Human Resource free essay sample

In this essay the issues of Incentive Rewards, safety in the workplace, employee benefits, and implementing compensation. Also included in the essay is interviewee research, a pre interview reflection, the interview questions, and the conclusion. Interviewee Research For this project I have decided to interview my cousin Chris Noring. Chris is one of the head executives for Aldi’s grocery store. He is the head of administration. Before he was in the corporate office, he was a Store District Manager for several grocery stores in eastern Iowa. His job included training store managers, hiring personal, and made sure all of the stores were run properly and up to federal regulations. Aldi’s grocery stores are a national chain of grocery stores that specialize in discount food items. â€Å"ALDI entered the U. S. market in 1976, with a handful of stores in southeastern Iowa. Now, over 1,000 U. S. ALDI stores are spreading the savings from Kansas to the East Coast. We will write a custom essay sample on Human Resource or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In its 2008 report, Supermarket News ranked ALDI 25th in U. S. grocery chains in terms of gross sales—a considerable accomplishment given our select assortment and low prices. (www. Aldi. com) The company’s philosophy is â€Å"Everything we do, from selecting suppliers to scouting locations to building and operating stores, facilitates savings substantial enough to impact your every-day living. † (www. Aldi. com) The company claims it is successful because of a simple motto. â€Å"Aldi’s is convinced that long-term business success can only be achieved if we additionally assume responsibility for people, nature and the environment. This belief is reflected in our CR Policy†. Pre-Interview Reflection My goal for this interview is to obtain firsthand knowledge and get a better understanding on what people who work with human resources do. What better way than to learn from a family member. I expect to learn about what the book say’s about the subject and actually apply it to real life situations. Some of the benefits are gaining knowledge strait from the source, gaining firsthand knowledge, and helping me make better HR related decision latter in my career. Some things that I should consider before I meet is my dress attire. It is essential to make a good impression (even if it is a family member. I should also consider asking him what other things I can do to help better my chances of getting a better career. Interview Questions Incentive rewards How do you set performance measures? What technique do you use? At Aldi’s we believe that the people are the most important part of the company because they provide the stepping stone for the organization. Our Store manager s and their employees use a standard hourly pay system while the store managers are mostly salary. Each store manager receives a bonus if they meet over a certain goal. Employees receive annual bonuses as an incentive. We set goals and standards that should be met by each store and if they do exceed expectations we feel they should be fairly compensated. Which pay system does Aldi’s use and why is it most effective? Pay by the hour for store employees while management starts off with a base salary with yearly increases. It gives managers time to work at their own time while still being fairly compensated and store employees can work their scheduled hours and still be compensated. What are the benefits and downturns off short and long term benefits? Short term benefits can only keep the employee happy for a short time, long term benefits are a great because it gives the employee a chance to have a 401k plan, pension plan, and a health insurance plan. We would like to keep all of our district managers for a long time. They make the company what it is today. Is it better to have group team compensation or individual compensation? What does Aldi’s use? Why do they use that method? We use individual compensation because we feel that each individual has a responsibility with the company and most of the branches in the company involve individual managers. What sort of incentive programs do you believe works the best for your employees? Long term benefits such as a retirement and health plan. It keeps the employee happy and it keeps them happy after their time at Aldi’s. We also offer a stock option plan for employees so if they would like to invest in the company they can. I personally like the stock option plan because it provides an income after retirement. Safety in the workplace What are the challenges of maintaining a safe work environment? Since we are a grocery store, we do have merchandise on high shelves. We emphasize to our store managers that the employee should seek assistants if they need help. We had a case years ago when an employee had a box of meat fall on her and she ended needing surgery. We try to emphasize safety first. We don’t want anyone getting hurt. How do you meet federal standards? The employee reads the employee handbook so the employee knows what the guidelines are. We also meet the food standards set by the USDA. Why is it important to have a safe workplace? We want to have everyone happy. We don’t want a bad reputation for Aldi’s grocery store so safety is first. How do you prepare your employees for a crisis in the workplace if one would arise? We have all of the possible scenarios in the handbook and during the training process we train the employee on each of the scenario. Employee Benefits What kinds of benefits does Aldi’s offer to its employees? 401k, health and dental, paid vacation, paid training How do you balance the benefit cost? This is tough, we try to balance our budget year and we rarely lay off employees. We tell our managers not to hire any additional help if they don’t need it. The employee picks their What are the challenges of having a large number employees with health insurance? When I first started at Aldi’s as the district manager back in 2004, the cost of health insurance has nearly doubled. As a result of having larger cost in health insurance we have had to budget more properly. We don’t want to lay off anyone, so we try to cut back on some unnecessary expenses that can be avoided. How do these benefits motivate the workplace? Having such good benefits, the employee wants to stay at the organization for the long term. The employee is happy with their job and it thus increases their performance. The company thrives Employee Rights How do you ensure moral practices in the workplace? By ensuring that every employee is properly trained on the subject. Part of our managerial training involves having every manager trained about moral ethics. We don’t want discrimination or other negligence in the workplace. Having discrimination causes other employees to not have a sense of security in the workplace. How would you handle a sexual harassment case? Aldi’s has a strict sexual harassment policy. The employee would be notified about the case and proper action would be taken. This can include suspension or possibly termination if the case is serious enough. How do you comply with federal regulations when it comes to privacy rights? We follow the federal guidelines by training our employees on what the regulations are and make sure that managers are enforcing the laws. What surveillance methods and monitoring do you feel work the best? We have general surveillance cameras, our goal is stop shoplifting and I feel it provides a sense of security to the customers knowing that they are protected inside the store. Post-Interview Reflection Incentive rewards According to Chris, after customers, employee’s are the most important part of any organization. He said, â€Å"At Aldi’s we believe that the people are the most important part of the company because they provide the stepping stone for the organization. † This is why it is it is important to provide an incentive for good performance. According to the textbook, â€Å"Incentive plans crate an operating environment that champions a philosophy of shared commitment through the belief that every individual contributes to organizational performance and success. The overall goal for Aldi’s and any other company is to lower labor costs, improve customer satisfaction, and expand product markets. To do this, each individual in the organization must contribute to overall success of the corporation. Chris has found out that long term incentive rewards work the best because it keeps the employee motivated to work their throughout their own personal career. Measurement is the key to the success of incentive plans because it communicates the importance of established goals. At Aldi’s, each store has a goal that they would like to see meet, if the store meets goal, or even exceeds it, they are given a bonus. Chris feels this is a great incentive reward because it keeps the employees motivated to work hard. If Aldi’s didn’t offer this reward, he feels the company wouldn’t be as successful. Most store employees are paid on a standard hour plan at Aldi’s excluding the managers. The managers are paid on a yearly salary with increases in pay every year plus bonus incentives. Chris feels this is the most effective pay system because It gives managers time to work at their own time while still being fairly compensated and store employees can work their scheduled hours and still be compensated. Employees also have the option of buying stock in the company. According to the textbook, â€Å"by allowing employees to purchase stock the organization hopes they will increase their productivity, assume a partnership role, and thus cause the stock price to rise. I feel this is the most effective incentive reward because it gives the employee a sense of ownership in the company and they feel â€Å"important† to the overall success of the corporation. Employee Benefits Another part of the incentive program which involves indirect compensation is employee benefits. According to the Employee Benefits Research Institute, â€Å"By December 2010, benefit costs as a percentage of total compensation costs were 30. 3 percent. † And the textbook said that on average $21,527. With rising employee benefits cost, it is important for employers to balance out the benefits without putting a major financial burden on the company. Chris said this wasn’t part of his job but Aldi’s head human resource manager balances the budget by cutting back on some expenses such as fuel and payroll expenses. The textbook states that â€Å"The major approaches used to contain the costs of health care benefits include reduction in coverage, increased deductibles, or copayments, and increased coordination of benefits to make sure the same expense is not paid by more than one insurance reimbursement. Aldi’s offers it employees several benefits including: Health and dental (HMO) , 401k, paid vacation, and paid training. Having these benefits should try to recruit the best people for the job. Having such good benefits allows Aldi’s to have top personal in the corporate office and in the local stores. Chris say’s that the workers are happy with having such good benefits and it results in better sales and customer satisfaction. The textbook states that, â€Å"Creating a benefits program with a personal responsibility frameworks represents an economic opportunity for employers by lowering medical cost and achieving higher employer productivity and higher employer productivity and greater retirement readiness for employees. Safety in the Work Place Every year thousands of accidents occur in the workplace that could have been avoided. It is essential for HR managers to enforce the safety in the workplace that way injuries don’t occur. According to Chris, Aldi’s sends its store managers to seminars so they know the proper procedures. Since the store manager is trained on safety, it is essential that they train their employees properly to avoid accidents. Chris remembers an incident when he was a district manager where a lady hurt herself trying to get a box of food from the top shelf. The incident cost the company’s thousands of dollars in lawsuits that could have been avoided if the store manager had properly handled the situation. According to the book, â€Å"One of a supervisor’s major responsibilities is to communicate to an employee the need to work safely. Beginning with new employee orientation, safety should be emphasized continually. † It is essential that managers enforce safety guidelines because it cost 50 billion dollars to employers each year in compensation. Employee Rights Employee rights are a natural result of the evolution of societal, business, and employee interest. The books definition of employee rights is, â€Å"The guarantee of fair treatment that employees expect in protection of their employment status. Employee rights are a major concern for Aldi’s. Chris states that . We don’t want discrimination or other negligence’s in the workplace. Having discrimination causes other employees to not have a sense of security in the workplace. Sexual harassment is a major issue now a day’s and Aldi’s trains it employees about the subject so they are aware of the consequences. On some circumstances, Aldi’s has terminated jobs of violators of their harassment policy. I feel this is the appropriate measure to take because having that individual in the work places causes the other employees to feel uncomfortable while working. Aldi’s uses surveillance cameras in the stores for several reasons that include prevention of theft and monitoring the employees. In rare cases, surveillance cameras have been used at Aldi’s to discover that an employee had taken money from the cash register. If it hadn’t been for the cameras, the person may have never been caught. Other Once again I did learn a lot about the duties that an HR manager faces on a daily basis. I am thankful to gain this knowledge from a family member. It gives me a whole other perspective about his job that a textbook cannot teach. With my new knowledge that I acquired, I will use it for future references if a situation would ever arise. It is nice to know these things for the development of my career. I honestly would not have done anything different from the interview or give him advice on the company. Aldi’s is a very successful company because of the corporate office. I would tell him to keep up the good work instead. Follow-up I was very grateful interview Chris for this project because a day before I interviewed him, his wife had a baby and he didn’t have to help me out but he did and I am very thankful. I sent him an email thanking him for the time he took out of his busy life to help me out. Conclusion After reading this essay, we have learned what duties an HR manager faces on a daily basis. We have learned incentive reward programs, safety in the workplace, employee benefits, and employee rights and discipline. It is essential that an HR manager complies with the law while making decisions and make sure that every decision is moral. It is their responsibility to be fair and equal to promote wellness in the workplace.

buy custom Cheating in Sports - Baseball Problems

buy custom Cheating in Sports - Baseball Problems Sports Does Matter Article 'Why Sports Matter' byWilfred Sheed Wilfred Sheeds article Why Sports Matter focuses on how sports have changed over the past 150 years. He emphasizes on the importance of sports in peoples life and underlines that it can significantly shape their lives for the better. Sports can help people to understand what they can do and to know what they want to be. This implies that sports build up character and prepare one to fight for what he or she wants to do in life. Cheating and CHEATING by Joe Posnanski is an article that explores cheating in baseball game, which has been there since the game started. He believes that there has never been a fair baseball game. Players have been using steroid, amphetamine and other preparation sin order to cheat since the baseball game was first introduced. This paper shows comparison between Wilfred Sheeds and Joe Posnanskis articles on sports analyzing their ideas and the style of writing.

Review #3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Review #3 - Essay Example The appearance of hand axes is evidenced in the Lower Paleolithic period as used by the Homo erectus. The initial radiation Homo erectus is found to emerge from Africa and Eurasia. The evolution of this species of Homo sapiens dates back to approximately 160,000 years from both Africa and Eurasia. Ultimately, Homo sapiens are described as more civilized humans, with the appearance of bows and arrows being linked to Homo sapiens sapiens in the past 10, 000 years. The five part discussion in this article have an historical significance to the humans as they help in understanding the origin of mankind. From the 5 parts of the article it is possible to ascertain that human beings have through the evolution become wiser, from one ancient period the other. This is crucial to human understanding that every generation that emerges is always at a better intellection capability than the preceding one. Lastly, the entire five parts of the article focuses on the origin of humankind based on many assumptions that do not embrace a religious account of the creation of human beings. The differently can only be seen as an opposed illustration of evolution of human from a primitive ape, which highly differ from religious

Iinternational Business Porters Diamond Analysis of the Mexican Essay

Iinternational Business Porters Diamond Analysis of the Mexican Business Environment - Essay Example BRIC countries are those that dominated global economic talks in 2001 and years after; at that time, these countries had demonstrated great potential in exploiting economic opportunities. These countries have moved on to become great and major players in the global economy, with great growth in their GDP. BRIC countries comprise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China; currently, these countries have now been classified as the powerhouses of the world economy. They have reformed their macroeconomic policies, something that has given them a cutting edge in creating economic competitive advantages globally. Later, a new perspective and outlook on activities by other countries brought up the MINT countries, as those showing huge advances in their economic growth. Currently, different countries are involved in various practices that can enhance their competitive advantage. Many countries are reforming the macroeconomic policies in the process of attracting local and international investments to spur the growth and development of economic activities in these countries. MINT countries are those that have shown tremendous developments in the economic activities, thus leading to expansion of their economic activities. These countries include Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey; according to Jim O’Neill, an economist, these countries have an upsurge of economic activities that have placed them perfectly in the league fast-growing economies. An important characteristic of these countries is the fact that they have young and aggressive populations that have the ability to take on various economic activities.

The Making of the Middle Ages Essay Example for Free

The Making of the Middle Ages Essay Personally, when thinking of the middle Ages, I tend to have the misconception that it is a period of darkness with no progress. However, R.W. Southern’s book, ‘The Making of the Middle Ages’, offers an in depth study of the development of history in the world today. Observing that this book was published during the 1950s, Mr. Southern’s interpretation of the ‘Middle Ages’ was very distinctive in comparison to other historians of his time. He explores the significance of the Middle Ages as a separate sector in the study of history by which the audience will notice that previous categories of studied history is set aside, as we are no longer focusing on the usual ‘Classical Greece’ and ‘Rome’ in shaping the modern world, but the ‘Middle Ages’ as an entity on its own. The ‘Middle Ages’ are regarded as of equal importance in the understanding of making the modern world since the Enlightenment. Setting this book in the 1950s when traditionalist views are still the core study of history, he attempts to justify the study of the Middle Ages as important to understanding. I find myself puzzled by his misleading use of the book’s title as it does not describe the actual ‘making’ of the middle ages which is suggests, but the actual ‘formation of western Europe from the late tenth to the early thirteenth century’. It is clear that Mr. Southern acknowledges the problems during the Middle Ages and examines them in two sections. He states that these divisions in Latin Christendom and its neighbors arose from the lack of communication and the tension caused from social disorder. Another trigger of tension was the division of the two main languages in Europe. He also emphasizes that those were the main factors and that areas of authority and political divisions were too artificial and ‘too fluid to count for much’ which also suggests that ‘political boundaries didn’t survive’. Opposed to the traditional view of history, he insinuates that the middle ages have been hindered as a ‘secret revolution’. This implies that Southern’s argument tries to reaffirm the status of the middle ages as a legitimate topic of academic discourse. Of course in his attempt to convince his academic peers, he seems to be very selective in his choice of sources. When examining the index, it clearly shows that there is little written about other themes. Southern conveys a very Eurocentric attitude towards the topics that are discussed in his book, as he mentions very little of the developments in Africa, the role of women and children and when compared to people of the upper classes and serfdoms, the ratio seems bizarre. There is a large list of various Saints that Southern mentions, as well as many powerful men with high social statuses that claim more pages and notice about serfdom which concludes to my point of Southern’s poor demographic as there isn’t a chapter on women. Southern’s ‘Making of the Middle Ages’ is a history of men and powerful political men. Southern also uses imperial terms that show that his book was written for the upper classes if placed in the wider context with the books published at the same time. Mr. Southern uses five main headings for each of his discussions and it is obvious that his main interest lies within the role of religion. ‘dark ages’ no progress? Regression he argues that there are things and events that happened which form Europe as it is today †¦ Not just shaped by classical rome in shaping modern Europe. About the book in the wider context about the books in the same time about the same topic because books are not published isolated- When the book was published and then how does it compare to the books published now- outdated? Why? Compared to modern literature and then the books published at the time. Index: always a noun but mentions none in themes, another flaw in the writer as the impression it gives shows that there aren’t any interests in wider themes. Eurocentric attitude to history isn’t as important- maybe ignores development in Africa? Role of women, children or slaves (under classes) but does have ‘serfdom’ only one chapter? Imperial terms; Sort of model of Thucydidean history (which is history of political leaders) military generals none of underdogs. (power politics) theme of Enlightenment-inspired medievalism and protonationalism with a study of legendary heroes Guy of Warwick and Bevis of Hampton in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century literary circles, while articles by Helen Phillips, John Marshall, and David Mills examine gender in Chaucer’s writings, Robin Hood’s embodiment of pageantry, and the Chester Plays, respectively. Andrew Wawn expands on his earlier work by examining Victorian makers of the Viking Middle Ages active in Merseyside and Edward Morris surveys early nineteenth-century Liverpool collectors of illuminated manuscripts, devoting considerable attention to restituting the scholarly reputation of Sir John Tobin, a retired seaman, former slave trader, and pioneer in the acquisition of medieval manuscripts whose collection, amassed between 1823 and 1835, was â€Å"perhaps the most important small group of late medieval illuminated manuscripts ever assembled by a private individual† (166). Revival of secular Gothic aesthetics, a must-read for anyone interested in appreciating the urban development of one of England’s most important cities during industrialization. serves as a useful reminder that medievalism can hold historical implications as interesting and important as the Middle Ages themselves.

The Fate of a Hero in Beowulf Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essays

The Fate of a Hero â€Å"For a brief while your strength is in bloom/ but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow/ illness or the sword to lay you low†¦ and death will arrive, dear warrior, to sweep you away†(1761-8). Hrothgar bestows his wisdom onto Beowulf after Beowulf has defeated Grendel and his mother. Hrothgar reminds him not to let pride overcome him for everything is eventually defeated due to the power of fate. This exemplifies a theme woven throughout the story of Beowulf. Beowulf is presented as a valiant hero, slaying beasts with his mighty strength and demonstrating the importance of the balance between wisdom and strength, but as the story unfolds Beowulf slowly loses his vitality until eventually he is defeated. This shows the power of fate has on everyone; no exceptions. This paper will demonstrate the heroic qualities of Beowulf and show his gradual decline through the approaches and outcomes of his three battles with the monsters. In the beginning of the story, Beowulf’s journey brings him to the land of the Danes where he is first intruded upon by a coast guard. Immediately upon seeing Beowulf the coast guard remarks on his impressive appearance. â€Å"Nor have I seen/ a mightier man-at-arms on this Earth/ than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken,/ he is truly noble† (247-50). A warrior named Wulfgar, impressed by Beowulf and his men, delivers his request for passage into the land of Denmark from King of the Danes, Hrothgar. His family background and reputation are familiar to Hrothgar, and he eagerly welcomes them to Denmark. Wulfgar reports back to Beowulf, â€Å"My lord, the conquering king of Danes, bids me announce that he knows you ancestry: also that he welcomes you here to Herot†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (391-3). This scene shows the importance of appearance and reputation, without which Beowulf may never have been admitted to the land of the Danes at all. Once he gains passage into Denmark, Beowulf talks with Hrothgar and his closest followers in the mead hall about how he will destroy this beast or die trying. â€Å"I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend’s clutches. And I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed or meet my death here in the mead-hall† (634-8). His speech to Hrothgar shows Beowulf’s courage and confidence in his abilities. He also chooses not use any weapons or ar... ...e failed his people. His choice to conquer this dragon seems to be the obvious choice for a warrior. He must protect his people. But Beowulf seems so caught up in the surreal threats such as, monsters and dragons, he fails to realize the real peril he has left his people in. Beowulf is aware of his age and uneasy feeling toward his success yet he chooses to take on the dragon anyways. Although the dragon is defeated the Geat people are presented with even greater danger of the Sweds who will surely pounce on their nation. Therefore, throughout the story Beowulf is presented as the ultimate hero; demonstrating the strength of thirty men in his grasp while also using his powerful insight to avoid unnecessary conflict. His surreal strength and wisdom allow Beowulf to accomplish great feats within his time. He not only saves the land of the Danes form the terrorizing monsters but serves and protects his own people as well. Despite his heroic qualities, his humanity is proven by showing his eventual downfall; expressing that even the greatest heroes cannot live forever. Beowulf’s heroic qualities can only hold him above the rest until fate takes its toll and he too becomes defeated.

Research science fiction Essay

During the summer I met up with Harinder to start building our website and to get an idea of what it would include and look like. We decided to use the program Dream Weaver since it was more flexible compared to word or Frontpage and it had many features that we could use for our website, such as different backgrounds and texts. Dream weaver enabled us to use Flash MX which has much more effective graphics which we couldn’t get on Front Page such as the flash buttons and 3-d backgrounds all to make our website suit the Sc-Fi theme. We targeted our audience immediately by choosing the theme Science Fiction which appeals to teen and young adult males. We kept the audience involved furthermore by the type of language we chose to use which wasn’t too complicated yet not too patronising. The set up of the page was kept colourful, yet formal, by not having the hyperlinks and pictures all over the page. It would therefore appeal to the younger and older generations of our audience. We also targeted the audience by adding more features to our website like voting and a guest book so they feel welcome and give feed back on what they thought of our website. The strengths and weaknesses of our production are fairly clear. Some of the strengths are that it appeals to a wide range of audiences which means that more people are attracted to our website and it would be popular. Another strength would be the different kinds of features that make up our website, from the different types of flash buttons to the backgrounds, wallpapers and pictures. The weaknesses of our website include the appearance of the homepage; it looks too cluttered at the top then too empty at the bottom. The colours don’t match especially with the different coloured buttons. Another weakness would be that on a page like the picture page all of the links are down on one side of the page and the rest of the page looks empty. We could have avoided this problem by putting more pictures and links on the page. One more weakness I could pick out would probably be that it takes quite a long time to load up the site. This could be put down to the fact that there is a lot of links and features on our webpage which slows down the connection and makes it harder for the computer to find the proxy settings. The responses from our target audience were good. We asked people between the ages of 15-30 years of age what they thought of our website. We got some good responses especially from the younger members of our audiences, such as the layout of the website and the features is good quality. They did offer some improvements, such as it needed more information put into the site. The point came up again that the home page was too cluttered and looked over crowded. The older generation of our audience also thought the site was very effective. Some proposed improvements were that we needed to take more care when writing the movie reviews since there was a lot of spelling mistakes. Also that some of the other pages seemed empty with only a few links on them. It was proposed we should have either not made a links page for the pictures page or made more links and pictures. Another improvement suggested that we should have made our website even more formal if we wanted to aim at a wider range of 25 year olds upward, by not having the colourful buttons or backgrounds but having them black and white. I feel I learnt that we needed to have deadlines between ourselves to get certain things finished and then move on to the next thing instead of going back and finishing off pictures or reviews. You need to have people in your group that you can rely on to have work finished and handed in. Appendix 1. Google – Search Engine 2. Science Fiction Websites- * Sci-fi.com * Sciencefic.com * Science Fiction Movie Reviews Pages * Science Fiction Picture Pages 3. Ask- Search Engine 4. Lycos- Search Engine