Analyse the financial performance & position of Intercontinental Hotel Essay

Analyse the financial performance & position of Intercontinental Hotel Group plc and explain and evaluate the treatment intangib - Essay Example Background Information Intercontinental Hotel Group Plc. owns one of the leading brand and chain of hotels and resorts across continents. The group’s registered corporate office is located in Denham, United Kingdom and the group has a history of almost 60 years of delivering the highest level of quality of customer service which has permitted the group to achieve phenomenal growth over the last few decades. The group operates not only by owing hotels and resorts completely and also by entering into franchise agreements with other companies to operate hotels and resources The group has more than 4,500 hotels which are operating in different countries. The group operates hotels brands including Crown Plaza Hotel, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites and others. These brands are arranged in a way that they reflect both luxury and budget hoteling facilities for guests. The group offers a hotel loyalty program through which it has achieved 63 million members wh o received updates and discounts on bookings and other privileges (Yahoo Finance, 2012). Financial Ratios Analysis For the purpose of analyzing Group’s financial performance in the last two years, following ratios have been determined and a discussion for them is presented while considering additional supporting information available in the Group’s annual report. It is pertinent to mention here that there are material exceptional items in the financial statements of IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group, 2011). These exceptional items are not considered for the purpose of calculating ratios. However, the impact of these exceptional items has been evaluated at the end of financial analysis. Profitability of IHG Keeping in view the profitability ratios as calculated below for the Group, it is noted that the Group has improved its performance in terms of returns. Apart from the continuing effects of recent global financial distress, the Group has managed to report growth in its profits. As evidenced by the gross and operating margins presented below, the Group has been able to report considerable growth in its gross and operating profits. One of the main reasons for this growth has been increase in total revenues of the Group. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning here that IHG’s cost of sales declined in 2011 whereas revenues climbed up, thus signifying the level of operational efficiency reached by the Group. Following this improvement in cost of sales figure in 2011 and gross profits, the trend translated into operating profits also, due to which the Group has been able to report higher operating margin for the year ended 2011 (Peterson & Fabozzi, 2012; Warren et al., 2011; InterContinental Hotels Group, 2011). Profitability Ratios Ratio 2011 2010 Return on Capital Employed 17.35 % 12.29 % Return on Equity 67.93 % 97.59 % Operating Profit Margin 21.32 % 17.44 % Gross Profit Margin 56.39 % 53.75 % Source: (InterContinental Hotels Group, 20 11) In addition to this, the returns on capital employed and on total equity of the Group have also shown favorable changes. With the increase in profits attributable to shareholders of the Group, the return on equity and capital employed also increased, and this increase in net profits for the Group has been such that it overcame the impact of increase in capital employed

Globalization, as the world has experienced it since the 1970s, has Assignment

Globalization, as the world has experienced it since the 1970s, has been rooted in neoliberal policy. Discuss alternative frame - Assignment Example As Jessop notes, neoliberal doctrine emerged as a dominant ideological force due to the convergence of progressive trends of economic internationalization, the apparent failure of Keynesian welfare state, East Asian developmentalism and Soviet model of central planning; and the emergence of new social forces brought about by the former developments (Jessop 105). The neoliberal theorists seem to proceed from the same assumptions that social liberals take for granted; they proclaim their commitment to a basic right of individual autonomy and assert that the basis of modern society should consist of wide variety of voluntary associations independent from the state control. Nevertheless, neoliberals take the common idea of all liberal thinkers about the necessity of expansion of market economy (Jessop 106) to its extreme limits, arguing that all social relations should be evaluated from the point of their compatibility with the freedom of market transactions. This includes an emphasis on deregulation of the financial markets both in domestic and international spheres; the ideological commitment to the curtailment of state intervention in the capitalist market economy; the introduction of the principle of market efficiency into the sphere of public welfare; and the commitment for the privatization of public enterprises and services (Jessop 107). The cities and city regions are especially affected by the neoliberal project of globalization. The dramatic restructuring of urban communities that began in the 1970s to 1980s led to the increasing marginalization of the relatively numerous swathes of the urban population caused by the drastic rise in unemployment (Swyngedouw, Moulaert, and Rodriguez

Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper with Hop Frog Essay Example for Free

Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper with Hop Frog Essay The Yellow Wallpaper and Hop Frog were both written at a time of social turbulence and revolution. Poe wrote Hop Frog twelve years prior to the American civil war, so it is fitting that many of the ideas in the story carry a strong anti-slavery message. Similarly, The Yellow Wallpaper was written in 1892 just before the climax of equal-rights for women. Gillmans The Yellow Wallpaper is one of the early feminist texts in which her writing criticises the position that women were oppressed into and the ignorance of society as a whole. Both Gillman and Poe attack fiercely these ideas that were both upheld and willingly accepted by the majority of society. These two settings immediately portray the two central characters, a woman and a slave, as two of an unheard minority, who were subjected to an unjust, patriarchal world. One of the main similarities between Hop Frog and The Yellow Wallpaper is the atmosphere of each of the stories. Both are horror stories are very dark, and have a horror genre, however Hop Frog is also similar to a fairy tale in that it is quite unbelievable, and where Hop Frogs surroundings are fantasy, the narrators surroundings are quite real. Despite their differences, both of the storys surroundings and atmosphere are symbolic of the way the central character is feeling or being treated. For example, gluttony and corruption of the king and his ministers surround Hop Frog and Poes darkly vivid descriptions of these reflect the mood of Hop-Frog. The oily ministers and a corpulent king sound simply grotesque and fill the reader with a sort of stomach churning unease and tension at the treatment of Hop Frog. The corruptness and gluttony is hugely significant as it shows us the danger and easiness of becoming influenced and eventually corrupted by greed and alcohol. The narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper has instead a room. It is describes as having barred widows and a nailed down bed, which give the impression of a prison rather than a place to become well again in. In fact the room actually does become a prison for the narrator, becoming more and more horrible as the story progresses. By the repetitive use of the word, joke in the first paragraph Poe emphasises the discomfort of Hop Frog as well as achieving a hugely tense atmosphere. This makes the reader, who realises that this seemingly jovial and harmless behaviour of the king and his courtiers is in fact, a lot more damaging and sinister, feel the tension and discomfort that Hop Frog endures. Like Hop Frog, The Yellow Wallpaper also has a tense atmosphere achieved by the speeded up pace of the story and the very short sentences, which flit from one idea to another. These short sentences show the alertness of the narrators mind as well as her increasing madness as she is left with no stimulation other than her own thoughts. As the story progresses the narrators madness grows and consequently her surroundings become more and more an extension of her own nightmarish imagination, eventually becoming as fantastical as Hop Frogs. Throughout the story, the wallpaper in the room is a metaphor for the narrators illness and as her insanity grows, the wallpaper becomes more and more hideous. At the beginning of the story, it is described as horrible wallpaper. Her initial rejection of the wallpaper, shown when the narrator says; I dont like our room and asks John Let us go downstairs, is indicative of her want to get better and her rejection of insanity. The wallpaper is described as having a sickly sulphur tint, representing her illness, and appears to grow, fungus and toadstools suggests that her illness is growing, whilst Budding and sprouting suggest the continuity of this growth. Despite the fact that the images of the wallpaper worsen as time goes on, the narrator quickly becomes obsessed by it, spending hours studying it. The narrator describes how It dwells on my mind so. Eventually, the narrator becomes so mad, that it is as if she is schizophrenic. She begins to see herself in the wallpaper as a woman, stooping down and creeping behind the pattern. As time progresses, the faint woman becomes clearer and stronger as the narrator becomes weaker. This shows her sane self, losing the battle to her insane self. Despite the awful surroundings, outside of her barred windows lies the garden. In contrast to the wallpaper, the garden represents the narrators hope of freedom. The garden is described as delicious and where everything in the wallpaper is bad and infectious, everything in the garden is good and healing. However the narrator is locked away with her illness and is unable to reach the garden, which holds the key to her freedom, How I wish he [John] would let me go she tells us. This creates dramatic irony, as everyone knows what the narrator needs, including the narrator herself, except the narrat ors own husband John. Just as the wallpaper and the narrators madness increase as the story progresses, the behavior of the king towards Hop Frog worsens. This is shown by Poes descriptions of the king, starting as our king, turning into a tyrant and becoming finally a monster. By describing the king in this way, the reader is not only made to feel sympathy for Hop Frog by portraying him as a powerless victim of this cruel abuse, but also make us forgive his final act of revenge, which is in fact utterly terrible. The King and his ministers are abusive and exploitative towards Hop Frog and Trippetta. Poe illustrates this particularly by the reference to alcohol, The king takes advantage of Hop Frogs intolerance to wine it excited the poor cripple almost to madness and sadistically he took pleasure in forcing the cripple to drink. Poe describes how Hop Frog was forced to be merry as it was the poor dwarfs birthday and he is made to obey the command to drink to absent friends, which forced tears to his eyes. This is incredibly ironic, as Hop Frog is not with his friend because he is a slave in the court of the king. In the yellow wallpaper, the narrators monster is her own husband, John, a physician. He ignorantly suffocates his wife, leaving her with no option but to escape into her own madness. He threatens her with Weir Mitchell who was renowned for treating women with this temporary nervousness. The narrator describes how he is like john and my brother, only more so, showing her wish not to be sent to him. John also keeps the narrator away from human contact, starving her of any stimulation or interaction. Despite his obvious love for her he treats her like a possession, this is shown when he fails to regard her as a human being by addressing her as she as if she isnt even there. This also symbolises the fact that he has slowly removed her identity. John regards his wife with little more intelligence than a child, shown by his constantly patronising tone. He calls her little goose and little girl as well as remarking bless her as if she is little older than five. John also shows himself to be really rather selfish when he implores her get well for me. Despite everything, we have to believe that John really does love his wife and wants to help her. But it is through John that Gillman makes a very poignant observation of the way in which society treats women, pointing out the real danger of ignorance. The Narrator in The Yellow wallpaper is portrayed as an extremely bright creative woman, despite the way John regards her. She expresses her thoughts and releases some of the energy that she is so full of through writing. However John forbids that she should write, the narrator tells us I am absolutely forbidden to work. The narrator herself tells us herself that excitement and change would do me good. Instead of excitement and change the narrator is confined to her bed and made to sleep most of the day I lie down ever so much now, John thinks its good for me. However, it is not good for her and the narrator describes how I dont sleep much at night, showing the disturbance of her mind. This results in the narrator having an enormous amount of pent up energy which, when combined with her inability to express herself creates enormous tension in the story. As the narrator searches frantically for an outlet for her imagination she inevitably becomes mad seeking the much-needed stimulation within the wallpaper. The narrators inability to express herself can be compared with Hop Frogs loss of control to the king when he is forced to drink. Hop Frog is described as being driven to madness by the wine, and madness Poe reminds us is no comfortable feeling. In both stories the position of women is severely criticized. In Hop Frog, Trippettas position as both a slave and a woman is exploited. Her grace and exquisite beauty is described as being universally admired. Poe describes how she was admired and petted suggesting the shocking abuse she is subject to. Poe describes how the king threw the entire contents of the goblet in her face, suggesting the complete humiliation that she suffered. In The Yellow Wallpaper, we are introduced to Jennie who is the sister of John. She is described as a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper. Typically of a nineteenth century Lady, Jennie is subservient accepting her position willingly and gratefully. Gillman describes how she hopes for no better profession. Jennie represents the women of society who have grown to accept and are either to weak or to scared to rebel against a life that is no better than that of a slaves. The narrators position as a woman is very similar to Hop Frogs. She is treated as a possession by her husband John and is seen to have no real opinions or views. She describes how the heads that she sees are strangle[d] by the wallpaper, turns them up side down and turns their eyes white. This is very much inactive of the way both she and the other women of society feel suffocated and oppressed by their position. Both stories are written in first person narrative, which makes them a lot more personal. Hop Frog is told by an anonymous Narrator, an onlooker, whilst The Yellow Wallpaper is written like a diary with the narrator, a woman suffering from post-natal depression being the central character. Semi-Autobiographical, the story is loosely based on Perkins own experiences. The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper remains nameless meaning that the narrator could be any woman in society. It is also a metaphor for the identity that has been lost through her illness and the ignorance of her husband, John. Both the characters are the victims of ignorance. The Yellow Wallpaper shows the ignorance of society about post-natal depression and the fact that no one is prepared to accept what the narrator is suffering from. Her case is not serious we are told. The result of this ignorance is that the narrators condition is not cured but instead made worse. She is taken for a rest cure and deprived of interaction with people and stimulation. Her creativity is crushed when she is forbidden to write. This inability to express herself, had dire consequences; instead of recovering she instead she begins to descend further and further into her own madness. The wallpaper in her room, which gradually becomes more and more disturbing as her madness increases, shows this. This can be compared to Hop Frog who because of his difference in appearance is treated appallingly. The central characters of each story are portrayed as prisoners the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper is portrayed as a prisoner, trapped by her social position; as a woman, by her mental illness and by her own husband. Through her story, Gillman attacks an extremely patriarchal society. She criticises the lack of respect for women and shows her anger towards the inability of women to escape from the position they are oppressed to. The room in which the narrator is put in, in order to rest and recover from her illness is very much symbolic of her imprisonment. It is described as having barred windows and the bedstead as iron, heavy and nailed to the ground representing her being tied down. The fact that the room was a nursery first, is very ironic; Firstly because she has no contact with her own baby and secondly because she has literally been reduced to the position of a child. Similarly, Hop Frog and his fiend Trippetta are salves, whom Poe tells us, were forcibly carried off from their barbarous region and sent, as presents to the king. This is reminiscent of the situation of many black slaves who were taken from Africa to the west at this time, in order to further the endeavours of rich, greedy men at as low a cost a possible. The reality of what faced them ahead was a harsh, cruel life of constant work with no freedom or rights as a human being. However, it is surely wrong that one person should have freedom whilst another is an enslaved possession because they are different. This injustice is shown in the story by the Kings inability to accept Hop Frog as a person, in appearance he is different and so is treated as an object, a possession. Poe describes him as a monkey and a squirrel and suggest that Hop Frog is begging for food crumbs from the royal table. The result this is that Hop Frog is shown to be like a begging animal which serves to ease the K ings conscience at mocking Hop Frog, if he is not a person then he does not have feelings. Both Hop Frog and Trippetta are dwarfed and Hop Frog is a cripple and Walks with an interjectional gait, which comes across as quite funny when it is further described as somewhere between a leap and a wriggle. Despite this Hop Frogs value was trebled in the eyes of the king and the king, who live only for joking exploits Hop Frogs physical disabilities. It is therefor ironic that Hop Frog becomes the court fool which is a metaphor for the fact that he is laughed at by the King. The idea of Hop Frog being mocked for the way he walks is shocking and through this Poe shows the unease of society at the treatment of the slaves. The Kings immoral behaviour mirrors that of the slave traders in America and Europe. Hop Frogs physical disability can be compared to the narrators madness. The endings of each story are hugely significant and it is perhaps through the ending that we see the characters in their true light. Throughout The Yellow Wallpaper the narrator has drifted in and out of her sane mind, she tells us once I always lock the door before I creep. Up until this point the narrator has not accepted that it is herself who is creeping, instead putting it down to the woman. But by the end, she is telling us how she is creeping round and round and round the room. Both a rope and an axe are mentioned, and John faints when he sees the destruction of the room and of his wife. It is quite possible that either of them are dead, however Gillman leaves the ending ambiguous. As well as amplifying the uncertainty of the woman, this could also be down to the fact that Gillman, despite her feminist views, was still a woman in the nineteenth century. She did she want to demonize her character by making her murder her husband no could she afford to openly state that the husband was literally overpowered by his wife. Gillman would not want to upset her feminist audience either, who would be outraged if the narrator killed herself due to the fact that she is such a powerful symbol of a woman wanting to rebel against her oppression. For her to commit suicide would dishearten a lot of these women as it would look as if suicide was the only way out. It seems as if this ending was right for the character who despite becoming insane, is finally happy and tells us with utter satisfaction I got out. Whatever the reason for this ending, there is no doubt that despite the fact that this ending is truly horrific it also comes with a degree of relief. For with the narrators madness comes freedom, and more importantly, the woman finds her identity. Ironically this is not her former self, who is finally named as Jane, but another person; her ins anity. Whilst The Yellow Wallpaper remains ambiguous, the ending of Hop frog is completely literal. Because eof the fact that Poe is a man, he can afford to take more liberties that perhaps Gillman was unable to take. He can openly humiliate and torture the king and the court, who represent the corrupt monarchy; an important part of society, and appear to get away with this. Hop Frog is portrayed as demonic and evil. He achieves his freedom by brutally killing the King and his ministers. Under the guise of the stupid fool he tricks the king and his ministers into thinking that they are dressing up and covers them in tar and flax. The fact that Poe uses tar and Flax is of great significance as it is symbolic of humiliation and punishment throughout history. Hop Frog then chained them together to become the eight chained orangutans. Hop frog shows himself to be very intelligent when, at the dwarfs suggestion, the keys had been deposited with him, in contrast with the stupidity of the King. Po e describes how the they are humiliated when the chains cause them to fall and stumble, The King and his Ministers have gone form mocking Hop Frog to being mocked themselves Hop Frog then suspends them from the ceiling at the ball and burns them alive. The fact that throughout the story Hop Frog never had the presence that the evil King had means that we would not immediately suspect Hop frog. When the grating noise was first introduced, the reader did not think that it could be Hop Frog. However at the end when Hop Frog is perched on the rope with the burning king and ministers below him the grating noise came form the fang like teeth of the dwarf, who ground and gnashed them as he foamed at the mouth. This is an insane a picture as that of the narrator. Hop frog rising up against the king is a complete reversal of roles, the oppressed has become the oppressor. However how is it possible that Poe can get away with this ending without his central character looking like the vengeful murder that he has become? It is perhaps because all-thorough the story, the treatment of Hop Frog as well as his situation has been described as Horrendous, horrific and brutal, evoking incredible sympathy in the reader. As if this isnt reason enough, Poe threw in the added ploy of alcohol, which appears to demonize Hop Frog. Therefor when Hop Frog commits this terrible act, he is immediately forgiven whilst we all revel in the torture that the king and his ministers now incur. In the eyes of the reader justice has been done. Perhaps through his ending, Poe is forecasting what is to come, when the black slaves will rise up against their own white oppressors. It is therefor interesting that n order to truly punish and humiliate them, Hop Frog turns them first black. Like Gillman, Poe does not want to demonize the female character, leaving the question of Trippettas involvement up to the reader to answer.

Effects of Psychological Contract on the Work-Life Balance

Effects of Psychological Contract on the Work-Life Balance A contemporary analysis of the concept of work life balance and the effects of the psychological contract within the business Aimed towards Retail Terms of Reference To define, explore and critically analyse the extent to which contracted work in the retail business is affected by psychological contract theory Establish from primary and secondary sources the factors which impact on the work life balance for employees, and if any policies and practices are effective. Examine the various ideas from the literature around organisational culture and the psychological contract, in order to determine how Toys R Us fits with these definitions. To draw conclusions around the extent to which Toys R Us has managed to achieve a suitable work life balance for all of their employees without the use of a psychological contract; and to examine possible future changes/ recommendations which could be implemented to create said contract. Literature Review The journal Management Research News (2007) provides a useful starting point, as it looks to review the literature around the psychological contract in order to help develop an understanding around the various unique agreements and the work environment that underlies modern working. As such, the paper is a conceptual paper, and its main aim is to categorise the existing knowledge around the psychological contract in the workplace, as well as to provide practical direction for future research. The results of this investigation indicated that the context of the psychological contract must be reconsidered, due to the nature of the flexible modern working environment where jobs are not always seen as being long term commitments. As such, it is important to consider the impact of organisational justice, rather than looking at potential relationship development (Management Research News, 2007). This is particularly relevant for retail organisations such as Toys R Us, where a large number o f their staff may be students or other short term casual workers. Unfortunately, there has been little research into the levels of job security felt by temporary employees and contract employees, and how this impacts on any psychological contract which may exist. This is addressed to some extent by De Cuyper and De Witte (2006), who examined how perceptions of job security, as well as job satisfaction and organisational commitment, varied from permanent employees to temporary ones. This research was based on the claims of psychological contract theory, which holds that a lack of job security only arises if the psychological contract is violated, and that permanent employees tend to feel stronger psychological contracts that temporary and contracted workers. Their results support this argument, showing that the temporary staff tended not to create strong psychological contracts with their employers, and hence their perceptions of job security did not impact on their overall performance. In contrast, for permanent employees job security was a key pre dictor of both job satisfaction and organisational commitment, indicating that the psychological contract is of greater concern for permanent staff (De Cuyper and De Witte, 2006). Indeed, George (2003) found that the use of temporary and contract workers in an organisation could actually harm the psychological contract which existed between the permanent workforce and the organisation. These finding are based on a detailed study of 256 permanent employees across three organisations, and showed that the extent to which contracting and temporary workers were used, combined with the duration of their use, had negative impacts on permanent employees’ trust in the organisation, as well as the psychological contract with the organisation. These results are explained by the fact that permanent workers see the increased use of temporary and contract staff as indicating that their organisations do not have a strong commitment to their permanent employees. As such, permanent employees begin to see themselves as being less attached to the organisation. The grounded theory approach taken by George (2003) indicates that this is consistent with theoretical prediction s that the use of contract staff acts as a violation of the psychological contract for permanent staff, since contracting makes it harder to permanent workers to advance in the organisation. As such, when attempting to manage this, organisations should look to show strong levels of commitment towards their permanent employees, as this will help counter the perceived violations from the use of contracted staff. Whilst George (2003) claims that this can be achieved through making permanent employees supervisors and trainers of other employees, there is little empirical data to support this, hence it is not clear if this would be a valid method for countering the negative impacts of contracting. Another useful empirical study in this area comes from Ellis (2007) who used the theory of psychological contracting to develop a framework exploring employee reactions to the various promises and contract violations they received from their employer. This is based on the hypothesis that an employee’s status within the organisation may affect their perceptions of promises and contract violations, but this will depend on what the promise is about. This hypothesis was tested using a survey of 163 full time employees working for 25 different organizations. The results supported the hypothesis, showing that supervisory and managerial employees placed more value on promises and violations that their manual labouring counterparts. This indicates that, not only will contracted employees have a less significant psychological contract but, in industries where contracted workers are often used for manual labour, this effect will be pronounced by the lower value manual workers assign to organisational promises and violations (Ellis, 2007). When considering the work life balance, Watson (2001) discusses a lecture given by Ewart Wooldridge, the director of the Civil Service College, who claims that many employees are now moving towards a more flexible approach to work. This is in contrast to prior situations, in which work tended to be the dominant feature in many workers’ lives. This is claimed to be largely due to factors such as recession; the reduction in the power of the trade unions; and the rise of a new psychological contract, which is focused on individual employees more than on organisations. As such, Watson (2001) claims that employees will tend to offer less loyalty to their existing employer, whilst attempting to improve their overall employability in an attempt to find a better job with another employer. Whilst they will continue provide their current employer with effective results during this period, they will be less likely to fully commit themselves to their employer. As such, unless their employ er promotes the work life balance they require, there is a chance that the employee will lose faith in the organisation, reducing their effort and hastening their departure (Watson, 2001). However, it should be noted that Watson’s (2001) article is entirely based on theoretical arguments, with not empirical backing. This may reduce its relevance and validity to all situations. In contrast, Conway and Monks (2008) exploration of the relationship between HR practices and employee commitment is based on a case study analysis of three health service organisations in the Republic of Ireland. This research examines how employees perceive HR practices such as work life balance, and how these perceptions affect employee level commitment and perceptions of the psychological contract. These findings indicate that there is a disparity between the HR practices which are valued most highly by employees, and the practices detailed in the HR literature and those which are practiced by organisations. This indicates that organisations need to consider the basic factors underlying the employment relationship and the psychological contract, rather than simply introducing the latest HR practices (Conway and Monks, 2008). However, this research is somewhat limited by the fact that it is only based on one industry, and includes just three organisations. Sturges and Guest (2004) conducted a much larger survey into the factors which affected the perceptions of the work life balance amongst new graduates who had recently started working. They found that the main factors affecting perceptions were conflicts between work and non-work priorities; the number of hours worked; and the degree of organisational and personal commitment shown by the graduates. As such, whilst most graduates tended to look for a good work life balance, their desire for long term career progression tended to lead them to work increasingly long hours in an effort to progress earlier. However, this tendency led to a worsening relationship between the graduates’ perceptions of work, which ultimately acted to harm the psychological contract. As such, Sturges and Guest (2004) argue that organisations need to introduce policies and practices designed to promote a healthy work life balance, showing support for their employees’ lives outside of the workplace , in order to avoid any negative impacts on performance. In addition to this, Sutton and Griffin (2004) argued that the degree to which employees’ expectations prior to starting work were supported by their experiences in the job had a significant impact on their perceptions of their work life balance and the psychological contract. This argument was assessed through a longitudinal study of 235 occupational therapy students who were about to start work, and compared with their views 14 months later. The results showed that if their experiences of work after entering a job were not consistent with their expectations, the employees were more likely to perceive psychological contract violations, and hence lower job satisfaction. In particular, the expectations around work life balance were found to be driven by the recruitment and selection process (Sutton and Griffin, 2004). This indicates that policies aimed at improving work life balance need to take account of, and control, employee expectations at the recruitment stage in order to be effective. Unfortunately, as before, the narrow nature of this study, which only examines one occupation, makes it of limited relevance to the case of Toys R Us. Another factor found to be relevant to the psychological contract, and violations of the contract, is employee personality. Raja et al (2004) carried out a survey of personality types and responses to the psychological contract, finding that personality characteristics such as extraversion, neuroticism and self-esteem were all related to employee perceptions of the psychological contract. In addition, personality characteristics tended to predict employee perceptions of breaches of the contract, as well as when these breaches were perceived as violations. This indicates that, when designing policies, organisations need to pay attention to employee personality characteristics, and their potential impact on the psychological contract. In addition, when considering the nature of the psychological contract, it is important to realise that the contract is a dynamic thing, which can grow and develop over time. As such, organisations need to consider the need to display a level of commitment to shared values, as well as the welfare of their employees, if they are to develop the contract and the level of organisational commitment shown by the employees. Indeed, Barnett and Schubert (2002) claim that a developing psychological contract and employment relationship can have significant benefits for employees and employers alike. Their survey of 194 employees working in a large retail organisation showed that employees valued their employers having strong principles, and showing concern around their employees’ welfare. This indicates that these are key factors to be considered when developing policies and practices aimed at strengthening the psychological contract. Further research in the retail sector comes from DAnnunzio-Green and Francis (2005), who examined how managers’ view of an emotion management leadership programme acted on their perceptions of the psychological contract. The results of this study indicated that the programme led to a shift in perceptions away from a transactional psychological contract, and towards a relational one. This in turn influenced managers’ perceptions around what the organisation’s expectations of them were, as well as what the organisation offered them in return. This effectively led to the construction of a new, ‘trial’ psychological contract, where managers agreed to believe that the leadership programme would create a more favourable work environment, both for the managers and their subordinates. The managers then internalised and tested the contract to determine whether the organisation’s actions lived up to the promises contained in said contract. This indicate s that organisations need to be sure that any new policies enacted do not create unrealistic expectations, as then any benefits from the policies will be undone by the resulting breaches of the trial psychological contract created by the policies (DAnnunzio-Green and Francis, 2005). Finally, Porter et al (1998) carried out a significant study into the extent to which these perceptual gaps between the promises of the contract and the actual behaviour of the organisation had significant explanatory power over and above measures such as employee satisfaction. This was based on a study of 48 executives and 339 employees over four organisations, in an attempt to determine the promises made to the employees, the employees’ perceptions of these promises, and the employee’s perceptions of the actual benefits provided. This showed that the larger the gap between the perceptions of the promises and the perceptions of the actual benefits, the lower the level of employees’ overall satisfaction with the organisation. This effect was found to be significant even after considering factors such as employee satisfaction with their job and their performance. As such, it appears that employee perceptions of organisational promises can have a more significant e ffect than many other factors, including the nature of the employee’s role and their performance within the organisation (Porter et al, 1998). References Barnett, T. and Schubert, E. (2002) Perceptions of the Ethical Work Climate and Covenantal Relationships. Journal of Business Ethics; Vol. 36, Issue 3, p. 279-290. Conway, E. and Monks, K. (2008) HR practices and commitment to change: an employee-level analysis. Human Resource Management Journal; Vol. 18, Issue 1, p. 72-89. DAnnunzio-Green, N. and Francis, H. (2005) Human Resource Development and the Psychological Contract: Great Expectations or False Hopes? Human Resource Development International; Vol. 8, Issue 3, p. 327-344. De Cuyper, N. and De Witte, H. (2006) The impact of job insecurity and contract type on attitudes, well-being and behavioural reports: A psychological contract perspective. Journal of Occupational Organizational Psychology; Vol. 79, Issue 3, p. 395-409. Ellis, J. B. (2007) Psychological Contracts Does Work Status Affect Perceptions of Making and Keeping Promises? Management Communication Quarterly; Vol. 20, Issue 4, p. 335-362. George, E. (2003) External Solutions and Internal Problems: The Effects of Employment Externalization on Internal Workers Attitudes. Organization Science; Vol. 14, Issue 4, p. 386-402. Management Research News (2007) Understanding the psychological contract: a direction for the future. Management Research News; Vol. 30, Issue 6, p. 432-440. Porter, L. W. Pearce, J. L. Tripoli, A. M. and Lewis, K. M. (1998) Differential perceptions of employers inducements: implications for psychological contracts. Journal of Organizational Behavior; Vol. 19, p. 769-782. Raja, U. Johns, G. and Ntalianis, F. (2004) The Impact Of Personality On Psychological Contracts. Academy of Management Journal; Vol. 47, Issue 3, p. 350-367. Sturges, J. and Guest, D. (2008) Working to live or living to work? Work/life balance early in the career. Human Resource Management Journal; 2004, Vol. 14 Issue 4, p5-20. Sutton, G. and Griffin, M. A. (2004) Integrating expectations, experiences, and psychological contract violations: A longitudinal study of new professionals. Journal of Occupational Organizational Psychology; Vol. 77, Issue 4, p. 493-514. Watson, B. (2001) Report: A New Deal? Understanding the Psychological Contract. Public Money Management; Vol. 21, Issue 3, p. 57.

America Has Been A World Power Essay -- essays research papers

America has been a world power for as long as anyone can remember. But how did it become what it is today? Through decades of racism and greed! Our country is one of the most racist country’s there has ever been! But without it America would be nothing like it is today. Slavery made America and racism made it grow. America has proven itself to be a selfish, greedy, and racist country. The 1840s were years of extraordinary territorial growth for the United States. During a four year period, our American territory was increased by 1.2 million square miles, a gain of more than sixty percent. The expansion of our country was so rapid, that it came to be seen as an inexorable process, prompting many Americans to insist that their nation had a "manifest destiny" to dominate the continent. The expansionist plans was never a clearly defined movement, or one that enjoyed broad support. Some party leaders greatly opposed territorial growth, and even expansionist Democrats argued about how much new land should be acquired, and by what means. Some supporters of Manifest Destiny favored rapid expansion and bold pursuit of American territorial claims, even at the risk of war with other nations. Others believed that the land would voluntarily submit to the benefits of the republic. In an often-used metaphor of the day, these regions would ripen like fruit and fall into the lap of the United States. The champions of Manifest Destiny were at best a motley collection of interest groups, motivated by greed and the continues want for more. There are several reasons why the united states decided to expand. In the early decades of the nineteenth century, many Americans believed that the rapid growth would cause an economical downfall . But such vast distances were quickly being conquered by technological innovations. Although the United States had no shortage of unoccupied lands, expansionists argued that the republic must continue to grow in order to survive. Using the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson, they viewed a great region of land as the mainstay of a growing republic, and warned against the concentration of political and economic power. Troubled by creeping urbanization a... ...Mexico, whose government, Polk incorrectly believed, was acting in concert with Great Britain to thwart U.S. territorial ambitions. Although Polk insisted that the United States was not waging a war of conquest, critics accused the president of manufacturing a war to seize California and New Mexico. In the months following the war, Polk also considered extending U.S. sovereignty over the Yucatan peninsula and Cuba, two regions which he believed were vulnerable to encroachments from the British. These initiatives received little support in Congress, however, and were abandoned shortly before Polk stepped down from office. In the 1850s, having established itself as a transcontinental empire, the United States ceased to regard British activities in the western hemisphere with alarm. Preoccupied with the increasingly bitter sectional conflict over slavery, many Americans rejected Manifest Destiny. Although southern extremists would sponsor filibuster expeditions into Latin America with the objective of gaining new lands to extend the slave empire, the expansionist movement faded from the national agenda in the years prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Shakespeare’s Ridiculous King Lear Essay -- mocking nobility

It’s surprising that Shakespeare’s King Lear is not treated as a comedy. His portrayal of a power hungry nobility only serves to mock the monarchical system. Both of Lear’s elder daughters deceive their own father in order to procure his wealth of land, and Edmund the bastard cannot stop killing and lying in order to climb up the royal succession. This backstabbing nature of the monarchy is exactly what makes it so ridiculous. Most importantly, Shakespeare depicts the tragic life of King Lear, an abdicated ruler. The play centers around Lear’s struggle to maintain his subjects’ respect and his daughters’ love, all of which he loses. With these examples, Shakespeare makes a shrewd comment about the superfluousness of the ruling class, and the fate of Lear becomes a stand-in for Shakespeare’s attitude towards the â€Å"nobility.† Shakespeare wrote King Lear around 1606, which coincides with the reign of King James I, who ascended to the throne in 1603, succeeding Elizabeth I. Although he was a supporter of the arts, James â€Å"articulated his belief in an absolutist theory of monarchy and the divine right of kings, desiring to command not only complete obedience but also complete devotion† (Bengtsson). Being that Elizabeth had previously established an equal relationship with the parliament, British government became uneasy. In addition, many Protestants, including Shakespeare himself, feared that religious persecution would start up once more as it had before Elizabeth. In fact, James passed the Popish Recusants Act, â€Å"an act to cause persons [existing Protestants] to be naturalized or restored in blood to conform [to Catholicism] and take the oath of allegiance and supremacy [to the Pope]† (Burton). From his actions, one can see how Eng... ... the neglect of the true purpose of government: to lead the people. In this way, The Tragedy of King Lear becomes a criticism, illustrating Shakespeare’s attitudes towards the flawed ruling class of his time. Works Cited Bengtsson, Frederick. â€Å"Historical Context for King Lear by William Shakespeare.† Columbia College. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. . â€Å"Mary, Queen of Scots.† BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. . Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of King Lear. New York: Washington Square, 1993. Print. Burton, Edwin, Edward D’Alton, and Jarvis Kelley. â€Å"Penal Laws.† The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 21 Jan. 2014. .

Entails personal statements

If ever I will be accepted in the program and will be able to finish it, immediately after I graduate I will apply for the position of Hospital Administrator. Eventually, I would want to become a CEO.The program will provide me appropriate knowledge to be able to play the role of a hospital administrator effectively. Managing healthcare institutions like hospitals, clinics, drug-abuse rehabilitation centers, as well as, overseeing of daily operations will become more convenient as I will be properly equipped with the much needed skills and understanding after going through with the program.I will be able to guarantee the competence of the healthcare institution where and attend to/focus on the adequacy of medical care made available to the patients. In addition to that, because of the program, I will be in a better position to give a hand or support the hospital staff especially those assigned to the medical department.Furthermore, with the training that I will undergo in the program , I will know better how to initiate the assimilation of board members, hospital staff, as well as, the chief of the different departments to function as one.For example, I will be able to sort out, instruct, manage, and bring together policies set by the board of trustees and eventually improve medical and health services provided by the healthcare institution that I will be running/heading.Also, I will also be able to conduct trainings or seminar-workshops for the staff including nurses, physicians, and other subordinates that I am supposed to employ or hire.In case, I will be working for a research hospital then because of the learning experience provided by the program, I will be able to improve programs that involve quality assurance, preventive medicine, medical treatments, etc.In the end, I will be more equipped to function as Chief Executive Officer and be able to properly manage a corporate position as such.Reference**No reference will be provided for this as this entails p ersonal statements.