Division Of Labor in Modern Day

Division Of Labor in Modern Day Emile Durkheim was a sociologist who pioneered in the study of social order. He theorized how societies maintained social order on mechanical and organic forms as well as transitions to industrialized society form a primitive one. In a primitive society, people act and think alike because of a mechanical solidarity. On the other hand, an advanced society will have its people in divisions of labor where they are allocated and rewarded accordingly. Both moral and economic regulations are necessary in order for social order to exist and can be achieved by putting in place laws. The transition, therefore from a primitive to an advanced society may cause a crisis which eventually ceases upon maturity into an advanced society. Division of labor has an important role to play in the society since it does not rely on provision of economic services only, but also creates harmony between people. Economists would only look at division of labor as a means to increase production although much more need to be derived from it in form of living in new and better conditions. This fact contrasts with Marx theory which looks down upon division of labor as individualizing people and creating inequality in labor. The core principal why division of labor is vital is that humans derive happiness in being free to possess material thing and to seek them. This makes its influence to be on a personal level and based on ones psychological liking. Specialization in the face of division of labor creates a need in individuals to operate on a communal basis so that they may maximize the returns and hence increased happiness. As opposed to Marx theories, private property will not achieve much and he proposes a communal setting. The application of Durkheims theory on division of labor may be of great value to modern society. He uses scientific methods to explain the source and evolution of an ordered society. This gave rise to sociology which envisions the society as being composed of several factors which must act in tandem. Wherever there is a common ideology between people living together, they tend to have creative thinking that can be of use to them. This works well especially if they are great in numbers since they can always support each other. Division of labor has had a history of revolution to what it is today. Chapter 5: The Increasing Preponderance of Organic Solidarity and its Consequences Durkheim, in his division of labor theory proposes an organic like solidarity. The presence of laws to govern and regulate the society in that solidarity is essential. But what is ironical is that laws governing a society are sometimes repressive and apply to specific parts. The relationships in a society that would require penal measures are few compared to areas where say domestic, contractual and commercial laws may find application. The solidarity that may be sought by a common conscious society does not get the fullest expression in law. Cooperative law does not meet the threshold to enable social cohesion to take place. There is need to find relationships that exist although it has not been done previously. Organic solidarity contribution to the general harmony of a society need to be studied in detail and understood so that its application may be of benefit. An individual attachment to a society in dependent on a number of factors which includes forces and bonds which in turn may be strong or weak. This however may not be a reason why an individual may choose to remain in or leave a society. A case in study is the traditional tribal chiefs who got left by their followers in case of misunderstanding or difference in opinion. Under division of labor, events are somewhat different since people tend to rely on each other to meet their needs. A society would never risk being isolated from the rest of humanity because what they lack in provisions is obtained from the other society. An individual in such a circumstance of isolation may feel isolated and disturbed. To counter this, some tribes have systems of incorporating new members into the society by naturalization or adoption. A good example is Romans who provided refuge for those conquered during the war and hence the primitive society grew. The adopted individual was supposed to absorb the practices and beliefs of this new society. Solidarity ensures the person sticks if and only if there is harmony and relationships are maintained. There are various rules forbidding acts contrary to the sentiments of the collectivity which are either positive or negative and may involve such fields as religion, nationality, domesticity, work, traditions and sexual relations. Others have to do with personal conduct and possessions. Each of these sentiments has respective rule which may change over time according to the society and its level of advancement. In is notable that some of the rules have origin in the Ten Commandments or even in ancient civilizations like Greek and Romans. Morals were very important and an accusation of failure to comply was punishable. For example sentiments dealing with sexual relations are punishable according to the Pentateuch and various verses in the Bible support this. In addition, the Romans and Greeks too would define those acts they deemed immoral and either fine or punish the offender. Many other civilizations like Egyptians and West African tribes had ways to punish crimes committed and in different ways. Each crime on the other hand has different punitive measures it attracted. In religion, a number of taboos, sacrifices and rites were observed to please the deities. An individual failure to follow the norm could be deemed an outcast or even killed. Sexual immorality too had set down rules defining for example the kind of normal relationships and abnormal ones. The rules and regulations that existed sometimes ago were not always perfect and or applicable to each emerging situation. Slaves for example, despite being human, were excluded from justice whether they were against the society laws on not. In many societies, children are treated differently from adults and this can contribute their rights being denied. Modern society has nevertheless grown and so has the regulation that need to be in place. But what is evident is that no new rules have been introduced; only the intensity of their application has increased. The area of jurisdiction has also moved from the general society to be more individual oriented. Religion has been the most complex factor contributing to differences in social life. Each religion has its own deity and ways of life which need not necessarily conform to other people in order for them to exist. Further, religion has seen people make choices on where to live, who to associate with, eating habits, dressing and many other aspect of life. In primitive societies, such issues brought about many conflicts albeit in modern society, they have declined due to emergence of other aspects and disciplines of life. Economics, politics and other sciences have led people to differentiate between religion and social life; these two used to be synonymous. Any problem can thus be dealt with according to the field it belongs. Traditions have too been a hindrance because of the many and diverse teachings from the ancestors. Proverbs which encouraged or discouraged people in their endeavors still have power over peoples life. They in fact created a course on which an individual had to pass through out their life. Comparing one society to another is important so as to learn the best ideals for the modern ones. Division of labor in the face of all progressions in societies has been forefront in defining if those societies survive or perish. It is the division of labor that has acted as a glue to stick individuals together and whole societies in general. Modern technology and studies will help in learning the best forms of societies to maintain. Chapter 2: The Forced Division of Labor Existence of rules does not necessarily mean harmony. It is the same rules that make it possible to have evil in society. For example in a class was, division of labor created conflicts since those in the lower class may not be content with their share and contribution. This fact contrasts in other organisms which regardless of their position still maintain their class and work towards achieving goals assigned to them without desire to occupy other elements position or role. The scenario is different when it comes to human society because of ambitions and desires. No one can argue that they were destined for a particular type of job or live. When such discomforts arise it is then inevitable to change course and seek fulfillment elsewhere. Division of labor as already discussed is meant to produce solidarity and since this can not be achieved in cases of imitation common to humans, change and adjustments are necessary. A good case was recorded between plebeians and patricians where division of labor existed. Sooner, the plebeians began to imitate the upper class and sought the same roles they had because they had reached a point to see everyone in equal times. Conflicts arose resulting to a conclusion that solidarity can only be imperfect for it to exist. An individual nature must be in harmony with all social functions failure to which division of labor can not occur. This is achieved by realizing different abilities each an individual has and the skills they possess. But still there are some people who set higher goals beyond their abilities and therefore happiness is to them comes only after fulfilling their dreams. To such people, they should be made to understand that proportionality to ones means is important. Spontaneity becomes an element of use in every social setting where solidarity is implied. Individuals must also be able reject forced labor and no obstacles should hinder their pursuit to fit in any position. Caste system has seen people with abilities prevented from accessing jobs even though they have ability to perform. In modern times a trend similar can be found in some careers where it becomes very difficult to be absorbed or as if one is not right to be found there. Inequalities of this kind however have been in decline as people embrace fairness in employment for instance in public sector. Organic solidarity is compromised by external inequalities and this is by far felt by higher societies. Interesting enough is the fact that although individuals may feel dissatisfied because of inequalities; they will not be against the social order which is the root cause. They continue to support it considering that they derive beliefs and practices from the same society. The social order has also morals and religious systems that are deemed sacred. Inequalities are bound to be natural in such circumstances that an individual will suffer alone without raising eyebrows. In contrast, every cause affecting organic solidarity weakens the social bond. If any condition is touched then the whole set up suffers greatly and it translates to individuals disengaging from the social order. Equality is vital in external conditions so as to secure an individual to his or her function. All higher societies may require a consensus and shield themselves from any disturbance. The main difference between primitive and higher societies is the presence of voluminous laws that govern them. Contractual solidarity comes into play for the society to continue to live in harmony. Everything in any society has a social value that represents the usefulness of it towards meeting peoples needs. This value can not be measured mathematically but can only be felt. If it fluctuates, which can be caused by abnormal activities, the effort received must equal the effort given to create equilibrium. But generally humans would rather receive more than what they gave out thus a constraint need be in place to counter this effect. A sufficient condition for an equivalence to take place is that parties under a contract be placed under equal external conditions. When equality is achieved, complains become less and every individual therefore feels content. Contracts therefore will lead to consensus after having been through the necessary relations like ceremonies, intentions and formulae. Just as in the ancient civilizations, Romans, the rule and application of law was important in determining if a contract is null and void. Modern societies tend to shy away from real application of law and refuse to accept certain aspects of contracts. Example is when one party is placed at the mercy of the other and therefore becomes oppressed because they are weak. The public conscience will demand equal treatment and also value for whatever transaction there was. Economists have contributed by pointing out the spontaneity of social life should be devoid of constraint which only makes it deviate from natural causes. Morality and freedom are two values that ought to be checked so that they remain within the set limits. Regulation eventually brings about liberty. Some areas where inequality is observed are, for instance, physical strength and domestic life where each man can be higher or lower in comparison to another. This means then that liberty is not present. All external forces must be subordinate to social forces for social life to develop. It requires a man to sober up and become a social being in order that he can live with nature in harmony. Modern societies, unlike previous ones, need to work hard to mend social relationships. Moving away from the past where segmented social life was common to organized and developed societies. The earlier people depended on faith to survive and modern ones require justice. It is important to pursue these conditions as long as social revolution remains and no factors change. Relationship between the two chapters: The two chapters deal with organic solidarity and its merits and demerits in social life. As has been discussed in both chapters, division of labor is a very important feature in every social life. It ensures that people are left a choice to make the best out of their lives by embarking or playing on roles that would be beneficial to them. Both chapters encourage presence of division of labor with one insisting on presence of regulation and the other dealing with inequalities and external forces. Solidarity ensures unity so that whatever a person may wish to acquire can be achieved by depending on another say for assistance. The individual person is also considered the most important in the society since he is the smallest unit that defines what that society will look like. Therefore, the individual despite being regulated in his endeavor for sustainability also need to have certain freedoms. Regulation can happen by putting in place laws that will govern the daily undertakings of man to an extent where nobody is liable to cause conflicts. These laws must therefore be just and fair to every member of a society. Freedom in a society is also encouraged so that each individual acts in accordance with their abilities. This then means that systems which do not promote freedom of choice like the caste system need to be abolished to pave way to freer societies. Freedom can too be extended to material possessions whereby each person can possess as much as he may require in achieving happiness. Religion despite it playing a center stage in moral development should not be a hindrance to social progress. Elimination of forced labor is essential so as to ensure a person makes his choices out of free will and they are not coerced to follow a direction against their wish. Employment especially in public places should be done by considering ones abilities and skills and not the social background they come from. Equality is another factor that has been emphasized in both chapters; be it in accordance to an individual in relation to another or to factors affecting social life. In regard to an individual, equality comes about when transacting goods and services with other people. It ensures that a service received is commensurate to the one rendered and that no party gets to oppress the other. Isolation of an individual by the rest of the society is also considered to ensure that they become as much part of a society as possible. In conclusion, both chapters stress the need for division of labor in modern societies if they have to last. Such therefore can be attained in an environment where there is harmony, solidarity, equality, liberty, and just regulation. Durkheim, being the father of sociology, has made immense contribution and his theories if put to work can work for the benefit of mankind.

The Genius of John Bardeen

Genius is more often than not measured by Intelligence Quotient (â€Å"I. Q. †). This should not be the case. It would be better to attribute the label genius to someone who was able to beat the odds and used everything in his power to contribute to progress and in making life a much more blessed experience. The distinction of being a genius must only be given to those whose body of work has surpassed the test of time. If indeed achievements and great works is the trademark of a man of great intelligence then it would not be difficult to heap accolades and to celebrate the genius of John Bardeen.Not only is he brilliant and possessing a mind that can beat a roomful of supercomputers but he is also self-effacing and not one to tell the world of his exploits. In fact it will be shown later that when he learned that he was one of the recipients of 1957 Nobel Prize for Physics, he could not believe he deserved to receive such a life changing award. If this was not enough, Bardeen won the Nobel Prize in Physics less than two decades later. His theory about superconductivity assured him of a place among the greatest scientists who ever lived.Without John Bardeen’s pioneering work on transistors and superconductivity, there would never have been a world wide web, interconnectedness in the blink of an eye and an ultra-efficient and comfortable lifestyle available for those living in the 21st century. The world today may very well be a different place if Bardeen was not born and allowed to develop into a formidable intellectual force. The following pages will provide a basic understanding of how one man help change the world. Building a CareerA great foundation is the assurance of a solid structure with an integrity that can withstand tremors and other pressures. If this analogy of building structures can be applied to life then it can be said that John Bardeen prepared a secure foundation for a great career that would change the course of history. All gre at careers – especially in engineering – must start with great education. Mr. Bardeen went to the University High School in Madison, Wisconsin for a number of years and then went on to graduate from Madison Central High School in the year 1923.Then he took up a course in electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin. In the said university, Bardeen took up the extra challenge of adding in extra work in mathematics and physics. If this is not enough he went to work – while still an undergraduate student – in the engineering department of the Western Electric Company at Chicago. He graduated with a B. S. in electrical engineering in 1928. But he did not leave his beloved university just yet and he continued on as a graduate research assistant in electrical engineering, a task which he focused on for the next two years of his life.In this two years he devoted himself to the study of mathematical problems in applied geophysics and also the phenomenon of radiation in antennas (see Nobelprize. org). After serving under the U. S. Navy in World War II, Bardeen, â€Å"†¦was hired by Bell Laboratories, a high-tech communications and electronics research plant† (Haven & Clark, 1999, p. 22). It is in this environment and in this scientific community where Bardeen was able to showcase his talents.But Bardeen was not only keen in showing the what he can do; he is also very much willing to share what he knows to others. He served as a Junior Fellow at Harvard University and also worked as assistant professor of physics at the University of Minnesota (Haven & Clark, 1999, p. 24). Contributions In the beginning of this study the proponent submitted the idea that genius should not be only measured through intelligence quotient alone but also on the ability of the person to create something worthwhile; in other words to contribute to the forward progress of mankind.This will show that the high IQ person is not simply a machine able to crunch complicated sets of numbers but also a complete human being able to touch lives and to work with others. In this category of super achievers one can include John Bardeen not only because he has the machinelike prowess to solve complicated problems but also because he was well regarded by his peers and well respected beyond the community where he first nurtured his genius in Wisconsin. The first major contribution of Bardeen was to crack the transistor puzzle.Together with a team of scientists – Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley – he was able to explain semiconductors and the transistor effect (see Nobelprize. org). Just to show a basic idea of what this discovery has meant to human history here is Bardeen’s contribution in a nutshell, â€Å"The transistor has been the backbone of every computing, calculating, communicating and logic electronics circuit build in the last 50 years† (Haven & Clark, 1999, p. 21). For his work he shared the 19 56 Nobel Prize in Physics.His second major contribution was to provide for a very enlightening explanation of superconductivity. In the words of Haven and Clark, â€Å"Bardeen won his second Nobel Prize for elucidating the theory of superconductivity, which has been called one of the most important achievements in the theoretical physics since the development of quantum theory† (1999, p. 21). Thus, in 1972 Bardeen became a double Nobel laureate. He shared the award with Leon N. Cooper and J. Robert Schrieffer for the theory of superconductivity.From then on others were able to build on this new understanding and at present allowed many to experience that, â€Å"Superconductivity at higher temperatures has led to such feats as frictionless, ultrafast trains lifted magnetically above their rails†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Haven & Clark, 1999, p. 21). Conflicts In every major endeavor and in every significant discovery, controversy and conflicts are almost inevitable as night follows day. More often than not conflicts are coming from the outside as people unable to fully grasp the new scientific breakthrough would question its relevance to society.In the case of John Bardeen the conflicts he experienced did not come from his external environment but surprisingly it came from within; from within himself and from within their own community of scientists. This inner turmoil was explained by Hoddeson and Daitch (2002, p. 2-3) as follows: 1. Bardeen was unsure of the true worth of transistors in the larger scheme of things. 2. Bardeen was not agreeable to the fact that William Shockley was considered as the co-inventor of the transistor and share the Nobel Prize in 1956.It is interesting to expound on the second statement for it would strengthen the thesis that a true man of genius must be able to work harmoniously within a community, within a group of individuals to be considered as a man of great intellectual stature and not merely a flash in the pan talent that would p rove useless in real life situations. A deeper look at the issue would reveal that Shockley was not able to contribute a significant theory or solution that led to the discovery of the transistor action. It was purely the work of Bardeen and Brattain.Hoddeson and Daitch reveal that, â€Å"†¦it was Shockley, rather than Bardeen and Brattain, who received wide recognition for the discovery. Even today, popular magazines sometimes credit Shockley alone with the invention† (2002, p. 2). Even if Bardeen knew the inside information as to what really happened within the Bell laboratories where the â€Å"transistor phenomena† was fully understood, it was a testament to his great character that he did not make a scandal out of it and at the end allowed Shockley to share the fame and the glory together with Brattain. LegacyAside from having great mind and the capacity to touch lives, one of the standards upon which true genius must be measured against is legacy. Legacy is w hat is left when the hype dies down and when the passage of time has truly tested the value of a person’s work. With regards to the legacy left behind by Bardeen this is what Jim Turley has to say: Few things have altered modern life as much as the discovery of semiconductors †¦ Modern electronics have completely changed the way we talk with each other †¦ It has changed medical research, entertainment, record keeping, travel, and exploration.There’s almost no business, profession, or industry that hasn’t changed since the introduction of solid-state electronics in the last 50 years (2003, p. 2). If having a brilliant mind, capacity to work under pressure and to share recognition with a group of equally talented personnel, and a body of work that has changed history is the measure of true genius then there are only a few who can match John Bardeen in this respect. Works Cited Haven, Kendall & Donna Clark. 100 Most Popular Scientists for Young Adults: Bi ographical Sketches and Professional Paths.Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. , 1999. Hoddeson, Lilian & Vicki Daitch. True Genius: The Life and Science of John Bardeen. Washington, D. C. : Joseph Henry Press, 2002. Nobelprize. org. John Bardeen: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1972. Available from Accessed 20 July 2007. Samuelson, Bengt & Michael Sohlman. Nobel Lectures in Physics. New Jersey: World Scientific Publishing Co. , 1998 Turley, Jim. The Essential Guide to Semiconductors. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. , 2003.

Elections in India Essay

The process, which is the essence of every democracy, would have been wrapped up and done with, by the Republic of India, by the time this edition of the Pioneer reaches your hands. Of course, I refer to the General Elections, the time, perhaps the only time, for the population to have their say- the say which would decide the future of their nation and may be their own! Change is the only constant, they say, and elections are no exception to this. The vogue of elections has changed considerably post-independence. Gone are the days when the politicians would travel long distances by foot to promote themselves and their party; the latest in fashion are the helicopters. Not only do the aspirants have their own websites, but also their very own blogs and jingles. The IT teams of various political parties have indeed come out with flying colours in making their chap look like the man next door. The Arvind Kejriwal’s video, in which he advocates for his brainchild- the AAP, has bee n viral on WhatsApp. Not only this, but many have received not only texts but also voice messages from the candidates from their constituency, requesting them for a vote in their favour. Over 70 million voters will cast their precious vote to choose their representative. More than one thousand political parties are taking part in this jumbo fair of democracy. To choose 543 members of the 16th Lok Sabha, it is estimated that the political parties will spend ten thousand crores of rupees. This amount includes the expenditure borne out of ticket buying, advertisements, campaigning (that includes the buying of liquor and giving out cash to the voters), booth capturing, party funds, buying weapons, travelling, and other accessories like flex boards, banners, flags, bags, pens, pins, posters, stickers, masks, photos etc., which practically, has no count. Ironically enough, the Election Commission grants only â‚ ¹70, 00000 for campaigning purposes to every candidate. To be able to make people believe that they are the favourites of the voters of their constituencies, boosts up their chance of winning, is a common belief of the Indian politicians. And the best of all the means to do that, are- rallies and road shows. A large chunk of the funds is granted to the party workers to bring large number of people and vehicles, to prove to the voting class, the colossal support the â€Å"leader† enjoys. In Punjab various artists are called upon, to sing the famous peppy numbers or perform Bhangra. In the south the Tamil and Telegu  film stars are called upon to gather the masses. The bollywood actors are all time favourites in the entire nation. We don’t need all this. With time, the society has given rise to a thinking class and this thinking class doesn’t find any sense in bringing a celebrity to campaign for you. If a candidate needs some celebs to come in and ask their fans to prove their loyalty to them by voting for Mr. X, then does that person really deserve even to be named as an aspirant for the post of a MP? If one really is a politician, with a connect with the masses, then they don’t require these pens and badges and what not, with their party symbol and stuff like that printed on it, to remind people of their existence. The least we expect, from our may-be legislators, is some sensibility. Gathering huge paid or threatened crowd at rallies is no big thing and definitely doesn’t make you credible. The money you indulge in fulfilling all your fancies and following the trend of the classic Indian elections, could have been used in a lot more productive way. And neta ji, its only for once after five years that you are reminded of your constituency, so why waste such a lot unproductively at once, it’s better that you don’t even do that for us.(In some way doing nothing with the money is better that throwing it in the bin.) Kudos to the Election Commission for the level of awareness it has created among the people about the importance of their vote. The most unfashionable thing you can do today is- not to vote, credits the ECI. Keeping all this in mind, it is sad to see even in cities like Mumbai, 50.7% voter turnout is all we reach, and that too is the maximum in 25 years. Remember, it is your own right you are despising. If you want to raise a finger at your government, you need to have it stained with that ink, or else you are not eligible even to criticise. And you know it is always better to vote for somebody than to vote against someone. The sad part is that we are still indifferent to whole of this process and unknown to the power our Constitution has prearranged for us. This concern for the nation is limited for party discussions and writing essays, but the fact remains, to quote Imelda Marcos. â€Å"Whoever wins or loses, we still go shopping after the elections.†

Human Resource Management Strategy Scan Of HuaMei Posting Company - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 14 Words: 4051 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Situated in Beijing, China, HuaMei is an international posting company. This company cooperates with UPS, TNT, DHL and China Post; their job is to find a best way to help customers mailing packages by sending all packages all together instead of sending separate packages. This way generates price advantages. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Human Resource Management Strategy Scan Of HuaMei Posting Company" essay for you Create order Besides this, they have additional services like giving suggestions for packages, helping customers arrange packages and providing consult for best way to mail the packages. There are 50 staffs in this company. The CEO is Jinlong Zhou. The price advantage, which in accordance with the mission of the company is what, attracts customers. By analyzing its Human Resources Management situations, we can see how the companys HRM works and also see if there are things can be improved for the companys development in the competitive market. Chapter 2: Problem Statement 2.1 Problem Statement 2.2 Research Question How well does the human resource policy fit the low-price strategy of HuaMei Express Company? Sub-questions: How well does the HR policy fit the context in which the organization operates? To what extent do the various HR instruments together form a consistent whole? Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework Research Method 3.1 Theoretical Framework HuaMei Express Five Factors External: Environment Internal: Technology Culture Personnel Strategy HR Practices Assessment Rewards Job design Recruitment selection Training Promotion Strengths and Weaknesses Practical recommendations Consistency? Single-employee Among-employees Temporal Figure 1. Baron Kreps Five-Factor Framework The theoretical framework consists of Baron Kreps Five-Factor Framework as a tool to map the core elements within and around an organization and the combined HR practices of an organization form its HR system. By analyzing the consistency we will make well-grounded recommendations for improvement. (Melody) 3.2 Research Method The book which is called Strategic Human Resources can be used to explain the basic theories for our research. We can use these basic theories combining with the practical operation of the company. Besides the book, we also search relevant articles and journals to help us accomplish the whole research. We also take several interviews with the CEO of HuaMei Express, human resource manager and the other 30 employees to get more of the inside information from the company. This could help us to use several theories into the practical operation of Human resource department. Chapter 4: Result (Findings) 4.1 Findings of the Five-factor scan 4.1.1 External factors Environment: Social Social factors determine the society trend will influence on individual behaviors. In China, it is common that people really care about building special relationships with each other, and the reason to do this is that people can gain benefits from each other, for example, most employees get their job in a trade company, is because of their parents of relatives are working for the customs department or government, it seems to be more convenient for trade companies to get government support with the help of their employees. In this way, HR systems in China really face a huge challenge to be fair, open and freedom. Legal China is one of the most important developing countries in the world. Its law is unique as it needs to fit its special national situations. Chinese law and legislation is changing every year. In fact, we can say that they are improving every year. To maintain a good strategy for the company to survive, legal factors are crucial. From media we something heard that Chinese labor does not have a good reputation. For example: some private owned firms delay the payment to their employees when the wage date is due. Some firms make tight schedule for their employee so they do not have enough time for rest (Kate, 2006). These problems we need to consider as this should not happen because obeying law is of the core importance for the future of the company. Some law like labor law and contract law are well developed in China. People now are all aware of the use of law for their rights. In the meantime, the company is making good use of the laws too for the developing of their business. Therefo re, HuaMei can apply this factor for making sure that it does not cause problem for either employees or being involved in unnecessary legal issues. In this way, it protects itself and develops in a good direct. Economic The high-speed economic development of China takes huge advantages for the labor market. More and more people in China are getting high-level education. Every year, nearly ten million students graduate from university, this is not only much pressure for the labor market, but also opportunities for employers hire talent people who can working for them. It is also an advantage for foreign companies to hire Chinese local employees because of the cheap labor cost. 4.1.2 Internal factors Workforce: HuaMei Express Company is run mainly by middle-aged employees who are very well educated. Socially, the workforce of HuaMei Express Company is heterogeneous. This is because the nature of the companys business practices faces external economic pressure and is highly correlated with the business practices of delivery companies such as UPS, TNT, DHL and China post. However, the heterogeneous workforce of HuaMei Express allows the company to broaden its business perspectives so that they fit the companys business strategy. At this point, the company is able to serve broader clientele and to operate in foreign markets through interaction with companies such as UPS, TNT and DHL. Furthermore, the heterogeneous workforce of the company also allows for various viewpoints that can widen the companys set of opportunities which occasionally can lead to better decision making Organizational Culture: The culture in HuaMei Express is hierarchical. As can be found in the background section, the CEO and owner of the company is Jinlong Zhou. Since the company is relatively small, there are only three managers who come from Operation, Finance and HR department with the other 50 employees. The price advantage of the company is also result from the culture of the company. This is because the culture in the company is one of cooperation and coordination between the co-workers and the CEO. Thus, all skills and talents are allocated to specific jobs accordingly, which allows for great efficiency. Furthermore, the work in the company is also viewed as a joy rather than drudgery. The Organization Strategy The strategy of the company is directly derived from its practice. The company is better able to provide better price of its services than its competitors. Thus, the company strives to achieve its advantage of low price. The basis on which the company is trying to achieve this advantage is integrated line of products and services, superior quality and low-cost production. Furthermore, the company tries to keep this advantage through financial and knowledge-based barriers to entry and reputation of aggressive behavior in response to challenges. The long-term objectives of the company are market share and niche penetration. The actions that are taken with regard to the objectives of the company are advertising the company, low-cost production and market positioning. The technology of production and organization of work Physical layout, and worker privacy and proximity Since the nature of the business practices of the company requires a lot of coordination and monitoring, the work is mainly is done in single location with workers in close proximity one to another. This allows for great efficiency and also allows for peer pressure that can be more readily employed. Required skills The skills required for the job are quick thinking, responsibility, being on time, being quick at calculations etc. Thus for highly automated practices such as the business practice of the company, these skills are acquired internally on the job. For example, the more employees learn on the job, the more experienced they get. However, this has its negative feedback. Learning on the job is good, but also can have negative consequences with regard to new employees. Since the company strives for its price advantage, hiring employees will reacquire significant time of learning because the coming new employees will have less expertise compared to the existing ones. As a consequence, these new employees will not be that efficient which can affect the price. Second negative consequence is that the company gets dependent to its existing employees. Since the strategy of the company is price advantage, the HuaMei Express will probably avoid firing its existing employees even if there are pro blems in the company because the existing employees are already experienced enough and replacing them with new employees can have negative feedback to the price advantage. Monitoring employee input The input of the employees is not difficult to monitor since there are only 50 employees working at HuaMei Express. The performance monitoring system they use is the Total Quality Control (TQC). With this performance monitoring system the quality of the products is controlled in order to determine the employee input. The employees of HuaMei Express are very efficient and score high on TQC performance. The employees reach their day target easily and the quality of the products is good. Task Ambiguity and Creativity The greater the level of task ambiguity. The harder it is to control performance by explicitit incentives, because it is harder to measure performance.(Baron Kreps, 1999) In case of HuaMei Express the production process is quite easy so it is easy to control performance. Due to the strict hierarchy culture of the Chinese economy it is not very naturally for employees to share their opinion or be creative within the company. The employees do their job and do not interfere with the production process or other factors within the company. Patterns of Worker Interdependence and Cooperation The workers are quite interdependent in their work because they have to be sure that they be as cheap as possible due to economies of scale. By being cooperative it is easier to prevent mistakes in the process. The Distribution of the Outcomes: Stars, Guardians, and Foot-Soldiers Within HuaMei Express there are foot-soldier jobs, because one good performance is not very bad or very good for the company en a bad performance will not directly have negative influence on the companys performance. 4.2 Findings of the HR Practices i. Assessment (Performance Evaluation) In all of the HR practices, assessment is the most important practice which determines whether the HR system is flawed or not. In a company, such as HuaMei Express, assessment is also named Performance evaluation in the HR department of the company. Base on Chapter 10 of Baron Kreps textbook which mentioned 10 functions of performance evaluation (Baron Kreps, 1999). Link to the situation of our client company, we found that in HuaMeis HR system, they evaluated the employee in mainly three aspects, such as: Information for self-improvement, Training and career development, and Pay (and promotion) for performance.(Baron Kreps, 1999) First of all, as an individual employee in HuaMei E xpress, his/ her performance will be evaluated by their HR system. Base on the result of the evaluation, employees need to improve where they were unsatisfied. Secondly, through the short-period training and career development, HR can also evaluate employees in order to enhance their job efficiency. Finally, related to employees benefit, HuaMeis HR had already made a complete reward system to pay for the performance which includes salaries and bonuses. However, it is not a perfect assessment system which HuaMei used; they will improve this assessment in the future in order to complete their HR system. ii. Rewards According to our interview with HuaMei, we found that the reward policy in HuaMei Express includes two parts: monetary reward and promotion. As we known, monetary reward is a general way in the company which consist salaries and extra bonuses. Employees will receive the bonuses only due to they make extra achievement and contribution for the company. In general, salaries are fixed at the beginning when the contract in operation between company and employees. However, there is a rule which called Wage for seniority which means salary (wage) will increase with the seniority. (Wage for seniority, 2010). In addition, HuaMei paid for their employees base on different knowledge and skills. As textbook mentioned, a more skillful or better trained employee is more valuable to the organization. (Baron Kreps, 1999) In this case, it is also a motivation for employees who want to gain higher salary through their valuable knowledge and skills. Apart from the monetary reward policy, HuaMei used promotion policy towards their employees as well. Employer-provided benefits in HuaMei also affect employees action directly. For instance, if employee contributed more than employer expected at the end of a period, employer will use the promotion policy such as a gift or position promotion base on the achievement. On the other hand, if employee had lower efficiency during a period, employer will provide incentives not to quit and avoid being fired. (Baron Kreps, 1999) iii. Job Design After the interview with the CEO Jinlong Zhou of HuaMei Express, we found that they did well job designing before they recruit new employees in company. Specifically, they did job design in following elements: Variability over time in task assignment and extent of rotations, the specific mix of tasks given to the individual or group to do, and the level of autonomy. (Baron Kreps, 1999) Variability In HuaMei Express, employees tasks rotation is frequent instead of stay with the same tasks which brings more flexibility for the company. At the beginning, employer will provide basic training for the new employees which last one month. After a working period, HuaMei will provide advanced cross-training for different position, in order to get flexible employment. Specific mix of tasks given to the Individual or team Prior to the distribution of tasks, HR department should first determine the nature of tasks assigned to individuals or teams. Usually, there are diverse specific mixed tasks given to both individual employee and team. At this time, both individuals and teams should plan accordingly for the mission and assigned tasks to relevant employees. Level of autonomy Aside from the CEO Jinlong Zhou has autonomy, the manager of each department has their own autonomy. For instance, in HR department, manager may decide about the promotion and reduction of employees; and in Operation department, manager may decide their future operation plan. However, all of the final decisions should be made by the CEO of HuaMei after each manager made their own decision of department. iv. Recruitment Selection Recruitment is costly and correcting selection mistakes is often costly still, (Baron Kreps, 1999). In order to avoid the waste of human resource, HuaMei signed several contract with those professional online-recruitment website, to make sure that the employee they hired can be the right people who fit the right position. As a com pany which only has 50 employees, HuaMei needs the company always keep high level cohesiveness, which means that besides of the normal basic knowledge of express, the employees also have high emotion quotient. Unlike normal complicated staff-selection process, recruitment in HuaMei is quite efficiency. Candidates have to face three rounds. In the first round, the HR manager of HuaMei has to check the CV from each candidates, the manager has to make sure that those candidates can achieve the basic requirement of the company, like education level requirement and age requirement. In the second round, HR manager normally focus on the EQ test for each candidate, as a express company, the most profit are come from their loyalty customers, in order to build good relationship with customers, HuaMei asks their employees have to understand the needs of customers, the most important task for each employee is to retain the current customer and find out the potential customers. Thats why the employee who has higher EQ can build good relationship with his/her customers. In the third round, candidates have to face probationary periods, normally it takes three months for the company to see whether the candidates fit the position, according to the Chinese labor law, candidates have to sign contract with HuaMei, then HuaMei can offer the same treatment to the candidates like the other employees. After three months performance show time, and permit of HR department, candidates can be the real employee with sign the working contract. v. Training The training of HuaMei can be divided into operation training and personal EQ training. The operation department is in charge of operation training, and EQ training is fertilized by HR department. Operation Training Employees who enter into HuaMei in the first month have to get operation training in order to get general knowledge of express and realize the company structure. The operation training is quite important for those new employees because they have to give right answers to customers with any time, such as the shipping date, the price and the volume of air cargo, if they make one mistake, the customer may think the unprofessional of the company. The main task for operation training is to improve the productivity of employee. (Baron Kreps, 1999) The period of new employee training is one month, in order to learn knew knowledge of express and catch up the new dynamic of industry, HuaMei also training all the employees in the end of each month. And this period is short only for two days. Personal EQ training The main function for EQ training is to reinforcing culture, (Baron Kreps, 1999). Employees are trained to know how to build relationship with customers. To be good relationship with customers need employees have smart skills, they have to know how to using the low-price advantages and how to adding values to their customers. All the employees have to learn how to being a good person before they get contact with their customers. HuaMei also realized that learning is important than training for their employees. People usually learn a lot after they made mistakes, in the working period, employees are encouraged to make mistakes, but do not make the same mistakes for twice. ( Marianne Van Woerkom, 2007) vi. Promotion Promotion can be useful, it can be used to send appropriate signals to the workforce, and it can give the firm levers for training, screening, and appropriately placing its employees. (Baron Kreps, 1999)Because HuaMei is a small company, it is obvious that promoti on pyramid is existing in HuaMei. In HuaMei, there are strict rules for employees to get promoted. Since there are only three departments in the company, which means there are not too much positions for low-level employees to get promote, the only opportunities to get promoted are waiting managers retire or get quite well performance in ones position. Nevertheless to say, this is quite a weakness for HuaMei, with several interviews with CEO Jinlong Zhou, he also realized that he should expand the company in to more cities so that more employees can have more positions to get promoted. For the current operation period, employees are asked to do their basic job well and be promoted with cash or gift reward. Chapter5 Discussion 5.1 Consistency of HR Practices (Georgiev) Single employee consistency HR system that bear on individual employees recruitment, compensation, performance appraisal, promotion, training and so on- should be consistent or (perhaps a better word) complementary (Baron Kreps 1999). However, the case with HuaMei express tells a different story. When we look closer into the company we can notice that the HR practices that focus on a single employee are not consistent. This is because of several reasons. First, the company is situated in very competitive industry. This makes it difficult for the company to maximize its operating profits and make high profit margins because of competitors. As a result, policies that focus on recruitment, compensation, performance appraisal, promotion and training are not consistent with one another. For example, in times where the company cannot meet its profit targets because of competition, HuaMei cannot invest in training because the company does not have extra cash. Second, as already stated the structure of the company is hierarchical one. Thus there is not too much space for employees to get promoted. This is also because the size of the company is relatively small. To say it simply, HR practices that focus on individual employee promotion does not happen every month or even year. Furthermore, recruitment, compensation and performance appraisal HR policies also seem not to be consistent. Even more, recruitment does not take place very often because of the size of the company and because it may turns out to be very costly. Compensation and performance appraisal depends on how the company performs. Since it is very hard nowadays for the company to survive, these policies of the HR system that bear on individual employees are also not consistent. Among employees consistency The treatment of different workers should, at least over some span, be consistent (Baron Kreps 1999). Again HR policies that focus on among employees consistency are not consistent. It has been stated several times that the structure of the company is hierarchical one. It means that worker a (novice worker) is not treated that same way as worker B (the manager of the Finance department). Even more, any compensation, performance appraisal or promotion is quite difficult for a novice employee compared to more experience one. However, we should say that before entering the company every potential worker knows that she or he will not be given the same privileges and bonuses, and she or he will not be accepted the same as the rest. This is largely because of the culture of the country the company is situated. However, this does not mean that the novice employees are discriminated. Each employee that enters the company is given equal chance to show his or her skills and expertise. Even more, in times where the company does well the bonuses that are paid are evenly distributed among the novice employees. Furthermore, each employee of the company is also protected from the national labor union against any discrimination or actions of the company that aim to suppress the rights of its employees. Temporal consistency The appropriate extent of temporal consistency will depend, of course, on a number of factors, not the least of which is the rate of change in the organizations environment. But in general how employee A is treated today should not differ radically from how she was treated yesterday (Baron Kreps 1999). HuaMei express is progressing slowly. There are times where the company accelerates but that is not usual. Here again the HR practices that focus on temporal consistency are not consistent. For example, if the company finds itself losing money it may decides to fire a worker. Furthermore, when the company is pressured for time due to large volumes of orders, the company may decides to put all this pressure to odd number of employees and not to even number of employees because of the expertise of some employees compared to other and because of fear of mistakes which ca n lead to unsatisfied customers and losses. Thus, the temporal consistency depends largely on the industry in which the company is situated. 5.2 Strengths and Weaknesses We evaluate HuaMeis strengths and weaknesses in this chapter are to analyze how well the Human Resources in fact is applied in the company and why Human resources policy influence HuaMeis development. Previous chapters give some valuable conclusions and information about HuaMeis human resource policy and management. It becomes clear that HuaMeis strengths and weaknesses can be derived from the conclusions. In addition, to have a general evaluation, more points are also derived. We summarize the strengths and weaknesses as follows: Strengths Small company gives flexible management Good reward system Transparent assessment for employees promotion or penalty Refer to law leaves it no conflict when problems occur Weaknesses Relatively small amount of training for staff Not enough methods to contribute to a good company atmosphere No sufficiently cash flow for maintaining a good employee-employer or employee-employee relationships. Financing is relatively weak Many competitors make it hard to survive in the market The strengths are lying mostly on the size of the company. Therefore, it is more flexible in managing human resources. HuaMei pays attention to the staff and stick to laws. The only problem that makes HuaMei weak is that it cannot generate enough cash to enhance the relationship among employees and employer. Whats more, its low price strategy makes it cut all costs and cannot earn extra profits. Chapter 6 Conclusion Recommendations 6.1 Conclusion (Melody) 6.2 Recommendations