(Why did Tsarism survive in 1905 but not in February 1917) Essay

(Why did Tsarism survive in 1905 but not in February 1917) - Essay Example The Riots went as far as Odessa, Black Sea Port and Moscow and at Moscow the soviets were formed. Though as implied by director Eisenstein that â€Å"this rebellion would give momentum to a fresh revolutionary movement,†1 ultimately, the 1905 revolution got suppressed in the short term when mutinies from both army and naval were brought. Russia’s loss in opposition to Japan at Port Arthur and their defeat at Tsushima weakened Tsars government. â€Å"Some of the things that marked the organized soviet workers, soldiers and sailors were that they were elected democratically from their workplaces, barracks and ships but they were given no privileges and at any time they would be called back by their electors. This was one of the things that marked the revolution defeat†2. The source of Tsar’s government was that most peasants Loved Tsar and most of them regarded him as a father whose empowerment was from God and at that time the church was very powerful and in support to the government, this was however shattered in 1905, following the massacre of the peaceful soviet demonstrators and assassinations, Prime Minister stolypin who was murdered in 1911. Also celebrations which accompanied the Romanov dynasty had greatly increased Tsars popularity. Nobles controlled the army and the government and they used Cossacks to deal with protests. Suppression of the 1905 revolution and assumption of a united nation was however a mask because this indeed marked the commencement of an imperialist war exposing every rotten thing that sharpened Russia’s social contradictions and deepened the ultimate revolutionary upheavals, (Gatrell, 1986). Approximately 15 million peasants joined the army where they faced consistent misery that opened their mind to the working class ideas. About 800,000 workers were working at Moscow in defense industries and 300,000 others in Petrograd in huge factories. This reduced the struggles in the cities and country side and

Background to HRM at General Motors Corporation Essay Example for Free

Background to HRM at General Motors Corporation Essay General Motors Corporation (NYE: GM) is the leading American automaker in the world with its operations spanning in 157 countries. The car manufacturer was established in 1908 in Michigan and today it is headquartered in Detroit, the United States of America. Besides the domestic industry of the United States of America, General Motors manufactures cars and trucks in other 30 countries around the world. Among its brand products are Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Hummer, Holden, Opel, Saab, Pontiac, Vauxhall, and Saturn. Besides these brands that are owned by the automaker, GMC also operates joint ventures in China and Japan. That is, Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile respectively. From its Website, General Motors Corporation is among the leading American employer with 204 000 employees distributed throughout its global markets. The employees include production engineers, financial auditors, marketers, and researchers among others. Before restructuring and retrenching that took place in 2008 following a harsh global financial crisis that resulted into a loss of $37.3billion by the automaker, General motors corporation was the leading American employer with 284 000 employees (GMC, 2008). Because of its large network of global presence in 31 countries, General Motors human resource management practices entail international practices that are designed in accordance to the international operation requirements and the organizational culture designed to reduce operational costs. Majority employees of the corporation’s subsidiaries in the 31 countries are drawn from the domestic pool of local labour markets and only a few expatriates are drawn from USA as back office managers due to their wide knowledge of its organization culture (Cappelli, 1999). The Board of directors which draws from the organization’s international market presence is charged with the responsibilities of making major decisions critical to the company’s operation. According to Gustin (2008), General Motors Corporation spent up to $103 million in settling healthcare insurance benefits of its retired employees in 2007. From this information, it is evident that the American automaker provides life insurance covers for its employees upon retirement. However, following restructurung, these benefits  were stripped off and only a few employees still enjoy them today. From January 1, 2010, pension scheme of retired hourly employees of General Motors Corporation was transferred to United Autoworkers; a third party insurance firms and all permanent employees who were hired after january 1, 1993 nolonger receive health care insirance benefit upon retirement(GMC,2008). The entry salary of the global automaker is dictated by the labour laws of each market of operation and thus varied with the United States of America being the highest irrespective by job categories ( Main et al., 2007). The organization has invested in a Human Resource Management system that allows close interraction of its global employees through technology such as e-mailing and enterprise resource Management (Azrul, 2010). Marketing strategy entails presentations by field marketers to the organization’s large distributors and online follow ups. Reccommended HRM practices for GMC From the above background analysis of General Motors corporation, it is clear that the organization requires international Human Resource Management practices that will integrate the cultural diversity of its employees.The catastrophic impact of the 2008 financial ciris that resulted into massive restructuring and retrenching of its human resources also underscores the organization’s poor human resource planning. The following recommendations are prescribed for the automaker on the basis of figure 1 below. The first recommendation, is Re-designing the business strategy to target the bottom line of the market. According to Azrul (2010), one of the main reasons for the $37.4 billion loss incured by the American automaker is external market forces from competitors like Honda and Hyundai that were producing far cheaper vehicles with high efficient engines and low fuel consumption rates as compared to Genereal Motors’ brands. In the heat of global financial crisis, the market shifted to consumption of cheaper and less fuel consumers produced by the competitors resulting in huge losses by the General Motors Corporation. The new business strategy should entail  designing cars and trucks with high eficent engines and electric cars that can survive an upsurge in oil prices. This will involve an investment in manufacturing technologies that ensures high quality at reduced costs such as electric engines that uses bateries.This will give the Amecan leading automaker a competitve advantage against the stiffening market competition. The second recommendation is outsourcing of labour from China and Japan. Many Corporations prefer to manufacture their products from China because of the availability of a relatively cheaper labour force when compared to western counterparts. General Motors corporation can either outsource its human resoure from China or undertake most of its production from its Japanese and Chinese Subsidiaries. The labour laws in the two countries are relatively flexible and firendly than in the United States of America. This will help the American Automator reduce huge operational costs incured in meeting the big payroll of over 200, 000 employees. The third recommendation is integration of employees’ training in high involvement work practices. According to Konrad (2006), engaging employees of an organization in job specific training improves their productivity by increasing their job-related skills, reducing propensity of committing costly errors, and increasing their job confidence. Training of General Motors’ employees on their job specifications will improve their productivity. Ofshore trainings in China and Japan are recommended. This will allow the corporation’s manufacturing engineers to learn new efficient production technologies of Japan and China in making cheaper and highly effiecient cars. Motivational incentives such as team building sessions, delegation of duties, self-managed leadership styles, and monetary rewards will boost their commitment to the organization. The combined effect of training and motivation will necesitate restructuring of a pay roll while leveraging on improved productivity of highly productive employees. The fourth recommendation is embracing technology in Human Resource Management system to enhance global cordination of its business. According to Dreher and Dougherty ( 2002), the use of technology such as centralised Enterprise Resource Management system to co-ordinate human resource  activities of General Motors will enhance quick sharing of ideas and consultation among the global employees of the company without barriers. This will allow the organization to carry out its marketing strategies efficiently and effectively without limitation by geographical distances. Effective Human Resource Management through streamlined sofware-based systems enhances fast communication and online training which gives an organization a higher competitive advantage. The fifth recommendation is integration of social benefits such as pension and health care schemes in the reward system. From the backround information above, it is evident that General Motors Corporation with-held social benefits for employees who were hired after January 1, 1993 and transferred the remaining ones to third pary insirance firms. The American automaker also stripped healthcare benefits for retired employees beyond 65 years. Acording to Konrad (2006), social rewards like health care insurance schemes make employees feel more valued by their organizations than monetary rewards in terms of bonuses and salary increments. Also pension schemes improve employees’ commitment to their employer because of future guarantees. This reduces employees’ turnover which is essential in retaining critical human resources for continuity of operation of General Motors. High staff retention improves an organization’s competitive advantage in a complex market of operati onal rivalry. The sixth recommendation is the implementation of employee productivity management and monitoring systems such as Balanced Score Card (BSC) and High Performance Work System (HPWS) (Rouse, 2000). The latter system refers collectively to open systems, autonomouas teams and teamworks, and performance-based pay (Azrul, 2010). The implementation of the two Human Resource Management systems will improve organizational performance by providing real time employees’ information storage database from which future managerial decisions, and rewards will be based. According to Konrad ( 2006), employees of an organization are more productive when they are aware that their performance is recorded for review in determining their future rewards. Effective implementation of the Human Resource Management systems will help General Motors Corporation in categorising employees  according to their productivity rates. This information is important in determining the relevance of job training and objective restructuring in the event of a crisis like that which befell it in 2008. In this case, only high productive employees will be retained. The seventh recommendation is the implementation of an integrative pay/ reward system to inculde performance-contingency pay scheme, skill-based pay, and seniority-based pay scheme. According to performance-contingency pay scheme, the employees’ reward will be based on the performance of their working teams. This will help the automaker in creating effective self-managed and motivated teams. Skill-based pay will ensure that employees’ pay schemes are based on their job skills. For instance, production engineers will be given high pay than marketers because of their technical skills required by the organization. Seniority-based pay scheme demands that those employees who have stayed longer in the organization will get a higher pay than new comers because of their cumulative salary increements along their carrier path. Seniority-based pay scheme promotes staff retention even when the entry salary is relatively lower than the market rates because employees know that there is a room for growth. In general, General Motors Corporation should ensure total compliance with the labour markets and legal environments of their respective countries of operations before implementation of the proposed recommendations. For instance, the employment laws regarding hourly wages, minimum wage policy, employment opportunities, labour regulations, and safety rules in China are different from those of the United States of America. Therefore it is imperative that the American automaker consider their implications in setting the minimum entry wage in each country of operation. Conclusion. In conclusion, General Motors Corporation can sustain its competitive strategy as a leading automaker by embracing the above prescribed Human Resource Mangement system that integrates staff training on job related skills, outsourcing, social reward scheme, technology, and  performance-contingency pay scheme among others as strategic competiencies in its operation. The implementation of Balanced Score Card and HPWS is critical in improving the productivity of the organization’s employees. The proposed system will enhance high staff retention, high staff productivity, and objective contingency planning in times of global crises like the 2008 global financial crisis that lead to massive retrenchment by the automaker. References Azrul, A. (2010). Human Resource Management General Motors. Monash University Publication, p.1-13.From: http://www.scribd.com/doc/14812855/Human-Resource-Management-General-Motors Main, B.G.,Jackson, C., Pymm, J., Wright, V. (2007). GMC:The Remuneration Committee and Strategic Human Resource Management. University of Edinburgh publications, p.1-49. Cappelli, P. (1999). Employment Practices and Business Strategy. Oxfford, ew York : Oxford University Press. General Motors Corporation. (2008). Restructuring Plan for Long-Term Viability: Submitted to Senate Banking Committee House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Detroit: General Motors Corporation. Rouse ,D. (2000). Manufacturing Sdvantage:Why High Performance Work Systems Pay off. Journal of Team Performance Management, vol 96(5) , p.1420. Dreher, G., Dougherty,T. (2002). Human resource strategy: A behavioral perspective for the general manager. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Gustin, L. R. (2008). Billy Durant: Creator of General Motors. Ann Arbor. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Konrad, A. M. (2006). Engaging Employees Through High-Involvement Work Practices. IVEY Business Journal , n.p.From:

Heroes: From Ninja Turtles to Jesus :: Heroes of Society

Heroes: From Ninja Turtles to Jesus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Heroes are important in life we’ve always had them and always will. They’re our role models, we attempt to be resembling them. Society looks up to these heroes for many reasons, it could be that they’re cool or have style, because they could fly or have supernatural powers, because of the way they make a person feel, the confidence they have, or even because a majority likes him and wants to be him a person may want to go with the flow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All heroes in society have similarities to each other. All heroes put other people or objects before themselves. They might go through many things like humiliation, inopportunity, poverty or many other things they might undergo or give up. Heroes have similarities but also differences, some heroes could be nonhuman, or fictious, religious, or with super powers. They range going from anything like Ninja Turtles to a powerful savior as Jesus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since we’ve had heroes and idols since we were children, our aspect of them changes as we mature. A hero shifts from a very fictious character to an everyday person in the real world. Children fall into the idea that heroes are only heroes if they have superpowers, can fly or something of that sort. But it’s because that’s the idea that’s given to them and admire. As our minds mature we realize the superpowers aren’t only supernatural, but can be everyday activities people do for a living; patrolling the streets, fighting crime, saving peoples in house fires, helping a student when they need an extra push etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Only people that have the maturity to understand what a true real life hero is consider a wide range of people as heroes; Firefighters, police, parents, teachers and even students that stay out of gangs and in school can be considered as heroes.

Peer Acceptance Essay

As Sentse, Lindenberg, Omvlee, Ormel & Veenstra (2009) stated, the need to belong is one of the most important need of an individual, and during adolescence, the closest group of people that an adolescent could have strong attachments with is his/her family and friends. In a study by Khurshid & Rehman (2006), those who have low self-esteem were reported to have higher peer stressors as compared to others having high self-esteem. Their findings suggested that those who have low self-esteem face more problems with their peers; that because they lack in self-confidence, their peers would see them as inferior, considered them as a boring personality and that they always felt uncomfortable in the company of strangers, even among their friends. According to the study conducted by Parker et al. as cited in Kistner, David & Repper, 2007), the perception of an individual to be accepted by peers would contribute to his/her adjustment in school or in any other areas of his/her life. Rejected individuals who perceived themselves to be accepted by their peers tend to cope with and initiate social interactions better, than those who were rejected having negative perceptions of themselves being accepted (Rabiner & Coie as cited in Kistner, David & Repper, 2007). It was stated by Furman & Robbins (as cited in Kingery, Erdley & Marshall, 2011) that having the companion of peers would provide intimacy, affection and a source of reliance for an individual, thus helping in his/her adjustment and help enhance self-esteem. Behavioral Indicators: Individual feels that she belongs to a certain group; feels that she is not alone in life; accepts criticisms from other people; does not find it difficult to socialize with peers.

Economy Scale: Inequality for All Essay

In the Documentary Inequality for All, scholar Robert Reich dissects the staggering facts on an unequal distribution of wealth between classes and its shattering effects on the American economy. He focuses on the fact that our middle class, which makes up 70% of our economy, is being kept on a tight leash from the wealthy that only make up the miniscule 1% of society, making the same amount of income as half of the country. He begins explaining how In the late 1970s inequality became a prominent issue, not necessarily on a declining economy, in contrast he clarifies that the GDP (gross domestic product) kept on increasing. The problem arises from the unparalleled income of the American workforce compared to the increasing prices of health care, housing, college and everyday costs of living. As expenditures increased for American households so should of workers wages, but instead many dropped or remained the same throughout the economic boom and even until now in our current date. This â€Å"huge gap† as Reich describes, between wages and rising economy became a problematic concern to all Americans constituting the middle class. The economy entered a vicious cycle as Reich explains it to be, a cycle on which low wages cause low consumer spending thus leading to a troubled economy for all. At first the middle class leaned on to borrowing from banks to get through their struggle balancing high living prices and low wages, another coping mechanism that kept the middle class going for a while was that women began entering the workforce to aid in the responsibilities of their households. Yet, these efforts weren’t enough for the two underlying issues; globalization and new technology whom were responsible for contributing to the flattening wages since 1970. An example of this can be seen with Amazon.com, a company that is responsible for taking out of the market many small businesses. The businesses that once performed the same work that Amazon.com does now, did so with many more workers, thus, propelled many more jobs than what amazon provides currently. With higher living standards and not enough disposable income the middle class go through daily struggles, only enough to make it on to next day while the wealthy keep storing away unimaginable sums of money that they themselves have no clue what to do with. With the raising inequality on the middle class, they are constrained to battling hurdles that make their efforts of moving upwards in life all the more difficult.  Reich suggest that the attention needs to be shifted towards the working class, primarily with their education; â€Å"prosperity generates prosperity. Preparing our workforce to specialize and become well-educated individuals will just add on to a thriving stable economy; making education affordable and investing on them expands the middle class as well as the success for both the wealthy and t he working class. The rich believe they do enough since they see themselves as job providers, and think that if it weren’t for their role in creating jobs, that our economy would be much worse. With this they argue on issues such as getting taxed too much and how the â€Å"job creators† are being attacked. In reality they are not making any genuine effort on balancing out our economy. The wealthy making over six figure salaries a year manage to pay 15% on taxes while the average middle class male that makes anywhere from $25,000 to $75,000 a years will get taxed double, paying an average of 30% or more on their taxes. Instead they keep accumulating money and invest in other things that give them a profitable return to themselves but not to the rest of the economy. With big companies such as General Electric (ge) who prioritize on making a profit rather than good jobs, by creating overseas jobs rather than providing them to laborers in America. Inequality is monster on its own that’s is growing out of proportion, taken down with it many middle class members jobs, homes and destabilizing their every day lives. As executive pay continuous to go up, they have enough money to buy government and their decisions. Inequality is a matter that came about those decisions driven by the wealthy on to the government that make choices for its people. No real effort to counter act the issue has been taken into place, still we are responsible for getting the message out to the masses and begin making a change for a united workforce. If we continue with the trend that began in the late 1970s and has made its way all the way until the present, it will only continue to get a lot harder for upcoming generations to have a fair way of life. Workers having no say on the matter will add more gasoline to the fuel that has begun to wash away many Americans hopes and dreams. This Documentary is a wide opening realization to all the factors that are contributing to many economic problems that have affected many, including me personally. Many are still blinded by the government’s false efforts of aiding every one towards the perfect â€Å"American Dream†. The issue falls on our hands from this  point on to make advancements in our education and expanding the capacities of our work force.