10 Major Agricultural Problems Of India Essay Example for Free

10 Major Agricultural Problems Of India Essay Some of the major problems and their possible solutions have been discussed as follows. Indian agriculture is plagued by several problems; some of them are natural and some others are manmade. 1. Small and fragmented land-holdings: The seemingly abundance of net sown area of 141.2 million hectares and total cropped area of 189.7 million hectares (1999-2000) pales into insignificance when we see that it is divided into economically unviable small and scattered holdings. The average size of holdings was 2.28 hectares in 1970-71 which was reduced to 1. 82 hectares in 1980-81 and 1.50 hectares in 1995-96. The size of the holdings will further decrease with the infinite Sub-division of the land holdings. See more: Sleep Deprivation Problem Solution Speech Essay The problem of small and fragmented holdings is more serious in densely populated and intensively cultivated states like Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar  and eastern part of Uttar Pradesh where the average size of land holdings is less than one hectare and in certain parts it is less than even 0.5 hectare. Rajasthan with vast sandy stretches and Nagaland with the prevailing ‘Jhoom’ (shifting agriculture) have larger average sized holdings of 4 and 7.15 hectares respectively. States having high percentage of net sown area like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have holding size above the national average. Further it is shocking to note that a large proportion of 59 per cent holdings in 1990- 91 were marginal (below 1 hectare) accounting for 14.9 per cent of the total operated area. Another 19 per cent were small holdings (1-2 hectare) taking up 17.3 per cent of the total operated area. Large holdings (above 10 hectare) accounted for only 1.6 per cent of total holdings but covered 17.4 per cent of the operated area (Table 22.1). Hence, there is a wide gap between small farmers, medium farmers (peasant group) and big farmers (landlords). The main reason for this sad state of affairs is our inheritance laws. The land belonging to the father is equally distributed among his sons. This distribution of land does not entail a collection or consolidated one, but its nature is fragmented. Different tracts have different levels of fertility and are to be distributed accordingly. If there are four tracts which are to be distributed between two sons, both the sons will get smaller plots of each land tract. In this way the holdings become smaller and more fragmented with each passing generation. Sub-division and fragmentation of the holdings is one of the main causes of our low agricultural productivity and backward state of our agriculture. 1/2/2015 7:58 PM 10 Major Agricultural Problems of India and their Possible Solutions 3 of 16 http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/agriculture/10-major-agricultural-pro A lot of time and labour is wasted in moving seeds, manure, implements and cattle from one piece of land to another.  Irrigation becomes difficult on such small and fragmented fields. Further, a lot of fertile agricultural land is wasted in providing boundaries. Under such circumstances, the farmer cannot concentrate on improvement. The only answer to this ticklish problem is the consolidation of holdings which means the reallocation of holdings which are fragmented, the creation of farms which comprise only one or a few parcels in place of multitude of patches formerly in the possession of each peasant. But unfortunately, this plan has not succeeded much. Although legislation for consolidation of holdings has been enacted by almost all the states, it has been implemented only in Punjab, Haryana and in some parts of Uttar Pradesh. Consolidation of about 45 million holdings has been done till 1990-91 in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. The other solution to this problem is cooperative farming in which the farmers pool their resources and share the profit. 2. Seeds: Seed is a critical and basic input for attaining higher crop yields and sustained growth in agricultural production. Distribution of assured quality seed is as critical as the production of such seeds. Unfortunately, good quality seeds are out of reach of the majority of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers mainly because of exorbitant prices of better seeds. In order to solve this problem, the Government of India established the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) in 1963 and the State Farmers Corporation of India (SFCI) in 1969. Thirteen State Seed Corporations (SSCs) were also established to augment the supply of improved seeds to the farmers.  High Yielding Variety Programme (HYVP) was launched in 1966-67 as a major thrust plan to increase the production of food grains in the country. The Indian seed industry had exhibited impressive growth in the past and is expected to provide further potential for growth in agricultural production: The role of seed industry is not only to produce adequate quantity of quality seeds but also to achieve varietal diversity to suit various agro-climatic zones of the country. The policy statements are designed towards making available to the Indian farmer, adequate quantities of seed of superior quality at the appropriate time and place and at an affordable price so as to meet the country’s food and nutritional security goals. Indian seeds programme largely adheres to limited generation system for seed multiplication. The system recognises three kinds of generation, namely breeder, foundation and certified seeds. Breeder seed is the basic seed and first stage in seed production. Foundation seed is the second stage in seed production chain and is the progeny of breeder seed. Certified seed is the ultimate stage in seed production chain and is the progeny of foundation seed. Production of breeder and foundation seeds and certified seeds distribution have gone up at an annual average rate of 3.4 per cent, 7.5 per  cent and 9.5 per cent respectively, between 2001-02 and 2005-06). 3. Manures, Fertilizers and Biocides: Indian soils have been used for growing crops over thousands of years  without caring much for replenishing. This has led to depletion and exhaustion of soils resulting in their low productivity. The average yields of almost all the crops are among t e lowest in the world. This is a serious problem which can be solved by using more manures and fertilizers. Manures and fertilizers play the same role in relation to soils as good food in relation to body. Just as a well-nourished body is capable of doing any good job, a well nourished soil is capable of giving good yields. It has been estimated that about 70 per cent of growth in agricultural production can be attributed to increased fertilizer application. Thus increase in the consumption of fertilizers is a barometer of agricultural prosperity. However, there are practical difficulties in providing sufficient manures and fertilizers in all parts of a country of India’s dimensions inhabited by poor peasants. Cow dung provides the best manure to the soils. But its use as such is limited because much of cow dung is used as kitchen fuel in the shape of dung cakes. Reduction in the supply of fire wood and increasing demand for fuel in the rural areas due to increase in population has further complicated the problem. Chemical fertilizers are costly and are often beyond the reach of the poor farmers. The fertilizer problem is, therefore, both acute and complex. It has been felt that organic manures are essential for keeping the soil in good health. The country has a potential of 650 million tonnes of rural and 160 lakh tonnes of urban compost which is not fully utilized at present. The utilization of this potential will solve the twin problem of disposal of waste and providing manure to the soil. The government has given high incentive especially in the form of heavy subsidy for using chemical fertilizers. There was practically no use of chemical fertilizers at the time of Independence As a result of initiative by  the government and due to change in the attitude of some progressive farmers, the consumption of fertilizers increased tremendously. In order to maintain the quality of the fertilizers, 52 fertilizer quality control laboratories have been set up in different parts of the country. In addition, there is one Central Fertilizer Quality Control and Training Institute at Faridabad with its three regional centres at Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Pests, germs and weeds cause heavy loss to crops which amounted to about one third of the total field produce at the time of Independence. Biocides (pesticides, herbicides and weedicides) are used to save the crops and to avoid losses. The increased use of these inputs has saved a lot of crops, especially the food crops from unnecessary wastage. But indiscriminate use of biocides has resulted in wide spread environmental pollution which takes its own toll. 4. Irrigation: Although India is the second largest irrigated country of the world after China, only one-third of the cropped area is under irrigation. Irrigation is the most important agricultural input in a tropical monsoon country like India where rainfall is uncertain, unreliable and erratic India cannot achieve sustained progress in agriculture unless and until more than half of the cropped area is brought under assured irrigation. This is testified by the success story of agricultural progress in Punjab Haryana and western part of Uttar Pradesh where over half of the cropped area is under irrigation! Large tracts still await irrigation to boost the agricultural output. However, care must be taken to safeguard against ill effects of over irrigation especially in areas irrigated by canals. Large tracts in Punjab  and Haryana have been rendered useless (areas affected by salinity, alkalinity and water-logging), due to faulty irrigation. In the Indira Gandhi Canal command area also intensive irrigation has led to sharp rise in sub-soil water level, leading to water-logging, soil salinity and alkalinity. 5. Lack of mechanisation: In spite of the large scale mechanisation of agriculture in some parts of the country, most of the agricultural operations in larger parts are carried on by human hand using simple and conventional tools and implements like wooden plough, sickle, etc. Little or no use of machines is made in ploughing, sowing, irrigating,  thinning and pruning, weeding, harvesting threshing and transporting the crops. This is specially the case with small and marginal farmers. It results in huge wastage of human labour and in low yields per capita labour force. There is urgent need to mechanise the agricultural operations so that wastage of labour force is avoided and farming is made convenient and efficient. Agricultural implements and machinery are a crucial input for efficient and timely agricultural operations, facilitating multiple cropping and thereby increasing production. Some progress has been made for mechanising agriculture in India after Independence. Need for mechanisation was specially felt with the advent of Green Revolution in 1960s. Strategies and programmes have been directed towards replacement of traditional and inefficient implements by improved ones, enabling the farmer to own tractors, power tillers, harvesters and other machines. A large industrial base for manufacturing of the agricultural machines has also been developed. Power availability for carrying out various  agricultural operations has been increased to reach a level of 14 kW per hectare in 2003-04 from only 0.3 kW per hectare in 1971-72. This increase was the result of increasing use of tractor, power tiller and combine harvesters, irrigation pumps and other power operated machines. The share of mechanical and electrical power has increased from 40 per cent in 1971 to 84 per cent in 2003-04. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest average sales of tractors during the five  year period ending 2003-04 and/West Bengal recorded the highest average sales of power tillers during the same period.  Strenuous efforts are being made to encourage the farmers to adopt technically advanced agricultural equipments in order to carry farm operations timely and precisely and to economise the agricultural production process. 6. Soil erosion: Large tracts of fertile land suffer from soil erosion by wind and water. This area must be properly treated and restored to its original fertility. 7. Agricultural Marketing: Agricultural marketing still continues to be in a bad shape in rural India. In the absence of sound marketing facilities, the farmers have to depend upon local traders and middlemen for the disposal of their farm produce which is sold at throw-away price. In most cases, these farmers are forced, under socio-economic conditions, to carry on distress sale of their produce. In most of small villages, the farmers sell their produce to the money lender from whom they usually borrow money.  According to an estimate 85 per cent of wheat and 75 per cent of oil seeds in Uttar Pradesh, 90 per cent of Jute in West Bengal, 70 per cent of oilseeds and 35 per cent of cotton in Punjab is sold by farmers in the village itself. Such a situation arises due to the inability of the poor farmers to wait for long after harvesting their crops. In order to meet his commitments and pay his debt, the poor farmer is forced to sell the produce at whatever price is offered to him. The Rural Credit Survey Report rightly remarked that the producers in general sell their produce at an unfavourable place and at an unfavourable time and usually they get unfavourable terms. In the absence of an organised marketing structure, private traders and middlemen dominate the marketing and trading of agricultural produce. The remuneration of the services provided by the middlemen increases the load on the consumer, although the producer does not derive similar benefit. Many market surveys have revealed that middlemen take away about 48 per cent of the price of rice, 52 per cent of the price of grounduts and 60 per cent of the price of potatoes offered by consumers. In order to save the farmer from the clutches of the money lenders and the middle men, the government has come out with regulated markets. These markets generally introduce a system of competitive buying, help in eradicating malpractices, ensure the use of standardised weights and measures and evolve suitable machinery for settlement of disputes thereby ensuring that the producers are not subjected to exploitation and receive remunerative prices.

Impact of Recession on Recruitment and Selection

Impact of Recession on Recruitment and Selection 1.0 Impact of current global economic situation on recruitment and selection The collapse of 2008 caused unemployment for many people in major countries of the world. The affected nations tried a lot to combat effects of slowdown in economy. We can easily conclude that the unemployment rate and the growth rate of a country are closely related and are inversely proportional. During the slowdown when the growth rate of various economies decreased the unemployment rate increased and now when the economies are recovering then the unemployment rate is decreasing (Roberts, 1997). During the economic crisis 2007-2008 the GDP growth rate of major economies decreased. For United States of America it decreased from 2.9% in 2008 to -6.8% in 2009, United Kingdom from 0.3% in 2008 to -2% in 2009, China from 11.2% in 2008 to 6.8% in 2009 and India from 9.7% in 2009 to 6.1% in 2010. The unemployment rate increased from 5.00% in 2008 to 7.70% in 2009 for United States of America, from 5.20% in 2008 to 6.60% in 2009 for United Kingdom, from 4.00% in 2008 to 4.30% in 2009 for China and from 7.8% in 2008 to 8.8% in 2009 for India (Rachel Potter,, 2001). The GDP growth rate of major economies has improved over a year. For United States of America it has increased from -6.8% in 2009 to 2.5% in 2010, United Kingdom from -2% in 2009 to 0.8% in 2010, China from 6.8% in 2009 to 9.6% in 2010 and India from 6.1% in 2009 to 8.8% in 2010. The unemployment rate decreased from 7.70% in 2009 to 7.60% in 2010 for United States of America, from 6.60% in 2009 to 6.30% in 2010 for United Kingdom, from 4.30% in 2009 to 4.20% in 2010 for China and from 8.80% in 2009 to 8.00% in 2010 for India (Pescha, 2001). It is clear from above that there is a very high correlation between GDP growth rate and unemployment. Also, after the setback to economy in 2007 the economy across the world has shown the sign of recovery which is also reflected in the employment trend across these countries (Armstrong.M 2003). Especially companies of Information Technology (IT) sector considering their good quarter results are back on hiring front. Indian major IT companies i.e. Infosys, TCS and Wipro have set a large target for hiring. Infosys declared that it add 30,000 new employees in 2010. According to NASSCOM Indian IT sector will add 90,000 employees in 2010 and overall hiring for this sector is expected to be 1,50,000 in 2011. Labour intensive sector has also shown improvements and has registered a 1.2% growth in the number of employees being hired over a year. Real State sector has also gain the pace and with gradual increase in demand of houses the sector has registered growth especially in developing cou ntries (Aswathappa.K 2005). This has also resulted in the increased demand of labour as the companies like DLF and Sahara are coming up with various projects. The Common Wealth Games and now Asian games also generated a lot of demand of workers. Thus couple with economic growth these sectors have provided employment opportunity for low income group thus contributing to the growth in employment rate of the country. The general trend in hiring is that the companies are optimistic about the future and are taking the opportunity created by slowdown of hiring talents at cheaper rate and replacing low performance workers (Weil, 2003). Also they plan to provide greater flexibility in work arrangements like compressed work weeks, shared work, sabbaticals, alternate schedules etc. Rehiring of Laid-Off-Workers has also increased with 29% of companies to hire back the earlier laid of employees increasing the ratio of these employees to 9% from 5%. The percentage of hired or contract worker are also estimated to increase to 18%. Thus all this figures indicates the future trend in recruitment of employees (Dale, 2004). From the above analysis two things are very clear. First, recruitment plan of a company depends upon the economic condition of a country. The better the economy the higher the employment rate is. Second, the future aspect of the recruitment and hiring seems to be positive in view of the expected growth in the economy. However, the unemployment rate is still high in most of the countries and the gap between men and women employees in developing nations has increased in past three years according to International Labour Office. A lot of effort has to be made by government in order to bring the unemployment percentage down and reduce the gap in men and women. 2.0 E-Learning and its role in Human Resource Development: E-Learning can be defined as providing training, books, journals or any other material that will help the person to enhance his or her knowledge base with the help of computer base applications usually with internet as the major source of catalyst in the process. It is very important for an employee to continuously update himself with the current trends in the market and with the new technologies and methods being practiced so that he remains competitive and in turn increase his efficiency (Rosenberg, 2001). Also organization look upon the employees who have a good work experience and knowledge of the industry to take up more responsibility and thus contribute to the organization instead of hiring a new employee for the same position as the previous person is well known in the organisation and can be trusted more than the latter one. However, if the employee is not having sufficient skills then it would be difficult for him to justify with the new responsibility. Thus, it is the responsibility of the human resource department to identify potential leaders and train them so as to enhance their skills. Thus, learning is of great importance to any organization. Also, it is very difficult to provide library facility by each and every company at each and every branch and offices. The options are contract based trainings but often the training courses designed by the external party are very costly and lacked the direction required by the company and hence are not as per company and individual requirement. E-Learning comes as a cheap and convenient solution to the above problem for many companies who cannot afford to manage libraries and are struggling with properly training facilities. Most of the IT companies for example Cognizant Technology Solutions, Infosys and IBM have a good E-Learning facility available where the employees can select the modules as per their need and requirement and complete the course sitting on his desk. This not only prevents the cost associated with such training but also reduces the work load at the Human Resource department of arranging for training of these employees. Some of the companies that provide E-Learning are Safari online books, Books 24X7, Skill-soft Corporation, Educause, Centra Softwate Inc. etc. Though Wikipedia and other online encyclopaedia also provide a good source of learning but it is often difficult to find a particular requirement on these websites. It is observed that the quality of education in most of the developing nations do not match the requirement of the companies and thought the employee is educated but lack the skills required for job and for this it is essential that HR of the company provide trainings for these employees. Almost 70% of the fortune 1000 companies lack properly trained employees to execute the task and sustain the require growth rate. Most of the employees in companies are encouraged for distant education based on computer (Horton, 2001). These courses not only help organizations to build a talent pool in the organization but also fulfil the requirement and demand of the company for required talent. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India, is an open university that facilitate the distant learning in India incorporate in 1985 has keeping a close watch on the development of talent pool in India to satisfy the requirement of the nation to sustain the growth rate. They have also adopted the online training modules so as to reach more and more people in the country. According to Dr. Ashok Kumar Gaba, Senior Research Officer Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education at Indira Gandhi National Open University, the online training has reduced the cost to one-fifth and over a period to time it is expected to be the main source of learning. It is the responsibility of human resource department of the organization to identify the requirement of the company and accordingly select a proper course, promote it and bring into practice the E-Learning culture in the organization. The constraint associated with E-Learning is computer and internet facility at company and one might require investing a good amount initially to build the required infrastructure for this. 3.0 Bonuses in Financial Service Sector when the banks are being bailed out: The issue related to bonuses are usually very emotional to employees. They expect the bonuses and plans accordingly and if these bonuses are cut or complete removed then this can be a serious cause of dissatisfaction among employees which can affect their productivity and the output delivers (Geroski et.al 1997). If these issues are not seriously handled then it might lead to a major problem in the organization. Hence, it is very important to first understand the importance of the issue before discussing the topic. The bonuses of any company depends upon the performance of the country vis-a-vis its performance last year, the performance of the sector, the growth in the economy and the future prospects of the economy and industry. During the economic crisis in 2008-09 the financial condition of many banks and giant organizations was so crushed that they have to plea the government to bail them from the financial distress (Sameuls, 2001). After the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers many banks came to plea United States government for bailing them for example Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and American International Group (AIG). In Britain, Northern Rock, a mid-sized British Bank, and Bank of England required government aid to continue their daily task. When these banks and financial institutions are being bailed out it means that the available liquidity in the market is very less and hence it will be very difficult for the companies to raise fund. In this situation the pressure on specially the financial service providers increases and they have to be very careful in investing the available cash. It is logical for these companies to either cut or completely remove the bonuses for that particular year so as not only to preserve the liquidity but also to avoid any firing of the employees. At this time it is very important for them to maintain the balance between the market condition and their financial condition. J.P. Morgan Chase, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Washington Mutual, Wachovia and other financial service providers if they would have thought of bonuses at that time then they would have been shut down and any more damage after Lehman Brothers would have proved last nail in the coffin to already shattered economy and we would hav e been still struggling to recover from the crisis (Bewley, 1999). As a matter of fact, US president Mr. Barack Obama said that asking for bonuses at the time of crisis is a shameful act and he urged the citizen of United States of America to show some sense of responsibility after Wall Street firms distributed a bonus of $18.4 billion (Howell, 2007). Also at time a hefty bonus payment culture might lead to loss in liquidity of the firm and might result in potential threat to the company and banks to face a financial crisis. The company should avoid paying hefty bonuses in order to save some tax (Sameuls, 2001). In May 2009, Financial Services Authority (FSA) declared certain rules regarding this and took various measures in order to reduce this practice. According to them bonuses was the reason for banking crisis. Probably Deutsche Bank already understood this and the bank chief did not accept the bonuses in 2008 so as to minimize the effect of crisis. This was the personal sign of solidarity by Josef Ackermann, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank, toward the employees. This move not only helped the bank to fight the crisis but also encouraged the employees to take the move of not distributing bonuses in a right spirit and contribute to the organization at the time of difficulty. Later John Mack, chief executive of Morgan Stanle y, and James Cayne, the former chief executive of Bear Stearns, also went ahead declining the bonuses. From the above study it can be concluded that in state of financial crisis where even banks are been bailed out it is more important for the companies especially financial services to prevent any firing of employees for which if they have to sacrifice the bonuses then they should go ahead with this. Employees should also understand this and they should consider long term gains rather than short term profits. It is the duty of organization to be transparent in its dealing and should reward the loyal employees when the favourable time comes. Also, it is important for the leaders in the organization to set an example for the employees so that employees believe that the organization is with them and they do not feel cheated. This is a very sensitive issue especially during crisis and should be dealt carefully and with high importance. 4.0 Relevance of trade unions: The nature of business has changed drastically over past few decades with the advent of technology most of the work is done by machines and human intervention has reduced in most of the cases (Fernie, 2005). The work environment and conditions has improved resulting in lesser disputes (Somers, 1976). Technology has enabled the management and employee to communicate effectively. In this era of technology the question is whether the trade union culture is still relevant in present scenario? The trade union acts a channel to help the workers communicate their issues and concerns to the management. They also provide support and help to these workers in times of difficulty and ensure that the work environment is healthy and safe. They also help management to communicate major announcements to these workers and help them understand their point of view (Wrigley, 2002). In case of any dispute it becomes easier for management to talk to the representatives of workers in the form of trade unions rather than talking with each and every individual. The union also help in uniting the workers who are usually from different background. There are many unions who are still very active and fight for the cause of the worker and help them educate about their rights. One example is REACH which focuses upon educating workers about the hazards caused by chemicals and their rights in case of such hazards. In India Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) is the largest report trade union which was founded in 1955 and with such a reach and power the organization has been working in making the life of workers better. They have carried out various education programs like spreading awareness among labours about their rights, proper safety practices, health education, women empowerment, minimum base wage and movement against child labour. Other major trade union in India are Madras Labour Union, Textile Labour Association, National Trade Union Federation, Hind Mazdoor Panchayat and All India Trade Union Congress (R Jha, 2000). Still in nations like India the trade unions are active and have not lost its relevance. However often the leaders in the unions take advantage of their position and put unjustified demands in front of management and threat them by announcing strikes, lock downs etc. This has reduced the relevance of trade unions. Also, in most of the organization has adopted performance based incentive schemes that encourage the employees to perform better in order to get better compensation this has also reduced the issues related to pay as the person enters in to an agreement to accept the compensation scheme of the organization. Another major issues that employees face today are the work-life balance issues for which the human resource department of the company actively take steps in most of the organization and moreover trade unions have failed to tackle this issue thus the need of the trade unions are reduced (Aswathappa, 2005). The trade unions also failed to address the issues of cross nation al employee and women empowerment. The trade unions have lost on major three grounds (Trant, 2010).). First, they have been neglecting the poor and thus lost the moral ground as their major concern is maximizing the interest of few people and groups. They also lost on the political front due to shrinkage in the membership of the union and also due to the formation of many parties and unions. The third ground is the loss of intellectual high as their strategies are outdated and for most of their solutions they go on strike irrespective of the severity of problem. A trade union if lead by a intelligent and well educated person having a proper understanding of situation of employees and who is directed to work for people can prove to a problem solver else a problem creator and as the latter is often found the trade union seems to loss its relevance in todays scenario (Horton, 2001). Though the technology has solved many problems of the employer and employees but still in developing nations like India where technology is a constraint and workers still fight for basic rights, trade unions acts as a tool to voice their concerns and hence still in these nations they hold a relevance.

Structure in Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Literature Coursework

Structure in Hamlet    In Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet, what is the structure? Is it a two-part construction of Rising Action and then Falling Action? Is it a three-part construction? Or four parts? This essay will answer these questions and others related to structure.    A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy analyzes the structure of Shakespearean tragedy:    As a Shakespearean tragedy represents a conflict which terminates in a catastrophe, any such tragedy may roughly be divided into three parts. The first of these sets forth or expounds the situation, or state of affairs, out of which the conflict arises; and it may, therefore, be called the Exposition. The second deals with the definite beginning, the growth and the vicissitudes of the conflict. It forms accordingly the bulk of the play, comprising the Second, Third and Fourth Acts, and usually a part of the First and a part of the Fifth. The final section of the tragedy shows the issue of the conflict in a catastrophe. (52)    Thus the first step of the structure of Hamlet involves the presentation of a conflict-generating situation. Marchette Chute in â€Å"The Story Told in Hamlet† describes the beginning of the Exposition of the drama: The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. A young man named Horatio, who is a school friend of Hamlet, has been told of the apparition and cannot believe it, and one of the officers has... ...ive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press , 1992.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.

Simulation Proliferation and the City Essay examples -- Essays Papers

Simulation Proliferation and the City Mr. Hand wears all black, is tall, thin, and pale. He floats around a dark city and ends far too many lines with a creepy self-affirming â€Å"yesss.† In Dark City (Alex Proyas 1998) we see over and over again indications of the tropes and repetitions that make up the urban/filmic imagination. Not quite vampires, not quite grey aliens, not quite business men, not quite religious, not quite serial murderers, Mr. Hand and the other Strangers seem to be archetypal characters of the city. Is the imagination a domesticating function, territorializing wild occurrence and happenstance into termed rearrangements of what has come before? Or is it an explosive and infinite fountain of creativity? Modern metropolises and imagination present themselves together in such films as mutually helpful tools for inspecting one another – but my effort is to use the city to discuss several imaginations. As is only obvious enough from one city dweller talking to another, imagination (m oreso than representation or memory) is home to the ever changing city. Conversely, however, the city enables a specific citified imagination, with its own structure and economy. To begin, though, I want to interrogate, as a point of departure, the philosophy of fantasy in a highly commercial, idyllic, anti-city movie. Those lucky children of the 80’s witnessed the depiction and eventual summarization of the relation between fantasy, imagination, fiction, story, and control in the politico-creative manifesto, The Neverending Story (Wolfgang Peterson 1984). In the movie, Sebastian (a somewhat troubled young boy) reads a book (whose unfolding is the main content of the screen) and is then implicated in the collapse of a fantas... ...gination can be spoken of as a discourse that is ultimately just about itself: it is only by imagination that one imagination is to discover anything about the next – yet this ethereality is not only not troubling for the stability of simulation, but itself stabilized by the overproduction of simulacra such that its processing is pressured into sheer reactive creativity. The strikingly bizarre and symptomatically fascinating point, though, is why imagination might have almost anything at all to do with simulation, but this is just the predominant strength of an imagination over its inscription, by representation, into broader circulating winds of reality: its apparent nihilism. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Ã… ½iÃ… ¾ek, Slavoj. â€Å"Passion in the Era of Decaffeinated Belief.† Thy Symptom Issue 5, Winter 2004.

James Baldwin vs George Orwell Essay

Both James Baldwin and George Orwell are interested in understanding language as a political instrument. In his essay â€Å"If Black Isn’t a Language, Than Tell Me What Is†, James Baldwin attempts to legitimize Black English as a unique language. He argues that Black English is a valid language because of the role it plays in the lives of Black Americans. It serves as a means for blacks to control their own circumstances, define themselves, and obtain power. Baldwin justifies Black English by applying George Orwell’s argument that language is a political instrument means and proof of power to the Black experience. Baldwin argues, validates and makes language authentic. Both George Orwell and James Baldwin express their opinion that language is directly related to who a person is. They also both state that language is a political instrument and that it is filled with word play. In â€Å"Politics and the English Language† George Orwell states that political writings are characterized by vagueness and incompetence. People rely on metaphors that have lost their meaning and are only used because the writer cannot create his own phrases. Authors no longer think of a concrete object and choose words to describe it. Orwell believed the best fix for the English language was for everyone to be aware of ready-made words and phrases, and instead use simpler words to get your meaning across to the reader. In Orwell’s opinion language is an instrument that reflects culture and evolves as culture declines, while in Baldwin’s view language emerges to fit a socialtal need. It is the connection or â€Å"disconnection† within people.

Entry Barriers in Liquor Industry

ENTRY BARRIERS IN LIQUOR INDUSTRY When a new firm enters into an industry it can affect all of the firms that are currently in that industry. â€Å"new entrants to an industry bring new capacity, the desire to gain market share, and often substantial resources. Prices can be bid down or incumbents cost inflated as a result, reducing profitability. †24Therefore as new firms enter into an industry the entire industry’s potential for sustained profits is reduced due to the increased amount of competition in that industry. Some factors help reduce the threat of entry as they act as barriers that prevent new firms from entering into an industry. These factors include economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, access to distribution channels, and government regulations. When these factors reduce the threat of entry, the profit potential for the industry increases. Economies of Scale. Economies of scale is defined as the â€Å"declines in unit costs of a product as the absolute volume per period increase† Therefore the greater quantity of a product that is produced the lower the cost of each will be to the producer. This creates an advantage for a high volume producer like those seen in the brewing industry. Economies of scale in the brewing industry also exist in areas other than in production and these include purchasing, distribution, and advertising. For example, national brewers achieve economies of scale in advertising through bulk media purchases and umbrella brand marketing. Local-craft brewers spend more than twice that spent by large brewers on marketing and advertising per barrel. 25 One company in particular, which is Anheuser-Busch, has done an extremely good job in exploiting the economies of scale that are present in the brewing industry. Anheuser-Busch has been able to leverage its 45 percent U. S. market share into 75 percent of the industry’s operating profits through significant economies of scale in the areas of raw material procurement, manufacturing efficiency and marketing. †26 As shown here there are substantial economies of scale available in the national beer brewing industry. This is a good factor for firms that are currently in the industry as the y can take advantage of these unit cost breaks and while doing so also discourage the entry of new firms into the industry. Product Differentiation. in general, people cannot tell the difference between brands of beer. Second, more expensive brands do not cost proportionately more to make than â€Å"economy† beer. Capital Requirements. The capital requirements necessary to compete on the national level against the established firms are extremely high. These high costs of operation and construction expenses act as a barrier to entry for firms that are considering trying to compete in this industry on the highest level. Access to Distribution Channels. When a new firm is trying to enter into an industry it can find that existing competitors may have ties with [distribution] channels based on long relationships. Government Regulation. The government's excise policy is subject to a lot of sudden changes. The manufacturers sometimes just need to get their L-1 licenses renewed and at times they need to apply afresh, like in the year 2001. In 1993, the L-1 license holders were allowed to set up 5 ‘dedicated' shops in Delhi in which they could sell their approved brands in addition to having them sold in the government retail shops. The policy was withdrawn in an ad-hoc manner in 1994. On being questioned about the effects of this policy, an official in one of the country's leading breweries said that the introduction of this policy had led to an increase in their revenue by almost 30% which they have lost out on since the policy got crushed. Recently, the government's policy to open up 45 private liquor shops was quashed by the cabinet, because it meant that the MLA's power in the issue of a no-objection certificate for the setting up of a retail outlet would be questioned. Had this policy been implemented, the government would have earned Rs. 7. 5 lakhs on each vend as license fees annually.

Human Resource Management Assignment

ASSIGNMENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SHEET FOR SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT Serial No: 40074724 Please note: 1. Assignments must be submitted on or before the date due. 2. Students must ensure that they are not guilty of plagiarism which is, essentially, referring to the words/ideas of others without acknowledgment. Students must comply with the statement below. | Students Declaration The attached assignment is my own work, and has never been submitted for assessment on any other course before.Proper referencing has been made to all sources: published or unpublished works and the ideas of other persons. (Student’s Signature) Yasas Kalubowila Full Name of Student Mr. Kalubowila Prathibha YasasDate submitted _14 Jan 2012_ Programme _BA (Hons) – Business Management (Singapore) Course Code _39604BH______ Name of Module/subject _Human Resource Management Class ____1__________ ——————————————â €”—- Assignment Title/Reference no. (if applicable) _HRM 08701 (Part 2) ————————————————-Teacher – Dr Allen / Mr Jeffrey Tan___ ___________________________________________________________________________ For Office Use| You are required to develop a two-day induction training course for Baristas (Day 1 should focus on company induction and Day 2 on job specific induction). The course is designed for all new baristas, and will be delivered to groups of 12-16 people. Write a report which includes a) The overall aim and specific learning objectives for the course. Aim of the CourseAccording to Armstrong (2009), employees are far more likely to resign during the initial months after joining the organization. The main aim of this induction program is to welcome our new colleagues in to Cafe Co. family and to get them to understand their role within the organiz ation. This will help them to settle into their jobs more easily and at the same time this will aid the staff to add value to the company which will help the management to align with the company goals and achieve competitive advantage in the long run.In any training program, the learning objective has to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely (Armstrong, 2006, p506) in order to archive the training goals 1. Understanding the organization and t * History * Understanding Vision, Mission & Value Statement * Basic conditions of Employment ( Working hours, leaves, holidays, insurance schemes, ) * Organizational Structure 2. Working Culture * Effective team Management * Improve leadership qualities * Getting to know the line managers 3. Product Knowledge * Varieties of coffee and preparation methods Food Menu & Beverage Menu 4. Customer service * Importance of customer service * Standard operation procedures (SOP) * Handling a customer complain * Customer appreciation Wo rd Count 170 b) An explanation of how this training program will improve the performance of employees. * Give an understanding about the company history, short term and long term goals * Company’s vision, mission and value statement * Allow the trainees to embrace company culture and understand the rules and regulations * Get to know the management staff and the environment so he trainees will not feel cornered * Understand the food and beverages which will be sold together with coffee * Learning the coffee mixtures and varieties of coffee beans in order to give a good impression to the customers * Build a friendly attitude toward work and improve on customer service to attract new customers * Understand the sequence of service to give a smooth operation in service and decrease time lags Word Count 110 Day| Time| Venue| Description| Media| Remarks| 1| 8. 30 am– 9. 5am| Training Room Foyer | Breakfast & Registration | N/A| The participant will be given with course mater ials, Employee Handbook and other necessary documentation. | | 9. 15am -9. 30am| Training Room`| Welcome speech| N/A| The managing Director of Cafe & Co will deliver the welcome speech. | | 9. 30 am- 10. 15 am | Training Room`| Introduction to Cafe Co. | ProjectorVideo on Cafe Co. | The video will show and elaborate on Cafe. Co History and the current standing. -History -Current Standing in the market| | 10. 15am – 10. 0 am| Training Room Foyer| Morning Coffee Break | N/A| Buffet Spread with refreshments| | 10. 30 am-11. 30 am| Training Room | Our Business and Our Goals| Video, PowerPoint Presentation & Speech| With aid of the Employee Handbook, the trainer will go through ,Company vision ,Mission,Value statement ,Goals – Long term and Short term| | 11. 30 am- 12. 00 Noon| Open area | Leadership icebreaker game| N/A| Trainees are divided into two groups to play the game â€Å"Magic Shoes†. Refer Appendix 1| | 12 Noon – 1. 30pm| Restaurant | Lunch| N/A| Th e Group will be taken for the lunch at a restaurant nearby| | 1. 0pm – 2. 30pm| Training Room | Employment Conditions| Presentation & Speech| The HR manager will brief on the Employment Condition and benefits given by the company * Annual Leave * Absent Reporting * Hours of work * Overtime payments * Contract| | 2. 30pm -2. 45pm| Training Room| Q & A| 2 wireless microphone, Facilitator| The Employees are to ask questions to clarify any doubts they have regarding the contract and the conditions| | 2. 45pm -3. 15 pm| Training Room | Organizational Structure and Career advancement opportunities | PowerPoint presentation| The HR Manager will ntroduce the top management and the company hierarchy. Job advancement opportunities and examples of the individuals who started as baristas which had advancements in their careers | | 3. 30pm – 3. 45pm | Training Room Foyer| Afternoon Coffee Break | N/A| Buffet Spread with refreshments| | 3. 45pm – 5. 00pm| Training Room| Intro duction to Cafe Co. Products | PowerPoint Presentation,Video Clips | The Employees will get to see the line of products which Cafe Co. offering. | | 5. 00pm | End of Day 1| Day| Time| Venue| Description| Media| Remarks| 2| 8. 30 am– 9. 0am| Cafe Co. Outlet| Breakfast| N/A| Buffet Spread with refreshments| | 9. 00am -10. 30am| Cafe Co. Outlet| Food Hygiene and Safety Requirements | PowerPoint Presentation, Demonstration| The trainer will go through the food hygiene & safety requirements. -Food preparation -Handling of equipments -Fire safety-Fire Extinguishers-Fire Drill | | 10. 30 am –11. 00am| Cafe Co. Outlet| Customer Service | PowerPoint Presentation| Trainer will give a presentation,-Importance of the customers-How to attract new customers -Customer appreciation -Customer Loyalty| | 11. 0am-12. 00 Noon| Cafe Co. Outlet| Handling Customer Complains| N/A| Role Play in groups of 3 to 4 -Each group is given a scenario -The trainer will assess them in handling the situa tion -Remarks from the trainer | | 12. 00 Noon- 1. 30pm| Cafe Co. Outlet| Lunch Meeting with the Line managers | N/A| Buffet Lunch-The Line Managers will go around and talk with the Trainees during the Lunch | | 1. 30pm-3. 00pm| Cafe Co. Outlet| Standard Operational Procedure of Cafe Co. | Demonstration and PracticalCutleries, Cutleries | The Trainer will Demonstrate the service sequence. Welcoming the Guest-Locating a table-Offering the Menu-Taking Orders-Serving -Attending to various requests from the guest -Table Settings (Cutleries)| | 3. 00pm -4. 45pm| Cafe Co. Outlet| Coffee Preparation Methods followed by Coffee Break| Coffee Machine, Coffee Cups, Sample Food in the Menu,| The Trainer will Demonstrate how to make Different Coffee Mixtures-Each Group will try to make their own Coffee-All the food items in the menu will be served during this session. -The trainer will emphasize on the importance of product knowledge. | | 4. 45 pm – 5. 5pm| Cafe Co. Outlet| Course Summery , Evaluation and Closing Address | PowerPoint Presentation, Evaluation Forms, Facilitator| The Trainer will give the Closing address and will leave the premises where the facilitator will conduct the Evaluations | | 5. 15pm| End of the Induction Program| Word Count 613 a) Explain the training methods and media you would suggest for delivering each part of the program, justifying your choices. (1000 words) Learning Styles Before planning a training program it is impotent for the trainers to understand different styles of learners.According to Honey & Mumford, there are four styles of learning; they are activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists (Gray, Cundell, Hay and O’neill, 2004) Honey and Mumford also suggested that the use of the senses (hear, see, feel, smell & taste) can enhance the learners learning experience. Figure 1 -They need models, facts and concepts to engage in learning -like to understand theories behind actions -Involves themselves in new experiences. -Willingness to take Risks -Have an open mind -people who learn by Doing Practical approach -like to put what they learn in to practice -Experimenting -like to try out new ideas -Learn by observing and thinking -takes time to come to conclusion -they avoid leaping in like to watch in the side lines Training Methods Choosing the correct training method to deliver the training is very important for both the trainer and the trainee. There are lots of factors to consider when choosing a method. Some of them are: Audience age, level of education, learning style of the trainees, budget, trainer’s skills and training style.Training Method | Description| Advantages | Drawbacks | Where did we use? | Why did we use? | Lesson/Instructions| The trainer will deliver the lesson to a group of people | Ideal for smaller groups. Can archive transfer of information easilyCan make the learning experience more interesting with the use of the right media. | Cannot handle Larger groupsVery trainer centered Standard of the training depends too much on the trainer| Most of the activities on the first day was more based on this method of training -Our Business and Our Goals -Employment Conditions Organizational Structures and Career Advancement Opportunities-Food hygiene and Safety requirements | This is the most common method of transferring the information out to an audience. Even though this can be bit monotonous, using of a mixture of media like videos can make the learning experience more effective. The topics like business and our goals, employment conditions and etc are very straight forwards topics which can use lessons to deliver.Seeing, Hearing | Demonstration | The trainer will demonstrate a task in front of the trainees. How to Fold a NapkinHow to prepare an espresso | Aids understanding and retention Stimulates learners interest Can give learners a model to follow| Must be accurate and relevant to learnersExamples require lengthy prep timeMay be difficult for all t o see| Standard Operational Procedure of Cafe Co. Coffee Preparation Methods| By Looking at the demonstration they will get an idea on how things are carried out.Also by giving them an opportunity to practice the above demonstrations will increase the effectiveness of the training Researches suggests, by using kinesthetic learning will increase the results in learning outcomes (teaching Mineralogy, 2011) Seeing, Feeling and tasting | Training video| These videos can be specially designed for training purposes or it can be normal media which can be taken from the web| Easier to understandImages and motion pictures can be recalled easily than words and phrases | Production cost can be high for training videos| Our business and our goals. Introduction to cafe. o| It is interesting to see something than listening to someone for few hours. Easier to capture the attention of the trainees. Seeing,| Role play| Trainees act out characters assigned to them. Information regarding the situation is provided to the trainees by the trainer. | Focus on interpersonal responses The more meaningful the exercise, the higher the level of participant focus and intensity | Outcomes depend on the emotional (and subjective) reactions of the other trainees. | Handling Customer Complains| Role playing can be a very interesting way to see how a person reacts to a certain situation.But the scenarios has to be well prepared and the trainer must always facilitate to keep the trainees from derailing away from the desired learning objectives We used this method in order to prepare the trainees or the future employees to handle difficult situations with no hesitation. Furthermore they will be well prepared to face different types of customers with different attitudes and to handle the complains well. Feeling| Games| This is to improve the decision making and sense making capabilities of the trainees. | Build a fun and enthusiastic atmosphere in the training program.Improve the critical thinkin g skills of the learnersTime management and team building skillsBring out the leadership qualities of the participants. | Time consuming. Competition might arouse the conflict among the participants| Leadership Icebreaker Game| The game â€Å"Magic shoe† is used to choose a leader within the group. This will improve the team dynamics and at the same time it will build a unity among the team members. This will benefit the participants in enhancing their decision making skills and consequently improve their time management skills as well.Word Count 904| e) Outline your evaluation strategy for the course. (250 words) Evaluation can be defined as a way of assessing or judging the value of a piece of work (Tufo, 2002). It is the systematic assessment of the worth or merit of some object (Trochim, 2006). The evaluation of this induction program is based on kirkpatrick’s 4 levels of evaluation model. Figure 2 shows the 4 levels of learning and the how it effect the participan ts. Figure 2 Level 1 (Reaction) – This is used to understand how the trainees or the participants felt about the program. Happy sheets’ and feedback forms will be given to the trainees soon after the induction program is over in order to identify the effectiveness of course delivering methods. For long term evaluation, customer satisfaction surveys and employee performance evaluations will be conducted every three months. Level 2 (Learning) – Learning evaluation can be identified as the measurement of the increase in knowledge before and after the program (Chapman, 2009). Observations will be conducted after the induction program on how the new employees handle the coffee machines and equipment.Furthermore a questioner will be given to the new employees to identify the improvement regarding the product knowledge. Level 3 (Behavior) – In one month time follow up surveys will be conducted to both employees and managers in order to identify whether the emplo yees are applying the things which they have learned during the induction program. Also customer service feedback forms will be given to the customers after one month time to find the improvement and the application of knowledge. Level 4 (Results) – Measuring the performance of the company in increase or decrease of sales.Daily sales level followed by monthly sales level. In period of 3- months’ time measure the increase or decrease in product quality and the customer feedback. Consequently by evaluating the effect on company profit will give a broad description on how the induction program has an impact on the business in long run. Word count 311 Reference 1. Armstrong, M. (2006). Handbook of HRM practices, 10th Edition, London, Kogen Page. 2. Armstrong, M. (2009). Handbook of HRM practices, 11th Edition, London, Kogen Page 3. Chapman, A. (2009).Kirkpatrick’s learning and training evaluation theory. Business balls. [Online]. Available at: http://www. businessba lls. com/kirkpatricklearningevaluationmodel. htm . [Accessed: 12th Jan 2012] 4. Fleming,N. ,and Mills,C. ,(1992). Kinesthetic Learning. Teaching Mineralogy. [Online]. Available at:http://serc. carleton. edu/NAGTWorkshops/mineralogy/xtlsymmetry/kinesthetics. html [Accessed: 14th Jan 2012] 5. Gray,D. Cundell,S. Hay, D. O’neil, J. (2004) Learning through the Workplace 7th Edition, Cheltenhan, Nelson Thornes LTD. . Leadership games. (2012). Leadership games for groups. Leadership games. [Online]. Available at: http://leadershipgames. org/ . [Accessed: 14th Jan 2012] 7. Trochim,M. K. W. ,(2006). Introduction to Evaluation. Research methods Knowledge base. [Online]. Available at: http://www. socialresearchmethods. net/kb/intreval. php . [Accessed: 15th Jan 2012] 8. Tufo,S. (2002). What is evaluation?. Evaluation trust. [Online]. Available at: http://www. evaluationtrust. org/ . [Accessed: 15th Jan 2012] Appendix 1 Magic ShoesMake 2 lines on the ground at least 8 feet apart and have the participants break into 2 groups, with each team having one pair of â€Å"magic shoes. † Instruct the team to gather behind one of the lines and have them cross the lava (the ground they are crossing) with only one person at a time using the â€Å"magic shoes† to be able to walk across the lava safely. Each team will be challenged to select a leader who would plan the strategy on how to have the entire team cross without being burned (Leadership games,2012). Section D – Student reflective statementPlease complete the questions below and submit with you assessment on Friday 15th January 2012. Please note that this is worth 5% of your assessment mark and should be approximately 500 words. What have you learnt in the process of completing your assignment? Human Resource Management (HRM) can use as a powerful force to archive organizational goals. But I feel that in the Singapore Context these practices are not carried out effectively. Especially local firms, t hey name the department as HR department but they only do administrative work. Basic things like Recruiting and selection.I feel that they need to focus more on things like HR Development and training in a strategic level. This will give the company an edge in the competition. All in all it gave me lot of insights on to the role of a HR manager and the importance of him or her in the top management to make decision making easier. What helped or hindered you progress? My work experience as a manager helped me in doing this assignment. Lot of the things mentioned in this module is similar to what I do at work. But the tough part is searching for relevant materials and resources and giving references was slowing down my progress.Nevertheless by reading the course materials and the lecture slides gave me a broad understanding regarding Human resource management and also how to build the induction program effectively. But time management was a difficult task for me as I have work during week days and weekends as well. Therefore it hindered my progress and resulted in rushing through the assignment. For each section please reflect on whether you are satisfied with you submission and if not, why not? Considering the overall work, I am contended and happy because with all the time barriers I managed to finish it on time.But because of the given word counts I had to limit my thoughts and findings which was not satisfactory. Furthermore I have doubts in my referencing method and the amount of references I used because I was unable to attend to the special class where the lecturer conducted in regarding referencing. What actions will you take as a result of what you have learnt while doing this assessment? I am working in a small company which has close to 25 employees in the whole Singapore branch which is the head office for all the other branches in Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Thailand.Last week I was in Indonesia for one of the training sessions which they were co nducting for some of their trainers (We are dealing with Schools). And I was very happy how they conducted their training. It was a well detailed and well structured. After the training they had the training program I took some feedback from the trainees and they were very good. On the other hand the training which we conduct here in Singapore is very informal sessions which don’t really follow any standard. So with the help of my knowledge I am going to change the training structure of our company and standardize for all the other countries as well.