Financial Markets and Bank Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Financial Markets and Bank Management - Essay Example The banks are faced with credit risk that involves change in net asset value due to changes in the ability of the counter-party to meet the contractual agreements (Thomas 2005). Performance risk includes the possible loses that may emanate from dishonest employees while operational risk include costs such as inability to meet regulatory requirements or settlement failures (Rao 1999). The bank’s net profit margin for 2012 was negative due to lack of growth of the non-customer interest income. The net profit margin was positive in 2013, but the current low interest environment prevailing in the market will continue maintaining the net interest income growth rate low. This means that the bank should divest the low-yielding non-core assets like investment securities portfolios in order to scale up the bank’s net interest margin. The operating margin was too low to generate substantial increase in net profits in 2013. The return on invested capital growth rate stagnated thus demonstrating imprudent investing strategy due to low returns from the non-core business segments. The improvements in return on assets and return on equity were low while the leverage position declined slightly due to injection of additional capital through rights issue. The stringent regulatory environment forced the bank to improve on its capitalisation and implement measures of lowering its leverage. Some of the measures implemented include the rights issue and reduction in the risk-weighted assets (RWAs) (Gregory 2011). Barclay’s loan to deposit ratio stood at 110 percent in 2012, but the ratio declined to 101 percent in 2013. The deposits were almost equal to the customer loans thus demonstrating increased prudence in retail lending. The investment banking business segment is funded by a high proportion of liabilities. The bank should have sufficient liquid assets to withstand any market and internal stresses (Mehta and Fung

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Case Study Example Hertz offer fantastic customer experience in providing best cars and comfort as par as the car hire is concern. The combination of great brand value and the potential financial efficiencies made the Hertz one of the most profitable business leaders in the business. Hertz business was matured and profitable enough to be acquired. The initiative from the CD& R financial partners David Wasserman, Micheal Baiarz and Nathan Sleeper on a capital structure which would have lowered the Hertz capital cost was really beneficial for CD&R. The Hertz was a potential investment opportunity as Hertz business was mature and competitive in all the countries where they had their business fleets. The CD&R’s Consortium is well-known as CCM which includes the Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch Global Private equity; both of them are the most dominating companies in the business scenario. On August 30th the CCM submitted its final bid of five point four billion dollars including a request that Ford make a certain tax election which would step up the tax basis of Hertz asset. However, there were some several companies who had submitted the final bid on the same date and among them one is the private equity consortium, composed of Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Texas pacific

Mobil IP Essay Example for Free

Mobil IP Essay â€Å"A Mobile IP address allows users to connect to the Internet without a normal static or dynamic IP address through the use of a unique mobile IP address. This unique address lets the computer connect through a network to a home IP address but still utilize and communicate with the networks protocol.† What are the advantages and disadvantages of Mobile IP? Advantages: 1) Portability—virtually anywhere there is access 2) Convenience sustained connection while traveling between access points 3) Scalability built for large, expansive networks so it is always easy to expand it 4) Consistency a user can maintain the same IP address across all of the subnets they travel between while the router on their home subnet intercepts and forwards all incoming information to them across the network via a network tunnel 5) Integration Mobil IP solutions do not require an additional network, but rather integrate with a current network schematic and because of the standard it has set many of the appliances have networking abilities now Disadvantages: 1) Security Data must be transformed so that authorized parties only decode it Authentication, or approving or disproving someone’s identity Ensuring that data cannot be changed without having that change be detectable Proving a source sent data and the possibility of that data being denied 2) Triangle Routing   The delivering of packets as directly as possible from sending node to mobile node without passing through a home agent, this is obviously a problem since route from sender to mobile node by way of the home agent takes two sides of the triangle, rather than the third side, which is the direct path. 3) Perception of reliability  refers to the premise of Mobile IP connections are based on TCP surviving cell changes What are the typical installations of Mobile IP? Typical installations where you find mobile IP is for laptop or phone use though tablets and other systems are catching up. Do you think Mobile IP will increase in popularity? Why or why not? With the struggle to stay up to date and to have access to files for company use at meetings, I think it is a real deal to say that popularity will continue to rise. There are issues with the technology but look how many bugs were in Windows 95 when it hit the market and people still ate it up. â€Å"A leading and award-winning developer of desktop, tablet and mobile VoIP software products and solutions, today announced that its industry-leading Bria softphone is powering Network Norways all-new Mobil IP service. As part of the Tele2 Group, Network Norway is an innovative service provider focused on enabling leading edge business solutions such as their new Mobil IP offering. Mobil IP is an SMB and enterprise focused offering that extends a customers mobile number to all devices including iOS and Android smartphones, tablets, PCs and Macs.†

The Recruitment and Selection Process

The Recruitment and Selection Process According to Trevor Bolton (1997) recruitment is concerned with the production of the definitions of a job (job descriptions and personnel specifications) and also with attracting the interest of suitably qualified candidates in the vacant position. Recruitment can be defined as a process of attracting individuals on a timely basis, in sufficient numbers and with appropriate qualifications and attitudes and encouraging them to apply for jobs in the organisations (Armstrong, 1999). Furthermore, as per Snell and Bohlander (2007), recruitment is described as the process of locating potential individuals who might join an organisation and encouraging them to apply for existing or anticipated job openings. Similarly, Noe et al (2008) support that recruitment is the practice or activity carried out by the organisation with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees. On the other hand, Dave Bartram (2000), in his study Internet Recruitment and Selection: Kissing frogs to find princes contradicted that recruitment filters the numbers of applicants down by selecting out those who fail to meet key criteria and that traditionally, recruitment has been required in order to reduce the numbers of applicants to a practical size for the more formal and more resource-intensive select-in assessments (interviews, psychometric tests, assessment centres exercises, etc). Barber (1998) points out that recruitment is an important part of Human Resource management as it performs the essential function of drawing an important resource-human capital into the organisation. Lievens et al (2002) asserted that the war for talent meant that the emphasis in organisations moved from the selection to the attraction of employees, and the labour market. Research by HR prospects (2003) found that recruitment was the second highest priority for HR practitioners (after absence management). Nonetheless, some researchers and practitioners recognise that the recruitment process is complex in nature, mediated by organisational, legislative, social and political requirements and expectations (Courtis, 1994; Hinton, 2000 et al) with a multiple number of stages, activities and characteristics (Barber, 1998; Breaugh, 1992 et al). The major criticism has been the attempt by researchers and practitioners to render the participants, the people and the organisation as objects tha t are controllable and manageable units when applied to rational and scientific methods (Hilton, 2000 et al). Gatewood et al (1993) acknowledge that recruitment is a more complex concept that is influenced by the job choice process of applicants in terms of the series of decisions made about which jobs and organisations to pursue for future employment. 2.1.1.1 Recruitment Policies Trevor Bolton (1997) proposes that policies for recruitment should be: cost effective, be consistent with the wider public relations aim of the organisation as it is important to remember that potential employees are also actual or potential customers and finally should not discriminate against people on the basis of sex, race, age, physical disability or religion. Again, Noe et al (2003) validates that the key policies of recruitment are: attracting a group of potential candidates for existing vacancies, ensuring that fair means and processes are used for all recruitment activities and all recruitment activities should contribute to organisations goals and objectives and thus project a positive organisational image to those who come in contact with it. 2.1.1.2 Recruitment Process Peter Stimpson (2005) described the recruitment process into the following steps: establish the precise nature of the job vacancy and draw up a job description (or specification) draw up a person specification, that is, the type of qualities and skills being looked for in suitable applicants devise a job advertisement reflecting the requirements of the job and the personal qualities looked for. Once the applications have been received, the selection process can begin. 2.1.2 Selection Armstrong (1999) defines selection as the process of choosing from a group of applicants the best suited individual. Also, Dave Bartram (2000) supports that in the selection process; there are various forms of assessments that are used to select those candidates with the best potential for success in the job. Snell and Bohlander (2007) state that selection is the process of choosing individuals who have relevant qualifications to fill existing or projected job openings. In simple terms, selection involves choosing the best applicant to fill a position (Grobler, 2006 et al). 2.1.3 The Recruitment and Selection Process Ideally, the recruitment and selection process is intended to identify prospective employees who will fit well with the hiring organisation. Clark (1992) points out that even a small number of poor staffing decisions can have significant impact upon the goals of the organisation and hence, the Recruitment and Selection process in the Human Resource Management should be efficient. Furthermore, Sheila Rioux and Paul Bernthal (2001) found that better Recruitment and Selection strategies result in improved organisation outcomes. However, it is a complex and expensive process (Sohel Ahmad and Roger G. Schroeder, 2002). Ndunuju Adiele (2009) agrees that the most important job of a HR person is the selection and hiring/recruitment of employees. He also stated that it cannot be faulted that the success of any firm depends on the quality of human resources or talents in that firm and this is why it is very important for any HR expert to be very sure of hiring the right staff without compromis ing anything from the onset. The more effectively organisations recruit and select candidates, the more likely they are to hire and retain satisfied employees. In their study Recruitment and Selection Process in HRM- A case of Bangladesh Open University, MD. Abu Taher and Kamrul Arefin (2000) concern that because of the high cost of poor Recruitment and Selection, if an organisation fails to select the right person, it has to suffer as long as those persons stay in the organisation, even if the quality of service is strongly influenced by the Recruitment and Selection Process in the organisation. 2.1.3.1 Employee Recruitment and Selection process Flow Chart (Figure 1, Appendix I) Optimal match of employee talents with organisational needs Performance Appraisal Training Placement Orientation Initial Screening Recruitment Selection Human resource planning Feedback regarding past and present job performance supervisor/subordinate plans for the future Competence to perform present or future job requirements Understanding of company/ departmental policies, procedures and benefits New employees Cognitive, work sample, or situational tests, personality inventories, polygraphs A smaller pool of qualified candidates Recommendations, reference checks, application blanks, interviews Specification of human resource requirements A pool of qualified candidates Planning, operations, control Job analysis Products Activities Step Source: Wayne F. Casino, 1998 Figure 1. 2.2 E-Recruitment 2.2.1 Evolution of HRM and the internet 2.2.1.1 Internet as a recruiting tool Edgeley (1995) alleged that the future of recruitment is on the net and it is the internet which will bring radical change to corporate recruiting. This claim proved to be true when Kerschbaumer (2000) agreed that it took more than 30 years for radio as a medium to reach 50 million of listeners, and the internet reached 50 millions of users within 5 years. Online recruitment has indeed grown rapidly over the past 10 years and now it is used to a greater extent all over the world by both recruiters and job seekers (Capelli, 2001). The internet first emerged as a recruiting tool in the mid-1990s and was named as recruiting evolution by the media due the benefits it could bring to recruiters (Boydell, 2002). Bush et al (2002) supports that the adoption of the web as a medium has been faster than any other medium in history. In addition, Crispin and Mehler (2006) found that 20 per cent external hires were from corporate sites and another 13 per cent were from jobs boards. Also, in the UK , it was found that two third of the organisations in 2004 used job boards (independent websites which are used to match multiple recruiters to job applicants typically through recruiter advertisements). 2.2.1.2 Shift from traditional way of recruiting and selecting to new way From relevant literature, the traditional recruitment method is the way that a company announce a job opening to the market place through classified advertisement, an executive recruiter, a job fair or other media (Othman Musa, 2006). Web-based technology which has a number of hiring activities can effectively streamline hiring processes by making them faster, more efficient, and less costly. Timeliness is critical to both the candidate and the organisation and unnecessary delays while paper is being routed or data being entered into numerous systems are clearly targets for improvement for the process (A. Walker, 2001). Good candidates are lost by unnecessary delays. In terms of HRM, the internet has changed recruitment from both an organisational and a job seekers point of view (Feldman, 2002, Epstein, 2003, Warner, et al 2005). Traditional recruitment processes are known as being time-consuming with long hiring cycle times, high costs per process and minimal reach to job seekers ( Lee, 2005). In his article Training and human resource issues in small e-business: towards a research agenda, Harry Matlay (2004) drew the same conclusion and argued that in the early 1990, ICT and the internet began impacting on organisational growth, development and competitiveness at both micro- and macro-economic levels and as more and more customers and suppliers began to use the internet, the speed, direction and emphasis on strategic change and competitive drive shifted from traditional trade to online business transactions taking place within a fast growing and rapidly expanding digital economy. 2.2.1.3 Factors contributing to shift Rapid introduction of the internet into the recruitment process can primarily be attributed to the Internets unique communication capabilities which allow for written communication (e-mails and documents) to be transmitted for a second; for organisations and individuals websites to be accessed at the click of a mouse and for real-time conversations (print, audio and visual) to be conducted rapidly (Wyld, Bingham et al, 1997). Similarly, Ulrich (1997) concurs that an emerging HR practice area that will require investment of time, talent and resources needs technology which can help in reducing the tension between strategic and administrative role and can remove part of the administrative responsibility. Furthermore, as per Sharon Hill (2001) the factors behind recruiting via the internet as low cost, reach, speed, ease, coverage and products and services for example, resume databases, online applications, banners, profiles etc. Empirical studies also have helped enormously in finding the factors contributing to the shift from traditional way of recruiting people to new way. For example, David Pollitt (2007), stated in his article Superdrug prescribes e-recruitment to improve talent management, that the HRM manager of the health and beauty retailer Superdrug claimed that it is essential that their recruitment process is as fast and efficient as possible and the launch of their careers websites helped them largely to quickly and efficiently process large numbers of applications and thus reducing the administrative burden of processing CVs. Moreover, M. Voermans and M. Van Veldhoven (2007) in their study about Attitude towards E-HRM: an empirical study at Philips alleges that nowadays companies can seek the possibilities to run HR operations more efficiently due to the swift development of electronic HR systems. Through internet, communication is quick, easy and cheap and it can reach on a local, national and international scale. In addition, Graeme Martin and Martin Reddington (2009) Reconceptualising absorptive capacity to explain the e-enablement of the HR function (e-HR) in organisations validates that HR can claim to help create competitive advantage and align the function of creating added value for managers and employees through efficient information flows by reducing HR transaction costs and Headcount for example, supplying HR information to a large number of people virtually and help in delivering e-training and e-learning to a large number of people. 2.2.2 Online Recruitment E-recruitment, also known within the literature as online recruitment, Internet recruiting or cybercruiting refers to posting vacancies on the corporate web site or on an online recruitment vendors website, and allowing applicants to send their resumes electronically via e-mail or in some electronic format (Galanaki, 2002). Similarly, Lievens and Harris (2003) et al define online recruitment as any method of attracting applicants to apply a job that relies heavily on internet. Furthermore, online recruitment is the method of matching job seekers to employers that has emerged over the last few years, and is growing quickly than any other means (Cooper Robertson, 2003). Therefore it can be summarized that e-recruitment is the use of technology to assist the recruitment process where job vacancies are advertised through world-wide web. Whilst e-recruitment is considered a relatively new concept for many organisations, articles on the topic first started appearing in the mid-1980s (Casper, 1985; Gentner 1984). However, it wasnt until almost a decade later in the mid-1990s that more systematic and rigorous literature and research on e-recruitment began to appear in human resource journals (E.R. Marr, 2007). The rise in the amount of literature in e-recruitment was initially attributed to the sudden increase in the use of online recruitment by IT companies and universities (Galanaki, 2002). Types of E-Recruitment A number of means has led to the increase in the use of the internet as a recruitment source. The three most common means identified by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD, 1999), cited in the article by Galanaki (2002) are: Firstly, the addition of recruitment pages to the organisations existing website. (As indicated by Lee (2005), this avenue is becoming increasingly common primarily as a result of rising costs and inflexibility of using other e-recruitment means and traditional media). Secondly, there is the use of specialised recruitment websites which act as a medium between organisations and potential applicants such as online job boards, job portals, job agencies and online recruiters and finally the use of media sites which involves placing an advertisement in a more traditional media such as newspaper which also has its own website and posts the same advertisement simultaneously in the website, usually for free. Similarly, Preetam Kaushik (2010) in his article E-Recruitment Trends: Internet and the Recruitment Process agrees that E-recruitments are generally done in two different ways. For example, post the company profile and the job specifications on one of the many available job portals and also search the portal to see if any suitable resumes are on the site or alternate is to create an online recruitment page on the companys own website where job seekers can submit their resumes which will get added to the database of the organization for future consideration. Criteria for effective E-Recruitment Arundhati Ghosh (2005): E- Recruitment: The Recent Trend of Recruitment Practices points out that in order to have an effective online recruitment, the organizations should be concerned about various factors such as Return on Investment which should be calculated to compare the costs and risks, the recruitment policy which has to be flexible and proactive to adapt market changes, unemployment rate as the whole process depends on the availability of candidates in the market and for every post, position it is not viable to spend too much of time because these rates will determine whether to be stringent or lenient, the impact of supplying compensation details that are the wage, salary, benefits as compensation rate of the company not only reaches to the candidates but will be known to all, the words that discriminates gender, age, religion and so on have to be avoided, and finally they need to be selective while choosing the sites because when special skill candidates are searched then generic job search sites have to be avoided. 2.3 Advantages and disadvantages of E-Recruitment 2.3.1 Perceived Advantages Given that the average job hunters spend around six to eleven hours each week searching and pursuing suitable positions, the flexibility of the internet is extremely attractive as a means of sourcing jobs (Farris Dumans, 1999). Also, the internet acts as a database of information for organisations, including information pertaining to potential applicants, if organisations know how to find and use it (Gutmacher and Leonard, 2000). According to Gutmacher (2000), Galanaki (2002) et al (2004), the biggest perceived advantage of internet recruiting is that individuals can quickly and easily access information in a wide range of job opportunities twenty-fours a day, seven days a week, reducing the need for employees to actively job hunt whilst performing current job duties, thereby minimising the visibility of the job search. They also further identified that online advertising helps in attracting the interest of high quality people, also known as passive job seekers, who are not actively searching for a job. The information can be passed through friends or collegues who are engaged in online social networking. Feldman and Klaas (2002) also claim that internet is a useful location to generate information on a wide array of industries, companies and search variables including the geographic location, job type or industry type, the remuneration and all when looking for jobs. Furthermore, Bingham et al (2002), Epstein et al (2003) and McCurry (2005) validates that the internet has been classified as an interactive source which helps to engage applicants by providing pertinent and more in-depth information about the job and the organisation through links to tesmonials and employment benefits sites. For organisations, online recruitment provides an opportunity for jobs to be advertised in global, local or niche markets, presenting the flexibility for recruiters to adapt the source to target an identified job market, or allowing for a brand scope of potential applicants by opening the job to the global market (Smith, 2005). Another advantage is that there is a reduction in the time for recruitment as organisations are able to source and process applications round the clock compared to traditional sources (Lee, 2005). Last but not the least, in his article Internet Recruitment, Radcliff (2000) mentions that it is easier for applicants to search for job vacancies and apply online rather than going through newspapers and submitting hard copy resumes to companies. As for Erica Marr (2007) E-Recruitment: The effectiveness of the internet as a recruitment source, she points out that another advantage cited in the literature on e-recruitment is the reduced costs associated with internet advertising compared to print advertising where the size of the advertisement and the publication itself impacts in the cost of posting the advertisement. She also alleges that more people get access to the internet nowadays and consequently there are a limited number of people who bother to read advertisements in newspapers. 2.3.2 Perceived Disadvantages As with all recruitment sources, there are not only unique advantages related to the medium, but there are also a number of shortages identified by a number of authors (Capelli 2001, Feldman et al 2002). Of major concern is the perception that the internet will generate a high quantity of applications. Screening and checking the skill mapping and authenticity of millions of resumes is a problem and time consuming exercise (Carlson, Dessler, Chyna et al, 2002). Moreover, it takes less effort and fewer costs for applicants to store their rà ©sumà © electronically and apply for a job online. Consequently organisations will be receiving a greater number of applications and as a result there will be an increase in costs of administering more in the recruitment and selections systems (Gutmacher 2000, and Smith et al 2004). Austin Texas (2001) in his article Impact of the internet on the recruitment of skilled labour mentions that one of the disadvantages of online recruitment is that there may be low internet penetration and lack of awareness of internet in some remote locations. Galanaki (2002) The decision to recruit online: A descriptive study argues that some large organisations have already found it necessary to officially dedicate one or more recruiters to focus all of their time exclusively to internet recruitment due to the extra time and effort needed for implementation. Referring to CIPD (1999), Galanaki (2002) also noted that many organisations lack the resources or the expertise needed to achieve an integrated e-recruitment process. They have to be ready to deal with the relevant IT tools such as search engines, databases, CV-screening and to undertake a whole change management effort in order to get the employees familiar with the implementation of the necessary tools. Another disadvantage highlighted in the article is that for the majority of job seekers, internet still is not the first option as organisations cannot be dependant solely and totally on the online recruitment methods. Furthermore, the study about E-HR at KPN conducted by David Pollitt (2006) adds that not all companies find it easy to move to e-recruitment. This is because the technology, the processes and the people capability have to be managed simultaneously and the risk that companies face is that HR managers, trying to pay more attention to get the technology right, sometimes give less importance to the processes and the employees. Therefore, there is a need to consider the new system first, prepare the workforce and then embrace the new technology to avoid unplanned circumstances. Another urgent need is to ensure that the organisations senior managers back the changes. Finally, in her article Careers and Employment, Kristian Keefer (2009) sums up the disadvantages as: a company which is hiring online will not have the ability to meet the individual applicants in person before recruiting them; employers might receive the positive impression of someone who ends up not being the best choice for the job; a perfect resume might be received but after contacting the person concerned, the employer may be disappointed if the applicant does not show any interest in the job. This is a waste of time and money. 2.4 Success of E-Recruitment As per D. B. Morin (2000) there are approximately 700 million people using the consumer internet and one of the most usages of the internet is to conduct online job searches, and one of the most searched-on key words is jobs. In short, the internet is fundamentally changing the way the recruitment industry is operating and it can be an extremely effective tool for hiring. Therefore, D. B. Morin (2000) has devised two ways to ensure successful internet recruitment. First and foremost, there is a need to build a recruitment centre within the companys own website. Logically, candidates will first look for jobs on the companys website if they are interested to work in that particular organisation. As a result, they should be able to have access to all the information about the company immediately. However, before adopting this method of recruitment, there are some issues which may have to be taken into consideration. For example, it should be made easy for prospective candidates to find recruitment area. Many online job applications are submitted by  ´passive ´ job seekers, that is, individuals who are not actively seeking a career change, but are intrigued enough by an individual job offer to apply. A conspicuous recruitment area will draw these  ´passive ´ job seekers in. Also, an efficient method of collecting job applications (i.e. will candidates email their rà ©sumà ©s or do you plan to build an online rà ©sumà © builder) can be established. Finally, we have to ensure that there are the resources to provide prompt responses to enquiries and applications.   With close to a billion users online, one good job advertisement could potentially swamp an entire HR department. As technology continues to evolve, there is an ever-increasing array of resume  ´sifting ´ software available. Secondly, we should advertise in websites. According to D. B. Morin (2000), there has been literally an explosion of online career centres, job guides, and recruiting services and there are now over 33,000 career specific websites on the Internet. The primary advantage to advertising our open positions on one or more recruitment websites is our extreme popularity with job seekers. If we are considering placing ads on the Internet, there are a few points to consider when evaluating sites such as does the site target candidates with a high likelihood of appropriate qualification? Is navigating around the site uncomplicated? Is the site professional and is it aligned with our company ´s image? How are postings added to the database and how often can you update or delete your listing? Or how many visits does the site get weekly and monthly? With such a plethora of job sites on the internet now, organisations need to position their job advertisements where they will gain the most exposu re to the most appropriate audiences. Just as there is no one way to recruit, similarly there is no one place to list jobs. Organisations need to employ a combination of recruitment strategies, services and resources to position their job advertisements effectively. By limiting the company ´s recruiting efforts to the Internet, many key applicants could be missed for jobs opportunities. For instance, in a study conducted by Drake Beam Morin (2000), the Internet provided sources for new jobs in only 4% of cases, compared to networking which produced opportunities in 64% of cases studied. The key element to consider for online recruitment is where qualified applicants would most likely look for open positions. Once that is determined, a media plan including a variety of targeted venues can be thoroughly constructed and evaluated. 2.5 Conclusion From the relevant literature, there is an argument that e-recruitment is needed to be used in conjunction with other techniques. Caggiano (1999) and Borck (2000) argue that Internet-based recruiting will not replace traditional practices, but a well-implemented e-recruitment strategy can help the recruitment process become more successful. Internet recruiting should be only one of many tools used to find and recruit applicants. Similarly, Pearce Tuten (2001) pointed out that although the employers see the advantages of e-recruitment, they continued to use traditional methods such as newspaper ads, personal referrals, and search agencies for most of their recruiting. Employer viewed the Internet as an important additional tool. Cullen (2001) also supports that e-recruitment is not treated as a stand-alone human resource tool but is integrated into an overall recruiting and selection strategy that includes, among other things, sophisticated behavioral and skills assessment, interviewing, and additional means of identifying needs and sourcing candidates. Previous studies show that a human resource department still uses both traditional method and e-recruitment in recruiting process. More than 75% of HR professionals are now using Internet job boards in addition to traditional recruiting method (HR Portal, 2003).

Sin of Adultery in Hawthornes The Scarlett Letter Essay -- essays res

The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, shows the adverse consequences caused by adultery between Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne. Dimmesdale and Hester committed the supreme sin of the Puritan society they belong. They must both deal with the effects of the scarlet letter. Pearl, the daughter of the two lovers, continuously punishes Hester for what she has done. Dimmesdale can only see Hester and Pearl when others will not find out or see. Hester finds a way to support herself and daughter, and at the same time, puts a mark on the possessions of some who are a part of society. The sin of adultery created repercussions that were shared and individually experienced by Reverend Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne. The scarlet letter is worn by Hester as a repercussion of her adulterous sin to make known her crime of passion throughout the whole story. Hester has the choice to leave town and would no longer have to wear the scarlet letter. ?On the outskirts of the town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage? (71). The cottage is Hester?s home. Hester feels by staying, she is not letting society control her and acknowledging what she has done. Hester?s action of staying in town shows her strong, self-determined spirit. Hester refuses to deny the sin because it defines who she is. Hester decides to live alone as a repercussion of the sin she committed When Hester makes the decision to not go away she has to find a way to support herself. Knowing the town will not help her, Hester turns to needlework to help support herself and daughter, Pearl. The things she makes are very beautiful and delicately done. The families that held... ...e type of what has seared his inmost heart! Stand any here that question God's judgment on a sinner! Behold! Behold, a dreadful witness of it!? (232-233) Everyone now knew and just as soon as he revealed the sin, the sin killed him while up on the scaffold. When Hester and Dimmesdale had an affair, they never knew how much it would affect the rest of their lives, thus their one sin defined their very existence. Hester proves to be a very strong and able person through all the triumphs she faces. She remains a great mother even when Pearl reminds her of what she has done. Dimmesdale continues to see Hester and Pearl, but only when no one else will find out. Dimmesdale can not handle the guilt he keeps inside for seven years and it brings him to his death. Hester and Dimmesdale both commit the sin of adultery, but the sin empowers Hester and kills Dimmesdale.

Willing and Knowing :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Willing and Knowing ABSTRACT: This paper discusses W. K. Clifford's classic paper, "The Ethics of Belief," and the significance of his use of the locution "knowingly and willingly" in the context of morally irresponsible ignorance. It is argued that this locution can point to a very subtle and important distinction in the premisses of ethically responsible belief formation. An analysis of willful ignorance is then given. It is argued that, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as willful ignorance: what is called willful ignorance in ordinary language is just the phenomena of getting oneself knowingly to believe something by willingly and knowingly altering the evidence for one's belief, rather than the genuine phenomenon of getting oneself willingly to believe something against the evidence. The former phenomenon is not, however, morally approvable. Therefore, willfulness of belief is not a necessary condition of morally irresponsible ignorance. 1. There is a very famous passage in W. K. Clifford's classic paper "The Ethics of Belief" in which Clifford describes a shipowner who deceives himself to believe that his ship is seaworthy by 'knowingly and willingly' ignoring the evidence to the contrary, ie. by 'knowingly and willingly' changing the evidential situation that determines the content of his belief. According to Clifford, the shipowner's mental behaviour is unethical. He has no right to believe that the ship is seaworthy on such evidence as is before him. He is knowingly and willingly ignorant of the real condition of the ship and, as a consequence, carries moral responsibility for the consequences of his evil state of mind, consequences highlighted by the deaths of passengers and crew when the ship goes down. The question of why Clifford uses the words 'knowingly and willingly' when he describes the way in which the shipowner makes himself ignorant of the real condition of the ship is significant not only to Clifford's own theory but to the ethics of belief in general. One commentator (see Haack, forthcoming) has recently argued that Clifford really means 'willful ignorance' and just lacks in subtlety when he says 'knowingly and willingly'. The motive behind this interpretation is the view that only a person who is willfully ignorant of the evidence against her belief can carry moral responsibility for the consequences of the belief. In particular, involuntary ignorance, according to this view, has no such effect. I question this interpretation. In particular, I question the idea that the description of the shipowner's ignorance as 'knowingly and willingly' undertaken is somehow less subtle than its description as 'willfully' undertaken.

Morality as Anti-Nature

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a German philosopher known for his radical critics of the classical philosophical thought and religion. Nietzsche rejected social laws, morals and religion. Nietzsche’s views on religions and morals get the best realization in his later works. In Beyond Good and Evil he explores the ethical mechanisms, which regulate people behavior and their origins. He did not believe that nature was morally neutral. He distinguished two types of morality: herd morality and master morality. Herd morality he attributed to Christianity. Nietzsche criticized both – this type of morality and religion, based on the consciousness of slaves. He correlated the appearance of the terms good and bad to the terms of Roman Empire when everything connected with warriors and cruelty. Such moral system gave week and suppressed a kind of compensation in their miserable situation and gave them mechanisms to control strong and successful members of the society.   Nietzsche states that generations of people live directed by the ethical judgments created by the generation of slaves. He believes that   using such moral principles we only distance ourselves from true liberation and fortify the continuousness of the slaves. The type of morality described above reflects â€Å"herd morality†, which dominates in the society for centuries. Another type of morality, which is contrasted to herd morality, is called master morality. According to Nietzsche this morality is realistic and reflects the real destination of all human creatures. Master morality asserts the power of successful and strong individuals, who have the right to rule the world. Nietzsche denied the morality of the nature, calling it morally neutral. â€Å"There are no moral phenomena; there are only moral interpretations. Thus, master morality speaks of â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad† rather than â€Å"Good and Evil† (Nietzsche, 87).   He saw master morality as the way to overcome limitations, created by the moral judgments of slave morality. Master morality for Nietzsche becomes the way to realize the potential to will-to-power. Denying religions values, Nietzsche did not recognize rich literary prophesy of world religious. He did not see any value in religious texts and sermons. The Sermon of the Mount is an essence of all Christian teaching. It contains instructions of Jesus Christ to his Disciples. These instructions teach people compassion and patience. Speaking about afterlife, Jesus underlines that all needy will get everything they deserve after death. In his sermon, Jesus underlines the importance of seeking for the righteousness, he states: â€Å"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled† (Matthew 5:6). Principles of non-violence and obedience to the will of God are close to the ideas expressed by the majority of world religions. Jesus Christ stresses on the unconditional universal love, which he defined as a main moral principle. The Ten Commandments given to Moses on the Mount of Sinai contain the very principle ideas of Christian teaching. According to the Bible God gave these Ten Commandments to Moses in order to pass his will to all people. These Commandments became universal guidelines for all religious people. They express norms of moral behavior for all people. If we study them in greater detail we will see that these Commandments are universal and can be applied for all people regardless of their race and religion.   For many centuries the Ten Commandments have been the foundation for moral system of Western Civilization. It is difficult to doubt such universal truths, as: Honour thy father and mother Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:2-17). It is had to imagine a person, who would disagree these Commandments. The Ten Commandments are designed in order to regulate not only relations between God and humans. They also contain guidelines for person to person interactions and social behavior. Night Journey or Al-Isra wa Al-Miraj of 24th Rajab 619 CE is a story from Qur’an, which describes the journey of the Prophet Mohammed to Jerusalem and his meeting with God.   This story describes Prophet’s journey through seven heavens and his conversation with God. On his way Mohammed meets a lot of characters from religious texts. After his conversation with God he gets the message that it is necessary to pray God five times a day. Often people, who read this story understand it literary and see it only as a message about the necessity to pray. In reality the message of this story is much deeper as it speaks about such important themes as faith in God, individual responsibility, right faith, avoiding evil and sacredness of life. This passage from Qur’an raises the questions of human freedom and responsibility.   Mohammad passes not only the message about the necessity to pray God. He also speaks that each person should be responsible for his actions. Nietzsche’s critique of religion has an aesthetic nature. He also denies morals.   For Nietzsche religion is only an ugly form, weak people use as compensation for their weakness.   The cult of weak and miserable was established for centuries and it included the denial of everything beautiful, healthy, strong and powerful, including human body. Nietzsche states that â€Å"Christianity, which despised the body, has been the greatest misfortune of humanity so far† (Nietzsche, 119). For him religion along with morality serves only for the justification for weak and powerless, who have no other means to express their right for living. Calling for revolt and setting up the morality of master Nietzsche deprives week of their right to live and realize themselves. â€Å"God is dead† is a phrase from his writing which reflects his radical attitude to religion and ethics. Nietzsche stated that religion, philosophy and what is most important – humanity – were killed by the traditional values of society. The way of life and social organization have lead to the destruction and depreciation of moral values and basic human qualities. As he states: â€Å"Morality, as it has so far been under stood, it has in the end been formulated once more by Schopenhauer, as â€Å"negation of the will to life† is the very instinct of decadence, which makes an imperative of itself. It says: â€Å"Perish!† It is a condemnation pronounced by the condemned† (Nietzsche, 154). Nietzsche wanted to create a generation on new human beings – supermen or Overman – free from the false morality.   â€Å"Our moral judgments and evaluations†¦are only images and fantasies based on a physiological process unknown to us† – he states to prove the relativity of the moral norms and principles. Nietzsche believed that the society’s traditional way of thinking and morals were life-denying and destructive. Traditional morals gave a rice to â€Å"slave morality† which suppresses all impulses to creatively and free will of the humans and makes them to adopt a â€Å"herd mentality†. It makes people believe that thing which is good for the majority is good for everyone. That is the reason people put themselves into the strict limitations and boundaries of the predefined good and evil. â€Å"Slave morality encourages conformity; national, racial, gender, and religious bigotry; and unthinking patriotism† (Soccio, 114). The world was defined by Nietzsche to be dead. He put all the burden of responsibility for this on the traditional Christian morals accepted by the vast majority of the western world. According to Nietzsche, traditional moral values, such as self-sacrifices, humanity, love, compassion have killed everything natural. The only way out Nietzsche saw in crossing the line, getting out of the moral limitations and restrictions of good and evil and following only â€Å"the will to power†. That would place the humans on the other, higher plane of existence. Nietzsche is an influential philosopher, famous for his critics of Christian morality. His critics of all religious doctrines is a brave attempt to overcome religious dogmatism and domination. Despite his teachings contain a lot of innovative ideas and strong arguments I think that rejecting Christian morals and religious moral in general he rejects not only bad things, but also rich prophesy created through the centuries. Nietzsche regards religion as a source of suppression of human will. He counts on conscious individuals, who are directed by inner moral, which regulates all their thoughts and actions. Unfortunately, modern society consists of different people, who are not always driven by higher moral standards. In this case religion, social norms and regulations become those defensive mechanisms, which help to avoid bad consequences.   Rejecting their norms and regulations can bring harm to the society and human race in general. Works Cited Nietzsche, Friedrich On the Genealogy of Morals. trans. Walter Kaufmann and R.J. Hollingdale, in On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo. New York: Random House, 1967. Nietzsche, Friedrich Beyond Good and Evil. trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Random House, 1966. Nietzsche, Friedrich, Thus Spake Zarathustra, tr. Thomas Common, London: George Allen and Unwin, 1999. Nietzsche, Friedrich Beyond Good and Evil:   Prelude to a philosophy of the future, tr. R.J. Hollingdale, Harmondsworth, Middlesex:   Penguin Books, 1973. Nietzsche, Friedrich, The Twilight of the Idols and The Anti-Christ: or How to Philosophize with a Hammer, Penguin Classics, 1990. Soccio, Douglas J. Archetypes of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy, Belmont, CA : Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2004.