The Impact of the Media on the Vietnam War Essay -- Vietnam War Essays

The Impact of the Media on the Vietnam War This essay will discuss to what degree the media can be blamed for the United States’ loss in the Vietnam conflict ending 1975. It will be based predominantly on key written resources on the subject, but it will also contain - by means of an interview - certain first-hand observations from a Vietnam War veteran. For the sake of conciseness, and in order to focus the bulk of the content on the main topic, this essay will make certain assumptions. Most importantly, the essay assumes that the conflict in Vietnam was, indeed, lost by the US. It also presupposes that ï ¿ ½ due to the political climate in the US ï ¿ ½ the war itself was unavoidable. Finally, the essay takes for granted that the reader has a basic knowledge of the reasons and major events behind the US military intervention in Vietnam from the mid-1950s until 1975. In the late 1960s, the low-intensity conflict in Indochina that had been in progress since the end of the Second World War became a full-scaled war. In order for the transition from low-intensity conflict to war to have taken place, a change in the public opinion surrounding the war must have taken place, resulting in the politicians of the time having support for the conflict. When the invasion was initiated, it was proved that the politicians in effect had the press in their pockets: the American press was not asking why there was a need for intervention, but rather how the logistics and economics of the invasion would fit together (Herman & Chomsky 1988). Escalation of conflict The US media did not become interested in the conflict until November 1960, when the US troops stationed in Saigon suffered a spectacular failure during a hunt for a small group of rebels: approximately 400 civilians were killed by American troops. With the conflict suddenly caught in the media spotlight, a small group of war correspondents were sent to Vietnam. The reporters were from the NYT, Herald Tribune, AP , UPI , Reuters and AFP . Stringers and / or reporters from Newsweek, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and the Observer soon followed. (Knightly 1975) Eventually ï ¿ ½ when the conflict escalated further ï ¿ ½ â€Å"Indochina was flooded with war correspondents† (Herman & Chomsky 1988, 193) Warfare can be conducted for many reasons. In the case of the Vietnam conflict, the conflic... ...; The media showed what happened, no more. And what was going on in Vietnam was not pretty, as with most other wars. It is safe to say that the media did not lose the war, but rather expressed the feeling that the US soldiers were dying by the thousands without a good reason. As Melnick quite profoundly summarises it: â€Å"Nobody wants to die for somebody else’s country, and that’s what it boiled down to†. Works cited: Albig, W (1939) Public Opinion New York: McGraw-Hill Cook, M et al. (2001) Tet Offensive http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=tet+offensive Herman, E.S. and Chomsky, N (1988) Manufacturing Consent: The political economy of the mass media New York: Pantheon Books Kennedy, W.V (1993) The Military and the Media: Why the Press Cannot Be Trusted to Cover a War. New York: Praeger Publishers Knightly, P (1975) The First Casualty London: Pan Books Lugo, J (8 Oct 2002) Lecture: Manufacturing consent and public opinion. Liverpool John Moores University Melnick, Mark (12 Oct 2002) Interview via e-mail: Media and Vietnam Schulzinger, R.D. (1998) A time for war: The United States and Vietnam, 1941-1975 New York: Oxford University Press

Human Resource Management Policies and Practices That Can Support Business Strategies and Contribute to Improved Performance of the Organization

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT CAN SUPPORT BUSINESS STRATEGIES AND CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVED PERFORMANCE OF THE ORGANIZATION PREPARED BY: ROLAND GBENGA STUDENT NUMBER: 0075DSDS1011 MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINITRATION CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY MARKETING MANAGEMENT DR. GEORGE KOSHY 6TH DECEMBER, 2011 Table of Contents Table of Figures4 1. 0. INTRODUCTION4 2. 0. LITERATURE REVIEW6 2. 1. Recruitment and Selection (Toyota)6 2. 2.Training and Professional Development (Singapore Airlines)15 2. 3. Performance Management (Quantum)18 2. 4. Employee Benefits and Compensation ExxonMobil19 2. 4. 1. Salary & Compensation:20 2. 4. 2. Additional Benefits21 3. 0. RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION21 Bibliography23 Table of Figures Figure 1 Recruitment and Selection Process7 Figure 2 Job Analysis Model9 Figure 3 Toyota Sales Result 201012 Figure 4 Toyota Recruitment Process for Graduate13 Figure 5 Toyota Recruitment Process for Graduate14Figure 6 Singapore Airline Organizational Hier archy16 Figure 7 Performance Management Model18 Figure 8 Performance Management Process19 Figure 9 Benefits and Compensation Model20 1. 0. INTRODUCTION Gilmore & Williams (2009) said â€Å"People are the most valuable asset†, it is a cliche resounds over and again in the heart of the Human Resource department of an organization. The height of completion in recent years does not leave room for simple executive standard of practices [ (Agawarwala, 2003) ].Different companies inculcates different range of human resource practices and policies because some of them employ certain interwoven practices which has become their attributes and are known to be the root of their achievement through the way the company manage people [ (Pfeffer, 1996) ]. The religious policies imbibed by businesses provides them with the techniques to manage human resource error or risk by keeping up to date with trending things happening in employment standards and required legislation.Business Management Study GuideThis research work seeks to examine different companies who have achieved success through certain characterized human resource practices, a broad overview and a comprehensive analysis into the functions performed by the selected companies as regards maintaining a competitive advantage through concentrated human resource activities. There is difficulty in identifying a company who does all the human resource practices correctly [ (Pfeffer, 1996) ], however there are some companies who have been sustained over the years and are still able to maintain their workforce and also keep them happy and motivated.Organization success and performance are popularly measured assessed by the outlook of the financial statement; the structure behind the system are neglected meanwhile it is the one of the most important aspect of an organization and its harnesses to optimum performance. We neglect the contributions of Human Resources and the various practices put into play in the organizat ions’ success. It is as simple as to say that consumers as happy because there are happy employees who take care of their needs for the company.Why are some employees happy with and are ready to stick with the organization while there are some who wishes for a quick change. The answer to the question above is far fetched but can be streamlined; some organization knows how to take good care of their staffs by creating an enabling and conducive environment them thereby retaining their identity, know-how loyalty while they continue to grow and prove their selves with time. This paper seeks to explore different organization and heir Human Resource practices and how it has helped them to in the establishment of a motivated and highly satisfied workforce which has been a contributor to their performance and their sustainability. It is believed that some company’s strategies and or practices are their strength because the ability to attract, manage and retain vast knowledge a nd experiences are in their best practices. * Performance Management * Employment Security * High wages * Incentive Pay * Employee Ownership * Information Sharing * Participation and Empowerment * Selectivity in Recruiting * Participation Employment Information Sharing * Wage Compression 2. 0. LITERATURE REVIEW 3. 1. Recruitment and Selection (Toyota) [ (recruitment. toyotauk. com, 2011) ] Hiring the best people is paramount to the success of any organization more so is the ability to retain a high quality workforce; if there is a vacant position in an organization there should not be panic because it provides the organization with the opportunity to examine the position, set the description and determine the qualifications. [ (hr. uoregon. edu, 2010) ] Recruitment is the preceding step in the selection method in an organization. Read also Analyze the Ways in Which British Imperial PoliciesIt is seen as an activity directed to earn suitable workforces whose qualifications and skills match roles of the pertinent posts in the Organization. While it is defined also as â€Å"the process of identifying that the organization needs to employ someone up to the point at which application forms for the past have arrived at the organization† [ (businesscasestudies. co. uk, 2010) ]. The success of a business is subjected to the skills and competencies of its workforce [ (Gilmore & Williams, 2009) ], it does not stop once it commences, and it gives the rganization the opportunity to pick from a pool of qualified candidates. Among the purpose of recruit to an organization, it ensures a decrease in an organization and individual effectiveness; it even aligns the selection rate by limiting the number of evidently over qualified otherwise under qualified applicants. [ (Bliss, 2012) ] Figure [ 1 ] Recruitment and Select ion Process [ (lyonsshers. com, 2012) ] Man Power Planning The planning of staff of an organization need that the present and future situation of the organization be assessed and compared to the present and the future forecasted resources.Proper steps would then be put in place so as to bring the demand and supply in equality. Hence the first step is doing a review of the whole existing workforce and their profile which include the total number, gender, age, sex, experience, flexibility, forecast capabilities and characters of the existing staff of the organization and plans are made ahead for like a period of like 3, 5, 10 years as the case may be taken into consideration normal staff turnover, retirements and planned staff movements along with company plans for the same time frame. accel-team. com, 2012 ) The Human Resource manager is faced with the obligation to scrutinize and modify other mangers crude predictions in accordance with the organizational need and forecast along wit h the organizations future demands as regards workforce.Below are the scenarios the Human Resource Manager must take into consideration, forecast of sale and production; the effects of technological change on task needs, variations in the efficiency, productivity, flexibility of labor as a result of training, work study, organizational change, new motivations; changes in employment practices ( for instance Toyota outsourced the recruitment and selection to Kentucky Department of Employment in 2007); differences, which respond to new legislation, for instance the payroll taxes, safety requirements and new health; the changes in Government policies (investment incentives, regional or trade grants, etc. ) Job Analysis Job analysis is concerned with the formal process of determining the characteristics and what a job entails and the specific qualities or attributes required to perform the job. (Gilmore & Williams, 2009) Job analysis is the primary tool in human resource management (www. managementstudyguide. com, 2012); it is also defined as the procedure required to obtain information regarding the responsibilities, duties, results, essential skills, and the working environment of that particular job.The human resource manager requires a lot of data to gather up job description which is the eventual result of job analysis. (Dessler, 2012) Figure [ 2 ] Job Analysis Model [ (www. managementstudyguide. com, 2012) ] Job Description Job description is based on information gathered from job analysis; it is a list that can be used for general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a position. Sometimes it includes to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications or skills needed by the person in the job, or a salary range; it helps employees understand their responsibilities Job Specification It is also known as employee specification [ (www. managementstudyguide. com, 2012) ].It is further explained to be a clearly stated level of experienc e, educational qualifications, specific qualities, techniques, communication skills, physical and emotional state needed to perform the job, another responsibility involved in executing the job and other uncommon demands. They comprise of general health, intelligence aptitude, memory, leadership skills adaptability skills mental health, manner, creativity ethics and values and many more as the case may be. Other processes are as follows: Sources of Selection Advertising Short listing Interview Health Examination Induction [ (Murthy, 2010) ] Every company has their well-defined employment and recruitment policies and hiring procedures among which gives them a competitive edge while searching for quality skills.Toyota Motor Company is renowned for their recruitment process, and generally its management philosophy. Being the largest car manufacturer [ (www. theweek. co. uk, 2011) ] the company sold 8. 42 million vehicles in 2010 has a total employee of 300,734 all over the world. The s uccess the Toyota Motor Corporation can also be attributed to their recruitment and selection programme which is designed to fetch the best people. The Toyota recruitment and selection procedure helps to illustrate how the process itself can interpret into better performance for the whole organization. Toyota Motor Corporation is searching for foremost interpersonal skills, due to the company’s importance on the interaction of the team.In addition the company’s whole process is to advance job processes through employee dedication to quality, and reasoning and problem solving skills are also vital manpower requirements. [ (Piatkowski, 2004) ] Furthermore since quality is the Toyota Company’s central value and so it is also seeking a history of quality commitment to the people it employs. The Toyota production system is based on consensus flexible career path decision making and Job rotation. [ (recruitment. toyotauk. com, 2011) ] Figure [ 3 ] Toyota Sales Result 2010 [ (www2. toyota. co. jp, 2011) ] Figure [ 4 ] Toyota Recruitment Process for Graduate [ (recruitment. toyotauk. com, 2011) ] Figure [ 5 ] Toyota Recruitment Process for Graduate Table [ 1 ] Toyota Selection Process Phases| | Objective| Conducted |Phase IApplication/Orientation | The phase includes filling of application forms and a 1 hour video showing the selection system process and Toyota work environment | To familiarized potential employees about the company while collection information about work experience and skills| Kentucky Department of Employment Services| Phase IITechnical Skills Assessment | Paper and Pencil Test General knowledge assessment (2hrs)Tool and Die general assessment (6hrs)| To test general Knowledge and potentials | Kentucky Department of Employment Services| Phase IIIInterpersonal Skills Assessment | Individual problem solving ability test (4hrs)Production assembly simulation (5hrs)| Assess decision making and interpersonal skills| HR Toyota Motor Ma nufacturing | Phase IV Toyota Assessment | A general Interview and evaluation (1hr)| Discussion of achievements and accomplishments| HR Toyota Motor Manufacturing| Phase VHealth Assessment | Physical test and drug or alcohol test (2. 5hrs) | To ascertain the physical condition | Scot County and General Hospital & HR Toyota Motor Manufacturing| Phase VIOn-the-Job observation | Guidance and coaching on the job after being employed | Assessment of Job performance and development skills | HR Toyota Motor Manufacturing| 3. 2. Training and Professional Development (Singapore Airlines) Organizations see training and development and as a vital human resources activity as they consider it as a motivator for employees to do their job better and consequently contributes to their career development.Improvement of an employee’s capabilities plus their professional development as well as the organizations is part of the purposes of training and development Types of training: Aviation remai ns a large and growing industry. It facilitates economic growth, world trade, international investment and tourism and is therefore central to the globalization taking place in many other industries (syl. com, 2006). In the past decades Air travel has grown by 7% per year, travel for both business and leisure purposes grew strongly worldwide; the large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 (Boeing , 2012 ) made it convenient and affordable for people to travel further to new and exotic destinations.The airline industry in Asia Pacific Region is highly competitive and price wars are a common occurrence. (Chan, 2000) There is constant fighting for territory and expansion which has led to the merger of Air Asia and Malaysian Airline, a merger which was fronted based on being a major player in the industry   along with Qatar Airline, Emirate Airline and more who have concentrated on lowering their costs and improving service to customers thereby posing as a strong competitor. However Singap ore Airline has risen to the challenges and are therefore one of the biggest players in the airline industries by going extra miles in their strategies and they are basically the trend setter of the airline industry.SIA has employed many innovative strategies since it began. These strategies have been supported and strengthen over the years, and have led to the success, the company enjoys today. To be successful in the airline industry you have to employ superior efficiency, quality, innovation and customer responsiveness. Figure 6 Singapore Airline Organizational Hierarchy [ (singaporeair. com, 2012 ) ] Human Resource Management in Singapore Airline inculcated a system that helps their worker achieve the best they can be, the culture of the company ensures that their employees have full opportunity of extensive learning and development which enhances their personal and professional development.Joining the company gives the employees to be open to experience a full experience rangin g the normal orientation programs, visiting of the company sites and attachments so they can exposure to the company and the industry as well, further also the company would embark on leadership and general management programs on the average each employee receives eleven days of training each year. Some employees may be assigned to a mentor in their first year who might be their line manager who plays the role in imitating training relating to job skills, a system in place to help the employees adapt to the working life and adjust to the Company’s culture.The company is committed to helping its employees develop into â€Å"true airline professionals†. The company thrive in the business due to the diverse nature of the business require a different scope for development. SIA involves its employees in job rotation schemes which ensure that employees perform their duties in their field of specialization or across functional areas. It is so planned that throughout the caree r stages and advancement employees will have to interact with his/her colleagues as well as senior management staffs across the whole organization and globally, through involvement in the committees and task forces. Even opportunities for overseas duties are available to Employees of Singapore Airline.Employees after working for a period of experience years can apply to join the company’s Overseas Manager Scheme. This is a good career development as they have the opportunity to become one of the Airline's General Managers oversees. Such manager would be in charge of the company’s overseas business interest which ranges from sales and marketing, Human Resource, finance, management and government relations. As a graduate entry at Singapore Airline would start from the junior management level but can rise to the senior management positions such as vice-presidents and above with experiences, training, exposures, and stellar performance as they case may be. [ (singaporeair. com, 2012 ) ] 3. 3. Performance Management (Quantum)Figure [ 7 ] Performance Management Model [ (hr. cornell. edu, 2012 ) ] Performance Management, according to Dessler, (2012) is a â€Å"continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning their performance with organizational goals† some schools of thought still refers to performance management as performance appraisal while some say it is just a branch of performance management that deals with reward for performance (Dessler, 2012). Quantum Corporation manufactures and renders services of recovery, and archive solutions for customers ranging from small businesses to multinational enterprises (investing. businessweek. om, 2012); it came into computing business as a supplier of hardware to manufacturers and end users in 1980. The activities below are the regular practices of Quantum Corporation that seemly infer they are practicing performance management. * Maint aining a result Focus * Decision Making with the best interest of the Company in mind * Working together Collaboratively * Finding problem Troubleshooting and fixing them * Setting high standards * Being open, honest and direct * Staying flexible and adaptable * Taking initiative for one’s own development * Resolving issues in an objective manner Figure [ 8 ] Performance Management Process [ (Office of Personnel Management, 1999) ] 3. 4.Employee Benefits and Compensation ExxonMobil ExxonMobil a multinational oil and gas corporation was formed from the 1999 merger Exxon and Mobil, the corporation was rated as one of the largest publicly traded company by market capitalization. In 2011 the company recorded a revenue of 354,674,000 and a sale of 30,460,000 [ (money. cnn. com, 2011) ] and recently ExxonMobil was rated by Forbes as the number 1 largest company among 200 [ (DeCarlo, 2012) ]. The amount of employee in the company is 102,700 [ (CNN, 2010) ] happened to be the second after Wal-Mart. The Human Resource Department of ExxonMobil places high emphasis on the benefit and compensation of its employees.It stresses the fact that that to stay at the top the corporation has to attract retain and develop the best man power that would meet their business needs, hence the strategy the company is to stay aloof in their HRM activities is the attractive and competitive compensation and benefits. Figure [ 9 ] Benefits and Compensation Model [ (trueinfos. com, 2012 ) ] ExxonMobil is aware of the effect of reward is, in terms of remuneration and benefits which they are given to employees for their intelligence, passion and ingenuity in performing their duties to the company. The company feels there should be satisfying balance in what the employees seeks in their career and personal pursuits while outside work; hence the company provided necessary resources that would meet their various needs. At ExxonMobil there is this believe that employees should be properly re warded because of their hard work. 3. 5. 1. Salary ; Compensation:A very competitive salary (including 13th ; 14th month) – regular salary for staffs are paid with concrete research into salaries paid by other competing companies in their various positions all over and a benchmark is set. Further in that extra months pay to workers. A Pension Savings Plan – The Company contributes to the pension saving plan of each employee which would be added to the government pension payout. Commuting Allowance – Every mileage used from home to work every day are reimbursed by the company. Even on business trips, travel cost are burn by the company no matter the time duration. 3. 5. 2. Additional Benefits ExxonMobil adds some tokens as benefits on top of the interest and their competitive salaries paid to their employees.They range from savings plan, pension plan, medical plan, dental and vision plans, disability plan, life insurance plan and other programmes such as vacation , global fit discount program, product discount, flexible work arrangements and leaves of absence: Medical Coverage (for you and your dependents) – this is an insurance plan in place for medical cost not provided for the employees basic policy (BE) or medical cost contribution. Accident ; Disability Insurance – Insurance plan in place for employee accident both during worry and outside work area, industrial accident insurance police Product discounts – Rebates of 10% (excluding taxes) given off to employees for using ‘Esso Card’, rebates on heating oil, and many more Savings Plan- ExxonMobil employees are provided with a saving scheme where they contribute a certain percentage of their pay and receive the return even with interest.Disability Plan- the programme is in place for employees who are absent from work for both short-term and long-term due to illness or injuries that happened on or off the job. Dental and Vision Plans – dental servic es and vision service are done for both preventive and corrective ones. The cost of incurred would be shared between the company and staff. Employees are eligible for this programme once you start working with ExxonMobil. Pre- Tax Spending Plan – All the staff of the company that participated in the dental and a vision plans are all involved in pre-tax spending plan. Holidays – ExxonMobil pays for 8 designated holidays and each employee is eligible to go for 2 paid ones. Scheduling of holidaying varies for company paid for some locations.Global Fit Discount Program – the scheme paves way for the company employees and retiree and their families to join top rated health club at a discount rate. 3. 0. RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION A careful look at the companies best practices and policies in human resource management as discussed in the previous section, it is observed that there are many practices and policies a company can decide to use to strengthen the organiz ation with its success only depends on their contribution to organizational performance. It has assumed that one of these practices is the sole contributor to organization performance however all the functions of human resource cannot be neglected considering their roles collectively as none of the practices can even function without the other.The competitiveness and success of an organization can not only be determined by human resource activities, the fact cannot be ignored that without human effort an organization can function but so far the companies have been singled out as successful through their revenue, sales, market share and market growth. ExxonMobil is an oil and gas company and they happen to be the number largest company dues because of their revenue. My 3 years experience has given an idea in which human resource practice that has proven to be successful; it is evident in success of Quantum corporation even ExxonMobil. I have had a good performance because at every cl osing hour of the day there is always a review and report writing where the Executive director would sit and redress every variances and also set a target for the next day.Furthermore all the practices of human resource management are applicable it only depends on the human resource executive to choose know which one is best suited for the company and its employees. Bibliography accel-team. com, 2012 . ACCEL. [Online] Available at: http://www. accel-team. com/human_resources/hrm_01. html [Accessed 11 August 2012 ]. Agawarwala, T. , 2003. Innovative Human Resource and Organization Commitment: an Empirical Investigation. The International Journal of Human Resource, 14(2), pp. 174-197. Bliss, R. , 2012. How to Pitch a Campaign (Watching AMC's The Pitch Doesn't Count! ). The Washington Times, 2 June. Boeing , 2012 . Boeing. 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Citrobacter freundii Free Essay Example, 1250 words

Research has revealed that C. freundii is responsible for over 29% of all the opportunistic infections (Leboffe & Pierce, 2011). It is therefore important not only to be able to isolate the bacterium but also to sequence its many different strains and plasmids since this will form the basis for antibiotic development. It is the only bacterium in the family Enterobacteriaceae with a plasmid. Through the plasmids, the bacterium produces cephalosporinase enzyme which affects the antibiotic cephamycins and cephalosporin by hydrolyzing them leading to resistance. This bacterium is however beneficial to the environment since it is responsible for reduction of nitrate into nitrite, a crucial nitrogen cycle stage within the environment. Materials and Methods Samples collection and Preparation Different samples were identified according to Bergey’s manual of Determinative of bacteriology which identifies Citrobacter freundii’s habitats as soil, water and sewage environments. The first sample was collected from backyard soil, the second from fertilizer and the third sample from dog poop. Preparation of the Media MacConkey Agar (MAC) and Eosin Methylene Blue Agar (EMB) were chosen as the best media for selecting Citrobacter freundii after thorough analysis of lab manual. We will write a custom essay sample on Citrobacter freundii or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now MacConkey agar is compost of: lactose which serves as energy source, enzymatic digest of animal tissue, gelatin and casein which provides vitamins, nitrogen, minerals and amino acids essential for growth. There are also bile salts which are selective agents inhibiting the growth of gram positive organisms and sodium chloride that supply important electrolytes necessary for transport and osmotic balance. The neutral red is a pH indicator and agar is a solidifying agent. Eosin Methylene blue (EMB) agar is made up of Peptone, Lactose, Sucrose, Eosin Y dyes and Methylene blue. This is both a selective and a differential media because the methylene blue presence in the media hinders the growth of gram positive bacteria (Berkeley, 2000). Eosin is also a pH sensitive dye changing from colorless to black as the acidity develops. The sugars are important sources of energy and encourage the growth of the bacteria. All these components of the media are important for the differentiation of the bacteria. While sugars provide fermentable substrates and essential for gram negative bacteria, the fermentation process leads to acidification of the media hence the dye produce a dark purple complex (Berkeley, 2000).