The Beginning of the Rwandan Genocide - 758 Words

The first know people to live in the region near Rwanda were the Twa, other wise know as Pygmies. However, between 700 and 1000 BC, Hutu people from the Congo River basin migrated to the area. Although the Hutu had been well functioning since their arrival, in the 15th century, the Tutsi tribe arrived from Northern Africa. The Tutsi were more powerful and conquered the Hutu, creating an intricate feudal system. The Tutsi became the ruling, landowning class and the Hutu became peasants and surfs, while any remaining Twa were the lowest in the social pyramid. Through the end of the 19th century, the region consisting much of modern-day Rwanda was ruled by a single Tutsi king– the mwami. Similar to the Medieval feudal system, the King controlled other Tusti lords and vassals, who then controlled the Hutu working class. By the middle of the 19th century, the kingdom was at its pinnacle, financially well and equipped with a modernly armed military, thanks to trade with eastern Afri cans. In the mid-1800s european settlers began to appear in the 1880s German explorers and colonizers arrived. With German colonization becoming a threat, the mwami finally agreed to German protectorate rule without contest or opposition, knowing he would face defeat if he did. As of 1890, the former Tutsi controlled region was now officially part of German East Africa. However, it wasn’t until the early 20th century in 1907 that German administration actually began to take affect in the area. A fewShow MoreRelatedThe Genocide And The Holocaust Of Night By Elie Wiesel1458 Words   |  6 Pagesatrocities as a genocide. Man will never learn from past mistakes or all of a sudden stop mass killings or genocides. Humans have always killed and they will continue to do it. Humans will not all of a sudden be pacifists and stop killing. This has happened with the Rwandan genocide and with the Holocaust in Night by Elie Wiesel. Man will not stop committing such atrocities and have a brighter future and these are only a few reasons why. First of all, man has been killing since the beginning of time. EvenRead MoreIn Her Article, â€Å"How Not To Talk About African Fiction:1516 Words   |  7 Pagessocial ills, cultural themes, and political concerns† (par. 4). Although it highlights the social ill of the Rwandan Genocide, Boris Boubacar Diop’s novel, Murambi: The Book of Bones (2000), attracts audiences due to having a fictional storyline while simultaneously discussing the realistic events and experiences of the Rwandan genocide. Within the novel, Diop writes about the Rwandan Genocide, spending a particular amount of time on the massacre that took place at the Murambi technical school. ToRead MoreInternational Community Is Culpable For The Rwandan Genocide1376 Words   |  6 PagesApril to June 1994, in a mere 100 days, approximately 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were murdered during the Rwandan genocide (Destexhe, 1994). The international community failed to prevent or stop this slaughter. Considering the horrific nature of this genocide and the vast number of victims, there is a question whether the international community is culpable for the Rwandan genocide; specifically, the role of its key players, the US, the UN, France and Belgium. I will argue that the internationalRead MoreInformative Speech on Rwandan Genocide Outline1300 Words   |  6 PagesBen Johnson Intro to Comm. 1320-04 11/8/12 Rwandan Genocide General Purpose: To Inform Specific Purpose: To share with the class that the Rwandan Genocide was a brutal genocide that most people know little about. Thesis: The Rwandan Genocide is one of the lesser known, quickest, and most inhumane genocides this world has ever seen, and it is still affecting the people of Rwanda till this day. Organizational Pattern: Topical Introduction I. Attention Getter:Read MoreThe Terrible Acts of Rwandan Genocide1296 Words   |  6 PagesIn between 1930 and 1945, an event took place that changed the world in many ways. The Holocaust was a genocide that consisted of the decimation of one single race, the Jews. This solemn event is very similar (and also quite different) to another event that took place only four thousand miles away. Like the Holocaust, this event is was a genocide and it took place at Rwanda in 1994. This genocide was between the Hutus and Tutsis. These two groups have a long background with each other that consistedRead More Roots of the Rwandan Genocide1739 Words   |  7 PagesOn April 6, 1994, Rwanda experienced a period of great turmoil as thousands of people fell victim to the horrors of the Rwandan genocide. The main targets of the genocide were Tutsis and Hutu moderates. Though the main cause of the genocide was a conflict between two ethnicities, the genocide was also fueled by political factors and social conditions. Rwanda is the smallest sub-Saharan country with a population of about 7 million inhabitants. Although the indigenous peoples of Rwanda are the TwaRead MoreRwand The Rwandan Genocide1296 Words   |  6 Pages The Rwandan genocide was the killing of 800,000 people in just 100 days. The Rwandan genocide took place in 1994. During this time Rwanda was a small country with a mostly agricultural economy. Although it is small it had one of the largest populations. In 1994 Rwanda was made up of three different ethnic groups. The Hutu made of 85% of the Rwandan population. The Tutsiâ₠¬â„¢s made of 14% of the population and was the minority. The Twa was a small Pygmy group that made up 1% of the population (unitedhumanrightsRead MoreChristianity and Genocide in Rwanda800 Words   |  4 Pagesand Genocide in Rwanda by Timothy Longman discusses the roles of the churches in Rwanda and how their influence might have been able to alter the outcome of the genocide. He discusses the rise of Juvenal Habyarimana in politics with his Catholic background, church and state relations, and obedience to political authority. His slogan â€Å"Peace, Unity, and Development† were his political plans for Rwanda. On April 6, 1994, president Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down marking the beginning of theRead MoreThe Rwandan Genocide1188 Words   |  5 PagesRwandan Genocide The Rwandan Genocide began on April 6, 1994 and lasted for about 100 days (History). The two groups involved, the Hutus and Tutsis, were in a massive conflict after their president was killed. The Hutus brutally killed about 800,000 Tutsis and supporters. This tragic genocide was not stopped by other countries during its peak, leaving the world wondering why. As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, it is important to be informed about the tragedy. The wayRead MoreRe Writing History And Rwandan Identity Through The Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre Essay1473 Words   |  6 PagesRe-writing History and Rwandan Identity Through the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre In April 2004, the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre opened to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide. Peacefully overlooking the city of Kigali, the Centre seeks to be a place of remembrance and honor for survivors as well as a step towards creating Rwanda’s post-genocide identity. Rwanda has sought to find its place politically, socially, and in memory through this westernized approach to remembrance

My Legacy Leader Is Cw3 Roach - 921 Words

My legacy leader is CW3 Roach, John T. I chose him because he had a professional impact on me as well as the entire 4th Infantry Division G2 Analysis and Control Element (ACE) (1). He inspired me to be a proficient analyst, mentor, and overall an adept senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) within the Army. I aspire to leave behind a legacy similar to his; to motivate, develop, and mentor Soldiers to be proficient and competent intelligence analysts. I served in the Air Force Security Forces career field from October 1999 through March 2005. I transitioned to the Army with the rank of Sergeant in September of 2006 in the Blue to Green Program. The only training I had completed in the Army was the Warrior Transition Course and Advanced Individual Training for intelligence analyst (35F). I had attained little, to no basic Army knowledge, competence, or experience in any aspect as a Soldier or intelligence analyst. I was lucky enough to serve as NCOIC of an S2 shop for my first assignment. I was able to utilize my experience within the Air Force Security Forces to execute my duties as Personal Security NCO and Physical Security NCO competently. I was successful and promoted to SSG on 01 October, 2007, the one and only promotion board that I have attended. I was selected based on the success of my battalion’s Physical Security Inspections to be the brigade Physical Security NCO. I served in this position admirably until I received orders to the 4th Infantry G2 ACE,

Sociology Definitions Free Essays

Culture: All that human beings learn to do, to use, to produce, to know, and to believe as they grow to maturity and live out their lives in the social groups to which they belong. Culture Shock: The reaction people may have when encountering cultural traditions different from their own. Culture Universal: Forms or patterns for resolving the common, basic, human problems that are found in all cultures. We will write a custom essay sample on Sociology Definitions or any similar topic only for you Order Now Culture universals include the division of labor, the incest taboo, marriage, the family, rites of passage, and ideology. Material Culture: All the things human beings make and use, from small handheld tools to skyscrapers. Non-Material Culture: The totality of knowledge, beliefs, values, and rules for appropriate behavior that specifies how people should interact and how people may solve their problems. Norms: Specific rules of behavior that are agreed upon and shared within a culture to prescribe limits of acceptable behavior. Mores: Strongly held norms that usually have a moral connotation and are based on the central values of the culture. Folkways: Norms that permit a rather wide degree of individual interpretation as long as certain limits are not overstepped. Folkways change with time and vary from culture to culture. Ideal Norms: Expectations of what people should do under perfect conditions. The norm that marriage will last â€Å"until death do us part† is an ideal norm in American society. Real Norms: Norms that allow for differences in individual behavior. Real norms specify how people actually behave, not how they should behave under ideal circumstances. Value: A culture’s general orientations toward life; its notion of what is good and bad, what is desirable and undesirable. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: A hypothesis that argues that the language a person uses determines his or her perception of reality. Cultural Lag: A situation that develops when new patterns of behavior conflict with traditional values. Cultural lag can occur when technological change (material change) is more rapid than are changes in norms and values (nonmaterial cultural). Subculture: The distinctive lifestyles, values, norms, and beliefs of certain segments of the population within a society. Types of subcultures are religious, age, regional, deviant, occupational. Rites of Passage: Standardized rituals that mark the transition from one stage of life to another. Ways that Culture is transmitted- Mechanism of Cultural Change-Diffusion: The movement of cultural traits from one culture to another. Reformulation: A trait is modified in some way so that it fits better in its new context. Innovation: Any practice or tool that becomes widely accepted in a society. Selectivity: A process that defines some aspects of the world as important and others as unimportant. Selectivity is reflected in the vocabulary and grammar of language. Taboo: A sacred prohibition against touching, mentioning, of looking at certain objects, acts, or people. Symbol: Objects that represents other things. Unlike signs, symbols need not share ant of the qualities of whatever they represent. Ethnocentrism: The tendency to judge other cultures in terms of one’s own customs and values. Cultural Relativism: The positions that social scientists doing cross-cultural research should view and analyze behaviors and customs within the cultural context in which they occur. Ideology: A set or interrelated religious or secular beliefs, values, and norms justifying the pursuit of a given set of goals through a given set of means. How to cite Sociology Definitions, Papers

Subsidiary legislation free essay sample

Definition of Subsidiary legislation in section 2 of the Interpretation Act 1948 and 1967 to mean, any proclamation rule, regulation, order, notification, by-law or other instrument made under any Ordinance, Enactment or other lawful authority and having legislative effect. This category of law has become important as the business of government to gets more complicated. Subsidiary Legislations are made by the people or bodies who are authorized by the legislatures. The Interpretation Act 1967 defines subsidiary legislation as rules, regulations, by laws, order, notifications made under legislations. The Legislatures provide basic law, so subsidiary legislation is very important is insufficient to govern day-to-day matters. That is why the authority is delegated to delegate their legislative powers. In Article 150 of Federal Constitution, â€Å"Parliament can pass the power to legislate any subsidiary legislation during emergency, even if there are any contradictions with the Federal Constitutions involved†. The people or bodies who are authorized by the legislatures are the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who is the nominal head of the executive and the Prime Minister and cabinet is the real executive. The Cabinet is answerable to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the nominal head of the executive in the country. However, according to the democratic ruling system, the Chief Executive is the Prime Minister. This does not mean that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is unable to voice any opinion, but rather that he must act on government advice, whatever his personal view might be. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints a Cabinet to advise him on countrys matter. The Cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and a number of Ministers who must all be members of Parliament. Besides that, the Government has set up various agencies to ensure the smooth enforcement of the law. It comprised of three main components, namely ministries, departments and statutory bodies. Delegations power to legislate is normally confined to matter of detail as the legislature has neither the time nor the technical knowledge to enact laws on every detail. One of the important advantages of subsidiary legislation is its flexibility in circumstances which demand this flexibility such as currency control, import duties, and so forth. In such situation it may be easily rescinded by the Minister if it becomes impractical or outdated. This power, originally conferred by section 23 of the interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance 1948, is now found in the Eleventh Schedule of the Federal Constitution. It  states, †where an Ordinance or Enactment confers power on any authority to make subsidiary legislation, such subsidiary legislation may at any time be amended, varied, rescinded or revoked by the same authority and it the same manner by and in which it was made†.(Hamid bin Ibrahim and Nasser bin Hamid, 9th February 1984 (federal Constitution), Malaysia Law Publishers Sdn Bhd). In other hands, an Act of Parliament or the State Assembly can only be amended or repealed by another Act of the same legislature, unless it has expressly authorized otherwise. Furthermore, a legislature is not in convened for emergency or special sessions.Courts also review the validity of subsidiary legislation by applying the doctrine of ultra vires. By this doctrine, any subsidiary legislation might be declared void if it is made in excess of statutory authority conferred by the parent Act, or a particular mandatory procedure prescribed by the parent Acts has not been followed or it is contrary to the Federal Constitution or State Constitution. Normally if a regulation or a by-law is made within the powers conferred and in accordance with the prescribed procedure, it is as much law as the parent Act itself. Nonetheless, there is a major difference between subsidiary legislation and an Act of a legislature. Advantage The advantage of subsidiary legislation becomes apparent in the event of a sudden emergency caused by political, economic or natural calamities when quick measures are required to meet the contingency. Subsidiary legislation can be passed very speedily as it does not have to undergo the various stages of procedure which has to be followed by Parliament or the State Legislative Assemblies. Similarly, if the need arise, subsidiary legislation can be just as speedily rescinded to meet the changing needs of society. Parliament does not have sufficient time to deal with detailed rules necessary to implement to law. Subsidiary legislation fulfils this need. Some matters require the special skills and knowledge of experts in that area. Parliament itself may not have sufficient experts for this purpose. Thus, subsidiary legislation fulfils this need as well. Criticism, however has been leveled against subsidiary legislation especially in the United Kingdom which has a long tradition of elected governments. The criticism is primarily focused on the ground that too much legislative power is placed in the hands of non-elected and faceless civil servants who are  not directly accountable to either Parliament or other people. This contention is not without merits because there is certainly an undermining effect on an elective system particularly if power to legislate is given too freely on matters of policy, which should remain, as far as possible, within the exclusive jurisdiction of an elected body. Over delegation may amount to an abdication by the legislature of its proper constitutional role in favour of the executive, and in Malaysia, where government has always had an overwhelming majority in Parliament, the legislature is reduced to a virtual â€Å"rubber stamp†. Where delegation is necessary, there should always be adequate control over it. CONTROL OF SUB LEGISLATION There is a control of the subsidiary legislation which is consultation, publicity and parliament control. The elaborate on control of the subsidiary legislation are combining of both of way to control and reason the control of subsidiary legislation are applying. Commonly, it give a touch of delegation in parent Act in Parliament and State Assembly to formulated an Act for a country for used in public. Consultation is a one of the control of the subsidiary legislation. The prior consultation with organized interest groups and advisory bodies is sometimes conducted before regulations are made. In the United Kingdom, this practice is well established and it is the rules rather than the exception, although such consultation in most cases is informal in nature. It without giving people who will be affected an opportunity to discuss the proposal because a Minister would be unwise make regulation. Specific parent Acts may also make consultation mandatory before regulations are made so that failure to comply may render the regulations void as being procedurally ultra vires. Secondly is a publicity which is since ignorance of the law is, in general, no excuse for breaking it, rules or regulations are readily made available to the public as soon as they come into force. In Malaysia, it is the general practice that subsidiary legislation be published in the Gazette and will come into force on the date of publication or on such other date as may be specified. If a subsidiary legislation is not gazetted as required, it may be treated as invalid. In the United Kingdom, section 3(2) of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 provides that it shall be a defence to  criminal proceedings for violation of an instrument if it can be proved that such instrument has not been issued at the date of violation. There appears to be no equivalent statute in Malaysia although the principal is probably applicable. However, the proviso to section 20 of the Interpretation Act 1948 and 1967 on the retrospective effect of subsidiary legislation does state that â€Å"no person shall be made or become liable to any penalty in respect of any act done before the date on which the subsidiary legislation was published. There is no general law requiring antecedent publicity although that would indeed be a desirable step in the direction of a more open and transparent government. In the United States, section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act 1946 requires that general notice of the terms or substance of proposed rules be published in the Federal Register, thus providing interested persons an opportunity to make representations. In Malaysia, it is perhaps fairly accurate to state that the vast majority of subsidiary legislation is made without mush antecedent publicity and they go largely unnoticed for a host of reasons including general ignorance and inability to comprehend legal language. However, the practice of delegating power to another body to make subsidiary legislation may lead to abuse; therefore, there is a need for control such as Parliament control. The legislature which grants the delegated powers via parent Act may repeal or revoke the delegated legislation. The parent Act may require legislation made under it to be laid before the legislature. As an example, section 83 (3) of Trade Mark Act 1976 requires subsidiary legislation made to be laid before both Dewan. There must be a laying procedure for confirmation by the legislature before the delegated legislation has any legislative effect. Another possible method to control as practiced in England is to establish Scrutiny Committees which keep under review all delegated legislation and report their findings to Parliament. However, so far, Malaysian Parliament has not developed such method. The parent Act which authorizes the making of subsidiary legislation is enacted by the legislation. Therefore, in the theory, the legislation can always exercise control over the delegate by repealing the provision or the Act itself. In practice, such control is seldom exercised because parliamentary time is limited and if an attempt is made by the opposition to  repeal a parent act, the government will use its parliamentary majority to quash it. Other general procedures to scrutinize subsidiary legislation are available but most of them are quite ineffective. For instance, a parliamentary question to the Minister responsible may be raised. There could be a debate and possibly a motion when the speech from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is being debated after the opening of parliament. Such procedures do have the effect of drawing the attention of the relevant Minister or the public but their effectiveness depends largely on the receptiveness of the Minister and his response to public o pinion. The parent Act may require regulations or rules made under it to be laid before the legislation subject to a negative resolution, there is rules are effective unless there is a negative resolution passed by the legislature. Any member may move a prayer to annual the regulations or rules so laid. But if the legislature takes no action, silence is deemed consent. For example, section 8 of the Subordinate Courts Rules Act 1955 ( Revised 1971) requires all rules made by the Subordinate Courts Rules Committee be laid before the Dewan Rakyat as soon as possible, if at the following meeting of the Dewan Rakyat after such rules have been laid, a resolution annulling them is passed, they will become void. A similar provision also exists in the Courts of judicature Act (Revised 1972). Section 16(2) reads: â€Å" Rules of court shall be laid before the Dewan Rakyat at the first meeting after their publication, and may be disapproved in whole or in part by a resolution of the Dewan Rakyat.† In contrast to the negative resolution procedure, a parent Act may require rules or regulations made there under to be laid before the legislature subject to an affirmative resolution. Unless such a resolution procedure is a more effective method of parliamentary control but it is rarely prescribed by the parent Act because it will take up parliamentary time.

Test For Echo free essay sample

Test for Echo, the latest album released by Rush, symbolizes almost everything they stand for. Many of the songs deal with problems in America that most people experience or hear about every day. Band members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart have great skill in song writing and know how to portray their feelings through music. The title song, Test for Echo, deals with the problems of the inner-city. Rush sings about gangs and murders and how the media makes a show out of it. Another song, Driven, is about people being driven to the edge by their jobs and other things in their lives. Most people never stop to deal with their problems. They just keep on going and end up being, as the song says, driven to the edge of control. The other well-known song, Half the World, deals with how people get along with each other. It talks about greed, hatred, and communication. We will write a custom essay sample on Test For Echo or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One line says Half the world cares while half the world is wasting the day. Half the world shares while half the world is stealing away. This great song writing ability is why Rush has been one of the great bands since the 1970s.

Aristotle on the Mixed Form of Government in Sparta

Aristotle on the Mixed Form of Government in Sparta Aristotle, in  On the Lacedaemonian Constitution- a section of  The Politics- says that some claim Spartas system of government included monarchical, oligarchic and democratic components. The Lacedaemonian [Spartan] constitution is defective in another point; I mean the Ephoralty. This magistracy has authority in the highest matters, but the Ephors are chosen from the whole people, and so the office is apt to fall into the hands of very poor men, who, being badly off, are open to bribes.- Aristotle Monarchical In the monarchical system two kings- hereditary monarchs, one from each of the Agiad and Eurypontid families- had priestly obligations and the power to make war (although by the time of the Persian Wars, the kings power to make war was restricted). Oligarchic The kings were automatic members of the Gerousia, the council of 28 elders picked for life plus the two kings. Five ephors, chosen annually by popular election, had the main power. Democratic The final component was the assembly, made up of all Spartiates- full Spartan citizens- over 18. Aristotle on the Poor In the quoted passage on the government of Sparta, Aristotle disapproves of government run by poor people. He thinks they would take bribes. This is striking for two reasons: that he would think the rich were not susceptible to bribes, and that he approves of government by the elite, something people in modern democracies tend to disapprove. Why would such a well-educated, brilliant thinker believe there was a difference between the rich and poor? Sources Chronology of Early SpartaAncient History SourcebookThe Ephors of Sparta  Herodotus on the Kings of Sparta C 430 BCEThe Kings of SpartaPeriegesis Hellados IIIThe Spartan SystemThomas Martin OverviewXenophon: Constitution of the Lacedaemonians 13.1ff and  Ã‚  8.3

Technology Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Technology Management - Term Paper Example In this paper, the impacts of technology on; cost of business, human resources and customer satisfaction will be examined with the intention of establishing its import in the aforementioned sectors. Many organizations are to a large extent dependent on computers to handle their administrative tasks such as inventories bookkeeping and other clerical tasks which were traditionally handled exclusively by personnel. The advent of the internet as well as growth in the diversity and capacity of computing hard and soft ware has significantly reduced the cost of doing business; computer are increasingly becoming more powerful and cheaper to run due to the exponential growth in innovation. In addition, business owners and other entrepreneurs are better able to understand the cash flow and manage their storage and other running costs better ultimately saving time and money. For instance, today with only a laptop, one can open a business or even run a company without requiring to rent office sp ace or hiring employees, the computer can store all the information they need and they can use it to communicate with customers, suppliers as well as carrying out product promotion. The availability of online marketing and sales means one can order and ship goods from point A to point B in the comfort of their home. Furthermore, technology reduces the need for human resource since a computer can carry out tasks that were traditionally done by employees thus further reducing the cost of starting and running a business. The use of bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks and automated sales functions such as sales force allows business owners and managers to focus of strategy by cutting down the running costs and labour expenses. Technology also provides means through which to cut indirect costs, these include cost of commuting which can be scaled down since with the option of telecommuting , one can work from home. Ergo, they will not only save on fuel costs but also reduce the amount of time they spend getting ready to go to office as well as traffic jam which at times cost both employees and their employer’s valuable time which could be used profitably. Technology has helped to reduce the cost of storage by eliminating the need for double or triple entry systems as well as amounts of paperwork that needs to be filed arranged and stored, customer data, contracts and any relevant information can be stored on online or hardware databases and accessed in seconds. Information and advertisement cost can also be scaled down significantly through technology, for example instead of costly TV ads, many firms are opting for online advertising through social media such as Facebook which can reach more people transcending geopolitical borders and which is either low cost or free. According to Jeff Wourio, a manager at Microsoft co-operations, inculcating technology solutions in business is crucial owing to the fact that with technology one can have among other thing s an online presence and that way they can cut down the costs of advertising significantly and transfer the resources to improving product quality. Online marketing provides a fairly affordable and at times even free avenue through which a company can, not only reach millions of consumers globally but also create a following of (fans/follower/friends) which serve to enhance

What would be most useful in planning an expedition to the summit, a Essay

What would be most useful in planning an expedition to the summit, a map of the mountain or a preliminary visit - Essay Example Note that the word used was â€Å"statement† and not â€Å"problem†, because using the latter might invite elaborate problem-solving activities, which may not be necessary for making the best decision. This was the contention of Starbuck (1983) that organizations should be problem solvers. Having this kind of perspective, one will perceive the above statement to be a problem that justifies the problem-solving model. It is not yet in the action-generating mode, because the expedition is still in the planning stage, but nevertheless could also be taken as an action-generating trigger. While this perspective is pervasive among organizations who would justify their relevance by interpreting events (such as the question posed) as a problem that needs to be solved or acted upon, this mindset is problematic. This model of Starbuck will murk the issue of merely identifying the most useful in planning an expedition, because Starbuck’s model of problem-solving may lead to busy work whereby exercises are performed for the sake of solving the perceived problem. This is no different from the actors in an organization who bloat events into a problem to justify their existence; they create bureaucracy after bureaucracy to satisfy the need to act or to solve any event that is interpreted as a problem and thus is not an ideal model for responding to the statement. Equally problematic to the approach of Starbuck is Weick’s dependency to technology in solving any given proposition. Data provided in their cryptic representations were taken as if they were absolute truths when they themselves are imperfect and incomplete. Weick elaborated that these data are flawed for two reasons; first, these data does not have the sensory information such as â€Å"feelings, intuitions, and context† (52), all of which are critical in accurate assessment of a situation. Second, data provided by machines cannot speak in qualitative terms such as â€Å"metaphors, corporate culture, archetypes, myths, history†(52). Without these inputs in the information that we are going to factor in our decision making, we are rendered handicapped because it would be impossible for us accurately diagnose and address any issue that we will confront (1985). In the statement that this paper is trying to resolve whether â€Å"what would be most useful in planning an expedition to the summit?† Relying on information provided by machine as enunciated in the paper of Weick will render us incapacitated to make a sound decision because there is no way that a computer could relate the sensory nuances of climbing the summit that would make us a better judge which of the two options presented would be more appropriate. Bazerman and Moore’s article about â€Å"Bounded Awareness† provided an interesting perspective on how our filtering reflexes can lead to an erroneous interpretation of an issue, thus making an incorrect decision. Due to excess ive information available about a certain issue or event, we tend to ignore some information which could have been equally important. We make assumptions to fit problems into our defined space during our decision-making process, and these assumptions are our prejudices, biases, and preconceived notions that could impair the result of the decision (Starbuck, 1983). Yet, even as Bazerman and Moore defined how the filtering of bounded awareness limits good decision-making, the study still did not provide

Fair Values in the Preparation of Financial Statements Essay

Fair Values in the Preparation of Financial Statements - Essay Example Relevant Information Information needs to be relevant to the needs of users in order to serve its purpose. However, there are also other fundamental qualities that financial statements need to have. These qualities include comparability, faithful representation, consistency, completeness, understandability, and reliability (BPP 2009a). Information is useless if it is not reliable and in a number of cases, the values described as fair values in the accounts do not provide a reliable estimate of the value of assets and liabilities. According to Bath (n.d.) concerns also focus on this matter. It should also be noted the more reliable the information is the less relevant it will be. Relevant information has predictive value, feedback value, and timeliness. Reliable information is verifiable Comparability of financial statements Financial statements need to be comparable from one year to the next and between one company and another. However, even though fair values may be said to be curre nt and therefore more comparable, the fact that judgment needs to be exercised brings subjectivity into play. In addition to that, those judgments on which investors and other stakeholders depend have their own agenda. In some cases, they may exercise their judgment in such a way as to manipulate the accounts. This, therefore, brings us back to the reliability of the figures in the financial statements. ... Â  the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) requires that the classification of financial instruments be recorded at fair value in a hierarchy consisting of three (3) levels. The first level (level 1) relates to quoted prices that have not been adjusted for identical assets and liabilities in active markets. The second level (level 2) relates to input prices but excludes quoted prices which are included in the first level and which can be observed directly for assets and liabilities, in the form of prices or in the form of derived prices indirectly. The third level relates to both assets and liabilities that are not based on market data that can be observed. IASB concluded that this would result in improvement for comparability purposes as well as assist in the convergence process of the IFRSs to the United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The basis that was given for that conclusion relates to the disclosures required by IFRS 7 and ASC having no differences in terms of their application. Khalik (2008) in his paper entitled ‘The case against fair value accounting’ indicated that its critics have suggested that in times of poor economic conditions fair value (FV) accounting leads to the generation of pessimistic assumptions that further result in significant reductions in asset values as well as major reductions in earnings because of the fact that unrealised losses are taken into account in the income statement.

High Staff Turnover in Hotel Industry

High Staff Turnover in Hotel Industry Hotels, catering and leisure industry in the UK remains the sector with the highest level of staff turnover, with all leavers in this category hitting 41%, according to a survey carried out by the CIPD (2008). Many organisations are badly affected by high levels of staff turnover and the survey identified that 74% of organisations in the UK, reported a negative impact on their business performance. This report also identified four main reasons that cause labour turnover. They are, change of career (55%), promotions outside of the company (45%), level of pay (41%) and lack of career development (33%). Employee dissatisfaction caused by poor relationships with supervisors and line managers, undesirable working conditions and lack of career development and training opportunities are also seen as major factors that cause high staff turnover ( Griffeth, Hom and Gaertner 2000). As mentioned in an article published by the Adecco Institute (2008) skills shortage in the jobs market is seen as a major human resources challenge for the future and this is particularly true of the hospitality and leisure industry in the UK, as it has suffered from constant recruitment difficulties over the past so many years. Age positive carried out a survey in the year 2005 and according to the results of the survey nearly 40% of all vacancies in the hospitality industry were hard to fill and much of the problem has been caused by poor retention strategies implemented by organisations. Another factor identified by the survey with regard to why so many vacancies were hard to fill is the lack of necessary ski lls and abilities by potential applicants who apply for jobs in the hotel and hospitality industry. A similar percentage of employers who participated in the survey stated that applicants lack excellent communication skills required, and this is particularly true of receptionists, managers and administrators and this has created immense pressure on HR executives and managers to attract, manage and retain key talent within their organisation which is an essential factor in creating sustainable competitive advantage. The results and information unearthed from these surveys make it crystal clear that high levels of staff turnover is a major problem to all organisations and the HR department of an organisation has a key responsibility of closely monitor labour turnover levels and figures and make right steps in order to bring staff turnover to a manageable level and face the future with resistance. High levels of staff turnover in an organisation may compromise the quality and high standards of customer service, and may impact on the organisation loosing loyal customers, revenue and long term sustainability (Tracy and Hinkin, 2008). Once the well established staff leave a company it may not only increase the workload of the remaining staff members of the company, but would be difficult for the organisation to gain the same highest levels of service from the newly hired staff as they would still be in a period of learning their job, and other key tasks and responsibilities associated with the job. Furthermore when employees leave on a regular basis it creates extra workloads for the remaining staff and as a result they could become depressed with work and not be able to deliver their best performance on the job. This may further exacerbate the problem and may also result in staff getting absent from work regularly and their good health deteriorate. The article of Tracy and Hinkin (2008) also states financial implications for organisations as a result of high levels of staff turnover. The costs associated with replacing staff can be sorted into hard costs, soft costs, and opportunity costs. Hard costs are costs such as money spent on newspaper advertisements, adverts on recruitment agencies etc, and they have a direct impact on the organisation. Other elements such as the time it takes to interview new recruits, and time spent on exit interviews will not be shown in company account statements as they are regarded as soft costs. Opportunity costs such as missed customers and market shares, usually go unmeasured but can still be substantial and may also lower company profitability and competitor advantage of the organisation ( Simons and Hinkin 2001 cited Tracy.J and Hinkin.T, 2008). The following five are identified as major costs categories that contribute towards the total costs of replacing an employee. They are pre-departure, recruitment, selection, orientation and training, and lost productivity (Hinkin and Tracy 2007, 2006, cited Tracy.J and Hinkin.T,2008). The already high staff turnover rates in the hotel industry also reflects high turnover of newly selected staff who leave the company within their first 30 days because the job did not suit them (Woods,1997:141). Does this mean possible issues with the prevailing recruitment and selection methods adopted by the hospitality sector organisations? According to the article by Tracy.J and Hinkin.T, only a few turnover studies have been so far carried out in the hotel and hospitality sector, despite reporting high levels of turnover every year. Therefore my literature review aims to conduct a much broader view of this issue by critically examining the current procedures and practices carried out by the High Beech Hotel UK and some of the other local selected competitor hotels, which may be associated with employee turnover. By doing so this study aims to understand the root causes of high levels of employee turnover of High Beech Hotel and propose solutions and recommendations to overcome those issues. This research benefits High Beech Hotel in terms of minimising the unnecessary costs that may occur due to advertising, interviewing, training of new staff as well as improving the overall standard of the hotel. High Beech Hotel is a three start hotel located in beautiful Hastings area and is faced with stiff competition with many three to four star hotels operating in the area such as, The White Rock Hotel, Travelodge Hastings, The Hotel Undum and the Chatsworth Hotel. The High Beech Hotel is therefore fighting to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage and grow its market share. The opinions of the General Manager, Operations Manager and the HR manager prove that jobs in the industry are difficult in the area and finding the right talent for the right job and the retention of quality staff are major HR challenges currently faced by the hotel. The general manager of the hotel is new to her post and has already expressed concerns about the high staff turnover. Turnover is high among front line staff, waiters and porters and the management has had few discussions to find the reasons why staff left, and find out ways to resolve the problem. I having worked at the hotel as an HR executive (placement student) managed to gain a good understanding of the high turnover and the possible effects the turnover levels have had on the existing staff. Literature review Labour turnover is the rate at which staff leaves an organisation and are replaced by new employees. Too high a labour turnover rate may mean that there is something unsatisfactory about working for the organisation and that action therefore would need to be taken (Adams et al, 1993) Denver and McMahon (1992:143) defined labour turnover as the movement of people into and out of employment within an organisation and can both be voluntary and involuntary. Eade (1993) further categorises turnover into management controllable and unavoidable turnover. Labour turnover index is used to measure staff turnover and according to Armstrong (2001) labour turnover rates provide a valuable means to benchmarking the effectiveness of HR policies and practices in organisations. The hotel industry is essentially comprised of both a production and a service aspect and the creation and rendering of services from the hotel to the customer are mainly achieved through employees. Therefore the industry is essentially represented by people (Lewis 1989; Thompson and Abbott, 1990; Schneider , 1993) and is considered as one of the most labour intensive industries. Turnover in the hotel industry in the UK has been shown to be unacceptably high (Kennedy and Berger, 1994), averaging as much as 200% to 300% per year. Statistically this means that the entire workforce of the industry turns over two to three times per year. The main factors identified, that could impact on turnover are, orientation and good socialisation procedures (Kennedy and Berger 1994, Woods, 1992), ad-hoc recruitment and selection (Benn and Farbringer, 1992, Woods and Macaulay, 1989; Wagner, 1991; Wheelhouse, 1989), discrimination at the workplace (Antolik,1993), lack of training and development oppor tunities (Hogan, 1992; rowden,1995), organisation culture (Woods and Macaulay, 1998) shortage of skills in the labour market (Debrah, 1994; Woods, 1992), high levels of work related stress ( Vallen,1993;Woods, 1992; Ham and Griffeth, 1995), seasonal nature of the industry ( Boella, 1998) and job dissatisfaction ( Bonn and Frbringer, 1992). All of these factors have contributed towards high levels of staff turnover in the hotel industry and it is clear that the success of the industry depends upon taking necessary steps to reduce the above mentioned issues, and problems, and the calibre of employees, and how well they are managed (Nankervis and Debroh, 1995; Berger and Ghel, 1995). Deery and Iverson, (1996) commented that high degree of staff turnover levels consist of recruitment and replacement costs, and regular and loyal customers switching to other competitor hotels as they expect to see their favourite staff members. It is clear labour costs play a major part in the industry and high staff turnover is seen as a prime issue hampering the smooth functioning of hotel and organisations within the hospitality industry (Obrien and McDonnell 2003). Deery and Iverson (1996) examined the employee turnover phenomenal and found that high turnover resulted in organisations loosing revenue and profits. They also argued that high turnover, especially when skilled staff leave, contributes to lowering the employee morale and the overall ability of teams within the organisations to get quality work done. Therefore the retention of skilled and well trained staff in any hospitality organisation is important to save unnecessary tangible and intangible costs as well as retaining regular and loyal customers and to provide them with a quality service. It is clear from the arguments put forward by the above mentioned authors and scholars but Despite an array of academic evidence and research on labour turnover the question to be asked is do management of hospitality sector organisations understand the gravity of the issue of staff turnover, and its negative effects on the performance of the organisation and how far they are willing to go to retain the valuable staff. At a time of difficult economic times it is imperative and organisation takes measures to outperform its competitors and any hospitality sector organisation that understands the value of human capital and adopt good HRM policies and management practices in pursuit of employee retention will inevitably outperform the competition (Cho et al., 2006, Hinkin and Tracy, 2000). Staff leaving on a regular basis involves heavy administration costs and a loss of productivity through the breaking up of teams who are used to working together (Denvir and McMohan, 1992:144). Therefore the critical importance of employees staying with an organisation is evident (Brayfield and Crockett, 1995; Cho et al, 2006). It is clear that satisfied and highly motivated employees stay with the organisation which in turn helps the company to reduce unnecessary recruitment and selection costs which could amount to a substantial amount of money, but also produce high quality work which helps the organisation to achieve competitive advantage and increase its profits (Cho et al., 2006; Hinkin and Tracey, 2000). Exit interviews are a great method of collecting information as to why employees leave an organisation. Employees leave for various reasons ranging from lack of employee oriented organisational measures such as succession planning, pay , non-financial rewards, work life balance and undesirable working conditions as well as more personal reasons such as inability to look after their children, other child welfare issues and transport problems. This can also vary depending on how long they have worked for the company and it is a common factor as evident from the High Beech Hotel, and that staff leaves because they soon found out that the job did not suit them. Some other staff members leave after serving the organisation after serving a considerable amount of time and their issues could very well be different to people leaving early. According to the CIPD (2007) costs an organisation approximately  £3500 pounds every time an employee leaves and as stated earlier these costs include bo th tangible costs and intangible costs such as time spent on interviewing new recruits and these often go unreported in company accounts. Denver and McMahon (1992:146) also found out that individual hotel organisations experience different levels of turnover, which helps to confirm that staff turnover is partly within the control of the hotel management. This also contradicts with the common acceptance that staff turnover is high and uniform throughout the industry and uncontrollable. Therefore it is evident that high levels of staff turnover is harmful to the smooth functioning of any organisation, may it be in the hospitality sector or some other sector and hinders the efficient operation of the business resulting in the hotel gradually losing its market share. Therefore it is important that the hospitality sector organisations develop effective and vibrant HRM policies that enable them to successfully recruit, select and retain skilled and efficient employees, who would contribute towards the achievement of the corporate objectives of the business. Factors influence on high Labour Turnover. The hotel industry in the UK is constantly troubled with high staff turnover resulting in increased personnel costs arise from recruitment and selection of new staff, training them (Ham and Griffeth, 1995). There is a strong negative relationship between turnover and organisational commitment which indicates that staff with low levels of commitment and loyalty are more likely to withdraw from the organisation than more committed staff (Johnston et, 1993). He also identified a positive relationship between organisational commitment and career progression opportunities given to employees through internal promotions and succession planning. These employees who are given opportunities to progress up the ladder, exhibit higher levels of organisational commitment, and loyalty and results in skilled staff retention and a gradual decline of low performing employees. This makes it much easier for HR managers to successfully identify low performing employees and eliminate them from the work fo rce which is important and a good for the success of the company as this turnover is considered healthy. Another key factor which may influence staff turnover is the gender difference and certain problems it creates within the organisation. Female workers have different responsibilities to their male counterparts and may value work life balance more as a result. The pressures of work and life, has resulted in more female workers leaving their jobs than male workers (Doherty and Manfredi, 2006:62). In most hotels it can be seen female workers working in the bottom of the organisation hierarchy and the pay gap between males and female workers has been a much talked about issue in the UK. Iverson (2000) conducted a study in the USA involving hotel establishments and found that female managers earn much less than the male managers doing the same job which is commonly seen in the UK and this has resulted in, female workers being reluctant to return to work after their maternity leave. On top of this, most organisations have failed to assist their female workers to arrange necessary child car e arrangements which have aggravated the number of female workers leaving their job. As per above authors the reluctance of female workers to return to work may also be caused by factors such as stress, work dissatisfaction, lack of commitment and low promotion opportunities coupled with a poor organisation culture that does not provide a platform to encourage female workers to move up the career ladder. Therefore the problems and issues female workers face in the workplace is clear and applicable in hospitality sector organisations, and it is very important the HR department address these issues and understand why many female workers leave their jobs early. Organisation culture, average age of the total labour force of the organisation, gender and racial composition and male-female pay gaps are among the reasons why employees leave (Bennett et al, 1993). Prospective employees when joining an organisation look into a number of factors such as career development opportunities, total reward policy and work life balance. Lack of incentives is therefore a main reason why many employees leave their jobs after some time. Incentives include both financial and nonfinancial and employees may simply want praise for their good work and lack of recognition could seriously hamper employee retention. Ritz Carlton hotel in London, has managed to reduce employee turnover to a significant level by focusing on quality recruitment, providing better training and development opportunities and by forming a positive psychological contract with the employees, and also by creating long term incentive and reward systems ( Barky, 1996). Therefore it is fair to assume that to a large extent organisation HRM practices, policies and procedures determine staff turnover. Organisation policies and lack of employee oriented practices and procedures may not only be the sole reason why many organisations particularly in the hospitality industry experience high level of staff turnover. Another factor that affects turnover is the ability of staff to carry out their tasks and responsibilities up to the required standard and the job performance of employees largely affects staff turnover and this is also confirmed by a study conducted by Jewell and Siegal (1990). They found that employees having very high levels of on-the-job performance are highly unlikely to leave their job in contrast with employees with low levels of performance. High performing employees are confident in their job and have better work related knowledge and skills. Low pay, lack of training and career development opportunities, lack of regular and realistic performance appraisals and undesired work environments are among the key reasons that cause low performance which in-turn result in high staff turnover. Therefore it is clear HR professionals in hotel establishments must pay very close attention to developing employee oriented HRM policies and practices that help staff achieve their full potent ial. To name a few these HR policies and practices are training and development opportunities open management communication systems, employee welfare such as child care, flexible working, transport assistant to employees and a comprehensive induction programme that helps new recruits to adopt well to their new roles. When analysing the hospitality and hotel industry in particular it has been found that most organisations have a poor reputation for providing good staff training and development opportunities (Maxwell et al, 2004). High staff turnover in most hospitality sector industries may have also led managers to be reluctant to providing staff with opportunities to further develop their careers fearing they may leave after that ( Davies et al, 2001, Jameson, 2000: Lowey et al, 2002). High staff turnover also causes managers to be occupied with recruitment and selection activity as well as grievance issues, and this may also be a reason for them not to have sufficient time to focus on staff development and talent management. Training and development and staff retention has a close match as poorly trained staff are less satisfied with work and may leave quicker and more than fully trained and highly satisfied staff. Therefore training and development directly affects job satisfaction and organis ational commitment (Lam and Zhang, 2003, Taylor et al, 2001, Lowry et al, 2002). Working hours is another key factor that causes employees to leave and most hospitality sector organisations, because of high staff turnover may require remaining staff to work extra hours on a regular basis. Long working hours without breaks are against the working time regulations as well as current health and safety rules and Female workers are largely affected by this practice because of their family commitments and a research conducted by Erdogan (1996:26) revealed long working hours are among the main reasons for many female workers to quit their jobs. There has also been an increase of single parent families and long hours and unsocial working hours have forced females to leave their jobs. This not only creates staff to leave but unfriendly working hours coupled with a poor corporate and work culture and a hostile working environment of the organisation , may affect the job satisfaction of female workers and even if they remain with the job their work could be highly unproduct ive and suffer from work related stress. Despite the fact that many researchers and academics stressing the importance of a good organisation work environment that provides employees oriented HR measures to achieve these goals and objectives many organisations still suffer from high levels of staff turnover and female staff turnover as evident from research findings. All of the above stated factors and elements contribute to employee dissatisfaction and it is a result of various internal and external factors that were mentioned above. Labour turnover of High Beech Hotel High Beech Hotel had a newly appointed general manager and she has been investigating the reasons for the high staff turnover levels of the hotel over the past three years and has had several discussions with the operations manager and the HR manager of the company. Unfortunately no proper investigation has not been done so far to find out the possible causes of staff turnover but the management in consultation with the company HR records and turnover figures has assumed the reasons as job dissatisfaction, long and unfriendly working hours, pay issues, lack of training and development opportunities for staff, issues with working condition and other personal issues of staff such as work life balance. Importance of HR practices and concepts in relation to staff retention and turnover HRM plays a vital part in creating a sustainable competitive advantage for any organisation, and forward looking organisations adopt good HR policies and practices to ensure the smooth functioning of the organisation (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Stewart, 1997; Verma and Dewe, 2008). Research studies have confirmed that well defined organisational goals and corporate objectives directly influence employee retention and productivity. Kim et al, (2005) in their study on corporate orientation found that organisational direction and support had a significant impact on employee job satisfaction and overall commitment. ORGANISATIONAL INITIATIVES The organisational HR initiatives as mentioned above, illustrate how internal factors and forces contribute towards employee retention. The model does not mention about external forces such as local and national competition in the labour market, economic situation, globalisation and international competition which affects attracting skilled employees to various jobs. It can be seen that this model covers the internal factors and reasons that affect staff retention or turnover and it is critically important for an organisation and HR professionals to pay close attention to the factors mentioned under the model to critically assess where they stand as an organisation and take steps to implement those HR practices and policies to retain talented staff ( Horwitz et al, 2003; Steel et al, 2002). These internal HR policies and practices are bundled under the term retention management and it is defined as the ability to hold onto those employees an organisation would want to keep, for longe r than the competitors (Johnson,2000 cited De Vos and Meganck,2007). The external factors should not be neglected at the same time because there may be times employees may leave an organisation due to their influences. The impact of financial and non-financial rewards cannot be undermined and play a critical role in motivating skilled and valued employees and retaining them within the organisation. Financial rewards such as a good basic pay combined with performance related pay and non-financial rewards such as training and development opportunities, initiatives to achieve work life balance for staff and other employee retention initiatives such as a pensions scheme and internal promotions motivate staff and force them to think again before quitting their jobs (Horwitz et al,2003;De Vos and Meganck, 2007). When analysing the theories and ides put forward by the above mentioned academics and scholars it is evident they focused on retaining highly skilled employees and researched to find out the possible reasons why valued employees leave organisations. This is being described as retention management and the word retention embraces with other HR practices such as recruitment and selection, development of employees to achieve their full potential and succession management (Lewis and Heckmanp 2006:140). HR Practices and the importance of Human Psychology HRM involves all management decision and practices that directly affects other people, or human resources, who work for the organisation. The question that arises is that despite the fact that many organisations including the hospitality and hotel industry, implement all accepted HR practices and procedures, why employees still leave and the staff turnover rates are extremely high. A good understanding of the implications of human psychology would help HR managers to find the root causes to this problem. Psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced his concept of hierarchy of needs in 1943 which suggests that people are motivated to fulfil their basic human needs before moving on to other needs. The hierarchy of needs is displayed as a pyramid and the lowest level of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the more complex needs are at the top. The needs located at the bottom are the most basic human needs and as people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Therefore when it comes to employees staying or leaving a particular organisation which stage the employee is in could play a vital role in his or her decision making process. At the core this theory of Maslow suggests that when an individual satisfies one set of needs they always try to move into the other level. This makes it critically important for HR professionals in the hospitality organisations how this theory of Maslow affects individual employees and how it influences an individuals decision about him staying or leaving the organisation. When an individual joins an organisation the first concern is to organise his life in-terms of food shelter and other essential psychological needs through wages and salary. The next concern would be job security and personal health and safety in the job. Once those needs are satisfied the employee would move in to the other set of needs which are social needs such as friendly colleagues and staff as well as a desirable working environment. After this comes the next stage which is satisfying the esteem needs which is comprised of individual being recognised for his work and valued by the management of the organisation as well as taking full advantage of any courses and exams they could take to get promoted. Once this set of needs are fully satisfied t he employee reaches the stage of self actualisation. Therefore to satisfy the individual employee needs the HR executives working in hospitality sector organisations must understand the needs of employees and aim to provide tailor made HR solutions in line with the corporate strategy of the company. In order to accomplish this, the HR managers must have accurate methods and procedures to understand which stage the employee is in his hierarchy of needs because if this is not done or if the right methods and procedures are not in place there will inevitably be a contradiction. For an example the HR managers may direct their full efforts into satisfying the esteem needs of employees through individual recognition and internal promotions at work when the employees are seeking safety needs. This would result in a waste of company resources and employees considering leaving the organisation. Individuals decision making process An individuals decision making process is comprised of a number of internal and external variables as shown below and the final decision makes by an individual employee is made up of a collection of those internal and external variables. This model is highly useful in understanding an employees decision making in an organisation (Kotler, 2000, p98). As seen the model is comprised of five main stages which an individual may go through before coming into a decision. They are, * Problem recognition * Information search * Evaluation of alternatives * Decision to leave or stay * Post- purchase evaluation Therefore the first stage is problem recognition and that is recognising there is a problem or issue to be answered by the employee. The problem arose can be triggered by internal influences, external influences or both. Once the main problem or problems are recognised by the employee he then moves into the next stage which is information search. For an example if the initial problem recognised by the employee is concerned with training and development opportunities offered by the organisation then through information search he would try to gather as much information as possible through various external and internal sources about what actions and steps he could take in order to gain the desired level of training. The next stage once sufficient information is gathered is the evaluation of alternatives. As per with training and development, the employee in this stage will go through various possible courses to be taken and evaluate the appropriateness of those courses to his job and what help he could get from the organisation in order to take the course. The next stage of the process is the final decision of the employee to stay with the organisation or to leave. This is called the purchase decision and according to Kotler (2000, p 99) two factors can intervene between the purchase intention and purchase decision. The first factor is the attitudes of other people, which is what the others around think of the individuals decision. Influence of other people can become complex and varied when there are more than one persons involved. The second factor Kotler (2000,p 99) mentions is the unanticipated or unexpected situations and as per the above example of training and development, factors such as the recession and cost cutting measures by the organisation could hamper the employees aspiration of embarking on the course. The final stage of the decision making process is the post purchase evaluation which involves the employee evaluating the positives and negatives of the decision taken, and the possible consequences of it. This concept has a high degree of importance to HR even though it is widely used in marketing and regarded more as a marketing related concep High Staff Turnover in Hotel Industry High Staff Turnover in Hotel Industry Hotels, catering and leisure industry in the UK remains the sector with the highest level of staff turnover, with all leavers in this category hitting 41%, according to a survey carried out by the CIPD (2008). Many organisations are badly affected by high levels of staff turnover and the survey identified that 74% of organisations in the UK, reported a negative impact on their business performance. This report also identified four main reasons that cause labour turnover. They are, change of career (55%), promotions outside of the company (45%), level of pay (41%) and lack of career development (33%). Employee dissatisfaction caused by poor relationships with supervisors and line managers, undesirable working conditions and lack of career development and training opportunities are also seen as major factors that cause high staff turnover ( Griffeth, Hom and Gaertner 2000). As mentioned in an article published by the Adecco Institute (2008) skills shortage in the jobs market is seen as a major human resources challenge for the future and this is particularly true of the hospitality and leisure industry in the UK, as it has suffered from constant recruitment difficulties over the past so many years. Age positive carried out a survey in the year 2005 and according to the results of the survey nearly 40% of all vacancies in the hospitality industry were hard to fill and much of the problem has been caused by poor retention strategies implemented by organisations. Another factor identified by the survey with regard to why so many vacancies were hard to fill is the lack of necessary ski lls and abilities by potential applicants who apply for jobs in the hotel and hospitality industry. A similar percentage of employers who participated in the survey stated that applicants lack excellent communication skills required, and this is particularly true of receptionists, managers and administrators and this has created immense pressure on HR executives and managers to attract, manage and retain key talent within their organisation which is an essential factor in creating sustainable competitive advantage. The results and information unearthed from these surveys make it crystal clear that high levels of staff turnover is a major problem to all organisations and the HR department of an organisation has a key responsibility of closely monitor labour turnover levels and figures and make right steps in order to bring staff turnover to a manageable level and face the future with resistance. High levels of staff turnover in an organisation may compromise the quality and high standards of customer service, and may impact on the organisation loosing loyal customers, revenue and long term sustainability (Tracy and Hinkin, 2008). Once the well established staff leave a company it may not only increase the workload of the remaining staff members of the company, but would be difficult for the organisation to gain the same highest levels of service from the newly hired staff as they would still be in a period of learning their job, and other key tasks and responsibilities associated with the job. Furthermore when employees leave on a regular basis it creates extra workloads for the remaining staff and as a result they could become depressed with work and not be able to deliver their best performance on the job. This may further exacerbate the problem and may also result in staff getting absent from work regularly and their good health deteriorate. The article of Tracy and Hinkin (2008) also states financial implications for organisations as a result of high levels of staff turnover. The costs associated with replacing staff can be sorted into hard costs, soft costs, and opportunity costs. Hard costs are costs such as money spent on newspaper advertisements, adverts on recruitment agencies etc, and they have a direct impact on the organisation. Other elements such as the time it takes to interview new recruits, and time spent on exit interviews will not be shown in company account statements as they are regarded as soft costs. Opportunity costs such as missed customers and market shares, usually go unmeasured but can still be substantial and may also lower company profitability and competitor advantage of the organisation ( Simons and Hinkin 2001 cited Tracy.J and Hinkin.T, 2008). The following five are identified as major costs categories that contribute towards the total costs of replacing an employee. They are pre-departure, recruitment, selection, orientation and training, and lost productivity (Hinkin and Tracy 2007, 2006, cited Tracy.J and Hinkin.T,2008). The already high staff turnover rates in the hotel industry also reflects high turnover of newly selected staff who leave the company within their first 30 days because the job did not suit them (Woods,1997:141). Does this mean possible issues with the prevailing recruitment and selection methods adopted by the hospitality sector organisations? According to the article by Tracy.J and Hinkin.T, only a few turnover studies have been so far carried out in the hotel and hospitality sector, despite reporting high levels of turnover every year. Therefore my literature review aims to conduct a much broader view of this issue by critically examining the current procedures and practices carried out by the High Beech Hotel UK and some of the other local selected competitor hotels, which may be associated with employee turnover. By doing so this study aims to understand the root causes of high levels of employee turnover of High Beech Hotel and propose solutions and recommendations to overcome those issues. This research benefits High Beech Hotel in terms of minimising the unnecessary costs that may occur due to advertising, interviewing, training of new staff as well as improving the overall standard of the hotel. High Beech Hotel is a three start hotel located in beautiful Hastings area and is faced with stiff competition with many three to four star hotels operating in the area such as, The White Rock Hotel, Travelodge Hastings, The Hotel Undum and the Chatsworth Hotel. The High Beech Hotel is therefore fighting to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage and grow its market share. The opinions of the General Manager, Operations Manager and the HR manager prove that jobs in the industry are difficult in the area and finding the right talent for the right job and the retention of quality staff are major HR challenges currently faced by the hotel. The general manager of the hotel is new to her post and has already expressed concerns about the high staff turnover. Turnover is high among front line staff, waiters and porters and the management has had few discussions to find the reasons why staff left, and find out ways to resolve the problem. I having worked at the hotel as an HR executive (placement student) managed to gain a good understanding of the high turnover and the possible effects the turnover levels have had on the existing staff. Literature review Labour turnover is the rate at which staff leaves an organisation and are replaced by new employees. Too high a labour turnover rate may mean that there is something unsatisfactory about working for the organisation and that action therefore would need to be taken (Adams et al, 1993) Denver and McMahon (1992:143) defined labour turnover as the movement of people into and out of employment within an organisation and can both be voluntary and involuntary. Eade (1993) further categorises turnover into management controllable and unavoidable turnover. Labour turnover index is used to measure staff turnover and according to Armstrong (2001) labour turnover rates provide a valuable means to benchmarking the effectiveness of HR policies and practices in organisations. The hotel industry is essentially comprised of both a production and a service aspect and the creation and rendering of services from the hotel to the customer are mainly achieved through employees. Therefore the industry is essentially represented by people (Lewis 1989; Thompson and Abbott, 1990; Schneider , 1993) and is considered as one of the most labour intensive industries. Turnover in the hotel industry in the UK has been shown to be unacceptably high (Kennedy and Berger, 1994), averaging as much as 200% to 300% per year. Statistically this means that the entire workforce of the industry turns over two to three times per year. The main factors identified, that could impact on turnover are, orientation and good socialisation procedures (Kennedy and Berger 1994, Woods, 1992), ad-hoc recruitment and selection (Benn and Farbringer, 1992, Woods and Macaulay, 1989; Wagner, 1991; Wheelhouse, 1989), discrimination at the workplace (Antolik,1993), lack of training and development oppor tunities (Hogan, 1992; rowden,1995), organisation culture (Woods and Macaulay, 1998) shortage of skills in the labour market (Debrah, 1994; Woods, 1992), high levels of work related stress ( Vallen,1993;Woods, 1992; Ham and Griffeth, 1995), seasonal nature of the industry ( Boella, 1998) and job dissatisfaction ( Bonn and Frbringer, 1992). All of these factors have contributed towards high levels of staff turnover in the hotel industry and it is clear that the success of the industry depends upon taking necessary steps to reduce the above mentioned issues, and problems, and the calibre of employees, and how well they are managed (Nankervis and Debroh, 1995; Berger and Ghel, 1995). Deery and Iverson, (1996) commented that high degree of staff turnover levels consist of recruitment and replacement costs, and regular and loyal customers switching to other competitor hotels as they expect to see their favourite staff members. It is clear labour costs play a major part in the industry and high staff turnover is seen as a prime issue hampering the smooth functioning of hotel and organisations within the hospitality industry (Obrien and McDonnell 2003). Deery and Iverson (1996) examined the employee turnover phenomenal and found that high turnover resulted in organisations loosing revenue and profits. They also argued that high turnover, especially when skilled staff leave, contributes to lowering the employee morale and the overall ability of teams within the organisations to get quality work done. Therefore the retention of skilled and well trained staff in any hospitality organisation is important to save unnecessary tangible and intangible costs as well as retaining regular and loyal customers and to provide them with a quality service. It is clear from the arguments put forward by the above mentioned authors and scholars but Despite an array of academic evidence and research on labour turnover the question to be asked is do management of hospitality sector organisations understand the gravity of the issue of staff turnover, and its negative effects on the performance of the organisation and how far they are willing to go to retain the valuable staff. At a time of difficult economic times it is imperative and organisation takes measures to outperform its competitors and any hospitality sector organisation that understands the value of human capital and adopt good HRM policies and management practices in pursuit of employee retention will inevitably outperform the competition (Cho et al., 2006, Hinkin and Tracy, 2000). Staff leaving on a regular basis involves heavy administration costs and a loss of productivity through the breaking up of teams who are used to working together (Denvir and McMohan, 1992:144). Therefore the critical importance of employees staying with an organisation is evident (Brayfield and Crockett, 1995; Cho et al, 2006). It is clear that satisfied and highly motivated employees stay with the organisation which in turn helps the company to reduce unnecessary recruitment and selection costs which could amount to a substantial amount of money, but also produce high quality work which helps the organisation to achieve competitive advantage and increase its profits (Cho et al., 2006; Hinkin and Tracey, 2000). Exit interviews are a great method of collecting information as to why employees leave an organisation. Employees leave for various reasons ranging from lack of employee oriented organisational measures such as succession planning, pay , non-financial rewards, work life balance and undesirable working conditions as well as more personal reasons such as inability to look after their children, other child welfare issues and transport problems. This can also vary depending on how long they have worked for the company and it is a common factor as evident from the High Beech Hotel, and that staff leaves because they soon found out that the job did not suit them. Some other staff members leave after serving the organisation after serving a considerable amount of time and their issues could very well be different to people leaving early. According to the CIPD (2007) costs an organisation approximately  £3500 pounds every time an employee leaves and as stated earlier these costs include bo th tangible costs and intangible costs such as time spent on interviewing new recruits and these often go unreported in company accounts. Denver and McMahon (1992:146) also found out that individual hotel organisations experience different levels of turnover, which helps to confirm that staff turnover is partly within the control of the hotel management. This also contradicts with the common acceptance that staff turnover is high and uniform throughout the industry and uncontrollable. Therefore it is evident that high levels of staff turnover is harmful to the smooth functioning of any organisation, may it be in the hospitality sector or some other sector and hinders the efficient operation of the business resulting in the hotel gradually losing its market share. Therefore it is important that the hospitality sector organisations develop effective and vibrant HRM policies that enable them to successfully recruit, select and retain skilled and efficient employees, who would contribute towards the achievement of the corporate objectives of the business. Factors influence on high Labour Turnover. The hotel industry in the UK is constantly troubled with high staff turnover resulting in increased personnel costs arise from recruitment and selection of new staff, training them (Ham and Griffeth, 1995). There is a strong negative relationship between turnover and organisational commitment which indicates that staff with low levels of commitment and loyalty are more likely to withdraw from the organisation than more committed staff (Johnston et, 1993). He also identified a positive relationship between organisational commitment and career progression opportunities given to employees through internal promotions and succession planning. These employees who are given opportunities to progress up the ladder, exhibit higher levels of organisational commitment, and loyalty and results in skilled staff retention and a gradual decline of low performing employees. This makes it much easier for HR managers to successfully identify low performing employees and eliminate them from the work fo rce which is important and a good for the success of the company as this turnover is considered healthy. Another key factor which may influence staff turnover is the gender difference and certain problems it creates within the organisation. Female workers have different responsibilities to their male counterparts and may value work life balance more as a result. The pressures of work and life, has resulted in more female workers leaving their jobs than male workers (Doherty and Manfredi, 2006:62). In most hotels it can be seen female workers working in the bottom of the organisation hierarchy and the pay gap between males and female workers has been a much talked about issue in the UK. Iverson (2000) conducted a study in the USA involving hotel establishments and found that female managers earn much less than the male managers doing the same job which is commonly seen in the UK and this has resulted in, female workers being reluctant to return to work after their maternity leave. On top of this, most organisations have failed to assist their female workers to arrange necessary child car e arrangements which have aggravated the number of female workers leaving their job. As per above authors the reluctance of female workers to return to work may also be caused by factors such as stress, work dissatisfaction, lack of commitment and low promotion opportunities coupled with a poor organisation culture that does not provide a platform to encourage female workers to move up the career ladder. Therefore the problems and issues female workers face in the workplace is clear and applicable in hospitality sector organisations, and it is very important the HR department address these issues and understand why many female workers leave their jobs early. Organisation culture, average age of the total labour force of the organisation, gender and racial composition and male-female pay gaps are among the reasons why employees leave (Bennett et al, 1993). Prospective employees when joining an organisation look into a number of factors such as career development opportunities, total reward policy and work life balance. Lack of incentives is therefore a main reason why many employees leave their jobs after some time. Incentives include both financial and nonfinancial and employees may simply want praise for their good work and lack of recognition could seriously hamper employee retention. Ritz Carlton hotel in London, has managed to reduce employee turnover to a significant level by focusing on quality recruitment, providing better training and development opportunities and by forming a positive psychological contract with the employees, and also by creating long term incentive and reward systems ( Barky, 1996). Therefore it is fair to assume that to a large extent organisation HRM practices, policies and procedures determine staff turnover. Organisation policies and lack of employee oriented practices and procedures may not only be the sole reason why many organisations particularly in the hospitality industry experience high level of staff turnover. Another factor that affects turnover is the ability of staff to carry out their tasks and responsibilities up to the required standard and the job performance of employees largely affects staff turnover and this is also confirmed by a study conducted by Jewell and Siegal (1990). They found that employees having very high levels of on-the-job performance are highly unlikely to leave their job in contrast with employees with low levels of performance. High performing employees are confident in their job and have better work related knowledge and skills. Low pay, lack of training and career development opportunities, lack of regular and realistic performance appraisals and undesired work environments are among the key reasons that cause low performance which in-turn result in high staff turnover. Therefore it is clear HR professionals in hotel establishments must pay very close attention to developing employee oriented HRM policies and practices that help staff achieve their full potent ial. To name a few these HR policies and practices are training and development opportunities open management communication systems, employee welfare such as child care, flexible working, transport assistant to employees and a comprehensive induction programme that helps new recruits to adopt well to their new roles. When analysing the hospitality and hotel industry in particular it has been found that most organisations have a poor reputation for providing good staff training and development opportunities (Maxwell et al, 2004). High staff turnover in most hospitality sector industries may have also led managers to be reluctant to providing staff with opportunities to further develop their careers fearing they may leave after that ( Davies et al, 2001, Jameson, 2000: Lowey et al, 2002). High staff turnover also causes managers to be occupied with recruitment and selection activity as well as grievance issues, and this may also be a reason for them not to have sufficient time to focus on staff development and talent management. Training and development and staff retention has a close match as poorly trained staff are less satisfied with work and may leave quicker and more than fully trained and highly satisfied staff. Therefore training and development directly affects job satisfaction and organis ational commitment (Lam and Zhang, 2003, Taylor et al, 2001, Lowry et al, 2002). Working hours is another key factor that causes employees to leave and most hospitality sector organisations, because of high staff turnover may require remaining staff to work extra hours on a regular basis. Long working hours without breaks are against the working time regulations as well as current health and safety rules and Female workers are largely affected by this practice because of their family commitments and a research conducted by Erdogan (1996:26) revealed long working hours are among the main reasons for many female workers to quit their jobs. There has also been an increase of single parent families and long hours and unsocial working hours have forced females to leave their jobs. This not only creates staff to leave but unfriendly working hours coupled with a poor corporate and work culture and a hostile working environment of the organisation , may affect the job satisfaction of female workers and even if they remain with the job their work could be highly unproduct ive and suffer from work related stress. Despite the fact that many researchers and academics stressing the importance of a good organisation work environment that provides employees oriented HR measures to achieve these goals and objectives many organisations still suffer from high levels of staff turnover and female staff turnover as evident from research findings. All of the above stated factors and elements contribute to employee dissatisfaction and it is a result of various internal and external factors that were mentioned above. Labour turnover of High Beech Hotel High Beech Hotel had a newly appointed general manager and she has been investigating the reasons for the high staff turnover levels of the hotel over the past three years and has had several discussions with the operations manager and the HR manager of the company. Unfortunately no proper investigation has not been done so far to find out the possible causes of staff turnover but the management in consultation with the company HR records and turnover figures has assumed the reasons as job dissatisfaction, long and unfriendly working hours, pay issues, lack of training and development opportunities for staff, issues with working condition and other personal issues of staff such as work life balance. Importance of HR practices and concepts in relation to staff retention and turnover HRM plays a vital part in creating a sustainable competitive advantage for any organisation, and forward looking organisations adopt good HR policies and practices to ensure the smooth functioning of the organisation (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Stewart, 1997; Verma and Dewe, 2008). Research studies have confirmed that well defined organisational goals and corporate objectives directly influence employee retention and productivity. Kim et al, (2005) in their study on corporate orientation found that organisational direction and support had a significant impact on employee job satisfaction and overall commitment. ORGANISATIONAL INITIATIVES The organisational HR initiatives as mentioned above, illustrate how internal factors and forces contribute towards employee retention. The model does not mention about external forces such as local and national competition in the labour market, economic situation, globalisation and international competition which affects attracting skilled employees to various jobs. It can be seen that this model covers the internal factors and reasons that affect staff retention or turnover and it is critically important for an organisation and HR professionals to pay close attention to the factors mentioned under the model to critically assess where they stand as an organisation and take steps to implement those HR practices and policies to retain talented staff ( Horwitz et al, 2003; Steel et al, 2002). These internal HR policies and practices are bundled under the term retention management and it is defined as the ability to hold onto those employees an organisation would want to keep, for longe r than the competitors (Johnson,2000 cited De Vos and Meganck,2007). The external factors should not be neglected at the same time because there may be times employees may leave an organisation due to their influences. The impact of financial and non-financial rewards cannot be undermined and play a critical role in motivating skilled and valued employees and retaining them within the organisation. Financial rewards such as a good basic pay combined with performance related pay and non-financial rewards such as training and development opportunities, initiatives to achieve work life balance for staff and other employee retention initiatives such as a pensions scheme and internal promotions motivate staff and force them to think again before quitting their jobs (Horwitz et al,2003;De Vos and Meganck, 2007). When analysing the theories and ides put forward by the above mentioned academics and scholars it is evident they focused on retaining highly skilled employees and researched to find out the possible reasons why valued employees leave organisations. This is being described as retention management and the word retention embraces with other HR practices such as recruitment and selection, development of employees to achieve their full potential and succession management (Lewis and Heckmanp 2006:140). HR Practices and the importance of Human Psychology HRM involves all management decision and practices that directly affects other people, or human resources, who work for the organisation. The question that arises is that despite the fact that many organisations including the hospitality and hotel industry, implement all accepted HR practices and procedures, why employees still leave and the staff turnover rates are extremely high. A good understanding of the implications of human psychology would help HR managers to find the root causes to this problem. Psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced his concept of hierarchy of needs in 1943 which suggests that people are motivated to fulfil their basic human needs before moving on to other needs. The hierarchy of needs is displayed as a pyramid and the lowest level of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the more complex needs are at the top. The needs located at the bottom are the most basic human needs and as people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Therefore when it comes to employees staying or leaving a particular organisation which stage the employee is in could play a vital role in his or her decision making process. At the core this theory of Maslow suggests that when an individual satisfies one set of needs they always try to move into the other level. This makes it critically important for HR professionals in the hospitality organisations how this theory of Maslow affects individual employees and how it influences an individuals decision about him staying or leaving the organisation. When an individual joins an organisation the first concern is to organise his life in-terms of food shelter and other essential psychological needs through wages and salary. The next concern would be job security and personal health and safety in the job. Once those needs are satisfied the employee would move in to the other set of needs which are social needs such as friendly colleagues and staff as well as a desirable working environment. After this comes the next stage which is satisfying the esteem needs which is comprised of individual being recognised for his work and valued by the management of the organisation as well as taking full advantage of any courses and exams they could take to get promoted. Once this set of needs are fully satisfied t he employee reaches the stage of self actualisation. Therefore to satisfy the individual employee needs the HR executives working in hospitality sector organisations must understand the needs of employees and aim to provide tailor made HR solutions in line with the corporate strategy of the company. In order to accomplish this, the HR managers must have accurate methods and procedures to understand which stage the employee is in his hierarchy of needs because if this is not done or if the right methods and procedures are not in place there will inevitably be a contradiction. For an example the HR managers may direct their full efforts into satisfying the esteem needs of employees through individual recognition and internal promotions at work when the employees are seeking safety needs. This would result in a waste of company resources and employees considering leaving the organisation. Individuals decision making process An individuals decision making process is comprised of a number of internal and external variables as shown below and the final decision makes by an individual employee is made up of a collection of those internal and external variables. This model is highly useful in understanding an employees decision making in an organisation (Kotler, 2000, p98). As seen the model is comprised of five main stages which an individual may go through before coming into a decision. They are, * Problem recognition * Information search * Evaluation of alternatives * Decision to leave or stay * Post- purchase evaluation Therefore the first stage is problem recognition and that is recognising there is a problem or issue to be answered by the employee. The problem arose can be triggered by internal influences, external influences or both. Once the main problem or problems are recognised by the employee he then moves into the next stage which is information search. For an example if the initial problem recognised by the employee is concerned with training and development opportunities offered by the organisation then through information search he would try to gather as much information as possible through various external and internal sources about what actions and steps he could take in order to gain the desired level of training. The next stage once sufficient information is gathered is the evaluation of alternatives. As per with training and development, the employee in this stage will go through various possible courses to be taken and evaluate the appropriateness of those courses to his job and what help he could get from the organisation in order to take the course. The next stage of the process is the final decision of the employee to stay with the organisation or to leave. This is called the purchase decision and according to Kotler (2000, p 99) two factors can intervene between the purchase intention and purchase decision. The first factor is the attitudes of other people, which is what the others around think of the individuals decision. Influence of other people can become complex and varied when there are more than one persons involved. The second factor Kotler (2000,p 99) mentions is the unanticipated or unexpected situations and as per the above example of training and development, factors such as the recession and cost cutting measures by the organisation could hamper the employees aspiration of embarking on the course. The final stage of the decision making process is the post purchase evaluation which involves the employee evaluating the positives and negatives of the decision taken, and the possible consequences of it. This concept has a high degree of importance to HR even though it is widely used in marketing and regarded more as a marketing related concep