Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Essay on Marlows Racism in Joseph Conrads Heart of...

Marlows Racism in Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness is an intriguing story as well as a symbol for Joseph Conrads social commentary on imperialism. Marlows journey takes him deep into the African Congo where he bears witness to a number of life-altering revelations. He beholds his most striking revelation when he begins to compare the civilized European man with the savage African man. These two opposing forces represent the two conflicting viewpoints present in every dilemma, be it cultural, social, or otherwise. As a modern European man who believes religiously in imperialism, Marlow is inherently arrogant. Yet, although he cannot accept the African jungle as being equally important as imperialism, his†¦show more content†¦No; you want a deliberate belief.* The inherent strength of civilized people is in our ability to trust to faith, to believe so much in something that it will preserve our sense of self even when it is threatened by total absence of, even the opposite conditions of, all that formed to make it. The Africans fascinate Marlow, lure that part of him that wants to escape from the surface-realities created by sociality. Is it a deliberate belief that saves him from asserting his attraction, or an accident of situation? You wonder I didnt go ashore for a howl and a dance? Well, no-I didnt. Fine sentiments, you say? Fine sentiments be hanged! I had no time. I had to mess about with white-lead and strips of woollen blanket helping to put bandages on those leaky steam-pipes, I tell you. ...There was surface-truth enough in these things to save a wiser man.* The technological realities of civilized man happened to allow him to focus his thoughts on work. â€Å"This reconciles with the notion of a deliberate belief because Marlow unshakeably believes that work contains truth (and he can assert this truth against the truth of the Africans) and is not another system of surface-reality†(Hubbard 125) . Marlow sees his journey as a demonstration of the failure of surfac e-realities to restrain man from gratifying his instinctual lusts; their failure in even remaining surface-truths but degenerating in the minds of man toShow MoreRelatedGender Role In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Essay1430 Words   |  6 PagesGender Role In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness For the most part people who read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad may feel that the novella is strictly a story of exploration and racial discrimination. But to Johanna Smith who wrote â€Å"’Too Beautiful Altogether’: Ideologies of Gender and Empire in Heart of Darkness† it is much more than that. Johanna Smith along with Wallace Watson and Rita A. Bergenholtz agree that throughout Heart of Darkness there are tones of gender prejudice, but the wayRead MoreEssay on Another Heart of Darkness1021 Words   |  5 Pages Ignorance and Racism Joseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his book Heart of Darkness. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale - mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack. Chinua Achebe concluded, quot;Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction and a good story-teller into the bargainquot; (Achebe 252). Yet, despite Conrads great story telling, heRead More Prejudice and Racism - No Racism in Heart of Darkness Essay1108 Words   |  5 PagesNo Racism in Heart of Darkness      Ã‚   Chinua Achebe challenges Joseph Conrads novella depicting the looting of Africa, Heart of Darkness (1902) in his essay An Image of Africa (1975). Achebes is an indignant yet solidly rooted argument that brings the perspective of a celebrated African writer who chips away at the almost universal acceptance of the work as classic, and proclaims that Conrad had written a bloody racist book (Achebe 319). In her introduction in the Signet 1997 editionRead MoreEssay about Racism Exposed in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness1059 Words   |  5 PagesJoseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, effectively exposed the racism that was common during his lifetime. Through the harsh behavior and word choice of the characters and narrator, Conrad displays the uncivilized treatment of nonwhites that occurred during the period of colonization. Edward Garnett, an English writer and critic, summarized the plot of Heart of Darkness as being â€Å"an impression†¦ of the civi lizing methods of a certain great European Trading Company face to face with the â€Å"nigger†Read MoreArguments Against Chinua Acebes An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrads Heart of Darkness1622 Words   |  7 PagesLiterature and Composition 6 March 2013 An Image of Africa: Not Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ People of dark skin have been wrongly discriminated against by racists for hundreds of years. From the first time Europeans stepped onto Africa and deemed black skin inferior till now, black people have been fighting for the right to be called equal. During the last century Africans have made great strides in fighting against racism. Many black leaders have risen up and confronted those racist againstRead MoreHeart Of Darkness Essay1426 Words   |  6 PagesJoseph Conrads novel Heart of Darkness uses character development and character analysis to really tell the story of European colonization. Within Conrads characters one can find both racist and colonialist views, and it is the opinion, and the interpretation of the reader which decides what Conrad is really trying to say in his work. Chinua Achebe, a well known writer, once gave a lecture at the University of Massachusetts about Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness, entitled An image of Africa:Read More Colonialism and Imperialism in Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay1016 Words   |  5 PagesImperialism Exposed in Conrads Heart of Darkness      Ã‚   Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness is a novel about European imperialism and its far-reaching effects. Conrad relates his personal opinions through the protagonist, Marlow, who learns a great deal about imperialism while on a journey to the African Congo. Although Heart of Darkness seems to be an anti-imperialistic work, this is not entirely true. Conrad condemns the overly idealistic nature of imperialism, but does not attack BritainsRead More The Evil of Colonialism and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad1559 Words   |  7 PagesColonialism in Heart of Darkness   Ã‚  Ã‚   A masterpiece of twentieth-century writing, Heart of Darkness exposes the tenuous fabric that holds civilization together and the brutal horror at the center of European colonialism. Joseph Conrads novella, Heart of Darkness, describes a life-altering journey that the protagonist, Marlow, experiences in the African Congo.   The story explores the historical period of colonialism in Africa to exemplify Marlows struggles. Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness is mostRead More Comparing Colonialism and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness and Kiplings Poetry1515 Words   |  7 PagesImperialism in Heart of Darkness and Kiplings Poetry   Ã‚  Ã‚   Imperialism sprung from an altruistic and unselfish aim to take up the white mans burden1 and â€Å"wean [the] ignorant millions from their horrid ways.†2 These two citations are, of course, from Kipling’s â€Å"White Man’s Burden† and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, respectively, and they splendidly encompass what British and European imperialism was about – at least seen from the late-nineteenth century point of view. This essay seeks to exploreRead MoreJoseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1488 Words   |  6 PagesJoseph Conrad’s s novel Heart of Darkness portrays an image of Africa that is dark and inhuman. Not only does he describe the actual, physical continent of Africa as â€Å"so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness†, (Conrad 154) as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life. Conrad lived through a time when European colonies were scat tered all over the world. This phenomenon and the doctrine of colonialism bought into at his

Monday, December 16, 2019

External Analysis Free Essays

External Analysis 1. PESTLE Factors Political and Legal · Government has high work efficiency, justice and transparency.  · Company or individual have low tax rate easy to calculate. We will write a custom essay sample on External Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now  · Government supports the development of industry and commerce. | Economic ·Hong Kong is the world’s 11th trading powers and 2nd stock market in Asia.  ·One of the most free trade port and open investment policy. It is the only one RMB offshore market.  ·Over-estimation of the number of visitors. Loss $46 million in the second year and $12 million in its third year. | Socio-Cultural ·By colonial influence, Hong Kong’s culture will more closely to the western country.  ·More open and easy then investment in mainland China. Widely recognized as one of the freest economies in the world.  ·Well adapt the Chinese culture.  ·Marketing campaign was not aggressive enough. | Technological ·Diversification in Business and professional service. Have highly educated professional talents and modern management structure. | Environmental ·Resulted in major environmental problem, such as the death of the marine life and pollution from the nightly fireworks display . | | 2. Implication of PESTLE Analysis * As the management over-estimation of the number of visitors and with the Shanghai Disneyland will open in 2014, Disney HK should consider expansion their current target markets, not only focusing on the visitors are from the mainland China. Hong Kong Disney should be more aggressive in their marketing campaign to let more visitors will able to make more visit. At the same time, Disney HK should improve their service quality also the management as well. * Hong Kong public feels that Disney has shown little respect for the sentiments of people and has exhibited little social responsibility. Disney HK should increasing emphasis on environmentally and become more socially responsible. How to cite External Analysis, Essay examples

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Eating Disorders and The Media Influences free essay sample

Eating disorders, any range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, have been around since the 1870s and are increasingly taking over the world today. These two types of eating disorders are taking over predominantly. What is causing this outbreak? The media is affecting the societies because most people they see on television, magazines, and the fashion industry are below average weight. What was once called a â€Å"Model Disease† is now a trending disease. Not only does eating disorders affect adults and teens but also small children. It is evident that the media plays a major, important role in eating disorders. Weak minded people concerned with their image are more influence than the normal person. The society is now all about the â€Å"ideal† image. Who comes up with the idea that being abnormally small is the â€Å"ideal† image? Only sick minded people would even think that. True enough being skinny does not determine your health or happiness. The influence of the media cannot be refuted. What is the problem with eating disorders? Theyre just so photogenic! There are the young women or – even better – girls; the celebrities and fashion magazines that are, of course, the cause of eating disorders; female body shape and, thrillingly, the food that is eaten or, in this case, not eaten to obtain that shape. From an early age the society has been bombarded with images and messages that reinforce the idea that to be happy and successful we must be thin. It is nearly impossible to open a newspaper or magazine, listen to the radio, shop at a mall or turn on a TV without being confronted with the message that to be fat is to be undesirable. The most devastating thing is that it is finding itself to reach the minds of children. When adolescents feel as though their body image, such as their hips or weight, does not match up to those of supermodel and actors, they feel strongly flawed. The media constantly sends out images and messages promoting an almost unattainable, unrealistic image of beauty that has been consistently linked to eating disordered and body dissatisfaction predominantly among women, but has even gone as far as to influence males. American men and women strive to obtain the perfect body, or the â€Å"thin ideal,† that the media presents as normal. Eating disorders do not stem from a desire to be slim: they are an expression of unhappiness. The way a womans body is equated with her human value in the media can, to someone who is subconsciously looking for a way to articulate their unhappiness, feel like the perfect solution. Throughout the years the image has gone from a voluptuous and curvaceous body to a slimmer and leaner body. While it may be true that eating disorders affects the entire society, it is undeniable that teens are more influenced by those around them in the media. Why are teens more influential? They are always surrounded by peer pressure, low self-esteem, and of course the media. Teens watch the media more than anyone because they are trying to keep up with the latest trends. The advertisements sell images of thins, beautiful women, along with the image is a message from the advertising company telling girls to lose weight, or increase their breast size. Television commercials can send a message that if they lost weight or apply beauty products they too will find love or be happy once again. If they are not up to par than one may be left out or feel insecure about them. Researchers, from Harvard Medical School, show that in Fiji in some areas that only 8% of household own televisions while in other areas 85% of homes owned them since 1995. (How Social Networks Spread). In the article How Social Networks Spread Eating Disorders, they compared the rates of eating disorders they discovered that those exposed to television were 60% more likely to display abnormal eating habits than those without exposure. Anxiety about the body image can start at a very young age. Surprisingly, by 1990 the average age that a girl began dieting had dropped to eight from fourteen in 1970 and more than half of nine and ten year old girls have admitted that they felt better about themselves when dieting. (Media Influence). Children grow up watching the many types of television shows. On almost everything they watch, even cartoons, there will always be an overweight character. For example, Patrick, on Spongebob, is portrayed as the abnormal or perhaps we can look at the show Family Guy. Peter Griffin is overweight and portrayed to have no common sense. Children look at particular things like this and start to thinking â€Å"Well if I’m overweight than I too am just like those characters on those shows. † and then there is a problem. According to a study from the University of Central Florida, nearly 50% of girls aged three to six were already concerned about their weight. (Media Influences). However, girls with direct exposure to television become vulnerable to eating disorders. Young girls are negatively affected by the overwhelming messages they receive from films portraying overly skinny movie stars. These girls are faced with societal pressures to fit in. The image impressions that the females give off on the young teen girls spreads like a virus. Nine out of ten girls who are high school juniors and seniors diet while only one out of ten of high school girls are overweight. (Media Influences). â€Å"Our study not only showed a second hand effect but demonstrated that this second and effect is the exposure of interest. † (Social Networks Spread). The social network can affect them without direct exposure because one could have a friend or someone that they are acquainted with and be exposed through them. In addition, the media is a very important aspect of life in our culture. The culture pressures the society to glorify the â€Å"thinness† or muscularity and place value on obtaining the â€Å"perfect body. † The cultural norms value people on the basis of physical appearance and not inner qualities and strengths. This narrows the definition of beauty that include only women and men of specific body weights and shapes. For some, dieting, bingeing, and purging may begin as a way to cope with painful emotions and to feel in control of one’s life when looking at another life. In Media Influences, studies show that 95% of people who diet instead of following a healthy meal plan will gain back the weight they lose in between one and five years. Individuals who diet frequently diet often experience depression because they are never satisfied with their look. Exactly 73% of teenage girls who abuse diet pills and 79% of teenage girls who self-purge frequently read women’s fitness and health magazines. (Media Influences). The diet and diet related product industry boasts annual revenues of about $33 billion. (Media Influences). By them knowing that they can make so much off of insecure people they continue to advertise being skinny. They advertise by showing their many commercials on TV or through magazines. Overall, research has shown that as commercials for diet foods and diet products have increases, the body sizes of Playboy centerfolds, Miss America contestants, fashion models and female actresses have decreased, while the weight of the average North American woman has increased. (The Role of the Media). Often, one of the first seating disorders symptoms to manifest is poor body image. A study show that women experience an average of 13 negative thoughts about their body each day, while 97% of women admit to having at least one â€Å"I hate my body† moment each day. ( Media Influence). Women often look at the stars on the media and automatically assume that is the â€Å"ideal† image. What is the â€Å"ideal† image? To the culture the â€Å"ideal’ image is being slimmer than the norm. It seems as if you must have no hips, lack butt, and a hard rock flat stomach with huge breasts. Media influences how people view themselves. Media is in account for many interpretations and each is perceived differently by each individual. There are commercials that broadcast fast foods, which try to persuade us to buy the new and fattening food. However, not only do the media glorify a slender â€Å"ideal† image, they also emphasize its importance, and the importance of appearances in general. The media tries to change us by showing overbearing and thin people as an object of desire. Among the advertisements and television commercials one is supposed to conclude, to buy all the newest fast food items, yet stay extremely thin. It is almost impossible to eat the commercial shown foods, be healthy, and obtain this look, and women do not realize this. Therefore to obtain the certain look that is portrayed by the media, adolescents are developing eating disorders. However, many adolescents see the overbearing thin celebrities and try to reach medias level of thinness and ideal body weight. Mannequins and models have grown thinner by the years increasingly disparate with the average woman’s physical form. Most runaway models have met the body mass weight to be called anorexia. Sure enough we have median or plus size model but over the years their dress size have become several sizes smaller. Some are even in the single digits again, for example an eight or maybe even a six. Being thin associated with other positive characteristics such as, lovable, popular, beautiful, and sexy, while being overweight is connected with negative characteristics like fat, ugly, unpopular, and lazy. Therefore media is the distinct social pressure of operating to influence people to be thin and causing eating disorders. This sends a message to the society saying â€Å"To be beautiful you have to be unhealthily thin. † On the other hand, there are some people who say that it is quite okay that the media contributes to eating disorders. It is supposed to influence the society that this is the look and also brings money in by portraying that. People will continue to purchase dietary things to have the look. If one do not have the look then one is not average, one could even be below average. They say that it is not about your feelings, forget them because no one cares. If one is suffering from an eating disorder it is not the media that is causing it, it is the insecurities one is having. In fact some ask the question, â€Å"Why have more of those who are slightly bigger on television than those who are smaller? † If that is done than the society will feel that is the â€Å"Ideal† image look and there will be another issue, obesity. On that note, they will then say that the media is causing obesity instead unhealthy eating. It is known that obesity is not healthy and it will not make you happy. Either way you put it, nothing will win and everything is blamed on the media. Certainly, my oppositions have realized though the media does affect the society tremendously it does not affect everything. If that was true we could be affected by the different stars whose body is above average weight. For example, look at Oprah Winfrey. She struggle with her weight for years. It was causing health problems until one day she decided that it does not matter what her size is as long as she is healthy. Another example would be Queen Latifah, she has always been proud about her weight. When you see these two female stars on the media they show confidence. They are comfortable in their skins. Perhaps by showing more stars that are comfortable in their skins and are happy will influence the society to be happy with whom they are. For instance, being exposed to idealized, unrealistic, rail-thin images of beauty in the media and diet industry advertisements takes a toll on impressionable girls, who feel they can never measure up to these ideals. However, often what they do not realize is that the look they are trying to achieve is usually contrived, and that the image has been altered in some way before publication. Society has thus created a disillusioned atmosphere that leaves young women vulnerable to be influenced by the media, endlessly striving for a nonexistent perfection. If the media does not revise its ideal standard of beauty, more and more women could end up as victims of media triggered eating disorders.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Prp Theories free essay sample

HUMAN RESOUCE MANAGEMENT CONTENTS 1. Introduction1 2. Literature review2 2. 1Emergence of PRP2 2. 2Concept of PRP3 2. 3Relevant theories of PRP4 2. 3. 1Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Herzberg’s motivational theory4 2. 3. 2Equity theory in PRP5 3. Case study6 3. 1Case one: â€Å"Why Do Companies Use Performance-Related Pay for Their Executive Directors? † (Bender, 2004)6 3. 2Case two: â€Å"Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service† (Dowling Richardson, 1997)9 4. Analysis and Evaluation of PRP Theory in Business Organisations11 4. 1Comparison11 4. Contrast12 4. 3Performance related pay theory in business organizations13 4. 3. 1Motivates employees and improve their performance14 4. 3. 2Facilitates change to organizational cultural14 4. 3. 3Encourages the internalization of performance norms15 4. 4Problems of PRP in practice15 4. 4. 1Setting performance objectives16 4. 4. 2Assessment and ratings17 4. 4. 3Reward17 5. Conclus ion18 Reference19 Appendices21 1. Introduction Nowadays, Human Resource Management has become a strategic and coherent approach more than just managing the competencies and skills of employees in an organization. Armstrong (2002) noticed that HRM is much more focus on people not jobs, and so does business organization (Lewis, 1998). We will write a custom essay sample on Prp Theories or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Yet, people have been placed as an important role of business. To this extent, this essay will take a critical look at PRP which is based on people, and also considered as an essential and sensitive part of the HRM in organizations today. The paper starts with a brief review of recent literature which reports studies of PRP systems. It continues with describing two case studies related to the practical discrepancy to PRP theories. It goes on to our own independent critical analysis by comparing the PRP theories and practice in real world. Finally, there are conclusions being drawn about the appropriateness of PRP in a research environment. 2. Literature review 2. 1 Emergence of PRP Performance-related pay (PRP) emerged in the early 1980’s which attempts to relate individual performance at work to reward, aiming to motivate people ad develop performance-oriented cultures. Besides business organisations, some public institutions such as governments and universities also adopt PRP as an essential level for championing values. By comparing with other payment schemes, the PRP idea was whole-heartedly accepted by employers and played a much more positive effect on improving employees’ behaviour and organisations’ culture. According to the IPD research into performance management practices in 1997, 43 per cent of respondents had PRP; additionally, IBS research in 1998 showed that 61 per cent of answers satisfied their merit pay. These figures make it easy to see that PRP have been widely applied among organizations whatever businesslike or public facility (Armstrong, 2002). There are a variety of reasons why organization may applied PRP. Armstrong and Murlis (1994) stated that ‘it is right and proper for people to be rewarded in accordance with their contribution’. According to Pilbeam Colbridge (2002), there are a number of factors contributing to the emergence of PRP, which is identified in Figure 1. The Thatcher legacy and ‘enterprise’ values in the public sector Increasingly competitive environment and concern with employee performance Unitary and neo-unitary employment relations perspectives Reassertion of the ‘right to manage’ and increasing managerial control Influence of HRM demagogy Strategic integration of reward Trends towards individualism and the weakening of collectivism Emergence of PRP Figure 1: Factors contributing to the emergence of PRP (Pilbeam Corbridge, 2002) 2. 2 Concept of PRP ACAS (1990) defined individual performance-related pay (PRP) as â€Å"a method of payment where an individual employee receives increases in pay based wholly or partly on the regular and systematic assessment of job performance†. Additionally, Murlis (1996) claimed a significant distinction between the use of PRP to managing performance straight from the motivational stimulation of financial rewards (motivation) and the use of PRP to identify different levels of performance (reward). Based on these points, PRP can be commented as a combination of three key factors: motivation, performance and rewards, which work in two ways that motivating people to achieve expected performance; and rewarding these people who have achieved successful performance. Based on these three factors and their relationships, Pilbeam and Corbridge (2002) identified three stages for PRP application: Firstly, setting individual performance criteria by imposition, discussion or agreement firstly; secondly, assessing performance against individual performance criteria which established in stage1; thirdly, allocating pay to the assessment of performance by the exercise of managerial prerogative. 2. 3 Relevant theories of PRP 3. 2 2. 3. 1 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Herzberg’s motivational theory in PRP Maslow’s (1943, 1987) hierarchy of needs and the two factor theory of Herzberg (1959) indicated that pay can be considered as the most effective way to satisfy human’s need and further to motivate people to work more effectively, which means appropriate payment can stimulate employee to achieve successful performance that maximizing organisation’s benefits. Kessler and Purcell (1922) noted that employees will be easily motivated if there is a direct and close relationship between performance and reward. Therefore, PRP schemes could motivate the employees to increase their efforts to accomplish good performance. 2. 3. 2 Equity theory in PRP The Equity theory of Adams (1965) identified that employees have a strong need to be treated fairly which can be balanced by an equity between their input like work performance and output like rewarding. Compared to other types of pay like non-incentive pay which is based on collectively-negotiated rule, PRP associates employees’ productivity with their behaviour, rewarding employees for their successful performance, which is much more fair and reasonable. From these theories, we can see that PRP has brought a lot of potential benefits on improving HRM efficiency of organization. However, there are some shortages in PRP application in practice, which will be discussed in following two empirical case analyses. 3. Case study 3. Case one: â€Å"Why Do Companies Use Performance-Related Pay for Their Executive Directors? † (Bender, 2004) The paper focused on the issue of rewards to the listed companies’ executive director. There are variable ways to pay the rewards. Thus the performance-related pay introduced to this paper. At the beginning of this paper prior research introduces three types of theory to explain why companies use performance-related pay: agency theory , motivation theories (expectancy, equity), and institutional and legitimacy theories. Research designing utilized 12 companies’ interviews with 35 persons who stand in different positions. These interviews lasted for two years from December 2001 to May 2003. The interviews reflected different opinions about the influence of PRP. Some of the answers demonstrated PRP could motivate people to do work well: Alan Wilson, chief executive of Skandia UK regarded pay as a motivator; a HR director thought if everyone was paid the same base salary, they would always do the same. But a part of the respondents denied that PRP made an effort in motivating people in the work. A CEO argued that whether PRP works depends on which market you were in and also on when the people were on flat salaries. Also another respondent held a neutral idea on motivation of PRP to managers. A CEO categorized his employees into two types: one type chased money and the other worked for vocational interests and he realized that PRP was in a position to exert influence on those who chased money and not on employees worked for vocational interests. At the end of this part the author reaches the conclusion that lack of money is a de-motivator. Furthermore, interviews demonstrated some different ideas: a) Payment represents personal value of employees. The more contribution you have made, the more you can earn; b) Focus and fairness: according to the answers from interviewees, we can find that the company adopts PRP with the intention to make executives focus on their work efforts and fairness can improve employees’ performance; c) The need to provide alignment: here is a large number of factors influence performance in long-term and some of those cannot be observed currently; d) Other reasons to introduce performance-related pay: the requirement of government to adopt PRP and because of everybody has it so you has to have it; e) Problems with performance-related pay: a consultant pointed out that PRP system would bring unpredictable problems especially in long-term and it is difficult to select appropriate measure and tar gets. Market Practices Need for Legitimacy Need to Attract and Retain Implement a performance-related reward scheme Set performance measures and targets and use it to communicate strategy Directors’ actions and behaviours Business performance Performance-related award Monetary award Increased human capital for future negotiations Effect on individual’s self worth Figure 2: Why Companies use performance-related pay (Bender, 2004) In the final part, the author summarizes this case study according to three theories mentioned at the beginning of our description and draws figure 1 to show why companies performance-related pay. . 2 Case two: â€Å"Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service† (Dowling Richardson, 1997) This paper includes 4 sections. Section 1 explains the NHS system which means the performance related pay system for general management in 1989. Section 2 concludes the evaluation criteria and explanatory framework. PRP is introduced on the initiative of management. According to Cannel an d Wood’s survey, PRP could be introduced to overcome problems with existing systems, o encourage employees’ motivation, to improve communication with work force, to reduce problems of recruitment. Kessler suggested that the PRP might also be used to improve the fairness of a payment system, to reduce union influence and the importance of collective bargaining, can also give additional influence to line managers. The purpose of PRP is said to reward those manage who achieve a more than competent standard of work and motivate managers to perform better. Section 3 values the efficiency of the scheme and four measures are utilized to check the outcome of the scheme. Managers had to be assessed by their supervisors and receive reward based on their performance if they had finished targets set at the beginning of the year. In NHS, the HR department designed the PRP system in order to motivate managers. However, through self-reported data from the managers covered by the PRP system, a majority of respondents saw the scheme as having little or no effect on their motivation to do their jobs well. Also the authors did not found solid evidence to show that there are corresponding negative consequences of PRP. The initial examination of the raw data clearly suggests that the three elements of the scheme achieved different degrees of success. The objective-setting elements seemed to be widely supported. It could be observed that the schemes rewards were either not appropriate or not sufficiently attractive to act as a motivator. PRP include the way in which performance standards are set and monitored. Section 4 explains the effects of PRP in the NHS. About 85% respondents showed satisfaction with the objective –setting process. Furthermore, they also agreed that the challenge offered by the objective measures increase their determination to achieve their goal set before. On the other hand, there was also much critical comment on reward system such as subjectivity and appraiser bias. In addition, the PRP reward system was always cash limited. 4. Analysis and Evaluation of PRP Theory in Business Organisations 2 3 4. 1 Comparison Both of the two cases are involved in the topic of PRP, and focus on the effectiveness of PRP scheme. In addition, both of the researches partly agree that PRP is successful in some areas or in some extend, however, PRP is still not a perfect scheme due to various reasons. As what has been pointed out to be the problems in PRP, among all of the reasons mentioned in the papers, the objective-setting process has been pointed out in both of the researches, which indicates that this might be one of the key points which should be considered to improve PRP scheme. What is more, both of the papers mention that PRP is introduced in order to attract and retain executives with the potential of large earnings(Bender, 2004) and to improve the fairness of a payment system, to generate employee commitment (Dowling and Richardson, 1997), which can be considered as the positive points of PRP. 4. 2 Contrast The methods used in the research in the two cases are different. The case about PRP in the National Health Service used both quantitative and qualitative date from a questionnaire survey (Dowling and Richardson, 1997). While, the case conducted by Bender (2004) used qualitative date from an interview survey. Moreover, the perspectives used in the two papers also vary. As to the reasons why PRP is not more successful, Dowling and Richardson (1997) consider that there are three kinds of employees as being particularly important: firstly, those who think that the objective-setting process of PRP is coped with terribly; secondly, those who think the assessments are handled badly; lastly, those who believe that the rewards are not attractive enough to encourage their motivation. They hold the opinion that PRP has a less important influence on these people, which indicates that the improvement of objective-setting process, assessments and rewards might lead to improving the effect of PRP. While, the paper conducted by Bender (2004) indicates that the reason that PRP is not so successful is also related to the market in which directors are. Besides, salary and rewards are not the only recourses that could motivate managers. For instance, leisure can also play a significant role in the performance of managers. Additionally, PRP scheme has less important impact on those people who mainly work for vocational interests. Meanwhile, this paper (Bender, 2004) pays more attention to the reasons that PRP is used by companies. The writer points out some more reasons from interviews with directors other than the strong points of PRP which have been mentioned above. To be exactly, pay can be deemed as a symbol of worth and how much one can earn is associated with the self esteem for the executives. In the end, we can see from the two papers that PRP has developed successfully from 1997 to 2004 because what are reflected in the papers shows us that PRP has been used much more and been recognized in a wider range. As a result, we can conclude that with the use of PRP, this scheme has become and also will become more and more mature and contribute a lot to business organizations. 4. 3 Performance related pay theory in business organizations This section conducts analysis of two empirical cases critically and assesses the value of PRP theory and benefits it achieves in business organizations. The whole objective of pay related systems like the PRP and other HRM theories is obviously to bring or add to the value of business organizations. When we take a look at the first paper, it is obvious that on the average PRP increases an organization’s value. The following are the perceived benefits of the PRP theory: 4 5. 1 5. 2 5. 3 5. 4. 1 Motivates employees and improve their performance The human needs hierarchy theory of Maslow (1943, 1987) and the two factors theory of Herzberg (1959) indicate that in modern society satisfying human needs like payment is in a position to motivate people to work harder. Furthermore, in business organisations payment related to performance can stimulate people to accomplish the performance that organizations want. Kessler and Purcell (1992) claimed that if direct relationship exists between effort, performance and reward, employees would be motivated. PRP schemes act exactly as this direct link motivating the employees to increase their efforts. 5. 4. 2 Facilitates change to organizational cultural Kessler and Purcell (1992) argued that PRP refers to flexibility, dynamism, entrepreneurial spirit and careful allocation of resources, leading to a performance-orientated culture. Therefore, the introduction of PRP facilitates change in business organizations culture from collectively negotiated formula to individual contribution, which assists in solving problems, increasing value of organizations, and reducing problems of recruitment and retention. 5. 4. Encourages the internalization of performance norms â€Å"PRP can encourage the internalization of the organisation’s goal or norms of behaviour among the employees of the organization† (Geary, 1992). In the implementation of PRP, the organisation’s norms of behaviour can be enhanced by rewarding congruous work effects and by punishing incongruous performance. Th ereby, it strengthens management control and clarifies job roles within organizations. 5. 4 Problems of PRP in practice Theoretically, PRP can produce many benefits for organizations, which have been demonstrated above. However, there are always gaps between theories and practice of PRP. In this part data from the NHS case will be utilized to illustrate some problems of PRP. Figure 3 above shows that only 2 percent respondents consider PRP as the motivator for them to work harder while respondents with opposite idea accounts for 45 percent. Also 67 percent respondents embrace neutral idea on the question of whether PRP scheme affect motivation to do the job and 77 percent respondents did not feel more co-operation after the introduction of PRP scheme. Question| Negative Positive| Does PRP have effect on your motivation to do the job well? 2| 3| 67| 25| 4| You consciously work harder because of the PRP scheme. | 45| 26| 17| 10| 2| You focus on PRP objectives rather than other activities. | 34| 34| 20| 10| 2| PRP changes co-operation level among colleagues| 2| 12| 77| 8| 1| Figure 3: PRP in the National Health Service (Dowling and Richardson, 1997) 5. 5. 4 Setting performance objectives It is essential for organizations to set up clear and measurable objectives so that the behaviour of employees can be guided by objectives. However, imposition and narrowness of PRP in objective-setting could lead to failure of the implementation. What’s more, short term approach stemming from narrow and misleading objectives could make employees ignore intangible aspects and long-term tasks. Therefore, the weakness of PRP in objective-setting could discourage behaviour that is not financially rewarded and prevent business organizations from functioning well. 5. 5. 5 Assessment and ratings Assessment and ratings are indispensable stage of PRP system. In practice, two crucial elements during these processes, scales of ratings and fair appraisals made by managers are difficult to achieved, which make employees not satisfied with ratings given to them. As Belfield and Marsden (2002) argued that the use of PRP will do more harm than good if the right monitoring environment is not in place. 5. 5. 6 Reward PRP regards reward as the motivator for employees to work hard, which is often not the case in practice. Maslow’s theory of the Hierarchy of Needs (1943) stated that payment is not the only need of human beings. Besides payment, people also have mental requirements such as belongingness needs, esteem needs and self-actualization. 5. Conclusion After critical analysis and assessment we can finally reach the conclusion that in theory PRP is in a position to provide business organizations certain benefits such as motivating employees, improving their performance, attracting executives, facilitating change in organizational culture and encouraging the internalization of performance norms. However, due to imposition and narrowness in objective-setting, unfairness and inaccuracy in assessment and ratings, and diversification of human needs, theoretical benefits of PRP cannot be reached. Therefore, more attention should be paid on the gap between HRM theories and their application in practice so that HRM theories can assist business organizations in increasing their values. Reference ACAS, 1990. Appraisal-related Pay. London: ACAS. Adams, J. S. , 1965. Inequity in social exchange. In: Berkowitz, L. ed. , Advances in experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press, 267-299. Armstrong, M. , 2002. 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