Urban Legend of the Goatman of Beltsville, Maryland :: Urban Legends Ghost Stories

Goatman of Beltsville, Maryland The storyteller told the story of the Goatman from Beltsville story to me. On a summer night in 2005, she and her friend were driving back from a mall. Her friend took a shortcut home to Beltsville, Maryland by way of Callington Road Bridge. While on this shortcut home, her friend stopped the car on the side of road and turned off the headlights. She proceeded to tell the interviewee the story of the Goatman, emphasizing its truthfulness the entire time. After she heard the story, the interviewee never drove across Callington Road Bridge again. The storyteller told me the story of the Goatman in a mutual friend’s dorm room at night. I had come to the dorm room to ask my friend if he knew any urban legends of ghost stories from around campus or the state of Maryland. The storyteller, a 21-year-old biology major, shouted excitedly from the couch that she knew one. She is from Beltsville, Maryland. Her mother is a lawyer and her father is a math professor. My friend and I sat down on the couch and listened intently as she told the story: The Goatman from Beltsville. In the 1970s, a crazy doctor did a genetic experiment. The doctor bred a goat with a human by fusing the two embryos. A baby was born half human and half goat. It had horns, really thick hair on its face, a tail, sharp teeth, and a temper. The deformed baby grew into a really gross guy. As Goatman grew older he became more and more violent until finally the doctor kicked him out. After that, the Goatman retreated into the forest to live. He eats cats and dogs as his main source of food, and from time to time he eats humans walking alone at night along this one road commonly known as Goatman Hallow (Callington Road Bridge). Goatman is bloodthirsty, fearless, and always on the prowl. Sometimes he wanders into people’s back yards and eats their pets. Owners will find their pets the next day with only the carcasses remaining. Kids are warned not to take the shortcut home through the forest because Goatman might eat them. One time a few kids took the shortcut home at night and this one kid fell behind.

Welfare Reform

All Forms of Government Welfare Should be Abolished By: Michelle M. Flores 12/11/08 Strayer University PHI 210 Professor James Poteet All Forms of Government Welfare Should be Abolished Welfare is defined as â€Å"governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need. † (wordnet. princeton. edu). There are many programs that are currently implemented to aid and assist families in need. Under new laws, Maryland has re-named its assistance programs to Family Investment Programs.Some of these programs include: TCA- Temporary Cash Assistance, Food Stamps, WIC – Women Infants and Children Program, Child Care Assistance, Medical Assistance, Section 8- housing assistance, Energy Assistance and many other programs. To qualify for such programs, a family must have a minor child or a pregnant woman, and the parent must have applied for child support from the absent parent. It is said that the family applying must show a need for assistance. (peoples-law. org). Currentl y, the United States is in a financial recession. This recession has made many Americans rely and depend on such assistance from the Government.With all of these and many more programs implemented, when is enough, enough? How much assistance should be offered to a single family or person? What programs are actually necessary and/or beneficial? I will provide a brief synopsis of a few programs below. Temporary Cash Assistance Temporary Cash Assistance is a government allowance in the form of cash. Qualifications for this program are as follows: Household sizeGross Income 1 person or a pregnant woman$216. 00 a month or less 2 persons$380. 00 a month or less 3 persons$482. 0 a month or less 4 persons$583. 00 a month or less 5 persons$675. 00 a month or less (peoples-law. org). The current minimum wage in Maryland is $7. 25. (epi. org). This means that a single person or pregnant woman cannot work anymore than thirty two hours a month or eight hours a week to qualify for this benefit. T he average person works at least thirty to forty hours per week, which is about four times the qualifying allowance. What kind of job will allow a person to work only eight hours a week?How is this fair to those who work more than that and are still struggling to get by living paycheck to paycheck? It’s not! Are these families using this cash assistance to help pay bills or to live lavishly? What type of control is used here? There is no control, so absolutely none. Now, I am not saying that families who receive cash assistance should not be able to buy luxury or feel good items, but these items should not be a priority before bills are paid. If you cannot afford to keep your lights on, you should not be in the bar buying alcohol or in the salon getting your hair and nails done. This is absurd!I love to see my tax dollars going to hair nails on a woman that is not working, but yet I work full time and cannot afford to have my hair and nails done as often as those women do. SN AP SNAP otherwise known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the new name for the Food Stamp Program. SNAP is a government allowance that provides needy families with the benefit to buy food. This program provides a family with a card similar to a debit or credit card that holds the benefits allotted to said family. If a person or family qualifies for cash assistance, they will automatically qualify for SNAP.The income guidelines are as follows: Household SizeGross IncomeNet Income 1 person$1,127. 00$867. 00 2 persons$1,517. 00$1,167. 00 3 persons$1,907. 00$1,467. 00 4 persons$2,297. 00$1,767. 00 5 persons$2,687. 00$2,067. 00 (peoples-law. org). With minimum wage at $7. 25 per hour, a person can work an average of one hundred and seventy two hours a month for an average of about thirty two hours a week.What are the problems with this program? How do we make certain that the needy families and children of those needy families are actually receiving the allotted benefit s? The government cannot control this either. Many times these benefits are sold to those who are not needy for half or less than what they are really worth. Meaning, a person not being supplied with this benefit can buy the card from a needy person and go into a market and buy a hundred dollars worth of groceries for only fifty dollars. The non-needy person has then saved a lot, but the child of a needy family is at home with less available food.This sickens me that a parent can literally take out of their child’s mouth just to get cash to do God knows what with. WIC WIC is the Women, Infants and Children Program. This program covers pregnant women, new mothers and children under five who have a nutritional need. The income guidelines here are: Family SizeIncome per monthIncome per year 1 person$1,604. 00$19,240. 00 2 persons$2,159. 00$25,900. 00 3 persons$2,714. 00$32,560. 00 4 persons$3,269. 00$39,220. 00 5 persons$3,824. 00$45,880. 0 This program supplies mothers with inf ants or young children with milk, cheese, beans, oatmeal, cereal and several other nutritious items. This program is very beneficial to the family, as it maintains the health of babies, young children and mothers. I feel as though this is a wonderful program. With every up there is a down. Welfare fraud is huge in America. Welfare fraud is described as â€Å"the intentional misuse of various state funded Welfare programs. † (spamlaw. com). Fraud comes in many forms and may consist of withholding income, household size information or providing false information to obtain benefits.Here we have people obtaining benefits and are not deserving of them. One for instance is the purchasing of the SNAP card. Welfare fraud is very expensive. â€Å"It costs the system millions in misused benefits every year. † (spamlaw. com) â€Å"Welfare fraud has been widely criticized by advocates of the system because this abuse makes funds less available to those who actually need the benef it. It has also been criticized by opponents of the system who believe the crime creates situations where hard working taxpayers are supporting the middle class and a lavish lifestyle for criminals.These critics have coined the terms ‘welfare Cadillac’ or ‘welfare Queen’ to instances or individuals associated with welfare fraud† (spamlaw. com). All actions of welfare fraud should be avoided if you are approached to be involved in such acts. These crimes are punishable by the full extent of the law. If a person is convicted of welfare fraud and put in prison, are our tax dollars not going to further take care of them? In prison inmates are fed, clothed and nursed to health. Not to mention they have to be guarded by correctional officers or policing staff.Wow, what a vicious cycle. We take the benefits from them in the free world, but then again support them in the locked up world. I am so glad that my hard earned tax dollars are supporting such trash. The new changes in the Welfare program were created to help families achieve independence. What is the government doing to help achieve such independence? What programs are implemented to get these needy families back into the work force, not to depend on the government? The Welfare reform in the early 1990’s led to a huge reduction in Welfare dependency. Under the old AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependant Children) program, states were given more federal funds if their welfare caseloads were increased, and funds were cut whenever the state caseload fell. This structure created a strong incentive for states to swell the welfare rolls. Prior to the reform, one child in seven was receiving AFDC benefits. † (Conn Carroll). At this time, President Clinton created programs that allowed families to learn new skills and help them transition back into the work force. This reduced Welfare dependence and required welfare recipients to prepare for employment.This is what really nee ds to be done. However, with the new financial crisis that the United States is currently seeing, it is harder for those with minor skills to obtain work. President Obama has enacted stimulus bill that abolishes welfare reform and adds new welfare spending. â€Å"It is clear that – in both the House and the Senate stimulus bills – the original goal of helping families move to employment and self-sufficiency and off long term dependence on government assistance has instead been replaced with the perverse incentive of adding more families to the welfare rolls.The House bill provides four billion per year to reward states to increase their Temporary Cash Assistance case loads; the Senate bill follows the same policy but allocates less money. † (Rector & Bradley). This is crazy. The funds should be allocated by the amount of unemployment per state, not a gross figure overall. There are some states that are better off financially than others. The funds should be divi ded accordingly. â€Å"In the first year after enactment of the stimulus bill, federal welfare spending will explode upward by more than twenty percent, rising from $491 billion in FY 2008 to $601 billion in 2009.This one year explosion in welfare spending would be, by far, the largest in U. S. history. † (Rector & Bradley). Since the enactment of the welfare reform in the early 1990’s, many Americans have become less dependent on the welfare system. Clinton gives great thanks for being re-elected partially due to his signing of the welfare reform bill. Great job and wonderful efforts President Clinton! In my opinion Welfare is an incentive for people to sit at home and not work, to not be responsible for themselves or their families. Don’t get me wrong, I do see a need for assistance programs, only when necessary.Do I think that all forms of government welfare should be abolished? No, I do not. Surprised by this answer? I knew you would be. I agree that these p rograms should be implemented for those who are in crisis and desperately need them. These programs should not be used and abused at American’s leisure. Considering the tough economic times we are in right now, I agree that many Americans need help. Especially those who have lost their jobs and those who are aggressively seeking employment, but cannot find it. However, this help should only be temporary.New reform needs to be implemented. Education and services need to be offered to get people back into the work force and off of government dependency. With all of the current programs offered, me as a single mother has a huge incentive to quit my job, stay at home and collect all the government has to offer. Then, I may be able to buy lobster in the grocery store rather than 80/20 ground beef. WORKS CITED Carroll, C. (2009). Stimulus Bill Abolishes Welfare Reform. Retrieved November 7, 2011 from http://blog. heritage. org/2009/02/11stimulus-bill-abolishes-welfare-reform/print/ Fox, L. 2007). What a new Federal minimum wage means for the United States. Retrieved November 7, 2011 from http://www. epi. org/publications/entry/ib234/ Rector, R. and Bradley, K. (2009, February). Stimulus Bill Abolishes Welfare Reform and Adds New Welfare Spending. Web Memo No. 2287 Published by the Heritage Foundation http://www. peoples-law. org/income/gov-ben/family_investment_program. htm What is Welfare Fraud? Retrieved November 7, 2011 from http://www. spamlaws. com/welfare-fraud. html http://wordnetweb. princeton. edu/perl/webwn? s=welfare

Pay for Payment

The Missouri Computational Company MCC, founded in 1952, is a very successful American company. It develops, produces, and sells medium- and large-size computers. The company currently operates as a multinational corporation in North and South America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. Sales activities are regionally structured. The factories are in St. Louis and Newark (NJ); the most important research activities take place in St. Louis. Production, R & D, personnel and finance are coordinated at the American head office. https://donemyessay.com/numbers-101-900-spanish-1-lopez/Business units handle the regional sales responsibilities. This decentralized structure does have to observe certain centralized limitations regarding logs, letter types, types of products, and financial criteria. Standardization of labor conditions, function classification, and personnel planning is coordinated centrally, whereas hiring is done by the regional branches. Each regional branch has its own personnel and finance departments. The management meets every two weeks, and this week is focusing on globalization issues. Internationalization Mr. Johnson paid extra attention in the management meeting.As vice-president of human resources worldwide he could be facing serious problems. Management recognizes that the spirit of globalization is becoming more active every day. Not only do the clients have more international demands, but production facilities need to be set up in more and more countries. This morning a new logo was introduced to symbolize the worldwide image of the company. The next item on the agenda was a worldwide marketing plan. Mr. Smith, the CEO, saw a chance to bring forward what his MBA taught him to be universally applicable management tools.In addition to global images and marketing, he saw global production, finance, and human-resources management as supporting the international breakthrough. Johnson’s hair started to rise as he listened to his colleague’s presentation. â€Å"The organization worldwide should be flatter. An excellent technique for this would be to follow the project approach that has been so successful in the USA. † Johnson’s question about the acceptance of this approach in southern Europe and South America was brushed aside with a short reply regarding the extra time that would be allotted to introduce it in hese cultures. The generous allocation of six months would be provided to make even the most unwilling culture understand and appr eciate the beauty of shorter lines of communication. Finally, all of this would be supported by a sthrong pay-for-performance system so that, in addition to more effective structures, the employees would also be directed towards the right goals. Johnson’s last try to introduce a more â€Å"human† side to the discussion concerning the implementation of the techniques and ppolicy instruments was useless. The finance manager, Mr.Finley, expressed the opinion of the entire management team: â€Å"We know that cultural differences are decreasing with the increasing reach of the media. We should be world leaders and create a future environment that is a microcosm of Missouri. † Mr. Johnson frowned at the prospect of next week’s international meeting in Europe. (p. 15-16) Background: Missouri Computational Company Since the late 1970s MCC has been operating in more than 20 countries. As its foreign sales have grown, top management has become increasingly concerne d about international coordination.Overseas growth, while robust, has been unpredictable. The company has therefore decided to coordinate the processes of measuring and rewarding achievement worldwide. Greater consistency in managing country operations is also on the agenda. There is not a complete disregard for national differences; the general manager worked in Germany for five years, and the marketing manager spent seven years in the Singapore operation. It has been agreed to introduce a number of ppolicy principles which will permeate MCC plants worldwide.He CEO envisages a shareable definition of â€Å"How we do things in MCC† to let everyone in MCC, wherever they are in the world, know what the company stands for. Within this, there will be centrally coordinated policies for human resources, sales, and marketing. This would benefit customers since they, too, are internationalizing in many cases. They need to know that MCC could provide high levels of service and effecti veness to their businesses, which increasingly cross borders. MCC needs to achieve consistent, recognizable standards regardless of the country in which it is operation.There is already a history of standardizing policies. The Reward System Two years ago, confronted with heavy competition, the company decided to use a more differentiated reward system for the personnel who sold and serviced mid-size computers. One of the reasons was to see whether the motivation of the American sales force could be increased. In addition, the company became aware that the best sales people often left the firm for better-paying competitors. They decided on a two-year trial with the 15 active sales people in the St. Louis area. Experiment with Pay-for-PerformanceThe experiment consisted of the following elements: †¢ A bonus was introduced which depended on the turnover figures each quarter for each sales person: 100% over salary for the top sales person; 60% for the second best; 30% for numbers t hree and four; and no bonus for the remainder. †¢ The basic salary of all sales people of mid-size computers was decreased by 10%. During the first year of the trial period there were continuous discussions among the affected employees. Five sales people left the company because they were convinced the system treated them unjustly. Total sales did not increase as a result of all this.Despite this disaster, management continued the experiment because they believed that this kind of change was necessary and would take time to be accepted. Pay-for-performance in Sweden: Universalism vs. Particularism MCC has recently acquired a small but successful Swedish software company. Its head founded it three years ago with his son Carl and was joined by his newly graduated daughter Clara and his youngest son Peter 12 months ago. Since the acquisition, MCC has injected considerable capital and also given the company its own computer distribution and servicing in Sweden.This has given a real boost to the business. MCC is now convinced that rewards for sales people must reflect the increasing competition in the market. It has decreed that at least 30% of remuneration must depend on individual performance. At the beginning of this year Carl married a very rich wife. The mmarriage is happy and this has had an effect on his sales record. He will easily earn the 30% bonus, though this will be small in relation to his total income, supplemented by his wife’s and by his share of the acquisition payment. Peter has a less happy mmarriage and much less money.His only average sales figures will mean that his income will be reduced when he can ill afford it. Clara, who married while still in school, has two children and this year lost her husband in an air crash. This tragic event caused her to have a weak sales year. At the international sales conference, national MCC managers present their salary and bonus ranges. The head of the Swedish company believes that performance should be rewarded and that favoritism should be avoided; he has many non-family members in his company. Yet he knows that unusual circumstances in the lives of his children have made this contest anything but fair.The rewards withheld will hurt more deeply than the rewards bestowed will motivate. He tries to explain the situation to the American HR chief and the British representative, who both look skeptical and talk about excuses. He accedes to their demands. His colleagues from France, Italy, and the Middle East, who all know the situation, stare in disbelief. They would have backed him on the issue. Members of his family later say they feel let down. This was not what they joined the company for. (pp. 30-32) Meeting in Milan: Individualism vs. Communitarianism During a meeting in Milan, Mr.Johnson presented ideas for the payment scheme to motivate the sales force. He became annoyed at the way these meetings were always run and decided to introduce guidelines on how all future m eetings should be conducted. He did not like the Singaporean and African representatives always turning up in groups. They should, he said, confine themselves to one representative only, please. And could Mr. Sin from Singapore make sure that his boss was always represented by the same person and not different people on each occasion? These suggestions were not very popular among some of the managers. Mr.Sin, Mr. Nuere from Nigeria and Mr. Calamier from France wanted to know the reasons for these comments. Mr. Sin asked why, since different issues were on the agenda, they should not have different representatives knowledgeable on the various items. The discussion was going nowhere and, after an hour had passed, Mr. Johnson suggested it be put to a vote, confident that most of his European managers would back him But this, too, proved controversial. Mr. Calamier threw up his hands and said he was â€Å"shocked that on such a sensitive and important issue you seek to impose this deci sion upon a minority. He said there really should be a consensus on this even if it took another hour. Mr. Sin agreed that â€Å"voting should be saved for trivial questions. † Johnson looked to the German and Scandinavian representatives for support, but to his surprise, they agreed that consensus should be given more of a chance. He was too frustrated to respond to the Dutch manager’s suggestion that they should vote on whether to vote. Finally, the Nigerians recommended that, at the very least, discussion and/or voting should be postponed until the next meeting.How else were those present supposed to solicit the views of their colleagues in their home offices? Wearily, Mr. Johnson agreed. Further discussions about the reward system would have to wait too. (pp. 60-61) Mr. Johnson finally managed to compromise on the representation issue by allowing each national office to send up to three people, if they wished, but no more. This decision had not been voted on. Every one agreed. Now he could start to tackle the introduction of pay-for-performance, bonuses, and merit pay for next year. He started, as usual, with an overview of the situation in the USA.It had been three years since the system was first introduced. In general, he explained, they could detect a link between the use of this system and computer sales, although it had to be mentioned that a ssimilar system had failed miserably in the manufacturing department. A different type of achievement-based reward system was currently being tested. No problems were anticipated with this revised system. â€Å"In summary,† Johnson said, â€Å"we are sthrongly convinced that we need to introduce this system worldwide. † The northwest European representatives voiced their carefully considered, but positive, comments.Then the Italian representative, Mr. Gialli, began describing his experience with the system. In his country, the pay-for-performance experiment did much better than he had expected during the first three months. But the following three months were disastrous. Sales were dramatically lower for the salesperson who had performed the best during the previous period. â€Å"After many discussions,† he continued, â€Å"I finally discovered what was happening. The salesperson who received the bonus for the previous period felt guilty in front of the others and tried extremely hard the next quarter not to earn a bonus. The Italian manager coincluded that, for the next year of this experiment, the Italian market should be divided into nine regions. All sales representatives within one region should be allowed to allocate the bonus earned in their region either to individual performers or to share it equally. The blunt Dutch manager’s reaction was: â€Å"I have never heard such a crazy idea. † (P. 63) The Italians’ Reaction: Affective versus Emotion-Neutral Cultures Raising his voice, Mr. Pauli, Gialli’s colleague, asked: â₠¬Å"What do you mean, a crazy idea? We have carefully considered the pros and cons, and consider that it would greatly benefit the buyer. â€Å"Please, don’t get over-excited,† pleaded Mr. Johnson. â€Å"We need to provide solid arguments and should not get side-tracked by emotional irrelevancies. † Before Bergman had a chance to explain why he thought it was a crazy idea, the two Italian colleagues left the room for a time-out. â€Å"This is what I call a typical Italian reaction,† Mr. Bergman remarked to his colleagues. â€Å"Before I even had a chance to give my arguments as to why I think the idea is crazy, they walk out. † The other managers were squirming uncomfortably in their chairs. They did not know what to think.Mr. Johnson got up and left the room to talk to the Italians. (p. 72) Understanding Cultural Differences: Diffuse versus Specific Roles As the representative from head office, Mr. Johnson felt very responsible for the developments at the meeting. The Italians’ behavior seemed strange to him. Mr. Bergman just wanted to discuss an important aspect of the consistency of the reward system, and they had not even given him a chance to explain his position. Moreover the Italians had refused to put any solid arguments on the table themselves. When Johnson entered Mr.Gialli’s room he said: â€Å"Paolo, what’s the problem? You shouldn’t take this too seriously. It’s just a business discussion. † â€Å"Just a business discussion? † Gialli asked with unconcealed rage. â€Å"This has nothing to do with a business discussion. It is typical for that Dutchman to attack us. We have our own ways of being effective, and then he calls us crazy. † â€Å"I didn’t hear that,† Johnson said. â€Å"He simply said that he found your group bonus idea crazy. I know Bergman and he didn’t intend that to refer to you. † â€Å"If that’s so, answered Gialli, â€Å"why is he behaving so rudely?Johnson realized how deeply his Italian colleagues had been offended. He went back to Bergman, took him aside, and told him about his conversation with Gialli. â€Å"Offended! † said Berman. â€Å"Let them have the self-control to respond to professional arguments. I don’t understand why they are so hot-headed anyway. They know we have done extensive research on this. Let them listen first. You have to remember that these Latins never want to be bothered with facts. † (p. 86) Mr. Munoz Mediates: How We Accord Status The Italian managers were far from assuaged.One even referred unpleasantly to â€Å"the American cult of youth: mere boys who think they know everything. † So when the Spanish HR manager, Mr. Munoz, offered to mediate, Johnson readily agreed. It occurred to him that Spanish culture might be closer to Italian culture, apart from the fact that Munoz was some 20 years his senior, so could hardly be accu sed of inexperience. While hopeful that Munoz might succeed, Johnson was astonished to see him bring the Italians back into the conference room in minutes. Munoz was not, in Johnson’s view, the most professional of HR managers, but he was clearly expert at mending fences.It was at once apparen't, however, that Munoz was now backing the Italians’ call for modifications to the pay-for-performance plan. The problem as he saw it, and the Italians agreed, was that under the current plan winning salespeople were going to earn more than their bosses. Subordinates, they believed, should not be allowed to undermine their superiors in this way. Mr. Munoz explained that back in Spain his sales force would probably simply refuse to embarrass a boss like this; or perhaps one or two, lacking in loyalty to the organization, might, in which case they would humiliate their boss into resignation.Furthermore, since the sales manager was largely responsible for the above-average performan ce of his team, was it not odd, to say the least, that the company would be rewarding everyone except the leader? The meeting broke for lunch, for which Johnson had little appetite. (p. 106) After Lunch: Attitudes Toward Time At 1:50 p. m. most participants returned to the meeting room. At 2:05 p. m. Johnson started pacing restlessly up and down. Munoz and Gialli were still down the hall making telephone calls. They came in at 2:20 p. m.Johnson said, â€Å"Now, gentlemen, can we finally start the meeting. † The Singaporean and African representatives looked puzzled. They thought the meeting had already started. The first point on the agenda was the time intervals determining bonuses and merits. All except the American, Dutch, and other northwest European representatives complained that these were far too frequent. To Johnson and his Dutch and Scandinavian colleagues, the frequency was obviously right. â€Å"Rewards must closely follow the behavior they are intended to reinfo rce; otherwise, you lose the connection. The manager from Singapore responded, â€Å"Possibly, but this go-for-the-quick-buck philosophy has been losing us customers. They don’t like the pressure we put on at the end of the quarter. They want our representatives to serve them, not to have private agendas. We need to keep our customers long-term, not push them into buying so that one salesperson can beat a rival. † (pp. 133-4) Facing change: Inner and Outer Directed Mr. Djawa from Indonesia then raised two objections to Mr. Johnson regarding the pay-for-performance approach. â€Å"It does not work in our sales territories.It leads to customers being overloaded with products they never wanted and do not need. Furthermore, when things are not going well for our people, it is a mistake to hurry them or blame them. There are good times and bad times. Paying them for performance does not change inevitable trends† This did not impress Johnson and his Western colleagues . â€Å"We want to develop something at HQ that will motivate everyone. Are you saying that linking reward to success has no influence at all? Surely you must agree there is some connection. † Mr. Djawa replied, â€Å"It certainly has effects, but these tend to be swamped by economic booms and busts.As the flamingo twists its head round to look at Alice, the hoops wander off, and the balls crawl away. The result is chaos. â€Å"Other cultures aren’t part of a machine, or the organs of a supra-natural body. They’re different animals, all with logic of their own. If we asked them what game they are playing, and got them to explain the rules, we might discover that we aren’t holding a mallet at all, or we might even get the hedgehog to go in the right direction. † Trompenaars, F. , ; Hampden Turner, C. (1998). Riding the waves of culture: Understanding cultural diversity in global business. New York: McGraw Hill.

Management Case Study: 15% Employee Payroll Decrease

I hope all is well since our last meeting. As we have recently been confronted with financial difficulties within Austen Pharmaceuticals, I have given extensive consideration in devising an effective plan for adequately addressing the directive of decreasing payroll by 15% and am prepared to share my prospective solution. As this transition will directly impact the employees, I have met with them to apprise them of the proposed cuts that have been presented and will ultimately take place.In an effort to maintain morale and make this evolution as seamless as possible for the employees, I have incorporated some of their ideas and suggestions in constructing the plan to decrease the payroll while preserving the workforce. After reviewing the most current performance evaluations for each employee, I have established a ranking system that rates each employee based on their overall performance in addition to any individual contributions that they have made which resulted in more efficiency within our division.By rating the employees based on performance, this provides a reference point to determine the most productive employees versus those who are marginal in the event that lay-offs are inevitable. The first step in fulfilling the objective of the plan is to immediately eliminate overtime and have salaried staff help out where possible to complete the work.Next, is to restructure or reduce the amount of hours that each employee works while allowing them to maintain their benefits. The more productive employees will work during peak hours and the average staff will work during  off-peak hours. This will allow for the work to be completed while utilizing our best resources when the workflow is the highest. The final step in the plan is to cut pay for each employee based on their performance. The pay cuts will be based on the rankings providing a 1% cut for the best performance and a 3% cut for those who are within the lower rankings. This will allow for our best per former to be acknowledged for their efforts while meeting the needs of the company. Additionally, this will allow our average performers to maintain employment while striving to improve performance.

Adidas is one of the famous company in sporting items industry Essay

Introduction Adidas manager is requiring me to create and design a training program which will improve and develop their graduate employee existing skills. This report is going to target to non-graduate or college student and giving them chances to join this training program. This program is going to help trainee do their function in sporting industry Adidas Aim They are trying to build the relationship with their employee via passion, diversity. Adidas may find an excellent balance between life and work of the employee and more than that they provide an essential need for their employee such as food, drink, work benefit to encourage them which will increase business productivity Adidas Human Resource Strategy Adidas is one of the famous company in sporting items industry. At the moment Adidas are doing staff recruitment for their store which across all over the world and especially in the UK. In a past few year Adidas Human Resources Department decided to do Functional Training Program (FTP) in short- period time which giving opportunity for graduate student to get foundation and great educational qualification before for they start to become a functional professional career inside Adidas group also co-operate with internship and apprenticeships for non-graduate and student who want to work for Adidas company straight after school. We have developed on National Vocational Qualification that will contribute to the business and individual need. According to Olin and Tucker (1997) state that â€Å"National Vocational Qualification government and organisation figure out NVQ training program will develop specific profile of ability and basic knowledge of employee at any level which associated vocational area† NVQ training program focus on particular business industry or sector, it will help Adidas group to find the right employee for specific role in the sporting industry Demonstrate NVQ contribution to Adidas NVQ will also comfort organization or company decrease company cost, increase the competiveness and company productivity. Adidas group found putting resourcing in staff will change in work environment spirit and staff inspiration, much easier to recruitment staff and enhance communication in workplace. It will also make Adidas group look more professional and stand out compare to another business. In another way, NVQ are enabled to help Adidas proof to the world that business hired staff or employee has reach minimum standard quality. NVQ to individual needs NVQ programme provides the portfolio for learner or employee which help learner or employee able to learn-practical or work- the related task which helps them to develop their skills and knowledge to do a job more effectively. National Vocational training program intended to develop employee existing skills and that will improve business performance, NVQ is going to evaluate the staff able to carry out their job as indicated a set of rule in an organization, which rely on work performance. Adidas can adapt NVQ training program to improve their standard via examination. Main body NVQ training program overall design 164465275336000It has a variety of ways to get NVQ: succeeding a normal training program, blend of casual and informal or starting to have a learning approaches or just based on the past capability. NVQ framework are design to testing learner capacities in the working environment. To achieve a NVQs qualification the employee or learner have to demonstrate that there can do certain task which related to the roles or area that they apply to the company or business. NVQs training program are going to do the evaluation in a blend of courses by portfolios are going to confirm and proof that what you have done in training program and perception, an assessor will check and may give reference to the company that you can do the task that related to the business. Following by Malcom (1996) â€Å"NVQs framework system made as capability are created, course are movement and exchange are distinguished. Framework task is to provide a reasonable sorting for NVQs and facilities delivery and progres sion both external and internal of competence† NVQ are design for adult and young people who want to improve their skills to increase their work performance which will lead to build up business productivity. NVQ are set level for the learner from level 1 to level 5, in lowest level are going to aim at company operation and highest level for manager position. NVQ are suitable for people are working are in college and having a part- time job are at school are fulfilled apprenticeship NVQs training program delivery strategy Focus on employee and trainee ought to acclimate themselves with structure, substance and evaluation requirement of certificate previously planning a training program course NVQs training program is delivery to any trainee or learner in many ways which Meets the learner and trainee need and capabilities Pleased acquired qualification NVQs is going to provide to learner and trainee the other skills that not a part of the qualification but will help them improve the existing skills Literacy / language / numeracy Critical thinking and personal learning Individual and social advancement Employability Where pertinent, this could include empowering the possibility to get to applicable capabilities covering these abilities. 1651004191000 With these detail in overall design and delivery training of NVQs. This program will bring benefit to the Adidas group. This will include manage time to teaching so not spend much time or little time on teaching. If too much teaching due to costly and the material which delivery to training or learner can be confusing. Spend little time on training will not improve and maximise trainee skills. More over this training program is classify trainee or student what their aim in training and link back to business role they apply for. In addition, NVQs training program is measuring the employee and trainee by knowledge, attitude and skills. It’s going to be connect between organisation and employee. Moreover, Jim and Roger (2009) suggested that â€Å"Training program is providing individual chance to perform their task more effectively and it will help an organisation get the current target† Finally, NVQs training program may bring benefit to learner and Adidas group by motiva ting, group or personal to inspect current implementations and working environment. NVQs material and exercise support NVQs objective NVQs are cooperate with many practical organisations to become a leader in development skills. They are doing services to training suppliers, employers and learner over an assortment of sector to satisfy the need in workplaces. NVQs certificate or capabilities are estimated by employers all over the world, helping people to build up their talented and capacities for profession career. NVQ Training plan The NVQs is aiming to the employee of Adidas who contributes to the work performed. As, Mayo (2000) â€Å"training plan may have added by Human Resource Department purpose, weigh into the advantages of an individual group in particular organization†. It is including Personal skills: Knowledge/ skill/experience, ability to do the task and what employee will convey to the work from the other part of their social life Personal motivation: desire, goal, work inspiration. Workplace environment: The background of the business, personal respect, free to renovate. Teamwork efficiency: having a same objective and values, helpfulness, communal respect Essential material need in NVQs Assessment and homework to consider becoming the important material in NVQs. It gives speedy and basic methods for checking employee has the right stuff and abilities to work in an exchange. The specialist gets his or her NVQ Level 2 or 3 by a mix of evaluation and works environment preparing, during which time they give confirm they meet the NVQs requirement. Other material, may aid to the learner or trainee to achieve NVQs qualification such as the computer, pen, folder, tablet, video or textbook Example practical organization NVQs is co-operated with City NVQs Logistic Delivery

Business Plan Of Castle Family Restaurant

Business Plan Of Castle Family Restaurant This is the business plan of Castles Family Restaurant located in the north California. It has the eight branches in different location. Total 340 employees are working in the restaurant. There is part time as well as full time employees working in it so the need for recruitment and hiring on continual basis required by restaurant. The manager operations and HR manager Jay Morgan need to face the problem related to HRM related to visit in all branches on weekly basis, managing the large number of employees of different branches, managing their payroll system, scheduling and their queries with out delay of time and in cost effective way. HR consultant is hired to coop with all these HR issues of the restaurant. The business plan includes different HR reforms in order to problem resolution. HRIS is considered the key towards the accomplishment of restaurant goals and to meet the HR requirements. Different types of HRIS are identified and the important types of HRIS that fit on the sce nario and can help to resolve the HR issues at is facing by Restaurant is analyzed and methodology of its proper implementation is suggested. Comparison of different types shows that restaurant needs to implement the payroll and employee self support management software in order to coop with daily basis HR issues. Ascentis software Vendor Company is recommended in order to install the successful implementation of HRIS in the restaurant in order to meet the HR needs of the company and provide the successful implementation of solution to the HR manager of restaurant. Introduction The paper is related to the business plan of Castle family restaurant, which is the restaurant situated in the North California. It is the family owned restaurant and it has multiple branches in different locations. The business plan represent the document summarize the Castle family restaurant current business operations related to HR functionality of restaurant’s manager Jay Morgan who is the operati on manager of his branch and carry out the Hr functions of other multiplication branches. I as the HR consultant of Jay Morgan is required to present the business plan to identified the HR problems that currently restaurant is facing, important HRM system need to be installed in order to meet the HR requirement of the company, comparison of different HR techniques in order to identify the best technique for the restaurant and sought out the current issues related to HR functions of Castle’ family Restaurant. The most important thing here is the implementation of information system to effectively carry out the HR activities of the restaurant. Company Review Castle’s Family Restaurant is basically medium sized company. It is a family owned restaurant. Total Eight branches are there located in different location naming Dunsmuir Avenue, Eureka, Parkview Redding-Shasta County, and Yreka-Siskiyou County. Castle’s Family Restaurant is providing services to the larger n umbers of customers. The restaurant carries out their working in different areas and integrates the system of food chain and employees through its manager Jay Morgan who has performed dual responsibilities, one is the responsibility of operation manager and the other one is HR manager. Morgan has to closely manage the HR operations of various branches of restaurant with close consideration and integration of employees working in different branches. Almost 340 employees are working in the restaurant with 40 % of employees are full time weather the remaining are part time employees. The need for the part time is increasing so the recruitment and hiring of part time employees is the issue on regular basis. In the reality the tasks to manage the HR functions of various branches without the implementation of technological advance system is difficult and to some extend impossible to perform in effective manner.

Plant Physiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plant Physiology - Essay Example White sorghum plants are sweeter than red sorghum plants, and they are used as grain crops. Red sorghum plants are less tasty than white sorghum plants. However, red sorghum plants are beneficial to farmers in that birds are less likely to attack and eat them, and they make good beer. Sorghum plants are usually planted directly from the seeds in rows, and they are planted in the spring. The plants grow in a variety of soils and are drought resistant. However, sorghum plants will grow better in soil that has been fertilized on the preset. The characteristics of sorghum plants having originated in hot temperatures of Africa, being field crops, having the appearance of "cane-grass" and being drought resistant make the plants susceptible to stressful environments because the sorghum plants have the capability of being clustered together in a group, meaning that the plants are close enough where they can generate energy from the other plants. Also, they have the appearance of "cane-grass" helping them to be tall enough to withstand and guard the neighboring plants from the harsh temperatures. Also, since the sorghum plants are drought resistant, they have the capability to go without water for long periods of time.