Human Resource Management at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Human Resource Management at Work - Essay Example In this approach, there is not much focus on the human resource. The contemporary approach focuses on competencies and the employees’ commitment to the organisation. The principle behind the contemporary approach is that if the employees are happy, the organisation progresses too. Talents and capabilities of the employees are maximized, and are linked to the goals of the organisation. The contemporary approach is based on the principle that the people are the organisation’s greatest asset (Armstrong, 2006, p. 3). HRM provides effective management of the staff, retention, and turnover processes, and selection of employees that fit with both the organisational strategy and culture, and the cost effective utilisation of employees through investment in identified human capital. The first part of this paper focuses on theories and concepts, while the second part is concentrated on a particularly industry, the automotive industry, with Toyota as the particular organization battling the forces of organisational and external environment. The last part is a reflective diary which details this author’s personal experiences in the conduct of the research. The ‘universalist’ paradigm states that the purpose of the study of HRM is to improve the way that human resources are managed strategically within organisations. The aim is to improve organisational performance, as judged by its impact on the organisation’s corporate strategy (Tichy, Fombrun and Devanna, 1982; Huselid 1995, cited in Harris et al., 2003). Good HRM focuses on careful recruitment and selection methods, coupled with an effective training and development. Other contributing factors are a good communication process within the organisation, a well-defined job design, performance appraisal, and the motivation system for employees, which include performance standards, appraisal, etc. (Harris et al., 2003) The contextual paradigm searches

King Lear by William Shakespeare and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Essay

King Lear by William Shakespeare and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Essay Example   Some citizens have made the choice not to live this way; others are considered â€Å"savages†. Both groups are made to live separately from society, either on islands or on far-off, restricted â€Å"reservations† (Huxley 101). In contrast, the story of  King Lear, set in England in the 17th century, gives the story of King Lear, a king whose thoughts of dividing his kingdom and then living out his days with one of his loving daughters are rudely interrupted, as he begins a long, slow slide into a world of madness, while plots against him swirl as others attempt to gain power through their own devices and interests.  King Lear and his family are not the only victims in this story, as bitterness and greed cause characters around him to vie for power. Both  A Brave New World  and  King Lear, while being on the whole very different stories,  share many tragedies, including parental abandonment, madness, and exile of characters, while the tragedy and sufferin g of characters ultimately leads readers to catharsis, as those tragedies play out to their respective conclusions.   Both  A Brave New World  and  King Lear  share parental abandonment, as both stories have parents that abandon their children willingly, but for different reasons. Linda, a woman who became pregnant in the â€Å"civilized world† and eventually gave birth to John the Savage, is forced to live on the â€Å"savage reservation† due to having committed what is known in this world as an atrocity, as babies are not born, they are â€Å"decanted† (Huxley 18). She has thus become the mother of the John the Savage, but cannot deal with this reality and abandons him for drugs, wishing nothing more than the "mescal" that a man named Pope brings to her (Huxley 125).   When she is returned to what she calls the â€Å"Other Place†, she only wants the drug â€Å"soma† that is freely dispensed to the people, ravishing herself in the wond ers of taking â€Å"holiday after holiday† (Huxley 154). John the Savage, her only child, is left to make his own way, both on the reservation and after. On the reservation, he suffers as a little boy from the remarks that the other children make about his mother, and from witnessing her being beaten by women whose husbands have slept with Linda (Huxley 165). He grows up in a solitary, lonely and bewildered existence, wondering why Linda does not love him (Huxley 167). King Lear also contains parental abandonment. Cordelia, the youngest daughter of King Lear, is asked by her father to tell him how much she loves him. Cordelia, who has been contemplating whether to tell him the truth or not, refuses to lie, telling him â€Å"That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry, half my love with him, half my care and duty; sure I shall never marry like my sisters, to love my father all† (I.i.103-107). King Lear is at first shocked, but then tells everyone present: †Å"Here I disclaim all my paternal care, Propinquity and property of blood.† (I.i 115-118). Like Linda, King Lear has abandoned his child, though Lear does so not for drugs but because he does not believe that Cordelia loves him. Lear comes to regret his mistakes later, but is completely hard-hearted towards his daughter, as Linda was towards John. Fortunately, Lear finds forgiveness from Cordelia before things are