The Influences of Environment Essay Example for Free

The Influences of Environment Essay It is not difficult to assess the degree to which an individual is affected by the environment in which he lives. We know that climatic and social surroundings are no less influential. We know also that a person is born with the basic characteristics which are going to shape his personality and eventually his destiny. We can safely say that the interactions of both heredity and environment produce the individual. It would be interesting to analyse the effects of environment on the personality and activities of the individual. Social surroundings have an undisputed influence on people. Traditions and customs are the results of social relations in a group of people. These are often impressed on the individual who may either adopt them or oppose them. The individual often finds himself in conflict with such traditional institutions as marriage, family, religion and other established customs. The individual who rejects traditions is condemned by society and often ostracised. Individuals often have to fight against traditions. This continued opposition reveals the influence that such traditions have. The majority are just passively shaped by these traditions that have been inculcated in them from the cradle through school to adult life. Our basic personality is formed by society. 3 The powerfulness of social environment can also be seen in the everyday language we speak. The mother tongue is so called because the child assimilates naturally the language spoken by its mother. It is a scientific concept that all humans are â€Å"programmed† with the language ability, but what we speak depends on the social environment. The new-born Eskimo, if placed in an English-speaking environment, will grow up to speak English like the English. The mother tongue is learned in conditions different from those in which a second or foreign language is learned. The accent adopted by the individual also reveals the social milieu where he has picked up the language. Only the highly educated can hide their native accents. 4 The behaviour of the individual is often the direct result of social influences on him. It has been established that people exposed to harsh economic conditions are likely to turn to crime more easily than others. Though research has shown that criminal tendencies are inborn, that is of genetic origin, there is no doubt that social conditions help to externalise these tendencies in the individual. Whenever a society goes through severe economic conditions, like a recession, the crime rate tends to increase. The mass media have also been suspected to influence the criminal bent of people, especially the weaker individual who cannot think for himself. The unchanging geographical and climatic surroundings in which people grow have considerable effects on them as members of a social group. If today there are distinct national characteristics, it is because each group has been exposed to distinct physical or natural environments. Examples are numerous. The Eskimo is short and stocky because his cold, icy environment requires him to be so to survive. The people living along t he Equator are tall and thin so as to resist the heat. The colour of our skins has been fixed by the amount of sunshine we have been exposed to for generations. The Tibetans and Bolivians have large chests because their lungs have over the millennia become enlarged by the effort to breathe in rarefied oxygen in their high mountainous environment. 6 Eating and clothing habits, work activities, amusements are also directly dictated by physical environment. Those living along the coasts are likely to become sailors or fishermen. People’s activities throughout the world are conditioned by the landscape in which they live. The native Maori was a fisherman and a hunter, and therefore a flesh-eater. The Yorkshire boy until recently grew up to be a miner. It is only modern science and technology that have succeeded to some extent in decreasing the influence of environment on people’s activities. Primitive man used only what his immediate environment provided. Trappers in the north of America, Europe and Asia wore furs provided by their natural environment. 7 It is also generally accepted that weather and climate influence our character and mood. Weather influences mood because both are changeable. We are sullen when the weather is gloomy. We are lively and cheerful when the weather is fine. Poetry and songs in all times and regions have celebrated the coming of spring with cheerfulness and liveliness on the part of people. Also, in periods of heat or cold, our moods change for the worse or better. Astrologers and geomancers are convinced that stars and planets including earth influence and mark our lives in all their aspects – from character to intelligence, from luck to health, even life and death.

Unity of a Family Explored in The Grapes of Wrath Essay -- The Grapes o

Unity of a Family Explored in The Grapes of Wrath One would say that on a literal level The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is about the Joad family's journey to California during The Dust Bowl. However, it is also about the unity of a family and the concept of birth and death, both literal and abstract. Along with this, the idea of a family unit is explored through these births and deaths. As can be seen in The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads are a very tight-knit family. Yet on their trip to California, they experience many losses and additions to their family. In general, Steinbeck's novel abides by the circle of life. When a birth occurs, a death follows, and when a death occurs, a birth follows. However, in The Grapes of Wrath, the number of deaths outweighs the number of births as a way to show the negative impacts of The Dust Bowl. The first birth in the novel occurs in Chapter Eight when Tom Joad returns from jail to his family. Prior to Tom's homecoming, Ma Joad had been deeply concerned about making the journey to California without him, because she did not want the family to break up before the start of their journey even occurred. The idea of Tom Joad returning at this point is considered a birth because the Joad family is now complete. This starts the novel giving the reader a better sense of the closeness of the Joad family. In addition, the first reference to death occurs in Chapter Ten. Grampa decides that he does not want to leave his land and go out west. "'This here's my country. I b'long here...I ain't a-goin'. This country ain't no good, but it's my country'" (152). Once again, as to not split up the family, Ma Joad drugs Grampa in order for the family to place him on the tru... ...by that Rose of Sharon delivers in Chapter Thirty. One would believe that when Rose of Sharon delivers her dead baby, it is a sign that all hope is lost because it breaks the circle of life. However, Steinbeck ends The Grapes of Wrath on a somewhat uplifting note by incorporating one last birth. At the end of the novel, Rose of Sharon gives life to a dying old man by letting him drink the breast milk that she would have used in order to feed her own baby. "She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously" (619). In conclusion, The Grapes of Wrath may appear, on surface level, to be a novel about an Oklahoma family's trip to California during the Dust Bowl. Instead, when looked at more deeply, The Grapes of Wrath is found to be a story about the circle of life and the way that a family stays together through this cycle.

Resourcing and talent planning assessment Essay

This assignment will be investigating what constitutes â€Å"best practice† in recruitment and selection, and explain what strategies should be used to ensure the best qualified and most effective employees are selected. In particular this essay will focus on; The use of job descriptions, personal specifications and competence frameworks. Analysing the main recruitment and selection methods. Explaining the main legislation that impacts on recruitment and selection. Describing how contracts of employment are established.  At its core, recruitment and selection is about attracting and employing the most qualified and capable individual that will add value to the organisation. Marchington and Wilkinson (2008, 223) explain the importance of recruitment, â€Å"Staffing and resourcing, and in particular recruitment and selection, is a critical feature of HRM in all organisations, irrespective of their size, structure or sector.† Once an organisation has identified that a vacancy has arisen, it is best practice is to complete â€Å"job analysis† to identify the key duties and responsibilities of the role. This is used to create an up to date â€Å"job description† and â€Å"personal specification† for the new job role. It is important that these documents are reviewed, as the existing versions may not include key duties and skills that the role as evolved to demand. In some cases the job description and personal specification will not have been reviewed since the previous employee was appointed. Well written job descriptions should identify the duties and responsibilities candidates should expect to undertake if successful. They should also include a job title, location of post and reporting structure. Personal specifications should identify the key attributes required, such as qualifications, experience and attitude. They also often include any additional requirements such as a driving licence / requirement to travel etc. These attributes are often split into â€Å"essential† and â€Å"desirable† areas. Once these have been  finalised they can then be used to advertise and recruit a new employee, either by advertising directly (company intranet / website, local press etc) or used to give an employment agency / recruitment consultant a basis from which to work. These documents may also inform questions asked at interview. Leatherbarrow and Fletcher (2014, 76) discuss the varied use of job descriptions, â€Å"In addition to their use in recruitment, job descriptions have a key role in other activities, such as identifying training needs, and introducing or reviewing a job evaluation scheme and other systems of payment.† However, not all HR experts agree on the usefulness of job descriptions, as demonstrated by Marchington and Wilkinson (2008, 236), â€Å"Despite being widely used, job descriptions have been heavily criticised for being outmoded and increasingly irrelevant to modern conditions, symptomatic of what is seen as a collectivist, inflexible and more rules-orientated culture.† If an organisation chooses not to use a personal profile, they may instead use a â€Å"competency framework†. These often have a greater emphasis on the skills an individual has, such as communication skills, people management, customer service, problem solving etc, rather than the previous experience or qualifications. Leatherbarrow and Fletcher (2014, 179) explain competency frameworks, â€Å"Similar to personal specifications, competency frameworks outline a list of characteristics which are required by the post holder. These may be organisation-wide competencies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ or specific to the job such as attention to detail or numeracy perhaps for an accountant.† When recruiting for a vacancy there are various methods that can be used, depending on if the vacancy is to be advertised internally (to existing employees) or externally (to the general public). Sourcing candidates internally can ensure talented employees stay within the organisation; however it often does not negate the need to recruit externally, as another vacancy will invariably arise in the department the successful candidate originated from. Internal recruitment can be done relatively cheaply and quickly; the vacancy can be advertised through staff notice boards, company intranet or company-wide emails. If internal recruitment is not an option /  has been unsuccessful, companies will the need to advertise to a wider audience. An employer will need to decide which method of recruitment is most suitable for the role and organisation. Common recruitment methods include advertising on the company’s own corporate website, using internet based jobsites, recruitment agencies , local or national press, job centre plus or employee referral schemes. The CIPD resourcing and talent planning survey (2013) lists the top 5 methods of recruitment as, â€Å"1) Own corporate website 62% 2) Recruitment agencies 49% 3) Commercial job boards 38% 4) Employee referral schemes 33% 5) Professional networking (such as linkedin) 31%† The method used will depend on a number of factors, as Armstrong (2012, 22) discusses, â€Å"The criteria to use when making a choice are: 1) the likelihood that it will produce good candidates 2) the speed with which the choice enables recruitment to be completed 3) the costs involved, bearing in mind that there may be direct advertising costs or consultants’ fees.† Other factors that need to be taken into consideration include the job role / target audience, location of post and success of previous methods, for example, if the vacancy is for a highly experienced and qualified professional, the labour market is likely to be much tighter that if the vacancy is for an entry level administrator. Therefore it makes sense to advertise to a national market to generate a higher number of suitable applications. Upon placing the job advertisement, an employer also needs to decide on the initial selection method that will be used to enable them to create a shortlist. This could include requesting a CV and / or cover letter, application forms, online applications or email or telephone enquiries. Once the recruitment process has been completed and the applications have been received, shortlisting and selection can then begin. Applications should be shortlisted according to the same criteria, which should be  relevant and non-discriminatory. Personal specifications can also be used at this stage, and applications assessed to see if they meet the â€Å"essential† and â€Å"desirable† criteria described. Applications can then be sorted into three areas, as described by Armstrong (2012, 227), â€Å"Following the analysis, applicants can be sorted initially into three categories: possible, marginal and unsuitable†¦ When there is a large field of applicants with many ‘possibles’ sifting may have to be repeated against more stringent criteria until a shortlist for interview is identified.† Once a shortlist has been agreed, best practice is to notify the unsuccessful applicants by letter or email, as agreed by Leatherbarrow & Fletcher (2014, 1 92), â€Å"A courteously worded letter or email should then be sent to the rejected applicants†¦Ã¢â‚¬  At this stage the employer also needs to decide which further methods of selection they will use on the remaining applicants. The most common method of selection is known as the â€Å"classic trio†, of application form, interview and references. However, although the most common, this does not make it the most effective; this method is often highly criticised by experts. Other selection methods include group interviews, assessment centres, competency tests, work trials, psychometric testing and work samples. The most effective selection processes involve more than one method of selection, such as a structured interview alongside a work sample test. Marchington and Wilkinson (2008, 250) citing data from Robertson and Smith (2001) discuss selection techniques, â€Å"†¦most techniques have very low levels of accuracy in terms of producing effecting selection decisions. Of techniques used on their own, work sampling offers the highest likelihood of success, closely followed by intelligence tests and structured interviewing.† During the recruitment and selection process, organisations must be mindful that they are complying with all laws that impact the process. One of the major laws that effects the recruitment and selection of staff is the Equality Act 2010. This legislation simplifies and strengthens previously existing legislation. â€Å"The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone.† Government  Equalities Office (2013). The Equality Act 2010 covers 9 â€Å"protected characteristics†, as follows; Age Sex Religion / Beliefs Disability Maternity / Paternity Race Gender reassignment / Transgender Sexual orientation Marital status These characteristics are protected against the 6 types of discrimination, which are direct, indirect, discrimination by association, victimisation, harassment and perceptive discrimination. Other legislation that impacts the recruitment process include the Working Time Regulations 1998, National Minimum Wage, the Data Protection Act 2007 and the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004. In addition to civil action, should an employer found to be in breach of the Asylum and Immigration act they can face criminal action, with penalties including large fines and possible prison sentences. Therefore it is vital that all candidates / employees are able to provide proof of their right to work in the UK. Upon completion of the recruitment and selection process, and the successful candidate has accepted, a contract of employment has been established. ACAS (2014) describes contracts of employment, â€Å"A contract of employment is an agreement between an employer and employee and is the basis of the employment relationship†. A contract of employment sets out the rights and duties of the employee, and does not necessarily need to be in writing, although it is best practice to be in writing, signed and dated. The contract of employment provides protection for both employer and employee, and provides clarity to the working relationship. The contract of employment is considered to have  commenced from the date the employee has verbally accepted the role. If the employee declines to sign the written contract, but starts / continues to work, legally it is considered that the employee has accepted the terms and conditions set out in the contract of employment. The contract of employment differs to the written statement of particulars as the contract of employment is more expansive, and generally encompasses the information required within the statement of particulars. It is a legal requirement that most employees receive a written statement of particulars within two months of commencing employment. Contracts of employment generally include the following information. Identity of parties, i.e. employer / employee Employment start date Salary / hourly rate, and the intervals at which the employee will be paid Hours of work and any terms and conditions related to this Holiday allowance and pay Sickness allowance and terms and conditions Job title Terms and conditions relating to pensions Information on contracting-out Notice period Employment type, i.e. temporary, fixed term, part time etc. If fixed term, the expected end date of contract. Location of work, and any expectancy for travel Grievance procedure Any collective agreements in place Length of probationary period Any other terms and conditions that are applicable to the employee and job role Often disciplinary procedures in in employment contracts, however it is best to omit this information and have it as a separate policy. If an employer chooses to include the disciplinary procedures within the contract but does not follow them, the employer can then be sued for breach of contract.  Employees and employers are also expected to adhere to the implied terms of contract. These are not written down but should naturally happen, such as the employer providing a safe workplace and paying the employee promptly etc. Lewis and Sargeant (2013) explain the use of implied terms in the event of a disagreement, â€Å"The party wishing to rely on an implied term must satisfy a court either that such a term was so obvious that the parties did not think it necessary to state it expressly (the officious bystander test) or that such a term was necessary to give ‘business efficacy’ to the relationship.† The recruitment and selection process can be considered one of the most important aspects of a HR professionals’ job. Recruitment can be costly, and staffing costs are one of an organisations biggest expenditure. An effective and thorough recruitment and selection process should limit the impact on the organisation and ensure a high calibre of candidates and employees. Following all applicable laws, and setting out a clear and concise contract of employment provides protection for both parties, and provides the foundation for a harmonious working relationship, in which booth employer and employee are aware of their rights, duties and obligations. Bibliography M. Marchington & A. Wilkinson, 2008, Human Resource Management at Work 4th Edition, London, CIPD M. Armstrong, 2012, Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice 12th Edition, London, Kogan Page C. Leatherbarrow & J. Fletcher, 2014, Introduction to Human Resource Management, guide to HR in practice, 3rd edition, London, CIPD Government Equalities Office, updated February 2013, accessed 04/12/2014, https://www.gov.uk/equality-act-2010-guidance CIPD, 02/12/2014, http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/survey-reports/resourcing-talent-planning-2013.aspx ACAS, 06/12/2014, http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1577 D. Lewis & M. Sargeant, 2013, Employment Law the essentials, 12th Edition, London, CIPD

Plato s Views On Perception - 2088 Words

hel Muhawenimana John Kennedy PHI111-007 Plato I agree with Plato about perception. I know for a fact that this life is not the end of life that it is part of a never ending cycle†¦ Time for example is not linear as man believes. It is like the clock that is round, and never ends. There is no beginning and no end. Yes†¦ I know†¦ Not many people know that. Our lives, human life itself, is just a blip in time. What exists for us after this life is beyond our wildest imagination. The time we have here now in the present is orchestrated by God for us to be proven to see if in a lost and fallen state we would turn to Him, and only to Him, and not to Man’s understandings. Plato was a man†¦ Yet, he was given great ability to think and understand. That ability was given to Him by God. I don’t think Plato knew much about God, but suffice it to say that he did believe in the idea of there being a God or likely he believed in multiple God s. Plato understood that there are some things that are eternal in na ture. Some things that you simply cannot change. In life there are many things that happen that just aren’t fair and often times we are at the center, or at least an observer, of that unfairness. One such unfairness that I would like to discuss today is that of intellect through education and the privileged position related to possessing great knowledge. Mankind’s understandings or the lack thereof have created contentions since the dawn of time. In fact, one could argueShow MoreRelatedPlatos Influence on the Western Civilization950 Words   |  4 Pages Plato and His Relation to Western Civilization Plato is one of the succinct psychologists, analyst, and scholar the world has ever had. He is a lucrative figure in the birth, generation, and early development of the western civilization. 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