Thursday, August 27, 2020
Experiential Introduction of Auditing & Journal of Accounting
Question: Break down the money related execution of the two organizations dependent on your computations, distinguishing and talking about the reasons for figuring those proportions and the shortcomings of proportions investigation.? Answer: Presentation In present day business times, there exists an exceptional rivalry among the business firms. It is significant for the associations to play out a serious investigation to continue in the serious condition. Fiscal report examination helps the business associations to perform such sort of inner and outer appraisals of their separate money related positions. The given report will reveal insight into the business firms Sainsbury and Tesco. This will be assessed through the examination of fiscal summaries of both the associations throughout the previous two years. Both these two associations are retail monsters of United Kingdom and piece of the overall industry of both the associations are on the higher side (Ongore and Kusa, 2013). Budgetary status of both the associations The budgetary status of both the associations can be examined with the help of money related proportions. There are different sorts of money related proportions. These are liquidity, productivity, proficiency and equipping proportions. Every one of these proportions help to decipher the monetary situation of the firm as for its nearby rivals. With the assistance of money related proportions, the association can control their techniques and gauge them for what's to come. In actuality, there are a few disservices of these proportions. Perhaps the greatest impediment or shortcoming of monetary proportions is that it depends on recorded information investigation and it does exclude all the components of a fiscal report of an association. Notwithstanding, the underneath monetary examination will mirror the investigation of both the associations as far as their fiscal reports. The partners and speculators of a business association can take distinctive venture choices dependent on the under standing of money related proportions (Hall, 2013) Liquidity proportions Liquidity proportions mirror the liquidity status of a business firm. This further deciphers capacity of a firm to meet their momentary obligation commitments. Jiang and Lee (2012) deciphers that liquidity proportion has an immediate relationship with the working capital pattern of a firm. On the off chance that the business associations like Sainsbury and Tesco are able to deal with their working capital cycle, at that point, they can without much of a stretch improve their liquidity status on the eyes of the partners. Current proportion and speedy proportion are the two primary sorts liquidity proportions that help the firm to decipher the liquidity status of both the associations (Mawani, 2012) Current proportion and Quick proportion of Sainsbury Sainsbury Current Ratio= Current Assets-Current liabilities Brisk Ratio= Current Assets-Stock-Prepaid costs/Current Liabilities 2013 0.610272873 0.293419 2014 0.644789357 0.496231 2015 0.638595984 0.494583 Table 1: Liquidity proportion of Sainsbury Current proportion and Quick proportion of Tesco Tesco Current proportion Brisk Ratio 2015 0.603635 0.475298 2014 0.727698 0.595435 2013 0.689808 0.490261 Table 2: Liquidity proportion of Tesco The estimations of liquidity proportions have been introduced in addendums of the report (Refer to Appendix 1). The above investigation mirrors that the both the associations have performed significantly well to keep up their liquidity status in agreement to their financial specialists. Nonetheless, the liquidity proportions of Sainsbury are better than the association Tesco. This mirrors Sainsbury is keeping up its working capital cycle better than its nearest rival Tesco. The liquidity of the firm Tesco has declined than earlier years. In actuality, Sainsbury is effective in keeping up a higher liquidity proportion from the last three monetary years. Current proportion reflects about the working capital administration of the business associations. As far as current proportion, Sainsbury has performed somewhat better than Tesco. Furthermore, Quick proportion deciphers about the liquidity status of the association by barring stock and prepaid use. Sainsbury has a superior brisk proportion than Tesco. This mirrors the association is using its working capital costs by dealing with their stock an d prepaid consumption. As far as liquidity, the financial specialists will settle on Sainsbury as opposed to Tesco. Benefit proportions The monetary proportions additionally help to decipher the benefit position of a business association. These should be possible through viable execution of productivity proportions. These are as Gross benefit, net benefit and working overall revenue. All the gainfulness proportions will help a financial specialist of an association to decipher how well the associations are dealing with their benefits as far as their business income (Bekaert and Hodrick, 2012). The beneath investigation will mirror the benefit status of both the organizations. Net benefit, net benefit and working overall revenue of Tesco and Sainsbury Sainsbury Net benefit proportion Net overall revenue Working overall revenue 2015 0.047613039 - 0.00698 0.003197 2014 0.018539396 0.029897 0.039334 2013 0.019611209 0.026349 0.035189 Table 3: Profit edge proportions of Sainsbury Tesco Net benefit proportion Net overall revenue Working overall revenue 2015 - 0.03391 - 0.09217 - 0.0962 2014 0.063093 0.015325 0.041396 2013 0.063077 0.001913 0.033752 Table 4: Profit edge proportions of Tesco Table 2 reflects about the impression of gainfulness edge of Sainsbury from three continuous budgetary years that is from 2013-2015. Net overall revenue deciphers the ability of the firm in using its business edge to procure higher benefit status by limiting the immediate costs. The gross overall revenue of Sainsbury has expanded by a higher rate. Despite what might be expected, table 4 reflects about the benefit position of the retail firm Tesco. Tesco has a lower net revenue and it is on the declining stage. In the last monetary year that is 2014-2015, all the net revenue of Tesco is on the negative side. This further deciphers Tesco has neglected to build up a higher edge or level of deals income. The firm has likewise neglected to chop down their individual immediate and roundabout costs. Moreover, the association has additionally lingering a long ways behind than its nearest rival Sainsbury. Nonetheless, Table 1 deciphers that the net overall revenue of Sainsbury is negative, st ill the gross net revenue and working edge is on positive. Since, the net overall revenue of the firm is negative, it deciphers that the association has a higher backhanded and working costs. This is anything but a decent sign for the associations as they are neglected to control the working costs by an enormous percent. Accordingly, it is of incredible quintessence for the two firms Tesco and Sainsbury to chop down their costs to build their overall revenue regarding their business income. All the figurings of the productivity proportions are appeared in the rundown of Appendices. Money related Ratios (Gearing) Equipping proportions decipher the aggregate sum of level of money related dangers present inside the business firms. The essential sorts of money related proportions are obligation value proportion, premium inclusion proportion and value financing. Obligation value proportion of the association reflects about the level of obligation as far as its all out value. Higher obligation value proportion deciphers that that the specific firm is presented to monetary hazard and a higher opportunity to exchange and become bankrupt. Despite what might be expected, intrigue inclusion proportion of a business firm the way where the firm is competent to get together with the obligation consumption by concealing the intrigue costs. On the off chance that the given intrigue inclusion proportion is lower, at that point, it mirrors that the firm isn't at all fit in meeting up its obligation costs by concealing the aggregate sum of intrigue costs. Accordingly, it is essential for the firm to keep a hig her measure of intrigue inclusion proportion. A higher proportion will mirror the capacity of a firm to meet the particular intrigue costs (Gifford and Howe, 2012). Outfitting proportions of Tesco and Sainsbury Sainsbury Money related Gearing Ratio Value outfitting Intrigue Coverage proportion 2015 0.736276 2.028652 5.121951 2014 0.850256 1.882784 12.06107 2013 0.874716 1.91757 11.19531 Table 5: Gearing proportion of the association Sainsbury Tesco Money related Gearing Ratio Value outfitting Intrigue Coverage proportion 2015 0.280081 0.954808 - 8.66733 2014 0.289274 0.871193 11.12081 2013 0.267246 0.763488 10.71685 Table 6: Gearing proportion of the association Tesco The table 5 deciphers about the outfitting proportion of the firm Sainsbury in the past three money related a very long time from 2013-2015. The association Sainsbury has a higher intrigue inclusion proportion than the firm Tesco. In any case, this proportion of the firm has declined by a specific rate from the earlier year. This can't be considered as a positive sign for Sainsbury inside, as there are slacking to meet their advantage costs of their particular obligation use. Actually, intrigue inclusion proportion of Tesco is lower and on the negative side. In this way, the administration of the or
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Free Essays on Infinitude And Emotional Recursion In Modernist Poetry
In many cases, writers utilize their composition as a way to communicate their thoughts and hypotheses on life. It can likewise be a methods for them to characterize their reality or the world on a more noteworthy scale. Through perusing a wide range of innovator pieces, I have discovered my very own clarification for presence or life. After perusing these thoughts in this paper, they may not appear to be so concrete as to characterize the ever present ââ¬Å"whyâ⬠that nearly everybody on the planet inquires. Or maybe, it is an unfortunate chore. The end may never be so handily characterized and will positively not be the equivalent for each individual. In the book Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, perusers are acquainted with numerous thoughts on life, the world, religion, America and different points in the sonnet called Song of Myself. All the more explicitly perusers see Whitmanââ¬â¢s perspectives on himself as he identifies with these themes. Whitman attempts to show that he is more that simply the whole of his parts or exactly what might be seen as his physical individual. He is everything his general surroundings is, and his general surroundings is all that he is. Area twenty-four of Song of Myself is a genuine case of this specific thought. Whitman opens this segment by composing ââ¬Å"Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son,â⬠(Whitman 41). This announcement of size and being demonstrates that Whitman sees himself to be a great aggregation of numerous components similarly as a universe is numerous cosmic systems and stars. To be a universe would intend to contain everything in the detectable universe. In any case, Whitman likewise states in a similar line that he is a child of Manhattan, or a production of the numerous components inside this city. Such a being would be made of the sum of the considerable number of individuals in the city, including the entirety of their feelings and recognitions, and still be a piece of the additionally enveloping universe. This thought Whitman is made of all his general surroundings yet is still piece of a littler progressively limited world shows his concept of vast presence and complementation. To be... Free Essays on Infinitude And Emotional Recursion In Modernist Poetry Free Essays on Infinitude And Emotional Recursion In Modernist Poetry As a rule, writers utilize their composition as a way to communicate their thoughts and speculations on life. It can likewise be a methods for them to characterize their reality or the world on a more noteworthy scale. Through perusing various innovator pieces, I have discovered my very own clarification for presence or life. After perusing these thoughts in this paper, they may not appear to be so concrete as to characterize the ever present ââ¬Å"whyâ⬠that nearly everybody on the planet inquires. Or maybe, it is an unfortunate obligation. The end may never be so effortlessly characterized and will positively not be the equivalent for each individual. In the book Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, perusers are acquainted with numerous thoughts on life, the world, religion, America and different themes in the sonnet called Song of Myself. All the more explicitly perusers see Whitmanââ¬â¢s perspectives on himself as he identifies with these subjects. Whitman attempts to show that he is more that simply the aggregate of his parts or exactly what might be seen as his physical individual. He is everything his general surroundings is, and his general surroundings is all that he is. Area twenty-four of Song of Myself is a genuine case of this specific thought. Whitman opens this segment by composing ââ¬Å"Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son,â⬠(Whitman 41). This announcement of size and being demonstrates that Whitman sees himself to be a great combination of numerous components similarly as a universe is numerous cosmic systems and stars. To be a universe would intend to contain everything in the detectable universe. Be that as it may, Whitman additionally states in a similar line that he is a child of Manhattan, or a making of the numerous components inside this city. Such a being would be made of the total of the considerable number of individuals in the city, including the entirety of their feelings and recognitions, and still be a piece of the all the more incorporating universe. This thought Whitman is made of all his general surroundings yet is still piece of a littler progressively limited world shows his concept of interminable presence and complementation. To be...
Friday, August 21, 2020
5+ Uses Of Dropbox That Every Blogger Should Be Aware Of
5+ Uses Of Dropbox That Every Blogger Should Be Aware Of Make Money Online Queries? Struggling To Get Traffic To Your Blog? Sign Up On (HBB) Forum Now!5+ Uses Of Dropbox That Every Blogger Should Be Aware OfUpdated On 09/01/2018Author : Pradeep KumarTopic : DropboxShort URL : https://hbb.me/2CDIOZj CONNECT WITH HBB ON SOCIAL MEDIA Follow @HellBoundBlogDropbox is one of the most useful tools I found this year. Another one is Google Reader. Seriously I didnt know it can do wonders. Every time I Google something I come up some Dropbox news, so here is my contribution.For people who are not aware Dropbox, it is a Web-based file hosting service that uses cloud computing to enable users to store and share files and folders with others across the Internet using file synchronization.1. Use As Content Delivery Network (CDN)You can improve the loading speed of your site by using a CDN to host your websiteâs static content like images, CSS and JS Files. A content delivery network or content distribution network (CDN) is a system of computers cont aining copies of data, placed at various points in a network so as to maximize bandwidth for access to the data from clients throughout the network. [via Wikipedia]With the help of Dropbox CDN WordPress plugin you can use your Dropbox Public folder as a free Content Delivery Network (CDN). This plugin allows you to upload your themes CSS, JavaScript, and Images into your Dropbox Public folder and server these files from the Dropbox network, reducing the bandwidth of your server and allowing users to load your site faster.Tutorial: Use Dropbox as a CDN for your WordPress Files 2. Backup Your WordPress BlogWordPress Backups is one of the recommended basic security tips for your blog.wp Time Machine WordPress plugin creates an archive of all your WordPress Data Files and then stores them on Dropbox, Amazons S3, or your FTP host. It can perform an automatic backup of your WordPress MySQL database, themes, plug-ins and all the other files and images that you may upload to your WordPres s folder. Just enter your Dropbox credentials and hit the Generate Archive button. Bingo!Tutorial: Backup your WordPress Blog to Dropbox3. Use With Your Web DomainEvery Dropbox account comes with a useful Public folder. You can use that folder to host documents, images, and other stuff that you want to share with everyone. By personalizing the default Dropbox URL, you can indirectly promote your brand, track individual file downloads, and make it look less complex.Default Dropbox URL : http://dl.dropbox.com/u/ID/folder/hbbdemo.txtPersonalized URL : http://files.hellboundbloggers.com/folder/hbbdemo.txtTutorial: Use Dropbox with your own Web Domain4. Make Your Own WebsiteDropbox is an easy way to create a quick website without the need for a server. You can easily get a hosting provider for your blog/website. You are limited to client-side scripts and HTML since Dropbox cannot run any server side stuff.Create a folder in your Public folder for your website.Put your entire website unde r this folder.Right click on the homepage of your website (usually something like home.htm or index.html) and get the public URL for it.5. Control Your Home Web ServerYou can simply add a vHost to your web server and point it to a folder inside your Dropbox home and voila! You have complete control over the content youre hosting!The basic idea behind this is to use vHosts to have the website contents in the Dropbox folder. The post explains how to do this for Tomcat or Apache. Its also useful with IIS and Visual Studio. Simply add a symlink of your wwwroot to My Dropbox and you have your website on the net to control. When making web application in Visual Studio, simple Public the project to the folder inside the wwwroot inside My Dropbox and your website updates, no matter where you are working at.Tutorial: Controlling Your Home Web Server ContentREAD20+ Awesome Unique Uses Of Google Reader You Probably Didn't Know6. Automatic Free Web Publishing SolutionEver wondered that you ca n use the very same Dropbox as an automatic Web Publishing Solution (as an alternative to SVN and other technologies). It only takes three steps in order to get your Dropbox running as a Web Publishing solution. However, you wont be able to do so if you dont have full access to the server.Installing Dropbox on the serverSharing data between multiple Dropbox accountsConfiguring the webserverRunning Dropbox as a serviceTutorial: Using Dropbox as an automatic and free Web Publishing solution7. Create Your Personal WikiWith TiddlyWiki and Dropbox you can set up your own wiki that is easy to use and available from anything with a web browser.TiddlyWiki is extremely flexible and can accommodate many needs with some of the variations available. Before you pay for another note taking program, or if you are unhappy with the one you currently have downloaded TiddlyWiki for free and see how it can suit your needs.Tutorial: Build Your Own Personal Wiki Accessible from Any PCDo you know any othe r cool use of Dropbox that could help a blogger or webmaster? Kindly share them in the comments!
Monday, May 25, 2020
A Jew Of Gentiles By Mark Twain - 4267 Words
A Jew of Gentiles In his essay ââ¬Å"Concerning The Jews,â⬠Mark Twain marvels over the historic ascendency of Jews in attempt to counter the burgeoning anti-semitism of his time: The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality? (6) In all its seeming marvel, like commentary stereotypes Jews as a homogeneous, insurmountable race and consequently alienates their kind, ignoring the deep empathies that constitute their identities. Even the Holocaust half-blinded audiencesâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦in Shenker). Often they take the course readers most dread, but even in their failed ambition and unfulfilled desires, Malamud peels away what it means to be a human being to its very core, from oneââ¬â¢s ethnic roots to moral responsibility toward all humanity. When Bernardââ¬â¢s father, Max Malamud, emigrated to New York in the early 1900ââ¬â¢s, he arrived penniless and dispirited, a condition seemingly little better than his homeland, Russia. However, here he was not persecuted for being Jewish, nor was he under the control of an unscrupulous leader: a fair yet grim trade to his understanding. He found his hope in consolation; he married Bertha Fidelman, another one of the million Jews who had fled Tsar Alexander III. They soon bore Bernard Malamud, the eldest of two sons, in the growing but fairly destitute city of Brooklyn on April 26, 1914. Despite their poor economic plight, Max and Bertha Malamud supported any and all academic endeavors Malamud pursued, a luxury they themselves never had. Consequently, Malamudââ¬â¢s boyhood, according to his account, was comparatively happy, school making up somehow for a meager family lifeâ⬠(qtd. in World Authors). A self-motivated individual, he was a regular attendee at the Yiddish theater and a budding writer; he considered his surname, derived from the Yiddish word, malamed, meaning ââ¬Å"teacher,â⬠to be a desirable fate, and one that would eventually come true (Davis 8). However, even his name seemed to be twinged with destined tribulation,
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Modern Art Ancient Art - 1555 Words
Ancient Art The history of the building techniques is the humanââ¬â¢s journey to search for exclusivity and excellence. To achieve this goal, ancient civilizations made their own style of building temples, walls, sculptures, and many other antiquities to represent their identity. However, many circumstances influenced the types of building they can construct. For example, the customs, religion, the climate, and the nature of the land. Throughout this paper, ancient antiquities, all are three dimensional sculptures made of limestone from Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt, will be presented. Including, the Assyrian Lamassu, Achaemenid Colum Capital in the form of Man- Bull, and the Colossal Bull- Head, and an Egyptian ââ¬Å"servantâ⬠statue. Beginning with ancient Mesopotamian art, one significant art work was excavated in 1929, and now presented in the Oriental Institute in Chicago with its museum number A7369 is the Lamassu from Dur- Sharrukin; also known as the Human- headed Winged Bull. According to the label information, the Lamassu was created around 721-705 BCE during the Assyrian period, which was the last great culture of ancient Mesopotamia.1 The sculpture is made of limestone, and is about sixteen feet tall, and weighs around forty tons. As depicted in figure 1A, the Lamassu was sculpted in such a way that marked so many aesthetic features. At first, it is clear that the sculptor did not base his work on what is natural or real; instead, this work was meant to be symbolic.Show MoreRelatedAncient Art With A Modern Twist1406 Words à |à 6 PagesThe Four Seasons Mosaic: Reinstallation - Ancient Art with a Modern Twist The Four Seasons were originally hung in four separate panels on the wall of the Mediterranean Court, where they remained until 1990. At this time, the Ancient Collection was being r reinstalled. which brought up questions aboutplacement of the mosaics, still in separate pieces. It was decided that in order to present the mosaics in a manner more in keeping with their original context, they needed to be removed from the wallRead MoreThe Importance of Art Essay655 Words à |à 3 PagesArt is a form of human expression. Art can be seen as the artist sleight of hand on his mood. Art is in various media from posters to public wall of which we call ââ¬Å"graffitiâ⬠. Art is elusive as the use of colors shapes and the surface used adds a new dimension. Art portrays various ideas, feelings such as triumph, love, happiness, sorrow and boredom in loss to mention a few. Art is beauty and creativity. During manââ¬â¢s evolution art has progressed over in its most primitive state up t o its most modernizedRead MoreEssay on Which Comes First: The Art or the Artist?1248 Words à |à 5 PagesComes First: The Art or the Artist? A Historical Perspective The approach of the year 2000 seems a good time to think about the way the role of art and the artist has changed through history, and how modern art is interpreted by a modern audience. Writing about modern art gives me the creeps. In other types of art, clear facts can be asserted with security, public reactions are clearly documented, skills can be appreciated, and art is clearly recognized as such. Modern art defys all of theseRead MorePaul Klee Biography Essay606 Words à |à 3 PagesPaul viewed music of the time as ââ¬Å"meaninglessâ⬠and stuck to the path of drawing and art. Paul Kleeââ¬â¢s artwork was heavily influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, futurism, cubism, and surrealism. Although widely known for his physically small, abstract artwork that resembled hieroglyphic puzzles, Klee will long be remembered for his writings that were extremely valuable to the world of modern art for years to come. In 1925 Klee created one of his most famous pieces of artworkRead MoreAnalysis Of Ruination And Drosscape 1341 Words à |à 6 PagesRuination is a recurring theme through the creative field; primarily in art, art theory and poetry. There is a grand human reaction to ruin that transcends this word into a conceptual state. It is a concept that artists have had an abiding interest in, which has in turn led the conception of the modern ruin. My uncoverage of this concept has been through a multitude of resources whilst researching for my own artistic practise. Art theorists and artists have thematically looked to ruin as an aid to understandRead MoreCurrent Art Vs Ancient Art1901 Words à |à 8 Pages Current Art Vs Ancient Art Introduction à Since time immemorial, art has always been a product of manââ¬â¢s emotional and intellectual connection with the world. The primary aim of art is to create a message that will either trigger an inexplicable consciousness within the spirits of its audience, or provoke wisdom among the minds of the curious persons. Owing to its deep-rooted role for man, art has long been explored in several manners, with some scholars pursuing the mere aspects of art, while someRead MoreComparison Between Art And Food993 Words à |à 4 PagesContrast: Art to Food The boundaries of art and food are being pushed each day. As boundaries are pushed, the line between food and art becomes smaller, almost non-existent. Existence is a construct made by man, just as the creations of food and art. In the twenty-first century, nothing is positive and everything is arbitrary. People are less worried with how everything looks, but more concerned with the emotional impact they receive. Art is food and food is art. Websterââ¬â¢s dictionary defines art as ââ¬Å"theRead MorePostmodernism : Modernism And Postmodernism1549 Words à |à 7 PagesModernism and Postmodernism To begin with, to determine the meaning of postmodernism is possible only through the relationship with modernism. Modernism in modern science is understood as a kind of cultural consciousness, which is implemented in the artistic practice of symbolism, expressionism and acmeism. In the socio-historical context, it means the period of modernism in the development of culture from the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century, that is, from Impressionism to a new novel andRead MoreThe Journey Of Postmodern Art1631 Words à |à 7 PagesThe Journey to Postmodern Art The field of visual art is extremely broad, therefore art historians have been attempting to categorize it based on style, time of creation, and subject matter for centuries. Much like any other sociological aspect of life, the culture and time period in which it was made has a great impact on the artist which directly influences their art. Though art is and always has been a way for someone to express themselves, limitations from certain parties took some of that experienceRead MoreAaron Douglas Crucifixion Essay1337 Words à |à 6 Pagesinformed by the work of exotic regions throughout the world, more specifically Africa. African Art would influence much of the Modern Movements from the latter part of the Nineteenth and the beginning of the Twentieth Centuries. Much is said of the artists within the Harlem Renaissance, and how it directly reflects the influence of Africana upon their art. Often times, this work is neglected to be considered Modern if not in specialized selections of course throughout many of todays higher institutions
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
School Uniforms Should Be Mandatory - 928 Words
School Uniforms should be required in school to help eliminate the amount of bulling, help increase unity, and lower the cost. In fact ââ¬Å"many schools have adopted school uniform policies as a solution to these problems(Forster 2). During the time I was in school I always thought uniforms would be terrible. I thought I will not be able to express my style, and the day would just be boring. Now that I have graduated I believe uniforms would be a great thing to have, and be enforced in schools. When we walk into schools today we look around and think, what are they wearing, or how are they able to get away with something that shows so much skin. Students in todays world have no self respect. Also there are students who are not as fortunate as others. If uniforms were enforced in all schools bullying would be cut back a lot. Students would not be picked on because their cloths are not in style. Like the article says ââ¬Å" Some schools, most of which are located in low-income neigh borhoods, have sought to improve discipline through dress-code policy or the adoption of school uniformsâ⬠(Happel). Also if there is a lot of gangs in that county students would not be able to identify who is in what gang. School shooting have became more of a issue within the past year. Uniforms would help students and staff be able to pick out intruders in the school. Being able to pick out intruders would help decrease the amount of violence going on. Unity is not something we see going on much inShow MoreRelatedMandatory School Uniforms Should Be Mandatory849 Words à |à 4 PagesMandatory School Uniforms ââ¬Å"Give me liberty or give me death!ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ The infamous words of Patrick Henry are the first to come to mind when one contemplates the fiery debate of whether uniforms should be mandated in schools. According to the New World Encyclopedia 2010, ââ¬Å"freedom of speech is the right to communicate oneââ¬â¢s opinion and ideas without the fear of government retaliation or censorship.â⬠Thus, the main argument against mandatory uniforms in schools is that they equate to government censorshipRead MoreShould School Uniforms Be Mandatory?1280 Words à |à 6 PagesThroughout my time in school I was consistently filled with anxiety over looking my best, and I am sure many other people (girls especially) felt this from middle school through high school. The solution is uniforms! In schools where uniforms are not mandatory, the stress of ââ¬Å"keeping up with the Jonesâ⬠can create a lot of differences and struggles for students. Having mandatory uniforms in schoo ls would create a safer and more welcoming environment for students, limit their stress, and lets themRead MoreSchool Uniforms Should Not Be Mandatory847 Words à |à 4 PagesSchool systems have debated for years if they should make school uniforms mandatory for all students. Some parents do not want school systems to mandate uniforms due to pressure from their children to be able to maintain their individuality through clothing, while other parents prefer uniforms to reduce spending money on name brand school clothes and to minimize associations with gangs. More school systems across the United States of America are going to uniforms from grades one through twelve whereRead MoreShould School Uniforms Be Mandatory?918 Words à |à 4 PagesShould schools have the right to make uniforms mandatory for their students? Some people donââ¬â¢t think so and they argue against the civil liberties that such a mandate would violate. While the opposing opposition thinks that school uniforms belong in the school system, in order to help reduce some of the issues students may face because of their clothes. Although school uniforms for students may have many negative effects, school uniforms may help with reducing the amount of distractions, thereforeRead MoreShould School Uniforms Be Mandatory?1561 Words à |à 7 PagesSecondary Schools should be Required to Wear Uniforms No matter what you dress students in, they will always find a way to pass judgement upon their peers, but it how to get children to realize itââ¬â¢s whats on the inside that matters not the outside. Yes, I believe it starts with the parents, but also itââ¬â¢s schools that need to teach the children as well. It s not based upon the style of clothes worn there are many other superficial ways to judge people and form cliques. School uniforms are one stepRead MoreShould School Uniforms Be Mandatory?1381 Words à |à 6 PagesStudents in Secondary Schools should be Required to Wear Uniforms No matter what you dress students in, they will always find a way to pass judgement upon their peers. If it s not based upon the style of clothes worn there are many other superficial ways to judge people and form cliques. School uniforms are one step that may help break the cycle of violence, truancy and disorder by helping young students understand what really counts is what kind of people they are, Clinton said (Bowen). ProponentsRead MoreShould School Uniforms be Mandatory? Essay1090 Words à |à 5 Pagesopinion of whether schools should require students to wear uniforms. Some schools go through the same argument annually of whether to enforce school uniforms the following school year. A number of people argue that uniforms take away from the studentsââ¬â¢ individuality, while other people concur that uniforms generate unity within the school. Even though many people disagree with school uniforms, countless reasons are evident that uniforms should be mandatory. School uniforms provide schools with many positiveRead MoreWhy School Uniforms Should Be Mandatory886 Words à |à 4 PagesFocus on Education Insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. Evenings spent laying out school clothes for grandchildren quickly teaches us just how insane the current expectations for school dress can be each day. Individuals will face this problem on a daily basis, which can lead to a stressful task. Mandatory school uniforms can benefit each family member in numinous ways. Lifting financial burdens for parents and the constant peer comparison for childrenRead MoreWhy School Uniforms Should Be Mandatory952 Words à |à 4 PagesInsanity, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. Evenings spent laying out school clothes for grandchildren quickly teaches us just how insane the current expectations for school dress can be each day. Individuals will face this problem on a daily basis, which can lead to a stressful task. Mandatory school uniforms can benefit each family member in numinous ways. Lifting financial burdens for parents and the constant peer comparison for children. It alsoRead MoreWhy School Uniforms Should Be Mandatory871 Words à |à 4 Pageslaying out school clothes for grandchildren quickly teaches just how insane the current expectations for school dress can be each day. Individuals face this problem on a daily basis, which can be a stressful task. Mandatory school uniforms can benefit each family member in numinous ways. Financial burdens for parents and constant peer comparison for children. It also allows students of differing backgrounds to be brought together to express themselves equally. One can clearly see that school uniforms
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Mining In Space AIAA And New York Academy Of Sciences On December 1 Essay Example For Students
Mining In Space AIAA And New York Academy Of Sciences On December 1 Essay MininginSpace AIAA and New York Academy of Sciences On December 10, 1986 the Greater New York Section of theAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) andthe engineering section of the New York Academy of Sciencesjointly presented a program on mining the planets. Speakers wereGreg Maryniak of the Space Studies Institute (SSI) and Dr.CarlPeterson of the Mining and Excavation Research Institute ofM. I.T.Maryniak spoke first and began by commenting that thequintessential predicament of space flight is that everythinglaunched from Earth must be accelerated to orbital velocity.Related to this is that the traditional way to create things inspace has been to manufacture them on Earth and then launch theminto orbit aboard large rockets. The difficulty with thisapproach is the huge cost-per-pound of boosting anything out ofthis planets gravity well. Furthermore, Maryniak noted, since(at least in the near to medium term) the space program mustdepend upon the government for most of its funding,for thiseconomic drawback necessarily translates intoapoliticalproblem.Maryniak continued by noting that the early settlers inNorth America did not attempt to transport across the Atlanticeverything then needed to sustain them in the New World.Ratherthey brought their tools with them and constructedtheirhabitats from local materials. Hence,he suggested that thesolution to the dilemma to which he referred required not somuch a shift in technology as a shift in thinking.Space,heargued, should be considered not as a vacuum, totally devoid ofeverything. Rather, it should be regarded as an ocean, that is,a hostile environment but one having resources.Among theresources of space, he suggested, are readily available solarpower and potential surface mines on the Moon and later othercelestial bodies as well. The Moon, Maryniak stated, contains many useful materials.Moreover, it is twenty-two times easier to accelerate a payloadto lunar escape velocity than it is to accelerate the identicalmass out of the EarthUs gravity well. As a practical matter theadvantage in terms of the energy required is even greaterbecause of the absence of a lunar atmosphere. Among other thingsthis permits the use of devices suchaselectromagneticaccelerators (mass drivers) to launch payloads from the MoonUssurface. Even raw Lunar soil is useful as shielding for spacestations and other space habitats.At present,he noted,exposure to radiation will prevent anyone for spending a totalof more than six months out of his or her entire lifetime on thespace station. At the other end of the scale, Lunar soil can beprocessed into its constituent materials. In between steps arealso of great interest. For example, the MoonUs soil is rich inoxygen, which makes up most of the mass of water and rocketpropellant. This oxygen could be RcookedS out of the Lunar soil.Since most of the mass of the equipment which would be necessaryto accomplish this would consist of relatively low technologyhardware, Maryniak suggested the possibility that at least inthe longer term theextractionplantitselfcouldbemanufactured largely on the Moon. Another possibility currentlybeing examined is the manufacture of glass from Lunar soil andusing it as construction material. The techniques involved,according to Maryniak, are crude but effective. (In answer to aquestion posed by a member of the audience after the formalpresentation, Maryniak stated that he believed the brittleproperties of glass could be overcome by using glass-glasscomposites. He also suggested yet another possibility, that ofusing Lunar soil as a basis of concrete.)One possible application of such Moon-made glass would bein glass-glass composite beams. Among other things, these couldbe employed as structural elements in a solar power satellite(SPS). While interest in the SPS has waned in this country,atleast temporarily, it is a major focus of attention in theU.S.S. R. , Western Europe and Japan. In particular, the Sovietshave stated that they will build an SPS by the year 2000(although they plan on using Earth launched materials. Similarlythe Japanese are conducting SPS related sounding rocket tests. Make prostitution Legal EssayThe shuttle cars,moreover, have to stay out of each others way. Furthermore, notonly are Earthbound mining machines too heavy to take intospace, they are rapidly becoming too heavy to take into mines onEarth.When humanity begins to colonize the Moon,Dr.Petersonasserted, it will eventually prove necessary to go below thesurface for the construction of habitats, even if the extractionof Lunar materials can be restrictedtosurfaceminingoperations. As a result, the same problems currently plaguingEarthbound mining will be encountered. This is where Earth andMoon mining can converge. Since Moon mining will start fromsquare one, Dr. Peterson implied, systems can be designed as awhole rather than piecemeal. By the same token, for the reasonsmentioned there is a need in the case of Earthbound miningmachinery to back up and look at systems as a whole.What isrequired, therefore, is a research program aimed at developingtechnology that will be useful on the Moonbutpendingdevelopment of Lunar mining operations can also be used downhere on Earth.In particular, the mining industry on Earth is inhibitedby overly complex equipment unsuited to todayUs opportunities inremote control and automation. It needs machines simple enoughto take advantage of tele-operation and automation. The sameneeds exist with respect to the Moon.Therefore the mininginstitute hopes to raise enough funds for sustained research inmining techniques useful both on Earth and on other celestialbodies as well. In this last connection, Dr. Peterson noted thatthe mining industry is subject to the same problem as theaerospace industry: Congress is reluctant to fund long rangeresearch. In addition, the mining industry has a problem of itsown in that because individual companies are highly competitiveresearch results are generally not shared.Dr.Peterson acknowledged,however,that there aredifferences between mining on Earth and miningonotherplanetary bodies.The most important is the onealreadymentioned-heavy equipment cannot be used in space. This willmean additional problems for space miners. Unlike space vacuum,rock does not provide a predictable environment.Furthermore,the constraint in mining is not energy requirements,but forcerequirements. Rock requires heavy forces to move. In otherwords, one reason earthbound mining equipment is heavy is thatit breaks. This brute force method, however, cannot be used inspace. Entirely aside from weight limitations,heavy forcescannot be generated on the Moon and especially on asteroids,because lower gravity means less traction. NASA has done someresearch on certain details of this problem, but there is a needfor fundamental thinking about how to avoid using big forces. One solution, although it would be limited to surfacemining, is the slusher-scoop. This device scoops up material ina bucket dragged across the surface by cables and a winch.Oneobvious advantage of this method is that it by passes lowgravity traction problems. Slushers are already in use here onEarth. According to Peterson, the device was invented by aperson named Pat Farell. Farell was, Peterson stated,a veryinnovative mining engineer partly because be did not attendcollege and therefore did not learn what couldnUt be done.Some possible alternatives to the use of big forces werediscussed during the question period that followed the formalpresentations. One was the so called laser cutter. This,Peterson indicated, is a potential solution if power problemscan be overcome.It does a good job and leaves behind avitrified tube in the rock.Another possibility is fusionpellets, which create shock waves by impact. On the other hand,nuclear charges are not practical.Aside from considerationsgenerated by treaties banning the presence of nuclear weapons inspace, they would throw material too far in a low gravityenvironment.
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Applied Managerial Economics SWOT Analysis Essay Example
Applied Managerial Economics: SWOT Analysis Essay There are many strengths that you could look when viewing a coming and how they would e able to move forward. There are three major strengths in which you should look at in which would include if the company is producing a product with a rather low elasticity of demand. In which would allow the company to be able to make fluctuations to the prices If It would be needed without there being any lost. Also another strength that should be recognized would be the company ability to function in an oligopoly in which has a significantly high barrier in which may limit the domestic competitors in which the company would not have to compete with and/or against. And the last thing that should be looked at when looking a company strengths would be If the company would be able to establish a long lasting relationships within the industry in which would include the suppliers, consumers, as well as transportation for the product to be ship etc. A well-established company established company Is able to generate capital In which could create a chance for economy of scales for the company. (Hill, 2014) There are three major weakness that a company should focus on in which the first one would be the loss of reputation for quality. Tugged in which is taking a major and/or big risk changing moving the company to south Korea in which would affect the cost of leadership. In which would be a down fall for corresponding to the quality In which could suffer a major lost and would potential led to a recall on several and millions of automobiles. M. U. S. E, 2014) Another weakness would be not being able to function in an oligopoly in which the company would not be able to fluctuate with pricing in which then would be limited for the company. Tugged has a relatively Inelastic of the products that they have ND the company prices will be dictated as well the company will be monitored by the competitors pricing for the company to be able t o compete and/or competitive. If Tugged prices was to increase and not be able to match the competitors pricing the organization would potential lost their market share. We will write a custom essay sample on Applied Managerial Economics: SWOT Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Applied Managerial Economics: SWOT Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Applied Managerial Economics: SWOT Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer And finally the weakness of a company would be uncertainty that a company Is able to rebuild the companys brand as well as grow a market share. In which would give the competition an 1 OFF advantage to De addle to Improve tenet company market snare In wanly would owe Owe o poor performance of a company as well as recall and any fines that the company may have occurred over the years in which they will continue to have to be able to grow the market share. It can only be estimated how long the process could possible take as well as the cost of what it would be for the company to consider a rebinding plan for the company. (Hill, 2014) Differentiation within the market place would be an opportunity, in which the market plan has many different ways for the company can be able to differentiate itself from the competition which includes the quality, ranging, as well as the customer service of the company. (Hagen, 2014) If Tugged is able to implement a successful differentiation plan it would be an opportunity for the company to be able to compete in an oligopoly market. There are many potential threats that would happen, one of the biggest proposed threat to the company is trying to regret the companys market brand as well as being able to correct the companys performance in the market place in which Tugged is currently trying to fix the problem. (Hill, 2014) There are many strengths and weakness as well as opportunity as well as proposed threats that many occur moving the company back to the United States or leaving the company in South Korea.
Monday, March 9, 2020
Reasons for a Revolution essays
Reasons for a Revolution essays With the famous rallying cry, No taxation without representation, many believe the American Revolutionary War was fought for strictly political reasons. However, the incentive for independence might have been the avoidance of the British regulation of colonial trade. The colonies were protected against foreign invasion by the British military. They received this protection with very little taxation compared to taxes in Great Britain. They engaged in homeland economic activities with very little interference from England. Basically, the only point they were asked to adhere to were the regulations concerning foreign trade. Now, Im not saying that the colonists werent justified in the revolt, only that their reasons differed from their rallying cries. The first change in taxation came with the Sugar Act of 1764. The act lowered tariff rates on non-British products from the West Indies, and the hope was to reduce smuggling in order to increase their tariff revenue. The problem the colonists had was not with the lowered tariffs, because that actually made it cheaper, but that it was taking their business away from them. The colonists were the smugglers. The British werent allowing them to conduct business the way they wanted, which was free from government meddling. They saw this interference as a form of theft. Simple boycotts of all English imports proved enough for the repeal of the Sugar, Stamp, and Townshend Acts, along with the non-renewal of the Quartering Act. Three year later, the British East India Company fell on hard times. In order to lift the financial burden, the English Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773. Many believe this was a hefty tax placed on a much loved beverage, but this is a common misconception. This act allowed the East India Company to ship tea directly to the Americas, where they once were required to go through Great Britain and typically a Colonial middle...
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Problem question in contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Problem question in contract law - Essay Example 14). The acceptance of an offer results in a valid contract. The offeree makes the acceptance in response to the offer made by the offeror. Acceptance must be unqualified, and unambiguous (Barry, 1992, p. 14). The offer made by the offeror to the offeree has to be accepted by the latter, if a binding contract is to ensue. The offeror has the choice of specifying the manner in which the offeree has communicate acceptance of the offer. This makes it incumbent upon the offeree to communicate acceptance without any deviation (Kelly, et al., 2011, p. 234). As such, in certain contracts, one of the parties promises to perform some action, if the other party does some specific act, even though the other party does not promise to perform that act. Such contracts are termed as unilateral contracts. As such, acceptance may be construed from conduct and there is no necessity for it to be communicated (Marson, 2010, p. 16). The readiness to accept offers or to enter into negotiations constitutes an invitation to treat. The main issues to be considered for solving the problem are: Whether there is a valid contract between Julia and Oââ¬â¢Brien. Whether the telephonic acceptance by Oââ¬â¢Brien concludes a contract between Parsons and Oââ¬â¢Brien. ... This enraged Julia, who left the shop. An offer must be unambiguous and can be express or implied. The display of goods in a shop does not constitute an offer. It is merely, an invitation to treat. The offer comes into being when the customer selects some goods and expresses his willingness to purchase them (Barry, 1992, p. 14). Thus, it is the customer who makes the offer, in such instances. In Fisher v Bell, it was held that the display of items with a price tag in shop windows was an invitation to treat (Young, 2010, p. 13). In Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company, the defendants were the producers of a medicinal product called the carbolic smoke ball. This company gave an advertisement in the local newspapers, wherein it promised a reward of ?100 to anyone who contacted influenza or any other disease resulting from catching a cold, after having used their product. It also prescribed the dosage of the carbolic ball to be used, in its advertisement. The company also declared that one ball would last a family for several months (O'Sullivan & Hilliard, 2010, p. 15). The plaintiff Mrs. Carlill bought a smoke ball duly believing the contents of the advertisement, and used the medicine as directed by the company. However, she was infected by influenza, despite using the smoke ball for the required period and in the prescribed manner (O'Sullivan & Hilliard, 2010, p. 16). The Court held that the newspaper advertisement, in this case constituted an offer. In addition, it was held in Grainger Son v Gough that the circulation of a catalogue by a seller of goods does not constitute an offer and that it was merely an invitation to treat. This reiterated in Fisher v Bell, wherein the display of goods in a shop window, was deemed an invitation to treat and not
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Banking and ICT's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Banking and ICT's - Essay Example Digital technology has greatly reduced the costs of compiling, processing, and distributing information. Information and communications technology (ICT) invigorates markets by enhancing the flow of information, not in creating certainty, but making information more symmetric. The rise of the Internet, for example, has increased transparency, improving the ability of all market participants to determine the available range of prices for financial instruments and financial services (Clemons and Hitt, 2000, 4). Indeed, information-driven disintermediation is not limited to the financial sector: "The flow of information turns client relationships into markets. This phenomenon is cropping up in fields as diverse as travel agencies, real estate and the auctioning of flowers in Amsterdam" (Anon., 1998). The new markets that hand information to consumers also tend to push down prices. This is a dangerous prospect for branded goods like banking products and services, which behave increasingly like commodities. Moreover, technology has continually lowered the transaction costs of direct financing, facilitating the emergence of new electronic markets, payments and settlement networks, and new market-based risk and wealth management systems. Disintermediation is accompanied by securitization. Large firms increasingly raise finance directly from the financial markets. Companies with secure cash flows create securities from (or "securitize") these "assets," the value of which is determined by the volume and reliability of the cash flows (Holland et al., 1998, 222). The securities are then sold publicly or privately to institutional investors. Securitization of assets disintermediates banks from their traditional role of lenders to the corporate sector. Financial deregulation and information technology have both contributed to the growing dominance of capital markets by facilitating access for new issuers and investors. Forces For Change Powerful forces for change are forging the future shape of the banking industry. These include demographic, technological, and regulatory factors. Undergirding these developments is the continuing closer integration of national economies and financial systems through the process known as Globalisation. Changing Customer Needs and Preferences Populations are aging rapidly, at least in the developed Western democracies. The prospect of rising aged-dependency ratios is focusing governments and individuals on alternative means of funding retirement incomes. "Pay-as-you-go" pension schemes, under which the younger (working) generation funds the retirement incomes of the older (retired) generation, are not viable when the aged-dependency ratio rises beyond certain limits. Governments are responding by inducing individuals to make greater provision for their own incomes in retirement, restricting the availability of publicly funded pensions to the genuinely indigent.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
High Staff Turnover in Hotel Industry
High Staff Turnover in Hotel Industry Hotels, catering and leisure industry in the UK remains the sector with the highest level of staff turnover, with all leavers in this category hitting 41%, according to a survey carried out by the CIPD (2008). Many organisations are badly affected by high levels of staff turnover and the survey identified that 74% of organisations in the UK, reported a negative impact on their business performance. This report also identified four main reasons that cause labour turnover. They are, change of career (55%), promotions outside of the company (45%), level of pay (41%) and lack of career development (33%). Employee dissatisfaction caused by poor relationships with supervisors and line managers, undesirable working conditions and lack of career development and training opportunities are also seen as major factors that cause high staff turnover ( Griffeth, Hom and Gaertner 2000). As mentioned in an article published by the Adecco Institute (2008) skills shortage in the jobs market is seen as a major human resources challenge for the future and this is particularly true of the hospitality and leisure industry in the UK, as it has suffered from constant recruitment difficulties over the past so many years. Age positive carried out a survey in the year 2005 and according to the results of the survey nearly 40% of all vacancies in the hospitality industry were hard to fill and much of the problem has been caused by poor retention strategies implemented by organisations. Another factor identified by the survey with regard to why so many vacancies were hard to fill is the lack of necessary ski lls and abilities by potential applicants who apply for jobs in the hotel and hospitality industry. A similar percentage of employers who participated in the survey stated that applicants lack excellent communication skills required, and this is particularly true of receptionists, managers and administrators and this has created immense pressure on HR executives and managers to attract, manage and retain key talent within their organisation which is an essential factor in creating sustainable competitive advantage. The results and information unearthed from these surveys make it crystal clear that high levels of staff turnover is a major problem to all organisations and the HR department of an organisation has a key responsibility of closely monitor labour turnover levels and figures and make right steps in order to bring staff turnover to a manageable level and face the future with resistance. High levels of staff turnover in an organisation may compromise the quality and high standards of customer service, and may impact on the organisation loosing loyal customers, revenue and long term sustainability (Tracy and Hinkin, 2008). Once the well established staff leave a company it may not only increase the workload of the remaining staff members of the company, but would be difficult for the organisation to gain the same highest levels of service from the newly hired staff as they would still be in a period of learning their job, and other key tasks and responsibilities associated with the job. Furthermore when employees leave on a regular basis it creates extra workloads for the remaining staff and as a result they could become depressed with work and not be able to deliver their best performance on the job. This may further exacerbate the problem and may also result in staff getting absent from work regularly and their good health deteriorate. The article of Tracy and Hinkin (2008) also states financial implications for organisations as a result of high levels of staff turnover. The costs associated with replacing staff can be sorted into hard costs, soft costs, and opportunity costs. Hard costs are costs such as money spent on newspaper advertisements, adverts on recruitment agencies etc, and they have a direct impact on the organisation. Other elements such as the time it takes to interview new recruits, and time spent on exit interviews will not be shown in company account statements as they are regarded as soft costs. Opportunity costs such as missed customers and market shares, usually go unmeasured but can still be substantial and may also lower company profitability and competitor advantage of the organisation ( Simons and Hinkin 2001 cited Tracy.J and Hinkin.T, 2008). The following five are identified as major costs categories that contribute towards the total costs of replacing an employee. They are pre-departure, recruitment, selection, orientation and training, and lost productivity (Hinkin and Tracy 2007, 2006, cited Tracy.J and Hinkin.T,2008). The already high staff turnover rates in the hotel industry also reflects high turnover of newly selected staff who leave the company within their first 30 days because the job did not suit them (Woods,1997:141). Does this mean possible issues with the prevailing recruitment and selection methods adopted by the hospitality sector organisations? According to the article by Tracy.J and Hinkin.T, only a few turnover studies have been so far carried out in the hotel and hospitality sector, despite reporting high levels of turnover every year. Therefore my literature review aims to conduct a much broader view of this issue by critically examining the current procedures and practices carried out by the High Beech Hotel UK and some of the other local selected competitor hotels, which may be associated with employee turnover. By doing so this study aims to understand the root causes of high levels of employee turnover of High Beech Hotel and propose solutions and recommendations to overcome those issues. This research benefits High Beech Hotel in terms of minimising the unnecessary costs that may occur due to advertising, interviewing, training of new staff as well as improving the overall standard of the hotel. High Beech Hotel is a three start hotel located in beautiful Hastings area and is faced with stiff competition with many three to four star hotels operating in the area such as, The White Rock Hotel, Travelodge Hastings, The Hotel Undum and the Chatsworth Hotel. The High Beech Hotel is therefore fighting to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage and grow its market share. The opinions of the General Manager, Operations Manager and the HR manager prove that jobs in the industry are difficult in the area and finding the right talent for the right job and the retention of quality staff are major HR challenges currently faced by the hotel. The general manager of the hotel is new to her post and has already expressed concerns about the high staff turnover. Turnover is high among front line staff, waiters and porters and the management has had few discussions to find the reasons why staff left, and find out ways to resolve the problem. I having worked at the hotel as an HR executive (placement student) managed to gain a good understanding of the high turnover and the possible effects the turnover levels have had on the existing staff. Literature review Labour turnover is the rate at which staff leaves an organisation and are replaced by new employees. Too high a labour turnover rate may mean that there is something unsatisfactory about working for the organisation and that action therefore would need to be taken (Adams et al, 1993) Denver and McMahon (1992:143) defined labour turnover as the movement of people into and out of employment within an organisation and can both be voluntary and involuntary. Eade (1993) further categorises turnover into management controllable and unavoidable turnover. Labour turnover index is used to measure staff turnover and according to Armstrong (2001) labour turnover rates provide a valuable means to benchmarking the effectiveness of HR policies and practices in organisations. The hotel industry is essentially comprised of both a production and a service aspect and the creation and rendering of services from the hotel to the customer are mainly achieved through employees. Therefore the industry is essentially represented by people (Lewis 1989; Thompson and Abbott, 1990; Schneider , 1993) and is considered as one of the most labour intensive industries. Turnover in the hotel industry in the UK has been shown to be unacceptably high (Kennedy and Berger, 1994), averaging as much as 200% to 300% per year. Statistically this means that the entire workforce of the industry turns over two to three times per year. The main factors identified, that could impact on turnover are, orientation and good socialisation procedures (Kennedy and Berger 1994, Woods, 1992), ad-hoc recruitment and selection (Benn and Farbringer, 1992, Woods and Macaulay, 1989; Wagner, 1991; Wheelhouse, 1989), discrimination at the workplace (Antolik,1993), lack of training and development oppor tunities (Hogan, 1992; rowden,1995), organisation culture (Woods and Macaulay, 1998) shortage of skills in the labour market (Debrah, 1994; Woods, 1992), high levels of work related stress ( Vallen,1993;Woods, 1992; Ham and Griffeth, 1995), seasonal nature of the industry ( Boella, 1998) and job dissatisfaction ( Bonn and Frbringer, 1992). All of these factors have contributed towards high levels of staff turnover in the hotel industry and it is clear that the success of the industry depends upon taking necessary steps to reduce the above mentioned issues, and problems, and the calibre of employees, and how well they are managed (Nankervis and Debroh, 1995; Berger and Ghel, 1995). Deery and Iverson, (1996) commented that high degree of staff turnover levels consist of recruitment and replacement costs, and regular and loyal customers switching to other competitor hotels as they expect to see their favourite staff members. It is clear labour costs play a major part in the industry and high staff turnover is seen as a prime issue hampering the smooth functioning of hotel and organisations within the hospitality industry (Obrien and McDonnell 2003). Deery and Iverson (1996) examined the employee turnover phenomenal and found that high turnover resulted in organisations loosing revenue and profits. They also argued that high turnover, especially when skilled staff leave, contributes to lowering the employee morale and the overall ability of teams within the organisations to get quality work done. Therefore the retention of skilled and well trained staff in any hospitality organisation is important to save unnecessary tangible and intangible costs as well as retaining regular and loyal customers and to provide them with a quality service. It is clear from the arguments put forward by the above mentioned authors and scholars but Despite an array of academic evidence and research on labour turnover the question to be asked is do management of hospitality sector organisations understand the gravity of the issue of staff turnover, and its negative effects on the performance of the organisation and how far they are willing to go to retain the valuable staff. At a time of difficult economic times it is imperative and organisation takes measures to outperform its competitors and any hospitality sector organisation that understands the value of human capital and adopt good HRM policies and management practices in pursuit of employee retention will inevitably outperform the competition (Cho et al., 2006, Hinkin and Tracy, 2000). Staff leaving on a regular basis involves heavy administration costs and a loss of productivity through the breaking up of teams who are used to working together (Denvir and McMohan, 1992:144). Therefore the critical importance of employees staying with an organisation is evident (Brayfield and Crockett, 1995; Cho et al, 2006). It is clear that satisfied and highly motivated employees stay with the organisation which in turn helps the company to reduce unnecessary recruitment and selection costs which could amount to a substantial amount of money, but also produce high quality work which helps the organisation to achieve competitive advantage and increase its profits (Cho et al., 2006; Hinkin and Tracey, 2000). Exit interviews are a great method of collecting information as to why employees leave an organisation. Employees leave for various reasons ranging from lack of employee oriented organisational measures such as succession planning, pay , non-financial rewards, work life balance and undesirable working conditions as well as more personal reasons such as inability to look after their children, other child welfare issues and transport problems. This can also vary depending on how long they have worked for the company and it is a common factor as evident from the High Beech Hotel, and that staff leaves because they soon found out that the job did not suit them. Some other staff members leave after serving the organisation after serving a considerable amount of time and their issues could very well be different to people leaving early. According to the CIPD (2007) costs an organisation approximately à £3500 pounds every time an employee leaves and as stated earlier these costs include bo th tangible costs and intangible costs such as time spent on interviewing new recruits and these often go unreported in company accounts. Denver and McMahon (1992:146) also found out that individual hotel organisations experience different levels of turnover, which helps to confirm that staff turnover is partly within the control of the hotel management. This also contradicts with the common acceptance that staff turnover is high and uniform throughout the industry and uncontrollable. Therefore it is evident that high levels of staff turnover is harmful to the smooth functioning of any organisation, may it be in the hospitality sector or some other sector and hinders the efficient operation of the business resulting in the hotel gradually losing its market share. Therefore it is important that the hospitality sector organisations develop effective and vibrant HRM policies that enable them to successfully recruit, select and retain skilled and efficient employees, who would contribute towards the achievement of the corporate objectives of the business. Factors influence on high Labour Turnover. The hotel industry in the UK is constantly troubled with high staff turnover resulting in increased personnel costs arise from recruitment and selection of new staff, training them (Ham and Griffeth, 1995). There is a strong negative relationship between turnover and organisational commitment which indicates that staff with low levels of commitment and loyalty are more likely to withdraw from the organisation than more committed staff (Johnston et, 1993). He also identified a positive relationship between organisational commitment and career progression opportunities given to employees through internal promotions and succession planning. These employees who are given opportunities to progress up the ladder, exhibit higher levels of organisational commitment, and loyalty and results in skilled staff retention and a gradual decline of low performing employees. This makes it much easier for HR managers to successfully identify low performing employees and eliminate them from the work fo rce which is important and a good for the success of the company as this turnover is considered healthy. Another key factor which may influence staff turnover is the gender difference and certain problems it creates within the organisation. Female workers have different responsibilities to their male counterparts and may value work life balance more as a result. The pressures of work and life, has resulted in more female workers leaving their jobs than male workers (Doherty and Manfredi, 2006:62). In most hotels it can be seen female workers working in the bottom of the organisation hierarchy and the pay gap between males and female workers has been a much talked about issue in the UK. Iverson (2000) conducted a study in the USA involving hotel establishments and found that female managers earn much less than the male managers doing the same job which is commonly seen in the UK and this has resulted in, female workers being reluctant to return to work after their maternity leave. On top of this, most organisations have failed to assist their female workers to arrange necessary child car e arrangements which have aggravated the number of female workers leaving their job. As per above authors the reluctance of female workers to return to work may also be caused by factors such as stress, work dissatisfaction, lack of commitment and low promotion opportunities coupled with a poor organisation culture that does not provide a platform to encourage female workers to move up the career ladder. Therefore the problems and issues female workers face in the workplace is clear and applicable in hospitality sector organisations, and it is very important the HR department address these issues and understand why many female workers leave their jobs early. Organisation culture, average age of the total labour force of the organisation, gender and racial composition and male-female pay gaps are among the reasons why employees leave (Bennett et al, 1993). Prospective employees when joining an organisation look into a number of factors such as career development opportunities, total reward policy and work life balance. Lack of incentives is therefore a main reason why many employees leave their jobs after some time. Incentives include both financial and nonfinancial and employees may simply want praise for their good work and lack of recognition could seriously hamper employee retention. Ritz Carlton hotel in London, has managed to reduce employee turnover to a significant level by focusing on quality recruitment, providing better training and development opportunities and by forming a positive psychological contract with the employees, and also by creating long term incentive and reward systems ( Barky, 1996). Therefore it is fair to assume that to a large extent organisation HRM practices, policies and procedures determine staff turnover. Organisation policies and lack of employee oriented practices and procedures may not only be the sole reason why many organisations particularly in the hospitality industry experience high level of staff turnover. Another factor that affects turnover is the ability of staff to carry out their tasks and responsibilities up to the required standard and the job performance of employees largely affects staff turnover and this is also confirmed by a study conducted by Jewell and Siegal (1990). They found that employees having very high levels of on-the-job performance are highly unlikely to leave their job in contrast with employees with low levels of performance. High performing employees are confident in their job and have better work related knowledge and skills. Low pay, lack of training and career development opportunities, lack of regular and realistic performance appraisals and undesired work environments are among the key reasons that cause low performance which in-turn result in high staff turnover. Therefore it is clear HR professionals in hotel establishments must pay very close attention to developing employee oriented HRM policies and practices that help staff achieve their full potent ial. To name a few these HR policies and practices are training and development opportunities open management communication systems, employee welfare such as child care, flexible working, transport assistant to employees and a comprehensive induction programme that helps new recruits to adopt well to their new roles. When analysing the hospitality and hotel industry in particular it has been found that most organisations have a poor reputation for providing good staff training and development opportunities (Maxwell et al, 2004). High staff turnover in most hospitality sector industries may have also led managers to be reluctant to providing staff with opportunities to further develop their careers fearing they may leave after that ( Davies et al, 2001, Jameson, 2000: Lowey et al, 2002). High staff turnover also causes managers to be occupied with recruitment and selection activity as well as grievance issues, and this may also be a reason for them not to have sufficient time to focus on staff development and talent management. Training and development and staff retention has a close match as poorly trained staff are less satisfied with work and may leave quicker and more than fully trained and highly satisfied staff. Therefore training and development directly affects job satisfaction and organis ational commitment (Lam and Zhang, 2003, Taylor et al, 2001, Lowry et al, 2002). Working hours is another key factor that causes employees to leave and most hospitality sector organisations, because of high staff turnover may require remaining staff to work extra hours on a regular basis. Long working hours without breaks are against the working time regulations as well as current health and safety rules and Female workers are largely affected by this practice because of their family commitments and a research conducted by Erdogan (1996:26) revealed long working hours are among the main reasons for many female workers to quit their jobs. There has also been an increase of single parent families and long hours and unsocial working hours have forced females to leave their jobs. This not only creates staff to leave but unfriendly working hours coupled with a poor corporate and work culture and a hostile working environment of the organisation , may affect the job satisfaction of female workers and even if they remain with the job their work could be highly unproduct ive and suffer from work related stress. Despite the fact that many researchers and academics stressing the importance of a good organisation work environment that provides employees oriented HR measures to achieve these goals and objectives many organisations still suffer from high levels of staff turnover and female staff turnover as evident from research findings. All of the above stated factors and elements contribute to employee dissatisfaction and it is a result of various internal and external factors that were mentioned above. Labour turnover of High Beech Hotel High Beech Hotel had a newly appointed general manager and she has been investigating the reasons for the high staff turnover levels of the hotel over the past three years and has had several discussions with the operations manager and the HR manager of the company. Unfortunately no proper investigation has not been done so far to find out the possible causes of staff turnover but the management in consultation with the company HR records and turnover figures has assumed the reasons as job dissatisfaction, long and unfriendly working hours, pay issues, lack of training and development opportunities for staff, issues with working condition and other personal issues of staff such as work life balance. Importance of HR practices and concepts in relation to staff retention and turnover HRM plays a vital part in creating a sustainable competitive advantage for any organisation, and forward looking organisations adopt good HR policies and practices to ensure the smooth functioning of the organisation (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Stewart, 1997; Verma and Dewe, 2008). Research studies have confirmed that well defined organisational goals and corporate objectives directly influence employee retention and productivity. Kim et al, (2005) in their study on corporate orientation found that organisational direction and support had a significant impact on employee job satisfaction and overall commitment. ORGANISATIONAL INITIATIVES The organisational HR initiatives as mentioned above, illustrate how internal factors and forces contribute towards employee retention. The model does not mention about external forces such as local and national competition in the labour market, economic situation, globalisation and international competition which affects attracting skilled employees to various jobs. It can be seen that this model covers the internal factors and reasons that affect staff retention or turnover and it is critically important for an organisation and HR professionals to pay close attention to the factors mentioned under the model to critically assess where they stand as an organisation and take steps to implement those HR practices and policies to retain talented staff ( Horwitz et al, 2003; Steel et al, 2002). These internal HR policies and practices are bundled under the term retention management and it is defined as the ability to hold onto those employees an organisation would want to keep, for longe r than the competitors (Johnson,2000 cited De Vos and Meganck,2007). The external factors should not be neglected at the same time because there may be times employees may leave an organisation due to their influences. The impact of financial and non-financial rewards cannot be undermined and play a critical role in motivating skilled and valued employees and retaining them within the organisation. Financial rewards such as a good basic pay combined with performance related pay and non-financial rewards such as training and development opportunities, initiatives to achieve work life balance for staff and other employee retention initiatives such as a pensions scheme and internal promotions motivate staff and force them to think again before quitting their jobs (Horwitz et al,2003;De Vos and Meganck, 2007). When analysing the theories and ides put forward by the above mentioned academics and scholars it is evident they focused on retaining highly skilled employees and researched to find out the possible reasons why valued employees leave organisations. This is being described as retention management and the word retention embraces with other HR practices such as recruitment and selection, development of employees to achieve their full potential and succession management (Lewis and Heckmanp 2006:140). HR Practices and the importance of Human Psychology HRM involves all management decision and practices that directly affects other people, or human resources, who work for the organisation. The question that arises is that despite the fact that many organisations including the hospitality and hotel industry, implement all accepted HR practices and procedures, why employees still leave and the staff turnover rates are extremely high. A good understanding of the implications of human psychology would help HR managers to find the root causes to this problem. Psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced his concept of hierarchy of needs in 1943 which suggests that people are motivated to fulfil their basic human needs before moving on to other needs. The hierarchy of needs is displayed as a pyramid and the lowest level of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the more complex needs are at the top. The needs located at the bottom are the most basic human needs and as people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Therefore when it comes to employees staying or leaving a particular organisation which stage the employee is in could play a vital role in his or her decision making process. At the core this theory of Maslow suggests that when an individual satisfies one set of needs they always try to move into the other level. This makes it critically important for HR professionals in the hospitality organisations how this theory of Maslow affects individual employees and how it influences an individuals decision about him staying or leaving the organisation. When an individual joins an organisation the first concern is to organise his life in-terms of food shelter and other essential psychological needs through wages and salary. The next concern would be job security and personal health and safety in the job. Once those needs are satisfied the employee would move in to the other set of needs which are social needs such as friendly colleagues and staff as well as a desirable working environment. After this comes the next stage which is satisfying the esteem needs which is comprised of individual being recognised for his work and valued by the management of the organisation as well as taking full advantage of any courses and exams they could take to get promoted. Once this set of needs are fully satisfied t he employee reaches the stage of self actualisation. Therefore to satisfy the individual employee needs the HR executives working in hospitality sector organisations must understand the needs of employees and aim to provide tailor made HR solutions in line with the corporate strategy of the company. In order to accomplish this, the HR managers must have accurate methods and procedures to understand which stage the employee is in his hierarchy of needs because if this is not done or if the right methods and procedures are not in place there will inevitably be a contradiction. For an example the HR managers may direct their full efforts into satisfying the esteem needs of employees through individual recognition and internal promotions at work when the employees are seeking safety needs. This would result in a waste of company resources and employees considering leaving the organisation. Individuals decision making process An individuals decision making process is comprised of a number of internal and external variables as shown below and the final decision makes by an individual employee is made up of a collection of those internal and external variables. This model is highly useful in understanding an employees decision making in an organisation (Kotler, 2000, p98). As seen the model is comprised of five main stages which an individual may go through before coming into a decision. They are, * Problem recognition * Information search * Evaluation of alternatives * Decision to leave or stay * Post- purchase evaluation Therefore the first stage is problem recognition and that is recognising there is a problem or issue to be answered by the employee. The problem arose can be triggered by internal influences, external influences or both. Once the main problem or problems are recognised by the employee he then moves into the next stage which is information search. For an example if the initial problem recognised by the employee is concerned with training and development opportunities offered by the organisation then through information search he would try to gather as much information as possible through various external and internal sources about what actions and steps he could take in order to gain the desired level of training. The next stage once sufficient information is gathered is the evaluation of alternatives. As per with training and development, the employee in this stage will go through various possible courses to be taken and evaluate the appropriateness of those courses to his job and what help he could get from the organisation in order to take the course. The next stage of the process is the final decision of the employee to stay with the organisation or to leave. This is called the purchase decision and according to Kotler (2000, p 99) two factors can intervene between the purchase intention and purchase decision. The first factor is the attitudes of other people, which is what the others around think of the individuals decision. Influence of other people can become complex and varied when there are more than one persons involved. The second factor Kotler (2000,p 99) mentions is the unanticipated or unexpected situations and as per the above example of training and development, factors such as the recession and cost cutting measures by the organisation could hamper the employees aspiration of embarking on the course. The final stage of the decision making process is the post purchase evaluation which involves the employee evaluating the positives and negatives of the decision taken, and the possible consequences of it. This concept has a high degree of importance to HR even though it is widely used in marketing and regarded more as a marketing related concep High Staff Turnover in Hotel Industry High Staff Turnover in Hotel Industry Hotels, catering and leisure industry in the UK remains the sector with the highest level of staff turnover, with all leavers in this category hitting 41%, according to a survey carried out by the CIPD (2008). Many organisations are badly affected by high levels of staff turnover and the survey identified that 74% of organisations in the UK, reported a negative impact on their business performance. This report also identified four main reasons that cause labour turnover. They are, change of career (55%), promotions outside of the company (45%), level of pay (41%) and lack of career development (33%). Employee dissatisfaction caused by poor relationships with supervisors and line managers, undesirable working conditions and lack of career development and training opportunities are also seen as major factors that cause high staff turnover ( Griffeth, Hom and Gaertner 2000). As mentioned in an article published by the Adecco Institute (2008) skills shortage in the jobs market is seen as a major human resources challenge for the future and this is particularly true of the hospitality and leisure industry in the UK, as it has suffered from constant recruitment difficulties over the past so many years. Age positive carried out a survey in the year 2005 and according to the results of the survey nearly 40% of all vacancies in the hospitality industry were hard to fill and much of the problem has been caused by poor retention strategies implemented by organisations. Another factor identified by the survey with regard to why so many vacancies were hard to fill is the lack of necessary ski lls and abilities by potential applicants who apply for jobs in the hotel and hospitality industry. A similar percentage of employers who participated in the survey stated that applicants lack excellent communication skills required, and this is particularly true of receptionists, managers and administrators and this has created immense pressure on HR executives and managers to attract, manage and retain key talent within their organisation which is an essential factor in creating sustainable competitive advantage. The results and information unearthed from these surveys make it crystal clear that high levels of staff turnover is a major problem to all organisations and the HR department of an organisation has a key responsibility of closely monitor labour turnover levels and figures and make right steps in order to bring staff turnover to a manageable level and face the future with resistance. High levels of staff turnover in an organisation may compromise the quality and high standards of customer service, and may impact on the organisation loosing loyal customers, revenue and long term sustainability (Tracy and Hinkin, 2008). Once the well established staff leave a company it may not only increase the workload of the remaining staff members of the company, but would be difficult for the organisation to gain the same highest levels of service from the newly hired staff as they would still be in a period of learning their job, and other key tasks and responsibilities associated with the job. Furthermore when employees leave on a regular basis it creates extra workloads for the remaining staff and as a result they could become depressed with work and not be able to deliver their best performance on the job. This may further exacerbate the problem and may also result in staff getting absent from work regularly and their good health deteriorate. The article of Tracy and Hinkin (2008) also states financial implications for organisations as a result of high levels of staff turnover. The costs associated with replacing staff can be sorted into hard costs, soft costs, and opportunity costs. Hard costs are costs such as money spent on newspaper advertisements, adverts on recruitment agencies etc, and they have a direct impact on the organisation. Other elements such as the time it takes to interview new recruits, and time spent on exit interviews will not be shown in company account statements as they are regarded as soft costs. Opportunity costs such as missed customers and market shares, usually go unmeasured but can still be substantial and may also lower company profitability and competitor advantage of the organisation ( Simons and Hinkin 2001 cited Tracy.J and Hinkin.T, 2008). The following five are identified as major costs categories that contribute towards the total costs of replacing an employee. They are pre-departure, recruitment, selection, orientation and training, and lost productivity (Hinkin and Tracy 2007, 2006, cited Tracy.J and Hinkin.T,2008). The already high staff turnover rates in the hotel industry also reflects high turnover of newly selected staff who leave the company within their first 30 days because the job did not suit them (Woods,1997:141). Does this mean possible issues with the prevailing recruitment and selection methods adopted by the hospitality sector organisations? According to the article by Tracy.J and Hinkin.T, only a few turnover studies have been so far carried out in the hotel and hospitality sector, despite reporting high levels of turnover every year. Therefore my literature review aims to conduct a much broader view of this issue by critically examining the current procedures and practices carried out by the High Beech Hotel UK and some of the other local selected competitor hotels, which may be associated with employee turnover. By doing so this study aims to understand the root causes of high levels of employee turnover of High Beech Hotel and propose solutions and recommendations to overcome those issues. This research benefits High Beech Hotel in terms of minimising the unnecessary costs that may occur due to advertising, interviewing, training of new staff as well as improving the overall standard of the hotel. High Beech Hotel is a three start hotel located in beautiful Hastings area and is faced with stiff competition with many three to four star hotels operating in the area such as, The White Rock Hotel, Travelodge Hastings, The Hotel Undum and the Chatsworth Hotel. The High Beech Hotel is therefore fighting to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage and grow its market share. The opinions of the General Manager, Operations Manager and the HR manager prove that jobs in the industry are difficult in the area and finding the right talent for the right job and the retention of quality staff are major HR challenges currently faced by the hotel. The general manager of the hotel is new to her post and has already expressed concerns about the high staff turnover. Turnover is high among front line staff, waiters and porters and the management has had few discussions to find the reasons why staff left, and find out ways to resolve the problem. I having worked at the hotel as an HR executive (placement student) managed to gain a good understanding of the high turnover and the possible effects the turnover levels have had on the existing staff. Literature review Labour turnover is the rate at which staff leaves an organisation and are replaced by new employees. Too high a labour turnover rate may mean that there is something unsatisfactory about working for the organisation and that action therefore would need to be taken (Adams et al, 1993) Denver and McMahon (1992:143) defined labour turnover as the movement of people into and out of employment within an organisation and can both be voluntary and involuntary. Eade (1993) further categorises turnover into management controllable and unavoidable turnover. Labour turnover index is used to measure staff turnover and according to Armstrong (2001) labour turnover rates provide a valuable means to benchmarking the effectiveness of HR policies and practices in organisations. The hotel industry is essentially comprised of both a production and a service aspect and the creation and rendering of services from the hotel to the customer are mainly achieved through employees. Therefore the industry is essentially represented by people (Lewis 1989; Thompson and Abbott, 1990; Schneider , 1993) and is considered as one of the most labour intensive industries. Turnover in the hotel industry in the UK has been shown to be unacceptably high (Kennedy and Berger, 1994), averaging as much as 200% to 300% per year. Statistically this means that the entire workforce of the industry turns over two to three times per year. The main factors identified, that could impact on turnover are, orientation and good socialisation procedures (Kennedy and Berger 1994, Woods, 1992), ad-hoc recruitment and selection (Benn and Farbringer, 1992, Woods and Macaulay, 1989; Wagner, 1991; Wheelhouse, 1989), discrimination at the workplace (Antolik,1993), lack of training and development oppor tunities (Hogan, 1992; rowden,1995), organisation culture (Woods and Macaulay, 1998) shortage of skills in the labour market (Debrah, 1994; Woods, 1992), high levels of work related stress ( Vallen,1993;Woods, 1992; Ham and Griffeth, 1995), seasonal nature of the industry ( Boella, 1998) and job dissatisfaction ( Bonn and Frbringer, 1992). All of these factors have contributed towards high levels of staff turnover in the hotel industry and it is clear that the success of the industry depends upon taking necessary steps to reduce the above mentioned issues, and problems, and the calibre of employees, and how well they are managed (Nankervis and Debroh, 1995; Berger and Ghel, 1995). Deery and Iverson, (1996) commented that high degree of staff turnover levels consist of recruitment and replacement costs, and regular and loyal customers switching to other competitor hotels as they expect to see their favourite staff members. It is clear labour costs play a major part in the industry and high staff turnover is seen as a prime issue hampering the smooth functioning of hotel and organisations within the hospitality industry (Obrien and McDonnell 2003). Deery and Iverson (1996) examined the employee turnover phenomenal and found that high turnover resulted in organisations loosing revenue and profits. They also argued that high turnover, especially when skilled staff leave, contributes to lowering the employee morale and the overall ability of teams within the organisations to get quality work done. Therefore the retention of skilled and well trained staff in any hospitality organisation is important to save unnecessary tangible and intangible costs as well as retaining regular and loyal customers and to provide them with a quality service. It is clear from the arguments put forward by the above mentioned authors and scholars but Despite an array of academic evidence and research on labour turnover the question to be asked is do management of hospitality sector organisations understand the gravity of the issue of staff turnover, and its negative effects on the performance of the organisation and how far they are willing to go to retain the valuable staff. At a time of difficult economic times it is imperative and organisation takes measures to outperform its competitors and any hospitality sector organisation that understands the value of human capital and adopt good HRM policies and management practices in pursuit of employee retention will inevitably outperform the competition (Cho et al., 2006, Hinkin and Tracy, 2000). Staff leaving on a regular basis involves heavy administration costs and a loss of productivity through the breaking up of teams who are used to working together (Denvir and McMohan, 1992:144). Therefore the critical importance of employees staying with an organisation is evident (Brayfield and Crockett, 1995; Cho et al, 2006). It is clear that satisfied and highly motivated employees stay with the organisation which in turn helps the company to reduce unnecessary recruitment and selection costs which could amount to a substantial amount of money, but also produce high quality work which helps the organisation to achieve competitive advantage and increase its profits (Cho et al., 2006; Hinkin and Tracey, 2000). Exit interviews are a great method of collecting information as to why employees leave an organisation. Employees leave for various reasons ranging from lack of employee oriented organisational measures such as succession planning, pay , non-financial rewards, work life balance and undesirable working conditions as well as more personal reasons such as inability to look after their children, other child welfare issues and transport problems. This can also vary depending on how long they have worked for the company and it is a common factor as evident from the High Beech Hotel, and that staff leaves because they soon found out that the job did not suit them. Some other staff members leave after serving the organisation after serving a considerable amount of time and their issues could very well be different to people leaving early. According to the CIPD (2007) costs an organisation approximately à £3500 pounds every time an employee leaves and as stated earlier these costs include bo th tangible costs and intangible costs such as time spent on interviewing new recruits and these often go unreported in company accounts. Denver and McMahon (1992:146) also found out that individual hotel organisations experience different levels of turnover, which helps to confirm that staff turnover is partly within the control of the hotel management. This also contradicts with the common acceptance that staff turnover is high and uniform throughout the industry and uncontrollable. Therefore it is evident that high levels of staff turnover is harmful to the smooth functioning of any organisation, may it be in the hospitality sector or some other sector and hinders the efficient operation of the business resulting in the hotel gradually losing its market share. Therefore it is important that the hospitality sector organisations develop effective and vibrant HRM policies that enable them to successfully recruit, select and retain skilled and efficient employees, who would contribute towards the achievement of the corporate objectives of the business. Factors influence on high Labour Turnover. The hotel industry in the UK is constantly troubled with high staff turnover resulting in increased personnel costs arise from recruitment and selection of new staff, training them (Ham and Griffeth, 1995). There is a strong negative relationship between turnover and organisational commitment which indicates that staff with low levels of commitment and loyalty are more likely to withdraw from the organisation than more committed staff (Johnston et, 1993). He also identified a positive relationship between organisational commitment and career progression opportunities given to employees through internal promotions and succession planning. These employees who are given opportunities to progress up the ladder, exhibit higher levels of organisational commitment, and loyalty and results in skilled staff retention and a gradual decline of low performing employees. This makes it much easier for HR managers to successfully identify low performing employees and eliminate them from the work fo rce which is important and a good for the success of the company as this turnover is considered healthy. Another key factor which may influence staff turnover is the gender difference and certain problems it creates within the organisation. Female workers have different responsibilities to their male counterparts and may value work life balance more as a result. The pressures of work and life, has resulted in more female workers leaving their jobs than male workers (Doherty and Manfredi, 2006:62). In most hotels it can be seen female workers working in the bottom of the organisation hierarchy and the pay gap between males and female workers has been a much talked about issue in the UK. Iverson (2000) conducted a study in the USA involving hotel establishments and found that female managers earn much less than the male managers doing the same job which is commonly seen in the UK and this has resulted in, female workers being reluctant to return to work after their maternity leave. On top of this, most organisations have failed to assist their female workers to arrange necessary child car e arrangements which have aggravated the number of female workers leaving their job. As per above authors the reluctance of female workers to return to work may also be caused by factors such as stress, work dissatisfaction, lack of commitment and low promotion opportunities coupled with a poor organisation culture that does not provide a platform to encourage female workers to move up the career ladder. Therefore the problems and issues female workers face in the workplace is clear and applicable in hospitality sector organisations, and it is very important the HR department address these issues and understand why many female workers leave their jobs early. Organisation culture, average age of the total labour force of the organisation, gender and racial composition and male-female pay gaps are among the reasons why employees leave (Bennett et al, 1993). Prospective employees when joining an organisation look into a number of factors such as career development opportunities, total reward policy and work life balance. Lack of incentives is therefore a main reason why many employees leave their jobs after some time. Incentives include both financial and nonfinancial and employees may simply want praise for their good work and lack of recognition could seriously hamper employee retention. Ritz Carlton hotel in London, has managed to reduce employee turnover to a significant level by focusing on quality recruitment, providing better training and development opportunities and by forming a positive psychological contract with the employees, and also by creating long term incentive and reward systems ( Barky, 1996). Therefore it is fair to assume that to a large extent organisation HRM practices, policies and procedures determine staff turnover. Organisation policies and lack of employee oriented practices and procedures may not only be the sole reason why many organisations particularly in the hospitality industry experience high level of staff turnover. Another factor that affects turnover is the ability of staff to carry out their tasks and responsibilities up to the required standard and the job performance of employees largely affects staff turnover and this is also confirmed by a study conducted by Jewell and Siegal (1990). They found that employees having very high levels of on-the-job performance are highly unlikely to leave their job in contrast with employees with low levels of performance. High performing employees are confident in their job and have better work related knowledge and skills. Low pay, lack of training and career development opportunities, lack of regular and realistic performance appraisals and undesired work environments are among the key reasons that cause low performance which in-turn result in high staff turnover. Therefore it is clear HR professionals in hotel establishments must pay very close attention to developing employee oriented HRM policies and practices that help staff achieve their full potent ial. To name a few these HR policies and practices are training and development opportunities open management communication systems, employee welfare such as child care, flexible working, transport assistant to employees and a comprehensive induction programme that helps new recruits to adopt well to their new roles. When analysing the hospitality and hotel industry in particular it has been found that most organisations have a poor reputation for providing good staff training and development opportunities (Maxwell et al, 2004). High staff turnover in most hospitality sector industries may have also led managers to be reluctant to providing staff with opportunities to further develop their careers fearing they may leave after that ( Davies et al, 2001, Jameson, 2000: Lowey et al, 2002). High staff turnover also causes managers to be occupied with recruitment and selection activity as well as grievance issues, and this may also be a reason for them not to have sufficient time to focus on staff development and talent management. Training and development and staff retention has a close match as poorly trained staff are less satisfied with work and may leave quicker and more than fully trained and highly satisfied staff. Therefore training and development directly affects job satisfaction and organis ational commitment (Lam and Zhang, 2003, Taylor et al, 2001, Lowry et al, 2002). Working hours is another key factor that causes employees to leave and most hospitality sector organisations, because of high staff turnover may require remaining staff to work extra hours on a regular basis. Long working hours without breaks are against the working time regulations as well as current health and safety rules and Female workers are largely affected by this practice because of their family commitments and a research conducted by Erdogan (1996:26) revealed long working hours are among the main reasons for many female workers to quit their jobs. There has also been an increase of single parent families and long hours and unsocial working hours have forced females to leave their jobs. This not only creates staff to leave but unfriendly working hours coupled with a poor corporate and work culture and a hostile working environment of the organisation , may affect the job satisfaction of female workers and even if they remain with the job their work could be highly unproduct ive and suffer from work related stress. Despite the fact that many researchers and academics stressing the importance of a good organisation work environment that provides employees oriented HR measures to achieve these goals and objectives many organisations still suffer from high levels of staff turnover and female staff turnover as evident from research findings. All of the above stated factors and elements contribute to employee dissatisfaction and it is a result of various internal and external factors that were mentioned above. Labour turnover of High Beech Hotel High Beech Hotel had a newly appointed general manager and she has been investigating the reasons for the high staff turnover levels of the hotel over the past three years and has had several discussions with the operations manager and the HR manager of the company. Unfortunately no proper investigation has not been done so far to find out the possible causes of staff turnover but the management in consultation with the company HR records and turnover figures has assumed the reasons as job dissatisfaction, long and unfriendly working hours, pay issues, lack of training and development opportunities for staff, issues with working condition and other personal issues of staff such as work life balance. Importance of HR practices and concepts in relation to staff retention and turnover HRM plays a vital part in creating a sustainable competitive advantage for any organisation, and forward looking organisations adopt good HR policies and practices to ensure the smooth functioning of the organisation (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Stewart, 1997; Verma and Dewe, 2008). Research studies have confirmed that well defined organisational goals and corporate objectives directly influence employee retention and productivity. Kim et al, (2005) in their study on corporate orientation found that organisational direction and support had a significant impact on employee job satisfaction and overall commitment. ORGANISATIONAL INITIATIVES The organisational HR initiatives as mentioned above, illustrate how internal factors and forces contribute towards employee retention. The model does not mention about external forces such as local and national competition in the labour market, economic situation, globalisation and international competition which affects attracting skilled employees to various jobs. It can be seen that this model covers the internal factors and reasons that affect staff retention or turnover and it is critically important for an organisation and HR professionals to pay close attention to the factors mentioned under the model to critically assess where they stand as an organisation and take steps to implement those HR practices and policies to retain talented staff ( Horwitz et al, 2003; Steel et al, 2002). These internal HR policies and practices are bundled under the term retention management and it is defined as the ability to hold onto those employees an organisation would want to keep, for longe r than the competitors (Johnson,2000 cited De Vos and Meganck,2007). The external factors should not be neglected at the same time because there may be times employees may leave an organisation due to their influences. The impact of financial and non-financial rewards cannot be undermined and play a critical role in motivating skilled and valued employees and retaining them within the organisation. Financial rewards such as a good basic pay combined with performance related pay and non-financial rewards such as training and development opportunities, initiatives to achieve work life balance for staff and other employee retention initiatives such as a pensions scheme and internal promotions motivate staff and force them to think again before quitting their jobs (Horwitz et al,2003;De Vos and Meganck, 2007). When analysing the theories and ides put forward by the above mentioned academics and scholars it is evident they focused on retaining highly skilled employees and researched to find out the possible reasons why valued employees leave organisations. This is being described as retention management and the word retention embraces with other HR practices such as recruitment and selection, development of employees to achieve their full potential and succession management (Lewis and Heckmanp 2006:140). HR Practices and the importance of Human Psychology HRM involves all management decision and practices that directly affects other people, or human resources, who work for the organisation. The question that arises is that despite the fact that many organisations including the hospitality and hotel industry, implement all accepted HR practices and procedures, why employees still leave and the staff turnover rates are extremely high. A good understanding of the implications of human psychology would help HR managers to find the root causes to this problem. Psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced his concept of hierarchy of needs in 1943 which suggests that people are motivated to fulfil their basic human needs before moving on to other needs. The hierarchy of needs is displayed as a pyramid and the lowest level of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the more complex needs are at the top. The needs located at the bottom are the most basic human needs and as people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Therefore when it comes to employees staying or leaving a particular organisation which stage the employee is in could play a vital role in his or her decision making process. At the core this theory of Maslow suggests that when an individual satisfies one set of needs they always try to move into the other level. This makes it critically important for HR professionals in the hospitality organisations how this theory of Maslow affects individual employees and how it influences an individuals decision about him staying or leaving the organisation. When an individual joins an organisation the first concern is to organise his life in-terms of food shelter and other essential psychological needs through wages and salary. The next concern would be job security and personal health and safety in the job. Once those needs are satisfied the employee would move in to the other set of needs which are social needs such as friendly colleagues and staff as well as a desirable working environment. After this comes the next stage which is satisfying the esteem needs which is comprised of individual being recognised for his work and valued by the management of the organisation as well as taking full advantage of any courses and exams they could take to get promoted. Once this set of needs are fully satisfied t he employee reaches the stage of self actualisation. Therefore to satisfy the individual employee needs the HR executives working in hospitality sector organisations must understand the needs of employees and aim to provide tailor made HR solutions in line with the corporate strategy of the company. In order to accomplish this, the HR managers must have accurate methods and procedures to understand which stage the employee is in his hierarchy of needs because if this is not done or if the right methods and procedures are not in place there will inevitably be a contradiction. For an example the HR managers may direct their full efforts into satisfying the esteem needs of employees through individual recognition and internal promotions at work when the employees are seeking safety needs. This would result in a waste of company resources and employees considering leaving the organisation. Individuals decision making process An individuals decision making process is comprised of a number of internal and external variables as shown below and the final decision makes by an individual employee is made up of a collection of those internal and external variables. This model is highly useful in understanding an employees decision making in an organisation (Kotler, 2000, p98). As seen the model is comprised of five main stages which an individual may go through before coming into a decision. They are, * Problem recognition * Information search * Evaluation of alternatives * Decision to leave or stay * Post- purchase evaluation Therefore the first stage is problem recognition and that is recognising there is a problem or issue to be answered by the employee. The problem arose can be triggered by internal influences, external influences or both. Once the main problem or problems are recognised by the employee he then moves into the next stage which is information search. For an example if the initial problem recognised by the employee is concerned with training and development opportunities offered by the organisation then through information search he would try to gather as much information as possible through various external and internal sources about what actions and steps he could take in order to gain the desired level of training. The next stage once sufficient information is gathered is the evaluation of alternatives. As per with training and development, the employee in this stage will go through various possible courses to be taken and evaluate the appropriateness of those courses to his job and what help he could get from the organisation in order to take the course. The next stage of the process is the final decision of the employee to stay with the organisation or to leave. This is called the purchase decision and according to Kotler (2000, p 99) two factors can intervene between the purchase intention and purchase decision. The first factor is the attitudes of other people, which is what the others around think of the individuals decision. Influence of other people can become complex and varied when there are more than one persons involved. The second factor Kotler (2000,p 99) mentions is the unanticipated or unexpected situations and as per the above example of training and development, factors such as the recession and cost cutting measures by the organisation could hamper the employees aspiration of embarking on the course. The final stage of the decision making process is the post purchase evaluation which involves the employee evaluating the positives and negatives of the decision taken, and the possible consequences of it. This concept has a high degree of importance to HR even though it is widely used in marketing and regarded more as a marketing related concep
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