Refleksjon og evaluering av hostens arbeid Essays -

Refleksjon og evaluering av hostens arbeid Kompetansemal: Mal for opplaringen er at eleven skal kunne kjenne til forutsetninger som ligger til grunn for frivillig arbeid kartlegge behov for frivillig arbeid i lokalmiljoet i samarbeid med relevante aktorer planlegge praktiske tiltak som medforer sosial verdiskaping for valgt malgruppe Praktisk arbeid: Mal for opplaringen er at eleven skal kunne gjennomfore planlagte tiltak folge etiske retningslinjer og tilpasse kommunikasjon og samhandling til valgt malgruppe presentere og vurdere det frivillige arbeidet ut fra erfaringer og samhandling med malgruppen og relevante aktorer Framforing tirsdag 14.nov ember og tirsdag 21.nov ember Lag en framforing av arbeidet du har gjort i host , der du presenterer ditt/gruppas arbeid . Du kan jobbe sammen med noen eller gjore det alene (vi hjelper til a fordele grupper) . I framforinga ma du fa med: Forklar hva en frivillig organisasjon/ frivillig arbeid er, og hvorfor det er sa viktig. Fortell om dette halvaret og utplasseringa: Hvor jobbet du/dere? Hvorfor onsket du a jobbe pa denne arbeidsplassen ? Hva gjorde du/dere? Beskriv utfyllende. Her er det lov a ta med bilder. Fortell om noe som har gjort inntrykk pa deg, om episoder der noen ble glade, om en aktivitet som var popular. Kanskje var det noe som ikke var sa bra? Hvilke tilbakemeldinger har du fatt fra arbeidsplassen du har vart pa? Foler du at din innsats for andre hadde betydning? Hvordan fungerte samarbeidet mellom dere som var pa samme plass? Ble alle inkludert? Er det lurt a ga mange sammen ( f.eks pa helsetunet, eller kan det vare lurt a spre seg litt, f.eks to og to sammen?) Har du lyst til a fortsette med det samme eller vil du velge noe annet, i tilfelle hva? Har du ellers noen tanker/tilbakemeldinger om faget Innsats for andre? I de to ukene for framforing er det lurt a ta bilder og snakke med/intervjue folk der du er (ansatte eller andre). Var obs og noter ned etter hvert. Lykke til Marit og May Elin

Importance of continual self

Importance of continual self Continual self-development is important in achieving organisational objectives. Individuals must develop their behavioural principles in relation to understanding of the organisational goals.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Importance of continual self-development in achieving organisational objectives specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, in order to ensure validity of ones knowledge and organisational objectives, people must always engage in continual self-development in order to understand organisational objectives and principles the organisation upholds (Whetten and Kim, 2011). Past studies have demonstrated that skilful management of people in competent areas is the main determinant of organisational success. These studies confirm the fact that any organisation that wants to succeed must have competent and skilful managers. Continual self-development makes individuals aware of their current level of skill competency and motivated to seek improvement in order to increase achievement of organisational objectives. Continual self-development enables individuals to receive feedback about their level of skills and competency. Some organisations do not provide feedback to the employees. Thus, continual self-development is the best method for individuals to get feedback. Organisations may also give assessments with limited scope and may also leave out most critical skill areas. Continual self-development helps individuals know what skills to improve so as to achieve an organisations objectives. It also gives people opportunities to embrace changes in developing and implementing new behaviours. Self-development also highlights ones strength and weaknesses in relationship to organisations objectives. Consequently, knowing where to improve becomes easy in enhancing self-development. Continual self-development enables individuals to apply their wealth of knowledge from trainings to real world s ituations where defined organisational objectives are the key indicators of achievements. Therefore, such experiences and knowledge enable people offer adjustments with regard to organisational objectives and changing times.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Assessment of current skills and competences against defined role requirements and organisational objectives Current skills and competence Defined roles and organisational objectives Verbal communication and listening Increase both customer and subordinates services and experiences through effective communication, and listening Managing time and stress Meet tasks deadlines and avoid backlog and related stress Recognizing, defining, and solving problems Identify problems, gather information and offer immediate solution Managing conflict Use different approaches in conflict management to resolve persona l conflicts and group conflicts Team building Enhance team work through participations Delegating Give power and tasks to subordinates Motivating and influencing others Increase job performance, influence, and motivate the subordinates Identification of development opportunities to current and future defined needs The current and future development opportunities are mainly skills a manager needs to move up in management opportunities available in an organisation. These skills include working well with others and presenting good image of the firm. At the same time, knowledge and technical competence the job may require, and promoting team works, conflict management and resolution. Development opportunities may also include knowledge of the firm’s business, reporting and knowledge of accounting for non-accountant managers (Tichy, 1999). Construction of personal development plan A manager personal development consists of career aspirations, financial achievements, socia l growth, and personal growth. These ideals should also reflect the values and beliefs, and aspirations of an individual. These plans must also be measurable with both short-term and long-term goals. A simple template will look like this (American Management Association, 2000). Goals Year One Year Two Year 4 Career and professional growth Attend seminars and trainings for professional growth Advance education qualification Seek for high management position/promotion Social achievements Create a circle of friends at the workplace and outside Enhance social involvements with the top management Personal Always take interest in family affairs Dedicate times for leisure and family, and spiritual and emotional growth Planning for resources required for personal professional development Identification of resources required to support the personal development plan Resources which an individual may need to support his or her personal development may include financial resources, training and training materials and realistic, time schedules. Likewise, there should also be adequate provision of information. Organisations must empower people by providing the resources needed in order to enhance individuals’ development plans. Development in others will enable them accomplish their tasks and meet both the personal and organisational objectives (Allan and Waclawski, 1999). Organisations attempting to enhance other people’s empowerment by providing them with needed resources will ensure that they receive adequate and ongoing training, and development experiences. Organisations must also provide sufficient technical and administrative support to ensure success. Organisations will give their people space, time, or equipment that may not be readily available otherwise.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Importance of continual self-development in achieving organisational objectives specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/pag e Learn More They will ensure that these people have access to communication or interpersonal networks that will make their jobs easier. Individuals can also be given discretion to spend money or commit resources to activities that they consider necessary (Berscheid and Walster, 1978). Development of a business case to secure the resources to support the personal development plan Organisational Information Resources Management (OIRM): The OIRM is a business-based IT business case developed to address some of the business needs, such as support working of the managers, support strategic business objectives of organisation departments, and provide a common vision of the planning, staffing, acquisition, management and shared use of IT throughout the organisation. This business case requires â€Å"organisation’s resources such as time, knowledge, financial resources, training and implementation† into the organisational IT system to support personal developm ent plan (Huselid, 1995). Implementation and evaluation of personal development plan Discussion of the processes required to implement a personal development plan Implementing a personal development plan requires concrete experience. This process involves listening, feelings, and weighing options. It enables a person to feel connected to his or her personal development goals and grade them in terms of importance (Cameron and Quinn, 2006). Implementation of personal development plan also involves a process of reflective observation. In this process, the individual thoroughly thinks about the content of his or her personal development plan. At this stage, the person may change or remove some of the unrealistic objectives in the plan. Implementation of personal development plan also involves abstract conceptualisation of ideas. At this level, a person forms concepts and generalise them in order to create concrete ideas (Goleman, 1998). Once an individual has evaluated the above process , he or she starts an active experimentation of the development plan. This involves putting new concepts into practice in order to determine their suitability, success and consequences on ones development plan (Boyatzis, 1982).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Evaluation of the personal development plan on the achievement of defined role requirements and organisational objectives According to Kolb (1984), evaluation is an essential process in the implementation of one’s personal development plan (Kolb, 1984). This is because it enables an individual determines the level of achievement with regard to personal objectives and determine their overall consequences in personal growth and knowledge of the job. Personal growth is an ongoing process. Thus, the person must increase in all areas regardless of excellence achievement. On verbal communication and listening, a person may have a high rating towards achieving excellence customers’ experience and services, but these activities are continuous and customers are different. Therefore, an individual must constantly improve on new ways of meeting new challenges (Rogers, 1962). Managing time and stress can sometimes be among the most difficult aspects of personal development and org anisational objectives to achieve. This is because time is scarce and may result into a backlog of work. Consequently, a person may experience stress as a result of time. Therefore, keeping constant track of available time and work is the best method to manage time and work related stress (Harris, 1981). Recognizing, defining, and solving problems are areas of fundamental concerns to individuals and organisation. Therefore, personal evaluation must pay close attention to issues, which a person may perceive and recognise as problems and then offer immediate solutions. However, this is usually difficult because some problems take time to mature. Therefore, immediate solutions may not be possible in such circumstances (Moore, 1987). Managing conflict is mandatory for any person and organisation. Evaluation reveals that conflict present itself in many forms. In this regard, the person must be able to apply their theoretical knowledge in determining the best approach in handling emergent forms conflicts (Sternberg, 1996). Team building process involves other members of the organisation. Organisations which succeed rely on team work of its members. Therefore, any manager who wants to increase his or her chances of promotion in the organisational ladder must embrace team work among the organisation’s workforce (Watson, 2000). Review and update of personal development plan A personal should strive to improve in all areas of personal development plan particularly in serious cases of major weaknesses. An individual has noted his or her weakness in areas of managing time and stress, conflict management and some aspects of communication. The person should study hard in order to and pay attention to details in order to grow such knowledge within a short-term period (Bell, 1998). During learning processes, an individual is likely to improve in knowledge-based theoretical models of handling organisational conflicts, challenges, and gain a high qualification needed for achieving personal goals and organisational objectives. If the person faces problems in cases where solutions are hardly available, then in he or she must engage in a wide consultation in order to formulate a solution to such problems (Cox and Beal, 1997). Supporting and promoting staff welfare Discussion of relationship between staff welfare and organisational objectives Barney and Griffin note organizational goals have four main functions (Barney and Griffin, 1992). They offer guidance and direction, enhance planning, motivate and encourage employees, and help organizations evaluate and monitor performance. Organizational defined objectives direct staff of the organisational goals and staff welfare and how it intends to achieve them. When employees require making difficult choices regarding their welfare, they may refer to the organizations defined objectives for direction. Objectives enhance planning to determine how organisation can achieve in staff welfare issues. Workers ofte n set goals so as to determine their needs; thus, organisational defined objectives can motivate and enhance performance of workers, and by extension staff welfare. Evaluations and monitors of staff welfare give an organisation a chance to compare its actual performance to its goals and staff welfare and then it improves in poor areas. Explanation of the process for assessing staff welfare An individual may assess the staff welfare using factors such as health, safety and general conditions of working environment. There are also other social issues that we can use to assess staff welfare. These include age discrimination and retirement age, pregnancy in the workplace, childcare and careers, bullying and harassment, violence against workers, domestic abuse, diabetes, obesity, alcohol and drug use, smoking, counselling, volunteers and volunteering, and improving working lives of staff. Identification of action taken by the manager in dealing with a staff welfare issue In cases of hand ling a staff welfare issue especially a problem with behaviour, we can use different approaches. We can monitor and record an individuals unusual behaviour that is disturbing. This focuses on cases of defensive staff. Then, ask the staff if he or she has an issue of importance that he or she wants to discuss. Listen to what the employee has to say (Lawler, 1992). Once we call the staff, we must inform him or her about the meeting issue. An employee that is defensive should provide additional information regarding the unusual behaviour. Conversely, if employee admits challenging behaviour, then we can ask employee what he or she can do about the problem. In this process, we must help such staff come up with their own suitable solutions (Bass, 1990). Regardless of the results of the meeting, a follow up of the case is necessary. This enable us understand the issue and see clarity. We should let the employees solve their own issues. However, an employee should always acknowledge a prob lem. As managers, we must demonstrate to the employees that we support to them. Description of how to communicate responsibilities for staff welfare to the team Communicating staff welfare to team is necessary. However, we must have effective communication methods in order to impact the team. Occasionally, issues of staff welfare are controversial as they contain both positive and negative issues. We must show responsibility for staff welfare through informing them about the positive aspects of the welfare. This may relate to safety, health, and working environment issues. On the other hand, we should also not ignore issues touching on abnormal behaviours and poor performance. We should always encourage suggestions and feedbacks from the employees. Discussion of records that may be maintained to demonstrate support of staff welfare There are certain staff records which organisation must keep for staff welfare issues. Organisation must keep records concerning employees pay rates and pay roll. These records show that the organisation complies with the statutory requirements with regard to staff welfare in terms of minimum wage and welfare deductions. The organisation should also keep records related to staff health and safety requirements, injuries, and accidents. Working hours and overtime records are also necessary for management. Organisations can use these records to identify workers who are working overtime; thus putting their work-life balances, or health at risks. Therefore, such records are useful in limiting the working hours a given employee can work each day. Organisations must also keep every worker records. These records include training and appraisal. Managers can determine training needs of an individual by using his or her training and appraisal scores. Such scores identify areas of weaknesses and strengths. Staff welfare records should also show employment history including job titles and subsequent promotions. Staff welfare should also cover ge neral terms and conditions of an employee’s status. Other staff details which organisations should include in staff, welfare records include sickness, absenteeism, lateness, and any other non-permitted absence. Personal details are also mandatory parts of welfare of every employee. In general circumstances, organisation should also keep records related to meetings with employees’ representatives about their welfare and grievances, disciplinary action against any employee, negotiations of staff demands, and any other collective or individual agreements with the employees. The law also requires organisations to keep such data. However, staff welfare details and related information can benefit any organisation in many ways. First, management can link human resources with the output, services, and production needs. Second, it is easy to defend any claims in case of a dispute between the organisation and employees. Third, records related to performance of every employee mak e it easy to evaluate performance and output of every worker. Records also provide ground for fair treatment of potential job seekers and employees. Staff welfare also takes into account the number of staff available for a given job. Therefore, management relies on such records in assessing the needs for recruitment and replacement of redundant workers (Rigby, 1998). Reflective Statement This course has satisfied my expectations and provided me with valuable knowledge in conducting management practices to address the various challenges of the global workplaces. International issues and applications of various theories and practices to support different behaviour of diverse workers help students to understand the behaviour of employees and working environment toward certain policies and practises at workplace. At the same time, the fundamental lessons the course objectives has provided regarding personal and professional development in line with the defined organisational objectives form a basis for understanding cross-cultural markets in the global context. Self-assessment gives every employee a chance for self-development and career focus. The course theoretical background provides valuable knowledge in how to apply such theories in a real organisational setting in a practical manner. Likewise, the research expertise the students gain will enable students to apply it in a real world where such knowledge is useful in solving future emerging trends in personal and human resources management. Group dynamics in a form of discussions about the course facilitated the group collaboration during the learning of this course. The students were able to interact freely and share their prior knowledge regarding the course. It enhanced a positive learning environment among learners of a different social and cultural background. It also increased individuals’ participation in group works. The group discussions helped students address some of the practical challenges in the course materials. It is the best model that facilitated learner and learner interaction. Students were able to develop and critique different texts on human resources, career growth and personal development and come up with conclusive results. The course also presented valuable opportunities for peer interactions, evaluation and intercultural learning. Peer interactions improved students motivation, course and intellectual development and communication skills. Most principles of learning identify interaction as among the most essential in undergraduate studies. This resulted into development of cooperation, active learning, and instant course feedback from the faculty. Reference List Allan, H and Waclawski, J 1999, ‘Influence behaviors and managerial effectiveness in lateral relations’, Human Resource Development Quarterly, vol. 10, pp.3–34. American Management Association 2000, ‘Managerial skills and competence’, National survey by AMA, March –April 2000, vol.1 no. 1, pp. 1-50. Barney, J and Griffin, R1992, The management of organizations: Strategy, structure, behavior, Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Bass, B 1990, Handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications, 3rd ed, Macmillan, New York. Bell, C 1998, Managers as mentors, Barrett-Koehler, San Francisco. Berscheid, E and Walster, H 1978, Interpersonal attraction, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. Boyatzis, R 1982, The competent manager: A model for effective performance, Wiley, New York. Cameron, K and Quinn, R 2006, Diagnosing and changing organizational culture, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Cox, T and Beal, R 1997, Developing competency to manage diversity, Barrett-Koehler, San Francisco. Goleman, D 1998, ‘What makes a leader?’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 76, pp. 92–102. Harris, S 1981, Know yourself? It’s a paradox, Associated Press, New York. Huselid, M 1995, ‘The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance’, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 38, pp. 647-659. Kolb, D 1984, Experiential Learning: Experience As The Source Of Learning And Development, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Lawler, E 1992, Employee involvement and total quality management, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Moore, T 1987, ‘Personality tests are back’, Fortune, vol. 1, pp. 74–82. Rigby, D 1998, Management tools and techniques, Bain and Company, Boston. Rogers, C 1962, On becoming a person, Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Sternberg, R 1996, Successful intelligence, Simon Schuster. New York. Tichy, N 1999, The leadership engine, Harper Business. New York. Watson, D 2000, Mood and temperament, Guilford. New York. Whetten, D and Kim C 2011, Developing management skills, 8th ed. Pearson Education, Inc, New Jersey.

Intro to Creating Realistic Photo Textures in Games

Intro to Creating Realistic Photo Textures in Games One of the major challenges of current and next-generation game development is the creation of the massive number of art resources required to create an immersive game world. Character, environment, and other supporting models must be created, and levels must be shelled out and populated with those models. But while you may have a functionally-playable game at that point (with the addition of a tremendous amount of other programming and resource work), you are lacking color, depth, and physical texture in your world. Taking a game from a gray box prototype to a completed game, suitable for public viewing, requires a lot of work for artists to create textures and materials to give the game the feeling of being in the world youve created. Weve touched on this briefly in previous tutorials: The basic concepts of UV mappingApplying and painting textures for a modelManually editing UV map coordinatesCylindrical maps and dealing with seamsIntermediate-level UV mapping techniques In those exercises, we used simple example maps that were hand-painted, but not designed for production work, nor realism. In this series, were going to show you how to make realistic photo textures for your own games, and do so on a reasonable budget. The results you can achieve with a small amount of work may surprise you. Lets get started. There are three primary ways to create photorealistic textures for games. Photo reference/Hand painting. These are the original two techniques for creating game textures. This is the simple process of creating a bitmapped image for use in a game, whether created completely from scratch using a paint application, or converting a photo into a game-ready format. (Both of these techniques are not necessarily simple in actual practice, as youll see later in this article.) This can be very quick, or moderately time-consuming, depending on what sort of results you desire, and how much work youre willing to put in.Procedurally-created. This method relies on algorithms and pre-defined inputs (either photo or completely synthetic) to create tileable/seamless pattern materials. Tiled materials allow you to use a single, highly-detailed texture to apply to a large surface in the game world, and have it repeat along the entire object, without obvious seams where one instance ends and the next begins. This is potentially the most efficient way to create good materials f or your game, however, most procedurally-created materials are quite clearly computer-generated-although the algorithms are improving all the time. Used wisely, however, they can be a tremendous time-saver for areas of your game which dont need to stand up to close scrutiny. High-poly to low-poly model and texture conversion. This is the most labor-intensive of the three options. This is frequently used for high-detail character models, or environment art that will be seen at close range (for example, walls that the character shelters behind in a first-person shooter). To perform this technique, an artist creates an extremely-high polygon model, far greater than the game engine is capable of handling in realtime, and then uses software techniques to bake textures onto a lower-polygon version of the same model. This transfers the surface detail from three-dimensional polygon data into a painted texture on the lower-poly model. This may include normal, bump, displacement, specular highlight, ambient occlusion, and other map types to further create the illusion that the low-poly model has more detail than it does in reality. As you can imagine, the labor required to perform this process is extremely time and cost-prohibitive. The results can be spectacular, but you need to carefully assess whether this is necessary for your project. Most AAA games that are currently on the market for consoles use a combination of all three of these methods. You need to determine what is best suited for your project. If you are creating a more stylized game, hand-painted textures may be the way to go. If youre making a military first-person shooter, you are likely to use a lot of photo-based textures and high-poly models converted down with normal maps for maximum scene detail.

Dance and Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Dance and Identity - Essay Example This essay focuses on discussing dance as a form of performing art where your body posture plays a really crucial role because this performing art needs to have amazing elegance and grace in your body. The performer expresses him or her through the medium of his own body. According to the theory of performativity, gender should not be considered as a noun that acts but it is always a doing. This statement is very true in the context of dance or any other performing art where the actor is a performer in spite of his gender identity. The researcher uses Kathak dance to provide an example for better understanding of the issue. Kathak is one of the oldest classical dance forms which originated in North India. Dance is performed by both male and female. The masculine dance is always vigorous and aggressive while the feminine dance form is very delicate and more graceful. Basically in Kathak, the artist has to have the knowledge of both of these patterns. To conclude, the researcher states that sex has been an obligatory injunction for the body to become a cultural sign. Since ancient time dance has many stereotypical approaches in all around the world. Basically dance is an elegant art which needs to be enjoyed by an artistic vision. Objective should be taken into consideration while assessing the dance performance and not the gender identity of the artist. Gender issue should not be included and this art should not be kept constrained in the certain framework of gender identity.

Contruction & analysis Exercises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Contruction & analysis Exercises - Essay Example The curtains flapped about in the draught caused by a carelessly half-closed window. And on the floor, to the left of the chairs lay Jerry Pinto, very, very quiet.in fact, very, very dead Mary Pinto entered the room. She had a tranquil air about her; her skin looked translucent, her mouth was soft, and her eyes large and dark, giving her an appealing wide-eyed look. She was six months into her pregnancy-a fact barely discernible on her slight figure. Mary deposited her shopping bag on the sideboard next to the half empty glasses, humming a tune, and smiling to herself. "Jerry, how are you, darling" she said with genuine affection, in the direction of where she expected him to be sitting Not hearing his reply she turned around, and stood stupefied for a momentonly for a momentthen she ran to where he lay fallen on the floor. She seemed somehow to understand, as soon as she saw him, that he was dead. Perhaps it was the way he lay. In that strange and stiff fashion She ran over to him and sat down by his side, gently lifting up his head, cradling it in her lap. The sobs came hesitant and rasping at first, but louder and more abandoned as the moments passed. She must have sat thus, for what seemed like an age to her. But it must have been no more than five minutes Mary suddenly stopped crying, and wiped her eyes. ... The voice at the other end was familiar " Quick! Come quick! I think Jerry's dead!" said Mary into the receiver " Mrs. Pinto yes Mrs. Mary Pinto here. I think so. He's lying on the floor, and I think he's dead" she said, as her voice caught on another sob. The call over, she busied herself in the room, moving here and there, straightening up the furniture, trying not to look where it layItHe was it now. No longer Jerry. Before long, Mary heard the sound of a car. Even before the knock, she was at the door to open it. Two plains clothes men stood there. She knew them wellthey were Jerry's colleagues after all. On seeing them, Mary suddenly felt the tears start again. James Hendricks, the young officer who had joined the force only recently was plainly moved. He helped Mary gently to a chair. Aneez Afzal, the other cop, a veteran, kept his face expressionless. But as he moved towards Jerry, it crumbled for a moment in an expression of grief and despair. Jerry was his colleague and friend, and they'd been working together for the last five years "Is he dead " Mary managed to ask. "I'm afraid so", replied Afzal. "Tell us what happened, Mrs. Pinto. Where were you, and how long back did this happen" "You know, how punctual Jerry is", said Mary. "He had just returned from the police station by 5.30, as usual. I was sitting here with my sewingI hadn't cooked any dinner today. You know, every Wednesday we go out for dinner. But Jerry was so tired"Her breath caught on a sob again, and she took some time to compose herself. "I thought it better to have dinner at home. I put a leg of lamb in the oven, and nipped across to Vipul's, you know, Vipul's the Indian store down the road I didn't have any vegetables at home. I left Jerry to unwind over a drink. I was hardly away

Theories on Conflict

Theories on Conflict Introduction Conflicts today abound which demand explanation. Understanding the roots of conflict is especially true now given the rise of populism which catapulted controversial leaders like President Donald Trump of the United States and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, each of their own right riding onto the wave of either anti-immigration or anti-crime sentiment. Trump has sparked numerous protests due to his contentious Muslim travel ban (Thrush, 2017) while Duterte has earned international condemnation for the spate of extrajudicial killings arising from his all-out war on drugs and criminality (Al Jazeera, 2017). Each of these leaders claim to be resolving root causes of conflict in their respective countries Trump, restricting immigration in order to address the imminent security threat that the liberal immigration policies of erstwhile US administrations have posed, while Duterte, clamping down on the drug trade which he considers to be a top cause of underdevelopment and n ational degeneration. The theories on conflict discussed and learned over the course of three weeks helped me frame a deeper understanding as to why both Trump and Dutertes analysis may be critically attacked and in what instances, they are either correct or fall short. A school of theories under the systems theory consider how the roots of violence are all interconnected and are products of social, political and economic interactions. New emerging theories such as the human needs theory consider the deprivation of basic human needs to be a direct cause of conflict and suggest that addressing the same would eradicate conflict. Lastly, various social theories from Karl Marx to Franz Fanon provide me with lenses to be used in studying social disruption for these theories really enunciate what causes societal fractures and what can be done about it. This paper is a critical reflection of the following body of conflicts theories. Discussion of Conflict and Social Theories Systems Theory Simply stated, the systems theory considers conflict to be the whole of many problematic parts of society which are inextricably linked. Conflict therefore arises not due to individual or micro-level differences and contradictions but of a general system. Systems theories seek to understand conflict by looking at how several elements located in a social system interact with one another. Violence, according to systems theorists, should be viewed from the level of (1) individuals (2) dyads; (3) subsystems (family, community, religious groups and general society). Subsystems are organized in a manner which could either encourage or deter or regulate violence. Direct efforts at changing elements of the system will not prosper since the system will immediately provide a replacement for the missing element. Hence, ending violence, which is a systematic problem requires a coordinated and comprehensive approach. The general systems theory is useful in uncovering relationships and interaction s which contribute to violence from different levels. However, its weakness lies in the fact that it is a value-free theory which requires theoretical directions. Structural violence Structural violence, according to John Galtung, pertains to a form of violence arising from a social structure or institution which harms people by deliberately depriving them of capacity to satisfy their immediate human needs. This kind of violence does not take a physical form or image but consists of avoidable impairment of fundamental human needs (Galtung,ÂÂ   1969, p. 32). The notion of structural violence impels one to look for inequalities within social structures may it be inequalities in wealth, power, privilege, access and opportunity which breed injustice. In the same light, structural violence also compels one to look at the connections between what might be falsely considered as mutually exclusive worlds. In essence, the theory of structural violence as a way of addressing conflict encourages people to proceed with moral outrage and critical participation where previously our reflexive response would be passive acceptance of these inequalities. Institutionalized ra cism, classism and sexism are forms of structural violence which are usually considered as inherent characteristics of society. Galtung however encourages to look beyond these inequalities and to find connections in order to dismantle structures which permit these injustices. In my view, structural violence is a timely method of deconstructing conflict in todays world. For instance, the notion of viewing refugees as a potential source of conflict is a worldview tacitly accepted in global policy. Acceptance of refugees is viewed to potentially open the floodgates for terrorism, crime, and other degenerate activities that threaten national security. However, when viewed from perspective of structural violence, we can proceed to view the refugee crisis more critically and conclude that instead of treating refugees as potential threats, they should instead be viewed as people who deserve to be treated with dignity. Relative Deprivation Theory This theory assumes that social conflict arises due to peoples perceptions of inequality. When people perceive that there exists a disparity from what they deserve to enjoy from what they currently enjoy, they became discontented with their situation (Walker Pettigrew, 1984). The relative deprivation theory hypothesizes that conflict arises when the gap between two groups within a particular population is too wide, the possibility of rebellion becomes more likely. The assumption is that people are bound to perceive that they enjoy certain entitlements from society and when they are deprived of this while a number of other people belonging to the same population enjoy the same, dissent comes into being. Relative deprivation theory focuses on value expectations which need to be met within a certain society. Thus, when a society has a relatively high rate of economic inequality, the more likely it is that people will rebel. While the origin of the deprivation is economic, a state of po verty does not necessarily translate to violence. However, when individual expectations of poor people become transformed as a group identity, they become a political force that will not hesitate to use violence in order to combat their perceived discrimination. In other words, relative deprivation theory considers that violence stems from a persons judgment of his or her economic circumstances in the community. To a certain extent, an individuals subjective evaluation of his or her community status is essential to their conduct. Theory of cooperation The theory of cooperation proceeds from the notion that conflicts are generally characterized by cooperation and cooperation as twin motives. Deutsch (1949, 1985) formulated this theory in order to comprehend the conflict process better and how to come up with more effective conflict resolution methods. Deutschs primary thesis is that in order to resolve conflict, it is a key step to understand the nature of interdependence of both parties in conflict. Interdependence could be negative or positive. When the goals of both parties are negatively interdependent, a partys success automatically means the others failure. Upon the other hand, when the goals of both parties are positively interdependent, one partys success is correlated with the other partys success while one partys failure is also correlated with the other party failure. In the latter form of interdependence, cooperative relationships can be had in order to secure a win-win outcome for both parties to a conflict. Cooperative relationships are considered to demonstrate several positive features such as effective communication, openness, a friendly atmosphere and commitment to mutuality. In contrast, competitive relationships bring about the opposite results such as closed communication, lack of coordinated activities, an atmosphere of suspicion and a sense of domination. Based on Deutschs research, constructive conflict resolution is more linked to cooperative processes rather than competitive processes which he considered destructive. In order to foster cooperative relationships towards constructive conflict resolution, Deutsch likened it to friendly social relations. This is marked by empowering gestures and a reframing of attitudes. Thus, he recommends that both parties agree to commit to adherence to norms in the conduct of talks and negotiations. Among these norms include respect, honesty, responsiveness, forgiveness, and acknowledgment of responsibility. These values, due to their universal value and acceptance, can pose as common grounds for both parties to stand on. Emerging Conflict Theories: Human Needs Theory An emerging trend in conflict theory shifts the focus from the political economy to basic human needs. This perspective is anchored on the fact that human beings need to acquire essentials in order to live with dignity. Human needs theorists place the cause of conflict to unmet human needs. In this light, they argue that violence happens when certain groups or individuals are deprived of basic human needs (Burton, 1979). Theorists however have disagreed on what human needs means. In Burtons (1979) view, human needs that need to be addressed in the context of conflict go beyond the basic biological or subsistence needs. Instead, unmet needs related to social conflict include identifiy, recognition, security and development. As Burtons human needs theory progressed, he highlighted how existing state systems have miserably failed to provide a sense of identity thereby fueling ethno-linguistic separatist movements. If certain ethnic groups are deprived of their freedom to express their own national identities within the status quo, they will tend to establish parallel revolutionary systems in order to achieve the same. Burton provides as concrete examples the ethnic nationalist struggle in Kosovo in 1989 as well as various gang subcultures. Burton opined that human need theory can help explain conflict and pave the way for better conflict resolution because Rubenstein (2010) considers the human needs theory as providing a better explanation to social conflict compared to theories which focus only on the errors of a few manipulative leaders or institutions, as embodied in Samuel Huntingtons clash of civilizations theory. Echoing Burtons view, Rubenstein views the human needs theory to provide the study of conflict with a more objective basis which goes beyond local or cultural differences. The needs-based approach to understanding social conflict defies traditional notions of conflict and instead uses unsatisfied human needs as the independent variable to explain why elite dominance or cultural differences lead to conflict. However, Park (2010) critiqued Burtons positivist framework of needs theory and encouraged a more critical definition of needs to mean that there are needs that do not directly bear upon material sustenance like recognition and freedom from coercion that must also not be obstructed lest there be undesirable consequences (p. 1). Park took issue with Burtons reliance on the biological explanation for Needs Theory to support protection of rights and universal freedoms. Instead, she advocates for a psychoanalytic view to suggest that not needs are not universal. According to her, needs are essentially socially constructed. The needs which people pursue are socially engineered and they may even pursue false pleasures. In sum, Park considers with caution the use of the black box that is human needs. The definition of human needs is not simple but very complex and difficult to understand. Conflict from the Lens of Social Theory Equally relevant to the study of conflict is the development of social theory arising from social disruption. In Charles Lemerts (2016) book, multiple social theorists and their viewpoints on conflict are critically discussed. From the classical Great White Men theories arose alternative views on social relationships and social conflict which can be applied to the contemporary context. Among the most notable of these social theorists include of course, Karl Marx, publicly voted as the worlds greatest philosopher (BBC News, 2015). Marx wrote Das Kapital as well as the Manifesto together with Friedrich Engels at a time of extreme economic discontent. Marx focused on his critique of political economy which obscures the internal relationships of labor and capital and discussed a pivotal feature which is the workers alienation and estrangement. What is the most striking and palpable among these types of alienation is what fuels labor unrest: that of labor commodification and the reduction of the worker to a mere object. Simply stated, the more a worker produces out of his labour power, the cheaper he or she becomes as a commodity. Because the worker is paid at a fixed rate, more and more profit is being gained by the capitalist due to his work but unfortunately the worker does not earn additional wages for it. Marxist thought has gained traction especially with the cris is of global capitalism, environmental destruction, and global poverty. Until, his theory of class as the root cause of contradiction in society remains very relevant. However, many theorists developed a more expansive construction of his view on social classes. Max Weber, another classical theorist, came up with an alternative approach to the study of classes. For Marx, ones class is defined and determined by ones ownership of the means of production. Thus, Marx considered historical class antagonisms and identified these two groups in contemporary capitalist society as the proletariat and bourgeoisie. The contradictory relationship that the classes have pushes social development forward. Weber considers social groups and classes as determined through the distribution of power. Social stratification then, occurs through overlapping means and not only through economic differentiation. Other social theorists also focus on micro-level analysis to understand conflict. Sigmund Freud uses psychoanalytic theory to understand inner conflict among human beings. Freuds treatise laid down the anatomy of the self as made up of the interaction between three components dynamically interacting: the id, ego, and superego. All of these components of the self develop with socialization hence constructing the social self. Biology interacting with socialization shapes a human beings personality. When one of the three elements is allowed to dominate the other two, social problems may arise. Also developing Marxs theory of alienation, Horkheimer and Adorno criticized the use of cultural goods in order to project false consciousness. Cultural goods are appropriated into transforming humans as passive and docile objects of a system which was actually oppressing them. Aside from creating a false consciousness, they also suggested that popular culture is geared at creating false needs in order to engineer human beings into consuming in a massive scale. This cultural appropriation in turn heightens humans alienation and creates possible sources of conflict. The readings also tell us that social theories do not stay static. Even among key capitalist thinkers, there have been different approaches to address economic problems. For instance, John Maynard Keynes challenged the neoclassical economic paradigm advanced by Adam Smith and disciples which advocated for minimal to no government interference in favor of full-out control of the invisible hand of the market to attain equilibrium.ÂÂ   Instead, Keynes suggested implementing government regulation and intervention in order to arrest the economic recession. Social theories also help us understand racial conflict. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for an end to racial discrimination which he considered a ghastly reality America must face as a nation. In describing the horrendous social conditions which African Americans and other colored peoples are subjected to, King claimed that America had manacles of segregation and chains of discrimination which breed chronic poverty and injustice for certain segments of the population. Franz Fanon provides a stirring account of decolonization as a form of liberation. His work remains relevant especially in light of the fact that many of todays underdeveloped countries are former colonies of imperialist nations which have not completely been unshackled from their former masters economically, politically and culturally. It is only through liberation, which is necessarily violent that the colonized thing becomes fully a man. C. Wright Mills teaches the student to develop the sociological imagination which is a way of looking at themselves as the result of both biology and history and in always looking at the world through fresh eyes. One is challenged to go beyond looking at ones self as well and instead consider ones development as product of several processes occurring within a system. Conclusion Given the reality of global conflict today, conflict theories and social theories enable one to look at the phenomenon with renewed understanding and critical outlook. There are classical and alternative approaches of looking at conflict and conflict resolution processes. There are also classical and alternative ways of interpreting social conflict throughout history. Having a steady grasp of these theories assist the student thoroughly by providing him with several lenses to look at the problem and identify solutions. References Al Jazeera (2017). Thousands march against Dutertes war on drugs. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/thousands-march-duterte-war-drugs-170218034827033.html Deutsch, M. (1985). Distributive justice: A social psychological perspective. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Galtung, J. (1969). Violence, Peace, and Peace Research. Journal of Peace Research, 6 (3), 167-191. Lemert, C. (2016). Social Theory: The Multicultural, Global and Classic Readings (6th ed.) Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Park, L. (2010). Opening the black box: reconsidering needs theory through psychoanalysis and critical theory. International Journal of Peace Studies. Retrieved from https://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/ijps/vol15_1/PARK15n1-IJPS.pdf Rubenstein, R. E. (2010). Basic Human Needs: The Next Steps in Theory Development. The International Journal of Peace Studies, 6 (1), 51-58. Thrush, G. (2017). Trumps travel ban blocks migrant from six nations, sparing Iraq. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/travel-ban-muslim-trump.html?_r=0Deutsch, M. (1949). A theory of cooperation and competition. Human Relations, 2, 129-151.

Performance management or performance evaluation Essay

The basic aim of performance management is to create an environment for the employees where they can work at their best. It begins when a particular job is defined whereas it ends when the employee quits from the organization and performance management basically serves as a replacement of the traditional appraisal system. There are certain advantages of performance management and the most important one is the goal of developing clear job descriptions for the employees that can be easily comprehended by them. The second advantage is that it helps the employer to hire the best candidates for the job that suits them and at the same time, performance management helps them to negotiate with the employees on various issues. When the employee is finally hired, he can be provided with necessary training followed by the feedback of the coach that enable organization to develop sessions in which issues regarding performance development can be discussed and according to the results of the performance of the employees, the remuneration package can be designed. Moreover, performance management also provides various career opportunities for the employees and can also provide assistance when conducting exit interviews to know why the employees choose to leave the organization. The concept of annual performance is a bit different from that of performance management. When managing other people, the manager has to conduct performance appraisals in order to know how the employees are performing and this can help motivate the employees to work well in future. Annual performance is basically done to evaluate the performance of the employee and to know how well they have worked throughout the year and the contributions that they have made for the progress of the organization. It not only helps in the development of the staff but it also improves the communication between the staff and the managers, however annual performance has some disadvantages as well. When conducting performance appraisals, employees might ask for feedbacks from their friends in the organization who are more likely to give positive feedbacks and may avoid any negative comments of the employee. Moreover, when conducting appraisals the companies often send evaluations to the raters without telling them how to accurately do the appraisal and without advance notice. (Leat, 2001). Reference Leat,M. (2001). Exploring Employee Relations. Butterworth-Heinemann.