Single Parenting Stigma

Single-Parenting Families: Attached Stigmas The social deviance that interests me is single parenting, one who chose to have a child out of wed-lock. The stigma attached to being a single parent is rising anew. Many media commentators blame America's uptrend in violence and other social problems on family breakdown – on single parents. This stigma is based on myths and stereotypes that have been promoted by half-truths and, often, by prejudiced viewpoints. Many in our society still regard single parenthood as a unwelcome status.I as a single parent myself, I am often admired, but at the same time looked upon with pity, disgust, sympathy, and perhaps with uneasiness. In defense of single parent families I would argue to de-stigmatized single motherhood by society, in which the shifting of family type in single parent household is now normal and acceptable. One obvious identity is I am a woman and my hidden identities are I am a mother, unmarried, and parenting alone. A complex of set social and cultural stigma perceived as making a selfish or misguided decision to have a child and raise it on my own as a unmarried single mother.Growing up I was told by my parents the unwed mothers were bad girls who make mistakes and gotten pregnant, whom family, friends, and the community shamed and reject. There is a clear cultural, moral, and religious message of stigma. In my parents generation, it would highly scandalous of a single woman raising a child alone and never married. In those days it was expected for the man to do the honorable thing, and marry the woman who is carrying his child. It did not matter whether he love her or not, having a child out of wedlock is unacceptable and the child would be considered a bastard( child born to unmarried parents).I am a single parent. I never planned on being a single parent. Few do. I grew up with an ideal of parenting as something I would do with a husband, within a marriage. Choosing to parent alone was simply not a o ption in my household growing up. Unwed pregnancy was to be avoided at all costs! Divorce with children was quickly remedied with remarriage. The honored and supported single mothers without stigma is through the death of a husband is a widow. Today, nearly one-third of American families with children under the age eighteen are in single-parent families, and this has double the number less than two decades ago.Separation and divorce creates most single parent families, that accounts for twice as many single parent families (60%) as failure to marry (30 %), while the death of a parent creates less than (7 %) of such families. Single parent families are raised by single mothers are becoming the majority family type culturally in United States. However, there is still a powerful negative images associated with Black single mothers and rarely does the dominant culture identify individuals, but instead stigmatized the entire class of Black mothers.Many presume the color of the typical we lfare recipient is a Black mother and that is not entirely true, but Black mothers are disproportionately represented. I personally can not explain why single parent never been married families are far more prevalent in the Black communities than in the White communities. Marriage is the most common for all women and for most women the only way out of poverty. For Black women, however the economic gain of marriage is often few and far between due to the poor economic opportunities of Black men.Although, I am a single mother raising three sons. My children have not and will not suffer from the outcome of poverty, simple because I am a single parent. I am not poor. I am gainfully employed and I own my own home for the last fifteen years. There is a strong stigma attached to single mothers households are living below the poverty line. What are the critics saying about the single mothers? Stigmatizing the single parent families as part of the underclass, broken, and deviant. Their child ren are mostly to have emotional or behavioral problems.To have children out of wedlock, are more likely to have trouble in school, and likely to commit crimes. Therefore, because I chose to raise my children alone†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦society blames me for the decline in social order. The two parent families is still compared as the traditional family formation and contribute to a healthy and successful society. I recently saw on TV an interview with Ann Coulter on the talk show The View †¦. she blames many of society’s problems on single moms. She goes on to say that our jails are filled with the offspring of single moms.To accuse single moms of being responsible for all society’s problems is absolutely crazy. There are many reasons relationships end, and when there are kids involved usually the bulk – if not all – of the responsibility of raising the kids is assumed by the mom. We single moms should be applauded and not attacked for this. Sure, there are some women that decide to have a baby on their own with no man in the picture, but can you blame them?It is hard to find a decent man who also wants to raise a family. Even when you do there are no guarantees he will stick around for the long haul. Nevertheless, single fathers have biological link or legal status as a non-custodial parent. What that actually means is they are expected to pay child support for their children, but rarely do they have sole or joint custody of their children. Some men have this immature concept of fathering that expects men to separate from their children and their responsibility, if they do not maintain a connection to the children’s mother.There is a layer of stigma that is laid upon Black single mothers complete with highly fertile capacity( having many babies), being lazy and shiftless, and being in a relationship with uncaring and equally lazy black man. In which he is not willing to work, will not marry her, and will not support his family. This stereotype does not fit all single African American mothers and fathers. Unfortunately, those are the views of the dominant culture in our society of unwed African American single mothers. There are confronting stigmas and myths of single parenting as society continues to view that stigma as appropriate and justified.The first, single-parent families are poor and single parenting causes poverty and social problems. Second, single-parent families are physiologically unhealthy. Third, single-parent families are immoral. The religious standpoint the families are sinful because they lack the blessing and validation of marriage through the church. Finally, there is a underlying undertone of stigma attached to race and gender beliefs that further support the badge of social scorn and economic hardships. What I know about single mothers is far different from the myths that are circulating in society, resulting in powerful stigmatizing.The truth and reality is many single mother are r aising their children very successful alone, including myself. Parenting is the hardest job, that one will ever have. However, single parenting is even harder, but not impossible to be successful in providing for your family. Society must look at the parent and not the circumstances that lead to their being a single mom or dad. The first priority and full responsibility is towards the child, put the child first in every and all decisions. My personal story is I have always been there for my three sons and it is my job to take care of them, until they can take care of themselves.I have raised boys to men and at the sometime to be gentleman. In my household it is filled with love and support. Education was always instilled and valued in my home. My sons are very intelligent, respectful, good human beings and all because I took full responsibility for them and I took parenting very seriously. I can argue strongly that children need love, discipline, structured, boundaries, and guidance . Children who lack these exposures will perhaps become menace to society, but not from living in a single parent household. Two parent families can be dysfunctional, don’t place the blame solely on single parent families.The house with white picket fence is only a disguise, one can only guess what is truly going on behind closed doors. For the love that I had for my son’s father and yes, they have the same dad (a myth that African American single mothers children have different fathers). We drifted apart and we decided to separate and I focus on being a mom. In neither case was it my choice to be a SINGLE mom; my choice was to just be a MOM. Sorry to report that single mom bashing is nothing new. And, the â€Å"double standard† is nothing new, either.Single dad who pays his child support and see his kids on a regular basis is a hero! Single moms, on the other hand, seem to be held to nearly impossible standards. I can only suggest what has worked for me. I hold my head high, keep my decisions grounded in what's best for my sons , and ignore the small minded people. My sons are my blessings, they are beautiful, and I am very proud to be their mother. Being a single mom presents additional and unique challenges and experiences. I feel I can conquer the world, because being a mom is the toughest job there is.Life is never boring! These myths and stigmas can be confronted successfully and new strength can be found in the truth. As with so many aspects of single parenting, myself and other mothers rise to the challenge and become better people because of it. The myths are sometimes subtle and subconscious, but the more we examine them, the more clearly we take responsibility for our lives and the lives of our children. My deepest love and appreciation goes to my sons, who have taught me more than they will ever know. I love you†¦.. higher than the moon, wider than the sky.

Rivalry Between Friends

In the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, the theme of opposites plays a prominent role. Shakespeare explores several relationships in this play, but the most intriguing is the relationship between Hermia and Helena. Specifically, Shakespeare calls the reader’s attention to the relationship between Hermia and Helena and their distinct differences. It is because of these differences that Hermia and Helena develop a mutual respect and admiration for one another, though in the beginning of the play, the girls have a much rockier relationship. At first glance, these two girls do not seem to be all that different, but as the play progresses, the reader realizes that a relationship of rivalry and jealousy exists. Hermia and Helena are both portrayed as beautiful young women. Helena is in love with a man named Demetrius, who happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Demetrius, however, does not return Helena’s affections, but attempts to woo Hermia. Hermia is not interested in Demetrius’ attempts to win her heart, as she is deeply in love with Lysander. It is within this love triangle that Hermia and Helena’s relationship exists in the form of a rivalry. By the end of the play, a noticeable change in Helena has occurred, and it is obvious that she As the play begins, the reader is thrust into this love affair between Hermia, Demetrius, Helena, and Lysander. Hermia’s father, Egeus, has forbidden her relationship with Lysander, forcing the two lovers to concoct a plan to elope together. In this scene, the reader senses through her actions that Hermia is sure of both herself and her impeding elopement to Lysander. Hermia appears to be completely content with the man who loves her, and very secure in her own skin. Hermia confesses her plans to elope to her friend, Helena, who tells Demetrius of the plan in order to gain favor in his eyes. Helena, too, appears to be confident in her appearance and intelligence. Although she is confused by Demetrius’ obvious disinterest in her, Helena make is very clear to the reader that she thinks very highly of herself. This attitude is apparent when Helena says, â€Å"Through Athens I am thought as fair as she† (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 227). Although Helena appears to be overconfident in herself, she also has a side of her that is very insecure with herself, and envious of Hermia and the attention that Demetrius showers on her. Although Helena has made it clear that she is just a beautiful as Hermia, Helena believes that Demetrius is only in love with Hermia because of her beauty. It is apparent that Helena believes that she has more than just beauty to offer Demetrius when she says, â€Å"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind† (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 134). A short while later, Puck, the right hand to the Fairy King, Oberon, attempts to give Helena her precious Demetrius. The plan, however, backfires, and it is Lysander who is made to woo Helena. When Lysander approaches Helena and tells her of his newfound feelings for her, she doesn’t believe him and thinks that it is a joke. Helena yells at Lysander because she thinks that he is making a fool of her. â€Å"Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born? When at your hands did I deserve this scorn?† (Act 2, Scene 2, Line 129-130).   This contradicts Helena’s earlier feeling of being just as attractive as Hermia, and just as deserving of those things that she has. While Lysander is pursuing Helena, Hermia awakens to find her love missing. The reader is again shown how confident and secure Hermia is when she worries that Lysander has been killed. The thought of Lysander being unfaithful to her never enters Hermia’s mind, and she assumes the worst when he is not there when she wakes. At the end of the play we see Helena and Demetrius are together, thanks to the correction of Lysander’s assisted feelings for Helena. Helena seems to have accepted Demetrius’ affection, whether real or not, and decides to be with him. This shows that, contrary to previous actions, Helena is starting to believe that Demetrius’ feelings are true. Whereas earlier in the play she was running away from Demetrius, sure that he was mocking her in his attempts to woo her, now she is marrying him and committing her life to being with him. This marriage and Demetrius’ sudden change of heart also calm Helena’s jealousy for Hermia. Originally, Demetrius had left Helena to woo Hermia, and now in Helena’s mind, order has been restored by Demetrius’ return to her. At the end of the play we see a more secure character and obviously a much happier Helena. In the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, every character goes through an evolution and by the end of the play, everyone is wiser for the experiences they endured. In the beginning of the play, we see Helena as an overconfident and jealous girl who is desperately chasing after the man she loves. Hermia is a more stable, self-assured character, completely confident in her relationship with Lysander. As the play wears on, Helena becomes extremely insecure and suddenly unsure of herself, whereas the reader never sees Hermia falter. Hermia runs away from the man that she had been chasing after for so long, and questions his affection for her. In the end, all’s well that ends well for Helena. She accepts Demetrius’ love and affection by marrying him, which creates more security for Helena, and gives her a sense of order restored in her life. Throughout the play, the reader sees Helena mature from an outwardly cocky, but yet inwardly insecure young woman into a self-assured and confident woman. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1980.         

Hamlet by William Shakespeare Essay

You make decision everyday; whether it is choosing what you make for breakfast or choosing what you want to be when you grow up. It is natural in humans to make decisions and act on what they believe is to be true. This not only applies to humans, but authors use them in their books or plays to create different types of characters. In one of the greatest works by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there are characters that make many different kinds of decisions that determine their role in the book. In the play, the protagonist Hamlet, after his father’s death, is angry about his mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius. He sees a ghost of his father one night and tells him that Claudius had murdered him. Hamlet plans to kill Claudius but he has trouble making decisions and throughout the play, his poor decision making skills bring downfall to himself and many others. Every tragic hero has a tragic flaw and Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his inability to make decisions. Hamlet’s inability to kill Claudius after hearing from the ghost, that he had killed Hamlet Senior, contributes to his stubborn indecisiveness, which brings about his own downfall. His indecisiveness leads to many character’s deaths; such as Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes, Polonius and his own mother. He had many chances of killing Claudius but he constantly over thinks the situation thus delaying his major task of killing Claudius: To take him in the purging of his soul When he is fit and seasoned for his passage? No.  Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent. When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, Or in th’ incestuous pleasure of his bed, At game a-swearing, or about some act That has no relish of salvation in ’t— Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven (III.III. 85) This is an example of Hamlet being indecisive on whether or not to kill Claudius in the Church after the Mouse Trap play. He decides not to kill him there because he is praying and therefore will be forgiven for his sin. This results in delaying of his main task and also made more room for error; such  as killing Polonius and also getting sent to England, which leads to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s deaths. If Hamlet would have decided to kill him then, he would not have created the mess he ends up making at the end. Hamlet’s inability to talk and discuss to Ophelia about what is happening, after she starts rejecting his messages, leads to losing his love and ultimately ends up to her demise. Even though they were in love, when Ophelia begins rejecting Hamlet’s messages because Polonius told her to, Hamlet tells Ophelia that she was not worth anything to him. This leads her to believing that Hamlet does not love her anymore. As a conclusion, she goes crazy and out of control; for example: By Gis and by Saint Charity, Alack, and fie, for shame! Young men will do ’t, if they come to ’t. By Cock, they are to blame. Quoth she, â€Å"Before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed. So would I ha’ done, by yonder sun, An thou hadst not come to my bed. (IV. V. 40) This is the scene where she has become insane. She sings about how a man promised her to marry her before they went into bed together but he left her. On top of Hamlet’s rejection, Hamlet has killed her father, Polonius, so she has completely lost control of herself. She sings a very sorrow song in front of many people and also gives out fake flowers to people. After this scene, she ends up committing suicide at the lake. If Hamlet had talked with Ophelia about what was going on and why she was ignoring her messages, she would have not become insane and Hamlet and Ophelia would still be in love. Hamlet’s final flaw is his inability to decide whether life is worth living or not, which contributes to his stubborn indecisiveness, which ultimately leads to his own downfall. Hamlet is very confused about his own life and is out of his mind. He is very depressed from his father’s death and the feeling of betrayal he has from Gertrude, his mother, who remarried right after his father’s death. He does not know if life is worth living or not and this is obvious when he says: To be, or not to be–that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep– No more–and by a sleep to say we end The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep– To sleep–perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. (III.I.56) This is his famous soliloquy on the topic of life. He compares life and death and he cannot decide whether or not to stay alive or to be dead. He believes that death is the way to escape all his troubles and his depression but then on the other side, he knows he needs to complete the task of killing Claudius. His indecisiveness about his own life delays his action from doing what he really wants to accomplish. Even though Hamlet kills Claudius at the very end, as a result of his indecisive behavior, he has taken way too much time to accomplish one single task. Also, it killed many innocent people he could have prevented from killing them. If Hamlet would have not been so depressed and actually decide whether or not he should stay alive or die, he might have had a better chance accomplishing his tasks much faster and efficient. Clearly, Hamlet is very indecisive all over and his indecisiveness brought about his own downfall. His mother’s death, his love’s death and his friend’s deaths are all caused by Hamlet. If he were to be decisive and straightforward, he could have killed Claudius much faster and he also could have prevented all of the deaths that happened. Many theories attempt to explain why Hamlet takes so long to kill Claudius but out of many theories, Hamlet’s indecisiveness is the only one with full satisfactory answers. Every book or play has a tragic hero and every tragic hero has a tragic flaw and in the play Hamlet, there is no exception. These themes present in many of William Shakespeare’s plays are relevant even today. There are times when we are indecisive when it comes to difficult situations. To be able to decide and to act on what you decided to do is what we try to aim for, however, since Hamlet did not complete this, he led himself to his own downfall and also many other’s to their downfall as well.

Global Popularity of Brand Playboy Research Paper

Global Popularity of Brand Playboy - Research Paper Example The beginning of Playboy was seen in 1953 by owner Hugh Heffner, at that time known as ‘Stag.† The approach was to offer a magazine for men that included nude female models, journal articles and fiction. The first issue was focused on pictures of the celebrity, Marilyn Monroe and sold an average of 53,991 copies within a few weeks. From here, Hefner began to work with Eldon Sellers in Chicago for enhancing the trend of the magazine. To enhance this, the models were combined with the different components which added to the brand of Playboy, including the Playboy bunny, which was known for being placed in the magazine in a discreet area for men to find. The height of the magazine circulated into the 1970s as the main magazine with the specific content. After this time, pornographic videos, â€Å"Penthouse† and other magazines focused on specific audiences began to compete with the magazine. However, it continues to sell an average of 2.6 million magazines per month.T he intimacy of the magazine led to the development of merchandise, specifically because the magazine wasn’t able to produce the images outside of the magazine. The development of the playboy bunny was able to add into this image in the 1970s to lead to the popularity of the magazine. The merchandise includes t-shirts, caps, household items, cards, cosmetics, jewelry, mobile phone accessories, mugs and posters. However, the merchandise continued to be sold because it worked as a way of advertising the magazine and the overall ideology of the brand. Most of the merchandise grew in the 1980s and 1990s and was introduced globally, specifically to make a defined understanding of the brand name in relation to the magazines which were sold2. Current Condition of Playboy The merchandise which grew into an international brand not only went through a rising popularity. The Playboy brand was known for a continuous rise and fall in the amount of merchandise available to those interested in the brand. After the 1970s, the brand declined because of the other competitors which began to offer the same type of magazine and which combined other options for sales with the Playboy brand. This pushed Playboy into building the brand identity through the merchandise and allowed them to move back into popular rankings at a global level. Today, the concept of adult entertainment has been reinvented through the concept of Playboy, specifically because of the decline which occurred in the 1970s. The Playboy brand has built a stronger reputation with the use of technology and the Internet. At the same time, the merchandise which is available is growing in popularity. It is noted that this is linked specifically to the economic turns. When the economy was booming in the 1980s and 1990s, the magazine was popular and the merchandise worked as a brand identity. However, the downturn in the economy has led more to finding the merchandise and alternative Internet sources for the Playboy magazine. This exchange was combined with the understanding of the Playboy identity as well as what the cultural values and norms are in terms of the entertainment3. The current trends as well as the changes in the economy have

CRIMINAL JUSTICE - ANALYSIS OF A MOVIE Term Paper

CRIMINAL JUSTICE - ANALYSIS OF A MOVIE - Term Paper Example One of the scenes has Irwin Fletcher, who is a journalist under the name Jane Doe, trying to buy drugs from a suspected dealer, Sam. He is approached by Alan Stanwyk on the beach, only in this scene Fletcher identifies himself as Ted Nugent, with the offer of $1000 just to listen to an offer Mr. Alan had to make. The offer Alan makes while inside his home office is for Fletch to kill him, Alan because he was suffering from bone cancer, and Fletch would be paid $50000. As justifiable as this may sound for many, mercy killing is a crime punishable under law. In the event the two are caught, they both can be prosecuted for murder and colluding to murder, on Alan’s part. When one goes to court for mercy killing, the charge is plainly murder, and it is the judge to consider the â€Å"mercy† element during his sentencing as per the provisions under The Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21 (Becker, 2005). Another element of crime that surfaces while in Alan’s office is that of insurance fraud. The suggestion that suicide would nullify the insurances policy Alan’s company has on him is a clear idea that Alan is motivated by money. His intents are to have his wife benefit from the insurance money in the result of his death, which would not be the case in the occurrence of a suicide. The penalties for this could lead to imprisonment and the withdrawal of the insurance policy placed on him. Section 1347 of Title 18 of the United States Code makes it illegal for this offense and one can be sentenced up to 20 years imprisonment (Becker, 2005). The next crime element can be witnessed in the office of Mr. Alan’s boss where Fletch is impersonating a SEC investigator. This is an attempt to find out if Alan has involved himself with any improprieties. This is a criminal offense of impersonation, especially of a government officer and the use of false identity to acquire con fidential information that

Nursing Practice Act Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nursing Practice Act - Assignment Example Nursing regulations will be up to date and cover emerging issues because the nursing board constantly reviews the various professional needs and makes, modifies, or repeals the rules and regulations where necessary. Nurses will need to adhere to the rules and regulations from the BON and constantly seek guidance from the board on unclear matters in nursing practice. The board of nursing has the power to approve the training programs for nurses. Upon initial and subsequent assessment of the nursing programs, the board can either approve, reject or withdraw an approval. The NPA guides decision-making processes on whether to approve or reject a nursing program. The curriculum of the program has to meet certain standards (Russell, 2012). This will enhance quality in the training of nurses and increase the number of competent nurses. The availability of well-trained nurses promotes professionalism in the workplace and the provision of quality nursing care. Nurses will check institutions b efore enrolling for nursing programs to ensure they have the rquisite approval by the board. The NPA ensures the protection of the public against unqualified persons by setting titles and licensing qualified nurses (Russell, 2012). The titles are Registered Nurses (RNs), and the Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses (LPN/VNs). This will enhance quality in the training of nurses and increase the number of competent nurses. The availability of well-trained nurses promotes professionalism in the workplace and the provision of quality nursing.

Wal-Mart Business Strategy Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Wal-Mart Business Strategy Analysis - Essay Example Wal-Mart draws its competitive edge in the market owning to its efficient supply chain management. The company has effectively used innovations and technology to generate efficiency in supply chain management that has helped it to fuel its highly acclaimed EDLP (Every Day Low Price) strategy. Behind this successful strategy lies technological innovations like cross docking and use of Enterprise Resource Planning to integrate various business units and generate cost effectiveness. The use of real time information system to forecast demand has helped Wal-Mart to ensure that demand forecasting is done on the basis of real time data. Wal-Mart has also integrated its suppliers with the system and also used the famous cross docking system to ensure reduced inventory carrying costs. The supply chain management of the company has helped ensure that there are no overstocking or stock outs. This has reduced the inventory carrying costs by a huge margin. The cost benefits gathered from the inve ntory management of the company has been used to fuel the company’s Every Day Low Price strategy (Bergdahl, 2008, p.20). However in recent times there have been numerous issues with regards to the company’s cost reduction strategy with reports that Wal-Mart sources low quality goods from third world countries so as to have goods with low price. In order to counter the latest bashings regarding the company, Wal-Mart initiated a slew of measures that ranged from measures to improve the social image of the organization.... This has reduced the inventory carrying costs by a huge margin. The cost benefits gathered from the inventory management of the company has been used to fuel the company’s Every Day Low Price strategy (Bergdahl, 2008, p.20). However in recent times there have been numerous issues with regards to the company’s cost reduction strategy with reports that Wal-Mart sources low quality goods from third world countries so as to have goods with low price. In order to counter the latest bashings regarding the company, Wal-Mart initiated a slew of measures that ranged from measures to improve the social image of the organization as well as promoting employee friendly policies that would have helped it to position its image as a socially responsible and employee friendly organization. In response to the bashings in various quarters, Wal-Mart increased the employee insurance cover for the employees and included both permanent as well as contractual staff. It also revamped its reward and incentive policies in order to project the company as an employee friendly organization caring towards the needs of the employees. Wal-Mart also initiated some community development programs such as eliminating wastage and use of recyclable products in order to showcase its environmental sustainability; it also planned means to reduce energy consumption. For the customers, the company initiated a new design for its stores and also came up with attractive offers and new discounts in order to project a customer friendly image of the company. Strict quality control standards were implemented for suppliers including use of eco friendly ways in their business processes. In addition to this Wal-Mart also took up measures in which it would work closely with their suppliers in order to

Employees Incentive System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Employees Incentive System - Essay Example "These collective risks are being operationalized in incentive programs that often impact as much as 30% of a manager's income" (Tully, 1995; Schraeder and Becton, n.d.). As the threat of global trade liberalization looms, "competitive pressures" on business organizations will continue to expand. Therefore, business organizations must take the necessary steps in order to become more "innovative, productive, and efficient". [In order to remain more competitive], business organizations have to make use of all its "resources" in order to maximize the usefulness of its "operations" (Scharaeder and Becton, n.d.). And labor, being the most essential part of expenditure of the business, must be utilized to the fullest by developing and adopting "compensation strategies such as incentive programs [in order to] align individual motivation and goals with the objectives of the organization (Scharaeder and Becton, n.d.). This caused the organizations to "continually faced" with problems of maintaining and energizing excellent employees and "elevating additional business units into the upper echelon of excellent performance". "It is within the confines of these t wo separate, but related challenges that an organization must differentiate between employee recognition and performance improvement" (Driving excellence to the bottom line, n.d.). U.S. business organizations are now being encouraged to adopt employee's incentive programs in order to improve and encourage employees' performance, improve overall operation of the firm, and thereby promote peace and harmony among the work force especially on management-employees relationships. It has long been proven by a variety of research and studies that the performance of the employees can be enhance or influence by the way they are managed (Delaney and Huselid, 1996). The "National Organizations Survey" survey on 590 profit and non-profit companies has proven the "positive associations between human resource management (HRM) practices, such as training and staffing selectivity, and perceptual firm performance measures. [The study also] further suggests the methodological issues for consideration in examinations of the relationship between HRM systems and firm performance" (Delaney and Huselid, 1996). Now, it is evident that more and more companies are tapping into the advantages of employee incentive programs in order to remain competitive. "The National Association of Manufacturers surveyed 4,500 companies to follow up on prior studies examining skill level of workers and common human resource practices. They found that 54% of these companies offered some type of bonus plan and another 35% offered some type of gain-sharing or pay for performance program" (Micco, 1997; Schraeder and Becton, n,d,). Furthermore, employee incentive programs are now being use by the reputable U.S. companies. "As an example, Pagoago and Williams (1993), by using the Hay survey to study 1,256 hospitals and 350,000 individuals in the healthcare field, has found out that more than half of the surveyed hospitals are adopting various kinds of employee incentive programs and "that a growing number of these organizations used contingent pay such as discretionary bonuses, skill based pay, and team based pay. It is also interesting to note that survey results indicated a significant

In what ways does a consideration of interdependence challenge the Essay

In what ways does a consideration of interdependence challenge the realist analysis of the prospects for international co-operation in pursuit of absolute gains - Essay Example The very fact that a new world order has emerged following the collapse of Soviet Union in particular and the Communist Bloc in general demands a shift in our focus of attention while analysing the interactions of the states. The very nature of nation-states itself has profoundly changed. The mutations on sovereignty of nation-states, which are caused by neoliberal globalisation, are unprecedented and apparently irreversible. New institutions have emerged at the international level and they exert greater influence over the policy formulations even by the nation-states that are marginally integrated to the world market. Tradionally, the international system has been indeed seen as a world of sovereign states. States have the monopoly of power within a given territory and claim to represent the interests of the subjects of its rule. A state is primary unit at the international level. Constitutional independence is a defining character of a legitimate state. All states are considered equal in front of the international law. As opposed to the theoretical situation, we can see that the interactions between and among the states at the international level do involves relations of power. Many theorists of international politics have observed that powerful states are able to incorporate their desired ends to the international laws and mobilise what they want from the other states that have lesser resources. The very conception of political is different for realism and liberalism. The political is conceived as the means to certain ideals in liberal theory such as democracy and liberty. Antagonistically, realism sees politics as characterised by conflict. Realism is also known as political realism. Classical realism, neorealism and neoclassical realism are the major varieties of realist thinking. On the other hand, liberal

Claytronics Case Essay Example for Free

Claytronics Case Essay Claytronics is an emerging field of engineering concerning reconfigurable nanoscale robots designed to form much larger scale machines or mechanisms. Also known as programmable matter, the catoms will be sub-millimeter computers that will eventually have the ability to move around, communicate with each others, change color, and electrostatically connect to other catoms to form different shapes. The forms made up of catoms could morph into nearly any object, even replicas of human beings for virtual meetings. . Likely spherical in shape, a catom would have no moving parts. Rather, it would be covered with electromagnets to attach itself to other catoms; it would move by using the electromagnets to roll itself over other catoms. The catoms surfaces would have light-emitting diodes to allow them to change color and photo cells to sense light, allowing the collective robot to see. Each would contain a fairly powerful, Pentium-class computer . According to Carnegie Mellons Synthetic Reality Project personnel, claytronics are described as An ensemble of material that contains sufficient localcomputation, actuation, storage, energy, sensing, and communication which can be programmed to form interesting dynamic shapes and configurations. The idea is not to transport objects nor is it to recreate an objects chemicalcomposition, but rather to create a physical artefact,that will mimic the shape, movement, visual appearance,sound, and tactile qualities of the original object INTRODUCTION: Programmable matter one day could transform itself into all kinds of look-alikes The day when doctors routinely made house calls may be past, but that doesnt mean that someday you wont routinely see your doctor in your home with emphasis on see. That is to say, your doctor could physically work out of her office. But a three-dimensional lookalike, assembled from perhaps a billion tiny, BB-like robots, could be her stand-in in your home. She could talk with you, touch you, look at you, all under the control of the real, if distant, doc. After the examination, she could be disassembled, leaving behind a big pile of beads. Or the beads might reassemble into a piece of moving sculpture, or turn into a chair. Not a single such robot yet exists; building the one-millimeter diameter robots that Goldstein envisions is beyond current technology. And he acknowledges it could be decades before a synthetic doctor is possible, much less affordable.But its not too soon to start thinking about it. Its a little like putting a man on the moon, said Todd Mowry.Its not just a problem of building tiny robots, but figuring out how to power them, to get them to stick together and to coordinate and control millions or billions of them. No ones even sure what to call it. Claytronics, synthetic reality and programmable matter have been proposed. Dynamic physical rendering is the label Intel uses. Each of the individual robots comprising these people or shapes would be a claytronic atom, or catom. Likely spherical in shape, a catom would have no moving parts. Rather, it would be covered with electromagnets to attach itself to other catoms; it would move by using the electromagnets to roll itself over other catoms. *The catoms surfaces would have light-emitting diodes to allow them to change color and photo cells to sense light, allowing the collective robot to see. Each would contain a fairly powerful, Pentium-class computer. CLAYTRONICS, A SYNTHETIC REALITY [pic][pic] The big advantage of designing on a computer is the ease of changing things, like color and shape. But, especially for 3D objects, it has some disadvantages. You don’t really get a feel for the object: What does it look like when I walk around it? How does it feel when I hold it in my hands? With Claytronics technology this problem could be solved. What is Claytronics? Claytronics is an emerging field of engineering concerning reconfigurable nanoscale robots (claytronic atoms, or catoms) which can interact with each other to form tangible 3-D objects that a user can interact with.They are designed to form much larger scale machines or mechanisms. Also known as programmable matter, the catoms will be sub-millimeter computers that will eventually have the ability to move around, communicate with each others, change color, and electrostatically connect to other catoms to form different shapes. The forms made up of catoms could morph into nearly any object, even replicas of human beings for virtual meetings. Claytronics technology is currently being researched by Professor Seth Goldstein and Professor Todd C. Mowry at Carnegie Mellon University, which is where the term was coined. . The Carnegie Mellon University together with Intel are currently researching this technology. Though it might seem somewhat futuristic, they are confident that it can be realized and they’ve got Moore’s Law( describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware, in which the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years) to back it up. According to Carnegie Mellons Synthetic Reality Project personnel, claytronics are described as An ensemble of material that contains sufficient local computation, actuation, storage, energy, sensing, and communication which can be programmed to form interesting dynamic shapes and configurations. Claytronics has the potential to greatly affect many areas of daily life, such as telecommunication, human-computer interfaces, and entertainment In other words, programmable matter will allow us to take a (big) step beyond virtual reality, to synthetic reality, an environment in which all the objects in a user’s environment are physically realized. Note that the idea is not to transport objects nor is it to recreate an objects chemical composition, but rather to create a physical artefact that will mimic the shape, movement, visual appearance,sound, and tactile qualities of the original object Claytronics though based upon on concepts of physics and electronics in schoolbooks (and a neat trick), its a technology of 2040 and 2050 due to the technical challenge scientific and engineering community live with. Challenge is to develop and control this material on the scale of nanometers (100 times thinner then human hair, 1 nanometer = 10 -9 meters). Claytronics doesnt end with working together philosophy or networked computing alone. Catoms, basic blocks of claytronics can morph their physical and chemical properties, meaning same material can be of different mechanical, thermal properties, can have different shape or size, different color, fluorescent material can be converted to super reflecting mirror. These highlights and long wait till Year 2040/50. . Our goal is that the system be usable now and scalablefor the future. Thus, the guiding design principle,behind both the hardware and the software, is SCALABILITY.Hardware mechanisms need to scale towards micronsized catoms and million-catom ensembles. Software mechanisms need to be scale invariant. Claytronics will be a test-bed for solving some of the most challenging problems we face today: how to build complex, massively distributed dynamic systems. It is also a step towards truly integrating computers into our lives—by having them integrated into the very artifactsaround us and allowing them to interact with the world. Catoms Programmable matter consists of a collection of individual components, which we call claytronic atoms or catoms. Catoms can †¢ move in three dimensions in relation to other catoms, †¢ adhere to other catoms to main ­tain a 3D shape, communicate with other catoms in an ensemble, and compute state information with possible assistance from other catoms in the ensemble. Each catom is a unit with a CPU, a network device, a single-pixel display, one or more sensors, a means of locomotion, and a mechanism for adhering to other catoms. Although this sounds like a microrobot, we believe that imple ­menting a completely autonomous microrobot is unnecessarily complex. Instead, we take a cue from cellular reconfigurable robotics research to simplify the individual robot modules so that they are easier to manufacture using high-volume methods. Ensemble principle: Realizing this vision requires new ways of thinking about massive num ­bers of cooperating millimeter-scale units. Most importantly, it demands simplifying and redesigning the soft ­ware and hardware used in each catom to reduce complexity and manufactur ­ing cost and increase robustness and reliability. For example, each catom must work cooperatively with others in the ensemble to move, communi ­cate, and obtain power. Consequently, our designs strictly adhere to the ensemble principle: A robot module should include only enough functionality to contribute to the ensemble’s desired functionality. Three early results of our research each highlight a key aspect of the ensemble principle: easy manufacturability, powering million-robot ensem ­bles, and surface contour control with ­out global motion planning. High-Volume Manufacturability Some catom designs will be easier to produce in mass quantity than others. Our present exploration into the design space investigates modules without moving parts, which we see as an inter ­mediate stage to designing catoms suit ­able for high-volume manufacturing. In our present macroscale (44-mm diameter), cylindrical prototypes, shown in Figure 1, each catom is equipped with 24 electromagnets arranged in a pair of stacked rings. To move, a pair of catoms must ï ¬ rst be in contact with another pair. Then, they must appropriately energize the next set of magnets along each of their circumferences. . The current prototypes can only overcome the frictional forces opposing their own horizontal movement, but downscaling will improve the force budget substantially. The resulting force from two similarly energized magnet coils varies roughly with the inverse cube of distance, whereas the ï ¬â€šux due to a given coil varies with the square of the scale factor. Hence, the potential force generated between two catoms varies linearly with scale. Meanwhile, mass varies with the cube of scale. Powering Microbot Ensembles:. Some energy requirements, such as effort to move versus gravity, scale with size. Others, such as communi ­cation and computation, don’t. As microrobots (catoms) are scaled down, the onboard battery’s weight and volume exceed those of the robots themselves. To provide sufï ¬ cient energy to each catom without incurring such a weight and volume penalty, we’re developing methods for routing energy from an external source to all catoms in an ensemble. For example, an ensemble could tap an environmental power source, such as a special table with pos ­itive and negative electrodes, and route that power internally using catom-to ­catom connections. To simplify manufacturing and accelerate movement, we believe it’s necessary to avoid using intercatom connectors that can carry both supply and ground via separate conductors within the connector assembly. Such complex connectors can signiï ¬ cantly increase reconï ¬ guration time. For example, in previously con ­structed modular robotic systems such as the Palo Alto Research Center’s PolyBot and the Dartmouth Robotics Lab’s Molecule it can take tens of seconds or even minutes for a robot module to uncouple from its neighbor, move to another module, and couple with that newly proximal module. In contrast, our present unary-con ­nector-based prototypes can â€Å"dock† in less than 100 ms because no special connector alignment procedure is required. This speed advantage isn’t free, however: A genderless unary con ­nector imposes additional operational complexity in that each catom must obtain a connection to supply from one neighbor and to ground from a dif ­ferent neighbor. Several members of the Claytronic team have recently developed power distribution algorithms that satisfy these criteria. These algorithms require no knowledge of the ensemble conï ¬ g ­uration—lattice spacing, ensemble size, or shape—or power-supply loca ­tion. Further, they require no on-catom power storage. Shape Control Without Global Motion Planning: Classical approaches to creating an arbitrary shape from a group of mod ­ular robots involve motion planning through high-dimensional search or gradient descent methods. However, in the case of a million-robot ensemble, global search is unlikely to be tractable. Even if a method could globally plan for the entire ensemble, the communi ­cations overhead required to transmit individualized directions to each mod ­ule would be very high. In addition, a global plan would break down in the face of individual unit failure. To address these concerns, we’re developing algorithms that can control shape without requiring extensive planning or communication. This approach focuses on the motion of holes rather than that of robots per se. Given a uniform hexag ­onal-packed plane of catoms, a hole is a circular void due to the absence of seven catoms. Such a seven-catom hole can migrate through the ensemble by appropriate local motion of the adja ­cent catoms. Holes migrate through the ensemble as if moving on a frictionless plane, and bounce back at the ensemble’s edges. Just as bouncing gas molecules exert pressure at the edges of a balloon, bouncing holes interact frequently with each edge of the ensemble without the need for global control. As Figure 2 illustrates, edges can contract by con ­suming a hole or expand by creating a hole, purely under local control. We initiate shape formation by â€Å"ï ¬ ll ­ing† the ensemble with holes. Each hole receives an independent, random veloc ­ity and begins to move around. A shape goal speciï ¬ es the amount each edge region must either contract or expand to match a desired target shape. A hole that hits a contracting edge is consumed. In effect, the empty space that constitutes the hole moves to the outside of the ensemble, pulling in the surface at that location. Similarly, expanding edges create holes and inject them into the ensemble, pushing its contour out in the c orresponding local region. [pic] Importantly, all edge contouring and hole motion can be accomplished using local rules, and the overall shape of an ensemble can be programmed purely by communicating with the catoms at the edges. Hence, we use probabilistic methods to achieve a deterministic result. Our initial analyses of the cor ­responding 3D case suggest surface contour control will be possible via a similar algorithm. Ping-Pong to marble size A large, moving shape such as a human replica might contain a billion catoms. A system with a billion computer nodes, he added, is something on the scale of the entire Internet. . . . Unlike the real Internet, our thing is moving. This will require new schemes for quickly organizing and reorganizing such a large computer network. A moving shape will necessarily force catoms to constantly and quickly change positions, breaking connections with one set of catoms and establishing new connections with others. The idea behind self-reconfigurable robots is that a robot could change shape depending on a task perhaps operating as a snake-like robot to wiggle through tight spaces, while taking the form of a spider or a humanoid for other types of exploration. Identifying each catom by a number, like each computer on the Internet, isnt likely to work. Rather, catoms may identify themselves based on function or position a catom replicating a human would need to know if it was part of a pinky finger, or a mouth, or an eye. Power also has been a concern. As we shrink thingswe find that weight and bulk is primarily in the battery.The idea is to eliminate the battery. Instead, the catoms will automatically form themselves into electrical circuits, so delivering power to one catom effectively delivers power to all of the catoms. As the shape moves and the catoms rearrange themselves, connections will be repeatedly made and broken, interupting power. So the catoms will be designed with a capacitor or small battery to hold just enough charge to compensate for the momentary disconnections. The system also will be engineered to maintain its shape even when powered off. proposes covering the sides of the catoms with manmade fibers similar to the microscopic foot hairs of the gecko, a tropical lizard.The millions of hairs on a geckos toes allow it to cling to almost any surface. The hairs arent sticky, but rely on weak electrodynamic forces known as the van der Waals force. If the synthetic hairs can be fashioned out of the microscopic fibers known as carbon nanotubes, the hairs could conduct electricity and might serve as the electrical connections between catoms.. Even if claytronics doesnt immediately yield 3-D motion, it might be useful for producing 3-D shapes in the computer-aided design process, Goldstein said. Claytronics antennas could change shape to improve reception of different radio frequencies. A Claytronics cell phone might grow a full-size keyboard, or expand its video display as needed. [pic] The Concept and the trick Catoms, of which claytronics machines will built upon are kind of rich quantum dot. Quantum dot is basically a semiconducting crystal (material used in ICs for almost any electronic or computing device) on a nanoscale, so we can call it semiconducting nanocrystal. Quantum dots unlike normal semiconducting crystal caters to single or more electrons on a scale small enough that they can be called as artificial atoms without their own nucleus. To make this understand better Quantum dots controls can control almost single electron in its own territory. These territories have different levels, in scientific term called discrete energy levels on the order of De-Broglies wavelength. Trick is really simple in theory; every substance on a atomic level is identified based upon its atomic number and atomic mass number. Atom has three basic atomic particles (no of basic particles discovered is high as of now) electron, proton and neutron. In a balanced atom no of electrons and protons are same, so no of electrons indicates atomic number as well. Here in Quantum dots we can manipulate no of electrons trapped by adjusting the voltage to the metal. Creating lots of such artificial atoms in metal like semiconductor can alter lots of its chemical and electronic properties to make a non transparent metal behave like a transparent mirror maybe. A Modular Robotic System Using Magnetic Force Effectors One of the primary impediments to building ensembles of modular robots is the complexity and number of mechanical mechanisms used to construct the individual modules. As part of the Claytronics project—which aims to build very large ensembles of modular robots— investigation is done on how to simplify each module by eliminating moving parts and reducing the number of mechanical mechanisms on each robot by using force-at-a-distance actuators. Additionally, also investigating the feasibility of using these unary actuators to improve docking performance, implement intermodule adhesion, power transfer, communication, and sensing. Three magnetic 45mm planar catoms. I. Introduction Advances in manufacturing and electronics open up new possibilities for designing modular robotic systems. As the robots become smaller, it becomes possible to use force-at-adistance actuators—e.g., actuators which cause one module to move relative to another via magnetic or electric fields external to the modules themselves. Furthermore, as the cost and power consumption of electronics continue to decrease, it becomes increasingly attractive to use complex electronics rather than complex mechanical systems. In this paper, we explore how a single device that exploits magnetic forces can be harnessed to unify actuation, adhesion, power transfer, communication, and sensing. By combining a single coil with the appropriate electronics we can simplify the robot— reducing both its weigt and size—while increasing its capabilities. Furthermore ,since we are interested in the ensemble as a whole, we do not require that individual units be self-sufficientAs long as individual units can contribute to the overall motion of the ensemble, they do not need the ability to move independently within the greater environment. We call this design principle the ensemble axiom: each unit contains only the minimum abilities necessary to contribute to the aggregate functionality of the ensemble. Choosing the right mechanism for locomotion is a key design decision. In addition to scalability, the size of the unit must also be taken into account. At the macroscale,complex mechanisms such as motors are effective. However, as units scale down in size other approaches become viable, taking advantage of increasing surface-to-volume ratio and decreasing of inertial moments. Our current robots, which we call planar catoms1, are small enough that we can explore a mechanism designed around magnetic field forceat- a-distance actuators. As the units decrease further in size, actuators based upon electric field forces become viable and are appealing because they use less current, produce less heat, and weigh less than magnetic actuators. Even smaller units could harness surface forces such as surface tension or Van der Waals’ forces. The size scale also affects power transfer and storage: because electrical resistance increases as contact size decreases, direct electrical connections between robots become increasingly impractical. II. Related Work Of the many research efforts the most relevant to our work is Fracta Fracta is a two dimensional modular robot which uses a combination of permanent magnets and electromagnets for locomotion and adhesion. As in our planar catoms, to move a module requires communication between the moving module and its neighbors. The two main differences between Fracta and planar catoms are due to changes in underlying technology and the use of permanent magnets. Fracta modules are constrained to be in a hex-lattice whereas the planar catoms have additional actuators and can be arranged in a cubic or hex lattice. Significant advances in VLSI enable us to create smaller, lighter units which do not use permanent magnets. We also harness the magnets for more than locomotion and adhesion, i.e., the magnets also serve as the main mechanism for power transfer, sensing, and communications. Planar catoms are our first step along the path towards realizing three dimensional claytronics. The robots rely on the external forces and move stochastically, adhering to each other under control of the program running on the robot. The ensemble principle is carried even further in the latter project; robots are unpowered until they adhere to a powered robot.

Does the Media Frame Social Reality?

Does the Media Frame Social Reality? Critically assess the proposition that the media ‘frames’ social reality. Introduction Roughly developing processes in modern society touch all aspects of life. In the end, it highlights the importance of the development of public consciousness of people, their communication, interaction and relationship at all levels of activities. In our time, such thing as mass media renders huge psychological influence on consciousness of the person all over the world. Unfortunately, today’s media presented by reality which is substantially mediated by someones opinion. Moreover, it is simplified and doesn’t offer any reflection or the analysis. Entman (2007: 164) suggests that in certain way this information can be dangerous, as the person accepts processed information without personal reflection. In such case, media can inspire and change a lot of things. Therefore, for us it is much easier to plunge into the flow of information, than critically try to perceive it. Today, media is a powerful factor of influence on a mental condition of people. For the last decade there was a set of researches on the matter of media in absolutely various spheres (press, television, advertising, radio, internet). After all, as Hodkinson (2011: 109) states, the distinctive features of any media in the world have always been such things as publicity and ambiguous inconsistent tool of media itself. This fact stimulates new growth of researches about possible ways and consequences of integration of media in social life of people. Media â€Å"framing† of public consciousness â€Å"Mass media became the main tool for distribution of the messages that influence public consciousness† (Hodkinson, 2011: 111). The modern person can’t evade mass media influence. In other words, impact of media on public opinion often described as mind manipulation. This phenomenon, as Hodkinson (2011: 113) insists, is very widespread in Great Britain, United States and the developed countries of Asia. For greater success, such thing as mind control should always remain imperceptible. The success of manipulation is guaranteed, when the viewer believes that all events are natural and inevitable. It is important, that people’s trust is neutral to all main social institutes. Audience should believe that the government, mass media and science are behind a framework of clashing social interests. So, at that point, institutes can settle different situations and protect interests of citizens. Entman (2007: 167) believes that the government takes the main place in the myth about neutrality. On the one hand, the myth assumes honesty and impartiality of the government and its components. On the other hand, such things as corruption, deception and fraud, which were showed from time to time, are accepted to move to human weaknesses. Institutes are higher than suspicions. Fundamental durability of all system is provided with careful thought about the work of its components. It is considered that media is also should be neutral for giving the publicity the realistic analysis of life. Any deviations are admitted, but mass media assures us that it is no more than the mistakes of cer tain people that can’t be considered as a whole reliable institute of distribution of information. One of the most important rules of mind manipulation is the success that depends on how fully you will isolate the addressee from extraneous influence. Ideal situation is the total absence of alternative sources of information and opinion. Mind control is incompatible with dialogue and public debate. Hodkinson (2011: 117) mentioned that the main role of mind manipulation is not only about the control of public opinion, but also about its integration into society. It is important to send public consciousness to the necessary point and to give installation on certain reactions to different events. The integrated opinion should be perceived as personal and it should be real, not imposed, created by the natural way that has arisen from the person’s mind according to the analysis of received information. It looks like deception. But it is not always necessary to perceive mind manipulation as a negative factor. Today, provision of integrity to state and need of reforms are the parts of any country’s policy. It follows that it is necessary to prepare society for any changes. Therefore media in this case are irreplaceable assistant and powerful control tool. The main thing is to be able to dispose it wisely. Mass media cover various actual public problems. As a result, they influence opinion and behavior of people both in society and in person. Media today is a powerful tool of impact on a social and psychological condition of people. Greatest degree of influence is the audience with the weak consciousness which has not have personal outlook. Nevertheless, the sides of influence can be both positive, and negative. Long and Wall (2013: 359) agree that it is possible to allocate direct aspects of main functions of media: information transfer, the entertainment, informative and educational tool. But there is also some deeper influence that can be imperceptible for the first time. For example, with the help of the media, the public opinion was created the condition of the mass consciousness comprising the hidden or obvious relation of various social problems. That is how reality events formed. It is important to note that right now there is accurately formulated public opinion about such global universal issues as prevention of ecological accident, nuclear and biological warfare and many more. As there is an accurate opinion in world consciousness about these problems, it is possible to say that media can observe some objective information which is not contradicting values of society, both allowing to create rather long-term and affirmed view. Internet is much extended now as well. Media system o f searching and sending information around the globe, generated by technologies, undoubtedly, got an absolute degree of freedom. This phenomenon opens huge possibilities for creativity, training and modeling. In addition, the virtual technologies created on the basis of understanding social reality, will bring doubtless advantage both for individual person, and the state system as a whole. Certainly these are the positive sides of media influence on public opinion and human activity. One of negative impacts of media is advertising, or, to be more precise, disinformation method. It is considered at the moment of making any serious decision. Sometimes media give news that considered as lie. As a matter of fact, disinformation goes from untrusted channels and stay in the mind of the person. Even though this method is useful because it is used at the moment of making any crucial decision, this method is clearly not fair, and when the person will understand the truth, the result of disinformation will be already achieved. Fortunately, disinformation method observed not so often in modern media. Unfortunately, the method of â€Å"framing† used much more obviously. The frame method includes strict and careful selection of information, causing a variety of emotions. This method allows media to monitor and influence the audience, by manipulating different associations which built on typical person’s thoughts. Stereotypes operate effectively all processes of perception of information. †Perceiving process is the manual regulation of the obscure fact under an unchangeable common law† (Entman, 2007: 170). Therefore media prune down all submitted information or put it in a framework or common idea. The person should perceive the message without any efforts, thinking that information from mass media source is the unique and only right possible way of perception of reality. Media makes the person think stereotypically. It reduces intellectual level of messages, turning itself to ideal stupidity tool. It is possible only with the â€Å"frame† method of fixing unnecessary stereotypes in the mind of people. Thus, by means of various methods, influence of media is extremely important. It is possible to make the idea, that skillful manipulation of public consciousness can cause not only direct changes in cultural development and behavior of society, but also in a certain role of each social class and person separately. Conclusion A variety of mass media (the press, the Internet, radio, television) should conduct to an individualization of social activity and consciousness of the person and to give him the chance of a choice: to watch or not watch TV, to read or not read the press, to listen or not listen to broadcasts. But, after long studying of a question of media framing, the sad conclusion has been drawn. In fact, it is only illusion, the person has no choice. The great number of people is watching the same channels on television, the programs which are confirmed by state regulations. They read the same articles in magazines and newspapers, listen to the same radio and information releases, looking for typical affairs, views, problems. Current situation generates ambiguity of media. As Hesmondhalgh (2013: 39) reported, the development of mass communication services positively affects awareness of individuals about the world, but in the same time there is a factor which is actually manipulating consciousness of masses behind all this development process. Media is standing still among the first provocateurs of individual degradation, standard views and behavior of people and developing uniformity of their reactions. Great British politician once said that the one, who owns information, owns the world. Today, it is possible to say with confidence that the one, who control media flow, is capable to influence the modern world. Reference list: Entman, R. (2007) â€Å"Framing Bias: Media in the Distribution of Power†, Journal of Communication, vol. 57, no. 1, March, pp. 163–173. Hesmondhalgh, D. (2013) The Cultural Industries, London: Sage. pp. 37-633. Hodkinson, P. (2011) Media, Culture Society, London: Sage. pp. 105-26. Long, P.and Wall, T. (2012) Media Studies, London: Sage. pp.344-69.  Bibliography: Curran, J. (1986) Bending Reality, London: Pluto. Marris, P. and Thornham, S. (1999) Media Studies: A Reader, 2nd edition, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Hall, S. (1997) Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Rojek, C. (2013) Event Power, London: Sage. pp. 112-121.

What are the Four Policy Issues in the Pay Model?

What are the Four Policy Issues in the Pay Model? In the Pay Model, there are four polices that have been used for determining for paying the employee the organization such as internal alignment, external competitiveness, employee contributions and of the pay system but two most important pay model polices are internal alignment and external competitiveness. This is because in internal alignment look how job and skills related to importance to achieve organization objectives. In another way, we look also other method pay model, which is external competitiveness, which indicates of pay comparisons to with the competitor. Not only basic salary or wages are concerned but also what method of payment should be using the organization use for paying their employee of such as base, incentives, stock, benefits are used by these competitors use to compared to the pay mix we use to compete with other organization to stay remain competitive than competitor pay scheme. Compensation also related directly influence key outcomes like job satisfaction, attraction, retention, performance, flexibility, cooperation, skill acquisition and so forth. However, its influence may also be indirect by facilitating or constraining the effectiveness of other human resource activities (Gerhart and Milkovich, 1991). Compensation is only one part of the policies and programs organizations use to manage employee relations. Decisions regarding employment security, development and training, career opportunities, employee assistance programs are important to decide before proceed what method and how it can be done in compensating employee (Milkovich and Broderick, 1989). In this article not the only definition of external competitive and internal alignment are discussed but also why these elements are important to the organization to stay competitive and retain high qualified employee with skills and knowledge need by organization to focus on to achieve goals and objective of the organization that operates around the world that has been studied by many researchers before. We also see why external competitive element plays so many roles in determining the success of the organization rather than internal alignment in the organization. Definition of internal alignment and external competitiveness Internal alignment or internal equity is refers to comparisons among jobs or skill levels inside a single organisations (Milkovich and Newman, 2008). Jobs and peoples skills are compared in terms of their relative contributions to the organisations business objectives. In Internal alignment also focus on why pay relationships that motivating employees to choose increased training and greater responsibility in dealing with customers, internal pay relationships indirectly affect the capabilities of the workforce and hence the efficiency of the entire organization. This also agree by report Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) Report, 2008) that defines internal alignment is the set of commitments, strategies, policies, procedures, systems and behaviours that support integrated customer decision making based on suppliers commercial and ethical commitment and performance. This is translated into practice by the basic techniques of reward management, job analysis, job evaluation, and performance appraisal. The focus is on comparing jobs and individuals in terms of their relative contributions to the organizations objectives (Bratton and Gold, 2001). Pay relationships within the organization affect all three compensation objectives in internal alignment. This method also affect employee decisions which to stay with the organization or leave the organization. Then the organization must motivating employees to attend training and seek greater responsibility in dealing with customers, internal pay relationships indirectly affect the capabilities of the workforce and hence the efficiency of the entire organization. Fairness is affected through employees comparisons of their pay to the pay of others in the organization. If the internal alignment is refers in single organization but either way external competitiveness which refers to pay comparisons with competitors. This basically involves when implementing in organization which are, to be a pay leader, to match the market rate, or to lag behind what competitive organizations are paying (Bratton and Gold, 1999). Basically when practicing external competitiveness two ways first by setting pay level that is above, below or equal to that of competitor secondly, determining of pay mix relative to those of competitors. In both of pay level and pay mix focuses in two objectives which are control cost and attract and retain employee (Milkovich and Newman, 2008). External competitiveness refers to comparisons of the organizations pay relative to the pay of competitive organizations (Bratton and Gold, 2001). Objective of determining external competitiveness decisions in terms of both how much and what forms are (Milkovich and Newman, 2008); To ensure that the pay is sufficient to attract and retain employees if employees do not perceive their pay as competitive in comparison to what other organizations are offering for similar work, they may be more likely to leave To control labour costs so that the organizations prices of products or services can remain competitive in a global economy. Overall the internal alignment and external competitiveness are essential to compensation includes any direct or indirect payments to employees, such as wages, bonuses, stock, and benefits. So external competitiveness directly affects both efficiency and fairness and it must do so in an ethical way that complies with relevant legislation and internal alignment seek that where organizations internal drivers, include vision and mission as well as general goals, are aligned with their words and actions. Factors in internal alignment and external competitiveness In internal alignment factors are divided into three which are External Factors, Organizational Factors and Internal and External Factors combine (Milkovich and Newman, 2008). In external factors divided into several categories which are economic pressures, government policies, laws, and regulations, external stakeholders, cultures and customs. Then in organizational factors also divided into strategy technology, human capital, HR (Human Resource) policy, employee acceptance and cost implications. All these factors can be explained in diagram 1 below; Source: Milkovich and Newman (2008) In external factors, there is economic pressure which has been studied before by Adam Smith and Karl Marx, which also determine marginal productivity that what need of an input (factor of production) the extra is output that can be produced by one using more units of the input and then supply and demand needed for paid wages and purchasing products. In government policies, laws and regulations are which every organization must follow to stay operational in certain country they business on. Finally on culture and customs according G. Hoefstede (1980) is the mental programming for processing information that the people share in common. This also translate into organization culture that help organizational values to develop organizational norms, guidelines, or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behaviour by employees in particular situations and control the behaviour of organizational members towards one another. Organization factors also play crucial part of the determining compensation in internal alignment. First strategy of any compensation method must alignment with organization goals and mission to make sure that any compensation that given to workers is paid back by workers fulfills goals and mission of organization they work for. Technology is the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem. Then Human capital refers to the stock of competences, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value1. After that HR (Human Resource) policy are the mechanisms that handling risk by staying up to date with current trends in employment standards and legislation. The policies must be stated in proper manner to ensure that companies vision the human resource helping the company to achieve it or work towards it are at all levels benefited and at the same time not deviat ed from their main objective. Then only that worker can have of career progress to ensure that employee can give the best productivity towards organization. Finally when all organization factors has been determined the organization must calculate the cost to sure that is beyond the budget to stay in operation of the company. In internal structure is refers array of pay rates for different work or skills within a single organization. The number of levels, the differentials in pay between the levels, and the criteria used to determine those differences describe the structure. In determining external competitiveness this question should be ask what level of pay base, benefits, incentive, and perquisites should be offered relative to competitors? What mix of these forms should be offered either by fix salary, flexible benefits, stock options, cash bonuses, and stock appreciation rights, etc.? What should the proportion of guaranteed compensation (base or benefits) relative to riskier returns (incentives) be? It is also determined by labour market that determine supply and demand that usually employers or organization always seek to maximize profits, then people are homogeneous and therefore interchangeable, after that pay rates reflect all costs associated with employment and finally markets faced by employers are competitive to other organizations. Product market and labor market competition may provide on the part of employers in choosing a pay level (Gerhart Milkovich, 1990). Product market comparisons are critical, more resources need to be devoted to measuring compensation (or better, unit labor costs) paid by such organizations. In contrast, if labor market comparisons are important, it is necessary to devote resources to find out to which organizations applicants and employees are being lost (Gerhart and Milkovich, 1991). In organization factors that will create competitiveness that influenced by pay level and pay mix either in industry, strategy, size and individual manager. Pay mix and pay level decisions focus on first controlling costs and attracting and secondly retaining employees (Milkovich and Newman, 2008). Equation of pay level is shown below; Pay level =((base + bonuses + benefits + value of stocks))/(number of employees) All factors in external competitiveness are showed in table 1 below; Labour Markets Nature of Supply Level of Product Demand Individual Manager Similarities in internal alignment and external competitiveness In determining internal alignment or external competitiveness or both used for designing the compensation package for an employee in an organization, there are similarities between them, which are efficiency, fairness and compliance. First, efficiency that can help imply the future return can encourage employees to remain within the organization, increasing experience and training, cooperate with workers and seek greater responsibility for the sake of organization they work for. This will diminish shirking among workers and permit hiring best qualified employees (Milkovich and Newman, 2008). Second, fairness also shows that organization must be fair to ensure that good employee dont retire and sustain organization productivity and trust among employees. Even though not everyone is paid equal but at least must be fair according to job, skills and knowledge a certain employee had so what happen when that is perceived as too large? Fortune (1989), for example asserts that this differential is seen by employees as unfair, resulting in a trust gap which suggests that such differentials are necessary to provide incentives for expending effort and taking on added responsibilities and risks to the organization which resulted in higher turnover and dissatisfaction among an employee who work for the organization. Finally, in compliance which compensation either in internal alignment or external alignment must be complied either in terms of policy, rules, acts and regulations that have been set up by government? Other than that this to ensure t all necessary governance requirements can be met without the unnecessary organization manipulation when operates certain countries. Why is external competitiveness so important rather than internal alignment? External competitiveness is established by reference to job advertisements in the press, or by more systematic labour market surveys. This information is then used to construct a pay structure within the organization rather than internal alignment which more in structure of pay in based only knowledge, skills and ability that certain individual had to offer within a single organization. So that why in determining pay structure and compensation method must have external competitiveness to focus and to maintain competitive to another organization. There are several reasons why external competitiveness important rather than internal alignment like following below; Reduce negative perception of employee towards organization. Pay onlywhat be supposed to the organization should be paid towards workers. Get better view what the other organization does to compensate the workers to make workers motivate and minimized turnover among them. Internal alignment is very completed process and hard to implement in organization. External competitiveness is more strategic rather than internal alignment. Reduce negative perception of employee towards organization. While employees negative feelings concerning internal pay equity might be removed by an effective job evaluation scheme, employees will still compare their pay with those in other organizations and industries (Bratton and Gold, 2001). It so is better having combined internal and external to the same to fulfil employee needs and reduce turnover at the same time. These as well agreed by (Milkovich and Broderick, 1989) which choices about the competitive position besides communicating to both prospective and incumbent employees. Savvy employees, for example, can discern the organizations ability and willingness to recognize their needs based on the flexibility and tax protection offered in benefit plans or the opportunity to share in the organization success through stock- and performance-based plans. Even that not all internal alignment structure can be a success one like in General Electric Co.s in 1980s plastics division adopted an exempt pay structure with only four levels: executive, director, leadership, and technical and professional. Managers believe that it provides greater flexibility to move employees without requiring pay changes. It also communicates to employees a relatively egalitarian philosophy about the value (base pay) of different skill groups. However, to be successful, the increased flexibility must be managed effectively. Inconsistencies within levels can result in anarchy and quickly will lead to employee dissatisfaction and distrust (Milkovich and Broderick, 1989). According to Spence (1973) which has studied case of sales jobs, if there is not a large incentive component in which individual effort is important, and one or more of the following three consequences is likely to happen: The right people will not be attracted, They are attracted, but leave when they discover that their efforts are under rewarded, The right people are attracted and retained, but because they are not rewarded for high performance, their performance declines. Rynes (1987) also supported of Spence (1973) idea that compensation systems are capable of attracting (or repelling) the right kinds of people because they communicate so much about an organizations philosophy, values, and practices. Milkovich Bloom (1998) also finds that compensation systems must support organizational goals, foster corporate culture, and help motivate employees to contribute their efforts to further organizational success. Pay onlywhat be supposed to the organization should be paid towards workers. The fact that value to the employee may differ from cost to an employer suggests that, in some cases, fewer costly total compensation packages may actually provide total inducements that are of greater value to employees than those associated with more expensive packages if internal alignment is used for determining paid and compensation for an employee who work for the organization. In many costly benefit options might be the most expensive its value to employees might fall short of the value attached to a compensation package of benefits that is better tailored to employee needs or values. In another study, in which 2000 manufacturing firms were classified into growth, mature, or declining stages, Anderson and Zeithaml (1984) reported that the firms competitiveness (pay level relative to competitors) was greater in each progressive stage. They also reported that the higher relative pay in mature firms adversely affected their return on investment. However, growth firms with higher pay levels relative to competitors reported increased market share of these companies. Therefore, measurement of own and competitors pay levels would ideally include the value to employees of different elements of total compensation. Like study of Gerhart and Milkovich (1991) in Bank of America has eliminated retiree health care coverage for all new hires suggests that organizations believe that different groups of employees (for this, new hires) may differ in the value attached to particular aspects of compensation. Get better view what the other organization does to compensate the workers to make workers motivate and minimized turnover among them. In world of the organization which has paid the works to work not only related in external market without seeing what actually other organization are doing to survive and maintain efficiency of current in the organization. Many organization today organizations do not compete solely in the product market but more refer to market for labour. The classical economics literature suggests that product market and labour market competition may provide relatively little discretion on the part of employers in choosing a pay level (Gerhart Milkovich, 1990). Ford, for example, competes for engineers, lawyers, and human resource managers not only with other automotive companies, but also with companies in the computer, aerospace, electronics, and other industries. Fay (1989) also recognizes that organizations are attempted to gather information about pay practices of competitors through the use of pay surveys. As Rynes and Milkovich (1986) found out, administrative decisions are required about a range of issues including when compensate workers: Which employers are included? Which jobs are included? Which jobs are considered similar enough to use in benchmarking? If multiple surveys are used (fairly typical), how are the multiple rates of pay weighted and combined? Practice in these areas seems to vary across (and probably within) employers. If not following what Rynes and Milkovich (1986) has been done which make the organization make pay level that is too low relative to these competitors could lead to difficulties in attracting and retaining sufficient numbers of quality employees. As such, labour market competition can be seen as placing a lower bound or floor on pay level (Milkovich Newman, 1990). As the importance of a particular comparison increases, so too should the resources devoted to information and measurement. For example, if product market comparisons are critical, more resources need to be devoted to measuring compensation (or better, unit labor costs) paid by such organizations. In contrast, if labor market comparisons are important, it is necessary to devote resources to find out to which organizations applicants and employees are being lost (Gerhart and Milkovich, 1991). Internal alignment is very completed process and hard to implement in organization. Internal alignment is very completed process and hard to implement in the organization even thought validity of conclusions reached through the survey process may depend critically on how the competition is defined, for example, what organizations are chosen for inclusion, little evidence exists on how such choices are made or their implications. Rather, most attention has been focused on potential problems in the job evaluation process, especially in the context of pay equity or comparable worth discussions. Nevertheless, as Schwab (1980) has pointed out, job evaluation is usually validated against some measure of the market rate, meaning that the measure of the pay system is critical. In this manner, many organizations today focus on external competitiveness which is more reliable than internal alignment for determining the compensation scheme for an employee. This has agreed by Lawler (1986) has argued that organizations need to focus greater attention on external competitiveness He believes that an internal focus encourages employees to compare themselves with others within the organization, rather than focusing on the really competition-other organizations. He also suggests that an internal focus result in employees focusing on promotions rather than on performing well on their current job. Moreover, there is some belief that conflicts between external and internal equity may be resolved by increasing the pay of all jobs, not just those were competing in the labour market requires higher pay. Whether true or not, such as organizations would seem to be at a serious labour cost disadvantage in the product market. External competitiveness is more strategic rather than internal alignment. The strategic portfolio model suggests that the notion of compensation system fit may be a messy construct to be done. Generally, strategy refers to the overarching, long-term directions of an organization that are critical to its survival and success. Strategies take advantage of the opportunities and manage the threats in the external environment by marshalling internal resources in some coherent, consistent direction (Dyer, 1985). In from a strategic perspective, organizations and markets are more appropriate units of analysis for understanding changes in international compensation and rewards. The strategic thinking from differences between countries to differences within countries so using internal alignment as medium are unrealistic. Compensation and reward systems are designed to help create and motivate a workforce with the values and capabilities necessary to achieve an organizations unique goals and objectives rather than being designed to meet the national values exhibited by a work force (Bloom, Matt and Milkovich, 1998). Morishimas (1995) study of Japanese companies HR strategies reports differences in compensation approaches associated with organization profitability, size, degree of unionization, capital-labour ratio, and exposure to global competitive forces. For example, Japanese companies operating in protected domestic markets are more likely to use the more traditional nenko system2 than those competing in global and less protected market which reported using more performance and ability-based schemes (Morishima, 1992, 1995; Sano, 1993). Other study related to strategic conditions by Lee, Scarpello, and Rockman (1995) found that factors such as labour market conditions, customer and supplier relations, economic conditions and technology accounted for differences in compensation strategies among Korean chaebols. Pearce, Branyiczki, Bakacsis (1994) study of compensation systems in Hungarian and US companies suggests that political, economic, and institutional forces, rather than national cultures, explain differences in compensation practices. Effective international compensation systems might be those that match internal contingencies for example fit the organizations goals and culture first and then respond to external forces within the constraints of strategic alignment (Bloom, Matt and Milkovich, 1998). Yeung and Wong (1990) assert that organizational goals, political forces, labor market conditions, and demographic factors explain differences in pay and other HRM systems in Japan and the Peoples Republic of China. Recent surveys in Central European countries such as Slovenia and Slovakia also report differences in the use of variable performance based pay schemes, allowances and services, and even in the ratios of top managing directors salaries to the average workforce (Bajzikova, 1996; Zupan, 1995). Although the recent evidence does not suggest national boundaries (national pay systems) can be ignored or overlooked, it does suggest that sufficient discretion for individual organizations exists within these national systems to allow organizations to adopt compensation and reward systems to align them with the organizations business strategies. We believe that The importance of a strategic perspective on compensation rests on three fundamental tenets. The first is that compensation policies and practices differ widely across organizations and across employee groups within organizations. To some students of organizations this may be self evident. But to others, such as economists using human capital models to examine compensation differentials, differences in organizations compensation policies and practices are treated as random noise with little relevance. Anecdotal evidence and sporadic surveys of specific policies or practices report that differences do exist (The Conference Board, 1984; American Productivity Center, 1987). For example, some organizations claim to position their base pay to meet the market, while others follow it; some design incentive schemes to emphasize long-term performance, others short term. Some firms employ individual based incentives while others emphasize group or team based gain-sharing schemes. Some decentra lize the administration of compensation, others do not. Some disclose very specific information about pay to employees, such as ranges and merit guide charts, while others communicate only the broad policies, such as fairness and competitiveness. So a strategy may be intended and formally articulated in some plan or document, or it may emerge through the patterns of decisions shown by the organizations behaviors. Thus, strategies are both plans for the future and patterns from the past to make survival of the organization itself (Mintzberg, 1987). External competitiveness strategies are often expressed as leading, lagging, or matching the market (Milkovich Newman, 2007). In practice, many organizations pursue more than one external competitiveness strategy (Mark, 2008). These organizations may vary their external competitiveness strategies for different groups of jobs. For instance, some organizations may lead for positions deemed critical, whereas for less significant positions th ey may match or lag the market (Milkovich Newman, 2007). What can conclude about this topic? External competitiveness is but one part of an organizations overall compensation strategy. In addition to external competitiveness considerations, issues of internal salary alignment, the design of pay for performance plans, and the administration of the overall pay system are also important. Of these areas, internal salary alignment seems a particularly pertinent area of consideration for those interested in further expanding their knowledge of compensation topics beyond external competitiveness. Internal alignment considers pay relationships between employees inside an organization versus the external relationships considered by external competitiveness. Whereas external competitiveness considers salary comparisons across organizations for employees performing similar work, internal alignment considers salary comparisons inside organizations for employees doing different types of work. Moreover, just as external competitiveness has significant implications for individual and organizational performance, internal alignment has equally important implications. Recommendations The policy on external competitiveness is important if the organization is going to attract, retain, and motivate its employees while achieving the other objectives of controlling labour costs and complying with pay legislation around must be consider due of lack of study about this. To the individual employee, compensation decisions also have important consequences. Salaries and wages represent the main sources of income for most people, and may also be taken as key indicators of a persons social standing or success in life. Benefits, such as health care and pensions, are also important determinants of well being and financial security among employees and their dependents. Not surprisingly then, employees have sought to influence such decisions in a variety of ways, including through unions, supporting government regulation of compensation decisions, and through the courts. Then we must also study more element of strategic involved in determine whatever to attract and retain people in jobs having more unfavourable non-compensation attributes, a compensating differential (for example, higher pay or same pay) is required. Therefore, it is important to understand how individuals are affected by (and react to) different compensation decisions (Gerhart and Milkovich, 1991). Such as what determines variations in patterns of compensation decisions their effects. On the other hand, issues too generally drawn are too time consuming, too ambiguous, too expensive, and often poorly specified. Perhaps a place to begin is to identify compensation decisions that have strategic properties must be included in next study to elaborate more why people attracted to better compensation at organization their work for? Dyer and Theriaults (1976) also mention that in early indication of the potential importance of procedural justice, in addition to distributive justice, in compensation but many researchers has less mention about this manner. Although this particular increment was not large, procedural justice perceptions also explained variance in organizational commitment and trust in supervisor, suggesting that its influence on broader organization attitudes may be greater. Beyond descriptive research, more work is needed to understand both what determines variations in patterns of compensation decisions their effects. A major challenge is to formulate manageable research issues. Issues too narrowly defined suffer from ignoring the multi- dimensionality of compensation and the context in which compensation decisions occur. On the other hand, issues too broadly drawn are too time consuming, too ambiguous, too expensive, and often poorly specified. Perhaps a place to begin is to identify compensation decisions that have strategic properties. For example, do firms within the same industry establish different competitive positions in labour markets? Conventional wisdom is that they do. How do they accomplish thisby different average levels of base pay, by varying the risk-return tradeoffs or the ratio of incentives to total compensation? Do characteristics of organizations vary with their competitive position? These might include some of the determinants di scussed in this paper such as organization strategies, organization characteristics, and external factors. Finally does a firms competitive position have any discernable effect on the size and quality of the applicant pool, on its ability to hire those people it se