History of human resource management

Human resource management has always been a part of man’s life even before its name was suggested. This paper will discuss how human resource management has changed over the years. The paper will also discuss how the changes in workforce has effected the human resource management of today. The effects of globalization in today’s HRM will also be looked after in this paper. The world has changed over the years and so has the jobs. New jobs have been created and now labor is taken differently by the employers. The economy has brought a big change in how people take the challenges of human resource today. History of Human resource management Human resource management means to manage the people. It is also known as personnel management at times. The human resource management has changed over the past years. Now it is not only about dealing with the employees of the organization but to also see other parts of the organization. The human resource managers of today are more involved in workforce identification and establishment of the firms. Today it is more about strategically managing the firms. Different definitions have been given in the past after looking at the changes that occurred in this field of human resource (Mote, n. d. ). In the past, human resource management was referred to as the labor management. Chinese are known to be the pioneers of the management. Before any other man came up with the concept of human resource the Greeks had already developed the idea of it. Many past civilizations used the concept of human resource management but were not familiar that what it exactly was. The main idea of HRM remains the same and that is to have maximum productivity for the organization. The difference that has arrived is of the strategies that are now involved in achieving this goal of greater productivity through proper management of labor (Lockwood, 2005). In the start the economies around the world were based on agriculture. People worked as farmers or worked for landlords to earn their living. Everyone was on their own and only landlords were the basic human resource managers at that time. Then came the industrial revolution and things changed. Workforce shifted. People switched jobs. A big lot left farming and moved towards working in an industry to earn a better living. Due to this revolution immigration towards developing countries also increased. The human resource management became more complex now. The task now was to deal with people from different nationalities (Khilawala, n. d. ). The culture was different and therefore styles had to be adapted in order to maximize productivity. Proper techniques were developed and recruitment and selection took place through proper channels. With the rise of industrial revolution also came the task of dealing with unions. The human resource department thus had to find ways to resolve conflicts between unions and management. The function of HR changed again. A major shift came from the idea of having a corporate culture. This way people were given more importance. The efficiency was not the only important factor then. The worker’s satisfaction to gain efficiency was now the issue. Human resource management had to again go through the new process of developing new ways of keeping the employees satisfied. The people started looking for jobs that would give them more satisfaction and an environment where they can achieve success with satisfaction. Now it was just not the era of industry but competitive industries(Friedman, n. d. ). Different laws came and the human resource department gained more importance. The corporate put a lot of emphasis on this department because a lot of laws had been passed and no organization wanted a law suit against them from their employees. The human resource department took a new turn when strategic human resource management was introduced. New strategies were now involved and the human resource department was being looked at from a different angle (Mote, n. d. ). The human resource management of today is an entirely different thing. People shift jobs and look at the aspects of better living styles. Globalization has changed the way people see human resource department now. The multi national companies have strong human resource managers in order to look after the employees from different nationalities. This helps in building a strong reputation of the organization. The human resource managers of today not only have to look after the people but the organization as a whole. The main job of today’s human resource managers is to have a focused approach of how the strategies of the organizations will be followed. So it all depends on the human resource managers and their style of management that how they carry the organization in order to achieve greater productivity. The better the attitude of human resource manager the better would be the response from the employees. It is the main job of the managers to keep a focused approach on how to keep the managers and employees satisfied specially in today’s world where there role is so diversified.

Call Center Relocation

Call Center Relocation Introduction It is true that call centers are increasingly becoming important in the current market where brick-and-motar stores are losing their popularity to online stores. For Sekoorb Insurance, it is understandable how important it is to have an efficient workstation that has the capacity of meeting the market demands.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Call Center Relocation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The decision to relocate the call centre from the town centre office to the newly rented out of town office accommodation is a brilliant idea that would not only increase the productivity of the workforce, but also make it easier for the relevant stakeholders to make a visit to the premises of this firm by avoiding the hustle and bustle of the city centre (Charantimanth 2003, p. 89). However, this should be done efficiently and at a lower cost. The ultimate aim of this firm is to ensure that the relocation is d one efficiently, and at a minimum cost possible. The negotiation done by Ron Black with a professional relocation company to cut down the cost from  £325 per head relocated to  £25,000 was very brilliant (Blell 2011, p. 112). However, I believe that we can cut down the cost further by about half this figure if we were to use internal labour to undertake this duty. I believe that relocating the call centre can be done by using internal labour and internal equipments within this firm. I also believe that the current labour, including the technicians, have the capacity to undertake this activity within the weekends and deliver success as would be expected. It is important to note that although the main reason why I propose the use of internal labour is because of the lower costs involved, it is also a fact that internal labour will deliver a better work because this is their facility, and they will feel responsible for every action they take in this process (Kanji 2005, p. 90). The y will therefore, make an attempt to deliver quality result for the tasks assigned to them. The Preparations After comparing the costs associated with the relocation of the call center, I believe that the most efficient and cost effective way of conducting this relocation would be to use the internal labor. Given that the work will be undertaken over the weekend, it is very easy to mobilize this workforce to undertake the activities within these two days in order to ensure that the relocation is complete by Sunday evening ready for use the following day in the morning. The preparations should start as early as possible in order to have everything planned for the weekend. Given the fact that the top management is fully aware and has approved this relocation, the main preparations will involve identifying the right workforce that will be involved in undertaking various activities, the equipment that would be needed, and a program on how each task should be undertaken within the firm.A dvertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In managing this project, the following are some of the preparations I will make in order to ensure that everything works as per the plan.  Information is very important within an organization, irrespective of the position held within an organization (Chandra 2009, p. 89). It makes an employee feel that he or she is of value within the firm. For this reason, I will make a communication to all the relevant offices and staff members informing them of the intended relocation. This communication is not only meant to inform members of this firm of the intended relocation, but also to prepare them for the planned activities that are to be undertaken because they will be part of the relocation (Dressel 2001, p. 71). The communication will be made on Monday morning within the week of relocation. On Tuesday, the main activity will be ident ifying the relevant workforce that would be involved in carrying out various activities on the material day. Eric, the Head House Administrator will play a significant role at this stage. This is because he is the head of the workforce that would be involved in this activity, and that he has experience in supervising a similar activity (Eunson 2012, p. 56). Working closely with Eric, we will identify the relevant workforce that would be needed to undertake various tasks within this project. Eric and I will view all the equipments that would need to be relocated after which, we will be in a position to determine the exact number of employees that would be needed for this task. By Tuesday evening, the names of all the needed workers will be ready. The names will be printed the same day ready for use from Wednesday till Sunday. On Wednesday morning, the entire identified workforce will be informed of the intended work over the weekend and there would be a meeting with them at ten in th e morning the same day. The majority will be those who have been involved in the previous relocations. In this team will also be Ian, the IT technician who will be responsible for reconnecting the computer and telephone equipment. In this session, the employees would be given opportunity to share their experience about the previous relocation and how best they think this work can be more successful this time round. Ian, and any other worker who is part of this project, will be expected to identify all the equipment relevant to his or her task in the project. They will be given the entire afternoon of this day to make this possible.  On Wednesday, all the project members will meet in the morning to discuss on the equipment that would be needed for the project. Every project member will inspect the equipment that would be needed on the material day to confirm that they are in the right condition.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Call Center Relocation speci fically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On this day, any particular equipment that needs repair will be serviced in order to ensure that they are ready for the task ahead. Eric and I will select team leaders among the project members who will guide other project members in various sections of this project. Ian will be among this group. The group will visit the new premises in order to assess the location and try to figure out how the current call center at the town office will fit into these new premises. A photo of this new premise will be taken.  On Friday, a series of activities will be taken. The first thing in the morning, all the employees working in the play station will be reminded of the intended relocation to a new premise over the weekend. They will be advised to carry home all the personal items they considered very valuable in the evening of the same day (Cheldelin 2008, p. 20). They will also be expected to lock their desk pedestals and take the key home for the purpose of ensuring that the items will remain intact during the process of relocation. All the project members will be grouped according to the tasks to be taken on the two days, and each team will be headed by the team leader. It is on this day that the plan for the new premise will be made. Eric and I will take into consideration the need to ensure that the process is as seamless as possible as is desired by the director of this department. In order to achieve this, a photo of the current call center will be taken while the officers are at work in order to have a clear image of how to fit the systems into the new office. At lunch time, all the call center officers will be requested to vacate their workstations for about five minutes. Another photo of this station will be taken to enhance the planning (Chary 2009, p. 72). This will also help in ensuring that after relocation, the station will be left intact and ready to be used by other officers by Monday morning the following week. In the evening, the entire team will be addressed by Ron Black. It is during this time that Ron will be informed of the planned activities for the following day. The Activities Involved in the Project Timing the Activities The activities in this project are planned to start on Saturday at noon. This is because of a number of reasons. The first reason is the constraint put by Ron, the director of this unit, that the activities cannot be started in the morning based on company policies. The second reason is that traffic movement in the morning hours of Saturdays is always slow. Starting work in the morning would increase the total time spent in undertaking these activities while our intention is to reduce the time. Lastly, upon sharing with Eric on his experience during the last relocation, he informed me that they spent a lot of time on traffic because they started the work in the morning. As a result of this, the employees got tired even before undertaki ng all the duties expected of them.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On Saturday, the work shall begin at 12.00 and is expected to end at 18.00 hours. On Sunday, the activities shall commence at 8.00 and end at 18.00 in the evening. This breakdown of the work to be carried out is shown in the appendix. Although the official ending time is planned as 18.00 hours, the project plans show that the work may be completed as early as 14.00 hours. The four extra hours might be needed by only a single worker, the IT specialist. Eric and I may spend an extra hour after 14.00 hours inspecting both the call center office at the new premise, and the office at the town center if they meet the expectations of the project. The Activities All the project members are expected to be at their expected work locations by 12.00. The project members will be in three groups as was planned initially. The first group will be the packing team which will make the majority. The second group will be the transport team, and the last group will be the IT connection group. On Saturda y noon when the project commences, the IT officers will help with the relevant disconnections of the telephones and computers. They will witness how these items are packed so that they will have easier time at the new premise when they will be conducting the reconnection (Andrzej Buchaman 2007, p. 62). Their day will then come to an end as they will be expected to report the following day by 10.00. The group responsible for unpacking and packing the equipments would start by moving all the computers and telephone kits into the first van. When all these equipments are safely packed into the first van, the team will come for the desk pedals. I chose to move the entire desk pedestals from the old furniture to the new ones at the new locations, and fit the new pedestals into the old furniture because of two reasons. The first reason was that this would ensure that the contents of desk drawers of the staff would remain intact and safe. The second reason is because the furniture is stand ardized and changing the pedestals would be very possible. Every activity would be done within a specified timeframe, as stated in the appendix, and for this reason, all the project members will be warned against taking this project as a jolly overtime task that can be conducted at their own pace as they previously did in the last relocation that took place in this firm. After packing all the pedestals into the second van, they will be transported to the new premises. The transport officers will then pack the vans ready for unpacking by the second group. The time that the van is expected to take to the new location is also shown in the appendix. Upon arrival at the new office premises, the packing team will remove the items from the two vans to the new office. When all the items are unloaded from the vans, the transport officers will retire and resume work the following day at ten. Given the time constrain, it is only the desk pedestals that would be fitted. All the activities of th e day will come to a close immediately the pedestals are fitted and the new pedestals are packed ready to be transported to the town offices the following day. On Sunday morning, all the project members, except the transport officers, will report to work by 8.00 in the morning. With the directions from the IT officers, the packing officers will arrange all the computers and telephone kits into the cells ready for connection. The timing for this activity is shown in the appendix. When they complete this task, they will move all the new pedestals into the van ready to be transported to the town premises. Ian will be left in this new office to undertake the connection process. The other members will use the second van (others may use the space that will remain in the first van because the pedestals may not use the entire space) and we will go back to the town offices. Upon arrival, the work of transport officers will come to an end immediately. The pedestals will be moved using the lif ts to the second floor of the building. The new pedestals will then be fitted into the old furniture at the town office, a process that is expected to take under half an hour. The town office will be ready for use by the new occupants after some cleaning (which is not under the jurisdiction of this project). When this task is completed, the group shall have completed their task and they would leave for their private activities. According to the estimations, this will be done by 12.00 on Sunday. Eric and I will then move to the new premise to inspect the work done by Ian. It is expected that by 14.00, Ian should have completed his task of reconnection. The four hour allowance would be given to him only when it is confirmed that it is very necessary. Otherwise, everything will be complete and ready for use by 14.00 at a cost half than which would have been charged by the professional replicators. References Andrzej, A Buchaman, A 2007, Organizational Behavior, Prentice Hall, London. Blell, D 2011, Emotional intelligence: For the authentic and diverse workplace, Iuniverse Inc, New York. Chandra, P 2009, Projects Planning, Analysis, Selection, Financing, Implementation, and Review, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi. Charantimanth, P 2003, Total Quality Management, The Free Press, New York. Chary, S 2009, Production and Operation management, Gale Research, Detroit. Cheldelin, S 2008, Conflict: From analysis to intervention, Continuum, New York. Dressel, K 2001, Systemic Risk: A New Challenge for Risk Management, OCED, London. Eunson, B 2012, Conflict Management, John Wiley Sons, Hoboken. Kanji, G 2005, Total Quality Management: Proceedings of the First World Congress, John Wiley and Sons, New York. Appendix

Woody Guthrie essays

Woody Guthrie essays For my project, I chose to go look at the exhibit, The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie, at the J. Wayne Stark University Center Galleries. It told about his life story, and presented many of his famous works of art. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born in the small town of Okemah, Oklahoma on the fourteenth of July in 1912. His grandparents moved to Oklahoma trying to seize the opportunity to seize land from the Indian Territory. In his lifetime, Woody experienced and saw much hardship, which he reflected through his artwork, music, and poetry. For example, at the age of only fourteen, Woody was living on his own. Using the hymns and spirituals he learned, Woody added what he learned in the folk tradition from people he met on the road. He also lived during the period of the Great Depression, which presented starving families and much injustice. Woody and many Americans wondered how all of these horrible things could go on in the country proclaimed to be the land of freedom. Many families were starving as plenty of food sat behind the fences in the fields left to rot. All of this, Woody expressed through his work, as he was not merely just an artist, but an avid activist as well. His life p rematurely ended when he was hospitalized being diagnosed with Huntingtons disease, which also was the cause of death to his mother. However, the impact that he laid upon American soil was so significant as to this day he is still acknowledged in every fight, and battle for fairness, and equality. The exhibit showed many of his paintings, poetry, and music he produced in his lifetime. His artworks were direct past events he personally experienced, from the Black Blizzard to Starvation Disease. His artwork was not beautiful, fancy, or done with much detail. However, Woodys ability to directly show the events so blatantly is what makes his works so powerful. For exa...

How Neil Armstrong Became the First Man on the Moon

How Neil Armstrong Became the First Man on the Moon For thousands of years, man had looked to the heavens and dreamed of walking on the moon. On July 20,  1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong became the very first to accomplish that dream, followed only minutes later by Buzz Aldrin. Their accomplishment placed the United States ahead of the Soviets in the Space Race and gave people around the world the hope of future space exploration. Fast Facts: First Moon Landing Date: July 20, 1969Mission: Apollo 11Crew: Neil Armstrong, Edwin Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins Becoming the First Person on the Moon When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the United States was surprised to find themselves behind in the race to space. Still behind the Soviets four years later, President John F. Kennedy gave inspiration and hope  to the American people in his speech to Congress on May 25, 1961 in which he stated, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth. Just eight years later, the United States accomplished this goal by placing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. Portrait of American astronauts, from left, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong, the crew of NASAs Apollo 11 mission to the moon, as they pose on a model of the moon, 1969. Ralph Morse / Getty Images Take Off At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, 1969, the Saturn V rocket launched Apollo 11 into the sky from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On the ground, there were over 3,000 journalists, 7,000 dignitaries, and approximately a half million tourists watching this momentous occasion. The event went smoothly and as scheduled. CAPE KENNEDY, UNITED STATES - JULY 16, 1969: Composite 5 frame shot of the gantry retracting while the Saturn V boosters lift off to carry the Apollo 11 astronauts to the Moon.   Ralph Morse / Getty Images After one-and-a-half orbits around Earth, the Saturn V thrusters flared once again and the crew had to manage the delicate process of attaching the lunar module (nicknamed Eagle) onto the nose of the joined command and service module (nicknamed Columbia). Once attached, Apollo 11 left the Saturn V rockets behind as they began their three-day journey to the moon, called the translunar coast. A Difficult Landing On July 19, at 1:28 p.m. EDT, Apollo 11 entered the moons orbit. After spending a full day in lunar orbit, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin boarded the lunar module and detached it from the command module for their descent to the moons surface. As the Eagle departed, Michael Collins, who remained in the Columbia while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the moon, checked for any visual problems with the lunar module. He saw none and told the Eagle crew, You cats take it easy on the lunar surface. Members of the Kennedy Space Center control room team rise from their consoles to see the liftoff of the Apollo 11 mission 16 July 1969.   NASA / Getty Images As the Eagle headed toward the moons surface, several different warning alarms were activated. Armstrong and Aldrin realized that the computer system was guiding them to a landing area that was strewn with boulders the size of small cars. With some last-minute maneuvers, Armstrong guided the lunar module to a safe landing area. At 4:17 p.m. EDT on July 20, 1969, the landing module landed on the moons surface in the Sea of Tranquility with only seconds of fuel left. Armstrong reported to the command center in Houston, Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed. Houston responded, Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. Were breathing again. Walking on the Moon After the excitement, exertion, and drama of the lunar landing, Armstrong and Aldrin spent the next six-and-a-half hours resting and then preparing themselves for their moon walk. At 10:28 p.m. EDT, Armstrong turned on the video cameras. These cameras transmitted images from the moon to over half a billion people on Earth who sat watching their televisions. It was phenomenal that these people were able to witness the amazing events that were unfolding hundreds of thousands of miles above them. This grainy, black-and-white image taken on the Moon shows Neil Armstrong about to step off the Eagle lander and onto the surface of the Moon for the first time. NASA   Neil Armstrong was the first person out of the lunar module. He climbed down a ladder and then became the first person to set foot on the moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT. Armstrong then stated, Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. A few minutes later, Aldrin exited the lunar module and stepped foot on the moons surface. Working on the Surface Although Armstrong and Aldrin got a chance to admire the tranquil, desolate beauty of the moons surface, they also had a lot of work to do. NASA had sent the astronauts with a number of scientific experiments to set up and the men were to collect samples from the area around their landing site. They returned with 46 pounds of moon rocks. Armstrong and Aldrin also set up a flag of the United States. Armstrong and Aldrin unfurl the US flag on the moon, 1969. Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, was launched on 16 July 1969 and Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the moon on 20 July 1969. The third member of the crew, Michael Collins, remained in lunar orbit. Oxford Science Archive / Getty Images While on the moon, the astronauts received a call from President Richard Nixon. Nixon began by saying, Hello, Neil and Buzz. I am talking to you by telephone from the Oval Office of the White House. And this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made. I just cant tell you how proud we are of what you have done. Time to Leave After spending 21 hours and 36 minutes upon the moon (including 2 hours and 31 minutes of outside exploration), it was time for Armstrong and Aldrin to leave. To lighten their load, the two men threw out some excess materials like backpacks, moon boots, urine bags, and a camera. These fell to the moons surface and were to remain there. Also left behind was a plaque which read, Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind. Apollo 11 lunar module rising above the moon to rendezvous with command module before heading home, with half Earth visible over horizon in background. Time Life Pictures / NASA / Getty Images   The lunar module blasted off from the moons surface at 1:54 p.m. EDT on July 21, 1969. Everything went well and the Eagle re-docked with the Columbia. After transferring all of their samples onto the Columbia, the Eagle was set adrift in the moons orbit. The Columbia, with all three astronauts back on board, then began their three-day journey back to Earth. Splash Down Before the Columbia command module entered the Earths atmosphere, it separated itself from the service module.  When the capsule reached 24,000 feet, three parachutes deployed to slow down the Columbias descent. At 12:50 p.m. EDT on July 24, the Columbia safely landed in the Pacific Ocean, southwest of Hawaii. They landed just 13 nautical miles from the U.S.S. Hornet that was scheduled to pick them up. astronauts wait in life raft for a helicopter to lift them to the U.S.S. Hornet after successful splashdown July 24th. Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin successfully completed moon mission. Theyre wearing isolation garments.   Bettmann / Getty Images Once picked up, the three astronauts were immediately placed into quarantine for fears of possible moon germs. Three days after being retrieved, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins were transferred to a quarantine facility in Houston for further observation. On August 10, 1969, 17 days after splashdown, the three astronauts were released from quarantine and able to return to their families. The astronauts were treated like heroes on their return. They were met by President Nixon and given ticker-tape parades. These men had accomplished what men had only dared to dream for thousands of years- to walk on the moon.

How involved should the U.S. be Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How involved should the U.S. be - Coursework Example The Realpolitik Policy According to Holzgrefe and Keohane, realpolitik, as a political ideology, pertains to diplomacy or politics founded mostly on power and other material and practical factors in lieu of explicit moral or ideological principles. Similarly, Baofu associated the policy of realpolitik that integrates the philosophical features of pragmatism and realism, implying that politics is amoral, coercive, or Machiavellian in nature (220). With the terrorist belligerence on the World Trade Center, the U.S. government faced the threat of a prospective fusion of military efforts with enormous weapons of mass destruction, as well as that of religious extremism (Johnston 3). Since WWII ended, the Middle East has been subjected to unrelenting struggle for stability and social order yet the present circumstances pose a challenge in mitigating the threats imposed by the region in the modern history of American politics. To carry out an effective change in the region; however, it is i mperative for the present administration to consider its limitations, especially in terms of organising its strategic approach of materializing its interests in the region (Ross and Jeffrey). Considering that the Middle East has rich oil resources, the U.S. government should adopt realpolitik approach in its foreign policy not only to strengthen its military presence against terrorism, but most especially to protect its interests for oil supply. Contrary to the perceptions of people from other countries, Keck noted that acceptance of American political values may be precluded from adopting a realpolitik foreign policy. In most instances, American hostility toward realism is largely caused by a conflict of its basic values despite their unconsciousness of formulating foreign policies, which are in fact, governed by a realist approach. Although the idealistic and isolationist policies could also be an advantage for the U.S., the merits of adopting a policy founded on realpolitik is mo re appropriate since the Middle East plays a crucial role in American hegemony against the war on terrorism. As an opinion, however, if the U.S. intends to have supremacy of political, social, and economic power on a global scale, it must incorporate a realpolitik approach in their foreign policy to establish positive alliances and materialize their interests in the region. From a political perspective, Miller observed that the U.S. government succeeded in attacking the central operations in Al Qaeda, and this could be mainly attributed to having a pragmatic and realistic approach in their military intervention. In contrast to idealistic policy, which supports liberal principles and democratic ideals (Hancock 39), the realpolitik ideology may facilitate social order in that the U.S. foreign policy promotes a collective effort in securing balance of power in world politics. Meanwhile, the isolationist policy promotes the cessation of US involvement in the Middle East, which is to som e extent, an advantage for the U.S. since this may imply lesser intervention and military conflicts. In this regard, however, the realpolitik approach only views the Middle East as an outlet for the U.S. government to control its interests in the

Personal Development and Careers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Personal Development and Careers - Assignment Example This is as it should be. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is useless; it is the application of knowledge to everyday situations after sizing them up in an intelligent manner is what should be the objective of learning. The result of learning should be the outcomes it produces in the real world. The Relationship between Learning and Development From the above, it is clear that book knowledge is not what we are after, rather the knowledge that we get from books should be applied to real world problems connected to that branch of knowledge so that solutions are made possible. Experience is the result of having applied that knowledge in a certain way and seeing the outcome. If by a process of trial and error, we can eliminate what does not work and distill that which does, we have reached the path of self development. For learning is a path to self development. The knowledge translated into skill resides in the mind and body of man- it becomes an inseparable part of him. This is how t he continual development of skills leads to personal development. Discussion of a Learning Theory: Kolb’s Learning Circle When it comes to theories of learning, there has been a lot of work produced by different authors and thinkers over the ages. However I regard the work of David A. Kolb and his Learning Circle to be a good explanation of what occurs during the process of learning. It is a good expose into the way we learn. Kolb outlined his theory in a book called ‘Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development’ published in 1984. Kolb’s Learning Circle (developed in coordination with Roger Fry) consists of four steps: (1) concrete experience (2) concrete and abstract experience (3) forming abstract concepts and (4) applying to new situations. According to Kolb, humans basically learn to understand and process two different types of information- concrete and abstract. Our learning vocabulary is therefore filled with either C oncrete Experience or Abstract Conceptualization. Kolb maintains that following a learning session, if we want to capitalize on it, we convert our experience into either Reflective Observation or Active Experimentation. Kolb’s model indicates that we could use all four of these approaches in a learning experience, depending upon the situation we are confronted with. Over time however, Kolb maintains that individuals tend to prefer one experience grasping approach and one experience transforming approach. Kolb has mentioned four learning styles and these are to be regarded as created by the learner during the process of learning. The four styles are (1) Converger (2) Diverger (3) Assimilator and (4) Accommodator (Kolb, 1984). Convergers are characterized by abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. They are good at making practical applications of ideas and using deductive reasoning to solve problems. According to Kolb, divergers are geared toward getting concrete experiences and making reflective observations. Divergers are also imaginative and will be good at coming up with ideas or in seeing things from different perspectives. Most of our theorists and social thinkers would fit in this category (Houle, 1980). Kolb writes that assimilators can be singled out by their preference for abstract

While conceptually sound, the practical realities are such that Essay

While conceptually sound, the practical realities are such that ecotourism remains a fundamentally flawed product. Discuss - Essay Example s a means of novelty to satisfy the hunger of hunger of the tourists with a view to growing awareness of the drastic environmental changes caused by global warming. But if the concept of ecotourism is compared with the ecotourism in reality, it appears, to a great extent, to be the manipulation of the consumerism of the industrial society to trap the foreign currency at home and abroad. Indeed it was initiated with the increasing concern about the negative impacts of tourism on the environment and ecology. But in order to mitigate the pressure of the scholars and the environmentalists regarding the harmful impacts of tourism on the environment, the concept of tourism ironically includes its ecological apparel that is supposed to grow the awareness of the tourists about the environmental change. Since then the concept of ecotourism is facing the dilemma of its true outline in reality, as in this regard Anja Touhino and Anne Hynoenen (2001: 1) say, â€Å"The tourism industry still feels that these definitions are unclear and that they confuse both consumers and tourism entrepreneurs. Terms related to ecotourism are often used without adequate definition and thus cause confusion, even in research† (Touhino & Hynoenen, 2001: 1). Various scholars have defined tourism in different ways. But all these definitions are stitched together with a common thread that appears to be approach of these definitions to nature and environment. The concept of ecotourism evolved in order to mitigate the negative impact mass tourism on Environment. Therefore the evolution of the concept of ecotourism is closely related to the definition of mass tourism and tourism in general. In this regard Fennel (2003: 30) says, â€Å"Ecotourism has grown as a consequence of the dissatisfaction with conventional forms of tourism†. For Fennell (2003: 16), â€Å"ecotourism is distinct from mass tourism and various other forms of AT [alternative tourism]†. In the beginning the most accepted definitions of