Hiring Gets Off on the Right Foot Essay Example for Free

Hiring Gets Off on the Right Foot Essay Nike has adapted their employee selection techniques by using a computer-based interviewing system that aims to select suitable applicants for a specific job (Bohlander, 2007, p. 284). The said system can be very useful to the company’s human resources department since it makes their job a lot easier. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of the said process should still be proven. Generally, the said computer-generated interview can be very beneficial both to the applicant and human resource department. Nevertheless, it also has some setbacks although these setbacks are negligible and can be ironed out. The computer-based interviewing system is applicable especially to large companies like Nike; on the other hand, a company should not solely rely on this type of employee selection process. Other ways of employee selection should still be utilized such as accepting walk-ins in a personal interview rather than a computerized one. Analysis The computer-assisted interviewing system tries to narrow down the selection of qualified applicants to a minimum so that the human resource department need not spend time on all applicants (Bohlander, 2007, p. 285). This is successfully met by the said system since modern high technology usually reduces the clutter of office work. As in the case of Nike, computer-based interviews can be of great help if the number of applicants is really large. By doing so, few people are needed in the human resources department. Also, by subjecting the applicant’s to this computer interview, human resource managers will have the idea how the applicants cope or adapt with technology. Are they computer literate and able to keep up with the idea of a computer interviewing them? Do they easily understand instruction by merely looking and reading at a computer monitor? These are some of the questions that can be answered by employing such a process. In addition, the three customer-related scenarios in the computer-generated interview are very practical and realistic scenarios to test the applicant’s approach to the real job at hand. The system has many advantages as has been pointed out in the previous discussion, yet, it also has some weaknesses. One very important factor in choosing the right person for the job is his emotional health. Using the computer-generated interview, Nike cannot account the applicant’s emotions and feelings while the interview is going on. Thus, the computer cannot tell the company of the level of confidence an applicant has when the interview is done. Furthermore, there will always be Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) concerns when it comes to employment selection processes. In this case at hand, the company surely provides EEO since the computer is not programmed to unjustly cater to a selected group of applicants. Thus, discrimination that a human resource officer may unconsciously bring when interviewing an applicant may be eliminated. Recommendations On the whole, the computer-based interviewing system is beneficial if it is used hand in hand with other types or ways of employee selection. However, on its own, it is very inefficient. It can be suggested that personal interviews should still be employed by the company since this kind of interview are the most spontaneous and revealing. Also, to further develop the computer-based interviewing system, besides the printout, it will be better if the company will include a video camera that could record the features, facial expressions and gestures that an applicant may have while answering questions. By doing so, the applicants emotional aspect can also be observed. A psychology test can also be included in the computer-based interview to evaluate the person’s emotional health. Summary and Conclusion Positively, the computer-based interviewing system is a great innovative for the human resource department of the company. As the number of applicants for a particular job increases, the feasibility of this method also increases. However, it is still insisted that the computer-generated interview should not be the sole factor in selecting the right person for the job. Personal interviews will always be more helpful. Surely, Nike should be concerned that the interview they are doing is far from public relations. Public relations require people in the process, also, an interview is a conversation between two people, however, the computer is not a human being, and it is only a machine. Therefore, the computer-based interview is one of the means of employee selection but it is not the end. It is only one way of the many methods an effective complex employment selection may have. References Bohlander, G. , Snell, S. (2007). Managing Human Resources, 14th Ed. Mason, USA: Thomson South-Western.

Economic Policy in Downtown Development :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the Heer’s Tower closed down in the 1960's, the downtown area of Springfield, MO. lost a major economic and entertaining element. Since then, Springfield has been planning and working to get back a lot of the status that it once had. The city government had to bring attractions and business in the form of new business’s to spur development to accommodate the 151,580 citizens that reside in the small city. Mayor Tom Carlson and City Manager Tom Finnie have been heading the projects with the help of large developing firms such as the UDA or Urban District Alliance, and hope that projects such as the redevelopment of Heer’s Tower, SMSU’s Innovation center, and College Station will add not only attractions for the mass of people flooding into Springfield each year, but also bring in hundreds of new jobs to boost the economy and help support a growing society. Over the next couple of pages an analysis of the current and future projects, as well as the non-quantitative benefits and effects on the surrounding community will be looked at to further explain why the project is on the community’s agenda.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom Carlson calls the development of the downtown area, the â€Å"Center City.† â€Å"It will be a city within a city.† Not to long ago though Springfield was in a slump, after the huge factories of Zenith and GE went out of business, the only other major factory was Kraft. During the 1950's, These companies employed thousands of workers and once they were out of the picture the economy started to level out. The opportunity to have the Center City, started in the 1980's when sub-divisions around Springfield and surrounding towns, such as Nixa and Ozark, started booming. Since then, developer’s such as John Q. Hammons and new faces like Vaughn Post have sparked projects that have created a substantial buzz across the state. The developers took the idea of a new downtown and ran with it, using tax advantages such as state and historic tax credits, property tax abatement, gap financing and loans up to $40,000 to make facade improvements. Also, a low- interest loan program, using Community Development Block Grant Funds, has provided help for many business people. Since 1997, about $125 million has been invested in Center City.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of these tax breaks and policies have led to some astonishing developments in employment and economic gains.

Chinese History: The Han Dynasty Essay

The Han Dynasty was founded by Liu Bang in 206 BCE. He came of peasant stock and rose to power slowly from being a petty government official to the role of emperor. Liu Bang ruled China for eleven years with felicity and wisdom. He was intelligent and sought to win over the elder statesmen by promising to eliminate all the harsh laws of the Qin government. His experience as the â€Å"neighborhood head† (Hansen 114) had given him the opportunity to be familiar with the legal system of the Qin Dynasty and he made full use of this knowledge to establish a rule of prosperity and leave a long line of rulers who ruled for four hundred years in China. This paper will discuss such themes as have emerged from the research done of the Han Dynasty and will be divided into sections each dealing with one theme at a time. State and Succession: The state of China that Liu Bang wrested from the Qin ruler was in turmoil with several intrigues being hatched by the court officials against the cruelty of the Qin ruler. The rebels wanted to place the first son of the emperor to the throne but Liu Bang was able to defeat the rebels and ascended the throne as the founder of the Han dynasty. He used both stratagem and skill to either defeat his rivals or win them over with promises of sweeping changes in the administration and the legal system. The extent of his empire was divided between his nine brothers and one hundred and fifty loyal followers. The only region that was under direct control of the emperor was the western part of the empire with its capital at Changan and comprised about one-third of the total empire. His rule from 206- 195 BCE was not without troubles. He had to spend a lot of his time trying to suppress rebellions in different parts of his empire and at this time China was invaded several times by the powerful Xiongnu tribe. After being defeated by them Liu Bang concluded a humiliating treaty with the shanyu, leader of the Xiongnu, by which he had to grant equal status to the Xiongnu people and marry the Chinese Princess to the shanyu. As a result of this diplomatic gesture the Xiongnu people promised to leave China alone and not invade them any further. Liu Bang was followed by his fifteen year old son Huidi to the throne, who ruled for seven years from 195- 188 BCE. After his death the reigns of the kingdom was taken over by the widow of Liu Bang, Empress Lu who ruled in the name of Han dynasty for eight years between 188 and 180 BCE. She placed minor princes to the throne and ruled as their guardian and was able to bring peace and stability to the empire. After the death of Empress Lu intrigue again raised its head and senior court officials placed the son of Liu Bang’s concubine who was a puppet in their hands. The descendants of Liu Bang’s relative continued to rule two thirds of China while the Han Dynasty was directly in charge of only a third of the entire empire. Emperor Wu ascended the throne at the age of fifteen in 140 BCE. For the first few years of his reign he was under the control of his grandmother, the dowager Empress Dou and his uncle who was his chancellor. However, from 131 BCE, after the death of the chancellor, Emperor Wu took full charge of his kingdom and established an empire based on the principles of Confucius. He is credited with having extended the Han Empire in the southern districts and continued to maintain diplomatic relations with the Xiongnu people by paying them annuity in keeping with the treaty signed by Liu Bang. Emperor Wu was a follower of Dong Zhongshu, a student of Confucianism and under his influence established Confucian schools in every district. Emperor Wu strengthened the bureaucracy and curtailed the powers of the regional rulers who had been given kingdoms by Liu Bang (Hansen 127). He ruled as a despot with unlimited powers until his death in 87 BCE. He dissolved the position of the Chancellor and promoted his step brother-in-law to the position of regent who put minor princes on the throne and ruled in their name, thus weakening the power and influence of the Han dynasty. The influence of the Han dynasty was later restored by the support of some powerful consort families to which it remained beholden. The consort families wanted to marry their daughters to the emperor in the hope of becoming regents of minor princes and ruling in their names. One of the notable emperors of the later Han dynasty was Emperor Huan, who ruled from 146-168 A. D. Emperor Huan threw the yoke of dominance by the consort family by hatching a plot against them with the help of eunuchs. He managed to break free of the consort family’s stranglehold but set a precedence of encouragement of the eunuchs that did not augur well for the Han dynasty. The last of the Han rulers was a puppet ruler who had to abdicate and thus bring about the end of the Han dynasty in 220 A. D. Administration: Liu Bang had established some good norms of governance that were refined and made more effective by some of the other prominent Han emperors. The administration was carried out at two levels, the central government and the local governments. There were three major divisions of the central government; collection of taxes, maintaining the army and overseeing the work of the government officials. The three divisions of the local governments were later modified to include; registering population, collecting taxes, maintaining waterways, dispensing justice and recommending educated men for government positions. After becoming emperor, Liu Bang distributed his kingdom between his nine brothers and sons and gave them the titles of kings and named a hundred and fifty men from the nobility, marquis and gave them portions of the kingdom as well. These later became the regional kingdoms of China. The land directly under the control of the emperor was divided into one hundred commanderies which were further divided into one hundred and fifty counties. Under Emperor Wu the inheritance of land laws were changed and the land was divided equally between all the sons of the Emperor and did not go only to the eldest son after his death. He also altered the practice of appointing sons of the noble families to high official positions and started the practice of appointing his own nominated officials to government positions. The land revenue had been fixed at one fifteenth by Liu Bang and it was later reduced to one thirtieth by later emperors. However, with the introduction of reforms and establishment of schools and Confucian institutions Emperor Wu realized that the land revenue collected from taxes was not enough to finance his reform projects. So he issues government monopolies on salt and iron. The society under Han dynasty was divided broadly into two categories; the land owners and the slaves. The structure was not rigid and the emperor had the power to strip a land owner or noble of his land and powers and a slave could buy his freedom and become elevated in social stature. There was great disparity of wealth in the Han society. The rulers used to make grants of land to nobles who gradually made them very powerful and corrupt. They stopped paying land revenue and the revenue dropped considerably so that the emperor had to limit the size of the land holding and number of slaves in 7 BCE. The later Han rulers were able to hold on to their position of power and rule with the help of a few powerful consort families. They dare not challenge their power and gave in to most of their demands. In the third and fourth centuries of Han rule eunuchs became very powerful after the Han Emperor Huan enlisted their support to overthrow the yoke of the noble families and they played an important role in court intrigues. Crime and punishment: Liu Bang became familiar with the legal system of the Qin dynasty as a neighborhood head and realized that though the main tenets of law and justice in the Qin dynasty were good, some of the punishments meted out were harsh and barbaric. It was with a promise to change these laws that he was able to come into power in 206 BCE. Eventually, he ended up modifying some of the laws and relaxing punitive corporal punishments like beheading. Since he had to depend a lot on the support of the rich and noble families, members of these families were almost exempt from corporal punishment. Most offenders could get away with paying a huge fine or being confined to rigorous labor like masonry for men and pounding grains foe women were the most common punishments. More severe offenses were awarded amputation of a limb or cutting off of the nose. Shaving off the head and beard and tattooing were considered severe enough punishments for lesser crimes. In keeping with Laozi’s teachings, law was considered to be â€Å"the way† that emperors were supposed to rule their empire. Everyone was considered to be equal in the eyes of law. But in reality it remained a guideline and was not always implemented, the rich people usually got less rigorous punishments could pay their way out of serving punishment sentences. There was no law or power to curb the powers of the ruler. The framework for a good legal system was present and rulers like Emperor Wu made use of the law to curb the rising clout of the nobility. Role of women and eunuchs: Chinese society was male dominated and the position of women was not very enviable. The birth of a girl child was not very welcome. According to Ban Zhao, who was the scholarly and brilliant sister of court historian, Ban Gu, there were three things that had to be performed when a girl was born. The infant needed to be kept under the bed indicating that her position was lowly and weak. She would be given a potsherd to play with reminding her that she needed to work hard all her life and that the announcement of a girl child to the ancestors needed to be accompanied with an offering to remind the child that she was born to serve them. She mentions four virtues that women should practice; â€Å"womanly virtue, womanly words, womanly bearing and womanly work† (Hansen 139). Women were mostly relegated to the chores of cooking, sewing and weaving and hardly ever had the opportunity to voice their opinions. Ban Zhao advocated the education of women. She preached that both men and women must understand their respective duties and work together to make the marriage work well. She agreed that women must do the household chores but not be ignorant and serve as a slave. She must not be manhandled and treated badly and she should not argue as well. It was a poor man’s bad luck to have a daughter while the rich families could afford daughters and used them to their advantage by marrying them to emperors or nobility. Though the general condition of women in China was not encouraging there have been some powerful empresses like dowager Empress Dou who ruled in the name of the Han dynasty and brought peace and stability to the kingdom. The instances of the dowager empresses and that of Ban Zhao are examples of how women could break out of stereotypical roles if they wanted to. The Emperor had harems full of women concubines. Emperor Huan was said to have six thousand women in his harem. As the Han dynasty’s rule extended to the third or the fourth centuries the role of eunuchs became very important in the kingdoms. The eunuchs were usually kept along with womenfolk in the imperial households and played a part in the court intrigues. Like the women dowager empresses they would usually place a minor prince on the throne and rule in their names as their regents. It was during the reign of Emperor Huan that the eunuchs became very powerful because the Emperor hatched a coup to overthrow the influential consort families with the help of the eunuchs. A bitter conflict between the eunuchs and the consort families ensued only to be put down by General Cao Cao when he became regent. Philosophy and Society: Liu Bang was respectful of Confucian thought and philosophy but was not slavish to it. For example he did not allow personal ties to come between him and his ambitions (Hansen115). The Huang –Lao school of thought founded on the teachings of Laozi and Huang commended their teachings in the books, The Way and Integrity Classic and The Classic of Law. These books gave guidance in various aspects of life and living. However, they could not check the power of a ruler who did not abide by its laws and where there was poor governance. These teachings were contrary to what Confucians believed and taught Emperor Wu was greatly under the influence of Dong Zhongshu, who believed that the emperor was the link between heaven and his subjects. When Emperor Wu came to power he established Confucian academies in all the districts in order to centralize its power. As the Huang-Lao philosophy was contradictory to the Confucian philosophy Emperor Wu enforced the closure of these schools and established Confucian schools in every district. Emperor Wu was the first to establish the Confucian canon by had Confucian school of thought and institutions in all the counties. He believed in the Confucian principle that if a ruler ruled his kingdom well heaven would support him and if there were poor governance then the he would incur the wrath of the heavens and his kingdom would be afflicted with floods, droughts and other natural calamities. The tombs of the marquis of Mawangdui and his family bear testament to the Han dynasty’s belief in afterlife. It also demonstrates that people had two kinds of souls – one was the superior spirit soul or hun that was free to travel to the land of the immortals and the other the inferior body soul or po which had to reside in the tomb and if not taken care of in its tomb, it may have to travel to the netherworld. The tomb had to be supplied with replicas of gold and bronze coins, lacquer vessels, ceramics and bamboo suitcases. The food items that can be assumed to have been presented to Lady Dai, the wife of the marquis, are meat dishes and beer. The scenes depicted within the tomb provide an insight into their ideas of afterlife. The top section depicts two gods of destiny who keep records of the individual’s life and the moon and sun with their residents and the Queen Mother of the West. From the above study we see that the various themes that emerged during the course of Chinese history have shaped the philosophical and political destiny of China. The present day Chinese beliefs can trace their roots in this period of history. That history of a nation or people is dynamic and sustainable is borne out by the fact that many of the Chinese institutions and policies were shaped by the values and laws of the Han dynasty.

Essay On Gender Inequality - 1687 Words

The concept of gender denotes the distinction between culturally driven and created roles of masculinity and femininity. These specific and normalized attitudes and behaviors transcend and effect how differently men and women live their lives. Based on society’s continual re-enforcement of such gender stereotypes, we see an on-going dilemma of gender inequality. Though some may argue that men experience gender inequality, this seems to exist on a much more invasive level for women. As of recently, the awareness of gender inequality in the workplace has increased. With the fight for equal pay and equal respect, society is already making strides towards the equality of women. With that being said, one aspect of gender inequality that seems†¦show more content†¦As of December 2008, â€Å"Swedish citizens can apply for a tax deduction amounting to 50% of the labor cost for renovations, repair, cleaning, and maintenance work on homes† (European Monitoring Centre on Change). In other words, this policy encourages families to hire help such as cleaning, maid and nanny services for domestic duties. As a result, the domestic workload for women decreases as it is fulfilled by hired services. Of course, not every family is going to want to hire help but the tax deduction increases the chances of using such services. In fact, Sweden has had much success with this policy as â€Å"90% of the surveyed companies felt that the ROT-deduction had a positive impact on reducing undeclared [domestic] work† (European Monitoring Centre on Change). Integrating this policy in the United States would theoretically have the same effect on gender inequality at home. By monetizing domestic work, it not only boost employment projections for that category of employment but encourages women to transition away from household duties to other work opportunities in the outside labor market which would also help with gender inequality present in the workforce. Income Based Affordable Child Care Comparatively, to Sweden’s policy to decrease domestic work, it also has policies in place to ease the workload of child care. As most parents would agree, taking care of a child is a full-time job and society has normalized the idea that a majority of that jobShow MoreRelatedEssay On Gender Inequality1049 Words   |  5 PagesGender inequality as a social institution in Asia country (India) This essay provides an overview gender as a social institution in Asia countries, also, this essay mainly focuses on education and mainly focuses on the country of India. Moreover, this essay deeply investigates how gender inequality in Asia countries, especially in India affects in the long run (Klasen, 2002, p.745). There are numerous justifications to be worried about the existence of gender inequalities mainly in the well-being-relatedRead More Gender Inequality Essay1849 Words   |  8 Pagestopic of gender. 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