Monopolistic Competition - 13794 Words

CHAPTER 25 Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly Topic Question numbers ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Monopolistic competition: definition; characteristics 1-17 2. Demand curve 18-24 3. Price-output behavior 25-78 4. Efficiency aspects 79-88 5. Oligopoly: definition; characteristics 89-112 6. Concentration ratio; Herfindahl Index 113-140 7. Game theory 141-156 8. Kinked-demand curve model 157-176 9. Collusion; cartels; price leadership 177-194 10. Advertising 195-200 11. Efficiency aspects 201-204 12. Review of four structures 205-226 Consider This 227-228 Last Word 229-233 True-False 234-258†¦show more content†¦C) the industry would more closely approximate pure competition. D) the likelihood of collusive pricing would increase. Answer: C Type: A Topic: 1 E: 461 MI: 217 10. Economic analysis of a monopolistically competitive industry is more complicated than that of pure competition because: A) the number of firms in the industry is larger. B) monopolistically competitive firms cannot realize an economic profit in the long run. C) of product differentiation and consequent product promotion activities. D) monopolistically competitive producers use strategic pricing strategies to combat rivals. Answer: C Type: A Topic: 1 E: 461 MI: 217 11. A monopolistically competitive industry combines elements of both competition and monopoly. The monopoly element results from: A) the likelihood of collusion. C) product differentiation. B) high entry barriers. D) mutual interdependence in decision making. Answer: C Type: D Topic: 1 E: 462 MI: 218 12. Nonprice competition refers to: A) low barriers to entry. B) product development, advertising, and product packaging. C) the differences in information which consumers have regarding various products. D) an industry or firm in long-run equilibrium. Answer: B Type: A Topic: 1 E: 461 MI: 217 13. A significant difference between a monopolistically competitive firmShow MoreRelatedMonopolistic Competition2932 Words   |  12 PagesContents Question 1.1 – Monopolistic Competitors 3 Question 1.2 Non-price competitors 5 Question 1.3 – Substitutes Compliments 6 Perfect substitutes as in the Chocolate Industry: 7 Perfect complement 8 Question 2.1 - Structuralist model of the inflation process 9 Question 2.2 - Inflation targeting approach 9 References 9 Question 1.1 – Monopolistic Competitors Monopolistic competition is a market situation in which there is a large number of sellers and large number of buyers whereas monopolyRead MoreMonopolistic Competition in the Retail Industry986 Words   |  4 PagesMonopolistic Competition in the Retail Industry The retail industry is a prime example of the modern version of Chamberlin and Robinson’s model of Monopolistic Competition (Grewal, 441). The retail industry consists of vast markets with different brands and goods of one common goal, to sell their products. To cater to this rapidly changing market many large scale retailers are findings ways to make their product more appealing to the public in hopes of gaining market share over their competitionRead MoreMonopolies, Oligopoly, Monopolistic Competition, And Perfect Competition1085 Words   |  5 Pagesstructures it is important to know the different types of markets that there are. Understanding barriers, buyers and sellers with knowing the market share and competition is important to understand what barriers are occurring in the market. The different market structures are Monopoly, Oligopoly, Monopolistic Competition, and Perfect Competition. Understanding these different type of market structures helps to better understand what type of market is currently occurring. A monopoly is when the companiesRead MoreThe Types Of Market, Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly, And Monopoly803 Words   |  4 Pageswhich discusses the four types of markets: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. In order to review this effectively there must be an understanding of the terms. According to our text, perfect competition involves products competing clients and that they offer corporations less potential profits than imperfectly competitive markets do. (Bryd, Hickman and McPheson, ) The text also referenced imperfect competition and this is when entry is restricted or goods areRead MoreMarket Structures : Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition And Oligopoly2078 Words   |  9 Pagesmarket structures – perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly, and thei r determinations of price and output. It also discussed the possibility for firms to generate profits in the short-run and/or in the long-run within these four market structures. It will be shown in the discussion that both monopolistic and oligopolistic firms are able to generate profits in both short-run and long-run, while firms in perfect competition and monopolistic competition could only make profitsRead MoreMp3 Player Industry Monopolistic Competition1314 Words   |  6 PagesNishant Nagesh Pai | | 06/12/2010 | 1. To what extent is the market for MP3 players an example of monopolistic competition? Show using diagrams the effects on the Apple iPod of increased competition from other firms successfully entering the market. Introduction The first Mp3 player was launched in the market in the late 90’s (Pham-Gia,2009). However it was due to the emergence of the Apple iPod in the Mp3 player industry in October 2001 which changed the niche market into a booming marketRead MoreMonopolistic Competition and Oligopoly1973 Words   |  8 PagesCHAPTER 12 MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION AND OLIGOPOLY REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What are the characteristics of a monopolistically competitive market? What happens to the equilibrium price and quantity in such a market if one firm introduces a new, improved product? The two primary characteristics of a monopolistically competitive market are (1) that firms compete by selling differentiated products which are highly, but not perfectly, substitutable and (2) that there is free entryRead MoreMonopolistic Competition : Competitive Market Structure1757 Words   |  8 Pages Perfect Competition â€Å"Perfect competition is the market structure in which there are many sellers and buyers, firms produce a homogeneous product, and there is free entry into and exit out of the industry†(Amacher Pate, 2013) Real Life Examples A good example of perfect competition will be foreign exchange market because the currency is homogeneous. As well traders will have access to differentRead MoreMonopolistic Market Competition Of The Coffee Shop Industry Essay1291 Words   |  6 PagesMonopolistic Market Competition In the UK, the three leading competitive coffee brands are Costa Coffee (with 1,992 outlets), Starbucks Coffee Company (with 849 outlets) and Caffà ¨ Nero (with 620 outlets). They enjoy a 3-firm concentration of 53%; (Market concentration measures the market share of the largest companies in an industry) The coffee shop industry is a monopolistically competitive market; this entails a market situation where there are a lot of large companies competing, but each companyRead MoreAn explanation of monopoly, oligopoly, perfect competition, and monopolistic competition - a detailed overview946 Words   |  4 PagesOne of the key determinates to a successful national economy is the structure of its markets. The main market structures are: 1. Monopoly 2. Oligopoly 3. Perfect Competition 4. Monopolistic Competition Each of these market structures have unique characteristics, and can be classified according to three factors. The degree of competition, the first factor, is important as it classifies markets into different market structures. It compares the relative sizes of firms, the amount of sellers (vendors)

Review of Hr Policies and Practices Free Essays

string(81) " has characteristics that provide the greatest challenge as well as opportunity\." 64 A STUDY OF HRM PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN SELECTED PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS IN INDIA 1. Executive summary The new economic environment is primarily marked by the freeing of shackles for entrepreneurship and economic growth. The â€Å"license system† has been replaced, to a great extent, by a â€Å"market system†. We will write a custom essay sample on Review of Hr Policies and Practices or any similar topic only for you Order Now The challenge of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices would be to create an environment of resilience, which can accommodate and assimilate successfully changes in systems, structures, technologies, methods, etc. People would have to ascribe the right meaning to the change process. India is well-equipped to succeed on global markets. It has a pool of highly educated people, a well-developed judicial system, democratic governance, an established banking industry, and fairly sophisticated and inter-linked fi nancial markets. Knowledge industries will be at the vanguard of economic opportunity, and India will be poised to take advantage of this trend with its corpus of highly skilled people. The changes on the market scene have necessitated the Indian industry to look inward for the development of human resources (HR). People develop themselves in a globalized scenario with new directions along with new problems and issues arising to develop new competencies to meet the changing requirements, aspirations, and problems. There are, however, some universal goods towards which all human resource management efforts should be aimed at. The emergence of Japanese human resource management has led to the concept of culture in a big way. At the organizational level, the goal of HRM is normally to have competent and motivated employees to ensure managerial effectiveness and growth of the organization. Organizations normally direct their HRM efforts towards the development of competencies and organizational culture. Organizations use mechanisms to achieve HRM goals with competent and committed employees. Organizations can achieve very little even if they have excellent technological and other resources at their command. Such an assertion gains better credibility in the context of developing countries like India, that is, typically in early growth stages in terms of economic development, and growing more rapidly than the ‚traditional‘ developed economies of Japan, North America and Europe. The countries with higher rates of growth are mostly in South East Asia, South Asia and some Latin American countries. Research evidence shows that HR practices along with culture do affect effi ciency in the organization. There are hardly any or very few studies which show a link between HRM practices and organizational culture in India. The review of literature has identifi ed that the major chunk of research in India emanates from descriptive data and experience sharing, which does not serve certain practice-oriented concerns. There is very little systematic, empirical research in the scientifi c paradigm that has been carried out in the Indian HR lexicon. HR research is inspired by western models, and lacks an indigenous perspective. The review of literature on HRM practices has revealed that the most of the work done is in relation to organizational strategy. The methodology employed a sample of 95 respondents from two private sector organizations. The questionnaire consists of 90 items, of which (1) 69 items concern HRM practices of the organization, and (2) 21 items concern organization culture. The correlation analysis has been used to infer the relationship between variables of HRM practices and organizational culture. A healthy culture is required for utilizing and enhancing employee competencies and to develop people. This study focuses on the positive signifi cant relationship between HRM practices and organizational culture in private sector organizations. There is a positive signifi cant relationship between HRM practices and variables of organizational culture operationalised in terms of self-realization, status enhancement, inventive values and socio economic support. The pressures are most likely to be felt by those who have led and managed the change process in such a volatile economic environment. HRM would have the ability to attract and retain people and this would be the key to manage this macro change—in terms of both pace and rate. Change leaders would be confronted with the need to reorient culture, thinking and paradigms. HRM as a function and as a prime mover would need to focus on this changing and emerging role with the help of organizational culture. 2. Introduction The global turmoil has witnessed the growing importance of Human Resources Management (HRM) in both business and public life. The turbulent business climate brought in the wake of liberalization, globalization, changing technologies, growth in knowledge and advances in information technology is offering managers a complex and challenging situation (Davis, 1995). Indian organizations are tending to become competitive to meet globally relevant standards. The growing emphasis on privatization has warranted a new focus in terms of result orientation, long-term strategies, consumer focus, initiative and different mindsets for internal and external communication. The Indian business scenario is characterized by the historical rigidities arising largely out of centralized planning. Our decision-making is infl uenced, among other factors, by posing more a constraint rather than a facilitator. The practice of protecting Indian industries through protective tariffs and quotas for over four decades has led to a lack of global competitiveness in terms of quality of products, services and prices. Indians are more accustomed to thinking in terms of narrow identities like our own selves, caste, and community, regional and linguistic groups. A failing and defi cient infrastructure and frustrating bureaucracy at operating levels, and the cultural and indigenous barriers added fuel to fi re. Hamel and Prahalad (1991) contend that a competitive advantage is obtained if a fi rm can obtain and develop human resources, which enable it to learn faster and apply its learning more effectively than its rivals. The HRM has emerged and evolved as one of the most important areas of organizational science and practice. It has not been developed in isolation, but rather in the context of industrial change and economic development. The uniqueness of the Human Resources (HR) approach requires a totally different type of attention from managers. The HR has characteristics that provide the greatest challenge as well as opportunity. You read "Review of Hr Policies and Practices" in category "Papers" A company‘s HR is fragile with delicate relationships, along with unpredictable contributions, and permanency is uncertain (Guest, 1991). Wright, Smart, and McMahan, (1995) mention that the crucial inputs, among others, to an organization are its human resources. People bring to their jobs diversity of skills, needs, goals, and expectations. They are ocialized into the organization through their hiring to begin with, and their continuous functioning in the organization. According to Bulla and Scott (1994), we need to ensure that the human resource requirements of an organization are identifi ed and plans are made for satisfying those requirements. Guest, Conway, Briner and Dickman (1996) are of the opinion that th e interface between the individual and the organization is critical to full utilization of human resources. The individual and the organization establish a „psychological contractâ€Å". Individual members expect to make contributions to the organization and receive certain rewards in return. The organization provides certain rewards and expects in return certain contributions from the individual. It is at this interface between the individual and the organization that issues such as HR planning, work analysis, career development, leadership, job motivation, the appraisal-reward process, and the organizational culture become important. The patterns of work relationships at work refl ect the HRM philosophy. The practices and philosophy of HRM are perpetuated by managers who are encouraged to follow the role model of their seniors. In the process of organization socialization they internalize the values and attitudes of their leaders. The entire process is thus institutionalized (Snell, Youndt, and Wright, 1996). In general, HRM has been described as: broad and strategic; involving all managerial personnel; regarding employees as the single most important organizational asset; being proactive in its responsibilities; and having the objective of enhancing organizational performance and meeting employee needs (Poole, 1990). . Organizational culture The idea that organizations have culture has been acknowledged since Lewin, Lippitt and White’s (1939) research on creating social climate. Culture and climate are integral parts of an organization. Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meanings held by members that distinguishes one organization from other organizations (Sc hien, 1985). Organizational culture provides employees with a clear understanding of the way things are done in that organization. Organizational culture is the perceived, subjective infl uence of the formal system, the informal ‚style‘ of managers and other ignifi cant environmental factors on the attitudes, beliefs, values and motivation of the people in a particular organization (Litwin and Stringer, 1968). The concept of culture is seen as a kind of bridge between the individual and the organization. Culture performs a number of functions within an organization. It creates a distinction between one organization and another, it conveys a sense of identity for role incumbents, it facilitates the generation of commitment, and it enhances social system stability. Finally, culture sells as a sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behaviour of employees. Hofstede (1980) felt that cultures which are high on the long-term orientation focus on the future and hold values in the present that will not necessarily provide an immediate benefi t (e. g. , Japan, China), while cultures with short-term orientation (e. g. , USA, Russia) are oriented toward the past and present and promote respect for tradition and for fulfi lling social obligations. The fi ve dimensions discussed by Hofstede (1980), help us understand the potential problems of managing employees from different cultures. One interesting fi nding of his research was the impact of culture on a country’s economic health. He found that countries with individualistic cultures were wealthier. Collectivistic cultures with high power distance were all poor. Cultures seem to affect a country’s economy through their promotion of individual work ethics and incentives for individuals to increase their human capital. Research into the link between organizational culture and effectiveness is also limited by lack of agreement about the appropriate measures of effectiveness. The current literature has its roots in the early 1980s. Deal and Kennedy (1982) and Peters and Waterman (1982) focused their attention on the strategic importance of organizational culture and stimulated interest in the topic. Kotter and Heskett (1992) expanded on this by exploring the importance of adaptability and the fi t between an organization and its environment. Peters and Waterman (1982) argued that companies with strong culture are highly successful. They argued that superior fi rm performance is achieved if a company moves away from a purely technical, rationalistic approach towards a more adaptive and humanistic approach. Carroll (1983), Reynolds (1986), and Hitt and Ireland (1987) questioned the approach taken by Peters and Waterman. Owing to such results, the causal link between strong culture and performance was seriously questioned by the end of the 1980s. Most of the studies lack a clear theoretical conception of the nature of the cultureperformance link. Siehl and Martin (1990) elaborate on this view and also suggest that culture may serve as a fi lter for factors that infl uence the effectiveness of the organization. These factors may differ between organizations. A more thorough understanding of the mechanisms at play is essential for research on the culture-performance link. Wilderom and Van den Berg (1998) found no direct signifi cant zero-order relationship between culture and performance. Taking the perceived performance and managerial leadership along with HRM practices into account, Wilderom and Van den Berg (1998) did discover that a signifi cant relationship exists between culture and performance. This fi nding illustrates the importance of the development of more elaborative theories on the direction and contingencies in the relation between culture and performance. Without such theories, we may draw overly simple or even misleading conclusions. In light of the above fi ndings, it is necessary to understand the relationship between HRM practices and organizational culture. The presumption is that more effective systems of HRM practices, which simultaneously exploit the potential for complementariness or synergies with organizational culture, lead to better performance and enhanced effectiveness. Indian organizations are embedded in Indian culture, which infl uences and is infl uenced by the economic, political and social factors, and is also subjected to global business infl uences. Sinha and Sinha (1994), found self-realization and inventive values as the highest form of work values in Indian culture. Organizations appreciate corporate core values of self-realization and inventive values as they encourage and recognize innovation, creativity and achievement. 4. Review of literature Schuler (1992) suggests that Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) has many different components, including policies, culture, values and practices. Strategic business needs of an organization are infl uenced by its internal (which mainly consist of factors such as organizational culture and nature of business) and external characteristics (consisting of the nature and state of economy in which the organization is existing and critical success factors, i. e. , opportunities and threats provided by the industry), which are infl uenced by HR activities. Thornhill, Lewis, Millmore, and Saunders (2000) found a potential role for HR-centred strategies to be used to change or realign the culture of an organization. An organization can change its culture through its recruitment strategy of replacing managers with those from outside, restructuring the organization, downsizing the workforce, training programmes, new reward strategies and performance management to alter employee behaviours or reinforce emergent ones. After the economic liberalization, Indian organizations were under pressure to change from low-cost, indigenous, less effi cient and outdated technology to high-cost modern technology and prepare people to use it. This was done to develop and maintain their competitive edge in the larger business environment (Khan, 1999). The potential value of the employees is to be increased by collectively enhancing and linking their skills and capabilities in tune with the contemporary requirements of the market, and to be faster than the competitors. The success of the HRM will be determined by its ability to harness the intelligence and spirit of people by creating a learning climate. Indian organizations normally direct their HRM efforts towards the development of competencies, culture and effectiveness among employees individually or in groups 69 AOP 18(4), 2010, ISSN 0572-3043 (Singh, 2003). Organizations may use many mechanisms to achieve their HRM goals as without competent and committed employees, an organization can achieve very little even it has excellent technological and other resources at its command. Such an assertion gains better credibility in the context of developing countries like India, that is, typically in early growth stages in terms of economic development and growing more rapidly than the ‚traditional‘ developed economies of Japan, North America and Europe. This also includes most South East Asian, South Asian and some Latin American countries. Selection in organizations is based on non-job related criteria like attractiveness, goal orientation, and interpersonal skills: a general lack of concern for value congruence (Prakash, 1994). The dominant emphasis has been on the universal practice of identifying and improving on existing performance strategies. This practice would require a complete reversal where congruencies of values should fi nd a place in selection and training. Only then would it possible to achieve linkages with the values of the wider socio-cultural context in India. In order to make an organization effective, the values of the society and the cultural milieu should be synthesised with those of the organization and its functioning. Fombrun, Tichy, and Devanna (1984) expanded these premises and developed the model of SHRM, which emphasises a ‘tight fi t’ between the organizational strategy, organizational structure and HR system. Political, economic and cultural forces are responsible for an organization’s mission and strategy. This explains these causal relations, which form the ‘tight fi t’ between strategy, organization structure and HR polices and practices. On the basis of mission and strategy, the shape of organization is structured, i. e. , people are organized to carry out different tasks to achieve the organization’s mission. Hendry and Pettigrew (1992) propose that a number of internal factors such as the organizational culture, structure (positioning of HR), leadership, level of technology employed and business output directly contribute to forming he contents of HRM. HRM could be seen as a menu of strategic choices to be made by human resource executives in order to promote the most effective ‘role behaviours’ that are consistent with the organization’s strategy and aligned with each other (Sparrow and Hilltrop, 1994). The present study The present study is to examine the relationship between HRM practices and organizational culture. To this end, HRM pract ices are viewed in terms of planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, performance evaluation, career management and rewards. Organizational culture is viewed in terms of self-realization, status enhancement, inventive values and socio-economic support. Self-realization consists of values such as achievement, ability utilization, advancement, aesthetics, personal development, and peace of mind. Status enhancement, one of the variables of organizational culture, consists of values of altruism, authority, physical activity, and prestige. Inventive values, another variable of organizational culture, consists of values of autonomy, creativity, lifestyles, risk-taking, and variety. Socio-economic support consists of work values of social relationship and interaction, comforts, dependency, good working condition and economic gains. The self-realization and inventive values give inner satisfaction to a person while performing a job in an organization. The variables of status enhancement and socio-economic support are extrinsic values, which are required in the Indian environment. Indian society and developing societies are ridden with insecurities and lack of resources and people generally have a history of failures. Fear of failure leads to giving importance to socio-economic support and lack of resources lends too much importance to status enhancement (Sinha, 1990). The idea that individuals are capable of development rests on the conviction that people are important and their involvement is necessary for an organization to be effective. This conviction is translated into practice through a variety of programs that facilitate individual development and lead to better adjustment with the environment. In a growing economy, the emergence of the new organization and shift in the HRM paradigm have ecessitated a review of the skills, roles and competencies of the ‘new’ HR managers (Ulrich, 1997); in this new era, HRM has evolved in the context of the globalized economic environment. As such, it represents a response to the dramatic and continuous change that globalization has had on society and the world of work. Those who will man the HRM will undergo a change in roles. It will be neces sary to inculcate in employees the required new skills, competencies and motivation (Dyer jr. , 1999). The understanding of HRM practices would require a comparative study of practices in the organizations. The relationship between HRM practices and organizational culture among private sector organizations is studied. This paper also studies similarities and differences in HRM practices and organizational culture between two different organizations in the private sector. 5. Objectives of the study 1. To investigate the various HRM practices, i. e. , planning, recruitment, selection, performance evaluation, training and development, career management and rewards at the managerial levels in private sector organizations. 2. To study and examine the relationships between various aspects of HRM practices and organizational culture. . To fi nd whether there is any difference in the organizational cultures of the two organizations under study. This study was conducted at a time when Indian organizations were facing a very different competitive scenario compared to the past. They were facing competition from MNCs in the new liberal and global economy on the domestic markets. The competition was in terms of reduced cost, improved quality of products and better services. These environmental constraints placed more pressure on managers. More often than not, these concerns were looming large on the horizons of Indian organizations. The fi ndings have bearing in this context. Managers across organizations in the private sector strongly endorsed self-realization (one of the variables of culture), which was signifi cantly correlated to almost all HRM practices. These are planning, recruitment, selection, performance evaluation, training and development, career management, and rewards. While organizations fi nd themselves in worldwide competition, most of the individuals are striving for achievement, ability utilization, advancement, aesthetics, personal development, and peace of mind. Realization or anticipation of realization of the values has resulted in better performance. Self-realization encourages people to satisfy their achievement needs in the work situation (Super and Nevill, 1986; Sinha, 1990). Self-realization in India came quite close to self-actualization in Spain. Status enhancement was strongly related to HR practices in private sector organizations. The values loaded on this factor are authority, altruism, prestige and physical activities. The desire for authority, altruism, prestige and physical activity has a positive impact on the performance of managers. Managers developed a positive attitude towards their work and contributed signifi cantly to self-realization and status enhancement, which were the most valued factors in India. Recruitment, selection, and performance evaluation, training and development, career management, and rewards turned out to be strongly correlated to status enhancement in the private sector. Selection based on planning along with proper recruitment leads to status enhancement. Rewards (fi nancial and non-fi nancial) were strongly related to status enhancement. Performance evaluation (one of the HRM practices) was strong related to status enhancement. Performance evaluation served as a key input for administering formal organizational rewards, career growth and a tool of punishment (Cummings, 1973). Managers working in the organizations were in an excellent position to analyze newcomers’ skills and abilities and to provide feedback (House, 1995). As a purveyor of organizational expectations, performance evaluation was critical. Through the evaluation process, those working in the organization were aware of how well they were meeting their task and role demands (Asford and Cummings, 1983; Nelson, 1990). Clear rewards are the hallmark of an organization that effectively socializes newcomers. In addition to their readily apparent value, the rewards provide 75 AOP 18(4), 2010, ISSN 0572-3043 challenging assignments, promotions and salary increases, etc. , which give encouragement that provide status enhancement for managers (Chatman, 1991). Rewards were also found to be strongly related to inventive values in private sector organizations. Those working in the organizations with desired values of risk-taking, variety, autonomy, lifestyle and creativity were rewarded. Rewards encourage people to be more creative, have variety and autonomy in their work life along with risk-taking and help to chalk out one’s own lifestyle in the organization. Similarly, training and development in private sector organizations were strongly correlated to inventive values. So, rewards and training and development in the private sector affect both individual esteem and lifestyle signifi cantly. Managers have developed to take on a variety of tasks in order to perform at an optimum level. Managers in the organization have developed to be autonomous and chalk out their own lifestyles to be more effective in the job. This also means employees will expect organizations to offer them opportunities to develop a portfolio of skills that enhances their marketability. Thus, organizations will have to provide work assignments and learning opportunities that allow for challenge and growth and self-development (Maurer and Tarulli, 1994). Socio-economic support consists of social relationships and interaction, comforts, dependency, good working conditions and economic gains. Managers were indifferent and did not care much for social interactions and relationships, whereas Indian managers held signifi cant value expectations concerning economic gains, good working conditions and comforts. HR practices were signifi cantly related to socio-economic support in the private sector. Through planning, recruitment and selection practices, newcomers with stronger systems of support report fewer adverse psychological outcomes related to job performance than do those with less support. Quality relationships with organizational insiders can even help newcomers to overcome the negative effects of unmet expectations (Major, Kozlowski, Chao, and Gardner, 1995). Interacting with enthusiastic newcomers may be good for insiders’ attitude and morale. The study also found a relationship between career management and socio-economic support. People working in the organizations look for career management that will give them the breadth of experience that seems to be needed now, and start looking down on the in-depth expertise of the command-centred manager. So, a shift in culture happens, not because people have changed, but because their beliefs about what they have to do to get ahead have changed (Gunz, Hung, 2000). Rewards were strongly related to socio-economic support in private sector organizations. Litwin, Bray and Brooke (1996) felt that the nature of rewards is the key determinant of how effective they are. Managers who emphasized recognition and encouragement were more effective in shaping the culture of the organization or targeted results. The reason could be that managers working in the private organizations are experiencing a tremendous amount of change around them, thereby realizing that socioeconomic well-being will provide them with stability in a fast changing environment. Furthermore, evidence from literature found the contention that similar work experiences result in uniformity of culture characteristics (Schein, 1987). 76 ACTA OECONOMICA PRAGENSIA 4/2010 Rewards (one of the HRM practices) were strongly related to all the variables of culture in private sector organizations. There is hardly any difference between the two organizations when it comes to practicing rewards and training and development. People within the organizations are either rewarded or trained for acting in accordance with the dominant values of the organizations in India. Although this sample is not large enough to generalize the results, still rewards send clear and consistent signals about desired values and norms expected from people working in the organizations (Sethia and Van Galinow, 1985). The perception of the respondents from both private sector organizations were compared and it was found that there was a statistically signifi cant difference in the variable of socio-economic support between the two organizations, as shown in the table. This means employees in organization A perceived it in a better manner in comparison to their counterparts in organization B. Prakash (1994) felt that Indian organizations are congruent with their cultural surroundings (which is marked by diversities and paradoxes). There is a need to use multiple perspectives at different levels of analysis such as society, organization, management and the individual. It is important that organizations continue to grow and evolve newer perspectives in terms of their values and redefi ne their linkages with the society. Such fi ndings provide support that market economies have the inevitable consequences of rendering organizations competitive. Newman (1972) predicted that the Western work relationships are likely to appear to a great extent in Indian organizations as well. That is, employees in the organizations are likely to become achievement- oriented. There is a struggle for survival, where no one can afford to ignore an opportunity to get optimum results. As one moves higher on the hierarchical ladder of an organization, the individualistic orientation becomes stronger. The correlation analysis between dimensions of HRM practices and dimensions of culture shows that HRM practices do affect the culture of the organization. Ulrich and Lafasto (1995) felt that HRM practices provide information and shape behaviour and experiences of employees. Thus hypotheses H1a, H1b, H1c, H1 d, H1 e, H1 f and H1 g are validated. 11. Conclusions This paper has shown a signifi cant, positive and meaningful relationship between HRM practices and organizational culture. HRM practices become the means whereby organizational culture is created and sustained. Designing new culture requires that HRM professionals are ahead of the cultural change curve with innovative and exciting HRM practices. HRM has been proposed by others to be a potentially powerful lever for shaping and changing the culture of an organization to make the organization more effective (Schien, 1983; Ulrich, 1997). This is a study of HRM practices in two large private sector organizations in India. HRM practices differ between the private sector organizations. This variation provides support to the fact that the adoption of HRM practices is contingent on the specifi c requirements of each organization (Schuler and Jackson, 1981). There is a signifi cant difference between the socio-economic support variable in organizations A and B. One fi nds no signifi cant difference in the other three variables of organizational culture in private sector organizations, i. e. , self-realization, status enhancement and inventive values. The results developed through inferential analysis to measure differences among the variables of HRM practices and organizational culture in private sector organizations are as follows: 1. The two private sector organizations showed that the perceived mean of organization A was higher for all HRM practices. . The comparison of the dimension of organizational culture in the two private sector organizations showed that employees of organization A perceived the socio-economic support more than those in organization B. 3. It is evident that organization A showed relatively better perception of planning, recruitment processes, selection, performance evaluation and career management aspects of HRM practices in comparison to organization B. 4. There is no signifi cant difference between organization A and organization B in training and development and rewards as per the response of the respondents. 5. Planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, performance evaluation, career management and rewards are signifi cantly correlated with all the dimensions of organizational culture. Human Resource Management Practices – Literature review Human resource management (HRM) practices are being increasingly treated as dependent rather than independent variables. Whereas in the past researchers focused almost exclusively on how changes in HRM practices affect employee performance or satisfaction, researchers now are beginning to ask how organizational conditions shape HRM practices. Examples of organizational conditions hypothesized to impact HRM practices include strategy (Hambrick and Snow 1987; Snow and Hrebiniak 1980; Olian and Rynes 1984; Lawler 1984; Hambrick and Mason 1984; Gupta and Govindarajan 1984a, b; and Miller, Kets de Vries and Toulouse 1982), organizational life cycle stage (Kochan and Chalykoff 1987; Kerr 1982, 1985), technological change, union presence, internal labor markets and even whether or not an organization has a personnel department (Osterman 1984; Pfeffer and Cohen 1984; Cohen and Pfeffer 1986). Until recently almost all HRM research was dominated by the technical perspective. The technical perspective presumes that organizations wish to plan, staff, appraise, compensate, train and develop their employees in order to ensure that the right people (skill-wise) are in the right place (job) at the right time (Collins 1979). The technical perspective leads to research designed to develop techniques for maximizing the match between employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities on the one hand and the demands of the jobs on the other (Schneider 1985). The presumed result of good matching is organizational effectiveness, from which individual employees and the organization as a whole both benefit. The control perspective views HRM practices as a means for organizations to ensure the predictability and reliability of social interactions. The goal is to ensure that employees behave as solid citizens, living according to organizationally approved norms and values (Noland and Bakke 1949; Hollingshead 1949; Bowles and Gintish 1976; Edwards 1976; Collins 1979). This perspective recognizes that organizations attempt to govern social performances in addition to job performance. Desirable social behaviors presumably include getting along well with others and acting as a good citizen who shows concern for the organization’s functioning. The institutional perspective posits two major explanations as to why organizations use particular HRM practices: organizations copy the practices they see being used by others, and/or they adopt practices to gain legitimacy and acceptance (Meyer and Rowan 1977; Zucker 1977; Meyer 1980). The institutional perspective assumes that legitimacy and acceptance are important objectives for most organizations because constituencies have the power to offer and withhold resources which, in the long run, may determine the firm’s economic performance. 180 The political perspective holds that HRM practices reflect the distribution of power in an organization. For example, having an extensive set of HRM practices implies a powerful personnel department upon which others must depend when making personnel-related decisions (Osterman 1984; Pfeffer and Cohen 1984). But existence of other powerful groups-such as unions or competitors who minimize their labor costs-may act to countervail or suppress the expression of the personnel department’s wishes (Doeringer and Piore 1971). As suggested by Kochan and Chalykoff (1987) the economic perspective can also explain variations in HRM practices. Relatively affluent conditions in an organization permit it to pay higher wages. This in turn enables an organization to attract more job applicants and be more selective. Higher selectivity (lower selection ratios) diminishes the need to train employees. Furthermore, the attraction of more highly qualified individuals may lead to conditions that give more power and discretion to the employees, thus reducing the attractiveness to them of collective bargaining. The reverse scenario holds under less affluent economic conditions (Osterman 1984). Based on the five perspectives previously presented which help explain some of the variation and similarity in HRM practices across organizations, we aim to diagnose two private organizations from human resource management practices perspective. Our hypothesis is: HRM practices differ based on the company’s size and activity length. Conclusions Based on the analysis, we can conclude that both companies are efficient from HRM point of view. Both organizations are continually developing, having a market in expansion, the difference between them, which may influence the HRM practices, are the size and the activity length: organization 2 is large and relatively old compared to organization 1. The differences recorded are elated to prospecting, selection methods, training needs evaluation, working conditions, and social protection area where organization 2 is more developed. From the five perspectives presented, only three are representative for the analyzed organizations. The technical perspective presumes that organizations wish to plan, staff, appraise, compensate, train and develop their employees in order to ensure that the right people (skill-wise) are in the right place (job) at the right time. That is why both orga nizations are carrying out trainings for their employees and the trained people usually got promoted. The political perspective holds that HRM practices reflect the distribution of power in an organization, having an extensive set of HRM practices implies a powerful personnel department upon which others must depend when making personnel-related decisions. The results of the analysis point out that human resource department of the two companies are relatively strong and well organized. There are no conflicts, which can mean that either the employee are satisfied with their work and rewards or the labor unions are not very strong compared to the management and HR departments of the companies. The economic perspective can also explain variations in HRM practices. It is well illustrated by the analyzed organizations as they have a continually growing activity volume which means that they can give higher salaries. In the case of organization 2, which is larger and relatively old compared to organization 1, the management offers, besides rather good salaries, non-financial benefits. Also, the social protection is more developed in the case of organization 2. Based on all these results, we can conclude that our hypothesis is confirmed, HRM practices differ based on the companies’ size and activity length. In an early review of the HRM – performance literature, Dyer and Reeves (1995) posited 4 levels of outcomes of HRM practices—employee, organizational, financial, and market— suggesting that the impact of HRM is likely to work outward through these levels. Employee outcomes consist of affective reactions such as satisfaction and commitment as well as behavioral reactions such as absenteeism and turnover. Organizational outcomes focus primarily on operational performance measures such as quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Financial outcomes, such as accounting profits, represent the next step in their causal chain. Finally, market outcomes consist of measures of the market value of firms based on stock price. Becker et al. (1997) similarly argued that HRM practices operate most directly through employee skills, motivation, and work design, resulting in behavioral outcomes such as creativity, productivity, and discretionary effort, which are expected to work through operational and eventually through financial market outcomes. How to cite Review of Hr Policies and Practices, Papers

Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity. Answer: Introduction Human resource specialists, researchers as well as managers are getting much more interested in relation to managing as well as working with people belonging to different generations within workplace. Due to influx of Millennial or Generation Y ( Gen Y ) along with simultaneous rise in the retirement age the HR departments now have to redesign and rethink their strategies so as to bring proper talent management across varied groups of employees (Stefan Yazdanifard, 2013). This report will analyse the various issues related to generational diversity in organization as well as its impact on organizational development strategy. The term diversity quite often describes the demographic differences as well as the various compositions of work groups (Roberson, 2006). The main focus of diversity in relation to composition of work groups is around various factors that help in distinguishing one individual from another , mainly in relation to observational demographic features for example gender, ethnicity, age or race or in terms of non-observable characteristics for example socio economic status or education (Kreitz, 2008). Importance of diversity The effect of generational diversity has been postulated for critical aspects related to people management starting from hire to retirement (Miller, 2014) , that also passes through training and development (Knight, 2014) , retention (McCrindle, 2014), work conflict , rewards (Biro, 2014) and preferred leadership styles . Generational differences within organizations have been addressed as legitimate diversity issues, because it is suggested that by taking care of and analysing generational diversity as well as providing the employees belonging to different generations what they require for flourishing, the organizations can easily promote increased amount of employee productivity as well as enhance employee retention. Diversity is beneficial for the organizations as it helps them to reach out and connect with diverse markets as well as customer groups(Herring, 2009) . It also permits variety of perspectives, superior performance as well as outcomes along with promoting innovativeness within organization. In a study conducted on Fortune 500 organizations it has been found that top 25 percent firms in retain to women at senior management level, yielded better returns to the stockholders which was almost 30 percent more than their peers (Catalyst, 2004). Thus on the basis of empirical evidence it can be said that diversity does benefit organizations. Types of Diversity Each and every organization has different kinds of reasons for adopting diversity, thus the paradigm that helps the organization to see diversity being crucial and shapes the diversity philosophy of organization is very important. The three types of diversity paradigms are: Moral paradigm ( according to its discrimination is immoral, wrong and illegal); Social need Paradigm (focuses on fulfilling the social needs of various diverse people) and Competitive Advantage paradigm ( diversity is not just about ratios , its about finding that women are different from womens perspective) (Dixit Bajpai, 2015). Generational Diversity: Gen X and Gen Y In current organizations generational diversity results in conflicts in workplaces. A Generation can be defined as an identifiable group that shares birth years, age location and significant life events at critical development stages (Kupperschmidt 2000, p.66). Generational diversity is the diversity that focuses mainly on the differences on the basis of generation within which the employee grew up. Generation Xers are the ones born between 1965 and 1979. Their levels of organizational commitment as well as attitude is being impacted by the high price paid by their parents by undergoing stress, health along with family issues (McDonald, 2008) . They give less value to performance-based rewards or compensations as compared to saving plans as well as paid time off. They like more of intrinsic rewards, so the managers need to give them incentives by providing personal growth, development of opportunities that satisfy their accomplishments and skill development instead of better job titl es (Eisner, 2005). Generation Y or Millennial are the ones born between 1979 and 1999 and they represent the youngest lot in the workplace. They are trustworthy and support positive perspective towards hierarchical structures / policies in organizations. Since they are being influenced by Baby-Boomer parents who are education-minded, so they believe that education is very vital for success and are always ready to learn (Martin Tulgan, 2001) . Education programs or trainings are appreciated by Millennial as they help in motivating them towards work. They do work to live instead of typically living to work (Petroulas, Brown, Sundin, 2010) . They know very well that by complete ling their objectives/ task they will get rewarded as bonuses in salaries. Problems in Managing Generational Diversity Increasing life longevity as well as progressive improvements happening in the quality of life has increased the lives of people and they work till older age . Economic aspects also supports this tendency and affects the western economies as well and has regulated in increased age of retirement. This has made the current workplaces highly diverse and there are several incidences where older workers report to younger managers (Cogin, 2012) . With the retirement fob any Boomers Gen Y is replacing them, thus the HR practitioners need to consider that workforces are currently undergoing generation renewal moment (Agarwal Helfat, 2009). Although this has been a regular phenomenon in the workplace but the younger generation that is taking place of baby Boomers holds entirely different perspective regarding work in the organizations. Both Gen Y and baby Boomers are ready to make long-term commitments towards organizations and for Gen Y it just means one year whereas for Baby Boomers it is way longer (Martin, 2005). HR professionals or managers believe that generational differences in case of work attitudes or values cast huge impact on workplace, so they need to manage different generations in different manner (Twenge, 2010) . More differences have been detected across the various generations in their extrinsic values for example Generation X gives more value to money, prestige as well as status according to the Monitoring The Future study conducted in US, as compared to Baby Boomers and Gen Y and Baby Boomers are very less likely to assign importance to extrinsic rewards amongst the three generations. In cross sectional studies across various generations it has been found that there is declination on the scale of job satisfaction across success generations (Benson Brown, 2011) . It has been found through Hierarchical-age-period-cohort regression model that gen Y shows higher levels of job satisfaction as compared to the older generations (Kowske, Rasch, Wiley, 2010) . Generation Y is found t o be less committed towards the organization. Recommendations for Managing Generational Diversity Managing the generational diversity while developing an inclusive work culture is very cortical for organization for doing effective talent management. Since every generation has a unique set of attitudes, values, beliefs as well as work ethics, so it is very important that the organization should focus on leveraging this diversity by taking steps to build a cohesive work culture within the organization? The distinct cohorts should get a new environment where they can co-exist as well as work together in productive as well as effective manner, while maintaining their unique identities. Thus it is imperative that the organizations should adopt structured talent management strategies, so that tensions arising between generations can be easily avoided and the benefits coming from the differences can be maximised. This can be done best by adopting two major initiatives that are: Diversity Training Every worker should have knowledge about the competencies as well as assets of their generation and that of the other generation also and this can be best done through diversity training. This will help in enhancing every individuals strengths as well as working on their weaknesses. Mentorship This is another very crucial imitative that HR practitioners or managers can adopt as it helps in opening effective channels of communication between the junior employees and the senior employees of organization. Mentoring conducted on an organised platform there is continuous process of interaction as the junior employee gets an opportunity to learn from the senior employees work approach and senior one gets to know the working styles along with the career aspirations of junior ones. Conclusion Diversity can be called as the various perspectives as well as approaches towards the work members of the varied identity groups that they bring in. A diverse workforce has been found to increase the firms performance and has turned out to be highly imperative which cannot be any longer ignored by organizations. Each of the generations that form the generational diversity be its Baby Boomers , Gen X or gen Y have different approach towards life. If one finds good to follow orders and being loyal another one likes rewards that are materialistic and productivity. So managers and HR practitioners need to use skills of knowledge transfer, trust, inclusion and open communications for finding out methods of effective conflict resolutions. Generational diversity can be best managed through diversity training and mentorship. Therefore through Diversity Training, the one culture of firm should be inculcated in every employee through development of mutual respect and creating a collaborative w ork environment. Thus Mentoring appears as quite enriching as well as informative experience for both the cohorts that get involved in the process. Bibliography Agarwal, R., Helfat, C. E. (2009). Strategic renewal of organizations. Organization Science , 281-293. Benson, J., Brown, M. (2011). Generations at work: Are there differences and do they matter? The International Journal of Human Resource Management , 1843-1865. Biro, M. M. (2014). Recognize, reward and engage your multi-generational workforc. Forbes . Catalyst. (2004). The bottom line: Connecting corporate performance and gender diversity. New York: Catalyst. Cogin, J. (2012). Are generational differences in work values fact or fiction? Multi-country evidence and implications. The International Journal of Human Resource Management , 2268-2294. Dixit, P., Bajpai, B. (2015). Managing Workforce Diversity in Competitive Environment. International Journal of Business and Management Invention , 1-11. Eisner, S. (2005). Managing Generation Ys. A.M. Advanced Management Journal , 4-15. Herring, C. (2009). Does diversity pay? Race, gender, and the business case for diversity. American Sociological Review , 208-224. Knight, R. (2014). Managing people from 5 generations. Harvard Business Review . Kowske, B. J., Rasch, R., Wiley, J. (2010). Millennials (lack of) attitude problem: An empirical examination of generational effects on work attitudes. Journal of Business and Psychology , 265-279. Kreitz, P. (2008). Best practices for managing organizational diversity. The Journal of Academic Librarianship , 101-120. Kupperschmidt, B. (2000). Multigenerational employees: strategies for effective management. The Health Care Manager , 65-76. Martin, C. A. (n.d.). From high maintenance to high productivity: What managers need to know about Generation Y. Industrial and Commercial Training , 2005. Martin, C., Tulgan, B. (2001). Managing Generation Y. HRD Press. Harvard. McCrindle, M. (2014). The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the global generations. Bella Vista, Australia: McCrindle Research. McDonald, P. (2008). The Multi-generational Workforce. interna;l AUditor , 60-67. Miller, S. (2014). Generations view different retirement paths: Varying expectations among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. . Society for Human Resource Management . Petroulas, E., Brown, D., Sundin, H. (2010). Generational Characteristics and Their Impact on Preference for Management Control Systems. Australian Accounting Review , 221-240. Roberson, Q. (2006). Disentangling the meanings of diversity and inclusion in organizations. group Organization Management , 212-236. Stefan, F., Yazdanifard, R. (2013). The Issues of Generational COnflicts in Workplace and Solutions for it. ReserachGate . Twenge, J. M. (2010). A review of the empirical evidence on generational differences in work attitudes. Journal of Business and Psychology , 201-210.

Tracing the Americas History

Since the beginning of the nation on the shores of Virginia, has remained highly diverse I terms of race and ethnicity. Recent statistics have indicated how more than a third of Americans are unable to trace their specific origin, making America to stand at the verge of being dominated by pre-conceived minorities in the next few years. This is evidenced by the predominance of racial diversity in the major cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles among others in America.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Tracing the America’s History specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This prevalent racial diversity arouses the fundamental question about America’s cultural historical identity. Perhaps, it is not possible to tell the story of the United States without considering racial and ethnic lens. According to Takaki (7), the significance or racial diversity in America’s history remains remarkable with respect to the prevalent demographic trends in the country. This paper analyses the role of immigration and laws based on ethnicity to describe America’s historical pathway. As it has been revealed, much of what is known in America’s cultural setting has ethnic perspective. It is important to note that, some outstanding figures like Martin Luther and Ah Bing among others are not Native Americans, yet their contribution in shaping the nation remains remarkable (Takaki 19). More so, president Barrack Obama’s origin is traced in Africa, yet his superiority in the nation is inarguable. Despite being the central minority all through the nation’s history, African Americans are currently becoming majorities in many academic institutions in US today. This is an indication that, America is taking new shape as a result of its diverse ethnic background in its historical development. It thus goes without saying that, historical immigrations in America are of gr eat significance in telling the history of the United States. With reference to Takaki (8), massive migrations from various parts of the world to America have largely been focused by historians to explain the prevalent American culture. For instance, artisan manual workers of Philadelphia and the Irish immigrants are described as historians as key elements in the revolution of various artistic works in America. Basically, studying each ethnic group in America separately reveals one or more aspects of the entire American culture at large. It is the integration of these diverse cultural values and practices that have shaped the prevalent American culture today. In the historical make-up, the nationality of Americans can be attributed to the various ethnic groups that migrated into the country several decades ago. Various laws in United States have as well contributed towards the prevalent situation in terms of the nation’s culture. For instance, the immigration and marriage law s in the US have largely contributed towards the homogeneity of the previous diverse cultural practices. Since the immigration laws have been liberated, many people from various global regions have migrated into the country, increasing the level of cosmopolitanism in the country today (Takaki 29).Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Having fewer restrictions in marriage amongst races and ethnic groups, the current states laws in US can be considered as having played significant role in promoting cultural integration in the country. Indeed, immigration and law based on the race and ethnicity has played remarkable role in the historical development of the United States of America. Generally, studying America’s past from racial and ethnic diversity can form a fundamental perspective of understanding the current demographic trends in US. The realization of how America’s pre-concei ved minorities as the future’s majority is becoming a real issue in explaining America’s history. In this regard, it is not possible to unravel the history of the United States without focusing on racial and ethnic lens. Work Cited Takaki, Ronald. A Different mirror: A history of multi-cultural America. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1993. This essay on Tracing the America’s History was written and submitted by user Russell Woodard to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Ghengis Khan

â€Å" The Mongolian Empire† The Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan (1162-1227), also known as Jenghiz Khan was said to have conquered over two-thirds of the known world in his lifetime. He was renowned as a brilliant strategist, employing methods of warfare that were decades before his time. He had a mobile cavalry, coordinated fighting style, and respect for his subordinates, the Mongolian horde. Temu-jin of Mongolia, best known by others as Genghis Khan, meaning â€Å"Universal ruler† or â€Å"emperor of all emperors† is said to have created one of the greatest empires spanning from China to the Adriatic Sea. Temu-jin was the son of Kiyat- Borijiad chieftan who was assassinated when Temu-jin was a young man. Most of the followers of Genghis Khans father felt he was to young of a boy to protect them, so the tribe went and sought a more powerful lord leaving Genghis Khan and his family to fend for themselves. For about ten years they lived off the land eating roots, berries and small animals such as mice. During these years it taught Genghis Khan to not be foolishly adventurous and brave giving him the shrewd, steady and practical personality that will be reflected in his return to unite the Mongols in his conquests. Years later in 1206 he would accept the rule of leader of the Kiyat tribes in an attempt to reunite his people. The many hardships he endured in his youth would embolden him and give him courage to face the battles that lay ahead. Starting from nowhere Genghis Khan he had to improve his station in life, he sought the help of a friend of his fathers Togrul- Khan of the Keraits. Genghis Khan used a coat of black sable as a gift to Togrul-Khan in exchange for his promise of reuniting his Fathers’ followers. â€Å"As a descendent of royal blood, he considered himself an aristocrat of the Steppes, he was the father of three valiant war... Free Essays on Ghengis Khan Free Essays on Ghengis Khan â€Å" The Mongolian Empire† The Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan (1162-1227), also known as Jenghiz Khan was said to have conquered over two-thirds of the known world in his lifetime. He was renowned as a brilliant strategist, employing methods of warfare that were decades before his time. He had a mobile cavalry, coordinated fighting style, and respect for his subordinates, the Mongolian horde. Temu-jin of Mongolia, best known by others as Genghis Khan, meaning â€Å"Universal ruler† or â€Å"emperor of all emperors† is said to have created one of the greatest empires spanning from China to the Adriatic Sea. Temu-jin was the son of Kiyat- Borijiad chieftan who was assassinated when Temu-jin was a young man. Most of the followers of Genghis Khans father felt he was to young of a boy to protect them, so the tribe went and sought a more powerful lord leaving Genghis Khan and his family to fend for themselves. For about ten years they lived off the land eating roots, berries and small animals such as mice. During these years it taught Genghis Khan to not be foolishly adventurous and brave giving him the shrewd, steady and practical personality that will be reflected in his return to unite the Mongols in his conquests. Years later in 1206 he would accept the rule of leader of the Kiyat tribes in an attempt to reunite his people. The many hardships he endured in his youth would embolden him and give him courage to face the battles that lay ahead. Starting from nowhere Genghis Khan he had to improve his station in life, he sought the help of a friend of his fathers Togrul- Khan of the Keraits. Genghis Khan used a coat of black sable as a gift to Togrul-Khan in exchange for his promise of reuniting his Fathers’ followers. â€Å"As a descendent of royal blood, he considered himself an aristocrat of the Steppes, he was the father of three valiant war...

Smart Budgeting for College Students

Smart Budgeting for College Students College: the time when we stretch our wings, learn to fly†¦and do some serious partying! All levity aside, college is an important time in any person’s life. It’s where we set the stage for the rest of our life and form habits that will serve us well (or ill) in the years to come. Many will tell you that study habits are an important skill to cultivate. They might be. Some say your interpersonal skills will take you places. Uh-uh. Kindness, love, positive outlook? Maybe. Of course you shouldnt be completely lacking in all these areas. But these things can be learned fairly easily at any time during your life. And hopefully, you’ve already been practicing these skills for the majority of your years. The Importance of a Budgeting Skill The most important habit to strengthen during your college years is BUDGETING. Though you may not feel that money is something you should be focused on – and you’re right, it’s not, you should be able to exercise at least a modicum of control over your cash on hand. That’s the important point: Control. Living within your means, saving for the future (not talking retirement – think car or trip), and not getting caught in the slippery slope of debt (credit card interest rates rank among the most insidious and evil forces in the universe†¦right behind sugar). Self-Control is the Hardest Part At its heart, budgeting isn’t a difficult thing. The really tricky part is self-control. Budgeting provides something we all want – money for the things we need when we need them – but does require that we sometimes go without the things we want. The nice thing is, if we do it right, we can eventually have both: the things we need AND the things we want. It just takes time. That’s where the self-control comes in. We have to be able to wait and save for the wants while focusing squarely on the needs. And college is a perfect time to hone the budgeting skills because many of us still have a backup (our parents) to whom we can turn. How To Do It 1) Separate needs from wants. This is definitely the hardest part of the whole process. Wants can suddenly become needs when the weekend looms large and you need to unwind. But partying is by no means more important than eating or having a place to sleep or being able to get to class. Needs are, for the most part, things that keep you alive and functioning in your environment. Food, shelter, utilities, transportation money, so you can get to class. Wants are everything else. You could still make it through college alive and with a decent GPA without that case of beer†¦it would be less fun but you could do it. 2) Money goes to the needs first. Whatever money you have coming in (thorough work or an allowance) you should use to pay for the needs first. Unless you’re really poor, you’ll have a bit of money left over after the needs are taken care of. This leftover money can be used or saved for wants. That’s pretty much budgeting in a nutshell. The practice though, can take many forms and can be as complicated or as simple as you like. It can involve multiple bank accounts and lots of back-and-forth transfers or just a number of envelopes and a pile of cash. Cash is not recommended to college students – the envelope system is great, – but it’s just too easy to cheat (plus, there’s the whole security thing). The best method is somewhere in between complicated and simple while still making use of the basic concepts of the envelope system. Budgeting Categories Basically, all money that comes in is deposited in a checking account. You can then use a budgeting app or financial tracking software (choose your favorite) to earmark (set aside within the checking account) money for the needs and wants for which you are saving. Again, that’s pretty much it. Some categories in budget may include: food (meals), rent, utilities, gas money, weekend money (this includes parties), travel (probably not other countries but maybe just taking road trips every once in a while) and snacks (some coffee and a muffin now and again). If you spend all the money in one of the â€Å"want† categories (i.e., weekend money or snacks), you resist the urge to take from one of the other categories (even if it’s a â€Å"want† category) so that you train yourself to spend within your means. Make It More Simple If it’s easier to think in terms of weekly expenses, divide your monthly expenses by four and save accordingly. Most bills are paid monthly so if you know that you need $100 a month for food, earmark $25 each week to that category. When the end of the month comes, write a check for the monthly amount and start saving again. It is really just that simple. It may take a few minutes each week – and some serious self-control the rest of the time – to get everything earmarked but it’s time well spent in the long run. The college experience never comes around again but your money habits are with you for the rest of your life (like luggage). Take the time to build a good financial routine and your college years will be productive regardless of how much time you spend partying.

Roman Games and their Role in Ancient Rome Research Paper

Roman Games and their Role in Ancient Rome - Research Paper Example While the different types of games including horse racing, gladiatorial combat and so on, all emerged from different origins, each had two important functions: to provide entertainment and titillation to the population, keeping them happy to be part of the Pax Romana and establishing aspects of Roman culture and rule across the breadth of the giant Empire, and as a commercial venture for those involved. There were two major types of games held during the Roman era: chariot racing and gladiatorial combat. Both were immensely popular, but chariot racing was one somewhat more common than gladiatorial games (Romano 387), partly because of the cost of the gladiatorial games, which could often end with an incredibly expensive and well trained slave being wounded or even killed. It is estimated that at their height, there were twenty-four races a day on sixty-six days of the year, meaning that races were relatively common but still rare enough to be of great entertainment value (Bennet 42). Chariot races would consist of several competitors racing in an oval around central pier in a building called a circus or, after the Greek fashion, a hippodrome. Roman chariot racing evolved from the Greek practice, which had been ongoing for centuries, with a recorded history dating back to the first Panhellenic games (Levick 117). Though the Roman one was probably adapted from the Etruscan adaption of Greek racing, it was also probably directly influenced by the Greek practice (Matz 33). While the evolution of Roman chariot racing evolved slowly over many centuries, and has distinctive origins that are somewhat difficult to trace, the origins of gladiatorial games, which involved two slaves fighting each other for public entertainment, are a bit clearer. It seems that it was an Etruscan religious practice amongst the wealthiest people in society to hold funerary games to send off the dead: perhaps to give them a companion to accompany them to the underworld (Minowa 89). These the n began to be a part of traditional religious practices during the Roman ludi (games), which were massive week long festivals that would also include dramatic performances, religious festivities honoring Jupiter, music, and other activities (including chariot racing) (Plecket 160). Gladiatorial combats were also held by various wealthy and/or powerful Romans (people were rarely one without being the other) for various reasons, including celebrating an event like a military victory, ascension to a position and so on (Tataki 369). While the origins of both chariot racing and gladiatorial games are somewhat obscure and debated, their role in Roman society is relatively clear. The Roman state, and the people who ran it, saw games as part of their patrician obligation to their populace (Boatwright 190). They would keep the population happy and entertained as well as thankful to the Roman state. This was true of games that were held as a part of ludi, which also had religious significance , as well as one-off games that were often more explicitly designed for entertainment. Furthermore, amphitheaters and circi were often installed in smaller cities in Roman provinces, making their connection with the Roman state strong and centralizing the importance of Roman culture that might be quite distant from its centre, Rome (Carter 300). This all plays a central part of the Roman character, the idea

HCM427-0801A-01 Human Resource Management in Health Care - Phase 3 Essay

HCM427-0801A-01 Human Resource Management in Health Care - Phase 3 Discussion Board - Essay Example secretary, we have been told that she is no longer interested with her job since she strongly feels that all of her improvement suggestions are not taken seriously by the doctors. Based on the medical secretary’s explanation, it is very clear that she is a leader in her own way because of her desire to develop improvement suggestions for the betterment of the health care organization. In line with this matter, self-management serves as an effective intrinsic motivation on her part. (Graham & Unruh, 1990) It means that simple one-on-one rewards such as a sincere acknoweldgement for her effort and determination to develop improvement suggestions is all she is asking for. Basically, there are two types of rewards that could improve the job performance and satisfaction of the employees. These are the company rewards which are offered by the organization management and the one-on-one rewards which are being extended by the employees’ bosses. Traditional reward system such as compensation and promotions are slowly becoming ineffective in terms of motivating the generation X and Y employees. (Craig, March-April 1989) Material rewards such as cash incentives could also result in demotivating the employees. (Anthony, Dearden, & Bedford, 1989; Cecil Hill, Spring 1989) Basically, the main reason why ‘pay-for-performance’ concept fails to work is because in exchange with the money, the pride and job satisfaction of employees suffer. Eventhough extrinsic rewards such as increase in pay or bonus given to employees could still be effective in some cases, a more recent study shows that intrinsic rewards / motivation such as congratulating the employees for a job well done either verbally, written on a personal note, through public recognition, or implementing a celebration for success in work performance is more effective in motivating employees to increase their work performance. (Graham & Unruh, 1990) The best way to retain and regain the job satisfaction of

A Semiotic Analysis of a Newspaper Story Essay Example for Free

A Semiotic Analysis of a Newspaper Story Essay A logical place to start may be to ask ‘what is news?’ Professor Jonathan Bignell suggests that ‘news is not just facts, but representations produced in language and other signs like photographs.’ The newspaper is just one medium of news communication; other media include television, radio, magazines, and the Internet. We will concentrate on a particular news item as covered in three different British daily newspapers, namely The Sun, The Telegraph, and The Times. The story which is being covered is that of the death of a female police officer who was stabbed by a man whilst she was on duty. The medium of the newspaper is particularly interesting as signifiers are presented simultaneously thus offering a concrete display of signs which the reader can consume at their own pace and can also be re-read, as opposed to television or radio news which can only be watched or listened to at particular times. The process of selection is central to the production of all newspapers. This involves selecting events which are considered to be worthy of being printed as news, and excluding news which is considered to be irrelevant, insignificant or unworthy of news coverage. Thus news is a social construct dependent on what is deemed to be important by those who work in the ‘news industry’ based on certain codes of behaviour which have been learned by news workers in order to do their job. The codes of behaviour which have been learnt by news workers undoubtedly depend on the particular newspaper for which they are working. It could be suggested that in British society most adults would be aware of the conventions of different newspapers. We will attempt to examine the types of sign systems within which a particular news story is encoded in a selection of newspapers, and how these different sign systems may affect meaning. It is clear when looking at The Sun, The Telegraph, and The Times articles, which were all published on Saturday, April 18th, 1998 that each newspaper attaches significance to different news items. This is made clear by looking at the front pages of each newspaper, with The Suns main front page story concentrating on the relationship of Patsy Kensit and Liam Gallagher, compared to The Telegraphs main story which concentrates on a ‘shake-up’ of scientific committees that advise government ministers on food safety; and The Times main front page story which covers the story of the new National Lottery Big Ticket show which is facing the BBC ‘axe’. Although we will not be concentrating on the comparison of the front pages of the newspapers in this term paper, these examples demonstrate how drastically the different newspapers differ in what constitutes front-page news. The examples also demonstrate the interpretation of newspaper conventions, as we analyse the stories which are considered to be the intended main news of the front-page. As can be seen with the front page of The Sun the main story is clear as it dominates most of the available space on the front-page. However, with the other newspapers the distinction is not quite as clear. The main criteria when deciding on which was the main story of the front-pages of The Telegraph and The Times was the size of the typeface of the headline. This emphasises that the reader comes to the newspaper with a set of codes with which to decode the text, and these codes may differ from individual to individual. This leads to the point that the text is open to a variety of interpretations depending on the ideological standpoint of the reader, and whether the reader is familiar with the newspaper and the codes which. it employs to communicate the ‘news’ which it has selected. Connotations of the linguistic and visual signs which are presented by newspapers are central to the meaning of the news item to the reader. The connotations of the news item are perceived within a coded framework and there are recognisable codes within different newspapers. It is clear that different newspapers use particular narrative codes when representing the same item of news. This can be seen in the three headlines which refer to the particular news item which I have chosen to examine. The Sun headline states ‘SCANDAL OF PSYCHO FREED TO KILL HERO COP NINN, The Telegraph ‘WPc was knifed to death after removing armour’, and The Times ‘WPc paid with her life for dedication to duty.’ Each of these narrative codes used in the headlines instantly provide a framework on which to build the meaning of the news item. The headlines are linguistic syntagms which aim to attract the attention of the reader to the topic of the news story, and the linguistic signs which are employed in the headline suggest to the reader the appropriate codes which are needed to understand or decode the news item. It is clear that the newspapers use different linguistic codes as a means of representing the news item. The Times and The Telegraph are similar in their use of language. However, both differ dramatically with The Sun. It is clear that The Sun uses orally based vocabulary, and dramatic and sensational language. This can be seen in the first sentence of the news item, which reads ‘A. violent cop-hating nut killed brave WPC Nina Mackay after a catastrophic catalogue of blunders by Crown prosecutors and police allowed him to roam free.’ The article also employs alliteration for emphasis , as in ‘catastrophic catalogue’ and ‘scandal of psycho’. The linguistic codes of the news item certainly connote speech which in turn connotes familiarity, informality, and camaraderie. The article also implies familiarity with the victim (We Nina Mackay) who is referred to throughout as ‘Nina’ where as a distance is created between the reader and the offender who is referred to throughout by his surname, Elgizouli. This code of familiarity is significantly different to that which is employed by The Telegraph and The Times who refer to the victim either in her professional capacity (WPc Nina Mackay) or by her full name. However, it is perhaps significant that the offender is referred to by his surname in all of the different representations of the news items. This strategy of distancing the reader from the criminal is blatantly employed by all three of the newspapers, clearly suggesting that the preferred reading of the texts should involve no sympathy with the offender. Another drastic difference between the newspaper representations of the news item are the typographic devices used to break up the text. Again, The Sun differs dramatically to The Telegraph and The Times using bold text to start the article, serving to extend the role of the headline in attracting the attention of the reader to the topic of the news story. The use of bold and one word sub-headings which are employed throughout the text serve to direct the reader in making meaning of the text and make blatantly obvious the points which the newspaper deem to be of particular significance to the understanding of the news item. The Telegraph and The Times do not employ the same typographic codes as The Sun, apart from bold type which is used for the headline, and the bold type used to name the journalist/s of the article. The narrative of the news story uses the same type and size of font throughout the item. Arguably, this connotes authority and formality to the reader which is also demonstrated by the fairly long sentences, the correct spellings and the lack of colloquial language such as ‘cop’ which is used in The Sun. This perhaps implies that the ‘quality’ press such as The Times and The Telegraph provide better news than tabloids such as The Sun. However, this kind of value judgement is inappropriate as both types of newspaper are constructions of the news with the ‘quality’ newspapers aiming to connote authority and formality and the ‘popular’ tabloids aiming to connote an attitude of ‘telling it how it is.’ Thus both types of representation of the news items present mythic meanings. Linguistic and typographic codes are not the only codes employed in news discourse. Graphic codes must also be considered. The photographs used in the press have also undergone a process of selection. One image will be chosen over another as it connotes a message that the selectors of the photograph want to communicate. Barthes (cited in Bagnell, 1977:98) suggests that the newspaper photograph is ‘an object that has been worked on, chosen, composed, constructed, treated according to professional, aesthetic or ideological norms which are so many factors of connotation.’ The ‘treatment’ of photographs which is referred to by Barthes can be seen in the different newspapers which I have chosen. Interestingly, each version of the news item has used the same photographs, but treated them differently according to the required connotation. Each representation uses the same picture of the victim in her police uniform looking directly at the camera, and the same pictu re of the offender looking vacant and away from the camera. Again, The Times and The Telegraph use similar codes, and The Sun employs a drastically different strategy despite using the same original photographs. The most drastic difference is that The Sun presents the photographs in colour, connoting realism and the dangerousness of the offender. This is also connoted by the size of the photographs, with the graphic representation dominating a large proportion of the overall available space on the page, which is another drastic difference between The Suns representation of the news item and the other two newspapers. Despite these major differences it is significant that the newspapers have all used the same photographs, and it is interesting to look at why these particular photographs might have been chosen. Paradigmatically, photographs involve connotations, and thus the significance of the particular photographs which have been chosen can be seen more clearly when considering what other paradigmatic connotations might have appeared in their place. For example the connotations of the picture of the police officer would change considerably if she was not in uniform. Likewise, the connotations of the picture would change if the offender was looking directly at the camera and smiling, instead he is pictured looking away from the camera with a blank expression, connoting lack of emotion. The contrasted pairs which seem to be involved in the paradigms are innocence and guilt, justice and injustice. These contrasted pairs are made more clear by the way in which the meanings of the photographs are anchored in a small amount of text beneath the photographs. The Times offers its own contrasted pair in the text beneath the pictures, namely ‘killer’ and ‘killed’. As Bignell (1997:99) suggests, the caption underneath the picture enables the reader to ‘load down the image with particular cultural meanings and the photograph functions as the proof that the texts message is true.’ The pictures are also shown in different contexts in the three newspapers with The Sun using a different strategy to The Telegraph and The Times. The Telegraph and The Times use similar sized pictures of the individuals involved. In The Sun the size of the photographs of the individuals differ considerably with the ‘killer’ being represented as significantly bigger than the ‘killed’. Also, the photograph of the police officer is presented in a photograph-like frame connoting sentimentality, and elevating her position in comparison to the ‘killer’. This emotionalism is carried over into the other picture which The Sun represents which shows the coffin of the police officer being carried by her colleagues. This is a cultural sign which most readers will be able to relate to, and connotes sympathy, tragedy and injustice. This discussion of several newspapers representations of the same news item show how semiotic analysis can determine the meanings of such news items, as a result of the linguistic and visual signs used within the texts. However, semiotic analysis cannot determine how an individual reader might interpret the representations of the news items in a real social context. Semiotic analysis does offer an insight into the factors at work in the production of a news item and distinguishes the various codes which are employed by different types of newspaper when representing a particular news item.

The Koala Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Koala Inroduction The koala is the Australian jewel. It has very furry, ash colored hair, a rubbery black nose, sharp claws, fuzzy ears, and a grizzly personality, or should I say, koalality. If you kill a koala, you'll make a million off their fur! They would sell the fur to coat companies and make coats out of koala fur. Well, sadly enough, too many people are making millions on koalas. That's why they're endangered species. Habitat The koala is distributed along the eastern coastal semi-tropical forests of Australia, ranging from north Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and a small area in the south of Australia. Breeding The male koala and the female koala have two very different mating calls. When humans reach their sexual maturity at around the age of 14 or 15, koalas reach their sexual maturity at the age of two. The female produces one baby every other year. The koala almost never produces twins. In the female's pouch, there are two nipples. The female koala gives birth after a 20-35 day gestation period. When the joey (baby koala) is born, it is no longer than 2 cm and weighs no more than a 1/2 gram. The joey stays in its mother's pouch for 5-7 months. The term "joey ² is used when you are talking about a baby marsupial. The mother gives "pap ² to the joey, a liquid from the caecum (which is similar to the human organ, appendix.) This is thought to give the joey the ability to eat only eucalyptus leaves. When the joey emerges from the pouch, it clings to its mother for another seven months. The joey stays with its mother for another three or four years, until it is fully grown. Diet Koalas eat eucalyptus and don't drink water. I guess that's how they got their name. In the aboriginal language, "koala" means "no drink water." But, the koala does drink water, only when it is ill. Out of the 350 species of eucalyptus, the koala can only eat 20, will only eat 5, and only prefers to eat a certain one. Population and Extinction Since the koala population has dropped since 50% since the turn of the century, the Australian government passed a law banning anything harmful to the koalas. At first, in the 1920's they were killed for their fur. Then, somehow, a high perce... ...e New Columbia Encyclop'dia, 1975 ed., p. 1491 (New York: Columbia University Press) Bergh, John. Austrailian Koala Hospital Assosiation, Inc.: Koala Facts Sheet, http://onthenet.com.au/~jbergh/koala2.htm (Sydney: onthenet.com) Bergh, John. Austrailian Koala Hospital Assosiation, Inc.: Koala Facts Sheet, http://onthenet.com.au/~jbergh/koala4.htm (Sydney: onthenet.com) Bergh, John. Austrailian Koala Hospital Assosiation, Inc.: Koala Facts Sheet, http://onthenet.com.au/~jbergh/koala1.htm (Sydney: onthenet.com) World Book Encyclop'dia, 1996 ed., 11:361 (Chicago: World Book, Inc.) Payne, Oliver. "Koala†¹ Out on a Limb," National Geographic Magazine, April, 1995 (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society Press) Academic American Encyclop'dia, 1994 ed., 12:103. (Danbury: Grolier, Inc.)

A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-seven

Eddard It's the hand's tourney that's the cause of all the trouble, my lords,† the commander of the city watch complained to the king's council. â€Å"The king's tourney,† Ned corrected, wincing. â€Å"I assure you, the Hand wants no part of it.† â€Å"Call it what you will, my lord. Knights have been arriving from all over the realm, and for every knight we get two freeriders, three craftsmen, six men-at-arms, a dozen merchants, two dozen whores, and more thieves than I dare guess. This cursed heat had half the city in a fever to start, and now with all these visitors . . . last night we had a drowning, a tavern riot, three knife fights, a rape, two fires, robberies beyond count, and a drunken horse race down the Street of the Sisters. The night before a woman's head was found in the Great Sept, floating in the rainbow pool. No one seems to know how it got there or who it belongs to.† â€Å"How dreadful,† Varys said with a shudder. Lord Renly Baratheon was less sympathetic. â€Å"If you cannot keep the king's peace, Janos, perhaps the City Watch should be commanded by someone who can.† Stout, jowly Janos Slynt puffed himself up like an angry frog, his bald pate reddening. â€Å"Aegon the Dragon himself could not keep the peace, Lord Renly. I need more men.† â€Å"How many?† Ned asked, leaning forward. As ever, Robert had not troubled himself to attend the council session, so it fell to his Hand to speak for him. â€Å"As many as can be gotten, Lord Hand.† â€Å"Hire fifty new men,† Ned told him. â€Å"Lord Baelish will see that you get the coin.† â€Å"I will?† Littlefinger said. â€Å"You will. You found forty thousand golden dragons for a champion's purse, surely you can scrape together a few coppers to keep the king's peace.† Ned turned back to Janos Slynt. â€Å"I will also give you twenty good swords from my own household guard, to serve with the Watch until the crowds have left.† â€Å"All thanks, Lord Hand,† Slynt said, bowing. â€Å"I promise you, they shall be put to good use.† When the Commander had taken his leave, Eddard Stark turned to the rest of the council. â€Å"The sooner this folly is done with, the better I shall like it.† As if the expense and trouble were not irksome enough, all and sundry insisted on salting Ned's wound by calling it â€Å"the Hand's tourney,† as if he were the cause of it. And Robert honestly seemed to think he should feel honored! â€Å"The realm prospers from such events, my lord,† Grand Maester Pycelle said. â€Å"They bring the great the chance of glory, and the lowly a respite from their woes.† â€Å"And put coins in many a pocket,† Littlefinger added. â€Å"Every inn in the city is full, and the whores are walking bowlegged and jingling with each step.† Lord Renly laughed. â€Å"We're fortunate my brother Stannis is not with us. Remember the time he proposed to outlaw brothels? The king asked him if perhaps he'd like to outlaw eating, shitting, and breathing while he was at it. If truth be told, I ofttimes wonder how Stannis ever got that ugly daughter of his. He goes to his marriage bed like a man marching to a battlefield, with a grim look in his eyes and a determination to do his duty.† Ned had not joined the laughter. â€Å"I wonder about your brother Stannis as well. I wonder when he intends to end his visit to Dragonstone and resume his seat on this council.† â€Å"No doubt as soon as we've scourged all those whores into the sea,† Littlefinger replied, provoking more laughter. â€Å"I have heard quite enough about whores for one day,† Ned said, rising. â€Å"Until the morrow.† Harwin had the door when Ned returned to the Tower of the Hand. â€Å"Summon Jory to my chambers and tell your father to saddle my horse,† Ned told him, too brusquely. â€Å"As you say, my lord.† The Red Keep and the â€Å"Hand's tourney† were chafing him raw, Ned reflected as he climbed. He yearned for the comfort of Catelyn's arms, for the sounds of Robb and Jon crossing swords in the practice yard, for the cool days and cold nights of the north. In his chambers he stripped off his council silks and sat for a moment with the book while he waited for Jory to arrive. The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, With Descliptions of Many High Lords and Noble Ladies and Their Children, by Grand Maester Malleon. Pycelle had spoken truly; it made for ponderous reading. Yet Jon Arryn had asked for it, and Ned felt certain he had reasons. There was something here, some truth buried in these brittle yellow pages, if only he could see it. But what? The tome was over a century old. Scarcely a man now alive had yet been born when Malleon had compiled his dusty lists of weddings, births, and deaths. He opened to the section on House Lannister once more, and turned the pages slowly, hoping against hope that something would leap out at him. The Lannisters were an old family, tracing their descent back to Lann the Clever, a trickster from the Age of Heroes who was no doubt as legendary as Bran the Builder, though far more beloved of singers and taletellers. In the songs, Lann was the fellow who winkled the Casterlys out of Casterly Rock with no weapon but his wits, and stole gold from the sun to brighten his curly hair. Ned wished he were here now, to winkle the truth out of this damnable book. A sharp rap on the door heralded Jory Cassel. Ned closed Malleon's tome and bid him enter. â€Å"I've promised the City Watch twenty of my guard until the tourney is done,† he told him. â€Å"I rely on you to make the choice. Give Alyn the command, and make certain the men understand that they are needed to stop fights, not start them.† Rising, Ned opened a cedar chest and removed a light linen undertunic. â€Å"Did you find the stableboy?† â€Å"The watchman, my lord,† Jory said. â€Å"He vows he'll never touch another horse.† â€Å"What did he have to say?† â€Å"He claims he knew Lord Arryn well. Fast friends, they were.† Jory snorted. â€Å"The Hand always gave the lads a copper on their name days, he says. Had a way with horses. Never rode his mounts too hard, and brought them carrots and apples, so they were always pleased to see him.† â€Å"Carrots and apples,† Ned repeated. It sounded as if this boy would be even less use than the others. And he was the last of the four Littlefinger had turned up. Jory had spoken to each of them in turn. Ser Hugh had been brusque and uninformative, and arrogant as only a new-made knight can be. If the Hand wished to talk to him, he should be pleased to receive him, but he would not be questioned by a mere captain of guards . . . even if said captain was ten years older and a hundred times the swordsman. The serving girl had at least been pleasant. She said Lord Jon had been reading more than was good for him, that he was troubled and melancholy over his young son's frailty, and gruff with his lady wife. The potboy, now cordwainer, had never exchanged so much as a word with Lord Jon, but he was full of oddments of kitchen gossip: the lord had been quarreling with the king, the lord only picked at his food, the lord was sending his boy to be fostered on Dragonstone, the lord had taken a great interest in the breeding of hunting hounds, the lord had visited a master armorer to commission a new suit of plate, wrought all in pale silver with a blue jasper falcon and a mother-of-pearl moon on the breast. The king's own brother had gone with him to help choose the design, the potboy said. No, not Lord Renly, the other one, Lord Stannis. â€Å"Did our watchman recall anything else of note?† â€Å"The lad swears Lord Jon was as strong as a man half his age. Often went riding with Lord Stannis, he says.† Stannis again, Ned thought. He found that curious. Jon Arryn and he had been cordial, but never friendly. And while Robert had been riding north to Winterfell, Stannis had removed himself to Dragonstone, the Targaryen island fastness he had conquered in his brother's name. He had given no word as to when he might return. â€Å"Where did they go on these rides?† Ned asked. â€Å"The boy says that they visited a brothel.† â€Å"A brothel?† Ned said. â€Å"The Lord of the Eyrie and Hand of the King visited a brothel with Stannis Baratheon?† He shook his head, incredulous, wondering what Lord Renly would make of this tidbit. Robert's lusts were the subject of ribald drinking songs throughout the realm, but Stannis was a different sort of man; a bare year younger than the king, yet utterly unlike him, stern, humorless, unforgiving, grim in his sense of duty. â€Å"The boy insists it's true. The Hand took three guardsmen with him, and the boy says they were joking of it when he took their horses afterward.† â€Å"Which brothel?† Ned asked. â€Å"The boy did not know. The guards would.† â€Å"A pity Lysa carried them off to the Vale,† Ned said dryly. â€Å"The gods are doing their best to vex us. Lady Lysa, Maester Colemon, Lord Stannis . . . everyone who might actually know the truth of what happened to Jon Arryn is a thousand leagues away.† â€Å"Will you summon Lord Stannis back from Dragonstone?† â€Å"Not yet,† Ned said. â€Å"Not until I have a better notion of what this is all about and where he stands.† The matter nagged at him. Why did Stannis leave? Had he played some part in Jon Arryn's murder? Or was he afraid? Ned found it hard to imagine what could frighten Stannis Baratheon, who had once held Storm's End through a year of siege, surviving on rats and boot leather while the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne sat outside with their hosts, banqueting in sight of his walls. â€Å"Bring me my doublet, if you would. The grey, with the direwolf sigil. I want this armorer to know who I am. It might make him more forthcoming.† Jory went to the wardrobe. â€Å"Lord Renly is brother to Lord Stannis as well as the king.† â€Å"Yet it seems that he was not invited on these rides.† Ned was not sure what to make of Renly, with all his friendly ways and easy smiles. A few days past, he had taken Ned aside to show him an exquisite rose gold locklet. Inside was a miniature painted in the vivid Myrish style, of a lovely young girl with doe's eyes and a cascade of soft brown hair. Renly had seemed anxious to know if the girl reminded him of anyone, and when Ned had no answer but a shrug, he had seemed disappointed. The maid was Loras Tyrell's sister Margaery, he'd confessed, but there were those who said she looked like Lyanna. â€Å"No,† Ned had told him, bemused. Could it be that Lord Renly, who looked so like a young Robert, had conceived a passion for a girl he fancied to be a young Lyanna? That struck him as more than passing queer. Jory held out the doublet, and Ned slid his hands through the armholes. â€Å"Perhaps Lord Stannis will return for Robert's tourney,† he said as Jory laced the garment up the back. â€Å"That would be a stroke of fortune, my lord,† Jory said. Ned buckled on a longsword. â€Å"In other words, not bloody likely.† His smile was grim. Jory draped Ned's cloak across his shoulders and clasped it at the throat with the Hand's badge of office. â€Å"The armorer lives above his shop, in a large house at the top of the Street of Steel. Alyn knows the way, my lord.† Ned nodded. â€Å"The gods help this potboy if he's sent me off haring after shadows.† It was a slim enough staff to lean on, but the Jon Arryn that Ned Stark had known was not one to wear jeweled and silvered plate. Steel was steel; it was meant for protection, not ornament. He might have changed his views, to be sure. He would scarcely have been the first man who came to look on things differently after a few years at court . . . but the change was marked enough to make Ned wonder. â€Å"Is there any other service I might perform?† â€Å"I suppose you'd best begin visiting whorehouses.† â€Å"Hard duty, my lord.† Jory grinned. â€Å"The men will be glad to help. Porther has made a fair start already.† Ned's favorite horse was saddled and waiting in the yard. Varly and Jacks fell in beside him as he rode through the yard. Their steel caps and shirts of mail must have been sweltering, yet they said no word of complaint. As Lord Eddard passed beneath the King's Gate into the stink of the city, his grey and white cloak streaming from his shoulders, he saw eyes everywhere and kicked his mount into a trot. His guard followed. He looked behind him frequently as they made their way through the crowded city streets. Tomard and Desmond had left the castle early this morning to take up positions on the route they must take, and watch for anyone following them, but even so, Ned was uncertain. The shadow of the King's Spider and his little birds had him fretting like a maiden on her wedding night. The Street of Steel began at the market square beside the River Gate, as it was named on maps, or the Mud Gate, as it was commonly called. A mummer on stilts was striding through the throngs like some great insect, with a horde of barefoot children trailing behind him, hooting. Elsewhere, two ragged boys no older than Bran were dueling with sticks, to the loud encouragement of some and the furious curses of others. An old woman ended the contest by leaning out of her window and emptying a bucket of slops on the heads of the combatants. In the shadow of the wall, farmers stood beside their wagons, bellowing out, â€Å"Apples, the best apples, cheap at twice the price,† and â€Å"Blood melons, sweet as honey,† and â€Å"Turnips, onions, roots, here you go here, here you go, turnips, onions, roots, here you go here.† The Mud Gate was open, and a squad of City Watchmen stood under the portcullis in their golden cloaks, leaning on spears. When a column of riders appeared from the west, the guardsmen sprang into action, shouting commands and moving the carts and foot traffic aside to let the knight enter with his escort. The first rider through the gate carried a long black banner. The silk rippled in the wind like a living thing; across the fabric was blazoned a night sky slashed with purple lightning. â€Å"Make way for Lord Beric!† the rider shouted. â€Å"Make way for Lord Beric!† And close behind came the young lord himself, a dashing figure on a black courser, with red-gold hair and a black satin cloak dusted with stars. â€Å"Here to fight in the Hand's tourney, my lord?† a guardsman called out to him. â€Å"Here to win the Hand's tourney,† Lord Beric shouted back as the crowd cheered. Ned turned off the square where the Street of Steel began and followed its winding path up a long hill, past blacksmiths working at open forges, freeriders haggling over mail shirts, and grizzled ironmongers selling old blades and razors from their wagons. The farther they climbed, the larger the buildings grew. The man they wanted was all the way at the top of the hill, in a huge house of timber and plaster whose upper stories loomed over the narrow street. The double doors showed a hunting scene carved in ebony and weirwood. A pair of stone knights stood sentry at the entrance, armored in fanciful suits of polished red steel that transformed them into griffin and unicorn. Ned left his horse with Jacks and shouldered his way inside. The slim young serving girl took quick note of Ned's badge and the sigil on his doublet, and the master came hurrying out, all smiles and bows. â€Å"Wine for the King's Hand,† he told the girl, gesturing Ned to a couch. â€Å"I am Tobho Mott, my lord, please, please, put yourself at ease.† He wore a black velvet coat with hammers embroidered on the sleeves in silver thread, Around his neck was a heavy silver chain and a sapphire as large as a pigeon's egg. â€Å"If you are in need of new arms for the Hand's tourney, you have come to the right shop.† Ned did not bother to correct him. â€Å"My work is costly, and I make no apologies for that, my lord,† he said as he filled two matching silver goblets. â€Å"You will not find craftsmanship equal to mine anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms, I promise you. Visit every forge in King's Landing if you like, and compare for yourself. Any village smith can hammer out a shirt of mail; my work is art.† Ned sipped his wine and let the man go on. The Knight of Flowers bought all his armor here, Tobho boasted, and many high lords, the ones who knew fine steel, and even Lord Renly, the king's own brother. Perhaps the Hand had seen Lord Renly's new armor, the green plate with the golden antlers? No other armorer in the city could get that deep a green; he knew the secret of putting color in the steel itself, paint and enamel were the crutches of a journeyman. Or mayhaps the Hand wanted a blade? Tobho had learned to work Valyrian steel at the forges of Qohor as a boy. Only a man who knew the spells could take old weapons and forge them anew. â€Å"The direwolf is the sigil of House Stark, is it not? I could fashion a direwolf helm so real that children will run from you in the street,† he vowed. Ned smiled. â€Å"Did you make a falcon helm for Lord Arryn?† Tobho Mott paused a long moment and set aside his wine. â€Å"The Hand did call upon me, with Lord Stannis, the king's brother. I regret to say, they did not honor me with their patronage.† Ned looked at the man evenly, saying nothing, waiting. He had found over the years that silence sometimes yielded more than questions. And so it was this time. â€Å"They asked to see the boy,† the armorer said, â€Å"so I took them back to the forge.† â€Å"The boy,† Ned echoed. He had no notion who the boy might be. â€Å"I should like to see the boy as well.† Tobho Mott gave him a cool, careful look. â€Å"As you wish, my lord,† he said with no trace of his former friendliness. He led Ned out a rear door and across a narrow yard, back to the cavernous stone barn where the work was done. When the armorer opened the door, the blast of hot air that came through made Ned feel as though he were walking into a dragon's mouth. Inside, a forge blazed in each corner, and the air stank of smoke and sulfur. Journeymen armorers glanced up from their hammers and tongs just long enough to wipe the sweat from their brows, while bare-chested apprentice boys worked the bellows. The master called over a tall lad about Robb's age, his arms and chest corded with muscle. â€Å"This is Lord Stark, the new Hand of the King,† he told him as the boy looked at Ned through sullen blue eyes and pushed back sweat-soaked hair with his fingers. Thick hair, shaggy and unkempt and black as ink. The shadow of a new beard darkened his jaw. â€Å"This is Gendry. Strong for his age, and he works hard. Show the Hand that helmet you made, lad.† Almost shyly, the boy led them to his bench, and a steel helm shaped like a bull's head, with two great curving horns. Ned turned the helm over in his hands. It was raw steel, unpolished but expertly shaped. â€Å"This is fine work. I would be pleased if you would let me buy it.† The boy snatched it out of his hands. â€Å"It's not for sale.† Tobho Mott looked horror-struck. â€Å"Boy, this is the King's Hand. If his lordship wants this helm, make him a gift of it. He honors you by asking.† â€Å"I made it for me,† the boy said stubbornly. â€Å"A hundred pardons, my lord,† his master said hurriedly to Ned. â€Å"The boy is crude as new steel, and like new steel would profit from some beating. That helm is journeyman's work at best. Forgive him and I promise I will craft you a helm like none you have ever seen.† â€Å"He's done nothing that requires my forgiveness. Gendry, when Lord Arryn came to see you, what did you talk about?† â€Å"He asked me questions is all, m'lord.† â€Å"What sort of questions?† The boy shrugged. â€Å"How was I, and was I well treated, and if I liked the work, and stuff about my mother. Who she was and what she looked like and all.† â€Å"What did you tell him?† Ned asked. The boy shoved a fresh fall of black hair off his forehead. â€Å"She died when I was little. She had yellow hair, and sometimes she used to sing to me, I remember. She worked in an alehouse.† â€Å"Did Lord Stannis question you as well?† â€Å"The bald one? No, not him. He never said no word, just glared at me, like I was some raper who done for his daughter.† â€Å"Mind your filthy tongue,† the master said. â€Å"This is the King's own Hand.† The boy lowered his eyes. â€Å"A smart boy, but stubborn. That helm . . . the others call him bullheaded, so he threw it in their teeth.† Ned touched the boy's head, fingering the thick black hair. â€Å"Look at me, Gendry.† The apprentice lifted his face. Ned studied the shape of his jaw, the eyes like blue ice. Yes, he thought, I see it. â€Å"Go back to your work, lad. I'm sorry to have bothered you.† He walked back to the house with the master. â€Å"Who paid the boy's apprentice fee?† he asked lightly. Mott looked fretful. â€Å"You saw the boy. Such a strong boy. Those hands of his, those hands were made for hammers. He had such promise, I took him on without a fee.† â€Å"The truth now,† Ned urged. â€Å"The streets are full of strong boys. The day you take on an apprentice without a fee will be the day the Wall comes down. Who paid for him?† â€Å"A lord,† the master said reluctantly. â€Å"He gave no name, and wore no sigil on his coat. He paid in gold, twice the customary sum, and said he was paying once for the boy, and once for my silence.† â€Å"Describe him.† â€Å"He was stout, round of shoulder, not so tall as you. Brown beard, but there was a bit of red in it, I'll swear. He wore a rich cloak, that I do remember, heavy purple velvet worked with silver threads, but the hood shadowed his face and I never did see him clear.† He hesitated a moment. â€Å"My lord, I want no trouble.† â€Å"None of us wants trouble, but I fear these are troubled times, Master Mott,† Ned said. â€Å"You know who the boy is.† â€Å"I am only an armorer, my lord. I know what I'm told.† â€Å"You know who the boy is,† Ned repeated patiently. â€Å"That is not a question.† â€Å"The boy is my apprentice,† the master said. He looked Ned in the eye, stubborn as old iron. â€Å"Who he was before he came to me, that's none of my concern.† Ned nodded. He decided that he liked Tobho Mott, master armorer. â€Å"If the day ever comes when Gendry would rather wield a sword than forge one, send him to me. He has the look of a warrior. Until then, you have my thanks, Master Mott, and my promise. Should I ever want a helm to frighten children, this will be the first place I visit.† His guard was waiting outside with the horses. â€Å"Did you find anything, my lord?† Jacks asked as Ned mounted up. â€Å"I did,† Ned told him, wondering. What had Jon Arryn wanted with a king's bastard, and why was it worth his life?