History of Kenny Rogers Roasters

Kenny Rogers ROASTERS was originally set up by popular Country and Western singer, Kenny Rogers, and former Governor of the state of Kentucky, John Y Brown Jr., in 1991. Seeing an opportunity to provide healthy and delicious food in a restaurant environment, Kenny Rogers ROASTERS opened its first restaurant in Coral Spring, Florida in August of 1991.Internationally, Kenny Rogers ROASTERS has expanded to various countries around the world and has restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brunei and the Philippines.Kenny Rogers ROASTERS was awarded three times in a row (1996, 1997, 1998) for the prestigious America's Choice Award Winner for the Best Chicken Chain by Restaurants and Institutions Magazine, a leading publication from USA. Kenny Rogers ROASTERS was also awarded the Master Franchisee of the Year 2000/2001and 2002/2003 by the Malaysian Franchise Association, an affiliate of the World Franchise Council.Berjaya Roasters (M) Sdn. Bhd. is the franchise ho lder for Kenny Rogers ROASTERS (â€Å"KRR†) in Malaysia. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berjaya Group Berhad and was incorporated in 1994. In April 2008, Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) wholly owned subsidiary of ROASTERS Asia Pacific and master franchise for Kenny Rogers ROASTERS fully acquired the chain's parent, US-based NF Roasters.Kenny Rogers ROASTERS is a mid-casual dining restaurant with roast chicken as its main core item complemented by a rich variety of hot and cold side dishes. This is made up of Kenny's famous home-made muffins, jacket potatoes, vegetable salads, pasta, soups, desserts and beverages served in a friendly and comfortable environment.Frist Kenny Rogers Roasters in Coral Springs FloridMenuKenny’s Quarter Meal- RM 18.50 Chicken Macaroni Cheese- RM 18.50 Kenny’s Family Meal- RM 73.50 Rock & Roll Spaghetti- RM 18.50 Kenny’s Chicken & Garden Meal- RM 19.50 Chicken Ceaser Salad- RM 17.50 Red Hot Meal- RM 18.50 Tangy Chicken Spah etti- RM 18.50Promotion*2014 PromotionNews

Person

What makes a person attractive to others? Looks and personality – these are the usual attributes which defines an attractive person. Most people have either looks or personality but not many people have both. I have a childhood friend called Julian Lee. He Is very good looking and he has a heart of gold. He is quite a heartthrob. With raven black hair, long eyelashes, an aquiline nose and a strong Jailing, It Is hard not to be mesmerism by his good looks. As added bonuses, he has a towering frame and a gentle voice.As the captain of the school basketball team, his skin spots a golden tan from the hours of tireless training under the sun. He exudes a boyish charm which makes not only girls fall for him but also a favored student among teachers. His looks aside, what makes Julian highly attractive is the fact that he has a superb personality. Julian is very kind and helpful. Whenever the teachers need help, he will be the first to render his assistance. When there are school ev ents, he will also be the first to volunteer his services. There was a time when there were a few younger boys torturing a hapless cat.They were tying its paws with rubber bands. Julian immediately went forward and stopped the boys. Frightened by his stern persona, the boys stopped what they were doing at once and ran away quickly. On another occasion, there was a group of students who were bullying another student. Even though the boys were older than Julian, he went up to them and chastise what they were doing. The boys threatened him to mind his own business and beat him up. However, Julian stood firm and replied calmly that he would report the matter to the teacher. The boys instantly backed away and left.He even helped the student who was bullied to the sickbay. Julian is also an exemplary leader. He is the chairperson of the class. During class work, he will organist everybody into groups. He ensures that no one gets left out and everybody gets a fair share of work. Our class enjoys working with Julian and we always give our best under his leadership. Last year, our school organized a carnival to raise funds for charity. Each class had to set up a booth. Being ever systematic and resourceful, Julian assigned work according to our strengths.He Is also someone who alas the talks – often doing more than his fair share of work. In the end, our Ice- cream booth raised the most money for charity. To me, this Is a fine example of an attractive person. An attractive person Is always humble and would never dream of relying on his looks, or anything short of hard faces) dirty and who treat others with kindness and respect are the beautiful ones. Some may be physically attractive, while some may not. But these are the people beauty does fade eventually but people who have been touched by our inner beauty will find it unforgettable.

Reward Management System

TERM PAPER OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TOPIC: REWARD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM {draw:frame} SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY: OVERVIEW: REWARD MANAGEMENT Reward management is about the development, implementation, maintenance communication, and evaluation of reward processes. These processes deal with the assessment of relative job values, the design and management of pay structures, performance management, paying for performance, competence or skill (contingent pay), the provision of employee benefits and pensions, and management of reward procedure. Employers and mangers should pay attention to their employees and special attention to the best employees. This is done to encourage good performers, to push them to greater heights. Positive recognition for people can ensure a positive and a productive organization. The recognition of outstanding performance aims to create an understanding of what behavior might add significant value to the organization and to promote such behavior. Awards- monetary and non-monetary – should be given based on the achievements and accomplishments of workers. The Business Research Lab, 2006) But first, let's take a quick look at the primary goals of rewards and recognition. Jack Zigon defines rewards as â€Å"_something than increases the frequency of an employee action_† (1998). This definition points to an obvious desired outcome of rewards and recognition: to improve performance. Non-monetary recognition can be very motivating, helping to build feelings of confidence and satisfaction (Keller 1999). Another important goal is increased employee retention. An ASTD report on retention research identified consistent employee recognition as a key factor in retaining top-performing workers. (Jimenez 1999). COMPONENTS OF REWARD SYSTEM An organization’s reward system compromises three components- Monetary rewards, Non-monetary rewards and psychological satisfaction. Monetary rewards Monetary rewards are those paid by any negotiable instrument- cash, cheque, money order and direct deposit. It can also be any item that can be readily converted to cash such as savings bonds or gift –cards/certificates. Non-monetary rewards These can be in the form of meals, trips, plaques, trophies, desk items, cups and mugs, personal items and clothing such as caps, shirts and sweatshirts and other items such as tools, electronics, radios and sports equipments. Psychological satisfaction This form of reward includes opportunities to perform meaningful work, social interactions with others in the workplace, job training, career advancement opportunities, recognition, employer brand, and a host of similar factors. REWARD SYSTEM {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:rect} draw:line} * {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:rect} * {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} * {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} {draw:li ne} * {draw:line} * {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:rect} draw:line} {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:rect} LINKAGE OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TO REWARD SYSTEM Performance management is concerned with measuring individuals' effectiveness in their roles, understanding their aspirations and determining which development actions would be most appropriate. Reward management is about understanding individuals' motivating factors, and determining the level of pay, bonus and other rewards they receive. In some organizations the links between the two are strong and explicit, while in others they are kept deliberately separate. Work in these areas can be prompted by evidence of employee dissatisfaction, such as high turnover or poor morale, or by the desire to drive a change in some aspect of employees' behavior. The effectiveness of an organization's performance and reward management can have a major impact not only on morale and productivity but also its ability to attract and retain staff. Many companies have found that far from complementing the stated aims of the business, their performance and reward systems were actually driving counter-productive behavior. Motivation and Reward System Management Employee motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an employee to behave in a certain manner for accomplishing certain organizational goals. It is imperative for the organization to enhance motivation level of the employees in order to bring out the best in them. The motivation-level of the sales force must be kept high in order that the sales force efficiently realizes the sales goals. Reward system management is the framework that envisions formulation of different types of reward systems to boost the motivation of the salespersons. Role of Compensation and Rewards* in Organization: Compensation and Reward system plays vital role in a business organization. Since, among four Ms, i. _e__ Men, Material, Machine and Money, _Men has been most important factor, it is impossible to imagine a business process without Men. Land, Labor, Capital and Organization are four major factors of production. Every factor contributes to the process of production/business. It expects return from the business process such as Rent is the return expected by the Landlord. imilarly Capitalist expects Interest and Organizers i. e Entrepreneur expects profits. The labour expects wages from the process. It is evident that other factors are in-human factors and as such labour plays vital role in bringing about the process of production/business in motion. The other factors being human, has expectations, emotions, ambitions and egos. Labour therefore expects to have fair share in the business/production process. Advantages of Fair Compensation System: Therefore a fair compensation system is a must for every business organization. The fair compensation system will help in the following: If an ideal compensation system is designed, it will have positive impact on the efficiency and results produced by workmen. Such system will encourage the normal worker to perform better and achieve the standards fixed. this system will encourage the process of job evaluation. It will also help in setting up an ideal job evaluation, which will have transparency, and the standards fixing would be more realistic and achievable. Such a system would be well defined and uniform. It will be apply to all the levels of the organization as a general system. The system would be simple and flexible so that every worker/recipient would be able to compute his own compensation receivable. Such system would be easy to implement, so that it would not penalize the workers for the reasons beyond their control and would not result in exploitation of workers. It will raise the morale, efficiency and cooperation among the workers. It, being just and fair would provide satisfaction to the workers. Such system would help management in complying with the various labor acts. Such system would also bring about amicable settlement of disputes between the workmen union and management. 10. The system would embody itself the principle of equal work equal wages. Encouragement for those who perform better and opportunities for those who wish to excel. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DATA COLLECTION The data I’ve chosen for my study is SECONDARY data. The relevant secondary data is collected from the sources like Internet and books. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to: Investigate the relationship between the human resource function and payroll administration Evaluate the link between pay and performance Understanding the overall objectives and structure of the organisation, and the factors that have prompted the review of performance and reward Understanding how the current performance and reward management systems work, how they are perceived, and what effect they are having Agreeing what behaviours and capabilities should be rewarded, and what reward elements and approaches should be used, for which employees Goals and objectives of rewarding in an organization The main purpose of this rewarding strategy is to support business goals and to recruit and retain high performers’ . Compensation and rewarding is important. A recognition programme can be arranged anytime and it does not have to be expensive. All it needs is fairness, high visibility and consistency. To be fair, a programme must not favor one employee over another. Making certain that a programme is highly visible will help to ensure consistent implementation . The reward should just be part of the process. Recognition, however, can be achieved by the reward given at a gathering of employees. A good manager automatically knows that employee satisfaction is essential to healthy teamwork and productivity. The best manager will always try to find ways to bring out the strengths in every employee but when an employee just isn't fit for the job, the manager should take a hard look for a better way to use their talents. Management To insure fair and consistent application, set of rewards and recognition programmes should be developed. This should be characterized by pre-arranged frequently scheduled ways of acknowledging contributions and accomplishments for an individual or team. Reward and recognition should be given as acknowledgements and appreciation for attendance, safety, customer service, productivity, public service, outstanding achievements and the like. Attendance reward is given as an incentive to reduce the number of unplanned sick days or lost days due to injury and to reduce the level of over time required to back bill absent employees. Customer service rewards help to promote and recognize employees for outstanding customer service. Sales award provides an incentive for employees to increase the sales margin over the previous fiscal year, such as in a bookstall. Another approach to employee recognition is by providing employee rewards and recognition at anytime for demonstration of behaviors and values of the organization; contributions to the goals and objectives of the organization or work unit and to acknowledge individual or team accomplishments. Such behaviors and contribution are team work, project completion, suggestion for a new or modified business practice, exemplary efforts, employee appreciation, employee of the month and honouring separating employees. PAY AND REWARD SYSTEM Pay is an important feature of human resource management – after all, it is the main reason why people work. It is a sensitive and controversial area that has been extensively debated at both practical and theoretical levels. In the US the term ‘compensation' is used to encompass everything received by an employed individual in return for work. For example, Milcovich et al (2001: 6) state that: â€Å"Employees may see compensation as a return in exchange between their employer and themselves, as an entitlement for being an employee of the company, or as a reward for a job well done†. The term ‘reward management' covers both the strategy and the practice of pay systems. Traditionally, human resource or personnel sections have been concerned with levels and schemes of payment whereas the process of paying employees – the payroll function – has been the responsibility of finance departments. There is a trend towards integrating the two, driven by new computerized packages offering a range of facilities. There are two basic types of pay schemes, although many organizations have systems which include elements of both: Fixed levels of pay. Wages or salaries which do not vary from one period to the next except by defined pay increases, generally on annual basis. There may be scales of payments determined by age, responsibility or seniority. Most ‘white-collar' jobs were paid in this way until recently. Reward linked to performance. The link may be daily, weekly, monthly or annualized. Payment for any one period varies from that for any other period, depending on quantity or quality of work. Sales functions are commonly paid on the basis of turnover; manual and production workers may be paid according to work completed or items produced. Catering staff typically rely on direct payment from satisfied customers in the form of service charges or tips (gratuities). Both methods work smoothly, provided that scales are easy to understand and the methods of measuring completed work are overt, accurate and fair. However, there has been considerable dissatisfaction with the management of pay on both sides of the employment relationship. In recent years, attempts have been made to remedy the situation through new systems and a greater reliance on performance-related pay. 5 Ways to Reward Employees (Without Spending a Dime) Your firm's employees work hard (well, most of them). And in a world where corporations like to boast about running â€Å"lean and mean,† it may seem nearly impossible to compensate employees for doing good work without breaking the budget. Here's the hard-earned advice to reward employees. 1. Flex those hours. If there's one free reward that rises above the rest, it's flexible work schedules. Nearly every expert suggested flex time as a perk that offers the most gain with the least pain. Give a little latitude in determining work schedules and to take time for family or personal issues (such as doctor’s appointment and banking errands),† advised Richard Martin, president of Alcera Consulting Inc. â€Å"As long as the employee is deserving and doesn’t abuse the privilege, this can go a long way to building trusting and mature relationships with key workers. † 2. Send a handwritten note. Supervisors should ask top brass to write a personal note to employees who deserve recognition. For example, Advanced MD CEO Jim Pack handwrites his thank-you notes to employees on a $2 bill. In three years of doing this, only one employee has asked if he could spend it,† said company spokesman John Pilmer. 3. Make work fun. â€Å"Everyone must be having fun and socializing while doing work. The environment of the organization must be very conducive. 4. Help them connect. Introducing employees to key suppliers, customers or someone in senior management can help make an employee's career, and it won't cost you a thing. 5. Lose the shoes. Kerrie Ray, an account executive with the Echo Media Group public relations irm, said implementing a â€Å"no-shoes policy† can make employees feel right at home with each other, which translates into increased productivity. (But she suggests keeping the footwear handy in case clients come in. ) â€Å"It's great to be in an office where employees are more concerned about doing quality work than what shoes or jewelry they have on,† she said. â€Å"We get so much done. † 6. Send them to the showers. (As in parties, not lathering and rinsing. ) â€Å"Every birth and wedding deserves a shower,†. â€Å"Echo employees always leave early on shower days, and the food is on the house. No need to make up the time. † 7. Reward effort as well as success. Even if their ideas sometimes fail, you want employees to keep producing them, said Alan Weiss, president of the Summit Consulting Group Inc. â€Å"When I consulted with the CEO of Calgon, we created an annual award for ‘the best idea that didn't work' and presented a loving cup at the annual awards dinner. This stimulated innovation and positive behavior, not ‘winning. ‘† 8. Give them a free pass. Levine suggests giving out a certain number of free days off to employees to use as they see fit. Employees get a few of these a year and can use them as they like,† she said. â€Å"They don't have to pretend to be sick. They can go to the beach, read a book, play with their kids †¦ it doesn't matter. † 9. Dole out cream and sugar. During the busiest times of the year, executives at the Cigna Group push coffee carts around the office, serving drinks and refreshments to their colleagues, noted Steve Harrison, author of â€Å"The Manager's Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies. † As they serve, executives coach and encourage colleagues and hear about real consumer issues. 10. Blow out the candles. Cisco Systems Inc. ‘s CEO John Chambers hosts a monthly hour-long birthday breakfast for any employee with a birthday that month, says Harrison. â€Å"Employees are invited to ask him anything. They feel recognized, and he gains loyal employees who share their ideas. † 11. Spread the love. Ask co-workers to write something they truly like or admire about an employee on a scrap of paper, then frame them along with a photograph of the employee, suggested David Russell, author of â€Å"Success With People – A Complete System for Effectively Managing People in Any Organization. † 12. Offer a swap. Giving your best employees a chance to pick their own projects or trade tasks with a colleague empowers and rewards them at the same time, said Harrison. 13. Applaud their efforts — literally. If someone has done something really worthwhile, your entire staff must give them a standing ovation at the next meeting. 14. Say it with flowers. Reward the top employees by bringing in flowers and arranging them in a spectacular crystal vase on their desks. â€Å"Everybody knew what having the custody of the flowers meant,† â€Å"Surprisingly, even the men competed fiercely for custody of the flowers. 15. Walk it as you talk it. The City of Dallas sponsored a walkathon where employees set goals for walking a certain number of steps each day, offering a free gym membership to those who walked the farthest. Not only did they get more fit, they turned their daily walks into traveling staff meetings. â€Å"Group members must be able to update one another on projects, solicit team input and improve their fitness,† 16. Pass the bucks. Handing out monopoly money that can be redeemed for gifts and other goodies may not be strictly free, but it pays off handsomely in the long run. For example, associates at Bank Atlantic can pass out â€Å"WOW! Bucks† to colleagues who've done something outstanding, said bank vice president Gregory Dalmotte. The bucks can eventually be traded in for real goods. â€Å"There's a clear correlation that words of encouragement have created associates who perform at a higher level,† he says. 17. Share the memories. â€Å"My team created a scrapbook chronicling the impact I'd had on their company and gave it to me on my last day in the office,† said Lopeke. â€Å"People who’d worked on my teams wrote testimonials and creative graphics highlighting some our team successes. It's the best gift I ever received in my 40-year career. † 18. Elect them to the Wall of Fame. Several experts suggested setting aside a public space inside your firm and placing photos of employees who've accomplished something truly special, along with the details of what they did to earn their place on the wall. 19. Create your own â€Å"Club Med. † Set aside a quiet space or unused office in your building where employees can meditate, chill out, nap or otherwise re-center themselves, said John Putzier, author of â€Å"Get Weird! 101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work. † 20. Stoke their passion. â€Å"Great employees are not mercenaries,† said Dr. Richard Chang, CEO of Richard Chang Associates Inc. , a performance-improvement consultancy. â€Å"They don’t just want to enjoy their work, they want to be passionate about it †¦ if you want your employees to feel valued and inspire their passion on your behalf, encourage them to make their own decisions. You can have systems in place to control the implementation of ideas, but you must be certain not to compromise the enthusiasm, creativity and hard work that make them possible in the first place. † 21. Give them a place to park it. Reserve the best parking spot for employees who've done something truly worthwhile, said Lopeke. And if it's next to the CEO's Lexus so the employee can chat him or her up on the way into work, so much the better. 22. Remember the spouses. Independent management consultant Nan Amish recalled one time when she had 16 employees trapped in a hotel lobby on a Sunday night, waiting for the ballroom to open so they could set up a trade-show booth. â€Å"I bought flowers at a farmers market, a nice $6 bouquet of roses for each person,† she said. â€Å"I told them to take them home to their significant others, apologizing for me taking them away from their families on a Sunday. The next day I got thank-yous from most of them. One wife sent a letter saying I could keep her husband until Friday. † 23. Publicize their successes. â€Å"We like to publicly recognize employees so the whole company can share in their accomplishments,† noted Scott Ragusa, president of contract businesses for staffing firm The Winter, Wyman Companies. â€Å"Each week, nominations for our quarterly ‘Clutch' award are shared with the whole company. The Clutch nominations are a way to recognize our administrative and nonmanagerial professional staff members who have come through in the clutch in supporting their departments or the firm. 24. Let them phone it in. Telecommuting programs can relieve stress and make workers feel more appreciated, as well as more productive. â€Å"Reward the employee by starting with one day of telecommuting, then add additional days as performance heightens,† suggested Brian Margarita, president of IT staffing firm TalentFuse Inc. â€Å"Having the option to cart the kids to so ccer practice, visit the beach during the afternoon or cut out early to avoid traffic congestion is becoming more important than working an 80-hour week for a larger paycheck. † 25. Remember the secret words. The two most underused words in corporate America that get the highest ROI (return on investment) and ROT (return on your time) are the simple words ‘thank you,'† noted Michael Guld, president of the Guld Resource Group author of â€Å"The Million Dollar Media Rep: How to Become a Television and Radio Sales Superstar. † While telling the employees , appreciation should be obvious, no one does it enough or is specific enough about what the employee did. â€Å"So when you share your appreciation, be specific about what you really liked, so they not only feel appreciated but can do it again. The Do's and Don'ts of Effective Reward Programs Effective Reward Systems. Reward systems should focus on positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is the most e ffective tool for encouraging desired behavior because it stimulates people to take actions because they want to because they get something of value (internally or externally) for doing it. An effectively designed and managed reward program can drive an organization's change process by positively reinforcing desired behaviors. There is a criterion for building effective reward systems that is the SMART criteria. These criteria should be used when designing and evaluating programs. Programs should be: Specific: A line of sight should be maintained between rewards and actions. Meaningful: The achievements rewarded should provide an important return on investment to both the performer and the organization. Achievable: The employee's or group's goals should be within the reach of the performers. Reliable: The program should operate according to its principles and purpose. Timely: The recognition/rewards should be provided frequently enough to make performers feel valued for their efforts. Case Study Employee Incentive Safety Program: â€Å"Rim Safe Colleagues at Work† Rim Hospitality is a hotel, resort and boutique property management company offering full-service property management solutions including Rim Office2 hotel property revenue management software, fully integrated real-time payroll, hotel revenue data collection & reporting, and employee staffing and training programs. With rising workers compensation expenses, Rim Hospitality needed to find a cost effective solution that would motivate employees to help reduce these costs, and also maximize efficiencies with employee productivity and scheduling. A comprehensive plan outlining all of the program objectives, requirements, communications, training, projected costs and benefits were developed. A safety team leader was appointed at each property to facilitate the program, maintain frequent communication about the program, and reinforce the messages coming from upper management. Consistent communication from the home office, to team leaders, to colleagues is an important reminder to drive this new behavior. They decided to implement a prepaid MasterCard card as the award. This provided the employee the freedom to choose what they want, when they want it, making them feel truly rewarded. The list of recipients is communicated to Springbok Services each quarter that provides the personalized MasterCard cards with a safety logo and bulk ships them to Rim Hospitality. Awards are handed out at each hotel property to provide a personal touch and give upper management the opportunity to again, reinforce the positive behavior they are looking for and share the results of the program amongst all the hotels in a motivating way. Rim Hospitality experienced positive results almost immediately which have steadily increased. Over two years, they reduced workers compensation claims by 29%. This meant a savings of $634,000 and a 3. 4 to 1 ROI to the bottom line. Peer-to-peer Employee Recognition Program: â€Å"Informal Awards Program† Applied Materials is the global leader in nano manufacturing technology solutions for the electronics industry with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, services and software products. Applied Materials innovates and commercializes the processing and manufacturing technology that helps semiconductor manufacturers produce the world's most advanced chips. Applied Materials had implemented a peer-to-peer employee recognition program that was being manually tracked and awards were being fulfilled out of their company store. Managing the program was utilizing resources that could be focused on other productive projects. They needed to find a solution that would automate the program and award fulfillment. Applied Materials chose the Reward Incentive Management System (RIMS) from Springbok Services to fulfill this need. RIMS is a web based application that was easy to integrate with The Applied Materials reward and recognition program. RIMS fully automated the process of setting up and tacking budgets, nominating and approving awards, collecting recipient information and streamlining the award fulfillment process through its integration into Springbok’s MasterCard card management system. The goal of the program is to encourage outstanding performance and consistent behavior for employees and temporary or contract personnel to support corporate goals and values related to the following categories: Safety First: Individual award to promote positive safety-related behaviors and/or results that go beyond the normal job scope. Quality Counts: Individual award to promote positive quality-related behaviors and/or results that go beyond the normal job scope. Achieving Excellence: Individual award to promote outstanding behaviors and/or results toward corporate goals and objectives. TEAM Award Together Everyone Achieves More: Award to promote outstanding behaviors and/or results demonstrated or obtained by a team of 10 or less. Employees can nominate each other for awards, email notifications are sent to managers for approval, and once approved, the MasterCard prepaid card is mailed to the recipient. Fulfillment of awards through their company store has been eliminated and the whole award nomination and approval process has been automated and streamlined increasing both employee productivity and satisfaction. Health & Wellness Initiative: â€Å"Healthy Living† The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages — some of the world's most recognized consumer brands. The PBG sales force of more than 30,000 customer representatives sell and deliver nearly 200 million eight-ounce servings of Pepsi-Cola beverages per day. PBG's focus is on superior sales execution, customer service, merchandising and operating excellence. In 2005, PBG was working to better manage the rising cost of health care for its employees. They decided they could do that by educating their employees on various health related issues. To narrow the scope of broad number of health related topics, PBG implemented an employee survey to get feedback on the interest of their employees. Beginning in January 2006, employees were provided the opportunity to complete a healthcare survey and receive a prepaid MasterCard card as an incentive. In addition to the employee receiving the incentive, participating spouses in the healthcare benefits program could qualify as well. Qualifying employees were collected on a weekly basis by a third party healthcare management company and the data file was submitted to Springbok. The prepaid Master Cards were made and mailed directly to the employees who completed the survey. The participation rate from employees in the survey was over double the rate PBG has projected going into the program. Following the survey period, results were analyzed and employees were offered a variety of healthcare educational classes to attend. When the class was completed, the employee received an additional prepaid MasterCard as a reward for completing the class. The educational program is on-going at this time. PBG rolled the program out with a multi-media communications campaign, from emails and newsletters, to direct mail pieces mailed to employee’s homes. A custom branded PBG Healthy Living prepaid MasterCard card was used along with a custom card carrier and envelope. This branding helped tie the incentive back to the program continuing to remind and motivate employees to further participate. They attribute the success of the program to the amount and consistency of communication and the attractiveness and flexibility of the incentive, Springbok’s prepaid MasterCard card. Employee Service Awards Program: â€Å"Iowa Telecom’s Personal Touch† Iowa Telecom is the second largest local telephone company in Iowa. They work hard to provide their customers with reliable dial tone, long distance and Internet services every second of every day. They provide telephone service to over 440 communities across the state. Their 600+ trained professionals are working across the state to provide reliable service with a personal touch. That personal touch is not only conveyed to their customers, but to their employees as well. With the large number of employees and diverse interests they have, Iowa Telecom was faced with trying to consolidate their service anniversary awards program, to a streamlined, single awards program. After considering a variety of different awards, Iowa Telecom decided to utilize Springbok’s prepaid Service Awards MasterCard. Since the fall of 2002, Iowa Telecom has been awarding their employees for length of service, celebrating the employees’ anniversary during the month it occurs. Each calendar year, an employee file is sent to Springbok to manage the program and order the prepaid MasterCard. Orders are placed for people whose anniversaries are in the following month. That schedule, gives Iowa Telecom plenty of lead time to verify the employee’s status and provide payment for the order. Orders are fulfilled and the prepaid MasterCard cards are bulk shipped to Iowa Telecom’s human resource department. They utilize the â€Å"service awards† branded card to reinforce what the incentive is for and the card is personalized with the employees name for that special recognition. To show appreciation to these loyal employees, Iowa Telecom President, Alan L. Wells, includes a letter of appreciation acknowledging the employees loyalty for service. This personal touch is consistent with the pleasant work environment and efforts to recognize and reward employees for their achievements. The program has been running over 4 years and employee feedback has been positive with regard to receiving the prepaid MasterCard card as it provides them the flexibility to choose their own reward by purchasing what they want, from millions of places, wherever MasterCard debit cards are accepted. Employee Sales Incentive Program: â€Å"Balkamp – NAPA Auto Parts† NAPA purchases auto parts from various manufacturers and redistributes them to NAPA warehouses. The role of Balkamp is to take the NAPA Auto Parts Store into new markets and to provide the necessary support to enable the store to gain market share. Balkamp adds value to NAPA stores through packaging, order quantities, catalogs, sales, pricing, service, promotions, warranty, obsolescence, innovation, and a product mix that includes hard parts, tools and equipment, accessories, service items, performance and SUV accessories, and chemicals. Coordinating with so many different parts manufacturers and their individual incentive programs, Balkamp was challenged with finding a way to increase sales by their district reps to their franchises and streamline the payments to the sales team upon achieving their goals. Balkamp also needed the flexibility of managing multiple incentive programs at the same time for multiple manufacturers. Grouping the awards into one payment vehicle simplified the process for Balk amp and the recipient. Balkamp selected a re-loadable prepaid MasterCard debit card that can be used anywhere MasterCard debit cards are accepted. The Balkamp incentive award program started in 2005 to help increase sales company wide through their distribution channels to their franchises. With 100+ district sales representatives, Balkamp can implement incentive programs relatively easily, communicate the goals, track the sales and award the sales person very quickly. Requirements are built for sales people to achieve certain criteria. For various products at different times, the sales people are tasked with selling truck loads of product through their distribution centers to any of their stores nationally. Upon reaching certain thresholds, the award amounts are loaded onto their prepaid MasterCard card from Springbok Services which they retain and can be re-loaded each time a new incentive threshold is achieved. Into the second year of the program, Balkamp is continuing with this incentive program as it has made a positive impact in increased sales, and decreased costs associated with administering their sales incentive program.

Country Music and Patsy Cline Annotated Bibliography

Country Music and Patsy Cline - Annotated Bibliography Example Ching's book has been found one of the chief resources in any researches relating to country music, and it is greatly effective in this study on the life and works of Patsy Cline. The book focuses on the various characteristics of country music including the importance of lyrics. The subject area incorporated in the book can be a useful in an understanding of Patsy's country music, particularly with regard to the lyrical qualities of her music. Therefore, this resource proves to be an added advantage to an investigation in Patsy's musical merits. This is one of the most useful collections of articles which deal with the various aspects in the life and works of Patsy Cline. The different articles in the edited version focus on some of the most essential features of Patsy's music. In one of such articles, Jensen points to teh quality of Patsy's music who celebrated country music to the fullest.

Case study reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case study reflection - Essay Example Reflections: Coaching, learning, and the learner In order to respond to changing customer demands, workplace learning, as a subset of the greater literature on knowledge management, has becoming increasingly paramount. One of the most common approaches to workplace learning and leadership development is coaching. Coaching is a â€Å"process through which supervisors may communicate clear expectations to employees, provide feedback and suggestions for improving performance, and facilitate employees’ efforts to solve problems or take on new challenges† (Heslin et al., 2006 cited in Liu and Batt, 2010, pp.269-270). It trains people through regular interactions that help employees take up effective work skills and behaviours. The study by Liu and Batt (2010) propose a model, where they stress that there is a positive relationship between coaching and job performance (Agarwal, Angst, and Magni, 2009; Kets de Vries, 2005), but the former note there is weak empirical evidence, because these studies employed perceptual measures and approximated performance differences between individuals, as product differential treatments of coaching (Liu and Batt, 2010, p.271). ... I agree that coaching impacts individual performance over time, depending on numerous factors, such as teaching and leadership style of the coach and the learning style of the subordinates or trainees (Agarwal, Angst, and Magni, 2009). I experienced coaching several subordinates and it helped a great deal that I focused on knowing them first, before I developed my coaching approach. For instance, some people are very independent workers. They do not appreciate constant monitoring from their coaches. Others, however, need more direct coaching. The fundamental concept behind interpersonal relationships and coaching effectiveness can be explained by the process consultation approach. Hackman and Wageman (2005) talk about different coaching theories, such as the process consultation approach developed by Schein (1969, 1988 cited in Hackman and Wageman, 2005, p.270). Schein argues that proficient interpersonal relations are indispensable for effective task performance and that group membe rs themselves must participate in analysing and improving those relationships. The consultant, or in this case, the coach, engages member involvement in examining group processes on two levels concurrently: 1) â€Å"the substantive level†- to study how human processes are influencing work on a particular organisational problem, and 2) â€Å"the internal level†- to better comprehend the team’s own interface processes and the ways that team processes cultivate or encumber effective group functioning (Schein, 1988, pp. 11–12 cited in Hackman and Wageman, 2005, p.270). Lee (2009) argues that a skilled, shrewd facilitator, who moulds interpersonal skills and dispositions essential for effective team work, can make the

Lorenzo the Magnificent Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lorenzo the Magnificent - Research Paper Example Some of his well-known achievements include preservation of the independence and the regional integrity of Florence and assisting in the creation of peace through the whole of Italy through his diplomatic policies. Though Lorenzo lived only forty-three years, he managed to gain the title of one of the most significant masters during renaissance and became the exemplar of what is presently referred as the Renaissance man4. Lorenzo had an interest in almost everything and prospered in almost everything that he attempted. However, he was admired and at the same time loathed. His interest in music, religion, art, literature, and philosophy grew with time and could hold extravagant parties at the family palace to discuss on numerous classical literature works and philosophy5. Lorenzo was born in 1449 to a family of five and was the elderly son to Piero, his father6. Lorenzo’s family, the Medici, was at this time involved in the banking sector and other businesses within the region7. Additionally, his family was also involved in the running of the republic. His grandfather, Cosimo de’ Medici, was the ruler of the republic while at the same time involved in the banking business8. Both Cosimo and Piero loved, supported and collected arts. Lorenzo’s mother wrote sonnets and poems and was actively involved in supporting arts during this period. During his childhood, Lorenzo was deemed as the brightest among the siblings of Piero9. He took part in hunting, jousting, and horse breeding10. However, his father died while he was young, and his mother took over the responsibility of bringing him up. While still alive, his father had sent Lorenzo on numerous significant diplomatic missions. For instance, his father had sent him to Rome to meet t he pope and other significant political and religious leaders11. Lorenzo, unlike his brother Giuliano, did not have good looks and had short

Managing People in Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managing People in Engineering - Essay Example However, since improvement is a continuous process, thereby certain changes and improved are desired which can be carried out in a collective way. Aims and objectives: The aims and objectives in the generic and simple terms can be defined as the overcoming of challenges faced along with the exploration of the new openings and horizons which would allow the company to perform further better and stand an edge over the compatriots in the same industry. Keywords: Market share, customers’ satisfaction, quality services. Challenges faced: Every new day brings along a new challenge with itself in the global scenario of organizations especially when the organization works on global trends and international level. Lantex is no exception and it is faced with equal number of challenges and this has caught the attention of the top management and thereby they have decided to investigate the overall scenario and look deep into the various sections and entities of the organization. Their eff ort in this regard is a multi fold and they aim to address not just the processes rather the individual performances and the relationship between the employees within and also the relationship with the other stakeholders and most importantly the overall attitude and response towards the clients and customers in a direct and indirect manner. As a Management consultant: the task is being assigned to a management consultant in form of being an overhead entity and watchdog to monitor the overall performance and investigate the areas of importance and improvement in the overall system and determine what level of improvement is possible and needed in each of the area. Task of the management consultant: Management consultant is an impartial individual who is assigned and hired for his services to determine the overall scenario and standing of the organization and determine what is being done, what should be done and how should it be done, against the processes and functions of what should be avoided, and how should it be avoided. Tasks at hand: Identifying the problems in the processes Identifying the loopholes Identifying the areas of improvement Over viewing the working relationship between the members Assessing overall management processes within the organization Evaluating the Human Resource aspect of the organization Creating the clear definition of legislation that allows for better performance and privileges enjoyed by the workers and employees at different levels within the organization. Comparing the different companies performance and take on the similar areas of operations How is the workforce planning is used to assess staffing requirements. In time delivery and ensuring the reach to the far regions speaks for the effective policy of the company that has been in place in order to meet the customers’ requirements. Vigorous planning is being induced into the network with due consideration of the kind of knowledge being required in each domain and als o the kind of expertise needed to ensure the in time delivery to the various segments. For example while the near areas delivery is being ensured on 24 hours bases from the time and point of order placement, the long distance orders may take long yet with the regard and consideration of keeping it to the least amount of time possible and

Planning Ethics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Planning Ethics - Term Paper Example While cities must inevitably develop when the opportunities are available, it is the responsibility of planners through planning ethics to consolidate moral principles and the factors that contribute to the initiation and development. This paper will discuss the aspect of â€Å"Planning Ethics† with regards to the development of cities and from the understanding that the primary function of planners is to serve the public interest. The justification for planning ethics is that environmental, economic, political and social development presents both opportunities and threats for the community (Gasper, 2011). On the other hand, planners are primarily responsible to themselves and secondarily to the public and authorities for optimum standards of integrity and proficiency. Therefore, since planners play key decision-making roles, planning ethics dictate that they exercise independent, honest and fair judgment in the services they deliver (APA, 2014a). Therefore, planning should not only target to develop cities simply because trade opportunities are available and the transport infrastructure is favorable or can easily be upgraded. It should also target the welfare of the citizens so as to result in more equitable and efficient cities for not only the present but future generations as well (APA, 2014b). For example, when oil was discovered in Qatar, the road networks were rapidly expanded and developed to open up t rade opportunities but not much consideration was given to the possibility of a population explosion. However, with the rapid population growth and mostly by expatriates, the city has been forced to upgrade its transport network including an additional airport, new highways and a metro system to ease congestion from its roads. This is because the planners did not take into consideration how development and sustainability relate to each other (TCN, 2014). When planning ethics are

Writing a MEMO about Human Resource Development Articles Essay

Writing a MEMO about Human Resource Development Articles - Essay Example He offered to have HR involved to address the people side. He showed them how HR could weave relationship-based care and continuous improvement into the fabric of this community hospital in central New York, for example by hiring the right people and promoting the right people. Then he was at the table with them as they planned training and communication, and how to reward people who took on improvement projects. When I talk with leaders of process improvement activities about the role of HR in change, I generally hear that HR is administrative in its orientation, bureaucratic, and a brake on innovation. Others say that HR is under-utilized. In most organizations talent management is left up to direct supervisors. Dave Ulrich, a professor at the University of Michigan and recognized as the most influential person in Human Resources,  has identified three human resource processes that are critical for embedding a culture such as continuous improvement: (1) talent flow, (2) rewards, and (3) training and development. Each of these processes presents challenges to HR in leading change. Hiring and promoting people who embody an organization’s desired mindset and behaviors—and removing those who don’t—sends messages to those who are not hired, promoted, or removed. They see what is happening and adapt their behaviors accordingly. The problem for continuous improvement is that managers are notorious for hiring only subject matter experts in a particular discipline, not for behaviors, such as improvement. For example, Scott Beaird, director of Talent Management at Tufts Medical Center  told me, â€Å"We hire what the manager wants. We hire a financial analyst, who is great at working with dollars. We don’t typically challenge managers to look more broadly. We introduced HR business partners twelve months ago and asked them to get out and

Asda Stores - Internal communications Assignment

Asda Stores - Internal communications - Assignment Example It does this to build trust in the organization. Townley (1994) and Caruth et al. (1995) both emphasize on the importance of providing stakeholders and staff with enough information in order to avoid cases of mistrust and build staff morale. Benefits of transparent communication in an organisation It gives the staff a clear picture of picture of their tasks and the subsequent outcome. This in turn helps to build their morale and motivation to put more effort to their tasks. Transparent communication makes the staff feel part of the organization or have a sense of ownership. Asda has greatly tapped into this in ensuring that the colleagues feel like the owners of the store. Transparency in communication also ensures that in case of problems at work the manager or owner will be freely informed therefore avoid incidents that can easily be solved. The staff could also bring in their individual suggestions and ideas to foresee the success of the store. The store will therefore be able to enjoy a greater contribution of ideas. Distinction between internal and external communication is another strategy Asda uses in its communication as well as maintaining regular and frequent communication among the staff (Boxall 2003, p. 13). Media Used in Communication in the Organisation 1. Employee Branding Miles and Mangold (2004) define employee branding as the act by which employees of a particular organization internalize the organization’s trademark and project the same to customers and the entire public. Employee branding works well where the employees or colleagues as referred to by Asda willingly make an emotional connection with the store’s products by deciding to be part and parcel of all the store’s ventures. Successful employee branding leads to increase in number of customers and eventually increased sales and profits. Employees need to like a particular brand in order for them to effectively connect with it and decide to be branded using the same . Artain and Schumann (2006) came up with thirteen points that are important to note about employee branding. These are discussed below. The organization’s promise to its employees The organisation has to explain what is in store for the employees. For instance, the benefits could be accumulated by the decision of employees to be part of the organization. This will help the employees to be motivated to work for the organization. Business Strategy Employees must have complete information of the organizations plan of action. They must fully understand the goals, objectives and strategies that the company wishes to adopt. The organizations expectation from its employees is also critical to be known in advance for effective branding. Doing this will help the employees decide whether this is what they want to experience through their professional life (Enz & Siguaw 2000, p. 54). Customers Employees should know how the organization wants them to treat the customers. For example, ma nagers should take lead by example when it comes to treating customers with respect and high esteem. Employees’ tasks: The company should lay down in advance what is expected from the employees for example the mode of action, dressing, and working hours among others. The company should also invest in ensuring that employees fully understand what the brand is all about. Connection of what happens outside the organisation and what happens inside: The organisation must find a way to

Comparison between Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways Term Paper

Comparison between Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways - Term Paper Example Both the airlines provide extensive services and are in search for better performance in a continued manner for serving the customers in a superior way. However, it was concluded that according to the overall performance between the two airlines organization, Emirates Airlines performed noticeably well in certain aspects as compared to Qatar Airways and considerably holds the upper hand. Letter of Transmittal Dear Sir/Ma’am, I present the report of the study of comparison between the two airlines, i.e. Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways. The report is structured based on the comparison of various activities performed by both the airlines in the global market. A copy of the report is being submitted to you. I highly appreciate the time that you have devoted to me. Regards Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Letter of Transmittal 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Analysis 5 Discussion of Findings 6 Summary and Conclusion 11 Works Cited 12 Introduction Emirates is recognize d as a renowned airline of The Emirates Group located at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is regarded as one of the biggest airlines in Middle East which was established during the year 1985. The airline is headquartered in Dubai. Emirates Airlines comprises around 191 fleets which are spread across 128 destinations as of report presented in December 2012 (Emirates, â€Å"Our Fleet†). ... The Economy Class of Emirates renders comfort as well as convenience through various facilities such as exclusive meals, email and telephone services. Luxury services such as Shower Spas and Private Suites are also presented to customers in Emirates Airlines (Emirates, â€Å"Cabin Features†). The first flight of the airline named EK 600 was launched in 1985 from Dubai to Karachi. The airline earned its exclusive profits inside nine months of its establishment and since then it has grown considerably and never looked back (Grand 1-100). Qatar Airways has grown to a significant level within a short period of time, serving more than 120 destinations around the world. The airline offers excellent services which have assisted it to capture award winning position for becoming one of the leading airline companies in the world. It was founded during the year 1993 and started its operations in 1994. The airline company is owned by Government of Qatar, having its headquarters in Doha. D uring the initial period, the airline organization could not gain prominence and was temporarily dissolved. During 1997, with its re-launch of airlines, Qatar Airways had earned various awards and was categorized under the elite group for airlines in the world with a 5-Star rating provided by Skytrax. There are around 230 fleets operated by Qatar Airways that function all around the world. Qatar Airways also provide facilities for customers travelling in First, Business and Economy Class including 5 Star dining facilities, entertainment and comfort for customers with luxury products along with amenity kits for customers for their personal comfort. An added facility is provided to customers of First Class for carrying luggage of 40 kg, while it is 50 kg for Emirates (Qatar Airways,

Video game controversy Essay Example for Free

Video game controversy Essay Technology has (had) come a long way since the early years of life. The use of technology to humans, is to enhance or improve whatever it may be to have a much quicker advancement or have a better and easy going lifestyle. But in the more recent years, technology has turned for the worst. Specifically speaking, video games. Video games in its early years were meant for a positive use, much like any other type of game; to simply act as a fun activity to pass time. That is not the case anymore because of how dangerously advanced and addicting video games can be. In fact it’s so dangerous nowadays that countries like South Korea are contemplating whether or not to ban video games. Why is it dangerous? Video games influence a type of negative social behavior, has a direct correlation to the cause of Insomnia, and is relevant to the increasing obesity rates in America. Playing video games can lead to many negative effects on a person. Video Games influence a type of negative social behavior. â€Å"The effects of videophilia are substantial and include obesity, attention disorders, lack of socialization and poor academic performance† (Video Game Addiction). The person (game player) may lose social skills and qualities depending on the level of video game addiction. Usually, the player is spending so much time on the game that he/ she is neglecting other areas of life. A common sign of video game addiction is constantly talking about the game almost constantly. â€Å" It is more likely to talk down upon a peer after a violent video game session† (Tiret). These types of social skills are not acceptable to continuously practice. The people that talk down on peers because of the violent video game session could go into depression or anxiety because of what others say or think about them. Young Children love playing rated M 18+ games that contain violence and other profound content (Parks). â€Å" the more time children and teens spend playing violent video games the more likely they are to display aggressive behavior† (Tiret). The more violent the game is, the more violent the player will be. It’s morally wrong to be mean for absolutely no reason towards other human beings. The effects on aggressive behavior can be long lasting (Tiret). A build up in anger is not healthy. If the constant aggression keeps up, the aggressive person will be ostracized by classmates or friends. Insomnia is easily caused by the lack of sleep, which is a common symptom of a video game addict. â€Å"Studies have shown that people deprived of contact with nature were at greater risk of depression and anxiety† (Wilderness Adventure). â€Å"In a study by Breslau and associates, patients with insomnia were nearly 4 times more likely to suffer major depression than those without insomnia† (Johnston). A depressed person will look at everything negatively and have no motivation to go outside. The person may even view his/ her life not even worth living. Stress and depression can be caused by a variety of things resulting in insomnia. Stress may be caused by hours on the computer playing a game without rest. Depression may hit the person, depending on intimacy with the video game, once he/she loses a lot. â€Å" insomnia and its associated daytime sleepiness had significant negative effects on cognitive functioning and impaired their subjects’ ability to perform ordinary tasks† (Johnston). â€Å"Excessive Sleepiness has been linked to learning disabilities in children and cognitive and memory problems in adults† (Johnston). If this keeps up then the next generations will become less capable than the ones before which shouldn’t happen. Remembering what you ate for breakfast will be very difficult. â€Å"Poor sleep hygiene includes an irregular sleep schedule, stimulating activities before bed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Mayo Clinic). The ‘stimulating activities’ could translate into playing video games before you sleep. The effects of the stimulating activities causes the person to stay awake longer in bed. Some argue video games can be healthy to a person. One of the biggest positive effects video games can have on a person is the fact that makes people happy. As a result, video games have become an easy scapegoat for numerous violent tendencies and social behaviors. Video games are indeed a scapegoat, but it doesn’t hide the fact that the people who play these games as a scapegoat are neglecting themselves from the real world. These people will not get to experience what it’s really like in the real world. Based on solid scientific evidence, video games may actually fill basic human needs that the real world fails to satisfy (Shapiro). This applies to people who have social anxieties causing these people to refrain from the outside even more. The people are not completely solving their problems, only temporarily. It is not the game’s fault for these negative effects. There are millions who play the game and don’t go out and do the negatively portrayed actions on the news. The criminals mention the games’ names and blame the games. Violent games are very influential on a person. â€Å"Reality is too complicated to blame playings games, moving pictures, or letters on a page† (Parks). Games are where people get ideas from. Life is commonly sealed into one perception for a person, and curiosity comes from ideas that have never been heard of before. Addiction of video games can easily lead into obesity which is a dangerous and lethal disease. Video games create an obstacle for children. â€Å"Children today spend an average of 6 hours each day in front of the computer and TV, but less than 4 minutes a day in instructed outdoor play† (Wilderness Adventure). There is an extreme amount of physical inactivity. The calories are not burned which turn into fat later on. â€Å"Getting less than seven hours of sleep a night can cause changes in hormones that increase your appetite† (Mayo Clinic). Less sleep IS a vital cause of obesity. Eating most of your calories at night contributes to weight gain. â€Å"Overweight and obesity are linked to more deaths worldwide than underweight† (WHO). Being overweight and obese brings cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and even some cancers. The obese people are not outside and running which leads into no training for the cardiovascular system. While playing video games, gamers do not pay attention to what they eat which could lead into a massive buildup of diabetes. â€Å"More than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2011† (WHO). 41% of certain cancer burdens are attributable to overweight and obesity. Children who play video games fit into this category. The topic of video games being perceived as a positive thing today is growing out of hand. It’s like spreading a humongous lie to gullible innocents. Affecting social behavior in a negative manner, causing obesity, and developing insomnia are serious matters. The negative effects of playing video games are severe and the idea of playing video games should not be taken lightly.

Role of Humor in Reducing Job Stress and Depression

Role of Humor in Reducing Job Stress and Depression The Role of Humor in Reducing Job Stress and Depression among Nurses Abstract Studies show that it is very important to reduce job stress and depression of nurses. The main objective of this study was to explore the role of humor in reducing job stress and depression among nurses. The study took place at hospitals in Iran. After distributing questionnaires, 210 accurate questionnaires have been used for data analysis. This research was conducted using three separate Questionnaires: Humor (Khoshouei et al. 2009), stress (Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein, 1983), and depression (Radloff, 1977). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted to examine the relationship between humor, job stress and depression. The finding showed that humor has a negative impact on job stress and depression with a significant path coefficient at -0.65 and -0.76. In addition, Job stress has a positive impact on depression with a significant path coefficient at 0.71. The results of research showed that humor could be considered as a predictor of reducing job stress and depression an d job stress could be considered as a predictor of depression. Keywords: Humor, Job stress, Depression, Nurse 1. Introduction The role of nursing is associated with multiple and conflicting demands imposed by nurse supervisors and managers, and by medical and administrative staff. Such a situation appears to lead to work overload and possible to role conflict. One of the most significant risks nurses are exposed to in their work is stress. Numerous recent studies have explored work stress among health care personnel in many countries. Stress can have a significant impact on individual nurses and their ability to accomplish tasks and more specifically, poor decision-making, lack of concentration, apathy, decreased motivation and anxiety may impair job performance creating uncharacteristic errors (Jones, Tanigawa, and Weisse, 2003) Stress, up to a certain point, will improve people’s performance and quality of life because it is healthy and essential that they should experience challenges within their lives, but if pressure becomes excessive, it loses its beneficial effect and becomes harmful (Moustaka, and Constantinidis, 2010). Evidence shows that stress has a negative impact on human body, regarding to its biological, psychological and spiritual dimensions (Chinery, 2007; Lambert and Lambert, 2008) Concerning to the work related stress, health professions were forgotten for a time but recent research has contributed to include these practitioners in the group of the most exposed to stress due to the particular characteristics of their job (Amaro and Jesus, 2008). It is important to recognize that stress is a state, not an illness, which may be experienced as a result of an exposure to a wide range of work demands and in turn can contribute to an equally wide range of outcomes, which may concern the employee’s health and be an illness or an injury, or changes in his/her behavior and lifestyle (Moustaka, and Constantinidis, 2010). Many research projects have been done to study the antecedences of stress and depression so far. Stress management and reducing the stress in individual is a key concept in organizational behavior. One of factor that has an impact in reducing the stress and depression is humor. Humor has been recognized in the literature as a complex and personal phenomenon regarding its multidimensional nature and the different meanings that people attribute to the concept. Thereby, although this complex concept has been largely studied by the health and social sciences, no commonly accepted definition was suggested (Santos and Jose, 2012). Romero and Cruthirds (2006) define humor as â€Å"amusing communications that produce positive emotions and cognitions in the individual, group, or organization†. In the management literature, humor is defined as a message whose ingenuity, verbal skill, and/or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter (Bergeron, and Vachon, 2008). Although there are exam ples of studies of humor, the literature is most often conceptual, and does not empirically examine the value of humor for service organizations. The aim of this research is to study the role of humor in reducing job stress and depression among nurses. 2. Hypothesis development Literature review shows that there are four contributing factors that make defining humor difficult (Mesmer-Magnus and Viswesvaran , 2012): (1) â€Å"Humor† and â€Å"sense of humor† are often used interchangeably; (2) Humor is multi-dimensional; (3) Humor is quantified in various ways; and (4) There are positive and negative humor styles. In Figure 1 the five humor styles has been displayed. Figure 1. Five humor styles (Moshref Javadi et al. 2013) Research supports humor as an excellent stress management tool. Many people find that maintaining a sense of humor is useful for a good quality of life. Sense of humor gives the ability to find delight, experience joy, and release tension. Studies show the existence of an intrinsic connection between humor and the stress level (Santos and Jose, 2012). The results of the study previously carried out by Astedt-Kurki and Liukkonen (1994), indicated that humor takes an important role on the management of work related stress. Humor and laughter are a powerful emotional medicine that can lower stress, dissolve anger, and unite people in troubled times. Humor in the workplace has been identified as beneficial (Hoption et al. 2013). Having a great sense of humor provides many clear advantages. It increases energy and gives a feeling of well-being by stimulating the release of chemicals, such as endorphins and adrenaline (Miller, 1996). It decrease depression, anxiety and stress, as well as enhance one’s mood, immunity to illness, and life/family satisfaction. As you can see in Figure 2, employee humor has impact in employee health like burnout, stress, health and coping effectiveness. Figure 2. Employee humor outcomes (Mesmer-Magnus and Viswesvaran , 2012) Depression among nurses may be linked to the high level of their stress. Nurses can be a high-risk occupational population for experiencing depressive symptoms because of high job demands and complex environmental conditions (Gelsema et al., 2005). Literature review shows that stress has a significant association with depression (Chiang and Chang, 2012). Hence, hypotheses are formulated as follow: H1: Humor has a negative impact on job stress H2: Humor has a negative impact on depression H3: Job stress has a positive impact on depression. On the basis of theoretical background the following conceptual model is developed. Figure 3. Conceptual framework 3. Methodology A survey/questionnaire research was conducted to test the research hypothesis. 3.1. Sample The study took place at hospitals in Iran. Data were gathered from self-reported questionnaires by 210 nurses. Regarding the demographic information, most participants were female (60 percent), age from 20 to 50 years old, 70 percent were married, working tenure between 1 to more than 10 years, and all of them were academic educated. The characteristics of the participants are described in Table 1. Table 1.Demographic characteristics Demographic variables N=210 Gender Female Male 126 84 Age 20-30 31-40 41-50 113 81 16 Marital status Single Married 63 147 Working tenure Less than 2 years 2-10 years More than 10 years 11 147 52 3.2. Instruments This research was conducted using three separate instruments. 3.2.1. Humor questionnaire Humor was assessed using the Sense of Humor Questionnaire (SHQ) developed by Khoshouei et al. (2009). The SHQ is a 25-item, 5-points Likert-type scale (1 refers to strongly disagree and 5 refers to strongly agree). 3.2.2. Stress questionnaire Stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale, 10-item version (PSS-10) (Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein, 1983). In this scale the response options range is from 0 (never) to 4 (very often), with higher scores indicating greater stress. 3.2.3. Depression questionnaire Depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) (Radloff, 1977). The CES-D is a 20-item, 4-point Likert-type scale (1 refers to rarely or none of the time and 4 refers to most or all of the time). Cronbachs alpha was used to estimate the reliability of internal consistency. Table 2 shows the reliability of questionnaires. Table 2. Reliability analysis Questionnaire Source ÃŽ ± Humor (Khoshouei et al. 2009) 0.76 Stress (Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein, 1983) 0.79 Depression (Radloff, 1977) 0.84 As you can see in Table 2 none of the reliability estimates fell below 0.70, so the scale reliabilities were considered acceptable. 3.3. Data analysis After testing the reliability of the questionnaires, the measurement models and research hypotheses was tested. For this purpose, structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypotheses and to examine the relationships among the variables. We relied on several statistics to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of the models that includes: RMSEA, GFI, NFI, CFI and CMIN/df. Two statistical programs, SPSS 18 and Amos 21, were utilized to conduct the data analyses. 4. Results First three measurement models were separately analyzed. Table 3 shows fit indices of the measurement models. Table 3. Fit indices of measurement models CMIN/df CFI NFI GFI RMSEA Model 1.69 0.953 0.912 0.918 0.021 Humor 1.24 0.916 0.909 0.941 0.056 Stress 2.73 0.925 0.928 0.937 0.072 Depression >90% >90% >90% Acceptable amount Comparing the amount of fit indices and their acceptable amount shows that overall fit of the measurement models is acceptable. For testing the research hypotheses, structural equation modeling has been used. Table 4 shows the fit indices of the structural model. The results in Table 4 shows the values of fit indices all reach the acceptable amount. Table 4. Fit indices of the structural model CMIN/df CFI NFI GFI RMSEA Model 2.35 0.911 0.927 0.939 0.0651 structural >90% >90% >90% Acceptable amount Two indices named critical ratio (CR) and P have been used for testing the significance of hypotheses. If CR>1.96 then in the significance level of 0.05 are confirmed the hypotheses. Table 5 shows the hypotheses and regression coefficients. Table 5. Results of hypotheses test Result P CR ÃŽ ² Hypotheses Supported 0.00 4.268 -0.65 Humor has a negative impact on job stress Supported 0.00 3.634 -0.76 Humor has a negative impact on depression Supported 0.00 5.165 0.71 Job stress has a positive impact on depression. As Table 5 shows, humor has a negative impact on job stress and depression with a significant path coefficient at -0.65 and -0.76. In addition, Job stress has a positive impact on depression with a significant path coefficient at 0.71. 5. Conclusion Higher level of workloads with limited amount of nursing staffs can cause a variety of negative outcomes such as work stress and depression (Chiang and Chang, 2012) so it is very important to reduce job stress and depression of nurses. The main objective of this study was to explore the role of humor in reducing job stress and depression among nurses. Another objective of this research was to determine the effects of job stress on depression. The finding showed that humor has a negative impact on job stress and depression with a significant path coefficient at -0.65 and -0.76. In addition, Job stress has a positive impact on depression with a significant path coefficient at 0.71. The results of research showed that humor could be considered as a predictor of reducing job stress and depression and job stress could be considered as a predictor of depression. This research creates an important implication for managers of organization. The results of this study state that having a sense of humor is a powerful way to reduce job stress and depression. As previous researches showed employee humor is associated with enhanced work performance, satisfaction, workgroup cohesion, health, and coping effectiveness, as well as decreased burnout, stress, and work withdrawal (Mesmer-Magnus and Viswesvaran, 2012). Creating a humorous workplace is an important factor that must be considered by managers of organizations. Employees with a sense of humor and a humorous workplace can reduce job stress and depression among nurses. The main limitation of this research was the nurses lack of time in responding to the questionnaires. This research aimed to analyze the role of humor in reducing job stress and depression among nurses; the study can be performed in the other organizations and other countries for more confirmation of results. References Amaro, H., and de Jesus, S. N. (2008), Vulnerabilidade ao Stresse em Profissionais de Emergà ªncia Mà ©dica Prà ©-Hospitalar, Mudanà §as Psicologia da Saà ºde, 16, 62-70. Astedt-Kurki, P., and Liukkonen, A. (1994), Humor in nursing care, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 20, 183-188. Bergeron, J., and Vachon, M. A. (2008), The effects of humor usage by financial advisors in sales encounters, International Journal of Bank Marketing, 26(6), 376 – 398. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02652320810902424. Chiang, Y. M., and Chang, Y. C. (2012). Stress, depression, and intention to leave among nurses in different medical units: Implications for healthcare management/nursing practice, Health Policy, 108, 149– 157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2012.08.027. Chinery, W. (2007), Alleviating stress with humor: a literature review, Journal of Perioperative Practice, 17, 172-182. Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., and Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2136404. Gelsema, T. I, van der Doef, M., Maes, S., Akerboom, S., and Verhoeven, C. (2005), Job stress in the nursing profession: the inà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence of organizational and environmental conditions and job characteristics. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(3), 222–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.12.3.222 Hoption, C., Barling, L. and Turner, N. (2013), Its not you, its me†: transformational leadership and self-deprecating humor, Leadership Organization Development Journal, 34(1), 4 – 19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01437731311289947 Jones, D., Tanigawa, T., and Weisse, S. (2003). Stress management and workplace disability in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Journal of Occupational Health, 45, 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1539/joh.45.1. Lambert, V. A., and Lambert, C. E. (2008), Nurses’ workplace stressors and coping strategies, Indian Journal of Palliative Care, 14, 38-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0973-1075.41934. Mesmer-Magnus, J., Glew, D. J, and Viswesvaran, C. (2012), A meta-analysis of positive humor in the workplace, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 27(2), 155 – 190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02683941211199554. Miller, J. (1996), Humor: an empowerment tool for the 1990s, Empowerment in Organizations, l.4(2), 16-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09684899610118046 Moshref Javadi, M. H., Salehzadeh, R., and Hoseini poor, S. (2013).Studying the Relationship between Humor and Organizational Citizenship Behavior, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 3(3), 146-151. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARAFMS/v3-i3/100. Moustaka, E., Constantinidis, T. C. (2010), Sources and effects of Work-related stress in nursing, Health Science Journal, 4(4), 210-216. Radloff, L. S. (1977), The CES-D Scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306. Romero, E. J., and Cruthirds, K. W. (2006), The use of humor in the workplace, Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(2), 58-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amp.2006.20591005. Santos, M. I., and Jose, H. (2012). Humor and Health Practitionaires’ Stress, Humor contributions in stress management, Advanced Research in Scientific Areas, 1022-1026.

Pros And Cons Of Delegating Human Resources Management Essay

Pros And Cons Of Delegating Human Resources Management Essay A line manager is responsible for an employee or a work group who do not have any managerial responsibility. Some of the daily duties that a line manager undertakes are people management, dealing with customers/clients, monitoring work process, measuring operational performance, organising allocation and rotas and monitoring absenteeism. Although line managers play a vital role in bridging the top level management and the lower hierarchical staff on a daily basis, it is seen that most of the line managers, however, may not have formal management education because he/she is generally promoted from within. Due to the daily and frequent contacts between the line managers and the staff to whom he/she is responsible, it has been a more common practice to see the line managers undertaking several human resources responsibilities including recruiting and selection of employee the function otherwise used to be exclusively of the human resource department in the past. This is widely practiced lately mainly because of the fact that the line managers have a better understanding of the job that needs to be carried out in order to match the corporate strategy and operations strategy of the organisation. With the prevailing frequent communication between the line managers and the employees, it also contributes towards increased morale in the employees ensuring a higher productivity and competency of the employees and enhanced focus on customers. Since most of the line managers do not have formal management education, they might not be fully reliant on the managerial tasks that they perform and hence they have drawback in their undertaking of human resources tasks although they have added value to the human resources professionals by allowing them to invest their time on more strategic issues. Pros and Cons of Delegating Human Resources roles to Line Managers Cons Increased speed of decision making Line management responsibility for people issues Local management accountability Potential cost savings Strategic role for central HR/IR Short lines of communication Lack of time to perform HR duties Increase in line managers workload Additional costs of training managers Increase in grievances/tribunal cases Potential for HR/IR to be marginalized People management not considered to be part of the line managers job Pros: Increased speed of decision making: Line management responsibility for people issues Local management accountability Potential cost savings Strategic role for central HR Short lines of communication B. Cons: Lack of time to perform Human Resources duties Increase in line managers workload Additional cost of training line managers Increase in grievance/tribunal case Potential for HR to be marginalised People management not considered to be line managers job The people and performance research carried out for the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) by a team at Bath University (Hutchinson, 2003) found that the line managers played a vital role in terms of implementing and enacting HR policies and practices. They found that where employees feel positive about their relationship with their line managers they are more likely to have higher levels of job satisfaction, commitment and loyalty which are associated with higher levels of performance or discretionary behaviour. Discretionary behaviour is defined as that which goes beyond the requirement of the job to give extra performance which can boost the bottom line. Line managers also play the strongest part in structuring peoples actual experience of doing a job. According to an online survey of 121 organisations, collectively employing almost a quarter of a million people, shows that four in five (80.2%) organisations have devolved responsibilities such as managing flexible working requests and handling grievance and disciplinary procedures to line managers over the past few years. And two in three predict the role of line managers will take on even more HR functions over the next few years. (Williams, 2008) Also, another interesting finding was that the line managers claimed to be satisfied with the HR responsibilities that have been devolved to them and are keen to take on activities that relate explicitly to the development of their team. Most line managers report working closely with their HR counterparts and see the configuration moving towards a partnership. The line managers main concern is that a lack of support from HR during the delivery of the service can detract from the overall effectiveness. They also note that junior level line managers are likely to feel less supported by HR and comment that it is merely their high level position that drives the HR-line partnership in their situations. (Susan Whittaker, 2003). The role of line managers in both public and private organisations has changed quite significantly in recent years. The line managers have been allocated more responsibilities and are accountable not only for budgeting and allocating of resources, but most importantly for people management issues as per Hoogenboorn Brewster (1992.). According to some sources such as Storey (1992: 190), he argues that line managers may well be playing a far more central role in labour management than HR personnel. Whereas another source, Hales (2005) traces the greater involvement of line managers in HR issues to two developments. He argues that the line managers have been taking on the role of a coach , conductor or a leader of a highly motivated team as a result of the spread of Human Resource Management and the adoption of more participative forms of management concerned with securing high performance through commitment rather than control. Human Resource Devolvement has led to line managers acquiring middle management functions and becoming mini-general managers accompanied by the loss of supervisory functions downwards to work teams. It is hence more appropriate for line managers to take responsibility for people development since they operate alongside the people they manage and therefore it is argued that that their reactions are more immediate and appropriate (Whittaker and Marchington, 2003). Initial research indicates some positive support for line manager HR involvement. Hutchinson and Purcell (2003) found that line manager involvement in coaching, guidance and communication positively influences organisational performance. Likewise, a case study of line manager involvement in HR in the NHS by Currie and Proctor (2001) found that line managers are important contributors to strategic change when provided with discretion in implementing HR strategies within their own work groups. Whittaker and Marchington (2003) maintain that line managers increasingly welcome HR responsibilities and are prepared to take them on as they add variation and challenge to their work. Gibb (2003) argues that requiring line managers to be more involved in the HR issues may also lead to a transformation of managers own attitudes towards HR, organisational change and thus a transformation of human relations at work (Gibb, 2003). By increasing line manager involvement in HR, it is argued that better workplace conditions will result as line managers have better understanding than specialists of the type and range of interventions needed. In this pursuit, line managers are assisted by more effective and user-friendly human resource information systems, new technologies and Human Resource call centres, making it possible for line managers to handle some HR work without the assistance of Human Resource Department. It is seen that a speedy resolution of conflicts and lower rate of employee turnover is possible by moving Human Resources responsibilities closer to employees through line managers. Indeed, providing greater authority to line managers and encouraging greater initiative taking may address a long-standing criticism levelled at HR departments; namely a lack of appreciation of the immediacy of the line managers problems (Harris, L, Doughty, D. Kirk, S. (2002). According to Maxwell and Watson (2006), business partnerships between HR specialists and line managers have emerged as the dominant model for Human Resources operations within organisations. Similarly, Ulrich (2005) outlines the role of HR Strategic Partners as working alongside line managers to help them reach their goals by crafting strategies to maximise productivity through alignment of corporate resources to these goals. We can hence understand that devolving HR responsibilities to line managers offers a number of benefits to organisations. A greater freedom to HR specialists to engage with strategic issues is provided enabling them to forge closer relationships with line managers and a partnership model towards managing employees is developed. Similarly, line managers understand and appreciate the complex nature of dealing with the employee issues and become more encouraged and involved in everyday workplace management tasks. However, line managers have pointed various issues concerning HR involvement despite the above mentioned benefits of participating in HR activities. It will obviously increase their workload by getting involved in HR tasks. Increased workload leads to feelings of incompetence among line managers and reluctance to take responsibility for devolved HR activities. Indeed, this has led to feelings amongst some line managers of being dumped upon (Renwick 2003: 265) or pushed upon to take new HR responsibilities (Harris, L, Doughty, D. Kirk, S. (2002):) due to a climate of fear and mistrust driven by HR. The experience and ability of line managers to take responsibility for HR issues may present a major barrier to devolvement. Both Whittaker and Marchington (2003) and Hailey, V.H., Farndale, E. Truss, C. (2005) suggest that line managers skills and competence in HR practices may be limited and a lack of training in this area will undoubtedly affect a line managers overall effectiveness. I ncapability and misunderstanding of HR practices on the part of line managers will prevent the organisation from developing a strong learning culture (McCracken and Wallace, 2000) with McGovern et al. (1997) arguing that a lack of training may lead to inconsistencies in implementing organisational HR policies potentially exposing the organisation to lawsuits and employment tribunals. Their research though, indicates that management development is not a priority for the top management and reliance on the notion of trial-and-error is prevalent in organisations. Furthermore, the failure of organisations to take a long-term developmental view is exposed by a reluctance to set aside a specific budget for training and the belief that management development is the individuals responsibility. Many line managers get under pressure to meet operational targets, and often struggle to fulfil their people management duties. This is partly because they are not equipped with the tools, skills and knowledge they need to be effective. As a result, managers sometimes effectively abdicate responsibility for aspects of people management. A commonly used phrase is thats HRs job often tends to be heard a lot in many companies whether relating to employee development, managing an individuals performance or dealing with absenteeism issues. Recent research involving nearly 3,000 employers by the Work Foundation and the Institute for Employment Studies found that organisations with a comprehensive, structured approach to people management, covering areas such as recruitment, development plans and employee appraisals, perform better than those without, as indicated by higher profits per employee, higher profit margins and ultimately higher productivity. Sometimes its easy to be critical of managers, but often theyre not properly equipped to be effective. Investment in management training requires clearly set-down policies and procedures. There appears to be lack of clear guidance and easily accessible information, its not surprising that many line managers response when an issue arises is either to pick up the phone to HR or to ignore the problem and hope it would goes away or transfer responsibility to someone else. It is interesting but to be fair to line managers, sometimes part of the problem may also lie with the HR department itself. For all the talk about wanting to devolve more responsibility to the line, in practice HR professionals are sometimes reluctant to trust line managers to manage. They are unwilling to give managers the tools and information they need to do the job effectively: after all, knowledge is power, and by being the gatekeepers of all information relating to employees, policies and processes, HR may feel that it has power. This is clearly not in the long-term interests of the HR function. HR teams must realise that if they are to fulfil their potential and be true partners to the business, then they need to trust their managers with the day-today stuff. This doesnt mean being unsupportive but continued support to line managers to assist them with responsibility for the way that people are managed. It does mean defining strategies and policies and then putting in place the frameworks and the systems that enable managers to take accountability for the day-to-day execution but in a controlled, informed and effective way. Line managers must aim to be more accountable whereas HR professionals being more strategic could assist when working together. Better solutions are needed to support key people management processes and its likely that intelligent use of technology is likely to represent at least part of the answer. Technology-based services offer organisations the potential to give much greater support to their line managers, but in a highly cost-effective way. Line managers can be given tools to walk them through common processes, access to comprehensive information about their employees, guidance on how to manage effectively, and prompts when tasks or actions are due all accessed via a single web-based service. In view of the above, making line managers responsible for the delivery of HR can be complex. Line managers may not possess the required skills needed to implement HR initiatives and may feel ill-equipped or insufficiently trained to accept responsibility for day-to-day HR tasks. Devolving HR responsibilities may also represent a lack of appreciation of the workloads, time pressures and overall priorities of line managers threatening the overall standards of HR delivery across the organisation and diminishing the value of HR. It is found that getting line managers involved in HR tasks is a step towards achieving a more strategic, value-added approach to managing employees. Line managers play an important position in the organisational hierarchy and can directly affect the quality of front-line services. It will greatly increase the existing pressures of excess workload and the need to deliver on short-term priorities by devolving line managers with HR responsibilities. It will also mean the requirement of display of a higher level of HR competency by the line managers which calls for the need for high-quality training programmes for line managers to ensure that they feel confident in discharging their new HR responsibilities. Such training may help organisations avoid costly litigation and damage to their public reputation. Therefore, HR professionals must engage with line managers and develop a partnership to bring about a speedier resolution to workplace conflicts by allowing line managers to seek guidance and advice whenever required thereby making line managers more responsible for HR.