Problem Solving Simulation Essay Example for Free

Problem Solving Simulation Essay Assignment:Â  Problem-Solving Simulation How did you interpret the problem? When I was interpreting the problem I was trying to look at the whole picture. When in all reality I should have been breaking down the problem into sections so I could concentrate on the issue at hand. I will have to admit that shook my head allot over this because it was hard to look outside the box, as one might want to say. The goal was to get all three animals to the other side of the river without any of them being harmed by one of the other animals. The cat would eat the mouse if left alone, or the dog and the cat would fight if left alone. The strange part was the mouse and the dog could not be left on the other side of the bank either. What strategy did you use and how did you evaluate your progress? The strategy I took was that to find most common problem between the three animals. When I was evaluating the possibilities of getting them all three over the river it was overwhelming at first. I was able to attain that the main problem was the cat. The cat did not get along with the dog, nor did it get along with the mouse. The only obvious thing to do was to get the cat across the river first. This way the dog and the mouse were safe on the other bank. My problem was once I got the cat across the river and came back for one of the other animals I soon realized that either one I took next would cause a problem with the cat. Did you encounter any obstacles while solving the problem? I was upset that I could not get my mind to look outside the box. There had to be a reasonable solution to this problem. A few obstacles were encountered along the way while I was trying to solve this mystery. I would take the cat over first which was fine, because the dog and mouse was okay while on the original side of the river. As soon as I would take over one of the other animals with the cat all heck broke loose due to the cat not getting along with either the dog or the mouse. I knew there had to be an easier answer to this problem. After thinking carefully, I took the dog over first then the cat and mouse fought and then when I took the mouse over first then the dog and cat fought. It almost seemed impossible. Were you aware of this thought process as you worked through the problem? Then after careful consideration and the knowledge I had that the cat had to be the instigator in all this fighting I knew for sure that the cat had to go first. After reading the assigned reading to this issue I knew the answer was outside the box. I will admit that I even placed this task to my mom just to see if she would be as stumped as I was. Now as a recap; I knew the cat was the bad guy in this scenario, so the problem was how would I get the other two over there safely? Then it came to my mom and me! Wow what a revelation it was. Yes the cat was the mean one, and could not be left alone. So, you had to send the cat over first and return raft for another animal. Once you had the other animal over to the bank you had to put the cat back onto the raft and leave him alone on the first bank. This gave you the time you needed to get the other animal over to the other side. So in all reality the cat was the first one to cross over to the other side and the last one to be left on the first side. I do have to say this was a mind stretcher of an activity. I do enjoy trying to figure things like this out. It may take me a while but it is awesome when you do figure it out, at that point you knew you looked outside the box and found your answer.

Justice On Trial in Kafkas The Trial Essay -- Kafka Trial Essays

Justice On Trial in Kafka's The Trial There is no such thing as justice - in or out of court.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Clarence Darrow i Most often critically interpreted as a search for Divine justice, Kafka's The Trial, a fragmented and unfinished novel, appears to leave us with the same impression as the words above of Clarence Darrow.   In other words, there is no justice.   This assessment of Divine justice by Kafka works on two levels.   On one level, he is illustrating the helpless nature of the individual when in conflict against an established bureaucracy.   On another level, he is illustrating the existential dilemma of man in the face of a godless, indifferent, and often hostile universe.   A search for justice by Josef K. finds no justice in either realm.   Josef K. awakes one morning to find himself accused by a mysterious legal authority "Someone must have been spreading lies about Josef K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning."ii   His crime is unnamed, one of which he knows nothing.   The novel follows his many attempts to obtain justice from authorities with which he cannot communicate well.   Josef K.'s attempt to find justice end in his utter frustration, his complete loss of human dignity, and his cruel death by stabbing. The Trial is also meant to symbolize original sin and guilt.   On the level of the individual versus the bureaucracy, Josef K. is consumed by guilt and condemned for a crime he does not understand by a court with which he cannot communicate.   We see this same dilemma on the level of the individual versus an existential existence, i.e., man in the modern world trying to find meaning and justice, consumed by guilt and condemned for original sin by a god with which he ca... ... Solzhenitsyn, A. I. The Gulag Archipelago, (I-II).   Translated by Thomas P. Whitney.   New York:   Harper & Row Publishers, 1973. Notes: i Fitzhenry, R. I. (ed.).   Barnes & Noble Book of Quotations, New York, Barnes & Noble Books, 1986, 197. ii Kafka, F.   The Trial.   Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir.   Introduction by George Steiner.   New York, Schocken Books, 1992, 1. iii Id. 180. iv Id. 46. v   Id. 46. vi   Id. 97. vii   Id. 150. viii   Id. 121. ix Beit v. Probate and Family Court Department, 434 N.E.2d 642 (1982), at 643, citing The Trial at 290. x Kafka, 42. xi Id. 222. xii   Id. 43. xiii   Id. 108. xiv   Id. 228. xv Id. 229. xvi Solzhenitsyn, A. I. The Gulag Archipelago, (I-II).   Translated by Thomas P. Whitney.   New York:   Harper & Row Publishers, 1973, 436. xvii Id. 437. xviii   Id. 295.

Performance appraisal Essay

Performance appraisal has been one of the most-debated management practices for several decades. It has generated a wide variety of viewpoints. There are those who see performance appraisal as making an important contribution to human resource management, in that organizations require systematic information on how well employees are performing in their jobs as a key element in ensuring that human resources are used as effectively as possible. Employees at all levels experience a need to know clearly what they should be doing and what is expected of them in terms of quantity and quality of output. In addition most people want to be in a position where they can perform better next time around. A number of writers, especially during the 1970s, expressed pessimistic views about the future of performance appraisal schemes, and the assumptions on which they are based. Some have tended to write off conventional versions of performance appraisal as backward, simplistic and even counterproductive, arguing that conventional appraisal processes often lead both the manager and employee to approach the performance review with dysfunctional role stereotypes. The employee expects to hear what is wrong with his or her performance, while the manger expects to have to well the evaluation to a reluctant and possibly hostile member of staff. (Gordon Anderson 1996) In this case study, it present the issues that caused Xerox Company emerged as a result of their research. In a word, it is all about change. It is talking about the linked issues of visibility and growth, and the compelling need for a process or model to deal with the problems of increasing effectiveness in the midst of all the change. I discuss changing attitudes and HRD political relevance, and present evidence of concern for HRD effectiveness. In Xerox appraisal new system they use â€Å"Mulit-appraisal† which is 360-degree Appraisal. The limitations of conventional performance appraisal in placing considerable, and sometimes total, emphasis on the judgment of the employee’s manager have been identified and discussed by a number of  writers. A pioneering study carried out a number of years ago in Gulf Oil, and described by Stinson and Stokes (1980), highlights an alternative, multi-rater method, which overcomes a number of the deficiencies of conventional, manager-orientated appraisal. Probably the most significant development likely to influence the nature of performance appraisal in the future is the shift away from conventional appraisals undertaken typically by line managers towards the concept of 360-degree appraisal. The concept builds on multi-appraisal and refers to a situation where appraisal data is collected † all around† an employee, from his or her manager, subordinates, peers and c ustomers, internal and external. A number of factors are encouraging organizations to introduce, or to seriously consider the introduction of, 360-degree appraisal. These include: ØFlatter, less hierarchical, more flexible, team-based organization structures; ØAwareness of the limited perspective of managers; ØRecognition of the value of contributions from other sources; ØThe advantage of a range of perspectives, given the increasingly complex roles many people play in organization. In research identified the need for building and maintaining close relationships with line and staff management as essential for a successful HRD organization. It is really depend on the organization and communication processes. A wide range of methods and criteria for appraising performance is used by organizations. The various ways of measuring performance stem directly form the different components of performance. We can see in the new system of Xerox, they are: Simple ranking, using this system the appraiser is called upon to make a judgment about the general level of the performance of each employee. Based on the appraiser ranks each employee from best to worst. Alternate ranking, this process involves a number of stages. While this approach may have some advantages in determining the ratings, it suffers from the same defects as the simple ranking approach. The HRD Function In effective HRD functions, staff development is built in to the annual operating plan as a requirement. It is not only supported by management, but also seen as essential to the continued effective operation of the HRD function, and adequate funding supports it. Another one is Feedback, It tells employees, â€Å"How am I doing?† and â€Å"Where do I go from here?† How would you like to be a member of a bowling team and go bowling every week, but only get your scores once a year? Coaching is the day-to-day effort to review work, answer questions, discuss progress (or lack of it) toward meeting standards, develop skills, and provide positive guidance. Is the supervisor the only person who can provide coaching to an employee? Coworkers, other supervisors, and even customers can often be in a good position to compare the employee’s performance to established standards and then give helpful feedback. As the articles shown that the core of any organization is its staff. Without workers, who is going to do the job? How come the goal is going to achieve? How effectively an organization maintains a quality team of employees is linked to its ability to manage its staff and recognize the contributions of each player. Effective performance management systems enable an organization to objectively and systematically rate employee performance, while providing the tools necessary to take that performance level and equate it to compensation actions. Employees have always expressed the desire for open feedback regarding their performance. More and more companies are embracing the pay for performance concept and its tie to compensation. A well-executive performance management plan enables an organization to achieve critical goals: ØRecognize the efforts and contributions of current staff ØReward staff with compensation directly linked to performance ØMotivate staff to improve performance ØOrient staff towards goal achievement ØRetain key employees through the use of competitive compensation programs ØAttract quality employees with an effective performance management system A necessary condition for the effective management of performance appraisal systems in any organization is the need to clarify and communicate to all concerned the objectives which the system is intended to achieve. Typically, performance appraisal schemes are expected to serve multiple objectives. This can often be strength in that several purposes can be achieved, but I can also prove to be a disadvantage if it leads to a dissipation of effort and lack of focus. It is obviously of crucial importance, and everyone in an organization especially the key decision makers should be fully aware precisely what objectives the system of performance appraisal is expected to achieve, and the priorities within these objects. Performance appraisal should lead to the identification of the training and development needs of employees. Indeed, it can be argued that without an appraisal scheme, it would be only accidental if training and development efforts were aimed in the right direction (Anderson 1980). Performance appraisal, by providing feedback to employees on job performance, creates a basis for improvement and development. The developmental function of appraisal is concerned with improving the performance of people by identifying areas for improvement, setting performance targets for the future, and agreeing plans for follow up action. This aspect also involves developing the capacity of people through formulation plans to develop their skills and careers, and helping individuals to reconcile their job and career aspirations with opportunities available in the organization. Furthermore, there is certain amount of overlap between the evaluative and development functions, in that the evaluation of past performance will often be an important influence upon the setting of future targets. Brinkerhoff  and Kanter (1980) contend that this function is both backward looking in the sense of evaluating past performance so as to establish standards and forward looking in that the established standards serve as incentives for future performance improvement through generating peer competition and the desire to best one’s won past record. The argue further that an additional overlapping, but also overarching, purpose for performance appraisal is to ensure that managers are performing a critical management function. Managers should be paying careful attention to the assessment of the past performance of their staff against organizational requirements, and to the development of greater productivity of the human resources available. This function of performance of performance appraisal of encouraging careful and systematic approaches in assessing the performance of employees is of great importance for practicing managers, and they often recognize its value. The possible conflict between the evaluative and developmental dimensions has been much discussed in the appraisal literature. The central issue appears to be: can the manager, acting as appraiser, effectively be both judge and helper without experiencing role conflict? Since future decisions must be based, at least in part, on evaluations of previous behavior, it could be argued that this conflict is superficial rather than real, and that an effective manager should be about to cope effectively with both roles. When we looked further at the issue of growth. The Conference Board, in a study of trends in corporate education and training, found that the number of training professionals had increased in nearly two-thirds of the firms surveyed. The board cited the following as evidence of the enhanced role and status of HRD in many companies: ØManagement has become convinced that education drives the business. ØA stepchild until recently, the training function is now seen as essential to the company’s strategic goals. ØDeveloping our people is now the heart of our business strategy. ØTraining departments used to be wiped out by recessions, but few were in the recent one (Lusterman, 1985, p.2). Affecting the growth of HRD is the increase in the overall number of jobs and the shifts from sectors such as manufacturing to service organizations. Newly created jobs require new skills training and workers being displaced need retraining. In addition, more workers are coming to expect training as part of the normal job environment, and will demand it if they don’t see it. This is especially true in high technology, where employees want to stay on the leading edge-they can’t afford not to. The negative factors are: ØPossible distortion due to popularity factors influencing peers; ØPossible negative reactions towards those who irrespective of this performance, are seen as unorthodox, inclined to challenge existing practices, and therefore perceived as threatening; ØFriendship rating; ØDistortions due to fear of retaliation; ØReliance of peers on stereotypes in making evaluation. Despite the risks evident from the number of possible negative factors, peer review may well have an increasing role to play in performance appraisal systems of the future, especially in non-hierarchical, team-based organizational structures in which peers are willing to give objective evaluations of one another’s performance, and where peers interact sufficiently frequently to be able to develop an informed view of the performance of colleagues. Conclusion Appraisal of employees tasks place whether a formal appraisal system is in operation or not. In small companies, formal systems are probably unnecessary; in larger companies, a formal system goes some way towards ensuring that decisions based upon judgments of employee performance are fair and just. However, the mere installation of an appraisal scheme does not ensure that appraisals are well founded. There are a large number of human tendencies towards error that must be recognized by those conducting appraisal. This recognition and ways to overcome the problems are best achieved through training. The appraisal of performance is useless unless the results of the appraisal are translated into action. This is the purpose of the appraisal interview. It is a mechanism for feedback of information to employees, and an opportunity for employees and their superiors to sit down and plan remedial action. Appraisal interviews involving problem solving, counseling and joint objective setting are essential components of a successful appraisal scheme. REFERENCE French,W. Human Resources Management 4th Edition, Houghton Miffin co, Boston, 1998. Graham, H.T, Human Resources Management, recruitment and selection, Britain ,1983. Leslie W. Rue, Ph.D., Lioyd L. Byors, Ph.D, Management skills and Application recruitment and selection, Australia,1997. Pearson, R., The Human Resources , Managing people and work, Australia, 1990. Kramar, R, Mcgraw, P& Schuler, R. S., Human Resources Management in Australia. Longman. South Melbourne, 1997. Parry, K. W., Smith, D., Human Resources Management. USQ Press. Queensland, 1998. Dessler, Griffiths, Lloyd- Walker, Williams, Human Resources Management, Prentice Hall, Australia, 1999.

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