholesterol and when we eat fat, these are pushed into the small intestines. The fiber plus water material absorbs the acid out of the small intestines and eventually out of the body and hence reduces cholesterol. Fibers also help in slowing the entrance of sugar into the blood in the same cholesterol was trapped from the small intestines. Fibers also help in sustaining the normal healthy bacteria that maintain the intestines, prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, improves immune system and increases absorption of calcium. The article was very informative. It covered each point related to fiber and its benefits in detail and at the same time it was short enough to maintain the reader’s interest in the article. Concise and informative is the prefect combination that is needed in a good piece of writing. The language that was used through out the article was also very simple and easy to understand. No such jargons were used which makes the article comprehendible for anyone who is interested. Examples and facts were given which make the argument of the writer more concrete and strong. However,

Importance of songs and music in bollywood films Essay

Importance of songs and music in bollywood films - Essay Example Ganti (2004, p. 13) describes presence of music in the films as a ‘masala’ which literally means spice. This captivates the audiences and makes the movies more interesting. Arguably, because of the interesting and captivating nature of the films, the people will in turn buy more of the films and thus record high sales for the Indian films. This has been the case since Bollywood films dominated Asian market. Music has for long been used in films to construct narrative. Morcom (2007, p. 31) notes that narrative is not only structured by visual means but also through music. Music functions as part of the process that broadcasts narrative information to the audience. In essence, music is a narrative agent. Emotion, mood, characterization, point of view and the action in the films are all structured in a multifaceted visual and oral interaction in which music is a significant aspect. Punathambekar (2008, p. 16) demonstrates the role of music and its significance in the Bollywood films through application of the linguistic tool to the film studies. From his application Punathambekar (2008) noted that any music can be used in a film but will be accompanied by different meanings (p. 18). Bollywood film makers have for long made no efforts to hide the fact that what the film represents on the screen is an illusion, a creation and a fiction. This implies that Indian films are self-conscious and aware of its audiences. The sequences of song and dances in the films break away from the practicality of the cinema and exist within a different modus operandi. These changes between distinct modes of pragmatism cause the cinema to be conscious of its illusionary set-ups (Ranade, 2006, p. 56). The audience by this time must apprehend the break in practicality, causing a relationship between the movie and the audience that is distinct from the Hollywood

The Culture of Laos Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Culture of Laos - Essay Example Culture First of all, religious belief plays a decisive role within the scenario of Lao culture. To be specific, one can easily identify the influence of Buddhism in the culture of Laos. John Holt opines that, â€Å"When writing about Lao culture, however, one also has to take into account that most of the â€Å"ethnic Lao† population, and therefore Lao Buddhism and religious culture, actually resides outside of the current political boundaries of Laos† (9). At the same time, the different elements of culture, like art and literature, are deeply influenced by Theravada Buddhism. Besides, South East Asian conventional way of life still prevails in Laos and the same influence their cultural aspects. The influence of traditional way of life is evident in their food habits. For instance, rice is generally considered as an important food grain in Laos. The people of Laos connect their food habits with their culture because the same is related to their daily life. Physical location One can see that this nation is located within the South Eastern side of Asia. Lydia Laube states that, â€Å"Laos is a landlocked country of 236,800 square kilometres† (1). Some of the important nations in this region share their borders with this nation. To be specific, Laos shares its border with China, an important nation in this area. At the same time, Laos shares her boundary with Burma, a less dominant nation in this area. ... This nation is well known for its conservative measures that protect its natural vegetation. Still, opium production in the border areas is an important problem to be dealt with utmost importance. Population The present population of this nation is above 6 million. One must not misunderstand that most of the people live in big cities. Instead, most of the people live in the valley areas, especially within the banks of the most important river system in Laos, i.e. the River Mekong. Even the capital city (say, named as Vientiane prefecture) of this nation does not face population explosion because its population is below 800000. So one can see that population explosion is not an imminent threat for the people of Laos. Still, this low population is an advantage to the nation because this nation possesses the youngest population in the Asian continent. Religious beliefs The most important religious belief in this nation is Buddhism, especially Theravada Buddhism. To be specific, around 7 0% of the people believe in Theravada Buddhism. Besides, Christianity is less influential among the people in this nation. Still, the core aspects of Hinduism indirectly influence their beliefs because Buddhism originated from this religion. Besides, some people in this nation practice Animism, i.e., the belief that provides importance to the natural phenomena. On the other side, the constitution ensures religious freedom to the citizens. But the Communist/Socialist government provides less importance to religious practices in public. Ethnic groups One among the important ethnic groups in this nation is Lao Loum, who lives in the lowland region. To be specific, this ethnic group gained political and intellectual importance in the society. The origin of this ethnic group is

NURSING LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT FIELD EXPERIENCE Essay

NURSING LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT FIELD EXPERIENCE - Essay Example Much worse is the fact that many patients are missed out of diagnosis that will follow the emergency care of these patients (Attard Biancardi, 2013). The American cardiology college, American heart association and the European society of cardiology, jointly recommended the minimum time of intervention on ST elevated myocardial infarction patient as 90 minutes from the time of medical contact (Brodie, et al. 2010). They went further to make it a policy used to predetermine the quality performance on patients with myocardial infarction by hospitals. The findings on the hospital performance are recorded in the registry hence used to assess the performance of the respective hospitals. However, from records obtained from hospitals participating in the national registry of myocardial infarction, there is a small percentage of compliance to the guidelines. For instance in the year 2009, there was 35 percent of patients with ST elevated myocardial infarction attended to within the first 90 minutes and less than 15 percent of the participating hospitals had a median of 90 minutes in the time taken to attend to the these patients as Correi a, et al.(2013) observed . Willson et al. (2010) established that there are different subgroups of patients that are more susceptible to delays than others are. For example, most patients that are brought in during the off hours (weekends and during the night) experience more delays than those brought in during the day and the week. Second are the patients referred forms other facilities of acute care, since there is a problem in coordinating the two facilities on the emergency basis. According to the observations made by Cheskes et al. (2011), every minute of delay in patient with STEMI affects one-year mortality. In fact, the 1-year mortality rate is elevated by over 7.5 percent for every 30 minutes delay as observed by Pitta, et al. (2010). Explanation

Goals Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Goals - Assignment Example Firstly I would probably not make a lasting impact on the overall management of the firm which would hurt my chances of getting rehired. Secondly I would probably not learn a number of necessary tips from skilled professionals and lastly the job task could possible become more difficult which could hurt my overall performance. I postulate this because much of the information needed to be an effective auditor in my opinion can be gained in a short time when explained by a skilled professional but may take a great deal more effort to learn if that same information has to be learned organically. In regards to the techniques discussed in A Coaches Playbook for Leaders it is my opinion that one of the most exemplified coaching practices was clarifying roles and goals. On my very first day my roles and responsibilities were covered extensively, and in my opinion this will prevent me from overstepping any boundaries and ensuring that I stay on target with my work project. Since that original meeting I have received meaningful and positive feedback from my manager. Although I have not accomplished much in my internship, I had my manager look over my work thus far and he was able to identify that I was remaining on target. This not only motivated me to want to continue to impress him but I believe that this strategy will ensure that I produce meaningful and effective work that is tailored to the standards of my

Genomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Genomics - Essay Example Because of the role that genomics has been proven to play in disease, modern nurses commonly are responsible for eliciting at least three generations from patients (Consensus, 2008). Nurses play a critical role in assessment of this information for use in preventative care, prognostics, selection of treatment, and treatment evaluation, necessitating firm understanding of genomic principles. Nurses are an essential educational resource for patients unaware of genomic technologies. Nurses also serve as advocates for clients that may benefit from genomic services and for the rights of those clients to make autonomous, informed genomic and genetic based decisions. As part of the nursing assessment, genomics allows a nurse to establish risk factors based on family history of disease. Perhaps more importantly, however, the nursing assessment should include patient attitude and knowledge of genetic and genomic technologies that may be beneficial. This assessment will also allow other health care professionals to interact more effectively with the patients by understanding their biopsychosocial views and is critical in allowing patients to make informed decisions based on these new technologies.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 25

Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example journal was written to identify auditing of books of account of any business as an important activity for every stakeholder of any business organization to always remain updated. The author insists that every stakeholder of any business has the right to be informed about the statement of account in order to know whether the business is of any benefit to the society. Moreover, the author brings out the importance of auditing the inventory of the business to is keep track of the company’s products and merchandise. There is the use of exclamatory of the sentence when he orders the manager and company shareholders to perform the procedure of auditing typically to gain valuable information that would help them avoid overstocks and shortfalls. This makes his rhetorical strategies strong as processes such as auditing, and staff satisfaction has a correlation in the operation and performance of a business to the satisfaction of customer’s satisfaction. However, there is need to examine the accountability of those responsible for process and staffs satisfaction and their outcome to customer’s satisfaction in order to determine the effectiveness of Ballou and Heighter argument. The author targets all business organization stakeholders because they play vital roles in the running an organization such as translating strategies into desired behaviors and results. He uses the illustrations such as monitoring progress, providing feedback via use of auditing system and motivating staffs through performance –based rewards and sanctions and says that their results have a positive or negative impact on the customers. After auditing, the business management has the responsibility to publish ther audited report providing a statement of account to the government in order the latter can calculate the amount of tax that the business organization should be paying. The magnitude of tax will depend with the income realized after every accounting period as provided by the statement

Emergence and Impact of Regional Parties Essay Example for Free

Emergence and Impact of Regional Parties Essay It is raining acronyms in politics and the vibrant Indian political landscape is flooded. Well, almost so as Regional parties gain ground with amazing alacrity in a diverse India where a fast-transforming political map now promises a never before variety. SAD in Punjab on one side, SP, BSP in Uttar Pradesh on the other, RJD, JD(U) in Bihar as also DMK, AIADMK, PMK, MDMK and DMDK in the deep South and TMC, AGP and others in North-East —they seem to be flowing in from all nooks and corners to lend a different hue, their own hue, to the political waters as they flow in our country today. Though the experiment with regional politics first succeeded in the late 1960s when many parties won against the Congress, it was only post-1989 that regional politics really became a phenomenon, here to stay, courtesy the National Parties themselves. The alphabet-soup illustrating the striking transformation of Indias politics over the past two decades, brewed on the fire provided by the space vacated by National Parties to be wedded to the cause of regional issues, local aspirations and territorial priorities. Also, shrinking space of the National Parties led to creation of a vacuum which the Regional parties were happy to fill. They sprung up and marched ahead as a consequence of the leanings of the public to advance its aspirations. Essentially individualistic, personality-driven parties bound by a lose chain of thought rather than a cohesive coordinated ideology, these pandered to regional populism with a much narrower vision of things sans any broad-based National consensus on ideology and issues. But, then, what did the mushrooming of these regional parties, finally, find reflection in? While it strengthened the federal structure with assertion by the States of the Union for its share in power, privileges, taxes, revenues and benefits of micro-macro schemes, it also led to a certain amount of healthy competition inter se states, making us the republic that we really are. It also gave rise to the concept of shared sovereignty, marked by an increase in the capacity of the state to influence its own development performance while enhancing the representative character of India’s democracy. The relentless rise of these regional home-grown parties, sharing the one common attribute of having a mass base in only the state of their birth, led to a spate of constitutional and legislative reforms in terms of judicial, administrative and centre-state relations. Not only this, it weaved together an interplay of forces, prompting National parties to not only rope them in for support but also brought about a dependence which lent a Regional flavor to National Policies. Then, it is in this that emerged the beauty of the dove-tailing of the National and these Regional entities. But, then, since beauty is never blemish-free, there is a flip side too. Given their â€Å"strategic† positioning, the Regional parties have not only exploited this dependence of the National Parties for their own advantage but, at times, even arm-twisted the latter to get their way. There’s a way out of this of labyrinth in which National Parties find themselves lost in and it does not lie in a top-down approach which, in the present times, seems not only inadequate but also outdated. We have an India defined by mobilization of a plethora of identity and interest groups which have taken the shape and form of Regional parties to diffuse real power from the Centre to the states. The National Parties need to wake up and smell the coffee. The crutches of dependence on Regional parties have to go and they have to not only learn to stand on their own feet but even walk that extra mile to fulfill regional aspirations to show that each one of the 28 states matters as much. For this, they must permit regional units to function at the local level as semi-independent units with adequate flexibility for leadership-building at the regional level. This will help balance the regional interest with the National interest which many a times end upconflicting with each other. Besides, a cohesive National party with semiindependent regional strait-jacketed unit to cater to regional interests is the only guarantee for ensuring continuous unification within India’s multi-ethnic diversity which weaves the many strands of region, religion, culture and politics into one social fabric we call India.

Aviation Safety Strategies at Airports

Aviation Safety Strategies at Airports Aviation Safety Strategies at Airports  within the United Arab Emirates One of the major issues that is relevant directly to airports, their management and operations is that of safety. It is the one area of the airport business that bound to cause concern to all of the business stakeholders, which includes airline operators, employees and the travel public. Recently, the international and regional airport and aviation authorities have developed a Safety Strategic Plan, which is recommended for use by all airports, indeed such a plan will become compulsory from January 2009. However, the development and implementation of such a plan is only the first step in the process. What is more important is that the plan is operated in practice in a manner that ensures its efficiency and effectiveness in addressing the issues that it has been designed for, namely to reduce and eliminate the potential for risk in safety issues. With the continual growth of air travel and the fact that this standard has only recently been developed it was felt that there was a need to study whether there is the willingness and necessary processes within the airport organisational structure to commit to making this plan work. Using airports within the UAE as an example, due the regions higher than global average growth of air travel, it was found that in some areas, specifically management commitment, resources and knowledge, there were areas of difficulty that needed to be addressed, particularly if the airport industry wishes to retain the confidence and trust of those that it serves, and specifically to ensure that air travel retains its safe operation record. Table of Contents (Jump to) Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Aims and Objectives 1.3 Overview Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Airports and air travel 2.3 Airport operations 2.4 Airport safety 2.5 Regulations and legislation 2.6 Summary Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Choice of research method 3.3 Secondary data 3.4 The questionnaires 3.4 Performance of the research Chapter 4 Analysis of Questionnaire’s 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Part 1 4.3 Part 2 Chapter 5 Discussion and Analysis 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Discussion Chapter 6 Recommendations 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Industry recommendations 6.3 Further research Chapter 1 Introduction   1.1 Introduction As Dr Tarib Cherif (2008), general secretary of the ICAO[1] said in his introduction to an airport aviation summit held in Abu Dhabi in January, â€Å"Airport and airspace congestion in certain parts of the world are currently stretching sir navigation and ground facilities to the limit.† Furthermore, as this address goes on to add, with expected increases in global air traffic set to achieve growth of nearly 6% on average during the course of the next few years, with some areas of the world seeing double this figure, this will increase the pressure on all airport facilities and operations. Similarly, as the numbers of air travellers grows, the size of aircraft needed to carry this passenger load will also increase, as has been seen with the introduction of the latest European Airbus A380. Such aircraft will also add to the pressure at airports, both in terms of the flight operations and handling of extra passengers at times of boarding and alighting times (Wong 2008). With the advent of these changes, none of the airport resources will become more tested than those involved with strategic airport safety systems. Safety at airports is a complex issue that affects virtually every aspect of the airport authority’s operations and, in addition, it relates to all of the resources being utilised, which includes the buildings, airfields, air traffic control, internal transportation methods, passenger controls procedures and the business employees. As such, it can be seen to be an issue of significant importance to the welfare of those who use these facilities, which include the airline operators who both have operational hubs at the particular airport location and those who use the location as destination points. As with any other aspect of corporate management within airports, the effectiveness and efficient operations of safety systems within this environment need to be established and maintained through a process of strategic planning and monitoring, a process that has to be kept continually under review to ensure that it is regular upgraded to take into account the changing demands brought about by increased passenger loads, flight frequency and aircraft design and capacity. It is therefore important that the safety requirements of all areas if the airports supply chain are incorporated within this planning process. Furthermore, insofar as security issues such as terrorism impact upon safety issues, these also have to be incorporated within the strategic planning stage of safety system development. Because of the high level of important that airport operational safety has for all of the business stakeholders, if follows that the concerns of these various interested parties is not only that the airports are developing safety strategic plans, but that these are being embraced by all those who work within the organisation and implemented and monitored in a manner that can be relied upon to deliver the expected performance levels and objectives, with is to ensure the safety of all and striving to address and reduce areas of safety risk. Incidents such as a near miss on runways near miss, accidents and terrorist acts within airport concourses and other safety related issues heighten concerns about airport safety and bring into question the quality of safety procedures that are in force at these locations. It is these issues that have formed the motivation for this research, namely can there be confidence and trust in the airport strategic safety planning and implementation process? To provide a starting position for continued research into the issue of strategic safety planning and systems in airports, this study has concentrated solely upon the current situation as it has developed within the airports of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This region was chosen because its size, with only six airports in total, together with the fact that is still in the process of international airport development, means that it provides a more appropriate area to begin this analysis and evaluation because strategic safety systems might be in an embryonic stage. In addition, as will be seen within the analysis of existing data in the literature review in chapter two, the Middle East is one of the fastest growing regions in the world in terms of air travel. Furthermore, with the limited number of airport within a limited area it was anticipated that, by choosing to focus the study on two airports in the region, the results would be a fair representation of the state of strategic safety planning in the region generally. 1.2 Aims and Objectives The aim of this research is to provide an assessment on whether airport authorities have engaged with and embraced the process of strategic planning for the development of an airport safety system and, if so, to what extent these have been successfully implemented and maintained. In essence, the aim of the research can therefore be encapsulated within the following hypothesis: â€Å"To provide a clear understanding of the development and operational impact of the process strategic safety planning process within the six main airports that exist within the United Arab Emirates and identify whether these are efficiently implemented.† To enable the achievement of these goals, it is intended to work towards addressing the following objectives: To evaluate the needs and requirement of safety system maintenance and monitoring within the changing air travel environment. To provide an overview of the level of understanding and competency of airport personnel from the analysis of primary data responses. To provide an assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of the strategic safety planning process when experienced within a practical environment. This is be achieved by examining the results collected from primary data resources. It is felt that the above objectives will enable the research to provide a meaningful conclusion to the issues being addressed as well as allowing for recommendations for the future to be included where these are considered to be appropriate. 1.3 Overview The study has been organised in a manner that enables a logical continuity of development of the issues that have been addressed and the way the research itself has been conducted, which is intended to add clarity of understanding for the reader. The following explanation therefore provides an overview of the study format. Within chapter two, which commences following this introduction, a critical literature review is provided, within which analysis an evaluation into previous literature and studies into the issues of air travel, airport operations and safety performance issues with be addressed. It will also be used to highlight some of the areas of concerns that have been encountered by other researches on these subjects. Moving on to chapter three, the research design and methodology will be explained in greater detail. This will incorporate the author’s reasoning for the research method that has been chosen together with an explanation of how any constraints and limitations have been addressed. Furthermore, to enable others to following the logic of this study a short explanation of the data collection methods and research performance is also included. The findings from the primary research that has been conducted in support of the aims and objectives of this study, are presented in chapter four, and these will be analysed and discussed in further details in chapter five, where they will also be compared and evaluated by other existing data. As a result of these discussions, and where pertinent, appropriate recommendations will be presented in chapter six. These will relate both to the practical issues being faced by airport authorities when dealing with strategic safety planning and implementation, and suggest areas where further research may add more value and knowledge to this particular discipline. The study is then brought to a conclusion in chapter seven. Following the conclusion of this research paper, a list of reference sources is attached together with appendices, which includes additional information and data that was considered to be helpful in adding understanding to the study content. For example, detailed responses to primary data activity falls within this category. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction Business research studies set in isolation in general prove to be of little value except as forming a foundation for future research into the same issues. However, such researches are of more immediate interest where they have been set within, and compared with, the existing published literature and studies conducted within the same discipline. This critical literature review has been included with that purpose in mind. For reasons of clarity and understanding it has been segmented into three specific sections. 2.2 Airports and air travel As was quoted from Dr Cherif’s (2008) address in the introduction to this study, air travel is continuing to see growth levels of around 6%, or to be more accurate 5.8% for the industry as a whole (see table 1). However, as this table indicates this is not being achieved by a balanced pattern when one analyses the position on a regional basis, as the same table, which covers the movements of around 94% of all international scheduled airline flights, although it does exclude the domestic travel, shows. It is clear from this analysis that whilst North America and Europe has reached what could be considered a point of relative saturation, in other areas of the world there have been significant growth and losses being achieved. In terms of losses Africa is the major loser in terms of passenger travel and, joined with Latin America, is also losing its share of freight travel. Table 1 Current air travel growth statistics Explanation of measurement terms: RPK: Revenue Passenger Kilometres measures actual passenger traffic ASK: Available Seat Kilometres measures available passenger capacity PLF: Passenger Load Factor is % of ASKs used. In comparison of 2007 to 2006, PLF indicates point differential between the periods compared FTK: Freight Tonne Kilometres measures actual freight traffic ATK: Available Tonne Kilometres measures available total capacity (combined passenger and cargo) Source: http://www.iata.org/pressroom/facts_figures/traffic_results/2008-05-02-01.htm However, what is more important in terms of the objectives of this research is the position being achieved within the Middle East, both in respect of the month against month and year to date comparisons. In terms of passenger and freight air travel this region has experienced a growth rate in excess of 15%, which, when considered against a 74.9% passenger load factor, indicates that there has been a considerable increase in the number of travellers that area using the UAE airport facilities. Furthermore, in terms of its share of the international passenger market, the UAE now accommodates around 8% (see figure 1). When this is compared with the share that the region held as of 2001 (see figure 2), it confirms that the region’s air travel passenger growth pattern is increasing at significant rate, quadrupling in the space of the past six years, with similar growth being achieved within the freight market share. It is apparent from these increases that, when compared with airlines in other areas of the world market, the Middle East airport systems are having to contend with a level of change in the services and products that they provide to the travelling passenger. In addition, the increase in the numbers of flights and operators using the airport facilities present these airports with additional pressures in terms of air traffic control and other infrastructure issues (Wells and Rodrigus 2003). 2.3 Airport operations As Anne Graham (2003, p. 98-99) in her study of airports and their management has rightly observed, the increase in air traffic and indeed the shape of airline travel, has changed dramatically during the course of the past few decades. Growth of passengers and changes in their expectations has led to an increase in the number of facilities being offered in an effort to improve the traveller’s experience. This includes the expansion of retail and refreshment areas within the waiting areas and departure lounges (Graham 2003, p.100). This aspect of the airport expansion of revenue attracting resources has now become a significant contributor to the airport’s total revenue (Graham 2003, p.147). In addition, the airports have had to respond with major improvements to their sites in order to cater for the increase in aircraft traffic, which has in some cases included additional runways and maintenance facilities and well as administrative offices for these corporations. An ex ample of this expansion can be seen in the development and improvements that have been made to the Abu Dhabi airport over paste few years (News 2008). As this article, following a doubling of passenger traffic between 1998 and 2006, with this growth expected to continue at around 30% by 2010, the airport authority has invested in excess of $230 million in increasing the runways and other internal facilities being offered by the airport. The Dubai airport underwent a similar process of transformation in the 1970’s and 1980’s (DIA History 2008). The relationship between the airports and the airlines that it services has also changed, especially following the successes and growth of the â€Å"low-cost† or budget sector (Graham 2003, p.100). Not only did this mean that these airlines no longer required the lavish offices and passenger reception lounges that were available to them in the past (Delfmann et al 2005), but because of the nature and small margins of the low-cost airline model there have been increasing demands made upon the airport industry to reduce the carrier cost, for example by these carriers seeking reduction in landing fees (Wells and Rodregues 2003. Delfmann et al 2005 and Graham 2003). With the budget airlines being willing to transfer their business to secondary airports, who were prepared in most cases to cooperate over these issues, the major airports found themselves under increasing pressure to follow suite. Furthermore, part of the cost saving exercise for the low-cost carrier’s have bee n achieved by a process of improving turnaround times at airports (Wells and Rodrigues 2003). This is another issue that creates pressure for the airport, both in terms of the changes in the performance levels needed by air traffic control and then additional speed and resources that needs to be attached to enable the ancillary services, such as baggage handling to carry out their tasks. However, perhaps the major issue that is affected by the growth in air travel for the airports, in addition to the extra facilities provided and the developing and changing relationship they have with the airlines, is in the area of safety. 2.4 Airport safety As mentioned before, airport safety is of paramount importance (Graham 2003). This applies to the activities that take place within the terminal building, the airfield itself and the surrounding areas and ancillary services and facilities. For those who use the airport safety and comfort are paramount to their enjoyment (Delfman et al 2005, p.564) of the airport terminal facilities. Similarly, with rapid aircraft turnarounds, keeping runways and taxiing areas safe and working efficiently has an equal level of importance. Safety and security is part of the same process within an airport environment and it is important for the authority controlling these facilities to ensure that the standards employed to maintain the safety of such an environment (Wells and Rodrigues 2003), by ensuring that the right level and content of safety measures is in force at all times and, furthermore, that these measures include a process for regular monitoring and changing as and when the changes in the environment suggests is necessary (Graham 2003). Amongst other issues this means being able to identify and address issues such as hazards that my cause concerns within or external to the facility (Graham 2003, p.111). Another important element is the training and awareness programmes needed for all of the employees (Wells 2005 and Graham 2003) aimed to ensure that a) safety rules are obeyed and b) that in the event of a safety incident the employees is able to respond rapidly and efficiently to resolve the problem. In addition to the importance of safety measures for the obvious practical needs, the airport also have a duty to maintain these standards simply in order to ensure that their procedures comply with the relevant regulations and legislation that apply to their industry and operations. 2.5 Regulations and legislation Internationally, the airports have to comply with many of the safety regulations and standards that have been set by the ICAO, which lays down certain procedures that must be carried out in the cases of safety breaches, for example accidents, injury and illness (Wells and Rodrigues 2005, p.72). In 2002, the ICAO was responsible for the adoption of the â€Å"Aviation Security Plan of Action†, which also included within its structure the safety aspects of running an airport (Graham 2003, p.259). In an effort to ensure that the airport employees are sufficiently aware of and trained in the internationally accepted standards, the ICAO has produced a number of publications and runs training workshops (Wells and Roderigues 2005, p.99). Although the airport authorities are not obliged to use these facilities, they do have to ensure that their own training methods are sufficient to ensure that the key safety personnel within the business are qualified to the requirements laid down within the international standards. In the case of the UAE, the responsibility for airport operations and security and safety issues is dealt with through the regions own General Civil Aviation Authority, whose role and regulations reflects that of the international organisation. Recently, the ICAO/GCAA have developed and introduced a programme known as Safety Strategic Plans. The intention is that every airport will be required to have such a document in written format within their operational facilities and that every employee must be trained and have complete knowledge of the safety procedures that are in force within the total airport complex. This document will have all the necessary reporting forms included and contain procedures for the monitoring of the safety programme in the practical environment (GACC). In addition to internal monitoring and auditing of the implemented safety strategic plan, the intention is that in the future, representatives from this organisations will act as external monitors to ensure that the safety standards and requirements are being adhered to by the individual airport. At present this plan is a voluntary process, but it will become mandatory from the beginning of 2009 (ICAO). The ICAO and GCAA standards are directly related to safety as it impacts specifically upon airports and airlines (Graham 2003, p.111). However, in addition to these regulations, or in some cases incorporated within them, the airport will also be regulated by the other national health and safety legislation. 2.6 Summary It can be seen from the research into previous and current literature that the air travel industry has changed significantly over the past few decades. Changes in the structure of the airlines, with the introduction of the low-cost carrier have led to a rapid expansion of the numbers of passengers that travel by air, with this growth expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This growth rate, which in the UAE is running at three times the global average, is placing additional pressure upon airport operations and their management. Responding to the loss of revenue as airlines have reduced their use of terminal facilities, the airports have reacted by increasing retail space and other facilities. However, the other impact that expansion of air travel has had is to bring additional pressure to bear upon existing airport facilities. An area that is of particular concern as a result of this situation is that of safety, both within the terminal complex and in the external areas of t he airport. In an effort to address these concerns, the national, regional and international regulators are developing a safety strategic plan, which is intended to ensure that safety systems are maintained at a level that is sufficient to meet the current demands of the airport environment. The findings presented in chapter five and subsequent discussions and analysis in chapter six will assess how successful these new safety developments have been in practice. Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Introduction One of the difficulties with addressing an issue such as the performance of safety programmes within an airport environment is that, because of the delicacy of the issue, incidences that can be deemed to have resulted from a breach of these regulations or poor implementation and monitori

An Analysis of The Little Convent Girl Essay -- Little Convent Girl Es

An Analysis of The Little Convent Girl  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Grace King's The Little Convent Girl is an excellent example of post-Civil War realism incorporating a trick-ending. In this local color short story, King methodically lures the reader into a false belief that her story is about an insignificant and nameless young girl who, after twelve years seclusion in a convent, is exposed to the fervor and excitement of a steamboat trip down the Mississippi River. The success of Ms. King's trick-ending is achieved through three basic elements; 1) de-emphasizing the importance of the main character, 2) tidbits of information followed by wordy misdirection, and 3) a false climax. Ms. King masterfully downplays the importance of the little convent girl by not giving her a name, even the steamboat captain and crew members refer to her as "the little convent girl". As a result, the reader is led to believe that the story is not really about the little convent girl. She is merely the instrument chosen by the author through which the reader will experience a steamboat adventure. King further misleads the reader by offering paragraphs of information about the complexities of navigating the river, the habits of the crew members, and the skill of the steamboat pilots. On those occasions that the reader is provided bits of information about the little convent girl, King immediately misdirects the reader back to the overt theme of a steamboat adventure. King, in introducing the little convent girl to the reader, goes to great lengths to present her as a dreary and uninteresting creature. She wore dark clothing, sat rigidly upright, secluded herself in her room, and displayed little zest for life. Therefor, when King uses the work "blac... ...it up to each reader to draw their own conclusions and search their own feelings. At the false climax, the reader was surprised to learn that the quite, well-liked, polite, little convent girl was colored. Now the reader had to evaluate how the forces within their society might have driven such an innocent to commit suicide. In analyzing this story, there are several other interesting facts that merit further exploration. For instance, throughout the story all references to the little convent girl use black or dark references. But, when plunging to her death, the author describes the little convent girl as a "flutter of white petticoats, a show of white stockings". What is the significance of the sudden color change? Also, Since the reader must assume that the little convent girl is Catholic, what can be concluded about a proper catholic committing suicide?   

Mother-Daughter Communication in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club Essay

Mother-Daughter Communication in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club      Ã‚  Ã‚   Of the many stories involving the many characters of "The Joy Luck Club", I believe the central theme connecting them all is the inability of the mothers and their daughters to communicate effectively.      The mothers all have stories of past struggles and hard times yet do not believe their daughters truly appreciate this fact.   The mothers of the story all want their daughters to never have to go through the struggles they themselves had to go through, yet they are disappointed when their daughters grow up and do not exhibit the respect or strength of their mothers.   This is the ironic paradox of the story.      The Chinese mothers came to the United States to escape the difficult life they led in China and to start fresh in the United States.   They did not want their children to grow up as they had.   The short story in the beginning of the book describes this feeling.   "Then the woman and the swan sailed across an ocean many thousands of li wide, stretching their necks toward America.   On her journey she cooed to the swan:   "In America I will have a daughter just like me.   But over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husband's belch.   Over there nobody will look down on her, because I will make her speak only perfect American English.   And over there she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow!   She will know my meaning, because I will give her this swan - a creature that became more than what was hoped for."   Even though this is just a short story before the long one begins and is not actually attributed to any specific cha racter in the story, I believe it accurately describes all the mothers' feelings a... ...tionships in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife." Women of Color: Mother Daughter Relationships in 20th Century Literature. Ed. Elizabeth Brown-Guillory. Austin: U of Texas P, 1996. 207-27. Ghymn, Ester Mikyung. Images of Asian American Women by Asian American Women Writers. Vol. 1. New York: Peter Lang, 1995. Heung, Marina. "Daughter-Text/Mother-Text: Matrilineage in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club." Feminist Studies (Fall 1993): 597-616. Huntley, E. D. Amy Tan: A Critical Companion. Westport: Greenwood P, 1998. Ling, Amy. Between Worlds: Women Writers of Chinese Ancestry. New York: Pergamon, 1990. Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Vintage Contemporaries. New York: A Division of Random House, Inc. 1993. Wong, Sau-ling Cynthia. Reading Asian American Literature: From Necessity to Extravagance. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1993

Marijuana Users: Victims of Social Stigmatization and Unjust Penalties :: essays research papers

The Ninth Amendment of the United States Constitution states, â€Å"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.† Simply put, this means that, although limited in its scope of rights and privileges, any particular right, even if not mentioned specifically in the Constitution, cannot be taken away from the American people. Yet, the chosen lifestyles of one particular group of people are violated almost every day: marijuana smokers. Victims of social stigmatization and harsh penalties, marijuana smokers must suffer because of the innumerable falsities and fallacies held by many people, including lawmakers, concerning marijuana. However, when an educated mind disregards the misconceptions about marijuana and analyzes the factual information, the relative personal and societal harm caused by marijuana usage does not warrant its overwhelmingly harsh punishment, nor does it merit the economic stra in caused by the enforcement of radical prohibition laws. What Is It? Marijuana is part of the cannabis family. Considered to be a mild hallucinogen, it produces feelings of euphoria and well-being, a loss of inhibition, an altered sense of time, heightened senses, and, upon high dosage, slight hallucinations. Its active chemical is a cannabinoid called Delta-9 tetrahyrocannabinol, or THC. Research has shown that the human body naturally produces a cannabinoid-like endorphine called anandamine, and that, upon entering the brain, THC locks onto the same receptor cells as does anandamine. THC affects the cerebellum, which coordinates movement and balance; the hippocampus, which dictates thinking and memory; and the rostral ventromedial medulla, in which the pain response is moderated (Booth 12-13). Damaging and Addictive?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The subject of marijuana’s addictive and damaging properties is a hotly debated topic. According to many opponents of marijuana, it is a highly addictive substance. Recent statistics report that 150,000 individuals enter treatment each year for marijuana addiction. Marijuana â€Å"addicts,† according to many experts, experience a decrease in social, occupational or recreational activities; are unable to discontinue their marijuana usage; experience a tolerance buildup and must consume more marijuana for the desired effect; and continue marijuana usage despite the knowledge it can cause severe psychological problems. Claiming marijuana to be emotionally and mentally addictive, experts contend that marijuana addicts allow marijuana to develop into who they believe themselves to be (Marijuana Addiction 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, the question still remains as to whether these circumstances are entirely true, and, if so, warrant the criminalization of marijuana. Compared to studies done on food addiction, the patterns of addiction are very similar.

Working Paper

The term module means that the questionnaire can be used as part of a larger Research experience has shown that the answers to the 24 content questions are influenced by the nationality of the respondents. This is not to say that every respondent of nationality A gives one answer and everyone of a nationality B another, but one can expect systematic differences between the average answers from a sample with nationality A and a comparable sample from nationality B (in statistical terms, an analysis of variance on the answer scores shows a significant country effect).As the relationship is statistical, the samples per country should be of sufficient size. An ideal size for a homogeneous sample is 50 respondents. Sample sizes smaller than 20 should not be used, as outlying answers by single respondents will unduly affect the results. If samples are heterogeneous (composed of unequal sub-samples) these numbers apply to the sub-samples. Next to nationality, answers to the 24 content quest ions will also reflect other characteristics of the respondents, such as their gender, age, level of education, occupation, kind of work and the point in time when they answered the questions.Therefore comparisons of countries should be based on samples of respondents who re matched on all criteria other than nationality that could systematically affect the answers. The content questions attributed to a dimension were selected because in comparisons of matched samples from ten or more countries, the mean country scores on the four questions belonging to the same dimension usually vary together (if one is high, the other is high, or low if it is a reversely formulated question; if one is low, the other is low, etc. ). In statistical terms, the mean country scores are significantly correlated.The mean country scores on questions belonging to different emissions usually do not vary together (are uncorrelated). Therefore, the 24 questions form 6 clusters of 4 questions each. As mentione d above, the dimensions measured by the VS.. Are based on country- level correlations, between mean scores of country samples. For the same two questions, country-level correlations can be very different from individual-level correlations, between the answers by the individuals within the country samples (for a clear explanation see e. G. Klein, Danseuses & Hall, 1994).Individual-level correlations produce dimensions of personality; country-level correlations produce emissions of national culture. For research results about the relationship between personality and culture see Hefted & McCrae (2004). The study of national culture dimensions belongs to anthropology, the study of individual personality belongs to psychology. The first is to the second as studying forests is to studying trees. Forests cannot be described with the same dimensions as trees, nor can they be understood as bunches of trees.What should be added to the animals, organisms and climate factors, together described by the term epitome. In reverse, trees cannot be described with the same dimensions as forests. At best one can ask in what kind of forest this tree would be most likely found, and how well it would do there. A common misunderstanding about dimensions of national culture is that they are personality types. People want to score themselves on a dimension, or worse, try to score someone else. This is called stereotyping, which is not what the dimensions are for.They do not refer to individuals, but to national societies. What a person can do is find out how the values prevailing in his or her national society differ from those in another society. As an individual, a person can express how he or she feels about the values in a particular national society, but that would still be a function of his/her personality and not necessarily show his or her national culture. Because of this, the VS.. 2013 cannot be scored at the individual level. It is not a psychological test.The tendency to as k for individual scoring of the VS.. Is stronger in some national cultures than in others. Especially in very individualist cultures, the request for individual scoring is frequent: the concept of my society (a forest) is weaker that the concept of me myself (a tree). The VS.. Should only be used by researchers who subscribe to the concept of a society differing from other societies. The six dimensions on which the VS.. 2013 is based were found in research across more than 40 countries.In a research project across 20 different organizations within the same two countries, answers to the questions that made up the cross-national dimensions did not correlate in the same way (Hefted, Enquire, Omaha' & Sanders, 1990 and Hefted, Hefted & Moving, 2010: 341-368). So the cross-national dimensions do not apply to organizational (or corporate) cultures. The answers to the VS.. Questions (dealing with values and sentiments) varied less across organizations within a country than across countries .Instead, organizational cultures differed primarily on the basis of perceptions of practices, and the organizations in the study could be compared on six dimensions of perceived practices. While the study of national culture dimensions belongs to anthropology and the study of individual personality belongs to psychology, the study of organizational cultures belongs to sociology. The dimensions of perceived practices in the Hefted et al. 1990) study relate to known distinctions from organizational sociology. A similar concern prohibits the use of the VS.. Dimensions for comparing occupations (Hefted, Hefted & Moving, 2010: 368-369).In some cases, VS.. Dimension scores can be meaningfully computed and compared for the genders (female versus male) and for successive generations (grandparents country or across countries, but in this case we recommend extending the questionnaire with locally relevant items (Hefted, Garibaldi, Melville, Tenure & evokes, 2010). 4. VS.. 2013 scores are not comparable to published scores Some enthusiastic amateurs have used the VS.. With a sample of respondents from one country and tried to draw conclusions comparing the scores they found with those in Hypotheses books (1980, 1991 , 2001 , 2005, 2010).But essential to the use of the VS.. Is that comparisons should be based on matched samples of respondents: people similar on all criteria other than nationality that could systematically affect the answers. All scores in the first two Hefted books were based on carefully matched IBM subsidiary populations. A new sample, to be comparable to these, should be a attach for the original IBM populations on all relevant criteria. Such a match is virtually impossible to make, if only because the IBM studies were done around 1970 and the point in time of the survey is one of the matching characteristics.Hypotheses books since 2001 contain scores for a number of countries not in the original IBM set, based on extensions of the research outside MO M, or in a few cases on informed estimates. Extensions of the research to countries and regions not in the original set have to be based, like any VS.. Application, on matched samples across two or more countries. These should always include one or, if possible, more of the countries from the IBM set, so that the new data can be anchored to the existing framework. Anchoring' means that the scores from the extension research should be shifted by the difference of the old and new scores for the common country (or by the mean difference in the case of more common countries). The main problem of extension research is finding matched samples across new and old countries. Examples of successful extensions are described in Hefted (2001:464-465). The VS.. 2013 has been designed for research purposes. In the classroom it has poor ace validity, as it is based on the logic of national cultures which differs from the logic of individual students. Cultures are not king-size individuals: They are wholes, and their internal logic cannot be understood in the terms used for the personality dynamics of individuals. Echo-logic differs from individual logic† (Hefted, 2001 :17; the term ecological in cross-cultural studies is used for any analysis at the societal level; it does not only refer to the natural environment). To students or audiences without a professional training in anthropology or cross-cultural research the VS.. Is to the proper tool for explaining the essence of the dimensions.In this case trainers should rather develop teaching tools using the tables of differences between societies scoring high and low on each dimension, which are based on significant Hefted & Moving, 2010: Chapters 3-8). The twenty-four content questions allow index scores to be calculated on six dimensions of national value systems as components of national cultures: Power Distance (large vs†¦ Small), Individualism vs†¦ Collectivism, Masculinity vs†¦ Femininity, Uncertaint y Avoidance (strong vs†¦ Weak), Long- vs†¦ Short-Term Orientation, and Indulgence vs†¦ Restraint.All content questions are scored on five-point scales (1-2-3-4-5). Any standard statistical computer program will calculate mean scores on five-point scales, but the calculation can also be done simply by hand. For example, suppose a group of 57 respondents from Country C produces the following scores on question 04 (importance of security of employment): 10 x answer 24 x answer 2 14 x answer 3 5 x answer 4 1 x answer 5 42 20 54 valid answers totaling 125 Three of the 57 respondents gave an invalid answer: either blank (no answer) or multiple (more than one answer).Invalid answers should be excluded from the calculation (treated as missing). The mean score in our case is: 125/54 = 2. 31. Mean scores on five-point scales should preferably be presented in two decimals. More accuracy is unrealistic (survey data are imprecise measures). Power Distance Index (PDP) Power Distanc e is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a society expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. The index formula is PDP = 35(mom – mom) + 25(mom – mom) + QPS) in which mom is the mean score for question 02, etc.The index normally has a range of about 100 points between very small Power Distance and very large Power Distance countries. C(PDP) is a constant (positive or negative) that depends on the nature of the samples; it does not affect the comparison between countries. It can be chosen by the user to shift her/his PDP scores to values between O and 100. Individualism Index (DIVIDE) Individualism is the opposite of Collectivism. Individualism stands for a society in which the ties between individuals are loose: a person is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family only.Collectivism stands for a roofs, which continue to protect them throughout their lifetime in exc hange for unquestioning loyalty. DIVIDE = 35(mom – mol) + 35(mom – mom) + C(ICC) in which mol is the mean score for question 01, etc. The index normally has a range of about 100 points between strongly collectivist and strongly individualist countries. C(ICC) is a constant (positive or negative) that depends on the nature of the samples; it does not affect the comparison between countries. It can be chosen by the user to shift his/her DIVIDE scores to values between O and 100.Masculinity Index (MASS) Masculinity is the opposite of Femininity. Masculinity stands for a society in which social gender roles are clearly distinct: men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success; women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. Femininity stands for a society in which social gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. MASS = 35(mom – mom ) + 35(mom – mom) + corn) in which mom is the mean score for question 05, etc.The index normally has a range of about 100 points between strongly feminine and strongly masculine countries. C(MFC) is a constant (positive or negative) that depends can be chosen by the user to shift her/his MASS scores to values between O and 100. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (AJAX) Uncertainty Avoidance is defined as the extent to which the members of institutions and organizations within a society feel threatened by uncertain, unknown, ambiguous, or unstructured situations. AU' = 4001118 – mom)+ 25(mom – mom) + qua) in which mom is the mean score for question 18, etc.The index normally has a range of about 100 points between weak Uncertainty Avoidance and strong Uncertainty Avoidance countries. C(AU) is a constant (positive r negative) that depends on the nature of the samples; it does not affect the comparison between countries. It can be chosen by the user to shift his/her I-JAG scores to values between O and 100. Long Term Orientation is the opposite of Short Term Orientation. Long Term Orientation stands for a society which fosters virtues oriented towards future rewards, in particular adaptation, perseverance and thrift.Short Term orientation stands for a society which fosters virtues related to the past and present, in particular respect for tradition, preservation of â€Å"face†, and fulfilling social obligations. LTO = – mom) + 25(mom – mom) + C(IS) n which mom is the mean score for question 13, etc. The index normally has a range of about 100 points between very short term oriented and very long term oriented countries. C(l's) is a constant (positive or negative) that depends on the nature of the samples; it does not affect the comparison between countries. It can be chosen by the user to shift her/his L TO scores to values between O and 100.Indulgence versus Restraint Index (IVR) Indulgence stands for a society which allows rel atively free gratification of some desires and feelings, especially those that have to do with leisure, merrymaking with rinds, spending, consumption and sex. Its opposite pole, Restraint, stands for a society which controls such gratification, and where people feel less able to enjoy their lives. The index formula is IVR = – ml 1) + – mom) + COO in which ml is the mean score for question 11, etc. The index normally has a range of about 100 points between high indulgence and high restraint.C(IR) is a constant (positive or negative) that depends on the nature of the samples; it does not affect the comparison between countries. It can be chosen by the user to shift her/his IVR scores to values between O and 100. As country-level correlations differ from individual-level correlations, answers on questions used to measure a country-level dimension do not necessarily correlate across individuals. A reliability test like Cockroach's alpha should in this case not be based on individual scores but on country mean scores. Obviously this presupposes data from a sufficient number of countries, in practice at least ten.For comparison across fewer countries the reliability of the VS.. At the country level has to be taken for granted; it can indirectly be shown through the validity of the scores in predicting dependent variables. The IBM database (Hefted, 1980) allows to compute Cockroach alphas for the first four dimensions across 40 countries (39 for AAU, 33 for PDP because of missing data). Power Distance Index (3 items): Alpha = . 842 Individualism Index (6 items): Alpha = . 770 Masculinity Index (8 items): Alpha = . 760 Uncertainty Avoidance Index (3 items) Alpha = . 15 The rule of thumb for test reliability is a value over . 700. The new items in the new version were chosen because of their similarity to items in reliable other studies, but the reliability of the new dimension scores cannot be proven a prior'. The VS.. 2013 is copyrighted, but may be fre ely used for academic research projects. Consultants who want to use the VS.. 2013 periodically should pay a license fee based on the number of copies administered per year. The same holds for use by companies in employee surveys. Information on rates is available from the copyright holder ([email  protected] L) 9. History of the VS.. 2013 The original questions from the 1966-1973 Hermes (MOM) attitude survey questionnaires used for the international comparison of work-related values were listed in Hefted (1980, Appendix 1). Appendix 4 of the same book presented the iris Values Survey Module for future cross-cultural studies. It contained 27 content questions and 6 demographic questions. This VS.. 80 was a selection from the IBM questionnaires, with a few questions added from other sources about issues missing in the IBM list and Judged by the author to be of potential importance.In the 1984 abridged paperback edition of Hefted (1980) the original IBM questions were not included, but the VS.. 80 was. A weakness of the VS.. 80 was its dependence on the more or less accidental set of questions used in the IBM surveys. The IBM survey questionnaire had not really been imposed for the purpose of reflecting international differences in value patterns. However, the IBM questions could only be replaced by other questions after these had been validated across countries; and to be validated, they had to be used in a large number of countries first.Therefore in 1981 Hefted through the newly- founded Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation (IIRC) issued an experimental extended version of the VS.. (VS.. 81). On the basis of an analysis of its first results, a new version was issued in 1982, the VS.. 82. This was widely used for the next twelve years. 3 of the questions were needed to compute scores on the four dimensions identified by Hefted. The other questions were included for experimental use. Some questions in the VS.. 82 were only applicable to employe d respondents.Thus the instrument could not be used for entrepreneurs, students, and respondents without a paid Job. The number of replications using the VS.. 82 in Iris's files increased, but, unfortunately, it turned out that the samples from different researchers were insufficiently matched for producing a reliable new VS†¦ This changed when Michael Hope published his Ph. D. Hess on a survey study of elites (Syllabus Seminar Alumni) from 19 countries, using among other instruments the VS.. 82 (Hope, 1990). Eighteen of these countries were part of the IBM set, but besides USA all of them were from Europe.Hope's data base was therefore extended by adding results from replications in six countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America that could be considered somewhat matched with the Hope set. In the meantime, the research of Michael Harris Bond from Hong Kong, using the Chinese Value Survey (Chinese Culture Connection, 1987), had led to the identification f a fifth dimension: Lon g-Term versus Short-Term Orientation (Hefted & Bond, 1988; Hefted, 2001: Chapter 7). In the new version of the VS.. Published in 1994 (the VS.. 94), this dimension appeared for the first time together with the other four.The questionnaire was also adapted to respondents without a paid Job. Accumulated experience with the use of the VS.. 94 in the next 14 years led to the publication of an updated VS.. 08. In the meantime, many new sources of cross- cultural survey information became available. One was an unpublished Master's Thesis (Van Bug, 2006) reporting on the Internet administration of the VS.. 94 among active members of the student association EASIES in 41 countries, collecting some 2,200 valid answers, a response rate of 24%.We also looked for questions correlated with the IBM dimensions in the newly available sources, including the huge World Values Survey database freely accessible on Internet (Ingather and associates, 1998, 2004, 2007). In 2007, Michael Moving published a book integrating all available old and new databases, and we invited him to Join the VS.. Team. Moving (2007) proposed three new dimensions: Exclusion versus Universalism, Indulgence versus Restraint, and Monumentality versus Flexibility (flexibility plus nullity).From these, Exclusion versus Universalism across 41 countries was strongly correlated with Power Distance and Collectivism (both r = . 74), so we did not treat it as a new dimension. Indulgence versus Restraint was uncorrelated with any of the five dimensions in the VS.. 94 and it added new insights into national cultural differences, so we accepted it as a new and sixth dimension. Monumentality versus Flexibility was significantly correlated with Short Term Orientation (r = . 68 across 16 overlapping countries) and less strongly with Power