Culture And Second Language Learning Essay Example for Free

Culture And Second Language Learning Essay Through the conduction of studies, it has been discovered that learning a second language, particularly in a situation where second language learning is given particular importance, requires an immersion into the lingua and cultural societies of the native speakers of the second language that is to be learned (Wan 44-45). This requirement is extremely important to be followed as the immersion on the societal components of the second language of the native speakers helps the learner to obtain more hands-on learning benefits when trying to acquire second language abilities (Wan 45). Literature Review Although numerous language specialists do conclude that culture and social groups exercise great influence on the acquisition of second language abilities, these specialists are still bound to not realize that the components that involve this situation are interconnected and are not distinct entities from each other (Wan 46). It is crucial to understand that learning a second language involves factors that cannot exist without the existence of other factors (Wan 47). Most recently, it has become a trend to become immersed in the culture of the native speakers of the second language through the use of the internet (Wan 47). Numerous second language learners browse the web in order to get immersed into the native speakers’ culture (Wan 47). Numerous second language learners can definitely learn through the utilization of this method as the web has got a lot of information from around the world to offer to the browsers (Wan 47). Methodology And Data Analysis Result of the surveys participated in by English language learner students: 3 1. Methodology: They have had difficulty forming friendships due to language barriers. Data Analysis: A little over 65 % of these people have had trouble forming friendships with English native speakers in the United States due to language differences. It is often uncomfortable to form a friendship with people whom you often encounter difficulty in conversing with. An interesting conversation turns sour when you have difficulty conversing with someone. The people who face this difficulty with English native speakers often become lonely while living in the United States if they are not able to find friends that share the same language as them. 2. Methodology: They have had difficulty achieving their academic goals than they would have if their instruction at school were conducted in their native language. Data Analysis: Although non-native speakers of English who are proficient in English are the only non-English speaker foreign students who are admitted for formal academic studies at schools in America, English proficient non-native English speakers also still encounter difficulty in their academic studies than they would have if the instruction was conducted in their own language. This is such the case as the mentioned students still are not used to the English language. These students most usually converse with their circle of influence in their native language, hence, this situation causes them to become awkward in utilizing the English language in their academic studies as well. The most objective advice that can be recommended from this situation is for the students to use the English language often even when conversing with non-native English speakers who form their circle of influence. Or, it would be better if these students would be able to find native English speaker friends who would be willing to practice conversing with 4 them in English on a regular basis. It would also be helpful for these students to practice sharpening their English language writing skills through regularly utilizing writing drills. 3. Methodology: Language barriers often make the students feel a longing to go home to their country. Data Analysis: Numerous students who experience difficulty learning English in the United States are usually not able to adjust to their social environment in the country. As a result they often feel that they are social outcasts and feel that they don’t belong in the community. Because of this situation that they may get into, they may become inclined to go back to their home country. 4. Methodology: Language barriers may have the tendency to make the students inculcate a lower self-esteem. Data Analysis: The students feel that they are not smart enough as they are not able to efficiently learn a second language. This dampens their spirits of good self-esteem. 5. Methodology: These students become the targets of discrimination pranks in the United States. Data Analysis: Numerous of these students become the victims of prank jokes just because of their limited English language abilities. They are seen as vulnerable group of people as they create a self-image of being dumb or â€Å"not smart enough† due to their limited English language abilities. 6. Methodology: These students become too dependent on an English proficient relative, family member or friend while in the United States. Data Analysis: This becomes the situation as the students may not even be able to convey simple information to strangers (e. g. , giving orders at a restaurant) due to their limited 5 English language abilities. The mentioned family member, relative or friend may eventually feel that these students are becoming a burden on them as time goes on. 7. Methodology: Numerous students are reluctant to learn English as a second language because they feel that learning it would cause them to somehow exhibit disloyalty to their own language and culture. Data Analysis: It now a common trend that people do somehow paint a picture on other people as being â€Å"colonially influenced† if they try to learn a second language. This causes these second language learners to become self-conscious when trying to learn a second language. If these people become too self-conscious to learn a second language, they may also give up the pursuance of a goal to move to another country and other goals that come with it. 8. Numerous people abandon their culture altogether and adapt the culture of the native speakers of the second language that they are learning. Learning a second language ultimately also causes one to get immersed in the culture in which that language belongs. Therefore, there are times that the culture of the learners gets totally abandoned as these learners try to learn a second language. This situation is sometimes viewed negatively by others. Results Learning a second language definitely has its ups and downs. The learners would just have to weigh in whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages as a basis in making their decision to learn a second language. However, we can definitely see that as long as the teaching of the second language is executed properly, numerous students are able to learn the language efficiently and utilize their second language fluency in worthwhile activities and 6 and professions. Discussions Three questions need to be answered in order for specialists to improve second language teaching and learning (Conference Probes Second Language 1). These questions are the following (Conference Probes Second Language 1): 1. What are the strategies on research that need to be executed in the implementation of second language education in America (Conference Probes Second Language 1)? 2. What are the strategies on research on the execution of second language education in the United States that need to be improvised (Conference Probes Second Language 1)? 3. What are these research strategies that are deemed to be effective (Conference Probes Second Language 1)? Reading, writing and speaking fluency of a second language does not come automatically if one has acquired extensive knowledge on the language usage (Swiderski 4). A culture’s main foundation is the official language that comes with it (Swiderski 6). When one first learns a language, he/she automatically first learns its corresponding culture (Swiderski 6). A language mirrors its corresponding culture (Swiderski 6). However, the language and the culture are not exactly similar in every ways (Swiderski 6). Because when learning a language one learns all about its usage, its interconnected component, culture, is also being learned during the process of learning the language (Swiderski 6). Therefore, language and culture are still 7 Regarded as separate entities (Swiderski 6). We can really see that a language tells about what kind of culture it evolves in (Swiderski 13). For example, a classroom where an English language learning class is held comprises of styles and settings that tells about the culture of the country where the school that houses the classroom is located (Swiderski 13). Significant differences in the way that the English language is used among the native and non-native speakers of English are considerably noticeable (Lucas 59). However, there are some questions that arise from this conclusion (Lucas 73). These questions are the following (Lucas 73): 1. Do the students make requests to their professors directly or indirectly (Lucas 73)? 2. Is politeness evident in the way that the students make the requests (Lucas 73)? Conclusions Charles Hutchison, Lan Quach and Greg Wiggan wrote in their article entitled, â€Å"The Interface of Global Migrations, Local English Language Learning And Identity Transmutations Of The Immigrant Academician,† English language instructors who experience teaching students belonging to different cultures, experience the following culture shock situations: 1. Problems in differences in teaching and learning. 2. Problems in differences in curriculum and assessment. In the article entitled, â€Å"The Interface Of Global Migrations, Local English Language Learning And Identity Transmutations Of The Immigrant 8 Academician,† using the social-constructivist (and cognition) theories as references, instructors of English language classes experience changes in the way they view language through the following ways: 1. They may be forced to conform to the students and their circle of influences’ viewpoints and theories. 2. They may experience communication barriers. Furthermore, the authors state in the article that the English language instructors come to realize who they really are and their vocation objectives due to the following reasons: 1. They shape what types of people their students become and their students’ self-esteem. 2. They struggle in helping their students realize their own identity as a minority in the United States. 9 Works Cited Hutchison, Charles, Quach, Lan Wiggan, Greg. â€Å"The Interface of Global Migrations, Local English Language Learning And Identity Transmutations Of The Immigrant Academician. † Forum On Public Policy: A Journal Of The Oxford Round Table (2006). Lucas, Sigrun. â€Å"Students Writing Emails To Faculty: An Examination Of E-Politeness Among Native And Non-Native Speakers Of English. † Language, Learning Technology 11 (2007): 59, 73. Swiderski, Richard M. Teaching Language, Learning, Culture. Westport: Bergin Garvey, 1993. Wan, Shun. â€Å"Second Language Socialization In A Bilingual Chat Room: Global And Local Considerations. † Language, Learning Technology 8 (2004): 44-47. â€Å"Conference Probes Second Language Research Needs. † Reading Today August 2001.

Wayne Mcgregors Career As A Choreographer Drama Essay

Wayne Mcgregors Career As A Choreographer Drama Essay Wayne McGregors career as a choreographer has been experimental and Innovative. This essay is an overview of his career so far as a choreographer, looking mainly at his work as Artistic director of Random Dance, Resident Choreographer of the Royal Ballet and his interests in Technology and Science. The essay begins with a brief biography of McGregors career and goes on to show his collaborations and choreographic works and finally analyzes what makes him unique as a choreographer. Wayne McGregor was born in the year 1970 in Stockport, England. He studied dance at Bretton Hall College which was at The University of Leeds and he then went on to study at the Josà © Limon School in New York. In the year 1992 McGregor was appointed choreographer in residence at The Place, London and in that same year he founded his own dance company known as Wayne McGregor | Random Dance which was invited to become the resident company at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London in the Year 2002. In 2004 Wayne McGregor was appointed Artist-in-Residence at the University of Cambridge at the Department of Experimental Psychology. (www.randomdance.com) In the year 2006, Wayne McGregor was appointed as the Resident Choreographer of the Royal Ballet. This was a great achievement as he was the first Modern Dance choreographer with no ballet training to be given this role at the Company. In 2009 McGregor premiered his production of the Opera, Dido and Aeneas at the Royal Opera House, London, this was his Opera debut. His newest choreographic works are Outlier, which was premiered this year by the New York City Ballet on May 14th and Yantra, premiered by Stuttgart Ballet on the 7th of July this year. (www.randomdance.com) Wayne McGregors company Random Dance premiered Xeno 1 2 3 at The Place, London in January of the year 1993, this was their debut as a company. Throughout the 1990s Wayne McGregor and Random Dance continued to develop the company with choreographic works such as AnArkos 1995, 8 legs of the Devil 1996, The Millennarium 1997 and Sulphur 16 1998. Wayne McGregors interest in technology developed and his choreographic works from the year 2000 onwards really reflected this with performances such as Aeon 2000, digit01 2001, PreSentient 2002, Polar Sequences 2003 and Qualia 2004. (www.randomdance.com) Wayne McGregor has a great interest in science which greatly influenced his choreography in 2004. During his time at the University of Cambridge where he had a fellowship for six months at their Department of Experimental Psychology, he started to research a condition called Ataxia. . (www.randomdance.com) The word ataxia means without coordination. People with ataxia have problems with coordination because parts of the nervous system that control movement and balance are affected. Ataxia may affect the fingers, hands, arms, legs, body, speech, and eye movements. The word ataxia is often used to describe a symptom of incoordination which can be associated with infections, injuries, other diseases, or degenerative changes in the central nervous system. (www.ataxia.org) At the Department of Experimental Psychology, McGregor worked with scientists who had interests in areas such as object recognition and spatial processing, movement analyses, cognitive dimensions of notation, and relationships between representation and self. ( Kupper, 2007, p.178) After his research Wayne McGregor choreographed Ataxia, the performance was designed with the help of his experiences with neuroscientists; his company of professionally trained dancers, along with the help of a person experiencing an ataxic movement disorder, her name was Sarah Seddon Jenner. ( Kupper, 2007, p.178) McGregor uses lighting effects to add to the choreography and bring it to life as he does in many of his choreographic pieces. In a review of Ataxia for The Guardian, Judith Mackrell says In Wayne McGregors latest work there is a moment, in the middle, when the stage seems to dissolve into an electric brain storm. Pulsing currents of brightly coloured light stream in disorienting patterns around the space. The music judders and strains as if several clashing scores were being played at the same time. (Mackrell, 2004) In 2005 McGregor continued to use science as a tool of exploration for his choreography for the piece Amu. He worked with heart imaging specialists for this piece, along with artistic collaborators. They wished to question both physical functions and symbolic resonances of the human heart. (www.randomdance.org) In a review of Amu in The Sunday Times, Debra Craine says If you thought about it too much it could haunt you. Each minute of every day, through a complex web of arteries, your heart is pumping the bodys lifeblood. Its a fact of nature that we take for granted but its something that the choreographer Wayne McGregor and the composer John Tavener want us to think about. Their fascinating new collaboration Amu (Arabic for of the heart) is all about the organ, seeing it through McGregors embrace of science and Taveners famous spiritualism. (Craine, 2005) McGregors concepts for choreography include technology as well as science, a good example of this would be Entity which was premiered by Wayne McGregor | Random Dance at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London on April 10th 2008. Entity incorporated technology, with the use of a soundscape which was an hour long, created by Jon Hopkins and Joby Talbot. It incorporated the use of video; the video design was created by Ravi Deepres. (www.randomdance.org) The choreography was initiated from McGregors Choreography and Cognition research project which is a collaboration with scientists of Neurology and Psychology. (www.randomdance.org) The choreography was described by Gia Kourlas of the New York Times when he said, Wayne McGregors Entity begins and ends with a video of a greyhound seeming to run in place. The reference is significant: as entities, these slim animals are at once refined and fidgety, highly flexible and, of course, able to devour space at great speed. For Mr. McGregor, those are key physical ingredients that his dancers, also entities, must possess to have a solid grasp of his movement. In this world of glossy distortion, there isnt a place for hazy shapes. (Kourlas, 2010) After the success of his choreography for Chroma performed The Royal Ballet in 2006, Wayne McGregor was given the job as Resident Choreographer of the Royal Ballet. In 2008 audiences saw another great choreographic piece by McGregor which showed his innovative use of technology and lighting to make his choreography unique, this performance was called Infra and premiered at The Royal Opera House, London March 13th 2008. (www.randomdance.org) McGregor collaborated with many people while developing and choreographing Infra. Wayne worked with Monica Mason, Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet. He commissioned a British artist called Julian Opie to collaborate with him and create a visual set to add to the piece. For the music Wayne collaborated with cult composer Max Richter to create a unique soundscape to accompany the choreography. The choreologist for Infra was Darren Parish who recorded Waynes choreography in rehearsals with the use of Bensch Notatation. (BBC Documentary) The producer was Will Harding, the lighting designer that worked closely with Wayne McGregor was Lucy Carter and the costume designer was Moritz Junge. The artist Julian Opie that worked on the set design had never designed for the theatre before. Opie had created screen lights, which showed the silhouettes of a male stick figure and a female stick figure in light, these are in Dublin on OConnells Street. While researching for his set design for Infra Opie observed people walking along the streets and how they moved like choreography. (BBC Documentary) The music created by Max Richter was created on a synthesiser and Waynes choreography was created before the music as this is the way McGregor worked on this particular choreography. The performance was twenty five minutes long and cast included twelve dancers plus a cast of fifty extras that were included in the choreography. The process of creating Infra from the very beginning to the premier performance on opening night was filmed by the BBC for a documentary. The documentary gave great publicity for Wayne McGregor and Infra and he won South Bank Show award for Infra in 2009. . (BBC Documentary) (www.randomdance.org) In an interview by Sarah Crompton for The Telegraph, Wayne McGregor talks to her about the process of his collaboration for Infra with Julian Opie, McGregor explains: We both feel that the body can never really be abstract but he feels that there is a difference between a functional action he jumps up to demonstrate raising an arm, tying a shoe and a pose. A pose for him is something that cant be connected to meaning in a really exact way and I found that really interesting. So what we have done is worked with this absolute physicality and, at the other end, a kind of language which is oppositional to that. (McGregor Wayne, citied in Crompton 2008) In a review of Infra by Debra Craine for The Times, she gives her opinion on what strikes her about the performance, she says: The first thing that strikes you about Infra is Julian Opies set. His evocative figures, drawn in outline on a giant LED screen, move back and forth high across the stage, like busy London commuters. Underneath are the live dancers, the inner manifestation of the outer world above. Their memories, fears, dreams and desires are being lived out in the intimacy of their own heads. McGregors movement may still be a full-body workout (undulating torsos, limbs constantly in motion, muscles yearning to exceed their limits) but it speaks as strongly of compassion and anger, of happiness and anxiety, tenderness and tears. (Craine, 2008) Wayne McGregors appointment as resident choreographer for The Royal Ballet, was a great achievement, he continues creating choreographic pieces for his company Random Dance, while choreographing for The Royal Ballet. But does he work in a different way with the dancers in his company than he does with the Royal Ballet. During the rehearsals for Limen in 2009, Emma Crichton-Miller talked to Wayne McGregor about his creative approach and the development of his new work. She asks him: Do you work in a different way with your own company Wayne McGregor | Random Dance than you do with The Royal Ballet? To which Wayne Explains: In every new piece I create the process is different as the individuals in the studio (whatever the company) have their own direct effect on the choreography. That is one of the great motivators of working deeply with both companies; the individuals within them are incredibly inspiring. Equally, there are differences in the circumstances of making. At Random I have the dancers all day for many weeks at a time, exclusively. Their priority is dancing only my work and our collaborative journey together reflects this singular commitment. At The Royal Ballet I cant have the dancers exclusively, and theyre doing lots of other repertory simultaneously, so the demands they place on their bodies in a day are different and how I use their precious time is tempered accordingly. Both circumstances, each with their own innate challenges, nurture me in distinctive but highly complementary ways.

Overview Of Hotel Marriott Tourism Essay

Overview Of Hotel Marriott Tourism Essay Marriott International, Inc.is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. (Bill) Marriott, Jr. Today, Marriott International has about 3,150 lodging properties located in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. Marriott International was formed in 1992 when Marriott Corporation split into two companies, Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation. In 2002 Marriott International began a major restructuring by spinning off many Senior Living Services Communities (which is now part of Sunrise Senior Living) and Marriott Distribution Services, so that it could focus on hotel ownership and management. The changes were completed in 2003. In April 1995, Marriott International acquired a 49% interest in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC. Marriott International owned Ramada International Hotels Resorts until its sale on September 15, 2004 to Cendant. It is the first hotel chain to serve food that is completely free of Trans fats at all of its North American properties. In 2005, Marriott International and Marriott Vacation Club International comprised two of the 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush. On July 19, 2006, Marriott announced that all lodging buildings they operate in the United States and Canada would become non-smoking beginning September 2006. The new policy includes all guest rooms, restaurants, lounges, meeting rooms, public space and employee work areas. Marriott International announced today the signing of four additional hotels for its portfolio in India, bringing the total to 29 properties now under construction or in planning in India. When all are opened by the end of 2013, Marriott International will have 40 hotels under management in the country; today, Marriott manages 11 hotels in India represented by five brands Marriott International will introduce its moderately-priced Courtyard by Marriott brand in Vietnam, under a management agreement announced today with CY Ham Tan Resort Limited Company.   When opened in 2012, the property will be the first high-quality, internationally-branded mid-tier hotel in the area. ORGANIZATION CULTURE: Handy suggests that we can classify organisations into a broad range of four cultures. The formation of culture will depend upon a whole host of factors including company history, ownership, organisation structure, technology, critical business incidents and environment, etc. The four cultures he discusses are Power, Role, Task and People. The purpose of the analysis is to assess the degree to which the predominant culture reflects the real needs and constraints of the organisation. Strong Culture Culture is the life-thread and glue that links our past, present, and future. J.W. Marriott, Jr. Fair treatment of associates and to providing advancement opportunities Do Whatever it Takes to Take Care of the Customer Actively supports community and volunteerism Pay extraordinary attention to detail Creativity Pride in their physical surroundings Our people are the most important asset Environment that supports associate growth personal development Reputation of employing caring, dependable associates, who are ethical and trustworthy Home-like atmosphere Performance-reward system Pride in name, accomplishments, success Courtyard is a very popular brand in India and is expanding rapidly, said Rajeev Menon, area vice president for India, Pakistan, the Maldives and Malaysia. It offers excellent value in the mid-tier market that is currently underserved. The hotels adapt well to the lifestyle needs of both its domestic and international guests. COMPARISON WITH HOTEL INDUSTRY: In the world of hospitality the customer reigns supreme. In order to remain competitive it is essential for hoteliers not only to meet consumer expectations, but also to exceed them. Hilton International the hotel part of The Hilton Group plc that also includes betting and gaming, and Living Well Fitness Centers realized that in order to deliver the quality service associated with the brand, it needed to invest in the training and development of staff who are essential to ensuring that guests have a good experience during their stay. ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE SUITABLE TO ITS CULTURE: The overall structure of the Marriott is tall, however within each different department there are both tall and flat structures. Marriott finds that its own properties are often a source of innovative new practices. As a result, the company has adopted formal and informal communication channels to encourage employees to share best practices. For example, through a quarterly program called the Worldwide Business Forum, managers in Poland can learn from practices in Peru. TASK 3: Human Resources This department in a business ensures that the associates have a comfortable relationship with their managers, so that they are more motivated in their jobs. This involves providing the staff with the professional abilities to take on more jobs. Staff are encouraged to study for non work related subjects. This means that the management allow each member of staff to have a variety of responsibilities, so that they can improve in different areas. Staff training is viewed as very important and large amount of money is put into the training and development project. It tries to motivate subordinates to work harder, this makes the job security effective for that individual. Therefore, the staff provides excellent customer service. The Human resources department is considered to spend more money to provide facilities for staff personnel development and training, in order to make staff more efficient. However as the human resources department has a low staff turnover rate of 9%, this means that recruitment costs are much lower compared to departments like the food and beverage. Human resources makes sure that each member of staff is treated fairly, and advices the staff on the certain things they can do and be involved in to improve themselves. This department ensures the health and safety of each individual, guaranteeing that the environment they work in is not dangerous. This department looks for the well being of all the associates in the hotel. Human resources gives training, which tries to increase staff motivation and loyalty within the organisation so that they will become more efficient in what they are doing. DEPARTMENTAL STRUCTURE: The overall structure of the Marriott is tall, however within each different department there are both tall and flat structures. the human resources department has far fewer subordinates (only 6 people) and therefore it does not have many managers, assistant managers and supervisors compared to the food and beverage department. Therefore it can be said that the human resources department is a flat structure. Within the Marriott organization structure every member of staff has a detailed job description, knows his/her manager. It is a formal structure with clear lines of communication. THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWER AND AUTHORITY WITHIN DEPARTMENT: There is a line of command from top to bottom of the hierarchy within an organization. Information is communicated from each managing head or director, and any orders are passed through this chain. Orders pass through many different people within the hierarchy. For example a manager sends information to an assistant manager within a certain department, and then it is sent to a supervisor. Then they would send the various messages to the worker in that department. This is an example of how messages are sent down the chain of command with a department in the Marriott. This type of structure can be effective as it helps give a clear understanding to staff to whom he/she is responsible. STYLE OF LEADERSHIP OF THE HEAD OF FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENT: This is the number of subordinates directly supervised by one person (manager). A narrow span means tight supervision, less discretion and therefore less chance of making mistakes. A narrow span may mean more levels in the hierarchy and therefore a greater chance of promotions. A wide span of control reduces supervision and leads to greater delegation. The span of control can change depending upon certain circumstances. These can be seen below: * The more difficult the supervision tasks as checking work can be hard and time consuming, the smaller the span of control. Another reason why supervision tasks can be challenging maybe because the subordinates are not specialised in their job. * A small span of control maybe necessary if communication with subordinates is time consuming. * The better the supervisor, the more people he or she can supervise and as a result there will be a wide span of control. It can be seen from the organizational structure of the Marriott that each department manager has some sort of span of control. It can be said that the overall structure of the Marriott has both narrow and wide spans of control, for example in the food and beverage department there is a wide span of control as there are several restaurants and therefore the number of people the worker controls is much more. However within the human resources department there is a much narrower span of control as there are only six people in the department. PROPOSALS: The longer the chain of command within an organization the more difficult it can get for messages to get sent across. Messages can get lost or distorted as they travel across the chain of command. This problem has been prevented within the Marriott by having daily meetings with departments so that each member of staff knows what he/she is doing. TASK 4 MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES: Theory M: Motivating with money Hourly workers are not motivated by programs designed to increase their enthusiasm and loyalty-they are motivated by being paid what theyre worth. Here is a motivational program that establishes a direct link between productivity and pay Marriott recognizes and rewards loyalty and performance over time. Virtually all promotions are from within and transfers and special assignments go to those who have clearly earned them with their consistent performance in serving the guests interests. Various perks, benefits and compensation are awarded to those who consistently demonstrate a guest obsession. Tuition reimbursements are used to attract the best workers; good health benefits are aimed at attracting and keeping those with families; and dozens of timely smaal perks are used to add to personal thank yous, which leaders at all levels make a point of giving. GOAL-SETTING THEORY: Goal-setting theory refers to different types of goals motivate us differently. Using a massive, five-year database of its own employment history, Marriott found that the cost of certain rewards was offset by lower turnover. And so it took a comprehensive look at its entire rewards program to align compensation and benefits with its associates needs; improve attraction and retention; enhance productivity; and increase its return on the billions of dollars it invests annually in people and achieve its required goals. It did this while demonstrating the bottom-line impact of the resultant strategy. EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT: High-performance businesses actively manage their talent, matching the right people with the right jobs and hiring for fit rather than for specific skills. As a result, these companies are rewarded with engaged, productive and creative workforces. From recruitment to training and support to retaining employees, Marriott stands out because it focuses on the entire talent development chain. Hiring by gut instinct is frowned upon; instead, hiring managers use a quantitative, predictive model that combines an assessment of candidates job skills with an evaluation of their attitudes and values-attributes that Marriott considers more important than specific skills or experience. Marriotts success with employees at all levels makes for great press. The company regularly appears on lists of best companies to work for-for example, in the top 100 rankings for both Fortune (eight consecutive years) and Working Mother (15 years). And the companys voluntary turnover rates are among the lowest in the industry. Part of the reason can be found in Marriotts benefits and compensation packages. Our largest group of employees is housekeepers-largely women with families, explains Keegan. Weve found that medical benefits are a critical driver of retention-it keeps our turnover low. But thats only part of the story. Training, career opportunities and the cultivation of emotional ties all play important roles in helping Marriott retain employees in an industry marked by high turnover. Once it makes a hiring decision, Marriott devotes considerable resources to training and developing its people at every level. Senior managers attend a four-week, in-house executive development program designed to help them cultivate a broad, externally focused point of view. For hourly workers, the emphasis is on structured, task-driven, on-the-job learning. The company even incorporates a training budget requirement into its contracts with franchisees and managed-property owners. Career-growth opportunities are another key to high retention rates. Nearly half of the companys managers were promoted from within the ranks of hourly workers. Marriott keeps its managers engaged by providing many opportunities for development and advancement. Senior executives have spent an average of 22 years with the company, while their direct reports have an average tenure of 15 years. The company prefers to promote from within and provides cross-functional opportunities for key senior managers as a way to cultivate its future leaders. Another reason for employee loyalty-and another important intangible-is the emotional connection workers have to the company. Marriott conducted research that showed that this connection was based largely on employees belief that Marriott treats them fairly. Marriott found that its survey results surpassed industry benchmarks, leading company executives to believe that their employees trust the organizations leadership to look out for their best interests. HR Khief Keegan: Hiring managers use a quantitative, predictive model that combines an assessment of candidates job skills with an evaluation of their attitudes and values-attributes that Marriott considers more important than specific skills or experience.

Langston Hughes :: essays research papers

â€Å"HOW SHOULD I MAKE MONEY?† Businesses nowadays do what they have to do to get the job done, as far as making profit and succeeding in their goals. They complete these goals by any means necessary and in my opinion they should be held responsible for their actions. Sure what they do can sometime bring in profit, but looking ahead, they’re doing things against public interest and in the long run it will ruin their companies. They should allow us as a people to know what’s going on so we can better informed. In their eyes what we don’t know won’t hurt us, but in actuality it does In Friedmans â€Å"The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits.† Friedman argues that the manager is an agent of the shareholders, responsible mainly for the profit they seek, and for following the rules of society, being both legal and ethical, meaning they there is no fraud or coercion and there is free competition. He considers the talk of â€Å"social responsibility of business† to be misguided, indicative of a trend toward socialism. He argues that to decide to sacrifice profit for some collective social good is to, in effort, collect taxes and decide how they are to be spent, which is reserved for the political process. Non-elected company managers should not be doing this. In business, Friedman believes, people do what they choose to do, while in politics the majority rules. But that political process should be kept to a minimum and kept out of business. Friedman believes this applies also to â€Å"the newer phenomenon of calling upon stockholders to require corporations to exercise social responsibility.† This is just one group trying to get some other people to do what that group considers important. He does allow, though, that a proprietor not a corporation is free to spend his money on good causes, even though it may affect customers, etc., because he has not monopoly. (If it is too costly he will cease to be competitive.) Finally, Friedman believes that some of the â€Å"social responsibility â€Å" that is talked about is just â€Å"window-dressing† and serves the interests of the company by enhancing profit. He finds this dishonest but on his own principles he cannot disagree with it, since it is done in the interests of profit. In Christopher D. Stone’s: â€Å"Why Shouldn’t Corporation Be Socially Responsible?† It’s Stone’s theory that it’s not that despite what many persons believe, corporations are by nature irresponsible.

Computer Crime Is Increasing :: essays research papers fc

Computer Crime Is Increasing A report discussing the proposition that computer crime has increased dramatically over the last 10 years. Introduction Computer crime is generally defined as any crime accomplished through special knowledge of computer technology. Increasing instances of white-collar crime involve computers as more businesses automate and the information held by the computers becomes an important asset. Computers can also become objects of crime when they or their contents are damaged, for example when vandals attack the computer itself, or when a "computer virus" (a program capable of altering or erasing computer memory) is introduced into a computer system. As subjects of crime, computers represent the electronic environment in which frauds are programmed and executed; an example is the transfer of money balances in accounts to perpetrators' accounts for withdrawal. Computers are instruments of crime when they are used to plan or control such criminal acts. Examples of these types of crimes are complex embezzlements that might occur over long periods of time, or when a computer operator uses a computer to steal or alter valuable information from an employer. Variety and Extent Since the first cases were reported in 1958, computers have been used for most kinds of crime, including fraud, theft, embezzlement, burglary, sabotage, espionage, murder, and forgery. One study of 1,500 computer crimes established that most of them were committed by trusted computer users within businesses i.e. persons with the requisite skills, knowledge, access, and resources. Much of known computer crime has consisted of entering false data into computers. This method of computer crime is simpler and safer than the complex process of writing a program to change data already in the computer. Now that personal computers with the ability to communicate by telephone are prevalent in our society, increasing numbers of crimes have been perpetrated by computer hobbyists, known as "hackers," who display a high level of technical expertise. These "hackers" are able to manipulate various communications systems so that their interference with other computer systems is hidden and their real identity is difficult to trace. The crimes committed by most "hackers" consist mainly of simple but costly electronic trespassing, copyrighted-information piracy, and vandalism. There is also evidence that organised professional criminals have been attacking and using computer systems as they find their old activities and environments being automated. Another area of grave concern to both the operators and users of computer systems is the increasing prevalence of computer viruses. A computer virus is generally defined as any sort of destructive computer program, though the term is usually reserved for the most dangerous ones. The ethos of a computer virus is an intent to cause damage, "akin to vandalism on a small scale, or terrorism

History 5.01

Step 1: Think about these big questions: 1. When was the tipping point at which the United States could no longer be considered an isolated nation? OI think the tipping point could either be when Pearl Harbor was bombed or when the Lusitania was attacked 2. At what point could the United States no longer avoid involvement in World War II? OI think when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor was when the United States could no longer avoid being involved in the war. Step 2: Respond to each of the prompts below in a separate paragraph: 1. Explain the reasons for U. S. neutrality during the 1920s and 1930s.How did ideas about neutrality change during the period from the end of World War I to the passage of the Lend-Lease Act? Be sure to include any events, terms, or people that may support your response. ODuring the 1920s and 1930s the US had always been an isolationist country. The United States ended up sending help to the Allied forces because they were more democratic. The Axis forces I believe were more authoritarian. I think the United States felt they had to help the other countries because it would make them stronger allies and could benefit us. 2. In your opinion, what was the point at which U.S. actions were no longer neutral? Explain your reasoning with supporting details from the lesson. OI think when the Lend-Lease Act was involved the United States was no longer neutral. 3. Criticize or defend each of the U. S. actions surrounding World War II that are listed below. Justify your opinion with supporting details from the lesson. o1st Neutrality Act OI would agree with the first Neutrality Act because the United States was doing what they were familiar with sense they had been neutral for a long time. I think it could also benefit the US if we were to be attacked. oCash and CarryOI would have to disagree with the Cash and Carry amendment because we were supplying war efforts to our allies. oU. S aid to China OI think I would support this act because China was under attack by Japan. I think the fact that the Japanese were allies with Germany who was also at war with our allies, means that we should have stepped in and helped China. oLend-Lease Act OI would totally agree with this act. I think this act will help make things better between the United States and other countries if we feel like we can trust each other. It also helped Britain who was struggling with Germany.

Hostile Mint Case Study

Case – 1 Hostile Mint it’s probably the last place you might expect to find a hostile work environment. First of all, it’s a federal workplace. And even more surprising, it’s heavily guarded against intrusion. But the situation inside the U. S. Mint in Denver was anything but a safe place for 71 women who brought a complaint to the facility’s equal employment opportunity (EEO) officer in 2003. When the organizers of the complaint began to fear that they were the investigation targets instead of the complaints, 32 of the women decided to take the matter to the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Their contention: The Denver Mint was a hostile work environment. These allegations were the culmination of a number of incidents that had occurred over a long period of time. The Denver Mint, which opened in 1863, has 414 employees, of which 93 are women. One woman who started working at the Denver Mint in 1997 said, â€Å"She found the atmosphere completely hostile toward females. † When she filed an EEO charge claiming discrimination, she was retaliated against by having most of her job duties reassigned and being required to work at home. Events leading to the current complaint started in 2001, when another female employee who was inspecting a men’s room for cleanliness saw a loose ceiling tile, removed it, and found 40 to 50 sex magazines. Some months later, this same employee was checking for rats in an attic and found a stash of pornographic magazines. Both times she made these discoveries, she was with a male colleague. Later, she would say in a statement given to the main office of the U. S. Mint that to her knowledge no action was every taken to address the situations. Another female employee filed a claim of retaliation and sexual harassment with the facility’s EEO officer in 2000. It was 2003 before she got a hearing with the EEOC and an administrative judge ruled in favor of the Mint. However, when she filed her claims in federal court in 2005, a jury found that she â€Å"worked in an environment hostile to women and awarded her $80,000. † In 2001, the facility’s new superintendent held a women’s forum attended by the then-director of the U. S. Mint. However, the highest-ranking woman at the Denver Mint—the administrative services chief, Beverly Mandigo Milne—said, â€Å"Nothing changed. † The final straw that triggered the complaint was the demotion of the mint’s acting EEO manager in February 2003. The month after the demotion, the 71 women filed the petition alleging a hostile work environment. An individual from the San Francisco Mint was assigned to investigate; however, the women claimed that the investigation never focused on the facts, but on Milne. One of the women said, â€Å"They believed that Beverly coerced everyone into filing the petition. † That was when 32 of the women took the matter to the EEOC. Despite the filed petition, hostile situations still continued. One woman said that in 2004, a male co-worker offered to pay her for sex. Another woman said that after she returned after a short bereavement leave following her husband’s death in 2005, a male supervisor propositioned her. On March 31, 2006, the U. S. Mint and the female employees who had filed the class complaint reached a proposed settlement. The terms of the settlement included a payment of $8. 9 million for damages, fees, and costs. The joint press release of the United States Mint and Class Couns