Diagnosing A Refractive Error Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Diagnosing A Refractive Error - Essay Example Being myopic, you would be able to see better at near, while objects become progressively blurrier with distance. "Hyperopia, the hyperopic eye is deficient in refractive power. The rays from infinity are not refracted enough; thus the point of focus is behind the retina. The eye lacks plus power." (Handbook of Refraction, George E. Garcia, M.D., Pg 23) This is caused either by the cornea being too flatly curved, the axial length of the eye being too short, or a combination of both. 'Astigmatism is a condition in which rays of light are not refracted equally in all meridians. For the purpose of classification, an astigmatic eye is assumed to have two principle meridians that are usually at right angles to each other. (Handbook of Refraction, George E. Garcia, M.D., Pg 35) Astigmatism is caused by the abnormal shape of the eye. Like a football, distorted in shape, being flatter along one meridian and steeper along the other. The clarity of vision would be affected at all distances. If your astigmatism is oriented vertically, there will be selective blurring of vertical lines. "Presbyopia is a normal condition associated with age. ... "Hyperopia, the hyperopic eye is deficient in refractive power. The rays from infinity are not refracted enough; thus the point of focus is behind the retina. The eye lacks plus power." (Handbook of Refraction, George E. Garcia, M.D., Pg 23) This is caused either by the cornea being too flatly curved, the axial length of the eye being too short, or a combination of both. If you were Hyperopic, you would see both distance and near blurred. But the distance is clearer compared to the near objects. 'Astigmatism is a condition in which rays of light are not refracted equally in all meridians. For the purpose of classification, an astigmatic eye is assumed to have two principle meridians that are usually at right angles to each other. (Handbook of Refraction, George E. Garcia, M.D., Pg 35) Astigmatism is caused by the abnormal shape of the eye. Like a football, distorted in shape, being flatter along one meridian and steeper along the other. The clarity of vision would be affected at all distances. If your astigmatism is oriented vertically, there will be selective blurring of vertical lines. "Presbyopia is a normal condition associated with age. Accommodation available falls short of the demand made upon it for the usual reading range. It is due to a physiological decrease in the amplitude of accommodation. Its appearance varies with the individual, particularly his or her occupation and refractive error." (Handbook of Refraction, George E. Garcia, M.D., Pg 78) 2. PROCESS OF REFRACTION The overall process of refraction can be divided into three parts. Part one is called the "starting point." The refractionist collects basic information about the visual conditions of the patient. This includes a technique called static retinoscopy. This determines the refractive

Measles Outbreak in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Measles Outbreak in America - Research Paper Example Reasons for Vaccination It is difficult to comprehend why any person would want to halt or slow such progress, but maybe it is due to the misinformation of such individuals that forces people to ignore the effects of non-compliance. For starters, there is no definite treatment for measles. The only things that can be treated are the symptoms that are brought on by measles. During the post-eradication phase of measles, the highest number recorded for measles cases was as low as 37. This is according to the CDC, which was responsible for vaccinating the American public against the spread of the disease. Even the cases that were present had originated from outside the country. Since then, America is now recording its highest number of cases, which was estimated at over 600 cases at the end of the year 2014. In January 2015, over 100 cases were reported. In terms of vaccination, one dose of the MMR vaccine can last an individual a lifetime. It is meant to protect against measles, mumps, and rubella. The use of this vaccine has increased the reduction rate of measles cases by 99%. For a highly contagious disease, this is an incredible number, meaning the eradication of this disease is possible. The aim of vaccination is to elicit certain responses in the immune system, which are often similar to when one is infected with the measles pathogen. In response, the immune system produces antibodies that fight against the disease, which means the individual vaccinated does not build up any severe symptoms.

The Business Plan Of Dates Fruit

The Business Plan Of Dates Fruit Our group of six students from Saudi Arabia is formed in order to sell date fruits at the university. We are going to sell only high quality dates. It is well-known, that dates are grown in the Arabian Peninsula, where farmers have relied on growing exotic fruits. Saudi Arabia has best types of dates in the world. This type we are going to sell. It is remarkable, that the quality of dates in the British markets is poor and the prices are very expensive. So, our aim is to introduce really good product to a customer. In Saudi Arabia 173 million hectares are occupied for pasture. There are fruits and vegetables grown. Also they bred animals there. Conditions of rangeland are not so good. Production potential is very low in some places. Almost 86% of the total accessible water in the region is allocated for agriculture. So, the 22% of the total land area is cultivable. Palm tree is remarkable for its salt-tolerance and heat endurance. The shallow groundwater is extremely important for its successful growth. Age of the date palm can reach a hundred years. Life of the people inhabiting Arabian Peninsula is associated with this palm tree. People demand dates become more and more in the United Kingdom. It seems that if everyone knew about the usefulness of dates, they would have been even more reclaiming. Products Date palm is a typical plant of dry subtropics that gives an edible tasty fruit. One date palm makes over 100 kilograms of nutritious dates a year. Naturally, that for thousands of years emerged around 5000 varieties divided into three main groups dry, semi, and soft. The soft are consumed on the spot with fresh, in a mature state; the fruits of these varieties contain very little sugar. Dry dates, dried in the sun, contain much more sugar and can be stored for very long, it can be said for years. As for the semi those intended for export, they are also dried in the sun. Processed dates are generally more popular than natural dates. There are many types of packaging: bags, tubes, ravier, boxes. The ravier has the leadership. It is well known, that semi dates are the tastiest. Moreover, it is considered, that semi dates favorably affect the brain, increasing its productivity. But our strategy will allow buyers tasting all sorts of dates chose the best one for everyone as well. Dates contain almost all vitamins. It should be noted the high concentration of pantothenic acid. This substance stimulates the production of energy, makes you confident, energetic and able to quickly focus on. Dates have also another, less well-known property: these fruits have mild sedative and hypnotic effects. Dates can also be encouraged to overcome the weakening of the body after a serious illness, overwork, stress. No fruit can be compared with dates, if you want to satisfy your hunger. Dates increase efficiency of the brain and nerve cells. From ancient times, dates were used not only as food but also as a medicine. They contain copper, iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, aluminum, cadmium, cobalt, sulfur, boron. Dates can help with anemia. It has a beneficial effect in fatigue and physical fatigue. It helps with colds as well. Ten dates are able to satisfy our daily needs in copper, magnesium and sulfur, and they contain half of the required iron and fourth of the calcium. Dates are a tasty and natural dessert that has a nice flavor. These fruits are absolutely harmless, as well as low-calorie fruits and therefore suitable for people watching their weight. Mission Statement and Objectives Our group members want to run this small business for getting some experience about small business. It will be really good experience for us to make the business plan and to see how it works in real. We realize that it is not so easy for students who only make their first steps in business but we are ready to try. He is lifeless who is faultless. We are sure, that this experience will be our first attempt to arrange small business and to see how much effort it will require. We are not afraid of mistakes. Our mission is to provide high quality date fruits for consumption. The idea behind the business is to sell healthy and valuable fruits to the public for everyone to pay attention on usefulness of dates. A variety of classes provides the possibility to chose. All sorts of date fruits are healthy and become popular in many countries not by chance. Market Overview In his research about the marketing potential of date palm fruits, Pascal Liu says, that Europe is a key market for date exporters. Over half a million tones of dates imported every year in the world. The European Union accounts for 10% of the total with some 50 000 tones. Imports of dates into Europe were comparatively stable from 1990 to 1997: nearly 43 000 tones were imported. In 1998-2000 the rise in imported quantities did not translate into a higher value of imports because of the fall in import prices in 1999-2000. Imports of date fruits into European countries are seasonal. Often they take place at the end of the year (Liu). In Muslim countries traditionally dates are consumed during Ramadan. Most European countries do not produce dates. The exception is Spain with a little quantity. France often re-exports date fruits. Most of the re-export trade takes place between European member countries (Liu). People demand dates become more and more in UK. France, Germany, Italy, the U nited Kingdom and Spain account for 85% of total imports of dates in volumes. Irelands imports are also growing. Backwards, Portugal, Netherlands, Finland, Austria show no clear trend. There are also some more date varieties: Deglet nour date variety is the most popular in Europe. Imports of this type of date are nearly 30 000 tones a year. This type is exported from Tunisia and Algeria. Also deglet nour is produced in Israel. The United States is also a producer of this type of dates. Germany and Britain import not big quantities. Southern European countries mainly consume deglet nour dates. Not deglet nour called common dates by European traders. Germany and the United Kingdom together import over 10 000 tones of common dates annually. German traders need the low price for this type of dates. Common dates also used for food in Great Britain. European people know mejool since 1990s. However, it is only last three years that they have really taken off. Nowadays the United States share the European market of dates with Israel. As more and more consumers turn to organic foods, retailers will look for a complete range of organic products, including dates. France is the leading market for dates in the European Union. Its main suppliers are Algeria and Tunisia. The United Kingdom is the second largest European market for date fruits. Then Italy and Germany follow. Imports of dates increased last years. Germany primarily imports common dates. Consumption of higher quality dates tends to increase. Spain is the fifth largest date market in Europe. But it is remarkable, that it is a country where imports are growing. Tunisia is a leader in producing of deglet nour. The official production figure in 2001 was 107 000 tones for all varieties. Algeria is the second largest producer of dates in the world (deglet nour). In 2000 365 000 tones of all varieties of dates were produced. Iran is the second largest date producer in the world with over 900 000 tones. It is the leading date supplier in the United Kingdom. Its other two largest clients are Germany and Denmark(Liu). These countries export common dates. Israel produces little quantities of date fruits (9 5000 tones in 2001). But its exports to European countries have increased over the past years and now it have reached 4 300 tones. The United States exports deglet nour and mejool dates to European countries. It produces dates in California. Pakistan is the fourth largest date producer in the world with over half a million tones in 2000. Common dates are exported to Europe from Pakistan. There are significant trade flows between the countries of the European Union. Some countries re-export dates. They are estimated at over 20 000 tones a year. The main markets of France are Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and the United Kingdom (Liu). The other European countries re-export much smaller quantities. Sine 1992 the United Kingdom exports less than 500 tones to such countries as Ireland, Denmark and Germany. Germany has become the European Unions second largest date exporter (700-900 tones a year). Germany exports dates to such countries as Austria and Denmark. The Netherlands re-exports between 500 and 700 tones annually. Operations Our selling group will initially market its product to target clients. To achieve this goal: We will create bright booklets, brochures which describe the benefit of dates, its useful properties. These booklets will be given for free on the streets close to our university. There will be invitations at the exhibition of the dates also. We will post an advertisement about the forthcoming exhibition at the Internet, on popular social networks. We will organize an exhibition of the dates where fruits will be sold at low price. This is necessary for everyone to have a possibility to taste dates. There also books and magazines about date fruits will be sold. We will organize some lectures to tell more about the dates and even to explain how to grow date palm at home. For sale we need nearly 50 kilograms of date fruits and we will order it at the market. Also we will order some interesting books about dates. We plan to hold an exhibition for 6 days. During this time we want to show that if to provide an effective advertisement people will gladly buy healthy and tasty dates. With a help of interesting and cognitive booklets a lot of customers will get to know more about these fruits and re-discover it for them. At the exhibition everyone will get an opportunity to taste dates for free and then to decide if to buy it or not. All three kinds of dates will be featured at the exhibition. To every kind there will be a special description with its characteristics. Dates will be located in nice decorated pot. Two students will sale date fruits; one will sale books and two will give booklets to customers. One student will be outside near the university giving booklets to students. But before the exhibition we will provide some lectures about dates which wi ll include history knowledge about these fruits. Lectures will be not boring, because we will prepare presentation and some additional materials about date palms and dates. We also will find some recipes of dishes with dates. Two students will lecture; three will give booklets on the streets and one will post an advertisement about an exhibition on the Internet sites, such as facebook and myspace. These advertisements should pay students attention on the forthcoming exhibition. It is obligatory to create nice and memorable advertisements and brochures. The next day an exhibition will open, where everyone will get an opportunity to taste dates and to buy interesting materials about these fruits. Management We choose Grove House for our group. Grove house is a charity for the cancerous persons. We choose this charity and want to help the patient to improve their life. Another reason is Grove House is near the law school, not too far away from De Havilland Campus. There are six members in our group. We divide our work and have group meeting in every lecture. We have a finical plan about our cash flow. In our plan, we will earn 25 pounds and all of the money will be given to Glove House to improve the patients life. Our team of students who will sell date fruits are responsible and executive. Before the engaging in selling we examined the literature on the topic, made a plan of action and calculated the necessary amount of materials. Our team was divided into three groups and every one of us got his personal duties. Two students will create interesting brochures and booklets about date palms and date fruits. One student will order dates (50-60 kg). Two students will buy all necessary equipment, such as pots for date fruits, tablecloth, and tray. One student will make a presentation for the lection. One student will write a lection about dates using interesting historical facts and other information about date palms. This student also will find some recipes of dishes with dates. So, the process will begin when everything will be ready. All the six days of selling are also planned: First day: Three students will lecture. Three students will hand out booklets and brochures. And one student will post advertisements on the Internet. Second day: Three students will sell dates. One student will sell books. Two students will hand out brochures. Forth and fifth days will be the same as second. We assign responsibilities in order to save time and resources. So, all the work will be done effectively. We will ask friends and relatives to borrow some money; also will take not huge loan at the bank. It will be enough to buy all necessary things. It is estimated that this job will begin to make a profit after two days of operations. We do not expect to have huge cash problems during the selling. If there will be some, we will sell dates later. We also can organize more exhibitions in future when there will be possibilities for this. If this selling will give a good profit, obviously, we will arrange it again very soon. And we will need only to buy date fruits, some books and perhaps some materials for brochures and booklets. As about utensils so we already have all the necessary. During these days we will earn money for charity. Risk Assessment The risk of this selling related to the point, that perhaps not all goods will be soled. Not all the booklets and brochures will be given. So, we may get a little profit or do not get any profit at all. Our costs can exceed the purchase. Another point is related with risk of lack attention of students to this arrangement. We are going to sell dates at the university, so our main clients are students. Surely, if we will provide good advertising, this arrangement will be undoubtedly successful. If we will pay not so much attention to advertising, so our selling will be not so impressive. So, good advertising is the most important thing for our arrangement. This plan is a guide for our action, the product and service part show what we will sale and what we will service to the customers. We want to believe that our first steps in the small business will be done successfully. We realize that it is impossible without mistakes but with its help we will get to know what to do in future. We believe also that our first business plan will help us to see by our eyes what the small business is and what this job demands from us. But it is not all that we are expecting to receive. We want people to know more about date fruits and to discover dates for everyone from new sides. We suppose it will be quite helpful. Everyone will get an opportunity not only to buy tasty dates but also to broad his outlook. We believe we will achieve our aims.

Free Essays - Importance of Feste in Twelfth Night :: Twelfth Night essays

Importance of Feste in Twelfth Night Feste, the amusing clown, plays a most important part in the play. He is able to take on several roles, and is indeed "for all waters"; from serious to comic, learned to nonsensical, the wit or the practical joker; just as the occasion seems to suggest. Because he is a part of both the main and sub plot, Feste is the character, who links both parts of the play together, making Twelfth Night a whole. The clown contributes towards the humourous entertainment of this play through his numerous puns and jokes. He is a source of laughter, not because we are humoured by his "foolery"; for he proves to be no fool at all; but rather because he amuses us with his brilliant wit. Having mastered the art of jesting, Feste is sensitive of his profession, always aware of the circumstances he is in and the appropriateness of this folly. Feste is able to prevent any delusions of grandeur by a reminder that foolishness is a condition common to all mankind whether one is king or servant. It is Malvolio's vanity that convinces Feste to take part in the joke played on the steward. As "Sir Topas", and Malvolio's `prosecutor` Feste attempted to help Malvolio realize that there was "no darkness but ignorance". With Feste's help, we are able to attain a better understanding of the other characters in the play- revealing their true personalities, which are sometimes unseen, not only by us, the audience, but also by the characters themselves. He shows Olivia how unrealistic and excessive her mourning for her brother's death has been, he tells Orsino how foolish he is for languishing in a mood of love-sick melancholy for Olivia and points out how mercurial his personality is, and he makes a fool out of the pompous Malvolio. "Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun- it shines everywhere" says Feste. Feste, however, never takes sides with any of the characters, and in this way, he becomes a kind of commentator for the play. He is able to examine the characters, revealing the bare truth about them and he unites the main and sub-plot in a similar way.

Human Resources Internship Essay

I applied for the Human Resources internship at Maryville Academy-Scott Nolan Center through the website indeed. com. During my internship with Maryville Academy-Scott Nolan Center, I supported the HR department and organizational initiatives. My responsibilities with recruiting initiatives included initial resume screening and on-boarding. Positions I screened for included but were not limited to mental health counselor, staff nurse, utility manager and receptionist. I also supported administrative aspects such as filing, data entry, and HRIS maintenance. Since the Scott Nolan Center is in a transitional period, I helped develop several job descriptions. From the human resources perspective, I did payroll and disciplinary action forms, as well as legal documents such as FMLA. I completed 432 hours of the Maryville Human Resources Internship Program. Expectations Prior to Internship Before the internship started, I had an interview with my Human Resources manager to discuss my expectations as well as her expectations for this internship. I expected to get involved with daily Human Resources functions. I expected to be working in a fast-paced organization. Also, I expected a certain amount of training since I did not have any relevant experience prior to the internship. One other thing I was concerned with was that there might be a difference when recruiting for non-profit organizations compared to for-profit organizations. I thought recruiters would pay attention to some unique personalities or rules when they screened qualified applicants. For instance, some for-profit organizations might focus on people who have the required skills, such as sales skills, customer service skills and presentation skills. For this particular non-profit organization, I would pay more attention to personality traits, such as openness and agreeableness. Beyond My Expectations Beyond my expectations, I learned that every organization has its unique culture. It does not matter if it is profit or non-profit. Some organizations focus on employees’ training and development, while other organizations focus on select candidates who have certain minimum skills before they can be hired. These employees require little training and development. The organization I worked for is a children’s psychiatric hospital. Its patients are youths who are suicidal or suffered from sexual and physical abuse in their family. These patients are very sensitive. Thus, they are looking for employees to be energetic, positive and have professional nursing or therapy skills. They want their employees to not only care about the patient physically, but also mentally. During the recruiting process, I considered not only whether candidates had the essential KSAs to finish tasks, but also whether their personality would fit the organization. My expectations about this internship mainly focused on recruiting, as well as maintaining the employee database, such as workers’ compensations and payroll. Since the hospital was expanding, several new positions were created. Beyond my expectations, I had to update and develop several job descriptions. On the legal aspect, I was not expecting to get very involved. However, I had a chance to follow a FMLA case and to issue disciplinary action forms to employees who violated organizational policy. These legal documents made me realize the importance of legal documents in uman resources management. Selection Process General Process A significant portion of my internship responsibility was recruiting. These responsibilities ranged from screening candidates’ resumes to interviewing and preparing hiring documents. I would screen resumes from our database and select whom I believed would fit in the position. Then, I would conduct a phone interview with the applicant. After the phone interview, if I still felt the individual fit the organization, I would schedule an in person interview with our Human Resources Manager for the applicant. Our manager would make the final decision after the interview. If our manager decided to hire this individual, I would start preparing hiring paperwork including background check, reference check and medical record. My responsibilities would be all the above-mentioned tasks, which concluded with filing all the documents and sending it to the orientation group in order to prepare new-hire orientation documents. Screening Resume Before the internship, I read an article by Applicants (2009). He gave me several tips I kept in mind during the resume screening process. First of all, I was aware of potential adverse impact during the screening process. I should not focus on screening applicants from particular race or gender group. Companies have significant discretion in defining the basic qualifications for each position that they fill so long as those qualifications are defined by the outset of the hiring process for the position. When I selected qualified applicants for phone interviews, I chose candidates who met the minimum qualifications. Then, we chose whoever had best matched our skill requirements to continue to the next phase, which is an in person interview. These minimum requirements were determined by job descriptions. The job description helped us identify which candidate was able to perform the job, such as develop policy and communicate with patients. Thus, developing a job description was very important. After screening resumes for minimum qualifications, phone interviews were conducted. Importance of determine personality traits and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs) during selection process We wanted to select employees who we believed would be successful in the job. According o Barrick and Mount (1991), the â€Å"Big Five† personality dimensions are related to job performance. Their study indicated that Conscientiousness, which is a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutiful, and aim for achievement against measures or outside expectations showed consistent relations with job proficiency. Extraversion, which is characterized by positive emotions, surgency, and the tendency to seek out stimulation and the company of others, was a valid predictor for occupations involving social interaction. The other three factors- Openness, Agreeableness and Neuroticism had small correlation score. Since most of the positions involved interacting with children, Extraversion would be the factor I needed to pay attention to. From this article, I understood the importance of using personality traits during the selection process. To help me determine useful personality traits for different positions, Raymark, Schmit and Guion (2006) talked about identifying potentially useful personality constructs for employee selection. They created the Personality-Related Position Requirements Form (PPRF), which was a job analysis form to be used in making hypotheses about personality predictors of job performance. People predicted job performance by identifying whether the candidate’s personality matched the dimensions they determined in the job analysis. For example, the author conducted a job analysis and hypothesized that several dimensions were essential to perform the job efficiently, such as leadership, sensitivity to interests of others, cooperative or collaborative work tendency and general trustworthiness. Then, authors linked candidates’ personality with these dimensions to identify who fit the position best. I did not get a chance to use the actual form due to the limited resources and budget at work; however, I learned from it. Before screening for every position, I read the job description in our database and analyzed potential personalities that would fit the particular position. I also discussed these personalities with my manager for suggestions. When I screened resumes and interviewed, I would look for the specific personalities to match required skill sets as well as the organization’s culture. Employees in the organizations are always helpful. They are very easy to talk to. Everybody worked together and helped each other out. I talked to my manager about our organizational culture and she said that we are helpful, energetic and team-orientated. It was difficult to draw personality traits simply from the resume, so I looked at the format of the resume to determine if the candidate was detail-oriented or not. If the format of the resume was disorganized, there was a greater chance that the candidate was not careful, as opposed to one with an organized resume. If a potential employee was careless when editing their resume, I would conclude that they would not try their best at work. If the candidate passed the resume phase it meant a chance for a phone interview. This was the phase where we could get a general sense of the candidate’s personality. I talked to my manager before conducting phone interviews to discuss traits I should look for. For example, I would look for people who are energetic and outgoing; and people who were patient and easy to talk to. Their tones on the phone and language they used would be a big part of the determination process. We were looking for candidates who had positive tones and good communication skills. Even though there was no list of personality traits to look for, I tried to analyze the job description. I discussed the jobs with my coworkers and drew a list of personality traits in my mind when I phone interviewed candidates. When they responded to our questions, we were looking for people who answer calmly and respectfully. Other than personality traits, OCB was another important factor I paid attention to when I conducted the phone interview. OCB is the â€Å"performance that supports the social and psychological environment in which task performance takes places† (Organ, 1997). Research results showed OCB has significant relationships with important organizational outcomes such as productivity, efficiency, and turnover (Podsakoff, Whiting, Podsakoff, & Blume, 2009). With minimum qualifications, I wanted to select candidates who showed OCBs in their phone interview. Podsakoff, Whiting, Podsakoff, & Mishra (2010) also talked about the effects of OCBs on selection decision in employment interviews. The article reports on an experiment examning the effects of job candidates’ propensity to exhibit OCBs on selection decisions made in the context of a job interview. The result showed that candidates who exhibited higher levels of OCBs were generally rated as more competent, received higher overall evaluations, and received higher salary recommendations than candidates who exhibited lower levels of OCBs. When I asked job candidates questions, I was looking for people who showed higher levels of helping, voice, and loyalty behaviors in their answers. I believe employees who love to help others, who would express their feelings to improve rather than criticize, and who showed loyalty to their employers would work well in our organization. I talked to my manager about these factors and she agreed with me. For example, for the receptionist position, when I asked the candidate about their past working experience, I would like to hear examples of them voluntarily helping their co-workers, or solving conflicts between co-workers. Also, I would want to hear them talk about what did they achieved at the past job, like what did they do to improve the company or themselves. Another thing I would ask them is why were they looking for a new job? Candidates’ responses and attitudes toward their old employer would give me an idea of their loyalty if they were work for our organization. If these personality traits and OCBs showed during the phone interview, I would invite candidates to come in for an in-person interview. The reason for conducting a walk-in interview after a phone interview was because by meeting with the individual, it helped us to know the individual better. Our organization required employees to have an in-house observation to give them a chance to get in touch with patients and observe their reactions. I was not able to participate in the in-house observations; however, I tried my best to select potential candidates from the first two rounds of interviews. Selection Decisions Dalessio and Imada (1984) talked about relationships between interview selection decisions and perceptions of applicant similarity. The study had shown that interviewers’ final decisions were related to: [a] the degree of similarity between the interviewers’ perception of the ideal employee and the applicant, and [b] the degree of similarity between the interviewers’ self-perception and the applicant. This was a useful tip when I interviewed. I sat in several interviews before personally conducting one. I observed the communication between applicants and my Human Resources Manager. Since all these candidates passed the minimum qualification, my manager looked for someone who best fit the organization. â€Å"Fit† is the word we use in our selection process. Many applicants had the minimum qualifications for the job; however, we wanted someone who fit in the organization. Garcia, Posthuma, & Colella (2008) talked about how interviewers construct fit perceptions about applicants. Their results showed that performance expectation had a direct effect on fit perceptions. Unanimously with the study, our manager wanted to select people who she thought would perform well in the organization. She had an idea of what an ideal applicant would look like in her mind. For example, when we hired nurses, my manager looked to see if the applicant was careful, sensitive, caring and good at teamwork. If the applicant used to work in teams and got along with his or her team members, she would be able to determine if this applicant fit our organization. This person should have high Agreeableness. If we were hiring for a receptionist, we would want to look for candidates who love to help others. From these observations, I learned to study the interview questions and pay attention to personality traits and OCBs that we were looking for in an ideal employee. Each time, I would read these different interview questions for different positions and rehearse the questions in my mind. Also, I identified personality traits and OCBs that were related to the position. Combined with the PPRF I mentioned earlier, I discussed with my manager about our expectations for an ideal candidate before the interview. What were the essential skills and personalities that fit in the organization? After I identified those aspects, I would start the interview process. The more the individual matched our requirements, the more likely this individual would be hired. Each position requires different personality traits; unfortunately, I am not able to list them out specifically due to the confidentiality policy of the organization. Difficulties Encountered Unavoidably, we chose some overqualified candidates to pursue to the next step, which are the background check and drug-screen test. We chose these candidates because they would be quick studies and help others develop. However, our compensation was not the most attractive in the industry. We lost several over-qualified candidates right before orientation. Some left due to compensation limitations; some left due to lack of potential opportunities. We lost both time and money due to the unexpected losses. I discussed these issues with my manager. She told me that they lost more than 70% of over-qualified individuals among all over-qualified individuals during the recruiting process in the past. Even though the turnover is high, they have better potential compared to individuals who have minimum skills only. Her ways to avoid the situation was to not interview over-qualified individuals if they required much higher compensation than what we could offer. I disagreed with her opinion. Compensation definitely matters to jobseekers, however, it is not the only thing that matters. I believed more factors should be considered before we decided if an interview should be conducted, such as potential growth, training and development, as well as a benefit package. According to Wells (2004), there are pros and cons of hiring overqualified candidates. The potential advantages include they might be able to pick up tomorrow’s leaders today at below-market prices. If they were hired, they could help employees meet their goals sooner and potentially contribute a lot more to the company. However, there were disadvantages as well. Overqualified candidates were often too expensive. If we didn’t give them a better compensation package, situations similar in our organizations would be likely to happen again. Also, Wells mentioned that they were likely to intimidate others. Hiring a person who is far more experienced than his or her peers or immediate supervisor could create upside-down reporting relationships and authority tensions. Careful assessment was required when intending to hire overqualified candidates. From the article, I learned that I should decide how to define over-qualification. I brought up the topic at one of our intern meetings. We agreed that being at the wrong level and salary expectation was one of the most important factors. It looked kind of like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1943). He used the terms Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, Self-Actualization and Self-Transcendence need to describe the pattern that human motivations generally move through. When primary needs were satisfied, people seek for higher level needs. I think over-qualified employees do the same. Compensation is a primary need for job seekers. However, it is not the only factor that matters. If we provide fair amount of compensation, they look for other factors such as personal growth. However, if the compensation level is much lower than the average, they seek for other companies. Our organization does not have to have the most attractive compensation, however, it should be the average in the industry. We provided minimum pay at the phone interview. Also, there was a pay expectation on the job application. Comparing our minimum pay and candidates’ expectations, we would be able to draw a picture of the possibility of follow through the hiring process with the over qualified candidates. For example, we would give applicants a realistic preview of what the job would be. During the phone screen process, I told them the salary for the position and paid attention to their response. If the candidate hesitated, they most likely would not continue the process. We would not follow up with this candidate. The next step was to ask if we could do something to position the job opportunity to better take advantage of the applicant’s experience. For instance, if the applicant’s past experience was specialized in child care, we would transfer the applicant to the childcare facilities within the organization. Or, if the applicant obviously had more skills and experience, we would offer a higher-level position instead of an entry-level position. Also, we arranged in-house observations for applicants to give them a preview of certain responsibilities of the job and observe their reaction in the real work environment. Lastly, we assessed what career stage the person was in. We would like to know if they had ambitious goals and wanted fast growth. As a result, we looked at three predictors of candidate’s success on the job: the ability to do the work, the ability to work well with others and motivation. Motivation factors include, career growth like promotion opportunities and personnel growth, such as education reimbursement. Following these assessment steps, we successfully decreased the drop off rate for overqualified candidates. During my internship period, we made efforts to hire seven over-qualified candidates, half of them went through the whole process, which is much better than before. Job Description Development Beyond my expectations, I had a chance to develop several job descriptions during my internship due to organization transformation and expansion. Brannick and Levine (2002) mentioned that the structure of the job description should include identifiers, a summary section, duties and tasks, and other information. They suggest using a KSA modeling approach and critical incident technique to structure the job description. Due to the limited time I was given, I was not able to analyze these KSAs and critical incidents. However, I followed their format, which made the job description easier to read. Since the organization had their own format for job descriptions, which didn’t include a summary section, I discussed with my manager the benefit of adding a summary section for each position and edited all of our job descriptions. The summary section gave applicants and mployees a clear idea of what their responsibilities were and linked with tasks and skill sets required. I believe the summary gave employees a better idea of what their daily functions looked like. During my internship, I developed job description for utility manager, staff development specialist, and executive assistant. Also, my coworkers and I revised all of our job descriptions in the database by adding a summary section. After the format was decided, I planned to start to draft the job description. Part of the job description was minimum qualifications. Levine, Maye, Ulm, and Gordon (1997) provided a step-by-step account of the methodology and described the means by which validated minimum qualifications (MQ) were obtained. The authors indicated that MQs were created for education, experience, and closely related personalities needed to perform a job satisfactorily. In our organization, a closely related personality for nurse would be Agreeableness. We looked for people who would follow the policy and work with others. MQs are often used as screening devices in personnel selection. Our organization used MQs to screen out applicants as well. Levine, et al (1997) mentioned that in order to determine minimum qualifications, a job analysis needed to be conducted. Its descriptors or components were both behavioral and cognitive in nature. Tasks, the behavioral aspects and KSAs, and the cognitive aspects were determined. Scales were developed to evaluate tasks and KSAs for their impact and relevance in establishing MQs. The authors indicated that this job analysis established a basis for the development of MQs, and defined domains against which to evaluate the MQs for content validity. Preliminary research and observation by human resources specialists, including review of the dictionary of occupational titles, also helped to lead to the preparation of draft lists of tasks and KSAs. Interviews with current employees should be conducted to review relevant tasks and responsibilities required at their job. The authors also suggested a meeting with SMEs to determine the final task and KSA list. Using the list, people should be able to prepare a set of MQ profiles. According to the study, this methodology proved to have high inter- rater reliability.

Democracy V/s Dictatorship Essay

Outline: 1. Government is the indispensable necessity of any country. 2. What is democracy? 3. Democracy is considered the best form of government. 4. Democracy is distorted in the third world countries. 5. Democracy has a large many advantages. 6. Democracy is not devoid of disadvantages. 7. There are certain requisites for successful democracy. 8. What is dictatorship? 9. Dictatorship is always full of many demerits. 10. Islamic concept of democracy is different from modern concept of democracy. 11. Pakistan shows a gloomy and painful picture of deteriorated and decayed democracy. 12. Conclusion: ↠ Main is a social animal. He can’t live alone away from his fellow human beings. Therefore, he forms societies and countries. No country can run its affairs smoothly without a government. Surely, government is the indispensable requirement of any country. ↠ Democracy is a form of government. Its literal meaning is ‘power of the people’. According to Abraham Lincoln, â€Å"Democracy is the government of the people, by the people for the people†. It means that in a democratic country, people are the real masters. The government has complete trust and confidence of masses. ↠ Democracy is considered the best form of government. It has both merits and demerits, but its grandeur can’t be denied. Islam also appreciates a democratic government. It favours unanimous decisions. The Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) laid great stress on mutual consultation on all essential matters. Surely, democracy is a civilized form of government. It exists in advanced countries of the world like America, England, France, Canada etc. ↠ Democracy follows its own mechanism. In a democratic country, there are many political parties. They take part in the election. The party that wins by the majority vote forms the government. The rest of the parties sit in the opposition benches. In the assembly, important issues are discussed and debated by both the ruling party and the opposition party. ↠ Democracy is distorted in the third world countries. Politicians always try to befool and hoodwink the people. The gain power for their own interests. Under the cover of democracy, they hold a totalitarian rule. In these poor and backward countries, the definition of democracy is somewhat like this â€Å" Government off the people, buy the people, far the people† ↠ Real Democracy has many advantages. i. In a democratic country, people take part actively in the affairs of the government. They elect the members of the parliament. Their representatives in the parliament reflect their will. ii. People can keep an eye on the performance of the elected members. The prime minister and the cabinet are answerable to the parliament. People can change a ruler through unanimous vote. iii. All people enjoy respect, importance equality of rights and justice irrespective of their colour, caste, creed or social status. iv. People enjoy freedom of thought, action, expression and publication. They can both criticize and give suggestions to the government. v. The press and the electronic media can discuss and debate the policies and decisions of the government vi. Intelligentsia, different organizations and opposition parties may hold public gatherings. They can use the services of radio, televisions and newspapers to convey their views to the government and public. vii. All decisions are made after mutual consultation and discussion. viii. Democracy allows variety of opinion to flourish. ix. Democracy cares for the needs and wishes of public. It tries to satisfy them and raise their standard of living. It works for their welfare. Thus, it proves a stable form of government and reduces the chances of revolt. ↠ Democracy is not devoid of disadvantages and shortcomings. i. Democracy generates party system. Candidates have to side with their own party even if its decisions are wrong. They can’t openly oppose its wrong policies. ii. Democracy may prove tyranny of the majority. In democracy, all decisions are made by majority raise. Therefore, it is merely the counting of head, not the weighing of wisdom. It attaches importance to quantity, not to quality. iii. Democracy fails at the time of national emergencies. It is a slow form of government. All issues have to be debated in the assembly. It takes a long time to arrive at any decision. Thus many urgent problems remain unsolved. ↠ There are certain requisites for the successful functioning of democracy. Firstly people should be educated. They should be able to use their vote wisely. They should elect honest, sincere and efficient representatives. Secondly, people should be prosperous so that political parties may not buy them or force them to vote for them. Thirdly, there should be social justice in society. There should not be the hateful concept of high and low in society. ↠ Unlike democracy, dictatorship is a form of government in which one man or one party rules the country. It is simply the anti-thesis of democracy. The entire power rests with a single man. It is, therefore, a one man show. There is no opposition party in dictatorship. Usually high military officers or magnates in the county can take the control of the government by dint of force, ↠ Dictatorship is always full of many demerits. It just steamrolls public opinion. It puts many restrictions on them. They do not enjoy the freedom of thought, action, expression and publication. They have to adore a single man and bow to his fair or foul policies. The print and electronic media have to conceal facts. They have to sing praises for the absolute ruler. Then it is very difficult to change a dictatorial government. History tells that some dictators continued their unfair rule to their death. Dictatorship exists in the communist countries like Russia, china, and East Germany. But dictatorship may also prove fruitful if the ruler considers himself accountable to people and God for his actions. ↠ Islamic concept of democracy is different form modern concept. Islam favours the concept of restricted or controlled democracy, which is the true democracy. It gives value to the opinions of the people is they are in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). In Islamic democracy, absolute authority lies with God. Islamic laws have to be enforced. There is no party system. Quality, not quality, is valued. Rulers are servants to masses and are accountable to God for each deed. ↠ Unfortunately, Pakistan shows a gloomy and painful picture of deteriorated and decayed democracy. It was won in the name of Islam. The Quaid-e-Azam wanted to make it a democratic country. But now, it is in the cruel clutches of plutocracy only. Most of our politicians are feudal lords, industrialists and other magnates. They attain power for their vested interests. They feather their own nest and care least for the masses. They exploit the poor and backward people for their own benefits. How painful it is that our intellectuals, scholars, teachers and able patriots are always kept out of the political arena. Our masses are mostly the dumb spectators of the political scenario. Our elections are never fair and transparent. They are full of corruption. The scenes of rigging, conspiracies and miscompilation of results are quite common. Voters are bribed. Ballot boxes are broken in riots. Candidates of the rival party are kidnapped. Our elections are merely a farce. The behaviour of our politicians has always been eccentric and ridiculous. Under a military government, they cry for the restoration of democracy. But, in case of a democratic government, the opposition leaders try their best to dissolve it. This behavior of our politicians pares way for army chiefs to step in. Resultantly, military coups take place quite frequently. We can say that democracy in Pakistan is merely fake, distorted, beslimed and decayed. ↠ To conclude, it must be emphasized that if we let democracy sparkles in its true colours, it will prove an ideal form of government. It is surely democracy that can put our country in the glorious rank of advanced and civilized countries of the world.