Music as an important feature of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Show where you would include music in your production and what different effects you would try to achieve. The earthy, natural feeling of A Midsummer Night's Dream gives many inspirations and possibilities for music to be included in the play. It also, contrastingly, gives the opportunity for music not to be used (for example during the songs specifically written in the text and the overall lyricism of the play). Before the performance, during the interval and afterwards I want to show and enhance the nature links within the play. I thought of a time when man and nature were very close, and remembered some tribal music I had. It uses a lot of drums and panpipes, very primitive instruments that show the early nature of the music and the time. It also uses voice, but no words, relying on the noises made by the human voice rather than the pronunciation. An early interpretation of the word â€Å"faerie† meant a spiritual being who was very much linked with nature. These beings had good and bad sides, so are not the archetypal â€Å"fairies† often portrayed today. The spiritual, tribal music would enhance the idea that the faeries are not that dissimilar to humans, while remaining completely different. I would like to give the audience a hint of what is to come just before it happens. For example, just before a fairy is about to come onstage, I would have a short piccolo burst to signify it. This could be continued for each of the three â€Å"classes† – mortals and Mechanicals too. The higher-class mortals could be symbolised by a short burst on the trumpet. This could be increased to a fanfare for Theseus when he enters, and vary between a short note for the lovers on their own to a full fanfare for the court. Similarly, since the Mechanicals are also mortals, a brass instrument could be their entrance too. This would link them to the members of the court, but by using a different instrument such as a trombone, it would set them apart as well. A trombone would be good because it is associated with slapstick comedy, which is what the Mechanicals are, essentially. These notes before an actor's entrance would have to be timed very well so that they came before an entrance, but not too far before so as to detract from the last scene. When Titania and Oberon meet in Act II, Scene I, Titania has a very long speech on how the seasons are being disrupted by their lovers' feud. This speech would be difficult to say while keeping the attention of the audience, and previously I have ideas to cut it. However, looking at the music in this production I have decided on a great piece that would really work. It is called Pachelbel's Frolics. It is derived from Pachelbel's Canon but slowly changes during the piece, almost too slowly to notice. By the end of the music, it has progressed into a full-blown Irish Gig. I think this is wonderfully significant to the piece as it so accurately portrays the changes of which Titania speaks. The fact that it happens so slowly will confuse the audience I think, because they will not notice the change in tune until it has changed thoroughly. Act II, Scene II has the fairies singing Titania to sleep. It would be tempting to use music here to support the fairies. After thinking this through, I decided that no music would be better, as that way the lyricism in the text can come through in their voices alone. Harmonies and vocal variations within the song would be nice here, showing how the differences in the worlds come together to make something that is good. The rhythm and harmonies alone should be enough to carry the piece through. We have tried it in production with it as a choral piece, each saying different lines, and it didn't work very well. Treating the song as a song would work better, but this would require getting a musical assistant to produce a tune for the song, and to work on the harmonies. It would also require actors who could sing and manage harmonising. I think that if the piece was done well, it would work much better than if music were put to it. Act III, Scene I includes Bottom's rowdy song, originally sung to cheer himself up and make him less scared. As it continues, I think he should get rowdier and bawdier; more confident. I don't think I would use music here either. At the beginning he should definitely be alone, and any musical accompaniment would detract from his solitude onstage. For the first half of the song, before Titania wakes up, he should sing quietly, building up to full volume at the line â€Å"The wren with little quill. † Then, after Titania's line he can start at full volume, loudly, brash, almost in a drunken way. His voice should not be particularly tuneful, but very loud (as if to make up for it! . This would show how unrefined he is, and how totally unsuited to Titania. It would also emphasise the differences in appearance and behaviour, especially if Titania is played very daintily and quiet in the scene. The final place where music could be used is in Act V, during and just after the Bergomask dance. Again, I would like to use the music here to emphasise the class differences between the three group s. When the Mechanicals dance, the music they dance to should reflect their status. This is why I chose â€Å"Irish Party in Third Class. It is an Irish tune, much more heavy and beating than the one I have used previously. It is from the party below decks in Titanic, and has such a great atmosphere to it that it would work with the Mechanicals' base instincts. This would also show the class boundaries, as it is fairly apparent that this music is not â€Å"refined† for the other members of the household. The heavy beat of the drum and the deeper notes of bagpipes compared to the fiddle make the piece quite natural and tribal again, while keeping its Irish connotations. After the performance of the Mechanicals' play, Oberon and Titania appear to bless the house. They also dance, and as Shakespeare's stage directions are very remote, the dance could be of any kind. I thought that to emphasise the link with nature, it would be good to use the music from the interval as a dance for them. It has very heavy drumbeats and so carries a good rhythm for dancing. The tribal links would be carried through the whole play, creating continuity through the performance. The whole essence of the fairies in my production is their darker, less â€Å"perfect† side. This dance at the end could be very ritualistic, almost pagan. Through the dance we could see their personalities come through as themselves.

“What Thanksgiving means to me.

In my country, Korea, having same holiday Thanksgiving called by Chu-Seok. Thanksgiving is upon us. I have to say, fall is one of my most favorite times of the year – first Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, all right in a row. The decorations, the music, the food, the holiday spirit – I like it. Coming from a large family – and having a large extended family – only heightened the holiday cheer growing up, and I used to help create that cheer for my own family. So I think I’d take a moment to talk about what Thanksgiving means to me.There is always the traditional Korean food, of course. But it’s not just the act of eating Thanksgiving dinner. The hours of preparation and the delicious smells that fill the house that entire week are just as important, as are the leftovers that last for days. In my family, the cooking of Christmas cookies has always begun the day after Thanksgiving – if not before. The preparation, eating , and preserving of food becomes both a family tradition and a ritual of community and togetherness.There is also family. For me, Thanksgiving has almost always involved time spent with extended family, whether they come to me or I go to them. And for me, extended family has always meant time spent playing board games such as Yut-Game, Gostop-Game. or just sitting around reminiscing. There are also the family projects that we’ll all tackle together, whether it’s simply fixing that drawer that never ran straight or building an entire new porch. Thanksgiving has always meant all of that.In addition to centering around the ritual of food, the embrace of family, and the richness of history, Thanksgiving has always served for me as a time of contemplation and gratitude. It’s good to take stock from time to time, not to ignore problems or challenges but rather to remember and think about the good. Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily grind of life that we focus more on what we don’t have than on what we do have. Thanksgiving helps me slow down and refresh my focus.

Innovation in Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Innovation in Organization - Essay Example Moreover, several studies have also highlighted that innovative organizations perform better than the organizations which are non-innovative. However, innovation cannot be an external phenomenon; rather it is purely internal. For a company to get success depending on innovation, it is not sufficient to bring new ideas or products that change the entire market landscape, but the organization must have the ability to absorb the innovation (Agarwal, Erramilli and Dev, 2003; Betz, 2003). The ability of an organization to absorb innovation is critical towards the success of a company. According to Van de Ven, Polley and Venkataraman (1999) â€Å"organizational creation are fundamental to the process of innovation†. The extent to which an organization innovates is the pre-state for the efficient utilization of the new technologies and resources. The introduction of new technology often tenders complex challenges and opportunities for the organizations that in turn lead to changes in the management practices and the emergence of new organizational forms. As a result of that technological and organizational innovation are often stated as intertwined. Schumpeter (1950) also emphasized that innovation in the form of a new product or new process often brings organizational changes and can even be the cause of creative destruction for organizations (Lam, 2004). This study examines the extent of innovation in a chosen organization. In this context, the study will put emphasis on the particular innovation aimed by the organization to deliver to its users, the other possible solutions were considered, the main obstacles and resistance that were met in developing the innovation, networks that were used by actors within and outside the organisation in order to generate, support, and implement the innovation, the procedures that were in place in the organisation to facilitate the selection and development of innovations and the reasons for the success or failure of the in novation. Brief Synopsis of the Company The company chosen for this project is a corporate gift design and manufacturing company. The company currently caters to the domain of innovation of process optimization. Understanding the situation of the market, the company decided to bring some kind of innovation in their system as they consider innovation as one of the major business drivers and is a source of competitive advantage for the firms. Evaluation of product innovation and process innovation, the company identified that the first task is to bring process innovation and simultaneously focus on innovative and creative services. In the recent past, the company has identified certain loopholes in their system of operation and considers those loopholes to be the reason for their low market share. The company also identified that there are several steps involved in closing a call and that is affecting the company in the form of increased lead time and declining market share. The subse quent steps will identify the different factors of the company that are mentioned above.  

Claude monet Haystacks painting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Claude monet Haystacks painting - Essay Example The essay "Claude monet Haystacks painting" discovers the art of Claude Monet. By the time Monet was done he had accomplished the artistic analysis of 25 different scenes that were from different timelines. The artist made it a point to capture details as per different times and with different weather. The end result was a model that was admired by his peers at the time and even many years to come. The subject that he chose was also an interesting one that many artists may have ignored before but that in which Monet saw a great potential to create a series of paintings. The background of the haystacks states that they are large and talk stacks that are normally located within Normandy region in France so as to emphasize the beauty of the countryside. They functioned majorly as storage facilities with the purpose of preserving the harvest, especially wheat until the time the wheat could be distinctively separated from the chaff and the stalk. These stacks were more common in the 19th century and further survived for close to a hundred years before the discovery of combined harvesters and other machines that could do the separation faster and with advanced technology. The stacks were basically common in Giverny where Monet’s home was located. Monet noticed the subject when he was taking a casual walk after which he requested that two canvases be brought to him by his step daughter so that he could sufficiently capture different weather conditions. Monet realized that he needed more than just two canvases.... painted realistic depictions which were eventually revised in a studio with the aim of generating contrast and to preserve harmony within the painting series. (Hayes, 1990: pg22) The first painting that I will discuss including the thematic issues involved is the wheat stack end of summer. The common subject all through the series basically utilized an underlying theme of transience of light. this kind of concept played a vital role of enabling Monet apply repetition in such a way that could show nuances in regards to the perception of difference in time, seasons and the differences in weather. This feature made Monet the painter that was the first to work on so many projects under the same subject matter but basically just differentiated by weather, light, perspective and atmosphere. Certain aspects in this painting involved strict documentation of ephemera that were only possible during some restricted durations of time in the day and so the keenness involved in this was captured b y Monet as he could have to wait around for such moments in time to get the real perspective. The painting depicts an accurate use of hue and color to reflect differences in light. This made it possible for the painting to show the ever changing quality of residual light as seen on the haystacks through the manifestation of distinctive coloring as done by Monet. (Charles, 1996: pg 39) The second painting still under scrutiny is that of Morning Snow Effect. This painting completely shows a different season as compared to the others. The painting was done by Monet mostly in the mornings after the harvest whereby snow was seen and so Monet sought to show the difference in capturing the value and texture that would be expected from the snow covered haystacks in the morning. In this painting,

Medical Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Medical Sociology - Essay Example Robert Koch, a German physician, continued work related to the bacteriological revolution and discovered, along with others, the reasons for specific diseases by linking them with specific bacteria as identified by their different types. As a result, medical science reached new heights as hospitals became safe havens for treatment for a multitude of diseases. The mortality rates of Europe declined primarily because of the bacteriological revolution-led improvement in medical treatment. The bacteriological revolution took place over many years and in phases. The first one began, roughly, around 1835 and lasted till 1875 in Berlin by Theodor Schwann, who experimented in the laboratory to observe the phenomenon that alcoholic fermentation took place in unheated air i.e. in the presence of microscopic organisms. Louis Pasteur took forward Theodor Schwann’s work, and conducted the fermentation of wine, bread, cheese, etc, twenty years later. Unlike others, Pasteur experimented in an artificial environment which was controllable, and so, each micro organism could be studied in isolation. After immense research, training students and publishing numerous papers and books on the subject, Pasteur established his own school of research. Pasteur’s methods were considered very difficult and thus, were not adopted by many people (Mendelsohn, 2010). Louis Pasteur was teaching at a university when he was persuaded by a wine company to find out why some wine becomes sour in the process of being made. He discovered, during his research, that germs in the air which could be seen under the microscope are behind this phenomenon. Consequently, the process of pasteurization came into being whereby, germs are killed by boiling the liquid and then cooling it—in this case, the liquid was wine. From this process, Pasteur went further to prove that germs are present in the air and so, could be stopped from getting into the liquid. This formed

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

Case Study - Essay Example Keywords: moral awareness, ethical dilemma, utilitarianism, ethical decisions, ethical approach, moral judgment CASE STUDY ETHICAL DILEMMA Problem Karen Hathaway is in a dilemma trying to decide who shall be the best candidate who deserves the promotion, among the three managers who are vying for the same position. All of the potential candidates are highly qualified for the coveted position in the company. The decision she has to make is very critical in order to ensure that the company is placed in the hands of only the best manager. She is being pressured by her superior and upper-management people to promote their own bets. She has also been informed by her immediate superior that making the wrong decision would not be good, either internally or externally, and will affect her work performance and credibility. Karen is now facing an ethical dilemma on who among the three candidates is most worthy to receive the promotion. Input The three candidates are the following: The first ca ndidate is Carmen, who is 34 years of age, an African American, recently divorced and, a single parent to an only child. She graduated in the lower half of her college class in Northwest State. She has been with the company for four years and in the industry for eight years, with average performance ratings, but is notable for her high energy level. As a superior, she has experienced some difficulties in managing her staff. Aside from this disadvantage is also her child’s poor health condition. Clinching the promotion will be a big help to manage her financial condition. In the event that Carmen gets the promotion, she will be the first African-American female manager at this level. Karen has known Carmen only a short time, but she has never had problems with her and they have become friends as Karen has once baby-sat Carmen’s daughter during an emergency. The drawback in promoting Carmen will place Karen in a tight situation as she might be accused of having biases an d favouritism. The second candidate is Ralph, an American, 57 years of age, married with three children and graduated top half in his class from a private university. He has been with the company for twenty years and in the industry for thirty years. He has been classified as a steady performer in the company, receiving mostly average ratings, with average to very low energy level. He was lauded in his work performance when he was able to produce many of the company’s top sales performers in the past. He has been not been promoted from his current position because of his refusal to relocate. This promotion would be his last before retirement, and his colleagues believed that he should be next in line because he has earned the position as an employee of the company for 20 years. In fact, one senior manager stopped Karen in the hall and said â€Å"You know, Karen, Ralph has been with us a long time. He has done many good things

Frightening Incident Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Frightening Incident - Essay Example The incident, which I am going to relate, is an on-the-job incident in which I saved my friend from a big injury. The injury would have made him disabled for his whole life. My friend and I worked in my uncle’s sugar mill in New Orleans a couple of years ago. We had summer holidays at that time. We wanted to spend that time in a useful way. Therefore, my uncle suggested me to join his sugar mill to pass the time and get some professional experience. I also asked my friend to accompany me. My friend agreed and we started working. We worked in that mill for 3 months as sugarcane chopping machine operators. Here, I would like to mention that a number of processes take place that convert raw form of sugar into the usable form. Sugar cane chopping is one such process in which large moving gears chop the sugarcanes. Operating the chopping machine is not an easy task. One needs to apply force on the paddle through hands to keep the gears moving. Therefore, managers of sugar mills usu ally hire more than one operator to reduce the workload. Each operator operates the machine usually from 60 to 90 minutes in each turn.

Do media in China enjoy more autonomy today Essay

Do media in China enjoy more autonomy today - Essay Example ile in many democracies, in the west, and the press is free to criticize the government without fears of reprisals, this is still a dream to the Chinese media. The CDP (Communist Partys Central Propaganda Department) is the main body charged with the censoring of all information be it on TV print or even the internet. In retrospect, the Chinese press may have enjoyed a degree of freedom in the past, today the communist government is tightening the leash against the media in an attempt to control the information that filers to the public. This is according to observers from both inside and outside China; interviewed by Deutsche Welle Wolfgang BÃ ¼ttner said that freedom of the press has taken a turn for the worse in the recent past (Blau, 2012). Herein, some of the problems that are experienced by the Chinese media (inclusive of online media) are examined with the conclusion entailing a projection of whether the situation is likely to change in the near future. One of the main courses of these increased clampdowns could be the revolutions in Egypt and Syria which were instigated from a social medial platform. The Chinese government fears that its citizens may attempt the same after an online appeal to the Chinese to follow suit (Bennett, 2011). The Chinese constitution requires that any online company should be ready to co-operate with the state in apprehending those who leak state secrets, however, the definition of state secrete is rather vague. Conveniently, this could be any information the government deems a threat to its economy or reputation, whether true or not. In 2010, the government launched its first white paper that requires for everyone using the internet in China, including foreign correspondents should adhere to the laws of China in what is commonly known as media sovereignty (Bennett, 2011). In view of the harsh economic times and the corruption that seems to be etching itself in government circles, the party is aware that the Chinese people might

Profit And Loss As Index Of Company Success Assignment - 12

Profit And Loss As Index Of Company Success - Assignment Example The business had total expenditure of $20,756 which includes non-cash expenses of $175 for depreciation on equipment. Although depreciation does not involve the movement of funds it represents a charge for the use of the asset. This charge should not be deducted for income tax purposes. However, the charge is reflective of the use of the asset in the company. The charge was calculated for two months based on a 5-year straight-line method of depreciation. It is expected that the useful life of equipment which includes a computer, fax machine and a copy straight-line longer than 5 years. The Internal Revenue Service (2012) indicates that businesses must prorate depreciation deduction based on the months in use. The items of equipment were in use for 2 months and so the charge in the accounts is based on this fact. Other expenses of note include bad debt expense which includes write-offs as well as provisions made for debts that may not be collected. The two bills representing a total o f approximately $11,000 and due from Delta Company is not collectible since the company is bankrupt. A total of 25% of the debt of $8000 (that is $2,000) due from Baker Company for consultancy fees and $763.86 for reimbursable are also not considered to be recoverable based on previous experience with the client. Additionally, $432.78 for costs may not be recovered from Charlie Company. These amounts have been included as a provision for doubtful debts and included in Bad debt expense. The total amount of bad and doubtful debts expensed represents 40 per cent of income. The company made a net profit of $15,686 which represents 41 per cent of total income. Depreciation of $175 will be added back to the net profit figure. Income tax has not been accounted for since the proprietor’s will include this profit when filing his personal income tax returns. This will be filed on the appropriate form for business proprietors.

Compare the descriptions of the four ghosts Essay Example for Free

Compare the descriptions of the four ghosts Essay Dickens little Christmas book, A Christmas Carol, was one of many of Christmas novels, however the book, as well as selling six thousand copies in one week, has become Dickens most famous novel. Although the Victorians opinions of ghosts were conformist and modern day readers opinions are more lax; the variety of spectres ensured it appealed to both ages and revived the charitable meaning of Christmas for the Victorians. The first ghost Dickens introduces to the reader is Marley and he uses vivid adjectives to illustrate the typical conventions of a ghost. Some of these conventions are shown when Dickens writes, The same face: the very same, and describes his clothes as, usual waistcoat, tights, and boots. In saying that the ghost has, the same, face and clothes as the person it originated from, it conforms to the stereotypical image of a ghost. This makes the reader feel more comfortable with the opening of the novel; allowing the reader to make the prediction that the other ghosts would be similar. This successfully results in the reader being shocked later on in the book. Furthermore, Dickens uses personification to create the suspense and fearfulness that the reader would expect a ghost to do. This is evident with the quote, flame leaped up, and, it cried, I know him! Marleys ghost. When the flame, leaped up, it gives the effect that it has identified something so fearful that it has gave life to in-animate objects. This makes the reader desperate to find out why this ghost is so frightening. The flame also seems to detect that the ghost is Jacob Marley, which suits the idea that a ghost haunts someone that did wrong to them in their previous life. Adding to the terrifying image of the spectre, Dickens highlights the fear with the phrase, disturbs the very marrow in his bones. The phrase strengthens the idea that Marley is a typical spectre as a Victorian reader would expect Scrooge to be immensely scared of the ghost, this is because the conformist opinion was that ghosts were to be frightened of. Although Marley is overall a conventional ghost, Dickens does use a combination of metaphors and similes to add interesting original touches. These are found when the book says, being provided with an infernal atmosphere of its own, and, as by the hot vapour from an oven. The simile highlights the alteration between Scrooge and the ghost. One interpretation of this is that the simile is a representation of how a ghost sees the world from a different perspective then a human. The simile emphasises this interpretation and suggests that the difference between the perspectives of the two characters is that the ghost looks on the earth with envy as his own world as Marleys own world agitates like, hot vapour. This is one of the first signs that the book will push the conformist boundaries of the after life; alerting the reader to the thought that this ghost has feelings, which is not expected from a Victorian audience. In contrast to the ghost of Jacob Marley, the ghost of Christmas past is strange and unconventional. Just as in the description of Marley, Dickens uses sound to build up suspense. For example, he describes the hour bell as, hollow. The use of this word may mean that the ghost is evil, however on the other hand it may suggest that it wont use discretion as it is hollow and doesnt have a heart; this is significant as it was believed that feelings came from the heart in the Victorian period. The word is successful as it makes the reader make predictions about the ghost before it arrives. This is playing with the reader and will create anxiety, as the reader will want to discover whether the prediction was right or not. In addition, Dickens confirms the idea of a ghost further. This occurs when he writes, unearthly visitor. One interpretation of this is that the word, unearthly, gives the impression that it doesnt belong on earth and is not a typical creature. This adds to the idea of a typical ghost however, a subtle implication strays from the stereotype. The word, visitor may imply that the ghost will not stay long which may seem insignificant to a modern reader but the Victorians feared that ghosts would haunt a specific person making their lives a misery. I think that this effectively created an unusual sense around the ghost that pre-emptively warns the reader that it isnt a normal ghost. Moreover, Dickens uses juxtaposition to make the reader acknowledge that the ghost represents something. The contrast is shown with phrases such as, like a child, and, like an old man. The contrast implies that what someone does in the past can alter their future so you should always do the right thing. This representation is further emphasised with the imagery, now with one leg, and, now with twenty legs as it gives an interesting, visibly imaginable example of the change. These quotes are successful as the reader can see that the ghost represents the fact that every action has a consequence.

Waste Management Practices in Malta

Waste Management Practices in Malta Chapter 1 Introduction Context As time gone by, the world as we know it evolved and also with it do did the waste management practices. Through the global widespread epidemic outbreaks, back in early nineteenth century, waste management had shifted from the dilute and disperse and repair and reuse to the new concept of collect and remove in order to protect the general public from unhealthy living conditions. This approach gave birth to what we know now a day as landfills. The latter saw the introduction of new practices such as waste collection from cities being carted away and discarded openly somewhere else away from the same cities. The first dump sites (landfills) were not engineered in any form which essentially entailed finding a place where one could dispose of unwanted material outside its habitable boundary/territory. Since the beginning of the term sustainable living, many individuals famous to societies or also not known, along with other organisations had given definitions to waste. While every country around the globe has its own definition, other countries had moved forward, in particular the EU, and its 28 member states. Thus, the EU block has harmonised and has a synergy amongst all its 28 member states for defining waste. Waste has various definitions such as Waste is what is left behind when imagination fails (Ekberg 2009 as published by Linnenkopper in magazine Recycling International issue August 2016, para 1). However, within the EU, a synchronized definition of waste has been in use in its current wording for over three decades now and is embedded in the 2008, Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC). The legal analysis of Article 3(1) which defines waste as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Again, within the EU and its 28 member states, the Landfill Directive, municipal solid waste is defined as waste from households, as well as other waste which, because of its nature or composition, is similar to waste from households (EU, 1999). With lots of emphasis on waste management and waste becoming a problem, many took the advantage of this potential time bomb situation and came up with waste as a resource. The new concept of circular economy was born and introduced across the globe. Regretfully to say, there is no documentation when actually the term was born, but it is believed that it gained momentum in the late 1970s, and it was led by a small number of academics, thought-leaders and businesses. In smaller industries, where modern technology is usually less prevalent, a common tendency is to process waste through source separation (Berg, 1993:182). Hence, there is thus a considerable risk for sub-optimising solutions without an all-embracing perspective covering all kinds of waste (Tiberg, 1995 as cited in Stenis ,2005:22). As Mutavchi (2012:5) had stated in his Doctoral dissertation titled Solid Waste Management Based on Cost-Benefit Analysis using the Wamed Model The emphasis on waste continue to be problematic is more evident particularly in Europe. This can be confirmed by the European Commission investing in many innovative projects to control the waste issue. The latter are a wide range of initiatives ranging from reducing to reusing of wastes. The notion of municipal waste collection what we know today as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) was introduced in Malta towards the late 20th century, and the first for dirty materials Materials Recovery Facility ( MRF) was established in Marsascala in 1993. The practice of recycling had been introduced in Malta many years later and as the National Statistics Office (NSO) proves by its available data, recycling locally is immensely low in numbers. In Malta, the sustainable discussions when it comes to waste were initiated with the application of Malta to enter the EU block back in the 1990, of which the latter missed the 1995 accession and again application was frozen back in 1996 when there was a change in Government from the Nationalist party (PN) pioneer to accession to the EU block to the Labour party (MLP) anti EU accession but in favour of special agreements e.g. Switzerland. Malta Eventually joined the EU as a full member in 2004 when after a short-lived Labour government of just eighteen months, the PN were re-elected and negotiations to reactivate the application had taken place intensely by 2000 in order for Malta to catch up with the other candidates awaiting to join the EU block which took place in May 2004. Only to join the block in 2004 after national turmoil on accession. Waste management was one of the issues that Malta had to cover during the EU negotiations and this gave birth to the first national waste management plan for the Maltese islands document back in 2001 of which its updated version is enforced via the Waste Management Plan for the Maltese Islands 2014-2020. The researcher concurs with the vision of the Waste Management Plan for the Maltese islands 2014-2020 (MSDEC 2014) that of realizing the link between environmental objectives and human wellbeing will lead to sustainable waste management. In order for the National Waste Management plan to be successfully implemented, there must be a full societal commitment. Unless the Maltese citizens commence mutually to adopt the 3 pillars of zero waste (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) within their daily lives, there will be little to no improvement. Furthermore, such commitment calls for every citizen to change their current behaviour. However, the latter can only be made if only proper dissemination of information is made for better choices to be made in order for the stimulation of the involved stakeholders to improve. 1.2 Research Objectives The motivation behind this research project is to feel the pulse of the Maltese citizens and any one residing in the Maltese Islands when it comes to waste Management practices, in particular waste management educational and awareness campaigns, their effectiveness on the general public and whether the latter are leading to the desired success when it comes to alter the citizens behaviour towards the 3 Rs as well as reaching the EU set targets. This research project aims to identify issues pertaining to barriers and limitations when it comes to the citizen to execute the 3Rs as well as identifying the niches subjects that the citizens feel that are not giving enough importance during waste management educational and awareness campaigns. The latter information gathering will give insight to better assessment prior and after campaigns as well as evaluate feedback that will make such campaigns more interesting and gain the desired success. Nevertheless, the researchers previous experience within the social research field will be put into use and practice again, and previous experience within such research will help to guide and improve this research methodology even better by eliminating already known flaws from previous research experience. The proposed research is aimed at: Finding the barriers and limitations towards the 3Rs Identify the success and failures of education and awareness campaigns Identify whether the citizens differ between awareness and educational campaigns Finding whether the citizens are ready to sacrifice their lifestyle for the sake of sustainability Finding whether politicians and politics plays a role and have influence on citizens and waste management Finding whether character assimilations can help participation increase in campaigns Finding what else the citizens want to know from these campaigns Finding whether there is Fragmentation or unity amongst the key stakeholders when it comes to waste management Finding who the citizens look up to, to resolve waste issues Finding whether management by crisis is applied when it comes to waste management issues Finding whether more can be done such as fines, enforcement, monitoring etc. Evaluating previous waste awareness and educational campaigns success. Research Questions The main research questions that the undertaken research study will explore are the following: What are the barriers and limitations to the citizens of the Maltese islands when it comes to waste management adherence? Why are the waste awareness and educational campaigns not leaving the desired results? What is lacking? What other information and guidance the Maltese citizens want to receive when it comes to waste management issues and executing of the 3Rs? Where is, Malta failing when it comes to public involvement in reaching the EU set targets for waste management? Whether education is or can be the link to bridge the gap between the citizens and waste management issues and living sustainably Structure of Dissertation The dissertation is divided into 5 Main chapters and throughout these chapters the researcher will engage in finding answers to the research questions. Following the introduction to the main subject in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 provides an over view of the waste management in Malta and how it had evolved with time, along with other legislation and obligations that Malta have nationally and internationally. The same chapter also reviews past and current waste awareness and educational campaigns, along with other issues pertaining to waste management within the Maltese islands. The gathered literature review aims to give an overview of the current waste management scenario along with the attitude and behaviour of the citizens towards such subject. Chapter 3, will take the reader around the approach the researcher had concluded to use throughout the study. The chosen methodology will aim to identify the main issues pertaining to waste management from a citizens and main stakeholders point of view. This part also provides a detailed description of the tools used and applied to gain the required information in order to arrive to a conclusion. Chapter 4 explores the in-depth evaluation carried out via the one to one interviews with various stake holders as well the focus groups carried out with various citizens. The latter chapter discusses in details the findings while evaluating deeply the findings gathered during the above-mentioned sessions. The findings during the analysis will give insight and ideas along with food for thought to the researcher in order to come up with proposals of how local scenario can improve on the whole. The final Chapter is 5, which presents the findings throughout the whole of the study along with conclusions and recommendations made from this research. The chapter revisit the findings and concludes by calling for further research and actions and for the findings and suggestions to be taken on board for execution by the responsible authorities. Conclusion The citizen seems to be shifting from the laissez faire mentality to the social responsibility of living sustainable, both for oneself and family as well as for the environment as a whole. While one must conclude that social conscious towards the environment and sustainable living is on the increase, one must question whether the authorities are guiding the citizen correctly and helping in reducing and/or restricting its barriers to keep on moving towards the sustainable lifestyle that every nation desires.

Essay --

Humans have known how to use the color from plant, animal and mineral around them and utilized in everyday since antiquity. We can see image on the walls caves, they known how to use to decorate container or jewelry body of tribes various. When human prosperous, they known how to use apparel and can use color from natural tinted or decorate for beauty increase Colors derived from plants such as blue from indigo. Red from Sappan core or orange color from annatto seed, color from animals such as red color from lac. Which is still used today (hongthongdang and Srimakajorn, 2006). The popularity on natural dyes are decreased when they have the chemical synthesis because of the chemicals dyes is easy to use, convenient, highly stable, The quantity and type of colors more sufficient for increasing demand in the production of industrial. but at present we found that the chemical dyes some kinds have carcinogen that harmful to affect the dyer, user and environment. Until some countries discourage fabrics dyed with chemical colors and they will popularity turn to natural colors increase. Most farmers like to dye silk from chemical color or synthesis because the color is fresh color, cheap, convenient and fast and decolorization Dyeing silk a very important role because it can add beauty to silk to use more. at the present, consumers have begun to focus on the use of natural materials is the factors in living. Including silk's consumer both Thailand and overseas is turn to like using fabric dye from natural more. Because the color from natural a light color more than chemical color and does not cause irritation to the skin. It also using a local diversity materials are useful and do not cause pollution to the environment. However, farmer... ...% to 5.5%. The feature extraction process does not properties the loss of natural dye type. However normally usually powder color to be dispersed. The user may be inhaled into the body and the resulting harm. So to keep the dye color is used to compress the powder into a pigment. Which can be easily used. Not be dispersed. Storage facilities just keep in opaque plastic bags or amber bottles in this way, it is keep materials of natural scarce is used to dye natural color all year round In this research, we have make developed a powder colors of natural materials has a variety of colors, consistency of color and stable decolorizing. Farmers can use throughout the year, convenient and simple. To replace the use of chemical colors or synthetic dyes. Reduced the purchases of foreign coloring, added value of the product, unique of silk and respond requirement of consumers

Goegraphy of Dominica :: Essays Papers

Goegraphy The geography of Dominica is quite unique. It is an island fortress unlike any other island in the Caribbean, and is the largest and most mountainous of the Windward Islands. The island was created by volcanic activity, and still today shows signs of active volcanic activity. Its steep mountains prevented colonists from completely taking over and have made the island a prime destination for Eco-tourists. The island contains over 3,000 peaks, the tallest of which are Morne Diablotin (4,747 ft) and Morne Trois Pitons (4,600ft). (www.delphis.com) The island itself is located between the French islands of Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south. It is 29 miles long and 16 miles wide, and covers 290 square miles. Its exact location is approximately 15 degrees North and 61 degrees West (www.delphis.dm). The island of Dominica is home to the only surviving population of Carib Indians. This was only possible because of Dominica’s treacherous mountains. Early European colonist were not able to drive out or kill all the natives as they had done on other islands. The Caribs now live in the â€Å"Carib Territory†, a 3700-acre reservation on the northeast coast, which was given to them in 1903. The reservation has a chief and is home to between 300 – 3000 Caribs (the exact number of Caribs is hard to determine because without detail genealogy records it hard to prove or disprove that someone actually is a Carib). (www.delphis.dm) The recent boom in eco-tourism has made Dominica one of the premiere tourist destinations both in the Caribbean and in the world. In recent years Dominica has designated more national parks, forests and marine reserves per capita than nearly anywhere else in the world. Dominica’s largest national park is the Morne Trois Pitons National Park. It covers 17,000 acres (9% of the island), and is home to the world’s largest boiling lake. The lake is 70 yards across with an unknown depth and the lake is situated over a massive volcanic sulfur vent, which keeps the water temperature between 180 – 197 degrees Fahrenheit. The park is also home to several waterfalls over 100 feet tall. The average temperature range is between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Average rainfall varies between 50 inches on coastal areas, and 300 inches with in the interior. The driest months are from January to June, and hurricane season which is usually between July and early October.

A Time To Kill Essay -- essays research papers

A Review and Commentary On:A Time to Kill By John GrishamA Time to Kill written by John Grisham is a book that presents the high racial tensions in Canton Mississippi in the early 1990’s. The book opens with two young men, James Lewis Willard and Billy Ray Cobb, joy riding in their brand new yellow pick up truck decked out with Confederate flags. They speed though black neighborhoods throwing full beer bottles at people and houses, until they come across ten-year-old Tonya Hailey walking home from the grocery store. The men pull over, trap her, rape her repeatedly, beat her, hang her, throw her off a bridge and leave her for dead. Her siblings find Tonya later that day, barely alive, her father, Carl Lee Hailey., and the black community are outraged. Tonya’s missing shoe is found in the back of the yellow pick up truck and both men are arrested for rape and attempted murder. Carl Lee confronts his lawyer, Jake Brigance , about similar cases where the white criminals wer e let off or given light sentences for similar charges, which enrages Carl Lee further. Carl Lee asks if Jake will stand by him in a jam, Jake promises he will. The next morning Carl Lee shoots the two men on the way to their arraignment, both men die and a cop is shot and loses his leg. Carl Lee is immediately arrested for the murder of the two men, as promised Jake stands by his side. Carl Lee confesses to the murders and admits he never had anything against the two men until they messed with his baby, he feels sorry for the men’s families, but not for what he has done. Jake and Carl Lee begin to discuss every aspect of the case immediately, they decide that Carl Lee with plea not guilty by reason of insanity. The District Attorney, Rufus Buckley, begins to discuss the importance of keeping the case in this county in order to have a better chance of an all white jury, Jake files a change of venue for the opposite reason. Meanwhile, members of the Cobb and Willard family see k out the Ku-Klux-Klan to get even with Carl Lee and Jake, they begin a Klan chapter in their county, which immediately begins to terrorize Jake and his family. The NAACP comes to Canton and offers Carl Lee a more experienced lawyer, the NAACP believes â€Å"Carl Lee’s acquittal for the killing of two white men will do more for the black people of Mississippi than any event since we integrated the schools. His conviction woul... ...ts the entire plot rolling. Finally, the entire courtroom chapters, from opening statements to the acquittal of Carl Lee, are truly important. Through out the scenes in the courtroom, the truth about racism in Canton and America is revealed. Carl Lee and Jake prove to the jury that Carl Lee being black, Tonya being black, and Cobb and Willard being white are the central issues in the case. The jury then finds the strength to pass judgment that was not based on race. Although A Time to Kill is based on a fictional story, it still presents many interesting and realistic scenarios. It is easy to imagine that the events in the book actually did happen or could happen in American today. The series of events that unfold easily invoke strong emotions in the reader, no matter where that reader stands as far as racial beliefs. The book represents a wide range of views on the situation, from the Ku Klux Klan, Jake, Carl Lee, the NAACP, Buckley, the Judge, the jury, Dept. Luny, and the gene ral population of Canton. The book presents everything from the extreme events to everyday actions. A Time To Kill is an outstanding book that deals with important issues and shows many simple realities.

The Communication Revolution: Blessing or Burden

The twentieth century has seen a remarkable revolution in communication and information technologies. But whether the fruits of this revolution are a boon or a curse is a moot point. Development of Thought: The technologies of information and communication have made impressive advances. The Information Revolution did not begin in our century. It began when the hunter painted pictures of animals on the walls of his cave. The nineteenth century saw the advent of the telegraph, the telephone and the camera along with the development of the automobile. But it is in our century that the giant leap was made into the sky with the help of the aero plane, radio, television, satellite communication and planetary travel. Man can now hear, speak and see at the speed of lightning. While it has brought people together and fostered a feeling of global village, it also provokes fears of cultural invasion and invasion of privacy. The dilemma of the phenomenal advances of communication is at one level to find out how much of entertainment and consumption produce true contentment and at another to discover how much of information yields true wisdom. But like every other invention of man, the Communication Revolution has its uses as well as misuses. Conclusion: Technology and the way of life it has ushered in. is as much a burden as a blessing. It has brought as much problems as it has benefits. Ultimately it is by cutting down human wants that happiness can be achieved. It has been an eventful century, a century which has witnessed the collapse of the European empires that had held the various continents under their sway, a century in which another empire rose and fell the Soviet Union, a century in which the atom was split and its awful potential demonstrated, proving that the smallest of small can be more powerful than the biggest. But the nuclear bomb is not the only symbol of the century. There is yet another the microchip, also small, also potent, which bears out the poet's averment that the world can be seen in a grain of sand and eternity held in the palm of one's hand. The technologies of information and communication have made impressive advances. The Information Revolution did not begin in our century. It began when the hunter painted pictures of animals on the walls of his cave; it took a step forward when speech was invented and a further one when early societies carved symbols first on stone, then on pottery, papyrus, palm leaf, birch bark, cloth and paper, to record individual impressions and feelings. Then came printing by wooden blocks and later by movable types and identical copies could be prepared of communications and books. The power of books was recognized quite early. The Vedas were books, the Dharmapada was a book, the Bible was a book, the Kuran was a book. They bore out what Bacon said of books that â€Å"they cast seeds in the minds of others, provoking and causing infinite actions and opinions in succeeding ages†. The book was not the vehicle only of safe and comforting ideas but ideas that could and subvert authority and prevalent norms. That is why the Church and the State devised censorship and book burning even before books were mass produced by the simple that Gutenberg and his followers conceived. The communication giant grew up in the nineteenth century with the advent of the telegraph, the telephone and the camera along with the development of the automobile (The steam locomotive had been assembled a century earlier). But it is in our century that the giant leap was made into the sky with the help of the aero plane, radio, television, satellite communication and planetary travel. Man can now hear, speak and see at the speed of lightning. He has at his command machines which have extended the capacity of his memory and is speed of recall a million times. Entire which normally would have required multi-storey buildings libraries can now be stored in a cabinet? The must complex sums can be solved in the wink of an eye. There is a direct relationship between communication and quality of life. There is no disagreement over the fact that information and communication are vital input for any security. The role of communication in health care, family planning and many other aspects of the quality of life cannot he exaggerated The knowledge base (science and technology) is the most important thing in the present day society and so how knowledge is spread and made use of by various sections of the society becomes an extremely crucial consideration. This places immense responsibility on the groups/agencies, particularly development agencies and action groups, who collect information, analyze and then communicate it to the society. Those for whom the developmental programmes are meant should have full information about the various projects and programmes launched for their benefit by the government. Modem mass media (television, radio, VCR/cable TV, print media, etc. ) have proved to be of great potential in information transfer, motivation, agenda setting, training, mobilization and feed-back and feed-forward loop. The needed techno logy is available and what we need is imaginative software and the use of media that can address both demand and supply issues. Communication strategies have the ability to narrow down the socio-economic gap between the various segments of the society, even without major structural changes at the macro level. However, Mass communication has been used as well as misused. Radio and television have been praised for their contribution to making participatory democracy meaningful. But in their early years, they also presented a temptation to the State to use them for the implantation of qualities, of attitudes that it considered most desirable. The attitude most desired, whatever the complexion of the State in terms of its objectives, was docile acceptance. Hitler and Goebbels used radio to propagate doctrines of one race, one nation and one leader. And in the eastern end of Europe, the communists used their radio and television for thought control, evoking in George Orwell the terror and the nightmare of the Big Brother watching every citizen. Thirty-five years and many million deaths after Orwell wrote his â€Å"Nineteen Eighty Four† came the real 1984 and found the Big Brother sadly sapped of his certitude. And in another six years he was gone. The larger question is what caused this disintegration. The cause obviously is the failure of the economic system of the Eastern bloc to provide the goods to meet the needs which no amount of propaganda could cover up. In making the citizens aware of this failure of their masters, satellite communication had a major role to play. Once satellite television began to rain down pictures of everyday life in the â€Å"decadent† capitalist countries, Soviet citizens could not but compare what they had been told with the evidence of their own eyes. Satellite communication made censorship and travel restrictions in fructuous. The success of the Soviet educational system (in striking contrast to the failure of its economic system) had meanwhile produced millions of people who could think for themselves, although they lacked the courage to speak out what they thought- And now satellite technology enabled even the child to proclaim that the emperor wore no clothes. Communication today is the ultimate empowered whom no emperor can withstand. It is not to be imagined that television has always and invariably been the good angel carrying the gift of freedom Not has it turned out to be the universal educator that some of its pioneers had hoped it would be. In our country, and in a large number of country, television like its elder sibling, the cinema, has been the seller of impossible dreams. If it provided only escapist fare, the indictment would be mild. What it does, unfortunately, is to extol a violent way of life and also to foster an insatiable consumerist appetite. Media organizations claim that their function is information, education and entertainment. But the mix changes depending upon the seriousness of a particular institution. Totalitarian states (including the larger number of fundamentalist societies, which burn books and issue decrees for jailing and killing authors), do as medieval Christian church did, ordain a totally political role for the print and electronic media. In democracies, the media are free to criticize established institutions and they assist the process of open self-examination which is the essence of self government. But in the world in which communication technology is becoming increasingly expensive, journals, radio and television are becoming steadily more dependent upon big money. The cost of production of a newspaper today is several times more than the price at which it is sold. The difference plus the profit have to earn from advertisements. And advertisements are not an ally to self-examination). A few newspapers of known standing may be able to withstand the pressure of the advertiser, as well as of the State, but the weaker, the needier and the more opportunistic go along. Television is more glaringly involved with big money, having largely become a part of big entertainment rather than of enlightenment. An American tycoon was candid and picturesque in proclaiming that a television franchise was just a license to print one 's own money. Because of its emphasis on diversion, television. In the opinion of some social scientists, is engineering a new kind of illiteracy of the literate, to whom a five-minute treatment of a problem gives the illusion of adequate knowledge and discourages any effort at a more painstaking study. Likewise the availability of machines that store information and disgorge it at the touch of the button subtly alters one of the basic functions of memory- internalizing facts', perceiving, and priorities and crystallizing insight. Television has been called the chewing gum for the eyes. The same charge was leveled earlier at films. Yet we know that serious cinema has produced great works of imagination. It has even been said that cinema is the creative medium of our century, as novels were of the nineteenth. But if we praise books, we are ready to concede that very few books, in fact, are the precious life blood of master spirits. Nine-tenths of the books that make their way to the best seller list are monuments to the triviality of popular un-taste. Yet the chewing gum theory sums up what happens when a medium of culture contends itself with being a medium of entertainment. It has been pointed that the three major television networks of the United States-CBS, NBC and ABC- have not sponsored a Shake spear play or even a series like Kenneth Clark's ‘Civilization' in fifty years. Yet it is another television organization, BBC, which is praised for doing so. Therefore, the failure should not be put against the medium as such but the attitude of the managements of certain media institutions. The anomaly of high-technology communications is that instead of building communities it contributes to disquiet. Yet it would be dishonest to deny the power to television (and documentary films to perform the job of reportage and enable it to be an eye-witness to the history in the making. The same American networks which have been criticized for their neglect of mind enrichment have shown (and aroused) intense concern for social problems like racial disparities and community neglect. Television ranks alongside the press in being a political watchdog. The same relationship that exists between politics and the press exists between politics and television. The importance of a free press for the functioning of democracy was underscored by Thomas Jefferson when he declared long before modern newspapers with a mass reach had evolved. That if he were asked to choose between government without newspapers and newspapers without government, he, would choose the latter. Millions today seems to have actually made that choice. The major positive point of the communication revolution is that it has brought people together and fostered a feeling of a global village. Some of the minus points must also be taken note of. The very trend towards the internationalization of the human being provokes fears that identities are being affected, that specific cultures are in peril. The same technology of satellite communication which has been the bearer of the message of personal freedom seems as a fomenter of fissions in many societies. â€Å"The dilemma of the phenomenal advances of communication is at one level to find out how much of entertainment and consumption produce true contentment and, at another, to discover how much of information yields true wisdom. Is right to regard modern communications as a blessing which has turned- into a burden? Is there anything that can be done? Of course, there is. The starting point is to transfer television, at least partially, from a boredom-killing but money-making business to the realm of education which is universally accepted as a social responsibility. Governments have proved inept in using television for this purpose. Private enterprise does not care. There must be a more serious attempt to devise organizational forms, Public Broadcasting Systems, which are under real popular and not governmental control, which are charged with the task of using television for enlargement of people's minds. Which are endowed with adequate resources to perform that function, which have links with the universities and the Arts, and which run parallel to commercial television but are not measured by the mundane actuarial yardstick. It is difficult to forecast, or even speculate in H. G. Well's manner, what new discoveries the next century might bring in the various realms of science. It is an even more daunting task to indicate how the hound that has been unleashed can be controlled again. As the awareness grows that technology and the way of life it has ushered in will pauperize the non-renewable resources of the world. Science has lost its overweening self-assurance. Realism may force us all to adopt what the sages have all along counseled that a sure way to human happiness is the simplification of wants. Preserve Articles is home of thousands of articles published and preserved by users like you. Here you can publish your research papers, essays, letters, stories, poetries, biographies, notes, reviews, advises and allied information with a single vision to liberate knowledge.

Book Review: International Conflict Resolution Essay

The first chapter of the book talks about the peace-making and de-escalation strategies. It discusses the theoretical approaches of statism, pluralism and populism in reference to the international conflict. The author of the book convinces the reader that effective conflict resolution should make use of convincing power and positive sanctions. Therefore, he argues that win-win solutions are achievable in international conflict. In the second chapter the relation of US and USSR and cases of Middle East are used to observe the de-escalation efforts. The third chapter takes the example of US-USSR and Arab-Israel de-escalation activities to present some chronologies. Four de-escalation patterns are identified using these chronologies: frequency of initiatives, multiple de-escalation initiatives, and activity level of activity among conflicting countries. In chapter four the author explains the reasons of de-escalation activities and its timings. Factors such as domestic situation, international perspective, and associations between conflicting parties are the presented in this chapter. (Conflict Research Consortium Staff, 2010) Chapter five explains the process of initiating the process of negotiation. The author explores different initiatives and tells which ones are more effective for negotiations. The chapter brings into light the factors resulting in negotiations between conflicting parties. Chapter six explores the negotiation process completely. Kriesberg presents the example of US-USSR and Arab-Israel to analyze different negotiated agreements (Mitchell, 1996). Taking into account these examples, the author creates guidelines for effective negotiations. In chapter seven the author describes the consequences of negotiations. It identifies the effective negotiations leading to long-term de-escalation efforts. Chapter eights draws on the conclusion of peace making efforts. With the help of his findings, he concludes the way in which some countries improve their relations and others still remain conflicted. The last chapter analyzes the impacts of conflicts between nations. The author explains the cost that the countries have to bear and presents policies. In the end, the author comes up with the relationship between peace-making and de-escalation (Conflict Research Consortium Staff, 2010). This book is a comprehensive study of international conflict de-escalation process. With the use of chronologies and tables, the author makes the study more meaningful and easy to understand. It contributes to the study of international relations by presenting a conflict resolution perspective. The book addresses the issue which needs future consideration. Kriesberg’s work lacks theoretical implication but it is practical. International conflict resolution is pioneered in this work and brought it into consideration. The author presents his idea in a persuasive way and explains easily why some inflicts are protracted. The book provides some useful concepts to resolve conflicts and peace-making policies (Simon, 1994). However, book limits itself in providing propositions about the irreversible and complex processes. It raises some important issues like what are the conditions that result in de-escalation initiatives? In what conditions these initiatives leads to negotiations? And finally, how these negotiations results in agreements? The author is successfully able to answer these questions in an effective way (Holsti, 1993). Strengths and Weaknesses of the Book The book is a well organized and well-written by the author. It provides sound understanding of the arguments presented by the author. The unique feature of this book is that the author is able to identify the impacts of agreements. He is able to put forward the questions that are critical to international relations and are helpful in peace-making agreements. However, the methodology adopted in evaluating these questions is off-putting but comes up with some effective conclusions and future policies. Moreover, Kriesberg is not able to justify the causes of failed negotiations and some successful initiatives (Holsti, 1993). Hence, the book faces some validity issues. The analysis throughout the book is enriched by historical references and material representing opportunities and constraints, both in international and domestic context. The author emphasizes that good will and the positive attitude of the people is critical to negotiations. It encourages them and motivates them to work in the right direction and reaching some agreements. Therefore, the book is less controversial and is able to present a broader and positive view of the author. Another advantage of this book is that it provides references according to the context that helps in the better understanding of the arguments and provides the author an easy way to justify his reasoning. The historical material enhances the validity of the content presented in the book. The approach adopted by the author is to provide long lasting solutions to the problems, which is a more practical approach. Kriesberg in this book is able to provide approaches that are complete in nature as many authors have been providing approaches that do contribute a lot but are incomplete. Kriesberg has clearly presented the strengths and weaknesses of the concepts and approaches that he has used in the book. However, due to the use of just two major conflicts, the issue of comparison arises. The drawback of the book is that the language used in the book is difficult to understand by the reader, however, the content of the book is highly informative, providing insight into the subject. By dividing the book into number of chapters, the book is presented in a proper flow that makes the understanding much easier.

A Letter from Ponyboy

Greetings to you! How are you, older brother?   It’s been quite a while since I sent you a letter. My mistake. Sorry for that. I’ve been busy for the last few weeks here insane Diego. My study is eating up most of my time. Right now, we are approaching already the finals week.A lot of requirements are already on my list. But don’t you worry brother, I am okay. I manage to keep healthy and strong despite the conflicts of time in my part-time job and schooling. And speaking of work, I have some good news for you. The manager of the food chain I am working at was impressed by my dedication to my job. In fact, I was chosen to be the crew of the month.Because of that, I got an additional compensation in my salary. Not too big, but large enough to spend for my thesis. It was a big help since I badly needed to finish my thesis as the final submission of it is nearing. Of course, I have to graduate this semester. That was my promise to you, right? Don’t worry, D arry. All of your spending for my schooling will finally come to an end. A month from now, I will be called â€Å"Lawyer Ponyboy Curtis†. However, I will not be able to reach this status if not because of you.Thank you so much, Darry. I really appreciate all the things you have done and sacrificed for me. I know that you don’t want to marry your fiancà ©e Lindsay until I haven’t finished my studies. But I told you for several times that you don’t need to do that. You don’t have to sacrifice your own happiness just for my sake. I can manage myself now. I am a man now.Being thirty years old is no longer young. But what did you do? You still insisted to pay half of my tuition. I told you to keep them for yourself and for your future. You, too, are no longer young. You must build a family of your own, just like what Sodapop did. You’re such a stubborn. No wonder why they called you Superman back then. You’re such a strong-willed person. But no matter how strong-willed you are, you must promise me that after my graduation, you will take care of your personal life.By the way, how’s work after being promoted as chief lieutenant of the Oklahoma Police Department? Doing well? How’s peace and security there? You know what, I’m very happy with your current situation, actually, with the situations of us three—you, Sodapop, and I. After the long battle between the Socs and the greasers, I was glad that you decided to study and be a cop.I haven’t told you this, but I want you to know now that you are my greatest idol. When I saw how you managed to study while working, I admire you. Aside from that, you managed to raise me and Sodapop well after that horrible loss of our parents. Thank you for that.What’s up with Sodapop, by the way? Have the two of you seen each other lately? I had the chance to meet him personally last month after he visited his in-laws here in California. I also ha d the chance to meet the kids. Oh, Paul was so cute.He’s so like Sodapop—charming and good-looking. I bet when he grows up, he will be a Sodapop the Second. And have you heard about the good news? Sandy is three- month old pregnant! Boy, you should see the happiness in their eyes—a picture of a complete and a happy family. Aside from that, Sodapop is planning to put up a branch of their bookstore here in San Diego. Looks like he and Sandy are meant for business.I really wanted to be with you now, Darry. How I miss my adolescent days. Right after my graduation, I will spend some time with you. You take care of yourself. Until next time.Your younger brother,Ponyboys

Human Resource Planning National University Of Sciences & Technology

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY, PAKISTAN ARQUM NAVEED Abstract Human Resource Planning (HRP) is a difficult topic to discuss, particularly at the time of increasingly disruptive business environments causing far more disturbance, which increase the tension between the need for planning and the difficulties of prediction. Although a difficult subject, the underlying purpose is straightforward, HRP is referring with having the right people at right place and with right skills.The intensions of this document are to check the nature of, and to what extent companies are able to manage this complexity. For this document, different firms have been used in order to identify if there are any firm-specific differences regarding HRP traditions. Results from our investigation of the studied firms shows that the degree of stability in their respective firms, in terms of employee turnover and economical fluctuations, clearly affects the way in which they appro ach HRP. Key-words Human Resource Management, Strategic Planning, Human Resource Planning. 1.Introduction Organizations are under increasing pressure to find ways to implement their strategies in a fast changing business environment, in which planning lifecycles tend to shrink to reduce the ‘time-to-market’ intervals. At the same time, organizations are putting more and more emphasis on adjusting the organization and employees in their attempt to achieve business goals . â€Å"HRP is usually seen as an essential feature of the ideal-type model of human resource management, even if it does not always appear to be given high priority in practiceâ€Å"(Rothwell, 1995).The issue of efficient planning for people was brought up before the introduction of human resource management. One possible explanation was presented by Storey (1995), who presents that as the developing business environment forces organizations to plan effectively and efficiently for the people resources, the rapid changes in the business environment also makes it difficult for organizations to plan with accuracy. In the light of this we want to investigate to what extent organizations plan for HR in today’s business environment. 2. Human Resource Planning – Concept ClarificationAs in many areas of personnel management, there is confusion about the precise meanings of the terms used to describe the human resource planning functions. According to Taylor (1998), â€Å"The main distinction is between those who see the term ‘human resource planning’ as having broadly the same meaning as the longer established terms ‘workforce planning’ and ‘manpower planning,’ and those who believe ‘human resource planning’ to represent something rather different. † According to Bramham (1994), â€Å"There is a big distinction between the two terms.He argues that ‘manpower planning’ is essentially quantitative in natu re and is concerned with forecasting the demand and supply of labour, while ‘human resource planning’ has a far wider meaning, including plans made across the whole range of personnel and development activity. These activities include soft issues such as motivation, employee attitudes and organizational culture. † The opposite opinion is that, the term ‘human resource planning’ is simply a more modern and gender-neutral term with essentially the same meaning as ‘manpower planning. Both are concerned with looking ahead and using systematic techniques to assess the extent to which an organization will be able to meet its requirements for labour in the future (Taylor, 1998). They are thus undertaken in order to assess whether an organization is likely to have ‘the right people, with the right skills, in the right places at the right time’ (Ibid). According to this definition, human resource planning is a relatively specialized sub-disc ipline within the general activity undertaken by personnel managers. There are different views of the specific meaning of HRP.We argue that it is more than a quantitative approach, as we believe that issues such as employee retention, attitudes and motivation are essential features for having the right people, with the right skills, in the right places at the right time. Thus, we agree with Bramhams’s view that HRP has a wider meaning, encompassing â€Å"soft† HR issues and it is the one that is accepted for the purpose of this text. 3. The Evolution of HRP Since the origins of the modern industrial organization, human resource planning has been a management function (Walker, 1980).Division of labour, specialization, organization of management into levels, work simplification, and application of standards for selecting employees and measuring their performance were all principles applied early in industrial management (Ibid). Planning for the staffing of work to be don e is not something that has become popular in recent years. This is something that has grown to become what it is today. The relatively sophisticated techniques available to management today are outcomes of a long period of evolution in practices, which started decades ago with simple, pragmatic, short term planning.The techniques used by management tended to fit contemporary conditions and events (Storey, 1995). During the first part of the 20th century, for example, the focus in manpower planning was upon the hourly production worker. The aim of improving efficiency through work engineering and early industrial psychology applications was consistent with the need to improve productivity and introduce greater objectivity to personnel practices (Ling, 1965; Merril, 1959; Yoder; 1952). During the Second World War and the post war years, the focus intensified on employee productivity.There was also greater concern regarding the availability of competent managerial personnel, as there was a talent shortage in combination with significant demand for goods and services. New technologies and interests in behavioral aspects of work also added complexities to the manpower planning task. In the 1960’s the demand for high talent personnel increased due to high technology programmers, rapid corporate expansion and diversification. In order to handle this increase, manpower planning practices were focused on balancing supply with demand, particularly demand for managerial, professional and technical personnel.According to textbooks written during the later part of the 1960’s, manpower planning was viewed as a system linking the organization with its environment (Patten, 1969; Vetter, 1967). Walker (1980) argues that the most common view of manpower planning at that time, which also dominated the literature until the 80s, was that â€Å"companies forecast their needs for manpower into the future, forecast their internal labour supply for meeting these needs, and identify the gaps between what will be needed and what will be available. Further, manpower planners develop plans for recruiting, selecting and placing new employees, provide for training and development and anticipate necessary promotions and transfers (Burack et al, 1972; Geisler, 1967; Henemann et al, 1968; Wikstrom, 1971). The 70s came with new legislation, court decisions and governmental regulations. Management attention then turned to affirmative action planning and other aspects of compliance. While many companies adopted the techniques that had been introduced by leading companies during the previous decades, ther experimented with new tools such as career planning, activity analysis, and reshaping of work (Walker, 1980). The majority of companies, however, were mainly concerned about the compliance with the significant new regulations governing discrimination, safety and pensions. Generally, it was an unsettled decade, during which managers had to deal with the energ y crisis, uncertain costs and profits, the slowing of business expansion and the increased concern regarding women’s liberation and reverse discrimination (Bramham, 1994).However, according to Bramham, it was during this time or decade that â€Å"manpower planning† was broadly being termed â€Å"human resource† planning and became widely established as a staff activity in major business and governmental organizations (Ibid). The term â€Å"human resource planning† implied a scope broader than just supply-demand balancing or quantitative forecasting. Human resource planning shifted focus from being a quantitative approach, although recognizing its importance, to a more comprehensive view of the process encompassing both needs forecasting and program forecasting (Ibid).During the 80s and early 90s, human resource management researchers and professionals tended to place greater emphasis on employee attitudes and on the development of personnel strategies to search for the enhancement of positive employee feelings and commitment (Zeffane and Mayo, 1994). Generally, these strategies lacked sufficient concentration on the need to control the flow of personnel within and across organizational boundaries (Walker, 1989). According to Richards-Carpenter (1989), this meant that human resource planning took a backward step in priority placing within the overall human resource management system.However, due to the increasingly uncertain socio-economic climate during the 90s, it was anticipated that the HRP function was to become the focal activity, as it was increasingly becoming an essential function across the organization (Zeffane and Mayo, 1994). Damm and Tengbland (2000) argue that in the future, the role of the HR personnel is to provide and develop an attractive organizational environment in which the individual feels inspired to grow and develop his/her competence.Furthermore, they say that individual organizations will not necessarily b e responsible for the individuals’ competence development; it is rather the individuals’ responsibility to make sure that they develop their competencies in order to attract future employment relationships. The ultimate situation is when the individual feels that the organization provides the best resources available in order for them to grow and develop their competencies.Damm and Tengblad also argue that two very important future working areas, for individually focused personnel work, will be guidance consulting and employee brooking. There will be a need for people who work with professional career service to assist the individuals with their career planning if the individual will be responsible for their own careers. In a labour market that is increasingly characterized by time limit employment rather than life long contracts, there will be a constant requirement to link competence demand with competence supply.The employee brokers can assist in the process of iden tifying the different potentials and overlapping between demands since they have a better overview than the individuals have. This could mean that it will still be necessary with employees working with personnel-related questions; however, much of the â€Å"strategic personnel work† will not be as important since individuals will be responsible for their own competence development (Damm and Tengblad, 2000). 4. The Contemporary Purpose of HRPThe effective HRP can help anticipate potential future difficulties while there is still a choice of action. Forward planning should enable the organization to develop effective personnel strategies related to such activities as recruitment and selection, training and retraining, management development and career progression, transfers and redeployment, early retirements, salary levels, anticipated redundancies, and accommodation requirements. Bramham (1987) presents a more detailed view of six basic objectives, which are quite similar to those mentioned by Mullins (1996) that is thought to onstitute the purpose of HRP. The first objective and a major purpose behind the use of HRP is to give an organization a broad, forward-looking insight into not just the number of employees, but also the type, skills, and attributes of the people that will be needed in the future. HRP provides the information on which recruiters base their activities and it reveals what gaps there are between the demand for and supply of people with particular skills (Bramham, 1987; Storey, 1995; Mullins, 1996).The second objective aims to reveal what training and development activities need to be undertaken to ensure that existing employees and new recruits possess the required skills at the right time. The longer and more specialized the training is, the more significant accurate HRP is to the organization’s effective operation (Bramham, 1987). Manpower costing is listed as the third objective and explains how HRP assists in cost reductio n by aiming to work out in advance how organizational operations can be staffed most efficiently.This is of even more importance when new ventures or projects are considered because it provides information on which to base vital decisions (Bramham, 1987). The fourth objective presented by Bramham (1987) is redundancy. HRP is an important tool in the anticipation of future redundancies and therefore allows remedial action to be taken, such as recruitment freezes, retraining, and early retirements so as to reduce the numbers involved. Another advantage associated with HRP, presented as the fifth objective, is collective bargaining.In organizations with a strong trade union presence, HRP provides important information for use in the bargaining process. It is particularly significant when long-term deals are being negotiated to improve productivity and efficiency. In such situations, the information provided by HR forecasts enables calculations to be made concerning how great an increas e in pay or how great a reduction in hours might be conceded in exchange for more productive working methods and processes (Bramham, 1987).The sixth and last objective presented as a purpose of HRP deals with the planning of accommodations, such as future need for office space, car parking, and other workplace facilities. Such considerations are of great importance, especially to organizations expecting fast expansion or contraction of key operations. As with the other five objectives described above, HRP also here aims at controlling costs over the long term by forecasting the future (Bramham, 1987). 5. External and Internal Influences on HRP 5. 1External Influences on HRPA lot of things have changed from when HRP first gained widespread popularity. The stability of the smooth sailing years, as Champ (1995) refers to the age of US corporate domination between 1948 and 1973 is gone. Today’s dynamic environment, filled with global competition and business discontinuities, defi ne the arena in which HRP must flourish. The need for analysis of changing scenarios, therefore, has to be an integral part of the HRP process (Rothwell 1995). The first step in HRP is usually the â€Å"environmental† scan.If this review has not already been carried out in some depth as part of the formulation of corporate strategy, consideration of critical trends may be a major contribution, which the HRM function can make to the organization (Institute of Personnel Management 1992). The growing internationalization of business in the face of changing patterns of world trade, the emergence of new competitors and new markets and changes in the older industrialized countries, all have some impact on the labour markets of even the smallest firm trading in national market (Taylor, 1998).Most larger and medium-sized companies are, however, likely to be trading internationally (Rothwell 1995) in some way and will need to understand the labour markets in those countries, if they a re to recruit staff abroad or if they expect to send their own staff to work there. The whole issue of international management development has major implications for strategic planning and for human resource forecasting and implementation. Evidence so far suggests that there are many inadequacies in both planning and implementation of management mobility, and that there is a widespread reliance on ad hoc use of expatriate managers (Ibid. 995). International and political issues are clearly closely linked, the move towards greater European unity, the unification of East and West Germany, the opening of Eastern Europe, The World Trade Centre bombings etc. , are just a few examples of events with implications for business planning. The political complexion of a government tends to affect the type of economic policy in place, the attitude to full employment, trade union and employee rights, as well as the level of support for private or public sector enterprises.External political fact ors, especially the broader social and regulatory legacies of industrial relations, provide a socio-political context in which managerial strategies have had to develop, and by which they have been conditioned (Lucio and Simpson 1992). At a time of economic recession in particular, the costs of worker protection policies can be very costly for companies. An awareness of population trends is critical in understanding labour markets, and national population statistics are readily available.Rothwell further states that planning to take account of demographic trends is not often done early enough. Also, a lack of advance planning tends to increase labour costs, as firms have to increase wages and salaries in order to retain staff or poach them from other firms. Public policy emphasis on training, the co-ordination of a plethora of national vocational qualifications, and the setting of national education training targets all mean that some aspects of estimating external competence supply will be improved.Data on graduate qualifications are readily available, but interpreting likely trends in supply and demand is complex (Pike et al. 1992). Demand-side factors stem mainly from business strategy, but need to take account of other skills that may be needed; for example in physical environmental awareness and the implications for products or processes and energy use; or in marketing, in concepts of relational marketing, customer education and general supply chain management. If mergers or acquisitions are expected, is new expertise needed to handle that?Or if organization structures are changing to create flatter organizations or new internationalized business market divisions, are there skills available in managing networks, managing projects or managing cross-culturally? Firms that use competence-mapping techniques may be able to provide data relevant to HRP, but where these activities are done by different people and/or at different locations, such linkage cannot be made (Rothwell, 1995). Consumer attitudes tend to be surveyed more regularly than those of employees, but shifts in employee preferences are perceptible, often on a generation basis.The generation of people born in the 70s and 80s are more individualistic, less likely to accept authority, expecting to have a say and be given a choice, and also to be putting more emphasis on quality of leisure and family life. The priority perks for those in work are those related to health and to education and training. Employees are also less likely to remain with one employer. These attitudes are found particularly among â€Å"knowledge-workers†, and may be modified over-time by experience of recession and widespread white-collar unemployment (Rothwell, 1995).If a major difference between HRP and manpower planning lies in its emphasis on motivating people (Bramham 1989), understanding the starting point and The incorporation of both individual and organizational needs is therefore the majo r challenge for HR planners and should be reflected in the application of the planning process to the ways in which people are employed (Ferner and Colling 1991) 5. 2Internal Influences on HRP Zeffane and Mayo (1994) argue that in the context of the supply-demand equation, a range of internal factors require consideration for the purpose of evaluating existing (or anticipated) supply from within the organization.The supply side issues that HRP should address include the organization’s policy on growth from within or by means of outside recruitment; the policy on pay and remuneration, and the organization’s view on employee development. In this context, the conventional human resource plans take into consideration a series of supply side statistics, such as company growth, the age distribution of employees, skill levels, turnover ratios and the overall profile/distribution of employment across job categories.Zeffane and Mayo (1994) further state that among all these, ag e and retirement are emerging as important considerations in workforce planning in the current socio-economic climate. These factors (i. e. age and retirement) are strongly related in the sense that retirement takes place on the attainment of a certain age. Catering for age is necessary and is becoming increasingly the subject of a more elaborate mathematical modeling for workforce (Mohapatra et al. 1990). The more contemporary approaches to HRP need to consider current (and anticipated/future) changes in the make-up and aspirations of the workforce.Long-term macro-level forecasts seem to suggest that people in the future will have even greater desire for self-development and discovery (Taylor, 1998). These aspirations may trigger requirements for changes in existing corporate structures and management systems. As a result, human resource professionals and their organizations may capitalize on the advantage of potential employees who may be creative and self-motivated, but they will also face the problem of developing an environment that will attract and hold such individuals (Taylor 1998). 6.Different Types of Human Resource Planning 6. 1Succession Planning One adaptation of traditional HRP that takes place mostly in larger organizations is the development of a succession planning function. Storey (1995) argues that chief executives often see this function as the major rational for any form of HRP. While in some organizations it may be focused mainly on the few top positions, the need to consider at least a five-year-period can mean that it becomes a more significant operation, and eventually drives a whole management recruitment and development programme.According to Taylor (1998), succession planners are mainly interested in ensuring that their employer has enough individuals with the right abilities, skills and experience to promote into key senior jobs, as they become vacant. According to Jackson and Schuler (1990), succession planning differs from tradit ional HRP in the sense that the succession planning process covers a narrower group of employees but does so with a higher degree of intensity. As succession plans concern relatively few employees, they can be considerably more sophisticated the time span is also longer than that of traditional HRP.Succession plans often involve forecasting and planning the progress of individuals 20 years ahead or more (Walker, 1992, Storey, 1995). Storey (1995) argues that succession planning is most often associated with hierarchical organizations in which individuals develop careers by moving upwards and sideways over a number of years as they acquire the required skills and experience. The aim of this is to ensure that enough individuals with the potential to succeed to senior positions are available when an appointment needs to be made.Rothwell (1994) states that three candidates are typically identified for each senior post: one who is ready now and could succeed immediately if necessary; one who will be ready, if needed, in two or three years’ time and one who will be ready in five years’ time. Taylor (1998) comments, in addition, succession planners have an input into decisions about the numbers of graduates that are employed on graduate training programmers’ each year. In technical terms, succession planning involves collecting and manipulating data about individuals and tracking their performance and progress as they move from job to job over a period of time. . 2Career Planning This type of HRP is by some viewed as a more fashionable term to use than succession planning and ostensibly is more individually focused (Storey, 1995). Furthermore, like succession planning, broadly interpreted, it requires an understanding of processes that can integrate an individual’s characteristics and preferences with the implications of: organizational culture, values and style, business strategy and direction, organizational structure and change, reward systems, training and development system, appraisal and promotion systems.According to Taylor (1998), career planning emphasizes much more on the individual’s responsibility for his/her own career development. ‘Mentoring’ and ‘coaching’ systems, whether formal or informal, may be introduced to assist in this. Storey (1995) argues that common problems associated with this kind of planning are related to key people leaving, or to managers’ lack of broad experience. The requirements of different types of organizations (static; fast growing; international etc. ) for detailed planning clearly vary (Ibid).Storey further states that the need for creating ‘bridges’ between different occupations and for the identification of ‘development positions’, are both significant techniques in career planning. The predominant influence of this type of planning is that of the organization’s needs, as interpreted by particular mana gers, at certain phases of its development and it is said that career planning may be interpreted very differently by those who experience it (Storey, 1995). Storey continues to say that the ‘myths’ of the organization in this sense may also be significant: â€Å"those who decode them appropriately are those who obtain advancement. 6. 3Contingency Planning Contingency planning is seldom given any attention by authors within the HR field, but according to Taylor (1998), it can be seen as an approach that is almost universally applicable. Contingency planning involves planning possible responses to a variety of potential environmental scenarios, and the result is that HRP effectively switches from being a reactive process undertaken in order to assist the organization in achieving its aims. Taylor further argues that it becomes a proactive process undertaken prior to the formulation of wider organizational objectives and strategies.The main purpose of contingency plannin g in the HR field is the provision of information on which decisions about the future directions the organization takes are made (Taylor, 1998). 6. 4Competency Planning Another adaptation of traditional HRP is skills planning and is, according to Speechly (1994), particularly appropriate in situations where there is a variety of different methods by which employee needs can be met. The basic principle of this method is to shift away from a focus on planning for people and instead concentrate mainly on skills.Taylor (1998) argues that instead of forecasting the future supply of and demand for employees, skills planning involves predicting what competencies will be needed one to five years ahead, hence, leaving open the question of the form in which these will be obtained. Further, skills-based plans incorporate the possibility that skills needs are to be met either wholly or partially through the employment of short-term employees, outside consultants, as well as by permanent members of staff (Taylor, 1998). . 5Soft Human Resource Planning There has been some disagreement in the literature over the term ‘soft human resource planning’ and its perceived meaning (Taylor, 1998). Marchington and Wilkinson (1996) give one broad definition as being ‘synonymous with the whole subject of human resource management. ’ Torrington and Hall (1995) have a narrower definition involving planning to meet ‘soft’ HR goals – particularly cultural and behavioral objectives.Torrington and Hall also use the label to give meaning to a distinct range of HR activities which are similar to hard HRP in approach, but with a focus on forecasting the likely supply and demand for particular attitudes and behaviors rather than people and skills. According to Taylor (1998) soft HRP can thus be seen as a broadening of the objectives associated with the traditional approaches of HRP. Soft HRP accepts that for organizations to succeed in the current env ironment they need more than the right people in the right place at the right time.In order to contribute to the creation of a successful organizational culture, they also need to make sure that people have an appropriate outlook and set of attitudes. Further, even more essentially argued by Taylor, by undertaking systematic soft HRP Organizations will be alert to long-term shifts in attitudes to work among the Labour force in general, allowing them to build these considerations into their general planning processes. Such issues are not taken into account by traditional HRP according to Taylor (1998). . Conclusions Regardless of the organizational size and industry the underlying motive behind HRP is to have the right people, with the right skills, in the right places, at the right time. However, the ways to realize this motive do differ from one organization to another depending on the individual prerequisites. This could be illustrated by breaking down the motive, where finding th e right people, with the right skills is the essential condition for having them at the right place, at the right time.In times of organizational growth or downsizing organizations naturally focus on hiring or retaining the right people with the right skills. However, organizations with a modest employee turnover can focus more on having the people in the right place i. e. concentrating more on making sure that the existing workforce is utilized in the optimal way. While there are different prerequisites between organizations, determining their approach to plan, we can also see a general change affecting the ability for all organizations to plan.Historically, there has been turbulence in the business environment such as technological developments and erratic economic fluctuations, however it is not these factors per se that has caused the change today, but rather the speeds in which discontinuities occur. This is made evident by the fact that companies no longer plan in the same way as they did ten to fifteen years ago when the more static conditions allowed the organizations to plan with more accuracy.Today organizations do not plan more than three years ahead and the plans are revised both annually and quarterly. This development has put the organizations in a dilemma; the greater the need for planning the more difficult it becomes to plan. In the light of this, some theorists question planning since it is virtually impossible to foresee changes with any accuracy. However, this view appears to have little, if any relevance among the organizations, where planning is viewed as a less formal process.The common understanding among the companies is that it is impossible to follow a plan rigorously but they still plan. From this we draw the conclusion that planning is more than just forecasting the future, it is rather the planning process itself that adds value to the organization. By incorporating plans made across the whole range of personnel and development ac tivity the organization becomes more alert to changes and prepares itself for future discontinuities regardless of their nature, thus admitting that change will occur is more important than foreseeing the future.Organizations that embrace this way of thinking plan to a greater extent than in the past in the way that it involves a broader definition of HRP, incorporating not only quantitative measures but also soft issues. However, the fact is that environments vary across industries, organizations and over time. Some organizations occasionally experience disruption. But at the same time others are experiencing relative stability. Thus, organizations are very much influenced by their individual prerequisites limiting their abilities to plan to the extent as described above.Two findings concerning HRP seems to distinguish themselves, firstly we can see a general change among all companies in the way they plan for HR, secondly HRP is still very much based on individual prerequisites. 8 . Analysis Human resource planning is probably one of the most critical elements in linking the work of the human resources function to the business goals of the company. It is important to recognize that certain aspects of human resource management tend to have potentially high strategic consequences.Especially in the areas of policy development and implementation it is obvious and difficult to refute advice that effective human resource policies require human resource planning, which in turn, requires effective integration with an organization’s strategic planning process. It is evident that human resources planning are becoming more and more important in business circles. Because business profits are squeezed by inflation and a weakened economy, management is also concerned with personnel costs and is seeking to achieve increased output with the same or fewer staff.During our research we have found evidence supporting the above statement, where organizations with a high em ployee turnover tend to focus on the planning for supply and demand of HR, while organizations with low employee turnover lean more towards internal issues of HRP. Logically counting heads becomes more important in times of growth or downsizing, thus the nature of the HRP shifts towards a quantitative approach. Consequently organizations experiencing more stable periods can focus on softer HRP, i. e. concentrating on the creation of an environment that stimulates personal development and motivation among the employees.Our impression during the research is that all companies have the intention to focus more on internal HRP, thus companies do not decide to be either quantitative or qualitative in their approach, and it is rather a natural selection based on the individual prerequisites. However, we can see a risk with not having a balanced view in terms of external and internal HRP. Among the companies with an explicit internal focus there is a lack of attention for external developme nts and trends, thus we can see an inherent risk of becoming â€Å"fat and happy† which in turn requires reactive actions in times of major change.References †¢ Beer, S. (1972). Brain of the Firm, New York, Herder and Herder. †¢ Beer, S. (1974). Designing Freedom. Toronto: CSC Publications. †¢ Bell, D. J. 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