Understanding Organisations and the Role of Human Resources Essay Example for Free

Understanding Organisations and the Role of Human Resources Essay Welcome to Alan Howards. Thank you for joining our lively and energetic workforce. Alan Howard is one of the UK’s largest professional Hair and Beauty wholesalers, a speciality retailer and distributor of professional Hair and Beauty supplies and equipment. Alan Howards was established 22 years ago opening its first store in Stockport followed by the Oldham store and slowly expanding and taking over other local wholesalers such as EWD and Salon Services, to now having 22 branches across the North West of England. The company is family run by Howard Littler owner of the company and 2 sons Anton and Jonathan directors of the company. To shop at Alan Howards you have to provide evidence to qualify to be a trade customer such as a qualification in hair or beauty or have the appropriate evidence to show you are a business owner or retailer. We offer our services in store, online and as an over the phone order and delivery service. Alan Howards stores provide products and a service, business to business and business to public offering more than 6,000 professional products for hair, skin and nails. Through professional lines such as Wella, L’Oreal and Schwarzkopf, along with our outside sales consultants generate up to 9,000 sales of exclusive to Alan Howards professional branded products such as Matrix, Joico, Fudge, St Tropez and more targeted for professional and salon use also for salon to retail to customers and for retailers to sell to general public. Our mission here at Alan Howards is to provide the best products on the market to help  with whatever women and men are looking for and make them feel beautiful, it is also our goal to be the leading wholesaler in the UK providing the best quality and prices and the best customer service to our shoppers, so they feel confident in shopping with us and loyal to our organisation. Our vision statement is to be the ultimate hair and beauty product provider, fulfilling needs and creating desire for our customers now and in the future. Pestle analysis is an analytical tool which considers external factors and helps to thin k about their impact. Pestle is understanding the environment you are operating in by understanding your environment you can minimise threats this provides the context within which more detailed planning can take place to take full advantage of the opportunities. Each factor of the pestle analysis influences Alan Howards (see below). P – Political E – Economic S – Sociological T – Technological L – Legal E – Environmental Political implications are change of government which can change vat rates which impacts our buyers and our customers which impact on the products and services we provide. An economical factor is the recession which has affected Alan Howard’s product sales with sales dropping, not as many new businesses are opening and current salons and retailers closing down, another economical factor is Alan Howard resources stock internationally, however the ever changing exchange rate has a high influence on when and what business is carried out as the pound becomes weaker we are often restricted. A sociological impact on the business is an ageing workforce with senior management staff due to retire also ageing customers with loyal customers reaching retirement age. Technology has impacted the business with competing retailers establishing accounts on social media websites, social media is a key component for free publicity, this is an area to focus on being able to capture new young audiences. A legal impact which has impacted the company is the product selling catchment which has impacted on the company’s expansion another legal impact on the company is the change in the law on the selling and storing of hazardous products such as peroxide and acetone. An environmental impact on the company is the waste disposal policy, that all waste materials and out of date stock and hazardous stock are disposed in the correct way for example all recycled materials are recycled, another environmental impact for the company will be Zero Waste Britain in 2015 the company will be charging 5p per bag. Organisation  structure is very important within a company as it helps form a hierarchy and span of control within an organisation. With Alan Howards bei ng a large company that keeps on growing the structure of the company is a hierarchical structure as it has many levels, a hierarchical structure is sometimes called a pyramid structure because at each level downwards there are more employees. The owner and directors are responsible for making the majority of decisions this is good for the company as owner and directors have full visibility of the company at all times. This also means that many people on the pyramid are consulted before it reaches the directors and owner, which leads to a slow reaction to changes. Some of the functions of the organisation are Sales, HR, IT, Payroll, Management, Finance and more. These functional areas all work together to maintain the company hitting their goals. In order to optimise Alan Howard’s performance the functions of the company work together HR implements company policy’s such as payroll, maternity, paternity and pensions for example payroll needs to be kept up to date from managers to make correct pay for staff. HR are also important for employing and resourcing the best staff offering the correct training to optimise sales and company performance, HR also support and manage staff performance and targets. The IT de partment is also an important function within our business all data presentations are stored on our systems also invoices and accounts. As a company we use online banking so it’s important that our branch managers bank everyday so that our IT department is always up to date and in working order so the company can function properly. The final function in our company is the finance department this is who controls all the money coming in and out of the company including banking, purchasing, chasing account payments, invoicing and also giving buyers up to date budgets. All four of these functions are a vital part of the company to achieve its goals all these function work with communication to one another which is done face to face, over the telephone, with the majority being through emails This is often used as it’s an effective quick way to communicate there is also a document trail of every process which can be tracked if needed it also makes it easier to keep directors and owners up to date. Organisational culture is the attitude, beliefs and values which benefit the company. Over time, tradition and structure Alan Howards has built up its own positive culture culture as most organisations do. Alan  Howard is a mixture of a power culture and role culture, giving a sense of identity to the company and the people connected to the company, shows a sense of what we stand for and what we do. Product buying decisions are centralised around 4 key members of the company being Howard the owner, Anton or Johnathan the directors or Louise head buyer, but also using the role culture for other areas of the organisation such as customer service with various functions split each individual within the function is assigned a particular roll. A positive culture adds value to the organisation and motivates staff. The strategies adopted by our organisation can be influenced internally and externally. HR is involved in the install planning process and with the formation of the business plan detailing objectives to achieve. HR liaises between directors, management and staff to ensure policies and procedures are applied fairly and interaction between HR department, directors, managers and staff are utilized on a daily basis. The main HR activities which take place within the organisation is training, job analysis, recruitment and selection, job advertisements, resourcing talent and managing change, setting and communicating clear performance expectations. Three ways in which HR support line manager within Alan Howards is coaching and development, health and safety, managing conflict. Coaching and development Managers have a great deal of people management responsibilities in addition to their daily workload. HR often offers management the guidance and skills needed to help develop their team and improve their skills providing them with accurate information and guidance. This provides mangers with increased confidence to manage staff. Health and Safety Alan Howards has to comply with health and safety law. HR has contributed to the creation of health and safety policies for the company. Managers are responsible for reducing the risk of workplace dangers and guarantee a safe environment for staff and customers. HR provides managers with training on health and safety laws also first aid and fire marshal training. We have maintained records of accidents in the workplace and insure that reviews take place promptly after any incident that takes place. Conflict Management Managers frequently have to manage disputes at work. Identifying and addressing underlying tension before escalating is key to reduce incidents within the team. We do this by providing clear exceptions on behaviours required of all employees and encourage managers to hold appraisals to evaluate performance and job satisfaction. HR develiver coacting in conflict management and employment law HR also act as mediators when conflict develops and can provide staff counselling.

Free Essays - A Lesson Before Dying :: Lesson Before Dying Essays

In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, By Ernest Gaines, the main character, Grant Wiggins gives a man meaning in his last days alive. Wiggins gives him a book to write his thoughts in, and helps him to realize that he is not a â€Å"hog.† He shows him that he is truly a good person, and that he should die with his head up, knowing that he led a worthy and honest life. Mr. Wiggins changed greatly through the story, from a cold school teacher to an open hearted and caring man. This helped his relationship with others as well as Jefferson. Through his changing, he became the one man that Jefferson could trust. In a rural town in Louisiana in the late 1940's a poorly educated young black man, Jefferson, is in the wrong place at the wrong time: he is in a bar with two friends when they murder the white bartender. Jefferson is unfairly convicted of murder and sentenced to the electric chair by a white judge and jury. His defense lawyer, in an attempt to ward off the death sentence, labels him a "hog"--and it is this label that Jefferson's godmother wants disproved. She enlists the help of a plantation school teacher, Grant Wiggins, who at first isn’t too keen on the idea of helping a crook. Wiggins agrees to talk with Jefferson only out of a sense of duty--he is an unhappy, angry man who dreamt of escape from his deprived childhood yet returned to his hometown after a university education to teach in the same one-room parish school he attended. Despite humiliation at the hands of the white sheriff, Jefferson's lack of cooperation, and his own sense of futility and uncertain faith, Wiggins forges a bond with Jefferson that leads to wisdom and courage for both. At first, Jefferson sees himself as a hog, and nothing but a hog. It takes Wiggins much time and strength to convince him that he should live his last days with pride and dignity. Jefferson looks at the entire situation as his fault and will only do what Miss Emma and Tante Lou see fit for him to do. â€Å"If that’s what they want, Jefferson said.† â€Å"No, not what they want; what you want, says Grant†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"If that’s what they want, I’m go’n die anyhow, says Jefferson.†(p.135) Wiggins begins his teaching as he has taught for years, which is not allowing it to change his life.

Irony in Story of an Hour

Irony in the â€Å"Story of an Hour† By Kate Choplin The Story of an Hour by Kate Choplin is about an older woman who struggles with coercion brought about by her husband and her surreptitious yearning for freedom. Mrs. Mallard does not truly know how miserable she was until she finds out that her husband has died in a terrible train accident. Kate Choplin writes this story in a limited, third person point of view; however, it is still quite exciting with how it was structured.Choplin expresses her theme of oppression with her extensive use of situational irony and symbolism throughout the story. In The Story of an Hour, Kate Choplin makes much use of situational irony and symbolism, this helps add to the drama an excitement of the short story, especially since she wrote it as a limited, third person narrative. Choplin starts the story out by mentioning that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart complications and that an immense amount of care needs to be taken to break this h eart wrenching news of her husband’s horrible death with ease.Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister, and Richards, her husband’s friend, broke the news to her in broken sentences to try and soften the blow. Josephine and Richards thought that this would really hurt Mrs. Mallard, but she did not take it as most people would have. Louise immediately started to cry, but suddenly stormed off into her room, alone, she wanted no one to follow. The irony in this first part of the story stands in her heart troubles.The heart, in a traditional sense, represents one’s emotional core, the irony stands in that, her heart problems are a symbol for her emotional conflictions in her marriage. The irony in the mentioning of her heart problems is also that, the heart of a family and a marriage lies in that the relationship between man and woman is the essential groundwork of a family. Mrs. Mallard’s heart tribulations coincide with the peril in which the late nineteenth century institution of marriage finds itself on account of the inequalities between man and wife. Louise is ironic in and of herself.Choplin uses her and her failing heart to represent the women during the late 1800’s who were not able to find happiness in marriage, not because it could not be found, but because of the extremely limited amount of freedom they were allotted. Choplin writes, â€Å"There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul. She could see in the open square before her house the tops of the trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.The delicious breath of rain was in the air†¦ there were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window,† (Paragraph 4 & 5). Choplin uses this as irony in that being able to see the square before her house and the tops of the trees that were â€Å"aquiver† with new spring life, in that her heart, too, is â€Å"aquiver† with a new life and new hope. It is not that Mrs. Mallard did not love Brently, it is that she did not have any freedom.Just as the spring represents new beginnings, new life and renewal of hope, the death of her husband represents the same. She can now do things she never imagined of doing because her husband dictated her life. â€Å"†¦a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky,† (Paragraph 8), this seems to be representing the light at the end of the tunnel, per say, for Mrs. Mallard, and this goes along with the new life that comes with spring. Choplin uses much symbolism throughout the story. When Mrs.Mallard finds out that her husband died, she ran upstairs to her room and â€Å"†¦she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul† (Paragraph 4), the armchair symbolizes the rest from her oppressive life and the freedom from societal expectations that women from this time period were burdened with. Another situation in which Choplin uses irony in the story, which is the most important aspect, is Brently walking in the door. When Louise sees her husband who is supposed to be dead, she is beyond overwhelmed and drops dead. The doctors’ say that Mrs.Mallard died from being overjoyed in finding out that her husband was actually alive, when in fact she died from being heartbroken. The hopes of her new life of being a free woman were over, she could not live her life out how she dreamed and this is what killed her. Ultimately, Kate Choplin uses an extensive amount of situational irony and a lot of symbolism in her short story, The Story of an Hour to really bring in some excitement into it and express her feelings towards feminism in the late 19th century. Much of the irony depict ed in this short story is used in the fact that Mrs.Mallard has a weak heart. Her sister and Brently’s friend never thought that Louise would be able to withstand hearing about her husband’s tragic death; they thought that her poor heart would give out. This, however, is clearly not the case. Louise is overjoyed; she was finally, â€Å"free, free, free! †(Paragraph 10). The ironic part is when she finds out her husband is still alive, she drops dead and the doctors claim that, â€Å"†¦she had died of heart disease—of the joy that kills,† (paragraph 20) when in fact she died for the completely opposite reason.Her days would no longer be hers. This new beginning was gone. Outline I. Introduction a. Thesis: Choplin expresses her theme of oppression with her extensive use of situational irony and symbolism throughout the story. II. Body Paragraph I a. Irony in Mrs. Mallard having a bad heart b. Mrs. Mallard finds out Brently died III. Body Paragra ph II. a. Irony in the way that the weather is and the season IV. Body Paragraph III a. Mrs. Mallard finds out Brently is still alive b. Irony in why Mrs. Mallard dies V. Conclusion a. Restate thesis

Carol Ann Duffys Anne Hathaway Poem Essay - 1515 Words

Before one may analyse a poem, I feel that one must analyse its foundation, its inspiration, its very reason for being - in order to truly understand and appreciate the poets work. So, it stands to reason, that I must first analyse the quote from Shakespeares will, before addressing the poem itself, as Carol Ann Duffy has drawn our attention to it. Whether you acknowledge it or not I gyve unto my wife my second best bed is a powerful sentence, it screams indistinguishable volumes. These were the last words of comfort to a widow, someone who had spent their life loving a man that was no longer there and Duffy understood that. So, instead of formulating a poem that discredited a marriage that sculpted a lifetime, she enhanced it and†¦show more content†¦Duffy finally conforms to sonnet normalcy in the final lines, by utilising full masculine rhymes. I hold him in the casket of my widows head as he held me upon that next best bed. The rhyme finalised both the poem and the relationship, by doing this Duffy enforces that despite the many irregularities in the relationship and the sonnet, there is the inevitable, death. Duffy also shows that despite his lack of existence, that it in no way lessens his wifes love and affection for her husband.The use of the widows casket also creates the imagery of that in Romeo and Juliet, arguably one of the greatest love stories ever told. I felt that the poets comparison of the second best bed and the casket further emphasised how eternal and true the love of that between Hathaway and Shakespeare. The utilisation of a list on line four adds pace and rhythm to the poem, it also is a list of settings from Shakespeares works, listing them whilst discussing or implying coitus suggests that it was their sexual endeavours which inspired Shakespeare to write such great works. They also imply that Anne Hathaway saw the world through Shakespeares eyes. The pearls mentioned in the poem may be pearls of wisdom shared by a lifetime of experience. However the sea may be a reference to sexual pleasure in which the couple dived through together in order to procreate, thus the pearls would be metaphors for their children, found through theShow MoreRelatedFeminism Critical Anthology1502 Words   |  7 PagesAleksandra Warpas 1423 ‘Duffy’s collection The World’s Wife is nothing but feminist propaganda’. Consider this view in the light of your readings of Delilah and Anne Hathaway. In The World’s Wife Carol Ann Duffy explores ‘the blinding effects of ideology’; the inequalities between men and women, and how women are portrayed in literature which stereotypically would be either the ‘dangerous seductress’, ‘cute but essentially helpless’, ‘unworldly’ or the ‘self-sacrificing angel’ as stated by BertensRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Little Red Cap 1235 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction In the World’s Wife Carol Ann Duffy gives a voice to the imagined wives - some fiction, others real - history long forgot or never gave a thought too. Duffy surgically dissects the quintessential homogeneous relationship of husband and wife. A recurring motif of marriage being exposed for all it’s foibles and weaknesses is expressed throughout the collection. It would be a misconception to suggest Duffy’s focus is the not hetrosexual relationship, though other forms are explored. TheseRead MoreExplore the Similarities and Differences in the Presentation of Female Characters in a Streetcar Named Desire and the World’s Wife1871 Words   |  8 Pagespresentation of female characters in A Streetcar Named Desire and The World’s wife In this essay, I will be exploring the similarities and differences of female characters in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams; and ‘The World’s Wife’ by Carol Ann Duffy. Both texts denote women as somewhat weak and incompetent and as having a predatory attitude towards the mainly dominant male characters. A Streetcar Named Desire was written in 1945 and it initially connected with America’s new found tasteRead MoreMyths And Fairytales : The Bloody Chamber And `` The Worlds Wife ``2194 Words   |  9 Pagesempowering image of female capability. Duffy takes this even further, her whole set of poems is vested in female independence, by carving them out a role or voice in History that was previously supressed. The title itself the rearrangement of the phrase The world and his wife’ a phrase suggesting that women hold less statue than men, is rearranged to show a generational change in opinion. The collection of poems are told entirely from the previously unheard voices of Women, as such she rebels against