Microsoft Vega Project Essay Example

Microsoft Vega Project Essay How does Microsoft conduct strategic planning and what role human resource management plays in that process? It is apparent that people are Microsofts greatest asset. Linking production areas and using an atmosphere that caters to the 30 year old average employee age, has made the company a fantastic place of employment. Human Resources is responsible for identifying, hiring, and retaining their gifted talent. Microsoft has also boasted as very generous compensation and benefits program that has created a quality employee experience. Microsofts work environment, is a catalyst for great achievements. With a strategic human resource plan, Microsoft ensures that a diverse range of candidates are considered for opportunities as well as retaining them in a very competitive market. Their results are shown through enhanced product development and employee performance. The HR department is great at spotting talent and potential and aim to hire people who are smart, work hard, and get the right things done. HR staffing seeks to hire talented people who are passionate about their work. This passion translates directly into products and services that enable Microsoft customers to do their very best. Its an important mission — bringing the right people in and taking good care of them. It plays a critical role in helping Microsoft generate technology that positively affects the lives of millions of people around the world (Microsoft. com 2008). The case study on the Vega Project shows that HR department as well as company directors are using the plan to promote, educate, and empower individuals. As this case shows, it does not always work out to be a successful match. However, according to Microsoft’s home page, I believe their HR approach is a great example of how to recruit, retain, and promote motivated employees. We will write a custom essay sample on Microsoft Vega Project specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Microsoft Vega Project specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Microsoft Vega Project specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Where along the transactional-commitment continuum does Microsoft choose to be located ? Transactional leaders use strategy, structure and culture to strengthen their organization. This type of leadership can be displayed through a system of contingent-reward exchanges as well as active management. This style of leadership can be characterized through a process of goal-setting, setting expectations, and defining how followers will be rewarded (Gerhardt 2004). By achieving specific goals for both leaders and their followers, transactional leadership seeks to maintain stability rather than promoting change within an organization. This leadership style is closley related to the style used by Jim Kaplan in 1998. By recruiting MacLellan, he set goals, explained the rewards associated for meeting those goals, and maintain as close relationship with his new recruit. MacLellan was very excieted about his new Vega project and felt empowered to complete the project on time and meet the specified goals. He had a great commitment to the project, his team, and used many resources to ensure that it was a success. In my opinion I feel that due to the nature of Microsoft’s business, the company is high on the transactional-commitment continuum. This type of leadership is shown through the offer to MacLellan from Kaplan. Delivering the Vega project would mean a 14,000 dollar bonus, an allocation of 2,800 stock options, and promoted to a level 33 program manager, which carried a salary range of 85,000 to 110,000 dollars (Bassert page ? ). Microsoft Home Page http://members. microsoft. com/careers/careerpath/humanresource/default. mspx 2008 http://www. paulgerhardt. com/homework/TranformationalTransactonalLeadershipInRetail. pdf Paul Gerhardt-Transformational and Transactional Leadership in Retail (2004)

Working Place Monitoring Essays

Working Place Monitoring Essays Working Place Monitoring Essay Working Place Monitoring Essay Humans are naturally egocentric.   We tend to always look out for the welfare of our personal interests.   We tend to judge what is ethically right based on what is beneficial to us. To us, we are always the good guys and those who oppose us are the villains. We see our own actions to always be the right thing to do. However, this egocentric mindset is what blinds us from making truly ethical reasoning and judgments. Introspection is a necessary ability for being ethically reasonable. Aside from seeing only what is beneficial to us, we need to learn to see things from the perspective of the other. We need be able to reflect on our own actions and see how this will affect the other person, as well as everything and everyone else involved. We should also learn to consider what would be beneficial for them, and if that thing is unacceptable for you personally, then learn to make compromises so that your decision would be something that will benefit you both. â€Å"We can learn to respect the rights of others and not simply focus on fulfilling our desires. The main problem is not so much distinguishing between helping and harming, but our natural propensity to be focused almost exclusively on ourselves and those closely connected with us.† (Paul and Elder 3) As for the case of workplace monitoring, we cannot avoid companies from making such policies. This is their way of looking out for the best of their interests. For the employees, getting offended by such company policies is their way of looking out for their own. Now to harbor good ethics in the workplace, both parties should learn to be sensitive to the needs and personal restrictions of each other. The employee should understand that a company has a basis for adapting such policies; that maybe it is their way of maintaining the smooth flow of their system. However, the company should also understand that their employees also have certain personal restrictions and needs that should be respected. Workplace searches, urine tests, etc, are necessary for the company to know their employees and to ensure that their employees are of the character that they expect them to be. If the employees have no skeletons to hide in their closets, they should not have problems with these policies at a ll. But the company should know their restrictions and not get offensively close to the personal lives of their employees such as when monitoring phone calls. Just learn to respect the needs of both parties, true ethical judgment can arise from that. Bayer, Richard C. Ethical Reasoning in Business. Action Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. 24 April 2008. acton.org/publications/randl/rl_article_409.php Paul, Richard, and Linda Elder. The Miniature Guide to Understanding the Foundations of Ethical Reasoning. 3rd Edition. Foundation for Critical Thinking. 2005 Victor, Bart, and John B. Cullen. The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work Climates. Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, 1988

Aliasing a Method in Ruby Takes Simple Programming

Aliasing a Method in Ruby Takes Simple Programming To alias a method or variable name in Ruby is to create a second name for the method or variable. Aliasing can be used either to provide more expressive options to the programmer using the class or to help override methods and change the behavior of the class or object. Ruby provides this functionality with the alias and alias_method keywords. Create a Second Name The alias keyword takes two arguments: the old method name and the new method name. The method names should be passed as labels, as opposed to strings. Labels are used to refer to methods and variables without directly referencing them. If youre a new Ruby programmer, the concept of labels may seem odd, but whenever you see a label like :methodname, just read it as the thing called methodname. The following example declares a new class and creates an alias for the on method called start. #!/usr/bin/env rubyclass Microwavedef onputs The microwave is onendalias :start :onendm Microwave.newm.start # same as m.on Change the Behavior of a Class There may be times when you want to change the behavior of a class after its been declared. You can alias and add new methods to an existing class by creating second class declaration that has the same name as the existing class declaration. You can also add aliases and methods to individual objects using a syntax similar to the inherited class syntax. The behavior of any class can be changed by creating an alias for any method and then creating a new method (with the original method name) that calls the method with the alias. In the following example, a microwave class is declared and an instance is created. The second class declaration uses the alias method to change the behavior of the on method in order to add a warning message. The third class declaration is used to change the behavior of the specific microwave instance to add an even more stern warning. When aliasing a method multiple times, be sure to use different method names to store the old method. #!/usr/bin/env rubyclass Microwavedef on  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  puts Microwave is on  Ã‚  end endm Microwave.newm.onclass Microwave  Ã‚  alias :old_on1 :ondef on  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  puts Warning: Do not insert metal objects!  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  old_on1  Ã‚  end endm.on# Message for this specific microwaveclass   Ã‚  def onputs This microwave is weak, add extra timeold_on2endendm.on # Displays extra messagem2 Microwave.newm2.on # Does not display extra message

Analysis and Arguement on Britney Spears Facebook Page Research Paper

Analysis and Arguement on Britney Spears Facebook Page - Research Paper Example Within this context, Britney Spears’ image as a globally marketed cultural icon and her facebook page represent the same thing, a carefully crafted product. To be specific, Britney Spears’ facebook page does not surpass her image as a popular culture icon. Instead, her facebook page is carefully crafted to communicate with her fans/audience. Thesis statement: The analysis and argument on the statement(s) made by Britney Spears about herself to her audience and her carefully constructed facebook page proves that both the statement(s) and facebook page reinforces her public image as a popular culture icon. Most of the public figures who communicate with the audience make use of the theory put forth by Aristotle in his work ‘On Rhetoric’. To be specific, the theory of rhetoric consists of the essential qualities that a public figure should have to gain social acceptance. For instance, ethos consists of the trustworthiness of an individual (say, the speaker), p athos consists of the ability of and individual to create emotional attachment with the listeners and logos consists of the ability of the speaker (say, logical arguments) to communicate with listeners. Within this context, Britney Spears’ statements about herself to the audience is interconnected with logos, she is ready to lose her individuality to satisfy her fans. To be specific, Britney Spears’ status as a cultural icon hinders her from behaving like a mature person because she needs to present herself as a myth. So, one can see that Britney Spears’ statements on trustworthiness or loyalty towards oneself is interconnected with ethos. Besides, Britney Spears’ statements and opinions on other female singers (Madonna and Janet Jackson) prove that she is able to create her own space within the context of popular music. Britney’s commitment to music, especially singing and stage presence helped her to create emotional attachment with her audience. This emotional attachment is an important element of rhetoric, i.e., pathos. One can easily identify that Britney Spears’ emotional attachment with her audience is one of the factors behind her success as a popular culture icon. From a different angle of view, Britney Spears’ public identity as a celebrity does not hinder her personal life. Christopher R. Smit stated that â€Å"In late 2001 Britney’s image/marketing changed bearing in mind that much of her audience had grown up in the meantime† (5). To be specific, her ability to communicate (say, with logical arguments) with the public helps her to divide her public and personal domains into two distinct areas. For instance, Britney Spears is an ordinary individual in her private life. Within this context, her logical arguments/opinions on defining herself, childhood dream to become a singer, harsh media reviews, sexuality, physical limitations, inspiration etc prove that the same is interconnected with logos. B. Argument: How does the construction of her page reveal the statements? Britney Spears’ facebook page reveals her statements because she made use of unique techniques to communicate with the subscribers. For instance, Britney Spears’ facebook page layout is simple and attractive to the subscribers. Within this context, family photos, especially with her family members and friends are important. Besides, her facebook page helps the subscribers to know more about her as an individual, not as a myth. One can see that Br

Arnold Lazarus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Arnold Lazarus - Essay Example Central to his work has been the phrase that started this report "Think Well-Act Well-Feel Well-Be-Well". This is his model and it is prominently displayed on his website. His contributions to the field have moved counselors into a better understanding of the "best practices" for certain disorders. Not only has he been a pioneer in the field but he has received hundreds of honors and opportunities in the past and in the world today. Lazarus was born in 1932 in Johannesburg South Africa. Not much is known about his life in South Africa but it is known that his early education started at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. While he was there he studied psychology and earn a B.A. degree. His interests lay in psychology and behavior. In 1956 he published his first paper in psychotherapy as his [perhaps] his Masters thesis entitled, "Behavior Therapy (Novel Guide, 2009). Lazarus came to America in 1963 to become a "visiting assistant professor" in psychology at Stanford University for one year. After that he went back to Witwatersrand University to lecture at their medical school for psychiatry. In 1966 he moved to America again to become the director of the Behavior Therapy Institute in Sausalito, California. He continued writing and in that year he published, Behavior Therapy Techniques with his colleague Joseph Wolpe (Novel Guide). By 1970, Lazarus became a visiting professor at Temple University Medical School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as a behavioral science professor. In each situation he continued to focus on human behavior and psychology. Lazarus is credited with being a pioneer in the field of psychotherapy. Prior to his work most psychotherapists used a "token economy" or other behavior technique that often took a lot of time and energy for the client to find relief. Lazarus saw that behavior therapy alone was not effective in treating some

Using an Experimental Technique Essay Example for Free

Using an Experimental Technique Essay Another chemical commonly used is ethanol in the aseptic technique and this too was varied in the amount of time the seeds were soaked before being placed in varying times and concentrations of the sodium hypochlorite. Ultimately, in order to use the barley seeds we need have a sterilization technique that can eliminate majority of fungal contamination while not harming the germination of the chosen seeds. I propose an experimental idea to eliminate fungal contamination from barley seed germination. Materials and Methods Aseptic Technique The working area was sprayed down completely with 95% Ethanol before the seeds were used. The forceps used to transfer the seeds from liquid to media were sterilized using the ethanol. Seed Sterilization Procedure Using aseptic techniques 20 barley seeds obtained from the paper bag kept in the fridge were transferred into sterile distilled water and let to sit in a drawer for 20 hours overnight before being transferred to 100% bleach with a drop of dish liquid (Inatomi and Slaughter, 1971). The seeds were soaked in the bleach for a total of 2 hours before being dipped in sterile distilled water and placed on Petri dishes with minimal media and placed in a growth chamber. The germination of the seeds was monitored for 7 days for any fungal contamination. Results After 3 days the seeds were germinating (13 out of 20) and there was no visible evidence of fungal growth. 5 Days: there were no contaminants. 7 Days: no contaminants. || 3 Days seed growth. No contaminants. |3 Days seed growth. No contaminants. | || 5 Days seed growth. No contaminants. |5 Days seed growth. No contaminants. | Discussion Fungal contaminations can be a problem when trying to germinate seeds and a successful experiment is needed to sterilize the barley seeds for further experimentation. I proposed a sterilization experiment for barley seeds and had success with 65% germination and 0% fungal growth. This sterilization technique could provide a good beginning point to begin other experimentation on germination success of barley seeds, without the hassle of fungal contamination to destroy possible results. The overnight soak in the water forced the fungal spores to begin germinating and thereby making it possible for the 2 hour bleach soak to become more effective in eliminating the fungus and other contaminants from the seed coat. The few seeds which did not germinate could have had too much bleach penetration and therefore killed these seeds, however the success was more beneficial than the failure, and so this novel sterilization technique was effective in its elimination of fungal contaminations while providing a good germination rate of the barley seeds. Literature Cited K. Inatomi and J. C. Slaughter. 1971. The Role of Glutamate Decarboxylase and Aminobutyric Acid in Germinating Barley. J. Exp. Bot. 22:561-571.

Love in A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay -- Midsummer Nights Dream

The Power of Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream Is love controlled by human beings who love one another or is love controlled by a higher power? There are many people who believe that a higher power has control over love. An example of a higher power would be a cupid, a flying angel-type creature who is supposed to shoot arrows at people to make them fall in love. There are other people who reject the idea that a higher power controls love and that the people who experience love can control it. In the novel, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", by William Shakespeare, several examples of love's association with a higher power are presented. With the use of examples from the above novel, this essay will discuss the evidence that love is associated with a higher power. Examples like: Thesius arranging a marriage between himself and Hippolyta, Egeus choosing who Hermia should marry and the fairies who have the ability to control love in the Enchanted Forest. In the story, the supreme ruler of Athens, Thesius ends up marrying Hippolyta, the Queen of the Jungle. However, during the whole story, Hippolyta never throughly discusses her feelings and ideas about the marriage. She acts as if she has no choice but to marry Thesius. This can be proven by examining Hippolyta's position in the relationship between herself and Thesius. Hippolyta was captured by Thesius during battle and Thesius intimidates Hippolyta into marrying him since he is a supreme ruler and she was defeated by him. Thesius reveals that he capture Hippolyta in battle in the following quote, "I wood thee by my sword/ And won thy love doing thee injuries" (Act I, Pg 7). The above quote and the fact that Hippolyta never discusses her feelings about the wedding leads the re... ...elings of love in people. This proves that a higher power can control the feelings of love in people. In conclusion, all of the above paragraphs dealt with examples proving that love can be associated to a higher power. A higher power in definition is any being or group of beings that have direct control over the actions of another being. Two of the examples showed how a higher power can control love and one of the examples showed how love can defy a higher power and prevail. In any case, it has been proven that a higher power does exist when dealing with love. Many people have wondered what love really is and how love develops between people. Even if love isn't associated with a higher power in life, it is a strange phenomenon and so far the association of love with a higher powers is a valid suggestion as it was proven in the story, "A Midsummer Night's Dream"